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NAPOLEON
AND
THE MARSHALS
OF
2tc QFmpire.
TWO VOLUMES COMPLETE IN ONE.
WITH FINELY-ENGRAVED PORTRAITS.
VOL. I.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
1855.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.




INTRODUCTORY NOTE.' I WILL record the deeds which we have performed together,"'
were the parting words of the emperor to his old guard at Fontainebleau, in 1814, when he thought that the play was over. But the
curtain rose again, as suddenly as it had fallen: the last and most
dazzling act of the wonderful drama was yet to be exhibited, before
the performance was ready for the critic: and Napoleon, in the end,
imperfectly accomplished his purposes; by hasty and interrupted dictations, at St. Helena, to Montholon, Gourgaud, and Las Cases;
which, however, though requiring frequent verification, and calling
for some caution in the use of them, are yet the true sources of the
history of their author, and have been followed, as closely as practicable, in the present work.
To form a just notion of the military character, either of Napoleon
or of his marshals, it is necessary to consider them in their relations
with one another, as forming parts of the greatest organization for
war that modern history displays. The peculiarity of Napoleon's
military system, after he became emperor, consisted in distributing
his forces into permanent corps d'armee, similar in their constitution
to the Roman legion; each corps consisting of about thirty thousand
men, in four or five divisions, and having an artillery, a cavalry, a
reserve, and a commissariat, of its own, and forming, therefore, a
complete army in itself, capable of acting independently. The command of one of these corps, subordinately to the general orders of
the emperor, formed the proper function of a marshal; and it is, as
moving in such a sphere, that Napoleon's marshals should be viewed,
in justice either to themselves or to the sagacity which selected them
for their positions. With one or two exceptions only, none of them
have just pretensions to be considered in the light of generals-inchief: yet they were all admirably adapted - some by their peculiar
merits, and some by their peculiar faults - tofill their places in the
combination which the genius of the emperor had appointed; and in




4                 INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
the selection of them for particular duties, the judgment of their great
chief was always conspicuously displayed. It is in the management
of such a vast system of armies, too, that the singular faculties of
Napoleon, for complicated operations upon an immense scale, are
most eminently displayed. No mind but his own, perhaps, and no
military organization but such a one as he had contrived, could have
planned or executed the great combination of movements which resulted in the capture of sixty thousand men in Bavaria in 1805.
The number of marshals created by Napoleon was twenty-six.
Of these, eighteen were appointed on the 19th of May, 1804, the
day after his accession to the imperial title: they were, Berthier,
Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, Augereau, Bernadotte, Soult,
Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, Davoust, Bessieres, Kellermann, Lefebvre, Perignon, Serrurier, the last four of whom were then members of the senate. Victor received his baton on the 13th of July,
1807, in acknowledgment of his merit at Friedland. Macdonald,
Oudinot, and Marmont, were appointed on the 12th of July, 1809, a
few days after the battle of Wagram. Suchet's elevation took place
on the 8th of July, 181 1; and St. Cyr's on the 27th of August, 1812:
the former for services in Catalonia, and the latter on account of
achievements in Russia. Poniatowski received this honor on the 16th
of October, 1813, for his valor on the first day of the battle of Leipsig. Grouchy was enrolled in the illustrious order during the " hundred days." Of these twenty-six, two were killed on the field of battle- Lannes at Essling, and Poniatowski on the retreat from Leipsig.
Of the whole band, two now survive - Soult and Marmont.
In the life of Napoleon, in this work, the early years of the emperor, and the circumstances of his rise to distinction, are traced with
particular minuteness, because they have been the subjects of injurious misrepresentation. The Italian campaigns of 1796 and 1797,
and the campaign of France in 1814, are detailed with great fulness,
as being, upon the whole, the most extraordinary exhibition of his military genius and energy of character. The other campaigns - those,
for example, of Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, and Wagram —being
episodes, as it were, in his political history, are thrown into the biography of the marshal who was most distinguished on the particular
occasion. But each campaign is described in reference to the emperor as the centre of operations, and not in reference merely to the
marshal concerned; for that would have produced a distorted and
partial view. Though the learning and abilities of various writers
have been laid under contribution in the preparation of the work, it
is hoped that the labors of the editor have been successful in pre.
serving connexion and unity throughout.




CONTENTS OF FIRST VOLUME.
NAPOLEON............. PAGE 7
MARSHAL JOURDAN...293
MARSHAL SERRURIE]R.. 298
MARSHAL LANNES..306
MARSHAL BRUNE......337
MARSHAL PERIGNON..........342
MARSHAL OUDINOT....345
1*








NAPOLEON.
MORE than half a century has passed away since the
Revolution of France burst upon the world, in mingled
terror and magnificence, fascinating half mankind by the
wildness of its promises, affrighting the other half by
the novelty of its principles, and striking and awing
all by its power, its grandeur, the suddenness of its
origin, and the uncertainty of its result. Yet, the
causes, the true character, the ultimate effects, of that
memorable occurrence, still stand unexplained and inexplicable -the insoluble problems of social philosophy. A thousand pens have traced the progress of its
incidents; the intelligence of many nations has explored its spirit; the antagonist theories of conservatism and progress have thrown their strongest light
upon it; the rhetoric of admiration and of scorn, alike,
has been exhausted in its contemplation: but no real
advancement has yet been made in defining the nature
of the elements that entered into that phenomenon, or
determining the laws of their action, or bringing the
subject into any rational relation with former experience. The organization into which society in France
suddenly resolved itself, and the action which it developed for twenty years, are in opposition to all the prin



S$                  NAPOLEON.
ciples of political science with which we are elsewhere
familiar.  That revolution defies reduction into the
same formula with other historical events; it baffles all
analysis; it violates all analogy: nay, it seems even to
thwart and mock observation itself, for it moves within
itself with such bewildering mechanism that we can not
see it as it was, nor state the fact which we are undertaking to explain. Like a force from another sphere,
coming athwart the politics of Europe, it passed across
the field of history, a prodigy to the past, a terror to
the present, an amazement and a mystery to all future
times.
Fortunately, the political questions connected with
this event-which, if they are of vital importance, are
of an uncomfortable interest and an almost hopeless
difficulty-form no part of the present subject. The
picturesque view of this mighty progression of passion
and power is to be found in its military aspect; and it
is with that alone that we are now concerned. If the
social characteristics of the revolution perplex our reasonings, and its moral tempers repel all sympathy, its
military character redeems it into the cognizance, and
comprehension, and respect of mankind. In whatever
circumstances of system or accident that movement
had its origin, it soon assumed the attitude of a military
antagonism to all Europe and perhaps all the world.
War seemed to be the sanity and the civilization of a
social life, which, under the stress of any less earnest
discipline, lapsed into madness from an excess of energy. The military interests of the French nation during this time are therefore the most cheerful and
genial of all others: they are the regulated vehemence
of a vital force that else would be convulsive and pur



NAPOLEON.                  9
poseless. They are the human workings of a power
which in its other manifestations almost passed out of
mortal responsibility. They reclaim France into the
family of nations, and bring her back upon the platform
of familiar history. With the revolution itself we have
nothing to do at present, except as it furnished the field
upon which the military evolution which we describe
took place, and contributed the moral force which made
the enterprises and the characters of that period so
strenuous and splendid.
The view which a commercial and industrial age
takes of war is, perhaps, as far removed from permanent truth, as that which a military society entertains
respecting trade and mechanics. To one who gets
beyond the feelings and theories of a particular age
and country, and looks upon the history of the world,
from an abstract and positive point of view, war must
present itself as one of the great and regular agents
of providential operation, and one of the established
and permanent conditions of human society. Upon
this subject, we must keep the distinction which the
Author of all truth has taught us to make, between the
qualities of his conduct, by whom events come, and
the character of those events, as appointed and indispensable parts of God's benignant providence to men.
The same act may be a crime in him who does it, and
a blessing to all who partake of it: the same occurrence may be a millstone upon the conscience of its
author, and a life-giving source of goodness, and
strength, and happiness, to all who come within its
influences. The wickedness of him by whom war
comes, is no stain upon the glory of the war when it
has come, nor upon the virtues of those who are com



10                 NAPOLEON.
pelled by duty, or urged by the noblest sentiments of
our nature, to take part in it: nor are the brilliant aspect, or the valuable results of war, any remission of
the guilt of him by whose selfishness, or profligacy, or
thoughtlessness and folly, the war was brought about.
In old and great capitals, the conflagrations which
have taken place from time to time, are connected
with the improvement of the city in beauty, comfort,
and wealth, and are regarded by a remote posterity as
beneficial occurrences; yet this can not dignify the
baseness, nor redeem the indiscretion, nor discharge
the sin, of the incendiary by whose hand the fire
was lighted. Leaving, therefore, the personal accountability of the authors of a war to be judged by a
rule which will dispense approval or condemnation,
according to the objects which justified, or the feelings
which sanctioned, or the necessity of circumstances
which required it, we may hold up war itself, in its
historical view, and as connected with the evolution
of nations, for the respectful contemplation of the philosophic mind, and for the admiration of those who
would reverently behold the scheme of Providence,
and would view the dealings of Him who makes the
wrath of man to praise Him, by illustrating His wisdom,
displaying His power, and accomplishing His purposes.
It is a theme full of interest and grandeur. The
history of war is a record of the fate of opinions, and
principles, and social feelings, and political tendencies
All the great ideas and impulses that agitate corn
munities report ultimately to the battle-field; and thu
issues of combat have determined the progress of religions, the influence of governments, and the direction
and extent of civility itself. But it is the reaction of




NAPOLEON.                  11
foreign hostility upon the domestic character and internal relations of a country which is most fitted to
excite the admiration of the student, and the attention
of the statesman. War seems to be indispensable, not
only to develop and set in action all the forces of national strength, but to knit communities together into.he organization of national life. It is in war, and by
war, that constitutions form themselves. Those admirable, complex schemes of modern polity, which give
such advantageous issue to social action and individual
enterprise, are all the result of military relations: nor
do we know of any other process by which a political
system can be constructed, than by the creative and
combining influence of protracted and repeated wars.
War, therefore, is not an exceptional incident; it can
not be regarded as a mistake of policy, a fault in legislation, an accident of human progress, or a disturbance
in national affairs. If it be not " the natural state of
man," it may properly be called, as to many stages of
their history, the normal state of nations. Their advancement and fullest vigor —their highest intelligence, their keenest enterprise, their most genuine art
-are identified with their most militant eras: their
languor and decay —the decline of invention, the
lapse of morals, the debasement of originality, and the
loss of tone-are consequent upon a long prevalence
of peace. The climacterics of a nation's life can not
well be accomplished under other conditions; and a
people feeling "the madness of superfluous health"
and strength, and prepared to pass into a more developed stage of existence, can as little refrain itself from
war, as an individual, in like circumstances, can abstain
from exercise and action. Our own country contrib



12                NAPOLEON.
utes to an illustration which is supplied from all history, ancient and modern. We owe the American
Union and Constitution to the war of Independence:
they never could have been effected without the organizing influences of that process, and without the institutions which it forced into being, and the interests which
it multiplied around them. The war with Mexico —
self-made —into which the nation unconsciously and
instinctively rushed-has already effectively changed
the constitution of the United States, and is destined
to form a memorable era in our domestic annals.
Such being the political and social functions of war,
it is not surprising if those who exhibit its science and
control its forces, and are surrounded with the lustre
of its glory, command, beyond every other class of
the community, not only the wonder of the people,
but the attention and deference of enlightened and judicious persons. The profession of arms —upon the
first scale of greatness —takes up in itself the peculiar
powers of almost every other profession. It implies
such complexity of duties —such diversity of operation-such contradictory combinations of ardor and
control, of energy and moderation, of terror and conciliation- such mastery of that essential wisdom
which is disclosed by action only, and can be learned
neither from meditation nor from books-that a consummate general may perhaps be regarded as the most
exalted and complete personage that the- world can
see. The moral discipline of war, too-the insensible operation of sublime scenes of danger, effort, endurance, and responsibility, in throwing dignity into
the temper, and cleansing the passions, and bringing
out genuineness of nature —are such as to make the




NAPOLEON.                  13
character of the soldier the most engaging and delightful that we know. It appeals to all the romantic that
lingers in our fancies —to all the heroic that we cherish in our hearts. Ages of tutelage under civil institutions have not been able to educate us out of that
sentiment with which the race set out —the instinctive
consciousness of our feelings-that war is the true
profession of a gentleman, and that the man-at-arms is
the only hero. It is a mysterious brightness that is
reflected from the sword-and those upon whose career it is thrown, become invested with an interest,
which no familiarity abates, and no philosophy can
destroy.
The events to which these volumes have reference,
exhibit all these interests in the greatest range and
magnificence. In no scene of history, is the pageantry of war displayed in forms so imposing and with a
splendor so transcendent.  By no previous circumstances, is the science of war illustrated in such extent, variety, and depth. At no other time, and in no
other place, may the student explore, with such distinctness and illumination, the philosophy of war, and
trace so well, the intimate and inseparable connexion
between politics and the battle-field-the mutual dependence of the social condition of a people, and their
military relations. The eye, the feelings, and the
mind, alike, are stimulated and gratified by the survey.
The empires of Europe, vital with the deeper passions,
the more vivid intelligence, the inexhaustible, personal, material, and scientific resources, of the nineteenth
century, at once reassumed the attitude of the feudal
ages: and society exhibited the picturesqueness of
mediceval life, with the force and refinement of the
VOL. I.-2




14                 NAPOLEON.
highest civilization. The strife was not, like most of
the military agitations of which the world has seen, a
struggle between a vigorous young people, and a decaying kingdom whose hour had come: it was a contest of equals, and of the greatest equals —of nations
in the full fervor of growing life. The strife, too, partook of a deadliness which had never before been seen.
It bore no resemblance to those exercises in armsthose rehearsals of battle, in which, through the preceding century, royalty had been wont to breathe its
spirits and exhilarate its mind. The origin and impulses of that tumult of nations were in the depths of
the soul's darkest passions: it was the civil war of the
world —a revolt in civilization. Principles and opinions seemed to descend upon a human arena, and marshal nations as their champions; and the contest was
less a collision of arms than a conflict of systems.
Marengo, Austerlitz, Waterloo, interest us, not merely
as trials of personal valor and great rivalries of national
strength, nor yet as combats, upon whose result depended a consular or an imperial dynasty, but as contests upon which the progress of society waited, and
the destiny of humanity itself stood suspended.
The individual genius which typified the great interests that were thus in combat, and became the focus
of the intelligence and feelings of the various nations
whose life was thrown into the arena, was on a scale
worthy of the grandeur of the operations, and events
amid which it moved. On the one side, England sent
forth in her naval and military chiefs, the loftiest and
most accomplished of her heroes; one of them representing the daring and enthusiasm of her ancient heroism, the other an express image of her modern, cold,




NAPOLEON.                 15
business-like, but indomitable temper and ability;Austria gave a soldier to whose career perfect science,
and unfaltering duty, imparted dignity even in defeat,and Russia showed with what terrible energy imperial
power can move, when it is winged by the resentments
of a barbarian soul. On the other side, the lustre of
a mysterious interest, gathers about him who, calm and
self-dependent, was the centre, the author, and the
object of all this terrible array, and from him is reflected upon the group of heroes who were the illustrations of his power, and the instruments of his will.
The nation seemed to be charged with the genius of
Napoleon; and Napoleon's genius to be fired by the
inspiration of superhuman passion. On the part of
France, it is a contest in which the agents are human,
but the interests and the powers are more than mortal:
the force of phrensy seems to be the moving energy of
the action, and the illumination of intellect to be its
guiding light. The characters, the incidents, and the
achievements, seem to be dilated into a spectral exaggeration and brilliance: Truth loses the features of
Probability, and the Impossible seems to become the
Real.




] 6                   NAPOLEON.
NAPOLEON S EARLY  YEARS.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE* was born at Ajaccio, in
the island of Corsica, on the 15th of August, 1769.
Romish historians take notice that Loyola's birth was
in the same year with Luther's; Providence, as they
observe, having directed that the appearance of a great
enemy of the church upon the earth should be accompanied and counteracted by the presence of the most
efficient servant that the papacy ever had.  It is a fact
scarcely less striking that, on the 1st of May, 1769,
just three months and a half earlier than Napoleon,
Arthur Wellesley was born at Dangan Castle, in Ireland; - the man whom circumstances connected so
strikingly with the fate of Napoleon —who, in early
life, confronted him distantly in the East-then broke
up all his plans in the south of Europe, and, finally,
met him face to face on the field where he contended
for empire and liberty. It is somewhat remarkable,
too, that in the year 1783, while Napoleon was at
Brienne, Wellesley was pursuing his studies at the
military school of Angers, in France, under the celebrated engineer, Pignerol.
* The name, as Italian, is spelt, indifferently, Buonaparte or Bona.
parte. Napoleon's father used the former mode; his great-uncle, Lucien,
archdeacon of Ajaccio, the latter. Napoleon, during his youth, and
while in command in Italy, followed his father's example; but afterward
adopted the French orthography, and wrote his name Bonaparte.




EARLY YEARS.                17
The descent and social rank of the Bonapartes have
been variously misrepresented. During the consulate,
a genealogy was published by some one, in which the
family was derived from the northern kings of Europe.
Napoleon caused this pretension to be ridiculed through
the newspapers with such effect that it was not revived.
" The nobility of the first consul," it was then officially announced, "bears date from Montenotte." On
one occasion, in conversation, Napoleon spoke of himself as having been " a poor Corsican gentleman:" but
there was nothing vulgar in his origin or early associations. His family was of Tuscan origin, and said to
be allied to the Medici, Orsini, and Lomellini; and in
the middle ages its members had ranked among the
distinguished houses in the Bolognese and Trevisan
territory, and in Florence had figured as senators and as
prelates. The Corsican branch of it was founded, in
the fifteenth century, by Charles Bonaparte, a younger
son, who took refuge in the island when expelled from
the latter city as an adherent of the liberal and defeated
party of the Ghibellines. Napoleon's father, Charles,
had been carefully educated at Rome and Pisa, where
he studied the law. He was tall, and extremely handsome, possessed of an active and enterprising spirit,
and distinguished for his eloquence. In the campaigns
of 1768 and 1769, in which Corsica contended unsuccessfully against France, he was the friend and companion in arms of Paoli, and shared his final defeat, in
the latter year, at Ponte Novo. His wife was Letitia
Ramolino, a Corsican lady, descended from a noble
family of Naples, and celebrated alike for beauty, and
for force and dignity of character. The children of
this marriage were, besides five who died in infancy —
2*




i8                   NAPOLEON.
Joseph, the eldest, afterward successively king of Naples and of Spain; Napoleon; Lucien, prince of Canino; Louis, king of Holland; Jerome, king of Westphalia; Eliza, grand-duchess of Tuscany; Pauline,
princess Borghese; and Caroline, the youngest, wife
of Murat, king of Naples.
The circumstances of Napoleon's birth had some of
the characteristics of his subsequent career. After the
battle of Ponte Novo, his father had retired to Porto Vecchio, intending, with Paoli, to seek refuge in England;
and his mother, who had followed the headquarters of the
army during the last unfortunate campaign, returned to
Ajaccio. Here, while attending the celebration of the
mass, on the feast of the Assumption, she was surprised
by the first pains of labor. She hastened home, and
reached a sofa, in her parlor; and when her attendants
found her the infant was born, and the mother had fainted.
The story of the tapestry of the apartment being adorned
with figures from the Iliad, is a silly fable.* The father
soon after yielded to the persuasions of his uncle, the
archdeacon Lucien, and abandoned his purpose of
emigration. It was owing to the failure of his patriotic
efforts, that the future emperor was a native of France,
and not an alien: in fact, Corsica did not become a
part of France until June, 1769, about two months
before the birth of Napoleon. The second sons of this
family, for several generations, had borne the name of
Napoleon, which was derived from an ancestor in Italy, and said, by Napoleon himself, to have been
adopted from the Orsini and Lomellini families, in
* In a conversation with General Lee, at Rome, in 1830, the mother
of Napoleon, in giving this account of the birth of her son, expressly
contradicted the story about the tapestry being ornamented with designs
from the Iliad. The story arose from an idle peut etre of Las Cases.




EARLY YEARS.                1I
which it was used; and in accordance with this custom, so unusual and striking a name was given to the
infant. Some years afterward, when he was confirmed
at the military school in Paris, the archbishop expressed
his astonishment at the name, and said that he knew
of no such saint —at least, that there was no such name
in the calendar: the boy promptly replied, that that
could be no rule, since the number of saints was immense, and the number of days only 365. At a later
period, the pope fixed the f6te of this saint, who had
before been a stranger to the Roman calendar, on the
day previously dedicated to the Virgin, which was the
birthday of the emperor, and the day on which the
concordat was signed. From the searches made in
the martyrologies at Rome, it appeared that Saint Napoleone was a Greek martyr.
After the subjection of the Corsicans, the policy of
France was to treat the island, not as a conquest, but
as a province. Accordingly, they established a local
parliament, such as existed in the old provinces; and
they continued the existing executive magistracy of
twelve nobles, among whom was Charles Bonaparte,
who, further to conciliate the patriot party, was soon
after appointed assessor of the royal court of Ajaccio.
In 1779, a deputation was sent to Versailles from the
parliament of Corsica: a Casa Bianca was chosen
deputy for the commons, the bishop of Nebbio for the
clergy, and Charles Bonaparte for the nobles. Taking
with him his sons Joseph and Napoleon, to be educated in France, he passed through Florence, where the
Grand-Duke Leopold gave him a letter to his sister
Marie Antoinette, by whom he was kindly received,
and entertained as a guest at Versailles. Joseph, be



20                 NAPOLEON.
ing intended for the church, was placed at a classical
academy in Autun, and Napoleon was admitted, April
A. 10. 23, 1779, as a king's scholar, at the royal military school at Brienne. There existed, at this
time, a strong rivalry between M. de Marbeuf and M.
de Pellet, generals in authority in Corsica; and the
representations of Charles Bonaparte, at the French
court, in favor of Marbeuf, proved of so much value
to his interests, that his nephew, who was archbishop
of Lyons, and minister of ecclesiastical affairs, acknowledged the service by giving Napoleon letters of recommendation to a noble family, named Marbeuf, at Brienne, which introduced him, with superior advantage,
at that place.
The eagerness of mankind to discover and believe
the marvellous, has always caused the boyhood of
eminent persons to be searched for incidents which
might indicate a peculiar destiny, or give mysterious
token of future celebrity. In these investigations, attention has often been given to circumstances which
had no true relation with the later distinction of the
man. In Napoleon's case, the stories that have been
told of his enterprise and daring at Brienne, are merely
such as might be collected of any lively and spirited
boy, and have little connexion with the qualities by
which he rose to empire. So far as youth foreshowed
or prepared his splendid career, the true omen, at Brienne, of his subsequent greatness, is to be found, not
in his marshalling his fellows to the attack or defence
of a snow-fort, nor to his undermining the wall of the
college-grounds, that the boys might visit a fair without
transgressing an order not to pass the gates, but in the
instinctive tendency of his mind to mathematical study,




EARLY YEARS.                 21
and the extraordinary proficiency which he made in it.
The true secret of Napoleon's supremacy through life,
lay in his possessing an understanding of the first order
of analytical acuteness, rapidity, comprehension, and
correctness; and the type of all sound reasoning upon
profound combinations, is the mathematics. This test
of native subtlety, vigor, and justness, in the action of
the mind, the boyhood of Napoleon met and answered:
it was the branch of study in which he was particularly
conspicuous. The anecdotes which record the sensitiveness with which he felt and repelled the sarcasms
which were made at his Corsican origin, are of some
value, as showing, in early keenness, that quick resentment which, through life, kept up the recollection
of an Italian origin. There were also some manifestations in youth of that peculiar susceptibility of nervous
organization, which has often been noted in connexion
with great mental faculties. On one occasion, when
the quartermaster had condemned him, by way of punishment, to wear the serge-dress of a penitent, and to
take his dinner on his knees at the refectory door, the
disgrace affected him so distressingly as to bring on a
violent retching and a severe nervous attack. The
head-master, passing by, relieved him from the degradation, and Father Patrault, the professor of mathematics, was indignant at finding his first mathematician
treated with so little consideration.  That persistency
of temper, which formed so marked an element of his
rise, as well as of his ruin, seems to have been early
observed. Pichegru, afterward the conqueror of Hol.
land, and one of the ablest generals of the age, was then
a charity-scholar at Brienne, and arithmetical tutor to
Napoleon. When he joined the royalist army, he was




22                 NAPOLEON.
consulted as to the probability of gaining over the young
general-in-chief of the army of Italy. "It would be a
waste of time to attempt it," replied Pichegru; "from
my acquaintance with him as a boy, I am sure he is
an inflexible character: he has taken his resolution,
and he will not change it." His temper at Brienne
was reserved and solitary: he devoured books of every kind, and was to be considered an unusually eager
and devoted student. In later years, he remembered
Brienne with more feeling than any other scene of his
youth; and some of the most interesting traits of his
character are displayed in his allusions to it. In the
trying campaign of 1814, he pointed out a tree, near
Brienne, under which, when a boy, he had read the
" Jerusalem Delivered," with unbounded delight. The
sound, also, of the evening bells of the same place,
which he had so often heard in youth, touched that
strong, stern heart, to a sensibility of which few would
have deemed it capable.
A certain number of pupils, selected by the inspector of military schools, were annually sent up from
Brienne to Paris, to complete their education. The
post of inspector was at this time filled by the Chevalier de Keralio, a general officer, and the author of a
work on military tactics, who had conceived a high
admiration for Napoleon, and singled him out to be
sent up, at a time when he was somewhat under the
usual age, and was not much distinguished for anything but mathematics. The monks suggested that he
had better be left another year; but Keralio would
not agree to it. "I know what I am about," said he;
"if I transgress the rule, it is on account of the youth's
merit only; I know nothing of his family. I see in




EARLY YEARS.                 23
him a spark of genius which can not be too early fostered." The chevalier died suddenly, before his determination was accomplished, but his successor, M.
de Regniaud, carried his decision into effect; and in
October, 1784, Napoleon was tranferred to the
2Etat. 15.
royal school at Paris.  There, his superiority
in mathematics, and the ambition of his temper, continued to be noted. The celebrated Monge, his'nstructor in geometry, formed a high opinion of him.
M. de l'Eguille, the teacher of history, affixed to his
name in the class-book, "A  Corsican by birth and
character; he will distinguish himself, if favored by
circumstances:" a discriminating and philosophical
remark, of which he used afterward to boast as having
been a prediction of the future glory of the emperor.
He cultivated rhetoric also; and misled by erroneous
models, indulged in a style of oriental amplification,
of which in maturer life he never entirely got rid, and
which, if it aided his fascination of the vulgar mind,
which admired these extravagances as the height of
sublimity, certainly retarded the confidence of stronger
minds in the soundness of his understanding, and the
genuineness of his character.  He was also an extensive reader of history, in which, besides Polybius and
Arrian, Tacitus and Plutarch were his favorite authors.
The philosophical acquaintance with history which his
conversations displayed through life, indicated that in
youth, his only time for reading, he must have been a
close student. On the 24th of February, 1785, he
lost his father, who having been attacked by a cancer
in the stomach, came to Paris to consult the physicians,
and died at Montpelier, on his way home, from the
effects of a disease hereditary in his family, and which




24                 NAPOLEON.
thirty-five years after proved fatal to his son. He had
ever treated his child with the most indulgent tenderness. From this time, Napoleon seems to have been
looked up to, as the support and guide of his family:
indeed, when his great-uncle, the archdeacon, was on
his deathbed, a few years later, in 1791, he called the
children about him, and said: "Joseph, you are the
eldest of the sons, but there is the head of the house,"
pointing to Napoleon; "never lose sight of him."
In September, 1785, after an examination, of
which the mathematical branch was conducted
by La Place, Napoleon received his first appointment in
the army -a second lieutenancy in the regiment of La
Fere, or the First Artillery. He is said to have manifested the utmost joy at finding himself an officer. He
joined his regiment, at once, at Valence, in Dauphine.
He here enjoyed superior opportunities of social intercourse, especially in the family of Madame Colombier,
who conceived the warmest regard for him, and predicted with the confidence of ardent friendship, the
distinction which awaited him. For her daughter, he
felt an evanescent interest, of which he thus spoke
when at St. Helena: "We were the most innocent
creatures imaginable; we contrived little meetings together; one I remember on a midsummer morning,
when all our happiness consisted in eating cherries together." In 1788, in consequence of a popular disturbance at Lyons, his regiment was ordered to that
city, and was afterward transferred to Auxonne. In
1790, the Prince de Conde announced his intention of
inspecting the artillery school at the latter place; and
the commandant, anxious to make the best display,
placed Bonaparte, as the most accomplished officer, at




EARLY YEARS.                 25
the head of the battery, notwithstanding the higher
rank of some others. Practical jokes were the order
of the day among the cadets, and the evening before
the examination, all the guns of the battery were secretly spiked. Napoleon, however, was too much on
the alert to be caught in that manner: he detected and
obviated the trick, in season; and at the appointed time
was in full readiness to do honor to a prince, the representative of a genius and military skill of which he ever
spoke, to the close of his life, with almost unbounded admiration. At Auxonne, such of the young officers of
the garrison as were graduates of the royal institutions,
were associated in to! exercises of the schools. On one
occasion, a mathematical problem of great difficulty having been proposed, Bonaparte, in order to solve it, secluded himself in his room, it is said, for seventy-two
hours; giving, thus early, an evidence of that power of
continuance, in the exertion of both mind and body, which
formed, perhaps, the most extraordinary and valuable
characteristic of his later life. In the same year  tat 21
he was promoted to a first-lieutenancy in the
regiment of Grenoble, or the fourth artillery, and returned to Valence, where this regiment was stationed.
While he was at this place, the Revolution broke out,
and Napoleon, who had given some previous evidences
of liberal opinions, espoused the cause of the Revolution. In speaking, at St. Helena, of the motives which
at such times determine the choice of sides, he observed, with perfect good sense: " Had I been a general officer, I might have adhered to the king; a
young lieutenant, I sided with the Revolution."  He
seems to have been a sincere and ardent patriot, under
the Constituent Assembly: but after the Legislative
VOL. I.- 3




26                  NAPOLEON.
Assembly was formed, and through the subsequent
stages of the movement, he was a cautious and
interested observer.
1791.   In the following year, Paoli, having returned
from England, in consequence of the adoption
of Mirabeau's motion for the recall of the Corsican
exiles, was appointed lieutenant-general in the army,
and commander-in-chief of the military division which
included the island of Corsica. In September of
that year, Napoleon, after an absence of twelve years,
returned to his native town on furlough; at which
place, in February, 1792, upon a general promotion,
caused by the emigration of a large number of officers,
he was raised to the rank of captain.  The
A-tat. 23.
revolutionary and conservative division in Corsica at this time, took the form of a party in favor of
the connexion with France, and a party that looked to
independence, or an alliance with England.  To
maintain the existing order, a battalion of provincial
troops was raised, of which the command was given
to Napoleon; and the first exercise of his power was
in quelling a tumult which the Anti-Gallican party had
created in Ajaccio. One Peraldi, animated by factious
hostility, and an hereditary enmity to the Bonaparte
family, sent forward to Paris, an accusation against
Napoleon, charging him with having secretly fomented
a riot, which he afterward made a merit of having
quelled. The charge was absurd, but the circumstances of the time rendered it expedient for the young
officer to present himself to the authorities at Paris,
where he found no difficulty in vindicating the integrity of his conduct. It was during this visit, that he
was a spectator of some of the most memorable scenes




EARLY YIEARS.               27
of the Revolution. On the 21st of June, 1792, he
stood with a friend among the crowd on the river terrace of the garden of the Tuileries, when the mob
forced the palace and compelled the king to appear at
a balcony with the red cap of liberty on his head.
Napoleon's indignation was roused by the unworthy
spectacle. " The wretches!" he exclaimed, "how
could they have had the folly to let them enter the
palace? They ought to have swept off about five
hundred of them with the cannon, and the rest would
quickly have disappeared." He was also an eyewitness of the slaughter of the Swiss guards, on the 10th
of August, which he beheld with horror and disgust.
These spectacles rooted in the heart of Napoleon that
detestation of the Jacobin party, which he afterward
so often exhibited. He returned soon after to Corsica;
and in January, 1793, at the head of two battalions
of native troops, was ordered to co-operate with Admiral Truguet, in an attack on the island of Sardinia.
That part of the expedition which was led by Napoleon was so far successful, that several forts in the
straits of Bonifaccio were taken; but the principal attempt against Cagliari by the admiral having failed,
Bonaparte re-embarked his men and returned to Ajaccio, with increased distinction.
Meanwhile, the progress of the Revolution had fully determined Paoli to detach his country again from
dependence on France, and to seek a junction with
England. He used every effort of argument and persuasion to engage the aid of the son of his former follower and friend; but Napoleon had resolved to adhere to the French alliance, which he vindicated as
the natural relation and true interest of Corsica, and a




28                  NAPOLEON.
position required by dignity and patriotism. Paoli
was so much impressed by the tone of his sentiments,
and the inflexible vigor of his opinions, that he is said
to have remarked to Napoleon himself, as he frequently
did to others, that he was a youth cast in the mould
of the heroes of Plutarch, and that he would certainly
rise to greatness.
MIuch, however, as he may have admired the firmness of his young opponent, Paoli lost no time in
acting with the decision that belonged to his character. Returning toward Ajaccio, from a final conversation with Paoli, near the interior town of Cort6,
Napoleon found himself surrounded by an armed
force on a mountain pass called Boccognano, and
made a prisoner. He escaped, however, by a stratagem, and joined a force which the committee of public
safety had established at Calvi. A civil war ensued,
in the course of which Napoleon was sent from Calvi
to surprise Ajaccio, then occupied by Paoli. At the
head of a party of fifty men, he embarked in a frigate,
and got possession of the fort of Torre di Capitello,
opposite Ajaccio, on the north side of the gulf. A
gale arising, the frigate was blown off the coast, and
the party in the fort were besieged from the city, and
reduced to such extremity as to subsist on rations of
horse-flesh. In this situation, Napoleon defended himself with the utmost spirit and enthusiasm, and is said
to have harangued his countrymen on the outside of the
fort with so much eloquence as to win some converts.
After five days the frigate returned, and the party were
re-embarked, after blowing up a part of the fortification. Paoli, aided by the English, was now too powerful to be resisted. The French party retired to




EARLY YEARS,                 29
France.  I'he Bonaparte house in Ajaccio was given
to pillage. Joseph and Napoleon are said to have been
formally banished. The mother sought refuge in Nice,
and afterward in Marseilles, where with a numerous
family, and the small remains of her fortune, she continued to reside. Napoleon resumed his service in the
French army, under General Dugear, and was employed by him in some important and confidential services, one of which consisted in negotiating successfully with the insurrectionists of Marseilles to allow the
provision and ammunition convoys of the army of
Italy, the general-in-chief of which was General Brunet, to pass. Soon after Napoleon was promoted to
the rank of chief of battalion, or lieutenant-colonel;
an appointment which may be referred to the date of
August or September, 1793.
The next scene of Napoleon's life brings us to
the siege of Toulon, which was the beginning of
his great career: but we have been thus particular
in the detail of his earlier history, because it is
intimately connected with a proper understanding of
his character and abilities, and because it has been
the subject of representations which have done as
much injury to the genuine glory of Napoleon,
as they have done violence to reason and truth.
Some admirers of this extraordinary person, whose
enthusiasm for their subject is greater than either their
knowledge or judgment, and whose powers of discrimination have not enabled them to understand the conditions of human action, or the qualities of real greatness
in mind and character, have exhibited the history and
fame of Napoleon in a manner equally repugnant to
fact and to philosophy.  They have not elevated the
3*




30                 NAPOLEON.
grandeur of Napoleon too high, but they have placed
it upon a basis upon which it can not be supported.
In their attempts to make it great, they have rendered
it rationally impossible: instead of a reputation, they
have given us an imposture. They have described
him as an accident of the times, and the prodigy of
Fortune —thrown up by Fate, and pushed on through
a career of unexampled glory, triumphing beyond
precedent, and against science, by the inexhaustible
energies of a magic which they term genius. A wise
man knows that eminence and glory in any profession
consist in understanding profoundly the laws which
belong to the subject in question, and in acting invariably in obedience to them: and when the pretension
is made of a success without science, or of a science
without study, he knows that the conditions of the existence of the fact which is asserted, are defeated and
destroyed. Fortunately, the greatness of Napoleon
can be reduced to elements of reality and reason: and
by rendering his history human and practicable, we
give to the man a merit and a glory which have been
referred to fate. In fact, at the opening of the Revolution, Napoleon presents the picture of a young man of
good family and distinguished position-thoroughly
educated in general instruction, and particularly well
trained, through years of tutelage, in the profession of
his choice-who had enjoyed unusual opportunities
of military and political experience —and who stood
in a position, the best perhaps that could be, for profiting of the events of the Revolution, and turning its
forces to his own account. Genius is nothing else
than the highest kind of natural intellect, animated by
ardor of feeling, and enlightened by comprehensive




EARLY YEARS.                31
and profound knowledge. Without systematic study,
and without laborious exercise, it is impossible that it
can be effectively developed. No man ever had greater
advantages for forming his mind and character by the
aid of old and regular institutions; and it was from
them that he derived that discipline of the powers of
thought and action, and that illumination of judgment,
whose operation, under the stimulus of passion, and in
the blaze of imperial glory, dazzled the world as the
miracle of history. To the vulgar mind, which will
never admire where it understands, the bringing of
Napoleon's history into any relation with reason or
probability may seem to resolve the enchantment which
has hung around his name: but this resolution takes
the praise from chance to reflect it, in increase of lustre,
upon the character which by its own human energies
-by the combinations of its own piercing intellect,
and the might of its own strenuous will, alone —acting
upon circumstances, opened its own way to empire and
immortality.
It is a fact, not unworthy of note, in a psychological
point of view, that the earliest development of Napoleon's ambition and powers, before a fit field of action
had been opened to them, was in a literary form. At
the age of fifteen, when at the royal school at Paris, he
voluntarily prepared a memoir upon the luxury and
expense attending education at that place, in which he
urged the propriety of the students adopting hardy
habits and a simple fare, and enuring themselves to
such toils and exposure as they would encounter in
war. In 1787, at the age of eighteen, at Valence, he
gained, anonymously, a prize proposed to the academy
of Lyons by the Abbe Raynal, on the question, " What




32                  NAPOLEON.
are the principles and institutions best adapted to advance mankind in happiness?"  In this essay, he defined happiness as consisting in the "perfect enjoyment
of life according to the laws of our physical and moral
organization:" and the forcible views, well adapted to
the temper of the times, and the vivid style of writing,
attracted much attention. When he was emperor, he
was one day conversing with Talleyrand about this
essay, and the latter, a few days after, took occasion to
present it to him, having procured it from the archives
of the academy at Lyons. The emperor took it, and,
after reading a few pages, threw it into the fire, saying,
" One can never observe everything."  Talleyrand
had not taken the precaution to transcribe it; but it
has been said that Louis Bonaparte had had it copied,
and that it is now in print. About the same time, he
began a history of Corsica, which he dedicated to the
Abbe Raynal, by whom he had been noticed and caressed. He corresponded with Paoli, in relation to it,
and was in treaty with M. Joly, a bookseller of Dol61e,
for its publication. Raynal, who read the manuscript,
advised its completion; but some change of purpose
prevented its being finished, and it is now lost. During
his residence at Auxonne, in 1790, Napoleon wrote
and printed a letter to Buttafoco, the Corsican deputy
for the nobles in the National Assembly. It is a brilliant and powerful piece of argument and invective,
strongly on the revolutionary side. It produced a
marked impression, and was adopted and reprinted by
the patriotic society at Ajaccio. While at Marseilles,
in 1793, Napoleon wrote and published a political dialogue, called " The Supper of Beaucaire" — a judicious, sensible, and able essay, intended to allay




SIEGE OF TOULON.             33
the agitation then existing in that city. A copy of
it was brought to him in later days; but seeing no
advantage in reviving, under the circumstances of a
different time, a production written for a temporary
and local excitement, he is said to have ordered its
suppression.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SIEGE OF TOULON,
TO HIS APPOINTMENT AS GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OF
THE ARMY OF ITALY.
THE triumph of the Mountain, and the overthrow
of the Girondin party, in the Convention, on the 31st
of May, 1793, caused a general insurrection in the
south of France, where the latter party were predominant. Marseilles and Toulon joined Lyons in open
resistance to the armies of the government.  The Marseillese were defeated, however, and their city entered,
by General Cartaux, with a detachment from the army
of the Alps; and Toulon, which had become the principal refuge of the disaffected, saw no escape from the
vengeance of the Jacobins but in throwing itself into
the hands of Admiral Lord Hood, then blockading it
with the English and Spanish fleets. Accordingly, this
magnificent naval station was surrendered on the 20th
of August, 1793; and on the 29th the admiral took
formal possession of it in the name of Louis XVIII.:
an event which produced a consternation in France,
and roused the pride of the country to the highest
pitch of indignation. General Lapoype was directed
to approach on the east with four thousand men; and
General Cartaux, a painter by profession, and one of




34                 NAPOLEON.
those specimens of incompetence and conceit which
the eddies of the Revolution had thrown up for the
ridicule of the world, advanced from Marseilles at the
head of a column of eight thousand. The deputies,
Barras, Freron, Gasparin, Salicetti, Albite, Ricord,
and the younger Robespierre, were in attendance; and
all the passion of the Convention was concentrated upon the scene.  The committee of public safety at Paris,
in completing their arrangements for the siege, called
upon the committee of ordnance to submit the name of
an officer suitable for the command of the artillery.
Napoleon was at this time in Paris, whither he had
been sent on a mission from General Brunet, commander-in-chief of the army of Italy; and was nominated
and appointed to this important post-an appointment
which was due neither to patronage, to intrigue, nor to
accident, but solely to his own acquired distinction, and
established character in his profession. As soon as he
had received his orders, he set out for Toulon, which
1793. he reached on the 12th of September, and proEtat. 25. ceeded with such efficiency to assemble and
organize the department over which he presided, that
in six weeks a park of two hundred pieces of artillery,
well-officered and advantageously placed, was playing
upon the vessels in the harbor.  The town itself was
defended by about fourteen thousand men, English,
Spanish, Neapolitans, and French, under the command
of General O'Hara, an officer who had been included
in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
On the 15th of October, a council of war, over which
the deputy Gasparin presided, was assembled to consider a plan of siege which had been sent down by the
committee of public safety, and had been drawn up by




SIEGE OF TOULON.               35
General D'Arqon, an able officer of the engineers. It
proposed to carry the place by regular approaches
against the town itself, but an embarrassment arose
from the inadequacy of the existing means to the extensive operations which the plan contemplated. Napoleon then expressed the opinion that the propositions
of the committee were entirely mistaken, and proceeded to suggest the plan by which Toulon was finally reduced.  Looking at the localities with a scientific eye
upon his arrival, he had seen that the city itself, though
the ultimate object, was, in a military point of view, a
dependent position, and not the principal one; and that
the commanding point of the whole scene was upon a
promontory which extended into the bay, to the south
of the town, and on which stood the small forts of
l'Eguilette and Balagnier.  Twenty mortars and thirty
pieces of cannon, playing with red-hot balls upon the
roads below, would compel the squadron to stand out
to sea, and reduce the town to a blockade which would
inevitably terminate in its surrender; but it was to be
inferred that, rather than encounter such a result, the
garrison would be drawn off from the town, and the
place given up, as soon as the fleet was unable to keep
its place. Napoleon explained these views to the council, and concluded with an expression of his opinion
that, in two days after the forts were taken, Toulon
would belong to the republic. The plan was much
discussed; the engineer officers admitted the accuracy
of the scientific principles upon which it was based;
and, owing chiefly to the influence of the president,
Gasparin, who had conceived a high opinion of the
commandant of the artillery, it was finally adopted.
Of this man Napoleon spoke, to the end of his life,




36                 NAPOLEON.
with gratitude, as the person who had opened his caree.r; and, in his will, he left him a substantial token
of his regard.
Meanwhile, the English commander had become
aware of the importance of the promontory in question,
and had erected upon it a fortification named Fort Mulgrave, but of such strength that it was called " the little Gibraltar." Napoleon, however, proceeded at once
to raise five or six batteries against it, and to construct
platforms for fifteen mortars; the intention being, after
the works were sufficiently damaged by shot and shells,
to carry them by storm.  To effect a diversion in aid
of this, a battery against Fort Malbosquet, situated on
a point higher up the harbor, was erected under cover
of a grove of olives, which concealed it so entirely that
its existence was not discovered by the enemy while
it was in progress.  This battery was not to be unmasked until the moment of marching against the Little
Gibraltar; but on the 20th of November, the deputies
having visited the place and learned that the works had
been finished for several days, but not yet applied to
any use, immediately directed a fire to be opened.
General O'Hara, surprised at the erection of such a
battery so near to Malbosquet, early on the following
morning ordered a sortie, which he led in person; but
this sally was repulsed by the vigorous exertions of
Napoleon and other officers, and O'Hara himself made
a prisoner. Napoleon, in consequence of this, was promoted to the rank of colonel. In the interval, Cartaux
had been recalled, and General Doppet, a physician,
possessing neither talent nor courage, had succeeded
him; until the committee of public safety, having become convinced of the necessity of-employing a man




SIEGE OF TOULON.              37
of military ability, sent General Dugommier to take
command- a soldier of high character, and of courage, said Napoleon, as dauntless as his own good sword.
The deputies, however, not able to appreciate the imnportance of the operations against the promontory, nor
the conclusive consequences of their success, had become so desponding as to write to Paris advising that
the siege should be abandoned, and the forces employed to lay waste the interior country: fortunately,
before this advice could be acted upon, Toulon was
taken, and they then found it prudent to deny the letter as a forgery. The energy and activity of Napoleon,
however, were incessant: lie slept by the guns, assisted
in pointing them, was the first in every danger, and inspired in the soldiers that union of enthusiasm and coolness which formed the characteristic of the army in
later times, when led by Napoleon. He showed that
power of animating the men through the sympathy of
noble sentiments, which formed indeed the magic by
which he wrought the prodigies of his subsequent career.  On one occasion, the fire directed against one
of the batteries was so destructive, that the gunners refused to stand by it. Napoleon directed a sergeant to
set up among the abandoned guns a placard with the
words " The battery of men without fear," and stationed himself beside the battery. The effect was electric: the soldiers' rushed forward to take part in an enterprise which seemed to raise them to the rank of
heroes.  The slaughter at one time was so great, that
Napoleon seized the ramrod of a gunner who had just
been killed, and served one of the pieces himself several times; and thus contracted a cutaneous complaint
with which the soldier had been afflicted, and injudiVOL.. -4




38                  NAPOLEON.
cious treatment subsequently repelled this malady from
the surface, with effects that produced that spareness
of person which was not corrected until he consulted
Corrisart after his Italian campaigns.
About the middle of December, a decisive attack
upon the Little Gibraltar was ordered: the commandant of the artillery threw seven or eight thousand shells
into the fort, battered the works with thirty guns, and,
on the night of the 18th, in the midst of torrents of rain,
two columns, the leading one commanded by Dugommier in person, and the other, which followed at supporting distance, led by Napoleon, marched to the attack of the place.  They encountered a desperate resistance, but finally carried the Little Gibraltar, killing
the English and Spanish cannoniers at their pieces:
and on the next day, advancing their guns to the heights
behind Balagnier and l'Eguillette, which had been abandoned as soon as the principal fort was carried, they
were ready to open a fire upon the vessels in the harbor. Lord Hood no sooner saw these places in possession of the French, than he made signal to weigh
anchor and get out of the roads; and a council of the
combined forces being summoned in Toulon, it was
decided that the place was no longer tenable, and measures were taken for its precipitate evacuation.  The
scene of dismay, confusion, and terror, which ensued,
can not be described.  It was determined to destroy
all the magazines and shipping which were likely to
fall into the hands of the French.  In the evening the
arsenal was blown up, and nine seventy-four-gun ships
and four frigates of the French squadron were fired.
The explosions from the arsenal resembled the successive eruptions of a volcano, and the magnificent vessels




SIEGE OF TOULON.               39
blazing for several hours in the roads, lighted up the
scene with terrible splendor.  Meanwhile, an incessant
discharge of cannon from l'Eguillette and Balagnier
upon the harbor, and from Fort Malbosquet, which had
been abandoned by the allies, upon the town, completed
the horror of that memorable night. At break of day
the English fleet, bearing away a great number of the
inhabitants, was seen out at sea; and the city of Toulon was in the hands of the Convention.
When Napoleon, toward the close of his life, looked
back over his great career, he referred to the siege of
Toulon as the period when his name first belonged to
history.  All the generals, representatives, and soldiers,
he observed, who heard his opinions given in the councils, three months before the taking of the place, anticipated the military career which he afterward fulfilled.
He had acquired from that time the confidence of all
the soldiers of the army of Italy. His name was not
mentioned in the reports of the deputies; but General
Dugommier, who was ordered to the army of the Pyrenees, wrote to the committee of public safety, to reward and promote that young man, for, if he were ungratefully treated, he would reward himself.  Accordingly, Napoleon was advanced to the rank of brigadiergeneral. Here, also, Victor, Suchet, Duroc, and Junot, first became attached to his person.  The last
conceived so enthusiastic a regard for him, that he left
his regiment for the purpose of becoming one of Napoleon's aides-de-camp, and wrote to his father —" He
is one of those men of whom Nature is sparing, and
whom she does not throw upon the earth but with centuries between them." His introduction to Napoleon's
attention was as striking as his later fortunes were bril



40                 NAPOLEON.
liant. Having occasion to send a written order from
the trenches, Napoleon called out for some soldier who
could write. A young sergeant stepped forward, and,
resting the paper on a parapet, wrote according to the
dictation, when a ball struck in front of him, and covered the page with dirt.  " Very good," said he, continuing his writing, " we shall not want sand on this
page."  Napoleon asked him what he could do for him.
" Everything," said the private, touching his shoulder;
" you can turn this cloth into an epaulette."  He subsequently became a colonel-general of the hussars, duke
d'Abrantes, governor of Paris, and governor-general
in Illyria; though not, as Mr. Alison erroneously says,
a marshal of France.  The reason of his failing to receive this honor is referred by Bourrienne to some indiscreet disclosures made in Egypt to Napoleon in regard to Josephine.
Napoleon, now a brigadier-general, was sent to command the artillery in the army of Italy; and after superintending the reconstruction of the defences of the
Mediterranean, he joined the headquarters of the army
at Nice in March, 1794, accompanied by his aides-decamp, Muiron and Junot. On the 2Sth of September,
1792, General Anselme, commander-in-chief of the
army of Italy, had crossed the Var, and taken possession of Nice. The Sardinian army were impregnably
entrenched in the declivities of the Alps, occupying the
camps of Utelle, Lentosca, and Fourches, which rested upon the strong fort of Saorgio, and communicated
on the left with Genoa, and thence with the Austrian
posts, and with the English cruisers.  General Anselme was succeeded by General Biron, and he by
CGeneral Brunet, a zealous commander, who, by the




INVASION OF ITALY.             41
failure of a direct attack on the enemy's position on
the 8th of June, 1793, had incurred the resentment of
the Convention, and been put to death for treason.
His successor, General Dumerbion, an old and brave
officer, well informed, but somewhat incapacitated by
the gout, was now in command; and his generals of
division were Massena, Macquart, and d'Allemagne.
The army, had thus been stationary for two campaigns
in the county of Nice; but the effect of the brilliant
combinations of the scientific mind of the new general
of artillery was soon to be felt.
It is the duty of a general of artillery to make himself
acquainted with the whole operations of an army, as he is
required to filrnish all the divisions with ammunition and
arms, and must therefore be informed of everything that
takes place.  Napoleon, accordingly, at once visited all
the advanced posts, and reconnoitred the line occupied
by the army; and proceeded to study the problem of the
campaign upon those principles of military art in which
his mind was thoroughly instructed. A war in an irregular country, broken up by mountains and rivers, is
necessarily a war of positions: everything is to be accomplished by manceuvring. This maxim, which the
operations of the greatest commanders illustrate, was
the basis of the plan which Napoleon on returning from
his inspection submitted in a memorial to General Dumerbion.  He pointed out that a direct attack, such as
General Brunet had made, was injudicious, and necessarily unsuccessful; and advised a rapid movement of
the right wing along the seacoast, and thence into the
Alps toward the Col de Tende, in the rear of Saorgio,
which would cut off the enemy's communications with
the sea, and, by endangering his retreat, compel him
4*




42                 NAPOLEON.
to evacuate his entrenched camp of Fourches, and retreat precipitately behind the mountains.  A council,
of which the representatives Ricord and the younger
Robespierre were members-the latter of whom had
conceived a warm friendship for Napoleon-unanimously approved these suggestions. Accordingly, under the direction of Napoleon, a part of the army,
amounting to about fourteen thousand men, was divided
into five columns, which were to move along the coast,
and two of which were to advance up the banks of the
Nervia and the Taggia respectively, while the others
were to move on to Oneglia, and from that point strike
into the Alps near Mount St. Bernard. The first two
were under the command of Massena, and the last three
were led by Napoleon in person. The movement began on the 6th of April, 1794. Napoleon with the
extreme right division rapidly passed the Nervia and
Taggia, routed the Austrians at St. Agathe, and took
possession of Oneglia, which he put in a condition to
repel the hostile cruisers; thence he ascended to the
sources of the Tanaro, defeated the Austrians on the
15th of April at the pass of Ponte di Nave, and drove
them over the mountains; compelled the fortress of
Ormea with four hundred men to surrender; and, on
the 18th, entered Garessio, the ultimate object of his
march —keeping open his communication, through
Bardinetto and St. Bernard, with the sea, at Loano
which had been seized by a detachment from Oneglia.
Thus in twelve days Napoleon had repelled the access
of the British cruisers on the coast; dislodged the Austrians from the higher Alps, taking four hundred prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, and several thousand
muskets; pushed forward the French posts eighty




INVASION OF ITALY.              43
miles; and now, in possession of the Alpine road to
Turin, looked down upon the plains and capital of
Piedmont. Meanwhile, Massena, following the course
marked out by Napoleon, having taken the small castle of Vingtimilia at the mouth of the Roya, turned to
the left, occupied Mont Tanardo and Monte Grande,
on the lower Alps, thence proceeded to Tanarello, and
took post, after several conflicts, on the road from Nice
to Turin, and in the rear of Saorgio. The result was
precisely what the scientific eye of Napoleon had foreseen. The Sardinian army, twenty thousand strong,
finding its flank turned and its retreat endangered, hastily evacuated the camp of Fourches, leaving numerous
cannon and immense stores, and retired to the Col de
Tende; and, on the 29th of April, Saorgio surrendered
to Massena. A combined movement was now made
in the advance, under orders from Dumerbion: the division of Marquart proceeded against the front, and
Massena passed the Col Ardente and moved upon the
Col de Tende. The enemy gave way in every direction, and the French were in full possession of the maritime Alps. These brilliant successes were acknowledged to be due to the general of artillery.  General
Dumerbion, in his despatch to the Convention, said:
" It is to the talent of General Bonaparte that I am indebted for the skilful plans which have assured our victory." Savona was afterward taken; and the autumn
and winter were passed by Napoleon in completing the
fortifications of Oneglia, Vado, and other posts along
the coast, and in acquiring that familiarity with the topography of the Alps which afterward proved of such
inestimable service to him. In company with St. Hilaire, he passed a night in January, 1795, on the Col




44                 NAPOLEON.
de Tende, whence at sunrise, through the roseate lustre
of an Italian morning, he looked down with eager joy
upon those lovely plains which were soon to be the
theatre of his glory.
The revolution of 9th Thermidor (27th of July,
1794), which proved fatal to the Robespierres, had
involved Napoleon, who had been patronized by the
younger of the brothers, in some odium. The deputies, Laporte, Salicetti, and Albite, who now superintended the army of Italy, had had Napoleon arrested
early in August, 1794, on a charge of being bribed;
but an examination of his papers affording conclusive
proofs of his innocence, he was released without trial.
The officer by whom he was liberated, found him
poring over the map of Italy. In the following winter,
an order for his appearance at the bar of the Convention came down from Paris, upon a pretext of his
having given a plan of fortification for the city of Marseilles for the purpose of bridling and oppressing the
people. He exerted himself, however, to induce the
deputies to send to Paris such statements as to the
necessity of his presence in the camp, that the order
was revoked. In April, 1795, the army of Italy, in
which Napoleon had served, was reunited with the
army of the Alps, from which it had been separated
in the beginning of 1793, and the command of the
whole given to General Kellerman; and at the same
time, a new classification of general officers was made,
which, by restoring several who had left the service in
consequence of the events of 1792, excluded several
younger officers from employment, removed Napoleon,
the youngest on the list, into the infantry. His command of the artillery having thus ceased, Napoleon set




INVASION OF ITALY.             45
out for the capital; and visiting his mother's family at
Versailles, and adopting his brother Louis as an extra
aide-de-camp, he arrived in Paris in the end of May,
1795. He waited at once upon Aubry, the minister
of war, an incompetent and jealous intriguer; and remonstrating at his removal from the service to which
he properly belonged, was reproached with his youth.
"Officers," replied Napoleon, " soon grow old on the
field of battle." A few days after, apparently to annoy
him, he was ordered to join the army of the west, then
in La Vendee, and to take command of a brigade of
infantry-a proceeding so offensive to his feelings,
that he sent in his resignation. This, though not at
once refused, was not accepted; and Mr. Alison is in
an error in saying, that he was deprived of his rank
and reduced to private life. It has been said, however, that during these few days of dissatisfaction and
suspense, he meditated applying to the government for
permission to offer his services as general of artillery
to the sultan, who was at that time inclined to become
the ally of France in the war then agitating Europe.
The committee of public safety, however, soon corrected the proceeding of Aubry, so far as to restore
Napoleon to the corps to which he properly belonged,
though he was still left with the army of the west. On
the 27th of June, 1796, General Kellerman, whose
abilities as a commander-in-chief were very inferior to
his courage and activity as a soldier, had met with such
disasters, that the committee of public safety, in alarm,
called together such of the deputies as had been in
Italy, to offer their advice upon the best method of
operations. They concurred in referring the committee to General Bonaparte, who was accordingly con



46                 NAPOLEON.
suited, and drew up a plan of campaign for Kellerman,
which, when it was sent to the army, excited the surprise
of the officers, but was soon recognised as the production of Napoleon; and being acted upon by Kellerman,
and by General Scherer, who superseded him in November, retrieved to a considerable extent the reverses
which had been met with. The advantage thus derived from the ready abilities and thorough knowledge
of Napoleon, induced the committee to revoke the
order appointing him to command in the army of the
west, and by a special resolution to attach him, till further directions, to the war department, with the duty
of directing the active operations of the army of Italy,
with his rank of general of artillery- a position which
he held until October. This period he afterward spoke
of as the most agreeable portion of his life.  The
mornings were passed in official duty and in study;
the evenings, in the society of the most distinguished
persons in Paris, or at the theatre. His character was
established: he felt that calm, strong satisfaction, which
genius derives from having proved to itself its own
certain superiority. The past was full of the truest
pride; the present smiled with all the pleasures of
eminence without its responsibilities; while in the future, there expanded before him a boundless prospect
of power and fame. That connexion with the politics
of the country, which was the beginning of his greater
glory, was now at hand.
On the 21st of June, 1795, after much debate, the
Convention, of which all parties had become tired, and
which had become tired of its own existence, decreed
the form of government known as the constitution of
the year 3; by which the legislative authority was




THIRTEENTH VENDEMIARE.           47
lodged in two councils, one called the Council of Five
Hundred, the other that of the Ancients, and the executive power was vested in five persons called the
Directory. This constitution, together with the supplementary decrees, that in the first composition of the
councils, two thirds should consist of members of the
Convention, and only one third be elected by the departments, was submitted to the votes of the people;
the constitution was generally approved, and the decrees, though pronounced against by forty-seven out
of forty-eight of the sections into which Paris was
divided, were sustained by the votes of the provinces
and the army. On the 23d of September, 1795, the
Convention proclaimed the acceptance of the constitution and the supplemental laws; but the Royalists and
the Jacobins in Paris, who saw in the establishment of
the able and judicious government which was about to
ensue, the ruin of their antagonist schemes, united in a
determined resistance; and by their agitations, the sections of Paris were soon in open and armed revolt.
They formed a central assembly of electors, which met
at the Odeon. These were dissolved and dispersed
forcibly by the Convention on the 10th Vendemiare
(October 1, 1795).  The section of Lepelletier, of
which the district-house was the convent of the Filles
Saint-Thomas, at the extremity of the street Vivienne,
was the most violent in its proceedings; and the Convention decreed that its sittings should be closed, and
the section disarmed. On the 12th Vendemiare (October 3d), about seven o'clock in the evening, General
Menou, commander of the army of the interior, accompanied, according to the established law, by commissioners from the Convention, was sent at the head of a




48                 NAPOLEON.
strong force, with a detachment of cavalry and two
pieces of artillery, to put this order in execution. Advancing indiscreetly too far into the street, he found
himself surrounded by an armed multitude, occupying
the windows of the houses and the court-yard of the
convent; and after a parley with the insurgents, he
retired under circumstances which had all the disgrace
of capitulation and defeat. Napoleon was witnessing a
play at the Frydeau theatre, in the same street, when
intelligence was brought in of the extraordinary scene
that was taking place without. Coming out from the
theatre, he witnessed from its steps the discomfiture of
the troops, and then hastened to the galleries of the
Convention to observe its proceedings on this alarming crisis. The assembly was in the greatest agitation.
Menou was accused of treachery, and arrested.  The
party called Thermidoreans proposed Barras as his
successor in the command.  The members of the
committee of public safety, who were in daily intercourse with Napoleon, and those who had opportunities of knowing his conduct at Toulon and in Italy,
declared Napoleon to be the most competent person,
on account of the extent of his foresight, and the
promptitude, energy, and moderation of his character:
and this opinion was adopted by the committee of
forty. Napoleon, who was in the crowd, and heard
all that passed, deliberated for half an hour as to the
course he should pursue, and then repaired to the
committee, where he pointed out, with great energy,
the indispensable necessity of setting the commander
free from the interference and control of the representatives from the Convention. The justice of these
views was obvious; but it was now late at night; an




THIRTEENTH VENDEMIARE.           49
attack from the sections on the following day was certain; and to procure the repeal of the law requiring
the generals to be attended by commissioners from the
Convention would have required a long debate in the
assembly. The committee then adopted an expedient
which conciliated all the difficulties: they proposed
that Barras should be, nominally, general-in-chief, and
Napoleon second in command- a resolution which
was promptly adopted. Thus the commissioners were
left to wait on Barras; and Napoleon was unfettered,
and had the real command of the forces. It was now
about one o'clock in the morning. He hastened to
obtain from General Menou, who was still in one of
the apartments of the Tuileries, all the necessary information in regard to the strength and positions of the
troops and artillery. The army consisted of five thousand men in all, and the artillery of forty pieces of
cannon, guarded by twenty-five men at Sablons. Murat, a lieutenant-colonel of chasseurs, was instantly despatched with three hundred horse to bring off the park
to the garden of the Tuileries. He reached the SabIons at three in the morning, where the head of a column from the section Lepelletier had arrived at the
same instant. In another minute he would have been
too late; but his troops being cavalry, and the country
a plain, the sectionaries judged that opposition was
useless; they accordingly drew off without a contest,
and at five in the morning the forty guns entered the
Tuileries. Napoleon had determined upon occupying
a central and defensive position in and around the
Tuileries, and receiving there the attack of the sections. His army amounted to less than eight thousand
men, while his opponents had at their command not
VoiL. I.- 5




50                 NAPOLEON.
less than forty thousand national guards well armed,
and now thoroughly roused. Between six and nine
Oct. 4t, o'clock on the 13th, he posted his artillery at
1795. the head of the bridges which cross the Seine,
and at the head of the streets which run toward the
Rue St. Honore, which is parallel to it; thus defending the Tuileries on both sides. The command was
given to officers of known fidelity; the matches were
lighted; and the whole force ordered to await the
movements of the enemy. Meanwhile the insurgents
approached upon both sides of the river, and gathering
courage from the apparent inactivity of the troops,
came nearer and nearer, using every demonstration of
insolence, until windows within gunshot of the Tuileries were occupied by their men. It was the crisis
of social order in France, and of the national history
for the next twenty years. At half-past four, when a
dragoon had been already shot in the Rue St. Honor6,
and a woman wounded on the steps of the Tuileries,
and a formidable column of seven thousand men, led
by La Fond, was seen advancing on the other side of
the river toward the Pont Royal at charging step, Napoleon sent orders for all the batteries to open. Repeated and murderous discharges of grape were poured
into the head of this column, which; after rallying and
renewing its advance repeatedly, was finally routed: the
places occupied by the national guards were assaulted
and carried; the streets were cleared by the artillery;
and at six o'clock in the evening everything was quiet.
The Revolution was at an end: government was restored in France; and the destiny of Napoleon was, at
once and for ever, determined.




THIRTEENTH VENDEMIARE.            51
On the 9th of October, Barras having for-  1795
mally declared to the Convention that public
order was re-established, Napoleon was received, with
his subaltern officers, at the bar. On the motion of
Barras, he was confirmed unanimously in his office of
second in command, and a few days after, on the 26th,
Barras resigned his nominal command. Napoleon, as
commander of the army of the interior, had now the
duty of maintaining order, and providing for its permanent preservation, in a time of general distress from
scarcity. On one occasion, a crowd had collected
around a baker's shop where the usual distribution had
not taken place, when Napoleon and a party of his
staff, parading to keep the public tranquillity, came by.
A woman of excessively robust appearance was particularly clamorous and violent. " These fellows in
epaulettes," she cried, "laugh at our distresses: as
long as they can eat and grow fat, they do not care if
the poor people die of hunger." -" My good woman,"
said Napoleon, who, as he remarked, was as to thinness a mere slip of parchment, "look at me; which
is the fattest, you or I?" A general shout of laughter
burst out, and the officers continued their round. A
principal duty of Napoleon, at this time, consisted in
reforming the national guard, an object of vital importance to the preservation of the government, as it was
a body consisting of one hundred and four battalions.
He organized, also, the guards of the Directory, and
remodelled those of the Councils. He established,
also, a camp of instruction and discipline in the plain
of Grenelle; and exercised unwearied diligence in the
regulation of a subject so delicate as the military constitution of Paris. These circumstances, by making




52                 NAPOLEON.
him perfectly acquainted with the nature and temper
of these bodies of troops, and by creating in them an
enthusiasm for him, were among the principal causes
of his success on the 18th Brumaire (November 9th,
1799). He left such an impression upon these corps,
that when he returned from Egypt, though the Directory had recommended its guards not to offer him
any honors, they involuntarily beat To the field the moment he appeared.
At this time an event occurred, which was not without a powerful influence on his character and future
fortunes — his marriage with Madame de Beauharnais.
The account of the circumstances, which Napoleon
dictated twenty years afterward, is a picture of classic
pathos and heroic grace. After the disarming of the
sections, a youth, ten or twelve years of age, presented
himself to the staff, soliciting that the sword of his
father should be restored to him. The father was
Alexander Beauharnais, a general in the service of the
republic, in the army of the Rhine, who had been guillotined during the reign of terror: the son was Eugene
Beauharnais, afterward viceroy of Italy. Napoleon,
affected by the nature of his petition and his youthful
gracefulness, granted his request. Eugene burst into
tears when he beheld his father's sword. The general,
touched by his emotion, treated him with so much
kindness, that Madame de Beauharnais thought herself
obliged to wait upon him the next day to thank him
for his attention. " It is needless," said Napoleon, " to
speak of the extreme grace, the soft and enchanting
manners of the Empress Josephine." The acquaintance soon became intimate and tender, and it was not
long before they were married. To her he afterward




GENERAL-IN-CHIEF.             53
professed himself to be indebted for all the happiness
he had enjoyed, and of her charms he continued to
speak with unabated sensibility. "Josephine," he remarked to O'Meara, "was grace personified. Everything she did, was with a grace and delicacy peculiar
to herself. I never saw her act inelegantly the whole
time we lived together."
Meanwhile, the situation of affairs in Italy had again
become the subject of dissatisfaction to the government.
General Scherer, who in the autumn of 1795 had been
put in command of the army of Italy, Kellerman being
placed at the head of the army of the Alps again separated from the other, had gained the important battle
of Loano, in December of that ye'ar, by which the
Austrians were driven beyond the Apennines during
that winter. But he was reproached with not having
profited by that victory as much as he ought to have
done. His system and temper were not precisely such
as the Directory desired to have. He was constantly
applying for money to pay the troops and to refit, and
for horses to supply the place of those which had died.
The government put him off with vain promises, or
with dilatory answers; and Scherer gave notice that,
if his requests were not attended to, he would abandon
the Riviera de Genoa, and return to the line of the
Roya, or perhaps recross the Var. The Directory did
that, the advantages of which had so often been felt before-they consulted Napoleon. In January, 1796,
he submitted a memorial, detailing a plan of an offensive campaign on that frontier, which excited so much
attention, especially on the part of Carnot, then minister
of war, by its originality and ability, that, in connexion
with the general confidence in his character, and the
6*




.54                NAPOLEON.
influence in his behalf which his approaching alliance
with MIadame Beauharnais created, it determined the selection in his favor. In the beginning of March,
Etat. 26.
1796, he was appointed commander-in-chief
of the army of Italy, and on the 9th of that month was
married. A few fleet days were given to his bride,
when, exclaiming, " in one campaign I shall be old or
dead," he set out from Paris, paid a brief visit to his
mother at Marseilles, and reached the Nice on the 20th
of March, where headquarters had been during the winter, and on the 27th of that month took the command
of the army of Italy.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS OF 1796 AND 1797.
NOTHING is more simple than the science of war:
nothing is more complicated than the art of war.
Viewed abstractedly, the principles upon which success
in arms depends, are few, simple, and certain; viewed
in practice, the methods in which those principles may
be applied, and the combinations under which they
may act, are indefinite in their number, and fortuitous
in their suggestion. In all the varieties which war has
assumed, from the days of Alexander to the present
hour, and under all the novelties of circumstances
which future times may develop, the laws which it
illustrates are limited and uniform; but the modes of
operation, by which these laws are brought into play,
and by which their steady action determines victory to
one side or to the other, are as copious as the history
of nations, and as original and splendid as the fame of
Scipio, Cesar, Marlborough, Turenne, and Frederic.
The former are the common heritage of the profession;




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             55
they can not be changed, or counteracted; they allow
no room for invention. The latter is the field of individual ability; and the maxims upon which it depends
can no more be taught or classified, than human reason
itself can be reduced to a method. The neglect of
this obvious distinction between the principles of military science, and the means of applying those principles with advantage, has caused the genius of Napoleon
to be viewed, by ignorant admirers on the one hand,
with an irrational and extravagant wonder, and, on the
other hand, to be underrated by some English writers,
for reasons which constitute the true grounds of his
everlasting reputation. One class —the fanatics of his
fame —have written as if, by some inexplicable energy of character, acting apart from all precedent, and
against all rule, he had swept away all the distinctions of
science, and triumphed by the force of his own unconscious but irrepressible greatness.  The other school,
comprising Sir Walter Scott and Mr. Alison, have supposed that in pointing out the fixed principles upon which
his battles were gained, they transferred the merit of
those victories from him to the profession to which he
belonged. The former have not recognised the existence of a science in war; the latter have overlooked
the distinction between a science and an art-between
the laws which are to act, and the indefinite variety of
forces and circumstances upon which those laws may
operate. In another department, this distinction is so
obvious that there is no danger of mistaking the truth.
The principles which constitute the science of mechanics, may, in fact, be reduced to a simple, mathematical
conception; and the methods, through which these principles may act-constituting simple, mechanical pow



56                 NAPOLEON.
ers — are no more than five: yet the mechanic arts,
which consist of nothing but illustrations of these principles, and combinations of these powers, exhibit a
range which no law can limit, and are inexhaustible
subjects of admiration and wonder. No one imagines
that the wonderful devices of Arkwright, and Watt, and
Whitney, operate by anything else than science: yet
no one estimates the inventive powers and creative genius of these persons at less, because we can trace in
their machines the action of principles with which we
are perfectly familiar. On the contrary, the rule of
judgment is, that the more purely and plainly scientific
the reasoning is, by which an invention has been made,
the more astonishing is the genius by which that reasoning has been led. The most brilliant contrivance
of modern times, perhaps, is the safety-lamp: it is because every step, in the process by which it was constructed, was suggested by fixed principles of science,
that we bow with such reverence to the genius of Davy,
and regard his invention as throwing such glory upon
his name. In fact, in the same proportion in which
science is exhibited in any work, is the peculiar and
original ability, unacquired and incommunicable, of the
author, exhibited.
Genius and its productions, in any department, are
nothing else than human imagination and reason, acting
according to those laws which nature has established
in their sphere. While, therefore, the campaigns of
Napoleon display nothing but the settled maxims and
rules of military science, let no man imagine that it
was these maxims and rules that made his campaigns,
or that they measure the merit of Napoleon. Those
conclusions of rational experience, which have become




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             57
the axioms of war, were, in Napoleon's case, largely
derived from books; and splendid examples of their
manifold application were furnished in those great careers of Cesar, Frederic, Turenne, and Conde, which
he so laboriously studied: but the perfection with which
the elements of military judgment, and the instincts of
military reasoning, were apprehended-the sagacity,
combined of quick conception, profound logic, and
all-embracing knowledge, which foresaw how some settled principle might be favorably applied-the enthusiasm, energy, skill, indomitable ardor, and imperturbable coolness, which forced the circumstances of the
case into the conditions which the favorable action of
the principle required: —these, and the thousand
happy peculiarities of temper, habit, and manner, upon
which everything depends, were the inborn and underived portions of his greatness; and these will remain
for ever, to be most admired and extolled by those who
can best understand the science with which they were
connected.
That a greater force will always predominate over a
smaller one, is an observation as incontestable in war as
it is in mechanics; and, accordingly, the whole of modern military science may be said to reduce itself to
having, at the point of contest, a greater force than the
enemy. The rule is equally true in strategy and in
tactics: the fate of a campaign depends, usually, upon
which party has the larger army at the place where the
decisive encounter occurs; and the issue of a battle is
commonly with him who has accumulated a more numerous force, or a force that can act more advantageously at that point where the shock and crisis of the
engagement take effect. The methods by which this




58                 NAPOLEON.
relation is to be secured, vary with the circumstances
of the case: and some of the different modes of effecting it, which the genius of the great military heroes of
the age brought to light during the twenty years' war
which now opens, will be seen in the following pages.
In his first Italian campaign, as also at some later periods, Napoleon found himself at the head of a force
inferior in numbers, but of inexhaustible energy and
endurance, and of the most precise discipline, and opposed to an enemy courageous enough, but somewhat
deficient in activity and rapidity, and obstinately adhering to the vicious system of dividing his forces and
operating over an extensive line. He saw that, under
these circumstances, to occupy a central position, and
fall, consecutively, with his whole force, upon these
separate detachments of the enemy, by means of very
rapid and exact marches, would be a certain mode of
satisfying the condition of having always a larger body
at the point of contest. The quick sagacity with which
Napoleon always saw the best way of bringing this
system to bear —the confidence with which he adhered
to it, and made it apply, again and again, with the most
unfailing success-but, above all, the accurate information in regard to the geography of the countries, the
precision of calculation with respect to the movement
of troops, and the enthusiasm of execution, with which
he caused his brilliant plans to be carried out, that are
here displayed, render these Italian operations the
greatest first campaign on record.
The same method of operation was so suitable, both
to the temper of Bonaparte, and to the nature of his
best resources, that it was his favorite style of proceeding to the end of his career. He himself explained




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             59
this to be the principal secret of his splendid successes.
In a conversation between himself, Moreau, and Gohier,
recorded in the memoirs of the latter, Moreau, whose
own great victory at Hohenlinden illustrated the same
mode of proceeding, observed: "It is always the
greater number that defeats the less."-" True," said
Napoleon, " it is always the greater number that beats
the less." —"And yet," said Gohier, "with small
armies you have frequently defeated large ones."" Even then," replied Napoleon, " it was always the
inferior force that was defeated by the superior one.
When, with a small body of men, I was in the presence of a large one, I collected my little band, and fell
like lightning on one of the wings of the enemy, and
defeated it.  Profiting by the confusion which this
always produced in their whole line, I repeated the
attack, with similar success, in another quarter, still
with my whole force, and thus beat the enemy in detail: and the general victory, which was the result,
was still an example of the truth of the principle, that
the greater force defeats the lesser."
When Napoleon took the command, in March, 1796,
the army of the enemy was about twice as numerous
as the French, and consisted of two great corps-one
the active Austrian army of forty thousand men, of
whom a large portion were cavalry, with one hundred
and forty pieces of cannon, commanded by Generals
D'Argenteau, Melas, Liptay, Wukassowich, and Sebottendorf, the left of which was in communication with
Genoa and the English fleet under Nelson; the other,
the active Sardinian army of twenty thousand men, with
sixty pieces of cannon, under the Austrian general
Colli, and Generals Provera and Latour, constituting




'60                NAPOLEON.
the right wing of the allied force, and encamped and
entrenched around Ceva; the whole commanded by
General Beaulieu, an officer of seventy-five, but prompt,
courageous, and of distinguished reputation, whose
headquarters were at Novi. This army was well provided with every requisite, and was to be further augmented by the contingents of Naples, Parma, MIodena,
and the pope. The effective French army on the left
bank of the Var consisted of thirty thousand men present under arms, of whom twenty-five hundred were
cavalry, almost entirely dismounted, with thirty pieces
of cannon: it was distributed into four divisions of infantry, under Generals Massena, Augereau, La Harpe,
and Serrurier, and two of cavalry, under Stengel and
Kilmaine: General Dujard commanded the artillery,
such as it was, and Berthier was adjutant-general.
Victor, Joubert, and St. Hilaire, were among the generals of brigade; and Murat, Junot, Marmont, Duroc,
Le Marrais, and Louis Bonaparte, were aides-de-camp
of the commander-in-chief. The French soldiers were
destitute of everything: the supply of bread was precarious, and no meat had been distributed for a long
time: the poverty of the government was such, that the
military chest contained only two thousand louis in,
specie, which Napoleon had brought with him from
Paris, and a million in drafts, of which part were protested. On the other hand, the soldiers were of the
best class, being generally persons of superior rank, intelligence, and education, whom the revolution had
driven into the army, and they had grown inured to
war on the summits of the Alps and Pyrenees, amid
that poverty and privation which Napoleon said were
the school that forms good soldiers; and they had a




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.              61
commander who knew how to compensate for inferiority of numbers by rapid marches, for the want of artillery by the nature of his manceuvres, and for the
absence of cavalry by the choice of position. Not a
moment was to be lost; the army could no longer
subsist where it was; all its dependence was on victory; it was only in the plains of Italy that it could reorganize and supply itself. Napoleon, determined to
surprise the enemy at the very opening of the campaign,
gave immediate orders to advance; and headquarters,
which had never been beyond Nice since the beginning
of the war, were instantly moved on to Albenga, about
seventy-five miles further along the coast toward Genoa.
In the march to this place, along the abrupt shore of
the Mediterranean, the headquarters, with the rear and
baggage, were exposed to the fire of Nelson's squadron; but Napoleon did not allow the columns to halt,
either to avoid or return it. Arrived at Albenga, he
reviewed the troops, and made the first of those kindling appeals to their enthusiasm to which so much of
his power was owing, and which form one of the most
striking illustrations of his character: "Soldiers! you
are naked and hungry; the government owes you
much, but can pay you nothing. Your patience and
valor in the midst of these rocks are admirable, but
they can not win for you martial renown: no glory results to you from your endurance. I propose to lead
you into the most fertile plains on the globe. Rich
provinces, great cities, will be in your power: there
you will find honors, glory, and wealth. Soldiers of
Italy! can you be wanting in courage and perseverance?"  The significance of this appeal will be
understood, when it is remembered that the army was
VOLJ. I. —6




62                 NAPOLEON.
in such a state of destitution, that for several years the
pay received by the officers had been only eight francs
a month, and that the staff had been entirely on foot.
Berthier preserved among his papers an order of the
day, at Albenga, giving a gratification of three louis to
each general of division.
The plan of campaign is one of the finest exhibitions
of that magnificent coup d'ceil in which Napoleon excelled every commander that preceded him.  The
king of Sardinia, whose position had procured him the
title of the " porter of the Alps," was in possession of
all the passes leading into Piedmont; and to attempt
to force them at this season of the year, and without
artillery, was idle. Napoleon, therefore, conceived the
idea of turning the flank of this tremendous barrier, by
entering Piedmont across Mont St. Jaques, at Cadibona,
which is the lowest point both of the Alps and Apennines, and of very trifling elevation, being the spot where
the former end and the latter begin, and the only avenue through which Italy can be entered without crossing mountains. Savona, a fortified sea-town, afforded
a good base; thence to La Madonna was three miles
over a good road; thence to Carcari was six miles;
and from there carriages led into the' interior of Piedmont. A movement into Italy, by Savona, Cadibona,
Carcari, and the Bormida, also promised to divide the
Sardinian and Austrian army, as it equally threatened
Turin and Milan, one of which the Austrians were interested in covering, and the Piedmontese the other.
The rapidity of execution which characterized these
operations, was as brilliant as the vigor of the conceptions. Serrurier, with the left division, was stationed
at Ormea and Garessio, to observe Colli at Ceva: the




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             63
centre divisions, under Massena and Augereau, were
posted at Savona, Finale, and Loano, on the coast;
La Harpe, with the right division, was pushed toward
Genoa, and his vanguard, under General Cervoni, was
advanced as far as Voltri.  Beaulieu, then at Novi,
conceiving that Genoa was the object of the French
commander, was instantly on the alert to meet him:
Colli, with the right wing, was directed to keep Serrurier in check; D'Argenteau, with the centre, was
ordered to advance from his headquarters at Sasello
through Dego and the Lower Montenotte, to pass the
Apennines at the Upper Montenotte, descend the pass
by Monteligino, and fall upon the left flank of the
French at Savona, on its march to Genoa; while Beaulieu himself was to penetrate the Bochetta pass, fall
upon Cervoni at Voltri, and effect a junction with
D'Argenteau at Savona. These dispositions appeared
at first sight to be skilfully made, and some of the
French generals became alarmed. On the 8th,
Massena wrote to the commander-in-chief: "I
do not know what are your intentions in leaving the
troops (under Cervoni) at Voltri: I must not conceal
from you that our line is too much extended to be defended with so small a force:" and on the 9th, Mesnard, a French general of brigade, wrote to Massena,
that D'Argenteau was advancing across the mountains,
with the design " to cut off the retreat of our troops
from Voltri, and to make them prisoners." But the
eagle eye of Napoleon's mind had detected a fatal error
in the operations of his opponent, and had already seen
in it the presage of splendid victory. He observed
that the movement of his enemies divided their centre
and left in such a manner, that as they crossed the




64:               NAPOLEON.
Apennines there was no communication between them,
except round the back of the mountain; while his own
force, on the contrary, was so placed as to be able to
unite in a few hours, and fall in a mass on either division of the Austrians, with such effect that, if beaten, the
other must immediately retire. Accordingly, Colonel
Rampon, with the thirty-second, consisting of one thousand men, was ordered to occupy and defend Monteligino; and orders were sent to Cervoni to maintain his
ground as long as possible, and then to retire upon the
road to Montenotte. The object of these dispositions
was to give opportunity and time for Napoleon to fall
with his whole army upon D'Argenteau, in the defiles
or on the summit of the Apennines. On the 9th, Napoleon fixed his headquarters at Savona. On the 10th,
Cervoni, who on the 8th had repulsed an advanced
corps of forty-five hundred Austrians, was attacked by
Beaulieu at the head of ten thousand men, but held
his ground firmly during the day; on the 11th, he retired to a strong position on the mountain of LeFourche,
and on the evening of that day, according to his orders
from Napoleon, fell back secretly and rapidly upon La
Harpe at Madonna, in the rear of Rampon at Monteligino, and on the road to it and Montenotte. Meanwhile D'Argenteau, who had encamped on the 10th at
Lower Montenotte, marched on the 11th upon Monteligino, intending to debouch by Madonna upon Savona.
At noon on that day, a strong reconnoitring party, who
had been sent out by Colonel Rampon from the redoubts of Monteligino, were driven in, and D'Argenteau
attempted to carry the position by assault, but was twice
repulsed: on the third advance, Rampon, who was
without food, water, and ammunition, proposed to his




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            65
men a solemn oath, to die rather than to yield the post;
and when the Austrians had reached the breastwork of
the redoubt, the regiment, which for its defence of this
place received the surname of the brave, rushed upon
them with the bayonet, and drove them with slaughter
down the mountain. D'Argenteau, finding his men
fatigued, drew them back on the afternoon of that day,
the 11th, and encamped on Upper Montenotte, intending to turn the position in the morning, and reduce it
from the other side. This delay secured the success
of Napoleon's arrangements; and Rampon was rewarded by the command of a brigade. On that night,
which was dark and tempestuous, La Harpe and Cervoni were pushed forward from Madonna, to unite at
daybreak with Rampon; Augereau was sent from
Loano across the Alps, in the direction of Millesimo,
to intercept any aid from Colli, and to prevent D'Argenteau from retreating in such a manner as to effect a
junction with him: and Napoleon in person, with Massena's division and Joubert's brigade, set out at midnight from Savona, and by the dawn of day was near
Upper Montenotte, upon the right and rear of the
Austrian centre. On the morning of the 12th, D'Argenteau found himself surrounded on three sides; but
prepared for the shock with judgment and firmness.
But the swiftness with which the blow was dealt, was
as terrible as the sagacity with which it was contrived
was profound. Napoleon took his place on a commanding height, in the centre of Massena's division,
and directed the movements of the corps. La Harpe
and Rampon overpowered the Austrians in front; Massena drove their right from Montenotte; and Joubert
at the same time took them in the rear. The route
Q*




66                 NAPOLEON.
was complete: the Austrians, in spite of the efforts of
their general, Roccavina, and of D'Argenteau, fled
precipitately. Four stands of colors, five pieces of cannon, fifteen hundred killed and wounded, and two
thousand prisoners, were the results of the brilliant day
of MONTENOTTE; while the French loss was inconsiderable. The effect of Napoleon's plan of operations,
in separating the Sardinians, became instantly perceptible: the Austrians who fled from Montenotte retreated
upon Dego, toward Acqui, which defended the route
to Milan and converged toward Beaulieu's line of retreat: the Sardinian regiment made their way to Millesimo, on the road to Ceva.
Beaulieu, on the 12th, was occupying Voltri, and
planning with Nelson an attack upon Savona. He had
heard in the morning the distant sound of firing on his
right, but did not learn the overthrow of his centre till
the morning of the 13th, when he gave instant orders
to retreat. He himself reached Acqui that night. Sebottendorf was ordered to retire by way of Sestri and
the Bochetta to Dego with the main body; and Wukassowich, with his division of grenadiers, was directed
to march to the same point by the way of Sassello;
but such were the difficulties of the roads, that only the
advanced corps of Sebottendorf reached Dego in time
for the next battle. Meanwhile Napoleon lost not an
hour in his advance. On the day of Montenotte his
headquarters were advanced to Carcari. D'Argenteau,
with such Austrian troops as had rallied from Montenotte, and such as were sent from Voltri by Beaulieu,
occupied an entrenched position on the heights of
Dego, on the 12th and 13th: Colli, with such battalions as he could withdraw from his main position at




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             67
Ceva, which Serrurier, still stationary at Garessio, was
vigilantly watching, occupied Millesimo, a narrow defile in front of which was occupied a strong force,
and which was further strengthened by the mountain
Cossaria beyond, occupied by General Provera with
two thousand men: these two positions were connected
by a Sardinian brigade, which occupied the heights of
Biestro. Napoleon determined to attack the whole
line at once, about four leagues in length, on the following day. Accordingly, on the night of the 12th,
Massena was directed to advance the next day along
the main road to Dego, and orders were sent to La
Harpe, who after the battle of Montenotte had been
sent with the right division to pursue the Austrians,
and drive them further from their right, to wheel suddenly to his left on the 13th, and aid Massena in his
attack upon the fortified position at Dego. At daybreak, on the 13th, Napoleon himself, with Augereau's
division, which now formed the left wing of the army,
directed the attack upon Millesimo. Augereau, who
had not been present at Montenotte, led the charge
through the defile, with such fury that the pass was
swept as by a torrent, and by the aid of Joubert's
and Mesnard's brigades, General Provera, with his
corps of two thousand, was cut off from the main body
and surrounded on Mount Cossaria, on the summit of
which, in an old ruined castle, he held out in the hope
of being speedily relieved. Perceiving the indispensable necessity of reducing this position, in order to
proceed effectively against Colli, Napoleon ordered an
assault; but a brisk fire being heard toward the centre
of the French line, where Mesnard was stationed with




68                NAPOLEON.
his brigade, the commander-in-chief rode over in that
direction, and left the assault to be directed by Augereau. He led his division in three columns up the
hill, but when the summit was reached, a tremendous
volley of bullets and rocks drove them back with confusion and loss. Napoleon, who returned to this post
in the evening, and feared that Provera might cut his
way during the night to the Sardinian army, ordered
posts to be established closely around the foot of the
mountain, and fortified with artillery, and the men to
sleep on their arms. Meanwhile, the attack on Dego
by Massena had not taken place on the 13th, in consequence of the fatigue of his troops, and the nonappearance of La Harpe, who did not arrive until the
following day, when the armies were confronted throughout the whole of their extended line. On the morning
of the 14th, Napoleon, leaving Augereau to operate
against Colli and Provera, passed over to the right to
superintend in person the storming of Dego, with the
two divisions of Massena and La Harpe.  The Austrians were entrenched in a grand redoubt on the summit of Dego, beyond the rapid mountain-stream of
Bormida; and the French were divided into five close
columns-three under Generals Causse, Cervoni, and
Lasalcette, and led by La Harpe, were to ford the Bormida, and to assault the position in front; a fourth under Monnier, and attended by Massena in person, was
to cross on a rude bridge, and march upon their left;
while a fifth, under General Boyer, was held in reserve.
About one o'clock the combined movement began.
The columns of Causse, Cervoni, and Lasalcette,
steadily ascended the hill under a brisk fire; and the
Austrians in the redoubt, seeing D'Argenteau hasten



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.              69
ing in the rear of the village to their relief, with four
battalions, held their position with obstinacy. At this
moment, Massena came upon the flank of D'Argenteau,
who, finding himself in danger, immediately retreated,
with the loss of his artillery. The men in the redoubt
were thus surrounded, but still fought with courage:
the three columns assailed them in front, broke through
the works, and cut them to pieces. About noon on
the same day, after Colli had made several unsuccessful attempts to relieve Provera, the latter in despair
surrendered. At the same time, the heights of Biestro
were carried by Mesnard and Joubert. Thus throughout the whole line, from Cossaria to Dego, the triumph
of the French was complete. The Austrians were
pursued into the gorges of Spigno, on the Acqui road,
by four hundred cavalry. The whole loss of the enemy on this day was above two thousand killed and
wounded; six thousand prisoners, among whom were
two generals and twenty-four superior officers; thirty
pieces of horse-artillery, sixty ammunition-wagons,
and fifteen stands of colors. A further result of this
great battle, was the complete separation of the Sardinian and Austrian armies, and the antagonism of their
interests. Beaulieu removed his headquarters to Acqui to cover Milan, and Colli retired to Ceva to cover
Turin, and to provide against Serrurier. Napoleon
instantly put again in practice his favorite system, and
proceeded to fall with his whole force on Colli. To
aid the junction of Serrurier, who had been ordered to
advance from Garessio, Augereau, supported by La
Harpe, was directed to move toward his left and take
possession of Monte Zemoto, while Massena, with his
division, was to advance on the right and turn the ene



70                 NAPOLEON.
my's left, with a view to dislodge him from the entrenched camp at Ceva.
These movements were begun to be executed,
when about three o'clock in the morning, Wukassowich with his Austrian grenadiers, who, it will be remembered, had set out from Voltri by the way of Sassello, appeared behind Dego, which to his surprise he
found occupied by French instead of Austrians. He
attacked them suddenly at daybreak, and the French
battalion, oppressed by the fatigue of the previous day,
offered but little resistance; the positions and the artillery of D'Argenteau were recovered, and six hundred
prisoners taken.  The intelligence of this disaster excited as much surprise as alarm at headquarters. Massena, who received the first intelligence of it, hastened
to the spot, rallied the disordered troops, and led them
back to the charge, but they were again repulsed. Napoleon then, having recalled La Harpe's division from
its march toward Ceva, arrived on the ground, and directed the operations required for this second storming
of the redoubt on the heights of Dego. Massena, with
Mesnard's brigade, was directed to pass round and approach the redoubt in front; Cervoni scaled the precipice on its right flank; while General Causse climbed
the left side of the hill of Dego. The last placed himself at the head of his corps, and rushed impetuously
up; a heavy fire from the redoubt deprived the men
of their leader, and threw them back in disorder: at
the same moment, the Austrians sallied out and pursued the French down the hill, but Napoleon received
the shock with a part of Victor's brigade, which had
just arrived on the ground; and the others being rallied, the imperialists were driven back. The adjutant



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             71
general Lanusse, decided the fortune of the day. He
placed himself at the head of two battalions of light
troops, and charged up the hill as Causse had done.
Twice he was driven back; the third time, putting his
hat upon the point of his sword, he rushed boldly in
advance of his men, and reached the summit. At this
moment Massena appeared in front, and Wukassowich
finding himself surrounded, fled in disorder. Nearly
his whole division was destroyed or taken, and the
artillery recaptured. Lanusse was made a brigadiergeneral for his heroic conduct; he afterward became a
general of division, and fell at the battle of Alexandria,
in Egypt, in 1801.
Placing La Harpe with his division at the Austrian
camp of San Benedetto, on the Belbo, to observe Beaulieu, and prevent his junction with the Sardinians, Napoleon hastened to precipitate the residue of his army
upon Colli, who was entrenched at Ceva, on the right
bank of the Tanaro. Serrurier, from Garessio, defended
the banks of the Tanaro; Augereau advanced by the
route of Monte Zemolo and Monte Zemoto; and Massena, further to the right, converged toward the same
point. The arrival of the troops upon the heights of
Monte Zemoto opened a splendid and exhilarating
spectacle. From that elevation they looked down upon
the vast fertile fields of Piedmont. The Tanaro at
their feet, and further on, the Po with its numerous
tributary streams, gleamed in silvery lustre among fields
and gardens glowing in the first bright green of the
spring: while, in the far-distant horizon, a snowy girdle, made whiter by the deep blue of the sky above it,
bounded this luxurious valley of the land of promise.
The mighty walls of this Eden, beyond which the




72                 NAPOLEON.
French had lingered for two years in hopeless eagerness, seemed to have fallen by a noiseless enchantment.
" Hannibal forced the Alps," said Napoleon, as he contemplated this sublime achievement of his genius;
"but we have turned them."
On the 17th, Serrurier, defending both banks of the
Tanaro, attacked Ceva on the right, and pushed some
corps toward the Corsaglia, to threaten its communications; Augereau, from the heights of Monte Zemoto,
assaulted its front with the brigades of Beyrand and
Joubert, and maintained a resolute contest; Massena,
on the extreme right, advanced with a view to cross
the Tanaro, and cut off the retreat. Colli, on the
point of being surrounded, evacuated Ceva that night,
and crossed the river, placing a garrison in the fort,
and abandoning all his camp artillery; and the same evening the French headquarters were advanced to this
place, and the next day to Lesegno, at the junction of
the Corsaglia and Tanaro, to which point also, Massena
directed his course. On the 20th, Colli marched by
his right to take position at Mondovi; and encountering at St. Michael with superior numbers, Serrurier's
division which the night before had forced the passage
of the Corsaglia, he compelled them to fall back; he
then occupied an elevated position under the fortified
town of Mondovi, and throwing up a considerable redoubt before his centre, and some smaller ones on his
left, prepared to receive the shock of his opponents.
On the 22d, the French army, divided into three columns, passed the Corsaglia: the commander-in-chief,
with Joubert's brigade and part of Massena's division,
crossed at Lesegno, at the junction of that river with
the Tanaro; Massena, with the residue of his divis



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             73
ion, forced the bridge of St. Michael, further up the
stream; and these two columns moved upon Colli's
left. At the same time Serrurier crossing by the bridge
of Torre still higher up the Corsaglia, advanced the
brigade of Guyeux against the enemy's right, and that
of Dommartin against the centre, following the latter
at supporting distance, with Fiorella's brigade. Dommartin was at first repulsed by the gallantry of General
Dichat, but Serrurier advancing with impetuosity, the
contest was renewed with the utmost severity. General Dichat was mortally wounded; and after dreadful
slaughter Serrurier carried the redoubt which crossed
the Sardinian centre. This decided the conflict. Colli, finding that Guyeux had driven in his right, and
was entering Mondovi, and that Massena and the commander-in-chief were upon his left, retreated with precipitation and disorder behind the Ellero. They were
pursued by Colonel Murat and General Stengel, the
latter of whom, an invaluable cavalry officer, was unfortunately killed. The loss of the Piedmontese in
this battle, amounted to three thousand men, eight
pieces of cannon, ten stand of colors, and fifteen hundred prisoners, among whom were three generals: the
fortified town of Mondovi, with its magazines and artillery, was also surrendered. Napoleon-nil actum
reputans dum quid superesset agendum —pressed instantly on in pursuit of Colli, and in the direction of
Turin. On the same day, the 25th of April, Serrurier
entered Fossano, driving Colli out before him; Augereau took Alba; and the commander-in-chief, with
Massena's division, marched into Cherasco, a fortified
town at the junction of the Stura and Tanaro, and
only ten leagues from Turin. This place was put into
Vol,..-7




74                  NAPOLEON.
a state of defence, and the main body of the division
then crossed the Stura, and occupied the village of
Bra, five miles nearer to Turin. But Sardinia, overwhelmed and dismayed, was already at the feet of the
conqueror.
Immediately after the loss of the entrenched camp
of Ceva, Victor Amedeus III., alarmed for the safety
of his capital, had sent ministers to Genoa to open negotiations with the French agents: and on the day
after the battle of Mondovi, Colli proposed a suspension of hostilities; and conferences on the subject took
place. Napoleon, feeling the vast importance of securing some fortresses in the country, made the proposal at once an occasion of securing that great advantage. He stated that the Directory had reserved to
itself the power of making peace, but that he would
grant an armistice, for the purpose of allowing a plenipotentiary to be sent to Paris to treat for a definitive
peace: the terms of the armistice being that two of
three fortresses, Coni, Tortona, and Alessandria,
should be at once put in possession of the French
army. These terms were promptly accepted and the
armistice of Cherasco signed on the 28th of April,
1796.
When it is remembered that just one month had
elapsed since Napoleon took the command of the army
of Italy at Nice; that only sixteen days had intervened
between the time when his headquarters were at Savona, and when they were at Cherasco; that in this interval, the combined armies of Austria and Sardinia
had been severed, and one driven in confusion and disgrace toward Milan, and the other annihilated; that the
haughty and selfish kingdom of Piedmont, Sardinia,




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.              75
and Savoy, had been precipitated into the dust; that
the Alps had been past, and the immortal battles of
1Montenotte, Millesimo, Dego, and Mondovi, had been
fought; and all this by a general for the first time in
supreme command, and with an army so destitute of
the ordinary supplies of shoes, and even of bread, that
they were constantly disorganizing for the purpose of
pillage; the history of the world may be defied to produce so impressive a display of human power, or so
extraordinary a series of human occurrences. The
proclamation of the general-in-chief to his soldiers at
Cherasco sounds like the wildest extravagance of rhetoric; yet is so literal an expression of facts, that every
clause in it may be at this day proved by the incontestable evidence of monuments and documents. " Soldiers!" said this second address, "you have, in fifteen
days, gained six victories, taken twenty-one stands
of colors, fifty-five pieces of cannon, and several fortresses, and conquered the richest part of Piedmont;
you have taken fifteen thousand prisoners, and killed
or wounded upward of ten thousand men. Heretofore,
you have fought for barren rocks, now famous by your
valor, but useless to your country: your services are
now equal to those of the armies of Holland and the
Rhine. You were utterly destitute; and you have
supplied all your deficiencies. You have gained battles without cannon, crossed rivers without bridges,
made forced marches without shoes, and bivouacked
without brandy, and often without bread. None but
republican phalanxes, the soldiers of liberty, could have
endured what you have: thanks be to you, soldiers.
for your exertions. Your grateful country owes its
prosperity to you: and if the conquest of Toulon was




76                 NAPOLEON.
an omen of the immortal campaign of 1793, your present victories foreshadow one still more glorious."  Mu-s
rat, first aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, was
despatched to Paris to deliver to the Directory a copy
of the armistice and twenty-one stands of colors, the
trophies of victory. Already, five times in one week,
in the sittings of the 21st, 22d, 24th, 25th, and 26th
of April, as the news of the victories of Montenotte,
_Millesimo, Dego, Ceva, and Mondovi, successively
reached Paris, had the Directory decreed that the army
of Italy deserved well of the country: and now, the
arrival of the picturesque evidences of triumph, and of
the intelligence of the entire submission of Sardinia,
raised the enthusiasm of all classes to its height.  The
Sardinian plenipotentiary, Count Revel, soon arrived,
to treat for a definitive peace; and a treaty was concluded and signed on the 15th of May, 1796. By this
convention, Alessandria and Coni were surrendered
to the army; Valenza, a fortified town on the Po, was
evacuated by the Neapolitan troops, to be held by the
French general till he had crossed that river; the militia were disbanded; the mountain fortresses of Suza,
La Brunette, and Exilles, were demolished, and the
passages of the Alps opened; and the king of Sardinia
left without any fortified places but Turin and Fort
Bard. Everything was thus smoothed for the conquest
of Lombardy.
Napoleon remained but three days at Cherasco after
the signing of the armistice, and then hastened forward
to make a dash at Milan. Massena marched into Alessandria, and Napoleon's headquarters reached the
well-supplied fortress of Tortona, both of which were
opened to the French in the beginning of May.  The




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             77
reference to Valenza in the arrangements concluded at
Cherasco had been made for the purpose of deceiving
the Austrian army as to the place of crossing the Po;
and the early movements of the French army kept up
the delusion. Beaulieu stationed his troops at Valeggio, on the left bank of the Cogna, and prepared to
defend Milan by disputing the passage of the Po, the
Sesia, and Tecino. Napoleon having assembled around
him at Tortona the grenadiers of the army, amounting
to thirty-five hundred men in ten battalions, and being
joined by Serrurier and La Harpe, marched suddenly
to Placenza, which he reached at nine o'clock in the
morning on the 7th of May, having traversed sixteen
leagues in thirty-six hours. He took his place upon
the bank and superintended the passage of the men in
ferry-boats, and the construction of a bridge under
General Andreossy. Lannes passed first with nine
hundred grenadiers, and in a few hours the whole van,
though opposed by two squadrons of Austrian cavalry,
passed. On the same night the whole army arrived,
and in the night crossed upon a bridge. The headquarters of the grenadiers, under La Harpe, were advanced on the 7th to Emetri between Fombio and the
Po. Liptay, the Austrian general, who had been stationed at Pavia, with his division of eight thousand men
in eight battalions and eight squadrons, advanced during the night of the 7th to Fombio, one league from
Placenza. On the 8th, Napoleon proceeded to dislodge him, by ordering Lannes to attack the village on
the left, Lanusse in the centre, and Dallemagne on the
right. After a brisk contest of an hour, the Austrians
were routed with the loss of their cannon, twenty-five
hundred prisoners, and three stands of colors; and the
7*




78                 NAPOLEON.
fugitives crossed the Adda, and entered the fortress of
Pizzighittone.  The same night, General Beaulieu,
who had become apprized of the intention to cross at
Placenza, descended the Po in hopes of disputing the
passage, but found that he was too late. During some
movements on that evening, the brave General La
IIarpe, returning from reconnoitring, was unfortunately
shot by his own troops. On the 10th, the whole Austrian force in Lombardy amounted to about thirty-five
thousand men; and was composed of the divisions of
Sebottendorf and Roselmini, together about twelve
thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, concentrated under Beaulieu at Lodi; the remains of the
eight thousand who had been defeated at Formio, and
were now in Pizzighittone; two thousand men in garrison at Milan; and ten thousand, the remains of Colli's
and Wukassowich's force, who were retreating through
Cassano toward Brescia. On that day, the French
army, advancing from the bridge of Placenza, encountered a strong rear-guard of Austrian grenadiers in an
advantageous position, defending the Lodi road; after
some manceuvring, and a brief, but fierce contest, they
broke, and were pursued into the walled town of Lodi.
The Austrians rallied behind the line established by
Beaulieu on the left bank of the Adda, and opened a
fire from about thirty pieces of cannon to defend the
bridge. Napoleon, in hopes of cutting off the troops
that were marching by Cassano, determined to cross
the bridge at once in face of the enemy's fire. Accordingly, at five o'clock in the afternoon, he directed General Beaumont to pass the river at a ford half a league
above the town, and to open a fire, on the other side,
upon the enemy's right flank. He then directed all




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             79
the artillery of his army against the enemy's batteries
which swept the bridge; and drawing up his grenadiers
behind a rampart, out of the fire, and nearer to the
Austrian batteries than their own infantry were, who
had been withdrawn some distance to avoid the batteries of the French, he waited till the enemy's fire
slackened a little, and then ordered the charge to beat.
The column, by a mere wheel to the left, reached the
bridge, which it crossed at a running pace in a few
seconds, took the enemy's cannons, broke their line,
and forced them to retreat on Crema with the loss
of twenty-five hundred prisoners and several stands.
This operation displayed as much prudence as boldness, and was regarded as one of the most brilliant
feats of the war. Napoleon stated his own loss to be
not more than two hundred men; yet, brief as the exposure was, he spoke to the end of his life of " the terrible passage of the bridge of Lodi." —"Vendemiare,
and even Mlontenotte," said Napoleon, afterward," never
induced me to look upon myself as a man of a superior
class; it was not till after Lodi that I was struck with
the possibility of my becoming a great actor in the
game of politics. The first spark of my ambition was
kindled at that time." The principal object, however,
of this assault had failed; for Colli and Wukassowich
had crossed the Adda at Cassano, and were in full retreat upon the Brescia road; the French, therefore,
invested Pizzighettone, which immediately surrendered
with three hundred prisoners. Napoleon, in one of his
nightly rounds, fell in with a bivouac of these prisoners,
and asked an old Hungarian officer among them how
matters had gone on their side. " There is no understanding it at all," he replied; "we have to deal with




