joachimnapoleon

[joachimnapoleon]

Veteran Marins De La Garde reaction to being sent anywhere by Napoleon.

Continued vv

■Battle of Eylau 1807 (40% casualty rate)

■Battle of Bailen 1808 (all dead or captured, some escape)

■Battle at Berezina 1812 (93% would die, from the 1135, only 85 would return)

■Battle of Leipzig 1813 (French loss, massive losses on both sides)

■Battle and retreat of Arcis-Sur-Aube 1814 (last ones to leave as they held back the enemy armies)

■Battle of Waterloo 1815 (78/150 came back to garrison)

[joachimnapoleon]

There is no worse enmity than between Napoleon and Josephine’s pug (Fortuné), who not only did not allow Bonaparte into the house, but also bit him on the leg.

[joachimnapoleon]

Draw your characters like this

[joachimnapoleon]

On St. Helena, Napoleon remembers Colonel Muiron

I had more trouble about one of my aides-de-camp, killed at Arcole, the brave Colonel Muiron. He had served, since the first days of the revolution, in the artillery corps. He had particularly distinguished himself at the siege of Toulon, where he had been wounded while entering through an embrasure into a famous English redoubt.

His father was arrested as a tax farmer. [Muiron] came to present himself at the National Convention, at the revolutionary committee of his section, covered in the blood he had just shed for the fatherland; he succeeded: his father was set free.

On the 15th Vendémiaire he commanded one of the artillery divisions that defended the Convention; he was deaf to the seductions of a large number of his acquaintances. I asked him if the government could count on him. — Yes, he told me, I have sworn to support the republic, I will obey my leaders; I am also an enemy of all revolutionaries. He behaved effectively as a brave man, and was very useful in this action which saved freedom.

I took him as an aide-de-camp at the beginning of the Italian campaign; he rendered essential services in all matters; finally he died gloriously on the battlefield at Arcola, leaving a young widow who was eight months pregnant.

I asked, in consideration of the services he had rendered, that his mother-in-law be removed from the list of emigrants on which she had been registered, although she had never left France. I demanded the same justice for his brother-in-law, a young man who was fourteen years old when he was registered on the fatal list; he had been in a foreign country for his education.

[There was a frigate named after Muiron that took Bonaparte from Egypt to France.]

Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène. Suivi de Napoléon dans l'exil ; [Derniers moments de Napoléon]. Et de L'historique de la translation des restes mortels de l'empereur Napoléon aux Invalides. T. 2 / par le comte de Las Cases ; par MM. O'Méara et Antomarchi ; [publié par F. Payot]

bnF Gallica

[joachimnapoleon]

So I know I haven't been so active in the Napoleonic community in recent months, as I've been pretty absorbed in studying Japanese history and the Japanese language, but the more I've learned about Hideyoshi, the more I found myself comparing him to Napoleon, so here's a post where my two main historical interests get to intersect. :)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi has often been referred to as Japan’s Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps a bit Eurocentric given that Hideyoshi was born in 1537, 232 years before Napoleon--if anything it could be said that Napoleon was France’s Hideyoshi, but unfortunately Hideyoshi is not a name most Westerners recognize—otherwise it’s an excellent comparison. I’ve read a great deal about Napoleon over the past several years, and, although my studies on Sengoku Japan are only really in their infancy, I couldn’t help but notice a striking number of parallels in similarities between the lives and military/political careers of Hideyoshi and Napoleon.

