Books. “Proud to be Agenais 3”: the story of an image

Volume III of the book series “Proud to be Agenais” (which brings together previously unpublished archive images from Agen) is now on sale this weekend at newsagents. It is also available in two bookstores: Martin-Delbert in the city center and Cultura, in Agen-sud.
This volume III presents some 70 images, taken from the private funds of readers of Le Petit Bleu. Sport, culture, old-fashioned shops, construction sites, climatic events, etc. : this new opus completes volumes I and II, having enjoyed great success in 2021 and 2022.

119 years ago

Each document has its own story, and readers of this third volume will notice that some photo captions are longer this time. This is the case for an image taken 119 years ago, or more precisely on December 2, 1905. We see the 9th Line Infantry Regiment (or “9th Line”) assembled in full in the main courtyard from the Lacué barracks. The site is today occupied by the administrative city, and nearby is a street called “cours du 9e de ligne”. This name was given in 1919 to the former Cours du Gravier, to pay tribute to this unit which left nearly 2,000 dead on the battlefields of the Marne and Verdun.

The 9th RI in the Austerlitz sun

This photo of the regiment at attention was found in the souvenir album that the 9th RI gave to conscripts. Our reader Jean-Pierre Verdier has kept this very rare album, which he got from one of his ancestors, and under this photo a date, and a riddle: December 2, 1905.
December 2? The date of Napoleonic remembrance? Strange to point out this date in this album, the young Third Republic banning any official reference to the “Bonapartist adventure” marked by December 2, 1804 (Austerlitz), December 2, 1805 (the coronation of the Emperor) and December 2, 1851 ( coup d'état of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte). After research, here is the explanation: in 1804, the 9th Line Infantry Regiment had distinguished itself during the Battle of Austerlitz, and its flag bore the name in gold letters.

This glory acquired on the field of honor was celebrated every December 2 – until 1914: the colonel of the 9th Rl granted exceptional leave to his soldiers on that day, and an aperitif was even offered to the officers. The photo published in volume III of “Proud to be Agenais” was taken on this occasion, or when the army of the Republic commemorated the Napoleonic gesture in Agen…
A long text, and several images, tells this story in more detail because this famous 9th line from Agen was one of the oldest regiments in France. Ex-Royal Regiment of Normandy, it is also part of the Six Grands Vieux, the “founding club” of the French army.
A story to be found in “Proud to be Agenais 3”, a book which will be signed on Saturday December 7 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Martin-Delbert bookstore, boulevard de la République in Agen.