Ship-of-the-line Captain Pierre-François-Henri-Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve (28 December 1775 – 18 June 1860Levot, p.59Quintin, p.87) was a French Navy officer and privateer. Born to a Navy captain, Bouvet started sailing at the age of 11, He served under his father on various ships between France and the Indies. He was taken prisoner by the British during their occupation of Toulon in 1793.
Released, Bouvet served on the frigate Amazone in Linois's squadron, which raided commerce in the Indies. After Amazone was wrecked at Cape of Good Hope, he attempted to return to Isle de France and inform the governor, but was captured en route by a British frigate. Released on parole, Bouvet designed a patamar or felucca of Indian pattern that he named . After he was exchanged, he cruised off the Malabar Coast undetected amongst indigenous shipping. Appointed to a 16-gun brig also named , Bouvet sailed to Manila and rescued the crew of Mouche n° 6 from detention.
Embarked in Duperré's squadron, Bouvet was given command of the prize Minerve, on which he took part in a battle against three large East Indiamen, of which the squadron captured two. On their return to Isle de France, the squadron met four British frigates, which it defeated in the Battle of Grand Port. Duperré having been wounded, Bouvet commanded the French forces for the second half of the battle. Returned to France after the British invasion of Isle de France, Bouvet was given command of a two-frigate squadron, with his flag on Aréthuse. His other frigate was wrecked in a storm, and soon after, Aréthuse battled HMS Amelia in a bloody action that resulted in a stalemate. Bouvet never fought again, and devoted his late life to politics and writing.
Career Early life Born to Pierre-Servais-René Bouvet, Pierre Bouvet enlisted in the French Navy as a volunteer at the age of 11, on 13 December 1786,Quintin, p.83Levot, p.57Quintin (p.83) says 28 November 1775 and enlisted on the merchant fluyt Nécessaire, commanded by his father and bound for the Indies.Levot, p.58 He returned to France in May 1789. On 18 March 1791, he enlisted as a helmsman on the brig Goéland, returning in June.Granier, p.341 He then transferred on the 74-gun Tourville for a patrol the same month in June
In 1792, he became a midshipman,"aspirant entretenu" (Levot, p.58; Quintin p.83) and served on the brand-new frigate Aréthuse in Toulon,Quintin, p.84 under his father who had recently been promoted to captain. On Aréthuse, Bouvet took part in Truguet's raid on Sardinia from February to March 1793, before transferring on the 80-gun Languedoc on 3 April 1793.
On 1 July 1793, Bouvet was promoted to Ensign, and served on the 120-gun Commerce de Marseille. On 25 August, Royalist parties surrendered the harbour and arsenal of Toulon to the British and Spanish, along with all the ships anchored there. Bouvet was taken prisoner with his father, and expelled to Brest in September the Patriote, whose armament had been removed; Patriote reached Brest on 16 October. There, he was arrested on the spot by agents of the French Convention, transferred to Paris, and detained until 3 March 1795.Granier (p.341) says on 1 January 1795.
Service in the English Channel In June 1795, Bouvet was appointed to the frigate Rassurante, on which he roamed the English Channel until September. In November, he transferred on the corvette Foudroyante in Brest, on which he served until December. Then, he embarked on the frigate Bravoure, patrolling the English Channel until July 1796.
At the Thermidorian Reaction, the Convention reestablished the practice of Letters of marque and privateer commerce raiding.Granier, p.341 Bouvet obtained a release from Navy duty to enlist on a privateer, the Triton. She departed on 10 November 1797 and preyed on British merchantmen until 17 February 1798, when she was captured by the frigate HMS Melpomene. Bouvet was taken prisoner.
Released on 20 November 1798, Bouvet served in Brest harbour, before taking command of the 14-gunNaval History, vol.2 p.373 privateer Furet on 16 December 1799. On the 26th at 10:15, Furet was intercepted by HMS ViperHMS Viper , Naval Database under Lieutenant John Pengelly,Naval History, vol.2 p.372 After a running chase of over two hours, Viper caught up with Furet and delivered two broadsides that compelled her to strike her colours. Furet had four killed and six wounded,James (vol.2 p.373) states that the captain of Furet was killed, contradicting Quintin (p.84) who says that Bouvet was in command. Likewise, James names the captain of Furet as "Louis Bouvet". including Bouvet, who suffered an injury and was again taken prisoner.
Released from captivity on 9 February 1800,Granier (p.342) states that Bouvet was not released until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 Bouvet was appointed to the inspection of signals on the coasts near Brest; he held this position until 14 March 1801, when he was appointed to the frigate Consolante. He left Consolante in November 1801, and was appointed to Romaine in February 1802. In March, he transferred to the 74-gun Redoutable.
On 1 March,Granier (p.342) says 5 March. Redoutable departed for Guadeloupe, attached to a division under Rear-Admiral Bouvet de Précourt.Granier, p.342 During the journey, on 24 April, Bouvet was promoted to Lieutenant. He left Redoutable on 20 August 1802.
Service on Amazone in Linois's squadron On 17 February 1803, Bouvet was appointed to the frigate Atalante, under Captain Gaudin-Beauchêne, in the division of Rear-Admiral Linois sent to recover the French colonies of the Indies according to the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, under the overall command of General Decaen. The division, comprising four frigates and two fluyts, departed Brest on 6 March 1803, and arrived at Mauritius on 21 August. Upon arrival, it was informed of the outbreak of the War of the Third Coalition.
