1 - Sacred Heart of Jesus emblem of the anti-revolutionary army of Vendée.
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2 - Vendée is one of the region in the west of France.
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3 - With the artful invention of the "Department" Vandee is called the western part of the old district of Poitou in the west France. The "Military Vendée" instead will include: Loira Atlantica, Maine-et-Loira, Vandea, Deux-Sèvres.
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4 - Vendean people consist of good farmers that love their families and their land.
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5 - Hard work and simple life.(the picture:François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857).
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6 - An unit and lively people who recognize in Christianity and Church their own lives and social identity (the picture: François Millet, Potato Planters 1861).
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7 - In defiance of Christianity and Church the events of Paris develop, since their beginning the blood flows.
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8 - The new Assembly fix a new social order born of the Illuministic theories.
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9 - The "new" rights, built as abstractions, will soon show their poisoned fruits.
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10 - The hate for the Catholic faith soon becomes the persecution of Catholic Church.
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11 - They plant the "trees of liberty" and knock down the Christian Crosses.
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12 - The new worship set by law want to uproot the Catholic faith.
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13 - The real Catholic Mass, according to S.Pio V's rite, is secretly said by «refractaires» priests. The greater part of the people attend to it and and face suffering and martyrdom to be faithful.
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14 - The Holy Mass in the woods on the stained glass windows in the curch of Rocheservière.
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15 - 1793: Joseph Texier's martyrdom «vive Jesus, vive sa croix» (long live to Jesus, long live to his Cross).
Stained glass windows in the curch of Courlay.
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16 - The execution of Louis XVI, on 21st January 1793, makes a great impression.
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17 - Compulsory military service to fight against the opposers of Revolution.
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18 - That's the limit! March 1793 the popular revolt against Revolution breaks out in Vendée.
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19 - Vendean people rebel agains the Jacobin worship of "the tree of freedom".
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20 - On 13 march 1793, in Le Pin en Mauges,the popular revolt against the Revolution breaks out. Jacques Cathelineau leads the Vendeans.
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21 - Vendeè rises to defend the Catholic faith. "Pour la foi la Vendée se lève".Stained glass windows in the curch of Rocheservière.
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22 - Jacques Cathelineau, 34 years old, the saint of Anjou (1759-1793),is a coachman elected first Generalissimo of Vendean Army.
He is kneading bread for his large family when Vendeans come looking for him.
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23 - The revolt spreads in Vandeè. At the beginning of May the rebels conquest Bressuire e Thouars but no harbours.
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24 - La Rochejaquelein, another vendean great chief, scales the boundary walls in Thouars with his men. He climbs the shoulders of his soldiers to be the first to enter the republican fortress. (5 May 1793).
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25 - The catholic and royalist army takes Saumur (9 June) and Angers (18 June).
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26 - To get money "The catholic and royalist army" issues bonds redeemable at the end of tha war.
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27 - Vendeans attack Nantes (29 June) but with no success.
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28 - Jacques Cathelineau, the saint of Anjou, first generalissimo the of Vendean army, wounded mortally, dies on 4 July.
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29 - The defeat of Nantes is the first one suffered by the anti-jacobin heroes.
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30 - The Vendean Army has no equipment and has bad arms...
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31 - ...but they have to fight against the biggest and drilled armies in Europe.
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32 - Defeated near Nantes, Vandeè looses the hope of survival; the rest is just a problem of time...
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33 - After Cathelineau dies, Vendeans have new chiefs. One of this is Maurice Gigost d'Elbée, 41 years old, a member of local aristocracy and ex lieutenant of light horse. Six months later he will be shot together with other thousands of prisoners.
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34 - From Paris 16.000 soldiers, the garrison of Magonza, arrive in Vendée commanded by Kléber (in the picture) and Marceau to extirpate every resistance to Revolution.
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35 - Between the end of September and the beginning of October Vendeans can inflict some defeats to the cruel garrison of Magonza.
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36 - The mills, stood on the the high grounds, are excellent signals for the Vendean fighters and are burnt by republican army. The positions of the wind-vanes give the necessary indications:
1. nothing to signal;
2. caution musters of troops;
3. enemies in the neighbourhood;4. no more danger.
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37 - One of the many windmill in the west France.
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38 - Vendeans suffer a decisive defeat in Cholet (17 October 1793).
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39 - Charles de Bonchamps, another great Vendean cheaf, is mortally wounded. He is only 33 years old.
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40 - Dying Bonchamps begges the grace for 5000 «bleu» (the cruel Jacobin soldiers) taken prisoners (Saint-Florent-le Vieil, October 18).
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41 - A monument recalls Bonchamps' forgiveness to the «bleu» at the point of death "Grace aux prisonniers!" ("Grace to prisoners!").
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42 - Henry du Vergier count of La Rochejaquelein (1772-1794) ex sub-lieutenant in the real Poland cavalry. «Monsieur Henry» is appointed generalissimo when he is only 21 years old.
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43 - La Rochejaquelein: stained glass windows in the curch of Rocheservière.
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44 - October-November 1793. The expedition on the other side of Loira (la «Virée de Galerne» as the name of the wind of west-north-west).
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45 - With the expedition on the other side of Loira Vendeans want to reach the Normandy Sea where the English Fleet would be but English will never arrive.
