#general lafayette

Part 1 (of 5)

Some years ago I photographed a fantastic, satirical poem from a compendium of French Revolutionary verse in the BnF (réserve). It’s been gathering virtual dust ever since. But no more! It’s a witty take on a key moment from early in the Revolution, when the Paris authorities pitted themselves against the radical Cordeliers district (under Danton’s leadership). With help from @anotherhumaninthisworld (merci encore!), we managed to produce a rough translation, which I revised, added some footnotes (to clarify the more obscure references) and added this brief intro to put it in context. While the translation is a literal one, I’ve tried to preserve some of the rhyming spirit of the original where possible. So boil the kettle, get a brew on and settle down to an epic account of Maranton vs Neckerette…

In the early hours of 22 January 1790, General Lafayette, commander of the National Guard, authorized a large military force to arrest the radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat, following a request from Sylvain Bailly, the Mayor of Paris, to provide the Chatelet with sufficient armed force [“main-forte’] to enable its bailiff to enforce the warrant.[1] Bailly’s request was in response to the outrage caused by the publication, four days earlier, of Marat’s 78-page Denunciation of the finance minister, Jacques Necker.[2] Marat had moved into the district the Cordeliers district in December to seek its declared protection against arbitrary prosecution.

His best-selling pamphlet denounced Necker – probably the most popular man in France after the King in July 1789 – of covertly supporting the Ancien Régime and working to undermine the Revolution. His accusations included plotting to dissolve the National Assembly and remove the royal family to Metz on 5 October, colluding in grain hoarding and speculation, and generally compromising the King’s honour. The charges were intended to reveal a cumulative (and damning) pattern of behaviour since Necker’s reappointment in July 1788, and again in July 1789. Bearing his Rousseau-derived epigraph, Vitam impendere vero (‘To devote one’s life to the truth’) – now used as a kind of personal branding, Marat adopted the role of “avocat” to ‘try’ Necker before the court of public opinion.[3] Its general tone came in the context of a wider distrust of international capitalism, with which Necker was closely associated, and which appearted to violate many traditional values.[4] For those interested in the nitty gritty, here’s a footnote explaining why Marat had completely lost faith in Necker.[5]

It caused such a sensation that the first print-run sold out in 24 hours. Most of the radical press hailed Marat’s audacity in challenging Necker’s ‘virtuous’ reputation, while providing invaluable publicity for his pamphlet. The legal pursuit of Marat was largely prompted by the rigid adherence of the Chatelet to Ancien Régime values against the offence of libel (attacking a person in print).[6] I suspect that Marat was hoping a high-profile campaign against Necker would help to establish his name in the public eye by provoking a strong response. However, this was one of the rare occasions when Necker delegated his defence to ‘hired’ pens, providing Marat with valuable extra publicity.

If libel was the main reason for going after Marat, the impetus for pursuit was further motivated by wider political concerns over the extreme volatility that had gripped Paris since mid-December. After pre-emptive popular action in July and October against perceived counter-revolutionary plotting, a new wave of similar rumours was seen by many as a signal that the thermometer was about to explode again. The arrest of the marquis de Favras on Christmas Eve, for allegedly conspiring to raise a force to whisk the King away to safety, assassinate revolutionary leaders, and put his master, Monsieur (the King’s middle brother) on the throne as regent, only served to intensify popular fears. This, combined with the continuing failure to prosecute any royal officers, including the baron de Besenval, commander of the King’s troops around Paris during 12-14 July – who would be acquitted on 29 January for ‘counter-revolutionary’ actions – led to large crowds milling daily outside the Palais de Justice, as the legal action against both men dragged on through January.[7] On the 7th January, a bread riot in Versailles led to the declaration of martial law; on the 10th, a large march on the Hotel de Ville had been stopped in its tracks by Lafayette; on the 11th, there was an unruly 10,000-strong demonstration, screaming death-threats against defendants and judges, in the worst disturbances to public order since the October Days march on Versailles (and the most severe for another year); and on the 13th, tensions were further exacerbated by a threatened mutiny amongst disgruntled National Guards, which was efficiently snuffed out by Lafayette.[8] As a result, Marat’s Denunciation, and earlier attacks on Boucher d’Argis, the trial’s presiding judge, were seen as encouraging a dangerous distrust towards the authorities. Hence the pressing need to set an example of him.

