Charles-Philippe Ronsin (; 1 December 1751 – 24 March 1794) was a French

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the Revolutionary Army of the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

, commanding the large Parisian division of ''l'Armée Révolutionnaire''. He was an extreme radical leader of the French Revolution, and one of the many followers of Jacques-René Hébert, known as the '' Hébertists.''

Life

Born in 1751 in

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

, a city northeast of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Ronsin was son of a master cooper or barrel maker. At the age of seventeen, Charles-Philippe Ronsin joined the Parisian army. By 1772 he left the army with the position of corporal and soon became a playwright and a tutor. In these years he met the artist

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

and they became good friends. Welcoming the Revolution, Ronsin became the Bourgeois Guard Captain in the district of Saint-Roch in 1789. He presented several patriotic pieces in some of the theatres in the capital between the years 1790 and 1792. It was in this period that Ronsin became a club orator and joined the club of the

Cordeliers The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( ), mainly known as Cordeliers Club ( ), was a Populism, populist List of political groups in the French Revolution, political club during the French Revolution from 1790 to 179 ...

Influences

In August and September 1792, the Executive Council entrusted him three missions. In November, the minister of war, Pache, named him commissioner-organizer in Belgium to the army of Dumouriez. In this post, Ronsin denounced the acts of violence of the suppliers to the armed forces, who were protected by the general. Ronsin was named assistant of the minister of war of Bouchotte on 23 April 1793, without ever commanding a squadron. It is possible that Ronsin received that position thanks to his friendship with Chaumette and Hébert. In May, he left to

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Vendeans was rejected, therefore, he decided to make sure that General Canclaux was defeated by the Vendeans, ensuring his own victory. He led his troops to

Vihiers Vihiers () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Lys-Haut-Layon.Beaulieu and was eventually trapped at Coron. Because of Ronsin's decision the Vendeans took over Beaulieu and managed to convince the Committee to get rid of Canclaux. Ronsin's support among the

and the ministry allowed him to cross the rank of captain to that of brigadier general in the army of the coasts of Rochelle. In September, 1793, he becomes chief general of the revolutionary army of Paris. Ronsin had a violent character and was very outspoken. He, however, proved to be a good leader. Ronsin was witty and clever when dealing with his different functions. However, thanks to his quick ascent and his character Ronsin acquired numerous enemies, particularly Pierre Philippeaux and Fabre d'Eglantine. Ronsin created a bill that was posted in Paris after his return from Lyon that stated that there were one hundred and forty thousand people living in Lyon, fifteen hundred of which had nothing to do with the rebellions. Ronsin stated that before the end of September, all of the people who were guilty would die. On 17 December Fabre d'Eglantine denounced Ronsin for being an ultra-revolutionist. Ronsin was arrested along with François-Nicolas Vincent, who was another member of the

Club.

Last days

While in prison the

wrote a petition in favor of both

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

and Ronsin, stating that they were great patriots and that Ronsin should not be punished for attacking Dumouriez, Custine, and Brissot. Among those who were defending Ronsin was Collot d'Herbois, who was also part of the Committee. Collot d'Herbois defended Ronsin, saying that while fighting in the South along with all of the other patriots of the Revolution, Ronsin showed great determination in enforcing respect for the republic. With the help of Fouquier-Tinville, Ronsin was believed to be working on a military conspiracy to replace the revolutionary government with a military dictatorship. Fouquier-Tinville called him one of the "new Cromwell". Ronsin was finally arrested along with Hébert, Momoro, and

. While in prison Ronsin is quoted with saying these words to his co-accused: "...you will be condemned. When you should have acted, you talked. Know how to die. For my part, I swear that you shall not see me flinch. Strive to do the same." Some of his final words before his death were, "Liberty undone!...because a few paltry fellows are about to perish! Liberty is immortal. Our enemies will fall in their turn, and liberty will survive them all!" On 24 March 1794, five carts full of condemned Hébertists were taken to the guillotine, Charles-Philippe Ronsin among them. Their death of was a sort of carnival, a pleasant spectacle according to Michelet's witnesses. Ronsin stayed true to his words in prison: as Thomas Carlyle relates the event, he alone among the Hébertists went to the scaffold with an "air of defiance", still maintaining a steely "eye of command". Within a week of his death, Ronsin's army (''l'Armée Révolutionnaire de Paris'') was disbanded.Carlyle, 1871
p.216
, "In the course of a week, the Revolutionary Army itself is disbanded."

Works

* 1786
''Théatre de M. Ronsin, imprimé au profit de sa belle-mere''
A Paris: De l'imprimerie Cailleau * 1789
''La ligue aristocratique, ou, Les catilinaires françoises''
Paris: Au Palais-Royal, de l'imprimerie de Josseran * 1790
''Louis XII, Père du Peuple. Tragédie, dédiée a la Garde Nationale''
A Paris, chez L. Potier de Lille * 1792
''Discours prononcé par Ch. Ph. Ronsin, le samedi 18 août 1792, l'an 4ème. de la liberté et le premier de l'egalité, à la section du Théâtre François, dite de Marseille, à l'occasion de la cérémonie funèbre ordonnée en l'honneur de nos frères d'armes morts à la journée du 10, pour la défense de la liberté et de l'égalite''
A Paris: De l'imprimerie de Pougin * 1792
''Grand discours fait par Ch.-Ph. Ronsin, l'an 4me. de la liberté, et le 1er. de l'égalité, à l'occasion de la cérémonie funèbre, faite le 26 août 1792, au jardin des Tuileries, ordonnée en l'honneur de nos frères d'armes morts à la journée du 10, pour la défense de la liberté et de l'égalité''
Paris]: De l'imprimerie de Pougin * 1793
''Arétaphile, ou, La révolution de Cyrene : tragédie, en cinq actes, en vers, faite en 1786. Représentée, pour la première fois, sur le théâtre de la rue de Louvois, le 23 juin 1792''
A Paris, Chez Guillaume, junior

References

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

, Frederic Shoberl, ''The History of the French Revolution'' (France,1866). **Henri Martin, Abby Landgon Alger, ''A popular History of France from the First Revolution to the Present Time'' (France, 1877). **Paul R. Hanson, ''Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution'' (Scarecrow Press, 2004). ** Albert Soboul (dir.), ''Dictionnaire historique de la Révolution française'', Quadrige/PUF, 1989, article « Ronsin, Charles Philippe » de Raymonde Monnier {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronsin, Charles-Philippe 1751 births 1794 deaths People from Soissons Hébertists French newspaper founders Newspaper editors of the French Revolution French atheism activists French atheists French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution French male essayists 18th-century French essayists 18th-century French male writers