[Pierre Léonce]. French naval officer and journalist, born in Bayonne on the 7th of September 1829. After his graduation from the Naval College in 1845, he took part in the Crimean and Chinese wars, and was decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honor for his services. He afterward took part in the Mexican campaign; was detailed to the staff of Maximilian and to accompany the Empress Charlotte to France. Trouble with the government caused him to resign his commission. He served during the Franco-Prussian war. Devoting his time mainly to journalism, he edited successively La Liberté, Le Bon Sens, and L’Estafette, and published a number of works; among them, The Court of Rome and Emperor Maximilian (1868) and French Intervention in Mexico (1868).
