The Massacre in Vendée

 

The Massacre in the Vendée (Hughes)

Our last stop is a small town about 260 miles southwest of Paris called Vendée.  Like many towns in France, the residents were starving, angry and living in fear.  They lived in fear of the Revolutionary army and not the King’s army.  

When we visit, you will notice that this is a catholic town. While the Revolutionary army was trying to provide freedom and security to the Third State, they were also trying to destroy the old Catholic System (Hughes). Because of this, Vendée had it’s own war from 1793 to 1796.

The following is an excerpt from Madame de Sapinaud book, Historical memoirs on La Vendée.  She wrote about everything she saw during this three-year period. This passage from her memoirs tells us about an execution of a family she had witnessed.

“The youngest of the victims who was but sixteen years of age, and who was singularly beautiful, was overpowered with terror at sight of the preparations for her execution ; but her mother's voice soon restored her self-possession. Like the mother of the Machabaei she begged to be put to death last ; and, after supporting the courage of her children, her soul was wafted to Heaven to share their glory, and to increase it by her presence.” (Sapinaud)

For almost 3 years, the town lived in fear.  The reformed government did not stop with executions. They needed to prevent any other uprisings. General Louis Marie Turreau was ordered to destroy the town.  When it was over, General Francois Joseph Westermann wrote back.

"There is no more Vendée… According to the orders that you gave me, I crushed the children under the feet of the horses, massacred the women who, at least for these, will not give birth to any more brigands. I do not have a prisoner to reproach me. I have exterminated all.” (Hughes)

As you can see from all our stops, the French Revolution was a dark time in France's history.  There were casualties in all three estates, and they all suffered for the ten years of the French Revolution.

Works Cited

Hughes, David. Top 10 Horrific Atrocities Of The French Revolution. 2 July 2020. https://listverse.com/2020/07/02/top-10-horrific-atrocities-of-the-french-revolution/. 16 April 2023.

Sapinaud, Madame de. Historical memoirs on La Vendée. Vendée: London, C. Knight, 1824. 16 April 2024. <https://archive.org/details/historicalmemoir00sapi/page/n3/mode/2up>.