Pierre André de Suffren
Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez, bailli de Suffren was a French naval officer. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Succession, he briefly served in the Maltese Navy before fighting in the Seven Years' War, where Suffren was taken prisoner by the British at the Battle of Lagos. Promoted to captain in 1772, he served under Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing during the naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, taking part in the siege of Savannah in 1779.
Suffren was subsequently appointed to serve in the Indian Ocean under Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves, but assumed command himself after d'Estienne's death. Leading a large fleet, he fought five intense and evenly matched battles for command of the sea against British Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. Through these battles, Suffren managed to secure French dominance of the Indian Ocean until the conclusion of the war at the Treaty of Paris, although this did not lead to any permanent gains. After his return to France, he was promoted to the rank of vice admiral, and died shortly before he was to take command of the Brest squadron of the Ponant Fleet.
Biography
Early life
Pierre André de Suffren was born on 17 July 1729 in the Château de Saint-Cannat to the family of Marquis Paul de Suffren, the third son of an old nobility from Provence with two daughters and three other sons. In October 1743, as the War of the Austrian Succession was raging, Suffren, aged 14, went to Toulon to undertaken naval studies as a Garde-Marine. However, he spent only 6 months ashore before he was appointed on a ship.War of the Austrian Succession
Suffren served on the 64-gun Solide and took part in the Battle of Toulon in 1744. During the battle, Solide engaged HMS Northumberland.In the spring of 1745, Suffren transferred to Pauline, part of a 5-ship and 2-frigate squadron under Captain Jean-Baptiste Mac Nemara, sent to America to harass British forces. At his return, Suffren served on the 60-gun Trident, under Captain d'Estourmel, and took part in the Duc d'Anville expedition.
Suffren graduated from the Gardes-Marine in 1747 as an ensign, and worked on commissioning the brand new 74-gun Monarque, under Captain La Bédoyère, in a squadron under Des Herbiers de l'Estenduère. He took part in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre on 25 October 1747, where La Bédoyère was killed and Monarque, badly damaged, was captured. Suffren was taken prisoner.
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle restoring peace, Suffren joined the navy of the Order of Saint John. He served in several commercial expeditions on galleys of the order, escorting merchantmen and defending them against attacks from Barbary pirates. In late 1754, Suffren departed Malta to return to Toulon.
Seven Years' War
In 1756, Suffren had returned to Toulon and had risen to lieutenant. At the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Suffren was appointed to the 64-gun Orphée, part of a 12-ship squadron under La Galissonière tasked with ferrying 12,000 men under Maréchal de Richelieu to strike Menorca. The squadron departed on 10 April, arriving on 17 and landing troops; the British garrison retreated to St. Philip's Castle and was forced to surrender after the Siege of Fort St Philip. Patrolling between Menorca and Mallorca to prevent British relief to support Fort St. Philip, La Galissonière intercepted a 13-ship squadron under Admiral Byng, leading to the Battle of Minorca. The British failed to break the French blockade, and Fort St. Philip fell on 29 July.In 1757, Suffren transferred to the 80-gun Océan, flagship of a 6-ship and 2-frigate squadron under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran. The squadron departed Toulon in November, bound for Brest. On 7 December, it called Cartagena to resupply, and found itself blockaded by a British from under Henry Osborne. A relief squadron under Duquesne de Menneville attempted to break the blockade, but was destroyed in the Battle of Cartagena, as La Clue failed to sortie. Suffren witnessed the capture of Foudroyant and Orphée on 28 February 1758. La Clue's squadron eventually returned to Toulon.
Toulon was blockaded by Edward Boscawen's forces but, on 16 August 1758, La Clue seized an opportunity to make a sortie with 12 ships and 3 frigates. The frigate HMS Gibraltar detected La Clue's squadron and reported to Boscawen, who moved to intercept. Meanwhile, the French squadron failed to maintain formation and scattered. In the ensuing Battle of Lagos, Océan ran aground in Almadora Bay and was burnt by the British, in violation of neutrality laws, while her crew was taken prisoner, including Suffren. He returned to France after several months and was left without employ at sea for several years.
Interwar period
On the return of peace in 1763 Suffren intended again to do the service in the caravans which was required to qualify him to hold the high and lucrative posts of the order. He was, however, named to the command of the 20-gun xebec Caméléon, which he cruised against the Barbary pirates. Shortly thereafter, he transferred on Singe, also a 20-gun xebec, part of a squadron under Louis Charles du Chaffault de Besné. He took part in the Larache expedition. In 1767, Suffren was promoted to frigate captain and called to Brest to serve on the 64-gun Union, flagship of a squadron headed by Breugnon. Upon his return, he was promoted to Frigate captain on 18 August 1767.After the end of the expedition, Suffren returned to Malta to resume escort duty with the order. He spent four years, rising from Knight to Commander. In February 1772, he was promoted to captain in the French Navy, and returned to Toulon to take command of the 26-gun frigate Mignonne. He conducted two patrols in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In 1776, Duchaffault appointed Suffren to the command of the 26-gun frigate Alcmène. She departed for a training cruise to drill new navy officers. From that time till the beginning of the War of American Independence he commanded vessels in the squadron of evolution which the French government had established for the purpose of training its officers.
War of American independence
Tensions mounted between France and England in early 1778 in the context of the American Revolutionary War, with the action of 17 June 1778 constituting a step up announcing France's participation in the American Revolutionary War. Suffren was appointed to the fleet of Admiral d'Estaing, leading a division comprising the 64-gun Fantasque, which he personally captained, and the frigates Aimable, Chimère and Engageante. The mission of his force was to support Franco-American efforts in the Battle of Rhode Island by striking a 5-frigate British squadron anchored in Narragansett Bay, off Newport, comprising HMS Juno, Flora, Lark, Orpheus and Cerebus. On 5 August 1778, Suffren entered the Bay and anchored next to the British, who cut their cables and scuttled their ships by fire to avoid capture. The Royal Navy ended up having to destroy ten of their own vessels in all, including five frigates.The French fleet sailed to Martinique, where Suffren's division joined up with it, and from there to Grenada, leading to the Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779. Fantasque was at the front of the vanguard, preceding the 74-gun Zélé. When the two fleets came in contact, she came under fire from the 74-gun Royal Oak and the 70-gun Boyne, sustaining 62 men killed or wounded. After the battle, Admiral d'Estaing sent Suffren with a 2-ship and 3-frigate division to secure the surrender of Carriacou and Union Island.
On 7 September 1779, d'Estaing ordered Suffren to blockade the mouth of Savannah River, to cover the landing of French troops in support of the Siege of Savannah, and prevent British ships from escaping. Suffren led the 64-gun Artésien and Provence, and the frigates Fortunée, Blanche and Chimère, sailing into the river and forcing the British to scuttle several ships, notably HMS Rose.
On 1 March 1780, Louis XVI granted Suffren a 1,500 French livre pension in recognition of his services. In April, Suffren was given command of the 74-gun, part of a two-ship squadron along with Marseillais, under Captain d'Albert de Rions. They set sail on 19 May 1780 to patrol off Portugal, and joined up with a division under Rear-Admiral de Beausset in Cádiz on 17 June. He then joined up with a combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova. On 9 August, the fleet intercepted a large British convoy, leading to the action of 9 August 1780. The British escort, comprising the 74-gun, under Captain Sir John Moutray, and the frigates Thetis and Southampton, fled before the vastly superior combined fleet. Suffren attempted to give chase, but the copper sheathing of the British warships gave them a decisive advantage, and he abandoned the pursuit to help with the capture of the merchantmen. After the battle, Suffren wrote a letter to Antoine de Sartine, Secretary of State of the Navy, to advocate for the French Navy to copper its own ships.