13 Vendémiaire, Year 4 in the French Republican Calendar (5 October 1795 in the Gregorian calendar), was a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

forces in the streets of Paris. This battle was part of the establishing of a new form of government, the Directory, and it was a major factor in the rapid advancement of Republican General

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's career.

Background

The social reforms of the French Revolution had been well received by the majority of the populace of France, but the Revolution's strongly

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

stance had created anti-Republican sympathies in many

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. In March 1793, this sentiment boiled over into an armed insurrection in the fiercely Catholic

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.François de Charette de la Contrie and Maurice d'Elbée. The rebels were known as '' Chouans'', a title which comes from early Royalist leader Jean Cottereau's nickname Jean Chouan. The ''Armée catholique et royale'' quickly garnered British support and got off to a promising start, severely defeating several Revolutionary Armies. The Revolutionary

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

ordered General

Jean-Baptiste Carrier Jean-Baptiste Carrier (; 16 March 1756 – 16 December 1794) was a French Revolutionary and politician most notable for his actions in the War in the Vendée during the Reign of Terror. While under orders to suppress a Royalist counter-revoluti ...

to pacify the region, and over several months Carrier ruthlessly suppressed the Vendée. The local population dubbed Carrier's forces the infernal columns. On 22 December 1793, the Chouan rebellion subsided following a major defeat at the Battle of Savenay. Following the 9th Thermidor, those Chouans willing to lay down arms were granted amnesty by the reformed

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

. The Chouans responded by attacking the Republican-held town of Guémené-sur-Scorff on 28 January 1795. The Convention immediately ordered General Louis Lazare Hoche to proceed to the Vendée and force the Chouans to agree to a cessation of hostilities. Hoche quickly defeated the Chouan army and on 17 February François de Charette de la Contrie signed a very generous peace settlement. A small contingent of Royalists under the command of General Jean-Nicolas Stofflet and the fanatical Etienne-Alexandre Bernier refused to accept the peace settlement and continued to offer resistance to Hoche's army. They were supported by the British in the form of 4,000 émigrés. This large force was placed under the command of émigré Générals Joseph de Puisaye and Hermilly. Hearing of this, de Charette de la Contrie broke the peace agreement and reopened hostilities. On 26 June, the émigré force landed at Carnac. Hermilly quickly advanced on

Auray Auray (; , or simply ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department, Regions of France, administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern France. Inhabitants of Auray are cal ...

before engaging and being defeated by Hoche at

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

. By early July, Hermilly had been forced out of Auray and was besieged in the Fortress of Penthièvre. This meant that the entire insurgent army was now trapped on the

Quiberon Quiberon (; , ) is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, administrative region of Brittany, western France. It is on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It is ...

peninsula. On 15 July, an additional émigré division arrived to bolster the defense, under the command of Général

Charles François de Virot de Sombreuil Charles François de Virot (also spelt Viraud or Vireaux) marquis de Sombreuil (12 January 1725 – 17 June 1794) was a French Royalist general of the Ancien Régime and French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to become maréchal de camp, hero of the ...

, but Hermilly was killed in action on 16 July. By the 20th, the fortress had fallen and Hoche swiftly advanced down the peninsula, defeating the hopelessly trapped émigré army. Only Général Puisaye and a small force were able to escape with the British fleet; the remainder were killed in action, taken prisoner, or executed. Despite the failure of the émigré army, de Charette de la Contrie continued to offer resistance. In early September, a popular revolt broke out in the area around

Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...

, but it was defeated in battle at

Nonancourt Nonancourt () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. The writer Louis-François Beffara (1751–1838) and the playwright Lucien Besnard (1872–1955) were born in Nonancourt. Nonancourt station has rail connectio ...

. De Charette de la Contrie himself suffered a major defeat at Saint-Cyr on 25 September. Despite this, the Comte d'Artois landed at

Île d'Yeu Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino ...

with 1,000 émigrés and 2,000 British troops. Bolstered by this force, the Royalist troops began marching on Paris in early October 1795. The arrival of the Comte d'Artois excited the ''

jeunesse dorée Many words in the English vocabulary are of French language, French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman ...

'' Royalist supporters in the Le Peletier

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

of the capital (named for the Rue Le Peletier in what is now the Second Arrondissement), and they began demonstrations in the form of felling

Liberty Tree The Liberty Tree (1646–1775) was a famous Elm, elm tree that stood in Boston, Massachusetts near Boston Common in the years before the American Revolution. In 1765, Patriot (American Revolution), Patriots in Boston staged the first act of def ...

s and trampling cockades of France. Rumours began to circulate regarding the likely defection of the entire Paris National Guard.

Vendémiaire

The Convention quickly realised that it was in severe danger, and that an enemy force was on French soil; indeed, the insurrection in Paris meant that there was now an enemy force within the capital itself. The Convention declared its intention to remain in their meeting rooms until the crisis was resolved. It called for the formation of three battalions of Patriots to be raised from the Jacobin military staff dismissed after 9 Thermidor. Général Jean-François, baron de Menou was given command of the defence of the capital, but he was severely outnumbered with only 5,000 troops on hand to resist the Royalist army of 25,000 men. On 12 Vendémiaire (4 October 1795), the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

arrived in Le Peletier in an attempt to put down the unrest. The Military Committee of the Sections of the Capital under the command of Jean-Thomas-Élisabeth Richer de Sérizy announced that the decrees of the convention were no longer recognised. Général Louis Michel Auguste Thévenet (called Danican) took command of the National Guard in the Le Peletier section. The Convention ordered Menou to advance into Le Peletier, to disarm the entire area, and to close Danican's headquarters. Generals Despierres and Verdière were sent to Menou to assist him. Menou divided his force into three columns and planned an advance into Le Peletier on the evening of 12 Vendémiaire. When the advance was set to begin, Despierres reported that he was unwell and unable to proceed, and Verdière refused to advance. Menou timidly advanced towards the Royalist force, inviting the rebels to discuss terms of their dispersal. He withdrew after receiving the insurgents' promise to disarm. The Le Peletier section, seeing this as a sign of weakness on the part of the convention, called upon the other sections of Paris to rise up. Menou realised his mistake, and launched a cavalry attack down the Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, temporarily clearing the area of Royalists. The Convention dismissed Menou from the command and ordered Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras to take over the defence of the convention.

Battle

Young General

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Bonaparte was aware of the commotion, and he arrived at the Convention around this time to find out what was happening. He was quickly ordered to join Barras' forces mustering for the defence of the Republic. Bonaparte accepted, but only on the condition that he was granted complete freedom of movement. At 1 am on 13 Vendémiaire (5 October), Bonaparte overrode Barras, who was content to let him do as he wished. Bonaparte ordered

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

, a sous-lieutenant in the ''12ème Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval'', to ride to the plain of Sablons and to return with the 40 cannons which Menou had indicated were located there. Murat's squadron retrieved the cannons before the Royalists arrived and Bonaparte organised their arrangement, placing them in commanding areas with effective fields of fire. The Republican forces were outnumbered approximately 6 to 1, but they held their perimeter all the same. At 5 am, a probing attack by the Royalist forces was repulsed. Five hours later, the major Royalist assault by 7,000 men began. The Republican forces held their perimeter, the cannons firing grapeshot into the massed Royalist forces. The Patriot battalions supporting the artillery also cut down the advancing Royalist ranks. Bonaparte commanded throughout the two-hour engagement, and survived unscathed despite having his horse shot from under him. The effect of the grapeshot and the volleys from the Patriot forces caused the Royalist attack to waver. Bonaparte ordered a counterattack led by Murat's squadron of chasseurs. At the close of the battle, around three hundred Royalists lay dead on the streets of Paris. Scottish philosopher and historian

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

later famously recorded that, on this occasion, Bonaparte gave his opponent a "Whiff of Grapeshot" and that "the thing we specifically call French Revolution is blown into space by it." That is, 13 Vendémiaire marks the ending of the French Revolution. (The phrase is often ascribed to Bonaparte himself, but the words are probably Carlyle's.)

Aftermath

The defeat of the Royalist insurrection extinguished the threat to the convention. On 19 October all the officers in the army, also the ones who were dismissed, had to prove for the

where they were on the days around 13 Vendémiaire.Gazette nationale ou le Moniteur universel, 25 octobre 1795, p. 2 On Sunday 25 October the

declared itself dissolved and voted for a general amnesty for "deeds exclusively connected with the Revolution". Not long after the Directoire and

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

was installed; the

disappeared. Napoleon was appointed as General in Chief of the Army of the Interior. Bonaparte became a national hero, and was quickly promoted to

Général de Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

. Within five months, he was given command of the French army conducting operations in Italy. The defeated Royalists, in an effort to portray the Republican defense as a massacre, nicknamed Bonaparte ''Général Vendémiaire'', a title which he later claimed would be his ''first title of glory''.

In film

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

portrayed 13 Vendémiaire in act iii of his silent production '' Napoléon''. The first episode of the 2002 miniseries '' Napoléon'' portrays the battle of 13 Vendémiaire. The events are also depicted in the 2023 film ''

''.

References

Sources

*Asprey, Robert B. – ''The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte'', 604 pages, *Chandler, David G. – ''Campaigns of Napoleon'', 1216 pages,
Franceschi, M. Gen (ret.) – The 13 Vendémiaire, republican coronation of Napoleon
* Hibbert, Christopher – ''The Days of the French Revolution'', 384 pages, * *Lacretelle, Jean-Charles-Dominique. "Account of the 1795 Vendémiaire Uprising", ''Napoleon: Symbol for an Age, A Brief History with Documents'', ed. Rafe Blaufarb (New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008), 33–35. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:13 Vendemiaire 1795 events of the French Revolution Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Paris in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars Insurgencies in Paris Monarchism in France Conflicts in 1795 1790s in Paris Battles commanded by Napoleon