A team of French and Russian archaeologists discovered the 200-year-old skeleton last July during an excavation in the city of Smolensk, 241km east of Moscow.
Digging commander Pierre Malinowski shared with CNN that after exhuming the remains, he flew straight from Moscow to Marseille carrying part of the femur and teeth to compare DNA with the general’s mother, brother and son. army. He said: “A professor in Marseille conducted extensive experiments and the DNA samples matched 100%.”
Marina Nesterova, head of the archaeological team, told AFP: “As soon as I saw the skeleton with only one leg, I knew immediately that I was looking for him.”
Charles-Etienne Gudin, a 44-year-old general, was known as Napoleon’s effective “tiger general”. He died after being hit by a cannonball during the Battle of Valutino on August 19, 1812, near the city of Smolensk in eastern Russia. Le Point newspaper said DNA from the body unearthed in Russia matched that of Pierre César Gudin’s brother, also a general under Napoleon. The remains were also reported to match those of his mother and son, Charles Gabriel César Gudin.
General Charles-Etienne Gudin died of gangrene as a result of a gunshot wound. At that time, the Russian capital was located 402km east of the French military position. Soldiers under his command cut out his heart, and is currently buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in France, with the rest of his body buried in Russia. The search was funded by French historians and former adviser Pierre Malinovsky and approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Charles Etienne Gudin was Napoleon’s most effective “tiger general”. He died on August 19, 1812, but the whereabouts of his body have been a mystery for nearly two centuries.
Napoleon is said to have cried when he heard of Gudin’s death in Russia. After his death, Gudin’s name was engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. General Gudin is described as a “lion in battle”.
President Putin’s Kremlin soon commented that the discovery of this body was a “very important archaeological discovery”. President Putin also discussed this with French President Emmanuel Macron last August, before the DNA confirmation was announced.
