I was reading a facsimile copy of the 1852 edition of George Jones’ ”Battle of Waterloo With Those of Ligny and Quatre Bras Described by Eye-Witness and by the Series of Official Accounts Published by Authority” recently, and my eye came across this on page 9 In the chapter on Circumstantial Details:
”There is a mistaken idea in this country, that the French, that even Napoleon Buonaparte himself, was popular in Belgium. This was a moment when Hypocrisy itself would have found it impossible to dissemble; and the dismay which reigned upon every face, and the terror which filled every town and village, when it was believed that the French were victorious - the execrations with which their very names were uttered - the curses, ‘not loud but deep’ half repressed by fear, betrayed how rooted and sincere was the hatred from the tyranny from which they had so recently escaped. There may be miscreants of of all ranks in Belgium, as in other countries, whom the hope of plunder and the temptations of ambition will bring over to any party, where these can be obtained; but by the great body of the nation, from the highest to the lowest, the French government is abhorred, and Napoleon himself is regarded with detestation, the strength of which we can firm no idea of in this country. Their very infants are taught to lisp these sentiments, and to regard him as a monster”
This has set me thinking about the following points (in no particulate order):
1. The xenophobia of British accounts and the fear of betrayals that appears not to have materialised. Given the shared language of the part of Belgium they found themselves in and the service records of some of the Belgian officers it doesn’t seem to need much stoking.
2. Although some Belgian individuals rallied to Napoleon, those Belgians who entered the new country’s service overwhelmingly did so loyally. Indeed the story of defections is one of French officers deserting Napoleon. Not the other way around.
3. How genuine was Napoleon’s expectations of the Belgians? Was it just a Pollyanna style symptom of his narcissism or perhaps propaganda intended not so much for the Belgians but his own men?
4. Many are now reassessing the roles played within the Allied victory, if we are to take the above quote at face value should we not rehabilitate the civilian population also?
In mulling these over, I’d very welcome inputs from forumites, of whatever sympathies, and indeed any other points or evidence germane to the subject of Belgian attitudes in this period.
As ever, by deepest thanks to anyone who contributes.
@david Tomlinson if you don't mind, email me: stephen.beckett@comcast.net
As a general update to any interested, the research continues. Vandamme's papers (outside what was gathered in 1830s) almost certainly perished in the home of Col. Levi (Duthilt editor) in the first world war. He borrowed them from the library at Lille in April of 1914, and the library has this documented, including that they were not returned. In Levi's personnel files, he reveals that his home was destroyed in the war - it was in the north of France.
Thousands of Gérard's papers were found, but end prior to hostilities - did include Bourmont's last letter of June 14 signed as a Lt. General - spoiler alert, he was a traitor. He also conveniently redirected many resources on the frontier to repair the Charleroi roads - this may have been absolutely necessary and he was ordered to do this - but it also conveniently enabled his baggage and personal staff a window to depart.
A dispatch from Gérard to Soult was addressed to Laon. We knew this from another letter as well - more support that Soult was expected in Laon.
Baudus' drafts of his Waterloo notes are interesting - in his first sloppy-copy he fantasized about killing Napoleon at the end of the battle. This was excised from his final copy, which was subsequently then copied for Houssaye. As I have documented, there are many reasons to doubt the "easy as breakfast" quote that originates form these notes - including that Baudus avoided it in his own published writings. (and that the quote exist elsewhere without that detail.) It is shameful how this quote has been used so extensively for over 100 years without any scrutiny.
We have been given access to a huge collection of letters Baudus/family wrote during the period, and found the account of accompanying Soult to exile - it lacked anything remarkable.
Gourgaud gave away a lot of primary source material late in his life - some of which appeared in 19th century auctions and a trickle made it to the archives. The "Mr. X" that Houssaye mentions provided key pieces for June 16 may be one of these individuals - was X shorthand for a name, or did the individual wish to remain anonymous? We have checked Houssaye's hand written notes (From Thiers) to verify this is what he said and scoured for more details... none... this remains a mystery - anyone know?
The Hulot report to Gérard was printed in the late 19th century, and the editors claimed details relating to Bourmont were edited out. A copy Hulot kept for himself, and which the article was based on, did not show any edits. Curious - its possible there were additional pages or a Bourmont/Hulot letter that was not found - there are several of those.
Bourmont's papers have been donated to archives... but family won't allow access yet as they are cataloging them or something. We write annually - and I do appreciate that they respond.
The effort is ongoing, and thousands of items have been acquired digitally. There might be some good stuff - but I am overwhelmed to analyze. As far as vetting my work - no serious scholar has ever been denied copies of anything I have... I wish I could say this was true for others in this field, but I do keep a list of those that I will never help again.
In my Analysis volume of the recent set - I quoted the wrong paragraph the from paragraph from the June 8 Gressot letter. The entire letter is transcribed so anyone who has it can read the whole thing - its pretty obvious what the key factoid is.
Reminder, there is still a Soult registry and half of Bertrand's registry still in a private collection somewhere... the Soult registry would be particular interesting for additional details of the concentration. Bertrand's predate June, but as he was famous for his personal shorthand, they could help identify people/events from June.