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Étienne Eustache Bruix | |
|---|---|
 1837 portrait byJean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin | |
| Born | (1759-07-17)17 July 1759 |
| Died | 18 March 1805(1805-03-18) (aged 45) Paris, France |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of France French First Republic First French Empire |
| Branch | French Navy French Imperial Navy |
| Years of service | 1778–1805 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Battles / wars | French Revolutionary Wars (Ireland),Napoleonic Wars |
AdmiralÉtienne Eustache Bruix (17 July 1759 – 18 March 1805) was aFrench Navy officer and politician who served asMinister of the Navy and the Colonies from 1798 to 1799.
Bruix was born to a family fromBéarn. He started sailing as a volunteer on aslave ship commanded by captainJean-François Landolphe.
In 1778, he joined the Navy as aGarde-Marine (officer cadet).[1] He served on the frigatesFox andConcorde,[2] taking part in theBattle of Fort Royal on 29 April and 30 April 1781, in theInvasion of Tobago in May–June, in theBattle of the Chesapeake on 5 September, in theBattle of Saint Kitts on 25 January 1782, and in theBattle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782.[1] He was promoted to Ensign in November 1781.[2]
Bruix was given command of the 10-gun avisoPivert, and tasked with surveying the coasts and harbours ofSaint-Domingue.[2] He was aided in the task byPuységur.
Bruix was promoted toLieutenant in May 1786.[2] He was elected member of theAcadémie de Marine in 1791, and promoted to Captain on 1 January 1793, and given command of the80-gunIndomptable.[2] However, he was dismissed from the service in October 1794. Retiring to the outskirts of Brest, he wrote a memorandum titledMoyens d'approvisionner la marine par les seules productions du territoire français (Means of Provisioning the Fleet Solely by What Is Produced in French Territory). This advocacy of navalautarky as a way to defeat British blockades attracted notice, and Navy MinisterLaurent Truguet recalled Bruix in 1795 to appoint him to the command of the74-gunÉole.[2] He held this command up to the moment he was sent to joinVillaret-Joyeuse's squadron as Chief of Staff (major general).[2]
Eustache Bruix given command of a division under AdmiralJustin Bonaventure Morard de Galles during the French attempt to invade Ireland in 1796.[3]Lazare Hoche noticed him on that campaign and promoted him tocontre-amiral in May 1797. He was then appointedNavy Minister from 28 April 1798.
Upon taking office, he rushed to Brest to take personal command of a fleet that was about to sail forEgypt in an attempt to extricate the French army trapped there since itsinvasion in 1798. Favourable winds and fog allowed him to evade the British blockade, and he sailed South with 25ships of the line. Anticipating a possible landing in Ireland, still unsettled in the wake of theUnited Irishmen's rebellion, the blockading fleet drew off North-Westwards, giving Bruix a considerable headstart before realising his true destination. OffCádiz, Bruix encountered a British blockading force of 15 ships of the line underLord Keith. Despite his numerical superiority and the 28 Spanish ships of the line harboured in Cadiz, Bruix declined to attack and continued into the Mediterranean.[3]
Having made a detour toToulon for repairs, Bruix received news thatAndré Masséna wasbesieged in Genoa, and orders to assist him. He rerouted the fleet to theGulf of Genoa to resupply the beleaguered army but was driven back by the weather. Meanwhile, Keith had followed him into the Mediterranean and gathered together the scattered British squadrons in the area atMenorca. Bruix abandoned his venture, eluded his pursuers and returned to the Atlantic. He made his junction with a Spanish squadron that attached to his fleet, and he returned to Brest.
After this expedition, known as theCroisière de Bruix, he resigned as Minister of the Navy on 11 July 1799, and took command of the fleet assembled atîle d'Aix, ready to sail to Spain, but the British reinforced their blockade, the admiral fell ill and thepeace of Amiens prevented the fleet from leaving port. He was promoted toVice-amiral from 13 March 1799.
Bruix was privy to the secretcoup d'état of18 Brumaire (9 November 1799). After seizing power,Bonaparte promoted Bruix toadmiral in 1801, and appointed him asConseiller d'État the following year.
War having broken out again, Napoléon conceived a plan for a newinvasion of England, and put Bruix in command of the flotilla based atBoulogne that would carry the invasion troops across theEnglish Channel. Bruix undertook the work but in July 1804 refused to obey Napoleon's personal order to take the fleet out of harbour for a review, in the face of a developing storm. The furious Emperor reprimanded Bruix and came close to striking him. A subordinate carried out Napoleon's instruction but at the cost of 200 lives.[4]
Following this incident Bruix fell ill and had to return to Paris, where he died of tuberculosis, aged only 45.
Boulevard de l'Amiral-Bruix in Paris is named in his honour.
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| Preceded by | Minister of the Navy and the Colonies 27 April 1798– 4 March 1799 | Succeeded by |
French Directory (2 November 1795 to 10 November 1799) | |||||||||||||||
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