80                 NAPOLEON.
a young general, who is one moment before us, the next
behind us, then again on our flanks; one does not
know where to place oneself: this manner of making
war is intolerable and against all usage and custom."
The French cavalry pursued the Austrian rearguard
as far as the Oglio, and entered Cremona. The Austrian authorities took refuge in Mantua.
Milan sent a deputation to implore the mercy of the
conqueror. On the 15th of May, Napoleon entered
under a triumphal arch, amid the national guards
clothed in the tricolor, and an immense concourse of
people. The army remained here six days, to supply
itself with every convenience, and to organize its artillery. A contribution of twenty millions of francs was
imposed upon this part of Lombardy. Previously to
this, Napoleon, when he entered the duchy of Parma,
at the passage of the Trebbia, received envoys making
the submission of that prince. As he was a person of
no political importance, he was suffered to reign; a
contribution of two millions in money, of numerous
supplies for the army, and twenty of his best pictures,
including the Saint-Jerome of Correggio, being exacted.
The terms were signed at Placenza, on the 9th of May.
The duke offered two millions more to be allowed to
keep this picture, and the army-agents were in favor
of accepting the commutation; but Napoleon said that
there would very soon be nothing left of the two millions proposed; while the possession of such a masterpiece would be a permanent ornament to Paris, and
would produce other works of art. After Milan was
taken, the duke of Modena hastened to make terms
with the victor. He paid ten millions, gave horses and
supplies of all kinds, and works of art; the convention




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            81
being signed at Milan on the 20th of May. Thus, in
twenty-two days after the armistice of Cherasco was
signed, Padua, Modena, and Lombardy, had been
cleared of the Austrian troops, and converted into
provinces of France. The army did not remain more
than seven or eight days in Lombardy, but that time
was diligently improved to the establishment of the
French ascendency. Augereau was at Pavia; Serrurier at Lodi and Cremona; and La Harpe's division
at Como, Cassano, and Lucca. In these and other
places, the French dominion was secured by the formation of national guards, the change of public officers,
and the remodelling of the political institutions. Leaving General Despinois in command at Milan, with
orders to reduce the citadel with the besieging trains
drawn from the Piedmontese fortresses, Napoleon advanced his headquarters to Lodi on the 24th, and two
hours after entering that place he received intelligence
of the revolt of Pavia, which Augereau had quitted on
the 20th, and of all the villages of that province, occasioned chiefly by the severity of the exactions imposed
upon them. He instantly returned to Milan with three
hundred horse, a battalion of grenadiers, and six pieces
of cannon. The French garrison of Pavia had capitulated to the insurgents, who had pushed forward an
advanced guard of eight hundred men to Binasco.
This place was attacked by Lannes, and burned; and
Pavia having been summoned ineffectually, Napoleon,
with fifteen hundred men and six field-pieces, instantly
assaulted a walled city containing thirty thousand in a
state of insurrection. After a protracted cannonade,
the place was carried by a charge; and slaughter, pillage, and fire, rendered it a memorable example to the




82                  NAPOLEON.
rest of Italy. Hostages were then exacted throughout
Lombardy, and selected from the best families.
Meanwhile, all the cantonments in the Milanese were
raised on the 27th of May, and the army marched on
Oglio, under the command of Berthier. On the 2Sth,
the commander-in-chief joined it, and marched with it
into Brescia, one of the principal Venetian towns. Here
he made a proclamation of friendly feeling and respect
toward the republic of Venice; and the senate sending
commissioners to declare its neutrality, it was agreed
that it should furnish all necessary provisions, to be
afterward paid for. Beaulieu, largely reinforced, now
prepared, as a last resistance, to dispute the passage
of the Mincio.  On the 29th of May, his centre, consisting of Pittony's division, occupied the village of
Borghetto on the right bank, and the heights of Valeggio on the left bank; his right, under Liptay, rested
on Peschiera; and on his extreme left, Sebottendorf
took a position at Pozzuolo, and Colli at Goito: Melas, with fifteen thousand, being at Villa Franca. On
that day, the French having its centre at Montechiaro,
its right at Castiglione, and its left at Dezenzano, made
a demonstration of crossing at Peschiera, which drew
the reserve to that place; and then, at daybreak, debouched on Borghetto. In front of that village were
three thousand cavalry; and intrenched within it, and
upon the heights of Valetto on the other side of the
river, were four thousand infantry. Murat attacked the
cavalry with brilliant success, and took two thousand
prisoners, nine pieces of cannon, and two standards:
Colonel Gardane, at the head of the grenadiers, then
charged into Borghetto, from which the enemy retreated burning the bridge behind them. Gardane




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             83
dashed into the water, and the Austrians, terrified by
the impetuous bearing of his corps, abandoned Valeggio. It was then ten in the morning; in two hours the
bridge was restored. Augereau passed, and marched
up the left bank upon Peschiera; Serrurier followed
the troops who had evacuated Valeggio and were retreating on Villa Franca; he was accompanied some
distance by the commander-in-chief, who then returned
to Valeggio, where headquarters were to be fixed;
Massena's division had not yet crossed. At this moment, Sebottendorf, who had heard the firing, marched
up the left bank upon Valeggio, and was exceedingly
near capturing the commander-in-chief. Massena's division, however, instantly crossed, routed Sebottendorf,
and pursued him closely during the whole evening.
The great allied army of Austria and the Italian states,
which two months before had menaced France from
the declivities of the Alps, was now chased from out
Italy, and in a military point of view annihilated. The
siege of Mantua alone remained to be accomplished.
On the 3d of June, Massena took possession of Verona, and there established the centre of the army of observation, amounting in all to twenty thousand men,
destined to cover the siege and protect Italy on the
north; its left occupied Montebaldo, and its right the
lower Adige. On the 4th, Mantua was vigorously invested by Serrurier with fifteen thousand men: but two
more Austrian armies were to be conquered, and innumerable perils encountered, before the republican flag
waved over that classic city.
It soon became known that Austria would send into
Italy during the summer an army of thirty thousand
men under Marshal Wurmzer, their successful general




84                NAPOLEON.
on the upper Rhine. Napoleon estimated that he could
not arrive before the middle of July; and as there was
no hope of reducing Milan while the battering train
was occupied before the citadel of Milan, he determined to devote the next six weeks to establishing the
French supremacy over the states of central and lower
Italy. On the 5th of June, an armistice had been
signed with the king of Naples, who, seeing upper Italy
in the hands of the French, had sent Prince Belmonte
to headquarters to request it. In consequence of this,
the Neapolitan contingent of twenty-four hundred cavalry quitted the Austrian army. On the 14th of June,
Napoleon, sending Augereau's division across the Po,
returned himself to Milan, and had the trenches opened
before the citadel; and on the 29th, while dining with
the grand-duke of Tuscany, he had the satisfaction of
hearing of its capitulation with twenty-five hundred
prisoners and one hundred pieces of cannon. From
Milan, Napoleon proceeded to Tortona, and thence
sent his aide-de-camp, Murat, to establish the French
influence in Genoa, and Colonel Lannes, with twelve
hundred men, to reduce Arquata. Augereau, with his
division, on the 18th, took possession of Bologna and
Ferrara, which belonged to the pope; and the next
day, Fort Urbino, a papal fortress of great strength,
with a garrison of eight hundred men, capitulated to
Colonel Vignoles at the head of two hundred guides.
Napoleon, passing through Placenza, Parma, and
Reggio, entered Modena on the 19th, where he was
received and treated with enthusiastic respect.  At
Bologna, the same honors awaited him. The pope
became alarmed, and employed Azara, the Spanish
minister, to conclude an armistice on his behalf, which




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.              85
was signed on the 23d of June. In this convention
it was stipulated that the pope should send a minister to Paris to treat for a definitive peace; that Bo-!ogna and Ferrara should remain in the possession
of the French army, and that a French garrison should
be placed in Ancona; that the pope should pay twentyone millions in money, horses, and other supplies; and
give up one hundred works of art, to be selected by
French commissioners. Meanwhile, General Vaubois
had crossed the Apennines with a brigade of four
thousand men and horses collected at Modena, and
Napoleon, on the 26th of June, joined him at Pistoia
On the 29th, Murat dashed upon Leghorn, in hopes
of surprising the English merchants, who had a hundred ships laden there; but they had received notice,
and escaped to Corsica.  Napoleon went thence to
Florence, to pay a visit to the grand-duke of Tuscany,
who had invited him to be his guest. After a short
stay, leaving Vaubois in command of Leghorn, with a
garrison of two thousand men, he ordered the rest of
the troops to rejoin the army on the Adige, and he
himself returned to Bologna; and soon after, with all
his troops, regained the left bank of the Po. The
siege of Mantua, now aided by the train which had
come from Milan upon the fall of the citadel there, was
proceeding vigorously, but still was unsuccessful. Napoleon again visited Milan, to arrange the affairs of
Lombardy; and there heard of Wurmser's irruption
from the north. Napoleon instantly returned, and established his headquarters at Castel-Nuovo, a place
whence every point of danger could be conveniently
reached.
The whole disposable force of the French army at
VorO. - S




86                NAPOLEON.
this time north of the Po, besides the divisions occupied around Mantua, did not much exceed thirty
thousand men under arms: while Wurmser, whose
headquarters were at Trent, had assembled seventy
thousand there, of whom thirty thousand had been
brought by him from the army of the Rhine, and the
residue consisted of Beaulieu's troops; and might rely
on fourteen thousand under Roccavina, Koselmini, and
Wukassowich, now shut up in 1Mantua; making an
effective Austrian army of eighty thousand men. The
French were disposed as follows: General Soret, with
forty-five hundred men, was posted at Salo, intercepting the road from Trent to Brescia; Massena, at Bussolengo, with twelve thousand, occupied Montebaldo,
the plateau of Rivoli, and the country between the
Adige and Lake Garda; of Despinois's division of
five thousand, D'Allemagne's brigade was at Verona,
and the other brigade on the Adige below it; Augereau's division of eight thousand was at Porto Legnano and the lower Adige; and Napoleon himself, with
two thousand horse, was at Castel-Nuovo. Wurmser
considered the French army as fixed before Mantua,
and so confident was he of destroying them, that his
principal aim was to cut off their retreat. He, therefore, divided his army into two principal divisions:
the right, consisting of twenty thousand men under
Quasdonowich, marched from Trent upon Brescia, to
cut off the French communications with Milan, and
enclose them on that side; the residue of the army,
amounting to fifty thousand, descended on the east
side of Lake Garda, one division, under Mezaros, being despatched to threaten Verona, while the residue,
consisting of four divisions under Melas, Sebottendorf,




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             87
Bayalitch, and Liptay, in all thirty thousand, and a
large body of cavalry and artillery under Davidowich
and Metroski, advanced under Wurmser between Lake
Garda and the Adige, and along the valley of the latter,
intending to unite with Quasdonowich, on the Mincio,
and shut up the whole French army on the Adige and
around Mantua.  The destruction of the brilliant conqueror of Italy seemed almost inevitable: the universal
belief south of the Po was, that the adage would again
be verified that Italy is the tomb of the French. Napoleon contemplated his position with profound solicitude, but with the calmness and strength of a mind
conscious of illimitable resources. A master in military science, and with an energy of character adequate
to accomplish all its requisitions, he stood watchful to
mark the first mistake which his enemy might make,
and to turn it to his discomfiture. That mistake consisted in a similar disposition to that which Beaulieu
had made in crossing the Apennines to Savona. Wurmser's right division was separated from the centre and
left by the lake of Garda, and could communicate with
it only around Roveredo. Napoleon determined to
concentrate his whole army around the outlet of Lake
Garda; prevent the two divisions of the Austrians from
uniting; fall first upon the Austrian right with his entire strength, and then upon their left; arranging it
always so, by the rapidity of his marches and the concentric nature of his positions, that wherever a battle
was fought, it should be with equal or superior numbers on the part of the French. As soon, therefore, as
Wurmser was ascertained to be in motion, orders were
despatched to Serrurier instantly to raise the siege of
Mantua, destroying all the apparatus, and together with




88                 NAPOLEON.
all the troops on the Adige and elsewhere, to concentrate with the utmost rapidity on the line of the Mincio,
between Peschiera and Marcaria. On the 30th of
July, intelligence came in, that the whole Austrian
line, on both sides of the lake, was descending with
the greatest impetuosity and force. The right, under
Quasdanowich, had been divided into three columns,
of which the first one crossed the heights of Saint-Ozetto, and entered Brescia without opposition; the second,
commanded by General Ocskay, took position at Gavardo and threatened Ponte di San Marco and Lonato;
and the third marched on Salo, driving General Soret
before it, who retreated on Dezenzano, leaving General
Guyeux in the fortress at Salo, to sustain the repeated
assault of the Austrian column: at the same time, the
centre, descending along Montebaldo and the Adige,
was driving Massena in upon Bussolengo; and the extreme left, under Mezaros, was occupying the heights
behind Verona. On the 31st, Massena, who had been
retarding the advance of the Austrians down the Adige,
gradually assembled his division around Peschiera,
which was in possession of General Guillaume; Augereau moved with his division from Legnano to Borghetto; D'Allemagne marched from Verona to Lonato;
and in the night Serrurier broke up from before Mantua, and marched to Marcaria. Napoleon was thus in
a position to deal a powerful blow with his whole army,
first at one division of the Austrians and then at the
other. As the right wing was the most advanced, and
as by a ramification of the original error of the Austrian
operations it was subdivided into three distinct bodies,
he determined to deliver the first stroke against it,
General Soret was sent back to relieve Guyeux at




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.              89
Salo, who for forty-eight hours had withstood a whole
division of the enemy, and repulsed five assaults; Soret arrived as the Austrians were making a final attempt,
fell on their flank, routed them entirely, and took a
number of colors, cannon, and prisoners, and then drew
back toward Dezenzano to preserve his communications. Napoleon put himself at the head of D'Allemagne's brigade, which had just come up from Verona,
attacked Ocskay's column, which had advanced upon
Lonato from Gavardo, and after a sharp struggle routed it with great loss. On the same night, he put himself at the head of Massena's and Augereau's divisions,
leaving a rear-guard of the former, under-General
Pigeon, on the right bank of the Mincio at Peschiera,
with orders, if attacked, to fall back upon Lonato, and
of the latter at Borghetto, under General Valletta, with
orders, under like circumstances, to burn the bridge
and retire upon Castiglioni, marched all night to Brescia, which he reached at ten o'clock on the 1st of
August; but Quasdonowich, terrified by finding the
whole French army upon him, retreated precipitately,
leaving all the prisoners which he had captured on first
entering Brescia. Meanwhile, Wurmser, descending
on the left side of the lake, had reached the Mincio:
desirous of bringing into action the valuable force which
was confined in Mantua, he left one (Bayalitch's) division in front of Peschiera, and two divisions at Borghetto, one of them Liptay's, together with part of his
cavalry, with orders to cross the Mincio, and connect
with the right wing; while he himself, with the other
division and the rest of the cavalry, marched to Mantua to raise the siege. Napoleon with his eagle eye
saw this new mistake of dividing the centre, and flew
8*




90                NAPOLEON.
with the swiftness of the eagle's wing to profit of the
fault. Sending General Despinois and Adjutant-General Herbin, with a few battalions, to pursue the retreating Quasdonowich upon Saint-Ozetto, he countermarched the divisions of Massena and Augereau with
rapidity-the former toward Lonato, where its rearguard under General Pigeon had taken up a good
position; the latter upon Montechiaro, behind Castiglione, which, in consequence of the disorderly manner
in which General Valletta had allowed the rear-guard
to retire, had fallen into the hands of the enemy. On the
2d, the enemy had crossed the Mincio; Liptay's division and another occupying Castiglione, and Bayalitch's,
with the cavalry, approaching Lonato, with the intention to open communications with the right wing, whose
discomfiture and retreat were not yet known. On the
3d was fought the battle, called of LONATO: the Austrian force being about thirty thousand, and the French
about twenty-three thousand. Augereau, with the right
wing of the French, was at Montechiaro; Massena,
forming the centre, was in Lonato, supported by the
commander-in-chief at Ponte di San Marco; on the
extreme left, General Salo was in the neighborhood of
Dezenzano, keeping in check the troops of Quasdonowich's division. At daybreak, the enemy made a
vigorous charge upon Lonato and carried it: the commander-in-chief then put himself at the head of the
troops, retook Lonato, and cut in half the Austrian line,
which had been extended very far to the right, with the
hope of communicating with Quasdonowich's force;
drove one part back upon Mincio, and the other upon
Salo, where, being pursued by St. Hilaire, they were
intercepted by General Soret, and obliged to lay down




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             91
their arms. On the French right, Augereau began the
attack, and after an obstinate engagement, in which that
general displayed the utmost valor and ability, Castiglione was carried, and Liptay driven with great loss beyond the Mincio. In the meantime, Wurmser had
entered Mantua, on the 1st of August: finding the besieging army had retired, he sent a part of his troops
toward Marcaria in pursuit of it; and despatched the
rest to reinforce the divisions which he had left upon
the Mincio; but they arrived too late to take part in
the battle of Lonato. On the 4th, Wurmser was occupied with rallying his troops, renewing his artillery,
and taking up a position in front of Castiglione. About
two o'clock in the afternoon Napoleon reconnoitred the
Austrian line of battle, and found that it presented a
formidable array of from twenty-five to thirty thousand
men. His own course, in making arrangements for
the battle which was to be fought the next day, was,
first, to provide that the troops of Quasdonowich's division were kept from the scern of action, and secondly,
that as large a number as possible of his own troops
were assembled during the evening at Castiglione. He
despatched orders to Serrurier, who was at Marcaria
with five thousand men, to march all night, and fall
upon the enemy's left at daybreak, which was to be the
signal for the battle to be opened in front. He then
ordered Castiglione to be entrenched, and set out for
Lonato. Quasdonowich's division having been defeated at Salo and Lonato, and driven back from
Brescia, had been completely disordered and broken
up; and being confused by the rapid marches of their
foes, who appeared in full force at one moment at
Brescia, and at another at Lonato, they were wander



92                 NAPOLEON.
ing about in utter confusion. Throughout the day,
Herbin, D'Allemagne, Soret, and St. Hilaire, were
pursuing them closely; and whole battalions laid down
their arms at Saint-Ozetto, Gavardo, and elsewhere.
A singular incident occurred with one of these corps at
Lonato, where the French force was not more than
twelve hundred men. A body of four or five thousapd
Austrians, being informed by the peasants of the smnall
number of the French soldiers in that town, hoped to
make their way through to Mantua, and accordingly
summoned the place to surrender. The flag of truce
entered about five o'clock in the afternoon, just as Napoleon was coming in from Castiglione. He ordered
his numerous staff to mount, had the officer brought in,
and the bandage taken off his eyes in the midst of the
crowd and splendor of the headquarters of a commander-in-chief.  "Go and tell your general," said
Napoleon, " that I allow him eight minutes to lay down
his arms; he is in the midst of the French army: after
that time there is no hope for him." Terrified by this
confident style, and fatigued and disheartened by wandering for some days without knowledge of their position, these men laid down their arms to one fourth
their number. The rest of the 4th and the whole
night were occupied in calling together all the troops
and concentrating them at Castiglione. Before daybreak on the 5th, a French army of twenty thousand
men occupied an excellent position on the heights of
that town. As soon as the fire of Serrurier's division,
which in the illness of that officer was commanded by
General Fiorella, was heard on the right, the whole
army advanced. The Austrian left rested upon the
hill of Medole, which was the principal centre of con



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.              93
flict. Marmont directed a heavy fire of artillery against
it, and Verdier led a charge by which it was carried:
the centre under Augereau, and the right under Massena, were then driven back, while Fiorella took the
left in rear. The Austrians, routed at all points, retreated in confusion beyond the Mincio; Wurmser
himself, whose headquarters were surprised by the light
artillery, was very near being captured; and nothing
but the excessive fatigue of the French troops, who
had been executing such extraordinary marches for
the last four or five days, prevented the whole Austrian
army from being taken prisoners, or put to the sword.
An Austrian corps blockading Peschiera were attacked
by Colonel Suchet with great gallantry, and broken
with the loss of eighteen pieces of cannon. These
battles decided the campaign. Wurmser having lost
half his army, withdrew his men in every direction
and retired into the Tyrol.  On the 7th, Napoleon,
with Serrurier's division, took Verona after a brief, but
sharp assault. Massena, on the 11th, reoccupied the
Montebaldo; and Augereau ascended to the heights
of Alla. On the 12th, St. Hilaire, pursuing Quasdonowich, took possession of all the posts on the right of
Lake Garda, as high as Riva. Thus, in twelve days,
between the 29th of July to the 10th of August, the
French army, which, like a spring, had been pressed
in upon itself, only to fly back with irresistible recoil,
had left their positions, destroyed the second Austrian
army, and recovered all their positions, having taken
fifteen thousand prisoners, seventy cannon, and nine
stands of colors, and killed or wounded twenty-five
thousand men; with a loss of fourteen hundred taken,
six hundred killed, and five thousand wounded, for the




94                NAPOLEON.
most part slightly. It is scarcely possible to conceive
of a finer display of the perfection of military art than
this brief campaign; in which the observer is at a loss
whether most to admire the profound intellectual reasonings in which the arrangements had their origin, or
the energy and valor with which they were executed.
The besieging train before Mantua having been sacrificed, Napoleon, in resuming operations in regard to it,
contented himself with a mere blockade, which was
established under General Sahuguet.
During the last fortnight of August, both armies
were vigorously recruiting: Wurmser, whose headquarters were at Trent, received an accession of
twenty thousand, and about the same number from
Kellerman's army joined Napoleon. The campaign
reopened on the 1st of September; and the Austrians,
in its inception, made the same fatal error of dividing
their force, while Napoleon held a central position in
front of them. Wurmser, at the head of three divisions
and a fine cavalry, consisting, in all, of thirty thousand
men, marched from Trent, by the defiles of the Brenta
and through Bassano, to the relief of MIantua, leaving
Davidowich, with his headquarters at Roveredo, in
command of twenty-five thousand men in two divisions,
one under Wukassowich, with its vanguard at Serravalle, and the other under the Prince de Reuss at
Mori, with its vanguard at the bridge of Sarca. As
soon as Napoleon heard of Wurmser's intentions, he
determined instantly to throw his whole army on
Davidowich, and accomplish the double object of destroying that wing in detail, and of preventing any
detachments being sent to the army of the Rhine.
Accordingly, leaving General Kilmaine, at Verona and




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             95
Legnano, to guard the Adige, and cover the blockade
of Milan, he ordered the left wing of his army, consisting of Vaubois's division, on the left side of the
Lake de Garda, to advance upon Trent, upon the 1st
of September; and at the same time, with Massena's
division, followed by Augereau's, he marched up the
left bank of the Adige. St. Hilaire, commander of
Vaubois's vanguard, attacked Reuss furiously at the
bridge of Sarca, carried it at the point of the bayonet,
made many prisoners, and pursued the enemy to Mori;
while General Pigeon, in command of Massena's van,
overthrew Wukassowich at Serravalle, and pursued
them with much loss to Saint-Marc.  On the 4th, the
armies met in front of Roveredo; after an obstinate
contest, Napoleon, at a critical moment, ordered General Dubois to charge with five hundred horse, which
decided the day. The Austrians flying, entered Roveredo intermixed with the French in close pursuit, and
finally rallied in a defile before Calliano, where Davidowich held a reserve between the mountains. Sending some tirailleurs to annoy the enemy from the
heights, Napoleon ordered a charge of nine battalions
in close column through the defile; the enemy, overwhelmed and swept away, fled with the loss of seven
hundred men, fifteen pieces of cannon, and seven
stands of colors. At daybreak, on the 5th, the French
army entered Trent; and Davidowich, who had rallied
the wreck of his army behind the Avisio, three leagues
from that city, having been turned and then charged by
Vaubois, abandoned his position in great confusion,
and Vaubois established himself on the banks of the
Avisio. Thus, within five days from the opening of




96                 NAPOLEON.
the campaign, the Austrian right of twenty thousand
men was utterly discomfited and destroyed.
About this time, Wurmser, supposing that Napoleon
was about to march to Innspruck to join the army of
the Rhine, conceived the bold design of advancing to
the Adige and cutting off the French army from Italy.
He had scarcely began to execute this presumptuous
design, when Napoleon, like an offended deity, was
thundering down the passes of the Brenta upon him,
and he, with the fragment of an army, was flying for
his life to Mantua. On the 5th, Wurmser, who, with
the divisions of Sebottendorf, Quasdonowich, and Mezaros, was descending the Brenta to Bassano, advanced
the last to Vicenza, with orders to attack Verona.
Napoleon heard of this on the night of the 5th, and
resolved instantly to proceed down the Brenta and attack Wurmser and the other two divisions at Bassano;
if they retired toward the Adige, he had them cut off
from communication with Austria; if they drew off
toward the Frioul, he had Mezaros's division shut in
between the Brenta and the Adige, and a certain prey.
But everything depended on the rapidity of the march.
On the 6th, at daybreak, placing Augereau in front and
NMassena in the second column, Napoleon began to descend the defiles of the Brenta: on the 7th, he fell in
with Wurmser's rear at Primolano, posted in what was
deemed an impregnable position. The light-infantry
were sent forward to skirmish on the heights, and three
battalions charging in three close columns, the double
line of the Austrians was broken, and forty-two hundred
prisoners, twelve pieces of artillery, and five stands of
colors taken. On the same day, Wurmser's headquarters, with Sebottendorf's and Quasdonowich's di



ITALIAN CAMIPAIGNS.            97
visions and the reserves, reached Bassano, which is at
the termination of the defiles; and a line of battle twenty thousand strong was drawn up on the plain, and six
battalions posted in the passes on both sides of the river.
Before daylight on the 8th, Napoleon was at the advanced posts; at six o'clock the passes were carried;
and Augereau and Massena assailing the enemy's line
with impetuosity, it broke in every direction and fled
into Bassano. The bridge was carried by a charge in
close column, and by three o'clock the army was in
Bassano, capturing six thousand prisoners, eight stands
of colors, thirty-two pieces of cannon, one hundred
ammunition-wagons, and two ponton trains. Pushing
on, Quasdonowich, with three thousand men, was separated from the rest of the army and thrown back upon
the Frioul, while Wurmser, separated from his communication with Austria, rallied at Vicenza, where he
was joined by Mezaros. He who, eight days before,
had been at the head of sixty thousand men at Trent
and Roveredo, had now but sixteen thousand men
united under him, and was in infinite peril of being
surrounded, and compelled to lay down his arms.
Massena advanced to Vicenza, and Augereau to
Padua: Wurmser's only escape was into Mantua.
Kilmaine was at Verona with three thousand men, and
as Wurmser had lost his pontons, his arrest at the
Adige would have been inevitable, had Napoleon's
order to destroy the bridge been faithfully complied
with; but a lieutenant-colonel, charged with destroying
the bridge at Legnano, neglected to do it, and Wurm
ser crossed the Adige upon it, and marched for Mantua. Vexed at the failure of his prospect of terminating
the campaign by the capture of the old marshal and all
VorL. I.-9




98                NAPOLEON.
his army, Napoleon advanced through Arcole to Ronco
on the Adige, and pushed forward General Pigeon
with Massena's vanguard to Sanguinetto, and Murat
with five hundred light-horse to Cerea to reconnoitre,
in hopes of yet cutting Wurmser off before he reached
Milan. But the old marshal turned in his rage. He
deployed his whole army around Ceva, and captured
three or four hundred of the light vanguard; Napoleon
himself, having galloped up to the village, had only
time to clap his spurs to his horse and escape before
Wurmser came up to the spot, and learning the circumstances from an old woman, sent in pursuit in
every direction, with particular orders to bring him in
alive. At Villa-Impenta on the 12th, and at Due-Castelli on the 14th, similar slight successes were had, in
the capture of battalions of five hundred men-successes which, though trifling, encouraged the Austrians
to keep the field. The garrison of Mantua came out;
and Wurmser encamped with an army of twenty-five
thousand men, of whom five thousand were cavalry,
behind St. George's. On the 16th, General Bon, in
command of Augereau's division, having on the 13th
taken seventeen hundred prisoners and twenty-four
pieces of artillery at Legnano, and liberated five hundred prisoners who had been taken at Ceva and elsewhere, now advanced to Governolo, and formed the
left wing of the army: Massena, in the centre, occupied Due-Castelli; while Sahuguet had collected the
blockading troops at La Favorita on the right, and
Kilmaine was at the head of a considerable body of
cavalry. The French army in all amounted to twenty-four thousand meh. On the 19th, General Bon advanced from Governolo along the right bank of the




ITALIAN CAMIPAIGNS.            99
Mincio upon St. George's, but was met with great
force and somewhat repulsed; at the same time, Sahuguet attacked on the right, and the enemy thinking that
the whole line was in motion, sent all their reserves
into action. Massena then charged in column on the
centre, threw the Austrians into disorder, and drove
them into the town, taking eleven pieces of cannon,
three standards, and three thousand prisoners, among
whom was a mounted regiment of cuirassiers. On the
21st, Wurmser made a final attempt to regain the
Adige by an attack on Governolo, but was repulsed
with the loss of one thousand men and six pieces of
cannon; and on the 1st of October, driving in all the
enemy, and shutting up Wurmser with sixteen thousand men, completed the blockade of Mantua. In
nineteen days, from the time that the campaign had
opened, Napoleon had traversed an immense circuit,
-from Verona up the Adige to Trent, and thence
along the valley of the Brenta to Bassano, and thence
to Mantua: he had utterly disorganized and demolished
an Austrian army of sixty thousand men; he had killed
three thousand of the enemy, wounded six thousand,
and made eighteen thousand prisoners, and taken seventy-five pieces of cannon. His own loss had been
eighteen hundred killed, forty-three hundred wounded,
and fourteen hundred taken.
No operations in the field took place during the
month of October; but the campaign recommenced on
the 1st of November. The Austrians had assembled
two armies: one of eighteen thousand men, under
Davidowich, in the Tyrol; the other of forty thousand men, under Alvinzi, in the Frioul. The French
army. which had been recruited during September and




100               NAPOLEON.
October by twelve battalions from the army of La
Vend6e, amounted, exclusively of ten thousand occupied around Mantua, tIo thirty-two thousand men, and
was disposed as follows: twelve thousand were under
Vaubois, in Trent and on the Avisio; eight thousand
under Massena were advanced to Bassano, observing
Alvinzi; while in a central point, behind both these
advanced positions, upon which, if driven in, both
could concentrate, and from which Napoleon could in
a brief space give aid to either, namely, at Verona,
headquarters were established, with Augereau's division and the reserves of cavalry, amounting in all to
twelve thousand men. Napoleon's concentric positions
were admirably adapted for safety and defence, in case
reverses should be sustained; while his offensive plan
was, if he could drive Alvinzi back to the Piave, to
ascend the Brenta by Bassano, and in conjunction with
Vaubois fall upon Davidowich. This union of prudence in his dispositions with boldness in his designs
is the characteristic greatness of Napoleon, which commends his campaigns at once to the profound respect
of the military critic and the unbounded admiration of
the popular reader. No man.was ever more daring, or
less rash. In making provision for a bold operation,
he never put anything at risk, or violated any law of
regular military science. The importance of always
having a defensive plan, in case the offensive scheme
should be frustrated, and the perfection of the one established on this occasion, were strikingly displayed
before the campaign was ended.
On the 1st of November, Alvinzi crossed the Piave
on two bridges, and advanced in three columns upon
Bassano. Massena having manceuvred in such a way




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            101
as to compel him to deploy his whole army, and show
its force to be forty thousand, retired to Vicenza, where
Napoleon joined him with Augereau's division and the
reserves. On the 6th, at daybreak, Napoleon marched
out to attack Alvinzi, who had crossed the Brenta and
approached Vicenza. The Austrian right, under Quasdonowich, was at Lenove, between Vicenza and Bassano; the left was commanded by Provera; while the
centre, under Liptay, was advanced to Carmignano:
Hohenzollern being in reserve. Massena, at dawn, attacked the left and centre, and after a protracted conflict, drove them back across the Brenta with great loss;
and Napoleon, with Augereau's division, drove the
right into Bassano about four o'clock in the afternoon,
and was hastening to force the bridge and enter the
town, when a party of nine hundred Croats threw themselves into a village, and defended it with such obstinacy that, before they were taken, the delay prevented
the French from passing the Brenta that night: and
the intelligence which arrived from Vaubois's wing,
compelled them to pause in their career of victory and
retire at once to Verona. Vaubois, according to orders
from Napoleon, began operations by attacking the enemy's positions at St. Michael and Sogonzano, behind
Trent, on the 1st and 2d of November, but without
success. He was then attacked in great force, driven
from the Avisio, and retreated through Trent upon
Calliano; when Landon, with his Tyrolese, descending the right bank of the Adige, outflanked him, and
threatened to occupy Montebaldo and Rivoli, and cut
off Vaubois's retreat to Verona. Intelligence of these
disasters reached Napoloon at two o'clock on the morning of the 7th: he immediately sent Colonel Vignoles,
9*




L02                NAPOLEON.
of his staff, with orders to collect all the troops he
could find, and march upon La Corona and Rivoli.
He found a battalion which had just arrived from La
Vend6e, and being joined by Joubert with a regiment
from before Mantua, those positions were secured, and
Vaubois then crossed to the right bank and occupied
them in force. On the 7th, Napoleon led the whole
French army back through Vicenza into Verona. He
then set out for Rivoli, and having assembled Vaubois's
division on the plateau, addressed them thus: "Soldiers, I am not satisfied with you; you have shown
neither discipline, perseverance, nor bravery: no position could rally you: you abandoned yourselves to
panic. You were driven from positions where a few
brave men might have arrested an army. Soldiers of
the thirty-ninth and eighty-fifth, you are not French
soldiers. Quartermaster-general! let it be inscribed
on their colors:' They no longer form a part of the
army of Italy.'"  The "Quirites" of Cesar was not
more magical in its effects. The men burst into tears:
several grenadiers, who had received distinctions for
their bravery, cried out: " General, we have been
slandered: place us in the van, and you will see
whether the thirty-ninth and eighty-fifth belong to the
army of Italy!" Napoleon then seemed to relent, and
promised them one more opportunity to recover their
character.  Having thus restored confidence in the
left wing, he returned to Verona.
Meanwhile, Alvinzi, who, after the battle of the 6th,
was at three o'clock on the 7th in full retreat for the
Piave, returned as soon as he was apprized of the retreat of the French, and was now in position on the
heights of Caldiero, within three leagues of Verona.




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.           103
Napoleon, on the 11th, made some demonstrations
against him, upon which it became obvious that he in
tended to receive battle in that position. On the 12th, Napoleon marched out: Alvinzi's left rested on the marsh
of Arcole, and was impregnable; his centre was on Caldiero, and his right on Colognola. But the last was
in a false position, being outflanked by a hill which it
had neglected to occupy. Massena, who had received
orders to occupy this height, sent Launay with a brigade, who scaled the hill, but becoming too far advanced, was cut off, and made prisoner, and the enemy
took possession of the hill. The whole line became
engaged, and the fire continued during the day: the
rain fell in torrents, and the French artillery became
fastened in the mud: but no impression was made on
the Austrian positions, and at night Napoleon returned
to his camp before Verona. His situation was one of
infinite peril. Vaubois had lost four thousand, and
had not now more than eight thousand men. Napoleon's own force after the battle of Caldiero, did not
exceed thirteen thousand, and Alvinzi had at least
thirty-five thousand, posted in admirable positions.
From these dangers, the inventive genius of Napoleon
alone afforded a resource.
It is necessary here to give particular attention to the
localities around Verona. The road from Verona to
Vicenza runs through Villa Nuova, a town situated on
the small stream of the Aplon, about three miles above
the village of Arcole, which is on the left bank of the
Aplon, and at the distance of a mile above Alvaredo,
where the rivulet falls into the Adige. To the left of
the road from Verona to Villa Nuova, and on the
right bank of the Aplon, the Austrian army was as



104               NAPOLEON.
sermbled around Caldiero. The triangle between the
road, the Adige, and the Aplon, is a deep marsh, traversed by three chaussees which branch out from the
ferry of Ronco, on the Adige, half a mile above Alvaredo, at the mouth of the Aplon. The left chausske
runs from Ronco to Verona, through the village of Porcil, which is upon the edge of the marsh: the centre
chaussee, which leads through Arcole to Villa Nuova,
runs from Ronco about three quarters of a mile to the
Aplon, then proceeds up along the right bank of that
stream about a half a mile, to a stone bridge, which it
crosses, and enters Arcole, and then goes along the
left bank to Villa Nuova: the right chaussee descends
the Adige from Ronco to Alvaredo. Napoleon having
found Caldiero impregnable in front, and feeling that
thirteen thousand men could never contend upon a
plain against forty thousand, determined to pass round
behind Verona to Ronco, to cross there and take Alvinzi in flank and rear through these chaussdes, in
which the advantage of numbers was lost, and everything depended on the courage and force of the fronts
of columns. This brilliant conception of the mind of
the commander-in-chief was, however, concealed from
the troops.
At nightfall on the 14th of November, the army
were withdrawn from the camp of Verona, marshalled
in three columns, led across the city, out of the
gate toward Milan, and over the Adige. A profound
silence prevailed, and the brave men, disheartened by
the affair at Caldiero, supposed that a retreat was begun, and that the land in which they won such glory
was to be abandoned. Suddenly they were wheeled
to the left, and found themselves descending the right




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            105
bank of the Adige to Ronco, where they crossed on a
bridge constructed by Andreossi, and then discovered
that, instead of retiring, they were about to take the
enemy in flank. Every one comprehended the splendid design of the commander-in-chief, and the utmost
confidence prevailed. On the following morning, the
army was divided into three columns: one on the right
chaussee, under Guyeux, which was to cross the Aplon
at Alvaredo, ascend the left bank of that rivulet, and
cut off the retreat; one under Augereau and the commander-in-chief, which was to pass along the centre
road through Arcole; and a third under Massena,
which ascended the left dike toward Porcil, and thus
obviated the only danger which this daring plan carried
with it-that Alvinzi, by a rapid march, might move
off upon his right beyond Verona, and communicate
with Davidowich. The columns all advanced at the
same time. Massena reached the village of Porcil,
whence the steeples of Verona were seen: the centre
column advanced along the chaussee of Arcole, until
the head of it was near the bridge, when a heavy fire
was opened on their right flank by two battalions of
Croats with two pieces of cannon, who had bivouacked
on the left bank of the Aplon, having their right toward
the bridge and their left toward the mouth of the stream,
being stationed there to observe Legnano. Being separated only by the stream from the chaussee, which
here runs along the right bank, their front fire told with
fearful effect upon the flank of the column; and it fell
back precipitately to the point where the chaussee turned
off from the rivulet, and was no longer exposed to a
fire from the left bank. Augereau immediately placed
himself at the head of two battalions and rushed for



106                NAPOLEON.
ward to the bridge; but the flank fire speedily compelled him to fall back upon his division. Meanwhile,
Alvinzi had become apprized of the attack upon his
right, and though he supposed that only some light
troops had been sent into the marshes, he saw the vital
necessity of clearing them out without any delay. He
accordingly ordered a division under Provera to sweep
the left chaussee: they advanced about nine o'clock in
the morning; Massena allowed them to get fairly upon
it, and then, charging with desperate impetuosity, broke
the column and drove it off with great loss. About
the same time, Metrouski's division marched down the
centre chauss~e; but the moment they had passed the
elbow in the road, they were assailed by Augereau's
column, and routed with the loss of many prisoners and
cannon, and a great number of killed. The most resolute efforts were then made to carry the bridge, which
would enable them to reach Villa-Nuova and cut
off Alvinzi's retreat: but several attacks were repulsed. Napoleon then placed himself at the head of
the column, seized a flag, rushed upon the bridge, and
planted it there. The column, which had reached the
centre of the bridge, was there met by a fresh division
of the Austrians, while the flanking fire again opened
with increased force: it retreated, carrying Napoleon
with them, seizing him by the arms and clothes, and
dragging him along among the dead, the dying, and
the smoke. He was precipitated into a morass, in
which he sank to the middle, surrounded by the enemy. A cry was instantly heard: " Forward, soldiers,
to save the general!" The grenadiers rallied, charged
with irresistible fury, drove the enemy over the bridge,
and saved Napoleon. Lannes received three wounds,




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.           107
and Muiron, aide-de-camp, was killed, while covering
the general with their persons.
Meanwhile, Alvinzi, becoming at last apprized that
he was assaulted in flank by the whole French army,
precipitately abandoned Caldiero, and retreated behind
the Aplon. General Guyeux, who had been delayed
in crossing that stream, marched up the left bank about
four in the afternoon, and took possession of Arcole
without opposition. The battle, though not decisive,
had driven Alvinzi from Verona, defeated two of his
divisions with great loss, and restored to the French
arms the prestige of victory. Napoleon, however, had
to operate in reference to Vaubois. Before the battle
of Arcole began, he had been apprized that Davidowich had taken La Corona and Rivoli, and that Vaubois had retired to Bussolengo. What had taken place
on this day he had not yet learned, but providing for the
worst, he drew the whole army back to the right bank
of the Adige on the night of the 15th, leaving a force
before Arcole to conceal the movement from Alvinzi:
so that, if Davidowich had advanced, the two corps
of the French army might unite, and the danger of
being cut off might be avoided. At four the next
morning, intelligence arrived that Davidowich had not
moved, and Napoleon determined again to advance
against Alvinzi. The latter, discovering the retirement of the French about three o'clock in the morning, occupied Arcole and Porcil, and at daylight
advanced two columns along the two dikes.  The
French crossed the bridge of Ronco at charging step,
fell upon the enemy, broke both columns, and drove
them beyond the morass with great loss, taking several
standards and cannon.  In the evening, Napoleon,




108                NAPOLEON.
upon the same considerations as before, withdrew his
army again over the Adige; but at five o'clock on the
following morning, learning that Davidowich and V aubois retained their positions, he again recrossed the
bridge, and the heads of his columns above half-way
on the chaussees met those of Alvinzi, who, supposing
that Napoleon had retired to Milan, debouched from
his camp before dawn. On the centre chaussee, the
French after some time gave way, and the enemy approached the bridge, when the regiment (the thirtysecond) which Napoleon had placed in ambush, lying
on their faces among some willows on the edge of the
chauss6e, suddenly rose, fired a volley, charged with
bayonet, and overthrew into the marsh a close column
of three thousand Croats, who all perished there. On
the left chauss6e, Massena at first met with some difficulty, but holding up his hat upon the end of his
sword, he charged at the head of his column, and
forced the enemy back with dreadful slaughter. Napoleon now conceived that the time had come for a
decisive trial of strength with Alvinzi. Counting his
prisoners, and estimating the enemy's killed and
wounded, he inferred that in these three days the
Austrian army had been diminished by twenty-five
thousand men, which restored the respective armies to
something like an equality. Accordingly, in the afternoon, he ordered the whole army to defile across the
right chaussee, and to pass upon a bridge which had
been constructed across the Aplon near its mouth, and
to take position on the plain on the left bank of that
stream. Accordingly, at two o'clock, the army came
into line, with its left on Arcole, and its right toward
Legnano; the Austrians being on both sides of the




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.           109
great road between Verona and Vicenza, with their
right on the Aplon and their left on some marshes.
As soon as the engagement became general in front,
Major Hercule was sent with twenty-five guides and
four trumpets to attack the extreme left of the enemy,
while Adjutant-General Lorset, who had been ordered
up from Legnanowith six hundred men, four pieces
of cannon, and two hundred horse, turned the marshes
and took the enemy in rear. The Austrian line was
broken in every direction, and closely pursued by
the whole army as far as Villa-Nuova, and by the cavalry to Vicenza, in the utmost disorder. Having chased
the Austrians into Vicenza, the French army returned
to Verona, amid the boundless enthusiasm of the inhabitants, who three days before had seen them march
out in silence and despondency. In the three days'
engagements at Arcole, the Austrians lost twelve thousand killed and wounded, six thousand prisoners, four
standards, and eighteen pieces of cannon. A staff-officer sent by Davidowich to Alvinzi being captured, it
was ascertained, that during those three days the two
divisions of the army had had no communication, and
that Davidowich was not aware of anything that had
taken place. The French army immediately marched
against him. Massena crossed the Adige, joined Vaubois, who on the 17th had been driven on Castel-Nuovo, and they attacked Rivoli; while Augereau, on the
left bank, marched on Dolce, and took fifteen hundred
men, nine pieces of cannon, and two ponton trains.
The spirit of Austria, however, was not yet broken.
She accumulated in the Frioul and the Tyrol a large
force, drafted in part from the army on the Rhine,
which was now in winter-quarters, and in part supplied
VoI,. I. -10




110               NAPOLEON.
by voluntary enlistment from the great cities. In the
beginning of January, 1797, the Austrian force ready
to enter Italy was, in all, about seventy thousand men
under arms. Their plan of attack contemplated the
same twofold line of operation that had so often proved
fatal to them. Alvinzi, whose headquarters were at
Roveredo, was to descend by Montebaldo and the upper Adige, while Provera, whose headquarters were at
Padua, was to ascend the lower Adige, and by one or
other of these corps it was hoped that Mantua might
be relieved, and a junction effected with the force which
the pope, now actively opposed to the Republic, was
assembling in the south. On the 12th, intelligence
reached Verona that both of these Austrian divisions
were in motion: Alvinzi was pressing down upon
Joubert, who had been entrenched at La Corona, and
Provera was advancing upon Augereau, who was at
Legnano. Napoleon, who was at Bologna, being informed of these movements, instantly came up to Verona; withdrew behind that city, on the night of the
12th, Massena's division, which had just routed Bayalitch's division which had advanced from Caldiero;
and assembling such other troops as he could collect,
stood ready to give aid to Joubert, or to Augereau, as
either might most stand in need of assistance. The
intelligence hitherto received, did not render it possible
to judge which of the Austrian divisions constituted the
main body of their army. At ten o'clock in the evening, expresses came in from both Joubert and Augereau, which made it certain that the principal force
was with Alvinzi. Joubert had been retiring all day
before an immense army extending from the Adige to
Lake Garda, and had with difficulty succeeded in




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            111
keeping possession of the plateau of Rivoli: on the
other hand, the force under Provera, on the Adige, did
not appear to exceed twenty thousand men, and Augereau's division seemed sufficient to defend the passage
of that river against them. Napoleon instantly put
Massena's division and the other troops with him in
motion, to reach Rivj at daybreak; and he mounted
his horse for the same point, and arrived on the plateau
at two o'clock in the morning, on the 14th of January.
It had been raining violently during the evening, but
the weather had now cleared, and the moon was shining brilliantly. Napoleon ascended several heights
and observed the positions of the enemy, whose fires
beyond the plateau lighted up the whole country between the lake of Garda and the Adige. He distinguished four camps, each comprising a column, on the
right bank of the Adige, and one upon the left bank;
and he calculated the force to be about forty or fortyfive thousand. The cavalry and artillery were with
the fourth column, which was on the road near the
river; the second and third columns were in the front
and on the left of the plateau; while the first, nearest
the lake, was extended very far forward, obviously with
the design of getting in the rear of the French force on
the plateau. It was clear that the second, third, and
fourth columns were to debouch on the plateau, and
thus unite the infantry, artillery, and cavalry, of the
army. Napoleon's plan was taken: occupying a central position on the plateau, he determined to oppose
his whole army to each of these columns as they were
debouching, and to overwhelm them before they could
unite with one another. The third Austrian column,
under Koblos, was spread along the foot of Monte



112               NAPOLEON.
Magnone, on the left of the chapel of Saint-Marc
while the infantry of the fourth column, commanded
by Ocskay, and consisting of fourteen battalions, were
on the ridge beyond the chapel; and the artillery and
infantry of that column, commanded by Quasdonowich,
were at the foot of the hill t? the right of the chapel.
Joubert, who had evacuated t,., hapel, and only held
the plateau by a rear-guard, was ordered instantly to
regain it, and drive back Ocskay's column without
waiting for daylight.  Joubert despatched General
Vial, who took the chapel, and then assailing with his
whole force Ocskay's column, drove it back as far as
the middle of the ridge of Monte-Magnone by daylight.
The third Austrian column, under Koblos, then ascended the heights on the left, which it reached at nine
o'clock; and attacking two French regiments in line
in that position, broke one of them, and threw the whole
line into confusion. Napoleon immediately brought up
Massena's division, which had marched all night and
was now resting in the village of Rivoli, charged with
it, and put Koblos's column to flight by half-past ten
o'clock; and stood prepared to encounter Liptay's
column, as it came to the support of Koblos. Meanwhile, Quasdonowich, who was at the bottom of the
valley on the right, observing that Joubert had advanced very far in pursuit of Ocskay, made an effort
to ascend to the plateau and reach the chapel. He
ordered three battalions to attempt the ascent, which
was here extremely steep; but Joubert ordered back
several of his own battalions, who reached the chapel
before the enemy, and repulsed them back into the
valley. Meanwhile, a French battery of fifteen pieces
of cannon on the plateau overwhelmed all that attempt



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            113
ed to debouch: Leclerc and Lasalle, with five hundred
cavalry in two bodies, charged with great intrepidity
and drove the enemy into the ravine, capturing all that
had reached the summit. This decided the day. One
Austrian column on the left bank of the river, under
Wukassowich, and all the infantry and cavalry, having
been unable to debouch, were totally useless. In the
meantime, the first column, which had advanced with
a view to get behind the plateau, had encountered the
-French reserve of two regiments which was coming up
from Dezenzano, and left one brigade to oppose it, and
with the other, five thousand strong, deployed on the
heights of Pipolo, in time to witness the route of Ocskay, Koblos, and Liptay. This body was without
artillery. It was cannonaded by fifteen cannon of the
reserve for a quarter of an hour, and then attacked and
entirely taken; while the other brigade was driven back,
and pursued and dispersed with prodigious loss. Joubert then advanced upon the retreating army with such
rapidity that the whole Austrian force seemed likely at
one time to be taken; but Alvinzi faced about with a
reserve, and threw Joubert back and made good his
retreat. The Austrian loss in this great and brilliant
triumph of Napoleon, consisted, besides killed and
wounded, of seven thousand prisoners, twelve pieces
of cannon, and several colors. Napoleon had several
horses killed, and was more than once surrounded by
the enemy.
At two o'clock on this day, in the midst of the battle of Rivoli, Napoleon was informed that General
Provera was preparing to cross the Adige at Anghiari,
near Legnago, and to march upon Mantua. On the
15th Napoleon, leaving Massena, Murat, and Joubert,
10*




114                 NAPOLEON.
to pursue Alvinzi, which they did with such vigor as
to capture six thousand men during the retreat, put
himself at the head of four regiments to march to Mantua, a distance of thirteen leagues. On the 16th Hohenzollern and Provera had made a vigorous attack on St.Georges, which was defended by Miolis, with fifteen
hundred men; Wurmser had made a sortie with the garrison and occupied a position at La Favorita. Napoleon
immediately placed General Victor, with the four regiments which he had brought from Rivoli, between La
Favorita and Saint-Georges, to prevent the garrison
from joining the succoring army.  Serrurier, at the
head of the blockading troops, then attacked the garrison, and drove them back into the town by two o'clock;
and Victor's division attacked Provera with such vigor
that he capitulated and lay down his arms. In this
battle the fifty-seventh won the title of Terrible, from
the irresistible fury with which it attacked the Austrian
line and overthrew everything in its way. Six thousand prisoners, among whom were several generals, and
a large number of standards and much baggage, were
taken. Provera's rear-guard in the meantime was attacked by a part of Augereau's division and taken;
and of all his force, only two thousand men, who had
remained beyond the Adige, escaped: all the rest were
killed or taken.  The Austrians retired, and the'
French advanced, in all directions: Joubert entered
Trent, and Massena occupied Bassano, with his advanced posts on the Piave. Thus in four days was the
last and greatest army of Austria utterly destroyed, with
the loss of twenty-five thousand prisoners, sixty pieces
of cannon, and twenty-four stands of colors, besides




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             115
ten thousand killed and wounded. Bessieres carried
the colors to Paris.
This brief winter campaign exhibits, in greater distinctness and splendor than any other achievement of
Napoleon's life, the peculiar characteristics of his system  and manner of war.  The advantages of his
method of occupying a central position, and by rapidity
of marches accumulating united forces upon distinct
points of attack, are displayed in great brilliancy. At
the opening of hostilities, he draws Massena's division
behind Verona to a point from which, in the briefest
time, he could either join Joubert or relieve Mantua,
as one or the other should be the principal object of
attack; by this corps, with which he had marched all
night, the battle of Rivoli was decided; and by the
force with which he returned on the following day to
Mantua, the capitulation of Provera was effected, and
the fate of Wurmser sealed. The battle of Rivoli,
also, viewed by itself, illustrates the same great principle of a united force operating by successive radiations
from a centre against a divided force, and shows it to
be as applicable to a single engagement as to a campaign.  Placing himself upon the plateau upon which
the divisions of the Austrian army must debouch, he
hurls the whole force of his infantry, cavalry, and
artillery, against the separated parts of a much larger
army.  The lightning-like rapidity, too, and prodigious results which characterize these operations, are
features especially Napoleonic. And there is this consideration, moreover, which may be used in judging of
the whole character and career of this commanderthat while the imagination is inflamed by the wonders of




116                NAPOLEON.
the triumph, so that it instinctively conceives of a superhuman energy and an unearthly destiny, the more
searching mind perceives that these immense effects are
the ordinary result of perfect science, applied by an intellect of the first order of quickness and accuracy, and
urged by a fiery will, and the most earnest exertions
of spirit and of body.
These occurrences decided the fall of Mantua; but
the pride of the old marshal remained unabated by
misfortune. When summoned to surrender, he replied that he had provisions for a twelvemonth. A few
days after, his principal aide-de-camp, Klenau, came to
Serrurier's headquarters, and stated, that though the
garrison had abundant supplies for three months, yet,
as relief from Austria even in that time might be doubtful, the conduct of Wurmser would be regulated by
the conditions he should receive; Serrurier replied,
that he should take the orders of the commander-inchief. Napoleon went to Roverbella, and was present,
incognito, wrapped in his cloak, while the conversation
between Klenau and Serrurier proceeded. While the
former expatiated at great length on the vast resources
for defence which Mantua still possessed, Napoleon
approached the table, took a pen, and while the discussion went on, wrote his decisions on the margin of
Wurmser's proposals. When he had finished, he
handed the paper to Klenau, and said: " If Wurmser
had only provisions for eighteen or twenty days, and
talked of surrendering, he would not deserve an honorable capitulation: but I respect the age, the bravery,
and the misfortunes of the marshal. Here are the conditions which I grant him if he opens his gates to-morrow. If he delays a fortnight, a month, or two months,




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            117
he shall receive the same terms. He may therefore
hold out, if he pleases, to his last morsel of bread. I
shall pass the Po immediately, and march to Rome.
You know my views; communicate them to your general." Klenau, at first astonished by this singular address, soon comprehended who it was that spoke to
him. He examined the paper, and the generous treatment which it provided, filled him with gratitude. He
then acknowledged that Wurmser had not provisions
for more than three days. By these terms, the marshal, with his staff and five hundred men, was allowed
to retire into Austria, and the remainder of the garrison were to be surrendered as prisoners-of-war, and to
be sent to Trieste to be exchanged. Napoleon set off
at once for Romagna; and Serrurier presided at the
ceremony of the surrender. In the three blockades
since June, twenty-seven thousand five hundred soldiers had been killed in the sorties, or had died in the
hospitals; but the garrison still amounted to twenty
thousand, of whom twelve thousand were fit for service; and besides Wurmser's staff, there were in the
city thirty generals, and eighty commissaries and
agents. Napoleon's absence from the flattering spectacle of the general-in-chief of the Austrian forces in
Italy, a marshal of great reputation, delivering up his
sword at the head of his staff, was intended to impress
Europe with a sense of the dignity of his character.
Wurmser wrote to him expressing his gratitude for the
terms which he had received, and subsequently gave
him information of a design to poison him.
Napoleon at once proceeded against the pope, who,
when Wurmser's army entered Italy, had refused to
ratify the armistice of Bologna, and had co-operated




118               NAPOLEON.
with Austria in hostilities against France. The papal
army was routed on the Senio, Ancona taken, and the
Apennines crossed, when the holy see sent in its
submission. The treaty of Tolentino was signed on
the 19th of February; by this the pope engaged to pay thirty millions of francs, to cede
Avignon and the Venaisin to France, to abandon Bologna, Romagna, and Ferrara, and to surrender one
hundred works of art, to be selected by French commissioners; among which were subsequently named
the Apollo, the Laocoon, and the Transfiguration. After the signature of the treaty, Napoleon returned to
Mantua to give orders for the defence and armament of
the place, and then visited Milan. He had the satisfaction at this time of reviewing the forces which the
directory had detached from the northern armies, and
sent into Italy across the Alps. These consisted of
two divisions, each of six regiments of infantry and two
of cavalry; one division being from the army of the
Sambre and Meuse, and commanded by Bernadotte,
and the other from the army of the Rhine, and commanded by Delmas. Their joint force was estimated
at thirty thousand men, but in actual strength did not
exceed twenty thousand.
The advantages that had been gained over the French
armies in Germany, and the brilliant reputation which
the archduke Charles had acquired there, induced the
court of Vienna, in the ensuing campaign, to detach
six divisions from their forces on the Rhine and send
them into Italy, and to oppose the archduke himself to
Napoleon.  To this prince, Napoleon subsequently
rendered a high tribute of respect and admiration: "His
soul," he remarked, "belongs to the heroic age, but




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             1] 9
his heart to that of gold: more than all, he is a good
man, and that includes all things when it is said of a
prince." The orders of the Aulic council to the archduke were, to cover the roads to Vienna through the
Frioul: and accordingly, in the beginning of  1797
March, he established himself with an army of
thirty-five thousand men behind the Piave, which was
in addition to a force of fifteen thousand in the Tyrol,
and the detachment of forty thousand from the Rhine,
which were expected to arrive in the course of April.
The French army now in Italy consisted, in all, of
eight divisions of infantry and a reserve of cavalry, and
amounted in number to sixty-one thousand men, of
whom five thousand were cavalry, and three thousand
belonged to the artillery, consisting of one hundred and
twenty guns.  These were distributed as follows:
Seventeen thousand, consisting of Delmas's, Baraguay d'Hilliers's, and Joubert's divisions, and Dumas's brigade of cavalry, were united near Trent,
under Lieutenant-General Joubert; Massena's, Serrurier's, Guyeux's, and Bernadotte's divisions of infantry, with Dugua's division of cavalry of reserve,
were in the Bassanese and Trevisan country, with advanced posts on the right bank of the Piave: Victor's
corps was still in the Apennines, but was expected to
reach the Adige in the beginning of April, and there
to observe the Venetians, whose hostility to the French
republic was now less than doubtful. Napoleon determined to attack the archduke before the divisions from
the Rhine, four of which were ordered to the Frioul
and two into the Tyrol, could arrive; and he, accordingly, fixed his headquarters at Bassano, on the 9th of
March, while those divisions were still twenty days'




120               NAPOLEON.
march behind; and in the order of that day, he announced to the army that peace was now to be sought
in the heart of the hereditary states and before the gates
of Vienna. From this part of the country, there are
two great roadts to Vienna —the direct, Carinthian road,
which runs through San-Daniele, Ponteba on the upper
Tagliamento, the pass of Tarwis in the Carnic Alps,
Villach, Klagenfurth, and Bruck, to Vienna, making
ninety-five leagues from San-Daniele to Vienna; and
the more circuitous Carniolan road, which crosses the
Isonzo at Gradisca, and passes through Goritz, Marburg, and Gratz, to Bruck, where it joins the other
road, making one hundred and five leagues from Goritz
to Vienna. Massena was sent northward from Bassano to cut off the Austrians from the Ponteba road:
he took Feltre, Cadore, and Belluno, crossed the Piave in the mountains, routed General Lusignan's division, and drove it beyond the Tagliamento, taking six
hundred prisoners, including Lusignan, and several
pieces of cannon. On the 12th of March, Serrurier's
and Guyeux's divisions crossed the Piave, the former
at daybreak before Asolo, the latter at two in the afternoon at Ospedaletto before Treviso, and marched to
Conegliano, where headquarters were established; and
Bernadotte's division, which was at Padua, arrived
there on the following day. The Austrians retired
from the Piave for the purpose of giving battle on the
plains of the Tagliamento, which were favorable to the
action of their numerous cavalry; their rear-guard, on
the night of the 13th, made a stand at Sacile, but was
overthrown by Guyeux. On the 16th, at nine o'clock
in the morning, the two armies were in front of one
another at Valvasone, the river Tagliamento being be



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            121
tween them. Guyeux's division formed the left of
the French army, Serrurier's the centre, and Bernadotteis the right; their whole force being about equal
to the Austrians, who were drawn up in the same order
on the left bank. A cannonade from the banks was
carried on for some time, and some charges of light
cavalry made on the beach; but the French, finding
the enemy well prepared, ceased firing, formed their
bivouacs, and began to cook their messes. The Austrians thinking that the French, who had marched all
night, were taking up a position, and would not resume
the fight that day, withdrew into their camps: and after
two hours, when all was quiet, the French soldiers
suddenly rushed to arms. Bernadotte's and Guyeux's
divisions, Murat and Duphot leading the vans of each
respectively, prunged into the torrent, and, before the
enemy were in arms, had passed in fine order, and were
drawn up in line of battle on the left bank, with their
light cavalry at the terminations of the line. The artillery opened in all directions. Serrurier's division, and
Dugua's division of cavalry of reserve, forming the
second line, passed the river as soon as the first line
had advanced two hundred yards from the shore. The
engagement was maintained for several hours with great
gallantry, when a successful charge by Dugua having
turned the Austrian flank, they beat a retreat, abandoning eight pieces of cannon to the French. As soon as
this battle began, Massena had crossed the Piave at
San-Daniele, and occupied the gorges of Ponteba,
throwing back the remains of Orskay's division, which
had been opposed to him, upon Tarwis; and he himself, according to his orders, now pressed forward upon
that important pass.
VOL. T.-11




122                NAPOLEON.
The archduke finding Massena in possession of
Ponteba, determined to regain the Carinthian road by
a crossway through Caporetto: and accordingly, after
the battle of the Tagliamento, while he retired with part
of his army to Palma-Nuova and Gradisca, to defend
the Isonzo and cover Carniola, he despatched Bayalitch, with three divisions and the artillery, to recover
the Carinthian road through Udine, Cividale, Caporetto, Austrian Chiusa, and Tarwis. The French general Guyeux was at once sent to follow this corps on
the same route; and keeping up a close pursuit, had
brisk actions every day with the Austrian rear, killing
numbers and capturing prisoners, artillery, and baggage. Meanwhile, the archduke becoming aware how
much nearer Massena was than Bayalitch t6 Tarwis,
hastened in person to Klagenfurth, put himself at the
head of a division of grenadiers which had arrived
there from the Rhine, and marched forward and took a
position before Tarwis. When Massena arrived, he
found the archduke's forces, consisting of the remains
of Orskay's troops and the fine division of grenadiers from
Germany drawn up in line. A fierce and obstinate action
ensued: on the French side, General Brune, afterward
marshal, was distinguished for his bravery; and on the
part of the Austrians, the archduke exposed himself
with so much gallantry, that he was several times on
the point of being taken by the French skirmishers.
At length, the Austrians were utterly routed and dispersed. The remains vf their force rallied at Villach;
and Massena occupied Tarwis, fronting toward Austrian Chiusa, to receive Bayalitch's corps, whose fate
was thus sealed. This force, when it reached Chiusa,
thought itself safe; but was suddenly attacked in front




ITALIAN CA.MPAIGNS.          123
by Massena and in rear by Guyeux, and had no recourse but to lay down their arms. Five thousand
prisoners, including four generals, together with thirtytwo pieces of cannon, and four hundred ammunition
and baggage wagons with their teams, fell into the
hands of the French.
The residue of the French army under Napoleon
proceeded toward the Isonzo. Bernadotte appeared
opposite to Gradisca on the Isonzo, and opened a cannonade from the right bank; while Napoleon, accompanying Serrurier's division, forded the river lower
down, at the Montfalcon road, routing a body of Croats
on the bank, and appeared on the elevated ground behind Gradisca. An assault which Bernadotte had allowed his troops to make, in their eagerness to reach
the town before the soldiers of the army of Italy, had
been repulsed with a loss of four hundred men; but as
soon as the governor saw Serrurier on the heights, he
capitulated, surrendering himself as a prisoner-of-war
with three thousand men, two standards, and twenty
field-pieces. Serrurier marched toward Tarwis through
Austrian Chiusa to support Guyeux; Dugua with one
thousand horse took possession of Trieste; Bernadotte
advanced toward Laybach; and headquarters were
fixed successively at Goritz, Caporetto, Tarwis, Villach, and Klagenfurth. At the last place, two Austrian
divisions, under Kaim and Mercantin, which had marched from the Rhine, were in position, and attempted to
make defence, but were repulsed with some loss. The
French army was now in the valley of the Drave, within
Germany, having passed the Julian and Carnic Alps.
During these operations, the forces in the Tyrol had
been stationary. The Austrian general Kerpen, hourly




124               NAPOLEON.
expecting the two divisions from the Rhine, occupied the
left bank of the Adige, behind the Avisio, covering St.
Michael, and communicating with General Laudon on
the opposite bank. After the battle of the Tagliamento,
Napoleon sent orders to Joubert to drive Kerpen beyond the Brenner, and then to march by the Pusterthal, along the Drave, and join the army at Spital, near
the Carinthian road. On the 20th of March, Joubert
having received his orders, passed the Avisio with his
own division at Segonzano, while Delmas and Baraguay
d'Hilliers, with their divisions, passed on the Lavis
bridge, and united against Kerpen at St. Michael,
while Laudon, on the other side of the Adige, was an
idle spectator of his defeat. Kerpen, driven from all
his positions, had two thousand men killed, and lost
three thousand prisoners and several standards and
pieces of cannon. Joubert immediately advanced to
Neumarck, passed the bridge, defeated Laudon between Neumarck and Tramin, and returned in the
evening to Neumarck with twenty-five hundred prisoners and several pieces of cannon. In the meantime,
the first Austrian division from the Rhine, under General Sporck, had reached Clausen; and in the rear of
this division, in a position deemed impregnable, Kerpen rallied his troops. On the 24th, Joubert, with the
greater part of his force, marched against them. While
a sharp engagement took place in front, the French
fusileers climbed the mountain which supported the
enemy's right, and compelled him to retreat. Kerpen
retired to Mittenwald, whither Joubert followed him
and defeated him for the third time, on the 2Sth of
March, and compelled him to retreat on the Brenner.
Joubert having thus opened his way, and cleared the




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.           125
enemy from the rear, joined Napoleon with twelve
thousand men and seven thousand Austrian prisoners.
On every side, therefore, the success of the French
had been brilliant and complete; and the safety of the
Austrian capital was menaced.
At the commencement of the campaign, the plan had
been for the armies of the Rhine and the Sambre and
Meuse to advance into Germany, effect a junction with
Napoleon, and march in combined force upon Vienna.
The directory, however, seem to have become alarmed
at the prospect of so large an army being placed under
the command of a general so ambitious and aspiring;
and on the 31st of March despatches reached Klagenfurth, announcing that the armies of Germany would
not at present co-operate with that of Italy. Without
a strong body of cavalry, Napoleon saw at a glance that
he must abandon the project of entering Vienna; and
he determined at once to make use of his position to
arrange a peace, which he knew was the general wish
of France. On the same day on which he received
the directory's despatches, he wrote to the archduke
Charles, making overtures for peace, to which that
prince replied on the 2d of April, referring the subject
to the emperor. Meanwhile, great consternation had
prevailed in the capital; and the young archdukes and
archduchesses, including Maria Louisa, then five and a
half years old, had been sent in boats on the Danube into
Hungary. Napoleon resolved to follow up his overtures
for peace by pressing the war with the greatest vigor.
On the 1st of April, Massena advanced on Freisach, attacked the enemy's rear-guard, took the large
stores which they had collected, and drove them
almost to Neumarck, where the archduke, with four
11 *




14G                NAPOLEON.
battalions from the Rhine and the remains of his own
army, was in position to defend the gorges. Napoleon
immediately advanced his whole force; ordered Massena to form the left wing; placed Guyeux's division
on the heights on the right, and Serrurier's in reserve.
At three in the afternoon the attack began: the second
light-infantry of Massena's division, who were from the
Rhine, gave a challenge to the soldiers of the army of
Italy, to advance as rapidly and penetrate as far as they
did; and in heroic emulation, the rival corps rushed
on in resistless energy. The archduke exhibited the
utmost personal valor, but in vain; he was driven from
his positions and pursued into Neumarck with the loss
of three thousand men, six pieces of cannon, and five
standards.  He retired along the Muer, making as
much delay as possible, through Scheifling, the defiles
of Unzmarkt, where a furious engagement took place
on the 3d, and Knittelfeld, to Leoben, where the
French van arrived on the 7th. Lieutenant-General
Bellegarde and Major-General Merfield here presented
themselves with a flag of truce, from the emperor, proposing a suspension of arms. On the same evening an
armistice for five days was signed,' which was afterward prolonged till the 20th: and negotiations for a
treaty were opened at Judembourg.  On the 18th,
General Clarke, the French plenipotentiary, not having arrived, Napoleon himself took the responsibility
of signing the treaty: it provided, among other things,
for the extension of the French frontier to the Rhine,
and to the summit of the Piedmontese Alps, the limitation of the Austrian possessions in Italy to the Oglio,
whereby the emperor received the continental states of
Venice, which, as a compensation, obtained Ferrara,




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            127
Bologna, and Romagna; the establishment of the
Cisalpine republic, composed of Lombardy, Modena,
Cremona, and Bergamo. This treaty sealed the doom
of Venice. Her course had previously been vacillating: democratic insurrections had broken out, and the
senate at length placed themselves in such an attitude
that, on the 3d of May, 1797, Napoleon declared war
against that republic. This gave such impetus to the
revolutionary spirit, that, on the 12th of May, the senate abdicated their authority, and the French troops
soon after took possession of the city. By a treaty signed
the 16th of May, the aristocracy was abolished and a
popular government guarantied, a contribution of six
millions exacted, with the surrender of many works of art,
among which were the celebrated bronze horses brought
from Corinth to Rome, thence removed to Constantinople, and thence carried away by the Venetian fleets.
During the nionths of May and June, headquarters
were at the castle of Montebello, a few leagues from
Milan; and here Napoleon, surrounded by the plenipotentiaries of numerous kings, and attended by Josephine, held a more than regal court: and negotiations for a general peace went on.  Toward the
close of September the conferences were at Udine
and Passeriano, near the Tagliamento, between Count
Cobentzel on the part of Austria, and Napoleon.
On the 16th of October, at a conference held at
Udine, Napoleon, worn out by the delay and bad
faith of the emperor, repeated for the last time his
ultimatum, to which Count Cobentzel declined acceding. The former, with great coolness, arose and took
from a mantelpiece a little porcelain vase, which Co
bentzel prized as a present from the empress Cathe



128                NAPOLEON.
rine: "Well," said Napoleon, "the truce, then, is at
an end, and war is declared; but remember that before
the end of autumn I will shatter your monarchy as I
shatter this porcelain." Saying this he dashed it furiously down upon the carpet in fragments, and retired.
Cobentzel was struck dumb; and learning in a few
moments that as Napoleon got into his carriage he had
despatched an officer to announce to the archduke the
recommencement of hostilities in twenty-four hours,
he sent to Passeriano, whither Napoleon had withdrawn, a signed declaration that he consented to the
ultimatum of France. On the following day, the 17th
of October, 1797, the treaty of Campo Formio was
signed. Campo Formio is a small village between
Passeriano and Udine, which had been neutralized for
the conferences; and the treaty was dated there, though
not actually signed there. By this treaty, the Rhine
and the Alps were acknowledged as the boundaries of
France, the Cisalpine republic was established, and
Austria obtained Istria, Dalmatia, Venice and its continental possessions as far as Lake Garda, the Adige, and
the Po. Napoleon set out for Turin, where he arrived
on the 17th of November. He thence continued his
journey by Rastadt, Mont Cenis, and Grenoble, to
Paris, where he alighted at his own small house in
the Chaussee d'Antin, rue Chantereine.
Shortly after his arrival, however, he had a public
reception from the directory in the Luxembourg. Napoleon, introduced by Talleyrand, presented the treaty
of Campo Formio, and Joubert and Andreossy, on the
part of the legislative body, presented a magnificent
standard to the army of Italy. Upon it was recorded,
in letters of gold, that ".he army of Italy took one




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.             129
hundred and fifty thousand prisoners, one hundred and
seventy standards, five hundred and fifty pieces of garrison artillery, six hundred field-pieces, five ponton
trains, nine sixty-four-gun ships, twelve frigates of thirty
two guns, twelve corvettes, eighteen galleys:" it then
recited the splendid political and diplomatic results of
its operations, and proceeded to relate that " this army
has triumphed in eighteen pitched battles and in sixtyseven actions: 1, Montenotte; 2, Millesimo; 3, Mondovi; 4, Lodi; 5, Borghetto; 6, Lonato; 7, Castiglione; 8, Roveredo; 9, Bassano; 10, Saint-Georges;
11, Fontana Viva; 12, Caldiero; 13, Arcole; 14,
Rivoli; 15, La Favorite; 16, the Tagliamento; 17,
Tarwis; 18, Neumarck:" and then followed the names
of sixty-seven lesser engagements.
His arrival excited unbounded enthusiasm, and he
took care to foment the public curiosity by a retired
and distant style of behavior. The public, he observes
in his memoirs, was extremely eager to see him; the
streets and squares through which he was expected to
pass were constantly crowded with people, but Napoleon never showed himself. He received no constant
visits except from a few men of science, such as
Monge, Berthollet, Borda, Laplace, and Lagrange;
several generals, as Berthier, Desaix, Lefebvre, Caffarelli, and Kleber; and a very few deputies. The
Institute having appointed him a member of the class of
mechanics, he adopted its costume. People thronged
to the Institute for the sake of seeing him; he always
took his place there between Laplace and Lagrange.
" Mankind," said Napoleon in after years, " are in the
end governed invariably by superior intellect, and no
profession is more aware of this than the military.




I30)              NAPOLEON.
W hen, on my return from Italy, I assumed the dress
of the Institute, I knew what I was doing: I was sure
of being understood by the humblest drummer in the
army." He never went to th~e theatre except to occupy a private box, and though when his presence in
the house was known, he was always called for with
loud plaudits, he never showed himself. " The people of Paris," said he at this time to Bourrienne, "do
not remember anything. Were I to remain here long
doing nothing, I should be lost. In this great Babylon, one reputation displaces another. Let me be seen
but three times at the theatre, and I shall no longer
excite attention."
In the political position of affairs at Paris, Napoleon
saw nothing satisfactory, and after a few unsuccessful
attempts to control matters according to his will, he
turned his thoughts toward the more welcome scene
of military glory. England and the East divided for
some time the attention of the government and of himself. He had long looked toward Egypt with kindled
ambition, as the field where a great blow might be
struck at the power of England, and where a great
empire might be founded. The directory wished him
to undertake the invasion of Great Britain, and appointed him commander-in-chief of the army of England.
On the 10th of February, 1798, in company with Sulkowsky, Lannes, and Bourrienne, he set out to examine
the preparations along the coast, and visited Boulogne,
Calais, Dunkirk, Antwerp, &c.; but found that it was
impracticable to think of the English expedition at that
time. " It is too great a hazard," said he: " I will not
risk it: I would not thus sport with the fate of France."
Every thought was then turned toward Egypt.




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.            131
With regard to the responsibility of this great undertaking, it would appear that it was first suggested to
the directory by Napoleon, and then urged by them.
when they had become jealous of his presence. In the
dictations to Las Cases, at St. Helena, the first principle which was announced as the summary of the truth
upon this subject was, that " the expedition to Egypt
was undertaken at the earnest and mutual desire of the
directory and the general-in-chief."  The directory
placed everything at the orders of Napoleon; the utmost activity prevailed throughout the south of France;
from his headquarters at Paris, Napoleon directed
everything; and in an incredibly short time, the armament was ready to sail.
EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.
On the 19th of May, 1798, the squadron sailed from
Toulon for Malta, touching at Genoa, Ajaccio, and
Civita Vecchia, to effect a junction with parts of the
fleet which had been fitted out in those harbors. In
leaving the harbor of Toulon, the L'Orient of one
hundred and twenty guns grounded, on account of
her immense size; an incident which the sailors regarded as prophetic of the fate that afterward befell her.
The expedition consisted, in all, of thirteen ships-of-theline, fourteen firigates, and a large number of brigs, cutters, and transports; and carried forty thousand soldiers from the army of Italy, commanded by Berthier,
Murat, Lannes, Junot, Vaubois, Regnier, Belliard,
Dammartin, and Baraguay d'Hilliers, who had all
served under Napoleon in Italy, and by Kleber and
Desaix, who were not less distinguished for their ser



132                NAPOLEON.
vices in Germany; and attended by a corps of the
most illustrious philosophers and artists of France —
Berthollet, Monge, Fourier, Larrey, Denon, and Geoffroy St. Hilaire. After doubling capes Corso and Bonara, where Napoleon became apprized of the presence
of an English fleet in the Mediterranean, they reached
Malta on the 10th of June, the surrender of which had
been fully prepared by intrigues begun long before,
and founded on the disaffection of the French and Italian knights for the grand-master Hompesch, a German.
The officers admired the colossal vastness of a fortress
which had once been the bulwark of Europe: and
Caffarelli-Dufalga, the chief of the engineer corps, said,
on reconnoitring the works, "It is well that we have
found some one within to open the gates for us." Having put it in a complete state of defence, and left Vaubois with three thousand men to garrison it, Napoleon,
on the 19th of June, sailed with the fleet for Egypt.
To avoid the English squadron, which by this time
was likely to have become acquainted with the destination of the French force, Napoleon gave orders that,
instead of steering directly for Alexandria, the fleet
should manceuvre so as to make Cape Aza, in Africa,
twenty-five leagues from Alexandria. Nelson crossed
their track in the night, without either being aware of
the vicinity of the other. Napoleon's anxiety was to
land his army, and to place the fleet in some safe harbor; after which he would have cared but little for the
English squadron. While the French fleet was reconnoitring the coast of Candia, the signal was made that
a ship-of-war was seen in the offing. "Fortune," exclaimed Napoleon, "wilt thou forsake me? only give
me five days." It proved to be the French ship La




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.           133
Justice, which had been cruising off Naples. On the
morning of the 1st of July the coast of Egypt became
visible, and on reaching Alexandria it was ascertained
that Nelson had been there two days before, and not
finding the French, had sailed north in search of them.
Napoleon landed during the day, and as soon as three
thousand men were on the shore, he marched for Alexandria during the night, and reached and attacked it at
daybreak. The grenadiers scaled the walls, led by
the gallant officers who felt how much depended upon
this first success. Kleber was wounded in the head
by a ball, and General Menou precipitated from the
top of the rampart; but a gate in the rear of the city
having been left open by negligence, the French soldiers rushed in, and soon made themselves masters of
the city.
As soon as the whole army had landed, Napoleon
issued the following address to them: " Soldiers! you
are entering upon a conquest which will be attended
with the greatest results for the trade and civilization
of the world. You will inflict on England the heaviest
stroke that she can feel before she receives her deathblow. Those among whom you are going are Mohammedans. The great article of their belief is,' There
is but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet.' Do
not contradict them. Treat them as you treated the
Italians and the Jews: pay the same respect to the
muftis and imaums of the one as you did to the rabbis
and bishops of the other: show the same deference for
their mosques and their ceremonies that you did for the
convents and the synagogues, for the religion of Moses
and that of Jesus. The first city that we shall enter
was built by Alexander: at every step we shall meet
VOL. L.-12




134                NAPOLEON.
with recollections worthy of the enthusiasm of Frenchmen." Egypt at this time was occupied by four races
of men: the lowest consisted of the Copts, the native
occupants, Christians, and amounting, in number, to
about one hundred and fifty thousand; the most numerous class were the Arab conquerors of Egypt,
Mohammedans, governed by their sheiks, and amounting to about two millions; the next class was composed
of Ottomans, who established themselves in the country upon the Turkish conquest by Selim in the sixteenth century, and formed the corps of janizaries and
spahis, in number about two hundred thousand: the
highest order, who were the military governors of the
country, were the Mamelukes, of Circassian origin,
amounting in all to between sixty and seventy thousand,
commanded by twenty-three beys, and forming a cavalry
of twelve thousand of the finest horsemen in the world.
The supreme magistracy was vested in Ibrahim Bey
and Murad Bey, the latter of whom was the head of
the military force. Napoleon's policy proceeded upon
dividing these classes or races, and employing the jealousies of one to control another. He announced that
he made war only against the Mamelukes, and that the
purpose of his coming was to deliver the Mohammedans from their oppressors, and he conciliated the
sheiks and governed the country through them; at the
same time, he made use of the Copts as spies upon
them. Before advancing into the country, he issued a
proclamation to the inhabitants, declaring his friendship
for the religion and institutions of Mohammed, and announcing that his hostility was directed against the
Mamelukes only, the oppressors of the Mussulmans.
Having ordered the fortifications of Alexandria to be




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.            135
restored and completed under Colonel Cretin, the most
skilful officer of engineers in France, and having left
three thousand men under Kleber in the garrison, he
sent a division under Dugua to pass round by Rosetta,
and with the rest of the army he set out, on the 8th of
July, to reach the Nile across the desert of Damanhour.
During this march, the suffering from heat, fatigue, and
want of water, was extreme, and the officers and soldiers alike abandoned themselves to the most unrestrained dissatisfaction. Napoleon observed, afterward,
that he had made a mistake in leading the army of
Italy upon such an enterprise: that army, he said, had
fulfilled its career; the persons belonging to it were
sated with wealth and honors, and were not fit for the
desert.  Bertrand related that he had seen the most
distinguished generals, such as Lannes and Murat,
throw their laced hats on the ground and trample upon
them. Nothing but the commanding character of their
leader kept them in any subordination; and he himself,
at a later period, saw two dragoons run out of the ranks
and throw themselves into the Nile.
On the 10th the army reached Rahmanieh, on the
Nile, and was joined by General Dugua's division,
which had marched by Rosetta. Before Desaix's division could form on the bank, it was attacked by a
corps of about eight hundred Mamelukes, who being
received with a brisk fire of artillery, were compelled to
retire with some loss. Information was also received
that Murad Bey was waiting for the French at the village of Shebreis, with a large body of cavalry, and a
flotilla of eight or ten gun-boats, and several batteries
on the Nile. On the evening of the 12th, Napoleon
marched to meet them, and on the morning of the




136               NAPOLEON.
13th, at daybreak, came in sight of them at Shebreis.
The Mameluke force consisted chiefly of a magnificent body of cavalry, while the French had but two
hundred horse, all fatigued, and some disabled, by the
march. As the enemy, from the nature of his force,
was able to direct his attack upon any quarter that he
chose, each division of the French army was formed
into a hollow square, with the baggage in the centre,
and the five divisions were arranged en echelon, and beside each other, with the artillery at the angles, so as to
play in front of, and between, the divisions; the whole
resting, on both sides, upon two villages which the
French occupied. The cavalry of the Mamelukes
soon inundated the whole plain, outflanked all the
wings, and sought, on each front, on the flanks and in
the rear, to find a weak point where they might break
the French line; but the line was everywhere equally
formidable, and on every side they encountered a
double fire from front and flank. Some of the bravest
came and skirmished, but were received by the fire
of companies of carbiniers placed in advance of the
intervals between the battalions. The main body made
several attempts to charge, but could not bring their
resolution to the point. In the afternoon they withdrew and disappeared, having lost about three hundred
killed and wounded. During this time, also, the French
flotilla on the Nile had gained considerable advantage
over that of the enemy, and compelled it to retire up
the river. The French army continued its march for
eight days, suffering for want of supplies, and in one
of the most scorching climates in the world; and on
the 20th of July, in the morning, the summits of the
p)yramids became visible, bordering the horizon of the




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.           137
valley on the left bank of the Nile. On the evening
of the same day, they arrived within six leagues of
Cairo, and learned that the whole force of the Mamelukes, with a considerable number of Arabs and janizaries, were in line at Embabeh, between the Nile and
the pyramids, and in front of Gizeh. About dawn, on
the 21st, the Mameluke vanguard of one thousand
horse showed itself, but soon retired; and about ten
o'clock in the morning, the French came in sight of
the Egyptian army at Embabeh. Their right, consisting of twenty thousand infantry, janizaries, and
spahis, and all the fighting men of Cairo, was supported on the Nile, and occupied a large intrenched
camp, lined with forty pieces of cannon: the centre
consisted of the entire body of the Mameluke cavalry,
amounting to twelve thousand, under their twenty-three
beys, Murad Bey commanding in person, with their
right on the camp, and stretching thence toward the
pyramids, across the road to Gizeh: the left wing,
composed of two or three thousand Arabs, filled up
the interval between the cavalry and the pyramids.
The French divisions were immediately thrown into
hollow squares, as at Shebreis, and drawn up in front of
the enemy's line. General Bon, with his division resting on the Nile, and General Menou's division, commanded by General Vial, formed the left: General
Dugua's division, with which Napoleon was, occupied
the centre: Generals Regnier and Desaix constituted
the right wing, the latter's division resting on a large
village. " From the tops of yonder pyramids," said Napoleon to the soldiers, "forty centuries are looking upon
you."  The entrenched camp was reconnoitred, and it
was ascertained that it was merely sketched out, hav12*




138                 NAPOLEON.
ing been begun only three days after the battle of Shebreis, and, though likely to withstand a charge of cavalry,
was incapable of resisting infantry. It was also perceived with good telescopes, that their cannon were
not on field-carriages, but were merely great iron guns
taken from the flotilla and served by their crews. It
at once became evident that neither the artillery nor
infantry would quit their entrenchments, and Napoleon's dispositions were made accordingly. Leaving the
left wing, composed of the division of Bon and Menou,
to act against the entrenched camp, he directed the
three other divisions, who were opposed to the Mamelukes, to march by their right out of the range of the
guns of the camp. Murad Bey, with the sagacity of
a great commander, instantly comprehended that the
proper moment for the efficient action of his cavalry
was while this lateral movement was executing, and
before the squares were formed in their new positions;
and accordingly launched a column of seven thousand
of his cavalry upon Desaix's column, which was advancing upon the extremity of the French right. Mounted
upon the finest horses of Asia, superbly caparisoned -
themselves armed with sabres, and having pistols and
poniards in their belts, and girt with shawls and turbans that glittered in all the splendor of eastern dyes
these dauntless Circassians, whose stature and features
and spirit have been deemed so heroic that they are
conjectured to be descendants of those Greeks whom
Jason led to the shores of Colchis-rushed forth with
fierce cries, and a rapidity like lightning, upon the disordered column of Desaix. The moment was of intense suspense. It was undoubtedly a false manceuvre which Napoleon had directed, in changing the front




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.            139
in presence of the enemy's line, and it was from just
such an error that himself and Wellington, in later
years, seized such conclusive victories at Austerlitz and
Salamanca. Before, however, the whole weight of the
column of Mamelukes was thrown upon the French,
the squares were formed; and the men with perfect
coolness received the charging squadron upon the bayonet and with a shower of balls. Thirty of the bravest
were killed near General Desaix; the mass, by an instinct natural to the horse, turned round the squares, and
rode between the divisions of Desaix and Regnier, where
they were received with a double fire which completed
their overthrow. Napoleon, who was in Dugua's square,
in the centre of the army, immediately marched on the
main body of the Mamelukes, and placed himself between Regnier and the Nile. At the same time, the divisions of Bon and Vial, on the left, were directed to assault the camp. The method of manceuvring with the
squares was this: The squares were six deep: on
marching with the whole division, the men all faced
forward; when an attack was made upon them, they
halted, fronted on every side, and received the assailants with bayonets and a discharge of bullets: when
they made a charge, the first and third divisions of the
square advanced and formed into column, while the
second and fourth immediately formed into a square,
now only three deep, and were prepared to act as a
reserve or support. Bon's columns of attack, led by
General Rampon, rushed upon the entrenchments, in
spite of a heavy fire, when the Mamelukes in reserve
issued forth at full gallop and charged upon them.
The French threw themselves into square, maintained their positions, and soon strewed the ground with




140                NAPOLEON.
the slain. The works were carried; and the Mamelukes retired on every side. Murad, with twenty-five
hundred horse, fled through Gizeh; the rest returned
to the camp, where their retreat was cut off by two
battalions under Rampon, which were stationed on the
road between Gizeh and the camp. With the exception of the force which retired with Murad Bey, the
destruction of the army was entire. Five thousand
Mamelukes were driven into the river and drowned;
while the French loss did not exceed twenty or thirty
killed, and one hundred and twenty wounded. At nine
o'clock in the evening, Napoleon reached the countryhouse of Murad Bey, at Gizeh, and at four o'clock on
the afternoon of the 26th of July, he entered the
city of Cairo, where all the luxuries of the East surrounded the army.  The fame of the battle of the
pyramids, and the terror of the French artillery, spread
far and wide, and Napoleon received the name of Sultan Kebir, or the sultan of fire. It rendered his command over Egypt supreme and absolute.  Ibrahim
Bey, who had been a spectator of the engagement,
from the opposite bank of the Nile, retreated immediately to Salahieh; Napoleon, with Dugua's and Regnier's divisions, pursued him thither, and after a sharp
engagement, in which the French cavalry were proved
to be entirely inferior to the Mameluke horsemen, and
were only saved by the infantry, Ibrahim was compelled to retire across the desert into Syria.
In the midst of this perfect success on land, and
when the object of the expedition seemed likely to be
secured, every hope of Napoleon in the East was
crushed for ever by the naval battle of Aboukir, or the
battle of the Nile, as it is called by the English. It




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.            141
does not fall within the scope of the present work to
enter upon a particular description of that splendid
monument of the glory of Nelson and of Englanld.
Napoleon had given orders to Admiral Brueys, imnlediately after landing the army, either to go into harbor at
Alexandria, or to sail for Corfu: these directions were
not appreciated, and on the 1st of August, 179S, the
English squadron, under Nelson, bore down between
the French fleet and the shore, off the fort of Aboukir,
and surrounding them on both sides, destroyed or captured every vessel, but two which made their escape.
This defeat was felt at once by Napoleon to be the
disenchantment of all his oriental visions. It precipitated the combined fleets of Russia and Turkey in hostility upon France: and he could thenceforth propose
to himself no higher object of desire than to preserve his
army, and to regain his country with tolerable credit.
The activity and energy of Napoleon were, however, not paralyzed by this blow. He continued without relaxation his exertions, not only for the military mastery of the country, but for the establishment
of his power in the domestic institutions and private
affections of the people. He asserted his Mussulman
orthodoxy: he illustrated his justice: he displayed his
paternal care. One day, while seated in the divan of
the grand-sheiks, he was told that the Arabs of the
tribe of Osnadis had killed a fellah and carried off
some flocks: with an air of indignation, he instantly
ordered a staff-officer to march with three hundred
horsemen and two hundred dromedaries into the Bahireh, to punish the guilty parties, and obtain reparation.
The sheik Elmodi said to him, with a laugh, " Was
this fellah thy cousin, that his death excites so much




142               NAPOLEON.
anger in thee?"-" He was more," replied Napoleon;
"all whom I command are my children."-" Good!"
said the sheik, " that is spoken like the prophet himself."
Desaix, who, with his division, had been sent into
Upper Egypt in pursuit of the remains of the Mameluke corps, came up with them at the village of Sidiman in the month of October; and after a bloody
engagement between his force, of about twenty-five
hundred men, and the enemy, consisting of four thousand Mamelukes and Arabs, gained a complete victory, which opened Upper Egypt and all its wonders
to the curiosity of the French. In the latter part of
the same month, a dreadful insurrection broke out in
Cairo, fomented by the Turkish influence, which had
gained confidence from the declaration of war against
France by the Porte, after the battle of the Nile: and
the most rigorous measures were put in practice in
suppressing this revolt, and the spirit in which it had its
origin. Napoleon shortly afterward issued the following curious proclamation: " Sheiks, ulemas, teachers
of the mosques, tell the people that they who combine
to resist me have no hope in this world or in the next.
Is any man so blind, as not to see that I am the Man
of Destiny?  Make the pe6ple comprehend, that from
the beginning of time it has been preordained that, having vanquished the cross and subdued all the enemies
of Islam, I should come from the West to fulfil my
destined work. Make them see that twenty passages
in the Koran predict my coming. I might demand
an account from every one of you of his most hidden
thoughts, since everything is known to me; but the
day is coming in which all shall know from whom I




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.           143
have derived my mission, and that the efforts of man
are vain against me." Shortly after he made an excursion to the Red sea, and, taking advantage of the
tide being out, crossed with a party to the opposite
shore. He here received a deputation from the Cenobites of Mount Sinai, who came to implore his protection, and to request him to write his name on the
ancient register of their charters: Napoleon, accordingly,
inscribed his name on the same list with those of Ali,
Saladin, and Ibrahim. It was after dark when the party
returned, and when they were half way across the channel, the tide coming rapidly in, they lost their way, and
seemed to be on the point of meeting the fate which,
on the same spot, three thousand years before, had
overwhelmed Pharaoh and his host. With much presence of mind, Napoleon halted the party, and ordered
persons to advance in all directions, and to give the
alarm when the water grew deeper. The direction of
the shore was thus discovered, and the company reached
it in safety. " Had I been drowned," said Napoleon,
afterward, " I should have furnished a magnificent text
to all the preachers of Christendom!"
The success of the English fleet upon the sea, as
has been stated, determined the hostility of the Porte.
The sultan having declared war against France, was
preparing two expeditions-one by sea, to land at
Aboukir, and the other by land, to approach from
Syria. Napoleon resolved to take the initiative, by attacking the latter force before it was fully prepared;
and accordingly, on the 11th of February, he advanced
at the head of an army of thirteen thousand men, nine
hundred cavalry, and forty-nine pieces of cannon, to
cross the desert for Syria, leaving a reserve of about




144               NAPOLEON.
sixteen thousand on the Nile. Napoleon seems, also,
to have indulged in some magnificent dreams of oriental conquest and glory: he contemplated the expulsion
of the English from India, and opened a correspondence with Tippoo-Saib on the subject: he spoke, also,
of combining an immense army of Asiatics, and reappearing in Europe, through Turkey, at the head of an
irresistible host. These may have been genuine expectations of a mind so imaginative and ardent as Napoleon's was; but good sense and sound judgment
were such essential characteristics of the sincere opinions of this sagacious man, that there is reason to suspect that he sought to veil in these splendid promises
of conquest the discredit of a real failure. On the
18th, his army reached the foot of El-Arisch, where a
large body of Mameluke cavalry was surprised during
the night, and the fort surrendered after a siege of two
days. The army then advanced into Syria, and after a
successful action at Gaza, invested Jaffa, carried
1799. it by storm on the 6th of March, and put the
garrison of four thousand to the sword. Leaving this
place in the occupation of a French garrison, Napoleon
advanced to Acre, which he reached on the 16th. On
the 20th, trenches were opened, and the siege pressed
with the utmost vigor. Sir Sydney Smith, then commanding the English squadron in the Archipelago, had
received notice from Djezzer Pasha, that Acre was to
be attacked, and arrived in the harbor with two large
vessels-of-war and several smaller ones, only two days
before the French army appeared before its walls.
Philippeaux, a French emigrant colonel of engineers,
who had been a school companion of Napoleon's at
Brienne, and who had passed at the same examination




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.           145
with him in Paris, in 1785, took command of the fortifications, and everything that science and valor could
supply was exerted to defend a post upon which the
safety of the East depended. Sir Sydney succeeded
in capturing the frigates which Napoleon had despatched
from Alexandria with the artillery intended for the
siege; and the twenty-four guns which had been designed to act against the walls, were now mounted upon
them, and used for the destruction of the army to which
they had before belonged. A large body of seamen
and marines were to land under command of Sir Sydney, and to co-operate in the defence. From the 20th
of March until the 20th of May, this desperate struggle
was maintained, with every exhibition of courage and
daring upon the part of both besiegers and besieged.
" The fate of the East," said Napoleon, " is in yonder
fort." But every attempt of the engineers against the
works was thwarted by the activity of Philippeaux;
every assault was repulsed with dreadful slaughter;
and at the end of two months, having lost three thousand of his best troops, Napoleon had the cannon buried
in the sand, and ordered a retreat to Jaffa. In this
siege, Caffarelli, the chief of the engineer corps, Mailly, a staff officer, Debon, and Laugier, were killed; and
Lannes and Devaux wounded. " That man made me
miss my destiny," said Napoleon of Sir Sydney Smith.
The siege of fortified places not only requires methods and arts wholly different from those which are made
use of in the field, but involves principles of judgment
essentially distinct from those that are implied in the
command of armies. The failure of Wellington against
Burgos, and of Napoleon against Acre, infer nothing
unfavorable to the supremacy of these great commandVOL. 1.-1 3




146                 NAPOLEON.
ers in their own profession: they merely illustrate the
boundaries of that profession. At the very moment,
while Acre was defying the wrath of the French commander-in-chief, he was exhibiting at Mount Thabor,
in all the perfection of its lustre, that splendor of genius
in the combinations of forces in the field which had
ever surrounded his name. It was about the middle
of April that the accumulation of the enemy upon his
rear became so serious, that Napoleon determined to
strike a memorable blow against a force which threatened soon to overwhelm him by its growing numbers.
Junot was in command at Nazareth, and the enemy in
immense numbers had approached within the bridge
of Jacob: Kleber was sent from Acre, with his division, to join Junot; Murat, with two squadrons of horse
and one thousand infantry, was stationed at the bridge
of Jacob; and Napoleon, on the 16th, advanced in
person from Acre with Bon's division, the cavalry, and
eight pieces of cannon. Kleber, marching out from
Nazareth to attack the enemy's camp, encountered
their host, consisting of thirty thousand, of whom half
were cavalry, at the village of Fouli. Throwing his
division into squares, with the artillery in front of the
intervals, Kleber received the terrible shock undaunted:
the steady roll of his guns strewed the lines of cavalry
and infantry in heaps upon the ground as they advanced.
For six hours the unequal contest was maintained, when
the roar of a twelve-pounder from the heights announced that Napoleon, with fresh troops from Acre, had
arrived. Napoleon immediately ordered Bon's division, in two squares, to attack in flank the throng who
were pressing on Kleber's corps, while he advanced
with the cannon to attack them in front; and the cav



EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.           147
airy, under Letourcq, were sent with some light artillery
against the Mamelukes at the foot of the mountains.
While the troops brought up by Napoleon thus charged
the enemy on two sides, Kleber extended his line and
charged with the bayonet on the other: the undisciplined mass soon retired in confusion and fled along
the Jordan, and finding the bridge of Jacob in possession of Murat, they plunged into the river, and many
of them were drowned. This battle utterly destroyed
the organization of the enemy, who made no further
attempt to molest the French. Napoleon returned to
Acre, and resumed the siege.
In two days after the siege was raised, the army
reached Jaffa. The terrors of heat and thirst were
fearfully augmented by the plague, which had before
this time appeared in the army. Napoleon visited the
hospital at Jaffa, and encouraged all who were able, to
rise and occupy the litters which were prepared for
them: a small number were in a dying state, and as it
was certain that they would be murdered by the Turks,
who were close at hand, it was suggested that opium
should be given to them to terminate their miseries.
The answer made by the chief of the medical staff,
when Napoleon consulted him on the subject, is deserving of immortal record: "My profession," said he,
"is to prolong life, not to destroy it." Whether these
unfortunate men were relieved thus from their sufferings, is uncertain; but it might justly be considered an
impulse of humanity, to prevent their falling into the
hands of the Turks, by whom their cruel destruction
was inevitable. The army, on the 1st of June, reached
El-Arisch, after much suffering by drought and privation: Napoleon abandoned his horse, and marched on




J 48              NAPOLEON.
foot at the head of his troops, inspiring all by his endurance and self-denial. On the 14th of June, the
army entered Cairo.
Meanwhile, during Napoleon's absence, an insurrection had been raised by a chief in the Delta, who pretended to be the angel El-Mody, and who was not
subdued until two divisions had been sent against him.
In Upper Egypt, Desaix, pursuing his career of success, had defeated the Mamelukes and Arabs successively at Thebes and Souhama; and Davoust had
finally destroyed the Arabs by the defeat of a large
body of them at Benyhady, where more than two
thousand were slain. Upper Egypt was thus finally
conquered and pacificated; and Desaix's civil administration gave so much satisfaction, that he was called
by the natives, " Sultan the Just." On the 14th of
July, Napoleon received intelligence that the English
squadron under Sir Sydney Smith, which had been
off Acre, and the Turkish fleet, which had joined it,
had arrived with numerous transports in the Aboukir
roads on the evening of the 12th, and that a large body
of Turks was engaged in landing. He instantly despatched orders to every division of the army in Egypt,
to concentrate before Aboukir. Regnier was directed
to march on Rhamanieh; Desaix, to evacuate Upper
Egypt and descend toward Cairo at once; and Kleber,
to advance from Damietta; while Napoleon, with the
divisions of Murat, Lannes, and Bon, set out in person
for Alexandria, where he was joined by the garrison
under Marmont, governor of that city. The enemy
had landed on the peninsula of Aboukir, taken the village, redoubt, and fort of that name, and entrenched
themselves in two lines, one extending from the redoubt




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.            149
to the sea, the other, two miles in advance, supported
at either extremity by sand-mounts, one of which commanded Lake Maadieh, and the other extended to the
Mediterranean. These mounts were strongly occupied
by artillery, and that line was guarded by eight thousand janizaries; the second line was defended by five
thousand with twelve pieces of cannon, and supported
by the village, redoubt, and fort. Napoleon, upon reconnoitring these dispositions on the 25th, resolved to
attack his adversaries with the force which he had upon
the spot, though not more than eight thousand had yet
come up. His hope was, if not to gain the whole
peninsula, to oblige at least the first line of the enemy
to fall back upon the second, whereby the French
might entrench themselves in the first line, and thence
overwhelm the Turkish army with shells, balls, and
other artillery resources, of which there was an imnmense store in Alexandria.  Lannes, with eighteen
hundred men, was ordered to attack the left, and
D'Estaing, with the like number, the right; while Murat, with all the cavalry and a light battery, dividing
his force into three corps, the left, the right, and the
reserve, prepared to pierce the enemy's centre. The
Turks resisted the attack of Lannes and D'Estaing
with considerable success, until Murat, having penetrated the centre, directed his left to the rear of their
right, and his right to the rear of their left, and thus cut
off their communication with the second line. The
Turks at once lost all confidence and order, and rushed
tumultuously toward their second line: but in front they
encountered the cavalry; in their rear, the columns of
Lannes and D'Estaing, having carried the deserted
heights, descended in charging time, and the artillery
13*




150                NAPOLEON.
poured a deadly fire of grape-shot among them. To
escape these terrors, nearly the whole body, amounting
to eight thousand, threw themselves into the sea and
the lake, on the right hand and on the left, and were
drowned. It is said that not more than twenty succeeded in reaching the vessels.  This extraordinary
success with so little loss, gave hopes of carrying the
second line; and Napoleon went forward with Colonel
Cretin to reconnoitre it.
As the left, which rested on the lake, was the weakest part of that line, Lannes was ordered, under cover
of his whole artillery, to turn the entrenchments on that
side, and throw himself into the village behind; and
Murat with all the cavalry, under the guidance of Colonel Cretin, who was well acquainted with the localities,
was directed to place himself in close column in the
rear of Lannes, and to repeat the same manceuvre as
before, and get into the rear of the redoubt on the enemy's left; while D'Estaing distracted the enemy's attention by a false attack upon their right. L annes
accordingly forced the entrenchments at the point of
their junction with the lake, and got possession of some
houses in the village, while on the right the skirmishers
engaged along the whole line. At this moment, Mustapha Pacha, who was in the redoubt, made a sortie
with four or five thousand men, and placed himself between the French right and left, taking the latter in
flank and the former in rear. This movement stopped
Lannes's progress, until Napoleon, who was in the centre, marched forward with the reserve, checked Mustapha's attack, made him give ground, and thereby reestablished confidence in Lannes's corps, which now
continued its movement. The cavalry then pressing




EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.            151
in, got into the rear of the redoubt, and D'Estaing advanced at the charge against the entrenchments on the
right: the Turks, alarmed as before by the horsemen
in their rear, fled in disorder toward the fort, but were
intercepted by the cavalry. Three or four thousand
were driven into the sea; Mustapha, after a valiant
defence, during which he was wounded in the hand,
was surrounded together with his staff and twelve hundred men, and all were made prisoners: the residue
of the Turkish force, amounting to three or four thousand, occupied the fort and a part of the village, in
which they had barricaded themselves. Sir Sydney
Smith, who had acted as major-general to Mustapha,
narrowly escaped being taken, and had much difficulty
in reaching his sloop. The French loss, however, was
considerable. Cretin, Duvivier, and Guibert, one of
Napoleon's aides-de-camp, were killed, together with
three hundred men; and Murat was wounded by a shot
in the head. The fort and village, after a heavy cannonade, surrendered in a few days: and thus, of this
whole formidable force, scarcely a handful escaped.
Napoleon, upon his return to Alexandria, received a
flag from Sir Sydney Smith proposing an exchange of
prisoners, and bringing some files of English newspapers, from which he first learned the reverses which
the French armies had met with in Europe -the retreat
to Zurich and the disasters in Italy, together with the
capture of Corfu, and the blockade of Malta. It was
ten months since he had received any intelligence from
France. As he glanced over the journals, he exclaimed,'i Heavens! my presentiment is verified: the fools have
lost Italy: all the fruits of our victories are gone! I
must leave Egypt!" He instantly resolved to encoun



1-52               NAPOLEON.
ter every risk upon the sea, and to set out alone for
France. The utmost secresy was preserved as to his
intentions: two frigates, the Muiron and the Carrere,
were prepared for the voyage; and leaving Kleber in
command, with a letter of minute instructions for his
guidance, Napoleon, accompanied by Lannes, Murat,
Marmont, Berthier, Andreossy, Monge, Berthollet,
Bourrienne, and a few guides, embarked from Alexandria on the 22d of August. To allow an opportunity
of running on shore, if the English fleet should surprise
them, Napoleon directed the frigates to sail close along
the coast of Africa, which they did until they had passed
the site of Carthage; thence they sailed to the western
coast of Sardinia, and were obliged by contrary winds
to enter Ajaccio, where they remained eight days, and
finally, after running the utmost risk of capture from
the English fleet, they anchored in the bay of Frejus
on the 9th of October, 1799.
THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.
WHEN an administration, manifesting nothing but
weakness and versatility, going on from day to day without any system, and yielding to the influence of every
party by turns, has shown its utter inefficiency, and has
lost all power and all respect, so that the most moderate
citizens are obliged to confess that the country is without
a government, a vague uneasiness spreads throughout
the community; and society, disturbed by the instinct
of self-preservation, looks into its own resources and
seeks for some one to save it from collapse. Such a
tutelary genius a great nation always possesses in its
own bosom; but to make his presence effective, he




THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.          153
must be known to others, and he must be known to
himself. The apathy of the multitude is the safety of
the nominal government; and however weak and worthless it may be, the efforts of its opponents will not prevail till there appears something or somebody competent
to take its place. But let this deliverer, so passionately
desired, suddenly give proof of his existence, and the
nation instinctively acknowledges and calls for him: all
difficulties vanish from before him, and the people, gathering about him, seem to exclaim with one voice, " This
is the man!"
Such are the reflections which Napoleon himself has
made in relation to the state of feeling in France when,
with the frigates La Muiron and La Carrere, he anchored in the gulf of Frejus, at daybreak, on the 9th
of October, 1799. His arrival excited the utmost enthusiasm: in a moment the sea was covered with boats,
and everybody thronged about the frigates. It was a
time of depression and alarm in that part of France:
Italy had just been lost, the war was about to begin
again on the Var, and Frejus was threatened with invasion. Napoleon appeared in the character of a great
deliverer; and all classes felt an unbounded confidence
in the hero of the campaigns of 1796 and 1797. The
officers of quarantine took advantage of the circumstance that the vessels had touched at Ajaccio, to declare that there was no occasion for subjecting theIn to
the usual rules. Napoleon, therefore, landed at once,
and at six that evening set off with Berthier, in a coach,
for Paris. Stopping six hours at Aix, to recruit from
the fatigues of the voyage, he was quickly surrounded
by the people of the city and villages, who came in
crowds to testify their delight at seeing him. Those




1 54               NAPOLEON.
who lived too far in the country to present themselves
at the roadside in time, rang the bells, raised flags upon
the steeples, and at night made a general illumination.
It was like the rejoicing for a sovereign restored to his
people, rather than the welcoming of a citizen to his
country, or the reception of a victorious general returning from battle. Avignon, Montelimart, Valence, and
Vienne, were in a state of enthusiasm; and at Lyons,
where Napoleon remained twelve hours, there was a
perfect delirium of rapture. The imaginations of the
people were struck with the contrast between the glories
of Aboukir and the defeats which had been sustained
in Germany and Italy. " We are numerous, we are
courageous," seemed to be the feeling among the people, "yet we are conquered: we want a man to lead
us; we now have found him, and our glory will once
more shine forth."
Meanwhile, the news of Napoleon's return had
reached Paris, and was announced at the theatre,
where it caused a universal sensation of delight among
the people and dismay among the demagogues, whose
power it seemed to threaten. With characteristic disposition to surprise those whom he dealt with, he expressed to his couriers his intention to take a particular
road to Paris, by which all his friends came forth to
meet him; he then took a different road, and arrived
at his own house, in the rue Chantereine, before any
one knew of his being in the capital. Two hours afterward, he presented himself to the directory: he was
recognised at once by the soldiers on guard, and received with shouts of gladness, and the members of the
directory appeared to share in the public joy.
The government now in operation was that known




THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.         155
as the constitution of the year 3, the same which Napoleon had been instrumental in establishing on the
13th of Vendemiare (October 4th, 1795); under which
the legislature consisted of two councils, that of the five
hundred and that of the ancients, and the executive of
a directory of five persons. The directory at this time
was composed of -Barras, Roger Ducos, Moulins, Gohier, and Sieyes. The first was at the head of the
party called Thermidorians, the remains of Danton's
friends, who, on the 9th of Thermidor, occasioned the
fall of Robespierre: he had been originally an officer,
possessed moderate abilities, and was excessively corrupt. Ducos was a man of easy temper and contracted
intelligence. Moulins, a general without having served
in war, was a man of worth and of ardent patriotism:
and Gohier was a distinguished lawyer, and a man of
entire virtue and honor.  Sieyes was far the ablest of
all: his pamphlet, " Qu'est ce que le Tiers Etat?"
had gained for him the greatest celebrity at the commencement of the revolution; and his advice had always been efficient in the progress and direction of
affairs. He was not a man of business, but was a profound thinker, although too much biased by metaphysical notions.  To him France was indebted for the
division into departments, which did more to centralize
and unite the nation than any event for two centuries
previous.
Napoleon, according to his own avowal, held the
government of the directory and the leaders of the
councils in profound contempt; and had left Egypt for
the purpose of possessing himself of the supreme authority, and restoring France to her former glory. Yet
such were his habits of careful observation of men and




156                NAPOLEON.
things, and of possessing himfself of accurate information as to his situation, before he acted, that he remained
for some time without taking any step, or deciding on
any course of action. To keep himself uncommitted,
and to maintain the interest and respect of the people,
he adopted during this period the same kind of conduct
which he had followed on his first return from Italy.
He went frequently to the institute; always dressed as
a member of it; and showed himself in public only
with that society. He never visited the theatre, except
at times when he was not expected, and then went always into a private box. He received at his house
only men of science and the generals of his suite. He
accepted invitations to dine with each of the directors,
on condition that there should be no strangers present.
A grand subscription dinner was given to him by the
members of the council of five hundred, in the church
of St. Sulpice: he appeared dissatisfied and thoughtful,
and almost as soon as he had finished his dinner, he
rose, saying to Berthier and Bourrienne, " I am tired;
let us be gone."  The ministers, severally, desired to
entertain him: he accepted the invitation of Cambaceres,
the minister of justice, only, and desired that the principal lawyers might be asked. He was very cheerful
at this dinner, and conversed fully about the civil and
criminal codes, to the great surprise and admiration of
Tronchet, Treilhard, Merlin, and Target, and gave expression to the views which afterward took effect in
the code.
The citizens began to be impatient of the general's
seclusion and inactivity; they could not account for
his conduct. They went to the theatres and, the reviews, where it was expected that he would appear,




THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    157
but he was not to be seen. The officers of the garrison of Paris, commanded by Moreau, and the adjutants
of the national guards whom Napoleon himself had appointed in 1795, solicited the privilege of seeing him:
he expressed his willingness to receive them, but put
off the time from day to day. The eighth and ninth
dragoons, who were old regiments of Italy, and Murat's company of the twenty-first chasseurs, which had
contributed so much to the success of the 13th Vendemiare, were desirous of being reviewed by the general:
he accepted their offer, and promised to fix a day.
The people began at length to murmur: "He has
now been a fortnight in Paris," said they, "and he has
done nothing."
The course adopted by Napoleon, however, was
dictated by a profound sagacity; and the time which
seemed to be unoccupied, was in fact devoted to the
most careful inquiries and observations, and to a studious consideration of the plan which it was best to pursue. All parties desired a change, and all desired to
effect it through him: he listened to the proposals of
all, and sought to make himself acquainted with the
true state of affairs without becoming the tool or dupe
of any of the factions. The first suggestion made to
him was to consolidate the existing constitution, and
accept a place in the directory, or take the command
of the army; but this appeared at once to be out of the
question. Three parties remained, who solicited his
support, and offered to place him in the supreme command. The first and most powerful was the Socie't
du Manage, which was the remnant of the old club of
Jacobins, who now took this name from the manege or
riding-house in which its meetings were held. It comVOL. T.-14




158                NAPOLEON.
manded the majority of the council of five hundred,
and a strong minority in the council of ancients. Bernadotte, Augereau, and Jourdan, were among its leaders: they offered him a military dictatorship and the
supreme government of the republic, if he would second the principles of the Societe du Manage.  This
was the most certain way of succeeding, undoubtedly,
for victory was certain, and no resistance was likely to
be made; but Napoleon reflected that the Jacobins,
unbending and violent in all things, do not become attached to any leader, and that it would be necessary,
after succeeding by their aid, to destroy them —a
course not worthy of an honorable mind. Barras's
friends next presented themselves; but their corruption and profligacy seemed fatal to all good government: their leader, too, was ambitious and vain; he
boasted of having made the fortune of Napoleon, and
was not likely to yield to his ascendency. A third
party consisted of Sieyes's followers, who were strenuously opposed to the Societe du Manage. Their leader, who commanded the vote of Roger Ducos in the
directory, and governed the majority of the council of ancients, and a small minority of that of the five hundred,
proposed to place Napoleon at the head of the government, overthrow the existing constitution, and establish
in its place another system, of which he had the projet
in his pocket. The persons who sustained him were
men of integrity, moderation, and good political principles; they abhorred the manege, and dreaded all popular commotions: they might be employed with success in an orderly government, and would constitute
the best materials for the reconstruction of institutions.
Sieyes himself, also, was without political ambition, and




THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    159
would not be a dangerous rival. Napoleon, undoubtedly, was determined to advance himself, and establish
his own power and greatness; but he sought, also and
chiefly, the good of his country. He wished to restore
a good government and a stable society to France,
which had so long been torn by miserable factions.
His conduct was governed by that profound and comprehensive wisdom which is not distinct from great virtue and high duty. He intended to connect himself
with the national grandeur; but he wished first to identify the nation with the interests of truth, virtue, good
order, and good principles. He observed all the parties, therefore, that he might associate himself with that
which was most likely to conduce to the restitution of
a sound, regular, and strong government.
On the 8th of Brumaire (October 30th), Napoleon
dined with Barras, in company with a few other persons. After dinner some conversation on politics ensued. "L The republic is falling," said Barras; " things
can go on no longer; the government is without power;
a change must take place; and Hedouville (naming a
general of the most ordinary character) must be made
president of the republic. As to you, general, you intend [to rejoin the army; and as for me, ill, unpopular,
and worn-out, I am fit only for private life." Napoleon
looked steadily at him without replying, and Barras's
eyes fell to the ground.  Satisfied that it was Barras's
intention to dupe and betray him, Napoleon's resolution
was taken at once. He rose in a few minutes and
went to call on Sieyes. He stated that for ten days all
parties had addressed themselves to him; and that he
was determined to act with Sieyes and the majority of
the council of ancients, and bad come to announce this




1[60              NAPOLEON.
resolution to him. It was then agreed that the change
might be made between the 15th and 20th of Brumaire.
The next day, Barras called upon Napoleon before he
had risen, and assured him that he came to place himself at his disposal and to do whatever he wished; and
entreated that, if Napoleon had any project in agitation,
he would rely upon him. Napoleon had, however, fully
made up his mind: he replied, that he had nothing in
view; that he was fatigued and indisposed; that, arriving from the dry climate of the sands of Arabia, he
could not accustom himself to the moisture of the atmosphere of Paris; and put an end to the interview by
such trifling remarks.
On the 15th of Brumaire, Sieyes and Napoleon had
an interview, at which the measures for the 18th were
resolved upon. It was arranged that the council of
ancients, acting upon the power vested in it by one of
the articles of the constitution, should decree the removal of the legislative body to Saint-Cloud, and
should appoint Napoleon commander-in-chief of the
guard of the councils, of the troops of the military
division of Paris, and of the national guard. This
was to be done at seven o'clock in the morning of the
18th, and at eight o'clock he was to go to the Tuileries,
where the troops were to assemble, and was there to
assume the command of the capital.
During the 17th, Napoleon made-appointments with
the officers and generals who had desired to be presented to him, to wait upon him at his own house on
the following morning at seven o'clock, and informed
the regiment of dragoons and chasseurs who had wished
to be reviewed by him, that he would meet them at the
Champs-Elysees at the same time; and as the hours




THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    161
might seem unreasonable, he intimated that he was intending to set out on a journey. Each of the generals
who were thus summoned supposed that the invitation
was confined to himself, and that it related to ordinary
business. Moreau, who commanded the citadel, and
who had recently become acquainted with Napoleon,
had heard that a movement was in preparation; he assured Napoleon that he would place himself at his disposal, and would serve him upon an hour's notice,
though he did not wish to be admitted into any secret.
Macdonald, then in Paris, made similar offers: and
both were invited to come to Napoleon's house at
seven o'clock, and on horseback. Augereau, Bernadotte, and the other Jacobin generals, were not invited.
To Lefebvre, who commanded the military division of
Paris, and was wholly devoted to the directory, Napoleon sent an aide-de-camp about midnight on the 17th,
requesting him to come to him at six o'clock.  Napoleon's friends were indefatigable in their efforts to
win over the leading men, and in disposing everything
for the accomplishment of the intended revolution. His
brothers, L ucien and Joseph, were especially active;
and to the former, in particular, the success of the design is in a great degree to be ascribed.
The whole plan had been so carefully arranged and
prepared, that on the 18th, everything was accomplished precisely as had been appointed. At seven in
the morning, the council of ancients assembled; and
Lebrun and others descanted upon the serious nature
of the crisis, the weakness of the government, and the
imminent danger of the triumph of the Jacobins and
the restoration of the reign of terror. Regnier then
moved a decree, in accordance with the powers con14*




162                NAPOLEON.
ferred by the 102d, 103d, and 104th articles of the
constitution: this decree provided that the legislative
body should be transferred to Saint-Cloud, and that
the two councils should assemble there, in the two
wings of the palace, on the next day, the 19th, at noon,
and that all exercise of their functions and all discussions, elsewhere and before that time, should be prohibited; that General Bonaparte should be charged
with the execution of the decree - should have authority to adopt all measures necessary for the safety of the
national representation — should have the chief command of the guards of the councils, of the national
guards, and of all the troops throughout the whole of
the seventeenth military division, and that all citizens
should aid and assist him on his first requisition - and
that he should be summoned to the council-table to
receive a copy of the decree and to take the oaih.
Regnier supported this motion by a speech, in which
he described the dangers of the country, and maintained
that the support of Bonaparte was the only source of
safety.  " The republic," said he, "is threatened by
anarchists and by the foreign party: measures for the
public safety must be adopted: we are certain of the
support of General Bonaparte, and under the shelter
of his protecting arm the councils may discuss the
changes which the public interest renders necessary."
A strong opposition was made, but by eight o'clock
the decree was forced through. It is said to have
passed by a false majority; for the members were summoned at different hours, and it had been so arranged
that sixty or eighty councillors, whom Lucien and his
agents had not been able to win over, should not receive their notices in time.




THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    163
Meanwhile, at a little before seven o'clock, a very
large number of generals and officers had assembled at
Napoleon's house. Bourrienne came into his chamber
by appointment a little before that hour: " Bonaparte
was as calm," he remarks, " as on the approach of a battle." The company which had assembled at the small
hotel of the general was so numerous, that several persons were obliged to stand in the court-yard. At halfpast eight, the state messenger, who was the bearer of
the decree of the council of ancients, arrived: the folding-doors were immediately thrown open, and Napoleon
came out upon the steps in front of the house and
spoke to the officers. He told them that he relied
upon them for the salvation of France; that important
measures were in agitation, designed to rescue the
country from its distressing situation; that the ancients,
under the authority of the constitution, had just conferred on him the command of all the troops; and that
he was that moment going to mount his horse and ride
to the Tuileries, and that he hoped that every one
would follow him. The announcement was received
with enthusiasm: the officers all drew their swords
and promised to sustain and serve him. Napoleon
turned to Lefebvre, and asked whether he would follow him, or return to the directory; the latter at once
declared his willingness to obey the new commanderin-chief.  Napoleon instantly mounted, and placing
himself at the head of the cortege of officers, and of a
body of fifteen hundred horse, which he had appointed
to be in the neighborhood, rode forward to the Tuileries. He issued orders at once for tne various corps
placed under his command, and gave directions to




164               NAPOLEON.
communicate the decree, and to declare that no orders
were to be observed but such as emanated from him.
Attended by this brilliant escort, he presented himself at the bar of the council of the ancients. " You
are the wisdom of the nation," he said; " at this crisis,
it is your part to point out the measures which may
save the country. I come, surrounded by all the generals, to promise you their support. I appoint General
Lefebvre my lieutenant. I will faithfully fulfil the duty
which you have imposed upon me. Let us not look
into the past for examples of what is now going on.
Nothing in history resembles the end of the eighteenth
century: nothing in the eighteenth century resembles
the present moment."
Soon after, all the troops, amounting to about ten thousand, were reviewed in the garden of the Tuileries by
Napoleon, accompanied by Bournonville, Moreau, and
Macdonald. Napoleon read the decree to the soldiers,
and made them an address.  "I accept the appointment," said he, " with a view of seconding the measures
which the council is about to adopt, and which are
entirely favorable to the people. The republic has
been badly governed for two years past. You hoped
that my return would put an end to the evil. You
have celebrated that return in a way that imposes on
me duties which I am ready to perform. You will also
do your duty, and second your general with the energy,
resolution, and confidence, which you have always exhibited. Liberty, victory, and peace, will restore to
the French republic the rank which it has occupied in
Europe, and which it could not have lost but by folly
and treason." Words like these, pronounced by the
voice of Napoleon —an address, which spoke of victo



THE EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    165
ry, and fortune, and national glory, from the conqueror
of Italy-kindled the deepest enthusiasm; and the
harangue was received with tumultuous acclamations
by the soldiers and the citizens. About the same time,
an address from the council of ancients to the French
people, explaining what had been done, and calling upon
all to rally around the legislature in its new attitude, was
posted up in every quarter.
Napoleon then proceeded to make his military arrangements. He gave to Lannes the command of the
troops appointed to protect the legislative body, and to
Murat the command of those sent to Saint-Cloud.
Moreau was sent with five hundred men to guard the
Luxembourg.  All the troops were now under Napoleon's control, except the guard of the directory. Napoleon speedily sent an aide-de-camp to communicate
the decree of the council to them, and to enjoin them
to obey no orders but such as were issued by him.
The commanding officer consulted his men, who answered by shouts of joy. At this moment an order
arrived from the directory, contrary to that which Napoleon had sent; but the soldiers obeying only the
latter, marched immediately to join him. This finally
dissolved the formidable executive which for four years
had been the most powerful administration in Europe.
Sieyes and Roger Ducos, indeed, had given in their
resignations in the morning, and had been at the Tuileries all day. Barras, Gohier, and Moulins, had been
together; but as soon as the last heard that the troops
had followed Napoleon, and that the directory's own
guard had forsaken them, he went to the Tuileries and
resigned his authority. Barras, accompanlea by a
guard of honor, removed to Gros-Bois, and deter



166                NAPOLEON.
mined to send in his resignation on the following day
The directory was therefore at an end, and Napoleon
was regularly invested with the whole executive power
of the republic.
In the course of the day, the council of five hundred,
of which Lucien was president, assembled; and as the
act of the council of ancients was strictly in accordance
with the constitution, and had been received with enthusiasm by all classes of persons, there was nothing
for them to do but to adjourn their sitting to the next
day, the 19th, at Saint-Cloud. At seven in the evening of the 18th, Napoleon held a council at the Tuileries, at which the establishment of three provisional
consuls, Sieyes, Ducos, and Napoleon, was agreed on,
and it was also determined to adjourn the councils for
three months. The night was passed by all parties in
concerting arrangements for the next day, which promised to exhibit a stormy scene.
About noon, on the 19th, the deputies assembled at
Saint-Cloud, and as the workmen were not able to
have the halls in readiness before two o'clock, they
remained in the garden, conversing in groups, and giving opportunity to the Jacobin emissaries, who assembled in great numbers, to bring their intrigues and their
passions to bear upon the occasion. At length, the
council of five hundred, under the presidency of Lucien, and the council of ancients, under that of Lemercier, convened; the former in the orangerie in one
wing, the latter in the gallery of Mars, in the other.
Apartments in the building were assigned to Napoleon
and his staff, and instant intelligence of everything that
took place in the chambers was brought to them. At
first everything seemed to proceed unfavorably, and




THE NINETEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    167
the hopes of Napoleon and his party appeared to be
utterly overthrown. As soon as the five hundred were
organized, Gaudin ascended the tribune: he harangued
upon the dangers of the republic, proposed a vote of
thanks to the ancients for the course they had taken,
and moved that they should be invited to explain their
views more fully, and that a committee of seven should
be appointed to report upon the state of public affairs.
Instantly a tremendous agitation arose; the orator was
hurled to the bottom of the tribune, and the whole assembly was in a ferment of passion. Delbred demanded that the members should swear anew to the
constitution of the year three: and the list of names
was begun to be called over for the purpose. The
unanimity of the assembly seemed to be so great that
no deputy dared to refuse swearing to the constitution.
Lucien himself was obliged to take the oath, which he
did amid shouts and applauses throughout the hall.
The cause of the conspirators appeared to be lost.
The calling of the roll occupied two hours; and during
the interval, intelligence of what was taking place having transpired throughout Paris, all the leaders of the
Soieite du MltIanege hastened to the palace. Augereau
drew near to Napoleon, and said: "Well, here you
are, in a pretty situation!" — " Augereau," replied Napoleon, " remember Arcola: matters there appeared to
be far more desperate. Take my advice, and remain
quiet, if you would not fall a victim to this confusion.
In half an hour you will see what a turn affairs have
taken.'
Napoleon saw that the critical moment had arrived,
and that his personal interposition had become indispensable. He crossed the saloon, entered the council




168                 NAPOLEON.
of ancients, between Berthier and Bourrienne, and
placed himself at the bar. His manner was excessively excited and embarrassed. His sentences, pronounced with the utmost passion, were abrupt and unconnected; but the substance of his harangue was somewhat as follows: " You stand upon a volcano," he cried:
" the republic no longer possesses a government: the
directory is dissolved: factions are at work: the hour
of decision has come. You have called in my arm and
the arms of my comrades: the moments are precious;
it is necessary to take a decided part. I know that
Cesar and Cromwell are talked of: I am called a
tyrant —as if this day could be compared with past
times. I desire nothing but the safety of the republic,
and to maintain the resolutions which shall be adopted
by you. And you, grenadiers, whose caps I perceive
at the doors of this hall," he continued with a menacing
air, turning round to them, as if he would remind the
council of his military character and power, " speak;
have I ever deceived you? Did I ever break my
word, in camp, when, in the midst of privations and
difficulties, I promised you victory and plenty; and
when, at your head, I led you on from conquest to
conquest? Declare, now, was it for my own aggrandizement, or for the benefit of the republic?"
The grenadiers seemed to be electrified, and waved
their arms and caps in the air with tumultuous approbation. Linglet, a deputy, then rose, and taking advantage of what Napoleon had uttered about devotion to
the council and the public good, said: " General, we
approve what you say: swear, then, with all of us,
allegiance to the constitution of the year three, which
alone constitutes the public government, and alone can




THE NINETEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    169
preserve the republic." A profound silence ensued
upon this proposal: it was the cardinal instant of the
scene, and of all Napoleon's fortunes. He paused for
a moment to recall his thoughts, and then broke out
with fury: " The constitution of the year three! It
exists no longer! You violated it on the 18th of
Fructidor, when the executive infringed on the independence of the legislative body: you violated it on
the 30th of Prairial, when the legislature struck at the
independence of the executive department: you violaed it on the 22d of Floreal, when, by a parricidal decree, the executive and legislative bodies destroyed the
sovereignty of the people, by annulling the elections
which they had made. The constitution being violated and slain, there must be a new compact, new guaranties."
This energetic harangue baffled the design which
his enemies had contrived, and which had prevailed in
the other chamber. Three fourths of the assembly
stood up to express their approbation; and Regnier
and Cornudet spoke with great force to the same effect.
A member then rose and denounced the general as the
only conspirator against public liberty. Napoleon replied that he was in the secret of every party, and that
all despised the constitution of the year three. He accused the directors, Barras and Moulins, also, of having proposed to put him at the head of a system which
should oppose all men professing liberal opinions. This
raised a fresh tumult. Demands were made for a committee to investigate the charge, and he was called on
to state his accusations more explicitly. He replied
by renewed attacks upon the council of five hundred,
who, he said, wished for "scaffolds, revolutionary comVOL. I.- 15




170               NAPOLEON.
mittees, and a complete overthrow of everything." His
manner became more and more unconnected: he spoke
sometimes to the council and sometimes to the soldiers:
he declared that he came there " attended by the god
of war and the god of fortune." Intelligence was then
brought to him that the calling of the names in the
council of five hundred was finished, and that they
were endeavoring to force his brother Lucien to put
to the vote a motion for his outlawry; and Napoleon
determined to hasten at once to the spot. He turned
abruptly from the council of ancients, and crying out,
"Let those who love me follow me," he passed out
of the hall and reached the court-yard, and leaped
upon his horse to cross to the other wing where the
five hundred were sitting. He was received with
shouts of "Vive Bonaparte!" which assured him that
he might count upon the devotion of the military.
Accompanied by a few officers and grenadiers, he
reached the council of five hundred, and leaving them
at the door, he advanced into the chamber with his hat
off. Two grenadiers expostulated with him on account
of his imprudence, and said - " You do not know them,
they are capable of anything." Napoleon moved on
toward the bar, to arrive at which it was necessary to
cross half the chamber. Scarcely had he passed over
one third of the distance, when two or three hundred
members suddenly arose; and from every part of the
hall resounded cries of —" The sanctuary of the laws
is violated!"-" Down with the tyrant!"-" Down with
Cromwell!" —" Down with the dictator!" Napoleon
attempted to speak, but his voice was drowned by
shouts of " Vive la Republique!"-" Vive la Constitution!"-" Outlaw the dictator!"  The two grenadiers




THE NINETEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    171
who had opposed his entering, then rushed forward,
sabres in hand, overthrowing all who stood in their
way, and covering Napoleon with their persons. The
other soldiers followed the example, and forced Napoleon out of the chamber. In the confusion, a soldier
named Thom6 was slightly wounded by the thrust of
a dagger, and another had his clothes cut through.
Napoleon descended into the courtyard, mounted his
horse, called the troops around him by beat of drum,
and addressed them as follows: " I was about to point
out to them," said he, " the means of saving the republic and re-establishing our glory. They answered me
with their daggers. It is thus that they were about to
accomplish the wishes of the allied kings. What more
could England have desired?   Soldiers, can I rely
upon you?" The loudest acclamations answered this
address; and Napoleon immediately ordered a captain
with ten men to go into the council of five hundred,
and liberate the president.
Meanwhile, the utmost agitation and violence continued to prevail tn the council of five hundred after Napoleon's withdrawal. Propositions of the most furious
nature were made, and Lucien for a long time in vain
attempted to restore tranquillity. As soon as he could
be heard, he said: " The scene which has just taken
place proves what are the sentiments of all. These I
declare to be my sentiments also. It is reasonable,
however, to suppose that the general had no other purpose in entering the hall than to give an account of the
state of affairs, and to communicate information interesting to the public: for none of you, I am sure, can
suppose him capable of projects hostile to liberty."
Every sentence of this address was interrupted by cries




172                NAPOLEON.
of, "Bonaparte has tarnished his glory!"-" He is a
disgrace to the republic!" Lucien made new endeavors to obtain a hearing: he begged that the general
might be introduced again, and listened to with calmness. This was furiously opposed: " Outlaw Bonaparte!" —" Outlaw him!" rang through the assembly,
and were the only replies made to the president. They
called upon him to put to the vote the question of Napoleon's outlawry. Lucien now rose: " Wretches!"
he exclaimed, " you demand that I should put out of
the protection of the laws my brother, the savior of the
country, him whose very name causes kings to tremble!
I lay aside the insignia of the popular magistracy: I
place myself in the tribune as the defender of him
whom you insist that I should sacrifice unheard."
With these words, he threw off his robe, quitted the
chair, and darted into the tribune.
At this moment, the captain who had been sent by
Napoleon appeared at the door of the hall, and exclaimed, " Vive la Republique!" The.assembly supposing that the troops had sent a deputation to express
their devotion to the councils, received him with expressions of joy. Availing himself of the misapprehension, he approached the tribune and secured the
president, saying to him at the same time, in a low
voice, " It is your brother's order."  The grenadiers
then rushed in, exclaiming, " Down with the assassins!"
The assembly now understood the mission of the soldiers; a gloomy silence pervaded the company, and
no opposition was offered to the departure of the president.  Lucien quickly gained the court-yard, and,
mounting a horse, addressed the troops with a stentorian voice, in a harangue which, as a specimen of ready




THE NINETEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.          173
thought and eloquence, and as a monument of the
powers of the ablest of Napoleon's brothers, to whose
firmness and coolness the success of the day was principally owing, deserves to be here recorded:"Citizens, soldiers!" he exclaimed, "the president
of the council of five hundred declares to you, that the
majority of that council is at this moment held in terror
by a few representatives of the people, who are armed
with stilettoes, and who surround the tribune, threatening
their colleagues with death, and maintaining most atrocious discussions.
"I declare to you, that these brigands, who are
doubtless in the pay of England, have risen in rebellion
against the council of ancients, and have dared to talk
of outlawing the general who is charged with the execution of its decree; as if the word' outlaw' was still
to be regarded as the death-warrant of persons most
dear to their country.
" I declare to you, that these madmen have outlawed
themselves, by their attempts upon the liberty of the
council. In the name of that people, who have been
for so many ages the sport of terrorism, I consign to
you the charge of rescuing the majority of their representatives; so that, delivered by bayonets from stilettoes,
they may deliberate upon the affairs of the republic.
" General, and you, soldiers, and you, citizens, will
not acknowledge as legislators of France, any but those
who rally about me. As for those who remain in the
orangery, let them be expelled by force. They are
not the representatives of the people, but the representatives of the poniard! Let that be their title, and let
it follow them everywhere: and whenever they dare
to show themselves to the people, let every finger point
15*




174                NAPOLEON.
at them, and every tongue hail them by the title of the
representatives of the poniard!"
"President," replied Napoleon, "your order shall
be obeyed."  Cries of "Vive Bonaparte!" followed
the address of Lucien, but still there was some hesitation. The troops were not quite prepared to turn their
arms against the national representatives. Lucien then
drew his sword, and exclaimed, "I swear that I will
stab my own brother to the heart, if he shall ever attempt anything against the liberties of Frenchmen."
The effect of this dramatic action was decisive: hesitation vanished. Napoleon ordered Murat into the chamber, at the head of a detachment in close column.
Murat presented himself at the door, and ordered the
council to disperse. The cries and shouts continued,
until Colonel Moulins ordered the charge to be beaten,
which put an end to the clamor. The soldiers entered
the apartment, charging bayonets. The deputies dispersed in confusion: many leaped out of the windows,
leaving their gowns and caps; the most violent fled to
Paris with precipitation: in a few moments, the hall
was empty.
About a hundred members of the council of five
hundred rallied about Lucien, and presented themselves in a body at the council of ancients. The president stated that his council had been dissolved at his
instance, because he had been surrounded by daggers
in the exercise of his functions as president of the assembly; that he had sent messengers to summon the
council again; that nothing had been done contrary
to orders, as the troops had acted strictly in obedience
to his directions as president.  The council of ancients, who had been somewhat alarmed by the inter



THE NINETEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.    175
vention of the soldiery, were satisfied with this explanation.
The government which had ruled France for four
years was thus terminated by the events of the day: it
remained to establish some system in its place. The
councils reassembled at eleven o'clock in the evening,
that of the five hundred being represented by less than
fifty persons, whom Lucien could count on for anything. Committees were appointed to report on the
state of the republic; and on the motion of Beranger,
thanks were voted to Napoleon and the troops. The
law of the 19th of Brumaire was then passed: it adjourned the councils to the 1st of Ventose (19th of
February) following, and created two committees of
twenty-five to represent the councils provisionally. A
provisional consular commission, vested with the whole
executive power, was also established; and Sieyes,
Ducos, and Napoleon, appointed consuls. Thus terminated the constitution of the year three, and thus
was effectively established the dominion and empire of
Napoleon.
At two in the morning of the 20th, the provisional
consuls presented themselves in the chamber of the
orangery, where the two councils were assembled.
Lucien addressed them as follows: " Citizen-consuls,
the greatest nation on earth confides its destinies to
you. Three months hence, your acts must be submitted to the ordeal of public opinion. The happiness
of thirty millions of people- domestic tranquillity -
the wants of the armies - the public peace - such are
to be the objects of your cares. Courage and devotion
to duty are undoubtedly necessary for the undertaking
of tasks so important: but the confidence of the citizens




176               NAPOLEON.
and of the soldiers is with you, and the legislative body
is assured that your hearts are wholly with your country. Citizen-consuls, we have, previously to adjourning, taken the oath which you will repeat in the midst
of us; the sacred oath of' inviolable fidelity to the
sovereignty of the people, to the French republic, one
and indivisible, to liberty, to equality, and to the representative system.'"
The assembly then separated; and the consuls proceeded to Paris, to the palace of the Luxembourg.
Thus was established the memorable revolution of the
18th and 19th of Brumaire.
THE PROVISIONAL CONSULATE.
The first meeting of the provisional consuls took
place on the morning of the 11th of November, 1799;
and its earliest business was the election of a president.
That depended on the vote of Roger Ducos, who in
the directory had always been governed by Sieyes,
and who, the latter hoped, would still support his pretensions. No sooner had Ducos entered the cabinet,
than he turned toward Napoleon and said: " It is useless to go into a vote on the presidency; it belongs to
you of right." Napoleon then took the chair, and
Ducos ever after voted with him, convinced that he
was the only man capable of establishing and maintaining the government.  This first sitting lasted several
hours. Sieyes had hoped that Napoleon would confine
his attention to military subjects, and leave all the civil
departments to him: he was profoundly surprised to
find that his new colleague had settled and clear opinions on all subjects of politics, finance, and jurispru



THE PROVISIONAL CONSULATE.          1.77
dence, and could support his views by arguments not
very easy to answer. In the evening, on his return
home, Sieyes said, in the presence of Talleyrand, Cabanis, and others, " Gentlemen, you have got a master:
here is a man that knows everything, wants everything,
and can do everything. In our unhappy situation, it is
better to acquiesce than to provoke dissensions which
will cause our ruin."
The first duty of the government was to organize a
new administration. Berthier was appointed minister
of war, in the place of Dubois de Crance, who was
wholly incompetent. In the room of Lindet, Gaudin,
afterward duke of Gaeta, was made minister of finance,
and by his industry, ability, and success, soon justified
the propriety of his appointment. Cambereces retained
the portfolio of minister of justice; Talleyrand, who
had been removed by the Jacobin influence, in favor of
M. Reinhard, was restored to the administration of foreign affairs; and the great Laplace was made minister
of the interior, in the place of Quinette. Napoleon,
who had formed a high idea of the celebrated geometrician, was utterly disappointed at his administration.
He proved himself below mediocrity in executive business: he seized no question in its true point of view,
but sought for subtleties in everything; he carried, said
Napoleon, into the bureau of state "1'esprit des ifiniment petits." The appointments so far had been unanimous; but a difference arose about Fouch6, who had
filled the office of minister of police. Sieyes had a
rooted aversion to this Jacobin and terrorist, and considered any government insecure in which he presided
over the police. Napoleon agreed that his immorality,
and his versatility of disposition, limited the confidence




178                NAPOLEON.
which could be placed in him, but remarked that he
had been useful to the republic.  "We are creating a
new era," said he; "of the past, we must remember
only the good and forget the evil. Time, habits of
business, and experience, have formed many able men,
and modified many characters." Fouch6 was, therefore, permitted to retain his place.
The legislative acts of the provisional government
showed that it did not belong to those tyrannies which
till that time had oppressed France, and being founded
in antagonism to the good of the people, sustained themselves only by violence and rigor; but that it was in
effect a restoration of legitimate and reasonable authority, which, being founded in the welfare and wishes of
the people, and in sentiments of truth, and justice, and
virtue, could support itself without the aid of arbitrary
and forced enactments.  Some of the adherents of the
old constitution having organized a resistance which
alarmed the police, a decree of transportation to the
colonies was passed against them; and having accomplished its design of terrifying the anarchists and dispersing them, the deportation was changed for a mere
observation, which was soon discontinued, and the decree itself repealed.  The law of hostages, enacted
some months previously by the Jacobins, by which
above one hundred and fifty thousand persons were
imprisoned as security for the conduct of all who were
connected, abroad or at home, with the royalist movements, was repealed, and immense multitudes restored
to liberty. The laws banishing, imprisoning, and persecuting the priests, were repealed; and it was agreed
upon as a principle, that conscience is not amenable to
the law, and that the claim of the sovereign extends




THE PROVISIONAL CONSULATE.          179
only to obedience and fidelity. The law of the decades
was repealed, and the sanctities of the sabbath restored
to the longings of the people: the churches, in the
city and in the country, were reopened; domestic religious observances were freely suffered; all forms of
worship were allowed; and the full indulgence of religious feelings and usages permitted and encouraged.
Every effort was made to repair the faults and oppressions of the previous governments: the members of
the constituent assembly who had acknowledged the
sovereignty of the people were erased from the list of
emigrants; and under this permission, Lafayette, Latour-Maubourg, and others, returned to the enjoyment
of their property. Napoleon labored to knit together
into social harmony the threads of popular feeling which
had been torn asunder by the distracting topics of the
last few years; and for that purpose to remove everything that kept the sympathies of parties asunder. The
oath of hatred to royalty was accordingly abolished, on
the ground of its being useless and opposed to the
majesty of the republic, which, acknowledged on all
sides, needed no such support. The anniversary of
the 21st of January, it was resolved, should be no
longer observed. "That festival," said Napoleon, "is
immoral, without pronouncing whether the death of
Louis XVI. was just or unjust, politic or impolitic,
useful or useless; and even if we decide that it was
just, politic, and useful, it was, nevertheless, a national
calamity: under such circumstances, the best thing is
oblivion." Offices were bestowed indifferently upon
men of all parties and of all safe opinions. Napoleon
began at once the system, which in later years he carried out so fully, of consolidating the people, and ma



180                NAPOLEON.
king the government the head of the nation, and not of
a faction.
But the principal duty with which the provisional
commission was charged, consisted in the settlement
of a new constitution. By the existing law, the councils which had been adjourned on the 19th of Brumaire, were to reassemble on the 19th of February,
1800; and the only method of preventing this, was to
proclaim a new constitution and offer it to the acceptance of the people before that time. Accordingly, the
consuls and the two committees of the legislative body
resolved themselves into a joint committee, which met
in Napoleon's apartment every night during December
from nine in the evening till three in the morning. On
this subject, all eyes were directed to Sieyes, who had
taken part in the formation of the constitutions of 1791,
1793, and 1795, who was understood to have his portfolio filled with constitutions adapted to all states of
circumstance, and who had admitted to Talleyrand
that politics was a science "que je crois avoir achevee."
The views developed by this speculative statesman
were undoubtedly very profound and able, and though
the executive system which he proposed was not adopted, he had the honor of contriving the legislative scheme
which continued to prevail until the downfall of Napoleon. This part of the system was to consist of a legislative body of two hundred and fifty deputies, a tribunal
of one hundred deputies, and a council of state to be
appointed by the executive. The last was to form a
kind of privy council, and, with the executive, was to
originate or propose all laws: these laws were to be
discussed and reported upon in the tribunal; and then
to be referred for decision to the legislative body, which




THE PROVISIONAL CONSULATE.          181
was to vote upon the subject, but without the right of
discussion. In addition to this, there was to be a species of constitutional jury, called the conservative senate, which was to play a part very similar in design to
the political function of the supreme court of the United
States: it was to be the flywheel of the whole machine.
Sieyes had suggested this institution as early as 1795,
but it had not then been adopted: it can hardly be
doubted that he took the idea from the American constitution. He explained its purpose and use as follows:
" The constitution," said he, "is not endowed with life;
it requires a permanent body of judges to enter into its
interests, and to interpret it in doubtful cases. Every
political organization must consist of distinct parts: one
will be charged with the task of governing or executing;
another will discuss and establish laws. These various
assemblies, whose functions are determined by the constitution, will sometimes give different interpretations to
the constitution, and will sometimes conflict in their
movements: the conservative senate will then be at
hand to reconcile them, and to preserve each one in
its orbit."  The number of senators was to be eighty;
they were to be at least forty years of age, and were to
hold their places for life. The senate under the empire sank into a subserviency and corruption which
rivalled those of the Roman imperial senate: yet as a
theoretical conception, Sieyes's was certainly a fine one.
These views in regard to the legislature and senate
were adopted, and became a part of the constitution; but
as respected the executive, the grand capital and crowning ornament of the whole, Sieyes's suggestions proved
so unacceptable to the ambition of Napoleon, that he
shattered it to pieces at once, with a single blow of his
VOL. I.-16




182                 NAPOLEON.
powerful reason. Sieyes proposed a grand elector for
life, who was to be appointed by the conservative senate, and to have a revenue of six millions of livres, and
a guard of three thousand men: he was to reside in
the palace of Versailles, and to receive and to accredit
all embassadors: he was to be the sole representative
of the power and dignity of the nation: all acts of state,
all laws, and all judicial proceedings, were to be in his
name; and he was to nominate two consuls, one for
peace and one for war, and to have the power of removing and replacing them. Here his influence upon
public affairs was to terminate; and the senate, whenever it deemed an exercise of power on his part arbitrary and opposed to the national interest, was to have
the power of merging the grand elector; an operation
which was to be equivalent to a removal, and was to
vacate his office, leaving him a seat in the senate for
the rest of his life.
During the previous discussions, Napoleon had said
but little, for he felt less concern about the legislative
and judicial parts of the constitution; but the executive government was an affair that concerned himself,
and he therefore rose to oppose this strange plan. His
remarks are characterized by that consummate sense,
and direct practical sagacity, which rendered his opinions on all subjects profoundly interesting and valuable:
" The grand elector, if he limits himself to the functions
which you assign to him, will be the shadow, the mere
fleshless shadow, of a Roi Faineant: can you point
out a man base enough to humble himself to such a
pageantry? If he chooses to abuse his prerogative, his
powers become absolute. If, for example, I were made
grand elector, I would say to the consuls for war and




THE PROVISIONAL CONSULATE.          183
for peace, when I appointed them,' If you nominate
a single minister, if you sign a single act, without my
previous approbation, I shall remove you.' But it is
answered, the senate in its turn will merge the grand
elector! The remedy is worse than the evil: nobody,
according to this scheme, has any guaranty. But there
is another point of view: what will be the situation of
these two prime ministers? One will have the ministers of justice, of the interior, of police, of finance, and
of the treasury, under his control: the other, those of
the navy, of the army, and of foreign relations. The
first will be surrounded only by judges, administrators,
financiers, men of the long robe: the second, only by
epaulettes and military men. One will be wanting
money and supplies for his army; the other will not
furnish any. Such an executive would be a monstrous
creation, composed of heterogeneous materials, presenting nothing rational. It is a great mistake to suppose
that the shadow of a thing can be of the same use as the
thing itself."
To these powerful observations, Sieyes answered
unsatisfactorily, and was soon reduced to silence. Finally, all opinions were reconciled by the composition
of an executive of three consuls: one of whom, as head
of the government, was to possess all the authority, and
make all appointments and decisions; and the other
two were to be his indispensable counsellors. Unity
of action would thus be gained; and yet the spirit of
republicanism would be preserved by allowing to the
other consuls the privilege of advising, and recording
their opinions on public documents.
The labors of the framers of the new government
were at last brought to an harmonious close. The con




1 84              NAPOLEON.
stitution of the year eight was published and submitted
to the sanction of the people on the 22d of Frimaire,
year eight (13th of December, 1799), and proclaimed
on the 24th of the same month. The provisional government thus lasted forty-three days. Sieyes might
have been second consul, if he had desired it; but he
chose to retire: he was made a member of the senate,
contributed to organize that body, and was made its
first President. Ducos also retired. Napoleon was
made first consul for ten years; Cambaceres second
consul for ten years; and Lebrun third consul for five
years. The council of state was established on the
24th of December, 1799.
THE CONSULATE.
The sovereignty of Napoleon, as first consul, began
on the 25th of December, 1799, on which day the new
constitution came into operation; and he at once notified to all foreign powers, and to all the French diplomatic agents abroad, his accession to the consulate.
The title which he bore was so vague in its signification, that the nature and extent of the supremacy vested
in him were to depend essentially upon his own construction and will. He determined that the symbol of
authority which had been conferred upon him should
assume " the likeness of a kingly crown;" and for that
purpose, he not only began at once to exercise the
power of a monarch, but to invest himself with all the
circumstances of royalty, and to address the eyes and
imagination of the country by the image, and state, and
demeanor of sovereignty. The methods which he took
for the acquiring of regal dignity and power on the one




THE CONSULATE.               185
hand, and conciliating the sentiments of the republicans
on the other, exhibit that profound acquaintance with
the nature of men, and inexhaustible ingenuity in playing successfully upon them, which formed one of the
most astonishing features in the character of this wonderful man. His first decided act was the direct and
entire subjugation of the press. On the 17th of January, a decree appeared, stating that " the consuls of the
republic, considering that some of the journals printed
at Paris are instruments in the hands of the enemies of
the republic, over the safety of which the government
is specially intrusted by the people of France to watch,
decree that the minister of police shall, during the continuation of the war, allow only the following journals
to be printed and published:" enumerating certain
newspapers, and including all which were exclusively
devoted to science, art, literature, commerce, and advertisements. At the same time, he took care to do
acts, in the public eye, which illustrated the republican
and the mere soldier, so frankly and openly, that no
suspicion could be created of a design to raise himself
above the equality which the revolution had decreed.
In a presentation of sabres and muskets of honor which
he made at the Luxembourg to the old soldiers of his
armies, one was assigned to a grenadier sergeant, named
Leon Aune. Aune was encouraged to address a letter
of thanks to the first consul, who replied by the following letter in his own name: "I have received your
letter, my brave comrade. You needed not to have
told me of your exploits, for you are the bravest grenadier in the whole army since the death of Benezete.
You received one of the hundred sabres which I distributed to the army, and all agreed that you most de16*




IS6                NAPOLEON.
served it. I wish very much to see you. The war
minister sends you an order to come to Paris." A sergeant written to, and called my brave comrade, by the
first consul, was enough to prove the thorough republicanism of the new chief, and kindled the enthusiasm
of the friends of equality. On the strength of the confidence in him, with which this inspired the people,
Napoleon resolved to transfer his residence to the Tuileries, and with great pomp establish himself in the palace of the old kings of France.
The importance of this step on the minds of the
people for the accomplishment of his imperial designs,
Napoleon knew to be infinite; but he took great pains
to treat it as a matter of no consequence, anrd to accompany it with further manifestations of his sympathies
with everything which was hostile to tyrants. Orders
were given to Lecomte, the architect of the Tuileries,
simply to clean the palace, and to fit up the apartments
inexpensively and with simple ornaments.  He announced as the only reason fQr his change of dwelling,
that his rooms at the Luxembourg were small and inconvenient. To show that he entered the palace, not
as a monarch, but as a representative of hostility to
thrones, he gave particular orders for placing conspicuously in a gallery a very fine bust of Brutus, which
had been brought from Italy. Intelligence of the death
of Washington being received about the same time, he
seized the occasion of signalizing his admiration and
respect for that vindicator of freedom. He at once
issued the following order of the day to the consular
guard and the army: "Washington is dead!- that
great man who fought against tyranny, and consolidated
-his country's freedom. His memory will be always




THE CONSULATE.               187
dear to Frenchmen, and to all freemen on both continents. It will be especially dear to the French soldiers,
who, like the American soldiers and himself, have contended also for liberty and equality.  The first consul,
therefore, orders that for ten days black crape shall be
suspended from all the flags and standards of the republic." A splendid ceremony had been appointed for
the 10th of February, just ten days before the intended
removal to the Tuileries, for the purpose of presenting
to the temple of Mars the flags taken at the battle of
Aboukir; and it was determined to connect with it a
commemoration in honor of Washington. Accordingly,
on the appointed day, after the procession had reached
the temple, M. de Fontanes pronounced his well-known
dloge upon Washington, and the bust of the great republican was placed under the trophy composed of the
flags of Aboukir. It was arranged, also, that the publication of the oration should be kept back for ten days,
so that it should appear in the Moniteur on the morning of the occupation of the Tuileries.
On the 17th of February, 1800, the account of the
votes on the acceptance of the constitution was published; and on the following day the ceremony of
taking possession of the Tuileries was celebrated. "It
disgusts me to go in procession," said Napoleon to
Bourrienne, when he called him in the morning; "but
I must do it: it is necessary to speak to the eyes.
That has a good effect on the people. The directory
was too simple, and therefore never enjoyed any consideration. In the army, simplicity is in its proper
place; but in a great city, in a palace, the chief of the
government must attract attention in every possible way,
yet still with prudence." At one o'clock, on the 18th,




188                NAPOLEON.
the procession left the Luxembourg. A body of three
thousand picked soldiers, among whom was the superb
regiment of the guides, led the way, marching in the
most perfect order, with music at the head of each
corps. The generals and their respective staffs on
horseback, and the ministers in carriages, followed;
and then came the first consul, in a carriage drawn by
six white horses, with Lebrun in the front of the carriage and Cambaceres on his left. The horses recalled
the glorious days of the Italian campaign, as they had
been presented to the general-in-chief by the emperor
of Germany, after the treaty of Campo Formio. The
cortege traversed a considerable part of Paris, and Napoleon was greeted everywhere with the liveliest and
most sincere acclamations of joy. From the entrance
to the Carrousel to the gate of the Tuileries, the consular guard was ranged in two lines, between which the
procession passed - a royal custom, which sufficiently
attested that the state, as well as the residence, of the
Bourbons was resumed. Yet in entering the courtyard, Napoleon passed before the guard-house, on which
still stood the memorable inscription in great letters:
" The 10th of August, 1792. Royalty in France is
abolished, and shall never again be restored."
When the consular carriage stopped, Lebrun and
Cambaceres proceeded at once to the state apartment,
and Napoleon mounted his horse to review the troops,
which were now formed into line in the court-yard.
This part of the scene was prolonged for some time:
the chief passed down all the ranks, and addressed the
commanders of the various corps with words of remembrance and praise. Shouts rose from every quarter, as
if with one voice, " Long live the First Consul!" Na



THE,CONSULATE.              1]89
poleon then took his station at the gate of the Tuileries,
with Murat on his right, Lannes on his left, and the
staffs of the armies of Italy and Egypt behind him.
The troops defiled past him, and when the flags of the
ninety-sixth, forty-third, and thirtieth demi-brigades, or
rather their flagstaffs, surmounted by some tatters riddled with balls and blackened by powder, passed before
him, he raised his hat and bowed in token of respect.
On every occasion that this was done, the air was rent
with the acclamations of thousands. After the review
was ended, the first consul ascended the steps of the
Tuileries; and in the apartments of the palace gave
audience to the ministers of state and other persons of
distinction.
Nothing was now omitted that could serve, insensibly yet effectively, to transform the sword of the conqueror into the sceptre of ancient and legitimate royalty.
On his first visit to the Tuileries, to give directions for
their refitting, before taking possession, Napoleon had
observed a number of red caps of liberty on the walls:
"Brush all these things out," said he to Lecomte, the
architect, "I do not like to see such rubbish."  The
process of usurpation was carried on with consummate
sagacity; and the prerogatives of the crown assumed
in a way rather to increase than diminish popularity.
One of the privileges which the old kings possessed,
that was not granted to the first consul by the constitution, was that of granting pardons. With exquisite
tact, Napoleon summoned to the justification of his first
seizure of regal supremacy, the human sympathies of
mercy and pity.  But nothing was beyond or beneath
the wisdom of a mind which, in the pursuit of its objects
of ambition, could expand to the dimensions of the




190                NAPOLEON.
world, or contract to the minutest point of court etiquette.  He settled the costumes of the consuls and
ministers, and took care to restore the use of velvet,
which had been banished with the old regime: the
pretext for the revival of this unrepublican article was
the encouragement of the manufactures of Lyons. Another act was partly a stroke of policy, and partly a
just and manly tribute to honor and virtue.  Target,
who had refused to defend Louis XVI., was up to this
time president of the court of cassation; at the reorganization of that tribunal, Napoleon removed him, and appointed in his place Tronchet, who did defend him.
Royal not merely in his outward state and power,
but in the grandeur and liberality of his feelings and
conceptions, Napoleon devoted himself with ceaseless
activity to all the great civil enterprises that could promote the glory of the nation and advance the interests
of mankind. The whole political system of the country was restored from the injuries and dislocation which
it had received from the revolutionary overthrow. The
administration of justice -the re-establishment of finance - the advancement of education - everything
that became the attention of a government-received
from Napoleon a consideration and an assistance which
tilled each department with vivid life. The improvement of the city of Paris by the opening of streets, the
construction of quays, and the erection of bridges and
buildings, was one of his first and most earnest concerns. From the lawless and destructive style of his
conduct while a general, it might justly be said of Napoleon, " Non dignum imperasse consensu ullius, nisi
imperasset;" but the grand conservative, creative system which he developed when in power, constitutes the




THE CONSULATE.                191
highest right to empire which any modern and original
dynasty can rest upon.  "It is for France," said he,
" that I am doing all this! All that I wish, all that I
desire, the end of all my labors is, that my name should
be indissolubly connected with that of France." The
motive of all these toils was, in a certain sense, no doubt
selfish; but he was acting upon that scale of greatness
" which makes ambition virtue." He sought to multiply the evidences of his genius and character; and
afford as many points and surfaces as possible for the
reflection of those rays of admiration and gratitude
which might one day be brought to the focus of an
everlasting fame.  "A great reputation," said he, " is
a great noise: the more there is made, the farther off
it is heard. Laws, institutions, monuments, nations,
all fall; but the noise continues and resounds in afterages."
But in the midst of all these pacific schemes, Napoleon felt the necessity of his gaining a great victory,
in order to consolidate his power and give him for the
support of his greatness the same aid to which he was
indebted for its establishment.  "A  newly-born government," said he to Bourrienne, " must dazzle and
astonish: when it ceases to do that, it falls." —" My
power," he would say at other times, " depends upon
my glory, and my glory upon my victories. My power
would fall, were I not to support it by new glory and
new victories. Conquest has made me what I am, and
conquest alone can maintain me." With Prussia and
Russia the first consul's relations were entirely friendly:
with the latter, indeed, they were extremely cordial. Napoleon had not, perhaps, a warmer admirerin Europe than
the emperor Paul, who had conceived a kind of enthu



192                NAPOLEON.
siasm for him, and frequently wrote to him in the most
familiar and intimate way. England and Austria were
the great and active enemies of France: and the first
consul, pursuing in policy the same system which had
given him such splendid success in war, resolved, if
possible, to separate these allied powers, and then destroy each of them separately and in succession. "You
see, Bourrienne," said he to his secretary, "I have two
great enemies to cope with. I will conclude peace with
the one I find most easy to deal with.  That will enable me immediately to assail the other. I frankly confess, I should like best to be at peace with England.
Nothing would then be easier than to crush Austria.
She has no money, except what she gets through England." Accordingly, on the very first day of his accession to the consular throne, the 25th of December,
1799, Napoleon had addressed a letter personally to
George the Third, making proposals for a peace. The
inevitable sagacity of Mr. Pitt detected at the moment,
what the conversation and writings of Napoleon sixteen
years later fully avowed, that the proposition was iasincere and unreal: and Lord Grenville, the secretary for
foreign affairs, was directed to send an answer pointing
out that the hope of a solid peace, upon the basis of
the circumstances then existing, was delusive and impracticable.
Austria meanwhile had been making the most alarming progress in Italy, which had again fallen completely
into her power, and was overrun and occupied by her
armies. With the utmost secresy and activity, Napoleon, during the winter of 1799-1800, prepared the
blow which he delivered with such lightning-like effect
upon the plains of Marengo, in the summer of the lat



THE CONSULATE.               193
ter year. At two o'clock on the morning of the 6th
of May, the first consul left Paris, and he returned to
it on the night of the 2d of July. The interval was
filled by the immortal CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO. This
fine achievement of military genius may be read at
large in the notice on Marshal Lannes, in whose biography, on account of his eminent services during the
whole of it, it was deemed proper to be inserted. Napoleon, on his return, was received with more vivid
enthusiasm than at any other period in his life.  The
consulate was immovably established, and the empire
rendered certain. For a moment his insatiable appetite
for glory seemed to be appeased: " Well," said he to
a friend, " a few more events like this campaign, and I
may go down to posterity." Coming home one day
from a parade, " Bourrienne," said he, "do you hear
the acclamations still resounding?  That noise is as
sweet to me as the sound of Josephine's voice. How
happy and proud I am to be loved by such a people!"
Napoleon, who never lost an opportunity of kindling
the gratitude of his soldiers, or inflaming the citizens
with the passion of military glory, proceeded to commemorate the achievement in every way that could give
it additional lustre. Sabres of honor were distributed
to Lannes, Victor, Murat, Watrin, and Gardanne, bearing the inscription: " Battle of Marengo, commanded
by the first consul in person: given by the government
of the republic to General."  Sabres of less value,
and muskets and drumsticks of honor, were also given
to officers, soldiers, and drummers, who had distinguished themselves in the campaign. A grand celebration of the victory was also ordered for the 14th of
July, one of the early festivals of the republic. In the
VOL. I.-17




194                NAPOLEON.
presence of an immense crowd in the Champ de Mars,
and in the church of the Invalides, then the temple of
Mars, Lucien, minister of the interior, delivered a glowing speech on the prospects of France, and Lannes
presented the flags taken at Marengo, with an appropriate address. Napoleon then made a speech, in which
he spoke of Berthier as the commander-in-chief whose
genius was attested by the trophies of the day. One
of the most remarkable circumstances of the occasion
was the arrival, during the solemnity, of the consular
guard from Marengo in the Champ de Mars. Wearing,
not the gay uniforms of a parade day, but the soiled and
dusty dress in which they had left the field of battle, and
marched across Lombardy, Piedmont, the Alps, Savoy,
and France, they defiled before their chief, with their
battered arms and sun-browned countenances, and the
deepest enthusiasm that nature could experience, was
stirred in the bosoms of the multitude who beheld them.
Napoleon remembered, also, the honor of the dead, as
well as the greatness of the living: the name of Desaix
was given to a new quay, the first stone of which was
laid with great solemnity on the same day.
Meanwhile, Moreau, at the head of the army of Germany, was winning honors scarcely less brilliant. The
battle of Hohenlinden was fought on the 3d of December, 1800: the army of Italy, under Brune, passed
the Mincio on the 20th of the same month; and on the
9th of February, 1801, the treaty of Luneville was
signed between Austria and France, by which Belgium
and the left bank of the Rhine were ceded to France,
and Lombardy, as far as the Adige, erected into an independent state. From this time forward the attention
of Napoleon was directed to the invasion of England.




THE CONSULATE.                195
An immense flotilla was assembled along the channel
coast, and particularly in the harbors of Boulogne and
Dunkirk; and every preparation indicated an intended
descent upon the island. The armistice, however (for
it was nothing more), known as the peace of Amiens,
postponed for a time the direct collision of these two
great rivals and enemies.  The preliminaries of this
treaty were signed at London, on the 1st of October,
1801; and about the same time, peace was concluded
with America, with Turkey, and with Bavaria.
The interval from the treaty of Luneville until the
opening of the campaign of Austerlitz, is the longest
period of peace upon the continent that intervenes in
the stormy career of Napoleon. It was employed in
labors even more gigantic, more glorious, and far more
honorable, than those subsequent military efforts which
shook the nations of Europe to their foundation.  It
was the gradual and quiet, but resolute and entire, repeal of the revolution: it was the reorganization of
society, which the republicans had reduced ti destruction and impossibility. The annals of the world do
not present an enterprise more nearly sublime, undertaken with a courage more imposing, and accomplished
with an ability more surpassing, than are exhibited in
the task which Napoleon essayed and accomplished
during these four years of repose. This portion of the
greatness of this extraordinary person has been too little
attended to.  The eyes of men have been so dazzled
by the ceaseless flashes of his military genius, as to
overlook the steadier lustre that glows in inextinguishable brightness from another part of his renown. Nothing in the intellect and character of Napoleon presents
greater claims to the reverence of mankind, than the




196                NAPOLEON.
great political conceptions which he developed and
realized at tahis time.  If the world was not "blinded"
to this portion of his character by the " excess of light "
that streams from another portion, it would be acknowledged that his grandeur as a statesman was commensurate with his glory as a warrior; and as the celebrity
of every soldier who preceded him is eclipsed or shaded
by his military fame, so the distinction of every earlier
legislator and every founder of nations and governments
would be lost in the blaze of his civil reputation.
Though in the forces which animated his character,
no doubt Napoleon was " the child and champion of
democracy," no man apprehended more clearly the
impracticability of the conditions which the revolutionists had sought to impose upon France. He abhorred
and detested Jacobinism as the very insanity of political reason; and the moment he felt himself strong
enough, he proceeded to crush a party and an influence
which were hateful to every sentiment of his mind and
heart. TIe explosion of the infernal machine was seized
upon as an occasion for signalizing his hostility to this
faction.
On the night of the 24th of December, 1800, the
first performance of Haydn's great oratorio of the
Creation took place at the opera; and Napoleon, with
Lannes, Berthier, and Lauriston, in the carriage with
him, drove thither from the Tuileries, followed at some
distance by another carriage containing Josephine, Madame Murat, and Hortense, and attended by the aidede-camp Rapp. Napoleon's carriage had reached the
middle of the place Carrousel, when a cart was found
obstructing the way. Without stopping, the guard
struck the driver two or three times with the flat of his




THE CONSULATE.               197
sabre; the cart turned round, and a tremendous explosion took place. Eight persons were killed, twentyeight wounded, and immense damage done to the surrounding houses: the windows of Napoleon's carriage
were shattered, but none of the inmates hurt. Within
a few seconds of the concussion, the coachman stopped
to take the first consul's orders: he coolly said, "Drive
to the opera." At the time of the explosion, Josephine's carriage had just entered the place Carrousel:
the windows were broken, and Hortense slightly wounded in the hand. When Rapp entered the theatre, Napoleon was seated in his box, calm, composed, and
looking at the audience through his opera-glass. "Josephine-" said he, as soon as he saw Rapp.  She
entered at that moment, and he did not finish the question.  " The rascals," said he, very coolly, " wanted
to blow me up. Bring me a book of the oratorio."
The audience soon become informed of the cause
of the explosion which they had heard, and of the escape of the first consul; and they testified their interest
and satisfaction by prolonged acclamations.
Napoleon, after remaining a short time at the opera,
returned to the Tuileries; and intelligence of the occurrence having rapidly spread through Paris, the grand
saloon of the palace was speedily filled with functionaries,
who assembled to congratulate and to learn. The first
consul's view of the subject was quickly pronounced;
and his indignation blazed forth like a storm of the
heavens.'It is the work of the Jacobins!" he exclaimed; "they have attempted my life. There are
neither nobles, priests, nor Chouans, in this affair. I
understand what I am about, and they need not expect
to impose upon me. They are the Septembrizers, the
17*




198                 NAPOLEON.
wretches who have been in open revolt and conspiracy
against every government that the country has had. It
is not three months since my life was attempted by
Ceracchi, Arena, Lebrun, and Demerville. They all
belong to the same gang.  The cut-throats of September, the assassins of Versailles, the brigands of the 31st
of May, the conspirators of Prairial, are the authors of
all crimes committed against established governments.
If they can not be kept in order, they shall be crushed.
France must be purged of these ruffians!"  The subject was discussed on the following day in the council
of state; and when some one proposed a special coinmission to investigate the subject, Napoleon again broke
out: " The action of a special tribunal would be too
tardy: there must be an extraordinary punishment; it
must be as swift as lightning; it must be blood for
blood. As many of the guilty must be slain as there
were victims of this hellish plot; say fifteen or twenty:
two hundred more must be transported.  This crime
is the work of the miscreants of September, who may
be traced through all the crimes of the revolution.
When a blow is hurled at the head of that gang, and
its chiefs are handed over to disgrace, things will return
to their natural order: the workmen will resume their
employments, and ten thousand men, who are now affiliated with it, will leave it for ever. This signal example is necessary to attach the respectable classes to the
government: the industrious people of the city lose all
hope, while they see themselves menaced by two hundred enraged wolves, waiting for the proper moment to
leap upon their prey. It is the metaphysicians to whom
we owe all our misfortunes. Half measures will no
longer do. When Cicero, after Catiline's conspiracy,




THE CONSULATE.               199
caused the guilty to be strangled, he declared that he
had saved his country! I should be unworthy of my
mission, if I evinced less firmness at this critical moment.  We must look at this matter as statesmen, and
not as a judicial tribunal.  I am so fully satisfied of
the duty of making a memorable example, that I am
ready to summon the accused before myself, examine
them, and sign their sentence alone. I speak not on
my own account; I have braved far greater dangers:
fortune will always take care of me: but we are now
concerned with the interests of social order, public
morality, and national safety and honor."
Words of transcendent wisdom! than which Burke,
in the most enlightened hour of his inspiration, never
uttered any more profound, more luminous, more just.
The ingenuity of military skill which contrived the
movement of Arcola, was not more surpassing than the
enthusiasm of philosophic intelligence which seized
upon the sentiment that the metaphysical politics of
the cannibals of the revolution were at utter war with
all human society, and that the extermination of the
gang that professed them was the first interest of the
state and the first duty of the person who was charged
with its safety. Never were the instincts of statesmanship more eminent, or the sagacity of individual reason
more nearly divine in its penetration, than in this reference of the guilt of the act to the democratic faction,
and in this decision, that the political vengeance which
such an attempt required must be visited upon the
Jacobins.  It was afterward ascertained that the persons who had executed this infernal contrivance were
really members of the royalist party; and this fact has
been used to discredit the accuracy of Napoleon's judg



200                NAPOLEON.
ment, and the candor of his proceedings. It only shows
the still more admirable sagacity of a mind which,
through the exterior of a deceptive form, could see
the essential nature of the transaction. Individually
the actors in this affair may have been Chouans; but
they were, in this proceeding, representatives of the
Jacobin faction. They may have continued to profess
the objects of royalism; but in relation to the consular government, they were effectively Jacobins. In
respect to Napoleon, they were acting upon Jacobinical
principles and inflamed by Jacobinical passions. Jacobinism, really, was responsible for the attempt; and
its success would have been a triumph of the Jacobin
party.  The political effect of the explosion was to
stimulate the ferocity and encourage the intrigues of
the popular party; and while the men who were discovered to have been immediately concerned in the
arrangements of the cart were handed over to the ordinary tribunals, the political victims of the offence were
properly selected from the old chiefs of the Robespierre
party. " Talk not to me of nobles and priests," said
Napoleon, to those who suggested that the enterprise
might have proceeded from the Bourbon emissaries:
" would you have me proscribe men on account of
their titles, or transport ten thousand grayhaired priests?
Would you have me persecute a religion still professed
by a majority of Frenchmen, and by two thirds of Europe? Would you have me dismiss all miy councillors
except two or three, and choose a cabinet from among
the followers of Babceuf?  It is absurd to pretend that
the people will do no wrong, except when they are
prompted to it by others. The people are guided by
an instinct, and they act in obedience to that alone,




THE CONSULATE.              201
During the revolution, the leaders who appeared to
guide them, were generally driven on by them. The
populace is a tiger when he is unmuzzled. Chouannerie and emigration are maladies of the skin; but
terrorism is a malady of the vital parts.  The proposed step is grounded upon considerations independent of the late event: that only affords the occasion for
putting them in force."
In compliance with these energetic views, an extraordinary decree was passed by the council of state, and
confirmed by the senate, consigning one hundred and
thirty of the leading Jacobins to transportation, among
whom were some of the most celebrated members of the
convention, and instigators of the successive outrages
that had disgraced the reign of terror.  This decree
was instantly carried into execution, with the utmost
rigor: and the organization which had set all good
government at defiance for ten years was at length dissolved, at least for a period. Applications were made,
in vain, for a remission of the punishment of some of
these persons; but the first consul was inexorable.
" There is not a man of them," said he, " who has not
a hundred times deserved death for his conduct during
the revolution. These are the miscreants who have
covered France with scaffolds: and the infernal machine is not mentioned as the ground of the decree.
With a single company of grenadiers, I could put to
flight all the royalist coteries and the whole Faubourg
Saint-Germain; but the Jacobins are men of a determined stamp, who do not give way so easily. As for
transporting the Jacobins, that is nothing; I have got
rid of them." Nothing could display greater prudence
and vigor than this mode of eradicating the explosive




202                 NAPOLEON.
element from French society. If any fault was com.
mitted by Napoleon, it consisted in not carrying the
process of extermination still further. It was the lingering and reviving influence of this same faction, which,
fifteen years later, precipitated him from the throne.
But the great task of knitting together the nation in
the organization of a living political existence remained
to be accomplished. The conceptions of Napoleon on
this subject had a singular resemblance to those which
the mind of Hamilton had developed, under somewhat
similar circumstances, in this country, fifteen years before. The revolution had completely effaced all distinctions of classes; and the materials for the erection
of a government at once strong and free, were wanting.
To arrange the elements of equality in such relation as,
without departing from republicanism, to develop an
effect essentially aristocratic; to establish such institutions as should have the complex character of freedom,
and be in their nature liberal, while in their influence
they were conservative, was the great and difficult task
which the intellect of the first consul proposed to itself.
The process of constructing a political system which,
while it should have ranks and an allegiance, and a
central object to engage the imagination, and passions,
and interests, and affections of men, should yet be neither feudal nor legitimate, was conducted with profound
and exquisite sagacity. And in every part of the reasoning by which the first consul sustained his suggestions, we are forcibly reminded of that thorough
acquaintance'with human nature, and with the analysis
of political operations, which led the genius of Hamilton
to contrive and establish all that is most valuable in the
American constitution.




,THE CONSULATE.               203
In government and in society, the strongest infldence
in support of eminence, is the advantage derived to others from the lustre shed on them from the brilliance
which they, in turn, contribute to augment. The possession and enjoyment of rank and consequence, create
an interest in the maintenance of that authority which
is their origin, or whose recognition may be appealed to
as their proof and seal. The love of station inspires a
fondness for that which is the source of station; and to
be the fountain of honor is one of the firmest bonds by
which the throne has, at all times and in every country,
attached to itself the loyalty and devotion of men of
wealth and greatness. Napoleon availed himself of the
force of these considerations in the establishment of the
two most important institutions of his reign - the legion
of honor, and the hereditary nobility. The latter, indeed, was not accomplished until several years later;
but it proceeded upon the same ground, and was similar in its character.  The peculiarity of these orders
was, that while they supported the throne, and fostered
loyalty, and made a powerful resistance to Jacobinism,
they were yet constructed upon such principles as to be
directly antagonist to all the Bourbon notions, and to
oppose a return to the old system of ranks and decorations. " The object of the revolution which had just
been effected," says Napoleon himself, in his dictations
to Gourgaud, alluding to the counter-movement by
which he himself had been placed at the head of the
system, "was not the possession of a form of government more or less aristocratic or democratic; its success depended on the consolidation of all interests, and
on the triumph of every principle for which the wishes
of the nation had been unanimously pronounced in




204:               NAPOLEON.
1789. Napoleon was convinced that France could
exist only as a monarchy; but the French people being
more desirous of equality than of liberty, and the very
principle of the revolution being the equalization of all
classes, there was, of necessity, a complete abolition of
the aristocracy. If it is difficult to construct a republic
on a solid basis without an aristocracy, the difficulty of
establishing a monarchy is much greater. To form a
constitution in a country without any kind of aristocracy,
would be as vain as to attempt to navigate in one element only. The French revolution undertook a problem as difficult of solution as the direction of a balloon."
To supply this deficiency, and, by an ingenious mechanism, to make one element produce the effects of several,
was the daring and delicate labor which Napoleon undertook; and which, in his hands, was crowned with
entire and splendid success.
Accordingly, early in May, 1801, the first consul
brought forward his proposal for the establishment of
the legion of honor; and it was by the force of his
profound and sagacious reasonings that the legislature
was led to adopt it. Nothing in philosophy is more
able and sound than the views by which he sustained
the importance of this institution. " I defy you," said
he, in combating the arguments used against it in the
council of state, speaking with that perfect contempt for
human nature, and that almost inspired knowledge of
its weaknesses, follies, and vices, which constituted the
impulse of his ambition and the spell of his power -
"I defy you to show me a republic, ancient or modern,
where distinctions have not prevailed. You may say
they are baubles: well, it is with baubles that you govern the world. I have no conception that the passion




THE CONSULATE.              205
for liberty and equality is to be lasting in France. Ten
years of a revolution have not been enough to make
such a change in the French; they are still as gallant
and volatile as their Gaulish ancestors. They have
one predominant sentiment, and that is honor: everything should be done, therefore, to foster and encourage that feeling. Observe how much the people were
struck by the decorations of the strangers who have
come among us: that showed their secret inclination.
You may call the legion of honor an order, if you
please: that matters not, names do not change the
characters of things. For ten years you have been
talking continually about institutions; and, after all,
what have you done? Nothing at all: it was always
said that the moment had not arrived. The republicans expected to attach the people to the country by
assembling them in churches, where, dead with cold,
they were to listen to the reading and expounding of
the laws. It may easily be conjectured what effect an
institution like that would have in uniting their affections to the government. If you judge of this institution by the prejudices of the revolution, I am quite
aware that it must appear to you worse than useless;
but, if you consider that we are placed after a revolution, and are called upon to reconstruct society, a very
opposite opinion must be formed.  Everything has
been destroyed: we have to commence the work of
creation. We have, to be sure, a nation and a government; but they are held together by a rope of sand.
Meanwhile, there are among us several of the old privileged classes, who are united by the identity of their
principles and interests, and who will always follow a
definite object, while we are severed, and without sysVOL. I.-18




206                NAPOLEON.
tem and connexion. While I am alive, I will answer
for the safety of the republic; but we must consider
what is likely to happen after I am gone. Do you
think that the republic is definitively established? You
were never in a greater error. We have the opportunity of doing it: but we have not yet done it, and it never
will be done until some masses of granite have been
scattered throughout France. Do you imagine that
you can trust the people for the preservation of your
institutions? Trust me, you are mistaken. In a short
time, they will shout "Vive le Roi!" or " Vive la
Ligue!" with as much fervor as they now cry "Vive
la Republique!" We must give a permanent direction
to the public impulse, and to do that we must provide
instru ments."
By arguments of this kind, Napoleon succeeded in
inducing his councils to sanction this order; but the
nicer task remained, of impressing upon this creation
such peculiarities as should distinguish it entirely from
the ancient close orders, and should give it a liberality
and breadth of spirit which would make it and keep it
essentially republican. To the proposition of one of
the council of state, that the decoration should be confined to military merit, Napoleon at once offered a decided opposition. He insisted that it should be open
to every kind of merit. To have confined it to the
army, would, in the first place, have tended to create a
permanent caste in the nation, and, in the next place,
would have thrown all civil interests into an inferiority
very injurious to the character of the nation. That
Napoleon, educated to arms from childhood, and owing
all his power to his profession, could have risen so
completely above all the prejudices of his occupation,




THE CONSULATE.               207
and taken views so great and general as the following,
shows how wonderfully expanded by nature the range
of his mind must have been, and how vast must have
been the comprehension of an intelligence of which a
military genius like his own was not the larger part:
"In all civilized states," said he, " force yields to civil
qualities. Bayonets fall before the priest who speaks
in the name of Heaven, or the man of science, whose
knowledge has given him a superiority. I predicted
to all my military followers, that a government purely
military would never succeed in France, until it had
been brutalized by fifty years of ignorance. Accordingly, all the attempts to govern in that manner failed,
and involved their authors in ruin. It is not as a general that I govern, but because the people believe me
possessed of the ability in civil matters necessary for
the head of affairs. Without that, I could not keep
my place an hour. I knew well what I was doing,
when, though a general, I took the title of member of
the Institute: I was sure of not being misunderstood
by the lowest drummer in the army. We must not
argue from ages of barbarity to these times. France is
composed of thirty millions of people, united by intelligence, property, and commerce. Three or four hundred thousand soldiers are nothing in such a mass.
Not only does the general preserve his ascendant over
his soldiers chiefly by civil qualities, but, when his
command terminates, he becomes again merely a private person. Soldiers, themselves, are only children
of citizens. The tendency of military men is to carry
everything by force: the enlightened civilian, on the
other hand, raises his thoughts to a consideration of the
general good. The former would rule everything by




208                 NAPOLEON.
direct force: the other brings things to the tests of discussion, reason, and truth. I do not hesitate, therefore, to say that, if a discrimination is to be made
between the two, the preferences ought to be given to
the civilian. If you distinguish between citizens and
soldiers, you make two castes, where there should be
one nation. If you confine honors to the military class,
you do worse; for you degrade the people into insignificance." It is impossible to doubt the greatness of
intellect, the strength of judgment, or the dignity of
character, of one who could form, and act upon, views
like these, under the circumstances in which Napoleon
had been placed. His imagination had never become
intoxicated by the incense of admiration which had risen
up to him from the fields of a hundred victories: his
vanity had never become inflamed into a selfish eagerness to give the highest rank to those pursuits in which
his superiority had been so splendidly displayed; but,
calm in perception, firm in counsel, and sound in judgment -loving truth in the processes and objects of his
understanding, and conscious of his ability to achieve
as great a reputation in civil affairs as he had already
acquired in military - he weighed his profession and
his own renown in the scales of just and comprehensive
reason, and determined their relative might with unbiased accuracy.
The views of Napoleon as to the character and effect
of this institution were realized in the most striking manner. In consequence of its not being confined to a
single class or profession, but thrown open to society in
general, as a reward for every species of talent and merit,
the value of the crosses seemed to increase with their
number. At St. Helena, Napoleon estimated that he




THE CONSULATE.               209
had distributed twenty-five thousand of these decorations; and the desire to obtain them increased to such
a degree that it became a mania.
The establishment of a nobility was a part of the
same great system which Napoleon had now conceived;
but he never hurried the execution of his schemes: he
often said to his council of state, " I want twenty years
to accomplish my plans:" and accordingly, titles of
honor were not instituted until 1807. However, as the
constitution of this nobility strikingly resembled that of
the legion of honor, and was as strikingly distinguished
from the feudal ranks of old France and the rest of
Europe as it was from the orders which had previously
been known, it is most proper to give an account of its
structure here.  He has himself, in one of his dictations
to Gourgaud, given a view of the subject so profound,
so luminous, and so satisfactory, that it may be adopted
here as the best exposition of the matter. The conception of an aristocracy, hereditary, yet not involving
the idea of blood, the members of which, in reflecting
the lustre of the crown, did not lose their character as
private citizens, is one of the ablest and most original
in politics. And it was thoroughly successful: the institution became a strong support of the throne, yet the
individuals composing it did not constitute a caste. Owing to the mode in which it was filled up, the persons
receiving titles became a shifting representation of a
nobility, but did not seem to become nobles: and thus
the country remained thoroughly republican, while the
empire had the benefit of aristocratic support.
A national nobility Napoleon held not to be contrary
to equality; and he considered it necessary to the maintenance of social order, which can never be founded on
18*




210                 NAPOLEON.
agrarian laws. The establishment of property, and of
its transmission by descent or devise, is a fundamental
principle of society which does not militate against
equality; and the usage of transmitting from father to
son the remembrance of services rendered to the state,
is strict analogy to this. Property may often be acquired
by shameful and criminal means; but titles gained by
public service must spring from a pure and honorable
source, and their transmission to posterity is an act of
justice. In establishing an hereditary national nobility,
Napoleon had three principal objects in view: 1. To
reconcile France with the rest of Europe; 2. To harmonize ancient with modern France; 3. To banish
the remains of the feudal system, by attaching the idea
of nobility to services rendered to the state, and discharging it from every feudal association. Europe at
this time was governed by nobles who had strenuously
opposed the progress of the French revolution: this
was an obstacle which counteracted the influence of
France upon the politics of the continent; and to remove it, it was necessary to invest the principal personages of the French empire with titles equal to those of
other kingdoms. This scheme proved entirely successful: the aristocracy of Europe ceased to oppose France,
and saw with pleasure a new nobility which, by the
circumstance of being new, appeared to be inferior to
their own; without foreseeing that the tendency of the
French system was to depreciate and uproot the feudal
nobility, or at least to compel it to renew its constitution
on a new foundation. The effect of the institution in
amalgamating the adherents of the Bourbons with the
revolutionary classes, and consolidating the whole nation into one harmonious structure, was not less valua



THE CONSULATE.                211
ble. The legislation of the consulate restored the ancient nobility of France to their country and to part of
their property, and they had resumed their titles, not
legally, but actually. They regarded themselves, however, as more privileged than ever, because their order
seemed incapable of increase, and there was no blending with the supporters of the revolution: but the creation of new titles wholly removed these difficulties;
alliances took place readily; the new families were
strengthened, and ancient and modern France brought
into union. It was not without design that Napoleon
bestowed the first title that he gave upon Marshal Lefebvre, who had been a private soldier, and whom
everybody in Paris remembered as a sergeant in the
French guards.
Napoleon's project was to recast, and establish upon
new principles, the ancient nobility of the country.
Every family which counted among its ancestors a
cardinal, a great crown-officer, a minister, a marshal of
France, &c., was to be entitled, thereby, to solicit from
the council of seals the title of duke: every family
which could show an archbishop, ambassador, first
president, lieutenant-general, or vice-admiral, the title
of count: every family that could produce a bishop, a
major-general, rear-admiral, counsellor of state, or president & mortier, the title of baron.  These titles would
have been granted only upon the condition that the applicant for the rank of duke should settle upon the title
a revenue of a hundred thousand francs; for that of
court, thirty thousand; for that of baron, ten thousand.
This rule was to apply to the past, the present and the
future: and hence arose an historical nobility, connecting the pasf, present, and future, and constituted, not




212                NAPOLEON.
upon distinctions of blood, which create an imaginary
nobility, since there is but one race of men, but upon
services rendered to the state. As the son of a farmer
might say, " I will one day be a cardinal, a marshal of
France, or a minister," so he might say, " I will one
day be a duke, count, or baron:" just as he might say,
"I will engage in commerce, and accumulate so many
millions, which I will leave to my children."  A Montmorency would have been a duke, not because he was
a Montmorency, but because one of his ancestors had
been a constable and done service to the state. " This
vast idea," says Napoleon, " altered the plan of the nobility, which had been merely feudal, and erected on
its ruins an historical nobility, founded in the interests
of the country, and on services rendered to the people
and their sovereigns. This idea, like that of the legion
of honor, was eminently liberal: it was calculated at
once to confirm social order, and to annihilate the empty
pride of nobility: it destroyed the pretensions of the
oligarchy, and maintained the dignity and equality of
man inviolate. It was an idea fertile in important results, and highly popular: it would have become a distinguishing feature of the new age."
The duration of Napoleon's power was not long
enough to allow him fully to carry out these views;
but the plan itself is so conspicuous a monument of
Napoleon's political genius, and this institution of a nobility has been so much misunderstood and misrepresented, that this exposition of the subject was due to
his character.
Another most important step, which was taken at an
early period of the consulate, was the recall of the emigrants. A decree of the 26th of November, 1800,




THE CONSULATE.               213
allowed the greater portion of the exiles to return; and
an additional senatus consultum was passed, on the 29th
of April, 1802, under which above a hundred thousand regained their native country, and not more than
a few hundreds continued to be expatriated. Their
property was restored to them as far as was practicable:
estates that had passed into other hands could not be
resumed; but such portions of forfeited lands as had
not been alienated by the state, were given back to their
former owners. A great and liberal system of public
education was also established in 1802, and the foundation laid of those magnificent plans of general instruction which form one of Napoleon's greatest claims to
renown. But the most remarkable and important of the
steps taken by the first consul for the reconstruction of
society, was the re-establishment of religion, and the reunion of France with the catholic system.
Napoleon himself, though a firm deist, was not a believer in the facts of the Christian religion: but he
understood the full importance of religion as an element of modern civilization. He recognised spirituality as a fact in human nature - a permanent sensibility
in character, which, however it might be disapproved
of or despised, could not be eradicated. The only
question for the statesman was, whether this should be
allowed to run wild, or fall under the control of charlatans or enemies of the state, or whether its management
should be organized into a system, and subjected to
rational guidance, and made to act for the good of the
community. " Everything proclaims the existence of
a God," said Napoleon at St. Helena; "that can not
be questioned: but all our religions are evidently the
work of men. However, as soon as I had power, I




214                 NAPOLEON.
immediately re-established religion.  I made it the
groundwork and foundation upon which I built. I
considered it as the support of sound principles and
good morality, in both doctrine and practice.  Besides, such is the restlessness of man, that his mind requires that something undefined and marvellous which
religion offers: and it is better for him to find it there,
than to seek it of Cagliostro, of Madame Lenormand,
and of the other soothsayers and impostors." Similar
opinions were expressed by him in the council of state,
when he proposed the re-establishment of the catholic
religion.  "Yesterday evening," said he, "when walking alone in the forest, amid the solitude of nature, the
distant bell of the church of Ruel smote upon my ear.
Involuntarily, I felt emotion; so strong are early habits
and associations. I then said, If I feel in this way,
what must be the impressions of simple and credulous
people? Let your philosophers, your ideologues, answer that, if they can. It is absolutely indispensable to
have a religion for the people; and not less so, that
that religion should be directed by the government.
The clergy exist, and ever will exist: they will exist
as long as the people are imbued with a religious spirit;
and that disposition is permanent in the human heart.
We have seen republics and democracies - history has
many instances of such governments to exhibit, but
none of a state without an established worship, without
religion, without priests.  Is it not better to organize
the public worship and discipline the priests, than to
leave both entirely emancipated from the control of
the government? At present, the clergy preach openly
against the republic, because they derive no benefit from
it. You can not extinguish their opinions: you must,




THE CONSULATE.               215
therefore, attach them to the republic. At present, fifty
bishops, in the pay of England, direct the French clergy.
We must forthwith destroy their influence. We must
declare the catholic religion to be the established religion of France, as being that of the majority of its inhabitants: we must organize its constitution. If the
protestant faith is proclaimed, one half the country will
adopt that creed, and the other half will remain catholic; and we shall have the Huguenot wars over again,
and interminable divisions. The affair is entirely a political one, and the line I have adopted seems the safest
that could be chosen. They will say I am a papist: I
am no such thing. I was a Mohammedan in Egypt:
I will be a catholic here, for the good of my people.
T am no believer in particular creeds; but as to the
idea of a God, look up to the heavens, and say who
made that!" In compliance with these opinions and
wishes, the concordat with the pope was negotiated on
the 15th day of July, 1801, and, after considerable discussion, was ratified by large majorities in the legislature on the 8th of April, 1802. On the 11th, a grand
celebration in honor of the event took place at NotreDame. Is there another instance on record, of a man
whose own nature was insensible to religion, and who
sternly rejected it from his bosom -whose intellectual
sympathies were so delicate, and comprehensive, and
true, that by mere force of mental appreciation, he could
feel all the value of religion, and exert himself to afford
to others the benefits of its influence? This man, indeed, was fit to be the emperor of a great nation.
All these institutions of Napoleon looked to the establishment and perpetuation of monarchical power in his
person and family; and the approach to that result was




216               NAPOLEON.
certain, though gradual. On the 8th of May, 1802, a
senatus consultunz decreed the consulate to Napoleon
for an additional ten years, after the period for which
originally he had been appointed. A few months afterward it was decreed by the council of state, that the
question should be referred to the people: " Shall Napoleon Bonaparte be consul for life?" This was voted
upon in every commune in France, and the result, announced by a senatus consultum on the 2d August, 1802,
showed that, according to the registers, out of nearly
three millions six hundred thousand persons who voted,
nearly three millions four hundred thousand were in
favor of the consulate for life. What reliance, however, is to be placed upon these registers, it is impossible to determine: it is probable that they had not much
relation to truth. A few days after, some important
changes were made in the constitution: the tribunate,
which had become somewhat refractory, was reduced
from one hundred members to fifty; the legislative
body was reduced to two hundred and fifty-eight members. Napoleon having found that the senate was capable of being used as a more obsequious and ready
instrument of his power, had determined to increase its
dignity and power at the expense of the other branches
of the legislature. It was, accordingly, invested with
the power of dissolving the legislative body and tribunate, of modifying the government at pleasure, and of
declaring any department hors de la constitution. Soon
after, desirous to perform a sovereign act, Napoleon
went for the first time to preside in the senate, and
the ceremony was conducted with all the parade of
loyalty.  The military were ranged throughout the
whole length of the space through which he was to




THE CONSULATE.               217
pass. Within the gate of the Tuileries, they stood in
a single line; but thence to the gate of the Luxembourg the ranks were doubled. Assuming for the first
time a privilege which ancient etiquette had confined
to the kings of France, Napoleon rode in a carriage
drawn by eight horses. He was met and received by
ten senators at the foot of the staircase of the Luxembourg.
But considerations of personal ambition could never
absorb a spirit and mind so capacious and exalted as
those of Napoleon. During all this time, his attention
and time were laboriously given to the great work which
made him the benefactor of France and of the world,
and which stands an everlasting monument of his glory.
The very moment that he was elevated to the consulate, and while he was yet at the Luxembourg, he began the compilation of a new code of laws, to displace
the incomplete revolutionary system, and to remove the
confusion that prevailed in the legislation. The ablest
lawyers were called upon to co-operate in this undertaking, and when it was completed, a committee, composed of Tronchet, Portalis, Merlin de Douai, with
Cambaceres at their head, was appointed to submit the
code to the council of state.  The discussions in the
council of state began in March, 1802: Napoleon was
always present, and the council, instead of assembling,
as usual, three times a week, assembled daily; and the
sittings, which on ordinary occasions lasted only two
or three hours, were often prolonged to five or six.
Napoleon took so much interest in these subjects, that
to have an opportunity of conversing on them in the
evening, he frequently invited several members of the
council to dine with him. "It was during these conVoiL. I.-19




21S                NAPOLEON.
versations," says Bourrienne, c"that I most admired
the inconceivable versatility of Bonaparte's genius, or,
rather, that superior instinct which enabled him to comprehend at a glance, and in their proper point of view,
legal questions to which he might have been supposed
a stranger. Possessing, as he did in a supreme degree, the knowledge of mankind, ideas important to the
science of legislation, flashed upon his mind like sudden
inspiration."
The minutes of the council of state, drawn up by
Lebrun, preserve the substance of the extempore
speeches of Napoleon upon the different articles of the
code. Nothing has placed the reputation of Napoleon,
for penetration and wisdom, upon such a lofty basis, as
the deep views, the liberal and just sentiments, the
great conceptions of sound reason and right feeling,
which his remarks, there recorded, display. He himself, with great candor, ascribed all the merit to Tronchet. Tronchet, he remarked, was the soul of this
code; and he its demonstrator. Tronchet, he said,
was gifted with a singularly profound and correct understanding; but he could not descend to developinents: he spoke badly, and could not defend what he
proposed. The whole council would at first oppose
his suggestions; but the first consul, with his shrewdness and facility of seizing and creating luminous and
new relations, would rise, and without any other knowledge of the subject than the correct basis furnished by
Tronchet, would develop his ideas, set aside objections,
and bring every one over to his opinions.
The beginning of 1804 was distinguished by an occurrence which, more than every other act of his life,
contributed to render Napoleon odious to foreign na



THE CONSULATE.               219
tions and to render his character abhorrent in England.
In the beginning of February, Fouche gave information
of a conspiracy of the most formidable kind, which involved some of the most eminent characters in the republic, and had for its object the overthrow of the government and the destruction of the first consul. Moreau,
Pichegru, Georges, and the Duc d'Enghien, were arrested as leaders of this plot. It would be foreign to
our plan to enter into the details of a subject so little
connected with the military character of Napoleon; and
it is sufficient merely to note that the duke, after a military trial, was condemned and executed at Vincennes
on the 20th of March, 1804.  Pichegru destroyed
himself in prison on the night of the 5th of April;
Georges and some others were tried and executed; and
Moreau, being condemned by the court to two years
imprisonment, received permission from the first consul to retire to America. It was not long after these
occurrences, that Napoleon determined upon assuming
the imperial crown.
The truth is, that the vigorous measures which Napoleon had adopted for the extinguishment of the Jacobins, and the immense impulse which he had impressed
upon the government toward the restoration of old institutions, had a little disturbed the equilibrium of his
system, and given a dangerous encouragement to the
hopes of the Bourbonists. As soon as Napoleon had
begun his great work of restitution in the state, it was
confidently supposed by the adherents of the exiled
king, that he was preparing to deliver the government
over to its former proprietors. On the 20th of February, 1800, Louis XVIII. addressed to him an autograph note, as follows: " Sir: Whatever may be your




220                NAPOLEON.
apparent conduct, men, such as you, never inspire
alarm. You have accepted an eminent station, and I
thank you for having done so. You know better than
all others how much strength and power is requisite
to secure the happiness of a great nation. Rescue
France from her own violence, and you will fulfil the
first wish of my heart. Restore her king to her, and
future generations will bless your memory. You will
always be too necessary to the state for me to discharge,
by important appointments, the debt of my family and
myself.                                LouIS."
Napoleon was much agitated by the receipt of this
letter; but he declared his determination to have nothing to do with the exiles: " The partisans of the Bourbons," said he, " are deceived, if they suppose that I
am a man to play the part of Monck."
The king's letter remained unanswered, and in the
meantime a second letter, without a date, was received.
It was as follows: "You must long since have been
convinced, general, that you possess my esteem.  If
you are doubtful of my gratitude, fix your reward, and
mark out the fortunes of your friends.  As to my principles, I am a Frenchman, merciful by character, and
also by the dictates of reason. No, the conqueror of
Lodi, Castiglione, and Arcole, the conqueror of Italy
and Egypt, can not prefer vain celebrity to real glory.
But you are losing precious time. We may insure the
glory of France.  I say we, because I require the aid
of Bonaparte, and he can do nothing without me. General, Europe observes you.  Glory awaits you, and I
am impatient to restore peace to my people. -Louis."
Napoleon allowed seven months to pass after the receipt of the first letter, and then, on the 14th of Sep



THE CONSULATE.               2`421
tember, 1800, wrote the following reply: " Sir, I have
received your letters, and I thank you foI the compliments you address to me. You must not seek to return to France. To do so, you must trample over a
hundred thousand dead bodies.  Sacrifice your interest to the repose and happiness of France, and history
will render you justice. I am not insensible to the
misfortunes of your family; and I shall learn with pleasure that you are surrounded with all that can contribute
to the tranquillity of your retirement.-BONAPARTE."
The intrigues of the followers of Louis, however,
went on with active industry. A royalist committee
was established at Paris, consisting of men of the first
character and influence, such as M. Royer Collard, the
abbe de Montesquieu, and the marquis of Clermont.
They professed rational and liberal principles of government, and their desire was to restore the old dynasty under sufficient guaranties of a constitutional administration. Many of Napoleon's friends were desirous
for his own sake that he should restore the Bourbons.
Josephine herself, dreading the calamity which afterward overtook her, was especially anxious that he should
take that step. Everything seemed to indicate that the
peril which had once assailed his power from the side
of the Jacobins was transferred to the antagonist quarter. At this time the conspiracy of Georges was revealed, and the Duc d'Enghien fell into Napoleon's
hands. Alarmed by the danger of the crisis, and enraged at the ingratitude of those upon whom he had
conferred such benefits, Napoleon resolved to extinguish for ever all hope of conciliation with the Bourbons, and separate them from him by a channel of
blood.  Still further to eradicate all hopes of a volun19*




222                 NAPOLEON.
tary resignation of his sovereignty, and to place his
power upon the highest and broadest basis, he resolved
to invest himself with the full and complete character,
functions, and prestige, of royalty.
THE EMPIRE.
IN the consulate for twenty years, and the consulate
for life" Two truths were told
As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial theme."
It was ushered in with the preparations of a dramatic
illusion. As the first steps, the agents of the government procured a host of addresses and congratulations
to be sent in on the occasion of Napoleon's escape from
the conspiracy of Georges; and most of these, with
their felicitations, combined an entreaty that the savior
of the nation would consolidate his work. The obsequious senate then took up the subject, and with similar insinuation begged him to complete his glorious undertaking. The army sent in addresses, in enmphatic
language, which could not be mistaken. Personal memorials from the colonels and generals poured in: and
the camps of Montreuil, Ostend, and St. Omer, assembled respectively, agreed upon addresses the most earnest and enthusiastic.  As these had a great effect upon
the national sentiment, the memorial sent up on the
29th of April, 1804, from the corps d'arm6e under the
command of Ney is here inserted:4" The general-in-chief, generals, officers, and soldiers, of the camp of Montreuil, to the first consul:
T'he French monarchy has crumbled to pieces under




THE EMPIRE.                 223
the weight of fourteen centuries; the noise of its fall
has alarmed the world, and shaken all the thrones of
Europe. France, abandoned to a total overthrow, has,
during ten years of desolation, undergone all the evils
that could desolate a nation. You have appeared, citizen-general, radiant with genius and glory, and immediately the storms have blown away.  Victory has
placed you at the helm of government: justice and
peace are seated by your side.
" The recollection of our misfortunes was beginning
to be effaced, and all the feelings of the French people
were about to merge in that of gratitude alone, when a
dreadful event has shown them the new dangers which
they are about to encounter. Your life, defended in
vain by thirty millions of men, has been attempted:
and a single blow of a poniard would have thrown back
the destinies of a great people, and renewed among
them the dreadful excesses of ambition and anarchy.
So appalling a prospect has dispelled every illusion;
and the minds of all are divided between horror of the
past and dread for the future. France, with all its
greatness and power, seeing that it might lose all in a
single day, has been struck with consternation.  It is
now like a colossus with feet of clay.  The time has
arrived for putting an end to such a state of anxiety,
by making our powerful institutions secure for us a lasting prosperity.  The same cry is heard from every
part of France: be not, therefore, insensible to this ex
pression of the national will.
"Accept, general-consul, the imperial crown offered
to you by thirty millions of people. Charlemagne, the
greatest of our ancient kings, obtained his from the
hands of Victory: do you, with still more glorious claims




224                 NAPOLEON.
than his, accept yours from the hands of Gratitude. Let
it be transmitted to your descendants, and may your
virtues be perpetuated on the earth with your name!
As for us, general-consul, full of love for our country,
and of attachment to your person, we devote our lives
to the defence of both."
The subject had been discussed at a secret sitting
of the council of state as early as the middle of April.
The project was warmly opposed by Berlier and some
others, who, however, formed the minority; and, to
avoid a party division, Napoleon requested that each
member should send him his opinion in writing, with
his signature affixed. Of twenty-seven present, seven
were in opposition. Napoleon received them all graciously; told them that he wished hereditary power
only for the benefit of France, and said that the citizens would never be his subjects, nor the French his
people.  Soon after, the minority, finding that opposition was useless, and might be hurtful, determined to
join the majority.
The first formal movement on the subject was arranged to proceed from the tribunate, the most popular body in the constitution: and at the sitting of the
30th of April, the tribune Cur6e had the honor to be
the first officially to propose the conversion of the consulate into an empire. He concluded an elaborate harangue by moving that "we convey to the senate a
wish which is cherished by the whole nation, and which
has for its object, first, that Napoleon Bonaparte, now
first consul, be declared emperor; second, that the imperial dignity be declared hereditary in his family; and
third, that those of our institutions which are as yet
only traced out, be definitively determined."   The




THE EMPIRE.                 225
speeches which followed were a succession of eulogies;
and the motion was adopted. The imperial title was
one which was particularly suited to the views of Napoleon: " One may be the emperor of a republic, but
not the king of a republic," he often said; " those two
terms are incongruous."  Soon after, the senate proceeded in a body to present an address to the chief of
the government; and after further arrangements and
negotiations, on the 18th of May, Napoleon was decreed to be EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH.
On the same day, Cambaceres, at the head of the
senate, went to present to him the senatus consultum;
and was the first who greeted him with the appellation
of sire and your majesty.  In accepting the dignity, the
emperor said, " I hope that France will never repent
of the honors which she may confer on my falnily: at
all events, my spirit will not be with my posterity
when they cease to deserve the confidence and love of
the great nation."  The emperor's first act was the
appointment of Joseph to the dignity of grand elector,
with the title of imperial highness. Louis was created
constable, with the same title; and Cambaceres and
Lebrun were made arch-chancellor and arch-treasurer
of the empire. On the next day, Napoleon held a
grand levee at the Tuileries, where all the etiquette
and ceremony of the old monarchy were fully revived.
The assemblage was crowded and brilliant: all the
generals and colonels in Paris were presented by Louis;
and Napoleon, who always took care that the support
of his cause by the army should be obtruded upon popular attention on all great crises, was gratified to receive an address from the guards, presented by Bessieres, to which he replied with cordial satisfaction.




226                 NAPOLEON.
On the same day, the first marshals of the empireeighteen in number —were created.
On Sunday, the 15th of July, the emperor appeared
in public before the Parisians in all the pomp of majesty, on the occasion of receiving at the Hotel des Invalides, from the members of the legion, the new oath of
fidelity prescribed by the imperial constitution. Preceded by the carriages in the train of the empress, and surrounded by his marshals, the emperor came on horseback across the garden of the Tuileries, and was received with pomp by the governor of the Invalides.
He ascended the imperial throne on the right of the
altar, and the empress occupied a seat opposite to him.
After the religious ceremony was over, M. de Lac6pede, grand chancellor of the legion of honor, pronounced a flattering discourse, and calling the list of
the grand officers of the legion, Napoleon, covered, after the manner of the old kings of France when they
held a bed of justice, administered the oath amid the
profound silence of the assembly.
On the same day, the emperor announced his intention of visiting the camp at Boulogne, to distribute the
imperial decorations of the legion to the army.  On the
18th, he set off from St. Cloud, and travelled with such
rapidity, that on the following morning, while every one
was busy with preparations for his reception, he was
already at that port, in the midst of the laborers, examining the works. The soldiers of the camps of
Montreuil and St. Omer were concentrated at Boulogne, and eighty thousand men under the command
of Soult were assembled to witness the distribution of
the crosses and the administration of the oath.  In the
centre of a large circular plain, which descended by a




THE EMPIRE.                227
gentle slope to the cliff, a throne was erected, from
which all the columns formed by the different corps diverged. The infantry was spread out in the shape of
a fan; the cavalry formed a semicircle in the rear; and'further back were the inhabitants of the country, whom
curiosity had brought to the spot. The scene formed
a vast natural amphitheatre, from every part of which
the English coast was distinctly perceptible. At length
the thunder of the artillery announced the emperor;
and the whole assembly became silent and motionless
in an instant. In another moment he appeared with
his staff, at the spot where the throne had been constructed: a spontaneous shout rent the air, and then a
profound stillness ensued.  Napoleon ascended the
throne, and, standing, pronounced to the new members
of the legion of honor, assembled at the head of each
demi-brigade, the oath which had been administered
at the Invalides, as follows  " You severally swear,
upon your honor, to devote yourselves to the service
of the republic, to the preservation of the integrity of
the French territory, to the defence of the emperor, of
the laws of the republic, and the property which it has
rendered sacred; to combat by every means which
reason, justice, and law, allow, all attempts to re-establish the feudal regime; in short, you swear to co-operate with all your might in the maintenance of liberty
and equality: do you swear it?" This oath was taken
with enthusiasm; and the emperor continued: " You,
soldiers, severally swear to defend at the peril of your
lives the honor of the French name, your country, and
the institutions and laws by which it is governed?" —
" We swear it!" cried the soldiers with one voice.
Tumultuous and protracted applause followed, and the




228                NAPOLEON.
troops filed off. The remainder of the day was spent
in sports and dancing, and in the evening a magnificent
display of fireworks took place. An immense mass of
rockets rose in a luminous column, which was visible
from the English coast; and afterward, fifteen thousand
men, formed in line of battle at the top of the cliff, kept
up a running fire with starred cartridges.
Napoleon continued his journey through Belgium
and the Rhenish towns, and did not return to St. Cloud
until October, having been absent about three months.
As soon as the imperial title had been decreed, Caffarelli had been sent on a mission to Rome, to induce
the pope, Pius VII., to come to Paris to consecrate
the emperor at his coronation.  Napoleon heard of the
successful result of this embassy while on his journey;
and immediately upon his return, preparations for that
important event were carried forward with great diligence. He gave orders to treat the pope with the utmost respect and distinction as he journeyed through
the French territory, and went himself to Fontainebleau
to receive him. To avoid ceremony, the emperor arranged it so as to be on the road between Fontainebleau and Nemours when the pope came up. Both
descended and embraced, and then got into the opposite doors of the same carriage at the same moment,
and rode to Fontainebleau, where they breakfasted together; and then the pope set out first for Paris. His
presence there produced an extraordinary sensation, not
only in that capital, but throughout Europe. His good
sense and dignified calmness of demeanor commended
him to general respect.  One day, visiting the imperial
printing-office, where a pamphlet containing the Lord's
prayer in a great many different languages was struck




THE EMPIRE.                229
off in his presence, a low-bred young fellow kept his
hat on while he was in the room. Some persons advancing to rebuke this indecorum, a confusion arose
when the pope turned to the young man and said, " Myy
son, uncover, that I may give thee my blessing. An
old man's blessing never yet harmed any one."
The pope arrived at Paris on the 28th of November, and two days after, on the 1st of December, the
senate presented to the emperor the result of the votes
of the people of France upon the question of the hereditary succession in his family: for as it was assumed
that the title of emperor was acceptable and beneficial
to the country, that was the only question which had
been submitted to vote.  Registers had been opened
throughout the one hundred and eight departments of
which France consisted: and the reported result was,
that, out of nearly three millions, six hundred thousand
voters, only two thousand five hundred and sixty-nine
voted against hereditary succession.  On the 2d of
December, the coronation took place at Notre-Dame,
with a splendor too well known to require to be here
described.  On the next day, all the troops in the capital were assembled in the Champ de Mars, to receive
the imperial eagles instead of the national flags.  A
throne was erected, on which Napoleon sat, and, at a
given signal, all the troops closed and approached it.
The emperor then rose, and giving orders for the distribution of the eagles, said: " Soldiers, behold your
colors! These eagles- will always be your rallying
point. They will always be where your emperor may
think them necessary for the defence of his throne and
his people.  Swear to sacrifice your lives to defend
them, and, by your valor, to keep them constantly in
Vor,. I. 20




230                 NAPOLEON.
the path of victory! Swear!"  Enthusiastic and unbounded acclamations followed this address.
On the I st of April, Napoleon left Paris to take possession of the iron crown at Milan; to convert the cisalpine republic into the kingdom of Italy, and celebrate
his succession to the throne and glory of Charlemagne.
He stopped some time at Turin, and still longer at Alessandria, where many vast and expensive works were
ordered to be commenced. He then visited the field
of Marengo, and there reviewed all the French troops
that were in Italy; and appeared on the occasion in the
same dress and hat which he had worn on the day of
that battle, having taken them with him from Paris for
the purpose.  He then proceeded to Milan, where he
met with a brilliant reception, and occupied the palace
of MTonza.  On the 26th of May, 1805, the new coronation took place in the cathedral of Milan, next to St.
Peter's the largest in Italy.  The old iron crown which
Charlemagne had taken ten centuries before from the
king of the Lombards was brought from the dust in
which it was buried. Napoleon, taking it from the
hands of the archbishop of Milan, placed it on his own
exclaiming, " Dieu me l'a donnee, gare a qui la touche."
The order of the iron crown was founded in commemoration of his being crowned king of Italy, and this
became its motto.
During this visit, M. Durazzo, the last doge of
Genoa, presented a request, in the name of the republic, to the emperor, that Genoa might be permitted to
exchange her independence for the honor of becoming
one of the departments of France.  This, which had
all been contrived beforehand, was of course accepted,
and Genoa, once called the Superb, became the prin



THE EMPIRE.                231
cipal station of the twenty-seventh military division of
France. The emperor made his entry into the city
on the 30th of June, and slept in the Doria palace, in
the bed where Charles V. had lain. About the same
time, Parma and Placentia were incorporated with the
French empire, as the twenty-eighth military division;
and the republic of Lucca was extinguished, and settled as an endowment upon his sister Eliza. Thus
had Napoleon become master of a large part of Italy.
About the end of June, the emperor returned to
Paris, and immediately set off for the camp at Boulogne. His great political designs were accomplished,
and the farthest limit of civil ambition reached; the attractions of magnificence, display, and ceremonial pageantry, had been exhausted: the keen passions and
restless intellect of Napoleon again demanded war; and
war upon the most splendid scale that the world had
ever exhibited it awaited his wishes. It was time, indeed, to give attention to military considerations: for,
one after another, the great kingdoms of the north,
guided by the sleepless policy of England, and sustained by her exhaustless wealth, had been coming into
the line of hostility, until almost the whole continent
was in arms to oppose him.  The object of his own
preparations on the coast had undoubtedly been the invasion of England: when that became impracticable,
from the successes of the English fleet at sea, and the
enmity of Austria and Russia had become alarming,
Napoleon, by one of those original, brilliant, profound,
and admirable conceptions, which invest his genius with
a glory so transcendent, determined suddenly to launch
his whole mighty force upon these two kingdoms; and
Ulm and Austerlitz were the results of this concep



232                NAPOLEON.
tion. For the splendor of its design, the perfection of
its execution, and the immensity of its military results,
the campaign of Austerlitz is without a parallel in the
history of the world.  Napoleon left Paris to join the
army on the 24th of September, 1805, and returned to
the capital on the 26th of January, 1806; a period of
four months, into which is crowded as much interest
and splendor as might be spread over four centuries
of ordinary history. This beautiful campaign may be
read at large in the memoir upon the life of Soult.
Soon after his return the city of Paris voted to the
emperor and his army the memorial column in the
Place Vendome. Five hundred Austrian cannon taken
in the late campaign were melted up and cast into representations of the most distinguished occurrences of
the campaign, and arranged around the column after
the manner of the bas-reliefs on Trajan's pillar.  The
height was one hundred and twenty feet; and the column was surmounted by a statue of Napoleon, which
the emperor Alexander carried off to St. Petersburg,
as a trophy of the revenge of 1815.  It has been replaced by a bronze figure of Napoleon in his wellknown military great-coat.
Warlike glory and the trophies of the field were
never sufficient to fill the vast capacities of Napoleon's
mind: he always hastened to realize the political results which were placed within his reach by the glorious achievements in arms with which he dazzled the
world. Those immense military conceptions, which
expanded beyond the minds and even the imaginations
of others, were but the foundation, the basis, the substructure, upon which was founded the stupendous
architecture of his civil designs. Where others' thoughts




THE EMPIRE.               233
stopped, his ambition began. The creation and disposition of kingdoms and principalities occupied his thoughts
during the spring and summer of 1806. On the 30th
of March, a decree by the emperor anmounced that " the
interests of our crown, and the tranquillity of the continent of Europe, require that we should settle, in a safe
and permanent manner, the fate of the people of Naples
and Sicily, placed in our hands by the right of conquest,
and forming a part of the great empire; we, therefore,
declare our well-beloved brother, Joseph, king of the
Two Sicilies." At the same time, the princess Eliza
was created duchess of Lucca Piombino; Pauline,
married, for the second time, to the prince Borghese,
was made duchess of Guastalla; the Venetian states
were annexed to the kingdom of Italy; and twelve
duchies were reserved to the emperor, out of the Neapolitan territory and other parts of Italy, to be bestowed
upon his favorite officers. At this period, also, Murat
was created grand-duke of Cleves and Berg, ceded to
France by Bavaria; Bernadotte, prince of Ponte-Corvo; Talleyrand, prince of Benevento; Berthier, prince
of Neufchatel; and Cambareces and Lebrun, dukes of
Parma and Placenza. On the 5th of June, a treaty
was made with Holland, by which, in accordance with
a request made by a deputation from that country, of
persons wholly in his interest, Louis Bonaparte was
declared king of Holland. But the most important of
all these transactions was the establishment of tho confederation of the Rhine. By the act of confederation,
which was signed at Paris on the 12th of July, the
kingdoms of Bavaria and Wurtemberg, the electorate
of Baden, the landgravate of Hesse Darmstadt, the
grand-duchy of Berg, and several small principalities.
20*




234                NA POLEON.
were declared to be severed for ever from the Germanic empire, and made independent sovereignties, under
the protection of the emperor of the French: hostility
against any one member, including France, was to be
deemed a declaration of war against all, and military
contingents were to be furnished. By this arrangement, Napoleon in effect became emperor of Germany;
and the emperor Francis was obliged to signalize his
removal from the throne of the Cesars by a declaration
of renunciation: " Being convinced," he said, in an address to the diet at Ratisbon, " of the impracticability of
discharging any longer the duties which the imperial
throne imposed upon us, we owe it to our dignity and
virtue to abdicate a crown, which ceases to be desirable
to us when we are no longer able to perform its duties
and retain the confidences of the elector-princes of the
empire: considering the bonds which unite us to the
empire as dissolved by the confederation of the Rhine,
we therefore renounce the imperial crown, and hereby
absolve the electors, &c., from the duties which unite
them to us as their legal chief." All this seemed to
mark out Prussia for the next great victim; and that
kingdom, long resting in a strange apathy and indifference, while the rest of Europe was convulsed by overthrow or alarm, now suddenly awoke to a sense of its
situation, and by its rashness precipitated its destruction.
The summer and autumn of 1806 were occupied in
abortive negotiations between France, England, and
Russia: and then the dispute narrowed into a deep
and deadly controversy between France and Prussia;
and the other powers of Europe stood aside to wait the
issue of the combat, in which the successors of Frederic
stood up to do oattle for the liberties of Europe. On




THE EMPIRE.               235
the 25th of September, 1806, Napoleon set out for the
Rhine, and in October delivered that tremendous blow
by which the Prussian monarchy was shattered, as if it
had been a structure of porcelain. These great campaigns of 1806 and 1807, in Prussia and in Poland,
in which, trampling the central parts of Europe under
foot, the north and the south rushed together with a
shock which caused both to reel and pause, will be
found in detail, up to the conference at Tilsit, in the
life of Marshal Davoust.
During the armistice which succeeded the battle of
Friedland, in June, 1807, the Russian and French armies were on the opposite sides of the Niemen: the
headquarters of Napoleon being at Tilsit, on the left
bank, and those of Alexander at Pictuponen, at a short
distance from the right bank. On the 25th of June,
the celebrated interview between the emperors, upon
the Niemen, took place in the presence of both armies.
Precisely in the middle of the river, a large raft was
floated, upon which was constructed a large room, covered and elegantly decorated, having a door on each
side, opening into an antechamber. The work was
done with as much neatness and beauty as could have
been exhibited in Paris. Two weather-cocks were on
the roof, one displaying the eagle of Russia and the
other the eagle of France; and the outer doors, which
faced the opposite banks, were adorned with the eagles
of the respective empires. The two monarchs embarked at the same moment; but Napoleon, having a
boat manned by marines of the guard, who rowed well,
arrived first on the raft, entered the room, opened the
opposite door, and placed himself on the edge of the
raft to receive Alexander, whose oarsmen were not




236                NAPOLEON.
quite as skilful. The emperors met in the most friendly way, remained in conversation about two hours. The
conference being ended, the persons composing the
suites of the two emperors were introduced: Murat,
Berthier, Bessieres, Duroc, and Caulaincourt, on the
part of Napoleon, and the grand-duke Constantine,
Generals Benningzen and Ouwaroff, Prince Labanoff,
and Count Lieven, on the part of Alexander. The
emperor of Russia paid the handsomest compliments
to the officers who accompanied Napoleon; and the
latter had a long conversation with the grand-duke Constantine and General Benningzen. The interview having terminated, the two emperors embarked each in his
boat. Soon after, the headquarters of Alexander were
established in Tilsit; and the emperors passed several
days in friendly and familiar intercourse.
On the 7th and 9th of July, 1807, were signed treaties of peace between Russia and France and between
Prussia and France. By virtue of these, Silesia and
the provinces north of the Elbe were left to Prussia;
the Polish provinces on the Vistula were erected into
the grand-duchy of Warsaw, and given to the king of
Saxony; the kingdom of Westphalia was created out
of the Prussian provinces south of the Elbe, and the
states of Hesse-Cassel, Paderborn, Fulde, Brunswick,
and part of the electorate of Hanover, and given to
Jerome Bonaparte; and all the kings and princes established by Napoleon were acknowledged by Russia
and Prussia. Napoleon returned to Paris on the 27th
of July, and was received with a homage and worship
which exceeded everything that he had experienced
before. Addresses, scarcely less than blasphemous,
poured in from all classes of state officers; and a uni



THE EMPIRE.                237
versal delirium seemed to have seized the nation. The
friendship of the emperor Alexander, which was magnified beyond its just bounds, and the peace which had
been established in Europe, gave Napoleon a moral influence in public opinion which he had never till then
possessed. He used it to consolidate his empire into
a complete despotism. On the 16th of August, the
tribunate, the only vestige of a free institution in France,
was suppressed by the emperor's sole authority; not
only without objection on the part of its members, but
with their enthusiastic approbation. Toward the close
of September a censorship of the press was established,
and no book or journal allowed to be printed without
the censors' license. In the following month, the independence of the judiciary was annihilated; and all judges
made removable at the will of the emperor. And on
the 11th of March, 1808, a senatus consultum decreed
the re-establishment of hereditary titles of honor —
princes, dukes, counts, barons, and knights. Foreign
titles, connected with estates or endowments in other
countries, had been conferred on the marshals and
others the year before; but by this decree, the aristocratic rank was revived as a part of the domestic constitution of France.  In short, after the treaty of Tilsit,
Napoleon presents himself to our view as a fearless,
absolute, arbitrary autocrat. Yet, if he made his own
mind and will the law of France, they were exerted
upon a greai scale and for great objects; and a system
of wise legislation, and the reconstruction of the university upon an enlightened plan, were contemporary with
these assumptions of despotic authority.
The character of Napoleon at this period darkens
into a portrait of rapacious and unscrupulous usurpa



238                NAPOLEON.
tion; and to this era belongs the commencement of his
fatal relations with Spain. Taking advantage of the
family dissension of Charles IV. and his son Ferdinand,
and fomenting the domestic difficulties of the nation by
artful intrigue, Napoleon obtained from the king, on the
5th of May, 1808, an absolute surrender and transfer
of the crown of Spain; and having convoked an assembly of notables at Bayonne, in June, he there, on the
8th, proclaimed his brother Joseph king of Spain and
the Indies. In the November following, Murat succeeded Joseph on the throne of Naples.  Having
arranged the constitution of Spain, Napoleon returned
to Paris, from Bayonne, on the 14th of August. Soon
after he set out for Erfurth, to hold an interview with
Alexander, which had been appointed at Tilsit. On
the 27th of September, they met on the road between
Weimar and Erfurth, and entering the latter, they remained there in friendly intercourse until the 6th of
October. It was a scene such as Europe had not witnessed for centuries: the king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria were not present, but a crowd of
smaller princes swelled the pageant of the imperial
conference. The mornings were spent by Napoleon
and Alexander in conferences upon political subjects;
the afternoons, in reviews or other displays; and in
the evening they occupied the same box at the theatre,
where Talma and other performers represented the
masterpieces of Corneille and Racine. On the 6th,
the emperors visited the grand-duke of Weimar, and
Napoleon conversed with G6ethe, Wieland, and other
eminent literary persons. On the 7th, they rode over
the field of Jena; and on the 14th, returning to the
spot where they had first met, they dismounted from




THE EMPIRE.               239
their horses, continued walking together for some time
in earnest conversation, and then embracing, bade one
another adieu for ever. Napoleon returned to Paris,
and soon after set out for Bayonne, which he reached
on the 3d of November, and at once began to direct
the movements of his armies.
On the 1st of January, 1809, while he was driving
Sir John Moore back toward Corunna, and was on the
road between Benevente and Astorga, despatches were
brought to him by a courier from Paris. He immediately dismounted, ordered a fire to be kindled by the
wayside, and, in the midst of a snowstorm, sat down to
examine the intelligence which was brought. It was
of the most alarming kind, and required Napoleon's instant presence in the north; for it announced the hostile attitude of Austria, and her preparation to take the
field with a formidable army. Napoleon returned to
Astorga, where he remained two days, writing and dictating innumerable despatches. He set off for Valladolid, where he remained three days, and then journeying through Burgos and Bayonne with almost incredible speed, arrived at Paris on the 23d.  The
negotiations of the following month developed a direct
issue of arms between France and Austria, in which
Russia and Prussia were to remain neutral. In the
beginning of March the French forces, under Davoust,
Massena, Oudinot, Bessieres, and Bernadotte, were
rapidly concentrated in Bavaria, under the command
of Berthier. On the 8th of April, the Austrian army
commenced hostilities by a general advance; and Berthier having committed nothing but blunders and absurdities, Napoleon found that his own presence with
his troops was indispensable. He left Paris on the




240               NAPOLEON.
13th of April, and on the 17th arrived at Donauwert.
The campaign that followed-the campaign of Eckmuhl, Aspern, and Wagram-will be found described
in the lives of Lannes and MiIassena. Napoleon returned to Fontainebleau in the end of October, and
thence proceeded to Paris.
The successful result of Wagram produced one momentous consequence, in the marriage of Napoleon
with Maria Louisa. The project first occurred to him
at Sch6enbrunn, and it was announced to Josephine
at Fontainebleau on the 30th of November. On the
15th of December, the marriage of Napoleon and Josephine was dissolved by the senate; and the latter
retired to Malmaison with a jointure of two millions of
francs. Napoleon opened negotiations, in the first instance, with Alexander, for the hand of his sister; but
that subject being at the disposal of Alexander's mother,
and some of her stipulations not being entirely acceptable to Napoleon, he broke the negotiation off, and made
proposals for the hand of Maria Louisa, which were
eagerly accepted. On the 11th of March, 1810, the
marriage was celebrated by proxy at Vienna; and Napoleon met his youthful bride at Compeigne on the
28th of March, and on the 1st of April the formal marriage was solemnized with extraordinary pomp at Paris.
In the following month the emperor and empress visited Belgium, and viewed the extraordinary works at
Antwerp, Flushing, and Middleburg, and returned to
Paris on the 1st of June.  One result of this visit was
the resolution to annex Holland to the French empire.
The treatment imposed upon Louis to bring this about
soon had its desired effect. On the 1st of July, unable any longer to submit to the exactions required by




THE EMPIRE.               241
his brother, Louis executed a deed of resignation in
favor of his son Napoleon Louis; and on the 9th of
July, a decree from Paris appeared, annexing the whole
kingdom of Holland to France.
The pope, who had fatally compromised his dignity
by visiting Paris to give his benediction to the selfcrowned emperor of the Revolution, was destined now
to feel the weight of that sceptre to which his presence
had given so much moral force. From 1805, a series
of encroachments had been going on against the papal
states, which brought the head of the church into open
hostility with the emperor. On the 17th of May, 1809,
a decree, dated at Schoenbrunn, announced the union
of the states of the church to the French empire, and
Rome was made a free and imperial city. These arrangements were accordingly carried into effect in the
month of June following. The pope replied by a bull
of excommunication. Napoleon now resolved, not to
destroy the power of the papacy, but to transfer its incumbent to the neighborhood of Paris, where he might
be entirely under his control.  On the 5th of July,
therefore, the pope was arrested by General Radet,
hurried across the Alps to Grenoble, and thence sent
to Savona, where he remained three years a prisoner.
In 1813 he was removed to Fontainebleau, and there
detained until the disaster of Leipsig compelled Napoleon to set him at liberty.
The month of September, 1810, was remarkable for
the election of Bernadotte to the throne of Sweden, an
event attended with memorable effects upon the fate
of Napoleon. The encroachments of the latter meanwhile proceeded with unabated rapacity. On the 13th
of December, appeared a senatus consultum, annexing
VOL. I.-21




242                NAPOLEON.
to the French empire the Hanse towns and the duchy
of Oldenburg, and extending the French dominions as
far as Lubeck. As the grand-duke of Oldenburg was
the brother-in-law of Alexander, this enormous spoliation kindled the utmost excitement at St. Petersburg,
and raised in the mind of Alexander the most serious
alarm lest the kingdom of Poland should be re-established by the conqueror, who had already raised into
existence the unwelcome sovereignty of the grand-duchy
of Warsaw. Negotiations on the subject were opened,
the result of which was entirely unsatisfactory to Russia, and led to her increasing her forces in Poland.
Alexander retaliated for the territorial aggressions of
Napoleon by publishing, on the last day of 1810, an
imperial commercial ukase, altogether opposed to the
French policy, and highly favorable to English commerce. A diplomatic note was formally presented by
Russia to all the European courts, complaining of the
annexation of the duchy of Oldenburg. On the 14th
of July, 1810, Napoleon gave another illustration of
his despotic temper by resuming and annexing the
kingdom of Hanover, which he had given to his brother the king of Westphalia.
On the 20th of March, 1811, the king of Rome was
born, amid the unbounded joy of Paris and France.
During that year everything was preparing for a vast
and terrible encounter between the two greatest continental powers of Europe.  Napoleon, according to his
custom of dividing his enemies and dealing with them
separately, formed a treaty, offensivQ and defensive,
with Prussia, on the 24th of February, 1812, and with
Austria on the 14th of March. On the other hand,
Russia and Sweden entered into a treaty of mutual




THE EMPIRE.                2413
guaranty and defence on the 5th of April, 1812; and
on the 12th of July, a treaty was concluded between
England and Sweden. Thus one half of Europe was
arrayed against the other half, under the hostile banners
of the emperors who had twice edified the world by
the display of their fraternal confidence and affection.
The negotiations between the two great empires, which
went on till the last moment, developed no cause sufficient for the war, if the ambition of Napoleon had not
been determined upon it. Russia complained of the
annexation of the grand-duchy of Oldenburg and the
Hanse towns to the French empire, the invasion of
Pomerania, and the immense accumulation of troops in
Poland.  Napoleon objected to the ukase of December
31, 1810, and the augmentation and advance of the
Russian armies. Alexander finally offered to dismiss
his forces, if France would evacuate Prussia and Pomerania, and reduce the garrison of Dantzig.  To this
no answer was given by Napoleon; and the war began.
In the end of April Alexander reached Wilna, and
about the middle of May Napoleon left Paris for Dresden.
Then and afterward Napoleon was in the habit of
assigning a variety of political reasons for this sthpendous undertaking, but he is supposed by Segur to have
assigned the true cause to the princes of his own family.  "Can you not see," said he to them, " that as I
was not born upon a throne, I must support myself on
it, as I ascended it, by my renown? —that it is necessary for it to go on increasing; that a private individual, become a sovereign, like myself, can no longer
stop; that he must be continually ascending, and that
to be stationary is to be lost?" In the abstract opin



244                NAPOLEON.
ion embodied in this remark there is undoubtedly some
reason; but in its application to the situation of Napoleon in 1811 and 1812, there is not a particle of truth
or justice. If the campaign of Austerlitz in 1805, of
Jena and Friedland in 1806 and 1807, and that of
Wagram in 1809, followed by the immense political
changes which they occasioned, could not give Napoleon moral influence enough in France to sustain his
throne, neither would the subjection of all Russia and
all Asia beyond it have sufficed.  The causes of the
expedition to the north are to be found only in the restless energies of Napoleon's mind, which could not exist without the excitement of vast and boundless enterprises-in that insatiable hunger of glory which craved
nothing less than the universal dominion of Philip's son
-in the fierce jealousy of a despot who could bear no
equal and no rival in Europe, and who drew impatient
breath until he had humbled Alexander as he had Francis, the pope, and every other sovereign on the continent.
The history of the Russian campaign —which was
a disaster as enormous as all the successes of his previous life combined-may be read in the lives of Murat, Mortier, and Ney, in this work, to whose biographies have been assigned respectively the advance to
Moscow, the stay there, and the retreat. Napoleon
arrived at the Tuileries from Russia on the night of
the lSth-19th of December, 1812. His return had
been precipitated by the intelligence which he had received at Smolensk of Mallet's conspiracy, which took
place on the same day that he left Moscow, namely,
the 19th of October. By a plausible story of Napoleon's
death, and by a forged decree of the senate abolishing




THE EMPIRE.                 245
the imperial government and appointing him governor
of Paris, this madman, escaping from his prison, had
usurped the command of the city, arrested the minister
and prefect of police, and for some hours was master of
France. Napoleon was astounded at the risk which he
had run in separating himself by such a distance from
his capital, and at the insecurity of his dynasty, which
this occurrence testified.  "Is, then," he exclaimed to
Rapp, " my power so insecure, that it may be compromitted by a single individual and a prisoner? My
crown can not be very secure upon my head, if, in my
own capital, the bold stroke of three adventurers can
shake it! Rapp, misfortune never comes alone: this
is the complement of what is passing here. I can not
be everywhere, but I must go back to Paris: my presence there is indispensable to reanimate public opinion.
I must have men and money. Great successes and
great victories will repair all.  I must set off."  To
such motives, and not to any considerations of fear or
cowardice, the hasty return of the emperor in advance
of his army is justly to be ascribed.
Notwithstanding the consternation which the first intelligence of the calamity in Russia produced throughout France, in a few days Napoleon had restored the
countenance of affairs, and reinspired courage and confidence throughout the country.  The defeat which
might have prostrated and paralyzed the vigor of any
other man, only served to charge Napoleon's faculties
with intenser fervor, and to stir up and concentrate every power of his being. The forces of his marvellous
character seemed to respond with equal enthusiasm to
the stimulus of failure and of success. He had heretofore exhibited the nature of his mind and temper un21*




246                 NAPOLEON.
der circumstances of transcendant prosperity and glory
he was now to show those deeper and more intimate pow
ers which misfortune only can develop. Bating not a
jot of heart or hope, he devoted himself at once to repair, by gigantic exertions, the mighty losses he had sustained. Orders were sent to the army to rally behind
the Elbe, fresh conscripts were called forth, and France,
resuming her formidable aspect, again stood defiant of
Europe in hostility. Russia and Prussia were now
banded in menacing conjunction; several smaller powers threw off their allegiance; and Austria remained in
ominous neutrality to watch a little further the course of
Napoleon's star.  It seemed to be the destiny of this
extraordinary person to exhibit in his career every variety of human fortune, and to be called upon for the
display of every element of character which mortality
can inherit.  Splendid in triumph, in misfortune his
aspect becomes magnificent. The courage and strength
with which he planted himself against advancing hosts
upon the plains of Saxony in 1813, and by mere force
of genius fairly swung Fortune round for a time-with
which, after such a fresh calamity as Leipsig, he " fluttered" and well nigh overthrew his enemies again upon
the Seine and Marne-with which, a third time recoiling from ruin, he launched against Europe the terrible
blow of Waterloo-exhibit a tenacity of purpose and
a prodigiousness of mental ability which human records
nowhere parallel, and which recall the mighty conception which poetry has formed of the resolution and
energy of the fallen chief of the seraphs.
On the 15th of April, 1S13, Napoleon set out from
Paris, to add the names of Lutzen, Bautzen, and Dresden, to the wreath of victory which adorns his name,




THE EMPIRE.                 2  7
and to sustain the tremendous defeat of Leipsig. The
narrative of this campaign may be read in the lives of
Ney and Poniatowski, whose valor connects them, immemorially, with its history.
After the battle of Leipsig, Napoleon returned to
Paris on the 9th of November, 1813. Personally and
politically, his condition seemed well nigh desperate;
but neither the pride of his character, the energy of his
soul, nor the resources of his genius, were yet exhausted. Greater than his fortunes, as Napoleon always
appeared, we might have some doubts of the genuine
grandeur and dignity of his spirit, if we beheld him
only when sailing on the onward tide of victory, and
wafted by the unflagging breezes of success; but the
vigor of heart, and mind, and temper, with which he
now set himself in stern and solitary resistance to nations in league against him, and a continent in arms,
leave no room to question his native and genuine greatness. There is not in history a spectacle so sublime
as the self-reliant strength and calmness with which
Napoleon's soul now exposed itself, Titan-like, to a
universe in hostility. Abroad and at home, everything
announced the ruin of his empire: yet his great heart
and mind still hoped, still labored; still terrified the
foes, who, even in their victory, were dismayed by the
name at which they had so often bowed. Twice had
he sustained the most terrible defeats; two immense
armies had been destroyed: he had lost the sceptre of
the world in Russia; in Germany, his mastery of Europe had been struck down: but, with all the earnestness of youth and prosperity, this wonderful man prepared once more to defend his empire by the sword,
determined that, if he must fall, he could at least have




24-3               NAPOLEON.
an imperial robe to fold around him. Toils and sufferings, beyond all human experience, had not wearied
him; possessions and glory beyond imagination —
power and adulation beyond all former experience —
had not tainted the might of his being; but, with the
deathless fervor of an immortal, he sprang from defeat
with the flushed energies of conquest.
The prospect was sufficiently appalling.  Russia,
Austria, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, England, Germany, and the confederation of the Rhine, to say nothing
of Spain, were now in alliance for a single purpose;
their spirit roused in unappeasable indignation, and all
their forces, military and political, fully brought out for
the destruction of their enemy. An immense armed
host surrounded France, and was preparing to march
in upon her. Wellington; with above a hundred thousand English, Spanish, and Portuguese troops, was
advancing, in unchecked triumph, on the south. On
the north, the allied sovereigns had half a million of
soldiers on the Rhine, and a quarter of a million more
in reserve behind them: and in Italy, Marshal Bellegarde was at the head of eighty thousand Austrians.
Upon the whole, a million men in arms were banded
together for the overthrow of Napoleon. "A year
ago," said he to the senate, " all Europe was marching
with us; now, all Europe is marching against us. Posterity shall own that, if great and trying circumstances
arose, they were not above France and me."
But the internal dangers which threatened his power
were even more alarming than these foreign enemies.
Nothing but the irresistible force of his character, derived from a glory whose blaze dazzled and melted
away all opposition, had for years kept in subordina



THE EMPIRE.                249
tion the rebellious elements of which his political constitution was formed. Now, the prestige of victory —
the magic of success -were gone; and -the antagonist
parties of the republicans and royalists combined in
every method, concealed and open, to thwart and ruin
the man whom they hated. The legislative body was
opened on the 19th of December, and Napoleon laid
before it his plans, his wishes, and his counsels; and
appealed to every natural sentiment which could urge
them to his support. " The time," said he, " has gone
by when we may think of recovering our lost conquests.
Peace and the deliverance of the nation should be the
rallying cry. My life has now but one object, the safety
and honor of France. The country is invaded. I call
upon the inhabitants of Paris, Brittany, and Normandy,
of Champagne and Burgundy, to assist their brethren
of Lorraine and Alsace." On the 28th, a report was
presented in the chamber of deputies by M. Lain6, from
the committee to which the negotiations had been referred, in which the most decided opposition to any
further war was asserted, and a resolution to accept
peace at all events was resolutely avowed. It soon
appeared that a powerful party sustained these views;
and Napoleon determined to dissolve the chambers.
"' The legislative body," said he, " instead of joining
with me for the preservation of France, exerts all its
power to bring about its fall. It betrays its duties: I
fulfil mine by dissolving it. If I were certain that all
Paris would come to massacre me in the Tuileries today, I would not change my purpose. I do what is
my duty.  When the French nation intrusted their
interests to me, I understood that the laws were given
me to enable me to promote those interests. If I had




2.50               NAPOLEON.
deemed them insufficient, I should not have accepted
the charge. You need not imagine that I am a Louis
the Sixteenth. If anarchy is to be preached anew, I
will assert my rights as a citizen: I will mix in the
crowd and exercise my share in the sovereignty of the
people, rather than remain at the head of affairs, to be
embarrassed by others and to be incapable of doing
good. You have reproached me with my misfortunes:
I have supported them with dignity, because I have received from nature a firm and fierce character. If I
had not possessed an indomitable temperament, I
should never have placed myself upon the first throne
in the world. However, I wanted support, and I expected it from you. Instead of that, you have tried to
throw mud upon me. I am one of those men whom
you may kill, but can never dishonor. I called you
together for the purpose of assisting me, but you have
assembled to say and do all that could assist a foreign
enemy. Instead of uniting, you make divisions. Do
you not know that, in a monarchy, the throne and the
monarch are inseparable? What is the throne? A bit
of wood, covered with velvet: but, in a political sense,
I am the throne! You talk of the people: are you not
aware that I am pre-eminently the representative of the
people? To attack me, is to harm the nation. If
abuses exist, is it a proper moment for remonstrance,
when two hundred thousand Cossacks are breaking
through our frontiers?  Is it a time to dispute about
individual liberty and security, when the question is to
preserve political independence and national existence?
Your visionaries are for guaranties against power: at
this moment, France demands only guaranties against
the enemy."




THE EMPIRE.                251
The Jacobins, whom Napoleon had ever abhorred
as the very shame of society and the enemies of human
happiness, now felt their power, and offered their support upon terms which would have made them the
masters of the country. The press, among other things,
was to be wholly resigned to them. " This is too much,"
said Napoleon; " I shall have some chance of deliverance in battle, but none at all from these frantic blockheads. There can be nothing in common between the
demagogic principles of 1793 and the monarchy; between clubs of madmen and a regular ministry; between a committee of public safety and an emperor;
between revolutionary tribunals and established laws.
If I am to fall, I will not bequeath France to the revolutionists, from whom I have delivered her."
Meanwhile, the emperor, with that tireless energy
which belonged to him, was developing and organizing
with astonishing vigor the resources that remained to
him. Negotiations for peace were going on, but his
only desire was to preserve France from invasion and
to meet his enemies once more in the field. Immediately upon his return to Paris, a levy of three hundred
thousand'men was ordered. Engineers were sent to
the north, to restore the old walls which were formerly
the ramparts of France, to fortify the defiles, to lay out
redoubts on the heights which might serve as rallying
points in retreat, and to make preparations for cutting
the bridges which it might be necessary to remove.
Orders were sent to the dep6ts, foundries, manufactories, and workshops, for the supply of everything that
could be required for the army; and the utmost activity prevailed in every department. But money was
wanting; the public treasury was exhausted. Napo



252                NAPOLEON.
leon had thirty millions in crowns, which belonged to
his private fund: he was advised to set these aside as
personal resources which might secure himself and the
different members of his family against the reverses
with which they were threatened. The proposal was
rejected as too selfish; and the whole amount was
transferred to the public treasury, by which the national
credit was restored and the public service carried vigorously on. Councils succeeded each other hourly
at the Tuilleries: the days were too short for the
business it was necessary to transact: Napoleon employed the hours of the night which others devoted
to rest, in reading what his ministers had not time to
tell, in signing documents, and in settling his plans.
But while everything was preparing for war, diplomatic negotiations were carried on with vigor. On the
14th of November, Baron de Saint-Aignan arrived at
Paris, bearing from the allies assembled at Frankfort,
proposals opening negotiations for peace upon the
terms of Napoleon's abandoning Germany, Spain,
Holland, and Italy. The two former might indeed be
considered as irrecoverably wrested from the emperor
by the last campaign; but he was not quite prepared
to give up his hold upon Holland and Italy. On the
16th, the duke of Bassano wrote to Metternich at
Frankfort, that the emperor was disposed to peace, and
agreed to a meeting of a congress at Manheim: but
this not being deemed sufficiently precise by the allies,
the duke of Vicenza to whom the portfolio of foreign
affairs had been consigned, wrote that Napoleon accepted the general and summary basis which M. de SaintAignan had communicated. On the 10th of December, Prince Metternich replied that the sovereigns had




THE EMPIRE.               253
thought proper to consult with England, and that their
decision would depend upon her reply.  It soon
became apparent that this influence was to operate
unfavorably: Russia and Austria were willing to
allow France to extend to the Rhine: but England
refused to leave her in possession of Antwerp and the
coast of Belgium. But though little prospect of conciliation remained, two important political steps were
taken by Napoleon: one, the permission to the pope to
leave Fontainebleau and return to Rome; the other,
the treaty of Valenqay on the 11th of December, by
which Prince Ferdinand was allowed to go back to
Spain. The former of these was likely to preserve
the north of Italy from the Austrians; and the latter
would terminate the influence of Wellington at Madrid.
In the end of Decenlber, the allies who had lingered
so long before the Rhine, awed, as it might seem, by
the colossal memory of an empire which had been
shattered in the dust, crossed that river, and the invasion of France and Paris was no longer a matter of
doubt. Three great armies were now entering France.
The first, which was the army of the prince of Schwartzenberg, and was called the grand army, consisted of
two hundred thousand men, and entered through
Switzerland, and was to invade Alsace and Franchecomte. It crossed the Rhine about the 21st of December, between Schauffhausen and Strasbourg, in three
great divisions. It was composed of Austrian, Bavarian and Wurtemberg troops, and of the imperial guards
of Austria and Russia. Barclay de Tolly, Wittgenstein, Wrede, Generals Bubua, Giulay, Bianchi, and
Colloredo, and the princes of Wiirtemberg, HesseHomburg, and Lichtenstein, were its principal cornVOL. 1.-22




254                NAPOLEON.
manders: and the emperors of Russia and of Austria,
and the king of Prussia followed its movements in person. The second was the army of Silesia, augmented
by several Saxon and Russian divisions; it was commanded in chief by Blucher, with Generals SaintPriest, Langeron, Yorck, Sacken, and Kleist, as his lieutenants. It consisted of one hundred and thirty thousand men, who were assembled round Frankfort, to
wait till Prince Schwartzenberg should have passed
Switzerland, and who were then to cross between Manheim and Coblentz and invade Lorraine. The third
army commanded by Bernadotte, consisted of his
Swedish troops, the Russian corps of Woronzoff and
Winzingerode, the Prussian corps of Bulow, and
the English troops under Graham, amounting in all to
one hundred and seventy thousand men. It had passed
through Hanover and Hesse, and was to take Holland,
and penetrate into Belgium. Leaving the fortresses,
and passing all the lines of defence, these three armies
were to march convergently on Paris.
Napoleon contemplated this terrible onset with fears
for the worst, certainly, but without agitation and without dismay. The dispersion of his forces in Italy and
the south of France, and in the fortresses of the Elbe
and Rhine, was such that he had not more than one
hundred thousand men to resist this invasion of half a
million. They were extended along the Rhine, and
were composed of the corps of Macdonald, of twenty
thousand, which was spread from Nimeguen to Coblentz; that of Morand, of eighteen thousand, which
reached from  Coblentz to Mayence; Marmont's of
ten thousand, which was stationed from Mayence to
Strasbourg; and Victor's of twelve thousand five hun



THE EMPIRE.                 2;"5
dred, which guarded the river from Strasbourg to
Bale; and within this line, Ney, with ten thousand, was
in the defiles of the Vosges mountains, and Mortier, with
the imperial guard and reserve cavalry, amounting in
all to eighteen thousand, was on the Sonne. Augereau,
with twelve thousand, was at Lyons.
Such were the insignificant resources with which the
French emperor determined to attempt the arrest of
this tremendous torrent from the north.  Never did the
power of science and superiority of human intellect appear more strikingly than in the brilliant strokes that
were effected by this trifling force, when directed in
this splendid campaign by the mind and heart of Napoleon. His plan was to combine his forces upon the
plains of Chalons-sur-Marne, before the separated columns of the enemy could effect a junction: and, occupying this central position, he hoped to revive in their
ancient lustre the dazzling tactics of his Italian campaigns. His intention was to manceuvre rapidly in the
interior of the enemy's march, to fall upon their detached corps, and, by rapid and exact movements, to
make up for the extreme disproportion of numbers.
Had he been seconded by an enthusiasm like that of
his Italian troops, he might have effected the deliverance of France; but, as the Baron Fain has said" Though Napoleon had in his hands the same springs,
they had lost the republican spirit which once tempered
them: most of the chiefs were worn out in the service
of their country; the sacred fire, indeed, animated the
youth of France and beamed on a few aged heads devoted to glory: in this was the last ray of hope."
Every effort to bring out new troops from France
was made; and as fast as reinforcements arrived, they




o2 ^56             NAPOLEON.
proceeded to Champagne, where Marshals Kellermann
and Oudinot were forming them into battalions. Care
was taken to magnify the resources which the French
emperor had in his hands: frequent military reviews
were taking place in the court of the Tuileries; and
the journals doubled or tripled the number of the
troops. The corps on the Rhine were ordered, as
they retreated, to converge toward Chalons. Macdonald, on the lower Rhine and Meuse, was directed to
re-enter old France by the gate of Ardennes; Marmont
was recommended to maintain himself as long as possible in Lorraine; Victor was ordered to dispute, foot by
foot, the passage of the Vosges mountains, and Mortier
was sent with a division of the guard to support him
on the road to Langres. A general instruction was
issued to all the marshals, enjoining them, as they retreated, to leave behind them their fatigued and undisciplined troops in the fortresses: these Napoleon intended to combine into an army to fall upon the enemy's
rear. Negotiations soon after reopened under auspices
which indicated a decisive issue. Lord Castlereagh, a
cabinet minister and secretary for foreign affairs, arrived
at the Hague on the 6th of January, 1814, and proceeded to the headquarters of the allies. Chatillonsur-Seine was the place fixed upon for the congress;
and thither the duke of Vicenza set out about the same
time.
At the end of December, it has been already observed, the barrier of the Rhine was broken through,
and the torrent poured down toward the plains of
France. Schwartzenberg's left wing, under Bubna, occupied Geneva on the 28th of December, and his centre columns advanced on Epinal, Vesoul, and Besanqon.




THE EMPIRE.                257
Victor hastily quitted Strasbourg to defend the defiles of
the Vosges. On the 4th of January, the enemy entered
Vesoul; and on the 9th, Besanqon was invested. Victor at the head of ten thou-sand troops could not arrest
a host of a quarter of a million. Napoleon issued orders for a levy en masse of the eastern departments;
and the proclamation was responded to with an effect
that annoyed the enemy, but did not retard them.
Bubna had intercepted the Simplon road, and taken
Valois. Schwartzenberg had forced the passes of the
Vosges, and though he had suffered some loss in the
engagements of Rambervilliers, Saint-Dre, and Charnes, his left wing, before the middle of January, was
extended along the Saone, his centre was thrown forward to Langres, and his right was advanced upon Nancy, which was the rendezvous assigned for the Prussians.
On the 16th, Mortier evacuated Langres, and retired
through Troyes, on the road of Arcis-sur-l'Aube; Ney
and Victor about the same time retired from Nancy on
Vitry, by the way of Ligny and Bar. Meanwhile,
Blucher with his army had crossed the Rhine, between
Manheim and Coblentz, on the night of the 1st of January. The right wing, under Saint-Priest, passed the
river at Neuwied, and occupied Coblentz: the centre,
consisting of Langeron's and Yorck's corps, passed at
Caube, and the former proceeded to blockade Metz,
while the latter moved toward Creutznach: the left,
consisting of the corps of Sacken and Kleist, crossed at
Manheim and advanced against Marmont, who fell back
to Metz; but being there pressed by a superior force,
retired on the 19th of January upon Verdun, and
thence toward Vitry. Yorck arrived before Metz, and
Sacken entered Nancy. On the 18th, Macdonald, re22*




25 8               NAPOLEON.
tiring from the lower MIeuse upon Ardennes, was at
Namur: Napoleon despatched courier after courier to
direct him to hasten his march to Chalons. All the
corps were now assembled in a circle around that
place, or were approaching toward it. Napoleon saw
the opportunity which that interior and concentrated
position gave him of falling upon the straggling columns
of the enemy, and he sent off Berthier, on the 20th of
January, to announce to the army his intention of immediately joining it.
As an extraordinary and noble means of repelling a
novel danger, Napoleon, before his departure, ordered
the enrolment of the national guards of Paris, and
placed it under the command of Marshal Moncey:
and on the 21st of January, he took leave of the guard
at the Tuileries. A youthful friend of Napoleon, who
was a captain in this guard, has left us an interesting
picture of this touching scene: " Napoleon entered
with the empress. He advanced with a dignified step,
leading by the hand his son, who was not yet three
years old. It was long since I had seen him. He had
grown very corpulent, and I remarked on his pale
countenance an expression of melancholy and irritability. It was a solemn and impressive ceremony. I have
rarely witnessed such profound silence in so large an
assembly. At length, Napoleon, in a voice as firm and
sonorous as when he used to harangue his troops in
Italy or in Egypt, but without the air of confidence
which then beamed in his countenance, began his address to the assembled officers:' I set out this night to
take the command of the army. On quitting the capital, I confidently leave behind me my wife and my son,
in whom so many hopes are centred.'" On the 23d,




THE EMPIRE.               259
the letters-patent were signed by which the empress was
appointed regent of France, and on the following day
Joseph was included in the regency, under the title of
lieutenant-general of the empire. The same night, the
emperor committed all his most private papers to the
flames, embraced the empress and his son, neither of
whom he was ever again to see on earth, and at three
o'clock in the morning of the 25th, stepped into his
travelling carriage, breakfasted at Chateau Thierry, and
in the evening arrived at Chalons to dinner. He instantly summoned Berthier, Kellermann, and Oudinot,
to his headquarters, and spent the greater part of the
evening in collecting information respecting the movements of the enemy. The grand army of Schwartzenberg, it appeared, having broken through the Vosges,
was approaching Troyes, whither Mortier with the old
guard, having opposed every resistance in their power,
retired, and thence was falling back on Arcis. Blucher's army had passed through Lorraine, occupied
Saint-Dizier, and were advancing diagonally upon the
Aube. At this moment, the Prussian advanced-guard,
consisting of Sacken's corps, accompanied by Blucher
in person, had pushed on by Brienne to join the grand
army about Troyes; Lanskoi's corps, having evacuated
Saint-Dizier, was following it; and Yorck's troops were
coming up from Metz to Saint-Dizier. Napoleon determined to throw himself upon this line of march, and
cut Blucher's army in two. He halted, therefore, only
twelve hours at Chalons; his baggage filed off during
the night with the imperial guard; and at an early hour
on the 26th, headquarters were established at Vitry.
The army continued its march during that night toward
Saint-Dizier; about daybreak on the 27th, it fell in with




260                NAPOLEON.
the heads of Lanskoi's columns between Vitry and
Saint-Dizier; and at ten o'clock in the morning, Napoleon at the head of the foremost corps entered SaintDizier. The Prussian army was thus divided through
the centre, and Blucher, separated from his rear, and
not yet in communication with the Austrian grand army,
was in imminent danger of destruction. Quick as lightning, Napoleon turned round from Saint-Dizier, to
throw his whole force upon the Prussian field-marshal
toward Troyes. On the evening of the 27th, the
French army began to defile through the forest of Der
toward Brienne, and, passing with great difficulty and
toil through Eclaron and Montier, on the 29th reached
the wood of Maizieres. Orders were sent, also, to
Mortier to return with the old guard from Arcis to
Troyes, and thence to advance to Vandeuvres, so as to
take Blucher in the rear, while Napoleon engaged him
in front at Brienne. Unluckily, these orders were intercepted by Blucher, and the intelligence which he
thus gained of the emperor's plan, caused the failure
of one of the most brilliant military combinations of that
fertile and profound understanding. Blucher placed a
strong body of troops in Brienne to check the approach
of the French, and sending forward the rest of his forces, was already in communication with the Austrians
by Bar-sur-l'Aube.
Brienne stands upon the side of an elevated hill; the
Russians, under Alsufieff, occupied the lower streets,
and the picked troops of the Prussian army were ranged
on the terraces of the castle of Brienne overlooking the
town. The lower town was forced with great spirit by
Rear-Admiral Baste, who lost his life in the action, and
the higher position was carried by General Chateau,




THE EMPIRE.               261
with such promptitude that Blucher and his staff had
barely time to escape. The bulk of the Prussian army
retired from the town and took the road to Bar-sur1 Aube to join the Austrians; but the rear-guard obstinately kept in part of the town, and endeavored to retake the castle; and the contest was kept up during the
night. The French army was bivouacked in the plain
between Brienne and Maizieres, and headquarters were
in the latter. The artillery had been advanced to take
the positions assigned to them, and Napoleon, having
issued his last orders, was returning to Maizieres, when
he had a very narrow escape from being captured. This
incident may best be related in the language in which
he himself told it to Dr. O'Meara, two years afterward,
at St. Helena: " At the battle of Brienne," said he,
" I recollect that about twenty or twenty-five Uhlans,
not Cossacks, got round one of the wings of my army,
and endeavored to fall upon a part of the artillery. It
was at the close of the day and just commencing to be
dark. They stumbled, somehow or other, upon me
and my staff; and when they saw us, they were quite
lost and did not know how to act. They did not
know, however, who I was; neither was I for some
time aware of what they were: I thought that they
were my own troops, until some one called out that we
were among enemies. At this moment, the Uhlans
being frightened, and not knowing what to do, began to
fly, and tried to escape in all directions; and my staff
began to fire upon them. One of them galloped up so
close to me, without knowing me, as to touch my knee
violently with his hand. He had a spear in his hand
at the charge, but it was with the other hand that he
touched me. At first, I thought it was one of my




26'3               NAPOLEON.
own staff who was riding roughly by me; but looking
round, I perceived it was one of the enemy. I put my
hand down to draw out one of my pistols to fire at him,
but he was gone. That day I drew my sword, which
was a circumstance that rarely occurred, as I gained
battles with my eye and not with my arms." The same
evening several Prussian officers were made prisoners,
and among them young Hardenberg, the nephew of
the chancellor of Prussia; he stated that, when taken,
he was in the midst of the staff, and that Blucher him-.
self was by his side, who thus escaped not less narrowly
than Napoleon had done.
At daybreak on the 30th, the French were in possession of Brienne, and Napoleon lodged in the castle
which looked out over the scene of his youthful studies.
On the 31st, Prince Schwartzenberg and Marshal
Blucher advanced with their combined troops and offered battle on the plain between Bar-sur-l'Aube and
Brienne. As the principal retreat was over the bridge
at Lesmont, which was broken, Napoleon could not
avoid the engagement. His plans had therefore been
defeated by the rapid concentration of the Prussian and
Austrian armies; and he was obliged to meet a hundred thousand with a force of half the size.  The battle
took place on the Ist of February. The French right
under General Gerard, defended the village of Dienville on the banks of the Aube; the centre consisted
of Victor's corps at Chaumeuil and Giberie, and the
young guard at La Rothiere; while Marmont was on
the left at Morvilliers. On the part of the allies, the
right consisted of Wrede's Bavarian troops; the centre
was formed by the Wiirtembergers, and Sacken's corps,
with the Russian guard in reserve; on the left toward




THE EMPIRE.                263
the river was the Austrian corps of Giulay.  In the
centre where the battle raged with the greatest fury,
Napoleon commanded in person on the one side, and
the allied sovereigns were present on the other.  The
conflict was continued with the utmost obstinacy until
night put an end to the engagement: the army retained
nearly the same positions it had held in the morning,
but the enemy enjoyed a decided superiority, and a
little more confidence would have made them masters
of the field. Napoleon determined to retreat toward
Troyes. Marmont's corps keeping Wrede's corps at
bay, retired along the right bank of the Aube to Arcis;
and the rest of the army defiled across the bridge of
Lesmont which had been rapidly repaired, and retired
in some confusion to Troyes, where they joined Mortier's corps. The enemy made no attempt to follow
the retiring columns; Napoleon, with his troops disappointed and dispirited, took up his position on the
3d at Troyes.
Here he received despatches from  Caulaincourt,
which announced the opening of the congress at Chatillon on the 4th of February: and so desperate at this
moment did the affairs of the emperor seem, that on the
5th, he sent Caulaincourt a carte blatnche, to conclude
the negotiations upon any terms by which the capital
might be saved, and a battle avoided. On the following day, Napoleon having given his troops three days'
rest at Troyes, determined to evacuate that city, and
draw nearer to Paris. Having up to the last moment
made demonstrations of resuming the offensive, which so
impressed the enemy along the Aube that they fell back
a day's march, he retired on the night of the 6th to the
village of Gres, and on the 7th arrived at Nogent.




264                NAPOLEON.
Here despatches were received from  Chatillon, announcing that the allies dissented from the basis proposed at Frankfort, and required France to retire within her own limits. The emperor having read these
communications, shut himself up in his room, and seemed lost in melancholy reflection. Berthier and Murat
went to him; he handed them the paper, and when
they had perused it, an interval of silence ensued.
But the allies demanded an immediate answer: the
courier waited; and Berthier and Murat entreated him
to give a favorable reply. " How," he exclaimed with
warmth, " can you wish me to sign a treaty which would
violate the solemn oath which I have taken to maintain
the integrity of the territory of the republic? Unexampled misfortunes wrung from me a promise to renounce the conquests which I myself have made: but
shall I relinquish those which were made before me!
after all the blood that has been shed, and all the victories
that have been gained, shall I leave France less than I
found her? Never! I should deserve to be branded as
a coward! What would the French people think of
me if I were to sign their humiliation? What could
I say to the republicans of the senate, when they demanded their barriers of the Rhine? Heaven preserve
me from such degradation! Despatch an answer to
Caulaincourt, if you will; but tell him that I reject the
treaty. I would rather encounter the most terrible
war!" Such were the first passions of this proud
spirit when the truth of his weakness was thus forced
upon him in its bitterness: but his attendants afterward
obtained permission to write to Caulaincourt on terms
which authorized him to continue the negotiation.
# But victory and hope were yet again to illuminate




THE EMPIRE.                265
the fortunes of the emperor. Napoleon had an inexhaustible resource in the errors of his antagonists; and
that superiority of his genius over theirs which accident had obscured at Brienne, was once more to be
illustrated in transcendent splendor. After the battle
of Brienne, Blucher and Schwartzenberg had again
separated their armies; the former to advance along
the Marne, and the latter along the Seine. Blucher
concentrated his forces between Chalons and Arcis
with his characteristic impetuosity, and rushed onward
to the capital. Macdonald who had arrived from Liege
was now at Chalons, and the hopes of overwhelming him,
hastened the movements of the Prussian commander.
Yorck entered Chalons on the 5th of February, and
Macdonald retired toward Epernay, and as Blucher
advanced by forced marches through Brie Champenoise,
he retreated to La Ferte-sous-Jouarre. While the
French marshal was thus falling back upon Meaux,
the Prussians were extended from Chalons to La Fert6,
marching in perfect confidence, intent only on reaching
Paris before the allies. But the eagle eye of the hero
of Italy was upon them, and they were to pay dearly
for their rashness. Napoleon determined to march
suddenly across the country, fall upon the Prussian
flank and destroy it in detail. When Murat presented
himself again to submit the despatches which he had
prepared for Chatillon, he found the emperor poring
over his maps with the compasses in his hand. " Oh!
here you are," said he: "but I am now thinking of
something very different. I am beating Blucher on
the map. He is advancing by the road of Montmirail:
I shall set out and beat him to-morrow. On the following day I shall beat him again. If this movement
VoL.. T.-23




266                 NAPOLEON.
should turn out as successfully as I expect, the state
of affairs will be entirely changed, and we shall then
see what can be done.
The Prussian troops, about the 8th, and 9th, and 10th
of February, were in the following positions: Sacken's
corps, passing through Montmirail, were near to La
Ferte-sous-Jouarre, and Yorck was moving on the highway through Chateau Thierry toward Montmirail; a
day's march behind Sacken, the Russian Alsufieff was
at Champaubert, where he was directed to remain until
further orders; Blucher himself was at Vertus waiting
for Kleist's corps, which was coming up through ChaIons. Napoleon was at Nogent, twelve leagues off, on
their left, and separated from them by crossroads almost
impassable. To march suddenly across from the Seine
through Sezanne, to fall perpendicularly upon these detached corps, and cut them in pieces in detail, was a
conception worthy of the surpassing fame of the emperor, and its execution was accomplished with all the
energy of his character. Leaving Victor at Nogent,
and Oudinot at Bray-sur-Seine, to keep the Austrians
in check, and act as a curtain to conceal his own movement, he moved off to Sezanne on the night of the 8th
and morning of the 9th. Marmont, who commanded
the advanced-guard, found the road so bad that he
turned back; but Napoleon immediately compelled
him to resume his march. Double the usual number
of horses were put in requisition, and the difficulties of
the passage were overcome. On the morning of the
10th, Marmont, accompanied by Napoleon in person,
passed the defiles of Saint-Gond, and drove the enemy
from Baye; and in the afternoon the army arrived at
the village of Champaubert, debouched on the high



THE EMPIRE.                267
road of Chalons, and attacking in front and flank Alsufieff's corps of about five thousand Russians, who rallied
with great spirit, speedily defeated and routed them.
Some fled toward Montmirail, and were pursued by
Nansouty's cavalry; others retreated on Etoges and
Chalons, and were followed by Marmont. In this brilliant engagement, Alsufieff was captured, three thousand
Russians were killed, wounded, or made prisoners, and
thirty pieces of cannon taken; while the French lost
but six hundred. The most splendid hopes were inspired by this first success of the grand plan which the
emperor's genius had contrived. He wrote at once
to Caulaincourt, to acquaint him that a great change
had taken place in his affairs, and that the plenipotentiary might assume a less humble attitude at the congress.
The emperor established his headquarters in a cottage on the road, at the corner of the principal street
of Champaubert. Here the enemy's officers who had
been made prisoners were introduced to him, and politely entertained. Supping that evening with Berthier,
Marmont, and his prisoner Alsufieff, Napoleon, in the
highest spirits, exclaimed: " Another such victory as
this, gentlemen, and I shall be on the Vistula." There
was no response from the marshals, and their countenances showed that they did not share his hopes. " I
see how it is," said he; "every one is growing tired
of war: there is no more enthusiasm; the sacred fire
is extinct." He then rose and advanced toward General Drouot, with the obvious design of conveying a
censure upon the coldness of his marshals: " General,"
said he, patting him on the shoulder, " we only want
a hundred men like you, and we should succeed."




268               NAPOLEON.
" Rather," said Drouot, with modesty and good principle-" rather say a hundred thousand, sire."
Leaving Marmont to check Blucher, Napoleon the
next day, with the rest of the army, set out to fall upon
Sacken, who had passed Montmirail, and Yorck, who
had gone through Chateau-Thierry. The latter was
already within sight of the steeples of Meaux, and the
former was at La Ferte; but upon the first intelligence
of the affair of Champaubert, they hastily fell back
toward Montmirail.  The French advanced-guard, as
it was issuing out of that city on the morning of the
11th, encountered them on the Paris road, and a sanguinary engagement ensued. At three in the afternoon,
Mortier with the old guard, which had remained behind, arrived by the direct road from Sezanne to Montmirail; and Napoleon gave orders for a general and
decisive attack. Ney and Mortier on the right, at the
head of the guard, carried the Ferme-des-Grenaux,
round which the enemy were strongly established; and
on the left, Bertrand and Marshal Lefebvre were about
driving them back from the village of Marchais, when
they abandoned their attempt to force a passage through
Montmirail, and retired across the fields toward Chateau-Thierry, in the hopes of joining Blucher by the
Chalons road. They were vigorously pursued during
the 12th, cut off from Chalons, and obliged to throw
themselves into Chateau-Thierry, where they were dispersed and sabred in the very avenues of the place, and
many were followed by 1Mortier on the road to Soissons.
The entire loss of these two corps on the 11th and 12th
was about six thousand men, besides a number of guns
and standards. Meanwhile, Blucher, who had summoned to his aid the corps of Kleist and Langeron,




THE EMPIRE.               269
was driving in Marmont from Champaubert, and Napoleon on the afternoon of the 13th sent his army across
from Chateau-Thierry to aid him against Blucher, and
he himself, having given his directions for the defence
of the Marne, mounted his horse at midnight to rejoin
Marmont.  That marshal, retiring before Blucher,
reached Vauchamps on the morning of the 14th, where
his whole corps faced about and took a position on
the plain. The troops under Napoleon now arrived,
and the enemy saw the whole French army deployed
in order of battle behind Marmont. At eight in the
morning, the shouting announced the arrival of the
emperor, and the battle began. Blucher soon perceived that a retreat was inevitable; but the road toward Champaubert was occupied by the cavalry under
Grouchy, and it was necessary to cut his way through
them. The retiring movements were conducted with
heroic valor and coolness; but the charges of cavalry
broke the squares that formed, and the retreat soon became an absolute flight.  Several times during the
evening, Blucher, surrounded by his staff, defended
himself with his sabre, and escaped only by favor of
the darkness. Marmont pursued him the whole night;
and he continued his retreat until, on the afternoon of
the 15th, he reached Chalons and was protected by the
Marne. Blucher's loss in this calamitous affair was
about seven thousand, besides a number of guns and
standards. Thus his whole army had, by these splendid operations of the emperor, been, in five days, routed
and driven behind the Marne, with the loss of more than
twenty thousand men. On the night of the 15th, Napoleon despatched three bulletins to Paris, announcing
the events of this glorious week; and the news was
23*




270                NAPOLEON.
soon followed by a column of eight thousand Russian
and Prussian prisoners, who defiled on the Boulevards
before the eyes of the Parisians.
But the presence of Napoleon had now become necessary on the Seine, which Schwartzenberg had succeeded in passing. Leaving, therefore, Mortier and
Marmont to deal with the Prussians, he passed over to
Meaux with the imperial guard and Macdonald's corps
on the night of the 15th, and sent word to Oudinot and
Victor, that on the next day, the 16th, he would debouch in the rear by Guignes. Affairs in that direction
were sufficiently alarming. The grand Austrian army
had forced the bridges of Nogent, Bray, and Montereau, and had advanced on Nangis; and its advancedguard, consisting of Wrede's Bavarians and Wittgenstein's Russians, was entering La Brie: on the other
side of the Seine, Sens had been carried, Bianchi's
Austrian corps was advancing on Fontainebleau, and
Platoff's Cossacks were ravaging the country between
the Yonne and the Loire. During the 16th, Oudinot
and Victor, strongly pursued by the enemy, were maintaining themselves at Guignes, and keeping possession
of the road to Chaulnes, by which Napoleon was expected to arrive. The emperor in the morning of the
16th quitted Meaux, and passing through Crecy and
Fontenay, established his headquarters at Guignes in
the evening. His presence at once checked the advance of the allies, and charged his own retiring and
dismayed columns with strength and confidence. On
the morning of the 17th, the welcome reinforcement of
Treillard's dragoons arrived from Spain; and the army
moved forward in a concentrated body of above fifty
thousand toward Nangis, driving the divided forces of




THE EMPIRE.                271
the enemy before them. Wittgenstein's advanced-guard
retiring on Nogent, were furiously assailed by Oudinot,
who was accompanied by Napoleon, and at Nangis were
utterly routed, with the loss of three thousand killed and
made prisoners: Macdonald chased the enemy toward
Bray; General Gerard drove the Bavarians at the point
of the sword beyond Villeneuve-le-Comte; and Victor
pushed forward to Montereau, with orders to carry the
bridge that evening.  The emperor slept at the castle
of Nangis, and the imperial guard bivouacked around
that village. The same evening Count Parr arrived
with a message from Prince Schwartzenberg, proposing
a suspension of hostilities; and Napoleon took advantage of this opening to address a letter to the emperor
of Austria, with a view of instituting negotiations more
advantageously than those which were going on at Chatillon. At the same time, he wrote to Caulaincourt,
informing him that the carte blanche which he had given
him was for the purpose of saving the capital and preventing a battle; that Paris was now saved, and the
battle fought and won; and, therefore, that his extraordinary powers were at an end, and the future negotiations must follow the usual course. A new military
success was destined to raise the emperor's prospects
still higher.
On the night of the 17th, Victor's corps, through
fatigue, had not been able to reach Montereau in time
to seize the bridge: the Wiirtemberg troops were already in possession of it, and in occupation of the town.
On the morning of the 18th, Napoleon advanced to that
place with his imperial guard; and at the same time,
the Bretagne national guard and Pajol's cavalry were
ordered to approach it by the Melun road. Victor at



272                NAPOLEON.
tacked with great spirit, but without success, and his
son-in-law, General Chateau, was killed at the first onset. Gerard came up to his support, and the engagement was proceeding with vigor, when Napoleon arrived
with the imperial guard on the heights of Surville,
which command the confluence of the Seine and Yonne
and look down upon Montereau. Batteries were mounted with the artillery of the guard, and a tempest of balls
hurled down on the Wiirtemberg troops below. Napoleon himself pointed the guns and directed the firing.
The enemy directed their fire to the spot, in hopes of
dismounting the batteries; but their balls hissed like
the wind over the heights of Surville. Napoleon's soldiers began to fear that he might incur some risk:
" Come on, my brave fellows," he cried, " fear nothing; the ball that is to kill me is not yet cast."  The
firing proceeded with redoubled quickness: not a window in the castle of Surville escaped. Under cover
of these furious discharges, the Bretagne guards established themselves in the suburbs, and General Pajol
carried the bridge by a charge of cavalry, so rapidly
that the enemy had not time to blow up a single arch;
and the Wurtemberg troops retired in confusion toward
Troyes. The loss of the enemy in this battle, which
was one of the most brilliant of the campaign, was
about five thousand killed and made prisoners, and the
French loss was nearly three thousand. The tardiness
of Victor on the night before, which had rendered this
engagement necessary, excited the wrath of Napoleon,
who removed him from the command of his corps and
gave it to Gerard.
On the night of the 18th, Napoleon slept at the castle of Surville, and on the following day sent orders to




THE EMPIRE.               273
all the corps of the army to harass the enemy continually during their retreat, and to pursue them on to
Troyes. Gerard, with Victor's troops, marched upon
Bianchi's Austrians, which were precipitately returning
from Fontainebleau by Sens: the guard swept the defenders of Montereau along between the Saone and
Yonne; and Macdonald and Oudinot clearing the right
bank of the Seine, advanced on Bray and Nogent. On
the 20th, the emperor with the main body of his forces
proceeded up the left bank of the Seine, breakfasting
at Bray, in the house which the emperor of Russia had
quitted the day before, and reaching Nogent in the
evening where Oudinot's corps arrived at the same
time from Provins. On the 22d, Napoleon renewed
his march in pursuit of the enemy to Troyes: and the
allies were thrown into the utmost confusion during
their retreat. With forty thousand Frenchmen, he
was driving a hundred thousand men before him. On
the morning of the 23d, Prince Wentzel Lichtenstein,
an aide-de-camp of Swartzenberg, presented himself at
headquarters with a conciliatory and polite letter from
the emperor of Austria, in answer to that which Napoleon had written him from Nangis on the 17th. Napoleon informed the messenger that he would, next day,
send a French general to the advanced posts to negotiate for the armistice: and he himself in the afternoon
hastened on to Troyes which was still held by the
Russian rear-giuard. Unwilling to injure the town by
an assault, he agreed to remain without the walls during
the night; and at daybreak on the 24th, he entered the
town with the first troops. On the following days, the
enemy's headquarters had fallen back to Colornbey:
the Russian guard had retreated to Langries, and Lich



274                NAPOLEON.
tenstein's corps to Dijon: the allied sovereigns had retired to Chaumont, and the French troops were taking
possession of Lusigny.  Meanwhile, on the 24th,
another aide-de-camp had arrived from Schwartzenberg, proposing Lusigny near Vandouvres, for the
meeting of the generals intrusted with the negotiation
of the armistice, and announcing the appointment of
General Duca, as commissioner for Austria, Rauch,
for Prussia, and Schouvaloff, for Russia. Napoleon
immediately named his aide-de-camp, Flahaut, commissioner, and the conferences opened on the 25th, at
Lusigny.
Such were the splendid and astonishing results which
in the fortnight had elapsed since Napoleon's transverse
movement from Nogent, had placed the highest lustre
of military glory upon the brow of this matchless chief.
By a series of operations, whose conception illustrates
the profoundest reach of science, and whose execution
was marked by an energy almost beyond mortal compass, he had thrice defeated the army of Blucher, and
hurled him back from the capital in utter confusion and
with dreadful loss. The grand army of allied Europe,
accompanied by three sovereigns, had fled from his
presence, twice had felt his destructive blows, and now
was suing for a suspension of hostilities. Equal to the
Italian campaign, superior to all else that is recorded in
the annals of the earth, it is to these operations that the
military student may point in justification of that enthusiasm of admiration which must ever be felt for this
commander, by every one who explores and can appreciate these prodigies of strategy.
The remaining operations of the campaign are not
inferior in brilliance and vigor; but they want the daz —




THE EMPIRE.                275
zle of success to give them interest in the popular eye,
and they will therefore be traced in a more summary
manner. While the Austrians were thus engaging the
attention of Napoleon, the indomitable Blucher had
rallied and concentrated his forces, and had advanced
to the left bank of the Aube, to join Schwartzenberg
for the defence of Troyes. Finding himself too late
for his purpose, he determined once more to march directly on Paris, and accordingly recovering the line of
the Marne, he swept furiously along down both the
banks: and at the same time Bulow's and Winzingerode's corps, of the army of the north, pressed down
around Soissons. Marmnont, driven on the 24th, from
Sezanne, and Mortier repelled from Soissons, and
Chateau-Thierry, united at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre on
the 26th, and retired together toward Meaux.  Napoleon received intelligence of this on the night of the
26th, and all his plans were changed at once. Leaving Oudinot and Macdonald before Troyes, he set out
on the morning of the 27th, by Arcis-sur-l'Aube and
Sezanne for La Ferte: and sent information of his
movements to the marshals who were beyond that place.
His object was, to encircle Blucher at that place, on
the left bank of the Marne, and destroy him as by a clap
of thunder. The Prussian chief, however, became apprized of the design in time to escape: he suddenly
crossed the Marne, and destroyed the bridge behind
him, and when Napoleon reached the heights of Jouarre
on the 28th of February, he looked down with infinite
vexation upon the prize which had escaped his grasp,
and was safely established on the opposite bank of the
river. But he would not yet abandon the pursuit; the
bridges were repaired, and the army crossed on the




276               NAPOLEON.
the night of the second of March. Blucher retreated
toward the north. Napoleon hoped to hem him in by
the Aisne, and to surround himr in the direction of
Soissons, where Mortier had left a French garrison,
and compel him to lay down his arms. Accordingly
launching Mortier and Marmont forward on the left, he
himself moved rapidly upon Chateau-Thierry, and
Blucher seemed to be within his grasp, when the drawbridges of Soissons were lowered and the Prussians
marched in. The French garrison had surrendered
the day before to Bulow and Winzingerode, who had
approached it from Belgium; and they now received
the flying troops of Blucher. Thus were these laborious marches of Napoleon, finely conceived and managed, foiled of success in the very moment of execution.
Neither terrified nor disheartened, Napoleon now prepared to advance against the army of the north. On
the night of the 4th of March, General Corbineau was
sent to occupy Rheims, and on the 5th, headquarters
were established at Bery-au-bac, where the road from
Rheims to Laon crosses the Aisne. On the 6th, the
army advanced toward Laon, but halted at Corbeny.
The Russian corps of Winzingerode and Woronzoff
had taken a position on the heights of Craonne, in order
to give time to Blucher to retire from Soissons to Laon,
On the 7th, at daybreak, the sanguinary engagement
of Craonne began: after a fierce contest the enemy
were driven back and pursued to Laon, but Victor,
Grouchy, who commanded all the cavalry, and Nansouty, who led the cavalry of the guard, were wounded.
Just after this battle, intelligence arrived from Caulaincourt that the allies peremptorily insisted on the




THE EMPIRE.                277
terms of France retiring within her ancient limits, and
required an answer in three days. " If I am to receive
a flogging," said Napoleon, " it is not my business to
expose myself voluntarily to it: the least I can do is to
have it applied by force." He sent, therefore, no answer to this demand, but directed Caulaincourt to prolong the negotiations as much as possible.
The army advanced toward Laon, and a detachment
was sent to take possession of Soissons and to effect a
junction with Mortier, who had not crossed the Aisne.
On the 8th, Flahaut arrived from Lusigny with intelligence that the commissioners had separated without
anything being accomplished. On the following day,
Blucher, who had rallied all his Russians and Prussians, and had been joined by Bernadotte's advancedguard, drew up his forces in battle array in front of
Laon, which is situated on an elevated peak: Bulow's
corps was in the centre, Kleist's and Yorck's corps on
the left, and Langeron's, Sacken's, and Winzingerode's
on the right. Napoleon's army, also, was arranged for
an engagement on the following day: Ney, Mortier,
and the imperial guard, were stationed on the Soissons
road, and Marmont, who had crossed the Aisne by
Bery-au-bac, halted for the night at Corbeny, and debouched on Laon by the Rheims road. Orders were
issued for an attack at daybreak on the following day,
and everything indicated a sanguinary and decisive
battle. It was prevented by the surprise and destruction of Marmont's corps by the Prussians during the
night. On the 10th, at four in the morning, Napoleon
had drawn on his boots and called for his horse, when
two dragoons, who had arrived on foot in the greatest
disorder, were brought to him. They stated that a
VOL. T. -24




278                NAPOLEON.
hours had been made on Marmont's bivouacs during
the night; that the marshal was either killed or taken;
and that everything was lost in that quarter. Napoleon
ordered all his officers immediately to mount their horses; and some rode to the advanced-guard to suspend
the attack, while others hastened to obtain information.
It was soon ascertained that, though Marmont had not
been killed, his entire corps had been cut to pieces and
dispersed during the night, and that a great number of
cannon had been lost. All idea of a battle was now at
an end, though a combat took place in the village of
Clacy, which Charpentier's division held. The army
retired to Soissons in the afternoon and evening of the
10th, and Napoleon passed the 11th and 12th there
in providing for its fortification and defence. On the
night of the 12th-13th, intelligence arrived that the
Russian corps of Saint-Priest, which had manceuvred
by Chalons, had advanced to Rheims, defeated Corbineau, and occupied the city. Leaving Mortier at Soissons, Napoleon took the road to Rheims on the 13th,
and arrived before the gates the same evening, and immediately ordered an attack. The enemy defended
themselves with resolution; and the engagement lasted
the whole evening and part of the night. At length the
enemy's general was dangerously wounded and carried
off, and his troops retired. Napoleon entered Rheims
at one o'clock in the morning.
But the occurrences on the Seine were now urgently
demanding the emperor's attention. On the 27th, the
very day on which he had set out for the north, the
allies had advanced and engaged Macdonald and Oudinot at Bar-sur-l'Aube - a sanguinary battle, in which
Wittgenstein and Schwartzenberg were wounded, blt




THE E:MPIRE.              279
which resulted in the retreat of the marshals to Troyes.
The Austrian army then made a general movement
forward toward Paris. Macdonald and Oudinot evacuated Troyes on the 4th of March: they attempted
afterward to stop the enemy at the passage of the Seine
at Nogent, but there existed no prospect of their being
able to check their progress. Intelligence of the alarming movements which Schwartzenberg's army was making reached Napoleon at Rheims; and he instantly
resolved to march across the country and debouch upon
the rear of the enemy. Leaving Mortier and Marmont
at Soissons and Rheims, with orders to defend the road
to Paris, foot by foot, against the masses of Russians,
Prussians, and Swedes, that were pressing upon it, he
marched with Ney's corps and the guard, on the morning of the 17th, through Epernay and La Fere-Champenoise to Mery and Chatres on the Seine, where he
arrived on the 19th.  This movement would have
brought him upon the allied rear; but intelligence had
reached them of the defeat of Saint-Priest at Rheims,
and of Napoleon's intention to return to the Seine, and
they had immediately fallen back, by a general retreat,
from Provins, Nogent, and Sezanne, to Troyes and
Arcis. Thus his return had again delivered Paris;
but the very terror which his presence inspired, had
defeated his object of taking his opponents in the flank
and rear.  He effected a junction with Macdonald
and Oudinot, and then reascended the Aube as far
as Bar.
The operations of Napoleon had now shown that, so
long as the different armies of invasion acted separately
from each other, it was in his power to prevent any one
of them from reaching his capital. A council of the




2S0                NAPOLEON.
allied sovereigns confessed a conclusion so complimentary to the genius of their opponent, by resolving
to effect a junction with Blucher on the plains of Chaions, and to march together upon Paris. Schwartzenberg was now moving by Arcis to execute this arrangement, when Napoleon arrived there on the 20th.
Thinking that he was dealing with a rear-guard or a
detached corps, his advanced-guard became engaged,
and a heavy cannonade began. He hastened to the
scene of action, and sent successively for all his troops;
the allies augmented their forces still more, and Napoleon found that he had their whole army upon his
hands. A furious engagement of artillery ensued. He
was personally exposed to the greatest danger. Enveloped in the dust of cavalry charges, says Baron
Fain, he was obliged to extricate himself sword in
hand: he fought several times at the head of his escort,
and seemed to defy the perils of the battle: a shell having fallen at his feet, he awaited the explosion, and
quickly disappeared in a cloud of dust and smoke: he
was thought to have been killed, but he got again upon
his legs, threw himself on another horse, and went to
expose himself once more to the fire of the batteries.
Rallying under the walls of Arcis, the French maintained themselves till night against the allied army,
which surrounded it in a semicircle.  On the mornino
of the 21st, another bridge was thrown over the Aube,
and a retreat began.  The action, however, was renewed along the whole line; but such was the vigor
with which the French repelled the attack, that they
succeeded in repassing the Aube in an orderly manner.
Napoleon then abandoned the road to the capital, and
directed his retreat toward Vitry-le-Franqais and Saint



THE EMPIRE.               281
Dizier, for the purpose of placing himself upon the communications and rear of the two great armies.
His hope was to draw the allies away from Paris,
and throw them into a new system of operations. This
was disappointed, and the game, which his profound
combinations had so wonderfully protracted, brought to
a sudden termination by the bold resolution now taken
by the allies, to leave Napoleon and advance at all
risks to Paris. On the 23d, when Napoleon was at
Saint-Dizier, where he was joined by Caulaincourt, the
congress at Chatillon having broken up, Blucher and
Schwartzenberg approaching one another, had effected
a junction between Chalons and Arcis. Mortier and
MIarmont having marched by Chateau-Thierry to FereChampenoise, to communicate with Napoleon, were
there defeated on the 25th of March, and thereafter
thought only of protecting the capital. These two
marshals fell rapidly back, narrowly escaped being cut
off at Fert6-Gaucher by the Prussian corps which was
marching by Soissons, and reached the city on the 28th.
The allies, following in a resistless host, beheld the walls
of the capital on the evening of the 29th. A brave defence, however, was still to be made; but the battle of
Paris on the 30th, and the surrender of the city on the
evening of the same day, will be more fully related in
the life of Marmont.
On the afternoon of the 28th, the intelligence which
Napoleon received at Doulevent induced him to return
to Paris. If the city could hold out but a single day,
he might fall upon the rear of the allied armies and
relieve the capital. Early on the 29th, he left Doulevent, and arrived at Troyes that night, the imperial
guard having marched fifteen leagues that day. From
24*




2S2                 NAPOLEON.
Doulevent, where he received fresh intelligence, he
despatched General Dejean, his aide-de-camp, to announce his return to the Parisians. From Troyes,
fresh messengers were sent with the same tidings. On
the morning of the 30th, he marched with his guard as
far as Villeneuve-sur-Vannes, and then, being no longer
doubtful about the security of the road, he threw himself into a postchaise, and urging the postillions with
the most fiery impatience, he advanced with extraordinary rapidity. In changing horses, intelligence was
successively received, that the empress and her son
had left Paris, that the enemy was at the gates, and that
the attack had commenced. Napoleon was wild with
eagerness to arrive within his capital. At ten at night,
he was only five leagues from Paris; but at Fromenteau, just as fresh horses were putting to the chaise, he
learnt that all was over. Paris had just surrendered;
and he had arrived a few hours too late. He alighted
on the left bank of the river, and having despatched
Caulaincourt with full powers to ascertain whether it
was still possible for him to interpose in the treaty,
waited in the darkness, with a few attendants, the issue
of the mission. At four in the morning, a courier arrived from Caulaincourt to announce that no hope
remained: the capitulation had been signed two hours
after midnight, and the allies were to enter Paris the
same morning. Napoleon immediately turned back,
and at six o'clock in the morning of the 31st of March
entered Fontainebleau.  In the evening, Moncey, Lefebvre, Ney, Macdonald, Oudinot, Berthier, Mortier,
and Marmont, arrived at his headquarters; and the remains of the army assembled around Fontainebleau.
On the 31st, at noon, the emperor Alexander and




THE EMPIRE.                283
the king of Prussia entered Paris; and on the 1st of
April, the senate, at their dictation, established the provisional government. Napoleon still had an army of
fifty thousand men beside him, and was desirous of
marching on Paris; but the coldness and disinclination
of his marshals checked and paralyzed his efforts. On
the following day, the senatus consultum was adopted,
dethroning Napoleon and absolving all persons from allegiance to him. On the 4th of April, Napoleon executed an act of abdication in favor of his son, and of a
regency by the empress, which he sent to the allies, as
is more fully related in the life of Macdonald. On the
same night, intelligence arrived of the defection of
Marmont with the army; which seemed to render the
emperor's position hopeless, and to place him at the
mercy of his enemies.  But his spirit and his hopes
were not yet exhausted.  Soult's army at Toulouse,
Suchet's from Catalonia, Augereau's at Lyons, Eugene's in Italy, remained, and he thought of combining
them in one mass and again resuming the field. The
horrors of a civil war were then depicted to him by the
marshals and generals around him: "Well," said he,
" if I must renounce the hope of defending France,
does not Italy offer a retreat worthy of me? Will you
follow me once more across the Alps?" This proposal was received in profound silence.  " If at this moment," says Baron Fain, "Napoleon had quitted his
saloon, and entered the hall of the secondary officers,
he would have found a host of young men eager to
follow wheresoever he might lead them: but a step
further, and he would have been greeted at the foot of'
the stairs by the acclamations of all his troops."  Napo.
leon declared that he had been subdued less by hi~




284                 NAPOLEON.
enemies than by the defection of his friends.  On the
11th of April, he executed an unconditional abdication,
in the following terms: " The allied powers having
proclaimed that the emperor is the only obstacle to the
re-establishment of the peace of Europe, the emperor,
faithful to his oath, renounces for himself and his heirs,
the thrones of France and Italy, and declares that there
is no sacrifice, not even that of life, which he is not
ready to make for the interests of France." This was
no sooner carried by Caulaincourt to the allies, than
Napoleon became dissatisfied with the step he had
taken, and despatched courier after courier to recall it.
But it was too late. His dignity, however, was fully
maintained in the arrangements which followed; for it
was by a treaty with the allied sovereigns in his character
of emperor, that the dispositions were made by which
he departed for Elba. The treaty was signed at Paris
on the 11th of April by the plenipotentiaries of both
sides, and ratified by himself on the 13th. It was stipulated by this treaty that the emperor renounced, for
himself and his successors, all right of sovereignty and
dominion over the French empire and the kingdom of
Italy, as well as over every other country; that their
majesties, the emperor Napoleon and Maria Louisa,
should retain their titles and rank during life; that the
isle of Elba, adopted by his majesty the emperor Napoleon as his place of residence, should form during his
life a separate principality, to be possessed by him in
full sovereignty and property; and that he should receive an annual revenue of two millions of francs in
rent charge in the great book of France; and that he
should be allowed to take with him and retain, as his
guard, four hundred men. Napoleon now enjoined his




THE EMPIRE.               2S5
followers to submit to the new government —not to the
provisional government, which he regarded merely as a
committee of traitors and factious men, but to the Bourbon family, which he thenceforth consented to acknowledge as the rallying point of the French people.
Fontainebleau was soon nearly deserted. Commissioners on the part of the allied sovereigns were to
accompany Napoleon, and eight days elapsed before
their arrival. Napoleon passed the time nearly alone.
All had hastened to make their peace with the new
powers. Marshals of his appointment-dukes of his
creation-ministers of state, whom he had raised to
distinction -friends, whom he had laden with benefits
- all were " gone to salute the rising morn." Napoleon, divested now of power and influence, had withdrawn to a corner of the palace, and only now and
then quitted his apartment to walk in the garden.
Whenever he heard the rolling of carriage-wheels in
the courtyard, he would inquire whether Berthier, or
some of his old ministers, had not arrived to bid him
farewell. He fully expected that there were some
persons who would render him this last testimony of
attachment: but no one appeared. Caulaincourt, duke
of Vicenza, and Maret, duke of Bassano, were the only
ministers who remained with him and treated him with
respect and consideration.
If any have refuised the tribute of applause to the
conduct of Napoleon in his days of gladness and triumph, none can withhold their respect and sympathy
from the stern dignity and unabated pride with which
he sustained the terrible calamities which were now
precipitated upon him. It is impossible not to admire
the fierce vigor with which he met, and hurled back,




286                NAPOLEON.
the shafts of insult which, in the hour of his gloom,
were showered upon him by " senates once his slaves."
After the adoption of the senatus consultum, and Marmont's defection, Napoleon published an address to the
army, which contained the following remarks in relation
to the body which had once fawned upon him with so
nuch servility:" The senate has presumed to dispose of the French
government; but it forgets that it owes to the emperor
the power which it now abuses. The emperor saved
one half of the members of the senate from the storms
of the revolution; he raised the other half from obscurity, and protected them against the hatred of the people. These men avail themselves of the articles of the
constitution as grounds for its subversion. The senate
blushes not to reproach the emperor, unmindful that,
as the first body in the state, it has participated in every
public measure.   *    *    *    *    *
" The emperor has ever been accessible to the remonstrances of his ministers, and he, therefore, expected
from them the most complete justification of the measures which he adopted. If public speeches and addresses received the coloring of enthusiasm, the emperor
was deceived; but those who held this language must
blame themselves for the consequences of their flattery. * * * So long as fortune continued faithful to
their sovereign, these men also remained faithful. If
the emperor despised mankind, as he is said to have
done, the world will now admit that it was not without
reason. His dignity was conferred on him by God and
the people, who alone can deprive him of it: he always
considered it a burden, and when he accepted it, it was
with the conviction that he was able adequately to sus



THE EMPIRE.                2S7
tain it. The happiness of France seemed to be connected with the fate of the emperor: now that fortune
frowns on him, the will of the nation only can induce
him to retain possession of the throne. If he is to be
considered as the only obstacle to peace, he voluntarily
makes the last sacrifice for France. He has, therefore,
sent the prince of the Moskowa and the dukes of Vicenza and Tarento to Paris, to open the negotiation.
The army may be assured, that the honor of the emperor will never be incompatible with the happiness of
France."
The commissioners of the allied powers arrived, and
the 20th of April was fixed for the departure. At noon,
the travelling-carriages drew up in the court at the foot
of the steps: the imperial guard formed in lines; and at
one o'clock, the emperor quitting his apartments, passed
through the thin remains of what once had been the
most thronged and splendid court in Europe. He shook
hands with them all, and, hastily descending the steps,
passed the range of carriages, and approached the imperial guard. Indicating by a gesture that he desired
to speak to them, silence instantly ensued; and amid
the profound stillness of the whole assembly, Napoleon
spoke as follows: " Soldiers of my old guard! I bid
you farewell. During twenty years you have been my
constant companions in the walks of honor and glory.
In our late misfortunes, as well as in the days of our
prosperity, you invariably proved yourselves models
of courage and fidelity. With such men as you, our
cause could never have been lost; but a prolonged
civil war would have ensued, and the miseries of
France would have been protracted. I have, therefore, sacrificed all our interests to those of the country




288                NAPOLEON.
I depart: you, my friends, will remain to serve France,
whose happiness has always been the single subject of
my concern, and will still continue the only object of
my wishes. Do not mourn my fate: if I consent to
live, it is that I may yet contribute to your glory. I
will record the great achievements which we have performed together. Farewell, my companions! I should
desire to press each one of you to my bosom: let me,
at least, embrace your standard!" General Petit then
advanced with the eagle: Napoleon received him in
his arms, and kissed the standard. The deep silence
was interrupted only by the occasional sobs of the soldiers. The emperor, by a powerful effort, subdued
the emotion by which he was agitated, and then added,
in a firm voice: " Once more, farewell, my old comrades!  Let this last kiss be imprinted on all your
hearts!" He then rushed from amid the group that
surrounded him, threw himself into the carriage where
General Bertrand had already taken his seat, and drove
instantly off along the road to Lyons, escorted by the
troops.
During his journey to Frejus, the emperor met with
many evidences of the fickleness of popular feeling;
for in some places he barely escaped with his life, where
fifteen years before he was hailed as the savior of the
country. In a moment of dejection, he said: " I now
renounce the political world for ever; I shall henceforth feel no interest about anything that may happen.
I will devote myself to science. I was right, never to
esteem mankind: but France, and the French people
-what ingratitude! I am disgusted with ambition,
and wish to rule no longer." On the 28th of April, he
sailed for Elba in an English frigate, and landed soon




THE EMPIRE.                289
after at Porto Ferrajo. By a singular coincidence in
time, the only heart in the world, perhaps, that truly
loved, and could have soothed, the fallen emperor,
ceased to beat, at the period when all for which he sacrificed her affection was snatched from his possession:
the empress Josephine died at Malmaison on the 2Sth
of May.
In March, 1815, all Europe was electrified by the
intelligence that Napoleon had appeared in the gulf of
St. Juan, on the 1st, and was marching in triumph to
Paris. Accompanied by Bertrand, Drouot, and Cambronne, and about eleven hundred of the old guard, he
had landed near Cannes, and advanced at once to Grenoble. Here, on the 7th, he was met by a considerable body of troops under the command of General
Marchand. Advancing in front of them, he exclaimed,
in a voice tremulous with feeling, " Comrades, do you
know me again? Do you recognise me, my children?
I am your emperor. Fire on me, if you wish; fire
on your father: here is my bosom;" and he bared his
breast. The appeal to the soldiers of Lodi and Austerlitz was irresistible. They rushed from their ranks,
exclaiming, " Vive notre petit Caporal!"-" Vive
l'Empereur!"-they threw themselves at his feet, and
embraced his knees with transports of joy. He entered
Grenoble in triumph, on the same day. This was
conclusive of the success of his enterprise: the fate of
France rested with the army, and the army had declared
for Napoleon. At Lyons, the troops under Ney hailed
the return of their old master with enthusiasm. The
conduct of the various marshals who were sent to oppose him, will be related in the lives of Ney, Macdonald, and Soult. On the 19th, the king left Paris for
Vol I. 1-25




290                NAPOLEON.
Ghent; and on the evening of the following day, Napoleon entered the Tuileries. He was received with a
delirium of joy by his followers, and experienced such
evidences of affection from his friends, as induced him
to speak, at St. Helena, of this day as having been the
most delightful of his life.
Fouche was placed at the head of the police; Cambaceres made minister of justice; Carnot, minister of
the interior; Caulaincourt, minister of foreign affairs;
Maret, secretary of state; and Davoust, minister of war.
Instantly the utmost activity began to prevail in every
department. The allies openly prepared for another
crusade against the disturber of Europe; and he saw
that the appeal to arms must quickly be renewed. He
hoped to be able to attack the English and Prussians
before the more distant armies of Russia and Austria
could reach the scene. With incredible industry and
vigor, the ranks of the various regiments were filled
up; the artillery was reorganized; military supplies of
all kinds were accumulated; and every arrangement
made that could give the cause of the emperor one
more chance in the field of battle. No part of the life
of this wonderful person will be regarded by posterity
with greater wonder and admiration, than the energetic,
earnest, and laborious "hundred days."  On the 7th
of June, the emperor set out to take command of the
army.
The history of the campaign of Waterloo may be
read at large in the life of Grouchy.  Napoleon, after
the defeat, arrived in Paris at four o'clock in the morning of the 21st, having travelled with such rapidity as
to be the first authentic messenger of the disastrous intelligence.




THE EMPIRE.                291
His prospects of power and greatness were now
extinguished for ever: not even a hope remained.
Every party, but especially his ancient enemies the
Jacobins, imperiously demanded, what he executed
on the 21st, a formal abdication: " My political life,"
he says, in that document, " is ended; and I proclaim
my son, under the title of Napoleon the Second, emperor of the French." He immediately retired to Malmaison, and, leaving there on the 29th of June, reached
the harbor of Rochfort on the 3d of July. On the 13th,
he decided to throw himself upon the hospitality of the
British government; and addressed a letter to the prince
regent, in which he said that, like Themistocles, he
came to seat himself by the hearth of the British people. " I put myself," said he, " under the protection
of their laws, which I claim from your royal highness,
as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most
generous of my enemies." On the 14th of July, he
embarked on board the Bellerophon, under Captain
Maitland's command; and after being shown for a fortnight to the British people in Plymouth roads, he was
transferred to the Northumberland, and landed at St.
Helena on the 16th of October.
The career, of which the gigantic outline has thus
been hastily sketched, was now terminated. The sun
of victory and empire, which had once gilded the world
with brightness so transcendent, was set in everlasting
night. The few years that prolonged a life, whose
light was gone for ever, it falls not within the scope of
the present work to trace. In storm his days had past;
in storm they closed.
On the 5th of May, 1821, in the midst of a tremendous tempest, which shook to its foundation the rocky




2`92                NAPOLEON.
isle in which he lay, the elements were dissolved which
had held together upon the earth, the mightiest intellect,
the strongest character, and the most imperious spirit,
that were ever joined in the history of the world. Even
at that last, solemn moment, his thoughts were with the
battle and its stern interests: the last words that fell
from the lips of Napoleon were, " Tgte-armee!"




JEAN-BAPTISTE JOURDAN.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE.
COUNT JOURDAN.
JEAN-BAPTISTE JOURDAN, the son of Roch Jourdan, a surgeon of Limoges, was born at that place on
the 29th of April, 1762. At the age of sixteen, he became a soldier at the dep6t of the Isle of Rhe, and
thence passed into the regiment of Auxerre, in which
situation he served in America, until 1782. In 1791,
at the head of a battalion of volunteers, he was sent to
the army of the north, and, in 1793, became, successively, general of brigade, and general of division. In
the beginning of October, Houchard, having been displaced, tried, and executed, Jourdan was placed at the
head of the army of the north, while the allies, under
Prince Cobourg, were engaged in the siege of Maubeuge.  The youthful general advanced against the
enemy with great vigor and skill, defeated them at the
village of Wattignies, on the 16th of October, and compelled them to raise the siege of Maubeuge, and to retreat. Early in the May of the following year, how
ever, he was superseded by Pichegru, and was ordered
to proceed with a corps of fifteen thousand men, to reinforce the army of the Moselle. This force, amounting in all to forty thousand men, he led, in June, to the
Sambre. At the head of the army of the Sambre and
Meuse, he captured Charleroi, on the 25th of June;
25*




294I       JEAN-BAPTISTE JOURDAN.
and, on the 26th, gained the important victory of
Fleurus, which led to the speedy evacuation of Flanders by the allies. On the 10th of July, Pichegru and
Jourdan united their armies at Brussels. On the 18th
of September, 1794, Jourdan, at the head of the army
of the Sambre and Meuse, attacked Clairfait's troops
and drove them from all their positions on the Meuse.
The French pursued them beyond the Roer, defeated
them, on the 2d of October, at Ruremond, and drove
them entirely beyond the Rhine.  Jourdan entered
Cologne on the 5th of October, and, on the 4th of November, captured Maestricht, and became master of
nearly the whole of the left bank of the Rhine. On
the 6th of September, 1795, Jourdan crossed the Rhine
at Neuwied and Dusseldorf, and soon after invested
Mayence, on the right bank, but being vigorously attacked by Clairfait, in the following month, was obliged
to raise the siege and recross the river.
In the campaign of 1796, the army of the Sambre
and Meuse, under Jourdan, crossed again to the right
bank of the Rhine, at Dusseldorf and Neuwied, in July,
drove Watersleben across the Maine, took Frankfort,
upon which he levied a heavy contribution, and advanced along the river toward Bohemia, occupying
Wurtzburg, Amberg, and Forchiem, and compelling
Watersleben to retire behind the Raab, and at the same
time the army of the Rhine, under Moreau, having
crossed at Kehl, followed the archduke Charles through
the black mountains, across the Lech, into Bavaria.
The Austrian position was now central between these
two armies, and the archduke Charles took advantage
of his situation with something of the vigor and brilliance which Napoleon so often displayed in similar cir



RECEIVES VARIOUS APPOINTMENTS.   295
cumstances. Leaving half of his army at Neulurg,
in the middle of August, to observe, he marched with
the other half, amounting to thirty thousand, to the relief of Watersleben, whom he joined on the Raab, on
the 20th. With this united force, he advanced against
Jourdan, defeated his right wing, commanded by Bernadotte, at Amberg, on the 24th, and signally routed
the whole French army, at Wurtzburg, on the 3d of
September, pursued them with irresistible spirit, and
drove them behind the Rhine, which Jourdan recrossed
on the 20th, at Bonn and Neuwied, having lost twenty
thousand men during this retreat.  Jourdan, finding
that he had lost the confidence of the generals of the
army, resigned his command, and Bournonville succeeded him. Jourdan returned to his native place,
and, in 1797, was elected a member of the council of
five hundred, and was twice made president of that
body. Toward the close of 1798, he was appointed
general-in-chief of the army of the Danube. On the
1st of March, 1799, he crossed the Rhine at Kehl
and Huningen, and advanced into Bavaria; he passed
the Danube, on the 12th, and took up a position between that river and Lake Constance, with his
advanced guard, under Lefebvre, in Ostrach, his
centre at Pfullendorf, his right at Barnsdorf, and his
left, under St. Cyr, at Mengen. He was attacked by
the archduke Charles, on the 21st and 22d of March,
and compelled to retreat to Stockach, where, on the
26th, his left, under St. Cyr, was cut off from the rest,
and the whole army completely defeated. Jourdan immediately retreated, through the Black Forest, to the
Rhine, which he recrossed at Old Brissach and Kehl.
In 1800, Jourdan was appointed inspector-general




296        JEAN-BAPTISTE JOURDAN.
of infantry and cavalry, and governor-general of Piedmont. Sixteen years afterward, the king of Sardinia
sent him his portrait, as an approbation of his conduct
in the administration of his kingdom. In 1802, he
was made a councillor of state, and general-in-chief
of the army of Italy; and, in 1804, he was created a
marshal of the empire, and grand eagle of the legion
of honor. In 1806, he passed into the service of Joseph Bonaparte, king of Naples, and, when that prince,
in 1808, exchanged the throne of Naples for that of
Spain, Jourdan became the major-general of his armies,
and, in that capacity, made the campaign of 1808 and
1809, in the peninsula. On the morning before the
battle of Talavera, on the 28th of July, King Joseph
requested the opinions of Jourdan and Victor, whether
he should give battle. The former advised him to decline an engagement, and to wait the result of Soult's
operations on the rear of the English; Victor advised
an immediate attack: and the result proved the soundness of Jourdan's judgment. In 1811, Jourdan was
made governor of Madrid. In October, 1812, Joseph
offered to Jourdan the command of the army of the
south, after Soult's retirement from that region, but he
declined the perilous honor: and, continued with the
army, under Joseph, until the rout of Vittoria, on the
21st of June, 1813, where he had the misfortune to
lose his marshal's baton, which was captured by the
eighty-seventh, British regiment. In 1814, having declared in favor of the king, he was created a knight of
the order of St. Louis, governor of the fifteenth military
division, and, in the same year, was made a count.
Upon the return of Napoleon, in 1815, Jourdan was
made governor of Besanqon, and received the superior




HIS CHARACTER.             297
command of the sixth military division.  After the
fatal termination of Waterloo, Jourdan pronounced in
favor of Louis XVIII.; and received the patronage of
that monarch. Upon Moncey's refusal to preside at
the trial of Ney, Jourdan, by seniority, succeeded to
that post, and joined in acknowledging the incompetency of the tribunal to take cognizance of the case.
In 1816, he was made a peer of France, and, in 1819,
was appointed governor of the seventh military division.
In 1830, he was, for some time, one of the commissioners in the department of foreign affairs, and in the
same year governor of the Invalides.  He died, at
Paris, on the 23d of November, 1833, in the seventysecond year of his age.
Jourdan's capacity, as a general, was not remarkable:
" the emperor," says O'Meara, " spoke of him as one,
of whose military abilities he had a poor opinion."
But his spirit and daring were of an elevated tone, and
he was ever guided by noble and generous sentiments.
One day; at St. Helena, Napoleon took up a political
almanac, containing a list of the marshals, whose characters he passed in review, making remarks about each.
When he came to Marshal Jourdan, he dwelt for some
time on the subject, and concluded by saying: " This
is one who has assuredly been very ill treated by me;
it was natural, therefore, to conclude that he would be
incensed against me, but I have learned, with pleasure,
that he has behaved with moderation since my fall.
He has given an example of that elevation of mind
which serves to distinguish men, and does honor to
their character. However, he was a true patriot, and
that explains many things."




JOHN SERRURIER.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19TH, 1804.
COUNT SERRURIER.
CONVERSING once, at St. Helena, Napoleon related
an anecdote respecting the influence of what might
seem an untoward chance, in elevating the destinies of
men.  " Serrurier, and the younger Hedouville, while
journeying on foot, toward Spain, for the purpose of
emigrating, were stopped by a patrol.  Hedouville,
being the younger and more active of the two, cleared
the frontier, thought himself very fortunate, and past a
life of inaction and obscurity in Spain. Serrurier, compelled to return into the interier, bewailed his unhappy
fate, and became a marshal of France." He continued,
however, uninspired by the energy as well as by the
principles of the revolutionary armies, and, at last, owed
his elevation to the respectability of his character rather
than to the brilliance of his services.
John Mathieu Philibert Serrurier, was born at Laon,
on the 8th of December, 1742. He became lieutenant
in the militia of Laon, in 1755, and served in the campaign of Hanover, in 1758: he afterward became an
ensign in Mazarin's regiment of infantry, and served in
Germany, in 1759 and 1760. A lieutenant in the
regiment of Beauce in 1767, he advanced to the rank




HIS MILITARY SKILL.            299
of captain in 1782, and became a chevalier of the
order of St. Louis in the same year, and a major in
1789   He advanced to the rank of brigadier-general,
in 1793, and served, in the following year, in the army
of the eastern Pyrenees. In 1795, he was made a general of division, and entered the army of Italy, under
General Scherer. He here distinguished himself at
the battle of Loano, by which Scherer recovered the
positions which Kellermann had lost: on the 21st of
November, 1795, Massena and Augereau had attacked
the enemy's posts, in the left and centre, with success,
and, on the 24th, Serrurier, "who, by his able manceuvres," says Napoleon, in his memoirs, " had kept
in check troops which were double the number of his
own, without sustaining any material loss," advanced
from the heights of Ormea, and drove the Piedmontese
army into the camp of Ceva, capturing the greater part
of their artillery, and a large number of prisoners. He
continued to serve, in the same rank, when Napoleon
took command of the army in March, 1796. " He retained," says Napoleon, " all the formality and strictness of a major; was very severe in point of discipline,
and passed for an aristocrat; in consequence of which
opinion, he ran great risks in the midst of the camps,
especially during the first few years." Under Napoleon he appears to greater advantage, than in any
other circumstances: as will be seen in the account
of the Italian campaigns, his courage chiefly gained the
battle of Mondovi; his rapid march from Mantua, secured the battle of Castiglione; intrusted with the
siege of Mantua, he displayed much vigilance and skill,
and, at last, had the honor of seeing the Marshal
Wurmser, and his staff, file off before him at the sur



300            JOHN SERRURIER.
render of the city. After the campaign of the Tagliamento, he had the honorable commission of carrying to
the directory the colors taken from Prince Charles.
During the campaign in Italy, in 1799, under Scherer, Serrurier commanded a division of the left wing of
the army; and, on the 30th of March, having crossed
the Adige, at Polo, with seven thousand men, he was
attacked, by Kray, near Verona, with fifteen thousand
men, and routed with a loss of nearly three thousand
men killed and made prisoners. Soon after, Moreau
succeeded Scherer, and the impetuous Suwarrow appeared at the head of the enemy. On the night of the
25th of April, 1799, while the French army were concentrated on the Adige, Wukassowich suddenly passed
at Brivio, and Serrurier, who formed the extreme left
with eight thousand men, was completely surrounded
and cut off by a force not less than twenty thousand
strong. He immediately took a strong position at Verderio, determined to maintain it to the last moment;
but, being assailed on all sides, and seeing no possibility of extrication, he surrendered, on the 26th, with
seven thousand men.
On the formation of the consular government, in 1799,
Serrurier became a member of the senate, and was elected vice-president of it at the beginning of 1802, and pretor, in 1803. He was appointed governor of the Hotel
des Invalides, and a marshal of the empire, in 1801;
and became, in the following year, grand-eagle of the
legion of honor, and grand-dignitary of the order of the
crown of iron. He was created count, in 1808; and
received, the next year, the general command of the
national guard of Paris. In 1814, he was made a peer
of France, and commander of the order of St. Louis,




HIS CHARACTER.              301
and, in 1818, received the grand-cross. He died, at
Paris, on the 21st of December, 1819, at the age of
seventy-seven years.  " Serrurier,"  says Napoleon,
" was a brave man, of great personal intrepidity, but not
fortunate.  He had less energy than Augereau and
Massena, but excelled them  in the morality of his
character, the soundness of his political opinions, and
the strict integrity which he observed in all his intercourse."  On another occasion he pronounced him an
honest, trust-worthy man, but an indifferent general.
VOL. I.-26




JOHN LANNES.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804.
DUKE OF MONTEBELLO.
JOHN LANNES -the romantic heroism of whose early career obtained for him the title of " The Orlando of
the army," and whose later achievements raised him
into the first rank of military fame —was the son of
John Lannes and of Cecilia Fouraignan, his wife, and
was born at Lectoure, the 11th of April, 1769. He
entered the army as sublieutenant in 1792, and became
successively lieutenant, captain, and major, in the army
of the eastern Pyrenees, up to 1795. In 1796, he entered the army of Italy. It was at the village of Dego,
during the battle of Millesinmo, on the 14th of April of
that year, that Lannes, then a lieutenant-colonel, first
attracted by his courage and daring the attention of
Napoleon, who made him a colonel on the spot. At
the second battle at the same village, on the following
day, he again distinguished himself by his bravery and
coolness. During that campaign, his reputation for
gallantry rose to the highest pitch, and at Lodi, Bassano, and Governolo, where he was wounded, and still
more strikingly at Arcola, he attracted the admiration
of the whole army by his brilliant and reckless daring.




~'
dd~~~~~~~~.!.








