ABSTRACT
War had an immediate and direct impact on French civilians and on the populations occupied by the armies of republican France. At home, the leveé en masse called on all citizens – men, women, and children – to contribute to the war effort. Their labor, skills, and resources – money, homes, animals, and so on – were to be requisitioned by local and national authorities as required. Thus, the decree declared:
The public buildings shall be turned into barracks, the public squares into munitions factories, the earthen floors shall be treated with lye to extract saltpetre [essential to the production of gunpowder]. All firearms of suitable calibre shall be turned over to the troops... All saddle horses shall be seized for the cavalry; all draft horses not employed in cultivation will draw the artillery and supply wagons.
