Француз адмиралы Луи Рене Маделен Ле Вассор де Ла Туш Тревиль

French vice admiral (1745 1804)

Louis René Madelaine Le Vassor, comte de La Touche Tréville (3 June 1745 was a French admiral. He fought in the American War of Independence and became a prominent figure of the French Revolutionary Wars and of the Napoleonic wars. Born into a noble family of naval officers, Latouche enlisted at the age of 13. He rose to become a competent frigate captain, battling several British ships during the American War of Independence. His two frigate squadron once manoeuvred a 74 gun ship of the line to the point of sinking, and he was entrusted with important personalities of the time as passengers, notably Louis XVI and the Marquis de Lafayette. During the Revolution, Latouche, a Freemason and aide to Phillipe Égalité, took progressive positions as a deputy in the Estates General and later in the National Constituent Assembly. His noble status nevertheless made him a target during the Reign of Terror, and he was imprisoned and only freed from prison by the Thermidorian Reaction. Returned to the Navy after a long period of unemployment, Latouche took command of the Flottille de Boulogne, where he repelled the Raids on Boulogne organised by Nelson. He then served in the Saint Domingue expedition, which irrevocably compromised his health. After his return, he took command of the fleet in Toulon, reorganising it into a potent tool again, but he succumbed to a relapse of illness before he had a chance to use it. Under his successor Villeneuve, the fleet he had refurbished was crushed at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Latouche was born in Rochefort sur mer, Charente Maritime. His father, Louis Charles Le Vassor de La Touche, had been the governor of Martinique, until the Invasion of 1762, and chief of the naval forces of Rochefort. His uncle, Charles Auguste Levassor de La Touche Tréville, served as a rear admiral, commanding the light squadron of the France Spanish fleet under Orvilliers in 1780. and took part in his first action, in 1759 aboard the 64 gun Dragon, taking part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay. After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Latouche took part in training campaigns under his uncle Latouche Tréville and Admiral d'Estaing, he resigned from the Navy and enlisted in the Army. who commanded at Saint Domingue. In 1772, Navy Minister Boynes acceded to repeated requests from Latouche's family, Latouche corresponded with Captain Cook on exploration plans in 1775 and 1776.

Latouche Tréville was buried in Toulon graveyard. In 1810, a seven metre high pyramidal mausoleum was built at the Sémaphore de la Croix des Signaux, at Cape Cépet, from where Latouche Tréville had observed the British in his last year. On 14 October 1902, military authorities decided to move the mausoleum to the military graveyard of Saint Mandrier sur Mer; the body was transferred on 29 April 1903. French authors and historians often compared Latouche Tréville to Nelson, partly because he fought and defeated him in the Raids on Boulogne, partly because, had it not been for his untimely death, he would have opposed Nelson at Trafalgar. The name Latouche was inscribed on the north face of the Arc de Triomphe in his honour. Three ships of the French Navy have been named Latouche Tréville in his honour: the steam aviso Latouche Tréville in 1860; the armoured cruiser Latouche Tréville in 1892; and the F70 type destroyer Latouche Tréville, presently in commission.