Jean Chouan

There were two the Vendée S, the Large one which made the war of the forests, the Small one which made the war of the bushes; there is the nuance which separates Cart from Jean Chouan. The Small Vendée was naive, the Large one was corrupted; the Small one was better. Cart was made marquis, general lieutenant of the armies of the King and Grand- Croix of Saint-Louis; Jean Chouan remained Jean Chouan. Cart confines with the gangster, Jean Chouan with the paladin ........ Rochejacquelein is only Achille, Jean Chouan is Protée.

Victor Hugo , Quatrevingt-Treize

the proscription of the princes, the destroyed religion were for Chouans only pretexts of plundering, and the events of this internal conflict contracted something of the savage roughness whom manners in these regions have. When truths defenders of monarchy recruited soldiers among these ignorant and quarrelsome populations, they tested, but in vain, to give, under the white flag, some size with these companies which had returned the odious chouannery and Chouans remained like a memorable example of the danger to stir up the little civilized masses of a country (...) the religion or rather the fetishism of these ignorant creatures disarmed the murder of its remorses.

Honore de Balzac , Chouans (1829)

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See also: Cottereau
Jean Chouan is the Surnom of Jean Cottereau , born the October 30th 1757 with Saint-Berthevin (Mayenne), and dead the July 18th 1794 with Olivet (Mayenne), (Mayenne), is, with his/her brothers - Pierre, François and Rene - one of the chiefs of the insurrection royalist counter-revolution naire and which developed in Mayenne in 1793.

His/her comrades had called it the Gars mentoux (the lying boy ).

Warning

Most of the biographies of Jean Chouan rests on the work of Jacques Duchemin of Cépeaux, work written in 1825, at the request of Charles X, work partisane and comprising many sometimes not-founded assertions. The history of Jean Chouan thus comprises a great part of legend, fed without stopping by a catholic minority and royalist-legitimist. Its role is perfectly contestable and the documents of files, same resulting aristocrats remaining in the area, prove that it was a perfect unknown before the Restoration. Only one certainty: the republicans, in their concern of subduing the insurrection, contributed to the birth of this legend; the name of Jean Chouan is reproduced on many documents compiled by the republican authorities unable to put a name on the true leaders of this movement.

The not very glorious past of this “hero” embarrasses good number of historians who, very often by facility, soak their feather in the uninterrupted flood of literature offered since nearly two centuries. without generous ideal, the chouannery could not raise popular enthusiasm.

Origin

Hero of the Chouannerie, Jean Cottereau is born in a hut from logger-sabot-maker from the Forêt from Concise in Mayenne. Jean Cottereau, wire of Pierre Cottereau says Chouan , and from Jeanne Moyné , his wife, October 30th 1757 was born the , in the parish of Saint-Berthevin, close to Laval.

Before the French revolution

The death sentence

In 1780, 23 years old, Jean Chouan is continued to have named initially pink one Marchais that he suspected of having sold it with the Gabelous, then to have, with his/her friend Jean Growing, to have killed with blows of Frette an agent of the Gabelle, Olivier Jagu, in an inn of Saint-Germain-The-Fouilloux.

Condemned to death in absentia, its execution in effigy takes place at the same time as that of Jean Croissant. It disappears at that time, perhaps committed with the Régiment of Turenne under a false name. It had not remained in the country. Other sources indicate that his/her mother went to ask its thanks to the king, that which one can doubt. This fact is contradicted by the recovery, in 1785, of the procedure initiated against him in 1780. There is any appearance, if one brings closer the memories to the family collected by Jacques Duchemin of Cépeaux of this prolonged absence, that the smuggler had enlisted in some remote garrison.

The prison

Jean Chouan is stopped the May 18th 1785 with the Mesliers , with the Bourgneuf-the-Forest. Questioned, he denies any participation in the murder of the Gabelou, but made one year of prison. He appeared in front of the criminal judge, denied as had denied Jean Growing, but happier than him, was not charged by the witnesses of which some died, other undecided, others excused . The Enjubault-Laroche prosecutor could thus only require the September 9th 1785 fuller informed which made maintain the defendant one year in prison.

Released the September 9th 1786, it is transferred at once to the Deposit from Begging from Rennes, by lettre de cachet on August 2nd 1786 and it remains 3 years there. At his exit, Jean Chouan engages as servant at Marie Bourdais, widow of Alexis Olivier, a cousin, resident with Besnerie , parish of Olivet, and whose son, the abbot Alexis Olivier, saves it itself of all new suspicion.

The French revolution

Dissatisfaction

The French revolution bursts, the priests landowners are torn off with their parishes and replaced by priests without goods having lent oath to the civil Constitution of the clergy, at the beginning of the year 1791. But, especially, the possessions of the clergy, goods of first origin are put on sale to try to fill the cases of the royal Treasury completely empty. The king is imprisoned. Dissatisfactions appear. Jean Chouan, in the religious medium where he lived could not remain foreign there.

