Louis Edouard Bouët-Willaumez (24 April 1808 – 9 September 1871) was a French

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Biography

He was born Louis Edouard Bouët, the son of a businessman (and mayor of Lambezeller) in Maison-Lafitte, near Paris. Having joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, in 1824 he embarked on a five-year voyage, first in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

(where he saw action at the Battle of Navarino in 1827) and then in the Indian Ocean. In 1829 he was promoted to ship's

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, and served in the

Morea expedition The Morea expedition (french: link=no, Expédition de Morée) is the name given to the land intervention of the French Army in the PeloponneseMorea is the name of the Peloponnese region in Greece, which was mainly used from the medieval per ...

. In 1830 he was part of the blockade and capture of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, followed by the blockade of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Made Lieutenant in 1834, he was attached to the naval post at La Plata, from where he was sent to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. In 1836 took command of the steamship ''L'Africain'', with which he traveled 200 miles inland, up to the Félou Falls (''les Chutes de Félou'') in upper Senegal. He was the only Westerner to return alive, the others having succumbed to disease. In 1838 Bouët took command of the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''La Malouine'', which charted a trade route along the African coast. Along the way he punished a native tribe that had plundered three trading ships, and signed a commercial treaty with the king of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

in 1839. In July 1840 he carried out a reconnaissance of the bay of

Mogador Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...

and established a plan of attack. Promoted to

Lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in 1840, on ''Le Misus'', he took command of the Foreign Division of Africa from 1841 to 1842, when he was named provisional governor of Senegal. In 1843, Bouët began a period of expansion when he captured the port of Saint-Louis and allowed privately owned trading companies (mainly from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

) to handle the administration of the town; he also sent a new mission to

Bambuk Bambouk (sometimes Bambuk or Bambuhu) is a traditional name for the territory in eastern Senegal and western Mali, encompassing the Bambouk Mountains on its eastern edge, the valley of the Faleme River and the hilly country to the east of the rive ...

, and signed a commercial treaty with the ruler of

Bundu Bundu may refer to: * Bundu (state), a former state in what is now Senegal * Also known as the place where Aditya Kumar (BE/10023/12) was born and brought up * Bundu, India, a town in Jharkhand, India ** Bundu block, the larger administrative u ...

. On 15 August 1844 he was attached to the expedition commanded by the Prince de Joinville, which took Mogador using the information that had been collected by Bouët. His reward was to take the trophies back to France, together with a promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1845 he was adopted by his uncle, Vice-Admiral Willaumez, whose name he took, and married the daughter of Admiral Lemorant — two events that opened a number of doors for him. In that same year, Bouët-Willaumez took command of the steamship ''Le Caraïbe'' at Lorient as

Flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

to Admiral Montagniac de Rocque, and served as Commander of the Naval Division of the Western Coasts of Africa. He served as chief of staff of a squadron of twenty-six cruisers. In 1848 he became commander of the Naval Division of the African Coast, on the frigate ''Pénélope''. During this period he restored French sovereignty over Guinea, and was named Commander of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

for courage shown during a

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

-charge on land against rebellious tribes. He also took part in a diplomatic mission to negotiate the end of trade with England. In 1853, promoted to rear admiral, he was named chief of staff of the Mediterranean squadron, under Admiral Hamelin. During the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

he took part in the

bombardment of Odessa The Bombardment of Odessa was an action during the Crimean War in which a joint Anglo-French squadron of warships attacked the Russian port of Odessa. Background and formation On 6 April 1854, soon after the declaration of war by Britain and F ...

and attacks on

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. He was made a commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

by the British government for his services during the war. In 1859, during the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, Bouët-Willaumez commanded the French squadron in the Adriatic. After these operations, he was appointed to the committee responsible for coast defences, and oversaw works at the ports of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

and

Villefranche-sur-Mer Villefranche-sur-Mer (, ; oc, Vilafranca de Mar ; it, Villafranca Marittima ) is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region on the French Riviera and is l ...

which became part of France at the end of the war. Promoted to vice admiral in 1860, he served as Maritime Prefect of Cherbourg, and in 1861 as Prefect at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. He commanded the French Mediterranean Fleet in 1864, and was appointed to the

Senate of France The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

in 1865. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he was named to command a squadron intended to attack the north German coasts, but French defeats on land put an end to these plans. He died in 1871.

Writings

*''Commerce et traite des noirs aux côtes occidentales d'Afrique''. Paris 1848) *''Campagnes aux côtes occidentales d'Afrique''. Paris (1850) *''La flotte francaise et les colonies en 1852''. Paris (1855) *''Batailles de terre et de mer''. Paris (1855) *''Tactique supplémentaire à l'usage d'une flotte cuirassée''. Paris (1864)

References

Sources and external links

Amiral Bouet-Willaumez
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouet-Willaumez, Louis Edouard 1808 births 1871 deaths French Navy admirals French military personnel of the Crimean War French people of the Greek War of Independence French colonial governors and administrators People of French West Africa Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery