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THIS MONTH'S ARTICLE
"The Arming of the Nation" - Speeches by William Pitt 'the Younger', July 1803
In response to the direct threat of invasion since the recent re-opening of hostilities between France and Britain in May/June 1803, the British Houses of Parliament debated the Defence Act. Amendments to the act were proposed, and William Pitt, though not a minister at the time, spoke eloquently about the need for a response to the immediate danger, forcefully giving his opinion on matters such as universal mobilisation, not underplaying the seriousness of the situation (a very topical subject!), and practical approaches to the naval problems.
LIBRARY BIBLIOTHEQUE LAPEYRE-FONDATION NAPOLEON DURING THE SUMMER
The library Bibliothèque Martial Lapeyre - Fondation Napoléon will be open during as usual during the summer. However, from 28 July to 14 August will open only on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 6pm. For any further information, please contact either Madame Lheureux-Prévot, Librarian, or Peter Hicks for information in English.
READING FOR THE... AUTUMN
The publishers Fayard have announced the imminent arrival (29 August) of a very large (800 pages) work on Talleyrand: Talleyrand, le prince immobile, by Emmanuel de Waresquiel, an author already known for his remarkable Histoire de la Restauration (written together with Benoît Yvert). This book, for which I have read some of the proofs, is outstanding not only for the depth of scholarship and careful writing but also for its use of sources never before seen. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait another month before we can get our hands on it (Th. L.).
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Arriving in Bruges on 22 Messidor, An XI (11 July), the First Consul developed a detailed plan for the invasion of England. As can be seen from Pitt's speeches on the Defence act amendment (This Month's article), Britain took the invasion threat very seriously.
"It is obvious that, unless we make efforts adequate to the crisis in which we are placed, the country is insecure...my right honourable friend did not at all describe the danger in such a way as to damp the spirit of the country, but rather to excite its caution and energy, by removing the idea that an invasion is impracticable; ... The amount of our danger, therefore, it would be impolitic to conceal from the people. It was the first duty of ministers to make it known, and after doing so, it should have been their study to provide against it, and to point out the means to the country by which it might be averted. ... I am certainly not denying that the enemy would find great difficulty and danger in transporting his army to this country, but it is by running desperate risks that he can alone hope for success. We may have a proud navy of ships of the line and frigates... but I can conceive a case in which ships of that kind would not be sufficient to meet an innumerable flotilla of boats issuing from all the ports, harbours, and creeks on the opposite coast of France, and covering the Channel for several miles in length. Whether, in order to meet a force of this kind, it would not be wise to multiply the smaller sort of our naval force and to mount them with guns of heavy metal and with carronades, I do not know; I hope something of this kind has been done already. It is admitted, indeed, that our navy, great and powerful as it is, cannot be relied on with absolute certainty to prevent an invasion; because if it could, there would be no occasion for all the precautions which we are adopting."
25 Messidor, An XI (14 July, 1803), Bonaparte arrived in the town of Ghent, which feted his arrival by arranging illuminations. The following day he wrote to Cambacérès demanding that Admiral Truguet should go immediately to Brest: "It is not enough to have ships; the man who commands them, who is in charge of manoeuvres, must fly his ensign from the mast of his battleship, must get everyone on board, and must remain there setting an example, appearing every day, preventing crews from deserting by his direct surveillance."
Correspondance of Napoleon, letter n° 6910
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
BBC Television Wargame
Journal news
- The Members' Bulletin, American Napoleonic Society, Spring 2003
- Two web articles
What's on
- Conference: Palmerston
- Exhibition: Bonaparte or Buonaparte
- Talk: Napoleon and Freemasonry, Italy
- Re-enactments: Central European Napoleonic Society - Events 2003
- Re-enactment: Napoleonic Association, Re-enactment and Talks, Painshill Park
- Exhibition: 1803 - A Turning Point in European History: the Collapse of Feudalism and the Dawn of the Bourgeois Era
- Festival: Australian Napoleonic Congress, New South Wales
- Re-enactment: Napoleonic Association British Summer Events
- Re-enactment: Napoleonic Association Continental Summer Events
The monthly titles
- Book of the Month: Napoleon's captivity on St Helena, 1815-1821, by Arnold Chaplin
- This month's picture, Reception of the Ambassadors from Siam at the Château de Fontainebleau, by Jean-Léon Gerome
- Article of the Month, "The Arming of the Nation" - Speeches by William Pitt 'the Younger', July 1803
- In the Collectors Corner, the First Consul's glaive
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