77-426: People named Custine include: Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine (1740-1793), French general Astolphe-Louis-Léonor, Marquis de Custine (1790-1857), French aristocrat and writer Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Custine . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
154-642: A Revolutionary Watch Committee in every neighbourhood and the creation of the Committee of Public Safety on 6 April 1793. The court was to hear cases of alleged counter-revolutionary offences from across France. It was composed of a jury of twelve. This was an innovation in French justice, borrowed from English law (although for the Revolutionary Tribunal the jury was carefully selected from politically reliable activists). It had five judges,
231-636: A colonel in the expeditionary force of Count Rochambeau in the War of American Independence . The regiment participated in the Virginia campaign of 1781 and received distinguished commendations for action at the Battle of Yorktown ; Custine received individual recognition of merit and a brevet from the United States government. Rouchambeau's reports praised his honesty, zeal, courage and talents. Custine
308-437: A fire that gutted the production building and a limitation on the manufacture of soft-paste porcelain , discouraged the original investors. When Custine purchased the property in 1770, it was a struggling investment. He encountered significant financial problems over the next eight years, and considered bankruptcy in 1778. He subsequently entered into business with François-Henri Lenfrey and the factory began producing faience in
385-475: A furnished hotel, and rented a room for his secretary. He visited his son and daughter-in-law, and carried on his usual Parisian social calendar: he appeared in all the public places, at the Palais-Royal and the theater, and was received with noisy ovations and shouts of Vive Custine! The Committee of Public Safety ordered a policeman to accompany him everywhere. On 22 July, he was arrested and imprisoned in
462-451: A magazine. Along with other Jacobins, he urged in the fifth issue of his magazine the creation of an " armée révolutionnaire " in Paris, consisting of at least 20 or 23,000 men, to defend the city, "liberty" (the revolution), maintain order in the sections and educate the members in democratic principles; an idea promoted by Jean-Jacques Rousseau . The provisional Revolutionary Tribunal
539-472: A petition for her release. The continued war with the Coalition reduced the number of employees to 15; the factory survived, however, and enjoyed a renaissance in the mid-nineteenth century. Custine presented George Washington with a set of this tableware service in 1782. Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal ( French : Tribunal révolutionnaire ; unofficially Popular Tribunal )
616-590: A position in his father's command in the Army of the Rhine, joining that army in Frankfurt. By August 1793, though, following his father's arrest, young Custine found himself proscribed , that is, on the list of suspected royalists. The September Law of Suspects accelerated the son's trial. The chief evidence against him seemed to be a letter he had written to his father the previous spring, suggesting that he resign from
693-557: A property he purchased. He married Adelaide-Celeste Louise Gagnat de Longny. In 1790 Custine's daughter, Adelaide-Anne-Philippe, married Henri Evrard, marquis de Dreux-Brézé , master of ceremonies for Louis XVI. She and her husband spent much of the early 1790s as refugees in Britain, although he returned to France several times to visit his estates; he was eventually confirmed as a peer of France, resumed his pre-Revolution position as master of ceremonies, this time for Louis XVIII , and
770-554: A public prosecutor, and two deputy prosecutors, all nominated by the Convention; and from its judgements, there was no appeal. Jacques-Bernard-Marie Montané became President of the Tribunal until he was replaced in his post on 23 August 1793 by M. J. A. Herman . Fouquier-Tinville served as public prosecutor. The lists of prisoners to be sent before the tribunal were prepared by a popular commission and signed, after revision, by
847-630: A regiment of dragoons for him, but Custine exchanged this for a regiment of infantry that was heading for America, where he could continue military action, acquire additional experience, and obtain promotion. His regiment, the Regiment de Saintonge (1,322 men and officers), embarked for the Thirteen Colonies in April 1780 from Brest . There, he served with distinction against the British as
SECTION 10
