Now the French Fleet at the Nile..

French fleet

Vice-Admiral Brueys' fleet
Line of battle
Ship	Rate	Guns	Commander	Casualties			Notes
Killed	Wounded	Total
Guerrier	Third rate	74	Captain Jean-François-Timothée Trullet	~350–400 casualties			Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured but later destroyed as unserviceable.
Conquérant	Third rate	74	Captain Etienne Dalbarade	~350 casualties			Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Conquerant but never saw front line service.
Spartiate	Third rate	74	Captain Maurice-Julien Emeriau	64	150	214	Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Spartiate.
Aquilon	Third rate	74	Captain Antoine René Thévenard	87	213	300	Dismasted and severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Aboukir but never saw front line service.
Peuple Souverain	Third rate	74	Captain Pierre-Paul Raccord	Heavy casualties			Fore and main masts collapsed and hull severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Guerrier but never saw front line service.
Franklin	Third rate	80	Contre-amiral Armand Blanquet Captain Maurice Gillet	~400 casualties			Main and mizen masts collapsed and hull severely damaged. Captured and became HMS Canopus.
Orient	First rate	120	Vice-amiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers Contre-amiral Honoré Ganteaume Captain Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca	~1,000 casualties			Destroyed in an ammunition explosion
Tonnant	Third rate	80	Commodore Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars	Heavy casualties			Dismasted, grounded and severely damaged. Captured on 3 August and became HMS Tonnant.
Heureux	Third rate	74	Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne	Light casualties			Grounded and severely damaged. Captured on 2 August but later burnt as unserviceable.
Mercure	Third rate	74	Lieutenant Cambon	Light casualties			Grounded and severely damaged. Captured on 2 August but later burnt as unserviceable.
Guillaume Tell	Third rate	80	Contre-amiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve Captain Saulnier	Light casualties			Escaped on 2 August
Généreux	Third rate	74	Captain Louis-Jean-Nicolas Lejoille	Light casualties			Escaped with Guillaume Tell on 2 August
Timoléon	Third rate	74	Captain Louis-Léonce Trullet	Light casualties			Grounded and severely damaged. Scuttled by its crew on 3 August.
Frigates
Sérieuse	Fifth rate	36	Captain Claude-Jean Martin	Heavy casualties			Sank due to damage received in the battle
Artémise	Fifth rate	36	Captain Pierre-Jean Standelet	Light casualties			Scuttled by its crew on 2 August
Justice	Fifth rate	40	Captain Villeneuve	0	0	0	Escaped with Guillaume Tell on 2 August
Diane	Fifth rate	40	Contre-amiral Denis Decrès Captain Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil	0	0	0	Escaped with Guillaume Tell on 2 August
The head of the French line was supported by guns mounted on Aboukir Island and a number of gunboats and bomb vessels situated among the shoals to the west of the line. These participated in the battle but with little effect, and several grounded during the engagement, with one bomb vessel scuttled by its crew. Rob.

Attachment 28369


Jean-François-Timothée Trullet.



Born to a family of sailors, and elder brother of Louis-Léonce Trullet, Trullet joined the Navy as a cabin boy in 1770, before sailing on a merchantman captained by his father.
He was appointed commerce captain in 1777. In 1779, he joined the French Royal Navy as an auxiliary ensign and served off Arabia.

By 1792, Trullet had risen to ensign and served on Tonnant. Promoted to lieutenant in July, he took command of an aviso. From February 1793, he served on the Heureux.

In May 1795, Trullet received a temporary promotion to captain and was appointed second captain on Victoire. In May 1795, he obtained command of the Duquesne.

In 1798, Trullet was appointed to the 74-gun Guerrier, on which he took part in the Battle of the Nile. His ship hopelessly damaged, he ordered the colours struck, and was taken prisoner. Guerrier was set on fire after the battle as she was damaged beyond repairs.
Released on parole in November, Trullet served ashore until he was given command of the Formidable in 1803. He transferred to Annibal in 1805.
Trullet retired in 1810.
Honours.

Legion of Honour.

Attachment 28371


Maxime Julien Émeriau de Beauverger.

American War of Independence.

Emeriau joined the Navy in 1776, just before the outbreak of the American War of Independence, taking service on the fluyt Sylphe.
He took part in the Battle of Ushant on the Intrépide in 1778. He was then transferred on the Diadème, in Admiral d'Estaing's fleet, taking part in the Battle of Grenada, where he was wounded, and in the Siege of Savannah, where one of his eyes was wounded.
Emeriau served under Lamotte-Picquet during the Battle of Martinique.
After rising to lieutenant de frégate, he took part in the campaigns of Admiral de Grasse, serving aboard a number of ships. He took part in the Battle of St. Kitts and in the Battle of the Saintes, where he was twice wounded.
After the Treaty of Paris, Emeriau sailed with the commerce.
In 1786, Emeriau returned to the Navy as a sub-lieutenant.^[2] He sailed to the Caraibs on the Chameauand Mulet, and then on the 74-gun Patriote and the frigate Fine, until 1791.

Revolutionary wars.

On 1 January 1792, Emeriau was promoted to lieutenant. The next year, he received command of the corvette Cerf. He notably ferried a convoy of refugees to New England after a fire devastated Cap Français.
From 1793, Emeriau captained the Embuscade, taking part in, under Pierre Jean Van Stabel, the escort of the grain convoy that was the background for the Glorious First of June.
In December 1794, Emeriau was promoted to captain, receiving command of the Conquérant, and later of the Timoléon, both in the Mediterranean fleet under Admiral Pierre Martin. He took part in the various battles fought by the fleet, notably the Battle of Cape Noli and the Battle of Hyères Islands.
In 1796, Emeriau took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, captaining the Jemmapes.
In 1798, Emeriau served in Brueys' fleet, as commodor on the Spartiate. He led the French squadron that captured Malta.
He took part in the Battle of the Nile, where Spartiate was the third ship in the French line. She dueled with Nelson's Vanguard, and Audacious from 19:00. At 21:00, Emeriau, twice wounded and facing three opponents, orders the colours struck.
In July 1802, Emeriau was promoted to contre-amiral, commanding a division with his flag on the 80-gun Indomptable. He took part in the French repression of the Haitian Revolution.
In 1803, he was transferred to command part of the flotilla in Ostend, before returning to Lorient to command a division, with his flag on Jemmapes.

