Hippolyte Bouchard
Hippolyte Bouchard | |
---|---|
Born | André Paul Bouchard 15 January 1780,[1][A] |
Died | 4 January 1837 | (aged 56)
Parents |
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Hippolyte or Hipólito Bouchard (15 January 1780[1][A] – 4 January 1837) was a French-born Argentine[2][3] sailor and corsair who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
During his first campaign as an Argentine corsair he attacked the Spanish colonies of Chile and Peru, under the command of the
Early life
Bouchard was born in a small village close to
Campaign with William Brown
In 1815 Bouchard started a naval campaign under the command of Admiral
The campaign fleet was composed of the frigate Hercules under the command of William Brown, the Santísima Trinidad under the command of his brother, Miguel Brown, the schooner Constitución under the command of Oliverio Russell, and the Halcón. The Hércules and Santísima Trinidad set sail from Montevideo on 24 October; the other two ships departed five days later. The plan was for all four ships to rendezvous at Mocha Island where they would establish a plan of operation. The Brown brothers arrived at the island on 28 December, with the Halcón arriving the following day. Upon arrival Bouchard announced that while circumnavigating Cape Horn his ship was exposed to fourteen days of severe weather, and it was on that basis that he had concluded that the Constitución had sunk (neither the ship nor its crew were ever seen again). On 31 December Brown and Bouchard agreed to operate together during the first hundred days of 1816. Any plunder would be divided as follows: two parts to Brown, as the commander-in-chief, and one-and-a-half parts each for the Santísima Trinidad and the Halcón.[6] Bouchard and Miguel Brown subsequently set course for the Peruvian coast, while the Hércules sailed to the Juan Fernández Islands in order to free a number of patriots that were being held prisoner there.
On 10 January 1816 the three vessels met again near the fortress of
After three days, Bouchard informed Brown that his ship was close to sinking and that the officers wished to return to Buenos Aires. He then asked for a division of the booty, and received the Consecuencia, the Carmen, and 3,475 pesos as compensation (he had to leave the Halcón behind). Bouchard elected to return to Buenos Aires via Cape Horn, and it was there that new incidents with the crew arose, many of which were solved with violence, such as a duel with one of his sergeants. When an officer on the Carmen notified Bouchard that the ship was in imminent danger of foundering, Bouchard nonetheless ordered the man to continue the journey. As a result, the crew mutinied and headed to the Galápagos Islands. The Consecuencia, with Bouchard still in command, made port in Buenos Aires on 18 June.[8]
Campaign with La Argentina
The beginning of the campaign
Bouchard decided to stay with the frigate Consecuencia for his next campaign. In concert with Vicente Echevarría the ship's name was changed to La Argentina. Preparing the ship was not an easy task, as it was very heavy and some 100 metres (330 feet) long. Echevarría acquired 34 artillery pieces and hired experienced carpenters to mount them in place. Upon Bouchard's request, the Argentine State gave him 4 bronze cannons and 12 iron cannons, 128 guns, and 1,700 cannonballs, but he was unable to requisition small arms such as boarding guns or sabers (even cavalry sabers).[9] Even more difficult was finding the 180 men he needed for a crew, especially given Bouchard's reputation as ill-tempered (which dogged him after the conflicts in the Pacific)[citation needed]. Most of the sailors he did enlist were foreigners, though some were from the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos.
On 25 June, with La Argentina still in port, a sailor struck one of his superiors, an act of insubordination. When Bouchard discovered this he ordered the sailor's arrest, provoking general unrest. One of the fellow sailors attacked Commander Sommers, who killed him in self-defense. This did not prevent other members of the crew from barricading themselves inside the ship, which led to their being forcibly removed by the marine infantry, led by Sommers. Two crewmen were killed in the conflict, and four others were wounded. Following the altercation Echevarría sent a letter to
On 27 June Bouchard obtained the Argentine corsair patent (a "letter of marque") that authorized him to prey on Spanish commerce, the countries of Spain and Argentina being in a state of war at the time.[7] On 9 July 1817 (the first anniversary of the signing of the
The Pirates
La Argentina headed toward the
The Sulu Islands
After passing through the Makassar Strait, La Argentina crossed the Celebes Sea and made landfall on the island of Joló. Bouchard arrived in the archipelago on January 2, 1818, and remained there for five days. Large numbers of underwater rocks and strong currents made navigation difficult in these seas. Its inhabitants considered valor as the first of the virtues and always boasted of being invincible. His whole life was based on piracy that regulated his economy, his military forces and his social life. While the frigate's crew was negotiating with the natives to secure adequate supplies, sentries were stationed, loaded with muskets, to repel any possible attack by the Joloans. At night a sentry perceived movements and cautiously alerted the whole crew. When they confirmed that the boats dangerously lurked to the frigate, all the men prepared their arms and when being at a distance of a hundred yards the order was given to open fire. The Joloans were surprised and quickly fled. After a series of incidents finally the monarch appeared with a richly adorned boat. It brought with it a great quantity of fruits and vegetables, besides four buffaloes for the hungry sailors. From that moment they were able to complete the watering without being disturbed and the islanders were allowed to trade freely with the crew of the frigate.[12]
The Philippines
Then headed to the Spanish port at Manila for the purpose of establishing a blockade. Upon arrival on 31 January 1818 the Argentines stopped an English frigate attempting to dock to determine whether or not it carried supplies for the Spanish colony. Bouchard attempted to hide his origin, but the frigate's captain discerned what his true intentions were and warned the Spanish authorities of his intentions. The City of Manila had fortified walls and was protected by a redoubt, Fort Santiago, with powerful artillery. Bouchard instead began to plunder nearby vessels, all the while staying clear of the Spanish cannons. For the next two months La Argentina captured a total of 16 ships through the use of intimidating cannon fire and quick boardings. To further tighten the siege over the capital of the archipelago, Bouchard arranged for an armed Pontin with 23 crew members to block the strait of San Bernardino under the command of second captain Sommers. In that action they captured a felluca and a galley.[13] While Manila's inhabitants fell into a state of despair as the price of food doubled, and even tripled. The governor sent two armed merchant vessels, accompanied by a corvette, to engage La Argentina. The group missed its opportunity, however, as Bouchard had already departed the area on 30 March.[14]
Few days after, the ship sighted a brigantine from the Mariana Islands. When it noticed the proximity of La Argentina, it fled to the port of Santa Cruz. The Argentine frigate was unable to approach the harbor because of its draft, so Bouchard ordered Sommers, Greissac and Van Buren to use three boats to capture the ship. The three officers and many crew members started to approach the brigantine that had not arrived to the port. Owing to the speed of his boat, Sommers went ahead and managed to reach the brigantine. But the cutter leading to Sommers was overturned by the crew of the brig that threw moorings to their masts. From the deck of the brig, they attacked the defenseless men in the water, killing fourteen.[15] The others were rescued by Greissac and Van Buren and returned to the frigate. Bouchard wanted to revenge the deaths, but in order to capture the brigantine he needed a vessel with a smaller stern. So he ordered Greissac to lead some sailors and take any of the
Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)
On 17 August Bouchard arrived at
When he arrived at the harbor he found the Santa Rosa almost dismantled, therefore he decided to meet King
California and Central America
Bouchard sailed towards
On 20 November 1818, the
Bouchard met with his officers to design the attack plan. Peter Corney knew the bay from two previous visits to Monterey. They used the
Santa Rosa corvette, led by Sheppard, anchored by midnight near the
From the frigate, Bouchard saw his men defeated, but also noticed that the Spanish lacked boats to seize Santa Rosa. The corsair ordered his ships to weigh anchor and move towards the port. However, due to the frigate's draft, he could not get close enough to open fire. After sunset they brought the corvette's survivors aboard the frigate. On 24 November, before dawn, Bouchard ordered his men to board the boats. They were 200: 130 had rifles and 70 had spears. They landed 7 km (4.3 mi) away from the fort in a hidden
On 29 November they left Monterey, passed
On 16 December the ships
On 17 January they sailed to the port of San Blas, located on the west coast of mainland Mexico, and began a blockade eight days later. During the approach, they seized the Spanish brig Las Ánimas, with a cargo of cacao. Near Tres Marías islands, La Argentina boarded the British Good Hope. After four days, they allowed the ship to weigh anchor, but not before confiscating her cargo of Spanish goods. On 1 March, while blockading San Blas, they sighted a schooner. The two ships began to chase her but failed to reach her. Afterwards, Bouchard ordered them to proceed south to Acapulco following the coastline. Once they arrived, he sent a boat with an officer to explore the place, and to report the quantity and quality of the ships in the harbour. The officer reported there was no relevant ship nearby, and Bouchard decided to sail on.[39]
On 18 March the Argentines went to a town called
After the combat in El Realejo, the Argentines found the same schooner with the Spanish flag that they had lost in San Blas. The ship went forward towards the Santa Rosa, whose crew was composed of inexpert Hawaiian sailors and had few artillery. A first attack killed three Argentines and wounded many more. When the Argentine ship was going to repel the enemy's boarding, the schooner took out the Spanish flag and showed it was a Chilean ship, called Chileno (Chilean). It was commanded by a corsair whose surname was Croll. Bouchard demanded that his surgeon heal the wounded, but the Chilean corsair decided to go away.[41]
On 3 April 1819 Hippolyte Bouchard's long expedition ended. He went to
Arrest in Chile
On 9 July 1819, exactly two years after Bouchard left Buenos Aires, the Santa Rosa and the María Sofía arrived to Valparaíso. the 12th of the same month arrived the Neptuno and one day later arrived La Argentina. Bouchard was informed that Thomas Cochrane had ordered his arrest.[7] The corsair replied that the Chilean government had no authority to judge him and that he would only speak about his travels to the Argentine authority. The trial for piracy started on 20 July. In September a Chilean fleet had left to
Later life
In 1820 Bouchard was in Perú serving with the Chilean navy. In December of that year he requested José de San Martín, who had been named Protector of Peru, to be allowed to return to Argentina due to his economic situation. San Martín ordered him to stay in Lima for four more months.[44]
When Lord Cochrane took the money stored in the warships he commanded to compensate for the wages he did not receive, San Martín decided to fight against him. He created the Peruvian Navy and Bouchard was given the frigate Prueba, captured by the Royalists in Callao.[45] Cochrane complained again and Tomás Guido asked him to protest to the Chilean government and ordered Bouchard to be ready to fight if the Scottish admiral decided to attack the Peruvian fleet. Bouchard confronted Cochrane at sea, to the point of challenging him to a single duel; however, the Chilean admiral refused to fight and sailed back to Valparaíso.[43]
After the incident, Bouchard continued to sail in Peruvian waters commanding the Santa Rosa, because Consecuencia had to be sold as firewood. Santa Rosa would end up being burned during the
During his retirement Bouchard decided to live on the properties that had been given to him by the Peruvian Government, San Javier y San José de la Nazca, near
Legacy
In his adopted country of Argentina, Bouchard is revered as a patriot and several places (one being a street in downtown Buenos Aires close to the waterfront) are named in his honor.[2] USS Borie, an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer sold to Argentina in July 1972, was renamed as ARA Hipólito Bouchard; the ship saw action in the Falklands War.[47]
See also
- May Revolution
- Argentine War of Independence
- Spanish American wars of independence
- French Campaign in Egypt
- Napoleon
Notes
- ^ a b c The California State Military Museum gives 1783 as his birth date. Also, note that this website's form of the name - "de Bouchard" - does not agree with published sources.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Pigna 2005, p. 73.
- ^ a b c d "Hippolyte de Bouchard and His Attacks on the California Missions". Sacramento, CA: California State Military Museum – California State Military Department. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ a b Pérez Pardella 1997.
- ^ a b De Marco 2002, p. 180.
- ^ a b "Bouchard, Hipólito (1780–1837)" (in Spanish). IESE – Instituto Universitario del Ejército. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012.
- ^ Prieto & Marí 1927, p. 12.
- ^ a b c Cerone, Pablo Martín (2004). "El Corsario Albiceleste" (in Spanish). Quinta Dimensión. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 124–125, 142–143.
