Assigned to the La Fere Regiment in Valence -- perhaps the best artillery unit in the army -- Napoleon found garrison life relatively slow, and busied himself with reading and writing. Here he encountered the works of Voltaire and Rousseau among others, and further imbibed the heady spirit of the age, with all its talk of a new social contract and equality among men. He even took to writing essays and stories in the style of Rousseau. To poor to follow the traditional pursuits of wine, women, and gambling, Napoleon became a voracious reader and earned the respect of Baron du Teil, the period's leading theorist of artillery. Napoleon gained invaluable professional experience at the artillery school in Auxonne, from October 1788 to October 1789 and in the summer of 1791. While the early phases of the Revolution unfolded throughout France, Napoleon studied directly under the period's transcendent theorist of artillery, the Baron du Teil, who in turn praised his pupil for his excellence. Napoleon would soon put into practice much of what Baron du Teil advocated. As officers in the peacetime army of Louis XVI could procure prodigious amounts of leave, Napoleon managed to spend nearly a year in his native land, from 1785 to 1786. With Marbeuf no longer governor, the Buonaparte's fortunes in Corsica took a downturn. Napoleon, now head of the family since his father's death, became involved in litigious struggles over the family's mulberry plantation, battling the French bureaucracy over a dishonored contract. In 1787, while on a trip on behalf of his family's legal matters, Napoleon reputedly had his first sexual encounter: with a prostitute he picked up in the Palais Royale. Disillusioning legal defeats and financial setbacks soured Napoleon even further toward French occupation of Corsica. His old dream of following in Paoli's footsteps was rekindled, fueled further by the talk of liberty and rights that was in the air. His ruminations about a future Corsican savior also would spur Napoleon to begin writing a history of his native island. A wave of exciting and violent events was about to inundate France, and Napoleon would be carried along in its wake. More Napoleon: Introductory Guide Introduction Prejudice and Pride Napoleon in Military School The Young Artillerist's Double Life Revolution & Opportunity Women's Fashion During the Revolution The Siege of Toulon Napoleon & Josephine Women's Fashion during the Directory Fame & Glory: Italy Fame & Glory: Egypt Saviour or Usurper Battle of Marengo Civil Achievments Enlightened Despot or Tyrant Napoleon's Siblings The Dawn of Gastronomy Haydn and Beethoven Women's Fashion during the Empire Napoleon's Other Women The Mashalate and Imperial Eagle History's Greatest General? Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #17 Back to Napoleon List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Napoleon LLC. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com Order Napoleon magazine direct