Both men came from relatively humble origins and experienced meteoric rises through the ranks via their military service. Napoleon’s family on Corsica were minor nobility—they were not wealthy by any means but at least possessed enough connections to get Napoleon into a military academy; once his training was completed, he was commissioned as an artillery officer. Hideyoshi was born a peasant; his father was an ashigaru (foot soldier) who served a samurai. Hideyoshi followed in his father’s footsteps and became an ashigaru himself, which at the age of 26 brought him into the service of Lord Oda Nobunaga, who was soon the most powerful daimyo in Japan. His talents and intelligence impressed Nobunaga, and Hideyoshi rose to become one of his top generals and retainers by his early thirties. When Nobunaga was betrayed and assassinated in 1582, Hideyoshi, then 35, moved quickly to step into the ensuing power vacuum; within three years he had defeated his main rivals, consolidated his power, and become the most powerful man in Japan himself. Napoleon Bonaparte became a general at age 24 and crowned himself Emperor of the French at age 35. Hideyoshi was never Emperor, nor, being from a peasant background, did he receive the title of shogun, but he was designated kampaku (Imperial Regent) by the Emperor at age 38 and was the real power in the land from this point until his death in 1598.

As a result of their respective meteoric rises and remarkable military successes, both men came to view themselves as destined for greatness. Napoleon frequently spoke of destiny and believed himself guided by it. “Is there a man so blind,” he wrote in December of 1798, “as not to see that destiny itself guides all my operations? Is there anyone so faithless as to doubt that everything in this vast universe is bound to the empire of destiny?” (Broers, Napoleon: Soldier of Fortune, 195) This belief, which pervaded through his life, also made him take great risks, convinced that he was destined to succeed in his endeavors. Hideyoshi came to genuinely believe his own rise was divinely inspired and even developed his own backstory, giving himself celestial origins, and making sure to mention them frequently in his letters to others as a means of convincing them of the rightness of his cause. “At the time my mother conceived me,” he wrote on one occasion, “she had an auspicious dream. That night, a ray of sun filled the room as if it were noontime. All were overcome with astonishment and fright and when the diviners had gathered, they interpreted the event saying: when he reaches the prime of life, his virtue will illuminate the four seas, his authority will emanate to the myriad peoples.” (Berry, Hideyoshi, 9). He even went so far as bringing up his supposedly heavenly origins in a letter to the King of Korea, in hopes of pushing his case to the King to permit his armies safe passage through Korea so he could carry out his planned conquest of Ming China.

Both were regarded as military geniuses by their contemporaries. Napoleon’s quick, dominant successes in Italy, and his crushing victories against Austria, Russia, and Prussia between 1805-1807, solidified his reputation as one of the greatest generals in European history, and arguably the best military commander of his time. Hideyoshi never suffered a defeat in the numerous campaigns he waged over the years to complete the work of unifying Japan that had begun under Nobunaga.

Likewise, both men’s reputations for military genius were severely tarnished by campaigns driven out of an increasingly megalomaniacal drive for conquest abroad. Hideyoshi, his confidence bolstered by his string of military successes, began setting his sights on China, and even hinted in his correspondence that one day, after China had submitted as he vassal, he might even attempt to conquer India. To begin his conquest of China, he first needed to bring his armies through Korea. He attempted to negotiate with the King of Korea to gain safe passage for his armies, but Korea had strong ties to the Ming Dynasty, the negotiations soon broke down, and Hideyoshi sent his armies to invade Korea in 1592. The Japanese initially smashed through the pitiful Korean defenses and made a rapid drive up the peninsula, but with Ming reinforcements soon arriving to turn the tide, and the Japanese navy being repeatedly pummeled by the brilliant Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, the Japanese advance was soon stalled. Eventually the Japanese forces retreated to the southern coastline, where they hunkered down in hastily-built fortifications while peace negotiations dragged out for years between Hideyoshi’s court and the Ming court. When these negotiations also eventually broke down, Hideyoshi launched a second invasion of Korea, less for the sake of conquering China this time than simply for punishing Korea as much as possible for thwarting his initial plans. Hideyoshi himself never actually personally led his armies in Korea—he never went to Korea at all—but relied instead on the reports of his generals and inspectors, whose reports often downplayed or whitewashed the truth of Japanese defeats out of fear. Additionally, some of his primary commanders (like Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa) openly hated each other and their quarrels and personal rivalries occasionally hampered military operations, not unlike the quarrels of Napoleon’s commanders in Russia. The second invasion was turning into a stalemate when Hideyoshi abruptly died in September of 1598 at the age of 61. The remnants of the Japanese army eventually returned to Japan, and a six-year period of nearly relentless horrors and atrocities in Korea had all been for nothing. Napoleon, of course, launched his infamous 1812 invasion of Russia, which, while of much shorter duration than Hideyoshi’s war(s) in Korea, led to a much more thorough destruction of his armies and arguably contributed to his fall from power in 1814. Not that the Korean conflicts left the Toyotomi forces unscathed, and it can also be argued that the extent to which the Western armies had bled themselves out in Korea helped contribute to the victory of Hideoyoshi’s rival, Tokugawa Ieyasu, against his Toyotomi-loyalist enemies at Sekigahara in 1600, as Ieyasu, based in Japan’s eastern Kanto region, had pointedly kept his own forces out of the war.

