Stendhal's youth was lulled by the sound of trumpets and the sound of horse hooves ringing on the cobblestones of Grenoble's Place Grenette. This was just the usual hubbub of a garrison town during wartime. Grenoble was then one of the “hubs” of the cavalry since the war began against the coalition armies that tried to seize Piedmont. How could this spectacle have left a child of around ten years old indifferent?
Born on January 23, 1783, Henri Beyle, the future Stendhal, had the misfortune of losing his mother at the age of seven. The multiple occupations of his father, Chérubin Beyle, no longer allowed him to ensure the education of his only son (1), it was entrusted to his maternal grandfather, Doctor Henri Gagnon. Thus, Stendhal left the austere house on rue des Jésuites where he was born, to settle in with his grandfather whose windows overlook the main square of the city, this Place Grenette from where the child can, satiety, follows the evolution of the regiments of the garrison or those passing through the city, leaving for combat or returning
What future?
What particularly strikes young Henry are these riders with their gold-ribboned helmets and long black manes: the dragons. These formidable warriors with straight sabers beating the side of the beast, surrounded by the clanking of all the military equipment, have a formidable appearance and can only impress a child. " When I am grown up… "! How many times did Henri declare that he would be a “soldier”… His family, however, was reluctant to do so. The child, in high school, was a brilliant student. When, on 18 Brumaire Year VIII (October 30, 1799), General Bonaparte seized power, Henri Beyle was about to settle in Paris to enter the École Polytechnique (2). He temporarily moved into a hotel near the establishment that was to receive him, but he fell ill and was taken in by the Daru family, cousins, one of whom, Pierre, held an important position in the Ministry of War.
A career in paperwork?
However, instead of joining the École Polytechnique as was agreed upon his departure from Grenoble, Stendhal, at the beginning of the year 1800, entered... as a supernumerary clerk within the department headed by his relative! While he dreamed of glory, the young man learned there, at the Hôtel de Castries where the offices of the War administration were held (3), to write reports after reports, which were reread, without any concession, by his illustrious cousin, before they were presented to the First Consul. The task is tough - he often gets reprimanded - but very educational, yet devoid of hope of advancement. But it is in this way that Stendhal, without leaving this office, gets his foot in the door of the French administration.
The peace that followed the Treaty of Campoformio has lived on. The second Italian campaign, following the reoccupation of the Po valley by the Austrians, is now open and Stendhal follows in the footsteps of his elder, inspector of magazines, of whom Napoleon will say on Saint Helena: "He joins the work from the ox to the courage of the lion. » It is therefore in civilian clothes that the Grenoblois sets off for Italy, his first campaign. He passes the Great Saint Bernard. “That’s all it is! », he boasts, after passing this pass where many of his peers have lost their lives. His baptism of fire took place under the fort of Bard, in the valley which leads to Aosta. Arriving in Milan, he was assigned to the general staff and continued his editorial work. The battle of Marengo, long undecided for the French, had a happy ending. Beyle never appeared there, either as an actor or as a witness, contrary to what he was sometimes led to believe. The war now seems to be over.
“The gaieties of the squadron”
Pierre Daru has ambition for his cousin who came from the provinces: a student in Grenoble, Henri had shown his great interest in mathematics. A career in the Corps of War Commissioners seems ideal. But, to integrate said body, there are imperatives. Daru knows the regulations perfectly since he is the drafter. The decree of 9 Pluviôse Year VIII (January 29, 1800) provides the key: any applicant for this position must pass an examination and must be chosen from among French officers with three years of service, be at least twenty-one years old. one year and present a certificate of good conduct issued by the military authority to which he reports. However, for the moment, Stendhal, on the one hand, is not yet of the required age - he is less than four years old, the wait will be long for this impatient man who has only carried a saber for as long as of the crossing of the Alps, dressed in a civilian frock coat and “chaperoned” by a cantankerous as well as obscure captain of the 3rd Cavalry by the name of Burelvillers. As for good conduct… And this is why Beyle, for a certain time, will have to enjoy the “joys of the squadron”.
Using his interpersonal skills, Daru will give his cousin a “little” help. Thus, on October 18, 1800, Division General Oudinot, Chief of Staff of the Army of Italy at headquarters in Milan, was able to address the Grenoblois, in the name of General Brune, Commander-in-Chief, a “provisional certificate to hold the rank of second lieutenant”, which, dated the previous September 23, orders that Henri Beyle, “volunteer enlisted”, be received and recognized as such by the unit in which he will be assigned. Pending this event, Beyle is attached to the general staff in Milan. The first step has been taken.
However, as gruff as he is, Daru nonetheless has a family spirit. And, contrary to what Beyle may think, he follows his case closely. If there is proof of this, it is enough to read the letter he sent, on October 22, to Henry Durosnel, head of the mounted troops office at the War Department: “You know, my dear citizen, the citizen Beyle who worked with me in my golden salon, and whose courage carried him in the footsteps of the first Consul beyond the Alps. He merited it so well that the general-in-chief appointed him as a second lieutenant. Until we can designate a corps for him, that is to say until a vacancy arises, he was attached to the general staff […]. Please do your best to make it clear on the board that the minister will arrest officers of the general staff of our army. This is not a recommendation like so many others. Beyle is my relative, and he scribbled in the War offices. So you see clearly that you cannot do less than a second lieutenant. In a few months, I will ask you for a stripe for him. In the meantime, I charge Martial (4) to torment you until this affair is over and, if necessary, I will send to seduce you the Venus of Medicisque Mazeau is responsible for kidnapping. [signed:] Daru. »
Of course, that makes you smile. Not so much for the “hijacking” of Venus, because the thing was the subject of a very long haggling. But, for the sake of honesty: the height of the “merits” of the future Stendhal as well as the “courage” which “carried him in the footsteps of the first Consul beyond the Alps” are, certainly, arguments that a leader of Parisian office cannot object when they are advanced with so much boldness in Milan!
The 6th Dragoon Regiment
Happy news: Stendhal’s assignment to the 6th Dragoons, dated October 23, finally reached him. But the mysteries of the administration being what they are, it now remains to obtain confirmation of this appointment. The liberation of the post by the retirement of Second Lieutenant Millot did not become effective until February 1801, it was not until the following May 7 that the Minister of War was able to propose to the First Consul the confirmation of the temporary assignment. We don't put the cart before the horse. The decree was therefore not signed until June 24. Beyle received confirmation in his rank and his assignment, with effect from 1st Brumaire Year IX (October 23, 1800), by a letter from the Minister of War dated July 1, 1801.
To obtain the shipment of the famous patent, it is still necessary to produce supporting documents for the services announced. Also, Beyle sent the Minister of War, on July 22, 1801, the required documents which he had carefully noted and initialed. “Now, if you look closely, only one of them is unambiguous: his birth certificate! » On the other hand, the same cannot be said of the other two pieces. The first consists of a certificate, dated Lody (sic) October 20, 1800: “The Baron, brigade leader, commanding the 6th dragoon regiment, attests that the citizen Henri-Marie Beyle, native of Grenoble, entered the corps as enlisted in the corps [sic] on 6 Thermidor [July 25, 1800] and was part of a detachment stationed at Sarreguemines; that, on the account given to me by the commander of this detachment of the conduct of citizen Beyle and his knowledge, I had sent the order to have him received brigadier and marshal-des-logis to request a sub -lieutenancy, that he left the detachment before the arrival of the order of his receipt, and that he joined the squadrons of which he is a part. [signed:] Brigade chief Le Baron. »
Another, finally, is a confirmation of the declaration of the corps commander by the board of directors of the regiment: it is attested that Beyle was indeed part of the Sarreguemines detachment from 6 Thermidor Year VIII to 1 Vendémiaire Year IX (July 25 to September 23, 1800)!
