The Insurrection In Paris - free ebook by Davy (An Englishman)

AN ENGLISHMAN

An eye-witness of that frightful war and of the terrible evils which accompanied it PRICE: 2 fr. 50 c....

6 minute read

Read Chapter

1871

Imprimerie de F. Le Blanc-Hardel, rue Froide, 2 et 4, à Caen. Paris, June the 25 th 1871....

6 minute read

Read Chapter

DEAR EDWARD,

To you who have been pleased to take some interest in what I wrote about Paris, I inscribe this small volume which, according to your suggestion, I publish under the form of a nearly day per day correspondence. Yours truly , DAVY....

12 minute read

Read Chapter

RECOLLECTIONS

The desire of appreciating de visu the results of a five month's siege in a town of two million inhabitants, unexampled in the annals of humanity, made me leave London on the twentieth of March. Hardly landed in the Capital of France which I thought of finding tranquil and occupied in exercising its genius in repairing the disasters caused by the enemy, I heard with stupefaction that Paris, a prey to civil war, was under the blow of a fresh siege. Sad change! the German helmets had given place t

4 minute read

Read Chapter

may 1rst.

This day is signalized by the capture of the railway-station of Clamart, where the insurgents lost, in addition to 60 prisoners, about 300 killed by the bayonet. The soldiers of Versailles gave no quarter, excited as they were at the sight of the deserters of the Line who served in the ranks of the commune. It was also on this day that general Mariouze retook the castle of Issy, having captured 250 insurgents. This number was increased by others, made prisoners during the day, and they arrived a

27 minute read

Read Chapter

may 2nd.

The scaffolding for the destruction of the Vendôme Column is arranged, and the eighth of this month is the day fixed for its fall. The fighting around Paris continues violent and the troops of Versailles press steadily forward. The railway-companies are taxed to the amount of 2,000,000 fr. Let us terminate this day by the recital of the pillage of Notre-Dame....

19 minute read

Read Chapter

NOTRE-DAME PLUNDERED.

People were astonished that the commune should have restored the treasure of Notre-Dame after having had it taken away. To day the astonishment will cease: the furniture and vases had been brought back only to be re-taken. On monday, april 26th., in the afternoon, a certain number of national guards, accompanied by the self-styled delegates of the commune, loaded, for the second time, in two carriages, the treasure of Notre-Dame. Then, having doubtless met with some difficulties, they had the ho

2 minute read

Read Chapter

may 3d.

A manifestation, provoked by the Freemasons, took place in the afternoon. A body of several thousands of people crossed the Champs-Élysées, carrying green branches and white flags. Arrived at the gate Maillot, the firing ceased, but the manifestation was warned not to approach and that only two parliamentarians would be received. They accordingly presented themselves and will be this evening at Versailles. It is reported that yesterday 200 soldiers, wearing the uniform of troops of the Line, wen

32 minute read

Read Chapter

may 4th.

Two brigades carried off last night the park, the castle and cemetery of Issy, taking 8 guns, ammunition and a hundred prisoners. They had a few dead and 20 wounded. The cemetery is about 210 yards from the fort. The capture of this fort appears imminent. Yesterday, M r . Thiers received two parliamentarians, freemasons, who declared, however, they had no mandate. M r . Thiers gave them an answer similar to those already known; that he desired more than any body the end of the civil war, but tha

1 minute read

Read Chapter

may 5, 6th.

Such was the remark I heard made yesterday by a poor and very old peasant woman as she stopped work for a moment in a field above Montretout to look at the Fort firing. She followed up this admirable summary of recent military operations by asking me whether it was not amazing that somebody could not "invent" a means to put a stop to this Civil War. I think the whole world must concur with this poor old woman. It is always the same repetition that is certain, and it is so to even a greater degre

6 minute read

Read Chapter

may 7th.

In consequence of a large placard posted over the walls of Paris this morning I passed through the gate of the private garden of the Tuileries, and made my way, in company with a crowd of citizens of all classes, through the apartments occupied but a few months ago by the ex-Emperor and Empress. The printed invitation announced that we might see the rooms in which the "tyrant" had lived, for the modest sum of 50c., but that, should we think proper to take tickets for the concert, "whereby these

12 minute read

Read Chapter

may 8th.

