Jean-Baptiste Perrée

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Jean-Baptiste Perrée

Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Perrée called L'Entrépide (born December 19, 1761 in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme , † February 18, 1800 ) was a French rear admiral during a sea battle off Malta .

Live and act

Perrée came from a family of naval officers; his father was the captain of the "Glorieuse" and his brother Pierre-François was also a captain in the Napoleonic era .

In 1773 Perrée came as a cabin boy on the merchant ship "Glorieuse", which his father commanded. Perrée served in the French merchant navy until 1793 . He was trained as a pilot and appointed captain in 1785 . Perrée soon became a supporter of Napoleon and signed up for the navy at the beginning of the first coalition war.

In early May 1794 Perrée was promoted to lieutenant and in mid-September of the same year to captain . First he was involved with a smaller association in the trade war, mainly against Great Britain. Perrée later sailed under Nicolas Lejoille (1759–1799) and Armand Leduc (1764–1832) in the Mediterranean . On October 10, 1794, this association ran again in Toulon .

On October 15 of the same year, Perrée switched to the "Minerve" and brought diplomats to Tunis and back to France under the command of Louis-Gabriel Deniéport (1765-1805) as escort .

After further promotions, Perrée was commanded by a small association and used it to fight the British on the west coast of Africa and the Cape Verde Islands . Between April 26 and November 14 of the following year, Perrée was assigned to bring diplomats to Constantinople again.

When Napoleon planned his campaign against Egypt in 1798 , Perrée switched to the staff of Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers . After the battle of Chebreiss (July 13, 1798), in which he was wounded, Napoleon promoted him to rear admiral and awarded him a saber of honor .

Perrée fought u. a. brave before Abukir (August 1-2, 1798) and Acre (March / May 1799). On May 14, 1799 he met British ships under the leadership of Admiral Sidney Smith , but escaped. On the way back to Toulon it was only planned to load drinking water and provisions on the island of Lampedusa . On June 18, they were surprised and attacked by a British unit under Admiral Keith . Perrée lost all of his ships and was taken prisoner with his officers.

It was soon exchanged and could go back to France. On November 25, 1799, Vice Admiral Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard opened a court martial against Perrée in Paris , but he was acquitted on all counts and unanimously rehabilitated by the jury.

On November 28, 1799, Perrée was given the leadership of a ship formation with which he was supposed to support the troops of the Grande Armée on Malta (→ History of Malta ) and to ensure their supplies. On January 26, 1800 Perrée ran out with his fleet; he himself was on the "Généreux". After a storm, his flagship had to be repaired on the Îles d'Hyères and then reached Valletta on February 17th. When British ships were sighted the next day, Perrée left the port with the "Généreux" and stood at around 4:30 am to fight.

Perrée was also injured by the first British broadside to hit Perrée's ship; a thrown splinter of wood flew into his left eye and made him temporarily blind. He stayed at his post and shouted to his crew: “Ce n'est rien, mes amis, continuons notre besogne!” (“It's nothing, my friends, let's do our duty!”) When the ship returned a short time later was hit, he lost his right leg. The "Généreux" fought back with all means, but had to surrender around 5:30 am.

Admiral Perrée remained unconscious and died that evening that same day. By order of Admiral Nelson , Perrée was buried in the Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia in Syracuse ( Sicily ).

Honors

literature

  • Hubert Granier: Histoire des marins français. Volume 1: 1799-1815. The premices de la republique . Marines Éditions, Nantes 1998, ISBN 2-909675-41-6 .
  • Joseph Hennequin: Biography maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes célébres français et étrangers. Volume 1. Regnault, Paris 1835.
  • Onésime-Joachim Troude: Batailles navales de la France . Challamel, Paris 1867/68 (3 volumes)
  • Digby Smith : The Greenhill Napoelonic Wars Data Book . Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .
  • Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux & amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Émpire. 1792-1814 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (reprint of Paris 1934 edition)
  • Auguste A. Thomazi: Les marins de Napoléon . Tallandier, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-235-00617-5 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ "the fearless" or "the daredevil".
  2. ↑ Étienne Taillemite, Dictionnaire des marins français , Tallandier, 2002, p.416
  3. ↑ dedicated to the Saint Lucy (around 283-3304).
personal data
SURNAME Perrée, Jean-Baptiste
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Perrée, Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel; L'Entrépide
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French rear admiral
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1761
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1800