In mid-July 1789, after the storming of the Bastille, the municipality
of Paris organized a Garde Nationale, heir to the militias of the Ancien
Régime. Something of a myth, the story of its origins is closely linked
to the emblematic figure of the Marquis de La Fayette, its commanding
general. Provinces quickly formed identical militias, which intervened
in the troubles of the municipal revolution. Bringing citizens together,
the Garde Nationale became one of the most important players of the
French Revolution. Organized on a military model, it nevertheless
remained a civilian force whose members, who elected their officers,
were often armed and equipped with odds and ends by the municipalities.
Responsible for ensuring order, they performed their service despite
their professional activity and family life. However, the threat of war
changed the mission of the guard: after the King's failed flight in June
1791, nearly 100,000 Gardes joined battalions of volunteers destined for
the armed forces and ultimately integrated regular troops. Confined to
subaltern tasks after the fall of Robespierre, under the Directory, the
Garde Nationale was nevertheless retained by the Consulate. It quickly
proved to be very useful, responding to the needs of the Napoleonic
government by transforming itself into a territorial reserve army placed
under the authority of the prefects. The Garde distinguished itself in
particular during the harsh campaigns at the twilight of the First
Empire.
The Garde Nationale remains one of the most misunderstood institutions
of the French Revolution and the First Empire. It does not lend itself
well to synthesis, and occupies a minor place in the work of historians.
Based on contemporary documents - in particular on previously
little-used archives - this book analyses the successive organizations
of the Garde Nationale in Paris and in the provinces, the evolution of
its strength, but also its place in relation to the army, not to mention
the recurrent hesitations between the two conceptions of the
institution: a national force with a broad recruitment or a local and
bourgeois militia. Lavishly illustrated with largely unpublished
iconography and original artwork, the book also looks at the uniforms
and equipment of the Garde Nationale and offers a synthesis - the first
in English - devoted to this central actor of the century of
revolutions.
