 In 1769, he captained the 50-gun "Hippopotame", ferrying troops to the Caribbeans.Vaudreuil was dispatched to America when the French entered the war on the side of the Americans in February 1778.His first engagement came at the First Battle of Ushant, an island on the north-west part of France near Brest, where the French Navy and the British Navy fought to a draw.