#1732786742155924-604: A time of crisis in the new French Republic . The War of the First Coalition was going badly. An unsatisfied Dumouriez wanted to restore a (constitutional) monarchy and reintroduce the French Constitution of 1791 . The provisional government responded by taking a number of measures to defend the integrity of the Republic. Even in these circumstances, the Convention was initially reluctant to restore
1001-504: A troop of volunteers in 1792, who bragged that they were going to teach the army the right step (make it Republican), he ordered his cavalry to surround and disarm them. Custine also recognized and recruited talented officers. At the surrender of the garrison at Mainz, he offered the Mainz commander, Rudolf Eickemeyer , a colonel's commission to serve in the French army. By 1793, Eickemeyer had been promoted to brigadier general; he served in
1078-715: The bailliage (bailiwick) of Metz elected Custine to the Estates-General ; upon his election, he resigned his military commission, judging that his responsibilities in the national assembly required his full attention. In July 1789, as the French Revolution gained momentum, he remained in the National Constituent Assembly. There, he supported the creation of a constitution espousing the principles of representative government and often voted with such liberal (constitutional) nobility as
1155-576: The Army of the Vosges . In 1792, he successfully led campaigns in the middle and upper Rhine regions, taking Speyer and Mainz and breaching the Wissembourg lines. Following Charles François Dumouriez 's apparent treason, the Committee of Public Safety investigated Custine, but a vigorous defense mounted by Maximillien Robespierre resulted in his acquittal. Upon return to active command, he found
1232-474: The Committee of General Security and the Committee of Public Safety jointly. On 5 September 1793, the Convention split the Revolutionary Tribunal into four concurrent chambers so that the number of cases it dealt with could be greatly increased. It also decided that all jurors in the Tribunal should be directly appointed by the Committee of Public Safety or the Committee of General Security. This followed
1309-616: The Marquis de Lafayette . Although he supported the abolition of some seigniorial rights, he strongly defended royal prerogative and the rights of the nobility who fled during the Great Fear , especially their rights of property. He offered limited support of the nineteen decrees that abolished game-laws, seigniorial courts, the purchase and sale of posts in the magistracy, pecuniary immunities, favoritism in taxation, surplice money, first-fruits, pluralities, and unmerited pensions. With
1386-560: The Place St Antoine and later to the Place du Trône-Renversé . As the Revolutionary Tribunal accelerated the pace of executions in Paris, it became impractical to have it in the city. The powers of the Revolutionary Tribunal were granted by the Convention, and there was only limited criticism of it. Royalists, émigrés and federalists were clearly opposed to the Tribunal and its workings, but since public criticism in support of
1463-476: The Revolutionary Tribunal by a decree of 29 October 1793. Robespierre became one members of the Committee of General Defence to coordinate the war effort. Danton, Charles-Francois Delacroix , Beurnonville and several other deputies were sent to Belgium to question and arrest Dumouriez. Other measures taken in response to the crisis around the same time included the formal establishment of
1540-712: The Seven Years' War (1756–63), Custine served in the French army in the German states; in 1758, he was a captain of dragoons in the Schomberg regiment. While fighting the Prussians, Custine learned to admire their modern military organization, which later influenced his own military style. By the end of the Seven Years' War, Custine was maestre de camp . The Duc de Choiseul recognized his talent and created
1617-456: The Army of the Moselle had arrived, and that they had also been reinforced by part of the artillery from Strasbourg . General Jean-Baptiste Michel Féry , who commanded an 40 battalions, was to throw himself on the Prussians until he heard that the principal engagement by Rheinzabern had begun. Custine left with his troops in the evening; several delays prevented him from arriving until five in
SECTION 20
#17327867421551694-413: The Convention approved a report by Saint-Just proposing the abolition of the existing revolutionary tribunals in individual départements and requiring all suspects to be sent to the main tribunal in Paris, due to reports of corruption in the provincial tribunals. On 21 May 1794 the government decided that the judicial system would be centralized, with almost all the tribunals in the provinces closed and all
