As the focus of this document, it is advisable to give some background of Sgt. Bourgogne. Born in 1785 as the eldest son of a French merchant, he became a career military officer at the age of twenty. Rising to the rank of Sergeant in the esteemed Velite detachment of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, he was posted to the Russian Invasion near the outset. Although he was a part of the invasion as well as the retreat, his autobiography is most concerned with the details of the retreat following the burning of Moscow. As one of the few survivors of the disastrous campaign, his memoirs serve as a first-hand account of the experiences of the ordinary soldiers.

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Document last reviewed September 27, 1997

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