May 052012
It’s May 5th, the day Napoleon died on St Helena in 1821. Before the retour des cendres (confusingly not the return of the ashes but the corpse), Napoleon’s body was laid to rest in a grave at nearby the Longwood estate (seen above). General Bertrand and marquis de Montholon both wanted that the grave be marked with the imperial `Napoleon’, while Hudson Lowe, the English gaoler, only recognized Napoleon as an officer, and thus insisted on his full name, ‘Napoleon Bonaparte’. The result was a unmarked grave.
He was indeed buried near the estate, in the Valley of the Geraniums (about a mile away).
Thank you, Rob. I didn’t know that – I actually thought the grave was by the house itself. Very much enjoyed your post.