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Being thus reinforced, the Reformers divided themselves into
three
bands, in order to spread abroad their beliefs through the
entire
district. One went towards Soustele and the neighbourhood of
Alais,
another towards St. Privat and the bridge of Montvert, while the
third
followed the mountain slope down to St. Roman le Pompidou, and
Barre.
The first was commanded by Castanet, the second by Roland, and the
third
by Laporte.
Each party ravaged the country as it passed,
returning deathblow for
deathblow and conflagration for conflagration, so
that hearing one after
another of these outrages Captain Poul demanded
reinforcements from M.
de Broglie and M. de Baville, which were promptly
despatched.
As soon as Captain Poul found himself at the head of a
sufficient number
of troops, he determined to attack the rebels. He had
received
intelligence that the band led by Laporte was just about to pass
through
the valley of Croix, below Barre, near Temelague. In consequence of
this
information, he lay in ambush at a favourable spot on the route. As
soon
as the Reformers who were without suspicion, were well within the
narrow
pass in which Poul awaited them, he issued forth at the head of
his
soldiers, and charged the rebels with such courage and impetuosity
that
they, taken by surprise, made no attempt at resistance, but,
thoroughly
demoralised, spread over the mountain-side, putting a greater
and
greater distance at, every instant between themselves and the
enemy,
despite the efforts of Laporte to make them stand their ground. At
last,
seeing himself deserted, Laporte began to think of his own safety.
But
it was already too late, for he was surrounded by dragoons, and the
only
way of retreat open to him lay over a large rock. This he
successfully
scaled, but before trying to get down the other side he raised
his hands
in supplication to Heaven; at that instant a volley was fired,
two
bullets struck him, and he fell head foremost down the
precipice.
When the dragoons reached the foot of the rock, they found him
dead. As
they knew he was the chief of the rebels, his body was searched:
sixty
Louis was found in his pockets, and a sacred chalice which he was in
the
habit of using as an ordinary drinking-cup. Poul cut off his head
and
the heads of twelve other Reformers found dead on the field of
battle,
and enclosing them in a wicker basket, sent them to M. Just de
Baville.
The Reformers soon recovered from this defeat and death, joined
all
their forces into one body, and placed Roland at their head in the
place
of Laporte. Roland chose a young man called Couderc de Mazel-Rozade,
who
had assumed the name of Lafleur, as his lieutenant, and the rebel
forces
were not only quickly reorganised, but made complete by the addition
of
a hundred men raised by the new lieutenant, and soon gave a sign
that
they were again on the war-path by burning down the churches
of
Bousquet, Cassagnas, and Prunet.
Then first it was that the consuls
of Mende began to realise that it was
no longer an insurrection they had on
hand but a war, and Mende being
the capital of Gevaudan and liable to be
attacked at any moment, they
set themselves to bring into repair their
counterscarps, ravelins,
bastions, gates, portcullises, moats, walls,
turrets, ramparts,
parapets, watchtowers, and the gear of their cannon, and
having laid in
a stock of firearms, powder and ball, they formed eight
companies each
fifty strong, composed of townsmen, and a further band of one
hundred
and fifty peasants drawn from the neighbouring country. Lastly,
the
States of the province sent an envoy to the king, praying him
graciously
to take measures to check the plague of heresy which was spreading
from
day to day. The king at once sent M. Julien in answer to the
petition.
Thus it was no longer simple governors of towns nor even chiefs
of
provinces who were engaged in the struggle; royalty itself had come
to
the rescue.
M. de Julien, born a Protestant, was a, member of the
nobility of
Orange, and in his youth had served against France and borne
arms
in England and Ireland when William of Orange succeeded James II
as
King of England, Julien was one of his pages, and received as
a
reward for his fidelity in the famous campaign of 1688 the
command
of a regiment which was sent to the aid of the Duke of Savoy,
who
had begged both England and Holland to help him. He bore himself
so
gallantly that it was in great part due to him that the French
were
forced to raise the siege of Cony.
Whether it was that he
expected too much from this success, or that the
Duke of Savoy did not
recognise his services at their worth, he withdrew
to Geneva, where Louis XIV
hearing of his discontent, caused overtures
to be made to him with a view to
drawing him into the French service. He
was offered the same rank in the
French army as he had held in the
English, with a pension of 3000
livres.
M. de Julien accepted, and feeling that his religious belief
would be
in the way of his advancement, when he changed his master
he
changed his Church. He was given the command of the valley of
Barcelonnette, whence he made many excursions against the Barbets;
then
he was transferred to the command of the Avennes, of the
principality of
Orange, in order to guard the passes, so that the
French Protestants
could not pass over the frontier for the purpose
of worshipping with
their Dutch Protestant brethren; and after
having tried this for a year,
he went to Versailles to report
himself to the king. While he was there,
it chanced that the envoy
from Gevaudan arrived, and the king being
satisfied with de
Julien’s conduct since he had entered his service,
made him
major-general, chevalier of the military order of St. Louis;
and
commander-in-chief in the Vivarais and the Cevennes.
M. de
Julien from the first felt that the situation was very grave,
and saw
that his predecessors had felt such great contempt for the
heretics that
they had not realised the danger of the revolt. He
immediately proceeded
to inspect in person the different points
where M. de Broglie had placed
detachments of the Tournon and
Marsily regiments. It is true that he
arrived by the light of
thirty burning village churches.
