Robert Surcouf
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Good article Template:Infobox military person
Robert Surcouf (Template:IPA; 12 December 1773 – 8 July 1827) was a French privateer, businessman and slave trader who operated in the Indian Ocean from 1789 to 1808 during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Capturing over 40 prizes, he later amassed a large fortune from a variety of commercial activities, such as ship-owning, privateering, slave trading and owning land.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp<ref name=netmarine.net>Alain Roman; summary on Robert Surcouf Template:Webarchive, www.netmarine.net</ref>
Surcouf started his maritime career as an officer on the ships Aurore, Courrier d'Afrique and Navigateur. Having risen to the rank of captain, he illegally engaged in slave trading onboard the slave ship Créole. Surcouf then captained the merchantman Émilie, on which he engaged in commerce raiding despite lacking a letter of marque. He preyed on British shipping, capturing several merchantmen including the East Indiaman Triton, before returning to the Isle de France where his prizes were confiscated. Surcouf then returned to France, where he obtained prize money from the government. Returning to the Indian Ocean, Surcouf captained the privateers Clarisse and Confiance, raiding British, American, and Portuguese shipping. He captured the East Indiaman Template:Ship on 7 October 1800. Returning to France, Surcouf was awarded the Legion of Honour and settled down as a businessman.
He briefly returned to the Indian Ocean in 1807 on the corvette Revenant before returning to France. There, Surcouf sponsored privateers and merchantmen, including slave ships. His privateers led campaigns against British trade in the Indian Ocean and the English Channel. The cutter Renard, a ship of his, achieved fame in her victory over Template:HMS on 9 September 1812, with Alphea exploding after repulsing French attempts at boarding her. After the Bourbon Restoration in France, Surcouf organised fishing expeditions to Newfoundland and amassed a considerable fortune. He died in 1827 and was buried in Saint-Malo.
Career
Youth
Robert Surcouf was born 12 December 1773 in Saint-Malo to a family of ship-owners.<ref name=Levot493>Levot, p. 493</ref> His father, Charles-Ange Surcouf de Boisgris, was the grandson of Robert Surcouf de Maisonneuve,<ref>Cunat, p.145</ref> who had captained the privateer Aimable during the reign of Louis XIV.<ref name=cunat390>Cunat, p. 390</ref> On his mother's side, Robert was a distant relative of René Duguay-Trouin.<ref name=Hennequin378>Hennequin, p. 378</ref> When his parents sent him to Dinan college to become a priest, he fled at age thirteen to enlist on the merchantman Héron, which shuttled between Saint-Malo and Cádiz.<ref name=granier216>Granier, p. 216</ref>
On 3 March 1789, he enlisted as a volunteer on the 700-ton Aurore,<ref name=cunat390 /> a slave ship<ref name=netmarine.net /> bound for India under Captain Tardivet.<ref name=Levot493 /> Aurore sailed to Pondicherry and ferried troops<ref name=granier216 /> bound for Isle de France.<ref name=cunat390 /> On her next journey, seeking to purchase slaves on the Horn of Africa, Aurore was wrecked in the Mozambique Channel, drowning 400 enslaved Africans chained in the orlop.<ref name=granier216 /> Tardivet chartered the Portuguese San Antoine in October 1790 to return to Port-Louis, but had to divert to Sumatra because of the weather, and only returned to Port-Louis in late 1790, on a French ship via the French colony of Pondicherry.<ref name=granier216 /> Promoted to officer, Surcouf enlisted on the Courrier d'Afrique, another slave ship,<ref name=netmarine.net /> bound for Mozambique under Captain Garnier.<ref name=cunat390 /> Captain Tardivet then brought him over as Lieutenant on his new ship, Revanche.<ref name=Levot494>Levot, p. 494</ref> On Revanche, Surcouf made several expeditions off Madagascar.<ref name=cunat390 /><ref name=Levot494 />
Surcouf enlisted as a helmsman on the French Royal Navy's 20-gun fluyt Bienvenue, under Lieutenant Haumont,<ref>Roche, p. 74</ref> bound for France.<ref name=cunat391>Cunat, p. 391</ref> Bienvenue arrived at Lorient on 2 January 1792, where Surcouf discovered the political changes France had undergone in the wake of the French Revolution.<ref name=cunat391 />
