Jacques François Perroud (1770 – 1822) was a French

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

, famed for his capture of the large East Indiaman ''Lord Nelson'' on 14 August 1803, and for his spirited defence of his 32-gun ''Bellone'' against the overwhelming 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Powerful'' during the action of 9 July 1806.

Career

Perroud was born in 1770 to a family from Bordeaux. From 1796, he operated from

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

, captaining the privateers ''Pichegrue'' and the ''Hasard'' from 1799.Les Corsaires en Océan Indien
/ref> On 6 July 1799, he captured the American merchantman ''Aurore'', under Captain Sutter, and brought her back to

Port-Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...

. The ship was requisitioned to ferry prisoners to France, and Perroud took her command, arming her with eight guns and 30 men. ''Aurore'' departed from Mauritius on 23 August 1799 and arrived in Lorient on 9 May 1800. From 1801, Perroud mounted the 34-gun 8-pounder frigate ''Bellone'', with a crew of over 200 men. On 14 August 1803, he met with the large East Indiaman ''Lord Nelson''. Overcoming his inferiority of artillery, Perroud managed to board his opponent at his second attempt and captured her. In the action of 9 July 1806, ''Bellone'' was attacked by the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Powerful''. She attempted to flee for almost two hours, trading shots with the much more potent opponent, before striking her colours. Perroud was commended for his spirited defence against overwhelming odds;

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

, notably, described Perroud's actions as "extraordinary".James, p. 246 From 1807, Perroud captained the ''Curieux'', and from 1809 the ''Confiance'' (formerly the French Navy frigate ''Minerve''). On 3 February 1810, ''Confiance'' was captured by HMS ''Valiant'', under Captain John Bligh. Perroud then captained the privateer ''Phoenix'', of Bordeaux. In her he captured several prizes before captured him after a chase of 13 hours and 134 miles. His captor spoke admiringly of Perroud's seamanship during the chase.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perroud, Jacques Francois 1770 births 1822 deaths People of the Quasi-War French privateers Military personnel from Bordeaux French sailors