The upper town and the fortress were entirely destroyed, while the peasants of the surrounding district were made to pull down the fortress. Clermont and its dependencies were added to the national domain in 1790. In 1792, Clermont was occupied by the Austrian and Hessian troops under Hohenlohe. On September 11, enemy hussars surprised and captured some French troops near Clermont, who, while foraging, had lost their way in the fog; they also surrounded a company of infantry in the gardens of the town. On September 20, the French, who were holding the pass of Les Islettes, took their revenge on the Hessians. The latter, held up by the fire of the French artillery, were forced to retreat, and the sharpshooters, under Marceau, drove them back to the gardens of Clermont. [Illustration: CLERMONT-EN-ARGONNE. GENERAL VIEW OF RUINS, SEEN FROM THE TERRACE OF THE CHURCH] In 1914, Clermont was occupied by German troops of the Crown Prince’s Army. The town was almost deserted, with the exception of the old men’s asylum, in which the pensioners remained under the care of Sister Gabrielle. During the night of September 4, the 121st and 122nd Wurtemberg Regiments broke in the doors of the houses with the butt-ends of their rifles and pillaged the town. At the asylum, after smashing the doors, officers entered with revolvers in their hands, but Sister Gabrielle, surrounded by her nuns and the inmates, received the invaders, and by her firm demeanour won their respect. In the rest of the town the pillaging went on throughout the day. About noon 3 German soldier started an incendiary fire; everything was burned or destroyed, with the exception of the asylum, which owed its escape to Sister Gabrielle. _At the Place de la Mairie turn to the right into the Grand Rue._ To visit the interesting church of St. Didier (_hist. mon._) _climb the rather steep Rue Casimar-Bonjour (accessible to motor-cars), to the terrace on which stands the church_. Very fine view. The Church of St. Didier dates from the 16th century. The date of the choir (1530) is carved on the keystone of the vaulting. The three naves and main portal were added in 1596. However, the building as a whole is pointed-flamboyant in style, the ogive being preserved in the arches, vaultings and transept. The Renaissance style appears only in the decoration of the capitals, the consoles in the interior, and the doors. The western façade is late Renaissance, and must have been completed about the beginning of the 17th century. Its two arched portals retain their old wooden folding-doors ornamented with rose-headed nails. Above, in a niche surmounted by a fine rose-window is a modern statue. On the south an ancient corner turret was rebuilt in 1728. The façade bears the escutcheon and crowned monogram of Henri de Lorraine, Duke of Bar. [Illustration: CLERMONT-EN-ARGONNE. OLD WOMAN CONTEMPLATING THE RUINS OF HER HOUSE, RUE CASIMIR-BONJOUR, NEAR CHURCH]