Photographs of the last Napoleonic wars veterans

[@thathistoryiscoolguy]

I didn't include Pavel Yakovlevich Tolstoguzov because it's disputed if he's actually one

[@marshalsoult3860]

man such gorgeous invention like the camera and your music choice is wonderful.

[@TempleofSolomon]

civ V music

[@MSK.L]

Lol did you know "Tolstoguzov" literally translates as "Fat Ass" (and "ass" here is not a donkey)

[@moroccoisback477]

man you forgot Jerome Bonaparte famous picture , the little crazy brother of Napoleon

[@pew9078]

Isn't that al yankovic's ancestor?

[@thunderbird1921]

Interesting fact: I've read from at least one source that many of those 1850s portraits of French veterans were a reward from Emperor Napoleon III, to thank them for their loyalty to his uncle. How remarkable that would be, to see your emperor and his family deposed, and then live to see their descendants return to power almost half a century later!

[@M.Robespierre3691]

Return to power, but later deposed as well.

[@LoudaroundLincoln]

I never knew that his family returned to power!?!?!?!?! Shows how much I know. Looks like I've got some reading to do.

[@thunderbird1921]

@@LoudaroundLincoln It's honestly one of the wildest stories in European history (the Bonapartes' return to power), it feels like it's straight out of an alternative history fantasy novel. The people again got fed up with the restored Bourbon monarchy, radicals toppled King Louis Philippe in the 1848 revolutions (though unlike Louis XVI, he escaped and lived out his life in exile), a corrupt Second Republic was formed, then in strutted Louis Napoleon Bonaparte to become President. Three years later, he did a coup on the now even more corrupt republic and became Emperor Napoleon III (and ruled for 22 years overall until he was captured in war by the Prussians in 1870). DEJA VU. He's honestly one of the most UNDERRATED monarchs of the 19th Century. He even hosted Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as his guests of honor in the 1850s.

[@harbingerd.8457]

@@thunderbird1921 And people remember him as Napoleon lite who lost to Prussia. Remember, while his foreign adventures weren't that much of a success like Mexico, he himself was a capable Administrator who modernized France unlike his predecessors. While not a military man like his uncle, he had the capacity to be an effective ruler st peace time.

[@thunderbird1921]

@@harbingerd.8457 Well, honestly, even some of Napoleon III's military campaigns were actually VERY successful, at least before 1861. He won the Crimean War over Russia, pushed Austria out of Italy in the war of 1859 (even personally commanding the climatic victory over Franz Joseph's army at Solferino), and together with the British demolished China so badly in the Second Opium War that they ceased to be a world power. Mexico and Prussia were literally his only poor campaigns. He certainly wasn't his uncle, but he wasn't too shabby.

[@exJacktar]

I love how proud these old soldiers look in their splendor.

[@exJacktar]

@JZ's Best Friend it's a shame these photos aren't in colour and more of these men weren't captured on film (from both sides) for future generations, like us.

[@SpitfireMLG]

European military dress was 🔥 in the 19th century

[@rekt_yer_nan_darding_5788]

0:17 is probably the least dignified lol

[@rekt_yer_nan_darding_5788]

@JZ's Best Friend I'm just pointing out that they don't all look dignified in my opinion. Also do you know me? How can you be disappointed when you have no standard to base it off, actually I've said way worse things than someone not looking dignified on the internet so I don't know why your standards are set so high for me. I think you mean to say that you are mad.

[@exJacktar]

@JZ's Best Friend l agree

[@gammadion]

You know they saw Napoleon and could probably remember what he looked like in his last days. He was known for walking throughout the camps of his men and engaging in random games and such with them. He also wanted to see personally what they thought of him and he also did the same thing in Paris, dressed in a cloak and overcoat, asking what random passers-by thought of L'Empereur.

[@jeryro1642]

Napoleon sounds like a good general

[@basedkaiser5352]

@@jeryro1642 Good ? No. HE WAS A TREMENDOUS GENERAL, ONE OF THE BEST !

[@gammadion]

@@jeryro1642 he was, but his weakness was that he did not put enough faith in the independence of his marshals. However, they were also not exactly to his level, though a few were exceptional. So much charisma and so much wordless power radiated from that figure. A lot of what you read about him seems like fanciful fiction, but it can be attested to the glory which he won France, the dire economic situation out of which he pulled them, and the feeling of a strong center around which all Frenchmen could rally was hard to be expressed yet so obvious in his person. Napoleon is one of the greatest figures in all of history and I cannot say that enough. I'm not even French myself, but I can say that he so impresses me that I wish I could have followed behind him. Reading about the France before he arrived versus after is as if an impossible task were completed. He really was a mystical figure in many ways.

[@jeryro1642]

@@basedkaiser5352 that is true

[@jeryro1642]

@@gammadion ah, thank you I didn’t know that

[@tedrobinson372]

Just a note: there are no photographs of Napoleon because he died in 1821, five years before photography was invented.

[@kasimirdenhertog3516]

Yep, and they didn’t take the opportunity to photograph him 20 odd years later when they dug him up. Apparently, he looked exactly like when they buried him, so quite a bummer really.

[@kanefranzmadrigal2988]

dammit I wanted to see his photograph face lol

[@influenza3736]

If you wanna see a photograph of Napoleon, look up Jerome Bonaparte's son or Napoleon's nephew. Look at those pictures and tell me that he doesn't look exactly like Napoleon. Probably the closest we'll get.

