(Image: Napoleon on Saint Helena, watercolor by Franz Josef Sandmann, c. 1820. Wikimedia Commons.)
On this day in history, ex-French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte sets sail for exile from the coast of England to the mid-Atlantic Island of St. Helena on board the British ship HMS Northumberland, nearly two months after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon surrendered to the British and wished to retire to the English countryside and live like a gentleman, but the English had other thoughts. He would end his days on St. Helena and never set foot in France again.
On June 18, 1815, the British and Prussian Allied armies defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in Belgium. Back in Paris, on June 22, he abdicated in favor of his only son, aged four. The latter, who had been hiding in Austria since May 1814 with his mother, Empress Marie-Louise, would never become Emperor. Instead, Louis XVIII (Louis XVI’s brother who was guillotined during the French Revolution) became King of France.
On June 25, Napoleon left Paris. After a short stop to get to Malmaison, where he saw his mother for the last time, he arrived on July 3 at Rochefort, where he arranged to set sail for the United States. The passport promised by the French provisional government was never granted. Instead, Napoleon went to the island of Aix, off Rochefort, and surrendered to the British navy, “I have come to put myself under the protection of your prince and your laws.”
On July 15, Napoleon went on board HMS Bellepheron. He wore an olive-green surcoat and green uniform with a scarlet cape. A gold sword hung at his waist, and he wore his famous tricorne hat with tricolor cockade.
On July 16, the ship sailed for England and arrived off Dartmouth on July 23. Captain Maitland had no authority but to transport Napoleon to England. He had no orders to carry on any negotiations with the Emperor. However, even before their arrival off the coast, Napoleon plotted to confer with the Prince Regent. He composed a letter asking that he be treated not as a prisoner of war but as an honored British guest.
He said that he wanted nothing more than to be allowed to retire into the English countryside and live the life of a gentleman. His letter was not taken to London and was not seen by the Prince. Over the following days, while HMS Bellepheron sailed towards Plymouth, Napoleon made many attempts to alleviate his situation. Unknown to him, the British Government had already decided on St. Helena. St. Helena was ideal. It was remote, inaccessible, and rescue would be impossible. On July 31, the ship reached Plymouth. When the news was out that Napoleon was on board, a great armada of small boats set out. They surrounded HMS Bellepheron, hoping to glimpse the ogre that was Boney. On August 7, 1815, Napoleon embarked on a new ship, HMS Northumberland, and left British waters on August 9, having never set foot on British soil. After nine weeks at sea, he arrived at the island of St. Helena on October 15, 1815.
Twenty people followed Napoleon into exile: General Bertrand (who had also been Grand Marshal of the palace) with his wife and their three children; General de Montholon with his wife and their son; General Gourgaud, and Count Las Cases – the only man who spoke English – and his son. Then there were his servants and his butler, “a little spy” Cipriani, who had known Napoleon since childhood.
The day after his arrival, Napoleon moved into a house known as the Briars. It was the home to the Balcombe family. After several months of building work, the residence known as “Longwood” became ready to welcome Napoleon on December 10, 1815. His fellow exiles and domestics also lived in adjoining buildings, except for the Bertrand family, who had an independent house. Longwood is in the eastern part of the island, which is windswept and has little vegetation. Napoleon often complained about the constant humidity of the island.
The prisoner’s days consisted of horse riding, meals, and dictating his memoirs to his friends. The nights were spent listening to piano music, playing cards, or chess. A voracious reader, Napoleon took over 600 books with him, and because of gifts and donations, by the time he died, he had 3,000 volumes. To break the monotony, Napoleon even tried gardening.
Napoleon was watched constantly. The governor of St. Helena, Sir Hudson Lowe, was a merciless jailer obsessed with the possibility of Napoleon’s escape. Three thousand men guarded the island, and four ships constantly sailed along its coastline to prevent any landing.
Over the years, Napoleon shut himself off in Longwood, refusing visits and spending more time alone. He was desperate to hear news of his son. Some members of his group left the island and returned to Europe for good: General Gourgaud in 1818 and Madame de Montholon in 1819. In December 1816, Las Cases and his son were expelled from the island for attempting to sneak letters in secret.
Napoleon’s health began to cause concern in July 1820. The Emperor never went out and spent long hours bathing to soothe his liver pains. His surgeon said he slept more than twelve hours daily and rarely left his bed. He sometimes went for a walk but quickly became exhausted. Napoleon died on May 5, 1821, at 5:49 p.m. at 51. The following day, the governor of the island, Hudson Lowe, visited the deceased to certify his death. Then the surgeon, Dr. Antommarchi, performed an autopsy and declared that a stomach ulcer had caused the death. On May 7, a plaster mold was made of Napoleon’s face. On May 10, Napoleon was buried in a valley close to Longwood called Geranium Valley. He was interred under a tombstone without any inscription because the English refused that the name “Napoleon” could be engraved. On May 27, the Emperor’s last companions-in-exile left St. Helena on a British ship and arrived in Europe on August 2, 1821.
In 1840, King Louis-Philippe organized the return of Napoleon’s remains to Paris, now buried under the Dome of The Invalides.
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