After six months, Surcouf enlisted as a lieutenant on the slave ship Navigateur,<ref name=netmarine.net /> under Captain Lejoliff.<ref name=cunat391 /><ref group="N">Granier gives the captain's name as "captain de Joliff" instead of "Lejoliff".<ref name=granier216/></ref> She departed on 27 August 1792 for Mozambique before sailing to Isle de France, where Surcouf was informed on his arrival of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars.<ref name=cunat391 />
Rising to the rank of captain, Surcouf took command of the brig Créole,<ref name=cunat391 /> a four-gun slave ship.<ref name=netmarine.net /><ref name=Levot494 /> He departed Isle de France on 3 June 1794 <ref name=Levot494 /> for a journey off Africa and Madagascar,<ref name=cunat391 /> and engaged again in slave trading, even though it had been prohibited by the National Convention and the Assembly of Île Bourbon.<ref name=granier217>Granier, p. 217.</ref> Upon his return to Isle de France, agents of the Committee of Public Safety inspected Créole for evidence of slave trading, but left empty-handed as Surcouf had already sold his enslaved cargo.<ref name=granier217 /> When British naval forces arrived to blockade the Isle de France, he served as an auxiliary ensign on the 40-gun frigate Cybèle and participated in the inconclusive Action of 22 October 1794.<ref name=granier216 />
Cruise of Émilie and capture of Triton
In the spring in 1795,<ref name=Levot494 /> Surcouf took command of the 180-ton,<ref name=cunat391 /> privateer schooner Modeste,<ref name=Levot494 /> renamed Émilie, with a 32-man crew and four 6-pounder guns,<ref name=cunat391 /> armed by Malroux and Levaillant.<ref name=cunat392>Cunat, p. 392</ref> Governor Malartic refused to provide a lettre de marque and ordered Émilie to go to the Seychelles to purchase tortoises as food for Isle de France.<ref name=Levot494 /><ref name=granier217 /><ref name=cunat392 />
Émilie departed on 3 September 1795 with a congé de navigation authorising her to defend herself, but not to take prizes as a privateer. The next day, she made a port call at Saint-Denis before cruising to Mahé.<ref name=cunat392 /> At Sainte Anne Island, two large British ships chased him, but he was able to evade them by sailing through the reefs,<ref name=Levot494 /> at night.<ref name=cunat392 />
Surcouf then decided to sail to the Mergui Archipelago to load a rice cargo.<ref name=cunat393>Cunat, p. 393</ref> On 8 December 1795,<ref name=granier217 /> while in transit, cruising off the Ganges Delta,<ref name=rouvier254>Rouvier, p. 254</ref> Surcouf captured his first prize, the ship Penguin, loaded with lumber, on which he detached a prize crew under Lieutenant Péru before sending her to Isle de France.<ref name=cunat393 />
On 19 January 1796,<ref name=cunat393 /> Surcouf met the pilot ship<ref name=rouvier254 /> Cartier<ref name=Levot494 /><ref name=cunat393 /> leading two merchantmen, the Russel and Sambolasse, through the Ganges delta.<ref name=cunat393 /><ref group="N">Russell was a pilot boat of 111 tons (bm), launched in 1770.<ref>Phipps (1840), p. 131.</ref></ref> He attacked and captured them, finding the merchantmen to be carrying rice.<ref name=cunat393 /> After detaching prize crews, Surcouf transferred his command, along with his remaining 22 crew members and ÉmilieTemplate:'s four guns, to Cartier, which (according to Ambroise Louis Garneray) he renamed Hasard.<ref name=rouvier254 /> Surcouf then sent Émilie, under Lieutenant Croizet, together with his prizes, to Isle de France.<ref name=cunat394>Cunat, p. 394</ref>
On the night of 28 January, Surcouf captured the 12-gun Diana,<ref name=cunat394 /> loaded with 6000 bags of rice.<ref name=rouvier252>Rouvier, p. 252</ref> The next day, Cartier met a 26-gun Indiaman,<ref name=rouvier252 /> Triton,<ref name=Levot494 /> armed with 12-pounders and a 150-man crew;<ref name=Levot494 /> having decided to attack, and recognising only too late the overwhelming superiority of his opponent,<ref name=Levot494 /> Surcouf, feeling threatened and unable to flee, decided to board her with his 26 men.<ref name=rouvier252 /><ref group="N">Levot gives a figure of 17 men; Cunat, of 19.<ref name=Levot494 /><ref name=cunat395 /></ref> After haranguing his men, he approached under a British flag,<ref name=rouvier253>Rouvier, p. 253</ref> before hoisting French colours at the very last moment and launching a violent assault.<ref name=cunat395>Cunat, p. 395</ref> In the ensuing 45-minute battle,<ref name=Levot494 /> Triton suffered 5 wounded and 10 killed,<ref name=Hennequin380>Hennequin, p. 380</ref> including her captain, Captain Burnycat, and the first officer, Picket;<ref name=cunat395 /> The prisoners were transferred to Diana, which Surcouf released against a 30,000 rupee ransom.<ref name=granier218>Granier, p. 218</ref>
