Born 8 Feb 1760 in Thorame-Basse, Var, Provence, France, the son of Gaspard Balthazar Melchior Monge and Mathilde Rolland. He set out from France to Boston in the Spring of 1780, but his ship was captured by the British. During its capture, Jean was slightly wounded by a splinter knocked from the railing by a cannon ball. He was set ashore at Plymouth. Making his way first to Marseilles, then to Lorient, he set sail again for the New World, only to be again captured by another British ship on October 27, 1780 in sight of the Cape of Good Hope. This time he was set ashore on St. Helena. On his third attempt, in 1781, Jean set sail with the comte de Grasse, who would fight a fateful engagement on September 5, 1781 against the British in the Battle of the Virginia Capes. This battle was a tactical draw but a strategic defeat for the British, for it prevented Admiral Sir Thomas Graves from relieving the British army at Yorktown, forcing Lord Cornwallis to surrender his army to George Washington. This in turn led to England recognizing the independent United States of America.
Whether or not he was still with comte de Grasse and his fleet at this time, Jean sought his fortune on the island of St. Domingo until the slave revolt on June 10, 1793. Escaping with his life and little else, Jean arrived on the American continent with his clothes rotting off his back, according to a letter to his family. He made his way to Philadelphia and set up practice as a physician. Here he prospered, becoming a pillar of the community and raising a family. He died in Philadelphia May 20, 1827, and was buried in Christ Church Cemetery in such notable company as Benjamin Franklin and Commodore William Bainbridge, Commander of Old Ironsides (USS Constitution).
Whether or not he was still with comte de Grasse and his fleet at this time, Jean sought his fortune on the island of St. Domingo until the slave revolt on June 10, 1793. Escaping with his life and little else, Jean arrived on the American continent with his clothes rotting off his back, according to a letter to his family. He made his way to Philadelphia and set up practice as a physician. Here he prospered, becoming a pillar of the community and raising a family. He died in Philadelphia May 20, 1827, and was buried in Christ Church Cemetery in such notable company as Benjamin Franklin and Commodore William Bainbridge, Commander of Old Ironsides (USS Constitution).
Born 8 Feb 1760 in Thorame-Basse, Var, Provence, France, the son of Gaspard Balthazar Melchior Monge and Mathilde Rolland. He set out from France to Boston in the Spring of 1780, but his ship was captured by the British. During its capture, Jean was slightly wounded by a splinter knocked from the railing by a cannon ball. He was set ashore at Plymouth. Making his way first to Marseilles, then to Lorient, he set sail again for the New World, only to be again captured by another British ship on October 27, 1780 in sight of the Cape of Good Hope. This time he was set ashore on St. Helena. On his third attempt, in 1781, Jean set sail with the comte de Grasse, who would fight a fateful engagement on September 5, 1781 against the British in the Battle of the Virginia Capes. This battle was a tactical draw but a strategic defeat for the British, for it prevented Admiral Sir Thomas Graves from relieving the British army at Yorktown, forcing Lord Cornwallis to surrender his army to George Washington. This in turn led to England recognizing the independent United States of America.
Whether or not he was still with comte de Grasse and his fleet at this time, Jean sought his fortune on the island of St. Domingo until the slave revolt on June 10, 1793. Escaping with his life and little else, Jean arrived on the American continent with his clothes rotting off his back, according to a letter to his family. He made his way to Philadelphia and set up practice as a physician. Here he prospered, becoming a pillar of the community and raising a family. He died in Philadelphia May 20, 1827, and was buried in Christ Church Cemetery in such notable company as Benjamin Franklin and Commodore William Bainbridge, Commander of Old Ironsides (USS Constitution).
Whether or not he was still with comte de Grasse and his fleet at this time, Jean sought his fortune on the island of St. Domingo until the slave revolt on June 10, 1793. Escaping with his life and little else, Jean arrived on the American continent with his clothes rotting off his back, according to a letter to his family. He made his way to Philadelphia and set up practice as a physician. Here he prospered, becoming a pillar of the community and raising a family. He died in Philadelphia May 20, 1827, and was buried in Christ Church Cemetery in such notable company as Benjamin Franklin and Commodore William Bainbridge, Commander of Old Ironsides (USS Constitution).
