Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière (5 November 1772 – 14 January 1849) was a French naval officer.

Biography

Born at

Gannat Gannat (; Auvergnat: ''Gatnat'') is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5,800 inhabitants. There is a castle (the Château de Gannat), two churches of whic ...

in Allier, La Gravière entered the service under the name Jurien Desvarennes as a novice pilot on the corvette ''

La Favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'' in May 1786. Volunteer aspirant on the frigate '' La Flore'' 29 November 1787, aspirant, 1st class, and ship-of-the-line ensign on the corvette '' L'Espérance'' on November 1791 and January 1793, he was named ship-of-the-line lieutenant on 6 Vendémiaire, year III, and captain of a frigate on 24 Nivôse, year VI. He participated in the Entrecasteaux expedition, which

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 ...

and the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

directed to search for the earlier La Pérouse expedition, as well as conduct scientific research in the Pacific Ocean. In the year XI, he commanded '' La Franchise'' during the Léogane Affair. In his report, the vicomte de Rochambeau, general-in-chief of the Army of Saint-Domingue, made note of him as an officer distinguished by his intelligence and bravery and demanded he receive the rank of ship-of-the-line captain, which was granted on the 13th of Ventôse. In the year XII, he was made a French legionnaire in Pluviôse and an officer of the order on 25 Prairial. He received the latter again in February 1809. He fought in 1809 at the battle of Sables-d'Olonne, employing three frigates to force the retreat of six British ships-of-the-line. On 5 July 1814, La Gravière was named a knight of Saint Louis. On 13 November of that year, he was the commander of a division which went from

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 ...

in order to take possession of Île Bourbon. On 10 February 1815, he reached the

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

; on 6 April, he installed the new governor of the island; and on 27 August, he moored in the

Roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (''rade de Brest'') is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq mi). The port of Brest and one of the two French naval ...

. He was promoted to counter admiral on 28 October 1817, named president of the electoral college of

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

on 10 March 1819, made a commander 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 Napoleon ...

on 28 April 1821, and commanded the French Brazil station the same year. Made a Commander of the Order of Saint Louis on 22 May 1825, he commanded the French station for the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. He was one of the commanders of the Baron Mackau's expedition to Haiti which forced it to provide reparations to former French slave owners from the island. He was named on 7 January 1827 as the naval prefect of the 4th arrondissement and on 5 November as the president of the electoral college of Charente. Vice Admiral and peer of France during the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, inspector general of the French Navy for the 2nd and 5th arrondissements in 1832, grand officer of the Legion of Honor on 22 April 1834, Grand Cross of the Order on 22 June 1841, Admiral Jurien was later made part of the 2nd section of the General Staff of the French Navy. He was the father of another French admiral, Edmond Jurien de la Gravière. He died in Paris on 14 January 1849.

Sources

* Mullié, Charles. ''Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850''. "Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière." 1852. * Kuntz, Monique & al. ''Hommes et femmes célèbres de l'Allier''. Bonneton: Paris. 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurien de La Graviere French Navy admirals 1772 births 1849 deaths People from Allier Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Peers of France French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars