Nothing seemed likely to stop Napoleon Bonaparte from conquering Europe, but one little fellow slowed him up a bit.
The Battle of Castiglione in northern Italy, on August 5th, 1796, was a resounding victory for Napoleon Bonaparte over the Austrian Empire. The general, who at that time was still serving the French Republic, read Helen Maria Williams’s account of his Italian campaign and told her later ‘that he would answer for the truth of all that she had reported’ — including, presumably, this poignant little scene.