LAFONT (Louis Charles Georges) - Lot 214

LAFONT (Louis Charles Georges) Fort-Royal (Martinique), 1825 - 1908. French vice-admiral. First Adjutant of the Navy in Brest, then Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Flotilla. P.A.S. "Lafont". Brest, 23 brumaire an XI (November 14, 1802), 1 p. in-4. Maritime administrative document concerning the provisioning of a warship. Lafont certifies that "by virtue of General Latouche's orders, three cords of firewood have been delivered to the frigate l'Indienne, as it was about to set sail from the Mole St Nicolas roadstead". The document specifies that "the Cap.ne and the officers of this frigate having left on leave", no receipt could be issued at the time of supply. The certificate will therefore serve as a discharge "to Cit. Babin commis aux vivres du Vau Le Pélago". This is an interesting account of French naval intendance procedures under the Consulate, concerning the supply of fuel for warships prior to departure. The mention of the Môle Saint-Nicolas harbor, an important strategic point in Saint-Domingue, places the document in the context of French naval operations in the West Indies in the early 19th century. A fine administrative and logistical marine document, entirely autographed, with Lafont's clear signature and mention of the vessel Le Pélago.