Robert Surcouf

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Robert Surcouf
Surcouf c. 1820
Born(1773-12-12)12 December 1773
Saint-Malo, Brittany
Died8 July 1827(1827-07-08) (aged 53)
Saint-Servan, Brittany
AllegianceFirst French Empire French Empire
Bourbon Restoration in France Bourbon Restoration
Service/branchFrance French Navy(briefly)
Years of service1798–1809
RankPrivateer
Commands heldÉmilie

Clarisse
Confiance

Sabre of honour
Legion of Honour
Spouse(s)Marie Blaize
RelationsBrother to Nicolas Surcouf
Cousin to Joseph Potier
Other workship-owner of privateer and merchantmen
Signature

Robert Surcouf ([ʁɔ.bɛʁ syʁ.kuf] 12 December 1773 – 8 July 1827) was a French privateer, businessman and slave trader who operated in the Indian Ocean from 1789 to 1808 during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Capturing over 40 prizes, he later amassed a large fortune from a variety of commercial activities, such as ship-owning, privateering, slave trading and owning land.[1][2][3]

Surcouf started his maritime career as an officer on the ships Aurore, Courrier d'Afrique and Navigateur. Having risen to the rank of captain, he illegally engaged in slave trading onboard the slave ship Créole. Surcouf then captained the merchantman Émilie, on which he engaged in commerce raiding despite lacking a letter of marque. He preyed on British shipping, capturing several merchantmen including the East Indiaman Triton, before returning to the Isle de France where his prizes were confiscated. Surcouf then returned to France, where he obtained prize money from the government. Returning to the Indian Ocean, Surcouf captained the privateers Clarisse and Confiance, raiding British, American, and Portuguese shipping. He captured the East Indiaman Kent on 7 October 1800. Returning to France, Surcouf was awarded the Legion of Honour and settled down as a businessman.

He briefly returned to the Indian Ocean in 1807 on the corvette Revenant before returning to France. There, Surcouf sponsored privateers and merchantmen, including slave ships. His privateers led campaigns against British trade in the Indian Ocean and the English Channel. The cutter Renard, a ship of his, achieved fame in her victory over HMS Alphea on 9 September 1812, with Alphea exploding after repulsing French attempts at boarding her. After the Bourbon Restoration in France, Surcouf organised fishing expeditions to Newfoundland and amassed a considerable fortune. He died in 1827 and was buried in Saint-Malo.

Career

Youth

Robert Surcouf was born 12 December 1773 in Saint-Malo to a family of

Cadiz.[8]

On 3 March 1789, he enlisted as a volunteer on the 700-ton Aurore,

orlop.[8] Tardivet chartered the Portuguese San Antoine in October 1790 to return to Port-Louis, but had to divert to Sumatra because of the weather, and only returned to Port-Louis in late 1790, on a French ship via the French colony of Pondicherry.[8] Promoted to officer, Surcouf enlisted on the Courrier d'Afrique, another slave ship,[3] bound for Mozambique under Captain Garnier.[6] Captain Tardivet then brought him over as Lieutenant on his new ship, Revanche.[9] On Revanche, Surcouf made several expeditions off Madagascar.[6][9]

Surcouf enlisted as a helmsman on the French Royal Navy's 20-gun fluyt Bienvenue, under Lieutenant Haumont,[10] bound for France.[11] Bienvenue arrived at Lorient on 2 January 1792, where Surcouf discovered the political changes France had undergone in the wake of the French Revolution.[11]

After six months, Surcouf enlisted as a lieutenant on the slave ship Navigateur,[3] under Captain Lejoliff.[11][N 1] She departed on 27 August 1792 for Mozambique before sailing to Isle de France, where Surcouf was informed on his arrival of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars.[11]

Rising to the rank of captain, Surcouf took command of the brig Créole,

Action of 22 October 1794.[8]

Cruise of Émilie and capture of Triton

Cruise of Émilie: from Port-Louis (Mauritius) to the Seychelles via La Réunion, on to Sumatra, the Gulf of Bengal, and return to Port-Louis.

