Louis Charles du Chaffault de Besné

Posthumous 1839 painting of de Besné.

Louis Charles de Besné, count of Le Chaffault, lord of Chambreton, Meslay, la Goyére and other lands (29 February 1708, Nantes - 27 June 1794, Lusançay prison) was a French naval commander. From a noble family in Nantes, he entered the French Navy at a young age and first gained distinction for his part in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747.

When peace came he was sent on several missions to the Antilles and resupplied French colonies in New France. He was promoted to a naval lieutenant general and at this rank he fought at the 1778 Battle of Ushant, gaining the nickname of "the man of Ushant" ("l'homme d'Ouessant"). On the outbreak of the French Revolution he retired to the Vendée, but was arrested and died in prison.

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