Napoleon Sighting #002: The Little Corporal

   While the Emperor carried various names, perhaps his most satirized title is "le Petit Corporel" or the Little Corporal. The name was gained during his first Italian campaign. One of the jobs of an artillery corporal was to sight the guns. However, Napoleon was so meticulous in his work that he insisted on performing the task himself. His men honored him with the title as a result.
   In today's Napoleon Sighting, we see that name utilized in a comically negative sense. During the 42nd Super Bowl, I was quite pleased to see an advertisement that exhibited Napoleon as its main character. However, it also displayed some of the common misconceptions surrounding the man.

   The advertisement, which can be viewed above, is under several false impressions that many people hold today. In the commercial, Napoleon is shown flying around the streets of Paris in a small compact automobile. However, as he emerges from his car, the audience gains a view of three Napoleonic stereotypes. First, he is incredibly short. So short, in fact, that his height remains lower than even the top of his vehicle. Additionally, the man wears the iconic bicorn hat so often attributed to the Emperor. Finally, he quickly thrusts his hand into his shirt. While many firmly believe that Napoleon was like this, that notion remains inaccurate.
   Initially, we will examine his height. If people are asked to describe the height of Napoleon, the answer is almost invariably "very short." It is easy to see how they gained this thought when one examines the media at the time of Napoleon's reign. The English of the Napoleonic Age were entirely guilty of demonizing the man. They ridiculed any facet of his person they found available, even his stature. Napoleon measured 5 feet and 2 inches. However, the measurement was conducted in French inches, not the English (and consequently, American) inch standard of measurement. In English measurements, Napoleon was 5 feet and 6.5 inches, a perfectly average height for the era. As a result of disparity between the inches, the English incorrectly labeled Napoleon as short. Furthermore, they used cruel, entirely unrealistic images of the man to deface him. Their mistake has been allowed to progress through history causing the modern perception that the Emperor was of short stature.

   In addition to his lack of height, the advertisement shows him donning his traditional hat. While the man wore this hat on occasion, especially on campaign, it was by no means constantly adorning his head. Many of the painted images of the Emperor show his head unadorned.

   Finally, Napoleon is seen to place his hand inside his shirt. Modern misconception holds that the man walked around with his hand positioned thus. Again, this remains a falsehood. This error was gained by examining period paintings of the man. Indeed, in many of these, he poses with his hand inside his shirt. However, if one also examines other paintings of important figures of the time, it becomes apparent that the pose is common. Even George Washington is seen to pose this way.
  
   While the advertisement remained comical, its misplaced ideas of the Emperor offer a view into the modern perception of the man.