13 Vendémiaire

Background. The Revolution's social reforms were widely accepted, but its strongly anti-Catholic stance bred anti-Republican sympathies among many Roman Catholics. This sentiment contributed to armed insurrection in the fiercely Catholic Vendée from March 1793, where the Armée catholique et royale under leaders such as François de Charette de la Contrie and Maurice d'Elbée troubled the Revolutionary government in Paris.

March on Paris and the Eve of Battle. Bolstered by Royalist forces, troops began marching on Paris in early October 1795. Rumours circulated that the entire Paris National Guard might defect. On 12 Vendémiaire (4 October 1795) the National Guard arrived in Le Peletier in an attempt to put down the unrest.

The Battle of 13 Vendémiaire. At 1 am on 13 Vendémiaire (5 October), Bonaparte overrode Barras, who was content to let him act as he wished. Murat's squadron retrieved the cannons before the Royalists arrived, and Bonaparte arranged them in commanding positions with effective fields of fire. The engagement in the streets of Paris ended in defeat for the Royalists.

Aftermath and Significance. The battle formed part of establishing the Directory and was a major factor in Bonaparte's rapid advancement. Defeated Royalists, portraying the Republican defense as a massacre, nicknamed him Général Vendémiaire, which he later called his first title of glory. On 19 October all officers, including dismissed ones, had to prove to the Committee of Public Safety where they were around 13 Vendémiaire. Carlyle later described Bonaparte's action as a "Whiff of Grapeshot" ending the French Revolution, though the phrase is probably Carlyle's own.