Naval Forces of the English Channel, 1801. TWO SIGNED LETTERS FROM REAR-ADMIRAL LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE*, commander-in-chief of the Naval Forces of the English Channel, 19 Germinal year 9 (April 9, 1801) and 5 Thermidor year 9 (July 24, 1801). 18910-62
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Naval Forces of the English Channel, 1801. TWO SIGNED LETTERS FROM REAR-ADMIRAL LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE*, commander-in-chief of the Naval Forces of the English Channel, 19 Germinal year 9 (April 9, 1801) and 5 Thermidor, year 9 (July 24, 1801). 18910-62
The two letters are on "LIBERTY / EQUALITY" letterhead with a beautiful vignette (H 6 cm x 7.7 cm).
1 - Havre, 19 Germinal year 9 of the French Republic (April 9, 1801).
1st Division / Administration Officer. Signed autograph letter from the rear-admiral.
Rear-Admiral LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE, commander-in-chief of the Naval Forces of the English Channel, responds to Citizen Forfait**, Minister of the Colonial Navy*** following a letter from the latter informing him of "the order given to Citizen Froment, 1st class commissioner, to report to him to be employed in the mission that the government has seen fit to entrust to him; the functions can only be those of the flotilla commissioner, I have informed Citizen Bertin, maritime prefect, who will give him the order as soon as he arrives here [...]". La Touche-Tréville.
Handwritten note at the top right: "C. Froment is ordered to act as commissioner of the flotilla".
H 31.6 cm x 20.2 cm.
Fair condition, folds with small tears, damp stains.
2 - Boulogne, at the bivouac of the Order Tower on 5 Thermidor, year 9 (July 24, 1801).
"FRENCH REPUBLIC / IN THE NAME OF THE CONSULS OF THE REPUBLIC, LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE, Rear-Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the English Channel,
It is ordered to Citizen LE CANEUS (Le Caneux?) adjutant-commander of the expedition troops of the English Channel flotilla to embark on gunboat No. 7 of the Third Division, on which boat my staff is embarked."
Signed: La Touche Tréville.
"Registered at the General Staff Office" "Registered at the Armament Office".
Piece No. 209.
H approximately 36.5 cm x 23.4 cm.
Poor condition, folds with tears and losses (on lower edge outside text), foxing.
BIOGRAPHIES:
* Louis-René Levassor de La Touche, Count of Tréville, known as LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE, born on June 3, 1745 in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime) and died on August 19, 1804 aboard the Bucentaure in the roads of Toulon (Var), was a French naval officer of the 18th century. Coming from a family of sailors, he distinguished himself particularly during the War of American Independence.
Elected as a noble deputy in 1789, he nonetheless voted for the abolition of privileges and was a member of the Constituent Assembly until its dissolution in 1791. Retired to his property in Montargis, he was without assignment until 1799, before being recalled by the Consulate. Promoted to vice-admiral and successively placed in command of the Brest fleet and the Boulogne flotilla, he was tasked by Napoleon I to gain control of the English Channel before launching an invasion of England.
[...] The great man of the Consulate's navy:
La Touche-Tréville defeats Nelson near Boulogne on August 15, 1801.
It took the Consulate for him to finally be entrusted with a new command in 1800. On April 3, he was given interim command of the Brest fleet, as Admiral Bruix, ill, was undergoing treatment in Paris. On May 11, he was appointed responsible for the defense of the port of Brest. On February 16, 1801, he met Napoleon Bonaparte for the first time in Paris. The latter entrusted him with the command of a division of four ships in Rochefort, before appointing him commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the English Channel, based in Brest in March.
On June 8, 1801, he met Bonaparte again at the Malmaison castle and presented the First Consul with a plan for crossing the English Channel. He successively commanded the ships Le Mont-Blanc and Le Terrible. Twice, on August 5 and 15, he repelled Admiral Nelson's attacks as he attempted to destroy the flotilla. These were probably the only failures in Nelson's career, which brought considerable prestige to Latouche-Tréville, whom Bonaparte thereafter regarded as his best admiral.
