Charles Baudin was born on 21 July 1784 in Paris. His father was
Pierre Charles Louis Baudin, a politician who became president of the
National Convention. From 1800 to 1803, Baudin served as a midshipman on
Géographe and took part in her
expedition to Australia. Baudin then served in the West Indies on board the
frigate Piémontaise and later the , where he lost an arm in 1808 during her battle against . In 1809, he became Lieutenant and Commander of the brig , which escorted convoys of merchant vessels between Genoa and Toulon. In 1812, he received the order to convey 14 munitions-laden cargo vessels to
Toulon. Although he was pursued by English cruisers, he was able to take his squadron safely to
St. Tropez, notably engaging on 11 June. In Toulon he was promoted to Captain. After the
battle of Waterloo he was prepared to lead his defeated Emperor
Napoleon I through the midst of the English cruisers; Napoleon, however, could not make up his mind in time. After the
Restoration, Baudin was forced into retirement, and in 1816 joined the
merchant marine. Under the
July Monarchy, he returned to military service and was promoted to Captain in 1834. In 1838, he became a Rear Admiral and became Commander-in-Chief of the squadron sent to Mexico during the so-called "
Pastry War". In this conflict he commanded the French forces at the
Battle of Veracruz on 27 November 1838, against the fort of Vera Cruz, San Juan de Ulúa. The fort gave itself up the next day. In January 1839, Baudin was named a Vice Admiral and in the following year he was entrusted with a military and diplomatic mission to Buenos Aires. He also received command over the fleet in South American waters. In 1841, he took over the Ministry of Marine, but quickly resigned and became maritime prefect in Toulon. In 1848, after the
February Revolution, he became commander-in-chief of France's Mediterranean Fleet. In this position, he took part in the Battle of Lazzaroni and of troops against Naples, and then moved toward Sicily, where he was defeated by the forces of
Carlo Filangieri. In 1849, Baudin returned with his family to
Ischia, where he died on 7 June 1854. Not long beforehand, he had been named a full Admiral. ==Notes, citations, and references==