NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
There are only two names in history that are as great as conquerors and
statesmen as that of Julius Caesar of whom you have read in the present
book. One of these two men was Alexander the Great, who lived hundreds
of years before the birth of Christ; the other was Napoleon Buonaparte,
later called Bonaparte and then Napoleon, who lived and died a hundred
years ago.
Greater than Caesar, greater than Alexander is the name of Napoleon.
While Caesar was of noble birth and had all the advantages of position
and authority in his favor, and while Alexander was a king and born to
rule, Napoleon Buonaparte sprang from the humblest beginnings and had
nothing to help him make his way except his own genius. While Alexander
was little but a wonderful soldier, Napoleon Buonaparte was both a
mighty soldier and a great statesman, and not only did he place himself
upon a throne, but he made all the members of his family kings and
princes.
He was born on the island of Corsica in 1769, and was the fourth child
and the youngest son of Charles Buonaparte who lived in the town of
Ajaccio and was as poor as his neighbors, which, as he lived in
Corsica, means that he was very poor indeed. Charles Buonaparte was an
ardent Corsican patriot and often plotted how Corsica could win her
freedom from France, but nevertheless he held a French office and was
willing to send his sons to French schools.
It was not long before Napoleon showed his family that he had the
stubborn nature and iron will that would make him a great soldier.
Before he was ten years old he dominated his brothers and sisters and
made them do as he said. He was afraid of nothing, and showed himself a
natural leader among the children with whom he lived. As soon as he was
old enough to talk he desired to be a soldier, and when he was ten
years old he was taken by his father to a military school in France.
For five years Napoleon remained at this school at Brienne mastering
the military art. As he was gloomy and silent and did not make friends
easily, he was the butt of ridicule and bore ill natured jokes from the
other young students there, but in spite of this, all were a little
afraid of him and did not dare to provoke him too far.
When Napoleon was sixteen years old, his military education was
considered to be finished and he was given the commission of a second
lieutenant in an artillery regiment. In all these years he had only
seen his father once. But Charles Buonaparte either had realized the
greatness of his own son, or had one of those flashes of prophesy that
sometimes come to dying men, for on his deathbed he cried out, asking
for the son, Napoleon, whose sword, he said, was to shake the earth and
who was to make himself the master of all Europe.
It was not many years after the young officer had joined his regiment
that he had a chance to distinguish himself. This was at the siege of a
town called Toulon. All France was in upheaval at that time, for the
people had revolted against their rulers and had overthrown their king
and their nobility. Their king, Louis the Sixteenth perished on the
public scaffold under the knife of the guillotine, and the French
revolutionists had carried on such a reign of terror that all Europe
was in turmoil and the hand of almost every other nation in the world
was against the French. Even a number of the French themselves were
opposed to their own government and had placed the town of Toulon at
the disposal of the English and their allies.
It was this town that the French army was endeavoring to take, and a
long and unsuccessful siege had been carried on, for Toulon was
strongly defended. Until Napoleon Buonaparte came, the French
accomplished little. But Napoleon soon changed the look of the siege.
Young as he was he had command of all the artillery that was being used
against the town, and his military genius soon made itself felt, for he
gave his orders with lightning rapidity and saw that they were carried
out with a skill that amazed the other officers. Due to his efforts and
the skilful arrangement of the cannon at his disposal, the most
important strong points of the town fell into French hands, the British
fleet, which was cooperating with the besieged, was driven off, and
Toulon was captured.
But this piece of work did not bring Napoleon any immediate or great
reward; in fact it was not long before he was out of favor with the
Revolutionary Government and his commission as an officer taken from
him. He had formed a friendship with the brother of Robespierre, a
revolutionary leader who came under the displeasure of the Republic.
And when Napoleon was offered a command of infantry, he refused to
accept it, and thus found himself outside the profession that he had
chosen.
However, his skill at Toulon was soon to give him the opportunity he
sought, for one of the members of the Revolutionary Government had
noticed his ability and resolved to call upon him in a time of need.
This time soon came, for rioting and bloodshed broke out in Paris, and
the people sought to overthrow the Government. Then Napoleon was called
on to protect the Palace of the Tuileries where the offices of the
French Government were located.
