LETTER FROM WIDOW BESSON, cantinière, TO GENERAL BERTRAND, Grand Marshal of the Palace, in which she requests a position as a cantinière at the 4th Hussars, May 16, 1815. 18906-41

LETTER FROM THE WIDOW BESSON, cantinière, TO GENERAL BERTRAND, Grand Marshal of the Palace, in which she requests a position as a cantinière at the 4th Hussars, May 16, 1815. 18906-41

Rare cantinière letter.
Widow Besson requests a position as a cantinière at the 4th Hussars, or at the 107th Line Infantry:

"To His Excellency Count Bertrand, Grand Marshal of the Palace,
Along with the dispatch of two proclamations, one from Count de l'Ille and the other from the Allied powers, which I dared to deliver to Your Excellency on April 30th last, I enclosed a petition in which I begged you to deign to grant me in the presence of H.M. the Emperor, your powerful protection to obtain a position as Cantinière, attached to the 4th Hussars Regiment, the necessary means to join this Corps, as well as the essential ones to procure the items useful to exercise this profession...
My love for my sovereign was at such a high level, that the desire to inform him of these proclamations, led me to betray the secret that had been entrusted to me ... [...] today I come to implore you to consider the purpose of my request. I am a mother of a family, without fortune, and nourish the deepest devotion to His Majesty...
In the event that I cannot obtain the said position in the 4th Hussars, I request it for the 107th Line Infantry where I also have relatives [...]
The very humble, very obedient & very submissive servant, Widow Besson
Paris, May 16, 1815".

At the bottom of the page, Widow Besson provides her address: "Rue de l'Oratoire, Maison d'Angevillier, with Mr. Rollin (Mollin?), Museum caretaker."

In the top left of the letter, annotation from the General Staff: "Vivandières are only named at the presentation of the Commanders of the Regiments. The existing regulations on this subject will be put back into effect and recalled in an Order".

Dimensions: 31 cm x 20 cm.
Good condition, small tear at the bottom edge, fold marks, foxing.

BIOGRAPHY:
Henri-Gatien BERTRAND, born on March 28, 1773 in Châteauroux (Indre) and died on January 31, 1844 in the same city.
He became a divisional general in 1807, was made a Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor in 1809, and held various military positions before being appointed Grand Marshal of the Palace on November 18, 1813, and moving to the Tuileries in 1813. He then followed Napoleon to Elba and remained faithful to him until Saint Helena.
He returned to France in 1821 after the Emperor's death and was reinstated in his ranks by Louis-Philippe, but gradually withdrew from military and political life.