Jacques François de Pérusse des Cars

He joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine in 1754.^[5] He was promoted to Ensign in 1757^[3] and to Lieutenant in 1765.^[5] In 1772, he was given command of the 32-gun frigate Zéphyr, Brest.^[6]

He was promoted to Captain in April 1777.^[3] In 1780, he captained the frigate Prudente,^[7] cruising from Saint-Servan to Saint-Malo, Cherbourg and Brest.^[8] After Prudente was in battle, Des Cars had an interview with Louis XVI.^[9] On 22 June 1779, Prudente was captured by the 64-gun HMS Ruby and HMS Aeolus.^[9]

In March 1781,^[3] he was promoted to the command of the 74-gun Glorieux,^[10] in the squadron under De Grasse.^[1] Des Cars placed himself on a shroud of his ship to better direct the battle. In the opening of the Battle of the Saintes, ^[11] at 9 am,^[12] he was wounded by a musket ball, and had to climb down to the deck, where he continued to command. He was then mortally wounded by a large-calibre musket ball, and died shortly afterwards on 12 April 1782.^[5] Lt. Trogoff de Kerlessy assumed command.^[13] Des Cars' defence of Glorieux was later lauded in the subsequent inquiry into the battle.^[12]

Des Cars had married Louis-Félicité Buttet in Saint-Domingue.^[3] Together, they were the parents of:

• Amédée Louis Jacques de Perusse des Cars (1778–1779), who died in infancy.

He was a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis.^[3]

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Contenson, Ludovic (1934). La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778–1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard. OCLC 7842336.
• Gardiner, Asa Bird (1905). The order of the Cincinnati in France. The Rhode Island state society of Cincinnati. OCLC 5104049.
• Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. OCLC 763372623.
• La Monneraye, Pierre-Bruno-Jean (1998). Bonnichon, Philippe (ed.). Souvenirs de 1760 à 1791. Librairie Droz. ISBN 978-2-7453-0079-9. OCLC 165892922.
• Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé. OCLC 836362484.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.

External links

• Archives nationales (2011). "Fonds Marine, sous-série B/4: Campagnes, 1571-1785" (PDF). Retrieved 29 April 2020.