The defeated Vendéens

Towards the end of 1793, the Vendée armies suffered a series of defeats. The fighting was deadly and brutal, as in any civil war. When the Vendéens retreated towards the Loire, they were forced to leave behind 400 wounded, whom the revolutionary troops summarily executed. The Vendéens then decided to cross the Loire in the hope of inciting uprisings in Brittany and Maine and securing a British landing by seizing a port on the Channel coast.
One night in October, the new commander-in-chief, La Rochejaquelein, led all his troops across the river: 20,000 to 30,000 combatants accompanied by 15,000 to 60,000 non-combatants (the wounded, the elderly, women and children…), totalling between 60,000 and 100,000 people.
During the crossing, General Bonchamps, who was seriously wounded, managed to prevent the massacre of 5,000 Republican prisoners whom his men wanted to shoot. Unable to cross themselves, the prisoners were released, and General Bonchamps died a few hours later from his injuries.