Claude-Élisée de Court de La Bruyère (February 15, 1666,

Pont-de-Vaux Pont-de-Vaux () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department *List of medieval bridges in France The list of medieval bridges in France comprises all bridges built between 500 ...

, France – August 19, 1752,

Gournay-sur-Marne Gournay-sur-Marne (, literally ''Gournay on Marne'') is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Heraldry Transport Gournay-sur-Marne is served ...

), was a French officer in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

during the reigns of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, who ended his career as Vice Admiral of the

Flotte du Ponant The ''Flotte du Ponant'' was the designation under the Ancien Regime for the naval vessels of the Royal French Navy in the English Channel, Atlantic Ocean and Americas, the latter principally in the French West Indies and New France. The fleet ca ...

Life

He was the son of Charles de Court and Anne de Saumaise. He became a

garde-marine In France, under the Ancien Régime, the Gardes de la Marine (Guards of the Navy), or Gardes-Marine were young gentlemen undergoing training to be naval officers. The training program was established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1670 and lasted until Ad ...

in 1684, and fought in all major naval battles between 1689 and 1744.
As Lieutenant de Vaisseau of the ''Parfait (64)'', he fought in the

Battle of Beachy Head (1690) The Battle of Beachy Head (''Fr''. Battle of Bévéziers) was a naval battle fought on 10 July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. The battle was the greatest French tactical naval victory over their English and Dutch opponents during the war. Th ...

. He was also present in the

Battle of Lagos (1693) The Battle of Lagos was a sea battle during the Nine Years' War on 27 June 1693 (17 June 1693 O.S.), when a French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet under George Rooke near Lagos Bay in Portugal. Rooke's squa ...

on board the ''Agréable''. His greatest victory was the

Battle of Toulon (1744) The Battle of Toulon, also known as the Battle of Cape Sicié, took place between 21 to 22 February 1744 NS near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Great Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet sai ...

, when he was already 78 years old.

Sources

Les officiers généraux de la marine royale (1715-1774), Librairie de l'Inde, 1990, 383 p. (), p. 59 and following. Michel Vergé-Franceschi. {{DEFAULTSORT:Court de La Bruyere 1666 births 1752 deaths People from Pont-de-Vaux French Navy officers