active party--that of the Gironde. ... When we use the term
'parties' in reference to this Assembly, nothing more is meant
by it than small groups of from 12 to 20 persons, who bore the
sway in the rostra and in the Committees, and who alternately
carried with them the aimless crowd of Deputies. It is true,
indeed, that at the commencement of their session, 130
Deputies entered their names among the Jacobins, and about 200
among the Feuillants, but this had no lasting influence on the
divisions, and the majority wavered under the influence of
temporary motives. The party which was regarded as the 'Right'
had no opportunity for action, but saw themselves, from the
very first, obliged to assume an attitude of defence. ...
Outside the Chamber the beau ideal of this party,--General
Lafayette,--declared himself in favour of an American Senate,
but without any of the energy of real conviction. As he had
defended the Monarchy solely from a sense of duty, while all
the feelings of his heart were inclined towards a Republic, so
now, though he acknowledged the necessity of an upper Chamber,
the existing Constitution appeared to him to possess a more
ideal beauty. He never attained, on this point, either to
clear ideas or decided actions; and it was at this period that
he resigned his command of the National guard in Paris, and
retired for a while to his estate in Auvergne. ... The
Girondist Deputies ... were distinguished among the new
members of the Assembly by personal dignity, regular
education, and natural ability; and were, moreover, as ardent
in their radicalism as any Parisian demagogue. They
consequently soon became the darlings of all those zealous
patriots for whom the Cordeliers were too dirty and the
Feuillants too luke warm.
{1274}
External advantages are not without their weight, even in the
most terrible political crises, and the Girondists owe to the
magic of their eloquence, and especially to that of Vergniaud,
an enduring fame, which neither their principles nor their
deeds would have earned for them. ... The representatives of
Bordeaux had never occupied a leading position in the
Girondist party, to which they had given its name. The real
leadership of the Gironde fell singularly enough into the
hands of an obscure writer, a political lady, and a priest who
carried on his operations behind the scenes. It was their
hands that overthrew the throne of the Capets, and spread
revolution over Europe. ... The writer in this trio was
Brissot, who on the 16th of July had wished to proclaim the
Republic, and who now represented the capital in the National
Assembly, as a constitutional member. ... While Brissot shaped
the foreign policy of the Girondist party, its home affairs
were directed by Marie Jeanne Roland, wife of the quondam
Inspector of Factories at Lyons, with whom she had come the
year before to Paris, and immediately thrown herself into the
whirlpool of political life. As early as the year 1789, she
had written to a friend, that the National Assembly must
demand two illustrious heads, or all would be lost. ... She
was ... 36 years old, not beautiful, but interesting,
enthusiastic and indefatigable; with noble aims, but incapable
of discerning the narrow line which separates right from
wrong. ... When warned by a friend of the unruly nature of the
Parisian mob, she replied, that bloodhounds were after all
indispensable for starting the game. ... A less conspicuous,
but not less important, part in this association, was played
by the Abbé Sieyès. He did what neither Brissot nor Mad.
Roland could have done by furnishing his party with a
comprehensive and prospective plan of operations. ... Their
only clearly defined objects were to possess themselves of the
reins of government, to carry on the Revolution, and to
destroy the Monarchy by every weapon within their reach."
_H. von Sybel,
History of the French Revolution,
book 3, chapter 1 (volume 1)._
ALSO IN:
_H. A. Taine,
The French Revolution,
book 4, (volume 2)._
See, also, below.
FRANCE: A. D. 1791-1792.
Growth and spread of anarchy and civil war.
Activity of the Emigrés and the ejected priests.
Decrees against them vetoed by the King.
The Girondists in control of the government.
War with the German powers forced on by them.
"It was an ominous proof of the little confidence felt by
serious men in the permanence of the new Constitution, that
the funds fell when the King signed it. All the chief
municipal posts in Paris were passing into the hands of
Republicans, and when Bailly, in November, ceased to be Mayor
of Paris, he was succeeded in that great office by Pétion, a
vehement and intolerant Jacobin. Lafayette had resigned the
command of the National Guard, which was then divided under
six commanders, and it could no longer be counted on to
support the cause of order. Over a great part of France there
was a total insecurity of life and property, such as had
perhaps never before existed in a civilised country, except in
times of foreign invasion or successful rebellion. Almost all
the towns in the south--Marseilles, Toulon, Nîmes, Arles,
Avignon, Montpellier, Carpentras, Aix, Montauban--were centres
of Republicanism, brigandage, or anarchy. The massacres of
Jourdain at Avignon, in October, are conspicuous even among
the horrors of the Revolution. Caen in the following month was
convulsed by a savage and bloody civil war. The civil
constitution of the clergy having been condemned by the Pope,
produced an open schism, and crowds of ejected priests were
exciting the religious fanaticism of the peasantry. In some
districts in the south, the war between Catholic and
Protestant was raging as fiercely as in the 17th century,
while in Brittany, and especially in La Vendée, there were all
the signs of a great popular insurrection against the new
Government. Society seemed almost in dissolution, and there
was scarcely a department in which law was observed and
property secure. The price of corn, at the same time, was
rising fast under the influence of a bad harvest in the south,
aggravated by the want of specie, the depreciation of paper
money, and the enormously increased difficulties of transport.
