Valmy

Valmy, a French village in the department of Marne, 20 miles NE. of Châlons. Here on 20th September 1792 took place the famous 'cannonade of Valmy,' in which the Prussians under the Duke of Brunswick maintained for some hours a heavy fire on the army of the republic, and then retreated (see DUMOURIEZ). The loss was trifling on either side; but Valmy has not unjustly been treated by Creasy as one of the great battles of history, inasmuch as it was the first triumph of the republican arms—a triumph by which, with characteristic impulsiveness, the French were transferred from the depths of despair to the very pinnacle of self-confidence. When Napoleon was creating his 'noblesse' this great service rendered to France by Kellermann was fitly remembered by his title of Duc de Valmy.