"The Adventures of Captain Parquin" Topic

"This is the story of a remarkable French cavalryman of the Napoleonic era, Denis Charles Parquin, an officer of the Chasseurs a Cheval. Memoirs of soldiers of Napoleon's army are always exciting, but few exist in English translation. Those that have been translated such as the recollections of Coignet, Barres, Bourgogne and Marbot have become famous and provide a valuable resource of first hand information. Parquin joined the 20th regiment of the horse chasseurs in 1806 and served with it until 1813 rising in rank to lieutenant. He fought at Saalfeld, Jena, Eylau, Wagram, in the Iberian Peninsula at Ciudad Rodrigo and at Salamanca, gathering wounds as well as regimental promotions. In 1813, Parquin agreed to take a reduction in rank to join the elite Chasseurs a Cheval of the Imperial Guard, where he became the emperor's escort on the march and in the field. Napoleon personally awarded Parquin the cross of the Legion of Honour during a review in the same year. In the final battles of the First Empire Parquin fought at Leipzig, Hanau—where he was wounded—and during the battle for France in 1814, that led to the emperor's abdication and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. There is some evidence that Parquin took part in the Battle of Waterloo—probably as a cuirassier. He remained in the cavalry under the royalist regime, but was eventually ruined by his involvement in Bonapartist conspiracies. This book concentrates on his life at its most exciting as he served as a ‘beau sabreur' in the service of his beloved emperor. Included here are numerous illustrations (taken from the edition of these memoirs published as ‘Napoleon's Victories') that illuminate the narrative and add to the book's reading enjoyment and value as a reference source and collectors' edition."

From here
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Amicalement
Armand

I have a copy of the beautiful first English edition. I have read it four or five times. An excellent book.

Tom

I have a copy, 1893, with color illustrations. Superb book.

Titled: "Napoleon's Victories – Authentic Memoirs of Captain Parquin"

Can download for free in French
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and De Brack on light cav.
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Nice. Thank you, Armand. I've added the book to my wish list.

Happy for that my friend!. (smile).

Amicalement
Armand

Great read, a real " … stirring deeds what won the Empire … " but with lots of historical detail from the perspective of a French light cavalry officer who fought all over Europe.

Thanks for the link – for Parquin – a lot of very nice illustrations by Myrbach

Here is a link to all the Parquin Illustrations.

link

Paul :)

wonderfull stirring book……….a must read for all French
beau sabeur fans!

thanks for the links of the illustrations by Myrbach and Sergent

well done Dibble ref post!

I'll finish off with the man himself.

Paul :)

Reading it now – excellent stuff!

Happy you enjoyed it my friend!.

Amicalement
Armand

Finally finished this. I think it's among the best I've read from the French perspective.

Thanks for the info my friend.

Amicalement
Armand

Hi guys,

I was reading Parquin's memoirs recently, whilst painting some AB generals. I mention them in the middle of my post about the latter. You can read what I thought about it here:

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… hope it's of interest!

Parquin tells a fantastic tale. He was definitely a 'beau sabreur', duelling hard and sweetly seducing the ladies. The latter element adds a certain piquancy to the book!

@ Dibble:

Those Myrbach images are great. My copy of Parquin's memoirs was this one, a rather no-frills affair (it did at least have his portrait, same as you've reproduced above):

I only just became aware of Myrbach, literally yesterday, when this book arrived from Amazon:

… Which has this Myrbach, amongst the 88 artworks reproduced:

If anyone's interested, I review this relatively recent Pen & Sword publication, dedicated to the wonders of Napoleonic fine art here:

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My copy arrived this week. The text and tales are excellent, but have to agree with all the above about the Myrbach b&w illustrations …. wow. And one every third or fourth page. Did anyone notice how well the uniform evolution is documented through the illustrations? Wonderfulness.

Kevin