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EDITORIAL
That the Napoleonic epic touched the whole world is perhaps a truism, but this week's letter is striking for its geographical breadth. Napoleon I in Egypt, Napoleon III and Eugénie in the United States (but also Britain), Jerome Bonaparte in Westaphalie and Saxony, Napoleon III in Italy against Austria. And it is no less broad thematically too, with subjects related to art history, cultural history, military history, and architectural and urban history. As usual with the history of the two Napoleons, there's something for everyone.
Enjoy!
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THIS MONTH'S OBJECT
The frigate "La Muiron" landing at Ajaccio with Bonaparte in October 1799
Napoleon selected twenty-eight subjects for the painted Sèvres porcelain plates of the famous Headquarters service, fifteen of which were related to directly to the Egyptian Expedition. Some of the plate scenes were reproductions of engravings in Vivant Denon's Voyage dans la haute et la basse Egypte, notably, the Miqyâs in Cairo, a view of the Pharos in Alexandria and that here showing the frigate "La Muiron" landing at Ajaccio with Bonaparte in October 1799.
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WHAT'S ON > EXHIBITIONS: NAPOLEON III IN THE US
Second Empire fans in the New York area are currently being very ‘spoiled'. Two sumptuous Napoleon III-related exhibitions can be visited, one in Nassau County dedicated to the opulence and splendour of the Imperial Couple and the other architectural and urban at the Met, recounting Napoleon III, Haussmann and the remodelling of Paris. The former exhibition has an interesting catalogue with an introduction by the museum's director James J. Kamm, and two pieces by Franklin Hill Perrell. Included are illustrations of Kip Forbes' fabulous collection of Second Empire memorabilia, including notably paintings by Edward Matthew Ward of two key moments in the creation of Victoria and Louis-Napoleon's ‘special relationship', namely an oil painting of Victoria's visit to Napoleon I's tomb and a watercolour sketch of Victoria investing the French Emperor with the Order of the Garter, Windsor. Highly recommended!
- Napoleon and Eugenie at the Nassau County Museum of Art
- Napoleon III and Paris at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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200 YEARS AGO
Further trouble in German lands
In the early summer of 1809, Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (cousin and brother-in-law of the British Prince Regent (future George IV)), decided to get involved actively in the conflict with France. He was particularly bitter since his territory of Brunswick had been subsumed into Jerome's Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. He was thus to create a corps of partisans with the support of the Austrian Empire. On 25 February, 1809, the Duke signed a convention in Vienna with Archduke Karl and Oberstleutnant Wilhelm T. Freiherr v. Steinmetzen allying Austria with Brunswick. The eighteen articles in the convention brought into being the Brunswick Freikorps and promised the Duke Austrian help in the return of his duchy. Though under Austrian protection, the Freikorps was independent, composed of 1,200 infantry and 500 cavalry, and entirely funded by the Duke. They were known as the "Black Brunswickers" on account of their black uniforms; their grim motto was "Victory or Death". On 11 June, 1809, the "Black Brunswickers" with certain Austrian troops under General Amende reached and occupied the key Saxon city of Dresden, where Frederick William published an address to his people inciting them to resist the French invader in all ways possible. The king of Saxony, Frederick Augustus, hurriedly summoned King Jerome from nearby Westphalia to his aid. Jerome brought together 11,000 troops by 21 June, 1809, and sent them out under General Albignac to drive the Austrian and Brunswick forces out of that city. The ensuing conflict (which took place near Waldheim on 27 June) was indecisive (both sides claimed it as a victory) and the Duke Brunswick was to move away with his men to the south into Franconia to carry on the struggle.
