An Irishman is purported to have led the storming of the Bastille and, while there is some question as to whether this is true, the same man did serve in the revolutionary French armies, sailed with Wolfe Tone on the Bantry Bay expedition in 1796 and with Napper Tandy to Donegal in 1798 and after imprisonment, served in Napoleon’s Prussian and Austrian campaigns. His name was James Bartholomew Blackwell and he died 200 years ago on March 14th.
He was born in Barrack Street, Ennis, Co Clare, in September 1764. Around the age of 11, he was sent to the Irish College in Paris to be educated for the priesthood as a result of a scholarship provided by a great-uncle, Dr Bartholomew Murray. Following some years of education, he decided against becoming a priest and studied medicine instead but it’s unclear if he ever qualified as he became a French citizen in 1783 and three years later joined a regiment of the Irish Brigade of the French army.
Irish affairs seem to have attracted his attention soon after that as he became friendly with United Irishmen activists in Paris
The historian RJ Hayes asserted that Blackwell became friendly with revolutionaries such as Danton and Desmoulins and that he was chosen to lead the attack on the Bastilles on July 14th, 1789, but Hayes gave no source for his claim and other historians have doubted it, arguing that his regiment was stationed on Mauritius in the Indian Ocean at the time and also, and perhaps more significantly, that in the copious literature existing on the storming of the Bastille, Blackwell’s name is not mentioned. In addition, he never claimed involvement subsequently and surely his promotion prospects would have been enhanced if he had.
In 1791, he enrolled in volunteer corps of the revolutionary armies, was promoted to captain, fought in the armée du Nord against the First Coalition armies and was wounded near Lille in 1794. Around this time a Col Wade and his daughter Sophie from Somerset were travelling in France when war broke out with England; they were arrested as enemy nationals but Blackwell intervened to save them. He afterwards married Sophie.
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Irish affairs seem to have attracted his attention soon after that as he became friendly with United Irishmen activists in Paris. He accompanied Wolfe Tone on the massive expedition led by Gen Hoche which reached Bantry Bay in December 1796. Dreadful weather, poor communication and indecision turned the expedition into a disastrous failure.
Back in Paris, Blackwell became very friendly with Napper Tandy, who probably persuaded him to take part with him in the expedition in 1798 that was meant to link up with Gen Humbert who was already in Ireland. By this time Blackwell had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. But before they landed at Donegal, Humbert had been defeated at Ballinamuck. They tried to return to France but their ship had to put into port on the return journey and Blackwell ended up being arrested.
Although as a French citizen and army officer he deserved better treatment, he ended up spending two years in Kilmainham, being released only in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.
The deterioration in his relations with Napper Tandy and reports of his time in Kilmainham and subsequently in France show that he could be a difficult and moody man
In 1803, he joined the new Irish Brigade that Napoleon had created after renewed war with England broke out. He took part in the French campaigns in Prussia and Poland and was wounded in both 1806 and 1807. From then on he held staff appointments as his health deteriorated and he was diagnosed as suffering from a tubercular complaint.
He was appointed military governor in Alsace in 1816 but retired to Paris in 1818 due to continuing ill-health.
Of all the Irish Legion officers, Blackwell was one of the most honoured, having been awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Officier de la Légion d’Honneur and Chevalier de St Louis, among others. He was buried in the cemetery of Père Lachaise in Paris but its archives show his grave no longer exists because it was reused due to neglect, which is a pity in light of his service to both France and Ireland.
The deterioration in his relations with Napper Tandy and reports of his time in Kilmainham and subsequently in France show that he could be a difficult and moody man. On the other hand, he was a man of undoubted courage, with great experience in battle and the wounds to prove it.
In addition, as historian Hugh Gough has pointed out, he was a genuine supporter of the French Revolution, unlike most of the other Irish officers in French regiments who emigrated and fought in counter-revolutionary armies. And he risked his life in the cause of Irish freedom in 1796 and 1798.