few words were spoken, as the group of officers returned to the town. when they reached cathelineau's quarters leigh would have gone on, but the general said, "come in, if you please, monsieur stansfield," and he followed the party in.
"this has been a trial, gentlemen, a heavy trial," the general said. "when i entered upon this work, i knew that that there were many things that i should have to endure. i knew the trouble of forming soldiers from men who, like ours, prize their freedom and independence above all other things; that we might have to suffer defeat; that we must meet with hardships, and probably death; and that, in the long run, all our efforts might be futile.
"but i had not reckoned on having to deal with treachery. i had never dreamed that one of my first acts would have been to try and to sentence a vendean to death, for an act of the grossest treachery. however, let us put that aside; it was, perhaps, in the nature of things. in every community there must be a few scoundrels and, if this turns out to be a solitary instance, we may congratulate ourselves, especially as we have escaped without injury.
"that we have done so, gentlemen, is due solely to monsieur stansfield; who thus twice, in the course of a single day, has performed an inestimable service to the cause. there are few indeed who, on hearing the braggadocio of a drunken man, would have given the matter a moment's thought; still less have undertaken a night of watchfulness, after a day of the heaviest work, merely to test the truth of a slightly-founded suspicion that might have occurred to them. it is not too much to say that, had not this act of treachery been discovered, our defeat tomorrow would have been well-nigh certain. you know how much our people think of their guns; and if, when the fight began, the cannon had been silent, instead of pouring their contents into the ranks of the enemy, they would have lost heart at once, and would have been beaten almost before the fight began.
"we have no honours to bestow on you, monsieur stansfield, but in the name of la vendee i thank you, with all my heart. i shall add, to my order respecting your fight of yesterday, a statement of what has taken place tonight; and i shall beg that all officers read it aloud to the parties that follow them."
"i agree most cordially with the general's words," monsieur bonchamp said. "your defence yesterday would have been a credit to any military man, and this discovery has saved us from ruin tomorrow, or rather today. i will venture to say that not one man in five hundred would have taken the trouble to go out of his way to ascertain whether the words of a drunken man rested on any foundation."
there was, then, a short conversation as to the approaching fight. the number of men who had arrived was much smaller than had been anticipated, owing to the fact that the simultaneous invasion, at so many points, had the effect of retaining the peasants of the various localities for the defence of their own homes. leigh learned that a mounted messenger had been despatched, shortly before he brought the prisoner down, to beg monsieur d'elbee to bring the force he commanded, at chollet, with all speed to aid in the defence of chemille; for if that town fell, he would be exposed to the attack of the united forces of generals berruyer and leigonyer.
"now, gentlemen, i think we had better get a few hours' sleep," cathelineau said. "they will not be here very early, probably not until noon; for they may wait for a time before starting, in hopes of being joined either by leigonyer or one of the other columns, and it is not likely that any news of the sharp reverse that leigonyer has met with has reached them."
it was now two o'clock in the morning, and leigh slept heavily, till roused at eight.
"you should have called me before, andre," he said reproachfully, when he learnt how late it was.
"i thought it was better that you should have a good sleep, captain. of course, if there had been any message to say that you were wanted, i should have woke you; but as no one came, and there is still no news of the enemy, i thought that it was better to let you sleep till now."
pierre had started with his party, at five, to scout on the road by which the enemy was advancing. leigh first hurried down to the river and had a bath, and then felt ready for any work that he might have to do. he then went to the house where jean was lodged. the latter, who had not returned from his outpost work till day broke, was just getting up.
"well, leigh," he said, "i called in at cathelineau's quarters to report. i found him already up. he told me the work that you had been doing, and praised you up to the skies. it seems to me that you are getting all the credit of the campaign. really i feel quite proud of you, and we shall be having you starting as a rival leader to cathelineau."
leigh laughed.
"one does not often have two such opportunities in the course of a day, and i don't suppose i am likely to have such luck again, if the war goes on for a year. where are you going to be today?"
"i am going to act as aide-de-camp to bonchamp."
"and what shall we do, do you think?"
"well, i should say you had best keep out of it altogether, leigh. you and your band did much more than your share of fighting yesterday, and your pistols will be of no use in a fight such as this will be. seriously, unless cathelineau assigns you some post, i should keep out of it. your little corps is specially formed to act as scouts and, as we are so extremely badly off in that respect, it will be far better for you to keep to your proper duties, than to risk your lives."
