Jean Theophile Victor Leclerc
Encyclopedia
Jean Théophile Victor Leclerc, aka Jean-Theophilus Leclerc and Theophilus Leclerc d'Oze (1771 in La Cotte, Loire
, near Montbrison
, France
– ???), was a radical French revolutionist and publicist. After Jean-Paul Marat
was assassinated, Leclerc assumed his mantle.
Leclerc was the son of a civil engineer, and as a young man went to Martinique
from which he was expelled for revolutionary propaganda in 1791. He returned to metropolitan France and joined the 1st battalion of Morbihan
in which he served until February 1792, when he left for Paris to defend seventeen grenadiers accused, in Martinique, of being revolutionaries. He successfully defended them in front of the Jacobin Club
and the revolutionary national assembly
. On April first that year he made a speech before the Jacobin Club calling for the execution of King Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette
.
Leclerc returned to his military duties with the Army of the Rhine, and was sent on an unsuccessful spy mission across the Rhine in southwest Germany. It seems that he betrayed by Dietrich, the mayor of Strasbourg
. In November 1792, he fought at the Battle of Jemappes
. In February 1793 he was transferred to the General Staff of the newly restructured Army of the Alps, in Lyon
. It was there that he joined the Club Central and he was sent to Paris as a special deputy from Lyon.
Leclerc took an extremely radical revolutionary position. He was even expelled from the Jacobin Club
for being too radical. He was a founding member of Les Enragés
(literally "the Angry Ones") who opposed Jacobian leniency. In 1793, he married Pauline Léon
, who together with Claire Lacombe
had founded the Société des Républicaines Révolutionnaires a radical & revolutionary feminist organization which was banned the following year. He and his wife published a broadsheet called L'Ami du peuple par Leclerc starting in 1793, which advocated a radical purging of the army, the creation of a revolutionary army only made up of the partisans of the Reign of Terror
, and the execution of all the suspected anti-revolutionaries. His publishing activities ceased with his arrest in April, 1794. After his release in August 1794, he and his wife maintained a low profile until his death some time after 1804.
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
, near Montbrison
Montbrison
Montbrison is the name of several communes of France:* Montbrison, in the Loire département* Montbrison-sur-Lez, in the Drôme département...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
– ???), was a radical French revolutionist and publicist. After Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
was assassinated, Leclerc assumed his mantle.
Leclerc was the son of a civil engineer, and as a young man went to Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
from which he was expelled for revolutionary propaganda in 1791. He returned to metropolitan France and joined the 1st battalion of Morbihan
Morbihan
Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
in which he served until February 1792, when he left for Paris to defend seventeen grenadiers accused, in Martinique, of being revolutionaries. He successfully defended them in front of the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
and the revolutionary national assembly
Legislative Assembly (France)
During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.The Legislative...
. On April first that year he made a speech before the Jacobin Club calling for the execution of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
.
Leclerc returned to his military duties with the Army of the Rhine, and was sent on an unsuccessful spy mission across the Rhine in southwest Germany. It seems that he betrayed by Dietrich, the mayor of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. In November 1792, he fought at the Battle of Jemappes
Battle of Jemappes
The Battle of Jemappes took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Belgium, near Mons. General Charles François Dumouriez, in command of the French Revolutionary Army, defeated the greatly outnumbered Austrian army of Field Marshal Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and his second-in-command...
. In February 1793 he was transferred to the General Staff of the newly restructured Army of the Alps, in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. It was there that he joined the Club Central and he was sent to Paris as a special deputy from Lyon.
Leclerc took an extremely radical revolutionary position. He was even expelled from the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
for being too radical. He was a founding member of Les Enragés
Enragés
Les Enragés were a loose amalgam of radicals active during the French Revolution. Politically they stood to the left of the Jacobins. Represented by Jacques Roux, Théophile Leclerc, Jean Varlet and others, they believed that liberty for all meant more than mere constitutional rights...
(literally "the Angry Ones") who opposed Jacobian leniency. In 1793, he married Pauline Léon
Pauline Léon
Pauline Léon , was a radical organizer and feminist during the French Revolution.-Biography:Léon was born to chocolate makers Pierre-Paul Léon and Mathrine Telohan in Paris on 28 September 1768, one of six children...
, who together with Claire Lacombe
Claire Lacombe
Claire Lacombe nicknamed "Red Rosa," was an actress in her early life, but is best known for her contributions during the French Revolution...
had founded the Société des Républicaines Révolutionnaires a radical & revolutionary feminist organization which was banned the following year. He and his wife published a broadsheet called L'Ami du peuple par Leclerc starting in 1793, which advocated a radical purging of the army, the creation of a revolutionary army only made up of the partisans of the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, and the execution of all the suspected anti-revolutionaries. His publishing activities ceased with his arrest in April, 1794. After his release in August 1794, he and his wife maintained a low profile until his death some time after 1804.