Louis Marie Turreau
Encyclopedia
Louis Marie Turreau also known as Turreau de Garambouville or Turreau de Linières, was a French general officer of the French Revolutionary Wars
. He was most notable as the organisor of the colonnes infernales during the war in the Vendée, which massacred tens of thousands of Vendéens and ravaged the countryside. He attained army command, but without notable military accomplishments. Under the First French Empire
, he pursued a career as a high functionary, becoming ambassador to the United States then a baron d'Empire.
. This situation imparted certain privileges to the Turreau family, even though they were not nobles. Turreau was nevertheless a fervent revolutionary from 1789, profiting like many others, especially the bourgeois of that era. Elected mayor of Aviron
, he bought several clerical estates (such as that of the abbaye de Conches).
of Conches
, and took over as its leader in July 1792. In September he was elected captain of a company of volunteers from Eure
and set out to fight on the northern frontiers. Made a colonel in November, he was integrated into the armée de Moselle.
In June 1793, Turreau was brought into the armée des côtes de La Rochelle, remaining so until 8 October, though this post did not please him - he wrote to a friend "I would move heaven and earth not to go to Poitou
. This kind of war displeases me." Even so, he fought for two months in the Vendée
. He served as head of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees from 12 October until 27 November 1793. During that period, he was defeated by Spanish General Antonio Ricardos
at the Battle of the Tech (Pla-del-Rey) on 13–15 October. In January 1794, he denounced fellow general Eustache Charles d'Aoust
to the Committee of Public Safety
, leading to d'Aoust's execution in July. He became commander in chief of the Armée de l'Ouest
from 29 December, but he again regarded this post with little enthusiasm. Before he arrived at his post, the last elements of the Armée catholique et royale were erased by Jean-Baptiste Kléber and François Séverin Marceau at the Battle of Savenay
on 23 December.
, aiming to be unequivocally rehabilitated. On 19 December 1795 he was acquitted by a military tribunal which judged he had only been obeying orders. Under the French Consulate
he was sent as an envoy to Switzerland. In May and June 1800, he commanded a division in a diversionary attack on Turin
from the west but missed the Battle of Marengo. From 1803 to 1811 he was French ambassador to the United States of America, then commander of several military strongholds.
In 1814, he submitted to Louis XVIII
and during the Hundred Days
published a Mémoire contre le retour éphémère des hommes à privilèges. On the Bourbon Restoration
he was not prosecuted, either for libel or for the colonnes infernales. He was on the list of those awarded the cross of Saint-Louis, but died before being able to attend an official ceremony of the order to receive it.
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. He was most notable as the organisor of the colonnes infernales during the war in the Vendée, which massacred tens of thousands of Vendéens and ravaged the countryside. He attained army command, but without notable military accomplishments. Under the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, he pursued a career as a high functionary, becoming ambassador to the United States then a baron d'Empire.
Early life
Louis-Marie Turreau's father was fiscal procurator for waters and forests to the comté d'Évreux, before becoming mayor of ÉvreuxÉvreux
Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...
. This situation imparted certain privileges to the Turreau family, even though they were not nobles. Turreau was nevertheless a fervent revolutionary from 1789, profiting like many others, especially the bourgeois of that era. Elected mayor of Aviron
Aviron
Aviron is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:...
, he bought several clerical estates (such as that of the abbaye de Conches).
Career to 1794
Before the Revolution, he had not had any real military activity, having entered the guards corps of the comte d’Artois but only been inscribed for supernumerary roles (he was only a reservist). On the Revolution, he entered the National GuardNational Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
of Conches
Conches
Conches may refer to:the plural of the Conch, a type of mollusk.Places:*Conches-sur-Gondoire, a village in the northern part of France*Conches-en-Ouche, another village in the northern part of France...
, and took over as its leader in July 1792. In September he was elected captain of a company of volunteers from Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
and set out to fight on the northern frontiers. Made a colonel in November, he was integrated into the armée de Moselle.
In June 1793, Turreau was brought into the armée des côtes de La Rochelle, remaining so until 8 October, though this post did not please him - he wrote to a friend "I would move heaven and earth not to go to Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
. This kind of war displeases me." Even so, he fought for two months in the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
. He served as head of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees from 12 October until 27 November 1793. During that period, he was defeated by Spanish General Antonio Ricardos
Antonio Ricardos
Antonio Ricardos Carrillo de Albornoz was a Spanish general. He joined the army of the Kingdom of Spain and fought against Habsburg Austria, the Portugal, and the First French Republic during a long military career. By embracing the Spanish Enlightenment, he earned the displeasure of conservative...
at the Battle of the Tech (Pla-del-Rey) on 13–15 October. In January 1794, he denounced fellow general Eustache Charles d'Aoust
Eustache Charles d'Aoust
Eustache Charles Joseph d'Aoust was a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars....
to the Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
, leading to d'Aoust's execution in July. He became commander in chief of the Armée de l'Ouest
Armée de l'Ouest
The Army of the West was one of the French Revolutionary Armies. It was created on 1 August 1793 by merging the armée des côtes de Brest, the armée des côtes de La Rochelle, and the armée de Mayence, and was sent to fight the revolt in the Vendee.- Reorganisation :Visiting Republican soldiers of...
from 29 December, but he again regarded this post with little enthusiasm. Before he arrived at his post, the last elements of the Armée catholique et royale were erased by Jean-Baptiste Kléber and François Séverin Marceau at the Battle of Savenay
Battle of Savenay
The Battle of Savenay took place on 23 December 1793, and marks the end of the Virée de Galerne operational phase of the first war in the Vendée, where a Republican force of approximately 18,000 decisively defeated the armée catholique et royale force of 6,000 at Savenay.-Prelude:After a crushing...
on 23 December.
The colonnes infernales
Later career
On 20 May Turreau was named governor of Belle-Île, then arrested on 28 September 1794. He spent a year in prison, which he used to edit his Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire de la Vendée. He refused the amnesty of 4 Brumaire year IV which closed the works of the National ConventionNational Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, aiming to be unequivocally rehabilitated. On 19 December 1795 he was acquitted by a military tribunal which judged he had only been obeying orders. Under the French Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
he was sent as an envoy to Switzerland. In May and June 1800, he commanded a division in a diversionary attack on Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
from the west but missed the Battle of Marengo. From 1803 to 1811 he was French ambassador to the United States of America, then commander of several military strongholds.
In 1814, he submitted to Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
and during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
published a Mémoire contre le retour éphémère des hommes à privilèges. On the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
he was not prosecuted, either for libel or for the colonnes infernales. He was on the list of those awarded the cross of Saint-Louis, but died before being able to attend an official ceremony of the order to receive it.
Distinctions
- Baron de Linières (1812)
- Chevalier de Saint-Louis (1814)
- His name is engraved on the 15th column of the Arc de TriompheArc de Triomphe-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
colonne (the Arch shows TURREAU).
Books
- Arnold, James R. Marengo & Hohenlinden. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword, 2005. ISBN 1-84415-279-0