Margaret Rodenberg

Finding Napoleon in Washington, DC

National Mall - Smithsonian Castle

On this, the three-year anniversary of this website, I decided to do a post about Finding Napoleon in my own hometown. Thankfully, last weekend, we had a break in the nasty winter weather. I headed downtown to “our nation’s front lawn,” the National Mall, to catch a few sightings of Napoleon Bonaparte. Of course, the …

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Finding Napoleon in Alaska?

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska

Finding Napoleon Bonaparte in Alaska? Unlikely. Nonetheless that’s where I am. I’ll be back thinking about Napoleon again sometime late next week.

Napoleon and Louisiana Purchase

1803-Louisiana Purchase

On July 4, 1803, two hundred and ten years ago today, Thomas Jefferson’s administration announced the United States had the opportunity to double its territory. A few months earlier, President Jefferson had sent James Monroe to France to purchase New Orleans or at least negotiate trade access to its port. Much to everyone’s surprise, Napoleon …

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Memorial Day at My Parents’ Grave

This morning, Memorial Day, my husband and I visited my parents’ grave in Arlington National Cemetery. This weekend the military places a small American flag at each of the 250,000 grave stones there. The President, of course, brings a wreath for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. It’s a privilege to be buried in one …

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LOOKING FOR NAPOLEON IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

Portrait of Napoleon’s close friend Jean Lannes at the University of Texas’s Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas. Click here.