Reign of Terror (French Revolution): Astrological Article and Chart

About this event

The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred from 2–6 September 1792 during the French Revolution. They lasted from Sunday afternoon until Thursday evening. Charlotte Corday held Jean-Paul Marat responsible, as is laid out in great detail by Stanley Loomis. But for Madame Roland it was Georges Danton. Danton was also accused by the French historians Adolphe Thiers, Alphonse de Lamartine, Jules Michelet, Louis Blanc and Edgar Quinet. Danton appears to have done nothing to stop them.

It is estimated that around 1,100–1,600 people were murdered. The action was undertaken by 235 Fédérés, Guardsmen and Sansculottes, with the support of Gendarmes, the latter were responsible for guarding the tribunals and prisons, the Cordeliers, the Insurrectional Commune and the Revolutionary sections of Paris. The identity of the "septembriseurs" is unknown, but a large number of them were undoubtedly Parisian national guards and provincial federates who remained in the city since their arrival in July. By 6 September, half the prison population of Paris had been summarily executed. The exact number is not known; about 440–500 people had uncertain fates, including 200 Swiss soldiers. However, the great majority (72%) of those killed were non-political prisoners – galley convicts, forgers of assignats, common criminals, women, and children; 17% were Catholic priests. The Minister of Interior Roland accused the Commune of the atrocities. According to Georges Lefebvre the collective mentality is a sufficient explanation for the killing. For Timothy Tackett "the obsession with a prison conspiracy, the desire for revenge, the fear of the advancing Prussians, the ambiguity over who was in control of a state that had always relied in the past on a centralized monarchy: all had come together in a volatile mixture of anger, fear, and uncertainty."

There was a fear that foreign and royalist armies would attack Paris and that the (Swiss) inmates of the city's prisons would be freed and join them. On 1 September Legislative Assembly called for volunteers who gathered the next day on the Champs de Mars. On Sunday 2 September around 13:00, Danton, a member of the provisional government, delivered a speech in the assembly: "We ask that any one refusing to give personal service or to furnish arms shall be punished with death". "The bell we are about to ring is not an alarm signal; it sounds the charge on the enemies of our country". After applause he continued, "To conquer them we must dare, dare again, always dare, and France is saved!”. His speech acted as a call for direct action among the citizens, as well as a strike against the external enemy. Many believe this speech was responsible for inciting the September Massacres.

The massacre began around 14:30 in the middle of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Within the first 20 hours more than 1,000 prisoners were killed. The next morning on 3 September the surveillance committees of the Commune, on which Marat now served, published a circular that called on provincial Patriots to defend Paris and asked that, before leaving their homes, they eliminate counter-revolutionaries. The secretary of the Commune, Jean-Lambert Tallien called on other cities to follow suit. The massacres were repeated in a few other French cities; in total 65–75 incidents were reported.