Early life

Son of a captain in the service of the French East India Company

French East India Company

The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in colonial India....

, he went to sea at the age of twelve with his father aboard the Villevault in 1765. In 1780, Bouvet served in the East Indies in the famous campaign of 1781–83 under the command of Suffren

Suffren

Suffren can have the following meanings:People:*Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez - French admiral.Ships:*French ship Suffren - seven ships of the French Navy named after the admiral....

. He was promoted to lieutenant (Lieutenant de vaisseau

Ranks in the French Navy

The rank insignia of the French Navy are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels....

) in 1785.

Naval career

On the outbreak of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 he very naturally took a Republican stance. In 1790, he became second officer aboard the Prudence. In 1790, he was promoted captain (capitaine de vaisseau) and received the command of the Audacieux (80) in the first great fleet collected by the Republic. In the same year (1793) he was promoted to rear-admiral, and command the Second Squadron of the fleet in Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

, which fought the Battle of the First of June

Glorious First of June

The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...

 (1794) against Lord Howe.

Until the close of 1796 he continued in command of a squadron in the French Channel fleet. In the December of that year he was entrusted with the van division of the fleet which was sent from Brest to attempt to land General Hoche with an expeditionary force in the south of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The stormy weather scattered the French as soon as they left Brest. Bouvet, who found himself at daybreak on 17 December separated with nine sail of the line from the rest of the fleet, opened his secret orders, and found that he was to make his way to Mizen Head

Mizen Head

Mizen Head , is located at the extremity of a peninsula in the district of Carbery in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of the extreme points of the island of Ireland and is a major tourist attraction, noted for its dramatic cliff scenery...

. He took a wide course to avoid meeting British cruisers, and on the 19th fell in with a considerable part of the rest of the fleet and some of the transports. On 21 December he arrived off Dursey Island

Dursey Island

Dursey Island lies at the southwestern tip of the Beara Peninsula in the west of County Cork in Ireland. Dursey Island is 6.5 km long and 1.5 km wide. The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow stretch of water called Dursey Sound which has a very strong tidal race, with a...

 at the entry to Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....

. On 24 December he anchored near Bear Island with part of his fleet. The continued storms which blew down Bantry Bay made it impossible to land the troops he had with him. On the evening of 25 December the storm increased to such a pitch of violence that the frigate Immortalité in which Bouvet had hoisted his flag was blown out to sea. The wind moderated by 29 December, but Bouvet, being convinced that none of the ships of his squadron could have remained at the anchorage, steered for Brest, where he arrived on 1 January 1797.

His fortune had been very much that of his colleagues in this storm-tossed expedition, and on the whole he had shown more energy than most of them. He was wrong, however, in thinking that all his squadron had failed to keep their anchorage in Bantry Bay. The government, displeased by his precipitate return to Brest, dismissed him from command soon afterwards. He was compelled to open a school to support himself. Napoleon restored him to the service, and he commanded the 2-ships of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 and 4-frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

s squadron sent to occupy Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

 during the peace of Amiens, hoisting his flag on the Redoutable

French ship Redoutable (1791)

The Redoutable was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She is known for her duel with HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar and for killing Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson during the action.- Early career :...

.

In 1803, he was promoted to military chief of Brest harbour, and later préfet maritime

Préfet Maritime

The Préfet Maritime is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in one particular region . As a civil servant, he reports to the Prime Minister...

of Brest, in 1813. In December 1813, distrusted by Napoleon, he was replaced by Cosmao-Kerjulien

Julien Cosmao

Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien was a French Navy officer, admiral, and hero of the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...

.

At the Restoration, he was made a baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 by Louis XVIII

Louis XVIII of France

Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...

, in July 1814. Promoted to vice-admiral in 1816, he was préfet maritime of Lorient

Lorient

Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...

, and left active service in November 1817. He died in 1832.