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The head of Louis XVI is shown
to the masses following his beheading on January 21, 1793.
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The first attack on the King's new palace at Tuileries
occurred on June 20, 1792, the third anniversary of the Tennis Court
Oath. 15,000 angry marchers made their way to the palace and met with
the king. He offered wine and conversation and was able to calm the
crowd. The entire group finally left without incident.
The second attack was not as peaceful. On August 10,
1792, at around 10am, a mob of nearly 30,000 people advanced toward
Tuileries Palace in Paris to capture the king. Prior to the attack,
rumors had circulated and the king was forewarned. He decided to move
himself, Marie Antoinette, and his family to the Legislative Assembly
building because his attendants would be better able to defend him
there.
300 members of the Chevaliers de St. Louis who had
volunteered to protect him helped him to flee; however they left no
orders for the Swiss Guard defending the palace at Tuileries. The guards
watched helplessly as the massive crowd approached the palace. They
hoped that Louis would send an order to surrender the palace and spare
their lives but the order never came.
When the mob reached the palace the guards fled to
the top walls and attempted to defend themselves with single-shot
muskets. After a few rounds they knew their attempts would be futile.
They surrendered the palace in order to save themselves.
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Here we see the King of France
in happier times.
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The mob turned the palace upside-down, infuriated that
they could not find the King. Of the 900 Swiss Guards present, only 300
were left alive. All of the servants, cooks, kitchen help, attendants,
maids, and all of the people involved with the king, including women and
children, were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered about the palace and
bodies were placed into piles.
The mob's anger was fueled by their belief that
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were communicating with the Austrians and
Prussians, France's enemies. Their troops had already advanced toward
Paris and the people were frightened. In their panic, they were
convinced that Louis had committed this treasonous act and should be
punished. When he tried to flee the country earlier in the year their
suspicions were validated.
Ultimately, the people found him at the Assembly
building. Louis was arrested along with his family. The king was charged
with conspiring against the nation. Three major political organizations
spoke out against Louis at the trial. The Girondins, an important
middle-class Republican Party during the revolution, the Jacobins, the
most radical of the revolutionary groups, and the Montagnards, the
extreme revolutionary party in the Legislative Assembly and National
Convention.
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Guillotine was the method chosen
for this execution of Prevost at Place de la Roquette in Paris
on January 19, 1857.
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Louis' secret safe was also unveiled during the trial.
Within its contents were papers that proved that he had bribed public
officials. A rock-solid case was presented against Louis XVI and he was
found guilty of conspiring against the people of France. He was
sentenced to death by guillotine on January 21, 1793.
Louis XVI was escorted by coach to the execution
site. Guards were hired to make sure that no one tried to free the king.
He arrived at the palace of execution at ten in the morning with his
hands tied behind his back. He was led up the stairs of the scaffolding
to the guillotine.
When he reached the top he announced,
I die innocent. I pardon my enemies and I hope that my blood will be
useful to the French, that it will appease God's anger.
His words were cut short by the start of the drum
roll. Charles Sanson, the executioner, then strapped the king down and
pulled the rope. The crowd cheered as Sanson's son waved the severed
head to the rallying cries of the crowd, "Vive la Nation! Vive la
Republique!" When all was said and done, members of the crowd
rushed the stage to dip their handkerchiefs in the blood of the king.
After the execution, the French nation continued to
struggle. Warring continued, threats of a counterrevolution ensued and
the new government was pressured to institute more radical changes. The
French Revolution was far from over.
