NAPOLEON I (1769-1821). L.S. "Napol", Fontainebleau... Lot 598

NAPOLEON I (1769-1821). L.S. "Napol", Fontainebleau November 2, 1807, to Prince Eugène, Viceroy of Italy; the letter is written by Méneval; 2pages in-4. "My son, the statement I have sent you of the conscripts you are to receive in Italy, is the result of what is due to you on the conscriptions of 1806, 1807 and 1808. - I have given orders for the detachment of the 81st in Corfu to return to its depot. My intention is that the eight detachments you are going to send to complete the eight regiments in Dalmatia should meet in a town in the Venetian state [...] Each third battalion will provide as many two companies as you have more than 200 men to send. You will appoint a brigadier general to command this brigade, and when you are satisfied that its clothing, weapons and footwear are in good condition, you will send it off. The Clauzel division & this brigade will provide General Marmont with a reinforcement of 8,000 men"... Etc. Then he adds: "I must tell you in confidence and for you alone, that by a treaty I have made with Spain, the Kingdom of Etruria is ceded to me in full ownership and sovereignty, and it is likely that before long, I will take possession of it. It is therefore advisable to sell all English merchandise, and to keep the Miollis division strong enough to take possession of the country, and to enforce the laws I deem appropriate". And he asks to assemble in Novara "an Italian division of 5 to 6,000 men, which I intend to bring to France, as soon as it is organized and complete, and that the Italian division which is in Stralsund will be on the march to Milan"... Correspondance générale, t.VII, n°16686.