Description:

(FRENCH REVOLUTION: SECOND CONGRESS OF RASTADT)
CLAUDE FRANCOIS DUPIN (1767-?) French Revolutionary politician, the husband of Georges Danton's widow Louise whom he married in 1796. Dupin served as Secretary General from 1793-1798, then Prefect of Deux-Secres until 1813. Made a Baron of the Empire in 1809. Holograph P.S. on the verso of an impassioned document directed to the Commissioner of Executive Power from the Department of the Seine, 2pp. 4to., Paris, May 7, 1799, reporting an attack at the Second Congress at Rastadt on April 28, 1799, where two French envoys were killed and a third badly wounded. The document calls for the death of the ‘tyrants' of Vienna and St. Petersburg, adding: ‘...They want to devour all of France….it is the human race that they have outraged...You have made a Proclamation from the Executive Directory about this horrible attack…Make sure this act has the imposing, terrible character that suits our vengeance…'. Dupin's response is more measured and requests a military detachment from the Department of Maine be sent. The Second Congress of Rastadt began deliberations in 1797 to negotiate peace between France and the Holy Roman Empire. Talks broke down and were rendered moot in March 1799 when Austria and Russia resumed war against France in the form of the War of the Second Coalition. On April 7, the Austrian delegation left Rastadr; two weeks later, the remaining delegates were informed that the German hussars could no longer guarantee their safety. On April 28, French plenipotentiaries attempting to return home via ferry were attacked by Austrian cavalrymen (or possibly French royalists masquerading as such). Two were killed and a third seriously injured. It was suspected that the Austrian minister had orchestrated the attack as a means to gain access to important French documents regarding a suspected deal between the Elector of Bavaria and France, but no real effort was made to find the attackers and the matter was soon dropped, much to the irritation of the French. Very good.

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January 18, 2024 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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