Armand de Kersaint Armand - Guy - Simon de Coetnempren , comte de Kersaint , in short Armand de Kersaint ( 29 July 1742 — 4 December 1793 ) , was a French sailor and politician . A Girondin , Kersaint held important naval posts during the early stages of the French Revolution . His brother , Guy Pierre Kersaint ( 1747 – 1822 ) , also served in the navy and took part in the American War of Independence . Early life and career . Born in Paris , Kersaint came from a noble family ; his father , Guy François de Coetnempren , comte de Kersaint , was a distinguished naval officer . Armand de Kersaint entered the French Navy in 1755 , and in 1757 , while serving on his father ' s ship , was promoted to the rank of ensign for his bravery in action . 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 Demerara and Essequibo . At that time the officers of the French navy were divided into two parties — the " reds " or nobles , and the " blues " or " roturiers " . At the outbreak of the Revolution , Kersaint , despite of his origin , took the side of the blues . He adopted the new ideas , and in a pamphlet entitled " Le Bon Sens " ( a title inspired by Thomas Paine ' s " Common Sense " ) attacked traditional privilege s ; he also submitted to the National Constituent Assembly a scheme for the reorganization 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 Seine 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 realization 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 King Louis XVI , and , on 10 August 1792 ( after the storming of the Tuileries Palace , voting in favor of his deposition . Shortly after , he was sent on a mission to the " Armée du Centre " , inspecting Soissons , Reims , 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 . He continued to devote himself to questions concerning the navy and national defense , prepared a report on the British political system 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 appeal 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 - he failed to obtain even a post as officer . 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 sentenced to death , and guillotined .