410:. The memoirs of the Sanson family record many details of the execution. According to the Sansons, after Lally said "And now, you can strike!" Charles Henri raised his weapon but failed to sever the old man's head in one blow. Lally reportedly rose to his feet, and Charles Henri's father intervened to complete the execution hastily as he promised Lally 35 years prior to this day. It is reported that Charles Jean-Baptiste Sanson finished Lally with a single strike after immediately recovering from the stroke-like condition that plagued him for years. It is highly unlikely that Charles Jean-Baptiste Sanson regained his strength to save the day. A piece written by Dr. Louis, as cited in Daniel Arasse's "The Guillotine and the Terror," recounts that during the execution, Lally knelt blindfolded and
375:
162:
454:. There is an account that the shame of military failure was originally so great that this son was brought up in total ignorance of who his father had been, and only inadvertently discovered the truth of his background at the age of fifteen. However this account cannot be true, as the son was fifteen when his father was executed, so his origins must have been concealed for other reasons. Voltaire offered what assistance he could, but the campaign to release the court documents was painfully slow.
443:
man, violent, ambitious, capable of pillage and abuse of power; but I should be astonished if he was a traitor", and to another he wrote, "I have just been reading up on the tragedy of poor Lally. I can easily see that Lally got himself detested by all the officers and all the inhabitants of
Pondicherry, but in all the submissions to the trial there is no appearance of embezzlement, nor of treason." Voltaire had taken up a number of campaigns against miscarriages of justice, most famously that of
461:, and he was probably well content not to exercise his authority to save an almost friendless foreigner. The family records of his executioner stated that, while the charge of treason was clearly baseless, those of abuse of power, violence against the administrators of the colony and his soldiers, and cruelty to the natives, had ample witnesses. Lally had so impeached his officers and administrators of the colony that they could only feel safe by his condemnation and death.
565:
447:. His work to expose injustice and abuse of process was often hindered by the unwillingness of the courts and other authorities to release evidence, statements, and court records. In this case too, although Voltaire wanted to investigate further, he was unable to penetrate the institutional secrecy of the court for the time being.
40:
442:
knew Lally personally, and had no liking for him. As he had investments in the East India
Company, he was concerned 'this Irish hothead' might not be good for the shareholders when he was sent out to India. When he heard of his execution, he wrote to one friend, "I knew Lally-Tollendal for an absurd
207:
After time spent as a prisoner of war in
Britain, Lally voluntarily returned to France to face charges where he was beheaded for his alleged failures in India. Ultimately the jealousies and disloyalties of other officers, together with insufficient resources and limited naval support prevented Lally
473:
of Rouen for formal overturning. On 24 May 1778, less than a week before he died, Voltaire learned that GĂ©rard de Lally-Tollendal had been given leave to appeal. Deeply moved, Voltaire wrote to him: "The dying man has been revived by learning this great news; he embraces M. de Lally very tenderly;
398:, began the prosecution, Lally had not received any documentation of the charges, and was not allowed a defence lawyer. Throughout the trial, which lasted for two years, Lally fought against Joly de Fleury's charges but on 6 May 1766 he was convicted and sentenced to be beheaded by
243:, who married a French lady of noble family. His title is derived from the Lally ancestral home, Castel Tullendally in County Galway, where the Lallys (originally O'Mullally) were prominent members of the Gaelic aristocracy who could trace their ancestry back to the
468:
came to the throne in 1774 there was more inclination towards clemency. Still, it took discussion in thirty-two sessions before, in 1778, the Royal
Council agreed to annul the proceedings against Lally, though the case still had to be referred to the
390:, he heard that he was accused in France of treason, and insisted, against advice, on returning on parole to stand trial. He was kept prisoner for nearly two years before the trial began in 1764 and when the Advocate General of the
405:
Lally made an unsuccessful attempt at suicide after his sentencing, and three days after his conviction he was gagged to prevent him from protesting his innocence further. He was transported in a garbage cart to be beheaded at the
414:
struck him on the back of the neck. The blow failed to separate the head from the body, causing Lally to fall forwards. Finally, the head was detached from the body with four or five saber blows, which was witnessed with horror.
