Le chevalier de Cherval

 

The Knight of Cherval

 

There are certain people throughout history who’s life has not been the subject of extensive and renowned university studies, but their life and adventures certainly merit being told. This, in my opinion, is the case with Louis-Marie de Lageard, knight of Cherval, born on the 10th of January 1756 at Pont-à-Mousson. He was the son of Raphaël, count of Lageard, lord of Cherval and other domains, first lord of Lageard, knight of Saint-Louis, and of Marthe-Louise Ragot ; he was baptized in the church of Cherval on the 23rd of April 1690.

After a long military career, Raphaël was commander at Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine ; between 1737 and 1758, he had nine, maybe ten, children of whom the boys, apart from the eldest and one other who became a priest, all served in the army.

 

Louis-Marie entered the Royal College of La Flèche in 1763 then, in 1770, entered the military academy of Les Cadets de La Flèche and graduated four years later as a sub-lieutenant, and affected to the Dragoons of Port au Prince in Santo Domingo. He received the Saint Lazarus medal for his zeal and conduct there.

Homesick (not having seen his mother for eleven years) he fell sick and asked for a year’s leave to return to France to convalesce; he was nineteen at the time. The Royal Naval Archives show that his request, supported by the duchess of Mailly, his protector, reached the desk of the minister Antoine de Sartine. Cherval was finally granted an initial leave in 1775, and returned to France most probably at Orléans, where his brother Benjamin-François, former vicar general of Reims, was then priest at La Cour-Dieu, in the diocese of Orléans. Here, the doctor Mounier diagnosed an intermittent fever (see annex), possibly malaria, or, possibly what would be labelled today deep depression, or both. Consequently,  he was granted another year of recovery. In higher circles , he was considered insane as were two of his brothers. Maybe as the result of a new posting, he resigned on the 20th of February 1778.

 

In the same year France declared war on England and naval hostilities, including those of the Indian Ocean, continued until July of 1783. It seems that just over a year after his departure, the knight regained his service, for on the 27th of December 1779 he is lieutenant of a frigate. Six months later, on the 5th of July 1780, the frigate La Capricieuse is pursued by two English frigates, the Prudent and the Unicorn, in the waters of  Cape Finisterre off the coast of La Coruña in Galicia; the commander Le Breton de Ransanne, who, in 1772, was still a captain in the fusiliers, and his second, the knight of Chapelle Fontane having been killed, it was the lieutenant Cherval who, although injured, took command. However, the vessel having been destroyed, he was obliged to surrender.  The ship was in such a state that the English burned and sunk it rather than capture a wreck. He was taken prisonner and jailed in Mill’s Prison in Plymouth, where he did not stay long and was probably part of a prisonner exchange, as was the custom.

On the 1st February 1781 Cherval was promoted captain of a fire-ship, transferred from Dunkirk to Brest, and placed aboard the Indien, a 64 gun ship launched in 1768. On the 20th June 1783, whilst on board the Hardi, another 64 gun-ship of the line launched in 1751, he fought in the Battle of Gondelour off Pondichery with the squadron of Admiral Pierre André de Suffren, known as ‘the Bailiff of Suffren’, and his 74 gun-ship Hannibal, (launched at Brest in 1779). It is interesting to note that the squadron was joined by the famouse frigate, Hermione (2). Once again, Cherval is seriously wounded. In 1785, he is lieutenant on board the Minerve, a frigate under the command of the Knight of Ligondès ; on the 21 June the vessel is anchored off Alger with orders to negotiate the release of 313 French prisoners, captured and held as slaves by the Bey of Alger. In 1786, Louis-Marie is promoted lieutenant and undertakes five campaigns and two battles. He embarks at Lorient on the frigate Dryade, under the command of Count Guy Pierre de Kersaint de Coëtnenpren, who will sail to the South China Sea, via the Mauritius Islands and Pondichery, to accompany Pierre-Joseph-Georges Pigneaux de Béhaine, bishop of Adran, appointed by Pope Clement XIV as Apostolic Vicar of Cochinchina and Cambodia, and Canh, the son of Prince Nguyen-Phuoc-Anh. Prince Cahn had been sent by his father as proof of his father’s credentials in the hope the bishop might defend his interests before Louis XVI. On the return voyage, Louis-Marie falls sick aboard the Dryade and is disembarked in November 1790 on Bourbon Island (now named La Réunion) in the Mascarene Archipelago. He spends the Revolution on the Ile de France (now Mauritius), where he settles at Pamplemousses on the north west of the island and marries Anne-Marie-Elisabeth Collard on the 28th August 1792 (4). They have three sons and a daughter : Louis, Ludovic-Raphaël, Elisabeth-Louise and the last, Marie-Raphaël Adalbert in 1815. The General Decaen, governor of Mascareignes and member of the Colonial Assembly, names him second in command. In 1809 he is named commander of the Grand Port district where he lives.

