Eustache Bruix

Vice-admiral

A native of the New World - he was born in Fort-Dauphin, on the island of Saint-Domingue, on July 17, 1759 - Eustache Bruix cut his teeth in the American Revolutionary War, shortly after joining the navy in 1778.

A lieutenant in 1786, he was elected to the Académie de Marine in 1791, then appointed captain in early 1793, before being dismissed because of his noble origins.

Reinstated in June 1794, he served as major-general of Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse's fleet, then became major-general in Brest in October 1795, division chief in November 1796, and took part in the Irish expedition as chief of staff in December.

He was promoted Rear-Admiral in May 1797, then Minister of the Navy and Colonies in April 1798. In this post, for just over a year, he strove to remedy the profound state of disorganization in which his arm found itself.

In July 1798, on leaving the Ministry, Bruix took command of a squadron - he had been vice-admiral since March - and set sail from Brest to supply Malta and re-establish communications with the egyptian expedition, interrupted by the french defeat at the battle of the Nile. He failed in his attempt, but managed to supply Genoa, then under siege, before returning to Brest.

Commander of the Rochefort squadron in 1801, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Naval Army in 1802, he had to give up sailing in June of that year due to the first signs of illness. The First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte then appointed him State Councillor (September), and entrusted him with command of the Boulogne flotilla (July 1803), destined to land in England.

Despite sometimes difficult relations with Napoleon, Bruix was appointed Inspector General of the Ocean Coast in July 1804. On October 1, he foiled Horatio Nelson's attempt to set fire to the Boulogne flotilla with fire ships, his last exploit.

Illness took him to Paris, where he succumbed to tuberculosis on March 18, 1805.

He was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, 36th division .

Bruix's name is inscribed on the 13th column (east pillar) of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile . The name was also given to a battleship cruiser launched by the French navy in 1894.