Rear-Admiral Joseph de Richery (13 September 1757 in

Allons, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Allons is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Allonsais'' or ''Allonsaises' ...

– 1798 in Allons) was a French

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

Career

He distinguished himself in the French Navy in the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

. From 1781 until 1785 he served in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

under

Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. In 1793 he was promoted to captain and given command of ''Bretagne'', but was relieved during 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 ...

after the

Quibéron mutinies The Quibéron mutinies were a series of mutinies that occurred in the Brest squadron of the French Navy in September 1793, at the height of the Reign of Terror. They offered reasons and pretexts for the Jacobins to purge the Navy of most of its o ...

.Forrer, ''Neptunia'' 202, p.21 He was reinstated in 1794 and given the rank of

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 ...

. He commanded a squadron of 6 vessels and three frigates based in

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 ...

during

Richery's expedition Richery's expedition was a French naval operation during 1795 and 1796 as part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The operation was led by Commodore (later contre-amiral) Joseph de Richery and comprised two separate cruises; the first was an operati ...

. These ships were among the small squadrons used by the French to raid British commerce. In one of its remarkable engagements, his squadron captured convoy of trading vessels (around thirty vessels), which the squadron took to Cadiz where it was blockaded by the British. In 1795, he carried out a raid on Saint-Dominigue and captured another enemy convoy. Richery also participated in series of conflicts in 1790s with the British in

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 ...

, landing at Bay Bulls on September 1796. His squadron then carried out raids on the British coasts of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. His squadron also bombarded and destroyed English fisheries in the area. Richery died in Allons in 1798.

Notes and references

References Bibliography * 1757 births 1798 deaths People from Alpes-de-Haute-Provence French Navy admirals French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars {{mil-hist-stub