Tag: Conscription
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Fourrier François Hinard’s letters on the Austerlitz Campaign …
Here are several lengthy letters of Fourrier François Hinard who served in General (future marshal) Suchet’s Division during the Austerlitz campaign. He provides many interesting details on daily life in the Grande Armée, hardships, money issues, family matters and battlefield experiences. Landshut (1) in Bavaria, 29 October 1805. Dear Rosalie, I can still enjoy the…
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1813-14 letters from Cuirassier Brigadier Pilloy
The following letters are drawn from a voluminous register which also contains copies of the Emperor’s proclamations, accounts of our narrator’s travels and more or less unusual recipes. The author in question is Étienne-Nicolas Pilloy, born in Santeau, canton of Pithiviers (Loiret), a farmer by trade. Here are his service records: 13th Cuirassier Regiment. Entered…
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The Military Life of Bruno d’Ast … (II)
Moscow, 20 September 1812. My dear father, you must have received my letter from Smolensk by now. I hope that it finds you in as good health as I am at the moment, despite the fatigue and hardship we had to endure before arriving in this city. I spoke to you in my last letter…
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Correspondence from Charleroi conscripts under Napoleon (II) …
Letters from Pierre-Joseph Guilbert to his father Pierre-Joseph Guilbert was born in Jumet on 18 March 1781. He was the son of Charles and Marie Perony. A conscript of the Year IX (1800), he became a fusilier in the 5th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 94th Line Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division of the…
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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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Correspondence of grognard Jean-Henry Rattier (IV) …
Bayonne, 15 March 1812. We arrived here the day before yesterday, and we are leaving tomorrow for Paris, where we will arrive on 16 April. I would have obtained permission to go to Ardèche, but I had to be in the capital by 15 April, which prevented me from obtaining it. I could only have…
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Dedicated to the Imperial Cause – Letters of the Dandalle Family (I) …
Introductions by the authors The reader is in for a unique experience from the outset, as the authenticity of the study’s content is striking. The sense of duty, the boundless admiration for their Emperor, Napoleon I, made these officers from the ranks perform nearly astonishing feats. They travelled the length and breadth of Europe, as…
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Recollections on the battle of Austerlitz, by Captain Ballue …
Pierre Ballue, from whose memoirs we are reproducing an extract, was born in Bergerac in the Dordogne on 20 February 1778. His father, Jean-Baptiste, was a postmaster in the town. In 1799 (14 Vendémiaire, Year VII of the Republic), Ballue was drafted into the army through conscription. ‘This law’, he said, ‘summoned me to serve…
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Soldiers’ letters related to the campaign in Austria, 1809 …
In June 1809, this soldier wrote to his family from the Austrian capital. In particular, after mentioning his involvement at the battle of Essling, Bellot describes his uniform in detail and announces that he has just been appointed corporal in the line troops (1) : At Vienna, this 30 June 1809. My dear father and…
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Reminiscences on the defence of Paris, 1814 …
… Paris took on an increasingly bellicose appearance. The mobile National Guard arrived from all sides; I even remember that, while the army only expressed its patriotism by its acclamations in favour of the Emperor, the National Guard added the longstanding manifestations of the days of republican glory. One day, in front of the café…