Louis-Joseph-Narcisse Marchand

Last updated
Louis-Joseph-Narcisse Marchand
Jean-Baptiste mauzaisse schilderde Louis-Joseph marchand.gif
BornMarch 28, 1791
DiedJune 19, 1876
OccupationImperial servant
Known for
Signature
Marchand signature.jpg

Louis-Joseph-Narcisse Marchand (born Paris, March 28, 1791, died Trouville, June 19, 1876) was Napoleon Bonaparte's valet and the nominated liquidator of his succession.

Born into a middle-class family from the Eure-et-Loir department, in 1811 he became an Imperial servant. He remained faithful to Napoleon after the first abdication and was selected to replace the Emperor's main valet who had fled. He followed the Emperor thereafter including to Saint Helena. He remained faithful to Napoleon so much so that on the Emperor's deathbed, the title of count was decreed to him - a title which was confirmed to him in 1869 by Napoleon III. After the death of Napoleon I, Marchand returned to France where he married in 1823; he took part in the Retour des cendres (Return of the [Napoleon's] ashes) in 1840.

His memoirs have been helpful to historians, though the facts described were not written with impartiality and dispassion. A new edition of his memoirs was published by Greenhill Books in 2018. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Bonaparte</span> King of Holland from 1806 to 1810

Louis Napoléon Bonaparte was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland. In that capacity, he was known as Louis I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napoleon II</span> Disputed Emperor of the French in 1815

Napoleon II was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria. Napoleon II had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome since birth. After the fall of his father, he lived the rest of his life in Vienna and was known in the Austrian court as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt for his adult life. He was posthumously given the nickname L'Aiglon after the popular Edmond Rostand play, L'Aiglon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jérôme Bonaparte</span> King of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813

Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte was the youngest brother of Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I, King of Westphalia, between 1807 and 1813.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucien Bonaparte</span> French politician and diplomat

Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano, was a French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 and as the president of the Council of Five Hundred in 1799.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hortense de Beauharnais</span> Queen consort of Holland from 1806 to 1810

Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte was Queen consort of Holland. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Hortense later married Napoléon I’s brother, Louis Bonaparte, who had been made King of Holland, making her her stepfather’s sister-in-law. She was the mother of Napoléon III, Emperor of the French; Louis II of Holland; and Napoléon Louis Charles Bonaparte who died at the age of four. She also had an illegitimate son, Charles, Duke of Morny, with her lover, the Comte de Flahaut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d'Albuféra</span> French Marshal

Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d'Albuféra, was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded as one of the greatest generals of the Napoleonic Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcellin Marbot</span> French general

Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot, known as Marcellin Marbot, was a French general, famous for his memoirs depicting the Napoleonic age of warfare. He belongs to a family that has distinguished itself particularly in the career of arms, giving three generals to France in less than 50 years. His elder brother, Antoine Adolphe Marcelin Marbot, was also a military man of some note.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Nicolas Davout</span> French Marshal (1770–1823)

Louis-Nicolas d'Avout, better known as Davout, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. His talent for war, along with his reputation as a stern disciplinarian, earned him the nickname "The Iron Marshal". He is ranked along with Marshals André Masséna and Jean Lannes as one of Napoleon's finest commanders. His loyalty and obedience to Napoleon were absolute. During his lifetime, Davout's name was commonly spelled Davoust - this spelling appears on the Arc de Triomphe and in much of the correspondence between Napoleon and his generals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Étienne Macdonald, duc de Tarente</span> French Marshal

Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald, 1st duc de Tarente, was a Marshal of the Empire and military leader during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Fouché</span> French statesman, revolutionary and police chief (1763–1820)

Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. He was particularly known for the ferocity with which he suppressed the Lyon insurrection during the Revolution in 1793 and for being minister of police under the Directory, the Consulate, and the Empire. In 1815, he served as President of the Executive Commission, which was the provisional government of France installed after the abdication of Napoleon. In English texts, his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt, duc de Vicence</span> French diplomat (1773–1827)

Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt, duc de Vicence, was a French military officer, diplomat and close advisor to Napoleon I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolas François, Count Mollien</span>

Nicolas François, Count Mollien, was a French financier. The son of a merchant, he early showed ability, and entered the ministry of finance, where he rose rapidly; in 1784, at the time of the renewal of the arrangements with the tax-farmers-general, he was practically chief in that department and made terms advantageous to the national exchequer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles, Prince Napoléon</span> Prince Napoléon

Charles, Prince Napoléon is a French politician who is the disputed head of the Imperial House of France and, as such, heir to the legacy of his great-great-granduncle, Emperor Napoléon I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roustam Raza</span> Bodyguard of Napoleon

Roustam Raza, also known as Roustan or Rustam, was a mamluk bodyguard and secondary valet of Napoleon.

Marchand is a frequent surname in France, in Quebec, and in Louisiana.. It is sometimes anglicized to "Merchant", "Marchant", or "Merchand", all with similar pronunciations to Marchand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)</span> Peace treaty exiling Napoleon to Elba

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement concluded in Fontainebleau, France, on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed in Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides and ratified by Napoleon on 13 April. With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's rule as emperor of the French and sent him into exile on Elba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Gabriel Marchand</span>

Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and served on the staffs of a number of generals. He participated in Napoleon Bonaparte's celebrated 1796-1797 Italian campaign. In 1799, he was with army commander Barthélemy Catherine Joubert when that general was killed at Novi. Promoted to general officer soon after, he transferred to the Rhine theater in 1800.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Ordener</span> General of division and commander in Napoleons elite Imperial Guard (1755–1811)

Michel Ordener was a French general of division and a commander in Napoleon's elite Imperial Guard. Of plebeian origins, he was born in L'Hôpital and enlisted as private at the age of 18 years in the Prince Condé's Legion. He was promoted through the ranks; as warrant officer of a regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval, he embraced the French Revolution in 1789. He advanced quickly through the officer ranks during the French Revolutionary Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis</span>

Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis was a member of the Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard, leading him to be known in his lifetime as "Mamelouk Ali". He was most notable as a faithful servant to Napoleon I during his two exiles on Elba and Saint Helena.

Louis Joseph Marchand may refer to:

References

  1. Marchand, Louis-Joseph-Narcisse (2018). In Napoleon's Shadow: The Memoirs of Louis-Joseph Marchand, Valet and Friend of the Emperor 1811-1821. ISBN   978-1784382896.