#tamega

[josefavomjaaga]

Petiet about the "roi Nicolas" affair

Ha! I'm on a roll today! 😁 Here’s another testimony from the memoirs of one of Soult's aides-de-camp, Auguste Petiet. Petiet often enough was at odds with his marshal over financial matters, so his report is particularly interesting. He did, however, not witness the beginning directly, as he had been sent away from Oprto to support general Delaborde with taking and occupying Amarante, in order to hopefully reopen communications with the French forces in Spain and to find any sign of marshal Victor’s corps. Taking Amarante and the bridge across the river Tamega proved to be a hard task in itself and took its toll on both the troops and their leaders. As Petiet notes about Delaborde:

The general's character suffered because of the continual obstacles he could not overcome. In one of the unsuccessful attacks, a grenadier was killed between General Delaborde and myself and covered us with his blood. The general said gloomily: "How happy this man is, I would like to be in his place!" On 24 April, General Delaborde received a letter from the Marshal instructing him to send me back to him with the journal of his operations. I was all the more anxious to get back to headquarters as I had been strangely surprised by some of General Delaborde's words. He claimed that Marshal Soult was going to usurp the throne of Portugal and that he had not even been afraid to announce this in a proclamation signed by General Ricard. The delegations from the provinces occupied by the French army had come, he added, to pay their respects to King Jean de Dieu.

And at this point Petiet added a footnote in his memoirs, stating that this was Soult’s first name. Apparently he also had already tired of the whole "Nicolas" business. Or he was astonished himself about that weird first name.

I will indicate here the various circumstances which gave rise to such a rumour. Most of the expeditionary army was made up of troops who, having already fought an unfortunate campaign in Portugal, had reluctantly returned to a country which they considered to be cursed. The generals bitterly criticised all the dispositions of the Duke of Dalmatia and seemed delighted to see him forced to stop his invasion plan. The Marshal, who was still counting on the arrival of the auxiliary troops that his instructions promised him, had established order and discipline throughout the country under the jurisdiction of the French troops. Property, religion and industry were protected.

I’m not sure if Petiet does this on purpose but immediately adding the fact that private property, churches and rich warehouses were under protection, after listing the grievances Soult's subordinate officers had against him, almost makes it look as if that, too, had been something they were not happy with.

In this instance, the Portuguese, wishing to shake off the yoke of England, came to the Duke of Dalmatia with deputations from the towns and villages, asking him to ask Napoleon for a monarch of his choice to govern them. But could he be reproached for thinking that Napoleon, who had placed Murat and Bernadotte on their thrones, would set his sights on him to reign in Portugal?

And here Petiet clearly is writing in hindsight, with a messed-up timeline. Murat was already in Naples, that’s true, but Bernadotte was still very much under Napoleon’s command in early 1809 and about to clash with him during the battle of Wagram. He also fails to add that both these marshals had family relations to Napoleon.

If so, would he have taken up arms against his brothers, along with the two Frenchmen I have just named? Was his devotion to the Emperor not absolute?

I suspect what Petiet actually wants to write is: You know, Naps, maybe you should have made Soult a king. That one would at least not have declared war on you like the other two.

When the head of one of the Portuguese delegations knelt before him and exclaimed: "I kiss the hand of my king", the Marshal was undoubtedly wrong not to state vigorously that it was for Napoleon alone to make such a choice and that he did not aspire to rise to this supreme rank. He was undoubtedly wrong to appoint, on his own authority, a high vicar bishop of Braga, to attach him to himself as chaplain and to allow him, when he accompanied him, to throw money at the people, who responded to these gifts with cries of "Viva el rey!" He undoubtedly made the mistake of not personally drafting the proclamation of his chief of staff, which contained the clumsy phrase: "The Marshal wishes the army not to assume that this request from the Portuguese is the result of any personal ambition on his part."

At this point Nicole Gotteri, who edited Petiet’s memoirs, in a footnote again explicitly points at Junot’s behaviour in Lisbon the year before, and even to Davout’s in Poland. I do not know if there really was similar behaviour from those two; Gotteri is clearly not unbiased herself when it comes to Soult 😊. And now, having listed up all evidence against his marshal, Petiet continues:

But it is not true that he exceeded the limits of his duties as Governor of Portugal. It is not true that he usurped the throne. It is not true that he announced his alleged usurpation in a circular. And yet, a denunciation thus conceived was sent to the Emperor signed by Generals Loison and Delaborde and some others whom the Duke of Dalmatia had severely reprimanded, either for their negligence in service or for their impertinence.

