In 1812, Napoleon had invaded Russia with the aim of forcing Tsar Alexander I to remain in the Continental System and to remove a threatened Russian invasion of Poland. His Grand Army crossed the River Niemen in June 1812 and the Battle of Borodino followed in September 1812 ending in a tactical defeat for the Russians and the opening of the road to Moscow for Napoleon. By 14 September, Moscow had been captured but the Russians had largely abandoned the city. The Tsar refused to capitulate and the city Governor ordered the burning of Moscow. Without a clear victory, Napoleon began the retreat from Moscow and a return to Paris.

In the Moscow Campaign, Napoleon had lost 380,000 men and another 100,000 had been captured, and seeing an opportunity, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States re-entered the war. Major battles in Germany in 1813 included Luetzen and Bautzen in May 1813, Dresden in August 1813, and the Battle of Leipzig (the Battle of the Nations) in October 1813. Napoleon would subsequently lose the French Campaign in 1814, and go into exile on Elba briefly before being defeated finally at Waterloo in 1815.

The description of events near Sottrum, North Germany - between Ottersberg and Rotenburg, just to the southwest of Hamburg - which is the focus of the material of this collection, can be read in the context of events in Germany at the time, and just prior to the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. The description appears to have been written 50 years after the event and tells of the rout of between six thousand and eight thousand French troops by a handful of Hamburg volunteers and cossacks.