Amand Leduc (

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental ...

Career

Born to a family of merchants, Leduc started sailing in the merchant navy on 4 April 1774 as a boy, on the fishing ship ''Thérèse'', of Nieuport. He served on a number of ships before enlisting on the privateer ''Maraudeur'' on 18 August 1778. ''Maraudeur'' took nine prizes, and Leduc was wounded at the hand during one of the battles. On 23 February 1779, he enlisted on the privateer ''Calonne'', in Dunkirk; on 2 May 1779, ''Calonne'' was captured by a British cutter, after a nine-hour fight; Leduc was wounded at the leg, head and forehead.Quintin, p.213 Freed, Leduc served again on a privateer, the ''Duc de Fissac'', before returning to the merchant navy. He served as an officer on various ships, before earning his commission of sea captain on 17 June 1790. He joined the Navy on 8 June 1793 as an ''enseigne de vaisseau entretenu'' and took command of the aviso ''Entreprise'' during the Siege of Dunkirk. He distinguished himself at the siege of Collioure.

Service on ''Junon'' and ''Incorruptible''

Promoted to Lieutenant on 26 July 1794, he served on the 80-gun ''Ça Ira''. After August 1794, he took command of the 18-gun ''Hazard'', on which he took part in the

Battle of Genoa The Battle of Genoa (also known as the Battle of Cape Noli and in French as ''Bataille de Gênes'') was a naval battle fought between French and allied Anglo-Neapolitan forces on 14 March 1795 in the Gulf of Genoa, a large bay in the Ligurian S ...

. On 28 June, he transferred on the ''Junon'', on which he took part in the

Battle of the Hyères Islands The Battle of the Hyères Islands was a naval engagement fought between a combined British and Neapolitan fleet and the French Mediterranean Fleet on 13 July 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Since the start of the war in 1793 the Fr ...

. Promoted to Commander on 21 March 1796, he relinquished his command in Venice on 6 October 1797 because of sickness.Quintin, p.214 On 25 March 1800, he was appointed to command the frigate ''Incorruptible'' and took part in the Raid on Dunkirk, where on was again wounded. After re-arming ''Incorruptible'', he led a campaign in the Caribbean, but had to relinquish command for sickness again on 2 February 1803. Returned to France, Leduc was appointed to command a squadron in the

Flottille de Boulogne The Flottille de Boulogne was a large fleet of small gunboats, brigs and barges built in Boulogne on the orders of First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte from 1801. It was a key component of Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom. Prelude A ...

. From 26 March 1804, he served as first adjutant of the Navy in Boulogne Harbour.Fonds Marine, p.313

Leduc's expedition in the Arctic

In 1806, Leduc was appointed to command a frigate division and sail to the Arctic to prey on British whalers.Levot, p.195 His division comprised the frigates ''Sirène'', on which he had his flag; ''Guerrière'', under Commander Hubert; ''Revanche'', under Commander LambertQuintin, p.199Choix de voyages, p.5Fonds Marine, p.351 and the brig ''Néarque'',Guérin, p.452 under Lieutenant Jourdain.Roche, p.323 The division departed Lorient on 28 March 1806. Upon departure, it became evident that ''Néarque'' was a far worse sailer than the frigates and that she could not follow; Leduc detached her so that she would carry out her orders independently,Troude, vol.3, p.436. but she was captured almost immediately by HMS ''Niobe''. The winter of 1806 being particularly long harsh, Leduc found his route blocked by ice;Troude, vol.3, p.437 he decided to wait off the

Azores ) , motto= ( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, where on 20 April the division captured the British ''Ruth''; she was given a prize crew under Midshipman Besse and sailed to

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,28 ...

, but ran aground on the coast of

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; Portuguese for "Saint Michael"), nicknamed "The Green Island" (''Ilha Verde''), is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with ...

on 5 June and was lost. On 21 May, Leduc had sailed into the North Sea. The division sailed to the Western coast of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

and attempted to reach the

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern N ...

, but icebergs and foul weather prevented it from going further than the 70th parallel. the coast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

and back to Iceland. On 12 June, a gale split ''Guerrière'' from her consorts; Leduc shearched in vain for ''Guerrière'' for several days, and failing to find at

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

, sailed to the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

. In July, the British Admiralty was informed of Leduc's mission, and detached the frigates HMS ''Blanche'', ''Phoebe'' and ''Thames'' to seek him. On 18, ''Blanche'' spotted ''Guerrière'' and gave chase. ''Guerrière'' had already suffered 36 fatalities to

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

, and had 80 more sick aboard; Captain Hubert thus decided to refuse the engagement and attempted to elude ''Blanche'', but she caught on the next day and ''Guerrière'' struck her colours. Leduc's division returned to

Île-de-Bréhat Bréhat (french: Île-de-Bréhat, ) is an island and ''commune'' located near Paimpol, a mile off the northern coast of Brittany. Administratively, it is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. Bréhat is actually a ...

in September 1806, Saint-Malo being blockaded; it had destroyed or captured 38 British merchantmen and whalers, and one Russian whaler.Troude, vol.3, p.439

Service on ''Ville de Berlin'', ''D'Hautpoul'' and ''Golymin''

On 27 October 1806, Ledeux was promoted to captain. In early 1807, Leduc was appointed to command the 74-gun ''Ville de Berlin'', which he sailed from Anvers to Flessingen.Fonds Marine, p.351 In late 1807, he took command of the 74-gun ''D'Hautpoul''.Fonds Marine, p.362 In 1809, ''D'Hautpoul'' took part in

Troude's expedition to the Caribbean Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the islan ...

to ferry troops, food supplies and ammunitions from Lorient to the Saintes.Fonds Marine, p.401Guérin, p.357 She was captured off Portro Rico by the 74-gun HMS ''Pompée'' and the frigates ''Latona'' and ''Castor'' on 17 April.Troude, vol.4, p.32 Leduc was lightly wounded, taken prisoner and released on parole. He returned to La Rochelle on an American ship on 29 September 1809, and was acquitted for the loss of his ship during the automatic court-martial. Exchanged in November 1810, Leduc was appointed to command the 80-gun ''Tilsitt'', before transferring on the 74-gun ''Golymin'' on 6 March 1811, part of the squadron of Lorient under Vice-Admiral Allemand.Fonds Marine, p.433 ''Golymin'' was wrecked at Brest on 23 March 1814.Fonds Marine, p.487 The crew was saved without loss of life.Quintin, p.215 The automatic court-martial found him innocent of the loss of his ship. Leduc was then employed ashore until he retired on 1 January 1816.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales ; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier : BB4 1 à 482 (1790-1826

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leduc, Amand French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 1764 births 1832 deaths French Navy officers