Ones reputation is like a shadow, it is gigantic when it precedes you, and a pigmy in proportion when it follows.
— Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-
Tag Archives: napoleon
War of the Seventh Coalition
The Hundred Days, also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France’s return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged chabrol, coalition, coalition force, comte de, elba, emperor napoleon, french army, gaspard, german states, hundred days, king louis xviii, line troops, napoleon, napoleon i, new men, overwhelming numbers, prefect, prussia, return from exile, seventh, standing army, waterloo campaign
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Returning Home – 1840
It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well. – Testament of Napoleon, 2d Clause. In 1840, Louis Philippe I obtained … Continue reading
Death of Napoleon
His preparations for death were methodical and complete. During the last fortnight of April all his strength was spent in dictating to Montholon his last wishes. He even dictated, ten days before the end, the note which he wished sent … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, Other Private & Affairs of State
Tagged augereau, burial place, chinese laborers, death, deathbed, enghien, final word, fortnight, french courts, french people, invasion of france, longwood, marie louise, marmont, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, oligarchy, posterity, roman religion, st helena, talleyrand, unfortunate results
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Battle of Waterloo
The Battlefield at Waterloo is small, only 3 miles east/west and 1 1/2 miles deep on which massed nearly 70,000 allies and 71,000 French troops. Wellington had chosen his ground carefully since he had seen the battlefield previously. He deployed … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged allied forces, artillery fire, attrition, battle of waterloo, blucher, brother jerome, coalition, domon, farm houses, french army, french attack, french emperor, french forces, french troops, frontal assaults, imperial guard, la haye, manoeuvres, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, prussian army, prussian general, prussians, reinforcements, seventh, strong points, waterloo
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The Hundred Days
The restored monarchy had offended and alarmed so many Frenchmen in so many ways that they looked upon Napoleon as a deliverer and an avenger. Courtiers and ministers protested loyalty to the King – but took steps to make themselves … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged aristocrats, coalition, constitutional monarch, constitutions, courtiers, deliverer, emperor louis, free institutions, frenchmen, ghent, liberal principles, louis xviii, marmont, marshals, metternich, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, peacefulness, posterity, seventh, sovereigns, talleyrand, treaty of paris, tuileries
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Napoleon Leaves Elba & Returns to France
The French were highly dissatisfied with King Louis XVIII and the Bourbon rule. The Congress of Vienna, set up by the Coalition after Napoleon’s exile, were also at odds with each other to the point of almost starting a war. … Continue reading
Emperor of Elba
A week after bidding his Guard farewell, Napoleon sent from Frejus his first address to the inhabitants of Elba: “Circumstances having induced me to renounce the throne of France, sacrificing my rights to the interests of the country, I reserved … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days
Tagged bees, chief concern, chief town, fetes, fortifications, forts, honours, imperial domain, inhabitants, island of elba, mildness, military stores, napoleon, new flag, pomp, seriousness, sojourn, splendour, state of affairs, te deum
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Battle of Toulouse
The Battle of Toulouse (April 1814) was an unsatisfactory coda to Wellington’s hard-won victory in the Peninsula Campaign. In the greater scheme of things, with Napoleon about to abdicate, Toulouse proved an almost irrelevant clash of arms as the British, … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, War of the Sixth Coalition
Tagged abdication, allied army, armistice, battle, battleground, bordeaux, british commander, casualties, cavalry, clash of arms, french territory, napoleon, peninsula campaign, scheme of things, soult, toulouse, wellington, wet ground
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Congress of Vienna
On September 1814, the Congress of Vienna began. All the powers of Europe sent delegates to decide the issue of the day: the reorganization of the chaotic Europe Napoleon’s conquest had left behind. The Congress was a redrawing of the … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, Other Private & Affairs of State, The Hundred Days
Tagged aristocracy, austria, bonaparte, castlereagh, collective security, congress of vienna, democratic reforms, eminent statesman, europe today, european history, german states, grand balls, hardenberg, international summits, italian kingdom, map of europe, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, napoleonic rule, napoleonic wars, old regime, political intrigue, political landscape, prince metternich of austria, prussia, russia, talleyrand
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Exile on St. Helena
The most serious concern Napoleon felt in facing his new life was that he would have no occupation. He saw at once that St. Helena would not be an Elba. He sought conversation, studied English, played games, began to dictate his … Continue reading →