Perhaps the two most well-known leaders of the Vendee uprising were the common coachman Cathelineau and the enobled Comte de La Rochejaquelein. Rochejaquelein was an officer in the King's Guard and first saw action on August 10, 1792 when he tried to defend the palace and the King from revolutionary mobs. After returning to his home he avoided being drafted into the republican army and, in April 1793, joined with his cousin, the Marquis de Lascure in the counterrevolutionary forces.
Rochejaquelein led the royalist forces with great skill and bravery. He was famous for his words to his men, "My friends, if I advance, follow me; if I move back, kill me; if I die, avenge me!" While leading the Catholic and Royal armies he won victory after victory over the "blue" army of the revolution at such battles as Bressuire, Thouars, Fontenay, Samur, Lucon and Chantonnay. Massively outnumbered by the republican forces he was eventually forced to cross the Loire after being defeated at Cholet on October 17. Nevertheless, after the death of Maurice d'Elbee Rochejaquelein was elected Generalissimo of the Church and Crown forces on October 20.
The Comte de La Rochejaquelein would seem to some to be an unusual choice for such a high command since he was always a "front-line" soldier. However, he proved his strategic abilities quickly. He attacked toward Granville and captured Avranches on November 12. Granville, however, eluded him and he was forced to recross the Loire and retreat to Angers. Pursued and harassed by superior forces under Marceau and Kleber until being caught and defeated piece by piece from December 12-23 where the final blow came at Savenay. However, Rochejaquelein managed to escape and continued to lead a guerilla war against the republican forces until he was killed by revolutionaries on January 29, 1794. |