M. de
Broglie, M. de Baville, M. de Julien, and Captain Poul met
together to
consult as to the best means of putting an end to these
disorders. It
was agreed that the royal troops should be divided
into two bodies, one
under the command of M. de Julien to advance
on Alais, where it was
reported large meetings of the rebels were
taking place, and the other
under M. de Brogue, to march about in
the neighbourhood of
Nimes.
Consequently, the two chiefs separated. M. le Comte de Broglie at
the
head of sixty-two dragoons and some companies of foot, and having
under
him Captain Poul and M. de Dourville, set out from Cavayrac on the
12th
of January at 2 a. m., and having searched without finding anything
the
vineyards of Nimes and La Garrigue de Milhau, took the road to
the
bridge of Lunel. There he was informed that those he was in search
of
had been seen at the chateau of Caudiac the day before; he therefore
at
once set out for the forest which lies around it, not doubting to
find
the fanatics entrenched there; but, contrary to his expectations, it
was
vacant. He then pushed on to Vauvert, from Vauvert to Beauvoisin,
from
Beauvoisin to Generac, where he learned that a troop of rebels
had
passed the night there, and in the morning had left for Aubore.
Resolved
to give them no rest, M. de Broglie set out at once for this
village.
When half-way there, a member of his staff thought he could
distinguish
a crowd of men near a house about half a league distant; M. de
Broglie
instantly ordered Sieur de Gibertin, Captain Paul’s lieutenant, who
was
riding close by, at the head of his company, to take eight dragoons
and
make a reconnaissance, in order to ascertain who these men were,
while
the rest of the troops would make a halt.
This little band, led
by its officer, crossed a clearing in the wood,
and advanced towards the
farmhouse, which was called the Mas de Gafarel,
and which now seemed
deserted. But when they were within half a gun-shot
of the wall the charge
was sounded behind it, and a band of rebels
rushed towards them, while from a
neighbouring house a second troop
emerged, and looking round, he perceived a
third lying on their faces in
a small wood. These latter suddenly stood up
and approached him, singing
psalms. As it was impossible for M. de Gibertin
to hold his ground
against so large a force, he ordered two shots to be fired
as a warning
to de Brogue to advance to meet him, and fell back on his
comrades.
Indeed, the rebels had only pursued him till they had reached
a
favourable position, on which they took their stand.
M. de Brogue
having surveyed the whole position with the aid of a
telescope, held a
council of war, and it was decided that an attack
should be made
forthwith. They therefore advanced on the rebels in
line: Captain Poul
on the right, M. de Dourville on the left, and
Count Broglie in the
centre.
As they got near they could see that the rebels had chosen their
ground
with an amount of strategical sagacity they had never till
then
displayed. This skill in making their dispositions was evidently due
to
their having found a new leader whom no one knew, not even Captain
Poul,
although they could see him at the head of his men, carbine in
hand.
However, these scientific preparations did not stop M. de Brogue:
he
gave the order to charge, and adding example to precept, urged his
horse
to a gallop. The rebels in the first rank knelt on one knee, so that
the
rank behind could take aim, and the distance between the two bodies
of
troops disappeared rapidly, thanks to the impetuosity of the
dragoons;
but suddenly, when within thirty paces of the enemy, the royals
found
themselves on the edge of a deep ravine which separated them from
the
enemy like a moat. Some were able to check their horses in time,
but
others, despite desperate efforts, pressed upon by those behind,
were
pushed into the ravine, and rolled helplessly to the bottom. At the
same
moment the order to fire was given in a sonorous voice, there was
a
rattle of musketry, and several dragoons near M. de Broglie
fell.
"Forward!" cried Captain Poul, "forward!" and putting his horse at
a
part of the ravine where the sides were less steep, he was
soon
struggling up the opposite side, followed by a few
dragoons.
"Death to the son of Belial!" cried the same voice which had
given the
order to fire. At that moment a single shot rang out, Captain Poul
threw
up his hands, letting his sabre go, and fell from his horse,
which
instead of running away, touched his master with its smoking
nostrils,
then lifting its head, neighed long and low. The dragoons
retreated.
"So perish all the persecutors of Israel!" cried the leader,
brandishing
his carbine. He then dashed down into the ravine, picked up
Captain
Poul’s sabre and jumped upon his horse. The animal, faithful to its
old
master, showed some signs of resistance, but soon felt by the
pressure
of its rider’s knees that it had to do with one whom it could
not
readily unseat. Nevertheless, it reared and bounded, but the
horseman
kept his seat, and as if recognising that it had met its match,
the
noble animal tossed its head, neighed once more, and gave in. While
this
was going on, a party of Camisards [Name given to the
insurgent
Calvinists after the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes.—Translator’s
Note.] and one of the dragoons had got down into the
ravine, which had
in consequence been turned into a battlefield; while those
who remained
above on either side took advantage of their position to fire
down at
their enemies. M. de Dourville, in command of the dragoons, fought
among
the others like a simple soldier, and received a serious wound in
the
head; his men beginning to lose ground, M. de Brogue tried to
rally
them, but without avail, and while he was thus occupied his own
troop
ran away; so seeing there was no prospect of winning the battle, he
and
a few valiant men who had remained near him dashed forward to
extricate
M. Dourville, who, taking advantage of the opening thus made,
retreated,
his wound bleeding profusely. On the other hand, the
Camisards
perceiving at some distance bodies of infantry coming up to
reinforce
the royals, instead of pursuing their foes, contented themselves
with
keeping up a thick and well-directed musketry-fire from the position
in
which they had won such a quick and easy victory.
As soon as the
royal forces were out of reach of their weapons, the
rebel chief knelt down
and chanted the song the Israelites sang when,
having crossed the Red Sea in
safety, they saw the army of Pharaoh
swallowed up in the waters, so that
although no longer within reach of
bullets the defeated troops were still
pursued by songs of victory.
Their thanksgivings ended, the Calvinists
withdrew into the forest, led
by their new chief, who had at his first assay
shown the great extent of
his knowledge, coolness, and courage.
This
new chief, whose superiors were soon to become his lieutenants, was
the
famous Jean Cavalier.
Jean Cavalier was then a young man of twenty-three,
of less than medium
height, but of great strength. His face was oval, with
regular features,
his eyes sparkling and beautiful; he had long chestnut hair
falling on
his shoulders, and an expression of remarkable sweetness. He was
born in
1680 at Ribaute, a village in the diocese of Alais, where his father
had
rented a small farm, which he gave up when his son was about
fifteen,
coming to live at the farm of St. Andeol, near Mende.
Young
Cavalier, who was only a peasant and the son of a peasant, began
life as a
shepherd at the Sieur de Lacombe’s, a citizen of Vezenobre,
but as the lonely
life dissatisfied a young man who was eager for
pleasure, Jean gave it up,
and apprenticed himself to a baker of Anduze.
There he developed a great
love for everything connected with the
military; he spent all his free time
watching the soldiers at their
drill, and soon became intimate with some of
them, amongst others with a
fencing-master who gave him lessons, and a
dragoon who taught him to
ride.
On a certain Sunday, as he was taking
a walk with his sweetheart on his
arm, the young girl was insulted by a
dragoon of the Marquis de Florae’s
regiment. Jean boxed the dragoon’s ears,
who drew his sword. Cavalier
seized a sword from one of the bystanders, but
the combatants were
prevented from fighting by Jean’s friends. Hearing of the
quarrel, an
officer hurried up: it was the Marquis de Florae himself, captain
of the
regiment which bore his name; but when he arrived on the scene he
found,
not the arrogant peasant who had dared to attack a soldier of the
king,
but only the young girl, who had fainted, the townspeople
having
persuaded her lover to decamp.
The young girl was so beautiful
that she was commonly called la belle
Isabeau, and the Marquis de Florac,
instead of pursuing Jean Cavalier,
occupied himself in reviving
Isabeau.
As it was, however, a serious affair, and as the entire regiment
had
sworn Cavalier’s death, his friends advised him to leave the country
for
a time. La belle Isabeau, trembling for the safety of her lover,
joined
her entreaties to those of his friends, and Jean Cavalier yielded.
The
young girl promised him inviolable fidelity, and he, relying on
this
promise, went to Geneva.
There he made the acquaintance of a
Protestant gentleman called Du
Serre, who having glass-works at the Mas
Arritas, quite near the farm of
St. Andeol, had undertaken several times, at
the request of Jean’s
father, Jerome, to convey money to Jean; for Du Serre
went very often to
Geneva, professedly on business affairs, but really in the
interests of
the Reformed faith. Between the outlaw and the apostle union
was
natural. Du Serre found in Cavalier a young man of robust nature,
active
imagination, and irreproachable courage; he confided to him his hopes
of
converting all Languedoc and Vivarais. Cavalier felt himself drawn
back
there by many ties, especially by patriotism and love. He crossed
the
frontier once more, disguised as a servant, in the suite of a
Protestant
gentleman; he arrived one night at Anduze, and immediately
directed his
steps to the house of Isabeau.
He was just about to
knock, although it was one o’clock in the morning,
when the door was opened
from within, and a handsome young man came out,
who took tender leave of a
woman on the threshold. The handsome young
man was the Marquis de Florac; the
woman was Isabeau. The promised wife
of the peasant had become the mistress
of the noble.
Our hero was not the man to suffer such an outrage quietly.
He walked
straight up to the marquis and stood right in his way. The marquis
tried
to push him aside with his elbow, but Jean Cavalier, letting fall
the
cloak in which he was wrapped, drew his sword. The marquis was
brave,
and did not stop to inquire if he who attacked him was his equal or
not.
Sword answered sword, the blades crossed, and at the end of a
few
instants the marquis fell, Jean’s sword piercing his
chest.
Cavalier felt sure that he was dead, for he lay at his feet
motionless.
He knew he had no time to lose, for he had no mercy to hope for.
He
replaced his bloody sword in the scabbard, and made for the
open
country; from the open country he hurried into the mountains, and
at
break of day he was in safety.
The fugitive remained the whole day
in an isolated farmhouse whose
inmates offered him hospitality. As he very
soon felt that he was in the
house of a co-religionist, he confided to his
host the circumstances in
which he found himself, and asked where he could
meet with an organised
band in which he could enrol himself in order to fight
for the
propagation of the Reformed religion. The farmer mentioned Generac
as
being a place in which he would probably find a hundred or so of
the
brethren gathered together. Cavalier set out the same evening for
this
village, and arrived in the middle of the Camisards at the very
moment
when they had just caught sight of M. de Broglie and his troops in
the
distance. The Calvinists happening to have no leader, Cavalier
with
governing faculty which some men possess by nature, placed himself
at
their head and took those measures for the reception of the royal
forces
of which we have seen the result, so that after the victory to which
his
head and arm had contributed so much he was confirmed in the title
which
he had arrogated to himself, by acclamation.
Such was the famous
Jean Cavalier when the Royalists first learned of
his existence, through the
repulse of their bravest troops and the death
of their most intrepid
captain.
The news of this victory soon spread through the Cevennes, and
fresh
conflagrations lit up the mountains in sign of joy. The beacons
were
formed of the chateau de la Bastide, the residence of the Marquis
de
Chambonnas, the church of Samson, and the village of Grouppieres,
where
of eighty houses only seven were left standing.
Thereupon M. de
Julien wrote to the king, explaining the serious turn
things had taken, and
telling him that it was no longer a few fanatics
wandering through the
mountains and flying at the sight of a dragoon
whom they had to put down, but
organised companies well led and
officered, which if united would form an
army twelve to fifteen hundred
strong. The king replied by sending M. le
Comte de Montrevel to Nimes.
He was the son of the Marechal de Montrevel,
chevalier of the Order of
the Holy Spirit, major-general, lieutenant of the
king in Bresse and
Charolais, and captain of a hundred men-at-arms.
In
their struggle against shepherds, keepers, and peasants, M. de
Brogue, M. de
Julien, and M. de Baville were thus joined together with
the head of the
house of Beaune, which had already at this epoch
produced two cardinals,
three archbishops, two bishops, a viceroy of
Naples, several marshals of
France, and many governors of Savoy,
Dauphine, and Bresse.
He was
followed by twenty pieces of ordnance, five thousand bullets,
four thousand
muskets, and fifty thousand pounds of powder, all of which
was carried down
the river Rhone, while six hundred of the skilful
mountain marksmen called
’miquelets’ from Roussillon came down into
Languedoc.
M. de
Montrevel was the bearer of terrible orders. Louis XIV was
determined,
no matter what it cost, to root out heresy, and set
about this work as
if his eternal salvation depended on it. As soon
as M. de Baville had
read these orders, he published the following
proclamation:
"The
king having been informed that certain people without religion
bearing arms
have been guilty of violence, burning down churches and
killing priests, His
Majesty hereby commands all his subjects to hunt
these people down, and that
those who are taken with arms in their hands
or found amongst their bands, be
punished with death without any trial
whatever, that their houses be razed to
the ground and their goods
confiscated, and that all buildings in which
assemblies of these people
have been held, be demolished. The king further
forbids fathers,
mothers, brothers, sisters, and other relations of the
fanatics, or of
other rebels, to give them refuge, food, stores, ammunition,
or other
assistance of any kind, under any pretext whatever, either directly
or
indirectly, on pain of being reputed accessory to the rebellion, and
he
commands the Sieur de Baville and whatever officers he may choose
to
prosecute such and pronounce sentence of death on them. Furthermore,
His
Majesty commands that all the inhabitants of Languedoc who may be
absent
at the date of the issue of this proclamation, return home within
a
week, unless their absence be caused by legitimate business, in
which
case they shall declare the same to the commandant, the Sieur
de
Montrevel, or to the intendant, the Sieur de Baville, and also to
the
mayors and consuls of the places where they may be, receiving from
the
latter certificates that there is a sufficient reason for their
delay,
which certificates they shall forward to the above-mentioned
commandant
or intendant. And His Majesty furthermore commands the said
commandant
and intendant to admit no foreigner or inhabitant of any other
province
into Languedoc for commercial purposes or for any other
reason
whatsoever, unless provided with certificates from the commandants
or
intendants of the provinces whence they come, or from the judges of
the
royal courts in the places whence they come, or from the nearest
place
containing such courts. Foreigners must be provided with passports
from
the ambassadors or ministers of the king accredited to the countries
to
which they belong, or from the commandants or intendants of
the
provinces, or from the judges of the royal courts of the places in
which
they may be at the date of this proclamation. Furthermore, it is
His
Majesty’s will that those who are found in the, aforesaid province
of
Languedoc without such certificates be regarded as fanatics and
rebels,
and that they be prosecuted as such, and punished with death, and
that
they be brought for this purpose before the aforesaid Sieur de
Baville
or the officers whom he may choose.
"(Signed) "(Countersigned)
"LOUIS PHILIPPEAU
"Given at Versailles the 25th day, of the month of
February 1703."
M. de Montrevel obeyed this proclamation to the letter.
For instance,
one day—the 1st of April 1703—as he was seated at dinner
it was
reported to him that about one hundred and fifty Reformers
were
assembled in a mill at Carmes, outside Nimes, singing
psalms.
Although he was told at the same time that the gathering
was
composed entirely of old people and children, he was none the
less
furious, and rising from the table, gave orders that the call
to
horse should be sounded. Putting himself at the head of his
dragoons, he advanced on the mill, and before the Huguenots knew
that
they were about to be attacked they were surrounded on every
side. It
was no combat which ensued, for the Huguenots were
incapable of
resistance, it was simply a massacre; a certain number
of the dragoons
entered the mill sword in hand, stabbing all whom
they could reach,
whilst the rest of the force stationed outside
before the windows
received those who jumped out on the points of
their swords. But soon
this butchery tired the butchers, and to get
over the business more
quickly, the marshal, who was anxious to
return to his dinner, gave
orders that the mill should be set on
fire. This being done, the
dragoons, the marshal still at their
head, no longer exerted themselves
so violently, but were satisfied
with pushing back into the flames the
few unfortunates who,
scorched and burnt, rushed out, begging only for a
less cruel
death.
Only one victim escaped. A beautiful young girl
of sixteen was saved by
the marshal’s valet: both were taken and condemned to
death; the young
girl was hanged, and the valet was on the point of being
executed when
some Sisters of Mercy from the town threw themselves at the
marshal’s
feet end begged for his life: after long supplication, he granted
their
prayer, but he banished the valet not only from his service, but
from
Nimes.
The very same evening at supper word was brought to the
marshal that
another gathering had been discovered in a garden near the still
smoking
mill. The indefatigable marshal again rose from table, and taking
with
him his faithful dragoons, surrounded the garden, and caught and shot
on
the spot all those who were assembled in it. The next day it turned
out
that he had made a mistake: those whom he had shot were Catholics
who
had gathered together to rejoice over the execution of the
Calvinists.
It is true that they had assured the marshal that they were
Catholics,
but he had refused to listen to them. Let us, however, hasten to
assure
the reader that this mistake caused no further annoyance to the
marshal,
except that he received a paternal remonstrance from the Bishop
of
Nimes, begging him in future not to confound the sheep with the
wolves.
In requital of these bloody deeds, Cavalier took the chateau of
Serras,
occupied the town of Sauve, formed a company of horse, and advancing
to
Nimes, took forcible possession of sufficient ammunition for
his
purposes. Lastly, he did something which in the eyes of the
courtiers
seemed the most incredible thing of all, he actually wrote a long
letter
to Louis XIV himself. This letter was dated from the "Desert,
Cevennes,"
and signed "Cavalier, commander of the troops sent by God"; its
purpose
was to prove by numerous passages from Holy Writ that Cavalier and
his
comrades had been led to revolt solely from a sense of duty,
feeling
that liberty of conscience was their right; and it dilated on
the
subject of the persecutions under which Protestants had suffered,
and
asserted that it was the infamous measures put in force against
them
which had driven them to take up arms, which they were ready to lay
down
if His Majesty would grant them that liberty in matters of
religion
which they sought and if he would liberate all who were in prison
for
their faith. If this were accorded, he assured the king His
Majesty
would have no more faithful subjects than themselves, and
would
henceforth be ready to shed their last drop of blood in his service,
and
wound up by saying that if their just demands were refused they
would
obey God rather than the king, and would defend their religion to
their
last breath.
Roland, who, whether in mockery or pride, began now
to call himself
"Comte Roland," did not lag behind his young brother either
as warrior
or correspondent. He had entered the town of Ganges, where a
wonderful
reception awaited him; but not feeling sure that he would be
equally
well received at St. Germain and St. Andre, he had written the
following
letters:—
"Gentlemen and officers of the king’s forces, and
citizens of St.
Germain, make ready to receive seven hundred troops who have
vowed to
set Babylon on fire; the seminary and the houses of MM. de Fabregue,
de
Sarrasin, de Moles, de La Rouviere, de Musse, and de Solier, will
be
burnt to the ground. God, by His Holy Spirit, has inspired my
brother
Cavalier and me with the purpose of entering your town in a few
days;
however strongly you fortify yourselves, the children of God will
bear
away the victory. If ye doubt this, come in your numbers, ye soldiers
of
St. Etienne, Barre, and Florac, to the field of Domergue; we shall
be
there to meet you. Come, ye hypocrites, if your hearts fail not.
"COMTE
ROLAND."
The second letter was no less violent. It was as
follows:—
"We, Comte Roland, general of the Protestant troops of France
assembled
in the Cevennes in Languedoc, enjoin on the inhabitants of the town
of
St. Andre of Valborgne to give proper notice to all priests
and
missionaries within it, that we forbid them to say mass or to preach
in
the afore-mentioned town, and that if they will avoid being burnt
alive
with their adherents in their churches and houses, they are to
withdraw
to some other place within three days. "COMTE
ROLAND."
Unfortunately for the cause of the king, though the rebels met
with some
resistance in the villages of the plain, such as St. Germain and
St.
Andre, it was otherwise with those situated in the mountains; in
those,
when beaten, the Protestants found cover, when victorious rest; so
that
M. de Montrevel becoming aware that while these villages existed
heresy
would never be extirpated, issued the following
ordinance:—
"We, governor for His most Christian Majesty in the provinces
of
Languedoc and Vivarais, do hereby make known that it has pleased
the
king to command us to reduce all the places and parishes
hereinafter
named to such a condition that they can afford no assistance to
the
rebel troops; no inhabitants will therefore be allowed to remain
in
them. His Majesty, however, desiring to provide for the subsistence
of
the afore-mentioned inhabitants, orders them to conform to the
following
regulations. He enjoins on the afore-mentioned inhabitants of
the
hereinafter-mentioned parishes to repair instantly to the
places
hereinafter appointed, with their furniture, cattle, and in general
all
their movable effects, declaring that in case of disobedience
their
effects will be confiscated and taken away by the troops employed
to
demolish their houses. And it is hereby forbidden to any other
commune
to receive such rebels, under pain of having their houses also razed
to
the ground and their goods confiscated, and furthermore being
regarded
and treated as rebels to the commands of His Majesty."
