Napoleon Might Have Held Court on the James

Richmond Banker Had Kept Secret Whim of Deposed Emperor,
Thus Preventing Boom in Old Dominion Estate Market
Before Deal With French Exile Was Complete

By Vera Palmer

What really prevented Napoleon III, former Emperor of France, from purchasing one of the great estates on the lower James River where, with his consort, the lovely Empress Eugenie, he probably would have established a semi-imperial court?

There was only a slight hitch, apparently, in negotiations between representatives of the leader of the Bonapartists and a Richmond real estate firm, but it stopped the setting up of a residence in one of those ancient counties named for the royal family of England.

Had things been otherwise, the Prince Imperial, instead of going to Africa to become a target for a savage enemy, might today, in his seventies, be a member of the Westmoreland Club, president of the Richmond German and a leader in the social life of Virginia. But all this was not to be, and there are those who say that, as in the case of Ceasar, ambition was the murderer. In this instance it killed the dead, although it must be admitted that the condition of Napoleon's health was no small consideration.

In November, 1871, two distinguished-looking men, one a native of France and the other an Englishman, came to Richmond bearing all proper credentials which they presented, so the tale goes, to John B. Davis, a bank president of the day. The object of their visit was a secret. Both were inconspicuous in appearance and manner, and so they attracted little attention.

But the story they told to Mr. Davis was exciting enough. They confided to him that they came from the former Emperor and Empress, who had expressed a strong desire to get away from Europe, troubletorn then as it is today. Even England was a little too close to the scene of their humiliation and suffering, and they fancied passing the remainder of their days in Virginia, in which the former had long been interested.

It was only a few years after the War Between the States and the impoverished condition of the erstwhile great planters and slave-owners had made it necessary for several estates to be put on the market. As times were fearfully hard during the reconstruction period, prices asked were reasonable. The historic homes on the James were not exempt, and many an owner was tortured in spirit with the thought of parting with the roof-tree of his ancestors where so much American history had been made. But poverty and war are no respectors of persons.

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When Mr. Davis learned from his callers the object of their visit, he may not have been altogether surprised, for in November, 1870, an item appeared in the Richmond Dispatch stating that it was rumored in London plans were being made by the representatives of Louis Napoleon for the purchase of a home in Virginia. Although news was not "played up" then as it is today and choice bits were squeezed into about one inch of space, it was probably not overlooked. Gentlemen of that time never scanned their newspapers, they read them.

The banker introduced his distinguished visitors to Wellington Goddin, a leading real estate man of his day, who was agent for the James River places. He explained to Mr. Goddin that the foreigners desired to look at the plantations with the object of purchasing one, but the name of their once-imperial master was not mentioned.

So Mr. Goddin, with the same unconquorable energy and dispatch which even now prompts the actions of all salesmen, ordered out his best carriage to which were attached a pair of high-steppers. His ebonied combination of janitor, messenger and coachman immediately got ready for the long journey, made today in an hour or two. As it was winter, foot-warmers were pressed into service. They may have been made for the purpose, or possibly he had a few bricks heated in the office stove and then wrapped in cloth, which are an excellent substitute.

Luncheon, too, had to be provided, and perhaps Mr. Goddin sent over to the Ballard or Exchange for a real old-fashioned Virginia meal to be packed for the party. It would have been fatal to have tried to do business with hungry customers. Finally, everything was ready, and the banker, the real estate operator, the Frenchman and the Englishman ventured over roads which, to say the least, were "unimproved." They had to pass Westover, Shirley and several other plantations and at each the enthusiasm of the strangers mounted. They were delighted, also, with the clear and bracing atmosphere, such as seldom blessed their native lands.

On their return to Richmond, the visitors disappeared as quietly and unostentatiously as they had come. For many moons Mr. Davis hugged his secret tightly to his heart. Very few persons, however, find it easy to keep confidences made with total strangers, yet which would be of interest to thousands. Mr. Davis, excellent citizen and able business man that he was, appears to have proved himself entirely human. He took a mere handful of his closest friends into the secret.

