[FRANCE] Alexandre Moreau de Jonnes (1778-1870) French adventurer , military and official in charge of General Statistics of France until 1851, when Alfred Legoyt succeeded him. At the age of thirteen he was drafted by Jean-Lambert Tallien in the National Guard to serve in the minimal section keeping the King Louis XVI imprisoned in the Tuileries. His section was controlled by the Marquis de La Fayette. In his post, he is witness to the conspiracy of the Knights of the dagger and the day of August 10, 1791 during which held "the bloodiest battle of all those delivered in a public place during the Revolution." In September 1791 , he returned to Rennes to resume his studies, but he was again called in garrison and his battalion was sent to the department 's Ille-et-Vilaine , in the fight against insurgents in Morbihan. It is a civil war, made ambushes, ambush, of treachery and killings. He participated in the battles of Hede and Vannes. After these hard campaigns, Alexander is assigned as a gunner on a Navy ship, brig of war, Papillon , including the captain, a former officer of the Royal Navy, is greatly appreciated. At the age of sixteen, he is vested with functions Coxswain . The mission of the ship is to browse the ports of the Levant , to provide instructions to the consuls of the Republic of France. The mission takes place without any problems until the stop of Toulon, where they fall in the fighting between royalists and republicans . The captain did not want to take part, preferring to scuttle his ship. Alexandre was posted to the walls and in the custody of the magazine. When the city fell to the royalists, a part of the navy engaged the British. The city is killing before being occupied by the British, then she is besieged by new French troops which stands Captain Napoleon Bonaparte , which then controls the guns. Instead resumed and the British withdrew, Alexander and a few soldiers tried unsuccessfully to prevent the fire from the arsenal and the city. He joined his building, refurbished, and manages to escape from this hell avoiding French guns and British vessels. We have deleted much from this description [translated]. Very interesting Frenchman. ALS, 1840, 2pp, approx. 8x12".

VG