So much for the background. Do we know anything about the poem’s authorship? it appeared around the same time (July/August) as Louis de Champcenetz & Antoine Rivarol’s sarcastic Petit dictionnaire des grands hommes de la Révolution, par un citoyen actif, ci-devant Rien(July/Aug 1790), which featured a brief entry on how Marat had eluded the attention of 5000 National Guardsmen and hid in southern France, disguised as a deserter. These figures would become the subject of wildly varying estimates, depending on who was reporting the ‘Affair’ – all, technically, primary sources! The higher the number of soldiers, the greater the degree of ridicule.[9] Contemporary accounts ranged from 400 to 12,000, although the latter exaggerated figure, included the extensive reserves positioned outside the district.[10] Since the poem also suggests around 5000 men, this similarity of numbers, alongside other literary and satirical clues, such as both men’s involvement in the Actes des apôtres, and the Petit dictionnaire’s targeting of Mme de Stael, suggest a possible common authorship.[11] While the poem took delight in mocking the ineptitude of the Paris Commune, the lattertook aim at the pretensions of the new class of revolutionary. While it is impossible to estimate the public reception of this poem, its cheap cover price of 15 sols suggests it was aimed at a wide audience. It was also republished under at least two different titles, sometimes alongside other counter-revolutionary pamphlets.[12]

Both act as important markers of Marat’s growing celebrity, just six months after the storming of the Bastille. A celebrity that reached far beyond the confines of his district (now section) and readership (which peaked at around 3000).[13] Marat was no longer being spoken of as just a malignant slanderer [“calomniateur”] but as the embodiment of a certain revolutionary stereotype. While he lacked the dedicated ‘fan base’ of a true celebrity, such as a Rousseau, a Voltaire or (even) a Necker, he did not lack for public curiosity, which was satisfied in his absence by a mediatized presence in pamphlets, poems, and the new lexicology.[14] For example, Marat would earn nine, separate entries in Pierre-Nicolas Chantreau’s Dictionnaire national et anecdotique (Aug 1790), the first in a series of dictionaries to capitalize on the Revolution’s fluid redefinition of language.

There seems little doubt that Marat’s Denunciation was intended to provoke the authorities into a strong reaction, and create “quelque sensation”, of which this mock-heroic poem forms one small part.[15] It would prove a pivotal moment in his revolutionary career, transforming him from the failed savant of 1789 to a vigorous symbol of press freedom and independence in 1790. Who knows what might have happened, if, as one royalist later remarked, the authorities had simply ignored this scribbling “dwarf”, whose only weapon was his pen.[16]

I'll post the 3 parts of the poem under #la fuite de Marat. enjoy!

[1] The Chatelet represented legal authority within Paris.

[2] Dénonciation faite au tribunal public par M. Marat, l’Ami du Peuple, contre M. Necker, premier ministre des finances (18 Jan 1790).

[3] The slogan was borrowed from Rousseau’s Lettre à d’Alembert, itself a misquote from Juvenal’s Satires (Vitam inpendere vero = ‘To sacrifice one’s life for the truth’).

[4] See Steven Kaplan’s excellent analysis of the mechanisms of famine plots and popular beliefs in the collusion between state and grain merchants. In part, this reflected a lack of transparency and poor PR in the state’s dealings with the public. During 1789-1790, when anxieties over grain supply were the main cause of rumours and popular tension, Necker made little effort to explain government policies. The Famine Plot Persuasion in Eighteenth-Century France (1982).

[5] As a rule, the King, and his ministers, did not consider the workings of government to be anyone’s business, and was not accountable to the public. However, in 1781, Necker undermined this precedent by publishing his Compte-rendu – a transparent snapshot of the royal finances – yet on his return in 1788, he failed to promote equivalent transparency over grain provision. In consequence, local administrators suffered from a lack of reliable information. Given the underlying food insecurity that followed the poor harvest of 1788, any rumours only unsettled the public. The most dramatic example of this came in the summer of 1789, when rumours of large-scale movements of brigands & beggars created the violent, rural panic known as ‘The Great Fear’. It was Necker’s continuing silence on these matters that lost Marat’s trust.

[6] Necker had a history of published interventions defending himself before the tribunal of public opinion, confessing that a thirst for gloire (renown) had motivated his continual courting of PO, then dismissing it as a fickle creature after it turned against him in 1790. eg Sur l’Administration de M. Necker (1791). For the best demonstration of continuity with Ancien Régime values after 1789, see Charles Walton, Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution (2009).

[7] The erosion of Necker’s popularity began on 30 July after he asked the Commune to grant amnesty to all political prisoners, including Besenval.

