On This Day in Napoleonic History – 29 June 1815

29Napoleon is told to leave Malmaison following his second abdication

The commissaries of Joseph FouchΓ© visited Napoleon, letting him know that he could no longer stay at Malmaison because the Prussians were on their way. Two frigates were made available for him.

In his last day at Malmaison, he said goodbye to his mother and visited the room where Josephine had died. ‘If only we could stay here, Hortense,’ he told his step-daughter with sadness, rightly sensing that his future held no joy.

He left with Marshal Henri Gatien Bertrand and Anne Jean Marie RenΓ© Savary at 5.30 PM. ‘If I had gone to America, we might have founded an estate there,’ he said. He settled at the maritime prefecture of Rochefort, where he had spent twelve days trying to think of the way to bypass the HMS Bellerophon that was patrolling the harbour.

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