The Nancy Mutiny

There were concerns at the outbreak of the French Revolution that the army may no longer be as loyal as once hoped.  Although the noble officers were loyal to the monarchy it was worried that the rank and file were quickly falling under the thrall of the revolutionary times.

The Swiss Regiment of Chateauvieux who were mercenaries serving the crown and were garrisoned in Nancy in August 1789.  They complained about what they saw as overly brutal discipline and arrears in terms of pay.  They formed their own Jacobin Club even though this had been forbidden in a law passed on August 6th.  The Governor of Nancy struggled to retain control but with the aid of officers of the regiment regained some form of mastery over the events my making several of the offending soldiers run the gauntlet being beaten by their fellow soldiers.

The town rose in revolt at the treatment of the soldiers.  The Constituent Assembly panicked and sent troops to retake the town under General Bouillé.  A battle erupted between General Bouillé’s troops and the mutineers which resulted in hundreds dead.  The Swiss were finally forced to surrender.  Forty one of the surviving troops were sent to the galleys for thirty years.  At the time the actions of Bouillé were applauded by many.

By December 1790 prevailing attitudes had changed and there were calls for the mutineers to be pardoned the King refused.  Two years later however the Legislative Assembly voted to free the prisoners.  At the insistence of the Jacobins the released soldiers marched through Paris Phrygian caps on their brows.