Armand Le Gardeur de Tilly
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Rochefort, France
La Salle, France
Armand Le Gardeur de Tilly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 January 1733 Rochefort, France |
| Died | 1 January 1813 La Salle, France |
| Service | French Navy |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral |
| Battles / wars | War of American Independence Battle of Cape Henry Battle of the Saintes |
Armand Le Gardeur de Tilly[Note 1] (Rochefort, 14 January 1733 — La Salle, near Champagne, Charente-Maritime, 1 January 1812)[3][4] was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
Le Gardeur de Tilly was the first son born to the family of a Navy captain.[5] [6]
He joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine on 6 July 1750. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 May 1763.[6]
Le Gardeur was promoted to Captain on 24 October 1778. That same year, he was in command of the frigate Concorde. On 21 August, he captured the British frigate HMS Minerva.[2] His younger brother, also a Navy officer serving on Concorde, was killed in the action.[6][7] The action was celebrated to the point that the Navy Minister commissioned a painting of the battle.[5]
On 18 February 1779, Concorde encountered a 32-gun British frigate, that she fought for three hours before the ships disengaged. Le Gardeur de Tilly was wounded in the action.[2][5][8][Note 2]
In early 1781, Des Touches gave Le Gardeur command of a division comprising the 64-gun Éveillé, the frigates Gentille and Surveillante, and the cutter Guêpe. On 19 February 1781,[10] The squadron met a British convoy, and captured the 44-gun HMS Romulus and 8 transports. They burnt 4 of the transports, sent the others to Yorktown, and took Romulus in French service. [11]
He took part in the Battle of Cape Henry on 16 March 1781,[5][2] and in the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782.[12][13][2]
Le Gardeur de Tilly retired in 1792,[2] with the rank of Vice-Admiral.[5] During the Reign of Terror, Le Gardeur de Tilly was imprisoned, but he was freed at the Thermidorian Reaction.[5]