Jacques François Perroud (1770 – 1822) was a French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

, famed for his capture of the large

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Lord Nelson'' on 14 August 1803, and for his spirited defence of his 32-gun ''Bellone'' against the overwhelming 74-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

HMS ''Powerful'' during the action of 9 July 1806.

Career

Perroud was born in 1770 to a family from Bordeaux. From 1796, he operated from

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, captaining the privateers ''Pichegrue'' and the ''Hasard'' from 1799.Les Corsaires en Océan Indien
/ref> On 6 July 1799, he captured the American merchantman ''Aurore'', under Captain Sutter, and brought her back to

Port-Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is ad ...

. The ship was requisitioned to ferry prisoners to France, and Perroud took her command, arming her with eight guns and 30 men. ''Aurore'' departed from Mauritius on 23 August 1799 and arrived in Lorient on 9 May 1800. From 1801, Perroud mounted the 34-gun 8-pounder frigate ''Bellone'', with a crew of over 200 men. On 14 August 1803, he met with the large

''Lord Nelson''. Overcoming his inferiority of artillery, Perroud managed to board his opponent at his second attempt and captured her. In the action of 9 July 1806, ''Bellone'' was attacked by the 74-gun

HMS ''Powerful''. She attempted to flee for almost two hours, trading shots with the much more potent opponent, before striking her colours. Perroud was commended for his spirited defence against overwhelming odds;

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

, notably, described Perroud's actions as "extraordinary".James, p. 246 From 1807, Perroud captained the ''Curieux'', and from 1809 the ''Confiance'' (formerly the French Navy frigate ''Minerve''). On 3 February 1810, ''Confiance'' was captured by HMS ''Valiant'', under Captain John Bligh. Perroud then captained the privateer ''Phoenix'', of Bordeaux. In her he captured several prizes before captured him after a chase of 13 hours and 134 miles. His captor spoke admiringly of Perroud's seamanship during the chase.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perroud, Jacques Francois 1770 births 1822 deaths People of the Quasi-War French privateers Military personnel from Bordeaux French sailors