aide-de-camp of Napoleon. Memoirs of General Count de Segur, of the French academy, 1800-1812 (ePub)

Seeing a regiment of Dragoons process through Paris in 1800, Philippe de Segur decided to join the French cavalry at the ripe old age of 19, swiftly becoming part of Napoleon's headquarters staff. From then on, his career was to be unlike many of his contemporaries, for he was the son of a well-connected father and a protege of Napoleon's confidante, Grand-Marshal Duroc. He saw service in all of the major Napoleonic campaigns, not just a courtier, distinguished in the crucible of the cavalry charge of Somosierra and also the battlefields of Hanau and Reims.For his service under Napoleon he was forced into retirement from the army and took to writing his memoirs and historical works. His scathing attack on Napoleon's conduct during the Russian campaign Histoire de Napoleon et de la grande armee pendant l'annee 1812 provoked an uproar among Napoleonic loyalists and landed de Segur in a duel. His further memoirs were published posthumously, a three volume account edited by his grandson, and this edited version was translated into English. Being at the hub of Napoleon's headquarters gave him the opportunity to see into most of the major events of the era and he recorded these with wit and an impressive eye for detail.These memoirs are a must for any enthusiast of the Napoleonic period.Author - General Comte Phillipe-Paul de Segur, 1780-1873Editor - Comte Louis-Phillipe-Antoine-Charles de Segur, b. 1838Translator - Mrs. Harriette Anne Crookesley Patchett-MartinText taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in New York, D. Appleton and company, 1895.Original Page Count - xxvi, 440 p.