To
this proclamation were appended the following instructions:—
"I. The
officers who may be appointed to perform the above task shall
first of all
make themselves acquainted with the position of the
parishes and villages
which are to be destroyed and depopulated, in
order to an effective
disposition of the troops, who are to guard the
militia engaged in the work
of destruction.
"II. The attention of the officers is called to the
following:—When two
or more villages or hamlets are so near together that
they may be
protected at the same time by the same troops, then in order to
save
time the work is to be carried on simultaneously in such villages
or
hamlets.
"III. When inhabitants are found still remaining in any of
the
proscribed places, they are to be brought together, and a list made
of
them, as well as an inventory taken of their stock and corn.
"IV.
Those inhabitants who are of the most consequence among them shall
be
selected to guide the others to the places assigned.
"V. With regard to
the live stock, the persons who may be found in
charge of it shall drive it
to the appointed place, save and except
mules and asses, which shall be
employed in the transport of corn to
whatever places it may be needed in.
Nevertheless, asses may be given to
the very old, and to women with child who
may be unable to walk.
"VI. A regular distribution of the militia is to
be made, so that each
house to be destroyed may have a sufficient number, for
the task; the
foundations of such houses may be undermined or any other
method
employed which may be most convenient; and if the house can be
destroyed
by no other means, it is to be set on fire.
"VII. No damage
is to be done to the houses of former Catholics until
further notice, and to
ensure the carrying out of this order a guard is
to be placed in them, and an
inventory of their contents taken and sent
to Marechal de
Montrevel.
"VIII. The order forbidding the inhabitants to return to their
houses is
to be read to the inhabitants of each village; but if any do return
they
shall not be harmed, but simply driven away with threats; for the
king
does not desire that blood be shed; and the said order shall be
affixed
to a wall or tree in each village.
"IX. Where no inhabitants
are found, the said order shall simply be
affixed as above-mentioned in each
place.
"(Signed) "MARECHAL DE MONTREVEL"
Under these instructions
the list of the villages to be destroyed was
given. It was as
follows:
18 in the parish of
Frugeres,
5 " " Fressinet−de−Lozere,
4 " " Grizac,
15
" " Castagnols,
11
" " Vialas,
6 " " Saint−Julien,
8 " " Saint−Maurice
de Vantalon,
14 " " Frezal de
Vantalon,
7 " " Saint−Hilaire de
Laret,
6 " " Saint−Andeol de Clergues,
28
" " Saint−Privat de Vallongues,
10 " " Saint−Andre de
Lancise,
19 " " Saint−Germain de Calberte,
26
" " Saint−Etienne de Valfrancesque,
9 " " parishes of
Prunet and Montvaillant,
16 " " parish of
Florac.
—−
202
A second list was promised, and was shortly
afterwards published: it
included the parishes of Frugeres, Pompidon,
Saint-Martin, Lansuscle,
Saint-Laurent, Treves, Vebron, Ronnes, Barre,
Montluzon, Bousquet, La
Barthes, Balme, Saint-Julien d’Aspaon Cassagnas,
Sainte-Croix de
Valfrancesque, Cabriac, Moissac, Saint-Roman, Saint Martin de
Robaux, La
Melouse, le Collet de Deze, Saint-Michel de Deze, and the villages
of
Salieges, Rampon, Ruas, Chavrieres, Tourgueselle, Ginestous,
Fressinet,
Fourques, Malbos, Jousanel, Campis, Campredon, Lous-Aubrez, La
Croix de
Fer, Le Cap de Coste, Marquayres, Le Cazairal, and Le
Poujal.
In all, 466 market towns, hamlets, and villages, with
19,500
inhabitants, were included.
All these preparations made
Marechal de Montrevel set out for Aix,
September 26th, 1703, in order that
the work might be carried out under
his personal supervision. He was
accompanied by MM. de Vergetot and de
Marsilly, colonels of infantry, two
battalions of the Royal-Comtois, two
of the Soissonnais infantry, the
Languedoc regiment of dragoons, and two
hundred dragoons from the Fimarcon
regiment. M. de Julien, on his side,
set out for the Pont-de-Montvert at the
same time with two battalions
from Hainault, accompanied by the Marquis of
Canillac, colonel of
infantry, who brought two battalions of his own
regiment, which was
stationed in Rouergue, with him, and Comte de Payre, who
brought
fifty-five companies of militia from Gevaudan, and followed by a
number
of mules loaded with crowbars, axes, and other iron
instruments
necessary for pulling down houses.
The approach of all
these troops following close on the terrible
proclamations we have given
above, produced exactly the contrary effect
to that intended. The inhabitants
of the proscribed districts were
convinced that the order to gather together
in certain places was given
that they might be conveniently massacred
together, so that all those
capable of bearing arms went deeper into the
mountains, and joined the
forces of Cavalier and Roland, thus reinforcing
them to the number of
fifteen hundred men. Also hardly had M. de Julien set
his hand to the
work than he received information from M. de Montrevel, who
had heard
the news through a letter from Flechier, that while the royal
troops
were busy in the mountains the Camisards had come down into the
plain,
swarmed over La Camargue, and had been seen in the neighbourhood
of
Saint-Gilles. At the same time word was sent him that two ships had
been
seen in the offing, from Cette, and that it was more than probable
that
they contained troops, that England and Holland were sending to help
the
Camisards.
