François Thurot
François Thurot | |
---|---|
Born | 22 July 1727 Nuits-Saint-Georges |
Died | 28 February 1760 (aged 32) Irish Sea |
Allegiance | Kingdom of France |
Service/ | French Navy |
Years of service | 1756-1760 |
Battles/wars | Seven Years' War |
François Thurot (22 July 1727 at
Early years
He may have been the son of the postmaster at Nuits-St-Georges
Seven Years' War
Friponne
According to the 1791 biography which is the principal source for this article, the vengeful François went back into privateering in 1755, after France and Britain had again come into conflict over their colonies in America; this may be untrue, as the war was confined to the west side of the Atlantic until May 1756. In that month, thanks to the influence of the
Maréchal de Belle-Isle, first mission, 1757–59
HMS Southampton
Although a plan he proposed to attack the
Autumn 1757: the dwindling squadron
Before the Belle-Isle could be properly repaired, a storm broke two of the weakened masts. Shortly afterwards, the British caught up with them, and a battle ensued, from which the French barely escaped into the Dutch port of
Early 1758: battle off the Firth of Forth
The Belle-Isle put to sea, fully repaired, on 25 December, and ran straight into another storm. Dismasted again, the frigate was driven far to the north, finally finding calm weather in the vicinity of
Spring 1758: preying on the Baltic trade
On 30 May, Thurot captured a small sloop, which he took to
Late 1758: diversion to Ireland, and home
After a relatively quiet period following the convoy's departure, in mid-July Thurot headed westward into the Skagerrak, where he encountered a flotilla of 17 small British armed vessels. By his officers' advice, Belle-Isle went right in among them, and the British began a concerted artillery attack. Eventually, having studied their tactics, the Captain made an effective counter-attack and scattered them, capturing one before bad weather obscured visibility. By this time, Royal Navy vessels had been sent out specifically to stop the Belle-Isle, but by taking advantage of winds and mists he avoided four potentially lethal encounters, and headed northward in late August. Revisiting Shetland, François learned of the scale of the forces sent out against him, and headed for the Faroe Islands to replenish his supplies, before sailing southward round the west of the British Isles. Near Ireland, Belle-Isle sprang a leak, so, pausing only to take a couple of brigantines off Tory Island, Thurot hastened to the shelter of Lough Swilly, County Donegal. Repairs were completed on 31 August, and a very short new campaign began, taking British merchant vessels in the channels leading to the River Clyde and the Irish Sea. Having given the Royal Navy time to hear of his new exploits, Thurot then returned to Bergen via the Faroes, arriving on 13 September. After a couple of months' shore time, Belle-Isle set sail again on 25 November, and headed south, taking more prizes on the way. Thurot spent most of December at Ostend selling the various prizes, and finally reached Dunkirk at the beginning of January 1759.
Maréchal de Belle-Isle, second mission, 1759–60
Preparation and departure
To the government at Versailles, the Captain next proposed a variant of the Portsmouth attack plan— making raids on less well-defended British coastal towns. This was seen as a good fit with plans for a full-scale invasion, serving as a very useful diversion. Beginning in spring 1759, a new squadron was prepared at Dunkirk, led again by the Maréchal de Belle-Isle, with four other frigates: Begon (Capt. Grieux), Blonde (Capt. La Kayce
We send Hawke and Boscawen (great Men) to oppose;
When Thurot's small Squadron this Island annoys,
We think it sufficient to send only Boys !"[14]
Autumn 1759, another dwindling squadron
After eleven days at sea, the squadron reached Gothenburg in Sweden, and stayed 19 days to make repairs; they were also rejoined by Houmar, Thurot's partner from the previous cruise. Gossip in the port, swiftly relayed to the British government (along with complaints about the lack of a Royal Navy presence in the area) indicated that the planned destination was not Scotland but Ireland. Departing on 14 November, they again ran into foul weather, which separated them the next day, so Thurot had to put in at their prearranged rendezvous of Bergen in Norway two days later. Unfortunately, Begon, carrying 400 of the soldiers, had been damaged in the storms and driven far off course, so had to limp back to Dunkirk; the little Faucon and Houmar were also unable to rejoin the squadron. Far to the south, though, the bad weather had done some good for the French, breaking up the British blockade at Brest; the French fleet there escaped on 14 November and headed south-east to Quiberon Bay, where they would pick up troops for the invasion. On 20 November, the Royal Navy caught up with them, and in the subsequent battle, the French fleet was ruined. Now Thurot was not providing a diversion from any action at all, but he would not find that out until much later.