[@septimiusseverus343]

@@influenza3736 There are actually two photographs of Jerome Bonaparte in his old age (look them up).

[@lordpolish2727]

@@kasimirdenhertog3516 hearing that they didnt take a photo of him is so annoying, ah well we have a pretty good picture of what he looked like based off paintings anyway

[@youtubecansukkadik]

After all those decades, they still fit in their uniform & they look glorious

[@confusedcossack2885]

They actually loosened the fabric for some of these men since they got smaller, and in some occasions, wider. Still youre right. They look very good.

[@xixi1x34]

@@confusedcossack2885 oh really?

[@mr.monhon5179]

@Kenneth Clark I mean, how else can you hit anything with a musket?

[@piccalillipit9211]

@Kenneth Clark - I did a lot of driving in Africa. After I had been there 5 weeks I drove past some vultures eating the dead bodies at the side of the road; the people that didn't make it back last night - presumably hit by cars or lorries. That's not the important bit - the important bit was i did not wake my co-driver up to tell him. That is how immune you can become to death and how quickly it happens. These people saw a LOT more death - like 100 X more death than we do. You see death every day in some parts of Africa; they have 12 kids cos only 3 will live to grow up and have their own.

[@k3kboi665]

@@xixi1x34 these are men in their 70's ofcourse their bodies changer ower the 50 years.

[@Mr5thWave]

I wonder how many of these old french boys were able to experience Napolean's tomb relocation to Les Invalides in 1861. Must have been a moving experience for them.

[@thunderbird1921]

More than that, the old French fellas were probably living in bliss in the 1850s, since Napoleon III had come to power and was now Emperor. I've heard those photographs were his way of thanking the veterans for their loyalty to his uncle, along with an additional award for service.

[@fredautret]

Napoleon's body returned to France in 1840, and indeed many veterans were still alive to attend the event. One can only imagine the emotion that these men must have felt.

[@p.b.5107]

Some of them freezed to death when they were uotside waiting. That really means something. That's how you know someone was a worthy leader of the people.

[@山丨山丂丂乇乇卩]

It surely was, accounts for the event testify the emotional upheaval so many of these old veterans went through. After all Napoleon was the man who protected France from the combined onslaught of European monarchies. At a time when everyone was their enemy, everyone wanted to see the french brought to their knees, it was Napoleon who made these men the most feared and respected across all of Europe. The Grande army under Napoleon had garnered an even more ferocious reputation than the Spanish Tercio during the 16th century. Vive L'Empereur 🦅

[@p.b.5107]

@@charleserdig2730 Was it him or was it the enemy countries? Who started the wars and seven coalitions, who trashed the peace and who betrayed their ally? Is your blame on the right man? I agree that people should live in peace and not kill each other. Although freedom always costs blood. What do you think what was this obsessive loyalty fueled with?

[@alvarotolentino1589]

It's a strange feeling to watch these soldiers who served someone as legendary as Napoleon, you can say that Napoleon being the colossus on history he was, his soldiers also acquired a legendary level

[@LordWyatt]

Similar to Alexander and his Men. The army became so memorable in their own right, any veterans would’ve been revered.

[@user-bh4rx8mf8g]

Likewise the soldiers of the armies that eventually defeated him.

[@shamilfsobhanstandwithukra3937]

in fact, some might’ve been older than him and died after him.

[@joshuab3715]

He’s a dictator.

[@shamilfsobhanstandwithukra3937]

@@joshuab3715 i know, i know what you’re thinking: *eat those napoleons

[@kencur9690]

Man, this photos of the last Napoleonic wars are pretty cool, but I bet ya the next Napoleonic wars will be even cooler.

[@TheRaptorSh00T]

Long live the Emperor

[@jamalwashium5387]

@@TheRaptorSh00T frogs lost then and will lose again - Richard Sharpe

[@chriswoodford4331]

Yes. With the seizure of a British trawler could mean war.

[@marshalsoult3860]

@@jamalwashium5387 now thats not soldiering :(

[@SpitfireMLG]

Hol up

[@ieatmice751]

The Napoleonic wars were so recent but just out of reach, very moving to see the remnants of it

[@verycool9484]

Same feeling of mine when talk about the period of that war

[@huoshin]

we are as close in time to those men who fought in WW1 as they were to the battle of waterloo, some of them might even have met their grandfathers who were there.

[@guess6635]

​@@huoshinThere's a Physical, legit Picture in Color of a Woman named Margaret Ann Neve in 1902 and who passed away in 1903. She was born in 1792 while the French Revolution was occurring and she was alive as a Newborn and toddler when King Louis the Sixteenth and Marie Antoinette were still alive before being sent to the Guillotine. There's a picture in 1903. Of a Woman who was alive breathing air, before... Before Marie Antoinette was sent to the Guillotine. That's truly one of the most intriguing facts since thats the same Year, Airplanes were introduced to the World and she herself apoke on how during her Honeymoon after just getting married, went to the battle field where Waterloo took place and there wss still remnants of the Battle present since it was very recent by the time she and her husband passed through.

[@sargis_02]

0:46 The writing at the bottom says (in pre-reformed Russian) that these people are all over a 100 years old. But only 1 of them is a veteran (of the Battle of Borodino), and is 122 years old. The rest are just witnesses of the war.

[@thathistoryiscoolguy]

It seems to be a fake then

[@Toblerones]

122? Was even that possible in that century?

