The Hundred Days Part V — The Final ExileAfter Napoleon’s defeat at the hands of Welling

The Hundred Days Part V — The Final ExileAfter Napoleon’s defeat at the hands of Wellington and Blucher, the French Emperor fled to Paris in hopes of continuing the fight.  However the French Provisional Government knew the gig was up, and forced him to resign.  He did so on June 25th, 1815 naming his son Emperor of France, and later fleeing to the west.  The Prussian Army was invading France and approaching Paris with the intent to take Napoleon alive.  On June 8th, they entered Paris and restored King Louis XVIII to the throne.  Napoleon attempted to escape to the United States by ship, but was unable to due to a blockade by the Royal Navy.  Finally with no other options, he surrendered himself to Capt. Frederick Maitland of the HMS Bellorophon.Defeated a second time, Napoleon was to be exiled once again.  However whereas on Elba Napoleon was granted the title “Emperor of Elba” and granted a luxurious estate, this time he was to be stripped of everything.  Shipped off to a small island in the South Atlantic called St. Helena, he was stripped of his titles, forced to wear modest clothing, eat modest food, and live in a small house on the island.  Only a handful of friends and confidants were permitted to live with him and visit him.  The island was garrison to a British Army Regiment, as well as a fleet of Royal Navy sloops which constantly patrolled the waters around the island.  Unlike his stay at Elba, it was quite clear the Napoleon was prisoner. Several plots were made to rescue Napoleon from his exile, but none ever came to fruition. Surrounded by hundreds of miles of open ocean and under heavy guard, the British had no intention of allowing him to escape again.During Napoleons exile, he wrote his memoirs, took up gardening, and occupied his mind with various academic pursuits.  However his time at St. Helena was boring and dreary.  His health also began to slowly decline.  On February of 1821, his health took a sudden and drastic turn for the worse.   He died on the 5th of May, his last words being, “France, l'armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine” (“France, army, head of the army, Joséphine”). An autopsy would reveal  that he suffered from stomach cancer, the symptoms of which ailed him as early as Waterloo.  His last wish was to be buried along the Seine River, but the British Governor of the island refused to allow Napoleon to leave, even in death.  He was buried on St. Helena. His body was exhumed and returned to France in 1840. In case you missed Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV -- source link

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