In consequence of the bombardment daily expected from the Montretout batteries people have been hurriedly leaving Paris in great numbers. Fort Vanves took fire last night, and had to be evacuated. It was found impossible to extinguish the fire. It is still burning. The explosion at Issy arose from a torpedo, not a powder magazine. The Fort is evacuated. There has been a general heavy firing to-day, and the Point du Jour has suffered severely. Father Hogan, the curé of St. Sulpice, a British subj

1 minute read

Read Chapter

may 9th.—and 10th.

Forts Montrouge and Vanves have been reduced to silence by a battery of mitrailleuses established on a parapet of Issy, which picks off Federal artillerymen when they show themselves. Seven guns on bastions 72, 73, and 74 have been dismounted by the new battery of Montretout and the bastions silenced. Many prisoners are said to have been taken at Issy yesterday. The National Guards of Vaugirard and the Panthéon decline to march, barely a third of their numbers having answered the call. The Vendô

1 minute read

Read Chapter

may 10th.

The Committee of Public Safety, in consequence of the proclamation of M. Thiers, which was placarded in Paris, has issued a decree ordering the furniture and property of M. Thiers to be seized, and his house in the Place St. Georges to be immediately demolished. The Commune, in its sitting of yesterday, decided to bring Colonel Rossel before a court-martial. Delescluze has been appointed Delegate of War. Colonel Rossel was arrested yesterday and handed over to the custody of Citizen Gerardin. At

38 minute read

Read Chapter

may 11th.

There is increasing discouragement among the National Guards, in spite of the retaking of Vanves. The Vengeur hints at a plot headed by Gerardin, and states that 400 National Guards, who exhibited no numbers of their battalions, were assembled for an unknown purpose at the Luxembourg; that at the same time officers who were making a domiciliary visit at Gerardin's house were attacked, and that in another quarter an attempt was made to assassinate Dombrowski. A considerable portion of masonry fro

2 minute read

Read Chapter

may 12th.—13th.

There was a considerable movement in the city yesterday consequent on desperate attempts to enlist refractory citizens in marching battalions. Pressgangs paraded the streets all day, and many men within the ages of 19 and 40 were, it is said, temporarily incarcerated in the Church of Notre Dame de Lorette. An extraordinary meeting was held at the Hôtel de Ville in consequence of a supposed discovery of a reactionary plot. Forty-seven Gendarmes, says the Mot d'Ordre , were found in the Marine Bar

1 minute read

Read Chapter

may 14th.

A large crowd has been waiting in the Rue de la Paix since 4 o'clock to see the fall of the Vendôme Column. Its fall had been officially promised at that hour, but up to half-past 6 it was still standing. It will probably fall to-day. The tricolour flag has just been attached to the statue, amid faint cheers from the crowd. An Armistice has been arranged for next Wednesday, to enable the inhabitants of Vanves and the neighbourhood to remove. Cluseret, Megy, and Schoelcher have been released. The

2 minute read

Read Chapter

may 15th.

The Journal Officiel announced that the Column would positively fall to-day at 2. A great concourse assembled. Bands played. The Commune and their Staff, amounting to 200, attended on horseback. At 3.45 p.m. an attempt was made, which failed owing to the breaking of a snatchblock. The ropes slackened suddenly, injuring two men. Another attempt was made, fresh ropes having been added, and the Column fell at about 10 minutes to 6. It broke up in the air as it fell. The concussion was nothing like

50 minute read

Read Chapter

may the 16th.

