The War in the Vendée (March-December 1793) was an uprising against the French Republic by local counter-revolutionary Royalists in the Vendée region of western France. Following the overthrow of the House of Bourbon during the French Revolution, the residents of the strongly Catholic and royalist Vendée region opposed the republicans. The measures taken by the Republic enraged the people there and caused them to take up arms against the Revolution as the Catholic and Royal Army.
The War[]
The insular and isolated Vendée was a stronghold of conservatism during the French Revolution; its nobility lived among the people and its Roman Catholic priests were drawn from the local population, earning both the First Estate and the Second Estate the loyalty of the peasantry. This social fabric was torn apart when the revolutionary government confiscated church lands, which were then bought up by the Jacobin townspeople of the Vendée; these townspeople soon demanded rent from the peasants. In March 1793, active riots began against the revolutionary government throughout the Vendée in response to the government's demand for 300,000 volunteers and its exemption of the local National Guard units (comprised mostly of the Jacobin townsfolk) from frontline service. Led by local clergy and nobility, the Royalist peasantry formed the Catholic and Royal Army. The rebels took advantage of their knowledge of the territory and the sympathies of the populace. Many riots were initially put down by the government, but several of the demonstrations became more severe and soon several hundred "patriots", officials of the French National Guard, had been murdered. The Republic responded quickly and dispatched 45,000 troops to the area, with the first battle taking place on March 19. A column of 2,000 republicans was defeated by rebels after six hours of fighting on the Petit-Lay river.
Throughout early May, Henri de la Rochejaquelein led royalist forces in occupying a number of key towns. In June the royalists captured the town of Saumur, during which 50 cannons fell into their control, marking the high point of the insurgency. The next month, however, the royalists suffered one of their first defeats at the hands of Jean-Baptiste Kleber. Another battle at Lucon, over the course of four weeks from August to September, led to the defeat of Louis d'Elbee's forces. By the winter months of 1793 the royalists had been largely wiped out by the Republican army. In October, the main force under Rochejaquelein made its way to the port of Granville, expecting to be greeted by returning exiled French nobles and the British Royal Navy, only to be greeted by a large Republican garrison. They defeated the royalists' attempt to take the city and preyed on their columns as they retreated. After the December 1793 Battle of Savenay, the insurgency was effectively over, and the Republicans initiated a scorched earth policy involving the destruction of farms, crops, forests, and villages. From January to May 1794, up to 50,000 Vendean civilians were massacred by Louis Marie Turreau's "infernal columns," and Jean-Baptiste Carrier oversaw mass drownings called "Republican baptisms." In February 1795, a ceasefire was declared between the government and the Vendeans, although scattered remnants continued the fight alongside the Chouans. On 16 July 1796, the French Directory proclaimed the official end of the war, and the stage of siege was lifted on 30 July. By then, between 117,000 and 450,000 Vendeans out of a population of 800,000 were killed. Sporadic fighting continued until 1799 and again in 1813-1815 until the 20 June 1815 Battle of Rocheserviere suppressed the renewed Vendean uprising.