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197 - DAVOUT (LOUIS-NICOLAS). "NEY'S GREAT BRAVERY ON THE BATTLEFI…
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Estimate €1,500 - €2,000
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DAVOUT (LOUIS-NICOLAS). "NEY'S GREAT BRAVERY ON THE BATTLEFIELDS IS ENOUGH TO WIN HIM MY FRIENDSHIP AND MY ESTEEM...". Autograph letter signed to his wife Aimée Leclerc. Dietrichswald [now Gietrzwałd in Poland, near Olsztyn], 16 March [1807]. 4 pp. in-4. " ... IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I HAVE SEEN THE MEANS OF BIENVEILLANCE WITH WHICH PRINCESS CAROLINE [BONAPARTE, sister of Napoleon I, wife of Marshal Joachim Murat, then Grand Duke of Berg] HAS COMBELLED YOU and the good, albeit too advantageous, opinion she is willing to have of me. This language in her mouth touched me all the more because I cannot suppose that SHE IGNORES THE LITTLE BENEFIT THAT THE GRAND DUKE OF BERG [Joachim Murat, husband of Caroline Bonaparte] HAS FOR ME. The princess, although too delicate to express an opinion other than that of her husband, perhaps sees the Grand Duke's coldness and lack of benevolence towards me in its true light, i.e. as not being as consistent as I suppose; whatever the case, I do not think that I have anything to reproach myself for and that it can depend on me to change these feelings which have been with me for a long time. If these remarks have any foundation, it is the 1st time and the last that I am talking to you about these matters which, moreover, have no influence on my way of serving and on THE DEVOTION I HAVE FOR MY SOVEREIGN. I have given you these details to give you an idea of the satisfaction I must have felt in reading what the princess told you about me. I WILL ALWAYS TRY TO JUSTIFY THE GOOD OPINION SHE HAS OF ME AND TO DESERVE THE MARKS OF FAVOUR WITH WHICH THE EMPEROR HAS SHOWERED ME. It is very hard for me to see you, my dear Aimée, without a home in Paris at the time of your confinement. Since, out of discretion, you did not think you should accept the kind offers of the princess [Caroline Bonaparte] and those of the Ney and Soult m[arécha]les [Aglaé Auguié and Louise Berg], you must resolve to rent a hotel whatever the cost... I think that by taking every precaution to be as little of a burden as possible, you could have accepted the previous offers from LA M[ARECHA]LE NEY WITH WHOM YOU WERE BORN [in Madame Campan's institution], offers made willingly and which would increase, if that were possible, the friendship I have for her husband, but THE GREAT BRAVOUR OF NEY ON THE FIELDS OF BATTLE IS SUFFICIENT TO WIN HER MY FRIENDLYNESS AND MY ESTIMATE. You could also have accepted that of the Soult m[arécha]le who has always given you proof of friendship and who is the wife of one of the general colonels of the Guard... I will always try to give you my news as soon as possible, especially the day after a battle, but nothing leads me to believe that I will soon be in this circumstance: MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE BATTLE OF EYLAU WILL BE THE LAST OF THIS WAR. TELL THE PRINCESS BORGHESE THAT SHE HAS COMMUNICATED HER COURAGE TO HER HUSBAND WHO A FEW DAYS AGO, AT THE HEAD OF A SQUADRON OF HIS R[E]G[IMEN]T MADE A FINE CHARGE AGAINST SUPERIOR ENEMY FORCES. The Prince of Borghese has paid well for himself...". LOUIS-NICOLAS DAVOUT (1770-1823), the only MARECHAL D'EMPIRE to remain undefeated, took part in the campaigns of Egypt (1798-1800), Italy (1800), Austria (1805 and 1809), Prussia (1806), Poland (1807) and Russia (1812, where he was the only one to bring back the survivors of his corps in good order). He consistently proved himself to be an outstanding strategist and tactician, a leader of men, and won decisive battles, which earned him the dignity of Marshal in 1804, then the titles of Duke of Auerstaedt in 1806 and Prince of Eckmühl in 1809. Napoleon I also called on him for various delicate missions, such as the occupation of Poland in 1807-1808 and that of part of Germany from 1809 to 1812, or as Minister of War in charge of reconstituting an army during the Hundred Days. He always showed exemplary moral rectitude: after the fall of the Empire, he was one of the few to testify in favour of Marshal Ney, then, after two years of disgrace, used his new-found credit to have the generals of the Hundred Days rehabilitated by personally taking responsibility for the actions carried out under his command. LA MARECHALE DAVOUT, PAULINE BONAPARTE'S SISTER-IN-LAW. Aimée Leclerc (1782-1868) was brought up in Madame Campan's institution, where she made friends with other famous boarders, including Hortense de Beauharnais, Aglaé Auguié (the future Marshal Ney) and Pauline Bonaparte, who married her brother General Victor-Emmanuel Leclerc (who died in 1802). Aimée Leclerc married the future Marshal Davout in 1801.
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About the sale The Empire at Fontainebleau - Second day
Auction location
Auction time 06/21/2026 at 10:30 AM
Pictures credits:
Michel Bury and Henri du Cray
See original version (French)
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