In England, discovered the horse of Napoleon
After the death of the animal officer William Angerstein made from the hooves of two boxes for snuff.
LONDON, may 1. /Offset. TASS Ilya Dmitriev/. The hoof of the Arab steed, Marengo, owned by French Emperor Napoleon (1769-1821 gg.) found in the UK. As the Times writes, after 202 years after Napoleon suffered defeat at the battle of Waterloo, the missing part of the famous horse found in the dresser drawer farmhouse in Somerset in the South-East of England.
Earlier this house belonged to a wealthy family, which acquired Marengo after the final defeat of the Emperor’s army at Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon himself was exiled to the lost in the Atlantic ocean island of St. Helena, and his horse as a trophy has been ferried across the channel. The owner of the animal who took part in the battle of Austerlitz (1805), Jena (1806) and Wagram (1809) and participated in the Russian campaign of Napoleon, became a British officer William Angerstein.
One of our new #faveMW objects. Marengo”s hoof snuff box and lock of hair. #MuseumWeek #waterloo200 @Waterloo200org pic.twitter.com/r4UgpJTZMw
— HH Cavalry Museum (@HCavMuseum) March 28, 2015
The stallion continued to live on the English farm until until he fell in 1831 at the age of 38.
Now the skeleton of a horse on display at the National army Museum in Chelsea, but the front legs don’t have enough hooves. The fact that after the death of the animal Angerstein made two boxes for snuff. Decorated with silver fancy snuff allowed around the table after dinners, and everyone could take a pinch of tobacco from the hooves of the horse of the Emperor, who died in exile.
Later, one of them with a commemorative engraving was presented to the brigade of guards St. James’s Palace in London. The other remained in the family of Angerstein, who decided not to leave with a rare artifact, and for many years was considered lost. After the hoof was discovered, it was transferred to the new owner for a gift to the London Museum and the Palace cavalry, where exhibited until now. According to the newspaper, the authenticity of the hoof was mounted with the help of DNA analysis.
Thus the well-known horse, named in honor of the victories of Napoleon the battle of Marengo (Italy, 1800), became the subject of three exhibitions in the British capital at the same time
But the controversy surrounding the stallion did not stop. So, at least two towns in Ireland claim to transfer the bones of Marengo. They point to the documented fact that the local stables sold the horse agent of the Emperor, and therefore to exhibit he needs from them.
About the prospects of this litigation, the Times writes, as well as that will in case of victory of the Irish stables to return them also and hooves of a stallion.