Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-10-03
PLAN TO RESCUE NAPOLEON.
How He Was to be Brought From La
Rochelle 10 Virginia.

] cess Anne, Somerset county, Md
marks the severance of the presel
and the past in stately old hon
where a century ago fashion and wealt
Ireigned and where centered the pOlit
cal and social influence of the county
Piece by piece the land was sold, but th
house, of solid brick. weathered tn
storm and stands to day a monumen
to the past.
In the King house at the beginning
of the last century and for many year
thereafter lived Colonel King. state
ly gentleman OF the old school, with
| business and social connections IN
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Wash
ington. Among his friends was Stepher
Girard. Tradition has it that Colone
King hal planned for the escape OF
Napoleon from France after the Sec
ond fall of Paris, a disaster which he
plainly foresaw.
Mr.. Girard is said to have Informed
Napoleon of his plan, which was to
spirit him away to America. For this
purpose the fastest clipper which Mr..
Girard could procure was dispatched
to La Rochelle, where Napoleon was to
take passage. Bonparte acceded to the
plan, and after his abdication in Paris
he FASTENED to La Rochelle to embark
for America.
His enemies, however. were in hot
pursuit and on the alert, and when he
reached the port be was alarmed to find
the harbor filled with the ships of the
allies. He realized the imposslbility
of reaching the clipper ship, and even
if once on board he saw the futility of
escape from the harbor. He did not
long hesitate what to do.
He selected the British warship Bel.
lerophon, then in the harbor, and went
aboard. committing himself, as be
stated in letter at the time, ito the
protection Of the laws of the most pow
erful, the most presevering, and the
most generous of his foes" He little
realized at the time that he was sur
rendering himself into life captivity
and that the barren island of st. Helena
was to be his prison.
Mr.. Girard's plan was to bring Ma
pOleon to America and to land him on
the coast OF Accomac county, Va,
whose numerous inlets and bays afford
ed most desirable harbor for the ship.
The residents of the interior were most
hospitable and would gladly have aided
Mr. Girard in the concealment of the
deposed Emperor had such course been
deemed Necessary by developments in
France or on the continent.
Mr.. Girard selected the Eastern
Shore of Virginia as an asylum for
Bonaparte because the Philadelphian
had once lived there, and because,
knowing its people, he knew he could
trust them. When the young Franch-
man first arrived in America he settled
in Accomac county, and it was thence
that he removed to Philadelphia.
Communication was slow in those
days. There were no steamships
which crossed the ocean in few days.
There were no submarine cables.
Weeks were required then, where only
days now count, for a voyage from
Europe to America. Colonel King
had heard of the battle of Waterloo
and of the overthrow of Napoleon.
and when a rumor reached Princess
Anne that Napoleon had landed on the
coast of Accomac he believed Mr.. Cir
ards plans had carried safely and that
the greatest military genius of the
age was in America.
well known that Colonel King con-
cluded that secrecy had not been de-
emed a necessary precaution by Mr..
Girard. 1t was also reported that
Napoleon would visit Princess Anne.
According to legend Colonel King Or
dered out the local militia, of which he
was commander, and all preparations
were made to march to the Virginia
line, about fifteen miles distant. to
meet Bonaparte.
In the absence of more specific in
formation as to the movements of the
French Emperor, the march was not
Immediately begun. After waiting
for several hours for news, the citizen
soldiers returned to their homes, fully
prepared to be called together, essay
forth to greet the great Frenchman.
The story of the origin of the in
timacy of Napoleon and Stephen Cir
ard is an interesting one and is suf-
fcient explanation of the activity of
the latter in providing means of escape
for the Emperor. They first met
while Mr.. Girard was negotiating for
America the loan by which France
| was paid for the Territory of Louisin-
il, during the administration of Pres
ident Jefferson. Then began the
Friendship which lasted throughout
| that long Imprisonment of Napoleon
On the solitary rockb0und island in
the Atlantic, and who can tell but that
in those legends of the plots to rescue
Napoleon from his deary prison and
to give the world another flash of biz
geninus was Stephen Girard with his
enormous wealth the chief actor?-
Baltimore American.
|