By so ordering, the king pronounced the death sentence for the Swiss Guards! Shattering for the brave soldiers, a bolt of lightening out of no- where, it commenced the desperate fight against a hundredfold superior force. Yet, even this last order, true to the oath which they had taken, was carried out. However, a retreat to the barracks in view of the cu rrent situation was an even more threatening situation and out of the question.

Contemporary reports of survivors exist, of which a few are cited herewith:

At 3 o’clock the previously mentioned Captain von Durler passed a head- count report: 800 Swiss Guards in the compound of the Tuileries; of these nearly 450 alone in the interior of the palace! As will soon be shown, in a situation holding very little promise, nearly all are massacred. He himself escaped the debacle only be being detached as escort officer for the king during his walk to the National Assembly. From there he commenced his successful flight, enhanced through deputies favorably inclined toward the Swiss! It was he who later authored the most reliable reports to the Swiss authorities.

Sergeant-Major Jacob Stoffel of Mels, with 15 comrades-in-arms, cooly con- quered three enemy canons, with some ammunition. The group was able to keep the storming mob in check for a prolonged period of time.

Quartermaster Forestier, early in the morning at the palace, succeeded in saving what there was to save of the regimental treasury. His pockets filled with gold and securities, he managed to escape again and hide in the cellar and in attics until 9 September! Toward the end of October he finally made his way to Switzerland.

One of the Guards beat an enemy over the head with his rifle with such force that the firing mechanism was stuck and he had to abandon his rifle.

A your artillery lieutenant from Corsica, of who later much would be said, ov- served, in the closest proximity, the events of the day, such as how the Tuileries were being stormed by an abominable pack of dogs; how women committed the worst desecrations on the corpses; how fights ensued over the uniforms of dead Swiss; how the pilfered royal wardrobe was distributed to the mob. Itcan be read in the memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, written on St. Helena.

On 10 August the bloody fighting continued into the late night. What re- mained of the Swiss, who were literally hunted by the enemy in a wanton rage, was placed under the protection of the law by the currently in charge French authorities. However, the officers had to appear before the Revolu- tionary Tribunal. In the beginning of September eleven of them were don- demned to be executed. They were found to have incited the conspiracy to precipitate a civil war !! What was the position of the common soldier regarding the ideology of the French Revolution? Some cases of mutiny and joining the enemy did occur. However, the majority of soldiers of the Guard Regiment fulfilled their duty, true to the oath taken and in accordance with their upbringing in the old Swiss republican tradition; this although the often controversial, not very popular, ideology of a foreign ruler had to be protected with armed force.

By order of the French National Assembly in the autumn of 1792, the Swiss Guards, as well as all other Swiss Regiments, ceased to be employed in French Service. Thus, all these hired troops of ancient regime suffered a rather sad ending. The Guard Regiment, incidentally, had been in the serv- ice of the Bourbons since 1616. It only went to war with the king and was ranked second in the French army (after the French Guard).

Back at home a memorial to the remembrance of the valiant soldiers was to be finally erected. The initiator, Colonel Karl Pfyffer of Altishofen, in March 1818, started a public solicitation of funds. Soon a sizeable sum had been gathered, including large donations from King Louis XVIII and the French aristocracy. The Danish artist Thorwaldsen was commissioned for the pro- ject. It was placed in a grotto near the Gletschergarten at Lucerne. The sol- emn dedication took place on 10 August 1821 in the presence of Swiss and foreign authorities and many veterans.

Into the stone was chiseled: HELVETIORUM FIDEL AC VIRTUTI (The loy- alty and valor of the Swiss). The motto and the image of a dying lion, on a broken shield, leave a lasting impression on the visitor.

5. Lion monument at Lucerne

]4 In the year 1892, thus one hundred years later, Ant. Schnyder of Lucerne created the splendid memorial medal, which is pictured on the cover of this issue.

In the year of 1992, finally, at a time of great change, even in a military sense, a Swiss man feels the desire to remember a great military feat of his ances- tors.

My thanks go to my friend Neal W. O’Conner for having assisted me in the English version of my article, as well as to Horst A. Reschke, the translator.

REFERENCES:

Wolfgang Friedr. von Mulinen (Das franzosische Schweizer-Garderegiment am 10. Aug. 1792)

Colonel Pfyffer d’AItishofen: RECIT DE LA CONDUITE DU REGIMENT DES GARDES SUISSES A LA JOURNEE DU 10 AOUT 1792 (1824)

Dr. Gustav Grunau: ZWEI SCHWEIZ. MILITARISCHE VER- DIENSTMEDAILLEN (1909)

Paul de Valliere: HELDENTOD DES SCHWEIZER GARDEREGIMENTS (1937)

Photos und H v. Schweiz. Landesmuseum Zurich, von Urkunde v. Eidg. Staatsarchiv Bern.

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