Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747
[Granier, p.87][Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish.] – 24 July 1812
[Levot, p.544]) was a French
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 ...
.
Villaret was born at
Auch
Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.
Geography
Localization
Hydrography
The ...
. After serving in the Indies under Suffren, he rose in rank during the early stages of the French Revolution. He was in command of the French fleet during the
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
, where despite being handed a heavy tactical defeat, he ensured the passage of a vital grain convoy to France. He led the French fleet during the disastrous
Croisière du Grand Hiver and failed to prevent
a British fleet from successfully retreating, with his last battle being a
defeat off Groix. He was relieved when he refused to serve for the disastrous
Expédition d'Irlande
The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican ...
. Villaret was then elected at the
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...
. He joined the
Club de Clichy
The Clichy Club (french: Club de Clichy) was a political group active during the French Revolution from 1794 to 1797.
History
During the French Revolution, the Clichy Club formed in 1794 following the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, 9 Thermidor ...
, a party promoting colonies and slavery, and harbouring Royalist sympathies. After the
Coup of 18 Fructidor
The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the Directory, the government of the French First Republic, with support from the French military. The coup wa ...
, Villaret was to be deported to Cayenne but went into hiding long enough for his sentence to be commuted to exile to Oléron, where he went willingly.
Reinstated in 1801, Villaret took command of the naval component of the
Saint-Domingue expedition
The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domin ...
, and was appointed captain general of Martinique and Sainte-Lucie alongside the colonial prefect,
Charles-Henri Bertin
Louis-Charles-Henri Bertin (September 15, 1752 – April 26, 1822) was a French civil official who served as the first Colonial Prefect of Martinique and St. Lucia.
Biography
Bertin was born in Louisbourg, Île-Royale (modern Cape Breton), in ...
. He served in this capacity until the British
captured Martinique in 1809. Returned to France, Villaret fell in disfavour for his perceived weak defence during the invasion. After two years, Napoléon pardoned him and appointed him governor of Venice. Villaret died there of edema on 24 July 1812.
Career
Louis-Thomas Villaret was born in
Auch
Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.
Geography
Localization
Hydrography
The ...
, in
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...
,
to the family of a fiscal officer.
["''contrôleur du domaine royal''", "controller of Royal domains" (Granier, p.87)]
Unable to enter the elite naval schools, he entered the navy as a ''volontaire'' in 1768. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1773,
he served as a lieutenant on the 32-gun frigate
''Atalante'' 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 ...
.
In 1778, unemployed in Pondicherry,
he volunteered his services to the governor
de Bellecombe during the
siege of Pondicherry,
earning the rank of
capitaine de brûlot
Capitaine, derived from the French for Captain, may also refer to:
* Hogfish (''Lachnolaimus maximus''), an edible marine fish in the family Labridae, found in the western Atlantic
* Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), a freshwater fish in the famil ...
.
[Hennequin, p.214]
Service under Suffren
In 1781, Villaret commanded the fireship
''Pulvérisateur'' in
Suffren's fleet.
He then served under
Suffren, who made him his aide in 1782. He was later transferred to the frigate ''Dauphine'', and became First Officer on
''Brillant'' in Suffren's squadron.
After the
battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, Suffren gave him command of the frigate
''Bellone''.
A few months after, Suffren appointed Villaret to the 20-gun the corvette
''Naïade''.
[Roche, p.321] He ordered him to sail to
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and warn the French blockading squadron, composed of two ships of the line and two frigates, of the imminent arrival of a superior British force.
Three days after her departure, on 11 April 1783, ''Naïade'' spotted the 64-gun
HMS ''Sceptre'',
under Captain Graves;
after trying without success to elude his much stronger opponent, Villaret was forced into battle, and
struck his colours after a five-hour fight.
When Villaret surrendered his sword, Graves allegedly told him "Sir, you have given us a fairly beautiful frigate, but you made us pay dearly for her!";
some authors add that Graves returned Villaret his sword.
Villaret was taken prisoner. Despite the loss of ''Naïade'', the British squadron was unable to locate the French ships,
which had already departed.
[Troude, vol.2, p.227] ''Naïade'' was not commissioned in the Royal Navy and was sold.
