post. When d'Emery died in 1777, Bouillé was awarded with the governorships of Martinique and St. Lucia, with authority to take full command of the French West Indies in the event France joined the American War of Independence. France's entry into that war occurred in early 1778, and Bouillé was heavily involved in the planning, execution, and leadership of operations in the West Indies. He organized and led the capture of Dominica before the British there were even aware of the war declaration, and was involved in organizing, provisioning, and leading troops in a number of other actions. In 1782 he recaptured Dutch Sint Eustatius, which the British had captured just the year before, and was involved in that year planning with Bernardo de Gálvez a Franco-Spanish expedition against Jamaica. The expedition was called off after the disastrous French defeat at the naval Battle of the Saintes in April 1782. Bouillé returned to France in 1783 after the peace. King Louis rewarded him for his conduct in the war with the Order of the Holy Spirit. He traveled the following year to England, where he was well received. He was well respected by the British for his treatment of prisoners of war and other captives during the war. In one notable instance, he returned the crew of a shipwrecked British frigate to a nearby British possession, refusing to take advantage of their plight to make them prisoners of war. He was equally gracious at home, even refusing an offer of payment (amounting to the munificent sum equivalent to £20,000 of the day) from the King for war expenses that he had personally covered. French Revolution In 1787 Bouillé was named governor of the Three Bishoprics. He served in 1787 and 1788 in the Assemblies of Notables called by King Louis in an attempt to deal with France's perilous financial state. After the French Revolution began in 1789, Bouillé retained control of the Three Bishoprics, and was also given military command of Alsace and Franche-Comté in 1790. A committed Royalist, he was instrumental in putting down rebellion in Metz, and led forces that controversially crushed a military mutiny in the "Nancy affair" in August 1790, in which both soldiers and civilians were killed. Although the National Assembly approved his actions, radicals were critical of the severity of his response. Louis' failed flight Bouillé had managed to keep a fairly strong Royalist