Justin-Bonaventure Morard de Galles (30 March 1741, Goncelin,
Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Guéret) was a French navy officer and admiral.
Family
Morard was born to a noble family from Dauphiné whose origins stretched right back to the end of the 11th century. His father was an infantry captain, and his elder brother Charles Morard de La Bayette de Galles was a général de Division under the Revolution and the Directory.
On 22 December 1783 he married Louise Marie Victoire Henriette Fayd'herbe de Maudave at Port-Louis, Mauritius. To this day there are many descendants of her siblings still living in Mauritius
Biography
Ancien Régime
Morard began his naval career in 1757 on the
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
''Ecureuil'' and took part in many combats in the Mediterranean and the Americas as part of the Royal French Navy with the rank of
garde de pavillon Siphesihle Siswana, (born 30 December 1995) in Durban better known by his stage name Garde is a South African Singing, singer, songwriter, and producer. He started singing at the tender age of 6 years, his first ever performance was in a concert at ...
. He entered the service at the age of 11, in the
gardes de la maison du roi
The Maison du Roi (, "King's Household") was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration.
Organisation
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.
In 1765, the comte de Grasse was charged with clearing the Mediterranean of its infestation of Barbary pirates. In 1765, on ''Héroïne'' as enseigne de vaisseau, Morard de Galles participated in the bombardment of Morocco's Atlantic coast. The young Morard de Galles next became an ensign on board the frigate ''Hermine'', and there received a mission to burn one of the corsairs which had taken refuge under the protection of the coastal batteries. Favoured by a cloudy night, he boarded the enemy vessel and attached a coat of sulphur to one of her sides - a terrible explosion half an hour later announced the success of this audacious enterprise.
Returning to France, he remained attached to the group directing the naval building works at Brest until 1776, when he took to sea again in Duchaffault's squadron. Promoted to lieutenant de vaisseau in 1777, he distinguished himself the following year at the Battle of Ushant on ''Ville de Paris'', and in the actions of 17 April, 15 and 19 May 1780.
Morard was first officer on ''Annibal'', under Trémigon, when she left with a division under Captain Suffren bound for the Dutch Cape Colony and Isle de France ( Mauritius). Trémigon was killed and Morard took command of ''Annibal'', although he was himself wounded.
On 1 November 1781, Morard was given command of the 40-gun frigate ''Pourvoyeuse''. After Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves died on 9 February 1782 and he assumed command of the French forces in the Indian Ocean, Suffren promoted him to the command of the 50-gun ''Petit Annibal'', recently captured from the British, while her former captain, Lieutenant de Ruyter took command of ''Pourvoyeuse''.
Morard commanded ''Petit Annibal'' in the Battle of Sadras on 17 February 1782, the Battle of Providien on 12 April 1782, and in the
Battle of Trincomalee
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...
from 25 August to 3 September 1782, sustaining three new wounds which incapacitated him. Morard de Galles requested to be relieved and left the squadron after the
Battle of Trincomalee
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...
, embarking on ''Pulvérisateur'' on 3 September 1782, bound for Isle de France. However, he had barely arrived at Isle de France when he was appointed to ''Argonaute'' and ordered to rejoin the squadron outside Gondelour. He then commanded various ships in the West Indies, then returned to France on '' Vengeur''.
French Revolution
His health weakened by his wounds, Morard eventually requested to return to France in 1790. He was promoted to
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 ...
and given command of a division.
Morard was promoted to vice admiral in 1793 and given command of a squadron of three ships of the line and 7 frigates, with his flag on the 110-gun '' Républicain''. He first 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 ...
, then back to France, patrolling between Groix and Belle-Île to allow safe passage for merchant shipping into France's ports, in spite of the British blockade. However, a lack of moral and basic necessities led his crew to mutiny, and forced him to return to the roads off Brest. Upon his return, he found the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
well in motion, and was arrested. He remained a prisoner until the
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...
.
Morard remained unemployed for several years before he was offered a new command. In 1798 (Year V of the Republic), he was given a division in a squadron under
Villaret-Joyeuse
Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral.
Villaret was born at Auch ...
for an expedition to Ireland, with 15 ships of the line, 12 frigates, 6
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s or avisos, and 9 transport vessels were to transport 15000 soldiers under General
Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...
. The planned invasion was an attempt to intervene in favour of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Soon before departure, Morard had to replace Villaret-Joyeuse. The fleet departed on 5 December 1796, with Morard's flag on the frigate ''Fraternité''. This expedition was a failure: ''Séduisant'' was wrecked in the passe du Raz as she tried to sail out of Brest, and long before seeing Bantry Bay, the fleet was blocked by opposing winds and had to find refugee in
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 ...
.
Consulate and First Empire
During the Consulate and First Empire, Morard rebounded from his Irish humiliation. He became a member of the Sénat conservateur from its inception on 25 December 1799. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 2 October 1803, and Grand Officier 14 June 1804. Napoléon also awarded Morard the titular lands of the sénatorerie of
Limoges
Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...
on 2 May 1804. In 1808, he and made Morard a comte de l'Empire.
Morard died at Guéret on 23 July 1809. The municipal council voted funds to build a monument to his memory. Morard's ashes were taken to the Panthéon.