Amable Gilles Troude (1 June 1762 – 1 February 1824) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer who served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and the

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...

Early career

Troude joined the commerce navy in 1776. During the

, he joined the Navy, first serving on in 1779, and the next year on , both 74-gun ships of the line. He took part in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

, and later served aboard the 28-gun frigate . Troude returned to the commerce navy, but the

French revolutionary wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

called him back to active duty. He served on the ''Achille'' and on the . He took part in the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...

. Troude attained the rank of

frigate captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argenti ...

on 21 March 1796Amable TROUDE
/ref> and took command of the ''Bergère''.

Battle of Algeciras

In 1799, he was transferred on the 74-gun as second in command. He took part in the

First Battle of Algeciras The First Battle of Algeciras was fought on 6 July 1801 between a Royal Navy squadron and a smaller French Navy squadron lying at anchor in the Spanish port of Algeciras during the Algeciras campaign of the War of the Second Coalition. The B ...

on 6 July 1801, and received command of the 80-gun , whose captain, Landais Lalonde, had been killed in the action. The French fleet departed Algeciras on 12 July, with ''Formidable'' lagging behind due to the damage sustained in the previous battle. She soon found herself isolated, and chased by the frigate and the ships of the line (74 guns), (80 guns) and (74 guns). Facing forces vastly superior combined, but at most equal taken separately, Troude let the 74-gun ''Venerable'' catch on, and battered her with his 80 guns, leaving her dismasted and barely afloat. This forced the rest of the British squadron to abandon the pursuit in order to aid ''Venerable'', allowing ''Formidable'' to escape to

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. She sailed into the harbour to the acclaim of the population, who had witnessed the fight. Troude was promoted to ''capitaine de vaisseau'' on 14 July 1801 and was received by Bonaparte, who dubbed him "the French

Horatius Horatius may refer to: People Roman era * several ancient Roman men of the '' gens Horatia'', including: ** Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the poet known in English as Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Sueto ...

Later career

In 1803, Troude took command of the , and later of the in the Caribbean. In 1805 he participated in Allemand's expedition. In March 1806, aboard the , Troude helped repel an attack led by Robert Stopford at

Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside resort and port on the Atlantic coast of western France. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loi ...

. In April 1809, he led a squadron comprising 3 ships of the line and 2

fluyt A fluyt (archaic Dutch language, Dutch: ''fluijt'' "flute"; ) is a Dutch type of sailing ship, sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated ship transport, cargo vessel. Originating in the Dutch Republic in the 16 ...

s to supply French positions in the Caribbean, with his flag on . Meeting the British blockade off the

Îles des Saintes The Îles des Saintes (; ), also known as Les Saintes (, ), is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided into two communes: Terre- ...

on 15 April, he managed to break through but lost one of his ships of the line. Troude was promoted to ''contre-amiral'' in 1811 and given command of the flotilla based in Cherbourg. On 15 April 1814, following the Bourbon Restoration, he was tasked to ferry

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

from England to Calais, aboard the '' Lys''.

References

* H. Le Marquand, ''Vie Du Contre-Amiral Amable-Gilles Troude, L'Horace Français'', A. Broulet, Brest, 1934. 173 pages. {{DEFAULTSORT:Troude, Amable 1762 births 1824 deaths French Navy admirals French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars History of Îles des Saintes People from Cherbourg-Octeville French people of the American Revolution Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe