capacity of the commanding officers that, even as early as the first
half of August, 1870, he formed a plan for expelling the whole body.
Immediately after the surrender of Metz, he escaped, first to Belgium,
and from there went to England.
Early in December Rossel re-enterfsd his native country. He
was presented to M. Gambetta at Tours, and ultimately accepted
the position of Chief Engineer Officer in the camp at Nevers. The
conclusion of peace excited in him the highest indignation.
The force of these ideas induced Rossel, on the 19th of March,
1871, (the day following that on which the Commune may be said to
have been born), to address to the Minister of War at Versailles a
letter resigning his post at the camps of Nevers. He wrote :— " I have
the honor to inform you that I am about to proceed to Paris, to place
myself at the disposal of the Government forces which are about to
be organized there. Having learned by a Versailles despatch, pub-
lished this day, that two parties are struggling for mastery in the
country, I do not hesitate in joining the side which has not con-
cluded peace, and which does not include in its ranks generals guilty
of capitulation." V
* *A court-martial, of which Collet was to be president, was already named.
" I could not bear," writes Rossel, " the idea of appearing as an accused
before that Collet whom I had seen cowering before the shells at Issy; and
it was then that I determined to evade the justice of the Commune."
MAY 1-20 — THK FALL OF THE FORTS. 99
When Rossel offered his services, he was questioned by the
Federate officials as to what his sentiments were regarding
Socialism. He frankly answered that he knew nothing about it. In
his posthumous papers he said : "I was as much the enemy of the
Commune as the sensible Republicans were; yet I still thought that
the Commune could and ought to be beneficial."
When a correspondent once asked him why he sat as President
of the Military Court in plain clothes, and not in uniform, he replied,
speaking in English: " Oh, you know, we aim at being rather Ameri-
can in our ideas, and especially in our detestation of forms and cere-
monies. We don't want to sit in wigs and gowns, like the English
judges. If I happen to be in uniform, I go to Court in that way ; if I
am in plain clothes, 1 do not change them." After his elevation to
the position of Delegate of War, however, he thought it advisable to
assume the dress of a general; but he had it made after a very sim-
ple pattern. " As great an enemy to killing as to warfare," Rossel
wrote, •' I nevertheless accept all the consequences of the situations
in which I am placed." We have no I'eas^^n to suppose he was not
a man of humane disposition. The only sentence of death he pro-
nounced in the Military Court was quashed. He seems to have had a
mania for plotting. He plotted against his superior officers at Metz;
insinuations of secret acts against Cluseret brought from Rossel a
letter of denial ; he was in at least one plot to overthrow the Commune.
He was of middle height and slight build, and wore a short, fair
beard. His quiet, self-confident look, his deliberate and thoughtful
way of speaking, and his reserved manners, made him seem much
more like an Englishman, an American, or a Prussian, than a
frenchman.
Rossel had been Captain of Engineers of the French Army,
Colonel under Gambetta, Chief of Staff under Cluseret, Delegate of
War and President of the Military Court.
After parting from Gerardin, Rossel got out of Paris, and, fail-
ing to quit the country, was arrested on the 7th of June, as a deserter
from the regular army.
The Commune's artillerymen elected their of-
ficers, who refused to obey Avrial, Commandant
of Artillery appointed by Rossel.
The Orphan Asylum of Belleville, a semi-
religious institution was closed on the loth and
the property of the asylum was confiscated.
On the morning of May loth, Fort Vanves
was the point of attack. The garrison replied but
feebly, and soon evacuated the fort, which re-
mained vacant for some time, The commander,
lOO THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Durassier, until disabled by a shell, made the
Federates hold the place at the point of the pistol.
Some of the garrison, leaving the fort, fell into the
hands of the Versaillese. A line of rifle pits for
sharpshooters had been established 1,500 yards
from the fort, and the gunners had been picked
off as they worked the guns, and were subj ected
to a terrific fire from the breaching batteries and
mortars, which had prevented the garrison from
sleeping for three successive night and completely
incapacitated the defenders from a performance
of their duties. The Versaillese, believing the
fort to be mined, did not take possession. In
the evening two battalions of Federates re-
occupied the fortress and withstood a furious
enfilade.
On May loth at Frankfort-on-the-Main,
Bismarck forced on Pouyer-Quertier and Favre
even more extortionate terms than were contained
in the original peace stipulation.