M. de Montrevel; leaving the further conduct of the
expedition to MM.
de Julien and de Canillac, hastened to Cette with
eight hundred men
and ten guns. The ships were still in sight, and were
really, as
had been surmised, two vessels which had been detached from
the
combined fleets of England and Holland by Admiral Schowel, and
were
the bearers of money, arms, and ammunition to the Huguenots.
They
continued to cruise about and signal, but as the rebels were
forced
by the presence of M. de Montrevel to keep away from the coast,
and
could therefore make no answer, they put off at length into
the
open, and rejoined the fleet. As M. de Montrevel feared that
their
retreat might be a feint, he ordered all the fishermen’s huts
from
Aigues-Morte to Saint-Gilles to be destroyed, lest they
should
afford shelter to the Camisards. At the same time he carried
off
the inhabitants of the district of Guillan and shut them up in
the
chateau of Sommerez, after having demolished their villages.
Lastly, he ordered all those who lived in homesteads, farms, or
hamlets,
to quit them and go to some large town, taking with them
all the
provisions they were possessed of; and he forbade any
workman who went
outside the town to work to take more than one
day’s provisions with
him.
These measures had the desired effect, but they were terrible in
their
results; they deprived the Camisards of shelter indeed, but they
ruined
the province. M. de Baville, despite his well-known severity
tried
remonstrances, but they were taken in bad part by M. de Montrevel,
who
told the intendant to mind his own business, which was confined to
civil
matters, and to leave military matters in his, M. de Montrevel’s,
hands;
whereupon the commandant joined M. de Julien, who was carrying on
the
work of destruction with indefatigable vigour.
In spite of all the
enthusiasm with which M. de Julien went to work to
accomplish his mission,
and being a new convert, it was, of course, very
great. Material hindrances
hampered him at every step. Almost all the
doomed houses were built on
vaulted foundations, and were therefore
difficult to lay low; the distance of
one house from another, too, their
almost inaccessible position, either on
the peak of a high mountain or
in the bottom of a rocky valley, or buried in
the depths of the forest
which hid then like a veil, made the difficulty
still greater; whole
days were often lost by the workmen and militia in
searching for the
dwellings they came to destroy.
The immense size of
the parishes also caused delay: that of
Saint-Germain de Calberte, for
instance, was nine leagues in
circumference, and contained a hundred and
eleven hamlets, inhabited by
two hundred and seventy-five families, of which
only nine were Catholic;
that of Saint-Etienne de Valfrancesque was of still
greater extent, and
its population was a third larger, so that obstacles to
the work
multiplied in a remarkable manner. For the first few days the
soldiers
and workmen found food in and around the villages, but this was soon
at
an end, and as they could hardly expect the peasants to keep up
the
supply, and the provisions they had brought with them being
also
exhausted, they were soon reduced to biscuit and water; and they
were
not even able to make it into a warm mess by heating the water, as
they
had no vessels; moreover, when their hard day’s work was at an end,
they
had but a handful of straw on which to lie. These privations, added
to
their hard and laborious life, brought on an endemic fever,
which
incapacitated for work many soldiers and labourers, numbers of whom
had
to be dismissed. Very soon the unfortunate men, who were almost as
much
to be pitied as those whom they were persecuting, waited no longer to
be
sent away, but deserted in numbers.
M. de Julien soon saw that
all his efforts would end in failure if he
could not gain the king’s
consent to a slight change in the
original plan. He therefore wrote to
Versailles, and represented to
the king how long the work would take if
the means employed were
only iron tools and the human hand, instead of
fire, the only true
instrument employed by Heaven in its vengeance. He
quoted in
support of his petition the case of Sodom and Gomorrah—those
cities
accursed of the Lord. Louis XIV, impressed by the truth of
this
comparison, sent him back a messenger post-haste authorising him
to
employ the suggested means.
"At once," says Pere Louvreloeil,
"the storm burst, and soon of all the
happy homesteads nothing was left: the
hamlets, with their barns and
outhouses, the isolated farmhouses, the single
huts and cottages, every
species of building in short, disappeared before the
swift advancing
flames as wild flowers, weeds, and roots fall before the
ploughshare."
This destruction was accompanied by horrible cruelty. For
instance,
twenty-five inhabitants of a certain village took refuge in a
chateau;
the number consisted of children and very old people, and they were
all
that was left of the entire population. Palmerolle, in command of
the
miquelets, hearing of this, hastened thither, seized the first eight
he
could lay hold of, and shot them on the spot, "to teach them," as
he
says in his report, "not to choose a shelter which was not on the
list
of those permitted to them."
The Catholics also of St. Florent,
Senechas, Rousson, and other
parishes, becoming excited at seeing the flames
which enveloped the
houses of their old enemies, joined together, and arming
themselves with
everything that could be made to serve as an instrument of
death, set
out to hunt the conscripts down; they carried off the flocks of
Perolat,
Fontareche, and Pajolas, burned down a dozen houses at
the
Collet-de-Deze, and from there went to the village of Brenoux,
drunk
with the lust of destruction. There they massacred fifty-two
persons,
among them mothers with unborn children; and with these babes,
which
they tore from them, impaled on their pikes and halberts, they
continued
their march towards the villages of St. Denis and
Castagnols.