[8] While the evidence was slight, Favras’ sentence to be hanged on 18 February made him a convenient scapegoat, allowing Besenval and Monsieur to escape further action. See Barry M. Shapiro, Revolutionary Justice in Paris, 1789-1790 (1993).

[9] The most likely figure appears 300-500. See Eugène Babut, ‘Une journée au district des Cordeliers etc’, in Revue historique (1903), p.287 (fn); Olivier Coquard, Marat (1996), pp.251-55; and Jacques de Cock & Charlotte Goetz, eds., Oeuvres Politiques de Marat (1995), i:130*-197*.

[10] For example, figures cited, included 400 in the Révolutions de Paris (16-23 Jan); 600 (with canon) in Mercure de France (30 Jan), repeated in a letter by Thomas Lindet (22 Jan); 2000 in a fake Ami du peuple (28 March); 3000 in Grande motion etc. (March); 4000 in Révolutions de France; 6000 (with canon) in Montjoie’s Histoire de la conjuration etc. (1796), pp.157-58; 10,000 in Parisian clair-voyant; 12,000 in Marat’s Appel à la Nation (Feb), repeated in AdP (23 July), reduced to 4000 in AdP (9 Feb 1791), but restored to 12,000 inPubliciste de la République française (24 April 1793).

[11] “Five to six large battalions/Followed by two squadrons” = approximately 5000 men (4800 + 300). A royalist journal edited and published by Jean-Gabriel Peltier, who also appears the most likely publisher of this poem.

[12] For example, Crimes envers le Roi, et envers la nation. Ou Confession patriotique (n.d., n.p,) & Le Triumvirat, ou messieurs Necker, Bailly et Lafayette, poème comique en trois chants (n.d., n.p.). Note the unusual use of ‘triumvirate’ at a time when this generally applied to the trio of Antoine Barnave, Alexandre Lameth and Adrien Duport.

[13] By the time the poem appeared, the Cordeliers district had been renamed section Théåtre-français, following the administrative redivision of Paris from 60 districts to 48 sections on 21 May 1790.

[14] For the growth of mediatized celebrity, see Antoine Lilti, Figures publiques (2014).

[15] As Marat explained in a footnote (‘Profession de foi’) at the end of his Denunciation, “Comme ma plume a fait quelque sensation, les ennemis publics qui sont les miens ont répandu dans le monde qu’elle était vendue…”

A much needed Eloise and Lafayette first meet! //Not that we had done that already once before

It was a quiet evening around the Continental Camp. Eloise strolled amongst the men in breeches and a shirt. Her blue eyes flashed, taking in her surroundings and she laid a hand on her weapon. A long sword that had been a gift from her father two birthdays ago and she had cherished it ever since. It was one of her prize possessions. The other was a stuffed fox currently in her tent. The fox had been a gift from her father long ago when she had been a child. Her blonde hair had been pulled up into a bun. If there was one thing she was vain about it was her hair. She loved her hair and had cut it short once before.

The wind ruffled past. She raised her head and sniffed the air. It smelled like rain and she loved the rain. She nodded to a few men as they passed her. They bowed and she returned the bow. She had learned long ago not to wear dresses in the camp. It had been a painful lesson but Martha had been able to repair the damage done to the skirts of her favorite dress. Eloise had learned then not to wear the fancier ones. Otherwise she would have already gone through them all. In some ways Eloise was the picture of a noble woman well raised by her parents. In others she was different.

Historical research can be quite tricky at times – especially so if you are not a professionally trained historian, if you do not have access to libraries and achieves and the likes. Many great resources are behind paywalls and I therefor though I compile a list with resources (with links this time), mostly relating to the Marquis de La Fayette, that might come in handy and are easy and free to access.

La Fayette

Founders Online is a databank with letter from and by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, including their respected correspondences with La Fayette. For starters, here are the correspondences between

La Fayette and George Washington,

La Fayette and Alexander Hamilton

La Fayette and Thomas Jefferson

La Fayette is sometimes listed under different names (or different spellings of his name) so keep that in mind.

The Papers of James Monroe is a project to catalogue the letter of, you have guessed it, James Monroe. Included in this project are also parts of the correspondences between Monroe and La Fayette.

Guide to the Lafayette Manuscripts 1792-1834 by the Chicago Library. A digital collection of an assortment of letters, written to and from La Fayette, his son Georges, his secretary Auguste Levasseur and his grand-son Edmond de La Fayette among others.

