"The Marshals’ Wives" Topic

"This is the second part of my series looking at the wives of Napoleon's marshals. This week I am looking at Mesdames Davout, Gouvion St-Cyr, Grouchy, Jourdan and Kellermann. There is a real disparity in the length of the profiles this time around; while there is plenty of information on the life of Aimée Davout and I was able to find some first hand information on conversations with Anne Gouvion St-Cyr, there was a sad dearth of information on the other three women beyond their marriage and death dates. Unfortunately a good few of the marshals did not preserve any personal correspondence or domestic papers at all.

Once again I am struck by the enormous hardships some of these women faced. While being married to a marshal brought great status at Napoleon's fledgling court, and usually substantial wealth, most of the wives were frequently left alone while their husbands fought endless campaigns across the length and breadth of Europe. A title was of small comfort when enduring bereavement, ill health or – worst of all – the loss of a child alone…"

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Armand

Tough as it may have been for the wives of Napoleon's senior commanders it was doubtless much harder for the wives of those lower down in the ranks.

Agree…

Armand

Fascinating blog page! Many well-penned entries to be found there.

Happy you enjoyed it…

Armand

Thanks for sharing this, Armand!

A votre service mon cher ami….

Armand