DUGOMMIER, Jean Francois Coquille, soldier, born in Guadaloupe, West Indies, in 1736; died at San Sebastian, Spain, in 1794. He entered the army when scarcely sixteen years old, served on the continent, and rose to the rank of major; but, having been placed on half pay, he retired to Martinique, where he had inherited a large estate, on which he lived for nearly twenty-five years. He supported the doctrines of the French revolution, and was elected commander of the national guard of the island, which office he held for three years; but being placed between the white colonists, who were almost unanimously opposed to the new ideas, and the excited Negroes, who were impatient to revenge their sufferings upon their former masters, he was forced to resign, and sailed in 1792 for France as deputy to the National convention for Martinique. But he soon resigned his seat and reentered the army, was commissioned general of brigade, and soon rose to the rank of division general in the army of Italy. In 1793 he directed the siege of Toulon, where he was conspicuous for his ability and courage, as also for his humanity after the surrender. During the siege a young artillery officer, Bonaparte, laid before the general a plan to expel the British fleet from the bay, which would lead to the capture of the City, and Dugommier, recognizing the genius of the young officer, approved the plan with the warmest praise. Dugommier commanded afterward the French army of the eastern Pyrenees, repeatedly defeated the Spanish armies, and recaptured from them Fort St. Elmo, Collioure, PortVendres, and Bellegarde. He finally crossed the Pyrenees, and during the siege of San Sebastian was killed by the bursting of a shell.