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Charles-René de Gras-Préville

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Charles-René de Gras-Préville
Born1732
Tarascon, France
Died11 December 1793
Lyon, France
Service / branchFrench Navy
Rankbrigadier des armées navales
Battles / warsBattle of Martinique
Invasion of Tobago
Battle of the Chesapeake

Charles-René de Gras-Préville (Tarascon, 1732 — Lyon, 11 December 1793) was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence, earning membership in the Society of the Cincinnati. [1]

Biography

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Gras-Préville was born to an aristocratic family from Tarascon. He was uncle to René Louis Dominique de Gras-Préville.[1]

Gras-Préville joined the Navy as a Garde de l'Étendard in 1746.[1] He was promoted to Ensign in 1754,[1] and to Lieutenant on 15 January 1762.[2]

Gras-Préville was promoted to Captain on 4 April 1777,[2] in spite of a relative inexperience of command.[3] In July 1778, he commanded the frigate Engageante,[4][5] and on 6 July 1778 he captured the British 26-gun privateer frigate Rose,[6] which surrendered only when she was so damaged that she had to be scuttled.[7][1] D'Estaing tasked him to recruit volunteers in the Caribbean.[8] In February, Engageante departed Toulon for America, where she arrived in late March, but had to be quaranteened.[9] In April 1779, he escorted a convoy from Martinique to France,[10] and earned himself a 800-livre pension when he defended it against the British.[1]

On 12 June 1779, Gras-Préville was promoted to the command of the 80-gun ship Triomphant. He captained her at the Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780 as flag captain[11] of the White-and-Blue squadron (van) under Sade,[12] in the fleet under Guichen. He also took part in the actions of 15 May and 19 May 1780, before sailing Triomphant back to France.[1]

In 1781, he commanded the 74-gun Zélé in the White squadron (centre) of the fleet under De Grasse.[2] He took part in the Invasion of Tobago in May 1781 and in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781.[1]

In the night of 11 to 12 April 1782, Zélé collided with Ville de Paris, damaging Zélé which had to be taken in tow to repair at Martinique.[1]

Gras-Préville retired from the Navy on 1 October 1786.[2] During the French Revolution, he joined the Royalist army and took part in the Siege of Lyon on 8 August 1793. He was captured by the Republicans and shot on 11 December 1793.[1]

Sources and references

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Notes

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Contenson (1934), p. 186.
  2. ^ a b c d Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 635.
  3. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 428.
  4. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 154.
  5. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 630.
  6. ^ Naval History Division (2019), p. 270.
  7. ^ Troude (1867), p. 71.
  8. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 228.
  9. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 234.
  10. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 258.
  11. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 286.
  12. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 289.

References

  • Contenson, Ludovic (1934). La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778-1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard. OCLC 7842336.
  • Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. pp. 431–434.
  • Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé.
  • Naval History Division (2019). Naval Documents of the American Revolution: American Theater: June 1, 1778–August 15, 1778; European Theater: June 1, 1778–August 15, 1778 (PDF). Vol. 13. United States.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

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