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THIS MONTH'S ARTICLE
Beethoven, Byron, and Bonaparte - part 2, by John Clubbe
The second part of John Clubbe's provocative article on three great Romantic figures.
150 YEARS AGO
5 November, 1854, at Inkerman the Franco-Britannic troops won a bloody victory over the Russian army under General Menshikov. Menshikov had sent out his 35,000 men at dawn, under massive artillery support, in a bayonet attack on the still-dozing British soldiers north of Sebastopol on the plateau high above the bay at Sebastopol. But poor interpretation by the Russians of a counterorder during the attack made it possible for the British to organise a hurried but dogged defence, while they waited for French reinforcements, led by Bosquet. Poor intepretation of the terrain (Menshikov had tried to take his artillery along a route that was much too narrow) rendered the initial tactic of an attack supported by heavy artillery untenable. Hopes of victory turned immediately into a ghastly slaughter which finished at about 1-30pm. More than half of the Russians engaged in the attack were lost, with about 3,000 dead, 6,000 wounded and 1,600 missing. The French suffered the loss of more than 800 men, whilst the British lost about 3,000.
Entering the Ecole polytechnique in 1829, Pierre-François-Joseph Bosquet (1810-1861) enthusiastically supported and participated in the days of insurrection in July 1830. He subsequently joined the Armée d'Afrique and lived in North Africa from 1834 to 1853. Rallying to the Second Empire, he was appointed as head of the 2e Division of the Armée d'Orient during the conflict in Crimea. After his brilliant action at the Battle of Inkerman, he was seriously wounded at the taking of Sebastopol, 8 September, 1855, and repatriated to France in October. He entered the Sénat on 9 February, 1856, and then was appointed Maréchal de France on 18 March. He is buried in a cemetery in Pau.
200 YEARS AGO
On 18 Brumaire, An XIII (9 November, 1804), Joseph Bonaparte (initiated 1793) was appointed Grand Master of the Grand Orient Masonic Lodge, founded in 1773 from the Scottish Lodge set up in Paris in 1726. Also founded in Paris (23 October, 1804) was the Grand General Scottish Lodge, which had appointed Louis Bonaparte as its Grand Master. Desiring the support of a united and strong Freemasonry, Napoleon demanded that the Masons reorganise themselves: on 5 December, 1804, the two lodges signed an "act of union", forming the Grand Orient of France, to all intents and purposes an imperial institution, with Joseph as Grand Master and Louis and deputy Grand Master. Cambacérès and Lebrun were also to become "general trustees", second in line to the Grand Masters. Each member of the lodge swore an oath promising obedience to the laws of the state, loyalty to the government and respect and recognition for the Emperor. Many masonic lodges were founded in the Grand Empire and the satellite states, at the head of which were placed members of the imperial family: hence, Jerome was made Grand Master of Freemasonry in Westphalia, Caroline became "Grande-Maîtresse des loges d'adoption" (in other words, the female lodges) of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
- Napoleon letter gone missing
- New theory concerning the reason for the Charge of the Light Brigade
Press Review
- Members' Bulletin of the Napoleonic Society of America, Inc., Summer 2004
- History Today, November 2004
What's on
- Radio: Crimean Voices
- Re-enactment: The Battle of the Three Emperors 2004 - Battle of Austerlitz, Czech Republic
- Exhibition: The Treasures of the Fondation Napoléon, Paris, France
- Conference: International Conference: Visions of Napoleon's European politique, Paris, France
- Study Day: Napoleon and Rome, Rome, Italy
- Exhibition: Images of the coronation of the Emperor Napoleon, Paris, France
The monthly titles
- This month's book: The Russian Officer Corps of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1792-1815, by Alexander Mikaberidze
- This month's painting: Portrait of Madame Fouler, Comtesse de Relingue, by Louis Leopold Boilly
- This month's article: Beethoven, Byron, and Bonaparte - part 2, by John Clubbe
- In the Collectors Corner, Letter from Napoleon to Champagny, Minister for Foreign Affairs, 7 Sept., 1807
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