Vice-Admiral Armand-Guy-Simon de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint (29 July 1742 – 4 December 1793) was a French Navy officer and politician who served in the American Revolutionary War. During the French Revolution, he aligned himself with the Girondins and executed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror.
Early life and military career
Born in Paris, Kersaint came from a noble family; his father, Guy François de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, was a distinguished naval officer. Kersaint's brothers, Guy-Pierre (1747–1822) and Joseph Coëtnempren de Kersaint (1746–1797), also served in the French Navy and took part in the American Revolutionary War. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 February 1770, and to Captain on 13 March 1779.
In July 1778, as captain of the 32-gun Iphigénie, he captured the 20-gun British post-ship . In 1782 Kersaint led an expedition to capture the British-held Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice.
At the outbreak of the Revolution, Kersaint embraced reform. He adopted the new ideas, and in a pamphlet entitled Le Bon Sens (a title inspired by Thomas Paine's Common Sense) attacked traditional privileges; he also submitted to the National Constituent Assembly a scheme for the reorganisation of the navy, but it was not accepted.