Joseph Marie Servan de Gerbey
Encyclopedia
Joseph Marie Servan de Gerbey (14 February 1741 – 10 May 1808) was a French
general. During the Revolution
he served twice as Minister of War.
in south-eastern France. His older brother was the lawyer and publicist Joseph Michel Antoine Servan
.
He volunteered for the regiment of Guyenne
on 20 December 1760. He rose to Engineering Officer, then Deputy Governor of the pages of King Louis XVI, then colonel, then brigadier general on 8 May 1792.
He was recommended as Minister of War by the Girondin leadership, and served a brief term from 9 May to 12 June 1792. Servan assumed the office in a time of war, the first year of the War of the First Coalition. Within days of his appointment he oversaw the dismissal of the royal Garde du Corps
and the Swiss Guards; he also abolished corporal punishment in the army.
His most momentous action as minister, however, was his proposal to bring armed volunteers from the provinces to Paris
. These citizen-soldiers, called fédérés, were intended to complement the grand festivities set for the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille
. Servan also planned to give them military training before using them to supplement the army at the front. The scope and length of their stay in the capital was undefined, and the proposal was highly contentious: some, like the king, saw it as a plot to stack Paris full with anti-monarchists, while others, like Maximilien Robespierre
, feared the outsiders might be used as a provincial counterweight to the radical Parisian sans-culottes
.
King Louis used his constitutional
prerogative to veto Servan's proposal. Amid much criticism for his use of the unpopular veto power, the king fought back and dismissed the entire Girondin ministry, including Servan. Radical agitators seized the issue, and the invitation to the fédérés ignited a storm of citywide unrest. Eventually thousands of the provincial volunteers arrived regardless of the king's disapproval, and they were given a warm welcome by members of the Assembly, including Robespierre himself. The fédérés issue helped lead to the insurrection of 10 August after which Servan was reappointed as Minister of War.
Another of Servan's ministerial initiatives was the deletion of the eighth verse of the anthem La Marseillaise
in 1792. Servan claimed its references to God undermined the Republic
.
Arrested during the Terror
, he was released on 3 February 1795 and reinstated in the army. Under the Consulate
, he was Chairman of Records as well as Commander of the Legion of Honor.
Servan retired on 3 May 1807, and died the following year in Paris at the age of 67. His name in inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe
, on the west side.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
general. During the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
he served twice as Minister of War.
Biography
Servan was born in the village of RomansRomans, Ain
Romans is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.-Population:-External links:*...
in south-eastern France. His older brother was the lawyer and publicist Joseph Michel Antoine Servan
Joseph Michel Antoine Servan
Joseph Michel Antoine Servan was a French publicist.He was born at Romans . After studying law he was appointed avocat-general at the parlement of Grenoble at the age of twenty-seven. In his Discours sur l'administration de la Justice Criminelle he made an eloquent protest against legal abuses...
.
He volunteered for the regiment of Guyenne
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne , , ; Occitan Guiana ) is a vaguely defined historic region of south-western France. The Province of Guyenne, sometimes called the Province of Guyenne and Gascony, was a large province of pre-revolutionary France....
on 20 December 1760. He rose to Engineering Officer, then Deputy Governor of the pages of King Louis XVI, then colonel, then brigadier general on 8 May 1792.
He was recommended as Minister of War by the Girondin leadership, and served a brief term from 9 May to 12 June 1792. Servan assumed the office in a time of war, the first year of the War of the First Coalition. Within days of his appointment he oversaw the dismissal of the royal Garde du Corps
Garde du Corps (France)
The Garde du Corps was the senior formation of the King of France's Household Cavalry within the Maison du Roi.-History:The oldest company in the Garde du Corps was the Company of Scottish Archers, later just the 1st Scottish Company or Garde Écossaise, formed in 1419 from Scots that fought for...
and the Swiss Guards; he also abolished corporal punishment in the army.
His most momentous action as minister, however, was his proposal to bring armed volunteers from the provinces to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. These citizen-soldiers, called fédérés, were intended to complement the grand festivities set for the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
. Servan also planned to give them military training before using them to supplement the army at the front. The scope and length of their stay in the capital was undefined, and the proposal was highly contentious: some, like the king, saw it as a plot to stack Paris full with anti-monarchists, while others, like Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
, feared the outsiders might be used as a provincial counterweight to the radical Parisian sans-culottes
Sans-culottes
In the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
.
King Louis used his constitutional
French Constitution of 1791
The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution of France. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing popular sovereignty, following the steps of the United States of America...
prerogative to veto Servan's proposal. Amid much criticism for his use of the unpopular veto power, the king fought back and dismissed the entire Girondin ministry, including Servan. Radical agitators seized the issue, and the invitation to the fédérés ignited a storm of citywide unrest. Eventually thousands of the provincial volunteers arrived regardless of the king's disapproval, and they were given a warm welcome by members of the Assembly, including Robespierre himself. The fédérés issue helped lead to the insurrection of 10 August after which Servan was reappointed as Minister of War.
Another of Servan's ministerial initiatives was the deletion of the eighth verse of the anthem La Marseillaise
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song, originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792. The French National Convention adopted it as the Republic's anthem in 1795...
in 1792. Servan claimed its references to God undermined the Republic
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
.
Arrested during the Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, he was released on 3 February 1795 and reinstated in the army. Under the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
, he was Chairman of Records as well as Commander of the Legion of Honor.
Servan retired on 3 May 1807, and died the following year in Paris at the age of 67. His name in inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
, on the west side.
Further reading
- "Joseph Servan" in Charles Muller, Biographies of famous military forces by land and sea from 1789 to 1850, 1852)
- Servan, Minister of War offers his resignation 25 September 1792
- Record in Biography of Dauphine, by Adolphe Rochas t. 2, 1860