François-Athanase Charette de la Contrie
| François de Charette | |
|---|---|
François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie, by Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin
|
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| Nickname(s) | King of the Vendée |
| Born |
2 May 1763 Couffé, Kingdom of France |
| Died | 26 March 1796 (aged 32) Nantes, French First Republic |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of FranceRoyalist rebels |
| Service/branch |
French Royal Navy Catholic and Royal Army |
| Years of service | 1779–1796 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | |
American Revolutionary War
War in the Vendée
François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie (2 May 1763 – 26 March 1796) was a French Royalist soldier and politician. He served in the French Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the leaders of the Revolt in the Vendée against the revolutionary regime. His relative Athanase-Charles-Marie Charette de la Contrie was a noted military leader.
A nobleman born in Couffé, arrondissement of Ancenis, Charette served in the French Navy under Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, notably during the American War of Independence, and became lieutenant de vaisseau. Following the outbreak of the French Revolution, he quit the Navy in 1789 and emigrated to Koblenz (Trier) in 1792 (a common move for royalist aristocrats). He soon returned to France to live at his property in La Garnache, and became one of the royalist volunteers who assisted in defending King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette from physical harm during the mob attack on Tuileries Palace (the Journée du 10 août); arrested in Angers, he was released through the intervention of Charles François Dumouriez.
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