Louis-Charles de Flers
Encyclopedia
Louis-Charles de La Motte-Ango, vicomte de Flers (12 June 1754, Paris
– 22 July 1794, Paris), joined the French Royal army and rose in rank to become a general officer in the French Revolutionary Wars
. After serving in the Austrian Netherlands, he was appointed to command the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. He led his troops in several actions with mixed results, but the all-powerful Representatives-on-mission arrested him in August 1793 for a minor setback. The Committee of Public Safety
executed him by guillotine
on trumped up charges near the end of the Reign of Terror
.
and became a marechal de camp in 1791. At the direction of General Charles Francois Dumouriez
, de Flers established the camp of Maulde and was badly wounded defending it. After recovering, he joined Dumouriez's invasion of Belgium as a unit commander in 1792. He commanded the Reserve of the Left Wing at the Battle of Jemappes
on 6 November 1794.
The French defeat at the Battle of Neerwinden
on 18 March 1793, left de Flers commanding an isolated garrison at Breda
. After a brief siege, he surrendered the place and was allowed to march out with the honors of war on 3 April. Dumouriez defected to the Austrians in April 1793. From this moment forward, de Flers came under suspicion and his association with Dumouriez would contribute to his eventual arrest.
opened badly for the French. The Spanish Army of Catalonia under Captain General
Antonio Ricardos
invaded France on 17 April and easily routed garrisons at Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans
and Ceret
. On 19 May, Ricardos with 7,000 troops advanced on de Flers' camp of Mas Deu, a group of medieval-era buildings established by the Knights Templar
. In the clash, the French suffered losses of 150 killed, 280 wounded, three 6-lb. cannons, and six ammunition wagons. The Spanish lost 34 killed and an unknown number wounded. De Flers fell back to the fortress of Perpignan
where a battalion of National Guard
mutinied and had to be disbanded. Rather than pursue his beaten enemy, Ricardos turned back to invest the Fort de Bellegarde.
The powerful Bellegarde fortress guarded the Le Perthus
pass (300 meters altitude), on the main road between Barcelona
and Perpignan. De Flers tried to relieve the garrison without success, including an attempt by 3,350 men to escort a supply convoy through the siege lines on 29 May. While the Spanish army was proccupied with the siege, de Flers drove another enemy force away from the port of Collioure
. The Siege of Bellegarde
ended on 24 June with a French surrender.
After the fall of Bellegarde, de Flers began arming the local farmers. Ricardos wrote a letter on 3 July to protest at this, and threatening to hang any civilian caught with arms. De Flers replied that all Frenchmen were soldiers and that their only uniform was the tricolor cockade. He also promised to retaliate if the Spanish began shooting civilians. De Flers drilled his troops so that they might fight the Spanish regulars on more equal terms. He also put his men to work building field fortifications around Perpignan and drafted experienced artillerists to serve the guns in his redoubts. When the Spanish attacked again his efforts paid off.
On 17 July, de Flers with 12,000 soldiers turned back an attempt by Ricardo and 15,000 troops to take Perpignan. Historian Digby Smith
calls the Battle of Niel a French victory and gives French casualties as 800 killed and wounded, plus one cannon captured. Smith lists Spanish losses as only 31 killed, 131 wounded, and three captured. A second authority gives de Flers credit for good tactical leadership and states that Spanish casualties numbered 1,000 in the Battle of Perpignan. A third authority also calls the July battle a French triumph, but gives no details.
in the Cerdagne. Though this was a relatively minor defeat, Representatives-on-mission Joseph Fabre and Raymond Gaston accused de Flers of treason and dismissed him from command on 6 August. Ironically, the newly appointed commander, MG Hilarion Paul de Puget-Barbantane would abandon the army on September 11, leaving the army leaderless for a week. Arrested and sent to prison in Paris, de Flers was brought before a Revolutionary Tribunal in July. The court condemned him to die for communicating with enemies of the state and for taking part in the Luxembourg Prison conspiracies, charges which one source calls a "ridiculous pretext". De Flers went to the guillotine
on 22 July 1794. Five days later, the government fell. Maximilien de Robespierre and a number of his colleagues shared de Flers' fate on 28 July. The name DEFLERS is inscribed on Column 33 of the Arc de Triomphe
.
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...
– 22 July 1794, Paris), joined the French Royal army and rose in rank to become a general officer in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. After serving in the Austrian Netherlands, he was appointed to command the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. He led his troops in several actions with mixed results, but the all-powerful Representatives-on-mission arrested him in August 1793 for a minor setback. The Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
executed him by guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
on trumped up charges near the end of the Reign of 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...
.
Early career
Born into a noble family on 12 June 1754, de Flers enlisted in a cavalry regiment at a very early age. He embraced the French RevolutionFrench 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...
and became a marechal de camp in 1791. At the direction of General Charles Francois Dumouriez
Charles François Dumouriez
Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. He shared the victory at Valmy with General François Christophe Kellermann, but later deserted the Revolutionary Army and became a royalist intriguer during the reign of Napoleon.-Early life:Dumouriez...
, de Flers established the camp of Maulde and was badly wounded defending it. After recovering, he joined Dumouriez's invasion of Belgium as a unit commander in 1792. He commanded the Reserve of the Left Wing at the Battle of Jemappes
Battle of Jemappes
The Battle of Jemappes took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Belgium, near Mons. General Charles François Dumouriez, in command of the French Revolutionary Army, defeated the greatly outnumbered Austrian army of Field Marshal Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and his second-in-command...
on 6 November 1794.
