Louis-Marie, vicomte de Noailles
Louis-Marie, vicomte de Noailles (
April 17,
1756 –
January 9,
1804) was the second son of
Philippe, duc de Mouchy, and a member of
Mouchy branch of the famous
Noailles family of the
French aristocracy.
He served brilliantly under
Lafayette in America, and was the officer who concluded the capitulation of
Yorktown in
1781.
He was elected to the
Estates-General in
1789. On
4 August 1789, during the
French Revolution, he began the famous "orgy", as
Mirabeau called it, when all privileges were abolished, and with the
duc d'Aiguilion proposed the abolition of
titles and
liveries in June
1790.
When the Revolution became more pronounced he emigrated to the
United States and became a partner in Bingham's bank at
Philadelphia. He was very successful and might have lived happily had he not accepted a command against the
English in
San Domingo, under
Rochambeau. He made a brilliant defence of the Môle St Nicholas and escaped with the garrison to
Cuba, but
en route there his ship was attacked by the English frigate
Hazard, and after a long engagement he was severely wounded, dying of his wounds in
Havana on
9 January 1804.
