L’Escuyer 11-gun vessel sailed alongside Francois Grogniet in 1685 when they led a large contingent of
flibustiers (French buccaneers) and a few English to join a growing group of Englishmen under Captains
Charles Swan,
Townley,
Davis, and others. The Frenchmen had arrived in canoes and open boats after marching across
Panama. Davis granted them the captured Spanish prize ship
San Rosario, which still had with over 300 Frenchmen aboard. There are varying accounts of L’Escuyer’s involvement in subsequent events. The account of
Raveneau de Lussan, leader of another group of French
flibustiers who joined the group a few months later, indicates that L’Escuyer’s crew “had recently lost their captain” and that the
San Rosario was under the sole command of Grogniet. This account would place L’Escuyer’s death in mid-1685. Other accounts claim that L’Escuyer was part of the French contingent from that point forward, participating in the blockade of Panama, the group’s failure to capture the Spanish treasure fleet, and their sack of
Guayaquil. He was also with them when the Spanish burned their ships at
Quibo, and for their subsequent attacks on
Nicaragua, alongside Townley. Whether L’Escuyer stayed with Grogniet or left with other Frenchmen who followed
Pierre le Picard is not recorded. ==See also==