In the course of October, the division sailed to Batavia and Atalante detached to ferry the new commercial attaché, Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac, to Muscat, in Oman; she rejoined the division after the Battle of Pulo Aura. After a port call in Batavia. Belle Poule and Atalante detached and conducted independent commerce raiding cruises, while Linois returned to Mauritius; They notably captured the East Indiamen Athia, Princess Royal and Heroism.
On his return to Mauritius, Bouvet married his cousin Henriette Périer d'Hauterive on 1 June 1804, before departing on the 20th.Granier, p.343 With Linois' division, he cruised in the Gulf of Bengal, took part in the Battle of Vizagapatam on 15 September 1804, and returned to Mauritius in October with several prizes. Bouvet took part in another commerce raiding expedition between December 1804 and April 1805.
Governor Decaen having sent Linois back to France, the division departed in May 1805; while attempting to rejoining it, on 3 November 1805, Atalante was washed ashore by a gust of wind and wrecked near the Cape of Good Hope.Roche, p.55 Captain Gaudin-Beauchêne sent Bouvet to Mauritius with despatches for governor Decaen, and he embarked on the American brig Charles, but was taken prisoner by a British cruiser, HMS Pitt, and taken to Mumbai. Bouvent was released on parole on 15 September 1806,Granier (p.345) says in May 1806. and sailed to La Réunion to visit his family.Granier, p.345
Service on Entreprenant and the rescue of Mouche n° 6 At Mauritius, Bouvet requested the construction of a patamar to which Decaen agreed. Formally exchanged in spring 1807, he named the ship Entreprenant on 30 November 1807, and on 7 December, he departed with a 40-man crew to cruise off the Western coast of India. With her unassuming indigenous appearance, Entreprenant sailed undetected amongst Indian patamars off the Malabar Coast; on 8 February, she captured the British mercantile brig Marguerite after a 3-hour battle. Bouvet then abandoned Entreprenant to his captives,Fonds Marine, p.377. and returned to Mauritius on his prize, which she renamed Entreprenant.
After this reconnaissance, Bouvet had a second Entreprenant constructed at Mauritius.Quintin, p.85 She was a "brig gourable",Roche, p.176 of 16 guns, or 12 guns.
Bouvet departed for Ormuz on the new Entreprenant on 4 October 1808 to ferry despatches for General Gardane, ambassador in Theran. He then cruised off Malabar coast, where he captured nineteen prizes. On 30 November 1808, he battled the East indiamen Benares and the schooner Wasp, and made a number of other prizes. During a port call at the Maldives in February 1809, Bouvet had to repress a mutiny; he returned to Mauritius, on 16 March 1809, where the mutineers were shot.
On 24 May 1809, Decaen promoted him to acting Commander He was then tasked with a mission to Manila to investigate the fate of Mouche n° 6, under Lieutenant Ducrest de Villeneuve,Ducrest de Villeneuve, Journal du voyage de "la Mouche n°6", sous le commandement du lieutenant de vaisseau Ducrest de Villeneuve, expédiée pour l'Ile de France et Manille, en 1808.Fonds Marine, p. 377 disappeared there a few months before. On 28 August, Entreprenant reached Manila and learned that Borneo had sided for the Allies and interned the crew of Mouche n° 6. Furthermore, the 14-gun HMS Antelope was anchored at Cavite. Anchoring his ship off shore under a flag of truce, Bouvet sent a delegation to demand the release of the crew of Mouche n° 6, with orders to return to Entreprenant as soon as the message was delivered. However, the delegation had still not returned the next morning.Troude, p. 72
In order to obtain a clear casus belli, Bouvet anchored his ship at the entrance of Manila Bay, but stayed ready to set sail. Soon, Antelope and shore batteries opened up on Entreprenant, which promptly retreated. Bouvet sailed to Corregidor Island and endeavored to blockade all shipping bound for Manila. After collecting enough prisoners in this way, on 3 September, he released them on parole under promise not to navigate at sea before Mouche n° 6 would be released. Bouvet had them convey his ultimatum that if his conditions were not met the next day, he would attack the coasts of the island. The French crew detained in Manila was promptly released and returned to Entreprenant.
On her return journey, Entreprenant was chased by HMS Modeste, which she evaded, and anchored at Con Dao to repair her rigging.Granier, p.346 On 20 October, sailing through Malacca Strait, Entreprenant encountered a British convoy and detected an isolated sail, which she intercepted by 23:00. The ship was the 18-gun Ovidor, of the Dutch East India Company. She surrendered after the first broadside and was brought to Isle de France with a valuable cargo of Chinese goods, and 200,000 Piastres. Ovidor, a 550-tonne ship built in Portugal, was brought into French service as the fluyt Loire.Troude, op. cit., p. 73
Service on Minerve, Duperré's squadron, and the Battle of Grand Port Bouvet relinquished command of Entreprenant in late January 1810, was formally promoted to Commander on 1 February, and appointed to the frigate Minerve, after her capture on 22 November.Troude, p.87 On Minerve, he took part in the action of 3 July 1810, where he single-handedly engaged the East Indiamen Ceylon, Windham and Astell for one hour before the rest of Duperré's squadron rejoined him.James, p. 264 The squadron then returned to Mauritius where it encountered four British frigates, leading to the Battle of Grand Port, from 20 to 27 August 1810.
At the Battle of Grand Port, Bouvet replaced Duperré as chief of the French squadron on Bellone when he was wounded and carried below deck. After the battle, on 3 September, Bouvet was promoted to acting Captain and appointed to the frigate Iphigénie, formerly HMS Iphigenia, one of the prizes surrendered during Battle of Grand Port.
Service on Iphigénie and the Fall of Mauritius