Early Life
Bouchard was born in Saint-Tropez in 1780 or 1783. The son of André Louis Bouchard and Thérèse Brunet was baptized as André Paul but eventually went by the name Hippolyte. He initially worked in the French merchant fleet, then served in the French Navy in their campaigns against the English, thus starting his life at sea. After many campaigns in Egypt and Santo Domingo, and disillusioned with the direction of the French Revolution, Bouchard came to Argentina in 1809 and, to aid the May Revolution, became a part of the National Argentine Fleet, led by Azopardo. On March 2, 1811 he fought for the first time under the Argentine Flag when the Spanish Captain Jacinto de Romarate defeated the first Argentine flotilla at San Nicolás de los Arroyos, and in July and August of that year he played a major role in defending the City of Buenos Aires from a Spanish blockade. In March, 1812 Bouchard joined the Mounted Grenadiers Regiment led by José de San Martín and took part in the Battle of San Lorenzo in 1813, where he captured a Spanish flag and therefore was granted Argentine citizenship. Some months later he married Norberta Merlo.
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