I am trying to recreate the route my ancestor took when he marched to Paris following the battle of Waterloo and have drawn a blank at identifying an area called, in 1815, the Jardin de Paris. Here%26#39;s the story:
They spent a night at Clermont and the following night near %26quot;La Chapelle%26quot; which I believe could be the Porte la Chapelle (I discounted La Chapelle en Serval as it%26#39;s too far east). This means they were probably approaching Paris from north-north-east along the present N16/N1. Continuing from this La Chapelle towards Paris the following day, according to the regimental record they :
%26quot;saw Paris and the splendid dome of the Invalides in the distance. The regiment moved off the road to the right (I assume this means west) to a rising ground called the Jardin de Paris, finding immense quantities of ripe fruit. Here they looked down upon the plain of St Denis and Montmartre%26quot;
they bivoucked there and the next night they stayed in Argenteuil.
I%26#39;m hoping someone with an intimate idea of the topography of the outskirts of Paris may be able to pinpoint a piece of high ground from which you could have seen Les Invalides, La Plaine Saint Denis and Montmartre. I could then check against the area%26#39;s history to see if it once teemed with fruit trees.
Any ideas??
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You can find info at musee Carnavalet.
If you can see les Invalides AND Montmartre, it means you are not in Montmartre. The other elevated area in Paris what is called Montagne Sainte Genevieve and it is in the latin quarter.
But then again Paris and the Seine are lower than the suburbs (just a little bit). The traditional entrance into Paris in the older days was by the 2 doors (St Denis and St Martin) at the East, coming into what is now the Marais, all on the right bank.
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P.S. Keep in mind that all this was before Haussmann and the lay of the land has changed a lot, including the elevations.
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As a blind guess, how about the Belleville, Buttes Chaumont area?
From either park there are good views, and I think the whole area was open country with market gardens supplying Paris.
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Well, if they could see down upon la plaine St denis, Invalides and Montmartre and the next nigh they stayed in Argenteuil , i think they were NOT inside Paris yet but on a high point in the north of Paris and in the norh of Argenteuil .. So now a place in the northern suburb.
I don%26#39;t know if Google earth could help to find it ..
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This is a long shot but a letter to the Imperial War museum might solve your problem. With regiment and unit info plus date, they should be able to provide rather accurate troop locations for any given day. A second avenue would be a letter to the individual regimental archive presuming that the regiment still exists and hasn%26#39;t been amalgamated into another.
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If they were travelling from Porte La Chapelle NWwards to Argenteuil then they must have stopped halfway on the direct route between...the only open space now on the route are the Parc des Levines or Parc des Chanteraines....which may have been orchards in the late 18th/ early 19th centuries....historic maps may help?
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Probably the Parc des Chanteraines- here%26#39;s a description which sounds like it is a real contender!!
%26quot;Parc des Chanteraines
A real green breathing space in the north of Hauts-de-Seine, this 70 hectare park stretches from Gennevilliers to Villeneuve-la-Garenne. Whichever way you enter, the park offers sloping lawns and valleys and copses to explore. Winding footpaths alongside rows of pines, silver birches and plane trees are used by strollers as well as joggers. Tree frogs and birds have made their home here while farm animals live in a reconstruction of 19th century Norman farm in the Vexin region. Here visitors can walk around the orchard and vegetable garden, across the field....%26quot;
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If there was ever a question as to the knowledge
of the posters on this forum and their willingness
to help, this is it. For me the question and various
responses are facinating.
If you ever do find the location, please post it !
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What a great thread! Hope you find the answer (or at least, an answer, LOL!). I can%26#39;t believe the creative approaches that have been suggested already.
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