Fight Back With Perry Miniatures’ New Vendée Commanders
July 7, 2026 by brennon
Perry Miniatures have released three new sets of mounted 28mm figures for use in your armies of the Vendéen (Vendean) and Chouan for the period of 1793-99. You have a set of the three personalities alongside some cavalry options to offer additional support to your infantry.
Mounted Commanders // Perry Miniatures
The personalities include Henri de la Rochejaquelein, Maurice Gigost d’Elbée and Charles de Bonchamps, Marquis de Bonchamps. Maurice Gigost d’Elbée was initially enthusiastic about the Revolution but eventually joined the French Royalist uprising that took place in the Vendée. Marquis de Bonchamps was both a politician and a leader who took part in the Vendéan insurrection of Royalists against the Republic. The last of the characters from the set, Henri du Vergier, was the youngest general of the insurrection and was commander-in-chief of the Catholic and Royal Army at the age of just twenty-one.
As well as the characters for your uprising, you also have two sets of Mounted Vendéens which can be used alongside the rest of the range (found HERE).
Mounted Vendéens 1 // Perry Miniatures
Mounted Vendéens 2 // Perry Miniatures
This is quite an interesting point in the French Revolution where Royalists alongside a fairly sizeable portion of the peasant population railed against the direction that the Revolution was taking. The peasants of the region had much better living conditions than elsewhere in France and they had better relations with their nobles as well. This was enflamed all the more by the perceived attacks on the church, as the populace were staunch Catholics.
The Catholic and Royal Army of 80,000 men and boys was formed in April 1793, made up of soldiers like the ones you see here, and even though it took the Republicans several months to quash the rebellion, it was fearsomely bloody and brutal. This sounds like a great time period to focus your battles around as the Revolution raged across France.
What do you make of the new miniatures and will you be focusing on this yourself?
Drop your thoughts below...
"You have a set of the three personalities alongside some cavalry options to offer additional support to your infantry..."
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Fantastic miniatures. The Vendee Rising has some great stories behind it and helps us to remember that most of what we think about the French Revolution is propaganda of the day or pop history, eg. the Bastille being some kind of terrible prison when in reality it held 7 people, four forgers who were immediately re-jailed, two insane men who were also taken back into custody and a nobleman who was there at the request of his family for some carnal improprieties. Remember the Revolution didn’t solve the problems that it was started to solve, the bread was still not there, the debt got even worse and now there were a whole bunch of wars against massive powers.
By killing the King and persecuting the Church they made enemies of the Vendee peasants, coming to steal their children to go die for the hated Republic was the last straw. The Nobility of the Vendee were poorer than other Nobility and so they couldn’t live at Versailles as was the fashionable thing to do at the time. Being local they were well liked and spent time with their local communities, there are famous tales of mobs gathering with pitchforks and torches demanding the nobility come out and lead them into battle. The Chouans are a little different, they were founded by a man Jean Cottereau (and his family) who was a Salt smuggler and had been sentenced to death, the story goes that his mother travelled to Versailles, smuggled herself into the Palace and personally requested a pardon from the King who granted it, when the King was killed Cottereau fought out of loyalty to the man who saved his life. The Chouans were way worse than Vendee rebels, they were full blown insurgents, they would invade villages and assassinate people, kill mayors and Constitution Priests, they even had a few goes at Napoleon, including what was essentially a car bomb. Chouans are perfect for skirmish games, they were small warbands that ambushed and melted back into the woods not an army.
Plenty of opportunities for wargames. At the large level there are a number of battles and even more skirmishes. Especially towards the end when the Infernal Columns start massacring their way through the Vendee, perfect for Sharp Practice. There were also multiple risings including one in 1815 that tied up 10,000 French Troops of Napoleon’s army which otherwise would have been at Waterloo with him. You can even refight the British landing of Émigré Troops whether the real version or the Hornblower one.
Definitely going to pick up some of these.
Dang, great comment; now I gotta find some documentaries to listen to at work!
It’s a very niche subject and not a lot is out there in English. I did a video about them a few years ago, if you type “Another Historian Wargamer War in the Vendee” into YouTube it should pop up. You should be able to find an audiobook of “Fighting the French Revolution: The Great Vendee Rising of 1793″ by Rob Harper which is probably the best book in English. If you want a book that focuses more on the religious motivations and aspects then you could also read “For Altar and Throne”.
Right on, thank you!