Nicolas Henri René de Grimouard (

Fontenay-le-Comte Fontenay-le-Comte (; Poitevin: ''Funtenaes'' or ''Fintenè'') is a commune and subprefecture in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France. In 2018, it had a population of 13,302, while its functional area had a popu ...

, 25 January 1743 –

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 ...

, 7 February 1794) was an officer in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. 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 ...

, and became a member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

Career

Grimouard 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 ...

in 1758. He served on ''Inflexible'' in 1759 under Conflans. In 1770, he was promoted to Ensign, and to Lieutenant in 1778. He took part in fixe cruises of the

escadre d'évolution An Escadre d'évolution (French, literally "Evolution squadron") is a squadron of warships of the French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one ...

. In 1779, Grimouard commanded the frigate '' Minerve''. He captured the British ''Debora'', and took part in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. The British fleet of Admiral John Byron (the grandfather ...

on 6 July 1779. That same year, he was made a Knight in 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 rewar ...

. In the action of 4 January 1781, ''Minerve'' was captured by '' HMS Courageux''. Grimouard was wounded and taken prisoner, to be exchanged soon afterwards. He took part to the capture of Tobago and the

capture of Grenada The Capture of Grenada was an amphibious expedition in July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. Charles Hector, comte D'Estaing led French forces against the British-held West Indies island of Grenada. The French forces landed on 2 J ...

under de Grasse. At 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, Grimouard was first officer on ''Magnifique'', under Macarty Macteigue. Combat du Scipion conte le London-Rossel de Cercy mg 5095c

He later took command of the 74-gun ''Scipion'', and fought in the

action of 18 October 1782 The action of 18 October 1782 was a minor naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War, in which the French 74-gun ship of the line ''Scipion'', accompanied by the 40-gun frigate ''Sibylle'', was chased by two Royal Navy ships of the line ...

, where he was wounded.

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

made him a count after the battle, and commissioned a painting of the action from Rossel. Grimouard was promoted to contre-amiral in July 1792, and was appointed commander of the naval forces in Brest. In January 1793, he was promoted to Vice-amiral. During 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, ...

in 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 ...

, Grimouard was guillotined in

on 7 February 1794.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimouard, Nicolas Henri French Navy officers 1743 births 1794 deaths