1771-492: The Convention did not agree to create the Tribunal, he argued, the people would be compelled to make their own justice. "Let us be terrible," said Danton, "so that the people will not have to be." On this basis, the Convention finally agreed that there should be established in Paris the Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal ( Tribunal criminel extraordinaire ), which received the official name of
1848-454: The English style of tableware. Lenfrey also revamped the production process, producing cailloutage , which combined faience production techniques with a new process that mixed crushed limestone with the clay. Custine's execution led to the temporary closing of the plant when the regime confiscated his property; the workmen, summarily laid off, traveled to Paris to find work, and several signed
1925-619: The Luxembourg. On 23 July, the news came that Mainz had capitulated ; on 28 July came the news of the loss of Valenciennes . He was transferred to the Conciergerie on 28 July, and his rooms, those of his secretary, and those of his son were sealed, pending a search. After three weeks of searches and examination, the public prosecutor Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville drew up the indictment: Custine's crime, according to
2002-492: The Prussian style of drill and discipline, he was a strict disciplinarian, but his soldiers actually liked him, and felt inspired by him. Custine liked to make speeches and reportedly knew the names of his soldiers. He visited men in the hospital, demonstrated blunt good humor, and was the master of repartee. His ready wit was quoted throughout his command. He did not tolerate disorder or insubordination however; when encountering
2079-514: The Prussians, and that all reports of his conversations were carefully and specifically annotated. He wrote to his mother-in-law that, by a miracle, he was not on the list of those to be arrested, and had avoided the September 1792 massacre at the Prison de l'Abbaye . He reported that he feared writing to his wife by the insecure post. He languished in Paris over the winter, but eventually he secured
2156-405: The Revolutionary Tribunal to three days. They also prevented the Revolutionary Tribunal from calling witnesses, or from allowing defense counsel. Juries were to convict or acquit entirely on the basis of the accusation and the accused's own defense. Further, the new laws confined the Tribunal to only two possible verdicts – acquittal or death. Finally, the law cancelled all previous legislation on
2233-418: The Revolutionary Tribunal. On 10 March, responding to serious disorder in the streets of Paris, Georges Danton , with Robespierre's support, proposed its revival, but the majority of deputés were not in favour. After a long debate, towards midnight, Danton was able to persuade a majority to vote for it only by raising the spectre of further uncontrolled massacres, as had taken place the previous September. If
2310-577: The Rhineland, Custine continued the revolution by proclamation, and levied heavy taxes on the nobility and clergy . During the winter a Prussian army forced him to evacuate Frankfurt, re-cross the Rhine and fall back upon Landau . This occurred during Charles François Dumouriez 's treasonous collaboration with the Austrians. Summoned to Paris to account for himself, Custine was accused of treason, but
2387-400: The Tribunal dealt with 178 accused. 53% of these were set free after initial examination by a judge, without a full trial, while a further 17% were tried and acquitted by a jury. 5% were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or deportation, and 25% were sentenced to death. From its formation up to September 1793, the Tribunal heard 260 cases and handed down 66 death penalties. As a result, it
Custine - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-432: The Tribunal on 27 August, and guillotined the following day. His son was also executed a few months later, and his daughter-in-law Delphine de Custine suffered for several months in prison before she was released in the summer of 1794. She managed to recover some of the family property and emigrated to Germany, and later Switzerland, with her son, Astolphe-Louis-Léonor , who became a well-known travel writer. The fate of
2541-534: The Upper Rhine campaigns and the Rhine Campaign of 1796 . During this campaign, he also acquired the services of a young officer, Laurent Gouvion, later known as Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr . According to Antoine Marie Chamans , he acquired Saint Cyr's services in an unusual way, indicative of Custine's temperament and personality. In a break in action, Gouvion was sketching the countryside, including
