Charette de la Contry, Francois Atanaz

He studied at the naval school, rose to the rank of ship lieutenant. In 1790 he married Marie-Angelica Josnet de la Dussetier, but his family life quickly got bored with him and he spent time hunting and balls.

He emigrated to Koblenz (Germany), but returned to protect the royal family during the uprising on August 10, 1792 . He escaped execution, but was arrested in Angers on the way back, and was saved only thanks to the intervention of Dumourier .

In 1793, he agreed to lead the peasants who raised a counter-revolutionary uprising. After the capture of Saumur, he joined the Catholic Royal Army .

Together with the Marquis de Lescourt (another leader of the Vendee Uprising) he participated in the capture of Nantes , throwing his troops on the attack, without waiting for reinforcements. Charette was the last to leave Nantes. In a mockery of the retreat of the army of rebels, he depicted a dance step.

September 19, 1793 took part in the Battle of Tiffog ( Fr. ), which ended in victory. However, together with Lescure, Charette did not obey the order and did not pursue Kleber .

September 30, 1793 on the island of Nuarmoutier, the advancement of his troops was delayed by government cannons, but after 12 days he sent his troops to attack through the famous Path from the blocks ( fr. ). A garrison of 800 people quickly surrendered and, despite the orders of Charett, his subordinates shot 200 prisoners. Seeing this as an insult and outright disobedience on the part of the soldiers, Charette is separated from most of the Vendee army. He continues to lead a guerrilla war.

In May 1794, he reorganized his army and in the same year took control of the Republican camp in Chalan ( fr. ). In less than a month, General Nicolas Akzo ( Fr. ) with six thousand people forced him to retreat. Later, Charette surrounds and captivates Akzo, and later forces him to commit suicide.

Due to a lack of ammunition, Charette, together with other Vendee leaders, signs the Jonay Treaty ( French ), which ensures freedom of religion and the abolition of conscription. Despite this, less than five months later, Charette again forms troops and begins the fight, receiving support from the British.

In July, the future king Louis XVIII writes a letter to him, favoring the rank of general of the Royal Catholic Army. The military operations of Charetta thus go far beyond the borders of the Vendee uprising. He receives congratulations from Dumurier and Alexander Suvorov .

In October 1795, Charrett tried to arrange the arrival of the Count of Artois, the future King Charles X , in the Vendee camp, but this did not work out and Charette gradually began to leave his troops.

Charette still hopes to unite with Stoffle’s troops, but he doesn’t want to obey him, hesitates, and then acts separately. March 23, 1796 Republicans led by General Travo surround and capture Charetta. March 29, he was shot in Nantes. He himself ordered the soldiers to shoot with the words “Until I close my eyes, shoot in the heart,” and at that moment when the soldiers opened fire, he rushed forward in his last effort.

• Charett's motto was: “Often fought, rarely defeated, never fought” (French “Combattu souvent, battu parfois, abattu jamais”).
• Napoleon called him "the only great man" of the Vendee uprising, "the real hero of this episode."

• Charette de la Contry, Francois Atanas // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.