Napoleon's last words

Two words, reported by the witnesses on Saint Helena: “head”, “army”. They were said to have been spoken distinctly on the morning of 5 May 1821, a few hours before his death. Nobody has ever known what connected them in his mind, and that is exactly what made them famous.

Date5 May 1821

PlaceLongwood, Saint Helena

Words reported“head”, “army”

Time of deathLate afternoon

WitnessesHis household in exile

In Paris since1840

What the sources say, and what they do not

The accounts collected from his household report these two separate words, heard in the early morning. Some versions add variants — “France”, “Joséphine” — which were grafted on later and which no direct testimony supports. The two reliable words remain the barest, and that is just as well: they make no literature of it.

The rest of the day is well documented. The agony was long; he died in the late afternoon; an officer of the guard was appointed to watch over the grave. The medical circumstances are on the page about his death, and the journey of his body to the Dôme on the tomb page.

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Frequently asked questions

What were Napoleon's last words?

“Head” and “army”, reported by witnesses on the morning of 5 May 1821.

Did he say “Joséphine”?

That version is later and is not supported by direct testimony.