 The newly appointed commander of this troubled fleet was Villaret de <unk> ; although formerly in a junior position , he was known to possess a high degree of tactical ability ; he had trained under Admiral Pierre André de <unk> in the Indian Ocean during the American war . However , Villaret 's attempts to mould his new officer corps into an effective fighting unit were hampered by another new appointee , a deputy of the National Convention named Jean @-@ Bon Saint @-@ André . Saint @-@ André 's job was to report directly to the National Convention on the revolutionary <unk> of both the fleet and its admiral . He frequently intervened in strategic planning and tactical operations . Shortly after his arrival , Saint @-@ André proposed issuing a decree ordering that any officer deemed to have shown insufficient zeal in defending his ship in action should be put to death on his return to France , although this highly controversial legislation does not appear to have ever been acted upon . Although his interference was a source of frustration for Villaret , Saint @-@ André 's dispatches to Paris were published regularly in Le Moniteur , and did much to popularise the Navy in France . 