The peasantry were combining to refuse the paper money. It was
falling rapidly in value. ... In the mean time the stream of
emigrants continued unabated, and it included the great body
of the officers of the army who had been driven from the
regiments by their own soldiers. ... At Brussels, Worms, and
Coblentz, emigrants were forming armed organisations."
_W. E. H. Lecky,
History of England in the 18th century,
chapter 21 (volume 5)._
"The revolution was threatened by two dangerous enemies, the
emigrants, who were urging on a foreign invasion, and the
non-juring bishops and priests who were doing all in their
power to excite domestic rebellion. The latter were really the
more dangerous. ... The Girondists clamoured for repressive
measures. On the 30th of October it was decreed that the count
of Provence, unless he returned within two months, should
forfeit all rights to the regency. On the 9th of November an
edict threatened the emigrants with confiscation and death
unless they returned to their allegiance before the end of the
year. On the 29th of November came the attack upon the
non-jurors. They were called upon to take the oath within
eight days, when lists were to be drawn up of those who
refused; these were then to forfeit their pensions, and if any
disturbance took place in their district they were to be
removed from it, or if their complicity were proved they were
to be imprisoned for two years. The king accepted the decree
against his brother, but he opposed his veto to the other two.
The Girondists and Jacobins eagerly seized the opportunity for
a new attack upon the monarchy. ... Throughout the winter
attention was devoted almost exclusively to foreign affairs.
It has been seen that the emperor was really eager for peace,
and that as long as he remained in that mood there was little
risk of any other prince taking the initiative. At the same
time it must be acknowledged that Leopold's tone towards the
French government was often too haughty and menacing to be
conciliatory, and also that the open preparations of the
emigrants in neighbouring states constituted an insult if not
a danger to France. The Girondists, the most susceptible of
men, only expressed the national sentiment in dwelling upon
this with bitterness, and in calling for vengeance. At the
same time they had conceived the definite idea that their own
supremacy could best be obtained and secured by forcing on a
foreign war.
{1275}
This was expressly avowed by Brissot, who took the lead of the
party in this matter. Robespierre, on the other hand, partly
through temperament and partly through jealousy of his
brilliant rivals, was inclined to the maintenance of peace.
But on this point the Feuillants were agreed with the Gironde,
and so a vast majority was formed to force the unwilling king
and ministers into war. The first great step was taken when
Duportail, who had charge of military affairs, was replaced by
Narbonne, a Feuillant. Louis XVI. was compelled to issue a
note (14 December, 1791) to the emperor and to the archbishop
of Trier to the effect that if the military force of the
emigrants were not disbanded by the 15th of January
hostilities would be commenced against the elector. The latter
at once ordered the cessation of the military preparations,
but the emigrants not only refused to obey but actually
insulted the French envoy. Leopold expressed his desire for
peace, but at the same time declared that any attack on the
electorate of Trier would be regarded as an act of hostility
to the empire. These answers were unsatisfactory, and Narbonne
collected three armies on the frontiers, under the command of
Rochambeau, Lafayette, and Luckner, and amounting together to
about 150,000 men. On the 25th of January an explicit
declaration was demanded from the emperor, with a threat that
war would be declared unless a satisfactory answer was
received by the 4th of March. Leopold II. saw all his hopes of
maintaining peace in western Europe gradually disappearing,
and was compelled to bestir himself. ... On the 7th of
February he finally concluded a treaty with the king of
Prussia. ... On the 1st of March, while still hoping to avoid
a quarrel, Leopold II. died of a sudden illness, and with him
perished the last possibility of peace. His son and successor,
Francis II., who was now 24, had neither his father's ability
nor his experience, and he was naturally more easily swayed by
the anti-revolutionary spirit. ... The Girondists combined all
their efforts for an attack upon the minister of foreign
affairs, Delessart, whom they accused of truckling to the
enemies of the nation. Delessart was committed to prison, and
his colleagues at once resigned. The Gironde now came into
office. The ministry of home affairs was given to Roland; of
war to Servan; of finance to Clavière. Dumouriez obtained the
foreign department, Duranthon that of justice, and Lacoste the
marine. Its enemies called it 'the ministry of the
Sansculottes.' ... On the 20th of April [1792] Louis XVI.
appeared in the assembly and read with trembling voice a
declaration of war against the king of Hungary and Bohemia."
_R. Lodge,
History of Modern Europe,
chapter 22, section 20-21._
The sincere desire of the Emperor Leopold II. to avoid war
with France, and the restraining influence over the King of
Prussia which he exercised up to the time when Catherine II.
of Russia overcame it by the Polish temptation, are set forth
by H. von Sybel in passages quoted elsewhere.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1791-1792.
