Seafaring Sunday: The Emperor On His Island

August 9, 1815: After his crushing defeat by Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte embarks aboard HMS Northumberland for the last sea voyage of his life. Bonaparte will go ashore at the Island of St. Helena where he will spend the rest of his days.

Of interest to me, as a sailor who will not go out without a dog aboard, is the fact that if it hadn't been for a dog, Napoleon's storied Hundred Days would never have occurred. When sailing from Elba back to France, the Emperor, never much of a sailor, fell overboard. He was followed into the water and rescued by:

A Newfoundland whose name is lost to history. Once again, dogs at sea bring good luck, at least for Bonaparte if not for Europe.