2618-480: The army had lost most of its officer corps and experienced troops, and in 1793, following a series of reversals in the spring, the French lost control of much of the territory they had acquired the year before. Ordered to take command of the Army of the North , Custine sought first to solidify French control of the important crossings of the Rhine by Mainz. However, when he failed to relieve the besieged fortress of Condé
2695-524: The army, and this, as well as other letters—real and forged—guaranteed his condemnation. He was condemned and guillotined a day later. He left a young son, Astolphe-Louis-Léonor, Marquis de Custine (18 March 1790 – 25 September 1857). In 1770, Custine acquired property in the Niderviller region, which included a faience factory. The manufactory had been founded in 1735, but had enjoyed limited profitability. Various difficulties, including
2772-683: The beginning of 1793 to the Thermidorian Reaction , around 17,000 people were sentenced and beheaded by some form of revolutionary court in France (in Paris or in the provinces), in addition to some 25,000 others who were summarily executed in the September Massacres, retributions in the War in the Vendée and elsewhere. The Paris Revolutionary Tribunal was responsible for 16% of all death sentences. Of all those accused by
2849-617: The case against Marat collapse, but two days after his case was brought, members of the Paris Commune responded by bringing a case to the Tribunal against 22 leading Girondins. This case was dismissed, but the principle that Convention members could be tried by the Tribunal was an important one, and ultimately led to the Girondin leaders being tried and executed in October 1793. During the months when Montané served as its President,
2926-565: The country, particularly in the South East, as anti-Jacobin mobs attacked and murdered people who had been associated with revolutionary tribunals in their area. On 14 February 1795 for example, Joseph Fernex , who had served as a judge on the Tribunal in Orange , was killed and thrown into the Rhône by a mob. On 27 June other members of the same tribunal received the same treatment. From
3003-620: The coup of Thermidor in July 1794, some people expected the Revolutionary Tribunal to be abolished, but this did not happen. In the five days after the Thermidorian Reaction, the Convention freed 478 political prisoners, but 8,000 still remained incarcerated, despite popular demands for a general amnesty. On 1 August 1794 (14 Thermidor Year II) the Prairial Laws were revoked, meaning that the burden of proof against suspects
3080-405: The courthouse to sit at his feet; eventually, the prosecutors accused the judges of postponing a verdict so that they could continue to gaze at her. The Revolutionary Tribunal convicted him of treason and he was executed by guillotine on the following day, 28 August 1793. Custine's leadership and character, although impugned by the Tribunal, proved fundamentally sound in the field. As an admirer of
3157-568: The dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in October 1791, Custine was appointed lieutenant general to the Army of the Vosges, as the army of volunteers was known. Despite his strict discipline, he was popular with the soldiers, amongst whom he was known as " général moustache ". The following year he was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, replacing Nicolas Luckner ; in the following campaign, he took Speyer , Worms , Mainz and Frankfurt in September and October 1792. In
Custine - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-421: The enemy positions near Eckheim, in the vicinity of Mainz, when Custine saw him from a distance. Not approving of his occupation, Custine galloped to him, snatched the paper from his hand, and angrily asked what he was doing. Upon noticing that Gouvion's drawing closely matched the positions, he assigned the young officer to his own staff. One of Custine's staff officers, Simon François Gay de Vernon wrote that he
3311-567: The family is representative of the fates of many of the minor aristocracy in France, especially those in the military and diplomatic corps, whose reputations the Montagnards tarnished in the Reign of Terror . Custine began his career at the age of eight, in 1748, at the end of the War of Austrian Succession in Germany under Marshal Saxe , who continued his tutelage during peace time. During
3388-508: The following day, guillotined. After most of those associated with the previous radical government had been eliminated, the Revolutionary Tribunal was finally discontinued on 31 May 1795 (12 Prairial Year III). While the Convention itself had most people associated with the Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris executed, no similar official process was followed in the provinces. In 1795, the First White Terror broke out in parts of
