LS in French, signed “Bonaparte,” one page, 6.75 x 9.5, January 10, 1800. Napoleon writes his minister of war, Louis Alexandre Berthier. In part (translated): “The Minister of War will give the order by telegraph to the 12th Regiment of Hussars in Brussels to leave for Caen…This regiment will make no stops and make double daily marches. The Minister of War will also order the 13th Regiment of Cavalry to go to the Army of the Rhine. He will also review the troops of that Corps before making an exact report of the situation.” In very good condition with intersecting folds, light rippling and staining along the left side with a few other spots of staining and light toning.
Transmittal of orders via telegraph, like the orders identified here for Berthier, were key to the success of Napoleon’s command structure. The Napoleonic semaphore telegraph utilized visual signals sent from tower to town via pivoting shutters. Information was encoded and read when the shutter was in a fixed position. Built across France at six-mile intervals, the system was widely in use in the late 18th to early 19th century, and was the means by which Napoleon announced he had seized power in 1799. Historians believe that without Berthier—who loyally endorsed Napoleon’s vision of a regenerated France—and his ability to translate the many orders of the emperor into easily understood messages to subordinates, the French command system would not have functioned to the degree of excellence it did. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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