A month later, the date was June 18th, 1835.
Napoleon II stood in the Arsenal de Brest beside his father, Napoleon I. The morning air carried the smell of salt from the harbor mixed with the metallic scent of fresh steel and machine oil.
The naval yard was crowded.
Workers from the shipyards stood in large groups along the edges of the ceremony grounds, many still wearing their work coats. Politicians and senior military officers occupied the seats closest to the platform. Behind them stood foreign observers—diplomats and naval attachés from various European states who had traveled to Brest after hearing about the new warship France was preparing to unveil.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the massive vessel resting on the inclined slipway.
The battleship dominated the entire yard.
Her hull rose above the dockyard structures like a dark steel wall. Riveted plates ran along her sides in clean rows, reflecting the pale light of the morning sky.
