The Sailors of the Imperial Guard () were a naval unit within Napoleon's Imperial Guard. The unit's soldiers not only operated as naval infantry but as gunners (after the training they had received in naval gunnery), sailors and engineers. Napoleon himself stated, "They were good sailors, then they were the best soldiers. And they did everything - they were soldiers, gunners, sappers, everything!".Philip Haythornthwaite, The Imperial Guard, Osprey Publishing, 2004 (), page 7
History
On 23 September 1803, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte issued orders to raise a battalion of naval infantry known as the "Sailors of the Consular Guard", with recruitment for the new unit beginning four days later. Recruited primarily from Corsica and coastal areas of mainland France, the battalion was charged with operating landing craft for Napoleon's planned invasion of Britain. In 1804, Napoleon integrated the battalion, consisting of 737 officers and men divided into five crews, into the newly-formed Old Guard. The battalion was expanded to 818 men in the same year, and placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Navy; each crew was commanded by a ship-of-the-line captain or frigate captain and four other officers, under which served 15 non-commissioned officers and 125 enlisted personnel.Lomier, Eugène
Pre-1805, the Marins De La Garde were armed 1/3 with sabres, 1/3 with boarding axes, and 1/3 with boarding pikes. Some iterations also claim they were armed with a pistol hung from a waist belt hook L.Rousselot, Pg.2. By September 1805, boarding pikes and boarding axes would be replaced by a musket and sabre. The musket most likely being a Marine Musket: Model Year IXL.Rousselot, Pg.4. By 1815 however, supply shortages would force many Guard Sailors to use the Charleville CarbineLomier, Eugene; p.450.
The new unit was initially stationed at the Camp of Boulogne along with the rest of Napoleon's invasion force. It participated in reconnaissance duties, coastal patrols, engineering works, rescue operations, and naval training. When the planned invasion was called off in 1805, the unit participated in the Ulm campaign, providing a reliable flow of rations and other military supplies to French troops. In 1806, 102 men from the unit took part in the Prussian campaign, maintaining a solid line of supplies, and providing their expertise in engineering works, to the soldiers in Jena. They secured rivers, built bridges, and dug earthworks for the Grande Armée preceding the Battle of Eylau and Friedland, ensuring order and steady logistics, vital in the eventual victory of the French army.
The unit participated in the 1807 siege of Danzig, where they formed part of François de Chasseloup-Laubat's force of engineers. During the siege, a crew of no more than 100 men took part in carrying supplies past the Royal Navy to deliver resources to other French troops besieging the city. A task done successfully Lomier, Eugene; p.146. The remainder of the battalion arrived after the city fell to the French. They were then separated from the rest of the Old Guard, and sent to partake in the Siege of Stralsund. An affair that lasted through October, and had made them miss the November 25th Imperial Guard's return celebration in ParisLomier, Eugene; p.171.
At the Peace of Tilsit, the unit was made to man the boats that carried Napoleon in his famous union with Alexander I of Russia. The unit was sent back to France, and by March 15, 1808, Murat had commented to Napoleon that "Les Marins sont bien fatigués," (The Sailors are very tired)Lomier, Eugene; p.179. As of course they would have been; having taken part in continuous sieges and campaigns while much of the Old Guard had taken part in festivities and break.
Peninsular War
The unit left for Spain soon afterwards to fight in the Peninsular War. Under the orders of General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang, they were separated from the Imperial Guard again with orders to support the siege of CádizLomier, Eugene; p.185. They traveled with Dupont's conscripts and stood as the most veteran unit thereLomier, Eugene; p.188. During their march to Cádiz, they saw their first line battle, supporting General Fresia's cavalry in the Battle of Alcolea Bridge. In the battle they charged the Spanish on the bridge and routed them. Securing the bridge and the villages near it from guerillas, they pushed onto Cordoba in a rough skirmish. They took no casualties in the processLomier, Eugene; p.189-193.
After proceeding past Cordoba, they served an active role in the Battle of Bailén. At first part of Dupont's reserve force, they eventually were allowed to partake in the French cannonade with devastating effect. After hours of failed charges and no progress towards victory, Dupont began to panic. As a last ditch attempt at victory, Dupont sent the Guard Sailors forward into the Spanish center in a desperate charge. Despite the unit breaking through the first and second Spanish lines, a lack of reinforcements led them to be quickly overwhelmed. By the time of surrender, a third of their force was dead. Dupont capitulated, with the terms of surrender allowing his army to be sent back to France without arms. However, the Seville Junta refused to honour the pact, and only Dupont and his staff officers were sent back to France. Most of Dupont's surrendered army were imprisoned in Cádiz on barges, where some remained until 1814. Conditions on these prison ships were hellish. 1,800 men at least were stuffed onto each ship, with rotting rations and no water, a majority of the prisoners would never see France again.
A result of these conditions had caused the Sailors to become adamant on escape:
In March 1809, as Commander Vattier of the Sailors of the Guard was being transferred to a prison ship named La Fortune, he made his escape with other officers of the Guard. Through a networks of vessels and aids, they soon arrived to safety.