ALSO IN:
_A. de Lamartine,
History of the Girondists,
books 6-14 (volume l)._
_A. F. Bertrand de Moleville,
Annals of the French Revolution,
part 2. chapters 1-14 (volume 5-6)._
_F. C. Schlosser,
History of the Eighteenth Century,
5th period, 2d division, chapter 1 (volume 6)._
FRANCE: A. D. 1792 (April).
Fête to the Soldiers of Chateauvieux.
See LIBERTY CAP.
FRANCE: A. D. 1792 (April-July).
Opening of the war with Austria and Prussia.
French reverses.
"Hostilities followed close upon the declaration of war. At
this time the forces destined to come into collision were
posted as follows: Austria had 40,000 men in Belgium, and
25,000 on the Rhine. These numbers might easily have been
increased to 80,000, but the Emperor of Austria did no more
than collect 7,000 or 8,000 around Brisgau, and some 20,000
more around Rastadt. The Prussians, now bound into a close
alliance with Austria, had still a great distance to traverse
from their base to the theatre of war, and could not hope to
undertake active operations for a long time to come. France,
on the other hand, had already three strong armies in the
field. The Army of the North, under General Rochambeau, nearly
50,000 strong, held the frontier from Philippeville to
Dunkirk; General Lafayette commanded a second army of about
the same strength in observation from Philippeville to the
Lauter; and a third army of 40,000 men, under Marshal Luckner,
watched the course of the Rhine from Lauterbourg to the
confines of Switzerland. The French forces were strong,
however, on paper only. The French army had been mined, as it
seemed, by the Revolution, and had fallen almost to pieces.
The wholesale emigration of the aristocrats had robbed it of
its commissioned officers, the old experienced leaders whom
the men were accustomed to follow and obey. Again, the passion
for political discussion, and the new notions of universal
equality had fostered a dangerous spirit of license in the
ranks. ... While the regular regiments of the old
establishment were thus demoralised, the new levies were still
but imperfectly organised, and the whole army was unfit to
take the field. It was badly equipped, without transport, and
without those useful administrative services which are
indispensable for mobility and efficiency. Moreover, the
prestige of the French arms was at its lowest ebb. A long and
enervating peace had followed since the last great war, in
which the French armies had endured only failure and
ignominious defeat. It is not strange, then, that the foes
whom France had so confidently challenged, counted upon an
easy triumph over the revolutionary troops. The earliest
operations fully confirmed these anticipations. ... France
after the declaration of war had at once assumed the
initiative, and proceeded to invade Belgium. Here the Duke
Albert of Saxe-Teschen, who commanded the Imperialist forces,
held his forces concentrated in three principal corps: one
covered the line from the sea to Tournay; the second was at
Leuze; the third and weakest at Mons. The total of these
troops rose to barely 40,000, and Mons, the most important
point in the general line of defence, was the least strongly
held. All able strategist gathering together 30,000 men from
each of the French armies of the Centre and North, would have
struck at Mons with all his strength, cut Duke Albert's
communications with the Rhine, turned his inner flank, and
rolled him up into the sea. But no great genius as yet
directed the military energies of France. ... By Dumouriez's
advice, the French armies were ordered to advance against the
Austrians by several lines. Four columns of invasion were to
enter Belgium; one was to follow the sea coast, the second to
march on Tournay, the third to move from Valenciennes on Mons,
and the fourth, under Lafayette, on Givet or Namur.
{1276}
Each, according to the success it might achieve, was to
reinforce the next nearest to it, and all, finally, were to
converge on Brussels. At the very outset, however, the French
encountered the most ludicrous reverses. Their columns fled in
disorder directly they came within sight of the enemy.
Lafayette alone continued his march boldly towards Namur; but
he was soon compelled to retire by the news of the hasty
flight of the columns north of him. The French troops had
proved as worthless as their leaders were incapable; whole
brigades turned tail, crying that they were betrayed, casting
away their weapons as they ran, and displaying the most abject
cowardice and terror. Not strangely, after this pitiful
exhibition, the Austrians--all Europe, indeed--held the
military power of France in the utmost contempt. ... But now
the national danger stirred France to its inmost depths.
French spirit was thoroughly roused. The country rose as one
man, determined to offer a steadfast, stubborn front to its
foes. Stout-hearted leaders, full of boundless energy and
enthusiasm, summoned all the resources of the nation to stem
and roll back the tide of invasion. Immediate steps were taken
to put the defeated and disgraced armies of the frontier upon
a new footing. Lafayette replaced Rochambeau, with charge from
Longwy to the sea, his main body about Sedan; Luckner took the
line from the Moselle to the Swiss mountains, with
head-quarters at Metz. A third general, destined to come
speedily to the front, also joined the army as Lafayette's
lieutenant. This was Dumouriez, who, wearied and baffled by
Parisian politics, sought the freedom of the field."
_A. Griffiths,
French Revolutionary Generals,
chapter 1._
FRANCE: A. D. 1792 (June-August).
The King's dismissal of Girondist ministers.
Mob demonstration of June 20.
Lafayette in Paris.
His failure.
The Country declared to be in Danger.
Gathering of volunteers in Paris.
Brunswick's manifesto.
Mob attack on the Tuileries, August 10.
Massacre of the Swiss.