Charles Aimé de Royrand
| Charles Aimé de Royrand | |
|---|---|
| Born |
14 March 1726 Saint-Fulgent, France |
| Died |
5 December 1793 (aged 67) Baugé-en-Anjou, Maine-et-Loire, France |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France
|
| Service/branch | Infantry |
| Years of service |
?–1780, 1793 |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | Order of Saint-Louis |
Charles Aimé de Royrand (14 March 1726 – 5 December 1793) became a Vendean leader in the War in the Vendée, a revolt against the French Revolution. He joined the French Royal Army and served in an infantry regiment during the American Revolutionary War before retiring to his estates in 1780. When the Vendean insurrection broke out in 1793 he was chosen as the leader of the southern army. He led rebel forces at Luçon, Cholet and Entrames. He was fatally wounded at Entrames on 26 October and died at Baugé-en-Anjou.
Charles Aimé de Royrand was born on 14 March 1726 in Saint-Fulgent, one of three sons of Charles Samuel de Royrand and Louise Jacquette Sageot, all named Charles. The two others were Charles Louis and Charles Augustin. A fourth son René François was born in 1735. Charles Aimé joined the Navarre Infantry Regiment and later transferred to the Armagnac Regiment. After fighting in the American Revolutionary War and possibly in the earlier French and Indian War, he returned to France in 1780 and retired to his properties which were located near Saint-Fulgent, Chavagnes-en-Paillers and Saint-Georges-de-Montaigu. During his years of military service he was awarded the Order of Saint-Louis.
Upon the outbreak of the War in the Vendée, the local Vendeans offered to make Royrand their leader but he was reluctant to accept at first. He was soon recognized as leader of the so-called Army of the Center which defended the southern front of the Vendée. He proved to be a capable organizer while assigning his second-in-command Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie to lead the rebels in the field. The rebels formed into three main forces of which the Army of Upper Vendée was the largest, with up to 50,000 men. The Army of Lower Vendée under former naval officer François de Charette had as many as 20,000 rebels in the western marshes, while the Army of the Center counted between 10,000 and 12,000 men in the area around Les Herbiers and Chantonnay.
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