Promoted to Lieutenant, he served on "Glorieux" under Captain vicomte d'Escars in the War of American Independence, taking part in the Invasion of Tobago on 30 May 1781. Captured by the British, he was exchanged and given command of the privateer "Comte d'Artois", a large East Indiaman converted to a privateer, capturing several British merchantmen but encountering several warships on his second journey.