No Surrender! A Tale of the Rising in La Vendee

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 8: The Capture Of Saumur.

  The arrangements being now completed, Leigh and his band lay downin a thicket near the bank of the river, and slept for some hours.At one o'clock in the morning Leigh rose and, with his threefollowers, started for the village. It was but twenty minutes'walk. Not a soul was stirring, not a light visible in any window.

  They found that three or four boats were lying by the bank. Leighchose the smallest of these and, loosening the head rope from thepost to which it was fastened, took his place in her with theothers. Accustomed as he was to rowing, from his childhood, he soonreached the opposite bank. Here he fastened the boat up, and struckacross country until he reached the road. Then he sent one of hisfollowers westward.

  "You will follow the road," he said, "until within a mile of Tours;then you will conceal yourself, and watch who passes along. If yousee a large body of troops coming, you will at once strike acrosscountry and make your way down to the village above that at whichwe crossed. You heard the instructions that I gave to Pierre. Ifyou find him and the others there with the boat, you will reportwhat you have seen. He will send another messenger on with the newsto Cathelineau, and you will remain with him until I arrive.

  "If he is not there, you will follow the bank of the river down tothe other village. You will give a shout as you pass the spot wherewe halted. If no answer comes, you will probably find Pierre andthe boat somewhere below. You will not miss him, for I have orderedhim to post two of your comrades on the bank, so that you cannotpass them unseen. As in the first case, you will remain with himuntil I arrive, and your message will be carried to the general byanother of his party.

  "In case you do not find him at all, you will know that I havereturned before you, and have taken him and the others on with me.In that case, you must make a faggot sufficiently large to supportyou in the water, and swim across. The river is low, and it willnot be many yards out of your depth."

  "I could swim that without the faggot, sir."

  "Yes; but it is better to have it. I don't suppose that you haveever swum in your clothes, and you would find it heavy work;therefore you had better rely upon the faggot to keep you up and,with its aid, you will have no difficulty in crossing."

  The morning now was breaking, for in June the nights are short and,after waiting for an hour, Leigh and his two companions--all ofwhom had divested themselves of their weapons and belts, which theyhad left in Pierre's charge--started for Saumur. In the presence ofso large a number of troops, with scarcely any training anddiscipline, and with the excitement that would have been caused bythe defeat of Leigonyer, and the prospect of an attack by theVendeans, Leigh felt confident that three country lads ran no riskof being questioned. However, he took the precaution of learningthe name of the village he passed through, six miles from the town;so that if any one should happen to ask where they came from, andwhat they were doing, he could give the name of a village, and saythat they had merely come in from curiosity, hearing that there waslikely to be a battle. Assuredly many country people would becoming for the same purpose.

  They entered the town at six o'clock. It was already astir. Thecitizens, with anxious faces, were talking together in littlegroups. Soldiers were loitering about in the streets, totallyregardless of the bugles and drums that were sounding in themarketplace, and at various points outside the town. The civilfunctionaries, in their scarves of office, hurried fussily about,but for once they were unheeded. But a week before, a denunciationby any of these men would have been sufficient to ensure the arrestand imprisonment, and probably the death, of anyone against whomthey had a grudge. Now they were in greater danger than those whohad dreaded and hated them.

  At present there was no talk of politics among the groups oftownspeople. Men who were the chief upholders of the regime ofconfiscation and murder, and others who in their heart loathed andhated it, were discussing the probabilities of an attack by theVendeans, and what would happen were that attack to be successful.Would the town be given over to sack? Would there be a massacre andslaughter, such as Chalbos and other commanders of the Blues hadinflicted in the Vendean villages through which they had passed?The Vendeans in arms were called, by the Blues, "the brigands."Would they behave like brigands, or would they conduct themselvesas Royal and Catholic soldiers, as they called themselves?

