François-Louis de Brach was a French Navy officer. He notably 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

Brach 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 24 May 1757. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 14 February 1778. Brach captained 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 ...

''Magnifique'' at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778. After the battle, he was one of the captains whom Orvilliers praised for their conduct. In the evening of 9 June 1779, Brach departed Martinique, leading a division comprising the 64-gun ''Vengeur'', the 50-gun ''Sagittaire'', and the frigates ''Chimère'' and ''Aimable'', as a diversion to distract the British from another division, under Du Rumain, tasked with the

Capture of Saint Vincent The Capture of Saint Vincent was a French invasion that took place between 16 and 18 June 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. A French force commander named Charles-Marie de Trolong du Rumain landed on the island of Saint Vincent in th ...

. Brach captained ''Magnifique'' at the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. The British fleet of Admiral John Byron (the grandfather ...

on 6 July 1779, and at the Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780. He was promoted to Lieutenant-colonel on 15 September 1782.

Citations

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brach, François-Louis French Navy officers French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War