L'Argonaute

Posted by Albert Parker on Wednesday 2nd of July 2025 20:47

Adrian Dessalles, /Histoire générale des Antilles/ (1847), vol. 4, pp, 584–87, says that the CO of /Argonaute/ in 1740 was named Monpipeau and names him as the CO when describing his activities in St-Domingue on p. 443. He says that Coulombe was CO of /Amazone/. "Noms des Vaisseaux du roy qu'on arme a Brest et a Rochefort et des Capitaines nommes pour les commandes," Archives nationales, Marine, B4-50, fo. 55, lists the CO of Amazone as "Colombe"; the name of /Argonaute/'s commander initally looked to me like "Magajean" but it does look like "Monpipeau." (Folios 56–58, apparently Dessalles's source, list all the officsers on d'Antin's ships, admirals, captains, lieutenants, and ensigns). The list in the contemporary periodical /Suite de la Clef, ou Journal Historique sur les Matieres du Tems/, vol. 48 (July 1740), pp. 394–395, also gives the CO of /Argonaute/ as "de Montpipeau" and of /Amazone/ as "de Coulombe" [spelling of French names is all over the place in the 1740s].

/Argonaute/ went to the West Indies in 1740 as part of the fleet under the Marquis d'Antin (via Senegal), proceeded with d'Antin from Martinique to Port St. Louis, St.-Domingue, and remained in St.-Domingue when d'Antin returned to France in early 1741. She presumably returned with the other ships he had left there under Squadron-Commander Comte de Roquefeuille, which stayed a couple of weeks longer.