Louis-Bernard Saint-Orens

Louis-Bernard Saint-Orens (Saintonge, 1733 — Isle de France (Mauritius), 9 September 1780)[1] was a French Navy officer. He notably captained the 40-gun frigate Pourvoyeuse at the outbreak of the Anglo-French War in 1778.[2]

Biography

Saint-Orens joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine on 6 July 1750. He was promoted to Ensign on 11 October 1755, and to Lieutenant on 1 May 1763.[1]

In 1764, Saint-Orens was in command of the 16-gun corvette Isis. She was part of a division bound for the Caribbean, along with the 32-gun frigate Danaé, under Kearney.[3] That same year, Admiral d'Estaing sent him to cover the Turks and Caicos Islands.[3]

In 1777, Saint-Orens served as a Lieutenant on the 32-gun frigate Dédaigneuse. [4] He was promoted to Captain on 4 May 1777, [1] and that same year was given command of the heavy 40-gun frigate Pourvoyeuse, at Rochefort. [5]

In 1778, Saint-Orens was stationed at Pondicherry with Pourvoyeuse, along with the 64-gun Brillant, under Tronjoli, and three armed merchantmen: the 26-gun corvette Sartine (under du Chayla), the 24-gun Brisson (under Captain du Chézeau), and the 24-gun Lawriston.[6] During the Siege of Pondicherry in 1778, Tronjoli had lost some of his ships and escaped to Isle de France with the survivors, arriving there in late September.[7] He was tasked with patrolling off Cape Agulhas. [8]

In early October 1778, Pourvoyeuse captured the Danish merchantman Enighed, mistaking her for British. On 8 October, he sent her to Port-Louis with a prize crew under first officer Périer de Salvert.[1]

On 21 February 1779, he captured the East Indiaman Osterley, [9][10][11] helped by the armed merchantman Elisabeth. [12]

Funds from the sale of the cargo were embezzled, leading to a heated dispute. Tronjoli demanded that Saint-Orens explain himself. On 9 September 1780, the day before he was to testify before the authorities, Saint-Orens was founded dead, officially from an aneurism, although rumour said that he had been mortally wounded in a sword duel with a M. Villeneuve, formerly a Counselor at Pondichéry.[13]

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Roussel & Forrer (2019), p. 112.
  2. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 476.
  3. ^ a b Fonds Marine, p. 170.
  4. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 174.
  5. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 212.
  6. ^ Cunat (1852), p. 69.
  7. ^ Cunat (1852), p. 72.
  8. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 236.
  9. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 237.
  10. ^ National Archives - Osterley (2),[1] - accessed 23 July 2015.
  11. ^ Hackman (2001), p. 168.
  12. ^ Roussel & Forrer (2019), p. 113.
  13. ^ Roussel & Forrer (2019), p. 112-113.

References

  • Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas.
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • Lacour-Gayet, G. (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XV. Paris: Honoré Champion.
  • "Fonds Marine, sous-série B/4: Campagnes, 1571-1785" (PDF). Archives nationales. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  • Roussel, Claude-Youenn; Forrer, Claude (2019). Tromeling et Suffren, un conflit entre marins. Kronos. ISBN 978-2-917232-88-0.