Joseph-Geneviève de Puisaye
Encyclopedia
Joseph-Geneviève, comte de Puisaye (6 March 1755 – 13 September 1827) was a minor French
aristocrat
who fought as a counter-revolutionary during the French Revolution
, leading two unsuccessful invasions from England
. He later led a group of French royalist
s to settle in Upper Canada
, but returned to England after a few years, when that effort proved largely unsuccessful. He remained in England until his death in 1827.
, the fourth son of a French aristocratic family. His family intended for him to join a seminary
, and sent him to the Collège de Laval at age nine, then the Collège de Sées and the Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice in Paris
. The seminary's superior recommended against a religious vocation for Puisaye when he was seventeen, and he left the seminary. He joined the French Army
in 1773 at age eighteen. Family connections through his maternal grandmother allowed Puisaye to obtain a commission
as a second lieutenant
in a cavalry
regiment near the German
border in February 1775. He was promoted to supernumerary captain in 1779 in a non-existent company. Unsatisfied with his military career, he returned to Mortagne-au-Perche in 1781 or 1782.
In order to obtain the Order of Saint-Louis, de Puisaye purchased a colonel
cy and an honorary position in the King's guard. He married Louise Le Sesne, the sole heiress of the marquis de Ménilles, on 19 June 1788. From this marriage he obtained an estate in Pacy-sur-Eure
, Normandy
, and he spent his time there or in Paris. There he was involved in drafting the cahier de doléance for the nobility of Perche
, and they sent him as their delegate to the Estates General
in 1789.
and aligned himself with the Girondins. His liberal reformist political position enabled him to be made the commander of the national guard in the Évreux district in 1790. He stopped attending the National Constituent Assembly
after its first session and was not re-elected in 1792. After the Jacobins
outlawed the Girondins in 1793, Puisaye became a counter-revolutionary, but his earlier association with the revolutionaries left him untrusted among more conservative counter-revolutionaries.
In Normandy Puisaye was in command of a local troop of federalists and royalists who were surprised by Republican forces in a July 1793 attack. The troops scattered and De Puisaye went into hiding in the Pertre forest, while his estate was sacked by Republican forces. While in hiding he attempted to organise the Chouan
s into an anti-Jacobin army, which he hoped to join with other counter-revolutionaries. He happened to intercept communications from England to royalist force leaders, and he responded accordingly. These responses impressed the English, who started supplying Puisaye with money and equipment. Thus bolstered, he began issuing calls for the French army and populace to rebel. Puisaye left for England in 1794 to arrange a royalist invasion with the aim of starting a general insurrection.
William Pitt
to back an invasion of France to restore the monarchy. Puisaye volunteered to lead the expedition, requesting men, money and materials from the British government. He believed that such an invasion would lead to a general insurrection, which would restore the monarchy. While Pitt thought well of Puisaye's proposal, referring to him as a "clear and sensible man," Minister of War Henry Dundas took a more negative view of the proposed expedition. In the end, Puisaye was provided with ships and equipment by the British government, but no soldiers. De Puisaye tried to arrange a force of 15,000 men, but on his invasion date of 8 June 1795 only some 3,500 men appeared.
The force crossed the English Channel
, landing on the Quiberon peninsula, where 2,500 men met them, giving Puisaye a total force of 6,000. The force relied on expected support from the peasants, but this was not forthcoming. The British recognised Puisaye as the commander of the force, but French royalist forces recognised the Comte d'Hervilly as the commander of the forces, and internal power struggles plagued the unit. With its leadership divided, the force did little, and republican forces attacked Puisaye's expedition while it was still on the peninsula, unready to fight. The royalists suffered defeat, with thousands of men drowning
while trying to escape; those who surrendered were immediately executed. Puisaye escaped to England, claiming the need to save official correspondence, although he was accused of cowardice
.
s. Their forces were in disarray, however, and they intended to make peace with the republican government, so Puisaye returned to England. There he found the French exile community hostile to him, blaming him for his disastrous expeditions and accusing him of cowardice. His offer to support the Comte d'Artois
in seeking the French throne was rejected, and Puisaye resigned his position as lieutenant-general in the king's armies.
where they would found a French military colony and help defend Upper Canada from republican influences. Puisaye arranged for the French royalists to be settled in Upper Canada on the same terms as the United Empire Loyalists
some two decades before. He and forty-one other settlers departed England for Upper Canada in the summer of 1798. It was expected that this expedition would pave the way for the emigration of thousands of French loyalists. On 22 November 1798, the Executive Council of Upper Canada
approved land grants for the settlers in Uxbridge
, Gwillimbury, Whitchurch
and an unnamed county north of Whitby
, all in Ontario. Located in present-day Richmond Hill
, the new settlement was named Windham in honour of William Windham
, the British Secretary of War who help arranged the settlement. Puisaye and surveyor Augustus Jones
looked over the land in December 1798.
The settlers encountered significant troubles upon arrival in Canada. They were all French aristocrats, unprepared for life as pioneer
s. Although the building of the settlement went well at first, the settlers quickly became disillusioned, their unhappiness being expressed openly by the spring of 1799. Puisaye himself expressed his dissatisfaction with the area where the settlers were granted plots to Peter Russell
, the administrator of Upper Canada; Russell wrote to Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe
that "[Puisaye] now thinks the distance too great for navigation, the roads impracticable, and the consequent difficulties of transport insuperable, and in short that his people are unequal to the hardships of reducing such heavy timbered forests into cultivation. He therefore wishes for some situation on the Lake where the nobles, aged, and women may engage in less laborious occupations." He soon purchased land south of Newark, Ontario, in the Niagara region, where he spent most of his time. He negotiated with Joseph Brandt to obtain land to relocate the remaining settlers, but nothing came of these negotiations. Although Puisaye kept up his properties in Windham and tried to support the other settlers, the community languished. Most of the settlers abandoned the project, including Puisaye, who returned to England in May 1802 to find more funding to support the colony. Of all the settlers who came to Upper Canada, only the Chevalier Michel Saigeon remained after the restoration of the French monarchy
in 1814. He settled on a farm north of London with his second wife Susanna Smithers, his former housekeeper. There he published a six-volume memoir.
Puisaye died in Hammersmith
on 13 September 1827.
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
aristocrat
French nobility
The French nobility was the privileged order of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods.In the political system of the Estates General, the nobility made up the Second Estate...
who fought as a counter-revolutionary during 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...
, leading two unsuccessful invasions from 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...
. He later led a group of French 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...
s to settle in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, but returned to England after a few years, when that effort proved largely unsuccessful. He remained in England until his death in 1827.
Before the revolution
De Puisaye was born in Mortagne-au-PercheMortagne-au-Perche
Mortagne-au-Perche is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.-Heraldry:-Demographic evolution:* 1962: 3909* 1968: 4322* 1975: 4877* 1982: 4851* 1990: 4584* 1999: 45131962 population without double counting-People:...
, the fourth son of a French aristocratic family. His family intended for him to join a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, and sent him to the Collège de Laval at age nine, then the Collège de Sées and the Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice in 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...
. The seminary's superior recommended against a religious vocation for Puisaye when he was seventeen, and he left the seminary. He joined the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
in 1773 at age eighteen. Family connections through his maternal grandmother allowed Puisaye to obtain a commission
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiment near the German
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
border in February 1775. He was promoted to supernumerary captain in 1779 in a non-existent company. Unsatisfied with his military career, he returned to Mortagne-au-Perche in 1781 or 1782.
In order to obtain the Order of Saint-Louis, de Puisaye purchased a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
cy and an honorary position in the King's guard. He married Louise Le Sesne, the sole heiress of the marquis de Ménilles, on 19 June 1788. From this marriage he obtained an estate in Pacy-sur-Eure
Pacy-sur-Eure
Pacy-sur-Eure is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in north-western France.-Population:-External links:*...
, Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, and he spent his time there or in Paris. There he was involved in drafting the cahier de doléance for the nobility of Perche
Perche
Perche is a former province of northern France extending over the départements of Orne, Eure, Eure-et-Loir and Sarthe, which were created from Perche during the French Revolution.-Geography:...
, and they sent him as their delegate to the Estates General
French States-General
In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
in 1789.
A revolutionary becomes a counter-revolutionary
In the Estates-General he supported a constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
and aligned himself with the Girondins. His liberal reformist political position enabled him to be made the commander of the national guard in the Évreux district in 1790. He stopped attending the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
after its first session and was not re-elected in 1792. After the Jacobins
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
outlawed the Girondins in 1793, Puisaye became a counter-revolutionary, but his earlier association with the revolutionaries left him untrusted among more conservative counter-revolutionaries.
In Normandy Puisaye was in command of a local troop of federalists and royalists who were surprised by Republican forces in a July 1793 attack. The troops scattered and De Puisaye went into hiding in the Pertre forest, while his estate was sacked by Republican forces. While in hiding he attempted to organise the Chouan
Chouannerie
The Chouannerie was a royalist uprising in twelve of the western departements of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the French Revolution, the First French Republic, and even, with its headquarters in London rather than France, for a time, under the Empire...
s into an anti-Jacobin army, which he hoped to join with other counter-revolutionaries. He happened to intercept communications from England to royalist force leaders, and he responded accordingly. These responses impressed the English, who started supplying Puisaye with money and equipment. Thus bolstered, he began issuing calls for the French army and populace to rebel. Puisaye left for England in 1794 to arrange a royalist invasion with the aim of starting a general insurrection.
