What was the last Napoleonic stronghold to surrender in 1815? I have been reading about Gaeta, which was held on behalf of Murat by General Begani. Although Murat had quit Naples on 20 May, the fort only surrendered to the Allies on 8 August 1815. That's quit elate, but was it the last Napoleonic fort to surrender? Probably there were others beyond Europe or in France?
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Thank you @Loïc Lilian It goes to show how varied the situation was, and how difficult the communications were.
the colonial context is totally different, many colonies were definitively lost as Sainte Lucie Tobago Ile de France (Mauritius) Seychelles and others still under British-Portuguese occupation, so there were the case of colonies not even yet retroceded to France in 1815 :
Saint Pierre & Miquelon near Canada deserted from the inhabitants expelled by the British and French India not before 1816,
Senegal should receive a French flotilla the same year 1816...unfortunately it was the famous Naufrage de la Méduse coming with the colonial administrators and the colonial battalion, so waiting the following year 1817,
the Brazilian-Portuguese were quite reluctant to leave French Guyana and kept it also until 1817.
For the remaining and major colonies Martinique Guadeloupe and Ile Bourbon (La Réunion) under French (royal white) flag far from Metropolitan France but not from the Royal Navy, they were severely under British pressures
la Martinique who had been a long time under british occupation, and so, for instance not having known the first abolition of slavery the Governor remained loyal to the King and called the British "protection",
in la Guadeloupe (having previously escaped to be given to Bernadotte's Sweden) with more rebellious spirit the garrison choose the tricolour flag, it was the only "Napoleonic" colony during the Hundred Days provoking the british intervention and fightings in july august 1815
at last in la Réunion/Ile Bourbon the events took place greatlt postponed by the distance and offered an other scenario : again French at the name of the King officially the 6th april 1815 one month after the landing of Napoléon and when he was in Paris, learning the imperial come back the following 12th july when Louis XVIII had already recovered his crown, the Governor remained loyal to the King, however he resisted to the British threat when a fleet wished to place the colony under his protection in october 1815 even taking measures of mobilisation and calling inhabitants under arms to renforce the garrison, all that ending the following 28th october when came the new that Napoléon was no longer Emperor
I wonder if there were any French possessions or colonies that surrendered even later?
Agree completely. Very well done-accurate, logical, and to the point.
keeping strategic military places and territories as many as possible for France (the same in 1870-1871 saving Belfort from the annexation) in Ardennes the actual northern area didn't form, unlike today, the pointe de Givet a protusion penetrating in the Belgian territory, there were others fortresses around it and more territories, Philippeville and Mariembourg French places since Louis XIV were lost in 1815 as cantons kept with the first treaty and borders of 1814
it occured the same in 1814, e.g. despite the anglo-spaniards used to think they expelled the French Army from Spain fighting them in Toulouse, in Catalonia the last places were evacuated 2 months after the Armistice once Louis XVIII was in Paris, Napoléon at Elba and even the Allied withdrawn from France
many places still resisted once the Coalised occupied the country,
citadel of Mezières until 3rd september, Strasbourg 4th september, Longwy 14th september, Sedan until 15th september, Montmédy until 22nd september, Daumesnil in the blockade against Vincennes until 15th november
the Siege of Givet until 17th december 1815...
A more famous depiction of the surrender of Huningue in 1815 is the one by Edouard Detaille.
Huningue, commanded by General Barbenegre, surrendered on 26 August 1815. The French garrison numbered 500 against 25,000 Austrians.
There is a print of it here:
'Defense of Huningue, 1815' Giclee Print | Art.com