Amand Leduc

Amand Leduc (; Dunkirk, 11 August 1764 — Dunkirk, 18 March 1832 ) was a French sailor and Navy officer of the First French Empire.

Career Born to a family of merchants, Leduc started sailing in the merchant navy on 4 April 1774 as a boy, on the fishing ship Thérèse, of Nieuport. He served on a number of ships before enlisting on the privateer Maraudeur on 18 August 1778. Maraudeur took nine prizes, and Leduc was wounded at the hand during one of the battles. On 23 February 1779, he enlisted on the privateer Calonne, in Dunkirk; on 2 May 1779, Calonne was captured by a British cutter, after a nine-hour fight; Leduc was wounded at the leg, head and forehead.

Freed, Leduc served again on a privateer, the Duc de Fissac, before returning to the merchant navy. He served as an officer on various ships, before earning his commission of sea captain on 17 June 1790. He joined the Navy on 8 June 1793 as an enseigne de vaisseau entretenu and took command of the aviso Entreprise during the Siege of Dunkirk. He distinguished himself at the siege of Collioure. On 25 March 1800, he was appointed to command the frigate Incorruptible and took part in the Raid on Dunkirk, where on was again wounded.

Leduc's expedition in the Arctic In 1806, Leduc was appointed to command a frigate division and sail to the Arctic to prey on British whalers. His division comprised the frigates Sirène, on which he had his flag; Guerrière, under Commander Hubert; Revanche, under Commander Lambert and the brig Néarque, under Lieutenant Jourdain.

The division departed Lorient on 28 March 1806. but she was captured almost immediately by HMS Niobe. he decided to wait off the Azores,

Service on Ville de Berlin, D'Hautpoul and Golymin On 27 October 1806, Ledeux was promoted to captain.

In late 1807, he took command of the 74-gun D'Hautpoul. In 1809, D'Hautpoul took part in Troude's expedition to the Caribbean to ferry troops, food supplies and ammunitions from Lorient to the Saintes. She was captured off Portro Rico by the 74-gun HMS Pompée and the frigates Latona and Castor on 17 April. Leduc was lightly wounded, taken prisoner and released on parole. Golymin was wrecked at Brest on 23 March 1814. The crew was saved without loss of life. The automatic court-martial found him innocent of the loss of his ship.

Leduc was then employed ashore until he retired on 1 January 1816.

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