First Battle of Châtillon
| First Battle of Châtillon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War in the Vendée | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| First French Republic | Vendéens | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| François-Joseph Westermann |
Henri de La Rochejaquelein Jean-Nicolas Stofflet Louis Marie de Lescure Charles de Bonchamps Gaspard de Marigny | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Army of the Coasts of La Rochelle | Catholic and Royal Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
6,500 men 8 cannons | 25,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2,000 killed 3,000 prisoners (of which 2,000 wounded) | Approximately 2,000 deaths, unknown injuries | ||||||
The First Battle of Châtillon (5 July 1793) during the War in the Vendée saw the Vendean Royalists defeat a French Republican raiding force led by François-Joseph Westermann. The rebel Catholic and Royal Army virtually destroyed the Republican column, only Westermann and a few hundred cavalrymen escaped the disaster. The Vendée revolt was a bitter civil war waged between those who supported the French Revolution and rural farmers who resented the new government's anti-Catholic laws and conscription decrees.