Thomas Laurent Madeleine Duverne de Presle
Encyclopedia
Thomas Laurent Madeleine Duverne du Presle (21 June 1763, possibly at Giverdy 13 December 1844, Maubranches, Cher
) was a French sailor.
in 1777, then served in the French Navy, coming to sympathise with revolutionary ideas during his service in the American Revolutionary War
. On the French Revolution
he was lieutenant de vaisseau de première classe in 1790, before he and his family fell victim to persecutions of Nivernais nobles. In 1791 he had to emigrate to Switzerland then Germany. Disagreeing with the other émigré
s, he returned to France
, left again for England
, returned on the promulgation of the anti-émigré law on 26 October 1792, though this did not stop him being expelled from Paris on 11 November 1792. This expulsion means he seems to have been in the service of the counter revolutionary struggle.
From 1794 between the count of Provence (future Louis XVIII of France
), François de Charette
, the Vendéens and the chouan
s in Brittany
. After the Quiberon landing
was defeated in July 1795, he wrote to Louis XVIII to suggest he stop massacring his partisans in uprisings and taking advantage of political and electoral means as a way back to power. At the end of 1795 he made contact with abbot Charles Brottier and Charles Honoré Berthelot La Villeheurnois
in a royalist plot. He met with Louis XVIII in Zurich
in April 1796 and the comte d'Artois (the future Charles X of France
) in London
in October, putting them in touch with the progress of the royalist cause. Effectively the elections to the councils of the French Directory
led to many elected figures favourable to a restoration of the monarchy, but the plotters were betrayed by a double agent and arrested on 30 June 1797. Condemned to death, Thomas Laurent Duverne de Presle saw this commuted to a 10 year prison sentence. He and the other conspirators were sent to Guyana
- Presle was treated leniently, leading some to believe he had told the authorities all he knew about the royalist networks active in France. On 21 March 1798 he embarked on an American ship with a Swiss passport, probably taking him to the USA.
He returned to France and was getting back into contact with the comte d'Artois in London when Napoleon's police arrested him in Paris on 6 October 1803. He protested his devotion to the Imperial regime and was released. Nothing more is known of him until the Bourbon Restoration
, when Louis XVIII made him retire at the rank of capitaine de frégate.
Cher (département)
Cher is an administrative department located in the centre of France. It is named after the Cher River.-History:Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. Most of it was created, along with the adjacent department of Indre from the former...
) was a French sailor.
Life
He was a student at the École militaire de La FlècheLa Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
in 1777, then served in the French Navy, coming to sympathise with revolutionary ideas during his service in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. On 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...
he was lieutenant de vaisseau de première classe in 1790, before he and his family fell victim to persecutions of Nivernais nobles. In 1791 he had to emigrate to Switzerland then Germany. Disagreeing with the other émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s, he returned to France
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...
, left again for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, returned on the promulgation of the anti-émigré law on 26 October 1792, though this did not stop him being expelled from Paris on 11 November 1792. This expulsion means he seems to have been in the service of the counter revolutionary struggle.
From 1794 between the count of Provence (future Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
), François de Charette
François de Charette
François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie was a French soldier and politician, one of the leaders of the bloody events termed the "Revolt in the Vendée"...
, the Vendéens and the chouan
Chouan
Chouan is a French surname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution...
s in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. After the Quiberon landing
Invasion of France (1795)
The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively repulsed on 21 July...
was defeated in July 1795, he wrote to Louis XVIII to suggest he stop massacring his partisans in uprisings and taking advantage of political and electoral means as a way back to power. At the end of 1795 he made contact with abbot Charles Brottier and Charles Honoré Berthelot La Villeheurnois
Charles Honoré Berthelot La Villeheurnois
Charles Honoré Berthelot La Villeheurnois was a French politician.He was maître des requêtes to Louis XVI and with Charles Brottier and Thomas Laurent Madeleine Duverne de Presle was one of the heads of the plot called the "camp de Grenelle"...
in a royalist plot. He met with Louis XVIII in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
in April 1796 and the comte d'Artois (the future Charles X of France
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
) in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in October, putting them in touch with the progress of the royalist cause. Effectively the elections to the councils of the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
led to many elected figures favourable to a restoration of the monarchy, but the plotters were betrayed by a double agent and arrested on 30 June 1797. Condemned to death, Thomas Laurent Duverne de Presle saw this commuted to a 10 year prison sentence. He and the other conspirators were sent to Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
- Presle was treated leniently, leading some to believe he had told the authorities all he knew about the royalist networks active in France. On 21 March 1798 he embarked on an American ship with a Swiss passport, probably taking him to the USA.
He returned to France and was getting back into contact with the comte d'Artois in London when Napoleon's police arrested him in Paris on 6 October 1803. He protested his devotion to the Imperial regime and was released. Nothing more is known of him until the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
, when Louis XVIII made him retire at the rank of capitaine de frégate.