Joseph Ba (r) ra ( fr. Joseph Bara, Barra ; July 30, 1779 , Fontainebleau - December 7, 1793 , Jalle , now the Department of Maine and Loire ) - the hero of the French Revolution . His image was actively used by patriotic propaganda of both the revolutionary era and later times.
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Death in battle
Most of the information about Bara was reported in 1793 in a report to the Convention made by Adjutant General Demar (Desmares). According to Demar’s report, in the fall of 1792, 13-year-old Joseph voluntarily joined the Demar-led division against the Vendee rebels and was assigned to the 8th Hussar regiment as a drummer . Sharing all the hardships of military service, the boy participated in the battles along with the rest of the soldiers. In one skirmish, he was mortally wounded in the forehead with a saber strike and died, clutching a three-color cockade to his chest. The courage and self-denial of the teenager seemed to the general so amazing that he decided to bring the feat of Bar to the attention of the revolutionary authorities [1] . The historian Jean-Clément Martin claims that Demar, describing the heroic death of a young man, tried to obscure his military failures, which did not save him from the scaffold [2] .
Propaganda Symbol
Joseph Bara was immediately raised to the shield by revolutionary propaganda. 8 Nivosa 2 years ( December 28, 1793 ) Robespierre delivered a speech before the Convention , in which, praising the valor of a young soldier (“Only France has thirteen-year-old heroes”) he called to honor the deceased burial in the Pantheon . Bertrand Barer , in turn, offered to print engravings depicting the feat of Bara and send it to all elementary schools in France. Both proposals were adopted by the Convention; the famous artist Jacques-Louis David was commissioned to paint a picture that would serve as the basis for engravings [1] . Bar’s mother was taken into public care.
In a matter of weeks, the young soldier became a symbol of heroism and selfless love for the republic, causing quite sincere enthusiasm among young people. In honor of Bar (as well as other young heroes, such as the 12-year-old soldier Agricole Vial ), holidays were organized, poems and operas were written (one of them belongs to Andre Gretri ), prints with his image were massively printed. His name began to be surrounded by historical myths : the Vendians allegedly surrounded Joseph, made them shout “Long live the king !”, And when he exclaimed “Long live the republic !”, They shot him (or cut him down with sabers). The transfer of the body of Bar to the Pantheon did not take place, probably due to the fall of Robespierre .
After the Revolution
The cult of Bara survived the revolutionary era, experiencing a new heyday during the Third Republic ; according to some assumptions, Bara influenced the image of Gavrosh [3] . The legend of Bar’s last words turned out to be the most tenacious and met in French school textbooks until the middle of the 20th century [4] . In the 6th arrondissement of Paris there is a street bearing his name; in the town of Palezo , where Bara lived before leaving for the army, a monument was erected to him.
See also
- Pioneer hero
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Military Biographical Dictionary of Charles Muillier, 1852 (French)
- ↑ Jean-Clément Martin, Violence et Révolution. Essai sur la naissance d'un mythe national, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, collection L'univers historique, 2006, p. 181
- ↑ Belousov R. S. What books were silent about. M., Sov. Russia, 1971.
- ↑ See, e.g.: P. Bernard et F. Redon, Notre premier livre d'histoire, cours élémentaire 1re année, Paris, Fernand Nathan, 1950.