Robert Sutton de Clonard (or Closnard; 11 August 1751 in Wexford, Ireland – 1788, Vanikoro,

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

) was a French naval officer of Irish descent, notable for his role in the War of American Independence and in the Lapérouse expedition.

Family background

Chevalier Robert Sutton de Clonard was born to Thomas Sutton de Clonard, an officer in the French East India Company, and to Phyllis Masterson, from Castletown. Thomas travelled several times to India on business. Several members of the family served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, notably Robert's uncle Lieutenant Thomas de Clonard, and Robert's younger brother, who was killed on 15 December 1778 during the Battle of St. Lucia while serving on ''Languedoc''.

Biography

Robert Sutton de Clonard started sailing in 1768, serving on the

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

''Laverdy'' and ''Duc-de-Praslin''. In 1774, as Lapérouse defended the besieged Mahé on the French ship ''Seine'', Clonard was in command of a one-gun boat, which he used to attack shore positions, sustaining a light wound in the action. On 16 March 1775, Clonard successfully defended a small fort. As Louis XVI awarded him a 300-pound pension for his conduct, he requested that 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 ...

be granted instead as he was "more sensitive to honour than to pecuniary graces". Lettre of marque-Artois

Promoted to Lieutenant, he served on ''Glorieux'' under Captain vicomte d'Escars in the War of American Independence, taking part in the Invasion of Tobago on 30 May 1781. Captured by the British, he was exchanged and given command of the privateer ''Comte d'Artois'', a 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 ...

converted to a privateer, capturing several British merchantmen but encountering several warships on his second journey. In the action of 13 August 1780, ''Comte d'Artois'' encountered , and , which was further away. The British warships had been looking for ''Comte d'Artois'' and an engagement ensued in which Sutton was eventually forced to strike his colours. Of his crew, 21 men were killed and 35 wounded; Clonard himself was slightly wounded. ''Bienfaisant'' had three men killed and 20 wounded.Campbell (1818), Vol. 7, pp.277-8. ''Charon'' only joined the action towards the end of the engagement and only had a single man wounded. Two British frigates, ''Licorne'' and , also came up towards the end of the action and so shared in the prize money with ''Bienfaisant'' and ''Charon''. Clonard was released after his capture and on 12 September took command of ''Diligente'' on the orders of the comte de Grasse. In 1782, ''Diligente'' was lost, and Clonard was cited for his "prudence (...) courage and (...) strength of character". In the next seven years, he served as first lieutenant in charge of intendance (provisions), sailed to Riga to procure wood, and served in India and American in combat operations. By 1785, Clonard had served in eight campaigns, including three as commanding officer. He was tasked with commissioning '' Boussole'' for her scientific campaign under Lapérouse. From 29 April, Clonard was appointed to ''Boussole''. He initially served as the administrative officer. On 1 January 1787 Clonard was promoted to the rank of ''capitaine de vaisseau''. However, from November 1786 on he had been the recipient of a supplement of 120 livres as a flag captain. On 12 December 1787 Clonard transferred to ''Astrolabe''.Dunmore (1994-5), p.547.

Disappearance

La Perouse's expedition vanished mysteriously in 1788 after leaving

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...

on 10 March 1788. In 1827 Captain Peter Dillon eventually discovered the fate of the expedition when he found remnants of ''Astrolable'' and ''Boussole'' at Vanikoro Island in the

. The ships had been wrecked in a storm. Survivors from one ship had been massacred while survivors from the other ship had constructed their own small boat and sailed off the island, never to be heard from again.Bateson (1972), p.24.

Citations

References

Famille Sutton de Clonard
geneawiki.com
Le testament mystique de Robert Sutton, chevalier de Clonard
archives-finistere.fr * Bateson, Charles (1972) ''Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850''. (Sydney: AH and AW Reed). * * London
Hakluyt Society, 2nd series, no. 179-180)
Author: Jean-François de Galaup La Pérouse, comte de; John Dunmore Publisher: London : Hakluyt Society, 1994-1995. Series: Works issued by the {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton De Clonard, Robert 1788 deaths 1751 births