The Emperor was born Aug. 15, 1769
Entered the military school of Brienne 1779
Transferred to the school of Paris 1783
Lieutenant in the 1st Artillery regiment of
la Fère Sept. 1, 1785
Captain Feb. 6, 1792
Chief of Battalion Oct. 19, 1793
General of Brigade Feb. 6, 1794
General of Division Oct. 16, 1795
General-in-Chief of the army of the Interior Oct. 26, 1795
General-in-Chief of the army of Italy Feb. 23, 1796
First Consul Dec. 13, 1799
Consul for life Aug. 2, 1802
Emperor May 18, 1804
Crowned Dec. 2, 1804
First abdication at Fontainbleau April 11, 1814
Resumed the reins of government Mar. 20, 1815
Second abdication at l’Elysée June 21, 1815
On his appearance in the command, a total revolution was observed in his
manners, conduct, and language. Decrès has often told me that he was at
Toulon when he first heard of Napoleon’s appointment to the command of
the army of Italy. He had known him well in Paris, and thought himself
on terms of perfect familiarity with him. “Thus,” said he, “when we
learned that the new General was about to pass through the city, I
immediately proposed to all my comrades to introduce them to him,
priding myself on my intimacy with him. I hastened to him, full of
eagerness and joy; the door of the apartment was thrown open, and I was
on the point of rushing towards him with my wonted familiarity, but his
attitude, his look, the tone of his voice, suddenly deterred me. There
was nothing offensive either in his appearance or manner; but the
impression he produced was sufficient to prevent me from ever again
attempting to encroach upon the distance that separated us.”
Napoleon’s generalship was, moreover, characterized by the skill,
energy, and purity of his military administration; his constant hatred
of peculation of any kind, and his total disregard of his own private
interest. “When I returned from the campaign of Italy,” said he, “I had
not 300,000 francs in my possession. I might easily have brought back 10
or 12 millions; that sum might have been mine. I never made out any
accounts, nor was I ever asked for any. I expected on my return to
receive some great national reward. It was publicly reported that
Chambord was to be given to me, and I should have been very glad to have
had it: but the idea was set aside by the Directory. I had, however,
transmitted to France at least 50,000,000 for the service of the State.
This I imagine, was the first instance in modern history of an army
contributing to maintain the country to which it belonged, instead of
being a burthen on it.”
When Napoleon was in treaty with the Duke de Modena, Salicetti, the
Government Commissary with the army, who had hitherto been on
indifferent terms with him, entered his cabinet.—“The Commander d’Este,”
said he, “the Duke’s brother, is here with four millions in gold,
contained in four chests. He comes in the name of his brother to beg of
you to accept them, and I advise you to do so. I am a countryman of
yours, and I know your family affairs. The Directory and the Legislative
Body will never acknowledge your services. This money belongs to you;
take it without scruple and without publicity. A proportionate
diminution will be made in the Duke’s contribution, and he will be very
glad to have gained a protector.”—“I thank you,” coolly answered
Napoleon: “I shall not for that sum place myself in the power of the
Duke de Modena:—I wish to continue free.”
A Commissary-in-chief of the same army used often to relate that he had
witnessed an offer of seven millions in gold made in a like manner to
Napoleon by the Government of Venice, to save it from destruction, which
offer was refused.—The Emperor smiled at the transports of admiration
evinced by this financier, to whom the refusal of his General appeared
super-human—an action much more difficult and noble than the gaining of
victories. The Emperor dwelt with a certain degree of complacency on
these anecdotes of his disinterestedness. He however observed that he
had been in the wrong, and that such a course of conduct was the most
improvident he could have pursued, whether his intention had been to
make himself the head of a party, and to acquire influence, or to remain
in the station of a private individual; for, on his return, he found
himself almost destitute: and he might have continued in a career of
absolute poverty, while his inferior generals and commissaries were
amassing large fortunes. “But,” added he, “if my commissary had seen me
accept the bribe, who can tell to what lengths he might have gone? My
refusal was at least a check upon him.
“When I was placed at the head of affairs, as Consul, it was only by
setting an example of disinterestedness, and employing the utmost
vigilance, that I could succeed in changing the conduct of the
Administration, and putting a stop to the dreadful spectacle of
Directorial peculations. It cost me an immense deal of trouble to
overcome the inclinations of the first persons in the State, whose
conduct, under me, at length became strict and irreproachable. I was
obliged to keep them constantly in fear. How often did I not repeat, in
my councils, that if my own brother were found to be in fault, I should
not hesitate to dismiss him!”
No man in the world ever had more wealth at his disposal, and
appropriated less to himself.—Napoleon, according to his own account,
possessed as much as four hundred millions of specie in the cellars of
the Tuileries. His extraordinary domain amounted to more than seven
hundred millions. He has said that he distributed upwards of five
hundred millions in endowments to the army. And, what is very
extraordinary, he who circulated such heaps of wealth, never possessed
any private property of his own! He had collected, in the Museum,
treasures which it was impossible to estimate, and yet he never had a
picture or a curiosity of his own.
On his return from Italy, and on the eve of his departure for Egypt, he
became possessed of Malmaison, and there he deposited nearly all his
property. He purchased it in the name of his wife, who was older than
himself, and consequently, in case of his surviving her, he must have
forfeited all claim to it. The fact is, as he himself has said, that he
never had a taste or a desire for riches.
