Eugénie de Montijo de Guzman, Countess of Teba, was born at Grenade in 1826. Wife of Emperor Napoleon III in 1953, she pushed him into the Mexican War in 1862. The song "Eugénie", initially belonging to Breton marines, was dedicated to the beautiful Empress of the French. Its lyrics talk about the expeditionary corps’ departure for Vera Cruz, where they landed in January 1862.
20 mars 1863 - Guerre du Mexique - Siège et prise de Puebla
par les troupes françaises - Art populaire - MUCEM, Paris
The squadrons of the 5 th Hussars and the legionnaires used the same boats to cross the Atlantic . The Foreign Legion and the 5 th Hussars bravely distinguished themselves at Camerone and Puebla respectively. This campaign which was thought to last for a few months, only ended in 1867, after a five long years of fighting. It claimed 5000 lives within the French army and ended up in a political fiasco. Eugénie finally died in 1920, at the age of 94.
In 1984, the song on this page, sung by the choir of the 4 th Hussars, became the traditional song of the 5 th Hussars (Lauzun’s Hussars), thanks to the initiative of the corps leader, Colonel Jacques Gagniard. The Legion also made it one of its traditional songs.
Eugénie de Montijo,
Empress of the French,
1853 official portrait.
Palace of Versailles
Frantz Xaver Winterhalter
Eugénie
