Jean - Marthe - Adrien l ' Hermite Jean - Marthe - Adrien L ' Hermite ( Coutances , Manche , 29 September 1766 — Plessis - Picquet , 28 August 1826 ) was a French sea captain and rear admiral , notable for his involvement in the " Glorious First of June " and his expedition into the Atlantic in 1805 . Biography . Early career . L ' Hermite was born to the family of a counselor to the Bailiwick and Présidial of Cotentin . He joined the Navy in 1780 , at the age of 14 as a novice on the coast guard cutter " Pilote - des - Indes " , cruising the English Channel , and on which he distinguished himself during the capture of an English privateer off Chausey . In 1780 , he joined the " Northumberland " as a volunteer and took part in the battles of the American war of Independence . In 1784 , when many French naval ships were put in the reserve , L ' Hermite left the Navy and worked as first officer on the fishing ships " Modeste " and " Surveillante " off Newfoundland . In 1787 , with Castries ' s reform of the Navy , l ' Hermite took a commission as a sub - lieutenant on the " Achille " , and later of a number of smaller units that escorted merchantmen . One of these was the " Goėland " , which was escorting the fishing fleet from Granville to Newfoundland . French Revolution . English Channel and Northern Sea . In February 1793 , when war broke out against England , L ' Hermite was first officer on the frigate " Résolue " , and he engaged in commerce raiding in the Channel and off the Atlantic coast of France . Promoted to lieutenant in August 1793 , he received command of the " Tamise " , recently captured from the British by the frigate division to which " Résolue " belonged . After extensive tests , " Tamise " conducted two patrols in the Channel , capturing over 60 prizes , and was then attached to " Montagne " , the flagship of the Brest squadron . As such , she took part in the Glorious First of June , in which she ferried orders from the admiral to other ships . In 1795 , l ' Hermite took command of a frigate squadron bound to raid commerce off Ireland , with his flag on the frigate " Seine " . The squadron captured over 80 of small vessels , including HMS " Hound " , a 16 - gun sloop returning from Jamaica , on 23 August . L ' Hermitte then led the frigates " Seine " and " Galathée " and a corvette to Christiansand , visiting several harbours of the coast of Norway to capture English merchantmen that had fled there . Trapped by cold and disrepair , his ships were forced to spend the winter of 1794 - 1795 there , where sickness weakened their crews . He returned to France with three prizes , though a storm wrecked " Galathée " off Penmarc ' h . Indian Ocean . From February 1796 , L ' Hermite captained the frigate " Vertu " in a squadron led by Admiral Sercey , bound for île de France . He took part in a number of small actions , and was wounded in the Action of 8 September 1796 . In 1798 , he took command of the 46 - gun frigate " Preneuse " . He was tasked to ferry ambassadors sent by Tippu Sultan to Île de France to request help against the British . Spotting two Indiamen off Thalassery , L ' Hermite decided to attack . He captured them after a one - hour fight , and in spite of a lightning striking " Preneuse " s main mast . When they arrived at Surabaya , the crew of " Preneuse " mutinied when L ' Hermite decided to send the captured flags to Admiral Sercey . Subsequently , five men were court - martialed , found guilty of mutiny , and executed by firing squad . L ' Hermite then set out for a three - moth patrol in the Chinese seas with " Preneuse " and " Brûle - Gueule " , under Don Álava . In 1799 , upon their return to Mauritius , the ships were blockaded by a British squadron of three ships of the line , a frigate and a brig . The French took refuge in Rivière noire , sent seven guns ashore and kept the British at bay for three weeks , before the British squadron renounced and departed . On 4 September 1799 , " Preneuse " engaged a British frigate squadron that she had approached in the fog and mistaken for merchant vessels , escaping after a furious fight that cost her 40 men . In October 1799 , off Cape of Good Hope , " Preneuse " was spotted and chased by the 54 - gun HMS " Jupiter " , which was cruising to intercept her . After a 22 - hour chase , L ' Hermite engaged " Jupiter " and managed to manoeuver into a favourable position from which he sent her a raking broadside at pistol range , forcing her to sail back to Cape Town to avoid boarding . His ship damaged and with 80 of his men killed of wounded , L ' Hermite returned to Mauritius . On her return to Mauritius , " Preneuse " ran into the 74 - gun " Tremendous " , anchored in front of Port - Louis . As she attempted to escape by sailing in shallow waters , the 50 - gun HMS " Adamant " cut her retreat . Erratic winds then grounded " Preneuse " on a coral bank , and she came under fire from the two ships of the line , able to return fire only from her stern chasers . L ' Hermite sent his sick and wounded ashore and was taken prisoner by Commodore Hotham , who boarded " Preneuse " and burnt her . Ailing , L ' Hermite was received with extreme courtesy by Hotham , and release on parole with his staff a few days later . He returned to Île de France a hero , the population celebrating him and a 15 - shot saluted being fired in his honour . Career during the First Empire . L ' Hermite returned to France in October 1801 , where he was received by Bonaparte who promoted him to Captain , and called him " the Brave " . He took command of the 74 - gun " Brutus " to ferry her from Lorient to Brest , then of the 80 - gun " Alexandre " , and eventually of the 120 - gun " Vengeur " , as flag officer of Admiral Truguet . L ' Hermitte ' s rising star came to a halt , however , when Truguet was dismissed after speaking against the rise of the Empire , and for one year l ' Hermite was left without a command . He was nevertheless made an Officer in the Legion of Honour at the founding of the Order in late 1805 . In 1805 , L ' Hermite took command of a squadron tasked with raiding commerce in the Atlantic and in the Caribbean , with his flag on the " Régulus " ; the squadron further comprised two frigates and two fireships . The squadron departed Lorient on 31 October 1805 and cruised off the Azores , Cape Verde , the coast of Africa up to Benin , crossed the Atlantic to Brazil , and sailed towards the Caribbean . On 6 January 1806 they captured . In August 1806 , a storm dispersed the squadron and L ' Hermite lost his frigates , and he was forced back to Brest by an epidemic of scurvy . in the Iroise Sea , he ran into four British ships of the line blockading Brest , but managed to elude them and reach Brest harbour on 2 September 1806 . Having captured around 50 ships and 10 million franc worth of goods during his 11 - month campaign , L ' Hermite was promoted to rear admiral and made a Baron of the Empire . In October 1808 , L ' Hermite was put in command of the Rochefort squadron , raising his flag on " Ville de Varsovie " . He also served as a rapporteur in the Council of war in the aftermath of the Battle of the Basque Roads . By mid - February , his failing health had forced him to resign his command and he never again occupied a command at sea . From 1811 , L ' Hermite was préfet maritime in Toulon . In 1812 , he briefly commanded the Mediterranean squadron , which did not sail at the time . His chronic illness forced him to rely on captain Christy - Pallière , who supervised the harbour , to relieve him . After the Bourbon restoration in 1814 , L ' Hermite commanded the " Ville de Marseille " . Louis XVIII sent him to pick up the Duke of Orléans and his family in Palermo . This task earned l ' Hermite the cross of the Order of Saint Louis . During the Hundred Days , L ' Hermite declared himself in favour of the King , which caused his immediate dismissal . L ' Hermite retired in 1816 with the honorary rank of vice - admiral , and was made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis . Portraits . Langlois de Sézanne painted two portraits , representing L ' Hermite and his wife , which the family gave to the museum of Coutances . A smaller portrait by Fanish , which shows l ' Hermite in 1793 , is also on display there .