74 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 
commons, or third estate, included hundreds of its rich 
and influential citizens, and their demands for a fair 
hearing and a representation equal to that of the other 
orders had then passed the stage of open revolt, for they 
had planted their “liberty tree” and were sworn to de- 
fend it. In August of 1789 a permanent Committee 
of Public Safety had been constituted at Nantes, and 
by the end of that month 1,200 had volunteered for serv- 
ice in the National Guard. There were many loyalists 
in the city but they could not crush the ardent spirit 
of this revolt, and when in September money was needed 
to equip the revolutionary soldiery, young school chil- 
dren raised large sums for the popular cause. Jean 
Audubon immediately cast his lot with the revolution- 
ists and joined the National Guard, but how much serv- 
ice he saw in the field cannot now be determined; it is 
known, however, that he was with these troops in the 
spring of 1792.7 
In March, 1793, the loyalists of La Vendée rose to 
arms, and marching on Nantes under the able leadership 
of Charette, threatened to put its garrison to the sword 
if it were not surrendered within six hours. The Na- 
tional Guard met these invaders outside the walls and 
left the citizens to shift for themselves. Thus thrown 
upon their own resources, the Nantais showed that they 
could help themselves. They requisitioned and used for 
defense everything at hand; they exhumed the leaden 
coffins in their grand cathedral and appropriated water- 
spouts for ammunition, while their church bells were 
molded into cannon. Though held in check, the Ven- 
deans laid siege to the city, and but for the resolution 
of its mayor, Baco, Nantes would probably have fallen 
—in which event Audubon would have had a different 
*One period of this service bears date of May 31. 
