Thursday, July 5, 2007

The French Genocide



More on the Vendée by Anne Barbeau Gardiner, in a review of two excellent books on the atrocities of the French Revolution which were visited upon faithful Catholics.


The Vendean army was called at times “The Army of the Sacred Heart.” The nobility of Vendée had virtually disappeared by 1793, so the peasants summoned mostly former officers and career soldiers to lead them into battle. These colorful characters include Charette, a veteran officer of the American Revolution, and the Marquis de Bonchamps, a former officer in India. Such experienced soldiers knew they faced impossible odds, yet they gallantly answered the peasants’ summons. At one point, they led some 35,000 Catholic peasants into battle, many of them poorly equipped. At its peak in 1793, the Catholic army defeated the Mayençais, a force of 20,000 veterans that had never retreated before an army in Europe. Share

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting those reviews.
It is too horrible to comprehend. ...And yet Westermann's
name appears on thre Arch de Triomph.

elena maria vidal said...

It does!? O mon Dieu....

Anonymous said...

Oops my mistake, I read the article wrong, it is Generals Turreau and Amey whose names appear.

Here is a letter sent to the French government requesting the names be removed. I have been told the government has refused the the request claiming it is a historical marker.

http://www.genocide-vendeen.com/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=12

I am sorry for the wrong information.

de Brantigny

elena maria vidal said...

Well, they were still generals who participated in the carnage. It is shocking that they are so honored.

Anonymous said...

Dear Elena,

due to you I learned about the plight of Vendee...I did searched your site and then the Web and read all that I could about the genocide. I am speechless: it is all to horrible. The only informations I had before were from the novel of Balzac, Le Chouan, which does not mention anything about the massacres!

Anonymous said...

Perhaps a well crafted movie depicting the Vendee Genocide could move people like Schindler's List did. If it could open people's eyes to anti-Catholicism and visceral hatred then it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

elena maria vidal said...

Yes, Paula, it has been ignored. I think the French are ashamed of that chapter in their history.

I agree, Margaret, a good movie is long overdue.