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Thread: The Action of November 1813 continued.

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    Default The Action of November 1813 continued.

    The French Fleet.

    Rear-Admiral Cosmao-Kerjulien's Squadron
    Ship Rate Guns Commander Casualties Notes
    Killed Wounded Total
    Wagram First rate 130 Rear-Admiral Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien
    Captain François Legras
    0 2 2
    Agamemnon Third rate 74 Captain Jean-Marie Letellier 0 9 9
    Ulm Third rate 74 Captain Charles-Jacques-César Chaunay-Duclos 0 2 2
    Magnanime Third rate 74 Captain Laurent Tourneur 0 0 0
    Borée Third rate 74 Captain Jean-Michel Mahé 0 3 3
    Pauline Fifth rate 40 Captain Etienne-Stanislaus Simiot 0 0 0
    Melpomène Fifth rate 40 Commander Charles Béville 0 1 1
    Pénélope Fifth rate 40 Captain Edme-Louis Simonot 0 0 0
    Galathée Fifth rate 40 Captain Jean-Baptiste Bonafoux-Murat 0 0 0
    Casualties: 17 wounded
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Rear-Admiral Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien.

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    Early career.

    Completing his studies in Châteaulin, young Cosmao-Kerjulien joined the French Royal Navy in 1776, against his parents' will. He served in the Aigrette in the Caraibs. Back to Brest in 1778, he served on the Oiseau with Corentin de Leissegues. In September, after the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, he served on the Nymphe, taking part in two battles against English privateers, near Bordeaux and Belle-Isle.

    Between January 1779 and April 1781, he served in Guyana aboard the brig Hirondelle, fighting two more English privateers and capturing two East Indiamen. He was promoted to Lieutenant of an auxiliary frigate in September 1781. He served successively aboard the Pégase (February 1782) and the Protecteur (March) before taking command of the Fluyt Fidèle in Terre Neuve from May 1783 to April 1784. In January 1785 he served on the Lourde, on the Vigilante on October and the Dorade in April 1786. He was made a sub-lieutenant on a ship of the line in March 1786.

    In September 1787, he was given command of the brig Vaneau, and of the Boulonnaise for November 1787 to March 1790. From October 1790 to January 1791, he was first officer aboard the Précieuse.

    From February 1791, he served aboard the Orion of the squadron of Laurent Jean François Truguet in Toulon. He was made ship of the line full lieutenant in January 1792, and received command of the corvette Sincère in April. He took part in the landing at Cagliari in January 1793.

    Captain.

    In the context of the lack of qualified officers due to the Revolution, he was made Capitaine de Vaisseau in April 1793, serving aboard the Commerce de Marseille, the Centaure and the Duguay-Trouin, under Rear-Admiral Trogoff de Kerlessy.

    In December 1794 he was transferred to the squadron commanded by Admiral Pierre Martin, where he commanded the 80-gun ship of the line Tonnant. On 10 June 1795, he captured the English frigate Alceste, and took part in the Battle of Cape Noli in March 1795 (the French and the English both lost two ships of the line) and of Cape Frejus (17 French ships of the line against 23 English; the French lost the 74-gun Alcide).

    In June 1797, he was made chief of division, commanding the Jemmapes in the Mediterranean. From 1801 to 1803, he served under Dordelin in Saint-Domingue, commanding the French ship Océan, the Alliance and the French ship Mont-Blanc.
    .
    Back to France, he assumed command of the 74-gun Pluton in the squadron of Admiral Villeneuve in Toulon. He accompanied the squadron to the Caraibs in its seizing of the English fortress of the Diamond Rock, 6 nautical miles (11 km) away from Martinique. Back to Europe, he took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre, on 22 July, saving one Spanish ship which had been cut off for a time by the British.

    Battle of Trafalgar.

    At the Battle of Trafalgar, Pluton was part of the reconnaissance squadron created by Villeneuve and commanded by Spanish Admiral Gravina. She followed the French ship Fougueux in the line of battle, in the rear. When Admiral Collingwood attacked, Pluton opened fire on HMS Royal Sovereign, then manoeuvered in order to block HMS Mars, damaged her with artillery fire and attempted to board and seize her. However, the arrival of HMS Tonnant in her stern forced her to turn. She engaged HMS Belleisle, already damaged by the fire of Fougueux; again another English ship, HMS Polyphemus, forced her to disengage. She then helped the surrounded Spanish ship Principe de Asturias of Gravina, and succeeded in freeing her.

    However, at this point, the battle was already lost for the French. At sunset, five French ships (Pluton, Héros, Neptune, Indomptable and Argonaute and six Spanish ships tried to return to Cádiz, under dying Admiral Gravina. On 23 October, Cosmao, as one of the most senior officers present, jointly took command of the squadron with Spanish Comodore Enrique MacDonell, and set back to sea with five ships: Pluton, Héros, Neptune, San Francisco de Asis, and Rayo. Cosmao later tried to claim sole credit for the sortie but this is not correct as both MacDonell and Cosmao both had Commodore pennants raised. He managed to retake Neptuno and Santa Ana, as well as to force the English to scuttle a number of their prizes. Neptuno and Rayo sank during the journey back and the Indomptable was wrecked with the loss of over a thousand men.

    Late career.

    Cosmao-Kerjulien was made Rear Admiral on 29 May 1806. He took command of a division of the French Mediterranean Fleet, under Ganteaume from 1807. he took part in operations to resupply Corfu and to the landing in Sicily. His 4 ships, having sustained damage, retreated to Taranto.

    In late 1809, Ganteaume was organising reinforcements to Barcelona. Cosmao set his flag on Robuste and took command of a squadron comprising Donawerth, Génois, Borée and Lion, as well as the frigates Pauline and Pénélope, and a dozen of transports. The fleet departed Toulon on 24 April 1809, and returned on 1 May without incident.

    Cosmao was made Baron in 1810. In August 1811, he served under Admiral Missiessy in the Escaut Squadron, commanding a division, with his flag in the ship-of-the-line Tilsit.

    In 1813 he returned to the Mediterranean Fleet, where he commanded a 5-ship division, with his flag on the Wagram. At the Action of 5 November 1813, he saved the 74-gun Agamemnon and the frigates Pénélope and Melpomène which were under threat to be surrounded by superior English forces.

    In February 1814, he set sail with three ships from Toulon to Genoa, threatened by the Austrians, to bring back the Scorpion. He escaped the forces of Admiral Pellew and successfully returned to Toulon on the 10th with the Scorpion without losing a ship, though the Romulus, at the rear, did suffer some damage.

    During the first restoration, in April 1814, Cosmao-Kerjulien received command of the Mediterranean Fleet, and was made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis. In 1815, upon the Emperor's brief return to power, he rallied to Napoleon, who made him préfet maritime of Brest in March, and Peer of France in June, right before the Battle of Waterloo.

    Cosmao-Kerjulien was retired on 1 January 1816, and for one year he did not receive a pension. At the time of his retirement, he was 55, with 25 year in campaigns, and 11 battles without once being wounded or captured.

    He died at 64, on 17 February 1825.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain Jean-Marie Letellier.



