La Fayette in Prison - Addendum
Ever since I have started my “La Fayette in Prison” series, I have been frustrated by the lack of information. Something that irked me especially was the fact that most books/papers always wrote that La Fayette was initially arrested with his fellow officers, a few Aide-de-Camps and their servants - but I have never seen their names and is honestly is a shame that we do not know who most of these men were.
Just the other day, I was browsing the Georgian Papers Programme and found a letter that must have been added quite recently because I have seen it before during similar searches. It is a letter in French, written on August 29, 1792 by an unknown person and addressed to William Henry, Duke of Gloucester (younger brother of King George III). The letter relates intelligence gathered by a Mister Long from Liegne about the French Revolution. At the very end is a “Liste des officiers francais arrété à Rhochefort Le 21 aoust 1792” - in other words, we can now a least name some of the men that were arrested that day - and in no small parts thanks to the wonderful @acrossthewavesoftime who helped me decipher all of the names!
GEO/MAIN/54401-54402
Envoyé à M. Le Duc De Bourbon. Le Gen.’ Lafayette, Latour Maubourg,
alexandre Lameth, De Launoir, Maréchaux De Camp ‑ Victor Maubourg,
Colonel de chasseurs - Charles Maubourg officier; Lacombe aide de camp
Général-Mayor Cap.ne aide de camp ‑ Soubeyran Capitaine ‑ Gouvion
frere cadet Du tué ‑ lillet Commissaires des guerres - Les Deux
freres Thomeuf Capitaines de Dragons - Cadignan Lieutenant Colonel ‑
Curemaire Capitaine ‑ Bureau de pussy Capitaine Du Génie ‑ Beaucoup
d’autres qui ne sont pas De marque. ils avoient en tous pour eux et Leur
Domestiques 90 chevaux ./:
Some of the names on this list are pretty well known, both for the person individually but also for their involvement in the French Revolution and their subsequent arrest. La Fayette, the three Maubourg brothers, Lameth, Bureau de Pussy … but while many of these names are well known, just as many names are completely unknown, at least to me. This is one of the moments where you have to realize, that history forgets and history overshadows.