CHAPTER V 
LIEUTENANT AUDUBON AS REVOLUTIONIST 
Background of Audubon’s youth—Nantes in Revolution—Revolt in La 
Vendée—Siege of Nantes—Reign of terror under Carrier—Plague rob- 
bing the guillotine—Flight of the population—Execution of Charette— 
The Chouan raid—Citizen Audubon’s service—He reénters the navy and 
takes a prize from the English—His subsequent naval career—His 
losses in Santo Domingo—His service and rank—Retires on a pension— 
His death—His character and appearance. 
The ancient city of Nantes, long famed for the beauty 
of its situation on the banks of a noble river, within 
easy reach of the sea, as well as for its importance in 
the arts of war and peace, numbered at the time of the 
Revolution 70,000 souls. The modern visitor to this 
favored spot will find quiet and orderly streets adorned 
with monumental statues (one of these representing 
Guépin, the revered historian of the city), the old build- 
ings nearly all replaced by better, the Loire spanned by 
handsome bridges, and the ancient bounds of the town 
extended until it has become the sixth city of the Re- 
public. Since Nantes formed a somber background to 
Audubon’s youth, we shall follow in brief some of the 
ordeals through which his family, in common with thou- 
sands of other Nantais, were destined to pass during 
those eventful years which witnessed the close of the 
eighteenth century in France. 
When Captain Audubon reached Nantes presumably 
not far from the beginning of 1790, he found the city 
in a state of the greatest turmoil and agitation. The 
73 