With what result? Why, the prices of those historic homes on James River forthwith soared several hundred per cent. There is said to have been a veritable boom in that section of Virginia. The State itself and society generally were quite amiably disposed toward Louis Napoleon and Eugenie, but if the once-imperial couple wanted to live in the Old Dominion, they would have to pay for the privilege. For, according to all fairy lore, an emperor, even a deposed ruler, must have vast riches. As the Empress, on her death in 1920, left an estate of $6,000,000, the pair seemed to have lived up to the best traditions of Anderson and the brothers Grimm.

About six months later the visitors returned, and although it is not known where they had been, meantime, it is supposed that they had looked at other estates in various parts of the country--in New England, along the banks of the Hudson in South Carolina or in sunny Florida. They may have returned to England for a conference with the Bonapartes, then in residence at Chistlehurst.

Now that Mr. Goodin knew the import of their business and the names of the potential purchasers, it is safe to say that he "put his best foot foremost" to make a good impression on his clients. It was summer then; the summer of 1872, the season of palmleaf fans, fried chicken and mint juleps. Again the party traveled the same road, then a bit dusty, but in fair condition. The journey was pleasant; the Englishman and the Frenchman seemed as delightful as ever, and the deal appeared to be as good as closed. Then the visitors disappeared as silently as before--never to be heard from again.

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Time went on, but before the end of the year it was learned that the prices asked were regarded as somewhat exorbitant, even for those history-filled treasure houses. Close on the footsteps of this news it became known that the health of Napolean was shattered. Seeing that the former monarch's days were numbered, it was deemed inadvisable further to contemplate so drastic a move, and subsequent events proved the wisdom of the decision. Napolean III, former Emperor of the French, died at Christlehurst, in Kent, England, in 1873, six years before his son and only child, the young Prince Imperial, met death at the hands of a Zulu savage.

Because of the secret of the contemplated purchase of a Virginia home by the former Emperor leaked out, thus helping to prevent the consummation of the deal, if not killing it entirely, does not mean that he never set foot on the soil of the Old Dominion. This fact may have accounted for his desire to live here. It is a matter of record that Louis Bonaparte, then a young man of 25, came to Norfolk in 1836, nearly a score of years before his marriage to the lovely Spaniard, Eugenie de Montijo.

There is nothing to indicate that the distinguished Frenchman went to Norfolk of his own volition, for the circumstances of his visit are that after the failure of the coup d'etat of Strassburg on October 30, 1836, he was condemned by the French government to exile, and banished to the United States. "After some delay," says one authority, "he was taken to Lorient, and there embarked on the frigate, Andromeda, which sailed November 1, 1836. After a long voyage by way of Rio de Janeiro by order of the government, he was put ashore at Norfolk and was there set at liberty March 30, 1837, after which he made his way up to New York, where he lived some time.

Napoleon III never came to Richmond. But if Mr. Goddin had been able to sell a James River estate to the agents of the Emperor and his consort, there probably would have been a semiimperial court at our very doors. In later years the "Empress in exile" held to much of the splendor which had been a part of her daily life in the Palace of the Tuileries.

It is not too extravagant to surmise that the tomb of the last Emperor of France might today be in Hollywood, where so many distinguished dead are interred--had things been just a little different. Although the beautiful Eugenie would, perhaps, have buried her beloved dead on her estate, for both the Emperor and the Prince Imperial are entombed at Farnborough Hill, where the body of the Empress was later placed.

But this whole story seems to be merely a game of "suppose," for the lovely Empress, who was rescued from her enemies by an American dentist when the dynasty fell, and the unfortunate Emperor, with their equally unfortunate son, did not come to America. Thus, Virginia was deprived of taking to her heart the gracious and sorrowful woman, who notwithstanding her exile, was honored and beloved by practically every sovereign in Europe. However, the hopes of Mr. Davis and Mr. Goddin ran high, and great, indeed, must have been their disappointment.