Félix-Ariel Flamen d'Assigny (born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 21 June 1794 and died in

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 ...

on 11 August 1846) was a French officer who participated to the

French conquest of Algeria The French invasion of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Deylik of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France inva ...

Family

Félix-Ariel Flamen d'Assigny was born in the city of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, and his father is Gilbert Flamen d'Assigny (1743-1819) who was Minister Plenipotentiary of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

at the Court of Bavaria. His father married Reine-Henriette Bourgeois de Moléron on 1796 who bore him three children, dnd Felix Ariel had thus for siblings only one brother named Benjamin Flamen d'Assigny and only one other sister.

Lieutenant of Navy (1823)

Félix-Ariel was appointed to the military rank of Lieutenant of Navy on 16 August 1823. This appointment was then signed by the then Minister Secretary of State for the Navy and the Colonies Aimé Marie Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre (1779-1865).

Shipwreck of Dellys (1830)

On 15 May 1830, two

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

s belonging to 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 ...

and mobilized in the blockade station of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

were lost in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. The brig Le Silène was commanded by Captain

Armand Joseph Bruat Armand Joseph Bruat (Colmar, 26 May 1796 – ''French ship Montebello (1812), Montebello'', off Toulon, 19 November 1855) was a French people, French admiral. Biography Bruat joined the French Navy in 1811, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars ...

(1796-1855), while brig L'Aventure was commanded by Captain d'Assigny and the Captain Louis-Léopold-Édouard Bonnard. These two military ships had been thrown to the Barbary Coast under Cape Bengut in the vicinity of

Dellys Dellys ( ar, دلّس, Berber: Delles) is a small Mediterranean town in northern Algeria's coastal Boumerdès Province, almost due north of Tizi-Ouzou and just east of the Sebaou River. It is the district seat of the daïra of Dellys. The town ...

. The two hundred men who formed the crews of the two stranded brigs had fallen hostages into the hands of the

Kabyles The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking pop ...

of the Amraoua tribe. The Kabyles had divided the French soldiers into two groups, the first of which, composed of many sailors, was totally massacred. When Commander Bruat, who was part of the second group that had been released, arrived in the

Casbah of Algiers The Casbah ( ar, قصبة, ''qaṣba'', meaning citadel) is the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. In 1992, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed ' ...

, he was saddened to see a hundred and ten heads exposed of the unfortunate French sailors who had been killed. With eighty-five of them who still survived this tragic event, Bruat was locked up in

prison while waiting for the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

to come to deliver them alive or to avenge them if they were also massacred.

Corvette captain (1831)

He was promoted on 1 March 1831 to the rank of

corvette captain Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy uses ...

of first class in the

Assault of Dellys (1837)

Félix-Ariel d'Assigny commanded the assault of 30 May 1837 against the city of

after the first insurrection of

Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

against the colonial power located in the

Commandant of the Marine (1839)

He was promoted on 29 March 1839 to the rank of

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

in the

named "Dragon" stationed at

within

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

coast.

Oran Station

Félix-Ariel was appointed in 1839 as commander of the

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

in the port of

Mers El Kébir Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the Mediterranean Sea, near Oran in Oran Province, northwest Algeria. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in t ...

where he served under the tutelage of General

Hyacinthe de Bougainville Hyacinthe Yves Philippe Potentien, baron de Bougainville (26 December 1781 – 18 October 1846) was a French naval officer. He was the son of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville.Randier, p.292 He became Rear-Admiral on 1 May 1838. Career As a youn ...

(1781-1846). He was maintained by King

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

at the Oran naval base until 20 May 1841 as a

in command of the brig Le Dragon when he was replaced by Captain Joseph-Marie-Eugène Degenès on this ship.

Nautical commission (1843)

He was then appointed on 1843 by the colonial power as president of the nautical commission of the

in Algeria. This Algerian nautical commission was created in 1843 and its mission was to draw up improvement projects for the ports of the Algerian coast. The chairman of this commission was

Corvette captain Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy uses ...

d'Assigny, and was made up of two naval officers and a secretary hydrograph engineer, to whom were added in each port the Ingénieur des ponts et chaussées, the chief engineer and the port manager.

Acting Commander

He was promoted on 13 September 1843 to the rank of Acting Commander (french: Commandant supérieur) of 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 ...

. The then

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Thomas Robert Bugeaud Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria. Early life He was born at Limoges, a member of a noble family of Périgord (Occitania), the yo ...

(1784-1849), then by decree entrusted Felix-Ariel with the provisional command of the French navy in Algeria. Indeed, the death on 13 September 1843 of the then commander of the colonial navy in Algeria, Counter admiral Fauré (d. 1843), had thus prompted the appointment of Félix-Ariel as his replacement in this strategic military post.

Awards

Félix-Ariel d'Assigny was decorated with several medals during his military career, including: * Knight of the ''

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

'': He was decorated with this medal by King

Charles XIV John sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

on 4 March 1841 as a reward for having saved the Swedish ship Gothenburg in the coast of

. * Officer of the ''

Legion of Honour 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, ...

'': He was awarded this medal after being appointed captain of the frigates of the Marine Royale.

Death

Félix-Ariel d'Assigny died in the town of

during the year 1846 after a long career in the French navy.

Gallery

File:Nevers flamen d assigny 02.JPG, Family house of the Flamen d'Assigny in

File:Dellys - Tadelles.jpg,

Shipwreck of Dellys The Shipwreck of Dellys took place in May 1830, during the French conquest of Algeria. It involved French troupes coloniales, under captains Félix-Ariel d'Assigny (1794-1846) and Armand Joseph Bruat (1796-1855), who were captured by the resista ...

(1830) File:Sidi Soussan à Dellys.jpg,

First Assault of Dellys The ''First Assault of Dellys'' in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, opposed the troupes coloniales under Corvette captain Félix-Ariel d'Assigny (1794-1846) to the resistance fighters of the town of Dellys in Kabylia of the ''Iga ...

(1837) File:Hyacinthe de Bougainville.jpg,

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:d'Assigny, Félix-Ariel 1794 births Military personnel from Paris 1846 deaths French Army officers French Navy officers French Algeria 1830s in Algeria Recipients of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Sword Recipients of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Legion of Honour