Tag: Thorn
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A letter on the retreat from Russia, by an artillery officer …
The author of the following letter, Jean-Michel-Marie Prévost, son of Henri-François, councillor to the King, judge, magistrate in the seneschal and presiding court of Clermont-Ferrand, and Marguerite Monestier, was born in Clermont-Ferrand on 26 July 1782. Prévost entered the École Polytechnique on 1 Frimaire Year 10, became a student second lieutenant on 1 Vendémiaire Year…
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Letters of infantry corporal Charles Vanesse, 1806 …
A few more letters of this soldier from the 8th Infantry Regiment, prior and following the battles of Jena and Auerstädt … Anspach, 24 April 1806, I Corps of the Grande Armée. C. J. Vanesse to Miss VANESSE. Dear Sister, Your pleasant letter dated 17 January, as well as that from Van den Bruggen, reached…
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Some remarks of a cuirassier officer, 1806-1807 …
Jean de Gouttes recounts his experiences of the Prussian and Polish surroundings and battlefields in his correspondence with his parents … Schwarzach, 17 August 1806. Although I cannot put much structure into the details I have provided about Bavaria, I will continue to give you some as they are of interest to you. The predominant…
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A second lieutenant’s letters to his wife, Prussia-Poland 1806-1807 …
We present two letters of an infantry officer who fought in General (future marshal) Suchet’s Division in the years of 1806 and (early) 1807. He provides many interesting details on daily life in the French army, promotion, hardships, money issues and battlefield experiences. Dear Rosalie, I am devoting the first moments of my repose to…
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Colonel Raymond Guiraud’s war journal (I) …
Introduction Raymond Marc Antoine Guiraud, the author of the memoirs from which we are publishing extracts, was born at Limoux, a small town in Languedoc, on 20 January 1780. The Guiraud family were cloth merchants whose fortunes had improved at the same time as factories, which were flourishing in the region, had expanded their trade.…
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The plight of an officer in the train (transport logistics), 1812-1813
Here are the ‘Recollections’ of Nicolas Nottat, brigadier in the Train Regiment. This account was published the first time in June 1939 in the ‘Revue d’Histoire’, by the Reserve Captain Pierre Arnoult. A second publication dates from October 1953 in the ‘Revue du Train’ at the initiative of Mr. Péchon, President of the Train Cadets…
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An interpreter’s journey during the Russian campaign …
Here we find a set of letters written by Gabriel Le Coigneux de Belâbre, an interpreter on Napoleon’s cabinet, on a day to day basis throughout the Russian campaign of 1812, meant for his cousin, René de Thomé : ‘To Monsieur René de Thomé, rue des Francs-Bourgeois n° 16, at Marais in Paris’. We present some…
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Officer Boudousquie (18th Line) on the road to Russia, 1812 (III) …
Near Culm, on the Vistula, 31 May 1812. Your letter reached me the day before yesterday at Culm, my dear mother, at the same time as my lieutenant’s commission, which dates back only to 5 May. I am very pleased to have been appointed before the Emperor’s review, for he might still have found fault…
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Succinct history of the Dragoons of the Guard, Russia 1812 …
The recipient of this letter is most likely Marshal Berthier, the major général of the Grande Armée, or Bessières, who commanded the Guard cavalry. Elbing, 28 December 1812. Monseigneur, In accordance with Your Excellency’s order, I have the honour of presenting you the account of the regiment from the time of its departure from Paris…