Charles Eugène,

Comte de Boisgelin ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word "count" (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word "county" (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * ''Comte'', French for a count (i.e. the nob ...

, Vicomte de

Pléhédel Pléhédel (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Pléhédel are called in French. Notabl ...

(2 August 1726 – 27 October 1791) was a

French nobleman The French nobility () was an aristocratic social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléon bestowed titles that we ...

who served in the

French Royal Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blue- ...

''(Marine Royale)'' and later became a politician.

Early life

Charles Eugène was born on 2 August 1726 at the Château de Boisgelin in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

as son of René Joseph, Comte de Boisgelin.

Service

After studying at the

Jesuit college The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges, and university, universities listed here. Some of these universities are in t ...

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most p ...

, he joined the Marine Guards (''Gardes de La Marine'') on 1 January 1746.Batel During this period, he served on several ships of the line including: *

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

, bound for

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

which had to turn back in 1746 * Sirène, commanded by

Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, Comte de Guichen Luc or LUC may refer to: Places * Luc, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, a commune * Luc, Lozère, France, a commune * Le Luc, France, a commune * Luč, Baranja, Croatia, a settlement People and fictional characters * L.U.C., stage name of Łukasz Ro ...

serving around for

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

French Antilles The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two Overseas department and region of France, overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Bass ...

in 1747 and 1748 * Émeraude, sailing off the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and later the

Kingdom of Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and t ...

in 1749 * Junon, sailing to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

and later cruising off

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

Beylik of Tunis The Beylik of Tunis () was a de facto independent state located in present-day Tunisia, formally part of the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty from 1705 until the establishment of the French protectorate of Tunisia in 1881. T ...

in 1750 In 1751, he was promoted to the rank of

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

and then sailed on further voyages: * Emerald, sailing to Saint-Domingue, French Antilles in 1751 and 1752 * Marie Magdeleine, training ship based the naval base in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

* Anémone, sailing as far as

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, French Antilles in 1755 and 1756 After he returned to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Charles took command of the coastal batteries in

Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...

and

Tréguier Tréguier (; ) is a port town in the French department of Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, northwestern France. It is the capital town of the province of Trégor. Geography Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situat ...

, both in

. In late 1756, he was moved back to sea, serving on the

Alcyon The Alcyon was a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer between 1903 and 1954. Origins Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, Seine. In 1902, this was complemented ...

till early 1757. In mid 1757, he was promoted to the rank of

Frigate Captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argenti ...

''(Captaine de Frégate)'', equivalent to that of Brigadier General/

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the Anglophone world. That year, he sailed on the Formidable, which was flagship of Ship of the Line Lieutenant, Louis Charles du Chaffault de Besné's squadron earmarked for

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...

. In 1759, Charles took command of the 32-gun Blonde-class frigate Brune, which sailed from her base in

towards the

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

in Brest and witnessed 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 ...

. In 1762, the ship was once again at sea grouped with the Defence and Diadème which led a long campaign in 1762 with the Marquis de Montreil bound for Saint Pierre and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. In 1764, Charles was promoted to

''(Capitaine de Frégate)'' but retired from the navy in 1765. With the rank of Frigate Captain removed shortly after, his rank was altered to that of Naval Captain.

Later life

In 1764, Charles' brother Réne Gabriel, Comte de Boisgelin, Viscomte de Pléhédel, Brigadier Colonel of the

Régiment de Béarn A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service, or specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one ...

died, and Charles subsequently took his titles and lineage over. From this point on, he would be known as the Count ''(Comte)'' of Boisgelin and Viscomte ''(Vicount)'' of

. On 26 August 1767, Charles and his wife bear their first son, Bruno-Gabriel de Boisgelin who will take over his fathers titles on his death in 1791. On 14 April 1770, Charles and his wife bear their second son,

Alexandre-Joseph de Boisgelin Alexandre Joseph Gabriel, Marquis de Boisgelin (14 April 1770 – 21 June 1821) was a French nobleman who served as personal bodyguard to the last Queen of France before emigrating. He later served with the French Émigrés till 1814 when he re ...

who will later take the title of ''Marquis de Boisgelin''. The title is raised under the Second Restoration, though Alexandre-Joseph remains 2nd in succession to his older brother, until 1827. By 1789, the Comte is appointed as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

and presides over the Order of the Nobility in

from 1779, during the short absence of his brother. On 27 October 1791, the Comte died and his eldest son, Bruno took over his titles and lands, though the title was raised to that of ''Marquis''.

Footnotes

References

* {{Cite book, last=Batel, first=Jean, title=Le capitaine de vaisseau Charles Eugène de Boisgelin, publisher=Société d'études historiques et archéologique du Goëlo, year=1993, series=Les Carnets du Goëlo No. 9, location=France 1726 births 1791 deaths French Navy officers People from Côtes-d'Armor French nobility