Préfet maritime and chief commander in Toulon.

In late 1803, Emeriau was promoted to préfet maritime in Toulon. He served in this capacity until 1811. when he took command of the Mediterranean squadron as a vice-admiral. The fleet was however blockaded in its harbour by Lord Exmouth's fleet, and was unable to mount large-scale operations.
On 7 March 1813, he was promoted to vice-admiral and nominated inspector of the coasts of Ligurie.
During the Hundred Days, Emeriau was made a Pair de France. However, he never had a chance to serve in this capacity. The Bourbon Restoration sent him into retirement, making him a Pair de France in 1831.

Rob.

Attachment 28373


Antoine René Thévenard.


Antoine René Thévenard was born to Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard, then a captain of the French East India Company. He was killed on 1 August 1798 during the Battle of the Nile.


In early 1793, he captained the frigate Insurgente with the rank of Lieutenant, and escorted a convoy from Nantes to Brest. He was promoted to Captain in the summer of the same year and appointed to the frigate Révolutionnaire. He took part in the Action of 21 October 1794, where a squadron under Sir Edward Pellew captured Révolutionnaire.


In 1794, Thévenard captained the razée frigate Brave, on which he sailed between Brest and Cancale, cruised off Ouessant and Guernesey, and returned to Brest. He was then tasked with leading a division in the Kattegat and the North Sea, his flag on Brave and with the frigates Spartiate and Proserpine, under Villemadrin and Daugier respectively. Thévenard also took part in the Biscay campaign of June 1795 on Brave.

In 1795, Thévenard was appointed to command of the 74-gun Wattignies, on which he sailed from Lorient to Île-d'Aix.


In 1796, Thévenard led the naval division of Saint-Domingue, with his flag on Wattignies; he was promoted to chef de division in the same year. In December, he took part in the Expédition d'Irlande.


Thévenard commanded the 74-gun Aquilon at the battle of the Nile. Early in the battle he used the spring on his anchor cable to angle his broadside into a raking position across the bow of Nelson's flagship, HMS Vanguard, which consequently suffered over 100 casualties, including Nelson, wounded by a piece of shot in the forehead.
Thévenard was killed on the first day of the battle; HMS Minotaur captured Aquilon.

Rob.

Attachment 28374



Pierre-Paul Raccord.


On Peuple Souverain, Captain Pierre-Paul Raccord was badly wounded and ordered his ship's anchor cable cut in an effort to escape the bombardment. Peuple Souverain drifted south towards the flagship Orient, which mistakenly opened fire on the darkened vessel. Peuple Souverain anchored not far from Orient, but took no further part in the fighting. The wrecked ship surrendered during the night.

All that I could find on this Captain.

Rob.

Attachment 28375


Armand Blanquet.

Count Armand Blanquet du Chayla (9 May 1759 – 29 April 1826) was an officer in the French Navy, most famous as second in command of the French fleet during its defeat at the Battle of the Nile.
Early actions.

Du Chayla was born in Marvejols in the Lozère department in southeast France. As a young naval officer, he distinguished himself during the American Revolutionary War, serving under Admiral d'Estaing. He was captured in 1778, and released two years later. He served under Admiral de Grasse aboard the Languedoc and took part in the Battle of Martinique.
Du Chayla also fought at the Battle of the Chesapeake and at the Battle of St. Kitts, and was wounded at the Battle of the Saintes.
After the war, Du Chayla was promoted to Lieutenant de vaisseau, and later to capitaine de vaisseau, obtaining command of the Tonnant. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he took part in the campaigns on the Italian coasts. In 1793, he was relieved from command because of his nobility, but was soon reinstated. He served as aide to the Minister of the Navy from 1795 to 1797, before being promoted to division commander in 1796, and to contre-amiral soon later.
Battle of the Nile, and aftermath.

In 1798, as a rear admiral, Chayla hoisted his flag aboard the Franklin as second in command of the fleet under Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers during the campaign in Egypt. Chayla fought gallantly during the battle and tried in vain to persuade Brueys to order the fleet to set sail. He was severely wounded in the French defeat, and he and the Franklin were both captured by the Royal Navy.
After his return to France, Chayla was a fierce critic of the tactics of Villeneuve, Decrès and Ganteaume, and resigned in 1803. He was later rehabilitated by Napoléon.
He was made a Count and honorary vice-admiral by Louis XVIII of France. Chayla died in Versailles on the 29th of April 1826.

Rob.

Attachment 28376
Maurice Gillet.

Born to a family of sailors, Gillet started sailing in 1793 on the Northumberland. On 1 July 1793, he was promoted to lieutenant, and served on the frigates Carmagnole and Cocarde nationale.

Having raised to captain by 1796, Gillet served on the Mucius and Républicain, before taking command of the 80-gun Franklin in March 1798.

On Franklin, Gillet was flag officer to rear admiral Armand Blanquet du Chayla, second-in-command of the French fleet of Toulon during the Mediterranean campaign of 1798. He took part in the Battle of the Nile, where he was gravely wounded at the chest and had to be carried below unconscious, while commander Martinet took over.
Gillet was taken prisoner when Franklin, with only three guns left and half her crew casualties, struck her colours. He was taken to England, and later released.

In September 1803, Gillet resumed his naval career by supervising the 2nd gunboat division of the flotilla in Boulogne. In August, incapacitated by his injuries sustained at Aboukir, Gillet requested to be relieved, while giving command of his ships to commander Regnauld. On 26 August, a naval skirmish opposed 90 French brigs and luggers to the British Immortalité, Harpy, Adder and Constitution, sinking the later.

Rob.

Attachment 28377



François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers.

Pre-Revolution.

Brueys was born to an aristocratic family in Rue Boucairie, Uzès, Gard, southern France in a house which now bears a plaque with his name. Joining the navy at 13, he was a volunteer on the ship-of-the-line Protecteur in 1766, he served in several campaigns in the Levant. Becoming a Garde de la marine in 1768, he fought in the Tunis expedition on the frigate Atalante and the Saint Domingue campaign on the ship-of-the-line Actionnaire, though he was forced to leave the latter due to sickness and return to France, where he served at shore establishments, mostly on France's Mediterranean coast.

He rose to enseigne de vaisseau in 1777 and lieutenant de vaisseau in April 1780, before serving on the ship-of-the-line Terrible then the Zélé in Guichen's squadron. He fought in three battles against Admiral Rodney in April and May 1780, then in the battle against Hood's fleet before Fort-de-France in April 1781.

He was present at all the battles involving Grasse's squadron, including the Chesapeake (September 1781) and the capture of Saint Kitts in February 1782. He then moved to the frigate Vestale, by chance he was not present at the battle of Les Saintes. He was made a chevalier de Saint-Louis at the end of the war.

On the peace he was put in command of the aviso Chien de Chasse, with which he spent four years in the Antilles and off the American coast. In 1787 he moved to command another aviso, the Coureur, which cruised along the coasts of Latin America. He then returned to France to command the fluyt Barbeau before taking one year's leave (1788–89).

In 1790 he commanded the corvette Poulette. He sailed her from Toulon to Algiers with M. Vallière, France's consul general in Algeria. She also carried dispatches for the naval station and French consuls in the Levant.

1792–1798.

He saw aristocratic family and friends killed during the Reign of Terror but managed to avoid such a fate himself. He did not emigrate and even found himself promoted to capitaine de vaisseau on 1 January 1792, before being put in command of the ship-of-the-line Le Lys at Toulon (renamed le Tricolore on the fall of the monarchy). He fought in the campaigns undertaken by Admiral Truguet's fleet - the bombardment of Oneglia, the Naples operation led by Latouche-Tréville, and finally the attack on Cagliari on Sardinia.

In the Toulon affair the town authorities arrested him. A decree of the National Convention in September 1793 stripped him of his rank as a noble. Truguet's ministry in 1795 restored his rank and he received promotion to contre-amiral the following year. He commanded French naval forces in the Adriatic from 1796 to 1798, flying his flag in the ship-of-the-line Guillaume Tell. He transported troops to the Ionian Islands and supported Bonaparte's campaign in Italy by blockading the coasts but keeping supply lines open to Bonaparte's troops.
Egypt.

Bonaparte noted Brueys's conduct in Italy and made him commander-in-chief of the fleet that would transport his army for the Egyptian campaign, with the rank of vice-admiral and flying his flag on the Orient. The fleet set sail from Toulon on 19 May 1798.

He succeeded in evading British attempts to prevent the French fleet reaching Egypt, reaching Malta and then (on 1 July 1798) Alexandria without incident. As soon as the land troops were disembarked, he was reputedly ordered by Bonaparte to either anchor in the port of Alexandria or return quickly to France, Malta or Corfu. Citing concern that the Alexandria harbor was too shallow and difficult to enter for his large warships, and unwilling to leave Egypt until the situation of the French army was secured, he instead opted to anchor in Aboukir Bay to await the British.

Knowing the poor quality of his ships and crews, he preferred to guard a defensive position than take the offensive and refused to weigh anchor when Horatio Nelson attacked his fleet on the evening of 1 August 1798. In the ensuing Battle of the Nile, the Orient fought HMS Bellerophon, causing her major damage but receiving little support, especially from the rearguard under Denis Decrès and Villeneuve. Already wounded twice during the day, and almost cut in half by a cannon shot, Brueys died at his command post around 9 PM. His ship exploded one hour later after a fire on board reached the gunpowder stores. The resulting blast was seen from miles away and killed approximately 800 of the ship's crew.

Brueys was criticised in France for remaining at anchor right up until the moment of the attack, but Bonaparte replied to such criticism by saying "If, in this disastrous event, he made mistakes, he expiated them by his glorious end". His name appears on the southern pillar (23rd column) of the Arc de triomphe in Paris.

Rob.

Attachment 28378



Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume.


Ganteaume was born in La Ciotat, into a family of merchant sailors. He started sailing at the age of 14 on a merchantman commanded by his father, and by the time he reached the age of 22, Ganteaume had accomplished five campaigns in the Middle East and two in the Caribbean. He served on the Mississippi Company Indiaman Fier Rodrigue.

Service in the American War of Independence.

In 1778, with the intervention of France in the American Revolutionary War, Ganteaume enlisted in the French Royal Navy as an auxiliary officer, while Fier Rodrigue was purchased into naval service as a 54-gun ship of the line. Fier Rodrigue escorted a convoy to America, and attached to a division under Lamotte-Picquet in the fleet of Admiral d'Estaing.

In the fleet of Admiral d'Estaing, Ganteaume took part in the Capture of Grenada and in the Siege of Savannah. In 1781, he was promoted to auxiliary Frigate Lieutenant, and appointed to command the fluyt Marlborough in a convoy bound for the Indies and escorted by Suffren. From 1781 to 1785, Ganteaume served on the frigate Surveillante. He was promoted to Fireship Captain in 1784, and sub-Lieutenant in 1786.

Upon his return at the peace, Ganteaume was granted permission to return to the service of the Mississippi Company. He successively commanded the Indiamen Maréchal de Ségur, bound for Chian, and Prince de Condé and Constitution, bound for the Indies. In 1793, he was captured on an Indiaman and imprisoned by the British; released, he returned to the Navy, with the rank of Lieutenant. He served on the 74-gun Jupiter for a campaign in the Atlantic Ocean.


Service on Trente-et-un Mai.


Ganteaume was promoted to Captain in 1794, and was appointed to command the 74-gun Trente-et-un Mai. During the Atlantic campaign of May 1794, he attempted to attach to the French fleet under Villaret-Joyeuse, but only joined late in the Glorious First of June; he took part in the last throes of the battle, where he was thrice wounded.

In the winter, Geanteaume led Trente-et-un Mai in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, and notably rescued the crew of the stricken Scipion.
In 1795, Trente-et-un Mai sailed to the Mediterranean, and cruised off Catalonia; she sustained a two-hour battle against a Spanish ship of the line. On 18 April 1795, Trente-et-un Mai was renamed Républicain. She attached to the fleet under Vice-Admiral Martin, and took part in the Battle of Hyères Islands.

In late 1795, Ganteaume was appointed to command a division, comprising one ship of the line, four frigates and four corvettes. He sailed to Smyrna, where he lifted the blockade on Villeneuve's squadron, and captured the frigate HMS Nemesis.
In 1796, returned to the Ocean, Ganteaume successful ran the British blockade of Brest and sailed a convoy carrying munitions into the harbour.


Service in Egypt.

Appointed Chief of staff to Rear-Admiral and Navy Minister Bruix, Ganteaume took part in the French campaign in Egypt and Syria on the flagship Orient. He took part in the Battle of the Nile, where he was wounded, and narrowly escaped death when he left the burning Orient on a boat. Orient exploded soon after.

Promoted to Rear-Admiral upon request of General Bonaparte, Ganteaume led the flotilla of small ships of the Nile River, taking part in the Siege of Jaffa, the Siege of Acre and the Battle of Abukir.

On 22 August 1799, Ganteaume departed Alexandria with the frigates Muiron and Carrère, the aviso Revanche and a tartane, ferrying General Bonaparte back to France. Bonaparte ordered the ships to sail close to the shore of Africa to elude British squadrons, and landed in Corsica, to finally arrive at Fréjus on 2 October. After arriving in France, Bonaparte, as First Consul, appointed Ganteaume to the Council of State, in which he presided the section of the Navy.


Ganteaume's expeditions of 1801

In 1801, Ganteaume was appointed to command a seven-ship division in Brest, tasked with ferrying supplies and 5000 soldiers to the French Army of Egypt. After successfully crossing British-held Gibraltar, Ganteaume cruised in the Mediterranean for six months to elude the British fleet.

Ganteaume returned to Toulon to resupply and repair his ships. In the following months, he attempted three sorties, once arriving off Alexandria without landing: when he finally arrived near Egypt, actually Derna, Libya, in June 1800, the troops did not land, due to the hostility of the locals and the British naval threat.

Ganteaume eventually renounced and defiantly returned to Toulon, after capturing Elba and four British ships, including the 38-gun frigate HMS Success, and in the Action of 24 June 1801, the 74-gun HMS Swiftsure, but failing his mission to supply the French armies in the Middle East.

Service in Saint-Domingue and the Trafalgar Campaign.

After the Treaty of Lunéville ended the War of the Second Coalition in early 1801, Ganteaume was tasked with supporting the French forces involved in the Saint-Domingue expedition. In 1802, Ganteaume was appointed Maritime Prefect for Toulon.

At the outbreak of the War of the Third Coalition the year after, and with the Coronation of Napoleon I and the advent of the First French Empire on 2 December 1804, Ganteaume was promoted to Vice-Admiral, made a Count of the Empire, and appointed to command the fleet in Brest.

In 1805, after the death of Vice-Admiral Latouche-Tréville and the outbreak of the Trafalgar Campaign, Napoléon briefly considered entrusting Ganteaume with an expedition to land an 18 000-man army in Ireland, in a move similar to what had been attempted in 1796 with the ill-fated Expédition d'Irlande; eventually, Ganteaume was ordered to the Caribbean to land reinforcements there and return to Europe with the fleets under Rear-Admiral Missiessy and Vice-Admiral Villeneuve.
Adverse weather prevented Ganteaume from leaving Brest, and he finally departed one month after Missiessy. In transit, Ganteaume bumped into the British Channel Fleet under Admiral Cornwallis and retreated to Brest, where he ended up hermetically blocked. Informed of the Battle of Cape Finisterre, Ganteaume was ordered to break into the Ocean by force to make his junction with Villeneuve; however, Villeneuve's port call to Cadiz thwarted this plan.


Later career.

In 1808, Ganteaume took command of the French squadrons of Toulon and Rochefort, joined together at Toulon, with the aim to ferry supplies to Corfu, then blockaded by the Royal Navy. He departed Toulon in early February, successfully escorted his convoy into Corfu harbour, and returned to Toulon in April. In February on the following year, he authorised the frigates Pénélope and Pauline to chase HMS Proserpine, yielding the Action of 27 February 1809 in which Proserpine was captured and brought to Toulon.

In June 1808, Ganteaume was appointed General Inspector of the Coasts of the Ocean. From 1809 to 1810, Ganteaume was appointed to command the fleet in Toulon, but attacks to gout kept him increasingly away from the sea. In 1810, he joined the Council of the Admiralty. On 1 August 1811, Napoléon appointed Ganteaume to command the battalion of the Marins de la Garde in the Imperial Guard as a Colonel. In 1813, he defended Toulon.

In 1814, at the first Bourbon Restoration, Ganteaume supported the Acte de déchéance de l'Empereur, and in consequence did not return to command during the Hundred Days; immediately after the Battle of Waterloo, he ordered the Royalist white flag hoisted in Toulon; this act got him almost killed.

Restored to power again, Louis XVIII made Ganteaume a Peer of France in recognition for his support. In December 1815, he was promoted to Commander in the Order of Saint Louis,^] and appointed General Inspector of the Classes. In his capacity of Peer of France, Ganteaume took part in the trial of Marshal Ney, and voted for his execution.

Ganteaume died at his property of Pauline, near Aubagne, on 28 September 1818.


Rob.

Attachment 28379


Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca.


Casabianca attended the military school in June 1775 and joined the Naval Guards in July 1778. He was made an ensign (enseigne de vaisseau) in November 1781 and served on the Terrible and the Zélé in the fleet of Admiral De Grasse, taking part in the fights of Fort-Royal (29 April 1781), Chesapeake (5 September) and St. Kitts (January 1782). He was promoted to lieutenant (lieutenant de vaisseau) in March 1786.

In September 1792, he was elected deputy for Corsica at the Convention, and promoted to captain (capitaine de vaisseau) in January 1793. He was a Jacobin, but rather moderate, notably voting in favour of keeping Louis XVI in prison. During the Directory period, he worked at re-organising the Navy, and joined back in 1798. Made a division commander, he served in the expedition to Egypt as flag captain to Admiral Brueys.

In 1798, Casabianca captained the Orient, the flagship of the French fleet which carried Napoleon Bonaparte and his army to Egypt. Days after their arrival to Egypt, the French ships were attacked by the British and the Battle of Aboukir Bay broke out. During the fight, Orient was set ablaze by English cannon fire and exploded at around 11 o'clock at night, killing many of those aboard. The number of survivors is uncertain. The blast was so great it was felt 15 miles away in Alexandria. His 12-year-old son, Giocante, was also killed.

Rob.

Attachment 28380

Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars.


Born (31 August 1760, in Boumais – 2 August 1798, in Abukir; often written Dupetit-Thouars) was a French naval officer, and a hero of the Battle of Aboukir, where he died.

He was born on August 31, 1760, in the castle of Boumais, near Saumur. He studied at the Collège Royal de La Flèche, and entered the French Navy in 1778. He participated that same year in the Battle of Ouessant. In 1790, he participated in the conquest of Saint-Louis du Sénégal.

He then served in the Antilles, under Guichen against Rodney on the 80-gun Couronne. He was at the Battle of the Saintes.

He was promoted to Lieutenant (Lieutenant de Vaisseau) in 1792. He left that year on board the 12-gun brig Diligent, in search of Jean-François de La Pérouse. In Brazil, he was imprisoned by the Portuguese, but released in 1793. After that he lived for three years in the United States.

Back in France, he was reintegrated (he had become destitute as an aristocrat), and was promoted to Captain, commander of the Tonnant at the Battle of the Nile, where he died on August 2, 1798. During the battle, he forced HMS Majestic to break off combat, with 50 killed, including Captain Westcott, and 143 wounded.
After having lost both legs and an arm, he continued to command from a bucket filled with wheat, until he died.

His last order was allegedly to nail the flag of the Tonnant to her mizzen-mast and never to surrender the ship.
The Tonnant was eventually captured by the British.

Rob.

Attachment 28381


Jean-Pierre Étienne.


Etienne started his career in the French Royal Navy in 1766 as a cabin boy, serving on a number of ships as an apprentice, a sailor from 1770, a helmsman from 1773, an aid-pilot from 1775, a second pilot from 1776, and a first pilot from 1778.
In 1781, Etienne served on the Illustre, in Suffren's squadron. He took part in the Battle of Trincomalee, and sustained leg injuries at the Battle of Cuddalore.

In 1785, Etienne obtain a commission to captain a merchantman, and engaged in slave trade between Angola and Santo Domingo.

In May 1793, Etienne resumed his naval career with the rank of ensign. He was promoted to lieutenant in December, and to captain in January 1794. He was then appointed to the staff of Admiral Martin on Heureux. Transferred to Sans-Culotte in April, he took part in the battles of Cape Noli and Hyères Islands.

In 1796, he was awarded command of the Guillaume Tell. The next year, he was appointed as captain of Heureux. He took part in the Battle of the Nile, where Heureux had to cut her anchor to avoid the burning wreckage of Orient. Drifting, Heureux ran ashore and was captured. Etienne, severely wounded by a round shot, was taken prisoner.
Released in August 1798, Etienne served in Alexandria before returning to France in 1799. Etienne assumed a variety of commands as gunboats flotilla commander and harbour captain in Corsica and later in Holland.

Rob.

Attachment 28383

Lieutenant Cambon.


Took command of the 74-gun Séduisant-class ship of the line Mercure when her Captain Jean-Baptiste Perrée was dispatched ashore duringthe landing of the troops.

She took part in the Battle of the Nile under Captain Cambon. She fought against HMS Majestic and was captured by HMS Alexander. Damaged beyond repair and aground, she was burnt.

Nothing further ascertainable at present.

Rob.

Attachment 28385


Pierre-Charles Villeneuve.


Villeneuve was born in 1763 at Valensole, Basses Alpes, and joined the French Navy in 1778. He took part in Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, serving as an ensign on Marseillais, in de Grasse's fleet.

Despite his aristocratic ancestry, he sympathised with the French Revolution, dropping the nobiliary particle from his name, and was able to continue his service in the Navy when other aristocratic officers were purged. He served during several battles, and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1796 as a result of this.

At the Battle of the Nile in 1798 he was in command of the rear division. His ship, Guillaume Tell, was one of only two French ships of the line to escape the defeat. He was captured soon afterwards when the British took the island of Malta, but he was soon released. He was criticised for not engaging the British at the Nile, but Napoleon considered him a "lucky man" and his career was not affected.

In 1804, Napoleon ordered Villeneuve, now a Vice Admiral stationed at Toulon, to escape from the British blockade, overcome the British fleet in the English Channel, and allow the planned invasion of Britain to take place. To draw off the British defences, Villeneuve was to sail to the West Indies, where it was planned that he would combine with the Spanish fleet and the French fleet from Brest and attack British possessions in the Caribbean, before returning across the Atlantic to destroy the British Channel squadrons and escort the Armée d'Angleterre from their camp at Boulogne to victory in England.

Battle of Trafalgar.


After an abortive expedition in January, Villeneuve finally left Toulon on 29 March 1805 with eleven ships of the line. He evaded Nelson's blockade, passed the Strait of Gibraltar on 8 April and crossed the Atlantic with Nelson's fleet in pursuit, but about a month behind owing to unfavourable winds. In the West Indies Villeneuve waited for a month at Martinique, but Admiral Ganteaume's Brest fleet did not appear. Eventually Villeneuve was pressured by French army officers into beginning the planned attack on the British, but he succeeded only in recapturing the island fort of Diamond Rock off Martinique. On 7 June he learned that Nelson had reached Antigua. On 8 June he and his fleet were able to intercept a homeward-bound convoy of 15 British merchant vessels escorted by the frigate HMS Barbadoes and the sloop or schooner HMS Netley. The two British warships managed to escape, but Villeneuve's fleet captured the entire convoy, valued at some five million pounds. Villeneuve then sent the prizes into Guadeloupe under the escort of the frigate Sirène. On 11 June Villeneuve set out for Europe with Nelson again in pursuit.

On 22 July Villeneuve, now with twenty ships of the line and seven frigates, passed Cape Finisterre on the northwest coast of Spain and entered the Bay of Biscay. Here he met a British fleet of fifteen ships of the line commanded by Vice Admiral Sir Robert Calder. In the ensuing Battle of Cape Finisterre, a confused action in bad visibility, the British, though outnumbered, were able to cut off and capture two Spanish ships.

