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Bonaparte Napoleon



Napoleon Bonaparte Signed Letter Discussing Fortifications of Gdansk to Prepare for Upcoming Russian Invasion

 

3pp LS in French inscribed in a clerical hand and signed by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) as "Np" at top of third page. Also including one handwritten correction in the text where Napoleon changed the word "will cash" to "will issue." Written in St. Cloud, France on July 26, 1811. The cream bifold paper has gilt edges, each sheet measuring 7.25" x 9". In near fine condition, with expected light paper folds. A few isolated areas of minor foxing and ink spots mentioned just for accuracy. From the Marc-Arthur Kohn sale, "The Empire in Paris," December 2, 2013 (Paris, France), part of Lot 129.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte--emperor, military commander, and imperial administrator--addressed this letter to his Minister of Public Treasury, Nicolas Francois, Count Mollien (1758-1850), in the summer of 1811.

 

Translation from the French; page breaks have been added for greater legibility. Napoleon's handwritten edit has been highlighted in bold.

 

“Monsieur Count Mollien, I am responding to your letter of the 25th. –

 

The 644000 francs spent on construction work of the fortifications at Gdansk should be brought to 2 million and paid for with income generated from city customs, + for that, customs must yield something. You say in your report that customs have only generated 172000 francs; I can’t conceive of this, because at the beginning of the year, I thought there had been 500000 in this account.

 

Nevertheless, it is true that the war minister will be obliged pay for a part of the fortification work, but the most important thing is that work continues and that the creditors don’t receive any irregular payments. I will grant a distribution of 500000 francs in August that the war minister will issue + that you will authorize paying out.

 

If there is an insufficiency of customs funds, borrow this sum from the reserve account. Make sure that money does not run out + that everything is paid for. The 616000 francs spent on the Oder plan must be reimbursed out of funds of one million earmarked for the provisioning of this place. The 775000 francs spent on Gdansk should go to the account of the minister of the administration of war + be brought to one million. There will be 384000 francs left in the special income account, and one million from the Oder plan, and this will perhaps be convenient to send to Gdansk. By way of this, I will find everything regularized.

 

On this, I pray that God keeps you in his holy care. At S. Cloud July 26, 1811.

 

Np.”

 

Napoleon had conquered much of modern day Poland during the War of the 4th Coalition (October 1806-July 1807), when his mixed French, Italian, and Polish forces had faced off against coalition forces Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and Sweden. Gdansk fell into French hands after a 2-month-long siege resulting in over 10,000 casualties. This, along with the surrender of Polish strongholds Szczecin in October 1806 and Kolobrzeg in July 1807, assured Napoleon's territorial control.

 

Four years later, Gdansk was again of vital strategic importance, but this time in the context of laying the groundwork for a Russian invasion. Napoleon was already planning his great march to Moscow, projected for June 1812. It was thus essential that Gdansk stay under French control, because otherwise it would leave Napoleon's back exposed as he moved east. In consequence, Napoleon earmarked significant funds to reinforce the city's existing medieval and early modern fortifications.

 

This letter illustrates that, in addition to having a solid grasp of military campaigning and imperial administration, Napoleon also had shrewd understanding of finance. Military campaigns were expensive. How appropriate, then, that Gdansk's fortification expenses were paid for by its customs?  It meant for very tidy and self-contained book-keeping.

The "war minister" referred to in this letter was Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke (1765-1818), who served as Napoleon's Minister of War between August 1807-November 1813. In this capacity, General Clarke 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. Jean-Girard Lacuee, Count de Cessac (1752-1841) served as Napoleon's "minister of the administration of war" between January 1810-November 1813.

 

It is unclear exactly what Napoleon meant by the "Oder plan," but if almost certainly referred to the 522-mile-long Oder River. The second largest river in Poland, the Oder flows west to east between the border of modern day Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Napoleon needed its waterways for navigation, transport, and communication.

 

Nicolas Francois, Count Mollien was an astute financier who had been active since before the French Revolution and had observed firsthand wartime financial practices in England. He served as Napoleon's Minister of the Public Treasury between January 1806-April 1814. Although Napoleon greatly respected Count Mollien's acumen, he sometimes reproached him for his abstract approach.

 



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