Archibald Arnott | |
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| Born | (1772-04-18)18 April 1772 |
| Died | 1855 (aged 82–83) Ecclefechan, Dumfries, Scotland |
| Occupation | British Army surgeon |
| Known for | Napoleon's doctor onSt. Helena |
Archibald Arnott (18 April 1772 – 1855) was aBritish Armysurgeon best remembered asNapoleon's doctor onSt. Helena, who was present at the Emperor'sautopsy.[1] In his retirement he returned to Ecclefechan, where he is buried.
He entered the British Army on 14 April 1795 and was posted to the11th Hussars as an assistant surgeon. Arnott was promoted to surgeon on 23 August 1799. He followed his unit toHolland and was present at the storming of theentrenchments atKrabbendam. He was later transferred to the20th Regiment of Foot atMenorca and was present at thestorming of Alexandria. He continued to serve with the 20th Regiment atMalta,Sicily andCalabria and was present at theBattle of Maida.
He continued to serve with the 20th Regiment at theVimiera and in the retreat from theBattle of Corunna. He followed his unit in theWalcheren expedition where hismilitary unit was decimated by fever. In 1812 Arnott served with theDuke of Wellington in his campaigns until the end of the war, including theBattle of Vittoria, in thePyrenees and inIndia.
As the fourth and last of Napoleon's physicians on St. Helena, Arnott arrived, following his regiment in 1819, and on 21 April 1821 visited Napoleon in his professional capacity. He quickly established excellent relations with the Emperor, becoming his most trusted doctor, and attended to him until his death. The Emperor was bedridden for some days as a result of persistentvomiting and Arnottprescribed potions, with no initial results, eventually prescribing asedative generally thought to beopium, which relieved the Emperor's symptoms. On 3 May, Arnott prescribedcalomel for the Emperor's constipation with good results. Prior to his death, Napoleon ordered asnuff box brought to him and carved an "N" with apen knife and presented it to Dr. Arnott, along with a locket of his hair, a pair of duelling pistols and a handkerchief. The snuff box was last known to be in the possession ofAlan Cunningham, a British Army officer. The pistols are in the collection of the Small Firearms Museum,Warminster, Wiltshire.
During the night following the Emperor's death, Arnott took a death mask made from surgical wax (as no gypsum was available on the island) and inscribed it with his signature and the date 6 Mai 1821. This is now in the collection of the Musée Masséna in Nice, France.
On 3 May 1821 Napoleon gave instructions that should he become insensible, no English physician but Arnott was to touch him. Napoleon died on 5 May 1821, and Arnott attended hispost-mortem examination.[1] The Emperorbequeathed Arnott six hundredNapoleons and the British government gave him an additional payment of five hundredpounds.
After his retirement to Ecclefechan and his estate of Kirconnel Hall, Arnott acquired a collection of anecdotes of the period and wrote an"Account of the last illness, Decease, and Post-mortem appearances of Napoleon" in 1822. Respected by his neighbours, he was buried in Ecclefechan churchyard.
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