The legendary musketeer D'Artagnan was a real soldier who died in a 1673 siege
The swashbuckling hero of Alexandre Dumas's classic novel was actually based on Charles de Batz-Castelmore, a fearless French soldier whose real-life exploits were just as audacious as his fictional counterpart's.
Born in 1611 in Lupiac, France, the real D'Artagnan served King Louis XIV with such distinction that his epitaph noted his 'true valor.' While Dumas added a layer of romantic adventure in 1844, the historical soldier was a career musketeer who spent decades on the front lines. His long military service ended tragically in 1673 during the Siege of Maastricht, where he was killed by a cannon shot at the age of 62.
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