by Rob Harper
Coustard de St-Lo, Guy (44). Joined army 1763; captain by 1789 and general of division May 1793. After Saumur he served in the Army of the Alps, dismissed as a ci-devant in October and saw little further active service. Died 1825.
Duhoux, Charles Francois (57). He had long service in the Royal Army. Lieutenant colonel before 1789. With Army of the North in 1792 then lieutenant general in Army of the Interior and the Vendée. Badly wounded at Chemillé and after defeat at Pont-Barré spent ten months in prison. He participated in the Royalist Rising in Paris (13 Vendémiare). He died in or after 1799.
Dutruy, Jacques (30). Born in Geneva, served in Swiss Regiments in French service before the Revolution. Captain, 1792; chef-du-bataillon, February 1793; general of brigade, June 1793. Replaced Mieszkowski in command of Les Sables Division. He was opposed to Turreau’s orders to lay waste to the region in 1794 and suspended. Later served in Army of the West, Army of England, in San Domingo, then Dalmatia. Died in 1836.
Gauvilliers, Jean Marie Gaspard (38). Joined the army 1774. Led Angers National Guard February 1793. Defeated at Beaupréau. General of brigade (June); general of division (July), suspended end September. No further active service. Died after 1814.
Grouchy, Emmanuel Marquis de (26). Joined the army 1780. Maréchal-de-camp (September 1792). Served in the Armies of: the Centre, Alps, Cherbourg Coast then Brest Coast (15 May 1793). He distinguished himself in several actions near Nantes. Suspended October. Reintegrated in Year III of the Republic and promoted general of division, returning for further service in the West. Fought at Hohenlinden. His extensive service under Napoleon is well documented. Marshal 1815. Died 1847.
Kléber, Jean-Baptiste (40). In the army 1777 until early 1780s, then in the Austrian army before becoming an architect. Joined the National Guard (1789), lieutenant colonel (1792). Promoted chef de brigade at Mayence. General of brigade (27 August) in the Army of Mayence and fought continually until the end of 1793. Subsequently fought in the Armies of: Ardennes, Rhine, Sambre-et-Meuse, England and finally the Army of the Orient. Commander-in-chief after Napoleon left Egypt and assassinated in June 1800 by an extremist.
Labarolière, Jacques-Marguerite (50). Long service in the Royal Army, reaching the rank of colonel. General of division, 6 May 1793. Illness, and his disgust at the influence of Ronsin, led to his dismissal on 30 July. Reinstated after Thermidor and retired seven years later.
L’Échélle, Jean (in his 33rd year). Joined the army 1774. Fought at Jemappes and Neerwinden. Commander of the 12th Military Division (September 1793), then commander in chief of the Army of the West (early October). Left Kléber to determine the tactics used at Battle of Cholet and responsible for the catastrophe at Entrammes. Dismissal, then died November 1793.
Leygonier, Francois (52). Joined the army 1756. Fought in the Seven Years War. Lieutenant (1761); Commanding National Guards covering the Loire (March 1793) and interim commander-in-chief of the Army of the La Rochelle Coast (May). Imprisoned April 1794, later released and retired (1800). Died 1801.
Marcé, Louis Henry Francois, Comte de (in his 62nd year). An officer from 1744. As general of brigade led the first expedition from La Rochelle in March and was defeated at La Guérinière. Guillotined January 1794.
Marceau, Francois-Séverin Desgraviers (24). Joined the army 1784; at the fall of the Bastille (1789) and the Siege of Valenciennes. Joined the Légion-Germanique as a lieutenant (1792); general of brigade (October), and interim commander-in-chief of the Army of the West (November and December). In 1794 he served in the Army of Ardennes then Sambre-et-Meuse. Killed at Altenkirchen on 20 September 1796.
