1792 French Naval Decree to Pay Officers’ Allowances

On offer is damaged document that connects directly with the Napoleonic Wars and France’s naval forces.

This torn piece goes right through all 4 pages.

The document is a legal decree regarding officers in the French Navy. It addressed the payments of allowances owed to them. The decree is numbered 1282 and was issued on May 1st, 1792 and notes that this was the 4th year of Liberty.

At that time, Louis XVI was still King but the country was sliding inexorably into chaos. It was now ruled by a National Assembly and only a few months later, in January 1793, Louis would be executed by the mob.

The French Navy suffered during the French Revolution. As a result of crushing national debts leading up to the Revolution, the Navy was already in a weakened state. The arrival of a revolutionary government did not help. There was a general suspicion of the mostly aristocratic officer corps and many were either summarily dismissed from service or fled. As a result, the organization that is so vital to sustaining a naval service was severely compromised. While Napoleon was able to build a formidable army, he was unsuccessful with his navy. After Trafalgar, the French Navy ceased to be a credible threat to the British Royal Navy.

An excerpt of the document follows:

Aux payments des appintmens des Officiers de la Marine L'Assemblee Nationale, apres avoir entendu le rapport de son comite, considerant que le payment des appointmens des Officiers crete il y'a urgence...

[Translation: Towards the payments of the allowances of the officers of the Navy The National Assembly, after having heard the report of its committee, considering that the payment of the officers' allowances is urgent…]

For a historian this document ties directly into the world of the Napoleonic Wars and the great naval battles that were fought around the world between the French and British Navies.

The document measures 9.5 inches by 7.25 inches. It is a 4-piece, folded over sheet that is printed on three pages. The document has been damaged with a large portion of the upper left corner torn away.