Bergeret was born in
Bayonne on 15 May 1771, and joined the merchant navy at the age of 12, when he sailed to
Pondicherry aboard the merchantman
Bayonnaise. Two years later, he volunteered for the
French Royal Navy on the corvette
Auguste, bound for an exploration campaign in the Red Sea. In 1786, Bergeret returned to the merchant navy, and quickly rose to the rank of second lieutenant. Prior to 1792, he sailed mostly to
Mauritius. At the French Revolution, Bergeret joined the Navy as an
ensign, in April 1793. He served in convoy escorts aboard the frigate
Andromaque and later aboard the corvette
Unité, notably fighting
HMS Alceste. Promoted to lieutenant, Bergeret was put in command of the frigate
Virginie, and served in
Villaret-Joyeuse's squadron in Brest. He distinguished himself in the
Battle of Groix, and was promoted to Captain in March 1796. On 22 April,
Virginie encountered the division of Sir
Edward Pellew, comprising the 44-gun
razée HMS Indefatigable and the frigates
HMS Argo,
HMS Concord,
HMS Révolutionnaire,
HMS Amazon and their prize
Unité, captured on 13 April.
Virginie retreated and the British squadron gave chase, joining with the French frigate around 23:00.
Indefatigable closed in and exchanged broadsides, without succeeding in her attempts at
raking Virginie. The gunnery exchange lasted for 4 hours, until the British frigates caught up. Bergeret then struck his colours in the face of an overwhelming opponent. Bergeret was brought to England, and invited to stay at Pellew's mansion, near Plymouth. Bergeret and Pellew stayed in touch their entire life afterwards. After two years, Bergeret returned to Paris on parole to negotiate an exchange with
Sidney Smith. The Directoire never consented, and Bergeret returned to London. When Smith escaped in 1798, the British government regarded the exchange as completed and released Bergeret. Back in France, Bergeret was put in command of the 74-gun
Dix-août, taking part in
Bruix' expedition of 1799, and later of the 80-gun
Foudroyant. At the
Peace of Amiens, Bergeret resigned his commission and sailed to
Mauritius, where he armed a merchantman, the
Psyché. In 1804, Bergeret was reinstated and
Psyché was bought by
Decaen and commissioned in the Navy as a frigate. Bergeret raided commerce on
Psyché until 14 February, when a naval battle opposing
Psyché,
Équivoque and
Thetis to
HMS San Fiorenzo ended with
Psychés capture. Bergeret was Pellew's prisoner for the second time. Exchanged after a brief captivity, Bergeret was put in command of the
Créole and ordered back to France with reports and despatches. In February 1809, Bergeret was put in command of the Rochefort station, raising his pennant on the 80-gun
Ville de Varsovie. He was supposed to have received reinforcements from
Willaumez' squadron, but Willaumez ended up entangled in the
Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne, without support from Bergeret. Bergeret and Willaumez fought over the responsibility for the fiasco, and Napoleon removed them both, replacing them with vice-admiral
Zacharie Allemand. Bergeret remained out of favour until the end of the Empire. At the Bourbon Restoration, Bergeret was put in command of a division to ferry Russian prisoners of war back home. During the Hundred Days, Decrès did not attempt to recruit him, which eased his subsequent career under the monarchy. In 1817, Bergeret led an expedition to retake possession of
French Guyane, with his pennant on
Hector. He later had command of the 80-gun
Neptune, the
Duc de Berry, and the
Foudroyant. Promoted to contre-amiral in 1819, he commanded the Caribbean station and took part in the Admiralty Council. He rose to Vice-Admiral in 1831, under the
Monarchy of July, and received appointment as
préfet maritime of Brest. From 1835, he served as vice-president of the Admiralty Council, and he became a
Pair de France in 1841. He retired from the Navy in 1848, and became a Senator at the beginning of the Second Empire. By then, he was the last living captain of the French Revolution. Bergeret died in 1857 and was buried in Brest. == Honours ==