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HISTORY AND HERITAGE
Heritage open days - also known as Les Journées du Patrimoine in France - is fast becoming a tradition for many history and heritage enthusiasts, and this year's French edition (the UK version took place last week) is being held this weekend. Those lucky enough to be around in l'Hexagone will find plenty of Napoleonic excursions and activities to keep them entertained. This week, the French newsletter is dedicated primarily to events taking place in the Paris region and further afield. Provided the weather holds, it should be the perfect opportunity to recover from any post-holiday fatigue that has set in.
It is also the perfect opportunity to judge the level of interest for what constitutes the "public face" of our history and the country's national memory. At a time of great discussion concerning where France's financial strengths lie and which "industries" should be propped up or reinforced, our country's tourism industry is most assuredly a creator of revenue and activity. This is without even going into the argument regarding the moral necessity of preserving our historical legacy for future generations. In the current situation, a well presented, maintained, defended and promoted national heritage is so much more than the plaything of a few whimsical fuddy duddies.
Such is the view of the town of Rueil-Malmaison, where they are organising a number of Napoleonic days out, events that are certain to provide plenty of animation and enjoyment over the next few weeks. Similarly the Château de Vincennes, whose First Empire-themed weekend also deserves a mention here. A little bit further away, the government of St Helena has also show that they understand the importance of cultural and historical heritage, with their support for our project to restore the French properties on the island. Back in Paris, and the Russian embassy - under the aegis of the federation's ambassador Alexander Orlov - will be throwing open its doors to the general public with discussions and talks on - unsurprisingly - 1812. It will also be a wonderful opportunity for visitors to experience first-hand the efforts that have gone into restoring and maintaining the building which, during the First Empire period, served as residence to Clarke, Napoleon's Minister of War.
As you all know, one of the Fondation Napoléon's key goals is the protection and promotion of the history and heritage of the two empires. There is nothing left to do then except encourage you to attend these events! Huzzah for history!
Thierry Lentz
Director, Fondation Napoléon
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SEEN ON THE WEB
Borodino 1812-2012
As befits both the scale of the battle and the importance accorded to the bicentenary commemorations being organised in France and Russia this year, the re-enactment event held in Borodino on 2 September 2012 proved grand in every sense of the word. Although organisers initially anticipated crowds of 200,000, the gloomy weather and rain meant that just 100,000 spectators turned up to watch the battle unfold. Some 3,000 enthusiasts, drawn from all over the Russian Federation and Europe, took part in the event, alongside 300 horses and huge numbers of cannons, tents and other battlefield equipment. We here at napoleon.org have trawled the web to bring you articles, footage, and even Vladimir Putin's speech (in English translation).
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NAPOLEONIC NEWS
The skeleton of Mont-Saint-Jean
The renovation work currently taking place on the Waterloo battlefield site has uncovered, a mere eighty centimetres under the ground, a skeleton of a man aged between twenty and twenty-nine years, who would have stood about 162cm tall. Archaeologist Dominique Bosquet, who was quickly on the scene, has established that the soldier was killed during the Battle of Waterloo. Bosquet also noted that at as decomposition began to set in, the body was still clothed. Judging by the position of the body, it is probable that the soldier was thrown backwards or was dragged to the rear. He appears to have been hastily buried where he lay, with no attempt made to adjust the way he was lying. Items found next to the body are still being analysed, but we know that the lead musket ball, lodged in the man's rib-cage, was almost certainly French. The location of the body - removed from the combat site - means that archaeologists and anthropologists are still unsure as to how exactly the soldier died. It is possible that he made his own way from the battlefield, withdrawing from the action after receiving his wound. He could also have been dragged or carried there by a concerned comrade intent on saving him from the fighting. Nothing as yet has to been found to say that the victim was a British subject. The site of the discovery - between the Chaussée de Charleroi and the Chaussée de Nivelles - was occupied not only by British troops but also brigades from the King's German Legion, the Hanovrian army, troops from Nassau and Brunswick and even a Dutch brigade under Detmers. It is clear that the Mont-Saint-Jean skeleton has yet to reveal all its secrets.
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH
Napoleon I, King of Italy, by Andrea Appiani
Just as French artists were commissioned to immortalise the figure of the emperor after the coronation, so too Italian painters leapt into action after the proclamation in Paris of Napoleon as King of Italy on 17 March, 1805 and the coronation in Milan on 26 May. And for the official portrait, Napoleon turned to the most famous of Milanese painters, Andrea Appiani. The result was a traditional expression of the allpowerfulness of a monarch bearing the attributes of power. The painting is currently on display as part of the "Napoleon: Revolution to Empire" exhibition, which closes in Melbourne, Australia, on 7 October.
