Amable Troude
Encyclopedia
Amable Gilles Troude was a French
Navy officer, hero of the Napoleonic wars
.
, he joined the Navy, first serving Pluton
in 1779, and the next year on Hercule, both 74s. He took part in the Battle of the Saintes
, and later served aboard the 28-gun frigate Crescent
.
Troude returned to the commerce navy, but the French revolutionary wars
called him back to active duty. He served on the Achille and on the Éole
. He took part in the Glorious First of June
.
Troude attained the rank of frigate captain
on 21 March 1796 and took command of the Bergère.
In 1799, he was transferred on the 17-gun Tyrannicide
as second in command. He took part in the Battle of Algeciras on 6 July 1801, and received command of the 80-gun Formidable
, whose captain, Landais Lalonde, had been killed in the action.
The French fleet departed Algeciras on 12 July, with Formidable lagging behind due to the damage sustained in the previous battle. She soon found herself isolated, and chased by the frigate HMS Thames
and the ships of the line HMS Venerable
(74), HMS Caesar
(80) and HMS Superb
(74). Facing forces vastly superior combined, but at most equal taken separately, Troude let the 74-gun HMS Venerable
catch on, and battered her with his 80 guns, leaving her dismasted and barely afloat. This forced the rest of the British squadron to abandon the pursuit in order to aid Venerable, allowing Formidable to escape to Cádiz
. She sailed in the harbour under acclaims of the population, who had witnessed the fight.
Troude was promoted to capitaine de vaisseau on 14 July 1801 and was received by Bonaparte
, who dubbed him "the French Horatius
".
in the Caribbean. In 1805 he participated in Allemand's expedition
.
In March 1806, aboard the Armide
, Troude helped repel an attack led by Robert Stopford at Les Sables-d'Olonne
.
In April 1806, he led a squadron comprising 3 ships of the line and 2 fluyts to supply French positions in the Caribbean, with his flag on Courageux
. Meeting the British blockade off the Îles des Saintes
on 15 April, he managed to break through.
Troude was promoted to contre-amiral in 1811 and given command of the flotilla based in Cherbourg. On 15 April 1814, at the Bourbon Restauration, he was tasked to ferry Louis XVIII from England to Calais, aboard the Lys
.
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, hero of the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Early career
Troude joined the commerce navy in 1776. During the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, he joined the Navy, first serving Pluton
French ship Pluton (1778)
Pluton was a of Scipion class 74-gun French ship of the line built at Rochefort.She fought in a series of battles during the American War of Independence, including the battles of Martinique , Fort Royal , Chesapeake , St. Kitts, , and the Saintes .She was renamed Dugommier in 1797 and seems to...
in 1779, and the next year on Hercule, both 74s. He took part 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...
, and later served aboard the 28-gun frigate Crescent
HMS Crescent (1779)
HMS Crescent was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Crescent was first commissioned in about September 1779 under the command of Captain Charles Hope.- References :...
.
Troude returned to the commerce navy, but the French revolutionary wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
called him back to active duty. He served on the Achille and on the Éole
French ship Éole (1789)
The Éole was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Between 1791 and 1793, she was based in Saint-Domingue. She took part in the Glorious First of June, where she and Trajan dismasted HMS Bellerophon....
. He took part in 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...
.
Troude attained the rank of frigate captain
Frigate Captain
Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries.It is, usually, equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander.Countries using this rank include Argentina and Spain , France , Belgium , Italy ,...
on 21 March 1796 and took command of the Bergère.
Battle of Algeciras
French ship Tyrannicide (1793)
Tyrannicide was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.In 1794, under Alain Joseph Dordelin, she took part in the Glorious First of June...
as second in command. He took part in the Battle of Algeciras on 6 July 1801, and received command of the 80-gun Formidable
French ship Formidable (1795)
Formidable was an 80-gun Tonnant class ship of the line of the French navy, laid down as Figuires and renamed in 1795. She was launched at Toulon in 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre and several other actions before the British captured her at the...
, whose captain, Landais Lalonde, had been killed in the action.
The French fleet departed Algeciras on 12 July, with Formidable lagging behind due to the damage sustained in the previous battle. She soon found herself isolated, and chased by the frigate HMS Thames
HMS Thames (1758)
HMS Thames was a 32-gun Richmond-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy built by Henry Adams and launched at Bucklers Hard in 1758. She served in several wars, including for some four years in French service after her capture. She was recaptured in 1796 and was broken up in 1803.-British...
and the ships of the line HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable (1784)
HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 April 1784 at Blackwall Yard.In 1797, Venerable served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown....
(74), HMS Caesar
HMS Caesar (1793)
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...
(80) and HMS Superb
HMS Superb (1798)
HMS Superb was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was launched on 19 March 1798 from Northfleet, and was eventually broken up in 1826. Superb is mostly associated with Richard Goodwin Keats who commanded her as captain from 1801 until...
(74). Facing forces vastly superior combined, but at most equal taken separately, Troude let the 74-gun HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable (1784)
HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 April 1784 at Blackwall Yard.In 1797, Venerable served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown....
catch on, and battered her with his 80 guns, leaving her dismasted and barely afloat. This forced the rest of the British squadron to abandon the pursuit in order to aid Venerable, allowing Formidable to escape to Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
. She sailed in the harbour under acclaims of the population, who had witnessed the fight.
Troude was promoted to capitaine de vaisseau on 14 July 1801 and was received by Bonaparte
Bonaparte
The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804, a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d'état...
, who dubbed him "the French Horatius
Horatii
According to Livy, the Horatii were male triplets from Rome. During a war between Rome and Alba Longa during the reign of Tullus Hostilius , it was agreed that settlement of the war would depend on the outcome of a battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii...
".
Later career
In 1803, Troude took command of the Infatigable, and later of the SuffrenFrench ship Suffren (1801)
The Suffren was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Suffren took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Amable Troude....
in the Caribbean. In 1805 he participated in Allemand's expedition
Allemand's expedition of 1805
Allemand's expedition of 1805, often referred to as the Escadre invisible in French sources, was an important French naval expedition during the Napoleonic Wars, which formed a major diversion to the ongoing Trafalgar campaign in the Atlantic Ocean...
.
In March 1806, aboard the Armide
French frigate Armide (1804)
Armide was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, and launched in 1804 at Rochefort. She served briefly in the French navy before the British captured her in 1806. She went on to serve in the British Navy until 1815 when she was broken up.-French service:She took part in...
, Troude helped repel an attack led by Robert Stopford at Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:...
.
In April 1806, he led a squadron comprising 3 ships of the line and 2 fluyts to supply French positions in the Caribbean, with his flag on Courageux
French ship Courageux (1806)
The Courageux was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She was started as Alcide, and renamed in 1802. She was commissioned on 8 April 1806 under Amable Troude. On 16 February 1809, she left Lorient as flagship of a squadron also comprising Polonais and Hautpoult.She...
. Meeting the British blockade off the Îles des Saintes
Îles des Saintes
The Îles des Saintes , also called simply Les Saintes , is a small archipelago of French Antilles located in the South of Basse-Terre Island, on the West of Marie-Galante and in the North of Dominica in the arc of Lesser Antilles...
on 15 April, he managed to break through.
Troude was promoted to contre-amiral in 1811 and given command of the flotilla based in Cherbourg. On 15 April 1814, at the Bourbon Restauration, he was tasked to ferry Louis XVIII from England to Calais, aboard the Lys
French ship Polonais (1808)
The Polonais was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.First named Glorieux, she was renamed on 23 February 1807....
.