The First Legion

The War of the Vendee

In 1793, after enduring three and a half years of mounting persecution of the Church by the architects of the French Revolution, a small band of faithful peasants and nobles began a Catholic "counter-revolution". This is the largely unknown story of the valiant, six year struggle of the people of a small section of western France, to restore their Holy Religion and their King. Steeped in the influence of St. Louis de Montfort, and wearing their rosaries and emblems of the Sacred Heart, their numbers soon swelled into the tens of thousands. After enduring six years of war, and acts of state-sponsored genocide, the number of dead reached into the hundreds of thousands! Ultimately, their sacrifices resulted in countless martyrdoms, and eventually won the restoration of religious freedom for all of France. This film is a love-letter to the Vendean people, and was produced to honor the memory of these brave men and women who willingly sacrificed their lives, "For God and King!".