Pierre Bouvet
| Pierre François Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 28 December 1775 Saint-Benoît, Réunion |
| Died | 18 June 1860 (aged 84) Saint-Servan |
| Allegiance |
 France |
| Service/branch | French navy |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | |
Pierre-François-Henri-Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve (Saint-Benoît, Réunion, 28 December 1775 – Saint-Servan, 18 June 1860) was a French Navy officer and privateer.
Born to a Navy captain, Bouvet started sailing at the age of 11, He served under his father on various ships between France and the Indies. He was taken prisoner by the British during their occupation of Toulon.
Released, Bouvet served on the frigate Amazone in Linois's squadron, which raided commerce in the Indies. After Amazone was wrecked at Cape of Good Hope, he attempted to return to Mauritius and inform the governor, but was captured en route by a British frigate.
Released on parole, Bouvet designed the Entreprenant, a felucca of Indian pattern. After he was exchanged, he cruised off the Malabar Coast undetected amongst indigenous shipping. Appointed to a 16-gun brig also named Entreprenant, Bouvet sailed to Manille and rescued the crew of Mouche n° 6 from detention.
Embarked in Duperré's squadron, Bouvet was given command of the prize Minerve, on which he took part in a battle against three largs East Indiamen, of which the squadron captured two. Returned to Mauritius, the squadron met four British frigates, which it defeated in the Battle of Grand Port. Duperré having been wounded, Bouvet commanded the French forces for the second half of the battle.
Returned to France after the fall of Mauritius, Bouvet was given command of a two-frigate squadron, with his flag on Aréthuse. His other frigate was wrecked in a storm, and soon after, Aréthuse battled HMS Amelia in a bloody action that resulted in a stale-mate. Bouvet never fought again, and devoted his late life to politics and writing.
Born to Pierre-Servais-René Bouvet, Pierre Bouvet enlisted in the French Navy as a volunteer at the age of 11, on 13 December 1786, and enlisted on the fluye Nécessaire, commanded by his father and bound for the Indies. He returned to France in May 1789. On 18 March 1791, he enlisted as a helmsman on the brig Goéland, returning in June. He then transferred on the 74-gun Tourville for a patrol the same month. in June
In 1792, he became a Midshipman, and served on the brand-new frigate Aréthuse in Toulon, under his father who had recently been promoted to Captain. On Aréthuse, Bouvet took part in Truguet's raid on Sardinia from February to March 1793, before transferring on the 80-gun Languedoc on 3 April 1793.
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