 

Following the defeat of the British navy, he is ordered to reclaim the island of La Passe in 1810. The same year, during the English attack of Mauritius, he is one of the first to take up arms and does not surrender until the French defeat in 1814. The island was returned four years later to the French….and then retaken. It would seem, as was the case with many members of the nobility during the Revolution, that the Knight no longer used his aristocratic particle and became known as simply Lageard, as written upon his tombstone. Moreover, Knight of Cherval was not an indication of nobility, but one of provenance ; I might, just as well, call myself Vigne of Vertillac ! Louis-Marie de Lageard, knight of Cherval died on the 20th October 1834, near to Deux Bras on Mauritius at the age of 78, a highly respectable age for his time.

Louis-Emmanuel de Lageard de Cherval, a grandson by Ludovic-Raphaël,  was born on the 13th September 1836 on Mauritius. He was lieutenant of the line and dubbed knight of the Legion of Honour by decree on the 11th August 1869, whilst officer on board the aviso Curieux. He married a lady from Cavalhès(5). He no longer appears in the rolls of 1874, probably having returned to civilian life, which does not seem to have been a success as he is condemned to two years imprisonment for embezzlement and forgery. He no longer appears in the maritime registry, by decree,  as of the 8th June 1878. In 1872 he was living in Cherbourg.

I would like to thank my wife, the Mauritius Historical Society, the Regional Archives of Meurthe et Moselle, and to  Madame Catherine and Monsieur Jean-Paul Léger for their kind and precious help.

                               André Vigne.

(1) Captain of a Fire-Ship was basically a rank between lieutenant of a frigate and a vessel. The fire-ship was a boat filled, at the bow, with explosives and inflammable material, and launched towards the enemy ship to set it on fire. It was more often than not an old, small vessel, a brick or a sloop, decommissioned from, either, the military or merchant navy. The crew, with a captain, was small, from 4 to 10, and sailed the boat towards the enemy and having lit the fuse escaped in a rowing boat.

(2) In 1782 the crew of the frigate Hermione was composed of the following : the commander, 10 staff officers, 44 maintenance crew, 35 soldiers and sub-officers, 29 supernumeraries (civilian crew), 152 crew members and 31 cabin boys, in all a total of 302 crew members. ( The Arsenal of Rochefort).

(3) It is interesting to note part of this episode is related in the last novel of Jean-François Parot, The Prince of Cochinchina, Jean-Claude Lattès, 2017.

(4) Biographies of Famous People from Mauritius by Auguste Toussaint.

(5) Jean-Marie Ouvrard (Blasons de la Charente) 

 

Programme 2022 du club histoire de La Tour Blanche

Voici le programme 2022

´ Du lundi 14 au vendredi 18 février, prospection-inventaire des carrières aériennes autour de Jovelle (la Tour Blanche),

´ Lundi 7 mars, 20h 30 salle polyvalente de La Tour Blanche : « Bilan d’étape des fouilles du cluzeau aux sept chambres de chez Tézy à Cercles » par Simon Chassin,

´ Dimanche 3 avril, « Découverte pédestre des cluzeaux et carrières de la vallée de la Sandonie à Léguillac de Cercles », suivie d’un repas salle des fêtes de Léguillac

´ Lundi 9 mai, 20h 30, salle polyvalente : « Hérétiques en Périgord au Moyen-Âge » par Jean François Gareyte,

´ Lundi 13 juin, salle polyvalente de La Tour Blanche : « Evêques périgourdins en Espagne du nord au XIIe siècle » par Claude Lacombe,

´ Deuxième quinzaine de juillet première quinzaine d’Aout (dates à préciser !) : « poursuite des fouilles sur le site de Chez Tézy » sous la direction de Simon Chassin

´ Samedi 10 septembre : « Visite du château de la Mercerie, puis conférence sur Raymond Réthoré » par Emmanuel Sallée. Repas de midi dans le château et Assemblée Générale

´  Lundi 10 octobre à 20h 30 : salle de conférence du château de la Mefreynie à Verteillac : « Pasquey Ducluzeau, un personnage atypique : médecin, agriculteur, homme politique » par Iñes de La Ville

´ Samedi 10 décembre après-midi, salle polyvalente de La Tour Blanche, "Les chansons de geste" conférence illustrée par des extraits de "la geste de Guillaume d'Orange" avec Sonia Breux, conférencière, Jean-Pierre Pouxviel conteur et Christophe Villeveygoux accompagnateur à la vielle à roue. 

