Joseph Agricol Viala
Encyclopedia
Joseph Agricol Viala was a child hero in the French Revolutionary Army
.
when, in 1793, a federalist revolt
broke out in the Midi after the fall of the Girondins in Paris
. Supported by the British, the French Royalists allied themselves with the Federalists and took control of Toulon
and Marseille
. Faced with this uprising, the Revolutionary soldiers were forced to abandon Nîmes
, Aix and Arles
to the insurgents and fall back on Avignon. The inhabitants of Lambesc
and Tarascon
joined up with the rebels from Marseilles and together they headed for the Durance
in order to march on Lyon
, which had also revolted
against the central government in Paris. The rebels hoped to destroy the Convention and put an end to the French Revolution
.
Joseph Agricol Viala was a nephew of Agricol Moureau
, a Jacobin from Avignon, editor of the Courrier d'Avignon
and administrator of the département of Vaucluse. Joseph Agricol thus became commander of the "Espérance de la Patrie", a National Guard
formed wholly of young men from Avignon.
On hearing news of the approach of the rebels from Marseille, at the start of July 1793, the Republican forces (mainly those from Avignon) gathered to stop the rebels crossing the Durance. Viala attached himself to the national guards from Avignon. Numerically inferior, their only solution was to cut the ropes of the bac de Bonpas
under enemy fire. To do so, they had to cross a road completely exposed to rebel fire and behind which the Revolutionary forces had dug in. Despite its necessity, the Revolutionary forces were reluctant to undertake such a hazardous mission. According to accounts of the event, the 13-year-old Viala grabbed a hatchet, launched himself at the cable and started to cut it. He was the subject of several musket vollies and he was mortally wounded by a musket ball from one of them. One account stated:
Viala's attempt was unable to stop the rebels crossing the Durance, however. Nevertheless, it allowed the Revolutionary forces to carry out an ordered retreat without being able to pick up Viala's body. According to tradition, the Revolutionary soldier who heard Viala's last words tried to pick up the body but had to retreat before he could do so. This left the body to be insulted and mutilated by the advancing Royalists before they crossed the river. Learning of her son's death, Viala's mother said "Yes [...] he died for the fatherland!".
were the best known child heroes of the French Revolution, though Viala was later and thus less well-known - indeed, the Jacobin press did not invoke his memory before pluviôse
an II. It was above all the speech made by Robespierre before the Convention on 18 floréal
which contributed to the spread of Viala's mythology. In that speech, Robespierre stated "By what fate or by what ingratitude has one yet hero younger and worthier of posterity been left forgotten?". At the request of Barère
, the assembly voted that Viala be honoured in the Panthéon
, though the ceremony had to be postponed from 30 messidor
to 10 thermidor
and was then cancelled on Robespierre's fall
on 9 Thermidor. Even so, during the month of prairial
, Payan
published a Précis historique sur Agricol Viala which contributed to Viala's rising popularity. A civic festival was organised in Avignon on 30 messidor
"in honour of Bara and Viala". An engraving of Viala's face was also distributed to all primary schools.
The engraver Pierre-Michel Alix
(1762–1817) produced a head-and-shoulders portrait of Viala. Louis Emmanuel Jadin (1768–1853) wrote the one-act play Agricol Viala, ou Le jeune héros de la Durance (Agricol Viala, or The young hero of the Durance), put on in Paris on 1 July 1794. 1794 also saw the composition of the marching song the Chant du départ
, whose fourth stanza is placed in a child's mouth and mentions both Bara and Viala. The 1795-launched ship Viala
was named after him.
to the town museum, it was set up on place Gustave-Charpentier, in the suburb of Boulogne-sur-Mer
, in June 1993.
Under the French Third Republic
, historgraphy and scholarly literature contributed to renewed interest in the figures of Viala and Bara
. Viala is also one of the 660 figures whose names are engraved on the Arc de triomphe
(he appears on the 18th column as VIALA) and the rue Viala, in the 15e arrondissement of Paris, bears his name.
(ed.), Dictionnaire historique de la Révolution française, Paris, PUF, 1989 (republished Quadrige, 2005, p. 1087) "Joseph Agricol Viala", in Charles Mullié, Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850, 1852
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...
.
Life
Viala was living in AvignonAvignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
when, in 1793, a federalist revolt
Federalist revolts
The federalist revolts were uprisings which broke out from 2 June to December 1793 in the French provinces, after the 'Days of 31 May and 2 June 1793' during the French Revolution eliminated the Girondins from the French National Convention....
broke out in the Midi after the fall of the Girondins 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...
. Supported by the British, the French Royalists allied themselves with the Federalists and took control of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
and Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. Faced with this uprising, the Revolutionary soldiers were forced to abandon Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, Aix and Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
to the insurgents and fall back on Avignon. The inhabitants of Lambesc
Lambesc
Lambesc is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region in southern France.Lambesc is located in the heart of Provence at the foot of the Côtes mountain range, near the Alpilles. The village has a strong historical and cultural heritage, being home to the...
and Tarascon
Tarascon
Tarascon , sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
joined up with the rebels from Marseilles and together they headed for the Durance
Durance
The Durance is a major river in south-eastern France.Its source is in the south-western Alps, in Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon and it flows south-west through the following départements and cities:* Hautes-Alpes: Briançon, Embrun.* Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Sisteron, Manosque.* Vaucluse:...
in order to march on Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, which had also revolted
Revolt of Lyon against the National Convention
The revolt of Lyon against the National Convention was a counter-revolutionary movement in the city of Lyon. It involved a revolt against the revolutionary government, breaking out in June 1793 and ending in December of the same year....
against the central government in Paris. The rebels hoped to destroy the Convention and put an end to 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...
.
Joseph Agricol Viala was a nephew of Agricol Moureau
Agricol Moureau
Agricol Moureau was a figure in the French Revolution. Defrocked as a priest, he became a Jacobin, edited the Courrier d'Avignon, set up the département of Vaucluse, acted as the French Directory's administrator of Vaucluse, became a member of the Council of Five Hundred and finally was made a...
, a Jacobin from Avignon, editor of the Courrier d'Avignon
Courrier d'Avignon
The Courrier d'Avignon was a newspaper which had an important role in the international French-language press of the 18th century. Published in the papal enclave within the kingdom of France, then in Monaco, it escaped the system controlling the press within France itself despite being under papal...
and administrator of the département of Vaucluse. Joseph Agricol thus became commander of the "Espérance de la Patrie", a National Guard
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
formed wholly of young men from Avignon.
On hearing news of the approach of the rebels from Marseille, at the start of July 1793, the Republican forces (mainly those from Avignon) gathered to stop the rebels crossing the Durance. Viala attached himself to the national guards from Avignon. Numerically inferior, their only solution was to cut the ropes of the bac de Bonpas
Pont de Bonpas
The pont de Bonpas is a bridge over the Durance river, linking the south of Vaucluse to the north of Bouches-du-Rhône....
under enemy fire. To do so, they had to cross a road completely exposed to rebel fire and behind which the Revolutionary forces had dug in. Despite its necessity, the Revolutionary forces were reluctant to undertake such a hazardous mission. According to accounts of the event, the 13-year-old Viala grabbed a hatchet, launched himself at the cable and started to cut it. He was the subject of several musket vollies and he was mortally wounded by a musket ball from one of them. One account stated:
Viala's attempt was unable to stop the rebels crossing the Durance, however. Nevertheless, it allowed the Revolutionary forces to carry out an ordered retreat without being able to pick up Viala's body. According to tradition, the Revolutionary soldier who heard Viala's last words tried to pick up the body but had to retreat before he could do so. This left the body to be insulted and mutilated by the advancing Royalists before they crossed the river. Learning of her son's death, Viala's mother said "Yes [...] he died for the fatherland!".
18th century
Viala and BaraJoseph Bara
Joseph Bara, also written Barra a young French republican soldier at the time of the Revolution....
were the best known child heroes of the French Revolution, though Viala was later and thus less well-known - indeed, the Jacobin press did not invoke his memory before pluviôse
Pluviôse
Pluviôse was the fifth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word pluviosus, which means rainy....
an II. It was above all the speech made by Robespierre before the Convention on 18 floréal
Floréal
For the ship class, see Floréal class frigateFloréal was the eighth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word flos, which means flowering....
which contributed to the spread of Viala's mythology. In that speech, Robespierre stated "By what fate or by what ingratitude has one yet hero younger and worthier of posterity been left forgotten?". At the request of Barère
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac was a French politician and journalist, one of the most notorious members of the National Convention during the French Revolution.-Early career:He was born at Tarbes in Gascony...
, the assembly voted that Viala be honoured in the Panthéon
Pantheon
-Mythology:* Pantheon , the set of gods belonging to a particular mythology* Pantheon * Pantheon, Rome, now a Catholic church, once a temple to the gods of ancient Rome* Any temple dedicated to an entire pantheon-Other buildings:...
, though the ceremony had to be postponed from 30 messidor
Messidor
Messidor was the tenth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word messis, which means harvest....
to 10 thermidor
Thermidor
Thermidor was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word thermal which comes from the Greek word "thermos" which means heat....
and was then cancelled on Robespierre's fall
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
on 9 Thermidor. Even so, during the month of prairial
Prairial
Prairial was the ninth month in the French Republican Calendar. This month was named after the French word prairie, which means meadow. It was the name given to several ships....
, Payan
Claude-François de Payan
Claude-François de Payan was a political figure of the French Revolution.-Early career:...
published a Précis historique sur Agricol Viala which contributed to Viala's rising popularity. A civic festival was organised in Avignon on 30 messidor
Messidor
Messidor was the tenth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word messis, which means harvest....
"in honour of Bara and Viala". An engraving of Viala's face was also distributed to all primary schools.
The engraver Pierre-Michel Alix
Pierre-Michel Alix
Pierre-Michel Alix was a French engraver. He studied under Jacques-Philippe Le Bas and was best known for his portraits of notable figures during the French Revolution and First French Empire...
(1762–1817) produced a head-and-shoulders portrait of Viala. Louis Emmanuel Jadin (1768–1853) wrote the one-act play Agricol Viala, ou Le jeune héros de la Durance (Agricol Viala, or The young hero of the Durance), put on in Paris on 1 July 1794. 1794 also saw the composition of the marching song the Chant du départ
Chant du départ
The Chant du Départ is a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul and Marie-Joseph Chénier in 1794. It was the official anthem of the First Empire....
, whose fourth stanza is placed in a child's mouth and mentions both Bara and Viala. The 1795-launched ship Viala
French ship Viala (1795)
The Viala was a 74-gun of the French Navy launched in 1795. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1806 and sold in 1814.-French service:...
was named after him.
19th and 20th centuries
In 1822, the sculptor Antoine Allier created a life-size bronze monument to Viala, showing him nude and from behind, with his right hand placed on a hatchet and his left arm gripping a pole with a ring and a length of rope. After being given by the LouvreLouvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
to the town museum, it was set up on place Gustave-Charpentier, in the suburb of Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, in June 1993.
Under the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
, historgraphy and scholarly literature contributed to renewed interest in the figures of Viala and Bara
. Viala is also one of the 660 figures whose names are engraved 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...
(he appears on the 18th column as VIALA) and the rue Viala, in the 15e arrondissement of Paris, bears his name.
Controversies
In the historiographical struggle between pro- and anti-Revolutionary figures, local anti-Revolutionary historians have tried to establish that Viala provoked the rebels with rude gestures. Other than Viala, it seems above all to have been his uncle (known as the "homme rouge" or "red man") who had been seen doing this.Sources
Michel Vovelle, "Viala, Agricol Joseph", in Albert SoboulAlbert Soboul
Albert Marius Soboul was a French historian of the French Revolution and of Napoleon. A professor at the Sorbonne, he was Chair of the History of the French Revolution and author of numerous influential works of history and historical interpretation.-Early life and education:Albert Marius Soboul...
(ed.), Dictionnaire historique de la Révolution française, Paris, PUF, 1989 (republished Quadrige, 2005, p. 1087) "Joseph Agricol Viala", in Charles Mullié, Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850, 1852