On Saturday, April 16, at the Church of Notre-Dame du Port, the Nice municipality will commemorate, starting at 10 AM, the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Camerone.
The tribute to the combatants will begin at 10:00 AM with a religious service at the Church of Notre-Dame du Port. Around 11 AM, at the end of the mass, a parade will proceed to the Monument aux Morts of Rauba Capeu. There, a reading of the Battle of Camerone will take place, along with the laying of wreaths.
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 2000 men. There were only 8 survivors in the French ranks. This episode is the most famous accomplishment by a French expeditionary corps.
Sent to Mexico by Napoleon III, their objective was the overthrow of President Benito Juarez and the establishment of a Latin and Catholic Empire under the authority of Ferdinand Maximilian, the younger brother of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.
In 1866, the forces withdrew from the country and Ferdinand Maximilian ended up being executed by the Juarists.