Here Napoleon showed the stuff he was made of. Although he was given
the appointment late in the day, the next morning saw cannon trained on
all the avenues approaching the Tuileries, and the cannoneers standing
like statues with lighted matches ready to fire upon the slightest
provocation. When the Parisian mob armed with clubs, pistols and old
muskets advanced to storm the palace Napoleon waited until some shots
had been fired and then gave a sharp command. With a roar of cannon a
storm of death swept down the avenues, and the people scattered like
chaff, leaving many dead and wounded behind them.
The Government had been saved due to the prompt action of the young
artillery officer and was properly grateful. Napoleon was given an
important command. He received a general's rank and was put in charge
of the Army of the Interior. It was at this time that he met a
beautiful widow named Josephine de Beauharnais with whom he promptly
fell in love. Through Barras, the official who had brought him into
prominence, the match was arranged and Napoleon was married to
Josephine.
But the young officer had already started upon his career of greatness,
and did not have much time to celebrate his nuptials. While on leave
and even when engaged in other duties he had found opportunity to study
the situation in Italy, where many forces hostile to the French
Republic were gathered. He had even formed a plan by which the French
could invade Italy, and it was now suggested to the Directors of the
French Government that he himself be allowed to put this plan into
execution. They consented, and hurrying to the south of France only two
days after his wedding, Napoleon took charge of a French army of about
fifty thousand ragged and ill-fed soldiers. His men had not been paid
for months and there was practically no discipline among them. They
were sick and discouraged, worn out with fighting the battles of the
Revolutionary party without reward. But when Napoleon appeared among
them, their spirits rose as though by magic, for the young commander
knew how to appeal to their imagination and to awaken their fighting
instinct.
"Soldiers," he said to them, "you are half starved and half naked: the
government owes you much, but can do nothing for you. I am about to
lead you into the most fertile valleys of the world; there you will
find flourishing cities and teeming provinces; there you will reap
honor, glory and riches. Soldiers of the Army of Italy, will you lack
courage?"
In Italy were the Austrians and the Sardinians against whom Napoleon
was to fight. He did not attempt to cross the Alps, as the great
general Hannibal had done in ancient times; instead of this he skirted
the Alps and fell upon the enemy so rapidly that they were not prepared
to meet him. With a series of brilliant marches and maneuvers he
divided the forces of his enemy and compelled the Sardinians to sign an
armistice, although the French Government had given him no authority to
take so much power into his own hands. He then drove back the Austrians
and defeated them in the battle of Lodi, where he carried a standard
with his own hands and rallied his troops in the face of a withering
fire.
The Austrians were completely defeated and numbered their dead by
thousands. And so delighted were the French soldiers by their success
that they gave to the name of their young commander the title of "the
little corporal."
Napoleon, however, did not let the grass grow under his heels, for in
war he believed that victory almost always came to the commander who
struck first. Time was everything, he declared, and advancing swiftly
he laid siege to the town of Mantua, defeated several armies that were
sent to relieve it and brought all Italy under his control.
And now the Directors of the French Government learned that the young
general they had placed in command of the Army of Italy was made of
very different material from the average general who obeyed their
orders. Napoleon treated them haughtily, and made demands rather than
requests from them. He had already exceeded his powers many times and
had treated with the rulers and the commanders of the enemies he had
beaten as though he himself were the ruler of France. Indeed his
soldiers talked frequently of making him such and declared that they
would rather have a general like Napoleon as their king and be his
subjects, than to be governed by a group of civilian clerks who knew
nothing of war and had to rely on others to carry out their wishes. It
may be sure that Napoleon did not discourage this feeling among his
soldiers, for he designed to make himself the ruler of France. The time
had not yet come, however, for him to reveal his intentions openly,
although it is true they were but thinly disguised.
After he had negotiated with Austria for peace and arranged the
armistice with Sardinia, Napoleon returned to Paris, carrying with him
many priceless paintings and works of art taken from the states that he
had conquered. These were placed in the galleries of the Louvre in
Paris, which at once became the most wonderful picture galleries in the
world.
But the Directors of the French Government were afraid of the young
conqueror who was acclaimed by the people wherever he went, and
desiring to get rid of him they readily gave their consent to a plan
that Napoleon himself suggested. This was that since France was still
at war with England and not strong enough to invade that country,
Napoleon should strike at her by taking an army to conquer Egypt, and
thus do injury to England's trade with her eastern possessions in
India, by opening a road to invade that far country which was the
source of England's power.
