Eugène Darcy (1868-1928) was a French captain and author during the early 20th century. He was known for his service during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

, recounting his experiences about the war in his works with one of them awarding him the

Montyon Prize The Montyon Prize () is a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon. History Prior to the start of the French Revolution, the B ...

Early Military career

Eugène was born on 10 January 1868 in

Constantine, Algeria Constantine (), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honour of Emperor Constantine the Great. Located somewh ...

, the son of annuitant André Louis Damascène and Marie-Hippolyte (née Jarillot) Darcy. He enrolled at the

École Navale École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

in 1885. He graduated from the academy on 5 October 1888 and was made a midshipman. He was then promoted to ensign and assigned to the port of

Brest, Finistère Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second largest F ...

on 23 July 1891, and was then made assistant of the Captain of the 2nd Fleet Crew Depot within the port. On 1 January 1894 he became part of the crew within the '' Le Terrible'' under Captain Gustave Ferrat. Darcy then decided to take up further military education by attending the Battalion of Apprentice-Fusiliers of Lorient on 1 January 1896, and became a licensed fusilier by the end of the year. On 1 January 1897 he was assigned as the Lieutenant of the 1st Battalion of the Apprentice-Fusiliers. He was then promoted to Lieutenant on 20 April 1898 while at Toulon, and became a patented torpedo officer.

Boxer Rebellion

He remained in Toulon during 1899 but by the next year, he was part of the staff aboard ''

D'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Isle de France from 1787 to 1789. He is best known ...

'' under Louis de Marolles. A few months later though, Darcy was appointed to lead a squad of 78 sailors from the cruiser to defend the French legation at

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

after the outbreak of the

. During the

Siege of the International Legations The siege of the International Legations was a pivotal event during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, in which foreign diplomatic compounds in Peking (now Beijing) were besieged by Chinese Boxers and Qing Dynasty troops. The Boxers, fueled by anti-f ...

, he witnessed the deaths of Sub-Lieutenant Henry and Midshipman Herbert and he recounted their deaths in the novel ''La défense de la légation de France à Pékin''. Another event that occurred during the siege was that the Swiss hotelier Auguste Chamot and his wife personally asked Darcy to provide an armed escort to the Ma Jia Pu Station on June 11 along with the Italian and Japanese forces. For his service during the siege, he was awarded the Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

on 5 October 1900, before being awarded with the Officer class two months later.

Senior career

After returning from China, he was made Secretary of the

maritime prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French government who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region known as a maritime prefecture (''Préfecture maritime''). As of , there are three maritime prefec ...

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 24 January 1901, and commander of the Company of guards-consignes on 1 January 1902. From 4 October 1902 to 1904 he commanded the '' Rapière'' and the ''

Épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

'' on 1 March 1905. Around the same time, Darcy received the

for his work titled ''Les derniers jours de Pékin''. Darcy was then promoted to ''

Capitaine de frégate The rank insignia of the French Navy () are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, only commissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, but enlisted personnel are now ...

'' on 2 August 1906, while commanding the '' Saint Louis'' under Rear-Admiral

Jules Le Pord Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

. He then commanded the ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'' but was then made commander of the 1st Maritime Prefect of the General Staff of Toulon in 1909. On 1 January 1910 he was made commander of the Central Torpedo Boat Service within the 5th Maritime Prefect of Toulon and made Chief of Staff of the 1st Maritime Prefect of Toulon on 11 October 1911. Darcy was promoted to ''

Capitaine de vaisseau Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navy, navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide in ...

'' on 7 August 1913. His last given command would be that of the 2nd Special Reserve Group consisting of the "Brennus" and "Amiral-Trehouart" on 19 September 1913, before he was transferred back to Toulon on 1 January 1915, and would retire by the end of the year due to his age.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Eugène 1868 births 1928 deaths French Navy officers École Navale alumni Montyon Prize laureates People from Constantine, Algeria 20th-century French male writers French military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Legion of Honour