I was reading an old pre-code horror comic (Black Cat Mysteries #43, 1953) and in between the stories was one of those Ripley-style pieces, Weird Facts. The one that caught my attention was the following. Under a picture of a French poilu getting shot in the back by a couple of Bosche comes this caption:
Now, of course, one of the ‘facts’ is absolute malarkey - the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 was a very bloody conflict with many pitched battles and the numbers of dead and wounded on both sides ran into the thousands. ( <choke> I’ll never trust comic books again). But what about the statue? Have they taken some French war memorial and completely misinterpreted it, or is the statue cut from wholecloth too? (Monty is an odd name for a Frenchman.)
NB I thought that maybe they were thinking of some Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but the French didn’t do anything like that until 1920.
There’s a statue out in La Défense, the business district west of Paris, commemorating the defence of Paris against the Prussians. Haven’t been out there for a while but I think it is a sort of liberty figure and a soldier … could this be your Monty ?
Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell, and Monty definitely isn’t a French name or nickname at all.
However, there *is *a very famous statue of a Zouave on the Pont de l’Alma, commemorating those who fought in the Crimean War of the 1850s. Here it is in its vert-de-gris glory : Zouave du pont de l'Alma — Wikipédia.
It’s notable for the fact that it was also used as a measure of sorts : when the Seine river overflowed, the Zouave was used to describe how high the water got to. If his feet were wet, it wasn’t so bad. In 1910 however, the water was up to his shoulders - as well as the waist of most Parisians. Since then, the bridge was rebuilt higher, and the statue is therefore less useful a measure.
It’s very much a Parisian icon, so maybe that’s what your comic spun on ?
Other than that, the only 1870 memorial I know of is the statue on the Place du Sacré Coeur, but it was apparently built in 1911 and doesn’t depict anyone in particular so…
Of course, we lost that particular war, so it’s not surprising us proud Parisians don’t make much fuss about it
Missed edit window for a quick nitpick : “poilu” is a term referring to 1914-18 soldiers specifically. It means “hairy” and refers to the sorry hygienic state of soldiers who had to spend months on end in a muddy ditch. It’s not used in any other context.
Could it be a very incorrect reference to Jean Baptiste Antoine Auget de Montyon? One of the prizes given from his endowment is “the “prix de vertu” for the most courageous act on the part of a poor Frenchman.”
Monthyon is also a district in France.
There was a General François Gédéon Bailly de Monthyon, as well. He may have lived from 1776-1850, though it’s really not that clear from that pathetic wiki. He has a statue (well, a bust).
Ah, he also has a wiki under the name Monthion. (sorry, the wiki is in French; I’m not seeing anything resembling your comic book fact on a quick read, though).
