Eugène Darcy was a French captain and author during the early 20th century. He was known for his service during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...

, recounting his experiences about the war in his works with one of them awarding him the

Montyon Prize The Montyon Prize (french: Prix Montyon) is a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon. History Prior to the start of the French ...

Early Military career

Eugène was born on 10 January 1868 in

Constantine, Algeria Constantine ( ar, قسنطينة '), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honor of emperor Constantine the Gre ...

, the son of annuitant André Louis Damascène and Marie-Hippolyte (née Jarillot) Darcy. He enrolled at the

École Navale École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in 1885. He graduated from the academy on 5 October 1888 and was made a midshipman. He was then promoted to ensign and assigned to the port of

Brest, Finistère Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...

on 23 July 1891, and was then made assistant of the Captain of the 2nd Fleet Crew Depot within the port. On 1 January 1894 he became part of the crew within the ''

Le Terrible 16 ships of the French Navy have borne the name ''Terrible'': * , a 68-gun ship of the line (1670–1678), built at Brest. She took part in the Battle of Schooneveld on 7 June 1673. She was wrecked in the Caribbean Sea on the 11 May 1678. * , an ...

'' under Captain Gustave Ferrat. Darcy then decided to take up further military education by attending the Battalion of Apprentice-Fusiliers of Lorient on 1 January 1896, and became a licensed fusilier by the end of the year. On 1 January 1897 he was assigned as the Lieutenant of the 1st Battalion of the Apprentice-Fusiliers. He was then promoted to Lieutenant on 20 April 1898 while at Toulon, and became a patented torpedo officer.

Boxer Rebellion

He remained in Toulon during 1899 but by the next year, he was part of the staff aboard ''

D'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux () (8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial governor. He is perhaps best known for his exploration of the Australian coast in 1792, while ...

'' under

Louis de Marolles Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

. A few months later though, Darcy was appointed to lead a squad of 78 sailors from the cruiser to defend the French legation at

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

after the outbreak of the

. During the

Siege of the International Legations The siege of the International Legations occurred in 1900 in Peking, the capital of the Qing Empire, during the Boxer Rebellion. Menaced by the Boxers; an anti-Christian anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilia ...

, he witnessed the deaths of Sub-Lieutenant Henry and Midshipman Herbert and he recounted their deaths in the novel ''La défense de la légation de France à Pékin''. Another event that occurred during the siege was that the Swiss hotelier Auguste Chamot and his wife personally asked Darcy to provide an armed escort to the Ma Jia Pu Station on June 11 along with the Italian and Japanese forces. For his service during the siege, he was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honor on 5 October 1900, before being awarded with the Officer class two months later.

Senior career

After returning from China, he was made Secretary of the

maritime prefect A maritime prefect (French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

on 24 January 1901, and commander of the Company of guards-consignes on 1 January 1902. From 4 October 1902 to 1904 he commanded the '' Rapière'' and the ''

Épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

'' on 1 March 1905. Around the same time, Darcy received the

for his work titled ''Les derniers jours de Pékin''. Darcy was then promoted to ''

Capitaine de frégate The rank insignia of the French Navy (french: Marine Nationale) are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, only commissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, but enli ...

'' on 2 August 1906, while commanding the '' Saint Louis'' under Rear-Admiral

Jules Le Pord Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name * Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

. He then commanded the ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'' but was then made commander of the 1st Maritime Prefect of the General Staff of Toulon in 1909. On 1 January 1910 he was made commander of the Central Torpedo Boat Service within the 5th Maritime Prefect of Toulon and made Chief of Staff of the 1st Maritime Prefect of Toulon on 11 October 1911. Darcy was promoted to ''

Capitaine de vaisseau Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navy, navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide in ...

'' on 7 August 1913. His last given command would be that of the 2nd Special Reserve Group consisting of the "Brennus" and "Amiral-Trehouart" on 19 September 1913, before he was transferred back to Toulon on 1 January 1915, and would retire by the end of the year due to his age.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Eugène 1868 births 1928 deaths French Navy officers École Navale alumni Montyon Prize laureates People from Constantine, Algeria 20th-century French male writers French military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Officiers of the Légion d'honneur