In the spring in 1795,

lettre de marque and ordered Émilie to go to the Seychelles to purchase tortoises as food for Isle de France.[9][12][13]

Émilie departed on 3 September 1795 with a congé de navigation authorising her to defend herself, but not to take prizes as a privateer. The next day, she made a port call at Saint-Denis before cruising to Mahé.[13] At Sainte Anne Island, two large British ships chased him, but he was able to evade them by sailing through the reefs,[9] at night.[13]

Surcouf then decided to sail to the Mergui Archipelago to load a rice cargo.[14] On 8 December 1795,[12] while in transit, cruising off the Ganges Delta,[15] Surcouf captured his first prize, the ship Penguin, loaded with lumber, on which he detached a prize crew under Lieutenant Péru before sending her to Isle de France.[14]

On 19 January 1796,

pilot ship[15] Cartier[9][14] leading two merchantmen, the Russel and Sambolasse, through the Ganges delta.[14][N 2] He attacked and captured them, finding the merchantmen to be carrying rice.[14] After detaching prize crews, Surcouf transferred his command, along with his remaining 22 crew members and Émilie's four guns, to Cartier, which (according to Ambroise Louis Garneray) he renamed Hasard.[15] Surcouf then sent Émilie, under Lieutenant Croizet, together with his prizes, to Isle de France.[17]

On the night of 28 January, Surcouf captured the 12-gun Diana,[17] loaded with 6000 bags of rice.[18] The next day, Cartier met a 26-gun Indiaman,[18] Triton,[9] armed with 12-pounders and a 150-man crew;[9] having decided to attack, and recognising only too late the overwhelming superiority of his opponent,[9] Surcouf, feeling threatened and unable to flee, decided to board her with his 26 men.[18][N 3] After haranguing his men, he approached under a British flag,[20] before hoisting French colours at the very last moment and launching a violent assault.[19] In the ensuing 45-minute battle,[9] Triton suffered 5 wounded and 10 killed,[21] including her captain, Captain Burnycat, and the first officer, Picket;[19] The prisoners were transferred to Diana, which Surcouf released against a 30,000 rupee ransom.[22]

Surcouf returned to Ile de France with his prizes,[15] where he arrived on 10 March 1796,[19] although Hasard was captured by HMS Victorious on the journey back.[23] As Émilie had been armed as a merchant rather than a privateer, the Prize court seized her prizes and sold them for the benefit of the State,[15] although their capture was declared to be legal.[21] Surcouf returned to France to claim his prize money, and on 3 September 1797,[21] the government finally granted him 660,000 francs,[9] of which he only received 80,000.[21][N 4]

  • Boarding of Triton by the French corsair Hasard. Engraving by Ambroise-Louis Garneray
    Boarding of Triton by the French corsair Hasard. Engraving by
    Ambroise-Louis Garneray
  • Boarding of Triton by the French corsair Hasard under Robert Surcouf. Painting by Léon Trémisot.
    Boarding of Triton by the French corsair Hasard under Robert Surcouf. Painting by Léon Trémisot.

Cruise of Clarisse

First cruise with Clarisse and battle of Susoh.

In early 1798,

La Réunion on 5 December.[24]

In early 1799, Surcouf sailed to the city of Susoh

Nicolas to head a 20-man board party on Clarisse's boats and board the largest of the ships, while he boarded her with Clarisse from the opposite side; assaulted from two sides, she surrendered after a 30-minute battle.[29] The other ship cut her anchor and attempted to flee, but the boats of Clarisse overhauled and captured her without resistance, most of her crew being ashore.[29] Surcouf returned to Île de France with his prizes in June.[24]

Second cruise with Clarisse

On 16 August, Clarisse departed Isle de France for another cruise; she sailed to La Réunion carrying despatches of Malartic to the governor. She then cruised to Java to procure water,[30] where she arrived on 27 September.[31] On 1 October, Surcouf captured a Danish[26] merchantman, which he sent away under Lieutenant Fonroc;[31] on 4 November,[32] the Portuguese[26] merchantman Nostra Signora de la Conception carrying 116 000 piastres;[30][32] on 6, a British ship laden with a salt;[32] and on 11 November, the 20-gun Auspicious, with a cargo worth 1,032,580 francs.[30][32]