MADE GENERAL OF DIVISION.        303
In 1797, he was made a general of brigade, and accompanied Napoleon to Paris, and shared the personal
intimacy and constant association of the hero of Italy.
He was one of the four persons who accompanied Napoleon in February, 1798, when he visited the coast at
Boulogne, &c., to examine the preparations that had
been made for the invasion of England. He accompanied Napoleon into Egypt; and though his impatient
temper and frankness led him at times into intemperate
exhibitions of disgust at the service to which the army
had been led, his conduct at the battle of Aboukir
greatly elevated his reputation as a soldier and a commander. In 1799, he was created a general of division, and returned to France with Napoleon. At the
great fete of the 20th Pluviose (10th February, 1800),
at Paris, in commemoration of the death of Washington, and in honor of the victory of Aboukir, Lannes
was honored with the presentation of the seventy-two
flags taken from the Turks in that engagement. At
the head of a great detachment of cavalry, he proceeded
in company with Napoleon to the hotel of the Invalides,
then the temple of Mars, where he presented the flags
to the minister of war with an appropriate discourse:
Berthier made a reply, and M. de Fontanes then delivered his celebrated eloge on Washington. In the same
year Lannes was appointed commandant and inspector
of the consular guard; and when the army of reserve
entered Italy, he commanded the advanced-guard. The
operations in that year about Milan, under Napoleon,
in which Lannes won his marshal's baton and his dukedom, afterward conferred, derive so great a share of
their glory from the military genius of this youthful
soldier, who now rose to the highest rank of merit and




304               JOHN LANNES.
fame, that the campaign of Marengo is properly introduced in this place.
CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.
On the 7th of January, 1800, the republic having
then two armies in the field engaged against Austria,
one in Germany and the other in Italy, the formation
of an army of reserve in France, which might act in
support of either of the others, was decreed by the consuls; and as the civil character of these magistrates was
incompatible with military power, the command-in-chief
was given nominally to Berthier, minister of war, who
set out from Paris to take the head of the army on the
2d of April. To prevent the alarm of Austria from
being excited by these new levies, Napoleon determined
to act in such a manner that the enemy should believe
that the pretence of forming this army was a mere device to impose upon the world. Accordingly, while
the formation of this corps was announced with great
parade, it was declared on all occasions that its point
of concentration was Dijon. The foreign spies hastened
thither, and found there but five or six thousand conscripts and retired soldiers, many of them maimed, and
half the number unclothed. The contrast between this
exhibition and the magnificent language which the first
consul took care to employ, excited ridicule throughout
the continent.  " The French," it was said, " seek to
dupe us; they wish to make us realize the fable of the
dog who dropped his prey for the shadow." Europe
was full of caricatures: one of these represented a boy
of twelve years of age, and an invalid with a wooden
leg, and under which was written, "Bonaparte's arm,




CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.            305
of reserve."  Meanwhile, the real army of reserve was
secretly collecting in a great number of distinct places,
ready to be marched upon the point of rendezvous at
the shortest notice. It had been Napoleon's original
plan to lead the army into Germany, and to co-operate
with Moreau in striking a deadly blow at the heart of
the Austrian monarchy; but the jealousy of that commander, and the disasters which had been met with in
Jtaly, determined the direction of his interference to the
latter country. In April, Melas, the Austrian
general-in-chief, had overrun and occupied all
Piedmont and Sardinia: the greater part of his forces
were engaged, under Ott, in besieging Massena in
Genoa; another large body under Elnitz, were pressing Suchet at the mouth of the Var; while the residue,
not exceeding in all eighteen thousand men, were around
Turin and in the neighboring cities. Switzerland, at
this time in possession of the French, gave them the
advantage of a very advanced and central position; and
Napoleon, with that union of brilliant invention and profound science which marked the great conceptions of
his mind, formed the design to penetrate into Italy upon
the rear of Melas, get upon the line of his communications, and cut him off from Austria: then he would be
obliged to fight with his back toward France, and under circumstances in which defeat' would be utter ruin,
while Napoleon, if worsted, had his communications
uninterrupted. Such a movement, also, would deliver
Suchet, and raise the siege of Genoa, or else compel
Melas to fight with a very inferior force. In the execution of this felicitous design, Moncey, with sixteen
thousand men detached from the army of the Rhine,
was to cross Mont St. Gothard, and descend by Lake
26*




306              JOHN LANNES.
Maggiore, forming the left wing of the army; General
Thureau, commanding in the Alps, was to cross Mont
Cenis, and form the right wing; while the centre, under the first consul, was to pass the Great St. Bernard,
and advance to Milan. Thus sixty thousand men would
suddenly appear in Lombardy, in the rear of Melas's
positions in Piedmont. In the latter part of April, the
various corps from La Vendee, from Paris, and from
various other points, forming the true army of reserve,
concentrated about Geneva and Lausanne: about two
millions of rations of biscuits, prepared at Lyons, were
despatched to Villeneuve on the lake.
On the 6th of May, 1800, the first consul left Paris,
reviewed the mock army at Dijon, arrived at Geneva, on
the 8th, where he was visited by Necker, and, on the
13th, reviewed at Lausanne the real vanguard of the
army, commanded by General Lannes, and consisting
of six regiments of chosen and experienced troops.
This corps, followed by other divisions, having among
their commanders, Victor and Murat, and forming in
all an army of thirty-six thousand men, moved then at
once upon St. Pierre, at the foot of St. Bernard, and
preparations were made for crossing. In transporting
the artillery, the carriages were taken to pieces, and,
together with the ammunition, put into prepared cases,
were placed upon mules; and, the guns were fastened
by their trunnions, into a hundred trunks of trees which
had been hollowed out for the purpose, and these were
dragged with ropes by the soldiers. Two half companies of artillery artificers were stationed at St. Pierre
and St. Itemi, at the foot of the mountains, on either
side, to dismount and remount the carriages; and, so
ably were all these arrangements carried out under Mar



CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.           307
mont, who commanded the artillery, that no delay was
occasioned in the march of the army. Napoleon slept
at the convent of St. Maurice, on the 16th of May, and
the whole army passed the St. Bernard, on the 17th,
18th, 19th, and 20th, about ten thousand passing each
day; Napoleon himself crossed on the 20th. The advanced guard, under Lannes, having passed Aosta,
reached Chatillon on the 17th, where it routed an Austrian corps of four thousand men; and, all the difficulties of the passage seemed overcome, when the
army was checked by the guns of Fort Bard. This
fortress is situated between Aosta and Ivrea, on a hillock, in the interval between two mountains; and, the
only passage lay through the town of Bard, which is
walled, and is commanded by the fire of the fort. The
whole army was brought to a stand; Napoleon repaired
to the spot, and, mounting the rock Albaredo, upon
the left mountain, reconnoitred the place and discovered
that the town itself might be taken. Accordingly, at
night, on the 25th, Dufour, with a demi-brigade, scaled
the wall and got possession of the town; the fort kept
up a fire of grape-shot during the night, but, at length,
from consideration to the inhabitants of the town, desisted. The infantry and cavalry then passed, one by
one, along the path which Napoleon had climbed, and
which was accustomed to be used only by goat-herds 
and the ingenuity of the engineers secured the passage
of the guns. During the night, the road through the
town was covered with litter, and the pieces, concealed
under straw and branches, were dragged by the men,
with ropes, in profound silence; and the whole artillery
had thus passed within pistol-shot of the fort, while the
officer in command of it wrote to Melas, that he had




308             JOHN LANNES.
seen thirty thousand men, and three or four thousand
horses, and a numerous staff, pass the fort, but, that he
might rely upon it, not a single gun should go by. On
the 24th, Lannes, with the vanguard, arrived before
Ivrea, routed a body of five thousand Austrians there,
and drove them upon Romano, where they took up a
position to cover the Turin, the headquarters of the
Austrian army. On the 26th, Lannes again attacked
this force, overthrew, and drove them upon Turin, and
advanced to Chivasso, on the Po, where the vanguard
was reviewed and harangued by Napoleon, on the 28th.
The whole army, with its artillery, arrived at Ivrea, on
the 26th and 27th. To deceive Melas, some demonstrations were made of a design to pass the Po at Chivasso, and then the army moved down the left bank of
the Po, to seize Milan, and other cities of Lomnbardy.
On the 31st, Napoleon moved rapidly upon the Tessino, which, after a warm engagement, by Adjutant-General Gerard, with an Austrian corps of observation, on
the left bank, was passed; and, on the 2d of June, the
first consul entered Milan amid the unbounded astonishment and delight of the inhabitants, and immediately
invested the citadel.  On the 30th of May, the advanced guard, under Lannes, made a forced march on
Pavia, which they entered on the 1st of June. On the
4th, Duhesme's division entered Lodi, and on the following day occupied Cremona, and soon after arrived
at Mantua. On the 27th of May, Murat had advanced
to Vercelli, and, on the 6th, he arrived before Placenza,
and seized the tete-dupont, and the boats at that place.
Napoleon remained at Milan from the 2d to the 8th of
June, during which time, Moncey's corps of fifteen
thousand men, from the army of the Rhine, which had




CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.           309
reached Belinzona on the 31st of May, arrived, and
were reviewed by him: he then set off for Pavia,
which he entered on the 9th of June. Meanwhile,
Melas, upon the first alarm of Napoleon's designs upon
Italy, had issued orders for all the forces in Piedmont
to concentrate around Turin. Elnitz broke up from
the Var, about the 27th of May: and, on the 5th of
June, the garrison at Genoa capitulated, by which
Ott's division was set at liberty: these all hastened to
join Melas. On the other hand, Suchet's division, and
the garrison of Genoa, under Massena, which amounted
to nine thousand men, and, which, by the terms of the
capitulation, were to be conducted to Voltri and Antibes, were now at liberty to co-operate with Napoleon.
On the northwest, General Tureau, having taken possession of Mount Cenis, on the 22d of May, occupied
a position between Susa and Turin: and, on the 1st
of June, Fort Bard, which had been invested by Chabran's division, surrendered. About the same time,
Melas abandoned Turin, and appeared to be about taking position at Alessandria. Napoleon then proceeded
to concentrate the various divisions on Stradella, on the
right bank of the Po, to cut off Melas from the road to
MIantua. On the 7th, Murat passed the Po, at Nocetta,
and entered Placenza; on the next day he defeated an
Austrian corps which had been sent to attack him, and
made two thousand prisoners, and then moved upon
Stradella. On the 6th, Lannes, with the advancedguard, moved from Pavia to cross the Po at Belgiojoso; and, on the evening of the 8th, when the van
and a part of the main army had crossed, the Austrian
vanguard attacked them and were routed, and Lannes,
at night, took up a position before Casteggio and Mon



310               JOHN LANNES.
tebello, which the Austrian army, commanded by General Ott, now occupied. On the morning of the 9th,
Lannes, in position, with eight thousand men, found
himself in the presence of an Austrian force of thirty
battalions, or eighteen thousand men, Ott's grenadiers,
the flower of the Austrian army, forming part of it. As
Victor's division, which had crossed the river, was not
more than three leagues off, and might be expected
soon to arrive, Lannes had no inducement to attack,
but received, with ready spirit, the battle which the
Austrian commander brought on at daybreak.  Ordering Watrin to maintain the centre, on the road to
Tortona, where the enemy's attack began, he advanced
against a heavy fire to turn the heights on which their
right rested, but after carrying them in the first instance,
he was driven back by some troops which Ott brought
up. " The battle was bloody," says Napoleon, in his
memoirs; "Lannes covered himself with glory; his
troops performed prodigies of intrepidity." About midday, a part of Victor's division reached the field; the
contest was renewed against the centre and Austrian
right, with brilliant success, until Ott, feeling the importance of the engagement, advanced all his reserves
and again repulsed the French columns. The Austrians fought desperately; they were still proud of the
successes which they had obtained in the previous campaign, and they felt that their situation laid them under
a necessity to conquer.  "In my division," said Lannes, afterward, " the bones were cracking like a shower
of hail falling on a sky-light." At length, the arrival
of the rest of Victor's division gave the French a decided superiority, and the enemy retreated. Napoleon,
in his memoirs, has generously given to his generals all




CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.            311
the glory of this gallant success. " The first consul,"
he remarks, "on hearing of the enemy's attack on the
French vanguard, immediately hastened to the field;
but, by the time he reached there, the victory had been
gained: the enemy had lost three thousand killed, and
six thousand prisoners. The field of battle was entirely
strewn with the dead. General Lannes was covered
with blood: the troops, conscious that they had behaved well, though worn out with fatigue, were intoxicated with joy."  The confidence inspired by this
well-won victory at the onset, had much to do with the
unflinching courage with which the same troops sustained the onset at Marengo; and Lannes's merit was
remembered and perpetuated in the ducal title which
he afterward received.
Meanwhile, intelligence had been received of the fall
of Genoa; and no special cause for haste now existing,
Napoleon remained in position at Stradella on the 10th,
11th, and 12th, securing his retreat by two bridges
across the Po. He sent messengers, also, to Suchet,
who had now resumed the offensive against Elnitz, and
had been joined by the garrison of Genoa at Voltri, to
march upon the Scrivia by the pass of Cadibona. On
the 11th, Desaix, with his aides-de-camp, Rapp and
Savary, having just returned from Egypt, and performed quarantine at Toulon, arrived at headquarters
at Montebello. Of all the military companions and followers by whom Napoleon was surrounded, he spoke
of none with so much regard and respect as of Desaix.
He immediately gave him command of the divisions
of Boudet and Monnier. Melas's headquarters at this
time were at Alessandria, and there seemed to be three
courses open to him, any one of which he might pursue:




312              JOhN LANNES.
He might advance and give battle; he might cross the
Po above the Sesia, pass the Tessino rapidly, and reach
Milan by a shorter way, before Napoleon could arrive
there; or he might retire upon Genoa and the English
squadron under Lord Keith, which was in that bay.
Napoleon's plans had to be made in reference to all
these contingencies. To meet the first, General Laharpe, who formed part of the force which Moncey had
conducted into Italy, was ordered to occupy the line of
the Tessino with ten thousand men, which would at
least be sufficient to delay the enemy till Napoleon
could recross the Po and appear before Milan. The
manoeuvres which were then directed,, of the several
divisions under Napoleon's immediate command, had
reference to the twofold object of intercepting Melas's
march toward the south, if he should attempt such a
movement, and of receiving battle, if he should advance
to deliver it. On the 12th, the French army advanced
to the Scrivia: Lannes, with the divisions of Watrin
and Mainoni, forming the right wing, was at CastelNuovo; Desaix, with the divisions of Boudet and Monnier, formed the centre at Ponte-Curone; Victor, at the
head of the divisions of Gardanne and Chambairhac,
was on the left bank of the Scrivia, in advance of Tortona; the cavalry, under Murat, were between PonteCurone and Tortona, with a vanguard beyond Tortona
under Kellermann; and headquarters were at Voghera.
On the 13th, at daybreak, Napoleon passed the Scrivia:
the light cavalry traversing the immense plain of Marengo, found no enemy, and it was confidently concluded that Melas had retired to Genoa. Desaix, with
Boudet's division, was pushed forward upon the extreme right, with orders to observe the high road lead



CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.            313
ing from Novi to Alessandria; Lannes advanced to a
position near Marengo; Victor entered Marengo, and
sent scouts to the Bormida, who reported no intelligence of the Austrian army; and Napoleon feared that
they had escaped him. He himself, in the evening ot
the 13th, set out to return to Voghera to receive intelligence; but the Scrivia having suddenly swollen too
much to allow a passage, he fixed his headquarters at
Torre-di-Garofalo, between Tortona and Alessandria,
and there passed the night. During this time, Melas,
after being distracted by a variety of counsels, had decided to advance and meet Napoleon in the great plain
of Marengo, a situation well adapted to the action of
the numerous Austrian cavalry; and accordingly, at
daybreak on the 14th, the Austrians, amounting in all
to thirty-one thousand men, and comprising twenty
thousand infantry, seven thousand cavalry, and two
hundred pieces of cannon, defiled by the three bridges
of the Bormida, and advanced with impetuosity upon
the village of Marengo. The whole French army on
the left bank of the Scrivia amounted to twenty-nine
thousand, and the positions of the various corps on the
morning of the 14th were as follows: Victor, with the
divisions of Gardanne and Chambairhac, the former of
six battalions, the latter of twelve, and together amounting to nine thousand men, occupied the village of Marengo, the former division being advanced in front of
the village; Lannes, with Watrin's division of five thousand men in twelve battalions, was a little in the rear of
the right of Marengo; Desaix, with Boudet's division of
five thousand, was on the road to Novi; and Napoleon,
with the reserves, comprising Monnier's division of four
thousand men in eight battalions, which were composed
VoL,. I. — 27




314               JOHN LANNES.
of the brigades of Cara St. Cyr and Shilt, together
with the battalion of the infantry consular guard of eight
hundred grenadiers, commanded by Soul6s, and the
cavalry guard of four hundred under Bessieres, was at
Torre-di-Garofalo; while the cavalry, under Murat,
consisting of the brigades of Kellermann, Champeaux,
and Rivaud, and amounting to about three thousand,
were ready to act wherever their presence might be
most required.
The attack on Marengo began with great fury at an
early hour: Gardanne's brigade was driven into the
village, and an unequal contest sustained by Victor for
several hours, until his division, being broken and thrown
into disorder, retired in confusion across the plains to
San Juliano, raising the cry of " Tout est perdu!"
Lannes, on the right, behind Marengo, gained some
slight advantage; but when Melas, with the Austrian
centre, established himself in Marengo, Lannes being
exposed on the left, was obliged to fall back. Meanwhile, Napoleon, as soon as he became apprized that
Melas was advancing to give battle, sent orders to Desaix, who was half-a-day's march off to the left, to return
with haste to San Juliano; and he himself advanced
with the reserves into the plain. It was about ten
o'clock when he appeared between San Juliano and
Marengo: Victor's division, on the left, were fleeing
in disorder across the interval between the villages;
Lannes's corps, drawn up in squares en echelon, were
very slowly retreating, with admirable order and coolness, while Kellerman~i and Champeaux were covering
them, as ably as possible from the charges of the Austrian cavalry. The spectacle of Napoleon surrounded
Dy his staff, and two hundred horse-grenadiers with




CAMPAIGN OF MIARENGO.                315
their high fur-caps, in the midst of the plain, rcinspired
the courage of the fugitives, and they rallied upon the
village of San Juliano. Napoleon immediately directed
the brigade of Cara St. Cyr of five battalions, belonging
to Monnier's division of reserve upon the extreme right,
to Castel-Ceriolo, to outflank the entire left of the enemy: he then despatched the infantry guard of eight
hundred grenadiers, to occupy a good position about
five hundred toises to the right of Lannes, while with
Shilt's demi-brigade he himself advanced to support
Lannes. Between three and four o'clock in the afternoon Desaix's corps arrived, and Napoleon ordered
him to take position on the road in front of San Juliano.
Melas, believing the victory gained and being extremely fatigued, returned to Alessandria about two o'clock,
leaving Zach, the chief of his staff, to continue the pursuit. Napoleon presently rode up to Desaix: " Well,"
said the latter, " affairs are going on badly; the battle is
lost: I can only secure the retreat.  Is this not so?"
"Quite the reverse," replied the first consul; "to me
the result of the battle has never for a moment been
doubtful. Those masses which you see in disorder on
your right and left, are marching to form themselves in
your rear. The battle is gained." * Instant measures
were taken to give effect to this view. All the cavalry
of the army were concentrated in advance of San Juliano; Lannes's and Victor's corps were re-formed on
the right; and Desaix, with Boudet's division, took
position on their left. Napoleon rode along the line,
and called out, "Soldiers! we have now retired far
a This is the version of the conversation given by Napoleon to Las
Cases at St. Helena: Bourrienne represents Desaix as saying to Napo.
leon, that one battle had been lost, but that time enough remained to gain
another.




316              JOHN LANNES.
enough: you know that I am always in the habit of
sleeping on the field of battle."  This inspired the utmost enthusiasm, and the battle recommenced with
great ardor.  The enemy's tirailleurs were speedily
driven back upon their centre; but a formidable column of six thousand Austrian grenadiers advanced upon
the left, and reached the village of San Juliano. Napoleon sent orders to Desaix to charge this corps: the
latter immediately advanced at the head of two hundred
troopers, but just as he had given the word to charge,
he was shot in the breast by a ball, and soon after expired. " Tell the first consul, that my only regret in
dying is, that I have not yet done enough to live in the
memory of posterity," were the last words of that gallant spirit, of whom Napoleon said, that he was the man
whom he esteemed most worthy of being his lieutenant.
The terrible column still pressed on; but they had by
this time advanced so far, that their flank was even with
the French cavalry in the centre.  Kellermann* saw
the auspicious moment, and at the head of eight hundred heavy horse charged furiously through the middle
of the left flank.  The column thus severed in the
midst fell into disorder, and in half an hour was dispersed, General Zach and all his staff being made prisoners. This charge of Kellermann's decided the day
Lannes's and Victor's corps advanced with the utmost
intrepidity, and after a severe engagement, retook Marengo: on the right, Cara St. Cyr was nearer the bridge
of Bormida than the enemy were, and an alarm was
created among the Austrians that their retreat was cut
off. Their cavalry retreated with precipitation, and the
artillery, finding the bridges clogged up, plunged into
* The younger, son of the marshal.




CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO.            317
the stream, and twenty pieces having stuck fast in the
mud, fell into the hands of the French. Melas rallied
the troops on the left bank of the BEormida; but everything that remained on the right bank was captured.
In this fierce and protracted engagement, the Austrian
loss was seven thousand killed and wounded, three
thousand prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, and eight
standards; and the French loss about the same in killed
and wounded, and about one thousand made prisoners.
But with Suchet in great force upon his rear, and with
a French army of thirty thousand between him and
Austria, besides those who had taken part in the engagement on the plains of Marengo, such a battle was
ruin to Melas. At daybreak on the following morning,
a flag of truce arrived from Alessandria, with proposals
for an armistice; and on the following day a convention was signed, by which the Austrian army were allowed to retire beyond Mantua, and all the fortified
places of Piedmont, Lombardy, Ferrara, and Bologna,
namely, the fortresses of Genoa, Coni, Ceva, Savona,
Turin, Alessandria, Tortona, Milan, Pizzighittone, Placentia, Arona, and Urbia, were given up to the French
army. Thus the result of Napoleon's admirable combinations was, that a single battle fought upon the banks
of the Bormida, with an army of thirty thousand men,
amounted instantly to the reconquest and reoccupation
of all Italy. Napoleon soon after returned by Milan,
Turin, Mont Cenis, and Lyons, to Paris, where he arrived unexpectedly on the 2d of July, in the middle
of the night.  The first intelligence of the battle was
brought by a commercial express, who had left the field
between ten and twelve o'clock on the morning of the
14th, just as the first consul was coming on the field of
27*




318              JOHN LANNES.
battle: he reported the defeat of the army; and when
the news of the victory, and of such results from it, ar
rived, the astonishment and delight of the people of
Paris knew no bounds. The next day after Napoleon's
arrival, as the news spread through the capital, all the
city and suburbs ran together to the Tuileries, in hopes
of seeing him whose genius and toils had won such
glory for France; and in the evening there was a general illumination.
There is no campaign of Napoleon's, perhaps, in
which the brilliance of his military conceptions, and the
sagacity of his dispositions, are more admirable; none
in which, by the force of profound plans, such immense
effects were so perfectly accomplished by so moderate
an expenditure of means. But, while the campaign is
admitted to be a great one, attempts have been made to
deprive Napoleon of the glory of the battle, and to
transfer it to Desaix and to Kellermann. Such an attempt, in this case, must proceed upon an ignorance of
the principles upon which the merit and fame of a commander-in-chief are made up.  Unquestionably, the
victory was owing to the opportune arrival of Desaix:
but, Desaix arrived at the point where he did in obedience to the express orders of Napoleon. Equally undeniable is it, that Kellermann's charge was, at last, decisive of the day: but the ability to make that charge on
Kellermann's part was due to the advanced central position in which the cavalry had been placed by Napoleon.
Orders to repel the column by a charge, had gone forth
firom the commander-in-chief; and, if Kellermann
charged without express orders, he acted only in accordance with obvious and inevitable duty. Desaix
and Kellermann deserve all the credit that they have




CREATED MARSHAL.              319
received; but the united lustre of their performances
should be reflected upon Napoleon. An attentive consideration, however, of the events of this great day,
would suggest that among the generals and inferior
officers, the true hero of the field was neither Desaix
nor Kellermann, but Lannes. His retreat, in perfect
order, across that vast open plain, occupying three
hours in retiring three quarters of a league, with the
whole Austrian army upon him, after Victor's rout,
and exposed to the grape-shot of eighty pieces of cannon, saved the army from irretrievable confusion, and
deserves to rank among the greatest of military achievements.
On the 14th of September, in the same year, L annes was married to Louisa Antoinette de Gu6heneuc,
a young and beautiful girl of the highest character for
virtue and worth; and, in the following year, he was
sent ambassador to Lisbon.  On the 19th of May,
1804, he was created one of the marshals of the empire, and a grand-officer of the legion of honor; and,
in 1805, was decorated with the grand-eagle and made
a commander of the order of the crown of iron. As
commander of the fifth corps of the army, he made the
campaign of Austerlitz, in 1805, and of Jena, in 1806;
and, in both, distinguished himself as one of the ablest
and most active of the great officers of the army. At
the head of the same corps, he accompanied the army
into Poland in 1807, and his heroic conduct at Pultusk,
is one of the jewels of his fame. Soon after he fell ill,
and when the emperor arrived at Pultusk, he found
hirn in so bad a condition that he directed his removal
to Warsaw, and gave the command of the corps to Savary.  Lannes, on this account, was not present at




320              JOHN LANNES.
Eylau; but he recovered in time to join the emperor
by the 10th of June, 1807, and to take part in the batties of Guttstadt and Heilsberg. He took command of
a corps formed of the troops returned from the siege
of Dantzig, and of the brigade of grenadiers; and
again displayed, at Friedland, that union of ability with
unflinching courage, which threw so peculiar and splendid a lustre on his name. In 1808, Lannes was created duke of Montebello; and received the command
of the thirteenth and fifteenth corps of the army of
Spain, and accompanied the emperor to Bayonne and
Vittoria, where they arrived on the Sth of November,
in SO1808. In crossing the mountains, near Tolosa, Lannes's horse fell, injuring him severely, and he was left
at Vittoria; here he was cured by being wrapped in
the warm skin of a sheep just killed, and, in two days,
resumed his military pbst. At the head of La Grange's
division, and Colbert's light cavalry, he took an important part in the operations that led to the victory of
Tudela, on the 23d of November. But he again became ill, and was obliged to remain at Tudela in a suffering state for several weeks.  At length, having recovered, he was ordered to take command of the siege
of Saragossa, which M..oncey's and Mortier's corps
were languidly prosecuting: he, accordingly, arrived
before that place and took the supreme command of
both corps on the 22d of January, 1809. The influ
ence of his firm and vigorous character, says Napiel
was immediately perceptible: he restored the declining
discipline of the army, and pressed the siege with infinite resolution.  This city, so celebrated for the intrepidity and ardor with which it was besieged, and the
heroic constancy with which it was defended, capitu



CAMPAIGN OF ASPERN.            321
lated, to Lannes, on the 20th of February. The marshal, according to the duchess d'Abrantes, who thought
her husband's monopoly of plunder invaded, sullied
the purity of his fame by the pillage of the jewels of the
church of our Lady of the Pillar, to the amount of a
million of dollars: the priests offered, at first, one third
of the treasure, but Lannes seized the whole and carried
it off to France. Immediately after the opening of the
campaign about Eckmuhl, Lannes joined Napoleon;
and the two divisions of Gudin and Morand were
formed into a temporary corps of which the command
was given to him. The subsequent operations of the
army bring us to the close of Lannes's splendid career;
and, as Aspern and Essling will always be remembered
principally as the scene where a sublime death terminated a life of transcendent brightness, the campaign to
which that battle belongs may here be described.
CAMPAIGN OF ASPERN.
The emperor opened the German campaign of 1809
by taking command of his army in Bavaria on the 18th
of April, and proceeded at once to rectify the false dispositions of Berthier, whose orders had been so absurd,
that Napoleon wrote to him from Donaworth, on the
17th: "What you have done appears so strange, that
were I not satisfied of your friendship, I should think
you were betraying me." WVith a rapidity and ability
which exceeded, perhaps, anything in his life, he concentrated his army on the Abens, near Plaffenhoffen, on
the 19th; on the 20th, attacked and defeated the Austrian centre at Abensberg, killing eight thousand men,
and completely separating their left wing from the main




322              JOHN LANNES.
army; on the 21st, routed the left wing at Landshut,
destroying six thousand men, and capturing twenty-five
pieces of cannon, with an immense quantity of ammunition and baggage; and wheeling round from that position with the rapidity of lightning, defeated the archduke at Eckmuhl on the 22d, inflicting a loss of five
thousand men killed and wounded, seven thousand
made prisoners, besides twelve standards and sixteen
pieces of cannon. Thus, in four days, he had broken
into pieces, and thrown beyond the mountains of Bohemia, the army which had seemed to be on the point of
overwhelming and destroying him.
No sooner were these brilliant successes obtained in
Bavaria, than Napoleon, with his wonted daring and decision, resolved to hurl his whole military force upon
the capital of Austria. Orders were despatched, April
24th, to Eugene, in Italy, to press forward through Carinthia; and on the 26th, Napoleon, with his whole army,
was rapidly advancing down the valley of the Danube. On the 10th of May, the emperor arrived at the
palace of Sch6nbrunn; the archduke Maximilian had
determined to defend the walled city, but a spirited
bomnbardmnent soon compelled its surrender; and on
the 12th, one month after the emperor left Paris, the
French troops took possession of Vienna. A few days
afterward, intelligence was received that the archduke
Charles, united with Hiller, had arrived a few miles
north of the capital, on the left bank of the river.  On
the south, Eugene was driving the archduke John before him into Hungary, and might be expected to soon
reach Vienna.  The positions and force of the respective armies on the 17th were as follows: Napoleon, with
eighty thousand good troops, composed of the corps of




CAMPAIGN OF ASPERN.            323
Lannes and Massena, and the imperial guard and reserve cavalry under Bessieres, were around Vienna,
while Davoust at St. Polten, and Bernadotte at Ebersberg, preserved the communications of the army on the
rear; on the south, Eugene was approaching with forty
thousand men, and did, in fact, arrive on the 26th. The
archduke Charles, with eighty thousand men, was encamped on the elevated position of the Bisamberg, a few
miles from the river, below Vienna; and the archduke
John, with another considerable army, was on the south,
and might be expected to effect a junction with his
brother in the course of the next fortnight. At the
same time, the various resources of the empire were
rapidly coming out in all directions; and delay served
only to permit the increased accumulation of hostile
forces. Napoleon, therefore, resolved at once to cross
the Danube,,and attack Prince Charles; and this decision, adopted by his own judgment, without the support of his marshals, is one of the most splendid illustrations of his profound sagacity and his dauntless will.
Preparations were instantly made for crossing, on a
- bridge of boats constructed by Lieutenant-General Bertrand, at the village of Ebersdorf and the island of Lobau, about two leagues below Vienna; and at nightfall
on the 19th, a small detachment was sent over in boats
to seize the island of Lobau, which was in possession
of a small Austrian guard, and during the next day the
bridges were completed -that which extended to Lobau, a distance of five hundred toises, was constructed
very solidly of large boats and rafts; but between that
island and the left bank, the passage was to be made on
pontoons. Meanwhile Davoust, on the 19th, was marching down fiom St. Polten; the army around Vienna




324               JOHN LANNES.
was concentrated behind Ebersdorf; and about noon
on the 20th, and during the whole of the 21st, the army
filed across the bridges, and under cover of a wood full
of briers, near the left bank, they debouched upon the
great plain of the Marchfield, extending their line between the villages of Aspern and Essling, which are
half a mile from the river and a mile from one another,
and occupying them as defensive positions. On the
evening of the 20th, the Danube rose three feet; and
about noon on the 21st, it had swollen four feet more:
the bridges were twice carried away, and were restored
by Count Bertrand. About sunset, when Massena's
corps had passed over and occupied the village of Aspern on the left, one division of Lannes's corps had
entered Essling, and two divisions of cuirassiers, with
some lighthorse, under Bessieres, had debouched upon
the plain, the Austrian army was seen advancing from
the Bisamberg. Their whole force was about sixty-five
thousand infantry, fourteen thousand horse, with a magnificent park of two hundred and ninety guns; while
the French troops on the left bank amounted to about
one half the infantry of the enemy and one third of
their cavalry, and their artillery was totally incompetent to compete with that of the Austrians. About
half of the Austrian forces were directed upon Aspern,
and the residue upon Essling, while upon the plain between the artillery were established in formidable power.
Aspern became the scene of a furious and prolonged
contest, which resulted in the enemy's obtaining possession of about half of it, and Massena holding the
other half. In the centre, a gallant attempt was made
to silence the terrible cannonade by a desperate charge
of artillery: Bessieres's glittering cuirassiers of the




CAMPAIGN OF ASPERN.             325
guard swept forward in an irresistible torrent, and the
cannoniers found it impossible to maintain their fire;
the guns were rapidly withdrawn, the infantry were
thrown into squares, and the splendid cavalry rode
around them on all sides, triumphant but not successful; meanwhile, a fire of musketry was opened, and
kept up with such vigor, that the cavalry were at length
compelled to retire with considerable loss. On the
right, Lannes had been attacked in Essling by a formidable host; but the resistance which he opposed was
worthy of the gigantic energies whose crowded career
of greatness was about to close in splendid glory; fortunately, too, the charge of the cavalry on the plain
took effect as a flank attack upon the principal column
which was directed upon the village, and the delay
which it produced enabled Lannes to keep his position
in the town till night put an end to the combat. The
armies reposed within musket-shot of one another, and
it was obvious that the next day would witness a more
earnest renewal of the strife.
On the part of Napoleon, the whole night was occupied in passing the troops from the right bank to the
left, an operation, which, owing to the defective state
of the bridges, and another sudden rise in the Danube,
about midnight, was conducted with the utmost difficulty and tardiness: the entire corps, however, of
Marshal Lannes and Oudinot, together with the infantry of the guard, and some reserves, passed. In the
morning of the 22d, Davoust's corps, a division of
cuirassiers, and the larger part of the horse-guards, and
the reserves of artillery, were still on the right bank.
At daylight, which was then between two and three
o'clock, Napoleon was on horseback, and as he himVOL..- 28




326              JOHN LANNES.
self expressed it, " elate with hope, for he thought that
the fate of the house of Austria was about to be decided." Nor were these hopes without the most judicious foundation; for nothing but the sweeping away
of the bridge by a sudden rise in the river, aided by the
heavy boats sent down by the enemy, prevented Napoleon from gaining a decisive victory. The positions
of the archduke Charles, were unquestionably vicious:
his line was extended more than three leagues, forming
a semicircle, resting at both ends upon the river. His
right, in two columns, was in front of Aspern; his
centre, under Hohenzollern, was in front of the plain,
and the left, consisting of two columns commanded by
Rosenberg, reached to the village of Enzersdorf, on
the Danube.  The left could not advance without
coming under the fire of the island of Lobau; and Napoleon's plan of attack was to launch an immense body
of troops into the interval between the Austrian left and
centre, sever the army in half, throw back the left toward Hungary, while the young guard should advance
upon it from Essling, and compel the centre to retire
upon Bohemia, while Massena threw himself upon
the left wing.
As Napoleon rode through the ranks of the army,
between two and three in the morning, his presence
was everywhere hailed with deafening cries of Vive
l'Empereur; and, the general officers urged the emperor to allow them to take advantage of the first ardor
of the soldiers, and commence the attack immediately.
The emperor, says the duke of Rovigo, who was
present as one of his aides-de-camp, was rather averse
to the proposal, as he expected the corps of Marshal
Davoust, which was still on the other side of the Da



CAMPAIGN OF ASPERN.             327
nube, as well as General Nansouty's division of cuirassiers, with the major part of the horse-guards, and many
of the allied troops; but he was so warmly urged by
his officers that he gave way, and permitted the movements of attack to commence at the hour of half-past
three in the morning. Massena, with four divisions,
Molitor's, Le Grand's, Cara St. Cyr's, and Demont's,
in reserve, debouched on the left by the village of Aspern; and, Lannes, on Massena's right, debouched between Aspern and Essling, but nearer to the latter, with
three divisions, Oudinot's, Saint-Hilaire's, and Boudet's,
as a reserve: the cavalry were on the right, and the
guard, with whom was the emperor, were near the
river toward Aspern. Lannes's corps advanced across
the plain, partly in squares and partly in columns: the
artillery opened upon them with deadly effect, and the
Austrian infantry, forming themselves into squares
checkerwise, poured a constant fire of musketry into the
solid mass. Still this dauntless body advanced, occasionally deploying into line, and opening an answering
fire of cannon: the Austrians gave way, and a complete
separation of the centre from the left seemed about to
take place.  At length, the archduke, who felt that the
crisis of the battle had arrived, brought up the reserve
grenadiers, under the prince de Reuss, and marshalled
Lichtenstein's cavalry at a little distance behind them.
This checked the advance of Lannes: the French
cuirassiers were then ordered up, and directed to charge
the Austrian squares, successively, in several directions; they penetrated the line of infantry, rode round
the squares, but beyond them they encountered the
cavalry, three times more numerous than themselves,
which in their turn charged with impetuosity, drove




328               JOHN LANNES.
back and pursued the cuirassiers. The battle seemed
then to stand equally suspended, and it was felt that the
arrival of fresh troops upon one side or the other, was
to decide the day.  The corps of Davoust, and supplies of ammunition from the left bank, the want of
which was beginning to be generally felt, were momently expected with the utmost impatience, when
orders arrived, from the emperor to Lannes, about
eight o'clock, to halt and to resume his former position by degrees. In fact, at seven in the morning, the
disastrous intelligence reached Napoleon, that the
bridges were again broken, and all the boats carried
away by the force of the current, to the distance of a
league. The enemy having extended their right to the
river the day before, and obtained a complete view of
the bridges, had contrived to fill a number of large boats
with stones and send them down the current; and the
design took effect in the destruction of the large bridge
from the right bank, while the reserves of the artillery
and ammunition, half the cuirassiers, and the whole of
Davoust's corps were yet on that side of the river.
The emperor at once commanded both Massena and
Lannes to make a gradual retreat, and superintended
it himself by remaining exposed to a cannonade which
his own artillery no longer answered. Massena, meanwhile, had attacked with the division of Cara St. Cyr,
the churchyard of Aspern, a village extending a league
in length, which had been in possession of the Austrians, and drove them out; a fresh regiment, however, speedily charged the French and recovered the
place, until St. Cyr, with some battalions of the guard,
returned to the contest, and after an hour's desperate
struggle again became masters of the ground.  As




CAMPAIGN OF ASPERN.            -329
soon as the order to fall back came from Napoleon, both
the left and centre began slowly to retire, disputing
every inch of the ground in their retreat; and, Lannes's
corps had not yet reached the position between the villages from which it had debouched in the morning,
when a furious attack was made upon Essling, and the
village was carried. That town, in the possession of
the French, had been five times attacked by fresh
troops, who were on each occasion driven back. The
success of the battle depended principally on the possession of this village, for the enemy, from that position, could reach the bridge long before the arrival of
Massena or Lannes, to cover it.  Napoleon immediately directed General Mouton, his aide-de-camp
(afterward Count de Jobau), to attack, with the fusileer
brigade belonging to the guard: and, the courageous
officer, appreciating the vital necessity of recovering the
place, placed himself at the head of the fusileers at
charging time, regardless of the numbers opposed to
him, and took and kept possession of the village. Between three and four, when Massena and Lannes had
regained the position from which they had set out in
the morning, the archduke Charles advanced with a
body of grenadiers, preceded by a powerful artillery,
to make a final attack upon the retiring columns.
These energetic marshals immediately drew up their
best troops, as a rear-guard; and directing them to reserve their fire till the enemy were within pistol-shot,
calmly awaited the attack. Their orders were obeyed,
and so destructive a fire poured in upon the assailing
troops that they halted and recoiled. The archduke
having no more reserves, took up a position, and the
firing ceased exactly at four o'clock. The enemy did
2S*




330              JOHIN LANNES.
not take advantage of the retreat of the French, but left
their army unmolested the whole evening in their position between Aspern and Essling. At five o'clock the
troops were withdrawn into the wood bordering the
river; and the whole force crossed in the night without
further annoyance, with the exception of Massena's
corps, which slept on the field of battle, and did not
pass until the following day, at seven in the morning.
During the night of the 22d, the emperor called a
small council on the southern bank of the island of
Lobau, to collect the opinions of his officers as to the
course which it was expedient to adopt. Seated under
a tree, between Massena and Berthier, he calmly listened to their advice, which was unanimous in favor
of recrossing to the right bank of the river; and then
proceeded to give his own decision to the contrary.
"You might as well, gentlemen," said he, "at once
advise me to retreat to Strasburg: if I recross the Danube, I must evacuate Vienna, because the enemy will
cross over immediately after me." He proceeded to
point out the necessity of his maintaining the position
which he was then in, and the force of his arguments
brought every one round to his opinion. It was decided to establish the whole army in the island of Lobau; and the command of all the troops in the place
was given to Massena.
Such was the battle of Essling, memorable on many
accounts, but most of all for the death of Lannes. It
was during the last attack by the archduke, in the afternoon, that Lannes, who had dismounted from his horse,
on which, the proximity of the enemy's fire, rendered
it dangerous to remain, had both his legs carried away
by a cannon-shot. The emperor had quitted the field




IS MORTALLY WOUNDED.             331
and was superintending the pointing of some guns in
the island of Lobau, to protect the retreat, when intelligence of the sad occurrence was brought to him. He
was affected to tears at the mournful news, and was
eagerly inquiring the detail, when a litter bearing the
mutilated form of the generous hero was carried by.
He ordered it to be borne to a retired spot, where they
might be free from interruption, and with his face bathed in tears, he approached and embraced his dying
friend.  "Farewell, sire," said the marshal, in broken
accents, and feeble from the loss of blood: "spare a
life dear to all, and bestow a passing thought upon one
of your best friends, who, in two hours, will be no
more." The emperor was deeply affected. The state
of Lannes's system indicated that he could not survive.
He had passed the night which preceded the battle, in
Vienna, and not alone. He had appeared on the field
without having taken any food, and had fought the
whole day. The physicians said that this triple concurrence of circumstances caused his death; he required a great deal of strength after the wound, to enable
him to bear it, and, unfortunately, nature was almost exhausted before. He was removed to one of the houses
of the village of Ebersdorf, and there lingered several
days in a state of nervous excitement almost maniacal.
Though the most courageous of men, he would not
hear of death; and, having once heard the surgeons
who attended him, whisper to one another that he could
not escape, he declared that they deserved to be hanged
for behaving so brutally toward a marshal. Every dtay,
at noon, the emperor visited him. Lannes called constantly for him: "He twined himself around me with
all he had left of life," said the emperor, relating the




332              JOHN LANNES.
circumstance in later years. "He would hear of no
one but me: he thought but of me; it was a kind of
instinct. Undoubtedly, he loved his wife and children
better than me; yet he did not speak of them. It was
he that protected them, while I, on the contrary, was
his protector. I was for him something vague and undefined, a superior being, his providence, which he
implored." The emperor, one day, received a message that the marshal was desirous of seeing him. He
hastened to the spot; a delirium had seized the unfortunate general, but he recovered his mind when the
emperor approached him. He had dreamed that his
life had been attempted, and said that, being unable to
walk, he had sent for the emperor to defend him. The
latter was overwhelmed with distress at the pitiable
condition of his friend; the surgeon begged him to
withdraw, and he returned home in the deepest affliction. About two hours afterward, intelligence was
brought to him again that Lannes desired to bid him
farewell: he went at once to see him, but, when he
reached the door, M. Ivan, the physician in attendance,
came out to tell him that the patient had expired a few
minutes before. He died on the 31st of May, 1809;
aged forty years.
The character of Lannes united, in a delightful combination, the rude, blunt temper of a soldier with the
highest qualities of military genius. He had received
little education: his great faculties were developed by
exercise and disciplined by circumstances.  " He was
discreet, prudent, and daring," said Napoleon; " and
before the enemy imperturbably cool." His powers
expanded and became elevated, as his experience extended. " He was for a long time a mere fighting man,"




HIS MILITARY CHARACTER.           333
said Napoleon; "but he afterward became an officer
of the first talents." The emperor, who had witnessed
the progress of his understanding, often expressed his
surprise at it. " I found him a dwarf," said he; " and
I lost him a giant." At the time of his death, the emperor pronounced him to be the most expert general
for the manceuvre of twenty-five thousand infantry on
a field of battle that the army possessed; and declared
that had he lived, he would undoubtedly have become
skilful in high tactics, which he did not yet understand.
On another occasion, the same acute observer traced
the distinction between Lannes and Murat: "It was
difficult, nay, impossible," said he, " to be more courageous than Murat and Lannes; but Murat had remained courageous, and nothing more: the mind of
Lannes, on the contrary, had risen to the level of his
courage; he had become a giant." To constitute a
great general, Napoleon remarked that the most desirable object was, that his judgment should be in equilibrium with his physical character; this he called being
well-squared, both by base and perpendicular.  In
Lannes, the physical impulses at first predominated
over the judgment, but the latter was every day gaining ground and approaching equilibrium; and at the
period of his death, he had become a very able commander. Lannes's courage was of that generous and
magnanimous kind, that rendered him considerate and
indulgent. A colonel having punished a young officer
just fiom Fontainebleau, because he gave evidence of
fear in his first engagement, Lannes rebuked him:
"Know, colonel," said he, " that none but a braggadocio will boast that he never was afraid."
The moral qualities of this interesting soldier had




334               JOHN LANNES.
the excellences and the defects of a natural character.
Guided by generous and noble impulses, if his conduct
was often rash, it was never stained by anything sordid
or little. Profuse in expenditure, reckless of consequences, he yielded to the passions of an honorable and
lofty spirit, and won the sympathy and liking of those
who might feel most inclined to doubt the safety of his
principles. Open, frank, and fearless, he was wont to
express his feelings and opinions on all occasions, and
in respect to all subjects, in a downright and energetic
way, without much consideration of bienseance, or much
respect for dignities. When Joseph was appointed
colonel of a regiment of dragoons at the camp of Boulogne, the transformation of so quiet a character into a
warrior, excited a good deal of laughter among the
generals: " The emperor had better not place his
brother under my orders," said Lannes; " for, for the
first fault, I shall put the scamp under arrest."  Napoleon knew that he was in the habit of breaking out
occasionally into strong language against himself, yet
it made no alteration in the confidence which he reposed in his marshal, nor in the affection which he felt
for him as a friend: " He was assuredly," said the
emperor, in speaking of this trait of Lannes's manner,
" one of the men on whom I could most implicitly rely:
it is very true that, in the impetuosity of his disposition,
he has sometimes suffered hasty expressions against me
to escape his lips, but he would probably have broken
the head of any one who chanced to hear them."
But though the surface of Lannes's nature was thus
excitable, like the plain of the ocean, there lay beneath
a depth of noble principle and great feeling which gave
dignity and grandeur to his character, and inspired,




NAPOLEON'S OPINION OF HIM.         335
amid sentiments of devoted duty, unwavering loyalty,
incorruptible honor, and unbounded confidence. Napoleon ever spoke of him as one on whose constancy he
should have implicitly relied in his disasters, without
the possibility of being disappointed. IUs record, in
his dictations to Montholon, of the death of Lannes and
St. Hilaire on the same field, is not without a graceful
interest: " Two heroes, who were Napoleon's best
friends; he shed tears for their loss: these were men
who would not have been wanting in constancy in the
emperor's misfortunes; they would never have been
faithless to the glory of France." —" We have learned,"
Lmid he at another time, in conversation, " not to swear
to anything. Yet I can not conceive that it could have
been possible for Lannes to deviate from the path of
duty and honor. But it is hard to imagine that he
could have existed: with his bravery, he would certainly have got killed in some of the last affairs, or at
least sufficiently wounded to be laid up out of the centre and influence of events. And if he had remained
disposable, he was a man capable of changing the whole
face of affairs by his own weight and power." The
merits of this frank and noble soldier were testified by
the enthusiastic admiration and affection with which he
was regarded by the army and its officers: " In Marshal Lannes, we lost," says Savary, " one of the most
gallant men that our armies could at any time boast of.
His life was too short for his friends; but his career of
honor and glory was without a parallel."
On the arrival of Marie Louise, Napoleon paid the
highest and most refined tribute in his power to the
memory of his friend, by appointing the widowed duchess of Maontebello a lady of honor to the empress. The




336              JOHN LANNES.
empress conceived the tenderest affection for this lady
a young and beautiful woman of irreproachable character. In the misfortunes of 1S14, the emperor thought
that she did not evince the devotedness which the empress' was enitled to expect: she supposed that she
had fulfilled her duty in attending her mistress as far as
Vienna.
" Lannes," said Napoleon to O'MIeara, " when I first
took him by the hand, was an ignorantaccio.  His
education had been much neglected. However, he
improved greatly; and to judge from the astonishing
progress he had made, he would have been a general
of the first class. He had great experience in war. Hi
had been in fifty-four pitched battles, and in three hundred combats of different kinds. He was a man of
uncommon bravery: cool in the midst of fire, and possessed of a clear, penetrating eye, ready to take advantage of any opportunity which might present itself.
Violent and hasty in his expressions, sometimes even
in my presence, he was warmly attached to me. In
the midst of his anger, he would not suffer any person
to join him in his remarks. On that account, when he
was in a choleric mood, it was dangerous to speak to
him, as he used to come to me in his rage, and say that
such and such persons were not to be trusted. As a
general, he was greatly superior to Moreau or to Soult."




WILLIAM BRUNE.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE.
COUNT BRUNE.
WILLIAM MIARY ANNE BRUNE, was born at Brivela-Gaillarde, on the 13th of March, 1763. His father,
Stephen Brune, was a lawyer; but the young man
went up to Paris, at an early age, to learn the profession
of a printer. When the revolution broke out, he attached himself warmly to the party of Danton, and for
some time published a newspaper devoted to the principles of that faction. His predilection for the more
exciting interests of the field, however, displayed itself
as soon as the change in the government of the country
opened a prospect of success to him. As early as 1791,
he became an adjutant-major of the second battalion of
the Seine-and-Oise, and in the following year, adjutantgeneral and chief of brigade. In 1793, he served in
the army of the north, with so much credit as to acquire
the rank of general of brigade. In 1796 and 1797,
he made the campaign of Italy, under Napoleon, and
at the assault of the defile of Tarwis, in March of the
latter year, the emperor observes in his memoirs, that
General Brune, who commanded a brigade of Massena's division, behaved with distinguished bravery.
In the same year, he was made a general of division:
Vor,. T.-29




338           WVILLIAM BRUNE.
and, in 1798, when the directory determined upon revolutionizing Switzerland, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the army of Helvetia, and entered
the country in January. At the close of the year, he
received the command of the army of Holland, and
operated with distinction during 1799, against the combined English and Russian forces. On the 10th of
September, he was repulsed, with considerable loss,
in an attack on the British, under the duke of York,
near Helder: but, at Bergen, on the 19th, he defeated
the allied British and Russian armies, and again, on
the 6th, gained such advantages over the duke of
York, as secured the entire evacuation of Holland by
the enemy, in November. In the beginning of 1S00,
he was made general-in-chief of the army of the west,
in La Vendee, and, in July, was placed in command
of the second army of reserve assembled at Dijon,
after Napoleon had led the first to Marengo. This
post was soon after given to Macdonald, and Brune
succeeded Massena as commander-in-chief of the army
of Italy, a body of about ninety thousand men, who
were to pass the Mincio and Adige, and advance upon
the Noric Alps. Hostilities, under Brune, began on
November 22d, 1800, the Austrian army being under
Bellegarde. At the passage of the Mincio, which was
appointed to take place at Mozembano, and at Molino
della Volta, on the 24th of December, Brune displayed great incapacity and weakness.  The right
wing of the army, under Dupont, passed according to
the previous arrangement, at La Volta, but Brune deferred the passage of the rest until the following day.
Bellegarde immediately fell, with his whole army, upon
Dupont; and Brune made no dispositions to succor




CREATED MARSHAL.              339
him; and, had not Davoust and Suchet come voluntarily to his rescue, his division would have been
wholly destroyed. On the 1st of January, 1801, the
French army passed the Adige, that is, a week after the
passage of the Mincio; "An able general," says Napoleon, " would have passed it the following day."
On the 9th, Macdonald, who with the army of the Grisons had passed through Trent, came into communication with the army of Italy, by Roveredo, and was
placed under Brune's orders, and directed to form the
left wing of his army. On the 16th, the Austrians having some time before sued for a suspension of hostilities, the armistice of Treviso was signed, which left
Mantua to the Austrians, and gave them other advantages displeasing to the first consul, who informed the
Austrian minister that he would not recognise that convention unless 1Mantua were given up, which was accordingly done, and, meanwhile, the treaty of Luneville,
on the 9th of February, terminated hostilities.  Brune's
operations during this period have been traced by Napoleon himself, who expresses his dissatisfaction at the
numerous errors, both military and political, that were
made.   " This campaign of Italy," he remarks,
"showed the limits of Brune's talents, and the first
consul never again employed him in important commands. Although this general had evinced the most
brilliant valor, and great decision, at the head of a brigade, it appeared that he was not formed to command
an army."
In 1801, General Brune was appointed a councillor
of state, and in the following year, was sent ambassador
to Constantinople, where he remained for two years.
On the 19th of May, 1804, he was created a marshal




340             WILLIAM BRUNE.
of the empire, and a grand-officer of the legion of honor,
and soon after was made general-in-chief of the " arm6e
des c6tes." In 1806, he was appointed governor of
the Hanseatic cities: here he incurred the displeasure
of the emperor, on account of his intrigues, by which
the English trade was allowed some advantages for considerations personally beneficial to the marshal. It is
due, however, to the character of Brune, to mention
that Bourrienne, who was well acquainted with the occurrences in that region, gives the marshal the credit
of acting upon a mild and conciliatory system, without
taking notice of any corrupt motives.  "I am very
glad," says he, "to take the present opportunity of
correcting the misconceptions that arose out of the execution of certain acts of imperial tyranny.  The truth
is Marshal Brune, during his government, constantly
endeavored to moderate, as far as he could, the severity
of the orders he received."  He was recalled, and remained without employment until the downfall of Napoleon. Upon the return of the emperor, however, he
quickly and earnestly espoused his cause, in opposition
to the Bourbons; and, Napoleon soon after gave him
the command of the ninth corps of the army, and made
him a count. At the time of the second restoration, he
was in command of Toulon, which he gave up to the
royal authorities after considerable delay, and set out
for Paris. At Avignon he was recognised by the populace, and became the victim of that furious fanaticism
which now raged as madly against the opponents of the
crown, as twenty years before it had against its supporters. It was alleged that the marshal had been the
murderer of the Princess Lamballe; and the mob assembled around the inn where he had alighted, and de



DEATH OF BRUNE.               341
manded his death.  The civil authorities protected
him for some hours, there being no military in the
place; but, at length, the doors were broken, the crowd
rushed to the marshal's chamber, and he fell mortally
wounded by a volley of balls.  His remains were
dragged along the streets, with every circumstance of
insult, and thrown into the Rhone. He perished on
the 2d of August, 1815, in the fifty-third year of his age.
The character of Brune was disgraced by those despicable vices of rapine and avarice which belonged to
the revolutionary canaille, from which he sprung.
With little talent and less virtue, he leaves no historical
memory but that of a shameless plunderer.
29*




DOMINICK PERIGNON.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE.
MARQUIS OF PERIGNON.
DOMINICK CATHERINE PERIGNON, the son of John
Bernard de Perignon, was born on the 31st of May,
1754, at Grenada, near Toulouse, in the upper Garonne. Evincing at an early age a taste for military
pursuits, he was carefully instructed in the branches of
education connected with the employment of a soldier,
and in 1782 entered as a sub-lieutenant in the battalion
of the garrison of Lyons, and in the following year in
the corps of the royal grenadiers of Guyenne, where he
became aide-de-camp to the Count de Preissac. In
1791, he was appointed a deputy to the national assembly from the department of the upper Garonne; but
becoming quickly disgusted with a scene uncongenial
to his taste, he joined, in 1792, the legion of the eastern Pyrenees, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He
here distinguished himself by his bravery so much,
that he quickly rose to the rank of chief of brigade, and
general of brigade; and on the 23d of December, 1793,
he was made a general of division. In the campaign
of 1794, he gained the highest celebrity. In the attack
of the entrenchments before Figueras, on the 1Sth of
November, the commander-in-chief, Dugommier, was
killed by a shell, and Perignon succeeded to the supreme command, and displayed a promptness and abil



AMBASSADOR TO MADRID.           343
ity in his dispositions which turned a temporary check
into a brilliant victory. On the 20th, he advanced with
his whole army to the attack of the entrenched camp at
Figueras. Crossing a region of country almost impracticable, on account of marshes and streams, the troops
marched up to the redoubts on Mount Escola, ascended
the heights in the face of a deadly fire, and carried the
central entrenchment at the point of the bayonet. The
Spanish general-in-chief, La Union, while hastening
with his reserve to the relief of part of the works, was
killed: several redoubts were then carried by the bayonet, and others were abandoned by their defenders and
blown up. In the course of six hours, eighty redoubts,
strongly fortified and manned, were taken or destroyed,
and the whole army driven from the entrenched camp
in confusion into the city. Such was the panic produced by this great victory, that on the 24th, Figueras,
one of the strongest places in Spain, with a garrison of
nine thousand men, well supplied, surrendered to Perignon. He continued to serve in Spain with reputation until the treaty of Bale, on the 12th of July, 1795,
restored peace between the contending parties.
Shortly after, General Perignon was sent ambassador
to Madrid, for the purpose of cementing the amicable
relations of the countries. He was received and treated
with great distinction, and remained until 1798, when
the directory gave him a command in the army of Italy.
At the battle of Novi, on the 17th of August, 1799,
Perignon commanded the left wing, under Joubert;
and after fighting with the most obstinate bravery, was
wounded and made a prisoner. In 1801, he was made
a member of the senate; and on the 11th of September, 1802, was appointed by the first consul commis



344           DOMINICK PERIGNON.
sioner extraordinary to settle the boundary between
France and Spain in the Pyrenees, according to the
treaty of 1795. On the 19th of May, 1804, he was
elevated to the dignity of marshal of France: on the
14th of June, of the same year, he was made grandofficer of the legion of honor, and grand-cross on the
2d of February, 1805. In the following year, Perignon
was made governor-general of the states of Parma and
Placentia; in 1808, was appointed governor of the city
of Naples, and commander-in-chief of the forces in that
kingdom, succeeding Marshal Jourdan in that station.
In the same year, he was created a grand dignitary of
the order of the Two Sicilies; and in 1811, was made
a count. In 1814, upon Murat's demonstrations in opposition to Napoleon, Perignon quitted that kingdom.
Upon the accession of the Bourbons, he received several marks of the royal favor: on the 1st of June, 1814,
was created a knight of the royal and military order of
St. Louis; and on the 4th, was raised to the rank of
peer of France. Upon the landing of Napoleon in
March, 1815, Marshal Perignon was sent to Toulouse
by the duke d'Angouleme, as commander of the 10th
division; but the rapidity of Napoleon's progress rendered it impracticable for him to make any resistance.
He declined accepting a command which was offered
to him by the emperor, and retiring to his countryseat, remained a stranger to the events of the "hundred
days." Upon the second return of the Bourbons, Marshal Perignon was nominated, on the 10th January, 1816,
governor of the first military division. The same year, he
was made, successively, commander and grand-cross of
the order of St. Louis; and in 1817, was created marquis. HIe died at Paris, on the 25th of December, 1818.




NICHOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, JULY 12TH, 1809.
DUKE OF REGGIO.
NICHOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT, son of Nicholas
Oudinot, was born at Bar-le-duc, on the 25th of April,
1767. He commenced his military career, in 1784,
in the humble capacity of a private soldier, in the regiment of infantry of Medoc; and though, after serving
for three years, he left the army for a time, at the request of his father, he soon resumed the profession of
his choice, and, in 1791, he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in the third battalion of the volunteers of
the Meuse, and served in the same capacity in the army
of the Moselle, in 1792 and 1793. In 1794, he had
attained the station of general of brigade, and was employed in the army of the Rhine, and in that of Moselle until 1798. In 1799, he was made a general of
division, and under Massena, in March of that year, he
commanded the left wing of the army, and took a distinguished part in the operations in the Grisons, which
preceded the battle of Zurich. In the attacks on Korsakow's position, there, toward the close of September, Oudinot's duty was to master the heights on the
northwest.  This he accomplished with great vigor,
and pressed down from them with resistless impetuosity. Soon after, he was appointed chief of the gen



346       NICHOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT.
eral staff of the army commanded by Massena, and ac
companied that general to Genoa, and took part in the
defence of that city. In the middle of April, 1800,
Massena being desirous of communicating with Suchet,
then on the Var, Oudinot undertook to penetrate
through the English cruisers who guarded, and convey
the advices of the commander-in-chief; a perilous enterprise which he accomplished in safety. In 1803,
Oudinot was made inspector-general of the infantry and
cavalry; and, in 1804, was created grand-officer of
the legion of honor. In 1805, he was placed at the
head of the grenadiers, and in that post made the campaign of Ulm and Austerlitz. In the following year,
he was named governor-general of the principality of
Neufchatel: he served during the campaigns of 1806,
and 1807, in Russia and Poland, and after the fall of
Dantzig, in May, 1807, he was appointed to particular
command of that city and its vicinity. In 1808, he
was made governor of Erfurth, and raised to the dignity of count of the empire, with a donation of a million
francs. In the following year, at the head of the second corps of the army of Germany, he took a distinguished part in the battle of Eckmuhl, and signalized
his valor still more gloriously at Wagram, where he
won his marshal's baton. In the order of the day,
issued on the 9th of July, by Napoleon, in rebuke of
the order which Bernadotte had issued on the 7th, the
emperor says, " The success of the day of the 5th, is
due to the marshals, the duke of Rivoli, and Oudinot,
who severed the centre of the enemy at the same time
that the corps of the duke of Auerstadt turned their
flank."  In 1810, Marshal Oudinot, was created duke
of Reggio, and received command of the army of the




MINISTER AND PEER OF FRANCE.    347
north, in Holland, and when Louis quitted the throne,
he took possession of that kingdom in the name of the
emperor. In 1812, he commanded the second corps
of the grand army of Russia, where he displayed muc:h
activity and courage. In an engagement with Wettgenstein, near Polotsk, on the 17th of August, he was
wounded, and obliged to give up his command for a
time: but he was again at his post in October, and his
operations during the retreat, and especially at the passage of the Beresina, were of great service to the main
army. In Saxony, in 1813, he was in command of
the second and of the seventh corps of the army; and
was defeated by Bernadotte, at Gross-Beeren, on the
21st of August, in attempting to reach Berlin after
the battle of Dresden. In 1814, in the campaign of
France, he was again by Napoleon's side. He fought
valiantly at the battle of Brienne, on the 1st of February, and at Nangis and Montereau, on the 16th and
17th. At Bar-sur-Aube, on the 17th, he was in command of the troops there, and was defeated and compelled to retreat. At Arcis-sur-Aube, Oudlnot commanded the rear-guard of the army.
Upon the accession of Louis XVIII., the duke of
Reggio was appointed colonel-general of grenadiers,
and governor of Nantz. Upon the return of Napoleon,
he asked his troops if he might rely upon them; they
replied with one voice, " We will not fight against the
emperor, nor for the Bourbons." He took no part in
the events of the " hundred days." Upon the return of
the Bourbons, the duke of Reggio was created a minister of state, a member of the privy counsel, and a
peer of France, and received the command of the royal
corps of the grenadiers and chasseurs of France, and




348       NICHOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT.
the third military division. In 1816, he was honored
with the double title of major-general of the royal guard,
and commander-in-chief of the national guard of Paris.
In the following year he received a further mark of the
royal favor in the grand-cross of the order of St. Louis,
and in 1820, he was made a knight of the Holy Ghost.
In 1823, he was made commander-in-chief of the first
corps of the army of invasion in Spain, in which character he occupied and governed Madrid. In 1S39, he
was elected grand-chancellor of the royal order of the
legion of honor. After the death of Moncey, he was
appointed governor of the Invalides, and held that office at the time of his death, in September, 1847. His
funeral obsequies were celebrated with much pomp at
the church of the Invalides, on the 5th of October.  A
eulogy was pronounced by General Petit, commander
of the Invalides, who spoke of him as " loaded with
honors and distinctions, decorated with all the military
titles of Europe, respected and honored for his singular
probity, justice, and moderation of political opinions."
He was married twice: first, on the 15th of September,
1789, to Frances Charlotte d'Erlin; and, afterward,
on the 19th of July, 1812, to Mary, daughter of Nicolas-Antony de Coucy, a lady of an old and distinguished family. He left a son, the Marquis Oudinot, distinguished in the war in Algiers.
In the bulletin in which the elevation of Oudinot to
the rank of marshal was announced, Napoleon spoke
of him as " tried in a hundred battles." His courage
and valor were unquestionable, but his abilities were of
a commonplace kind.  "I asked Napoleon's opinion
of the duke of Reggio," says Dr. O'Meara. "' A brave
man,' he replied:' Ma di poca testa.'"








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NAPOLEON
AND
THE MARSHALS
OF
Zre (mnpfire.
TWO VOLUMES COMPLETE IN ONE.
WITH FINELY-ENGRAVED PORTRAITS.
VOL. II.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
1855.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
BY  LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.
in the Clerm, Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.




CONTENTS OF SECOND VOLUME.
MARSHAL SOULT........  PAGE 5
MARSHAL DAVOUST............. 89
MARSHAL MASSENA.... 116
MARSHAL MURAT.............. 143
MARSHAL MORTIER............. 178
MARSHAL NEY............... 187
MARSHAL PONIATOWSKI.......... 221
MARSHAL GROUCHY............. 236
MARSHAL BESSIERES......... 256
MARSHAL BERTHIER............. 263
MARSHAL SUCHET............. 271
MARSHAL ST. CYR............. 279
MARSHAL VICTOR............. 285
MARSHAL MONCEY............. 292
MARSHAL MARIONT............. 302
MARSHAL MACDONALD............ 317
MARSHAL BERNADOTTE............ 330
MARSHAL AUGEREAU............ 345
MARSHAL LEFEBVRE............. 354
MARSHAL KELLERNANN........... 365








NICHOLAS SOULT,
DUKE OF DALMATIA.
MARSHAL-GENERAL OF FRANCE.
TriE fame of Marshal Soult fills a great space in the
military history of the last half century.  Rising from
the grade of a common soldier to the highest offices in
war and in the state, he has certainly traversed a large
and various career of political and military service. In
the popular opinion, he ranks higher as a general than
any other of Napoleon's marshals; an estimate which
a candid consideration of his history will hardly sustain.
He possessed, it is true, many qualities which most of
the other marshals lacked; but it has not been sufficiently observed, that he lacked many of the qualities
which they possessed. The head and the hand must
combine to constitute a great commander: if Ney and
Murat had not the former, Soult was, perhaps, as wanting in the latter. He owes his present reputation, in a
great degree, to Colonel Napier's history of the peninsular war; a work which is written in a spirit of obvious
and displeasing partiality to Soult, and which, magnifying all his merits, and passing over his defects, places
nim upon an elevation which, it is believed, in future
times, he will not be allowed to occupy. Napier's abilities and research are more conspicuous than his candor
1*




6               NICHOLAS SOULT.
of temper: he is subject to the strongest personal prejudices, and his vindication and praises of Soult are as
unscrupulous and extravagant, as his disparagement of
Beresford is unjust, unreasonable, and unmanly.
Nicholas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, the son of John Soult
and of Mary Grenier his wife, was born on the 29th
of March, 1769, at St. Amans, in the department of
Tarn, near Toulouse, where his parents were cultivators of the soil, in middling circumstances. In 1785,
at the age of sixteen, he entered the regiment of royal
infantry, afterward the twenty-third, as a common soldier: here his good conduct attracted the attention
of his commanding officers, and in 1787 he was promoted to the grade of corporal, and three years afterward to that of sergeant. His steady, resolute character, and his determination to rise in his profession, led
him to a particular study of the manceuvres of infantry;
and his reputation of being a good instructor, procured
for him, toward the close of 1791, an appointment as
sub-lieutenant of grenadiers (national guards) in the first
battalion of the upper Rhine, which it was made his
duty to drill and exercise. So acceptable was his deportment in this station, that two months afterward
(1792) the battalion, by acclamation, named him adjutant-major, and afterward captain. In 1793, he distinguished himself at the combat of Oberfelsheim, and was
charged with conducting in the Vosges the movements
of two battalions, which were sent to join the camp of
Budenthal. Attached as an adjutant to the staff of the
army of the Moselle, under Jourdan, with the rank of
captain, in 1793, he was present at the unsuccessful
battle of Kaiserslautern. Soon after, he was placed at
the head of a corps which was charged with an assault




BATTLE OF FLEURUS.               7
against the camp of Marsthal, and gained the most
brilliant success, capturing two flags and a large number of prisoners. He was again distinguished at the
battle of Wissenberg, and was afterward in command
of the camp of Roth, and was engaged in the siege of
Fort Louis.
On the 29th of January, 1794, Soult was appointed
adjutant-general with the rank of major, and on the
15th of May, in the same year, was made a.colonel.
In the beginning of June, in that year, when Jourdan
marched from the Moselle with forty thousand men to
the relief of Charleroi on the Sambre, Soult was chief
of the staff in the advanced-guard of the army which
was led by Lefebvre. This general is said to have appreciated the abilities and judgment of Soult very highly,
and to have consulted him more frequently than he was
willing to acknowledge. At the battle of Fleurus, on
the 26th of June, 1794, Soult's coolness and sagacity
contributed materially to the success of that protracted
and hardly-won engagement. The battle began about
three o'clock in the morning, and the Austrian left
wing, under General Beaulieu, advancing with great
impetuosity against the French right, commanded by
Marceau, drove them, after a sharp contest, out of the
villages of Wanserv6e, Velaine, and Baulet.  The
French retired, fighting obstinately, into the wood of
Copiau, and succeeded in holding the enemy in check
for some time in advance of their entrenchments; but
finding themselves in danger of being turned, they abandoned their position, the cry of sauve quipeut was raised,
and by noon the whole wing was retiring in the utmost
confusion.  Marceau himself, encircled by Latour's
Austrian dragoons, owed his safety to the valor of his




8               NICHOLAS SOULT.
staff, who closed around him and protected his retreat
to Lefebvre's division. " Give me four of your battalions," said Marceau to Lefebvre, "that I may drive
the enemy from the position he has just carried. If you
refuse me," he added in a tone of despair, seeing that
Lefebvre hesitated, " I will blow my brains out." Lefebvre turned round to Soult and asked his opinion:
Soult replied, that to detach the smallest portion of the
troops at that moment, would expose the safety of the
division. Marceau, with an angry glance, demanded
who he was, that he should undertake to speak in such
a decisive tone. "I am calm," answered Soult, " and
you are not so." This only enraged Marceau still
more, and he challenged Soult upon the spot to fight
him the next day. " To-day or to-morrow, as you
please," replied Soult: " you will always find me ready
to tell you the truth, and to pay you the respect which
is due to your rank. Do not blow your brains out, but
fight with us, and as soon as our danger is over, we will
give you the battalions you ask for." As he spoke,
Lefebvre's division was assailed by a formidable body
of Hungarian grenadiers under the prince of Cobourg.
Soult flew to the most exposed points, and Marceau,
recalled to the native heroism of his character, fought
like a lion. Seven times did this fierce Austrian corps
advance, and as often were they repelled. They at last
gave way, and the French columns, headed by Soult
and Marceau, were pressing forward in pursuit of them,
when the Austrian regiment called the royal Allemand
charged them furiously, and rushed in almost to Lefebvre's entrenched camp, where nearly three hundred
of them were slain. On the left wing and in the centre
the day had gone badly, and at six o'clock in the even



PROMOTED TO BRIGADIER-GENERAL.          9
ing, all the divisions of Jourdan's army were in retreat,
excepting Lefebvre's. Fearing that he would be turned
and outflanked, this general was about to retire, when
Soult entreated him to keep his ground, assuring him
that the uncertainty of the enemy's manceuvres gave
every indication that they were preparing to retreat.
This opinion of Soult was soon confirmed by a messenger from Jourdan, who, having learned the movements of the Austrian army by means of observers
stationed in a balloon, now sent orders to advance. In
the midst of success, after an obstinate engagement of
eighteen hours, Cobourg, hearing of the fall of Charleroi, determined to retreat. Marceau and Soult then attacked the village of Lambrisart, which had been lost
in the morning, and succeeded in carrying it.
When the battle was over, Marceau said to Lefebvre:
" The chief of your staff is a man of merit: he will soon
obtain great renown." Then holding out his hand to
Soult, he said, in a friendly tone, " General, I beg you
will forget the warmth with which I spoke to you this
morning. Although my rank entitles me to give you
instruction, you have this day taught me a lesson which
I shall not forget while I live. It is you who have
gained the battle of Fleurus." At these words, they
embraced one another, and a warm friendship subsisted
ever after between them, until the death of Marceau.
In November, 1794, Soult was promoted to the rank
of brigadier-general, and passed for a time into the division of General Harty, and was employed under his
orders in the siege of Luxembourg until it capitulated.
He soon returned, however, to-Lefebvre, and that general, anxious to retain his services, gave him the command of the light troops, which formed the advanced



10              NICHOLAS SOULT.
guard of his division. Soult continued to perform the
duties of chief of the staff to Lefebvre during 1795,
1796, and 1797. Desirous of preventing this useful
assistant from being removed to a situation more worthy
of his talents, the general is said to have avoided giving
him in the presence of others the praise which he well
knew belonged to him. When any one commended
Soult, Lefebvre would reply, that he was better adapted
for the desk than for the field. But in either department, his services were of inestimable value to his general. Lefebvre's division of fifteen thousand men had
become the most distinguished in the army: in the
camp, and on the march, it always preserved the most
perfect order: the cavalry deployed on a field of battle
with as much precision as at parade, and the infantry
manoeuvred, under a destructive fire, with the regularity of Swiss soldiers. In attack, this division was always the advanced-guard; and in every retreat, it was
the rear-guard. Those who heard Lefebvre's conversation were surprised to find that, in military operations,
his troops enjoyed a celebrity which was not equalled
by those of Marceau, Bernadotte, or Championnet, who
were known to possess far superior talents to his. Soult
was, accordingly, in the army considered as the author
of his general's fame. He, in fact, superintended everything. Prompt in commending the officers whose conduct was meritorious, and fearless in reproving those
who were negligent, he always set the best example
himself; and on a day of battle, was sure to be found
in the foremost ranks. He carried his concern for the
welfare of the troops so far, as regularly to be on the
spot when provisions were distributed, that he might
be sure of their being sound - an attention which rec



ASSAULT UPON ALTENKIRCHEN.           11
ommended him to the affection of the soldiers. Lefebvre gained credit with the government for the good
effects of these endeavors; but the army knew to whom
the merit was due. When any reverse was experienced, the soldiers would say, "It happened because
the general interfered: why does he not rely implicitly
upon the chief of his staff?"  These particulars are
derived from the statement of a distinguished officer,
who himself served with Soult in Lefebvre's division
as adjutant-general, and who vouches for their literal
truth.
Upon the resumption of hostilities in the end of May,
1796, under Moreau as commander-in-chief, Kleber
was placed at the head of the advanced corps, consisting of Lefebvre's and Collaud's divisions; and many
opportunities were afforded Soult to display his characteristic coolness and bravery. At the passage of the
Sieg, and the sharp combat near Siegburg, his courage
and ability were conspicuous. In the gallant assault
upon Alterkirchen, on the 4th of June, Lefebvre, supported by Collaud, was to attack in front that almost
impregnable position, while Ney threatened it in the
rear. Lefebvre's force was divided into three columns,
the left of which was led by Soult. With an impetuosity rivalling that which the soldiers of Napoleon were
then exhibiting on the plains of Italy, the troops rushed
through a tempest of grape-shot, carried the batteries
by a charge, and scaled the heights which had been
deemed impracticable. A sanguinary contest ensued
among the works, which were at length carried by the
bayonet. Two hours sufficed for gaining this splendid
victory, in which three thousand prisoners, twelve pieces
of cannon, and four stands of colors, were taken. Af



12             NICHOLAS SOULT.
ter this brilliant success, Kleber despatched him to Herborn with three battalions and five hundred cavalry, to
open the way for the left of, the army. Lefebvre was
following him, when the archduke Charles intercepted
his march, and brought on an engagement with very
superior numbers at Wetzlar, in which Lefebvre was
repulsed, and compelled to fall back. As soon as
Kleber was informed of this disaster, he ordered Ney
to proceed at once with some hussars to the rescue of
the advanced detachment: "Go," said he; "you can
not arrive too soon: Soult has, probably, a swarm of
Austrians already upon him." This anticipation was
not unfounded: as soon as the advantage at Wetzlar
had been gained, the imperialists pressed forward to
Herborn to overwhelm the feeble force which occupied
it. The hussars of Caneville and the legion of Bussy
appeared at the head of the assailants; but Soult, nothing daunted, sallied forth to meet them. Meanwhile,
an immense force of emigrants had collected on the
plain: six thousand had already debouched, and others
were coming up. A sharp and destructive fire was
opened upon this body, and the cavalry were directed
to repel the assaults of the imperial troops, which were
renewed not less than seven times. At length, the ammunition of Soult's heroic band began to fail, and the
men were almost exhausted with fatigue. The dragoons
of Bussy and the columns of the emigrants were preparing for a last, and probably decisive charge, when,
upon the opposite quarter of the field of battle, a column of cavalry unexpectedly appeared, and gave another turn to the engagement. This was Ney with the
hussars, who, guided by the firing, had arrived upon
the ground in time to save the intrepid company which




MADE GENERAL OF DIVISION.          13
was sustaining the shock of a force six times as great.
Ney instantly fell with fury upon the flank and rear of
the enemy, and after an obstinate and doubtful contest,
the Austrians and emigrants gave way, and Soult, still
fighting, marching, and manceuvring, at last effected his
junction with General Bastout, and Ney returned to
Kleber to celebrate the noble defence which his brotherin-arms had made.
In 1799, Soult was made a general of division; and
Lefebvre having been wounded, Jourdan gave him the
command of that division, in which post he took an
important share in the battle of Stockach, on the 26th
of March, 1799. He here formed the advanced-guard
of the left wing, under St. Cyr; and his steadiness
and ability alone saved that part of the army from total
destruction. He was sent the same year to allay the
insurrection in Switzerland, and to dissolve it by force.
He proclaimed a pardon to such of the insurgents as
should immediately submit, and, by this means, in two
days the canton of Schwitz was pacified and disarmed;
but he was obliged to resort to arms for the reduction
of Uri and Underwald. After this expedition, he returned to join the main army under command of Massena. At the battle of Andelfingen and Frauenfield on
the Thur, in May, 1799, Soult commanded the ryserve; and his judicious movements enabled Oudinot
to accomplish, with decisive effect, the difficult task
which had been assigned to him. In 1800, Soult
passed into the army of Italy, under, Massena, and was
created lieutenant-general.  He received the chief
command of the centre, which consisted of twelve
thousand men, in three divisions; that of Gardanne,
which defended Cadibona, Vado, Montelegino, SavoVOL. II.-2




14              NICHOLAS SOULT.
na, and Stella; that of Gazan, which defended all the
approaches of the Bochetta; and that of Marbot, which
acted as a reserve under the immediate orders of Soult.
The Austrian operations began on the 6th of April, by
a simultaneous attack along the whole line. Melas,
with four divisions, assailed Montelegino and Stella at
the same time; and Soult at once hastened with the
reserve to Gardanne's assistance, and a brisk action
was kept up the whole day. The immense superiority
of numbers on the part of the Austrians rendered it
impossible for the French to maintain their positions:
Palfy's division entered Cadibona and Vado; Saint
Julien's and Lattermann's occupied Montelegino and
Arbizola: and Soult rallied his left upon Savona,
strengthened the garrison of that citadel, and then retired upon Vareggio, to cover Genoa. On the following day he attacked and carried the summits of Arbizola, drove the imperialists as far as Stella, and threw a
supply of provisions into Savona. Upon the 9th, Soult
was at Voltri; and Massena ordered a combined movement for the purpose of restoring his communications
with Suchet on the left. Soult was to move upon Sassello, Massena upon Melta, and Suchet upon Cadibona; and the junction was to take place upon Upper
Montenotte. Soult put himself in march for Sassello
at dawn; but his scouts having learned that some
flankers of Hohenzollern's corps were approaching Voltri, he quitted his road, wheeled to the right, marched
upon them, and, driving them from one eminence to
another, in the evening precipitated them into the bog
of the torrent of La Pioto, having killed, wounded, and
captured, three thousand men. On the 11th he accomplished his movement upon Sassello; and there




HIS FEARLESSNESS IN ACTION.        15
learning that General Saint Julien had left it in the
morning for Monte Fayal, he immediately marched
after him, defeated him, and drove him upon Montenotte, with the loss of a great number of prisoners.
Thence he moved upon Monte l'Hermette, which he
carried after some smart actions, " in which," says Napoleon, in his dictations upon this campaign, " bravery,
intrepidity, and the necessity of conquering, supplied
the want of numbers." In these contests, Soult exposed himself with the utmost fearlessness, and was
twice wounded. Massena, meanwhile, had been less
fortunate; encountering a superior force in every direction, and fearing to be surrounded, he had, after
some attempts to advance, retired upon Cogareto. This
left Soult in a very exposed and unprotected situation,
for Bellegarde was interposed upon his communications. His men, too, were almost entirely destitute of
provisions, and had not more than two rounds of ammunition with them. Surrounded by a force five times
as numerous as his own, Soult determined to cut his
way through them and rejoin Massena, if possible.
Bellegarde sent him a summons to surrender. Soult
replied, that "with bayonets Frenchmen never despaired." This energetic reply re-established the
courage of his men; and taking advantage, with great
skill, of the indecision of the enemy, he secured his
movements until General Fressinet, detached by Massena, came up to his relief. In the repulse of the Austrian attack upon Genoa, on the 30th of April, Soult
led the brilliant attack upon the plateau of Deux-Freres,
and made himself master of it. After Melas had ad-,
vanced with a part of his army upon the Var, and the
blockading force before Genoa was thereby much re



16              NICHOLAS SOULT.
duced, Massena determined to march out and attempt
the overthrow of the blockade. On the 10th of May,
Lieutenant-General Soult sallied out of the city at the
head of six thousand men, marched along the eastern
coast in the rear of Ott's left, defeated General Gottesheim, and returned into Genoa by the way of Monte
Faccio, with provisions and a thousand prisoners. On
the 13th, the sortie was renewed. Ott concentrated
his troops upon Monte Creto. " The action," says
Napoleon, "was obstinate and bloody; Soult, after
having performed prodigies of valor, fell severely
wounded, and remained in the power of the enemy."
His right leg being shattered by a ball, Soult's younger
brother, Peter Benedict, a major of cavalry and aidede-camp to the lieutenant-general, was made prisoner
at the same time. The younger Soult became a general of division in 1813, and served under his brother
in the army of the Pyrenees, and was distinguished at
Bayonne, Orthes, and Toulouse.
The capitulation of Genoa and the battle of Marengo
restored Soult to liberty, and he returned to France.
As soon as he had recovered from his wounds, he was
appointed to the supreme command in Piedmont:
there he suppressed the insurrection which had taken
place in the valley of Aost, organized the rebels into
companies under his own command, and, by his prudence and firmness, dissipated the conspiracies of which
the country had been fertile, and restored quiet and
confidence throughout his administration. His probity
and love of justice gained him the affection of both the
soldiers and the inhabitants. In 1801, he was placed
at the head of a corps of observation of twelve thousand men, charged with the occupation of Tarento,




CREATED MARSHAL.               17
Otranto, and the neighboring regions. Soon after this,
it was in contemplation to send Soult with this corps
into Egypt, to take the chief command in place of
General Menou, who had succeeded to it by seniority
upon the death of Kleber, and whose incapacity soon
became conspicuous; but the capitulation of this general to Abercromby, and the evacuation of Egypt, rendered this design abortive. In the meanwhile, General
Lefebvre had recommended Soult to Napoleon, as being equally strict in discipline and skilful in manceuvres;
and upon his coming up to Paris, after the peace of
Amiens, he was appointed, in 1802, one of the four
colonel-generals of the consular guard. The effects
of Soult's supervision were soon apparent in the great
improvement of the guard in instruction, discipline, and
appearance; and the first consul conceived so high an
opinion of the abilities of his colonel-general, as a military superintendent, that, in 1803, he appointed him
commander-in-chief of the camp of St. Omer. In this
situation Soult displayed the utmost activity.  On
horseback during almost the whole day, he visited the
coast and/ camps, and occupied himself incessantly in
disciplining the soldiers in those evolutions which rendered that army capable of the splendid achievements
of Ulm and Austerlitz. On the 19th of May, 1804,
he received the baton of marshal of France, and, in the
following year, was created grand-eagle of the legion
of honor. In the campaign of 1805, Soult commanded
the fourth corps of the grand army, and crossed the
Rhine, at Spire, on the 26th of September, and the
Danube, at Donauwerth, on the 6th of November.
The battle of Austerlitz is so conspicuously associated
with the name of this able commander, that it is deemed
2*




18              NICHOLAS SOULT.
appropriate to introduce at this place an account of that
memorable campaign. Soult, says the duke of Rovigo,
was the officer who, at Austerlitz, gave the most satisfaction to the emperor. After the battle of Wagram,
when intelligence reached Napoleon at Vienna, of the
rumors prevailing as to Soult's design to make himself
king of Portugal, the emperor, in token of his knowledge
of his intention, and his forgiveness of it, sent him word
that "he remembered nothing but Austerlitz."
CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ, IN 1805.
The assumption of the imperial crown by Napoleon,
was the signal for the first formation of that mighty coalition of the North, which, though baffled for ten years
by his extraordinary genius and activity, succeeded at
last in overwhelming him. The diplomacy of Mr. Pitt
had succeeded in establishing a military alliance with
Russia, Austria, and Sweden, by which these powers
would appear against France with three hundred and
fifty thousand troops during the autumn of 1805. Of
this immense host, fifty-five thousand were to operate,
under the archduke Charles, on Italy against Massena;
thirty thousand had assembled in the Tyrol, under the
archduke John; eighty thousand, under Mack, with
the archduke Ferdinand, had crossed the Inn on the
9th of September, entered Bavaria, and occupied the
defiles of the Black Forest and its debouches into the
valley of the Rhine; one hundred and sixteen thousand
Russians were advancing in two armies through Poland,
but could not arrive before two months: and besides
these, an Austrian reserve of thirty thousand was forming at Vienna; and there were thirty thousand Rus



CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.           19
sians and Swedes in Pomerania. It was on the 1st of
September, 1805, that Napoleon, satisfied that the disasters of his fleet under Villeneuve, on the 22d of July,
and the subsequent mistakes of that admiral, had rendered his armament at Boulogne unavailing against
England, issued orders for all the troops between Cherbourg and Hamburg to concentrate in Bavaria. The
forces at his disposal at present consisted of thirty-five
thousand men in Italy under Massena, besides fifteen
thousand near Naples; twenty-four thousand Bavarian
and Wiirtemberg troops, in alliance with France; and
his grand army of one hundred and eighty thousand
men, on the shores of the channel, in Holland, and in
Hanover. Occupying a central situation, he determined
again to put in operation the strategy which had so often
led to the most brilliant results; and by taking advantage of Mack's advanced position, fall suddenly upon
his communications, and surround him, before any relief could reach him. In the beginning of September,
this army, consisting of one hundred and eighty thousand men, divided into eight corps, under Bernadotte,
Marmont, Davoust, Soult, Lannes, Ney, Augereau,
and Murat, besides the guards under Mortier and Bessieres, and a corps of Bavarians under Wrede, was
moved forward from various points with the utmost celerity, and arrived on the Rhine from the 17th to the
23d of that month. Ney, Lannes, and Soult, with the
guaids, and Murat's corps of cavalry, were directed
upon Donaworth and Dettingen on the Danube, beyond
Ulm; Davoust and Marmnont, upon Neuberg; Bernadotte and the Bavarian corps, upon Ingolstadt; while
Augereau advanced from the Black Forest into the
Tyrolese Alps. Mack, at the first intelligence of the




20             NICHOLAS SOULT.
movement of this army, concentrated his forces in Ulm,
Memmingen, and Stockach, expecting an attack in front,
when, to his dismay, in the beginning of October, he
found the whole army of Napoleon in his rear, between
Vienna and his headquarters. He immediately threw
up entrenchments at Memmingen, and assembled all
his forces in that place and Ulm. By the middle of
October, the corps of Marmont and Soult, and the imperial guards, were in Augsburg; Bernadotte was in
possession of Munich, in observation of the expected
Russian army; Murat on the right bank of the Danube,
and Ney on the left, were in possession of all the bridges
upon that river; and the other corps were arranged in
such manner as to complete the circle as closely as
possible around the devoted Mack. A body of four
thousand Austrians, under General Auffemberg, who
were despatched by Mack to give assistance to Reinmayer, near Donaworth, were surrounded and cut to
pieces by Murat, as is stated in the biographical notice
of that marshal.  To deliver himself from the fate
which threatened him, Mack, about the 8th of October, turned his army toward the northeast, in hopes
to regain the Bohemian frontier; he established his
headquarters in Burgau, between Ulm and Augsburg,
and occupied with a considerable force Gunzburg,
where there was a bridge over the Danube. On the
9th, the Austrians in this town were attacked by Ney
with superior numbers, and driven out at the point of
the bayonet; and Mack, discouraged, retired his headquarters to Ulm, followed by Ney, whose advanced
guard, under Dupont, had a sharp and sanguinary
engagement with twenty thousand Austrians at Hasslach on the 11th. On the same day, Soult was de



CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.           21
spatched against Memmingen; and having completed
the investment of it on the 13th, the garrison of four
thousand, being without supplies, surrendered on the
first summons. Immediately after, he marched with
three of his divisions to Biberach, and with the fourth
he joined Marmont and Lannes upon the southeast of
Ulm, while Napoleon advanced with his imperial guard
from Augsburg to Burgau, and Ney, on the north, completed the fatal circle which surrounded the Austrian.
On the 14th, occurred the battle of Elchingen, of which
an account will be given in the life of Ney: the archduke Ferdinand, on the same day, made a sortie for the
purpose of reaching Bohemia, and, though he effected
his own escape, the greater part of his troops under
Werneck were captured by Murat. On the 18th, the
heights of Michelsberg, which look down into Ulm, at
half-cannon-shot distance, were carried; and Napoleon,
having now a hundred thousand men surrounding forty
thousand Austrians, summoned Mack to surrender, and
sent General De Segur to negotiate with him. Segur
was authorized to offer him no more than five days,
and as Mack, who had some hopes of being relieved
by the Russians, demanded eight, this conference ended
without success. On the following day, Segur was
sent again by Napoleon to offer eight days, counting
from the first day on which the blockade began, which
in effect, reduced the time to six days; but Mack,
whose imbecile obstinacy thought it a greater triumph
to carry a trifling point than to secure an important one,
replied, "Eight days or death!"  Soon after, Prince
Lichtenstein visited the French headquarters, and the
picture which the emperor drew of the hopelessness of
the Austrian's position, induced him to make such a




22              NICHOLAS SOULT.
report to Mack, that the latter on the next day signed
a capitulation, engaging that the fortress should be
given up and the troops surrendered as prisoners of
war on the 25th, if not sooner relieved by the Russians. Napoleon then sent for Mack to his headquarters, at the Abbey of Elchingen, and entering into conversation with him, impressed him with such terror
that he agreed to surrender immediately upon the
simple condition that Ney's corps should remain
at Ulm until the 25th. On the morning of the
20th of October, the garrison of Ulm, amounting to
thirty thousand men, with sixty pieces of cannon,
marched out, and defiling for five hours past Napoleon
and his staff, who stood before the fire of a bivouac on
an elevated site to the north of the city, laid down their
arms in sullen stillness.
Napoleon, who, if he commonly treated his political
opponents with ceaseless obloquy and insult, knew how
to behave with magnanimity to defeated military foes,
addressed the officers with kindness and respect:
"Gentlemen," said he, "war has its chances: victorious yourselves on many an occasion, you must expect sometimes to endure reverses." Napoleon immediately sent to the senate, at Paris, forty standards
taken at Ulm, and soon after issued to the army one of
the finest proclamations that he ever sent forth. " SIddiers of the grand army!" he said: "In a fortnight
we have finished one campaign. What we proposed
to do, has been done. * * * The army, which, with
equal presumption and rashness, marched upon our
frontiers, is annihilated. Of one hundred thousand men
who formed that army, sixty thousand are prisoners.
Two hundred pieces of cannon, ninety flags, and all




CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.           23
their generals, are in our power. Soldiers, I announce
to you the result of a great battle: but, thanks to the
ill-advised conduct of the enemy, I secured this result
without encountering danger, and, what is without example in history, it has been gained at the sacrifice of
scarce fifteen hundred men. * * * But we will not
stop here. The Russian army which English gold has
brought from the extremity of the world, shall share
the fate of that which we have just defeated. * * *
All that I am anxious for, is to obtain the victory with
the least possible bloodshed.  My soldiers are my
children."
Not a moment was lost in putting in execution these
ulterior designs. Ney was detached to clear the Tyrol
of the troops which threatened the right flank of the
advancing army: Napoleon himself arrived at Munich
on the 24th. Augsburg was made the grand dep6t,
and the whole army, in successive corps, rolled in a
resistless torrent down the valley of the Danube. It
was during this march that Mortier, on the left bank,
separated too far from the advanced-guard, encountered
the Russian army under Kutusoff at Diernstein, and
met with disaster, of which an account will be given in
the notice on that marshal. Meanwhile, the archduke
Charles, who had gained some advantage over Massena
in Italy, alarmed for the safety of the capital, retreated
hastily to Laybach, with the intention of throwing himself into Vienna; but Napoleon, with his usual rapidity,
had sent forward Lannes and Murat, who, on the 13th
of November, seized the bridge of Vienna, and thus
cut off the communication of that prince with the Russian army on the north, and threw him back into Hungary. On the same day, Napoleon entered Vienna, and




24              NICHOLAS SOULT.
established his headquarters at Schoenbrunn. Kutusoff,
thus separated from the archduke, and deprived of the
barrier of the river, was obliged to retire upon the second Russian army, which was now approaching. Mortier and Bernadotte pressed eagerly upon their rear,
and Murat was sent forward with orders to reach Znaim,
if possible, before the retreating enemy, by which they
would be cut off from communicating with their allies.
Kutusoff, however, eluded and triumphed over the designs of Murat, and fixing Bagrathion at Grund to encounter and delay the French troops, he effected a
junction with the residue of the Russian forces at Wischau, in Moravia, on the 19th of November. On the
20th, Napoleon moved his headquarters to Brunn, and
on the 25th, while reconnoitring with his staff, he came
to the village of Austerlitz, where the road from Brunn
toward Hungary crosses that from Nicholsburg. Struck
with the military advantages of the position, he turned
to his officers and said, " Examine these localities well:
in a few days this will be your field of battle."
The annals of war do not exhibit a more splendid
illustration of faultless military science, than is shown in
the dispositions of the various corps of Napoleon's army
at this time. Advanced an immense distance into the
midst of nations in arms, and surrounded by armies far
more numerous than his own, it was the superiority of
his mind and the perfection of his strategy alone, that
saved him from ruin, and gave him the glorious victory which was at hand. His arrangements at this time
were nothing more than an exhibition, on a magnificent
scale, of the same simple principle which he had so
often acted on before -of occupying a central position,
with all his forces in perfect communication, in such a




CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.            25
way that, spread out, they divided the enemy's corps
from one another, and, drawing together, they could, in a
brief space of time, accumulate their whole force upon
any part of the circumference which the enemy covered.
On the present occasion, the emperor's dispositions enabled him to accomplish the most important political results, without departing from the strictest military prudence. On the 25th of November, the positions of the
contending powers were as follows: The allied army,
eighty thousand strong, with the emperors of Austria and
Russia, and the grand-duke Constantine in person, was
in a strong position under the cannon of Olmutz; and the
archduke Charles with a force quite as large was approaching on the southeast of Vienna, to effect ajunction
with them. Napoleon,with the corps ofLannes and Soult,
the imperial guard, and the cavalry under Murat, making
a force in all of sixty thousand, was at Brunn; Mortier,
with his shattered corps, was in garrison at Vienna;
Bernadotte, with his own troops and the Bavarians,
was near Iglau, in observation of the archduke Ferdinand, who with the force that he escaped from Ulm
with, was approaching along the Danube; Davoust
was advanced toward Presburg; Marmont was on the
road to Styria, observing the archduke Charles, and in
communication with Massena on the extreme right.
On the 27th and 2Sth, the movements of the imperial
troops rendered it obvious that they were about to bring
on a general engagement: the French advanced guards
were driven in, the allied headquarters were advanced
to Wischau, with the outposts within two leagues of
Austerlitz. Napoleon instantly sent orders to Bernadotte to leave the Bavarians at Iglau, and advance with
his own corps, by forced marches to Brunn; similar
VOL. II.-3




26              NICHOLAS SOULT.
orders were sent to Mortier, at Vienna, and Marmont
was directed to occupy that city; and, Davoust was
recalled from Presburg to Nicholsburg to form the
French right. By this concentration, the army under
Napoleon was raised at once to ninety thousand men.
On the 29th, the enemy manceuvred in a contradictory
manner, as if their plans were not decided; but, on the
following day, their light troops were observed marching by their left, apparently with the view of turning the
French right, so as to cut them off from Vienna. This
plan was an extremely plausible one, but it involved
one fatal military error, that of executing a lateral
movement directly in front of a formidable enemy.
Napoleon, who for two days had been constantly on
horseback at the advanced posts, observing the enemy's
operations, instantly saw the design, and felt that if he
could draw the whole army into such a movement, its
fate was sealed. To lure the enemy more certainly
into the error which they seemed disposed to commit,
he abandoned the heights of Pratzen, the highest ground
in the neighborhood, evacuated Austerlitz, and concentrated his army about Brunn. Explaining to his
surprised generals the profound conception upon which
he was proceeding, he said, " If I wished to gain an
ordinary victory, I should receive battle on these
heights; but, as my object is to betray the enemy into
irretrievable ruin, I seduce him by the bribe of that
position." On the morning of the 1st of December,
the whole force of the allies was descried moving upon
their left to turn the right flank of the French army;
ald, Napoleon, as he watched the operation, exclaimed
with the prophetic confidence of science, "Before tomorrow night that army is my own." During the




CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.             27
whole day, the allies were executing this flank moveinent, divided into five columns, and on the night of
the 1st, their positions were as follows: the first column,
constituting their left wing, under Buxhowden, was
advanced as far as Augezd, beyond the French right;
tihe second, under Langeron, and the third, under Prybyszeweki, were on the heights of Pratzen, and the
eminence directly behind it; the fourth and fifth, under
Miloradowitch and Lichtenstein, were next in order;
and the reserves, under the grand-duke Constantine,
were on the elevated ground before Austerlitz. The
whole allied force was sixty-five thousand infantry and
fifteen thousand cavalry. On the other hand the French
army, consisting now of ninety thousand men, occupied
a position behind a small stream, and some marshes,
between Brunn and Austerlitz, on both sides of the
great road which runs from Brunn, through the latter
village, to Olmutz. Their right, under Davoust, rested on Lake Maenitz, with its reserve behind the abbey
of Raygern; the centre, under Soult, was pushed forward into and beyond the village directly in front of
Pratzen, so that as soon as the lateral movement of the
enemy was resumed in the morning, and was sufficiently developed, he might fall upon their flank and
sever the army in half: the left rested on the hill of
Bosenitzberg, which was occupied by artillery, with an
advance guard of cavalry in front of it: the left wing
consisted of Lannes' corp, which was at the base of the
hill; next to whom, on the right, was Bernadotte, and
on his left, on the other side of the Olmutz road, were
the grenadiers of Oudinot; Murat's cavalry, and the
imperial guard, under Bessieres, forming a second line.
At two o'clock in the morning, the allied columns were




28                NICHOLAS SOULT.
in full march to carry out the movement begun the day
before, and at three their advanced cavalry reached the
village of Tilnitz.  It was a winter morning; a low fog
rested upon the ground: Napoleon stood in front of
his tent, which was pitched on an elevated spot to the
right of the high road, and commanded a view of the
whole scene: his marshals, on horseback, were grouped
around him. At length the mists rolled away and the
broad yellow sun rose in cloudless effulgence above the
horizon-that "sun of Austerlitz" which was so often
hailed by Napoleon as the star of his brightest destiny.
The enemy had descended from the heights of Pratzen,
and the whole army was in motion to turn the French
right. The marshals now comprehended the splendid
advantage which the genius of Napoleon had foreseen
and prepared, and eagerly asked for the signal to advance.  "Not yet, gentlemen," said Napoleon; "not
yet: when your enemy is executing a false movement
never interrupt him." At length, a violent firing was
heard on the right, and, intelligence arrived that the
left wing of the allies was entering Tilnitz.  "Now is
the moment!" said the emperor.* The marshals galloped off, each to the head of his corps; and, Napoleon, mounting his horse, rode along the line, exclaiming, "Soldiers, the enemy has imprudently exposed
himself to our blows: we shall finish the campaign by
a clap of thunder!"
On the French right, the Russian left wing assaulted
and carried the village of Tilnitz, with irresistible fury;
* "Success in war," said Napoleon, ten years afterward, at St. He.
lena, " depends so much on quicksightedness, and on seizing the right
moment, that the battle of Austerlitz, which was so completely won,
would have been lost, if I had attacked six hours sooner."




CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.            29
pressed on to Sokelnitz, which was also carried, and
appeared in triumph beyond the flank of Davoust:
that cool and courageous commander, however, marched his reserves from behind Raygern, and drew them
in front of Sokelnitz, as the Russians, disordered by
success were issuing out of it; they were speedily
driven back and the village retaken, but again renewing
the assault, a protracted and sanguinary contest ensued.
On the left, Lannes and Bernadotte, advancing with
great rapidity for the purpose of detaining the allied
right or rear, while Soult fell upon their centre, gained
so much ground with their infantry, that Kellermann,
with a body of horse, charged the Russian imperial
guard: but Lichtenstein issued forth with the powerful
corps of Austrian cuirassiers, drove Kellermann back,
and, disordering the French line, penetrated into the
interval between Lannes and Bernadotte; here they
were met and repelled by Murat, at the head of the
cavalry of Napoleon's guard, and being at the same
time taken on both flanks by the artillery, nearly half
of these splendid troops were destroyed. Meanwhile,
Soult's decisive movement, on the centre, was proceeding with full success. The second and third columns of the enemy had just descended the heights of
Pratzen, and the fourth was preparing to cross them,
when Soult's front, in attacking column, appeared upon
the flank of their open marching column. Kutusoff
immediately ordered the third column to regain the
heights, and disposed the fourth column in array of
battle, two lines deep, to receive the attack: but before
this could be done, Soult had ascended the heights,
and broken and driven back the Russian front line with
the loss of several pieces of cannon. A desperate con



30              NICHOLAS SOULT.
flict followed; but after two hours, the six Russian
battalions who occupied the highest position were cut
to pieces, and the heights were carried. About one
o'clock, while the victory was thus undecided, a Imost
formidable body of infantry and cavalry was seen debouching upon the plain between the French centre
and left. It consisted of the Russian imperial guard,
led by the grand-duke Constantine in person; a number of squadrons of horse, being Ouvaroff's cavalry
and the remains of Lichtenstein's cuirassiers, together
with a battery of four pieces. The infantry advancing,
engaged with Vandamme's division, while the cavalry
attacked the French column in flank and threw them
into disorder. Napoleon immediately despatched Rapp
with two squadrons of chasseurs, and the grenadiers of
the guard, to check these horse, and desired Bessieres
to support him with all the cavalry of the guard. Rapp
cried out to his men, " Forward; see how your brothers
and friends are getting cut to pieces: avenge them;
avenge our flags:" and rushing forward drove the
enemy's cavalry back and captured the guns. The
Russians rallied and advanced in great force, but Bessieres, by this time, had arrived: a close contest,
"horse to horse, and hand to hand," succeeded, in
which both cavalry and infantry fought with the deadliest fury, and so intermingled that the artillery of neither
party dared to fire, for fear of killing their own men.
At length, the enthusiasm of the French bore everything
down before them; and the enemy fled in disorder, in
sight of the two emperors of Russia and Austria, who
from the neighboring height beheld the ruin of their
hopes. This action decided the day.* Soult, who
* Gerard's celebrated picture of the battle of Austerlitz, represents




CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.              31
was now advanced nearly a mile from the first line of
battle, inclined to the right, and co-operated with Davoust in surrounding the Austrian left wing; while Napoleon sent the imperial guard to aid in the same design.  Doctoroff's, Langeron's, and  Buxhowden's
corps, forming the whole left, were successively taken
in flank, separated and surrounded: ten thousand were
made prisoners or slain, and a large body were driven
over a frozen lake, of which the ice gave way with their
weight, and above two thousand were drowned. On
the left, the advantage, after a protracted contest had
become equally decided in favor of the French: the
heights of Blasowitz and Kruh, and the village of
Hollubitz, were carried, and the enemy routed, with
the exception of one close column which retreated under Bagrathion, and which, though repeatedly assailed
by Suchet's and Murat's cavalry, made good its retirement to Austerlitz, with the loss of all the baggage.
On this memorable day, the allies lost ten thousand
killed and wounded, and twenty thousand prisoners;
one hundred and eighty pieces of cannon, and fortyfive standards: while so utter was the disorganization of
their army, and the panic of its leaders, that at a council
held at the imperial headquarters that night, it was decided that a further continuation of hostilities was hopeless, and at four o'clock the next morning Prince Lichtenstein arrived at Napoleon's headquarters with proposals for an armistice. Such was the battle of Austerlitz; to which may with truth be applied what the
Roman historian has said of the victory gained by LuRapp, covered with blood from a wound in his head, riding up to inform
Napoleon that the battle was gained. Rapp was immediately made a
general of division.




