Sold – Last Act of the Napoleonic Era: The Emperor Is Laid in His Eternal Resting Place, Les Invalid

Following the French defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, by coalition forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon was imprisoned and exiled on the island of St. Helena, a British territory in the south Atlantic Ocean some 1,250 miles west of Africa and some 4,500 miles from France.  He died there May 5, 1821. In a codicil to his will executed less than three weeks earlier, Napoleon expressed his desire to be buried “on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of this French people who loved me so much.”  The British governor decided, however, that Napoleon would be buried on St. Helena instead. There remained a nascent French movement to return the former leader and it was a not infrequent presence in parliamentary debates.

In 1840, the French government obtained British permission to return Napoleon’s remains to France.  French King Louis-Philippe approved an expedition to St. Helena and then Prime Minister Louis-Adolphe Thiers appointed Rohan Chabot, the attaché to the French ambassador to Britain, to supervise the exhumation of Napoleon’s body.  On July 7, 1840, the frigate Belle Poule left France.  The expedition reached St. Helena on October 8 and the body was exhumed on October 14. When the lid was finally removed from the innermost coffin, Napoleon’s body appeared, resting comfortably with his head on a cushion and his forearms and hands on his thighs. His chest bore the red ribbon of the Légion d’honneur, and his hat rested on his thighs.  Rohan Chabot and others wept at the sight.  The whole assembly consisted of five coffins and weighed some 2,600 pounds. 

By this time, a new ministry presided over by Nicolas Soult succeeded Thiers. Soult was not only the current Prime Minister but also had been a major general of the French army at Waterloo and was one of the few surviving marshals of Napoleon.  He would play a central role in the enormous and momentous procession that would lead to the Hotel des Invalides, an area consisting of several military museums and famous burial sites. The back of the car was made up of a trophy of flags, palms and laurels, with the names of Napoleon’s main victories.

The funeral was held in Paris on December 15, 1840. Victor Hugo evoked this day in his Les Rayons et les Ombres: “Glossy sky! Pure sun! Oh! It shines in history! Triumphal funeral, imperial torch! Let the people forever guard you in their memory.” Napoleon’s coffin rested briefly under the Arc de Triomphe, which was built on his orders  in 1806, but only completed in 1836, and was then taken over the Champs Elysees, across the Seine, to the Dome des Invalides. 36 sailors from La Belle-Poule carried the coffin through the park in front of the church, to the entrance.   As it passed, the great assemblage was swayed by an extraordinary emotion. There they were met by King Louis Philippe, the Royal Family, government and diplomatic officials, military officers, and old field-marshall Moncey, who was in charge of the Hotel des Invalides.   The King descended from his throne and advanced to meet the cortege. “Sire,” said the Prince of Joinville, “I present to you the body of Napoleon, which, in accordance with your commands, I have brought back to France.”  “I receive it in the name of France,” replied Louis Philippe. Beside the King stood an officer, bearing a cushion; on it lay the sword of Austerlitz.  Marshal Soult handed it to the King, who, turning to Bertrand, said: “General, I commission you to place the emperor’s glorious sword on the bier.” Napoleon’s body was placed into yet another sarcophagus, the below mentioned “Pewter.” This was then laid in its permanent resting place and the funeral (and era of Napoleon) ended. 

From December 16-24, 1840, the Invalides was opened to the public. At the end of this time period, the Count of Rohan, responsible for Napoleon’s journey back to France and keeper of the keys to the Emperor’s tomb, officially forwarded the precious keys to Prime Minister Soult, who responded with this letter. 

Manuscript Letter Signed by Maréchal, Duc De Dalmatie, as Prime Minister, to the Count of Rohan, one page, with integral leaf attached, Paris, December 29, 1840.  “Your Lordship, I have received the letter that you have honored me by writing on the 23rd of this month, as well as the three keys of which two have the honor of belonging to the pewter sarcophagus containing the exhumed coffin of the Emperor Napoleon, and closed at St. Helena by the representatives of the governments of France and Great Britain.  This last act in the performance of a commission as honorable as it was full of dignity gives me the opportunity, Your Lordship, to remind you specifically of the very special interest with which I have followed all stages of this memorable mission in which you have so completely justified the great faith that the King has in you.  The keys that you have given me will be delivered to Field Marshal, His Grace the Duke of Conégliano, Governor of the Royal Military Pensioners Hospital who from now on will be their holder as he already is of the sealed coffin containing the mortal remains of the Emperor.  I am, Your Lordship, yours very truly, The President of the Cabinet, Secretary of State and Minister of War, Maréchal, Duc Du Dalmatie.”