In The Wake Of Napoleon, Being The Memoirs (1807-1809) Of Ferdinand Von Funck,

Lieutenant-General In The Saxon Army And Adjutant-General To The King Of Saxony

Ferdinard von Funck (1761-1828) was born into sleepy Saxony, securely moored in a backwater of the eighteenth century, during the long reign of Frederick Augustus, the world forgetting it and only anxious to be by the world forgot. Even the ferment of the French Revolution had hardly ruffled its stagnant calm. Into this idyll of the eighteenth century burst Napoleon in full career with the methods of the nineteenth century in a hurry—as the progress of some high-powered modern tug in midstream leaves the heavy craft, moored against the bank, swaying and creaking waterlogged in its wash. By this time von Funck was a senior general in the newly re-organized Saxon army and Adjutant-general to Frederick Augustus, who had recently been raised to the dignity of a king for throwing his lot in with Napoleon. A very astute and balanced witness, the author has left a snapshot of Napoleon and his empire building at its apogee.

As the title of the memoirs suggests, the record that General von Funck has left to posterity is that of the new Kingdom of Saxony, as he and his people struggled to come to terms with the full ramifications of being allied to Napoleon. Filled with anecdotes of the new King, his court, Napoleon and his senior ministers, the pages are a witty and full of interest. The memoirs were considered to be so explosive that they were not even published in Germany until 1928 with an English translation produced soon afterward.