Napoleon Bonaparte on Elba

Between April 14th, 1814 and March 1st, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte reigned over the principality of the Island of Elba [Isola d'Elba], specially created for his benefit by the Treaty of Fontainebleau of April 11th, 1814.

During this period, he organized this tiny territory of 224 square kilometers (forty times smaller than Corsica) and 13,700 inhabitants as he did the Empire, received relatives and a few other visitors, improved the daily lives of his subjects, but also, and above all, prepared and organized his return to French territory...

Aerial view of the island of Elba. Photo by Ugo Valfer

Below we will detail, chronologically, the life of the fallen Emperor during these ten months, while illustrating them with photographs taken during a stay on the island.

Year 1814

April 28, 1814 – At Saint-Raphaël, Napoleon embarked at the end of the day on the English frigate HMS Undaunted , commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas Ussher  which he preferred, for security reasons, to the French frigate Dryade that was intended for him. He was accompanied by:

1. Colonel Neil Campbell , English commissioner
2. General Franz von Koller , Austrian commissioner and his aide-de-camp Major Karl Johann Nepomuk Gabriel Clam-Martinic
3. General Henri-Gatien Bertrand , Grand Marshal of the Palace
4. General Antoine Drouot , aide-de-camp to the Emperor
5. Colonel Paweł Jan Jerzmanowski , commander of the squadron of Polish lancers of the Guard
6. Chevalier Guillaume-Joseph-Roux Peyrusse , Treasurer of the Crown
7. Chevalier Louis Fourreau de Beauregard, physician
8. Chevalier Pierre Deschamps, first quartermaster
9. Chevalier Pierre-Quentin-Joseph Baillon, second quartermaster
10. François-Charles-Gabriel Gatte, pharmacist
11. Mr. Colin, controller of the Emperor's Household
12. Mr. Rathery, secretary to the Grand Marshal
13. twelve other officials and ten servants, including Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Pierron , head of office and Jean-Abram Noverraz , bringer of cabinet mail.

April 29, 1814 – The wind being favorable, the Undaunted weighed anchor at about eleven o'clock in the morning.

May 3rd, 1814 – The frigate arrived at the island of Elba  at the end of the day, and anchored in the bay of Porto-Ferrajo [now Portoferraio] after having hoisted the parliamentary flag.

The bay of Portoferraio, north of the island of Elba

General Drouot went ashore in a boat commanded by Lieutenant Hastings, accompanied by Colonel Campbell, Captain Clam-Martinic and Lieutenant Smith. He went up to Fort Stella  to notify Brigadier General Jean-Baptiste Dalesme , Commander of the island, of Napoleon's sovereignty. Subsequently, a delegation of notables came aboard the Undaunted.

Napoleon decided on the flag of his new state, "silver with a gules bend dotted with three gold bees", inspired by both that of the Appiani family of Pisa, the first sovereigns of the island, white with bees (Api means bees in Italian) and that of Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574), founder of Portoferraio.

May 4, 1814 – In the morning, the Elbani (inhabitants of the island) crowded around a proclamation that had just been posted on their walls: The happiest event that could ever illustrate the history of the island of Elba has taken place on this day! Our august sovereign the Emperor Napoleon has arrived among us. Our wishes are fulfilled: the happiness of the island of Elba is assured (…) Let us unite around his sacred person, let us compete in zeal and fidelity to serve him.

Meanwhile Napoleon, who had discreetly landed by boat on the coast opposite Portoferraio, visited the Tenuta La Chiusa [42.79811, 10.35644], an estate belonging to Pellegrino Senno that produced wines (including the famous Aleatico) and olive oil. Then he returned on board the Undaunted.

Vineyards of Tenuta La Chiusa, visited by Napoleon

It was at 2 p.m. (or later in the afternoon depending on the source) that the admiral boat in which Napoleon had taken his place, in the company of Drouot, Bertrand, Campbell, Ussher, Koller and Clam, docked at the port of Portoferraio, to the sound of the cannons of the Stella and Falcone forts . Napoleon was dressed in his green uniform of colonel of the Chasseurs de la Garde, with white breeches, and he wore as his only decorations those of the Legion of Honor and the Iron Crown; on his hat, the cockade now had the new Elba colors. Mayor Pietro Traditi handed him the keys to the city on a silver platter. The Emperor entered through the Porta del Mare (Gate of the Sea) , built in the 16th century to the glory of Cosimo de' Medici.