Two hundred National Guards entered the Grand Hotel last night. After having searched every room, under the pretence of looking for arms, they retired with a good deal of plunder. This is on that subject a letter forwarded by Mister van Henbeck to the Figaro Journal . It has been spoken in different ways of the frequent searches made in the Grand Hotel, since the occupation by the admiral Saisset and his Staff, which had rendered the Hotel suspected by the "Commune" and the "Comité Central." The

3 minute read

Read Chapter

may 17th

The "Majority of the Commune"—as the Commune is now spoken of in consequence of the secession of 22 of its members—has resolved to form a Central Club like that of the Jacobins, composed of delegates from various clubs of Paris, in order to keep itself en rapport with public opinion. The 12th Legion has formed a battalion of women, who in addition to their other military duties are to disarm publicly all runaways. The Communal Delegation of the 2 d Arrondissement, considering that slavery was co

3 minute read

Read Chapter

may 18th.

To-day was a day of feasting, and National Guards surrounded the Churches of St. Augustin and La Trinité, and forced the priests to stop Divine service, and turned out the congregations. The establishment of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul was also surrounded. An inventory was made of the goods, the Sisters being themselves placed under lock and key until to-morrow, when they will be turned out. Bodies are being removed from the crypt of the Church of Les Petits Pères, near the Bank

2 minute read

Read Chapter

may 19th.

The firing was heavier last night than it has ever been. There were both a cannonade and a fusillade. Everybody thought that the Versaillais had at last made their assault. It appears that the Communists attempted a sortie, and were repulsed with great loss. Numerous waggons filled with wounded were taken to Versailles. Various battalions returned to Paris, apparently much dispirited. Numerous reinforcements, however, were brought up. The bullets are falling so thickly about the ramparts that th

13 minute read

Read Chapter

may 20th.

M. ROCHEFORT. Never have I witnessed a scene of greater excitement than the entry of Rochefort into Versailles as a prisoner to-day. He was brought in by the St. Germain road, and was seated in a family omnibus drawn by two horses. First came a squadron of gendarmes, then the omnibus, surrounded by Chasseurs D'Afrique, and lastly a squadron of the same corps. In the vehicle with Rochefort were his secretary, Mouriot, and four police agents dressed in plain clothes. Outside the omnibus were an of

3 minute read

Read Chapter

may 21st.—and 22d.

The great event of yesterday came upon every one by surprise. It had been expected, but not for yesterday. Even the Marshal Commanding-in-Chief looked onward to at least six more days of sapping and mounting of batteries and actual breaching before his army would be able to make the final movement. A certain number of the troops were inside the enceinte before any one but themselves knew of it, and Auteuil and the Point du Jour were shelled for nearly two hours after they had fallen into possess

9 minute read

Read Chapter

may the 23d.

It may be desirable that I should add some particulars to the account I have already given of the way in which the troops moved from the enceinte to the different positions they occupied in Paris last night. The first column, proceeding between the railway and the Fortifications, made its way from Auteuil to La Muette; the second, starting from Auteuil, threw down a barricade which had been erected behind the railway arch, and, taking the Rue Raynouard and the Rue Franklin, proceeded by the high

4 minute read

Read Chapter

may 24th.

"The Generals, desiring to treat the city with lenity, withheld any attack upon public monuments in which the insurgents had taken up positions. This morning they carried the Place de la Concorde. The Ministry of Finances, the Hôtel of the Conseil d'Etat, the Palace of the Légion of Honour, and the Palace of the Tuileries were burnt by the insurgents. When the troops gained possession of the Tuileries, it was but a mass of smouldering ashes. The Louvre will be saved. The Hôtel de Ville is in fla

4 minute read

Read Chapter

may 25th.

I have been over a large portion of the city to-day and I am happy to say that, though large fires are still raging, the conflagration is not spreading to the extent that had been apprehended. The destruction done by the street fighting and the desolation which prevails in the principal Boulevards and other leading thoroughfares exceed all I could have imagined from a more distant view. I went to the Porte de la Muette, and, getting round to the left, approached the Arc de Triomphe from the Aven

5 minute read

Read Chapter

may 26th.

The attack on Belleville was made this morning soon after daybreak. General Clinchant approached it from the ramparts, and General Bruat's Division marched on it in front from the direction of the Rue de Paris. The troops had to attack seven barricades successively. When they had made a partial progress the Insurgents, seeing defeat inevitable, offered to surrender on condition that their lives should be spared. This was refused, and the struggle continued till the military succeeded. A large nu

3 minute read

Read Chapter

may 27th.

