Camp De Chalons Stereo Card

Stereoscopic view period albumen print

"Disheveled"

Legendered on the back by hand: "On vient de tirer une bordée et l'on rentre un peu débraillé"

The Chalons camp was created by imperial decree on November 15, 1856 under Napoleon III and inaugurated on August 30, 1857.

Near Chalons-en-Champagne, this military camp covered some 10,000 hectares. It was intended for training the armies of the Second Empire, in particular for military maneuvers and cavalry exercises.

Since its opening, the camp accommodated 25,000 men housed in tents, and it was also a place of prestige, with infrastructures such as a 2,000-seat theater and "imperial farms" dedicated to agronomy and feeding soldiers.

Many photographers documented the Camp de Chalons in 1857, among them the famous Gustave Legray, who created albums for the emperor and his entourage, as well as amateur photographers such as Jean-Léon Petitjean, who took numerous shots.

Lieutenant of the Imperial Guard voltigeurs and amateur photographer, he was made a knight of the Legion of Honor on July 18, 1856, shortly before his report from Mourmelon. The very choice of subjects photographed at the camp, and the authenticity and credibility of this little visual chronicle of military life are obviously linked to his intimate knowledge of daily garrison life.

link to https://www.lavalisearlesienne.com/product-page/camp-de-chalons-carte-st%C3%A9r%C3%A9o-d%C3%A9braill%C3%A9s-circa-1857