Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez
Encyclopedia
Admiral
comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren (17 July 1729 – 8 December 1788), 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. He was born in the Château de Saint-Cannat
, near Aix-en-Provence
in the present département of Bouches-du-Rhône
. He was most famous for his campaign in the Indian Ocean
, in which he inconclusively contended for supremacy against the established British power there, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes
.
and the Order of Malta
(where he received the title Bailli de Suffren) offered the usual careers for the younger sons of noble families of the south of France who did not elect to go into the Church. The connection between the Order and the old French royal navy was close. Pierre André de Suffren was destined by his parents to belong to both. He entered the close and aristocratic corps of French naval officers as a "garde de la marine"--cadet or midshipman, in October 1743, in the Solide, one of the line of battleships which took part in the confused engagement off Toulon
in 1744. He was then in the Pauline in the squadron of M. Macnémara on a cruise in the West Indies.
In 1746 he went through the duc D'Anville
's disastrous expedition to retake Cape Breton
, which was ruined by shipwreck and plague. The following year, in 1747, he was taken prisoner by Hawke
in the action with the French convoy in the Bay of Biscay
. His biographer Cunat assures us that he found the British arrogance offensive. When peace was made in 1748 he went to Malta
to perform the cruises with the galleys of the Order technically called "caravans," a reminiscence of the days when the knights protected the pilgrims going from Saint John d'Acre to Jerusalem. In Suffren's time this service rarely went beyond a peaceful tour among the Greek islands, but it also involved piracy suppression operations against the wily Barbary states of North Africa.
During the Seven Years' War
he had the unwonted good fortune to be present as lieutenant in the Orphée in the action with Admiral Byng
, which, if not strictly speaking a victory, was at least not a defeat for the French, and was followed by the surrender of the English garrison of Minorca
. But in 1759 he was again taken prisoner, when Boscawen
captured his ship, Océan, at the Battle of Lagos (1759). On the return of peace in 1763 Suffren intended again to do the service in the caravans which was required to qualify him to hold the high and lucrative posts of the Order. He was, however, named to the command of the Caméléon, a xebec
—a vessel of mixed square and lateen rig peculiar to the Mediterranean--in which he cruised against the Barbary pirates.
Between 1767 and 1771 he performed his caravans, and was promoted from knight to commander of the Order. From that time till the beginning of the War of American Independence he commanded vessels in the squadron of evolution which the French government had established for the purpose of giving practice to its officers. His nerve and skill in handling his ship were highly commended by his chiefs; he has been called the best French naval commander of the 18th Century.
throughout its operations on the coast of North America
and in the West Indies. He led the line in the action
with Admiral John Byron
off Grenada
, and his ship, the Fantasque (64), lost 62 men. His letters to his admiral show that he strongly disapproved of D'Estaing's half-hearted methods.
In 1780 he was captain of Zélé
(74), in the combined French and Spanish fleets which captured a great English
convoy in the Atlantic
. His candour towards his chief, Luis de Córdova y Córdova
, had done him no harm in the opinion of D'Estaing.
It is said to have been largely by the advice of this admiral that Suffren was chosen to command a squadron of five ships of the line sent out to help the Dutch who had joined France and Spain to defend the Cape against an expected English attack, and then to go on to the East Indies. He sailed from Brest
on March 22. On April 16, 1781 he found the English expedition on its way to the Cape under the command of Commodore, commonly called Governor, George Johnstone (1730–1787), at anchor in Porto Praya, Cape Verde Islands. Remembering how little respect Boscawen had shown for the neutrality of Portugal
at Lagos, he attacked at once, in the Battle of Porto Praya
. No serious losses were sustained by either side. Suffren pushed on to the Cape, which he saved from capture by Johnstone, and then made his way to the Ile de France (Mauritius
), then held by the French. M. D'Orves, his superior officer, died as the united squadrons, now eleven sail of the line, were on their way to the Bay of Bengal.
