Étienne Eustache Bruix ( Fort-Dauphin,

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

, 17 July 1759 –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 18 March 1805) was a

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 ...

officer and admiral, and Minister of the Navy.

Life

Bruix was born to a family from

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

. He started sailing as a volunteer on a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

commanded by captain Jean-François Landolphe.

Early career

In 1778, he joined the Navy as a

Garde-Marine In France, under the Ancien Régime, the Gardes de la Marine (Guards of the Navy), or Gardes-Marine were young gentlemen undergoing training to be naval officers. The training program was established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1670 and lasted until A ...

(officer cadet). He served on the frigates ''Fox'' and ''Concorde'', taking part in the Battle of Fort Royal on 29 April and 30 April 1781, in the

Invasion of Tobago The Invasion of Tobago was a French invasion of the British-held island of Tobago during the Anglo-French War. On May 24, 1781, the fleet of Comte de Grasse landed troops on the island under the command of General Marquis de Bouillé. By June 2 ...

in May–June, in the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...

on 5 September, in the

Battle of Saint Kitts The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle fought on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet u ...

on 25 January 1782, and in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

on 12 April 1782. He was promoted to Ensign in November 1781. Bruix was given command of the 10-gun aviso ''Pivert'', and tasked with surveying the coasts and harbours of

. He was aided in the task by Puységur. Bruix was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in May 1786. He was elected member of the

Académie de Marine The Royal Naval Academy of France (french: Académie royale de marine) was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy. This institutionalised an earlier initiative b ...

in 1791, and promoted to Captain on 1 January 1793, and given command of the

80-gun 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

''Indomptable''. However, he was dismissed from the service in October 1794. Retiring to the outskirts of Brest, he wrote a memorandum titled ''Moyens d'approvisionner la marine par les seules productions du territoire français'' (Means of Provisioning the Fleet Solely by What Is Produced in French Territory). This advocacy of naval

autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideal or method has been embraced by a wide range of political ideologies and movements, especially ...

as a way to defeat British blockades attracted notice, and Navy Minister Laurent Truguet recalled Bruix in 1795 to appoint him to the command of the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

''Éole''. He held this command up to the moment he was sent to join Villaret-Joyeuse's squadron as Chief of Staff (

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Appointment as Navy Minister

Eustache Bruix given command of a division under Admiral

Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles Justin-Bonaventure Morard de Galles (30 March 1741, Goncelin, Isère – 23 July 1809, Guéret) was a French navy officer and admiral. Family Morard was born to a noble family from Dauphiné whose origins stretched right back to the end of th ...

during the French attempt to invade Ireland in 1796.

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

noticed him on that campaign and promoted him to contre-amiral in May 1797. He was then appointed Navy Minister from 28 April 1798. Upon taking office, he rushed to Brest to take personal command of a fleet that was about to sail for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in an attempt to extricate the French army trapped there since its invasion in 1798. Favourable winds and fog allowed him to evade the British blockade, and he sailed South with 25 ships of the line. Anticipating a possible landing in Ireland, still unsettled in the wake of the United Irishmen's rebellion, the blockading fleet drew off North-Westwards, giving Bruix a considerable headstart before realising his true destination. Off Cadiz, Bruix encountered a British blockading force of 15 ships of the line under Lord Keith. Despite his numerical superiority and the 28 Spanish ships of the line harboured in Cadiz, Bruix declined to attack and continued into the Mediterranean. Having made a detour to

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 ...

for repairs, Bruix received news that

André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...

was besieged in Genoa, and orders to assist him. He rerouted the fleet to the

Gulf of Genoa The Gulf of Genoa (''Golfo di Genova'') is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. This Italian gulf is about wide from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on its coast is Genoa, which has an importan ...

to resupply the beleaguered army but was driven back by the weather. Meanwhile, Keith had followed him into the Mediterranean and gathered together the scattered British squadrons in the area at

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

. Bruix abandoned his venture, eluded his pursuers and returned to the Atlantic. He made his junction with a Spanish squadron that attached to his fleet, and he returned to Brest. After this expedition, known as the

Cruise of Bruix A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

, he resigned as Minister of the Navy on 11 July 1799, and took command of the fleet assembled at île d'Aix, ready to sail to Spain, but the British reinforced their blockade, the admiral fell ill and the

peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

prevented the fleet from leaving port. He was promoted to Vice-amiral from 13 March 1799.

Later career and death

Bruix was privy to the secret

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799). After seizing power, Bonaparte promoted Bruix to

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, ...

in 1801, and appointed him as Conseiller d'État the following year. War having broken out again, Napoléon conceived a plan for a new invasion of England, and put Bruix in command of the flotilla based at

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

that would carry the invasion troops across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. Bruix undertook the work but in July 1804 refused to obey Napoleon's personal order to take the fleet out of harbour for a review, in the face of a developing storm. The furious Emperor reprimanded Bruix and came close to striking him. A subordinate carried out Napoleon's instruction but at the cost of 200 lives. Following this incident Bruix fell ill and had to return to Paris, where he died of tuberculosis, aged only 45.

Legacy

Boulevard de l'Amiral-Bruix The Boulevard de l'Amiral-Bruix is a boulevard in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the Boulevards of the Marshals that circle the outer parts of the city. Location The Boulevard de l'Amiral-Bruix starts at the avenue de Mal ...

in Paris is named in his honour.

Sources and references

Notes References Bibliography * * * External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruix, Etienne Eustache 1759 births 1805 deaths People from Nord-Est (department) People of Saint-Domingue Ministers of Marine and the Colonies French Navy admirals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French people of Haitian descent Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe