On January 21, 1793, more grisly events forced a reappraisal of the notion that the French Revolution was a romantic Gallic variant of the American Revolution. Louis XVI-who had aided the American Revolution and whose birthday had long been celebrated by American patriots-was guillotined for plotting against the Revolution. The death of Louis Capet-he had lost his royal title-was drenched in gore: schoolboys cheered, threw their hats aloft, and licked the king's blood, while one executioner did a thriving business selling snippets of royal hair and clothing. The king's decapitated head was wedged between his lifeless legs, then stowed in a basket. The remains were buried in an unvarnished box. England reeled from the news, William Pitt the Younger branding it "the foulest and most atrocious act the world has ever seen." 8 On February 1, France declared war against England, Holland, and Spain, and soon the whole continent was engulfed in fighting, ushering in more than twenty years of combat. News
( Ron Chernow )
[ Alexander Hamilton ]
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