NAPOLÉON BONAPARTE (1769-1821)

Two unpublished "Nap" L.S. to General Henri-Jacques-Guillaume Clarke (1765-1818): - 1 dated May 18, 1807: "Monsieur le General Clarke, je revois votre lettre du 13 avril ou 14. I thank you for the part you are taking in the death of poor little Napoleon. - I have given orders for the regiment of the Grand Duke of Berg (Joachim Murat) to be retrograded to Düsseldorf, where it will be formed. - The provisional 15th has very few officers and can only be considered as a depot. It is therefore becoming urgent to direct it for the army, so that it can be incorporated into the Corps without delay. With this in mind, I pray to God that he may have you in his holy care. At Finckenstein, May 18th 1807. Nap". 3/4 page in-4°. - 1 dated November 19, 1809: "Monsieur le General Clarke, I have instructed you to write to the Duke of Istria that five days more or less did nothing to make us ready. Send by an officer the last order to the Duke of Istria (Jean-Baptiste Bessières) and that before December 1st I be master of the island of Walcheren. On this I pray to God that he may have you in his holy custody. Paris, November 19th 1809. Nap - On the 19th M. de F... left with the dispatch to the Duke of Istria". 1/2 page in-4°. History Until August 1807, General Clarke was responsible for the exchange of ratifications of the peace treaty between France and the Kingdom of Saxony. It was on this occasion that he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Henri. The "death of poor little Napoleon" was that of the Emperor's nephew, son of his brother Louis, King of Holland, and considered at the time to be the future heir to the imperial throne. It was from this event that Napoleon envisaged another way of succeeding him, which would prove to be to Josephine's detriment. In 1809, Clarke was Minister of War and the Empire was under attack from all sides, in Austria, Spain and Holland; the aim here was to recapture the island of Walcheren, which secured the French stronghold of Antwerp on the North Sea.