Preparations for the expedition were conducted with great secrecy in
Toulon, the same town that he had captured a few years before, and in
May, 1798, Napoleon set sail with a large fleet that contained about
thirty-five thousand of his best soldiers and his most clever and
trustworthy officers.
On landing in Egypt he lost no time, but quickly captured Alexandria
and marched into the desert.
The Mamelukes who fought against Napoleon, although undisciplined and
savage, were nevertheless brave fighters. Their cavalry was far famed
for its bravery and skill at horsemanship, as well as for rich
trappings and costly equipment.
Bravely the Mamelukes charged against the French, and time after time
they recoiled from the squares of glittering bayonets on which riders
and horses were impaled. But at last they weakened, and the French
charged in their turn and from an unexpected quarter. The battle was
over. Napoleon's keen eye had seen that the artillery of the Mamelukes
had no wheels and was moved with difficulty and he arranged his men
accordingly.
But while Napoleon succeeded on land he had been cut off from returning
to France, for the English admiral, Lord Nelson, had defeated the
French fleet. Napoleon fought and won battles against the Turks, but
his force was too small and the odds against him were too great for him
to succeed in an Eastern campaign, cut off as he was by the English.
And while he was in this difficult situation word was brought to him
that war had broken out again in Italy and all his work there had been
undone. It was imperative, if he wished to hold his power in France,
that he should make his way to Paris without delay.
So Napoleon left his men in the charge of one of his generals, and with
only a few followers embarked at Alexandria. His ship eluded the
English fleet which was cruising the Mediterranean Sea, and he made his
way to Paris with all speed.
France at this time was governed by a Directory and a Council of Five
Hundred. This was one of the forms of revolutionary government that had
been adopted after the French had dethroned and slain their king.
Napoleon believed that the time had come for him to seize the chief
position in the French Government, but he did not dare as yet openly to
have himself proclaimed as King. With his brother Lucien, and his
advisor Talleyrand--although Napoleon did not accept advice as a rule,
but was guided by his own bold, brilliant ideas,--he overthrew the
Council of Five Hundred and abolished the Directory. Then he
established what was called the Provisional Government which was headed
by a group of three men who were called Consuls. Naturally Napoleon was
the first and most important of these, and took care to see that the
bulk of the power wielded by the consuls should remain in his hands.
Clever, bold and brilliant, stopping at nothing, with the solid backing
of the army and a brain greater than any that has been known on this
earth in hundreds of years, it seemed as though this superman could
accomplish anything he desired.
After he had attained his ends in Paris he went again into the field to
meet his enemies. There was no immediate fear that France would be
invaded, for while the Austrians had won victories in Italy and freed
that country from French control, for which they substituted their own,
a French general named Massena had won a victory in Switzerland that
had shaken the grip of his enemies. It was necessary, however, that
Italy be invaded a second time. And this time Napoleon made his plans
to cross the Alps as Hannibal had done two thousand years before.
With his supplies on pack mules, with cannon wheels carried by his
soldiers and the men themselves drawing the cannon on rude sleds
improvised from tree trunks, the indomitable commander crossed the
mighty mountain range that stood in his way, and suddenly appeared on
the Italian plains in a part of the country where the Austrians had not
dreamed that he would arrive. Before they were able to collect and
rearrange their forces, Napoleon struck and defeated them in the battle
of Marengo, where his men fought against odds of three to one. Other
battles followed, and French generals invaded Austria. There remained
nothing for the Austrians to do but sue for peace. England soon
followed her example and France was at peace with the world.
Then Napoleon busied himself with internal matters and set about
reorganizing the French Government and framing a code of laws that
might be used thereafter by the country that he had made his own. This
was called the "Code Napoleon" and it is largely used to-day in France,
for Napoleon's genius as a lawmaker and a ruler was almost as great as
his power of generalship. He did not know such a word as failure but
succeeded in everything he put his hand to. While whole libraries have
been written about him there seem to be three main reasons for his
gigantic successes. The first is that he was a natural genius, with far
superior mental power to any other man of his time; the second is that
he had wonderful ability to work hard, and the third is that he knew
how to draw to himself the loyalty and affection of the ablest men of
his day and make their achievements further stepping stones to his own
successes. He had studied his trade of soldiering since he was old
enough to talk. He had worked at it constantly and toiled so
incessantly that he seldom slept more than three or four hours a night.
Moreover, in the troubled times in which Napoleon appeared on the
international stage, France was ripe for just such leadership and
indomitable will power as he was able to supply. Fortune favored his
efforts as much as he favored himself.