I can just see Petiet jumping up in an imaginary court room as he wrote this, vehemently defending his marshal. It is not true! It is not true! They’re all liars! How dare they!

The soldiers were generally tired of war. This campaign was made all the more painful by the fact that, along with the enemy army and the population, the weather and hardships of all kinds were also working against them. Add to these obstacles the grief of being without communication with the other French troops, the certainty of receiving no promotion and, in the future, a death unknown to one's family and to France. Few souls were strong enough to brace themselves against such a fate. Murmurs broke out and echoed all the way to the enemy camp.

Followed by the story of Argenton’s secret negotiations with Wellington (whom Petiet pointedly, and for this period of time I believe correctly, names only Wellesley). Which reminds me that I once came across Wellington’s reports about these negotiations. Those might also be interesting in this context.

[ao-fc]

Guilherme Tamega, Pipeline 1995.

[rasmasandra]

Traveling in Europe Portugal

Amarante on the Tamega River A city in the European country of Portugal In southern Europe, in the country of Portugal, on the banks of the Tamega River, you’ll find the charming small town of Amarante. You can cross the Tamega River using the San Goncalo Bridge built in 1790. The granite Ponte de Sao Goncalo Bridge is a symbol of the town’s heroic defense against the French. This event is…

[korrektheiten]

Die ARD blamiert sich wieder mal: Ein Swimmingpool zur Großstadt-Versorgung

Tichy:»Die Tagesschau, das ARD-Nachrichten-Flaggschiff, blamiert sich in immer kürzeren Abständen. Nach der Mär über einen stromerzeugenden Fernseher, erfunden in Afrika, tausende Fukushima-Tote und „pflanzenförmigen Sprengstoff“ berichtete Franka Welz aus dem ARD-Studio Madrid über das Tamega-Pumpspeicherwerk in Portugal. Oder besser: sie versuchte es. In der ersten Version hieß es, das Oberbecken des Pumpspeicherwerks enthalte 40 Kubikmeter Wasser Der Beitrag Die ARD blamiert sich wieder mal: Ein Swimmingpool zur Großstadt-Versorgung erschien zuerst auf Tichys Einblick. http://dlvr.it/Sk23By «

[lamartinejsdias]

Pôr-do-Sol⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #sunset #sun #colour #color #landscape #chaves #poldras #tamegariver #river #tamega (em Chaves, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSJmkgss8-H/?utm_medium=tumblr

[fracula]

[davidgouveia]

Senhora da Graça . . . . . #senhoradagraça #santuario #igreja #instaphoto #adoroviajar #blogdeviagens #iphone #portugal #tamega (at Senhora da Graça - Monte Farinha) https://www.instagram.com/p/COINGnnFCgT/?igshid=16hid5wl6edq9

[leoferreira-nt]

Amarante 🏞️ #amarante #tamega #porto #portugal #tbt (em Amarante, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9um4mOl5kL/?igshid=y9z020zpfupq

[a-saiada-carolina]

#lazysunday #amarante #boat #river #tamega (em Amarante, Portugal)

[stumbleimg]

First moments of the day. Tamega River Verín, Galiza - Spain. [OC] [3648 x 2736]

[rasmasandra]

Amarante on the Tamega River

In southern Europe, in the country of Portugal, on the banks of the Tamega River, you’ll find the charming small town of Amarante. You can cross the Tamega River using the San Goncalo Bridge built in 1790. The granite Ponte de Sao Goncalo Bridge is a symbol of the town’s heroic defense against the French. This event is noted on a plaque, found at the southeastern end of the bridge. The bridge is…

[couplesmap]

First moments of the day. Tamega River Verín, Galiza - Spain. [OC] [3648 x 2736]

[lamartinejsdias]

Pôr-do-Sol -Chaves⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #sunset #landscape #view #city #chaves #town #cityscape #roman #bridge #river #tamega (em Município de Chaves) https://www.instagram.com/p/COuvDAxjn79/?igshid=1a0py7756d28a

[fracula]

[davidgouveia]

Entre-os-Rios . . . #porto #douro #tamega #pontedepedra #bridge #naturephotography #nature_lovers #nature #natureza #adoroviajar #traveltheworld #travelblog #travel #lovemycountry #lovetotravel #riodouro #instatravel #instaphoto #instagood #instalike #portugal #picoftheday #iphone #iphonex #river (em Restaurante Ponte de Pedra) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1LzZlWFi4m/?igshid=1w9hp1njp0v08