17. Fort Louis is an Alsace.
18. French Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte had been elected heir presumptive to the Swedish throne in 1810 as King Charles XIII had no heir. Bernadotte took the opportunity of the collapse of the French Empire to force Denmark to cede Norway and to participate in the siege of Hamburg. These matters caused the Swedish contingent to be severely delayed and led to criticisms from the other allies.
19. Prussian General Friedrich Wilhelm von Bulow.
20. General de Division Charles Decaen.
21. Two troops of Royal Horse Artillery were equipped with Congreve rockets in 1813, one of which fought at the Battle of Leipzig, the other in Southern France and at Waterloo.
22. i.e. French rather than Basque.
23. Major General Sir William Pringle.
24. The 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot.
25. 79th (Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot.
26. 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot.
27. The Battle of Orthez was fought on 27 February 1814. It seems incredible that news of the battle took a week to reach them.
28. Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Ponsonby commanded the 2nd cavalry brigade.
29. Wellington suffered a minor wound when a musket ball or canister shot struck his sheathed sword and severely bruised his hip.
30. Requests were made from the city officials of Bordeaux for Wellington to send troops to the city, which would then allow them to openly declare for King Louis XVIII. He detached two divisions of infantry under Marshal Beresford which entered the city in triumph on 12 March 1814.
31. Spanish General Manuel Freire de Andrade y Armijo.
32. The Chateau de Viella is near the village of Viella a few miles to the south of Saint Mont.
33. 1st Lieutenant John Cox was severely wounded at Tarbes.
34. Maison de Plaisance – A weekend retreat or second home.
35. i.e. reprimanded him severely.
36. Lieutenant Colonel Victor von Arentschildt who was serving with the Portuguese army.
37. The beautiful Capitole building constructed in 1750 is the home of the Toulouse municipal administration.
38. The local civil guard.
39. Napoleon signed his abdication on 6 April, but a treaty formally agreeing to peace was not signed with the allies until 11 April and ratified by Napoleon on 13 April.
40. Napoleon was to reside on Elba. One of the reasons given for Napoleon’s return to France in 1815 was the failure of King Louis XVIII’s government to pay the 6 Million livres.
41. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Coghlan 61st Foot was killed at Toulouse. He had served at Talavera (where he was severely wounded and became a prisoner of war for a few months), Bussaco, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive and Orthes.
42. General d’Armagnac commanded a division at Toulouse.
43. General Bertrand Clausel, Comte.
44. General Eloi Taupin was mortally wounded during the Battle of Toulouse and died later that day.
45. General Jean Isidore d’Harispe had his leg shattered by a cannonball which had to be amputated. He survived and became a Marshal of France in 1851.
46. General Honore Gazan, Comte de la Peyriere.
47. Brigadier General Nicolas de Loverdo was actually of Greek origin.
48. General Jean Etienne Bartier Baron Saint Hilaire remained at Toulouse after the army left and was arrested by the British but soon released.
49. The 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales’s Volunteers).
50. General Louis Emmanuel Rey is most famous for his defence of San Sebastian.
51. General Honore Charles Reille.
52. The Abbey de Belleperche.
53. The 94th Regiment of Foot.
54. This refers to the Place Royale, now more commonly known as the Place de la Bourse.
55. The 13th Century Cathedral Saint-Andre is still tightly enclosed by houses.
56. The Concord brig was built at Boston in 1772 and owned by the company Weighill & Bell.
57. Off Le Verdon sur Mer in the mouth of the Dourdogne.
Chapter 13: Napoleon Returns
1. NAM Reference 7011-21-4.
2. It is unclear whether the battalion all travelled on one ship, but George Simmons records that he sailed on the Wensleydale packet.
3. King Louis XVIII resided at the Hotel d’Hane Steenhuyse at Ghent which can still be viewed today.
4. The Cathedral of St Bavo was completed in the 16th Century. It is no longer entirely enclosed by houses as described by James.
5. Mr Huet was an actor who regularly played on the Paris stage, but on Napoleon’s return he retired into Belgium with Louis XVIII.
6. Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, Duc d’Berri was a nephew of King Louis XVIII.
7. NAM Reference 7011-21-5. Although dated 23 April it was continued until 3 May before posting.
8. This is quite possibly Samuel Moody of Liberty County Georgia, if so James had a lucky escape as he was lost at sea in 1815.
9. His aunt and her family had moved to Aberdeen.
10. King William I of Orange had recently been made sovereign over the Netherlands, which covered modern Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland together.
11. Sint Michielskirk
12. This would appear to be a painting known as Christ on the Cross painted in 1627 and now in the Koningklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten.
13. Note by Gairdner- M. Paelinck is a native of this neighbourhood, the gentry of this city subscribed to defray his expenses to Rome for the purpose of studying there.
14. Joseph Paelinck 1781-1839. His painting of the King is now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
15. A Parisian theatre company founded in 1789.
16. Le tableau parlant (The Talking Picture) is a comic opera in one act by André Grétry.
17. Angelica Catalani a famous opera singer, 1780-1849.
18. The Academy of Music in Meire Street, Ghent.
19. Aalst in Dutch.
20. Welle is 3 miles south of Aalst.
21. Marshal Marmont had remained loyal to the king.
22. Asse.
23. The church of Sint Jacob op Koudenberg had only been finished in 1786.
24. Just east of Namur.
25. The Royal Academy Exhibitions took place at Somerset House each year.
26. This letter has not been found.
27. Ensign George Thomson Jacobs 1st Foot Guards, he survived Waterloo unscathed.
28. ‘There are three things a wise man will not trust, the wind, the sunshine of an April day and a woman’s plighted faith’ from Southey’s Madoc.
29. This would appear to be a Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edwards of the 2nd Bengal European Regiment who had retired in 1799. He is recorded as having died in a shipwreck off Ostend on 15 November 1815 on his way to rejoin his family in Brussels.
30. James’ cousin Emily died aged only 17 years in 1815.
Chapter 14: The Waterloo Campaign
1. Costello p.279. The small rise is now difficult to identify, but the wood mentioned is believed to have been the Bois des Censes.
2. He of course means the crossroads at Quatre Bras.
3. This is a good indication of how knowledge of events was patchy in the immediate aftermath. The Prussians were actually centred around the village of Ligny some eight miles to the south-east and Napoleon was actually there, rather than facing Wellington’s forces in person.
4. Reference William Siborne p.530.
5. One mile west of Nivelles.
6. The official residence of the Belgian Royal family which is found five kilometres north of Brussels centre.
7. Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother had previously been King of Westphalia and had commanded a division at Waterloo.
8. Note by James - In one of the notes found in Bonaparte’s portfolio since published is a note to Davout. ‘Send me an officer of the Belgian Staff, you know how useful these people may be’. He also in another place desires that so many stand
of arms may be sent to a place named, to be at his disposal to arm the peasants when he became victorious.
9. Fought on 11 September 1709, during the War of the Spanish Succession.
10. The Canal du Saint Quentin was constructed in a number of parts starting in 1738, but it took Napoleon to order its completion in 1801 and he officially opened it in April 1810.
11. A toise measures two metres.
12. The Battle of St Quentin 10 August 1557.
13. Grand Marshal of the Palace, Armand Augustin Louis, Marquis de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza, who led Napoleon’s diplomatic attempts to gain a peace with Europe.
14. Ham fortress surrendered to the Prussian army, but the French garrison were allowed to stay within.
15. Peronne actually surrendered after a short cannonade.
16. Napoleon abdicated as early as 22 June 1815.
17. Chateau d’Orville.
18. Note by James - Fouche has since declared that he and his party had a revolution in contemplation previous to the landing of Bonaparte from Elba, which had no reference to him. He hearing of it however determined to take advantage of it.
19. Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout who remained at Paris as the Minister of War during the 100 days commanded the French army at Paris after the abdication of Napoleon.
20. It is interesting to note that the heights of Montmartre had so few cannon mounted upon them so soon after the peace treaty. It is true that the army would have removed their field pieces, but the numerous heavier cannon and naval pieces could not be removed so quickly. It would therefore appear that the heights were not as impregnable as some describe them at the time.
