Charles-Melchior-Arthus, marquis de Bonchamps
Date of Birth
May 10, 1760
Date of Death
October 18, 1793
About
A former officer in the royal army, Bonchamps became one of the principal commanders of the Catholic and Royal Army during the War in the Vendée. Mortally wounded at the battle of Cholet on 17 October 1793, he ordered that some 5,000 Republican prisoners held at Saint-Florent-le-Vieil be spared shortly before his death. The pardon became central to his posthumous reputation under the Bourbon Restoration and was commemorated in the tomb created by David d’Angers and inaugurated at Saint-Florent-le-Vieil in 1825.