Villaret was released in June 1783,
after the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...
, and was awarded him 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 re ...
.
Villaret was promoted to Lieutenant in 1784 for his service. After the war, Villaret served in the harbour of
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...
.
French Revolution
In 1791, Villaret was appointed to command the frigate
''Prudente'' to transport troops 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 ref ...
.
Arriving shortly before the slave revolt that launched the
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...
,
[Hennequin, p.215] he helped the governor transport troops around the island.
On 14 March 1792, he swore the "civic oath" to the Republic, while his brother emigrated. Promoted to
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 1792, he was given the command of the 74-gun ''
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
'' in 1793;
in May 1793, part of a squadron under
Morard de Galle, he was tasked with watching the coasts of Morbihan and Loire,
to prevent the British from aiding the
Revolt in the Vendée
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
.
When the rest of the Brest fleet sailed to
Belle-Isle and the
Quibéron mutinies broke out among many ships in the fleet, Villaret was one of the few officers who maintained order aboard his ship.
[Levot, p.542]
In 1794, Villaret was promoted to Rear-admiral,
and
Jeanbon Saint André appointed him to command the 25-ship Brest fleet.
Setting his flag on the 120-gun
''Montagne'',
Villaret reorganised and revitalised the Brest fleet. Among other measures, Saint André and Villaret-Joyeuse founded a naval artillery school.
Atlantic campaign of May 1794
In the summer of 1794, Villaret sailed with 23 ships of the line and 16 frigates to protect a 170-ship food convoy under Rear-admiral
Vanstabel, incoming from the United States.
The convoy was necessary to relieve France from famine after a disastrous harvest, and the
British Channel Fleet under Admiral
Lord Howe had set out to prevent it from reaching France; the orders of the
National Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nation ...
to the fleet were to stall the British forces and prevent them from intercepting the convoy at all costs.
The Brest fleet departed and sailed to the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
to wait for the arrival of Vanstabel's convoy.
On 28 May, the French and British fleets came in contact 100 leagues off Ushant, and began seeking each other in the fog;
[Hennequin, p.217] the engagement culminated in the
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
. Although suffering severe losses, he rallied his remaining ships and rescued several of his ships; most importantly, the grain convoy reached Brest unmolested.
[Levot, p.543]
Supported by Saint-André, Villaret-Joyeuse kept his command despite the tactical defeat. He blamed his losses on the conduct of several of his captains who had failed to fulfil their duties. On 27 September 1794,
[Levot, p.544] Villaret-Joyeuse was promoted to
Vice-admiral.
Croisière du Grand Hiver
In December, the
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. S ...
ordered him to attack British commerce in the
Croisière du Grand Hiver. Although the cruise did lead to the capture of a number of British merchant ships, the French fleet was battered by storms in which several ships were sunk and all the surviving ships suffered heavy damage.
Battle of Groix
In June 1795, he sailed with nine ships to relieve a small squadron near
Belle Île
Belle-Île, Belle-Île-en-Mer, or Belle Isle ( br, Ar Gerveur, ; br, label=Old Breton, Guedel) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peni ...
. During
Cornwallis's Retreat
Cornwallis's Retreat was a naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars in which a British Royal Navy squadron of five ships of the line and two frigates was attacked by a much larger French Navy fleet of 12 ships of the line and 11 fr ...
, Villaret-Joyeuse tried to engage the small British squadron blockading Belle Île. Unable to bring them to battle, Villaret attempted to return to Brest, but contrary winds forced him towards Lorient. Close to Lorient, Villaret-Joyeuse was discovered by British admiral
Alexander Hood's fleet, guarding the expedition to
Quiberon
Quiberon (; , ) is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, administrative region of Brittany, western France.
It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It ...
. During
Second Battle of Groix, several of Villaret's ships disobeyed his orders and sailed away, with three ships of the line being captured by the British.
In 1796, Villaret-Joyeuse was appointed to command the fleet for the
Expédition d'Irlande
The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican ...
, an attempt to land General
Hoche's army in Ireland;
opposed to the project, Villaret was replaced with Morard de Galle.
Political career
In 1796,
[Hennequin, p.219] Villaret was elected to the
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...
as a representative of
Morbihan
Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...
.
As a member of the
Club de Clichy
The Clichy Club (french: Club de Clichy) was a political group active during the French Revolution from 1794 to 1797.
History
During the French Revolution, the Clichy Club formed in 1794 following the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, 9 Thermidor ...
,
then considered to constitute the Royalist party,
he gave several speeches about the colonies, speaking against the emancipation of slaves. He also lobbied in favour of strengthening the Navy.
After the
Coup of 18 Fructidor
The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the Directory, the government of the French First Republic, with support from the French military. The coup wa ...
, Villaret was sentenced to deportation to
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's m ...
;
he went into hiding until the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced b ...
ordered those who had escaped deportation to
Guyane exiled to the
Île d'Oléron; then, Villaret willingly surrendered himself.
He remained on Oléron until the advent of the
French Consulate
The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...
.
[Hennequin, p.220]
Saint-Domingue expedition and Martinique
In 1801, Bonaparte ended Villaret-Joyeuse's exile and returned him to active command. Initially, Napoleon wanted Villaret-Joyeuse to prepare an expedition to capture the Cape of Good Hope, then head into the Indian Ocean. With the
Peace of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...
, Bonaparte decided to attempt to regain control of Haiti with the
Saint-Domingue expedition
The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domin ...
. In December 1801, Villaret set out with ten French and five Spanish ships and nine frigates and corvettes,
with his flag on the 120-gun
''Océan'',
ferrying 7000 of General
Leclerc's expeditionary forces to Saint Domingue.
Two further squadron, one from Lorient comprising one ship, two frigates and 1200 soldiers, and the other from Rochefort with six ships, six frigates, two corvettes and 3000 soldiers, joined his fleet off Brest.
Conflicts over command led Villaret to return to France with the majority of the fleet.
In April 1802, Bonaparte appointed Villaret him "Capitaine-General of
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 ...
and Sainte-Lucie".
Taking control of Martinique in September in accordance with the
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...
,
[Chartrand, p.23] he faced the threats of slave-uprisings, yellow fever and the possibility of invasion. On 3 November 1802, Villared founded a 94-strong force of Gendarmerie at Martinique, and on 8 July 1803, a company of black Chasseurs Volontaires de la Martinique.
[Chartrand, p.24]
He cooperated with Admirals
Missiessy and
Villeneuve who sailed into the Caribbean in 1805 during the
Trafalgar Campaign.
In January 1809, a British expedition
invaded Martinique and laid siege to the fortress at
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean.
Histo ...
. After the British were able to bring up their heavy artillery, the month-long siege ended on 24 February with the surrender of Villaret.
Upon his return to France, Villaret's conduct was condemned by an inquiry council; he requested in vain a Court-martial to clear his name, and he lived in disgrace for two years.
Napoleon granted him a pardon in 1811: "Bravery and fidelity plead in favour of the vice-admiral (...) did his faults lose the colony? At most, they shortened its keeping for a few days." As Napoleon prepared for the invasion of Russia, he appointed Villaret General governor of Venice in the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814; it, Regno d'Italia; french: Royaume d'Italie) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic) in personal union with Napoleon I's French Empire. It was fully influenced by revolutionary France ...
,
and commander of the 12th military division.
Villaret retained this position until 24 July 1812, when he died of
edema
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
.
To honour him, Napoleon had his name engraved on the
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
in Paris.
Legacy
A number of legends have been reported as truths on Villart-Joyeuse. He is often said to have come from a noble family;
this appears to be false.
[Ortholan]
Another legend holds that he enlisted in the
Gendarmes
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...
before joining the Navy;
however, Villaret is listed on none of the lists of Gendarmes in the relevant years.
Some authors further state that Villaret had to leave the Gendarmes after killing an opponent in a
duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...
, either and the age of 16
[Hennequin, p.213] or at the age of 18.
Honours
*Knight 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 re ...
– 15 July 1783
*Knight of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...
– 11 October 1803
*Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour - 14 June 1804
*Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour – 2 February 1805
Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villaret de Joyeuse, Louis Thomas
French Navy admirals
Joyeuse, Louis Thomas, Villaret de
1750 births
1812 deaths
Deaths from edema
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Louis
French Governors of Martinique
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe