Pierre César Charles de Sercey
Encyclopedia
Pierre César Charles de Sercey (near Autin, 1753 - Paris, 1836) was a French admiral, most notable for commanding French naval forces in the Indian Ocean
from 1796 to 1800. His name is engraved on the Arc de triomphe
.
. He then voyaged in the Indian Ocean from 1767 to 1769, entering the gardes-marine in 1770 on Mauritius
.
He served on the scow
Gros Ventre in Kerguelen
's expeditions (1772–1774). Separated from the expedition's flagship Fortune by a storm, the Gros Ventre was considered lost with all hands, but after a difficult voyage it managed to make it back to France on its own. Kerguelen was accused (probably justly) of having abandoned the Gros Ventre when the latter was in difficulties and of being uninterested in its survival.
in the English Channel then on the Triton in Orvilliers
's fleet in 1779. He commanded the cutter Sans Pareil
in Guichen
's fleet and fought in the battles over Dominica
in April and May 1780. Captured by and two frigates, he quickly became the subject of a prisoner exchange and next commanded the cutter Serpent in the capture of Pensacola
(May 1781). Then, having risen to lieutenant de vaisseau, he became second officer of the frigate Nymphe in 1782 and was thus in several battles, notably the capture of in February 1783 (in which battle Sercey took over command of the Nymphe when her captain was killed). He then campaigned in the Antilles
from 1787 to 1792, commanding the frigate Ariel then the frigate Surveillante
.
. He was returned to his rank under the French Directory
naval ministry of Truguet.
He then commanded a division of four frigates setting out from Rochefort
to take reinforcements, munitions and two Directory commissioners (Baco and Burnel) to Mauritius
. Capturing several ships en route, he reached the Indian Ocean, where the forces already stationed at Mauritus were also put under his command. He thus had a small squadron of the corvette Brûle Gueule (commanded by Jean François Bruneau de la Souchais), 8 ships of the line and 7 frigates with talented captains:
These means were limited in the face of the strong Royal Navy
presence in the region, of 10 ships of the line and 10 frigates. Moreover, Mauritius had no serious means of resupply or repairs since all troops sent from mainland France had to struggle against the hostility of the colonists, the colonial assembly and governor Malartic
, all so worried by the rebellion on the Mascarene Islands
that they proclaimed they would not put into effect the abolition of slavery
decided upon in Paris. The colony refused to give Sercey's division any support and Sercey was reproached by Truguet for not intervening to support Baco and Burnel (expelled on arrival by the colonists).
Sercey compensated for his force's weakness by keeping his ships constantly at sea and (operating a little like a private privateer
) raising money for provisions by selling captured ships (including many East Indiamen
). Fear of being unable to repair his frigates and his express orders to avoid giving battle sometimes led him to behave timidly. For example, he refused to capitalise on the manhandling of the ships of the line and by his frigates on 3 September 1796, refraining from pressing the issue and capturing the ship. His prudence also led him to miss a "China convoy" in the Bali Strait
, made up of slow heavy ships of the East India Company
under commodore Charles Lennox
of the Woodford. This convoy formed line on 28 January 1797 and thus tricked Sercey (at a distance) into believing they were warships and avoiding battle with them. This bluff made Lennox a celebrity and was greeted with rejoicing by the British press.
) and the corvette Brûle Gueule - far too small a force for such a large theatre. He thus looked for support from major Spanish naval forces in the area, setting up his headquarters at Surabaya
to be closer to the Spanish base at Manila
. Even so, he was unable to establish a true offensive alliance, with the Spanish captains feeling more sympathy with Great Britain
(officially their enemy) than for republican and anti-religious France and with the few attempted joint Franco-Spanish operations being defeated.
Returning to Mauritius with his last two remaining ships, for three weeks Sercey succeeded in beating off attacks from two ships of the line and two frigates which were blockading the island, in the second battle of the Black River. Nevertheless, despite its captain's exceptional talent, the Preneuse was finally destroyed by the British blockading forces in Mauritius's bay of Tombeau in December 1799, marking the end of Sercey's division and of the campaign.
, who held him responsible for the fate of the Indian Ocean division. Disgusted by Decrès's attitude, Sercey returned to Mauritius
, where he married and settled as a planter, playing an important role in the island's defence in the campaign that ended in its definitive capture by the British in 1810. He finally returned to France and was made vice-admiral in 1814 and a peer of France in 1832.
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...
from 1796 to 1800. His name is engraved on the Arc de triomphe
Arc 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...
.
Early life
From an old noble family but orphaned very young, he embarked on the Légère aged 13 in 1766, before it sailed for the AntillesAntilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
. He then voyaged in the Indian Ocean from 1767 to 1769, entering the gardes-marine in 1770 on 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...
.
He served on the scow
Scow
A scow, in the original sense, is a flat-bottomed boat with a blunt bow, often used to haul bulk freight; cf. barge. The etymology of the word is from the Dutch schouwe, meaning such a boat.-Sailing scows:...
Gros Ventre in Kerguelen
Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec
Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec was a Breton explorer and French naval officer.- Early life:He was born in Landudal, Finistère. During the Seven Years' War, Kerguelen-Trémarec was a privateer, but without much success....
's expeditions (1772–1774). Separated from the expedition's flagship Fortune by a storm, the Gros Ventre was considered lost with all hands, but after a difficult voyage it managed to make it back to France on its own. Kerguelen was accused (probably justly) of having abandoned the Gros Ventre when the latter was in difficulties and of being uninterested in its survival.
American Revolutionary War
Rising to ensign in 1777, he served on the frigate Belle PouleFrench ship Belle Poule (1765)
Belle Poule was a French frigate of the Dédaigneuse class, designed and built by Léon-Michel Guignace, famous for her duel with the English frigate Arethusa on 17 June 1778, which began the French involvement in the American War of Independence....
in the English Channel then on the Triton in Orvilliers
Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers
Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers was a French admiral.D'Orvilliers was born in Moulins, Allier, but spent most of his childhood in Cayenne, capital of the French colony French Guiana, where his father was governor. In 1723, aged fifteen, he joined the colony's infantry regiment and quickly rose...
's fleet in 1779. He commanded the cutter Sans Pareil
French ship Sans Pareil
Five ships of the French Navy have born the name Sans Pareil :* Sans Pareil, a 62-gun ship of the line * Sans Pareil, a 50-gun ship of the line...
in Guichen
Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen
Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen - French admiral; entered the navy in 1730 as "garde de la Marine," the first rank in the corps of royal officers.His promotion was not rapid...
's fleet and fought in the battles over Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
in April and May 1780. Captured by and two frigates, he quickly became the subject of a prisoner exchange and next commanded the cutter Serpent in the capture of Pensacola
Pensacola
Pensacola is a city in the western part of the U.S. state of Florida.Pensacola may also refer to:* Pensacola people, a group of Native Americans* A number of places in the Florida:** Pensacola Bay** Pensacola Regional Airport...
(May 1781). Then, having risen to lieutenant de vaisseau, he became second officer of the frigate Nymphe in 1782 and was thus in several battles, notably the capture of in February 1783 (in which battle Sercey took over command of the Nymphe when her captain was killed). He then campaigned in the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
from 1787 to 1792, commanding the frigate Ariel then the frigate Surveillante
French frigate Surveillante (1778)
Surveillante was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy. She took part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, where she became famous for her battle with HMS Quebec; in 1783, she brought the news that the war was over to America...
.
Revolution and the Indian Ocean
Rising to capitaine de vaisseau in 1792 and contre-amiral in January 1793, he commanded a division sent to Saint Domingue, but as an aristocrat was suspected of wanting to emigrate and so was arrested during the Reign of TerrorReign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. He was returned to his rank under the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
naval ministry of Truguet.
He then commanded a division of four frigates setting out from Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
to take reinforcements, munitions and two Directory commissioners (Baco and Burnel) to 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...
. Capturing several ships en route, he reached the Indian Ocean, where the forces already stationed at Mauritus were also put under his command. He thus had a small squadron of the corvette Brûle Gueule (commanded by Jean François Bruneau de la Souchais), 8 ships of the line and 7 frigates with talented captains:
- Forte (captain Beaulieu-Leloup)
- PrudenteFrench frigate Prudente (1790)The Prudente was a 32-gun Capricieuse class frigate frigate of the French Navy.In 1791, under lieutenant Villaret de Joyeuse, she was tasked with ferrying troops to Cap Français and with police duty in Santo Domingo...
(Charles René Magon de MédineCharles René Magon de MédineCharles René Magon de Médine was a French contre-amiral killed at the battle of Trafalgar whilst commanding the ship-of-the-line Algésiras - his conduct in the battle is seen by French historians as one of the few redeeming features of that disaster, and his name appears on the Arc de Triomphe...
) - RégénéréeFrench frigate Régénérée (1794)Régénérée was a 40-gun Cocarde class frigate of the French Navy. The British captured her in 1801 at the fall of Alexandria but never commissioned her...
(Jean-Baptiste Philibert WillaumezJean-Baptiste Philibert WillaumezJean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez was a French sailor and admiral of the First French Empire....
) - Vertu (Jean-Matthieu-Adrien Lhermitte)
- SeineHMS Seine (1798)Seine was a 38-gun Seine-class French frigate that the Royal Navy captured in 1798 and commissioned as the fifth rate HMS Seine. On 20 August 1800, Seine captured the French ship Vengeance in a single ship action that would win for her crew the Naval General Service Medal...
(Latour and later Bigot) - CybèleFrench frigate Cybèle (1790)The Cybèle was an Nymphe class 40-gun frigate of the French Navy.On 22 October 1794, soon after the outbreak of the war with England, and along with the 32-gun Prudente and the brig Coureur, she fought HMS Centurion and , who blockaded Ile de France. The French ships managed to drive away the...
