SOUBISE, Benjamin de Rohan, Duc de (c. 1589- 1641), was the second son of René II., Vicomte de Rohan, and Catherine de Parthenay, and the younger brother of the soldier-writer Henri de Rohan (q.v.). The seigneury of Soubise came to the Rohans through Catherine, and Benjamin took the title as her second son. The exact date of his birth does not seem to be known, but it is believed to be 1589. He served his apprenticeship as a soldier under Prince Maurice of Orange in the Low Countries. But he hardly becomes an historical character before 1621, when the religious wars once more broke out in France. He and his brother Rohan were the soul of the Huguenot party,—the elder brother chiefly taking command on land and in the south, Soubise in the west and along the sea-coast. His exploits in the conflict have been sympathetically related by his brother, who, if he was not quite an impartial witness, was one of the best military critics of the time. Soubise’s chief performance was a singularly bold and well-conducted attack (in 1625) on the royalist fleet in the river Blavet (which included the cutting of a boom in the face of superior numbers after a style suggestive of the best days of the English navy) and the occupation of Oleron. Soubise commanded at Rochelle during the famous siege, and if we may believe his brother the failure of the defence and of the English attack on Rhé was mainly due to the alternate obstinacy of the townsfolk and the English commanders in refusing to listen to Soubise’s advice. When surrender became inevitable he fled to England, which he had previously visited in quest of succour. He died in 1641, and his title afterwards served as the chief second designation (not for heirs-apparent, but for the chief collateral branch for the time being) ...