Surcouf sailed to

Jean Dutertre;[30] soon after, the privateers met a British frigate,[30] 38-gun frigate HMS Sybille, which gave chase and which Surcouf managed to outsail by throwing eight guns overboard, along with various other implements.[30]

On 1 January 1800, Clarisse captured a large rice-laden merchantman,[30] the British James.[32] On 3 January, she detected two American 16-carronade ships forming a line of battle; although Clarisse lacked the eight guns sacrificed to escape Sybille and 60 of her men detached on her various prizes, Surcouf engaged.[33] Clarisse raked the rear-most ship, the Louisa,[26] and boarded her, while simultaneously firing a broadside on the other ship, Mercury,[31] which attempted to rescue her mate. Nicolas Surcouf led a 30-man boarding party to seize Louisa, while Mercury escaped.[33] Clarisse could not give chase, her bowsprit having been destroyed in the collision with Louisa.[34] Nicolas Surcouf took a prize crew and sailed Louisa back to Port Louis.[31][33][35]

Clarisse continued her patrol, capturing the ships Catherine, Haderbux, Anna Maria, Nostra Signora de la Cruz, Louis, Janna, Notre Dame de Bon Succès and Albion,[32] before sailing back to Isle de France with her prizes.[33] She arrived in early February 1800.[31]

Cruise of Confiance and capture of Kent

Cruise of Confiance

In May 1800, Surcouf took command of Confiance, a fast 18-gun brig[26] from Bordeaux, with a 150-man complement; the competition with Dutertre for the captainship of Confiance almost degenerated into a duel, and Governor Malartic had to intervene to prevent it, stating that such a confrontation would be "an English victory".[36] The sailor and painter Ambroise Louis Garneray, future biographer of Surcouf, enlisted at this time.[36]

In late April 1800, Confiance cruised off Sunda Strait, where she captured an American ship; she then left the strait to avoid the frigate USS Essex,[37] which was known to cruise in these waters, and sailed to the Seychelles. There, he escaped a British ship of the line and a frigate, and sailed on to cruise the Bay of Bengal.[38]

On 19 September, Confiance captured Prize, from Calcutta, which had stored eight of her ten guns in her hold to improve her stability. Prize was sent off to Mauritius on the next day with an 85-man prize crew.[39] Surcouf then steered for Ganjam, where he captured three smaller ships.[40]

On 7 October 1800, off Sand Heads, near Calcutta, Confiance met the 40-gun

board his larger opponent and, after over an hour and a half[47] of battle across the decks of the ship,[48] seize control of the Kent.[49]

The British had suffered fourteen killed, including the captain,

Frederick St. John and his wife,[44] Arabella Craven.[52]

The first officer of Confiance, Joachim Drieux, was sent on Kent with a 60-man prize crew, while her passengers were released on a merchantman that Surcouf stopped a few days later.[53] Confiance and Kent arrived at the Rade des Pavillons in Port-Louis in November.[43] The capture of Kent became a sensation, and the British Admiralty issued a reward for the capture of Surcouf.[53]

After her return to Ile de France, Confiance was armed as a merchantman en aventurier[N 8] with an 89-man crew[43] and loaded with colonial goods for her return to France. On the journey, Surcouf still managed to capture a number of ships, notably the Portuguese Ebre,[43] with eighteen 12-pounder carronades and a 60-man crew; he released her against a ransom of 10,000 piastres and after exchanging her greatmast with that of Confiance.[53]

Upon her return, Confiance ran into the British blockade and was chased by a frigate; Surcouf managed to evade her by throwing overboard all but one of her guns, his boats, anchors, chains and even components of his masts. He eventually arrived at La Rochelle[26][54][55][N 9] on 13 April 1801.[53][54]

In France, Navy Minister

Sabre of honour.[55] Surcouf was awarded the Legion of Honour at the founding of the Order, on 19 May 1802.[26]

