Auguste Febvrier-Despointes (1796 – 5 March 1855) was a French counter admiral. He served as the first commandant of

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

from 24 September 1853 to 1 January 1854.

Life

Despointes entered the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

school at Brest in September 1811 and in 1844 married Anne Élisabeth Papin-Thévigné. He was promoted to commander on 10 December 1850 and contre-amiral on 2 April 1851, he became major general of the fleet at Brest and then, in 1852, rose to commander of France's naval division in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

and the west American coast. He officially took possession of

in the name of France on 24 September 1853 before taking part in the far eastern theatre of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

in 1854, including the

siege of Petropavlovsk The siege of Petropavlovsk was a military operation in the Pacific theatre of the Crimean War. The Russian casualties are estimated at 115 soldiers and sailors killed and seriously wounded, whilst the British suffered 105 casualties and t ...

. He then fell ill, dying on board his ship in 1855; his body was returned to France in 1856.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Despointes 1796 births 1855 deaths Martiniquais people French Navy admirals French military personnel of the Crimean War Commandants of New Caledonia