ACTIVITIES 2000-2001
Eleven students of the Institute are in residence this year. Two members of the Institute completed their dissertations and received their doctorates. Kevin McCranie finished and defended his dissertation on Admiral George Keith, and Phil Cuccia completed his study of Mantua during the Napoleonic period. Alexander Mikaberidze finished his M.A. thesis on Bagration while David Raymond defended his thesis on the Royal Navy. Mary Cooney completed her doctoral comprehensive and David Raymond his M.A. exams in the spring. Rick Black spent the summer of 2001 in London doing research, while Matt De La Mater and Jack Sigler were in Paris this summer, all on Ben Weider Research Fellowships.
In September, members of the Institute and their partners gathered for a cookout and an evening of slides at D.D. Horward's home. We traveled through France, Austria, Germany, Italy, and, as usual Devil's Bridge in Switzerland.
In December the Institute members were joined at the last seminar meeting by Dr. "Skip" Vichness (1976) of New York who took part in the presentations and discussion. The following evening, the members of the Institute and their guests were joined by Dr. Don Barry (1971) and Skip and Ilana Vichness for dinner and "Napoleon cake."
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31st Consortium on Revolutionary Europe, Auburn, AL
On 22 February 2001, ten students, including Rick Black, Mary Cooney, Karen Greene, Matt De La Mater, Kevin McCranie, Alexander Mikaberidze, Laurie Poole, David Raymond, Jack Sigler and Steve Schwamenfeld, of the Institute traveled over to Auburn University for the 31st meeting of the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe; Mary Cooney, Karen Greene, and Jack Sigler gave papers on Chartres, Fréron, and Egypt respectively. A total of twenty-three current students or graduates of the Institute were on the program including Melanie Byrd, Sue Conner, Llew Cook, Phil Cuccia, Everett Dague, Kyle Eidahl, Milton Finley, Glenn Lamar, Richard Long, Mike Leggiere, Amy Johnson Reese, Paul Reese, and John Severn. Honorary members of the Institute, Jerry Gallaher, Eileen Lyon, and David Markham were also on the program, along with our long-time seminar attendee, Peter Doherty, known to many of you as “Talleyrand.”
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Sixth Awards Banquet, INFR
L to R: Back Row - Rick Black, Kevin McCrainie, David Raymond, Kyle Eidahl, Mary Cooney, Laurie Poole, Jack Sigler, David Markham, Karen Green, Amy & Paul Reese, Peter Doherty, Llew Cook, Lenora & Phil Cuccia
Front Row - Matt DeLaMatter, Jerry Gallaher, Annabel & Donald Horward, Mary & Richard Long, Alexander Mikaberidze
The Sixth Annual Awards Banquet was held on 23 February at the Hunters Restaurant outside of Auburn. Twenty-six Institute members and guests enjoyed a memorable steak feast and five members received pins and a warm welcome into the Institute. After recognition of achievement, the members were treated to a delightful "Napoleon Cake" that was so massive that we took almost half of it back to Tallahassee.
D.D. Horward with Alexander Mikaberidze
D.D.Horward and Rick Black
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New Students
We welcome Captains Josh Moon, a graduate of West Point, and Jason Musteen, a graduate of Central Arkansas University who will be preparing to teach at West Point. They will be joined by Kenny Johnson of California State University at Northridge, and Jolynda Chenicek, a graduate of FSU and National Board Certified in History and Social Science. They will hold Fellowships funded by Ben Weider and the College of Arts and Sciences.
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West Point Contingent
Of our West Point "contingent," Major Phil Cuccia, who completed his doctorate this spring, taught the Napoleon course this fall, while Major Steve Delvaux directed the thousand-student Military Art History course. Major Paul Reese served as course deputy director and next year he will be responsible for leading the Military Art course. In the meantime, Paul and Amy Reese took a dozen West Point cadets to the German battlefields of WWII in June, before continuing their research in France and Scotland. In October, Majors Phil Cuccia, Paul Reese, and Steve Delvaux presented papers at the 2001 meeting of the Napoleonic Alliance, and Brian de Toy gave the banquet address. At a small ceremony in Thayer Hall, attended by Paul and Amy Reese, Lenora and Phil Cuccia, Steve Delavaux, and Annabel and D.D. Horward, a 1976 graduate of the Institute and former president of the American Camping Association, Dr. “Skip” Vichness, received his belated Institute pin for his work on William Carr Beresford and contributions to education.