3465-406: The following year, he was recalled to Paris. After Condé, Mainz and Speyer had all been lost, he was arrested. He was prosecuted in a lengthy trial before the Committee on Public Safety's Revolutionary Tribunal by Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville , and Jacques Hébert continued to attack Custine through his publication Le Père Duchesne . Custine was found guilty of treason by a majority vote of
3542-547: The guilt or innocence of defendants. The judges would then invoke punishments in accordance with the 1791 Penal Code... Early March the War in the Vendée and the War of the Pyrenees began; the population of the Austrian Netherlands were in insurrection against the French invasion. The situation was alarming. On the evening of 9 March, a crowd gathered outside the Convention, shouting threats and calling for
3619-480: The interference of officials of the War Ministry which employed many Jacobins. He attacked not only Pache , the former minister of war, but also Marat and Robespierre. Dumouriez had long been unable to agree with the course of the Convention. He was disenchanted with the radicalisation of the revolution and its politics and put an end to the annexation efforts. The Revolutionary Tribunal was re-established at
3696-463: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Custine&oldid=932779557 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine (4 February 1740 – 28 August 1793)
3773-415: The monarchy in Paris or in the press would be regarded as treasonable, it barely existed. At the same time, there were periodic demands from Enragés and Hébertists that the Tribunal accelerate its work and condemn more of the accused. Among the first to speak up publicly against the Tribunal was Camille Desmoulins in his short-lived journal, " Le Vieux Cordelier ". As a result of his criticisms he
3850-579: The morning, but Charles Hyacinthe Leclerc de Landremont engaged the Austrian army in the meanwhile and prevented them from advancing until Custine arrived and charged the Austrian post with two divisions of dragoons. Unfortunately, a battalion of French mistook Custine's dragoons for the enemy, and fired upon them with great accuracy. Any attempt to rally the battalion met with additional discharges. The commander, who apparently had no control over his troops,
3927-475: The news that rebels in Toulon had handed the city over to the British and several days of rioting in Paris. One of the earliest cases brought to the Tribunal led to its most famous acquittal. On 13 April 1793 Girondin deputés brought an accusation against Jean-Paul Marat . Crucially, this involved waiving the immunity enjoyed until then by members of the Convention (Marat was himself a deputé). Not only did
SECTION 50
#17327867421554004-497: The political leaders who had taken an active part in what was eventually called the Reign of Terror. On 16 December 1794 (26 Frimaire Year III) Jean-Baptiste Carrier was sentenced to death and executed. On 6 May 1795 (17 Floreal Year III), the former President of the Revolutionary Tribunal, Martial Herman , the former Chief Prosecutor Fouquier-Tinville and fourteen former jury members of the Revolutionary Tribunal were convicted, and
4081-445: The reformed criminal justice system of 1791 as well as features with a more 'extraordinary' or 'revolutionary' potential. A bench of five judges would be responsible for running the court itself, but the Convention would control the caseload through deputies elected to a commission de six . Cases would then be presented to the court by an accusateur public (public prosecutor) helped in his work by two deputies, and jurors would decide on
4158-515: The removal of all "traitorous" deputies who had failed to vote for the execution of the king. On 12 March 1793, a provisional Revolutionary Tribunal was established; three days later the Convention appointed Fouquier-Tinville as the " accusateur public " and Fleuriot-Lescot as his assistant. On 11 March, Dumouriez addressed the Brussels assembly, apologising for the actions of the French commissioners and soldiers. On 12 March Dumouriez criticised
4235-455: The representatives on mission, was negligence, for allowing the Allies to take Condé and Valenciennes, and also for the loss of Mainz, a city that Custine had abandoned when occupation became untenable. During his trial, Hébert continued to attack Custine via his newspaper, the infamous Père Duchene . This time Robespierre did not defend Custine. Custine's lovely daughter-in-law came daily to
4312-502: The same subject. Without being explicit, this removed the immunity of members of the Convention which up till then had protected them from summary arrest and required that the Convention itself vote to send any of its members to trial. Three days after the Prairial laws were passed, the guillotine was moved out of Paris. It had previously stood on the Place du Carrousel , was then moved to the Place de la Revolution , and then again to