We become dizzy in this whirlwind of dates − let us note, from now on, that, about the short military career of Henri Beyle, everything, or almost everything, remains in the state of hypothesis −, but that doesn't matter since the minister sees, for the moment at least, nothing to complain about: Henri Beyle is now, at seventeen, an officer in the dragoons, with the advantages provided by both employment and the armistice which has just opened.
Thirty-five years later, writing The Life of Henri Brulard, the autobiography of his youth, he remembered this happy moment when, “a rich second lieutenant at 150 francs. », admitted at the table of General Moncey, commanding the left wing of the army, he “doubted[t] nothing”.
Stendhal in Sarreguemines?
Reading the documents surrounding Stendhal’s incorporation into a combat unit is therefore perplexing. Several reasons for this. Because, obviously, without us grasping, at first glance, the true meaning, it seems that, in order not to make, on paper at least, the Grenoblois a second lieutenant of dragoons upon his arrival at the army, it seemed good to include on his service records a stint, however short, among the troops! Thus, he would have entered the 6th dragoons, as a simple rider, on May 22, 1800, or even the following July 25, would he have been promoted to brigadier then quartermaster, before being elevated to the rank of second lieutenant on the 1st Vendémiaire year ix, that is to say, September 23 of the same year 1800 (5).
It must have been necessary for Beyle to justify himself, which explains, in his military file, certain mentions such as that affixed to a certificate from the board of directors of the regiment: “entered the corps on 6 Thermidor year viii [July 25, 1800 ]", and affirming that "from this date until 1st Vendémiaire year ix [September 23, 1800], [he] was part of a detachment stationed in Sarreguemines and that in activity with the service squadrons" (6). Beyle himself saw fit to add, to explain the silence of the controls, that the departure date of his services had been brought back to 1 Vendémiaire year 9 “following poor record keeping”! Although the control of the regiment's officers mentions, in totality: “Henry-Marie Beÿle [sic], born in Grenoble, department of Isère, January 23, 1783; dragon on 1st Vendémiaire year 9; second lieutenant the 1st Frimaire year ix (7); resigned on 13 Vendémiaire, year xi” (8). This confusion is, in reality, intended to hide a simple reality: the appointment of Henri Beyle to a rank to which he cannot claim. Because to become a second lieutenant, “unless you are appointed to the battlefield”, it was legally essential to have graduated from the military officer school. In this case, in the absence of this initiation into the profession, the future Stendhal had only one asset: he was the cousin of Pierre Daru! And, to top it all off, let us read with pleasure the flattering assessment, credited to the applicant, appearing on the provisional decree of appointment signed by Brune, commander in chief: “Appoint Cien Henri-Marie Beyle to the rank of sub-lieutenant as a reward for his good conduct and talents. »Without a doubt, his skills in military matters had been judged based on the excellence of his spelling when he wrote, in his cousin's offices, "that" with two "l's" to the great displeasure of the latter. ! But, above all, this addition gave the impression that the promotion followed Beyle's brilliant behavior on the battlefield. There was no point even specifying which one. And who says “present in combat”, also means “already present on the checks of the troop and non-commissioned officers”! It should be noted that there is no mention of the ranks of brigadier and quartermaster that Beyle will later assert. But, from then on, everything was there to validate the promotion in question. At the cost of some negligence and exaggerations…
From then on, with a little patience, the future Stendhal will be able to earn his lieutenant's bars and take the competitive examination for war commissioner. However, it is another route that the people of Grenoble will soon choose. The quality of the officers of the 6th Dragoons did not satisfy him. He only found he wrote, “vulgar” beings, even “rude, devoid of the slightest particle of culture”! How could he, then, feel at one with such people? The inspection remarks relating to this unit, on the eve of Marengo, do not go in the other direction: the unit is then "behind all the essential parts of dress, instruction and discipline". The officers are described, for some, as “drunkards”, for others as “absolutely worthless, indolent”, “without means”, and “bad subject”; three of them are even truly illiterate. As for the days of battle, there are more people absent to command the troops than those present! The review in question had this good thing in that a reformation of cowards and illiterates gave a better appearance to the body.
