Battle of Pont-Charrault

The Battle of Pont-Charrault, also called the Battle of Gravereau Bridge or the Battle of La Guérinière, occurred on March 19, 1793, at the outset of the War in the Vendée. The Vendéen insurgents, led by Charles de Royrand, were pitted against a Republican column commanded by General Louis de Marcé.

The battle, which occurred in the Guérinière valley, near the Gravereau and Basse-Rivière bridges, between the communes of L'Oie and Saint-Vincent-Sterlanges, is known in historiography as the "Battle of Pont-Charrault." This designation is due to inaccuracies in initial Republican reports.

The Republican troops, dispatched from Rochefort and La Rochelle to suppress the uprising, encountered significant impediments at this location due to the destruction of both bridges. They were further disadvantaged by an unexpected insurgent attack at nightfall. After three hours of sustained combat, the patriots were compelled to retreat in disorder towards La Rochelle, leaving several hundred men on the battlefield.

On this day, the peasant insurgents protesting against mass conscription inflicted the most significant defeat on the Republicans since the inception of the revolt. The news reached Paris and caused considerable astonishment among the deputies of the National Convention, who perceived themselves to be confronting a vast conspiracy. Accused of treason, General Marcé was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Tribunal and subsequently executed by guillotine in Paris.

The repercussions of this battle, which took place in the Vendée department, were so significant that the uprising in the West subsequently became known as the "War in the Vendée." Additionally, the rebels from the various insurgent departments began to be collectively referred to as "Vendéens."