Winter 1759–60, to Carrickfergus
On 5 December 1759, Thurot's squadron gave up waiting for the three lost vessels and put to sea again, enduring more stormy conditions until 28 December when they were able to shelter at
28 February 1760, the last battle
Three British ships caught up with Thurot's squadron on 28 February 1760, anchored at the entrance of Luce Bay. To avoid being trapped in the bay, Thurot's squadron set sail for the south-east, towards the Isle of Man. At about sunrise the leader of the British squadron, Æolus caught up with the Maréchal de Belle-Isle and battle began (within sight of the Mull of Galloway and Jurby Head on Man). After the first broadsides, Thurot tried to grapple Æolus so he could use his troops to board, but all he achieved was the loss of his bowsprit, and of many men on deck from British small-arms fire. Next Æolus fired a second broadside, and neatly fell back so that the other two Royal Navy vessels could also fire at the Belle-Isle. Then Æolus resumed the fight, while Pallas and Brilliant went to deal with the remaining French vessels, one of which, Terpsichore attempted to escape but was easily caught by Pallas. François was killed about the time of the second broadside, apparently by a musket-ball, and after a boarding party eventually got aboard, his crew surrendered. News reports claimed that aboard the Belle-Isle was found a young woman from Paddington, whom Thurot had met in London a few years previously, and had accompanied him on all his subsequent adventures—presumably the origin of the story of Miss Smith.[17] Some 160 men had been killed aboard Belle-Isle alone, compared to four killed and eleven wounded aboard Æolus. At some point, Thurot's corpse was thrown overboard, with many others, and it washed ashore in Monreith Bay.
It was variously claimed that he was dressed in an ordinary sailor's uniform, and hence not recognised, or, on the contrary, that his corpse was found sewed up in the silk-velvet carpet from his cabin). He was buried with full honours in the churchyard of Kirkmaiden-in-Fernis, at the expense of the local laird, Sir William Maxwell Bt., of Monreith who also served as chief mourner.[18] Within half a century, the grave marker was gone, but the site was remembered, and a new marker has since been provided. Having been so greatly feared in Britain, he was also mourned, and celebrations of his defeat paid him considerable respect. A widely circulated news report observed that "he had justly acquired, and has left behind him, the two most amiable Characteristicks of a Sailor or Soldier, intrepid Courage, and extensive Humanity", and a published letter from London reported that "most people here are sorry for his Death, as he on all Occasions behaved like a brave Officer, and a Gentleman."[19] The artist, Richard Wright, witnessed the battle and produced paintings showing the action[20] and the aftermath, which were both made into engravings. Ballads were written about the Carrickfergus raid and the last battle, and a biography of Thurot by the Rev. John Francis Durand was in the shops by June,[18] in two editions priced at 1s or 6½d; sadly, despite the author's claims to have known Thurot for years, the work consisted mostly of old news stories and outright fabrications.
Afterword
In 1790, Thurot's daughter Cécile-Henriette successfully applied for a government pension, based, surprisingly, on the 1753–4 court battle with the British Customs, which had never been settled. The following year, the first true biography appeared, and, perhaps not coincidentally, debts incurred by sailors on the 1759–60 cruise were written off by the French government.[21] François' wife Henriette died in 1797, and in 1823 Cécile-Henriette, who had married one Pierre Garnier,[1] gave to the Town Hall of Nuits Saint-Georges a portrait of her father in the uniform of a commodore,[16] believed to be the basis of the engraving which illustrates this article. She died in 1830.
Principal source
- M *** (Nicolas-Joseph Marey) "Vie du Capitaine Thurot" Paris, Cercle Sociale, (1791) online at BNF Gallica- accessed 30 November 2007
References
- ^ a b Thurot family tree by Danièle Calder, accessed 2007-12-04
- ISBN 978-1-84588-912-8
- ^ "Francois Thurot". Library Ireland. public library service. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ^ "Thurot family tree". Caron Family. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ISBN 2-84141-156-7, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ ISBN 1-4021-8125-6, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ a b Allen, Joseph (1852), Battles of the British Navy, vol. 1, London: Henry G. Bohn, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ Ordenssällskap införda i Sverige 1750--1774- accessed 2007-12-04
- ^ The Men who sailed with Captain James Cook website Archived 2007-11-02 at the Wayback Machine- accessed 2007-12-03
- , retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ Dobson, John (1763), Chronological Annals of the War, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 123, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ a b UK National Archives catalogue search
- ^ Lang, Andrew (1897), Pickle the Spy, or The Incognito of Prince Charles, chap. 13, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ Newcastle Courant, 10 November 1759, from London newspaper of 3 November
- OCLC 165892922, archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-07-19, retrieved 2007-12-05,
'Amarante' entry
- ^ a b Roeder, Charles (1904), "Francis Thurot (1727–1760) and his Naval Engagement off the Isle of Man", Manx Notes & Queries, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ a b Wesley, John, The Journal of John Wesley (standard edition) vol. 4, parts 11-2 & 12-1, archived from the original on 2007-12-13, retrieved 2007-12-04
- ^ a b Harrison, William, ed. (1873), "Captain Thurot: a memoir", Mona Miscellany, 2[permanent dead link]
- ^ Newcastle Courant, 15 March 1760, from London papers
- hdl:1969.1/3765
- ^ Décret de la Convention Nationale, 11 Ventose, an 2 Archived 2007-05-18 at the Wayback Machine librairie-marine.com- accessed 2007-12-04
Further information
- A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & son.
- Bailly, Camille (2000) "Lames de Sang: la vie exemplaire de François Thurot", self-published, 21220 Brochon, ISBN 2-9516111-0-2
- Picture of the 1760 sea battle in the UK National Maritime Museum- accessed 30 November 2007