Pierre-Servan-René Bouvet (10 April 1750 in Saint-Servan – 1 March 1795 in Paris) was a French naval officer.
After sailing in the commerce Navy, Bouvet served as an auxiliary officer in the French Royal Navy. He notably served aboard Belle Poule[1] during her fight against Arethusa. He then took part in the Battle of Sadras and in the various campaigns of Suffren, earning the command of the corvette Fortune.
In 1786, Bouvent captained the 64-gun Nécessaire, armed en flûte. His 12-year-old son Pierre François Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve came along. When Nécessaire returned to France in 1789, the Revolution had broken out. Bouvet sympathised with its cause, and became one of the few officers of the Royal Navy to hold their commission through the Revolution.
In 1792, he was promoted to Captain and appointed to command the frigate Aréthuse[1] The year after, Bouvet served as a Commodore, with his flag on the 74-gun Patriote, and commanded a division comprising Entreprenant, Orion and Apollon, in Trogoff's fleet.[1]
Incarcerated during the Reign of Terror, Bouvet was released after the Thermidorian Reaction. His health irremediately compromised, after a dispute with the minister Jean Dalbarade at the Ministry of the Navy on 25 May 1795, he died on 1 March.[1]
References[]
- Cunat, Charles (1857) (in French). Saint-Malo illustré par ses marins. Imprimerie de F. Péalat. https://books.google.com/?id=W1koAAAAYAAJ.
- Granier, Hubert (1998). Histoire des Marins français 1789-1815. illustrations by Alain Coz. Marines éditions. ISBN 2-909675-41-6.
The original article can be found at Pierre-Servan-René Bouvet and the edit history here.