Hubert Le Loup de Beaulieu,
[Role du ''Sage'' (1769)]
/ref>[Papers from the ships Iris (Captain Pinatel) and Carnate (Captain Le Loup de Beaulieu).…]
National Archives often written Beaulieu-Leloup, ( ? — ''Forte'', Gulf of Bengal, 1 March 1799) was a French East India Company
The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...
and later Navy officer. He was a cousin to Louis Garneray.
Career
Early life
He served as second ensign on the East Indiaman ''Comte de Provence'' from 1763 to 1764,[Role du ''Comte de Provence'' (1763)]
/ref> and as first enseign on the chartered corvette ''Sage'' armed for Mauritius on 1 May 1766.
In 1776, he commanded the merchantman ''Carnate'' for a journey from Indian to China.
Sercey's squadron
In 1796, Beaulieu-Leloup served in the Navy in Rochefort with the rank of Commander.[Garneray, p.7] He commanded the frigate ''Forte''[Fonds Marine, p.231] in Sercey's squadron.
In September 1797, Sercey had him relieved of his command and he was replaced by Captain Ravenel,[Troude, p.55] but reinstated on the insistence of Mauritius governor Malartic,[Hennequin (p.210) proved a glimpse of Sercey's reluctance by referring to Beaulieu-Leloup as an "inept old man".] who caved in to pressure from the Colonial Assembly and sent ''Prudente'' and ''Forte'' to engage in independent commerce raiding
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than en ...
off Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, disturbing Sercey's plans.[Troude, p.129] Sercey was furious, and wrote to the Ministry of the Navy:
On 24 February 1799, ''Forte'' engaged the East Indiaman ''Osterley''. After the battle, Beaulieu-Leloup, deeming the fire from ''Forte'' to strike too low, ordered her guns raised by diminishing their quoins by 2.7 cm.
Battle with HMS ''Sybille''
In the evening of 27 February 1799, she captured the East Indiamen ''Endeavour'' and ''Lord Mornington'';[Lardas, "''Sybille'' vs ''Forte''"] unbeknownst to Beaulieu-Leloup, the flashes of the battle were spotted by the 38-gun HMS ''Sybille'', under Captain Edward Cooke, which closed in to investigate. She was spotted by the officers of ''Forte'' and identified as a British frigate,[Troude, p.171] but Beaulieu-Leloup insisted that she was another East Indiaman and sent his crew to sleep for the night. It was only when ''Sybille''s intent to intercept became evident that Beaulieu-Leloup called to battle stations; even then, he closed in and ordered a restrained attack, firing his guns one by one to test his opponent.
Cooke reserved his fire and manoeuvered into a raking position before delivering a broadside into the stern of ''Forte''. In the damage, confusion and smoke caused by ''Sybille''s fire, ''Forte'' began to mistakenly fire her starboard battery at one of her own prizes, leaving ''Sybille'' free to come about and deliver a second raking broadside from her other battery. The two frigates then began trading broadsides at close range, mortally wounding Cooke at 1:30; ten minutes later, Beaulieu-Leloup was killed by a cannonball.
After Beaulieu-Leloup's death, command of ''Forte'' passed to Lieutenant Vigoureux, who was killed himself at 2:00.[Troude, p.172] Lieutenant Luco took over and attempted to manoeuver ''Forte'', but her entire rigging collapsed, putting an end to her resistance. ''Sybille'' hailed to inquire whether ''Forte'' had struck, and ceased fire when this was confirmed. The next morning, ''Sybille'' hoisted a French flag to deceive the prize crew on ''Endeavour'' and ''Lord Mornington'' and recapture the ships, but the ruse was foiled and the two East Indiamen escaped.[Troude, p.173]
Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
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* Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales ; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier : BB4 1 à 482 (1790-1826
*Gilbert Buti, Philippe Hrodej (dir.), ''Dictionnaire des corsaires et pirates'', CNRS éditions, 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Loup de Beaulieu, Hubert
1759 births
1799 deaths
French Navy officers
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
French military personnel killed in action