Sergent Bourgogne – The Last March

The last book my father was working on before he died was about Sergeant Bourgogne.

I remember first reading Sergeant Bourgognes memoirs in my home as a young teenager, and I remember being transported to the days of cannon and horse, musket, and marches across Europe

I shall be writing on the campaigns endured in his memoirs, the era in which he found himself fighting and the political landscape of Europe at that time.

Adrien Jean-Baptiste François Bourgogne was the son of a draper, he was born on the 12th of November 1785 in Condé-sur-l’Escaut.

On January 24th, 1806, he entered the Velites of the Imperial Guard and participated in the Napoleonic campaigns ( Germany , Austria , Spain , Portugal ). He was wounded twice at Essling in May 1809, then sent to Spain and Portugal.

He was wounded twice at Essling in May 1809, then sent to Spain and Portugal.

In April 1812, Burgundy was appointed Sergeant and took part with this rank in the Campaign of Russia . He will be part of the survivors of the debacle. In March 1813, he was appointed lieutenant in the 145

He will be part of the survivors of the debacle.

In March 1813, he was appointed Lieutenant in the 145th line, and he was wounded in Dessau, before being taken a prisoner in Prussia. It was during these months of captivity that he began to write his memoirs.

This Napoleonic warrior is purported to be the subject, on whom my father was to base his last book, one he may have began to write yet certainly one that he did not survive to finish.

The years of his life from his birth on the 12th of November 1785 until his death at the age of 81 on the 14th of April 1867 were some of the most momentous years of not just France but Europe.