2-913-885 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Interment of Marshal St. Arnaud in the Vault of the Marshals of France, beneath the Church of the Invalides, at Paris, 1854. Burial of French general who died in the Crimean War. 'The hearse...was drawn by six horses, with housings of black cloth, adorned with white lace; and the coffin was covered with a large pall worked with various devices...The interior of the Chapel of the Invalides was hung with black cloth, embroidered with silver. Over the catafalque there was a splendid canopy of black cloth, lined with ermine...When the body entered the chapel the solemn chanting of the priests and the peal of the organ commenced, and the magnificent and moving service for the dead, ordered by the Catholic Church, was proceeded with in the usual form...The thunder of artillery announced that Marshal St. Arnaud was laid in bis last resting-place...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.