Parseval Deschen, Alexander Ferdinand

Born in Paris on November 27, 1790, the son of the general tax collector, nephew of mathematician Marc-Antoine Parseval and academician Oransua-Auguste Parseval-Granmeson .

He entered the naval service in 1804, and in 1805, in the squadron of Admiral Latouche Treville, he first participated in the capture of Fort Diamond at Martinique , and then on the battleship Bucentaure in the battle at Cape Finisterre and in the Battle of Trafalgar . Having escaped from the Battle of Trafalgar, Parseval Deschen on his ship was shipwrecked at the entrance to the Cadiz raid. Rescued by the fishermen, the surviving sailors from the Bucentaure walked through all of Spain and returned to France in 1805.

Since then, Parseval Deschen has continuously been in sea voyages. In 1808, he was a member of the Italienne frigate and in 1809 distinguished himself in the battle with the English squadron at Le Sables d'Olonne , earning Midshipman epaulettes there. From September of that year he was on the frigate "Dryade", which remained until April 1814, after which he continued sailing in the Mediterranean Sea on various ships.

In August 1817, Parseval Deschen was appointed commander of the schooner Santarelle and sent to South America . There he compiled an extensive description of the coast of Guiana and the course of the Orinoco River. In September 1819 he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1822, Parseval Deschen was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor and appointed brigade commander of the Faune for the salvation of the crew of the frigate Africaine, in 1827 he received the rank of captain of the 2nd rank, and in October 1828 he was awarded the Knights of the Order of St. Louis . For the difference in the Algerian expedition, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank.

From 1834 to 1839, Parseval Deschain successively commanded the Suffren, frigates Didon and Iphigénie. Commanding the last ship, he took part in an expedition to Santo Domingo , and then sailed off the coast of Mexico , blocked Veracruz .

At the beginning of 1839, Parseval-Deschen returned to France and was granted the rank of commander of the Legion of Honor and was appointed commander of the Océan ship, and was promoted to rear admiral on April 30. In this rank, he corrected the post of chief of staff of the Toulon squadron, then he was a sea prefect in Cherbourg and in 1841 led the squadron of the Mediterranean Sea. In May 1844 he was awarded the title of Great Officer of the Legion of Honor, and on July 15, 1846 he was promoted to vice admiral .

From July 1847 to July 1848 he managed the sea prefecture of Toulon, from 1849 to 1851 he again commanded the Mediterranean squadron, then met in the technical committee and was chairman of the Admiralty Council. January 26, 1852 appointed senator.

With the outbreak of the Eastern War, Parseval Deschen was appointed commander of the Brest Squadron and, together with the British fleet, sailed to the Baltic Sea. There he was during the capture of Bomarzund and the blockade of Sveaborg and Kronstadt . A few days after the capture of Bomarzund, Parseval Deschain was promoted to admiral of France and awarded a large cross of the Legion of Honor.

On November 24, 1855, Parseval Deschen retired. He died on June 10, 1860 in Paris , was buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery .

• Zayonchkovsky A.M. The Eastern War. T. 2. St. Petersburg., 2002
• Obituary // Marine Collection, 1860, August
• Biographie détaillée et illustrée de l'amiral de Parseval-Deschênes.