VAUBAN, ViA1IN', SEBASTIEN LE PRESTRE DE (1633-1707). A French military engineer and marshal, born near Avallon, in Burgundy. When about seventeen he joined the Spanish forces under Conde on the frontier of the Belgian Netherlands. )1e studied military science and engineering while leading the active life of a soldier. lie was taken prisoner by the French in 1653 and joined the French Army, where his extraordinary aptitude won him a commission two years later as a royal engineer. After the cession of Dunkirk by the English Vauban was charged with the task of fortifying it. The re newal of the war (1667) brought him service in Flanders. lie was wounded at Douai, which lie captured, and laid successful siege to Lille. ]le had now won his place as the chief engineer ing authority of Frallee and was made Governor of Lille, with charge of all the works in Flan ders. Inc was called upon to inspect and direct work on fortifications in all parts of France. At the invitation of Louvois lie wrote his .lie/ noire purer serrir (Fins/rue/ion dung lu emuinite firs sii'gcs. At the siege of Maestrieht in 1673 he in troduced in Western Europe the, system of ap proaches by parallels, by which he reduced the city in thirteen days. In 1678 at the conclusion
of hostilities he was made commissary-general of fortifications for France. Between 1658 and 1693, in the war against. the League of he (conducted several sieges—Philipsburg, Mann heim, Frankenthal, Mons, Namur, etc. lie was made a marshal of Franey in 1703. In the course of hi:- military life Vauban strengthened 300 old fortresses and built 33 new ones. Ile took part in 140 battles, including 53 sieges. Vauban wrote several treatises on technical sub jects. The principal of these, in addition to the one previously mentioned, was Ile l'attaque et de to defense des places (1736). The (Euvres militaires de Vauban, edited by Gen. Latour Foissae, were published in 1796. Vauban was in terested in economic subjects and advocated a single tax in his Projet d'uno (lime royale (1707). Consult: Michel, T fistoire de Vauban (Paris, 1870) ; Lloyd, Ion ban, Ihminlembert, ('((root : Engineer Studies ( London, 1887) ; Cadet, Boisguilbert, Vauban, Onesnay, Turgot (Rheims, 1869)