Pierre René Marie de Vaugiraud de Rosnay

French Navy officer of the War of American Independence

Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis

Rankvice admiral

Pierre René Marie de Vaugiraud de Rosnay^{[Note 1]} (Les Sables d'Olonne, 27 December 1741—Paris, 13 March 1819)^[2]^[3] was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence, earning membership in the Society of the Cincinnati.^[4] He was later a virulent Royalist and counter-Revolutionary.

Biography

Vaugiraud was born to an aristocratic family. His brother, Marie Joseph Pierre de Vaugiraud, was bishop of Angers.^[1]

Vaugiraud joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine on 12 December 1755.^[1] In 1756, in the midst of the Seven Years' War, he served on the 64-gun Éveillé in the Caribbean, taking part in the capture of HMS Greenwich.^[2] He then transferred to the 74-gun Orient, on which he took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759.^[2] He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 October 1773. ^[1]^[5]

Vaugiraud served on Couronne during the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778.^[2] He briefly commanded the frigate Fox^[6] before transferring on Bretagne to serve as second major of Orvilliers' squadron. After his promotion to Captain on 4 April 1780, effective on 9 May 1781,^[5] he became Major-général^{[Note 2]} of De Grasse's squadron, on the flagship Ville de Paris.^[7]^[8] As such, he took part in the Battle of Fort Royal on 30 April 1781 and in the Invasion of Tobago on 30 May.^[8] On 22 July 1781, while the French fleet was anchored at Cap-Haïtien, Intrépide caught fire, and Vaugiraud managed to have the ship sailed away, ran aground and evacuated before she exploded.^[9] Vaugiraud later took part in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September, the subsequent Siege of Yorktown, the Battle of Saint Kitts on 25 January 1782,^[2] and was wounded at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782.^[8]

In 1785, he served on the frigate Railleuse, and was given command of Gracieuse in 1788.^[2]

In 1791, in the midst of the French Revolution, Vaugiraud fled France to become an émigré and join the reactionary Army of Condé.^[8] He took part in the Battle of Quibéron in 1795, and retired to England.^[2]

After the Bourbon Restoration, Vaugiraud was promoted to Vice-Admiral on 13 June 1814, and appointed Governor of the Windward Islands.^[8] He suppressed the Bonapartists during the Hundred Days, but was later recalled to Paris due to his authoritarian administration.^[10]

Sources and references

Notes

^ Also spelt "Vaugirauld"^[1]
^ An administrative role in the general staffs of the French Navy squadrons of the time.

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 649.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Taillemite (1982), p. 335.
^ Rouxel (2020).
^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 625.
^ ^a ^b Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 668.
^ Hennequin (1835), p. 538.
^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 648-649.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Contenson (1934), p. 277.
^ Hennequin (1835), p. 539.
^ Hennequin (1835), p. 541.

References

Contenson, Ludovic (1934). La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778-1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard. OCLC 7842336.
Hennequin, Joseph François Gabriel (1835). Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Regnault éditeur. p. 357-341. OCLC 222612383.
Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. pp. 431–434.
Taillemite, Étienne (1982). Dictionnaire des Marins français. Paris: Éditions maritimes et d'Outre-Mer. ISBN 9782707000316.