[NAPOLEON I (1769-1821)]

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THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

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[NAPOLEON I (1769-1821)]
Autograph letter in French, signed 'Bonthillier' as 'Le Prefet du Dept du Var', from Fejus, 3 March 1815, 2pp, folio, to Comte Roger de Damar, Commander of the 19th Military Division in Lyon, a report advising him of the movements of Napoleon and his troops since his arrival from Elba two days earlier. He informs him that Napoleon arrived with just 100 men and four or six canon but with a lot of money and he has already paid highly for a large quantity of horses. He thinks he will proceed to Grenoble and then on to Lyon, warning him that he may have up to 12,000 men by then. He advised him that Bonaparte was sleeping at Digne that evening with his troops and that Birouague was also with him (loss to top right corner not affecting text, thumb marks to edges).

Provenance

Frederic Masson collection.

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Lot Essay

Bonthillier's information, gathered just two days after Napoleon arrived in France, proved to be correct and his fears justified. Napoleon returned from his exile in Elba on 1 March 1815, landing at Cannes with a small detachment of guard. As he crossed the Alps, the republican peasants rallied round and near Grenoble he won over the soldiers sent to arrest him. By 20 March he was in Paris, marking the '100 Days' of his final return to power.

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