Both men enacted sweeping reforms in their respective societies which long outlasted either them or the dynasties they both failed to leave behind. Both initiated nationwide cadastral surveys and land registries to make tax collection more accurate and efficient. In 1595, six leading daimyo under Hideyoshi drafted, on his behalf, a code comprised of fourteen brief articles, all of which was centered around keeping the peace, carrying out justice, and governing the behavior of the various classes in Japan. Napoleon issued his civil code (also not written by himself), now known as the Napoleonic Code, in 1804. While not as brief as the Toyotomi regime’s code, it was written in the vernacular to make it more accessible to the average person.

Both were patrons of the arts; in Hideyoshi’s case, of Noh theater (which he became so passionate about he eventually even performed in plays in front of his subordinates), tea ceremonies, and painting; Napoleon also patronized painters, established art museums and, while not up to becoming a performer in his own right like Hideyoshi, he did attend the opera regularly.  

Both Hideyoshi and Napoleon struggled to produce an heir. Hideyoshi’s only son, Tsurumatsu, died at the age of 2 in 1591. Hideyoshi named his nephew Hidetsugu his heir in the meantime, but hoped to have another son. Neither his wife nor his considerable number of concubines were able to give him a child, leading historians to speculate that Hideyoshi may have been sterile by this point, possible as the result of a sexually transmitted disease. In 1592 his concubine Yodo-dono, also known as Chacha, gave birth to a son, Hideyori, who would become Hideyoshi’s only heir (the unfortunate nephew, Hidetsugu, was soon charged with treason and forced to commit seppuku not long after Hideyori’s birth). Hideyoshi’s inability to create an heir with so many other women led to rumors spreading, even before he died, that Hideyori was not really his child. Napoleon also struggled to produce an heir for years after crowning himself Emperor, but, as he demonstrated no problem creating sons with his mistresses, the problem was attributed to his wife’s infertility. He divorced Josephine, married a much younger princess, and soon enough had an heir of his own.

When Hideyoshi died in 1598, his heir was only five years old; when Napoleon fell from power in 1815, his heir was four years old. Both Hideyoshi’s heir and Napoleon’s heir died at the age of 21.

[joachimnapoleon]

Here is the painted sketch of lefebvre. Ill keep adding my instagram watermark from now on as ive seen some of my art cropped and reposted on pinterest again without credit 😅

[joachimnapoleon]

While I was reading Mary Elizabeth Berry’s biography of Hideyoshi I couldn’t help but notice so many parallels/similarities between Hideyoshi and Napoleon. One of these days I’ll get around to making a (long) post on this subject, even though I doubt anybody will read it. 😅

[joachimnapoleon]

First snow at the Palace of Versailles (nov. 2024)

[joachimnapoleon]

Eugène's correspondence

Letters or excerpts from letters

To Louis Apffel, August 1793 (?, recipient is a former school mate from college at Strasbourg)

To Hortense, October and November 1794 (during Eugène's time serving as an ordlerly to Lazare Hoche)

To Hortense, 2 June 1798 (snippet from the "L'Orient", on the way to Malta)

