Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière (5 November 1772 – 14 January 1849) was a French naval officer.

Biography

Born at

Gannat Gannat (; Auvergnat: ''Gatnat'') is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5,800 inhabitants. There is a castle (the Château de Gannat), two churches of whic ...

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

, La Gravière entered the service under the name Jurien Desvarennes as a novice pilot on the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

La Favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'' in May 1786. Volunteer aspirant on the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

'' La Flore'' 29 November 1787, aspirant, 1st class, and ship-of-the-line ensign on the corvette '' L'Espérance'' in November 1791 and January 1793, he was named ship-of-the-line lieutenant on 6 Vendémiaire, year III, and captain of a frigate on 24 Nivôse, year VI. He participated in the Entrecasteaux expedition, which

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- ...

and the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

directed to search for the earlier La Pérouse expedition, as well as conduct scientific research in the Pacific Ocean. In the year XI, he commanded '' La Franchise'' during the Léogane Affair. In his report, the vicomte de Rochambeau, general-in-chief of the

Army of Saint-Domingue An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by p ...

, made note of him as an officer distinguished by his intelligence and bravery and demanded he receive the rank of ship-of-the-line captain, which was granted on the 13th of Ventôse. In the year XII, he was made a French legionnaire in Pluviôse and an officer of the order on 25 Prairial. He received the latter again in February 1809. He fought in 1809 at the battle of Sables-d'Olonne, where three frigates under his command were wrecked beyond repair by a superior British squadron. On 5 July 1814, La Gravière was named a knight of Saint Louis. On 13 November of that year, he was the commander of a division which went from

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 ...

in order to take possession of

Île Bourbon Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino aci ...

. On 10 February 1815, he reached the

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

; on 6 April, he installed the new governor of the island; and on 27 August, he moored in the

Roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (, ; ) is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq mi). The po ...

. He was promoted to

counter admiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...

on 28 October 1817, named president of the electoral college of

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on 28 April 1821, and commanded the French Brazil station the same year. Made a Commander of 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 ...

on 22 May 1825, he commanded the French station for the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. He was one of the commanders of the Baron Mackau's expedition to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

which forced it to provide reparations to former French slave owners from the island. He was named on 7 January 1827 as the naval prefect of the 4th arrondissement and on 5 November as the president of the electoral college of

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

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 Vice ...

and

peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

during the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

, inspector general of the French Navy for the 2nd and 5th arrondissements in 1832, grand officer of the Legion of Honor on 22 April 1834, Grand Cross of the Order on 22 June 1841, Admiral Jurien was later made part of the 2nd section of the General Staff of the French Navy. He was the father of another French admiral,

Edmond Jurien de la Gravière Edmond may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Edmond'' (play), a 1982 play by David Mamet ** ''Edmond'' (film), a 2005 film based on the 1982 play * '' E.d.M.O.N.D'', a 2013 EP by Edmond Leung * ''Edmond'', a 2016 play by Alexis Michalik ** ''E ...

. He died in Paris on 14 January 1849.

Sources

* Mullié, Charles. ''Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850''. "Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière." 1852. * Kuntz, Monique & al. ''Hommes et femmes célèbres de l'Allier''. Bonneton: Paris. 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurien de La Graviere 1772 births 1849 deaths People from Gannat French nobility Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy French Navy admirals French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of Saint Louis