Bonaparte and the Consulate (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Bonaparte and the Consulate

Napoleon Bonaparte, as the supreme military genius of modern history, is familiar to all of us. There are few who have not some definite idea of his great battles, of the Generals, second only to himself, who surrounded him; few who have not formed in their minds some conception of the fields of Marengo, of Austerlitz, of Wagram, or of Waterloo. The undying interest in Napoleon's campaigns has of late years been well illustrated by the success of such Memoirs as those of Marbot and Thiebault. Marbot, indeed, has become as delightful a friend as D'Artagnan or Rob Roy; while Thiébault, less attractive in himself, has taught us a hundred details of the military history of Europe during the great wars.

But when we come to Bonaparte as a civilian, a statesman, a philosopher, I imagine that most of us would find our knowledge confined to a few facts, such as that he destroyed the parliamentary system, restored the Church in France, had some connection with the Code Napoleon, proclaimed himself emperor, subjected France and Europe to a stern, unbending tyranny, shot a bookseller, was overthrown by outraged Europe with England at its head; and finally, as we are told by Master George Osborne, ended his life miserably "on a desert island, that of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean."

Everyone who has seriously studied the life of Napoleon Bonaparte will, I think, agree with me in dividing his career into three very distinct periods. Putting aside his boyhood and early youth, the first period would extend from the 13 Vendémiaire (October 1795) to July 1807; covering the Italian campaigns, the Consulate, the earlier days of the Empire, and closing with the victories of Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau. Within this period Bonaparte's genius reached its culminating point, both military and civil; while France, reorganised and victorious under his guidance, rose to an unquestioned supremacy over the Continent of Europe.

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