(ORDO NEWS) — Napoleon died (on the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa) in 1821, allegedly of stomach cancer, and in 1840 his body was returned to Paris, where it was buried in Les Invalides.
Both Louis XVIII and Charles X refused, but Louis Philippe eventually agreed to bring Napoleon’s ashes back and bury the Emperor in the Invalides. The ceremony was unlike any other: one and a half million people on the streets. Cries of “Vive l’Empereur!”
Ashes of Napoleon
An expedition for the ashes is being organized. Louis-Philippe puts one of his sons, the Prince of Joinville, at its head. “It was,” writes the latter, “like the raising of the flag of defeated France.”
Among the other devoted friends of the Emperor are sailing General Bertrand, former Grand Marshal of the Imperial Court, General Zhurga, Marchand, Baron Emmanuel de Las Caz, the son of the author of the “Memorial”.
The expedition departs on the frigate “La Belle Poule”, one of the flagships of the Royal Navy. During the passage he is accompanied by the corvette “La Favorite”. The ships leave Toulon on July 7, 1840; October 9 they are near St. Helena.
The sight of the island, on which the famous captive landed twenty-five years ago, awakens a surge of emotions.
Eyes fill with tears; the passengers fall silent, imbued with the grandeur of the moment. As soon as the members of the French delegation disembark and complete all the formalities, they undertake a trip to the burial place.
There are no decorations or inscriptions; not because the greatness of this man made their choice or composition difficult, but because the hatred of his enemies followed him on his heels to the very grave.
On the night of October 15, the Emperor’s body was exhumed . Abbot Cockereau, the chaplain of the expedition, overwhelmed with emotion, presents his description of the scene: “… the shadows overlapping each other give the valley a fantastic look; two white tents are constantly swaying in the wind; the pale light of the lamps illuminating them is similar to a funeral; the clinking of weapons of the freed from the change of guards mingles with the howling of the breeze rushing through the hollow, the sound of hammers on stone, the creaking of shovels, the grinding of steel against steel, strange shadows moving in the more brightly lit center.
The English soldiers work all night in deep silence, under the drizzle that is blown through by the cold wind. The next morning, at 9:30 am, the coffin is finally removed and removed from the crypt.
Silver and lead of the imperishable emperor
“You can see,” Las Caz describes, “a mahogany coffin… It rests on another slab, supported by eight stone props. The wood was damp, but perfectly preserved.
The lower part, which was first covered with velvet, is the only one that has You can still see the shine of the screws, which were covered with silver ; the silver has not disappeared.
Next to the coffin are the straps and ropes on which it was lowered. The bottom stone, on which the coffin rested, was completely damp.
Then someone began to open the old coffins. The first one, the outer one, was made of mahogany , two centimeters thick.
Both sides were sawn down to allow the lead inner coffin to be removed . Removed from its case, this lead coffin was placed at 12:15 in a sarcophagus brought from France (…)
Then the lead coffin was reverently opened. Inside was a third mahogany coffin , perfectly preserved. It was so intact, despite the passage of time, that it was easy to unscrew a few screws holding it together.
When it was opened, we found a fourth coffin made of tin , well preserved: we knew that this coffin was the last one.
The body of the Emperor lay in it, in full guard robes. His head and beard were shaved, his hat was placed at his knees, between his legs, at his feet, and there were two silver vases containing, according to the memorandum, his heart and stomach.
The inner walls of the coffin were completely covered, according to Indian tradition, with dense quilted silk.
When the top tin cover was removed, only the shapeless mass could be seen at first, and underneath, the toes of the boots, which appeared dull white; the seam at the bottom parted, exposing the leg; several fingers could be distinguished; they were the same dull white.
We soon realized that the impression of a shapeless mass was due to the fact that the inner quilting had slipped off the walls, apparently during the funeral. The side walls were sawn off, and a few pieces stuck to them looked like a snow-white fringe.
The top layer fell on the body. The doctor removed it with religious caution, starting at the feet and rolling it up. Now you could see the whole body of Napoleon.
I do not know if this impression was due to the rising particles of lining or silk, but it seemed to me, and many present experienced the same feelings, as if I were looking at him through a dense haze .
He lay exactly in the same position in which he had been laid. The leather of his boots had decayed and settled into a dark stain on his legs. Between them were two silver vases which, according to the memo, contained his heart and stomach. On one of the covers one could see a silver eagle.
