Claude-Charles de Damas, Viscount de Marillac

Governor of Martinique (1783), tasked with returning the conquered islands

French officer, former page of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Claude-Charles de Damas served in the Antilles during the American War of Independence and succeeded the Marquis de Bouillé as Governor of Martinique in 1783.

  • Born: 1733
  • Died: 1805
  • Rank: Maréchal de Camp

A page of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta from 1745 to 1748, Claude-Charles de Damas did not continue as a knight and joined the Beauce regiment in 1748, with which he participated in the Seven Years’ War. In 1776, he took command of the newly created Auxerrois regiment, with which he departed in 1777 for Fort Saint Pierre in Martinique. At the head of his regiment, he participated in seven attacks against British possessions and was present in five naval engagements. Promoted Maréchal de Camp in January 1780, governor of Guadeloupe in March 1782, he was appointed governor of Martinique on 20 July 1783.

By letter from King Louis XVI dated 24 October 1783, he received the delicate mission of returning to the British the islands conquered by the Marquis de Bouillé and retaking possession of Saint Lucia, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles signed on 3 September 1783.

Comte Thierry de Seguins-Cohorn, Historian of the Society in France of the SAR

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