Napoleon's slight on Milford recalled

In his recently-published book 'Waterloo', the Sharpe creator Bernard Cornwell paints an unflattering portrait of a man closely associated with Milford - His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, Prince of France, Prince of Montfort and of course brother of Napoleon.

Cornwell suggests Napoleon didn't think much of Jerome - "Relations between the two were often fraught, because Jerome was a spendthrift wastrel. He was thirty-one years old in 1815, but his troubles with his brother began much earlier when, aged nineteen, he had met and married an American, Elizabeth Patterson from Baltimore. The marriage drove Napoleon into a fury. He needed his siblings to marry for dynastic reasons, not for something as trivial as love, and so he forbade Elizabeth to enter France and insisted his brother divorce her."

From a Donegal perspective, this was a rather poor show from Napoleon. Because Elizabeth Patterson was the daughter of William Patterson, a Milford man. Shiela Friel, in her fine book 'Milford Towards the Millennium' (1997), says William emigrated from the townland of Rosgarrow and became a shipping magnate. Elizabeth, known as Betsy, met Jerome at a ball in Baltimore in 1803 and "it was love at first sight and within a few months they were married", according to Shiela. But the difficulties with Napoleon meant the couple parted. Betsy gave birth in London to a son she called Bo. She and the child went back to the States.

Shiela adds: "In 1816 Betsy visited Milford and spent some time here. On her return to America she spent the rest of her life alone and died at the grand old age of 94. Her grandson, Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851 - 1921) was the US Secretary of State for the Navy from 1905 to 1906 and Attorney General from 1906-1909".

There's a photo in Shiela's book of the house William Patterson emigrated from.

 According to Betsy's Wikipedia entry, her tragic romance provided material for a play, two films and a novel, and also featured in the Hornblower television series. The entry says: "Elizabeth and Jérôme Bonaparte were married on December 24, 1803, at a ceremony presided over by John Carroll, the Archbishop of Baltimore. Betsy quickly became known for her risqué taste in fashion, starting with her wedding dress." The entry adds that when she returned to Baltimore she lived with her father  "while she continued to flaunt her royal connection and skimpy attire. After the Battle of Waterloo, she returned to Europe where she was well received in the most exclusive circles and much admired for her beauty and wit."

Strangely enough, after Betsy's brother died, his widow married a brother of the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon (and Jerome) at Waterloo. (That's quite confusing, so let's add that another of the Duke's brothers, William H. Pakenham, was the captain of the HMS Saldahna which sunk in the Swilly, and he is buried in Rathmullan.)

William Patterson seems to have had an interesting life.  His Wikipedia entry says he was born (in 'Fanand') in 1752 and died in 1835 and "was a businessman, a gun-runner during the American Revolution, and a founder of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad". His many business dealings included shipping, baning and the Baltimore Water Company. He was said to be the second-wealthiest man in Maryland after Charles Carroll, one of those who signed the US Declaration of Independence.


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I'm on a bit of a Napoleon trail at the moment.

It all started I read Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' and scratched it off the bucket list. It's formidable in terms of its sheer length, but also an entertaining read. The setting is Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, which turned out a disaster for him. On the same subject, years ago I also read a Folio Society edition of 'Retreat from Russia: the memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne'. It's not quite in the Tolstoy league but worth a shot.

Tolstoy gives his own version of what happened in Russia, and paints a vivid picture of the main protagonists. The Russian Field Marshal Kutuzov springs to mind, and the Tsar. From memory, I think Tolstoy painted Kutuzov as an old warhorse who used his experience and guile to outwit Napoleon. But the soldier and military theorist Clauswitz, who served with the Russians during the 1812 campaign (and was later at Waterloo with his fellow Prussians), suggested that Kutuzov's only contribution to the victory had been his refusal, born of fear, to take on Napoleon.

To get another view, I followed up with '1812: Napoleon's fatal march on Moscow', a Sunday Times bestseller from Adam Zamoyski. Again that's full of interest, particularly in terms of the horrors experienced by Napoleon's retreating army in the depths of winter.

Another coincidence. Tonight the film choice was 'Terminal', starring Tom Hanks. Needless to say, his love interest was fascinated by Napoleon and he had to swot up, buying several books on the man.

Ten great places in Donegal

Came across this list from 2010 -

Here are ten of my ‘must see’ places in Donegal –

Sliabh League

The claim that the cliffs at Sliabh League are the highest in Europe is not uncontested, but by the time you’ve finished drinking in this stupendous views at the edge of the continent you won’t care. Nearest town – Carrick.

