Loading AI tools
French admiral (1727–1782) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Barthélémy Thomas, comte d'Orves[1] (1727 — Orient, off Madras,[Note 1] 9 February 1782[2] ) was a French Navy officer, who rose to have flag officer rank.[Note 2]
Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves | |
---|---|
Born | 1727 |
Died | 9 February 1782 |
Service/ | French Navy |
Rank | chef d'escadre |
Battles/wars | Battle of Ushant Anglo-French War |
Relations | Estienne Family |
Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves was born to the Estienne Family, a noble house of Provence.
Estienne d'Orves took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, captaining the 74-gun Actif.[4][5]
In 1778, Estienne d'Orves was in command of the 80-gun Orient, with the rank of captain. On 28 December, during the Anglo-French War, he departed Brest to reinforce the French colony of Isle de France.[Note 3][6] When François-Jean-Baptiste l'Ollivier de Tronjoli, commander of the French forces in the Indian Ocean, was recalled to France, he transferred command to Estienne d'Orves.[7]
Estienne d'Orves led his squadron off the Coromandel Coast, with little effect.[8][9] In April 1781, his health deteriorating, Estienne d'Orves gave command of the division to Tromelin, and that of Orient to First Officer Bolle.[10] Suffren arrived at Isle de France with reinforcements on 25 October 1781, and Estienne d'Orves decided to mount a raid against British interests in India.[9]
On 7 December 1781, Estienne d'Orves departed Isle de France with 11 ships, 3 frigates and 3 corvettes, intending to attack Trincomalee. However, he changed his mind and decided to attack Madras instead.[11] However, in the following days, his failing health deteriorated to the point where he was not fit for duty, and he delegated command to Suffren.[12] He died on 9 February 1782, a few days before the Battle of Sadras.[2]
Charles Cunat compares d'Orves to Tronjoli in that they both failed to seize the initiative against the British,[8] and contrasts them to Suffren's skill.[2] Admiral Rémi Monaque called d'Orves a "rather mediocre admiral".[13]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.