  • Documents on Surcouf's Legion of Honour
  • Document forwarding Surcouf's request to be admitted in the Legion of Honour
    Document forwarding Surcouf's request to be admitted in the Legion of Honour
  • Document on the background verification process
    Document on the background verification process
  • Official letter to Surcouf: "The Emperor, during a Great Council, has made you a member of the Legion of Honour"
    Official letter to Surcouf: "The Emperor, during a Great Council, has made you a member of the Legion of Honour"

On 28 May, in Saint-Malo, he married Marie Blaize, who had been his fiancée for two years;[54] over the course of their marriage, they had five children together.[3] Around 1805, Surcouf started to arm privateers in Saint-Malo in partnership with his father-in-law Louis Blaize de Maisonneuve,[56] notably Caroline which captured four ships in the Indian Ocean under Nicolas Surcouf;[57] Marsouin; and Confiance, which took two prizes under Joseph Potier.[58]

Cruise of Revenant

Cruise of Revenant.

After a five-year retirement,[26] in early 1807, Surcouf ordered the 18-gun[54] Revenant, a privateer which he had built on his own specifications.[26] On 2 March, he departed Saint-Malo with a 192-man crew[54] to cruise off Bengal. On 9 March 1807,[59] while en route, off Madeira, Revenant captured the British slave ship Aun,[59] of sixteen 12-pounders, recently departed from Liverpool,[60] which Surcouf let go for a ransom, after throwing her guns overboard, wetting her gunpowder and destroying some of her sails.[54]

Surcouf arrived at Île de France in June, slipping past the British blockade and capturing several ships on the journey. During the subsequent campaign, which was to be his last, Surcouf captured 16 British merchantmen, partly because they tended to strike their colours as soon as they realised their opponent was Surcouf.[60][61]

The arrival of Surcouf at Isle de France did not go unnoticed: the authorities and the population reacted with enthusiasm, while British insurance companies on Calcutta doubled the reward for his capture,[54] which amounted to one lakh of rupees, or 250,000 francs.[62] On 3 September 1807, Revenant departed to cruise off Bengal. On 25 September, she captured the British 12-gun Trafalgar carrying 10,000 bags of rice,[59] and the 14-gun Mangles, carrying 11,000;[59] on the 27th, the 12-gun Admiral Applin, with 9,500 bags of rice;[59] on 1 October, the 1-gun Suzannah, with 5,500 bags of rice; on the 19th, the wood-laden Success, which was burnt;[59] on the 30th, the 12-gun Fortune, which carried no cargo and was sunk;[59] on 15 November, the Indian Macauly;[59] on 18 December, the British 10-gun Sir William Burroughs;[59] on the 30th, the Portuguese Oriente;[59] and on 6 January 1808, the Arab Jem lab Dim.[59] Surcouf sent these with prize crews to Isle de France, and then returned himself on 31 January 1808.[54]

When a British captive officer taunted Surcouf with the words "You French fight for money while we fight for honour", Surcouf replied "Each of us fights for what he lacks most".[63][64]

Surcouf then gave command of Revenant to his first officer, Joseph Potier. After a short cruise, Potier returned with a 34-gun[N 10] prize of the Portuguese East India Company,[67] the Conceçáo de Santo Antonio,[67] captured after a one-hour fight.[68]

On 4 July 1808, General

Sémillante, which he renamed Charles. Returning with this vessel to Saint-Malo, he arrived on 4 February 1809.[26][68]

Later life

Portrait of Surcouf by Antoine Maurin

From 1809, Surcouf went into business as ship-owner,

St. Malo in 1809. Surcouf dispatched Fantôme to Isle de France (Mauritius) in the Indian Ocean on her first voyage where the brig took three prizes but was captured by the British in 1810 and commissioned into British service as HMS Fantome.[71]

In January 1814, Surcouf was made a colonel in the National Guard of Saint-Malo.[26] During the Hundred Days, he served as a chief of Legion and maintained order.[26] He resigned after the Battle of Waterloo and became a merchant,[26] arming 19 merchantmen[72] and establishing business with Newfoundland.