The beginning of the disorders

The disorders began well before the drawing lot of August 1792. Thus, the sisters of Jean Chouan were caught of it, with other women, with the Pottier priest, sworn in priest of Saint-Ouën-of-Roofs, therefore declared Intrus. They threatened to make it roast or to drown it in the pond. One of the two sisters is imprisoned with others for one month.

In September 1791, the mayor of Bourgon, purchaser of national goods, saw the heap of faggots supported at its house set fire to by unknown . The day of the Saint-Pierre 1792, as a full parochial assembly, of the spirits overheated by drink were caught some again to the mayor of Bourgon of which they ransacked the house. Jean Chouan and the Frères Pinçon - all known under the name of band of the birds - settled in the cabaret of François Fortin and supervised the operations, carried out by François Blanchet and Gilles Bertier. According to testimonys of the time the troop of Jean Chouan counted to this day only 15 men. When it joined the Prince de Talmont in Laval, it acknowledged that its reinforcement counted only 17 men, him to him and his François brother included/understood. The Colonel de Pontbriand, in its Mémoires , recognizes any to him only from 20 to 40, which is undoubtedly already an exaggeration.

Rouairie

The marquis of Rouairie organized in Brittany the conspiracy which directly gave rise to Chouannerie. When the marquis came in his cousin from Farcy, with Launay-Villiers, where it spent three months (May, June, July 1792), it found in the cantons bordering on the Brittany the spirits prepared for the action. In April 1792, Jean Chouan was seen with Bourgon in a demonstration in favor of the refractory priests.

Nothing proves however that Jean Chouan met the marquis, and it is practically impossible that it received any command, not knowing neither to read nor to write. All this concerns the literary fiction.

The Breton Conspiracy

The selected moment was that of the drawing lot, which was to take place the August 15th 1792. On the whole of the edge of the border between Brittany, and Mayenne, it was the unanimous concert of the popular protests according to the same watchword.

The August 15th 1792, to Saint-Ouën-of-Roofs, not far from Laval, Jean Chouan assembles the peasants at the time of an attempt of enrôlement at volunteers, hustles the gendarmes and constitutes a band. The movement did not move then until the end of September.

The September 26th, the patriots of Andouille and Baconnière having gone to plunder the castle of Villiers, it was the signal. All the chiefs of parishes of the canton attacked the Blue ones returned the evening with the Bourgneuf. Last nine national guards perished, the others fled towards Laval. The 27, the armed force of Laval came to repress the insurrection, it was accepted with the pond of the Chain by a shooting to which Jean Chouan did not take any share, being already taken refuge in Brittany, with the Frères Pinçon, of Bourgon.

Since this time, the insurrectionists are of Chouans; their engagements with the escorts, with the republican stations, the national Andouille guards, of Baconnière, with the Blacksmith S of Port-Brillet, are renewed by intervals. Meanwhile, Jean Chouan will hide in Brittany, close to Saint-Me Herve, to establish the correspondence with the emigrants and, brings together itself with the other recognized chiefs. One can wonder which role it could play in the " correspondance" , not knowing neither to read nor to write.

Chouannerie

An active role

He plays an active role in the counter-revolution, supports the emigration. Its head being put at price, it tries in vain, in March 1793, to gain the England. It would seem that he went to Granville to leave France. But a rigorous monitoring had been installation and it found neither boat nor fisherman. As from April, Jean Chouan and his band are the daily object of the concerns of the Directory. The guard national of Brûlatte during two days with research is named Cottereau says Chouan , and works to dissipate the assemblies which were formed in Saint-Ouen.

He is recognized by the administration with his brother like the chief of the coalition. The May 13rd 1793, the Chouans brothers seize a score of rifles stored in the town hall of the Genest.

Prevented assemblies of Bourgneuf, the Gravel, of Saint-Ouen, and especially of Bourgon, the Directory issues at once the arrest of the Cottereaux, told Chouans , of their mother, the widow Alexis Olivier, their aunt, of named Salmon, suspected of giving them refuge. It makes also stop people of the house of Fresnay, suspected of also providing them things which are necessary for them. the directory of the department estimates that the main leader of these gatherings names Pontavice and is town of Ferns and decides to prevent the district of Ferns and to make stop or to make supervise named Pontavice exactly. . The May 26th 1793, a forwarding against Chouans lack close to the Gravel. Jean Chouan and his companions take refuge in the Bois of Effretais.

