NAPOLEON I celebrates his return to power after exile from the Island of Elba.

NAPOLEON I (1769.1821)

Autograph letter signed NP to Fortunée Hamelin.

A ½ page small in-8°.

Fontainebleau. March 20, 1815.

“My finest campaign will not have cost the French a drop of blood. »

Precious letter from the Emperor, of the greatest historical interest, celebrating his return to power after his first exile from the Island of Elba.

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“ Madame, You tell me that the Count of Lille [Louis XVIII] has left Paris and I am announcing to you that I will be at the Tuileries this evening. My finest campaign will not have cost the French a drop of blood. Fontainebleau on March 20, 1815. NP. »

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On March 20, 1815, at ten o'clock, the Emperor, returning from his exile on the Island of Elba, arrived at Fontainebleau. He moved to the castle and learned of the flight of Louis XVIII from three different sources: – by a letter from Mr. de Lavalette; – by a letter from Ms. Hamelin (to whom this letter is a response); – and by Mr. de Ségur.

Madame Hamelin, in fact, upset to learn that Lavalette had sent a courier to Fontainebleau to inform Napoleon that the way to Paris was clear, and wanting to get ahead of him, sent another courier who outpaced Lavalette's.

The Emperor, sensitive to this eagerness of a devoted and influential woman, immediately replied to her with the note that we present here. This brief, moving letter, the first written upon his arrival at Fontainebleau, sweeps away with one line the reproach so often made to the Emperor for victories paid too dearly: My most beautiful campaign will not have cost a drop of blood to the French.

That same day, at 9 p.m., the Emperor triumphantly entered the courtyard of the Tuileries, to the wild cries of Long Live the Emperor , thus marking the beginning of the period known as the Hundred Days . “ The explosion was irresistible. I believed I was witnessing the resurrection of Christ ” testified Baron Thiébault.

Fortunée Hamelin (1776.1851), friend of Joséphine de Beauharnais and Creole like her, was a fervent and faithful supporter of the Emperor who, appreciating her, entrusted her with numerous secret missions. As soon as the Gulf Juan landing, Fortunée Hamelin had posters posted on the walls of Paris bearing the proclamations addressed by the Emperor to his army and to the French people: “ French people, in my exile, I have heard your complaints and your wishes : you demanded this government of your choice which alone is legitimate. You blamed my long sleep; you reproached me for sacrificing the great interests of the country for my rest. I have crossed the seas in the midst of perils of all kinds; I am coming among you to regain my rights which are yours. »

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Origin :

Drouot rive Gauche sale, March 21 and 23, 1977 (represented on the cover of the catalog) / Private collection.

Bibliography:

Napoleon Bonaparte, General Correspondence . Éditions Fayard, 2018.

Napoleon – André Castelot, Ed. Perrin, 2019, pp 554,555.

Memoirs of Fouché and Fleury de Chaboulon , Volume I.

A Wonderful One. Madame Hamelin – Alfred Marquiset. Ed. H. Champion. 1909.

Autographs – A. Nicolas. Maisonneuve & Larose, 1988, page 251.

Napoleon, autographs, manuscripts, signatures. Albert Ciana.