Between 1814 and 1827, Surcouf organised over 116 commercial expeditions.[73] In 1815, Surcouf engaged in the slave trade, commissioning the ship Africain to transport enslaved Africans from Gabon.[1] Africain conducted another slave trading journey in 1819.[74] Four other expeditions are also suspected of having been slaving runs: that of Marie-Anne in 1819, Adolphe in 1820, and in 1821 Victor and Adolphe,[74] under René Decaen and with Désiré Surcouf as first officer, which sailed under the pretence of sailing to Isle Bourbon (now Réunion), but actually to ferry slaves to Cuba and Philadelphia.[75][73]

Surcouf died on 8 July 1827, and was buried in Saint-Malo graveyard with military honours.[76] His tomb features a globe showing the Indian Ocean and an anchor,[77] with the epitaph:

A famous sailor has finished his career

He is in the tomb forever asleep
Seamen are deprived of their father

The unfortunates have lost a friend[77][N 11]

Legacy

Five ships of the

submarine cruiser, which at the time of her launch was the largest submarine in the world. The submarine joined the Free French Naval Forces during the Second World War and disappeared mysteriously after liberating Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The fourth Surcouf was a large fleet escort destroyer, which was severely damaged in a collision with a Soviet ship, and the fifth is a modern stealth frigate, one of the first stealth combat ships.[78]

Statue in Tribute

Ships of the French Navy named Surcouf

A number of legends have grown around Surcouf, he is often stated to have been made a Baron of the Empire, which is untrue.[3][N 12] Another legend states that Surcouf had thrown overboard gold seized on Kent but Kent did not carry gold.[3][N 13]

There is a tale that in 1816, Surcouf challenged twelve Prussian officers to a duel and defeated all of them except for the last, which he let go "to tell in his country how a former soldier of Napoleon fights"; this story is a fabrication.[81][N 14]

Notes

  1. ^ Granier gives the captain's name as "captain de Joliff" instead of "Lejoliff".[8]
  2. ^ Russell was a pilot boat of 111 tons (bm), launched in 1770.[16]
  3. ^ Levot gives a figure of 17 men; Cunat, of 19.[9][19]
  4. ^ Some sources state that the allowance was of 1,700,000 francs, of which Surcouf left two thirds to the Treasury.[22]
  5. ^ A number of French accounts gild the lily of Surcouf's stunning victory by exaggerating by 60% Kent's size and guns. Rouvier states 38 guns and 1200 tons; Cunat specifies that Kent carried twenty-six 18-pounder on her battery and 12 9-pounder on her castles; Hennequin gives an approximate 40 guns, but confirms the figure of 1200 tons.[38][43][44]
  6. ^ Cunat actually names her as Reine, translating her name into French.[43]
  7. ^ The Gazette de France reported that Kent carried 150 soldiers of line infantry.[46]
  8. ^ Cunat says that Confiance was armed "à l'aventure", entailing that she was nominally a merchantman, but was capable of attacking targets of opportunity.[43]
  9. ^ Rouvier says Rochefort instead of La Rochelle.[53]
  10. ^ Cunat gives a figure of 64 guns for Conceçáo and implies she was a naval ship; while she had indeed been built as a 64-gun ship of the line and still belonged to the government, she sailed for private ship-owners and was armed with 36 guns, of which only 28 were usable (report of Captain Potier, quoted in Lepelley pp. 143–144).[65][66]
  11. ^ Un célèbre marin a fini sa carrière
    Il est dans le tombeau à jamais endormi
    Les matelots sont privés de leur père
    Les malheureux ont perdu un ami
  12. ^ Granier, for instance, states that Surcouf was made Baron.[79]
  13. ^ For instance the tale is told without reservation by Granier.[80]
  14. ^ For instance the tale is told without reservation by Granier.[82]

