Pierre-Édouard Plucket

Plucket started sailing on a privateer in 1778; he was taken prisoner in England after the British Amphitrite captured his ship,[5] and was exchanged after several escape attempts.[4] Promoted to officer, he took command of a merchantman and was almost wrecked in Ireland in July 1791; rescued, he took several soldiers hostage to avoid paying salvage fees and escaped, returning his captives on fishing ships encountered en route.[6]

After the War of the First Coalition broke out, Plucket took command of the privateer brig Sans-Culotte nantais, with fourteen 4-pounder guns. In March, he captured two Dutch and six British ships.[7]

Plucket then transferred on the 18-gun brig Patriote de Brest, property of the State. On 15 May, he battled a 26-gun British corvette for one hour, before the ships parted. On the 24th, he engaged a 20-gun East Indiaman,[8] trying unsuccessfully to board her before a British frigate drove him away.[9] On 1 June, Patriote sprang a leak, forcing Plucket to jettison all but two of his guns, and make a hasty return to Brest; chased by British 28-gun corvette on the 6th, he fought a three-hour running battle before reaching the safety of Île de Batz. Patriote then returned to Brest by way of Morlaix, taking passage with a convoy escorted by two corvettes.[10] The population gave the wounded Plucket a triumphal reception and the nickname of "second Jean Bart".[10]

Plucket then joined the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant. He served on the 74-guns Tigre and Jemmapes, taking part in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794.[11]

On 5 October 1795,[note 1] he took command of the corvette Jalouse. Vestal, under the command of Captain Charles White, captured Jalouse at about 5a.m. on 13 May near Elsinor after a chase of about nine hours and running about 84 hours. Plucket was taken prisoner but escaped, disguised as a physician, and returned to Amsterdam and from there to France. The court-martial reviewing the loss of Jalouse acquitted him.[12]

Plucket then took command of the privateer Résolu, chartered to ferry troops to Ireland. He took four prizes but had to abandon two of them to escape a frigate and a cutter.[13] He eventually returned to Calais after 78 days, having captured 19 ships.[14]

Plucket then returned to the Navy as second-in-command of the frigate Poursuivante, under Castaignier. He later took temporary command of Poursuivante, before passing it to Lhermitte.[14]

Unable to garner financial gain from his prizes, he retired and eventually returned to Dunkirk.

• Promoted to Knight of the Legion of Honour on 21 September 1840.[15]

• A street in Dunkirk has born his name since 30 October 1958.[16]