François Joseph Paul de Grasse

François Joseph Paul de Grasse
François Joseph Paul de Grasse
Nickname(s)	Comte de Grasse
Born	13 September 1722; Le Bar-sur-Loup, Provence, France
Died	11 January 1788 (aged 65); Tilly, Île-de-France, France
Buried	Church of Saint-Roch, Paris
Allegiance	Order of Saint John (1734–1741); Kingdom of France (1741–1784)
Service/branch	French Navy
Years of service	1734–1784
Rank	Lieutenant général des armées navales
Battles/wars	War of the Austrian Succession Battle of Toulon (1744); First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747); ; American War of Independence Battle of Ouessant; Battle of Grenada; Invasion of Dominica; Battle of St. Lucia; Battle of Martinique (1780); Battle of Fort Royal; Invasion of Tobago; Battle of the Chesapeake; Battle of Yorktown; Battle of St. Kitts; Siege of Brimstone Hill; Battle of the Saintes; ;
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François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Marquis of Grasse-Tilly SMOM (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a career French officer who achieved the rank of admiral. He is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 in the last year of the American Revolutionary War. It led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown and helped gain the rebels' victory.

After this action, de Grasse returned with his fleet to the Caribbean. In 1782 British Admiral Rodney decisively defeated and captured de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes. De Grasse was widely criticised for his loss in that battle. On his return to France in 1784, he blamed his captains for the defeat. A court martial exonerated all of his captains, effectively ending his naval career.

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