Henri-Louis de Chavagnac (1664 – 9 July 1743) was a French naval officer. He is known for a devastating raid against the English colonies of

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

and

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...

in February 1706.

Family

Henri-Louis de Chavagnac was born in 1664 in

Blesle Blesle (; oc, Bleila) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Loire department The following is a list of the 257 communes of the Haute-Loire department of France. Th ...

, Haute-Loire, France. He was the second son of François de Chavagnac and Louise Blanc-du-Bos, his second wife. He married Louise-Julienne des Nos de Champmeslin in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, Finistère, on 30 November 1708. They had two children, Gilles-Henri-Louis-Clair (born 1709) and Marie-Anne-Julienne (1712-1718).

Junior officer

Chavagnac joined the

Gardes de la 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 ...

in October 1683. He became ship's ensign (''Enseigne de vaisseau'') in January 1686. He participated in the Battle of Beachy Head on 10 July 1690, and in the

Battle of Barfleur The action at Barfleur was part of the battle of Barfleur-La Hougue during the War of the Grand Alliance. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville was seeking to cover an invasion of England by a French army to restore James II to the ...

in May 1692. He was promoted to ship-of-the-line lieutenant (''lieutenant de vaisseau'') in January 1690, and served in the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

. In 1702 he was made a major in

Rochefort, Charente-Maritime Rochefort ( oc, Ròchafòrt), unofficially Rochefort-sur-Mer (; oc, Ròchafòrt de Mar, link=no) for disambiguation, is a city and communes of France, commune in Southwestern France, a port on the Charente (river), Charente estuary. It is a Subpr ...

, and in 1703 was transferred to

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 ...

Senior officer

Chavagnac was promoted to

ship-of-the-line captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking 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 include ...

(''capitaine de vaisseau'') in 1704. He fought in the Battle of Vélez-Malaga on 24 August 1704, then commanded the company of Gardes de la Marine in

. In December 1705 he commanded a squadron charged with attacking the English possession in the Antilles. He caused great damage to the English colonies of

and

in February 1706. Chavagnac spent a week in Saint Kitts, where he caused great damage and looted much property, including 300 slaves. He and

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...

then invaded Nevis with 3,000 men. The English governor surrendered when they landed near Charlestown, much of which they burned. They destroyed plantations and took more loot, including between 3,000 and 5,000 slaves. Chavagnac was made a knight of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

. In 1716 he purchased the seigniory and château of Blesle, formerly owned by the lords of Mercœur. In February 1720 he was made Marquis de Chavagnac. In 1727 Chavagnac cruised off the coast of Spain. He was promoted to

Chef d'escadre ''Chef d'escadre'' (; literally "squadron commander") was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to '' contre-amiral'' by a law passed on 15 May 1791. History The first chefs ...

of the naval armies on 27 March 1728. In 1737 he was appointed commander of the navy at

. In 1741 he was made a commander of the Order of Saint Louis. That year he retired with the rank of lieutenant general of the naval armies. Chavagnac died on 9 July 1743 in Blesle, Haute-Loire.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chavagnac, Henri-Louis de 1664 births 1743 deaths French Navy officers