References

  1. ^ a b Roman (2001), p. 272.
  2. ^ Roman (2018), p. 130.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Alain Roman; summary on Robert Surcouf Archived 23 April 2003 at the Wayback Machine, www.netmarine.net
  4. ^ a b Levot, p. 493
  5. ^ Cunat, p.145
  6. ^ a b c d e Cunat, p. 390
  7. ^ Hennequin, p. 378
  8. ^ a b c d e f Granier, p. 216
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Levot, p. 494
  10. ^ Roche, p. 74
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Cunat, p. 391
  12. ^ a b c d Granier, p. 217.
  13. ^ a b c d Cunat, p.392
  14. ^ a b c d e f Cunat, p. 393
  15. ^ a b c d e Rouvier, p. 254
  16. ^ Phipps (1840), p. 131.
  17. ^ a b Cunat, p. 394
  18. ^ a b c Rouvier, p. 252
  19. ^ a b c d Cunat, p. 395
  20. ^ Rouvier, p. 253
  21. ^ a b c d Hennequin, p. 380
  22. ^ a b c d e Granier, p. 218
  23. ^ Demerliac, p. 309, no 2915
  24. ^ a b c d e f Rouvier, p. 447
  25. ^ a b c Cunat, p. 396
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Levot, p. 495
  27. ^ Granier, p.223
  28. ^ Hennequin, p. 381
  29. ^ a b Hennequin, p. 382
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rouvier, p. 448
  31. ^ a b c d e Cunat, p. 397
  32. ^ a b c d e f Granier, p. 224
  33. ^ a b c d Rouvier, p. 449
  34. ^ Hennequin, p. 383
  35. ^ Austen (1935), pp. 93–94.
  36. ^ a b Granier, p. 219
  37. ^ Robert Surcouf, ageofsail.wordpress.com
  38. ^ a b c Rouvier, p. 526
  39. ^ Asiatic Annual Register, Volume 3, p. 39
  40. ^ Asiatic Annual Register, Volume 3, p. 40
  41. ^ a b Norman p. 353
  42. ^ Biden p. 212
  43. ^ a b c d e f g h Cunat, p. 398
  44. ^ a b c d e Hennequin, p. 384
  45. ^ Laughton, p. 439 Archived 10 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  46. OCLC 6977453
    .
  47. ^ Laughton, p. 438
  48. ^ Laughton, p. 440
  49. ^ a b Laughton, p. 441
  50. ^ Hennequin (p. 385) states that the effects of the prisoners were returned to them when he had them transferred on Confiance.
  51. ^ Laughton, p. 442
  52. ^ St. John, Hon. Frederick (1765–1844), of Chailey, Sussex., The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986
  53. ^ a b c d e f Rouvier, p. 527
  54. ^ a b c d e f g h Cunat, p. 399
  55. ^ a b Hennequin, p. 385
  56. ^ Granier, p. 221
  57. ^ a b Gallois, vol. 2, p. 302
  58. ^ Gallois, vol.2, pp. 302–303
  59. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Granier, p. 225
  60. ^ a b Hennequin, p. 386
  61. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 362
  62. ^ Hennequin, p. 387
  63. ^ Stephen Taylor, "Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808–10"
  64. ^ Isabelle Tombs,Robert Tombs, "That Sweet Enemy: The British and the French from the Sun King to the Present", p. 262
  65. OCLC 793555867
    .
  66. .
  67. ^ a b Lepelley, p. 7
  68. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cunant, p. 400
  69. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 377
  70. ^ a b Gallois, vol. 2, p. 306
  71. ^ Young, G.F.W. "HMS Fantome and the British Raid on Washington August 1814". Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society Journal. 10: 135.
  72. ^ Cunat, p. 401
  73. ^ a b Roman (2018), p. 122.
  74. ^ a b Roman (2018), p. 124.
  75. ^ Roman (2007), p. 298.
  76. ^ Cunat, p. 402
  77. ^ a b Granier, p. 228
  78. ^ Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Surcouf Archived 14 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine, netmarine
  79. OCLC 468167565
    .
  80. .
  81. ^ M. Corbes, Conference of 16 August 1954, Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de l'arrondissement de Saint-Malo.
  82. OCLC 468167565
    .

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