2-622-030 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Napoleon on Horseback', c18th century. Napoleon Bonaparte, French general and Emperor, (1769-1821) enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of the French Revolutionary army. In 1799 he led a coup to overthrow the government, the Directory, and became first consul and effective dictator of France. In 1804, he declared himself Emperor, and began a series of military campaigns across Europe, the Napoleonic Wars. Victories such as Austerlitz and Jena led to France establishing its power across much of the continent. In 1812, however, Napoleon embarked on a disastrous invasion of Russia and defeat at Leipzig in 1813 led to his abdication and exile to Elba. He ecaped in 1815, raised another army, but was finally defeated by Wellington at Waterloo, and exiled again to St Helena. From The Studio Volume 14 by Ralph Nevill. [London Offices of the Studio, London, 1898]