32              NICIIOLAS SOULT.
cullus over Tigranes, that " the sun never shone upon
such a victory." When Napoleon met Soult, in the
evening, upon the field of battle, he said to him,
"Marshal, you are the first tactician in Europe," (le
premier mancururier de l'Europe).  " Sire," replied
Soult, with a felicity of compliment that would have
done honor to the court of Louis XIV., " I believe it,
since it is your majesty that has the goodness to tell me
so."  On the 4th of December, Napoleon and the emperor Francis, had a personal interview at a mill about
three leagues from Austerlitz; on the 6th an armistice
was signed at Austerlitz; on the 27th the peace of
Presburgh was concluded between France and Austria; and, on the 25th of January, 1806, Napoleon,
having passed through Vienna and Munich, reached
Paris, which he entered at night unattended. Just four
months had elapsed since he left it to take command of
the army: and in that time, the magnificent armies of
Russia and Austria had been utterly destroyed, and
the latter empire trampled under the feet of the conqueror.
In the campaigns of 1806 and 1807, in Prussia and
Poland, Soult again commanded the fourth corps with
memorable distinction. At the battle of Jena, where
he commanded the right wing, his opportune attack
upon the centre mainly contributed to the brilliant result on that occasion.  On the next day, he defeated
Marshal Kalkreuth at Greussen; and paying no attenion to the statements of that general, that an armistice
had been concluded, pursued vigorously the king of
Prussia, and began the blockade of Magdeburg. Soult
continued to take an active part in all the subsequent
operations in Prussia, and in the engagements at Pul



THE SPANISH CAMPAIGN.             33
tusk and Heilsberg in 1807. His able and courageous
conduct at Eylau, is recorded in the history of that battle in the life of Davoust; and it is said to have been
owing to his advice that Napoleon kept his position on
the field of battle, and so acquired the moral advantages of a victory. When Napoleon referred to the enormous loss he had sustained, and suggested a retreat,
Soult is reported to have replied: "Let us stay where
we are, sire; for, although we suffer cruelly, we shall
pass for the conquerors, if we remain last on the field
of battle: I have observed movements in the Russian
army, which induce me to think that Beningsen will
avail himself of the darkness to retreat."  Napoleon,
who was well acquainted with Soult's uncommon penetration, adopted his advice, and the result proved the
sagacity of the counsel.
In 1808, Soult was created duke of Dalmatia, and
accompanied Napoleon into Spain in November of Lhat
year, when he went to direct in person the operations in
the peninsula. On the morning of the 8th of November, the emperor, accompanied by Soult and Lannes,
left Bayonne, and reached Vittoria the same evening.
Arriving at the gates of the town, he jumped from his
horse, and entering the first inn that he observed, called
for his maps and the reports of the situations of both
armies, and proceeded at once to settle the plan of
campaign. Soult was appointed to take the command
of the second corps, then under Bessidres at Briviesca,
and to fall directly upon the Conde de Belvedere, who
was at Burgos; and the emperor, with the imperial
guards and the reserve, was to follow the movements
of that corps.  The operations of the other corps were
marked out in a corresponding manner, and the whole




34              NCICHOLAS SOULT.
plan was put instantly into execution.  Soult set out
that night for Briviesca, and arriving there at daybreak
on the 9th, received from Bessieres the command of the
second corps, and in a few hours was on the road to
Burgos, near to which headquarters were established
that night. At an early hour on the 10th of November,
the Conde de Belvedere drew up his army, one of the
best then in the Spanish service, at Gamonal. Some
skirmishing between advanced parties took place about
seven o'clock, in which the Spanish were driven back,
and disclosed Belvedere's line of battle, consisting of
eleven thousand infantry, regular troops, and twelve
hundred cavalry, covered by thirty pieces of artillery.
Soult's corps then fell upon them, and in an instant
they were broken and fled in confusion. The dispositions of the French commander had provided for intercepting their retreat in all directions, and the slaughter
was therefore great. Twenty-five hundred Spaniards
were killed, and nine hundred taken on the field, together with six pairs of colors, twenty guns, and thirty
ammunition-wagons.  Occupying Burgos, and seizing
the military stores collected there, Soult despatched
part of his corps in pursuit of Belvidere toward Lerma,
and with another part pressed toward Reynosa, to intercept Blake's retreat from Espinosa. On the 13th, his
advanced-guard at Reynosa fell in with and attacked
Blake's retiring army, and utterly defeated it.  Soult
then spread his troops over Montana and Leon, driving
everything before them, and clearing the whole country
north of Burgos, from any possibility of the communications with France being disturbed.  On the 2Sth of
November, the emperor in person advanced from Miranda, across the Somo-Sierra, to Madrid, which he




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             35
reached on the 2d of December, and took possession
of on the 4th. Resting here for a few days, to concentrate his forces, and consolidate the immense conquests
which he had made, the emperor's intention was again
to open the floodgates of invasion, and sweep through
the south of Spain, as he had swept through the north.
Never had this great chief displayed mightier genius
and energy, and never had his troops accomplished his
purposes with more brilliant decision. Everything was
to be dreaded from a conqueror, who in twenty days
had mastered a third of the kingdom and reduced the
capital; and the total ruin of Spain seemed to be inevitable. This catastrophe was averted, and the independence of the nation saved, by the genius and daring
of Sir John Moore.
In the end of November, and the early part of December, this general was at Salamanca. He perceived
the designs of Napoleon, and with consummate sagacity
and a boldness worthy of the skill which had suggested
the plan, he determined to precipitate his whole force
upon Soult, who was in the neighborhood of Burgos.
This assault upon the flank and rear of Napoleon's operations, which threatened wholly to cut off his communications with France, Moore foresaw would break up
the emperor's plans in an instant: if he remained at
Madrid, Soult might be overwhelmed and defeated;
if, as was quite certain, he turned at once upon Moore,
the southern provinces would be delivered, and would
have time to rally and organize. These results were
accomplished by the English commander, with the
most admirable success. While the emperor advanced
against Madrid, and Lannes was directed upon Tudela
and Saragossa, Soult's force had been ordered to con



36             NICHOLAS SOULT.
centrate on the Carrion, and act as a corps of observation. About the middle of December, Soult's army
occupied Carrion, Saldagna, and Sahagun. On the
11th of December, Sir John Moore, having established
magazines in his rear at Benavente, Astorga, and Lugo,
and made every arrangement to secure a rapid retreat
toward Portugal, advanced from Salamanca; and Sir
David Baird moving forward from Astorga about the
same time, the whole English force united on the 20th
at Mayorga and Melgar Abaxo. The same night, Lord
Paget fell, with the advanced-guard, upon the French
posts at Sahagun, and drove them in with some loss:
the residue of the English army halted on the 22d and
23d, to wait for supplies. Moore was preparing to
move during the night of the 23d to Carrion, with the
hope of surprising the bridge there before daylight, and
assailing Soult's main force at Saldagna. The troops
were actually in march to execute this plan, when intelligence reached Sir John, that Napoleon, informed
of his movements, had left Madrid with nearly his whole
army, and was advancing with the utmost celerity to fall
upon his communications. Sir John's principal purpose was accomplished, and he instantly fell back to
Benavente, and thence to Astorga, and made every arrangement for a rapid retreat to Portugal or the western
coast of Spain.  The emperor directed his course to
Benavente, and Soult, assuming the offensive, moved
toward Astorga by the Mancilla road. On the 2Sth,
Napoleon reached the left bank of the Esla, but the
prey had escaped him: he was twelve hours too late,
and Moorewas in full retreat through Astorga. On the
30th, a detachment of the cavalry of the imperial guard,
under General Lefebvre-Desnouettes, crossed the Esla,




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.            37
and being attacked by Lord Paget, were routed, and
Lefebvre wounded and made prisoner. On the 31st
of December, Sir John Moore left Astorga for Lugo;
and on the 1st of January, 1809, at Astorga, Napoleon
and Soult united their forces, consisting of seventy
thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and two hundred pieces of artillery. Here the emperor was recalled
to Paris by the operations of Austria; and returning
thither to open the campaign of Eckmuhl and Wagram,
he left Soult in supreme command, to continue the pursuit with twenty thousand infantry, five thousand cavalry, and fifty guns, followed at some distance by Ney
with the sixth corps of sixteen thousand men. With a
vigor and decision, caught from the great commander
whose place he was occupying, Soult pressed rapidly
forward upon the track of Sir John Moore, who hastened
to his ships, with the intention of embarking and passing
round by sea to the south. On the 3d of January, an
engagement took place at Calcabellos between the English rear-guard and the French light cavalry, in which
General Colbert, the commander of the latter, was
killed. On the evening of the 5th, Sir John drew up
his whole army at Lugo, for the purpose of giving battle to his pursuers, if pressed, or, at least, of allowing
his men time to rest and reorganize. About noon on the
7th, Soult arrived at the head of ten or twelve thousand
men, and finding a formidable assemblage of the enemy
before him, which the nature of the ground did not
permit him to measure with accuracy, he sent some
squadrons with four guns to open a fire upon the Brit
ish centre. Fifteen guns replied; and Soult, now sat
isfied that the principal part of the English army was
before him, halted to wait for the residue of his forces.
Vo  TT. T1. 4




38              NICHOLAS SOULT.
On the 8th, both armies were in array, and the English
expected an attack. Soult, however, postponed it until
the 9th; and during the night, chiefly in consequence
of the failure of Spanish co-operation, Sir John drew
off to Betanzos, and thence to the heights of Corunna,
where he arrived on the 11th. Here the whole British
army was concentrated; and the transports arriving on
the 14th, the stores were shipped, and arrangements
made to embark the troops on the night of the 16th17th.  Meanwhile, on the 12th, Soult came up with
the greatest part of his infantry; but the cavalry, having been delayed by the destruction of the bridges at
Burgo, did not arrive until the 14th. During the 15th,
the French dispositions were made; and about three
in the afternoon, the opening of a heavy fire on the
left, and the advance of three formidable columns, announced that a general engagement was at hand.
The English force, at Corunna, amounted to less
than fifteen thousand men.  The right consisted of
Baird's division, which was in an exposed and unfavorable position; the centre rested upon the village of
Elvina, and the left was formed of Hope's division,
beyond the village of Palavia Abaxo; Paget's cavalry,
and Frazer's division of infantry being in reserve. The
force under Soult was not less than twenty thousand;
Laborde's division, composing the right, Merle's the
centre, and Mermet's the left, with a battery of eleven
heavy guns upon its extreme left. Opening a steady
fire from this battery, Soult's columns advanced obliquely against the English right and centre.  The
first column, driving in the outposts at Elvina, turned
then to their left to outflank Baird's division, and assail
it upon its left; the next column penetrated into the




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             39
village; and a third marched against Hope's division
Moore's dispositions were made with consummate ability. Paget's reserve, supported by Frazer, was ordered to pass round beyond the French left, threaten the
great battery, and assail the French positions in flank.
At the same time, the fourth regiment which formed
Baird's extreme right, was drawn back, and facing to
the left, was ordered to open a fire upon the flank of
the column which was advancing to turn Baird's position. These orders were executed with promptness
and success: but, in the meantime, the village of Elvina became the scene of a close and severe struggle.
The French column, upon its first approach, was received at the point of the bayonet, by the fiftieth and
forty-second, and driven out. The combat was renewed beyond the village with some success on the
part of the French, who again entered the village, and
were again encountered with an obstinate resistance.
While observing the battle in Elvina, and animating
the troops by words of encouragement, Sir John Moore
was desperately wounded by a cannon-shot, which carried away his left shoulder. He was borne from the
field of his fame; but not until the battle was visibly
gained.  For, Paget's movements had driven the
French dragoons in the rear of the battery, from the
ground; the French infantry, after a protracted struggle, had been expelled from Elvina; and, on the left,
Hope had carried the village of Palavia Abaxo: everywhere, the British line was advanced beyond the positions which it had occupied in the morning, and Soult's
columns were retiring in disorder. Sir John Hope, who
upon the death of Moore, took the command, embarked
the English during the night; and, on the following




40              NICHOLAS SOULT.
morning, the French beheld their opponents standing
out to sea. Moore, wrapped in his military cloak, was
buried by his staff officers, in the citadel of Corunna;
and, Soult, in a spirit worthy of the age of chivalry,
erected a monument to his memory.
Soon after the battle of Corunna, Soult took possession of Ferrol in the name of King Joseph: and, here,
despatches from Napoleon were received, dated atValladolid, prescribing to him an immediate advance
through Portugal to Oporto, to co-operate, in an attack
upon Lisbon, with Victor, who had arrived at Alcantara, and was to proceed through Merida.  "The emperor," said Berthier, at the conclusion of his despatch, " has unlimited confidence in your talents for
the fine expedition which he has charged you with."
Soult re-organized his army at St. Jago de Compostella, and, on the Ist of February, 1S09, began his forward movement toward the MIinho, with an army of
fourteen thousand infantry, four thousand cavalry, and
fifty-eight pieces of artillery. Advancing through Redondela and Tuy, his troops, after encountering many
obstacles from the state of the roads and streams, were
assembled, on the 16th, on the banks of the Minho,
between Salvatierra, Guardia, and Redondela. Baffled
by the swollen state of the river, and the gallant resistance of the Portulguese on the opposite bank, in an
attempt to cross at Campo Saucos, Soult changed the
line of his march, and moved up the stream upon Ridabavia, Barbantes, and Orense, where ferries and a
bridge enabled him to pass. The most serious obstacles opposed themselves to the further advance of
the French. A formidable body of native troops were
to be encountered; the peasantry, animated by the ut



PENINS ULAR CAMPAIGN.            41
most hostility, were to be repelled at every step; and
the army was to move over a country almost impracticable from the condition of the roads, and the state of
the weather. It was a state of things to which the
genius and temper of Soult were particularly adapted,
and he triumphed over every difficulty with the most
distinguished ability.   Passing through  Monterey,
where a considerable body under Romana was routed,
Soult took possession of Chaves, on the 13th; defeated
the Portuguese again in a general engagement, at
Braga, on the 20th; and, arrived before Oporto, on
the 27th. Preparations for the defence of the city had
been made by the bishop, and the popular feeling within
the walls was vehemently excited against the invaders.
Soult's summons to surrender was rejected; and, at an
early hour on the morning of the 29th, his troops moved
forward to the assault of the city. Advancing in three
powerful columns, the works were stormed and carried
with irresistible fury, the Portuguese troops within
swept away by the impetuosity of the onset, and the
city made the prey of an incensed and ruthless army.
In spite of the earnest endeavors of the French marshal
to control his men, a terrible scene of carnage and violence ensued; multitudes were driven into the river;
others were put to the sword. Ten thousand Portuguese perished on that dreadful day.  The French
loss was about five hundred.
The tardiness of Victor's advance along the valley
of the Tagus, rendered impracticable an immediate
advance, by Soult, upon Lisbon. He turned his attention, therefore, to the securing of his conquest by occupying the best military positions in the country, and by
establishing such civil regulations as restored the tran4*




12              NICHOLAS SOULT.
quillity of the country, and gave to the French the
character of allies and rulers, rather than invaders and
conquerors.  Soult's administrative talents were displayed with great success, and the region Entre Minho
e Douro, enjoyed greater repose and order than it had
done under any of the previous governments.  He
pursued, indeed, the system of conciliation with so
much earnestness, as very soon to raise suspicions of a
design on his part to make himself king. The recent
example of Murat gave hope to almost any project of
ambition, and Soult felt that his own abilities were far
superior to those of the king of Naples. His schemes
were laid, however, with so much skill, and followed
out so cautiously, that in the event of the emperor's
disapproving of his project, it could readily be disowned. A deputation of a dozen inhabitants of Braga
waited on the marshal, a fortnight after his arrival, and
soon after published, with an account of this interview,
a proclamation in terms like these: " The former government of the country," it declared, " cared for nothing but the increase of its own revenues. The house
of Braganza has ceased to reign, and Providence, who
watches over our destinies, has sent among us a man
who has no other aim than glory, and no wish but to
exercise the power which Napoleon has given him,in a
way to rescue us from the anarchy which envelops us.
Why should we hesitate to rally about him, and proclaim him the liberator of the nation? The emperor
of the French will give us his support, and will be delighted to see one of his lieutenants become our sovereign." This document bears evident marks of having been composed under Soult's own direction, and
as it was published in a journal under his control, his




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             43
approval of it is unquestionable. Soon after, another
deputation waited upon him for the same purpose, and
he listened long to their recital of the benefits which a
French prince could confer upon Portugal.  "As for
myself," he replied, "I feel all the gratitude that is
due to your flattering views in relation to me, but it
does not rest with me to give you a reply." Memorials
signed with the names of thirty thousand persons were
also presented; but most of the names are supposed to
have been forged: and all these documents were burnt
when the army evacuated Oporto. Soult's caution
and coolness kept him from being too far committed,
and at the first intimation of the emperor's displeasure,
the project vanished. Napoleon, when informed of it,
affected to treat it as a trifling matter, in his relations
with Soult; but to some of the inferior agents, who
were most active in promoting the design, he expressed
his anger in very emphatic terms: "If you had gone
one step further," he said to one of Soult's aides-decamp, " I would have had you shot."
But another character was now about to appear upon
the scene, before which Soult's genius was destined
again and again to be rebuked. On the 22d of April,
1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley landed at Lisbon, and immediately took the command of the allied British and
Portuguese armies. Sending a part of his force to observe and impede the progress of Victor, he directed
the residue upon Coimbra; and there, on the 5th of
May, twenty-five thousand men, of whom  thirteen
thousand were British, were concentrated without
Soult's having become aware of their approach. On
the 9th of May, Soult became aware of the perils of his
position, and made rapid arrangements for a retreat.




44              NICHOLAS SOULT.
On the morning of the 12th, the British columns arrived on the left bank of the Douro, opposite to Oporto,
and on the same day, Wellesley accomplished that
celebrated passage of the river, which first gave him a
military celebrity in Europe, and drew from Napoleon
the brief but significant remark, " c'est un bon general."
Soult immediately evacuated the city and retired upon
Vallonga. Pursued with the utmost vigor by such an
enemy as Wellesley, nothing but the most prompt and
sagacious measures saved his army from total destruction. At Pennafiel, on the 13th, he destroyed his artillery, and abandoned his military stores and baggage,
and passing rapidly over the mountains, through Pompeira and Guimaraens, arrived, on the 15th, at Braga,'
where the army was reorganized and rested. Placing
Loison at the head of the army, and taking command
of the rear-guard in person, he retired through Salamonde to Montalegre,where he arrived on the 17th,
closely pursued by the English, and, on the 18th, crossed the frontier, and re-entered Orense on the 19th.
Seventy-six days had elapsed since Soult had left that
city: he now returned to it, having lost six thousand
good soldiers, sixty pieces of artillery, and all his
baggage.
Having refreshed his army, Soult, on the 21st, left
Orense, for Lugo, to raise the siege of that place, which
was carried on by the Spanish general Mahi.  On
the following day, as soon as his advanced guard was
discerned from Lugo, Mahi broke up his camp and
retired to Mondonedo. Soult, on the 23d, entered
Lugo, and soon after he came into communication with
Ney, with a view to joint operations against the Marquis
de la Rorragna. A combined movement against this




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             45
general was arranged, which would have inevitably resulted in his destruction, if the jealousy and misunderstanding of the French marshals had not defeated their
own plans, and rendered the whole scheme abortive.
Soult then marched across to Zamora, which he entered
on the 2d of July; and Ney, on the 30th, occupied
Astorga.
On the 30th of June, Soult received a despatch
from the emperor, then near Ratisbon, placing Ney and
Mortier under his orders, which gavd him the supreme
command of the second, fifth, and sixth corps. He
was directed, at the same time, to act decisively against
the English: "Wellesley,"  said Napoleon, " will
probably advance to Madrid by the valley of the Tagus;
if so, cross the mountains, fall upon his rear, and crush
him." About the middle of July, Wellesley made the
movement which Napoleon had predicted; and Soult
immediately concentrated his army around Salamanca,
and despatched an officer to Joseph, at Madrid, for the
purpose of carrying out, in concert, the plan which
the emperor had suggested.  On the 24th of July,
Soult received assurances from Joseph of his willing
co-operation in the execution of the proposed design;
and, about the 28th, he began the march of his troops
upon Placentia. The battle of Talavera, brought on
prematurely, upon the 28th, by Joseph and Victor,
disconcerted the whole arrangement; but Wellesley
was still in imminent danger, for Soult, with three corps
of the army, was already in occupation of the right
bank of the Tagus, and directly upon the English general's communications.  From  this embarrassment,
Sir Arthur dexterously relieved himself by crossing the
river by the bridge of Arsobispo, on the 4th of August.




46              NICHOLAS SOULT.
On the Sth, Soult came up with the allied rear-guard,
under Albuquerque, near Arsobispo, and, seizing the
passage, before they became aware of the approach of
the French, routed the Spaniards with a loss of four
hundred prisoners and five guns. Soon after, despatches arrived from the emperor, at Schoenbrunn, on
the 29th of July, directing that farther active operations
should be stayed until the troops which the victory of
Wagram now placed at his disposal, should be sent
into Spain. Accordingly, the second corps was posted
at Placentia, the fifth at Talavera, and the 6th at Valladolid: and Wellesley, toward the close of the month,
retired into Portugal, and, on the 4th of September,
established his headquarters at Badajoz.
Soon after, Jourdan who had held the office of
major-general of the French armies, was recalled to
France, and Soult was appointed major-general. In
the beginning of November, Areizaga, who had been
placed at the head of the Spanish armies of La Mancha
and Estremadura, advanced with fifty thousand men
toward Madrid.  Soult immediately put his forces in
motion, toward Aranjuez; and, on the 19th, the
French, led by Joseph in person, but directed by Soult,
came upon the Spaniards in battle array near Ocana.
The force of the latter consisted of forty-five thousand
infantry, seven thousand cavalry, and sixty pieces of
artillery; while the French amounted to only twentyfour thousand infantry, and five thousand cavalry, with
fifty guns. The attack began in two columns against
the Spanish right and centre: a gallant resistance was
made for some time, but, at length, the Spanish line
was broken in pieces, and a total and irretrievable rout
ensued. In this great victory, eighteen thousand pris



PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             47
oners were taken, besides six hundred inferior officers,
and three generals: and, thirty pieces of artillery and
twenty-five stand of colors became the trophies of the
victors. The French returned to Madrid, and military
operations were discontinued on both sides during the
remainder of the year.
In the beginning of 1810, the orders of Napoleon
directed an invasion of Andalusia, and Soult, attended
by King Joseph in person, was charged with the execution of it. On the 20th of January, by a combined
and general attack, he broke through the Sierra-Morena,
and spread over the rich plains of Andalusia which lie
beyond this barrier. On the 1st of February, Soult
and the king entered Seville; on the 5th, Malaga was
taken; and a few days after, Badajoz was summoned
unsuccessfully. Cordova, Grenada, Ubera, and nearly
all the principal places in the country, were occupied
during February and March; and Cadiz was blockaded
by Victor. Joseph about this time returned to Madrid,
and Soult remained as commander-in-chief and supreme
governor of Andalusia. The administrative talents displayed by Soult in this position, and the ability with
which he pacificated the country, conciliated the inhabitants, and drew out the resources of the kingdom for
the use of the emperor, form his highest claims to distinction, as a man of enlarged views and judicious policy. On the 1st of November, Soult in person took
the direction of the operations against Cadiz, and carried them forward with a vigor and effect that promised
a successful issue, when, in the month of December,
orders arrived from the emperor, directing an advance
into Estremadura. Massena had been charged with an
invasion of Por tugal from the northwest, and Soult was




48              NICHOLAS SOULT.
now instructed to co-operate with him by a simultaneous movement through the Alentejo toward Lisbon.
The latter represented to the emperor that, after leaving sufficient force to maintain the blockade of Cadiz
and to secure the possession of Andalusia, he should
have less than twenty thousand men disposable for the
march, and that with such an army it would be imprudent to advance, without first reducing Olivenza and
Badajoz. The emperor approved of this view; and
in the beginning of January, 1811, Soult, at the head
of twenty thousand men, of whom four thousand were
cavalry, with fifty-four guns, and a besieging train, and
large stores, marched into Estremadura. On the 11th,
Olivenza was invested, and on the 21st capitulated.
On the 26th, he approached Badajoz, drove in the outposts, and began the siege with great energy. A considerable Spanish army, under Mendizabal, assembled
for the rescue of the place; and on the 19th of February, Soult crossed the Gebora, behind which these
forces were drawn up, attacked and utterly routed fifteen thousand men, taking eight thousand prisoners,
and capturing all the guns, colors, and baggage of the
enemy. The siege was then renewed with increased
activity. Menacho, the governor of Badajoz, was killed
in a sortie, which he commanded in person; and General Imas succeeded him in defence of the place. On
the 10th of March, the breach being deemed practicable, preparations for an assault were made; but on the
following day, upon a summons being made, the place
surrendered. Nine thousand men were made prisoners-of-war, and one hundred and seventy pieces of
ordnance, eighty thousand quintals of gunpowder, and
two complete bridge-equipages in excellent condition,




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             49
fell into the hands of the French. Soon after, Albuquerque and Valentia d'Alcantara were occupied and
six hundred prisoners taken. But the failure of Massena's efforts in the north, and the result of the battle
of Barosa, fought by Victor in his rear, induced Soult
to abandon his further advance, and return to Seville.
"In fifty days," says an intelligent historian, in summing up the results of this campaign, " he had mastered
four fortresses; he had killed or dispersed ten thousand
men, and taken twenty thousand, with a force which,
at no time, exceeded the number of his prisoners."
The presence of this able commander in Andalusia
was quickly felt in the restoration of confidence and
quiet, which had been previously disturbed by the battle
of Barosa. The blockade of Cadiz was pressed with
fresh vigor, and the defences of Seville and other cities
in the French occupation strengthened.  The operations in Estremadura, at the same time, were not abandoned. Mortier had been left in charge of the siege
of Campo Mayor, which had been invested before
Soult's return. After a bombardment of several days,
the place surrendered on the 21st of March. But at
this time a new foe suddenly appeared in the field,
whom the French were destined to find of a very different character from the native troops. An English
force of twenty thousand infantry and two thousand
cavalry, with eighteen guns, had been detached, under
Marshal Beresford, by Wellington from the north; and
on the 25th of March, they appeared unexpectedly before Campo Mayor. It was immediately abandoned
by the French, who were pursued with some loss by
the English: soon after, Albuquerque and Valentia
d'Alcantara were evacuated; and before the end of
Voi,. II.,-5




50              NICHOLAS SOULT.
April, the English had spread themselves over nearly
the whole country, and on the 5th of May Badajoz was
invested. Soult no sooner heard of these movements,
than he rapidly organized a force for the purpose of
raising the siege, and on the 10th he moved out of Seville. Beresford, who was in command before Badajoz, heard of his approach on the 13th, and immediately raised the siege, and took position in conjunction
with the Spanish generals at the village of Albuera, to
receive him. Here, on the 15th, were assembled under Beresford thirty thousand infantry, of whom seven
thousand were British, and two thousand cavalry, with
thirty-eight pieces of artillery; and the same night
Soult arrived with a force of nineteen thousand select
infantry, four thousand cavalry, and fifty guns. On
the following morning began the most obstinate and
sanguinary battle that was fought during the peninsular
war: the success of the French at first appeared to be
so decisive, that Beresford was about to draw off his
troops, when the prompt and sagacious dispositions of
Colonel (since Sir Henry) Hardinge restored the day,
and in the end repulsed the enemy. On the 18th,
Soult retreated to Solano.  The allied loss in this
severe engagement was seven thousand killed and
wounded, of whom forty-five hundred were British,
and five hundred made prisoners; and the French loss
was eight thousand killed and wounded, among whom
were two generals slain and three wounded. On the
20th, Soult retreated through Fuente del Maestro toward Llerena and Usagre, where he took position on the
23d: he was followed by the allied forces, which gave
to the drawn battle of Albuera the aspect and effect of
a defeat of the French. The siege of Badajoz was at




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             51
once resumed by Wellington with great activity. Soult
maintained himself at Llerena until the 14th of June,
when he was reinforced by General Drouet, and at
once advanced to Fuente del Maestro. Marmont,
meanwhile, had taken command of the army of Portugal, and had been directed to move forward toward the
Tagus, and communicate with Soult. On the 18th,
the two marshals united near Medellin, and the next
day entered Badajoz, the blockade of which was raised
on the 17th. Everything now indicated a general and
decided engagement, and Wellington stood prepared
to meet it; but the caution of Soult induced him to
decline the risk, and toward the end of the month that
marshal returned to Seville. He displayed his usual
energy and judgment in repressing insurrections, and
quieting the disturbances which had prevailed throughout Andalusia and in 1Murcia during his absence; and
in a short time, his control of these provinces was complete and peaceful. In the following winter, Soult's
principal military enterprise was the siege of Tarifa,
which was invested on the 20th of December. On the
30th, an assault was repulsed with great loss on the
part of the French; and a few days after the besiegers
withdrew, having been diminished during the expedition by a thousand men.
On the 17th of March, Badajoz was invested for the
third time by the English; and, on the 1st of April,
Soult quitted Seville and advanced to Llerena for the
purpose of raising the siege. On this occasion, however, his movements were too tardy: Badajoz was
carried by assault on the night of the 6th.  Soult heard
of the fall of the place on the 8th, when he was beyond
Fuente del Maestro, in full march to the relief of the




52              NICHOLAS SOULT.
gallant defenders. During the summer of 1812, Soult,
prudently and anxiously, was arranging a system of offensive operations, and combining his resources for
their execution, in a manner that promised the most
auspicious results, when the terrible defeat of Marmont,
at Salamanca, on the 22d of July, paralyzed for ever
the French domination in Spain, and, at once, set free
the whole south of Spain. Joseph, soon after, despatched peremptory orders to Soult to quit Andalusia,
with all his troops, and, Soult, reluctantly yet ably,
drawing together his-expanded forces, left Seville, on
the 26th of August, and marched for Grenada; and,
proceeding thence, by Hellin and Almanza, effected
a junction, on the 3d of October, with Suchet and Joseph, in Valencia. Here Soult's counsels, adopted for
their obvious wisdom, by the king, notwithstanding his
personal hostility to that marshal, soon restored some
show of prosperity to Joseph's affairs. Madrid was
abandoned by the English in the end of October;
Soult's operations in the north, during November, compelled Wellington, who had advanced to Burgos, to
retire as far as Ciudad Rodrigo. The French crossed
the Tormes on the 14th; and, Jourdan earnestly advised an attack, but Soult, with caution too great, dissuaded the king from a battle, and the opportunity
which then existed for striking a favorable blow against
Wellington, was lost for ever.
Meanwhile, the personal difference which, at an early
period, had been created between Soult and King Joseph, in consequence of the distinct, and often opposite,
systems of Joseph, as king of Spain, and Soult, as the
marshal of the emperor, increased to-such an extent,
that their co-operation in the same enterprise was no




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             53
longer practicable. When Soult had received at Seville, after the battle of Salamanca, Joseph's imperative
directions to evacuate Andalusia, the orders were not
accompanied by any such details of that defeat, and
the subsequent events, as justified, to the judgment of
Soult, such an instantaneous and complete abandonment of all the results of his labors during two toilsome
years. To the marshal, therefore, the course which
Joseph was pursuing, seemed so inexplicable, that he
was led to suspect that the king of Spain contemplated
a separate arrangement with the enemy, and was intending to sacrifice the interests of the emperor, and the
honor of the army, to the personal advantage of himself and his throne. In preparing, therefore, to obey
the orders o1 Joseph, he determined to give vent to the
suspicions which he cherished. He accordingly communicated his views to six generals of his army, having
previously engaged them by an oath, not to reveal the
matter to any one but the emperor, or persons specially
commissioned by him; and wrote also, on the 12th of
August, to the duke de Feltre, minister of war, at
Paris, expressing his opinions at large, with regard to
the ruinous consequences of Joseph's proceedings, and
the probability which they raised of his intention, after
leading the French out of Spain, " d'en profiter par
quelque arrangement." This despatch was sent by
sea, and the vessel which carried it touched at Valencia while Joseph was there. The letter was opened,
and Colonel Desprez was immediately sent on a special
mission to the emperor, who was then at Moscow, to
lay complaints before him of Soult's negligence, and
of his design to make himself king of Andalusia, and
to insist, absolutely, upon his recall. The reception
5*




54              NICHOLAS SOULT.
which the emperor gave to these representations of his
brother's displeasure, was not particularly flattering.
"The emperor, when he came to the duke of Dalmatia's letter," Colonel Desprez wrote to the king of
Spain, in giving him an account of his interview with
Napoleon at Moscow, "told me that it had already
reached him through another channel, but that he attached no importance to it; Marshal Soult was mistaken, but he could not give his attention to such fooleries (semblables pauvretes) at a time when he was at
the head of five hundred thousand men, and was in the
midst of immense enterprises; but, for the rest, the
duke of Dalmatia's suspicions did not much astonish
him, for there were many other generals in Spain who
agreed in thinking that your majesty preferred Spain to
France, and, indeed, that all who judged by your
speeches would come to the same conclusion, though
he (the emperor) was satisfied that your heart was
French. He added that Marshal Soult was the only
military head the French army in Spain possessed, and
that he could not withdraw him without compromitting
its safety." When Soult joined the king in Valencia,
Joseph offered his command, successively, to Jourdan
and to Suchet, and abstained from displacing him only
because neither of the other marshals would consent to
accept.  In the spring of 1813, the king's impatience
of Soult became irrepressible, and he wrote decisively
to the emperor, at Paris.  "Either the duke of Dalmatia or himself must quit Spain. At Valencia," he
said, " he had forgotten his own injuries, he had suppressed his just indignation, and, instead of sending
Marshal Soult to France, had given him the direction
of the operations against the allies, but it was in the




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.            55
hope that shame for the past, combined with his avidity
for glory, would urge him to extraordinary exertions,
but nothing of the kind had happened; Soult was not
a man to be trusted. Restless, intriguing, ambitious,
he would sacrifice everything to his own advancement,
and possessed just that sort of talent which would lead
him to mount a scaffold, when he thought he was ascending the steps of a throne, because he would want
the courage to strike when the crisis arrived. He acquitted him," he added, s"of treachery at the passage
of the Tormes, for, there, fear alone operated to prevent him from bringing the allies to a decisive engagement, but, he was, nevertheless, treacherous to the
emperor, and his proceedings in Spain were probably
connected with the conspiracy of Mallet at Paris."
These wild accusations had no effect to disturb Napoleon's confidence, but in decent respect to his brother
he could no longer refuse his demand, and Soult was,
accordingly, recalled in March, 1813.
Soult joined the army under Napoleon, in Saxony,
and, upon the death of Bessieres, he was appointed
one of the commanders of one corps of the imperial
guards: and, at Bautzen, he commanded the centre of
the army. On the 30th of June, Napoleon received
intelligence of the battle of Vittoria, by which his hopes
of retaining a hold upon Spain, were finally destroyed,
and every soldier in his armies was expelled from that
kingdom for ever. The emperor immediately despatched Soult to the scene, conferring upon him the fullest
powers, as commander-in-chief and lieutenant-general
of the emperor, and instructing him to defend the frontier
of the Pyrenees by every means within his reach. He
received secret orders, also, to put Joseph aside forcibly




56              NICHOLAS SOULT.
if it was necessary, but that person voluntarily withdrew.
On the 12th of July, Soult arrived at Bayonne, where
the French troops had rallied, and immediately assumed
the command.  The three armies, of "the north,"
"the centre," and " the south," were combined into
one called "the army of Spain," and amounting to
eighty thousand men, present, with the eagles, and
ready for active operations in the field. Wellington
was at this time at Lezaca, within the Spanish territory,
and the army at his disposal amounted to about one
hundred thousand men, of whom one fourth were
Spaniards. Soult applied himself with the most active
diligence to the discharge of the responsible duty imposed upon him. Bayonne was put into a state of defence, the army was reorganized and encouraged; and
all the great resources that yet remained to uphold the
cause of the emperor, were called forth and made efficient. In a fortnight, Soult was ready to take the field.
His first movement was to regain the Spanish country,
and advance to the relief of Pampeluna: and his earliest operations were as successful in their result as they
were brilliant in conception.   At daybreak, on the
25th of July, he broke through the Pyrenees at the
passes of Roncesvalles and Puerta de Maya; after a
protracted and most sanguinary combat, defeated the
British force which defended them, and, the same
evening reached the valleys on the Spanish side of the
mountains, driving the enemy into Pampeluna. Wellington was at the time occupied before St. Sebastian;
he immediately raised the siege, and concentrated all
his force before Pamnpeluna, to receive the unexpected
invasion which was thus made. On the 28th, Soult
was repulsed with considerable loss, after an obstinate




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.              57
conflict, at Sauroren, but unwilling to retire as he entered, he moved laterally along the mountains toward
St. Sebastian. Pursued and hemmed in with rapid
vigor, by Wellington, his army was on the point of being surrounded and destroyed, when, becoming aware
of his peril, he suddenly regained the passes at Echallar and Yanzi, and, after a sharp contest, reached in
safety the French side of the Pyrenees.  In the end of
August, Soult advanced to the relief of St. Sebastian,
which was now besieged with the utmost energy; he
was met, however, at San Marcial, near the Bidassoa,
and again repulsed, and, on the 31st, the place was'
carried by storm.
With the perseverance which constituted his great
claim to praise, Soult prepared to contest at every practical rallying point, the entrance of the allies into
France, which Wellington was now ready to invade:
and the certainty and success with which the English
general defeated every arrangement which the French
marshal made, and broke down every barrier which he
set up, while it exalts the pretensions of the one to the
highest pitch of military renown, argues no deficiency
of merit on the part of the other.  Soult's first dispositions were made for the defence of the line of the Bidassoa: but, on the 7th of October, Wellington passed
that river, and drove the French from their positions
on the north of it, accomplishing the most splendid
achievement of a military life filled with glorious exploits. On the 31st of October, the garrison of Pampeluna, after an obstinate and desperate resistance to a
blockade, surrendered at discretion; but the delay afforded Soult time to rally his resources, and establish a
new barrier to the invasion of his country. His next




b58             NICHOLAS SOULT.
great stand for the deliverance of France, was on the
Nivelle. Availing himself of the natural advantages afforded by the mountains, the rocks, and the river, and
strengthening the positions at all weak points, by formidable field-works, he had established three distinct
lines of defence, one within the other, similar to those
by which Wellington had stopped and turned back
Massena, at Torres Vedras. Armed with numerous
heavy guns, and defended by seventy thousand combatants, these works afforded a hope of arresting the
tide of invasion which now came in with a refluence
as alarming, as the flow of conquest which had once
set so strongly in an opposite direction. But to a dexterity and judgment so surpassing, as Wellington brought
with him, and to a British army so powerful, so practised, and so irresistible in confidence, as that which
followed his orders, no enterprise could be deemed impracticable. On the 9th of November, having carefully
examined the position, he gave directions for a general
attack. After a fierce and prolonged assault, all the
lines were at length carried, the Nivelle passed, and the
French driven in to the works around Bayonne. The
Nive, in front of Bayonne, formed the next support of
the obstinate resistance which Soult was interposing to
the progress of the allies: but, on the night of the 8th,
and morning of the 9th of December, the passage of
this river was forced, and the French were forced upon
their entrenched camp at Bayonne. The manceuvres
of the French marshal, for the next few days, are far the
ablest military operations with which his name is connected, and exhibit a union of science, with vigor and
energy, which was worthy of the pupil of Napoleon.
Concentrating his troops, and holding them well in




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.            59
hand, he delivered, with all the force which the circumstances of the case admitted, at Arcangues, Bidart,
and Barrouilhet, on the 10th, and at St. Pierre, on the
12th, the most powerful blows that the British army
had yet received on the continent. Wellington's loss
in these engagements around Bayonne, from the time
the crossing of the Nive commenced, was four thousand
five hundred, killed and wounded, and five hundred
made prisoners; while Soult's loss was six thousand,
killed and wounded, besides two thousand five hundred
Nassau and Frankfort troops, who, in obedience to
orders from their prince, in Germany, passed over to
Wellington, on the 10th.
The severity of the weather, and the serious injuries
which both parties had sustained, produced a suspension of hostilities for nearly two months: Soult remaining in his entrenchments around Bayonne, and Wellington holding the left bank of the Adour. In the
interval, the relative forces of the combatants were materially changed: Soult's army had been diminished
by two divisions of infantry, six regiments of dragoons,
and two thousand detached veterans, and Wellington's
had been increased by a reinforcement of five thousand
men, besides a large number who had been moved forward from the banks of the Ebro. Soult's available force
in the field, upon the renewal of active operations, did
not exceed forty thousand; while Wellington had under
him one hundred thousand men, above sixty thousand
of whom were British, and one hundred and forty pieces of cannon. On the 14th of February, the allied
troops were in motion to force the Adour; and in the
course of the following week, the river was completely
carried, Bayonne invested by the left wing of the army,




60              NICHOLAS SOULT.
and the right and centre engaged in driving back Soult,
who, leaving the garrison to take care of itself, withdrew successively behind the Bidouze, the Gave de
Mauleon, and the Gave d'Oleron, finally took post on
the heights of Orthez, behind the Gave de Pau, on the
24th of February.
Soult's position here was upon a semicircular ridge
of hills, extending from St. Boes on the right to Orthez
on the left, and presenting a concave front toward the
allies. The centre consisted of an open rounded hill,
from which extended on either hand the ridges which
supported the right and left wings. Beyond St. Boes,
upon the extreme right, was Dax, and the road from
Orthez to Dax passed through the centre of the positions, and behind the ridge upon the right. The French
right, consisting of Taupin's, Roguet's, and Paris's divisions, was commanded by General Reille, and extended along the ridge from the centre to the village
of St. Boes, with the road to Dax running behind it.
In the centre, which, however, was in closer communication with the right wing than with the left, Count
D'Erlon commanded Foy's and D'Armagnac's divisions, with Villatte's division and the cavalry thrown
back so as to act as a reserve either to himself or to
Reille. On the left, Clauzel, with Harispe's division,
occupied Orthez. Twelve guns were attached to Harispe's division; twelve were upon the round hill in the
centre, sweeping in their range the ground beyond St.
Boes; and sixteen were in reserve on the Dax road.
The ground in front of the centre was a broken, marshy
ravine. It is difficult to conceive of a position chosen
with more judgment, or occupied and defended with
greater skill. To attack in front was impracticable,




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.             61
from the nature of the ground; and the only feasible
operation was to attack the French flanks along the
ridges, so as to get beyond their position and hem them
in around Orthez. Beresford, forming the left, was
ordered to advance with the fourth and seventh divisions and Vivian's cavalry, assail the ridge on their right
flank, and gain the Dax road beyond. Picton, with
the third and sixth divisions, was directed to assail
D'Erlon's left along the ridge upon that side. And
Hill, on the right, beyond the Gave, with the second
division and Le Cor's Portuguese, menaced Orthez.
Between Picton and Beresford there was an interval
of a mile and a half where there were no troops; but
in the middle of the interval, and directly in front of
the French centre, was an isolated hill rising nearly as
high as the loftiest part of Soult's position, and crested
by an old Roman camp. On this point, Wellington,
after examining the country on the left, placed himself,
and commanded a view of the whole scene, which he
observed with the practised eye of a scientific soldier,
watchful to take advantage of the first fault that his antagonist should make. He drew behind the camp Colborne's fifty-second light division, thus connecting his
wings and forming a reserve in the centre. During the
whole morning, some skirmishing, with an occasional
cannon-shot, had been going on; but at nine o'clock,
Wellington began his attack. Picton, with the third
and sixth, won the lower part of the ridge upon the
French left, and assailed the French front upon their
left with a sharp fire of musketry. On the English left,
Vasconcellas's Portuguese brigade, and Ross's British
brigade of the fourth (Anson's brigade of the fourth,
together with the seventh division and Vivian's cavalry
VoTi. TT.  6




62               NICHOLAS SOULT.
being held in reserve), assailed and carried the village
of St. Boes; but as fast as they got upon the open
ground in front, the French guns from the hill in the
centre took them in front, and advancing a little further,
the battery on the Dax road swept them with grape
from flank to flank. Five times did the allies clear the
village, and endeavor to establish a line beyond it; five
times were they checked by the galling fire, and driven
back behind the houses by the masses of Taupin's division, who stood ready to charge them the first moment that they wavered. After this slaughterous contest had continued for three hours, Wellington sent a
regiment of the light division from the Roman camp
to protect Ross's right flank: but it was without effect;
for the Portuguese brigade, unable any longer to sustain the deadly conflict, gave way in disorder, and the
British troops with difficulty regained the village.  At
the same moment, upon the other side of the field, a
small detachment, which Picton had advanced by his
left up the hill in the centre, was suddenly charged by
Foy as it came near the summit, and driven down in
disorder, with the loss of some prisoners.  Soult, conspicuous from his elevated open hill, seeing his enemies
thus broken and repulsed on both sides, is said to have
smote his thigh and exclaimed, "At last I have him."
Thinking that the victory had inclined in his favor, he
forthwith put all his reserves in motion to reap the fullest
success.
But the keen, calmi eye of Wellington - as quick in
its perception, as it was scientific in its combinations -
detected in this temporary triumph of the foe the means
of his certain overthrow.  The operations against the
English left had developed a lateral movement, on the




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.              63
part of the French right and reserves, from the centre
outward toward St. Boes, and the English general saw
an opportunity to deliver a blow like those which had
wrought such splendid results at Austerlitz and Salamanca. He instantly ordered the fifty-second light division, which was in the rear of his own station at the
Roman camp, to dash across the marshy ground in
front, and assail upon the left flank the French columns
which were advancing to crush the fourth division at
St. Boes: he strengthened that division, also, by the
seventh division and Vivian's cavalry, which had not
yet been engaged; and at the same time, ordered Picton to throw his third and sixth divisions in mass upon
Foy's left flank in the French centre. Colborne, with
the fifty-second, rushed forward over the ground which
had seemed impracticable, and though the men sank
at every step above the knees, and were assailed by a
skirmishing fire, they pressed forward with irrepressible
fury, gained the hill, and ascended it just in time to intercept Taupin's division in the execution of its lateral
movement.  With a rolling fire, and that tremendous
shout which makes the confident attack of a British
regiment scarcely less than appalling, they threw themselves between the French centre and left, overwhelmed
a French battalion in their course, and threw the troops
in front of them into the utmost disorder. At the same
moment, Foy's division, assailed upon the other side
by the third and sixth divisions, was broken and the
general killed. This sudden change in Wellington's
line of attack, operated as a complete surprise upon the
French, and, like a cold blast of wind precipitated from
a mountain gorge athwart a summer sea, transformed
in an instant the whole aspect of the scene. The right




64              NICHOLAS SOULT.
and centre of Soult's army were drawn back to restore
the line of battle, and the English, pressing into the
opening, were masters of the field. Picton, establishing a battery on the position which D'Armagnac had
occupied, ploughed the opposing masses from flank to
flank: then the third and seventh advancing convergently, the wings of the army were united, and the victory was complete. Soult, astonished to find the triumph
wrung from his very hand, ordered a general retreat:
the English pursued as far as the Luy of B6arn, but
Wellington being wounded by a musket-ball in the
thigh, the advantages of the day were not pressed with
the thoroughness which was usual in the British army.
Soult withdrew behind the Luy of Bearn, having lost
about four thousand killed, wounded, and prisoners,
and about as large a number of conscripts who threw
away their arms. The English loss was about twentythree hundred.  The battle of Orthez is a fine illustration of the military genius of Wellington; and when
the advantages of Soult's position are considered, it
must be regarded as one of the most brilliant victories
of the time. Soult, abandoning Bayonne and Bordeaux,
retired up the Adour to Tarbes, and thence to Toulouse,
where he designed to make his next great stand for the
empire of Napoleon and the independence of France.
The advantages of Toulouse for defence were very
great, and Soult, displaying all the wonderful energy
and activity of his character, had, in the period which
elapsed before Wellington appeared under its walls,
strengthened and multiplied its means of resistance to
such a degree, that a mind less daring and determined
than the English commander's, would have paused at
least, and hesitated, before he assailed such a position.




HIS POSITION AT TOULOUSE.            65
But Wvellington wavered not for a moment, and only
considered as to the mode of his attack. The Garonne,
from its source to some distance beyond Toulouse,
flows in a northerly direction, forming a great semicircle with its convex side toward the east. At the most
eastern point of the curve stands the city of Toulouse,
principally on the right bank of the river, but with the
suburb of St. Cyprien on the left bank; and it was in
this latter direction that the allies were approaching.
The suburb of St. Cyprien was protected on the west
by an old brick wall three feet thick, flanked by two
massive towers, and by exterior entrenchments which
had been added by Soult. The city, on the other side
of the river, was guarded on the north and east by a
triple line of defence, consisting of, first, the old wall
of the city, flanked by towers, and of great thickness;
second, the canal of Languedoc, joining with the Garonne a few miles to the north of the city (below it), and
running to the north and east, the canal as a military position being connected with the entrenched suburbs; and
third, the long and rugged ridge called Mont Rave, eight
hundred yards beyond the canal. This ridge extended
from north to south between two and three miles, the
hill of Pugade being its extreme northerly elevation, the
long platform of Calvinet constituting its crest, and the
hill of St. Sypierre its southern termination.  To the
east of this ridge flowed the deep and muddy river Ers,
and between them the ground was marshy and wet.
The south was, in regard to regular lines of defence,
the least protected; but the difficulty of approach on
that side, from the nature of the soil, rendered it evident to Soult that the attack must be on the north, and
to that quarter his attention was directed. Wellington,
6*




6               NIC HOLAS SOULT.
on the 28th of March, made an effectual effort to cross
to the south, above the city; and then determined to pass
the river a few miles below, and approach the city from
the north. Accordingly, leaving Hill with the right
division to operate against the suburb of St. Cyprien,
he succeeded in passing at Grenade, about fifteen miles
below the city, on the Sth of April, with the left and centre. The 9th was occupied in bringing up the troops,
and the attack was fixed for the 10th. Soult's position
of battle along the east was upon Mlont Rave, supported by the canal and the walled city, so far as that
ridge extended; and upon the north, it was the canal
and suburbs. The Calvinet platform was strongly fortified by several open entrenchments and small works,
and two large redoubts; and the St. Sypierre hill was
also occupied by two redoubts. His army was drawn
up as follows: On the left of the river, General Reille
defended the suburb of St. Cyprien, with Taupin's and
Maransin's divisions: on the other side of the Garonne,
the French centre, consisting of Daricau's division, occupied the line of the canal upon the north, between
the river and the road which crossed the bridge of
Croix d'Orade-the left of that division defending the
bridge-head of Jumeaux, the centre occupying the convent of Minimes, and the right defending the Matabiau
bridge: the French right, consisting of Harispe's division, was established along Mont Rave, its left and
centre defending the works on Calvinet, and its extreme
right occupying the redoubts upon St. Sypierre. The
hill of Pugade, a detached eminence, was held by St.
Pol's brigade of Villate's division. Two divisions were
held in reserve behind Mont Rave.  Soult's line on
the right of the river, therefore, presented a right angle,




BATTLE OF TOULOUSE.             67
of which the apex was toward the hill of Pugade, and
the sides of which, running toward the west and south,
were each about two miles in length.
The Ers was not fordable, and the only bridge over
it which had not been destroyed was that of the Croix
d'Orade. Wellington's approach to the works was,
therefore, of necessity, from the north; but he determined to make his principal and effective attack upon
the east and southeast, that is, upon the French extreme
right. Picton was, therefore, to threaten the line upon
the north, next the river; Beresford, meanwhile, was
to pass with the English left division round between
Mont Rave and the Ers, and attack the ridge from
the east, while the Spanish and Portuguese were to
assail the centre from the hill of Pugade.
At six o'clock in the morning of the 10th of April,
the allied army moved forward in the way assigned to
it in the general order. Picton and Alten, on the English right, drove in the French posts behind the canal
and the works along it. The Spanish and Portuguese
advanced along the Albi road, drove St. Pol into the
Calvinet works, and occupied the Pugade, from which
a heavy cannonade was immediately opened upon Mont
Rave. On the left, Beresford, preceded by the hussars,
advanced from Croix d'Orade, in three columns abreast,
and passing behind the Pugade, and through the village
of Mont Blanc, where he halted his artillery for the
present, he entered the marshy ground between the
Ers river and Mont Rave.  The orders to Freyre
had been to delay his attack from the Pugade until
Beresford had reached his position, and was " moving
up to attack the right of the enemy's position."  That
officer, however, in opposition ti, this direction, moved




68              NICHOLAS SOULT.
his troops forward to the attack of Calvinet, about
eleven o'clock, while Beresford was still in march.
Advancing, about nine thousand strong, and ascending
the heights of Mont Rave at their northeastern angle,
they were received by a murderous fire from the works
upon the summit, and, at the same time, their right
flank was ploughed by incessant discharges from the
bridge of Matabiau.  For some time they sustained
themselves with the utmost gallantry, and advanced
repeatedly upon their desperate undertaking, but the
heads of the columns unable to endure the terrible fire,
threw themselves into a hollow of considerable depth,
by which they hoped to be sheltered; but the French,
rushing out of the works, opened a deadly fire upon
the defenceless mass, with such impression, that after
fifteen hundred had been killed or wounded, the residue
of the corps fled in dismay. So complete was their
route, that Wellington observed that he had seen many
curious sights in his day, but that he had never before
seen ten thousand men running a race. The French
success in this quarter, was finally checked by Wellington himself, who moved up Ponsonby's cavalry, and
the reserve artillery.  This breach of orders on General Freyre's part, induced a similar one, by Picton.
Perceiving the ruinous fire which from the works in
front of him, the French were opening upon Freyre,
he conceived that the circumstances of the moment required him to convert the false attack which had been
ordered, into a real one. He advanced, therefore, to
carry the bridge of Jumeaux, and the works with which
it was connected; but those works being quite unassailable, from their height, he was repulsed with the loss
of four hundred men and several officers.




BATTLE OF TOULOUSE.             69
The right and centre being thus overthrown, the
issue of the battle depended upon Beresford; and, in
that stout-hearted and courageous soldier, Wellington
had a resource upon which he might rely with almost
unlimited confidence.  Meanwhile, on the other side
of the river, Hill had carried the first line of entrenchments, but was unable to make any impression upon
the interior line. Soult, therefore, perceiving that Hill
and Picton were no longer formidable, and that the
principal attack was to be upon his extreme right,
moved Taupin's whole division, and one brigade of
Maransin's from the suburb of St. Cyprien, to his right
wing upon St. Sypierre. Slowly and painfully, yet
steadily, Beresford was making his way through the
marsh along the bank of the Ers, suffering from a galling
fire upon his flank from Mont Rave. The lateral march
which he was executing in the face of the enemy, would
properly be called a false movement, if there had been
any other practicable mode of attack, and, if Wellington's experience of Soult's want of inspiration and
energy in the field, had not fairly justified it. Not
merely Napoleon, but Lannes, or Ney, or Massena,
would infallibly have given Wellington another illustration of the truth of the principle which he illustrated
at Salamanca; but the inertness of the present commander of the French army showed that success in
war depends, not upon favorable opportunities only, but
upon the skill to turn them to account. At length, the
divisions under Beresford, arrived at the Caraman road,
and immediately deployed into line, Cole's division being on the left of Clinton's, and advanced to the attack
of the redoubts on St. Sypierre. Rushing up the ridge
at charging pace, with a tremendous shout, the fore



70              NICHOLAS SOULT.
most English brigades overthrew and disordered Taupin's division, killing its general, and carried the
redoubts. The whole position of St. Sypierre was now
in Beresford's occupation, but Soult reformed his
columns about Calvinet, facing to the right, and prepared to contest the residue of the ridge.  An interval
of some hours, however, intervened, while Beresford's
artillery was coming up from Mont Blanc: about three
in the afternoon, the battle was renewed by Beresford
advancing along the crest of Mont Rave, and attacking
Soult's positions on the ridge. After a fierce and sanguinary struggle, the issue of which was for sometime
doubtful the redoubts on Calvinet were stormed, Generals Harispe and Baurot being badly wounded. At
five o'clock Soult abandoned the position on Mont
Rave, and withdrew his whole army behind the canal.
The abandoned works were then occupied by the
allies, and the ridge throughout its whole extent, remained with the assailants.  In this great battle, the
French had five generals and more than two thousand
men killed or wounded; and the allies lost four generals
and four thousand six hundred killed or wounded.
During the night, Soult, neither wearied nor disheartened by the toils and losses of the day, reorganized
his forces, renewed his supplies of ammunition from
the arsenal at Toulouse, and took his positions for
another battle behind the line of the canal. But his
antagonist was not as ready to renew the contest. His
loss had been great, both in men and in ammunition;
supplies of the latter could be obtained only from his
stores on the other side of the river; and Soult's position was still strong.  The renewal of the attack was,
therefore, deferred until the morning; but, on the night




BATTLE OF TOULOUSE.             71
of the 11th, Soult abandoned the city. During the
day, the English light-cavalry had been sent up the
canal to threaten the retreat toward the southeast, and
Soult alarmed at the probability of being shut up in the
city, filed out, after dark, with great order, cutting the
bridges behind him, and reaching Villefranche on the
following day, after a forced march of twenty-two miles.
He left behind him, eight heavy guns, and one thousand six hundred badly wounded men. Wellington
made a triumphal entry into Toulouse, on the 12th, at
noon. On the same day, Colonel St. Simon arrived
from Paris, with official intelligence of Napoleon's abdication, and, on the 13th, reached the headquarters of
Soult, who, however, refused to recognise the provisional
government, but proposed a suspension of hostilities
until he could receive intelligence directly from the
emperor or his ministers. Wellington again marched
against him to Castel-Naudari, and, on the 17th, the
armies were about engaging again, when Soult, who
had received authentic information from the chief of the
imperial staff, notified his recognition of the new government, and the next day a convention was concluded.
The battle of Toulouse has been the fruitful source
of literary controversies scarcely less earnest and excited than the struggle upon Mont Rave. Two French
works have been published-one entitled " Considerations Militaires sur les M6moires du Marechal Suchet,
et sur la Bataille de Toulouse, &c., par T. Choumara,"
and the other, " Sur la Bataille de Toulouse; Examen
de l'Ouvrage de M. Choumara, avec l'addition de Nouveaux Details Importans; par le Gen6ral Juchereau de
St. Denys"'-in both of which the merit of a victory at
Toulouse is claimed for Marshal Soult, and the claim is




72              NICHOLAS SOULT.
supported by a variety of arguments. Several replies have
proceeded from English writers; and the advantage in
the controversy appears to rest very decidedly with the
latter. The French observe that, if the French right
and centre were driven in by Beresford, the English
right and centre under Picton and Freyre were certainly defeated by the French.  But the general order
of Lord Wellington for the day proves that the repulse of those premature assaults was not the failure
of any part of his plan of attack.  Again, the French
allege that the canal and suburbs constituted Soult's
real position of battle, and that Mont Rave was an outwork, the loss of which amounted to little in view of
the preservation of the rest of the line on both sides of
the river; and that Soult on the following day offered
battle, which his antagonist was not in a condition to
accept, and did not retreat until the ensuing night.  In
answer to this, it may confidently be asserted that, in
a military point of view, Soult's position was Mont Rave,
and the canal and city were merely its supports.  The
loss of the ridge put the enemy in possession of the
approaches toward the southeast; and the moment
Wellington's cavalry appeared in tha't quarter, Soult
made instant preparations to evacuate.  The French
marshal himself, in a despatch to Suchet, dated the 7th
of April, takes this view of his situation: 1" I am resolved," he writes, "to deliver the battle near Toulouse, whatever may be the superiority of the enemy.
In this view, I have fortified a position, which, supported by the town and canal, furnishes me with an entrenched camp susceptible of defence."  The merits
of the whole dispute are summed up by Lord Burghersh, in his work on " The Operations of the Allied




IMPUTATIONS AGAINST  IuM.            73
Armies in 1813-'14," in a form which seems to be
just and conclusive.  " Did Marshal Soult," he asks,
"fight this battle to retain the possession of the heights
which he had fortified, and which commanded the
town? If so, he lost them. Did he fight to keep possession of Toulouse? If so, he lost that." But in regard to the mere issue of the battle, which is what the
French writers chiefly discuss, no one, with the duke
of WVellington's general order before him, can doubt
who won the battle of Toulouse.
The relative forces on both sides in this celebrated
engagement have also been the subject of animated
controversy.  According to the best evidence, it would
appear that the French marshal had, disposable in the
action, about thirty-eight thousand men, and eighty
pieces of artillery; and that the English commander
had about fifty-two thousand of all arms in line, and
sixty-four pieces of artillery: but these troops were of
various nations-British, Germans, Portuguese, and
Spanish.
Marshal Soult did not escape the imputation of having fought the battle of Toulouse with a full knowledge
of Napoleon's abdication, and of the political settlement
of the controversy which he was engaged in vindicating
by arms. His own exculpatory statement on the subject, if it does not relieve him from the charge of having
entered into the engagement rather for the honor of his
country and his army than for any effect which it might
have upon the general controversy from which the war
arose, yetjustifies his course as a patriot, a man of spirit,
and a faithful, unflinching servant of a master whose
interests he was determined should have, not the disadvantage, but the benefit, of all that was doubtful in
VoL. II. —7




74              NICHOLAS SOULT.
the occurrences and rumors of the day.  It certainly
exculpates Soult from an accusation which, in succeeding years, was made to press heavily upon his character. Shortly after the passing of the Reform act, Lord
Aberdeen, in the house of lords, charged this crime
upon Soult; but the duke of Wellington immediately
rose and declared in positive terms that when Soult
fought the battle, he did not know, and could not have
known, of the emperor's abdication.
In the political embarrassments which followed, of a
disputed throne and a doubtful allegiance, the firmness
and integrity of Soult became more than questionable;
and his conduct might well draw down upon him the
reputation of being an unscrupulous military adventurer,
earnestly adopting the party and principles which happened to be in the ascendant, and determined to maintain his own supremacy and distinction under every
dynasty and in all circumstances. Having given his
adhesion to the Bourbon princes on the 19th of April,
he was soon after appointed governor of the thirteenth
military division by Louis XVIII.; and on the 24th
of September, was created a commander of the royal
and military order of St. Louis. Anxious to remove
the cloud that might rest upon his prospects as a child
and disciple of the Revolution, and a friend and follower of Napoleon, Soult at once took up the sentiments
of the legitimists with the utmost enthusiasm, and signalized his devotion to the cause of the Bourbons with
a zeal w hich, if it produced disgust in honorable minds,
and ultimately raised suspicions fatal to his standing,
succeeded at the moment in procuring him substantial
marks of royal patronage. On the 3d of December,
1814, he was appointed minister of war, succeeding




HIS PROCLAMATION.               75
General Dupont in that office; and his professed opinions and policy became identified with the extreme
portion of the anti-liberal party.
When Napoleon landed at Cannes, on the 1st of
March, on his return from Elba, Soult manifested the
most determined hostility to the imperial adventurer,
and, on the 9th of March, published, in his capacity of
minister of war, the following proclamation, which certainly affords an arhusing contrast to that which he issued three months later as major-general of Napoleon;
but which, as coming from the pen of the soldier who,
for fifteen years, had shared the confidence and profited
of the bounty of an indulgent master, is a disgraceful
exhibition of baseness and falsehood:
" Soldiers! that man, who so recently abdicated, in
the face of Europe, a usurped power, of which he
made so fatal a use, Bonaparte, has descended upon
the French soil, which he ought never to have seen
again. What does hedesire? Civilwar. Whom does
he seek? Traitors. Where will he find them? Will
it be among the soldiers whom he has deceived and
sacrificed a thousand times, in misleading their valor?
Will it be in the bosom of their families, through which
his very name sends a shudder? Bonaparte despises
us enough, to think that we are capable of abandoning
a legitimate and beloved monarch, to share the lot of a
man who is now a mere adventurer. He believes it,
madman that he is! His last act of insanity reveals
him entirely. Soldiers, the French army is the bravest
in Europe; it will also be the most faithful. Let us
rally around the stainless lilied banner, at the voice of
the father of his people, the worthy inheritor of the virtues of the great Henry. He has himself traced out to




76              NICHIOLAS SOULT.
you the path which you ought to follow: he has put
at your head that prince, the model of French chevaliers, whose happy return to his country has chased the
usurper from it, and who now sets out to destroy his
single and last hope.
"LE MARECHAL DUC DE DALMATIE."
This miserable prostitution of honor and truth failed
of its object.  Such sycophancy in the mouth of Marshal Soult could only raise suspicions of an intention
to betray the cause which he affected to sustain by adulations so outrageous. Other earlier circumstances in
his conduct encouraged the opinion, that his excessive
adoption of the loyal principles and measures had proceeded from a wish to disgust the nation and the army
with the Bourbons.  An unfortunate state of things
brought these suspicions to an open crisis. By Soult's
advice, a corps of thirty thousand men had been stationed between Lyons and Besanqon, to observe the
movements of Murat, and in these troops the most decided and general manifestations of disaffection displayed themselves from the beginning. Their having
been stationed there, was at once ascribed to the ingenuity and foresight of the perfidious minister of war:
he was publicly denounced in the chamber of deputies,
as a conspirator with Napoleon; and on the 11th of
March, he was obliged to resign his office. He was
soon in the full favor and service of the emperor.
From the imputation of treachery to the Bourbons,
however, Soult is entirely exculpated by the unimpeachable testimony of Napoleon himself: " Soult," said the
emperor to O'Meara, at St. Helena, " did not betray
Louis, as has been supposed, nor was he privy to my
return and landing in France. For some days Soult




CREATED PEElR OF FRANCE.          77
thought I was mad, and that I must certainly be lost.
Notwithstanding this, appearances were so much against
Soult, and without intending it, his acts turned out to be
so favorable to my prospects, that, were I on his jury,
and ignorant of what I know, I should condemn him
for having betrayed Louis. But he really was not
privy to it, though Ney, in his defence, said that I told
him so."
The duke of Dalmatia, was created a peer of France,
by Napoleon: and was appointed major-general of the
army which was assembling for the campaign of Waterloo; and, on the 2d of June, on taking command,
he issued an order of the day, in which the following
passages occur: "The most august ceremony has
just consecrated our institutions. The emperor has
received from the delegates of the people, and the deputations of all the corps of the army, the expressions
of the voice of the whole nation on the-additional act
to the constitutions of the empire. A new oath unites
France to the emperor. Thus are the destinies of the
nation accomplished, and all the efforts of an impious
league can no longer separate the interests of a great
people from that of the hero, who, by his brilliant victories has been the admiration of the universe.
" It is at the moment when France is at peace with all
Europe, that foreign armies advance upon our frontier.
What are the intentions of this new coalition? Do
they mean to erase France from the list of nations?
Do they intend to plunge into slavery twenty-eight
millions of Frenchmen. Have they forgotten that the
first league formed against our independence, served
only to our aggrandisement and glory? A hundred
illustrious victories, which unfortunate accidents and
7*




78              NICHOLAS SOULT.
momentary reverses cannot efface, ought to remind them
that a free nation, led by a brave man, is invincible.
* * * A  common interest now unites Frenchmen.
The obligations violence forced us into, are annulled
by the flight of the Bourbons from France, by the appeal they have made to foreign armies for assistance to
reascend the throne they have abandoned, and by the
unanimous voice of the nation, who, in resuming the
free exercise of their rights, have solemnly disavowed
all that has been done without their participation."
The conduct which Soult pursued, in sustaining and
serving, first, the government of the Bourbons, and
then the government of Napoleon, as being, successively,
the government, de facto, of the country, and the actual
representative of the nation, might well be justified as
consistent, judicious, and patriotic; but thus to identify
himself with the violent personal passions of the antagonist dynasties, and to become the mouthpiece of extravagant sentiments, directly and utterly contradictory
and repugnant, argues a shamelessness of character,
and an insensibility to moral disgrace, which the brilliance of Austerlitz and Andalusia, and the Pyrenees,
only renders more conspicuous and offensive.
After issuing the foregoing order, Soult immediately
left Paris for the army assembled in Flanders, and directed the operations of the troops until Napoleon
opened the campaign in person. He rendered conspicuous service to his imperial benefactor, at Ligny
and Waterloo, and returned to Paris after the fatal issue
of the campaign. When Carnot urged the propriety
of attempting the defence of the capital, Soult expressed
the most decided opinion that the city was incapable
of defence, and that the attempt to hold it would be




HIS CHARACTER.                79
vain; and, the subject being referred to a commission
of all the eminent officers in Paris, his view was unanimously sustained. After the capitulation, he followed
the army beyond the Loire, and then retired to the
chateau of Malzieu, in the department of La Lozere,
where he lived in seclusion under the protection of his
former aide-de-camp, NM. Brun de Villeret. He was
here arrested by the national guard, and taken to
Mende, where he was detained a prisoner, until set at
liberty by an order of the king. Being included in the
ordinance of the 24th of July, he retired to Dusseldorf
with his family, in the month of February, 1816. Before his departure, he published a memoir to exculpate
himself from the charge of treason at the period of the
return of Napoleon. On the 28th of May, 1819, the
king authorized his return to France, and, on the 6th
of January, 1821, his marshal's baton was restored to
him.
Soult's conduct, upon his return, exhibited neither
dignity, sincerity, nor principle.  His first endeavor
was to conciliate the party which had accused him of
treachery, and to which he owed his banishment and
sufferings; and to accomplish this, he spared no sacrifices of consistency or pride. He became an advocate
of extreme opinions in opposition to public liberty; and
is reported to have sought the confidence of the men
whose voices he needed, by exhibiting an affecting
piety in the performance of all public duties of religion,
and an exemplary devotion in taking part in ecclesiastical processions. Remarks, in the spirit and tone of
Polignac, have been ascribed to him, which, if genuine,
denote a total abandonment of mental sincerity and
rectitude. His sycophancy to the wretched ministry




80              NICHIOLAS SOULT.
of Vill1le, was at length rewarded by his promotion to
the peerage of France, to which he was elevated with
seventy-five others, by an ordinance of the 5th of November, 1827. This act, being subsequently declared
void, he was again made a peer, by Louis Philippe, in
1830. On the 17th of November, of that year, he
was appointed minister of war, which office he continued to hold under different ministries, until July,
1834. In the ministry formed on the 11th of October,
1832, he was made president of the council, as well as
minister of war, which office he held until the 18th of
July, 1834, when the state of his health obliged him to
retire for a time to private life.
Soult, though largely beholden to Louis Philippe,
has not escaped suspicions of treachery to this new
benefactor. In General Dermoncourt's work, entitled
" La Vendee et Madame," it is stated that among the
correspondence found, when the duchess of Berri was
arrested at Nantes, were letters strongly implicating the
minister of war. In a letter to the duchess, Soult had
said that he would be entirely at her command (' tout'a
elie'), upon condition that she would re-establish in his
favor the ancient office of constable of France. Her
reply was as follows: "Monsieur le Marechal: The
sword of constable of France is to be won only in the
field of battle; I await your presence there."  " The
reader," says the author of'La Vendee et Madame,'
"may depend upon the accuracy of these details:"
but the anecdote is rather too epigrammatic to be quite
reliable.
At the coronation of Queen Victoria, in 1838, Soult
was sent to represent the French court, and was received with great respect and attention, and experienced




MINISTER AND PEER OF FRANCE.           81
the liveliest demonstrations of popular enthusiasm.
On the 12th of May, 1839, Soult was appointed minister of foreign affairs, and president of the council,
which offices he retained until the 1st of March, 1840.
On the formation of the ministry of the 29th of October,
1840, he was again made minister of war and president
of the council. His love of official notoriety induced
him to cling to the presidency long after he ceased to
be able to take any official part in the conduct of affairs.
At length, in September, 1847, he resigned, and was
succeeded by Guizot.  His letter of resignation to the
king, though servile and fawning in its tone, is not
without interest:
"SOULT-BERG (Tarn), Sept. 15, 1847.
"SIRE: I was in the service of my country sixty years
ago, while the ancient monarchy yet existed, and before
the earliest dawn of our national revolution.  As soldier of the republic, and as lieutenant of the emperor
Napoleon, I took part, without ceasing, in that vast
struggle for the freedom, independence, and glory of
France; and I was among those who supported it even
to the last day. Your majesty has condescended to
think that my services might be useful in the new and
not less patriotic struggle which God and France have
called upon you to make for the establishment of constitutional order: and I am grateful to your majesty for
it. It is the honor of my life that my name thus occupies a place in all the transactions, military and political, which have resulted in the success of our great
cause.  The confidence of your majesty sustained me
in the last services which I endeavored to render: my
devotion to your majesty, and to France, remains un



82              NICHOLAS SOULT.
impaired, but I feel that my strength no longer does.
Since I have now reached the close of my toilsome
career, may your majesty suffer me to devote my remaining strength to reflection. I have dedicated to
you, sire, the activity of my later years: grant me now
the rest due to my ancient services, and suffer me to
lay at the foot of your majesty's throne, the resignation
of the presidency of the council, with which you were
pleased to invest me. I shall enjoy this repose, in the
midst of that security which your majesty's wisdom has
procured for France, and for all who have served and
loved her. In my retirement, gratitude for your majesty's goodness, and wishes for the prosperity of yourself and your august family, will attend me to my last
day. They will always be equal to the unchanging
devotion, and profound respect with which I have the
honor to be, sire, your majesty's most humble and most
obedient servant.
" MARSHAL DUKE OF DALMATIA."
On the 26th of September, Soult was appointed
MARSHAL-GENERAL OF FRANCE; an extraordinary
office which has been twice before created in France,
once in favor of the great Turenne, in 1667, and, the
second time, in favor of Villars, in 1733.
On the 26th of April, 1796, Soult was married to
Louisa Elizabeth Wilhelmina Berg. " It will scarcely
be credited," said Napoleon to Las Cases, at St. Helena, "that this man whose deportment and manners
denoted a lofty character, was the slave of his wife.
When I learned at Dresden, our defeat at Vittoria, and
the loss of all Spain through the mismanagement of
poor Joseph, whose plans and measures were not suited




HIS MILITARY CHARACTER.           83
to the present age, and seemed rather to belong to a
Soubise than to me, I looked about for some one capable of repairing these disasters, and I cast my eyes on
Soult who was near me. He said he was ready to
undertake what I wished; but entreated that I would
speak to his wife, by whom, he said, he expected to be
reproached. I desired him to send her to me. She
assumed an air of hostility, and in a decided manner
told me that her husband should certainly not go to
Spain; that he had already performed important services, and was now entitled to a little repose.' Madam,'
said I to her.' I did not send for you with a view of
enduring your scolding. I am not your husband; and
if I were, I should not be the more inclined to bear
with you.' These few words quite confounded her;
she became as pliant as a glove, grew quite obsequious,
and was only eager to obtain a few conditions. To
these, however, I by no means acceded, and merely
contented myself with congratulating her on her willingness to listen to reason."
That Marshal Soult possessed many great, and valuable, and extraordinary abilities, no one will deny; but
that, upon the whole, he is entitled to the name of a
great general, can not at all be admitted. Acute in his
observations, and profound in his reasonings, he yet
wanted some qualities, which if not the least common,
are yet of indispensable importance to a commander, a
daring quickness of decision, and the capacity to handle
troops efficiently upon a field of battle. He had all the
mental parts of the character to which he aspired; but
the passionate and enthusiastic elements of that great
profession, and, especially, those nameless qualities
which connect thought with action, and minister to




84              NICHOLAS SOULT.
boldness and fire of resolution, were shared by him in
slight and feeble measure. There was, indeed, an excess of intellectual operation in his schemes; his determination was too often "sicklied o'er with the pale
cast of thought." Exquisitely nice and accurate in his
apprehension of every consideration that belonged to
the case before him; grand in his conceptions and
plans; sound in his judgment; a finer speculative tactician or strategist never lived. Wellington, or Napoleon himself, could not have given him lessons in the
theory of great military operations. But, that'fierce
delivery of his purpose; that instant and impetuous
vehemence of temper; that unhesitating fury of a resistless will, which is required in the shock of battle,
Soult's nature did not permit. He thought ably, but
slowly. His reason could act only in calmness and
deliberation: he never caught inspiration from the excitements of a critical moment: that passionate illumination of the judgment, which, in a great emergency,
sees, combines, decides, and acts upon the instant, by
an intuitive sagacity, and an unconscious will, he
never exhibited. Wonderfully able in his preparations
and dispositions, in the crisis of the collision he always
seems to fail. The blow which an elaborate mechanism
had arranged, is dealt, at last, doubtfully or imperfectly.
He had the science of Napoleon, but not his inspiration: he had the contrivance of Wellington, but not
his execution. The emperor appears to have understood his character, with perfect comprehension. " I
asked his opinion about Soult," says O'Meara, " and
mentioned that I had heard some persons place him in
the rank next to himself as a general. He replied' ne
is an excellent minister at war, or major-general of an




HIS MILITARY CHARACTER.            85
army: one who knows much better the arrangement
of an army than to command in chief.'"  At another
time, speaking to Las Cases of General Sarrazin's
work on the peninsular campaigns, which gives great
praise to Soult, Napoleon said, " The notice taken of
Soult is not precisely the best part of the book; he is
much better as an excellent director, or a good war
minister."
It was slowness of resolution and want of confidence
in his own power, only, which kept Soult from the first
rank of generals; for his vigor, strength, and constancy, were of the highest order. Undaunted by difficulties -neither dismayed nor disheartened by defeat -
he persevered in all his enterprises with an indomitable
tenacity. The forces of his character flowed with a
galvanic steadiness of current, but never flashed into
electric energy of will. The motive-power of his career seemed to be supplied from within himself, and
not from outward accidents; if the hope of catching a
great success could not urge him into a risk, the prospect of danger never disturbed or paralyzed his firmness. He appeared to much greater advantage in a
defence, than in an attack; and his genius was better
suited to protect a retreat, than to lead a pursuit. He
was too cautious in his temper -too formal in his system-too much devoted to rules-to catch the highest
successes of a profession, in which to dare discreetly,
and violate prudence opportunely, is one of the conditions of high distinction. The duke of Wellington
came at last to count upon his modes of operation with
perfect precision. On one occasion, while pursuing
Soult among the Pyrenees, Wellington, with a single
staff-officer, found himself in the immediate neighborVOL. II. - 8




86              NICHOLAS SOULT.
hood of the French army. He instantly despatched an
order for other troops to move up, and then rode forward to join an advanced-guard, which was higher up
the mountain. The soldiers raised a cry of joy at his
approach, which echoed among the hills with a prolonged roar.  Wellington stopped in a conspicuous
place, whence he could be seen by both armies, and a
double spy, who was present, pointed out Soult, who
was so near that his features could be plainly distinguished. The English general fixed his eyes upon his
opponent, and speaking as if to himself, said, "Yonder
is a great commander, but he is a cautious one, and
will delay his attack to understand the cause of these
cheers; that will give time for the sixth division to arrive, and I shall beat him." And so it proved, for Soult
made no serious attack that day.
The presence and control of the emperor were as
necessary to Soult as they were to the other marshals,
though not for the same reasons. Ney, Murat, Marmont, Augereau, Macdonald, required his superintendence to guide and inform them: Soult, to stimulate and urge him. This marshal nowhere appears so
great as in the campaign of Austerlitz. He seemed to
catch the glow of enthusiasm from communion with his
master, and sometimes to retain it for a season after he
had parted from him: thus his rapidity and boldness
after leaving the emperor at Vittoria to proceed to Burgos in 1808, and upon first taking the command at
Bayonne in 1813, display a marked superiority to other
parts of his career in Spain. His pursuit of Sir John
Moore must be considered as adding but little to his
reputation; and the tardiness of his preparations to at~ack at Lugo and Corunna illustrate the characteristic




HIS CIVIL AND POLITICAL CHARACTER.   87
fault of his temper. The advance to Oporto exhibits
energy, and the retreat was able and judicious; but the
surprise at that city, and the passage of the Douro by
Wellington under his very eyes, is a stain upon his
military character, which no amount of merit subsequently displayed ought to be deemed adequate to
efface. His campaigns in Andalusia display with great
lustre his administrative talents, and his powers of organizing, controlling, and managing, a great system of
operations; yet, in regard to his progress in the field,
are certainly not particularly brilliant or effective.  In
the pursuit of the allies from Burgos back to Portugal,
in 1813, his allowing Wellington to escape at the Tormes without an attack, in opposition to the advice of
Jourdan, must be regarded as a great fault. The best
display of his abilities, in an independent command, is
undoubtedly in the campaign of 1814: upon that his
fame rests, and without it he could not be ranked very
highly. Napoleon himself said, that " the whole of his
campaign in the south of France was admirably conducted." Yet his constitutional want of sudden energy
still pursued him; and he lost many opportunities of
improvising effective blows.
The civil and political career of this celebrated man
offers little that can attract or command respect.  Insatiable of glory, careless of honor, sacrificing dignity
to distinction, the complexion of his moral character
shows the tinge and soilure of a revolutionary origin.
Unlike Napoleon and Wellington, he displayed in a
ministerial station neither interest nor ability in politics,
and seemed to value office as a gratification, not of ambition, but of vanity. Rapacious and sordid in his temper, he has regarded rank with a covetous rather than




88               NICHOLAS SOULT.
an aspiring temper, as an object of private possession,
rather than a source of public eminence. He has prostituted his pride and sincerity to its acquisition, and has
gained the notoriety of station, but not its lustre.




LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST,
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804:
DUKE OF AUERSTADT: PRINCE OF ECKMUHL.
Louis NICHOLAS DAVOUST, son of John Francis
)avoust, the Lord of Annoux, was born at Annoux,
near Noyers, in Burgundy, of a noble family, on the
10th of May, 1770. In 1785, he entered the military
school of Brienne, and, in 1789, became a sublieutenant in the regiment of the royal Champagne cavalry.
He was created a major of the third battalion of the
Yonne in 1791, and served, the following year, in the
army of the North, under Dumourier, where he was
distinguished at the battles of Jemappes and of Nerwinde. In 1793, he was made chief of brigade, and
adjutant-general of brigade; but the decree against the
noble families deprived him of command. The fall of
Robespierre's party, on the 27th of July, 1794, restored
him to his profession; and he served, in 1795, under
Pichegru, on the Rhine, and continued with the army
of the Rhine during 1796 and 1797. He accompanied
Napoleon to Egypt, and served there, with merit, during 1798 and 1799. In the following year he was
made a general of division, and commanded the cavalry in the army of Italy. In 1801, he was appointed
inspector-general of the cavalry, and commander of the
infantry of the consular guard; and, in 1803, was corn
S*




90         LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
mander-in-chief of the camp at Bruges. In 1804, he
was created marshal of the empire, and a grand officer
of the legion of honor. From this time till the end
of the Russian campaign, he will be seen taking a very
prominent and principal part in all the great actions of
the army. In the campaign of 1805, he was at the
head of the third corps of the grand army; and at the
battle of Austerlitz, where he commanded the right
wing, his obstinate valor contributed largely to the victory. In the campaigns of Prussia, in 1806, and of
Poland, in 1807, he won immortal glory at Auerstadt
and Eylau; and his services at this period occupy so
large a part of the military history of Napoleon, that it
is proper here to exhibit in full that portion of the life
of the emperor in the field, which is embraced by
THE PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS OF 1806
AND 1807.
DURING the year 1806, the policy of Prussia, which
had long been wavering and undecided, became fully
determined against Napoleon; and the collision of
France with the armies of the great Frederic was seen
to be inevitable.  The campaign opened in the beginning of October. Napoleon arrived at Wurzburg on
the 3d, and his army, one hundred and fifty thousand
strong, was then grouped around Bamberg and Cob)ourg. The Prussian force consisted of: thirty thousand
under Prince Ruchel, forming the right wing, and stationed on Hesse; fifty-five thousand men forming the
centre, under the king in person, with the aged duke of
Brunswick as his lieutenant-general, assembled around
Magdeburg; forty thousand men in Saxony under Prince




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.    91
Hohenlohe, with Prince Louis, the king's brother; and
a detached corps of twelve thousand, under Blucher,
in Westphalia. Confident in their military resources,
and their long-established fame in the field, the Prussian leaders determined to march by their right upon
Saalfield and Jena, turn the French left, and cut Napoleon off from the Rhine. This was an operation similar in character to that which had proved so fatal at
Austerlitz, and as soon as it was fairly developed, Na-poleon hastened to take advantage of it, and to fall upon the flank of the corps, which were then moving past
his position. Early on the 9th, his whole army was
pushed forward into Saxony by three roads. On the
right, Ney and Soult marched on Plauen, and fell upon
the Prussian magazines and reserve; in the centre,
Murat, Davoust, and Bernadotte, marched on Saalbourg; while on the left, Lannes and Augereau advanced on Saalfield. On the 9th and 10th, the corps
of Murat and Bernadotte fell upon detached bodies
moving across the country, and disordered and drove
them back: and Lannes on the left encountered the
Prussian rear-guard, under Prince Louis, which was
routed with the loss of eight hundred killed and
wounded, twelve hundred prisoners, and thirty pieces
of cannon, and the death of the prince himself.  At
the first intelligence of Napoleon's movement, orders
were given by the duke of Brunswick for all the
troops to return, and concentrate about the king near
Weimar, and Prince Hohenlohe near Jena. On the
12th, Hohenlohe with forty thousand men, was on the
heights to the north of Jena, on the road to Weimar,
with advanced posts on the Landgrafenberg, and the.
king of Prussia, with the duke of Brunswick, was




92         LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
about a league from Hohenlohe, nearer to Weimar,
with sixty-five thousand men: Lannes was at Jena,
Ney and Augereau in its immediate neighborhood,
and Soult advancing upon the same place, while on
the same day Murat, Davoust, and Bernadotte, were
directed to march on Nuremberg, where important
magazines were established. This last movement led
the Prussian commander into an error which proved
the fate of his armies and of his empire; for the king,
alarmed for the safety of his magazines, advanced on
the 13th with his corps, amounting to two thirds of the
whole army, toward Sulza, and in the evening of that
day reached Auerstadt, leaving Hohenlohe with forty
thousand men to withstand Napoleon with ninety thousand. The Russian posts having been driven from the
Langrafenberg, Napoleon on the 13th occupied it with
the greater part of his army. It was between Jena
and the heights on which Hohenlohe was established,
and from it the emperor looked down upon the whole
position of his enemies. On the night of the 13th,
Augereau was stationed on the left of the mountain;
Ney and Soult were ordered to march all night on the
right, so as to attack the enemy on his left flank;
Lannes's corps was established on the ridge and flanks
of the mountain, ready to assail in front; the imperial
guard under Lefebvre were stationed on the summit,
where Napoleon, wrapped in his cloak, bivouacked
during the night; and Murat with the cavalry was in
Jena. The Prussian army was on another more gradual
eminence, separated from the Langrafenberg by low
grounds of some extent: their centre was on the village of Vierzehn-Heiligen, and their right extended
toward Isserstadt: their rear rested on the villages of




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.        93
Cappellendorf and Romstedt, beyond which, Prince
Ruchel was in reserve with twenty thousand men; and
the front of their whole position was covered by the
villages of Closwitz and Kospoda, at the foot of the
eminence on which their army was stationed. About
six o'clock on the morning of the 19th, the French
army was in motion: a heavy fog rested on the ground,
and concealed their movements; and the low grounds
in front, and the villages beyond them, were carried
before the Prussians had any idea that a general attack
was intended. About nine o'clock, the fog lifted, and
the brilliant sun-rays revealed to Hohenlohe the splendid but appalling spectacle of Lannes's corps ascending
the slope in front of him, Ney's and Soult's advancing on his left, and Augereau rapidly turning his right.
The Prussians, in admirable order, retreated along the
eminence, to concentrate their force, and prevent their
being outflanked, and to communicate with their reserves: but Ney, having captured a battery, and incurred a serious risk, from which Napoleon sent
Bertrand to rescue him, now assaulted the village of
Vierzehn-Heiligen on the left, while Lannes attacked it
in front. It was finally carried, though with great loss,
and Ney then fell upon the Prussian right wing, which,
already pressed by Augereau on the other flank, speedily gave ground. On their left, the Prussian cavalry
had gained some advantage till the solid lines of Soult's
corps advanced, and poured such a deadly fire upon
them that they were driven in confusion upon the infantry: meanwhile, Lannes and Augereau, pushing forward on their part, the whole line of the French army
advanced, driving the disordered Prussian masses before them. Ruchel's reserve then appeared, laboring




94         LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
to stern the torrent of defeat; but it was too late: Napoleon, who, from his position on the summit of the
mountain, was a spectator of every part of the field,
had ordered Murat with his magnificent reserve of
twelve thousand cavalry to advance. Ruchel was overborne by the resistless torrent; the entire Prussian
army, routed and disorganized, was driven before the
impetuous tide of conquest. The conquerors entered
Weimar pell-mell with the fugitives; and Hohenlohe
with difficulty rallied twenty squadrons of horse behind
that town in the evening, which were the only relics of
his army.
While this decisive victory was gaining at Jena, a
far greater and more glorious battle was fought by Marshal Davoust at Auerstadt, and one of the most brilliant triumphs of skill and valor won that the annals of
the whole revolutionary era record.  When Lannes
moved upon Jena, Davoust had been sent to Naumberg, and Bernadotte had been directed to advance to
the intermediate position of Dornberg. Soon after midnight on the 13th-14th, the emperor, supposing that he
had the whole Prussian army before him, sent renewed
orders to Davoust to seize and hold the bridge of
Naumberg over the Saale at all hazards, and, if practicable, to advance toward Apolda and fall upon the
Prussian rear; Bernadotte, he added, if at hand, might
co-operate in his movement, though it was hoped that
lie was already at Dornberg. Davoust, upon the receipt of this order, went at once to Bernadotte, who
was at Naumberg, and proposed to act with him, and
even offered to place himself under his command: but
that marshal, jealous, cold, and malignant, chose to leave
both the emperor and Davoust to the chances of fail



PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.    95
ure; and observing that the order contemplated his being at Dornberg, moved off in that direction, taking his
own corps and a division of dragoons which had been
detached from the reserve of cavalry to give aid to his
corps and Davoust's jointly. Davoust was left with
not more than twenty-six thousand men, in three divisions of infantry and three regiments of light cavalry;
but the infantry divisions were the most celebrated in
the army, being those of Gudin, Morand, and Friant.
Meanwhile the Prussian army, about seventy thousand strong, commanded by the aged duke of Brunswick, and accompanied by the king and princes, had
been marching on the 13th along the high-road from
WTeimar to Naumberg, and halted at night around the
village of Auerstadt. Fromn the Saale, upon which
Naumberg is situated, the road toward Auerstadt and
Weimar ascends along a steep and winding route, called
the defile of Kosen, to an elevated level which extends
for some miles as far as Auerstadt.  The heights of
Sonnenberg bound this plateau on the left, and those
of Speilberg on the right; in the centre of it is the village of Hassenhausen, on the right of which is a small
wood.  Davoust on the evening of the 13th had seized
the defile of Kosen, and at six on the morning of the
14th he advanced in person with Gudin's division, debouched upon the plateau, and, after some skirmishing
with the Prussian reconnoitring parties in the fog which
rested in a dense mass upon the level, occupied Hassenhausen with one regiment, filled the wood upon its
right with tirailleurs, and drew up on the right beyond
it two other regiments in double line, and a third in column, ready to form into squares to protect the flanks
from cavalry attacks. Morand's division, when it ar



96          LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
rived, was to take position on the left, and Friant's on
the right.
Fortunately for the French marshal, a defile near
Auerstadt compelled the enemy to move in the same
detached manner with himself, and to bring upon the
field of battle the three divisions of Schmettau, Watersleben, and the prince of Orange, separately and in succession.  That of Schmettau arrived first, and advancing toward Hassenhausen, received a sharp fire from
the tirailleurs in the wood. The duke of Brunswick
advised a halt until the other divisions arrived; but the
king and Marshal Moellendorf recommending an immediate attack, Schmettau's division advanced a little to
the left of the wood, hoping to avoid the ceaseless fire
which poured forth from it: but the fog lifting, they beheld the other regiments drawn up in line, which at
once opened a furious discharge of musketry. Blucher
then placed himself at the head of a numerous body of
cavalry, and making a circuit, charged Gudin's division upon its right flank.  The regiment on the right
threw itself instantly into square; the second line did
the same: Blucher, advancing at the head of his troops
in person, had his horse shot under him, and an incessant volley of balls checked and dispersed his columns
as fast as they advanced.  Three times the charge was
renewed, and as often repulsed, until at last the squadrons were thrown into entire disorder, and the French
light cavalry issuing forth, completed their rout.
Meanwhile, Friant's division having arrived, was drawn
up on the right, and Gudin's concentrated in Hassenhausen; and on the other side, the division of Watersleben
made its appearance. A combined attack was now made
upon Hassenhausen: Schmettau's troops advancing in




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.    97
front, and Watersleben's turning its left, and occupying
the plain which extended in that direction. The former
were met by a terrible volley fromn the village, and could
make no progress; the latter had moved forward and
occupied the greater part of the level, when a part of
Gudin's division deploying into line, and facing to the
left, commenced a murderous fire upon the Prussian
left flank.  Its progress was quickly arrested; the duke
of Brunswick was struck by a rifle-ball in the face, and
with a handherchief over his face to prevent his being
recognised, was carried mortally wounded from the field.
Marshal Moellendorf and General Schmettau also received fatal wounds, and the king had a horse killed
under him. The prince of Orange's division soon after came up: a part of it was sent to oppose Friant on
the right, and the rest supported Watersleben.
Morand's division, however, began now to appear.
Ascending the steep of Kosen in nine battalions, they
deployed into column under the furious discharges of
the Prussian artillery, and, with their guns in the intervals between the columns, they advanced upon the
left of Hassenhausen, driving back Watersleben's division and that part of the prince of Orange's which was
acting with it. To resist this formidable movement,
which threatened to sweep the field, an immense column of cavalry, not less than ten thousand in number,
was organized under Prince William behind Watersleben's ranks, and prepared for an overwhelming onset
against Morand. The latter threw his columns into
squares, placing the artillery at the angles, and coolly
awaited the onset: Watersleben's lines presently opened,
and the mighty mass of horsemen rolled forward like
a tremendous torrent.  The French, with calmness
VOL. II. -9




98         LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
and intrepidity, reserved their fire until the cavalry
were within thirty paces, and then opened with destructive effect.  Again and again the Prussian officers
endeavored to make their men charge the masses that
glittered with bayonets; the shower of balls which
awaited them as often as they approached, stopped or
turned their progress.  At length, disheartened, the
cavalry retired. Morand then formed his men into
columns and moved forward; Friant at the same time
drove back the prince of Orange; and Gudin's division, which had borne the brunt of the day, and had
suffered most severely, deployed in front of the village.
The whole French line advanced, and the Prussian
army was completely repulsed and defeated. Two
Prussian divisions, however, under Marshal- Kalkreuth,
remained in reserve, which had not been engaged during the whole day, and which, if properly disposed of,
might still have saved the crown of Prussia. A council
was called at the Prussian headquarters: Blucher advised that the reserves should be brought forward, and
all the remaining troops organized for one grand
final attack. But other counsels prevailed, and a retreat was ordered.  Kalkreuth was directed to cover
it. Morand, now in occupation of the heights of Sonneberg, opened a raking fire, which, with the rapid advance of Gudin's men, compelled the retiring columns
of the Prussians to move off with precipitation.
In this great battle, the Prussians, besides the duke
of Brunswick, Moellendorf, Schmettau, and a number
of other officers, lost ten thousand killed and wounded,
and three thousand prisoners; while in the French
army seven thousand were either killed or wounded,
among whom also a very large proportion were officers.




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAIPAIGNS.    99
Morand and Gudin were both wounded. Davoust had
been personally present in every part of the field, exposing himself fearlessly; heading Gudin's lines, or
throwing himself into MIorand's squares when the cavalry assailed them.  At the head of one of the columns
he was struck with a rifle-ball, which pierced his hat,
and carried away some of his hair, without touching his
head. On the following morning, Napoleon sent Duroc to Naumberg, with testimonials of approbation for
Davoust's corps, and a letter to the marshal, in which
he said to him, "Your soldiers and yourself, marshal,
have acquired an everlasting right to my esteem and
gratitude."  The title of duke of Auerstadt, conferred
in 1808, worthily appropriated to this brave soldier the
glory of one of the most splendid days in the annals
of victory.
The lines of the Prussian retreat from Jena and Auerstadt crossed one another, and the scene of confusion
and dismay which followed during that night and the
succeeding days baffles the power of language to describe. It was the wreck of a nation.  Napoleon, seeing that the panic of the hour gave him an opportunity
of making a prey of the whole kingdom, sat up the
whole night dictating orders to his marshals, who issued
forth in all directions to profit by the paralyzing effect
of these two victories.  On the 15th, Erfurth, which
contained the grand park and artillery-stores of the army, and into which an immense body of fugitives firom
the army had thrown themselves, surrendered, with immense military supplies, a hundred and twenty pieces
of cannon, and fourteen thousand prisoners, among
whom were the prince of Orange and Marshal Moellendorf. On the 15th, Soult came up with and defeated




100         LOUIS LICHOLAS DAVOUST.
Kalkreuth's division of cavalry, the remains of the army, at Greussen; on the 17th, the duke of Wfirtemberg's reserve of fourteen thousand men was defeated
at Halle by Bernadotte; and in the beginning of November, Blucher was defeated at Lubeck, and, having
retired to the confines of Denmark, was there made prisoner. Stettin, Custrin, Magdeburg, Nieuberg, and Hameln, successively surrendered; on the 18th of October, Davoust entered Leipsig; and, on the 25th, took
possession of Berlin. On the 31st of October, Napoleon reviewed Davoust's corps on the road between
Berlin and Frankfort.  He then summoned the officers
around him, and expressed his sense of the merit which
they had displayed at Auerstadt, and his regret for the
losses which they had sustained.  Davoust advanced
and said in reply, " Sire, the soldiers of the third corps
will always be to you what the tenth legion was to
Cesar!"
The severity with which the anger of a remorseless
soul was wreaked upon the unfortunate Prussians it is
not a part of this design to touch upon.  The military
glory of the campaign is the only subject of present notice: and certainly the overthrow and degradation of a
great European empire, and the possession of six principal fortresses, together with the capture of eighty
thousand prisoners, four thousand pieces of artillery,
three hundred and fifty standards, in the space of fifty
days -reckoning from the opening of the campaign to
the fall of Nieuberg-present results with which no
achievements in the warfare of civilized nations bear
any comparison.
Austria and Prussia having thus been humbled in the
campaigns of Austerlitz and Jena, Russia alone remained




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   101
amrong the great Christian powers of Europe to cope
with the formidable conqueror. On the 1st of December, his army, consisting of eight corps, and amounting
to nearly one hundred thousand men, occupied Warsaw and both banks of the Vistula, above and below;
and a Russian army of seventy-five thousand was assembled about Pultusk, with which a Prussian corps
of fifteen thousand, under General Lestocq, might be
expected to co-operate.  The operations in the beginning of this campaign —the battle of Pultusk on the
26th of December, and the combat of Golymin-are
so disconnected with the line of decisive results, that
the record of them may be omitted here. On the
28th, the French army was put into cantonments between the Ukra and the Narew, and the emperor returned to Warsaw, and directed his attention to the reduction of the remaining Prussian fortresses in Silesia.
Meanwhile, the Russian corps under Benningsen and
Buxhowden, which the previous manoeuvres of Napoleon had separated, effected a junction at Biala on the
14th of January, and suddenly resuming the
1807.
offensive, poured down upon the scattered outposts of the French army in formidable columns. Ney's
corps was surprised and considerably damaged, and
Bernadotte was attacked at Mohungen, and his baggage captured. Napoleon was instantly on the alert.
On the 23d, orders were issued for assembling the
whole army about Wittenburg; on the 27th, it was organized and on its march toward the north; and on the
30th, the emperor left Warsaw. Benningsen, in his
turn, began to retire, intending to receive battle at
Prussich-Eylau; on the 4th, his troops retreated to
Frauendorf; on the 5th and 6th, they passed through
9*




102        LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
Defpen and through Lansberg, where a severe combat
occurred; and on the morning of the 7th, reached Eylau, and took up a position on the other side of the
town. A violent and sanguinary conflict occurred on
this day in the town, which finally remained in the
hands of the French.  The Russian army occupied an
irregular plain, covered with ice and snow, and about
two miles in length and one mile in breadth. Their
centre, consisting of a body of ten thousand men drawn
up in two lines under Bagration, with a battery of four
hundred pieces in front, and a reserve in close double
columns under Doctoroff behind, was in front of Eylaw; their right, under Tutschakoff, was on both sides
of Schoditten; and their left, under Osterman and Tolstoy, rested on the village of Serpallen: the cavalry, a
horse-artillery of sixty guns, and the Cossacks, under
Platoff, were in reserve.
About daybreak the battle began. Davoust was
ordered to march about three leagues to the right, so
as to turn the enemy's left; while Soult in the centre,
preceded by one hundred and fifty guns, and Augereau
on the French left, marched forward to the attack. A
destructive fire was poured into both these corps from
the Russian batteries, which were placed so as to play
with murderous effect upon Augereau. A snowstorm
suddenly darkened the air; and while the French left
wing was checked and disordered by the heavy discharges with which it was assailed, it was attacked on
its left flank by Tutschakoff, and on its right by the
reserve under Doctoroff, and the Cossacks. It was
speedily broken, driven back in wild confusion into
Eylau, nearly the whole corps destroyed or captured,
and Augereau himself badly wounded. Napoleon, who




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   103
at the beginning of the action had ascended the steeple
of the church of Eylau, was in imminent danger of being surrounded and taken by the flood of Cossacks
which swept up the streets.  He instantly ordered some
battalions of the old guard to attack them on one side,
and a brigade of cavalry to charge on the other, and
the enemy were speedily driven back. Napoleon now
prepared for a desperate attack upon their centre:
Soult's corps was reformed, and, accompanied by the
imperial guard, and forming in all a body of twentyfive thousand infantry, together with fourteen thousand
cavalry under Murat, and a battery of two hundred
pieces, advanced in terrible array.  The Russian lines
were broken like glass by this resistless onset; but the
men, instead of taking to flight, formed themselves into
little squares, and enfeebled the force of the assault, if
they could not arrest it: the infantry of the reserve
were immediately formed into close lines to receive the
approaching column, and, when these were broken
through, an impetuous shock of the Cossacks awaited
the French, who, by this third line of opponents, were
completely stopped and repelled.
But while the Russians had thus triumphed on their
right, and while the centre was the scene of a doubtful
struggle, Davoust, on the French right, had gained a
decisive advantage.  " Here," said that general of iron
obstinacy, " here is the spot where the brave must find
a glorious death: cowards will expire in the depths of
Siberia!"  After an obstinate and lengthened contest,
he had taken the villages of Klein, Saussgarten, and
Serpallen, and the latter being fired during the engagement, huge volumes of smoke were rolling back upon
the centre. Benningsen, with consummate judgment,




L04        LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
drew back his left wing upon his centre, so as to bring
it within the protection of the reserve and the main
body, and the progress of Davoust was thus arrested.
Toward the close of the day, Lestocq, who had been
all day marching toward the scene of action, closely
pursued by Ney, arrived on the extreme right of the
Russians, and was immediately ordered by Benningsen
to pass round to the left, and endeavor to restore the
battle in that quarter.  These directions were gallantly
obeyed, and the left again became the scene of a furious engagement. Ney, meanwhile following Lestocq,
assaulted and carried Schloditten, but it was speedily
retaken by Benningsen.
It was now ten at night, and the advantage of the
field up to this time must be considered as resting with
the Russians; but the retirement of Benningsen during
the night enabled Napoleon, with some appearance of
reason, to claim a victory.  This step on the part of
the Russian commander, if dimming the brilliance of
his achievement, was undoubtedly a proof of judgment.
About eleven o'clock in the evening he held a council
of his officers, without dismounting from their horses;
and though Osterman, Tolstoy, and Lestocq, were
strongly in favor of renewing the attack in the morning,
he considered that the arrival of Ney's corps, and the
approach of Bernadotte's, which had not been engaged
on this day, gave so great a promise of superiority to
the enemy, that it was prudent to secure his retreat to
Konigsberg. An eminent French general said of Napoleon's success, " It was a battle gained and a victory
lost." In this terrible conflict between the armed powers of the north and the south, Napoleon's loss was
thirty thousand killed and wounded, and twelve eagles;




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   105
and the Russian loss twenty-five thousand killed and
wounded, eighty-four standards, and sixteen guns. Napoleon remained upon the field for nine days, and then
sent proposals for peace, which were promptly rejected
by the king of Prussia. He then drew back to the
Passarge, and put his army into cantonments between
Osterode and Wormditt. Benningsen immediately advanced through Eylau, and on the 25th established his
headquarters at Larsberg.  Both parties claimed the
victory; but their movements, and the result of the
campaign, demonstrated that neither was entitled to
boast of success.
The interval which elapsed before hostilities were
resumed was marked by the fall of the Silesian fortresses of Schweidnitz and Neiss, and the still more important city of Dantzig, which, after a very protracted
siege, surrendered on the 27th of May.  Both parties
were actively preparing for the campaign which was at
hand. By the end of March, the whole force under
Benningsen amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand; while that which Napoleon had assembled on
the Narew and Passarge was not less than one hundred
and eighty-five thousand, of whom thirty-five thousand
were cavalry. The war recommenced on the 4th of
June, 1807, with an attack by Benningsen upon Marshal Ney's corps, which was in an exposed position at
Guttstadt on the Passarge; but the vigor ot the assault
was so moderated, that Ney escaped with little loss.
Napoleon immediately concentrated his whole army;
the Russians fell back to a strongly-entrenched camp
which had been constructed at Heilsberg, on the Alle,
a stream running northwardly into the Baltic. On the
10th, the camp was attacked in front with great in



106        LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
trepidity; but after' an obstinate contest, the French
were repulsed with the loss of twelve thousand men.
On the following day Napoleon turned the right flank
of the position by pushing Davoust's corps forward toward Konigsberg, upon which place the entrenched camp
was dependent for its daily supplies; and on the night of
the 1 Ith and morning of the 12th, Benningsen evacuated
Heilsberg, and reached Friedland in the evening. On
the same day, the corps of Lannes, Ney, and Mortier,
with Napoleon in person, were marching by Domnau
toward Friedland; Murat and Soult were advancing to
Konigsberg; and Victor was approaching Kreutzburg.
On the night of the 13th, the vanguard of the French
army under Lannes had reached Posthenen, a village
about three miles westward from Friedland; Mortier's
corps was approaching the same point; and Ney's and
Bernadotte's corps, with Napoleon himself, were still
some distance in the rear. Benningsen, who was on
the right bank of the Alle, opposite to Friedland, with
fifty thousand men, conceived that an opportunity was
offered for striking a blow at Lannes, who had only Oudinot's and Verdier's divisions with him, not amounting
to fifteen thousand men, and might be destroyed before
the other corps could arrive.  This design, had it been
executed with the requisite rapidity, was a plausible
one; but so languidly did Benningsen put it into operation, that it proved the ruin of his army. About two
o'clock in the morning of the 14th, he marched a portion of his army across the Alle upon three bridges,
and a heavy cannonade began between these troops and
the corps under Lannes.  Mortier's corps, however,
began to arrive, and Benningsen gradually increased
his force on the left bank, until at length the whole of




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   107
his army was brought over the river. Two attacks by
the French —one with cavalry upon the Russian right,
and one with infantry upon the centre-were repelled
with loss; and Lannes drew back his men to the skirts
of a wood, behind the villages of Posthenen and
Heindrichsdorf, between three and four miles from the
Alle. Meanwhile, Benningsen, finding the enemy's
numbers so much increased, abandoned all idea of a
surprise; and though his army was drawn up in line
of battle, he intended nothing else than to recross the
river in the evening.  But he had forgotten that his
antagonist was Napoleon. That commander, whose
sagacity to detect a mistake by his enemy was as piercing as his energy to take advantage of it was instant,
had heard the firing at Domnau, about nine miles distant, and rode rapidly forward to the heights behind
Heindrichsdorf, from which he looked down upon the
movements of the Russians. He at once saw the monstrous error into which Benningsen had been betrayed
by his own ingenuity: " It is the anniversary of Marengo!" he exclaimed; "I will give them a repetition
of that battle."  It was but one o'clock: upon the first
alarm, orders had been given to the corps in the rear
to hasten forward, and the lengthened summer afternoon promised time enough for the ruin of the enemy.
The troops were allowed half an hour to repose; and
at five they were formed in line of battle on the skirts
of the wood. Ney occupied the right; on his left, in
echelon, was Bernadotte's corps, commanded by Victor; on his left was Mortier with a small corps; and
next to him in the line was Marshal Lannes.  The
guard formed the second line in the centre.  The attack began with the right a little in advance: Ney's




108        LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
corps dashed forward with the utmost impetuosity, far
in advance of the other corps; but they were met by
the Russian guard, disordered, and driven back, and the
guard itself advanced beyond the French line. At that
moment a division of Victor's corps, commanded by
Dupont, without any order from the marshal, charged
this advanced column in flank, and arrested their progress, while a battery of eight-and-forty pieces opened a
destructive fire from the rest of Victor's corps. Ney's
columns were reformed, and the battle became general.
The contest was maintained with extraordinary obstinacy; but when eighty thousand troops, of which ten
thousand were cavalry, were opposed to forty thousand
infantry and eight thousand horse, the result could not
long be doubtful.  The Russian masses, dreadfully
thinned by the fire that was poured in upon them, gradually retired toward the town of Friedland, and through
it to the river. The passage was conducted with a deliberation and order of which perhaps no other troops
in Europe would have been capable, yet the loss
was immense. The Russians had had on their right
twenty-two squadrons of horse, which now protected
the retreat with great effect; while by some strange
neglect, above forty on the side of the French were
not engaged nor even invested, but idly occupied a
plain on the left. It may readily be conjectured that
Murat was not on the field.  The Russians lost in this
unfortunate engagement about eighteen thousand killed
and wounded, and a large quantity of artillery; while
the French loss was about eight thousand men.  The
blow was decisive of the military condition of Russia
in the present campaign: the army retired to the Niemen; Konigsberg was occupied on the 16th; and, on




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   109
the 19th, the emperor Alexander communicated his
wish for an armistice.
In the operations in the spring of 1809, Davoust
commanded the third corps; and his gallantry in the
opening of the campaign, especially at Eckmuhl, where
he commanded the left, were so conspicuous, that he
was the same year created prince of Eckmuhl. The
vast services rendered by him at Wagram will be seen
in the notice upon that battle in the life of Massena.
In December, 1810, after the union of the Hanse
towns with the empire, the prince of Eckmuhl was appointed governor-general of Hamburg and the Hanseatic departments. In 1812, he accompanied Napoleon
to Russia, and commanded the first corps of the grand
army, a magnificent body of seventy thousand men.
The prince entertained strong hopes that in case Poland should be re-established, he would be made viceroy of that kingdom. This ambition on his part, or
some other circumstance not fully known, excited the
jealousy and displeasure of the emperor to some extent
at this time, and contributed to produce that preference
for Murat during the advance to Moscow which led to
many mischiefs. At the assault upon Smolenks, on
the 17th of August, Davoust was the most efficient of
the marshals; but after that time, on the march to Moscow, he was placed under the orders of Murat. To
this inferiority, which wounded his pride, and was felt
as a kind of disgrace, he yielded with ill-disguised impatience and reluctance, and on several occasions his
contempt for his superior officer manifested itself in
open refusal to obey his commands. On the day before the battle of Borodino, the prince of Eckmuhl apVOL. I.- 10




[ 10       LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
proached Napoleon with a plan for the battle, in which
he proposed to march during the night on the enemy's
left, and take the Russians, in the morning, upon the
flank and rear of that wing. Napoleon listened to the
marshal attentively and in silence for some time, and
then said, "No! it is too great a movement; it would
remove me too far from my object, and make me lose
too much time." The prince, convinced of the advantages of his suggestion, persisted in recommending it;
and offered to accomplish the manceuvre before six
o'clock in tile morning.  Napoleon replied sharply:
" Ah! you are always for turning the enemy; it is too
dangerous a manceuvre!"  The marshal said no more,
and returned to his post.  During the battle, he displayed his wonted valor. In an attack which he led
against the first Russian redoubt with the divisions of
Campans and Desaix, preceded by thirty pieces of
cannon, he was wounded, but continued to combat with
unabated eagerness.
On the march from Moscow, Davoust supported the
retreat as far as Wiasma, where Ney took the post of
danger and glory. Davoust rejoined the army at Krasnoe with about four thousand men, the remains of his
seventy thousand.  "He had lost everything," says
Segur; "was without linen, and was emaciated with
hunger.  He seized upon a loaf which was offered to
hitn and devoured it.  A handkerchief was given to
him to wipe his face, which was covered with wine.
Iie exclaimed that'none but men of iron constitutions
could support such trials; that it was physically impossible to resist them; that there were limits to human
strength, the farthest of which had been exceeded.'"
Hamburg, which had been left under the command




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   111
of Cara St. Cyr, fell into the hands of the Russians on
the lSth of March, 1813; and soon after, Davoust was
recalled to France.  An anecdote is related of his fierce
and fearless courage at this time.  In passing through
a village, accompanied by two persons only, the popular
fury against the French had risen to such a height, that
a crowd surrounded his carriage and were about to unharness his horses.  The marshal rushed into the midst
of the throng, seized upon the ringleader, dragged him
behind his carriage, and made his servants fasten him
to it.  The people, astonished and awed by this resolute action, gave way, and the marshal drove off, carrying his prisoner with him.
In the campaign of Saxony in 1S13, Davoust commanded the eleventh corps, and occupied the Elbe
from Dessau to Torgau. After the battle of Lutzen,
and the retirement of the allies behind the Elbe, Hamburg was besieged by Vandamme, under Davoust's orders, and surrendered on the 30th of May. Davoust
occupied it with an army of twenty-five thousand French
and ten thousand Danes. After the battle of Leipsig,
Bernadotte manceuvred without success for the reduction of this important place. Denmark and the Danish
forces were detached from the French alliance, but Davoust shut himself in the city, and declared that he
would make another Saragossa.  With the energy and
activity that he had so often displayed in the acquisition of victory, he now set himself to work in the maintenance of a hopeless and ruined cause. He established
defensive works upon a vast and cumbrous scale. He
employed Bertrand to construct a wooden bridge of
communication between Hamburg and Haarburg, by
joining the islands of the Elbe to the mainland along




112        LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
a distance of nearly two leagues.  This magnificent
structure, twenty-five hundred fathoms in length, was
completed in eighty-three days.  It was soon after the
battle of Leipsig that the Russians, under Strogonoff,
began the siege. In the end of January, 1814, Benningsen took the command in person. During February and March, repeated, attacks were made with the
utmost fury upon the island of Williamsburg, but were
repelled with unflinching courage. Four thousand men
perished on both sides during this winter siege; until
Benningsen, in despair of carrying the place by assault,
converted the siege into a blockade, and trusted the
reduction of the city to time and want.  The spirit
and confidence of Davoust remained unabated until, in
April, intelligence arrived of the events which had taken
place at Paris.  Davoust at first disbelieved it; and so
unworthy of credit was it deemed for some time, that
several hawkers, who circulated the news from Paris,
were arrested.  At length, the tidings being fully confirmed, the marshal assembled the troops, informed
them of the overthrow of the emperor, hoisted the white
flag, and sent in his adhesion to the provisional governinent. He then resigned the command to General
G6rard, quitted Hamburg, and arrived in Paris on the
18th of June.
During the period of the first restoration, Davoust
received no favor or countenance from the court; but
on the return of Napoleon, he was appointed minister
of war, and, when the emperor set out for Waterloo,
he was one of the council who were charged with the
government in his absence.  He was placed in supreme
command of the French army, amounting to one hundred thousand men and twenty-five thousand cavalry,




PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   113
after Napoleon's abdication in 1815; and having concluded a convention with the allied commanders, led it
beyond the Loire. He yielded to the new accession
of Louis XVIII., and, in obedience to his order, transferred his command to Macdonald, and exhorted the
soldiers to sustain the king. In 1819, he was made a
peer of France; and on the 1st of June, 1823, he died
at Paris, aged fifty-three years, leaving two daughters,
and a son, who inherited his title.
The character of Davoust, while it had some qualities which should command respect, had none that inspire either affection or enthusiasm.  Concentrated and
intense in his temper, despotic in will, and inflexible in
resolution, he moved in what seemed to him the sphere
of duty, with a rigid and gloomy pertinacity.  Abrupt
and harsh in his manners, severe in discipline, rigorous
in conduct, he repelled the sympathy of those who might
be inclined to admire the hardy virtues of his system,
and seemed to delight in outraging the sensibilities of
those for whom he was perhaps enduring the greatest
labors.  His character bore some resemblance to that
of Frederic the Great; and if the faults of a gloomy
temper, an unfeeling spirit, and an iron tyranny, are to
be objected to the marshal as well as to the monarch,
to both must be conceded the possession of a high and
self-sacrificing devotion to duty, which is more likely
to be appreciated at a distance than admired by those
who are near at hand. Davoust's severities were exercised only for the public good. His soul was in his
profession or his employment. He incurred immeasurable odium for his exactions in Prussia; but he exercised this harshness, not, like Massena, for his own
enrichment, but for the national advantage. Napoleon
10*




114        LOUIS NICHOLAS DAVOUST.
knew this, and defended his reputation at St. Helena.
" I do not think him a bad character," said he. " He
never plundered for himself. He certainly levied contributions; but they were for the army.  It is necessary for an army, especially when besieged, to provide
for itself." There was, too, in the depths of his stern
and unconciliating spirit, a sentiment of personal loyalty toward Napoleon that often exhibited itself with a
touching interest: when the emperor was flying through
the streets of Moscow from the flames that threatened
the Kremlin, he met the prince of Eckmuhl, who, still
suffering from his wound, had desired his attendants to
carry him back among the flames, either to rescue Napoleon, or to perish with him; and when the marshal
saw his chief, he threw himself into his arms with transport. His heroic adherence to the cause of the emperor, and his earnest defence of Hamburg, shine with
conspicuous lustre amid the moral darkness of so much
faithlessness. Though unfortunately defeatured by a
certain bitterness and morosity, his character was not
without some linearnents of greatness. He had none
of the vulgar vices of a revolutionary era.  If he had
nuch that was unainiable in his temper, he had nothing
that was paltry or contemptible.  The pettinesses of
vanity and self-illustration, the sordid baseness of selfaggrandizement, did not degrade a character which, if
it wanted the softness and brilliance of romantic fame,
lacked none of the disinterestedness of heroic grandeur.
Davoust's qualities were such as made him an admirable commander on a doubtful field. For obstinately
maintaining a difficult position against a threatening enemy, or driving back a formidable force by the cease



PRUSSIAN AND POLISH CAMPAIGNS.   115
less fury of his assaults, no general was superior to him.
But as a high tactician, his merit was not great. When
some one spoke of him as one of the best of the French
generals, Napoleon replied, "As to being one of the
first of the French generals, he was by no means so,
though a good general." He suffered from a defect
of vision, his sight being excessively short.




