Bernard-Manuel Lusignan (1749 —

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 ...

, 21 June 1824) was a French Navy officer. He fought in 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 ...

, and taking part in the French operations in the Indian Ocean under Suffren.

Biography

Born to the family of M. de La Borde, a banker from Bearn, Lusignan 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 5 October 1767. He was promoted to lieutenant on 13 March 1779. He commanded the 18-gun corvette ''Fortune'' in Suffren's squadron when it left Brest on 22 March 1781. He took part in the

Battle of Porto Praya The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under the Bailli de Suffren. Both squadrons w ...

, where he captured the fireship HMS ''Infernal''; however, Suffren then ordered Lusignan to bring orders to the French transports, and he abandoned ''Infernal'' after taking her captain and 15 men prisoners. ''Infernal'' returned to Porto Praya harbour. on 20 August 1782, Lusignan was at the vanguard of the French squadron when it departed

Batacalo Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

for the

Battle of Trincomalee A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. He was later promoted to captain, in 1792.

Sources and references

Notes References Bibliography * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lusignan, Bernard-Manuel French Navy officers