For two days Villeneuve shadowed the retreating British, but did not seek a battle. Instead he sailed to A Coruña, arriving on 1 August. Here he received orders from Napoleon to sail to Brest and Boulogne as planned. Instead, perhaps believing a false report of a superior British fleet in the Bay of Biscay, and against the Spanish commanders' objections, he sailed away back to Cádiz, rendering Napoleon's planned invasion of Britain wholly impossible.

The battle.

At Cádiz the combined French and Spanish fleets were kept under blockade by Nelson. In September, Villeneuve was ordered to sail for Naples and attack British shipping in the Mediterranean, but he was initially unwilling to move and continued in blatant disregard of Superior Admiralty Orders.

However, in mid-October he learned that Napoleon was about to replace him as commanding officer with François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros and order him to Paris to account for his actions. (Napoleon had written to the Minister of Marine, "Villeneuve does not possess the strength of character to command a frigate. He lacks determination and has no moral courage.") Before his replacement could arrive, Villeneuve gave the order to sail on 18 October.

Inexperienced crews and the difficulties of getting out of Cádiz meant that it took two days to get all 34 ships out of port and in some kind of order. On 21 October 1805 Villeneuve learned of the size of the British fleet, and turned back to Cádiz, but the combined fleets were intercepted by Nelson off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson, though outnumbered, won the Battle of Trafalgar, and Villeneuve's flagship Bucentaure was captured along with many other French and Spanish ships.

Aftermath and death.

The British sent Villeneuve to England but released him on parole; during this time he lived in Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire. He stayed at the Crown Inn public house and his men, who numbered 200, stayed in local houses. He was allowed to attend the funeral of Lord Nelson whilst at Bishop's Waltham. Freed in late 1805, he returned to France, where he attempted to go back into military service but his requests were not answered. On 22 April 1806, he was found dead at the Hôtel de la Patrie in Rennes with six stab wounds in the left lung and one in the heart: a verdict of suicide was recorded. The nature of his death ensured that this verdict was much mocked in the British press of the time and suspicions abounded that Napoleon had secretly ordered Villeneuve's murder.

Rob.

Attachment 28403


Captain Saulnier.

All I have found for this Officer is a report on The French occupation of Malta, and the failure of re supply of the garrison.

In an effort to resupply the garrison, the French sent a convoy from Toulon in February 1800, but the ships were intercepted off Malta by a squadron under Nelson on 17 February and in the ensuing battle the flagship Généreux was captured and Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée was killed.

Without Perrée's supplies, the garrison faced continued food shortages, and by March Vaubois and Villeneuve decided to send an urgent request for support to France. For this operation they chose the 80-gun Guillaume Tell under Captain Saulnier, partly because the condition and size of the ship enabled Vaubois to embark over 900 men aboard, many of whom were sick or wounded. Contre-Admiral Denis Decrès had command of the ship and Vaubois and Villeneuve confirmed the date of departure for 30 March. While the French prepared this expedition, the British maintained their blockade, although without their commander. Nelson, in defiance of specific orders from his commanding officer Lord Keith, had retired to Palermo on Sicily to be with Emma, Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British ambassador Sir William Hamilton with whom Nelson was conducting an adulterous affair. In his absence, command had passed to Captain Sir Thomas Troubridge on HMS Culloden and then to Captain Manley Dixon on HMS Lion.

Battle.

At 23:00 on 30 March, with a strong wind from the south, Guillaume Tell sailed from Valletta, Decrés hoping to use the cover of darkness to escape the British blockade. Dixon had deployed his ships around the island, with Valletta watched by the frigate HMS Penelope under Captain Henry Blackwood. At 23:55, Blackwood's lookouts spotted Guillaume Tell and the captain gave chase, ordering the brig HMS Minorca under Commander George Miller to convey the message to Dixon, whose ships were just visible in the distance. Blackwood also attempted to signal his discovery to his commanding officer as Penelope gave chase.

Blackwood rapidly gained on the ship of the line and by 00:30 the frigate was within range, pulling up under the stern of Guillaume Tell and beginning a steady fire to which Decrés could only respond with his stern-chasers, light cannon situated in the stern of the ship. Decrés recognized that if he stopped to engage Penelope then the rest of Berry's squadron, visible on the horizon to the south, would soon overwhelm him. He therefore continued sailing to the northeast, hoping his heavy ship of the line could outrun the light and speedy frigate. However, Penelope was too fast, and Blackwood handled his ship with considerable skill, managing to pass Decrés' stern repeatedly and pour several raking broadsides into the French ship.

Blackwood's attack was so successful that by dawn on 31 March Guillaume Tell had lost its main and mizen topmasts and its main yard, considerably reducing the speed at which Decrés could travel. The French ship had also suffered heavy casualties in the exchange, but Penelope had lost only one man killed and three wounded, and was almost undamaged. British reinforcements were now arriving from the south: the 64-gun HMS Lion under Captain Dixon had received Minorca's warning at 01:00 and immediately sailed in pursuit, sending the brig on to Captain Sir Edward Berry in HMS Foudroyant, who lay some distance to leeward. By 05:00, Dixon was close enough to engage, passing between Penelope and Guillaume Tell and firing a triple-shotted broadside into the port side of the French ship. Shooting ahead of the now sluggish Guillaume Tell, Lion crossed its opponent's bows and shot away the jib boom, allowing Dixon to maintain a position across the bow, raking the French ship from one end while Penelope did the same to the other. During these manoeuvres, Dixon's ship had briefly become entangled with Guillaume Tell's rigging, and two determined efforts to board the British ship had been driven off as the ships were disentangled.

For half an hour, Lion continued to fire into the larger Guillaume Tell, but Dixon was unable to keep his ship completely out of range of the French broadsides and by 05:30 the subsequent damage showed an effect, Lion dropping back and falling behind the French vessel, although remaining within range alongside Penelope. At 06:00, Guillaume Tell came under attack for the third time, when Berry himself caught up with the battling ships in Foudroyant and pulled along the starboard broadside of the French ship of the line. Berry hailed Decrés to demand his surrender, and accompanied the demand with a triple-shotted broadside, to which Decrés responded with fire from his own guns. Foudroyant was flying a full set of sails and therefore suffered severe damage to its rigging in the opening exchange, the additional speed provided by this rig forcing Foudroyant to move ahead of the French vessel. After working back alongside Guillaume Tell, Berry recommenced fire that rapidly tore away much of the remaining French rigging, allowing Lion and Penelope to return to the battle while Foudroyant dropped back to make urgent repairs.