If it is difficult to realize the present condition of Paris, it is still more difficult to describe it. We creep timidly about the streets, haunted by the constant dread, either of being arrested as belonging to the Commune, pressed into a chaîne , or struck by the fragment of some chance shell, and oppressed ever by the scenes of destruction and desolation that surround us; the whole forming a combination which produces a sensation more nearly allied to nightmare than to any psychological expe

18 minute read

Read Chapter

may 28th.

A week has elapsed to-day since the Versailles troops established themselves inside the enceinte , and the fighting has been incessant ever since; this is hard work enough for the assailants, who number nearly 150,000 men; but for the soldiers—if soldiers they can be called—of the Commune, the effort has already been almost superhuman. Gradually diminishing in numbers, constantly finding themselves forced upon a smaller area, and, therefore, the target of a more concentrated fire, hemmed in upon

15 minute read

Read Chapter

may 29th.

By Saturday evening the various Corps of the Versailles troops, steadily converging on the Insurgents from the North, South, and West, had forced them into their last strongholds of Père-Lachaise, and at the Buttes Chaumont, in Belleville; and M. Thiers on Saturday announced that the final attack would be made on Sunday morning. But the troops waited no longer to finish their terrible work. On Saturday Père-Lachaise was taken by General Vinoy ; in the evening the Buttes Chaumont were carried by

5 minute read

Read Chapter

may 30th.

Paris is perfectly tranquil. Shops are opening. The streets are crowded with people examining the amount of damage done. Prisoners in groups of a hundred are being marched under escort down the Boulevards. Fighting ceased about 3 yesterday afternoon. A few shots were fired from the windows at Belleville, where frightful scenes are said to have been enacted. The more desperate characters, felons and escaped forçats of the worst description, turned at the last moment on their own comrades because

1 minute read

Read Chapter

may 31st and june 1st.

The search for Insurgents from house to house is still going on vigorously. It is still very hard either to leave or even to enter Paris, Gourde, the Communist Minister of Finance, has been found. It is said by Insurgents that Cluseret ought to be among the last batch of prisoners taken at Fort Vincennes. This being their last place of refuge it is expected that many other ringleaders will be discovered. The Communist commander of that Fort sent to the Bavarian General a list of his officers and

3 minute read

Read Chapter

june 2d, and 3rd.

Two days ago I was so fortunate as to meet Mons. Petit, the Secretary of the late Archbishop, who had only escaped from the prison in which he had been confined with the unfortunate Prelate the day before. M. Petit did not himself see M. Darboy executed, though he saw the procession pass and heard the firing. Out of 16 priests and 38 gendarmes confined in the prison, 26 were shot, and the fate of the remainder had been decided upon when an attempt to escape made by the criminal prisoners, who we

9 minute read

Read Chapter

june 4th and 5th.

Large crowds took advantage of the free permission accorded yesterday to pass through the gates of Paris, and to-day the streets are filled to overflowing with sightseers examining the ruins and other traces of the siege. Many foreigners have already arrived, some for pleasure, some to recommence business operations. Arrests are still numerous of men and women, many of the arrested apparently belonging to the respectable classes. It has been proposed to set on foot throughout Europe a subscripti

1 minute read

Read Chapter

june 6th.

A gang of prisoners passing down the Boulevard is a never ending source of interest, and with some reason, for the prisoners now are not the scum of Belleville and La Villette, swept at haphazard out of their lanes and alleys, but the more prominent men, who have been lying hid ever since, and are being discovered or denounced singly, so that there are seldom more than two or three in a batch, and these are generally persons of note. I saw two parties yesterday, one containing three men and two

2 minute read

Read Chapter

june 7th.

Ten thousand incendiary bombs have been discovered in the catacombs. As 23,000 were manufactured by the Commune according to documents found on prisoners, and of these not many were used, a large number are believed to be still somewhere concealed. Nearly all the missing pieces of the Colonne Vendôme have been recovered. It is thought the Column can be exactly restored. A strange proposal is made to preserve untouched the ruins of the Hôtel de Ville. It is seriously discussed, and finds many adv

1 minute read

Read Chapter

june 8th and 9th.

