Marquis de Bouille

François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé (19 November 1739 – 14 November 1800) was a French general. After distinguishing himself in the Seven Years' War, he was appointed governor of Guadeloupe in 1768. 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 de 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.

François Claude Amour, the marquis de Bouillé was born at Chateau Cluzel in Saint-Èble (present-day Mazeyrat-d'Allier, Haute-Loire) on 19 November 1739. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father died a few years later. He was raised by a paternal uncle who was also First Almoner to King Louis XV. He was educated in a Jesuit school, and at age 16 his uncle purchased for him a commission in a company of dragoons of the French Army.

De Bouillé first saw military action in the Seven Years' War in 1758, when his regiment joined French forces in present-day Germany. He distinguished himself throughout the campaign, playing an important role in the Battle of Grünberg in February 1761 that resulted in the surrender of thousands of German troops and the capture of many military standards, and prompted Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick to lift that year's Siege of Cassel. De Bouillé was given the honour of taking the captured standards to Paris to present them to the King. He was recognized with a brevet promotion to colonel, and was given command of the next regiment that became available.

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