No Surrender!

No Surrender!, by G. A. Henty

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Title: No Surrender! A Tale of the Rising in La Vendee
Author: G. A. Henty
Illustrator: Stanley Wood
Release Date: December 11, 2006 [EBook #20091]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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No Surrender! A Tale Of The Rising in La Vendee by G. A. Henty.
Contents
Preface.

Chapter 1
: A French Lugger.
Chapter 2
: The Beginning Of Troubles.
Chapter 3
: The First Successes.
Chapter 4
: Cathelineau's Scouts.
Chapter 5
: Checking The Enemy.
Chapter 6
: The Assault Of Chemille.
Chapter 7
: A Short Rest.
Chapter 8
: The Capture Of Saumur.
Chapter 9
: Bad News.
Chapter 10

: Preparations For A Rescue.
Chapter 11
: The Attack On Nantes.
Chapter 12
: A Series Of Victories.
Chapter 13
: Across The Loire.
Chapter 14
: Le Mans.
Chapter 15
: In Disguise.
Chapter 16
: A Friend At Last:
Chapter 17
: A Grave Risk.
Chapter 18
: Home.
Illustrations
"Follow Me!" he shouted. "Make for the gun!" At the first volley, the

colonel of the dragoons and many of his men fell. A scattered fire
broke out from the defenders. Leigh gave the word and, leaping up,
they threw themselves on the traitor. He was the bearer of terrible news.
Jean seized one of them by the throat. Westermann's cavalry charged
into the streets of Dol. For two or three minutes, husband and wife
stood together.

Preface.
In the world's history, there is no more striking example of heroic
bravery and firmness than that afforded by the people of the province
of Poitou, and more especially of that portion of it known as La Vendee,
in the defence of their religion and their rights as free men. At the
commencement of the struggle they were almost unarmed, and the
subsequent battles were fought by the aid of muskets and cannon
wrested from the enemy. With the exception of its forests, La Vendee
offered no natural advantages for defence. It had no mountains, such as
those which enabled the Swiss to maintain their independence; no
rivers which would bar the advance of an enemy; and although the
woods and thickets of the Bocage, as it was called, favoured the action
of the irregular troops, these do not seem to have been utilized as they
might have been, the principal engagements of the war being fought on
open ground. For eighteen months the peasants of La Vendee, in spite
of the fact that they had no idea of submitting either to drill or
discipline, repulsed the efforts of forces commanded by the best
generals France could furnish; and which grew, after every defeat, until
at length armies numbering, in all, over two hundred thousand men
were collected to crush La Vendee.
The losses on both sides were enormous. La Vendee was almost
depopulated; and the Republicans paid dearly, indeed, for their triumph,
no fewer than one hundred thousand men having fallen, on their side.
La Vendee was crushed, but never surrendered. Had the British
government been properly informed, by its agents, of the desperate
nature of the struggle that was going on; they might, by throwing
twenty thousand troops, with supplies of stores and money into La

Vendee, have changed the whole course of events; have crushed the
Republic, given France a monarch, and thus spared Europe over twenty
years of devastating warfare, the expenditure of enormous sums of
money, and the loss of millions of lives.
G. A. Henty
Chapter 1
: A French Lugger.
Some half a mile back from the sea, near the point where the low line
of sandy hill is broken by the entrance into Poole Harbour, stood, in
1791, Netherstock; which, with a small estate around, was the property
of Squire Stansfield. The view was an extensive one, when the weather
was clear. Away to the left lay the pine forests of Bournemouth and
Christ Church and, still farther seaward, the cliffs of the Isle of Wight,
from Totland Bay as far as Saint Catherine Point. Close at hand to the
south was Studland Bay, bounded by Handfast Point. Looking towards
the right was a great sheet of shallow water, for the most part dry at low
tide, known as Poole and Wareham Harbours, with its numerous creeks
and bays.
Netherstock was an old house, with many nooks and corners. The
squire was