Pierre Martin (Admiral)

Pierre Martin

Pierre Martin (born January 29, 1752 in Louisbourg , Acadia , † November 1, 1820 in Rochefort ) was a French admiral of Canadian origin.

Live and act

After the Fort William Henry massacre (→ Seven Years War ), the Martin family feared retaliation by the English and fled to France in 1759. She settled in Rochefort, where Pierre also spent his limited school days. After a short time he became a cabin boy on the Saint Esprit . He came u. a. to the Indian Ocean and he learned a lot on his travels, so that he - back in France - was able to work as a pilot from 1769 .

In 1775 Martin switched to the Terpsichore and lost an eye there in an accident during his service. The following year he married Magdelaine Schimellé in Rochefort and had a daughter with her: Marguerite (1776-1825).

Martin fought in the American Revolutionary War . Under Admiral Charles Henri d'Estaing he took part in the fighting at Ushant (July 27, 1778), Grenada (July 6, 1779) and Savannah (September / October 1779). He was wounded in the naval battle off Martinique (December 18, 1779).

After his recovery he served in the naval administration for some time. Only in 1781, after another promotion, he came to the Cérès and served in Admiral Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil's fleet. After the Peace of Paris Martin was stationed in the Caribbean for a few years ; between 1786 and 1791 he sailed the Senegal - France liner service. When Marshal Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix de Castries reformed the French Navy in 1788 , Martin was again commended and promoted.

In 1793 he led the Hermione in order to annoy smugglers and pirates. He also supported General Lazare Hoche with troop transports to put down the Vendée uprising. When the Hermione ran aground at Le Croisic in September of the same year due to a pilot's error, he was charged by the welfare committee, but ultimately acquitted. A few weeks later - perhaps as reparation - he was appointed rear admiral and took command of a new ship: Sans Culotte .

Martin fought bravely at Genoa (March 14, 1795) and the Hyères Islands (July 13, 1795). The following year he was appointed Vice-Admiral.

At the age of 68, Pierre Martin died on November 1, 1820 in Rochefort, where he found his final resting place on the Cimetière civil . His tombstone bears the inscription:

“Passer-by, ci-git un homme de bien

The protégea l'opprimé, secourut le pauvre.

Qui'il repose en paix à la source du bonheur

promise par sa vertu. "

Honors

• 1791 Chevalier des Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis
• 1804 Grand Officier of the Legion of Honor
• Comte de l'Émpire
• His name can be found on the western pillar (31 columns) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle ( Paris ).

literature

• Hubert Granier: Histoire des marins français . Volume 1-2. Marines Éditions, Nantes 2002.
• Joseph F. Hennequin: Biography maritime ou notice historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marin célébrés français et étrangers . Regnault, Paris 1835/37.
• Pierre B. Pouget: Précis historiques sur la vie et les campagnes du vice-admiral comte Martin . Bertrand, Paris 1852.
• 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 Thomazi: Les marins de Napoléon . Tallandier, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-235-00617-5 . (First edition: Paris 1950).