LACROSSE, Jean Baptiste Raymond, Baron, French naval officer, born in Meilhan, 5 September, 1765; died there, 9 September, 1829. He entered the navy as a midshipman in 1780, fought in the West Indies in 1781, and from 1784 till 1789 was successively attached to the stations of Chili, Brazil, and Martinique. Toward the end of 1790 he was sent on a cruise around Santo Domingo, and in 1792 was commissioned to reorganize the administration in the French West Indies. He performed his mission so well that the citizens of Guadeloupe elected him their governor in January, 1793. But the reign of terror had already begun, and Lacrosse was dismissed in September of that year. In March, 1801, he was appointed governor-general of Guadeloupe, which was then in open revolt. Lacrosse dealt severely with the two parties, and restored order, but fell into an ambuscade and was carried to Dominique in November, 1801. After receiving re-enforcements from France, he landed again at Pointe a Pitre in May, 1802, in less than a month had subdued the whole island, and soon restored it to its former prosperity. His health compelled him to return to France in 1803. He defeated Nelson at Boulogne, 1 October, 1804, and afterward commanded at Rochefort; but his failing health compelled him to retire in 1812. He published "Memoire sur les moyens de ruiner les etablissements de l'Amerique qu'alimente le commerce de l'Angleterre et en particulier Rio de Janeiro " (Paris, 1795)" "Memoire sur les etablissements Francais et Anglais dans les Antilles" (1800); " Memoires pour servir a l'histoire de la revolte des heirs a la Guadeloupe" (2 vols., 1822)" "Deux anuses de gouvernement a la Guadeloupe" (1824); "De l'avenir des colonies Francaises dans les Antilles et en particulier de la Guadeloupe" (2 vols., 1826); and several technical works on naval matters.