Louis de Frotté

Who was Louis de Frotté?

Marie Pierre Louis de Frotté was a French soldier and an opponent of the Republic during the Revolutionary Wars.

De Frotté was born in Alençon. He joined the Royal Army in 1781, and was in command of infantry units by 1789, when the French Revolution broke out. Frotté joined the émigrés, leaving France and serving in the combined Prussian and Austrian army of the Duke of Brunswick, which aimed to restore the absolute monarchy in France.

Frotté fought at Valmy in 1792, and, after Brunswick's unsuccessful campaign, sailed to England. There, he joined the émigré regiment of the vicomte de Bussy, venturing into Brittany several times and linking up with Chouan royalists, who had risen up against the French Republic that had evolved from the Revolution.

Frotté soon became a leader of the Chouan revolt, organizing the rebels into military units and forming a staff. By 1796, however, forces under General Hoche had scored several victories, defeating the Chouans and forcing Frotté to flee abroad, after repulsing his assault on Tinchebray. Returning to England, he was enlisted by Charles, Count of Artois, in an attempt to start yet another rebellion in his native Normandy.