Chapter 15: Paris in Peace Time
1. Colborne’s Light Brigade had the honour of heading the march into Paris, an honour granted by the Duke of Wellington, which signified their significant role in the victory at Waterloo.
2. A prism.
3. The Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel or more commonly known as Le Moniteur was a French newspaper founded in 1789 which became the official newspaper of government in 1799.
4. Although bourse usually signifies a stock market, it here denotes a covered market.
5. The fortress of Vincennes commanded by General Pierre Daumesnil held out until 14 November 1815.
6. Marshall Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio.
7. Marshal Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier, 1st Comte Sérurier.
8. Jean Baptiste Huet (1745 – 1811).
9. Augustin Pajou (1730 - 1809) Psyche Abandoned 1790, Musée du Louvre.
10. A Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, which can today be found in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
11. François-Nicolas Delaistre (1746 – 1836) Cupid and Psyche, Musée du Louvre.
12. Probably Fountain of Diana, a 16th Century Sculpture.
13. Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain (1710 - 1795) Bather, also called Venus 1767.
14. La Baigneuse by Pierre Julien (1731-1804).
15. The Academy formed in 1669 is now the Paris Opera.
16. Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigenia in Tauris) is an opera of 1779 by Christoph Willibald Gluk in four acts.
17. The Dansomanie is a ballet-pantomime in 2 acts by Pierre Gardel , first performed at the Paris Opera on 14 June 1800.
18. General Baptiste Kleber assumed command of the army in Egypt when Napoleon left them and was assassinated by a student in Cairo in 1800.
19. Eustache Lesueur (1617-55).
20. Francois-Andre Vincent (1746-1816).
21. Francois Gerard (1770-1837).
22. Jean Baptiste Regnault (1754-1829).
23. The church of Saint Sulpice has an imposing western façade based on St Paul’s in London.
24. The dome of St Sulpice contains a fresco by Francois Lemoyne depicting the Assumption of Mary, which dates from 1734.
25. Dominique Georges Frederic Dufour de Pradt, Archbishop of Mechelen became Secretary to Napoleon in 1804.
26. Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, more usually known as Lord Castlereagh was Foreign Secretary from 1812 to 1822 when he committed suicide.
27. Painted in 1806, it is now held at the Palace of Versailles.
28. Painted in 1782, it is now held at the Louvre.
29. Pierre Henri de Valenciennes (1750-1819).
30. Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (1758-1846).
31. Pierre Narcisse, Baron Guerin (1774-1833).
32. Flemish painter Simon Joseph Denis.
33. George Haguette.
34. Antoine Berjon (1754-1843).
35. Joseph Fouche, 1st Duc d’Otrante changed his allegiance with the wind and was again Minister of Police during the Hundred Days.
36. The Musee des plans-reliefs is part of the Hotel des Invalides.
37. The elephant monument was conceived by Napoleon in 1808. It was intended to construct the huge monument, which would have stood some twenty-four metres high, in brass, but only a full scale plaster cast model was ever built which stood on the Bastille site from 1813 till 1846.
38. The arpent would be well known to him, as the land divisions of the Southern states of America were measured in arpents, which measured 0.85 acres (3,400 metres2).
39. The repatriation of the great art works of Europe which Napoleon had plundered during his conquests and given to the Louvre was very unpopular with the Paris crowds and it was found necessary to provide troops to guard the operation.
40. The Second White Terror (the First had occurred during the Revolution in 1795-5) occurred after the restoration of King Louis XVIII. The civil administration of France was purged of Napoleonists and up to a thousand lost their lives in revenge attacks by those who had lost loved ones to Napoleon’s wars.
41. A line from The Pleasure of Hope; with other Poems, published by Thomas Campbell in 1799.
42. I have been unable to identify Edward Kemp, he was not in the Army.
43. NAM Reference 7011-21-6.
44. The war with America ended with the signing of the treaty of Ghent on 24 December 1814 and was ratified by President Madison in mid-February 1815.