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Awards
Among our students and alumni, Paul Krajeski, received the Literary Award 2000, Second Prize of the International Napoleonic Society for his volume, In the Shadow of Nelson, The Naval Leadership of Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, 1753-1812, published by Greenwood Press. The volumes of Glenn Lamar on Jérôme Bonaparte and Matt Dawson on the French Party in America have already received complementary reviews, and Margaret Chrisawn's book on Lannes was published this spring. Karen Green and Kevin McCranie received fellowships to attend the West Point Summer Seminar in June. Jack Sigler was awarded an Everett Helm Visiting Fellowship from the Lilly Library at the University of Indiana to do work in their Manuscripts Division.
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Placement
Glenn Lamar will be the Visiting Professor at the Air University in Montgomery, AL for the coming academic year. Kevin McCranie accepted a tenure tract position as an assistant professor at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, GA.
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Baron Jomini Visits Institute in December, 2000: Establishes Fellowship in Memory of General Antoine-Henri Jomini
Baron Roger Jomini and his wife Gladys again visited FSU's Institute this December. In addition to several Institute dinners, receptions and music concerts, Baron Jomini gave several speeches on his famous ancestor - General Antoine-Henri Jomini, who was an adviser to Emperors Napoleon I and III and Tsars Alexander I and II, and Nicolas I. He detailed Jomini’s early career in the Imperial armies and his defection to Russia in 1812. After Waterloo, the General remained in the Russian army and was eventually appointed commander- in-chief of the Russian armies.
Although Baron Jomini’s career has focused on Swiss International Banking, he has written exclusively about the subject, which includes his volume “From Babylon to Wall Street.” He has long maintained a serious interest in the military history and General Jomini, and has given numerous papers in Europe on various subjects relating to the period 1750-1870.
Upon his return home, Baron Jomini, duly impressed with the quality of the students and the activities of the Institute, announced that he was transfering $10,000.00 from his Swiss bank account to the institute for the creation of the “General Antoine-Henri Jomini Research/Travel Fellowship in Napoleonic Studies.” The Institute accepted this generous gift with pride and honor, especially from one whose ancestor played very significant role in the Napoleonic Wars and the age that followed.
Jomini’s Biography
In November of 2001, a new biography on General Antoine-Henri Jomini, written by Baron Roger Jomini and his wife Gladys, was published. In the opening pages of the volume, they honor the Institute announcing: "The full proceeds from the sale of this book are given to the General Antoine-Henri Jomini Fellowship in Napoleonic Studies at Florida State University, Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution in Tallahassee." In addition, they transferred an additional $5,000.00 to the Jomini Fellowship fund. All of those associated with the Institute are gratified and honored by this gift in memory a man who has left an indelible mark on our world.
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Director
In the fall of 2000, D.D. Horward, as a contributor to the PBS four-hour documentary on Napoleon, attended the premiere showing of the film at the French Consulate General in New York City. He took part in a panel discussion of the film in New York, and in November he lectured at West Point, the Naval Postgraduate School outside Washington, D.C., and the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
He presented a paper on Napoleon and leadership at the 31st Consortium meeting at Auburn and chaired the Egyptian session. In June he gave a presentation on Napoleon and his army at the 2001 West Point Summer Seminar. In August he held the Chair of Military Affairs at the U.S. Marine College at Quantico, and gave a series of seminars on the Napoleonic Tactics, The People’s War in the Peninsula, and Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. He presented the fall lecture, “Napoleon: The Man and his Genius for War” to the 2001-2002 Class of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, and a seminar entitled, “Myths of the Napoleonic Period” to the history faculty of the West Point. He attended the annual Director’s Meeting and Conference of the Napoleonic Alliance. At the banquet, he was named the “First John Elting Scholar for his extraordinary contributions to the study of Napoleonic History.”
He was co-editor of the 2000 Selected Papers of the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe. His chapter, "Napoleonovo tazení roku 1805 a válka v Perském zálivu-studie historickych souvislostí," appeared in Sborník Prednásek, IV. Mezinárodniho Napoleonského Kongresu this past year.
In December, D.D. Horward was informed by the French Minister of Education that by a decree of the French Prime Minister, he had been promoted to the rank of commander in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques.
L to R : Annabel Horward, Phil Cuccia, Amy & Paul Reese, Llew & Michele Cook, Becky Hayes, Kevin McCrainie, Karen Greene, Jack Sigler, Rick Black