Surcouf returned to Ile de France with his prizes,<ref name=rouvier254 /> where he arrived on 10 March 1796,<ref name=cunat395 /> although Hasard was captured by HMS Victorious on the journey back.<ref name="Demerliac2915">Demerliac, p. 309, no 2915</ref> As Émilie had been armed as a merchant rather than a privateer, the Prize court seized her prizes and sold them for the benefit of the State,<ref name=rouvier254 /> although their capture was declared to be legal.<ref name=Hennequin380 /> Surcouf returned to France to claim his prize money, and on 3 September 1797,<ref name=Hennequin380 /> the government finally granted him 660,000 francs,<ref name=Levot494 /> of which he only received 80,000.<ref name=Hennequin380 /><ref group="N">Some sources state that the allowance was of 1,700,000 francs, of which Surcouf left two thirds to the Treasury.<ref name=granier218 /></ref>
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Boarding of Triton by the French corsair Hasard. Engraving by Ambroise-Louis Garneray
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Boarding of Triton by the French corsair Hasard under Robert Surcouf. Painting by Léon Trémisot.
Cruise of Clarisse
In early 1798,<ref name=rouvier447 /> after 14 months in Paris,<ref name=Levot494 /> Surcouf took command of Clarisse, a 14-gun privateer brig<ref name=Levot494 /> armed with four 12-pounders, ten 8-pounders, and manned by a 120-strong complement.<ref name=rouvier447>Rouvier, p. 447</ref> He departed from Paimboeuf,<ref name=Levot494 /> Nantes, in February 1798,<ref name=cunat396>Cunat, p. 396</ref> this time with a proper lettre de marque.<ref name=granier218 /> During the journey to Isle de France, Clarisse chased a British slave ship,<ref name=cunat396 /> which escaped after one of her shots cut off ClarisseTemplate:'s foremast tops.<ref name=rouvier447 /><ref name=Levot495>Levot, p. 495</ref> Surcouf captured a British brig<ref name=granier218 /> South of Cape of Good Hope, which surrendered after a warning shot was fired,<ref name=granier218 /> on which he sent a prize crew under Captain Dujardin,<ref name=cunat396 /> and arrived La Réunion on 5 December.<ref name=rouvier447 />
In early 1799, Surcouf sailed to the city of Susoh<ref name=rouvier447 /><ref name=granier223>Granier, p. 223</ref><ref name=Hennequin381>Hennequin, p. 381</ref> in Aceh, on Sumatra, where he found two 20-gun merchantmen anchored in the harbour, in the process of loading pepper; Clarisse dropped anchor close by and opened fire, after which Surcouf sent his older brother Nicolas to head a 20-man board party on ClarisseTemplate:'s boats and board the largest of the ships, while he boarded her with Clarisse from the opposite side; assaulted from two sides, she surrendered after a 30-minute battle.<ref name=Hennequin382>Hennequin, p. 382</ref> The other ship cut her anchor and attempted to flee, but the boats of Clarisse overhauled and captured her without resistance, most of her crew being ashore.<ref name=Hennequin382 /> Surcouf returned to Île de France with his prizes in June.<ref name=rouvier447 />
On 16 August, Clarisse departed Isle de France for another cruise; she sailed to La Réunion carrying despatches of Malartic to the governor. She then cruised to Java to procure water,<ref name=rouvier448>Rouvier, p. 448</ref> where she arrived on 27 September.<ref name=cunat397>Cunat, p. 397</ref> On 1 October, Surcouf captured a Danish<ref name=Levot495 /> merchantman, which he sent away under Lieutenant Fonroc;<ref name=cunat397 /> on 4 November,<ref name=granier224 /> the Portuguese<ref name=Levot495 /> merchantman Nostra Signora de la Conception carrying 116 000 piastres;<ref name=rouvier448 /><ref name=granier224>Granier, p. 224</ref> on 6, a British ship laden with a salt;<ref name=granier224 /> and on 11 November, the 20-gun Auspicious, with a cargo worth 1,032,580 francs.<ref name=rouvier448 /><ref name=granier224 />
