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Recent News Items
of Napoleonic Interest

Napoleonic Artist Eugene Leliepvre
celebrates his 100th Birthday


Parade on the Champ de Mars by Eugene Leliepvre

 The Napoloeonic Historical Society would like to congratulate Eugene Leliepvre on the occasion of his 100th birthday, which he is celebrating this year.  He is working a bit more slowly these days, but he is still actively painting and drawing.  You can visit the website celebrating his centenary, or even send him your personal best wishes by e-mail.  Don't hesitate to do so -- he reads English, and it would mean a lot for him to hear from his admirers all over the world!


Napoleonic Exhibition in New Orleans
April 6 - August 3, 2008


Napoleon's hat from the Exhibition

 "Treasures of Napoleon" will open April 6 at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint at 400 Esplanade Ave. in New Orleans

Displays will include the earliest known letter in his handwriting, a ceremonial sword from his coronation ceremony in 1804, his camp bed from one of his battles, his personal map of the French empire at its zenith, and a monogrammed shirt and long johns he wore shortly before his death in exile in 1821 -- the death that ended a purported plot to kidnap him and bring him to New Orleans.

The show, which began a U.S. tour in 2005 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington and has been seen by 125,000 people, will be on view here through Aug. 3. It is presented by the our own NHS member and Director, Russell Etling.

The exhibit comprises items assembled by collector and Napoleon authority Pierre-Jean Chalencon, including some that have never before been seen by the general public.

Besides personal belongings of Napoleon, the show features depictions of him by some of the greatest artists of his time. Designed to let visitors see beyond the legend and gain an understanding of Napoleon as a man, it offers user-friendly interpretive text and more than 250 objects, paintings, prints and documents, as well as furniture from imperial palaces.

There are paintings, sketches and sculptures by artists such as Jacques-Louis David, Antoine-Jean Gros, Antonio Canova, Jean-Antoine Houdon and many others, plus silver, porcelain, textiles, furniture and jewelry created during Napoleon's reign, including a 12-foot-high bed belonging to Napoleon's brother Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia.

The Louisiana Museum Foundation will hold a preview party for the Napoleon show the evening of April 5. Tickets are $250, or $200 for foundation members.

To visit the Exhibition website, click here.

Chair from Napoleon's office at the Tuileries

The show will open to the public the next day. It will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission will be $6 for adults and $5 for students, senior citizens and active military personnel, with museum members and children younger than 12 admitted free.

images © Photo12.com - Pierre-Jean Chalencon


Napoleon's St. Helena Wine
Has Renaissance in Cape Town Vineyards

The sweet wine of Constantia helped Napoleon ease the misery of exile and was recommended by Jane Austen for a broken heart. Now, two CapeTown estates have revived the beverage that made South Africa the toast of Europe.

Klein Constantia was first to bring back Vin de Constance, using vines from the three-century-old plantings on the slopes behind Cape Town'ssignature Table Mountain. Neighbor Groot Constantia followed in recent years, producing its own version of the honeyed wine.

Vin de Constance is a late-harvested wine made from white Muscat de Frontignac grapes, golden in color, with a bouquet of stone fruits and a smooth finish. "It's a delightful and unusual wine for relatively early drinking that serves as a reminder of historic fashion," said London-based wine critic Jancis Robinson.

The South African wine also compares price-wise to its French and German rivals, costing about 300 rand ($43) at the cellar door for a 500 milliliter hand-blown, French glass bottle.

The original Constantia farm was granted in 1685 to Van der Stel, the first governor of the Dutch colony in the Cape. Constantia's wines reached the peak of their fame in the 18th and 19th centuries before the phylloxera beetle devastated the plantings in the 1880s.

Napoleon Bonaparte had as much as 1,126 liters (297 gallons) of Constantia wine shipped in wooden casks each year to Longwood House, his home in exile on St. Helena from 1815 until his death in 1821, according to Groot Constantia. The Count de las Cases reported that, on his deathbed, Napoleon refused everything offered to him but a glass of Constantia wine.

A rare bottle of 1821 Grand Constance sold for 2,990 pounds ($5,918) at a Sotheby's auction a year ago in London. The wine was also a favorite among the European and Russian royal households of the time, Sotheby's said. Jane Austen wrote in "Sense and Sensibility" of its "healing powers on a disappointed heart."

-- from an article by Clyde Russell for the Bloomberg News


Sixth International Napoleonic Congress
Napoleon’s Mediterranean and Island Adventures
Ajaccio, Corsica, France    July 7–11, 2008

The International Napoleonic Society will hold its sixth International Napoleonic Congress in the beautiful city of Ajaccio, capital of Corsica and birthplace of Napoleon. Ajaccio is full of important Napoleonic historical sites. The Congress is held with the cooperation and support of the city of Ajaccio, and will be held in the Palais des Congrès, located by the harbor.

Special features of this Congress include:
A visit to the island of Elba, including a round trip flight and a bi-lingual bus tour of Napoleonic sites and other areas of interest. The INS has underwritten this trip to Elba and there will be no cost to participants, but seating is very limited. Priority will be given to (1) those who submit paper topics and reserve hotels first and (2) those who are staying for all or almost all of the Congress.

The first-ever podcast of a Napoleonic Congress. The presentations will be converted to podcasts by Cameron Reilly of the podcastnetwork.com and included on a DVD (free to participants) that may include video and other material related to the Congress. Podcasting is the new way to reach thousands of people and we are excited to include this technology in our Congress.


Performance of original music on Napoleon’s Hundred Days by composer Sean Richarz of Seattle. Sean is composing a musical of this period and will be on hand to share some of his compositions with us. Those of you who attended the Seattle conference had an opportunity to hear some of his music.