150 YEARS AGO
The Battle of Solferino, 24 June, 1859
After a bloody encounter on 8 June, 1859, between the advancing First Corps under Marshal Baraguey-d'Hilliers's and the Austrian 8th corps defending the pullback at Melegnano (Marignan), 15 km south of Milan, Marshal Hess (advised by Gyulai) stationed his troops along the line of the Mincio river (due south of Lake Garda), ready to counter-attack the French troops advancing east across northern Italy. By 23 June, Austrian forces numbered 160,000 (divided into 7 army corps, 1 division of cavalry and 600 cannon). Facing them stood 150,000 Franco-Piedmontese troops (divided into 6 army corps, 1 division of cavalry and 300 cannon). As a result of poor reconnaissance, both sides were to engage in the battle by accident, the French blundering into the Austrian forces who themselves had not yet left their bivouacs. However, the crucial fact that the French were moving forwards gave them the upper hand. On the other hand, the Austrians had the advantage of fighting on terrain which they knew exceedingly well – the land around Solferino was the Austrian army's camp de Chalons. The battle was to last 15 hours and, unlike Magenta, was without respite. Both sides lost huge numbers of men, and fresh troops were regularly sent to fill in the holes in shattered battalions. After 20,000 casualties on the Austrian side and 18,000 on the French side a French victory was proclaimed. Henri Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, famously compared the battle in its losses to the First-Empire bloodletting at Leipzig and Waterloo, calling it a “disaster on a European scale”. However the net result was that the Austrian Emperor would be driven to the negotiating table, with an armistice on 8 July and an imperial summit meeting in Villanova on 11 July, 1859.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 503, 19 – 25 June, 2009
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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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THE BIBLIOTHEQUE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Spring opening times:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: 1pm-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
(Closed Friday)
THE MAGAZINE
Book of the month
- La Correspondance générale de Napoléon Bonaparte, Volume 6: "Vers le Grand Empire"
Just published
- Martin Howard, Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice
- Carl E. Franklin, British Napoleonic Uniforms
- Richard Blake, Evangelicals in the Royal Navy 1775-1815
Fondation Napoléon History Prizes 2008
- Francis and Madeleine Ambrière, Talma, ou l'histoire du théâtre
- Alain Decaux, Coup d'état à l'Elysée
- Edgardo Donati, La Toscana nell'impero napoleonico
WHAT'S ON
Guided tours
- "Discover Malmaison" in English, Malmaison (France), 1 July, 2009
- "Discover Malmaison" in Italian, Malmaison (France), 1 July, 2009
Conferences
- "Civilians and War in Europe, c. 1640-1815", Liverpool (UK), 18-20 June, 2009
- Napoleonic Association conference 2009, Southampton (UK), 10 October, 2009
- Australian Napoleonic Congress, Goulburn (Australia), 31 October - 1 November, 2009
Commemorations
- Royal British Legion remembrance ceremony for those fallen at Waterloo
- Bicentenary of the Illyrian Provinces
- Haydn 2009
- Bicentennial commemoration of the death of Maréchal Lannes
- French presence in South Africa
Re-enactments
- "11th weekend of bivouacs and battles at Waterloo", Waterloo (Belgium), 18 - 21 June, 2009
- Znaim 1809 bicentenary re-enactment, Znojmo and Dobšice (Czech Republic), 11-12 July, 2009
- Bivouac and the Battle of Oostmalle, Oostmalle (Belgium), 5-6 September, 2009
Festivals
- Napoleon Festival 2009, Sarzana (Italy), 24-27 September, 2009
Exhibitions
- "Napoleon says: Illyria arise!", Ljubljana, Slovenia [12/05/2009 - 31/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon III and Paris", New York, USA [09/06/2009 - 07/09/2009]
Full details
- "Napoléon", Philadelphia, USA [29/05/2009 - 07/09/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon Bonaparte and Egypt: fire and light", Arras, France [16/05/2008 - 19/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon. His opponents, his admirers, and the sacrifice", Marchegg, Austria [04/04/2009 - 18/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon in Traiskirchen", Möllersdorf, Austria [04/03/2009 - 24/12/2009]
Full details
- "The Satirical Eye: comedy and critique from Hogarth to Daumier", Melbourne, Australia [27/02/2009 - 26/07/2009]
Full details
- "Second Empire Paris: History and Modernity", Williamstown, USA [25/04/2009 - 21/06/2009]
Full details
- "Juliette Récamier: muse and patron of the arts", Lyon, France [27/03/2009 - 29/06/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon and Corsica", Corte, France [20/06/2009 - 30/12/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon and Eugenie", Roslyn Harbor, USA [07/06/2009 - 07/09/2009]
Full details
- "Imperial Splendour", Manderen, France [15/03/2009 - 31/08/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon, Commander, Emperor and Genius", Schallaburg, Germany [16/05/2009 - 01/11/2009]
Full details
- "William Blake (1757-1827): the visionary genius of English Romanticism", Paris, France [02/04/2009 - 28/06/2009]
Full details
- "Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)", Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [29/04/2009 - 05/07/2009]
Full details
- "Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet and the origins of the Napoleonic legend", Boulogne-Billancourt, France [05/03/2009 - 27/06/2009]
Full details
- Imperial painter: Pietro Benvenuti at the court of Napoleon and the Lorenas, Florence, Italy [10/03/2009 - 21/06/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon III and the Romanian principalities", Compiègne, France [21/03/2009 - 29/06/2009]
Full details
- "With Napoleon in Egypt: the Drawings of Jean-Baptiste Lepère", Cologne, Germany [02/10/2009 - 10/01/2010]
Full details
- "Ben Weider Collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts", Montreal, Canada [Permanent]
Full details
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