The Surrender of Napoleon

The Surrender of Napoleon tells the true story of how the legendary French Emperor surrendered to the British on HMS Bellerophon shortly after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. While HMS Bellerophon was stationed off Rochefort in the Bay of Biscay observing French warships in the harbour, Napoleon had been defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on Sunday 18 June 1815. News reached Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland ten days later that Napoleon was planning an escape to America from the French Atlantic coast, possibly from Bordeaux. Believing that Rochefort was the more likely point of escape, Maitland sent two ships to cover the ports of Bordeaux and Arcachon whilst covering Rochefort himself. Maitland's instincts proved correct and Napoleon arrived at Rochefort in early July. Finding escape barred by Maitland's blockade and unable to remain in France, he authorized the opening of negotiations with the commander of the British warship off the coast. Maitland refused the request to allow Napoleon to sail for America, but offered to take him to England. The negotiations went on for four days, but eventually Napoleon agreed to terms and formally surrendered to Maitland on 15 July 1815 and was conveyed to Plymouth. The final decisions over Napoleon's fate were made by the British Government on 7 August 1815, and Napoleon and his staff were transferred to HMS Northumberland, where he was conveyed to exile on Saint Helena where he eventually died six years later. The Surrender of Napoleon is Maitland's detailed, tense and fascinating narrative of the French Emperor's desperate attempts to escape France and of his time on HMS Bellerophon. Originally published in a shorter form in 1826, this is the rarely told final chapter in Napoleon's career as a world leader, narrated by the man that experienced it firsthand