ANDRE MASSENA,
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804:
DUKE OF RIVOLI: PRINCE OF ESSLING.
ANDRe MASSENA was born on the 6th of May, 1756,
at Nice, where his father, Jules Massena, followed
the calling of a wine-merchant. The earliest scene of
his distinction, as well as the field of his mature fame,
was in the immediate neighborhood of the country of
his birth. At a very early age, he enlisted in a Piedmontese regiment, and, in 1775, entered the French
service as a soldier in the royal Italian regiment, afterward called the first regiment of light-infantry. He
rose, gradually, through the successive ranks of service; became a corporal in 1776, and a sergeant in
1777, and so continued until 1789, when he received
his discharge. In his retirement at Antibes, upon the
breaking out of the Revolution, he warmly embraced
the popular principles, and again entered the army under favorable auspices. In 1791, he became adjutantmajor in the second battalion of the Var, and, in the
year following was made a major; in which rank his
intimate knowledge of the country rendered him of
service to General Anselm, who was the first commander of the army of Italy. General Biron, his successor, spoke so highly of his talents to the Convention,
that he was made a general of brigade, and a general
of division, in 1793. In March, 1794, he commanded




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            117
one of the corps of the army of Italy, at Nice, under
General Dumorbion, when Napoleon joined it as commander of the artillery; and he led one of the divisions in the operations, undertaken by Napoleon's advice, in March and April. At the battle of Loano,
under General Scherer, in November, 1795, he commanded the central attack, and distinguished himself
by his bravery. Napoleon found him in the same position when he took the command in March, 1796.
His brilliant achievements during the subsequent campaign in Italy, and the extent to which he contributed
to the victories of Montenotte, Mellesimo, Dego, Mondovi, Rivoli, Roveredo, Arcola, and his brilliant valor
at the pass of Tarvis, have already been fully stated
in the history of the campaign, in the memoir of Napoleon. " It was in acknowledgment," says Napoleon
in his memoirs, " of the services rendered in so many
battles by General Massena, that the emperor afterward
made him Duke of Rivoli." Napoleon appreciated
his services very highly. After stating, in one of his
dictations at St. Helena, that Augereau was sent to
Paris with the colors taken after the fall of Mantua, he
adds: " It would, nevertheless, have been more natural to have sent them by Massena, who had very superior claims; but the general-in-chief had much more
dependence on the latter, with a view to the campaign
in Germany, and did not choose to part with him."
At the termination of the campaign, however, he was
sent to carry to the Directory the preliminary treaty of
Leoben. He was received in a solemn audience, on
the 9th of May; and, on the 18th, the public authorities gave him a magnificent f6te in the hall of the
Odeon.




118             ANDRE MASSENA.
The military reputation of General Massena was
now established on a high and firm basis; but an unfortunate occurrence soon after brought the infirmities
of his civil character to the public eye, in a manner
very injurious to his reputation. He was, in truth,
sordid and rapacious, to a degree distinguished even
among the revolutionary soldiers of that day. In February, 179S, he superseded Berthier in the command
of the army which was in occupation of Rome. The
rapine to which the city had been subjected by the
agents of the Directory, was so outrageous as to rouse
the indignation of the soldiery, whose pay remained in
arrear, while a few were enriching themselves by plunder. A great meeting of the army was held in the
Pantheon, on the 24th of February; and in the resolutions that were passed, the new commander-in-chief
was denounced by name. " The third cause of the
general discontent," said the remonstrance of the army,
"is the arrival of General Massena.  The soldiers
have not forgotten the extortions and robberies which
he has made, wherever he has had the command: the
Venetian territories, and especially Padua, are full of
evidence of his guilt."  Massena ordered his soldiers
to disperse the meeting, but they refused; and an open
revolt being thus signalized, he quitted Rome, leaving
General D'Allemagne in command, and retired to
Ancona. Massena published a memoir, in justification
of his character; but public opinion remained unsatisfied with his deportment.
For a year Massena continued without employment;
but, in the beginning of 1799, he was named commander-in-chief of the army of Helvetia, and ordered
to operate in the mountains of the Grisons. He here




ITALIAN CAMIPAIGNS.. t9
rose to the character of a great general, and established
a military reputation of the first class. The campaign
opened on the 5th of March, by a noble combined
movement of the different corps against the Austrian
general (Auffenberg), who was surrounded and compelled to lay down his arms, with two thousand men
and ten pieces of cannon, near Coire. On the 23d,
MIassena made a fierce assault upon the important fortress of Feldkirch; but was repulsed, with a loss of
three thousand men. In the beginning of April, upon
Jourdan's visiting Paris after the defeat at Stockach,
Massena was placed in command of the army of the
Rhine, as well as that of the Alps. He at once drew
back the troops into a strong position in the Grisons,
and repulsed a general attack made upon his lines by
Hotze and Bellegarde, in the end of April, at the same
time that he crushed, with promptness and vigor, an
insurrection of the Swiss peasantry in his rear. A
subsequent attack, in the middle of May, by the archduke Charles upon Massena's positions, was successful,
and he was obliged to abandon the Grisons, and fall
back behind the lake of Zurich. About the 20th of
May, his army was in a strongly-fortified position about
the town of Zurich; and here he maintained himself,
with that obstinacy which formed one of his most
marked characteristics. A vehement attack was made
upon him by the archduke, on the 5th of June, which
was repulsed with great loss; but, on the following
night, Massena retreated to a higher and stronger position, on Mount Albis, between Lucerne and Zurich.
Both parties remained in inaction for some months,
expecting reinforcements; and, in the meantime, fortunately for the reputation of Massena, the Aulic Council




120            ANDRE, MASSENA.
determined to transfer the archduke, who was the only
person able to compete with the French general, to the
Rhine, with his disciplined Austrian troops, and supply
his place with Russian troops, under Korsakow, from
Italy. In the middle of August, Massena determined
to make an attack on the mountain heights, which are
crowned by the St. Gothard, and thus to separate the
Italian forces of the allies from their German troops.
He accordingly strengthened his right wing, by the
accumulation of the principal part of his army there,
under Lecourbe and Oudinot, who advanced, on the
14th of August, and drove the Austrians, after desperate struggles, from the Grimsel and the Furca, and
occupied the summit of Mont St. Gothard; while,
about the same time, the Austrian right was driven into
Glarus, and there defeated. Toward the end of September, while Massena was on the line of the Limmat,
with forty thousand men, Korsakow was at Zurich,
with' twenty-five thousand; and a plan was formed, by
which Suwarrow was to advance, from Milan, across
Mont St. Gothard, and forming a junction with Korsakow, at Zurich, attack Massena in front, while Hotze
assailed him on the flank. Massena, however, resolved
to anticipate these operations, by throwing his whole
force on Korsakow before Suwarrow could arrive.
Massena's dispositions for the capture of this general
in Zurich, were conceived and executed with the utmost ability. On the 27th, Mortier was ordered to
make a feigned attack upon the town in front, sufficient
to engage the attention of the bulk of the Russian centre, while, on the right, Oudinot, with fifteen thousand
men, passed the river at Closter-Fahr, and ascended
to the heights behind Zurich, and, on the left, General




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            121
Menard engaged Durassow, with the Russian right
wing, on the lower Limmat. The arrangement succeeded in every part. While the Russian commander
was repulsing Mortier, who retired before him in some
confusion, intelligence was brought him that Oudinot
was descending from the heights in his rear, sweeping
everything before him, and that his right wing, under
Durassow, was cut off. Korsakow's situation was desperate, and Massena summoned him to surrender; but
the resolute and unyielding Russian determined to cut
his way through the midst of his enemies, cost what
it might. Accordingly, on the 28Sth, he marched out,
and making his way through the fiercest fire of the
adversary, succeeded in escaping, with the loss of all
his artillery and baggage. Eight thousand killed and
wounded, and five thousand prisoners, attested the magnitude of the victory of Zurich. Suwarrow arrived in
the mountains too late to retrieve the fortunes of the
allied arms, and was forced, reluctantly, to retreat.
The political results of this battle were even greater
than its military consequences. It led to recriminations between the Austrian and Russian commanders,
and, afterward, to a rupture and separation: the Austrian and Russian cabinets partook of the division thus
created; Russia withdrew her troops, and that alliance
was broken up which threatened the subjection of
France, and which was not re-established until Prussia,
Russia, and Austria, having each felt its inability to
cope, separately, with France, joined again in united
hostility to its formidable legions.
When Napoleon became first-consul, and the campaign against Austria reopened, he recalled Massena
from Switzerland, and gave him the command of the
VOL. I.- 11




122             ANDRE MASSENA.
army of Italy.  "This general," he remarks, in his
memoirs, "who was well acquainted with all the
passes of the Apennines, was more fit than any other
person for this war of manceuvres." He arrived at his
headquarters on the 10th of February, 1800. About
thirty-five thousand men were here placed under his
command: his left, consisting of twelve. thousand men,
in four divisions, was intrusted to Suchet; the centre,
of about the same strength, was commanded by Soult;
while the right, of five thousand, was under MIiollis;
and there was a reserve, of about five thousand men,
in Genoa. The Austrian army in Italy amounted to
above sixty thousand men, commanded in chief by
5Melas, who, with the centre, was at Acqui; while Ott
commanded his left, and Elnitz his right. On the 6th
of April the Austrians advanced.  Suchet was separated from the centre, and driven by Elnitz toward the
Var, and prevented from any further communication
witli Massena; and Ott, on the same day, drove in the
advanced posts around Genoa, and occupied Monte
Faccio and Monte Ratti, and produced the utmost
consternation in the city. At sunrise, on the following
day, Massena opened the gates, and issued out, with
Miollis's division and the reserve, attacked Ott in the
rear, precipitated his divisions into the marshes, and
retook all the posts, and returned in the evening, with
fifteen hundred prisoners, and several cannon and
colors. From the 9th to the 21st of April, Massena,
Soult, and Suchet, executed a variety of movements,
and made a number of attempts, with a view to restoring the communications between the left and main
body of the army, but in vain. On the last day, Massena entered Genoa; and from that time his position,




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            123
surrounded on land by the Austrians, and blockaded
on the other side by the English squadron, under Lord
Keith, assumed the character of a besieged garrison.
Being without provisions, a capitulation was obviously
inevitable; but, with the hope of being relieved by
Napoleon, he still held out, with all that obstinate endurance which belonged to him.  Melas marched toward the Var, leaving Ott to maintain the siege with
thirty thousand men. Meanwhile, the distress within
the city, where a population of fifty thousand persons,
besides the garrison, was shut up without supplies, became excessive.  On the 24th of May, the distribution
of bread ceased, and cocoa alone was served out. A
pound of bad bread was selling for thirty francs; a
pound of meat for six francs; a fowl for thirty-two
francs. On the same day, Lannes, with the advanced
guard of the army under Napoleon, had reached Ivrea.
It depended on a few days, or even a few hours, whether the relief would take effect before the patience of the
city was exhausted. On the 2d of June, the women
assembled, tumultuously demanding bread or death.
Everything was to be feared from the despair of so
numerous a population. Massena yielded to the necessity, and promised the people that, if he was not
relieved in twenty-four hours, he would treat. In
compliance with his word, on the 3d of June he sent
Andrieux to General Ott; and, after negotiations for
twenty-four hours, it was agreed that, of the twelve
thousand men under Massena, eight thousand five hundred should march out, with their arms and baggage,
to Votri, and the residue, with the general-in-chief,
should be conveyed by sea, with all their guns, to Antibes. Nothing could be more honorable to Massena




124             ANDRE MASSENA.
than these terms: yet a single hour more might have
saved the surrender, for, as Andrieux entered the antechamber of Ott, he met an Austrian staff-officer, who
brought orders from Melas for the raising of the siege,
and the removal of the whole blockading corps upon
the Po.
When Napoleon returned to Paris, after the battle
of Marengo, he left Massena commander-in-chief of the
army of Italy; but, in the following year, either because he was disgusted with Massena's rapacity, or
because he found him opposed to his designs of reconstructing a monarchical system, he nominated General
Brune to this post, in place of Massena.  The latter
returned to Paris, and entering the legislative body,
acted with the republican party, and made no concealment of his opposition to the establishment of the empire.  "' Massena," says Bourrienne, who seems to
have apprehended his character with a good deal of
correctness, "loved two things-glory and money:
but as to what are termed honors, he valued only those
which resulted from the command of an army; and his
recollections all bound him to the republic, because it
recalled to his mind the most brilliant and glorious
events of his military career." He had his full share
of the rewards of the empire, however; for he was created marshal, and grand-eagle of the legion of honor,
when the other generals received these distinctions.
In 1805, when Napoleon advanced along the valley
of the Danube to Vienna and Austerlitz, Miassena was
intrusted with the chief command of the army of Italy,
amounting to fifty thousand men, where the archduke
Charles was his opponent, with an army of ninety thousand. Hostilities commenced on the morning of the




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            125
19th of October, by the forcing of the bridge of Verona; an enterprise whose skill and audacity were not
exceeded by any occurrence during the war. The
archduke took up a position of impregnable strength,
at Caldiero, where Massena attacked him on the 29th
and 30th of October, with great bravery and pertinacity, but without a victory. The progress of Napoleon,
however, rendered it necessary for the archduke to
retire for the protection of Vienna, which he did with
great firmness, and in perfect order, on the 3d and
4th of November, followed by Massena.  The former
reached Laybach, in Carinthia, on the 12th; and Massena soon after put himself in communication with
Marmont's corps, near Vienna.
After the peace of Presburg, Massena was sent again
to command in Italy, and was ordered to assemble an
army for the invasion of Calabria, in connexion with
Joseph Bonaparte's assumption of the crown of Naples.
In the middle of February, with eighteen thousand
men, he laid siege to Gaeta, where the Prince of HessePhilipsthal, with a garrison of eight thousand, made a
heroic and able resistance. The siege was maintained
for several months, with a vigor on both sides that
render it one of the most glorious of the times; but
about the middle of July the prince was mortally
wounded, by the explosion of a shell, and his successor
was not as valiant as himself. On the 18th of July,
Gaeta capitulated, the garrison marching out with all
the honors of war. An insurrection of the peasantry
of Calabria was then put down by Massena, with his
usual thoroughness: the decisive engagement of Monte
Galdo, on the 5th of August, terminated the organized
11*




126             ANDRE MASSENA.
resistance, but quietness and order were not restored
until the middle of November.
In 1807, Massena was placed in command of the
fifth corps of the grand army of Germany, and, in the
following year, was created Duke of Rivoli. In the
campaign of 1809, he commanded the fourth corps of
the grand army, and took part in the operations about
Eckmuhl, in April -of that year, though without being engaged in that battle.  In the advance down
the Danube to Vienna, Massena commanded the advanced guard; and the desperate and brilliant assault
on the bridge of Ebersberg, on the 3d of May, and
seizure of the pass, is one of the most splendid events
in the life of a general whose career was crowded with
scenes of glory.  The transcendent valor and firmness
with which, at Aspern, he sustained, with Lannes, the
weight of the whole Austrian army, and, as with a
giant's arm, upheld the tottering throne of Napoleon,
are already recorded in the history of that battle, in the
life of Lannes. His share in the victory of Wagram,
also, was so great, and so meritorious, that it is proper
here to give a detailed view of that engagement, and
the circumstances by which it was preceded; resuming
the general thread of Napoleon's history where it was
left at the close of the battle of Aspern.
CAMPAIGN OF WAGRAM.
AFTER the battle of Essling, the command of all
the troops in the island of Lobau was given to Massena, while arrangements were made with incredible
activity for the construction of a large bridge for the
passage of the Danube, and the concentration of all the




CAMPAIGN OF WAGRAM.             1 27
troops south of the Danube in the island, from which
they were to debouch.  The works executed at this
time by the engineer department, under the orders of
Lieutenant-General Bertrand, who had been considered one of the best engineers in France, were probably the most extraordinary that have ever been constructed in any campaign since the days of Vauban:
the bridge of Cesar over the Rhine, and all the other
structures of the Roman armies, must yield to them in
the grandeur of their conception, and the rapidity and
perfection of their execution.  With the aid of a battalion of naval artisans of every trade, and a corps of
twelve hundred sailors who had arrived from Antwerp
under naval officers, and the immense resources contained in the arsenals of Vienna, Bertrand in twentytwo days constructed three bridges two hundred and
forty toises in length, from the right bank of the Danube to the island of Lobau, two being upon piles, and
the third of boats.
Meanwhile, orders were despatched to every corps
in the army to concentrate at Ebersdorf: these orders
were written and signed in advance, and had the exact
date when they were to be sent affixed to them, as well
as the precise hour of the day when the corps was to
reach Ebersdorf, graduated according to the distance
that the troops had to march. On the afternoon of the
2d of July, the emperor removed his headquarters fron
Sch6enbrunn to Ebersdorf, and at the same moment
troops had begun to arrive from all directions.  Orders
had been sent to Eugene to bring up the army of Italy,
which consisted of four divisions, and to Marmont to
advance with his two divisions from Dalmatia; Bernadotte, with the Saxon troops-Vandamme, with the




128             ANDRE MASSENA.
troops of the Confederation of the Rhine -and Wrede,
with the Bavarians, had been directed to hasten down
the valley of the Danube, and Macdonald to descend
from the Alps of Carinthia and Carniola.  From  the
2d to the 4th of July, these various corps were arriving; and as fast as they came up, they were marched
into the island of Lobau.  One hundred and fifty thousand infantry, seven hundred and fifty pieces of cannon,
and three hundred squadrons of cavalry, constituted the
army concentrated in that singular position.  On the
night of the 4th, four bridges, prepared beforehand,
were thrown across the narrow channel between the
island and the left bank; one of these bridges, prepared
in a sewer in the island, consisted of a single piece,
constructed with such admirable precision and completeness, that within ten minutes after it had been
launched from the sewer, the troops were crossing upon it. It was the invention of a naval engineer-officer,
and was considered so extraordinary, that a model was
taken from it by the artillery, and is now in Paris, in
the museum of works of art connected with that department. By five o'clock on the morning of the 5th, the
whole army had passed.
The archduke Charles at this time was in position
with one hundred and forty thousand men, with his
centre at Wagram, which is about five miles from the
river, his left at the village of Margraff-Neusidel, and
his right in the direction of Aderklaa.  The archduke
John was at Presburg, twenty-five miles distant, with
thirty-six thousand troops, and Napoleon determined
to commence the attack before he could arrive. He
accordingly marshalled his army in array of battle on
the left bank of the river. In the first line, Massena,




CAMPAIGN OF W'AGRAM.             129
with four divisions- Molitor's, Boudet's, Legrand's,
and Cara St. Cyr's-formed the left; Bernadotte's
Saxons, and Oudinot, were in the centre; and Davoust
with three divisions-Friant's, Gudin's, and Morand's
-constituted the right.  The second line consisted of
Eugene with his four divisions on the left, and Marmont with his two divisions on the right; and the foot:'
guards, in six regiments, in reserve: in the third line
came the cavalry.
Napoleon's plan of attack contemplated the turning
of the Austrian left wing at Neusidel, so as to throw
Prince Charles off from communication with Prince
John. His own right, under Davoust, was therefore
thrown forward, and the whole army advanced over the
great plain of Marchfield toward the archduke, who occupied the elevated plateau between Wagram and Neusidel. About four o'clock in the afternoon, the French
army came in sight of the Austrian lines, which were
stationed in a very advantageous position, which had
long before been selected by the Austrian council as
the field of battle.  The French left and centre took
up their positions for the next day, but the centre was
the scene of a spirited engagement.  The emperor perceiving the importance of the elevated ground on which
the enemy were posted, ordered Oudinot to commence
an attack upon it at once, and directed a division of
Eugene's corps to advance to his support.  It was intended that the two columns should attack simultaneously; but Oudinot, being nearer, ascended first.  No
sooner had his division surmounted the crest of the
plateau, than it encountered a tremendous fire of artillery, which compelled it to retire in confusion; the
cavalry, however, advanced to cover it, and the soldiers




130             ANDRE. MASSENA.
speedily resumed their ranks.  The other division then
scaled the elevation, but a similar fate awaited it: it
was charged, broken, and driven back upon the artillery, and lost one of its eagles. Napoleon would not
allow the effort to be renewed, but ordered that hostilities should cease, in order that the army might repose
before the toils of the coming day.  He established his
bivouac in the midst of the old guard, who were advanced to the first line, and, sending for the different
marshals, passed a great part of the night in conferring
with them upon the events likely to occur on the morrow.  AMassena's corps, on the extreme left, was still
at Essling, considerably in the rear, and it was ordered
to come into line with the other troops, so as to be
ready to fall upon the enemy's centre, as soon as Davoust had turned their left wing.  Massena, on the 3d,
while superintending some works on the island in company with the emperor, had been severely bruised by
a fall from his horse, which obliged him on the field of
battle to appear in a caleche.  The emperor desired to
relieve him friom command, but he entreated that he
might be permitted to take his post in the battle.  The
emperor, however, foreseeing that on so busy a day the
marshal could not move in a carriage to every point
where a horse could carry him, sent his own aide-decamp, General Reille, who had formerly been the marshal's aide, to attend him, in order that he might have
a confidential officer near him. When Napoleon saw
him the next day, in the midst of the contest, though
suffering firom pain, he exclaimed, " Who ought to fear
death, when he sees how the brave are prepared to
meet it?"
At four o'clock on the morning of the 6th of July,




CAMIPAIGN OF WAGRAM.             131
1809, the French troops were ordered to arms. The
enemy began the attack: their design corresponded in
some respects with that of Napoleon; that is to say,
their greatest accumulation of troops was on their right,
and their object was to turn the French, and throw the
army toward the direction from which Prince John was
expected.  To conceal their plan, however, the battle
was opened with a very vigorous attack upon Davoust,
which convinced the emperor that they were about to
exert all their force in preserving their communication
with the archduke John on their extreme left; and he
ordered Davoust to drive them back without loss of
time, while he advanced in person to his support with
the whole guard, horse, foot, and artillery.  He had
scarcely arrived, when the movements of the Austrian
army indicated that they were Inanceuvring in the opposite direction, toward their light, and were withdrawing from their first attack by their left.  While he halted to observe their operations, Reille arrived firom
MIassena with intelligence of the most fatal disasters in
that part of the field; and Napoleon, now satisfied that
the real attack was upon the left, gave orders to Davoust to attack with redoubled energy and to carry
Neusidel; and he marched the whole guard, preceded
by its artillery, laterally across the field of battle, to the
extreme left. Massena's corps was in a state of complete
dissolution; and of the four divisions which composed
it, not a single united body was to be seen.  That marshal, in executing Napoleon's orders to advance the
left and strike at the enemy's centre, had sent forward
the division of Cara St. Cyr to attack the village.  A
regiment of light infantry at the head of this column
charged with such impetuosity as to carry the village;




132             ANDRE MASSENA.
but instead of remaining under the shelter of the town,
they advanced to the edge of it, where a dreadful fire
was opened upon it, and it was charged in its turn before it could recover its position.  It was driven back
in confusion, and drew after it the rest of the division,
which consisted of allied troops. The disorder extended to the divisions of Legrand and Boudet, which were
routed by the advancing masses of the Austrians, with
the loss of their artillery; and the enemy having turned,
or rather displaced the left wing, advanced so far, that
it became necessary to open the batteries on the island
of Lobau upon them, to check their progress toward
the bridge.
The enemy now surrounded the centre on two sides,
so that it stood lilke a wedge in the midst of the Austrians, and received a fire from two sides.  To this
point Napoleon now rode, and surveyed the appalling
scene upon the left.  But his confidence in the effect
of Davoust's advance, and in the ultimate success of
the day, was unshaken, and his coolness remained undisturbed.  He dismounted from his horse and got into
the carriage of Massena for a few minutes, and explained to him that the position of the centre was to be
maintained until Davoust had turned their left, and that
an advance after that would certainly win the field. To
inspire calmness and courage during the trying moments
that elapsed, he then mounted his snow-white charger,
a gift from the shah of Persia, and rode deliberately
from one extremity of the line to the other, and returned at the same slow pace. Shots were flying about
him in every direction, and his aides expected momently
to see him drop from his horse. An hour passed on:
Napoleon frequently inquired whether the firing about




CAMPAIGN OF WAGRAM.             133
Neusidel was in front or in rear of that village. At
length, it was seen that Davoust had prevailed, and that
the enemy's left was turned and driven back; and Napoleon at once gave orders that the whole line of the
army should form in columns of attack, and advance.
Oudinot and Bernadotte, supported by Marmont and
Eugene, were ordered to attack Wagram; Bessieres,
with the cavalry, was ordered to wheel round and charge
the troops who had advanced so far on the left; orders
were sent to Massena, whose corps was now re-formed
between Aspern and Essling, to commence the attack
upon that wing in front; and Napoleon himself organized a powerful body against the enemy's centre-a
movement upon which he counted as likely to be decisive of the day.  Eighty pieces of artillery of the
guard, under his aide-de-camp, General Lauriston,
were formed into one compact battery, and placed in
front; immediately after, on the left, came the division
of the young guard, under General Reille, and on the
right, Marshal Macdonald, with two divisions of Eugene's corps; these were followed by the cavalry of
the guard, the emperor retaining near his own person
only the regiment of horse-grenadiers.  This terrible
column advanced in dauntless and irresistible array
against the centre: the artillery, which consisted entirely of twelve and eight pounders, served by picked men,
made the most fearful ravages; Reille's troops moved
upon Aderklaa; and Macdonald, marching in person
at the head of his divisions, led them on in solid column
at a slow pace, up to the very lines of the enemy, amid
a shower of balls and grape-shot, without their falling
into the least disorder.  Nothing could resist such intrepidity and such force. The enemy's centre was
VOLT. TT1.- 12




134             ANDRE MASSENA.
pierced and separated: about half-past two, his right
had retreated, and, by four o'clock, a general retreat of
the whole line was ordered.
The victory of Napoleon was now unquestionable;
but owing to a disaster by which the cavalry were deprived of their leader, the triumph was without the usual trophies.  Napoleon's order had been, that as soon
as the centre was penetrated, the cavalry under Bessieres should charge the Austrian right wing in flank.
That marshal had scarcely started to execute this direction, when he was struck from his horse by a cannon-shot, and carried insensible from the field.  Orders
were given to other officers to lead on the horse, but
the charges were feeble and ineffective.  At a later period the cavalry of the guard, which followed Macdonald, was ordered to charge after the opening had been
made in the Austrian line, by which it was thought that
a fourth part of the army might have been surrounded
and taken; but from mistake or otherwise, that order
was not carried into effect, and that immense and splendid cavalry did not take a single man.  The emperor
was greatly displeased with the cavalry, and said on the
field of battle, " It never served me in this manner before; it will be the cause that this battle is without any
result."-" We much regretted," says Savary, "tile
absence of the grand-duke of Berg; he was the very
man we wanted at so critical a moment."  The Austrians retired during the whole night toward Znairn,
but without losing either cannon or prisoners.  The
French followed at a respectful distance; for the retreating army, which had not been broken, but preserved
its integrity, was altogether too formidable to be rashly
provoked.  The emperor slept on the field of battle in




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGNS.            135
the midst of his soldiers.  Marmont and MIassena came
up with the enemy at Znaim on the 11th, and a spirited engagement was beginning, when a flag proposing
an armistice arrived from the archduke.  It was accepted by Napoleon on the 12th after consideration, and
ratified by the emperor Francis, not without much hesitation, on the 18Sth. Napoleon re-established his headquarters at Schoenbrunn, and proceeded to review the
various corps in their several cantonments; that of Davoust was reviewed on the field of Austerlitz. Negotiations proceeded languidly, but at length, on the 14th
of October, 1809, the treaty of Vienna was signed; and
Napoleon, having ordered the ramparts of Vienna to be
-blown up on the 19th, set out for Paris, where he arrived on the 26th.
It is rarely that any man has it in his power to render such services to a sovereign and a nation as Massena performed for France and Napoleon at Aspern
and at Wagram; and the gratitude of the emperor was
proportionate.  In 1810, Massena was created prince
of Essling, and various other evidences of favor were
showered upon him.  In the same year, the jealousies
and collisions between the marshals commanding in
Spain, especially between Ney and Soult, had risen to
such a height, that the emperor determined to intrust
the invasion of Portugal to a general whose superior
rank in the state, and great fame in war, would induce
a readier submission than Soult was able to command.
He accordingly chose the prince of Essling. But the
health of the veteran was severely and incurably overthrown. He was suffering from the lassitude of disease
during the whole of this campaign, and unable to dis



136             ANDRE MASSENA.
play the former energy of his character. In judging
of the greatness of Massena, his military career ought
to be considered as terminating at the battle of Wagram.
The prince of Essling arrived in camp on the 27th
of June, and took command of the army of Portugal,
consisting of the second, sixth, and eighth corps, and
a reserve of cavalry.  This force was then engaged
under Ney in the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo: Massena
immediately summoned it, and, on the 10th of July, it
was carried by storm.  Almneida was invested on the
15th of July, and surrendered on the 28th. Napoleon
then sent orders to Massena to make these places the
base of his operations, and to advance upon Lisbon in
the beginning of September. Accordingly, on the 16th
of that month, Massena, at the head of Ney's, Junot's,
and Regnier's corps, amounting to nearly eighty thousand men, crossed the MIondego; and Wellesley began
that immortal retreat to Torres Vedras which will ever
invest his name with a glory beyond the blaze of a thousand victories.  On the 27th, MIassena found his opponent posted in an almost impregnable position at Busaco;
and instead of turning the position, as he might easily
have done, he attacked him, yet with much delay and
languor, and was defeated: he then turned it by the
English left.  The army continued to advance, and on
the 11th of October, Massena found his progress arrested and his army defied by the stupendous lines of
Torres Vedras, one of the most splendid conceptions
of military genius, and one of the mightiest achievements of skill and valor.  Astonished and perplexed,
the French commander spent some days in examining
these wonderful barriers, and satisfied himself that it




PENINSULAR CAMPAIGNS.           137
was idle to attack them until he was reinforced. Yet,
with a pertinacity which, separated from daring, was
worse than useless, he maintained his starving army at
Santarem during the whole time, until the suffering and
discontent of his troops, and the manifest impracticability of carrying the position in which Wellington had
fortified himself, compelled him to retreat. On the
5th of March, his army was in full retreat for the points
from which it had set out. Wellington, as soon as this
movement was completely developed, was thundering
in his rear; and Massena now displayed abilities and
resources scarcely inferior to those by which his antagonist had baffled him. At Pombal, at Redenha, at
Casal Nova, on the banks of the Ceisa, and at Subugal,
a series of vigorous combats protected the retiring
troops from the earnest pursuit of the English; and,
on the 5th of April, Massena recrossed the boundary
of Portugal-having lost about thirty thousand men,
from the time that he entered that kingdom in the September before. He passed through Ciudad Rodrigo,
and occupied Salamanca a few days after. On the 5th
of May, the bloody but undecisive battle of Fuentes
d'Onoro was fought. On the 10th, he retired across the
Agueda; and, soon after, was recalled to France, on
the ground of his defective health, and Marmont assumed the command of the army of Portugal.  Massena retired to his native country of Nice; and was too
much enfeebled to take any part in the campaign of
Russia or of Saxony, in 1812 and 1813.
That the shattered health of Massena, during his
Portugal campaign, was the cause of his inferiority to
his former reputation, we have the express authority
of Napoleon.  "Massena, Napoleon observed, on a
12*




13S            AND1-E  IASSENA.
former occasion," says O'Meara, "had lost himself ill
the campaign of Portugal; which, however, he attributed to the bad state of his health, that did not permit
him to sit on horseback, or inspect, himself, what was
going on. A general who sees with the eyes of others," he added, "will never be able to command an
army as it should be. Massena was then so ill, that
he was obliged to trust to the reports of others, and
consequently failed in some of his undertakings. At
Busaco, for example, he attempted to carry a position
almost impregnable in the manner he attacked it;
whereas, if he had commenced by turning it, he would
have succeeded. This was owing to his not being
able to reconnoitre personally."  He added: " If Massena had been what he was formerly, he would have
followed Wellington so closely as to be able to attack
him, while entering the lines before Lisbon, before he
could have taken up his position properly."
After the battle of Leipsig, Napoleon found Massena in Paris; and fearing his intrigues with the republicans, to whom he was always inclined, he sent
him to Toulon, to command the eighth military division. On the 20th of April, 1814, the restoration being
fully pronounced, he raised the white cockade, and
proclaimed Louis XVIII. with great pomp. He was
confirmed, by the new dynasty, in all his command,
and was made a chevalier and commander of the order
of St. Louis, and was naturalized as a Frenchman,
by the king and the chamber of peers. On the arrival
of Napoleon, in March, 1815, Massena's conduct was
undecided and ambiguous. He gave no countenance
to the invader, and professed to adhere to the Bourbons, but he took no measures to sustain the govern



HIS CHARACTER.               139
Inent, and prevented others from taking any. In the
middle of April we find him acting cordially in the
service of the emperor. After Waterloo, the provisional government appointed him, on the 23d of June,
commander-in-chief of the national guard; and he
rendered important service in maintaining the peace
of the capital. Upon the second return of the king,
the veteran soldier was not disquieted. His career
was near its close. Fascinated, in the decline of life,
by the exhausting pleasures of the capital, for which
the privations of his earlier days had created in him
an unnatural relish, he abandoned himself to a dissipation which terminated his life ingloriously, on the 4th
of April, 1817. His funeral was celebrated with much
pomp, and a eulogy pronounced by General Thiebault,
in the presence of all the military characters of the
lines.
The character of Massena was stained by imputations of rapacity and meanness. The reproaches and
complaints, in respect to robbing and violence, which
attended his career from its commencement to its close,
could not well be without a foundation in justice.
Even as late as February, 1S16, the inhabitants near
the mouth of the Rhone denounced, to the chamber
of deputies, his conduct, while presiding over them, on
the 20th of March, 1815: "Hold up to the hatred of
France, the contempt of Europe, and the disgust of
posterity," they said, " the governor of the eighth military division: he was not born upon the soil of France,
and he has shown that he was unworthy to open his
eyes to the light in that country. His rapines have
obtained a shameful celebrity for him." No public
prosecution, however, followed this energetic denun



140             ANDRE MASSENA.
ciation.  Massena published a defence; and a reply to
it appeared, entitled, "A Letter to Marshal Massena,
by a Marselleise,"which was attributed to the mayor
of Marseilles.  Napoleon seems to have been well
aware of these vices of the character of his marshal.
"He was," said the emperor, "un voleur. He went
halves along with the contractors and commissaries of
the army. I signified to him, often, that if he would
discontinue his peculations, I would make him a present of eight hundred thousand or a million of francs;
but he had acquired such a habit, that he could not
keep his hands from money. Massena, Augereau,
Brune, and many others," he said, " were merely intrepid depredators.  Massena was, moreover, distinguished for the most sordid avarice. It was asserted
that I played him a trick, which might have proved a
hanging matter,-that, being indignant at his depredations, I one day drew on his banker for two or three
millions. Great embarrassment ensued; for my name
was not without its due weight. The banker wrote to
intimate that he could not pay the sum without the
authority of Massena. On the other hand, he was
urged to pay it without hesitation, as Massena, if he
were wronged, could appeal to the court of law for
justice. Massena, however, resorted to no legal steps,
and consoled himself as well as he could for the payment of the money." Yet, some anecdotes are told,
which indicate that, if he acquired his wealth by unscrupulous means, he was sometimes sensible to noble
and true feelings in the uses which he made of it. On
one occasion, when he was at the summit of his fortunes, a man who had once been, like himself, a noncormmissioned officer in the royal Italian regiment, but




HIS CHARACTER.              141
who had adopted different principles, and followed a
different career, presented himself to Massena in a state
of deplorable wretchedness: "I am  Barbieri!" he
exclaimed, " your old comrade." The marshal threw
himself into his arms, supplied him with money and
clothing, presented him to his wife, and insisted on his
sharing his dwelling and his table.  Barbieri thus
passed five years in happy abundance; and was only
separated by death from the bounty of his more fortunate companion.
In point of military ability-to put together the detached remarks which Napoleon made respecting him
-Massena was a man of superior talents; but, by a
strange peculiarity of temperament, he possessed the desired equilibrium between judgment and physical courage only in the heat of battle: it was created in the midst
of perils. His conversation was uninteresting. He
generally made very indifferent dispositions previously
to an engagement, and it was not until the dead began
to fall about him, that he began to act with that judgment which he ought to have displayed before. On
the report of the first cannon, his ideas acquired strength
and clearness; and, in the midst of the dying and the
dead, of balls sweeping away those who encircled him,
MIassena became himself: then he gave his orders,
and made his dispositions, with the greatest sangfroid
and judgment. " This is," said the emperor, "la vera
nobilta di sangue."  It was truly said of Massena,
that he never began to act with judgment until the
battle was going against him. He was resolute, brave,
and intrepid; full of ambition and pride; endow
ed with extraordinary courage and firmness, which
seemed to increase in time of difficulty. His distin



142             ANDnrE MASSENA.
guishing characteristic was obstinacy: he was never
discouraged; if defeated, he began again as if he had
been victorious. He was of a hardy constitution, and
of indefatigable exertion; amid rocks and mountains,
the warfare peculiar to which he was particularly acquainted with, he would spend night and day on horseback. He neglected discipline, and took little care of
the affairs of the army; for which reasons, as well as
on account of his habits of peculation, he was hated
by the soldiers, who mutinied against him three or four
times. The high opinion entertained of him, in his
last days, by Napoleon, may be seen in the answer
made by him to Dr. O'Meara's question, in 1817,
who was, at that time, the first of the French generals.
"It is difficult to say," was the emperor's reply.
" Massena was; but, you may say that he is dead. He
has a complaint in his breast, which has rendered
him quite another kind of man." Notwithstanding the
odious weaknesses by which he was marked, Napoleon
held him in great respect. He concluded a recital of
some of his faults, by saying: "However, considering
the circumstances of the times, he was precious; and,
had not his bright parts been soiled with the vice of
avarice, he would have been a great man."








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i~~l~~lj!Daimler!!!~i~~                                                                     S~'Republican, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~    ~     ~    ~    ~ ~ ~ ~ I
With ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ i"v




JOACHIM MURAT.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19TH, 1804.
GRAND-DUKE OF CLEVES AND OF BERG: KING OF NAPLES.
JOACHIM MURAT was born on the 25th of March,
1767, at La Bastide-Fortuniere, near Cahors, where
his father, Pierre Murat Jordy, was a reputable innkeeper. The youth was sent at an early age to Toulouse to receive an ecclesiastical education; but the
wildness and dissipation of his character prevented his
making much progress, and he soon returned home.
For a time, he acted as an assistant to his father in attending upon his guests; but in 1787, enlisted in the
chasseurs of Ardennes. Some misconduct, however,
soon rendered it convenient for him to desert: he went
up to Paris, and there was reduced to such extremity,
that he is said to have hired himself as a waiter at a restaurant.  His father soon interposed for his relief, and
he was admitted into the constitutional guard of Louis
XVI. The speedy dissolution of this corps set him
again at liberty; and he obtained, in 1792, a sub-lieutenancy in the eleventh regiment of chasseurs.  Filled
with the passions and hopes of the revolution, he became one of the most devoted followers of Marat; and
through the favor of the Jacobin, he rose rapidly to a
lieutenant-colonelcy in the twenty-first.  So devoted




144             JOACHIM MURAT.
was he to the great terrorist, that, at the time of his
death, he wrote from Abbeville, where he was in garrison, to the Jacobin club at Paris, announcing his desire to change his name from Murat to Marat. The
subsequent unpopularity of the Jacobins proved injurious to the fortunes of the young soldier, and he found
himself in the capital without employment and without
means.
The first occasion on which the name of MURAT
appears in connexion with the chief with whose military glory he was afterward so long and so brilliantly
associated, and with whose family he became so honorably allied, is on the morning of the eventful 13th of
Vendemiare (October 4th, 1795). It was about one
o'clock in the morning, when Napoleon, who had just
accepted the command from the directory, despatched
the lieutenant-colonel of the twenty-first chasseurs, with
three hundred horse, to the Sablons, to bring off the
artillery of forty pieces which were parked at that place.
He arrived there at three, just as the head of the column from the rebellious sections was reaching the same
spot: the latter made no attempt to contest the guns,
and by five in the morning they were safe in the Tuileries. When Napoleon took the command of the army
of Italy, in May, 1806, he appointed Murat his principal aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel in the cavalry. At the battle of Mondovi, after the redoubt was
taken, Murat made a successful charge with the twentieth regiment of dragoons; and when General Stengel,
who had pursued the enemy too far, was killed, Murat
rallied the squadrons, put himself at the head of three
regiments of cavalry, again repulsed the Piedmontese
horse, and pursued them several hours. After the ar



HIS SERVICES IN ITALY AND EGYPT.   145
mistice of Cherasco, he was despatched by Napoleon
to Paris, to bear the intelligence and to present twentyone stands of colors: as he travelled by Mont Cenis,
he arrived before Junot, who had been sent from Millesimo by the Nice road; and being the first authentic
messenger from the hero of Montenotte, and bearing
such brilliant trophies, he was greeted with the most
lively enthusiasm. The directory conferred the rank
of brigadier-general upon him; but upon his return to
Italy, he still continued to be the aide-de-camp of Napoleon. He distinguished himself at the passage of the
Mincio, on the 30th of May: " General Murat," says
Napoleon in his memoirs, " charged the enemy's cavalry, and obtained an important success: it was the first
time that the French cavalry, on account of its bad condition, had measured its strength with the Austrian cavalry: from that time, the French cavalry emulated the
infantry." In June, 1796, when Napoleon made a tour
through the south of Italy, to arrange its political affairs,
Murat was intrusted with the establishment of French
influence in Genoa and Leghorn. Sometime after, he
fell into some disfavor with the general-in-chief, and
was placed, first in Reille's division, and afterward in
Baraguay d'Hilliers's: yet his conduct continued to receive the approbation of Napoleon, who speaks of his
valor at Rivoli, the Tagliamento, and other places, with
applause. In the expedition to Egypt, Murat was attached to the engineer corps; and his splendid bravery
and skill at Aboukir, is the first flowing and stainless
feather in that towering plume of knightly grandeur
which renders his character so far-glittering and impressive.  "Murat," said Napoleon, "was superb at
Aboukir." On the return to France, a yet more valuVOL. II. - 13




146             JOACHIM MURAT.
able benefit was rendered, when, on the celebrated 19th
of Brumaire, at a signal given by Napoleon at the proper
moment, Murat, at the head of his grenadiers, rushed
into the hall of the five hundred, drove out the representatives, and seated the general of Egypt upon the
consular throne.  On the 20th of January, 1800, Murat was married to Caroline, the sister of Napoleon,
and thus elevated to those hopes which proved his glory
and his ruin. He first became acquainted with this lady
at Rome, in 1796, at the residence of her brother Joseph, who was the embassador of the republic at the
Holy See. Afterward, at Milan, a close intimacy sprung
up between them; and though the son of the princess
of Santa Cruce was a rival for her hand, it is not surprising that the brilliant and gallant aide-de-camp proved
more acceptable to the imagination and heart of a Bonaparte. Murat's appearance and bearing, as described
by one who knew him at this time, were well adapted
to dazzle and gratify female interest. His noble and
well-proportioned figure, his great physical strength, the
fire of his glance, the somewhat refined elegance of his
manners, added to the prestige of the fiercest courage
in battle, gave him the character of one of those preux
chevaliers described in Ariosto, rather than that of a
republican soldier. Affable, polished, and gallant, the
majesty of his look caused the lowness of his origin to
be forgotten.
Murat's glories thenceforth were brilliant and abounding. As general of division, he served with lustre in
the campaign of Marengo: in 1802, he was made governor of the Cisalpine republic; and in 1804, he was
created a marshal of the empire, and appointed commander of the national guard of Paris. The campaign




HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE.          147
of Austerlitz, in the following year, presents him in the
fullest pride of military glory and merit: prince of the
empire, high-admiral, grand eagle of the legion of honor,
and grand dignitary of the order of the iron crown, he
acted as lieutenant-general of the most splendid and
effective army that ever went forth to execute the purposes of ambition; and as commander-in-chief of all the
reserve cavalry, the brilliance of his personal achievements about Ulm and at Austerlitz sustained and brightened the official dignity with which he was invested.
He was proclaimed grand-duke of Cleves and Berg
in 1806; and the campaign of Prussia in that year,
and of Poland in the following year, still more nobly
displayed his matchless greatness as a commander of
cavalry. In 1808, he was appointed general-in-chief
of the army of Spain; and at Madrid, his rashness accomplished the results which, perhaps, the selection of
such an agent was intended to bring about. On the
15th of July, 1808, upon the transfer of Joseph to
Spain, Murat was made king of Naples, under the name
of Joachim Napoleon. He governed this country well
upon the whole, and the condition of the people under
his administration is admitted to have been better than
before or since. This is the culminating point of his
fortunes and of his merit, and we may pause for a moment to contemplate the personal qualities of the lowborn soldier who had achieved so splendid an advancement.
Murat's striking appearance, set off by the most extraordinary costume that was ever worn by a sane man
in public, contributed not a little to the reputation
which he obtained among the common people, and
made him the hero of vulgar minds. Of erect and




148             JOACHIM MURAT.
commanding stature, a majestic countenance, fine blue
eyes, large whiskers, and dark curling hair, flowing
down in long ringlets over the collar of his dress, he
seemed to realize the image of a barbarian king. His
dress, borrowed from all ages and countries, and combined in a strange contrast neither effective nor tasteful,
could not be called theatrical; it resembled the most
bizarre exhibitions of the circus.  So absurd and fantastic, indeed, were his accoutrements, that the public
called him King Franconi. The Baron Von Odeleben, has furnished a description of the odd jumble of
styles out of which this  costume was made up. His
coat consisted of a Polish dress, the collar of which
was richly embroidered with gold, and the sleeves were
open below the shoulder; it was confined with a golden
belt, to which was suspended a light sword, with a
straight, narrtow blade, of the ancient Roman fashion,
without hilt or guard, the handle of which was beautifully wrought and ornamented with brilliants. Under
this coat, were full pantaloons of a purple or blood
color, with the seams trimmed with gold; and, his
boots were of nankeen or yellow leather. Over the
whole, he wore in cold weather, a superb velvet pelisse
of a deep green color, trimmed with sables.  The
famous snow-white plume, which towered to an immense height above the ranks, was composed of four
large ostrich feathers, diverging at right angles, from
the centre of which sprang a magnificent heron's
plume: this splendid ornament arose out of a huge
cocked hat, having a broad gold border, and edged
with white ostrich feathers. The trappings of his horse
were in the Hungarian or Turkish fashion: the animal
was covered with a trailing blue or purple housing,




HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE.           149
richly embroidered with gold; and fine gilt stirrups,
and a magnificent bridle completed the show. The
livery of his equeries, pages, and servants, was sometimes of a deep red, or more frequently of a sky blue,
which seemed to be his favorite color.  It must be
owned, says the baron, that this mixture of Swedish,
Spanish, Roman, Turkish, and Neapolitan fashions,
notwithstanding all its splendor, exhibited no taste.
The contrast between this glittering display, of material
and outward magnificence, and the small and insignificant stature of Napoleon, plainly attired in a gray surtout, with a little three-cornered hat, served to amuse
the careless observer, but could not fail deeply to interest the spectator, who considered the difference in
the real greatness of the men, and reflected on the incommensurable superiority of intellectual to physical
advantages.
Murat's far-resplendent figure often made him a
mark for the enemy's guns, or an object for the attacks
of their cavalry. During an affair which took place
before the battle of Leipsig, when a detachment were
recovering some positions into which the enemy had
intruded, Murat, accompanied by a small escort, exposed his person in such a manner, that a squadron of
the enemy, recognising him by his splendid appearance,
gave him chase. The officer who led it, eagerly pursued the king, who found himself in the rear of his
escort, accompanied by a single horseman; and, hoping
to make him a prisoner, several times called out,
"Stop, king, stop!"  Murat's attendant turned and
cut the officer through with his sabre and killed him:
Murat made him his equery on the spot, and Napoleon
gave him the decoration of the legion of honor. Some
13*




150             JOACHIM MURAT.
days after, when the army was retreating from Leipsig,
Napoleon and his staff, with Murat, repaired to the
right bank of the Unsturtt, to superintend the passage,
and check the disorder. The odd suite and singular
dress of the king of Naples became a mark for the
enemy's tirailleurs and artillery men; and bullets, cannon-balls, and shells, began to fly around. " They
are firing on the suite," said Caulaincourt to Napoleon,
who, at the moment, was looking through his little
telescope.  "Do you think so?" replied the latter,
very calmly turning aside his horse; and the picquet
of the guard, as well as the emperor's suite, were
obliged to disperse.
As a general of cavalry, at the head of twenty or
forty squadrons of horse, and under the eye of Napoleon, Murat undoubtedly appeared to very great advantage.  His penetrating glance, and his practical
sagacity, in judging of the most effective manner and
time of delivering the shock of his column, enabled
him to operate with astonishing effect; and his warlike
visage and stout form, his noble and firm demeanor, on
fine, vigorous chargers, his intrepidity, which grew
calmer and more indifferent as dangers multiplied
around him, inspired the troops with a confidence and
force that rendered their onset irresistible. In such
scenes, his good temper never forsook him: in the
midst of the most serious engagements, he had a jest
always ready.  His hearty tone, and frank cheerful
gayety, took from the contest the ferocity of war; his
ever-serene deportment, sometimes degenerated into a
sort of insensibility in danger. " Never," says Colonel
Macerone, " even in his most trying circumstances, was
his countenance divested of that placid smile which




ADVANCE TO MOSCOW.             151
was one of its remarkable features." The zeal, precision, and thoroughness, with which he executed the
commissions of the emperor, rendered him very acceptable to that commander.
ADVANCE TO MOSCOW.
On the 9th of May, 1812, Napoleon quitted his
palace for the Russian campaign; he was destined,
says the Count de Segur, never again to enter it victorious. As far as Dresden his progress was a triumphal march; and his state, while residing in that
city, was truly imperial. He had expressed a wish to
the emperor of Austria, a number of kings, and a crowd
of princes, that they should meet him at this place on
his way; and, if his desire was to enjoy the degradation of royalty, his passion was fully gratified. Sovereigns were mingled with his generals at his levees,
and crowned heads solicited interviews with him: he
was a feudal lord, whose serfs were the monarchs of
Europe. Wearied with the homage, he left Dresden,
on the 29th of May, and passed through Posen, Thorn,
Marienburg, Dantzig, Konigsberg, Gumbinnen to the
Niemen, near Kovno, which he reached on the 23d of
June. The host which had been assembled to assail
the colossal power of the czar, consisted of three great
divisions, which were to operate in different directions;
the left, consisting of thirty-two thousand five hundred
Prussians, Bavarians, and Poles, was at Tilsit, under
Macdonald, and was to advance along the Baltic, and
threaten Revel, Riga, and even St. Petersburgh; the
right, composed of thirty-four thousand Austrians, under
Prince Schwartzenberg, were to march from Gallicia;




152             JOACHIM MURAT.
and, between these, the grand army was to cross the
Niemen, and march upon Wilna. The grand army
itself, in its march to this river, consisted of three separate masses: eighty thousand Westphalians, Saxons,
and Poles, under the king of W\estphalia, advanced
from Warsaw, upon Grodno; an equal number, consisting of French, Italians, and Bavarians, under the
viceroy Eugene, approached Pilony; while the emperor himself, at the head of a splendid host, of two
hundred and twenty thousand men, and attended by
his most brilliant marshals, now glittering with the
splendors of ducal, princely, or royal state, moved upon
Kovno. At two o'clock in the morning of the 23d of
June, 1812, the emperor, who had travelled in a carriage till that time, mounted his horse; he reconnoitred
the river, and passed it under cover of night; as he
came up to the bank, his horse stumbled and threw
him on the sand. A voice was heard to say, " This
is a bad omen; a Roman would recoil;" whether
it proceeded from, himself, or from one of his attendants, is not known. He immediately ordered the construction of three bridges; and on the following day,
this magnificent army began to defile, in three columns,
across the fatal stream, which so few were ever to repass. The passage occupied three entire days: on
the 29th, the viceroy passed at Pilony, and the king of
Westphalia at Grodno, on the 30th. Meanwhile, the
forces of Alexander, amounting in all to three hundred
thousand men, were divided into three armies, one,
called the first western army, which was now at Wilna,
under Barclay de Tolly, the Russian minister of war, the
extreme right being under Wittgenstein; another, called
the second western army, under Bagration, near Lida;




ADVANCE TO IMOSCOW.           153
the third, called the army of reserve, which was under
Tormasof, and further to the south. The plan of Napoleon, in dividing his army as has been described, was,
to occupy Tormasof on the south, and Wittgenstein on
the north, by the attacks of Prince Schwartzenberg,
and Macdonald, respectively, while the viceroy pierced
between Bagration and Barclay, the king of Westphalia
fell upon the former, and he, himself, with the main
army, attacked Barclay at Wilna. The plan, however,
laid down by Alexander and his minister, was to retire
in all directions, as the French advanced, and these
orders were executed, by his generals, with far more
promptness and skill than the forward movements of
the French commanders. Jerome, aided by Davoust's
corps, which was detached from the main body, marched against Bagration; but that able general fell back
to Bobrinsk, on the Berezina, thence through Minsk
and Witepsk, and, after a spirited engagement at Mohilof, on the 23d of July, joined Barclay at Smolensk,
on the 3d of August. On the right, Barclay, accompanied by the emperor Alexander, retired from Wilna,
on the 28th of June, to an entrenched camp which had
been constructed on the Dwina; he evacuated this on
the 14th of July, and retired along the Dwina to Witepsk, and thence, suddenly eluding the French pursuit, moved upon Smolensk where he was joined by
Bagration.  On the 28th, Napoleon entered Wilna;
having sent Ney and Oudinot to drive back Barclay's
extreme right, under Wittgenstein, and Murat, with his
cavalry, to pursue the main body, under Alexander.
These advanced to the Dwina, Murat, with the advanced guard, every evening coming up with the Russian rearguard, and every morning finding that it had




154             JOACHIIM MURAT.
escaped him. Napoleon, himself, remained at Wilna
until the 16th of July, organizing the government of
Lithuania, and despatching the mass of affairs which
now pressed upon him; he thence sent forward all the
corps of the army, under himself, with directions to
concentrate before Witepsk.  These orders were executed with great precision; the whole of the main
body of the army, on the 27th, united before that place
in presence of Barclay, who with a large force, in a
strong position, seemed determined at last to meet the
invaders in the field. An engagement immediately began, but Napoleon, satisfied that a decisive contest was
now certain, ordered the attack to cease, in order that
deliberate preparations might be made for the next day.
He, accordingly, announced a battle for the following
day. His parting words to Murat, were, " To-morrow,
at five o'clock, the sun of Austerlitz." Murat, who
had daily been deluded by a similar expectation, remarked to the emperor, that Barclay made a demonstration of boldness by day, only, that he might retire
more safely during the night. Unable to satisfy Napoleon of this, he exhibited his own confidence in his
opinion by posting his tent on the banks of the Luczissa, almost in the midst of the enemy. By daybreak,
on the 28th, he sent word to Napoleon that he was
about to pursue the Russians, who had already disappeared: the emperor commanded him to observe great
caution, for the enemy's whole army was certainly in
front of him. He then mounted his horse, and rode
toward Barclay's camp, which was found deserted: in
fact, that general, receiving intelligence during the night
of Bagration's retreat to Smolensk, had quietly withdrawn in the same direction. A Russian soldier, who




ADVANCE TO MOSCOW.             155
was surprised asleep under a bush, was the solitary result of a day expected by Napoleon to be so decisive.
Witepsk was found equally deserted: the roads were
reconnoitred, but no trace of the Russian army was to
be found. The French advarced six leagues over a
deep sand and through a suffocating heat: the emperor, in the evening, held a council in his tent, consisting of Murat, Eugene, and Berthier, and it was decided that a further pursuit was then unadvisable. He
then returned, with his guard, to Witepsk, and as he
entered the imperial headquarters at that place, on the
evening of the 28th, he threw his sword abruptly down
on the maps with which his tables were covered, and
exclaimed, "Here I stop! here I must look around
me, rally and refresh my army, and organize Poland:
the campaign of 1812 is finished; that of 1813 will
do the rest."
Such was the judicious view, which, at this time,
Napoleon took in respect to this great expedition. Murat, impatient of repose and covetous of excitement and
glory, quitted the advanced guard, went to Witepsk,
and sought a private interview with'the emperor, for
the purpose of stimulating him to further daring. He
accused the Russians of cowardice, and represented
them as a panic-struck army which his light cavalry
alone could put to flight. "Murat," replied Napoleon, " the first campaign in Russia is finished; let us
here plant our eagles: two great rivers mark our position; let us raise block-houses on that line; let our
fires cross each other in all directions: let us form in
square battalion; cannons at the angles and exterior;
our quarters and magazines in the interior: 1813 will
see us in Moscow; 1814 in St. Petersburgh. The




156             JOACHIM MURAT.
Russian war is a war of three years." Such was the
sagacious perception of the emperor, and such the first
conclusion of his judgment: happily had it been for
him, says the Count de Segur, " if he had not afterward mistaken the movements of his impatience for the
inspirations of genius."  Soon, however, the political
difficulties that surrounded him began to render him
deeply uneasy: his restless character, and that fervid
enthusiasm that ever kindled as it came near the objects
of its passion, combined to agitate and distract his
mind. The idea of Moscow so near, so easy of conquest, so full of glory, stung his ambitious spirit. The
condition of the emperor, as described by one of his
attendants, while the lusts of a morbid ambition were
goading and inflaming a perplexed understanding,
might furnish a study for the genius of Shakspere.
The state of irresolution which tormented his mind,
affected his whole frame. He was observed to wander
about his apartments, as if pursued by some dangerous
temptation: nothing could rivet his attention; he every
moment began, quitted, and resumed his labor: he
walked about without any object; inquired the hour
and looked at his watch: completely absorbed, he
stopped, hummed a tune with an absent air, and again
began walking about. In the midst of his perplexity,
he occasionally addressed the persons whom he met
with such half sentences as, "Well, what shall we do?
Shall we stay where we are, or advance? How is it possible to stop short in the midst of so glorious a career?"
He did not wait for a reply, but still kept wandering
about as if he was looking for something or somebody
to terminate his indecision.  At length, quite overwhelmed with the weight of so important a consider



ADVANCE TO MOSCOW.               157
ation, he would throw himself on one of the beds which
he had caused to be laid on the floor of his apartments.
But when his body was at rest, his spirit was only
inore active. The reasons impelling him to advance,
and finish the campaign by a brilliant stroke, presented
themselves to him with irresistible force.  Having at
last determined, he hastily arises, as if not to allow time
to his reflections to renew so painful a state of uncertainty, and already filled with the plan which was to
secure his conquest, he hastens to his maps, which present to his view the cities of Smolensk and Moscow;
"the great Moscow, the holy city," names which he
repeated with satisfaction.  Fired with this prospect,
his spirit, replete with the energy of his great conception, appears to be possessed by the genius of war.
His voice deepens; his eye flashes; and his countenance grows dark with thought and resolution. His attendants retreat from his presence, struck with mingled
awe and respect: but, at length, his plan is fixed, his
determination taken, his order of march traced out. Instantly, the internal struggle by which he had been agitated subsided; and, no sooner was he delivered of his
terrible conception, than his countenance resumed its
usual composed and tranquil character.
Such is the striking picture which the faithful historian of this campaign has left to posterity. With one
exception, all his generals whom the emperor consulted
at this time, were opposed to further advance; Murat,
alone, encouraged and urged his master to a step which
so well accorded with his own daring and reckless tem
per. No time was lost in putting in execution the resolution which had been taken Oudinot, reinforced by
St. Cyr's corps, was directed to put himself in comVOL. II.-14




158             JOACHIM MURAT.
munication with Macdonald: and the rest of the arnly,
one hundred and eighty-five thousand men, was ordered
on the 10th of August, to move forward to the Boristhenes, in the direction of Orcha, by which the line of
operations was changed from Witepsk to Minsk, and
the enemy suddenly taken upon their left flank and
rear. By this fine military conception, the design
upon Smolensk was concealed, and, while it was approached from the left, the Russian army was put in
danger of being cut off from Moscow, and the southern
part of the empire. These designs were carried out,
and the army assembled on the Dnieper, with Napoleon's usual rapidity. He left Witepsk on the 13th,
and in one day reached the Dnieper, which he crossed
at Rassasna, and advanced, along its left bank, upon
Smolensk. On the 15th, the corps of Ney and Murat,
encountered Newerofskoi, at Krasnoi, and, after a
valiant resistance, he was driven into Smolensk; and,
at an early hour on the following morning, his pursuers
came in sight of that ancient city. Ney rashly ordered
an assault on the citadel, and having been repulsed, he
retired to a height near the river, to survey the scene
before him. Perceiving an extraordinary movement
of troops on the other side of the river, he ran to bring
the emperor to the spot. Napoleon, on reaching the
heights, beheld an immense extent of dark columns,
glittering with arms, approaching rapidly to the city.
It was Barclay and Bagration, with the whole Russian
army, one hundred and twenty thousand strong, advancing to throw themselves into Smolensk. The em
peror clapped his hands, and exclaimed, "At last 1
have thenm!" The army was immediately drawn up
for battle; but another disappointment was to be ex



ADVANCE TO MOSCOW.             159
perienced. During the night, Barclay sent Bagration
with the bulk of the army to Elnia; and at daybreak
on the 17th, when Napoleon awoke with the hope of a
great battle, nothing was to be seen of the Russians,
but a strong rear-guard, under Barclay, retiring from
the city. A general assault was then ordered, but the
night closed without its success: but scarcely was it
dark before thick black columns of smoke, succeeded
by bursts of fire, were seen issuing from several distinct
points, and soon one vast blaze, whirling and rising
over Smolensk, covered the whole city and consumed
it with a dismal roaring. Napoleon, seated before his
tent, contemplated, in silence, this awful light, the cause
of which was as inexplicable as its effect was ominous.
On the following morning the French entered the
city, which was found to be deserted and silent. A
gloomy terror now occupied the hearts of all the generals. Napoleon's mind grew more resolute in its determination to reach Moscow, but his followers contemplated it with dismay. Even Murat, at first so eager
for the enterprise, changeable in his temper as he was
impetuous in his feelings, earnestly deprecated so hazardous and laborious an undertaking. Napoleon, however, thought it necessary to dissemble. He spoke of
Smolensk as an excellent place for cantonments; and
when he sent the army on in pursuit of the retreating
Russians, he stated that his object was only to follow
them a few marches. He took care, however, to intrust the vanguard to Murat and Ney, the rashest and
most excitable of his marshals, and placed the cool and
prudent Davoust under the command of the former.
Meanwhile, Barclay retired along the road to St. Petersburg for some distance, and then by crossways regained




160            JOACHIM MURAT.
the Moscow road at Valoutina. Here, on the 19th, a
furious engagement ensued, in which, though the bravery of the French was conspicuous, the Russians succeeded in maintaining themselves till the retreat along
the Moscow road was made good. The army advanced
to Dorogobouge, and thence on the 26th of August it
set out again: Napoleon, Ney, and Davoust, in the centre, with Murat in advance, proceeded along the highroad to Moscow; Poniatowski marched on the right,
and the army of Italy on the left. On the 27th, Murat
drove the enemy beyond the Osma, and pursued them
with great daring through the narrow defile between
the banks. At a critical moment, a battery in Davoust's
corps refused to fire; and a violent quarrel between
these marshals occurred in the presence of the emperor,
who, though he respected the character of Davoust,
sustained, at present, the dashing system upon which
Murat was acting. The advance continued through
Wiazma, and in the beginning of September Gjatz was
occupied. At last, the Russian army, joined by Milaradowitch and sixteen thousand recruits, had stopped
upon the plains of Borodino, and were covering it with
entrenchments.  The spirit of the country would no
longer submit to Barclay's system of perpetual retreat,
but called for a trial of strength upon the field; and
Kutusoff, a veteran of the Suwarrow school, was placed
in command. Napoleon announced a battle to his soldiers, and allowed them two days' rest. On the 4th of
September, the army in three divisions, with Murat a
few leagues in advance, set out from Gjatz. Ever since
Kutusoff had arrived, clouds of Cossacks had been hovering about the heads of the columns, and Murat, irritated at the necessity of constantly deploying his cavalry




ADVANCE TO MOSCOWV.              161
against such enemies, on this day, with an impulse worthy of the days of chivalry, dashed forward suddenly
and alone toward their line, and brandishing his sword
with a threatening air, commanded them to retire: the
grandeur of his appearance, the regal splendor of his
dress, and the daring of the action, so astonished and
impressed these barbarians, that they fell back in amazement.  Between Gjatz and Borodino, the Russian advanced-guard, in a strong position, was assailed at once
by Murat in front, Eugene on the left, and Poniatowski
on the right, and speedily fell back, and disclosed the
Russian army in position about Borodino, with a strong
redoubt in a detached situation in front. Campan's divisioh instantly charged and carried the redoubt with
the bayonet, but it was retaken by reinforcements sent
by Bagration: three times was it recovered and as often
was it lost, but at last it remained in possession of the
French; but with such loss to the regiment in advance,
that when the emperor reviewed it the next day, he inquired where was its third battalion: " In the redoubt,"
replied the colonel.
During the 6th, the army was drawn up in order of
battle: the emperor encamped in the midst of the old
guard, and passed the night restless, agitated, and ill.
His health had been visibly enfeebled, and his constitution was observed to have lost its elasticity and vigor,
ever since the campaign began. Now a burning fever,
accompanied by an attack from a painful malady to
which he was subject,* rendered the night preceding
this important battle, as wretched to his physical sensations as the reflections upon his situation made it to his
mind. Lying sleepless in his tent, he was constantly
* A retention of urine.
14*




1 62            JOACHIM MURAT.
calling to know the hour, inquiring if any noise was
heard, and sending persons to ascertain if the enemy
was still before him. Then becoming uneasy about
the state of his army, he sent for Bessidres, to know if
his chosen reserve were in possession of everything
they wanted. Satisfied by the answer, he retired and
fell into a doze. Awaking soon, he called again. His
aide-de-camp found him now supporting his head with
both hands, and seeming, from what was overheard,
to be meditating on the emptiness of military glory:
"' What is war?" he muttered: " a trade of barbarians,
the whole art of which consists in being strongest on a
given point." He then complained of the fickleness
of fortune, which he said he began to experience. Finally, being assured that the Russians were still before
him, he tried to rest; but a fever, a dry cough, and a
consuming thirst, distressed him. At five o'clock, an
officer arrived from Ney, requesting orders to begin the
attack. He rose with his wonted spirit, called his officers, and went out exclaiming, " We have them at last!
Forward! Let us advance to open the gates of Moscow." He rode to the captured redoubt, and when the
sun rose, he pointed to it and said, " Behold the sun of
Austerlitz!" But it was opposite to the French army,
dazzling their eyes and revealing their movements to
the enemy. The Russian positions extended in a semicircular line two leagues in length, with their right on
the Kologha and the Moskwa, and their left on the old
Moscow road: their centre, which Barclay commanded,
rested on the road from Smolensk to Moscow, and extended from the village of Semenowski to Gorcka, overlooking Borodino, and supported by one principal redoubt and several smaller ones.




ADVANCE TC MOSCOW.             163
Napoleon had ordered Poniatowski, on the right, to
begin the attack; but before his firing was heard, Eugene, on the left, had carried the town and bridge of
Borodino, and his men having carelessly advanced too
far, were thrown into disorder and driven back. Napoleon ordered a general attack. Davoust, with two divisions and thirty pieces of cannon in front, advanced
briskly against the principal redoubt: their infantry reserved their fire until they were near enough to make
it destructive, and as the discharges of the Russian musketry were incessant, the French loss, especially among
the officers, was frightful. Davoust himself was wounded. An aide-de-camp was sent to the emperor, saying
the guard was required: "No!" replied Napoleon;
"I shall take good care of that; I will not see it destroyed: I shall gain the battle without it." Ney then
advanced with his three divisions with irresistible fury:
the redoubts were carried, and the enemy's left and
centre driven back. Murat was then ordered forward
to complete the victory; but, in the meanwhile, the Russian second line had rallied, and aided by strong reinforcements, advanced and drove back the assailants;
while the Westphalians, under Poniatowski, coming
upon the field on the extreme right, mistook Murat's
cavalry, who were now retreating, for enemies, and fired
upon them. At the same time, the Russian horse, following up the advantage, swept forward, surrounded
Murat, who, in endeavoring to rally his troops, had forgotten himself, and were stretching out their hands to
take hold of him, when he threw himself into a redoubt
and escaped. There he seized a weapon, and fighting
with one hand, with the other he raised and waved his
well-known snow-white plume, and calling to his men




164:           JOACHIMI MURAT.
who were thrown into confusion and panic, gradually
restored confidence and courage around him, while Ney
re-formed his divisions, checked the enemy's cuirassiers,
and Murat was rescued, and the heights on which the
redoubt stood were reconquered.  Incensed by the
shock which he had experienced, Murat then placed
himself at the head of two divisions of cavalry, rushed
upon the enemy, and after obstinate and renewed charges, broke their line, drove them back upon their centre, and within an hour had totally defeated their left
wing. Meanwhile, the great redoubt, after repeated assaults, was carried by Caulaincourt, who perished in
the enterprise, and the Russian army, driven from their
positions, began to retire. Napoleon was frequently
urged to allow the guard to advance and render the
victory decisive, but he constantly refused. In truth,
he was suffering all day under illness and depression,
which seemed to deprive him of all energy and all interest in the combat: but his refusal to allow the guard
to be engaged was the effect of a selfish love of power,
which began already to contemplate the loss of the army, with a determination to maintain his own political
and personal safety. In this great battle, the force on
both sides amounted to about one hundred and twenty
thousand combatants, and six hundred pieces of cannon: the Russian loss was fifteen thousand killed, among
whom were Prince Bragation and two generals, thirty
thousand wounded, including thirty generals, besides
thirteen pieces of cannon; and the French loss was
twelve thousand killed, including Caulaincourt, Monbrun, and other generals, thirty-six thousand wounded,
among whom were thirty generals, together with ten
pieces of cannon.




ADVANCE TO MOSCOW.             165
The Russian army fell back to Mojaisk, and finally
abandoned the protection of Moscow. Murat, in command of the advanced-guard, dashed on with his accustomed recklessness: near Krymskoie, on the 11th of
September, overtaking the enemy's rear strongly posted, he attacked them with such rashness that two thousand of the young guard were killed, and Mortier, in a
rage, wrote to the emperor, who remained ill at Mojaisk, that he would no longer obey Murat's orders.
Davoust soon after obtained access to the emperor's
person, and offered, in spite of his wound, to take command of the vanguard, and promised that he would reach
the enemy and compel him to fight, without squandering the lives of the soldiers as Murat did; but Napoleon answered him only by extolling the'daring and
indefatigable energy of his brother. On the 14th of
September, Napoleon, being somewhat recovered in
health, joined the advanced-guard. He mounted his
horse a few leagues from Moscow, having previously
driven in his carriage. About two o'clock in the day,
the army arrived upon the eminence called the " Hill
of Salvation," from which the holy city becomes visible. Glittering with a thousand varied colors, as the
sunrays flashed from its gilded cupolas, it burst upon
the eyes of the French soldiers like the fabled city of
an Eastern tale. They rushed forward in disorder to
the brow of the hill, exclaiming, " Moscow! Moscow!"
Napoleon hastened forward, and an exclamation of joy
burst from his lips: " There, at last," he said, " is that
famous city;" and then added, "it is high time." Napoleon now entertained strong hopes that a deputation
from the boyers, or from the citizens, making submission, would appear; but the city remained silent and




166             JOACHII MIURAT.
inanimate.  An officer from Milaradowitch, however,
came to declare that the city would be fired, unless the
rear of the army was allowed time to evacuate it; and
an informal armistice for the day took place. The
skirts of the two armies were intermingled for a short
time; and Murat was recognised by the Cossacks, who
thronged familiarly about him, and by their gestures
and exclamations demonstrated their admiration of his
character. One of them called him his hetman. He
took the watches of his officers, and distributed them
among these children of the desert. Meanwhile, the
dreadful whisper began to be circulated, " Moscow is
deserted:" Napoleon refused to give credit to it, and
advanced to the Dorogomilow gate. Murat urged him
for permission to enter: "Well," he replied, " enter,
then, since they wish it. Perhaps these people do not
know how even to surrender." Murat, with his long,
close column of cavalry, defiled through the gate and
advanced along the principal street. Silence and solitude rested over everything. Shuddering at a desertion
so ominous, these soldiers passed on in a stillness as
profound as that which they met. The whole city was
traversed, and Murat, issuing through the opposite gate,
from which the Russian rear-guard had departed, dashed
forward along the road to Wlademer and Asia.
Such was the termination of this extraordinary
march. The wonderful incidents of the stay at Moscow, and the horrors of its retreat belong to other parts
of the present work.
The pride of Murat, as connected with the army of
Russia, ceased with the arrival at Moscow, and, in the
close of the retreat, his honor sank with his spirits.
About the 5th of October, an informal and partial




IN COMMAND OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY.  167
armistice was established, determinable upon three
hours' notice, and during its continuance Murat was
constantly made the dupe of the enemy's flatteries.
Showing himself at their advanced posts, they cajoled
him by the notice which they took of his fine person,
and the respect which they affected to pay to his bravery
and rank. Their vedettes obeyed his orders; and if
he took a fancy to any part of the ground which they
occupied, they cheerfully gave it up to him.  The
Cossack chiefs pretended to manifest an enthusiasm
for him, and Murat, for a moment, imagined that they
would not again fight against him. It was believed, indeed, that he indulged in yet wilder visions; for, Napoleon, while reading his letters, was heard to exclaim,
"Murat, king of the Cossacks!  What folly!"  At
length, after some days, the illusion was dispelled. A
Cossack fired at Murat one morning when he came, as
usual, to show himself at the advanced posts; and, the
former, exasperated, declared the armistice at an end.
The battle of Winkowo followed, on the 8th of October.
Murat, dexterously led onward by Kutusoff, was there
attacked by superior numbers; his first line was surprised and overthrown, his left outflanked, and his retreat with difficulty effected, with the loss of three or
four thousand men, twelve pieces of cannon, twenty
ammunition-wagons, taken, two generals killed, and
himself wounded. The advanced guard had ceased to
exist.  The cavalry that survived, emaciated with
hunger, were scarcely enough to make a single charge.
When Napoleon quitted the army, at Malodeczno,
on the 5th of December, 1812, he left Murat in command of the army; but his utter incapacity to the duty
of regulating the retreat soon devolved the toil, in



168             JOACHIM MURAT.
voluntarily, upon Ney. " In the chasm which the departure of Napoleon made," says Segur, " Murat was
scarcely perceptible." At Wilna, as soon as the wellknown, but the no less appalling, cry, "Here are the
Cossacks!" was heard, Murat, who might have defended the place four-and-twenty hours longer, and
saved many lives, was among the first to fly. He was
seen forcing his way through the crowd, and fleeing
alone and on foot from the city.  But darker traits
were soon to develop themselves: not only did his
want of fortitude disgrace his character as a soldier, but
a selfish solicitude for his crown, led him to conspire
in the basest manner against his benefacter and his
brother. At Gumbinnen, where the remains of the
Russian army rallied, previously to the detailing of the
different corps to the fortresses along the Vistula, Murat assembled the various commanders, whose control
Napoleon had confided to his hands. To them he
declared "that it was no longer possible to serve such
a madman; that there was no safety in supporting his
cause; that no monarch in Europe could now place
any reliance on his word, or in treaties concluded with
him: he, himself, was in despair for having rejected
the propositions of the English; had it not been for
that, he would still be a great monarch, such as the
emperor of Austria, and king of Prussia." Davoust
cut him abruptly short. "The king of Prussia, and
the emperor of Austria," said he, "are monarchs by
the grace of God, of time, and the custom of nations.
But, as for you, you are only a king by the grace of
Napoleon, and of the blood of Frenchmen; you can
not remain so but through Napoleon, and by continuing united to France. You are misled by the blackest




AT DRESDEN.                169
ingratitude."   The other marshals remained silent;
and, Murat, mortified by the exposure he had made of
himself, was put entirely out of countenance. It was
not very long, however, before the king of Naples consummated his disgrace, by an open abandonment of his
post, and palpable treachery to his indulgent master.
And, from this time, Murat's character, yielding every
sentiment of honor to the sordid desire of maintaining
his throne, loses every semblance of respectability and
honor. Arriving at Posen, in east Prussia, on the 16th
of January, 1813, he suddenly resigned his duty into
the hands of Eugene, and set out for his dominions in
Italy. " The king, your husband," wrote Napoleon
to Caroline, on the 24th, " abandoned the army on the
16th. He is a very brave man on the field of battle;
but he is feebler than a woman or a monk, when not
in the presence of the enemy. He is destitute of moral
courage." " I suppose," he wrote soon after, to Murat, "that you are one of those who think that the lion
is dead. You will find that you are mistaken. You
have done me all the mischief that you could, since my
departure from Wilna. Your elevation to the throne
has turned your head." The allies, at this time, eager
to detach the emperor's allies from his side, were making advantageous offers to the king of Naples; but the
latter, not yet satisfied that Napoleon's cause was hopeless, was not ready openly to abandon him. At length,
when the emperor appeared in Saxony, at the head of
a splendid host, had won the battles of Lutzen and
Bautzen, and had entered Dresden and revived the prestige of his fortune, Murat hastened to join him, at Gorletz,
on the 17th of August, 1813, with the offer of his services. Napoleon received him indulgently, and gave
VoL,. I[.- 1 5




170            JOACHIM MURAT.
him again the command of the cavalry: and, certainly,
his valor and conduct at the battles of Dresden and
Leipsig, illustrated the highest order of devotion, bravery, and ability. But, when the inspiration of battle
was over, which seemed to be the only support of his
honor, as well as his distinction, and he became the
slave of the political anxieties which beset him, a miserable scene of vacillation and intrigue followed. He
took leave of Napoleon, for the last time, at Erfurth, on
the 23d of October; and, soon after, opened confidential and inconsistent negotiations with Napoleon and with
Metternich; and, finally, on the 11th of January, entered into a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive,
with Austria, with the sanction of the allies, by which
she guarantied his Italian dominions, and he engaged
to join their army, on the Po, with thirty thousand men.
In thus becoming an open enemy of France, it is just
to state, that he declared he was induced to take the
step, in consequence of Napoleon's having expressed a
resolution to dethrone him, and incorporate Naples
with the kingdom of Italy. But there was no excuse
for what followed. Having invaded and occupied
Bologna, Ancona, and Rome, he issued, on the 16th
of January, 1816, a proclamation in these terms:
"' Soldiers! as long as I could believe that the emperor
Napoleon fought for the peace and happiness of France,
I stood by his side; but that illusion is no longer possible. He breathes nothing but war. I should be false
to the interests of my native country, and my present
kingdom, and to yours, if I did not separate my armies
from his, and join those great allies who respect the
independence of nations, and the dignity of thrones.
Soldiers! there are but two banners in Europe: on




PROPOSES THE INDEPENDENCE OF ITALY. 171
one are inscribed'religion, morality, justice, law,
peace, and happiness;' on the other,' persecution, artifice, violence, tyranny, war, and sorrow, to all people."'   To  this movement of Murat, Napoleon
attributed, in a great degree, his own ~ruin: and frequently spoke of him as paving the events of
1814, and being one of the principal causes of the
banishment to St. Helena. He neutralized Eugene, on
the Po, and fought against him, whereas, by uniting
together, they might have descended into Germany,
fallen upon the rear of the allies, and cut off their retreat. Of his proclamation, Napoleon spoke with the
deepest indignation.  "It is difficult," said he, "to
conceive anything disgraced by a greater degree of
turpitude: he says, in that document, that the moment
is come to choose between two banners, that of crime,
and that of virtue. It is my banner which he calls the
banner of crime! and, it is Murat, my creature, the
husband of my sister, the man who owed everything to
me, who exists by me, and is known through me alone:
it is Murat who writes this! It is impossible to desert
the cause of misfortune with more unfeeling brutality,
and to run with more unblushing baseness to hail a
new destiny."
But the weakness of this prince, was destined to
punish itself: and, a second treachery, caused, as before, by selfishness and moral cowardice, brought his
speedy ruin. His head was turned on hearing of Napoleon's arrival in France. Accustomed to the emperor's great reverses of fortune, he thought he saw
him already master of all Europe: and determined, in
the confusion likely to ensue, to consult his own safety
by establishing the independence of Italy. He began




172             JOACHTIM M URAT.
hostilities at once; crossed the Po, on the 31st of
March, 1815, and published a proclamation from Rimini, calling upon the IJalians to assert their independence. He, at first, gained considerable success, and
the Austrians.were driven to the Po; but soon concentrating their forces, Murat was defeated, and compelled to retreat to Naples.  During the retreat, he
exhibited all the daring and reckless valor, for which
he had once been distinguished; he charged the Austrians, repeatedly, at the head of his troops, and seemed
to seek for death. He entered Naples, secretly, on the
evening of the 19th of May, and immediately proceeded
to his palace, where he appeared before the queen, pale
and emaciated, in the dress of a lancer. Tenderly embracing her, he said, " All is lost, madam, but my life;
and that I have not been able to lose." He took farewell of his children, had his hair cut short, and dressing
himself in a plain gray suit, he proceeded on foot to the
seashore, accompanied only by his nephew, a colonel
in the lancers. Embarking in a little boat, he proceeded to the neighboring island of Ischia, where he
remained three or four days, unknown, and then, perceiving a small vessel approaching the coast to the
east, he got into a fishing-boat and rowed out to it. It
belonged to the king's grand-equery, who, together
with the king's aide-de-camp, was on board of it, and
in search of the king. They landed at Cannes, on the
27th or 28th of May; and, Murat wrote to Fouch6,
desiring him to apprize the emperor that it was his intention to proceed to Paris.  Napoleon, by way of
answer. demanded, "What treaty of peace had been
concluded between France and Naples, since 1814;"
and sent him word that he must remain where he was.




AFTER THE FALL OF NAPOLEON.         173
" I should have taken him with me, to Waterloo," said
Napoleon, speaking of this, afterward, at St. Helena;
"but such was the patriotic and moral feeling of the
French army (who looked upon his declaration of
war, in 1814, as the cause of their subsequent disasters),
that it was doubtful whether the troops could surmount
the horror and disgust which they felt, for the man who
had betrayed and lost France. I did not consider myself sufficiently powerful to protect him. Yet he might
have enabled us to gain the victory. How useful he
would have been at certain periods of the battle! He
would have broken three or four English squares: Murat was admirable in such a service as this; he was
precisely the man for it."
Murat, after the battle of Waterloo, applied to Sir
Charles Stuart, for the prince regent's permission to
find an asylum in England, which was declined. He
then fixed himself at Toulon, and prepared a vessel to
sail to Havre. He was here obliged to conceal himself from the vindictive and fanatical royalists, who
eagerly sought his life. His vessel was seized by his
enemies, and compelled by them to put to sea without
him, carrying away his attendants, his money, and his
clothes, and leaving him without even a change of
linen. After encountering a variety of perils, he embarked, on the evening of the 22d of August, in an
open boat, with three other persons, for Corsica, which,
after four or five days' exposure, they reached in safety.
A curious and interesting narrative of the incidents of
the king's wanderings, was published by his aide-decamp, M. Macerone, in 1817, which exhibits a scene
of romantic perils, exceeding even the adventures of
Prince Charles Edward. He established himself at
16*




174             JOACHIM MURAT.
Ajaccio, and organized a small force for the purpose
of reaching Naples, and attempting to recover his kingdom. Meanwhile, M. Macerone arrived with permission, from Metternich, for him to take up his abode
in Austria, and with a passport for him to Trieste:
but it was too late; he had determined to risk everything in the design of re-obtaining his throne. About
midnight, on the 28th or 29th of September, he embarked with two hundred and fifty veterans, of tried
courage and daring, and a little squadron of five small
vessels, for Salerno, thirty miles from Naples, where a
number of old Neapolitan troops were assembling.
On the following night, however, a violent storm separated the vessels, and, on its subsiding, the king found
himself, without the rest of his fleet, off the town of
Pizzo, where he immediately landed, with his boat's
company, consisting of thirty-one persons, all veteran
officers, among whom was General Franceschetti. He
was received with enthusiastic cheers by some of the
coast-guards, and passed through Pizza, toward AIonteleone. When they were about half way to the latter town,
they saw a strong party of armed men, under Colonel
Trentacapelli, approaching from Pizzo, which they
supposed that the colonel had collected for the purpose
of joining them.  They halted, and when the party
came up, the king advanced a few steps, and some of
his followers cried, "Viva il Re Gioachino!" which
was answered by a volley of muskets. A sharp encounter took place, in which several of Murat's company were killed, after fighting desperately; and, Murat, finding it impossible to prevail, determined to regain
his vessel. But the captain of his vessel, hearing the
firing, had put to sea, and the fishing-boat, into




HIS ARREST AND EXECUTION.           175
which the monarch threw himself, was, unluckily,
aground and could not be got off.  The boat was
speedily surrounded, but no one laid hands upon
the formidable hero: he stood up, unarmed, amidst
his enemies, and besought them to let him go. He,
finally, produced his Austrian passport for Trieste:
but, all being in vain, he at length yielded himself to
his pursuers. Intelligence was at once sent, by telegraph, to Naples, where Ferdinand the Fourth had succeeded to the throne of his fathers; and orders to assemble a court-martial, for the trial of Murat, were
returned by the same rapid conveyance. A summary
trial and condemnation took place. He received his
sentence with a smile of scorn; and wrote an affectionate letter of farewell to his wife and children, which
he earnestly begged ihight be safely delivered. He
then asked for the services of a clergyman, and received
the eucharist, declaring that he thought it his duty to
die in the profession of the religion in which he had
been educated. Refusing to sit upon the stool which
was offered to him, or to have his eyes bandaged, he
stood up before the line of soldiers, who were to carry
his sentence into execution, and, pressing to his heart a
picture of his wife and children, which he carried about
his person, received with a smile the fatal fire. He
died in the forty-ninth year of his age.
When this intelligence reached Napoleon at St. Helena, it excited but little sympathy for him who had so
grievously injured his master. " Murat," said the emperor, " was doomed to be our bane. He ruined us by
forsaking us, and he ruined us by too warmly espousing our cause." At the time of his attacking the Austrians, Napoleon supposed himself to be on the point of




176             JOACHIM MURAT.
concluding an arrangement of neutrality with Austria;
but Murat's conduct gave that empire ground to accuse
Napoleon of ambitious designs, and produced an unfavorable effect on the negotiations. Murat was a man
of warm affections, and undoubtedly attached in feeling
to the emperor; but the weakness of his character, his
rashness, and his vanity, were the ruin of both himself
and his benefactor. "Murat's unfortunate end," said
Napoleon, when he heard of his death, "corresponds
with his conduct. He was endowed with extraordinary
courage and little intelligence.  The too great disproportion between these two qualifications explains the
man entirely. He is one of the principal causes of our
being here. But the fault is originally mine. There
were several men whom I had made too great: I had
raised them above the sphere of their intelligence."
To break up and disorder the solid masses of an enemy's line of battle, or, when a battle was gained, to turn
a defeat into a rout, and win the splendid trophies of
the triumph, Murat's services were of priceless value.
"At the head of a body of horsemen," said Napoleon,
" no man was ever more resolute, more courageous, or
more brilliant." Those who might have been disposed
to doubt how much he contributed to the immense results of Jena, could not be struck with the effects of
his absence at Wagram and Friedland. Murat could
make the most of a corps of cavalry; but there all his
value and all his ability ceased. In combinations of
military forms, in the conception of complicated movements, in the judgment that weighs perplexed elements
of reason, and deduces a sound conclusion from heterogeneous considerations, his power was nothing. Napoleon ever mentioned him with unbounded applause




NAPOLEON'S OPlNION OF HIM.         177
of his courage, and utter contempt for his judgment.
" With respect to physical courage," said he, "it was
impossible for Murat and Ney not to be brave; but no
men ever possessed less moral courage, the former in
particular." To O'Meara he drew a portrait of this
remarkable man, which may serve in place of any inferior sketching: " Murat," he said, " was the best cavalry
officer in the world. There were not, I believe, two such
officers in the world as Murat for the cavalry, and Drouot
for the artillery. Murat was a most singular character.
Four-and-twenty years ago, when he was a captain, I
made him my aide-de-camp, and subsequently raised
him to be what he was. He loved, I may rather say,
adored me. In my presence he was, as it were, struck
with awe, and ready to fall at my feet. I acted wrong
in having separated him from me, as without me he was
nothing. With me, he was my right arm. Order Murat to attack and destroy four or five thousand men in
such a direction, it was done in a moment; but leave
him to himself, he was an imbecile, without judgment.
I can not conceive how so brave a man could be so
latce. He was nowhere brave unless before the enemy.  There he was, probably, the bravest man in the
world. His boiling courage carried him into the midst
of the enemy, covered with feathers and glittering with
gold. How he escaped is a miracle, being always a
distinguished mark, and fired at by everybody. Even
the Cossacks admired him on account of his extraordinary bravery. Every day Murat was engaged in single
combat with some of them, and never returned without his sabre dropping with the blood of some of those
whom he had slain. He was a paladin, in fact a Don
Quixote, in the field; but take him into the cabinet, he
was a poltroon, without judgment or decision."




EDWARD MORTIER,
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804.
DUKE OF TREVISO.
EDWARD ADOLPHUS CASIMIR JOSEPH MORTIERLong Mortier, as Napoleon sometimes familiarly called
him, from his elevated stature-son of Antony Charles
Joseph Mortier, one of the deputies of the statesgeneral, was born at Chateau-Cambresis, on the 18th
of February, 1768. He began his career in the army
of the north, which he entered as a sub-lieutenant, and
became a captain in 1791, and a major and adjutantgeneral in 1793. In 1795, he was transferred to the
army of the Sambre and Meuse, with the rank of chief
of brigade, which is equal to that of colonel; he there
served during 1795 and 1796, was made brigadiergeneral and general of division in 1799, and was employed successively in the armies of the Danube and
of Switzerland. In 1800 and 1801, he was at the
head of the seventeenth military division; and in the war
against England, he invaded Hanover, at the head of
the French troops, in 1803. In 1804, he was appointed one of the commanders of the consular guard,
a marshal of the empire, and a grand officer of the
legion of honor. During the campaign of Austerlitz,
in 1805, he commanded the infantry of the guard for
a time; but as the army was advancing down the




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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _i  -     k _ -\        (~ 








COMBAT AT DIERNSTEIN.           179
Danube, Murat and Lannes forming the advanced guard
on the right bank, four divisions, amounting in all to
twenty thousand men, were detached to the left bank
under the command of Mortier, to harass the rear and
flank of the retreating Russians, and with orders to
keep up with Murat's advanced guard on the right
bank. The indiscreet precipitancy with which Murat
rushed onward down the Danube, very nearly proved
fatal to Mortier; for on the 11th of November, while
Mortier with Gazan's division had passed the defile of
Diernstein, and was engaged in a fierce attack on
Kutusoff's rearguard, Doctoroff marched back through
the mountains, and, occupying Diernstein, cut off
Mortier from a retreat. With the utmost discretion and
coolness, Mortier adopted the only judicious course,
which was, to fight his way to the other divisions which
were coming up. He accordingly returned toward
the defile, which was now occupied on all sides by the
enemy, who opened a destructive fire upon the devoted band. Advancing in close column, and attacked
both in front and rear, Mortier sustained himself with
heroic resolution. Two thirds of the division were
killed, three eagles were taken, and Mortier, apparently
on the point of falling into the hands of the Russians,
was advised to cross the river in a boat which was
fastened to the shore.  "No," was his noble reply;
"leave that resource for the wounded: a general who
has the happiness to command such troops as these,
should deem himself happy in sharing their perils.
Let us close up and make a last effort." The fire of
Dupont's division, which was hastening up on the
other side of Diernstein, was now heard, and the soldiers felt that their relief was at hand. Night closed,




ISO            EDWARD MORTIER.
however, and the strength of this Spartan group was
nearly exhausted, when the shouts of their comrades
arriving to their relief were heard. A renewed attack
was made on Doctoroff's columns, which now, assailed
on both sides, were forced to retreat through the hills;
and the soldiers of Gazan's division threw themselves
into the arms of their comrades, crying: "You have
saved us at last."  Three thousand were killed in this
terrible combat.  The next day, Mortier recrossed the
Danube, and the left bank was left to the enemy.
In the campaign of 1806, he had for some time
the superior command of the fifth and eighth corps of
the grand army of Russia; but he was detached from
it after it had passed the Rhine, and was ordered to
occupy Hanover, the Hesse towns, and Hamburg.
On the 19th of November, Hamburg was taken possession of by the French army in the name of the
emperor, amid the utmost order and tranquillity. Marshal Mortier, in the execution of the specific commands
which he had received from the emperor, was obliged
to make very rigorous exactions, but he moderated
their severity as much as it was possible for him to do.
" I am bound," says Bourrienne, who was then resident
at Hamburg as minister plenipotentiary, " to bear testimony to the marshal's honorable principles and dignity of character." By the famous Berlin decree of
November 21, 1806, Mortier was obliged to order all
English merchandise in the Hanse towns; but he enforced the decree only so far as to give it a formal
obedience.  He was engaged during the winter of
1806-'07, in reducing Colberg, Stralsund, and other
fortresses on the Oder and Vistula; and after the disappearance of Augereau's corps at the battle of Eylau,




CONFLAGRATION OF MOSCOW.          181
Mortier's troops were brought up from Pomerania and
became the eighth corps of the army.
In 1808, Mortier was created duke of Treviso, and
soon after was sent into Spain. He commanded the
fifth corps during the Spanish war until 1811. He
assisted at the siege of Saragossa, but in general his
operations were marked with little vigor or ability. In
1811, he became colonel-general of the artillery, the
sappers, and the marines of the guard; and in 1812
was placed at the head of the young guard, and in that
capacity took part in the Russian invasion.
When Napoleon entered Moscow on the evening of
the 14th of September, 1812, he appointed Mortier
governor of the city.  "Above everything," were his
directions, "no pillage!  For this you shall answer
to me with your life. Preserve Moscow against all,
both friends and foes." The gloomy silence which
received the troops soon became more alarming, by
the reports which arrived of fire having broken out in
several remote quarters of the city, where none of the
army had yet penetrated.  Napoleon concealed the
alarm which this intelligence created, and issued repeated orders to have the flames subdued and the
utmost care employed to prevent their breaking out.
About two o'clock on the morning of the 15th, the
exchange, in the centre of the city, was on fire. At
daylight the emperor hastened to the spot, and threatened the young guard and Mortier. The latter directed the emperor's attention to the houses covered
with iron and firmly closed, out of which, nevertheless,
the smoke was issuing. It was known at the same
time that the French patrols had seized a number of
Russians, of the lowest order of wretchedness, who
VOL. TT. -1G




1.82           EDXWARD MORTIER.
were said to have been released from prison when the
city was abandoned, and who, whether employed by
the government, or incited by their passions and by a
hope of plunder, were openly running from palace to
palace, and from house to house, setting fire to everything that came in their way. " I saw several of those
miscreants," says Baron Larrey, "taken in the act;
lighted matches and combustibles were found in their
possession." Napoleon contemplated the prospect with
a shudder: but Mortier performed his duty with unrelaxing diligence.  By day he was able to subdue the
fire; and the incendiaries kept themselves concealed.
But at night they issued forth again; and the spectacle of the lurid flame bursting forth from palaces and
stores in every direction, attested the presence of a
mysterious and dreadfill enemy. On the 16th, the
flames, driven in every direction by the violent equinoctial wind which was raging, had devastated the
greater part of the populous quarters of the city: most
of the officers sought refuge in the halls of the Kremlin. " The chiefs and Mortier himself," says Segur,
", overcome by the fire, with which for thirty-six hours
they had been contending, there dropped down from
fatigue and despair." At length the cry passed from
mouth to mouth, " The Kremlin is on fire!" Napoleon, who had passed two days of anguish and dismay,
hastily descended into the street, and desired to be
guarded out of the city, to the imperial palace of
Petrowski, a league on the road to Petersburgh.
" But we were encircled," says Segur, " by a sea of
fire, which blocked up all the gates of the citadel, and
frustrated the first attempts that were made to depart.
After some search, we discovered a postern gate lead



CJNFLAGRATION OF MOSCOW.          1S3
ing between the rocks to the Moskowa. By this narrow passage, Napoleon, with his officers and guard,
escaped from the Kremlin. But the city, which roared
around them like an ocean of flame, was yet to be traversed. No time was to be lost. A single narrow,
winding street, all on fire, appeared to be rather the
entrance than the outlet to this hell. The emperor
rushed instantly forward on foot into this narrow passage. He proceeded amid the crackling of flames, the
crashing of floors, the fall of burning timbers and of
red-hot iron roofs, and all the horrors of a tremendous
conflagration. The flames, roaring from the tops of
the buildings between which the party proceeded, were
blown together by the wind, and formed an arch over
their heads. Surrounded on every side by fire, and in
an atmosphere filled with fire, they rushed along in
doubt as to the issue which the road might afford. At
this instant of inexpressible distress, when safety consisted only in a rapid advance, the guide stopped, in
uncertainty and agitation. Fortunately, some pillagers
of the first corps here recognised the emperor amid the
whirling flames; they ran up and guided him toward
the smoking ruins of a quarter which had been reduced
to ashes in the morning. It was then necessary to
pass a long convoy of powder which was defiling amid
the fire: but this peril was at last surmounted, and by
nightfall the emperor reached Petrowski. The next
morning, which was the 17th of September, the emperor looked toward the city, which resembled a vast
spout of fire rising in whirling eddies to the sky, which
it colored: he observed a long and gloomy silence,
and then exclaimed:' This forbodes great misfortunes
to us.' "




184            EDWARD MORTIER.
The fire continued to rage with unabated terror and
sublimity.  "It would be difficult," says the Baron
Larrey, " under any circumstances, to imagine a picture more horrible than that with which our eyes were
afflicted. It was more particularly during the night
between the 18th and 19th of September, the period
when the fire was at its highest pitch, that its consequences presented a terrific spectacle; the weather
was fine and dry, and the wind was blowing from north
and east. During that night, the dreadful image of
which will never be effaced from my recollection, the
whole of the city was on fire. Large columns of flames,
of various colors, shot up from every quarter, covering
the whole horizon, and diffusing a glare of light and a
heat which scorched at a considerable distance. These
masses of fire, driven on by a violent wind, were accompanied in their rise and rapid movement by a
dreadful whizzing, and by thundering explosions, which
were produced by the gunpowder, saltpetre, oil, resin,
and brandy, with which the greater part of the houses
and shops had been filled. The varnished iron plates
which covered the buildings were torn off by effect of
the heat, and carried to a great distance; huge beams
and rafters of fire, seized by the flames, were thrown
an immense way off, carrying the combustion to remote and isolated dwellings. Every one stood mute
with terror and consternation. I remained with a very
small number of my comrades, in a house built of
stone, which stood alone, near the Kremlin: thence I
was enabled to observe this appalling conflagration."
A few days after, Napoleon returned to Moscow, in
which only the Kremlin and a few scattered houses
were left standing. On the 19th of October, after




CONFLAGRATION OF MOSCOW.          185
every hope of negotiations with the Russian government was at an end, Napoleon left Moscow, and began
his retreat by the way of Kaluga. Mortier was left
with a rear-guard of eight thousand men to occupy the
city and cover the march of the army and the retreat
of the different convoys. Barrels of gunpowder were
placed in all the halls of the palace of the czars, and
one hundred and eighty-three thousand pounds of
powder under the vaults upon which they rested.
Mortier's orders were to defend the. Kremlin, and, on
retiring, to blow it up and burn what yet remained of
the city. The intrepid marshal resigned himself without hesitation. He was looked upon as a devoted
victim. The other marshals took leave of him with
tears; and Napoleon, as he left him, said that "he relied on his good fortune; but still, in war, we must
sometimes make part of a fire." For four days the
heroic marshal remained above this volcano, which a
single Russian shell would have exploded. At length,
depositing in a secret and safe place a skilfully-prepared
firework, the combustion of which was accurately calculated, and lighting it by a slow fire, Mortier left the
city with rapidity. While he was moving away, a
horde of squalid Muscovites and Cossacks, enticed by
the hope of plunder, came into the city. They listened, but all was quiet; emboldened by the solitude
which seemed to prevail, they penetrated to the Kremlin. Eagerly anticipating the spoil that awaited them,
they ascended the stairs, and were spreading themselves
through the splendid halls, when the train exploded: in
an instant the mighty edifice and its contents, among
which were thirty thousand stand of arms, sent into
myriads of fragments, were whirled aloft into the air;
16*




186            EDWVARD MORTIER.
and after a long interval, the mangled limbs of the
wretched plunderers, mingled with shattered weapons
and pieces of wall, fell to the earth in a horrible shower.
The earth shook beneath the feet of Mortier; the emperor, ten leagues off, heard the tremendous explosion: the last vengeance of French ambition had been
taken against the capital which had been its fate. On
the 24th, Mortier reached Vereia and joined the army,
now on its retreat through Smolensk.
In 1813 and 1814, Mortier continued faithfully to
serve the emperor. In the latter year, when the allies
were advancing to Paris, Mortier with difficulty reached
the capital, and, together with Marmont, defended the
city until an armistice and a surrender were deemed
indispensable.  He was quickly received into favor by
Louis XVIII., who made him governor of the sixteenth
military division, a chevalier of the order of St. Louis,
and a peer of France. After the return of Napoleon
he received, on the 8th of June, 1815, the command of
all the cavalry of the guard. He gave up the command at Beaumont on the 15th, and no one was appointed in his stead. After the second restoration, he
was made, in 1816, governor of the fifteenth military
division; in 1820, a commander of the order of St.
Louis; and in 1829, governor of the fourteenth military division. In 1830 he was sent ambassador to
Russia; and in 1831 was made grand chancellor of
the legion of honor; and on the 18th of November,
1834, was appointed president of the council and minister of war, which offices he held until the 12th of
March, 1835. He died at Paris on the 28th of July
of that year, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, one
of the victims of Fieschi's infernal machine.




