Category: Infantry
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Correspondence from Charleroi conscripts under Napoleon (I) …
Introduction by Pierre-Jean Niebes, archivist at the Belgian State Archives of Mons Many of the prominent figures of the Napoleonic period have written their memoirs, both civilian and military, and these have been published in numerous editions since the 19th century. The testimonies of ordinary soldiers shed a different light, perhaps more concise but just…
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Extracts from the livre d’ordre of the 12th Light Infantry Regiment during the Peninsular War …
Order of 18 March 1811 The regiment is hereby informed that His Excellency Marshal Soult has achieved the most brilliant success during his expedition following the capture of Olivera, where he took 4,500 prisoners. He battled two Spanish and Portuguese divisions whose positions covered the city of Badagos [sic, Badajoz]. These two divisions were defeated,…
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Some notes of a grenadier of the Imperial Guard, 1813 …
A couple of passages of a journal kept by Philippe Ballut, a soldier serving in the 2nd Grenadier Regiment of the Guard, related to the early stages of the 1813 Campaign … Thursday, 29 April. – The Old Guard arrived at Naumburg before noon and we lit our fires at the foot of the tower,…
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A doctor’s recounting of the battle of Ostrovno, July 1812 …
Raymond Faure (1786-1850), a doctor in I Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée, provides the following account of this engagement in his memoirs: Our corps (I Corps) was the vanguard of the army, and we had been in sight of the enemy for two or three days; a few cannon shots had been exchanged. On…
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Marshal Poniatowski on the defence of the Vistula and the Duchy of Warsaw, January 1813 …
To Marshal Davout. Warsaw, 20 January 1813. My Lord, I have just received the letter which Your Highness did me the honour of addressing to me on the 18th of this month. I only learned from its contents that His Majesty the King of Naples [Murat] has departed and that His Serene Highness the Prince…
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A dragoon under Marshal Murat – Letters of the 1806-1807 Campaigns (II)
Poland was a completely different country for the French soldiers. The miserable and often desolate appearance of certain areas surprised them by the contrast with the bountiful regions where they had long resided. However, they were cheerful and confident, and the change of regime gave them more cause for jest than complaint. Moreover, the cordial…
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Dedicated to the Imperial Cause – Letters of the Dandalle Family (III) …
The Austrian Campaign of 1809 The Erfurt conference had, at least in appearance, strengthened the friendly relations between Napoleon and the Tsar. The two emperors divided Europe between themselves. Napoleon sought to consolidate the Russian alliance in order to have a free hand to re-establish the situation in Spain, where the capitulations of Bailén (22…
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Letters of Désiré Trefcon, quartermaster in the 22nd Dragoons – 1806-1807
Désiré Trefcon was conscripted in Year VII and initially served with his brothers Pierre-Antoine and Toussaint-Jean in the 15th Demi-Brigade. Due to his frail health and poor tolerance of arduous stages, he was almost constantly assigned to the depot companies. He had therefore remained in Bitche (Moselle Department) during the brilliant campaign of 1800. Eager…
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A narration of the siege of Saragossa, by André d’Audebard de Férussac …
From the camp in front of Saragossa, 1 January 1809. You will recall that in my first letter I told you that there was fighting raging when I arrived. In fact, from the moment I crossed the Ebro, I constantly heard cannon fire; no matter how hard I tried, I arrived too late. It was…