Joseph-Bernard de Chabert-Cogolin (; 28 February 1724, in

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 ...

– 2 December 1805) was a French Navy officer. He served in the

War of American 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 ...

Biography

Cillart was born to the family of Madeleine de Bernard and of Joseph-François de Chabert, a Navy officer. He joined the Navy as a

Garde-Marine Gardes de la Marine is a junior officer rank, usually used in American navies, as well as a former rank used in France. France In France, under the Ancien Régime, the (Guards of the Navy), or were young gentlemen undergoing training to be nav ...

in 1741, and took part in the Battle of Toulon at Cape Sicié on 22–23 February 1744, serving on the 50-gun ''Diamant''. In 1745, he served on ''Trident'' and ''Espérance'' in two missions to Martinique. In 1746, he was on ''Castor'' and took part in the capture of the British corvette ''Albany'' off

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

. The year after, he was taken prisoner at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre on 14 May 1747. Chabert was promoted to Ensign in 1748. In 1750 and 1751, Chabert conducted a survey of the coasts of Northern America. In 1753, he published and account of the expedition, ''Voyage fait par ordre du Roi en 1750 et 1751 dans l'Amérique septentrionale pour rectifier les cartes de l'Arcadie de l'Isle Royale et de l'Isle de Terre Neuve, et pour en fixer les principaux points par des observations astronomiques.'' That same year, Chabert was sent to Carthagena to observe the

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

or 26 October. Chabert was promoted to Lieutenant in 1756. He took part in the Battle of Minorca on 20 May 1756, commanding ''Hirondelle'' in

La Galissonière LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

's squadron. In 1758, he was appointed to the Geography office at Versailles (''dépôt des cartes''). the year after, he was accepted as a member of the

Académie de Marine The Royal Naval Academy of France (, ) was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy. This institutionalised an earlier initiative by a group of officers from the ...

, replacing

Florent-Jean de Vallière Jean-Florent de Vallière (7 September 1667 – 7 January 1759) was a French artillery officer of the 18th century. He was lieutenant-general of the King's Armies. In 1726, de Vallière became Director-General of the Battalions and Schools of the ...

who had died in January 1759. Chabert was promoted to Commander in 1764. On 2 April 1771, Chabert was given command of the frigate ''Mignonne'', and conducted a cruise to test a chronometer made by

Ferdinand Berthoud Ferdinand Berthoud (; born 18 March 1727, in Couvet, Plancemont-sur-Couvet, Principality of Neuchâtel; died 20 June 1807, in Groslay, Val d'Oise), was a scientist and watchmaker. He became master watchmaker in Paris in 1753. Berthoud, who held ...

. Upon his return in late November, Chabert was promoted to Captain. From June to December 1776, he commanded the 32-gun frigate ''Atalante'' in an expedition to test

marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and the time at t ...

s and survey the coasts of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. On 16 July, off the

Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula (), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (), is a geographical and cultural region in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece and home to the Maniots (), who claim descent from the ancient Spartans. The capital ci ...

, near

Koroni Koroni or Corone () is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestor, of which it is a municipal unit. Known as ''Corone'' by the Venetians a ...

, pirates attacked ''Atalante'' with musket fire, and Chabert was gravely wounded when a bullet struck his left cheek and exited from under the ear. In 1778, Chabert captained the 64-gun ''Vaillant'' in the squadron of

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 ...

. He took part in the Battle of St. Lucia on 15 December 1778, and in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. A British fleet led by Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

on 6 July 1779. On 28 August 1779, D'Estaing's squadron arrived at Boston, and Chabert installed mortars on

Gallops Island Gallops Island, also known as Gallups Island, is an island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is situated between Georges Island and Long Island, and is just over from downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , p ...

for the defence of Boston harbour. In October, Chabert took part 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 ...

. Chabert captained the 80-gun ''Saint-Esprit'' in the squadron under De Grasse. He took part in the

Battle of Fort Royal The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the Anglo-French War on 29 April 1781, between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, ...

on 29 and 30 April 1781, and in the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

on 5 September 1781, where he was wounded. He later fought in the

Invasion of Tobago The Invasion of Tobago was a French invasion of the British-held island of Tobago during the Anglo-French War. On 24 May 1781, the fleet of Comte de Grasse landed troops on the island under the command of General Marquis de Bouillé. By 2 Jun ...

in May and June 1781, and in the

Siege of Brimstone Hill The French invasion of Saint Kitts also known as the siege of Brimstone Hill, from 19 January–13 February 1782, was a part of the American Revolutionary War. After landing on Saint Kitts, the French troops of the Marquis de Bouillé stormed and ...

and subsequent capture of Saint Kitts in January and February 1782. On 19 April 1782, ''Saint-Esprit'' departed

Fort Royal Fort-de-France (, , ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. History Before it was ceded to France by Spain in 1635, the area of Fort-de-France was known as Ig ...

to make her junction with Vaudreuil's squadron, which she met on 17 May. From there, she returned to Lorient in September as part of a 4-ship squadron under Saint-Hippolyte, escorting a 120-ship convoy. Chabert was promoted to

Chef d'Escadre ''Chef d'escadre'' (; literally " squadron commander") was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to '' contre-amiral'' by a law passed on 15 May 1791. History The first chef ...

on 12 January 1782 The same year, he rose to Ordinary member of the Académie de Marine. In 1783, he authored a report about

s for the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

, a key element in the

History of longitude The history of longitude describes the centuries-long effort by astronomers, cartographers and navigators to discover a means of determining the longitude (the east-west position) of any given place on Earth. The measurement of longitude is impo ...

. In 1785, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. In 1792, Chabert was promoted to

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

. Soon after, in the midst of the French Revolution, Chabert fled France, becoming an

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

, and joined the Armée des Princes. He went to London, where

Nevil Maskelyne Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created '' The Nautical Al ...

hosted him. Around 1800, his lost his sight. He returned to France in 1802, and was appointed to the

Bureau des Longitudes __NOTOC__ The ''Bureau des Longitudes'' () is a French scientific institution, founded by decree of 25 June 1795 and charged with the improvement of nautical navigation, standardisation of time-keeping, geodesy and astronomical observation. Durin ...

. He was a Commander in the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...

and in the Order of Saint Lazare.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chabert-Cogolin, Joseph-Bernard 1724 births 1805 deaths French geographers 18th-century French astronomers French Navy admirals Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War