Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière
Encyclopedia
Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière (5 November 1772 — 14 January 1849) was a French
naval officer.
in Allier, La Gravière entered the service under the name Jurien Desvarennes as a novice pilot on the corvette La Favorite in May 1786.
Volunteer aspirant on the frigate La Flore 29 November 1787, aspirant, 1st class, and ship-of-the-line ensign on the corvette L'Espérance on November 1791 and January 1793, he was named ship-of-the-line lieutenant on 6 Vendémiaire, year III, and captain of a frigate on 24 Nivôse, year VI.
He participated in the Entrecasteaux expedition, which Louis XVI
and the Constituent Assembly
directed to search for the earlier La Pérouse expedition, as well as conduct scientific research in the Pacific Ocean.
In the year XI, he commanded La Francise during the Léogane Affair. In his report, the vicomte de Rochambeau
, general-in-chief of the Army of Saint-Domingue, made note of him as an officer distinguished by his intelligence and bravery and demanded he receive the rank of ship-of-the-line captain, which was granted on the 13th of Ventôse.
In the year XII, he was made a French legionnaire in Pluviôse and an officer of the order on 25 Prairial. He received the latter again in February 1809. He fought in 1809 at the battle of Sables-d'Olonne, employing three frigates to force the retreat of six British ships-of-the-line.
On 5 July 1814, La Gravière was named a knight of Saint Louis.
On 13 November of that year, he was the commander of a division which went from Rochefort
in order to take possession of Île Bourbon
. On 10 February 1815, he reached the cape
; on 6 April, he installed the new governor of the island; and on 27 August, he moored in the Roadstead of Brest
.
He was promoted to counter admiral
on 28 October 1817, named president of the electoral college of Finistère
on 10 March 1819, made a commander of the Legion of Honour on 28 April 1821, and commanded the French Brazil station the same year.
Made a Commander of the Order of Saint Louis
on 22 May 1825, he commanded the French station for the Antilles
and the Gulf of Mexico
. He was one of the commanders of the Baron Mackau's expedition to Haiti
which forced it to provide reparations to former French slave owners from the island.
He was named on 7 January 1827 as the naval prefect of the 4th arrondissement and on 5 November as the president of the electoral college of Charente
.
Vice Admiral
and peer of France during the July Revolution
, inspector general of the French Navy for the 2nd and 5th arrondissements in 1832, grand officer of the Legion of Honor on 22 April 1834, Grand Cross of the Order on 22 June 1841, Admiral Jurien was later made part of the 2nd section of the General Staff of the French Navy.
He was the father of another French admiral, Edmond Jurien de la Gravière
.
He died in Paris on 14 January 1849.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
naval officer.
Biography
Born at GannatGannat
Gannat is a commune in the Allier department in central France.Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5 800 inhabitants. There is a castle , two churches of which one is partly Romanesque with a 19th-century Gospel Book. The Cultures du Monde Festival is held every July...
in Allier, La Gravière entered the service under the name Jurien Desvarennes as a novice pilot on the corvette La Favorite in May 1786.
Volunteer aspirant on the frigate La Flore 29 November 1787, aspirant, 1st class, and ship-of-the-line ensign on the corvette L'Espérance on November 1791 and January 1793, he was named ship-of-the-line lieutenant on 6 Vendémiaire, year III, and captain of a frigate on 24 Nivôse, year VI.
He participated in the Entrecasteaux expedition, which Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and the Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
directed to search for the earlier La Pérouse expedition, as well as conduct scientific research in the Pacific Ocean.
In the year XI, he commanded La Francise during the Léogane Affair. In his report, the vicomte de Rochambeau
Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau
Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau was a French soldier, the son of Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau....
, general-in-chief of the Army of Saint-Domingue, made note of him as an officer distinguished by his intelligence and bravery and demanded he receive the rank of ship-of-the-line captain, which was granted on the 13th of Ventôse.
In the year XII, he was made a French legionnaire in Pluviôse and an officer of the order on 25 Prairial. He received the latter again in February 1809. He fought in 1809 at the battle of Sables-d'Olonne, employing three frigates to force the retreat of six British ships-of-the-line.
On 5 July 1814, La Gravière was named a knight of Saint Louis.
On 13 November of that year, he was the commander of a division which went from Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
in order to take possession of Île Bourbon
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
. On 10 February 1815, he reached the cape
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
; on 6 April, he installed the new governor of the island; and on 27 August, he moored in the Roadstead of Brest
Roadstead of Brest
The roadstead of Brest is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² . The port of Brest is located on its northern edge and one of the two French naval bases...
.
He was promoted to counter admiral
Counter Admiral
Counter admiral is a rank found in many navies of the world, but no longer used in English-speaking countries, where the equivalent rank is rear admiral...
on 28 October 1817, named president of the electoral college of Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
on 10 March 1819, made a commander of the Legion of Honour on 28 April 1821, and commanded the French Brazil station the same year.
Made a Commander of the Order of Saint Louis
Order of Saint Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis was a military Order of Chivalry founded on 5 April 1693 by Louis XIV and named after Saint Louis . It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles...
on 22 May 1825, he commanded the French station for the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. He was one of the commanders of the Baron Mackau's expedition to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
which forced it to provide reparations to former French slave owners from the island.
He was named on 7 January 1827 as the naval prefect of the 4th arrondissement and on 5 November as the president of the electoral college of Charente
Charente
Charente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...
.
Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
and peer of France during the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
, inspector general of the French Navy for the 2nd and 5th arrondissements in 1832, grand officer of the Legion of Honor on 22 April 1834, Grand Cross of the Order on 22 June 1841, Admiral Jurien was later made part of the 2nd section of the General Staff of the French Navy.
He was the father of another French admiral, Edmond Jurien de la Gravière
Edmond Jurien de la Gravière
Jean Pierre Edmond Jurien de La Gravière was a French admiral, son of Admiral Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière, who served through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and was a peer of France under Louis-Philippe.He entered the navy in 1828, was made a commander in 1841, and captain in 1850...
.
He died in Paris on 14 January 1849.
Sources
- Mullié, Charles. Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850. "Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière." 1852.
- Kuntz, Monique & al. Hommes et femmes célèbres de l'Allier. Bonneton: Paris. 1995.