dispatched only Germanspeaking troops? Was a war about to break out-always a critical
question for this frontier region-and, if so, on which side would a
German army led by aristocrats fight? Ironically, then, the very escorts sent to protect the king were arousing great suspicion among
the population through which the king must travel.
In Montmedy the apparent preparation of a large military camp
-and the order to bake i8,ooo rations of bread-had also excited
"mistrust and anxiety." "These extraordinary movements in a time
of peace, aides-de-camp appearing on all the roads, sentinels positioned everywhere, had raised a general alarm among the popula-
tion."23 The people of Clermont, just south of Varennes, watched
as 15o cavalry rode through one day and i 8o more the next, the latter abruptly announcing their intention to stay the night. Few believed the story of the shipment of a strongbox, and rumors spread
that the "treasure" in question was actually being smuggled out by
the queen to her brother the Austrian emperor-or that maybe the
treasure was the queen herself.24 Likewise Sainte-Menehould, farther west, saw the sudden and unannounced appearance of two successive cavalry contingents. The second, a group of dragoons under
the command of Andoins, dismounted at midmorning on June 21 in
the town's large central square and waited there throughout the day while their nervous commander paced the street and periodically
rode out of town to watch the horizon. Whenever the officers were
away, townspeople attempted to communicate with the foreigntongued cavalrymen, plying them with drink and asking them their
"real" purpose in the region. Many of the soldiers, mystified themselves by their strange assignment, began to wonder whether their
officers could be trusted. By the end of the afternoon, suspicions
had reached such a level that elements of the national guard began
arming and preparing for an unidentified calamity."
In the meantime, even more disastrous events were unrolling at
the critical forward position of Somme-Vesle, where the duke de
Choiseul's hussars were waiting not in a town but in the open
countryside. Here, as in so many rural regions of France after the
Revolution began, the peasants had been recalcitrant about paying
their seigneurial dues. When the cavalrymen arrived, splendid and
frightening in their high plumed helmets, panic spread through the
community that the men had come to seize the peasants' money or
crops, and people arrived from every direction, pitchforks and sickles in hand, shouting and threatening the horsemen. In the midafternoon, having heard stories of the unrest from passing travelers,
a delegation of national guardsmen came out from Chalons to
investigate. Choiseul and Goguelat attempted to reason with everyone, telling them the story of the strongbox. Although the guardsmen were apparently pacified and returned home, the peasants remained unconvinced and continued to menace the detachment.26
At the same time, Choiseul grew increasingly uneasy about the
long-overdue arrival of the king. Goguelat had carefully timed the
trip, and by his calculations the royal party should have arrived by
two o'clock. In a letter to Bouille, Fersen had even promised that
the king would be in Somme-Vesle by half past two: "you can count
on it." Finally, late in the afternoon the young duke made a series of
poorly conceived decisions heavy with consequences for the whole
plan of escape. Unnerved by the presence of the crowds, worried
that the king had somehow failed to leave Paris, fearful that even if
the king did arrive, the near-riot conditions at the relay post might jeopardize his passage, Choiseul resolved to retreat, and to retreat
not just a short way down the road, but all the way to Bouille's
headquarters in Stenay, some fifty miles distant. Perhaps even more
fateful, he then sent word to the other contingents of cavalry waiting behind him: "It would
question for this frontier region-and, if so, on which side would a
German army led by aristocrats fight? Ironically, then, the very escorts sent to protect the king were arousing great suspicion among
the population through which the king must travel.
In Montmedy the apparent preparation of a large military camp
-and the order to bake i8,ooo rations of bread-had also excited
"mistrust and anxiety." "These extraordinary movements in a time
of peace, aides-de-camp appearing on all the roads, sentinels positioned everywhere, had raised a general alarm among the popula-
tion."23 The people of Clermont, just south of Varennes, watched
as 15o cavalry rode through one day and i 8o more the next, the latter abruptly announcing their intention to stay the night. Few believed the story of the shipment of a strongbox, and rumors spread
that the "treasure" in question was actually being smuggled out by
the queen to her brother the Austrian emperor-or that maybe the
treasure was the queen herself.24 Likewise Sainte-Menehould, farther west, saw the sudden and unannounced appearance of two successive cavalry contingents. The second, a group of dragoons under
the command of Andoins, dismounted at midmorning on June 21 in
the town's large central square and waited there throughout the day while their nervous commander paced the street and periodically
rode out of town to watch the horizon. Whenever the officers were
away, townspeople attempted to communicate with the foreigntongued cavalrymen, plying them with drink and asking them their
"real" purpose in the region. Many of the soldiers, mystified themselves by their strange assignment, began to wonder whether their
officers could be trusted. By the end of the afternoon, suspicions
had reached such a level that elements of the national guard began
arming and preparing for an unidentified calamity."
In the meantime, even more disastrous events were unrolling at
the critical forward position of Somme-Vesle, where the duke de
Choiseul's hussars were waiting not in a town but in the open
countryside. Here, as in so many rural regions of France after the
Revolution began, the peasants had been recalcitrant about paying
their seigneurial dues. When the cavalrymen arrived, splendid and
frightening in their high plumed helmets, panic spread through the
community that the men had come to seize the peasants' money or
crops, and people arrived from every direction, pitchforks and sickles in hand, shouting and threatening the horsemen. In the midafternoon, having heard stories of the unrest from passing travelers,
a delegation of national guardsmen came out from Chalons to
investigate. Choiseul and Goguelat attempted to reason with everyone, telling them the story of the strongbox. Although the guardsmen were apparently pacified and returned home, the peasants remained unconvinced and continued to menace the detachment.26
At the same time, Choiseul grew increasingly uneasy about the
long-overdue arrival of the king. Goguelat had carefully timed the
trip, and by his calculations the royal party should have arrived by
two o'clock. In a letter to Bouille, Fersen had even promised that
the king would be in Somme-Vesle by half past two: "you can count
on it." Finally, late in the afternoon the young duke made a series of
poorly conceived decisions heavy with consequences for the whole
plan of escape. Unnerved by the presence of the crowds, worried
that the king had somehow failed to leave Paris, fearful that even if
the king did arrive, the near-riot conditions at the relay post might jeopardize his passage, Choiseul resolved to retreat, and to retreat
not just a short way down the road, but all the way to Bouille's
headquarters in Stenay, some fifty miles distant. Perhaps even more
fateful, he then sent word to the other contingents of cavalry waiting behind him: "It would
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