4389-633: The surrender of the British, the Saintonge regiment wintered in Williamsburg, Virginia and departed for the Antilles in December 1782, with the rest of the expeditionary force. On his return to France, Custine was named maréchal de camp ( brigadier general ) and appointed governor of Toulon . He also resumed responsibilities as the proprietor of the dragoon regiment de Rouergue. In 1789,
4466-435: The trials held in Paris. The provincial tribunals which were allowed to continue their work were Bordeaux, Arras, and Nîmes in the south, as well as Arras and Cambrai in the north. Following the attempted assassinations of Convention members Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois on 23 May and Maximilien Robespierre on 25 May 1794, on 10 June (22 Prairial Year II) the so-called " Prairial Laws " were passed. These limited trials in
4543-469: Was Nicholas Luckner's aide-de-camp; following Luckner's dismissal, he entered a brief embassy duty in Berlin in 1792 as chargé de affaires and eventually, as diplomatic relations between France and the rest of Europe became strained, he was a hostage for the safe return of Prussian and Austrian diplomats in Paris. His deceased mother had left him capital of 700,000 livres , making him a wealthy young man; it
4620-501: Was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders . In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of the period often called the Reign of Terror . Early 1791 freedom of defence became the standard; any citizen was allowed to defend another. From the beginning, the authorities were concerned about this experiment. Derasse suggests it
4697-580: Was a "collective suicide" by the lawyers in the Assembly. In criminal cases, the expansion of the right ... gave priority to the spoken word. By December 1791 deputies voted themselves the power to select the judges, jury and accusateur public . On 15 February 1792 the Tribunal Criminel was installed with Maximilien Robespierre as accusateur . On 10 April Robespierre decided to give up his position and became an ordinary citizen who published
SECTION 60
#17327867421554774-755: Was a French general. As a young officer in the French Royal Army , he served in the Seven Years' War . In the American Revolutionary War he joined Rochambeau 's Expédition Particulière (Special Expedition) supporting the American colonists. Following the successful Virginia campaign and the Battle of Yorktown , he returned to France and rejoined his unit in the Royal Army. When the French Revolution began he
4851-405: Was a son of Philippe-François-Joseph, comte de Custine , and Anne-Marguerite Maguin, daughter of Francois, comte d' Roussy and Marguerite de Walter. His father, the tenth count, had died at the Battle of Rossbach in 1757, one of six French generals killed in the engagement. Custine's other titles included Signeur de Guermagne and de Sareck, and he was, after 1770, also the lord of Niderviller ,
4928-418: Was ably defended by Robespierre , the French revolutionary and lawyer, who declared Custine an honest man who gave his country good service. With Robespierre's defense, he was cleared of all charges, and was later given command of the Army of the North . In early May 1793, Custine designed a plan to cut off a body of the Coalition force that had ventured too far from the main force at Mainz. However, since he
5005-413: Was about to take command of the Army of the North, he delegated some of the responsibility for this plan to Jean Nicolas Houchard (another ill-fated general destined for the guillotine), instructing him to attack Limbourg with the Army of the Moselle . The garrison at Landau was to make several feints to distract the Prussian troops. Custine also created and distributed a false report that the cavalry of
5082-695: Was appointed to command two armies, Custine wrote accurately, "the conduct of two armies is beyond Houchard's power..." The letter was published and hurt the feelings of a man who had served Custine loyally. Custine unwisely got into a quarrel with General Pierre Joseph Ferrier du Chastelet who was on friendly terms with the War Minister Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte . He also denounced fellow army commanders Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville and François Christophe de Kellermann . Born in Metz on 4 February 1740, Custine
5159-525: Was assumed that his father would also settle a suitable amount on him upon his marriage as well as the family estates in Niderviller , which included six farms. Custine, as an aristocratic general, and his son, an up-and-coming diplomat, seemed natural targets of suspicion. In 1792, after spending part of a year in Berlin, the younger Custine found himself under suspicion, despite his careful and circumspect behavior in Berlin: he had gone out of his way to make sure that he documented and reported any contact with
