#OTD in #1812, during the French retreat from Moscow, General Jean-Dominique #Compans wrote to his wife, Louise, as he had throughout the campaign. On this occasion, he described his clothing, ‘which has led several of my companions to nickname me “the Tartar”’. Here is the original letter, dated Smolensk, 14 November, together its published version (1913) and an English translation of part of it, from A. Brett-James’s collection of 1812 eyewitness accounts.
#NapoleonicWars #RussianCampaign