Napoleon arrived at the parade ground [current Piazza della Repubblica] where on the right stood the cathedral [Duomo della Natività della Beata Vergine Maria] [42.81470, 10.33237] . Bishop Giuseppe Filippo Arrighi, a distant cousin since he was the uncle of Jean Thomas Arrighi de Casanova, Duke of Padua, led him there under a red canopy covered with garlands and edged with gold paper. Inside, a prie-Dieu covered with a velvet sheet had been placed in the middle of the nave for the Emperor. The ceremony culminated with the Te Deum laudamus of Saint Ambrose of Milan.

Then the Emperor went to the other side of the square to the town hall  [42.81524, 10.33144], locally known as Biscottria because biscuits were once prepared there for sailors. He settled there for a few days, in apartments on the first floor (where the battalion commander Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo had lodged ten years earlier) prepared in haste.

He had the following report published: This 4th of May 1814. His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon having taken possession of the island of Elba, General Drouot, governor of the island, in the name of the Emperor, had the island's flag flown on the forts: a white background crossed diagonally by a red band dotted with three bees on a gold background. This flag was saluted by the batteries of the forts on the coast, by the English frigate Undaunted and by the French warships that were in the port. In faith whereof, we, the Commissioners of the Allied Powers, have signed the present report with General Drouot, Governor of the Island, and General Dalesme, Commander-in-Chief of the Island.

Late in the evening, he received André Pons de l'Hérault , a former French revolutionary and republican, whom he had met in 1793 during the Siege of Toulon, who had since 1809 become administrator of the island's iron mines.

May 5, 1814 – At five o'clock in the morning, Napoleon was on horseback and visiting the forts with General Dalesme and Colonel Charles Humbert Marie Vincent, director of the island's fortifications. He chose his home, halfway between the Falcone (to the west) and Stella (to the east) forts: a pavilion called "I Mulini" [Palazzina dei Mulini] [42.81681, 10.33218].

At that time, it was a small villa built in 1724 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Gian Gastone de' Medici on a promontory north of the historic city center, initially surrounded by four windmills (destroyed in 1809), which had given the residence its name. It consisted of two pavilions connected by a central single-storey building, all overlooking a garden to the northwest    overlooking the sea . Some small annexes already used by the governor of the island were arranged on the terraces that rose towards Fort Stella. On the other side was the building of a small theater.

Below, a crevice in the cliff  sheltered a small beach suitable for discreet bathing.

May 6, 1814 – Napoleon went to inspect the iron mines on the heights of Rio Marina , in the eastern part of the island, in the company of André Pons de l'Hérault. These open-cast mines, exploited since the time of the Etruscans, were at that time the prerogative of the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honor.

An iron mine on the island of Elba

Pons de l'Hérault received Napoleon at his home with a bouillabaisse à la Sétoise (traditional Languedocian fish soup recipe originating in the port city of Sète). From that day on, and with the Emperor's agreement, he would gather a large amount of information that would serve him much later in writing his Memoirs.

May 7, 1814 – New inspection tour at dawn, this time of the interior buildings.

May 8, 1814 – The ship Curaçao arrived in Portoferraio, under the command of Commander Tower, from which Edward Hawke Locker, secretary to Admiral Edward Pellew, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, disembarked. He presented Napoleon with a copy of the convention of April 23, preliminary to the Treaty of Paris. Napoleon was content to take note of it.

May 9, 1814 – The Curaçao left for Genoa [Genova], with the Austrian commissioner Franz von Koller on board. Napoleon gave him a letter for his wife, the Empress Marie Louise.

