Jean-François de la Cour de Balleroy was a French Navy officer. He notably served during the

War of American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Biography

Balleroy was born to a family from Normandie. Balleroy 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 ...

in 1742. He served on ''Content''. He rose to Lieutenant in 1756. In 1767, Balleroy captained the 24-gun fluyt ''Bricole'', sailing between Brest and Rochefort. In 1768, he was at

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

. and to Captain in 1772. In 1775, Balleroy captained the 32-gun frigate ''Aigrette'' for missions in the Mediterranean. In 1779, he was given command of ''Éveillé'', part of the squadron under Orvilliers. He captained the 64-gun ''Indien'' at the Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780, as well as in the actions of

15 May Events Pre-1600 * 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty. * 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...

and 19 May 1780. After the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

, Balleroy was one of the members of the inquiry into the conduct of the French captains during the battle. At the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Balleroy was serving in Brest, from where he fled France to become an

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

Sources and references

Notes Citations References * * * External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Cour de Balleroy, Jean-François French Navy officers French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War