The campaign, which Suffren now conducted against the English admiral Sir Edward Hughes (1720?-1794), is famous for the number, severity and indecisiveness of the encounters between them. Four actions took place in 1782: the Battle of Sadras
on February 17, 1782, south of Madras
; the Battle of Providien
on April 12 near Trincomalee
; the Battle of Negapatam (1782)
on July 6 off Cuddalore
, after which Suffren seized upon the anchorage of Trincomalee compelling the small British garrison to surrender; and finally the Battle of Trincomalee
near that port on September 3. No ship was lost by either side in any of these battles.
His activity encouraged Hyder Ali
, who was then at war with the Company
. He refused to return to the islands for the purpose of escorting the troops coming out under command of Bussy, maintaining that his proper purpose was to cripple the squadron of Sir Edward Hughes. During the north-east monsoon he would not go to the islands but refitted in the Malay ports in Sumatra, and returned with the south-west monsoon
in 1783. Hyder Ali was dead, but Tipu Sultan, his son, was still at war with the Company. Bussy arrived and landed. The operations on shore were slackly conducted by him, and Suffren was much hampered, but when he fought his last battle against Hughes at the Battle of Cuddalore (1783)
(April 20, 1783), with fifteen ships to eighteen he forced the British admiral to retire to Madras, leaving the army then besieging Cüddalore in a very dangerous position. The arrival of the news that peace had been made in Europe put a stop to hostilities, and Suffren returned to France.
While refitting at the Cape on his way home, several of the vessels also returning put in, and the captains waited on him. Suffren said in one of his letters that their praise gave him more pleasure than any other compliment paid him. In France he was received with enthusiasm, and in 1781 he succeeded Comte d'Aubigny unopposed to the office of vice-admiral of France
(Ponant or the Atlantic). He had been promoted bailli in the Order of Malta during his absence. His death occurred very suddenly, when he was about to take command of a fleet collected in Brest. The official version of the cause of death was apoplexy, and as he was a very corpulent man it appeared plausible. But many years afterwards his body servant told M. Jal, the historiographer of the French navy, that he had been killed in a duel by the Prince de Mirepoix. The cause of the encounter, according to the servant, was that Suffren had refused in very strong language to use his influence to secure the restoration to the navy of two of the prince's relations who had been dismissed for misconduct.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren (17 July 1729 – 8 December 1788), 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...
admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
, 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
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
in the 14th century. He was born in the Château de Saint-Cannat
Saint-Cannat
Saint-Cannat is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.It has retained several fountains dating back to the 17th and 18th century, the remains of the medieval ramparts and the chateau, which today houses the town hall and museum....
, near Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
in the present département of Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
. He was most famous for his campaign in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, in which he inconclusively contended for supremacy against the established British power there, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes
Edward Hughes (admiral)
Sir Edward Hughes RN was an admiral of the British Royal Navy.Hughes joined the Royal Navy in 1735, and four years later, was present at the capture of Portobelo, Panama. In 1740, he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the Cartagena expedition of 1741, and at the indecisive Battle of Toulon...
.
Early naval career
The French navyFrench Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
and the Order of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
(where he received the title Bailli de Suffren) offered the usual careers for the younger sons of noble families of the south of France who did not elect to go into the Church. The connection between the Order and the old French royal navy was close. Pierre André de Suffren was destined by his parents to belong to both. He entered the close and aristocratic corps of French naval officers as a "garde de la marine"--cadet or midshipman, in October 1743, in the Solide, one of the line of battleships which took part in the confused engagement off 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....
in 1744. He was then in the Pauline in the squadron of M. Macnémara on a cruise in the West Indies.
In 1746 he went through the duc D'Anville
Jean-Baptiste Louis Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld de Roye
Jean-Baptiste Louis Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld de Roye was made duc d'Anville by King Louis XV of France and pursued a military career in the French navy...
