FRANCE, Second Empire, Silver Croix de Chevalier de la Légio - Lot 93

FRANCE, Second Empire, Silver Croix de Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur awarded to a conscript of 1808, former Grenadier of Napoleon I Small enamel chips, slight indentation With ribbon Diameter: 40 mm In a case made by Ouizille Lemoine, rue Duphot n°7 Paris Documents relating to the recipient of the decoration (service record and correspondence, press articles, military booklet) are enclosed. Provenance M Claude Balmont (b. 1788), known as "Tonton Tranche-Montagne", served in Napoleon's armies between 1808 and 1815 as a grenadier, then in the ranks of the 24th infantry regiment. After serving the Emperor, he became the surveyor for the commune of La-Tour-De-Salvagny. He was awarded the St. Helena medal and the Légion d'Honneur in 1864, under the Second Empire, for his commitment to the army, then to the administrative services of the Empire, and finally to the commune of La-Tour-De-Salvagny, of which he was mayor. By succession, in the family ever since.