Louis Charles du Chaffault de Besné ( Montaigu, 29 February 1708 –

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, 29 June 1794) was a French Navy officer. He notably took part in the

Second Battle of Cape Finisterre The second battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval battle, naval encounter fought during the War of the Austrian Succession on 25 October 1747 (N.S.). A Royal Navy, British fleet of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Rear admiral (Royal Navy ...

in 1747, and was one of the commanders at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778. He also lead the

Larache expedition The Expedition of Larache occurred in June 1765 when French Navy Marines attempted to invade the Moroccan city of Larache following a bombardment of Salé and Rabat. It is an example of the sporadic failure of Western arms against local forces in ...

Biography

Duchaffault joined the Navy as a

Garde-Marine Gardes de la Marine is a junior officer rank, usually used in American navies, as well as a former rank used in France. France In France, under the Ancien Régime, the (Guards of the Navy), or were young gentlemen undergoing training to be nav ...

in November 1725. In 1727, he served on the 70-gun ''Achille'', off Spain. The year after, he took part in the Bombardment of Tripoli by Grandpré, serving on the 30-gun frigate ''Astrée''. Duchaffault was promoted to Ensign in 1733. He was appointed to positions ashore in Brest, before returning to ''Astrée'' in 1737, fighting the

Salé Rovers The Salé Rovers, also known as the Sallee Rovers, were a group of Barbary pirates active during the 17th and 18th centuries in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Like other Barbary pirates, they attacked Christianity, Christian merchant s ...

. In 1739, he served on the 16-gun ''Méduse'' in the Baltic, then on the 46-gun ship of the line ''Parfaite'' in the Caribbean in 1740, and on the

64-gun The 64-gun ship of the line was a type of two-decker warship defined during the 18th century, named after the number of their guns. 64-guns had a lower battery of 24-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders. Heavier variants with 18-pounders o ...

''Saint Michel'' between 1742 and 1744. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1746. In February 1747, he was given command of the 40-gun frigate ''Atalante'', and cruised off

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 ...

with ''Sirène'', under

Guichen Guichen (; ; Gallo: ''Gischen'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Population Inhabitants of Guichen are called ''Guichenais'' in French. Image gallery File: Halles-guichen-2 ...

. Later that year, on 25 October 1747, he distinguished himself at the

. In 1751, he captained the 24-gun frigate ''Friponne'' for missions off Saint-Domingue. He was promoted to Captain in 1754, and given command of the 80-gun ''Formidable''. He returned to ''Atalante'', part of a squadron under Aubigny, taking part in the capture of HMS ''Warwick'' on 11 March 1756. He also part in the Siege of Louisbourg, commanding ''Dragon''. In 1758, he was in command of a division, and he captured the

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 ...

''Carnarvon''. In 1760, he captained the 70-gun ''Magnifique''. Duchaffault was promoted to

Chef d'escadre ''Chef d'escadre'' (; literally " squadron commander") was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to '' contre-amiral'' by a law passed on 15 May 1791. History The first chef ...

in 1764. In June 1765, he took part in the

. In 1772, Duchaffault was one of the promoters of the

Escadre d'évolution An Escadre d'évolution (French, literally "Evolution squadron") is a squadron of warships of the French Navy cruising in peacetime for the purpose of training their crew and student officers. History The French Navy started organising Escadre d' ...

, commanding the 50-gun ''Fier''. Duchaffault was promoted to Lieutenant général des Armées navales on 6 February 1777. He commanded the Read-guard of the French fleet at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, with his flag on the 80-gun ''Couronne'', where he was gravely wounded. In 1779, he commanded a division in the

Armada of 1779 The Armada of 1779 was a combined Franco- Spanish naval enterprise intended to divert British military assets, primarily of the Royal Navy, from other war theatres by invading the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary Wa ...

, with his flag on ''Ville de Paris''. He then served as commander of the naval forces in Rochefort. He was promoted to

Vice-amiral 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 ...

on 1 January 1792. During the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, Duchaffault was arrested and imprisoned. He died in captivity in

on 29 June 1794.

Legacy

In 1931, naval historian André Vovard authored the biography ''L'Amiral du Chaffault''. That same year, Paul Chack published ''L'homme d'Ouessant, Du Chaffault''. Rue du Chaffault in Paris and Rue Amiral-du-Chaffault in Nantes are named in his honour.

Notes

citations

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duchaffault Military personnel from Nantes 1708 births 1794 deaths French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession French military personnel of the Seven Years' War French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Louis Nobility from Nantes French Navy admirals People who died in prison custody during the French Revolution