The British Government having determined on the undignified
proceeding of banishing the Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte to the
Island of St, Helena, he arrived there in H.M.S. Northumberland,
under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn, on the
-15th October, 1815. He was accompanied by Marshal and Countess
Bertrand, Count and Countess Montholon, General Gourgaud, Count
Las Cases with his son, and eight servants. The excitement caused
■in the Island was naturally very great, and rendered more so by the
very unexpected nature of the event, the inhabitants having received
no intelligence on the subject until a few days previously, when, by
the arrival of H.M.S. Icarus, they were informed of the proximity
of Napoleon.
I t was of course necessary for the Crown to appoint the officer
into whose custody Napoleon was to be entrusted, and accordingly
•Lieut.-General Sir Hudson Lowe arrived at the Island on the 14th
■April, 1816, in that: capacity, and also relieved Colonel Wilks of
-the Government. The Island was still to belong to the East India
Company, but as this appropriation of it would necessarily involve a
.heavy expenditure, it was arranged that the Company should
bear the annual expenses of the place to the extent of the average
■sum which had been spent in former years, and that the Crown
should bear the remainder.
The history of Napoleon’s life and captivity at St. Helena has
already, through differences of opinion, led to much discussion, and
filled several large-sized volumes. I t is not, therefore, intended
here to enter further into the matter than to record the leading
events connected with his sojourn at the Island.
The merits and demerits of Sir Hudson Lowe have been fully set
forth, as well as Napoleon’s behaviour under such severely trying
circumstances. To a man of his mind and character his trial must
have been of the most bitter kind, and if there had been any desire
on the part of his captors to ameliorate or soften the galling circum-
stances which at every point surrounded him, there seems to have
been a failure certainly in the selection of the man to whom his
keeping was confided.
Until the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe, the custody of Napoleon
was in the hands of the Admiral who had taken him to the Island,
and with whom he appeared to be upon the most friendly terms!
The garrison sent to the Island at this time consisted of H.M. 66th
Regiment and the second battalion of H.M. 53rd Regiment.
I t was two days after his arrival that Napoleon first set foot
upon his prison shores. He then walked to the house which had
been hurriedly prepared for his reception. I t is somewhat remarkable
that this house, which still stands at the entrance to the Castle
Gardens, was that in which the Duke of Wellington also remained
for one night, when, . some time previously, he had visited St.
Helena on his return from India to Europe.
On the following day Napoleon, in company with Sir George
Cockburn and Count Bertrand, visited Longwood, the spot which
had been selected for his future residence; the house intended for
his temporary abode being then occupied by the Lieut.-Governor,
The road from Jamestown to Longwood passes by the Briars, a
picturesquely situated residence, then occupied by a Mr. Balcombe,
Napoleon was pleased with this spot, and wished to occupy, until
Longwood House could be prepared for him, a small, partially
detached building now known as The Briars Pavilion. Here he
resided for nearly two months, and some account of his life at this
period has been written by a daughter of Mr. Balcombe.*
From The Briars Napoleon removed to Longwood, and there
occupied what is now known as the Old House. In 1819, the British
Government commenced the erection of a large and commodious
residence for his reception, at an enormous cost; but this pile of buildings,
now known as Longwood New House, was scarcely finished
before the Emperor’s death. I t is said that Napoleon used to watch
the erection of these buildings, and was known to say that he would
never occupy them.
I t was during Sir Hudson Lowe’s Government that water was
conveyed from the mountain near Diana’s Peak to Deadwood, and
from a stream near Oak Bank to Francis Plain, with a view to
affording a supply for the troops then encamped at those places. He
also took much interest in the question of abolishing slavery, and
was instrumental in bringing about the rule that all children born of
a slave woman from and after Christmas-day, 1818, should be considered
free.
_ * Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon I., by Mrs. Abell (late Miss Elizabeth Balcombe)
London: Sampson Low & Co*