Nelson wrote to his friends:
"M. Latouche is ready to take to sea, and by the way his ships are maneuvering, I perceive they are well armed; but on my part, I command a fleet such as I have never seen before, and certainly no admiral has the right to say he is luckier than I. M. Latouche often ventures outside Cape Sepet. If he would be so kind as to come alongside off Porquerolle, we will see what his ships are made of... All his maneuvers have so far been mere bravado. However, I have no doubt that, as soon as he receives a mission, he will be a man to fulfill it and execute his orders, risking to encounter and fight us."
On October 14, 1801, he was ordered to rally at Rochefort, where he was entrusted with the squadron stationed on the island of Aix. His squadron was tasked with transporting the 23,000 men of the Army of the Rhine to Santo Domingo to join forces with those of Villaret-Joyeuse. He captured Port-au-Prince and Léogâne with General Boudet before obtaining the surrender of General Laplume in 1802.
Louis-René-Madeleine Levassor de La Touche-Tréville, vice-admiral in 1803 (1745-1804), Georges Rouget, oil on canvas, 1841, Museum of French History (Versailles).
He was promoted to vice-admiral and returned to France to take command of the Mediterranean fleet in July 1803 [...]
** Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent FORFAIT, born on April 21, 1752 in Rouen, where he died on November 8, 1807, was a French hydrographer and politician.
[...] Called to the Ministry of the Navy in 1798 as a commissioner, he prepared under the Consulate the fleet intended for a descent on England. After the 18th Brumaire, Napoleon Bonaparte appointed him Minister of the Navy, but he resigned in 1801. Replaced by Decrès, he joined the Council of State. He was successively appointed inspector of the flotilla intended to intervene against the English, maritime prefect in Le Havre and Genoa.
He was a member of the Institute, mathematics and physics section of the Naval Academy, and director of the port of Le Havre. He was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1801. [...]
***Complete separation from the Navy and the creation on March 20, 1894, of the Ministry of the Colonies. The first Minister of the Colonies was a senator, Boulenger.
The two letters are on "LIBERTY / EQUALITY" letterhead with a beautiful vignette (H 6 cm x 7.7 cm).
1 - Havre, 19 Germinal year 9 of the French Republic (April 9, 1801).
1st Division / Administration Officer. Signed autograph letter from the rear-admiral.
Rear-Admiral LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE, commander-in-chief of the Naval Forces of the English Channel, responds to Citizen Forfait**, Minister of the Colonial Navy*** following a letter from the latter informing him of "the order given to Citizen Froment, 1st class commissioner, to report to him to be employed in the mission that the government has seen fit to entrust to him; the functions can only be those of the flotilla commissioner, I have informed Citizen Bertin, maritime prefect, who will give him the order as soon as he arrives here [...]". La Touche-Tréville.
Handwritten note at the top right: "C. Froment is ordered to act as commissioner of the flotilla".
H 31.6 cm x 20.2 cm.
Fair condition, folds with small tears, damp stains.
2 - Boulogne, at the bivouac of the Order Tower on 5 Thermidor, year 9 (July 24, 1801).
"FRENCH REPUBLIC / IN THE NAME OF THE CONSULS OF THE REPUBLIC, LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE, Rear-Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the English Channel,
It is ordered to Citizen LE CANEUS (Le Caneux?) adjutant-commander of the expedition troops of the English Channel flotilla to embark on gunboat No. 7 of the Third Division, on which boat my staff is embarked."
Signed: La Touche Tréville.
"Registered at the General Staff Office" "Registered at the Armament Office".
Piece No. 209.
H approximately 36.5 cm x 23.4 cm.
Poor condition, folds with tears and losses (on lower edge outside text), foxing.
BIOGRAPHIES:
* Louis-René Levassor de La Touche, Count of Tréville, known as LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE, born on June 3, 1745 in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime) and died on August 19, 1804 aboard the Bucentaure in the roads of Toulon (Var), was a French naval officer of the 18th century. Coming from a family of sailors, he distinguished himself particularly during the War of American Independence.
Elected as a noble deputy in 1789, he nonetheless voted for the abolition of privileges and was a member of the Constituent Assembly until its dissolution in 1791. Retired to his property in Montargis, he was without assignment until 1799, before being recalled by the Consulate. Promoted to vice-admiral and successively placed in command of the Brest fleet and the Boulogne flotilla, he was tasked by Napoleon I to gain control of the English Channel before launching an invasion of England.
[...] The great man of the Consulate's navy:
La Touche-Tréville defeats Nelson near Boulogne on August 15, 1801.
It took the Consulate for him to finally be entrusted with a new command in 1800. On April 3, he was given interim command of the Brest fleet, as Admiral Bruix, ill, was undergoing treatment in Paris. On May 11, he was appointed responsible for the defense of the port of Brest. On February 16, 1801, he met Napoleon Bonaparte for the first time in Paris. The latter entrusted him with the command of a division of four ships in Rochefort, before appointing him commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the English Channel, based in Brest in March.
On June 8, 1801, he met Bonaparte again at the Malmaison castle and presented the First Consul with a plan for crossing the English Channel. He successively commanded the ships Le Mont-Blanc and Le Terrible. Twice, on August 5 and 15, he repelled Admiral Nelson's attacks as he attempted to destroy the flotilla. These were probably the only failures in Nelson's career, which brought considerable prestige to Latouche-Tréville, whom Bonaparte thereafter regarded as his best admiral.
Nelson wrote to his friends:
"M. Latouche is ready to take to sea, and by the way his ships are maneuvering, I perceive they are well armed; but on my part, I command a fleet such as I have never seen before, and certainly no admiral has the right to say he is luckier than I. M. Latouche often ventures outside Cape Sepet. If he would be so kind as to come alongside off Porquerolle, we will see what his ships are made of... All his maneuvers have so far been mere bravado. However, I have no doubt that, as soon as he receives a mission, he will be a man to fulfill it and execute his orders, risking to encounter and fight us."
On October 14, 1801, he was ordered to rally at Rochefort, where he was entrusted with the squadron stationed on the island of Aix. His squadron was tasked with transporting the 23,000 men of the Army of the Rhine to Santo Domingo to join forces with those of Villaret-Joyeuse. He captured Port-au-Prince and Léogâne with General Boudet before obtaining the surrender of General Laplume in 1802.
Louis-René-Madeleine Levassor de La Touche-Tréville, vice-admiral in 1803 (1745-1804), Georges Rouget, oil on canvas, 1841, Museum of French History (Versailles).
He was promoted to vice-admiral and returned to France to take command of the Mediterranean fleet in July 1803 [...]
** Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent FORFAIT, born on April 21, 1752 in Rouen, where he died on November 8, 1807, was a French hydrographer and politician.
[...] Called to the Ministry of the Navy in 1798 as a commissioner, he prepared under the Consulate the fleet intended for a descent on England. After the 18th Brumaire, Napoleon Bonaparte appointed him Minister of the Navy, but he resigned in 1801. Replaced by Decrès, he joined the Council of State. He was successively appointed inspector of the flotilla intended to intervene against the English, maritime prefect in Le Havre and Genoa.
He was a member of the Institute, mathematics and physics section of the Naval Academy, and director of the port of Le Havre. He was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1801. [...]
***Complete separation from the Navy and the creation on March 20, 1894, of the Ministry of the Colonies. The first Minister of the Colonies was a senator, Boulenger.
Reference :
18910-62
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FOR ALL PURCHASES, PAYMENT IN MULTIPLE CHECKS POSSIBLE
bertrand.malvaux@wanadoo.fr 06 07 75 74 63
An authenticity certificate of the item including the description published on the site, the period, the sale price, accompanied by one or more color photographs is automatically provided for any item priced over 130 euros. Below this price, each certificate is charged 5 euros.
Only items sold by me are subject to an authenticity certificate, I do not provide any expert reports for items sold by third parties (colleagues or collectors).