    Letellier joined the Navy at age 13 as an apprentice, and was severely wounded after a few weeks of service when the escort on which he sailed battled two privateers.
    The next year, he volunteered on the frigate Bellone, which raided commerce off India. While at sea, he transferred to Suffren's squadron, and subsequently took part in the battles of Suffren's campaigns, serving on Coventry and Sévère.
    Returned to Brest with the Illustre, Letellier sailed with the merchant navy until 1793, when he embarked on a privateer. In September, he joined the Navy with the rank of ensign on the Pomone and served aboard until the Action of 23 April 1794, in which the frigate was captured and Letellier was taken prisoner.
    Released and returned to Brest, he was transferred to Toulon to serve on Conquérant and on Orient from January 1796.
    Promoted to commander in September, Letellier was appointed to Heureux and served in the Mediterranean campaign of 1798. After the captured of Malta, he was given command of the Cartaginoise, freshly captured at La Valette. He remained in harbour until the end of the Siege of Malta.
    Returned to France, Letellier served in various harbours until he was appointed to the frigate Cérès. He then served as an aid to Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, and was promoted to captain in September 1803. He was appointed to Dumanoir's flagship Formidable, taking part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre and in the Battle of Trafalgar.
    He managed to escape the battle, but fell upon Admiral Sir Richard Strachan's squadron on 4 November 1805, resulting in the Battle of Cape Ortegal. The French ships had to strike their colours.
    Letellier returned to France in 1806 and served ashore until 1811, when he was appointed to Agamemnon.
    Letellier was retired in 1816, and left for Egypt where he served as an advisor to Ibrahim Pasha, though he stayed ashore during the Battle of Navarino, as staying on board Egyptian ships would have entailed facing the French Navy. He nevertheless retained his appointment afterwards, and supervised the harbour of Alexandria until his death in a boating accident.
    Last edited by Bligh; 02-04-2018 at 13:48.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain Charles-Jacques-César Chaunay-Duclos.






    Born: 14 April 1767
    Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1784
    Captain de fregate: 24 September 1803
    Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 15 September 1807
    Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
    Wounds recieved while in the service of France: 1794, 180Died: 25 June 1829
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain Laurent Tourneur.




    Born: 6 December 1762
    Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1776
    Captain de fregate:21 February 1805
    Captain de vaisseau 2nd Class: 12 July 1808
    Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
    Wounds received while in the service of France: 1793
    Died: 20 February 1820
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain Jean-Michel Mahé.



    Mahé started his career in the merchant Navy in 1789, and became an Midshipman in the Navy on 16 April 1794. He served on the fluyt Duras before embarking on Montagne, flagship of Villaret-Joyeuse on which he took part in the Glorious First of June.
    From October 1794, he served on the frigate Fraternité, on which he took part in the Battle of Groix on 23 June 1795 under Lieutenant Florinville. He then served on the brig-aviso Impatient, the lugger Titus and the felucca Fort.
    On 7 July 1797, he was promoted to Ensign and given command of the schooner Gentille, escorting convoys off Bretagne. He served twice on the corvette Réolaise, captained the gunboat Caroline in the summer of 1800, and returned on Impatient from October 1800 to January 1801.
    In February, he embarked on the frigate Chiffone and took part in the capture of the Portuguese frigate Hirondelle on 16 May 1801. On 16 June, Chiffone captured the East Indiaman Bellona on her way from Bengal to London. Mahé was given command of the captured ship, and a prize crew took Bellona to Mauritius where she arrived a month later. Mahé then returned to France on the merchantman Aventure.
    On his return, Mahé was given command of the aviso Vigie, and promoted to Lieutenant on 5 March 1803. On 9 November 1804, he was promoted to Commander and became first officer on Bucentaure in December 1804. On 23 February, he was given command of the frigate Hermione, on which he took part in the capture of HMS Cyane, the Battle of Cape Finisterre, in the Battle of Trafalgar and in Lamellerie's expedition.
    In late 1807, he took part in a division under Rear-Admiral Baudin, ferrying troops to Martinique, before decommissioning Hermione on 26 May 1808.

    Mahé then served on Patriote as adjudant-commandant of the squadron before being promoted to Captain on 12 July 1808. He successively commanded Ville de Varsovie
    and Patriote in Rochefort. He took part in the Battle of the Basque Roads, where Patriote ran aground and Mahé ordered her artillery thrown overboard to refloat her; on the 12th, Patriote came under fire from the British squadron and Mahé sent his sick and his wounded ashore to prepare his crew for the evacuation of his ship, but she refloated in the night of the 13th and washed to safety under Fort Lupin.
    Mahé then commanded Annibal in Toulon. On 18 November 1812, he took command of the 74-gun Borée, which he captained during the Action of 5 November 1813 and until she was decommissioned on 13 June 1814. He eventually retired on 1 January 1816.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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