Menou, Jacques Francois de Boussay, Comte de (42). Joined the army in 1766; colonel by 1788. He served with the Army of the North, Reserve, then sent to the Vendée as chief of staff to the Army of the La Rochelle Coast (6 May). General of division (15 May). Wounded at Saumur and Vihiers. Subsequently without a role. Later in the Armies of the Alps and Interior. Joined Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt and became commander-in-chief after Kléber’s assassination. Later served as governor of Tuscany then Venice. Died 1810.
Mieszkowski, Jean Quirin (49). In the Polish army from 1761, then a French hussar regiment in 1766. He fought in Senegal then America (serving in Lauzan’s Legion). Major (1789), then Biron’s ADC in 1792, campaigning on the Rhine and Alps. Joined Biron in the Vendée (June 1793); led the Les Sables Division in September and dismissed in October 1793. Retired in 1795 and died in 1819.
Muller, Francois (38). Served in the Royal Army. After the Revolution, he was a dancer and comedian before joining the Paris Volunteers. Adjoint in the Army of the North by November 1792. Sent to Tours (15 June); general of brigade then general of division between 12 and 30 September. A notorious drunkard he was sacked then reinstated later in the 1790s, served in the Army of Italy under Napoleon, was internally exiled as a supporter of Moreau and died in 1808.
Quétineau, Pierre (36). Joined the army in 1772. Became an officer after the Revolution and fought with the Army of the North before returning to command the National Guards in Deux-Sèvres. Catastrophically defeated at Thouars in May 1793, he was imprisoned. Guillotined in March 1794.
Rey, Antoine Gabriel Venance (29). Joined the army in 1783. Commanding troops in Chinon (June 1793); general of brigade (July) and later general of division. Suspended October. Reinstated in 1794 and fought in the West under Hoche. Fought with the Army of Italy in 1796. Back to the west in 1799, retired 1803, later holding commands in the National Guard. Died 1836.
Ronsin, Charles Philippe (41). In the army 1768-72, then a writer in Paris. Captain, Paris National Guards (1789). Heavily involved in Hébértist politics within the Paris Commune. Commissaire of war (November 1792) then assistant to the Minister of War. Sent to the Vendée (May 1793); general of brigade 4 July but badly defeated at Coron in September. Back in Paris he became the commander of the Armée-Revolutionnaire. Arrested in December and guillotined March 1794.
Rossignol, Jean Antoine (33). Having been a goldsmith Rossignol joined the army in 1775. He was at the storming of the Bastille, joined the National Guard in 1791, and was lieutenant colonel in the Gendarmerie when he arrived in the Vendée. A virulent sans-culotte and Hébértist he soon came into conflict with Biron and Westermann. Following his arrest for inciting insubordination and looting he would be exonerated by the Jacobin Club and both Danton and Robespierre came to his support. Returning to the Vendée he would become the commander-in-chief of the Armies of the La Rochelle Coast, Brest Coast, and then Army of the West. Considered a true Republican, but terrible general, he was eventually dismissed in April 1794. With possible links to the Babeuf Conspiracy (1796) and an attempt on Napoleon’s life in 1800 (the ‘Infernal Machine’), he would be imprisoned and deported to the Seychelles then the Comoros Islands, where he died in 1802.
Salomon, Francois Nicolas de (53). Joined the army in 1750. Fought in the Seven Years War and Corsica. Lieutenant colonel in 1769. Sent to the Vendée as a general of brigade (April 1793); general of division (30 July); suspended (30 September). After service in the Army of the Rhine he retired. Died 1799.
Santerre, Antoine Joseph Galet de (41). A successful brewer and important figure in the Paris Commune. Officer in the National Guard (1789) he led Paris Battalions to the Vendée in late May. Although repeatedly defeated, his sans-culotte credentials meant he attained the rank of general of division in the Army of the La Rochelle Coast. Recalled September 1793, served a period in prison, then left the army in July 1794. Died 1809.
Tilly, Jacques Louis Francois Delaistre de (44). In the army from 1761. General of brigade in the Army of the Cherbourg Coast (April 1793). Fought at Le Mans and subsequently promoted general of division. Fought throughout the Napoleonic Wars (principally in Germany then Spain). Retired in 1815 and died 1822.
