Why this site exists
Bicorne Journal began the way a lot of obsessions do — accidentally. I first ran into Napoleon the way most people my age do now: in a string of social media clips. A short breakdown of Austerlitz here, a meme about his height there, a video explaining why the invasion of Russia went wrong. Bite-sized stuff. But the more I watched, the more obvious it became that the soundbites weren’t doing the era justice. The 1790s through 1815 reshaped Europe, invented modern warfare, broke the Spanish empire, and set in motion the political alignments that ran straight through to the First World War. Twenty-three years of history. A few clips wasn’t enough.
So I started reading — the major biographies, then the campaign histories, then deep into the wars themselves. Somewhere in the middle of that, I noticed that what I wanted to read didn’t really exist in one place online. The good academic histories are gated behind university libraries and dense prose. Most accessible internet content is either thin recaps of Wikipedia or 20-minute YouTube essays. There wasn’t a clean, well-organized, written archive of the era for the curious reader who wanted depth without a PhD.
Bicorne Journal is my attempt to build that archive.
The editorial approach
I’m not a historian. I’m a serious, careful reader writing what I’d want to read myself — researched articles on the people, battles, campaigns, tactics, and politics of the Napoleonic age. Every article is anchored in published sources, which I cite. Where historians disagree, I lay out the disagreement instead of pretending there’s a tidy answer. Where the story is uncertain, I say so.
I use AI as a research and drafting tool — the same way other writers use it today. But every claim is checked against a real source before publication, every article is edited by hand, and the editorial voice and opinions are mine.
About the byline
I write under “Jack R.” It’s me — just half a name, for privacy reasons. The contact form below is the best way to reach me.
What’s next
The current focus is the Waterloo campaign, the marshals of the Empire, and the major battles. From there the site will work outward through the Peninsular War, the Russian campaign, naval warfare, and the politics of the Congress of Vienna. If there’s a topic you want covered, send a note — reader suggestions drive what gets written next.
— Jack R.