Marshall Conrad Von Rosen - rounding up Protestant civilians in France and Ulster, 1686-1689: "orders to give no quarter, or spare either age or sex"

Above: a detail from this painting by Huguenot artist François Dubois (1529–1584), depicting events that he had personally witnessed.

It's an ominous skillset for a new recruit. "Who's experienced in rounding up Protestant civilians?". This is the candidate that King James II was looking for in 1689. The very man for the job was in France. Having been in Inishowen a few weeks ago, recent reading has introduced me to Conrad Von Rosen (Wikipedia here). His portrait is shown below. He is described here by Nick Garbutt as "an exponent of the darkest arts of war".

He was born in today's Latvia, and was a Lutheran by birth. However, a career fuelled by bloodlust and ambition saw him become a monster, a 'French butcher'. Protestantism was made illegal in France in 1685, and the full force of the French state was unleashed against civilians of the Reformed faith, known as Huguenots, a community who have been described as 'London's first refugees'. Similar to the Presbyterian Covenanter experience in Scotland in the same era, it was an unimaginably horrific time. Von Rosen was very good at his job. The Languedoc area was particularly persecuted, culminating in the War of the Camisards (Wikipedia here).

In the 1716 book Memoirs of Ireland from the Restoration, to the Present Times .... By the Author of the Secret History of Europe by John Oldmixon, Von Rosen's notorious, horrific, actions in France and Ireland are described as this –

"... But nothing will give us a more lively and terrible idea of King James's barbarity to his Protestant subjects, and his disposition to govern himself by the maxims of France, than his giving the command of the army before Derry, which had been commanded by the traitor Hamilton, to Monsieur Rosen, a French man, who had in his own country been employed to dragoon the Protestants of Languedoc.

This officer immediately put in practice, the military execution of the French papists against the Huguenots; and issued out an order for all the Protestants from Inishowen and the sea coasts to Charlemont - men, women, and children - to be driven before the walls of Londonderry, that the garrison might be distressed by the taking of them in, or their friends be destroyed by the cannon of the besieged. The words of this French butcher's orders are these;

That from the Barony of Inishowen, and the sea coast round about, as far as Charlemont, the faction be gathered together, whether protected or not, and immediately brought to the walls of Londonderry, where it shall be lawful for those that are in the town (in case they have any pity for them) to open the gates and receive them into the town, otherwise they shall be forced to see their friends and near relations all STARVED for want of food; he having resolved not to leave one of them at home, nor any thing to maintain them; and that all hope of succour may be taken away by the landing of any troops in these parts from England, he further DECLARE, that in case they refuse to submit, he will forth with cause all the said country to be destroyed, that if succours should hereafter be sent from England, they may perish with them for want of food.

Pursuant to this order, the dragoons and soldiers first stripped them, and then drove the whole country for thirty miles about before them, not sparing nurses with their sucking children, women big with child, nor old decrepit creatures; some women in labour, some that were just brought to bed, were driven among the rest . The very popish officers who executed these orders, confessed that it was the most dismal sight they ever had seen, and that the cries of the poor people seemed to be still in their ears. They gathered 6 or 7000, and kept many of them for a week together, without meat or drink. Several hundreds died in the place before they were dismissed … the generality of them perished afterwards for want, and many were knocked on the head by the soldiers. The officers who had the charge of seeing these orders executed, were the Duke of Berwick, Colonel Sutherland, and Colonel Sarsfield, for which notable exploit they ought to be remembered with infamy..."

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Corralling thousands of civilians to use them either as a human shield, or as bait. This order by Von Rosen was issued on 30 June 1689 - the full version is online here. The rounding up, and attempted extermination, of a minority. This is what the 'French state' and the 'British state' did to their own civilians in the 1680s. The civilians did not break. This is why Revolution was the only alternative.

• Source on GoogleBooks here, starting on page 217