Charles XIV Jean of Sweden

Biography

The soldier

He is the son of a lawyer. After having received an education looked after near his father, he embraces by taste the military career in 1780. He engages like private in 1780 with the Régiment of Brassac, and Quartermaster-sergeant in 1789 is yet only . He is also freemason, like several officers of the time.

The French revolution

When the French revolution bursts, it has the rank of sergeant. After being itself distinguished with the armed with the Rhine and Sambre-and-Meuse, he is proclaimed, by Jean-Baptiste Kléber, Brigadier general on the battle field in 1794. He becomes little of month after Major general and contributes strongly to the victories of Fleurus and Juliers (1794)

The passage which it operates on the the Rhine, close to Weuwied, in 1793, the advantages which it gains over the enemy, close to Lahn, in 1796, the Blocus of Mainz, the Combat of Neuhoff, the Passage of Rednitz, the catch of Altdorf and Neumark, the defeat of the general CRAY on the Main, establish in a manner inébranlable its military reputation.

The Countryside of Italy

Charged in 1797 with leading to Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy 20.000 men of the Armed with Sambre-and-Meuse, it competes of heat with the young general, and, though it tests little sympathy to him, suspecting his ambitious intentions, it second of all its capacity: with the officers who accompany it, in particular Morand, Maison, Mireur and Murat, it takes a glorious share with the Passage of Tagliamento, seizes Gradisca, Trieste, Laybach, Idria, and comes after the countryside to present to the Directoire the flags removed with the enemy.

After the 18 fructidor, Bernadotte obtains the command of Marseilles; but the disorders of this part of the France and the loathing which it tests for violent measurements, make it give up this station. It turns over then to the Armée with Italy.

Following the Treated of Campo-Formio, Bernadotte is sent to Vienna, in the capacity as ambassador from February to April 1798. It there causes a riot to have raised the Tricolor on the hotel of the embassy, and leaves soon the Austria, because repairs are refused to him. It goes to Rastadt and from there to Paris.

Minister for the war

Responsible for the command of the army of observation, in 1799, it receives the order to pass the Rhine to block Philippsbourg; but the reverses of the French in Italy and Germany force it to give up this project.

Then named Minister for the war of the July 3rd to the September 14th 1799 by the influence of Barred after the meadow 30, it seeks to revive the zeal of the French Armies by vigorous measurements, it then passes for “ the sword ” of the néo- Jacobin S in the event of coup d'etat and reorganizes in 2 months (July 2nd - September 11th 1799) the services which were in a deplorable state; already he pointed out the victory under his flags when he is drawn aside by an intrigue of Sieyès: he resigns; wrongly or rightly, one allots several faults to him which excite dissatisfaction and forces it to give its resignation little time before the 18 brumaire.

It is withdrawn then in the countryside, decides against the coup d'etat of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the cooling which takes place at that time between these two generals increases. He is however cherished by Bonaparte, because he married Désirée Clary, his promised in marriage first and the sister-in-law of Joseph Bonaparte. Bernadotte enters to the Council of State and accepts the command of the Armée with the West, in the the Vendée (1800): it can by its skilful provisions prevent the British to unload with Quiberon and to restore peace in the country.

It is compromised by the conspiracy of the “Libelle S”, known as also “pots of butter” assembled by the general Simon, his chief of staff. Fouché chokes the business, but Bernadotte is private of its command.

Empire

After the Peace of Lunéville, it is named ambassador with the the United States; but the resumption of the hostilities prevents it from going to its station.

In 1804, one sends it to Hanover as general governor, and it receives the stick of marshal during the first creation; it forms in this country an army corps, with the head of which it carries out several glorious feats of arms: thus, in 1805, it restores in Munich the voter of Bavaria Maximilien Ier of Bavaria, combined France, and conquers the country of Salzburg.