427:, later Marquis de Lally-Tollendal, a distinguished French statesman who (as further described below) subsequently devoted much time and energy to the rehabilitation of his father's memory. Lally also had a
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386:
to
England. Public opinion in France was very hostile, blaming him for the defeat by the British, and there were widespread calls for Lally to be put on trial. While in
1113:
932:
History of the Irish
Brigades in the Service of France: From the Revolution in Great Britain and Ireland Under James II to the Revolution in France Under Louis XVI
350:
He was a man of courage and a capable general, but his pride and ferocity made him unpopular with his officers and men. He was unsuccessful in an attack on
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ancestry. Lally commanded French forces, including two battalions of his own red-coated
Regiment of Lally of the Irish Brigade, in India during the
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Louis XV tried to throw the responsibility for what was undoubtedly a judicial murder on his ministers and the public, but his policy needed a
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335:, made up of four battalions, two of which were from his own Regiment of Lally of the Irish Brigade. He reached
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Voltaire was able to take no further action until in 1770 he was approached for help by Lally's natural son
258:
451:
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20:
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he sees that the king is the defender of justice. He will die content." It was the last letter he wrote.
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from securing India for France. In 1778, he was publicly exonerated by Louis XVI from his alleged crime.
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in April 1758, and within six weeks had pushed the
British back from the coast to Madras (in modern-day
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
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The sentence was not overturned until 1781, and the conviction itself was never cleared.
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When war broke out with
Britain again in 1756, Lally was appointed governor-general of
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acted as spokesman of
Parlement and refused to consider any rehabilitation for Lally.
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daughter, Henrietta (or Harriet), who lived in Madras and died on 9 September 1836.
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292:(then known in Jacobite circles as the Prince Regent, or Bonnie Prince Charlie) to
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383:
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176:(13 January 1702 – 9 May 1766) was a French general of Irish
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225:
39:
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The Topographical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Noamh O'Huidhrin
366:, and besieged in Pondicherry, where he was forced to capitulate in 1761.
19:"Lally-Tollendal" redirects here. For his son, the French politician, see
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133:
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589:. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 95.
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232:
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954:"Memoirs of the Sansons, from Private Notes and Documents (1688-1847)"
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458:
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The Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many, commonly called O'Kelly's Country
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816:
Memoirs of the Sansons, from private notes and documents, 1688-1847
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354:, and as he lacked French naval support he had to retire from the
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Irish Brigades Abroad: From the Wild Geese to the Napoleonic Wars
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By one Felicity Crofton, Lally had a legitimised son and heir,
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593:
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332:
76:
797:
Frederick Dixon (1893). "Lally's Visit to England in 1745".
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O’hAnnrachain, E. (2004). "Lally, the Regime's Scapegoat".
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upon the arrival of the British fleet. He was defeated by
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The Guillotine and the Terror, Trans. Christopher Miller
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999:"Z's" article "The Marquis de Lally-Tollendal" in the
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257:Entering the French army in 1721, he served in the
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288:He was a staunch Jacobite and in 1745 accompanied
1047:(January 16, 1761 – June 25, 1765)
870:
540:, Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society, p. 38.
480:When the case was considered by the Parlement de
174:Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally, baron de Tollendal
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734:Diary of Colonel Bayly: 12th Regiment, 1796-1830
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796:
599:
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1114:People executed by the Ancien RĂ©gime in France
655:. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. p. 159.
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857:Historical Pictures of the French Revolution
653:Battles of the Honourable East India Company
615:, D. & J. Sadlier & Company, p. 249.
1124:French prisoners of war in the 18th century
1099:People executed for treason against France
921:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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1104:People executed by France by decapitation
1005:The legal documents are preserved in the
818:, edited by Henry Sanson. Available from
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331:and commanded a French expedition to
930:O'Callaghan, John Cornelius (1870).