Surcouf sailed to Mergui<ref name=rouvier448 /> to purchase food and free his prisoners, and put to sail on 10 December.<ref name=rouvier448 /> En route, he met the fellow French privateer Malartic, under Jean Dutertre;<ref name=rouvier448 /> soon after, the privateers met a British frigate,<ref name=rouvier448 /> 38-gun frigate HMS Sybille, which gave chase and which Surcouf managed to outsail by throwing eight guns overboard, along with various other implements.<ref name=rouvier448 />
On 1 January 1800, Clarisse captured a large rice-laden merchantman,<ref name=rouvier448 /> the British James.<ref name=granier224 /> On 3 January, she detected two American 16-carronade ships forming a line of battle; although Clarisse lacked the eight guns sacrificed to escape Sybille and 60 of her men detached on her various prizes, Surcouf engaged.<ref name=rouvier449>Rouvier, p. 449</ref> Clarisse raked the rear-most ship, the Louisa,<ref name=Levot495 /> and boarded her, while simultaneously firing a broadside on the other ship, Mercury,<ref name=cunat397 /> which attempted to rescue her mate. Nicolas Surcouf led a 30-man boarding party to seize Louisa, while Mercury escaped.<ref name=rouvier449 /> Clarisse could not give chase, her bowsprit having been destroyed in the collision with Louisa.<ref name=Hennequin383>Hennequin, p. 383</ref> Nicolas Surcouf took a prize crew and sailed Louisa back to Port Louis.<ref name=cunat397 /><ref name=rouvier449/><ref name=Austen>Austen (1935), pp. 93–94.</ref>
Clarisse continued her patrol, capturing the ships Catherine, Haderbux, Anna Maria, Nostra Signora de la Cruz, Louis, Janna, Notre Dame de Bon Succès and Albion,<ref name=granier224 /> before sailing back to Isle de France with her prizes.<ref name=rouvier449 /> She arrived in early February 1800.<ref name=cunat397 />
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Cruise of Confiance and capture of Kent
In May 1800, Surcouf took command of Confiance, a fast 18-gun brig<ref name=Levot495 /> from Bordeaux, with a 150-man complement; the competition with Dutertre for the captainship of Confiance almost degenerated into a duel, and Governor Malartic had to intervene to prevent it, stating that such a confrontation would be "an English victory".<ref name=granier219>Granier, p. 219</ref> The sailor and painter Ambroise Louis Garneray, future biographer of Surcouf, enlisted at this time.<ref name=granier219 />
In late April 1800, Confiance cruised off Sunda Strait, where she captured an American ship; she then left the strait to avoid the frigate Template:USS,<ref>Robert Surcouf, ageofsail.wordpress.com</ref> which was known to cruise in these waters, and sailed to the Seychelles. There, he escaped a British ship of the line and a frigate, and sailed on to cruise the Bay of Bengal.<ref name=rouvier526>Rouvier, p. 526</ref>
On 19 September, Confiance captured Prize, from Calcutta, which had stored eight of her ten guns in her hold to improve her stability. Prize was sent off to Mauritius on the next day with an 85-man prize crew.<ref>Asiatic Annual Register, Volume 3, p. 39</ref> Surcouf then steered for Ganjam, where he captured three smaller ships.<ref>Asiatic Annual Register, Volume 3, p. 40</ref>
On 7 October 1800, off Sand Heads, near Calcutta, Confiance met the 40-gun East Indiaman Kent, of 824 tons burthen,<ref name="Norman 353">Norman p. 353</ref><ref>Biden p. 212</ref><ref group="N">A number of French accounts of Surcouf's victory exaggerate KentTemplate:'s size and guns by 60%. Rouvier states 38 guns and 1200 tons; Cunat specifies that Kent carried twenty-six 18-pounder on her battery and 12 9-pounder on her castles; Hennequin gives an approximate 40 guns, but confirms the figure of 1200 tons.<ref name=rouvier526 /><ref name=cunat398 /><ref name=Hennequin384/></ref> under Captain Robert Rivington. Kent had rescued the crew of another ship, Queen,<ref name=cunat398 /><ref>Laughton, p. 439 Template:Webarchive</ref><ref group="N">Cunat actually names her as Reine, translating her name into French.<ref name=cunat398 /></ref> destroyed by fire,<ref name="Norman 353"/> and therefore had an exceptionally large complement<ref name=Hennequin384/> of 437 men, including her passengers; 300 of them were soldiers and sailors;<ref name=rouvier526 /><ref group="N">The Gazette de France reported that Kent carried 150 soldiers of line infantry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref></ref> Surcouf managed to board his larger opponent and, after over an hour and a half<ref>Laughton, p. 438</ref> of battle across the decks of the ship,<ref>Laughton, p. 440</ref> seize control of the Kent.<ref name="Laughton 441">Laughton, p. 441</ref>
