- Albin Roussin
Albin Reine Roussin (
21 April 1781 –21 February 1854 ) was a Frenchadmiral and statesman.Republic and Empire
His father was a lawyer who was arrested during the
French Revolution when Roussin was aged twelve. He left home inDijon and travelled toDunkerque where he enlisted as a cadet in theFrench Navy in December of 1793. He served from 1794 to 1797 on various frigates. In 1801 he sat and passed themidshipman s exam following to lessons from thehydrographer Jean Petit-Genet.His first posting as an officer was to command a
gunboat atAntwerp , part of the "National Flotilla" of coastal ships, collecting in various Channel ports forNapoleon 's projected invasion ofEngland . By 1803 he was promoted to ensign and embarked aboard thefrigate "Sémillante" under the command of CaptainLéonard-Bernard Motard . They would spend six years in theIndian Ocean , based onRéunion , preying on British shipping bound to and fromIndia .The worn-out "Sémillante" was paid off at
Mauritius in 1808 after sustaining damage in a fight with theRoyal Navy frigate "Terpsichore". Roussin was promoted tolieutenant and posted to the corvette "Iéna". A cruise in thePersian Gulf and theBay of Bengal ended when the "Iéna" encountered the 46-gun Royal Navy frigate "Modeste" offCalcutta and was captured after a two-hour engagement on8 October 1808 . Roussin and his captain, Lieutenant Maurice, were exchanged at the end of 1809 and returned to Réunion. Roussin was appointed second in command to Bouvet de Maisonneuve aboard the frigate "Minerve", a prize taken byGuy-Victor Duperré . Roussin received a mention in Bouvet's dispatches for his conduct during thebattle of Grand Port in August 1810. However, the French success at Grand Port was only a temporary setback to British plans to conquer Mauritius and Réunion, and GovernorComte Decaen finally signed a capitulation in December.Roussin was repatriated to France where he met the Emperor, who confirmed his promotion to
Captain and presented him with thelégion d'honneur . Roussin was posted to command the frigate "Gloire" fitting out atLe Havre . After training, he cruised in theAtlantic Ocean from December 1812 to April 1813, taking fifteen prizes, including twosloop s.Bourbon rule
Under the restored monarchy of
Louis XVIII , Roussin was promoted again and made aChevalier de St Louis . When Napoleon returned to power during theHundred Days , he was dismissed, but returned to service when Louis XVIII was again restored.Following the infamous wreck of the "Medusa" off the
Senegal coast in 1816, Roussin was given the task of surveying the African coast from Senegal toGuinea by Minster of Marine Count Molé. Following this, he surveyed the mouth of theRiver Amazon in 1819. He was made aBaron in 1820. In 1821 he took a squadron toSouth America , ostensibly to protect French trade, but with secret instructions to seek a quarrel with the forces fighting for independence fromSpain led bySimón Bolívar ,Bernardo O'Higgins andJosé de San Martín . Returning to France in 1822, he was promoted toRear Admiral . From 1824 until 1827 he served in administrative posts ashore.Roussin returned to sea in May 1828, flying his flag aboard the ship of the line "Jean Bart". He led a squadron to
Brazil to persuade, throughgunboat diplomacy if need be, the Brazilian Emperor Pedro I to pay compensation for French ships captured by the Brazilian Navy during theArgentina-Brazil War . He arrived offRio de Janeiro on5 July 1828 and simply sailed into the harbour, ignoring the guns at the entrance, anchoring off the city. After saluting the Brazilian flag, he requested and received an audience with Emperor Pedro where the damages to be paid to French shipowners were agreed. On his return to France, Roussin was congratulated for solving the problem by diplomacy, and was appointed by King Charles X to the honorary post ofGentleman of the bedchamber .On
25 January 1830 he was elected to theFrench Academy of Sciences in recognition of his work ongeography andnavigation . He would later serve as member of the Bureau studyinglongitudes . Later in 1830 he turned the offer of commanding the naval force which supported Bourmont's attack on Algiers.Louis-Philippe
The
July Revolution which brought Louis-Philippe to the throne, unlike the return of Napoleon in 1815, did not interrupt Roussin's career. he was given responsible for personnel at the Navy Ministry, in which post he oversaw the creation of theÉcole Navale at Brest.He served as Minister of Marine from
1 March 1840 to29 October 1840 and again from7 February 1843 to24 July 1843 when he retired due to ill-healthFamily
Roussin married in 1814 with Illumante Bihet Pontigny. They had two daughters and a son, Albert, who was later an admiral and also served as Minister of Marine.
References
* Granier, Hubert, "Histoire des marins français (1815–1870): La marche vers la République." Nantes: Marines éditions, 2002. ISBN 978-2-909675-72-5
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