LE BAIGUE Charles Martin, cook on board the Auguste in 1781 commanded by Louis-Antoine de BOUGAINVILLE, handwritten logbook, dated 1781 The Auguste was one of the ships in the fleet that left Brest in March 1781 to take part in the American War of Independence. This handwritten log was kept by Charles Martin Le Baigue, cook on board the Auguste. The first page indicates that on January 15, 1781, M. Charles Martin Le Baigue left Paris in the company of M. de Bougainville, arriving in Brest on the 21st of the same month. Thus, on March 13, 1781, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville received a command from the Court to start preparing the vessel. The Auguste was part of the fleet sent to America during the War of Independence, and this diary is an invaluable record of its history. Day by day, the author records the ships sighted and details of life on board. The Auguste was present at the battle of Fort-Royal de la Martinique on April 29, 1781 against the British, led by Admiral Hood. Charles Le Baigue recounts this battle from the inside. "At 5 a.m., the commander signaled the army to form a front line [...]. [...] These four vessels directed their course on the convoy, and from that moment Admiral Hood took advantage of the superiority [of his fleet]. [...] The battle lasted until two and a half hours, when the enemy covered themselves entirely with sail to bring the convoy into the port of Fort-Royal. Fortunately, no one was killed or wounded on board, despite a large number of cannonballs which riddled a large part of our sails and cut off some of our maneuvers. " Bougainville is said to have maneuvered his division so clumsily that a large gap opened up between the center and rear guard of his ship, earning him two days' arrest. The diary ends in March 1783. The ship entered the port of Brest on March 21, and the crew disarmed it. Charles Martin Le Baigue left the service of M. de Vaudreuil and returned to Paris. (Lot sold as is)