The pretext however was to support British efforts in China, and to fight the persecution of French missionaries in Vietnam.

[1] It is not established if Captain Lapierre knew that Bishop Lefebvre had already been freed and was on his way to Singapore before he started his attack by first dismantling the masts of some Vietnamese ships.

[1] Subsequently, on 14 April 1847, the French continued their attack by sinking the remaining five bronze-plated ships in the bay of Danang.

[6] The French would come back under Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly to capture Tourane (Da Nang) on 1 September 1858, and Saigon on 17 February 1859.

[7] A peak on the Île de la Possession in the Crozet Islands, where he once landed, was named "Mont Cécille" (46°23'00" S, 51°41'00" E) after him in the 1960s.