Jean Gaspard de Vence (; 6 April 1747 – 12 March 1808) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

and

Maritime Prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French government who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region known as a maritime prefecture (''Préfecture maritime''). As of , there are three maritime prefec ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

Biography

In 1762 at age 15 he entered the merchant navy in

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

, sailed to

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

and several years later became a captain. Transferred to the Royal Navy, served on a 74-gun battleship ''Protecteur'', incidentally studying mathematics and navigation. Then returned to the merchant navy and in 1767 aboard the ship ''Auguste'' take a cruise along the coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, near Cape St. Philip was in a shipwreck more than four months and get to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, losing half the crew from scurvy.

Corsair and officer of the King during the American War

In 1776, he moved to

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, where at the beginning of the

American War of Independence 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 ...

has received from Congress the right to privateering under the American flag. He served as captain of the xebec ''Victoire'', on 17 May 1777 led by a 14-gun privateer ''Tigre'', which took on board the 24-gun British merchant ship with a cargo valued at 500,000 pounds. Within 18 months, cruised in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, spent 40 fights and captured 211 prizes, earning a reputation as the most formidable privateer the

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(British Parliament praised his head in the 2 million pounds). Following the announcement of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

war Britain returned to the king's service, took part in the Invasion of Dominica, where at the head of 400 buccaneers famous capture of

Fort Cachacrou Fort Cachacrou (also Cashacrou, Cacharou) was a historic military fortification and signal station on the island of Dominica. The fort was built by the British in the 1760s in present-day Scotts Head, Dominica, Scotts Head. During the American Rev ...

, for which a lieutenant and September 20, 1778 appointed commander of a privateer ''Truite''. Under the command of Admiral

d'Estaing d'Estaing is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing (1729–1794), French general and admiral * Guillaume-Hugues d'Estaing (died 1455), French Roman Catholic cardinal and bishop * See also ...

Battle of St. Lucia, January 1, 1779 - Commander of the privateer «La Ceres». As a lieutenant 80-gun ship of the line «Le Languedoc», the flagship of Admiral

distinguished himself at the capture of July 2, 1779 the island of Grenada, where the head 80 grenadiers attacked the British position and took the enemy's flag, for which he was awarded the rank of captain, participated in the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

. In this heroic period

Jean-Charles de Borda Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda (4 May 1733 – 19 February 1799) was a French mathematician, physicist, and Navy officer. Biography Borda was born in the city of Dax to Jean‐Antoine de Borda and Jeanne‐Marie Thérèse de Lacroix. In 17 ...

coined the famous slogan "always in front of Vence!" (Vence toujours devance!). In 1780, he was appointed commander of the port of

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, but soon falsely accused of selling marine equipment and forced to resign. Upon returning home his ship was sunk by the British, and Captain de Vence got to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and Cadiz joined a volunteer for the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral

Admiral during the Revolution

At the beginning of the Revolution joined the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

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 ...

under the command of the Marquis Lafayette, November 10, 1792 reinstated in the Navy with the rank of captain (old Charges withdrawn, and the cost reimbursed). He commanded a 74-gun battleship ''Duquesne'' and a small naval squadron, directed to the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

for a cargo of wheat to starving France, then managed to overcome the British blockade and bring food to

, where he headed the ship of the line ''Heureux''. November 16, 1793 -

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

(approved by the rank September 2, 1794), served in Brest, accompanied the convoy from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

along the Atlantic coast to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, but was attacked by a British fleet of Admiral

William Cornwallis Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, (20 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive ...

and forced to seek refuge at Belle Isle. From June 24 to December 8, 1795 - Commander of the Marine Division at

in 1796 - deputy squadron commander Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse, opposed the expedition of General

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. After the coup of Fructidor V-18 of the year was appointed Commander of

arms, took an active part in preparing the fleet for the Egyptian expedition and provided logistical base in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, on the island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and in

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, May 25, 1799 - Commander of Arms

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

. July 20, 1800 -

, was responsible for the formation of the squadron of Admiral

Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume Vice-Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (13 April 1755 – 28 July 1818) was a French Navy officer. He started his career at sea on East Indiamen, before serving during the American Revolutionary War under Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing a ...

, directed to the

Barbary Coast The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

and the squadron of Admiral

Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois Counter-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, comte de Linois (27 January 1761 – 2 December 1848) was a French Navy officer and colonial administrator who served in the American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic ...

, won a June 13, 1801 victory at the Battle of Algeciras. In 1802 - the commander of a squadron of Brest, then commanded the naval squadron Boulogne camp, September 30, 1803 he retired. Died March 11, 1808 in

Tonnerre Tonnerre (English: Thunder) is a French word meaning "thunder". It may refer to: Places Canada * Rivière-au-Tonnerre, Quebec, a municipality of the Minganie Regional County Municipality *Tonnerre River (Normandin River), a tributary of the Norman ...

at the age of 61 years, buried in the cemetery of Saint-Pierre parish. Chevalier of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

(January 24, 1780), a member of the

Society of Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers who ...

(1783).

References

* Dupuy/Hammerman, ''People & Events of the American Revolution'', R.R. Bowker Company, 1974

External links

Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vence, Jean Gaspard French privateers French Navy admirals French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Order of Saint Louis recipients 1747 births 1808 deaths French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars