Louis Marie de Salgues,

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

de Lescure (13 October 1766 – 4 November 1793) was a French soldier and opponent of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the cousin of

Henri de la Rochejaquelein Henri du Vergier, De la Rochejacquelein, comte de la Rochejaquelein (30 August 1772 – 28 January 1794) was the youngest general of the House of Bourbon, Royalist War in the Vendée, Vendéan insurrection during the French Revolution. At the ...

Biography

Early life

He was born 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, u ...

and educated at the ''

École Militaire École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'', which he left at the age of sixteen. Lescure was in command of a company of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

in the ''Regiment de Royal-Piémont''. In 1791, he married his cousin

Victoire de Donnissan de La Rochejaquelein Marie Louise Victoire de Donnissan de La Rochejaquelein née ''marquise de Lescure'' (25 October 1772 - 15 February 1857), was a French memoirist. She is known for her memoirs, depicting her misfortunes and her part in the Vendée wars. Life She ...

, who was also the cousin of Henri de La Rochejacquelein, another royalist rebel of Vendée. Being opposed to the ideas of the Revolution, he

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

in 1791, but soon returned, and, on the

Insurrection of 10 August 1792 The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the mona ...

, took part in the defence of the

Tuileries Palace 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 ...

against the mob of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The day after, he was forced to leave the capital, and took refuge in the ''

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

'' of Clisson near Bressuire.

War in the Vendée

On the outbreak of the

Revolt in the Vendée Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, he was arrested and imprisoned with all his family, as one of the promoters of the rising. He was set free by the Royalists and became one of their leaders. Lescure fought at

Thouars Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars. It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known as ...

in May 1793. At the Battle of Fontenay-le-Comte, he was the first to enter the city and free the Royalist prisoners inside. He was wounded at the Battle of Saumur in June. After an unsuccessful attack on

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, he joined forces with La Rochejaquelein and tried in vain to rally the troops of the dispersed

Catholic and Royal Army The Catholic and Royal Armies (french: Armées catholiques et royales) is the name given to the royalist armies in western France composed of insurgents during the war in the Vendée and the Chouannerie, who opposed the French revolution. Ca ...

Their peasant troops, opposed to the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment ...

General

François Joseph Westermann François Joseph Westermann (german: Franz Joseph Westermann; 5 September 17515 April 1794) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars and political figure of the French Revolution. __TOC__ Career Born in Molsheim (Alsace, today department ...

, sustained multiple defeats, but finally gained a victory between

Tiffauges Tiffauges () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. History Gilles de Rais owned the local fortress. It is the location of a battle between the French Republican troops and the royalists du ...

and

Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin language, Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a Communes of France, commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous c ...

on 19 September 1793. He was seriously wounded by a bullet to the head at Tiffauges. The struggle was then concentrated around Châtillon, which was time after time taken and lost by the Republicans. Lescure was killed near the ''château'' of La Tremblaye at the

Battle of La Tremblaye The battle of La Tremblaye (15 October 1793), part of the war in the Vendée, took place near Cholet, and was a Republican victory over the Vendéens. Prelude The republican Army of Mainz continued its progress and burnt down everything in it ...

, between

Ernée Ernée () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. It is named after the river Ernée, which runs through the town and is situated about halfway between the towns of Laval and Fougères. Ernée is home to a purpose-built m ...

and

Fougères Fougères (; br, Felger; Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in the region of Brittany in northwestern France. As of 2017, Fougères had 20,418 inhabitants. The Fougères area comprises appr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lescure, Louis Marie De 1766 births 1793 deaths People from Versailles Marquesses of Lescure French counter-revolutionaries Cent Royalist military leaders of the War in the Vendée French Royalist military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars