Hauteclocque came from an old line of country nobility. His direct ancestors had served in the Fifth Crusade against Egypt, and again in the Eighth Crusade of Saint Louis against Tunisia in 1270. They had also fought at the Battle of Saint-Omer in 1340 and the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745. The family managed to survive the French Revolution. Three members of the family served in Napoleon's "Grande Armée" and a fourth, who suffered from weak health, served in the supply train. The third son, Constantin, who had served in Napoleon's Russian Campaign, was created a "chevalier" by King Louis XVIII, and a Papal count by Pope Pius IX in 1857. Constantin had two sons. The older, Alfred Francois Marie (1822–1902), died childless. The younger, Gustave Francois Marie Joseph (1829–1914), became a noted Egyptologist.