Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetLouis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet
Naval officer
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Nice, Provence-Alpes-CĂ´te d'Azur, France
About Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet
- Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet (1757–1815) was a French Navy officer, famous for his bravery at the Battle of Trafalgar.
- He was born of humble origins near Toulon, a relative of André Masséna, he was rough and spoke in a strong Provençal accent.
- He joined the French Navy as a cabin boy and performed 'powder monkey' duties too.
- He was a tall man for the time 5 ft 10 in (2 m) and of open, agreeable personality. Infernet captained Intrépide, a Spanish-built 74-gun ship of the line, at the Battle of Trafalgar.
- Intrépide was part of Dumanoir's six-ship vanguard squadron; Nelson's plan left these ships downwind and away from the fight, and Dumanoir did not answer Villeneuve's calls to tack and return to engage the English.
- Eventually, Infernet outraged at Dumanoir's lack of hunger for a fight ordered his ship turned.
- This was a difficult manoeuvre as the wind had died, but Intrépide was turned after a pulling was lowered, and eventually enough way was gathered to enter the battle.
- Intrépide engaged HMS Leviathan and Africa, soon rejoined by Agamemnon, Ajax, Orion and Conqueror.
- Pressed to surrender, Infernet answered in Nice dialect: By then, Intrépide had lost all her masts, half her crew and was filled with 8 ft (2.4 m) of water.
- Still Infernet did not wish to surrender, but he was held down in tears as his colours were lowered.
- Along with others he swam for it, carrying his son, a 10-year old midshipman, with him.
- He was picked up by HMS Orion, where the English, recognizing his bravery treated him, and his crew, with great respect.
- Intrépide was scuttled the next day to avoid recapture by Cosmao's squadron. Infernet was taken to England, and later, like most senior captains and admirals was exchanged after a few months. Along with captain Lucas, he was presented to Napoleon at Saint-Cloud.
- Napoleon stated After the Bourbon Restoration, Infernet was appointed Knight of the Order of Saint Louis on 18 August 1814.
- Nevertheless, he was cast aside, and died in Toulon on 15 May 1815.
Read more at Wikipedia