[@amicus2844]

@@Toblerones never underestimate humans. I remember the recorded memories of a former slave in the us who at that time was over 100 and had a great grandfather who died at age 120 or so. If these two could live so long in the Bad conditions that was slavery then shurely a freeman with good health and food could make it even if he only has a chance of one in a Million to do so.

[@toopurge2]

@@amicus2844 That's the funny thing, if something has a one in a million chance of happening and you've got a group of one million people. You can bet that the one thing is gonna happen.

[@Raisonnance.]

@@amicus2844 Impossible. The only person to have reached 120 years old is Jeanne Calment, a french women born in 1875. Everything before is completely false.

[@tiffles3890]

"Photographs" is typically something that doesn't come to mind when you think of "Napoleonic".

[@Soulessdeeds]

As a veteran I can only imagine the horrors of war those men saw during their times. It must have weighed heavily upon their hearts for decades.

[@bernardok]

yep ...

[@kenhart8771]

Yes, like all great wars. Societies changed after WWII for decades there was a collective trauma in continental Europe.

[@makutas-v261]

War was gentlemanly then, not the mechanical atrocity it became during and after WW1

[@dodgeplow]

@@makutas-v261 There is no gentlemanly war. Death is death and would've typically been agonizing for the ones not dying immediately in all the wars before there was modern medicine to alleviate suffering.

[@Acheyltus]

Marched in formation into the fusillades and musket fire, and artillery with no armor. Those men were courage incarnate.

[@dopepopeurban6129]

Can we just take a moment to realize, how photography completely changes the way we see these soldiers? We all know how they looked from paintings and animations and stuff, but seeing the actual soldiers in their actual uniforms exactly, is a whole different experience. I’m very glad these pictures were taken, it really gives the impression of how the Napoleonic Wars must have been - even 160 years after they’ve been taken…

[@George19090]

Yeah its way more impactful at making you realise they're real people, not paintings that you always see

[@warrick109]

wow really love the style of those old Napoleonic uniforms, very flamboyant, makes todays uniforms seem very dull

[@dottietyre9062]

Well they are still used today but they're purely ceremonial. For example we have a U.S. Cavalry group but they never ride horses

[@s.t.lacroix372]

back in those days armies were all about pompus and bombast, snipers didn't exist yet cos war was 'gentlemanly' and gentlemen didn't hide from the enemy but showed themselves in colored bombastic uniforms

[@s.t.lacroix372]

@@aafitzy Not sure about that, the redcoats in the US independence war surely didn't hide from nobody, the first camouflage uniforms were worn by German troops in WW II, before that camouflage uniforms were non-existent

[@ghostie7028]

@@s.t.lacroix372 Uhmmm, the british had tan uniforms in the second afghan war (1878).

[@ghostie7028]

@@s.t.lacroix372 Snipers did exist, the riflemen fought in skirmish formations and shot the enemy while hidden (they wore green uniforms most of the time). The coloured uniforms were primarly so the General actually knew were his line infantry were. Since they either way had to use very colored uniforms for their soldiers they went all out as a show of how rich they were

[@GG-tq2cb]

My great great grandfather fought in the Napoleon war against Russia. He and his unit build the fake bridge at the Berezina River in Belarus. It had to look that the French would break out from that bridge but they build another bridge at the other side of the encirclement. From his unit (2500) only 20 survived. He survived the war and died in 1881 age 92. Funny detail: Also the great great grandfather of Dutch astronaut André Kuipers served in his unit and was one of the 20 survivers who crossed the Berezina River from the French build brigde before it was set fire by the French.

[@atherdain4913]

He saw some heavy shit.

[@ommsterlitz1805]

If only Napoleon invaded Constantinople to punish Russia and not invade them or if the coward Tsar Alexander actually attacked Napoleon army or proposed an attack in British India like Paul I of Russia before the Brits spy kill him for it.

[@declanjones8888]

Your ancestors saw some traumatizing shit

[@alexandrbitel6051]

Come to visit after the pandemic - I will show you the place where the battle on the Berezina took place.

[@GG-tq2cb]

@@alexandrbitel6051 you live in Belarus? I think it would be great. I visited the Bialowieza forest in 2016 on the Belarusian side, great country.

[@misterpodkayne]

The poor man in the second photo illustrates well what the future of veterans is, misery and poverty.

[@wuffothewonderdog]

and remains so today, honest English soldiers pursued into their old age by sick politicians for self-justification.

[@patricklamshear1806]

Nothing new then,the same then as now. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@Sshooter444]

Life is what you make of it

[@albundy9597]

That certainly applies to the UK but then HM government never really cared for its people unless the champagne Charlies wanted you to go to war or vote for them.

[@Raisonnance.]

True. In France we have a song created just after the Napoleonic wars. In 1817 I believe. "Te souviens tu" (do you remember) talking about the life and the glory to be in Napoléon's campaigns, and now how poor they are, asking Money in the street to survive.

[@tedrobinson372]

The song accompaniment originated from Gustav Holst's "The Planets": Jupiter.

[@louistostmann2049]

Also known as the Anglican hymn "I vow to thee my country".

[@joeljanssonhernstrom1819]

Thanks ted :)

[@boilerhoer3906]

Isnt this the peace theme for England in Sid Meiers Civilization V?

