“Peace” is a term many people in the
modern times take for granted, especially those living in fairly well-off
societies. However, little did they thought of the men, the regular Napoleonic
foot soldier who fought for his very life few hundred years ago, the lucky yet terrified
survivor from Napoleon’s erroneous Russian campaign; little did they thought of
Jacob Walter. Written in the form of diaries and eventually collected into a
coherent book, “The Diary of a Napoleonic foot soldier” details the story of
Walter when he served in the Napoleonic army and contrasts in vivid detail the
state of war and peace.
Walter himself, when writing the diaries,
probably never expected his writings to be a precious primary source for both
the historians and future citizens to read and reflect upon. His writings were
meant to be a self-reflection, a way for him to memorize the struggles he went
through as a Napoleonic soldier. Yet, the apparent juxtaposition of tone and
imagery Walter used from the start of his hellish Russian campaign to his eventual
survival and retirement transcends his initial purpose of preserving memory,
and to modern day readers, the text establishes a convincingly portrayal of the
ineffable value of peace.
The anxious tone and despondent imagery that
characterized Walter’s description of his Russian campaign was distinctly
contrasted with the joyous tone and delightful imagery of Walter when he
reached his town and was at peace at last. The horrifying anxiety and sense of
foreboding, the belief that “I might be taken over by the peasant village and
killed”, the need of “to ride as quickly as possible over crack of ice to avoid
the villagers” (Walter 97) changed imminently to the happiness of seeing his
friends, “the feeling of heavenly joy, of the providence of God, and of the
miracle of nature” (Walter 107) when he returned to a state of peace. No longer
does Walter feel the danger of being killed nor the need to ride quickly. His
peaceful position, as the tone portrays, allows Walter to slow down and feel
happiness, feel God, and feel nature.
Walter is lucky; he is one of the few who truly comprehends the great value of peace.
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