23 Messidor
An CCXXXIV
Henri de La Rochejaquelein
Henri de La Rochejaquelein was the best-known leader of the anti-republican uprising in the Vendée. Very young, impetuous, fearless. In 1793, he led the royal and Catholic troops to impressive victories – supported by the peasants of the province. He was the youthful general who, despite a serious arm wound, fought against the overwhelming force of the godless revolutionaries sent from Paris in ever greater numbers. But the fortunes of war quickly turned. In the end, the insurgents were no match for the republican armies. La Rochejaquelein fled into the woods with his loyal followers and tried to begin a partisan war. But it was too late. In the winter of 1794, he was lured into an ambush and killed by a shot to the head. He died at the age of 21.
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1772 - 1794
- August 30, 1772 · Born into a respected noble family at Château de la Durbelière, near present-day Mauléon.
- 1787 · Henri joins the Royal Polish Cavalry Regiment, in which his father is a colonel.
- 1791 · He leaves the Royal Polish Cavalry Regiment because he is not willing to take the oath demanded by the Constituent Assembly. His father flees to Germany.
- August 10, 1792 · During the storming of the Tuileries, La Rochejaquelein fights on the side of the royal guard.
- March 1793 · He takes part as one of the leaders of the royalist army fighting the Republic in the Vendée.
- June 9, 1793 · Victory at the Battle of Saumur.
- September 5, 1793 · Victory at the Battle of Chantonnay.
- October 17, 1793 · Defeat in the Second Battle of Cholet. La Rochejaquelein’s troops are forced to retreat across the Loire.
- October 20, 1793 · In the ruins of the old Templar commandery at Varades, the leaders of the Catholic and Royal Army elect La Rochejaquelein as their commander-in-chief.
- December 23, 1793 · Crushing defeat of the insurgents at Savenay. La Rochejaquelein withdraws into the woods.
- January 28, 1794 · La Rochejaquelein is caught in an ambush near Nuaillé and killed by a shot to the head.
Quotes
I shall go to my province, and soon people will hear about me.
La Rochejaquelein after the storming of the Tuileries, 1792
If I advance, follow me; if I retreat, kill me; if I die, avenge me.
La Rochejaquelein, April 1793
Tomorrow, then, I shall content myself with burning again the château of La Roche-Jaquelin, the bandit leader who had promised to carry my head around Châtillon today.
General Westerman, 3 July 1793
Le Moniteur
The burial of La Rochejaquelein, 28 January 1794
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