 

Monographie sur le village des Graulges et réflexions historiques sur les épidémies en Périgord

 

Une monographie sur le village des Graulges

Mme Nicole Vigne vient de terminer une étude sur l'histoire de son village natal, les Graulges (aujourd'hui dans la commune de Mareuil en Périgord).

Cette étude est le  fruit de plus d'un an de recherches aux archives départementales et communales. Vous pouvez vous procurer cette monographie (72 pages) pour la somme de 10 €, soit à la mairie des Graulges, soit auprès de l'auteure: nicolevigne24320@gmail.com .

 

A monograph of the village of Graulges

 

Madame Nicole Vigne has recently completed a study of her native village, Les Graulges ( today, part of Mareuil en Périgord)

This study is the fruit of over a year of research at the local and regional archives. The 72 page monograph can be purchased for 10 €, either at the Graulges mairie, or directly from the author :  nicolevigne24320@gmail.com .


 

 

Épidémies, disettes, révoltes en Périgord

 

La lèpre, connue depuis l’Antiquité et, semble-t-il, importée par les Croisés, était presque banale sur notre territoire. Selon les périodes de l’Histoire, les lépreux ont été bannis des villes, tolérés ou exterminés. Les léproseries ou maladreries, leur offraient un abri et des soins comme à Périgueux, La Rochebeaucourt, Milhac de Nontron, Bruzac ou La Tour Blanche. La dernière maladrerie, celle de Périgueux, a été fermée dans les années 1750.1

De 1521 à 1749, soit plus de deux siècles, les épidémies de peste noire ont déferlé sur le Périgord. Cependant, on constate que c’est le Sarladais et la vallée de la Vézère qui ont été le plus touchés : en 1522, Sarlat perd la moitié de ses 6.000 habitants.

La nourriture des paysans du Périgord est essentiellement composée de châtaignes en hiver et de maïs en été qu’ils produisent ; peu commercialisent un surplus et se font quelque argent. L’abus de consommation de blé d’Espagne, le maïs a engendré une maladie : la pellagre, par carence de vitamine PP, qui se traduit par des troubles digestifs éruptions cutanées, inflammation de la bouche, désordres mentaux (la folie pellagreuse), elle a sévi en 1776 à Saint-Pardoux de Mareuil.2

La suette milliaire de même que le choléra n’apparaîtront que dans les années 1840, la grippe espagnole en 1918.

A la mortalité d’une population essentiellement paysanne et une agriculture rudimentaire, viennent souvent s’ajouter des aléas climatiques qui engendrent de mauvaises récoltes et, par conséquent, des disettes dont les dernières iront au-delà de 1775.

« Le livre de raison de la famille Morras nous apprend que l'épidémie de 1693 a tué «  plus du tiers des personnes dam la province ». L'Intendant de Bordeaux donne le chiffre de soixante mille morts, enfants comme adultes. Pour avoir une idée de l'importance de ces chiffres, nous rappellerons qu'en 1768 la population des deux Élections est estimée à 448.412 habitants par le géographe Expilly. Il est logique de penser que les famines du début du XVIIIème siècle ont, elles aussi, fait

payer leur tribut à la population périgordine. Aussi peut-on envisager un chiffre de population avoisinant 400.000 habitants au lendemain de la dernière épidémie qui avait emporté 15 à 30 % de la population. Il dépasse de beaucoup l'évaluation faite par J.-N. Biraben de 5 à 7 % au niveau de la France entière pour l'ensemble du XVIIème siècle.

Par le dépouillement des registres paroissiaux, des testaments, des archives des collectivités religieuses et de certains groupes sociaux ou professionnels, l'étude statistique approfondie de l'incidence des épidémies en Périgord reste encore à faire. »3

Ces phénomènes, auxquels s’ajoutent le poids des taxes et souvent l’arrogance des nobles et la dureté de la féodalité et de son servage, ont suscité entre 1593 et 1595 des révoltes de paysans en Guyenne, Limousin et Périgord. Le 22 mai 1594 se tient à Monpazier la première assemblée des croquants.

