Early career L'Hermite was born to the family of a counselor to the
Bailiwick and
Présidial of
Cotentin.
French Revolution English Channel and Northern Sea In February 1793, when war broke out against England, L'Hermite was first officer on the frigate
Résolue, and he engaged in commerce raiding in the Channel and off the Atlantic coast of France. Promoted to lieutenant in August 1793, he received command of the
Tamise, recently captured from the British by the frigate division to which
Résolue belonged. L'Hermitte then led the frigates
Seine and
Galathée and a corvette to
Christiansand, visiting several harbours of the coast of Norway to capture British merchantmen that had fled there. Trapped by cold and disrepair, his ships were forced to spend the winter of 1794-1795 there, where sickness weakened their crews. He returned to France with three prizes, though a storm wrecked
Galathée off
Penmarc'h.
Indian Ocean From February 1796, L'Hermite captained the frigate
Vertu in a squadron led by Admiral
Sercey, bound for
île de France. In 1798, he took command of the 46-gun frigate
Preneuse. As she attempted to escape by sailing in shallow waters, the 50-gun
HMS Adamant cut her retreat. Erratic winds then grounded
Preneuse on a coral bank, and she came under fire from the two ships of the line, able to return fire only from her
stern chasers. L'Hermite sent his sick and wounded ashore and was taken prisoner by
Commodore Hotham, who boarded
Preneuse and burnt her. Ailing, L'Hermite was received with extreme courtesy by Hotham, and release on parole with his staff a few days later. He returned to Île de France a hero, the population celebrating him and a 15-shot saluted being fired in his honour.
Career during the First Empire L'Hermite returned to France in October 1801, where he was received by Bonaparte who promoted him to captain, and called him "the Brave". He took command of the 74-gun
Impétueux to ferry her from Lorient to Brest, then of the 80-gun
Alexandre, and eventually of the 120-gun
Vengeur, as flag officer of Admiral
Truguet. L'Hermitte's rising star came to a halt, however, when Truguet was dismissed after speaking against the rise of the Empire, and for one year l'Hermite was left without a command. He was appointed
Officer of the Legion of Honour at the founding of the Order in late 1805. In 1805, L'Hermite took command of a squadron tasked with raiding commerce in the Atlantic and in the Caribbean, with his flag on the
Régulus; the squadron further comprised two frigates and two fireships. The squadron departed Lorient on 31 October 1805 and cruised off the
Azores,
Cape Verde, the coast of Africa up to
Benin, crossed the Atlantic to
Brazil, and sailed towards the Caribbean. On 6 January 1806 they captured . In August 1806, a storm dispersed the squadron and L'Hermite lost his frigates, and he was forced back to Brest by an epidemic of
scurvy. in the
Iroise Sea, he ran into four British ships of the line blockading Brest, but managed to elude them and reach Brest harbour on 2 September 1806. Having captured around 50 ships and 10 million franc worth of goods during his 11-month campaign, L'Hermite was promoted to rear admiral and made a
Baron of the Empire. In October 1808, L'Hermite was put in command of the
Rochefort squadron, raising his flag on
Ville de Varsovie. He also served as a
rapporteur in the
Council of war in the aftermath of the
Battle of the Basque Roads. By mid-February, his failing health had forced him to resign his command and he never again occupied a command at sea. From 1811, L'Hermite was
préfet maritime in Toulon. In 1812, he briefly commanded the Mediterranean squadron, which did not sail at the time. His chronic illness forced him to rely on captain
Christy-Pallière, who supervised the harbour, to relieve him. After the
Bourbon restoration in 1814, L'Hermite commanded the
Ville de Marseille. Louis XVIII sent him to pick up the
Duke of Orléans and his family in
Palermo. This task earned l'Hermite the cross of the
Order of Saint Louis. During the
Hundred Days, L'Hermite declared himself in favour of the King, which caused his immediate dismissal. L'Hermite retired in 1816 with the honorary rank of vice-admiral, and was appointed
Knight of the Order of Saint Louis. == Honours ==