Thursday 2 April 2015

An Eagle of a Different Kind



Today I am delighted to welcome to A Regency Reticule my friend and talented author, Susana Ellis. Susana has always had stories in her head waiting to come out, especially when she learned to read and her imagination began to soar. Voracious reading led to a passion for writing and her fascination with romance and people of the past landed her firmly in the field of historical romance. 


A teacher in her former life, Susana lives in Toledo, Ohio in the summer and central Florida in the winter. She is a member of the Central Florida Romance Writers and the Beau Monde chapters of RWA (Romance Writers of America) and Maumee Valley Romance Inc. 


Susana is here to tell us about the history behind the Imperial Eagle of the French. 





 


The French Imperial Eagle 


The Imperial Eagle was a bronze figure attached to the staff of a standard carried into battle by Napoleon’s Grande Armée. The design was inspired by the Roman Imperial Eagles, no doubt due to Napoleon’s ambition to duplicate or expand their empire. Each standard represented a regiment raised by the departments of France. The intention was to promote pride and loyalty among the troops to keep up morale during dangerous situations. 





The first eagle was presented by Napoleon three days after his coronation as emperor on December 5, 1804. He gave an emotional speech declaring that these standards should be defended to the death. Losing an eagle would bring shame to the regiment, which is why capturing one was the ambition of every soldier in the opposing army. 


Not many original eagles exist today, since Louis XVIII ordered them to be destroyed after Napoleon’s fall. Two eagles from the Hundred Days’ War are on display at the Musée de l’Armée in Paris.


Captured Eagles 


The first one was lost only a year later at the Battle of Austerlitz, which the French did eventually win. But the eagle was gone. 

The 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot took the first eagle for the British in 1811 at the Battle of Barrosa. A young officer, Ensign Edward Keogh, was the first to touch it, after which he was instantly shot and killed. Sergeant Patrick Masterson grabbed it from the French soldier, saying, “By Jaysus, boys, I have the Cuckoo!” For this triumph, the 87th was granted the royal title 87th (Prince of Wales’ Own) Irish Regiment and was allowed to carry the motif on their regimental colors. The eagle was ten inches tall, gilded silver, with a solid gold laurel wreath around its neck. The eagle was taken back to England and put on display at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, but was stolen several years later. The original staff is on display at the Royal Irish Fusiliers museum in Armagh, Northern Ireland.
 





The British took two eagles at the Battle of Salamanca in 1812. Ensign John Pratt of the Light Company of the 30th Foot (later 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment) captured the Eagle of the 22nd Regiment de Ligne (on display at the Museum of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, Fulwood Barracks in Preston, Lancashire). The 2nd Battalion of the 44th Foot took the Eagle of the French 62nd Ligne. 


Two of the newer eagles (hurriedly commissioned by Napoleon upon his return to Paris after escaping from Elba) were captured during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Uxbridge’s heavy cavalry captured the eagle of the 105th Ligne (displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea) and the Scots Greys captured the Eagle of the 45th Ligne. 


The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), descended from the 1st Royal Dragoons and the Royal Anglian Regiment, descended from the 44th Foot) both wear the eagle as an arm badge. The cap badge of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys), descended from the Royal Scots Greys) is an eagle. The Royal Irish Regiment wear the eagle on the back pouch of the officers’ black cross belt.
 


Beaux, Ballrooms, and Battles:


A Celebration of Waterloo 


June 18, 1815 was the day Napoleon Bonaparte's Grande Armée was definitively routed by the ragtag band of soldiers from the Duke of Wellington's Allied Army in a little Belgian town called Waterloo. The cost in men's lives was high—22,000 dead or wounded for the Allied Army and 24,000 for the French. But the war with Napoleon that had dragged on for a dozen years was over for good, and the British people once more felt secure on their island shores.


The bicentenary of the famous battle seemed like an excellent opportunity to use that setting for a story, and before I knew it, I had eight other authors eager to join me, and to make a long story short, on April 1, 2015 our Waterloo-themed anthology was released to the world. 



 


You are all invited to


Our Stories 


Jillian Chantal: Jeremiah’s Charge


Emmaline Rothesay has her eye on Jeremiah Denby as a potential suitor. When Captain Denby experiences a life-altering incident during the course of events surrounding the Battle of Waterloo, it throws a damper on Emmaline’s plans. 

