Description:

Bonaparte Napoleon


Napoleon Bonaparte LS Outlining a Grueling Marching Schedule

 

1p LS in French inscribed in a clerical hand and signed by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) as "Napol" at bottom. Written at Finckenstein Palace on May 15, 1807. The cream paper is in very good to near fine condition, with expected light paper folds. There are a few isolated areas of minor foxing, including one affecting the "Na" portion of Napoleon's signature (mentioned just for accuracy.) The sheet measures 7.25" x 8.875". From the Marc-Arthur Kohn sale, "The Empire in Paris," December 2, 2013 (Paris, France), part of Lot 40.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte--emperor, military commander, and expert administrator--addressed this letter to his Minister of War, Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke (1765-1818), in mid-May 1807. It dates from the waning months of the War of the 4th Coalition (October 1806-July 1807), when Napoleon's forces were inexorably marching east conquering modern day Poland. Napoleon won the war after forcing the surrender of Polish strongholds Szczecin in October 1806, Gdansk in May 1807, and Kolobrzeg in July 1807.

 

Napoleon personally commanded his Grande Armee, comprised of 1,000,000 soldiers at its greatest extent, while invading and incorporating European territories into his ever-expanding empire. In this Polish campaign, Napoleon's French forces joined German, Italian, and Polish troops and faced off against the coalition forces Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and Sweden. Napoleon's memorandum to General Clarke illustrates both his direct style of leadership and his mastery of logistics.

 

Translation from the French; page breaks have been added for improved legibility.

 

“Monsieur General Clarke, the marine regiment of the guard leave the 19th from Magdeburg, and will be in Berlin the 23rd. Send orders to have them arrive in Berlin the 21st, and have them take up post at Brandenburg. Have them leave Berlin the 22nd after having reviewed them, and have them travel in wagons, so that they will arrive in eight days’ time at Bydgoszcz, from where they will be directed in a straight line to Finckenstein [Palace, passing the Vistula River to Bydgoszcz, without going to Torun. In this way, they will be at Bydgoszcz May 30th. --

 

The battalion of sailors of the guard will be at Magdeburg the 29th. Make them take up post in that place and direct it onto Gdansk by way of Szczecin, so that they will be in Gdansk by June 10th. Order the same so that they can take up the post at Kassel, if possible, by the 20th. By taking up the post at Kassel, the will find themselves at Gdansk during the first days of June. On this, I pray that God keeps you in his holy care. At Finckenstein May 15, 1807. Napol.”

 

As this letter shows, Napoleon was intimately involved in the minutest details of his military campaigns, particularly scheduling and troop movements. There was certainly a lot to keep track of. Napoleon assigned different troops to different places, anticipated their provisioning (food, drink, clothing, arms, ammunition, transport), and forecasted travel time down to the exact day. For example, here, Napoleon allotted eight days (May 22-May 30, 1807) for soldiers of the marine regiment to travel approximately 200 miles between Berlin, Germany and Bydgoszcz, Poland via wagons.

 

Napoleon was in part able to accomplish all he did by relying on General Clarke, who handled military matters ranging from inspection and provisioning, to conscription and internal discipline. General Clarke was recognized for his great service when he was granted the honorary title of Duc of Feltre in August 1809.

 

Napoleon resided at Finckenstein Palace, located in modern day northeastern Poland, during the latter half of the Polish Campaign, between April-June 1807. The Georgian chateau provided Napoleon with close access to his troops in western and northern Poland. It was also the site of the Treaty of Finckenstein (signed by Napoleon and Persian envoy Mirza Mohammed Reza-Qazvini in April 1807), as well as the trysting place of Napoleon and his Polish mistress Maria Walewska (1786-1817).

 


WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!
Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS. ALSO, ALL PACKAGES SHIPPED FROM OUR OFFICES REQUIRE A DIRECT SIGNATURE UPON DELIVERY.*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000