Maxime Julien Émeriau de Beauverger
Encyclopedia
Maxime Julien Émeriau de Beauverger (Cahaix, 20 October 1762 - Toulon
2 February 1845) was a French
Navy officer and admiral.
He took part in the Battle of Ushant
on the Intrépide in 1778. He was then transferred on the Diadème
, in Admiral d'Estaing
's fleet, taking part in the Battle of Grenada
, where he was wounded, and in the Siege of Savannah
, where one of his eyes was wounded.
Emeriau served under Lamotte-Picquet
during the Battle of Martinique.
After rising to lieutenant de frégate, he took part in the campaigns of Admiral de Grasse
, serving aboard a number of ships. He took part in the Battle of St. Kitts
and in the Battle of the Saintes
, where he was twice wounded.
After the Treaty of Paris
, Emeriau sailed with the commerce.
In 1786, Emeriau returned to the Navy as a sub-lieutenant. He sailed to the Caraibs on the Chameauand Mulet, and then on the 74-gun Patriote
and the frigate Fine, until 1791.
.
From 1793, Emeriau captained the Embuscade
, taking part in, under Pierre Jean Van Stabel
, in the escort of the grain convoy that was the background for the Glorious First of June
.
In December 1794, Emeriau was promoted to captain, receiving command of the Conquérant
, and later of the Timoléon
, both in the Mediterranean fleet under Admiral Pierre Martin. He took part in the various battles fought by the fleet, notably the Battle of Cape Noli
and the Battle of Hyères Islands
.
In 1796, Emeriau took part in the Expédition d'Irlande
, captaining the Jemmapes
.
In 1798, Emeriau served in Brueys'
fleet, as commodor on the Spartiate. He led the French squadron that captured Malta
.
He took part in the Battle of the Nile
, where Spartiate was the third ship in the French line. She dueled with Nelson's Vanguard, and Audacious from 19:00. At 21:00, Emeriau, twice wounded and facing three opponents, orders the colours struck.
In July 1802, Emeriau was promoted to contre-admiral, commanding a division with his flag on the 80-gun Indomptable
. He took part in the French repression of the Haitian Revolution
.
In 1803, he was transferred to command part of the flotilla in Ostend
, before returning to Lorient
to command a division, with his flag on Jemmapes
.
in Toulon
. He served in this capacity until 1811. when he took command of the Mediterranean squadron as a vice-admiral. The fleet was however blockaded in its harbour by Lord Exmouth
's fleet, and was unable to mount large-scale operations.
On 7 March 1813, he was promoted to vice-admiral and nominated inspector of the coasts of Ligurie.
During the Hundred Days
, Emeriau was made a Pair de France. However, he never had a chance to serve in this capacity. The Bourbon Restoration
sent him into retirement, making him a Pair de France in 1831.
, member of four lodges
: the Mère Loge Écossaise, the lodge Paix et Parfaite Union in Toulon, Amitié à l'Épreuve and Amis Fidèles de Saint Napoléon in Marseille.
He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati
.
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
2 February 1845) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Navy officer and admiral.
American War of Independence
Emeriau joined the Navy in 1776, just before the outbreak of the American War of Independence, taking service on the fluyt Sylphe.He took part in the Battle of Ushant
Battle of Ushant (1778)
The Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France...
on the Intrépide in 1778. He was then transferred on the Diadème
French ship Diadème (1756)
The Diadème was the lead ship of the Diadème class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.On 17 March 1757, along with the 64-gun Éveillé, she captured HMS Greenwich, commanded by Captain Robert Roddam, off Saint-Domingue....
, in Admiral d'Estaing
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing was a French general, and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the British during the Seven Years' War...
's fleet, taking part in the Battle of Grenada
Battle of Grenada
The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...
, where he was wounded, and in the Siege of Savannah
Siege of Savannah
The Siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint...
, where one of his eyes was wounded.
Emeriau served under Lamotte-Picquet
Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte
Count Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte was a French admiral.Aged fifteen, he joined the navy as a midshipman and served in Morocco, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean Islands and in India. Noted for his strategic skills, he was called to Paris in 1775 to help the Secretary of State prepare the...
during the Battle of Martinique.
After rising to lieutenant de frégate, he took part in the campaigns of Admiral de Grasse
François Joseph Paul de Grasse
Lieutenant Général des Armées Navales François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse was a French admiral. He is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, which led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown...
, serving aboard a number of ships. He took part in the Battle of St. Kitts
Battle of St. Kitts
The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle that took place on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse.-Background:When Hood...
and in the Battle of the Saintes
Battle of the Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned...
, where he was twice wounded.
After the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
, Emeriau sailed with the commerce.
In 1786, Emeriau returned to the Navy as a sub-lieutenant. He sailed to the Caraibs on the Chameauand Mulet, and then on the 74-gun Patriote
French ship Patriote (1785)
The Patriote was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She was one of the French ships which had their hull doubled with copper....
and the frigate Fine, until 1791.