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46 - Since summer 1793 the revolt lives the hardest time. A lot of departments rebel against the despotic republican governament. If Vendeans had marched on Paris history would be different.
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47 - The Jacobin revenge falls everywhere the absolute authority of revolution is fought. In Lyon there will be a very hard repression: " Lyon fights against freedom and Lyon doesn't exist any more" (october 1793).
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48 - In less than one month Vendeans reach the English Channel after a lot of victories. The garrison of Magonza is dissolved.
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49 - Nevertheless is very badly commanded the republican army receives reiforcement of troops very often whilst Vendeans' number and strength reduce because of the continual battles.
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50 - Valiant Stofflet persists on the strategic importance of a port that is necessary to get furnishment and food. But exhausted Vendeans come back towards Loira and their land.
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51 - A bond with Stofflet's signature.
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52 - Followed by their families Vendeans come back to their lands. Republican army runs after them and defeats the rebels in a series of bloody encounters. These are massacres where thousands of Vendeans are exterminated, women and children included.
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53 - In Le Mans (10-13 December) and in Savenay (23 December) Republicans carry off decisive victories on the "catholic and royalist" army. These battles mark the end of Vendean army properly said.
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54 - Vendeans loose many of their valiant cheafs. One of them is the marquis Louis-Marie de Lescure (1766-1793), an officer that the rebels rescues from prison and becomes an authoritative cheaf. When he dies fighting, was only 27 years old and had on cilice.
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55 - Maurice Gigost d'Elbée is taken prisoner,still sick, and shot at the beginning of Januar 1794 together with other thousands prisoners.
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56 - D'Elbée instead had persuaded Vendeans to take the words of Our Father seriously and spare the "bleu" soldiers that were their prisoners.
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57 - La Rochejacquelein is killed on 28 of January whilst he has being to take some "blue" prisoners. Generous and chivalrous as usual, he summons: "Surrender! and your lifes will be safe". One of them pretendes to give him the gun and so shoots to his face treacherously. In the picture La Rochejacquelein shot to death on the stained glass windows in the church of Rocheservière.
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58 - The civil war ends with the defeat of Vendean army. But it is not enough. Robespierre and his men want obliterate even the the memory of the revolt: the genocide is beginning.
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59 - The régime of Terror decreed in Paris falls implacably in Vendèe too that till then had tryed to resist to the Jacobin republic.
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60 - Destructions and massacres had already been very numerous but after the defeat of Vendean army, revolutionaries attack inarmed people.
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61 - On behalf of "The right of man" proclaimed by revolutionaries, the Vendean "genocide"starts.
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62 - The French Revolution, on behalf of "freedom", opens wretched age of ideological genocides.
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63 - Since January 1794, republican government entrustes the "Infernal Columns" to "clean up" France of disobedients..
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64 - Guillotine soon revealed itself as a too slow instrument of execution.
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65 - Guillotine is the horrible symbol of French Revolution. Republicans called it "the national razor", "silence mill", "holy mother".
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66 - Even shooting was not enogh to weed out a whole population.
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67 - They prove more speedy systems: such as mass drowing («les noyades»).
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68 - Loira changes into a great slaughter-house to guarantee "vertical deportation in the national bath" as infamous "patriotic baptism".
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69 - In their reports, Jacobins call Loira: "The big glass of bigots" where they can drown Vendeans through "republican marriages".
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70 - Indescribable treatments are especially reserved to women.
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71 - Massacre of women in Pied-de-Roy. Stained glass windows in the Church of Courlay.
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72 - Revolutionaries show to be able of monstruous cruelties: skinning of human body to tan the skin, boiling of bodies to have fat, systematic rapes to reward republican soldiery.
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73 - Priest Voyneau's martyrdom. Stained glass windows in the Church of Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne.
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74 - Petit Luc e Grand Luc (February 1794) 563 Vendeans' murder. Stained glass windows in the Church of Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne.
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75 - Petit Luc e Grand Luc's murder (detail).The youngest is only 15 days old.
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76 - On May 1795, Charette (in the picture) and other chiefs take the arms again, but this time insurrection is not so wide as the former time.
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77 - Guerilla goes on whithout any hope till Charette's shooting (March 1796).
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78 - Vendeans know how to remember their martyrs. Monuments, streets and squares are dedicated to the chiefs of the revolt.
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79 - Paris, instead, honours the pitiless murderes (exactly as in our cities: Gramsci avenue, Garibaldi square, Soviet Union street, etc.).
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80 - Surprisingly Babeuf shows himself to be an uneasy witness of Vendean genocide with his work: "War in Vendée and the depopulation system" 1794
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81 - Napoleon himself must recognize the bravery of the rebels and calls the Vendean war: "a war between giants".
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82 - The infernal blade of «Liberté, egalité, fraternité» is never satisfied of blood.
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83 - In Vendée the real winners are the loosers and their martyrdom for the Truth is changed into seed of freedom.
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84 - Vendean epos teaches that as it is not possible to impose the true freedom it is not even possible to tear it with the brute force of violence because what makes really free is to belong to the Truth.
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85 - It is possible to apply to Vendeans a sentence of St. Paul at the end of his life:" I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith". (in the picture: François Millet, The Angelus, 1859).
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86 - The interwoven hearts.Stained glass windows in the church of Courlay.
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