The British had suffered fourteen killed, including the captain,<ref name=Hennequin384 /> and forty-four wounded, while the French suffered five killed and ten wounded.<ref name=Hennequin384>Hennequin, p. 384</ref> The privateers were then granted one hour of free pillaging on Kent before Surcouf restored order;<ref name=cunat398 /><ref name="Laughton 441"/><ref>Hennequin (p. 385) states that the effects of the prisoners were returned to them when he had them transferred on Confiance.</ref> however, the female passengers were strictly protected and sentries were placed in front of their apartments.<ref>Laughton, p. 442</ref> Amongst the prisoners were General Frederick St. John and his wife,<ref name=Hennequin384 /> Arabella Craven.<ref>St. John, Hon. Frederick (1765–1844), of Chailey, Sussex., The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986</ref>
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The first officer of Confiance, Joachim Drieux, was sent on Kent with a 60-man prize crew, while her passengers were released on a merchantman that Surcouf stopped a few days later.<ref name=rouvier527>Rouvier, p. 527</ref> Confiance and Kent arrived at the Rade des Pavillons in Port-Louis in November.<ref name=cunat398>Cunat, p. 398</ref> The capture of Kent became a sensation, and the British Admiralty issued a reward for the capture of Surcouf.<ref name=rouvier527 />
After her return to Ile de France, Confiance was armed as a merchantman en aventurier<ref group="N">Cunat says that Confiance was armed "à l'aventure", entailing that she was nominally a merchantman, but was capable of attacking targets of opportunity.<ref name=cunat398 /></ref> with an 89-man crew<ref name=cunat398 /> and loaded with colonial goods for her return to France. On the journey, Surcouf still managed to capture a number of ships, notably the Portuguese Ebre,<ref name=cunat398 /> with eighteen 12-pounder carronades and a 60-man crew; he released her against a ransom of 10,000 piastres and after exchanging her greatmast with that of Confiance.<ref name=rouvier527 />
Upon her return, Confiance ran into the British blockade and was chased by a frigate; Surcouf managed to evade her by throwing overboard all but one of her guns, his boats, anchors, chains and even components of his masts. He eventually arrived at La Rochelle<ref name=Levot495 /><ref name=cunat399>Cunat, p. 399</ref><ref name=Hennequin385>Hennequin, p. 385</ref><ref group="N">Rouvier says Rochefort instead of La Rochelle.<ref name=rouvier527 /></ref> on 13 April 1801.<ref name=rouvier527 /><ref name=cunat399 />
In France, Navy Minister Truguet attempted to enrol Surcouf in the Navy as an auxiliary officer, which he declined.<ref name=rouvier527 /> Hennequin states that Bonaparte himself offered him the rank of Captain and the command of two frigates, which Surcouf declined for fear of losing his freedom of action, and awarded him a Sabre of honour.<ref name=Hennequin385 /> Surcouf was awarded the Legion of Honour at the founding of the Order, on 19 May 1802.<ref name=Levot495 />
- Documents on Surcouf's Legion of Honour
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Document forwarding Surcouf's request to be admitted in the Legion of Honour
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Document on the background verification process
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Official letter to Surcouf: "The Emperor, during a Great Council, has made you a member of the Legion of Honour"
On 28 May, in Saint-Malo, he married Marie Blaize, who had been his fiancée for two years;<ref name=cunat399 /> over the course of their marriage, they had five children together.<ref name=netmarine.net /> Around 1805, Surcouf started to arm privateers in Saint-Malo in partnership with his father-in-law Louis Blaize de Maisonneuve,<ref name=granier221>Granier, p. 221</ref> notably Caroline which captured four ships in the Indian Ocean under Nicolas Surcouf;<ref name="Gallois vol 2 p 302">Gallois, vol. 2, p. 302</ref> Marsouin; and Confiance, which took two prizes under Joseph Potier.<ref>Gallois, vol.2, pp. 302–303</ref>
