Puaud, Jack/Méry, Christian Les Armes de la Grande Guerre de Vendée

A la Mémoire de J. R. Clergeau

The Arms of the Catholic and Royal Armythe Great Army of the Vendée. Under certain circumstances, it seems easier for us to fulfill our duty of remembrance than to admit that this civil war also entailed war crimes committed against a civilian population that was as vulnerable as it was defenseless! These peasants of the Westsome former members of the royal militia, others hesitant to venture beyond the shadow of their church steeples, and none of whom had originally intended to take part in these battlesfound themselves taking up the arms of insurrection. Initially, they did so by repurposing their agricultural implements, orin the case of the nobilityby utilizing whatever they already possessed: civilian arms such as traveling pistols, and, most commonly, hunting guns. Very quicklywith every victory, and through the capture of Republican troopsthe Catholic and Royal Army was able to match, or even surpass, the enemy in terms of artillery power. Various anecdotes drawn from contemporary accounts illustrate the use of these weapons in combat. A grand army at its inception, yet reduced to bands of Chouan guerrillas by its endweapons from this era are now extremely rare. Very few museums in the Vendée region can claim to have any on display at allat least, none of indisputable provenance.