Jacques François Coquille (), known as Dugommier (; 1 August 1738 – 18 November 1794), was a French military leader during the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
.
Early life and career
Jacques François Coquille was born on 1 August 1738 in
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
in the island of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
, in the
French West Indies
The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
* The two overseas departments of:
** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...
.
He was the son of Germain Coquille, a
planter and royal councilor, and Claire Laurent. In 1785, he took the name "Dugommier" after the coffee
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
"Le Gommier" in
Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...
, which he bought from his parents in 1768.
Dugommier began his military career in the company of "
gentlemen cadets" of the colonies in
Rochefort, at the age of fifteen. He was employed in the naval batteries at
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
and
Île de Ré
Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; , ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait.
Its high ...
before being assigned to an infantry company in 1758.
Dugommier fought in the West Indies theatre of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, serving in the
defense of Guadeloupe in 1759 and the
defense of Martinique in 1762.
He was discharged at his request in 1763, with the rank of ensign of the ''
compagnies franches de la marine'', and retired to his plantations in Guadeloupe.
In addition to Le Gommier, Dugommier owned the
sugar plantations
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobac ...
Grand'Anse (34 slaves recorded in 1777) and Grands Fonds, in Trois-Rivières,
and Peru in
Les Abymes (74 slaves recorded in 1784).
He briefly returned to service in 1778, during the
American War of Independence, when he led a company of volunteers at the
Battle of St. Lucia.
In 1765, he married Marie-Dieudonnée Coudroy-Bottée (1740-1810) in
Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe.
At the start of the
French Revolution, Dugommier was one of the few planters in Guadeloupe who supported the revolutionary cause. They were opposed to the aristocratic planters, who controlled the colonial assembly and held influence over the
governor of Guadeloupe. A long conflict then opposed the two camps.
In 1790, part of the troops of the Guadeloupe Regiment, led by Dugommier, participated in three expeditions in support of the revolutionaries of Martinique, but failed to overthrow the governor and the colonial assembly.
Dugommier left Guadeloupe definitively in July 1791, in order to represent the interests of the revolutionaries of the colonies in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, as a deputy to the
National Convention
The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
.
French Revolutionary Wars

Having shown himself a true republican in the National Convention, Dugommier was made a ''
maréchal de camp'' (
brigade general) of the
French Revolutionary Army on 10 October 1792, though he initially had no assignment.
He was given command of a brigade in the
Army of Italy in May 1793.
In September 1793, Dugommier drove the troops of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
and the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...
from the
County of Nice, and defeated
Joseph De Vins' Austrians at the on 19 October.
Dugommier was promoted to
general of division on 3 November 1793.
On the same day, he was appointed to succeed General
Jean François Carteaux as commander of the army carrying out the
Siege of Toulon.
Recognizing that the attack plan of a young artillery captain,
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, was the correct one, Dugommier implemented it. He suffered bruises in the right arm and shoulder while repelling a British
sortie
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...
on 30 November.
On that occasion, Bonaparte reported that "General Dugommier fought with true republican courage."
On 17 December, Dugommier led the final assault which recaptured Toulon's fortifications, bringing the siege to a successful conclusion.
Eastern Pyrenees campaign
In January 1794, Dugommier was appointed commander of the
Army of the Eastern Pyrenees, which was engaged in the
War of the Pyrenees against
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
His assignment was to retake the territory of
Roussillon from the Spanish army of
Antonio Ricardos Carrillo. He reorganized the army, weakened as it was by the hard combat of the preceding year spent incessantly and fruitlessly storming the Spanish positions. The Spanish became paralyzed by a leadership crisis following the successive deaths of Carrillo and his replacement,
Alejandro O'Reilly, to disease, making Dugommier's task easier.
On 28 April, Dugommier was victorious at the Battle of Tech, followed by a success at the Battle of Albere on 30 April. He achieved a decisive victory against the
Count of La Unión at the
Battle of Boulou on 1 May, which led to the recovery of Roussillon.
Port-Vendres was evacuated by La Unión (who had under his command 400 French noblemen of the ''Légion Panetier'') in May.
Collioure fell on 29 May after a
four-week siege, in the course of which Dugommier was wounded.
He repelled a Spanish assault on 13 August in the
Battle of Sant Llorenç de la Muga, and retook the
Fort de Bellegarde on 17 September (the siege had lasted since 7 May).
On 22 September, an audacious attack gave Dugommier the redoubt and camp of
Coustouges, putting the Spanish army to flight and capturing most of its equipment.
Dugommier was killed by a Spanish
artillery shell
A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary device, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military ...
on 18 November at the
Battle of the Black Mountain. His successor in command, General
Dominique-Catherine Pérignon, ended the battle with a French victory on 20 November. Dugommier was buried under a
liberty tree
The Liberty Tree (1646–1775) was a famous Elm, elm tree that stood in Boston, Massachusetts near Boston Common in the years before the American Revolution. In 1765, Patriot (American Revolution), Patriots in Boston staged the first act of def ...
in the Fort de Bellegarde on 19 November,
and later reburied in
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
, where he rests in a pyramidal monument. On 25 November, the National Convention ordered his name to be engraved on a column of the
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...
in Paris.
Napoleon kept his souvenir, bestowing 100,000 Francs to his son for the memory of the Siege of Toulon.
Legacy
*His name is inscribed in the Panthéon.
*The ''Boulevard Dugommier'' in
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
is named in his honour.
*
A station of the
Paris Metro is named for him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugommier, Jacques Francois
1738 births
1794 deaths
People from Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe
French planters
French military personnel of the Seven Years' War
French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War
French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars
Guadeloupean people of French descent
Guadeloupean soldiers
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
French slave owners