[@PriestlySadduseesStartdJudaism]

But jupiter is not a planet lol

[@joeljanssonhernstrom1819]

@@PriestlySadduseesStartdJudaism I think you are mixing up jupiter and pluto

[@huoshin]

Crazy to think that these men right here, saw napoleon in action with their own eyes, knew what he looked like and probably even talked to him in person at some point

[@PM.68]

Living in Belgium, being a belgian, i had in the 90s a colleague whose family is from the greater Waterloo area. His grand grand grand uncle was brancardier at the battlefield, and the story of hundreds wounded and crying after that Sunday afternoon battle, lying in the muddy fields, is still going around in the region.

[@briandubois-gilbert8182]

Very poignant and touching reminder that behind the valor, patriotism and dashing uniforms of the men who fought these wars, is the horrific and appalling casualties and wounded left in the battlefield(s) left bleeding and suffering for days without adequate medical care-these men who bled and died of their battle wounds or were maimed for life are truly the unsung heroes and patriots of these wars.

[@mlteyt]

Very true. We often think of Napoleonic war as somehow 'cleaner' and more noble, but the reality was that the horror and the wounds were awful. Those round lead bullets would rip flesh apart, smash bones, tear flesh from bone. Cannon balls would rip men in half, splash blood on those nearby, and grape would shred comrades into scraps before your eyes. No through-and-through high-vel bullet wounds back then; just blood, guts, limbs, tears, shock and trauma on a mass scale mixed with smoke, screams and confusion.

[@flickgamehes1e591]

@@mlteyt Many of us actually believe the Napoleonic wars are the opposite of “clean”. The Grande Armee during the Russian campaign were filthy to the core. The worst state a man could be, was the norm in the army. Unsanitary, barbaric, malnourished, and so on. I agree with the rest of your points.

[@martonk]

@@mlteyt i think one of the great blessings of photographs and cameras is that it can show us, who live in peace, what war really looks like, and we don't just see the idealised paintings. I think cameras help avoid war, becuase we are able to see for ourselves how terrible it is.

[@TS-bn7zt]

Great images , it’s such a pity that these to my knowledge are the only photos of soldiers who fought in the Napoleonic wars. Considering there were hundreds of thousands of them. I see that most of them are proudly wearing there hard fought medals, the St Helena and Italian campaign medal. Many thanks.

[@jean-luchochart6960]

Très émouvant de voir les photographies de ces braves vétérans qu'ils soient britanniques ou français. Tous de courageux combattants!

[@aldervic6293]

Agreed

[@swissmilitischristilxxii3691]

Et tout ça, pour quel résultat. Bordel, quand on voit dans quel état est la France d'aujourd'hui, ces pauvres qui ont connu les guerres napoléoniennes doivent se retourner dans leurs tombes. Je suis pas français, mais ça me fait mal au coeur pour la France, un pays que j'aimais bien.

[@jean-luchochart6960]

@@swissmilitischristilxxii3691 Je suis entièrement de votre avis. Je ressens une immense tristesse et une honte infinie lorsque je vois ce qu'est devenu mon pays. Un Président qui vomit sur nos ancêtres et renie notre histoire!

[@francizdupays2942]

Oui. Il faut re-burner le monde. Chaque jour je mets ma pierre a l edifice.

[@johntillman6068]

If those are indeed their 43 year-old uniforms, remarkable that so many could still fit into them. Surely, most of their lives were hard, without excess food and with much hard labor, but still, men in their 60s to 90s could have been expeccted to have at least sagged, if not gained girth. But then, they might also have lost muscle mass.

[@gabrielgrimes8297]

Gotta stay fit even in your 70's

[@mlteyt]

Having a photo done was a big deal back then and the photos of the French soldiers all seem to be in the same studio, so it was obviously something well organised in advance. I suspect whoever commissioned the photos would have met the soldiers in advance and had a tailor at hand to adjust or replicate parts of the uniform, or even to provide faithful copies for those whose uniforms had been lost to time or moths.

[@johntillman6068]

@@mlteyt My surmise as well. But the ex-soldiers still aren't fat or shrivelled. Maybe only the survivors in best shape were photographed.

[@wilsonking1617]

Food was not as easily accessible as today- also no motorized vehicles to take you around. Manuel labor very common then too

[@mlteyt]

@@johntillman6068 Yes, I reckon you're right. Anyone in poor health would probably not be able to travel for the shoot back then.

[@rgwholt]

The photo " Possibly the Duke of Wellington " is actually a well documented photo of Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington.

[@alainportant6412]

the beef wellington

[@SStupendous]

Yeah dunno why doubt is cast on that

[@keithtolman6904]

My great-great-great-grandfather, Johannes Rossman, was a professional soldier. A cavalryman with the Black Brunswickers during the Napoleonic Wars. Following retirement the Duke of Brunswick appointed him Jägermeister of his hunting preserve near Königslutter am Elm in (now) Lower Saxony. A few years ago I visited the forest house of my ancestor, now headquarters of the Lappwald state forest!

[@t.b.6101]

The Lappwald near Helmstedt? That's not far from where i live. I've hunted there before a few Times, invited by the State Forest Administration Wolfenbüttel. It's quite an impressive forest.

[@NicoTheGreat5]

Some don't acknowledge how rare of an instance of this was. There were only ever 4k black brunswickers, and they were amongst the most fierce of German soldiers at the time. Most of them fought with the Peninsular Army with the British, and the Austrians during the battle of Wagram. Truly astonishing.

[@raymondacbot4007]

Interesting. My great x many grandfather was a French grenadier of the line, killed in Russia at the age of 23. He had four children, oldest age 6.

[@olympia5758]

Imagine if cameras existed in the Medieval Era.

