Louis-Bernard Saint-Orens (

Saintonge Saintonge may refer to: *County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast *Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province Places *Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, a commune in the Charente-Mari ...

, 1733 — 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 ...

), 9 September 1780) was a French Navy officer. He notably captained the 40-gun frigate ''Pourvoyeuse'' at the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1778.

Biography

Saint-Orens 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 6 July 1750. He was promoted to Ensign on 11 October 1755, and to Lieutenant on 1 May 1763. In 1764, Saint-Orens was in command of the 16-gun corvette ''Isis''. She was part of a division bound for the Caribbean, along with the 32-gun frigate ''Danaé'', under Kearney. That same year, Admiral d'Estaing sent him to cover the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

. In 1777, Saint-Orens served as a Lieutenant on the 32-gun frigate ''Dédaigneuse''. He was promoted to Captain on 4 May 1777, and that same year was given command of the heavy 40-gun frigate ''Pourvoyeuse'', at

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 ...

. In 1778, Saint-Orens was stationed at

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

with ''Pourvoyeuse'', along with the 64-gun ''Brillant'', under Tronjoli, and three armed merchantmen: the 26-gun corvette ''Sartine'' (under du Chayla), the 24-gun ''Brisson'' (under Captain du Chézeau), and the 24-gun ''Lawriston''. During the Siege of Pondicherry in 1778, Tronjoli had lost some of his ships and escaped to Isle de France with the survivors, arriving there in late September. He was tasked with patrolling off

Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...

. In early October 1778, ''Pourvoyeuse'' captured the Danish merchantman ''Enighed'', mistaking her for British. On 8 October, he sent her to

Port-Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's eco ...

with a prize crew under first officer Périer de Salvert. On 21 February 1779, he captured the East Indiaman ''Osterley'', National Archives - Osterley (2

- accessed 23 July 2015. helped by the armed merchantman French ship Elisabeth (1778), ''Elisabeth''. Funds from the sale of the cargo were embezzled, leading to a heated dispute. Tronjoli demanded that Saint-Orens explain himself. On 9 September 1780, the day before he was to testify before the authorities, Saint-Orens was founded dead, officially from an aneurism, although rumour said that he had been mortally wounded in a sword duel with a M. Villeneuve, formerly a Counselor at Pondichéry.

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Pallière, Jean Baptiste French Navy officers