Jean-Pierre Etienne
Encyclopedia
Jean-Pierre Etienne was a French Navy officer.
In 1781, Etienne served on the Illustre
, in Suffren
's squadron. He took part in the Battle of Trincomalee
, and sustained leg injuries at the Battle of Cuddalore
.
In 1785, Etienne obtain a commission to captain a merchantman, and engaged in slave trade between Angola and Santo Domingo.
In May 1793, Etienne resumed his naval career with the rank of ensign. He was promoted to lieutenant in December, and to captain in January 1794. He was then appointed to the staff of Admiral Martin
on Heureux
. Transferred to Sans-Culotte
in April, he took part in the battles of Cape Noli
and Hyères Islands
.
In 1796, he was awarded command of the Guillaume Tell
. The next year, he was appointed as captain of Heureux
. He took part in the Battle of the Nile
, where Heureux had to cut her anchor to avoid the burning wreckage of Orient. Drifting, Heureux ran ashore and was captured. Etienne, severely wounded by a round shot, was taken prisoner.
Released in August 1798, Etienne served in Alexandria before returning to France in 1799. Etienne assumed a variety of commands as gunboats flotilla commander and harbour captain in Corsica and later in Holland.
Biography
Etienne started his career in the French Royal Navy in 1766 as a cabin boy, serving on a number of ships as an apprentice, a sailor from 1770, a helmsman from 1773, an aid-pilot from 1775, a second pilot from 1776, and a first pilot from 1778.In 1781, Etienne served on the Illustre
French ship Illustre (1781)
The Illustre was a 74-gun Magnanime class ship of the line of the French Navy.She took part in the campaigns of Suffren before staying in Brest between 1788 and 1791. She was razeed into a 44-gun frigate in 1793....
, in 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...
's squadron. He took part in the Battle of Trincomalee
Battle of Trincomalee
The Battle of Trincomalee was the fourth in the series of battles fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India during the American Revolutionary War...
, and sustained leg injuries at the Battle of Cuddalore
Battle of Cuddalore (1783)
The Battle of Cuddalore was a battle between a British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a slightly smaller French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India near Cuddalore during the American Revolutionary War, which in 1780 had sparked the Second Mysore War in India...
.
In 1785, Etienne obtain a commission to captain a merchantman, and engaged in slave trade between Angola and Santo Domingo.
In May 1793, Etienne resumed his naval career with the rank of ensign. He was promoted to lieutenant in December, and to captain in January 1794. He was then appointed to the staff of Admiral Martin
Pierre Martin (French Navy officer)
Admiral Pierre Martin was a French Navy officer and admiral.- Youth :Pierre Martin was born to a Canadian family of Louisbourg. In 1759, his family fled to Rochefort as his hometown was taken by the British during the Seven Years' War.Martin served as an apprentice on the fluit Saint Esprit...
on Heureux
French ship Heureux (1783)
The Heureux was a Centaure class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She cruised in the Mediterranean in 1794 and 1795.Under Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne, she took part in the Expedition to Egypt, and in the Battle of the Nile. The first ship to spot the British fleet on 1 August, Heureux...
. Transferred to Sans-Culotte
French ship Orient (1791)
The Dauphin-Royal was an Océan class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.During the French Revolution, she was renamed Sans-Culotte in September 1792, and eventually Orient in May 1795....
in April, he took part in the battles of Cape Noli
Naval Battle of Genoa (1795)
The Naval Battle of Genoa was fought on 14 March 1795 off the coast of Genoa, a port city in north-western Italy, between French warships under Rear-Admiral Pierre Martin and British and Neapolitan warships under Vice Admiral William Hotham...
and Hyères Islands
Naval Battle of Hyères Islands
The Naval Battle of Hyères Islands was fought on 13 July 1795 off the Hyères Islands, a group of islands off the French Mediterranean coast, about 25 km east of Toulon. The battle was fought between the van of a British fleet chasing the French squadron, and the French rear...
.
In 1796, he was awarded command of the Guillaume Tell
HMS Malta (1800)
HMS Malta was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Tonnant-class Guillaume Tell, but was captured in the Mediterranean in 1800 by a British squadron enforcing the blockade of Malta...
. The next year, he was appointed as captain of Heureux
French ship Heureux (1783)
The Heureux was a Centaure class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She cruised in the Mediterranean in 1794 and 1795.Under Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne, she took part in the Expedition to Egypt, and in the Battle of the Nile. The first ship to spot the British fleet on 1 August, Heureux...
. He took part in the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
, where Heureux had to cut her anchor to avoid the burning wreckage of Orient. Drifting, Heureux ran ashore and was captured. Etienne, severely wounded by a round shot, was taken prisoner.
Released in August 1798, Etienne served in Alexandria before returning to France in 1799. Etienne assumed a variety of commands as gunboats flotilla commander and harbour captain in Corsica and later in Holland.
Sources and references
- Dictionnaire des capitaines de vaisseau de Napoléon, Danielle & Bernard Quintin, SPM, 2003, ISBN 2-901952-42-9