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234 - WELLINGTON. "HIS MAJESTY WILL REVIEW THE RUSSIAN ARMY...".
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
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WELLINGTON. "HIS MAJESTY WILL REVIEW THE RUSSIAN ARMY...". Autograph letter signed "Wellington" as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied occupation troops in France, addressed to General Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian occupation troops in France. Aachen, 6 October 1818. One p. 1/4 in-4; trace of tab on verso. AT THE AIX-LA-CHAPELLE CONGRESS (June-November 1818). Since 1815, France had owed the Allies compensation and had been subjected to a heavy military occupation at its own expense, which initially involved more than a million men, before being reduced to around 150,000, mainly in the north of the country. After three years, Louis XVIII asked for the arrangements to be lightened, and it was decided to hold a congress in Aix-La-Chapelle: the Duke of Richelieu represented France, Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington represented England, Tsar Alexander I and General Vorontsov represented Russia, Emperor Francis I represented Austria, and King Frederick William III represented Prussia. Among other things, it was decided to end the occupation, and the Allied troops began leaving the territory in November. "My dear general, Prince Wolkonsky has just left me [Peter Volkonsky, aide-de-camp general to Tsar Alexander I, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars]; and we have arranged for His Majesty to review the Russian army before the grand review. I am sending you the arrangement which has been made, except for the days to be definitively fixed according to the state of affairs. You will thus fix your camp for the grand review; which I suppose will be in the vicinity of Solesmes as last year; and you will take a piece of land between Solesmes and Valenciennes for the review of your corps. This arrangement will not inconvenience you for the grand review the next day, since you will be so close to your camp on both days. His Majesty will spend a day with you in Maubeuge. As soon as the days are set I will let you know. Yours always, my dear General, most sincerely...". GENERAL MIKHAÏL SEMENOVITCH VORONTSOV (1782-1856) fought in the Napoleonic Wars and led Russian troops into Paris in 1814. He commanded the Russian troops occupying France from 1815 to 1818, and assisted the Tsar at the Congress of Aix-La-Chapelle. Later, as an excellent administrator, he held posts on the periphery of the Empire as governor of New Russia and Bessarabia (1823) and, after taking part in the war against the Turks (1828), as lieutenant-general of the Caucasus (1844). He was promoted to Field Marshal in 1856. Although a liberal, he was in favour of the emancipation of serfs and was close to the Decembrists.
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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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