Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte

Who was Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte?

Vice-Admiral Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte was a French naval officer.

Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc entered the navy as a midshipman in 1698, and received his first command in 1708. Following a promotion to sub-lieutenant, he fought at Rio de Janeiro in 1711 during the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1718 he became a knight of the Order of Saint-Louis.

Dubois de La Motte was promoted to captain in 1738, and directed three campaigns in the West Indies. In 1751, following the third of those campaigns, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral and made governor general of Saint-Domingue.

He served extensively off the coast of North America, including being assigned to help defend Louisbourg, on Cape Breton Island, in the Seven Years' War. Although he fell ill shortly after arriving, his superior naval strength delayed British supremacy over the island for a year, the British failing in their attempts in the Louisbourg Expedition.

In 1758, with his active career over, he participated in a battle to repulse a British landing near Saint-Malo, which ultimately proved successful.