“If I now possess any thing,”[18] continued he, “it is owing to measures
which have been adopted since my departure: but even in that case it
depended on a hair’s-breadth chance whether there should be any thing in
the world I might call my own or not. But every one has his relative
ideas. I have a taste for founding, and not for possessing. My riches
consisted in glory and celebrity: the Simplon and the Louvre were, in
the eyes of the people and of foreigners, more my property than private
domains could have been. I purchased diamonds for the crown, I repaired
and adorned the Imperial palaces; and I could not help thinking
sometimes that the expenses lavished by Josephine on her green-houses
and her gallery were a real injury to my _Jardin des Plantes_ and my
_Musée de Paris_.”
Footnote 18:
The deposit at the house of Lafitte.
On the Emperor’s second abdication, somebody who loved him for his own
sake, and who knew his improvident disposition, eagerly enquired
whether any measures had been taken for his future support. Finding
that no provision had been made, and that Napoleon remained absolutely
destitute, a contribution was made, and four or five millions were
raised for him, of which M. Lafitte became the depositary.
At the moment of his departure from Malmaison, the solicitude of
Napoleon’s real friends was not less serviceable to him.—An
individual, aware of the disorder and confusion of our situation,
wished to ascertain whether the little treasure had been forwarded to
its destination. What was his astonishment on learning that the
carriage in which it had been placed was left in a coach-house at
Malmaison. A new difficulty arose: the key of the coach-house was not
to be found; and the embarrassment occasioned by this unexpected
circumstance delayed our departure for some moments. M. Lafitte wished
immediately to give the Emperor a receipt for the sum; but Napoleon
would not accept it—saying, “I know you, M. Lafitte—I know that you
did not approve of my government: but I consider you as an honest
man.”
M. Lafitte seems to have been doomed to be the depositary of the funds
of unfortunate Monarchs. Louis XVIII., on his departure for Ghent,
also placed a considerable sum of money in his hands. On Napoleon’s
arrival, on the 20th of March, M. Lafitte was sent for by the Emperor,
and questioned respecting the deposit, which he did not deny. On his
expressing his apprehension lest a reproach should be intended to be
conveyed in the questions which had been put to him;—“None,” said the
Emperor: “that money belonged personally to the King, and private
affairs are totally distinct from political matters.”
On taking the command of the army of Italy, Napoleon, notwithstanding
his extreme youth, immediately impressed the troops with a spirit of
subordination, confidence, and the most absolute devotedness. The army
was subdued by his genius, rather than seduced by his popularity: he was
in general very severe and reserved. During the whole course of his life
he has uniformly disdained to court the favour of the multitude by
unworthy means; perhaps he has even carried this feeling to an extent
which may have been injurious to him. A singular custom was established
in the army of Italy, in consequence of the youth of the commander, or
from some other cause.—After each battle, the eldest soldiers used to
hold a council, and confer a new rank on their young General, who, when
he made his appearance in the camp, was received by the veterans, and
saluted with his new title. They made him a Corporal at Lodi, and a
Serjeant at Castiglione; and hence the surname of “_Petit Caporal_,”
which was for a long time applied to Napoleon by the soldiers. How
subtle is the chain which unites the most trivial circumstances to the
most important events! Perhaps this very nick-name contributed to his
miraculous success on his return in 1815.—While he was haranguing the
first battalion he met, which he found it necessary to parley with, a
voice from the ranks exclaimed, “_Vive notre petit_ _Caporal!_ we will
never fight against him!”
The administration of the Directory, and that of the General-in-chief of
the army of Italy, seemed two distinct Governments. The Directory in
France put the emigrants to death: the army of Italy never inflicted
capital punishment on any one of them. The Directory, on learning that
Wurmser was besieged in Mantua, went so far as to write to Napoleon, to
remind him that he was an emigrant; but Napoleon, on making him
prisoner, eagerly sought to render an affecting homage of respect to his
old age. The Directory adopted the most insulting forms in communicating
with the Pope: the General of the army of Italy addressed him by the
words “Most Holy Father,” and wrote to him with respect. The Directory
endeavoured to overthrow the authority of the Pope: Napoleon preserved
it. The Directory banished and proscribed Priests: Napoleon commanded
his soldiers, wherever they might fall in with them, to remember that
they were Frenchmen and their brothers. The Directory would have
exterminated every vestige of aristocracy; Napoleon wrote to the
democracy of Genoa, blaming their violence; and did not hesitate to
declare that, if the Genoese attached any value to the preservation of
his esteem, they must learn to respect the statue of Doria, and the
institutions to which they were indebted for their glory.
THE EMPEROR DETERMINES TO WRITE
HIS MEMOIRS.
7th—9th. We continued our course, and nothing occurred to interrupt the
uniformity which surrounded us. Our days were all alike; the correctness
of my journal alone informed me of the day of the week or of the month.
Fortunately my time was employed, and therefore the day usually slipped
on with a certain degree of facility. The materials which I collected in
the afternoon conversation employed me so as to leave no idle time until
next day.
Meanwhile the Emperor observed that I was very much occupied, and he
even suspected the subject on which I was engaged. He determined to
ascertain the fact, and obtained sight of a few pages of my journal: he
was not displeased with it. Having alluded several times to the subject,
he observed that such a work would be interesting rather than useful.
The military events, for example, thus detailed in the ordinary course
of conversation, would be meagre, incomplete, and devoid of end or
object: they would be mere anecdotes, frequently of the most puerile
kind, instead of grand operations and results. I eagerly seized the
favourable opportunity: I entirely concurred in his opinion, and
ventured to suggest the idea of his dictating to me the campaigns of
Italy. “It would,” I observed, “be a benefit to the country—a true
monument of national glory. Our time is unemployed, our hours are
tedious; occupation will help to divert us, and some moments may not be
devoid of pleasure.” This idea became the subject of various
conversations.
At length the Emperor came to a determination, and on Saturday, the 9th
of September, he called me into his cabin, and dictated to me, for the
first time, some details respecting the siege of Toulon.