Fabert was the son of Abraham Fabert, seigneur de Moulins (died 1638), a famous printer who rendered great services, civil and military, to
Henry IV. ,
France At the age of fourteen, Abraham de Fabert, against his father's wish, entered the
Gardes Françaises, and in 1618 received a commission in the Piedmont regiment, becoming major in 1627. He distinguished himself repeatedly in the constant wars of the period, notably in
La Rochelle and at the Siege of
Exilles in 1630. His bravery and
engineering skill were again displayed in the sieges of
Avesnes and
Maubeuge in 1637, and in 1642
Louis XIII made him governor of the recently acquired fortress of
Sedan. In 1651 he became lieutenant-general, and in 1654 at the
Siege of Stenay he introduced new methods of
siegecraft which anticipated in a measure the great improvements of
Vauban. In 1658 Fabert was made a marshal of France, being the first commoner to attain that rank. He died in 1662 from a pneumonia at Sedan, where he was governor. ==References==