Charles-Louis Chassin Explained

Charles-Louis Chassin (1831–1901) was a French historian who edited the definitive documentary collection on the War in the Vendée.^[1]

Chassin viewed the French Revolution favourably, declaring that the Revolution's centenary demonstrated "the legitimacy of the demands of our fathers".^[2]

Upon hearing the news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Chassin wrote a letter to the Phare de la Loire raising the idea of a memorial medal in Lincoln's honour, which would be sent to Mary Todd Lincoln.^[3] This was to be funded by a subscription of ten centimes and it eventually amassed 40,000 signatures (including those of Victor Hugo, Jules Michelet and Louis Blanc).^[3]

Works

• Les Elections et les cahiers de Paris en 1789: Documents recueillis, mis en order at annotés (Paris, 1888–89), 4 volumes.
• La Préparation de la guerre de Vendée (Paris, 1892), 3 volumes.
• Les Pacifications de l'Ouest, 1794-1801 (Paris, 1896–99), 3 volumes.

Notes and References

1. David A. Bell, The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know it (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007), p. 181.
2. [Richard Bernstein (journalist)|Richard Bernstein]
3. Gabor S. Boritt, Mark E. Neely, Jr. and Harold Holzer, 'The European Image of Abraham Lincoln', Winterthur Portfolio Vol. 21, No. 2/3 (Summer - Autumn, 1986), p. 161.