The First Battle of Cholet took place during the

War in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

on 15 March 1793 in which the city of

Cholet Cholet (, probably from Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a commune of western France, in the Maine-et-Loire department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous commune of Maine-et-Loire, after the prefecture, Angers. ...

was captured by the Vendée insurgents.

Prelude

The

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

having ordered, on February 23, the conscription of 300,000 men, the first riots began in the Mauges at the announcement of the terms of recruitment. On the March 2 and 3, young men from the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

assembled at Cholet by the district manifested their refusal to leave. In

Beaupréau Beaupréau () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, ...

, mobs threatened the national guard, which shot and killed three rebels and wounded eight. On 12 March, at

Saint-Florent-le-Vieil Saint-Florent-le-Vieil () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2015, it was merged into the new commune Mauges-sur-Loire.Jacques Cathelineau Generalissimo Jacques Cathelineau (; 5 January 1759 – 14 July 1793) was a French Vendéan insurrectionist leader during the Revolution. He was known among his followers as the Saint of Anjou. He was a well known peddler in Anjou. When the ...

at their head, took

Jallais Jallais () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, La Poitevinière, Saint-Philbert-en-Mauge ...

. On March 14,

Chemillé Chemillé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. In January 2013 it became part of the new commune Chemillé-Melay, which became part of Chemillé-en-Anjou in December 2015.culverins A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but the term was later used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the French (from "grass snake", followin ...

, the largest of which was renamed the "Marie-Jeanne" by the peasants of Anjou; they made it a true mascot. The victories of Cathelineau provoked the uprising of hundreds of other parishes, which joined the small army of the insurgents, notably

Jean-Nicolas Stofflet Jean-Nicolas Stofflet (; 3 February 1753 – 25 February 1796) was a French leader of the Revolt in the Vendée against the First French Republic. Born in Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont (Meurthe-et-Moselle), the son of a miller, he was for long ...

The battle

On 15 March the peasants, numbering 15,000, presented themselves before

. An emissary was sent to negotiate the surrender of the patriots, but Beauveau, the commandant of the place, refused. He estimated that his 580 National Guards, who were well armed, were sufficient to repel peasants armed with

scythes Scythes () was tyrant or ruler of Zancle, Magna Graecia, in Sicily. He was appointed to that post in about 494 BC by Hippocrates of Gela. The Zanclaeans had contacted Ionian leaders to invite colonists to join them in founding a new city on the ...

. However, he was mistaken. In a few hours, the 15,000 insurgents seized the city and killed 150 patriots, including Beauveau. An important booty was seized by the rebels.

Consequences

The next day the insurgents seized

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.Charles Artus of Bonchamps Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

Maurice Gigost of Elbée Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

joined the insurrection. At the initiative of their leaders, the insurgents then decided to march on

Chalonnes-sur-Loire Chalonnes-sur-Loire is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. It is located on the left bank of the river Loire in the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site area. Geography The town is in the heart of the Anjou, a his ...

, near

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

. The city was defended by 4,000 soldiers. Faced with the threat of the insurgents, the defenders preferred to abandon the city and retreated to Angers. At that moment, the peasants, who had driven the patriots out of their countries, dispersed and returned home. The revolt had thus ended, but the revolutionary armies sent to repress it were to restart the war in the Mauges. On April 14, 1793, the republican General Leygonier occupied the city of Cholet, which would be resumed the next day by the royalists. The republican prisoners, including Jean-Julien Savary, were saved from death thanks to the prayer of the inhabitants.

References

Bibliography

* * * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cholet, First Battle of Battles involving France Conflicts in 1793 Battles of the War in the Vendée History of Maine-et-Loire 1793 in France Cholet