He rode a very noble white horse
and wore a Polish kurtka of light blue velvet which reached down to the
knees, embroidered with golden lace, dark red mameluke pantaloons with
golden galloons, white gauntlets and a three-cornered general's hat with
white plumes; the saddle was of red velvet and a caparison of the same
stuff, all embroidered with gold. The neck of the king was bare, a large
white scalloped collar fell over the collar of the kurtka. A strong black
full beard gave a martial expression to his face with the fiery eyes and
regular features. Sometimes he wore a biretta with a diamond agraffe and a
high plume of heron feathers. Very seldom he appeared in the uniform of a
marshal.
And this other great hero, who, like Ney, had never been wounded in battle,
was executed by order of the court of Naples on October 13th., 1815, in the
hall of castle Pizzo.
VOP
In order to give an idea of the great difficulties the soldiers had to
face, and examples of their heroic behavior under trying circumstances, let
us relate the disaster of Vop.
While Napoleon, with the imperial guard, the corps of Marshal Davout and a
mass of stragglers, all escorted by Marshal Ney, was marching on the road
to Smolensk, Prince Eugene had taken the road to Doukhowtchina. The prince
had with him 6 or 7 thousand men under arms, including the Italian guard,
some Bavarian cavalry which still had their horses and their artillery
mounted, and also many stragglers, with these a number of families who had
been following the Italian division.
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