Corentin Urbain de Leissegues (Hanvec

Hanvec

Hanvec is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-estern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Hanvec are called in French Hanvécois.-References:** ;-External links:* *...

, 29 August 1758 - Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 26 March 1832) was a French admiral of the Napoleonic wars, notably protagonist of the Battle of San Domingo

Battle of San Domingo

The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...

.

Biography

Leissegues joined the Navy in 1778, at age 20. He served on the frigate Oiseau and took part in patrol in the English Channel, before being transferred on the Nymphe. In 1780, he was promoted to lieutenant de frégate and joined the Magicienne

French frigate Magicienne (1778)

The Magicienne was a frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. The British captured her in 1781 and she served with the Royal Navy until her crew burned her in 1810 to prevent her capture after she grounded at Île de France...

.

In 1781, Leissegues served under Suffren

Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez

Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren , French admiral, was the third son of the marquis de Saint Tropez, head of a family of nobles of Provence which claimed to have emigrated from Lucca in the 14th century...

 and took part in the campaigns of the Franco-Indian alliances

Franco-Indian alliances

Various Franco-Indian alliances were formed between France and Indian polities between the 18th century to the ascent of Napoleon. Following the alliances of Dupleix, a formal alliance was formed between by Louis XVI's France during the late 18th century in an attempt to oust Great Britain from the...

. He received a wound at the head during the Battle of Providien

Battle of Providien

The Battle of Providien was the second in a series of naval battles fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren near India during the American Revolutionary War...

.

From 1785, Leissègues served in the North Sea on the frigate Vigilante. Promoted to sous-lieutenant de vaisseau, he served in the Indian Ocean aboard the frigate Méduse from 1787 to 1791. He took his first command with the brig Furet, off Newfoundland.

Leissègues was promoted to Captain in early 1793 and put in command of a convoy bound for Windward Islands

Windward Islands (Society Islands)

The Windward Islands are the eastern group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean.-Geography:...

. Arriving at Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

, he found the island in British hands, and launched a 4-month campaign to re-take it. He was subsequently promoted to contre-amiral.

Upon his return to France, Leissègues was put in charge of harbour inspection from Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...

 to Vlissingen. He was then given command of the harbours of Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

, Vlissingen, and Antwerp, as well of the naval forces stationed near Walcheren

Walcheren

thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...

.

Leissègues later led a naval division to Northern Africa to reduce attacks by Barbary corsairs

Barbary corsairs

The Barbary Corsairs, sometimes called Ottoman Corsairs or Barbary Pirates, were pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers. This area was known in Europe as the Barbary Coast, a term derived from the name of its Berber...

. He managed to obtain assurances in Algiers and Tunis, bringing back presents and the ambassador of Tunis to Paris. The same years, he ferried General Brune to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

.

In 1806, Leissègues lead a five-ship squadron to reinforce Santo Domingo. A British squadron led by vice-admiral John Thomas Duckworth

John Thomas Duckworth

Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...

 intercepted the convoy, and destroyed in the ensuing Battle of San Domingo

Battle of San Domingo

The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...

.

On 7 April 1809, Leissègues was put in charge of the defence of Venice. He was tasked to provide for Corfu, where he stayed until the surrender of the island to the Allied, in 1814, upon orders of Louis XVIII.

Leissègues returned to Toulon in August 1814. He served under the Bourbon Restoration, rising to vice-admiral, until 1818.

Honours

• Commander of the Order of Saint-Louis
• Commander of the Legion of Honour