ABOUT THIS BOOK

Winner of the 2009 Literary Award, sponsored by the International Napoleonic Society/La Societe Napoleonienne Internationale of Montreal, Quebec's Literary Committee

Napoleon’s last campaign didn’t end at Waterloo. After that fateful day on June 1815, hundreds if not thousands of veterans of Napoleon’s army emigrated to America. Many went farther south and joined the rebels fighting for independence in the Spanish colonies, from Mexico to Buenos Aires. The Bonapartists roiled the Western World as they sought fortune, fame, and glory in the expanding United States and in the tumultuous Spanish Americas suffering from repression and civil disorder, and even in the states of Europe. They were joined by adventurers from other nations who shared their admiration for the fallen emperor.

This is the first full-length examination of the Bonapartists who emigrated from France after Napoleon’s defeat and exile, who formed a loose confederation with adventurers and romantics, and who contemplated a new empire in the Western Hemisphere. The scheme had the support and encouragement of the fallen emperor himself and his brother Joseph, former King of Spain, who lived in exile in the United States.

Emilio Ocampo has examined archives on three continents and sources in several languages to ferret out the evidence—a monumental task considering that conspirators tried to leave no evidence of their plans, and that a failed plot, like failure in general, leaves few claimants. Ocampo reinterprets Latin American independence as an international event that drew in all the major powers. By illuminating the complex connections between the shattered France of the Bourbon restoration; an England threatened by radical politician inspired by the French Revolution; Napoleon in exile at St. Helena; the United States, where home-grown adventurers and French émigrés alike saw opportunity; and the collapsing Spanish colonial empire, where revolutionaries were allying themselves with the veterans of Napoleon’s Grande Armée, Ocampo brings together two bodies of scholarship: Napoleonic history and Latin American independence. He does so by tracing the steps of four of the most fascinating characters of the era: two Britons disaffected with their own government—Lord Thomas Cochrane and Sir Robert Wilson—and two former generals of Napolean’s army named Charles Lallemand and Michel Brayer.

The Emperor’s Last Campaign is a fascinating story, well told, and peopled with all sorts of improbable characters and schemes that perhaps just missed coming to full fruition but that in the process contributed to one of the most important events of the nineteenth century: the breakdown of the Spanish empire in America and the rise of the United States as a world power.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Originally trained as an economist and after having worked for more than a decade as an investment banker on Wall Street, in 2002 Emilio Ocampo became an historian. Since then, he has written three books and more than a dozen articles dealing with early nineteenth century history in Europe and America. He is currently based in Buenos Aires where he works as a consultant and teaches at the Univesidad del CEMA.

REVIEWS

“Ocampo provides a fascinating if necessarily disjointed account of efforts to free Napoleon and establish him as ruler somewhere in the Western Hemisphere, asserting that many of the revolutionary movements in colonial Spanish America were enmeshed in these intrigues. Men like Bernardo O’Higgins, José de San Martín, and Simón Bolivar alternatively utilized or sought to thwart these plots. Ocampo has researched widely and well--it is a pity the publisher chose not to include the full bibliography that apparently appeared in the 2007 Spanish edition to this work—and his extensive footnotes illustrate his diligent research in a large number of archives and other primary sources. The author convincingly links all this activity to the greater diplomatic concerns of the era and argues that fears of Napoleon’s escape were an important consideration for all the powers. If the book has a weakness, it is perhaps to attribute too much coherence to the activities of so disparate a group of veterans, admirers, adventurers, and entrepreneurs. Ocampo’s efforts merit further investigation. Bottom line: important for grad students, researchers, and specialists. Highly recommended.”
—CHOICE

“[Ocampo] traces the conspiracies, political enthusiasms, and political consequences that animated the Atlantic world following the abdication of Napoleon and his confinement in St. Helena. He convincingly argues that Napoleonic veterans and the Bonaparte family acted in ways that roiled the political environments of both Europe and the Americas until Napoleon’s death.”—Lyman L. Johnson, coauthor of Colonial Latin America

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“This work is original and makes a contribution to our knowledge and understanding of the last years of Napoleon. . . . [It] focuses on the efforts and plans to rescue him from St. Helena during the years 1815-1821 . . . and provides many interesting biographies of the people who played an important role in trying to free Napoleon.”
—Alexander Grab, author of Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Preface	000
Acknowledgments	000
Part 1: 1815
1. After Waterloo	000
2. Ah, la Perfide Albion!	000
3. The Revenge of the Bourbons	000
4. America: Bonapartist Haven	000
5. Prometheus Chained	000
Part 2: 1816
6. Wilson Enters the Scene	000
7. Dreaming of New Empires	000
8. A Bonapartist Court in Philadelphia	000
9. Napoleon Loses His Patience	000
10. The Last Campaign Begins	000
11. United in a Common Cause	000
12. Lowe's Nightmare Begins	000
Part 3: 1817
13. Hope Rises at Longwood	000
14. Napoleon's Message Delivered	000
15. Brayer Arrives in Buenos Aires	000
16. The Guard Regroups	000
17. All Ready for Action	000
18. Keeping the World Awake	000
19. A Traitor in their Midst	000
20. The Bourbons Strike Back	000
21. They Had Arrived Too Late!	000
22. The Phantom of Aaron Burr	000
23. Napoleon Changes Strategy	000
Part 4: 1818
24. Between Florida and Texas	000
25. The London Connection	000
26. On His Majesty's Service	000
27. A Mystery to Be Unraveled	000
28. Gourgaud Leaves St. Helena	000
29. Get Rid of Brayer!	000
30. Farewell to England	000
31. Lallemand Charges Again	000
32. A Bourbon King in Buenos Aires?	000
33. Breakthrough at Jamestown	000
34. The Mosquito Affair	000
Part 5: 1819
35. Neutralizing Lallemand	000
36. England Sides with Ferdinand	000
37. Rendezvous at Portobello	000
38. Another Messenger Leaves St. Helena	000
39. A Revolution in England?	000
40. Cochrane Alone	000
41. Toujours la France	000
Part 6: 1820
42. Napoleon's Shadow Cast over Europe	000
43. Cochrane the Liberator	000
44. Blood Flows at Longwood	000
45. The Revolutionary Virus Spreads	000
46. A Throne Awaits Napoleon	000
47. From Buenos Aires to St. Helena	000
Epilogue: Prometheus Unbound	000
Notes	000
Bibliographic Essay	000
Index 	000
Illustrations follow page 000