Napoleon’s final Departure from France
1815 Napoleon in Plymouth Sound August 1815 Jules Gardet
Napoleon’s final Departure from France.
After the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon fled to the Atlantic Coast of France to avoid capture by the angry King of France. He eventually surrendered to the Captain of the English Naval vessel, the Bellerophon. This was an error – more later.
The Bellerophon has now arrived outside the English naval port of Plymouth but has not docked. Plymouth is a long way from London where the Prime Minister is thinking what to do with Napoleon. The Captain is now waiting for instructions as what to do next. Clearly a large number of people had heard that he was there and hired boats to reach the ship. They are expressing their anguish.
Napoleon cannot be taken on shore because he would become subject to English Law which would require a public trial. There was obviously a risk, despite the long war with France, that an English Jury would not convict him on any charge. Even if they did, keeping him in prison would be difficult and sentencing him to death would make him a martyr!
The decision was soon made and Napoleon would be transferred to a larger ship to take him to the small island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic, 1,874 kms west of mainland Africa. Here he will write his memoirs which will be important in keeping his legacy alive in France. There will be no escape.
He will die on the island in 1821 at the age of 51. There are still rumours that his death was not natural. More on that later.
Napoleon apparently enjoyed some of his time on this ship. One day the Captain ordered the ship’s Royal Marines to form up on deck. It is said that Napoleon inspected them, going down the lines as a commander would. His reaction was to congratulate the Captain!
HMS Bellerophon lying at anchor off Berry Head, Torbay on 6th August 1815
The Bellerophon is an interesting vessel in her own right. She was a third 74-gun ship of the line who played an important role on many fronts. On one occasion her commander was shot in the leg. As he was carried to a lower deck, one sailor expressed his concern. The answer was quite clear “Thank you but never mind my leg, take care of my flag!”
She was engaged in many of Horatio’s Nelson’s great battles in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and was one of the ships which accompanied the body of Nelson to England after he died at the battle of Trafalgar. His statue now stands on top of a high column in the London square named after the battle.
