January 26, 2010 <Back to Index>
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Charles XIV & III John (Swedish: Karl XIV Johan), born Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later renamed Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden (as Karl XIV Johan) and King of Norway (as Karl III Johan) from 1818 until his death. He was also the first Sovereign Prince of Pontecorvo, Italy. French by birth, Bernadotte served a long career in the French Army. He was appointed as a Marshal of France by Napoleon I,
though the two had a turbulent relationship. His service to France
ended in 1810, when he was elected the heir to the Swedish throne: the
Swedish royal family was dying out because both the legitimate children
of King Charles XIII had died in infancy. Bernadotte
joined the army as a private in the Régiment de Royal-Marine on
3 September 1780, and first served in the newly-conquered territory of Corsica. He
was for a long time stationed in Collioure in the South of France and
was after eight years promoted to sergeant. Following the outbreak of
the French Revolution,
his eminent military qualities brought him speedy promotion. He was
promoted to colonel in 1792 and by 1794 was a brigadier attached to the
army of the Sambre et Meuse. After Jourdan's victory at Fleurus (26 June 1794) he became a general of division. At the Battle of Theiningen (1796), Bernadotte contributed, more than anyone else, to the successful retreat of the French army over the Rhine after its defeat by the Archduke Charles of Austria. In 1797 he brought reinforcements from the Rhine to Bonaparte's army in Italy, distinguishing himself greatly at the passage of the Tagliamento, and in 1798 served as ambassador to Vienna, but had to quit his post owing to the disturbances caused by his hoisting the tricolour over the embassy. From 2 July to 14 September he was Minister of War, in which capacity he displayed great ability. He declined to help Napoleon Bonaparte stage his coup d'état of November 1799, but nevertheless accepted employment from the Consulate, and from April 1800 to 18 August 1801 commanded the army in the Vendée. On the introduction of the French Empire, Bernadotte became one of the Marshals of France and, from June 1804 to September 1805, served as governor of Hanover.
During the campaign of 1805, Bernadotte with an army corps from
Hanover, co-operated in the great movement which resulted in the
shutting off of Mack in Ulm. As a reward for his services at Austerlitz (2 December 1805) he became Marshal of the French Imperial Army and the 1st Sovereign Prince of Ponte Corvo (5 June 1806), but during the campaign against Prussia, in the same year, was severely reproached by Napoleon for not participating with his army corps in the battles of Jena and Auerstädt, though close at hand. In 1808, as governor of the Hanseatic towns, he was to have directed the expedition against Sweden, via the Danish islands, but the plan came to naught because of the want of transports and the defection of the Spanish contingent. In the war against Austria, Bernadotte led the Saxon contingent at the Battle of Wagram (6 July 1809), on which occasion, on his own initiative, he issued an Order of the Day attributing
the victory principally to the valour of his Saxons, which order
Napoleon at once disavowed. It was during the middle of that battle
that Marshal Bernadotte was stripped of his command after retreating
contrary to Napoleon's orders. The keynote of his whole policy was the
acquisition of Norway and Bernadotte proved anything but a puppet of
France. In 1813, he allied Sweden with Napoleon's enemies, Great
Britain and Prussia, of the Sixth Coalition, in order to secure this. After the defeats at Lützen (2 May 1813) and Bautzen (21 May 1813), it was the Swedish Crown Prince who put fresh fighting spirit into the Allies; and at the conference of Trachenberg he drew up the general plan for the campaign which began after the expiration of the Truce of Plaswitz. Charles John, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army, successfully defended the approaches to Berlin against Oudinot in August and against Ney in September at the Battles of Grossbeeren and Dennewitz; but after the Battle of Leipzig he went his own way, determined at all hazards to cripple Denmark and to secure Norway, defeating the Danes at Bornhöved in December. Charles XIV John's reign witnessed the completion of the southern Göta Canal, begun 22 years earlier, to link Lake Vänern to the sea at Söderköping 180 miles to the east. Though his ultra-conservative views
were unpopular, particularly from 1823 onwards, his dynasty never faced
serious danger. Though the Riksdag of the Estates of
1840 meditated compelling him to supposedly abdicate, he survived that
controversy, and his silver jubilee was celebrated with great
enthusiasm in 1843. Charles XIV John died in Stockholm on
8 March 1844. His reign was one of uninterrupted peace, during which
his kingdoms experienced great material development. He was succeeded
by his son, Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. Oscar's mother was Désirée Clary, Napoleon Bonaparte's first fiancée. Her sister,Julie Clary, was married to Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Désirée chose Napoleon to be prince Oscar's godfather. The main street of Oslo, Karl Johans gate is named for him, while the Fortress of Karlsborg (Karlsborgs fästning) located in Karlsborg Municipality (Karlsborgs kommun) in Västra Götaland, was named by him after Charles XIII, his adoptive father. |