[NAVY - MOROCCO - SALÉ BOMBARDMENT]. DUBOURDIEU (Louis). Aut - Lot 304

[NAVY - MOROCCO - SALÉ BOMBARDMENT]. DUBOURDIEU (Louis). Autograph manuscript signed and dated November 29, 1851, 4 pages. Orders of the day following the two-day bombardment of the city of Salé by the French army, which took place on November 26 and 27, 1851, in reprisal for the looting of the cargo of a grounded cargo ship. France's failure to respond to France's demand for repayment of this stock led to a breakdown in diplomatic relations between the two countries. France accused the inhabitants of Salé of piracy and appointed Rear-Admiral Dubourdieu to obtain redress by force and example. Following the bombardment of Salé, Louis Dubourdieu was promoted to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, then Vice-Admiral in February 1852. Here, he gives an account of the French point of view on the attack, and salutes the attack of the French soldiers: "Ordre du jour n°1 Aux commandants, officiers, maîtres et marins de la division expéditionnaire du Maroc. Mes chers et braves camarades, reçoivent tous l'expression de ma haute satisfaction pour votre admirable conduite dans l'attaque de Salé. I expected a great deal from you; what you did exceeded my expectations. A single vessel, aided by two steam frigates, sustained the fire of two strongholds for seven and a half hours. Despising the firing too far from Rabat, against which we had, moreover, no cause for recrimination, we confined ourselves to crushing the town of Salé to punish it for the infamous act of piracy which its inhabitants had committed against a French ship and for which they refused to grant us reparation. Before starting the attack, I did my share of humanity and waited until the English Consul's family and the Christians present on the scene had taken the azile I had offered them aboard the Caton. You fought valiantly despite the difficulties of the roll, and our excellent gunners successively dismantled all Salé's maritime defenses. The resistance was worthy of our efforts, but it had to give way before the audacity of your maneuvers and the superiority of your fire. From 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., the enemy fired back as long as they had a single gun mounted. When their fire was completely extinguished, I had ours continue for another three-quarters of an hour, to confirm our success and make more serious the punishment we were inflicting on this city of Pirates. When we withdrew from our fighting position, the glow of the fire ignited in the upper town by our shells bore witness to the terrible effect of our attack. After this vigorous operation, the French government's orders were fulfilled: it had obtained, willingly or not, the satisfaction it was due. Brave men of the Henry IV, the Sané and the Gomer, France will be grateful to you for having flown its flag so worthily before Salé. Some of my brothers-in-arms met a glorious death: honor to their memory! Others have been wounded; they will be reported to the benevolence of the government. Finally, I shall call upon the most deserving among you to receive the just rewards that are their due. The weakness of the two avisos, the Caton and the Narval, and the need to reserve means of towing in the event of serious damage, have determined me (quite reluctantly) not to engage these two small vessels in fire. I express my regrets, as do their crews, who would have been happy to join our efforts and share our dangers. Your affectionate and grateful Commander-in-Chief C. Admiral L. Dubourdieu Done on board the Henri IV, off Tangier, November 29, 1851. The Admiral informs the division of the following communication he has just received from the Consul General in charge of French affairs in Morocco: "Everything is over with Tangier. The inhabitants have given me all the satisfaction I asked for. I was moderate. After Salé, I could be. In your name, I promised the city salvation, as we had agreed. As a result, the Rear-Admiral in command, after having been notified by a convention signal that the required satisfactions had been fulfilled, has just saluted the city of Tangier under his flag with 21 cannon shots, which were immediately returned to us. This new result is due to the impression produced by the Division's fine feat of arms; it also does the utmost credit to the skill and firmness of our worthy representative, Monsieur Bourrée, whom you saw share with us the dangers of the attack on Salé. Le C.