Naval officer; born in
Auvergne, France, in 1729; guillotined in
Paris, April 28, 1794; was colonel of a French
regiment in 1748;
brigadier-general in 1756; and served in the French fleet after 1757, joining the East India squadron under
Count Lally.
Made lieutenantgeneral in 1763 and vice-admiral in 1778, he was sent to
America with a strong naval force to assist the patriots, arriving in
Delaware Bay in July, 1778.
As soon as his destination became known in
England, a British fleet, under
Admiral
[
266]
Byron, was sent to follow him across the
Atlantic.
It did not arrive at New York until late in the season.
Byron proceeded to attack the French fleet in
Boston Harbor.
His vessels were dispersed by a storm, and
D'Estaing, his ships perfectly refitted, sailed (Nov. 1, 1778) for the
West Indies, then, as between
England and
France, the principal seat of war. On the same day 5,000 British troops sailed from New York for the same destination, escorted by a strong squadron.
The English fleet arrived first, and, joining some other vessels already there, proceeded to attack the island of
St. Lucia.
D'Estaing unsuccessfully tried to relieve it. Soon afterwards
Byron's fleet, from the northeast coast, arrived, when
D'Estaing took refuge at
Martinique.
Byron tried in vain to draw him into action, and then started to convoy, a part of the way, the homeward-bound West Indiamen of the mercantile marine.
During his absence a detachment from
Martinique captured the
English island of St. Vincent.
Being largely reinforced soon afterwards,
D'Estaing sailed with his whole fleet and conquered the island of
Grenada.
Before the conquest was quite completed
Byron returned, when an indecisive engagement took place, and the much-damaged British fleet put into
St. Christopher's.
D'Estaing then sailed (August, 1779) to escort, part of the way, the homeward-bound
French West Indiamen; and, returning, engaged jointly with the
American army in the siege of
Savannah, but abandoned the contest before a promised victory for the allies was won. He returned to
France in 1780, and in 1783 he commanded the combined fleets of
France and
Spain, and was made a Spanish grandee.
He favored the
French Revolution, and commanded the National Guards at
Versailles, but falling under the suspicion of the Terrorists, he was beheaded.