's disastrous expedition to retake Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, which was ruined by shipwreck and plague. The following year, in 1747, he was taken prisoner by Hawke
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke
Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke KB, PC was an officer of the Royal Navy. He is best remembered for his service during the Seven Years' War, particularly his victory over a French fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, preventing a French invasion of Britain...
in the action with the French convoy in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. His biographer Cunat assures us that he found the British arrogance offensive. When peace was made in 1748 he went to 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...
to perform the cruises with the galleys of the Order technically called "caravans," a reminiscence of the days when the knights protected the pilgrims going from Saint John d'Acre to Jerusalem. In Suffren's time this service rarely went beyond a peaceful tour among the Greek islands, but it also involved piracy suppression operations against the wily Barbary states of North Africa.
Seven Years' War and afterward
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
he had the unwonted good fortune to be present as lieutenant in the Orphée in the action with Admiral Byng
John Byng
Admiral John Byng was a Royal Navy officer. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to Vice-Admiral in 1747...
, which, if not strictly speaking a victory, was at least not a defeat for the French, and was followed by the surrender of the English garrison of Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
. But in 1759 he was again taken prisoner, when Boscawen
Edward Boscawen
Admiral Edward Boscawen, PC was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands throughout the 18th Century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos...
captured his ship, Océan, at the Battle of Lagos (1759). On the return of peace in 1763 Suffren intended again to do the service in the caravans which was required to qualify him to hold the high and lucrative posts of the Order. He was, however, named to the command of the Caméléon, a xebec
Xebec
A xebec , also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzen mast...
—a vessel of mixed square and lateen rig peculiar to the Mediterranean--in which he cruised against the Barbary pirates.
Between 1767 and 1771 he performed his caravans, and was promoted from knight to commander of the Order. From that time till the beginning of the War of American Independence he commanded vessels in the squadron of evolution which the French government had established for the purpose of giving practice to its officers. His nerve and skill in handling his ship were highly commended by his chiefs; he has been called the best French naval commander of the 18th Century.
Operations against the British, 1770s-1780s
In 1778 and 1779 Suffren formed part of the squadron of Vice-Amiral ès Mers d'Asie et d'Amerique D'EstaingCharles 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...
throughout its operations on the coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and in the West Indies. He led the line in the action
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:...
with Admiral John Byron
John Byron
Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
off Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, and his ship, the Fantasque (64), lost 62 men. His letters to his admiral show that he strongly disapproved of D'Estaing's half-hearted methods.
In 1780 he was captain of Zélé
French ship Zélé (1764)
The Zélé was a César class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.On 6 July 1779, she participated in the Battle of Grenada as a member of the Vanguard. In 1781 and 1782, she took part in the naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, under Admiral de Grasse. She fought at the Battle...
(74), in the combined French and Spanish fleets which captured a great English
Action of 9 August 1780
The Action of 9 August 1780 was a naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War in which the main Spanish fleet led by Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova, together with a squadron of French ships, captured a heavy British convoy of sixty-three vessels causing a severe blow to the commerce of...
convoy in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. His candour towards his chief, Luis de Córdova y Córdova
Luis de Córdova y Córdova
Luis de Córdova y Córdova was a Spanish admiral. He is best known for his command of the Spanish fleet during the American War of Independence...
, had done him no harm in the opinion of D'Estaing.
It is said to have been largely by the advice of this admiral that Suffren was chosen to command a squadron of five ships of the line sent out to help the Dutch who had joined France and Spain to defend the Cape against an expected English attack, and then to go on to the East Indies. He sailed from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on March 22. On April 16, 1781 he found the English expedition on its way to the Cape under the command of Commodore, commonly called Governor, George Johnstone (1730–1787), at anchor in Porto Praya, Cape Verde Islands. Remembering how little respect Boscawen had shown for the neutrality of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
at Lagos, he attacked at once, in the Battle of Porto Praya
Battle of Porto Praya
The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle which took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under the Bailli de Suffren....
. No serious losses were sustained by either side. Suffren pushed on to the Cape, which he saved from capture by Johnstone, and then made his way to the Ile de France (Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
), then held by the French. M. D'Orves, his superior officer, died as the united squadrons, now eleven sail of the line, were on their way to the Bay of Bengal.
