13 Vendémiaire 13 Vendémiaire Year 4 ( 5 October 1795 in the French Republican Calendar ) is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris . The battle was largely responsible for the rapid advancement of Republican General Napoleon Bonaparte ' s career . Background . While the social reforms of the French Revolution had been well received by the majority of the populace of France , the Revolution ' s strongly anti - Catholic stance had created anti - republican sympathies in many Roman Catholics . In March 1793 , this sentiment boiled over into an armed insurrection in the fiercely Catholic Vendée region of western France . Under leaders like François de Charette de la Contrie and Louis d ' Elbée , a rebel army , titled " Armée catholique et royale " now proved to be a thorn in the side of the Revolutionary Government in Paris . The rebels were known as " Chouans " , a title which comes from early royalist leader Jean Cottereau ’ s nickname Jean Chouan . He was known for his perfect imitation of an owl ’ s cry , a noise which had become the rallying cry of the insurgents of Vendée . The " Armée catholique et royale " quickly garnered British support , and got off to a promising start , severely defeating several Revolutionary Armies . The Revolutionary Committee of Public Safety ordered General Jean - Baptiste Carrier to pacify the region , and over several months Carrier ruthlessly decimated the populace of the Vendée . The local population dubbed Carrier ' s forces the " colonnes infernales " ( hellish columns ) . On 22 December 1793 , the Chouan rebellion subsided following a major defeat at the Battle of Savenay . Following the 9th Thermidor , those Chouans willing to lay down arms were granted amnesty by the reformed National Convention . The Chouans responded by attacking the Republican - held town of Guémené on 29 January 1795 . The Convention immediately ordered General Hoche to proceed to the Vendée and force the Chouans to agree to a cessation of hostilities . Hoche quickly defeated the Chouan army and on 17 February François de Charette de la Contrie signed a very generous peace settlement . A small contingent of Royalists under the command of General Stofflet and the fanatical Abbé Bernier refused to accept the peace settlement , and continued to offer resistance to Hoche ' s Army . They were supported by the British , in the form of 4 , 000 émigrés , 80 , 000 musket s , 80 cannon along with food , clothing and even a large quantity of counterfeit assignats ( not only to provide the Chouans with funding , but also to unbalance the French economy ) . This large force was placed under the command of émigré Générals Puisaye and Hermilly . Hearing of this , de Charette de la Contrie broke the peace agreement and reopened hostilities . On 26 June , the émigré force landed at Carnac . Hermilly quickly advanced on Auray before engaging and being defeated by Hoche at Vannes . By early July , Hemilly had been forced out of Auray and was besieged in the Fortress of Penthièvre . This meant that the entire insurgent army was now trapped on the Quiberon peninsula . On 15 July , an additional émigré division under the command of Général Sombreuil arrived to bolster the defense , but on 16 July Hermilly was killed in action . By the 20th , the fortress had fallen and Hoche swiftly advanced down the peninsula , defeating the hopelessly trapped émigré army . Only Général Puisaye and a small force were able to escape with the British fleet ; the remainder were either killed in action , taken prisoner or executed . Despite the failure of the émigré army , de Charette de la Contrie continued to offer resistance . In early September , a popular revolt broke out in the area around Dreux , but was defeated in battle at Nonancourt . De Charette de la Contrie himself suffered a major defeat at Saint - Cyr on 25 September . Despite this , the Comte d ' Artois landed at Île d ' Yeu with 1 , 000 émigrés and 2 , 000 British troops . Bolstered by this force , the Royalist troops began marching on Paris in early October 1795 . The arrival of the Comte d ' Artois excited the " jeunesse dorée " royalist supporters in the Le Peletier section of the capital ( named for the Rue Le Peletier in what is now the Second Arrondissement ) , and they began demonstrations in the form of felling Liberty Tree s and trampling tricolour cockade s . Perhaps more disturbing , rumours regarding the likely defection of the entire Paris National Guard began to circulate . Vendémiaire . The Convention quickly realised that it was in severe danger , and that not only was an enemy force on French soil , but the uprising in Paris meant that there was also now an enemy force within the capital itself . The Convention declared its intention to remain in their meeting rooms until the crisis was resolved . It called for the formation of three " battalions of patriots " , to be raised from the Jacobin military staff dismissed after 9 Thermidore . Général baron de Menou was given command of the defence of the capital , but was severely outnumbered with only 5 , 000 troops on hand to resist the 30 , 000 man Royalist Army . On 12 vendémiaire ( 4 October ) , the National Guard arrived in Le Peletier in an attempt to put down the unrest . The " Military Committee of the Sections of the Capital " , under the command of Richer de Sévigny , announced that the decrees of the Convention were no longer recognised . Général Danican took command of the National Guard in the La Peletier section . The Convention ordered Menou to advance into Le Peletier , to disarm the entire area and to close Danican ' s headquarters . Generals Despierres and Verdière were sent to Menou to assist him . Menou divided his force into three columns , and planned an advance into Le Peletier on the evening of 12 vendémiaire . When the advance was set to begin , Despierres reported that he was unwell and unable to proceed , and Verdière refused to advance . Menou timidly advanced towards the Royalist force , inviting the rebels to discuss terms of their dispersal . He withdrew after receiving the insurgents ' promise to disarm . The Le Peletier section , seeing this as a sign of weakness on the part of the Convention , called upon the other sections of Paris to rise up . Menou realised his mistake , and launched a cavalry attack down the Rue du Faubourg - Montmartre , temporarily clearing the area of royalists . The Convention dismissed Menou from the command , and ordered Paul Barras to take over the defence of the Convention . A " whiff of grapeshot " . At around this time , the young Général Napoleon Bonaparte , aware of the commotion , arrived at the Convention to find out what was happening . He was quickly ordered to join Barras ' forces mustering for the defence of the Republic . Bonaparte accepted , but only on the condition that he was granted complete freedom of movement . At 1 am on 13 vendémiaire ( 5 October ) , Bonaparte overrode Barras , who was content to let him do as he wished . Bonaparte ordered Joachim Murat , a sous - lieutenant in the " 12ème Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval " , to ride to the plain of Sablons and to return with the 40 cannon which Menou had indicated were located there . Murat ' s squadron retrieved the cannon before the Royalists arrived and Bonaparte organised their arrangement , placing them in commanding areas , with effective fields of fire . At 5 am , a probing attack by the royalist forces was repulsed . 5 hours later , the major Royalist assault began . Despite being outnumbered by approximately 6 to 1 , the Republican forces held their perimeter , the cannons firing grapeshot into the massed royalist forces . The ' patriot battalions ' , supporting the artillery , also cut down the advancing Royalist ranks . Bonaparte commanded throughout the two - hour engagement , and survived unscathed despite having his horse shot from under him . The effect of the grapeshot and the volleys from the patriot forces caused the Royalist attack to waver . Bonaparte ordered a counterattack led by Murat ' s squadron of Chasseurs . At the close of the battle , around three - hundred royalists lay dead on the streets of Paris . It was not Napoleon who made the " whiff of grapeshot " comment , but rather Thomas Carlyle in describing the events of 13 vendémiaire . Aftermath . The defeat of the Royalist insurrection extinguished the threat to the Convention . Bonaparte became a national hero , and was quickly promoted to Général de Division . Within five months , he was given command of the Armée d ' Italie . The defeated royalists , in an effort to portray the Republican defense as a massacre , nicknamed Bonaparte " Général Vendémiaire " , a title which he later claimed would be his " first title of glory " .