  As the hours passed, the streets became more crowded. Numbers ofthe country people came in to learn the news. Spies from Doue hadalready brought in word that orders had been issued, byCathelineau, that the army should march at eight o'clock forSaumur; and all doubt that it was their intention either to attackthe town, or to accept battle in the plain before it, was at anend. The assembly was sounded in all quarters of the town and,presently, parties of the mounted gendarmes rode through thestreets, and drove the soldiers to their rendezvous.

  Presently Leigh saw General Menou, and some other officers of rank,enter a large house.

  "Who lives there?" he asked a woman who was standing near him.

  "General Duhoux. He is in command, you know, but he has notrecovered from a wound he got at Chemille, and is unable to ride."

  Leigh had no doubt that a council of war was about to be held and,bidding his companions wait for him at the end of the street, hesauntered across the road, and sat down on the pavement by the sideof the entrance. Leaning against the wall, he took from his pocketa hunk of the peasants' black bread and, cutting it up with hisknife, proceeded to munch it unconcernedly. An officer and two orthree troopers were standing by their horses' heads, in the roadopposite the door, evidently awaiting orders.

  In half an hour General Menou himself came out, and said to theofficer:

  "Sir, you will ride at once to Thouars, by way of Loudun, anddeliver this despatch to General Salomon. It is most urgent. Whenyou hand it to him, you can say that I begged you to impress uponhim the necessity for losing not a moment of time. It is allimportant that he should arrive here tonight, for tomorrow morningwe may be attacked. Take your troopers with you."

  The officer and his men mounted at once, and rode off at fullspeed. Leigh remained quiet until Menou and the other officers rodeout from the courtyard and proceeded down the street, followed bytheir escort. Then he got up, stretched himself, and walked slowlyto the spot where his two comrades were awaiting him.

  "I have learned what I wanted to know," he said. "Do you both makeyour way back to the spot where Pierre will be awaiting us, andtell him that I am going to swim the river, a mile above the town.He is to wait where he is until Lucien comes back from Tours--whichwill not be till twelve o'clock tonight, for his orders are toremain within sight of the town till six in the afternoon. If bythat hour the troops there have not set out, they will not arriveuntil after we have captured Saumur.

  "Saunter along quietly. There is no hurry."

  After they had set out he, too, strolled out of the town, keptalong the road for another half mile, and then struck off acrossthe fields towards the river. Arrived there, he took off his heavycountry shoes, tied them round his waist, and waded out into theriver. He had but some thirty yards to swim. As soon as he reachedthe opposite bank, he poured the water out of his shoes, put themon again, and set out at a run. He had to make a detour, so as toget beyond the eminences on which the Republican troops were postedand, after running for a couple of miles, came down on the road.

  A short distance farther he arrived at a village. A peasant, with ahorse and cart, was standing in front of a cabaret.

  "Do you want to earn two crowns?" he asked the man.

  The latter nodded.

  "Two crowns are not easily earned," he said. "I was just startingfor Montreuil but, if it pays me better to go in another direction,I must put that journey off until tomorrow."

  "I want you to carry me to Doue," he said, "at the best speed ofwhich your horse is capable."

  The countryman looked at him doubtfully. His clothes were not yetdry. Leigh saw that the man was not sure of his power to fulfil hispromise. He therefore produced two
crowns, and held them up.

  "By Saint Matthew," he said, "it is the first silver I have seenfor months. I will take you."

  Leigh jumped up beside the peasant. The latter at once whipped uphis horse, and started at a brisk trot.

  "You know that the Catholic Army is there?" he asked.

  "Yes, I know. I belong to it myself. I have been with it from thefirst."

  "I would have taken you for nothing, if you had said so before,"the man said. "We are all heart and soul with them, here; and if,as they say, they will come along here to attack Saumur, every manin the village will go with them. How is it that you are here?"

  "I am an officer," Leigh said, "and have been, in disguise, intoSaumur to see what is going on there; and am now taking the newsback to Cathelineau."

  Conversation was difficult, for the jolting of the cart wasterrible, and Leigh found it next to impossible to talk. He waswell content when the belfries of Doue came into sight. On arrivingat the town, they drew up at the house where Cathelineau and thegenerals had their quarters. As he got down, he offered the peasantthe two crowns.