[@nathandei1674]

We could have seen a photograph of Richard the Lionheart….

[@ElGungas]

This is a risky comment, but i belive there could have had been cameras in the medieval era if the Roman Empire hadn't fell! It's sad to think about the millions of faces and voices we weren't able to record along the history...

[@89128]

A very poignant and fitting selection for the theme. No matter what side of the conflict they were on, they served their country.

[@bankerduck4925]

All brave and good men! The Napoleonic Wars were the most bloody of their era and we shant forget! I salute the veteran soldiers of this great war!

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Good men. They’re with me in my army of immortal veterans now.

[@bivio1]

Because they had a giant in leading them who possess an enormous genius that if he decided not to go into the military he would have been one of the greatest mathematicians in the world.

[@huoshin]

Les Immortels

[@pancakemacbuttery9142]

As a napoleonic geek, I want to add more veterans with photographs Pierre d’alcantara Charles Marie (Napoléon’s cabinet) Auguste Charles Joseph de flauhaut de billarderie (aide to Napoleon) Jérôme Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother king of Westphalia) Antoine Gabriel christin (officer of engineers) Philippe de fezensac (aide and colonel of 4ème regiment de ligne) Anatole de Montesquieu (officier d’ordonnance au empereur) Claudius crozet (French artillery captain, and military engineer of the confederacy, yes the CSA) Carlo filangieri (colonel of 6th Neapolitan rgt) Charles auguste Ernest Goethals (officer of 1st Illyrian regiment) Frédérick Wilhelm I of Württemberg (commanded 25th Württemberg division to Russia) Dominique jean larrey (army chief surgeon) Jean roch coignet (old guard sergeant and captain) Paul’s chalres amable de Bourgoing (officer in young guard) Jean baptiste philibert vaillant (adjurant of engineers) Jozef bonawentura ignacy zaluski (captain in polish guard lancers) Jacques Félix meslin (chef en batallion 37eme rgt) Antoine Drouot (artillery colonel, I think the photo is disputable) Michel Jacques François Achard (colonel of 108eme) Charles Oudinot (son of marshal, officer in chasseurs a cheval de la garde) Cartel Sirardus Willem van hogendorp (Dutch captain in 123rd rgt, possible painting.) Andrzej tomasz lubienski (colonel of 8th polish uhlans) Jacques louis cesar Alexandre random (sergeant and nephew to general Marchand) Regnault de st. Jean d’Angely (sous lt of 8th chasseurs a cheval) There are much more but I don’t want to continue further, you can correct me if their photographs are not them, I don’t want to spread disinformation

[@hyperborekelt3371]

Magnifique ! Merci du partage et surtout vive la France 🇨🇵 !

[@Frenchylikeshikes]

Fun fact: I have 2 ancestors who were in Napoleon's army. The first one was a military doctor, and declared as a little "different" on his military paperwork. Second was a simple grunt, who died of fever in what is today's Germany. No glorious Maréchal in the family sadly lol.

[@cavalr1002]

I know that one of my ancestors work at an artillery battery and defended Copenhagen when the British attacked and I don't think he made it home.

[@TheHeroWhoAsked]

How the heck are you gonna know who your ancestors are, i wanna know :c

[@Raisonnance.]

Moi j'en ai aucun malheureusement =/

[@nathanjones411]

​@@TheHeroWhoAskeddna testing, stories brought down by family, records, etc.

[@artfuldodger9312]

The sight of Napoleonic soldiers is breathtaking.

[@waleed8530]

1:35 This is Napoleon's own corps (Mamluk/مملوك). You can see the cahouk/كاهوك hat (which is kinda similar to the Fez hat). Very curved sword, they also had a set of pistols and a dagger. I believe they were also given a tromblon (firearm). very interesting unit that was both elite and troublesome at the same time.

[@Atribak]

The sword was called a shamshir

[@Skymaster.47]

@@Atribak It was called the Scimitar.

[@jesustovar2549]

This is one of the greatest videos in KZbin EVER, the photographs are legendary important and the background music is epic (is called "I Vow to Thee My Country", which melody is taken from Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity, 4th movement from The Planets suite by Gustav Holst).

[@Augustuscaesar71]

The most impressive thing is to think that these gentlemen once saw Napoleon alive in front of them.

[@Augustuscaesar71]

Seeing that Italian man walking through the camp in a firm but awkward manner, with long, fast strides, speaking loud French with a Corsican accent, and with a penetrating and confident gaze must have been something very remarkable indeed. Vive l'empereur!

[@MrTwentycent90]

Several guard grenadiers and a Mamluk in the photos; so yes, not only seen, but also spoken.

[@roderic3261]

I'm most struck by the old man and his wife. Imagine what he had to see, how many time death was close to him, how many friends or comrades died before his eyes, right besides him probably if he was in line infantry, and many other unpleaseant things of war. And yet he survived to reach an old age, with a family of his own. Even the most courageous soldier in his prime will end, if lucky, becoming a frail old man with distant memories of a violent past

[@k3kboi665]

But atleast there was no mystery. Johny died right there and everyone saw it. Not many MIA cases or mine deaths.

[@SStupendous]

Yeah he looked really troubled. I doubt the veracity however, most sources claim 1860 or so, various dates, and I've sometimes seen the image listed as "an old man", not sure the veracity of his being a British veteran.

[@jmfleureau8662]

C’est émouvant de voir ces photos.

[@missiavu]

C'est exactement ce que je me disais à l'instant-même, @JM Fleureau *......

