Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers (; 26 March 1710 – 1792) was a French

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Life

Louis Guillouet d'Orvilliers was born on 26 March 1710 in

Moulins, Allier Moulins (, ''Molins'' in Bourbonnais oïl dialect); is a commune in central France, capital of the Allier department. It is located on the river Allier. Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, the Anne de Beaujeu Museum, ...

. His parents were Claude Guillouet d'Orvilliers (), 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 (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and 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 Caye ...

, capital of the French colony

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, 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 A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and, by 1756, had become a captain, commanding one of the ships sent to

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

under the direction of

La Galissonière LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

. He later took part in action near

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

and the

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and was rewarded with a promotion to rear admiral in 1764.

Franco-American alliance

In 1777, France began assisting the American colonies in their fight for independence from

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. D'Orvilliers was appointed Vice Admiral (Lieutenant-General of the Navy) and prepared to engage the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in the

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. 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 Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. 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 A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

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 ...

. 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".

Descendants

The admiral encouraged his grandson, Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, 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) ''Méduse'' was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1810. She took part in the Napoleonic Wars during the late stages of the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 and in raids in the Caribbean. In 1816, following the Bourbon Restor ...

and loss of circa 150 lives, plus the notoriety of the painting by

Théodore Géricault Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer, whose best-known painting is '' The Raft of the Medusa''. Despite his short life, he was one of the pioneers of the Romanti ...

of the shipwreck scene ''

The Raft of the Medusa ''The Raft of the Medusa'' ( ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791–1824). Completed when the ar ...

'' which hangs in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

.The Wreck of the Medusa by Jonathan Miles

References

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