MARINE La BELLE POULE - Letter from the King to... Lot 67

[MARINE] La BELLE POULE - Letter from the King to Mr de La Prévalaye. 28 June 1778. 2 pages in-4 handwritten. Probably a copy of the time. Precious historical document retracing the battle of the Belle Poule and the Arethusa on June 17, 1778, denouncing the disloyal maneuvers of the English and in conclusion giving instructions "...to the Commanders of Frigates and vessels leaving Brest to attack all the ships belonging to the King of England...". On her return from America and under the command of Jean-Isaac Chadeau de la Clochèterie, she confronted the British frigate HMS Arethusa (32 guns) on the evening of June 17, 1778, between Plouescat and Lizard Cape. The frigate La Licorne and the lugger Le Coureur had to fly their flags1. The second in command, Le Grain de Saint-Marceau, was killed. There were 30 dead and a hundred wounded on the French side, but the Arethusa lost a mast and had to escape under the protection of the British fleet. In Brest, where the frigate had to be refloated following this first engagement of the American war, the reception was enthusiastic. It is indeed the first French victory at sea since 1756 1. This battle was the casus belli of King Louis XVI of France to declare war on his cousin King George III of the United Kingdom. This confrontation is also known to have triggered a patriotic and warmongering wave in Versailles and Paris, marked by the decoration of the Clochèterie by the King and by the fashion for Belle Poule hairstyles (representing the frigate, including sails and ropes in lacquered hair).