The Committee Central of the National Guard,
the loth, added to the bewildering number of
committees, by appointing a "Committee of Organ-
ization," which proclaimed itself about to "give
an irresistable impetus to the defence of Paris."
On May nth, the Assembly at Versailles be-
came turbulent, accused the Chiefs of the Govern-
ment of cowardice and incapacity. Thiers, always
diplomatic, asked for only eight days more to re-
duce the Commune to submission.
Federate Chief of Battalion I^e Moussu was
delegated, with a body of troops, to take charge
of the Bank of France. The loyal Guards were
well entrenched; the usual excuses were poured
into the ears of the Communists by the bank
officials and Beslay, and the taking over was
put off.
MAY I-20 — THK FALI, OF THK FORTS. lOI
Th& Journal Offidel on the 12th published a
proclamation emanating from the Committee of
Public Safety, which intimidated that Rossel had
been bribed, blaming him for the surrender of
Issy, and closing said: ''All the living force of
the Revolution must group together for a supreme
effort. Then and only then will triumph be
assured."
It was the intention of the city authorities to
take over all movable property belonging to persons
who had deserted Paris during the -Commune,
and to a large extent this was done. The prop-
ertied classes were anxious, in some cases almost
frantic, to leave the city; many persons, by false
passports, forgery and various devices, such as per-
sonating coachmen, hiding in vegetable wagons,
etc., did pass the ramparts.
The cannon of Montmartre opened fire on
Chateau de Becon and Gennevilliers, but the marks-
manship was so defective that the Federate
forces in Clichy suffered greatly from this bom-
barbment.
An unsuccessful attempt was made on the
1 2th to bribe Dombrowski, the Versaillese recog-
nizing in him a dangerous adversary. The attempts
to bribe the Division Commanders were so persis-
tent and so ably supported by persuasion and
funds, that the Commune at this time detailed
some of its members to personally associate them-
selves with the commanders. Dereure was
assigned to Dombrowski; Johannard to La Cecilia,
and Meillet to Wroblewski.
Suspicion seemed the order of tlie day.
Henry Rochefort is credited wath saying : ' ' The
Hotel de Ville distrusts the Department of War;
the Department of War distrusts the Department
of Marine; Fort Vanves distrusts Montroug^;
I02 THK PARIS commune:.
Rigault distrusts the Delegate of War; Vesinier dis-
trusts me."
By decree of the Commune, on the 13th, the
demolition of Thiers' home in Paris was com-
menced, it being levelled on that and succeed-
ing days. The material was used by or sold for
the benefit of the Commtine. By the decree the
linen of the establishment was consigned to the
hospitals to be used in the care of the wounded ;
the pictures and books were sent to the National
Museum and the Public Libraries; the other prop-
erty was sold at public auction, the proceeds of
which went to the widows and orphans of the
victims of the war.
Perry Smith, a wealthy citizen of Chicago,
111., attempted to bid in the effects of M. Thiers to
preserve them for the head of the Assembly
government. This attempt was unsuccessful.*
The Assembly afterwards decreed that the
Theirs mansion should be replaced from the pub-
lic funds.
Thiers, signing himself Chief of the Gov-
ernment of France, had posted a proclama-
tion declaring that Paris was not being bom-
barded. ** Whilst," as read the Commune's decree,
'* each day women and children are victims of the
fratricidal projectiles of the Versaillese troops."
Communal elections had been held in France
April 30th. A very large maj ority returned repre-
sentatives not favorable to Versailles. f There
was an attempt made to call the representatives of
of the Communes together at Bordeaux; the Assem-
bly seized correspondence, interdicted orders, inter-
rupted telegraphic communication and were suc-
*Washburn.
tout of 35,000 Communes, only 8,000 wished to uphold the continued
power of the Assemhly. —Sketchley.
MAY I-20— THE FAI^L OF THE FORTS. IO3
cessful in preventing the establishment of what
might have proved another parliamentary body in
France. This gathering was forbidden by the
Assembly, on the basis of an Imperial law — a law
of the same Empire which the men now com-
posing the Assembly, almost without exception,
had condemned during its entire existence.*
At 2 p. m. on the 12th a parade of troops took
place in Versailles. The chiefs were received by
M. Thiers at the Palace, where the soldiers were
addressed by M. Leon de Malleville, Vice-Presi-
dent of the National Assembl}^
May 13th Ferre displaced Cournet as head of
the Police Department in Paris.
Some slight successes were credited to Dom-
browski's division on May 13th. This was wel-
come news to the Commune's sympathizers after
days of unvaried reports of defeats.
M. Lasnier, a Versaillese agent, was, on May
13th, arrested with 30,000 francs upon his person,
with which he had intended to bribe the
Federates.
A scheme was in operation in Paris to furnish
tri-colored badges to friends of the Versaillese, in
order to distinguish them from Communal sup-
porters when the city was taken. A Madame Le
Gros, engaged in the manufacture of the badges,
was arrested.
The Commune issued an order that each citi-
zen should carry a card of identification. The
difficulties of carrying out this order may be sur-
mised, as nearly every citizen was a Federate, and
each one had the power to arrest any man found
without it.
*M. Thiers, in a proclamation, insisted that the Assembly was the su-
preme power having' been placed in office by the sanction of the people;
the legitimacy of the Empire had been repeatedly denied by Thiers and most
of his colleagues, though the powers of government had been derived from
the same source.
I04 THK PARIS COMMUNE.
Fort Vanves fell Sunday morning May i4tli
and at 12:30 p. m. the news reached Versailles,
where manifestations of joy were exhibited in the
Assembly and by its supporters. The losses in
killed and wounded had been very great to both
parties about Vanves, and the final struggle was
merciless and terrific* The defeated and escaping
Federates, with some difficulty, made their way
through quarries and underground passages to the
city, the Montrouge gate and to the military road
between the Vanves and Vaugirard gates.f
It has been said that the courage of the
soldier is the commonest trait in mankind.
Whatever arguments might be advanced in this
connection, the intrepidity displayed by the Com-
munists in the holding of the forts surrounding
Paris is worthy of particular mention. New earth-
works were continually thrown up to protect the
victorious progress of the Versaillese infantry and
artillery. The encroachments of the breaching
batteries on grounds before the fortifications were
constant, and the huge guns were furnished with an
abundance of ammunition and plentifully supplied
with men from the increasing numbers of the be-
seigers. A progressive system of rifle pits enabled
the Versaillese sharpshooters to do great execution
among the defenders at the guns. The city's forti-
fications were, for the most part, inadequately
manned and imperfectly attended with supplies.
* Captains Rosheim and Durand de Villers of the Assembly's troops were
killed at the taking of Vanves.
t There were 60 2:uns and 10 mortars captured in Vanves. For 10 suc-
cessive hours during Sunday those who escaped through the catecombs
appeared in the city, fainting with hunger, dirty from their contact with
the dingy walls of the receptacles for the dead and begrimmed with powder.
These wanderers startled all who encountered them as they emerged. One
party of 100 men, surprised a workman who was entering the catecombs to
do some work. This party was led by a woman in officers clothes. She
was the mistress of the Commandant of Vanves, and had for some time,
previous to the fall of the fortification, assisted in pointing the guns and in
all the work of defence.
..i^li' %.:.^p'-<
'i.AkLi
MAY I-20 — the: FAI^I, OF THE) FORTS. IO5
The continuous bombardment and overwhelming
numbers of the assailants wearied the defenders and
finally, one by one, the positions were wrung
from the valor of the Federates. Fort Issy,
once deserted by the troops of the Com-
mune, was the scene of such bravery in the last
occupation that it has called forth the praise even
of the most malevolent supporters of what the
world is pleased to call the representatives of
''order." Overmatched in numbers, in skill and
in equipment, their zeal seemed inextinguishable;
the Commune's soldiers exhibited a desperate
heroism in every department far superior to their
discipline, leadership or armament. The neglect
of the Delegates of War, and in many cases
the hopeless inefficiency of the officers, was such
as to damp the ardor of less enthusiastic and fear-
less men. In spite of untoward circumstances,
the courage of the common soldier certainly
rose to an uncommon height in the defense of
the environs of Paris during the siege of the
Commune.
The Military Commission of Control was
changed in personnel on May 14th. Bergeret,
Cournet, Geresme, I^edroit, Lonclas, Sicard and
Urbain were the members, of which there were
now seven in place of five. Some structures of
uncertain utility were, under orders of the New
Military Commission, built to assist in the defence.
These formed a system of barricades, but of
such a character that they were of but little value,
although a large amount of material and great
labor was expended in their construction.
