Charles de Bonchamps
Charles Melchior Artus, Marquis de Bonchamps (born May 10, 1760 at Château Juvardeil in Anjou , † October 17, 1793 in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil , Maine-et-Loire ) was a French general in the Vendé War . Like his fellow combatant Maurice Joseph Louis Gigost d'Elbée , he was fatally wounded in the Second Battle of Cholet .
Live and act
Bonchamps came from an old officer family and was the son of Charles Louis Artus de Bonchamps. Shortly after the outbreak of the War of Independence in North America , Bonchamps volunteered to fight the British. At the beginning of 1784 he returned to France with the rank of captain .
He resided in his father's castle and became acquainted with the ideas of the revolution through Maurice Joseph Louis Gigost d'Elbée . As a royalist he was on the side of King Louis XVI. and lived in seclusion until - after the king's execution on January 21, 1793 - insurgents like Henri de La Rochejaquelein were able to inspire their cause - a revolt of the Vendée .
He became one of the leaders of the Catholic and Royal Armies of the Vendée and fought alongside Jacques Cathelineau under the command of Maurice d'Elbée. He took part in the battles at Beaupréau , Thouars and Châtillon . In the battles at Clisson , Treize-Septiers and Cholet , Bonchamps led his own command, but was very seriously wounded in the latter on October 17, 1793. He died the same day and found his final resting place with Cathelineau in the abbey church of Florent-le-Vieil. His last act was that he saved 5,000 prisoner-of-war Republicans from being slaughtered by the Vendéers, enraged by Bonchamp's case.
In 1793 the painter Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson presented his portrait of General Bonchamps to the public. In 1837 Thomas Degeorge created his painting Mort de Bonchamps .
Honors
- The sculptor Pierre Jean David d'Angers created Bonchamps sarcophagus ("Pardon de Bonchamps")
- In Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, a memorial was dedicated to him, which was also created by d'Angers
- The rue de Bonchamps in his hometown was named in his honor.
literature
- Émile Gabory: Histoire des guerres de Vendée . Perrin, Paris 2015, ISBN 978-2-262-04934-8 .
- Jean-Clément Martin: La guerre de Vendée . Points, Paris 2014, ISBN 978-2-7578-3656-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Today in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire ( Cholet ).
- ↑ Today in the Musée d'Art Roger-Quilliot ( Clermont-Ferrand ).
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bonchamps, Charles de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bonchamps, Charles-Melchior Artus marquis de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French opponent of the revolution |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 10, 1760 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Juvardeil Castle, Anjou |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 17, 1793 |
| Place of death | Saint-Florent-le-Vieil |