Born, 1752, in Paris; died in 1809.
Son of a Flemish brewer who had established himself in the Faubourg
St. Antoine, he continued to follow his father’s trade. He was rich,
and had an excellent reputation among the working classes for the
generosity and kindness he showed his employées. Santerre was one
of those electors of Paris who met on July 14, 1789, at the Hôtel
de Ville; he commanded the National Guard of his district, and for
the next three years the brewery and beerhouse of Santerre were a
_rendezvous_ for all the agitators of the Faubourg, indeed it was
here that the attack upon the Tuileries of June 20, 1792, was agreed
upon.
Upon that day Santerre marched at the head of the crowd which invaded
the National Assembly, and standing at the foot of the tribune he
directed the march of the people through the Chamber. After thanking
the Deputies for the marks of friendship they had shown to the
inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Antoine, he presented them with a flag,
and then went out to join his men upon the Place Carousel, from whence
he led them to the Tuileries. He also took a prominent part in the
second attack upon August 10, and the Commune afterwards created him
commander-in-chief of the National Guard of Paris, a command originally
held by the Marquis of Lafayette (!) in which capacity he conducted
Louis XVI. and his family to the Temple. On January 21, 1793, he was in
command of the troops who surrounded the scaffold, and it was at his
signal that the drums were beaten to drown the dying speech of King
Louis.
In April of the same year, Santerre obtained a release from the debt of
40,500 francs which he owed to the State for taxes he should have paid
upon malt and beer, the reason for the remission of this debt being
“that the beer in question had all been consumed by patriots.”
Santerre, who was raised to the rank of a general of division, in
July 1793, expressed a desire to show his prowess in the field, and
asking for employment in the army, was sent to fight the Royalists in
La Vendée. He met with nothing but disaster, owing to his complete
ignorance of military tactics, and after being defeated at Corow on
September 3, was recalled to Paris. Shortly afterwards he was arrested,
and remained in prison until the death of Robespierre.
In July 1794, he was deprived of his rank as general and returned
to private life; but his business had perished, and he was entirely
ruined. He addressed petitions to various authorities, and finally, in
January 1800, appealed to the First Consul for employment in the army
or “any post by which I can live.”
Bonaparte did not employ him, but he placed his name on the list of
retired generals, by which means Santerre enjoyed a pension for the
rest of his life. Santerre has been quoted as a monster of ferocity,
no doubt owing to the part he played on January 21, 1793: but he was
in reality neither brutal nor cruel, and constantly sought to calm the
ardour of his partisans, and saved the lives of persons whose opinions
were opposed to his own. He was, however, a man without either capacity
or originality, whom the irony of fate placed for a short time in a
prominent and powerful situation.