Il est aisé de comprendre le dégoût qu’a ressenti Henri Beyle et ce qui l’a poussé à se rapprocher du général Michaud, commandant la 3e division cisalpine qui était à la recherche d’un aide de camp. Mettant à profit une absence de Pierre Daru, il quitte le 6e dragons et se fait accepter par le général en mal de personnel. Le sort du Grenoblois est ainsi lié pour un temps à cet officier général. Or, le 4 juin 1801, tout s’effondre. Si Michaud n’a pas regardé de trop près le règlement, il est rappelé au jeune sous-lieutenant qu’il se trouve en bien fâcheuse position. En effet, pour exercer l’emploi d’aide de camp, il est impératif de réunir deux conditions : être au moins lieutenant et avoir à son actif un minimum de deux campagnes. Le douteux jeu d’écriture sur les contrôles du 6e dragons passe encore, mais faire élever Beyle au grade supérieur du jour au lendemain ! Quant à la seconde campagne…
Force est donc d’ordonner au jeune sous-lieutenant d’avoir à rejoindre son unité d’origine sans tambour ni trompette. Michaud rédige alors un certificat assurant que le jeune homme a su se montrer à la hauteur de la tâche qui lui était impartie, faisant état de « sa manière délicate et distinguée de servir ».
Le futur Stendhal est amer et peste en lui-même. « Je n’ai point de conseil, point d’ami », confie-t-il à son journal. Il s’exagère même ses propres mérites lorsqu’il poursuit : « Je me suis pourtant déterminé, persuadé qu’à force d’audace et de persévérance, je parviendrai à être aide de camp du général Michaud. Alors je ne devrais ce succès, comme tous les autres, qu’à moi-même. »
Il est aisé de comprendre le dégoût qu’a ressenti Henri Beyle et ce qui l’a poussé à se rapprocher du général Michaud, commandant la 3e division cisalpine qui était à la recherche d’un aide de camp. Mettant à profit une absence de Pierre Daru, il quitte le 6e dragons et se fait accepter par le général en mal de personnel. Le sort du Grenoblois est ainsi lié pour un temps à cet officier général. Or, le 4 juin 1801, tout s’effondre. Si Michaud n’a pas regardé de trop près le règlement, il est rappelé au jeune sous-lieutenant qu’il se trouve en bien fâcheuse position. En effet, pour exercer l’emploi d’aide de camp, il est impératif de réunir deux conditions : être au moins lieutenant et avoir à son actif un minimum de deux campagnes. Le douteux jeu d’écriture sur les contrôles du 6e dragons passe encore, mais faire élever Beyle au grade supérieur du jour au lendemain ! Quant à la seconde campagne…
Force est donc d’ordonner au jeune sous-lieutenant d’avoir à rejoindre son unité d’origine sans tambour ni trompette. Michaud rédige alors un certificat assurant que le jeune homme a su se montrer à la hauteur de la tâche qui lui était impartie, faisant état de « sa manière délicate et distinguée de servir ».
Le futur Stendhal est amer et peste en lui-même. « Je n’ai point de conseil, point d’ami », confie-t-il à son journal. Il s’exagère même ses propres mérites lorsqu’il poursuit : « Je me suis pourtant déterminé, persuadé qu’à force d’audace et de persévérance, je parviendrai à être aide de camp du général Michaud. Alors je ne devrais ce succès, comme tous les autres, qu’à moi-même. »
“Only to myself”? How he goes! He dragged things out and it was not until September 18, 1801, that he said goodbye to his new protector. Soon, he fell ill and requested convalescence leave. He returned to Paris and, in the first days of July 1802, sent his resignation to the Minister of War. Here again, Henri Beyle is not very observant: finding himself in the very heart of the capital, he postdates the document from July 20 to Savigliano, the locality where the 6th dragoons are held. But, this time, this discrepancy is explainable: to follow the regulations, the resignation letter must be presented to the head of the unit, the only person authorized to transmit it to the ministry. This time, in a way, only a half-hearted fake.
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