The hat resting on the hips has sagged, but is still well preserved. The shape of his overcoat and even the buttons were perfectly visible. There was a plate on the chest, and next to it were two decorations – the Legion of Honor and the Iron Crown.
The right hand was pressed to the body and almost completely hidden; the left hand was completely open. She was not that dull white of her legs, and she had not lost her beautiful shape. The Doctor touched her: she was soft and pliable under his fingers.
The bottom of the face retained its regularity. Top, especially around cheekbones, swollen and swollen; only the nose is rotten. The doctor touched the face and found it firm enough to make him say it was mummified. The mouth retained its shape; lips parted slightly; between them were three upper teeth, very white.
The beard grew out a little (maybe half a line (line = 1/12 inch)) and created a dense bluish tint. The head was very large: one could clearly see its shape, it seemed to be slightly covered with a whitish substance. A wide and high forehead was opened.
Eyebrows are not completely faded. It really was Napoleon!… Napoleon is lifeless, but not destroyed! … One might even think that this is the last day of his career, filled with risk and labor… the first day of eternity!”
On October 15, the body of the Emperor was transferred to the “Belle Poule”. By a strange coincidence, Napoleon was returning to France on the anniversary of his arrival in the harbor of St. Helena, twenty-five years earlier.
In fact, on April 16, 1821, tormented by illness, Napoleon added with a trembling hand to his will: “I wish my ashes to be buried on the banks of the Seine, among the French people whom I loved so much.”
On October 18, the French ships set sail. “At sunset you could still see St. Helena: by that time we had sailed twenty-two leagues,” writes Las Kaz in his diary. “The island looked like just a light haze on the horizon.”
November 30 “Belle Poule” enters the harbor of Cherbourg. The crowds cheer wildly for the return of the ship.
“Thousands of people, a mass of raincoats and coats, passed near the coffin; neither cold nor rain prevented them from waiting for hours for the moment when they could kneel before the sleeping hero,” says one of the members of the expedition.
On December 8, the small steamer “Normandy” brings the ashes to the mouth of the Seine. In the Val de la Haye, the coffin is transferred to the Dorade, which sails triumphantly up the river to the gates of the capital.
All along the way, towns and villages are in complaint. Despite the cold, crowds gather on the banks; shouts of “Vive l’Empereur!” are heard from everywhere. December 14 “Dorad” approaches the berth of Courbevoie.
Incredible hearse
The Neully Bridge, adorned with a giant rostral column forty-five meters high, crowned with a golden eagle, is completely covered with garlands, festoons and trophies. The flotilla responds to the National Guard salute with volleys; from afar comes the thunder of the cannon of the Invalid.
The princes of the royal family came to salute the remains of the Emperor. Old Marshal Su, Prime Minister, bows before the body of the man who made him Duke of Dalmatia.
The next morning, December 15, the coffin was laid on the funeral urns. This incredibly luxurious hearse, somewhat reminiscent of an old chariot, was made in the form of an eleven-meter-high pyramid.
The base, which was two meters high, was decorated with embossed garlands holding a six-meter-long pedestal. In front, two genies carry the crown of Charlemagne. The back is adorned with a gigantic bunch of banners reaching all the way to the ground.
The sides are hidden by folds of unusual fiberglass. Above the pedestal, fourteen golden caryatids carry a golden shield on which is mounted an ebony cenotaph wrapped in a black mournful veil.
Sixteen horses, fully clad in silver-adorned black corduroy, pull this impressive structure, designed by the architects Visconti, Lebrust and Blue.
At 10 o’clock the procession moves off. A squadron of cuirassiers, legions of the National Guard, students of the great schools, marshals of France and veterans of the Imperial Guard see Orel off on his last flight. The squares and avenues along the way are covered with solemn decorations worthy of a mourning opera.
One of the witnesses describes this scene as follows: “The scenery was not what is usually put up at public ceremonies – boards with rough drawings.
Everything here was in relief, everything was real. The idea to place statues along the route was new, we had never seen anything like this we who have attended all the ceremonies since 1789.”
The procession advanced with majestic slowness, shining in the winter sun; she advanced, followed by hundreds of thousands of eyes watching from rooftops and from black, red, and tricolor balconies.
“The crowd craned its necks,” comments an English observer, “catching and following the hearses along the long avenues formed by columns and bright white statues.”