435:Voltaire's efforts at rehabilitation
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1129:18th-century executions by France
934:. Glasgow: Cameron and Ferguson.
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641:, New Age International, p. 35.
273:in the famous Irish brigade at
1094:French people of Irish descent
956:. London: Chatto & Windus.
871:References and further reading
631:
618:
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581:Lally, Thomas Arthur, Comte de
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112:War of the Austrian Succession
1:
1109:Earls in the Jacobite peerage
799:The English Historical Review
751:(Calcutta, 1851), at page 201
611:Thomas Osborne Davis (1866),
200:the remaining French post at
1074:People from Romans-sur-Isère
1040:1758–January 16, 1761
259:War of the Polish Succession
184:. After a failed attempt to
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952:Sanson, Henry, ed. (1876).
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343:), the headquarters of the
252:Conn of the Hundred Battles
16:18th-century French general
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737:(London, 1896), at page 46
498:Marquis de Lally-Tollendal
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345:English East India Company
316:Siege of Maastricht (1748)
277:(May 1745). He was made a
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1089:Counts of Lally-Tollendal
1084:Governors of French India
1045:First British occupation
1042:
1029:
1021:
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900:The Career of Count Lally
613:The Poems of Thomas Davis
486:Jean-Jacques d'Eprémesnil
452:GĂ©rard de Lally-Tollendal
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96:
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21:GĂ©rard de Lally-Tollendal
890:. London: Profile Books.
822:, accessed 20 April 2016
624:Stephen McGarry (2013),
508:
265:; he was present at the
192:to British forces under
151:3rd Siege of Pondicherry
1025:Georges Duval de Leyrit
877:Arasse, Daniel (1989).
651:Naravane, M.S. (2014).
639:History of Modern India
586:Encyclopædia Britannica
536:John O'Donovan (1862),
211:
169:, by Paul Philipotteaux
128:5th Siege of Maastricht
1119:Executed French people
1008:Bibliothèque Nationale
982:Schama, Simon (1989).
969:Cite journal requires
886:Davidson, Ian (2010).
379:
304:Battle of Falkirk Muir
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123:Battle of Falkirk Muir
909:Irish Brigades Abroad
863:, accessed 15/02/2017
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290:Charles Edward Stuart
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97:Years of service
907:McGarry, S. (2013).
628:, The History Press.
412:Charles-Henri Sanson
400:Charles-Henri Sanson
382:Lally was sent as a
269:, and commanded the
248:High King of Ireland
1017:Government offices
855:J. Charles (1803).
748:The Bengal Obituary
370:Trial and execution
364:Battle of Wandiwash
267:Battle of Dettingen
198:forced to surrender
190:Battle of Wandiwash
146:Battle of Wandiwash
118:Battle of Dettingen
1001:Biographie Michaud
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525:O'Callaghan (1870)
503:Third Carnatic War
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109:Maratha-Nizam War
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271:regiment de Lally
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188:he lost the
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820:Archive.org
337:Pondicherry
318:was made a
202:Pondicherry
167:Pondicherry
134:7 Years War
1058:Categories
986:. Penguin.
881:. Penguin.
805:(30): 284.
445:Jean Calas
394:of Paris,
194:Eyre Coote
87:Allegiance
70:9 May 1766
917:cite book
911:. Dublin.
859:, Paris,
471:Parlement
466:Louis XVI
459:scapegoat
392:Parlement
279:brigadier
165:Lally at
100:1721-1761
991:Voltaire
984:Citizens
898:(1865).
722:page 182
492:See also
440:Voltaire
294:Scotland
283:Louis XV
275:Fontenoy
261:against
233:Jacobite
222:Dauphiné
178:Jacobite
57:Dauphine
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429:natural
419:Progeny
362:at the
352:Tanjore
341:Chennai
310:in the
302:at the
263:Austria
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333:India
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230:Irish
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