The Battle of Nantes was fought on 29 June 1793 during the

War in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

. In this engagement, French Republican forces successfully defended

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

from a royalist attack led by

Jacques Cathelineau Generalissimo Jacques Cathelineau (; 5 January 1759 – 14 July 1793) was a French Vendéan insurrectionist leader during the Revolution. He was known among his followers as the Saint of Anjou. He was a well known peddler in Anjou. When the ...

, who was mortally wounded in the fighting. General

Louis Marie Turreau Louis-Marie Turreau (; 4 July 1756, Évreux, Eure – 10 December 1816, Conches), also known as ''Turreau de Garambouville'' or ''Turreau de Linières'', was a French general officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. He was most notable as ...

wrote of it:

Background

France, at war with Austria since April 1792, became a republic in September 1792, the day after the

Battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of Kingdom of France (1791–92), France during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battl ...

. Former king

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

was

guillotined A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with a pil ...

on 21 January 1793. The number of enemies of France increased when policies of the

Girondin The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...

government caused most neighboring countries to enter the war against France, forming the

First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it. They were only loosely allied ...

. To replace the army volunteers, who had reached the end of their conscription, the government decreed the raising of 300,000 men, by drawing lots, in early March 1793. This provoked a wave of protests in several regions. The most lasting revolt occurred in the

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.La Chapelle-Heulin; 14 constitutional priests, favorable to the Republic, were murdered by the insurgents, with some being mutilated or having their throats cut. Nantes was a prosperous city, enriched by maritime commerce, particularly the slave trade. The bourgeoisie that dominated it adopted the ideas of the French Revolution. The wealth of the city contrasted with the poverty of the countryside that surrounded it. This wealth was not evenly distributed, but the poorest residents of the city tended to support the most radical Republicans, unlike the inhabitants of the surrounding countryside. The city, then the seventh largest in France by population, was strategically important, since it was the last crossing point over the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

before its estuary, as well as an important river and sea port. Control of the area by the insurgents would open up possible access for Coalition forces via the coast. Furthermore, insurgent Vendée had no capital, and a conquered Nantes could exercise this function.

Preparations

On 20 June 1793, the Vendéen leaders met in

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

to determine a plan of action. Charette and Lyrot, who were absent, made it known through Lescure that they agreed to participate in an attack on Nantes, at the Pirmil bridge, south of the city. The command of the

Catholic and Royal Army The Catholic and Royal Armies () 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. Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée The Ca ...

sent an ultimatum to the Republicans entrenched in Nantes, and resumed its advance towards the city.

Ancenis Ancenis (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former Subprefectures in France ...

was taken on June 24, and a new council was held, during which

was confirmed as ''

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative ...

''. The assault was scheduled for 2 a.m. on 29 June. As the city's fortifications had been dismantled between 1760 and 1780, the choice was made to attack at several points. Charette, Lyrot and their 20,000 men were to assault the bridgehead south of the Loire, each on one bank of the Sèvre, respectively through Pont-Rousseau and Saint-Jacques. To the north, the army was divided in two: along the Loire, a contingent was to attack the "camp of Saint-Georges", where Republican troops were based, while further north Cathelineau was to cross the

Erdre The Erdre (; ) is a long river in western France, right tributary to the Loire. Its source is in the Maine-et-Loire '' department'', near La Pouëze. It flows through the ''departments'' Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique. The Erdre meets the ...

Nort-sur-Erdre Nort-sur-Erdre (, literally ''Nort on Erdre''; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is on the river Erdre north of Nantes. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department *Jean Fréour ...

, to attack the town through the roads to

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 ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. All the northern troops began their march from

Oudon Oudon () is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population Gallery ChateauDeOudon-20120401.jpg, Oudon Castle OudonMenhir 4.jpg, Menhir of "Pierre blanche" Town twinning * Batheaston, Somerset, Great Britain R ...

on 27 June.

Battle

That same day, 4,000 Vendéen rebels of Cathelineau and

Maurice d'Elbée Maurice-Joseph-Louis Gigost d'Elbée (; 21 March 1752 – 6 January 1794) was a French people, French Royalist military leader. Initially enthusiastic about the Revolution, he became disenchanted with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and ret ...

's army reached the bridge at Nort-sur-Erdre. The position was held by 600 Republicans led by . The battle was initially an artillery duel, then the two armies exchanged gunfire from one bank of the river to the other. The precision of the Republican cannons forced the Vendéens to retreat, and the depth of the Erdre prevented any crossing. During the night, the discovery of a ford 3 km upstream allowed some of Cathelineau's men to attack Meuris' from the rear. The Republican battalion, having suffered around 20 killed and 90 wounded, went into disarray and fell back towards Nantes. It was saved from destruction by the arrival, from

, of the 11th and 13th volunteer battalions of

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () is a former department of France, which encompassed the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its prefecture was Versailles and its administrative number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was disbanded in ...

