Remains of Napoleon's One-Legged General Found Under Russian Dance Floor

[Sanguine]

An excavation in a peculiar place — under the foundation of a dance floor in Russia — has uncovered the remains of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite generals: a one-legged man who was killed by a cannonball more than 200 years ago, news sources report.

Gen. Charles Etienne Gudin fought with Napoleon during the failed French invasion of Russia in 1812. On July 6 of this year, an international team of French and Russian archaeologists discovered what are believed to be his remains, in Smolensk, a city about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Moscow, according to Reuters.

After his death at age 44 on Aug. 22, 1812, Gudin got star treatment. His name was inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, his bust was placed at the Palace of Versailles, a Paris street was named after him and, as a sentimental gesture, his heart was removed from his body and placed in a chapel at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. [Photos: Archaeologists Excavate Battlefield from Napoleonic Wars]...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/remains-napoleons-one-legged-general-125200553.html

Great headline too.

[Elderberry]

BBC 29 August 2019

A one-legged skeleton discovered under a dance floor in Russia may hold the key to a centuries-old mystery involving Napoleon's favourite general.

Charles-Étienne Gudin died aged 44 after he was hit by a cannonball during the French invasion of Russia in 1812.

He had to have his leg amputated and died three days later from gangrene.

Archaeologists believe the skeleton found in the city of Smolensk, west of Moscow, is his. Samples have been sent to France for DNA testing.

More: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49508521

[xyno]

Failed at the two-step, I bet.

[PeteS in CA]

A general with a wooden leg named Gudin? What was the name of his other leg?