1498.] a 
event, proceeded to organize them anew, 
‘under the name of Garde /eldée Parifienaey: 
they were accordingly divided into three 
regiments, numbered 102, 193, and 104; 
it was in the lait of thefe, that Hoche was 
placed with the rank of acting adjutant, 
and an opportunity foon preiented, of 
diftinguifhing himfeif, by redeeming the 
funds of the military hofpital from the 
- gripe of fome men in Office, who were pro- 
tected by the commander in chief., 
At laft he obtained the patronage of 
Servan, then mimifter at war, and one of 
the firmett patriots of his time, who prefen- 
ted him with a lieutenancy in the regi- 
ment of Rouergue. At thus period, the 
fpectacle of hi® country in revolution, 
feems to have occupied all his attention, 
and implanted the feeds of ambition in his 
mind : it is true, he was only a fubaltern; 
this however did not intimidate him: 
the lower his rank, the greater the glory. 
flaving fet out from Parison the 24th of 
June 1792, to join his regiment then.in gar- 
rifon at Thionville, he performed prodigies 
of valour during the fiege of that fortrets. 
Detached afterwards to the army of the 
Ardennes, he fignalifed himfelf in fuch a 
manner, as to be diftinguithed by general 
Leueneur, by whom he was fent with dil- 
atches-to Paris, and while there, gave 
{uch fatisfa&tion to the executive council, 
that he was advanced to be a Lieutenant 
Colonel ; but his modefty prevented him 
on his return from affuming any higher 
rank than that of captain-cide-de-camp. 
Soon after this, he was difpatched to 
Dunkirk then befeged by the Englith, 
with the rank of adjutant-general, and it 
is to the obftinate refiftance difplayed by 
him, and the {pirit of republicanifim in- 
fufed by his example intothe minds of the 
‘troops, that the fafety of this place 1s 
principally to be attributed. The repre- 
fentatives Trulard and Berlier, who had 
witneffed his exploits, inftantly promoted 
him to be ¢hef de brigade. Having dif- 
tinguifhed himtelfat the camp of Rofendall, 
he became adjutant- general to general Sou- 
ham, and foon after this, he was promo- 
ted to the rank of general of brigade. 
On receiving orders to march into Auf- 
trian Flanders, he wrote as follows to 
ene of the fecret4ries of the war-office : 
«¢ Thave made the neceflary ditpofitions to 
attack. Furnes, and hope to dine there to- 
morrow; the day after at Nieuport, and in 
four days more at Oftend. May I prove as 
fortunate as Jourdan: but why not? I alio 
fight for my country!” 
New honours awaited him. He was 
fuddenly promoted to be general of di- 
” Anecdotes of General Hoche. 
) 
co 
365 
vifion, and nominated to: the command 
of the army of the Mofelle, when. he was 
only 25 years of age, and at a periods 
when every thing in that quarter wore 
the moft difaftrous afpett. Having re- 
ftored confidence and difcipline to the 
troops, he determined inftantly to att 
on the offenlive. He accordingly pafled 
the Sarre, and in prefence of the Pruf- 
fians, advanced to the ‘heights of Kayfer- 
flautern, where the enemy were entrenched 
up to their teeth, drove the Duke of 
Brunfwick back upon Deux Ponts, bus 
was at length obliged to fall back and 
throw up entrenchments. He was not 
however intimidated by this check, for 
he foon after attacked the enemy with 
better fueccels, effected a junétion with 
General PreHEGRU, and relieved Lane 
dau. 
_ About this period, he happened to fee 
a young lady at one of the teitivals cele- 
brated in the temple of Reafon at Thion- 
ville; the was fifteen years of age, the 
daughter of a patriot of the name of De- 
chaux, and had an air of .candour and 
ingenuoutnefs about her, that inftantly 
{truck the general, who, on learning that 
her heart was dilengaged, paid his ad- 
drefles to, and married her. 
In the mean time, the victories of this 
aftonifhing young man, now only in his 
twenty-iixth year, had aroufed the jea- 
louly of his colleagues, and St. Juft, who 
was greatly attached to Pichegru, became 
his enemy: his ruin therefore was cer- 
tain. He was accordingly withdrawn 
from his troops, under pretext of being 
appointed commander in chief in Italy, 
and haa no fooner arrived at Nice than 
he was arrefted, transferred to the capital, 
and imprifoned in the Conciergerie. 
Thence he was at length delivered, in 
order to fight once more the battles of his 
country. \ Being appointed to command 
in La Vendée, which had been the grave 
of the reputations of fo many of his pre- 
deceffors, he determined to carry on the 
war in a new manner, and accordingly 
threatened with one-hand, to chaftife in- 
furgents, while he beckoned them to the 
enjoyments of peace and tranquillity with 
the other. The country was penetrated 
in-every direftion by means of his moali- 
ary columns :-he difplayed on all ocea- 
fions a fagacious mixture of clemency and 
risroury and was the firft commander 6n 
that ftation, -who had not récourfe to 
burning, and phinderins the infurgent 
departments, inftead cf fithduing the 
minds of their inhabitants. 
~The rebel chiefs found in him a powerful 
adverfary, 
