François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a French admiral.
François-Joseph De Grasse was born and raised at Bar-sur-Loup (in what is now Alpes-Maritimes) in southeastern France, the last child of a noble who earned his title and supported his Provençal family. At the age of eleven, he entered the Order of Malta as a page of the Grand Master. In 1734, de Grasse became an ensign on the...
more
François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a French admiral.
François-Joseph De Grasse was born and raised at Bar-sur-Loup (in what is now Alpes-Maritimes) in southeastern France, the last child of a noble who earned his title and supported his Provençal family. At the age of eleven, he entered the Order of Malta as a page of the Grand Master. In 1734, de Grasse became an ensign on the galleys of the Knights Hospitaller and, in 1741, he entered the French Navy.
Following Britain's victory over the French in the Seven Years War de grasse helped rebuild the French navy in the years after the Treaty of Paris.
In 1776, the American War of Independence against Great Britain began and the French Navy was assigned to assist the American cause. As a commander of a division, de Grasse served under Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers at the First Battle of Ushant from July 23 to 27, 1778. In 1779, he joined the fleet of Count d...
less
