François Joseph Paul de Grasse: Difference between revisions

François Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse (born 1722; died January 14, 1788 in Paris) was a French admiral.

He was born at Bar-sur-Loup, in the present département of the Alpes-Maritimes. At the age of eleven, he entered the Order of Malta as a page of the Grand Master. In 1734, de Grasse became an ensign on the galleys of the Knights Hospitaller and in 1740 he entered the French Navy.

In 1776, the American War of Independence against Great Britain began and the French Navy was assigned to assist the American cause. As a commander of a division, de Grasse served under Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers at the First Battle of Ushant from July 23 to 27, 1778. In 1779, he joined the fleet of Count d'Estaing in the Caribbean and distinguished himself in the battles of Dominica and Saint Lucia during 1780 and of Tobago during 1781. He contributed to the capture of Grenada and took part in the three actions fought by Guichen against Admiral Rodney in the Battle of Martinique.

He came to the rescue of Washington and Rochambeau, setting sail with 3000 men from Saint-Dominique. In the Battle of the Chesapeake in September 1781, he drew away the English forces and blockaded the coast until Lord Cornwallis surrendered, hence ensuring the independence of the United States of America.

He was less fortunate at at Battle of St. Kitts, where he was defeated by Admiral Hood. Shortly afterwards, in April 1782, he was defeated and taken prisoner by Admiral Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes. Some months later he returned to France, published a Mémoire justificatif and in 1784 was acquitted by a court-martial.

His son Alexandre de Grasse published a Notice biographique sur l'amiral comte de Grasse d'après les documents inédits in 1840.

There is a monument commemorating Admiral de Grasse and the sailors who helped the United States achieve its independence from Great Britain at the Cape Henry Memorial, Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is maintained by the Colonial National Historical Park of the National Park Service.

The French Navy has had two vessels named in his honour:

• An anti-aircraft cruiser (1939-1974).
• A first-rank frigate of the F67 type.

The United States Navy has had one vessel named in his honour:

• A large multirole destroyer of the Spruance class, the DD-974.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

• G. Lacour-Gayet, La Marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XV (Paris, 1902).

• Catholic Encyclopedia article