Pages: 348-349

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ROUGH DRAFT OF A BIOGRAPHY OF THE GENERAL OF THE COMMUNE
CLUSERET1.
General Cluseret
Gustave-Paul Cluseret was born in Paris on June 13, 1823. He studied at the Saint-Cyr military school and in 1843 graduated as a junior officer (sous-lieutenant). In 1848, as a lieutenant, he commanded the 23rd battalion of the Guard (? mobiles) and took a very active part in suppressing the uprising in June 1848. Within six hours he took 11 barricades and 3 banners. He received the order (Légion d’honneur*) for this. In 1855, he was appointed captain, participated in the Crimean campaign. Then [left the army and went to America] retired [in 1861 (after the Italian campaign)]. He participated in Garibaldi's army in the war for Italian liberation. As a colonel, he accompanied Garibaldi in the Sicilian campaign (campagne des Deux-Siciles). [In] He went to America in 1861, and during the American Civil War, he received the title of General in the Northern Army. After the victory at Croskeys, he received the right of American citizenship. Then he returned to France. In 1868 he was imprisoned for délit de presse** (for articles in L'Art.) (He was in Saint-Pélagie and made connections with the leaders of the International). He was deported from France as an American citizen for articles de critique militaire***. On September 4, 1870 (the day the republic was proclaimed), he returned to Paris. Then he tried to incite uprisings in Lyon and Marseille. On April 3, 1871, the Commune appointed him Minister of War. On April 16, he was elected a member of the Commune. For the fall (abandon) of Fort Issy, he was removed by the Commune and arrested, but acquitted by a court of comrades. After the fall of the Commune, he fled to England,
* Order of the Legion of Honor. Ed.
** Press offense. Ed.
*** Critical military articles. Ed.


Switzerland, Constantinople (was he also in Constantinople?). After the [fall of the] amnesty, he returned to France in 1881 and worked in the journals La Commune, La Marseillaise. He was convicted again on 26 1 [18]81 for inciting the army (in the newspaper La Commune) to disobedience, sentenced to 2 years in prison and 3,000 francs fine. He fled France again and returned in 1884. He was engaged in painting pictures. In 1889 he was elected in the 2nd district of Toulon with 5,601 votes as a deputy to the Chamber. He belonged to the socialist workers group (groupe ouvrier socialiste). He published L’Armée et la démocratie (1869, in -8°) and three volumes of Memoirs (1887, 2 volumes, in -18°,— an apology for the Commune).
Many of his paintings were exhibited in the Salon.
On August 30, 1872, he was sentenced to death in absentia (par contumace) by the Versailles court.
In 1888, in the elections, he ran as a «candidat révolutionnaire», declaring war on parliamentarism and the radical «Clemenceauist» party.
1 In No. 11 of «Vpered» of March 23 (10), 1905, Lenin's edited translation of Cluseret's essay was published under the title «On Street Fighting. Advice from a General of the Commune». The essay is prefaced by a note by Lenin, which gives brief biographical information about Cluseret. The printed document served as a rough draft of the biography and differs slightly from that published in «Vpered».