"how do you think the fight is likely to go, jean?"
"it depends, in the first place, upon how the blues fight; if they do well, they ought to beat us. in the next place, it depends on whether d'elbee comes up in time. if he does, i think that we shall hold the place, but it will be stiff fighting."
it was not until noon that berruyer's force was seen approaching. as soon as it was in sight the vendeans poured out, and took up their station by the hill on which the guns were placed. in spite of what jean had said, leigh would have placed his band with the rest; had not cathelineau sent for him, half an hour before, and given him orders which were almost identical with the advice of jean.
"i wish you and your band to keep out of this battle, monsieur stansfield. your force is so small that it can make no possible difference in the fortunes of the day and, whether we win or lose, your lads may be wanted as messengers, after it is over. they have done extremely well, at present, and need no further credit than they have gained. i beg, therefore, that you will take post with them somewhat in rear of the village, away on the right. i shall then know where to find you, if i have any messages to send; and moreover, i want you at once to send off one of your most active lads with this note to d'elbee, urging him to come on at full speed, for the fight is likely to go hard with us, unless he comes in time to our assistance; and telling him i wish him to know that, even if i have to fall back, the church will be held till the last; and that as soon as he arrives i shall, if possible, again take the offensive, and beg that he will attack the enemy in flank or in rear, as he sees an opportunity. upon the belfry of the church, half a mile on our right, you will be able to see how the battle goes; and can send off news to d'elbee, from time to time."
"very well, sir. i will despatch your letter at once, and then march out to the church, which i noticed yesterday."
"here is a telescope," cathelineau said. "we are well provided with them, as we took all that we could find, at chollet and vihiers. i think that, with its aid, you will be able to have a good view of what is going on."
in twenty minutes, leigh had taken up his post in the belfry of the village church that cathelineau had indicated. andre and pierre, whose party had returned an hour before, were with him. the rest of the band were in the story below them, from which a view was also obtainable. the three most severely wounded had started for their homes, early that morning. the others were fit for duty.
the fight began by a discharge of the guns of the assailants. leigh could see that the defenders' guns had been somewhat withdrawn from their position on the top of the rising ground, where they would have been too much exposed to the enemy's fire; and their muzzles now only showed over the brow. during the course of the morning an earthwork had been thrown up, to afford protection to the men serving them. they did not return the fire until the enemy were within a distance of a quarter of a mile, then they commenced, with deadly effect.
the blues halted, and leigh could make out that a considerable number of men in the rear at once turned and ran. in order to encourage them they had been informed, just before they marched, of the plot that had been arranged to silence the guns; and this unexpected discharge caused the greatest consternation among the young levies. a body of cavalry were at once sent off in pursuit, and drove the fugitives back to their ranks, the troopers using the flats of their swords unstintingly.
then the advance was resumed, covered by the fire of the guns and by volleys of musketry. these were answered but feebly by the firearms in the peasants' hands, and the blues pressed on until, just before they reached the foot of the slope, the peasants charged them with fury.
the regular troops and a regiment of gendarmes had been placed in front. these stood firm, poured heavy volleys into the peasants as they approached, and then received them with levelled bayonets.
in vain the vendeans strove to break through the hedge of steel. cathelineau and his officers on one side, and the french generals on the other, encouraged their men, and for a quarter of an hour a desperate conflict reigned. then the peasants fell back, and the blues resumed their advance.
three times cathelineau induced his followers to renew the attack, but each time it was unsuccessful. the blues mounted the hill, the cannon were captured, and the vendeans fell back into the town. here the ends of the streets had been barricaded and, in spite of the artillery and the captured guns now turned against their former owners, the assailants tried in vain to force their way into the town.
from every window that commanded the approaches, the men with muskets kept up an incessant fire. the mass of the peasants lay in shelter behind the barricades, or in the houses, until the enemy's infantry approached to within striking distance; and then, leaping up from these barricades, and fighting with an absolute disregard of their lives, they again and again repulsed the attacks of the enemy.
berruyer, seeing that in spite of his heavy losses he made no way, called his troops from the assault and, forming them into two columns, moved to the right and left, and attacked the town on both sides. here no barricades had been erected and, in spite of the efforts of the peasants, an entrance was forced into the town. every street, lane, and house was defended with desperate energy; but discipline gradually triumphed, and the blues won their way into the square in the centre of the town, where the principal church stood. as they entered the open space, they were assailed with a rain of bullets from the roof, tower, and windows.
as soon as the flanking movement began, monsieur bonchamp, seeing that the town was now certain to be taken, had hurried, with the greater portion of the men armed with muskets, to the church; which had already been prepared by him, on the previous day, for the defence. a great number of paving stones had been got up from the roadway and piled inside the church and, as soon as he arrived there with his men, the doors were closed, and blocked behind with a deep wall of stones.
berruyer saw that the position was a formidable one and, ignorant of the number of the defenders, sent back for his guns, and contented himself for the time by clearing the rest of the town of its defenders. these, however, as they issued out, were rallied by cathelineau and his officers. they assured the peasants that the day was not yet lost, that the church would hold out for hours, and that d'elbee would soon arrive, with his force from chollet, to their assistance.
leigh, anxiously watching the progress of the fight, had sent messenger after messenger along the road by which d'elbee would come. his heart sank, as he heard the guns open in the centre of the town, and knew that they were directed against the church. still, there was no abatement of the fire of the defenders. an incessant fire of musketry was maintained, not only from the church itself, but from every window in the houses around it.
at last, he heard that d'elbee's force was but a quarter of a mile away and, running down from his lookout, he started to meet it. it was coming at a run, the men panting and breathless, but holding on desperately, half maddened with the sound of battle.
"all is not lost yet, then?" d'elbee said, as he came up.
"no, sir. the church holds out, and i could see that the peasants who have been driven out of the town have rallied, but a few hundred yards away, and are evidently only waiting for your arrival to renew the attack. i think, sir, that if you will run up to the belfry of the church with this glass, you will be able to understand the exact situation."
the officer ran up the tower, and returned in two or three minutes. then he led his men down towards the southeastern corner of the town.
leigh, on hearing that d'elbee was close at hand, sent off two messengers to cathelineau to inform him of the fact; and he now sent off another, stating the direction in which the reinforcement was marching.
"i am going to attack at that corner, instead of in the rear," monsieur d'elbee said to him; for now that the duty assigned to him had been performed, leigh thought that he would be justified in joining in the attack, with what remained of his band. "if i were to get directly in their rear they would, on finding their retreat cut off, fight so fiercely that i might be overpowered. even the most cowardly troops will fight, under those circumstances. therefore, while threatening their line of retreat, i still leave it open to them. it is a maxim in war, you know, always to leave a bridge open for a flying foe."
in a few minutes they reached the town. none had observed their approach, the troops being assembled round the church. these were at once thrown into confusion, when they found themselves attacked with fury by a large force, of whose existence they had no previous thought.
the vendeans fought with desperate valour. the new levies for the most part lost heart at once and, in spite of the efforts of berruyer and his officers, began to make for the line of retreat. the movement was accelerated by an outburst of shouts from the other side of the town, where cathelineau's force poured in, burning to avenge their former losses; and as they fell upon the enemy, bonchamp led out the defenders of the church, by a side door, and joined in the fray.
berruyer saw that all was lost. by great efforts he kept together the gendarmes and regular troops, to cover the retreat; and fell back, fighting fiercely. bonchamp and his musketeers pressed hotly upon them. the peasants made charge after charge and, as soon as the force issued from the town, many of the peasantry set off at full speed in pursuit of the fugitives, great numbers of whom were overtaken and killed. berruyer continued his retreat all night, and entered saint lambert before morning; having lost the whole of his cannon, and three thousand men, in this disastrous fight.
the joy of the vendeans was unbounded. the stones were speedily removed from the shattered doors of the church, mass was celebrated, and the peasants returned thanks for their great victory.
the gains were, indeed, considerable. three thousand muskets had fallen into their hands. they had recaptured the guns that they had lost, and taken twelve others. their own losses had been heavy--eighteen hundred men had been killed, and a great number wounded. but of this, at the time, they thought but little; those who had died had died for their country and their god, as all of them were ready to do, and how could men do more?
on the republican side, general duhaus had been very dangerously wounded, and most of berruyer's principal officers killed.
a council of war was held the next morning, at chemille. for the moment, the victory had secured their safety; but while the peasants believed and hoped that the war was over, their leaders saw that the position was scarcely improved. they had, indeed, captured guns and muskets; but these were useless without ammunition, and their stock of powder and ball was quite exhausted. already the peasantry were leaving in large numbers for their homes. berruyer might return reinforced at any time, and effect a junction with leigonyer; while the column that had captured saint florent would doubtless advance. it was therefore decided that chemille must be abandoned, and that the officers should retire to tiffauges until, at any rate, the peasants were ready to leave their homes again.
by evening that day the greater portion of the army had melted away and, on the following morning, the leaders also left the town they had so bravely defended. on the following day, indeed, berruyer, having learned the position of leigonyer, returned to chemille and, two days later, was in communication with leigonyer's force. the latter had occupied chollet, which had been left devoid of defenders since the day they marched away.
on the other hand quetineau had, on the thirteenth, been attacked at aubiers, and had been forced to evacuate the place, leaving three guns behind him, retiring to bressuire. the capture of aubiers was the work of henri de la rochejaquelein. he had ridden to join cathelineau, and met him and the other leaders retiring from chemille. they were gloomy and depressed. they had won a battle, but they were without an army, without ammunition. almost all the towns were in the possession of the blues. it seemed to them that the struggle could not be much longer maintained.
the young count was too energetic and too enthusiastic to be seriously moved, and rode back to the residence of an aunt, at saint aubin. there he learned that aubiers had been taken by the enemy. the peasantry around were in a state of extreme excitement. they had hoisted the white flag on their churches, and were ready to fight, but they had no leader.
hearing that rochejaquelein was at his aunt's house, they came to him, and begged him to take the command, promising him that in twenty-four hours ten thousand men should be ready to follow him. he agreed to the request. the church bells were set ringing and, before morning, almost that number were assembled. of these, only two hundred had guns.
with this force he attacked aubiers. the resistance of the enemy was feeble, and they were chased almost to bressuire. rochejaquelein was very anxious to capture this town, as his friends, the lescures, had been brought from clisson and imprisoned there; but he saw that it was of primary importance to carry assistance to cathelineau, and he accordingly marched to tiffauges. the church bells again rang out their summons; and cathelineau, in twenty-four hours, found himself at the head of an army of twenty thousand men.
"i told you at clisson that i should soon meet you again, monsieur martin," la rochejaquelein said when, as he rode into tiffauges at the head of his newly raised force, he met jean in the street, "and here i am, you see. i am only sorry that i am too late to take part in the brave fight at chemille."
"right glad are we to see you, count," jean replied. "this is my wife's brother, of whom i was speaking to you at clisson. cathelineau will tell you that he has been distinguishing himself rarely."
henri held out his hand to leigh, and said warmly, "i am glad to know you. it would be a shame, indeed, were any vendeans to remain at home, when a young englishman is fighting for their country. i hope that we shall be great friends."
"i shall be glad, indeed, to be so," leigh replied with equal warmth, for he was greatly struck with the appearance of the young soldier.
henri de la rochejaquelein was but twenty-one years old, tall, and remarkably handsome. he had fair hair, and a noble bearing. his father had been a colonel in the army, and he himself was a cavalry officer in the king's guard. he was the beau ideal of a dashing hussar, and his appearance was far more english than french. he was immensely popular, his manner frank and pleasant, and he was greatly beloved by the peasantry on his family estates.
at this moment cathelineau with his two generals came up, and leigh retired from the circle. the arrival of the young count, with his strong reinforcement, at once altered the position. the leaders who had, since they fell back from chemille, been depressed and almost hopeless, beamed with satisfaction as they talked with henri, whose enthusiasm was infectious.
la rochejaquelein accompanied them to his quarters. hitherto he had only heard rumours of the fighting at chemille, and cathelineau now gave him a full account of the affair. jean martin had, at his invitation, accompanied him; and when cathelineau had finished, henri turned to him and said:
"indeed you did not exaggerate, monsieur martin, when you said that your brother-in-law had already distinguished himself. in fact, there can be no doubt that the splendid defence he made at that little river, where he held berruyer's whole force in check for upwards of three hours--and so forced him to halt for the night on the way, instead of pushing forward and attacking chemille at once--saved the town, for it gave time to monsieur d'elbee to come up. scarcely less important was his detection of the treachery of the man in charge of the artillery. i cannot but regret that so gallant a young fellow is not my countryman, for i should have felt proud of one so daring, and so thoughtful.