En 1636, l’armée de plusieurs milliers de croquants, menée par un gentilhomme : Antoine du Puy, sieur de La Mothe La Forêt, échoue de peu le vendredi 1er mai, à prendre Périgueux mais ils prennent Bergerac, ils sont 8.000 à Monpazier, bastide huguenote. Des désordres dus aux guerres de religion puis aux défaites militaires contre la puissance royale mettent fin à la révolte en 16444.

André Vigne

 

1 BSHAP, tome 126, année 1999, page 439

2 Alimentation et population rurale en Périgord au XVIIIème siècle par Richard Beaudry dans                             les Annales de démographie historique, année 1976 (édition Mouton), page 53 et 54

3 Claude LACOMBE (Mémoire de la Dordogne de juin 1995, page 38)

4 La révolte des croquants en Périgord, par E. Cerou (Cahiers du GAM n°15)

 

 

Epidemics, famine and revolt in Périgord

 

Leprosy, known since Antiquity and, it seems, imported by the Crusaders was relatively unheard of in our region. Throughout different periods of history, lepers were cast out of towns and either tolerated or exterminated. The leper-houses, or maladreries (lazaretto), offered sanctuary and care, as in Périgueux, La Rochebeaucourt, Milhac de Nontron, Bruzac ou La Tour Blanche. The last leper-hospital, that of Périgueux, was closed in 1750.1

 

For over two centuries, from 1521 to 1749, epidimics of the Black Death descended upon the Périgord. However, it was the region of Sarlat and the Vézère valley that was most affected : in 1522 Sarlat lost half of it's 6000 inhabitants.

Food for the peasants of Périgord is essentially composed of chestnuts during the winter, and the corn they produced during the summer; very few were able to sell surplus to earn some money. Consumption abuse of corn, of what became known as 'Spanish Wheat', provoked an illness : Pellagra, a vitamin B3 defficiency. Symptoms included digestive problems, skin rashes, inflamation of the mouth, mental dissorders ( Pellagra Folly), it broke out in Saint-Pardoux de Mareuil in Mareuil.2

Sweating Sickness, alongside Cholera, didn't appear until the 1840s, Spanish Flu in 1918.

To what was an essentially peasant mortality rate and rudimentary agriculture, were added climate amonalies that ruined harvests, and, subsequently caused famine, the last recorded beyond 1775.

"The Morras family 'livre de raison' (a family register of accounts and happenings) tells us that the 1693 epidemic killed 'more than a third of the people in the province'" The Intendant of Bordeaux gives the number of 60,000 dead, both adults and children. To understand the importance of these figures, we do well to remember that in 1768 the population of the two Élections was estimated at 448,412 people by the geographer Expilly. It is logical to assume that famine in the early part of the 18th century, also, decimated the population of Périgord.

We can, subsequently, consider a population of roughly 400,000 after the last epidemic had killed 15 to 30% of the population. It is way over the estimate made by J-N Biraben of 5 to 7% of the French population for the 17th century.

For the counting of parish registers, wills, religious archives and certain social and professional groups, a serious statistical study on the impact of epidemics on the Périgord remains to be done."3

These events, to which must be added the weight of imposition, and often the arrogance of the nobility, and the severity of feudalism with it's servitude, provoked, between 1593 and 1595, peasant revolts in Guyenne, Limousin and Périgord. On the 22nd May 1594 the first meeting of the Croquants was held in Monpazier.

In 1636, an army of several thousand croquants, led by a gentleman, Antoine du Puy, sieur de La Mothe La Forêt, barely failed to capture Périgueux, but took Bergerac; they were 8,000 at Monpazier, a Hugenot stronghold. Disorder caused by the Wars of Religion, and subsequent defeat against Royal authority, put an end to the revolt in 16444.

 

André Vigne

 

 

1 BSHAP,volume126, year 1999, page 439

2 Alimentation et population rurale en Périgord au XVIIIème siècle by Richard Beaudry in                           les Annales de démographie historique, year 1976 (édition Mouton), pages 53 and 54

3 Claude LACOMBE (Mémoire de la Dordogne de juin 1995, page 38)

4 La révolte des croquants en Périgord, by E. Cerou (Cahiers du GAM n°15)