Henri de Labordere (1818-1865) was a Franco-Mexican nobleman who served as an advisor to Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico during the Franco-Mexican War. He was killed in battle with republican rebels at the Battle of Veracruz in 1865.
Biography[]
The Marquis de Labordere in 1865
Henri de Labordere was born in France in 1818, and he came from an aristocratic family. During the Franco-Mexican War of the 1860s, he became an advisor to Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico in his capital of Mexico City, and he was seduced by the Countess Marie Duvarre in to bringing her into Imperial Mexican high society. In 1865, the Marquis de Labordere rode to a remote village in northern Mexico to recruit a force of American mercenaries to escort Countess Duvarre's carriage from Mexico City to Veracruz; he secretly placed a shipment of $3 million in gold in the caravan, intending for it to be used on facilitating the flow of French Army reinforcements from France to Mexico. Labordere hired the mercenaries Joe Erin, Ben Trane, and their outlaw gang to escort the convoy after watching Erin save Labordere and his detachment from capture by Mauricio Ramirez's rebel army, and he introduced the mercenaries to Emperor Maximilian at his palace, where he was horrified by the mercenaries' poor manners. Labordere then talked with Emperor Maximilian about their plans for the mercenaries, agreeing to ensure that the mercenaries either died at the hands of the Juaristas or at the hands of Captain Henri Danette's lancers.
Labordere later overheard Trane, Erin, and Countess Duvarre colluding in a barn one night; they planned to steal the gold (which they had discovered) and divide it between the three of them. He also heard that Duvarre planned to escape aboard a private ship booked for her at Las Palmas. During the ride, Labordere dropped subtle hints that he knew of the trio's plans to steal the gold, causing concern among the three of them. When the convoy stopped at Las Palmas, Labordere arranged for the gold in Duvarre's carriage to be switched to the supply wagon, which successfully reached the garrison at Veracruz as the mercenaries and General Ramirez's rebels chased the other carriage.
Death[]
Labordere's death
Trane and Erin decided to partner with General Ramirez's rebels to storm the Veracruz garrison, with Trane promising to let Ramirez keep the $3 million in gold to himself in exchange for $100,000. Labordere had Duvarre kept in an apartment under guard as he defended Veracruz from the rebel assault led by General Ramirez. During the ensuing battle, Labordere donned cuirassier armor and attempted to evacuate the gold carriage, only to be shot by the mercenary Archie Ballard.