François Joseph Bara (30 July 1779 – 7 December 1793) was a French soldier best known for his death 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 ...

. At the age of twelve, he joined the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...

as a drummer boy after the outbreak of

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, and was killed by

Chouan Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...

rebels while defending a pair of horses he was leading. Bara was transformed after his death into a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

for the French Revolution and has been depicted in several works of art.

Life, death, and legacy

François Joseph Bara was born on 30 July 1779 in

Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Palaiseau was a royal doma ...

. Bara's father was a gamekeeper and his mother was a domestic servant. Both worked in the

district for the

Princes of Condé The Most Serene House of Bourbon-Condé (), named after Condé-en-Brie (now in the Aisne ), was a French princely house and a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. The name of the house was derived from the title of Prince of Condé (French: '' ...

. When Bara was twelve his father died, so when the was issued, his mother enlisted him in the

. Bara was too young to join the French army, but despite this he joined a unit fighting against

rebels during the

as a drummer boy. After his death, General J. B. Desmarres gave this account, by letter, to the convention. "Yesterday this courageous youth, surrounded by brigands, chose to perish rather than give them the two horses he was leading."Roberts, Warren. Jacques-Louis David: Revolutionary Artist. pp. 85 The boy's death was seized on as an opportunity by the revolutionaries, who praised him at the Convention's tribune saying that "only the French have thirteen-year-old heroes". But rather than simply being killed by rebels who solely wanted to steal horses, Bara was transformed into a figure who resisted the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

at the cost of his death. His story became that having been trapped by the enemy and being ordered to cry ''"Vive le Roi"'' ("Long live the King") to save his own life, he preferred instead to die crying ''"Vive la République"'' ("Long live the Republic"). His remains were to be transferred to the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

during a revolutionary festival in his honour but the event was cancelled when

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

was overthrown the day before it was to take place.

Commemoration

* A 1794 painting by

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 ...

depicts the dying Bara. * A statue of Bara (called Barra) lying dead by

David d'Angers Pierre-Jean David (12 March 1788 – 4 January 1856) was a French sculptor, medalist and active freemason.Initiated in ""Le Père de famille"" Lodge in Angers He adopted the name David d'Angers, following his entry into the studio of the painter ...

in 1838. * An 1880 painting (''La Mort de Bara'') by

Jean-Joseph Weerts Jean-Joseph Weerts (1 May 1846, Roubaix - 28 September 1927, Paris) was a French painter of Belgian origin who worked in the Academic art, Academic style. Biography His father was a mechanical engineer who gave him his first introduction to dra ...

also depicts Bara's death. * A painting (''La Mort de Bara'') by depicts Bara as a dead drummer boy. * A painting ('' Bara)'' by

Jean-Jacques Henner Jean-Jacques Henner (5 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects and portraits. Biography Henner was born at Bernwiller (Alsace). He began his stud ...

in 1882 * A street in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

is named after him. * Bara is alluded to in the ''

Chant du départ "" (; ) is a French revolutionary war song, composed by Étienne Méhul and written by Marie-Joseph Chénier in 1794. It was the official anthem of the French Empire, and it is currently the unofficial regional anthem of French Guiana and the ...

'' * A

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

was launched in 1794 with the name ''Barra'' in his honour * There is a statue in his honour at Palaiseau in the Southern suburbs of Paris. * Opera "Joseph Barra" (1794) by

André Ernest Modeste Grétry André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bara, Joseph 1779 births 1793 deaths People from Palaiseau Child soldiers People of the French Revolution French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel killed in action