SIGNED AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM COLONEL F.T. CURNIER DE PILVERT, 5th Light Infantry Regiment, ADDRESSED TO "MY GENERAL", Cherbourg, March 31, 1815. 18906-25

SIGNED AUTOGRAPH LETTER BY COLONEL F.T. CURNIER DE PILVERT, 5th Light Infantry Regiment, ADDRESSED TO "MY GENERAL," Cherbourg, March 31, 1815. 18906-25

Colonel Curnier de Pivert transmits to "his General" the nominal list of officers of the regiment indicating their promotion to the rank in which they are employed.

"My General,
In accordance with my desire, I have the honor to enclose the nominal list of the officers of the regiment which I have the honor to command, indicating the dates of their promotion to the rank in which they are employed.
The previous government did not appoint any officer who had emigrated, but a second lieutenant was appointed (Mr Dumesniladlée) who falls under the provisions of the Imperial decree of the 13th of this month* [...] I must point out that Mr Dumesniladlée is unfairly holding the position that had been reserved for Mr Lenoir [...].
Second Lieutenant Mr Dubreton, appointed by the previous government, does not appear to me to fall under the provisions of the Imperial Decree of March 13, as this officer graduated from the Military School where he was appointed a student by the Imperial Decree of August 12, 1813, at the request of Mr Lieutenant General Dubreton, his uncle.
In the 5th Light Infantry Regiment, there is no officer who has not shown allegiance to the Emperor [...] no one other than you, my General, can provide a true account [...]
Signed: Colonel of the 5th Light Infantry Regiment F. Curnier de Pilvert."

Dimensions: 32.3 cm x 20.2 cm. 2 pages.
Fair condition, fold marks, minor tears on top and bottom edges (without affecting the text), small stains, discoloration.

BIOGRAPHY:
François Théodore CURNIER DE PILVERT, born on September 23, 1767 - CREST 26, died on April 16, 1834 - SAINT CYR 71. Knight of the Empire (October 6, 1810), Colonel of the Infantry (September 7, 1811 - Major in 1806 of the 51st Line), Member of the Egyptian Expedition (1798), Knight of the Order of Saint Louis (July 29, 1814).

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
* Imperial decree of March 13, 1815 " [...] We have decreed and decree as follows: / ARTICLE FIRST./ No foreign body shall be admitted to guard the Sovereign. The Imperial Guard is restored to its functions. / It can only be recruited among men who have twelve years of service in our Armies. / .. »

The 5th Light Infantry Regiment (5th Light) is a French light infantry regiment created during the Revolution from the Cantabrian Hunters Battalion, a French Ancien Régime regiment itself descended from the Montreal Regiment.
In 1854, it was transformed and renamed the 80th Infantry Regiment.
[...] May 12, 1814: during the First Restoration, the regiment was named the Angoulême Light Infantry Regiment. April 20, 1815: during the Hundred Days, it regained the name 5th Light Infantry Regiment. July 16, 1815: like the entire Napoleonic army, it was disbanded during the Second Restoration. August 11, 1815: creation of the Ariège Legion.
1820: renamed 5th Light Infantry Regiment.
In 1854, the light infantry was reorganized, and its regiments were converted into line infantry units, numbered 76 to 100. The 5th Light Infantry Regiment became the 80th Line Infantry Regiment.

[...] During the First Restoration, the 5th Light retained its rank but was designated as the Angoulême Light Infantry Regiment. To complete its ranks, a part of the disbanded Imperial 37th Light Regiment was incorporated. Its Depot was still located in Cherbourg, and the colonel remained Curnier de Pilvert.
[...] The colonel had to restore order in his unit and update the uniforms by removing all imperial insignias on the trimmings, plates, and cuffs. Thus, the musicians wore blue uniforms, and the drummers were adorned in the royal livery.
The return of the Emperor in March was greeted with enthusiasm, and the Regiment resumed wearing the tricolor cockade and flags. The Emperor raised a new army from what remained after the Restoration and entrusted the borders to the National Guards.
At the end of March 1815, a "Project for the distribution of the military called up to the colors in seven general depots where they would be armed, dressed, and trained. End of March 1815." The 5th Light in Cherbourg was part of the 14th Military Division; it was to be provided by the Calvados Department, and its Depot was to be established in Paris (Chuquet A.: "Napoleonic unpublished documents," Paris, 1913, vol. 2).
On April 8, 1815, the Emperor wrote from Paris to Marshal Davout, Minister of War: "My cousin, I am sending you the table I have prepared for the distribution of the called-up soldiers. You will see that I am calling in the 1st division all men from 31 departments. There are currently 8 regiments in Paris. I bring in 4 depots from the 8th and 4 from the second and the 5th.[...]