Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard

For other people named Thévenard, see Thévenard.
Vice-amiral
Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard

Vice-amiral Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard, portrait by Louis Hierle.
Born 7 December 1733
Saint-Malo
Died 9 February 1815(1815-02-09) (aged 81)
Paris
Allegiance Louis XVI
French First Republic
First French Empire
Service/branch French Navy
Years of service 1745–1816
Rank Vice-amiral
Awards

Count of the Empire
Grand officer of the Legion of Honour
Commander of the Order of Saint Louis

Buried at the Panthéon
Relations Father to Antoine-René Thévenard

Antoine Jean Marie Thévenard (7 December 1733, Saint-Malo[1] – 9 February 1815, Paris[2]) was a French politician and vice admiral. He served in the French ruling regimes of Louis XVI, those of the Revolution, Napoleon I and Louis XVIII, and is buried at the Panthéon de Paris. His son Antoine-René Thévenard, capitaine de vaisseau, was killed at the Battle of Aboukir whilst commanding the 74-gun Aquilon.

Career

Thévenard was born to Antoine Thévenard, a senior officer in the merchant navy,[3] and Jeanne Moinet.[1] He began sailing as a lieutenant in 1747 on merchantmen captained by his father, and went on to sail for the Compagnie des Indes.[3][4]

Aged 12 he embarked on a Compagnie des Indes ship and fought in several battles. He became a lieutenant in 1754 and destroyed the English establishments on the Newfoundland coast and took part in the pirate François Thurot's expedition to Ireland (1759). He earned the rank of Capitaine de vaisseau in the Compagnie des Indes in 1764,[4] and earned his first command of an East Indianer in 1768.[3]

Thévenard enlisted in the French Royal Navy in 1770, where his rank in the Compagnie des Indes earned him the rank of Commander.[1] He was also made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis[3] and rose to Captain in 1773,[1] commanded the Lorient fleet from 1779,[4] was promoted to Brigadeer of the naval armies in 1784,[3] and eventually to Chef d'escadre in 1783.[4][note 1]

In May 1791, Thévenard replaced Fleurieu as ministre de la Marine under Louis XVI,[3][4] but resigned in September 1791,[4] fallen out of favour because of his political opinions against the French Revolution.[3]

Promoted Vice-amiral in 1793,[4] he commanded the fleets at Brest,[5] then Toulon,[6] then Rochefort, and became Préfet maritime of Lorient then Toulon in 1801,[3] where he remained until 1815.

In October 1799, Thévenard presided the court-martial of Rear-Admiral Perrée,[7] to examin the events of the Action of 18 June 1799, in which he had lost his ships. He similarly presided the court-martial following the capture of the Guillaume Tell in 1800,[8] and the enquiry on the conduct of Rear-Admiral Dumanoir le Pelley at the Battle of Trafalgar.[9] In 1809, he investigated the capitulation of Flessingen.[10]

On 5 February 1810 he was made a comte d'Empire and member of the Sénat conservateur.[2] In this capacity, he voted the downfall of Napoléon in 1814,[3] which earned him a nomination at the Chambre des Pairs by Louis XVIII after the Bourbon Restoration in 1814.[2][3] On 27 December 1814, he was promoted to Commandeur in the Order of Saint-Louis.[3]

Thévenard died on 9 February 1815 and He was buried in the Panthéon.[2]

Memberships

Honours

Works

By Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard

All the above were later re-printed in four volumes as Mémoires relatifs à la marine.[2]

Notes and References

Notes

  1. ↑ Arnault (p.426) says in 1784.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cunat, p.387
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Cunat, p.389
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Arnault, p.426
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Cunat, p.388
  5. ↑ Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.41
  6. ↑ Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.132
  7. ↑ Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.229
  8. ↑ Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.240
  9. ↑ Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.335
  10. ↑ Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.382

Bibliography

Military offices
Preceded by
Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu		 Minister of the Navy and the Colonies
17 May 1791-18 September 1791 		Succeeded by
Claude Antoine de Valdec de Lessart
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