Adrien-Nicolas Piédefer, marquis de La Salle

Who was Adrien-Nicolas Piédefer, marquis de La Salle?

Adrien-Nicolas Piédefer, marquis de La Salle, comte d'Offrémont was a French writer and cavalry officer who saw service in the Seven Years' War, a writer of comedies and libretti, and a Masonic brother of Benjamin Franklin.

He was appointed maréchal de camp in 1791; He was appointed Governor of the west province of Saint-Domingue the following year, and twice governor-general. He was eventually a brigadier general.

In lighter moments he wrote a successful comedy in verse, in three acts, L'oncle et les tantes, which was reprinted in 1786. Previously he had supplied the libretti for at least two one-act operas for which the music was composed by François-Joseph Gossec. One, Le périgourdin was an intermède, a between-acts intermezzo that was presented at the private theatre of the prince de Conti at the Château de Chantilly, 7 June 1761. His one-act pastoral comedy Les pêcheurs, was presented to a Parisian public at the Comédie-italienne, 23 April 1766 and repeated 7 July. His translation of an English novel Histoire de Lucy Wellers, by "Miss Smythies of Colchester" was printed at The Hague in 1766.