Vice-Admiral Armand-Guy-Simon de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint (29 July 1742 – 4 December 1793) was a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer and politician who served in the

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. During the French Revolution, he aligned himself with the Girondins and executed by

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during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

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, Kersaint came from a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

; his father, Guy François de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, was a distinguished naval officer. Armand de Kersaint joined the

as a Garde-Marine on 5 September 1755. In 1757, while serving on his father's ship, he was promoted to Ensign for his bravery in action. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 February 1770, and to Captain on 13 March 1779. In July 1778, as captain of the 32-gun ''Iphigénie'', he captured the 20-gun British post-ship . In 1782 Kersaint led an expedition to capture the British-held Dutch colonies of

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, Essequibo, and Berbice. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Kersaint embraced reform. He adopted the new ideas, and in a

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entitled ''Le Bon Sens'' (a title inspired by Thomas Paine's '' Common Sense'') attacked traditional privileges; he also submitted to the National Constituent Assembly a scheme for the reorganisation of the navy, but it was not accepted.

In the Legislative Assembly

On 4 January 1791 Kersaint was appointed administrator of the '' département'' of the

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by the electoral assembly of Paris. He was also elected as a ''deputé suppléant'' to the Legislative Assembly, and was called upon to sit in it in place of a deputy who had resigned. His main objective became the realisation of the navy scheme which he had previously submitted to the Constituent Assembly. He understood this to be made possible only through a general reform of all institutions, and subsequently gave his support to the policies of The Mountain, denouncing the conduct of

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Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, and, on 10 August 1792 (after the storming of the Tuileries Palace), voting in favour of his deposition. Shortly after, he was sent on a mission to the French Revolutionary Army's Army of the Centre, inspecting Soissons,

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, Sedan and the Ardennes. While on assignment, Kersaint was arrested by the municipality of Sedan, but was set free after a few days' detention. Back in Paris, he took an active part in one of the last debates of the Legislative Assembly, in which it was decided to publish a ''Bulletin officiel'', a report continued by the National Convention, and known by the name of the ''Bulletin de la Convention Nationale''.

In the National Convention

Kersaint was sent as a deputy to the convention by the ''département'' of Seine-et-Oise in September 1792, and, on 1 January 1793, was appointed

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

. He continued to devote himself to questions concerning the navy and national defense, prepared a report on the British

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and the navy, and caused a decree to be passed for the formation of a committee of general defense, which after many modifications was to become the Committee of Public Safety. In January 1793, he had also had a decree passed concerning the navy. He had, however, entered the ranks of the Girondins, and had voted in the trial of the Louis XVI against the death penalty and in favor of the

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to the people. He resigned his seat in the convention on 20 January.

Arrest and execution

After the death of the king, his opposition became more marked; he denounced the September Massacres, but, when called upon to justify his attitude, confined himself to attacking Jean-Paul Marat, who had risen to immense popularity. Kersaint's friends attempted to obtain his appointment as Minister of the Marine, but he failed to obtain even a position as an officer in the French Navy. He was arrested on 23 September at Ville d'Avray, near Paris, and taken before the Revolutionary Tribunal, where he was accused of having conspired for the restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy, and of having insulted national representation by resigning his position in the convention. Kersaint was arrested on 2 October 1793, sentenced to death on 4 December, and

d that very day.

Family

Kersaint's brothers, Guy-Pierre (1747–1822) and Joseph Coëtnempren de Kersaint (1746–1797), also served in the French Navy and took part in the

Notes

Citations

References