The interesting point here, in dealing with the French naval personnel, is that there appears to be two groups of them. I will list both groups separately, according to their "positions" on board the frigate South Carolina. Some were listed as "French matelot" while others are listed as "French sailor" or "French seaman". I will cite the "French matelot" first. These men are listed alphabetically according to their last names.
Louis Amplement sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Francois Andre sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Lenomme Angelus sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Antoine Audolff sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Francois Bare sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Vincent Claude Bordeux sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jacques Boyaval sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Charles Caillet sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Antoine Theodore Caron sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
George Champaigne sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Andre Damien sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Marc Delahaye sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Pierre Louis Joseph Delvincourt seaman (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jacques Duval sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Antoine Louis Enrichard sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Francois Eugrand sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jean Florent sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jean Baptiste Guevebaux sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Francois Hudon sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jean Hyvea sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Guillaume Jouve sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Antoine Lacosta sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Martin LeBelle sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Francois LeFevre sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jean Francois LeVasseur sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Francois Ponluc sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jean Remillion sailor (Mtaelot Vol.du Lux.)
Guillaume Salverius sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Antoine Silvestre sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Joseph Souilles sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Joseph Soule sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Jean Louis Stenard sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
Remis Surplis sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.)
(Note: the French word, "matelot", means simply "sailor" when translated into English.)
But, there was also a group of French-speaking men who signed onto the frigate South Carolina and were listed variously as "sailor", "seaman", "volunteer sailor", or "sailor, gunner's mate". These men are cited here alphabetically according to their last names.
Francois Albert sailor
Guillaume Joseph Bulin sailor, gunner's mate
Guillaume Joseph Butin sailor, gunner's mate
Arnest Joseph Delcourt seaman
Rene Aor Delcourt sailor
Gr------ Demoite sailor
Francois Denis sailor
Denis Dumont sailor
Jean Durache sailor?
Antoine Gascon sailor
Pierre de Grove sailor
--------- Havellin sailor
Pierre Louise volunteer sailor
Jacques Martin sailor?
Louis Molier sailor
Francois Mutain sailor
Antonio Parcone sailor (volunteer)
Ambroise Peques sailor
John Soulier sailor
Jean Baptiste Tetart seaman
G.B. Tetas sailor
Alcais Thomas sailor
Alexandre Tomas sailor
(Note: the second and third man listed here, respectively Guillaume Joseph Bulin and Guillaume Joseph Butin, are almost certainly the same man listed twice due to an alternate spelling of his last name. In both listings, his "position" on board the frigate South Carolina were cited as "sailor, gunner's mate". The only difference between these two men is a single letter difference in the spelling of their last names. But, which name is the correct form is completely conjectural.)
According to Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 35, "...Gillon had recruited nearly seventy French sailors in Dunkirk to join his grew at (the) Texel. How many of these actually got aboard is not clear. Certainly half did, and they joined an existing crew described at this point as overwhelmingly French. The longer the frigate had waited in Holland, the more American the crew had become, but, its French-speaking contingent was certainly sizable, if not a majority, upon sailing." The first roster, the one in which the sailors/matelots identified themselves with the "Volontaires du Luxembourg" contains the names of thirty-three men. The second roster, the one in which these individuals identify themselves as simply "sailors" contains the names of twenty-three men. The total of both rosters combined is fifty-six. This is somewhat close to "...nearly seventy French sailors..." but, there is still short of this number by some bit. It may well be that there were some listed in the section of Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina, pages 135-170 that are not identified as being a "French sailor" though they may have occupied this "position" on board the frigate South Carolina.
The writer of this blog is not versed in the French language nor in the organization of the French Army or other fighting forces serving under the French Crown at this time. Thus, these next few statements may well change if this writer comes upon new information revealing a presently unknown aspect of these forces that would necessitate changing these observations. With that said, the writer of this blog can only see a single difference between these two groups of naval personnel and this is only based on personal assumptions.
The individuals who are cited as having occupied the "position" of "French sailor (Matelot Vol. du Lux.) must have been members of the "Volontaires du Luxembourg" that had some prior knowledge of life and work at sea. It may be that as Commodore Gillon was gathering together his crew of the frigate South Carolina, he realized that seafaring men might be hard to come by, especially on this side of the Atlantic Ocean for a ship that was eventually destined to enter the state service of the state of South Carolina. So, as the Commodore Gillon was familiarizing himself with the personnel of the "Volontaires du Luxembourg" once they boarded the frigate South Carolina in July 1781, he may have not only inquired about previous sea service among D'Aubry's men but, also offered an additional incentive for soldiers to identify themselves as having such previous experience and being willing to work in this capacity once again. These individuals would still have been under the direct command of Senior Captain D'Aubry but, would have functioned as sailors on the decks of the frigate South Carolina.
The twenty-three individuals who identified themselves as "French sailor", "French seaman" or some variation of "French volunteer sailor" may have been duly experienced sailors that Commodore Gillon found in Dunkirk, or elsewhere, and employed as such from the beginning of their service on board the frigate South Carolina. Looking at the names of these men contained on both rosters, one senses that there may well have been non-native speakers of French among their numbers - possibly some Germans, Italians, and a few Spaniards.