Louis-André Senez (19 April 1761 – 8 November 1836) 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 who served during the

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...

.Louis André Senez (1761-1836)
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Biography

Senez was born to a family of bakers. He started sailing in the French Royal Navy in 1774 as a boy, serving on the corvette ''Flèche'', the frigates ''Flore'' and ''Sultane'', and the ship of the line in 1778.Quintin, p. 340 He took part in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. A British fleet led by Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

.Quintin, p. 341 Senez was then employed in the merchant navy and on various

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s. On 3 February 1794, he joined the Navy of the Republic as an

Enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu ''Enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu'' (literally: "Ensign without a salary") was a junior naval rank in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars. The duties of an ''Enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu'' were the same ...

on the fluyt ''Dordogne'' in a squadron under Captain Leissègues, tasked with retaking

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

from the British. On 11 July 1794, he was given command of Fort de l'Union at Guadeloupe. Promoted to Lieutenant on 8 October 1794, he was appointed to the command of corvette ''Décius''. In November 1796, ''Décius'', , and three schooners sailed for a raid on British-held

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

. On 27 November, intercepted the flotilla, destroying ''Vaillante'' and capturing ''Décius'', only to scuttle her the next day to escape two French frigates. Freed by 2 January 1798, Senez was promoted to Commander (''Capitaine de frégate'') and given command of . On 9 October 1799, Senez transferred to the corvette . On 13 July 1800, ''Berceau'' engaged two Portuguese corvettes and five Letters or Marque, sinking one corvette and capturing four of the privateers. He fought a notable action against USS ''Boston'' on 13 October 1800, where he was taken prisoner. Returned from America, Senez was promoted to Captain 2nd class on 24 September 1803 and given command of the frigate . On 29 August, he was given 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 ...

and fought in several campaigns, notably Ganteaume's expedition to Corfu and the Battle of Maguelone in October 1809.Quintin, p. 342 On 5 February 1804, he was made a Knight of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

, and on 14 June, promoted to Officer. In January 1813, Senez was given command of . 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 ...

, he was tasked with ferrying Duke Louis Philippe d'Orléans from

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

to France. On 5 July 1815, he was made a Knight in 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 ...

. Siding with Napoléon 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 ...

, Senez was given command of the frigate ''Dryade'', and tasked with ferrying

Letizia Ramolino Maria-Letizia Bonaparte ( Ramolino; 24 August 1750 or 1749 – 2 February 1836), commonly known as Letizia Bonaparte, was a Corsican noblewoman and the mother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. Due to her status as the Emperor's mother, she ...

Joseph Fesch Joseph Cardinal Fesch, Prince of the Empire (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of h ...

and

Napoleon II Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...

to France. At the Second Bourbon Restauration, the Navy retired Senez, then reinstated him, but did not give him a command. He retired on 1 November 1817 with a pension, and died on 8 November 1836.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Senez, Louis-Andre 1761 births 1836 deaths Military personnel from Toulon French Navy officers French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars