Philippe De MassaAlexandre-Philippe Régnier, Marquis de Massa, was an army officer and author of plays. He was born on October 6, 1831, in what was then Paris's 2nd arrondissement and died October 24, 1910, in Paris's 8th. Alexandre-Philippe Régnier joined the army i Algeria and later rose to become a member of the Guides of the Imperial Guard, a special unit. In 1859, he fought in the Battle of Solferino and was Marshal Bazaine's assistant-de-camp during the Mexican mission. He was also in the Crimean War. During the Battle of Sedan, he was with Napoleon III. He got away and joined General Bourbaki's army. After General Bourbaki tried to kill himself in Besancon on January 27, 1871, he went to Switzerland with him. There was a famous person at the Imperial Court during the last eight years of the Second Empire. His name was Marquis de Massa. A group of amateur actors, including Princess Pauline de Metternich, Eglé Ney de La Moskowa (wife of the Duke of Persigny), Nathalie de Ségur (wife of Count Paul de Malaret), Countess de Pourtalès, and others, performed charades and dramatic proverbs at the court theaters of Compiègne and Rambouillet. Empress Eugénie asked him to write the plays. "Les Commentaires de César" (1865) is one of his best-known works. Read More Read Less