Comments on: The Secret Plot to Rescue Napoleon by Submarine

By: RichStine

RichStine — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:52:26 +0000

Fascinating fellow, Napoleon.
I remember as a child, learning sugar-coated tales of him in school, and afterward, at an ice cream store, excited to learn there was Napoleon Ice Cream.
If personal history serves correctly, I recall being disappointed that it was Neapolitan, and not “Napoleon” Ice Cream.
Sigh.

Nice read, Doc.

By: ErnestPayne

ErnestPayne — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:04:27 +0000

Another fascinating chapter in the Napoleonic era. As I recall Forrester had a story where Hornblower intercepted an attempt to rescue Napoleon.

By: Denise

Denise — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:21:14 +0000

My father’s family is from Paris. Quite a few years ago our family tree was being worked on. I was surprised to find out that Napoleon is one of our ancestors. When I mentioned this to my pastor he said, “We can’t help who we are related to.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

By: Emilio Ocampo

Emilio Ocampo — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:02:37 +0000

Thanks Mike for bringing attention to this forgotten piece of napoleonic history

For those interested in more details here is the link to my original article on this plot

http://www.cairn.info/revue-napoleonica-la-revue-2011-2-page-11.htm

By: Margaret Rodenberg

Margaret Rodenberg — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:25:45 +0000

By the way, I’ve posted a link to this article on the Napoleonic Historical Society’s facebook page.

I’m eager to follow up on some of the source material you cited.

By: Mike Dash

Mike Dash — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:28:58 +0000

Thank you, Nicholas; we’ve made the necessary correction.

By: Mike Dash

Mike Dash — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:25:09 +0000

Thank you, Margaret. Cockburn’s role in escorting Napoleon to St Helena was something I knew but had allowed to escape my memory – we appreciate the nudge!

The very best of luck with the book. It would be nice to see Tom Johnson get his (fictional) due.

By: Margaret Rodenberg

Margaret Rodenberg — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:19:48 +0000

Fascinating, well-researched article. I’m writing a novel about Napoleon and had included Tom Johnson’s efforts in my story so I was amused to read your piece. I visited St Helena in May 2010 and can attest to its being a difficult place to escape from–with no airport (although one is now under construction), it’s five days ship voyage from Cape Town. The Napoleonic sites are magical and I’m not a person who believes in magic. Did you realize when you mentioned Admiral Cockburn who burned down the White House and examined Tom Johnson’s submarine that he was the British Naval officer in charge of transporting Napoleon to St Helena?

My website featuring information about St Helena is http://www.findingnapoleon.com.

By: B Jones

B Jones — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:45:00 +0000

My forebears, in the form of two brothers named Santini, came from Corsica. It is rumored that the family was sympathetic to Napoleon and themselves had a plot to take a boat to rescue Napoleon from exile. However the plot had been found out and they feared for the future of the family. The boys were put on a boat to the US. We lack the exact date of their arrival in the US, but we know one was born in 1804 in Tomini and left as a school child. We can only estimate their arrival between 1814 and 1825. Interestingly, a man in Napoleon’s own retinue, who went with him to Elba and St. Helena, was Jean-Noel Santini, a Corsican. In fact, the same man who was sent from St. Helena and brought Napoleon’s written complaint of deplorable conditions to England. We haven’t found genealogical connection to Jean-Noel (yet!), but the stories are certainly interesting!

By: Nicholas Blake

Nicholas Blake — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 20:43:56 +0000

Burthen is a calculation of volume not displacement.