Offcuts from history

This site contains some fairly obscure information relating to the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. It was collected during research into Napoleon's first campaign in northern Italy (1796-7).

Some of the fruit of this research went into the book The Road to Rivoli: Napoleon's First Campaign which was published by Cassell & Co in January 2001. However, much material remained that could not be incorporated into a book of publishable size.

Some of the offcuts from this research are made available here in case they might be of interest to someone conducting their own research into the period, or for those merely feeling curious.

What's On the Other Pages?

Biographies: the lives and careers of some 110 people who are connected (sometimes very loosely) with Napoleon's 1796-7 campaign.

Chronologies: prominent events from the 1600s to the 1820s. Emphasis on the military history of the period.

Pictures: sub-divided into three sections: one each on portraits, uniforms, and paintings of battles.

Places: photographs of important sites of the 1796 campaign. 

Texts: some letters from Napoleon's official correspondence, and two from General Joubert dealing with operations in the Alps. Also a few links to other sources of texts.

Miscellaneous: conversion tables for weights and measures in use during the Napoleonic period. A few links to other Napoleonic sites.

Bibliographies: the main source works for The Road to Rivoli. Several hundred books and articles listed.

Maps: a detail from the same edition of map that Napoleon used at the start of his 1796 campaign, a modern contour map of Montenotte, and another of San Michele and La Bicocca.