Napoleon’s Kin at New Point Comfort

In late December 1804 a French frigate, Le President, paused at New Point Comfort to
wait out a winter storm. Aboard were Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest brother, Jerome, and his
pregnant wife, Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson of Baltimore. They had hoped to reach France in time
for Napoleon’s coronation, but were delayed. When Napoleon learned about the marriage, he
was furious, as he wanted his siblings to marry into royal families across Europe. When the
young couple touched land, Betsy was denied permission to set foot in continental Europe by
order of Napoleon, who demanded that the marriage annulled. Betsy gave birth to a son in
London on July 7, 1805, and then returned to Baltimore. Jerome, who yielded to his brother’s
demands, wed a German princess although his first marriage had yet to be dissolved. Betsy
returned alone to America with her son and never spoke to Jerome again. In 1815 the Maryland
General Assembly enacted a special decree that made the divorce official.
​
​By Martha McCartney, Passage from Mathews County: Lost Landscapes, Untold Stories