The Nancy affair (french: Affaire de Nancy), commonly referred to in English as the Nancy Mutiny, was the crushing of a military mutiny in France on 31 August 1790, two years before the final overthrow of the French monarchy. The mutiny was of particular significance in that it illustrated the degree to which the discipline and reliability of the Royal Army had been undermined by thirteen months of revolutionary turmoil.

Background

The Nancy Mutiny occurred at a time when unrest was spreading amongst the regular regiments of the French Army, following the

Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

, the mutiny of the ''gardes-francaises'' (

French Guards The French Guards (french: Régiment des Gardes françaises) were an elite infantry regiment of the French Royal Army. They formed a constituent part of the Maison militaire du roi de France ("Military Household of the King of France") under the ...

) and the forced relocation of the royal family from Versailles to Paris in 1789. While the officers of the army were still predominantly royalist, the rank and file were becoming increasingly influenced by the revolutionary turmoil around them. During the first half of 1790 a number of acts of disobedience and small scale mutinies occurred in various units and political associations were created with links to Jacobin and other parties outside the army. Specific military grievances were widespread amongst the soldiers, relating mainly to harsh discipline and conditions of service. Particularly resented was a measure taken in 1781 to reserve officer commissions to members of the nobility. This restriction had alienated many non-commissioned officers who now had no chance of promotion beyond their existing rank.

Mutiny in Nancy

In August 1790 the garrison of Nancy in northeastern France comprised three regiments of what was still the Royal Army. These were the '' Régiment du Roi'' (King's Regiment), the ''Régiment de Châteauvieux'' (one of the twelve regiments of

Swiss mercenaries The Swiss mercenaries (german: Reisläufer) were a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among t ...

in the French infantry) and the ''Mestre-de-camp'' cavalry. The soldiers' committee of the ''Regiment du Roi'' demanded to audit the regimental accounts, arrested the quartermaster, confined the colonel and other officers to barracks and seized the unit's pay chest. The ''Chateauvieux'' followed suit - a particularly disturbing development from the perspective of the royal court since the Swiss regiments were assumed to be the most reliable element within the army. The officers of the ''Chateauvieux'' were able to temporarily restore order and punish members of the soldiers' committee according to the Swiss military code - in this case by

running the gauntlet Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

. This action led to renewed disturbances, now involving all three regiments of the garrison.

Suppression

Fearing that the outbreak in Nancy would spread to the other garrisons located along the frontier, the National Constituent Assembly in Paris ordered suppression of the mutiny. The Assembly concerned at the increasing indiscipline had already voted to abolish political associations within the army. General

François Claude de Bouillé François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, army commander at Metz, accordingly led 4,500 regular soldiers and national guardsmen to Nancy on 18 August. De Bouillé, a committed royalist, was later to be a leading force in

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

's attempted flight to Varennes. Upon arrival at the city on 31 August, de Bouille issued an ultimatum to a delegation from the mutinous soldiers demanding the release of their officers and the handing over of four ring-leaders. These terms appeared acceptable to the majority of the soldiers but before they could be implemented a clash occurred at the Stainville Gate where the advance ranks of de Bouille's force were halted before an artillery piece manned by soldiers of the ''Regiment du Roi''. Antoine-Joseph-Marc Désilles, a junior officer of the ''Regiment du Roi'' stepped in front of a 24-pounder cannon loaded with canister in an attempt to dissuade the mutineers from firing on the government troops. He was shot down and in the confusion the cannon was fired killing about 60 of the loyal troops drawn up in close formation a few paces away. A general engagement then broke out and after three hours of fighting de Bouille's troops put down the mutiny with heavy casualties amongst soldiers and civilians. Total deaths were estimated at 500.

Aftermath

While the French regiments involved escaped serious repercussions, the Swiss mutineers faced severe punishment after court-martial by their own officers. One identified as the prime ringleader was

broken on the wheel The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Wheel of Catherine or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breakin ...

, 22 were hanged, 41 sentenced to 30 years as galley slaves (in effect hard labour for life since galleys were no longer in service) and a further 74 imprisoned. The National Constituent Assembly approved of de Bouillé's actions, but radicals protested its severity. The effect on popular opinion of these draconian measures was to create widespread sympathy for the mutineers, who were subsequently released in the midst of a large-scale celebration; and to further weaken the discipline and morale of the regular army where disturbances continued until the final overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792.

References

Sources

*A Concise History of the French Revolution *"French Revolutionary Infantry 1789-1802", Terry Crowdy, . *'' Citizens'',

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He fi ...