The Story Continues: Chapter 16 - The September Massacres
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Chapter Sixteen...
September 1792, and day that will live in infamy.
I wish I could tell you that the violence stopped there. But it only served to quicken Marat’s thirst for blood. As Prussian troops crossed the French border and began their advance on Paris, Marat called on France to rid herself of all “revolutionary traitors.” By that he meant all the nobles, clergy, and moderate bourgeoisie who had waited too long to flee. He advocated that they be killed before they could join forces with the invading Prussian and Austrian armies. All moderate Girondins and Royalists still walking free were immediately rounded up and thrown into prison alongside those already being held.
On 12 September 1792, groups of armed citizens gathered outside prisons all over the country. Frenzy ensued. Prisons were attacked. Prisoners were dragged out of the cells. Throughout the nation, people innocent of any real crime - even children – were butchered; their bodies left to rot in the streets.
For four days, Danton allowed the butchery to continue with Marat laughing over his shoulder. They created terror among us. We no longer knew whom we could trust. They would, in turn, use our fear as a weapon against us. They ruled us by terror.
On 21 September, town criers proclaimed throughout the streets of Paris that the National Convention now ruled France’s first Republic.
Then, in December, 1792, the unthinkable happened…
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