From Rufus King to John Adams, 30 September 1792
From Rufus King
Newyork 30. Sep. 1792
By accounts from England as late as the 23d of August we learn that on the 10th of that month the national assembly suspended the King, removed the ministry, and took on themselves the Executive powers— they have since decreed that the primary assm̃blies should meet on the 26. of august, to appoint Deputies to a national convention, to be convened on the 20. of Sepr. for the purpose of deciding on the Forfeiture of the Crown, and prescribing the manner in which the executive powers should in future be executed—
Towards the close of the day on which the King was suspended, the mob demanded to repete the Transactions of the 20th. of June— they were opposed by 700 Swiss who were about the royal Family— the Mob prevailed, having armed themselves with cannon from the Arsenals, they massacred the swiss Guards, plundered the Palaces, overturned the Statues of their former Kings, and Effaced every Vestige of Royalty— the King & royal family Early in the Tumult, escaped through a Garden to the national Assembly, from whence they were removed by a decree to the Temple, a building detached, & surrounded by a wall— the custody of the King & royal Family is given to Pétion the mayor of Paris—
We have no accounts from the Army since this bloody Transaction— all accounts concur that the Austrians & Prussians would inter France about the middle Of August, so that Our next intelligence will be pretty decisive respecting this Revolution conducted with so much barbarity & Ignorance—1
From the state of the affairs of Poland towards the end of July, it is probable that the Poles have been compelled to abandon their Constitution, & to return under their former Government—2
England it would seem is not inclined to interfere, since the parliament which stood prorogued to the last of August, has been further prorogued (Since the Affair at Paris,) to the last of November—3
With the Greatest Respect, I am Dear sir / Your Obt. Servt
Rufus King
RC (Adams Papers); endorsed: “Mr King. Sept. 30. 1792 / ansd. Octr. 11. 1792.”
1. Events were unfolding quickly in France, as political turmoil deepened and new foreign conflicts broke out. On 20 April the French Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia. Louis XVI received a manifesto from Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, commander of the joint Austrian and Prussian forces, on 28 July. The duke threatened retaliatory action against the people of Paris if the royal family suffered harm. Louis XVI published it on 3 Aug., stirring violent protest. Prussian forces invaded France on 16 Aug., quickly followed by Austrian troops three days later. Meanwhile, a revolutionary commune formed in Paris and the royal family was arrested on 10 Aug., ushering in the Reign of Terror.
As the French Revolution’s bloodiest chapter began, lawmakers scrambled to rewrite the government’s powers and protocols. The Legislative Assembly decreed that a new National Convention, elected by universal male suffrage, would replace the constitutional monarchy. On 3 Dec. the National Convention yielded to popular rage and accused Louis XVI of treason. The royal family remained, nominally, under the protection of French lawyer Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve, the mayor of Paris (, p. xix, xx, 168; New York Diary, 1 Oct.; , 9:308).
2. For the cultural and political reforms in Poland, see William Gordon’s letter of 15 Sept. 1791, and note 6, and Thomas Brand Hollis’ letter of 26 Oct., and note 15, both above.
3. Parliament adjourned on 15 June 1792 and was repeatedly prorogued until 3 Jan. 1793 (London Public Advertiser, 16 June 1792; London Diary, 1 Sept., 16 Nov., 14 Dec.).