La Fayette, Une Figure Politique Agricole by the Archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne. The La Fayette’s château Lagrange is situated in the department Seine-et-Marne and the Archive has compiled several biographical snippets, among them police reports on the Marquis’ movements, as well as letters from several family members.

Dossier historique Archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne by the Archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne. A PDF-dossier with additional information, images and letter from La Fayette and his family.

Next up, there are a few online exhibitions and collections that I can recommend:

“La Fayette: Citizen of Two Worlds” by the Cornell University

“Lafayette and Slavery” by the Lafayette College (here is a second, slightly different version)

“The Prisoner of Olmütz” by the Lafayette College

“Marquis de Lafayette in Prints Collection” by the Lafayette College

Archive of the “Gazette of the American Friends of Lafayette” by the Lafayette College

“Marquis de Lafayette Collections” by the Lafayette College

“The Marquis de Lafayette Collection” by the Cleveland State University

The Library of Congress has a number of handwritten original letters that were exchanged between La Fayette and George Washington

The Internet Archive is a pure treasure chest of resources. They have collected a great deal of photos, videos, audio recordings, books and lose documents from libraries, collections and different archives. They also have a huge stock of curated websites. All of their resources are free, although some require a user account (which is free as well, but you have to sign up with your E-Mail Address). They have just so many great resources, from old texts to modern books - they truly have something for everyone. Here are a few links to books (memoirs and books by La Fayette and his family). All of that is just a very, very shallow peek into what the Internet Archive has to offer

Memoirs, Correspondences and Manuscripts of General Lafayette, Volume I, by the Marquis de Lafayette

Memoirs, Correspondences and Manuscripts of General Lafayette, Volume II, by the Marquis de Lafayette

Memoirs, Correspondences and Manuscripts of General Lafayette, Volume III, by the Marquis de Lafayette

(The Memoirs are also available in French and in the French version they are divided into eight volumes.)

Life of Madame de Lafayette by Mme de Lasteyrie

Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette by M. Jules Cloquet

Lafayette in America, Volume I, by Auguste Levasseur

Lafayette in America Volume II, by Auguste Levasseur

All the books mentioned can also be obtained for free via Google Books.

Bicentannial of the 1824/1825 Tour

Lafayette Teen Audio Tour - A Teen Take on our French Founding Father

Follow the Frenchman

Fete Lafayette: A French Hero's Tour of the American Republic

The Marquis de Lafayette and His Farewell Tour

Virginia American Revolution 250

The Lafayette Trail Inc.

Lafayette 2024 by The Lafayette Trail Inc.

Lafayette 200

The Farewell Tour Bicentennial by the Lafayette Society

Reenactment

Tavern Debate: Disorder in the Streets

Tavern Debate: Radicalism

Liberty in Full Sail

An Afternoon with the Marquis de Lafayette

A Conversation with James Armistead Lafayette

The Marquis and the Spy Reunited

Bastille Day Livestream with Jefferson and Lafayette

Victory at Yorktown

Bastille Day at Mount Vernon

Marquis de Lafayette - Commemorating the Hero of two Worlds at the Rider Tavern

Other Resources

The Georgian Papers Program has digitalized a multitude of letters relating to Georg I, George II, George III, George IV and William IV, their families and governments. Most of the documents are not transcribed and so I will give you a fair warning; some of the handwritings will severely test your patience.

Elephind lets you search more than 200 Million historic newspapers.

The Old Bailey Online lets you access all the court proceedings from the Old Bailey from 1674 up until 1913 and gives a great insight into English law and its evolution.

The Friedrich Schiller Archive is dedicated to the German poet Friedrich Schiller and has transcripts and analyses of all of his works as well as transcripts of the majority of his correspondences.

Here you can find all the issues of Jean-Paul Marat’s L’Ami du Peuple.

The National Archive in England, the National Archive and Records Administrations in America and the Archives Nationales in France offer a well of information (although they are sometime a bit troublesome to navigate).

Many museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Louvre have digitalized their collections and everybody can search items therein.

Two pairs of eyes studied the map with the markings of the enemy lines - intelligence that had not been easily won. The American troops, also marked out on the map, looked hopelessly outnumbered. What could their small army do against the mightiest empire in the world? Washington suppressed a shudder, thinking about how many Englishmen there were to each American troop.

Cimetière de Picpus , Paris 12eme, France

Photographed by Christophe Maitrejean