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Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers (26 March 1710 – 1792) was a
His greatest success came in July 1778 during the First Battle of Ushant, when his fleet managed to fend off an attack from a similarly-sized English fleet led by Admiral Augustus Keppel.
The following year, however, he led an unsuccessful attempt to raid the English ports of Portsmouth and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
.
Life
Louis Guillouet d'Orvilliers was born on 26 March 1710 in Moulins, Allier. His parents wereClaude Guillouet d'Orvilliers Claude may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Claude (surname), a list of people
* Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...
(), seigneur d'Orvilliers, and Claude de Vict de Pongibaud (–1759).
His older brother was Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers
Gilbert Guillouet, seigneur d'Orvilliers ( – 11 May 1764) was a French soldier who was commander of French Guiana from 1730 to 1763, and governor of French Guiana from 1749 to 1763. At the time the colony was struggling for survival, dependent o ...
, ( – 11 May 1764), governor of French Guiana from 1749 to 1763,
D'Orvilliers spent most of his childhood in Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
, capital of the French colony French Guiana, where his father was governor. In 1723, aged fifteen, he joined the colony's infantry regiment and quickly rose to the rank of Lieutenant. In 1728, he transferred to the Navy and, by 1756, had become a captain, commanding one of the ships sent to Menorca under the direction of La Galissonière. He later took part in action near Santo Domingo and the Antilles and was rewarded with a promotion to rear admiral in 1764.
Franco-American alliance
In 1777, France began assisting theAmerican colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...
in their fight for independence from Great Britain. D'Orvilliers was appointed Vice Admiral (Lieutenant-General of the Navy) and prepared to engage the Royal Navy in the Atlantic. His greatest success came in July 1778 during the First Battle of Ushant, when his fleet managed to fend off an attack from a similarly-sized English fleet led by Admiral Augustus Keppel.
The following year, however, he led an unsuccessful attempt to raid the English ports of Portsmouth and Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
. Although the weather and crew sickness played a part, he was censured for not making better use of the forces under his command. As a consequence, he resigned his command.
The death of his wife in 1783 affected d'Orvilliers greatly and he withdrew to the Saint-Magloire seminary in Paris. He later returned to the town of his birth, Moulins, where he died in 1792.
The name "Guillouet" comes from the Breton language, a form of Celtic, and means "Man from the wood".
Descendents
The admiral encouraged his grandson,Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys
Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, (born December 20 1763, in Vars-sur-Roseix, died 23 November 1841 at Bussière-Boffy) was a French naval officer, the "incompetent and complacent" captain of the frigate La Méduse when it ran aground off the coast o ...
, to enter Naval service. He did not live to witness the court-martial, disgrace and label of "incompetent and complacent" that was triggered by the sinking of the frigate French frigate Méduse (1810) and loss of circa 150 lives, plus the notoriety of the painting by Théodore Géricault of the shipwreck scene ''The Raft of the Medusa
''The Raft of the Medusa'' (french: Le Radeau de la Méduse ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791†...
'' which hangs in the Louvre.The Wreck of the Medusa by Jonathan MilesReferences
Sources
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orvilliers, Louis Guillouet, Comte D 1710 births 1792 deaths Military personnel from Moulins, Allier French Navy admirals French people of the American Revolution