. Bernadotte, the first phase, 1763-1799. s brother :— I have only time to inform you that I havebeen appointed lieutenant in the 36th Regiment,formerly known as the Regiment of Anjou, which isquartered at St. Servan. I enclose a copy of theletter which I have just received from our will let you know that, in spite of the Ministersgood intentions towards me, I suffer a serious lossin having to leave the 60th Regiment, in which Ihave learnt the first elements of the military pro-fession, and had hoped to spend an agreeable careerawaiting my promotion to the rank of
. Bernadotte, the first phase, 1763-1799. s brother :— I have only time to inform you that I havebeen appointed lieutenant in the 36th Regiment,formerly known as the Regiment of Anjou, which isquartered at St. Servan. I enclose a copy of theletter which I have just received from our will let you know that, in spite of the Ministersgood intentions towards me, I suffer a serious lossin having to leave the 60th Regiment, in which Ihave learnt the first elements of the military pro-fession, and had hoped to spend an agreeable careerawaiting my promotion to the rank of , I render a willing obedience to theorder which I have received ; and I have the happi-ness to owe my promotion to my conduct and to mycountry. . Believe me, I beg of you, for life yourdear brother and friend, Jean Bernadotte, Adjutant. St. Martin, Island de Re,3rd April 1792. The shut door which had barred Bernadottescareer was open at last. He had been nearly elevenyears in the ranks, and had passed through everya Wrangel, Bernadotte, Soldier of King Louis XVI. To face page 40. 1792] A LONG APPRENTICESHIP 41 non-commissioned grade. Few of the distinguishedsoldiers of his day won their epaulettes after a longerapprenticeship. Only two of Napoleons marshalscould make that claim. Marshal Lefebvre served fornearly sixteen years in the ranks of the GardesFrancaises. It is on that account that he is some-times alluded to as le vieux Garde Massena spent about fourteen years as asoldier or non-commissioned officer in the RoyalItalian Regiment. Six other marshals of the Empirebegan as rankers in the royal army—namely,Murat, Victor, Jourdan, Oudinot, Soult, and Ney;but their periods of service, as such, were shorterthan Bernadottes. When Bernadotte became King of Sweden, hedelighted in recalling his experiences in the ranks ;and many an anecdote, told by him in his palace atStockholm, was introduced with the words, Lorsquejetais sergent, or A cette epoque j
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