NAPOLEON
ORDERS THE RECALL OF HIS SOLDIERS FROM SPAIN TO STRENGTHEN HIS ARMY IN BRITTANY — A REMARKABLE LETTER FROM THE HEIGHT OF ‘WAR OF THE 5TH COALITION’ DURING THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
NAPOLEON I. (1769-1821) French military and political leader; Emperor of the French, who consolidated and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. Good Manuscript Letter Signed, in French, with his bold flourish “Np”. 1 1/5 pages, quarto. Very fine condition. Paris, March 3, 1809. To his Secretary of War, General Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke, directing the reassignment of troops in order to strengthen his defensive positions. Napoleon writes:
“Monsieur le General Clarke
I order that the reserve of the 4th Battalion of the 19th Infantry of the line attached to the 2nd Army Corps stationed in Spain be returned to France. I give the same order for the reserve of the 4th Battalion of the 47th and the 70th, – 386th has its 3rd Battalion already in France. By these means, four regiments will form a complete war battalion stationed in France as well as the fifth battalion. They could thus provide you with four complete war battalions making 3360 men and four 5th battalions of 4 Companies forming 2300, which would make a Division of about 6000 men for the defense of Brittany. It is necessary that a Battalion should be organized before the 5th day. You must instruct the Commanding Officers of the Regiments (the 15th line of Infantry, the 47th, 70th and 86th) to proceed at once to their respective depots in Brittany, and let me know where they are to be found. It is very important that these depots, which with the conscripts joining them will exceed some 6000, should have highly intelligent Commanding Officers. I order that the 4th Battalion of the 121st and 122nd be sent to their depots at Versailles. For this, I pray God keep you under His Holy protection, PARIS 3RD MARCH 1809. NP”
To the left of Napoleon’s signature there is a notation that this letter was remitted to “M. Girard”. “M. Girard” is most likely General Jean-Baptiste Girard, who at the time was a Brigadier General in the French forces.
Just an absolutely captivating letter that clearly illustrates Napoleon’s command of the complexities and his preparations for war.
$3750.00
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of conflicts fought between the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte (1804–1815) and a fluctuating array of European coalitions. The wars originated in political forces arising from the French Revolution (1789–1799) and from the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and produced a period of French domination over Continental Europe.[32] The wars are categorized as seven conflicts, five named after the coalitions that fought Napoleon, plus two named for their respective theatres: the War of the Third Coalition, War of the Fourth Coalition, War of the Fifth Coalition, War of the Sixth Coalition, War of the Seventh Coalition, the Peninsular War, and the French invasion of Russia. [Wikipedia].
