Battle of MONTEBELLO. 2 L.A.S., Alexandria May 21 and 25, 1859, [to Count de Lezay-Marnesia]; L.A.S., 8 and 12 pages in-8. Aynard de CLERMONT-TONNERRE (1827-1884). Long letter of the captain and future general, Napoleon III's orderly during the Italian campaign. "It is on the battlefield of Montebello where Lannes, fifty-nine years ago, fought victoriously against forces twice his own that 6500 Frenchmen stopped 15 000 Austrians. The cannon roared from noon to 6 p.m. When its loud voice ceased to be heard, the enemy was in full retreat. [...] Troops, who, for the most part, had not yet seen fire, fought with bayonets like old soldiers. [...] Pity those who, like me, peacefully send you from the depths of their offices the summary of the impressions of the actors of the drama. Ridiculous companions who think they have the right to want a role and can know the play, because they have heard it read "... Charles d'ARGUESSE (1823-1901). Long letter of this officer of order of Napoleon III, relating the trip to Genoa and Alexandria, the position of the various army corps and the magnificent battle of May 20, 1859: this combat under the command of general Forey ended in "a complete rout" of the Austrians, four times more numerous. "I will only quote the fact of a soldier who killed an Austrian general with a bayonet, after the latter had wounded him in the shoulder with a pistol shot, and that the Emperor decorated for this fact"...