May 15, 1814 – Napoleon inspected the work he had ordered for his Mulini residence, and entrusted to the Livornese architect Paolo Bargigli, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara who had already worked for Elisa Baciocchi in Massa and Lucca. The layout of the rooms would now be as follows:

1. On the ground floor, four small adjoining rooms became his bedroom, his library, his small living room and his office;
2. On either side, a large living room and two smaller ones for the officers on duty, an antechamber and the valets' room;
3. On the first floor, a large room with eight windows, accessed by a staircase, serving as a throne room for collective audiences, a ceremonial lounge but also, if necessary, a ballroom. It overlooked the city on one side, the sea on the other;
4. A small theater obliquely extended the pavilion on the left (north end). It had movable floors so that it could be used as a party room and a dining room, and its walls were decorated by the Turin painter Vincenzo Antonio Revelli.

May 16, 1814 – Napoleon gave his first social reception at the City Hall, a "ladies' circle" type salon, where about fifty Elbane, in full dress, were accompanied by their husbands.

May 18, 1814 – Napoleon set out to visit the western part of the island in the company of Bertrand, Campbell, two chamberlains, two orderly officers, a captain of the gendarmerie, the intendant, the mayor of Portoferraio, the president of the Tribunal, several other officials, and the necessary escorts. He went to Marciana Marina, where a festive reception had been prepared for him, and where a Te Deum was sung. He spent the night there.

May 19, 1814 – He visited the villages of Marciana Superiore , former residence of the Appiani, Poggio , Sant'Ilario in Campo and San Piero in Campo, where he slept.

May 20, 1814 – Napoleon embarked on the Caroline and went to visit the island of Pianosa [42.58736, 10.09584], 20 kilometers (11 nautical miles) to the southwest, which he traveled in all directions on horseback. He decided to colonize and rearm the island (which had been deserted for several years) by building a barracks. On the way back he stopped at the nearby islet of La Scola [42.58395, 10.10608]. Then, after having dinner at Campo, he returned to Portoferraio during the night.

May 21, 1814 – Napoleon took possession of the Mulini residence, in the smell of paint and fresh plaster.

May 25, 1814 – The frigate Dryade, commanded by Captain François Henry de Peytes de Montcabrier and the brig L'Inconstant , by Captain Jean Baptiste Lacroix de Charrier-Moissard, arrived. The first one was to carry the French troops, and the second one was to remain the property of Napoleon, in accordance with the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

May 26, 1814 – Five English ships landed early in the morning, bringing General Pierre Cambronne and the few hundred men (675 grenadiers and 54 Polish light horse) of the Guard authorized by the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Napoleon paid a short visit aboard the Dryade, then went to the Undaunted. With the arrival of the Guard, the presence of this ship to ensure Napoleon's security was no longer necessary. Captain Ussher then took leave of the Emperor, who thanked him warmly and presented him with a snuffbox decorated with his portrait and set with diamonds.

At the same time as the Guard, eight of Napoleon's riding horses were disembarked, each of them associated with past events:

1. L'Ingénu, also called Wagram, a small dappled grey Arab that he had ridden at the Battle of Wagram.
2. Le Vizir, a small stallion measuring 1.35 m at the withers, with a grey coat, given to the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III. Having become Emperor, Napoleon rode him at Jena and Eylau
3. Tauris, a grey Persian with a white mane and a docked tail, offered by Tsar Alexander I at the Congress of Erfurt. This horse suited Napoleon perfectly, who rode it often: during the Russian campaign, at Smolensk, at the Battle of Borodino, at the entrance to Moscow, during the retreat, in particular at the crossing of the Berezina, in 1813 during the battles of Dresden, Leipzig, and Hanau, and during the Campaign in Northeast France of 1814.
4. The Intendant called Coco, another gray, large Norman horse, with quiet manners, ridden by Napoleon in most of the great reviews and during parades, such as the triumphal entry into a conquered foreign capital.
5. Roitelet, from a French mare and an English stallion, offered to Napoleon by his son-in-law, Eugene de Beauharnais. During the retreat from Russia, he was happy to ride him, because he did not slip on the ice like the other horses. He also rode him at Lützen and at Arcis-sur-Aube.
6. Montevideo, a South American bay with a flowing mane and tail, whom he had ridden in Spain. Well bred, this horse was reserved for the Island of Elba for Maria Luisa.
7. Emir, a Turk with a black flowing mane and tail, who had been used in Spain and in 1814.
8. Gonzalve, a large bay Andalusian, with a flowing mane and tail, ridden by Napoleon in Spain and in 1814 at Brienne.

