FRANCE. THE PEOPLE'S SOCIETY OF STEENVOORDE GRENADIER ROUILLIER MEDAL FOR GALLANTRY, COMMEMORATING GRENADIER ROUILLIER'S GALLANTRY DURING THE ASSAULT ON AND CAPTURE OF THE FORTRESS OF CASSANDRIA, 26TH JULY 1794.
The obverse and reverse both engraved by a skilled artist. Obverse: in the foreground a French Grenadier taking two Dutch soldiers prisoner, a third Dutch soldier lying prostrate on the ground between them, in the distance, three French grenadiers seated and standing on the bank of the river, a fourth struggling in the river, legend "TRAITs D'HEROISM DU Cn. ROUILLIER GRENADr. NATIF D'ESSE" (THE ACTS OF HEROISM OF GRENADIER Cn. ROUILLIER A NATIVE OF ESSE) around, and additionally engraved in the exergue "DANS LE PASSAGE DE L'ISLE DE CASSANDRIA (DURING THE CROSSING TO THE ISLAND OF CASSANDRIA) and dated 8 THor 2 Mo AR" (8 THERMIDOR 2ND REVOLUTIONARY YEAR) reverse: wreath of oakleaves, 6 line legend within "LA SOCIETE POPULAIRE DE STEENVOORDE RECONNOISSANTE A LA VALEUR MILITAIRE" (THE PEOPLE'S SOCIETY OF STEENVOORDE IN RECOGNITION OF MILITARY VALOUR), the whole within a reeded border, , (unsigned, but undoubtedly by the French artist and engraver L. Labrousse), silver, not hallmarked, 53mm diameter, original integral silver loop and jump ring suspender. Few small edge nicks, otherwise Almost Extremely Fine, with an attractive old dark tone, rare, and a particularly attractive example of an engraved medal.
Apparently only two examples of this medal recorded to date; this example and another specimen, slightly worn from polishing, that was sold by the French auctioneers Beaussant Lefevre, 6th December 2017.
The capture of the fort of Cassandria took place during the Flanders campaign of April 1792 to June 1795, during the early years of the War of the First Coalition. When the French revolutionary National Convention attempted to export the ideals of the revolution beyond the new French Republic's borders, surrounding countries immediately entered into a defensive alliance; the allies comprising Hapsburg Austria (including the Southern Netherlands), Prussia, the Dutch Republic (the Northern Netherlands), Hanover, Hesse-Kassel and Great Britain. The allied troops that took part in the Flanders campaign were under the overall command of the Duke of York. British troops were withdrawn from Flanders in 1795, following the end of the fighting in Flanders, and no clasps for the Military General Service Medal 1793-1814 were awarded for that campaign, and this People's Society of Steenvoorde apparently the only medal awarded specifically for the campaign in Flanders of 1792-95 and the siege and fall of the fortress of Cassandria.
This medal bears a date in the exergue based on the French revolutionary calendar, which was in use for 12 years from late 1793 to 1805. The new calendar system was designed to remove all religious and royalist influences from the calendar and was part of a larger attempt at decimalisation in France, which also included decimal hours and minutes and decimal currency. There were 12 months of 3 weeks in each month, with 10 days in each week. 8 Thermidor in the 2nd year in the French revolutionary calendar equates to 26th July 1794 in the Gregorian calendar.
The assault on the island fortress of Cassandria began on 26th July 1794, and took place during wider campaign that involved the siege and capture of port of Sluis by the 2nd Division of the French Armee du Nord under General Moreau (17th July - 24th August 1794). As the French army advanced on Sluis, fleeing Dutch and Hanoverian forces, commanded by the Duke of York, set fire to the bridge between Cassandria and the mainland. Lacking pontoons, the French army commandeered a number of small boats and launched an amphibious attack on 8 Thermidor (26th July 1794), during which a number of French grenadiers jumped into the water and helped to push the boats across the river. During the crossing a number of the grenadiers got into difficulty and had to be rescued, one grenadier being rescued by General Moreau himself. Cassandria, with its battery of 16 canons, eventually fell to General Moreaus army on 10 Thermidor An 2 (28th July 1794).
The Grenadier depicted struggling in the river on this medal is perhaps a reference to General Moreau's having personally rescued a drowning Grenadier.