The procession reached the Etoile and passed under the Arc de Triomphe, along the Champs Elysées, and crossed the Pont Concorde.
In front of the Chamber of Deputies, she turned right, in the direction of the Invalides. Stands set up on both sides of the esplanade were filled with numerous official guests.
Statues of famous men formed an honorary guard. The flame of the torches exuded thick smoke, which added even more solemnity to the funeral ceremony.
On the shoulders of the sailors from the Belle Poule, the coffin was carried to the church of Saint-Louis to the sounds of Mozart’s Requiem.
At the foot of the stairs of the chapel, arranged in the choir stalls under the gigantic dome of Mansart, the king was waiting.
The Prince of Joinville presented Napoleon’s ashes to his father. Louis Philippe turns to Bertrand: “General,” he says, “place the Emperor’s sword on this coffin.”
It is estimated that on this and the following days approximately one and a half million people came to pay their last tribute to the Emperor.
The event fits perfectly into the legend of Napoleon. The resurrected cry “Vive l’Empereur!” breathes new life into the imperial dream.
Everything that concerns the fate of Napoleon is poetically sung by his admirers. Not even waiting for the return of “Belle Poule”, Horace Vernet paints Napoleon emerging from the grave.
The picture immediately begins to enjoy a wild success. On it, the Emperor, surrounded by a halo, in a laurel crown, throws away a tombstone with his right hand. He is depicted with a sword and a bouquet of laurel in his left hand.
Having spread through engravings, this plot becomes one of the most favorite themes of folk art. In 1841, Victor Hugo publishes “Le Retour de l’Empereur”, as well as two odes dedicated to the Vendome column and the Arc de Triomphe.
“A new army charged with hope, Whose deeds
are already terrifying,
Will gather around your hearse and shout ‘Vive le France’
And ‘Vive l’Empereur!’
As you pass by, O head of the Great Empire!
Men and soldiers will kneel;
But you won’t be able to stand up and say:
I am pleased with you!”
Since the government chose the Invalides and not the Vendôme Column for the burial of the ashes of Napoleon, it must now erect a tomb worthy of such great ashes. A competition was organized between the best architects of that time.
An avalanche of projects falls on the commission’s table, 81 in all. Visconti’s projects, selected by the jury, are devoid of the weaknesses of competitors’ projects. The winner refused the pomp and excessive amount of decorations. On the contrary, it offers exceptionally simple architecture befitting genuine grandeur.
Visconti came up with a monumental porphyry sarcophagus, set in the center of the crypt under the dome of the structure. Such a bold use of emptiness contributes to even greater mystery and reverence.
Technical problems as well as budgetary constraints are delaying work. When the February Revolution of 1848 sweeps away the July Monarchy, the tomb is still unfinished. Work continues during the period of the 2nd Republic; and will be completed only in 1861.
Sarcophagus of Napoleon
The chapel of Les Invalides was built in the late 17th century by Jules-Hardouin Mansart and contains Napoleon’s tomb.
In 1840, during the “Return of Ashes”, a law passed on June 10 ordered the construction of the Emperor’s tomb under the dome of Les Invalides.
On December 15, a national funeral was held and the body was temporarily buried in the chapel of Saint-Jerome until Visconti completed his work.
The coffin was subsequently transferred to the chapel on April 2, 1861, in the presence of Napoleon III, and placed in a red porphyry sarcophagus in the middle of the round open crypt.
Visitors enter the crypt by stairs. This leads to a heavy bronze door (forged from cannons taken from Austerlitz) between two statues.
Above the lintel is the following inscription (an excerpt from Napoleon’s will): “I want my ashes to rest on the banks of the Seine among the people of France, whom I loved so much.”
The sarcophagus is placed on a pedestal of green granite and contains six coffins: one of soft iron, another of mahogany, two others of lead, one of ebony, and finally the last of oak.
Napoleon is dressed in the uniform of his colonel (cavalry of the guard), from which hangs his Légion d’Honneur sash. His hat is on his feet.
Six coffins of Napoleon
In 1840, Napoleon Bonaparte was buried under the Les Invalides, a large church in Paris. The sarcophagus was displayed on a green granite pedestal and contains six coffins.
1. soft iron
2. mahogany
3, 4. two lead
5. ebony
6. oak
The heart is kept separately in a silver vessel.
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