Certificate that promotes Alexis Joseph Delzons to the rank of brigadier general

With the certificate, Napoleon Bonaparte promotes Alexis Joseph Delzons to the rank of brigadier general on the 30th day of Fructidor in the year 11 (according to the French Republican calendar). The document records Delzons’s service starting from 1791, when he joined the Cantal volunteer battalion until the 7th of Floréal in the year 9, when he was named brigadier general. It also lists the most important battles in which he fought (including in Spain and Egypt) and wounds he sustained. We can only imagine how the document found its way to Estonia. It is possible that after being killed in battle, the general’s belongings, including this document, fell into the hands of the Russians and became the property of the Narva Heritage Society. The reverse side of the diploma notes that the society obtained it in June 1867 from Titular Councillor Paul Ritter in St. Petersburg. It is not known whether it was received as a gift or if it was purchased. The certificate bears the original signature and impression of the seal of Napoleon.