Téa Cooper: The Caper Merchant


The moon in Gemini is a fertile field of dreams, ideas and adventure and Pandora Wellingham is more than ready to spread her wings. When Monsieur Cagneaux, caper merchant to the rich and famous, introduces her to the handsome dragoon she believes her stars have aligned. 


Susana Ellis: Lost and Found Lady


Catalina and Rupert fell in love in Spain in the aftermath of a battle, only to be separated by circumstances. Years later, they find each other again, just as another battle is brewing, but is it too late? 


Aileen Fish: Captain Lumley’s Angel


Charged with the duty of keeping his friend’s widow safe, Captain Sam Lumley watches over Ellen Staverton as she recovers from her loss, growing fonder of her as each month passes. When Ellen takes a position as a companion, Sam must confront his feelings before she’s completely gone from his life. 


Victoria Hinshaw: Folie Bleue


On the night of the 30th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, Aimée, Lady Prescott, reminisces about meeting her husband in Bruxelles on the eve of the fighting. She had avoided the dashing scarlet-clad British officers, but she could not resist the tempting smile and spellbinding charm of Captain Robert Prescott of the 16th Light Dragoons who— dangerously to Aimée— wore blue. 


Heather King: Copenhagen’s Last Charge




Christa Paige: One Last Kiss


The moment Colin held Beatrice in his arms he wanted one last kiss to take with him into battle and an uncertain future. Despite the threat of a soldier’s death, he must survive, for he promises to return to her because one kiss from Beatrice would never be enough. 


Sophia Strathmore: A Soldier Lay Dying


Amelia and Anne Evans find themselves orphaned when their father, General Evans, dies. With no other options available, Amelia accepts the deathbed proposal of Oliver Brighton, Earl of Montford, a long time family friend. When Lord Montford recovers from his battle wounds, can the two find lasting love? 


David W. Wilkin: Not a Close Run Thing at All


Years, a decade. And now, Robert had come back into her life. Shortly before battle was to bring together more than three hundred thousand soldiers. They had but moments after all those years, and now, would they have any more after?


About Lost and Found Lady


On April 24, 1794, a girl child was born to an unknown Frenchwoman in a convent in Salamanca, Spain. Alas, her mother died in childbirth, and the little girl—Catalina—was given to a childless couple to raise. 
Eighteen years later…the Peninsular War between the British and the French wages on, now perilously near Catalina’s home. After an afternoon yearning for adventure in her life, Catalina comes across a wounded British soldier in need of rescue. Voilà! An adventure! The sparks between them ignite, and before he returns to his post, Rupert promises to return for her. 
But will he? Catalina’s grandmother warns her that some men make promises easily, but fail to carry them out. Catalina doesn’t believe Rupert is that sort, but what does she know? All she can do is wait…and pray. 
But Fate has a few surprises in store for both Catalina and Rupert. When they meet again, it will be in another place where another battle is brewing, and their circumstances have been considerably altered. Will their love stand the test of time? And how will their lives be affected by the outcome of the conflict between the Iron Duke and the Emperor of the French? 




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Excerpt of Lost and Found Lady 


September 14, 1793


A beach near Dieppe, France


“I don’t like the look of those clouds, monsieur,” Tobias McIntosh said in fluent French to the gray-bearded old man in a sailor hat waiting impatiently near the rowboat that was beginning to bob more sharply with each swell of the waves. “Are you sure your vessel can make it safely all the way to Newhaven in these choppy seas?” 
The old man waved a hand over the horizon. “La tempête, it is not a threat, if we leave immédiatement. Plus tard…” He shrugged. “Je ne sais pas.” 
“Please, mon amour,” pleaded the small woman wrapped in a hooded gray cloak standing at his side. “Allow me to stay with you. I don’t want to go to England. I promise I will be prudent.” 
A strong gust of wind caught her hood and forced it down, revealing her mop of shiny dark locks. Tobias felt like seizing her hand and pulling her away from the ominous waves to a place of safety where she and their unborn child could stay until the senseless Terreur was over. 
“Justine, ma chère, we have discussed this endlessly. There is no place in France safe enough for you if your identity as the daughter of the Comte d’Audet is discovered.” He shivered. “I could not bear it if you were to suffer the same fate at the hands of the revolutionaries as your parents did when I failed to save them.” 
She threw her arms around him, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. “Non, mon amour, it was not your fault. You could not have saved them. It was miraculeux that you saved me. I should have died with them.”  
She looked up to catch his gaze, her face ashen. “Instead, we met and have had three merveilleux months together. If it is my time to die, I wish to die at your side.” 
Tobias felt like his heart was going to break. His very soul demanded that the two of them remain together and yet… there was a price on both their heads, and the family of the Vicomte Lefebre was waiting for him in Amiens, the revolutionaries expected to reach them before midday. It was a dangerous work he was involved in—rescuing imperiled French nobility from bloodthirsty, vengeful mobs—but he had pledged himself to the cause and honor demanded that he carry on. And besides, there was now someone else to consider. 
“The child,” he said with more firmness than he felt. “We have our child to consider, now, Justine ma chère. The next Earl of Dumfries. He must live to grow up and make his way in the world.” 
Not to mention the fact that Tobias was human enough to wish to leave a child to mark his legacy in the world—his and Justine’s. He felt a heaviness in his heart that he might not live long enough to know this child he and Justine had created together. He could not allow his personal wishes to undermine his conviction. Justine and the child must survive. 
Justine’s blue eyes filled with tears. “But I cannot! I will die without you, mon cher mari. You cannot ask it of me!” 
“Justine,” he said, pushing away from her to clasp her shoulders and look her directly in the eye. “You are a brave woman, the strongest I have ever known. You have survived many hardships and you can survive this. Take this letter to my brother in London, and he will see to your safety until the time comes that I can join you. My comrades in Newhaven will see that you are properly escorted.” 
He handed over a letter and a bag of coins. “This should be enough to get you to London.”  
After she had reluctantly accepted and pocketed the items beneath her cloak, he squeezed her hands. 
“Be sure to eat well, ma chère. You are so thin and my son must be born healthy.” 
She gave him a feigned smile. “Our daughter is the one responsible for my sickness in the mornings… I do not believe she wishes me to even look at food.” 
She looked apprehensively at the increasingly angry waves as they tossed the small boat moored rather loosely to a rock on the shore and her hands impulsively went to her stomach. 
“Make haste, monsieur,” the old sailor called as he peered anxiously at the darkening clouds. “We must depart now if we are to escape the storm. Bid your chère-amie adieu maintenant or wait for another day. I must return to the bateau.” 
“Tobias,” she said, her voice shaking. 
He wondered if he would ever again hear her say his name with that adorable French inflection that had drawn him from their first meeting. 
“Go, Justine. Go to my family and keep our child safe. I promise I will join you soon.” 
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward the dinghy, trying to ignore her tears. The old sailor held the boat as still as he could while Tobias placed her on the seat and kissed her hard before striding back to the shore, each footstep heavier than the last. 
He studied the darkening sky as the sailor climbed in the boat. “You are sure it is safe?” 
“La Chasseresse, she is très robuste. A few waves will not topple her, monsieur.” 
“Je t’aime, mon amour,” she said to him plaintively, her chin trembling. 
“Au revoir, ma chère,” he said, trying to smile, although his vision was blurring from tears. 
Will I ever see her again? 
He stood watching as the dinghy made its way slowly through the choppy sea to the larger ship anchored in the distance, grief-stricken and unable to concentrate on anything but his pain. When the ship finally sailed off into the horizon, he fell to his knees and prayed as he had never done before for the safety of his beloved. He remained in that position until drops of rain on his face reminded him of the Lefebre family waiting for him in Amiens. 
With a deep breath, he rose and made his way to the nearby forest, where his horse waited, tied to a tree. 
“Come, my friend. We have a long, wet journey ahead of us.” 
Setting foot in the stirrup, he swung his leg over the saddle and urged the horse to a gallop, feeling his heart rip into pieces with every step away from his beloved. 






 

4 comments:

  1. Great post! I learned a lot. Lovely excerpt from the new anthology.

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    1. I agree with you, Angelina. Interesting, isn't it?! Good job, Susana!

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  2. Thanks for hosting me, Heather! I'm glad you enjoyed the post!

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    1. My pleasure, Susana! I think I shall have to make it a regular feature! x

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