The Ghosts of the Guillotine and others
| Author | Walter A. Lunden |
| Published date | 01 July 1985 |
| Date | 01 July 1985 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X8505800310 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
WALTER
A.
LUNDEN
THE GHOSTS OF THE
GUILLOTINE
AND
OTHERS
Seldom in the
annals
of time have ghosts been associated with
military operations. However, French villagers
and
Parisians cite
two events.
The
main
road
from Troyes
through
the village of
Nogent
that
leads to Paris is the main highway Napoleon
and
his
Grand
Arrnee travelled in 1815 after his return from exile.
The
villagers point
out
to you where he
and
his
troops
paused
in response to the cheers of the people. Later, from the time
of his
death
in
1821
and
before his
entombment
in the Invalides in
Paris, his spirit walked
that
same highway enshrouded
under
the
foggy nights.
Some
maintain
that
his great soul could
not
rest until
his body had been returned to the capital as the final resting
place.
Parisians almost to a
man
will tell you
about
the ghost of
Joan
of Arc. During World
War
I, French troops in isolated sectors saw
her moving over the
dead
soldiers lying between the lines. Later in
World
War
II,
just
prior
to the occupation of Paris on
June
14,
1940,
Joan
dismounted
from her equestrian statue
near
the
Tuileries
and
carried alarge white flag in the Place L'Etoile. After
the occupation of the city,
German
troops
examined the statue
but
found no fracture in the metal between
Joan
and
her saddle.
These two accounts,
and
a few others, are interesting
but
must be
taken
with some salt. In
contrast,
however, the following ghostly
apparitions
have been authenticated
and
made a
matter
of record
known to many, including the writer.
The Ghost of
Dartmoor
During
the
War
of 1812 between the United States
and
England,
thousands
of
captured
American seamen were imprisoned in
Dartmoor
prison.
It
had
been built in 1809 during the Napoleonic
wars.
It
is 17 miles from
Plymouth
on the Black
Moors
of
Devonshire in the wettest section of the
south
coast of England.
One of the captured seamen, Charles Andrews, imprisoned for two
years, published his
"prison
memoirs" in 1815after repatriation. He
recounts the names, home town,
and
ships on which each
man
served. At various times there were as many as 5,000 prisoners in
Dartmoor.
Shortly
after the
Treaty
of
Ghent
on
February
17, 1815,
certain disorders
broke
out
in the prison, due to food shortages
and
delays in releasing the men. On April 6,
Captain
Shortland,
the
English
commandant,
mistook the trouble for an
attempt
to break
out
of the
compound.
He ordered guards to fire on the prisoners,
resulting in the
death
of six
and
wounding of 63 others.
Soon
the
258
July
/985
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