Pierre Jean Van Stabel
| Pierre Jean Van Stabel | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Vanstabel, by Antoine Maurin
|
|
| Born | 8 November 1744 Dunkirk, France |
| Died | 30 March 1797 (aged 52) Dunkirk |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France
|
| Service/branch |
 French Navy
|
| Years of service | 1778 — 1797 |
| Rank | Rear-admiral |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Silver sword offered by Louis XVI |
Silver sword offered by Louis XVI
Pierre Jean Van Stabel (8 November 1744 in Dunkirk – 30 March 1797 in Dunkirk) was a French naval officer and rear-admiral, famous for his role in the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2.
Van Stabel was born to a family of sailors and started a career in the merchant navy at the age of fourteen, steadily rosing to the rank of sea captain. In 1778, with the intervention of France in the American Revolutionary War, Van Stabel enlisted in the French Royal Navy as an auxiliary officer.
Van Stabel took command of the privateer Dunkerquoise In 1781, he was in command of the 22-gun corvette Rohan Soubise, formerly the privateer Comtesse d'Artois purchased into service on 27 April 1781.
Commanding Rohan Soubise, Van Stabel captured the British privateer Admiral-Rodney after a one-hour battle, in which he was twice wounded by musket bullets to the throat, relinquishing command of his ship just long enough to have the bullets removed from him body. Too damaged in the battle to be taken as a prize, the privateer was then scuttled by fire. King Louis XVI had a silver sword presented to him in recognition.
Van Stabel later commanded another privateer, the Robecq.
In 1782, Van Stabel was promoted to frigate lieutenant, and tasked with escort duty in the English Channel, on various small warships.
In 1787, Van Stabel was tasked with ferrying four large barges from Boulogne to Brest.
In 1788, he conducted a hydrographic survey of the coasts of the English Channel; he was given command of the lugger Fanfaron.
Promoted to ensign in 1792, he took command of the frigate Proserpine, on which he left a one-year campaign in the Caribbean and Saint-Domingue.
In February 1793, with the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition, Van Stabel was promoted to captain, and appointed to command the frigate Thétis. He departed Brestin in April and led a four-month campaign in the English Channel, capturing around forty British merchantmen.
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Wikipedia