François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse
(13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a
French admiral.
Early life
François-Joseph De Grasse was born and raised at
Bar-sur-Loup (in what is now
Alpes-Maritimes) in southeastern France, the last child of a noble who earned his title and supported his
Provençal family. 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 1741, he entered the
French Navy.
American Revolution
Comte de Grasse
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 aid of
Washington and
Rochambeau, setting sail with 3,000 men from
Saint-Domingue. De Grasse landed the 3,000 French reinforcements in Virginia, and immediately afterwards decisively defeated the British fleet in the
Battle of the Chesapeake in September 1781. He drew away the English forces and blockaded the coast until
Lord Cornwallis surrendered, ensuring the independence of the
United States of America.
He was less fortunate at the
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. He died at
Tilly (
Yvelines) in 1788.
His son
Alexandre de Grasse published a
Notice biographique sur l'amiral comte de Grasse d'après les documents inédits in 1840.
Memorials
thumb|Tomb of de Grasse at the [[Saint-Roch Church,
Paris.]]
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.
American
A. Kingsley Macomber, a resident of France since the end of
World War I, commissioned the 1931 monument of Admiral de Grasse at the
Trocadero Palace in
Paris.
The
Grasse River, which flows through
St. Lawrence County, New York, is also named for him.
Vessel names
The
French Navy has had two vessels named in his honour:
The
United States Navy has had three vessels named in his honor:
There was also a mid-size French commercial
ocean liner named De Grasse in the 1920s.
