10 Incredible Ways People Faced Up To Their Own Death

4. Michel Ney (1815)... Used His Last Wish To Command His Own Firing Squad To Shoot Him

If Napoleon Bonaparte, who is hardly a man renowned for his niceties, labels you "Le Brave des Braves" ("the bravest of the brave") then you must be doing something right. And that is exactly how he referred to his military commander Marshal Michel Ney.

A man who had fought bravely during the Napoleonic wars, Ney was arrested and captured when his leader was defeated, dethroned and captured in 1815. Ney was tried for treason and refused to stand trial in a Prussian court, instead being found guilty in Paris in December 1815.

Sentenced to death by firing squad, Ney was granted one last wish - which he used to ask for control over his own execution.

Refusing to wear a blindfold, as is customary, Ney then reportedly told the firing squad:

"Soldiers, when I give the command to fire, fire straight at my heart.

"Wait for my order. It will be my last to you.

"I protest against my condemnation. I have fought a hundred battles for France, and not one against her... Soldiers, fire!"

Ney intended to send a message to many of Napoleon's other marshals who had decided to abandon their former leader's legacy in the manner of his death. He was a Napoleonic servant until the very end.