Battle of Montaigu
| Battle of Montaigu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War in the Vendée | |||||||
View on Montaigu by Thomas Drake (1818-1895) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| French Royalists | Republican France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Louis de Lescure François de Charette Jean-Baptiste Joly Jean Savin |
Jean-Michel Beysser Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Catholic and Royal Army | Army of the Coasts of La Rochelle | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20,000 | 7,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ? |
400 to 2,000 men 14 cannons | ||||||
The Battle of Montaigu was a battle on 21 September 1793 during the War in the Vendée, in which the Vendéens were victorious.
The Battle
The Vendéens attacked general Jean-Michel Beysser's French Republican division. Taken by surprise, this division fought back but lost 400 men, including many captured. Some of these prisoners were summarily executed by the Vendeens and their bodies later found in the castle wells by troops under Jean-Baptiste Kléber.
Following this battle Beysser was recalled to Paris, compromised by his Girondin past, condemned to death with the Hébertists , and guillotined on 13 April 1794.
Sources
- Yves Gras, La Guerre de Vendée, éditions Economica, 1994, p. 75.