Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois | |
|---|---|
 1837 portrait of Linois byAntoine Maurin | |
| Born | (1761-01-27)27 January 1761 |
| Died | 2 December 1848(1848-12-02) (aged 87) Versailles, France |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of France French First Republic First French Empire |
| Branch | French Navy |
| Rank | Counter-Admiral |
| Battles / wars | |
Counter-AdmiralCharles-Alexandre Léon Durand, comte de Linois (27 January 1761 – 2 December 1848) was aFrench Navy officer and colonial administrator who served in theAmerican Revolutionary War andFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
He commanded the combined Franco-Spanish fleet during theAlgeciras campaign in 1801, winning theFirst Battle of Algeciras before coming underJ. M. de Mondragón's command and, not having recovered from the damage because of the first battle, losing theSecond Battle of Algeciras. In the second battle, out of 2,000 Franco-Spanish casualties more than 1,700 were suffered by the Spanish and the French lost oneship of the line captured by the British out of three lineships and one frigate lost by the Franco-Spanish allies.[1][2]
He then led anunsuccessful campaign against British trade in theIndian Ocean andSouth China Sea in 1803, being defeated by a harmless fleet of the BritishEast India Company during theBattle of Pulo Aura.[3][4] Linois ended his cruise and sea-going career being bested in battle byJohn Borlase Warren in theaction of 13 March 1806. Following theBourbon Restoration in France, Linois was appointed Governor ofGuadeloupe. He supported Napoleon during theHundred Days and so, on his return to France, he was forced to resign and was court martialled. Although acquitted, he was placed in retirement and never served again.
Born inBrest, Linois joined the French Navy as a volunteer in 1776, when he was 15 years old, serving aboard the shipsCesar andProtée in his home port.[1][5] In August 1778, during theAmerican War of Independence, he joinedBien-Aimé, part ofd'Orvilliers' fleet in the Caribbean where, after only eight months service, he was temporarily appointed, lieutenant de frégate pour le campagne. He served aboard the newly builtScipion from May 1779 to January 1781, when his two-year probationary period expired and he was confirmed, ensigne de vaisseau.[1][5] Between October 1782 and April 1783, Linois served aboardDiadème, his last appointment of the war.[5]
In March 1784, Linois joined the storeshipBarbeau, carrying supplies and despatches to theIsle de France (nowMauritius). He leftBarbeau in January 1785 and in March sailed for the Caribbean on the 64-gunRéfléchi where he remained for the next two years. Arriving atSaint-Domingue on 23 April, Linois spent eight months on the frigate,Danaé before rejoiningRéfléchi.[5] In May 1786, he took a land-based post as sous-lieutenant de port atPort-au-Prince, returning to sea aboard the frigate,Proserpine in December 1786. This was a short-lived appointment; on 1 March 1787, Linois left for home on the same storeship that had conveyed him to the Isle de France two years earlier.[6]
Another position ashore, as lieutenant de port at Brest, ended a period of unemployment that had lasted until 1 May 1789 and was followed, on 12 October 1790, by a posting to the ship-of-the-line,Victoire.[6] From 1791 to 1793 he served with the French forces in the Indian Ocean. He left for Isle de France on 25 January on board the 32-gun frigateAtalante as second officer toDenis Decres.[1][6] On 15 May, the newly published naval list named Linois aslieutenant de vaisseau with his promotion backdated to 1 May 1789. On their return home in April 1794, Decres was arrested as an aristocrat and Linois was given command ofAtalante.[6]
While acting as a decoy for an important convoy of wheat from the United States, Linois was captured by theRoyal Navy at theaction of 7 May 1794.[7] On 5 May,Atalante, in company with the corvetteLevrette, encountered a British convoy three days out fromCork. The convoy was under the protection of twoships of the line, the 74HMS Swiftsure and the 64-gunHMS St Albans, which immediately hoisted their colours and opened fire.[8] Linois realising he was outgunned, as senior officer, ordered his ships to divide and effect an escape.Levrette; managed to evade her pursuer,St Albans during the night butAtalante was unable to shake offSwiftsure which continued her chase throughout the following day. By 0325 on 7 May,Atalante had been overhauled and so badly damaged during the two-day running battle, Linois was forced to surrender. He and his crew were taken prisoner andAtalante was eventually taken into the Royal Navy as HMSEspion[9][10]
Linois was exchanged and returned home in March 1795.[11] He was promoted tocapitaine de vaisseau in May, backdated to January 1794, taking command of the 74-gunFormidable of the Brest Fleet.[11] The following year, in June, he was captured again at thebattle of Groix, when his ship was one of the three rearmost in Villaret's withdrawing squadron. He was twice wounded in the battle and lost the sight of an eye. He was quickly exchanged and returned in August. In 1796 he took part in theExpédition d'Irlande as a chief of division, leading a 3-ship of the line and 4-frigate squadron, with his flag onNestor. On arrival inBantry Bay, the generals opposed a landing, and the squadron headed back to Brest.[11] Linois moved his flag to the 74-gunJean-Jacque Rousseau on 22 April 1798 and in the following February, took up the position of Chief of Staff at Brest.[11]
In 1799 Linois was promoted tocounter admiral and sent to the Mediterranean under AdmiralÉtienne Eustache Bruix. He joined the 120-gun flagship,Océan, in which he took part in theCroisière de Bruix.[11] On 8 August, the expedition returned to Brest where Linois continued as Chief of Staff until 28 October 1800, when he was posted toToulon as second in command to AdmiralGanteaume.[12]
Linois did not join Ganteaume in the unsuccessful attempt to bolster theFrench forces in Egypt but instead commanded the remainder of the Toulon fleet at theSiege of Porto Ferrajo and orchestrated the attack onElba in May 1801. In June, with Ganteaume still on manoeuvres, Linois was ordered to assemble a new combined French and Spanish naval force atCádiz.[13] AboardFormidable and in company withDesaix,Indomptable andMuiron, he set sail on 13 June, passingGibraltar on 3 July and capturing the British brigSpeedy. After hearing fromSpeedy's captain,Thomas Lord Cochrane, that a powerful squadron under SirJames Saumarez was blockading Cádiz, Linois sought shelter beneath the Spanish guns ofAlgeciras.[13] In addition to these land batteries, by the time Saumerez arrived with six ships-of-the-line, either end of the French line had been reinforced with Spanish gunboats.[13] Linois' squadron was thus able to prevail during the first part of theBattle of Algeciras, aided by a lack of wind which prevented Saumarez' force arriving as one and left the British ships drifting helplessly.HMSHannibal ran aground and was captured.[14]
Both sides were still effecting repairs when, on 9 July, the French were joined by five Spanish ships-of-the-line from Cádiz. This combined fleet left for Cádiz at dawn on 12 July and Saumarez, who had been reinforced byHMS Superb, followed, intending to harass the Franco-Spanish fleet once it had moved out of range of the shore guns.Hannibal caused problems and at 19:45,Indienne was ordered to tow her back to Algeciras. The Spanish commander then turned the fleet towards Cádiz, heading into theGut of Gibraltar. The British followed and at 20:40, Saumerez ordered independent action.[15]
Superb was first into the action, engagingReal Carlos. Some of the shot was high and passed through her rigging, hitting the ship to her larboard,San Hermenegildo. Thinking the shot came fromReal Carlos and that she was an enemy,San Hermenegildo fired into her. In about ten minutes theReal Carlos was on fire. WhenSan Hermenegildo crossed her stern to deliver araking fire, a sudden gust of wind brought them together and the fire spread through both ships, which subsequently blew up. In the meantime,Superb had moved on and forced the surrender ofSan Antonio.[15] An independently sailing, Spanish frigate was also sunk during the battle but the remaining French and Spanish ships escaped into Cádiz the following morning.[16] Linois was commended for his part in the battle and the previous one on 6 July, and received the 'Sabre of Honour' from Napoleon. He and his combined fleet however, were blockaded in Cádiz until peace negotiations began with Britain in October.[17]
Early in 1802, Linois participated in anexpedition to Saint-Domingue to depose the governor,Toussaint Louverture and reassert French control there. Louverture was a former slave who was suspected of trying to gain independence for the colony. In January Linois took command of a squadron of troopships, comprising three ships-of-the-line and three frigates, and sailed out to reinforce the 20,000 troops already there.[17][18] The campaign was ultimately unsuccessful and Linois returned to France on 31 May.[17]
In 1803Napoleon Bonaparte appointed him to command the French forces in the Indian Ocean and to convey the new Captain-General of French India,Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen toPondicherry. Flying his flag aboard the 74-gun-shipMarengo, Linois left Brest on 6 March with only three frigates in company; much of the French fleet still being occupied at Saint-Domingue. On arrival however, the British forces there, underArthur Wellesley, refused to leave and Linois was obliged to detour to theIle-de-France.[17]
Linois received news that the war had resumed when he was joined by the 22-guncorvette,Berceau in September.[17] Leaving half the troops to defend the Ile de France, Linois left with the remainder and his squadron forBatavia on 8 October; raiding a British trading station onSumatra on the way, capturing eight merchant vessels, destroying three others and setting light to three stocked warehouses.[19] Arriving at Batavia on 10 December, Linois was appraised of a British convoy returning from China. After dropping off the soldiers and adding the 16 gun brig-corvette,Adventurier, to his force, set sail on 28 December.[20]
TheBattle of Pulo Aura occurred on 14 February 1804 when Linois' squadron encountered the British China Fleet. Although lightly armed, the British merchant ships outnumbered Linois' forces and manoeuvred as though preparing to defend themselves. Some of the largerindiamen, with gun ports painted on and flying naval ensigns, formed a mockline of battle. With these tactics, the convoy commodore,Nathaniel Dance, fooled Linois into believing that the British fleet was defended by naval escorts and the French retired without attacking the virtually defenceless British.[20]