, and was able to reach the city. This action thirty kilometers from the city delayed Cathelineau, and when, as expected, Charette had fired his cannons against the defensive system south of Nantes, on 29 June at 2 a.m., the assault was not launched simultaneously in the north. Lyrot had indeed attacked with his troops on the right bank of the Sèvre, but it was not until around 6 a.m. that the Vendéens arrived at Nantes from the north and east. They were spotted by an observation post located at the top of

Nantes Cathedral Nantes Cathedral, or the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul of Nantes (), is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral located in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France. Construction began in 1434, on the site of a Romanesque cathedral, and took 457 years ...

, and the fighting began at around 7 a.m. at this location. To the south, as expected by the Republican command, the position was impregnable. It was thus in the north that the outcome of the battle was decided. While the detachment led by

Charles de Bonchamps Charles-Melchior Artus de Bonchamps, Marquis de Bonchamps (; 10 May 1760 – 18 October 1793) was a French politician and leader of the Vendéan insurrection of Royalists against the Republic during the French Revolution. Born at Juvardeil, ...

fought on the road to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the bulk of the Catholic and Royal Army was concentrated on the access of the roads to Vannes and Rennes. The insurgents' artillery was installed along the road to Rennes, threatening Port-Communeau Square and the seat of departmental government. The Republican fortified posts of Bel-Air, Hauts-Pavés and Miséricorde withstood the assault conducted by Cathelineau. To the east, part of Bonchamps' troops came up against the Republican entrenchments; two Vendéen chiefs, Fleuriot (brother of ) and , were put ''

hors de combat ''Hors de combat'' (; ) is a French term used in the laws of war to refer to persons who are incapable of performing their combat duties during war, thus generally not treated as active combatants but rather protected persons. Examples include ...

'' and replaced by Autichamp. At midday, the assault seemed to have stopped. With the inconclusive outcome of the assault on the Rennes road, Cathelineau decided to try to force the Republican defense at the level of the Vannes road, where it was more stretched and vulnerable. The Vendéen ''generalissimo'' led the assault himself, on foot. Finally, the line gave way, but the Republican troops retreated in good order and continued to resist. The Miséricorde Cemetery was invested, as was the ''rue des Hauts-Pavés''. The royalist troops managed to reach Viarme Square. The assault cost the attackers heavy losses, and Cathelineau was severely wounded at the square. The Republicans halted the Vendéen thrust and the insurgents fell back, beginning the retreat of the Catholic and Royal Army. The total number of casualties was established after the battle, but the summary document has since been lost. Historians agree that there were about 300 dead on the Republican side, against 1,500 royalist insurgents killed. The quantity of corpses abandoned in the days following the fighting posed a sanitation problem, and on July 8, more than a week after the end of the battle, the department's directory had to take measures to bury the bodies still lying on the ground at the gates of the city. The wounded were equally numerous.

Aftermath

On the Republican side, the Battle of Nantes was not a resounding victory. The assault was repelled, but the city remained under siege, the troops were still mobilized, and the people of Nantes lived in fear of a new assault, with the surrounding countryside remaining in the hands of the insurgents. General Canclaux, after 1 July, led expeditions to ease the pressure from the Vendéen troops. For the Vendéens, Cathelineau's wounding was a major event. His incapacitation is sometimes presented as a main cause of the assault's failure, but the means of communication at the time were such that only the fighters closest to him, at Viarme Square, knew very early on that he had been injured. Moreover, it was long claimed that he had been killed in action, which reinforced the idea that the commander's death had disorganized his troops. In reality, Cathelineau died from his wounds the following 14 July. The search for a port that would allow the Vendéens to receive military aid from the Coalition could not be satisfied after the defeat at Nantes, and Vendée revolt experienced a lull. The Republicans took advantage of this time to send reinforcements, namely the

Army of Mayence The Army of Mainz or Army of Mayence (''Armée de Mayence'') was a French Revolutionary Army set up on 9 December 1797 by splitting the Army of Germany into the Army of Mayence and the Army of the Rhine. Part of it split off on 4 February 1799 to ...

, to Nantes to relieve the city. The insurgents then began the

Virée de Galerne The Virée de Galerne was a military operation of the war in the Vendée during the French Revolutionary Wars across Brittany and Normandy. It takes its name from French ''virée'' (turn) and Breton ''gwalarn'' (northwest wind). It concerns th ...

, an operation that would prove fatal to the movement north of the Loire, which came to an end after their

rout A rout is a Panic, panicked, disorderly and Military discipline, undisciplined withdrawal (military), retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's discipline, command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale ...

at the

Battle of Savenay The Battle of Savenay took place on 23 December 1793, and marks the end of the Virée de Galerne operational phase of the War in the Vendée, first war in the Vendée after the French Revolution. A Republican force of approximately 18,000 deci ...

. The outcome of the Battle of Nantes was a determining factor in the defeat of the Vendéens. The leadership of Nantes, including Baco and Beysser, had

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

sympathies and even considered marching on Paris. It was only after the Vendéen victories at Torfou and Montaigu, in September 1793, that Canclaux, Beysser and Baco were dismissed.

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 ...

was placed at the head of the city; he initiated a policy of Terror targeting political opponents, particularly the Vendéens and priests, suspected of supporting the revolt.

Citations

References

* *

External links

History of the Vendée
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nantes, Battle Of Battles involving France Conflicts in 1793 Battles of the War in the Vendée Military history of Pays de la Loire History of Loire-Atlantique 1793 in France