[4] Freed, Leduc served again on a privateer, the Duc de Fissac, before returning to the merchant navy.
He joined the Navy on 8 June 1793 as an enseigne de vaisseau entretenu and took command of the aviso Entreprise during the Siege of Dunkirk.
[12] Upon departure, it became evident that Néarque was a far worse sailer than the frigates and that she could not follow; Leduc detached her so that she would carry out her orders independently,[13] but she was captured almost immediately by HMS Niobe.
[12][13] The winter of 1806 being particularly long harsh, Leduc found his route blocked by ice;[14] he decided to wait off the Azores,[11][14] where on 20 April the division captured the British Ruth; she was given a prize crew under Midshipman Besse and sailed to Ponta Delgada, but ran aground on the coast of São Miguel Island on 5 June and was lost.
[14] The division sailed to the Western coast of Iceland and attempted to reach the Spitsbergen,[11] but icebergs and foul weather prevented it from going further than the 70th parallel.
[14] In July, the British Admiralty was informed of Leduc's mission, and detached the frigates HMS Blanche, Phoebe and Thames to seek him.
[16] In 1809, D'Hautpoul took part in Troude's expedition to the Caribbean to ferry troops, food supplies and ammunitions from Lorient to the Saintes.
[5] Exchanged in November 1810, Leduc was appointed to command the 80-gun Tilsitt,[5] before transferring on the 74-gun Golymin on 6 March 1811,[5] part of the squadron of Lorient under Vice-Admiral Allemand.