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| - Francis Henry de la Motte, or François Henri de la Motte, was a French citizen and ex-French army officer executed in London for High Treason on 27 July 1781. He had been arrested in January 1781 on suspicion of being a spy, and held for six months in the Tower of London. At an Old Bailey trial on 23 July he was found guilty of running an operation which sent secret naval intelligence to France—a country which supported the rebellious American colonists, and with which Great Britain had been at war since 1778. (en)
- François Henri de la Motte est un citoyen français, ancien officier de l’armée française, exécuté à Londres pour haute trahison le 27 juillet 1781. Arrêté en janvier 1781, suspecté d’espionnage et emprisonné pour 6 mois à la Tour de Londres, jugé au Tribunal pénal central d’Old Bailey, il fut reconnu coupable d’avoir espionné la flotte britannique pour le compte de la France, qui avait apporté son soutien aux insurgés américains. (fr)
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| - Francis Henry de la Motte, or François Henri de la Motte, was a French citizen and ex-French army officer executed in London for High Treason on 27 July 1781. He had been arrested in January 1781 on suspicion of being a spy, and held for six months in the Tower of London. At an Old Bailey trial on 23 July he was found guilty of running an operation which sent secret naval intelligence to France—a country which supported the rebellious American colonists, and with which Great Britain had been at war since 1778. Specifically, the intelligence concerned British fleet dispositions at Portsmouth and other British ports. In July 1781 the War of American Independence was not over (though it would be within a few months) and the navies of Great Britain and France were still fighting each other not only in the North Atlantic but as far afield as the Indian Ocean. What sealed de la Motte's fate was the damning testimony of a former accomplice, , who was the chief prosecution witness. Having been found guilty by the jury, the terrible sentence pronounced by the judge was that the prisoner be hanged, drawn and quartered. In fact de la Motte was spared some of the gruesome refinements — after hanging for nearly an hour, he was taken down and his heart cut out and burned, but he was not quartered, nor subjected to the refinements visited on David Tyrie, a Scottish spy, the following year. (Tyrie (whose trial was at Winchester) was also found guilty of sending naval intelligence to the French. He was hanged for 22 minutes, following which he was beheaded and his heart cut out and burned. He was then emasculated, quartered, and his body parts put into a coffin and buried in the pebbles at the seaside.) Public executions were considered a spectator sport in the eighteenth century, and when individuals of high rank were involved the attraction was irresistible. It was not just the lower orders who turned up to witness these occasions (see the diaries of George Selwyn). A crowd of more than 80,000 people witnessed de la Motte's execution at Tyburn. On this occasion people from all walks of life turned up to witness the edifying prospect of a handsome gentleman of rank, elegantly dressed, and in the prime of life, being ceremoniously butchered in public — "pour décourager les autres", French for "to discourage others". (en)
- François Henri de la Motte est un citoyen français, ancien officier de l’armée française, exécuté à Londres pour haute trahison le 27 juillet 1781. Arrêté en janvier 1781, suspecté d’espionnage et emprisonné pour 6 mois à la Tour de Londres, jugé au Tribunal pénal central d’Old Bailey, il fut reconnu coupable d’avoir espionné la flotte britannique pour le compte de la France, qui avait apporté son soutien aux insurgés américains. Ces rapports d’espionnage concernaient surtout la disposition de la flotte britannique de Portsmouth et d’autres ports britanniques. En juillet 1781, la Guerre d'indépendance américaine n’était pas encore terminée (bien qu’elle dût l’être quelques mois plus tard) et les marines de la Grande-Bretagne et de la France étaient encore à s’affronter non seulement dans l’Atlantique Nord, mais aussi loin que l’océan Indien. Ce qui scella le sort de la Motte fut le témoignage accablant d’un ancien complice, Henry Lutterloh, qui était le principal témoin à charge. Après avoir été reconnu coupable par le jury, la sentence prononcée - terrible - fut que le prisonnier serait pendu, traîné sur une claie et écartelé. De fait, on épargna à de la Motte quelques-uns des raffinements les plus affreux : après être resté pendu près d’une heure, il fut décroché et son cœur arraché et brûlé, mais il ne fut pas mis en pièces ni soumis à des raffinements de cruauté. (fr)
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