45. This suggestion that every officer, or at least every major and captain who served
46. James was not to receive a step in rank due to the losses of the regiment at Waterloo.
47. Subalterns eventually received £34 each as their share of the Waterloo Prize Money.
48. Sarah Siddons was a renowned tragedian actress.
49. John Philip Kemble (1757-1823).
50. Edmund Kean (1787-1833) a renowned Shakespearean actor.
51. Both Napoleon and Wellington are thought to have had affairs with Mademoiselle Georges.
52. Armand Emmanuel du Plessis Duke of Richelieu.
53. This would appear to be the neighbouring Château de Vaux sur Seine.
54. I have been unable to identify the original source for this.
55. L’Hermite de la Chaussee d’Antin, ou observations sur les moeurs et les usages Francais au commencement du XIX siècle [The Hermit of the Chaussee d’Antin, or observations on the manners and customs of the French at the beginning of XIXth century] by Etienne de Jouy published 1812-14 in 5 volumes.
56. The Treaty of Paris agreed the indemnities France was required to pay for the war. France was to pay 700,000,000 Francs in damages, and France would be partially occupied by an allied army of 150,000 men for five years until France paid up in full.
57. This is in the north of Paris.
58. The opera Semiramide is attributed to Rossini but is stated as having been performed for the first time in 1823. The statement that it was performed in Paris in 1815 is hard to reconcile with these facts, but Rossini was writing operas from 1812 and it is quite possible that it was written earlier than thought.
59. The Italian opera singer Angelica Catalani (1780-1849).
60. Written by Gaetano Rossi and first performed in 1815.
61. Written by Joseph Addison in 171
2.
62. John Philip Kemble (1757-1823), his sister was Sarah Siddons.
63. The tragedian Sarah Siddons (1755-1831).
64. The Irish actress Eliza O’Neill (1791-1872).
65. A one act ballet by Charles-Louis Didelot first performed in 1796.
Chapter 16: The Army of Occupation
1. This letter is no longer extant.
2. The Montague Post Office Packet was famous for two successful fights against American privateers in 1811 and 1813.
3. The Bay of Fundy.
4. NAM Reference 7011-21-7.
5. Wooden was an estate owned by Robert Walker and his wife Mary Gairdner and nearby Mellendean was owned by his brother Adam Walker, both lay just south of Kelso. Adam Walker of Muirhouselaw married Katherine Gairdner in 1787, their son Adam was born in 1788 and then they had a further eight sons and six daughters. Adam Walker junior married Catherine Murray at Corsbie on 3 August in 1819, 3rd daughter of John Murray of Uplaw and residing at Mainhouse. Adam Walker died at his house Rocky Branch in Georgia on 15 October 1812, his estate at Muirhouselaw was divided between David Haliburton and Adam Walker. Reference Annals of a Border Club 1899 by George Tancred Weens. Wooden House is a Georgian house with 5 reception rooms, 7/8 bedrooms with 5 bathrooms and stands in 11.7 acres.
6. Robert, Robert Walker’s third son was a Captain in the Royal Navy.
7. Thomas was the seventh son of Robert.
8. Hugh, Robert’s eighth son became a Major in the 14th Madras Native Infantry. James, the 4th son was a lieutenant in the 20th Foot and was killed after Roncesvalles in 1813.
9. Captain Thomas Hood 75th Foot married Rebecca Hood at Wooden on 8 June 1818 but unfortunately he died at Santa Maura, (modern day Lefkada), on 14 May 1819. On 2 August that year Rebecca gave birth to their child.
10. This letter is no longer extant.
11. NAM Reference 7011-21-9
12. Sandhurst had started operating as the army’s military college in 1812.
13. NAM Reference 7011-21-8.
14. General Andrew Jackson reacted to the numerous attacks by Seminole Indians on white settlers by attacking them in their main base despite the fact that they were in Spanish Pensacola. This breach of national boundaries became a moot point when Spain ceded Florida to the United States in February 1819.
15. The 75th Foot was then stationed in the Ionian Islands.
The American Sharpe Page 30