He fought in the War of American Independence, and taking part in the French operations in the Indian Ocean under Suffren.
[3] Born to the family of M. de La Borde, a banker from Bearn, Lusignan joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine on 5 October 1767.
[3] He commanded the 18-gun corvette Fortune in Suffren's squadron when it left Brest on 22 March 1781.
[4][5] He took part in the Battle of Porto Praya, where he captured the fireship HMS Infernal; however, Suffren then ordered Lusignan to bring orders to the French transports, and he abandoned Infernal after taking her captain and 15 men prisoners.
[6] on 20 August 1782, Lusignan was at the vanguard of the French squadron when it departed Batacalo for the Battle of Trincomalee.