Corentin de Leissegues
Corentin-Urbain de Leissegues (born August 29, 1758 in Hanvec , Département Finistère , † March 26, 1832 in Paris ) was a French naval officer during the coalition wars after the French Revolution .
Naval career
In 1796 Leissegues was promoted to Rear Admiral, after deployments in the Caribbean , on the English Channel and in Antwerp , he was given command in Brest in 1803 .
Santo Domingo
In 1805 he was commissioned to reinforce the French troops in Santo Domingo . Together with a squadron of Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, he broke through the British blockade off Brest with his five ships of the line on December 13, 1805. Three of Leissegue's ships reached Santo Domingo on January 20, 1806, the other two on January 29. The British Vice Admiral John Thomas Duckworth had broken off the blockade of Cádiz on November 26, 1805 and had reached the Leeward Islands in pursuit of another French squadron, where he merged with ships under Rear Admiral Alexander FI Cochrane. British ships discovered Leissegues and notified Duckworth. Before the ships damaged during the Atlantic crossing could be completely overtaken by Leissegues, they were attacked on February 6, 1806 off Santo Domingo by seven British ships of the line of the Royal Navy under Duckworth. After a two-hour sea battle, Leissegues was defeated. Three of his ships were captured by the British. Two more were set on fire by the British - including his flagship L'Impérial (with 130 cannons the most powerful of the ships involved), but the crews were able to save themselves on land. The British casualties were given as 74 dead and 264 wounded, the French about 1,500 casualties.
Mediterranean Sea
Leissegues returned to France in June 1808 and was transferred to Venice in 1809 . In 1811 he was in command of the fleets of France, Italy and Naples in the Ionian Sea . He stayed on the French-occupied island of Corfu , the northernmost of the Ionian Islands , until in 1814 he was ordered to hand over the island to the victorious Allies.
After the war he was promoted to Vice Admiral on July 8, 1816 and transferred to the reserve in October 1817.
Web links
- Marine Impériale (French)
- Naval Battle of Santo Domingo (German)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leissegues, Corentin de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leissegues, Corentin-Urbain de (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French admiral |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 29, 1758 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hanvec , Finistère department |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 26, 1832 |
| Place of death | Paris |