The peace that had come to Europe did not last long. In the treaties
that had been framed Napoleon had taken care to include affairs that
would furnish him with new excuses to make war whenever he desired. And
now he went to war again with England and made plans for invading that
country, which he hated above all others.
He had become so powerful by this time that he desired to wear the
crown of France. Accordingly he made arrangements for a brilliant
coronation and invited Pope Pius the Eighth to place the crown upon his
head. As there was still much hatred in France of the word King,
Napoleon decided to assume the title of Emperor.
On December 2, 1804, before a most brilliant assembly of people,
Napoleon and Josephine were crowned. When the Pope approached to place
the crown on Napoleon's head he rose quickly, took the crown from the
Pope's hand and placed it on his head himself, while a gasp of
astonishment ran through the audience. He then removed it and placed it
on the head of Josephine who sat on the throne beside him.
As the crown touched Napoleon's brow Paris reechoed to the thunder of
guns and to deafening cheers and cries of "Long live the Emperor!" Grim
old soldiers, who had followed him in many bitter campaigns, embraced
each other and got drunk in the wineshops. There was a wild time of
revel and celebration. The French people forgot the Revolution in which
thousands had died just to prevent the rule of kings. They thought of
nothing but their new ruler who had made France the mistress of the
world and was to lead his armies to even greater victories. And it
seemed that Napoleon would need more victories to keep his power.
Through the tireless efforts of the English statesman, Pitt, Russia and
Austria had joined England against him. Other countries were secretly
in league with these allies, and war was again to shake the entire
world.
As we have said Napoleon had planned to invade England and so certain
was he of success that he had a monument erected celebrating the future
invasion. But to secure the results and to transport his army safely
into England it was necessary for Napoleon to have mastery of the
English Channel, which was controlled by British warships under Lord
Nelson, who, as you remember, had cut off and defeated Napoleon at sea
when he was engaged in the invasion of Egypt. And while arrangements
were completed for carrying a large French army from Boulogne to the
English shores, a mishap befell Napoleon that forever prevented him
from realizing his dream of British invasion. The French fleet under
Admiral Villeneuve met Lord Nelson off Trafalgar and was utterly
defeated. Napoleon's chance to invade England was gone forever.
With his genius, however, for changing failure into success Napoleon
had already turned his designs elsewhere. With the splendid army with
which he contemplated the humiliation of England, he now marched
against Austria.
After defeating the Austrians in several engagements Napoleon met the
combined Russian and Austrian forces at Austerlitz on the anniversary
of the day on which he had been crowned as Emperor. And Fortune, which
had crowned him then in Paris, now crowned his genius on the
battlefield by the greatest of all his victories. After prodigious
slaughter the Russians and Austrians were completely routed, losing
thousands of prisoners. The treaty of Pressburg followed, in which the
Austrian Emperor, Francis the First, was compelled to give up large
slices of territory to France, and the Russians as quickly as possible
withdrew into their own country.
But this was only the beginning of the wars that Napoleon
thence-forward was engaged in. The kingdom of Prussia declared war
against France, and Napoleon marched against the Prussians and defeated
them at the battle of Jena.
Russia, however, was ready to make peace with France, for after Jena
Napoleon turned his attention to the Russians and defeated them at
Friedland. Then the Czar of Russia and Napoleon met on a raft which was
anchored in the middle of the river Niemen and swore eternal
friendship.
This was called the Treaty of Tilsit. As England was now the only great
nation that continued to be the enemy of France, Napoleon had made
arrangements in this treaty that were designed to cripple England's
trade and do as much damage to her as was possible. Moreover, the
conqueror had decided that henceforth there were to be no neutral
nations. Either the other countries must aid him in his trade war
against England and in other ways should he desire, or take the
consequences of braving his anger. With this policy in his mind
Portugal was invaded and the royal family was driven from the country
to South America where they sought refuge in the country of Brazil.
Spain had sided with France against Portugal, but Napoleon then
humiliated and dominated Spain. He used a far greater number of men
than was necessary for his Portuguese invasion, and turned them against
the Spaniards, many of whose most important forts had been taken by the
French soldiers through treachery as well as by stratagem. When the
conquest of Spain was ended Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph, on the
Spanish throne.
Austria, however, was preparing for another struggle against Napoleon.
