The Sacred Squadron (french: L'escadron sacré) was an ''
ad hoc'' cavalry unit which served briefly in the French
Grande Armée
''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...
during the final stage of the
Emperor Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's
retreat from Moscow in 1812. It was remarkable in that it consisted - out of military necessity - entirely of officers, with those below the rank of
colonel serving as
troopers.
The Sacred Squadron was formed on 23 November 1812, by the
Bobr River
The Bobr is a river in Belarus. It is a left tributary of the Berezina. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . (perhaps at
Borisoff, in modern Belarus) to serve as Napoleon's bodyguard. It was disbanded on 10 December 1812, in Kowno (modern
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, Lithuania). It therefore served during the
crossing of the Berezina (26-29 November), and continued to exist for a few days after Napoleon's departure for Paris on 5 December.
Its existence is recorded in the , by which Napoleon hinted to the French people for the first time the scale of the disaster which had befallen the Grande Armée:
French soldiers had earlier coined the phrase "''mentir comme un Bulletin''" ("to lie like a Bulletin").
The French populace - and government officials - may have been able to read between the lines for the implications of, if not fully to comprehend, what had happened. The Grande Armée had invaded Russia with 80,000 cavalry.
No written order establishing the unit has been found; it is possible that it was set up orally. No official record of those who served in it has survived; considering the circumstances, it is possible that none was ever made, or that the records of
Marshal Berthier
Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister ...
(Napoleon's Chief of Staff) were lost during the retreat. Other sources give lower numbers than Napoleon's 600:
Chandler
Chandler or The Chandler may refer to:
* Chandler (occupation), originally head of the medieval household office responsible for candles, now a person who makes or sells candles
* Ship chandler, a dealer in supplies or equipment for ships
Arts ...
says 500.
In addition to its commander ''Général de division'' Grouchy, the following are said to have served with the Sacred Squadron:
* ''
Général de division''
de La Tour-Maubourg
* ''
Général de brigade''
* ''Colonel''
* ''Colonel''
* ''
Lieutenant-colonel''
de Castellane
* ''Lieutenant-colonel'' (?)
* ''
Chef d'escadron'' (?)
* ''Chef d'escadron'' (?)
* ''
Capitaine'' Aimé Benoît Delamalle
* ''
Lieutenant'' (?)
* ''Lieutenant'' Claude-Xavier-Louis-François Martin
* ''Lieutenant'' (?)
* ''
Sous-lieutenant''
Notes
References
{{reflist
French military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars
French invasion of Russia
Military units and formations established in 1812
Military units and formations disestablished in 1812