BOUVET, FRANCOIS JOSEPH French admiral, son of a captain in the service of the French East India Company, was born on April 23 17J3. He went to sea at the age of 12 with his father. Bouvet served in the East Indies in the famous campaign of 1781-83. On the outbreak of the French Revo lution Bouvet was promoted captain, and in 1793 to rear-admiral, and commanded a division in the fleet which fought the battle of June I 1794 against Lord Howe. Until the close of 1796 he continued in command of a squadron in the French Channel fleet. In the December of that year he was entrusted with the van division of the fleet which was sent from Brest to attempt to land General Hoche with an expeditionary force in the south of Ireland. Bouvet, who found himself at daybreak on Dec. 17 sepa rated with nine sail of the line from the rest of the fleet, opened his secret orders, and found that he was to make for Mizen Head. On Dec. 24 he anchored near Bear Island with part of his fleet. The storms which blew down Bantry Bay, made it impossible to land. On the evening of the 25th Bouvet's frigate was blown out to sea. Bouvet, being convinced that none of the ships of his squadron could have remained at the anchorage, steered for Brest, where he arrived on Jan. I 1797. He was wrong in thinking that all his squadron had failed to keep their anchorage in Bantry Bay, and he was dismissed from command soon afterwards; Napoleon re stored him to the service, and he commanded the squadron sent to occupy Guadeloupe during the peace of Amiens. He died on July 21 183 2.
See Tronde, Batailles navales de la France, vols. ii. and iii., English in Ireland; James, Naval History, vols. i. and ii. and Admiral Colomb's Naval Warfare.