Armand de Saint-Félix (20 September 1737 – 13 August 1819) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer.

Biography

Saint-Félix joined the Navy in 1755. he served on the 16-gun ''Calypso'', where he took part in the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as the ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' by the French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off ...

on 20 November 1759. In 1762, he was promoted to Ensign. In 1771, he was appointed to command the corvette ''Heure de Berger'' and appointed to conduct an exploration voyage to seek the

Phantom island A phantom island is a purported island which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. They usually originate from the reports of early sailors exploring new regions, and are commonly the result of navigati ...

of Juan de Lisboa. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1772, he brought

Maurice Benyovszky Count Maurice Benyovszky de Benyó et Urbanó (; ; ; 20 September 1746 – 24 May 1786) was a military officer, adventurer, and writer from the Kingdom of Hungary, who described himself as both a Hungarian and a Pole. He is considered a national ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

for an attempt at founding a trading post.

War of American Independence

During 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Saint-Félix served on ''Solitaire'' and took part in the Battle of Ushant. He then transferred onto ''Protée'', and was taken prisoner when she was captured in the action of 24 February 1780. Promoted to Captain in 1781, he was appointed to the frigate ''Fine'' and sailed to Isle de France (

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

). He took command of the 64-gun ''Brillant'' in the squadron of Read-Admiral Suffren, and took part in the battles of

Sadras Sadras is a fortress town located on India's Coromandel Coast in Chengalpattu district, 70 km south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state. ''Sadras'' is the anglicised form of the ancient town of ''Sadurangapattinam''. History and etymology An in ...

, Providien and Negapatam. On 7 July 1782, following the Battle of Negapatam, Suffren appointed Saint-Félix to ''Artésien'' in replacement of Bidé de Maurville. He commanded her at the

Battle of Trincomalee Plan of the battle (British units - black, French - white) The Battle of Trincomalee was fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of Trincomalee, then Cey ...

. Saint-Félix requested to be relieved and left the squadron after the Battle of Trincomalee], embarking on French fluyt Salomon (1762), ''Pulvérisateur'' on 3 September 1782, bound for Isle de France. He later returned to be promoted to the command of the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

''Fendant'' which he captained during the Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, where he was wounded. He returned to France after the Peace of Paris, commanding ''Flamand''. After the war, he was amongst the captains that Suffren recommended for promotion

Interwar

Returned to France, Saint-Félix commanded the training squadron ( escadre d'évolution) in 1785. In June 1786, the captained the 18-gun corvette ''Flèche'' for a cruise between Toulon and Cherbourg. In 1787 and 1788, he commanded the Eastern Mediterranean station. In 1790, he was given command of the

''Tourville''. In 1791, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral and until 1792, he commanded the Indian Ocean station, with his flag on ''Cybèle''.

French Revolutionary wars

In 1793, Saint-Félix was promoted to Vice-Admiral. The same year, he was arrested, and spent 16 months in prison. He returned to France in 1810 after squandering a considerable fortune that belonged to his wife.

Restoration

At the

Bourbon restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

, Louis XVIII made Saint-Félix a Commander in the Order of Saint Louis.

Sources and references

Notes References Bibliography * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Félix, Armand 1737 births 1819 deaths People from Isère French Navy admirals