French Exiles Try To Pull Fast One On Spaniards

A boatload of Napoleonic exiles sailed from Philadelphia on Dec. 18, 1817, on a mysterious mission to establish a secret beachhead in Spanish Texas.

Because he always liked to keep power in the family, Napoleon Bonaparte put no fewer than four siblings on as many European thrones. His oldest brother Joseph ruled Spain for five years before fleeing with 50 million francs to, of all places, New Jersey.

In the aftermath of the disaster at Waterloo in 1815, the Little Corporal himself tried to reach sanctuary in the United States. But the victors got wind of his vacation plans and deposited him for safekeeping on the island of Saint Helena 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa.

Hundreds of Napoleon