5236-429: Was awarded military rank. Custine's son, Renaud-Louis-Philippe-Francois, (b. in Paris in 1768 and died 3 January 1794), also called Armand, was a captain in one of the regiments in the Army of the Rhine. As a young man, he had traveled widely, and made a long study of the art of war in Berlin. Comte de Mirabeau , ever the politician, predicted that the young Custine would become a well-respected diplomat. By 1792, Armand
5313-574: Was careful of his soldiers' well-being, a good administrator, generous with his own money, used to managing soldiers, able to understand things at a glance, sober, and active. Custine appreciated the sage advice of intelligent officers and showed his gratitude to them. Aside from Saint-Cyr, Custine appointed Louis Desaix and Jean-Baptiste Kléber to his staff. His enormous vanity, his belief that his plans were so wonderful that he failed to see their flaws, and his bad habit of accusing and denouncing other generals were Custine's greatest flaws. When Houchard
5390-503: Was carried out against the Fusilier's Redoubt at the opposite end of the line in which the French suffered 16 casualties. One of Rochambeau's aides, Baron Ludwig von Closen wrote that Custine botched this assignment by making the feint attack after the other redoubts were captured. The aide heard that Custine was late because he had imbibed too much alcohol and believed the rumor because he had seen Custine drunk. Closen asserted that Custine underwent 24-hours arrest for his blunder. Following
5467-410: Was criticized as ineffective by some Jacobins . The Law of Suspects (17 September 1793) greatly increased the number of prisoners who were imprisoned and might be brought to trial. Between October and the end of 1793 the Tribunal issued 177 death sentences. Similar tribunaux révolutionnaires were also in operation in the various French departments. However, on 16 April 1794 (27 Germinal Year II)
5544-451: Was denounced by both the representatives and his troops, and was arrested, but shot himself. Custine was disgusted with the affair: "This day, which ought to have so memorable, terminated by the taking of one piece of cannon and a very great number of prisoners." Custine was recalled to Paris on 15 July. Upon arrival in Paris, Custine displayed his usual sang froid , which seemed to exasperate his political enemies. He took private rooms in
5621-493: Was elected to the Estates-General and served in the subsequent National Constituent Assembly as a representative from Metz . He supported some of the August Decrees , but also supported, generally, royal prerogative and the rights of the French émigrés . At the dissolution of the Assembly in 1791, he rejoined the army as a lieutenant general and the following year replaced Nicolas Luckner as commander-in-chief of
5698-691: Was established on 17 August 1792 in response to the Storming of the Tuileries , to ensure that there was some appropriate legal process for dealing with suspects accused of political crimes and treason, rather than arbitrary killing by local committees. The provisional Tribunal was abolished in November 1792 at the start of the trial of Louis XVI , and during this time had sentenced twenty-eight people to death. Mostly these were ordinary criminals rather than political prisoners. It incorporated elements from
5775-463: Was expelled from the Jacobin Club. Later he was arrested, tried and executed together with Danton. On the eve of his execution, Danton expressed his regret for having advocated the Tribunal. "It was just a year ago that I was the means of instituting the Revolutionary Tribunal; may God and man forgive me for what I did then; but it was not that it might become the scourge of humanity." After
5852-476: Was in charge of the French troops that opened the first parallel at Yorktown on 8 October 1781. During other Yorktown operations he acted as a second-in-command to Claude-Anne de Rouvroy de Saint Simon . At least one officer had a poor opinion of Custine. At 7:00 pm on the night of 14–15 October, French and American columns successfully stormed two British redoubts in the Yorktown defenses. A diversionary attack
5929-491: Was once again with the prosecution. Soon afterwards, all of the judges on the Revolutionary Tribunal were replaced, and the local surveillance committees were curtailed, so that there were henceforth to be only twelve in Paris and one per district outside the capital. The Law on Suspects however remained in force. The Revolutionary Tribunal was used by the Thermidorian Convention as an instrument to destroy
#154845