The Russellville Democrat., 1884-04-10
Marshal Ney an American.

Moscow there was one who shared with the great leader the credit due for the safe return of what was left of heproud and gigantic army that less than a year before invaded Russian territory. That man was Marshal Michel Ney, the trusted counselor and bravest General of the ambitious Emperor. Every stu dent of history remembers with feeling of admiration the gallant conduct of Ney at the battle of Borodino; how he was told to guard the rear while the army crossed the Moskva, and how he was the last man to leave Russian soil. Although he was shot as a traitor after the defeat at Waterloo, Ney won for himself the title, ssthe bravest of the brave,n conferred upon him by Napo- leon, and there is no one but who would be proud to claim him for 8 countryman.
 While Ney's biographers have re- counted in glowing language his deeds of daring on the battlefield, they pay but little attention to his birth and early history, of which very little is ap- parently known. French writers say he was born at Saarlouis, France. but give no details, showing that they do not know very much about 1t. Leadey reporter a few days since gained possession of information which not only goes to show that there is some probability that he was an American, but that he was possibly a great-uncle of Mrs. Garfield, the wife of the late President Garfield Some time prior to. and during the War of the Revolu- ton, there lived in the beautiful Shen- audoah Valley of Virginia family by the name of Rudolph. In this family were several brothers, one of whom was the father of Mir. z. Rudolph, of Mentor, the father of Mrs. Garfield. Another brother named Michael, during the War of the
 Revolution, left his young wife at home and joined the Colonial army. Of more than average ability, it is said, he soon became an officer and rose to con siderable prominence. When the war was almost over and he was thinking of returning to his home, he received the intelligence that his wife had proved
 unfaithful. Maddened by this informa- ton. he at once left the army and quit the country, and was never heard from
 thereafter. Some eight or ten years later Michael Ney, serving in a regi- InGUl LII T ICuCh ntc,0tCs W1o PAOAhOsSN
 to Sul-Lieutenant His brilliant mili- tary achievements won for him favor in the eyes of his superiors, and in 1797 he was made Brigadier General in the Army of the Rhine Two years later he was made a General of Division. In
 1903 he aided in the preparations for the
 invasion of England, and the following
 wear was made Field-Marshal of the Lax <.,v, ar.1tt fnr his bravery, and was made Duke of Elchingen. In 1872 he again assumed
 an active position in the army, and
 fought bravely during the Russian cam paign, winning fresh laurcls. The tide
 then turning, Napoleon, no longer vic torious, was deposed, and Louis XVIII, the Bourbon King, assumed the reins of government. Ney was created Peer of France and placed in command of nearly the entire cavalry force. When Napoleon returned from Elba in 1915 Ncv again espoused his cause. and followed him to the field of Waterloo, where he fought with his accustomed
 bravery. Defeat came, and Ney,was condemned to death. In the Garden of the Luxembourg he was shot, his body being riddled with bullets, and mon- ument now marks the spot where the
 hero fell
 Shortly after Ney's execution there
 appeared in Baltimore Frenchmen
 who made inquiries after the Rudolph
 family, stating that among the dead
 soldiers private effects there had been
 found short autobiography, in which
 he said that he was not a Frenchmen,
 as had been supposed, but an Ameri- can. He said that his name was
 Michael Rudolph, and that he was
 born in Maryland After leaving this
 country because of his wife's infidelity,
 he went to Ireland. Remaining there a short time he went to France. | Quickly learning the French language,
 he sank his Individuality and forgot his
 sorrow in the great French army by en- | listing under the name of Michael Ney,
 which he retained to the day of his
 death His wife's conduct may have induced him to change his name,l but
 he may have had other reasons. It is
 known that he married again in France,
 but very little is said of his family rela-
 tions. About thirty-fve years ago this | story was revived and published in
 many papers in this country. Nothing
 but the claim that Ney was an Ameri-
 can was made prominent, however
 A Lca3er reporter becoming pos
 scssed of the above information yester-
 day called upon Mir z. Rudolph, Mrs. | Garfelds father, at Mentor. The old
 gentleman. after hearing the story. said;
 ..Yes, had an uncle named Michael | Rudolph, and he left the country in the
 manner stated. Some sixty years ago, when l was small boy, my parents
 received newspaper containing sub
 stantally the same story that you have
 told me About forty years ago while
 at hotel in Southern town, picked
 up Life of Bonaparte in which l
 found an allusion to Ney being of
 American birth. kept copy of that
 newspaper or clippings from it for a
 long time. but have mislaid them some
 where so I cannot find them at present.
 My father always believed that Marshal
 Ney was his brother, but would not
 like to claim relationship to such dis
 tinguished man without further proof. "
 In conversation with friend in
 which he brought up the subject, Mrs.
 Garfield stated that there had been
 stories in the family for many ars
 about Marshal Ncy being brother of
 her grandfather, but she never claimed
 relationship with him, simply because
 she did not know whether the story was