The French defeat at the Battle of Neerwinden
Battle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...
on 18 March 1793, left de Flers commanding an isolated garrison at Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
. After a brief siege, he surrendered the place and was allowed to march out with the honors of war on 3 April. Dumouriez defected to the Austrians in April 1793. From this moment forward, de Flers came under suspicion and his association with Dumouriez would contribute to his eventual arrest.
War of the Pyrenees
On 14 May General of Division (MG) de Flers assumed command of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. The previous commander, General of Brigade Claude Souchon de Chameron had been dismissed the day before and would be guillotined in 1794. The War of the PyreneesWar of the Pyrenees
War of the Pyrenees refers to the Pyrenees front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. Also known as Great War, War of Roussillon, or War of the Convention, it pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the...
opened badly for the French. The Spanish Army of Catalonia under Captain General
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
Antonio Ricardos
Antonio Ricardos
Antonio Ricardos Carrillo de Albornoz was a Spanish general. He joined the army of the Kingdom of Spain and fought against Habsburg Austria, the Portugal, and the First French Republic during a long military career. By embracing the Spanish Enlightenment, he earned the displeasure of conservative...
invaded France on 17 April and easily routed garrisons at Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans
Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans
Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-References:*...
and Ceret
Céret
Céret is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is the capital of Vallespir historical Catalan comarca.-Geography:...
. On 19 May, Ricardos with 7,000 troops advanced on de Flers' camp of Mas Deu, a group of medieval-era buildings established by the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. In the clash, the French suffered losses of 150 killed, 280 wounded, three 6-lb. cannons, and six ammunition wagons. The Spanish lost 34 killed and an unknown number wounded. De Flers fell back to the fortress of Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
where a battalion of 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...
mutinied and had to be disbanded. Rather than pursue his beaten enemy, Ricardos turned back to invest the Fort de Bellegarde.
The powerful Bellegarde fortress guarded the Le Perthus
Le Perthus
Le Perthus is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Inhabitants are called Perthusiens and, as of 2006, inhabitants were 582.-Geography:...
pass (300 meters altitude), on the main road between Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Perpignan. De Flers tried to relieve the garrison without success, including an attempt by 3,350 men to escort a supply convoy through the siege lines on 29 May. While the Spanish army was proccupied with the siege, de Flers drove another enemy force away from the port of Collioure
Collioure
Collioure is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies on the Mediterranean and was a part of the ancient Roussillon province....
. The Siege of Bellegarde
Siege of Bellegarde (1793)
The Siege of Bellegarde commenced on 23 May 1793 and ended on 24 June 1793 when Colonel Boisbrulé's French garrison surrendered the Fort de Bellegarde to a Spanish army under the command of Antonio Ricardos. The capture of the fort gave Spain control of an important highway through the Pyrenees...
ended on 24 June with a French surrender.
After the fall of Bellegarde, de Flers began arming the local farmers. Ricardos wrote a letter on 3 July to protest at this, and threatening to hang any civilian caught with arms. De Flers replied that all Frenchmen were soldiers and that their only uniform was the tricolor cockade. He also promised to retaliate if the Spanish began shooting civilians. De Flers drilled his troops so that they might fight the Spanish regulars on more equal terms. He also put his men to work building field fortifications around Perpignan and drafted experienced artillerists to serve the guns in his redoubts. When the Spanish attacked again his efforts paid off.
On 17 July, de Flers with 12,000 soldiers turned back an attempt by Ricardo and 15,000 troops to take Perpignan. Historian Digby Smith
Digby Smith
Digby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
calls the Battle of Niel a French victory and gives French casualties as 800 killed and wounded, plus one cannon captured. Smith lists Spanish losses as only 31 killed, 131 wounded, and three captured. A second authority gives de Flers credit for good tactical leadership and states that Spanish casualties numbered 1,000 in the Battle of Perpignan. A third authority also calls the July battle a French triumph, but gives no details.
Execution
On 4 August, a Spanish force captured Villefranche-de-ConflentVillefranche-de-Conflent
Villefranche-de-Conflent is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in south of France.-The Capital of Conflent:The original town dates from 1098 and is fortified because of its strategic position in lands that changed hands between French and Spanish occupation.* 1374, Villefranche...
in the Cerdagne. Though this was a relatively minor defeat, Representatives-on-mission Joseph Fabre and Raymond Gaston accused de Flers of treason and dismissed him from command on 6 August. Ironically, the newly appointed commander, MG Hilarion Paul de Puget-Barbantane would abandon the army on September 11, leaving the army leaderless for a week. Arrested and sent to prison in Paris, de Flers was brought before a Revolutionary Tribunal in July. The court condemned him to die for communicating with enemies of the state and for taking part in the Luxembourg Prison conspiracies, charges which one source calls a "ridiculous pretext". De Flers went to the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
on 22 July 1794. Five days later, the government fell. Maximilien de Robespierre and a number of his colleagues shared de Flers' fate on 28 July. The name DEFLERS is inscribed on Column 33 of the Arc de Triomphe
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
The following is the list of the names of the 660 persons inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them are generals who served during the First French Empire with additional figures from the French Revolution ....
.
Printed materials
- Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
- Michaud, M. Biographie Universelle (Michaud) Ancienne et Moderne. Paris: Chez Madame Desplaces, 1856.
External references
- French Wikipedia Louis-Charles de Flers
- historyofwar.org Battle of Perpignan by J. Rickard