  "No, sir," the man said, "I will not take a sou for my service. Wein this part have had no chance of doing anything, and I should beashamed, indeed, to take money from those who have been fightingfor the good cause.

  "As you say they will advance tomorrow, I will wait here. It may bethat my cart will be useful and, whether or no, I shall stay if itis only to get a sight of Cathelineau, whose name we allreverence."

  "I will tell him of your goodwill. You had best remain here for afew minutes."

  He was about to enter, when two armed peasants, who were guardingthe door, stopped him.

  "No one can enter. The general is in council."

  "Do you not know me? I am Captain Stansfield."

  The men drew back at once. It was not strange that they did notrecognize him. He generally wore a sort of uniform, with a red sashround his waist, which was the distinguishing badge of theofficers; but had always adopted a peasant dress, on setting out onan expedition. There was no one to announce him, and he entered aroom where the leaders were sitting round a table.

  They looked up in surprise. He was grimed with the dust, which hadrisen in clouds as he drove along, and his clothes bore signs oftheir immersion.

  "Back again, monsieur?" Cathelineau exclaimed, "and with news, nodoubt."

  "Very important news, sir. I have been in Saumur, and have learnedthat an officer has started for Thouars, by way of Loudun, withorders to General Salomon to march instantly into Saumur, and thathe is to arrive there tonight. I left the town five minutes afterthe messenger. Three-quarters of an hour later I struck the road,two miles this side of Saumur; and have been brought here in acart, by a peasant. It is now four o'clock, and I do not think thatthe officer would arrive at Thouars before half past three."

  "That is important news, indeed," Cathelineau said.

  "Well, gentlemen, what do you think had best be done?"

  "It seems to me that nothing could be better," Monsieur de Lescuresaid. "The enemy's column cannot start until five o'clock, at theearliest. It will be dark before they can arrive at Saumur. I knowthe road well. It runs in several places through woods and, wherethis is not the case, there are high hedges.

  "Nothing could be more suitable for an ambuscade. I propose thathalf of our force should march, at once, and take post on the otherside of Montreuil. It will be nearly sunset before Salomon canarrive at that town and, if we engage him at dusk, he will losehalf the benefit of the discipline of the regiment of gendarmes whowill, no doubt, accompany him."

  "I quite approve of that plan, monsieur," Cathelineau said.

  "Are you all of the same opinion, gentlemen?"

  There was a general expression of assent.

  "Will you, General Bonchamp, with Monsieur de Lescure, take commandof that force? I myself will proceed, with the rest of our army,until past the point where the road from Montreuil falls into thatfrom this town. In that way, if General Bonchamp fails to arrestSalomon's march, we can fall upon him; and on the other hand, ifthe firing should be heard at Saumur, and Menou leads out a forceto assist Salomon, we can oppose him.

  "General Dommaigne, your cavalry would be useless in the attack onSalomon, while it might be of great value if Menou comes out.

  "You have rendered us another good service, Monsieur Stansfield. IfSalomon had thrown another four thousand men into Saumur, includinghis regiment of gendarmes, it would have been a serious business totake the place; whereas with the troops Menou has, half of whom areLeigonyer's fugitives, I do not anticipate any great difficulty."

  "I shall be glad, general, if you would speak a word to the goodfellow who brought me here. I had bargained with him for two crownsbut, when he found that I was one of your officers, he refused toreceive anything; and moreover, he said that he would remain herewith his cart, until tomorrow, as perhaps he might be useful incarrying stores. He expressed the greatest desire to see you."

  "Certainly I will speak to him," Cathelineau said, as he sent outto give orders for the church bells to ring, and the horns to blow.

  The man was standing by his cart, a short distance off, in the hopeof catching sight of Cathelineau. The general at once walked up tohim.

  "This is General Cathelineau," Leigh said.

  The countryman took off his hat, and dropped on his knees.

