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A long-awaited biography

Heeeey I’m back :)

I want to share this book to you all (I bought two, one for my friend). We know that the last biography of Duroc came out in 1913, and it's already been 109 years ago. 

I highly recommend this new biography which came out this month. With rich documents and research, finally we are able to recognize a character so close to Napoléon.

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Happy Birthday Soult 🥰🎉

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(Healey, Jean-de-dieu Soult, Wellington Collection, Apsley House)

For Soult’s birthday, why don’t we start at the end? Here’s another description of aged Soult, by an American visitor to Paris:

From Joel Tyler Headley, »Napoleon and His Marshals«, 1846, Chapter X

No American has visited the Chamber of Peers within the last few years without being struck with the appearance of Marshal Soult. The old warrior, with his grave and severe look, comes limping into the hall, almost the sole representative of that band of heroes to whom Napoleon committed his empire, and whose names are indissolubly linked with his through all coming times. He is now about seventy-seven years of age, though erect as a soldier. His head is bald on the top, and the thin hair that remains is whitened by the frosts of age. He is, perhaps, a little over the middle height, rather square built, and evidently once possessed great muscular power. His eye is dark, and now and then exhibits something of its ancient fire, while his brown visage looks as if he had just returned from a long campaign, rather than lived at his ease in Paris. He is extremely bow-legged, which is evidently increased by the wound that makes him limp, and though he wears ample pantaloons to conceal the effect, nothing but petticoats can ever prevent the lower extremities of the marshal from presenting the appearance of a paranthesis. He received his wound in storming Monte Creto, at the time when Masséna was besieged in Genoa. His voice is rather guttural, and its tone severe, as if belonging to a man who had passed his life in a camp.

As if he had passed his life in a camp indeed. In 1846, Soult was still the main pillar holding up Louis Philippe’s July monarchy. Since 1830 he had been at odds with the king several times, he was at odds with most of his colleagues, he felt too old for the stress of everyday politics, his health was giving in and for a decade he had only agreed to remain in office if he was allowed to spend several months per year at Soultberg in his home town Saint-Amans. And yet he somehow still was there, because apparently he was the only one, by his sheer will power, to keep that ramshackle monarchy with its changing ministries running.

Soult finally left office in 1847.

The Revolution of 1848 kicked Louis Philippe out the next year.

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“ In 1813, during the Peninsular War, the painting was looted by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult and taken to France. Soult left behind the painting’s frame which remains in the hospital to this day. The painting remained in Soult’s possession until his death in 1851; the painting’s alternative name is derived from his”

Note: The size of the painting and placement is incorrect, but I drew it here for the dramatic effect

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Bon anniversaire cher Monsieur le Maréchal ! :)

Birthday March 29

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HI DO YOU WRITE HEADCANONS??

COUCOU, ÉCRIVEZ-VOUS DES HEADCANONS ? ?

Hello, thank you for your question. :)

Yes I DO but I’ve never tried to write headcanons in English/French.

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Duroc ❤

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Ohhhh thank you ! :) 

Thanks for the coffee  @raquelnk​ ❤❤ 

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Happy birthday to Ney!

Bon anniversaire 🎉🎉

the marshals’ gifts to Ney on his birthday ^^ 

I thought i should share these with all of you 🙈❤

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Portrait of Madame Bessières, Wife of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières by Robert Lefèvre, c. 1814.

Photos by me

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“Friendship and esteem”

Davout’s relationship with the trilogy of division commanders who were the most direct instruments of his glory was somewhat mixed. Though Friant was married to his wife’s sister, and Morand was the most capable commander, it was Gudin for whom the Marshal held the greatest affection. A series of events in August 1809 illustrated not only his deep attachment to Gudin, but also his ability to mistreat a high-ranking officer and to overcome his pride to right the injustice. General Gudin’s wounds, received on the field of battle at Wagram, forced him temporarily to relinquish his command of the 3rd Division of the III Corps. Napoleon therefore sent General Puthod, an able commander, to take his place. The news of Gudin’s replacement reached the Marshal at Brünn on Bastille Day while he was attending mass. As he left the church to return to his quarters he came upon Puthod, who had just arrived. The Marshal stamped up to the elegantly dressed General, who was wearing all of his decorations in honor of the day, and without so much as a cordial greeting began to insult him: “ So you are the one, monsieur,” he began, “who pretends to replace General Gudin and do you really think you are capable! Before I would remove this heroic general from command of the brave division which he had led at least twenty times to victory, I will break my marshal’s baton.” During the course of the day Davout came to realize that Puthod had not merited the chastisement he had given him; that, in fact, the General had not even known at the time that he was to replace Gudin. Without hesitation the Marshal sent one of his aides-de-camp to Puthod to implore him to attend the reception which he was giving that night for the officers of his command. There, before the entire gathering, he took the unjustly offended General’s hand and asked to be forgiven for an outburst stimulated by his affection for Gudin. Puthod was so impressed by this public act of repentance that he remained attached to Davout from that time forward.

The death of Gudin during the Russian campaign of 1812 was a grievous loss to Davout, and one from which he did not so readily recover. While convalescing in Moscow from wounds he had himself received during the battle of Borodino (September 8), he wrote to his wife: “Assure her [Madame Gudin] that I will be true to the promises which I have made to the General during his last moments, and that I will have the same interest for their children as for our own. Rarely in my life have I experienced such painful sentiments as these caused to me by the death of Gudin… I will remain faithful to the friendship and esteem which I had for him.”

John G. Gallaher - The Iron Marshal, a Biography of Louis Nicolas Davout

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Somehow, I always think that Bessières smells like orange blossom... :)

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Engraving of Marshal Soult from 1820, based on a painting by Jean-Sébastien Rouillard.

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random murat and ney! not much .... but i needed to sketch them because i am in so much pain:")

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Jean-Baptiste Delanne-Franceschi (French General, 1767-1810) 

“Franceschi was my best friend. He became one of the best general officers in the French army until, still young and full of future promise, he sadly passed away in Spain, which was one of the most bitter sorrows of my life.”

－Marshal Soult 

Source: fr.wikipedia.org

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I remember this movie called Linhas de Wellington (Lines of Wellington).

And yes, you will see a young André Masséna and an old Arthur Wellesley in this movie...

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Recently found Soult's death mask, it seems this mask is part of the collections of Musée de l’Armée.

source : Réunion des Musées Nationaux