On April 16, starting at 10 AM, the city of Nice will pay tribute at the Notre-Dame du Port Church to the fighters on the occasion of the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Camerone.
The Battle of Camerone took place in a Mexican village on April 30, 1863. A small troop of 65 legionnaires, under the command of Captain Danjou, heroically resisted a Mexican army of over 2,000 men. There were only 8 survivors among the French ranks. This episode is the most famous feat accomplished by a French expeditionary corps. Sent to Mexico by Napoleon III, its objective was to overthrow President Benito Juarez and establish a Latin and Catholic Empire under the authority of Ferdinand Maximilian, the younger brother of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. In 1866, the forces withdrew from the country, and Ferdinand Maximilian ended up being executed by the Juarists.
Program:
10:00 AM: Religious service at the Notre-Dame du Port Church,
11:00 AM: End of the mass and procession to the Rauba Capeu War Memorial,
11:30 AM: War Memorial
– Reading of the Battle of Camerone
– Laying of wreaths
