François-Aymar de Monteil
François-Aymar de Monteil | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1725 Dauphiné, France |
| Died | 10 September 1787 Galluis, France |
| Service | French Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant général des armées navales |
| Battles / wars | |
François-Aymar de Monteil (Dauphiné, 1725 — Galluis, 10 September 1787)[1] was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence, earning membership in the Society of the Cincinnati.[2] He was also a member and director of the Académie de Marine.[3][4]
Biography
[edit]Monteil joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine in 1741.[5] He took part in the Battle of Cape Sicié on 22 February 1744, and was promoted to Ensign in 1746.[4] That year, he served on the 24-gun frigate Volage, on which he was in combat against the 70-gun HMS Stirling Castle on 15 April. Volage was captured, but Oriflamme retook her the day after. [1][6] In 1747, he served on the frigate Flore on convoy duty. Flore fought and captured a British ship during the mission.[1]
In 1755, Monteil was given command of the 12-gun corvette Anémone at Cayenne. He was promoted to Lieutenant the year after,[3] and served as Major for the squadron under admiral d'Aché, on Zodiaque, taking part in the Battle of Cuddalore on 29 April 1758 and in the Battle of Negapatam on 3 August.[1]
Monteil was given command of the frigate Sylphide, and took part in the Battle of Pondicherry on 10 September 1759.[7] On 30 mars 1759,[7] he was made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis for his conduct in the battle.[8]
In 1762, Monteil was promoted to Captain, and given command of the 64-gun Éveillé in Newfoundland.[3] On 13 April 1771, Monteil departed Port-Louis, commanding the ship Actionnaire bound for Isle de France (Mauritius).[9] In 1774, Monteil captained Zéphir.[10]
In 1776, he captained the 32-gun frigate Renommée, part of the Escadre d'évolution under Du Chaffault.[11][3][12] On 20 April 1776, she touched a reef while departing Brest, and Monteil was unable to immediately refloat Renommée. [13] Du Chaffault defended Monteil, writing to the Navy Minister that "only those who command ships run the risk of losing them".[11][Note 1]
In 1778, Monteil commanded the 74-gun Conquérant, part of the Third division in the Blue squadron of the fleet under Orvilliers.[14] He took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, where he was wounded.[3]
Monteil was promoted to Chef d'Escadre in 1779.[3] In 1780, he was given command of the squadron of the Caribbean, comprising five 74-gun ships, four 64-gun ships and 6 smaller units, with his flag on the 74-gun Palmier,[15] although he remained largely idle.[16] He took part in the Siege of Pensacola in May 1781.[3][17] He then returned at Cap-Français, arriving on 10 July.[18]
On 17 July 1781,[19] transferred to command of the Blue squadron (rear) in De Grasse's fleet, with his flag on the 80-gun Languedoc.[20] Before his squadron departed, an accidental fire destroyed the 74-gun Intrépide, which exploded.[18] Monteil took part in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781.[3]
On 25 November 1782, he became an Ordinary member of the Académie de Marine.[21] Monteil was promoted to Lieutenant général des armées navales on 8 February 1783.[3][22]
Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d Taillemite (1982), p. 239.
- ^ "France in the American Revolution" (PDF). www.societyofthecincinnati.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Contenson (1934), p. 649.
- ^ a b Vergé-Franceschi (2002), p. 995.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 649.
- ^ Roche (2005), p. 473, volume 1.
- ^ a b Rouxel (2020).
- ^ Doneaud Du Plan (1878), p. 43.
- ^ Doneaud Du Plan (1878), p. 55.
- ^ Doneaud Du Plan (1878), p. 10.
- ^ a b c Roche (2005), p. 377, volume 1.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 607.
- ^ a b Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 82.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 618.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 343.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 345.
- ^ Troude (1867), p. 103.
- ^ a b Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 396.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 347.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 407.
- ^ Doneaud Du Plan (1878), p. 14.
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 664.
References
[edit]- Contenson, Ludovic (1934). La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778-1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard. OCLC 7842336.
- Doneaud Du Plan, Alfred (1878). Histoire de l'Académie de marine (in French). Paris: Berger-Levrault.
- Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. pp. 431–434.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. pp. 372–373. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
- Taillemite, Étienne (1982). Dictionnaire des Marins français. Paris: Éditions maritimes et d'Outre-Mer. ISBN 9782707000316.
- Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé.
- Vergé-Franceschi, Michel (2002). Dictionnaire d'Histoire maritime. Paris: Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-08751-8.
External links
[edit]- Rouxel, Jean-Christophe (2020). "François Aymar baron de MONTEIL". Parcours de Vie dans la Royale. Retrieved 17 May 2020.