Claude-François de Méneval

Claude-François de Méneval was born in Paris on 2 April 1778. From a family of the nobility of the robe, he entered Joseph Bonaparte's service in 1800 as secretary. In 1802, Joseph recommended him to his brother Napoleon. Méneval became the First Consul's private secretary — he replaced Bourrienne, who had fallen into disgrace for embezzlement. Méneval was discreet, hardworking, of absolute loyalty. He drafted private letters, notes, drafts. He slept in a room adjoining the study. Napoleon dictated at all hours; Méneval was always ready.

In 1804, upon the Empire's proclamation, Méneval kept his position. He followed Napoleon to Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau. During campaigns, his office was a tent or an inn room. He transcribed orders, drafted bulletins with Maret, kept personal archives. Méneval knew everything: the divorce plans with Josephine, the letters to Marie Louise, the rages against ministers. He never betrayed. « Méneval was discretion itself », Napoleon would say on Saint Helena.

From 1806 to 1812, Méneval accompanied Napoleon on every campaign. He was at Jena, at Eylau, at Friedland. In 1807, at Tilsit, he transcribed the secret instructions for the negotiations with Tsar Alexander. In 1809, during the Austrian campaign, he drafted the Wagram bulletins in an improvised farmhouse. The pace was infernal: the Emperor sometimes dictated until dawn; Méneval had to be available at all hours. He worked in tandem with Maret, Secretary of State, who handled official acts while Méneval managed private correspondence and personal notes. The two men complemented each other without ever stepping on each other's toes.

Méneval witnessed the most intimate moments of the reign. In 1809, during the divorce from Josephine, he drafted the letters Napoleon sent to the deposed Empress. In 1810, he prepared the missives to Marie Louise of Austria — love letters dictated by a man in a hurry, which Méneval had to put into shape. After the marriage, he became one of the few to enter the private apartments. Napoleon made him a baron of the Empire in 1810. The reward was discreet, in keeping with the man: no fanfare, simply recognition of unwavering loyalty. Méneval sought neither favours nor intrigue. He served.

In 1811, at the birth of the King of Rome, Méneval drafted the dispatches announcing the event to Europe. He saw Napoleon as a father — a touched emperor, almost vulnerable. The Russian campaign loomed. Méneval prepared the files, filed the archives, packed the essentials. He did not yet know that this expedition would mark the end of his service to his master. Until then, he had crossed fifteen campaigns without faltering. The sleepless nights, the endless roads, the freezing tents: all part of the job. « My secretary never sleeps », Napoleon said jokingly. Méneval never complained.

In 1812, Méneval followed Napoleon to Russia. He crossed the Niemen, attended the Moskova, entered Moscow. During the retreat, he guarded the papers, the chests. At the Berezina, he lost part of the archives in the debacle. Exhausted, ill, he had to leave the Emperor. In 1813, Napoleon replaced him with Baron Fain — Méneval was appointed secretary of Empress Marie Louise's commands. A promotion that meant removal from the centre of power.

In 1814, Méneval accompanied Marie Louise to Blois upon the Empire's fall. He remained faithful to the Empress during the Hundred Days. After Waterloo, he withdrew and wrote his Memoirs — published after his death — which constitute a precious source on Napoleon's private life. He died in Paris on 18 June 1850. His writings inspired generations of historians: Méneval had seen the Emperor without uniform, without mask, in the intimacy of campaign nights and decision mornings.