The Storming of the Bastille

A Parisian Newspaper Account of the Fall of the Bastille

First, the people tried to enter this fortress by the Rue (Street) St. Antoine. The treacherous governor had put out a flag of peace, so a confident advance was made; a detachment of French Guards (the army of the French Revolution), with perhaps five to six thousand armed commoners, penetrated the Bastille's outer courtyards, but as soon as some six hundred persons had passed over the first drawbridge, the bridge was raised and artillery fire mowed down several guards and soldiers. The cannon fired on the town, and the people took fright.A large number of people were killed or wounded but then they rallied and took shelter from the fire.

The revolutionaries attacked from the water's edge through the gardens of the arsenal, and from there made an orderly siege. They advanced from various directions, beneath a ceaseless river of rifle and cannon fire. It was a terrible scene. The fighting grew steadily more intense as the citizens had become hardened to the shooting. From all directions they climbed onto the roofs or broke into the rooms. As soon as an enemy appeared among the turrets on the tower he was fixed in the sights of a hundred guns and mown down in an instant.

Meanwhile the revolutionaries’ cannon fire was hurriedly directed against the second drawbridge, which it destroyed, breaking the chains. The king’s soldiers fired from the tower but did little damage as most people had taken shelter from the attack. People bravely faced death and every danger. Women, in their eagerness, helped us to the utmost and even the children ran here and there picking up the bullets and shot. And so the Bastille fell and the governor, De Launey, was captured. Blessed liberty, for the first time, has at last been introduced into this house of horrors, this frightful refuge of monstrous royal power and its crimes.

On arriving at the square, the people, wanting revenge, allowed neither De Launey nor the other officers to reach the place of trial. They grabbed them from the hands of their jailers, and trampled them underfoot. De Launey was struck by a thousand blows, his head was cut off and hoisted on the end of a pike with blood streaming down all sides. This glorious day must amaze our enemies, and finally usher in for us the victory of justice and liberty.

In that evening, there were celebrations.

Unit 3 Project Part 2: Bastille Front Page

  1. You may work with a partner (1 other person) on this activity. Your partner must be on the same team as you.
  2. Your front page should have a title for your newspaper. You may call it whatever you want.
  3. Your front page should contain the following items

TOPICS
Write a 2-5 paragraph (1-3 paragraphs if working alone) news story. Your story will be about the ways the American Revolution and the Enlightenment had an impact on French Revolution. Remember to include information about what the Third Estate/National Assembly hoped to achieve for France.
Write a 2-5 paragraph (1-3 paragraphs if working alone) opinion article. Your article will show how the authors (that’s you!) feel about the topic. Your topic is the creation of the National Assembly and the Tennis Court Oath. How did they make the Third Estate stronger? How did they impact the French Revolution? Where these good or bad things?
Write a question/answer interview with an imaginary person. You must have at least 6 questions/answers (4 if working alone). The person you are interviewing would be someone involved in the attack on the Bastille. Make sure you talk about why the Bastille was attacked and what happened after it was stormed.
Create a large picture showing the violence in the countryside that followed the attack on the Bastille. Write a 3-6 sentence caption for this picture that explains what is going on in it.
  1. You and your partner will lay out your h.eadline on the big sheets of paper. These will be displayed in the room. You may write on lined paper if you need to and then glue it to your big paper.

RUBRIC/CHECKLIST

Your front page has a title / 10 points
Your news story meets all the requirements listed above / 20 points
Your opinion article meets all the requirements listed above / 20 points
Your interview meets all the requirements listed above / 20 points
Your picture and caption meet all the requirements listed above / 20 points
All your work is neatly done and shows your best efforts / 10 points