Suffren.

Suffren. Pierre André de Suffren Saint-Tropès, a French naval hero, was born a younger son of a good Provence family, July 17, 1729. At fourteen he entered the navy, and first saw fire in the indecisive action with the English off Toulon in 1744. He took part in the unsuccessful attempt to recapture Cape Breton (1746), was captured by Hawke in the Bay of Biscay the next year, but soon exchanged, and after the peace went to Malta and served for six years amongst the Knights Hospitallers. Again in the French service, he took part in the action off Minorea (May 1756), was again captured in Boscawen's destruction of the Toulon fleet (1759), after the peace of 1763 cruised in the Mediterranean for the protection of trade, and took part in the bombardment of Sallee in 1765. Commander in 1767, he served four years in the service of Malta, and returned to France to the rank of captain in 1772. Early in 1777 he sailed to America, and his ship began the indecisive battle of Grenada on 6th July 1779. He next served with the allied fleet blockading Gibraltar, and early in 1781 was placed in command of a squadron of five ships for service in the East Indies. After an action at the Cape Verd Islands, he outsailed Commodore Johnstone to the Cape, and so saved the colony for the time. Sailing to Madras, he fought a hard but indecisive battle off Sadras, and soon after, in a bloody two days' battle off Providien on the coast of Ceylon, proved himself a consummate master of naval tactics. But he had to struggle against scurvy, want of supplies, and, still worse, the disaffection and cowardice of his senior officers. Having captured Trincomalee, he two days later stood out of the harbour with fifteen ships against the English twelve, and fought a hard but irregular battle. His last fight (June 1783) was also indecisive. Suffren arrived in Paris early in 1784, and was received with the greatest honours, and created vice-admiral of France. He died suddenly at Paris, 8th December 1788, most probably of apoplexy, to which his extreme corpulence made him subject. Frenchmen give the Bailli de Suffren (he had been made Bailli of the Order of Malta) the most exaggerated praises, and Professor Laughton styles him 'one of the most dangerous enemies the English fleets have ever met, and without exception the most illustrious officer that has ever held command in the French navy.' See Laughton's Studies in Naval History (1887).