Georges-René Pléville Le Pelley
| Georges René Le Peley de Pléville | |
|---|---|
Georges René Le Peley de Pléville, by Antoine Maurin
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| Born | 29 June 1726 Granville |
| Died | 2 October 1805 (aged 79) Paris |
| Allegiance | Kingdom and First Republic of France |
| Service/branch | Navy |
| Years of service | 1740s - c. 1800 |
| Rank | Vice admiral |
| Commands held | Governor of Marseilles |
| Awards | senator (1799), commander of the Légion d’honneur |
| Relations | Agathe de Rambaud (sister in law) |
Georges-René Le Pelley de Pléville (29 June 1726, Granville – 2 October 1805, Paris) was the governor of the port of Marseilles, a French admiral, minister for the navy and the colonies from 15 July 1797 to 27 April 1798, a senator, a knight of the Order of St Louis and the Order of Cincinnatus, and one of the very first Grand officiers of the Légion d'honneur.
His father was Hervé Le Pelley, seigneur de Pléville, a captain in the merchant navy, and his mother was the daughter of the seigneur du Saussey in the parish of Lingreville. Thus de Pléville was attracted to the sea and ships early in his life. Orphaned whilst very young, he ran away from the collège at Coutances to get himself engaged on a ship to Newfoundland in 1738. His uncle - intending him for the priesthood - asked the ship's captain to put de Pléville off life at sea. His first voyage as a pilotin was therefore particularly hard. At Newfoundland an old friend of his father welcomed him and treated him with more understanding. He thus went on many cod fishing voyages on different ships. He became an ensign from 1740 on the Ville de Québec, but objected to having been sent to the brig (ship's prison cell), which he deemed unjust. He deserted and fled whilst Ville de Québec was anchored on the coast of Canada. He walked alone for 50 days through the Canadian forest, meeting native tribes, before finally arriving in Quebec, where he was welcomed by a family that took pity on him. He embarked on another ship under a pseudonym as a helmsman and for the following years continued to work in Newfoundland.
He entered the gardes de la marine but was too poor to remain there, so he was taken on by a small privateer sailing from Granville, the Françoise du Lac, as lieutenant. Some hours after leaving port, this boat was met in the lee of Jersey by two English privateers and crushed between their cannons' cross-fire. de Pléville was wounded in this 6 hour long battle, losing his right leg and finally being captured. Welcomed to Falmouth like a son by the family of an Admiralty functionary, he was cared for there and learned English until he was exchanged for an English prisoner. He then served in the French Royal Navy as lieutenant de frégate on the Argonaute, commanded by Tilly Le Pelley, another uncle, then on the ship Mercure, which was part of the squadron under the orders of the duc d'Anville in 1746 to recapture Cape Breton Island. This squadron was met on its return from Chebucto by Admiral George Anson and in the ensuing First battle of Cape Finisterre a cannonball carried away de Pléville's wooden leg (de Pléville joked to his captain "That cannonball was mistaken - it only made work for the carpenter." or, in the original French, "Le boulet s'est trompé - il n'a donné de besogne qu'au charpentier") and he was once again taken prisoner.
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