Admiral d'Orvilliers

Louis Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Lieutenant General of Naval Forces, victor of the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778

Louis Guillouet d’Orvilliers, born at Moulins (Allier) on 26 March 1710 and died in 1792, was a Lieutenant General of Naval Forces who commanded the Brest fleet during the American War of Independence. He won the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778.

  • Birth: 26 March 1710, Moulins (Allier)
  • Death: 1792
  • Rank: Lieutenant General of Naval Forces
  • Notable action: Victory at Ushant (27 July 1778)

Ensign of colonial troops at Cayenne in April 1720, he was promoted lieutenant in 1723 before transferring to the Royal Navy, where he enjoyed a brilliant career during which he served on several campaigns in the West Indies and Canada against British squadrons.

Chef d’escadre in October 1764, he commanded the Navy at Rochefort on an interim basis in 1767, then the training squadron aboard the 64-gun ship l’Alexandre from May to September 1772. He was appointed colonel of the Brest regiment in May 1772 and commander of the Navy at that port in March 1775.

Promoted Lieutenant General of Naval Forces on 6 February 1777, d’Orvilliers commanded the Brest fleet from April 1778 to September 1779, aboard the 110-gun ship la Bretagne. On 27 July 1778, off the island of Ushant, he defeated the British fleet of Vice-Admiral Augustus Keppel. It was his last battle. The indiscipline of Lieutenant General of Naval Forces Louis d’Orléans, duc de Chartres, prevented him from making this victory decisive.

The Secretary of State for the Navy, Antoine de Sartine, who held him in high esteem, consulted him for the drafting of the ordinances by which he reorganised the Navy in 1776.

Career

Garde de la Marine in 1728, sous-brigadier des gardes-marine in 1732, chef de brigade des gardes-marine in 1734, he commanded from May 1734 to November 1735 the detachment of gardes de la Marine embarked on the 74-gun ship le Saint-Philippe, under the orders of chef d’escadre Gaspard de La Rochalar.

Ensign in 1741, then lieutenant de vaisseau and lieutenant of the gardes-marine company at Rochefort in 1743, he served in 1744 on the 50-gun ship le Diamant and took part on 22 February 1744 in the Battle of Cape Sicié, won by the Franco-Spanish squadron of Lieutenant General of Naval Forces Claude Élisée de Court de La Bruyère over that of British Vice-Admiral Thomas Matthews.

In 1754, he commanded the 24-gun frigate la Nymphe in the division led by chef d’escadre Roland de La Galissonnière, tasked with protecting French merchant vessels against Barbary corsairs. He was promoted capitaine de vaisseau on 25 May 1754. Appointed commander of the gardes-marine company at Rochefort in 1756, he transferred as second-in-command to the 74-gun ship le Palmier in 1755.

He served in the squadron of Lieutenant General of Naval Forces Jean-Baptiste de Macnemara, tasked with escorting the naval division and convoy of chef d’escadre comte Du Bois de La Motte, carrying reinforcement troops to Canada, as far as the Bay of Biscay. From January to December 1757, he commanded the 64-gun ship Le Belliqueux in the squadron of Lieutenant General Du Bois de La Motte, charged with bringing reinforcements and supplies to Louisbourg. He commanded le Guerrier in 1761 at Rochefort until his appointment as chef d’escadre.

Philippe Henrat, member of the SAR History Committee

References