Very soon these volunteers organised themselves into
companies, and
became known under the name of Cadets de la Croix, from a
small white
cross which they wore on their coats; so the poor Huguenots had a
new
species of enemy to contend with, much more bloodthirsty than
the
dragoons and the miquelets; for while these latter simply obeyed
orders
from Versailles, Nimes, or Montpellier, the former gratified a
personal
hate—a hate which had come down to them from their fathers, and
which
they would pass on to their children.
On the other hand, the
young Huguenot leader, who every day gained more
influence over his soldiers,
tried to make the dragoons and Cadets de la
Croix suffer in return everything
they inflicted on the Huguenots,
except the murders. In the night from the
2nd to the 3rd October, about
ten o’clock, he came down into the plain and
attacked Sommieres from two
different points, setting fire to the houses. The
inhabitants seizing
their arms, made a sortie, but Cavalier charged them at
the head of the
Cavalry and forced them to retreat. Thereupon the governor,
whose
garrison was too small to leave the shelter of the walls, turned
his
guns on them and fired, less in the hope of inflicting injury on
them
than in that of being heard by the neighbouring garrisons.
The
Camisards recognising this danger, retired, but not before they had
burnt
down the hotels of the Cheval-Blanc, the Croix-d’Or, the
Grand-Louis, and the
Luxembourg, as well as a great number of other
houses, and the church and the
presbytery of Saint-Amand.
Thence the Camisards proceeded to Cayla and
Vauvert, into which they
entered, destroying the fortifications. There they
provided themselves
abundantly with provisions for man and beast. In Vauvert,
which was
almost entirely inhabited by his co-religionists, Cavalier
assembled the
inhabitants in the market-place, and made them join with him in
prayer
to God, that He would prevent the king from following evil counsel;
he
also exhorted his brethren to be ready to sacrifice their goods
and
their lives for the re-establishment of their religion, affirming
that
the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that the arm of the Lord, which
had
always come to their aid, was still stretched out over
them.
Cavalier undertook these movements in the hope of interrupting the
work
of destruction going on in Upper Cevennes; and partly obtained
the
desired result; for M. de Julien received orders to come down into
the
open country and disperse the Camisards.
The troops tried to
fulfil this task, but, thanks to the knowledge that
the rebels had of the
country, it was impossible to come up with them,
so that Fleshier, who was in
the thick of the executions,
conflagrations, and massacres, but who still
found time to write Latin
verse and gallant letters, said, in speaking of
them, "They were never
caught, and did all the damage they wished to do
without let or
hindrance. We laid their mountains waste, and they laid waste
our plain.
There are no more churches left in our dioceses, and not being
able
either to plough or sow our lands, we have no revenues. We dread
serious
revolt, and desire to avoid a religious civil war; so all our
efforts
are relaxing, we let our arms fall without knowing why, and we are
told,
’You must have patience; it is not possible to fight against
phantoms.’"
Nevertheless, from time to time, these phantoms became visible.
Towards
the end of October, Cavalier came down to Uzes, carried off
two
sentinels who were guarding the gates, and hearing the call to
arms
within, shouted that he would await the governor of the city, M.
de
Vergetot, near Lussan.
And indeed Cavalier, accompanied by his two
lieutenants, Ravanel and
Catinat, took his way towards this little town,
between Uzes and
Bargeac, which stands upon an eminence surrounded upon all
sides by
cliffs, which serve it as ramparts and render it very difficult
of
access. Having arrived within three gun-shots of Lussan, Cavalier
sent
Ravanel to demand provisions from the inhabitants; but they, proud
of
their natural ramparts, and believing their town impregnable, not
only
refused to comply with the requisition, but fired several shots on
the
envoy, one of which wounded in the arm a Camisard of the name of
La
Grandeur, who had accompanied Ravanel. Ravanel withdrew, supporting
his
wounded comrade, followed by shots and the hootings of the
inhabitants.
When they rejoined Cavalier and made their report, the young
commander
issued orders to his soldiers to make ready to take the town the
next
morning; for, as night was already falling, he did not venture to
start
in the dark. In the meantime the besieged sent post-haste to M.
de
Vergetot to warn him of their situation; and resolving to
defend
themselves as long as they could, while waiting for a response to
their
message they set about barricading their gates, turned their
scythes
into weapons, fastened large hooks on long poles, and collected all
the
instruments they could find that could be used in attack or defence.
As
to the Camisards, they encamped for the night near an old chateau
called
Fan, about a gun-shot from Lussan.
At break of day loud shouts
from the town told the Camisards that the
expected relief was in sight, and
looking out they saw in the distance a
troop of soldiers advancing towards
them; it was M. de Vergetat at the
head of his regiment, accompanied by forty
Irish officers.
The Protestants prepared themselves, as usual, by
reciting psalms and
prayers, notice without taking of the shouts and threats
of any of the
townspeople, and having finished their invocations, they
marched out to
meet the approaching column. The cavalry, commanded by
Catinat, made a
detour, taking a sheltered way to an unguarded bridge over a
small river
not far off, so as to outflank the royal forces, which they were
to
attack in the rear as soon as Cavalier and Ravanel should have engaged
them in front. |
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