ESTAING, CHARLES HECTOR

COMTE D’ (1729-1794), French admiral; 6. Ruvel Auvergne: d. Paris. He commanded the French fleet which took an active part against the British in the Revolutionary War. Originally a colonel of infantry in the French army he participated in military operations against the British in the East Indies, where he obtained the command of some ve els in 1759, after the siege of Madras. Thereafter he entered upon a distinguished naval career, becoming a licutenant-general of the navy, and in 1777 vice-admiral. The fleet he commanded to a ist the American colonists against Great Britain in accordance with the treaty between the United States and France was composed of twelve ships of the line and four frigates. He reached Delaware Bay, in July, 1778. captured some prizes off the New Jersey coast, and blockaded the English admiral Howe at Sandy Hook. A storm, which seriously damaged his fleet, prevented his engaging in a battle with Howe's warships. He shifted his operations to the West Indies, where he captured St. Vincent and Grenada. In 1779 he failed to take Savannah from the British in co-operation with American land forces. The next year he returned to France and in’ 1783 commanded the allied fleets of France and Spain. He was drawn into revolutionary politics, and though favoring governmental reform, he was arrested and executed as a royalist for having testified in Marie Antionette’s favor at her trial. equivalent to ‘ranch’ and Australian ‘station.’