Did one of Napoleon's Marshals live incognito in the U.S.A. or was he hung?

There is a place where the Spanish Moss is abundant. The birds are singing pleasantly, the flowers are in bloom and the views are spectacular. This describes the present-day experience of Airle Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina.

But when you stroll through the gardens you come upon a mystery grave. This grave is rumored to be one of Napoleon Bonaparte Marshals that was presumed executed in France in 1812.

Mystery Grave at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North CarolinaPhoto byColorado Martini

Airlie Garden's Mystery Grave

In 1735, King George II of England granted 640 acres of land to the Ogden family. In 1800, Joshua Grainger Wright purchased 320 acres of the Ogden grant on Bradley Creek for 110 pounds. His wife, Susan Bradley Wright, names the property Mount Lebanon because of the abundance of cedar trees in the area (a Bible reference).

In 1835 their son, Dr. Thomas Henry Wright, a physician, bank president, railroad director, merchant, and Episcopal minister, builds Mount Lebanon Chapel on the property.

Around the same time, the family hired a live-in tutor for Richard Bradley Jr.’s children. He went by the name of “John Hill.” Mr. Hill is a bit of a man of mystery. Historians do know that he was buried in a lone grave on Airlie Garden's property.

Who was this mystery man? He is rumored to be one of Napoleon’s marshals. Who spent his later years living at Wrightsville Sound under the assumed name John Hill.

Who is the Mystery Man

Mount Lebanon Chapel is now a historic Episcopal chapel with an adjacent cemetery located on the grounds of what is now Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. The cemetery contains 142 burials dating from 1815 to 2016. The structure is the oldest known surviving church in New Hanover County.

The chapel site on the land that was part of the 320-acre tract of the Wright’s Mount Lebanon. Dr. Wright gave the chapel to the local St. James Parish. The unknown lone grave sits outside the Mount Lebanon cemetery. So, it must have been created just before the chapel’s construction. The lone grave’s reads:

Headstone: Known in Eternity. Footstone: J J H 1838.

It is thought by historians this is the grave of John J. Hill. But it is also thought that Hill was one of Napoleon's twelve marshals, Michel Ney. Who is said to have been executed on December 5, 1815.

John Hill's "Mystery Grave" at Airlie GardensPhoto byColorado Martini

John J. Hill is said to have been a mysterious Frenchman who was hired to tutor the children of the family who then owned the property. The man was well-educated and reportedly well-liked and loved to sit beneath the Live oak trees on the property.

Following his death, some of his paperwork was found in which he stated, "I am the Marshall," which prompted speculation that he was actually Michel Ney.

Michel Ney was the 1st Prince de la Moskowa (Moscow), 1st Duke of Elchingen, a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Michel Ney Marshal of the Empire - 1805Photo byPublic Domain

According to history, Ney’s ending days were when he rejoined Napoleon during the "Hundred Days" but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo (1815). After which he was charged with treason by the restored French monarchy and executed by firing squad. So, they say.

Execution of Marshall NeyPhoto byPublic Domain

The Plot Thickens

Records were found in Charleston, South Carolina, that indicate the arrival of “Peter Stewart Ney" (also spelled "Stuart") the year following Ney's execution. This is suspicious because Ney's father was named Peter, and his mother's maiden name was Stewart.

Another man in North Carolina claimed to be the infamous Michel Ney and went by the name of Peter Stuart Ney. A local schoolteacher.

The story of Peter Stuart Ney first appeared in 1856 in an article written by one of his students. Ney denied the rumors and what was stated in the article. But when he was intoxicated, he was all about being the Marshal. It is also said he made a full confession on his deathbed, “I will not die with a lie on my lips, I am Marshal Ney of France.”

A researcher amassed conclusive evidence that the true Marshal Ney did not escape the firing squad. He also found an 1820 application for citizenship filed by Peter Stuart Ney in South Carolina and a record of his baptism in Scotland.

Peter Ney is buried in Third Creek Presbyterian Church in Rowan County, Cleveland, NC. Recently, a French TV series called History and the Scalpel, investigated whether Peter Stewart Ney, North Carolina schoolteacher was actually Marshal Michel Ney.

Peter Stuart Ney tomb in Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Cleveland, Rowan County, North CarolinaPhoto byColorado Martini

The French team found no remains in the grave. The grave has been exhumed before. So, it is thought that souvenir hunters took the bones during those previous digs. They did have a skull fragment from when the grave was exhumed in the late 1800’s. Based on that fragment, the French investigators determined this was not Michel Ney. But I have my doubts on how reliable fragments taken in the 1800’s would be in a DNA analysis.

Do you think the fragment was good enough? Let us know in the comments.

Conclusion

It is bizarre that two men are rumored to be Michel Ney. He was a powerful man and could have somehow replace himself with a poor soul during execution? We may never know the truth.

If you ever find yourself at Airlie Gardens in North Carolina. Make sure to find the Mystery grave.

Do you think that either of these men could have been Michel Ney? Let us know in the comments.

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References

• Unknown Grave on Find-a-grave
• Michel Ney
• French T.V. Show
• WBTV
• Peter Stuart Ney Find a grave