Editing Chartres (section)

==History==
Chartres was one of the principal towns in [[Gaul]] of the [[Carnutes]], a [[Celts|Celtic]] tribe. In the [[Gallo-Roman]] period, it was called ''Autricum'', name derived from the river ''Autura'' (Eure), and afterwards ''civitas Carnutum'', "city of the Carnutes", from which Chartres got its name. The city was raided and burned down by the [[Vikings|Norsemen]] in 858, and once again besieged, this time unsuccessfully, by them in 911.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

During [[Middle Ages|the Middle Ages]], it was the most important town of the [[Beauce, France|Beauce]]. It gave its name to a county which was held by the counts of [[County of Blois|Blois]], and the counts of [[County of Champagne|Champagne]], and afterwards by the [[House of Châtillon]], a member of which sold it to the [[Kingdom of France|Crown]] in 1286.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1417, during the [[Hundred Years' War]], Chartres fell into the hands of the English, from whom it was recovered in 1432. In 1528, it was raised to the rank of a duchy by [[Francis I of France|Francis I]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1568, during the second [[French Wars of Religion|war of Religion]], Chartres was unsuccessfully [[Siege of Chartres (1568)|besieged]] by the [[Huguenot]] leader, the [[Louis, Prince of Condé (1530–1569)|Prince of Condé]]. It was finally taken by the royal troops of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] on 19 April 1591. On Sunday, 27 February 1594, the cathedral of Chartres was the site of the coronation of Henry IV after he converted to the Catholic faith, the only king of France whose [[Coronation of the French monarch|coronation]] ceremony was not performed in [[Reims]].

In 1674, [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] raised Chartres from a duchy to a [[Peerage of France|duchy peerage]] in favor of his nephew, Duke [[Philippe II, Duke of Orleans|Philippe II]] of [[Duchy of Orléans|Orléans]]. The title of [[Duchy of Chartres|Duke of Chartres]] was hereditary in the [[House of Orléans]], and given to the eldest son of the Duke of Orléans.

During the 1870–1871 [[Franco-Prussian War]], Chartres was seized by the Germans on 2 October 1870, and continued during the rest of the war to be an important centre of operations.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

During [[World War II]], the city suffered heavy damage by bombing and during the battle of Chartres in August 1944, but its [[Chartres Cathedral|cathedral]] was spared by an American Army officer who challenged the order to destroy it.<ref name=Griffith>{{Cite web
 |access-date   = 10 May 2011
|url          = https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/6100
 |title        = MilitaryTimes Hall of Valor
 |author       = MilitaryTimes.com
 |work         = Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr
 |publisher    = Military Times, a Gannett Company
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120118233837/http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=6100
 |archive-date = 18 January 2012
|url-status     = live
}} Note: The Distinguished Service Cross was awarded posthumously for saving the cathedral.</ref> On 16 August 1944, Colonel [[Welborn Griffith|Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr.]] questioned the necessity of destroying the cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the Germans were using it as an observation post. With his driver, Griffith proceeded to the cathedral and, after searching it all the way up its [[bell tower]], confirmed to headquarters that it was empty of Germans. The order to destroy the cathedral was withdrawn.

Colonel Griffith was killed in action later on that day in the town of [[Lèves]], {{convert|3.5|km|mi|1|abbr=off}} north of Chartres.<ref name=Griffith/><ref name=Griffith2>{{Cite web
 |access-date=11 May 2011
|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266849/colonel-chartres-jay-nordlinger
 |title= A Colonel at Chartres
 |author=Jay Nordlinger
 |author-link=Jay Nordlinger
 |work=The Corner
 |publisher=NationalReview.com
 |year=2011 }}</ref> For his heroic action both at Chartres and Lèves, Colonel Griffith posthumously received several decorations awarded by the president of the United States and the U.S. military, and also from the French government.<ref>On 21 October 1944, for his heroic action, Colonel Welborn B. Griffith, Jr. was posthumously awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]]:[https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/6100 |title=Militarytimes Hall of Valor: Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr.] He was also awarded the [[Silver Star]], the [[Purple Heart]], the [[Legion of Merit]], the French [[Croix de Guerre]], and the [[Légion d'Honneur]]: Eugene G. Schulz, ''The Ghost in General Patton's Third Army'', USA, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1477141441}}</ref>

Following deep reconnaissance missions in the region by the [[3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (United States)|3rd Cavalry Group]] and units of the [[Combat engineer|1139 Engineer Combat Group]], and after heavy fighting in and around the city, Chartres was liberated, on 18 August 1944, by the U.S. [[5th Infantry Division (United States)|5th Infantry]] and [[7th Armored Division (United States)|7th Armored]] [[Division (military)|Divisions]] belonging to the [[XX Corps (United States)|XX Corps]] of the U.S. [[United States Army Central|Third Army]] commanded by Lieutenant General [[George S. Patton, Jr.]]<ref>Winieska, Françoise, ''August 1944, The Liberation of Rambouillet, France'', SHARY, 1999, pp. 19–23, {{ISBN|2-9514047-0-0}}</ref>