Alexandre Ferdinand Parseval-Deschenes (27 November 1790 – 10 June 1860) was a French
admiral and
senator.
Life
Born in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
to an aristocratic family, Alexandre was the nephew of the mathematician
Marc-Antoine Parseval
Marc-Antoine Parseval des Chênes (27 April 1755 – 16 August 1836) was a French mathematician, most famous for what is now known as Parseval's theorem, which presaged the unitarity of the Fourier transform.
He was born in Rosières-aux-Sali ...
and the Académicien
François-Auguste Parseval-Grandmaison. He volunteered for the Navy in 1804 and participated in the recapture of
Fort Le Diamant on
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
, then fought at
Trafalgar as an
aspirant on board ''
Bucentaure'', the admiral's flagship. As an
enseigne de vaisseau, Parseval-Deschenes participated in the 1815 hydrographic investigations of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
. In 1817 he took part in the expedition that retook
Guyana for France, ending its
occupation by Portugal, and then commanded the French naval station in that colony for two years.
In 1822, as
lieutenant de vaisseau, Alexandre was awarded 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 successfully rescuing the crew of the frigate ''
Africaine'', shipwrecked on the
Newfoundland coast. He then commanded the frigate ''
Iphigénie'' in the
Mexico expedition participating in the blockade of
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
and bombardment of
San Juan de Ulúa
San Juan de Ulúa, also known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa, is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico. Juan de Grijalva's ...
in 1838, then the occupation of Argentine island of
Martin-Garcia in 1839.
Promoted to
contre-amiral on 30 April 1840, Alexandre then served as major-general of the navy 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 ...
, then
Maritime Prefect
A maritime prefect (French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...
at
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, before commanding the training squadron in the Mediterranean. He then rose to vice admiral on 15 July 1846, he next served as Maritime Prefect at Toulon then once again commander of the Mediterranean training squadron. He entered the Conseil de l'amirauté in 1851 and presided over the Board of Construction (). He was made a senator by
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
on 26 November 1852. He then commanded France's Baltic fleet 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 ...
, with which he bombarded the Russian fortress of
Bomarsund and received its surrender on 16 August - as a reward he was promoted to admiral on the following 2 December. Admiral Parseval-Deschenes is buried at the
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise and a late 19th-century
aviso
An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication.
The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...
in 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 ...
(launched in 1879 and decommissioned in 1898) was named after him.
[Aviso ''Amiral Parseval''.]
/ref>
Decorations
* Grand Cross 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 ...
- 30 August 1854.
* Médaille Militaire
The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
- 1854.
See also
*Politics of France
The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic ...
*Military history of France
The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas including modern France, Europe, and a variety of regions throughout the world.
According to historian ...
References
External links
Illustrated biography of Parseval-Deschênes.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parseval-Deschenes
1790 births
1860 deaths
French Navy admirals
French life senators
French military personnel of the Crimean War
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Politicians from Paris
French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur