Joseph Abbeel

Joseph Abbeel
Except from Abbeel's Manuscript
Born	(1786-10-31)October 31, 1786 Vrasene
Died	September 25, 1866(1866-09-25) (aged 79) Anzegem
Military career
Allegiance	Napoleon Bonaparte
Service years	1812-1815
Rank	Carabinier
Known for	Writing memoirs of his battles.
Conflicts	French Invasion of Russia, Battle of Borodino
Other work	School Teacher
Signature

Joseph Abbeel (1786 in Vrasene – 1866 in Anzegem) was a Belgian soldier who was conscripted to the French Army of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the position of a carabinier he witnessed the French invasion of Russia in 1812.

He is one of the few who survived the devastating horror of the raid on Moscow and the chaotic retreat that followed it. He was wounded at the Battle of Borodino. He saw Moscow burn, followed the retreating French Army, but was captured by Cossacks in the vicinity of Hamburg. It was only in 1815 that he came home. He never married. It is assumed that he became a school teacher.

He wrote down his memoirs almost immediately, but never published them. They were rediscovered and edited two centuries later. This, together with Jakob Walter's diary, forms the only known records of that campaign kept by common soldiers. Abbeel's story contains some minor historical mistakes, mostly due to his lack of geographical knowledge, but the authenticity of the manuscript is undisputed.

References

• Joost Welten & Johan de Wilde (2011) - Met Napoleon naar Moskou, Davidsfonds - ISBN 9789077942512
• Joseph Abbeel - Mémoires d'un carabinier, Jourdan (2010) - ISBN 9782874661488

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