Reburial of Napoleon.
Like those of Inez, the bones of Napoleon were buried a second time with all the pomp and ceremony that a great nation could devise. The body of the great emperor was originally buried under a weeping willow in a secluded hollow among the rocks of Saint Helena. With the Revolution of 1830, however, came a change in the political situation, and this made it possible for the remains of the conqueror to be removed from the lonely island-grave to the magnificent tomb under the dome of the Hôtel des Invalides.
The body was exhumed at midnight on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Napoleon’s arrival at Saint Helena. For nine hours the engineers labored to dig away the earth from the vault, to remove the solid masonry and to lift the heavy slab which covered the sarcophagus. Within a triple coffin of tin, lead, and mahogany lay the emperor, dressed in white waistcoat and breeches, black cravat, long boots and cocked hat, with the cloak he wore at Marengo spread over his feet.