On the 14th of May several unfriendly
journals were suppressed by decree of the Com-
mune — The National^ Steele, Discussion, Corsaire,
Avener National and Journal de Paris,
io6 THK PARIS CQMMUNK..
The issue of the Cri du Peuple of May
15th contained the following : " We received
some days since information of the greatest
gravity, and of the correctness of which we are
now completely certain. Every measure has been
taken to prevent the entry into Paris of any
soldier of the enemy. The forts may be taken one
after the other; the ramparts may fall. Not 07ie
man will penetrate into the city. If M. Thiers is
a chemist he will comprehend us."
The owners of inflammables and explosives
were ordered to turn them over to the Communal
authorities.
An address was published by Paschal
Grousset in the Journal Officiel, calling on the
sister cities to come to the assistance of Paris,
"yet unwearied after two months of contest."
It was particularly addressed to Lyons, Marseilles,
Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes and Lisle.
On May 15th, the differences of opinion in the
Commune resulted in the declaration of an in-
tended withdrawal by a minority from its sessions,
and on May i6th this went into effect. The
conflicts between the Committee of Public Safety,
with full powers, and the Heads of Departments,
acting singly or together as an Executive Com-
mittee, were constant. The minority included
Jourde, Varlin, Beslay, Thiesz, Andrieu and
Frankel. They continued their duties in their de-
partments, but stated that they did not wish, by
attending the sessions, to uphold the continuance
of the Committee of Public Safety.
The Manifesto of the minority, after stating
unbelief in the propriety of the Commune's
abdicating its functions into the hands of and
"irresponsible committee" said: "As for us,
we, no less than the 'majority,' desire the ac-
MAY I-20 — THE FAI,!, OF THE FORTS- IO7
complishment of political and social reconstruction;
but, contrary to its notions, we claim the right to
be solely responsible for our acts before our
electors without sheltering ourselves behind a
supreme dictatorship which our mandate permits
us neither to accept nor to recognize." The
Manifesto further went on to state that the signa-
tories, in order not to give rise to further dis-
sension in the Council room, proposed retiring
into their arrondissements, there to organize the
resistance to the common enemy. The Manifesto
concluded with a generous expression of the
conviction that " we all, majority or minority, not-
withstanding our divergences as to policy, pursue
the same object, political liberty, and the emanci-
pation of the workers." " Long live the Social
Republic ! Long live the Commune ! ' '
The Manifesto bore the signatures of Beslay,
Jourde, Theisz, Lefrancais, Gerardin, Vermorel,
Clemence, Andrieu, Serailler, Longuet, Arthur
Arnould, Victor Clement, Aurial, Ostyn, Frankel,
Varlin, Arnold, Valles, Tridon, Courbet, and
Pindy. Malon subsequently gave in his adhesion.
The withdrawal of the minority at this time
is unexplainable. They had all voted for the
second committee. The issuing of the Manifesto
was evidently seen to have been an egregious
error, for the minority repented its publication,
and joined in the deliberations of the Commune
two days later.
On the 1 2th of April the decree for the
destruction of the Vendome Column was issued by
the Commune. This Column was erected by
Napoleon in 1806, in honor of the French arms.
It was in the Doric order of architecture, copied
after Trajan's Pillar at Rome.
ro8 THE PARIS COMMUNE.
The Journal Officiel announced that the fall
of the Column would take place at 2 o'clock on
the afternoon of the i6th. The carrying out of
the decree had been postponed from time to time;
public interest was intense. lyong before the hour
named, windows, roofs and streets in the vicinity
were filled with people. Bands played inspiring
airs. Guards patroled the Place Vendome and kept
back the crowd. The first attempt to pull down
the Column failed, owing to the breaking of the
tackle; two or three men were injured in the
accident. Immediate arrangements were made to
continue the work, and shortly before 6 p. m. the
Column fell, breaking into four parts in the air as
it descended. A. bed of fagots and manure had
been placed to receive the monument, and when
it struck the ground an immense cloud of
dust arose, though the shock (which it was feared
would shatter the windows in the vicinity) was
much less than was expected
The Emperor's statue was separated from the
column, and had fallen a little beyond the heap.
It lay a wreck, with the head severed from the
body, and one arm broken.
The members of the Commune and their staff,
in all about 200, attended on horseback.