May 29, 1814 – On this day of San Cristino, the patron saint of Portoferraio, a reception was held in honor of the Emperor. He went to high mass in the morning, in his golden carriage drawn by six horses, with postilions and piqueurs, his escort of lancers and his staff on horseback in their finest uniforms; the Guard lined the road. In the evening, he went to the ball that the town of Portoferraio was giving him, lit by a grand torchlight show.

May 31, 1814 – Pauline Bonaparte, on her way to Naples on the Neapolitan frigate Laetitia, joined her brother for two days on the island of Elba.

June 1st, 1814 – Pauline having informed him that she wished to acquire a small country estate, Napoleon went to inspect an estate situated on the slopes of Monte San Martino, five kilometers southwest of Portoferraio. This quiet and isolated valley, with hills on either side and behind, offered fine views of the town and the harbor. The only buildings were a peasant's cottage and a shed. It was agreed that Pauline would purchase the estate, and that during her absence Napoleon would have a country house built for her [42.78556, 10.28040]. Pauline entrusted Bertrand with a diamond necklace, the sale of which was to cover the acquisition costs.

June 4, 1814 – In Porto-Ferrajo , Napoleon had lunch with the commander of the Dryade, then in the evening honored with his presence a ball given on board the Curaçao, an English frigate under the command of Captain Towers, for the birthday of King George III. That same day, Colonel Vincent left the island for France.

July 26, 1814 – Napoleon wrote to Bertrand to order the architect to complete within four days the three rooms of the villa of San Martino which overlooked Portoferraio, and to send the furniture on the fifth day, so that he could have this pied-à-terre at his disposal.

The Villa of San Martino

July 31, 1814 – Napoleon went to stay in San Martino for a few days, while the work of raising the roof of the Mulini was carried out.

August 2nd, 1814 – Madame Mère joined her son on the island of Elba from Leghorn Livorno, aboard the English ship Grasshopper. However, Napoleon, who had been waiting for her the day before, was in San Martino and he would not see her until the next day. She settled in the Vantini house, at number 12 Ferrandini Street [42.81576, 10.33250], near the Palace.

August 15, 1814 – Napoleon's birthday was celebrated throughout the principality. Horse races were organized on the road to San Martino, which he himself presided over.

August 23, 1814 – Napoleon went to settle in the hermitage of the Madonna del Monte  [42.79103, 10.15260], nestled in a forest of chestnut and holm oak trees, on the foothills of Mount Capanne (highest point on the island, altitude 1,019 m), 1.5 kilometers west of the village of Marciana. He had a tent with a camp bed set up there.

From here, the Emperor enjoyed a view of his native island, as well as, on the opposite side, the port of Marciana Marina, known since ancient times for its tuna fishing activity.

Marciana Marina, on the northern coast of the western part of the island of Elba

Not far from there, on the road leading to the village of Poggio, Napoleon liked to go and quench his thirst at the spring called Fonte dell'Acquaviva [which has since become, as it should be, the Napoleon spring] [42.78461, 10.17793].

August 26, 1814 – Madame Mère visited her son at the Madonna del Monte, and had lunch with him in the tent.

September 1st, 1814 – Maria Walewska, her son Alexandre but also her sister Émilie Laczinska and her brother Colonel Teodor Laczinski arrived on the island. The landing took place in the evening at San Giovanni [42.802123, 10.32368], facing the harbor of Portoferraio. Napoleon installed them in the presbytery of the monastery, himself remaining in his tent (when he did not go, at night, to join his old Polish love, if we are to believe the Mamluk Ali). According to this faithful servant, Maria remained on the island for a dozen days (which is contradicted by the multiple sources that have Maria embarking on the 3rd).

