Louis Augustin de Monteclerc (La Rongère, Maine, 1727 – 25 March 1784) was a French Navy officer. He served 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 ...

Biography

Monteclerc 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 1743. Monteclerc was promoted to Lieutenant in 1757. He served on ''Éveillé'', in Conflans' squadron, during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Monteclerc was promoted to Captain in 1772. In 1777, he commanded the 64-gun ''Bizarre''. Navy Minister Sartine had chosen her to be one of the six ships held ready for immediate departure at all times. In 1779, he commanded a division comprising the 64-gun ''Solitaire'' and the frigates ''Inconstante'' and ''Surveillante'', and led an expedition to hunt down privateers. The division returned to Brest on 4 May 1779 with 400 prisoners. Later that year, ''Solitaire'' was attached to a squadron under Orvilliers. In late 1799, Monteclerc was appointed vice-Director of naval constructions in Brest, and he was promoted to Director on 1 January 1780. That same year, he commanded 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 ...

''Hector'', departing on 1 September and returning on 31 December. Monteclerc was promoted to Brigadier in 1781. Later that year, he was given command of the 74-gun ''Diadème'' in the squadron under De Grasse. He was wounded in the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...

on 5 September 1781, and took part in 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 ...

on 12 April 1782. Monteclerc was acquitted from all accusations in the inquiry that followed the battle. He then served under Vaudreuil before retiring in 1783.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Augustin de Monteclerc, Louis French Navy officers French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War