François-Aymar, knight of MONTEIL (1725-1787), sailor, he di - Lot 263

Lot 263
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François-Aymar, knight of MONTEIL (1725-1787), sailor, he di - Lot 263
François-Aymar, knight of MONTEIL (1725-1787), sailor, he distinguished himself in the war of independence from the United States. 4 L.A., Brest, then on board the Conqueror May-June [1779], to his brother [François Louis, viscount of Monteil]; 17 pages in-4. Attached: a reply from the viscount (Marly 5 May 1779); a P.S. of the knight on his reception in the Order of Saint Lazarus, 12 May 1779. - 3 minutes of letters from Monteil to Sartine, Brest, aboard the Conqueror, April-May 1779, requesting his promotion to the rank of Wing Commander (which he will obtain in May 1779). - 7 letters Preparations for the English Channel campaign. [Since 1778, the chevalier de Monteil had commanded the ship le Conquérant in the squadron of the Comte d'Orvilliers. The same year, he took part in the battle of Ouessant during which he was wounded. In May 1779, the squadron set sail again to join the Spanish fleet in protecting a landing in England. After meeting an English squadron that dodged the battle, and suffering from an epidemic that decimated the crews, d'Orvilliers had to cancel the project and returned to Brest in September. The present correspondence, written between April 28 and June 3, 1779, recalls the next departure of the Orvilliers squadron and the beginning of its mission]. Brest 28 [April]. "I am busy with my ship, the weather is awful; La Motte Picquet continues not to find a single little moment, this is what happens and what often makes one regret the indecision in the parties. On an idea insufficiently explained so that the squadron and the convoy went to Rochefort to incorporate this one which is at the isle of Aix, Messrs. de Guichen and La Motte Picquet sent a letter to find out whether they still had this idea, or whether they thought that the minister might come up with the idea of supporting the 25 ships that they hope to have ready on May 15, by joining the four released in Lorient... We are waiting to find out the fate of the Engageante and the rest of the convoy. All of this is a great deal of activity for the privateers"... Brest 12 May. "At least a few days before the lifting of the anchors, it would be necessary to prescribe handlebars to replace the flags of the chiefs, and on this point I am determined to refuse to display my simple flame, to which I have been reduced and imitated by Mr. Hector and Mr. Beausset. Mr. de S[artine] must be a very strange man, to have us say in his letter of March 12 that he has enough generals... and now that he seems to agree that he has almost nothing at all to make up for the generals that his list has been able to provide, to lull us to sleep and make us wait at the last of all ends... the form that has been allowed to take in this war is most distressing for those who were ardently engaged in it. The inaction of Ponant's forces, the ridiculous stay of our frigates in the harbours or ports, even of vessels as susceptible as mine of advantageous marching, the disorder of the arsenal, the lack of leaders for its detail; the lack of other leaders for the hospitals, the magazines, the classes, the sponges to be fired from the intermediate ports: in general, the whole organization of a navy in motion, has made its movement late and quite fruitless. Brest 19 May. "The junction of the 3 ships of Rochefort, the two of Toulon, especially the extreme difficulty of completing the army, are obstacles that it will be possible to overcome before the end of the month. [...] I regret the awful breaches that diseases have made to my crew and to the others. One must forever feel that those who for the past two years have been crying out for barracks and hospitals see well, and are being made up for in the best way possible by raising barracks"... aboard the Conqueror on June 3. "The example of so many sailors, victims here of our deficits in barracks, hospitals, etc., must excite us from the moment we leave to work assiduously. M. de Sartine scait all that I wrote to him so that we could dislodge the Capuchins without being satisfied with the vain help of their cloister for our convalescents. We have to take everything, it has been two years since this had to be done, we will house 800 to 1000 convalescents there "... We enclose: a reply from the viscount (Marly, May 5, 1779); a P.S. from the knight on his reception in the Order of Saint Lazarus, May 12, 1779. - 3 minutes of letters from Monteil to Sartine, Brest, aboard the Conqueror, April-May 1779, asking for his promotion to the rank of head of a squadron (which he will obtain in May 1779). - 7 letters (most of them l.a.s.) to him, 1779, concerning his reception into the Order of Saint Lazarus, a matter concerning the Marquis de Mirepoix, a deputy commissioner of the navy who had served in India, the departure of the Spanish fleet from Cadiz, his appointment to the rank of head of wing, a delivery of flour aboard the Conqueror, etc. - 5 pieces (including 4 autographs), [1779]: copy of an order to Du Couédic; on his intention to "hold the sea" only until September 8 at the most counts
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