Out of their confusion and anger, their fear and disillusion a single aim swept through the fleeing Blancs with a religious intensity.
"A la Loire, à la Loire " (To the Loire).
And a mass of 80-100,000 people of whom 40,000 were fighting men, with their full military train, in a column several kilometers long, began the long tramp north towards the river.
With them, women and children, the old and infirm, rich aristocrats in carriages and poor peasants with their possessions either on their backs or in carts, who had been chased from their homes by the Republicans. From all corners of the eastern Vendée Militaire they came, to join the exodus. Even the wounded from the hospitals hidden deep in the forests were brought along in hundreds of carts.
There are also 6000 prisoners.
The Vendéen nation on the move, defeated, making a blind leap into the unknown. Leaving the country they had sought to defend for so long for an unsure destination and future.
One of the great mass migrations in history - and one of the most suicidal.
The flood was too strong, the faith too sure for the generals to hold it back, though they did try.
On 18th October at St.-Florent-le-Vieil, the exodus began, using captured bridges and small boats linked together as rafts and prepared by Talmond. Though a few lives were lost in the choppy waters, the crossing was completed by the next night, without serious incident. Even the best of the artillery was taken.
On his death litter, against his will, even poor Bonchamps was borne over the waters. D'Elbée, perhaps more firm, refusing to leave his native soil, was carried across country to Noirmoutier, protected by Charette's army which, alone, remained in the marshlands.
Fortunately the Republicans had themselves been too shattered by the battle to follow the retreat too closely, so that their crossing was largely peaceful. A patrol arriving at the riverbank at 3 a.m. on the 19th found almost no trace of the peasant army that had disappeared like a ghost in the night.
In little over 48 hours, the whole mass had marched from Cholet, 40 kilometres away and crossed the river Loire.
And the 6000 prisoners? Faced with a move to kill them, both by officers seeking revenge and by the peasants who thought their crossing might have been impeded, Bonchamps obtained their pardon and release. With almost his last breath, he earned his place in history with an act that lightened the dark shadows of the Civil War, an act not to be reciprocated by the Republicans.
Finding these released prisoners, the Blues immediately ordered them to take up arms and fire across the river in the direction of the fleeing Vendéens. And 400 Vendéen wounded who had been left in the hospital at Beaupuy were slaughtered, apparently in reprisal for the killing at Clisson.
How the representatives of the Convention who had either accompanied the army or skulked in Nantes boasted their victory:
"The Vendée has been purged of its rebels in a week, the main bands of brigands destroyed..... and now, smoking with blood, littered with bodies and largely in flames, if is a striking example of our national justice. "
However, Kléber, Westermann and the other "victorious" republican generals were not so sure.
The Vendéens moved north, fast and in good order, the defenceless surrounded and protected by the armed, sweeping aside feeble republican defences (see map 3).
The new leader was the reluctant 21 year old La Rochejaquelein, chosen by acclaim, probably the only remaining general with sufficient reputation and charisma to command the whole force. He was advised by the mortally wounded Lescure, borne on a litter and accompanied by his wife and baby son, until he died.
But such was the new spirit that peasant and noble walked side by side. Though many of the latter carried veritable fortunes in their baggage - one wallet was subsequently found to contain 76000 livres.
However, the spirit of optimism was not to last. There was little food available as it had been carefully hidden in the forests as news of the advance spread. Enormous piles of apples, left at the side of the road to make cider, were devoured eagerly.
At Laval the defenders fled after receiving a few rounds of cannon fire and Les Blancs entered the town, welcomed by the citizens, seeking food and hoping for a few days rest.
But now, with their forces increasing daily as up to 12000 fighting men from Brittany came to join the column, the key question had to be faced, with many troops refusing to move until it was answered.
Where were they going?
There existed four possibilities - to Normandy - or Rennes, capital of Brittany to raise the region, then back to attack Nantes - perhaps straight back to the Vendée Militaire-or even a march on to Paris.
As discussions were taking place, two messengers arrived from the emigré community in Jersey and England, and re-proposed another plan - to capture and hold a Channel port, St. Malo, Cherbourg or Granville where the English Navy would supply and reinforce them from the sea.
They decided to head for the Channel.
But, unexpectedly, the enemy was just behind them! L'Armée de Mayence had quickly regrouped, crossed the Loire and was following so closely that the Vendéens had to turn and fight again. The battle took place at the village of Entrammes, on 27th October 1793.
Despite clear orders to wait for all units to arrive, to give a couple of days rest before the fight, then to attack on several fronts at once, the ever wild Westermann attacked too early with his advanced force and was routed.
Westermann
As a result, l'Armée de Mayence which was still moving into position and unready to defend itself, was overrun, losing 13000 out of its remaining 20000 men, its best units simply ceasing to exist.
And there, dear readers, the sample of the book stops. I hope that it has interested you and that you will perhaps want to read further. In which case, you might like to purchase my little oeuvre, a self-publication, which is not available in the shops.
The remaining chapters tell the rest of the story on the Vendéen Civil War, the tragedy that is about to happen, leading to the attempted Genocide by the Republic.
In addition, there is a chapter on the places to visit, and finally, a chapter on the stained-glass record contained in some 40 local churches, which, uniquely, tells the story of the brutality and suffering which took place, sometimes with touches of dark humour.
The book is not on Amazon or other sites as it is not economical. If you would like a copy, then it costs €7 including p and p (France only). Please send a cheque to me, Tim Hayward, 10 Impasse de l'Horizon, Apremont, 85220 Vendée. Allow time for the cheque to clear and for the postal services to function.
Thank you.
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