By 06:30 the badly outnumbered French ship had lost both its main and mizen masts, Foudroyant returning to the battle in time to collapse the foremast by 08:00. At 08:20, with no means of making sail and with wreckage obscuring most of his gun decks, Decrés surrendered to spare any further, fruitless, loss of life. His ship was in danger: the lack of masts and strong winds caused it to roll so severely that the lower deck gun ports had to be closed to prevent the ship from foundering. Casualties on the French ship numbered more than 200, from a crew of over 900, with both Decrés and Saulnier badly wounded.

Rob.

Attachment 28404


Louis-Jean-Nicolas Lejoille

Born to a family of sailors, Lejoille started sailing at seven as a boy on the merchantman commanded by his father. He then studied at Abbeville and Amiens before embarking as a helmsman on the fluyt Tamponne in 1776. In 1780, he joined the crew of the Degranbourg, a merchantman chartered by the Crown in Suffren's fleet, on which he took part in the Battle of Porto Praya. At the arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, Lejoille took command of Degranbourg while his father returned to France.

In 1783, Lejoille returned to the merchant navy. On 6 May 1793, he was appointed Lieutenant and given command of the 14-gun corvette Céleste, which he ferried to Toulon. On 14, an incident occurred between Céleste and the Danish brig Franc-Navire, under Captain Elepsem, that triggered an investigation by the National Convention. Hennequin states that while crossing, Céleste captured the British war-brig Shout, of 18 guns.

Arrived in Toulon, Lejoille was appointed to the Tonnant as first officer. He distinguished himself during the Action of 8 June 1794 where the frigate Alceste was captured, and transferred on Alceste as her new captain. In 1795, he took part in the squadron under Admiral Martin, and was the first ship to overhaul and engage the 74-gun HMS Berwick at the Action of 8 March 1795 where she was captured.^] A shot from Alceste having decapitated Berwick 's captain Adam Littlejohn, Lejoille was credited with much of the merit of the capture, and granted command of the prize. However, severely wounded at the right arm and leg, he was transferred to the flagship and convalesced in Genoa for eight months.

Promoted to Chef de Division during his convalescence, Lejoille was first sent to Venice to oversee commissionings of the ships captured in the harbour, and then transferred to Corfu to take command of the 74-gun Généreux, in Brueys' squadron. He took part in the Battle of the Nile at the rear of the French line, duelling with HMS Bellerophon. He later claimed in letters that he had forced Bellerophon to strike her colours, and had only failed to capture her because British reinforcements had arrived before his prize crew could take possession.

After the Battle of the Nile, Généreux sailed to Corfu with Guillaume Tell and the frigate Diane and Justice,^[6] which he lost en route. Near Crete, Généreux met with HMS Leander, which she captured in the Action of 18 August 1798. The British officers were released on parole.

British sources later accused the French crew and Lejoille himself of plunder and various war crimes; the French captain who ferried the paroled officers of Leander to Trieste attacked the charges, and in his Batailles navales de la France, Troude accuses William James of further "augmenting" the accusations originally published in the Gazette de Vienne. Léon Guérin states that the accusations stem entirely from Life of Nelson and that it furthermore fabricated a report by Lejoille.

During the Siege of Corfu, Lejoille led Généreux to assist General Chabot and to harass the Russian blockade. As the situation of Corfu became more critical, Lejoille decided to organise a relief operation: he sailed to Ancona with Généreux and the brig Rivoli, where he loaded a 1000-man force, along with ammunition and food. One month later, he sailed back to Corfu.

Awaiting a reconnaissance of Corfu, Lejoille decided to moor his ships in Brindisi harbour. In order to do so, he intended to sail past the fort defending the entrance channel without firing and attack it from behind. However, a navigation error grounded Généreux under the fort, forcing Lejoille to accept a gunnery duel. Lejoille was killed in the subsequent exchange of fire.

Captain Touffet replaced Lejoille, and the fort and city of Brindisi surrendered after a two-hour battle. Généreux was refloated and awaited news from Corfu, which had in fact fallen on 3 March 1799; when informed, she put to sail and returned to Ancona. A xebec captured near Livorno was named Lejoille in his honour in March 1799.

Rob.

Attachment 28405


Denis Decrès.


Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne on 18 June 1761 and joined the Navy at the age of 18, in the squadron of Admiral De Grasse. He took part in the Battle of the Saintes in 1782, where he was promoted to enseigne de vaisseau, and was in India when the French Revolution broke out.
Revolution era.

In October 1793, Decrès was sent as a messenger to request assistance for the Isle de France (now Mauritius). He was arrested on his arrival in Lorient, on 10 April 1794, for being a member of the nobility. He was restored to his rank of capitaine de vaisseau in June 1795, and promoted to command of the 80-gun ship Formidable in October 1795. While in command of her, he took part, as a division commander, in the attempt to invade Ireland in 1796.

Promoted to contre-amiral in April 1798, he was in command of a light squadron during the campaign in Egypt, covering the landing on Malta. Napoleon appointed him to command the frigate squadron accompanying Brueys's fleet in the expedition to Egypt, and took part in the Battle of the Nile on the 40-gun frigate Diane and managed to escape to Malta, where he hoisted his flag aboard the 80-gun ship Guillaume Tell.

During the period of 1799 - 1800, Decrès had under his command a rear admiral, Jacques Bedout, whom he saw fit to relieve of his command. Bedout's subsequent resignation was refused and in 1802, Napoleon gave Bedout a five-ship squadron. The flagship was the Argonaute.

Consulate and First Empire,


Attacked by three British ships as he was trying to break the blockade of Malta on 30 March 1800, with 200 sick and 1000 soldiers aboard, he surrendered early next day, after a defence of nearly eight hours, after disabling two of his opponents, and with half of his crew killed or wounded. He was exchanged in August 1800, and returned to France, where the First Consul personally gave him an honour sabre - a grant of the "Arms of Honour" which Napoleon had introduced as a decoration before instituting the Légion d'honneur - and appointed him as maritime prefect at Lorient.