  "Get up, my good fellow," Cathelineau said; "I am but a Vendeanpeasant, like yourself. I thank you for the good service that youhave rendered, by bringing Monsieur Stansfield so quickly to us.The time it has saved may make all the difference to us and, in thefuture, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you haveplayed an important part in the capture of Saumur."

  In five minutes the quiet street was crowded with men. The peasantshad encamped in the fields round the town and, at the summons,caught up their arms and ran in hastily, feeling sure that theoccasion was important, as they had been told that they were not tomarch until next morning.

  The divisions commanded by Monsieur de Lescure and General Bonchampspeedily gathered round the distinguishing flags of those officers.Other leaders joined them with their followers, until some tenthousand men were gathered outside the town.

  Leigh had changed his clothes and mounted his horse, Monsieur deLescure having invited him to ride with him. As they were about tostart, one of Andre's messengers arrived, with the news that anofficer and three troopers had arrived at the town; and that, tenminutes later, the trumpets were sounding the assembly.

  "It is well that we got your news first," Monsieur de Lescure saidto Leigh, "for otherwise we could hardly have got our forcestogether, and been ready for a start, until it was too late tointercept Salomon."

  The route of the column was by a byroad, between Doue andMontreuil. It was seven o'clock before they approached the town.Then, striking off the road, they marched through the fields untila mile and a half to the east of it, when they halted in a thickwood. They were now divided into three columns, of equal strength.That under Monsieur de Lescure occupied the wood on one side of theroad, that under Monsieur Bonchamp the other side. The third columnwere posted in rear of the wood, and were to thickly line thehedges that bordered it.

  It was just dusk when the force from Thouars came along. Itconsisted of three thousand six hundred men, with four pieces ofcannon. It was allowed to pass nearly through the wood, when aheavy fire was opened upon it on both flanks.

  The regiment of gendarmes which led the column showed greatcoolness and, animated by their example, the whole force remainedsteady. Darkness came on, but it was not until eleven o'clock thatthere was any change in the situation. Owing to the darkness in theforest, neither side was able to distinguish its foes. The menfired only at the flashes of the muskets.

  Lescure then sent round four or five hundred men, who suddenly fellupon the baggage train of the enemy. The guard were completelytaken by surprise. Many of the carters cut the ropes and traces,and galloped off, delighted t
o escape from a service into whichthey had, for the most part, been dragged against their will.

  The alarm thus begun spread rapidly. The young troops who,encouraged by the example of the gendarmes, had so far stood theirground, at once lost heart. The darkness of the night, theirignorance as to the strength of the force that had attacked therear, and the fear that all retreat would be cut off, would haveshaken older soldiers than these and, in spite of the efforts oftheir officers, the wildest confusion soon reigned.

  The Vendeans pressed their attack more hotly, and General Salomon,seeing that unless a retreat was made while there was yet time, aterrible disaster might take place, ordered the gendarmes to fallback in good order. The movement was effected without great loss.In the darkness it was impossible for Lescure and the other leadersto get their men together, and to press hard upon their retreatingfoes; and they were well satisfied at having carried out the objectof their expedition, and prevented the force from Thouars fromentering Saumur.

  Word was sent to Cathelineau that Salomon had fallen back, and thepeasants then lay down till morning.

  Andre, with his little band, had joined the force when fightingbegan. They had, as soon as Salomon started from Thouars, followedhis movements at a distance, from time to time sending off amessenger to Doue giving an account of the progress of the enemy.As soon as the firing broke out in the wood, Andre, with the twelvewho still remained with him, joined the combatants and, findingthat Leigh was with Monsieur de Lescure, was not long indiscovering him.

  "You have done very well, Andre," he said. "I don't think anythingwill come of this fighting. It is getting dark already, and I haveno fear, now, that the Blues will break through. Neither party willbe able to see the other, in this wood, and certainly you could dono good with your pistols. Practically, few are engaged on eitherside. The Blues have made one effort and, finding that we have avery strong force in their front, have given up the attempt to pushforward. I don't believe that the new levies have courage enough tokeep steady through a whole night's uncertainty.

  "You had best draw off some distance and rest, till you hear, bythe firing, that some change has taken place. If you hear that theBlues are retreating, follow them at a distance. It is importantfor the generals to know what course they are taking. They may haltin Montreuil, they may return to Thouars, they may retire to Niortor Parthenay.

  "If they remain in Montreuil, let us know at once, because in thatcase we shall have to stay here, in case they should attempt topush on again. If they go farther, we need have no more concernabout them. Still, it would be of great importance to our generalsto know whether they return to Thouars, or retire farther south."

  "Very well, captain; I will see that you are kept informed."

  "You had better instruct your first messengers to come straighthere. Cathelineau and the rest of the forces started, directly wedid, and will halt at the junction of the roads, and are likely toremain there all day tomorrow. Therefore, if your messengers findthe wood deserted, they have simply to follow the road, and theywill either overtake us, or find us with Cathelineau."

  "How long must we follow the Blues?"

  "There is no occasion to go any great distance. I do not supposethat we shall pursue them. They could certainly defend themselvesat Montreuil, and we should not risk suffering heavy loss, andhaving the men dispirited by failure, when all are needed for thework at Saumur. If you follow them far enough to determine whetherthey are retiring on Thouars, or are marching towards Niort, thatis all that is necessary; and you will be able to rejoin us inplenty of time to see the fight at Saumur."

  As Leigh thought would be probable, Monsieur de Lescure restrainedthe peasants from following in pursuit, when the Blues retreated.The latter had left two of their guns behind them, and a number ofcarts, laden with ammunition and provisions for the march, fellinto the peasants' hands--the latter providing them with breakfastbefore they started, early next morning, rejoining Cathelineau'sforce two hours later. These had been apprised, some hours before,by one of the mounted gentlemen who had accompanied the column, ofthe success that had attended the operation; and they were receivedwith great joy by their comrades, on their arrival.

  Cathelineau, with General Bonchamp and a small escort of cavalry,had ridden towards Saumur to examine the positions occupied by theenemy, and to discuss the plan of attack. They now felt confidentof success; unless, indeed, Biron should come up in the course ofthe day with the Paris brigade at Tours, together with its guns.The description that Leigh had given, of the confusion and want ofdiscipline in the garrison, showed that it could not be relied uponfor hard fighting; and as it was certain that the failure ofSalomon to get through to its assistance would be known, in Saumur,early in the day, it could not but add to the dismay produced bythe advance against the town.

  This was indeed the case. As artillery had not been employed oneither side, the sound of the conflict did not reach the town.However, as the officer who had taken the order to Thouars returnedat seven o'clock; saying that Salomon was preparing to march, andwould assuredly arrive some time in the evening, the anxietyincreased hour by hour and, by midnight, the conviction that hemust have been attacked by the enemy, and had failed to getthrough, became a certainty, and spread dismay through the town.

  At five in the morning a mounted messenger brought a despatch fromSalomon, saying that he had fought for four hours near Montreuil,against a large force of the enemy; and that, another column ofthese having fallen on his rear, he found it necessary to retire,as a panic was spreading among the National Guard, and a seriousdisaster would have happened, had he continued his attempts to pushon. In the evening Generals Coustard and Berthier, who had beensent by Biron to act under Menou's orders, arrived in the town; andSanterre, the brewer of Paris, who had been the leader of the mobthere and was now a general, arrived next morning.

  Cathelineau's army was astir early. The leaders had been gladdenedby the arrival, at five o'clock, of a messenger from Pierre, sayingthat one of his messengers had come in from Tours, and that, up toseven o'clock in the evening, no troops had left that city. It was,therefore, certain that the garrison of Saumur could receive noassistance from that quarter.

  Breakfast was eaten, and the army then formed up in its divisions.Mass was celebrated, and it then set out for Saumur.

