NAPOLEON BONAPARTE(1769 - 1821) The "Little Corporal" whose brilliance in the field of battle and as Emperor of France has made him perhaps the most important figure of post-Renaissance Europe. Fine content manuscript L.S. "Np", 1p. 4to., Compiegne, Sept. 5, 1811 to his Minister of War, Marshal Henri J. G. Clarke. While raising his army for France's ill-fated attack on Russia, Napoleon discusses the issue of conscripts: "...All the unruly conscripts in France from now on will be sent to Wesel and Strasbourg, with the exception of those on the far side of the Alps, who will still be sent to Genoa, Livorno and Civitavecchia and from there to Corsica...there would also be the inconvenience of assembling too large a number of unruly men on Corsica...I want to know the number of deserters and unruly soldiers the departments may still provide and I will see if it wouldn't be expedient to send them to Illyria...". With separate note indicating the letter had been forwarded for attention. Pinholes at one margin, else fine. The Grande Armee de la Russie was an enormous, unwieldy heterogeneous body of over 600,000 troops with conscripts from throughout Europe, many serving under duress.