François Claude Amour , marquis de Bouillé 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 " . Early life . 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 dragoon s 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 . West Indies and the American War of Independence . In 1768 de Bouillé was appointed governor of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe , where he again distinguished himself . The Comte d ' Emery , governor general of the French West Indies , was so impressed with de Bouillé that he recommended to the King that de Bouillé succeed him at the post . When d ' Emery died in 1777 , de Bouillé was awarded with the governorships of Martinique and St . Lucia , with authority to take full command of the French West Indies in the event France joined the American War of Independence . France ' s entry into that war occurred in early 1778 , and de Bouillé was heavily involved in the planning , execution , and leadership of operations in the West Indies . He organized and led the capture of Dominica before the British there were even aware of the war declaration , and was involved in organizing , provisioning , and leading troops in a number of other actions . In 1782 he recaptured Dutch Sint Eustatius , which the British had captured just the year before , and was involved in that year planning with Bernardo de Gálvez a Franco - Spanish expedition against Jamaica . The expedition was called off after the disastrous French defeat at the naval Battle of the Saintes in April 1782 . De Bouillé returned to France in 1783 after the peace . King Louis rewarded him for his conduct in the war with the Order of the Holy Spirit . He traveled the following year to England , where he was well received . He was well respected by the British for his treatment of prisoners of war and other captives during the war . In one notable instance , he returned the crew of a shipwrecked British frigate to a nearby British possession , refusing to take advantage of their plight to make them prisoners of war . He was equally gracious at home , even refusing an offer of payment ( amounting to the munificent sum equivalent to £20 , 000 of the day ) from the King for war expenses that he had personally covered . French Revolution . In 1787 de Bouillé was named governor of the Three Bishoprics . He served in 1787 and 1788 in the Assemblies of Notables called by King Louis in an attempt to deal with France ' s perilous financial state . After the French Revolution began in 1789 , de Bouillé retained control of the Three Bishoprics , and was also given military command of Alsace and Franche - Comté in 1790 . A committed Royalist , he was instrumental in putting down rebellion in Metz , and led forces that controversially crushed a military mutiny in the so - called " Nancy Affair " in August 1790 , in which both soldiers and civilians were killed . Although the National Assembly approved his actions , radicals were critical of the severity of his response . Louis ' failed flight . De Bouillé had managed to keep a fairly strong Royalist command in his army , and he became deeply involved in an attempt by King Louis and Marie Antoinette to escape their virtual house arrest in Paris . In conjunction with Comte Axel von Fersen and Baron de Breteuil , he planned the means and route by which the Royal Family would travel from Paris to the stronghold of Montmedy , within de Bouillé ' s area of control . Historians continue to debate how this flight led to the royals ' arrest at Varennes . De Bouillé ' s son Louis was sent to Paris to inform the Royal Family of the plans and possible safe points . De Bouillé also made specific suggestions about the route and the travel arrangements . He recommended a different route than the one which Louis ultimately chose , and he suggested that they not travel in a single coach , instead splitting up so that they would draw less attention en route . This advice was also not taken . De Bouillé was to provide troops to protect the royal party on the final stages of the journey through the area he controlled . Because he could not fully trust all of his troops , and some of the better troops had recently been reassigned to others , cavalry were placed in towns along the route , citing as a pretext the expected delivery of treasury funds going to Paris . These forces , however , drew attention and suspicion . This heightened tension in the local population may have played a role in the ultimate capture and arrest at Varennes . The arrest set off a wave of recriminations among the Royalist conspirators . The duc de Choiseul and de Bouillé both wrote memoirs ( de Bouillé in 1800 , the year of his death ) , seeking to defend their actions during the flight , and to assign blame to others . In the wake of the arrest , de Bouillé fled France . De Bouillé ' s role in the French Revolution is alluded to in the 5th stanza of the French national anthem , " La Marseillaise " , as a detestable counter - revolutionary figure : Exile . De Bouillé went into exile , first travelling to Pillnitz , where the spread of anti - Royalist sentiments was discussed by other European monarchs . Courted by royalty for positions in their armies , he sought to remain loyal to Louis , eventually serving as a military consultant to Prussian King Frederick William II in the early stages of the First Coalition . He joined military campaigns in 1793 , and was urged to take command of Royalist forces in the Vendée , but refused , believing the forces would ultimately fail in their aims . Shortly after that , he sailed for England , where he continued to assist the British in military activities against Revolutionary France . In 1797 de Bouillé published his memoirs , which were a great success . He died in London on 14 November 1800 . He was buried in the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church . Legacy . During his years of exile , the German author Franz Alexander von Kleist left a character sketch of de Bouillé in his " Fantasien auf einer Reise nach Prag " ( 1792 ) after seeing him with his son at a performance of Mozart ' s opera " Don Giovanni " at the Estates Theatre in Prague on 2 September 1791 . Kleist described de Bouillé as a broken man wracked with worry and remorse over the actions that sent him into exile and made him vilified in France .