Revolutionary wars
On 1 January 1792, Emeriau was promoted to lieutenant. The next year, he received command of the corvette Cerf. He notably ferried a convoy of refugees to New England after a fire devastated Cap FrançaisCap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
.
From 1793, Emeriau captained the Embuscade
French frigate Embuscade (1790)
-French service:In 1792, she escorted convoys to and from Martinique, and ferried Edmond-Charles Genêt to the USA. On 31 July 1793, she encountered and fought Boston at the Action of 31 July 1793....
, taking part in, under Pierre Jean Van Stabel
Pierre Jean Van Stabel
Pierre Jean Van Stabel was a French naval officer and admiral, famous for his role in the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2.Van Stabel was born to a family of sailors and started a career on privateers and merchantmen...
, in the escort of the grain convoy that was the background for the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
.
In December 1794, Emeriau was promoted to captain, receiving command of the Conquérant
French ship Conquérant (1747)
The Conquérant was a Citoyen class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she was armed with only 18- and 12-pounders, and crewed by a mere 400 men, under captain Dalbarade. Second ship in the vanguard of her line, Conquérant sustained fire from...
, and later of the Timoléon
French ship Commerce de Bordeaux (1785)
The Commerce de Bordeaux was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Renamed Timoléon in February 1794, she took part in the Battle of the Nile under captain Louis-Léonce Trullet. In the confusion of the battle, her rudder was damaged by misdirected fire from the neighbouring...
, both in the Mediterranean fleet under Admiral Pierre Martin. He took part in the various battles fought by the fleet, notably the Battle 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 the Battle of 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, Emeriau took part in the Expédition d'Irlande
Expédition d'Irlande
The Expédition d'Irlande was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule...
, captaining the Jemmapes
French ship Jemmapes (1794)
The Jemmapes was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Laid down as Alexandre, she was renamed Jemmapes on 7 January 1793 in honour of the Battle of Jemappes. She took part in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 and ultimately in the Glorious First of June...
.
In 1798, Emeriau served in Brueys'
François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers
Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, Comte de Brueys was the French commander in the Battle of the Nile, in which the French Revolutionary Navy was defeated by Royal Navy forces under Admiral Horatio Nelson. The British victory helped to ensure their naval supremacy throughout the...
fleet, as commodor on the Spartiate. He led the French squadron that captured Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
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 Spartiate was the third ship in the French line. She dueled with Nelson's Vanguard, and Audacious from 19:00. At 21:00, Emeriau, twice wounded and facing three opponents, orders the colours struck.
In July 1802, Emeriau was promoted to contre-admiral, commanding a division with his flag on the 80-gun Indomptable
French ship Indomptable (1789)
Indomptable was an 80-gun ship of the line in the French Navy.She took part in the Glorious First of June on 29 May 1794, engaging the English Barfleur and Orion simultaneously, after which the Indomptable, having lost her masts, was towed to Brest by the Brutus .In 1795, she served in the...
. He took part in the French repression of the Haitian Revolution
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
.
In 1803, he was transferred to command part of the flotilla in 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....
, before returning to Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
to command a division, with his flag on Jemmapes
French ship Jemmapes (1794)
The Jemmapes was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Laid down as Alexandre, she was renamed Jemmapes on 7 January 1793 in honour of the Battle of Jemappes. She took part in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 and ultimately in the Glorious First of June...
.
Préfet maritime and chief commander in Toulon
In late 1803, Emeriau was promoted to préfet maritimePréfet Maritime
The Préfet Maritime is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in one particular region . As a civil servant, he reports to the Prime Minister...
in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. He served in this capacity until 1811. when he took command of the Mediterranean squadron as a vice-admiral. The fleet was however blockaded in its harbour by Lord Exmouth
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
's fleet, and was unable to mount large-scale operations.
On 7 March 1813, he was promoted to vice-admiral and nominated inspector of the coasts of Ligurie.
During the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, Emeriau was made a Pair de France. However, he never had a chance to serve in this capacity. The Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
sent him into retirement, making him a Pair de France in 1831.
Freemasonry
Emeriau was a FreemasonFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, member of four lodges
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
: the Mère Loge Écossaise, the lodge Paix et Parfaite Union in Toulon, Amitié à l'Épreuve and Amis Fidèles de Saint Napoléon in Marseille.
He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
.
Honours
- Name engraved on the Southern pillar of the Arc de TriompheArc de Triomphe-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
- Grand cross of the Legion of Honour
- Knight of the Order of Saint LouisOrder of Saint LouisThe Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis was a military Order of Chivalry founded on 5 April 1693 by Louis XIV and named after Saint Louis . It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles...
Sources and references
- Six (Georges): Dictionnaire biographique des généraux et amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Empire, Librairie historique et nobiliaire Georges Saffroy, Paris, 1934.
- Dictionnaire des Marins Francs-Maçons (sous la direction de Jean Marc Van Hille), Éditions le Phare de Misaine, Nantes, 2008.