author
Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny
1793–1843
Best known as a survivor of the wreck of the French frigate Méduse, he turned catastrophe into firsthand testimony. His account of the disaster helped preserve one of the most haunting true stories of the early 19th century.
1 Audiobook
Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia.
by Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny, Alexandre Corréard
About the author
Born in Rochefort in 1793, Jean-Baptiste Henri Savigny was a French naval surgeon. He served as second surgeon aboard the frigate Méduse, whose 1816 wreck off the coast of West Africa became one of the era’s most infamous maritime disasters.
Savigny was among the survivors who endured the ordeal of the raft, and he later helped write a detailed narrative of the shipwreck with fellow survivor Alexandre Corréard. That book, published soon after the disaster, brought wide attention to the suffering of the crew and remains an important eyewitness account of the tragedy.
He died in 1843. Although he is remembered less as a literary figure than as a witness, Savigny’s writing gives his work lasting historical power: it records both the human cost of the Méduse disaster and the voice of someone who lived through it.