Louis d'Elbée
Encyclopedia
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...
Royalist
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
military leader. He was the second commander in chief of the Royal and Catholic Army formed by Royalist forces of the Vendean insurrection
Revolt in the Vendée
The War in the Vendée was a Royalist rebellion and counterrevolution in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the Loire River in western France. The uprising was closely tied to the Chouannerie, which took place in...
against the Republic and the French 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...
.
Life
Born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, he moved to France in 1777, becoming a naturalised citizen. He embarked on a military career, reaching the rank of lieutenant, but resigned from the army in 1783 and married, thereafter living a retired country life near Beaupréau
Beaupréau
Beaupréau is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France....
in Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
. He then served as an officer in the army of the Prince-Elector of Saxony
Rulers of Saxony
This article lists Dukes, Electors, and Kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 9th century to the end of the Saxon Kingdom in 1918.-Dukes of Saxony:...
. After the Revolution, he returned in obedience to the law which ordered emigrants to return to France.
In 1793, the anti-Jacobin uprisings in the Vendee and Brittany broke out, leading the peasants of Beaupréau to appoint him as their leader. His troop joined those of Charles Bonchamps
Charles Melchior Artus de Bonchamps
Charles-Melchior Arthus, Marquis de Bonchamps was a French politician and leader of the Vendéan insurrection of Royalists against the Republic during the French Revolution....
, Jacques Cathelineau
Jacques Cathelineau
Jacques Cathelineau , nicknamed le Saint d'Anjou , was a French Vendéan insurrection leader during the French Revolution...
and Jean-Nicolas Stofflet
Jean-Nicolas Stofflet
Jean-Nicolas Stofflet was a French leader of the Revolt in the Vendée against the First French Republic.Born in Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont , the son of a miller, he was for long a private in the Swiss Guard, and afterwards gamekeeper to the comte de Colbert-Maulévrier, he joined the Vendéans when...
. He served under Cathelineau, and was recognized as the new generalissimo after the death of Cathelineau. He led the Vendéans to victory in conflicts with the Republicans at Coron
Coron, Maine-et-Loire
Coron is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France....
and Beaulieu
Beaulieu
-England:* Beaulieu, Hampshire, a village in the New Forest* Beaulieu Abbey, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu Palace House, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu River, running through Beaulieu, Hampshire...
. At the Battle of Luçon
Battle of Luçon
The Battle of Luçon was fought on 14 August 1793 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between forces of the French Republic under General Tuncq and Royalist forces under Gigot d’Elbée. The battle was fought near the town of Luçon in Vendée, France, the Royalists were defeated by French Republican...
he managed to extricate the Royalist force from a potential rout, but suffered a significant reverse.
A few months later the Royalists under d'Elbée were completely defeated at the Battle of Cholet
Battle of Cholet
The Battle of Cholet was fought on 17 October 1793 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between French Republican forces under General Léchelle and French Royalist Forces under Louis d'Elbée. The battle was fought in the town of Cholet in the Maine-et-Loire department of France, and resulted in a...
on 17 October 1793. He was severely wounded and taken prisoner. Three months later he was tried, condemned and executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
by Republican troops
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army is the term used to refer to the military of France during the period between the fall of the ancien regime under Louis XVI in 1792 and the formation of the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary...
in Noirmoutier. He was shot sitting in a chair, since he was unable to stand due to his wounds.