1875 Personal French Letters by Cavalry Officer of the Legion of Honour

On offer are two interesting pieces of correspondence from the commanding officer of a 200 year old French cavalry regiment. The letters were both written in 1875 by Colonel Labrousse, the commanding officer of the 10th Dragoons Regiment.

From our research, Labrosse was Louis II de Labrousse, a cavalry officer and an officer of the Legion of Honour. Born in 1825, he passed away unmarried in Nantes, in 1892. His father and uncles had served in the bodyguard of Louis XVI and as such, their properties were forfeited in the French Revolution. Members of the family were guillotined during the Revolution. His father served under Napoleon and after the Restoration, their lands were restored to them. He entered the army and served in cavalry regiments like his father, rising to become Colonel of this regiment. The 10th Dragoons were part of the French 4th Infantry Division in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1870, the Regiment took part in the Battle of Worth where the French suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of the Prussian army, sustaining unit casualty rates as high as 50%. At the time of the first letter, the 10th Dragoons were based in a large military encampment at Senlis, north of Paris. The letter is a personal correspondence to an unnamed friend. In it, Labrosse talks about their current situation and asks his friend to look after certain personal obligations. An excerpt of the first letter follows:

J'espere que vous avez recu bonne reponse pour le changement de corps de votre fils comme officier de reserve. On en a reponder tout a fait dans ce ceux. Je suis en camp de Senlis depuis le 2 de ce mois de nous a place ici sous la tente et nos chevaux a la corde pour avoir de quoi loger a Dijon les reservites. Nous n'avons eneave eu de pluie qu’un jour et c'est fort heureux quand on habite sous la taile. je vous vous prie de vouloir bien declarer a l'enregistrement mes petites locations a l'armee...

[Translation: I hope you have received the right answer for your son's change of corps to reserve officer. We have discussed this matter with you. I have been in camp at Senlis since the 2nd of this month and we have been placed here in tents and our horses have been left to provide lodging for the reserves at Dijon. We have only had rain for one day and it is very fortunate when one lives under a roof. I beg you to kindly declare my small rentals to the army...].

The 2nd letter deals with the sale of some land. In the letter, Labrousse asks his unnamed friend to assist in carrying out some business details. An excerpt of the second letter follows:

J'ai l'honeur de vous adresser en reponse a votre letre de 7 Juillet qui m'annonce l'acquisition des deus morceaux terre Ledute et Ripaud , la somme de quinze cents francs pour continuer a m'aquitte. ituer le 500 francs que j'ai depose en votre etude au mois de juin vous allez avoir deux mille francs. Je vais vour faire remettre mille francs pour Alphonse Sendre. J' espere que cette somme de trois mille francs vous permettra de regler completement mon affaire et de payer la plus grande partie des frais.

[Translation: I have the honour to send you in reply to your letter of July 7 which announces the sale of the two pieces of land Ledute and Ripaud, the sum of fifteen hundred francs to be paid to me. In addition to the 500 francs that I deposited in your office in June, you will have two thousand francs. I am going to ask you to give a thousand francs for Alphonse Sendre. I hope that this sum of three thousand francs will allow you to settle my case completely and to pay most of the expenses].

The first letter consists of 4-pages that measure 8.0 inches by 5.0 inches. The letter itself takes up 3 of the pages. The top left corner has been removed but the letter otherwise is in very good condition. The handwriting is quite legible. The second is a 2-page letter that measures 8.0 inches by 5.0 inches. The letter has had the top right corner removed. There is wear along the right edge as well. The handwriting is legible.

For a historian, these letters are a fascinating glimpse into a private life in the life of a cavalry commanding officer and a direct connection to the years immediately following the Franco-Prussian War which laid down the roots of WWI.