[@lcdream4213]

hi

[@Juju-hg6rf]

Oui, et c'est pour ça qu'il est notre devoir de redonner sa gloire à la France. Si ce n'est pour nos enfants, au moins pour nos héroiques ancêtres combattants qui ont tout donné pour la France.

[@Raisonnance.]

@@Juju-hg6rf Dis celui qui a l'image de la France vichyste en profil mdr t'es sérieux toi. La France vichyste qui a fait des gorges profondes aux allemands qui nous ont vaincu ??? J'espère que tu es un troll bg sinon tu es ridicule.

[@ginouvesgerald7725]

@@Raisonnance. toujours un cochon pour salir , fou le camp

[@kadensmike8190]

Good selection of photos - fascinating.

[@thathistoryiscoolguy]

Thanks!

[@davidcabreonmunoz6258]

"The ideas that underpin our modern world-meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on-were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman Empire. " -Andrew Roberts, British historian. I've read a lot about people better than me, lads. But the glory and the memory of man will always belong to the ones who follow their great visions. And the greatest of these is the one they now... call "The Great Corsican" - the greatest French of them all.

[@a.f.4248]

Hundreds of thousand of men were involved in the Great Army and the wars. Whether those "saw napoleon in action with their own eyes, knew what he looked like" is highly unlikely, and that they "probably even talked to him in person at some point" practically impossible.

[@Mokamusiclab]

Tbh the french history is probably the most amazing. I mean Johan of Arc, Napoleon, the kings, The revolution, the Lumières, it's almost fantastical.

[@varolussalsanclar1163]

Dont forget the Gaulic period, Charlemagne, and the fact that it literally gave birth to the English Royal family.

[@Mokamusiclab]

@@varolussalsanclar1163 of course, and even Clovis Baptism, The Crusades, the french resistance with General De Gaule ! It never stops !

[@Juju-hg6rf]

The revolution signaled the decline of France. But other than that i'm all with you. An incredible history, and if God will's it, we haven't yet seen the end of it.

[@Mokamusiclab]

@@Juju-hg6rf True that ! I'm not a big fan of the revolution either.

[@johnxina4906]

@@varolussalsanclar1163 wrong . Royal family came from England

[@El_Presidente_5337]

1858 was 163 years ago. It's incredible how it can be so long ago from one perspective but basically yesterday from another. If someone was born in 1858 and the family would have children at about the age of 32 then it would be only 5 generations until today. The great grandmother/father could tell stories of how their great grandmother/father met those people when both of them were young.

[@huoshin]

we are as close in time to those men who fought in WW1 that we have video footage and pictures of them as they were to the battle of waterloo, some of them might even have met their grandfathers who were there.

[@SStupendous]

@@huoshin Actually further, as the start of WW1 is 99 years away, from Waterloo, while from the end of WW1 to today is 105 years nearly.

[@k19-v1]

Magnifique ! Vive l'empereur ! Honneur et Patrie.

[@rolloxra670]

Vive la France!

[@renatovonschumacher3511]

Vive le roi ! Honneur et Fidelité .

[@antennastoheaven]

As a Russian orthodox monarchist I appreciate these brave French soldiers had been keeping their loyalty to the Emperor till the last days.

[@richmondlandersenfells2238]

GOD SAVE THE TSAR! (Bozhe Tsarya khrani!)

[@infoscholar5221]

What it is hard to wrap our minds around, is that the garish uniforms of the era made it easier for the enemy to shoot you. it was a dare, as Napolean said of his ideal of a cavalry officer, "He must be brave, daring, and despise life." These are informative pics, good scholarship. They show what men toted on their heads so that they might be recognized on that era's battlefields.

[@abundantYOUniverse]

Tragic and hilarious.

[@fransbuijs808]

It also made it easier for generals to see where their troops were in the middle of all that smoke and dust on the battlefield.

[@kasimirdenhertog3516]

Perhaps easier to shoot you, but also far easier for your generals to see where you’re going, so it won’t become a complete mess.

[@thibaudduhamel2581]

Napoleon’s best light cavalry commander, General Lassalle, said: « Any hussar still alive by 30 is a lazy bast*rd ». He himself was cut down at Wagram, aged 34. One of his best actions was the capture of the fortress of Stettin, where he bluffed the 10.000 strong prussian garrison into surrendering to his 2,000 cavalry. Napoleon said: « the prussians are in such a state of disaray that the mere appearance of a frenchman is enough to compel them to surrender »

[@grifyn882]

garish uniforms were not a problem at this time, considering the poor range of firearm...the soldiers weren't trying to hide or to snipe

[@bastogne315]

Man bet they could still sire the next generation of cuirassiers even in their 80s.

[@mariopiernes2773]

My hat is off to them! They are regal, and dignified, they seem to be waiting for the next order.

[@masteralpictures9231]

Amazing video. Sadely there isn't Victor Baillot or Alfred Le Maire who were the last french soldiers who fought at Waterloo. They both died in 1898.

[@mariaconsuelodoglio7630]

Bellissimo!!! E che orgoglio nell'indossare le loro splendide uniformi...dall'Italia

[@ichabodon]

Very, very interesting. Thank you for putting these people on video now long gone. It really is history brought to life

[@mapoleo]

The biggest flex is some of these men might have saw Napoleon and now we’re seeing them

[@godefroydemontmirail2278]

Gloire à nos vaillants ancêtres, puissions nous être dignes de leur courage et de leur dévotion à la grande nation française 🙏🏻🇨🇵

[@TheWorld-of7dd]

The music really befits these old gallant and proud soldiers who fought for their beliefs, salute

[@ytv31]

The oldest photographed person John "the second" Owen Sr(born 1735) was born 3 years after George Washington and 34 years before Napoleon. Veterans of the Dutch War of Independence(1568-1648) were still alive while he was around.

