Bicorne

 

Bicorne

Napoleon Bonaparte

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I have been listening to the Wellington and Napoleon Quartet, by Simon Scarrow. It is historical fiction portraying the parallel lives and careers of Arthur Wellesley, (1^st Duke of Wellington) and Napoleon Bonaparte (1st Emperor of France) A small detail that jumped out at me last night was about the bicorne, and active duty.

The bicorne is a two-pointed hat, usually seen in portraits of Bonaparte, or Wellington, or Admiral Lord Nelson, during the time of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). 

Anne, Princess Royal

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

It is still seen in ceremonial dress, though usually in fore-and-aft fashion, whereas Bonaparte et al wore theirs side-to-side, or ‘athwart.’  

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the practice of wearing bicornes fore-and-aft became more popular. It was more practical, because there was reduced wind resistance, when marching or riding, and a smaller likelihood of interference with weapons. There was also less chance of it being knocked off!

Napoleon famously continued to wear his athwart, while Wellington, according to the author Simon Scarrow, altered his from athwart to fore-and-aft to indicate that he was on active duty.

ABC Wednesday W is for Waterloo and Wellington and Wet Weather

The Battle of Waterloo, on 18^th June, 1815, was the authoritative finale to 26 years of fighting between France and the rest of Europe. It marked the end of France’s ascendancy and the beginning of Germany’s. The victors were the British, Germans, Belgians, Dutch and Prussians.  Napoleon’s reign as Emperor of France was ended and he was sent into exile on St Helena where he died in 1821. Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne.

Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by John Jackson 1830-31

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Three nights before the Battle of Waterloo began the Duchess of Richmond gave a ball in Brussels. Many officers of the English and Prussian armies were invited to attend, including Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1^st Duke of Wellington, commander-in-chief of the allied army. As the evening progressed and the guests were enjoying the Duchess’ hospitality, word came to Wellington that Napoleon was advancing on Brussels at the head of the French army.

In order not to alarm the assembled company Wellington kept the information secret but quietly sent the officers to their regiments one by one, finally leaving the ball himself for the battlefield.

However, in the section of Lord Byron’s poem ‘Childe Harold’ that addresses events at the ball, the guests hear a booming sound in the distance but continue to dance until they eventually realise they are hearing cannon fire. This part of the poem actually refers to the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras, the prelude to the Battle of Waterloo, on 16^th June.

The Eve of Waterloo

  There was a sound of revelry by night,
      And Belgium's capital had gathered then
    Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright
      The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men.
    A thousand hearts beat happily; and when
      Music arose with its voluptuous swell,
    Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,
      And all went merry as a marriage-bell:
      But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!

    Did ye not hear it? No; 'twas but the wind,
      Or the car rattling o'er the stony street.
    On with the dance! let joy be unconfined!
      No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
    To chase the glowing hours with flying feet!
      But hark!--that heavy sound breaks in once more,
    As if the clouds its echo would repeat;
      And nearer, clearer, deadlier, than before!
      Arm! arm! it is--it is the cannon's opening roar!

    Ah! then and there was hurrying to and fro,
      And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress
    And cheeks all pale, which, but an hour ago,
      Blushed at the praise of their own loveliness;
    And there were sudden partings, such as press
      The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs
    Which ne'er might be repeated: who could guess
      If ever more should meet those mutual eyes,
      Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise?

    And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed,
      The mustering squadron, and the clattering car,
    Went pouring forward with impetuous speed,
      And swiftly forming in the ranks of war;
    And the deep thunder peal on peal afar;
      And near, the beat of the alarming drum
    Roused up the soldier ere the morning star;
      While thronged the citizens with terror dumb,
      Or whispering with white lips, "The foe! They come! They come!"

    And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves,
      Dewy with Nature's tear-drops, as they pass,
    Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves,
      Over the unreturning brave--alas!
    Ere evening to be trodden like the grass
      Which, now beneath them, but above shall grow
    In its next verdure, when this fiery mass
      Of living valour, rolling on the foe,
      And burning with high hope, shall moulder cold and low.

    Last noon beheld them full of lusty life,
      Last eve in Beauty's circle proudly gay;
    The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife,
      The morn the marshalling in arms,--the day,
    Battle's magnificently stern array!
      The thunder-clouds close o'er it, which, when rent,
    The earth is covered thick with other clay,
      Which her own clay shall cover, heaped and pent,
      Rider, and horse--friend, foe--in one red burial blent!  

As the battle was reaching its culmination, the Duke of Wellington was riding with the Earl of Uxbridge when a cannon ball struck the earl. Wellington said, ‘By God, you’ve lost your leg’ to which the earl replied, ‘By God, so I have.’ The rest of the leg was amputated in a nearby house whose owner buried it in the garden. It remained a point of interest for many years.

Wellington had many nicknames. Possibly the best known is ‘The Iron Duke’. Officers under his command called him ‘The Beau’ because he dressed in fine clothes. Regular soldiers called him ‘Nosey’ or ‘Old Hookey’ because of his prominent nose. Others called him ‘Arty’ or ‘Our Atty’. He wore custom-made boots which gave their name to Wellington boots though I think today’s wellies are probably a far cry from his footwear.

Although he was fastidious about his own clothes he was not concerned about his officers’ mode of dress except in one particular – umbrellas. In 1814 he had noticed many officers carrying umbrellas to shelter from the rain. Wellington made it clear that he did not approve of their use in battle, saying, ‘in the field it is not only ridiculous but unmilitary.’ Standing orders for the Battle of Waterloo stated unequivocally, ‘Umbrellas will not be opened in the presence of the enemy.’

The Duke of Wellington’s horse, Copenhagen, is buried at Stratfield Saye, the seat  of the Dukes of Wellington in Hampshire. To enjoy more Ws click here.

