Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite (first name also written "Jean-Matthieu-Adrien", and family name also written "Lhermitte"; Coutances, Manche, 29 September 1766 - Plessis-Picquet, 28 August 1826) was a French sea captain and rear admiral, notable for his involvement in the Glorious First of June and various other campaigns.
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L'Hermite was born to the family of a counselor to the Bailiwick and Présidial of Cotentin. He joined the Navy at age 14 as a novice on the coast guard cutter Pilote-des-Indes, cruising the English Channel. With her took part in a battle against an English privateer off Chausey.
In 1780, he joined the Northumberland as a volunteer, taking part in the battles of the American war of Independence. In 1784, when many French naval ships were put in the reserve, L'Hermite left the Navy and worked as first officer on the fishing ships Modeste and Surveillante off Newfoundland, .
In 1787, with Castries's reform of the Navy, l'Hermite took a commission as a sub-lieutenant on the Achille, and later of a number of smaller units that escorted merchantmen.
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.
After extensive tests, Tamise conducted two patrols in the Channel, and was then attached to Montagne, the flagship of the Brest squadron. As such, she took part in the Glorious First of June.
In 1795, l'Hermite took command of a frigate squadron bound to raid commerce off Ireland, with his flag on the frigate Seine. The squadron captured a number of small vessels, including HMS Hound, a 16-gun sloop. L'Hermitte then led the frigates Seine and Galathée and a corvette to Christiansand, visiting several harbours of the coast of Norway to capture English 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.
From February 1796, L'Hermite captained the frigate Vertu in a squadron led by Admiral Sercey, bound for île de France. He took part in a number of small actions, and was wounded fighting two British ships of the line.
In 1798, he took command of the 46-gun frigate Preneuse. He was tasked to ferry ambassadors sent by Tippu Sultan to Île de France to request help against the British. Spotting two Indiamen off Thalassery, L'Hermite decided to attack. He captured them after a one-hour fight, and in spite of a lightening striking Preneuse's main mast. When they arrived at Surabaya, the crew of Preneuse mutinied when L'Hermite decided to send the captured flags to Admiral Sercey. Subsequently, five men were court-martialed, found guilty of mutiny, and executed by firing squad.
L'Hermite then set out for a three-moth patrol in the Chinese seas with Preneuse and Brûle-Gueule. Upon their return, the ships were blockaded by a British squadron in Rivière noire, but managed to escape.
After repairs, he sailed to Cape of Good Hope and Madagascar. On 4 September 1799, Preneuse engaged a British frigate squadron that she had approached in the fog and mistaken for merchant vessels, escaping after a furious fight that cost her 40 men. The 54-gun HMS Jupiter chased Preneuse, which managed to drive Jupiter off by outmaneuvering and raking her; Jupiter then escaped to avoid boarding. After completing her patrol, Preneuse returned to Île de France, where she was intercepted by the 74-gun Tremendous; as she attempted to escape by sailing in shallow waters, the 50-gun HMS Adamant cut her retreat. Preneuse grounded and her crew scuttled her to avoid her capture.
An ailing L'Hermite was received with extreme courtesy by Commodore 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.
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 Brutus 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.
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. On 6 January 1806 they captured HMS Favourite. A hurricane dispersed the squadron in August 1806, and he returned to Brest with the lone Régulus on 2 October, barely escaping four British ships. Having captured 26 ships, 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. By mid-February, failing health had forced him to resign his command and he never again occupied a command at sea.
Following the Battle of the Basque Roads, L'Hermite was appointed Imperial commissaire (commissaire impérial, with the function of a procurator) in the court martial of four captains who had lost their ships, obtaining the death penalty for one and destitution for another. In spite of his controversial role in the affair, Admiral Zacharie Allemand was not incriminated.
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.
Langlois de Sézanne painted two portraits, representing L'Hermite and his wife, which the family gave to the museum of Coutances. A smaller portrait by Fanish, which shows l'Hermite in 1793, is also on display there.