[@TyranyFighterPatriot]

Wow! It's crazy to think how a few hundred years is really not much time in the grand scheme. Most folk if they're lucky get to experience maybe 70 or 80 winters. And to think how much the world can advance amd change in such a short period after not changing much at all for thousands of years prior.

[@LV_427]

I shivered a bit at the photo that said "possibly Duke of Wellington"

[@BumblebeeTuna8]

It supposedly was confirmed to be the real Wellington, obviously Decades after the Battle with him aged.

[@tommiterava5955]

May God bless all of these great souls! They represent the honour and glory of Europe!

[@fredrenkema5150]

Geweldig. Om deze oude mannen te zien die voor of tegen Napoleon gevochten hebben. Prachtig.

[@Engie_Boi]

Ja, vind ik ook! Ik vind dat die mannen ongelooflijk veel lef hebben gehad om naar het slagveld te gaan in die kleurige uniformen, en dan nog ook tegen elkaar in de brutaalse manier te vechten

[@pierrebotella3603]

Magnifique ! Très émouvant avec une musique si belle. Un petit "masterpiece" du genre. Congratulations !

[@hansvandijk1487]

Beautiful! Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱.

[@awc6007]

Great video but I’m surprised you didn’t put a picture of Kaiser Wilhelm I, he was born in 1797 and fought in the Wars of the Sixth and Seventh Coalitions, even at Waterloo under Field Marshal von Blücher.

[@khantsal2305]

Background soundtrack are so powerful.

[@t9sinasitance421]

Belle, magnifique, des hommes.

[@adriansmith7104]

Having served under Napoleon would have been the greatest honor for any french commoner

[@srbtlevse16]

Better camera quality than most modern security cameras

[@BumblebeeTuna8]

Pretty sad that some Inventions in the 1800s were better built than the Present Day, guess that happens when you have a Quality Product manufactured in your Home Country vs outsourcing to Slave Labor in China and poorer Parts of Asia.

[@yusufpoladeen9567]

I always admired Napeleon, as he came up from nothing to everything. And these photos gives a kind of nostalgic feeling

[@kafon6368]

That's so crazy to see. These men really went to war in pomp and splendor, it kind of makes me think if battles were even that bad, or the men of that time were just that much crazier than the men of today!

[@rafaelllaban4115]

It served some practical function. Made it easier for the general officers to identify their own units and direct them amid the thick black powder smoke. Additionally didnt make much sense to be sneaky as once you fired your first shot you threw up a cloud of smoke giving away your position. This is mind, they might as well make their uniforms look magnificent

[@GmrWeb]

2:12 you can see Monsieur Loria was decorated with the Legion d'honneur. It was extremely difficult to earn back in those days.

[@jetaddicted]

On my mother’s side, we have had a Lieutenant who fought with Napoleon, we have very little info, only his demobilization certificate, dated 1814, I wish I knew more.

[@Raisonnance.]

From France ?

[@theowlfromduolingo7982]

Thanks for keeping these photos, stories and people alive

[@reginabillotti]

1:49 Monsieur Maire? If that's his real name, that must have caused lots of confusion.

[@antoinegsf-ep358]

He is a Hussard, famous cavalery corps

[@Alanoffer]

That tiny little ragged British veteran and his wife I’m sure nobody ever said to him Thank you for your service

[@mariopiernes2773]

Amazing that they could fit into their uniforms, fifty years later. They look noble.

[@nathanjones411]

They had to loosen the fibers of some of the uniforms so that some of the men can fit in their glorious uniform

[@bobstaniland330]

On aurait pu citer également Louis Victor BAILLOT dernier survivant français de Waterloo mort le 3 février 1898. Sur sa tombe, l'épitaphe suivante « Le dernier de Waterloo - Victor Baillot - Médaillé de Sainte-Hélène - Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur - Mort à 105 ans ». Avec lui est mort le dernier témoin de la grande épopée impériale.

[@TheEnabledDisabled]

Am Swedish and recently uncovered that one of my ancestors my 5x great grandfather fought and died in the battle of Stralsund against Napoleon attack in 14 March 1807. The literal war document saying (Shot to death and fell to enemy hands 14 March 1807)

[@Raisonnance.]

You are from ? 🤔

[@TheEnabledDisabled]

@@Raisonnance. I am Swedish and he was apart of Södra Kinds Kompani

[@ghostie7028]

I have found 2 photos of my direct ancestors who fought in the napoleonic wars :D

[@zanger4002]

This is one of those videos that really makes you realize how mortal we are

[@raulcarpiollamocca8118]

if napoleon hadn't died in 1821,if he had lived more time, probably we would've had a photo of the emperor.

[@mlks007]

yes he was around 50 years old when he died, young with modern standards, for sure we could have many Napoleon's photographs if he had lived more time.

[@renatovonschumacher3511]

I do not miss any photographs of this bastard.

[@raulcarpiollamocca8118]

@@renatovonschumacher3511 i'd like to know what reasons you have to call him BASTARD. i'm not angry or something, i just want to know your reasons and opinion. 🤔🤔

[@renatovonschumacher3511]

@@raulcarpiollamocca8118 . Ask the countries that used to be free, souvereign and independent such as e. g. Switzerland until Napoleon came and "freed" them and forced HIS constitution on them and robbed them out completely. Ask those many other regions who lived in prosperity before but after Napoleon in poverty. Ask those families who were taken hostage to pay the contributions to Napoleon's campaigns. Ask those thousands of women who were raped throughout Europe by French soldiers. Ask those hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died for his personal ambitions. Ask those tens of thousands who died miserably in the Russian winter. He was a megalomaniac and egomaniac with aspirations for great power and subjugation of foreign peoples under French dictation. He was anti-royal but crowned himself emperor and installed - anti-royal as he was - his own brothers as kings in Spain and Italy. I have not the slightest understanding of the veneration that is given to a military person like him, a dictator after all. Our history books are the victims of the Napoleonic propaganda. The French are proud on him because he introduced French imperialism on Europe. But the real "gloire et grandeur de la France" was NOT under the one dozen years of his centralistic military rule but under the many centuries of royal culture. And it is THIS culture that fertilized France and Europe and NOT Napoleon's militarism. A military genius ? Interestingly, after many of his generals had left him, he began to lose his battles . . .

[@trentfila6186]

Damn, if only photography and sound were invented earlier. Seeing a photo of Napoleon rather than a portrait.

[@jorgplatten3961]

Really amazing. History becames life.

[@sirmatt3866]

C’est vraiment incroyable et magnifique 🤩 Vive la France 🇫🇷 Vive l’Empereur !

[@renatovonschumacher3511]

Vive la France. Vive LE ROI !

[@carlnico7331]

This is amazing!

[@raymondacbot4007]

RIP to my great x many grandfather, Pierre Moulont, Grenadier of the Line, 24eme, KIA in Russia at age 23

[@67lionsoflisbon37]

Extraordinary. To look at the eyes of men who possibly saw Emperor Napoleon. Our testimonials look back at the 1st and 2nd World Wars. These people saw and remembered the Napoleonic Wars.

[@laika6661]

Love that photo of the last survivors of Waterloo. All very incredible ages to reach for the time.

[@mariocisneros911]

Monsieur Vitry's in great shape. Many children were there and probably lived into the 1860's

[@timothycrowne3193]

These were Men of Honor, who survived great battles, lived in harrowing times, and displayed courage we couldn't even imagine Today. For a Thousand Years, Europe was probably the most violent place on Earth until the end of World War II in 1945. Napoleon left his Legacy on Europe and would change the face of Europe forever. These men in the old photographs saw that with their own eyes. We honor their memory no matter what uniform they wore.

[@pompom7x728]

Oh my! This is great 😳🇫🇷✊🏼

[@jakeel85]

These people would all be almost 200 years old now. Amazing.

[@rosedudesert4389]

I think they would be more than 200 years old now 🤔

[@MrTwentycent90]

yes 220/230

[@gandigooglegandigoogle7202]

the photos of the French soldiers are of incredible quality... what a thrill to see these characters! ...it's unreal ! the years don't seem to have had any effect on them, they all seem to be in respectable shape ! and what can I say about their uniforms...they're just magnificent! I also really like the photo of the English soldier with his wife, it's beautiful!

[@fedrickthegreat2138]

I’m so glad I was recommended This video

[@elborko6821]

To be on the march with that style of head gear and equipment mile after mile would make you mean I can not imagine it

[@Perririri]

They used kilometers

[@ruzzsverion2728]

0:18 thats the face of a broken man.

[@ouztaki]

All these guys should have been over 50 yo on these photos. But I wonder how they looked slim: they still can wear their "old" uniform, and still keep a flat stomach. Out this all theses uniforms are really completely ridiculous. I read Napoleon was inspired by the "merveilleux" of the end of the XVIIIst ctry for to imagine such extravagant wardrobe 😃 (speaking only about the French soldiers of course).

[@ry1786]

2:05 is that french 1er regiment of grenadier de la garde 2:59 he a french dragoon i Regonized his hats 1:40 he a austrian arty 2:13 he look like a french marins de la garde officer 2:42 he a french hussar his unifrom is similar in iron and blood games 3:02 he also a french 1er regiment grenadiers de la garde 1:18 he a french 84e regiment d''infanterie 2:34 he austrian lancers

[@supergeek0177]

I hope their families have looked after the memorabilia handed down through the ages! Some of those men really took care of themselves looking at those photos and still being able to fit in your uniform after such a long time too!

[@oliverpearson1577]

To imagine what these fellas witnessed.

[@rosedudesert4389]

And to imagine what these fellows possibly did....🙄 Russian, French and Austrian troops stayed in this region where I live for two years, it was a horrible time for the local population 🥺

[@oliverpearson1577]

@@rosedudesert4389 God you must be pretty old if you remember that.

[@providedyeti1518]

@@rosedudesert4389 u can’t blame them, the French essentially started 2 world wars

[@rosedudesert4389]

@@oliverpearson1577 Ever heard of something called historical recordings?!?

[@oliverpearson1577]

@@rosedudesert4389 I was being sarcastic. obviously

[@augu345]

"Man the music simply flows with pictures"

[@cboncle435]

the surviving soldiers when you win a napoleon total war battle :

[@sunwukong798]

My uniforms are the best designed in Europe

[@billtsirtsis7060]

Great pictures...Great music!!!