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THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN n° 685, 11-17 OCTOBER, 2013
EDITORIAL > Napoleon, the unsuspected “French Canadian”
This week sees the arrival in French bookshops of a new and astonishing book from North America; Quebec, to be precise. And the author is Serge Joyal, passionate and enthusiastic historian of his native land. His book on The Myth of Napoleon in French Canada (Le mythe de Napoléon au Canada français, published by Del Busso), highlights the worldwide and multifaceted phenomenon which, from Montreal to Quebec, had a very real impact on the political and social life of French Canadians. The fact is that, after the fall of the Empire, French Canadian identity seized upon the Napoleonic myth as a way of resisting assimilation into the English model in Canada. Indeed, this richly illustrated and beautifully written book proves that Napoleon is ‘always there', whether the real history, the legend, or the instrumentalisation of the latter, and what is more in lands totally unexpected.
Serge Joyal, minister in Pierre Trudeau's government and now Canadian Senator, reminds us here of the specificity of French Canada. He also reveals to people of Quebec a completely unknown aspect of their history. And to francophone Napoleon enthusiasts, the news is that in French-speaking Canada their favourite historical character went on defying the British, long after Waterloo and St Helena, and even up to this day.
Sylvain Pagé had already provided us with an excellent book on The Myth of Napoleon in Literature (Le mythe napoléonien, CNRS éditions). This new work, straight from the land which Voltaire stupidly called “the snowy acres” of New France, is a must!
Don't miss it.
Thierry Lentz, Director of the Fondation Napoléon
FONDATION PIERRE LAFUE 2013 PRIZE
The Fondation Napoleon team is proud to announce that our director Thierry Lentz has been awarded the Fondation Pierre Lafue 2013 Prize for his book Le congrès de Vienne.
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > Portrait of Élisa Baciocchi, Great Duchess of Tuscany, by Joseph Franque
Elisa Baciocchi, née Elisa Bonaparte, was the eldest of Napoleon's three sisters, who all became imperial princesses after their brother's coronation. Elisa was born in 1777 in Ajaccio, and she married army officer Félix Baciocchi in 1797. In 1805, she became Princess of Piombino and Lucca, then Grand-Duchess of Tuscany in 1809. Her arrival in Tuscany attracted a growing number of French people, who, together with the Italians, formed a Court around their new ruler, similar to the one at the Tuileries. Joseph Franque probably painted this portrait of Elisa and another one of Félix during his visit to Florence around 1812.
This painting is currently on show at the Musée Marmottan, for the exhibition "Napoleon's Sisters: Three Italian Destinies".
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FRESH FROM THE PRESS > From Bonaparte to Napoleon, 100 Masterpieces
This superb collector's book by Original Editions is in giant format and part of a limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies - in fact, it's so big you get a solid oak lectern along with it! This huge art book consists of 100 reproductions of paintings of the heroic deeds of the glorious Napoleonic era executed by some of the greatest artists of the time, each of which with an accompanying text. The book was made by our very own Irène Delage, Head of Documentation, Services to the Public and New Technologies at the Fondation Napoleon, and contains a preface by Thierry Lentz, director of the Fondation Napoléon. Order your copy now!
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WHAT'S ON
LEIPZIG and the BICENTENARY of the BATTLE OF NATIONS
- Concert of Napoleonic Music for the Battle of Leipzig by Peter Hicks, our International Affairs Manager, in Paris (piano and voice) – Wednesday 16 October, 12:30pm
- “Leipzig, Twilight of an Empire” – Study-day and Concert in Rome, with Peter Hicks, Thursday 18th October, 2:30 to 6pm
IN LEIPZIG
- Exhibition “Bicentenary of the Battle of Nations in Leipzig”. Until 26 October 2013.
- Commemorative day of the Battle of Nations at the local museum of Rötha on 12 October.
Full programme of the commemorative events of the Battle of Nations in Leipzig.
> Don't miss our special dossier on Leipzig in next week's Bulletin, with a detailed timeline, biographies, a bibliography, and more!
AND ALSO...
- The Friends of St Helena Autumn Meeting in London on 19th October. Deadline for reservations: today, 11th October
- This is the last week for the Masséna Society call for graduate student papers: Consortium on the Revolutionary Era paper proposal - deadline 15 October
- Remembering the Forgotten Conflict: Reflections on the War of 1812, Monday 14 October, 8:30am to 4pm, Detroit Historical Museum (USA)
- War of 1812 Lecture at the Buffalo History Museum, New York (USA): “The Battle of Lake Erie” by Raya Lee, Wednesday 16 October, midday
- Alabama and the War of 1812, at noon on 17 October by award-winning historians Jeannie and David Heidler, Montgomery, AL (USA)
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE > Rafe Blaufarb: "The Creation of the Imperial Nobility"
Did Napoleon preserve or betray the principles of the French Revolution? This old question remains at the heart of Napoleonic studies. This paper examines this proposition in relation to the formation in 1808 of an imperial nobility. By Rafe Blaufarb, renowned historian and director of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA.