Though continually defeated by the French, the Austrians lost no chance
of turning on them or taking any opportunity that might bring success
against the victorious soldiers of Napoleon. But this only brought upon
the Austrians the further defeat of Wagram and the loss of additional
territory to Napoleon.
But now fortune began to go against the brilliant soldier who had
seldom lost a battle and practically never had been defeated. The
Russians did not like the alliance with France that had been imposed
upon them at Tilsit and in spite of the Czar's vows of friendship were
ready to turn against Napoleon on the first opportunity. In fact the
Czar had become directly angered at Napoleon for the following reason.
Although Napoleon had made himself Emperor there was no heir to the
French throne. As it seemed that Josephine would remain childless,
Napoleon conceived the plan of divorcing her and marrying some high
born lady whose alliance with him would strengthen the bonds between
her country and that of the French. He had negotiated with the Russian
Czar for the hand of a Russian princess, but before the arrangements
had been completed he married an Austrian duchess named Marie Louise.
This turned Russia into the scale against Napoleon, who had already
dealt with the Russians in a high handed manner. So the Czar entered
into a close alliance with England against the conqueror.
Then Napoleon made the greatest mistake of all his brilliant career.
With all Europe in unrest against him, he nevertheless conceived the
plan of invading Russia and raised a great army for this purpose.
Russia was and is one of the most difficult countries in all Europe in
which to carry on a military invasion. The country is so cold and
barren and the distances are so great that any invading army has great
difficulty in transporting its supplies and marching the required
distances. Napoleon had almost always relied for his supplies on the
countries he had conquered and believed that it was always possible for
large armies to subsist on forage and the supplies of the conquered
inhabitants. To a large extent he used this policy in his invasion of
Russia and it brought about his downfall. With an army of four hundred
thousand men he entered Russia and advanced into the interior. The
Russians constantly retreated before him and laid waste everything in
his path. Towns were burned, crops were destroyed and cattle were
driven away, as Napoleon led his forces toward the ancient and historic
city of Moscow.
When the French had advanced a long distance into Russia, the Russian
general named Kutusoff offered them battle in a place called Borodino.
It was a stubborn and bloody conflict, and more lives were lost both by
the Russians and by the French than in any previous battle Napoleon had
engaged in. The Russians then continued to retreat and Napoleon entered
Moscow on the Fourteenth of September, 1812.
Here the French believed that they would find respite from the
hardships that they had encountered, and sufficient food and grain to
feed their army. But their hopes were short lived, and in Moscow a
great disaster befell them. Flames broke out in the city on the first
night of their occupation, and were extinguished with difficulty. On
the next night fires were kindled by hidden Russians in a hundred
different places, and at last the city was a sea of flames in which no
man could live. Napoleon had gained nothing by his invasion except to
conquer a devastated country, and now, with winter coming on, he was
compelled to retreat again toward the Russian frontier.
The plight of the French army had become fearful. Without food and with
insufficient clothing they were compelled to face the rigors of a
Russian winter. As they retreated the Russians followed them and bands
of wild Cossacks harassed their rear and their flanks, cutting off and
killing any stragglers. Even the Russian peasants took part in the
pursuit, and slew the exhausted French with their flails and cudgels.
Thousands of soldiers froze to death. In crossing the Beresina River
thousands more drowned. When they approached the frontier Napoleon left
the pitiful remnant of his shattered army to Marshal Ney, one of the
bravest of his generals, while he himself in a swift sleigh hastened to
Paris to raise another army before all Europe knew of what had
happened--for as soon as they did know they would take up arms against
him, thinking that in his weakened condition they could overthrow his
power. Of the four hundred thousand that entered Russia only twenty
thousand returned. More than a third of a million brave men had left
their bones on the chill snows and iron earth of the land they sought
to humble.
Uprisings, alliances and campaigns by the hitherto beaten nations
followed. Napoleon won the battle of Lutzen, but the English Duke of
Wellington defeated the French at Vittoria. At last in the great battle
of Leipzig in October, 1813, the French were routed.
In the following year the Allies made ready to crush Napoleon. He was
now on the defensive with enemies hemming him in on every side, and
although he fought a brilliant campaign it was hopeless. On April 11,
1814, Napoleon was compelled to resign the crown, and obliged to go
into exile; and the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea was chosen
as the place for him to end his days.