Tuncq, Augustin (46). In the army from 1767. Captain in the National Guard (1792); at the attack on the Tuileries. General of brigade (1793), replaced Sandoz at Luçon (23 June). Victorious
at 2nd and 3rd battles of Luçon and promoted general of division. Blamed for the defeat of Chantonnay (September) he was imprisoned, then released after Thermidor. Subsequently fought in the west and on the Rhine. Died 1800.
Westermann, Francois Joseph (41). Joined the hussars in 1767. Very active in Paris during the Revolution. Colonel of the Légion-du-Nord fighting on the northern frontier then, promoted to general of brigade, he was transferred to the Vendée (June 1793). Fought with mixed success in the Vendée. Although brave he became known as the ‘Butcher of the Vendée’ for his merciless pursuit of the rebels and actions after Savenay. Guillotined with Danton (April 1794).
Appendix 2
Selected details of the Republican Armies
Principal sources: Vincennes Army Returns and Correspondence of the Armies; Savary and Chassin.
Abbreviations:
NtGd: National Guard; Vol: Volunteers; Gend: Gendarmes.
AdjG: Adjudant General; CdB: Chef de Brigade; GdB: General de Brigade; GdD: General de Division; CinC: Commander-in-Chief.
i: infantry; c: cavalry; a: artillery.
Div: Division; D-B: Demi-Brigade; Bn: Battalion; Co: Company; Sq: Squadron.
Troop strengths shown in parenthesis.
MARCH
11 March - NtGd and available troops mobilised from the following divisions: 12th Military Div (HQ La Rochelle): GdD Verteuil⁏ 13th Military Div (HQ Rennes): GdD Canclaux.
Army of the Reserve (late March)
Berruyer: South of Loire, HQ Angers (18,500); Marcé: Army of the Vendée (4,500).
APRIL
Army of the Brest Coast
Nantes: CinC GdD Canclaux (3,000). Nantes NtGd (?4,000); Beysser from 17 April (2,000i, 200c, 8 guns).
Army of the Reserve
Labourdonnaye (North of Loire) replaced by Canclaux 15 April. Berruyer dismissed late April.
Northern and Eastern Fronts:
Interim CinC Leygonier (Replaced Berruyer 28 April).
Duhoux: Angers (?4,000 possibly including Ladouce).
Ladouce: Layon (2,500).
Leygonier: Doué Division (4,000i, 89c, 5 guns; rising to 6,500i, 200c, 12 x 4pdrs).
Gauvilliers: Ancenis, Varades and Ingrandes (1,500 plus Angers NtGd).
Quétineau: Bressuire/Parthenay (3,150).
Southern Front:
GdD Beaufranchet D’Ayat.
7 April - Chalbos: Luçon (219c); Ste-Hermine (1,600i, 241c); La Châtaigneraie (1000i, 54c); Fontenay (NtGds: 400i and 400c; Gend 400c).
6 April - Boulard: Les Sables Division - 1st Div Dumas: 60th Line (52i), 110th Line (116i), 1st, 2nd, 3rd Bordeaux (1,900i), Gend (125c), 207 gunners, 2 x 8pdrs. 2nd Div Baudry: 4th Marine (65i), Chasseurs du Midi (220i), Vol. Niort (211i), Fontenay Grenadiers (104i), 8th La Rochelle (22i), Vol. Barbezieux (127i), Vol de la Liberté (691i), Vols La Mothe-Achard, Les Sables and Luçon (228i), NtGd (78c), 173 gunners, 2 x 4pdrs.
19-21 April - Troops on route to Army of Reserve included: 5th and 6th Calvados and 4th Eure (1,000), Légion-Rosenthal (300i, 400c), 8th Hussars (250c), Légion-des-Alpes (400 arrived at Niort 28 May), 4 Co’s Gunners (216a), 13th Chasseurs-à-Cheval.
MAY
Army of La Rochelle Coast (created around 30 April from Army of the Reserve)
North and Eastern Front:
Leygonier: Acting-CinC 28 April to 28 May, total of forces unclear.
Doué Division (2-3,000 reinforced by 2,400).
Gauvilliers: North bank of Loire (approximately 1,500).
Duhoux/Menou: Angers (?4,000).
Ladouce: Layon (2,700).
Quétineau (See below).
Southern Front:
GdD D’Ayat. HQ Niort (numbers constantly increasing).
Chalbos: La Châtaigneraie/Fontenay (3,047: increasing to 7,500 by 25th); Sandoz (arrived 11 May): St-Maixent, Fontenay then Luçon (Rising to 2-3,000); Boulard: Les Sables D’Olonne (4,300).
Quetineau’s Army at Battle of Thouars (estimates only)
NtGd Bns (2,650i); 8th Var (325i); Chasseurs-du-Midi (250i); 3rd Deux-Sèvres (200i); 2-3000 raw volunteers; NtGd and Gend (80c); dragoons, hussars and chasseurs from depots (33c); 12 guns.
8 May - 5,000 recruits arrive in Nantes.
23 May - Orléans: Bns being formed under General Hesse’s instruction.
26 May - New Paris Bns ordered to Vendée without delay.
Army of the La Rochelle Coast: late May. From: ‘Table of forces of the Army of the Vendée and posts occupied around the country, 15-24 May 1793’. Details prepared by Ronsin (not including troops under organisation in Saumur and Tours).
Talot: Les Ponts-de-Cé, Erigné, Meure, Grande Claye, Avrillé and Brissac (2,397i, 59c, 180a, 14 guns).
‘The infantry are formed of the contingent, are dressed, but few are trained and the minority are armed with hunting fusils.’ Lack 350 fusils.
Gauvilliers: St Georges, Le Poissonnière, La Pommeraye and Ingrandes (1,549i, 192c, 65a, 7 guns).
‘The infantry is partly formed of fathers of families who will need replacing by the volunteers under recruitment. The cavalry needs 60 horses and the artillery 12. The battalions are mostly armed with bad hunting fusils. They need at least 500 fusils.’
GdD Canclaux [note: Actually part of Army of Brest Coast]: Ancenis, Varades, Oudon, Fermont, Mauver and Thouar (1,457i, 84c, 9 guns).
‘The battalions are nearly all disordered.’
GdD Canclaux & CdB Beysser: Nantes [note: Actually part of Army of Brest Coast].
Nantes (900i); Port-St-Père (800i, 40a, 9c); Machecoul (1797i, 132a, 73c); Paimboeuf (1,000i); Pornic (200i); Bourgneuf (200i); Noirmoutier (200i). 19 guns.
‘3,600 men are moving to Nantes, not including Volontaires-à-Cheval.’
Boulard - Les Sables Division: Challans (1,278i, 37a, 39c); La Grenache (86i, 3c); St-Gilles (340i, 10c); La Chaise (86i, 3c); Vaizé (107i, 4c); Beauvoir (37i, 3c); Ille Bouin (35i). 15 guns.
La Mothe Achard (1872i, 104a, 98c, 4 guns); Les Sables d’Olonne (796i, 18a, 72c).
‘The troops in Mothe-Achard are dressed equipped and armed and have proven their discipline and valour’.
GdD D’Ayat, HQ Fontenay: Talmont (237i, 22c); Avrillé (250i, 11c); St Cyr (80i, 22c); Port-la-Claye (450i, 14a, 26c); Luçon (462i, 104c); Fontenay (814i, 178c). La Châtaigneraie (4,573i, 296c, 54a); Ste-Hermine (2,220i, 168c, 7 guns); Niort (1,687i, 62a 81c).
‘The troops in Talmont, Avrillé, St Cyr, Port-la-Claye, Luçon and Fontenay-le-Peuple are composed of local National Guards, they are neither organised nor dressed, very badly armed, and you cannot count on those in Ste-Hermine being in a better state.’
‘Niort: The troops are formed from the countryside contingent and are not organised. There are nearly 600 Volunteer Cavalry that can be deployed if necessary.’
Other Forces commanded by the Army of La Rochelle: In La Rochelle, the islands, and further south (3,682 men).
Grand Total: 28,904, 91 guns (of which 1,200 line troops, 7-8,000 Volunteers).
JUNE
Army of Brest Coast CinC Canclaux
Beysser: Nantes (5,300); Coustard-de-Massy: Nantes NtGd (4,500). Weilland and Mourain (same as for May).
Army of La Rochelle Coast CinC Biron (from 28 May).
7 June - Leygonier replaced by Duhoux.
9 June - Acting CinC Menou; Coustard de St-Lo (4,260); Santerre (1,650); Berthier (1,800-2,100); Reserve (2-4,000).
Salomon: Thouars (4,000).
Southern Front and Coast:
1 June - Niort (17,000: 6,000 fit to fight); Sandoz: Luçon (1,245i and 90c).
Mid-June - Les Sables Division: 1st Column Boulard (3,150i, 231a, 229c,
9 guns); 2nd Column Baudry (2,896i, 84c, 3 x 4pdrs, 1 x8pdr); Talmont Garrison (345i, 25c); St-Gilles Garrison (985i, 50a, 17c).
13 June State of Forces of Army of La Rochelle Coast
‘Solid troops’ (5,766i, 850c) of which only 87 men (from the 84th Line) were regulars.
Volunteers or Recruits (5,664i, 485c, 52a).
<
br /> Requisitioned National Guards (6,826i).
21 June Army of General Duhoux in and around Tours:
Div Labarolière - AvGd (1,783i, 1,169c); 1st Div Menou: 1st Brig Joly (2,361i), 2nd Brig Santerre (4,000i); 2nd Div Coustard: 3rd Brig [blank] (2,400i) 4th Brig Chabot (1,712i); Cavalry: GdB Beffroy (505c); 2nd Brigade Barbazan: (1,648i); Reserve Descloseaux: (2,026i, 174c).
Artillery Parks (undated return, June: not including 50 battalion guns noted on 29th): 1st Div - 3 x 12pdrs, 4 x 8pdrs; 2nd Div - 8 x 8pdrs, 12 x 12pdrs. (400a).
Battle of Nantes
GdD Canclaux: CinC Army of Brest Coast and all forces in Nantes. GdB Beysser: Commandant of Nantes and second in command. Representatives of the People: Merlin de Douai and Gillet. Former Representative still in Nantes who fought with the cavalry: Coustard-de-Massy.
Defence of Eastern Suburbs: GdB Gillibert; Defence of Southern Front: GdB Boisguyon.
Infantry (estimated strengths) - Regular Troops: The 1/34th (300i: Guin says 600i); 1/39th (400i: Guin says 649i); 1/41st (400i); 1/109th (400i). Guin adds 1/3rd. Volunteer Battalions: 3rd Orne (400i); 4th Orne (400i: Guin says 80i); 8th Seine-Inférieure (400i); 11th Seine-et-Oise (600i); 13th Seine-et-Oise (600i); 1st Mayenne (400i); 1st Côtes-du-Nord (400i); Guin adds 668 Fédérés; Chasseurs de la Charente (400i); Grenadiers Maine-et-Loire (100i). Note: The combined strength of these battalions, plus two companies of Paris Gunners (see below), were reported to be 5,388 men.
Légion-Nantaise: Formed by Coustard-de-Massy on 14 June 1793 from 2,000 men. Many reported to be unarmed on 25 June.
Nantes NtGd: Deurbroucq. There is conflicting information as to how many were present. Savary refers to 4 to 5,000 (including the Légion-Nantaise). The Nantes NtGd was theoretically formed from battalions from each of the city’s 16 Quarters. Not all of the NtGd was in the city and the following are mentioned: 2 Légions (unspecified strength); Vétérans (44i); Cavalry (50c); Sailors of the NtGd (around 200); Bn élèves (students). A few hundred NtGds from beyond Nantes were also present.