#egypt campaign

Napoleon visiting the plague victims in Jaffa during the Egypt campaign (11 march 1799).

So what really happened?

The painting below in colour was commisioned by Napoleon himself and painted by Antoine-Jean Gros. It depicts Napoleon visiting plague victims of his army in the Saint Nicholas monastery in Jaffa, Israel. How much of this scene is real?

Of course the painting and the event were perfect propaganda devices serving multiple goals: it countered the rumours that Napoleon ordered the execution of prisoners in Jaffa, it shows empathy towards his soldiers and gave him a touch of immortality being able to physically touch plague victims without falling ill.Were there any eyewitnesses that can confirm that this event actually happened? Well this is the tricky part, some say Napoleon really did visit and touch victims of the plague and others say that no such thing happened. An example is doctor Desgenettes, who is also portrayed in the painting, he claimed that Napoleon did help carry plague victims. Note, it was still unknown how the plague spread so it was considered dangerous to touch plague victims with your bare hands. (you can’t catch the bubonic plague by touching sick people)

It’s extremely obvious that the painting, and other depictions like the one in black/white, was made for propaganda purposes. It displays Napoleon as someone capable of the traditional thaumaturgical royal touch, French kings were often portrayed as being capable to perform miracles. It’s very possible that Napoleon was indeed present at the monastery and perhaps even helped transporting the sick but there is also of course the possibility that the entire story was fabricated, the eyewitness accounts seem to differ quite a bit so we can sadly never be sure. It is however true that the monks at this Armenian monastery were asked to help out the plague-ridden Napoleonic soldiers and they received Napoleon’s sword and tent as a thanks.

It’s also a possibility that this story was spread in order to downplay the rumour that Napoleon ordered the euthanization of his own sick soldiers, one of the most notorious orders ever given by Napoleon. The truth lies likely somewhere in between, a combination of all possibilities and reasons.