September 2nd, 1814 – Napoleon spent the day with Maria. They walked around the area, stopping at the chapel of San Cerbone [Romitorio di San Cerbone] [42.78161, 10.16839], on a path leading to Mount Capanne. But the idyll could not be renewed: Napoleon, who remained married to Marie-Louise, could not allow himself, in full view of the European courts, on which he ultimately depended, and while the Congress of Vienna was looming, such an extramarital relationship. Especially since rumors on the island stated that it was the Empress and the King of Rome who had landed...

September 3rd, 1814 – In the evening, Maria Walewska left the hermitage to set sail for Marcia Marina, but a raging storm prevented her from doing so, and she had to cross the entire island to its eastern part to be able to embark in the cove of Mola [42.76021, 10.38609] in Porto Longone [today Porto Azzurro].

Porto Longone [Porto Azzurro], on the eastern coast of the island of Elba

September 5 to 24, 1814 – Napoleon took up residence at the Fortress of St. James [Forte di S. Giacomo, today a penal institution] [42.76544, 10.40273], a former Spanish citadel overlooking Porto Longone.

September 28, 1814 – The knight François Antoine Mariotti, French consul in Livorno, in office since July 31 and in the pay of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, who had informants on the island, reported that preparations for departure were being made in Portoferraio (he would reiterate this information on the 25th); he also reported his difficulties in having Napoleon kidnapped, as he seemed to have been instructed to do.

October 10, 1814 – Still without news of his wife since August 10, nor of his son for six months, Napoleon wrote through the knight Colonna, one of his mother's chamberlains, to the Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany, uncle of Marie-Louise. He asked him to kindly serve as an intermediary for weekly letters, and the replies in return of Marie-Louise and Countess Louise Charlotte Françoise de Montesquiou, governess of the King of Rome. This letter, immediately forwarded to Francis I by his brother, was to remain unanswered.

November 1st, 1814 – Pauline Bonaparte came to settle on the island of Elba. Napoleon granted her the apartments of the Mulini that he had intended for Marie-Louise, now aware that the latter would not join him.

November 12, 1814 – Colonel Campbell reported on Napoleon's financial difficulties, living beyond his means as long as the expected resources did not arrive. He showed himself to be perceptive and even visionary in estimating that, in the absence of assurances from this quarter, I think he is capable of crossing over to Piombino with his troops, or of any other eccentricity.. He will reiterate these warnings about the Emperor's financial situation on November 18, December 3, December 10, December 27, and this until February...

November 30, 1814 – Landed in Portoferraio, in the company of the Milanese Count Antonio Litta Biumi who had come to propose to Napoleon to organize an insurrection in Italy, an individual presenting himself as an oil merchant [this will remain his nickname, his identity having never been discovered] who went to settle in the city and become a formidable spy in the service of Mariotti. In particular, he went regularly to report on the Emperor's plans and preparations for departure.

Year 1815

January 8, 1815 – A ball was held at 9 p.m., followed by a midnight supper. According to Napoleon's instructions to Bertrand, others were planned for the 15th, 22nd, and 29th, as well as during the carnival which was to last until February 8th.

January 12 or 13, 1815 – The brig L'Inconstant, "flagship" of the Elba fleet under the command of Lieutenant François-Louis Taillade, returning from Civitavecchia with a cargo of wheat, suffered a leak and ran aground upon arriving in Porto Ferraio, in the bay of Bagnaia [42.81063, 10.36305]. The damage would require six weeks of repair in dry dock.

February 12, 1815 – Hugues Bernard Maret sent to Napoleon 1 an emissary, Baron Pierre-Alexandre-Edouard Fleury de Chaboulon, former auditor at the Council of State, sub-prefect of Reims in 1814, to advise him to hasten his return to France in order to take advantage of the unpopularity of the Bourbons.

February 16, 1815 – Colonel Campbell left the island of Elba for Livorno aboard the frigate Partridge, commanded by Captain John Miller Adye. Campbell was going to Florence [Firenze] to visit his mistress, the Countess Miniaci. He reported that he would not be back yet to attend the ball organized by Pauline Bonaparte on the 26th, so Napoleon deduced that he himself had to leave the island by that date at the latest. As soon as Campbell had left, the Emperor had an embargo placed on all ships in the island's ports.

