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Here is a special complement to our previous article untitled "Uchronic history II : the greatest shams of history", published on Global Politics and Economics, on July Ist, 2018.
In the latter article, the Baron Jean de Batz (1754 - 1822) was a central character and a conductor of capital events during the French Revolution with his use of doubles, even people are often kept in ignorance about it. They just usually heard he was from D'Artagnan's family.
In this regard, we studied the two secret operations of rescue of the King Louis XVI (1754 - 1793 ?) and the Queen Marie-Antoinette (1755 - 1793 ?), that the Revolutionaries attributed to his bold person, even he surprisingly always denied any participation in them !
He rests in peace in the cemetery of Authezat (Puy-de-Dôme, France), but what he left to the French subconscious memory is quite astonishing.
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In "La Révolution fracassée" (which can be rendered as "The shattered Revolution" in English) published in 2013 - Ed. Actes Sud -, Paul Belaiche-Daninos has pointed out some details about the Baron de Batz. And he undertitled his book "La justice du baron de Batz" ("the justice of Baron de Batz").
He showed that our Baron tried as a MP to influence the vote, to avoid Louis XVI the death penalty in january 1793. At this occasion, three MPs promised him not to vote the death : Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau, Vergniaud, and the cousin of the King ("Philip-Equality", Duke of Orléans).
But in reality, all of them did exactly the opposite, which caused the Baron's anger and provoked his will of revenge : he would have immediately decided to surrender his own justice about them, as an unescapable punishment too !
To make a comment if following this logic, those three characters committed a dishonorable perjury in the Baron de Batz' eyes. As a nobleman of Ancient Regime having a sense of the honor, he strongly disliked people who had no word.
Not surprisingly, the three of them would have felt rapidly uneasy and worried, even they couldn't guess how he would operate.
Anyhow, it has to be noticed that everything was accomplished in the same year, 1793 !
Louis-Michel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau (1760 - 1793), was deadly wounded by a previous guard of Louis XVI called "Paris" on January 20th, 1793, just sixteen hours after his last fateful vote against the King. Coincidence or not, he didn't even have the time to go to sleep in order to make a full nightmare !
Pierre Vergniaud (1753 - 1793), the man who suspended the powers of the King Louis XVI on August 10th, 1792, ended up to oppose Danton (1759 - 1794) he saw as a potential dictator : this idea, strongly suggested by de Batz, quickly lead him to guillotine (October 31st, 1793).
And finally, the Duke of Orléans (1747 - 1793) experienced the fall, after the accusation of betrayal launched against Dumouriez (1739 - 1823) and his supporters. In fact, the baron de Batz was able of intriguing about this accusation, as he himself had been betrayed by Dumouriez. This one didn't bring him the support of his men finally on the morning of January 21st, 1793, on Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle in Paris. And it obliged de Batz to still proceed just a bit further, despite the 12,000 men armed with bayonet rifles of the security cordon, with the operation of rescue of the King : along the n°52 of the "rue de Beauregard" ! Yet, he was helped by the peculiarities of this narrow and steep street in angle, where the sedan of the King was obliged to slow down and brake. He immediately jumped on the door of the sedan he opened with someone "special", and could escape very swiftly by a little passage still existing beside this number, with a man the guards couldn't really guess if he was the King and not his double, in the confusion !
Interestingly too, it must be recalled our Baron was born in the castle of Gouts (Landes, Aquitaine) !
Dumouriez who became "suspect" for the Convention on April, 4th 1793, could flee away by running in the fields. But, it wasn't the case of "Philip-Equality" who was arrested three days after, and finally sentenced to death and guillotined on November 6th, 1793.
We want to stress, that everybody recognized the abilities and incredible courage of the Baron de Batz, including the Revolutionaries. The latters were speechless, in front of his heroic bodlness of man who cannot die !
As we wrote before, we only know his two ultra-dangerous operations of rescue concerning Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette because of his enemies, as he himself always denied them in spite of all evidences !
To make an important parallel, great mysteries have for too long been made around the substitution of their son, Louis XVII (1785 - 1860)... with the retarted son of the Marquis de Jarjayes in the Temple Jail on January 19th, 1794, by the Count of Courtenay - a relative of the King of England - and his pulpy assistant, the pretty Miss Barett (British Secret Services).
And it is certain, that for more than two centuries, it allowed the nebulous ends of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette not to be studied more carefully, by helping the creation of a moot mythology.
Coming back to the Baron Jean de Batz (sometimes called "Jean-Pierre de Batz" also), he was extremely clever, cunning...and lucky. Several times, he should have been trapped by Robespierre, but every time he could escape with his accomplished art of improvisation. Like an eel, he always slipped away between the clumsy fingers of Robespierre.It is known, he was also responsible of Robespierre's insomnias !
And till the end, Maximilian had nighmares because of him : during the Revolution, only Jean de Batz was able to cause him this constant stress. He was his pet peeve !
During the Terror, he was clever and bold enough to have very discrete meetings with people of Paris Commune, the Convention, ...and even some members of the Committee of Public Safety [Claude Basire (1764 - 1794), Delaunay d'Angers (1752-1794), and the lucky Julien de Toulouse (1750 - 1828)]. No wander why Robespierre couldn't help making nightmares, and almost "daytime insomnias" about someone who was secretely taunting him - practically under his nose !
At the very end of the Revolution, during Vendémiaire 13th, Year IV (October 5th, 1795), the Baron de Batz was suspected to be the brain of the Royalist uprising. The latter was crushed by the artillery of Napoléon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821) at the front of Saint Roch Church in Paris. And this time, de Batz was captured as the top organizer from behind.
Yet, nobody knows how he managed exactly...but he was released rather quickly, and all the charges abandoned against him. It is said however his future wife, Mademoiselle Thilorier, and a friend, the "Marchioness of Janson" we talked about in our previous article (as a possible cover name of escape for Queen Marie-Antoinette) helped him discreetly... so then, not a single material evidence about his implication in this insurrection could be found !
At the end of our development, it is obvious the Baron de Batz was a major actor of French History, even just a few people really studied his boldest accomplishments.
To be comprehensive, we must also mention his undescribable strokes of fortune, and even good fortune !
He was adulated by his future wife and the "Marchioness of Janson", who considered him as The Man in all his splendour, dignous of the greatest heroes of the Antiquity : the first one, because of love and passion, and the second with a devoted friendship, because he saved her life from an horrible and ignominous death !
It has to be added, that the uprising quoted above didn't really fail actually : the Baron de Batz' aim had always been to bring this Revolution - he saw as deceptive and inhuman - an end. And it's exactly what happened three weeks later with a startling new regime, seeming to come from nowhere : the Directoire (October 26th, 1795 - November 10th, 1799) !
And there is something comical, in the fact Jean de Batz was possibly helped and protected... by the Queen of France (aka "the Marchioness of Janson"), to terminate the Revolution !
