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A wonderful French cartographic satire celebrating victories under the Directory and foreshadowing the rise of Napoleon.

The image depicts Napoleon at right, along with Generals Pichegru, Jean Moreau, and Hoche. Three of the four men hold pieces of a map of Europe, which has been torn up like scrap paper, each man's piece representing his own personal triumph. Hoche for example holds a map depicting the Quiberon Peninsula, where in 1795 he defeated a landing by counter-revolutionary forces, dealing a decisive blow to the Royalists. Pride of place is clearly given to Napoleon, who holds the section of map representing Italy and much of Austria, where his repeated victories forced the Austrians to sue for peace in April 1797, effectively ending the War of the First Coalition. This triumph launched Napoleon's rise to power, and by late 1799, he had instigated a coup against the Directory and installed himself as "First Consul" of France.

At upper right, an angry eagle with a broken sword, representing a defeated Austria, holds in its talons a map of the small area not yet wrested away by Napoleon and his colleagues. A triumphal obelisk features a list of French generals, grouped by battlefront, with Napoleon at the head. The long caption below the image translates roughly as follows:

The capture of Courtray and Menin was the prelude to the Glory of Pichegru and the Army he commanded. The Enemy occupied Valenciennes, Le Quesnoy, Landrecy & c. A cloud of formidable Powers were leagued against France, that General [Pichegru] at the head of the French Troops, [have] triumph with all their efforts. And after conquering the Netherlands in spite of the most rigorous weather, in spite of the ice, passes the Waal and the Lech, seizes a vast Country. Heusdin , Utrecht, Amerfort and Amsterdam, are forced to open their doors and recognize the Victors.

How could one recollect the successes of the Army of Sambre and Meuse, of which the leader managed with so much courage in the Vendée, the Olive Branch? Since called to fight enemies that can be defeated without regret, has been able to render synonymous the words of attack and victory ... You will not be forgotten Army of Rhine and Mouselle ! And you valiant and wise Moreau are already inscribed in the pomp of history; And the impetuosity of the attacks and the intrepidity of the defense ....... And you young Hero ...... last year you counted 14 battles and 60 fights without a single setback: This year all steps have been victories; You have carried the French arms to where they never penetrated. At the gates of Rome, you have given peace to Italy; At the gates of Vienna, you give it to Europe.

The "young Hero" referred to in the caption is of course Napoleon. As for the other men, Jean Victor Marie Moreau (1763-1813), Charles Pichegru (1761-1804) and Lazare Hoche (1768-1797) were all prominent generals during the French Revolution and early Napoleonic period. Moreau helped Napoleon to power before becoming caught up in political intrigue and falling from grace and eventually went into exile in the United States. Pichegru commanded a force that overran the Low Countries then fought on the Rhine front. Shortly thereafter, he became involved in a royalist conspiracy to depose Napoleon, in the course of which he was arrested and died in custody. This same plot was also the downfall of Pichegru's friend Moreau, who was not directly involved but failed to turn in Pichegru when he uncovered correspondence incriminating the latter. Hoche briefly rose in 1797 to the role of Minister of War. He was responsible for crushing the royalist uprising in the Vendée and went on to command forces on the Rhine front but died of consumption--some said poisoning--in the Fall of 1797.

This print was almost certainly published between mid-1797 and early 1798, some time after the Austrians sued for peace but before the beginning of Napoleon's expedition against Egypt in May 1798. It was published in Paris by Pierre Jean, who, despite his prolific output, remains little-known today. His firm was active from approximately the 1790s to the 1820s, and today its name is most closely associated with works related to Napoleon. After being associated with images such as that offered here, Mssr. Jean must have been quick on his feet to survive Napoleon's fall and the accession of Louis XVIII.