Jean Ordronaux was born on December 16, 1778 at
Nantes,
Brittany. His father was a French sea captain who was also named Jean and his mother was an Englishwoman from
Hull named Joanna Hammond. Ordronaux eventually moved to the United States and anglicized his given name to John. During the outbreak of the
War of 1812 on 18 June 1812, he commanded the
privateer Marengo which had been outfitted in
New York City in November 1811. His patron was a French lady called Florye Charretton, who was allegedly a Parisian woman of considerable wealth. === Captured seamen landed at
Fayal,
Azores === On 23 June 1812
Marengo was in
New London, Connecticut and being shadowed by the 36-gun
frigate (Captain
Richard Byron). However
Belvidera was sighted and chased away by and her squadron (Captain
John Rodgers) allowing
Marengo to capture the British
brigantine Lady Sherbroke from
Halifax,
Nova Scotia. This prize was sent into New York on 10 August 1812.
Marengo then went on to take the brigantines
Eliza (Captain Sullivan) of Guernsey, and
Lady Provost (Captain Jennings) of
Halifax,
Nova Scotia. This document suggests that Ordronaux was a gentleman and that he treated his prisoners of war sympathetically. It describes him handing over eighteen named prisoners to the British
consul at
Fayal in the
Azores Islands on 17 August 1812. The prisoners included two masters and three mates and an exchange was made for the same number of American prisoners of war. Jacques Bidois is named as the commander of
Marengo in this document but he is thought to have been Ordronaux's mate at this time. In mid October 1812, Bidois is listed as master of
Marengo in a book which also records her as having only six guns and a crew of fifty men. So her three captured prizes must have seemed a considerable success. === Captured passenger landed in
Grand Canary boosted the island's economy === On 29 August 1812
Marengo captured the British brigantine
Concord (Captain Taylor) between
Tenerife and
Fuerteventura according to
Lloyd's List Marine Collection. Some captured passengers from
Concord were landed on the island of Grand Canary after being relieved of their money. Amongst these was the 14-year-old Scotsman from Cockburnspath, James Swanston Miller (1798-1855), who went on to found the famous mercantile houses of Swanston and Miller in the island. After being taken in and given a job by a French merchant called Francisco Gourié, he learnt the business of import/export and progressed to starting his own business, Swanston & Co., in 1820. In 1824 his cousin Thomas Miller Swanston (1805-1885) joined him in the business. The business was renamed Thomas Miller & Co. when James Swanston Miller retired to Scotland, a rich man, in about 1846. The Miller dynasty remained in the islands for four generations during which time they established many companies including a bank, general store, insurance company and car dealership at Calle de Triana, 46, and the shipping agency Miller y Cia., S.A. on the Muelle de Santa Catalina. They were also responsible, with their Swanston cousins, for building the beginnings of the modern port of Las Palmas (the Puerto de La Luz) between 1883 and 1903. With others, they also built the Santa Catalina Hotel, the English Church and established the British cemetery and other institutions. James Miller (1839-1915) and his brother Joseph Miller (1840-1920) were awarded the Spanish decoration of
Caballo de la Real Orden de Isabel la Catolica for their contribution to the development of the island's economy by constructing the Port and its facilities, the Santa Catalina Hotel and for supporting Spanish institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce. Thomas Miller's son James Miller (1839-1915) and grandson Gerald Miller (1889-1982) both became honorary British vice-consuls, and both entertained royalty and other vip's in the island, including the British Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan in 1960.
Rescue of stranded passengers thwarted by US Navy It is possible that the Royal Navy made an attempt to rescue James Swanston Miller and his fellow captured passengers with the 38-gun frigate,
HMS Macedonian. This ship had been ordered to escort an
East Indiaman to
Madeira and then hunt for prizes. She left Madeira to carry out this latter order on 22 October. News of the recent visit of
Marengo to
Fayal in the
Azores, or of the capture of
Concord near the
Canary Islands, is likely to have reached
Madeira by that time, because the news reached Lloyd's of London on 24 October. So if this was a rescue attempt it failed almost before it began. After departing from Grand Canary in August 1812,
Concord was taken to New York to auction as a prize The sale of
Concord alone raised the sum of $24,409. This was shared between her owners and each named member of her crew in proportions given in the surviving court documents. But most significantly, Ordronaux now had sufficient funds to buy a ship of his own. == Second command:
Prince de Neufchatel ==