French Imperial Eagle

• 1. Imperial Distribution Ceremony

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  On the 5th of December 1804, three days after his coronation, Napoleon I distributed aigles based on the eagle standards of the Roman legions. The standards represented the regiments raised by the various departments of France and were intended to institute feelings of pride and loyalty among the troops who would be the backbone of Napoleon's new Imperial regime. Napoleon gave an emotional speech in which he insisted that troops should defend the standards with their lives. This event was depicted in The Distribution of the Eagle Standards, an 1810 painting by Jacques-Louis David. The ceremony marked the beginning of a tradition where these symbols became central to French military identity during the Napoleonic Wars.

• 2. Design And Manufacturing Process

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  The original design was sculpted by Antoine-Denis Chaudet and then copies were cast in the workshop of Pierre-Philippe Thomire. It was a bronze sculpture of an eagle on a plinth, with one claw resting on Jupiter's spindle. They were made from six separately cast pieces designed along Roman lines and when assembled measured specific dimensions in height and width. On the base would be the regiment's number or in the case of the Imperial Guard Garde Impériale. The eagle bore the same significance to French Imperial regiments as the colours did to British regiments. To lose the eagle would bring shame to the regiment who had pledged to defend it to the death. Upon Napoleon's fall the restored monarchy of King Louis XVIII ordered all eagles to be destroyed. Only a very small number were preserved. When the former emperor returned to power in 1815 known as the Hundred Days he immediately had more eagles produced although the quality did not match the originals. The workmanship was of a lesser quality and the main distinguishing changes had the new models with closed beaks and they were set in a more crouched posture.

• 3. Battlefield Captures By Russia

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  The first capture of an eagle was most likely during the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 when the Russian cavalry of the guard under Grand Duke Konstantin overran the French 4th Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne taking their flag. Although Napoleon won the battle the Russians were able to retreat in good order and the eagle was not recovered much to the emperor's regret. In 1807 at Heilsberg the unit was overthrown by Prussian cavalry and Russian infantry. An eagle was lost and several officers including a colonel were killed. The eagle was captured by NCO Anton Antonov of the unit though Prussian historians dispute this claiming that the Prittwitz Hussars captured the eagle. In 1807 near Eylau the unit lost its flag and eagle to the Russian forces. In 1812 at Krasnoi the 18th Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne again lost its eagle and was virtually destroyed by the Russian army.

• 4. British Trophy Acquisition

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  The first French eagles to be captured by the British were taken during the Invasion of Martinique island including the Eagle of the 82nd French Regiment of the Line. Subsequently the 87th Regiment of Foot took an Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Barrosa on the 5th of March 1811. At Barrosa Ensign Edward Keogh and Sergeant Patrick Masterson captured the French Imperial Eagle of the regiment. Keogh only managed to get a hand on the shaft when he was shot bayoneted and killed. Masterson took over and after killing several men wrenched the Eagle from the dying hands of its bearer Lieutenant Gazan. The eagle was taken back to the United Kingdom and put on display in the Royal Hospital Chelsea. It was around 10 inches tall set on a plinth marked with the numeral 8. It was made of silver but gilded which led many to think it was solid gold. In fact the only golden part of the eagle was a laurel wreath which hung around its neck. This wreath was an honour conferred upon the 8th Regiment by Napoleon himself and was not common to all eagles at the time. The gold leaves were presented to a number of regiments that were present at the Battle of Austerlitz by the city of Paris.

• 5. Monarchist Destruction Order

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  Upon Napoleon's fall the restored monarchy of King Louis XVIII ordered all eagles to be destroyed. Only a very small number were preserved. When the former emperor returned to power in 1815 known as the Hundred Days he immediately had more eagles produced although the quality did not match the originals. The workmanship was of a lesser quality and the main distinguishing changes had the new models with closed beaks and they were set in a more crouched posture. The decree to destroy existing standards reflected the political shift away from imperial rule toward royal restoration. Many eagles vanished during this period either melted down for their metal or hidden away to avoid destruction. The order effectively erased most physical evidence of Napoleonic military pride before his final defeat at Waterloo.

• 6. Modern Preservation And Theft

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  A French Imperial Eagle which had belonged to the unit was among the items stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston Massachusetts. The 1st Régiment de Grenadiers had formed two squares at the Battle of Waterloo one of which was formed around Napoleon himself. In May 2015 the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offered a reward of $100,000 for the safe return of the Eagle which remains missing. Several other captured eagles remain on display today including those held by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum in Edinburgh Castle and the National Army Museum in Chelsea. Some trophies like the eagle captured by Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Royal Scots Greys are still celebrated as symbols of regimental history. Others such as the silver eagle from Barrosa were lost when broken from its staff and smuggled away to an unknown fate many years after capture.