The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-05-18
FATE OF FRENCH EXILES.
NapoleOnic Followers Who Came to
This Country After the Battle
of Waterloo.

In passing through Alabama the at
tention of the traveller is diverted to the
remnants of deserted village of rotted
wooden huts in the suburbs of the pres
ent town of Demopolis, about midway
between Selma and Meridian, Miss.
Only a few of the log cabins remain;
others have rotted to their foundations,
but there are enough to show the traces
of a village, where lived aristocratic
French mobiles, who sought safety in
this wilderness after the Restoration.
After Waterloo and the Hundred Days
a number of the followers of Napoleon
fed to Philadelphia and subsequently
obtained grant of land in the Ala
bama wilderness. They located vii
lage and called it Demopolis, signifying
"city of the people" They named the
district Marengo, and the county still
bears that name; also the new Ameri-
can town near the Trench village"
still bears the name of DemOpoliS.
Some of these eXiles were of the most
distinguished names in France at that
period. Count Lefebvre Desnottes was
acknowledgement, had fought in the
war of La Vendee, taking the command
which Napoleon had refused, and
afterward gained distinction in the Ma
poleonic campaigns. He was the
wealthiest man in the colony and at
intervals received remittances from
France. The source was never known to
the colonists. He had large orchard
and vineyard and lived as royalty as
one can in a wilderness. Another, Col.
Nicholas Raoule, was with Napoleon at
Elba, and commanded the advance
guard when he marched into France at
the beginning of the Hundred Days.
At Demopolis Col. Raoule kept a
ferry, himself plying the oars. 1t
was remarked by the rough back
woodsmen that the French ferry
man" had "fine features" and must
have been ''a great man somewhere"
In this land of liberty they had only
a vague idea of the meaning of ''polit-
ical exile" Henry L'Allemond, lieu
tenant-general was another colonist.
He was accompanied by his wife,
strikingly beautiful woman, who was
a marchioness ard the maid of honor
to Queen Caroline of Italy. They lived
at Demopolis for about 20 years, when
they went to Mexico, where her hus-
band was given a command in the ma
tional army.
General Count bertrand Clausel, a fol-
lower of Napoleon, was another colon
list, who, feeling rather lonesome in the
wilderness, went to the larger town of
Mobile, where he followed gardening,
He drove his market wagon into town
and himself sold the vegetables with
the greatest courtesy" according to
the local chroniclers. He afterward
returned to France and was created
marshal of Algeria.
Gen. J. J. Cluis was another of the
exiles. He fought under Napoleon in
Spain, and to him was given the custody
of the royal person of Ferdinand VII,
who was dethroned to make room for
Napoleon's brother, Joseph.
Gen. Joseph Rico, Spanish revolu-
ZIONIST, came with Gen. Clubs. NJ.
Piernes, who voted for the death of
Louis XVI, and a son of Marshal
Grouchy were also members of the
colony of eXiles.
These exiles were not successful
farmers. They lived in poverty until
such times as political changes permit
ted their return to France. The mobiles
finally returned and the others aban-
doned their grant, some returning to
Philadelphia and others going to New
Orleans, where their descendants live
in the Latin quarter.
Times.