Anne-Hilarion de Costentin, Comte de Tourville (; 24 November 1642 – 23 May 1701) 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 and nobleman who served under King
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
. Born in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, he was made a
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...
in 1693. Tourville is considered by some as one of the most talented naval officers in
French military history.
Military career
At age 17, as a
Knight of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...
, he fought his first naval battle on a frigate of the Order of Malta. At 25, he joined the French Royal Navy and began an active career, fighting the 1673 campaign of the
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...
on the ''
Sans-Pareil'', at the
Battle of Augusta where he was in command of the ''Syrene'', and later in command of the ''Sceptre''.
He served under
Abraham Duquesne
Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet (; 2 February 1688) was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot. He was the son of a naval officer and the ...
during the campaigns of 1676, and became a commander in 1690 during the
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
. He flew his personal flag on the ''
Soleil Royal'', where it would stay until the
battles of Barfleur and La Hougue
The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...
in 1692. At the
Battle of Beachy Head in 1690, he defeated an
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...
-
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
fleet, sinking, destroying or capturing seven enemy ships. Three days later he led a fleet of galleys which
raided the town of Teignmouth but this proved controversial and Tourville was relieved of command by Louis XIV for failing to take advantage of the naval supremacy in the English Channel.
Tourville was eventually reinstated, and on 29 May 1692, at the
action at Barfleur
The action at Barfleur was part of the battle of Barfleur-La Hougue during the War of the Grand Alliance. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville was seeking to cover an invasion of England by a French army to restore James II to the ...
, with only 45 ships he fought against an Anglo-Dutch fleet of 97 ships, but was forced to retreat. His fleet suffered heavy losses after the battle when English and Dutch
fire ship
A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the ad ...
s attacked several French ships of the line which were immobilized for repairs in port at
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (, ; Norman: ''Tchidbouo'') is a port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.[George Rooke
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld duri ...]
during the
Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
Honours and tributes
Tourville mg 5199.jpg, Wooden statue of Tourville, on display at Toulon naval museum
TourvilleStatue 08.jpg, Marble statue of Tourville, by Joseph Charles Marin in Tourville-sur-Sienne
TourvilleStatue 02.jpg, Marble statue of Tourville, by Joseph Charles Marin in Tourville-sur-Sienne
Tourville retired after the 1697
Peace of Ryswick
The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included the Dutc ...
and died in Paris on 23 May 1701, regarded as a national hero.
A number of
French naval vessels from the 18th through 20th centuries were named in Tourville's honour.
An 1816 marble statue of Admiral Tourville, by French sculptor Joseph Charles Marin, formerly in the Jardin de Versailles, features prominently in the Village of Tourville-sur-Seine (Normandy, Manche Département) hometown of Tourville ancestors, though Anne-Hilarion de Tourville himself was born in Paris and not in the ancestral castle of Tourville-sur-Sienne.
Related articles
*
Pierre Arnoul
Pierre Arnoul (1651 – October 17, 1719, in Paris), was a Kingdom of France, French ''Officier de plume, officer de plume'' who served as the naval intendant during the reign of Louis XIV. He was the son of naval intendant Nicolas Arnoul and a s ...
References
Attribution:
*
External links
Encyclopedia.com information about Anne-Hilarion de Tourville
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tourville, Anne-Hilarion de
1642 births
1701 deaths
French military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War
French military personnel of the Nine Years' War
French Navy admirals
Knights of Malta
Marshals of France
Military personnel from Paris