Cruise of Revenant
After a five-year retirement,<ref name=Levot495 /> in early 1807, Surcouf ordered the 18-gun<ref name=cunat399 /> Revenant, a privateer which he had built on his own specifications.<ref name=Levot495 /> On 2 March, he departed Saint-Malo with a 192-man crew<ref name=cunat399 /> to cruise off Bengal. On 9 March 1807,<ref name=granier225 /> while en route, off Madeira, Revenant captured the British slave ship Aun,<ref name=granier225>Granier, p. 225</ref> of sixteen 12-pounders, recently departed from Liverpool,<ref name=Hennequin386>Hennequin, p. 386</ref> which Surcouf let go for a ransom, after throwing her guns overboard, wetting her gunpowder and destroying some of her sails.<ref name=cunat399 />
Surcouf arrived at Île de France in June, slipping past the British blockade and capturing several ships on the journey. During the subsequent campaign, which was to be his last, Surcouf captured 16 British merchantmen, partly because they tended to strike their colours as soon as they realised their opponent was Surcouf.<ref name=Hennequin386 /><ref>Fonds Marine, p. 362</ref>
The arrival of Surcouf at Isle de France did not go unnoticed: the authorities and the population reacted with enthusiasm, while British insurance companies on Calcutta doubled the reward for his capture,<ref name=cunat399 /> which amounted to one lakh of rupees, or 250,000 francs.<ref name=Hennequin387>Hennequin, p. 387</ref> On 3 September 1807, Revenant departed to cruise off Bengal. On 25 September, she captured the British 12-gun Trafalgar carrying 10,000 bags of rice,<ref name=granier225 /> and the 14-gun Mangles, carrying 11,000;<ref name=granier225 /> on the 27th, the 12-gun Admiral Applin, with 9,500 bags of rice;<ref name=granier225 /> on 1 October, the 1-gun Suzannah, with 5,500 bags of rice; on the 19th, the wood-laden Success, which was burnt;<ref name=granier225 /> on the 30th, the 12-gun Fortune, which carried no cargo and was sunk;<ref name=granier225 /> on 15 November, the Indian Macauly;<ref name=granier225 /> on 18 December, the British 10-gun Sir William Burroughs;<ref name=granier225 /> on the 30th, the Portuguese Oriente;<ref name=granier225 /> and on 6 January 1808, the Arab Jem lab Dim.<ref name=granier225 /> Surcouf sent these with prize crews to Isle de France, and then returned himself on 31 January 1808.<ref name=cunat399 />
When a British captive officer taunted Surcouf with the words "You French fight for money while we fight for honour", Surcouf replied "Each of us fights for what he lacks most".<ref>Stephen Taylor, "Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808–10"</ref><ref>Isabelle Tombs,Robert Tombs, "That Sweet Enemy: The British and the French from the Sun King to the Present", p. 262</ref>
Surcouf then gave command of Revenant to his first officer, Joseph Potier. After a short cruise, Potier returned with a 34-gunTemplate:Refn prize of the Portuguese East India Company,<ref name=lepelley7 /> the Conceçáo de Santo Antonio,<ref name=lepelley7>Lepelley, p. 7</ref> captured after a one-hour fight.<ref name=cunat400>Cunant, p. 400</ref>
On 4 July 1808, General Charles Decaen, governor of Isle de France, requisitioned Revenant.<ref>Fonds Marine, p. 377</ref> She was renamed Iéna, and commissioned under Lieutenant Morice, with Lieutenant de vaisseau Albin Roussin as second officer. Surcouf had an altercation with Decaen but had to renounce his ship. He eventually purchased Sémillante, which he renamed Charles. Returning with this vessel to Saint-Malo, he arrived on 4 February 1809.<ref name=Levot495 /><ref name=cunat400 />
Later life
From 1809, Surcouf went into business as ship-owner,<ref name=Levot495 /> and over the years, he equipped a number of privateers:<ref name=cunat400 /> Template:Ship, under Pelletier;<ref name=cunat400 /><ref name=Gallois-2-306>Gallois, vol. 2, p. 306</ref> Dorade;<ref name=cunat400 /> Biscayenne;<ref name=cunat400 /> Édouard;<ref name=cunat400 /> Espadon;<ref name=cunat400 /> Ville-de-Caen;<ref name=cunat400 /> Template:Ship<ref name=cunat400 /> and his last, Template:Ship,<ref name="Gallois vol 2 p 302"/><ref name=cunat400 /> under Leroux.<ref name=Gallois-2-306 /> The British captured all the privateers sent into the Channel, with the exception of Renard.