A few moments before the fall of the Column,
Colonel Meyer, commanding in the Place Vendome,
ascended the base, waved a small tri-colored flag,
tore it into fragments and flung them to the
ground. After the descent of the C olumn, Colonel
Note— The height was 135 feet; the material cut stone; circumference
at base, 35 feet: the base was 21 feet high and 20 feet square; 176 steps on a
wmding staircase led to the top. Bas-reliefs in bronze, in 276 plates were
cast from the metal of 1200 cannon taken from the Austrians and Russians
in 1805— over 2,000 figures, weighing 1.800 000 pounds. The figures wound
spirally about the monument; they circled the pillar 22 times and formed a
twisted band of 840 feet; the figures were three feet high. The pedestal was
covered upon three sides with figures of flags, cannons, etc. The Column
was surmounted by a statue of iNapoleon 11 feet in height. The whole coat
about $300,000.
MAY I-20 — THE FAi^L OF THE FORTS. I09
Meyer leaped upon the ruins and waved the
red flag.
Bergeret, decorated with red scarf and tassels,
mounted on the pedestal, and thus addressed the
crowd:
"Citizens: — The 26th of Floreal will be
memorable in our history. Thus we triumph
over military despotism — that bloody negation of
the rights of man. The first Empire placed the
collar of servitude about our necks — it began and
ended in carnage, and left us a legacy of a second
Empire, which was finally to end in the disgrace
of Sedan."
Miot and Ranvier made speeches, the bands
played, and the red flag floated over the i-^
fallen statue of the Imperial idol.*
Thus was laid low the splendid monument
to the glory of one despot and to the defeat of
others, whose wars had been at the expense of
the lives and efforts of the classes whose condition
was not to be altered by either victory or defeat.
The position of the proletariat did not change
whatever the result in the struggle for power —
whether hereditary Hapsburg murderer, descend-,
ant of the ignoble Catherine or the Corsican who
thought the world none too large for for his
gigantic schemes of conquest, was triumphant.
The Communists recognized these phases in the
consideration of the question, and justly ordered
the destruction of the Column. This act was
symbolical of the sentiment for International
peace in the Commune and the hatred of
national pride in the spoiliation indulged in by
*"And though in itself the destruction of the Vendome Column may
seem hut a small matter, yet considering the importance attached gener<jll3%
and in France particularly, to such symbols, the dismounting of that base
piece of Napoleonic upholstery was another mark of the determination to
hold no parley with the old jingo legends.— William Morris and E. Bel/or t
no THB PARIS COMMUNE.
the central figure in the First Empire. The
demolition has been selected as the pet theme of
bourgeois historians in examplifying the vandalism
of the Communal government.* But there was a
salutary lesson conveyed in its destruction not
soon to be forgotten. No monument to perpetu-
ate the glories of systematic murder has place in
a true civilization, nor in any state where men
have even turned their faces toward an intelligent
social order. t
By the destruction of the Vendome Column
the regular soldiers were undoubtedly much
irritated, considering it an insult offered to the
military profession and spirit in France, and
McMahon fed the dissatisfaction by a proclamation
depicting the magnitude of the affront and in closing
said: "We know how to give France another
proof of bravery, devotion and patriotism."
A public fete took place in Versailles at the
same time the Vendome Column was being des-
troyed. M. Grevy addressed the soldiers and com-
plimented their bravery and devotion.
* Paschal Grousset, in the Vengeur, said : "At last that Column
Vendome is to be removed— a ridiculous aud monstrous trophy, erected at
the command of a blind despot, to perpetuate the remembrance of his in-
sensate conquests and his culpable glory -a monument, mareover, destitute
of all artistic value— a cantata in bronze, a daub in metal instead of on
canvas— in short, a wretched imitation of Trajan's column. Art will lose
nothing by its destruction; good sense and patriotism will gain. For the
fact is injudicious to leave under the eyes of the ignorant and the simple the
stupid glorification of a cursed past. That Column of Vendome . . I
have never been able to look at it without my heart bounding with indigna-
tion and disgust. In the time of the Empire there was always to be seen
hanging on the railings and rotting in the rain, innumerable wreaths of a
flaunting yellow or a dirty white : Souvenir, Regrets, Gloire, Victoire.
Without the sentinel who watched over this rubbish with jealous care, one
might have taken the place for the traditional shop always to be found next
door to the marblemason's at the gates of the cemeteries."
tOn the 22d of May, 1S71, the National Assembly, decreed the
fallowing law: "The Column of Place Vendome shall be rebuilt at the