Tag: Light Infantry
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General Lasalle’s 1809 correspondence (II) …
Lasalle’s standing with General Marulaz was delicate. Marulaz was his senior: he had been appointed colonel long before him. The same decree had named them both generals of brigade on 1 February 1805. At Essling, General Marulaz had displayed the greatest bravery: he had had two horses killed under him and, in sabering two Austrians,…
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More soldiers and officer letters from Prussia and Poland, 1806-1807
Army of the North. Letter from infantry officer Antoine Parot, dated 17 April 1806, from Röttembach, meant for his parents, occupied as paper manufacturers. With military postmark ‘B(ure)au G(énér)al Arm(ée) d’Hanovre’ in red ink, addressed to ‘Monsieur Parot, paper manufacturer, rue de la Convention n° 124 A (…) ’ (difficult to read the name of…
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Two letters on the battle of Austerlitz …
Letter from Commandant Salmon, battalion commander of the 24th Léger, written to his wife Pauline, after the battle … 3 December 1805, at the end of the world. Yesterday we celebrated the coronation of our Emperor. A few words, my dear little wife, to calm you down, because yesterday’s affair will cause a lot of…
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The plight of a Dutch officer, after the retreat from Russia …
Theodorus Coenradus Casparus Veeren, a Dutch officer, made it out of the Russian debacle. He wrote this poignant letter to his wife … Kulm, 7 January 1813. You must be very worried not to have received a letter from me for such a long time. However, this has its reasons; I will tell you about…
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The end of a campaign, 1807 …
The final part of letters written by Commander Coudreux, musing on what happened and what the future will hold … Nowidwor , 25 October 1807. I have before me, my dear friend, your last letter dated 26 September. We had already left the camp when it reached me. We are at present stationed on the…
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Life in bivouac, 1807 …
Part six of Commander Coudreux’s correspondence … At the camp of Sochaczew, 7 September 1807. I have been back from Warsaw for ten days. So here I am once again living in a straw shack, which is certainly not as nice as the castle at Kleintauersee, but we have to make do until we find…
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Waterloo through the eyes of an aide-de-camp …
Another excerpt of Alexandre de Chéron’s recollections on the battle of Waterloo. He was a lieutenant in the 26th Light Infantry Regiment and became an aide-de-camp to General de La Houssaye. The latter could not join the campaign … On the 18th, we held the right [flank] of the army. It was actually on our…
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Thoughts on Poland and military life, 1807 …
A few more letters of Commander Coudreux … Kleintauersee, 6 August 1807. My dear friend, We left our camp in Bartukeiten on the 20th of the previous month. We are now quartered on the banks of the Soldau, a charming region in all respects, which we will occupy until the 18th of this month. We…