Jean-Baptiste Mac Nemara, ''baron du Mung, seigneur de la Rochecourbon, Tourfou, Moullet et autres lieux'' (circa 1690 —

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

, 18 October 1756) was a French Navy officer of Irish origin.

Biography

Origins

Mac Nemara was born to Catherine Saint-Jean (d. 1774) and to Jean Mac Nemara (d. 1732), an Irish nobleman and jacobite refugee who had fled to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

. His brother, Claude Matthieu Mac Nemara, had a career in the French Navy, rising to captain and to Knight in 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 1713, Jean-Baptiste Mac Nemara married Julienne Stapleton in the chapel of château des Dervallières in Nantes. Stapleton was an heir to Jean Ier Stapleton, an Irish of Nantes, who had an plantation in Saint-Domingue. After Stapleton died in 1748, Mac Nemara married Marie-Catherine Larcher on 25 August 1754 at Mung . Larcher was the widow of André Martin de Poinsable, former

Governor of Martinique (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office) Ancien regime and First Republic (1635-1794) British occupation (1794–1814) Restoration, Second Republic, Second Empire (1814–70) Third Republic (1870–1940) Fourth a ...

. Her granddaughter Julie Catherine de Turpin de Jouhé would later marry Nicolas Henri de Grimouard on 1 December 1779 in Rochefort.

Naval career

A protégé of Duke de Bourbon, Mac Nemara 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 A ...

on 5 April 1707. In

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin by ...

he served on ''Atalante'' under Du Clerc in an expedition against

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. Wounded and taken prisoner on 19 September 1710, he was freed after two years and promoted to Frigate Lieutenant on 25 November 1713. In 1713, when he married, Mac Nemara served as an Ensign in a company of the Navy and was Commissary for food at Rochefort arsenal. Mac Nemara was promoted to ''enseigne de port'' on 16 October 1721. He took part in several campaigns in the Caribbean in 1727–1728, 1730–1731, 1739–1740, 1741-1742 and 1744, earning a promotion to aide-major in November 1723 and

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1734. Head of the Gardes-marines in Rochefort from 1 April 1745, he also led a division in the Caribbean, fighting against FitzRoy Henry Lee and returning to France in 1746. In April 1748, 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 ...

, and in 1750 he was appointed to the first

Escadre d'évolution An Escadre d'évolution (French, literally "Evolution squadron") is a squadron of warships of the French Navy cruising in peacetime for the purpose of training their crew and student officers. History The French Navy started organising Escadre d' ...

. In September 1752, he was promoted to lieutenant général des armées navales, aged 62. Mac Nemara was the commanding officer of the Navy in Rochefort from 1751 to 1756. In 1756, he headed a 6-ship and 3-frigate squadron to bring reinforcements to

Emmanuel Auguste Dubois de La Motte Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

(now

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

), comprising the ships ''Formidable'', ''Héros'', ''Palmier'', ''Éveillé'', ''Inflexible'' and ''Aigle'', and the frigates ''Améthyste'', ''Sirène'' and ''Héroïne'', and fought in the

action of 8 June 1755 Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fi ...

. On 17 October 1756, Mac Nemara was made a Vice-Admiral and chief of the

flotte du Ponant The ''Flotte du Ponant'' was the designation under the Ancien Regime for the naval vessels of the Royal French Navy in the English Channel, Atlantic Ocean and Americas, the latter principally in the French West Indies and New France. The fleet ca ...

. He died the following day.

Hubert de Brienne Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans (1690, in Paris – 27 January 1777, in Paris) was a French naval commander. Early life The son of Henri Jacob marquis de Conflans and Marie du Bouchet, at 15 he was made a knight of the Order of Saint ...

replaced him.

Notes

Citations

Recent bibliography

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Older bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Nemara, Jean-Baptiste Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis Businesspeople in shipping French privateers Jacobites