(Tréhouart) - PreneuseFrench frigate Preneuse (1795)The Preneuse was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She served as a commerce raider at Île de France.In March 1798, under Lhermitte, she ferried ambassadors from Mysore sent by Tippu Sultan to île de France to request help against the British...
(Guillaume Marie Marquès)
These means were limited in the face of the strong Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
presence in the region, of 10 ships of the line and 10 frigates. Moreover, Mauritius had no serious means of resupply or repairs since all troops sent from mainland France had to struggle against the hostility of the colonists, the colonial assembly and governor Malartic
Anne Joseph Hippolyte de Maurès, Comte de Malartic
Anne Joseph Hippolyte de Maurès, Comte de Malartic was a French colonial governor and general, notable for his service in Canada and Mauritius. The Canadian town of Malartic is named after him....
, all so worried by the rebellion on the Mascarene Islands
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks...
that they proclaimed they would not put into effect the abolition of slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
decided upon in Paris. The colony refused to give Sercey's division any support and Sercey was reproached by Truguet for not intervening to support Baco and Burnel (expelled on arrival by the colonists).
Sercey compensated for his force's weakness by keeping his ships constantly at sea and (operating a little like a private privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
) raising money for provisions by selling captured ships (including many East Indiamen
East Indiamen
An East Indiaman was a ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries...
). Fear of being unable to repair his frigates and his express orders to avoid giving battle sometimes led him to behave timidly. For example, he refused to capitalise on the manhandling of the ships of the line and by his frigates on 3 September 1796, refraining from pressing the issue and capturing the ship. His prudence also led him to miss a "China convoy" in the Bali Strait
Bali Strait
Bali Strait is a 2.4 kilometer strait between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java....
, made up of slow heavy ships of the East India Company
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...
under commodore Charles Lennox
Charles Lennox
Charles Lennox may refer to:*Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and 1st Duke of Lennox *Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and 2nd Duke of Lennox *Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond and 3rd Duke of Lennox...
of the Woodford. This convoy formed line on 28 January 1797 and thus tricked Sercey (at a distance) into believing they were warships and avoiding battle with them. This bluff made Lennox a celebrity and was greeted with rejoicing by the British press.
The end of Sercey's division
However, in 1798, though none of his ships had been captured, they were starting to show signs of wear and tear and little by little had to return to France for repair, depriving him of Vertu, Régénérée and Seine. Moreover, profiting by Sercey's absence, governor Malartic requisitioned Forte and Prudente as private vessels, armed them as privateers and put them under the command of incompetent captains, leading to both ships being captured at the start of 1799. This left Sercey only the frigate Preneuse (captain LhermitteJean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite
Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermitte was a French sea captain and rear admiral, notable for his involvement in the Glorious First of June and various other campaigns.- Early career :L'Hermitte was born to the family of a...
) and the corvette Brûle Gueule - far too small a force for such a large theatre. He thus looked for support from major Spanish naval forces in the area, setting up his headquarters at Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
to be closer to the Spanish base at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. Even so, he was unable to establish a true offensive alliance, with the Spanish captains feeling more sympathy with Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
(officially their enemy) than for republican and anti-religious France and with the few attempted joint Franco-Spanish operations being defeated.
Returning to Mauritius with his last two remaining ships, for three weeks Sercey succeeded in beating off attacks from two ships of the line and two frigates which were blockading the island, in the second battle of the Black River. Nevertheless, despite its captain's exceptional talent, the Preneuse was finally destroyed by the British blockading forces in Mauritius's bay of Tombeau in December 1799, marking the end of Sercey's division and of the campaign.
Disgrace, retirement and death
He only returned to France in 1802, where he faced hostility from the naval minister Denis DecrèsDenis Decrès
Denis Decrès, , was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire.-Early career:...
, who held him responsible for the fate of the Indian Ocean division. Disgusted by Decrès's attitude, Sercey returned to 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...
, where he married and settled as a planter, playing an important role in the island's defence in the campaign that ended in its definitive capture by the British in 1810. He finally returned to France and was made vice-admiral in 1814 and a peer of France in 1832.
Titles and decorations
- Grand cross of the Légion d'HonneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- Grand cross of the Ordre de Saint Louis
- Marquis
- Gentilhomme honoraire de la Chambre (1824)
- Order of CincinnatusSociety of the CincinnatiThe 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...
- Peer of France
In English
- Garneray (Louis) : Aventures et Combat vol 1: Corsaire de la République, several reissues, notably Éditions Phébus, Paris 1985
- James (W. M.): The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleon's wars (volumes 1 et 2), London 1837, reissue by Conway Maritime Press, London 2003.
- Jenkins (H.E.) : A History of the French Navy, Mac Donald and Jane's, London, 1973
- Taylor (S) : Storm and conquest : the battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808-10, Faber, London, 2007
In French
- Troude (O.) : Les Batailles navales de la France, Paris 1867
- Six (Georges) : Dictionnaire biographique des Généraux et Amiraux de la Révolution et de l'Empire, Librairie Historique et Nobiliaire, Georges Saffroy (ed.), Paris 1934