This is an original map 14x9 Printed 1799 that depicts the situation French Ships of War at the Battle of Toulon on December 18th, 1793. The map is named "French Ships of War at Toulon Battle 12/18/1793 British" and falls under the category of antiques and Europe maps. It is a unique piece of history that would be of interest to collectors and historians alike.

In1793 the southern portions of France were seeing revolution take place. Lyons and Marseilles became seats of open insurrection[1], leading to the treason of Toulon, filled to the brim with forts, fleets, crews, arsenals, magazines, and stores, to a combined Anglo-Spanish squadron. The Admiral Lord Samuel Hood took possession of Toulon[2] in the name of Louis XVIII. This harbour was critical to France, because without it their naval ambitions would cease to exist and they would lose any chance of fighting for control of the seas to Britain. Toulon rested at the head of a harbour that went south into the sea making it a valuable position. Between the Spanish, Sardinian, Neapolitan, and British reinforcements brought in by Lord Hood, the number of men in the fleet amounted to fourteen thousand men.[3] Meanwhile in Paris, the board of ordnance was preparing a plan for the conduct of the siege. An army of sixty thousand men was formed, which proved difficult for a country that was exhausted financially and without the population to form a proper army. Bonaparte had recently been promoted to the rank of chief of battalion and was sent by General Brunet to Paris. The board of ordnance were in search of an officer, qualified to command the artillery portion of the siege, and Napoleon’s patriotism went along well with his established reputation among the garrisons. The board decided that all the qualifications Napoleon had were enough to promote him to brigadier general.

When Napoleon first arrived at the army’s quarters and presented himself, he was told by General Cartaux that, “his services would not be required in the recovery of Toulon, he was welcome to share in the glory of the operation!”[4] The next day he was invited to inspect the besiegers who were preparing for battle. Napoleon was surprised when he found that the few guns that had been placed for him were done so rather awkwardly. They were placed two gunshots distance away from the harbour, and the balls that were intended to destroy the fleet, would end up hitting neighbouring country houses instead.[5] While attempting to fix these problems, Napoleon was given his directions for the siege. Napoleon would fire on the city for three days, upon which time, the General Cartaux would attack in three columns. The plan was desperate, and it did not help that Napoleon was only twenty-four years old. Apart from a few unsuccessful services during the Corsican Revolution, he was completely inexperienced in war, and he was having to overcome a fortified town with a powerful squadron that had connected forts and defended the harbour that could be used for reinforcements. Napoleon however, was not intimidated by any of this and quickly realized that Toulon would either have to be abandoned or surrendered. He also came to the genius realization that, although the main objective of the siege, Toulon was not the primary point to be attacked. Instead it was the dependant point, non-essential, and that the harbour, being split into two opposite sides by a promontory[6]. Napoleon saw that to control this would be an advantageous position and allow a place for artillery batteries to fire upon the harbour, either destroying the fleet or driving it out to sea.

Once the promontory was captured, Napoleon sent for artillery batteries, and within six weeks’ time, he had access to two hundred fully furnished guns. Since Napoleon had originally been transporting guns to Nice, a nearby city, it was easy for him to acquire the weapons he needed. He placed these guns on the most advantageous of spots and opened fire, effectively bringing down several ships on the line. The British retreated further into the harbour, allowing for Napoleon to further his advance on the enemy. Yet despite this early success, Napoleon could not escape the incompetence of the General Cartaux. At one point, the general wanted to plant a gun against the walls of a home, allowing no room for the gun to recoil.[7] Napoleon had now garnered the devotion of the besiegers and of the Deputy Gasparin. He was invited to a council to further discuss a plan of action. It was here that Napoleon suggested the plan of capturing the western promontory, as it would dictate control over the rest of the harbour. If batteries were to be placed there, it would force Lord Hood to either abandon the garrison to an unavoidable surrender, or to withdraw it. Napoleon believed that two days after this promontory was captured, Toulon would be in their control. Lord Hood however, realized the importance of this position and had a fortress built upon it. Defended by three thousand specially chosen troops, with forty-four pieces of heavy artillery, the officer in command, General O’Hara considered his post invincible, stating “If they take this fort, then I’ll turn Jacobin”[8]

Bonaparte immediately called for artillery to be set up against this new fortress. To make this battery more efficient, he hid it behind a clump of olives, out of view from O’Hara, and directed that the fire of the battery be suspended until given the notice, so that it would take the British point by surprise. When deputies came by to inspect the battery, they ordered fire, without consulting Napoleon first. General O’Hara was surprised by this sudden offensive by the French, and wanting to rid himself of a potential threat, gathered six thousand men and marched towards the French battery. The new commander of the French, General Dugommier, rallied troops and led a party to counter the British offensive. He took his troops along a trench that was unknown of by O’Hara and managed to flank him. Surprised by the attack on their flank, the British forces were unable to defend themselves. They retreated and fled back to the walls of the city. Amongst all the chaos O’Hara fell into the trench, and was taken by a French sergeant as a prisoner of war.

The French garrison continued to gain strength by receiving fresh supplies and reinforcements, yet the hopes of the besiegers began to dwindle, and public dissatisfaction began to set in. It had now been three months and the city had not even been attacked. Still believing that taking the western promontory would lead to the capture of Toulon, Napoleon opened fire on the 14th of December, unleashing twenty-four pounders[9] and fifteen mortars upon the fortress, focusing the fire for sixty hours. The fortress was effectively destroyed, and the enemy forces were forced to retreat behind the hill. Napoleon, seeing the success of his fire, planned for attack at midnight of the 17th. Dugommier divided the troops into two columns, taking command of the first, and placing Napoleon under command of the second. The opposing forces had placed a line of troops that stopped Dugommier and after a long while of fighting he retreated back exclaiming “I am a lost man”[10]. Napoleon however, rallied the fugitives and pushed forward, getting one Captain Muiron to flank the hill under cover of night. This proved successful and the hill was theirs. When Lord Hood discovered the hill was lost, he ordered the fleet to get out to sea. He attempted to get away with as much of the cities resources as he could, however the French Rebellion closed in on all sides of the city. Toulon had been captured. Without Napoleon’s plan to capture the western promontory, it might not have been possible, and yet the genius that he exhibited during the siege was only the beginning of a long military career. Bonaparte was made a hero and the people praised this victory as one of the greatest triumphs of the republic.

[1] Insurrection is a violent uprising against an authority