E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 59489-h.htm or 59489-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59489/pg59489-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/59489/59489-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/memoirsofsergean00bour [Illustration: SERGEANT BOURGOGNE. (From a portrait made in 1830.)] MEMOIRS OF SERGEANT BOURGOGNE 1812-1813 Compiled from the Original MS. by Paul Cottin Illustrated [Illustration] New York Doubleday & McClure Company 1899 Copyright 1899, by Doubleday & Mcclure Co. PREFACE Adrien Jean Baptiste Francois Bourgogne was the son of a cloth-merchant of Conde-sur-Escaut (Nord). He reached his twentieth year on November 12th, 1805, a time when military glory was the one dream of youth. To make this dream real, his father procured his admission into a corps of the Velites of the Guard, where a fixed income was a necessary qualification. The Velites were originally Roman soldiers lightly armed, for skirmishing with the enemy (_velitare_). In the year XII. when the Revolution was at an end, two corps of Velites, consisting of 800 men each, were attached to the foot Grenadiers, and to the mounted Grenadiers of the Consul's Guard. In times of peace each cavalry regiment had attached to it a squadron of Velites made up of troops of 125 men each, and each infantry regiment a battalion of two companies of 150 Velites each. The uniform worn by the Velites was always that of the corps into which they were drafted. The Velites were trained first at Saint Germain-en-Laye, then at Ecouen and at Fontainebleau. Bourgogne attended the writing, arithmetic, drawing, and gymnastic classes which were meant to complete the military education of these future officers; for, after a few years, the more efficient of the Velites were promoted to the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. After a few months, Bourgogne and his comrades were among the troops required for the campaign of 1806 in Poland, where Bourgogne became corporal. Two years later he took part in the Battle of Essling, where he was twice wounded.[1] From 1809 to 1811 he fought in Austria, Spain, and Portugal. In 1812 he was at Wilna, where the Emperor re-assembled his Guard before marching against the Russians. Bourgogne was now sergeant. Already he had travelled a great deal. He had seen something of most countries, and he had taken note of what he saw wherever he had been.