Campaign against Sir Edward Hughes
Battle of Sadras
The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the east coast of India during the American War of Independence...
on February 17, 1782, south of Madras
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
; 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...
on April 12 near Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
; the Battle of Negapatam (1782)
Battle of Negapatam (1782)
The Battle of Negapatam was the third 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...
on July 6 off Cuddalore
Cuddalore
Cuddalore is a fast growing industrial city and headquarter of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the coast of Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population.Cuddalore is known...
, after which Suffren seized upon the anchorage of Trincomalee compelling the small British garrison to surrender; and finally 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...
near that port on September 3. No ship was lost by either side in any of these battles.
His activity encouraged Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
, who was then at war with the Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. He refused to return to the islands for the purpose of escorting the troops coming out under command of Bussy, maintaining that his proper purpose was to cripple the squadron of Sir Edward Hughes. During the north-east monsoon he would not go to the islands but refitted in the Malay ports in Sumatra, and returned with the south-west monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
in 1783. Hyder Ali was dead, but Tipu Sultan, his son, was still at war with the Company. Bussy arrived and landed. The operations on shore were slackly conducted by him, and Suffren was much hampered, but when he fought his last battle against Hughes at the Battle of Cuddalore (1783)
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...
(April 20, 1783), with fifteen ships to eighteen he forced the British admiral to retire to Madras, leaving the army then besieging Cüddalore in a very dangerous position. The arrival of the news that peace had been made in Europe put a stop to hostilities, and Suffren returned to France.
Legacy
Suffren was crippled to a large extent by the want of loyal and capable co-operation on the part of his captains. This was, in no small part, his own fault: his bullying and openly expressed contempt for his subordinates undermined their support for him in battle, depriving him of the successes which his undoubted tactical ability and determination might otherwise have made possible. He had, however, an indefatigable energy, a wealth of resource and a thorough understanding of the fact that success at sea is won by defeating an enemy and not by merely outmanoeuvering him and this made him a formidable foe. Suffren's achievements may seem modest but even this record stands in stark contrast to the failures of most contemporary French naval commanders. Any assessment must acknowledge that he succeeded at the tasks assigned to him. He revived French fortunes in India when Paris had conceived his tasks as essentially ones of armed transportation and privateering. That his achievement went beyond these duties despite a lack of support from his uncomprehending superiors and battle shy captains adds greatly to his credit and perhaps explains his personal fury. Ironically, if anybody learnt from his example, it was the British, who were confirmed in their longstanding policy of seeking outright victory in naval engagements. French military policy made naval operations subordinate to land operations, yet Suffren realized that in wars fought overseas from the mother country, the nation which controlled the sea first had a great advantage in supporting the land war:- The military situation... demanded first the disabling of the hostile fleet, next the capture of certain strategic ports. That this diagnosis was correct is as certain as that it reversed the common French maxims, which would have put the port first and the fleet second as objectives.
Death
Admiral of France
The title Admiral of France is one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, the naval equivalent of Marshal of France.The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, during the Eighth Crusade. At the time it was equivalent to the office of Constable of France. The Admiral was responsible...
(Ponant or the Atlantic). He had been promoted bailli in the Order of Malta during his absence. His death occurred very suddenly, when he was about to take command of a fleet collected in Brest. The official version of the cause of death was apoplexy, and as he was a very corpulent man it appeared plausible. But many years afterwards his body servant told M. Jal, the historiographer of the French navy, that he had been killed in a duel by the Prince de Mirepoix. The cause of the encounter, according to the servant, was that Suffren had refused in very strong language to use his influence to secure the restoration to the navy of two of the prince's relations who had been dismissed for misconduct.
Further reading
- Engraving by Mme de Cernel after an original by Gerard.
- Histoire du Bailli de Suffren by Ch. Cunat (1852).
- Journal de Bord du Bailli de Suffren dans l'Inde, edited by M. Mores, published in 1888.
- The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783, by Alfred Thayer Mahan (1890).
- Mais qui est le bailli de Suffren Saint-Tropez ? Charles-Armand Klein - Mémoires du Sud - Editions Equinoxe, 2000.