Jean Bon Saint-André journal, [1794]

Summary

Creator:

Saint-André, Jean-Bon, 1749-1813

Abstract:

This volume (67 pages) is an English translation of Jean Bon Saint-André's journal of his experiences with the French Navy during the Battle of the First of June in 1794.

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Rob S. Cox, October 1993, and Meg Hixon, October 2012

Background

Scope and Content:

This volume (67 pages) is an English translation of Jean Bon Saint-André's journal of his experiences with the French Navy before, during, and after the Battle of the First of June, Floréal 27-Prairial 18, 1794 (roughly mid-May to early June in the Georgian calendar). The volume is titled "Long Live the Mountain: A concise Journal of the Cruize of the fleet of the [French] Republic commanded by Rear Admiral Villaret kept daily by Jean Bon St. André the Representative of the People on board the Montagne." The book once belonged to Louisa Catherine Altamont.

The first page has a chart of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd French squadrons, with the names of frigates, ships of the line, and their commanders. Prior to the battle, Saint-André provided detailed information about the French fleet's movements from Brest to the Atlantic Ocean, where they encountered the British Royal Navy. He recorded copies of the reports that he sent to the Committee of Public Safety, in which he documented the fleet's progress, and discussed damage sustained by French ships during the engagement.

Biographical / Historical:

André Jeanbon was born in France in 1749. He trained as a Catholic priest and Protestant minister, and adopted the name Jean Bon Saint-André. In the early years of the French Revolution, he served in the National Convention, and he became a member of the Committee of Public Safety in 1793. His accomplishments included the reorganization of the French Navy. In 1794 he accompanied the fleet of Villaret Joyeuse during the Battle of the First of June, a naval battle between the French and the British over a transport ship bringing supplies from the United States to France. Saint-André was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror. After his release in 1795, he served as French consul to Algiers and then Smyrna, and he was imprisoned by the Ottoman Empire from 1798-1801. Napoleon Bonaparte later appointed Saint-André a prefect in what is now Germany, and Saint-André died in Mainz in 1813.

Acquisition Information:

1991. M-2674 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Richard and William Howe collection holds additional material related to Louisa Catherine Altamont.

Bibliography

Ballard, Richard. "Saint-André, Jean Bon (1749-1813)." A New Dictionary of the French Revolution. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co., 2011.

Roberts, William J. "Jean Bon Saint-André (1749-1813)." France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts on File, 2004.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Anglo-French War, 1793-1802.
First of June, Battle of the, 1794.

Formats:

Diaries.
Translations (documents)

Names:

France. Marine.
Villaret de Joyeuse, Louis-Thomas, d. 1812.