The departmental administration, completely panicked, makes stop Cottereau family members and several their friends. Rene Cottereau is actually stopped with Jeanne Bridier, his wife but it is slackened because it is guilty to only be brother of Cottereau. Perrine, his/her sister, Guy Olivier and Pierre Gaufre are maintained in prison, June 1st. Salmon, copiously plundered by the chouans, also is released and placed under control of Guerchais, ordering the national guard of the Gravel. The June 18th 1793, after having disarmed the patriots of Bourgneuf, Pinçon and Cottereau gained the moors of Saudre and of Brossinière (or Brécinière) and there intercepted eight republican soldiers who returned Nantes on Ernée. They killed one out of them, wounded some another and made two prisoners.

Transfered of Galerne

In October 1793, it joined the army of the Vendéens in Laval. Its intervention contributes effectively to the victory of this army to the Bataille of Entrammes. (Reference?)

It takes part in the Virée of Galerne until the bloody defeat of Mans, the December 13rd 1793.

The fold with Misedon

It is folded up then in its Bois of Misedon, where it continues the fight on a ground which is more favorable to him than that of an arranged battle. Jean Chouan put especially much zeal to save the priests, and it protected the escape from a great number; it led several until Granville of them to facilitate the means to them of escaping. (Reference?)

It tries to save the prince de Talmont, on the way of Vitré in Laval, a knack which falls through But the supply is difficult in a country furrowed by the republican troops.

Royalist insurrection

His/her two sisters, Perrine and Renee Cottereau are stopped, led to Laval where they are considered and guillotinées the April 20th 1794. The brother of Jean Cottereau is wounded seriously with his rifle. The April 5th 1794, it seizes the borough of Baconnière, disarms the national guard, penetrates in the church and makes sound the Angelus.

The royalist insurrection of Low Maine started about the month of May 1794, and formed six divisions, which took the name of their chiefs; but the troop, kept the generic name of Chouans .

Circumstances of its death

Its death was told various manners, which proves that some are inaccurate, if not all

Alphonse de Beauchamp reproduced the account of Renouard, by decorating it of some new circumstances.

A few thirty years after the facts, in its Letters on the origin of Chouannerie , Duchemin-Descépeaux, which lived in the country and which had been able to collect, of the old mouth even Chouans, much of interesting details, gave death of Jean Chouan an entirely different account

In July 1794, it is recognized in a smallholding known as Babinière , pertaining to the Olivier family and where his/her Rene brother resided, married in 1792; continued, it attracts on him the fire of the republicans of the forging mill of the Port-Brillet, to allow his sister-in-law, enclosure, to escape. Jean Cottereau remains with the rear-guard and receives a ball in the abdomen. He succeeds in hiding and is transported in the thickets where he dies the July 28th 1794. Its tomb was not found. One can be astonished however not to find trace of the child whose his/her sister-in-law was pregnant. The account of Duchemin Descépeaux suffers as of its first line, of a total lack of direction criticizes and analysis: Rene Cottereau had been married for two years with Jeanne Bridier and they lived at the smallholding of Small Babinière, which is not located in edge of the wood of the wood of Misedon. The track race would thus have been rather long and this error gives to the account a rather surrealist turn.

Almost all the historians, almost all the biographers accepted the version of Duchemin-Descépeaux besides, without always quoting the source from which they borrowed it: Crétineau Jolly, Theodore Low wall, the doctor Lepelletier of the Sarthe, Albert Lemarchand, Eugene Veuillot, the Abbot Paulouin, the Supplement of the Biography Michaud .

The family of Jean Chouan knows such a tragic fate: François dies after being himself wounded with his rifle, unless it was not killed by the blacksmiths of Port-Brillet. Pierre is stopped, judged and guillotine, like his two sisters. Only Rene Cottereau survived, which died in 1846.

Novels and alleged posterity

Arthur de Gobineau, in the rimée Chronicle of Jean Chouan and his companions restored a poem on the death of Jean Chouan.

Victor Hugo published in the Legend of the centuries , a piece of poetry on the heroic death of Jean Chouan, struck victim of its devotion, while protecting, at the price of its life, that of his/her sister-in-law continued by the Blue ones and who, large and exhausted, was going to fall between their hands.

A young schoolboy, claiming himself “ the only direct descendant of Jean Chouan ”, warned himself to address to Victor Hugo a political adhesion and letter of thanks; on his side, Victor Hugo sent one of congratulation of them to him on his conversion with the light. Both, naturally, were delivered to publicity; they had been written only for this purpose.

The same type of attempt at trickery will take place on the character of Rene Chouan, brother of Jean Chouan at the end of the 19th century. On this subject, its descendants, the Lelièvre ladies and Courcelle, little girls of Rene Chouan, had made announce in the Independent one of the West , in October 1879, that it was alone that were to address the people eager to obtain information on their family.

An etching of Tancrède Abraham represents the Tree close which was killed Jean Cottereau (known as Chouan)

See too

Jean Chouan forever have behind him only one very small number of devoted men, even at the days of its greater authority.

List of the companions of Jean Chouan

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