Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne on 18 June 1761 and joined the Navy at the age of 18, in the squadron of Admiral De Grasse. He took part in all the combats which this fleet had to sustain. While he was a member of the crew of the ''Richmond'', during the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782, he went in a boat under fire from British ships to attach a tow cable to the ''Glorieux'', which had been dismasted out of the danger in which it was placed. He was rewarded with a promotion to '' enseigne de vaisseau''. This event is commemorated on one side of his tomb. He was in India when the French Revolution broke out. Revolutionary era In October 1793, Decrès was sent as a messenger to request assistance for the Isle de France (now Mauritius). He was arrested on his arrival in Lorient, on 10 April 1794, for being a membe ...
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French Imperial Navy
The French Imperial Navy () was the name given to the French Navy during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, and subsequently during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. The first use of the title 'Imperial Navy' was in 1804, following the Coronation of Napoleon, a name derived from the old French Navy under The Republic. It notably saw action at the Battle of Trafalgar, and its defeat prevented Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom. After the First Bourbon Restoration in 1814, the navy was renamed to its old title of French Royal Navy, but after Napoleon's return in March 1815, briefly became the Imperial Navy once more. Following the Second Bourbon Restoration, the navy once again became royal, and the title wasn't used again. History Fleet of the Restoration In 1789 the Kingdom of France had the second strongest navy in the world (only second to the Royal British Navy). The navy had been rebuilt since the disasters of the Seven Years' War. During the American ...
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