"when you do not want him for scouting work, monsieur cathelineau, i shall get you to lend him to me. i should be really glad to have him by my side. his face pleased me much. there was something so frank and honest about it and, after what he has done, i am sure that i shall always respect his opinion."
there was another consultation as to what should be their first operation, and it was resolved that leigonyer should be attacked at once, before he could make a complete junction with berruyer. the next morning, at daybreak, the whole force moved off. they were only just in time, for berruyer had already ordered general gauvillier, who commanded the force that had captured saint florent, to advance to beaupreau. berruyer was to march to vezins, and he himself to jallais, and to join leigonyer at may.
on the previous evening henri had, after the termination of the council, requested jean martin to take him to the house where leigh and his little party were quartered.
"i have been hearing of your doings," he said, "and feel quite jealous that you, who are, i hear, four years younger than myself, should have done so much; while i, with all my family influence and connection, should as yet have done nothing but chase the enemy out of aubiers. how is it that you, who have had no training as a soldier, should have conceived the idea of arresting the march of berruyer's army, with a force of only two or three hundred peasants?"
"it was a mere matter of common sense," leigh said, with a smile. "i knew that it was of the utmost importance that chemille should not be attacked, until cathelineau received reinforcements. at first, i had no thought of doing more than breaking down the bridge, and of perhaps checking the advanced cavalry; but when i found that the peasants who came along were quite willing to aid, it seemed to me that by cutting down the trees, so as to block the road and make a shelter for us, we might be able to cause the enemy considerable delay. i hardly hoped to succeed in holding out so long, or in inflicting such loss upon him as we were able to do. it did not require any military knowledge whatever, and i should not have attempted it had i not seen that, thanks to the forest, we should be able to retreat when we could no longer hold the barricade of felled trees."
"well, you could not have done better if you had been a general. i have cathelineau's permission to ask you to ride with me, when you are not engaged in scouting."
"i should be delighted to do so, but at present i have no horse. however, i can send one of my lads back to the chateau, to fetch the one that i generally ride."
"i have brought a spare animal with me," the young count said. "i brought it in case the other should be shot, and i shall be glad if you will ride it tomorrow, and until yours arrives; but i would not send for one until after tomorrow, for likely enough we may make some captures before nightfall.
"we are to march at three in the morning, and to attack leigonyer. the great thing that we need is powder. cathelineau says that there is scarcely a charge left among his men. mine are not much better off. we should have had none with which to attack aubiers; but i sent off during the night to a quarry, a few miles from my aunt's, and succeeded in getting forty pounds of blasting powder. it would not have been of much use for the muskets, but the fact of its being powder was sufficient to encourage the peasants; and the blues made such a feeble resistance that its quality made no difference to us. it enabled those who had muskets to make a noise with them, and was just as effectual in raising their spirits in attacking the blues as if it had been the finest quality. we got a few hundred cartridges when we took the place, but that will not go very far, and i hope that, tomorrow, we shall be able to obtain a supply from the enemy."
before the hour for starting, the force had swelled considerably. the news that monsieur de la rochejaquelein had retaken aubiers, and had come with twelve thousand men to assist cathelineau, spread like wildfire. the peasants from all the country round flocked in and, when they started in the morning, the united force had swollen to over twenty thousand men.
as soon as the young count left him, leigh sent all his band, under his lieutenants, with orders to proceed towards vezins; to ascertain the progress leigonyer had made, and the position of his forces, and to send back news to him. just as the army was starting one of the boys returned, and said that a party of twelve cavalry, and a detachment of infantry, had just entered the chateau of crilloire. leigh at once informed cathelineau, who sent off a hundred and fifty men to capture the place. they were ordered to travel at the top of their speed, and jean martin was in command of them.
the expedition was crowned with success. the infantry, who had been stationed outside the chateau, fled at once. their commandant villemet, leigonyer's best officer, charged the vendeans with his little body of cavalry. he was received with a volley. two of his men were killed, and he himself and nine of his men were wounded. he managed, however, to burst through the vendeans, and to overtake his flying infantry. these he rallied and led back to the chateau, which he found deserted; for martin, as soon as he captured the place and cleared it of the enemy, had gone off with his men to join the main body.
