#first consul

[illustratus]

Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul, 1801 by Joseph Chinard

[napolebonasacc]

A high-ranking officer from the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Consular Guard is seen riding past First Consul Bonaparte at the Tuileries.

[microcosme11]

Rue St. Nicaise

Conspirators tried to assassinate him by detonating a bomb under the carriage taking him to the Opera. Bonaparte was unharmed. Paris never cheered him more than that evening, when, after the attack, he appeared at the performance, calm, a slight smile on his Caesar-like face, for the Consul felt the love and fervor of the people rising toward him.

Napoléon raconté par Robert Burnand ; imagé par Jean-Jacques Pichard, 1936

gallica

[empirearchives]

Burton Philips’ description of Napoleon at the Tuileries in 1802:

“He is thin and of low stature; his countenance, though meager and sallow, is extremely animated, his eyes black and piercing, his hair black and cropped, his dress remarkably plain.”

Nathaniel Philips’ description of Napoleon at the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Easter Sunday in 1802:

“Bonaparte bowed in response to the applause of the populace. His carriage was drawn by eight superbly decorated horses. The great bell of Notre-Dame, which had been silent 10 years, was rung.”

Portrait of Napoleon from the same year, by Antoine-Jean Gros

(Source)

[northernmariette]

Witnessing a Napoleonic troop review

NERD ALERT! The following might not be to everyone's taste. But for those of you who wonder what troop reviews and troop parades were all about, as I did, here is a description from Francis Blagdon, that English visitor to Paris in 1801 and 1802 whose book I have recommended previously. Lucky me, as this is already in English no translation necessary! I have reproduced as faithfully as possible the author's spelling, sometimes-odd punctuation, use of italics, capitalized letters, font size, and the like.

The author has managed to wangle an invitation from "Cn." [???] Maret, then the Secretary of State and future Duc de Bassano, to watch the review with a friend from the windows of Maret's residence, which overlooked the courtyard of the Tuileries. As the author reports, Napoleon himself conducts the review. The author, as is evident, is much impressed. So must be the people of Paris, as the crowd assembled to watch this monthly spectacle is immense.

Here is part one, a bit dry maybe, not anything as entertaining as Josefavomjaaga's series on Marie-Louise's travels (and travails), but perhaps useful information for potential fiction writers:

On the fifteenth of every month, the First Consul in person reviews all the troops of the consular guard, as well as those stationed in Paris as a garrison, or those which may happen to be passing through this city. The consular guard is composed of two battalions of foot-grenadiers, two battalions of light infantry, a regiment of horse-grenadiers, a regiment of mounted chasseurs or guides, and two companies of flying artillery. All this force may comprise between six and seven thousand men; but it is in contemplation to increase it by a squadron of Mamalûks, intermixed with Greeks and Syrians, mounted on Arabian horses.

This guard exclusively does duty at the Palace of the Tuileries, and at Malmaison, BONAPARTE's country-seat; it also forms the military escort of the Consuls. At present it is commanded by General LASNES [1]; but, according to rumour, another arrangement is on the point of being made. The consular guard is to have no other chief than the First Consul, and under him are to command, alternately, four generals; namely, one of infantry, one of cavalry, one of artillery and one of engineers; the selection is said to have fallen on the following officers, BESSIÈRES, DAVOUT, SOULT, and SONGIS [2].

The garrison (as it is termed) of Paris is not constantly of the same strength. At this moment it consists of three demi-brigades of the line, a demi-brigade of light infantry, a regiment of dragoons, two demi-brigades of veterans, the horse gendarmerie, and a new corps of choice gendarmerie, comprising both horse and foot, and commanded by the chef de brigade SAVARY, aide-de-camp to the First Consul. This garrison may amount to about 15,000 effective men.

The consular guard and all these different corps, equipped in their best manner, repair to the parade, and, deducting the troops on duty, the number of men assembled there may, in general, be from twelve to fifteen thousand. By a late regulation, no one, during the time of the parade, can remain within the railing of the court, whether on foot or horseback, except the field and staff officers on duty; but persons enter the apartments of theTuileries, by means of tickets, which are distributed to a certain number by the governor of the palace.

And now the second part, the meat of the matter, describing some of what actually takes place during one of these reviews:

While my obliging friend was communicating to me the above information, the troops continued marching into the court below, till it was so crowded that, at first sight, it appeared impractical for them to move, much less to manoeuvre. The morning was extremely fine; the sun shone in full splendour, and the gold and silver lace and embroidery on the uniforms of the officers and on the trappings of their chargers, together with their naked sabres, glittered with uncommon lustre. The concourse of people without the iron railing was immense; in short, every spot or building, even to the walls and rafters of houses under demolition, whence a transient view of the parade could be obtained, was thronged with spectators.

By twelve o'clock, all the troops were drawn up in excellent order, and, as you may suppose, presented a grand coup d'oeil. I never beheld a finer set of men than the grenadiers of the consular guard; but owing, perhaps, to my being accustomed to see our troops with short skirts [3], I thought that the extreme length of their coats detracted from their military air. The horses mostly of Norman breed could not be compared to our English steeds, either for make or figure; but, sorry and rough as is their general appearance, they are, I am informed, capable of bearing much fatigue, and resisting such privations as would soon render our more sleek cavalry unfit for service. That they are active, and sure-footed, I can vouch; for, in all their sudden wheelings and evolutions in this confined space, not one of them stumbled. They formed, indeed, a striking contrast to the beautiful white charger that was led about in waiting for the First Consul.

  The band of the consular guard, which is both numerous and select, continued playing martial airs, till the colours having been brought down from the palace, under the escort of an officer and a small detachment, the drums beat aux champs, and the troops presented arms, when they were carried to their respective stations. Shortly after, the impatient steed, just mentioned, was conducted to the foot of the steps of the grand vestibule of the palace. I kept my eye steadfastly fixed on that spot; [the author here comments on Bonaparte's agility on mounting his horse, and quotes some Shakespeare for which I don't have the patience]. Off he went at a hand canter, preceded by his aides-de-camp, and attended, on his right, by General LASNES, and followed by other superior officers, particularly the officer commanding the garrison of Paris [4], and him at the head of the district [5].

BONAPARTE was habited in the consular dress, scarlet velvet embroidered with gold, and wore a plain cocked hat with the national cockade. [...] Having rid rapidly along the several lines of infantry and cavalry, and saluted the colours as he passed, BONAPARTE (attended by all his retinue, including a favourite Mamalûk whom he brought back from Egypt), took a central position, when the different corps successively filed off before him with most extraordinary briskness; the corps composing the consular guard preceded those of the garrison and all the others: on inquiry, however, I find, that this order is not always observed.

  It is no less extraordinary than true, that the news of the establishment of this grand parade produced on the mind of the late emperor of Russia the first impression in favour of the Chief Consul. No sooner did Paul I. hear of the circumstance, than he exclaimed: "BONAPARTE is, however, a great man."

Although the day was so favourable, the parade was soon over, as there was no distribution of arms of honour, such as pistols, muskets, swords, battle-axes, &c. which the First Consul offers with his own hand to those officers and soldiers who have distinguished themselves by deeds of valour or other meritorious service.

The whole ceremony did not occupy more than half an hour, when BONAPARTE alighted at the place where he had taken horse, and returned to his audience-room in the palace, for the purpose of holding his levee. I shall embrace a future opportunity to speak of the interior etiquette observed on this occasion in the apartments [...].

[1] This of course, is Lannes.

[2] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Marie_Songis_des_Courbons. Songis was replaced by one of the marshals at some point, but I can't remember which one.

[3] The author evidently meant short coat-tails, not gowns!

[4] I believe this was Junot.

[5] Unless this was Junot.

So there it is.

Some thoughts: First, I'm still curious to know what the "sudden wheelings and evolutions" looked like. If anyone knows, I would be very grateful for the information. My knowledge of horsemanship is zero. Second, Napoleon's propensity to do things fast is again in evidence here. And third, Napoleon gave battle-axes as weapons of honour?!? What military feat would that be associated with? A tournament in medieval armour?

Finally on quite another note, am I the only one whose mind leapt to unmilitary matters at the mention of "naked sabres"? Ought this dirty old lady hang her head in shame?

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k102152h/f163.item.texteImage, pp. 109-114.

[josefavomjaaga]

“Revue du General Bonaparte Premier Consul” by Isabey and Verney, 1800

And the same print enlarged. So, to those in the know, who is who? I do recognize Napoleon and Murat, of course. The guy on the second white horse, in front on the right, is that Junot? And the two gentlemen leading the parade would be Bessières and Lannes? And why are some of them facing backward, what are they looking at?

[napoleondidthat]

Napoleon as 1st Consul fountain with four lions, Corsica.

[zombie-phoenix]

First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte.  This started as an experiment in the method I use for portraits, and then changed once again when I wasn’t too happy with the result.  I may work on it more, but I figured it’d be good to present some work every once in a while.  When I’m burned out but have time to draw, doing a static portrait like this is the easiest thing to focus on.  I plan to do more dynamic art at some point but with what has been going on, plans keep getting altered.