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Frederic Rouille

Frederic Rouille (1757 - 7 September 1792) was a captain in the French Revolutionary Army during the French Revolutionary Wars, serving under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was responsible for marching on Le Grand Chatelet with a group of Jacobin Club extremists and beginning the extermination of prisoners and priests in the "September Massacres".

Biography[]

Frederic Rouille 3

Rouille talking to fellow Templars

Captain Frederic Rouille joined the Gardes Francaises in 1789, just in time to witness the beginning of the French Revolution. As the son of a poor cobbler, Rouille had no hope of advancement into the aristocratic officer corps of the Gardes, and by the accounts of his contemporaries (Rouille himself left no letters or journals behind and may have been illiterate), the rhetoric of the Revolution found a true believer in him. When the bulk of the Gardes Francaises defected to the National Guard, Rouille was among them. He rose quickly through the ranks, unhindered by the lack of aristocratic breeding, and along with Santerre was one of the key figures in the storming of the Tuileries Palace. He was also a violent, sadistic monster who used revolutionary fervor as an excuse to murder and pillage his way across France.

Death[]

Rouille death

Rouille's death

On 7 September 1792, Napoleon informed Arno Dorian of Rouille's intentions, and Arno set out for Le Grand Chatelet. He discovered some Jacobin thugs throwing guards out of watch towers and some more escorting French guards inside the prison, probably for execution. Arno freed the guards and used them in a diversion to attack the front gate as Arno entered the prison fortress himself.

On the roof, Rouille demanded to speak with the warden about the executions. As he was about to execute two French guards, Rouille was caught unawares by Dorian, who leapt from a post onto Rouille. Rouille was impaled by Arno's hidden blades, killing him and bringing the September Massacres to an end after over 1,000 deaths.

Gallery[]

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