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Maurice-Joseph-Louis Gigost d'Elbée (; 21 March 1752 – 6 January 1794) was a French
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 ...
military leader. Initially enthusiastic about the Revolution, he became disenchanted with the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Civil Constitution of the Clergy () was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that sought the Caesaropapism, complete control over the Catholic Church in France by the National Constituent Assembly (France), French gove ...
and retired to his estates in Beaupreau. He was the second commander in chief 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 ...
formed by Royalist forces of the Vendean insurrection against the
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
.


Life

Maurice d'Elbee was born in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
,
Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...
to a French family in 1752. He moved to France in 1777, becoming a naturalised citizen and joining the
French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...
. He embarked on a military career, reaching the rank of lieutenant, but resigned from the army in 1783 and married, thereafter living a retired country life near
Beaupréau Beaupréau () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, ...
in
Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...
. He then served as an officer in the army of Frederick Augustus I, the Prince-Elector of Saxony. After the Revolution, he returned in obedience to the law which ordered emigrants to return to France.


Participation in the Vendéan Revolt

The peasantry and much of the middle class in the Vendée remained loyal to the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and, in 1792, the Marquess de la Rouërie had organized a general rising, although this was frustrated by the count's arrest. However, when the Convention decreed the levee en masse of 300,000 men, the Vendée mounted a war against what they considered the
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
Republic. The peasants of
Beaupréau Beaupréau () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, ...
to appoint him as their leader. His troop joined those of
François de Charette François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie (; 2 May 1763 – 29 March 1796) was a French military officer and politician. He served in the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the leaders of the War in the Vendée a ...
, Charles Bonchamps,
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 ...
and
Jean-Nicolas Stofflet Jean-Nicolas Stofflet (; 3 February 1753 – 25 February 1796) was a French leader of the Revolt in the Vendée against the First French Republic. Born in Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont (Meurthe-et-Moselle), the son of a miller, he was for long ...
. The army experienced several successes: Stofflet defeated the republic army at Saint-Vincent, in the Battle of Pont-Charrault; D'Elbée and Bonchamps won at Beaupreau; and Henri de la Rochejaquelein won the victories at the Aubiers and First Cholet.John Keegan, Andrew Wheatcroft, ''Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day.'' Routledge, 2014. p. 86. He is famous for his actions after the Battle of Chemillé, on 11 April 1793: after the insurgents' victory, many of them planned to avenge their dead and slaughter the Republican prisoners (approx. 400). D'Elbée tried to prevent them, and eventually asked them to recite the Our Father, which they did; then, when they had reached the sentence "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us", he interrupted them with the words: "Do not lie to God!". Moved by this reproach, his men turned away, and d'Elbée was able to save the prisoners. This episode has since become known as "''Le Pater d'Elbée''" (d'Elbée's '' Pater Noster''). By spring 1793, the insurgents controlled the province of Brittany. On 2 June, LaRochejacquelin stormed
Saumur Saumur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgu ...
and Cathelineau was elected as commander in chief. D'Elbée was the top deputy of Cathelineau. The eight-year-old
Louis XVII Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over ...
held in the Temple prison in Paris, the son of the executed Louis XVI, was proclaimed king of France, and Charette and Cathelineu united their armies to advance upon
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 ...
. When Cathelineau knelt at the town square to thank God for their victories, he was killed by a Republican sniper on 14 July 1793; d'Elbée replaced him as generalissimo. A skillful general, he led the small Vendéan army to several victories, most notably at Coron and Torfou. Even at his loss at the Battle of Luçon (19 August 1793), he managed to extract his force from danger. At the Battle of Luçon he managed to extricate the Royalist force from a potential rout, but suffered a significant reverse. The Republican government in Paris entrusted its fighting to generals from the old army. Westermann was sent against them first, but on 5 July he was driven from Chatillon and suspended by the representatives on mission. After his dismissal, some of the most incompetent generals of the old army sought to defeat the rebellion. He was succeeded by the Duke of Lauzun, General Biron, who was no more successful, and who was dismissed less than a week later; the committee then sent
Jean Antoine Rossignol Jean Antoine Rossignol (; 7 November 1759 – 27 April 1802) was a general of the French Revolutionary Wars. Life Early life Rossignol began his ''Memoirs'', published in 1820 by Victor Barrucand, with the words: "I was born into a poor family. My ...
, formerly a goldsmith's apprentice,
Antoine Joseph Santerre Antoine Joseph Santerre (; 16 March 1752 in Paris6 February 1809) was a businessman and general during the French Revolution. Early life The Santerre family moved from Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache to Paris in 1747 where they purchased a brewery k ...
, a brewer, and
Charles-Philippe Ronsin Charles-Philippe Ronsin (; 1 December 1751 – 24 March 1794) was a French general of the Revolutionary Army of the First French Republic, commanding the large Parisian division of ''l'Armée Révolutionnaire''. He was an extreme radical lead ...
, a playwright; all were beaten in successive battles, although Rossignol managed to hang on to his command. Eventually,
Jean Baptiste Kléber Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...
took command of the Republic army in the Vendée and inflicted a series of defeats. Following the Second Battle at Cholet (17 October 1793), he was badly wounded and Bonchamps was killed. Afterwards d'Elbée was transported first to Beaupréau, then the island of
Noirmoutier Noirmoutier (also French: Île de Noirmoutier, ; , ) is a tidal island off the Atlantic coast of France in the Vendée department (85). History Noirmoutier was the location of an early Viking raid in 799, when raiders attacked the monaster ...
. Three months later, the Republicans took control of the island and brought him before a military commission for a show trial. Condemned to death, he was executed by firing squad in the public square of the town of Noirmoutier. He was shot sitting in a chair, since he was unable to stand due to his fourteen wounds. Rochejaquelein, (1772–1794) a former royal cavalry officer, succeeded him as general of the Vendéan force.


Personal life

He was married to Marguerite Charlotte Holly Hauterive on 17 November 1788 in the Church of the Gaubretière, and therefore lived retired in a country very close to Beaupréau in Anjou. Marguerite d'Elbée was shot twenty days following the execution of her husband in January 1794 and buried in a sunken road. The remains of her body were discovered by chance much later. His son Louis-Joseph Maurice d'Elbée was born on 12 March 1793. Louis-Joseph Maurice d'Elbée was raised in
Beaupréau Beaupréau () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, ...
. He served in the armies of
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 ...
, where he distinguished himself in the
Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...
and the
Battle of Hanau The Battle of Hanau was fought from 30 to 31 October 1813 between Karl Philipp von Wrede's Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition. Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig ...
. Wounded in Hanau, he was taken as a prisoner and transported to the
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
hospital where he died the following year. The chair d'Elbée was executed in remained within his family until 1975, when his relative Marquis Charles Maurice d'Elbée donated the chair to the Vendée Museum in the Château de Noirmoutier.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elbee, Louis d 1752 births 1794 deaths Military personnel from Dresden French Royalist military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars Royalist military leaders of the War in the Vendée Executed French people People executed by the French military by firing squad People executed during the French Revolution Cent Executed people from Saxony Executed military leaders