<ref name=netmarine.net /> Surcouf also built the brig Fantôme at St. Malo in 1809. Surcouf dispatched Fantôme to Isle de France (Mauritius) in the Indian Ocean on her first voyage where the brig took three prizes but was captured by the British in 1810 and commissioned into British service as HMS Fantome.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In January 1814, Surcouf was made a colonel in the National Guard of Saint-Malo.<ref name=Levot495 /> During the Hundred Days, he served as a chief of Legion and maintained order.<ref name=Levot495 /> He resigned after the Battle of Waterloo and became a merchant,<ref name=Levot495 /> arming 19 merchantmen<ref name=cunat401>Cunat, p. 401</ref> and establishing business with Newfoundland.
Between 1814 and 1827, Surcouf organised over 116 commercial expeditions.Template:Sfnp In 1815, Surcouf engaged in the slave trade, commissioning the ship Africain to transport enslaved Africans from Gabon.Template:Sfnp Africain conducted another slave trading journey in 1819.Template:Sfnp Four other expeditions are also suspected of having been slaving runs: that of Marie-Anne in 1819, Adolphe in 1820, and in 1821 Victor and Adolphe,Template:Sfnp under René Decaen and with Désiré Surcouf as first officer, which sailed under the pretence of sailing to Isle Bourbon (now Réunion), but actually to ferry slaves to Cuba and Philadelphia.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
Surcouf died on 8 July 1827, and was buried in Saint-Malo graveyard with military honours.<ref name=cunat402>Cunat, p. 402</ref> His tomb features a globe showing the Indian Ocean and an anchor,<ref name=granier228>Granier, p. 228</ref> with the epitaph: Template:Cquote
Legacy
Five ships of the French Navy were named after Surcouf, the first three being a steam aviso (sloop), an armoured cruiser, and a submarine cruiser, which at the time of her launch was the largest submarine in the world. The submarine joined the Free French Naval Forces during the Second World War and disappeared mysteriously after liberating Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The fourth Surcouf was a large fleet escort destroyer, which was severely damaged in a collision with a Soviet ship, and the fifth is a modern stealth frigate, one of the first stealth combat ships.<ref>Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Surcouf Template:Webarchive, netmarine</ref>
Statue in Tribute
Ships of the French Navy named Surcouf
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The aviso Surcouf (1858)
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The submarine cruiser Surcouf (N N 3, 1929–1942)
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The fleet escort destroyer Surcouf (1953–1972)
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The stealth frigate Surcouf (1997–present day)
A number of legends have grown around Surcouf, he is often stated to have been made a Baron of the Empire, which is untrue.<ref name=netmarine.net /><ref group="N">Granier, for instance, states that Surcouf was made Baron.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref></ref> Another legend states that Surcouf had thrown overboard gold seized on Kent but Kent did not carry gold.<ref name=netmarine.net /><ref group="N">For instance the tale is told without reservation by Granier.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref></ref>
There is a tale that in 1816, Surcouf challenged twelve Prussian officers to a duel and defeated all of them except for the last, which he let go "to tell in his country how a former soldier of Napoleon fights."; This tale is questioned.<ref>M. Corbes, Conference of 16 August 1954, Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de l'arrondissement de Saint-Malo.</ref><ref group="N">For instance the tale is told without reservation by Granier.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref></ref>
Notes
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References
Bibliography
- Austen, Harold Chomley Mansfield (1935) Sea Fights and Corsairs of the Indian Ocean: Being the Naval History of Mauritius from 1715 to 1810. (Port Louis, Mauritius: R.W. Brooks).
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- Phipps, John (1840) A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time .... (Scott).
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