Napoleon Worries a Commander of His Parisian Guard Is Unduly Harsh to his Soldiers

He sends his aide to camp to verify these claims

 

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Colonel Gouget was the commander of the dragoons of Napoleon's Paris guard and had been in that position since 1802. In 1810, it was thought to send him to Spain in that capacity, promoting him to adjutant general. However, complaints had surfaced, which Napoleon had shared with his minister of war and his aide to camp, that Gouget was overly harsh to the soldiers under him. And Napoleon took that seriously and disapprovingly.

General Mouton, the Count of Lobau, was a prominent general and later Marshall of the Empire for Napoleon. Mouton means ""lamb"" in French, the source of Napoleon's now famous statement on Mouton: ""My lamb is a lion."" Napoleon valued Mouton to the extent that for his great Russia campaign he made him senior aide to camp. In 1806 Mouton was a Brigade General. He would remain in Napoleon's service until the end of the Empire, during which time he showed himself to be forthright, direct (“he's no fawner”, Napoleon is noted to have said) but also disciplined, loyal, meticulous and highly organized. He was at Austerlitz with Napoleon and was charged with the preparation of the campaigns in Spain (1808), Russia (1812), Germany (1813) and Belgium (1815). Napoleon also wrote “Mouton is the best colonel to have ever commanded a French regiment.”

Letter signed, Fontainebleau, November 12, 1810, to Mouton. ""I am receiving a large number of complaints against the colonel of the horse Guard of Paris (dragoons). I am told that he is punishing his troops with detention. I am sending you a note. I request you verify these facts.""

Mouton has written on the letter: ""I received this letter after 8pm.... affair more or less finished the 23rd of November 1810.""

Never before offered for sale, acquired in the US from the direct descendants of the recipient residing in the states.