These two sprites are taken from a biography of Napoleon by George Moir Bussey, dated 1848, illustrated by the famous French artist Horace Vernet. It was written at a time when the legend of the greatness of Napoleon had become firmly established, even amongst his enemies; people were beginning to forget that he had been the Hitler of his day. Napoleon had himself created much of the legend in the vast amount of memoirs he wrote between 1815 and his death; they are very unreliable. The French had moved his body from the island of St Helena in the Atlantic where he had died in 1821 and given him a great state funeral in Les Invalides, Paris, in 1840.
1) Old Guard15 shows men of Napoleon's famous 1st Regiment of Foot Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, his personal bodyguard, a battalion of which had accompanied him to Elba during his first exile in 1814; they are shown encamped in the courtyard of the Tuileries Palace, Paris, after Napoleon's sudden and daring return from Elba in March 1815. This regiment consisted of picked men, over 5' 6" tall and over 25 years old, fanatically loyal to the Emperor and with distinguished military records. They received better pay and better quality uniforms and equipment than ordinary Line troops, and promotion often meant officer rank in Line units. These men were known as the Grognards or 'Grumblers', from the special privilege Napoleon allowed them of being outspoken with him. They acted as a rearguard at Waterloo and were massacred by Allied artillery, musketry and cavalry attacks. Napoleon took refuge in one of their squares until he fled the battlefield.
2) NapWloo15 shows Napoleon taking refuge in one of the squares of his Old Guard Grenadiers at Waterloo.
