#chouans

(I read Dumas' The Last Cavalier this January and I have been fascinated/obsessed with Georges ever since. Alas for me, I cannot read French and am well aware that public domain sources and Google Translate can only get me so far....)

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much for the question!

And second, thank you for calling it the Vendée proper. Not because the other conflicts in the region are somehow “improper,” but because there are real differences in geography, scale, leadership, and motives between the Vendéan war of 1793–1794 and the later conflicts or the chouanneries. Folding them together tends to blur what was actually happening.

Before answering, a small disclaimer. The Chouannerie is not necessarily my main area of expertise. The only relatively recent book I own and have read on Cadoudal is Georges Cadoudal et les Chouans by Patrick Huchet (in my opinion a fairly factual and balanced study), published in the late 1990s. A new book by Morgan Lazartigues is scheduled for release in March 2026, and I am interested in reading it but it’s not out yet. All of which is to say that the material I am drawing on is not especially recent. Now to the answer.

Yes, Georges Cadoudal was involved very early in the western conflicts between 1793 and 1796. While is best known as a leader of the Chouannerie, his military career actually begins in the Vendéan war.

Cadoudal’s entry into the conflict is tied to the Republic’s decree in March 1793 ordering the conscription of 300,000 men, which triggered widespread unrest across western France and beyond. In a region that was both very rural and very religious, and already irritated by the treatment of refractory priests, the decree was received with something less than enthusiasm, to put it mildly.

According to several royalist narratives, later repeated by historians such as Crétineau-Joly and G. Lenotre (both of whom should probably be read with a certain amount of caution, since their sympathies are not exactly hidden), Cadoudal first took part in resistance to the levy around Auray. He was briefly imprisoned and then incorporated into the Republican army as a conscript intended to fight the Vendéan rebels.

He deserted at the first opportunity and crossed over to the insurgents.

The details of this escape are somewhat murky and occasionally drift toward legend. One colourful story claims that Cadoudal smashed down a door and shot two Republican soldiers with a double-barrelled gun while making his escape. Whether this is fact or simply one of the many heroic anecdotes that later gathered around his reputation is very hard to say.

What is better documented is what happened after he reached the royalist forces.

Cadoudal and several companions joined the Catholic and Royal Army at Chalonnes, entering the Breton companies of the 3rd division under the command of the Marquis de Bonchamps. He became an officer and wore the division’s distinctive olive-green coat. Bonchamps’ units were pretty much the only ones that had something resembling a uniform. Possibly because Bonchamps had a taste for fashion, or possibly because he realised that in a civil war it can be useful to recognise your own men from those who may or may not be trying to shoot at you. But I digress.

Cadoudal seems to have shown military ability rather quickly. He rose to the rank of captain within the Breton companies, and his competence caught the attention of the army’s major general, Jean-Nicolas Stofflet, who entrusted him with cavalry command. Stofflet is said to have remarked about him: “If a cannonball does not carry him off, that big head will go far.” (“Si un boulet ne l’emporte pas, cette grosse tête ira loin…”)

Cadoudal fought throughout the brutal campaign of 1793. He took part in the Virée de Galerne, the disastrous expedition north of the Loire that lasted from October to December 1793 after the defeat at Cholet and left tens of thousands dead. During this campaign he fought alongside a close comrade, Pierre Mercier, and the two reportedly served frequently at the vanguard.

Cadoudal fought throughout the brutal campaign of 1793. He took part in the Virée de Galerne, the disastrous expedition north of the Loire that lasted from October to December 1793 after the defeat at Cholet and left tens of thousands dead. During this campaign he fought alongside his close friend, Pierre Mercier, and the two reportedly served frequently at the vanguard.

At the Battle of Pontlieu on 12 December 1793, Cadoudal and Mercier were noted for actions that reportedly “commanded general admiration”. The campaign ended shortly afterwards with the catastrophic Battle of Savenay on 23 December 1793, where the Vendéan army was effectively destroyed.

Cadoudal survived the massacre in the marshes around Savenay and returned to his native Morbihan with Mercier. With the main Vendéan army destroyed, the conflict in the west shifted in character. Cadoudal went home and began organising guerrilla resistance in Brittany, which became part of the Chouannerie.

He was arrested at the end of June 1794. During his imprisonment he made contact with an agent connected to the exiled royalist princes. He escaped in November 1794 and resumed the fight underground.

In 1795 his abilities as a commander quickly became evident. He became a lieutenant to de Silz, the principal royalist chief in Morbihan. During the disastrous Quiberon expedition in the summer of 1795, Cadoudal deliberately kept his distance from the flawed plans of the arriving émigré forces and withdrew his troops rather than be caught in the collapse.

His reputation for leadership and sound judgement grew quickly. In August 1795, at only twenty-four years old, he was elected major general by the commanders of the Chouan bands in Morbihan.

From that point onward Cadoudal became the principal organiser of the Breton counter-revolution and an important intermediary with the British government, continuing the struggle well beyond 1796 until the general pacification in the early 1800s.

Thank you again for the question. As always I am happy to answer more, so if there is anything else you would like to know about the Vendée or anything related to it, my inbox is open. As mentioned earlier, a new book on Cadoudal should be coming out in about a week, and I will be happy to return with more details once I have read it.

Il venait de terminer sa soupe et allait monter au lit, lorsqu'une rumeur s'éleva sur la place de l'Eglise. La porte de l'auberge s'ouvrit brusquement et la cuisine se remplit d'une foule de villageois gesticulants, qu'une dame et ses deux filles, fort émues et sans mante ni chapeau, s'efforçaient de calmer. C'étaient la châtelaine de l'Aubière et ses métayers. Ceux-ci voulaient entraîner au combat contre les républicains leur maître, le marquis de Préjoli, ami du linge fin, des demoiselles à rouge et des dames à vapeur, mais non de la poudre et de la mitraille des guerres civiles. La porte s'ouvrit de nouveau et le marquis apparut en personne, prêt à la harangue. Il se hissa sur la table avec l'agilité d'un escargot qui grimpe sur une feuille de chou et commença en patois un discours que Tincé suivit attentivement.

Le marquis s'efforçait de convaincre ses paysans que, si leur entreprise était héroïque, assurément elle était désespérée. Tout à coup, il aperçut Tincé et la vue d'un visage éveillé décupla ses forces ; il s'accrocha à ce récif pour résister au courant qui l'entraînait.

— Aidez-moi! criait-il, aidez-moi à expliquer à ces bonnes gens qu'ils sont vaincus d'avance… Les périodes oratoires du châtelain commençaient par l'évocation d'aïeux illustres et de grands faits d'armes, et finissaient toutes par des conseils d'inaction, prêchant le retour aux travaux des champs.

— Vos moissons (il pensait : mon manoir) seront brûlées… Laissons passer l'orage… Tout s'arrangera… Les rustres ne l'entendaient pas ainsi. Ils citaient de grands précédents :

— M. de la Roche-Saint-André n'était pas plus risqueux, ni plus chaud que vous pour prendre le fusil, monsieur le Marquis : ses fermiers vous l'ont emmené de force à travers la lande, tel comme ils l'avaient trouvé lové au château, en robe de chambre.

— Et il n'est pas le seul unique, monsieur le Marquis, permettez qu'on vous l'observe : votre ami M. Daugny, il a aussi fallu le mettre en selle !

— Et M. Bonchamp, donc, qui voulait s'enfuir, si tellement qu'on lui a dû cacher son cheval !

— Et M. le Chevalier Charette qui s'enfermait chez lui, motté comme un lièvre, à Fonteclose, jusqu'à ce que les gens de Retz lui mettent le sabre à la main. Et, en chœur, vociférerant, ils ajoutèrent que ces châtelains avaient ensuite fait merveille et égorgé les Bleus.

— Faites-en autant comme eux, monsieur le Marquis ! Nullement convaincu, M. de Préjoli offrit à boire ; le tableau était touchant : la marquise en pleurs embrassait les genoux de son époux, les demoiselles suppliaient qu'on leur laissât un père ; le marquis ne pensait qu'au matelas de plume qui l'attendait. Trempé par l'orageuse chaleur d'un soir de mai, il ruisselait comme s'il avait traversé les douves à la nage.

— Cordieu ! Courage, monsieur le Marquis ! Ne nous faites point d'affront. Nous fûmes au passage du Thouet et en sommes revenus sans égraffignure.

— Sus, monsieur le Marquis ! A cheval ! J'ai reçu à Mâchecoul cinq balles républicaines dans mon capot ; ce n'est rien, elles ne font point mal…

— J'arrivons dret de Noirmoutiers et la marée du Grand-Gaut nous a failli emporter. L'armée catholique attend après vous, monsieur le Marquis ! M. de Préjoli hésitait devant son destin, tiraillé entre de fameux aïeux qui avaient défendu saint Louis sous Tunis, qui lui faisaient honte de sa couardise et de son lit à baldaquin. (Il devait d'ailleurs se faire hacher vaillamment à Tiffauges quelques jours plus tard.) Pour le moment il faisait trembler ses grosses joues en répétant « Nenni, nenni…» A quoi ses gens répondaient :

— Vive Dieu et le Roi martyr, monsieur le Marquis ! Vers minuit, le calme se rétablit, car M. de Préjoli avait cédé.

Yeah more monarchist propaganda !

Most Chouans took a nom de guerre, mainly to hide their identities and spare their families from retaliation, but also because it was creepier for the Blues to have to fight a guy calling himself “Stab-Everyone” than some peasant named Jan Valjan.

Chouan noms de guerre fell into eight main categories:

Physical Descriptions: Le Blond, Belle-Jambe, Frisé, La Gaieté, Jambe-d'Argent, Brûle-Moustache

Geography: Flaire-Andouille, Montfort-la-Canne, La France, l'Empire

Military Vocabulary: La Giberne, Carabine, Mousqueton, Le Canonnier, Mitraille, Housard, Le Chasseur, Rochambeau

Useful Qualities: Rapide, Vif-Argent, Fend-l'Air, Vol-au-Vent, Frappe-d'Abord, Sans-Peur, Le-Petit-Sans-Peur, Va-Sans-Peur, Cœur-de-Lion, Carpar, l'Intrépide, Vaillant, Bon-Conseil, Franc-Coeur, La Volonté, La Victoire, l'Invincible, Sans-Pareil

Committed: Cœur-de-Roi, Sans-Regret, Sans-Chagrin, Bénédicité, Chambort

Tryhard: Danse-à-l'Ombre, Tranche-Montagne, Frappe-à-Mort, Placenette, Sabre-Tout, Brise-Bleu, Court-Bleu, Le Vengeu, Sans-Quartier, Sans-Pitié, Sans-Rémission

WTF:  Bas-d'Argent, Petit-Profit, Brin-d'Amour, Blanc-d'Amour, La Musette, Chante-en-Hiver, Cadet-Roussel, Beau-Séjour, Beau-Soleil, Gobe-Soleil, Gueule-d'Empeigne

Vegetation: La Violette, La Giroflée, La Rose, Fleur-de-Rose, Branche-d'Or, Pomme-d'Or, L’Épine, Fleur-d'épine, Belle-Vigne, La Ramée

Sources: 

Lettres sur l'origine de la Chouannerie et sur les Chouans die Bas-Maine, Jacques Duchemin Descepeaux, Paris, 1825:  Volume 1  Volume 2

“Histoire de la Ville de Saint-James-de-Beuvron”, Mémoires de la Société Académique du Contentin, Volume 10, Victor-Jacques-François Ménard, Avranches,1894

The entrance to the fifteenth-century Château de Pontivy, Brittany, built by the Duc de Rohan to replace an original castle destroyed by English troops during the War of the Breton Succession.