Félicité Louis Urbain MENOUVRIER de FRESNE (1783–1848). - Lot 100

Félicité Louis Urbain MENOUVRIER de FRESNE (1783–1848). A beautiful commemorative award sword. Gold sword of the type used by staff officers, Vendémiaire Year XII model. Pommel in the form of a plumed helmet with a grille. Commemorative shaft with four gold plates adorned with eight chain-link bands, engraved on the obverse with “City of St. Pierre Martque to Mr. Menouvrier de Fresne, Lieutenant of the Navy, commanding the BRICK of His Majesty the King, LE CYGNE” and, decorated below, with two crossed anchors; on the reverse, “In memory of its valiant defense on December 12 and 13, 1808, at Anse du Céron against six English vessels,” decorated below with an engraving of a “cannon on a carriage.” Guard with a single-branch, flanged crossguard, featuring a lion’s head hook, flanged, adorned in the center with a stylized faceted motif known as a “diamond,” embellished on either side with foliage; and two straight quillons chiseled in a continuous pattern. The body knot is carved with trophies featuring helmets and foliage, resting on a serrated ring with continuous decoration. A bivalve guard edged and decorated with foliage, with a quillon adorned with a palm frond, turned up on one side. A beautiful triangular blade, engraved, gilded, and blued halfway down, featuring motifs of foliage and trophies of arms. Black morocco leather scabbard, with a cut-out gold pommel engraved with a frieze at the base, and a pommel button embellished with a radiating star motif (compass rose). Brass pommel cap engraved with a continuous frieze (on the back). Enclosed is a substantial file containing: - the report by Lieutenant MENOUVRIER-DEFRESNE (14 pages), recounting the battle and the scuttling of his ship in the Anse on December 12 and 13, 1808: “…Left to my own devices on a coast that was unknown to me, I did everything in my power to save the ship: two of my boats were rowing ahead to tow me out to sea. I had my jibs and fore-and-aft mainsail hoisted and trimmed. I was about to drop a grapnel anchor to head out to sea; we were preparing to place it in the boat when I learned that the ship was taking on water, that it was flooding everywhere, and that the little powder I had left was waterlogged. I immediately had my rowboat launched and rescued my wounded and my crew. My battery was loaded. From time to time I fired a cannon shot to conceal my situation from the enemy division; they easily caught up with me and shelled me. Only my staff and a gunner remained on board; we were sinking rapidly. Under these circumstances, we set the bow on fire with a barrel of tar and abandoned the ship after throwing the firearms overboard so that the enemy could not make use of them. They fired at us relentlessly, yet they did not send landing craft to board the Cygne until it had been burning for three-quarters of an hour and was already submerged. Although attacked by seven ships in this second engagement, I had no wounded, and I have no one’s death to mourn. Only the ship itself was lost; we salvaged the flour, part of the wine and salted meats, as well as the armaments…”, —a letter from François Joseph Bouvet, rear admiral and military commander at the port of Brest, dated 30 Vendémiaire, Year 14, ordering Mr. Menouvrier-Defresne to embark on his frigate, La Comète, to carry out the duties of his rank, -a letter of congratulations from the Commissioners of Commerce, dated December 15, 1808, addressed to Mr. Menouvrier-Defresne: “… having learned with deep sympathy of the loss suffered by your crew of part of their belongings, they have instructed us to offer you a small sum to compensate for it…”, -a letter from the Royal Secretariat of State for the Royal Household and Orders of Knighthood, dated November 30, 1821, appointing him Knight of the Order of Saint Ferdinand, -a letter from the Ministry of the Navy and Colonies, dated March 9, 1831, appointing him Commander of the Royal Order of the Legion of Honor, -a drawing depicting his sash and the dagger that had been presented to him along with the sword by the city of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, -a photograph of the sword we are presenting. Biography: Félicité Louis Urbain MENOUVRIER DEFRESNE (Paris, 1783 – Lorient, 1848). After a difficult childhood, he joined the Navy—not without difficulty—around 1797, at the age of 14. He began as a ship’s boy on several French frigates (bricks or ships), serving on missions notably to Cádiz and Saint-Domingue. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1806 and later to Captain. His career is best known for his command of the warship *Le Cygne* during the Napoleonic Wars. On November 10, 1808, Menouvrier de Fresne set sail from Cherbourg aboard *Le Cygne*, bound for Martinique, which was then under British blockade. After being spotted by British forces in the Anse du Cé