Joseph Abbeel (1786 in Vrasene – 1866 in Anzegem) was a Belgian soldier who was conscripted to the French Army of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. In the position of a carabinier he witnessed the

French Invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

in 1812. He is one of the few who survived the devastating horror of the raid on

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and the chaotic retreat that followed it. He was wounded at the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

. He saw Moscow burn, followed the retreating French Army, but was captured by

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

in the vicinity of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. It was only in 1815 that he came home. He never married. It is assumed that he became a school teacher. He wrote down his memoirs almost immediately, but never published them. They were rediscovered and edited two centuries later. This, together with

Jakob Walter Jakob Walter (September 28, 1788 – August 3, 1864) was a German soldier and chronicler of the Napoleonic Wars. In his later years, he wrote an account of his service in the , including a detailed account of his participation in Napoleon's ...

's diary, form the only known records of that campaign kept by common soldiers. Abbeel's story contains some minor historical mistakes, mostly due to his lack of geographical knowledge, but the authenticity of the manuscript is undisputed.

References

* Joost Welten & Johan de Wilde (2011) - Met Napoleon naar Moskou, Davidsfonds - * Joseph Abbeel - Mémoires d'un carabinier, Jourdan (2010) -

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbeel, Joseph 1786 births 1866 deaths Belgian soldiers French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Napoleonic Wars prisoners of war