The First Lady Mistaken for Napoleon’s Sister

Deception is your friend when the world’s most notorious prisoner interrupts your travel plans

Louisa Adams painted by Charles Robert Leslie, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Future First Lady Louisa Adams spent six years in St. Petersburg while her husband, John Quincy, was the U.S. minister (read about their Russian adventures in my previous story). John left Russia in 1814 to help negotiate a truce with the British. Finally, in February of 1815, he asked Louisa to join him in Paris as he awaited his next post.

Louisa, fed up with Russia, was more than happy to oblige.

There was just one problem.

She now had to get herself, her 8-year-old son, and her son’s nurse across a continent ravaged by the Napoleonic wars. To make matters worse, it was the dead of winter — the same Russian winter that had helped decimate Napoleon’s army.

“Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow” by Adolph Northen, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

She had two men with her: a servant posted to their embassy and a former French soldier who’d been taken prisoner in Russia and just wanted to go home.

Two nights before leaving, she visited a friend to say goodbye. An uninvited guest, Countess Apraxin, did a card…