Viala, Agricole

The modern Bonpas stone bridge over the Durance River, 2008

Viala was born on September 22, 1780 in Avignon , and lived there when, in 1793, after the fall of the Girondins in Paris , a federal uprising broke out in Midi. They were joined by French and British royalists, and control was established over the cities of Marseille and Toulon . The Girondins were forced to leave Nimes , Arles , Aix-en-Provence and retreat to Avignon. Residents of Lambesca and Tarascon joined the federalists from Marseille, and together they went to the Durance river, so that after crossing the river they continued their campaign against Lyon , which also rebelled against the central government in Paris. The federalists hoped to destroy the Convention and put an end to the Great French Revolution .

Joseph Agricole Viala was the nephew of Agricole Moreau, Jacobin from Avignon, editor of the newspaper Courier Avignon ( French Courrier d'Avignon ) and head of the Vaucluse department . Agricole Viala led the National Guard of the Young Jacobins, “Hope of the Motherland” ( French: Espérance de la Patrie ), formed from urban youths ^[1] .

Hearing the news of the approach of enemy forces from Marseilles in early July 1793, the Republicans (mainly from Avignon) decided that the federalists should be stopped when crossing the Durance River. Numerically inferior to the enemy, the only solution was to destroy the Bonpas pontoon bridge, chopping off the ropes fastening the pontoons. But to implement this plan, it was necessary to go through open space, cross the road and act under the direct fire of the enemy. No one could decide on such a risky operation, but the 12-year-old Viala, grabbing an ax and reaching the bridge, began to cut the rope. He turned out to be a target for several musket rifles at once, and after a second he was mortally wounded, having failed to fulfill his plan. One of the eyewitnesses recalled ^[2] :

In vain they tried to hold him back. Despite the danger, no one could stop him from fulfilling the daring plan. He grabbed a sapper ax and shot at the enemy several times from his musket. Despite the musket bullets whistling around him, he reached the shore and hit the rope with all his might. Luck seemed to accompany him. He almost completed his dangerous task without being injured when at that moment a musket bullet entered his chest. He was still able to get up, but fell down again and shouted loudly [in Provencal dialect ] “M'an pas manqua! Aquo es egaou; more per la libertat "( Rus. They prevented me! Anyway - I am dying for freedom ). After this exalted farewell, he died. No complaints or regrets.

Although Viala was unable to stop the federalists, however, this gave the Republicans the opportunity to carry out an organized retreat. According to legend, the soldiers who heard the last words of the boy tried to take the body, but were forced to retreat. The corpse was scolded and mutilated by the royalists crossing the river. Upon learning of the death of her son, Vial's mother said: “ He died for the fatherland! ".

18th century

Viala and Joseph Bara were the most famous child heroes of the French Revolution, although Viala accomplished his feat later and was less known. In fact, the Jacobin press did not write about him until February 18, 1794. On that day, Robespierre addressed the Convention and called Agricole one of the greatest heroes of the Revolution: “ by what oddity of fate or ignorance did another young hero remain forgotten? ". At the request of Bertrand Barrier, the Assembly voted to rebury the remains of Vial in the Pantheon . The ceremony was scheduled for 18, but was later rescheduled for July 28. By that time Robespierre himself fell into disgrace , and on his appointed day only his own execution took place. However, during the prairie, Claude-Francois de Payan published The Brief History of Agricole Vial ( French Précis historique sur Agricol Viala ). On July 18, a national festivity was held in Avignon "in honor of Bar and Vial" ^[1] . The engraving of the portrait of Vial was also distributed to all the elementary schools of the country, and the original is now in Versailles .

The engraver Pierre-Michel Alix (1762-1817) performed a bust of Vial. Louis Emmanuelle Jaden (1768-1853) wrote the one-act play Agricol Viala, ou Le jeune héros de la Durance ( Russian: Agricole Viala or the young hero of Durance ), staged in Paris on July 1, 1794. In the same year, the Campaign Song was written, the fourth verse of which was to be performed by children. He is dedicated to Bara and Vial. In 1795, a French naval ship called the "Viala" ( FR. Viala ) was launched and had 78 guns in service.

XIX and XX centuries

In 1822, the sculptor Antoine Allier created a life-size bronze monument of Vial, depicting him naked. Agricole in his work holds an ax with his right hand, and with his left hand holds on to a pole with a ring to which a rope is attached. Initially, the work was exhibited in the Louvre , but in June 1993 it was transferred to the suburb of Boulogne-sur-Mer and installed on Gustave Cherpentier Square. Paul Prudon created a symbolic illustration called The Death of Viala . According to some, Agricole Viala and Joseph Bara served as a source of inspiration for Victor Hugo to create the image of Gavrosh in his novel Les Miserables ^[3] .

During the Third French Republic, historiography and scientific literature again aroused public interest in the figures of Bar and Vial ^[1] . Viala is one of 660 individuals whose names are engraved on the Arc de Triomphe (Viala's name is in the 18th column). In the 15th arrondissement of Paris there is a street bearing his name ^[4] .

During the historiographic struggle between supporters of the revolution and its opponents, some historians tried to prove that Viala provoked the federalists to shoot with a show of obscene gestures ^[1] .

• Vovelle M. Viala, Agricol Joseph / Soboul A (ed.). - Paris: Quadrige, 2005 .-- S. 1087.
• Mullié C. "Joseph Agricol Viala", Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850. - 1852.
• Laval V. Joseph-Agricol Viala: sa naissance, sa mort, sa glorification, d'après des documents contemporains. - Seguin, 1903. - S. 61.