In 1805, Bernadotte contributes strongly to the rendering of Ulm while turning the Austrian army. With the Battle of Austerlitz, it orders the center of the French Army which resists the desperate shock of the Russians.

In 1806, the June 5th, the Bernadotte marshal is created prince of Pontecorvo. This same year, in the Countryside of Prussia, it orders the 1st body; at the day of Iéna - Auerstaedt it makes return tickets between the two close battle fields without taking part in no, its control is such as the Emperor signs the order to translate it in front of a Conseil of war; it had missed making lose the battle.

It beats then the Prussians in front of Halle and with Lübeck, where it makes captive Blücher, forces it to capitulate and seizes Lübeck, where carnage is horrible in spite of the efforts of the generals to stop it. Bernadotte has, on this occasion, the greatest regards for what remains inhabitants with Lübeck and especially for the Swedish prisoners.

Then, going on the Poland, it passes the the Vistula, it occupies Elbing, Braunsberg, and demolishes the Russians the January 27th 1807 with Mohrungen, and on June 5th with Spanden, on the Passarge, where it is seriously wounded. This wound prevents it from taking share with the Bataille of Friedland.

Named, after its cure, Hanseatic governor of the cities S, and charged with operating against the Sweden, it suspends the hostilities as soon as it learns that a revolution precipitated throne Gustave IV of Sweden, only hostile with the France (March 13rd 1808); this honest control reconciles the regard and the affection of the Swedes to him, but it appears to have excited the dissatisfaction with Napoleon I {{er}}, whose it opposes the projects. Bernadotte, for him, hardly shines on the battle fields: there remains inactive in Austerlitz, Auerstaedt, arrives after the battle at Eylau.

After the Peace of Tilsitt, it orders, until in 1809, the occupying army of septentrional Germany.

With the rupture between France and the Austria, it takes the command of the army saxonne. It orders the body, mainly made up of Saxon S, and contributes strongly with them to the victory of Wagram but it is withdrawn after the battle, not finding that the Emperor in his bulletins returned justice to his troops.

Napoleon the met with the variation. Fouché obtains to him the Armée with the Scheldt at the end of July 1809. It of it is not charged to push back the unloaded British with Walcheren (July 1809); it achieves in 60 days this difficult mission. In spite of this new success, he sees himself once again private of his command: the Emperor removes to him the Armée with the Scheldt as of September.

Prince de Suède

He is in complete disgrace when a throne is offered to him. He becomes Charles-Jean the August 21st 1810, adopted by the king Charles XIII not having a child. The general states of Örebro elect the marshal hereditary Bernadotte prince of Sweden.

The only condition that one imposes to him is to abjure the Catholic religion for reformed. Eugene de Beauharnais had refused there, his wife, princess of Bavaria, could not have been comforted some.

It leaves with the approval Napoleon who accepts this choice, hoping to thus hold a solid ally in the north of the Europe. Certain observers partially explain this approval by the fact that the marshal had married Désirée Clary, old been engaged of the Bonaparte young person.

Bernadotte abjures the October 20th, it unloads with Helsingborg, and the 31 following, it is presented to the States; the November 5th, adopted by the king Charles XIII, it takes the names of Charles-Henri. He initially agree to assist the policy of the Emperor and reaches even the continental Blocus and as of 1811, during the disease of his/her adoptive father, he starts to direct the businesses of the kingdom. In 1812, it causes the decree which opens the ports of Sweden to the trade of all the nations. This same year, it holds one moment in its hands the destinies of the world: before Napoleon reached Moscow, it can take again the Finland and go on Saint-Pétersbourg; but at the beginning of 1812, the French troops having invaded the Swedish territory, it breaks with Napoleon. Far from appearing the ally discounted by the emperor, the new crown prince prefers to play before all the chart of his kingdom.

Seeing the shaken Empire, it supports, in 1813, the entry of the Sweden in the coalition against the France, appearing a general of talent. In July 1813, it joint with the coalition against France, not without to have tried all the means of informing Napoleon on the dangers of his situation; he takes the command of the allied army of the north of the Germany.

Named généralissime of the army of North, the royal prince unloads with Stralsund with 30.000 Swedes, overcomes Oudinot with Large-Beeren (August 23rd 1813), Ney with Dennevitz (September 6th 1813), and takes a decisive share with the Bataille of Leipzig (1813)

Then it descends the Elba, seizes Lubeck and moves towards the Holstein, where it forces the King de Danemark to sign, the January 14th 1814, the Paix of Kiel, under the terms of which the Norway is yielded to Sweden. It advances then slowly towards France with the head of its army and gains enough time so that the news of the peace of Paris exempts it to pass the Rhine. He protests highly against the invasion of the French territory, and shows the allies to miss with the promised faith; he tries even, but unnecessarily, to determine Napoleon I {{er}} with peace, and to divert the allies to pass the Rhine.

He cherishes the hope to replace Napoleon on the imperial throne, perspective to which the tsar Alexandre I {{er}} would not have been hostile, within the framework of a kind of “ exchange” which would have seen one of its nephews reaching the throne of Sweden. This combination, if it is proven, did not have a continuation. The Congress of Vienna, having preferred to ratify the Restoration Bourbons in France, withdraws the crown of Norway to the kingdom of Denmark to offer it to the Swedish sovereigns.

Hardly of return in Sweden, where it is received with enthusiasm, it goes on the Norway, whose possession had been ensured to him by the allies, and makes itself main from there in 15 days (1814).

In 1815, it formally refuses to enter the second coalition against Napoleon.

King de Suède and Norway

The February 5th 1818, the Bernadotte ex-marshal becomes king of the Union of the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under the name of Karl XIV Johan (Charles XIV Jean) in Sweden and of Karl III Johan in Norway. Charles-Jean any more but does not occupy himself to make thrive his States; he cements the union (forced) of the Swedes and the Norwegians, while leaving with each of the two people, to a certain extent, his own constitution, develops the state education, agriculture, industry and the trade, and joins together, by the Canal of Gothie, the Ocean and the Baltic ( 1822). II takes for currency: “The love of my people is my reward” ( Folkets kärlek min belöning in Swedish), a rather vain claim with the eyes of its Scandinavian contemporaries, even if the Swedes and the Norwegians knowing little about the history of the 19th century and the painful suédo-Norwegian union (dissolved in 1905) had a rather pleasant memory of it. For as much, it has constrained the administration of the two kingdoms and the Court to use French, since itself always refused to learn Swedish and, a fortiori, the Norwegian languages. If the opinion of the Swedish aristocracy (which found in him the war leader who was lacking to them after the bankruptcy of Gustaf IV Adolf in his war against Russia, costing Sweden the loss of Finland) in its connection is positive as a whole, it does not go from there in the same way for the Norwegian patriots, who see in him only badly, arbitrary and political, carefree madness of the daily needs and the aspirations of the Norwegians to be released from the yoke of the Swedish crown since 1814, annexing Norway which hardly leaves the Danish condominium ( helstaten , of 1660 to 1814).

Its descendants still reign on Sweden.

Seek

A great investigation is in hand in the Bernadotte files of Stockholm. It was launched in 2003 by laboratory FRAMESPA of the university of Toulouse II it Mirail. The documents are preserved at the royal palace of Stockholm ( Kungliga Slottet ) and they are consultable with the public records after obtaining an authorization signed by the king and the organization of the transfer of the files of funds to the other. These files are completely in French because Bernadotte, in spite of his efforts, forever controlled Swedish and systematically made translate all the documents of its administration into French. The coordinator of this investigation, Jean-Marc Olivier, draws up of them the first results in number 2 of the Revue Scandinavian history of October 2006. Ten masters were already constant in front of this university on Bernadotte become Charles XIV-Jean. They are preserved in the library of the UFR “History, arts and archeology”.

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