One notable omission is, of course, Ramelton, a heritage town which should be on any visitor's itinerary. This pic is taken on a fine road for a walk, down by the 'waterfall' on the fabled River Lennon. Ramelton, 'The Holy City' has everything from James McDaid's wine bar to the Bridge Bar to the meeting house of the founder of US Presbyterianism. It is the hometown of the first captain of the touring All-Blacks, of a legendary Celtic player, of an oilman and banker who was the friend of US Presidents, of the father of a US President, of a famous nurse, of a pioneering newspaperman and many more. And let's not Joe Logan, the ex-Harps midfielder . .

Grianan of Aileach

Panoramic views from the walkway on the walls of this ancient monument, which may have been a heavenly observatory. The church of St Aenghus, at the bottom of the hill in Burt, was Ireland’s building of the millennium and its design is based on the fort.  Nearest town – Derry.

Beltony Stone Circle

My favourite place in Donegal, probably because I grew up right beside it. There’s a presence about this ring of stones ‘high atop the Lagan lap’, older than Stonehenge. See how many stones you can find decorated with cup marks. Nearest town – Raphoe.

Malin Head

Ireland’s most northerly point, so you have to visit. Usually pretty blowy. A Martello tower and a couple of look-out posts mark the spot. Nearest town – Malin village, a past winner of Ireland’s tidiest town.

Silver Strand

On the right day, a little piece of heaven. A sandy cove caressed (or pounded) by Atlantic breakers, with the beach at the bottom of more than a hundred steps. Spectacular setting, just along the coast from Sliabh League. Nearest town – Cashel, Glencolumbkille.

Port

Port is one of those places where a minor road gives way to an even more minor road. Probably Ireland’s most isolated pier, a cove where the tide makes music with the stones and always worth a visit, but particularly on a good day or a bad day. Nearest town – well, Cashel, Glencolumbkille, is over the hill if you have a helicopter.

Glenlough

Glenlough is one of Ireland’s most private places, an hour’s walk from the road down to Port. Frequented in the past by the likes of Rockwell Kent, Dylan Thomas and, of course, Bonnie Prince Charlie. For certain. Don’t expect a lake (or anything really) – it’s the glen of the ducks (but they probably won’t be there either). Nearest village – Dylan used to walk to O’Donnell’s pub in Meenaneary, near Carrick, apparently. He was quite thirsty when he got there.

Tory Island

The kingdom of Patsy Dan. A BBC reporter who’d worked around the world was left quite stunned by Tory – “it’s like going back 3,000 years in half an hour”. Boat trip from Magheraroarty or Bunbeg to an island of legend, ancient remains (including a rare Tau cross) and the occasional globally-endangered corncrake. Nearest town – America (only joking).

Even the trip to work on a winter's morning can be a revelation in Donegal, this time on the road between Ramelton and Letterkenny 

Rosnowlagh beach

A representative of the many glorious beaches around Donegal. Others include Tramore near Downings, with its massive dunes; Five Finger Strand in Inishowen, handy for hiding guns and explosives; the one near Port Salon described in the past as one of the world’s finest; etc etc. Nearly always quiet except on those rare really hot summer days when Donegal digs out its swimming togs and makes the mad annual dash for the beach. Nearest town - Ballyshannon

Glenveagh 

If you are unable to swing a cat in your quotidian existence, visit Glenveagh and swing a full-sized deer. National park. Tour the castle, catch the gardens, go on walks and see a golden eagle, have tea and a scone. Nearest town – Kilmacrenan, or if you insist on something bigger, Letterkenny.

                     "That's not fair, he's already lost an arm!"

Just happened to come across this pic. By sheer coincidence (also looking at mentions of Isaac Butt in Ulysses) here's a piece to match it (though it's not from Dublin)

'Church of the Immaculate Conception', also known as Adam and Eve's, is located on Merchants Quay, Dublin (Franciscans secretly said Mass in the Adam and Eve Tavern, where the popular name of the present church comes from) + "Old as they were, her aunts also did their share. Julia, though she was quite grey, was still the leading soprano in Adam and Eve's, and Kate, being too feeble to go about much, gave music lessons to beginners on the old square piano in the back room." (The Dead); Miss Kate and Miss Julia, based on Joyce's grand aunts, the Misses Flynn who, as their great-nephew put it, 'trilled and warbled in a Dublin church up to the age of seventy'. This was the ancient Franciscan church on the south quays popularly known as Adam and Eve's (from Biography by Peter Costello).