The Societe Populaire Steenvoorde was one of a large number of radical republican "Jacobin Clubs that sprang up in France after the French revolution. Members of these clubs played an active part in the persecution and execution of anyone suspected of harbouring less than radical republican ideas. Along with elements of the French revolutionary conscript army, they often took part in the persecution and execution of the victims of the Reign of Terror. In addition to condemning their victims to the guillotine, members of the Society Populaire Steenvoorde often killed their victims in mass drownings in rivers, lakes and at sea. Among their victims was the Marquis Louis-Auguste de la Viefville, the last mayor of Steenvoorde, who was condemned to the guillotine along with his daughter, Claire Francoise Eugenie, and his servant Marguerite Farcinaux, when it was discovered that the mayor's parrot had been trained to repeat the phrase "Vive le roi" (Long live the king), the mayor, his daughter and servant being guillotined on 4 Floreal of the year II (April 23rd 1794).
General Jean Victor Marie Moreau (1763-1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte seize power but later became a rival and as a result was banished to the United States.
The assault on Cassandria took place during one of the most troubled periods in the history of revolutionary France. The 26th July, the day on which the assault on Cassandria began, and 28th July, the day on which the fortress fell, coincided with the downfall of Maximilien Robespierre, the French radical republican politician and revolutionary, and one of the principal architects of the Reign of Terror, who gave his last speech to the French Assembly on 26th July 1794, before being arrested the following day and executed on 28th July. Two days later, moderate republicans carried out a coup that eventually brought the Reign of Terror to an end.
The engraving on this medal is of a high quality, indicating that it was produced by a skilled engraver. The medal is in the style of and undoubtedly the work of the engraverL. Labrousse (born Bordeaux 1760, active late 18th and early 19th century), who also produced a stylistically identical engraving of a scene similar to that on this medal, of a grenadier struggling in the river during the assault on Cassandria being rescued by General Moreau, "Le General Moreau - Je veux sauve les jours d'un defenseur de la Patrie" (General Moreau - I wish to save the life of a defender of the country), a copy of which accompanies the medal. Labrousse also produced a number of other depictions of victories by the French Revolutionary Army during the 1790s, including at least one engraving on copper which was, like this medal, dedicated to an individual act of gallantry, titled "An Act of Gallantry of Sergeant Dulong of the 84th Demi-Brigade".
In later life Labrousse also engraved intaglios, produced engravings for a number of books dedicated to traditional and historic costume, including volumes dedicated to the traditional dress of the peoples of Bordeaux and Goa in India..
Steenvoorde is a French commune located in the Nord department , in the Hauts-de-France region . The village is in the centre of Houtland , in the French Westhoek . The town is located in French Flanders , in the Houtland ( Woodland ), 10 km north of Hazebrouck , 29 km south of Dunkirk , 32 km north of Bethune and 38 km northwest of Lille as the crow flies. The eastern end of this northern municipality lies on the border between Belgium and France. Steenvoorde is thus located only 12 km from Poperinge , 22 km from Ypres and 125 km from Brussels.
Esse is a small town in south-west France located in the Department of Charente, some 47km from Limoges and 68km from Poitier.
The fact that at least two examples of this medal have survived perhaps indicates that this was not a gallantry medal awarded to Grenadier Roullier, but rather a gallantry medal for general award to individuals for acts of gallantry, or a laudatory medal commemorating Grenadier Roullier's gallantry.
Gallantry and campaign medals were not generally awarded by the governments of the various countryies involved in the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars of 1792 to 1815. Instead this gap was often filled by town councils and local patriotic organsations like the People's Society of Steenvoorde. During the 1798 rebellion in Ireland for example, Waterford Corporation awarded the South Devon Militia Medal of Merit to selected officers and men from that regiment who had distinguished themselves by acts of gallantry whilst stationed in Waterford, 1798-1799; and the Limerick City Council instituted the Collooney Medal for award to members of the Limerick City Militia who took part in the battle of Collooney in 1798. Both the latter medals were, like the People's Society of Steenvoorde medal, issued in silver.
Another example of this rare medal was sold by the French auctioneers Beaussant Lefevre at their sale of 5th - 6th December 2017 at the Drout Salerooms, Paris (Collection of Paul Demoge, lot 260). That example, despite being somewhat worn from polishing, but in its original red morocco case of issue, sold for €1000 (€1,300 approximately including fees).
