The Louis Clergerie Letter Website · michaeldbush.org/clergerie
This website serves as a permanent, accessible presentation of the discovery and research surrounding the letter of Louis Clergerie, written aboard the French naval transport Le Jura in 1859–1860. It is intended primarily for Annie's family — present and future generations — as well as any historians or genealogical researchers who may encounter it.
The tone should match the documents themselves: warm, serious, historically grounded, and visually elegant. It is not a database application. It is closer to a curated digital exhibition — the kind of thing a museum might produce for a single remarkable artifact.
The site will present the following materials:
| Item | Description | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Primary document | The original four-page letter — scanned JPG images | Viewer with French transcription and English translation |
| Historical context | Narrative on the Second Empire, the China campaign, Le Jura, and Louis Clergerie's unit | Dedicated page with embedded voyage map |
| Scherer PDF study | French artillery in the China campaign of 1860 — confirms and contextualizes the letter | Summary on site; full PDF available for download |
| Word document | Full transcription and historical analysis report | Available for download |
| Research guide | Step-by-step guide to SHD archives, civil records, and online resources | Dedicated page with contact details and draft request letter |
| Family connection | Who Louis Clergerie was, how the letter was discovered | About page |
The site is a single-domain, multi-page static presentation. Navigation is simple and non-hierarchical — all main sections are reachable from every page via a persistent header menu. There is no user login, no comment system, no database interaction.
The entry point. A full-bleed hero image of letter page 1, the opening line in Louis's handwriting, a brief orienting paragraph, the ocean sunset passage as epigraph, and navigation cards leading to each section.
The centerpiece. A page-by-page viewer with the letter image and transcription side by side on wide screens (stacked on mobile). Language tab switcher (Français | English) above the text panel. Thumbnails of all four pages for navigation. Lightbox for full-resolution viewing.
Three flowing sub-sections: (1) Louis Clergerie and the Troupes de Marine; (2) Le Jura and its voyage, with the embedded SVG map; (3) The Second Opium War — battle of Palikao, sack of the Summer Palace, Treaty of Peking. Pull-quotes from the letter throughout.
Summary of the Scherer military study findings relevant to Louis and the Jura, including the passage specifically naming the Jura's cargo. Download button for the full PDF.
Six-step guide: established facts about Louis; the Clergerie surname (Dordogne/Corrèze origin); SHD Vincennes (sous-série 43 Yc) with address, hours, contact, and draft request letter; SHD Toulon (série C); departmental civil archives with links; online resources (Geneanet, Filae, Gallica, Mémoire des Hommes).
Clean listing of all downloadable documents: the Word transcription, the Scherer PDF, a combined letter PDF (all four pages), and the draft SHD request letter.
Brief family connection statement, research origin narrative, and attribution. Intentionally short and warm in tone.
The visual design should feel like the letter itself — aged paper, ink, the weight of history — not a government archive or genealogy database. The reference is a beautifully designed book opened on a screen.
| Role | Primary Font | Fallback |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | Playfair Display | Georgia, serif |
| Body text | Source Serif 4 | Georgia, serif |
| Labels, captions, code | DM Mono | Courier New, monospace |
aria-live regionsessionStorageTarget: WCAG 2.1 AA. All images have descriptive alt text; color contrast ratios meet minimum requirements; lightbox is keyboard-navigable with ARIA announcements; text is resizable without layout breakage; no content is conveyed by color alone; French text blocks are marked lang="fr".
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Host | Alabama — Raspberry Pi, Apache, existing michaeldbush.org installation |
| Path | michaeldbush.org/clergerie/ |
| Development | ELMORE — Ubuntu 24.04, AMD Ryzen 7 7700X |
| Deployment | Copy from ELMORE to Alabama via existing CIFS mount |
The following questions were posed and answered by the client prior to the Technical Specification:
| Question | Decision |
|---|---|
| Subdomain or subdirectory? | michaeldbush.org/clergerie — subdirectory |
| Voyage map: SVG or static image? | Stylized SVG map, itinerary confirmed from letter and Scherer PDF |
| Letter layout: tabbed or side-by-side? | Side-by-side on wide screens, stacked on mobile; both languages included |
| English translation: include now? | Yes — include from initial launch |
| Family connection detail? | "Louis was a member of Annie's great-grandfather's family" |
| Site title? | The Louis Clergerie Letter: A Soldier's Account of the China Campaign, 1860 |