Thomas Whitcombe - Destruction of the French Frigates LArianne LAndromache

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Nicolas Morice (born ) 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. He was born in

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 ...

Career

Nicolas Morice became an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in 1796 and rose to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1803.Chantier archéologique sous-marin – Base du Grasu – Lorient
/ref> Morice took part in the

Battle of Grand Port The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle fought on 20–27 August 1810 between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France (now Mauritius), as part of ...

, where he captained the corvette ''Victor''. In 1810 he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. He took command of the frigate ''Andromaque'', part of a squadron raiding British commerce in the Atlantic, along with the ''Ariane'', under

Jean-Baptiste-Henri Féretier Captain (naval), Captain Jean-Baptiste-Henri Féretier (18 December 1765 11 January 1832) was a French Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Early life Son of Jean Féretier, a master tailor in Nantes, he marr ...

. ''Andromaque'' was destroyed upon her return to Lorient after catching fire during an artillery duel with the 74-gun HMS ''Northumberland'' in the

action of 22 May 1812 The action of 22 May 1812 took place off Groix when a small French squadron comprising the French frigates and , and the brig ''Mameluck'' returning from a commerce raiding campaign in the Atlantic, met the 74-gun while trying the slip to Lorie ...

. Feretier and Morice were court-martialed for the loss of their ships, stripped of their rank, and forbidden from commanding a ship for three years. They were, however, quickly reintegrated into the French navy. Morice was promoted to captain first class in 1827.

Honours

* Legion of Honour * Order of Saint Louis in 1814.

Sources and references

Sources : AN – BB4 – 353
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morice, Nicolas 1770s births 19th-century deaths French Navy officers French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars