Pierre-Nicolas, baron Rolland (29 April 1761 at

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

– 9 November 1825), was a French admiral noted for his participation at the battles of

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

in 1805 and the Basque Roads in 1809 during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Life

Rolland joined 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 ...

at a young age, participating in the

American War of 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 ...

, on board ''Sibylle'' in 1778 in the squadron of

Louis Guillouet d'Orvilliers Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers (26 March 1710 – 1792) was a French admiral. Life Louis Guillouet d'Orvilliers was born on 26 March 1710 in Moulins, Allier. His parents were Claude Guillouet d'Orvilliers (), seigneur d'Orvilliers, and Claud ...

, the ''Amphion'' in 1779, in the squadron of d'Estaing, the ''Amphitrite'' between 1779 and 1781, and the ''Emeraude'' in 1782, in which he was wounded 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 ...

. An auxiliary officer in 1782, as a lieutenant, Rolland was promoted captain en 1796 and was in command of 74-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

''Atlas'' with

Villeneuve Villeneuve, LaVilleneuve or deVilleneuve may refer to: People * Villeneuve (surname) Places Australia * Villeneuve, Queensland, a town in the Somerset Region Canada * Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a Formula One racetrack in Montréal * Villeneuv ...

's fleet in 1805, fighting at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in which he was badly wounded. In 1809 he was flag captain to

Zacharie Allemand Zacharie Jacques Théodore Allemand (1 May 1762, in Port-Louis – 2 March 1826, in Toulon) was a French admiral. Biography Early career Allemand was born to a captain of the East Indian Company. Orphaned at an early age, he started his saili ...

on ''Océan'' during the

Battle of Basque Roads The Battle of the Basque Roads, also known as the Battle of Aix Roads (French: ''Bataille de l'île d'Aix'', also ''Affaire des brûlots'', rarely ''Bataille de la rade des Basques''), was a major naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought in th ...

, in which his ship was badly damaged and nearly destroyed. Rolland was promoted Contre-amiral in 1814, after being distinguished by his command of ''Romulus'' at the

action of 13 February 1814 Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

off

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, under the orders of

Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien (Châteaulin, Finistère, 27 November 1761 – Brest, France, Brest, 17 February 1825) was a French Navy officer, admiral, best remembered for his role in the Battle of Trafalgar. Career Early career Comp ...

. He was honoured as a commander of the

Legion d'Honneur 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 Napoleon B ...

and made a

Baron de l'Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that t ...

Bibliography

Théodore-Éloi Lebreton Théodore-Éloi Lebreton (1 December 1803 – 12 December 1883) was a 19th-century autodidact French poet, chansonnier and bibliographer. Biography Born from a day laborer and a washerwoman, Lebreton entered at age seven in an indienne factor ...

, ''Biographie normande: recueil de notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les personnages célèbres nés en Normandie et sur ceux qui se sont seulement distingués par leurs actions ou par leurs écrits'', 1861 * Christian de La Jonquière, ''Les Marins français sous Louis XVI: guerre d'indépendance américaine'', 1996 * P. Lerot, ''Les gloires maritimes de la France: notices biographiques sur les plus célèbres marins'', 1866 * Joseph François Gabriel Hennequin, ''Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers, Volume 1'', 1835

External links

Pierre-Nicolas Rolland, baron de l'Empire, Contre-amiral
* ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolland, Pierre-Nicolas French Navy admirals 1761 births 1825 deaths Commanders of the Legion of Honour French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Barons of the First French Empire