Joseph Grégoire Casy (8 October 1787 – 19 February 1862) was a French naval officer and politician. He became a vice-admiral and a member of the Admiralty board, then entered a career in politics. He was elected a deputy of the Constituent Assembly in 1848, served briefly as Minister of the Navy, and became a senator in the Second French Empire in 1852. Napoleonic era Joseph Grégoire Casy was born in Auribeau-sur-Siagne, Alpes-Maritimes, on 8 October 1787. His parents were Philippe Casy, a merchant, and Marianne Lambert. His parents planned that he would become a doctor. When Casy was 10 years old a squadron commanded by Admiral Pierre Martin came to anchor in Golfe-Juan. Casy and his schoolmates were taken on board the ship Ça ira. The boy at once decided that he would become a sailor. Two months later he ran away to Cannes to find a boat that would take him, but was soon found and brought back. His father realized that he was determined to go to sea, and made him study for a naval career. Casy joined the navy in 1803 and became a midshipman on 8 October 1804. In 1805 he served on the frigate Pomone when it took Prince Jérôme Bonaparte to Algiers to reclaim Genovese slaves. He served on the Annibal in 1807 on the expedition to Corfu. When the Russian vessels Moscow and Saint Peter joined the French squadron, Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume assigned him to serve under the Russian commander. Casy was appointed a sub-lieutenant on 12 July 1808. He served under Admiral Julien Cosmao in operations off Barcelona and Tarragona and distinguished himself in the Mediterranean expedition of 1813. In 1813 he was detached to take 80 gunners to Cape Sepet, where they armed the batteries of Puy and Marduy. These batteries were attacked by English ships. They returned a fire so intense and well-directed that one of the ships had to be towed away. Restoration Under the Bourbon Restoration Casy was made a lieutenant on 16 July 1816. He embarked as second-in-command of the corvette Rhinocéros and then the corvette Ciotad. In 1819 he was assigned to the Colosse, a 74-gun ship. That year he sailed on the Colosse in a group of ships under Rear Admiral Jurien dispatched to establish trade relations with the South American states. At the end of this long voyage he was made