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NAPOLEON ELSEWHERE
The NHS and Napoleonic Society of South Africa
Don't forget that this weekend is the NHS 2012 conference in Gettysburg, which will include presentations on a variety of different Napoleonic subjects and a chance to meet fellow society members. Becoming a member of the NHS gives you access to a bi-monthly email newsletter as well as invitations to a number of specialist events. Further information can be found on the NHS website (external link). And speaking of societies, readers in South Africa looking to meet like-minded enthusiasts and historians can join the Napoleonic Society of South Africa, which continues to organise talks and events. Vice-president John Feitelberg (who can be contacted via email) recently gave a presentation on the life of Napoleon to "The University of the Third Age", in Muizenberg, Cape Town.
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FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
New Twitter account
After nearly three years on Facebook, the Fondation Napoléon has decided to add a new weapon to its digital armoury: Twitter. The new account, tweeting in English and in French and open since the beginning of September, will feature links to the latest additions to napoleon.org as well as items from further afield and indeed anything else we feel might be of interest to our followers. Feel free to start following and send us your own tweets. Those of you without a Twitter account can still access our feed, read our tweets, and visit the links.
200 YEARS AGO
The fire of Moscow
Napoleon's victory at Borodino had thrown open the road to Moscow. The Russian commander, Mikhail Kutuzov - backed by Barclay de Tolly - made the heart-rending decision to abandon the city to the advancing Grande Armée in the hope that it would buy them the time needed to recover. As the Russian army marched out over 13 and 14 September, Moscow's governor Fyodor Rostopchin gave the order to evacuate the fire brigade and the city's water pumps. The source of the fire that broke out the evening of 14 September remains uncertain: contemporary accounts blamed Napoleon, whilst there is evidence to suggest that Rostopchin - backed by a group of arsonists - ordered the destruction. In his account of the Russian campaign, Comte Philippe de Ségur blamed the Russians, and wondered what their target had been:
"Had the Muscovites, knowing our reckless and negligent carelessness, conceived of the idea to burn with Moscow our soldiers drunk from wine, fatigue and sleep? Or rather had they dared believe that they would envelope Napoleon in this catastrophe; that the loss of this man was well worth [the loss] of their capital; that such a great result merited sacrificing the whole of Moscow; that perhaps the Heavens, in order to grant them such a victory, had demanded an equally great sacrifice; that, in short, [the destruction of] this immense colossus would require an immense pyre?"
Whatever the cause, the fire engulfed the city, full of exhausted (and drunken, in many cases) soldiers of the Grande Armée who had staggered through its gates just a few hours before. By 20 September, when the rains finally came and extinguished the flames, the fire had destroyed a third of all houses within the walls and over two hundred churches.
150 YEARS AGO
Garibaldi's wounds: an update
The battle of Aspromonte on 29 August 1862 (see bulletin n° 635) was farcical for multiple reasons, including its short duration (just ten minutes) and its off-the-cuff organisation. The farce continued after the battle and Garibaldi's capture, which gave rise to weeks of speculation and discussion in the European press as to the punishment that would be meted out by the King of Italy and the severity of the general's wounds. Initially believed serious, confusion continued to reign into the month of September as the Moniteur Universel described how a bullet remained lodged in the Italian's ankle. A week later, on 13 September 1862, the paper announced that a London-based surgeon named Professor Partridge had been summoned from England [where Garibaldi remained a popular figure] and had left for La Spezia to offer Garibaldi his assistance. "An appeal launched in England will cover the costs of the trip," noted the article. A further week went by until, on 20 September, the French newspaper announced that "Dr Partridge, dispatched from London to the former dictator's side, has observed that the bullet was not lodged in the wound and that the injured party's state of health was satisfactory." Garibaldi's convalescence was relatively incident-free, although he was famously sent a new bed by Lord Palmerston, the British politician, as a gift to help him in his recovery. He spent the next two years under house arrest on his estate on the island of Caprera.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 637, 14 - 20 SEPTEMBER 2012
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© This Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon.
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OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien, in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced an international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena. All the details regarding the campaign as well as donation forms and advice for donating from outside France, can be found on napoleon.org.
FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
Each week we offer you a "mystery link" to somewhere on napoleon.org. Click on the link to discover a part of the website you might not have visited before...
MAGAZINE
Just published
- The Battle of Maida 1806, by Richard Hopton
- Incomparable: Napoleon's 9th Light Infantry Regiment, by Terry Crowdy
- The Peninsular War: Wellington's Battlefields Revisited, by Ian Fletcher
- Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte: An American Aristocrat in the Early Republic, by Charlene M. Boyer Lewis
Press review
- Book review: Biography of an Empire. Governing Ottomans in an Age of Revolution
- History Today: "Beyond the Rivalry: Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole"
- Book review: The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court
Seen on the web (external link)
- National Archives (UK) online resources: The Victorians
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Conferences
- NHS Conference 2012, Gettysburg, USA [14/09/2012 - 16/09/2012]
Full details
Exhibitions
- "Napoleon: Revolution to Empire", Melbourne, Australia [02/06/2012 - 07/10/2012]
Full details
Fairs
- Euro Militaire military modelling show, Folkestone, UK [22/09/2012 - 23/09/2012]
Full details
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
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