The Congress is being organized by INS Executive Vice-President J. David Markham and retired French General Michel Franceschi. We encourage scholars to submit paper proposals that reflect the theme of the Congress or are the result of important new research. Previous International Napoleonic Congresses have been held in Italy, Israel, Georgia and France. They have attracted scholars and students from around the world. We encourage all people interested in this era to attend this Congress, whether or not they wish to give a paper.
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Please note that Ajaccio is a very popular destination in the summer, so it isvery important that those wishing to attend make their hotel reservations as soon as possible. Please see the hotel information on this site.

For further information, please contact:

J. David Markham
INS Executive Vice-President
1841 52nd Way SE
Olympia, WA 98501-8000
imperialglory@comcast.net
http://www.NapoleonicHistory.com
Phone: (360) 786-1805
Fax: (360) 236-1821


Sale of Napoleon's Sword at Auction

FONTAINEBLEAU, France — A gold-encrusted sword Napoleon wore into battle in Italy was sold on June 19th, 2007 for more than $6.4 million at an auction south of Paris, the auction house said.

The sword was owned by eight direct descendants of Napoleon, including Prince Victor Napoleon. Applause rang out in a packed auction hall across the street from one of Napoleon's imperial castles in Fontainebleau,a town southeast of Paris where the sword was sold.


The last of Napoleon's swords in private hands, it had been expected to fetch more than $1.6 million, the Osenat auction house, managing the sale, said. The buyer was later identified as another descendant of Jerome.

Strong enough for battle, the sword is uncommonly ornate, with geometric designs in gold covering the hilt and most of the blade. The intricately decorated blade is 32 inches in length and curves gently— based on an inspiration Napoleon drew from his Egyptian campaign, auctioneer Jean- Pierre Osenat said. The sword was carried by Napoleon — who was not yet Emperor — into the battle of Marengo in June 1800, where he launched a surprise attack to push the Austrian army fromItaly and seal France's victory.

"It's at the same time a weapon of war and a very beautiful work of art. It symbolizes more than anything else the power, the force and the incontestable strength of the Emperor Napoleon," Osenat said as he handled the sword. He wore white gloves to protect its steel and gold surfaces.

The sword was declared a national treasure in 1978, meaning that under French law it could be sold to a foreign buyer but had to remain in France for at least five months per year.


Restoration of the Mound at Waterloo



It has been reported that restoration work is in progress on the Lion Mound at Waterloo. A large pit has been dug near the base of the mound, the excavated earth from which is being used to replace earth eroded from the face of the mound over the years. When asked why battlefield earth is being used for this work, a local inhabitant replied, "it's probably cheaper." When asked what was going to happen to the pit, the same person responded, "Oh, they will fill it in." With what? "They will bring more earth in trucks." Amazing logic.


Napoleonic Mass Grave found in Lithuania

The remains of 2,000 men unearthed in a mass grave in Lithuania were members of Napoleon's army that invaded Russia 190 years ago.

When bulldozers accidentally uncovered the remains at a housing development last year, many thought they were political dissidents executed by secret police during Soviet rule, which ended in 1991. But Arunas Barkus, an anthropologist at the University of Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, and a dozen other researchers were able to determine the identity of the skeletons.

Deputy French Ambassador Olivier Poupard said the find was the "largest and most significant" of its kind. "We've been very moved by this discovery," he said. "Suddenly, history was more vivid. You could see it with your eyes... It's a history so much a part of the collective French memory," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Mr. Barkus and his team spent months charting and tagging the skeletons - then examining each individually to determine age, sex and possible cause of death. Coins with Napoleon's image and buttons of his Grand Army were also found at the site, making it clear the remnants were those of the ill-fated French force.

Several bones belonged to boys as young as 15, probably drummers used to signal commands to troops. Many of the skeletons were found curled up and undamaged, suggesting they were killed by cold, not cannonballs, bullets or bayonets. DNA tests are being done to test the theory that a lot of men died of typhus.

With the last remains removed, a road has been built over the site, but archaeologists will soon begin searching again, saying at least 10,000 other skeletons could be nearby.

Since Napoleon's soldiers came from all over his empire, there was never a question of returning the remains to France, said Mr. Poupard. Most of the remains await ceremonial burial in October, and a monument paid for by France will be unveiled later. "This is an occasion, especially with Lithuania on the verge of entering the European Union and the NATO alliance, to show reconciliation between former enemies that are now partners," Mr. Poupard said.

The Emperor Napoleon, who then controlled much of Europe, attacked Russia in June 1812. His 500,000-strong Grand Army, which marched into Lithuania bound for Moscow, was one of the largest invasion forces ever assembled.

>Six months later, what was left of it - some 40,000 men - stumbled back into Vilnius in retreat. Cold and desperate for food, some are said to have pillaged local medical schools to eat preserved human organs. In temperatures dropping to -30oC, dead French soldiers littered the streets within days. The number of corpses nearly equaled the city's population.

Reoccupying Russians spent three months cleaning up. They could not dig graves in the frozen ground so they tried burning bodies, but the smoke and stench were unbearable. So they threw them into a defensive trench dug earlier by the French themselves - the trench the bulldozers uncovered nearly two centuries later.

The emperor blamed the weather for decimating his army. Some historians say that was an attempt to excuse sloppy planning. But experts say the findings in Vilnius seem to back Napoleon's version.

The debacle is viewed as the beginning of Napoleon's downfall, which was sealed at Waterloo, Belgium, in 1815.
                                                                                                 (from the BBC)


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