- ^ Alonso Piñeiro 1984, ch. 33.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2016, pp. 59.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 155–157.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2016, pp. 68.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2016, pp. 92.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 157–159.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2016, pp. 109.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2016, pp. 124.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 160–161.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 170.
- ^ Delgado de Cantú, Gloria M. (2006). Historia de México. México, D. F.: Pearson Educación.
- ^ Mercene, Manila men, p. 52.
- ^ Chapman 1921, pp. 442–443.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 168–170.
- ^ O'Donnell 1998.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2017, p. 122.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2017, p. 129.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2017, p. 160.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2017, p. 175.
- ^ Rossi Belgrano 2017, p. 182.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 172.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 177.
- ^ a b De Marco 2002, p. 178.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 179.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 180–181.
- ^ Tompkins 1975, pp. 16–17.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 183.
- ^ Yenne 2004, p. 77.
- ^ Jones 1997, p. 170.
- ^ "California's Only Pirate - Hippolyte de Bouchard".
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 185–187.
- ^ De Marco 2002, pp. 187–188.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 189.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 190.
- ^ a b Pigna 2005, p. 94.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 204.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 207.
- ^ De Marco 2002, p. 208.
- ^ "Destructor A.R.A. "Bouchard" D-26" (in Spanish). Histarmar. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
Bibliography
- Alonso Piñeiro, Armando (1984). La historia Argentina que muchos argentinos no conocen (in Spanish) (5th ed.). Buenos Aires: Depalma. ISBN 978-9501402025.
- Chapman, Charles Edward (1921). A History of California: The Spanish Period. New York: The Macmillan Company.
- Cichero, Daniel E. (1999). El corsario del plata (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. ISBN 950-07-1560-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - De Marco, Miguel Ángel (2002). Corsarios Argentinos (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. ISBN 950-49-0944-2.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Departamento de Estudios Históricos Navales de la Armada Argentina (1987). Historia marítima Argentina (in Spanish). Vol. V. Buenos Aires: Cuántica Editora. ISBN 950-9257-05-2.
- Gregory, Kristiana (1995). The Stowaway: A Tale of California Pirates. Scholastic Trade. ISBN 0-590-48822-8.
- Jones, Roger W. (1997). California from the Conquistadores to the Legends of Laguna. Laguna Hills, CA: Rockledge Enterprises. ASIN B0006R3LVM.
- Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, Inc. ISBN 0-89658-492-5.
- Melzer, Michael (2016). The Patriot Pirate (1st ed.). California. ISBN 978-1-36-686692-9.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Mitre, Bartolomé (1909). Páginas de Historia (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: La Nación.
- O'Donnell, Pacho (1998). El Aguila Guerrera: La Historia Argentina Que No Nos Contaron (in Spanish) (3rd ed.). Editorial Sudamericana. ISBN 978-9500714617.
- Pérez Pardella, Agustín (1997). José de San Martín, El Libertador Cabalga (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Planeta. ISBN 978-9507428166.
- ISBN 950-49-1342-3.
- Pitt, Leonard (1970). Decline of the Californios: A Social History of the Spanish-Speaking Californians, 1846-1890. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-01637-8.
- Prieto, N.; Marí, A. (1927). Historia Completa de la Nación Argentina (in Spanish). Vol. XXIV. Buenos Aires.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Rossi Belgrano, Alejandro and Mariana (2016). Nuevos Documentos sobre el Crucero de la Argentina a través del Mundo Vol I (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Buenos Aires. ISBN 978-987-42-0631-2.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Rossi Belgrano, Alejandro and Mariana (2017). Nuevos Documentos sobre el Crucero de la Argentina a través del Archipiélago Hawaiano Vol II (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Buenos Aires. ISBN 978-987-42-3709-5.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Tompkins, Walker A. (1975). Santa Barbara, Past and Present. Santa Barbara, CA: Tecolote Books. ASIN B0006XNLCU.
- Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. San Diego, CA: Advantage Publishers Group. ISBN 1-59223-319-8.
External links
- Hipólito (Hypolite) Bouchard and the Raid of 1818 at Monterey County Historical Society