[Retour des cendres] ─ François Marie Sosthène Fabre Lamaurelle

[Return to ashes] ─ François Marie Sosthène Fabre Lamaurelle

Itinerary of the voyage to Saint Helena. [July 1 – November -30 1840].

Belle Poule, 30 novembre 1840.

4to gathering (252 x 210 mm). Autograph manuscript signed "Fabre Lamaurelle". 8 leaves, the last one left blank. Brown ink on paper. Wrapper with title in ink. All held together by a red ribbon.

The Emperor’s final journey: return of the ashes

Very precious unpublished logbook, kept by Fabre Lamaurelle, a member of the crew of the Belle Poule.

This mission was ordered by Louis-Philippe and Adolphe Thiers, President of the Council. Command of the frigate the Belle Poule was entrusted to Louis-Ferdinand of Orléans, Prince of Joinville. On July 7, 1840, the frigate was escorted by the corvette Favorite and the brig Oreste and set sail from Toulon for Saint Helena to repatriate the remains of the late Emperor.

Armed with 60 cannons and measuring 54 meters, the Belle Poule was given a few special modifications for this occasion and was repainted in black.

The crew included many officers but also some close companions of the Emperor, including his companions in exile: Mameluke Ali and the Comtes Gourgaud and Bertrand.

Among the officers on board was François Marie Sosthène Fabre Lamaurelle (La Ciotat 1810-Paris 1889), then a second-class naval lieutenant.

A student at the Royal Naval College of Angoulême, created by Louis XVIII in 1816, Fabre Lamaurelle was appointed midshipman in 1827. He was Aide-de-camp to the Prince of Joinville since 1837 and was promoted to lieutenant the following year. Seven years after the expedition of the Belle Poule, he was made frigate captain, and in 1854, ship-of-the-line captain. He commanded the Suffren during the Crimean war, the Arcole as part of the Mediterranean squadron in 1857-1858 and took part in naval operations during the campaign of Italy, and finally commanded the steam frigate the Gomer in 1859. He was appointed Rear-Admiral in 1862, and commanded the navy in Algeria from 1867 to 1872. He was raised to the position of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor by decree of December 25, 1870 (database Léonore LH//922/12) and promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1872.

In 1840, day by day, the young officer recorded the condition of the sky and the sea, the geographic position (latitude and longitude), the noon thermometer and barometer readings as well as any events and remarks that punctuated the day.

From the crossing from Toulon to Cadiz (where the Belle Poule anchored on July 17) to the arrival at Saint Helena on October 8, to the return to Cherbourg on November 30, the 108 days of this trip and the 5,417 nautical leagues traveled are detailed here. In addition to this logbook, Fabre Lamaurelle also left a notebook of personal recollections kept in a private collection. The young naval lieutenant is mentioned several times in the Journal inédit du Retour des Cendres by Mameluke Ali.

The journal begins on July 1, 1840 in the harbor of Toulon. On July 7, Fabre Lamaurelle notes: "His Royal Highness on board [Louis-Ferdinand of Orléans, Prince of Joinville]. Departure the 7th at 6p.m." On July 19, the governor of Cadiz came aboard, on August 4 the Belle Poule crossed the tropic of Cancer and, on August 21, the frigate crossed into the Southern Hemisphere and set course for Bahia. A few days later, on August 28, the young naval lieutenant records having "seen a whale ".

In early September the Belle Poule anchored in Bahia and a few days later it is noted that the "the Prince departed to visit the river at the back of the bay". On September 14: setting sail for Saint Helena, the 21st, the frigate crossed the tropic of Capricorn after having encountered two whales a few days earlier.

On September 25, a "to battle stations, ready to fire" is noted and on October 3:"all war-armed boats, mock boarding of the Favorite".

On October 8 at 4 p.m. the expedition arrived at the harbor of Saint Helena. The Oreste and the English brig, the Dolphin, exchanged salutes. On the 11th "An English schooner sends distress signals, a tugboat is dispatched. (Half the crew is sent to the Emperor’s tomb").

Two days later, "The rest of the crew […] at the tomb" and on the 14th "the Emperor’s coffin arrives on board at 6 p.m. (absolution) ceremony on the port. The Favorite and the Oreste fire every minute".

Finally, on October 18 at 8.30 in the morning, the Belle Poule sets sail for France and on October 29 "crosses into the Northern Hemisphere". It is at 5 in the morning, on November 30 that the frigate arrives in Cherbourg harbor.

At the end of the manuscript, the frigate’s itinerary and the number of miles covered are meticulously detailed.

On December 2 1840, the Belle Poule comes alongside in the military port of Cherbourg. The Emperor’s remains lie for nine days in the ship’s between-decks, arranged as a funeral chapel. The coffin was transferred onboard the Normandie, on December 8, 1840, escorted by the Véloce and the Courrier aboard which were the crews of the Belle Poule and the Favorite. On December 15, 1840, he arrived at the Invalides. As he had wished, the Emperor henceforth would rest near the Seine.

On this day of jubilation, Victor Hugo joined the crowd on the Champs-Élysées and recounted the event in Le Retour de l’Empereur:

" Sky icy, sun pure. – Oh shine in history,

From your funeral triumphs the imperial flame!

May the people forever keep you in their memory;

A day as fine as glory,

As cold as the tomb!"

[With:]

La Belle Poule. Logbook.

Thick 4to (348 x 260 mm). Lined paper. Brown buckskin, corner pieces in brass, pieces of brass at the bottom and lower spine, oval brass pieces on the upper board with title piece in red morocco and title in gilt letters "La Belle Poule" Logbook, smooth spine (Stationary, metal nibs. Maison Paul Girard Alexis-Poulain successors, label affixed on the first pastedown).

This logbook, left blank, belonged to Mameluke Ali. Only a few later annotations in pencil note: "Souvenirs of Saint Helena" "2 letters from Balmani" "Ali - description of the library", "Letter from cook Pierron", "2 letters from Abbé Coquereau", "Letter from Thiers", "Hudson Lowe". According to a note in pencil, this logbook was used to organize manuscripts (probably by Gustave Michaut [Ali’s great grandson by marriage]) in preparation for the publication of the Souvenirs.

Son of a stablemaster, Étienne-Jean Saint-Denis, known as Mameluke Ali (1788-1856), entered into service at the stables of Saint Cloud in May 1806, and would be appointed second Mameluke in December 1811. Loyal among the loyal, and of an unwavering loyalty, he was one of those who followed the Emperor into exile. In 1840, after numerous negotiations and thanks to the intervention of Thiers, he succeeded in taking part in the mission that was ordered for the return of Napoléon’s ashes.