To Hortense, 21 May 1800 about an adventure in the mountains

To Hortense, 7 June 1800 (snippet, about Duroc almost drowning)

To Hortense, 22 June 1800 (snippet, about Caroline not writing to Murat)

To Bessières, 8 February 1805

To Hortense, February and April 1805

To Hortense, 23 March 1805 (snippet, after becoming archi-chancellier d'état)

To Hortense, 7 May 1805 (snippet)

To Hortense, 1 June 1805 (about his nomination as viceroy)

To Bessières, 18 June 1805 (snippet)

To Napoleon, 13 July 1805

To Napoleon, 9 Auguste 1805 (second post in the reblog, related to Eugène's relations with Lagarde and Fanny du Villars)

To Hortense and Bessières, August 1805 (snippets)

To Bessières, 8 October 1805 (snippet)

To Hortense, 11 January 1806 (first impression of his bride)

To Murat, 6 April 1806 (congratulations on becoming a grand-duke)

To Étienne Méjean, 20 December 1808 (he's no fan of David)

To Napoleon, 14 July 1809 (short snippet within correspondence relating to the battle of Raab)

To Auguste, 28 July 1809 (snippet)

To general Paul Grénier, 26 Mars 1810 (link only, good-bye letter after Grénier was transferred to the army of Naples)

To Lavalette, 10 October 1810

To Auguste, 28 December 1812

To Auguste and Napoleon, 17 January 1813 (after Murat had left the army)

Snippets from Eugène's letters (February 1813)

To Napoleon, May to July 1813 (information on Junot's deteriorating sanity)

To Auguste (14 January 1814) (reblog from archduchessofnowhere)

To Auguste (15 and 16 October 1814, reblog from hoppityhopster23)

Snippet from a letter to Auguste, 22 October 1814 (reblog from hoppityhopster23)

[joachimnapoleon]

From a letter Eugène de Beauharnais wrote to his sister on 3 Messidor an VIII (22 June 1800), a couple of days after the battle of Marengo. He's on his way home, like the rest of the French troops, and tells his sister that Murat feels depressed.

[Transcription and translation to the best of my abilities.]

Murat est bien triste, il n'a pas reçu une lettre de sa femme depuis qu'elle l'a quitté. C'est affreux à Caroline si elle est dans son tort. Je le console du mieux que je peux mais c'est une entreprise un peu difficile.

Murat is very sad, he hasn't received a single letter from his wife since she left him. It's terrible for Caroline if she's in the wrong. I'm consoling him as best as I can, but it's a rather difficult business.

Considering that Hortense and Caroline were close friends and Hortense surely would tell her, I assume Eugène probably wrote this in order to get the message to Caroline and to warn her about Murat's state of mind. I also assume that this was merely a case of delayed mail during wartimes, and of Murat being overly emotional as was often the case.

[joachimnapoleon]

Summary:

Tora attends a Noh performance, causing him to reflect on his past relationships with both Kazu and the Taiko. Later that evening, he discovers that one of his least trustworthy vassals has befriended Kazu.

[joachimnapoleon]

GET A DISCOUNT ON STICKERS UNTIL DECEMBER 13TH!!!

THESE ARE GOOD HIGH QUALITY STICKERS.

I have had them out in the wild for so long and they don't fade and they resist getting wet

[joachimnapoleon]

I know there’s a lot of debate whether or not Charlotte Chappuis was really an illegitimate daughter of Napoleon, and tbh, I have no dog in this fight

I will say this though

I think the best “she’s totally his daughter” evidence is her own portrait which uh

She does have a bit of a resemblance to Napoleon ngl

[joachimnapoleon]

Notre-Dame’s Bells Ring

The bells of Notre Dame in Paris rang this morning for the first time since the fire in 2019.

In 2019, the 850-year-old building was engulfed by a devastating blaze, which burned for several hours.

[joachimnapoleon]

Rocamadour, France (by Simon Kessler)