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In June, Linois embarked on a second cruise, this time minus the 40-gunBelle Poule, which was despatched on a separate mission. Setting out inMarengo with the 44-gunAtalante andSemillante, Linois first scoured the channel between Mozambique and Madagascar, before crossing the Indian Ocean to patrol the waters around Ceylon.[20] After taking some lucrative prizes, Linois headed up theCoromandel Coast toVizagapatam, having heard about a British convoy heading there. The French squadron arrived on 15 September to find two British east indiamen loading in the roadstead, under the protection of the 50-gunHMS Centurion and 3 guns on the shore.[20] Linois was cautious and, afterAtalante had been chased off, decided to engageCenturion from distance. The damage inflicted by both ships therefore was superficial but whileCenturion was occupied,Semilante was able to capture one of the indiaman and drive the other onto the shore.[21] On the return journey, Linois' ships took another prize, and arrived at Ile de France on 1 November, to findBelle Poule with a capture of her own.[22]
In May 1805, whileAtalante andSemilante were attending to other duties, Linois tookMarengo andBelle Poule into theSouth Atlantic. This cruise was not productive and, after visitingCape Town, the squadron patrolled the east coast of Africa and theRed Sea. This also proved fruitless and it was not until 11 July, following a decision to search the sea lanes between Cape Town and Ceylon that any enemy vessels were encountered. It was off the coast of Ceylon they fell in with two unprotected merchant ships, one of which was driven onto the shore and the other, the east indiamanBrunswick, captured.[22] WithBrunswick under a prize crew, the squadron sailed for theCape of Good Hope and at 16:00 on 6 August it encountered a convoy of ten east indiamen, accompanied by the 90-gunHMS Blenheim. Linois sentBrunswick to Ile de France and, with his remaining ships, fell down on the rear of the convoy. Unable to scatter the convoy and pick off prizes piecemeal,Marengo andBelle Poule sailed along its flank, engagingBlenheim for 30 minutes, on the way.[22] By the timeBelle Poule andMarengo had completed their pass at 18:00, they both required repairs; the former had received two holes in the hull and the latter, damage to the mainmast and foreyard. During the hours of darkness, the two French ships crossed the bows of the convoy and in the morning, occupied theweather gage. Two further attacks were made during the day but the French were unable to make an impression and with ammunition supplies dwindling, Linois gave the order to withdraw.[22]
Having spent 17 weeks at sea, on 13 September, Linois' ships enteredSimon's Bay for some much needed repairs. During the eight week stay, they were briefly reunited withAtalante which, shortly after arrival, foundered. The crew was saved but the ship could not be.[22] On 11 November,Marengo andBelle Poule left on a cruise of the west coast of Africa, travelling as far asCape Lopez, Gabon, but only managing to secure a ship and a brig.[23] With only two ships at his disposal, Linois' options had dwindled to chasing lone ships and unarmed convoys. Realising his best chance of catching them was to scout aroundchoke points, in December, his small squadron sailed for the popular British stop over ofSt Helena. On 29 January 1806, Linois learned from an American ship of the British capture ofCape Town. With the last accessible port closed, Linois could only turn around and head for home.[23]
On the return journey to France,Marengo andBelle Poule encountered a large British squadron underAdmiral Warren off Cape Verde.[24] In theaction of 13 March 1806, the 90-gunHMSLondon, the 80-gunHMSFoudroyant and the 38-gun frigateHMSAmazon, were sailing some miles ahead of their compatriots when, at 03:00, Linois' ships were spotted. The three British ships immediately gave chase and by 05:30,London had overhauled and begun an exchange with both French ships. By 06:00 Linois realised that he was unable to win the battle and attempted to move off, issuing orders forBelle Poule to do likewise.[25]
BothMarengo andBelle Poule had been severely battered in the rigging and were finding it increasingly difficult to manoeuvre.Marengo could not avoidLondon's continuing fire or the cannonade fromAmazon as she passed in pursuit ofBelle Poule.[25]London too had been heavily damaged and was beginning to drift astern but the appearance ofFoudroyant, andHMSRepulse at 10:25 andHMSRamillies at 11:00, left the French ships with no option but to surrender.[26]
Linois had been wounded and was captured again. Napoleon had ended the practice of exchanging officers and Linois remained a prisoner of war until Napoleon fell in 1814. In 1810, while held by the British, Linois was named Comte de Linois by Napoleon.[23] After theBourbon restoration,Louis XVIII named him to be Governor ofGuadeloupe. During theHundred Days, Linois finally declared for Napoleon, but news of the emperor's return did not reach the West Indies until the day after theBattle of Waterloo. He surrendered to British forces on 10 August. On his return to France, Linois was forced to resign. He was court martialled but acquitted on 11 March 1816.[23] However, he was placed in retirement and never served again although he was appointed as an honoraryVice-Admiral in May 1825 and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour in March 1831. He lived in Versailles, where he died in 1848. His name is inscribed on theArc de Triomphe.[27]
Linois is a minor, but highly respected, character in theAubrey–Maturin series byPatrick O'Brian.Frederick Marryat describes theBattle of Pulo Aura in his 1832 novelNewton Forster. Linois (Charles Léon Durand) appears in the naval combat tutorial mission inNapoleon: Total War. The mission features gameplay for the French in the First Battle of Algeciras.
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