Joinville Francois

Joinville, Francois Ferdinand Philip of, etc., d'Orleans, Prince de, the third son of Louis Philippe of France, was born at Neuilly in 1818, and entered the French navy very early, becoming lieutenant in 1836. With the Duc de Nemours, his brother, he took part the following year in the capture of Constantine. His next service was in Mexico, where he assisted in bombarding San Juan d'Alloa, and led the assault on Vera Cruz. In 1841 he was chosen to escort the body of Napoleon from St. Helena, and two years later he married the sister of Pedro II., Emperor of Brazil. His scientific attainments proved most useful in the adaptation of the French navy to steam power, but his last active employment afloat was in command of the squadron that bombarded Tangiers, and took Mogador in 1844. During the events that led to the retirement of his father in 1848. he happened to be in Algeria with the Duc d'Aumale, and for some years he shared the exile of the Royal Family in England. In 1862 he went through a campaign in Virginia as the guest of McClellan, and in 1870, under an assumed name, he fought in the Army of the Loire. His recent occupations, however, have chiefly been literary, and for the last forty years he has written ably in the French periodicals on naval and military subjects. Devoid of political ambition, animated by a sincere patriotism, and content with the life of a simple country gentleman, he has lived in France under the Republican regime without provoking suspicion or ill-will.