For the last time before his exile, Napoleon addressed his soldiers in
farewell, and the tears ran down the rough cheeks of the veterans as
they bade good-by to the man who had so often led them to victory. And
then Napoleon passed through southern France on his way to Elba amid
the hisses and execrations of his people, who had already forgotten the
victories he had won for France and thought now only of their misery
and the dear ones they had lost on the barren snow fields of Russia.
Instead of Napoleon the brother of the former king, Louis the
Sixteenth, was placed on the throne of France--an old, fat, wheezy man
of no particular ability. It seemed as if the great conqueror were
downed at last.
But Napoleon intended differently. As he stayed at Elba surrounded by a
little court and with the title of Emperor which the Allies had allowed
him to keep, he kept looking toward the coast of France and plotting
how to return. It is more than probable that his life was in danger at
Elba. At all events he found the life intolerable, and desired once
again to play the leading part in European affairs.
In the meantime the French people grew weary of fat old Louis the
Eighteenth, whose name of "Louis Dix Huit" was changed by the French as
a joke into "Louis Des Huitres," or Louis of the Oysters, so fond was
the old gourmand of his shellfish. They began to sigh for Napoleon and
look forward to the spring when they hoped he might be able to escape
from his island of confinement and rejoin his soldiers in Paris. And
this very thing soon happened.
Napoleon made a successful plan to escape from Elba and was concealed
on a ship bound for France. And on the short trip back to the French
coast he gave a striking example of his remarkable coolness and the
certainty in which he held his future fortune. A passing vessel hailed
his ship, asking, among other things, what was the latest news of the
Emperor. Napoleon, who was too far off to be recognized, laughingly
took the speaking trumpet from the captain's hand and shouted back:
"The Emperor is very well." And both vessels passed on their way.
Landing with a few followers near Cannes in southern France, Napoleon
hastened northward with the small army that he had been allowed to keep
at Elba. An army had been sent against him by the French, but Napoleon
had no intention of fighting it. Instead he advanced alone upon his
former soldiers, many of whom recognized him and rejoiced at a sight of
their former leader. When he drew near Napoleon threw back his coat and
shouted that if any man desired to kill his Emperor now was his
opportunity. Instead of killing him the soldiers crowded around him
with cries of joy. The whole army went over to his cause, and Marshal
Ney, who had been sent against him and who had sworn that he would
bring Napoleon back in an iron cage, could not withstand the sight of
his old general and threw his lot once more with the Imperial eagles.
With a force that increased at every mile Napoleon marched toward
Paris, while Louis the Eighteenth hastily gathered up his luggage and
fled into Belgium.
As soon as the Allies learned of Napoleon's escape they hastened to
make war against him. But Napoleon did not wait for them. With a
splendid army at his heels he marched to the north to meet his foes.
Fate was too strong for him, however. On June 16th, 1815, he fought the
battle of Ligny in which he defeated the Prussians, but two days later
he engaged in one of the most famous struggles of all history--the
battle of Waterloo.
Here Napoleon was pitted against the English under Lord Wellington and
the Prussians under Blucher. All day the struggle went on with success
in the balance and time after time it seemed as if nothing could save
the English army from the furious charges of Napoleon's cuirassiers and
heavy dragoons. Blucher had been separated from Wellington before the
battle opened, and due to muddy roads he was late in arriving with the
reenforcements that were necessary for an English victory. When he did
appear, however, the battle was won for the Allies. The French broke
and scattered in headlong rout and were followed throughout the night
by the ruthless Prussians, who cut them down without mercy. The
splendid army that Napoleon had gathered was no more.
Napoleon fled to Paris and from there to Rochefort in southern France,
where he was ordered to leave the country without delay. Now that he
was defeated the French were unwilling to harbor him, for they knew
that his presence meant continued war with the victorious Allies. At
last Napoleon surrendered himself to the commander of the British
warship _Bellerophon_, and was taken to England as a prisoner. The
English did not even allow him to land. He was transferred to another
vessel and carried to a lonely and rocky island in the south Atlantic
called St. Helena. Here, with a few of his followers who remained
faithful to him in his misfortune, the great Emperor fretted away the
remainder of his life. On May 5, 1821, just as the sunset gun was
fired, he breathed his last.
He was buried in St. Helena, but his body was later claimed by the
French Government and now rests in state in Paris in a wonderful
sarcophagus of red marble beneath the dome of the Hotel Des Invalides.
In recesses of this building are also the tombs of Marshal Ney and the
other great generals who had best served their Emperor in his lifetime.