I have found no further mention of his name till
September
1792, when
he is known to have served in the "Armee du Rhin," under General
Custine, and contributed to the taking of Spire.
he is known to have served in the "Armee du Rhin," under General
Custine, and contributed to the taking of Spire.
William Wordsworth
No other General Beaupuy is recorded in the history of the Revolution,
so far as I have been able to ascertain. The moral character of the
officer, whose life I shall relate, answers to Wordsworth's
description, and is worthy of his high estimate.
Armand Michel de Bachelier, Chevalier de Beaupuy, was born at
Mussidan, in Perigord, on the 15th of July 1757. He belonged to a
noble family, less proud of its antiquity than of the blood it had
shed for France on many battlefields. On his mother's side (Mlle. de
Villars), he reckoned Montaigne, the celebrated essayist, among his
ancestors. His parents having imbibed the philanthropic ideas of the
time, educated him according to their principles.
He had four brothers, who were all destined to turn republicans and do
good service to the new cause, though their interest certainly lay in
the opposite direction.
. . .
He was made sub-lieutenant in the regiment of Bassigny (33rd division
of foot) on the 2nd of March 1773, and lieutenant of grenadiers on the
1st of October of the same year.
In 1791 he was first lieutenant in the same regiment. Having sided
with the Revolution, he was appointed commander of a battalion of
national volunteers in the department of Dordogne. I have not found
the exact date of this appointment, but it must have taken place
immediately after his stay at Orleans with Wordsworth.
I have found no further mention of his name till September 1792, when
he is known to have served in the "Armee du Rhin," under General
Custine, and contributed to the taking of Spire.
He took an important part in the taking of Worms, 4th October; of
Mayence (Maenz) 21st October. He was among the garrison of Mayence
when this place was besieged by the Prussians, and obliged to
capitulate after a long and famous siege (from 6th April 1793 to 22nd
July 1793). [A]
During the siege he wrote a journal of all the operations.
Unfortunately, this journal is very short, and purely military. It has
been handed down to us, and is found in the Bibliotheque Nationale of
Paris in the 'Papiers de Merlin de Thionville', n. acq. fr. Nos.
244-252, 8 vol. in-8? . Beaupuy's journal is in the 3rd volume, fol.
213-228.
. .
