Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Caithness and Napoleon 5: sidelights and sources


Napoleon on board the Bellerophon (he surrendered to Maitland 1808)
by Sir William Quiller Orchardson

Further reading on the Napoleonic Wars and prisoners held in France:

Napoleon the Gaoler, Personal Experiences and Adventures of British Sailors and Soldiers during the Great Captivity: Edward Fraser


Prisoners being marched between depots in Napoleonic France: an idealized version -
the reality was considerably less elegant

Prisoners of war in France from 1804 to 1814, being the adventures of John Tregerthen Short and Thomas Williams of St. Ives, Cornwall

Adventures during the Late War: Donat Henchy O’Brien 1804-14


Givet, where James Caithness is likely
 to have been imprisoned


Narrative of a Captivity and Adventures in France and Flanders between the years 1806 and 1809: Captain Edward Boys, RN, late Midshipman of HMS Phoebe.



Bitche penal depot -  a cosmetic version of the grim reality


A Picture of Verdun or the English Detained in France: James Henry Lawrence

Narrative of a Captivity in France from 1809 to 1814: Richard Langton

The Surrender of Napoleon: Frederick Lewis Maitland, RN
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28934 The story of the Bellerophon, the ship which took Napoleon to England 1808.

English Prisoners in France … during nine years’ residence in the depots of Fontainebleu, Verdun, Givet and Valenciennes: Rev R B Wolfe, Chaplain

Memoir of the Life and Services of Vice Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton, Bart., KCB
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SCoPAAAAYAAJ   Brenton was captain of the frigate Minerve when she ran aground near Cherbourg France and was forced to surrender. Brenton was at Verdun during which time he made strenuous efforts to improve the conditions under which British prisoners-of-war were held, arranging financial and other forms of support. He was exchanged in return for the release of a French prisoner in England. In 1807 he was given command of HMS Spartan and went on to further achievements, notably a brilliant action against a French squadron at Naples, 1 May 1810, when he was severely wounded.*
Jahleel Brenton 1802



*One of his descendants was Jahleel Brenton Carey, the man held responsible for the death of yet another Napoleon, the Prince Imperial, who was killed while on reconnaissance at Ityotyosi by the Zulus in 1879. Carey, the scapegoat, was 'sent to Coventry' by his fellow officers; the incident ruined his life. www.careyroots.com/hd1.html









 

 

 


 

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