Tag: Foodstuffs
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The experiences of Dragoon Auguste de Maupas in Spain and Portugal, 1808-1812 (II)
Valladolid, 5 December 1809. – I only have time to send you an embrace and inform you that I am in good health. We have arrived at Valladolid, where we will stay with General Kellerman until further notice. We engaged in a number of affairs which I am sure you will be able to find…
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Guard Grenadier Philippe Ballut at Lützen and Bautzen, 1813 …
In the evening, with the 2nd Grenadier Regiment occupying the ground on a plateau, the soldiers sighted the town of Lützen, with its round bell tower and a tall belfry tower dominating the large tile roofed buildings. The French cavalry had already entered the town to capture a few stragglers. It was known that Blücher…
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Three Letters from J. J. Delvau, Soldier of the Imperial Guard … (1812)
IMPERIAL GUARDGrenadiers Tirailleurs6th Regiment – 1st Battalion4th Company At Courbevoie, 24 March 1812. My dear father and mother, brothers and sisters, I want you to know that we are leaving for Magdeburg in Germany to join the regiment, which arrived there not long ago. However I do not think we will pass by your side.…
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The Military Life of Bruno d’Ast … (I)
Dominique-Louis-Guillaume-Bruno d’Ast was born on 9 August 1790, in Brignemont. (1) He was the eldest son of Mr. Guillaume d’Ast and Madame Marie-Germaine-Sophie de Pérignon. (2) His godfather was Dominique Catherine de Pérignon, his uncle, an officer in the royal grenadiers in the Quercy Regiment, the future victor of Rosas and Figueras, ambassador of the…
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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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Correspondence of an artillery officer during the Russian campaign …
On 15 June 1810, young Delaval, the eldest son of a family living in the small town of Tournus in the Department of Saône-et-Loire, received an order to enter the School of Saint-Cyr on 20 July. After completing his studies at the military school on 2 April 1812 with the rank of lieutenant second class…
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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…
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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…