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200 YEARS AGO >
13 October: Hoping to destroy the Army of Bohemia (under Schwarzenberg) near Leipzig, rather than to force his way over the Saale and through Blücher and Bernadotte's armies (of Silesia and the North, respectively), Napoleon gave order for all the corps to converge on Leipzig. However, crucially, he was indecisive over Gouvion Saint-Cyr and his 33,000 men in Dresden, whom he ordered to remain in that Saxon city, causing them to be absent from the battle. In the end, Napoleon managed to concentrate 160,000 men, including 22,000 cavalrymen. The allies on the other hand were not concentrated like Napoleon on one central spot but approaching the battlefield from three sides, Blücher (more or less with Bernadotte) from the north, Benningsen from the east and Schwartzenberg from the south. They numbered 220,000 at the beginning of the battle, however on the key southern part of the battle theatre they were at a significant disadvantage. As a direct result of the ineptitude of Schwarzenberg's initial plan (namely, to bring huge numbers of Austrian soldiers in from the West, over rivers swollen by the stormy weather), the allies could only bring 100,000 (of which 24,000 reserves had not yet arrived) to bear against Napoleon's 138,000 troops spread across southern plain, from Liebertwolkwitz in the east to Wachau and Dösen in the west. Not surprisingly, the day one of the battle ended as a French victory.
For the full account and our special dossier on the campaign and battle, you'll have to wait until next week!
150 YEARS AGO > Covert support for the insurrections in Poland
Following on from the publication of Prince Czartoryski's letter of outrage (see Bulletin n° 682), the Moniteur on 12 October, 1863, continued its highlighting of the Polish problem, reporting that Britain was secretly attempting to assist Polish insurgents against Russia. In Danzig (modern Gdansk) on 9 October, a British ship was placed under sequestration in the Neufahrwasser harbour. The schooner, Bessie, commanded by Captain Barnessen, was officially transporting 92 tons of china clay but within this was hidden illegal arms destined for the Polish resistants. In fact, each ton of clay contained twenty to twenty-five English-made guns. Later the same week, on Thursday 15 October, the Moniteur quoted the Gazette de la Baltique of 9 October, relative to a Russian crackdown on the Polish border to the East, noting that the border was so full of Russian troops that it was almost hermetically sealed. (See Bulletins n° 682, 657 and 659 for more details on the Polish insurrection).
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Lucie Louvrier
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 685, 11-17 OCTOBER 2013
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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 the prolongation of its 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.
You can still donate online to the project via the Friends of the Fondation de France in the US here.
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MAGAZINE
JUST PUBLISHED
- Nick Lipscombe, Wellington's Guns: The Untold Story of Wellington and his Artillery in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2013.
- Ian Knight, British Infantryman vs Zulu Warrior: Anglo-Zulu War 1879, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2013.
- John M. Austin, St. Lawrence County in the War of 1812: Folly and Mischief, Charleston: History Press, 2013.
EVENTS
On now and coming up
For a selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, see our What's on listings.
PRESS REVIEW
- Wirebird, The Journal of the Friends of St Helena, n° 42, 2013
- Britain's role at the Battle of Leipzig: "How Britain helped win nineteenth century's 'most important' battle", in The Telegraph
- Napoleon and football (!): "Tony Pulis: Napoleon has helped me cope with unemployment"
- “Walking in Wellington's footsteps: Redcoats and rifles on a hunt for the Peninsular War” (battlefield tours in Spain, with photos)
- "Issues still cloud ‘War of 1812'"
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Radio programme on BBC 4: “Napoleon and the Birth of Terror”
- Antique pistols discovered in wardrobe of Girvan house
- Napoleon exhibit is coming to the Frazier History Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Medals belonging to Queen Victoria's Physicians for sale in England
- Works of Art once took by Napoleon's army momentarily back at the Vatican for an exhibition (with video)
- Nelson letter could make £6,000 at auction
- Re-enactment in Halifax, Canada, for the War of 1812 bicentenary
- War of 1812 (Canada) – Kentucky National Guard historian hopes to have soldiers repatriated to where Daniel Boone is buried
- War of 1812 (Canada) - Battle of Châteauguay relived on 200th anniversary
- War of 1812 (Canada) – Canadian history under visitors' feet in Toronto
- War of 1812 (First Nations) - Spirit of great chief Tecumseh resonates 200 years later
- War of 1812 (USA) - Peace Garden dedicated at Brown's Berry Patch
- War of 1812 (Canada) – Battle of the Thames comes to Life
- War of 1812 (Canada) - One man's special connection to the Battle of the Thames (re-enactment)
- War of 1812 Documentary (Canada)
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