  In that town all was confusion and dismay. The newly arrivedgenerals were strangers alike to the town, its defences, and thetroops they were to command. In front of the works defending Saumurran the river Dives, which fell into the Loire, a mile or so belowthe town. It was crossed by a bridge; but so great was theconfusion that, in spite of the representations of the civilauthorities, no steps were taken either to cut or guard it.

  It was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that the Vendeansapproached the town, and General Menou sent two battalions of theline, one of volunteers, and eighty horse, under the orders ofGeneral Berthier, to take possession of a chateau in front of theposition. Two hundred and fifty men were posted in a convent nearit. Santerre commanded the force which was to defend theintrenchments at Nantilly, and Coustard the troops who occupied theheights of Bourlan.

  At four o'clock the skirmishers on both sides were hotly engaged.The Vendeans advanced in three columns--the central one against thepost occupied by Berthier, the left against Nantilly, and the rightthreatened to turn the position at Beaulieu.

  Berthier allowed the force advancing against him to approach withina short distance of the chateau, and then poured a storm of grapeinto it, from a battery that he had established. Lescure, who wasin command, was badly wounded. The head of the column fell intoconfusion, and Berthier at once attacked them, with his tworegiments of the line, and for a time pressed the column back. Hislittle body of cavalry, whom he had ordered to charge, fell back assoon as the Vendeans opened fire upon them; and the latter thenattacked the line battalions, with such fury that Berthier wasobliged to call up his regiment of volunteers. Cathelineau sentreinforcements to his troops, and these press
ed on so hotly thatBerthier, who had had a horse shot under him, was obliged to fallback; and the exulting Vendeans rushed forward and carried thefaubourg of Fenet.

  Dommaigne, with his cavalry, charged the cuirassiers and the GermanLegion. There was a sharp fight. Dommaigne was killed, and thecolonel of the German Legion desperately wounded; but a body of theVendean infantry, coming up, took the cuirassiers in flank withtheir fire, and they fell back into Saumur.

  General Menou had been in the thick of the fight, and had threehorses killed under him. He sent another battalion to reinforceBerthier but, as soon as they came within shot of the Vendeans,they broke and fled.

  The two line battalions, reinforced by four companies of gendarmes,kept up a heavy fire. The artillery until now had zealouslysupported them, but their ammunition was failing. Menou andBerthier placed themselves at the head of the cavalry, and calledupon them to charge; but instead of doing so, they raised theirfavourite cry of "Treason!" and galloped back to the town.

  The line regiments and gendarmes, pressed more and more hotly, andfinding themselves without support, withdrew in good order intoSaumur. The Vendeans had now possession of all the works in thecentre of the defenders' line. Coustard, seeing that the centre waslost, and that the Vendeans were moving towards a bridge across theDives, by which alone they could enter the town, ordered twobattalions with two pieces of cannon to hold it. He was not onlydisobeyed but, with shouts of "Treason!" they rushed upon him and,with difficulty, he escaped with his life.

  The Vendeans seized the bridge, and established a battery for itsdefence. Coustard saw that it must be recaptured, as the town wasnow open to the enemy; and ordered a detachment of cuirassiers,commanded by Colonel Weissen, to carry the bridge. The twobattalions of infantry now promised to follow.

  Although he saw that to charge the battery with a handful ofcavalry was to ride to almost certain death, Weissen gallantly ledhis men forward. The infantry followed for a short distance but,being taken in flank by a volley from a party of Vendeans, theybroke and fled. The cavalry were almost annihilated, and Weissenwas desperately wounded, two or three of his men alone riding back.

  The main force of Coustard's division, in the redoubts at Bourlan,had not been attacked; and retired to Angers during the night. Therout of the rest of the defenders was now complete, and the townopen.

  La Rochejaquelein, by whose side Leigh and a small party ofgentlemen rode, had made a succession of desperate charges into themidst of the fugitives; and he now said to Leigh and three othergentlemen:

  "Come along, we will see what they are doing in the town."

  Then, dashing forward at full speed, they passed through the gate,entered the main street, and found that it contained a battalion ofinfantry, retreating. So cowed were these that they opened theirranks and allowed the five horsemen to dash through them. Then theymade a tour of the place, and returned to inform the Vendeans, whowere just entering, that all resistance had ceased. As on twoprevious occasions, the flying Republicans owed their safety to thepiety of the peasants who, instead of pursuing at once, rushed intothe churches; where the cures, who had accompanied them, returnedthanks for the victory that had been gained, and thus lost the halfhour of daylight that would have been invaluable.

  Cathelineau, after a consultation with Lescure and Bonchamp,decided that it would be useless to attempt a pursuit in the dark.Berthier's battalion was, too, unbroken. The generals, finding thatthere was no pursuit, might have rallied a considerable number ofthe others; when the peasants, coming up in the dark, could in turnhave been repulsed with heavy loss. Saumur had been taken, with allits stores of cannon, ammunition, and provisions; and it wasconsidered that, under the circumstances, it was best to becontented with the signal success they had gained.

  Berthier and Menou indeed, although both severely wounded, hadcovered the retreat with the line regiments and gendarmes; andcarried off with them seven cannon, which they came across as theypassed through the town; and would have given the peasants a warmreception, had they followed them. The rest of the army werehopelessly scattered, and continued their flight all night; sometowards Tours, others to Angers, their reports causing the wildestdismay in both towns.

  Had Charette, who had always acted independently in lower Vendee,been persuaded at this moment to join hands with Cathelineau, therecan be little question that they might have marched to Pariswithout encountering any serious resistance, and that their arrivalthere would have changed the whole course of events. Unfortunately,however, he was himself sorely pressed, by several columns of theenemy, and was with difficulty holding his own. The greatopportunity was therefore lost, never to return.

  The castle of Saumur was still in the hands of the Blues. Fivehundred of the National Guards of the town, and about the samenumber of men of different regiments, threw themselves into itbefore the Vendeans entered, carrying with them what provisionsthey could lay hands upon. The wives of the National Guards soonsurrounded the chateau, crying to their friends to surrender; andasserting that, if they did not do so, the Vendeans would give thetown over to pillage and fire. For a time the commandant resistedtheir entreaties but, feeling that his position was desperate, andthat there was no hope of relief, he surrendered.

  In the morning the garrison marched out. The officers were allowedto retain their sidearms, and the men to return to their homes.Eighty cannon fell into the hands of the victors, many thousands ofmuskets, a large quantity of ammunition, and very many prisoners.

  Here, as at other places, the peasants behaved with greatmoderation. The agents of the Convention, who had tyrannized thetown so long, were thrown into prison, as were their chiefsupporters; but private property was untouched. On the followingday there was a council, at which Lescure, seriously wounded as hewas, was present. It was agreed that it was indispensable that oneman should be appointed commander-in-chief. Many difficulties hadarisen from independent action, by generals and leaders of bandsmore or less numerous, and it was necessary that all should actunder the orders of a recognized head.

  When this was agreed to, the question had to be decided as to whoshould be appointed to this responsible post. The claims ofLescure, la Rochejaquelein, d'Elbee, Bonchamp, Cathelineau, andStofflet were almost even. Each had a large band of followers. Allhad been unwearied in their devotion to the cause.

  It is probable that Lescure would have been chosen. He was thelargest landed proprietor, and was of the highest rank--with theexception of Rochejaquelein, who had, although the idol of the army,scarcely experience and ballast enough to take so responsible aposition. Lescure himself, however, proposed that Cathelineau shouldbe chosen. His influence was great, his talents unquestionable, and thesimple honesty of his character, his modesty and untiring zeal in thecause, alike recommended him. Lescure felt that if he himself, Bonchamp,or d'Elbee were chosen, jealousies might arise and the cause suffer.

  His choice was felt by all to be a good one, and Cathelineau wasunanimously appointed to the post of commander-in-chief. No finertribute was ever paid, to the virtues and talent of a simplepeasant, than such a choice, made by men so greatly his superior inrank and station.