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Napoleon Bonaparte
April 20, 1814

Following this short speech, Napoleon was sent to the island of Elba off the coast of Italy. But ten months later, in March of 1815, he escaped his exile and returned to France. Accompanied by a thousand men from his Old Guard, he marched toward Paris and gathered an army of supporters along the way.

His second term as emperor ended a mere 100 days later when he was defeated at the battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815.

Soldiers of my Old Guard: I bid you farewell. For twenty years I have constantly accompanied you on the road to honor and glory. In these latter times, as in the days of our prosperity, you have invariably been models of courage and fidelity. With men such as you our cause could not be lost; but the war would have been interminable; it would have been civil war, and that would have entailed deeper misfortunes on France.

I have sacrificed all of my interests to those of the country.

I go, but you, my friends, will continue to serve France. Her happiness was my only thought. It will still be the object of my wishes. Do not regret my fate; if I have consented to survive, it is to serve your glory. I intend to write the history of the great achievements we have performed together. Adieu, my friends. Would I could press you all to my heart.

Napoleon Bonaparte - April 20, 1814