Your American History Reference Guide!
- Louis de Casabianca

HistoryMania Information Site on Louis de Casabianca American History American History Search        American History Browse welcome to our free resource site for all enthusiasts!

Louis de Casabianca

Louis de Casabianca (c.1755 - 1798) was a French naval officer. He was captain of the L'Orient, the principle ship of the fleet which carried Napoleon Bonaparte and his army to Egypt.

At the Battle of the Nile (August 1, 1798), when Nelson attacked the French fleet in the Bay of Aboukir , Casabianca fought bravely until he was killed. During the battle, he ordered his ten-year old son to a certain part of the ship and told him to stay there until he called him. Not knowing of his father's death, the boy stood at his post while the ship caught fire. He refused to leave the ship with the others because he had no orders to go. The fire soon reached the powder magazine, and the boy was blown up with the ship.

Felicia Hemans commemorated the event with a poem, titled "Casabianca," which made the son more famous than the father.

The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
Search | Browse | Contact | Legal info