Fearing closing French ships would rescue those on the prison ships, many prisoners (an estimated 6,000) would be sent to the decrepit island of Cabrera. Among them 180 Sailors of the Guard. There they would be given nothing, expected to starve and die on the island. In fact, 2,000 would perish between May 9, 1809, and October 1, 1809. An instance exists of nine Guard Sailors who captured a Spanish gunboat in their escape:
Cabrera would see the Sailors of the Guard attempt two more escapes, with the knowledge of leaving their comrades abandoned on the island. One attempt to escape by the Guard Sailors would lead to ten to be beat to death by Spaniard and Frenchmen alike, the other ten of the group having escaped. The second attempt would see two imprisoned, and all means of escape destroyed. Many Sailors of the Guard would also be transferred to English prisons. Despite the distance two Guard Sailor officers are noted to have stolen two small boats, and sail back to France in order to rejoin the Emperor's campaigns.
As for the fate of the rest of the men in Cabrera, by 1814, nearly 10,000 would be sent there. Even despite the terms of prisoner releases by Napoleon's abdication in 1814, 2000 would remain there. All of whom would die. Still yet, more escapes would occur for those trapped on the prison hulks harbored in Cadiz. With news that nearby French forces were besieging Cádiz, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Grivel orchestrated a grand escape plan. With the help of a few fellow Guard Sailors and an array of desperate prisoners, they planned to take advantage of the recent pattern of favorable winds to steal a Spanish boat. On February 22, 1810, two Sailors of the Guard came down to a recently moored Spanish guard-boat. The Spanish guards on the boat had expected the French prisoners to clean and maintain the boat lines, however these two sailors instead came up to them with the guise of buying thread and needles from them. Grivel himself then walked towards the Guards:
Having secured the boat, they set open the sail, and escaped. Maneuvering themselves towards French lines, they evaded Spanish and British gunboats, arriving safely along the sand among their French allies. Inspired by Grivel's escape, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Moreau and 700 men of the prison hulk Vieille-Castille planned an escape. On May 15, 1810, they took control their prison ship with ease and began drifting towards the French lines in a prison break. Nearby British ships eventually caught wind of the plot and fired salvos into the ship. One cannonball beheaded Moreau, and the Sailors fired back. After a brief firefight, they arrived close to French lines. Grivel and the Guard Sailors from the previous escape immediately took to evacuate those on the Vielle Castille, setting it ablaze afterward. These men immediately took to helping the besiegers of Cadiz with a renewed fury.
The French prisoners on the Spanish ship L'Argonaute, also inspired by the recent prison breaks, began to plan for escape. A poorly kept hospital ship with 600 sick and dying, along with around sixty able-bodied, the Guard Sailors of the ship decided they too would escape. On May 26, 1810, the three sailors called upon their co-conspirers, 20 other brave men, to cut the anchors and cables of the ship with hopes it will drift towards French lines. These three sailors are remarked to have rid the ship of all guards. As the ship drifted, it came under heavy bombardment by British and Spanish ships. As night set upon the bombardment, Grivel and other Sailors of the Guard, impatient for its arrival, sailed towards the ship and evacuated the men inside through cannonballs and fire:
The Sailors of the Guard, having escaped captivity, immediately joined the siege of Cádiz. Grivel had even grown a garden of tomatoes, and happily fished with his men as they sieged the Spanish city.Lomier, Eugène The men were soon called back to France in 1811 to join a new battalion of Guard Sailors for Napoleon's upcoming war with Russia. On their way back to France, a few queridas, followed the Sailors back. The road to France was extremely dangerous, and it is noted that the Guard Sailors partook in fights against great guerilla bands such as the Mina Band, as well as skirmishes with Wellington's own reconnaissance cavalry. When they arrived in Paris around September 1813, one would be married to a Guard Sailor by order of Grivel himself, who was taken aback by the querida's loyalty.
Reorganization and continued service
A decree by Napoleon on March 27, 1809, had reduced the Sailors of the Guard to 149 men. One crew. Made up of remaining Guard Sailors and some newly levied men by the navy, under the command of Captain de vaisseau Pierre Baste. This force was separated between those who would follow Marshal Bessières back into Spain, 65 men total, and those who would police waterways on the lugger Le Saint-Ander, 24 men total. On September 1, 1810, 8 more crews were added, raising the unit's strength to 1,136 officers, NCOs and ratings.
During the Austrian Campaign in 1809, the Sailors of the Guard were given the task of commanding and drilling the 44th Battalion of the Flotilla, for their expected operations along the Danube. However, operations had not gone as smoothly as expected, and Napoleon became increasingly frustrated at their poor performance in comparison to the services he was used to from his Guard Sailors.
The Sailors of the Guard continued their services in the Battle of Essling and the Battle of Wagram. Here they provided the army with a steady supply of food and munitions, on occasion a detachment would serve in the Guard Artillery. From September 1–2, 1809, there was a grand parade at Schoenbrunn; the Guard Sailors appeared there with the other corps of the Imperial Guard. The Emperor stopped before the front of the crew and complimented them; telling his Sailors that they had come very quickly.