Bernard-Marie Boudin de Tromelin (

Morlaix Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Leisure and tourism The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhan ...

, 15 February 1735 —

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, 4 December 1815) was a French Navy officer.

Biography

Born to Marie-Françoise Le Diouguel de Penanru and Jacques Boudin de Tromelin, Tromelin started his career in the army as a lieutenant in the régiment du Limousin, and taking part in the Siege of Maastricht. Tromelin 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 Ad ...

on 6 July 1750. On 11 October 1755, he was promoted to

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 ...

. He served on the 22-gun frigate ''Hermine'' from 7 December 1760 to 26 November 1761 under Lieutenant Toussaint Julien Auffray du Guélambert, taking part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre on 13 and 14 August 1761. 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 ...

on 1 May 1763, he took command of ''Normande'' from 29 December 1767 to July 1770. On 24 April 1769, he was admitted as a 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 ...

. From 2 March 1771 to October 1783, he was in charge of improving infrastructure in

Port-Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's eco ...

harbour. Promoted 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 ...

on 4 April 1777, he was given command of the 38-gun frigate ''Consolante''. On 10 August, he transferred to the 64-gun ''Brillant''. On 11 November 1779, he was promoted to ''membre ordinaire'' of the Académie de Marine. In May 1781, Read-Admiral

Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves Jean-Baptiste Barthélémy Thomas, comte d’Orves (1727 — ''Orient'', off Madras,Present-day Chennai 9 February 1782Cunat, p.103 ) was a French Navy officer, who rose to have flag officer rank. Biography Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves was born ...

, whose health compromised the ability to command, put Tromelin in effective charge of his squadron. On 26 October 1781, he transferred to 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 ...

''Annibal'', which he commanded at the

Battle of Sadras The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet (under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes) and a French fleet (under Admiral Pierre Suffren) off the east coast of India during the Anglo-French ...

on 17 February 1782, at the

Battle of Providien The Battle of Providien was the second in a series of naval battles fought between a British fleet, under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and a French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India during the Anglo-French War. The ...

on 12 April 1782, at the Battle of Negapatam on 6 July 1782, and at 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 ...

on 3 September 1782. Tromelin came in conflict with Suffren, who accused him of mounting a cabale of captains and officers against him. Several, including Saint-Félix,

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 the ...

, La Landelle and Tromelin-Lanuguy, as well as Tromelin himself, had requested a transfer Tromelin requested to be relieved and left the squadron after the

, embarking on ''Pulvérisateur'' on 3 September 1782, bound for Isle de France. Tromelin was expelled from the navy on 25 July 1784 and stripped of his pension. He was likewise expelled from the Académie de Marine. Rehabilitated on 1 January 1793, he was promoted to vice-admiral, but never commanded again. He retired on 6 June 1795.

Sources and references

Notes References Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boudin de Tromelin, Bernard-Marie French Navy officers

Biography

See also

Sources and references