Gaspard GOURGAUD
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General, companion of Napoleon's exile on Saint Helena.
Aide-de-camp to the Emperor, he chose exile and shared for three years the daily life of Saint Helena, noting down Napoleon's words every day. The rivalries of Longwood sent him home as early as 1818; in 1840, he was on the voyage that brought the body back to the Invalides. His journal appeared only in 1899.
The story
Born at Versailles in 1783, son of a musician of Louis XVI's chapel and nephew of the actor Dugazon, Gourgaud went into the artillery and made his name during the Russian campaign. He became one of the Emperor's aides-de-camp.
After Waterloo he was one of those who chose exile: he sailed for Saint Helena in 1815 and shared Napoleon's days for three years, writing down each evening his words, his campaign memories and his grudges.
The rivalries of the little court at Longwood — with Las Cases, with Montholon — drove him back to Europe as early as 1818, three years before the Emperor died.
In 1840 Louis-Philippe chose him to attend the exhumation of Napoleon on Saint Helena and bring the body home to the Invalides: the return of the ashes closed what he had opened in 1815. His journal, left unpublished, appeared only in 1899 — and it remains one of the major sources on the Emperor's last years.
He died on 25 July 1852 and lies in Division 23, avenue Transversale n°1, first row, under a chapel whose top imitates the catafalque of that return.
The grave
A chapel topped by a stone catafalque that takes up the shape of Napoleon's during the transfer of his ashes, in 1840 — Gourgaud was on the voyage. The original bronze door was replaced by an iron one. The inscription is reduced to a title and two dates: “General of Division Baron GOURGAUD, 1815 Sainte Hélène 1840”. The departure into exile and the return of the Ashes, with nothing in between.
On site, do not miss
The top of the chapel imitates the catafalque of the return of the Ashes in 1840. The inscription fits in a double date: “1815 Sainte Hélène 1840” — the departure and the return, without a word of what lay between the two.
Visitors' questions
Where is General Gourgaud's grave?
In Division 23, Avenue Transversale No. 1, first row: a chapel topped by a stone catafalque recalling Napoleon's at the return of the Ashes. The Division is also that of the painter Ingres and of René Lalique.
Michel AdansonDid Gourgaud follow Napoleon to Saint Helena?
Yes, from 1815, and he stayed three years. The rivalries of the little court at Longwood sent him home in 1818, before the Emperor's death. In 1840 he was part of the voyage that brought the body back to the Invalides.
Louis Blanc, Division 67What family did Gaspard Gourgaud come from?
A family of musicians and actors: his father was a musician in the chapel of Louis XVI, and the actor Dugazon his uncle. The actress Louise Dugazon, a glory of the Opéra-Comique, belonged to the same family.
Madame DugazonWhat does Gourgaud's journal contain?
Napoleon's daily talk over three years of exile: memories of campaigns, verdicts on his marshals, grudges. Left unpublished, it appeared only in 1899 and remains a first-rate source on the end of the reign.
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