Marching for Napoleon

His name is Boldewyn Oden Odens, and he was born in Suurhusen, Germany (53.4150° N, 7.2232° E), in 1790. We could call him BOO, Sr. (😊), but to our knowledge no one ever did, even though he gave one of his sons the same name of Boldewyn Oden Odens.

Boldewyn is Opa’s great-grandfather, so he is my great-great-grandfather. Hopefully that knowledge will enable you to figure out your connection to him! His son by the same name is Opa’s grandfather and my great-grandfather.

This ancestor of ours did not accomplish any great feat of strength or bravery or intellect, as far as we know. He was an ordinary farmer who married at the age of 25 a girl named Jantje Sieverts Bickmann Ringena, who was two days shy of her eighteenth birthday. The marriage took place in Manslagt (53° 28′ 0″ N, 7° 3′ 0″ E), which is now a village incorporated into the municipality of Krummhörn, in Aurich county. He died in Groß Süder Charlottenpolder, Germany (53°33’00.0″N 7°12’00.0″E), at the age of 64. Other than his birth, occupation, marriage, children and death, there is only one detail about his life of which we are aware.

That detail is the fact that Boldewyn Oden Odens was drafted into Napoleon’s army. We know this, because Boldewyn kept a diary of his experiences as a soldier, and much of that diary has been preserved for our benefit.

Of course, Boldewyn wrote the account of his soldiering in German, so we are dependent on either knowing German ourselves or trusting the abilities of a translator to accurately communicate what Boldewyn wrote. Some years ago, one of our relatives (Mary Emslander) had someone translate most of the diary into English, so those of us who cannot read German could know what Boldewyn had to say. I used Google Translate to decipher a portion of his diary we have which the translator for some reason did not render. Part of the diary is missing, which will become evident by the absence of any account covering a period of about seven weeks.

I plan to share Boldewyn’s diary with you in future blogs. It is too long to present in a single blog, or even in two. However, before sharing any of it, some explanation may be helpful.

When his diary was published in German, it was given the title of Auricher in der Armee Napoleons. The English translation is titled Auricher in Napoleon’s Army. Aurich was the county seat and also the name of the county in Ostfriesland, Germany, where Boldewyn was born, lived, married and died. To our knowledge he never resided in the city of Aurich itself. He was born southwest, married northwest and died north of the city of Aurich. He was buried in a church cemetery in Norden. However, his proximity to the town of Aurich and his lifelong residence in the county by the same name is what led to being called an Auricher.

Boldewyn’s diary is an account of the travels he took as a soldier in Napoleon’s army. You may want to read it with a detailed map of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France nearby, so you can follow his journeys. I found it helpful to get a single map of that area, on which I underlined in red the towns and cities which he mentions. Having done so, I was able to determine that in the seven months covered by the diary, Boldewyn traveled a minimum of 2,215 miles on horseback, on foot and by boat!

Which leads to another interesting observation bringing a variety of questions to mind while reading Boldewyn’s travelogue. Although he and his companions were soldiers in Napoleon’s army, there is not even a hint of “basic training,” and that contingent never came close to any of the battles that were fought during their tour of duty! Boldewyn and his fellow soldiers never shot a bullet nor swung a sword against an enemy of Napoleon. In fact, you will see in a future portion of the diary that the only real danger they faced was from the French army with whom they were supposedly aligned!

We are not told whether Boldewyn kept his diary only for his own personal benefit or with the idea of sharing his account with family and friends. The fact that it has been preserved may point to the latter. Whatever the case, I am thankful we have it and the connection it gives us with history.

When reading Boldwyn’s account, I had the distinct impression that he had no sense of what was taking place in the bigger picture of Napoleon’s war. That led me to the realization that I didn’t either! So, reading his diary led me to investigate the Napoleonic wars in an effort to see how Boldewyn’s experiences fit with what was taking place at the time. You will find later on in his account that a surprising change takes place in his circumstances (that you will see a few blogs from now). It has been a fascinating venture for me to try to discover what led to this change in his situation. Whether I have been successful, you can determine when we get to that portion of his diary.

So, go ahead and start some research into the Napoleonic wars, find a map of western Europe, and then be watching here for more information about Boldewyn and his time, as well as portions from his diary. May it be a more pleasant journey for you than it was for him!

© 2019 by James A. Odens