Bon Chrétien de Briqueville

Bon Chrétien de Briqueville
Born2 October 1726
Bretteville, Manche, France
Died1 January 1803
Valognes, France
Service / branchFrench Navy
RankChef d'Escadre
Battles / warsWar of American Independence
AwardsOrder of Saint Louis

Bon Chrétien de Briqueville (Bretteville, Manche, 2 October 1726—Valognes, 1 January 1803) [Note 1] was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence, earning membership in the Society of the Cincinnati,[1] and was one of the prominent figures of the Académie de Marine.[2]

Biography

Bricqueville was born to the family of Madeleine de la Motte de Pont-Roger and of Guillaume Antoine de Briqueville,[2] and a distant relative of Vice-Admiral Henri de Briqueville de La Luzerne [fr].[3] He joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine in on 2 November 1743.[3]

He served on the 32-gun frigate Perle and took part in Duc d'Anville expedition to Acadia under La Rochefoucauld.[2] He served on the 64-gun Lys and was taken prisoner by the British after Action of 8 June 1755, and released in January 1756.[2]

Bricqueville was promoted to Lieutenant on 15 May 1756.[3] He then supervised construction of the 12-gun corvette Levrette and of the 22-gun frigate Guirlande.[2]

Bricqueville was awarded the Order of Saint Louis in 1763.[1] He was Director of the Académie de Marine for the year 1771.[4] He was promoted to Captain on 18 February 1772.[1] In 1773, he was one of the rapporteurs on Kerguelen's work after his expedition to Kerguelen Islands.[5]

From 1775, he commanded the 32-gun frigate Légère in the squadron under Guichen.[6][3]

In 1775, he commanded the 18-gun corvette Hirondelle in the Escadre d'évolutions.[7]

In 1778, he commanded the 64-gun Solitaire in the Third Division of the Blue squadron in the fleet of Orvilliers,[8] and took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778.[9]

From 1779, Bricqueville commanded the 74-gun Northumberland.[7] From 1781, she was attached to the White squadron in the fleet under De Grasse.[10]

He captained her at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781, in the subsequent Siege of Yorktown,[1] and in the invasion of Saint Kitts.[9] Briqueville was relieved of duty on medical grounds on 19 February 1782 and returned to France on the 32-gun frigate Aigrette.[9]

In 1782, Bricqueville was promoted to Brigadier des armées navales,[1] and on 20 August 1784 to Chef d'Escadre.[3]

Sources and references

Notes

  1. ^ Also written "Bricqueville".[1]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f Contenson (1934), p. 145.
  2. ^ a b c d e Académie de Marine (2011), p. 1.
  3. ^ a b c d e Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 605.
  4. ^ Doneaud Du Plan (1878), p. 39.
  5. ^ Doneaud Du Plan (1878), p. 51.
  6. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 173.
  7. ^ a b Archives nationales (2011), p. 200.
  8. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 618.
  9. ^ a b c Académie de Marine (2011), p. 2.
  10. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 648.

References

  • 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.
  • 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