berruyer had also started early, and sent five hundred men to may, where he expected leigonyer to arrive in a few hours; but before he reached the town the vendeans attacked the advanced guard of the latter general, which consisted of two companies of grenadiers. these old soldiers fought well, and threw themselves into the chateau of bois-groleau.
leaving fifteen hundred men to surround and attack the chateau, the main army pressed forward. leigonyer, hearing of the disaster, sent forward two thousand men to succour the besieged force; but the vendeans fell upon them and, after a short resistance, they broke and fled into vezins.
the arrival of the fugitives caused a panic among the whole of leigonyer's force assembled there, and they fled precipitately; two hundred and fifty men of the regiment of finisterre, alone, remaining steady; and these, maintaining good order, covered the retreat of the guns, repulsing the attacks of the peasantry who pursued them. fortunately for the vendeans, a waggon laden with barrels of powder was left behind, in the confusion caused by their approach, and proved of inestimable value to them.
had the vendeans pursued the fugitives with vigour, the force would have been almost annihilated; but cathelineau, learning from leigh's scouts that berruyer was already approaching vezins, feared to be taken in the rear by him, and therefore fell back to may and beaupreau.
the garrison that defended the chateau of bois-groleau repulsed the repeated attacks made upon them, but surrendered on the approach of the main army, their ammunition and the food they had brought with them in their haversacks being entirely exhausted.
berruyer, on his arrival at jallais, heard of the defeat of leigonyer; and marched back in all haste to chemille, where he had left his magazines. on hearing however that leigonyer, on his arrival at vihiers, had been deserted during the night by the whole of his troops and, finding himself in the morning with but a hundred and fifty men of the finisterre regiment, had evacuated the town and retreated to doug, berruyer wrote to him to endeavour to gather his forces together again, and to return to chemille.
but the news of another disaster convinced him that he could not maintain himself there. the vendeans had marched, without delay, against beaupreau, and attacked gauvillier. that general had already heard of the defeat of leigonyer, and the retreat of berruyer. his force was greatly dispirited at the news, and offered but a feeble resistance to the fierce assault. the blues were driven out of the town with the loss of their five cannon, and were hotly pursued to saint florent, losing a large proportion of their numbers on the way.
the news of this fresh disaster convinced berruyer that he must fall back without delay, and he accordingly retreated with his whole force to saint lambert, whence he wrote to the convention to declare the impossibility of doing anything without large reinforcements of regular troops, as no dependence whatever could be placed upon the national guards and volunteers and, if the insurgents marched against him, he would be obliged to march to ponts-de-ce in order to cover angers, where the alarm of the inhabitants was intense.
thus the invasion that was to crush the vendeans failed altogether, except that some advantages had been gained by the blues along the line of coast, the troops being assisted by the fleet. at all other points, misfortune had attended them. quetineau had been driven from aubiers and, a great proportion of his force having deserted, he held bressuire with so feeble a grasp that he could not maintain himself, if attacked. leigonyer's army had practically ceased to exist, as had that which had advanced from saint florent. berruyer had lost three thousand men, and was back again at the point from which he had started. chollet and vihiers had been recovered without a blow.
as the result of his failures, berruyer was recalled to paris, tried for his conduct, and narrowly escaped the guillotine.
as soon as berruyer retired, cathelineau advanced against bressuire. news of his coming at once scared the blues from the town, and they retreated to thouars. they did not even wait to take their prisoners with them and, as soon as they had gone, the marquis de la lescure with his family rode off to their chateau, at clisson. they had scarcely arrived there when la rochejaquelein arrived, and acquainted them with the general facts of the insurrection.
"cathelineau's army," he said, "consists of twenty thousand men and, on any emergency, it would swell to nearly twice that number. twelve thousand bretons had crossed the loire, and were on their way to join him. in lower poitou, charette had an army of twenty thousand; and besides these, there were many scattered bands."
lescure at once agreed to accompany la rochejaquelein to bressuire; and the marquis of donnissan, madame lescure's father, arranged to follow them, as soon as he had seen his wife and daughter safely placed in the chateau of de la boulais.