First French invasion
In England, he persuaded the British Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
to back an invasion of France to restore the monarchy. Puisaye volunteered to lead the expedition, requesting men, money and materials from the British government. He believed that such an invasion would lead to a general insurrection, which would restore the monarchy. While Pitt thought well of Puisaye's proposal, referring to him as a "clear and sensible man," Minister of War Henry Dundas took a more negative view of the proposed expedition. In the end, Puisaye was provided with ships and equipment by the British government, but no soldiers. De Puisaye tried to arrange a force of 15,000 men, but on his invasion date of 8 June 1795 only some 3,500 men appeared.
The force crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, landing on the Quiberon peninsula, where 2,500 men met them, giving Puisaye a total force of 6,000. The force relied on expected support from the peasants, but this was not forthcoming. The British recognised Puisaye as the commander of the force, but French royalist forces recognised the Comte d'Hervilly as the commander of the forces, and internal power struggles plagued the unit. With its leadership divided, the force did little, and republican forces attacked Puisaye's expedition while it was still on the peninsula, unready to fight. The royalists suffered defeat, with thousands of men drowning
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
while trying to escape; those who surrendered were immediately executed. Puisaye escaped to England, claiming the need to save official correspondence, although he was accused of cowardice
Cowardice
Cowardice is the perceived failure to demonstrate sufficient mental robustness and courage in the face of a challenge. Under many military codes of justice, cowardice in the face of combat is a crime punishable by death...
.
Second French invasion
Puisaye returned to France in September 1795 to take command of the remaining ChouanChouannerie
The Chouannerie was a royalist uprising in twelve of the western departements of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the French Revolution, the First French Republic, and even, with its headquarters in London rather than France, for a time, under the Empire...
s. Their forces were in disarray, however, and they intended to make peace with the republican government, so Puisaye returned to England. There he found the French exile community hostile to him, blaming him for his disastrous expeditions and accusing him of cowardice. His offer to support the Comte d'Artois
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 seeking the French throne was rejected, and Puisaye resigned his position as lieutenant-general in the king's armies.
Move to Upper Canada
In England, Puisaye and his fellow "French émigrés" were supported with public money and private charity, which quickly made them unwelcome. Puisaye proposed leading them to Upper CanadaUpper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
where they would found a French military colony and help defend Upper Canada from republican influences. Puisaye arranged for the French royalists to be settled in Upper Canada on the same terms as the United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
some two decades before. He and forty-one other settlers departed England for Upper Canada in the summer of 1798. It was expected that this expedition would pave the way for the emigration of thousands of French loyalists. On 22 November 1798, the Executive Council of Upper Canada
Executive Council of Upper Canada
The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council. Members were...
approved land grants for the settlers in Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...
, Gwillimbury, Whitchurch
Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario
Whitchurch–Stouffville is a municipality in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately 14 kilometres north of the City of Toronto. It is 206.74 square kilometers in size, and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York on the ecologically sensitive Oak...
and an unnamed county north of Whitby
Whitby Township, Ontario
Whitby Township is a geographic township and former municipality in what was Ontario County , Ontario, Canada. It is now part of the Town of Whitby.The Township was established in as part of what was then York County...
, all in Ontario. Located in present-day Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...
, the new settlement was named Windham in honour of William Windham
William Windham
William Windham PC, PC was a British Whig statesman.-Early life:Windham was a member of an ancient Norfolk family and a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham. He was the son of William Windham, Sr. of Felbrigg Hall and his second wife, Sarah Lukin...
, the British Secretary of War who help arranged the settlement. Puisaye and surveyor Augustus Jones
Augustus Jones
Augustus Jones was an American-born Upper Canadian farmer, land speculator, magistrate, militia captain and surveyor. Jones trained as a surveyor in New York City, and fled as a United Empire Loyalist to Upper Canada...
looked over the land in December 1798.
The settlers encountered significant troubles upon arrival in Canada. They were all French aristocrats, unprepared for life as pioneer
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s. Although the building of the settlement went well at first, the settlers quickly became disillusioned, their unhappiness being expressed openly by the spring of 1799. Puisaye himself expressed his dissatisfaction with the area where the settlers were granted plots to Peter Russell
Peter Russell
Peter Russell M.A., D.C.S. is a British author of ten books and producer of three films on consciousness, spiritual awakening and their role in the future development of humanity. He has designed and taught personal development programs for businesses, and has remained a popular public...
, the administrator of Upper Canada; Russell wrote to Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
that "
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...
in 1814. He settled on a farm north of London with his second wife Susanna Smithers, his former housekeeper. There he published a six-volume memoir.
Puisaye died in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
on 13 September 1827.