Admiral of France Admiral of France () is a French title of honour. It is the naval equivalent of Marshal of France and was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France. History The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, during the Eighth Crusad ...

Guy-Victor Duperré (20 February 1775 – 2 November 1846) 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. He is known for commanding French naval forces in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 and was victorious in the

Battle of Grand Port The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle fought on 20–27 August 1810 between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France (now Mauritius), as part of ...

, where he was wounded. Later he had a command in the Mediterranean and continued to serve during and after 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 ...

. He commanded the naval elements of the expeditionary force that carried out the

Invasion of Algiers in 1830 The invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Deylik of Algiers. Algiers was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in 1529 after the capture of Algi ...

and went on to become Minister of the Navy three times.

Early years and education

Duperré was born on 20 February 1775 in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

B. Barbiche, ''Les institutions de la monarchie française à l'époque moderne'', Presses universitaires de France, 1999. to Jean Augustin Duperré, counselor of the king and financer for war, and Marie-Gabrielle Prat-Desprez. He spent a few years with the

Oratory of Saint Philip Neri The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri (), abbreviated C.O. and commonly known as the Oratorians, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men (priests and Religious brother, religious brot ...

at the Collège de Juilly, before enlisting at 16 on the ''Henri IV'', a French

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

Career

Revolutionary wars

In November 1792, Duperré joined the

at the beginning of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

. He served against the Netherlands and Britain aboard the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

''Maire-Guiton'', and later aboard the frigate ''Tortu''. In May 1796, he was made an auxiliary ensign aboard the ''Virginie''. In June, he was captured by the British during a night fight. He was exchanged two years later and made a full rank ensign, taking command of the corvette ''Pélagie''. In 1804, he was made a

ship-of-the-line lieutenant Ship-of-the-line lieutenant (; ) is a naval officer rank, used in a number of countries. The name derives from the name of the largest class of warship, the ship of the line, as opposed to smaller types of warship ( corvettes and frigates). It ...

, and later assistant of the maritime prefect of

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

. In 1806, he served off Brazil aboard the '' Vétéran'', under

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

. Back to France, he was promoted to capitaine de frégate on 28 September. In 1808, commanding the frigate ''Sirène'', he led a troop convoy to

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 ...

; returning to France, he was intercepted by a British blockade off

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 ...

, and managed to escape by beaching his ship. Napoléon made him a

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 ...

and knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, before promoting him to Commodore. On 6 December 1810, Duperré was made Baron of the Empire. Duperré was sent to the Isle de France (now

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 ...

) aboard the frigate ''Bellone'', fighting several British ships in the process, notably the action of 3 July 1810. On 23 August 1810, he won the

, completely destroying a British squadron. He was wounded in this battle. The naval victory made its way on the Arc de Triomphe. In recognition, Duperré was promoted to contre-amiral when he returned to France in September 1811. From 1812 to 1814, Duperré commanded the Italian and French naval forces in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic. In 1814, he defended Venice against Austria. Bombardementd alger-1830

Bourbon restoration

Duperré was made

Préfet maritime A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French government who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region known as a maritime prefecture (''Préfecture maritime''). As of , there are three maritime prefec ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

, and was retired during the

. In 1818, he was brought back to active duty. He commanded the squadron which blockaded Cadiz during the war which reinstated

Ferdinand VII of Spain Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (t ...

on the throne. In October 1823, he was made

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

, ''grand officier de la

'' and Commander of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...

in 1824. In 1827, he was made Préfet maritime of Brest and inspector of the 5th ''arrondissement militaire''. Though Duperré was critical towards the expedition against

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

made him commander of the fleet which ferried troops under Bourmont to depose the Algerian Regency. The fleet of the invasion of Algiers and shipwreck of Dellys was 103 warships strong, with 572 freighters ferrying 35 000 soldiers, 3 800 horses and 91 heavy guns. In recognition for his role, Duperré was made

pair de France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

on 16 July 1830. Portrait de l Amiral Duperre in 1855 par Claude Jacquand 1804 1878

July monarchy

After the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

, all pairages were cancelled as a whole. Duperré was reinstated

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

on 18 August 1830, and promoted to Admiral in March 1831. Then in Africa, Duperré was called back to France and made chief of the council of the Admiralty. On 18 November 1834, Duperré became Naval Minister in Mortier's government. He retained the office in de Broglie's and Thiers' governments, and got out of office when Thiers' government collapsed on the 16 September 1836. Duperré came back to office on 12 May 1839 in

Soult Marshal General of France, Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman. He was a Marshal of the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, and served three times as P ...

's second government. In 1840, a budget project for the

Duke of Nemours Duke of Nemours was a title in the Peerage of France. The name refers to Nemours in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. History In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gâtinais, France, was a possession of th ...

was rejected, which made the government collapse; Duperré then said: "The ministry has received a round shot in the belly, which has gone to hit the wood of the Crown." Duperré came back again to the ministry on the 29 October 1840 in Soult's third government, until he retired for health reasons on 6 February 1843. Arc de Triomphe mg 6848

Death and honours

Duperré died on 2 November 1846 in

Saint-Servan Saint-Servan (; often abbreviated as St. Servan; ) is a town of western France, in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants. History In June 1758, ...

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 ...

. Admiral

Jean Tupinier Jean Marguerite Tupinier (18 December 1779 – 2 December 1850) was a French naval engineer and politician. In 1839 he was briefly Minister of Navy and Colonies. Early years Jean Marguerite Tupinier was born in Cuisery, Saône-et-Loire, on 18 D ...

said a eulogy in the chamber of the pairs de France. He was buried in the

Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old sold ...

in a national funeral. His name is carved on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duperre, Guy Admirals of France 1775 births People from La Rochelle 1846 deaths Ministers of marine and the colonies French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Peers of France Barons of the First French Empire Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe