RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. Armand-Joseph marquis de... - Lot 664 - Conan Belleville Hôtel d'Ainay

Lot 664
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3000 - 4000 EUR
RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. Armand-Joseph marquis de... - Lot 664 - Conan Belleville Hôtel d'Ainay
RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. Armand-Joseph marquis de LOSTANGES (1787-1848), lieutenant in the 1st regiment of foot chasseurs of the Imperial Guard. Autograph letter signed to his mother, Mme de Lostanges, née Adélaïde-Pauline-Constantine de Vintimille du Luc. 2 pp. in-4. [Moscow], October 12, 1812. Exceptional letter about the fire in Moscow. "We arrived in Moskou on September 14, my dear mother []. We are overburdened with the service of maintaining order in the city, for you must know that the great city of Moskou has been burning for four days, and is still burning from time to time, and has been exposed to looting for as long. However, order is restored by our frequent patrols; the blaze of the city was so great that the top of all the most remote mountains received an impression of light, which in spite of the darkness of the night, made it possible to distinguish all things, this frightful multitude of flames which rose from so many different places, which had more or less force according to the matter which maintained them, seemed to make a combat between them, because of the wind which agitated them, and sometimes confusing and separating them seemed to make see in effect that they disputed the glory of destroying this beautiful city. This disaster was ordered by agents of Alexander and executed by eight to ten thousand galley slaves who were set free. However, we caught many of them and shot them on the spot. The Russian army is disorganized, they don't dare to fight with us since the battle of Mozaisk [Mojaïsk - battle of Borodino, September 7], we can say that we have crushed them, the whole guard was exposed to their cannon during the whole battle. Now the whole army is camped, the guard is in the walled barracks called Krelemin. Catherine's palace, where the emperor is staying, is superb. The apartments are decorated in an Asiatic taste, that is to say very richly; I saw the beautiful bell of Moskou, it is enormous, there is not such a big one in the world; it is in a hole of ten feet deep, because in the fire it fell and made this wide hole [] ".
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