Mount in Napoleon's Grande Armée. During Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian Campaign from 1798 to 1801, the General became enamored of dromedaries as mounts and ordered a regiment to be mounted on dromedaries in charge of keeping the peace in Egypt. In January 1799, he created the dromedary regiment, and set them against insurgents. The dromedary regiment disbanded shortly after Napoleon's departure from Egypt. Bonaparte himself rode a camel, but there is no evidence that the animal on display was actually that beast. This camel was reportedly brought to France in 1801 and lived at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. After its death, it was displayed at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle and then brought to the Musée africain de l’île d’Aix in 1932. The connection to Napoleon, then made, was widely believed an invention designed to attract more visitors to the museum; the accession file read, “Dromadaire d'Arabie du Général Bonaparte.”
Mount in Napoleon's Grande Armée. During Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian Campaign from 1798 to 1801, the General became enamored of dromedaries as mounts and ordered a regiment to be mounted on dromedaries in charge of keeping the peace in Egypt. In January 1799, he created the dromedary regiment, and set them against insurgents. The dromedary regiment disbanded shortly after Napoleon's departure from Egypt. Bonaparte himself rode a camel, but there is no evidence that the animal on display was actually that beast. This camel was reportedly brought to France in 1801 and lived at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. After its death, it was displayed at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle and then brought to the Musée africain de l’île d’Aix in 1932. The connection to Napoleon, then made, was widely believed an invention designed to attract more visitors to the museum; the accession file read, “Dromadaire d'Arabie du Général Bonaparte.”
Bio by: Iola
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