Victor Henri Rochefort, Marquis de Rochefort-Luçay, was a French politician, known for his violent articles and penchant for duels (with swords), being severely wounded at least four times. In 1871, he fled in disguise from Paris. A week earlier he had resigned with a handful of other deputies from the National Assembly. Arrested by the Versailles government, he was condemned under military law to imprisonment for life and transported to New Caledonia. In 1874, he escaped on board an American vessel to San Francisco. There's more on Henri Rochefort in Wikipedia and on the web.