Gaud-Amable Hugon went aboard in 1794, a ship's boy of eleven, and never had any other schooling. He fought at Navarino, the battle that broke the Ottoman fleet and made Greece independent, then hunted pirates in the Aegean. His last battle was technical: he defended steam before officers trained under sail. He died a senator, in 1862.
The story
Born at Granville on 31 January 1783, he went to sea as a cabin boy in 1794, aged eleven. The navy was his only apprenticeship and his only school.
He fought at Navarino in 1827, where the allied fleet crushed the Ottoman navy and sealed Greek independence: aboard the Armide, he sank an enemy frigate. He then commanded the transports of the Algiers expedition, in 1830.
A rear admiral in 1831, he cleared the Aegean of the pirates infesting it, then led a mission to Constantinople in 1840. Greece would award him the grand cross of its Order of the Redeemer.
His last battle was an administrative one: on the Admiralty Board, which he chaired several times, he played a large part in building France's steam navy.
A senator in 1852 and grand cross of the Légion d'honneur, he died in Paris on 1 December 1862 and lies in Division 58, avenue Circulaire, third row, under a sarcophagus bearing his coat of arms.
The grave
A sarcophagus adorned with a coat of arms, whose inscription tells of a rise in the order in which it happened: “Gaud Amable HUGON, born in Granville on 31 January 1783, went to sea as a ship's boy in 1794, died in Paris on 1 December 1862. Vice admiral, baron, senator.” Few epitaphs at Père-Lachaise mention the first job before the titles; this one makes it the argument.
On site, do not miss
The epitaph follows the order of the life, not that of the honours: “born in Granville on 31 January 1783, went to sea as a ship's boy in 1794, died in Paris on 1 December 1862. Vice admiral, baron, senator.”
Visitors' questions
Where is Admiral Hugon's grave?
In Division 58, avenue Circulaire, third row, beneath a sarcophagus adorned with his coat of arms. The Division is small and little visited: it also holds the dancer Pierre Lacotte and the composer Hippolyte Monpou.
Pierre LacotteIs it true that he went to sea as a ship's boy at eleven?
Yes, in 1794, and his epitaph says so before anything else: “parti mousse en 1794” — went to sea as a ship's boy in 1794. He ended as a vice admiral, a baron and a senator — one of the few of his generation to have climbed the whole naval hierarchy from the deck up.
Admiral BaudinWhat part did he play in Greece?
He fought at Navarino, the battle that decided Greek independence, then cleared the Aegean of its pirates. Greece awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer, a rare distinction for a foreign officer.
Charles Nicolas FabvierWhat did he do for the steam navy?
He was one of its champions, at a time when most officers, trained under sail, distrusted it. It was the most profound technical transformation the French navy underwent in the nineteenth century.
Hippolyte MonpouAudio guide to Père Lachaise: the best unusual guided tour!
Discover the secrets of the most astonishing tombs
the audio guidefrom€6.99