COMMANDER // 1739–1800
Comte de Bouillé
Lifespan
1739 – 1800
Active service 1782 — 1 battle across 1 war; first command at age 43.
Profile
François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé was a French general and colonial administrator. After distinguishing himself in the Seven Years' War, he was appointed governor of Guadeloupe in 1768. A well-loved administrator, he authored the popular song "Les adieux d'une créole". His most well-known military exploits took place in the West Indies during the American War of Independence, where he was involved in the French capture of a number of British possessions. Following that war he returned to France, where he held military commands in the country's northeast at the time of the French Revolution. A committed Royalist, he was a leading conspirator involved in the royal family's failed flight in 1791, whose failure forced Bouillé into exile. He continued to be active in consultative roles to members of the First Coalition, which opposed the forces of Revolutionary France in the early years of the French Revolutionary War. He died in exile in London, and is mentioned as a hated Royalist in the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.
Battles (1)
1782