battlefield he was made ‘general of division’ by the “Representants du peuple.”  It was after Chollet that the Vendeans made the memorable crossing of the Loire at St. Florent.

At Laval and Chateau-Gonthier (Oct. 26) a terrible defeat was inflicted on the Republicans, owing to the incapacity of their commander-in-chief, Lechelle.  The whole corps commanded by General Beaupuy was crushed by a terrible fire, He himself, after withstanding for two or three hours with 2000 or 3000 men all the attacks of the royalists, was disabled by a shot, and fell, crying out, “’Laissez-moi la, et portez a mes grenadiers ma chemise sanglante’.”  His soldiers thought he was dead, and then the error was spread, which was repeated by Wordsworth, Thiers, and Challamel.  Wordsworth’s mistake is so far interesting, as it seems to prove that very little or no correspondence passed between the two friends after they had parted.  Beaupuy, moreover, had too much work upon his hands to give much of his time to letter-writing.

Though severely wounded, Beaupuy lived on, and less than six weeks after the battle of Chateau-Gonthier, he was seen on the ramparts of Angers, where he required himself to be carried to animate his soldiers and head the defenders of the place, from which the Vendeans were driven after a severe contest (Dec. 5 and 6).

On the 22nd of December 1793 he shared in the victory of Savenay with his celebrated friends, Marceau, Kleber, and Westermann.  After this battle, which put an end to the great Vendean war, he wrote the following letter to his friend Merlin de Thionville, the celebrated “representant du peuple.”

    “SAVENAY, le 4 Nivose au 2’e (25 Dec. 73).

“Enfin, enfin, mon cher Merlin, elle n’est plus cette armee royale ou catholique, comme tu voudras!  J’en ai vu, avec tes braves collegues Prieur et Eurreau, les debris, consistant en 150 cavaliers battant l’eau dans le marais de Montaire; et comme tu connais ma veracite tu peux dire avec assurance que les deux combats de Savenay ont mis fin a la guerre de la nouvelle Vendee et aux chimeriques esperances des royalists.

L’histoire ne vous presente point de combat dont le suites aient ete plus decisives.  Ah! mon brave, comme tu aurais joui! quelle attaque! mais quelle deroute aussi!  Il fallait les voir ces soldats de Jesus et de Louis XVII, se jetant dans les marais ou obliges de se rendre par 5 ou 600 a la fois; et Langreniere pris et les autres generaux disperses et aux abois!

Cette armee, dont tu avais vu les restes de la terrasse de St. Florent, etait redevenue formidable par son recrutement dans les departements envahis.  Je les ai bien vus, bien examines, j’ai reconnu meme de mes figures de Chollet et de Laval, et a leur contenance et a leur mine, je l’assure qu’il ne leur manquait du soldat que l’habit.  Des troupes qui ont battu de tels Francais peuvent