ROYAL CUSTOMS. - Lot 112

Lot 112
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ROYAL CUSTOMS. - Lot 112
ROYAL CUSTOMS. Official letter regarding an invasion alert. Valenciennes, April 17, 1815. Signed autograph letter, 1 folio page with address on the reverse, addressed to Mr. Pelluch, brigade inspector at Saint-Amand. An interesting service circular issued during the first months of the Hundred Days, announcing a threat of invasion and prescribing immediate defensive measures. The Customs Inspector informs his correspondent: “I hereby inform you, Sir, that in the event of a sudden invasion by the enemy, all employees under your command must withdraw to the fortresses of Condé, with the exception of the two mounted brigades, which must proceed immediately to Valenciennes.” The letter concludes with the closing: “Please accept my sincere regards. By order of the Inspector,” followed by the handwritten signature of Adam, the author of the dispatch. On the reverse side is the handwritten address to Brigade Controller Pelluch in Saint-Amand, along with a note stating “Extraordinary delivery due to delayed march by order of the Inspector,” attesting to the urgent nature of the dispatch. This document was drafted a few weeks after Napoleon I’s return from Elba, at a time when French authorities were urgently reorganizing surveillance of the northern borders in the face of an imminent intervention by the Seventh Coalition. It provides direct evidence of the measures taken in the northern strongholds prior to the Belgian campaign and the Battle of Waterloo. A rare and important historical document illustrating the strategic role of the Customs Service during the Hundred Days and the military preparations undertaken in northern France on the eve of the 1815 campaign.
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