DECRÈS (Denis) - Lot 223

DECRÈS (Denis) Chaumont, 1761 - Paris, 1820. Minister of the Navy and Colonies under the Consulate and First Empire, Vice-Admiral, Grand Officer of the Empire. L.A.S. "Decrès" addressed to the Commissaire principal de marine in Bayonne. [S.l.n.d., July 1808]. One-third of a folio page on laid paper. Very rare autograph service bill written in the context of French naval operations to the West Indies during the Spanish and Napoleonic wars. Decrès gives an immediate order concerning the brig L'Oreste and the transmission of a package intended for its captain: "...If the Brick l'Oreste has not left, hand over the enclosed package to the Capte on the spot." A short but evocative command piece illustrating the urgency of maritime communications under the Empire and the strategic role of the port of Bayonne in French naval links to the colonies. The document probably relates to Napoleon I's stay in Bayonne between April and July 1808, when the Emperor was personally in charge of Spanish affairs. Several ships, including the brig L'Oreste, were mobilized to supply Martinique and Guadeloupe. Handsome autograph signature by Decrès. Minister of the Navy from 1801 to 1814, Denis Decrès was one of the main organizers of the Imperial Navy and a close collaborator of Napoleon, playing an essential role in the Empire's naval and colonial administration.