ABC Wednesday N is for Nelson, Napoleon and the Battle of the Nile

Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1800

National Maritime Museum

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay and in French as the Bataille d'Aboukir) took place on August 1^st – 3^rd, 1798, east of Alexandria off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean. The French Fleet of 17 carried 1,196 guns. The British Fleet of 14 had 1,012 guns.

Battle of the Nile, August 1st, 1798 byThomas Whitcombe (1816) 

National Maritime Museum

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

It was a major naval battle fought between the British and French fleets and proved to be a resounding success for Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s intention was to invade Egypt in a bid to force Britain out of the French Revolutionary Wars, support Tipu Sultan of Mysore in his fight with the British in India and re-establish French influence in India. Naturally, the British government and the East India Company were greatly alarmed at this prospect. The French fleet was pursued by the British across the Mediterranean for more than two months but Napoleon was able to capture Malta and then land his army in Egypt.

The French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, its commander believing it to be in a strong defensive position. Nelson’s fleet arrived on August 1^st and he ordered an immediate assault. As his ships drew near the French line they divided into separate forces. One division sailed between the French ships and the Egyptian shore and the other took on the seaward side. The French commander, Admiral Brueys d’Aigalliers, had mistakenly believed that the British would not attack, it being then near sunset and late in the day to engage in battle. Trapped in crossfire, the French suffered a fearsome few hours of fighting.

They had taken advantage of being at anchor to conduct refits and took a long time to bring the batteries on land into action, set about as they were with stores and equipment from the ships. The French flagship, the Orient, had been in the process of repainting and highly flammable paint and turpentine were stored on deck. During the fighting these caught fire and the ship exploded at 10:00 pm watched by Nelson on his flagship Vanguard. 

Admiral Brueys died of his wounds before the explosion and the captain, Commodore Casabianca, was blown up with his ten-year-old son. Desperate efforts were made by both French and English ships to pick up survivors, but only 70 crew were saved. The great quantity of valuables looted from Malta by Napoleon was lost. The French ships to the rear of the line tried to sail out of the bay but of the seventeen ships engaged, only four managed to break free. Of the rest, four were destroyed and nine captured, two of which fought on the British side at Trafalgar.

Following the defeat at Aboukir Bay, Napoleon left his army to fend for itself and returned to France. Any risk to Britain’s claim to India was averted and other European countries were encouraged to resist France. Nelson was hailed as a hero throughout Europe (though not in France!) and was created Baron Nelson.

During the battle Nelson ordered British colours to be flown from Vanguard’s rigging in six different positions so that at no time would there be an absence of colours, regardless of how much rigging was destroyed. Afterwards he ordered all his ships to conduct thanksgiving services. The captured atheist French revolutionary officers were impressed by the piety and discipline of the British crews.

ABC Wednesday is brought to you by the Noble Denise Nesbitt and her Noteworthy team. Please click here to see more Ns.

ABC Wednesday - P is for Patience

Denise Nesbitt and her Playful Pals host this Perfect weekly meme. Thank you all! To enjoy more Ps please click here.

P is for Patience, a virtue of which I have very little. The Patience to which I refer is the game of that name. I believe it is usually known as Solitaire in the States. It is said, probably quite correctly, that people either play cards or they play Patience. 

I am not keen on card games. I can never remember the rules, apart from ‘Cheat’ which has none. My mother used to play card games with me when I was little – Gin rummy and Beat Jack Out of Doors – and though I enjoyed playing them then I cannot remember the rules now. The thought of playing Bridge or Canasta fills me with horror – far too serious! My father played many card games in his years at sea and had a sharp brain and an excellent memory. He was an exception to the rule that one either plays cards or Patience and taught me to play Double Patience. That was always fun, if rather a long game. Most of the time I play solitary Patience.  

I ran a Patience club when I was teaching, which was well attended and enjoyable. We learnt many different forms of the game, including Baker’s Dozen, Rosamund’s Bower, Labryinth and Puss in the Corner. The sessions were too short to embark on learning any of the Double Patiences. I also taught my children and grandchildren to play Patience.

There are only two Patience games that I can always remember – Clock Patience and Klondike. The latter is one that is often found on computers – sometimes it comes out, more often it doesn’t. If I want to play another version I have to refer to one of my books. 

The King of Hearts on the cover of this well-used book is playing Clock Patience

Another of my well-thumbed paperbacks

I prefer to play with real cards, in any case, and am fascinated by Patience cards. They are smaller than a standard pack, so take up less room when playing – this is something to consider when the tableau (initial lay-out) may take up considerable space. 

The deck on the right came from a Christmas cracker - cheap quality but with colourful illustrations. The deck on the left is  larger, better quality, but still smaller than a standard Patience deck

I like Piatnik cards – they are very good quality and feel smooth and easy to handle. Piatnik is based in Vienna, Austria, and has a long history of manufacturing high-quality Playing cards. 

One of my favourite sets is a double deck in a zipped leather case. 

It has two small booklets with the rules for 15 games of Patience.

The cards have Monet illustrations on them.

Many and varied are the historical figures who have enjoyed playing Patience. Napoleon, exiled on St Helena, is believed to have passed many evenings playing it. There is a game named after him called, unsurprisingly, Napoleon at St Helena. Tolstoy could be said to be obsessed by Patience, sometimes using it to decide on a course of action. If the result was not pleasing, he would replay the game. He even included it in a scene from ‘War and Peace’. A fellow Russian, Dostoyevsky, had the character Grushenka play it in ‘The Brothers Karamazov’. Magda Goebbels played Patience in the Führerbunker after she killed her six children. 

Playing Patience will not increase your measure of this virtue. In fact, it can lead to great frustration! Beware, though, if you feel inspired to play any version of this game – it can become addictive.