François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros
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| Born | 13 January 1748 Brest, Kingdom of France |
| Died | 12 November 1832 (aged 84) Paris, France |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France Kingdom of the French First French Republic First French Empire Kingdom of France |
| Service/ |
 French Navy |
| Years of service | 1762–1827 |
| Rank | Vice admiral |
| Commands held | Cadiz |
| Awards | Order of St Louis, Legion of Honour, name inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe |
François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros (born January 13, 1748, in Brest, died November 12, 1832, in Paris) was an important French naval commander. He served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is famous because Napoleon chose him to lead the French and Spanish fleets at Cádiz. He arrived just after the fleet was defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar. His name is even carved on the east side of the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Contents
A Life at Sea
Early Adventures
François's father was a naval commander in Brest. In 1762, when François was just 14, his father helped him join the navy as a garde de marine, which was like a naval cadet. From 1762 to 1769, François learned a lot about sailing. He traveled to many places, including Rio de Janeiro, Newfoundland, Hispaniola, and the Antilles.
In 1770, he became an enseigne de vaisseau, a junior officer. He served on a ship led by Kerguelen.
Exploring the World
Rosily joined Kerguelen on a special trip around the world. Their goal was to find a mysterious land called 'Terra Australis' for France. On February 13, 1772, they thought they had found it. Rosily was sent in a small boat to explore.
But when his boat returned, Kerguelen's ship had disappeared! Luckily, another ship from the expedition, the Gros-Ventre, rescued Rosily. He sailed on this ship for eight months and finally made it back to France in 1773.
Right away, he went back to find Kerguelen, who was trying to find 'Terra Australis' and rescue Rosily. Rosily met Kerguelen in Mauritius. There, he was given command of a small ship called Ambition. This voyage lasted 14 months.
Rising Through the Ranks
After returning to France in late 1774, Rosily visited ports in Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. He brought back new inventions and useful materials for the French navy, like chain pumps.
In 1778, he became a lieutenant de vaisseau (lieutenant). He commanded the small ship Coureur. He patrolled the English Channel with the frigate Belle-Poule. On June 17, 1778, Belle-Poule was attacked by two British Royal Navy ships. Rosily bravely attacked one of the British ships, the Alert. Even though his ship was badly damaged and had to surrender, he helped save the Belle-Poule. For his bravery, he received the croix de Saint-Louis award.
In May 1780, he took command of the frigate Lively. He later served on a larger warship called Fendant. Then, he commanded the frigate Cléopâtre and joined a fleet led by bailli de Suffren at Trincomalee. When the American Revolutionary War ended, the fighting stopped, and the fleet returned to France. The next year, Rosily was promoted to capitaine de vaisseau (captain).
Mapping the Seas
From 1785, Rosily spent seven years on important and sometimes dangerous voyages. He explored and mapped the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the seas near China. His work helped create better maps for the French navy.
Because of his important mapping work, Rosily became a contre-amiral (rear admiral). On August 22, 1795, he was made the director and inspector general of the naval charts department. This meant he was in charge of all the navy's maps and plans.
Rosily later commanded forces in the port of Rochefort. On September 22, 1796, he became a vice-admiral. He carried out various missions to places like Genoa, La Spezia, Boulogne, and Antwerp.
He also gave Bonaparte important information for his Egyptian expedition. It's said that Bonaparte even offered him command of the fleet going to Egypt, but Rosily refused because he didn't want to leave his young family.
Rosily and Napoleon
Napoleon's Thoughts on Rosily
Rosily knew Napoleon had thought about him for the Egyptian command. Hoping for another important role, he asked to be promoted within the Legion of Honour. He was already a member and a commander of this important award.
Napoleon wasn't happy with Rosily's request. In April 1805, he wrote to his naval minister, Decrès:
Monsieur Rosily has written to me to demand he become a grand-officer of the Légion-d'Honneur. This makes difficulties for me. I have Missiessy, Gourdon, Lacrosse and Magon in mind to promote [to that rank] before him; he is thus very wrong to compare himself to Bruix, to Ganteaume, to you, to Villeneuve. I even esteem that any captain who has done active service and who is worthy of it is worthy of more consideration that Monsieur Rosily. Even so, he is a good officer; he is not so old as to be unable of [further] active service at sea. See if you can employ him, or if he can stay as he is; but I will not hear him speak any further of any kind of advancement. Men who remain in Paris cannot compare themselves to men who exposed themselves to all the dangers one runs at sea, and as soon as they rise to comparing themselves to them, we must remind them and put them in their place
Napoleon felt that officers who were actively serving at sea deserved more recognition than those who stayed in Paris. However, he still found Rosily useful. In August 1805, Napoleon ordered Rosily to create a very detailed report about the coast of Africa.
The Cádiz Command
Finally, Rosily received a very important command. The combined French and Spanish fleets, with 33 warships, were trapped in Cádiz by the British navy. Villeneuve was in charge of this fleet. Napoleon was unhappy with Villeneuve's leadership and decided to replace him with Rosily.
On October 18, 1805, Villeneuve received a letter saying Rosily was coming to take over. Villeneuve decided to sail out before Rosily arrived. This led to the terrible defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar. When Rosily finally reached Cádiz after the battle, he found only five French ships left, instead of the 18 he expected.
The damage to the fleet was too great to fix quickly. Rosily managed to get the remaining ships ready for sea. However, the British continued to blockade Cádiz for two and a half years. This blockade lasted until Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, starting the Peninsular War.
Trapped in Cádiz
On May 26, 1808, the British fleet tried to force its way into the Bay of Cádiz. At the same time, the people of Cádiz heard about political changes in Spain and rebelled against the French. To make things worse for Rosily, the six Spanish ships that were part of his fleet left. On June 9 and 10, they even fired over 1,200 cannon shots at the French ships!
On June 11, Rosily tried to sail his ships between the Spanish and British fleets, but strong winds kept him in port. The people of Cádiz threatened to kill any French soldiers on land. Rosily had no news of the relief fleet he was promised, and the French army coming to help him was delayed.
On June 14, Rosily began talks with the Spanish general Thomas de Morla. Rosily's ships were taken by the Spanish to use against the French. Only Rosily and his chief of staff were allowed to return to France. There, he went back to his job as director of the naval charts department.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1809, Rosily was given the title of comte de l'Empire (Count of the Empire). He also became a member of a council that investigated a French commissioner accused of surrendering without a fight. In 1811, he replaced Bougainville at the bureau des longitudes, an important scientific organization.
He also became president of the council on naval architecture in 1811. In 1813, he helped choose the location for a new naval base at the mouth of the Elbe river. Under his leadership, the group of hydrographic engineers was officially organized in 1814. They began mapping the coast of France in 1816.
On July 25, 1816, King Louis XVIII made him a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. He also became a free associate of the Académie des sciences on May 26, 1816. He received more honors, including Commander and Grand-Cross of the Order of St Louis.
Rosily finally retired in 1827. To show how much the king valued his service, he was given the title of honorary director general of the naval charts department. He also received the Grand Cross of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog. François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros passed away in 1832.
See also
In Spanish: François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros para niños
