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A passage to imprisonment The British prisoners of war in Verdun under the First French Empire Elodie Marie Duché A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History University of Warwick, Department of History SEPTEMBER 2014 Contents List of illustrations i List of tables iii Abbreviations iv Acknowledgments v Declaration vi i Abstract vi ii Note to the reader ix INTRODUCTION A passage to imprisonment Page 1 1 A PLACE ABROAD 32 The ‘motley assemblage’ of captivity The oddity of a place 34 Dwelling-in-travelling 40 A ‘wooden world’ ashore 57 Unstable places 67 Conclusion 74 2 VOLUNTARY CAPTIVES ? 75 Women and gender in detention The ‘social politics’ of female hostages and followers 77 The correspondent: ‘weak ties’ and the power of the 94 written word Female embodiments: captive daughters and fictional 103 women Conclusion 105 3 CHARITABLE CONNECTIONS 107 Transnational financial networks and captive relief A ‘treatment’ 110 Verdun and the Royal Exchange 116 ‘Proposita philanthropica’: secular local subscriptions 124 An act of ‘remembrance’: religious fund-raising 126 Exclusive local solidarities 129 A gentlemen’s mission? Reception and distribution of 133 charity Naval patronage and discipline 142 Conclusion 145 4 TIES OF HONOUR 146 Relations with the locals and the French State The form of honour 148 Honourable means 158 Cosmopolitan ties: freemasonry and science 164 Everyday ‘cultural transfers’ 169 Severing ties: the boundaries of parole 174 Conclusion 178 5 THE ENEMY WITHIN OR WITHOUT ? 180 Catholicism in detention The ‘Fête Dieu’ and old convents: exploring a post- 184 Revolutionary Catholic space 192 Heretics or eccentrics? Local opinion and interactions with Catholic scholars 201 Being a captive Catholic: the case of Charles Throckmorton Othering faiths? Nonconformists and anti-Semitism 217 Conclusion 222 6 HOMECOMINGS 223 The aftermath of captivity Returns to dust 226 The captivity of the heart 233 Captive childhoods 250 Unforged Britons? Othering and the British State 257 Verdun ‘Ruins’ 262 Conclusion 265 7 THE ‘CAPTIVE MUSE ’ 267 Creativity and life-writing Contemplations in miniature 269 ‘Writing in society’: civilian records and naval 284 ‘enforced narrative’ Published ego-narrations and collective selves: 295 reception, competition, oblivion Conclusion: a muse ‘in society’ 306 CONCLUSION The Verdun palimpsest 308 Appendices 319 A Frequency quantification of the occurrence of the terms ‘ détenus ’ and 319 ‘Verdun’ in a large corpus of English texts B Maps 320 C Transcription of the expenditures of Thomas Lavie in Verdun 325 D Quantification of the Protestant sacraments for prisoners in Verdun 325 E Members of the Charitable Committee at Verdun between 1804 and 1812 326 F Timeline 327 Bibliography 329 List of illustrations Fig. 1 Gillray, Maniac Ravings, or Little Boney in a Strong Fit , 1803 Page 4 Fig. 2 Devilliers, Verdun , 1830 34 Fig. 3 Scharf, Les Portes de la Citadelle de Verdun Dessinées d'Après Nature , 1811 37 Fig. 4 Fécit, Map of Verdun-sur-Meuse, 1739 39 Fig. 5 A Catalogue of Books Belonging to the British Subscription Library, 1806 45 Fig. 6 Ball invitation card to Mademoiselle Picart and racing bill in French 51 Fig. 7 Reinagle, Portrait of Lancelot Charles Lee , 1814-1815 56 Fig. 8 Chess set used by William Hamilton whilst a prisoner at Verdun 63 Fig. 9 Langton, Sketch of captive midshipmen, 1836 72 Fig. 10 Forbes, A View from the Ramparts of Verdun , 1804 85 Fig. 11 An., ‘With Downcast Eyes, and a Lovely Reverence Nerrissa Presented her Petition’ 90 in Giberne, Detained in France , 1870; and ‘The Petition’ in Cockton, The Sisters, or England and France , 1844 Fig. 12 Seal of the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund, 1803 116 Fig. 13 Rowlandson, Lloyd's Subscription Room , 1809 120 Fig. 14 Cary, Map of Cornwall , 1814 131 Fig. 15 Pre-filled permission to go out of the gates during the day, 1812 152 Fig. 16 O’Brien, Watercolour of his arrest by gendarmes, undated 161 Fig. 17 Seal of the masonic lodge ‘Franche Amitié of Verdun 164 Fig. 18 Forbes, Watercolours of Verdun and Gujarat, 1804 174 Fig. 19 Forbes, View of Verdun Taken from a Hill on the Road to Valenciennes, 1804 181 Fig. 20 Maude (ed.), Book of Common Prayer , 1810 190 Fig. 21 Gayraud, Chapelle des Anglais, Dessin à l’Encre , undated 191 Fig. 22 Noyer, Claude-François Denis , 1806 197 Fig. 23 Botanical specimens collected and arranged by Charles Throckmorton at Verdun, 1811 210 Fig. 24 Cossé, Charles Throckmorton , 1820 213 Fig. 25 Catholic tomb of Revd Newenham with his French family at Verdun 232 i Fig. 26 Portraits of Claudette Rebière and William Hamilton, 1810-1814 242 Fig. 27 Handkerchief, poem and song composed by William Hamilton for Claudette Rebière’s 245 birthdays Fig. 28 Pink-edged writing paper with Cupid scenes and French inscriptions used by William Hamilton 246 in his correspondence with Claudette Rebière Fig. 29 Miniatures of Alexander and Claudette Hamilton, 1825 247 Fig. 30 Portrait of George Back and two of his watercolours produced in Canada 262 Fig. 31 Forbes, Views of Verdun , 1804 276 Fig. 32 Robinson, A West View of the Town of Verdun in Lorrain from the Heights , 1804 278 Fig. 33 Henry, Vue du Pont Saint-Airy à Verdun , 1805 and Porte de France à Verdun , 1815 279 Fig. 34 Ellison, Prison Scenes , 1838 281 Fig. 35 An., Illustration of a prison in Thackeray’s Barry Lyndon , 1844 282 Fig. 36 An., A Scale of Six Miles Around Verdun , 1804-1814 283 Fig. 37 Sketches by Seacome Ellison, Maurice Hewson, and Richard Langton 284 Fig. 38 Otter, ‘Map of Lat 49.34 Long. 9.010 N°3, 25-26 September 1805’; ‘Statement of Occurrences 288 on the 25 th and 26 th September 1805’ Fig. 39 Letter book of the Committee at Verdun for the Relief of British Prisoners of War in France 289 Fig. 40 An., West View of Verdun , 1805 292 Fig. 41 Charles Throckmorton's weather records in captivity 294 Fig. 42 Graffiti of early-nineteenth prisoners of war in the Verdun citadel 295 Fig. 43 Two editions of Dutton's Captive Muse , 1806 and 1814 304 Fig. 44 Illustrations to sentimental novels on captivity at Verdun penned by Balzac and Trevor 305 Fig. 45 Watch-stand made by a British marine prisoner in France between 1806 and 1814 313 ii List of tables Table 1 Socio-professional categories of the British détenus , 1803-1814 Page 41 Table 2 Breakdown of the industries and trade of 197 British merchants, artisans 42 and manufacturers sequestered as détenus , 1803-1804 Table 3 List of clubs organised by prisoners in Verdun 44 Table 4 Category and numbers of books of the British subscription at Verdun 47 Table 5 Formats of the books of the British subscription at Verdun 49 Table 6 Sample of plays attended and performed by prisoners in Verdun, 1804-1806 54 Table 7 Sociology of British male prisoners captured under arms and sequestered in Verdun, 58 1803-1814 Table 8 Arrivals of naval and marine officers captured under arms and sent to Verdun, 58 1803-1814 Table 9 Arrivals of army officers at Verdun, 1803-1814 67 Table 10 Number of male prisoners at Verdun from September 1804 to January 1814 69 Table 11 Chronology and familial status of British women travelling with French passports 82 between Verdun and Britain, 1804-1811 Table 12 Banks contributing to the Patriotic Fund’s subscriptions for the prisoners in Verdun, 121 1808-1812 Table 13 Correspondents of the committee at Verdun for the Relief of British prisoners 136 of war in France, 1808-1809 Table 14 Quantification of the recipients of relief in 1812 140 Table 15 Commandants of the depot, 1804-1814 157 Table 16 Social backgrounds of French money lenders and British creditors at Verdun 163 Table 17 French members of the masonic lodge of Verdun, 1811 167 Table 18 Articles related to the British captives in the Narrateur de la Meuse , 1804 193 Table 19 Spaces of network: Charles Throckmorton’s captive contacts in Verdun 204 Table 20 Weak and strong ties in Charles Throckmorton’s botanical network in Verdun 206 Table 21 Timeline of Charles Throckmorton’s networking activities in Verdun 208 Table 22 Number of civil marriages involving British prisoners 237 Table 23 Social backgrounds of spouses 239 Table 24 Average age of spouses 241 Table 25 Sociology of parents 252 iii Abbreviations ADM-Bar Archives Départementales de la Meuse, Bar-le-Duc ADM Admiralty Papers, TNA AMV Archives Municipales de Verdun AN Archives Nationales de France, Paris/Pierrefite An. Anonymous BCA Birmingham City Archives, Birmingham BEV Bibliothèque d’Etude, Verdun BL British Library, London LAC Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa LMA London Metropolitan Archives, London MCM McCord Museum, Montreal MPV Musée de la Princerie, Verdun NAM National Army Museum, London NAS National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh NLI National Library of Ireland, Dublin NLS National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh NMM National Maritime Museum, London POW Prisoner of War QCL Queen’s College Library, Oxford SHD Service Historique de la Défense, Vincennes TNA The National Archives, London WRO Warwickshire County Record Office, Warwick iv Acknowledgments I am extremely grateful to Emeritus Professor Carolyn Steedman, my supervisor, for encouraging me to pursue this research on the ‘other side’ of the Channel.