Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general, and admiral, in the American Revolutionary War, who was killed during the Reign of Terror.

Biography

He was born at the Château de Ravel in Auvergne to Charles-François, the Marquis de Saillant and a lieutenant general, and Marie-Henriette Colbert de Maulevrier, a descendant of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. He entered the army as a colonel of infantry, and, in 1757, he accompanied count de Lally to the East Indies, with the rank of brigadier-general. In 1759, he was taken prisoner at the siege of Madras, but was released on parole. Before the ratification of his exchange, he entered the service of the French East Indian Company, and (with two vessels) destroyed the British factories in Sumatra and the Persian Gulf.

On his way back to France in 1760, he fell, accidentally, into the hands of the English. On the ground of having broken his parole, he was thrown into prison at Portsmouth but as the charge could not be substantiated, he was soon afterwards released. In 1763, he was named lieutenant-general in the French navy, and, in 1777, vice-admiral.

American Revolutionary War

One year later, he left Toulon in command of a fleet of twelve ships of the line and fourteen frigates with the intention of assisting the American colonies against Great Britain. He sailed on 13 April, and, between the 11th and the 22nd of July, blockaded Lord Howe at Sandy Hook, the entrance to New York harbour, but did not venture to attack him, because his ships could not clear the bay's bar, although his force was superior numerically.

Newport, Rhode Island

In cooperation with the American generals, he planned an attack on Newport, Rhode Island, preparatory to which he compelled the British to destroy some war vessels that were in the harbor. Before the concerted attack could take place, he put to sea against the English fleet, under Admiral Howe, when owing to a violent storm, which arose suddenly and compelled the two fleets to separate before engaging in battle, many of his vessels were so shattered that he found it necessary to put into Boston for repairs. While being in Newport he was assisted by captain Caleb Gardner against the British forces. He then sailed for the West Indies on 4 November. After a feeble attempt to retake Santa Lucia from Admiral Barrington, he captured St Vincent and Grenada.

On 6 July 1779, he fought the Battle of Grenada against Admiral Byron, who retired to St Christopher. Though superior in force, d'Estaing would not attack the English in the roadstead but set sail to attack Savannah. All his attempts, as well as those of the Americans, against the town were repulsed with heavy loss, and he was finally compelled to retire.

The Siege of Savannah

The siege consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah from 16 September 1779 to 18 October 1779. On 9 October 1779, a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish Count Kazimierz Pułaski, fighting on the American side, was mortally wounded. With the failure of the joint American-French attack, the siege failed, and the British remained in control of coastal Georgia until July 1782, close to the end of the war.

Return to France

He returned to France in 1780, but he fell into disfavour at the court, and was strongly criticised by his subordinates. Three years later, however, he was placed at the head of the Franco-Spanish fleet assembled before Cádiz, but the peace was signed and no operations took place.

From that time, his chief attention was devoted to politics. He was first made a grandee of Spain and, in 1787, he was elected to the Assembly of Notables. When the French Revolution broke out, he favoured the new ideas. In 1789, he was appointed to the National Guard at Versailles and, in 1792, he was chosen admiral by the National Assembly. Though in favour of national reform, he remained loyal to the royal family, and, in the trial of Marie Antoinette in 1793, bore testimony in her favour. On this account, and because of certain friendly letters which had passed between him and the queen, he was himself brought to trial, charged with being a reactionary. He was sent to the guillotine on 28 April 1794. Before his execution, he jabbed "After my head falls off, send it to the British, they will pay a good deal for it!"

In his moments of leisure, he wrote a poem, Le Rêve (1755), a tragedy Les Thermopyles (1789) and a book on the colonies.

Citations and notes