From 3 October 1801 to the end of the Empire on 1 April 1814, he served as Napoleon's Minister of the Navy. During this period, he was again promoted - this time to vice-amiral - on 30 May 1804, and was made a duke in April 1813. Upon Napoleon's return from Elba to France, Decrès briefly resumed his post as Minister of the Navy again during the Hundred Days from 20 March to 22 June 1815, and from then until his successor was appointed on 7 July.

He died in a fire at his house in Paris on 7 December 1820, set by one of his servants who was trying to kill and rob him. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.


Rob.

Attachment 28406

Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil.


Born to the family of a surgeon, Soleil started sailing on a merchantman in 1783. In 1785, he served in the French Royal Navy on a fluyt, before returning to merchant shipping.


In August 1789, Soleil joined up as a volunteer aboard on the Brillant. He returned to commerce again in 1790.
On 1 April 1793, Soleil joined the Navy as a midshipman first class, serving on Brillant again. In February 1794, he was promoted to ensign, and served on the Généreux from March.


Soleil was promoted to lieutenant in December 1794, and to commander in March 1796, serving as second captain on Généreux. In July 1796, he was appointed on the Formidable.


In May 1798, Soleil received command of the frigate Diane. He took part in the Battle of the Nile, managing to escape to Malta. In August 1800, as the Siege of Malta approached its conclusion and Malta was about to fall to the British, he was ordered back to France. Diane was however intercepted by the British blockade and captured by HMS Success, HMS Northumberland and HMS Genereux.


Back to France, Soleil was court-martialled for the loss of his frigate, as systematic in such cases, and found innocent of the capture. He was then briefly appointed to the Union before taking command of the frigate Volontaire
.

Soleil was promoted to captain in September 1803 and appointed to the frigate Hermione. In May 1804, he took command of the 74-gun Lion in Allemand's expedition of 1805.


In September 1806, Soleil was given command of a 5-frigate and 2-corvette squadron in the Atlantic, with his flag on the Gloire. The squadron was bound for Martinique, with a 1600-man Army unit, along with ammunition and other military furniture. On 25 September 1806, four ships of the line under Sir Samuel Hood met and intercepted them, leading to the Action of 25 September 1806. Four of the frigates were captured, and Soleil was taken prisoner by Captain William Lukin of HMS Mars.


Soleil was exchanged in September 1807. He was given command of the 74-gun Pultusk, and in 1809, of the Anversois.


From 1814, Soleil served in Cherbourg harbour. He retired in January 1816.

Rob.

Attachment 28529
Etienne Dalbarde.

Born: 24 June 1744
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1757
Captain de vaisseau 3rd class: 19 November 1794.
Wounds received while in the service of France: 1795, 1798.
Died: 5 February 1819.

Rob.

Unfortunately I can find nothing at present on any of the following Captains.
Any help would be appreciated. I'm sure there must be some reference in French records.

Captain Trulet Junior. Timoleon 74.

Captain Villeneuve Junior. Justice 44.

Captain Estandlet. Artemise 36.

Captain Martin. Serieuse 36.


Rob.

Just updated the OrBat thread with latest sculpt info.
http://sailsofglory.org/showthread.p...le-of-the-Nile

Remaining sculpts needed:
UK Ganges 74
UK Carnatic 74
FR Magnifique 74
FR Souverain 74
FR Citoyen 74
FR Centaure 74 (similar to contemporary Temeraire? no drawing at Greenwich found yet)
FR one-off frigate Diane

Thanks for the info DB.
Any hints on how we could cut and shunt anything to fit the bill?
Rob.

'Fraid not, my friend... in the Shortcutting Trafalgar discussion we agreed that Carnatic needs a whole new sculpt, Ganges I don't think I've processed the draught for and Le Frogs have no draughts available. Diane *may* be similar to SGN105, but calling it "low confidence" without my references at hand is being rather charitable.

Just checked ThreeDecks, and Diane was taken as HMS Niobe... and I found a draught.

Above, Diane; below, SGN105 Sibylle
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/mediaLi...9474/large.jpg
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/mediaLi...9580/large.jpg

Characteristic	Diane->Niobe	Hebe (Sybille)
Length (m)	47.24	46.12
Beam (m)	12.20	12.20
UD (as recommissioned)	28x18#	28x18#
SD (as recommissioned)	12x32#crde, 4x9#	14x32#crde, 6x9#

It may be possible that Penetreau drew up Diane as a variation on the slightly-stretched Virginie, Hortense or Pallas designs.

Ganges above, SGN104 Bellona below
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/mediaLi...1257/large.jpg
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/mediaLi...4802/large.jpg

Characteristic	Ganges	Bellona
Length (m)	51.51	51.21
Beam (m)	14.43	14.06
LD	28x32#	28x32#
UD	28x18#	28x18#
QD/FC	Q 14x9# / F 4x9#	Q 14x9# / F 4x9#

Statistically these two 74's are a match, and I've considered competitor Alfred by Williams a reasonable "stretch," so the only remaining concern here is "sufficient similarity of shape."

No draught on Centaure, but at least I can do a characteristics table...

Characteristic	Centaure	SGN102 Temeraire
Length (m)	58.14	55.87
Beam (m)	unk	14.33
LD	28x36#	28x36#
UD	28x18#	28x18#

Same armament so I'd bet the log would be similar, but given all the fits everybody's been having about mini lengths of late reusing the model may be a bridge too far--Centaure is a couple meters bigger than even Cassard, the biggest known Temeraire variant.

Again deeply indebted to you DB.
We may well have to risk it for a biscuit on this one then.
Rob.

I think Diane will be fine as an SGN105, Ganges ditto an SGN104--to my eye the elevations look very similar, almost like Hunt was told "Williams can't build a weatherly or stable SOL if it'd save his soul, don't stray too far from Slade's proven designs."

If it helps to note, Cassard/Veteran were 56.19m, a negligible stretch, Centaure would be 1.95m beyond them--less than 2.5mm may be OK, but I'd still rather see a drawing I can compare to Temeraire and Coulomb's older 74's to see which is the better fit.