Jean Gaspard de Vence (6 April 1747 – 12 March 1808) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and

Maritime Prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...

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 ...

Biography

In 1762 at age 15 he entered the merchant navy in

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

, sailed to

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

and several years later became a captain. Transferred to the Royal Navy, served on a 74-gun battleship ''Protecteur'', incidentally studying mathematics and navigation. Then returned to the merchant navy and in 1767 aboard the ship ''Auguste'' take a cruise along the coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, near Cape St. Philip was in a shipwreck more than four months and get to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, losing half the crew from scurvy.

Corsair and officer of the King during the American War

In 1776, he moved to

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, where at the beginning of the

American War of 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 ...

has received from Congress the right to privateering under the American flag. He served as captain of the xebec ''Victoire'', on 17 May 1777 led by a 14-gun privateer ''Tigre'', which took on board the 24-gun British merchant ship with a cargo valued at 500,000 pounds. Within 18 months, cruised in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, spent 40 fights and captured 211 prizes, earning a reputation as the most formidable privateer the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

(British Parliament praised his head in the 2 million pounds). Following the announcement of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

war Britain returned to the king's service, took part in the Invasion of Dominica, where at the head of 400 buccaneers famous capture of Fort Cachacrou, for which a lieutenant and September 20, 1778 appointed commander of a privateer ''Truite''. Under the command of Admiral

d'Estaing d'Estaing is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing (1729–1794), French general and admiral * Guillaume-Hugues d'Estaing (died 1455), French Roman Catholic cardinal and bishop * See als ...

Battle of St. Lucia The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. Back ...

, January 1, 1779 - Commander of the privateer «La Ceres». As a lieutenant 80-gun ship of the line «Le Languedoc», the flagship of Admiral

distinguished himself at the capture of July 2, 1779 the island of Grenada, where the head 80 grenadiers attacked the British position and took the enemy's flag, for which he was awarded the rank of captain, participated in the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenan ...

. In this heroic period

Jean-Charles de Borda Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda (4 May 1733 – 19 February 1799) was a French mathematician, physicist, and Navy officer. Biography Borda was born in the city of Dax to Jean‐Antoine de Borda and Jeanne‐Marie Thérèse de Lacroix. In 175 ...

coined the famous slogan "always in front of Vence!" (Vence toujours devance!). In 1780, he was appointed commander of the port of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, but soon falsely accused of selling marine equipment and forced to resign. Upon returning home his ship was sunk by the British, and Captain de Vence got to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and Cadiz joined a volunteer for the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral

Admiral during the Revolution

At the beginning of the Revolution joined the National Guard of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

under the command of the

Marquis Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

, November 10, 1792 reinstated in the Navy with the rank of captain (old Charges withdrawn, and the cost reimbursed). He commanded a 74-gun battleship ''Duquesne'' and a small naval squadron, directed to the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

for a cargo of wheat to starving France, then managed to overcome the British blockade and bring food to

, where he headed the ship of the line ''Heureux''. November 16, 1793 -

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

(approved by the rank September 2, 1794), served in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

, accompanied the convoy from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

along the Atlantic coast to Lorient, but was attacked by a British fleet of Admiral William Cornwallis and forced to seek refuge at Belle Isle. From June 24 to December 8, 1795 - Commander of the Marine Division at Lorient in 1796 - deputy squadron commander Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse, opposed the expedition of General Lazare Hoche in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. After the coup of Fructidor V-18 of the year was appointed Commander of

arms, took an active part in preparing the fleet for the

Egyptian expedition The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

and provided logistical base in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, on the island of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, May 25, 1799 - Commander of Arms

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 ...

. July 20, 1800 -

, was responsible for the formation of the squadron of Admiral

Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume Count Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (13 April 1755 in La CiotatLevot, p.206 – 28 July 1818 in AubagneLevot, p.208) was a French Navy officer and Vice-admiral. Ganteaume started sailing on Indiamen, before serving during the American War of ...

, directed to the Barbary Coast and the squadron of Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois, won a June 13, 1801 victory at the Battle of Algeciras. In 1802 - the commander of a squadron of Brest, then commanded the naval squadron Boulogne camp, September 30, 1803 he retired. Died March 11, 1808 in Tonnerre at the age of 61 years, buried in the cemetery of Saint-Pierre parish. Chevalier of St. Louis (January 24, 1780), a member of the

Society of Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

(1783).

References

* Dupuy/Hammerman, ''People & Events of the American Revolution'', R.R. Bowker Company, 1974

External links

Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vence, Jean Gaspard French privateers French Navy admirals French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Order of Saint Louis recipients 1747 births 1808 deaths French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars