Jean-Baptiste Drouet (8 January 1763 – 11 April 1824) was a French politician of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

and the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, best known for his key role in the arrest of

King 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 e ...

and his family during the Flight to Varennes.

Background

Drouet was born at

Sainte-Menehould Sainte-Menehould (; german: Sankt Mathilde) is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. The 18th-century French playwright Charles-Georges Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey (1727–1800) died in Sainte-Ménéhould. It was the ...

, in the province of

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

. He enlisted in the Condé-Dragons regiment in 1781, but left seven years later to help his father in his duties as postmaster of Sainte-Menehould.

Flight to Varennes

On 21 June 1791, at around 8.p.m, the berline carrying the disguised royal family on their flight to the frontier made a stop at Sainte-Menehould. Just one hour earlier, a

valet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...

in the

Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...

had noticed the king's disappearance and alerted the authorities. Shortly after the royal family's arrival, Drouet (by then himself the city's postmaster) recognized the king, under the identity of a valet "Mr. Durand", from his portrait printed on an

assignat An assignat () was a monetary instrument, an order to pay, used during the time of the French Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars. France Assignats were paper money (fiat currency) issued by the Constituent Assembly in France from 1 ...

in his possession, but did not take action immediately. The carriage left Sainte-Menehould around ten minutes later. Just after receiving the news of the king's escape sent from Paris by

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

, at around 9.p.m, Drouet set out to the nearby town of

Varennes-en-Argonne Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639. Geography Varennes-en-Ar ...

, along with his friend Guillaume, in the direction he believed the berline had departed to. Riding separately, with Drouet going through Clermont and Guillaume through the

Forest of Argonne The Forest of Argonne () is a long strip of mountainous and wild woodland in northeastern France, approximately east of Paris. The forest measures roughly long and wide filled with many small hills and deep valleys formed by water run-off fro ...

in Les Islettes, they arrived with their horses in Varennes just a few minutes after the royal family, and quickly notified the local authority of their presence in town. A bridge over the

river Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...

on the way to the frontier was then barricaded, and 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. Nat ...

, commanded by the future General

Étienne Radet Étienne, baron Radet (1762, Stenay, Meuse - 1825, Varennes) was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. He is notable as the leader of the troops Napoleon sent to abduct Pius VII. Life Radet was born at Stenay ...

, was mobilized to assist in the blockade. The fugitives were finally detained at around 11:10.p.m, and arrested some time later after being formally identified as the royal family by Jacques Destez, a judge who had resided in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

Later life and political career

National Convention

Drouet arrived at the capital on 24 June, and was invited by the Legislative Assembly to give his own account of the events in Varennes. The following month, the Legislative Assembly offered a reward of 30,000

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

for his service, which he declined, instead unsuccessfully requesting a post in the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Mini ...

of his department of Marne, in November 1791. He was elected as a deputy from Marne to the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

in September 1792, where he sat with the radical

Montagnards Montagnard (''of the mountain'' or ''mountain dweller'') may refer to: * Montagnard (French Revolution), members of The Mountain (''La Montagne''), a political group during the French Revolution (1790s) ** Montagnard (1848 revolution), members of t ...

, and was later employed in the Committee of Public Safety. In 1793 he voted for the death of Louis XVI without appeal, showed virulent opposition to the

Girondin The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...

s, and in July proposed the expulsion of all non- naturalized

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

speculators In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many s ...

and stockjobbers residing in France. Sent as a representative on mission to the

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

in 1793, Drouet was captured by the Austrians during their siege of Maubeuge, and imprisoned at Spielberg Castle in Brno, Southern

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

. In July 1794 he attempted to escape from one of the castle's windows but failed. He returned to France in December 1795, exchanged with other French revolutionaries and military officers for

Marie Thérèse of France Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

, daughter of Louis XVI.

Directory and beyond

Drouet then became a member of the

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...

following the

Thermidorian Reaction The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

. In 1796 he was accused of involvement in Babeuf's

Conspiracy of the Equals The Conspiracy of the Equals (french: Conjuration des Égaux) of May 1796 was a failed coup d'Etat during the French Revolution. It was led by François-Noël Babeuf, who wanted to overthrow the Directory and replace it with an egalitarian and p ...

and imprisoned at the

Prison de l'Abbaye The Prison de l’Abbaye was a Paris prison in use from 1522 to 1854. The final building was built by Christophe Gamard in 1631 and made up of three floors, flanked by two turrets (or more exactly, '' échauguettes''). It was the scene of a porti ...

, but shortly made his escape, going first to Switzerland and from there to the Canary Islands, where he took part in the successful resistance to Horatio Nelson's attack on Tenerife in 1797, and later visited

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He returned to France after being accquitted by the High Court. In the

First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...

, Drouet was appointed '' sub-préfet'' of Sainte-Menehould by Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, and was made a member of the Legion of Honor on 7 August 1807. When bestowing Drouet with the order, Napoleon told him, "Mr. Drouet, you have changed the face of the world" (''Monsieur Drouet, vous avez changé la face du monde''). He served as deputy in the Chamber of Representatives during the Hundred Days, but with the Bourbon Restoration was exiled in January 1816, being deemed a

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

. He soon returned secretly, however, and settled in

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as ...

under the name of "Merger", keeping his identity hidden until his death on 11 April 1824.

References

External links

Profile
in the French National Assembly website {{DEFAULTSORT:Drouet, Jean-Baptiste 1763 births 1824 deaths People from Marne (department) Deputies to the French National Convention People on the Committee of Public Safety Regicides of Louis XVI Représentants en mission French prisoners of war in the 18th century Members of the Council of Five Hundred People involved in the Conspiracy of the Equals Recipients of the Legion of Honour Members of the Chamber of Representatives (France)