François-André BAUDIN
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Rear Admiral, Baron of the Empire.
Baudin entered the navy just as the Revolution was emptying it of its officers: the posts remained, and promotion came fast. In 1800 he sailed for the Southern Lands, one of those voyages on which men set out to chart the coasts of Australia in the middle of a war. Having become a rear admiral, he had two ships stranded near Frontignan scuttled rather than leave them to the British. He died in 1842.
The story
Born in Strasbourg on 2 December 1774, François-André Baudin joined a navy the Revolution had emptied of its officers: careers moved fast for those who stayed.
In 1800 he sailed as a lieutenant in Nicolas Baudin's expedition to the Southern Lands — a namesake, no relation — one of those voyages on which France sent scientists to chart Australia in the middle of a war. The expedition's commander judged him “a man in a state of perpetual discontent” and left him behind, sick, on the Île-de-France, today Mauritius, as early as April 1801.
A rear admiral at thirty-three, in 1808, he faced the test that decides a reputation: in October 1809, pursued by a far stronger British squadron, he ran the Robuste and the Lion aground on the shoals near Frontignan. Rather than let them be taken, he had them burnt: the explosion was heard as far as Montpellier.
Made a Baron of the Empire in 1810 and a grand officer of the Légion d'honneur, he went on serving under the France of the restored Bourbons and then the July Monarchy.
He died at Forges-les-Eaux on 18 June 1842 and lies in Division 1, avenue Thirion, first row, in the Baudin family plot, a few steps from the main gate of the cemetery.
The grave
A family grave, whose inscription is an exercise in abbreviation: “Le Bon BAUDIN (Fois André), rear admiral, grand officer of the Legion of Honour, born in Strasbourg on 2 Xbre 1774, died in Forges-les-Eaux on 18 June 1842.” Bon for baron, Fois for François, Xbre for December — and, in the French, an “officer” missing its i, a carver's mistake left in the stone since 1842.
On site, do not miss
The inscription is worth deciphering: “Le Bon BAUDIN (Fois André)” — Bon for baron, Fois for François, Xbre for December. The abbreviations of a century when stone was paid for by the letter.
Visitors' questions
Where is Admiral Baudin's grave?
In Division 1, avenue Thirion, first row, two minutes from the main entrance, in the Baudin family grave. The painter Louis Lemaire rests one row further along, on the same avenue: two tombs of the early nineteenth century at the gates of the cemetery.
Louis LemaireWhat was the expedition to the Southern Lands?
The voyage led from 1800 by Nicolas Baudin to chart the coasts of Australia, with scientists aboard, in the midst of the war against England. François-André Baudin took part in it at the start of his career.
Admiral BruatWhy did he scuttle his ships?
Because the Robuste and the Lion, run aground near Frontignan, were lost in any case: sinking them denied the British two prizes. The decision earned him the title of Baron of the Empire in 1810.
Admiral DecrèsWhat is written on his grave?
“Le Bon BAUDIN (Fois André), contre-amiral, grand officer de la légion d'honneur, né à Strasbourg le 2 Xbre 1774, mort à Forges-les-Eaux le 18 juin 1842” — Baron Baudin (François André), rear admiral, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, born in Strasbourg on 2 December 1774, died at Forges-les-Eaux on 18 June 1842 — with “Bon” for baron, “Xbre” for December and “officer” carved in place of “officier”.
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