Known as “The Bravest of the Brave.” The son of poor parents. Enlisted
at the age of thirteen, and speedily fought his way up to the command of
a division. His name intimately connected with Buonaparte’s military
career. He secured the retreat of the small remnant of the grand army
after the disastrous Russian invasion, and at Waterloo he had five
horses shot under him. After the final overthrow of Napoleon in 1815,
Ney was tried and shot for his treachery to the Bourbons in joining the
Emperor on his return from Elba. A monument recently erected on the spot
where he fell has translated the act of treachery into a triumph of
patriotism. Ney was sincere, honest, blunt, and almost austere in his
manners, yet merciful to the vanquished. It is recorded to his honour
that he lived and died poor.