February 18, 1815 – The Inconstant made sea trials but a leak persisted.

February 24, 1815 – Napoleon made his intentions known to Joachim Murat and advised him to wait before taking action. The same day the Partridge arrived at Portoferraio, without Campbell, however. The latter, worried by rumors of Napoleon's departure, had asked Captain Adye to come and inspect. Adye, not observing anything abnormal, left immediately. However, the entire fleet of boats assembled in the harbor of Portoferraio was ready, but, as a diversion, Napoleon's soldiers were busy maintaining the green spaces...

February 25, 1815 – Three proclamations to the French people, dated March 1st, were printed on the island of Elba. In the evening, after dinner, Napoleon informed his mother of his departure the next day.

February 26, 1815 – Napoleon left the island of Elba , at nine o'clock in the evening, on the brig L'Inconstant, repainted a few days before so that it could be less easily identified once at sea. She was armed with 26 cannons (instead of the usual 18), with a crew of 60 sailors, commanded by two Corsicans, Captain Antoine-Marc Forcioli  and his second Jean-Mathieu Sari. On board were the Emperor's close friends and 400 soldiers from his guard.

Six other ships flanked her:

1. the aviso L'Étoile, a three-masted xebec of 83 tons, armed with 6 cannons
2. the speronade - a flat-bottomed Maltese three-masted ship - La Caroline
3. the xebec Saint-Joseph, belonging to Signor Tonietti, an Elban merchant
4. the feluccas L'Abeille and La Mouche, which were usually ore carriers in Rio Marina
5. the polacre - a three-masted ship with a mixture of square and lateen sails - Saint-Esprit, measuring 200 tons, conveniently arrived in Porto-Ferrajo on February 20, and which Napoleon had made unload the cargo to be able to transport a hundred Polish lancers, mounted on board with their harness but without mounts.

In total, there were around 1,150 men who followed Napoleon in the extraordinary adventure that began, the Flight of the Eagle:

1. Old Guard (grenadiers, hunters, sailors, gunners): 600 men
2. Polish lancers: 100 men
3. Corsican battalion: 300 men
4. Gendarmes (mainly Italians and Corsicans): 50 men
5. Civilians (including servants and domestics): 100 men

February 27, 1815 – In the morning, around 8 o'clock, The Inconstant was close to the island of Capraia [43.03838, 9.82047], to the south-east of it. The boats likely to disrupt the crossing were then:

1. The Partridge, still under the command of Captain Adye, which was four hours from Leghorn, sailing at low speed. Campbell, very worried, was on board and had ordered Commander Adye to fire if he came across Napoleon on his brig with troops and provisions.
2. A French brig, the Zéphyr, commanded by Captain Andrieux, which was approaching Capraia from the west, on her way to Leghorn after having picked up a company of soldiers in Corsica.
3. The French frigate Fleur-de-Lys, commanded by the Chevalier de Garet, which was near Capraia, to the northwest, on her usual route of monitoring ships carrying recruits from Corsica to the island of Elba.
4. The French frigate Melpomène which was making the same cruise southwest of Capraia. This vessel was therefore possibly close to L'Inconstant and her six accompanying ships.

Around 10 o'clock the sails of the Partridge were seen to the north, but the latter turned to port and sailed away.

Shortly after 2 o'clock the sails of the frigates Fleur-de-Lys and Melpomène were seen against the light towards Capraia, but they kept their distance.

The most dangerous encounter took place around 7 o'clock: the Zéphyr crossed paths with L'Inconstant, on board which Napoleon had lain down behind the bulwark like most of the crew. While they were side by side, the second in command Taillade exchanged a few words with Captain Andrieux, who commanded the Zéphyr and whom he knew well. The alert was passed.

February 28, 1815 – After a windless night, the breeze became favorable and, in very fine weather, they headed west.

March 1st, 1815 – The landing  took place in the afternoon at Golfe-Juan , between Cannes and Antibes. At 5 p.m., it was finished.

Map of the island of Elba (first half of the 19th century)