Some distance away, another chief, named Joanny, had four hundred; Larose, to whom Castanet had transferred his command, found himself at the head of three hundred; Boizeau de Rochegude was followed by one hundred, Saltet de Soustel by two hundred, Louis Coste by fifty, and Catinat by forty, so that, in spite of the victory of Montrevel and the negotiations of M.de Villars, the Camisards still formed an effective force of eighteen hundred and ninety men, not to speak of many single troopers who owned no commander but acted each for himself, and were none the less mischievous for that.

All these troops, except these latter, obeyed Roland, who since the defection of Cavalier had been recognised as generalissimo of the forces.

M.de Villars thought if he could separate Roland from his troops as he had separated Cavalier, his plans would be more easy to carry out.
So he made use of every means within his reach to gain over Roland, and as soon as one plan failed he tried another.

At one moment he was almost sure of obtaining his object by the help of a certain Jourdan de Mianet, a great friend of his, who offered his services as an intermediary, but who failed like all the others, receiving from Roland a positive refusal, so that it became evident that resort must be had to other means than those of persuasion.

A sum of 100 Louis had already been set on Roland's head: this sum was now doubled.
Three days afterwards, a young man from Uzes, by name Malarte, in whom Roland had every confidence, wrote to M.de Paratte that the Camisard general intended to pass the night of the 14th of August at the chateau Castelnau.
De Paratte immediately made his dispositions, and ordered Lacoste-Badie, at the head of two companies of dragoons, and all the officers at Uzes who were well mounted, to hold themselves in readiness to start on an expedition at eight o'clock in the evening, but not revealing its object to them till the time came.