I am not sure if anyone can help point me to more information on individual Sailors of the Guard. I am looking for more information on a man called Joachim Joannis. He had been in the Guard Sailors and was aged 32 in 1815. He was born in Baltimore, weirdly. He was apparently attached to Napoleon's suite at Rochefort, just as Napoleon was considering sailing to America, but was disembarked when Napoleon surrendered to the Bellerophon and allowed to go home to Paris. His wife, Emilie Garand, was also there. She disembarked on French soil on 15 July and went home too.
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Thank you again for your trouble :-)
In a nutshell 🙂
Thank you Daniel, that is very kind.
Best wishes
Jonathan
Jonathan, if I'm not mistaken the photos of the individual pages of the July 1815 Journal on the website linked are not numbered in the correct order. That is, not in the order of the dates and page numbers given at the top of the pages of the Journal. I put my own numbering (1-24) in front of the signature of the photos and hope that this puts the pages in the right order:
1 (museum title page)-15-507794
2 (page 1 of the journal)-15-507833
3 (page 2 of the journal)-15-507805
4 (page 3 of the journal)-15-507810
5 (page 4 of the journal)-15-507811
6 (page 5 of the journal)-15-507812
7 (page 6 of the journal)-15-507813
8 (page 7 of the journal)-15-507814
9 (page 8 of the journal)-15-507815
10 (page 9 of the journal)-15-507816
11 (page 10 of the Journal)-15-507795
12 (page 11 of the journal)-15-507796
13 (page 12 of the journal)-15-507797
14 (page 13 of the journal)-15-507798
15 (page 14 of the journal)-15-507799
16 (page 15 of the journal)-15-507800
17 (page 16 of the journal)-15-507801
18 (page 17 of the journal)-15-507802
19 (page 18 of the journal)-15-507803
20 (page 19 of the journal)-15-507804
21 (page 20 of the journal)-15-507806
22 (page 21 of the journal)-15-507807
23 (page 22 of the journal)-15-507808
24 (page 23 of the journal)-15-507809
Wonderful, thanks Daniel. I think it is very interesting, difficult to read, but I can try and obtain the original from the museum in Aix. Thanks again!
Volume 5 is possibly the most relevant (not easy to read) :
https://www.photo.rmn.fr/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=2CMFC0AIV48UPR&RW=1268&RH=675
That's very useful, Daniel, many thanks for your support. There were apparently a handful of people added to the entourage at Rochefort, including Louis Fortuné Hébert, a hussar from the 2nd Hussars, Joachim Joannis, born in Baltimore, a former Guard Sailor, and an apprentice wheelwright, Jean Baptiste Vialise. Supposedly because they would be handy in America. There is something in the Bibliotheque Thiers, Masson Ms 329, folio 259, which gives more detail as to who was present. But I have not been to the bibliotheque yet ....
Unfortunately, this article (pp. 96-106) turns out to be of little help:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15512r/f100.item
As you can see from Coudein's foreword, he does not mention the very thing that would be of interest to you:
"Par contre, j'ai trouvé inutile de publier les divers renseignements quotidiens du bord tels que : mots d'ordre, état des Officiers et hommes d'équipage embarqués ou débarqués, ..."
However, his comment also makes it clear that the relevant information is likely to be contained in the journal. You would have to do further research in the original. You should find more here:
https://photo.rmn.fr/archive/15-507831-2C6NU0AO5NNBB.html
That's correct, and his entourage came onto the Saale or the Meduse. He would then have returned to Rochefort after Napoleon went onboard the Bellerophon. I have seen mention that Bonnefoux, the maritime prefect, provided some additional personnel to join the entourage. This Sailor of the Guard could have been one. Another possibility is that he came from the 14th Naval Regiment which was in garrison at Aix. It is a bit of a mystery.
As far as I know, Napoleon embarked on the frigate La Saale. The register of the crew of La Saale around or up to July 1815 might be helpful. I couldn't find anything about it online. No idea whether this document would provide the information you're looking for:
https://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/ark/21477
Daniel, I note from those lists that there is a gentleman called Auguste Frere Jouan du Sein born in 1812 in Baltimore. Sometimes names get mangled so maybe Joannis is a bad spelling for Jouan du Sein. Perhaps he was from that family. Stranger things have happened.
Thanks Daniel and Guy. This is very useful, but also intriguing. So the full information I have runs "Joachim Joannis, marin de la garde, 32 ans, né a Baltimore, habitant a Paris. Debarqué et autorise a se retirer dans ses foyers en vertu de son congé delivré par le consil d'administration de son bataillon. This is found in AN F7 4335, f 6, 9 July 1815. Those of Napoleon's suite at Rochefort who embarked on the two frigates in the port.
I don't know how complete the following lists of naval personnel files are, but they are all I have found on the subject on the net, so far:
https://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2019-10/SHDMV_MV_CC_7_ALPHA_ABADES_DEROUET_1.pdf
https://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2019-10/SHDMV_MV_CC_7_ALPHA_DEROUET_LAVERNIS_1.pdf
https://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2019-10/SHDMV_MV_CC_7_ALPHA_LAVERRIE_POULET_1.pdf
https://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2019-10/SHDMV_MV_CC_7_ALPHA_POULET_VERNYS_1.pdf
From this directory:
https://fr.geneawiki.com/wiki/SHD_/_Marine_Vincennes_-_Série_CC
Seven people with the surname Joannis are listed but a Joachim Joannis is missing. For comparison: Henri Ducor (1789-1877), of whom two volumes of memoirs exist:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k63534011.texteImage#
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6353402f#
is listed (s.v. Ducor, Claude André Henri; born in Paris on October 31, 1789, without further details).
I do not know where the registers of the Marins de la Garde Impériale can be found - if they still exist.
Where does your information about this person come from?
The French Army Archives have the Napoleonic unit rosters for what appears to be every Imperial Guard unit except for the Guard Sailors: https://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr/fr/arkotheque/inventaires/ead_ir_consult.php?ref=FRSHD_GR20YC_01_ead&c=-1&fam=10
Someone more familiar with this resource might know where the missing roster might be found.