Jean-Paul de Ruyter-Werfusé (

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 ...

, 1748 — 1810) was a French Navy officer. He notably captained the 40-gun frigate ''Pourvoyeuse'' and the 50-gun ''Petit Annibal'' in Suffren's squadron during the

Anglo-French War The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including: Middle Ages High Middle Ages * Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...

Biography

Ruyter 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 Ad ...

on 12 November 1764. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 14 February in 1778. In 1778, Ruyter was third Lieutenant on the 64-gun ''Fantasque'', under Captain Suffren. ''Fantasque'' was part of the squadron under

Admiral d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the ...

supporting the rebels in 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 ...

. In 1780, Ruyter was captain of the 18-gun corvette ''Flèche'', in Toulon. He cruised on the coast of Italy. Ruyter departed Brest on 22 March 1781, as first officer of the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

''Héros'', flagship of a division under Captain Suffren bound for the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...

and from there to Isle de France (

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 incl ...

). He took part in the

Battle of Porto Praya The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under the Bailli de Suffren. Both squadrons w ...

, where his conduct earned him the Cross 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 ...

. On 23 January 1782, Suffren gave him command of the recently captured 50-gun ''Petit Annibal''. On 13 February, he exchanged his command with that of

Morard de Galles Justin-Bonaventure Morard de Galles (30 March 1741, Goncelin, Isère – 23 July 1809, Guéret) was a French navy officer and admiral. Family Morard was born to a noble family from Dauphiné whose origins stretched right back to the end of the ...

and transferred on the 40-gun frigate ''Pourvoyeuse''. In the run-up to the

Battle of Sadras The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet (under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes) and a French fleet (under Admiral Pierre Suffren) off the east coast of India during the Anglo-French ...

, tasked with escorting a convoy, Ruyter failed to maintain formation and, when the British attacked it, to come to its rescue. Ruyter lost contact with Suffren's squadron and returned to

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry tal ...

, which had been chosen as a rendez-vous point in case ships got separated. Suffren dismissed him on 20 March, giving command of ''Pourvoyeuse'' to Lanuguy-Tromelin. Ruyter was retired from the Navy on 25 July 1784.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruyter-Werfusé, Jean-Paul French Navy officers 1748 births 1810 deaths