Carel Hendrik Ver Huell Carel Hendrik count Ver Huell ( also Verhuell ) ( Doetinchem , 4 February 1764 – Paris , 25 October 1845 ) was a Dutch , and later French , admiral and statesman . He married Maria Johanna de Bruyn on 22 February 1789 at Hummelo , and had three sons with her . Career . Ver Huell had a checkered career in which he switched allegiances a number of times . However , he was not alone in this ( Talleyrand and Fouché come to mind ) . In any case , he always diligently served his current master , and often was able to restore a good relationship with former masters . Dutch Republic . Ver Huell entered the military service of the Dutch Republic in 1785 as an officer cadet in an infantry regiment , but switched to the navy in 1779 to become a midshipman . On board the frigate " Argo " ( 40 ) he participated in the " Affair of Fielding and Bylandt " , of 30 December 1779 , during which a Dutch convoy , escorted by a squadron under Admiral Bylandt , was attacked in peace time by a British squadron under Commodore Charles Fielding . In 1781 , he took part as a third lieutenant , still aboard " Argo " , in the Battle of Dogger Bank ( 1781 ) , where he distinguished himself . For his conduct he was made a Knight ( third class ) in the Military Order of William , by William II of the Netherlands in 1843 , 62 years after the battle . He was wounded during the battle , and was promoted to second lieutenant in recompense . He served in the Mediterranean on board several vessels during the next few years of the Fourth Anglo - Dutch War . In 1785 he helped suppress a mutiny aboard a naval vessel on the Zuider Zee . For this he was promoted to first lieutenant . He served in the Baltic , Mediterranean , and North Sea till 1789 . Promoted to commander in 1791 he commanded a corvette on a voyage to the East Indies . In 1792 he was made an adjutant to admiral Van Kinsbergen , the commander - in - chief of the Dutch Navy . He organized a corps of armed sailors on shore . The next year he was promoted to captain . Batavian Republic . As an Orangist adherent of Stadtholder William V , he was fired , like most officers of the navy , after the 1795 revolution that resulted in the proclamation of the Batavian Republic . During the first years of that Republic he did not try to re - enlist , like many other officers , such as Theodorus Frederik van Capellen . However , he apparently was involved in the preparations for the Vlieter Incident of 1799 , when as an agent for the exiled Stadtholder he tried to persuade Van Capellen to organize a mutiny . After the 1801 coup of general Augereau , which brought the Staatsbewind to power in the Batavian Republic , and in general a more conservative regime , he was elected mayor of his birthplace Doetinchem ( the same office his father had held ) in 1802 . The next year war again broke out and the Batavian Republic was supposed to take part in the planned invasion of England . To this end a large flotilla of flat - bottomed boats was built in the Republic , that had to be transported over sea to Boulogne - sur - Mer , where the main invasion jump - off point was located . Ver Huell was selected to lead this dangerous mission as a vice - admiral . On 18 July 1805 , aboard " Heemskerk " , he was able to fend off an attack on this flotilla by admiral Sir William Sidney Smith near Cap Gris Nez . This feat under the eyes of Napoleon himself earned him the membership of the Légion d ' honneur . The " Staatsbewind " now appointed admiral Ver Huell minister for the navy , but he at first declined the appointment , because he was appointed commander of the right wing of the naval army that Napoleon had assembled at Boulogne . Only after the project of invasion had been called off did he take up his ministerial appointment . He remained in this position under the new regime of Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck in 1805 . During his time in France he became a confidant of Napoleon , however , and he now entered in a secret correspondence with Talleyrand and Napoleon in which he undermined Schimmelpenninck ' s position . This placed him in an excellent position to help prepare the transition to the Kingdom of Holland , which Napoleon desired . He led the delegation of the Dutch government that on 6 June 1806 " petitioned " Napoleon ' s brother Louis Napoleon to become King of " Holland . " . For this service he was promoted to " Grand Aigle de la Légion d ' honneur " . Kingdom of Holland . The new king made him a marshal of Holland and continued him as Minister for the Navy . In 1807 he appointed him ambassador to France . During the Walcheren Campaign of 1809 admiral Ver Huell temporarily took command of the royal navy of the kingdom , aboard " Koninklijken Hollander " , and adequately defended the coast of the country . For this Louis created him count of Zevenaar . Meanwhile , however , Ver Huell remained in correspondence with Napoleon . He was a conscientious implementor of the policies of the emperor , even if those were not in the interest of his native country , like the Continental System , whereas Louis was more inclined to stand up to his brother , and defend the interests of his subjects . In this conflict of interests , Ver Huell steadfastly took the side of Napoleon and France . As in the last days of the Batavian Republic he was instrumental in bringing about the fall of the Kingdom . French Empire . After the annexation of the Netherlands to the French Empire in July , 1810 , Ver Huell was made a vice - admiral in the imperial French navy . As such he was put in charge of French naval forces on the North German coast and in the Baltic , between Emden and Danzig . In 1811 Napoleon made him a count of the Empire ( with a gratuity of 10 , 000 francs ) and gave him a pension of 15 , 000 francs . In 1812 he was made " Grand Officier de l ' Empire " and given the naval command of Den Helder . This was still his position when the new " Sovereign Prince " , William I of the Netherlands took power , in December , 1813 , after the military collapse of the Empire . Ver Huell held out against the besieging Dutch forces in the fortress of Den Helder till Napoleon ' s abdication in 1814 . He then left for France as an exile . Bourbon Restoration . In 1814 ( as a post in William ' s new government was impossible because of his tenacious defense of Den Helder ) Ver Huell acquired French nationality under the restored king Louis XVIII of France . Louis also maintained him in his naval rank and noble titles . He made him a " chevalier dans l ' ordre de Mérite militaire " ( Order of Military Merit ) . He also put him in charge of the naval defense of the French North Coast . During the Hundred Days , Ver Huell remained loyal to the Bourbon regime . However , when Napoleon wanted to escape to the United States after his second abdication in 1815 , he asked that Ver Huell should be put in charge of the attempt , because of his reputation as a blockade runner . However , the Minister of the Navy , Denis Decrès decided that such a small command would be beneath Ver Huell ' s dignity ( without consulting Ver Huell , who later declared he would have been honored ) . Ver Huell resigned from the French navy in 1816 . He was made a " pair de France " on 5 March 1819 . This made him a member of the " Chambre des Pairs " for life . In 1836 he briefly served as French ambassador in Berlin . He died on October 25 , 1845 . Miscellaneous facts . There is a rumor that probably lacks any ground , but is hard to put to rest , that Ver Huell had a sexual relationship with Queen Hortense , the consort of King Louis of Holland . According to this rumor he fathered the future emperor Napoleon III of France . The name of Ver Huell is inscribed in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as one of the generals of Napoleon ( first column , fourth from the top , between Dembarrere and Rouyer ) . Ver Huell was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery . The headstone is inscribed : " Concession à perpétuité de la famille de Mr . l ' Amiral comte Ver Huell Pair de France " . His brother Christiaan Anthonie Ver Huell ( also a Dutch vice - admiral ) , and two sons , are also buried in this cemetery .