The inhabitants of the second Arrondissement have been warned that everybody who does not give up his firearms may be tried before a court martial. An Anglo-Indian ex-officer is said to be gravely compromised in the Insurrection, but the number of British subjects engaged in it appears to have been ludicrously exaggerated:—not 20 have had cases made out against them. The number of Communists belonging to the International and similar societies is estimated at 120,000. Arrests are still numerous.

56 minute read

Read Chapter

june 10th.

It is calculated that 70,000 travellers entered Paris between Saturday and Tuesday by the Northern line alone. Many had to travel in luggage vans. Paris, notwithstanding, does not appear full. Most of the visitors make a very short stay. The dull condition of trade is loudly complained of. The idea of burning the corpses which have not been properly buried has been abandoned; it is proposed to exhume all those buried in the Parc des Monceaux, the Jardin du Luxembourg, and other temporary burial

51 minute read

Read Chapter

june 11th.

The close inspection which has been made of the sewers in Paris has already led to the discovery of large quantities of weapons and ammunition, and also of many ex-Federalist combatants, who, despairing of escape from the regular troops, sought refuge in the subterranean passages with whatever provisions they could secure. The greater part of these miserable creatures are in a most deplorable condition from hunger and the poisonous atmosphere of their hiding places. On Friday, at the angle of th

36 minute read

Read Chapter

june 12th.

On Wednesday the Commissary of Police for the Quartier Saint Victor received information that the ex-General of the Commune, Rossel, was in concealment at the Hôtel Montebello, upon the Boulevard St. Germain. The Commissary proceeded to the hotel, and upon searching the place found in a room on the third floor a person dressed in the uniform of the Eastern Railway service. Upon being questioned this person stated that his name was Tirobois, that he was an engineer living at Metz, but had been su

2 minute read

Read Chapter

june 13th

Some disquieting rumours about the condition of La Villette have caused the troops quartered there to be strongly reinforced; nevertheless, perfect tranquility so far prevails. Business is greatly improving, orders for articles de Paris coming in pretty freely, and the fine weather bringing increasing crowds of visitors. Some further important arrests have been made, including Urbain, alleged to have been the principal instigator of the massacre of the hostages....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

june 14th.

Paris is rapidly resuming its old appearance. The Cafés and Concerts in the Champs Élysées recommence to-morrow, and various theatres are re-opening....

7 minute read

Read Chapter

june 15th.

People, in France, are discussing the causes of the late insurrection, and measuring the consideration to which the Insurgents, whether as rebels or refugees, are justly entitled. That the tendency of opinion should be strongly against the Communists is natural, for the justification of their revolt appears difficult, while their last acts have excited universal abhorrence. It is, indeed, perfectly true that they had no grievance against the Government which they defied, for though, perhaps, the

6 minute read

Read Chapter

HISTORICAL INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS BURNT

The Palais Royal, built on the site of Cardinal Richelieu's Palace, faces the Louvre, and adjoins the Place des Victoires. Given by Louis XIV, to his brother the Duke of Orleans, it passed from him to the Regent Duke. Here, but not in the existing edifice, the Regent and his daughter held their incredible orgies; here lived his grandson Egalité, who rebuilt the palace after a fire, and relieved his embarrassments by erecting the ranges of shops. The Palais Royal Gardens were the nursery of the F

4 minute read

Read Chapter

GRAND-HOTEL

12, Boulevard des Capucines, 12. After entire restoration. The new direction of the Grand-Hotel has greatly reduced the prices. The price for service will be no more charged to travellers. 700 rooms and drawing-rooms very comfortably furnished, from 5 francs a day, service included. BREAKFASTS—at 4 francs, wine included, every day from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. DINNERS—at 6 francs, wine included, every day at 6 p.m. precisely. MEALS BY THE CARD. SPECIAL SERVICE AT MED PRICE. Including the lodging, fue

1 minute read

Read Chapter