Napoleon and Washington were not quite exact contemporaries. The French general and emperor was born more than thirty years after Washington (in 1769) and died twenty-two years after Washington (in 1821). He seized political power in France in 1799, the year that Washington died. Nevertheless, for a period of roughly three decades, their lives overlapped.
In addition to being major historical figures, Napoleon and Washington share a number of other characteristics. Both were military men who became leaders of their country. Both fought the British. Both became widely admired in their lifetimes by their countrymen. Of course, there are also many differences between the two. For one thing, Washington came to power through democratic means, Napoleon through a coup d'etat. However, perhaps the greatest contrast between the two men is their attitude toward power. Napoleon seized power and held on to it for years, until he was forced to relinquish it by military defeat. In contrast, according to John Clubbe, in an article entitled "Between Emperor and Exile: Byron and Napoleon" (Napoleonic Scholarship: The Journal of the International Napoleonic Society, Volume 1, No. 1, April 1997, found at napoleon-series.org):
Washington astonished his European contemporaries, not for his generalship or his presidency, but because after the Revolution he renounced power and returned to his Virginia estates. To many Europeans he appeared, by this act, to have no rival in virtue.
To this might be added the fact the Washington was at one point was urged to become a king, but he forthrightly rejected the idea--yet another clear contrast with Napoleon.
It is this contrast between the two men--their attitude toward power--that the English Romantic poet Lord Byron--a one-time admirer of Napoleon-- sought to make in the following lines from his poem "Ode to Napoleon Buonoparte":
But thou [Napoleon] forsooth must be a king,
And don the purple vest,
As if that foolish robe could wring
Remembrance from thy breast.
Where is that faded garment? where
The gewgaws thou wert fond to wear,
The star, the string, the crest?
Vain froward child of empire! say,
Are all thy playthings snatched away?
Where may the wearied eye repose
When gazing on the Great;
Where neither guilty glory glows,
Nor despicable state?
Yes --one--the first--the last--the best--
The Cincinnatus of the West,
Whom envy dared not hate,
Bequeath'd the name of Washington,
To make man blush there was but one!
In this poem Byron likens Washington to Cincinnatus, the ancient Roman general who led his army to victory and then returned to his farm, refusing to hold on to power. Such an action is rare in history, so it is not surprising that Washington's similar action elicited such wonder and admiration at the time. Unfortunately, the opposite sort of behavior is still typical of many political leaders even today, who would rather see their countrymen suffer than give up power--like Bashar al-Assad of Syria or Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. This sad reality should make us all the more appreciative of our first president, the "Cincinnatus of the West," who declined to be like Napoleon.
Image of Napoleon from commons.wikimedia.org