History

• Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, served as a military commander for the Prussian army prior to and during the army's invasion of France. Under his command, the Prussian army made significant advances against the French revolutionaries, crossing the border and making their way toward several major French cities. Ferdinand's army overtook the fortress of Verdun with what appeared to be little resistance, leading many to believe that French leaders had surrendered easily or had simply given up the fight when they realized the might of the Prussian army. On July 25, 1972, Ferdinand issued a manifesto proclaiming that he was planning to end the anarchy that existed in France and restore power to the king. Word of this manifesto and the fall of Verdun reached Paris as the Prussian army was marching toward the city, causing the riots of the September Massacres to begin.
  
  

Time Frame

• Though the French Revolution raged on for years, the events of the September Massacres only lasted for three days. The first of the riots and attacks on prisons occurred on September 2, 1792, with a mob attacking a group of prisoners who were being transferred to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Over the course of the next two days, mobs forced their way into other prisons throughout Paris in hopes of killing a number of political prisoners before the Prussian army could arrive. The last of these break-ins occurred on September 4, 1792.
  
  

Significance

• The September Massacres served as a way for the revolutionaries of France to not only strike out against those whom they felt had wronged them, but also as a means for them to make a preemptive show of force against the advancing Prussian army. Spurred on by the Brunswick Manifesto, the mobs of the September Massacres sought to kill as many of the political prisoners that were being held in Paris as possible before the Prussians could arrive and possibly free them. Though the initial attack on the prison transfer had specific targets in mind, the bloodthirsty revolutionaries that made up the mobs put no thought into guilt or innocence when they made their attacks; with 24 targets planned for the first attack, a total of 135 prisoners were killed and mutilated. The subsequent attacks on other prisons were a show of force and brutality to let the Prussians know how dangerous the people of France really were.
  
  

Features

• The most notable features of the September Massacres were the speed and brutality with which the mob attacks occurred. The first attack which happened on September 2 featured many of the bodies being mutilated to the point that the bodies were no longer recognizable, while many of the prisoners who were killed had actually wanted to enter the prison in the hope of finding safety. Many of the victims were known religious figures, and it is believed that the Princesse de Lamballe was also raped and killed with her head paraded around in front of the Queen's window by the mobs which victimized the city over the course of those three days.
  
  

Effects

• Over 200 priests were killed during the September Massacres, as well as higher-ranking religious figures such as the Archbishop of Arles and three other bishops. The show of force against the Catholic church and the aristocracy served to embolden some of the revolutionaries in other parts of France, causing the revolution to drag on for several more years before it was finally ended. Because of the number of murders committed by the mobs, huge piles of bodies were left to be disposed of in several locations around Paris. Restif de la Bretonne's "Les Nuits de Paris", published in 1793, was written largely about the atrocities that he saw as a direct result of the September Massacres.