LETTER FROM CORPORAL ANDRÉ DUSSER TO HIS MOTHER, Rifleman in the 29th Light Regiment, Brest, July 4, 1811. 18880-15

LETTER FROM CORPORAL ANDRÉ DUSSER TO HIS MOTHER, a Voltigeur in the 29th Light Regiment, Brest on July 4, 1811 of the French Empire. 18880-15

Rare document.
Very beautiful woodcut vignette. Addressed to his mother with a postal mark "DEP 37 GRENOBLE", a trace of a red wax seal. "Madame Marie Guillet Widow Dusser, from the commune of Dufrêney Canton du Bourgdoisan, department of Isère, district of Grenoble, via Grenoble, to Dufrêney".

While fighting in the Indian Ocean, he is marked as a deserter!
... Faced with the 26,000 men of the English squadrons, General DECAEN*, with 4,000 men, took the responsibility to surrender, under conditions, on December 2, 1810... The Isle of France was once again named Mauritius...

"Brest, July 4, in the year 1815 of the French Empire.
... nothing in the world has caused me more sorrow than the letter from the mayor of our town... It is reported to me that, not being able to obtain a certificate of presence under my regimental colors, I have been listed as a deserter, that the mobile column is in our town, seizing our belongings at our expense, and this will continue until the receipt of the certificate... Before rushing into anything, justice and humanity demanded taking all possible information. If there had been the will and the good intention to do so, it would have inevitably been discovered when and how I embarked with my detachment to reinforce the garrison of the Isle of France blockaded by the British; it would have been known that almost all the ships dispatched from France fell into the hands of the British, who were much stronger, it would have been known that almost all those sent from the Isle of France to France suffered the same fate; finally, after the most obstinate defense, we capitulated gloriously and honorably. It is painful for me, always faithful to my post, and having endured so much misery, to learn, upon my return, of the unworthy manner in which we have been treated... The heart bleeds at such a story...".
Signed André DUSSER.

3 pages, double sheet. Size 21 cm x 17 cm.

France.
Premier Empire.
Poor condition, tears with losses, folds, foxing.

* Charles-Mathieu-Isidore Decaen or de Caen was a French general of the Revolution and the Empire, born on April 13, 1769 in Caen and died on September 9, 1832 in Deuil-la-Barre.
... Captain General of the Indies (1802-1810)
He was appointed Captain General of the French establishments in India by the First Consul on June 18, 1802. The instructions he received from Bonaparte were precise: he was to be the precursor of a massive return of the French to India, then in rebellion against the British. Upon his arrival in Pondicherry in July 1803, he faced the refusal of Governor General Wellesley to hand over the five trading posts despite the clauses of the Treaty of Amiens, the rupture of which was then unknown. Rather than confronting the British at sea, and in accordance with his instructions, he returned to the Isle of France. Accompanied by Louis Léger, future colonial prefect, in charge of supplies, education, forest conservation, etc., Decaen administered the Mascarene Islands for seven years on behalf of the mainland and focused on the administrative and monetary organization of the archipelago. He also sought to reorganize the "traders" in Madagascar and for this purpose sent Mariette first, then Sylvain Roux to Tamatave, as these traders were essential for the supply of rice, cattle, and slaves to the Isle of France. In 1810, having only 1,200 garrison men with him, he was attacked by a British army of 20,000 men. He resisted for some time, obtained an honorable capitulation, and upon leaving the island, received in an address voted by the colonists, their esteem and gratitude.