Armand-Claude Poute de Nieuil (22 July 1731 —
Poitier
Poitier is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Damion Poitier (born 1976), American actor
* Jane Poitier (1736–1786), British singer and dancer
* Sidney Poitier (1927–2022), Bahamian-American actor, film director, and auth ...
, 19 April 1806) was a French Navy officer. He served during the
War of American Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
Biography
Nieuil was born to Anne Louis de la Rochefoucauld and to Jean-Baptiste Poute de Nieuil.
Nieuil 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 ...
on 22 January 1746. He was promoted to Ensign in 1751, to Lieutenant in 1757, and to Captain in 1772. In 1776, he captained the 36-gun frigate
''Terpsichore'', at Rochefort, in the squadron under
Du Chaffault.
In 1788, the commanded the 70-gun
''Dauphin Royal'', lead ship of the Second Division in the White-and-Blue squadron of the fleet under
Orvilliers. He took part in the
Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, earning Orvilliers' commendation.
In 1779, he transferred to
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 ...
''Citoyen'', lead ship in the White-and-Blue squadron of Orvilliers' fleet. He kept her in 1780 under
Guichen, and captained her at the
Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780.
In 1782, Nieuil commanded the 74-gun
''Robuste''. He captained her at the
Battle of Cape Spartel
The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully resup ...
on 20 October 1782.
In 1784, Nieuil was promoted to
Chef d'Escadre
''Chef d'escadre'' (; literally " squadron commander") was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to '' contre-amiral'' by a law passed on 15 May 1791.
History
The first chefs ...
.
In 1787, Nieuil directed the
Escadre d'évolution An Escadre d'évolution (French, literally "Evolution squadron") is a squadron of warships of the French Navy cruising in peacetime for the purpose of training their crew and student officers.
History
The French Navy started organising Escadre d' ...
for a training cruise, with his flag on the 74-gun
''Superbe''. He departed Brest in June and reached Lisbon before returning in August. The year after, Nieuil was cruising with a squadron off Tunis, with his flag on
''Illustre''.
In 1788, he was made a Knight in the
Order of Saint Louis. He commanded a division at Toulon in 1790. He rose to
Contre-amiral in 1792.
Notes
Citations
References
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* (1671-1870)
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Poute de Nieuil, Armand-Claude
French Navy officers
French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War