Antoine Joseph Santerre (16 March 1752 – 6 February 1809) was a commander of the French National Guard in Paris during the French Revolution.
Biography[]
Antoine Joseph Santerre was born in Paris, France on 16 March 1752 to a family of brewers, and he made a living through the family business. In 1789, he became the commander of a battalion of French National Guard troops at the start of the French Revolution, and he led the people of Faubourg St. Antoine during the 10 August insurrection against Louis XVI of France in 1792. He was assigned to be the king's jailer afterwards, and he ordered for the guards to play a drumroll as Louis was sent to his execution, drowning out the sound of any last words that he had to say. Santerre was later sent to put down royalist uprisings in the Vendee, and some of his troops accused him of being a traitor or incompetent after he was defeated at Saumur. However, because he was not in supreme command, he was spared from death, although he was arrested in April 1794 and accused of being a royalist. He was released after Maximilien Robespierre's death, but his brewery failed, and he died in poverty in 1809.