MICHAEL NEY,
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1819:
DUKE OF ELCHINGEN: PRINCE OF THE MOSKOWA.
MICHAEL NEY was born at Sarre-Louis, on the 1 0th
of January, 1769. His father, Peter Ney, was a cooper
by trade, but in the earlier part of his life he had been
a soldier, and, during the seven years' war, he had
distinguished himself at the battle of Rosbach. The
younger Ney early evinced a turbulent disposition, and
his love of danger and excitement was further kindled
by the narratives which his father was constantly giving
of the stirring scenes in which he had once figured.
The Revolution, however, had not yet established the
principle of "la carriere ouverte aux talens," and the
old soldier was so assured, from his own experience,
that low-born merit had no prospect of rising in the
army, that he determined, in spite of his son's strong
inclination for arms, to educate him to a civil employment. He received his first instruction at a school of
Augustine monks, and, at an early age, began the study
of law in the office of a notary, M. Vallette. Soon,
however, disgusted with this occupation, he exchanged
it for a clerkship to the procureur de Roi; but this
proving not less unacceptable than the other, he was
placed, in his fifteenth year, in the post of overseer of
the mines of Apenwerla, where he continued two years.
It was from affection to his parents, and a sense of duty




188              MICHAEL NEY.
to their wishes, that Ney had undertaken these distasteful employments; and as he became more independent, with advancing years, he resolved to gratify the
passion of his heart, and enlist in the army. He accordingly resigned his post, and, after paying a visit to
his parents at Sarre-Louis, proceeded to Metz, where,
on the 1st of February, 1787, being eighteen years of
age, he entered the fourth regiment of hussars. He
soon became distinguished among his companions, by
his insensibility to danger, his noble, soldierly appearance, his dexterity in the use of weapons, and his
daring and skill in the management of unruly horses.
In 1791, he was advanced to the rank of brigadier;
and the fencing-master of a neighboring regiment having wounded the fencing-master of the fourth hussars,
and insulted the whole regiment, Ney was selected to
vindicate the honor of his corps. Just as the parties
were in attitude to commence the duel, Ney found the
hand of his colonel upon his shoulder, and was immediately ordered in arrest. A long confinement followed; but as soon as he was liberated, Ney sought his
antagonist, fought him in a secret place, and wounded
him in the wrist. The fencing-master, thus disabled,
was afterward dismissed from his post, and sank into
great poverty; when his successful antagonist, with
that kindness of heart which always distinguished him,
sought him out, and settled a pension upon him.
In 1792, Ney was advanced, successively, to the
ranks of sub-lieutenant and lieutenant; and, in the following year, became captain and aide-de-camp to General Lamarche, with whom he served in the army of
the Rhine and Moselle, until the death of that exemplary man, at the storming of the camp at Famars.




ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            189
He then returned to his regiment, with the intention
of not quitting it again; but, after the battle of Fleurus,
in June, 1794, Kleber, the commander of the left wing
of the army of the Sambre and Meuse, being desirous
to reconnoitre a position, sent for an escort; and, entering into conversation with the officer who commanded it, was so much struck by his remarks, that,
after returning home, he sent his aide-de-camp with an
order of appointment for this officer to his staff. It
was Ney; who, however, declined the offer. Shortly
after, at an engagement near Pellemberg, Ney, hearing
the firing, changed the route he was following, and
came upon the ground at a critical moment. The
men, under his command were, however, too much
fatigued by a long march to follow him. He put himself at the head of a few dragoons, rushed upon the
Austrians, and routed them. Kleber, who was an eyewitness of this daring charge, spoke of it thus, in his
despatch to the commissioner: " Captain Ney, acting adjutant-general, performed prodigies of valor. At the head
of thirty dragoons, and a few chasseurs acting as orderlies,
he charged two hundred of the Blanckestein hussars,
and threw them into the greatest disorder." In consequence of this report, Gillet, the representative in attendance, appointed Ney, on the 1st of August, 1794, lieutenant-colonel and adjutant-general; the duties of which
latter office he had been for some time performing.
Toward the close of the same month, Ney, at the
head of his daring troopers, was making brilliant
forays through the country, carrying off stores, intercepting convoys, and keeping the enemy in constant
alarm. On the 27th of August, when he had advanced
toward the village of Werdt, and had become sepa



190              MICHAEL N'EY.
rated from the rest of the army, a trooper, who had
deserted, gave the enemy information of the position
and strength of Ney's party, and a large company of
Prussian dragoons immediately placed themselves in
his rear. Becoming apprized of his peril, Ney set out
to return; but his scouts soon brought him word that
the road was completely beset, that the enemy's cavalry flanked it right and left, and that it was impossible
to pass.  "Impossible!" cried  Ney; "Sound the
charge!" With sword in hand, Ney rushed forward
at the head of his men, broke the ranks drawn up to
intercept him, and cleared the passage in safety. The
plain, however, was full of Austrian troops; and, as
he approached Eyndhoven, another considerable body
of cavalry debouched in front of them. Regardless
of superior numbers, Ney threw himself headlong into
their ranks, dispersed them, and took prisoner their
commander, who proved to be the Baron Homspech.
For this service, Ney was promoted to the rank of
chief of brigade. During the remainder of the campaign, Ney was employed under Bernadotte, who led
the van of the army, in the boldest and most daring
enterprises against detachments of the enemy, which
were crowned with brilliant success. During the siege
of Maestricht, Ney's valor in forcing the passage of the
Roer, won him especial distinction. Bernadotte, in
reporting his success to Kleber, said: " Great praise
is due to the brave Ney: he seconded me with the
ability which you know he possesses; and I am bound
to add, in strict justice, that he greatly contributed to the
success we have obtained." The same commander wrote
a day or two afterward to Ney himself: " The general who commands an army in which you are em



ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS.            191
ployed is a fortunate man. I have that good luck, and
I fully appreciate it. Continue to pursue and hussar
the enemy." It is not the least striking, of the strange
changes in position which the incidents of the time
brought about, that, twenty years after, this same Bernadotte, as king of Sweden, should gain a great victory
over this same Ney, as the marshal of an empire yet
undreamed of. Ney's vehemence and ardor were of
signal value in the siege of Maestricht, which finally
capitulated on the 4th of November, 1794. Gillet,
the representative, wrote to his colleagues: " Ney is a
distinguished officer, and is necessary to our large
body of cavalry. Men of his stamp are not common."
In January, 1795, while the siege of Mayence was
proceeding, Ney, being near a redoubt which the enemy had thrown up and manned hastily, and having
under him some troops from the army of the Rhine,
and some from that of the Sambre and Meuse, was
desirous to give the former a specimen of the valor
which he wished them to emulate. He therefore assembled a few dragoons and voltiguers for the attack
of the position.  "I am going," said he, "to show
you a trick after the manner of Sambre-and-Meuse."
Sending his voltiguers against the front of the redoubt,
he passed round to the rear with his dragoons, and
approached along the pass which the redoubt defended.
His men hesitated and hung back, so that he entered
the redoubt alone. Single-handed, he cut his way
through the midst of the enemy, repassed the ditch,
and escaped, after a severe wound in his arm. A
species of lockjaw ensued, and his health became
completely shattered. At this time, he was appointed
general of brigade; but, believing that he had not vet




192               MICHAEL NEY.
sufficiently earned that promotion, he wrote to the
board of war declining the appointment, and, notwithstanding the entreaties of his friends, persisted in refusing to accept it. Merlin, the representative in attendance upon the army, advised him to try his native air
for the benefit of his wound.  "My brave friend,"
he wrote to him, on the 7th of January, 1795, "go,
and complete your cure at Sarre-Libre,* your birthplace. I have despatched an order to a surgeon of the
first class, Bonaventure, to send one of his pupils with
you. Return soon, and lend us your powerful aid
against the enemies of your country." Kleber, at the
same time, gave him a certificate, stating that he had
commanded, with distinction, various bodies of cavalry
during the campaign, and " that, in every operation intrusted to him, he displayed the most consummate skill
and bravery, particularly at the siege of Maestricht,
where, by his valor, he did eminent service to the republic." Ney, accordingly, returned home, and resigned himself, reluctantly, to the tedious delay of
convalescence; but, in the autumn of 1795, he was
again with the van of the army when it crossed the
Rhine, and was exhibiting anew his characteristic energy and hardihood. In June and July, 1796, serving
in Collaud's division of cavalry, under Kleber, he distinguished himself in the highest degree, at the battles
of Altenkirchen, Herborn, and Ukerath. At the battle near Forcheim, in the beginning of August, Ney's
services were equally conspicuous, and the surrender
of the p-ace was owing to his intrepid and determined
boldness. As soon as the imperial army had begun to
retreat, Ney rode up to the gates, and summoned the
* Jacobinized from Sarre-Louis.




APPOINTED GENERAL OF ERIGA.DE.    193
garrison to surrender; and, as some hesitation took
place, he threatened at once to bombard the place.
The commander consented to give up the fortress;
but, as the Austrian troops were yet in sight, he desired
to delay the surrender until they had effected their
retreat. Ney, anxious to pursue the enemy, flew into
a violent rage, and swore that he would put the whole
garrison to the sword, if the submission was delayed
another instant.  This threat produced the desired
effect; and the town and fortress of Forcheirn, with a
large quantity of arms, ammunition, and stores, surrendered. Kleber was so delighted by the success of
Ney's brilliant energy, that he announced upon the
spot that he should make Ney a general of brigade.
The chasseurs clapped their hands with satisfaction,
and all the officers expressed their cordial approbation.
Kleber, on the following day, wrote to the directory
as follows: " Adjutant-general Ney, in this and the
preceding campaigns, has given numerous proofs of
talent, zeal, and intrepidity; but he surpassed even
himself in the battle which took place yesterday, and
he had two horses killed under him. I have thought
myself justified in promoting him, on the field of battle, to the rank of general of brigade. A commission
of this grade was forwarded to him eighteen months
ago, but his modesty did not allow him then to accept
it. By confirming this promotion, citizen-directors,
you will perform a striking act of your justice." Before the commission arrived, Ney had further distinguished himself by the capture of Nuremberg; and
Jourdan was so highly gratified by this achievement,
that, in transmitting to him, on the 15th of August,
1796, the commission of general of brigade, which had
Vor. I. -17




194              MICHAEL NEY.
been received at headquarters, he paid him some high
compliments. " Government," said Jourdan, " has discharged a debt which it owed to one of its worthiest
and most zealous servants; and it has only done justice to the talents and courage of which you daily give
fresh proofs." In the actions about Sulzbach, a few
days after, Ney showed how thoroughly well these
commendations were deserved. After Jourdan's resignation, in September, 1796, Ney continued to serve
under Bournonville, and with so much satisfaction, that,
on the 10th of January, 1797, the commander-in-chief
recommended his appointment in the vacancy caused by
Lefebvre's resignation.  "I recommend," wrote Bournonville to the directory, " that Brigadier-General Ney
be appointed general of division, to command the vanguard, in the place of General Lefebvre. This officer,
intrepid in action, has, during this campaign, covered
himself with glory. He has always commanded corps
in the vanguard, and is the only one I know who could
efficiently command that of the army of Sambre-andMeuse."
He continued to serve in the army of Sambre-andMeuse, after Hoche assumed the command, and he
was honored with the confidence and admiration of that
brilliant chief. In March, 1797, while charging, near
Giessen, with his usual impetuosity, his detachment
was suddenly attacked by superior numbers of Austrian cavalry, who overwhelmed and swept away the
French horsemen. Ney's horse fell and rolled with
him into a ravine. His sword snapped in the middle,
and he was covered with bruises. The enemy rushed
upon him, but he still resisted; he parried and struck
with the fragment of his sword, and kept the crowd at




PRISONER-OF-~WAR AT GIESSEN.        195
nay, until his foot slipped, and he fell to the ground.
The Austrians then seized him, and he was conveyed
to Giessen.
The fame of Ney's character, and of his heroic resistance to a whole company of cavalry, had preceded
him, and, as he passed through the streets of Giessen,
the women thronged eagerly to see one whose bravery
seemed to rival the wonders of chivalry. " Really,"
said an Austrian officer who was conducting him, " one
would suppose that he was some extraordinary animal."
-" Extraordinary enough," replied one of the women,
" since it required a whole squadron of dragoons to take
him!" Ney was received at headquarters with respect;
and was conversing with some officers, when he perceived his horse mounted by an Austrian, and exhibiting the most weak, lazy, and obstinate conduct. He
made some remark about the incapacity of the rider,
and was answered by a joke about the worthlessness of
the horse.  The animal soon became a subject of ridicule, and some one proposed to buy him. Ney approached him.  "I will show  you," said he, "the
value of my horse." He sprang upon the saddle, and
in an instant the horse was flying like the wind in the
direction of the French camp. Ney came very near making his escape; but the trumpets were sounded, and in
a moment every avenue was closed. Ney turned the
horse, and with equal rapidity reached the spot from
which he had set out.
Ney had the honor while in captivity of receiving a
flattering testimony of respect from the directory.
"The executive directory," wrote the president, Letourneur, to him on the 1st of May, 1797, "is truly
afflicted, citizen-general, at the accident which occa



196              MICHAEL NEY.
sioned your falling into the hands of the enemy.  The
impetuosity of your courage before Giessen, and the
brilliant manceuvres which you executed at the head
of the squadrons under your command, make this event
still more to be regretted.  The directory trusts that
the army will soon again behold one of its bravest general officers, whose absence is particularly regretted by
the general-in-chief." Ney was speedily liberated on
parole, and soon after was exchanged for General
Orelly.
In the following year, Ney formed part of the corps
under Bernadotte, called the army of observation, the
principal duty of which was the reduction of Manheim
and Philipsburg. The former was surprised by Ney,
in a manner that revives the romance of the middle
ages.  Resolved to ascertain in person the condition
of the garrison, he crossed the Rhine in the disguise
of a peasant, entered Manheim with a basket on his
arm, and soon satisfied himself that such negligence
and remissness were prevailing as afforded hope of a
successful coup-de-main.  As he was leaving the place,
he met a soldier's wife, who was in the last stage of
pregnancy, and speaking to her about her situation, he
remarked that her accouchement would probably take
place before the night was past.  " Well," the soldier
replied, " the commandant will allow the drawbridge
to be let down at any hour of the night, so that, if she
is ill, she can have assistance."  Nev determined to
turn the incident to a favorable account.  He recrossed
the river, selected a hundred and fifty of his bravest
soldiers, passed them over in skiffs, and concealed them
under the walls of Manheim.  The woman did not disappoint him- her labor came on, the bridge was low



APPOINTED GENERAL OF DIVISION.   197
ered, and Ney and his men rushed in. They hurried
to the citadel; the darkness concealed the smallness of
their number, and the garrison, being astonished and
terrified, surrendered.
On the 28th of March, 1799, Ney received his appointment of general of division.  He at once wrote to
the directory, expressing a sincere conviction that his
talents were not adequate, and declining the honor.
The government again forwarded to him the decree of
his appointment, which Ney, by the advice of Bernadotte, now submitted to. In May of the same year he
was transferred to the army of Switzerland, commanded
by Massena, and at the battle of the Thur was severely
wounded not less than three times.  On the first occasion, a musket-ball pierced his thigh; then he was
wounded in the foot; and the third time his wrist was
shattered by a gunshot. He was obliged to retire from
the service for two or three months.  After his recovery he was ordered to the army of the Rhine, and upon
the recall of General Muller, in September, 1799, Ney
was provisionally appointed to the chief command of
the army. In the campaign of the Rhine, under Moreau, in 1800 and 1801, Ney served with unabated gallantry; and his valor at the battle of Hohenlinden, on
the 3d of December, 1800, contributed not a little to
the brilliance of that victory. In 1801, Ney returned
to France, and was received with great kindness by
the first-consul, who appointed him inspector-general
of cavalry in the third, fifth, and twenty-sixth military
divisions. In the following year, on the 4th of August,
he was married through the instrumentality of Josephine, to Agla6 Louisa Augine, a lovely and amiable
girl, the intimate friend of Madame Louis Bonaparte,
17*




198              MICHAEL NEY.
and the daughter of a former receiver-general, whose
fortune had been greatly reduced by the Revolution,
and who now resided at the chateau of Grignon.  In
the same village dwelt an old couple who had been married half a century. Ney presented them with clothes,
and made them receive the usual renewal of their nuptial benediction at the same time that his own marriage
was celebrated.;' These old people," said he, " will
serve to remind me of the meanness of my ownr origin,
and the renewal of their long union will serve as a happy
augury for my own." In the same year, Ney was appointed minister plenipotentiary in Switzerland, where
his military talents were again called into successful
exercise. He returned to France in the beginning of
1804, and on the 19th of May in that year he was raised
to the rank of marshal, and made a grand officer of the
legion of honor, and chief of the seventh cohort, and received the command-in-chief of the camp at Montreuil.
In the great campaign of Austerlitz, Ney commanded
the sixth corps of the grand army, which, in the beginning of the operations that led to the surrender of
Ulm, formed the advanced guard on the left bank of
the Danube, while Murat's corps operated on the right
bank. At Guntzburg on the 9th, and at Hasslach on
the 11th of October, his troops gained decisive and
important victories after severe engagements.  On the
14th, at daybreak, he arrived with his corps within sight
of Elchingen, on the left bank of the river, where General Reisch had taken up a strong position. Ney, advancing along the right bank, to which he had crossed
a few days beftre, arrived opposite to the town, where
the skeleton of a bridge remained, which the Austrians
the day before had dismantled and damaged, but not whol



CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ.           199
ly destroyed.  This passage was guarded by six pieces
of cannon and numerous troops, but the ardor of the
French soldiers was irrepressible: they rushed upon
the remnants of the bridge, sprang from timber to timber,
sweeping all before them, and soon debouched on the
left bank. They formed in a narrow meadow, and
marched forward, driving the enemy from house to
house and from garden to garden. An obstinate resistance was made in the abbey of Elchingen; but at
length, the Austrians, being entirely driven from the
buildings, drew up in line of battle on an elevated terrace, and the contest was renewed with the greatest
fury. Ney, in his full marshal's uniform, exposed his
person in the most daring manner; and after a long
struggle, his gallantry was rewarded by a complete victory, five thousand prisoners and numerous cannon and
colors being taken.  The glory of this day was perpetuated in the name and family of Ney by the ducal title
conferred upon him a few years afterward.
By the terms of the capitulation of Ulm, Ney's corps
remained at that place until the 25th of October; after
which time it was ordered to advance over the mountains on the north of the Inn, directly upon Innspruck,
and to clear the mountain-fastnesses of the Tyrol from
the Austrian forces there assembled under the archduke
John and the prince of Rohan.  Arriving at the barrier
of Scharnitz, on the mountain-road, long deemed impregnable, Ney's corps were at first defeated in a front
attack; but the marshal, dividing his troops into three
divisions, succeeded in turning the position with one
of them, and mastering the fort of Leitasch in its rear;
and thence clambering up the precipices which ascended behind it, and which were defended by the rapid




200             MICHAEL NEY.
and unerring fire of the Tyrolese marksmen, displayed
the French eagles from the summit of the cliffs, which
became the signal for a renewed attack in front, which
could no longer be resisted. Innspruck soon after surrendered, and was entered on the 7th of November;
Jellachich with five thousand men capitulated at Feldkirch; the archduke John retired for the protection of
Vienna; and in the beginning of December, Ney, having accomplished with the most brilliant completeness
the purpose of his detachment, marched to Salzbourg,
to communicate with the main body of the army.
During the Prussian campaign of 1806, and the Polish campaign of 1807, Ney served with the valor and
distinction recorded in the history of those operations.
In the following year he was created duke of Elchingen, and sent into Spain, where, in the middle of August, he was placed in command of the centre of the
army commanded by King Joseph in person. Upon
the reorganization of the army of Spain in September
by the emperor, Ney was placed in command of the
sixth corps. In the operations connected with the
battle of Tudela, his part was an important one; but
he did not apprehend the profound combinations of the
emperor with sufficient clearness to execute them with
the precision and vigor that were required. Ney continued, without making any striking movements, until
the 30th of May, 1809, when he advanced to Lugo,
and effected a junction with Soult, who had been driven
from Portugal by the duke of Wellington. These marshals had now an admirable opportunity of defeating
and capturing the marquis de la Romana; but their
dissensions and quarrels rendered their operations ineffective. On the 30th of June, 1809, a despatch ar



PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.            201
rived from the emperor, at Ratisbon, conferring on Soult
the supreme command of the second, fifth, and sixth
corps; by which Ney, who commanded the last, was
placed under the orders of his brother-marshal.  In
the operations which took place between Wellington
and Soult after the battle of Talavera, Ney acted in
this subordinate position, but disobediently and unwillingly, until the 12th of August, when he resigned the
command of the sixth corps to General Marchand, and
returned to France. In January, 1810, he resumed
the command in Old Castile; and when Massena was
sent to take the supreme command in April, Ney, yielding in some degree, though not without reluctance, to
the superior rank of the new chief, and placed in a situation where his only duty was to execute orders, exhibited again the characteristic ardor and effectiveness
of his character. At the first siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, at the battle of the Coa on the 24th of July, at the
siege of Almeida, at the battle of Busaco on the 27th
of September, during the advance of Massena into Portugal, and at the battle of Redenha on the 12th of
March, 1811, during the retreat, in which he commanded the rear-guard, his vigor, audacity, and success, reappeared in all their ancient brilliance. The jealousies
inseparable, however, from the relations in which the
commander-in-chief stood to the marshals under his
orders, had begun to display themselves. At the battle
of Busaco, Ney had a right to complain that the prince
of Essling had not treated his suggestions with the respect which they deserved.  At Miranda an explosion
took place, and a violent altercation between Ney and
Massena signalized the termination of all harmonious
action.  At Celerico, on the 23d of March, Ney re



202              MICHAEL NEY.
fused to execute an order of Massena's to move his
troops to Coria, and marched in a different direction.
Massena immediately deprived him of his command,
and gave his corps to Loison. Ney returned soon after to Paris.
Ney formed not the least brilliant or important part
of that splendid company of commanders who waited
on the ambition of their master when his daring arms
struck at the distant pride of Russia.  During the advance to Russia, his impetuous valor sustained the
boldness of the emperor, or made good his flagging
resolution, on many a critical occasion.  In the assault
on the citadel of Smolensk, a ball struck him on the
neck: at Borodino, his intrepid and obstinate courage
was not less effective than the magnificent boldness of
Murat; and indignant at the inaction of Napoleon, he
did not hesitate to give vent to his anger.  " What
business," he exclaimed, " has the emperor in the rear
of the army? Since he will no longer come himself,
and be a general, but wishes to be the emperor everywhere, let him return to the Tuileries, and leave us to
be generals for him!"-and when counselled after the
battle, he strenuously advised a retreat from the country. The events connected with the continuance at Moscow belong to the life of Mortier; but with the retreat
from that city begin the immortal days of the life of Ney.
It was on the 19th of October, 1812, that Napoleon
quitted Moscow for Kalouga, with more than one hundred thousand combatants, and announced his intention
to return to Poland through that place, Meden, Youkno, Elnia, and Smolensk. After six days' march, the
army reached Malo-Yaroslawitz, where the Russians
under Kutusoff were established in an impregnable po



RETREAT FROM MOSCOW.            203
sition. An irregular but severe shock took place between the opposing forces, which seems to have inspired
both with the terror of a defeat: for while Kutusoff retired to the southward, Napoleon determined to abandon the Kalouga road and regain that through Mojaisk.
On the 28th, the army reached that city, and continued
its retreat through Borodino, Gyatz, and Wiasma: at
the latter place a severe engagement took place between
Miloradowich, who commanded the van, and was called
" the Russian Murat," and the retiring columns of the
French under Eugene, Davoust, and Ney. Davoust
had supported the retreat as far as Wiasma; from that
place Ney alone protected it. The army under Napoleon advanced to Smolensk. On the 6th of November,
the sky, which had been cloudless and bright, became
overcast with a dense, cold fog, and in a few minutes
the falling flakes of snow made it evident that the Russian winter had begun. On the same day intelligence
of Mallet's conspiracy was received. Napoleon reached
Smolensk on the 9th, and remained there till the 14th.
Orders had been sent to Ney at Wiasma to defend
himself long enough to allow some repose to the main
body of the army at Smolensk; and that great officer,
whose moral feeling had a sublimity and an endurance
commensurate with the ardor of his temper, felt the demands of the occasion, and rose to an equality with
them. A profound sentiment of duty seemed to elevate his character above mortal weakness, and to banish every personal consideration and every petty sentiment. For ten days he retired slowly, fighting every
hour, from Wiasma to Smolensk. On the 14th, the
grand army, which had left Moscow above one hundred
thousand strong, and was now reduced to thirty-six




204             MICHAEL NEY.
thousand, began to pass out of Smolensk: in twentyfive days it had lost sixty-four thousand men, and abandoned three hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. Notwithstanding that Kutusoff, pressing on every side,
threatened the extinction of every detached body, the
emperor appointed that himnself, Eugene, Davoust, and
Ney, should leave Smolensk on successive days. Ney
was to remain till the 16th or 17th, and then to blow
the city up. At five o'clock on the morning of the
14th, the imperial guard, with Napoleon, left Smolensk
for Krasnoe: Kutusoff, with ninety thousand men, covered the road, and through them this terrible march was
to be made. It was a continued contest and a ceaseless
slaughter, but Krasnoe was reached. The Russians,
however, were now interposed between the guard and
the residue of the army.
On the 15th, Eugene, with eight thousand men, set
out from Smolensk, and, after great loss, arrived at
Krasnoe on the 17th. Davoust arrived the next day;
but Ney remained behind. It was impossible to wait
for him, and with infinite regret the emperor ordered
the army to continue its advance to Liady and Orcha.
Napoleon marched on foot, with a stick in his hand,
walking with difficulty, and halting every quarter of an
hour, as if unwilling to leave his old companion-inarms to his fate; every moment the name of Ney escaped from his lips with exclamations of grief. On the
19th, at Dombrowna, Napoleon received intelligence
that Minsk, his retreat, his only hope, was taken, the
Russians having entered it on the 16th.  " Very well,"
he replied, " we have now nothing to do but to clear
ourselves a passage with our bayonets." When they
arrived at Orcha, Napoleon had six thousand guards,




RETREAT FROM MOSCOWV.            205
the remains of thirty-five thousand; Eugene had eighteen
hundred men, the remains of forty-two thousand; and
Davoust had four thousand remaining from a corps of
seventy thousand! On the 20th, Napoleon, leaving
Eugene, Mortier, and Davoust, at Orcha, to wait a little longer for Ney, advanced two leagues further, and
then halted.  Four days had passed without the slightest intelligence from him: every one concluded that
his fate was settled, but none were willing to abandon
all attempt to rescue him.
While the army thus waited in gloomy silence, suddenly the tramp of horses was heard, and the cry" Marshal Ney is safe! here are some Polish cavalry
come to announce his approach!" Ney was at hand,
and had sent for assistance. Eugene's corps returned
through a desert of snow to look for their lost comrades.
They found one another by firing guns as signals: Eugene and Ney were the first to recognise each other,
and embraced; the soldiers and officers of the two
corps ran together and shook hands. When Napoleon,
who was two leagues further on, heard that Ney had
just reappeared, he leaped and shouted for joy, and
exclaimed, "I would have given three hundred millions
from my treasury sooner than have lost such a man!"
The story of the retreat of that rear-guard forms a tale
of horror and of glory such as human annals elsewhere
have not to exhibit: but Ney, though performing his
duty with a sublilne devotion, retained a strong feeling
of indignation at the treatment he had received in being
deserted, especially by Davoust. When that marshal
left him on the 16th, and sent to warn him of his danger, Ney replied, " All the Cossacks in the universe
shall not prevent me from executing my instructions!"
VOT,. TT.-1 8




206              MICHAEL NEY.
-and when he came up to Davoust at Orcha, he said
to him with a severe look, "Monsieur le marechal, I
leave no reproaches to make to you: God is our witness and your judge."
At Orcha the Dnieper was passed, and the army on
the 22d advanced to the Bereniza, near Borizof, which
was passed on the 26th and 27th. On the 29th, the
emperor quitted its banks, and on the 3d of December, at Malo-djezno, announced his intention of proceeding at once and alone to Paris; and on the 5th,
having taken leave of his marshals, and left Murat in
command of the army, he set out with Duroc, Caulincourt, and Lobau, passed through Wilna and Warsaw,
Silesia and Dresden, and arrived at Paris on the 19th
of December, 1812.
On the 6th, after Napoleon's departure, the cold grew
more intense; and the incapacity of Murat completed
the disorganization of the army.  The troops straggled
into Wilna as they were able; but here their remorseless enemies the Russians were again upon them. Murat fled in consternation: he was seen forcing his way
through the crowd from his palace and from Wilna,
without giving any orders, but leaving everything in the
hands of Ney. On the 10th, this heroic marshal, whose
spirit alone, from the emperor to the common soldiers,
was of grandeur equal to this calamity, and remained
unbroken and unbent, left Wilna, having voluntarily
taken upon himself again the conduct of the rear-guard.
He covered the retreat as far as Eve.  The rear-guard
had consisted at first of two thousand, then of one thousand, afterward of five hundred, and finally of sixty men;
at last, at Ev6, when after stopping as usual to repulse
the Russians, orders were given to resume the march,




RETREAT FROM MOSCOW.             207
Ney and Wrede perceived that they were alone: the
soldiers had ted irregularly to Kowno. Ney attempted to rally them in vain, and entered Kowno, the last
town in Russia, alone, on the 13th. Murat gave directions for all the troops to rally on Gumbinnen, and fled
thither himself; and a few hundred men, attacked with
ceaseless pertinacity by the Cossacks, were crossing
the Niernen on the bridge at that place. Ney, a man
and a marshal to the last, rallied and organized the
scattered troops, and defended the passage with order
and heroism. He was the last of the grand army of
Russia that left the country.  A few days after, a man
marched into the house of General Dumas at Gumnbinnen, wrapped in a large pelisse, with a long beard half
burned by fire, and his face begrimmed with gunpowder.
"Who are you?" cried Dumas.  "I am the REARGUARD OF THE GRAND ARMY," replied the uncouth
stranger; " I am Marshal Ney!"
In the campaign of Saxony in 1813, Ney, who, for
his valor at Borodino, had received the title of prince
de la Moskowa, was placed at the head of the fourth
and seventh corps of the army, chiefly conscripts, and
the third corps of cavalry: and never were his valor
and endurance more ably conspicuous than in the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen.  So thoroughly, indeed,
is he, next to the emperor, the hero of the operations
previous to the armistice, that his life is a fit place for
a succinct account of the campaign of 1813 in Saxony,
till the armistice.




20S8              MICHAEL NE Y.
CAMPAIGN OF 1813 IN SAXONY.
THE conscripts destined for the campaign of 1813
had been directed to assemble around Mayence, and Napoleon arrived there from Paris on the 17th of April,
and remained for eight days, organizing his forces with
a vigor and rapidity worthy of his best days of youthful
energy. On the 25th, he arrived at Erfurt. The whole
number of troops under his command throughout Germany was not less than four hundred thousand, many
of whom, however, were in garrisons from the Vistula
to the Elbe. The force upon which he might count
for the present campaign amounted to about one hundred and forty thousand men, being Ney's corps of
conscripts at WTeimar, Oudinot's at Coburg, Marmont's
at Gotha, and Bertrand's at Saalefield; besides forty
thousand under Eugene at Magdeburg, consisting of
Victor's, Lauriston's, and Macdonald's corps. This
whole force, however, did not contain more than six
thousand horse and three hundred and fifty pieces of
cannon.
On the 2Sth, Napoleon mounted his horse and began
operations.  "I will perform this campaign," said he,
" as General Bonaparte, and not as emperor;" -and
from that time till the armistice, he made all his marches
on horseback, and did not enter his carriage. His
purpose was to effect a junction with the other corps;
and the troops under his command therefore advanced
from Erfurt through Eckartsberg to Naumberg, while
Ney's advanced to Weissenfels, and Eugene, advancing up the Saale, crossed at Merseburg; and on the
30th, the forces thus in communication moved toward




CAMPAIGN OF SAXONY.              209
the enemy, consisting of the allied Prussians and Russians, who occupied the line of the Elbe. Napoleon
crossed the Saale at Weissenfels on the 30th of April,
and on the following day advanced on the great road
through Lutzen to Leipsig: Marmont's corps was in
the van, Bertrand's and Oudinot's corps were in the
centre, the imperial guards were in the rear, and Ney's
corps of conscripts was on the right at Kaia, between
Lutzen and Pegau. At the same time, Eugene and
Macdonald were advancing by Merseburg on the other
side, toward Leipsig.
The allies meanwhile had crossed the Elster, near
Pegau early on the 2d of May, fog the purpose of giving battle on the plains of Lutzen; and about two
o'clock, Napoleon, upon the high-road, heard a violent
firing upon his extreme right, which convinced him that
the enemy had suddenly fallen upon that wing. He
remained silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and
then ordering the whole army to face about to the right
and march back upon Lutzen, he rode hastily toward
the village of Kaia, which was the principal point of
attack.  This is one of a cluster of villages on the
plain between Lutzen and Pegau, and there the Prussian general Ziethen had begun the battle by a furious
charge with two brigades, by which one of Ney's divisions was driven out, and the villages themselves set on
fire. Ney then brought up three other divisions and
regained the lost positions at the point of the bayonet;
but Wittgenstein, leading forward his second line, with
a formidable battery in front, swept the French out of
all the villages, disordered the troops, who for the most
part were conscripts, and drove the whole French line
back a mile and a half.
18*




210              MICHAEL NEY.
It was now six o'clock, and the reserves of the allied
army were advancing to complete the victory, when
Napoleon arrived. He immediately re-formed Ney's
divisions behind Kaia, and ordered them, with Count
Lobau at their head, again to engage the Prussians.
The emperor's presence inspired the utmost enthusiasm
in these young soldiers: they engaged with furious obstinacy, and the delay which their devoted courage
effected, enabled Napoleon to retrieve the day. For
Marmont's and Bertrand's corps now arriving, gave
the French a preponderance in numbers; and the imperial guard, with Napoleon at its head, had time to
form behind Kaia as a reserve. Wittgenstein, as a
last effort, ordered a flank attack of artillery, which
produced some effect; but allhis reserves were engaged. Napoleon saw that the decisive moment had
now arrived, and ordered the imperial guard to advance. This immense and irresistible column, preceded by sixty pieces of artillery under General Drouot,
and followed by the reserve cavalry, moved slowly forward. The villages were speedily carried; the fatigued
Prussians, fighting valiantly, were driven back in all directions, and in a short time the whole line was in retreat.  Meanwhile, Eugene, coming up from Leipsig,
fell upon their extreme right, and completed their defeat.  The French loss was seventeen thousand, and
that of the allies fifteen thousand; but the victory gained
by Napoleon with such an army, when attacked by surprise, and in a manner so disadvantageous, ought to be
ranked as among his most felicitous achievements. The
allies had twenty thousand splendid cavalry, and Napoleon not more than four thousand; but, by throwing
the infantry into squares, with artillery at the angles,




CAMPAIGN OF SAXONY.            211
this superiority was counteracted and overcome.  On
the following day the allies retired in good order to
Dresden, and thence, on the 7th, to an entrenched position at Bautzen. On the 9th, Napoleon entered Dresden, and a few days after had the pride of restoring his
devoted ally the king of Saxony to his capital and throne.
The allied forces, amounting to one hundred and fifty
thousand, had taken up a strong position on the Spree
at Bautzen, and behind it as far as Wurschen and Hochkirch, and were commanded by the emperor Alexander
in person, with whom was the king of Prussia. This
position, defended in front by the Spree, extended in a
semicircular direction for two leagues, from the mountains of Bohemia on the extreme left, to the village of
Klix on the right; it was covered with villages, which
were strongly occupied, and with numerous knolls,
which were crowned with artillery. Napoleon's plan
was, to turn the position by its extreme right: and accordingly, Ney, who, with seventy thousand men, had
crossed the Elbe at Torgau, on the road to Berlin, was
directed on the 17th to turn upon his right and attack
the enemy's position in flank, as soon as the main body
of the army should be engaged in front.
On the 1Sth, the emperor left Dresden; on the following day a disaster occurred, in the rout of Bertrand's
corps, which was moving laterally across the allied position to communicate with Ney, and was assailed by
Barclay de Tolly, and dispersed with great loss. On
the 20th, the whole army, under a violent cannonade
from the allied batteries, crossed the river: Oudinot
passed at Grubschutz, and assailed their left among the
mountains; Macdonald passed at Bautzen, and occupied that town, which was evacuated; and Marmont




212              MICHAEL NEY.
crossed a little lower, and advanced against their centre. To conceal his design against their right, Napoleon accumulated an immense force upon their left and
centre. During the afternoon the battle raged in those
quarters with the most furious obstinacy. The enemy
were compelled to give ground in the centre, but night
closed without a decisive result; and the contest remained suspended till the following day.
At five o'clock on the 21st, Oudinot, on the French
right, renewed the attack with great spirit, in order to
withdraw the attention of the enemy. Alexander, however, during the night had collected a strong force on
that wing, and Oudinot was driven back, until Macdonald, who had been ordered to support him, arrived and
checked the progress of the enemy. A terrible cannonade was then ordered by Napoleon on the centre;
and from his headquarters at Bautzen he waited patiently until the sound of Ney's guns on the left gave
the signal of the success of his movement.  That faithful soldier had crossed the Spree the night before, and
at an early hour advanced with part of his force against
Barclay, who commanded on the allied right, while Victor and Lauriston took a wider circuit, and came up in
the rear of that wing.  The village of Preilitz was carried, which was behind the right of the centre, where
Blucher commanded, and the allied army was in imminent danger of being divided and completely destroyed.
Blucher, however, alive to the importance of the movement, instantly detached a powerful force, regained
Preilitz, and arrested the advance of Ney in time to
allow an orderly and regular retreat.
The victory was now gained. The allies retired
throughout the entire plain, and Napoleon ordered the




CAMPAIGN OF SAXONY.              213
whole line of his army to advance. But the enemy,
though driven out of their position, and defeated, were
not broken or routed: they defended their retreat by
constant skirmishes and combats, which gave the army
opportunity to move off. At Reichenbach, on the 22d,
an encounter with their rear-guard occurred, and another at Makersdorf, where Duroc was killed; and on
the 26th, at Hainau, an engagement terminated unfavorably to the French.  The allies retired to a position
between Leignitz and Schweidnitz; and on the 4th of
June, an armistice, which had been under consideration
some days before, was concluded at Pleowitz for six
weeks. Napoleon,on the 10th of June, arrived at Dresden. This -armistice he spoke of at St. Helena as the
ruin of his affairs: when it terminated, Austria, who had
long been wavering, was among the allied host who
stood ready to overwhelm him.
At the battle of Dresden, Ney was foremost in the
fury of the assaults which, for the last time, gave terror
to the name of -Napoleon. Soon after, he was placed
at the head of that corps d'armee which was in front of
Berlin, and which had recently been defeated under
Oudinot at Gross Beeren. In this command Ney was
signally vanquished by Bernadotte at Dennewitz, on
the 6th of September. Afterward, at Leipsig, he was
the general-in-chief of that branch of the army which
was opposed to Blucher on the 16th and 18th of October; and though overpowered, he displayed his usual
hardihood and courage.
But though Ney, from a sentiment of duty and pride,
continued thus to give his best energies to the emperor,
he had, since the campaign of Moscow, never ceased




214               MICHAEL NEY.
to entertain a strong feeling of indignation at that ceaseless and indomitable ambition which sacrificed everything to itself, and threatened to render the war eternal.
In March and April, 1814, at Fontainebleau, Ney was
one of the earliest and most earnest of the marshals in
manifesting his opinion that it was necessary the emperor should abdicate.  "Are we to sacrifice everything to one man?" he exclaimed; " are we to give up
prosperity, station, honors, and life itself?  It is time
to think a little of ourselves, our families, and our interests." While Macdonald continued stoutly to maintain the interests of his master, Ney, weak and vacillating in counsel, had fully given in to the cause of the
Bourbons; and announced that, to avoid a civil war, no
course remained but to embrace the cause of the ancient kings. " You will see," said he, upon approaching the comte d'Artois on the 12th of April, " you will
see with what fidelity we can serve our legitimate king."
He was received with kindness by Louis, who confirmed to him all his titles and pensions, and created him a
peer of France. But the soldier who had never hesitated or turned back in the field, was destined soon to
give to the Bourbons as striking an evidence of the disloyalty of weakness as he thus gave in regard to his old
master and benefactor.
When the emperor reappeared in the following year,
and landed at Cannes, Ney was especially vehement
in denouncing the folly and wickedness of the attempt;
and so earnest did his fidelity to the Bourbons show
itself in words, that he was intrusted with the command
of the army which was assembling for the defence of
the throne against this solitary invader.  " Sire," said
Ney to the king, when he took leave of him on the 7th




REJOINS NAPOLEON.             215
of March, to assume command of this army- " I will
bring Bonaparte to you in an iron cage." When he
arrived at Lons-le-Saulnier, where the troops were assembled, he found himself in the midst of other influences.  The people of the surrounding provinces were
enthusiastic in favor of the emperor; the soldiers were
eager to join the imperial standard, which was associated with all their glories; Napoleon's proclamations
revived the passions of bygone years. At this moment
the emperor, who had just quitted Lyons, wrote to Ney
that he must immediately march with his troops to join
him. Confused and overpowered, this child of the
Revolution, impulsive and variable, yielded to the torrent, and abandoned the cause which he had so eagerly
assumed to maintain. On the 13th, he issued the following order of the day: " Officers and soldiers! the
cause of the Bourbons is irrecoverably lost! That legitimate dynasty, which the French nation has chosen
for itself, is again about to assume the'throne: to the
emperor Napoleon, our sovereign, alone, it belongs to
reign over this beautiful country. What is it to us
whether the Bourbon nobility choose to remain among
us, or again to emigrate?  The sacred cause of our
liberty and independence shall no longer be blasted by
their presence.  They have endeavored in vain to wither our military laurels. Those laurels are the growth
of noble toils, which are engraven for ever in our recollection. Soldiers! the time is gone by when men
are to be governed by stifling their voices: liberty, at
last, triumphs, and Napoleon, our august emperor, is
about to establish it for ever.  Let this noble cause
henceforth be the concern of all true Frenchmen; let
all the brave men whom I command be persuaded of




216              MICHAEL NEY.
that great truth.  Soldiers! I have often led you to
victory: I am now about to unite you to that immortal
phalanx which Napoleon is leading to Paris; it will
arrive there in a few days, and there our hopes and
happiness will be firmly established."
This order was read at the head of the army by the
commander himself, who had gained that post in consequence of his ardent professions of enmity to Napoleon's project, and to whom the Bourbons had intrusted
the defence of their dynasty; and when it was ended,
the marshal waved his sabre in the air, and shouted,
V" Vive l'enmpereur!"  In a transport of enthusiasm, the
whole army responded to the appeal with unbounded
delight. Ney then, remembering the events of Fontainebleau, wrote to the emperor, informing him that in
his recent conduct he had been guided by a view to
the interests of the country; and that, being satisfied
that he had forfeited all claim to Napoleon's confidence,
he begged permission to retire from the service.  The
emperor again wrote, desiring him to come to him without delay, and saying that he would receive him as he
did the day after the battle of the Moskowa. Ney presented himself to the emperor with much embarrassment, and said that as, after what had occurred, Napoleon must of necessity entertain doubts of his attachment and fidelity, he solicited no other rank than that
of a grenadier in the imperial guard.  "Certainly,"
said the emperor, afterward relating these circumstances, " he had behaved very ill to me: but how could I
forget his brilliant courage, and the many acts of heroism that had distinguished his past life? I rushed forward to embrace him, calling him the brave of the
brave; and from that moment we were reconciled."




ARREST FOR TREASON.            217
Ney commanded the left wing of the army which
fought at Quatre Bras; and to his tardiness in executing the orders he had received to move forward, Napoleon attributed the want of success on that day.  At
Waterloo he was charged with the conduct of the grand
attack against the enemy's centre, and led the second
column of the imperial guard in the final attack. And
though there was no want of fidelity in his conduct
at this battle, Napoleon complained that his energy
and decision were gone. After the battle, Ney appeared in the chamber of peers at Paris, and, describing the actual state of the army, announced the utter
and irretrievable defeat of the emperor.  After the capitulation of Paris, he took refuge in Auvergne, where
he was arrested under the royal ordinance, as one of
the authors of the revolution of the 20th March. He
was conducted to Paris, and, after a short confinement
in the Conciergerie, was brought before a council of
war, composed of marshals of France and of lieutenantgenerals.  Marshal Moncey was named president of
the council; but in a letter to the king, which breathes
sentiments that ought to consecrate his name to perpetual honor, he refused to take part in the proceedings.
"' At the terrible passage of the Be6resina," he says in
this manly and indignant communication, " Ney saved
the wreck of the army. My life, my fortune, all my
possessions, however cherished, are my country's and
my king's: my honor is my own, and no human power
shall despoil me of it. Who, I, pronounce upon the
fate of Marshal Ney? Permit me, sire, to inquire from
your majesty where were the accusers of Ney when
Ney was fighting the battles of his country? If Russia and the allies can not pardon the conqueror of the
VOL. II. 19




21S              MICHAEL NEY.
Moskowa, ought France to forget the hero of the B6r6sina? And shall I consign to death the man to whom
so many Frenchmen are indebted for life -to whom so
many families owe their sons, their husbands, or their
fathers?" This energetic remonstrance was rewarded
by three months' imprisonment; and Marshal Jourdan
succeeded, by seniority, to the office of president, which
he accepted. Ney's advocates, Dupin and Berryer, successfully insisted upon the incompetency of the tribunal;
and his trial was transferred, by virtue of a royal ordinance, to the court of peers, where the ministers asked
for his condemnation in the name of Europe. It was
strongly urged that Ney was protected by the capitulation
of Paris; but after fifteen sittings, he was condemned to
death on the 6th of December, 1815, by a majority of
one hundred and nineteen to forty-one.  On the following day, he was conducted into the gardens of the
Luxembourg, near the wall of the palace, and a platoon
of veterans were drawn up to execute the fatal sentence.
Ney received from the curate of Saint-Sulpice the last
consolations of religion, and met his fate with that personal fortitude which went far to redeem the political
weakness of his character.  Standing erect, with his
right hand upon his heart, his hat being in the other
hand, he turned toward the soldiers, and gave the command to fire: " Comrades, fire upon me!" He received ten balls, and fell lifeless. His body was delivered to his family, and was afterward buried in the
Pere la Chaise, where his monument still witnesses the
sympathy or contempt of the passers-by.
The person of Marshal Ney exhibited that robust and
iron hardihood which constituted the characteristic of
his temper. He was tall, well-proportioned, with a mil



HIS CH-IARCTER.              219
itary carriage, and of a conformation that denoted great
strength and vigor. His features were strongly marked,
and readily assumed the expression of the passion which
happened to be dominant in his breast. A prominent
chin gave an air of resolution to his countenance. His
complexion was somewhat pale, and in early life his
large and elevated forehead was covered profusely with
hair of a fiery red, which led the soldiers to give him
the names of " the Red Lion" and " Peter the Red."
When the thunder of his cannon was heard along the
battle-field, the men would exclaim among themselves,
" Courage! the Red Lion is coming: all will go well,
for there comes Peter the Red!"  In later life, the
exposure which he had suffered rendered him almost
bald.
The character and fame of Ney are fixed in immortal brilliance and truth, in the title which the emperor
gave him of "le brave des braves." At another time,
he described this marshal as possessing a spirit "trempee d'acier."  But, while speaking of his courage
as unlimited and inexhaustible, Napoleon always described his judgment as worthless. He never classed
him among good generals; and put him in the same
rank with Murat, as one whose intelligence bore no
proportion to his valor.  " Ney," said he to Las Casas, " is the bravest of men; but every other faculty
is subordinate to his courage." On another occasion
he said, "Murat and Ney were commonplace kind of
generals, having no recommendation save personal courage." A candid and careful military writer of high repute has drawn his portrait, as a man " notoriously indolent, and unlearned in the abstract science of war.
It was necessary for him to see, in order to act, and




220              MICHAEL NEY.
his character seemed to be asleep until some imminent
danger aroused all the marvellous energy and fortitude
with which Nature had endowed him." On the field
of battle, however, his talents were considerable; his
coup d'osil, in particular, was piercing and accurate.
His temper was quick, passionate, and somewhat violent. The best quality in his military career was the
attention which he always paid to the comfort and safety
of his soldiers.
The splendid heroism which Ney displayed in the
field, conciliates our admiration for a character which,
if viewed apart from scenes of battle, seems but little
imbued with heroic sentiment, elevated feeling, loyal
fidelity, or manly truth. Napoleon appears to have apprehended his nature with entire accuracy.  "' Murat
and Ney," said he, " were the bravest men I ever witnessed. Murat, however, was a much nobler character
than Ney: Murat was generous and open; Ney partook
of the canaille."
The father of Marshal Ney, the old cooper of Sarrelouis, survived his son many years, and died in 1826,
at the age of nearly a hundred. He loved the marshal
with affection and pride; and, from motives of tenderness, the fatal events of 1815 were never communicated to him. The mourning-dress of his daughter with
whom he lived, and of her children, indicated to him,
however, that some great misfortune had befallen the
family. He never asked what it was, but was observed
to fall into a deep melancholy ever after, and seldom
pronounced the name of his son.








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JOSEPH ANTHONY PONIATOWSKI.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, OCTOBER 16, 1813.
PRINCE OF POLAND.
JOSEPH ANTHONY, PRINCE PONIATOWSKI, son of
Andrew Poniatowski, staroste of Poland, and of Theresa de Kinski, his wife, and nephew of Stanislaus
Augustus, king of Poland, was born at Warsaw, on the
7th of May, 1762. Entering the Austrian service, as
sub-lieutenant, in 1779, he became a colonel of dragoons, and aide-de-camp of Joseph the Second, in
1787, and served in the Austrian war against Turkey.
He afterward obtained a command in the Polish army,
but, on the accession of Stanislaus to the confederation
of Targowitz, he left the service. In 1792 he again
entered it as a simple volunteer, and served against
Russia with such zeal and ability, that Kosciusko gave
him the command of a division. During the two sieges
of Warsaw, his gallantry and patriotism won for him
the admiration of his countrymnen. Upon the surrender
of that capital, he went to Vienna.  Catherine and
Paul offered him a position in the Russian army, which
he declined. He afterward lived in retirement upon
his estate, near Warsaw, until the campaign of 1806
and 1807, when he received the command of a corps
of the French army. Under the treaty of Tilsit, in the
19*




222           JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI.
latter year, the Prussian provinces of Poland were
erected into a separate principality, called the grandduchy of Warsaw, and given to the king of Saxony.
Poniatowski, under this regime, became minister of
war. In the campaign of 1809, he exhibited an ability
and firmness, which raised his military character to a
high level. He had the command of the Polish army
in the grand-duchy of Warsaw, when the archduke
Ferdinand invaded it, at the head of forty thousand
men, at the same time that Charles crossed the Inn.
The prince, with the patriotism of a Pole, and the
courage of a soldier, drew up his troops, amounting to
not more than fifteen thousand men, near Raszyn, and
on the 19th of April, 1809, the hostile armies engaged.
Notwithstanding the great disproportion of the numbers
engaged, the contest was protracted for several hours, but
Poniatowski was at length compelled to retire with considerable loss. On the 21st, Warsaw capitulated; and
the prince, accompanied by the senate, and principal
inhabitants of the city, withdrew to the right bank of
the Vistula, and ascended that stream toward Gallicia.
Ferdinand soon after moved toward Thorn, and Poniatowski, learning that an Austrian division had crossed the
Vistula, and lay near Gora, suddenly fell upon it, routed
it and captured one thousand five hundred prisoners.
The enemy had supposed that he would retire into
Saxony, and abandon the grand-duchy; and his resolute adherence to his country, rendered great service
to Napoleon, and drew forth his warm commendation.
After this campaign, he resumed his duties as minister
of war; and, in 1811, he was sent to Paris as an envoy-extraordinary.
In 1812, the invasion of Russia held out to the




CAMPAIGN IN SAXONY.            223
country of the prince, a promise of lestoration, and to
himself, the prospect of a throne; yet, with that integrity and truthfulness of mind and heart, which made
him truly worthy of his lineage, he used his utmost
endeavors to convince Napoleon of the danger and
inexpediency of the expedition. When it was decided
upon, he received the command of the fifth corps of the
army, consisting of thirty-six thousand men, and crossed
the Niemen on the 24th of June. He was distinguished
throughout the expedition by his gallantry and conduct,
and rendered important service. At the battle of Borodino, he commanded the right, which was destined to
turn the Russian left wing: at Winkowa, where Murat
was defeated, he sustained the right wing, and made a
glorious resistance. He shared manfully in the toils
and sufferings of this retreat; and, such had been his
loss, that, on the 1.4th of November, at Smolensk, his
splendid corps was reduced to eight hundred men.
In the campaign of 1813, he appeared as general-inchief of the Polish army; and, as the battle of Leipsig,
where he won the baton of marshal of the French empire, and met with a splendid death, is the greatest
scene of his glory, it is proper here to give a general
view of the
CAMPAIGN OF 1813, IN SAXONY, AFTER THE ARMISTICE.
The armistice expired on the night of the 10th of
August. The period of repose had been diligently
employed on both sides in assembling troops, and organizing means for the ensuing contest. Napoleon had
determined to make the Elbe the centre of his position,
and, accordingly, Koenigstein, Dresden, Torgau, Mago




221          JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI.
deburg, and Hamburg, covering a line from Bohemia
to the ocean, were fortified and strongly occupied. His
whole force consisted of nearly four hundred thousand
men, with one thousand two hundred pieces of cannon;
and it was disposed as follows: On the extreme left,
Davoust was at Hamburg, with forty thousand French
and Danes; near Magdeburg, Oudinot had ninety
thousand men; St. Cyr, Vandamme, and Poniatowski,
were in Bohemia with seventy thousand; and the
residue, amounting to one hundred and forty thousand,
together with the guard, which was fifty thousand, were
under his own orders, between Dresden and Leignitz.
The allied forces were yet more numerous; Bernadotte,
with thirty thousand Swedes, and as many Hanoverians,
was at Berlin, and opposed to Oudinot; Blucher was
at the head of eighty thousand men, in Silesia; while
an immense host, consisting of two hundred and twenty
thousand Russians, Prussians, and Austrians, were
concentrated in Bohemia, under command of Prince
Schwartzenberg, attended by the emperor of Russia and
the king of Prussia, and by General Moreau, who had
just arrived from America. This immense force was
accumulated in Bohemia for the purpose of turning
Napoleon's line by its left, and approaching Dresden
along the left bank of the Rhine. This plan of operations has called out much admiration; but, though
plausible and brilliant, it was, in fact, delusive and absurd. The idea of turning an army of four hundred
thousand men, with a line of operations like the Elbe,
covered with fortified cities, was an impracticable and
unscientific conception. The manoeuvre was not applicable in such circumstances. You turn an army, or
a position, when you interrupt or endanger its com



SAXON CAMPAIGN.              225
munication with its base of operations, or with its reserves or supplies: but a fortified line like the Elbe,
was as good a base as France itself would have been,
and, with an army of nearly half a million to guard it,
it was a matter of indifference whether the enemy approached it upon one bank or the other. The allies,
in turning such a position, became turned themselves
in the same moment, and gave Napoleon an opportunity
of taking them in the rear, and cutting off their communications.
The allies, it will be seen, were thus in a circle
around the French emperor, who occupied a central
position in their midst, and determined to renew, on a
great scale, that system of rapid concentration at successive points which had proved so successful in the
campaigns in Italy and the campaign about Eckmuhl.
His design was to fall upon Blucher in the first instance; and though he contemplated the advance of
the allies from Bohemia into Saxony as a probable
event, he felt assured that he could return to Dresden
in time to give battle under its walls with superior force.
On the 17th, he left Dresden and arrived at Gorlitz,
where he was joined by Murat from Naples; and from
there, he came on the morning of the 19th to Zittau,
where he passed in review a part of the eighth corps,
commanded by Prince Poniatowski. The prince, an
excellent cavalry officer, presented to him the newlyorganized Polish Cossacks, and expressed himself in
the emperor's presence with a simplicity and frankness
which advantageously distinguished him from other
generals. To an intrepid courage and extreme benignity, he added a great complacency, even toward his
inferiors, which never forsook him. His noble carriage




226          JOSEPH PONIATOWVSKI.
and military talents appeared to have made a deep and
favorable impression on Napoleon; for he assumed an
open style of manner toward him, and addressed him
in a very different way from that in which he spoke to
his other generals. " How do you support your right?"
said he, eying the prince attentively, who explained the
nature of his position and showed that it had been well
chosen. Napoleon then advanced into Silesia against
Blucher. This able commander had driven Ney and
Macdonald before him on the 18th and 19th, but retired
again as Napoleon advanced. Meanwhile, on the 22d,
the allied army, amounting to nearly two hundred thousand, poured down from Bohemia, and advanced on
Freyberg and Dohna; and on the 25th, one hundred
and twenty thousand men were before the gates of
Dresden. Napoleon was informed of this movement,
at Lowenberg, on the 23d, and giving the command
of the army of Silesia to Macdonald, he instantly returned with the guards and reserve cavalry to Gorlitz,
and arrived, at ten o'clock on the morning of the 26th,
at the palace of the king of Saxony, in Dresden, just as
they were there debating as to the surrender of the city.
In a short time, the troops which he had thus rapidly
conducted began to flow into the city like a torrent;
the guards and the cuirassiers, amounting to sixty thousand men, arrived about noon. At four o'clock, the
allies, who were in immense force around the city, and
had constructed formidable batteries, advanced to the
attack of the city in three great divisions: Wittgenstein
leading the right, a combined Prussian and Austrian
corps in the centre, and Prince Maurice of Lichtenstein advancing on the left. A furious assault took
place: the redoubts in the centre and right were car



SAXON CAMPAIGN.             227
ried, and the suburbs gained by the gate of Pirna and
by that on the side of Plauen. Napoleon remained
quiescent until about seven o'clock, when the arrival
of the young guard encouraged him to make a sortie.
The gate of Plauen was then thrown open, and the old
guard, headed by Ney, and followed by Murat and his
cavalry, rushed forward in an irresistible stream, swept
the assailants before them, and passing the suburbs,
formed into line on the road to Freyberg; at the same
time, the young guard issued forth against the Austrian
centre and regained the great redoubt; and Mortier,
sallying from the Pirna gate on the left, cleared the
suburbs in that quarter.  The allies, thinking that the
day had been gained, were taken completely by surprise at this terrible onset: they withdrew their forces,
and both parties prepared for a great battle on the following day. During the evening, Marmont's and Victor's corps arrived, and Napoleon had now about him
one hundred and twenty thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were well-tried cavalry. On the following
morning, in the midst of a violent rain, the respective
forces were disposed in the following manner: The
allies formed a large semicircle, extending from the
Elba almost to Priesnitz; their right, consisting of Russians and Prussians under Wittgenstein and Kleist,
was on the Pirna road; the centre, under Schwartzenberg, occupied the heights between Strehlen and Plauen; while the left, beyond Plauen, consisted of Austrian
infantry. Opposite to this wing stood the French right,
composed of Victor's corps, with the cavalry commanded by Murat behind them; in the centre, supported by
the redoubts, were Marmont's and St. Cyr's corps, with
the old guard in reserve, commanded by Napoleon in




228           JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI.
person; and on the left Ney commanded, with the
young guard and Kellermann's dragoons. The attack
commenced with brilliant success on the French right:
Murat advanced by a circuitous movement, which the
violent rain prevented the enemy from discovering, and
appeared. at the head of fourteen thousand horse on the
plain on the flank and rear of the Austrian left wing,
while Victor's columns advanced in front: three fourths
of this division were killed or made prisoners. On the
French left, Ney advanced with an overwhelming force,
and Wittgenstein's advanced lines were carried. The
allied commander-in-chief was about to order up the
reserve to that point, when a cannon-shot struck General Moreau, who was chiefly guiding the battle by his
counsel, and carried off both his legs. It was then determined to retreat, and accordingly, toward the night,
the whole allied army drew off toward Bohemia, actively pursued by the French, and falling soon into
confusion and disorder. Their loss on this day was
twenty-five thousand killed and wounded, and thirteen
thousand prisoners, besides eighteen standards and
twenty-six cannon.
Napoleon fell, and had a right to feel, exultation and
hope; but while brilliant victory attended his arms
where he appeared in person, a succession of disasters
befell his generals in all other directions. Vandamme,
upon whom he relied to act with decisive force upon
the rear of the allies, was defeated at Culm on the 29th
and 30th; Macdonald, in Silesia, was defeated by Blucher at the Katzbach, on the 26th; and Oudinot by
Bernadotte, at Gross Beeren, on the 21st. On the 4th
of September, Napoleon marched against Blucher; but
the marshal retired before him, and he returned to




SAXON CAMPAIGN.            229
Dresden a few days after. On the 6th, the heaviest
disaster of all occurred, in the defeat of Ney by Bernadotte at Dennewitz. About the same time the allies
again advanced from Bohemia, and Napoleon instantly
put himself at the head of his troops and marched to
meet them, but they retired as soon as he approached.
A number of indecisive operations followed, until, on
the 7th of October, leaving St. Cyr in Dresden, Napoleon, with the rest of his army, set out to deliver the
blow against Berlin which he had long meditated. On
the 12th, however, he received intelligence of the enforced defection of the king of Bavaria, and all hope
of accomplishing the brilliant operations which he had
meditated was destroyed; and on the 15th, he marched
back to Leipsig, whither the allies had advanced on the
6th. On the 16th, Napoleon's army occupied two distinct positions: one at Mockern, on the northeast of
Leipsig, where Marshals Ney and Marmont, with fifty
thousand men, were opposed to Blucher with fifty-six
thousand; and the other about the heights of Wachau,
on the southeast, where Napoleon in person, with one
hundred and ten thousand men, of whom eighteen thousand were cavalry, was opposed to the grand allied
army under Schwartzenberg, amounting to one hundred and forty-three thousand men, twenty-five thousand of whom were cavalry. At an early hour in the
morning, Schwartzenberg's army advanced to the attack, and a tremendous cannonade from six hundred
guns, by which his columns were preceded, enabled
him at first to gain some advantage. Their progress,
however, was arrested for a time by a flank attack by
Macdonald; and about noon, Napoleon prepared for a
powerful attack upon their centre. The young guard
VOL. II.-20




230           JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI.
under Oudinot, and Victor's corps, were drawn up in
column, and preceded by the sixty guns of guard under General Drouot, as at Wagram, moved forward
and carried everything before them. Napoleon sent
word to the king of Saxony that the battle was gained.
But the resources of the allies were not yet exhausted.
The Russian grenadiers, whose attack had been felt so
signally at Eylau and Friedland, were brought up; the
advancing column was checked, and Napoleon was
obliged to order up the reserve cavalry under LatourMaubourg and Kellermann. These irresistible horsemen rushed forward, and at first everything gave way
before them; but the Austrian reserve was now in the
field, and after an obstinate contest the French column
fell back. A last effort was made by Napoleon toward
evening, by forming Victor's and Lauriston's corps into
column, and launching them forward with a numerous
artillery in front: a powerful Russian battery, however,
repelled this assault. Soon after, the Austrian general,
Count Meerfeldt, advanced upon the French right flank,
but being surrounded by the old guard and by Poniatowski's Poles, his whole battalion and himself were
made prisoners. Napoleon sent him back with proposals, to which, however, no reply was received for several days. Night terminated this terrible struggle, in
which fifteen thousand on each side were killed, without decisive result to either party. On the north, the
same day, Ney was defeated and driven in by Blucher.
At the close of the fight, Napoleon conferred the dignity of marshal of France upon Prince Poniatowski, in
testimony of the valor which he had exhibited in the
engagement. On the 17th, Bernadotte, with important
auxiliaries, arrived in the allied camp; and all of Napo



SAXON CAMPAIGN.             231
leon's reserves were brought up. During the night,
Napoleon made a complete change in the line of his
army, to accommodate it to the more contracted position which it was necessary to occupy: the right remaining fixed as a pivot on the Elster, the left was
thrown back, so as to rest on the Partha.
On the morning of the 18th, the French army,
amounting to about one hundred and seventy thousand
men, stood to arms against the attack of nearly double
the number of allied troops, making in all about half
a million of men, engaged in this " battle of giants."
The French centre occupied the village of Probstheyde,
where Murat commanded the corps of Victor and Augereau; Macdonald and Lauriston, constituted the left
wing of the army, under Napoleon in person, and were
in the villages of Holzhausen and Stetteritz, behind the
line of the centre: Marshal Prince Poniatowski, commanded the right wing on the Elster, and occupied
Doelitz and Connewitz: and the guard, under Napoleon, were near a snuff-manufactory, in the suburbs,
whence they could hasten to any point which was
specially menaced. On the extreme left, on the Partha, but so separated as to constitute another army,
Ney and Regnier were opposed to Blucher. About
nine o'clock, the allies advanced, drove in all the advanced posts, and occupied the heights in front of the
city, in immense force.  A violent assault was first
made upon the French right, where Poniatowski commanded the eighth corps of the army; but the valor
and obstinate endurance of that hero, were incapable
of repulse. "Prince Poniatowski," says the Baron
Odeleben, " had the most difficult point to defend, but
he fully justified, by his boundless courage, the high




232          JOSEPH PONIATOWVSKI.
confidence which the emperor had reposed in him
His little corps of infantry, reduced to five thousand,
and, at last, to two thousand seven hundred men, performed prodigies of valor." The emperor, seeing him
severely pressed, brought up two divisions of the young
guard to his aid, and remained with that wing an hour,
until he was satisfied that the danger in that quarter
was over. He then rode over with the reserves of the
old guard to the centre, where the allies had just carried
part of Probstheyde, and were covering the plain toward Stetteritz. A tremendous cannonade, on both
sides, had begun the battle in the centre, which was
succeeded by a desperate charge, by Kleist's Prussians
against Probstheyde. This was repulsed, but a second
attack was more successful, and Napoleon arrived just
in time to restore the contest. He pushed on with the
greatest celerity, toward the most advanced ranks, filled
up the vacancies with the guards which he brought
with him, drove back the enemy and then returned to
his original place of observation. On the left, however,
between Stetteritz and Schoenfeld, the enemy had advanced and established themselves in an alarming position; and, intelligence arrived about noon that the
Saxon artillery and cavalry had gone over to the enemy,
and about three, that the infantry, also, had quitted their
ranks. Napoleon then rode across the field toward the
extreme left, where he found Ney and Regnier, whose
dumb show, signs, and gesticulations, pointed out that
the enemy's line were on the plain near Schoenfeld,
and showed him too plainly that fortune was betraying
all their exertions. He immediately returned to the
centre, and brought up a detachment of the old guard,
and a part of the cavalry of the guard, under Nansouty,




SAXON CAMPAIGN.             233
into the vacancy caused by the defection of the Saxons.
This checked the progress of the enemy, and, during
the rest of the day, the engagement was reduced to a
violent cannonade from both sides. On the part of the
allies, eight hundred guns, favorably placed along the
heights which surrounded the French army, poured
down their ceaseless fire; on the part of Napoleon,
five hundred guns, discharged with a rapidity that compensated for the inferiority of their number, replied with
ceaseless fury. After six or seven hours of this tremendous roar from one thousand two hundred cannon,
the French began to perceive that their ammunition
failed. It is said that they had discharged two hundred
thousand shot during the day. Napoleon ordered that
it should be spared. The day closed, but the cannonade continued till an advanced period of the night.
Silence, at last, succeeded, with a gloom yet more terrible than the excitement of the combat. Napoleon determined to retreat: there was but one outlet for the
immense throng which was assembled around him, and
over that, on the 19th, between daybreak and eleven
o'clock in the forenoon, the army and its followers
poured along in terrible confusion.
The assault of the city, by the allies, began at the
same time, and Napoleon, to allow time for his army
to escape over the Elster, ordered Poniatowski, Lauriston, and Macdonald, to form a rearguard, and defend
the suburbs from house to house. "Prince," said
Napoleon to the Polish hero, in assigning him this duty,
" you will defend the southern suburb."-" Sire," he
answered, "I have but few followers left."-" What
of that?" said the emperor, " you will defend it with
what you have." —" Ah, sire," replied the noble war20*




234           JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI.
rior, " all of us are ready to die for your majesty."
Amidst the material sublimity of this great scene of
power and terror, the character and conduct of this
princely soldier, assert the still superior grandeur of
moral dignity and devotion. The hope of national independence, with which he had first drawn his sword,
had been utterly destroyed; the confidence which he
had placed in French protection had long been betrayed: but the native heroism of his spirit, and an
exalting sentiment of loyalty, led him yet to do battle
in the ranks of the emperor, with an energy and devotion which no motives of interest or ambition could
have increased. In the actions about Leipsig, fifteen
officers of his staff had been either killed or wounded;
and he had, himself, been wounded on the 14th and
16th. His duty was to defend the suburb that lies
nearest the Borna road, and he had but two thousand
Polish infantry assigned to him for the purpose. With
an obstinacy that astonished the advancing hosts, he
defended the passages until the troops had passed;
but, just as the rear-guard was about to retire, the bridge
over the Elster was blown up. Lauriston, Regnier,
and twenty other generals, with one thousand five
hundred soldiers were made prisoners. Poniatowski,
who had just received a musket-ball in his left arm,
drew his sabre, and, turning to the officers who were
around him, "'Gentlemen," said he, "it is better to
fall with honor;" and, at the head of his officers, and
a few Polish cuirassiers, he rushed upon the advancing
columns of the allies. They hastened forward to take
him prisoner, but he cut his way through them, receiving a wound through his cross, and plunged into the
Pleisse, which he crossed in safety, leaving his horse




SAXON CAMPAIGN.             235
behind in the river.  Though much exhausted, he
mounted another, and, passing through M. Reichenbach's garden, he reached the Elster, which was already
lined with Prussian riflemen. Seeing them advance
toward him on all sides, he spurred his horse into the
river. The banks at that part are steep, and, as the
prince directed his steed up the declivity, the animal
reared; he pulled the rein involuntarily, the horse
fell backward, over him, and he was borne down by the
current and drowned. He was in the fifty-second year
of his age.
Such was the termination of the great campaign in
Saxony, and such the memorable battle of Leipsig.
Napoleon, unconquered in spirit, and unexhausted of
mental resources, reorganized his retiring forces, and
the battle of the forest of Hanau, on the 30th of October, gilded with a declining lustre, that great name, on
which the sun of victory was about to set for ever.
The body of the heroic and unfortunate Polish marshal was found on the fifth day, October 24th, by a
fisherman, and taken out of the water. He had gone
to battle in his gala uniform; his epaulets, studded with
diamonds, and his hands covered with rings set with
brilliants. On the 26th, he was temporarily interred,
at Leipsig,with the utmost distinction; and his funeral
obsequies were again performed on the 19th of November, in the church of the Holy Cross, at Warsaw, with
every ceremony of honor that national and public reverence could contribute. "c Victors and vanquished,"
says De Vitry, "all the nations of Europe assisted at
them, and forgot their enmity to mourn over the grave
of Poniatowski."
A stone has been placed to mark the spot where the




236          JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI.
body of the prince was drawn from the river: and M.
Reichenbach erected in his garden, on the bank whence
the prince plunged into the river, a monument to his
memory, consisting of a beautiful sarcophagus, surrounded by willows. Thorwalsden was commissioned
to execute another monument, for his tomb at Warsaw.
The prince left no issue, except a natural son.
"Poniatowski," said Napoleon, "was a noble character, full of honor and bravery. It was my intention
to have made him king of Poland, had I succeeded in
Russia."




EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, 1815, AND NOVEMBER 19, 1831.
MARQUIS OF GROUCHY.
THE name of Grouchy has become so odious to the
admirers of Napoleon, that a long career of devoted
service and unquestionable bravery has been forgotten
in the misfortune or fault of a single day. In judging,
however, of ability and of motives, in an occasion so
doubtful as the affair at Waterloo, Grouchy is entitled
to the benefit of his previous character, and that was
one of the most ardent energy and the most active courage. Few men, indeed, could have been selected out
of the French army, who would be thought more likely
to execute any military duty with directness, fidelity,
and zeal, than a soldier whose spirit and devotion had
been illustrated in many a trying campaign, and in every country between Italy and Russia.
Emmanuel Grouchy, son of Francis James, marquis
of Grouchy, was born at Paris, the 23d of October, 1766.
He was educated to the artillery service at the school
of Strasbourg, and became a lieutenant of artillery in
1781, a captain in 1784, and lieutenant-colonel and
sub-lieutenant of the king's body-guards in 1786. In
1792, with the rank of colonel, he served in the army
of the Alps, and in the Vendean army in 1793. In




238          EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
1795, he was raised to the rank of general of division,
and made chief of the general staff of the army of the
west in 1795: in the following year, he formed part
of the force destined for the invasion of Ireland; and
in 1797, he received the command of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth military divisions of the same
army. He served in Italy from 1798 to 1800, and at
the battle of Novi, on the 15th of August, 1799, where
his division formed part of the left under Perignon, he
was especially distinguished for his enthusiastic courage.
Finding his men disordered by the Austrian attack, he
seized a standard and charged with it at the head of
his troops; and when it was struck from his hand in the
tumult, he rushed forward, holding up his helmet on his
sword and cheering his men, till he was wounded and
overwhelmed in the confusion and made a prisoner:
and at the battle of Hohenlinden, on the 3d of December, he acquired, by his valor and endurance, the
highest distinction. In 1800, he was transferred to the
army of the Rhine; and in 1801, was appointed inspector-general of the cavalry, a post which he held
until 1804. He served with increased distinction in
Prussia and Poland in 1806 and 1807. In 1808, he
was employed in Spain, and received the command of
Madrid. In 1809, when Napoleon advanced to Vienna,
General Grouchy served in Italy under the viceroy;
and at the battle of Raab, on the 14th of June, where
he commanded the heavy dragoons on the French right,
he acquired a reputation of the most brilliant kind.
Montbrun, commanding the light cavalry, had advanced
to support a brigade of infantry, when a terrible column
of Hungarian cavalry, seven thousand strong, moved
rapidly forward and overwhelmed him; Grouchy, with




APPOINTED MARSHAL.             239
his powerful horsemen, immediately came up, and charged the enemy with such fury that they were broken and
driven completely in the rear. At the battle of Wagram, his valor at the head of a body of cuirassiers,
under Davoust on the left, was not less conspicuous.
In this year, he was created count and colonel-general
of chasseurs. In the invasion of Russia, he commanded the third corps of cavalry of reserve, amounting to
ten thousand men. At the battle of Borodino, " Grouchy, on his side," says Segur, " by sanguinary and repeated charges on the left of the great redoubt, secured
the victory and scoured the plain." At the passage of
the Beresina, on the retreat from Moscow, the emperor
collected about his person all the officers of the cavalry
who were yet mounted, and styled this troop, amounting to about five hundred, his sacred squadron: Grouchy and Sebastiani commanded it. In 1813 and 1814,
he was again in command of cavalry. At the battle of
Vauchamps, on the 14th of February, Grouchy's valor
was conspicuous; and after the retreat of the Prussians,
he performed a circuitous movement with a body of
three thousand horsemen, by which he intercepted the
retiring columns of Blucher, who were obliged to cut
their way through his squadrons, with the loss of two
regiments made prisoners, and a large number of soldiers killed. At the engagement of Craon, on the 7th
of March, Grouchy was wounded. After the restoration of Louis XVIII., in the latter year, he was appointed inspector-general of the chasseurs and lancers.
Upon Napoleon's return, he was created marshal of the
empire during the " hundred days;" and when Napoleon organized the army of the Netherlands, Grouchy
received the superior command of the 7th and 19th




240          EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
military divisions, and afterward of the four corps of
the cavalry of reserve. His name is so strongly associated with the operations in 1815, that his biography
appears to be the most appropriate place to introduce
an account ofTHE CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.
On the morning of the 12th of June, 1815, Napoleon left Paris, and passing Soissons and Laon,
arrived at Avesnes, on the evening of the 13th. On
the night of the 14th, the French army, consisting of
one hundred and twenty-two thousand, four hundred
men, and three hundred and fifty pieces of cannon,
was distributed as follows: the left, amounting to fortyseven thousand men, was around Solze-sur-Sambre;
the centre, sixty thousand strong, was at Beaumont,
with the headquarters; and the right, of above fifteen
thousand men, was in advance of Phillippeville. At
the same time, the Prussians, under Blucher, amounting to one hundred and twenty thousand men, in four
corps, were cantoned as follows: the first corps, under
General Zietten, was in advance of Fleurus; the
second, under General Pirch, was before Namur;
the third, under Thielman, was around Ciney; and
the fourtt., under Bulow, was in the rear at Liege.
The English army, under the duke of Wellington,
amounting in all to one hundred and four thousand
men, of whom thirty-seven thousand were British, and
sixty-seven thousand, Germans, Hollanders, and Flemings, were at Brussels, Nivelles, Gand, Grammont, and
other neighboring places. The duke's headquarters
were at Brussels, and Blucher's were at Namur; and




CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.            241
it was arranged' that in the event of an advance by the
French, the English army should rally at Quatre-Bras,
and the Prussian at Fleurus. At daybreak on the 15th,
the three French columns commenced their march, and
up to that moment, so secretly and rapidly had Napoleon's movements been made, that no knowledge of the
intended attack existed at either the English or Prussian headquarters. Zietten was driven in with considerable loss, and Blucher immediately ordered all
his troops to concentrate behind Fleurus; and the
French advanced to Charleroi. Napoleon's plan of
campaign was to fall upon Blucher with his whole
army, and destroy him before the duke of Wellington
could join him, and then to direct all his forces against
the duke. Accordingly, the centre was pushed forward, on the night of the 15th, between Charleroi and
Fleurus, while the left, commanded by Ney, was at
Grosselies, with its vedettes upon Quatre-Bras. Blucher
had assembled three corps behind Fleurus, his centre at
Ligny, his right at St. Amand, and his left at Sombref,
on the road to Namur. Ney was ordered to march, at
daybreak on the 16th, in advance of Quatre-Bras, and
take a strong position on the Brussels road, and when
Blucher was well engaged in front, to fall upon his
right flank and rear, and surround him. Everything
depended upon this movement of Ney. At Ligny and
St. Amand, the battle became general between two and
three o'clock in the afternoon; the emperor remarked
to Count Gerard, in giving him orders for the attack
of the former village, " In three hours the fate of the
war may be decided: if Ney executes his orders properly, not a cannon of the Prussians will escape: they
are completely surprised." Ney, certainly, never exeVOL. ITI. - 21




242           EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
cuted the orders he had received, and the failure of the
campaign may be attributed to that. Napoleon heaped
the severest blame upon the marshal; but the fault
really rested with the duke of Wellington: his movements had attached to the execution of Ney's orders a
condition of impossibility.
As early as three o'clock, on the afternoon of the
15th, Wellington, at Brussels, was apprized that the
French army, with Napoleon at their head, had entered
Charleroi that morning, and were advancing upon
Brussels. He instantly issued orders for the concentration of all his troops upon Quatre-Bras, went, in the
evening, to a ball at the duchess of Richmond's, for
the purpose of calming the alarm which began to prevail in the capital, and, at an early hour the next morning, rode over to Quatre-Bras.. At that point, the
prince of Orange's corps, ten thousand strong, was
assembled at daybreak; Picton's division, and the
Brunswickers, amounting to ten thousand more, arrived
about two o'clock; soon after the duke came up
with two other English divisions: and, toward evening the guns were upon the ground. Both armies became engaged about three o'clock; but, before they
began, Wellington rode over to Blucher's headquarters,
and concerted the movements which should take place
on the next day. It was then arranged that the duke
should retire to Waterloo, which he had long before
noted as an admirable field of battle, and that Blucher
should retire, not toward Namur, but by Wavres; and
the Prussian field-marshal pledged himself to unite
with his ally on the plains of Waterloo. The result
of the battles of Quatre-Bras and Ligny, was indecisive:
at the former, the duke had the advantage, and Ney




CAMPAIGN OF W'ATERLOO.           243
retired in the evening; at the other point, Blucher,
after an obstinate conflict, was routed; the veteran
marshal, himself, unhorsed, and ridden over by a
troop of cavalry. Being too much injured to mount
his horse the next day, the retreat was conducted by
Gneisenau, in the direction of Wavres.  The duke of
Wellington passed the night on the field of battle, and,
on the 17th, retired through Genappe to Waterloo,
where he took a position.  Napoleon, having sent
General Pajol, with a division of his light cavalry, and
a division of infantry, followed by Marshal Grouchy,
with thirty thousand men, to pursue the Prussians
toward Wavres, and not to lose sight of them, set
out with the rest of the army to follow Wellington. In
describing the battle of Ligny, in his memoirs, Napoleon says that Marshal Grouchy, and Generals Exalmans, and Pajol, were distinguished by their intrepidity.  No engagement between the hostile troops
took place, except at Genappe, where a body of
French lancers, pressing on the English rear-guard,
which was commanded by Lord Uxbridge, were first
attacked, ineffectually, by the seventh hussars, and then
routed by the life-guards. Napoleon, seeing that there
would be a great battle the next day, sent orders, in
the evening, to Grouchy, to send part of his force, without delay, to join the grand army, and with the rest to
follow the Prussians closely, and, if they entered Brussels, to bring his whole detachment to the field of battle.
The night of the 17th, and the morning of the 18th,
were rainy: it cleared, however, after sunrise, and the
English army was seen drawn up about Mont St. Jean.
The whole force under Wellington, was about seventyfive thousand, of whom thirty-five thousand were Eng



244           EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
lish, and it was drawn up as follows: the Brunswickers,
Hanoverians, and Belgians, were in the centre, behind La
Haye Sainte, with all the cavalry in their rear: Picton's
and Clinton's divisions were on the left of that farm;
the artillery was arranged along the whole front of the
position; and, Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte,
strongly occupied, the former by Byng's guards, and
the latter by a division of the king's German legion.
The force under Napoleon was about equal in numnbers,
but very superior in the character of the troops.  The
army was divided into eleven columns, and formed into
three lines, the first two lines containing four columns
each, and the third three. By half-past ten o'clock,
these lines had taken up their positions. The principal
attack was intended to be against the English left, or
rather, their left centre; but it was to be prepared and
disguised by a sharp attack against Hougoumont, on
their right.  The left centre was selected as the direction of attack, because it seemed weaker, and because
success in that quarter would throw the English army
off from the Prussians. The first line, accordingly,
had two columns upon the left of the road to Charleroi,
destined to act against Hougoumont; and two on its
right intended for the attack upon the left. The column
on the extreme left, consisted of the light cavalry of the
second corps, which was on both sides of the road to
Nivelles; next to it, on its right, and extending for
one thousand toises, between the roads to Nivelles and
Charleroi, were three divisions of infantry of the second
corps, under General Reille, Jerome's division being
on the left, near the wood of Hougoumont, Foy in the
centre, and Bachelu on the right, resting on the Charleroi road. On the other side of the road, the four




CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.            246
divisions of infantry, of the first corps, formed the third
column, and, on its right, the light infantry of the same
corps, formed the fourth column, the whole corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Count d'Erlon, and
extending between the Charleroi road and Frichemont.
These formed the first line. The second line consisted
of Kellermann's cuirassiers, in two lines, one thousand
one hundred toises in extent, forming the first column
on the left, resting on the Nivelles road, and Milhaud's
cuirassiers, in two lines, nine hundred toises in length,
constituting the fourth column, and resting on Frichemont; and between these, the sixth corps, under Count
Lobau, covered both sides of the Charleroi road, its
infantry, in column, in two divisions, formed the second
column of this line, with its right on the road, and its
light cavalry, under Daumont, followed by Subervie's
light cavalry, both in close column, formed the third
column, and had their left on the same road. The
third line consisted of twenty squadrons of the dragoons
and grenadiers of the guard, forming the first column,
and drawn up in two lines between the Nivelles and
Charleroi road; of the foot-guards in twenty-four battalions, formed in two divisions of six lines, on both
sides of the Charleroi road, and drawn back toward the
farm of Rossome; and of twenty squadrons of the chasseurs and lancers of the guard, forming the third column, on the right of the road.  At eleven o'clock,
Napoleon rode along the ranks, and was received with
unbounded enthusiasm.  "The enemy's army," he
remarked, "is more numerous than ours; nevertheless, we have ninety chances in our favor, and not ten
against us." He then placed himself at the head of his
guards, dismounted, and gave the order to advance.
21*




246           EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
In this great battle, the instances of individual heroism, and the anecdotes of personal daring, have been
so numerous, that in the descriptions that have been
given of it, the general and collective view of the engagement has been lost in an immensity of details. In
the following account, nothing but an outline statement
of the movements and their results will be given: —
The battle began by the advance of Jerome's division on the left, and a sharp fire of musketry in the
woods of Hougoumont. As the woods were gradually
gained, a battery of thirty British guns opened from
the enclosure, and Reille ordered the artillery of his
second division to advance. Napoleon at the same
time sent up Kellermann's twelve pieces of light artillery. The cannonade became very severe, and the
contest in the woods, which were gained and lost several times, witnessed prodigies of valor. Foy's division was ordered to support Jerome: the woods
were carried; a battery of eight howitzers was opened
against the chateau, which was soon consumed, but
the court-yard was still held by a detachment of the
English foot-guards and Brunswickers. The grand
attack upon the centre was now organized and placed
under the command of Marshal Ney. He had just
sent an aide-de-camp to inform the emperor that all was
ready, and that he waited only for the signal. Before
giving it, the emperor surveyed the whole field, and
perceived in the direction of St. Lambert something
that seemed like troops. All the glasses of the staff
were immediately turned in that direction; and opinions varied as to whether it was the Prussians or
Grouchy. In this doubt, the light cavalry under Daumont and Subervie, amounting to thirty thousand, and




CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.             247
forming the third column of the second line, were directed to move round to the right and take position in
front of these new  troops.  Soon after, a Prussian
officer of chasseurs was captured, who gave information that this was Bulow's corps, which had not been
engaged at Ligny, and amounted to thirty thousand
men. Count Lobau was at once ordered to move with
his two divisions of the infantry of the sixth corps,
forming the second column of the second line toward
St. Lambert, and orders were again despatched to
Grouchy to hasten his march.  Napoleon's line of
battle before the attack on the centre was thus weakened by ten thousand men.  "We had, this morning, ninety chances in our favor," said Napoleon to
Soult: " Bulow's arrival has taken thirty from us; we
have still sixty against forty; and if Grouchy arrives,
we shall win the battle."  It was noon when they
began to advance.  Two divisions of the first corps,
flanked upon their left by eighty pieces of cannon on
the Charleroi road, and led by Ney in person, advanced against the farm of St. Haye; while the two
other divisions of the same corps, with the cavalry on
its right, was to advance on the village of Haye, on the
British left. This formidable column was received by
a galling fire from Picton's division; and when disordered by its severity, Ponsonby's brigade of horse
charged with irresistible fury, broke. the column, and
took a large number of prisoners and cannon, together
with two eagles. Napoleon rode forward at full speed,
and ordered up a brigade of Milhaud's cuirassiers
from  the second line.  They set off, shouting "Vive
l'Empereur!" assailed the disordered British cavalry,
and drove them  back with great loss.  Picton and




248           EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
Ponsonby were both killed. St. Haye now became
the centre and object of a protracted and fierce contest: repeated charges were made by both armies, and
repulsed with the greatest valor. During the afternoon,
a body of not less than twelve thousand splendid cavalry, consisting of Milhaud's and Kellermann's cuirassiers, and the reserve cavalry of the guards under
General Guyot, were engaged in repeated charges
against the British centre. The cavalry of Wellington
were overmastered and driven back; but the infantry
threw themselves into squares, and received with unmoving firmness the assaults of the terrible horsemen,
who again and again precipitated themselves upon their
close ranks. Meanwhile, Planchenoit, on the right,
had become the scene of a fierce encounter between
Lobau's division, aided by the young guard, and Bulow's corps; and, after a long struggle, the latter were
worsted and began to retire. But a new body of
Prussians under Ziethen was now descried further along
the French right, and it was certain that Blucher's
main army was at hand, while nothing could be seen
of Grouchy. Napoleon saw the necessity of determining the contest with the English before their allies came
in full force upon the field, and accordingly gave directions for a grand final attack by the old guard. This
magnificent body of the finest foot-soldiers that the
world ever saw -whose weight, thrown into the balance
of a divided battle, had so often turned the scale of
victory-moved forward, about seven in the evening,
in two columns-the first under Reille, and the second
under the dauntless Ney. Their attack was directed upon
the right of the enemy's centre, at St. Haye. Napoleon
himself marched at the head of the second column




CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.           249
along the Charleroi road, as far as the point at which the
nen turned off to their left. It was thought that he was
about to stake his life upon their charge; but at that
point, addressing them as they passed, he stopped and
awaited the result. Wellington took immediate dispositions to receive these formidable assaults. Adam's
brigade were drawn up, with their guns inclined toward
the left, and powerful batteries opened on the flank and
in front. Sir Hussey Vivian's dragoons were stationed
on the other side of St. Haye, and the foot-guards and
thirtieth and seventy-third regiments stationed in front
of the advancing column, lying down in a ditch which
concealed them from view. As Reille came forward,
the fire from Adam's guns soon dispersed his cavalry
on that flank, and checked and disordered his infantry.
Ney then, having had his horse shot, advanced on foot
with his sabre in his hand, leading on the solid mass
upon whose firmness stood depending the fate of
Europe. The guns were driven back, and the column
advanced within forty paces of the ditch. The duke
then gave the order, " Up, guards, and at them."  The
men rose with a shout, rushed forward, and poured a
tremendous fire on the French ranks, under which
they melted away and began to recoil.  The duke
then ordered Sir Hussey's dragoons to charge upon
their right flank, while Adam advanced upon the other
side. It was precisely the situation of the battle of
Cannae, and the result was not less conclusive. The
guards were overwhelmed and driven back in wild
confusion.  At the same moment, Blucher's troops
were seen advancing from Ohain and driving the French
out of La Haye. " Tout est perdu- sauve qui peut,"
was heard on every side.  Wellington ordered the




250           EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
whole line to advance; and the French army was
swept from the field in utter and hopeless ruin. " It
was a torrent dislodged from its bed, hurling away
everything in its course." The British advanced along
the Genappe road as far as Maison du Roi, where
Wellington and Blucher embraced at nine o'clock,
and the latter took charge of the pursuit.
The conduct of Marshal Grouchy on this occasion
has been the subject of ceaseless controversy. What
effect his presence, with thirty-two thousand troops, on
the field of battle, might have had upon the contest, it is
not easy to determine. Probably it would have changed
the day. But the culpability of Grouchy is altogether
a different question. He was certainly wanting in activity, zeal, and intelligence, but he was not guilty of a
breach of orders, and Napoleon never charged that fault
upon him. In this matter, the blind and ignorant popular feeling has, as is usual in such cases, gone far beyond the voice of the person most feelingly interested
to blame the marshal.  "I asked Napoleon," says Dr.
O'Meara, "if he thought Grouchy had betrayed him
intentionally.' No, No,' replied Napoleon;' but there
was a want of energy on his part.' " According to the
statements made by the emperor at St. Helena, Grouchy
pursued Blucher by the two routes of Mont Guibert
and Gembloux; but reports having induced the belief
that the greater part of the Prussians had retired by
Gembloux (which seems to have been the fact), he directed most of his forces to that point, which he reached
at four o'clock in the evening of the 17th. In the evening, he received certain information that the principal
part of the Prussian army was moving toward Wavres.
It was then six o'clock, and the soldiers had encamped




CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.            251
and were preparing their suppers. Grouchy judged
that it would be better not to march until early in the
morning: he would still be before Wavres in time, he
thought; and the soldiers having taken a good rest,
would be full of spirits. Thus the Prussians gained a
march upon him; and this delay was, as Napoleon
thought, the chief cause of the loss of the battle of Waterloo. In the morning of the 18th, Grouchy was in
march to Wavres, which is only three leagues from
Gembloux. Blucher, with three corps of his army,
had been pressing eagerly forward toward St. Lambert,
in compliance with the pledge which he had given the
duke. Thielman's corps, amounting to sixteen thousand, was left at Wavres, and was engaged with Grouchy
during the day. The cannonade at Waterloo was, of
course, heard at Wavres, and there could be no doubt
that a great battle was going on at that point. General
Excelmans, who commanded the cavalry under Grouchy, went up to the marshal and said to him, " The
emperor is engaged with the English army; there can
be no question about it. Such a cannonade as that is
no skirmish. Marshal, our duty is, to march toward
the fire. I am an old soldier of the army of Italy, and
I have heard General Bonaparte lay down that rule a
hundred times. If we move to the left, we shall arrive
on the field of battle in two hours." -" I believe you
are right," said the marshal; " but if Blucher should
march from Wavres and take me in flank, I shall commit myself by breaking my orders, which are to march
against Blucher." Count Gerard then pointed out to
Grouchy, that the orders had reference to an earlier
time, that he ought to have been at Wavres the day
before, and that Blucher, who had gained a march on




252          EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
him, was probably by this time in communication with
Wellington; and that the safest thing was, to march
toward the field of battle. The marshal appeared convinced; but, at this moment, he received information
that his light cavalry.had become engaged with the
Prussians at Wavres; that their whole army was there,
and amounted to eighty thousand men.  He then
marched to Wavres, which he reached at four o'clock
in the afternoon; and believing the whole Prussian army to be before him, he spent two hours in forming his
line of battle and making his dispositions. It was then
he received the message from the officer despatched
from the field of battle at ten in the morning.
Such is the narrative dictated by Napoleon at St.
Helena. Now, what was the order despatched to him
at ten o'clock? It has been published by Grouchy:
" His majesty desires," says Soult to Grouchy, under
the date of 18th June, 1815, ten o'clock, " that you
should direct your movements upon Wavres, in order
to approach and act in concert with us, driving before
you all the Prussians who have taken that direction, or
who might stop at Wavres, where you should endeavor
to arrive as soon as possible." In engaging the Prussians at Wavres, therefore, Grouchy was acting in accordance with the wishes of the emperor at ten o'clock
on the 18th. In point of fact, Blucher had been at
Wavres with his whole army, amounting to seventy-five
thousand men, in four corps, on the night of the 17th.
At an early hour on the 18th, in conformity with the
arrangement made with the duke on the 16th, he sent
the fourth corps under Bulow, which was fresh and
entire, on to St. Lambert. Soon after, the second corps,
under Pirch, amounting to eighteen thousand men, was




CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.           253
sent forward in the same direction; and he marched
himself with the first, which was commanded by Ziethen. The third, under Thielman, amounting to sixteen thousand, remained at Wavres, and became engaged with Grouchy. On the following morning, after
Grouchy had routed Thielman, and was preparing to
march to Brussels, he received intelligence of the rout
at Waterloo, with orders. to retire upon Laon. He did
so, and arrived there on the 25th, with his whole corps
of thirty-two thousand. It is not difficult to see that
Grouchy did comply both with the spirit of his orders
and with the intentions of Napoleon. On the morning
of the 18th, the whole Prussian army was at Wavres;
and Napoleon's design then seems to have been, that
Grouchy should engage them there, which that marshal
attempted to do. The failure of the emperor's arrangements is to be ascribed to Blucher's fidelity to the
scheme planned by the duke of Wellington, and to his
dexterity and daring in leaving Thielman's corps to
withstand Grouchy's force of double its strength, and
suddenly marching off three corps of the army to St.
Lambert on the morning of the battle.
The comparative merits of Napoleon and the duke
of Wellington in these operations, have been discussed
with a vehemence characteristic of the fierce hereditary
jealousy of the two nations of which they were the
champions. To arrive at a sound view upon the subject, it is necessary to make a distinction between the
campaign of Waterloo and the battle of Waterloo, which
was the conclusion of it. In looking at the former as a
whole, it is impossible not to acknowledge the clear
superiority of that great master of strategy -the duke
of Wellington. The art of war, in modern times, is so
VOL II. -22




254          EMMANUEL GROUCHY.
completely reduced to the principle of having a greater
force than the enemy at the point of contest, that we
may assume that, when the campaign opened on the
14th of June, the object which Napoleon had to accomplish was, to fight the Prussians and the English separately; and that the problem which the duke of Wellington was required to solve was, always to fight in
conjunction with Blucher. Now, Napoleon fought the
allied armies twice, and on both occasions he fought
them together. When hostilities commenced, he had
those advantages which he had so often turned to splendid triumphs against less accomplished opponents: he
was in a central position, while the enemy were on a
circle around him, and he had the initiative. He threw
his whole army upon Blucher with astonishing rapidity:
for success in that battle, all depended upon the left
wing under Ney. The advance of that wing would
either overwhelm Blucher, or would at least turn him
toward Namur, and separate him from Wellington. At
a quarter past three, on the 16th of June, 1815, Soult,
major-general, wrote to Ney from Ligny: " His majesty
orders me to direct you instantly to surround the enemy's right, and to fall upon his rear. Their army is
lost, if you act with vigor; the fate of France is in
your hands. Lose not a moment in making the prescribed movement." But this movement, so vital to
the success of Napoleon, was defeated by Wellington's
rapid concentration of his troops at Quatre Bras to
fight Ney, who, when this order was received, was
struggling with twenty thousand, and soon after with
thirty thousand, of the enemy. This battle was the
Friedland of the allies in principle, though undecisive
in its result. The arrival of the duke, moreover, pre



HONORS CONFERRED ON HIM.         255
vented the Prussians from being driven toward Namur.
They retired on Wavres, and were, on the following
day, to unite with the English. Napoleon's separation
of his army, by detaching so large a part of it under
Grouchy, was a departure from those principles of warfare which he had so often taught and illustrated: it
exposed him to the danger of the enemy suddenly concentrating their force and falling upon one part of the
army under him with their united force; which is precisely what took place. In regard to the battle of the
18th, it may fairly be admitted, that Napoleon would
have defeated the corps d'armne commanded by Wellington, if the Prussians had not come up; nay, it may,
perhaps, with truth be said, that he did conquer them
until the Prussians came up. But when it is said that
the arrival of the Prussians secured the victory to Wellington, the highest tribute is paid to Wellington's ability, which arranged that Prussian movement, made it a
part of his operations, and relied upon it with undoubting confidence. Waterloo was the duke of Wellington's Marengo.
After the battle of Waterloo, Grouchy was deprived
of his dignity of marshal, by a royal ordinance of the
1st of August, 1815. He came to America, where he
spent some years in a kind of disgrace. On the 19th
of November, 1831, however, his rank of marshal was
restored to him; and in 1831, he was made a peer of
France. In 1807, Grouchy received the grand eagle
of the legion of honor; in 1808, the grand cross of the
Bavarian military order of merit: in 1811, he was
made a commander of the crown of iron, and in 1815.
commander of the order of St. Louis. He died on the
7th of June, 1847.




JEAN-BAPTISTE BESSIERES.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804.
DUKE OF ISTRIA.
THE brilliant group which surrounded the emperor,
offers no character more respectable for ability and for
dignity of conduct, or more engaging for integrity and
purity of purpose, than the Marshal Bessieres. Equal
to his high duty, he never aspired beyond it; and filled
a great sphere of public service without that stimulus
of ambition which is usually requisite to urge and sustain men through a lofty career of effort and distinction.
Quick in his perceptions, sound in judgment, independent in feeling, and cool in temper, his sagacity
never took a selfish direction; but he always served
with simple and loyal integrity, the master to whom he
owed everything, and over whose personal safety it was
his especial office to watch. From the period of the
creation of the guides, he was exclusively intrusted
with the duty of guarding the general-in-chief, and the
headquarters.  In all the great battles he rendered the
greatest services.
Jean-Baptiste Bessieres, son of Mathurin Bessieres
and Antoinette Lemosy, his wife, was born at Proisac,
in Quercy, on the 6th of August, 1768.  He was
thrown, by the revolution, into the career of arms, and
served, originally, as a private soldier, in the royal




COMMANDER OF THE GUIDES.           257
horse-guards of Louis XVI., in 1792, and afterward,
in the same year, in the twenty-second chasseurs, in
the army of the eastern Pyrenees. In 1793, he was
advanced successively to the rank of sub-lieutenant,
and of lieutenant; he was made captain, in 1794, and
the same year was transferred to the army of Italy.
When Napoleon took the command, in 1796, Bessieres was a major, and soon attracted the attention of
the general, by acts of extraordinary personal bravery.
So highly did Napoleon esteem his talents and character, that when the corps of guides was organized,
from which the consular and imperial guard afterward
sprung, Bessieres was appointed its commander. That
celebrated body, took its origin after the passage of the
Mincio, in May, 1796, of which an account will be
found in the history of the Italian campaigns. On the
30th of May, Augereau's division had crossed the river
and marched up the left bank. Serrurier's had also
passed, and pursued the enemy, and Napoleon marched
with it as long as the Austrians were in sight: he then
returned to a castle in Valeggio, where his headquarters were established, and being troubled with a headache, was making use of a foot-bath. Massena's division, appointed to cover Valeggio, were preparing their
dinner on the other side of the river, not having yet
crossed the bridge. Suddenly an alarm was given that
Sebottendorf's division, which was below the town,
hearing the cannonade had marched up, and meeting
no troops, had penetrated as far as the lodgings of the
general-in-chief. The picquet-guard had barely time
to shut the gate and cry, " To arms!" and, Napoleon
was obliged to throw himself upon his horse with one
boot on, and escape through the back gate of the garden
22*




258         JEAN-BAPTISTE BESSIERES.
behind the house.  Massena's men, apprized of the
occurrence, quickly overturned their pots and kettles,
rushed over the bridge, and chased the Austrians out
of the town. The danger which Napoleon had thus
incurred, convinced him of the necessity of having a
guard of picked men, trained to the service, and especially charged to watch over his personal safety. He,
accordingly, formed the corps of guides, consisting of
picked men, who had served ten years at least, and
rendered great services in the field. They wore the
uniform afterward used by the chasseurs of the guard,
of which they were the nucleus. Major Bessieres was
charged with the organizing of this corps, and continued
to command it. From that time we find him, in different ranks, always at the head of the consular or imperial
guard, charging with the reserve, deciding the battle,
or profiting by the victory. At the time of'his death,
he was colonel of the cavalry of the guard.
After the battles of Rivoli, and La Favorite, Bessieres was honored with the office of carrying the colors
to Paris. He rose with the man whose notice had distinguished him, sharing his personal familiarity, and
enjoyed a large portion of those favors which were so
liberally heaped on merit. In the rank of chief of brigade, he accompanied Napoleon to Egypt; and, on his
return, was created a brigadier-general, and one of the
commanders of the consular guard, and took part in the
battle of Marengo. In 1802, he was made a general of
division; and, in 1804, was made a marshal of the
empire, and a grand-officer of the legion of honor. In
the campaign of Austerlitz, and in those of Russia and
Poland, he had the command of the division of the imperial guard. In 1808, Bessieres was sent into Spain,




DISABLED AT WAGRAM.             259
and the second corps of the army, having, upon Moncey's advance to Madrid, been increased by reinforcements till it reached twenty-three thousand men, this
force was called the army of the western Pyrenees, and
placed under Bessieres, who established his headquarters at Burgos. He suppressed, with vigor and
success, an insurrection which broke out soon after he
took the command, in June. On the 14th of July, he
defeated Cuesta at Rio Seco; displaying great ability,
promptness, and decision, and winning a decisive victory over superior numbers, at a very critical moment
in the affairs of the French. When Napoleon heard
of the victory he said that it was the battle of Almanza,
and that Bessisres had saved Spain. In 1S09, he was
created duke of Istria, and returned from Spain upon
the commencement of the campaign in Germany.
At the battle of Wagram, Bessieres had the command of all the cavalry, and an untoward ball deprived
this important arm of a leader, at a very important moment.  After directing the attack against the centre,
which Macdonald conducted with so much heroism,
Napoleon gave directions to Bessieres, to charge with
the whole cavalry, upon the right wing of the enemy,
which was very far advanced. Bessieres had barely
started to execute the order, when he was knocked
down by the most extraordinary cannon-shot ever seen.
A ball, in full sweep, tore his breeches open from the
top of the thigh to the knee, running along the leg in a
zig-zag form, as if it had been lightning.  He was
thrown so suddenly from his horse, that it was supposed he had been instantly killed: the same shot
forced the barrel from his pistol, and carried off both
barrel and stock. The emperor had seen him fall, but




260        JEAN-BAPTISTE BESSIERES.
did not, at first, recognise him.  "Who is it?" said
he, in his usual expression. "Bessidres, sire," was
the reply. He immediately turned his horse round,
saying. "Let us go, for I have no time to weep; let
us avoid another scene;" alluding to the death of
Lannes, a few days before at Essling. He sent Savary
to see if Bessidres was alive: the marshal had been
carried off the field, and had recovered his senses, having been merely stunned, and his limb, for a time, paralyzed. Bessieres was adored by the guards, among
whom he passed his life. When he was struck, a
mournful cry arose from the whole battalion. When
Napoleon saw him the next time, he cried, " Bessidres,
the ball which struck you drew tears from all my
guard: return thanks to that ball; it ought to be very
dear to you."
In 1811, Bessieres was placed in command of the
army of the north in Spain; and in the following year,
at the head of the cavalry of the imperial guard, accompanied Napoleon in his invasion of Russia. The campaign of 1813, in Saxony, found the duke of Istria at
the post of duty and of danger. Las Cases chanced to
meet him, in a private box at the theatre, the night before he set out for the army. After talking of public
affairs, which deeply interested him, for he idolized his
country, he stated that he was about to take the field,
and hoped that they should meet again; "but," said
he, " at the present crisis, with our young soldiers, we
leaders must not spare ourselves." It was a generous
and self-devoting impulse of this kind that led to his
death at the very opening of the campaign. On the
1st of May, 1813, the day before the battle of Lutzen,
while Napoleon was in the town of Weissenfels, a signal




KILLED BY A CANNON-BALL.           261
was made that the advanced-guard of the enemy was
at hand. " To horse!" was the sudden cry heard at
the headquarters of the emperor; and the corps of Ney
advanced upon Rippach, while Napoleon with another
corps moved forward to the heights toward Poserna, to
wait till the defile of Rippach should be occupied.
"' Marshal Bessieres, duke of Istria, colonel-general of
the guard, and who, in that situation, was not necessary
to the attack of the defile," says the baron Von Odeleben, " marched in haste at the head of the tirailleurs,
who advanced by way of Rippach. The duke had
scarcely gained the side of a height occupied by the
artillery of the allies, when he fell, struck in the abdomen by a cannon-ball. The fall of this important character was concealed from the troops as much as possible: his body was immediately covered with a white
sheet, and no mention was made of the calamity."
Napoleon caused his remains and those of.Duroc,
who was killed soon after, to be embalmed and carried
to the Invalides at Paris, and intended extraordinary
honors for them, which subsequent events rendered it
impossible for him to pay them. He addressed, however, a beautiful letter to the widow of Bessieres, which
might properly be regarded as a more valuable tribute
than any ceremonies of public grief. " My cousin,
your husband has expired on the field of honor. You
and your children have sustained undoubtedly a great
loss, but I have sustained a greater. The duke of
Istria has died the noblest of deaths, and without pain;
and he has left to his children the best inheritance he
could bequeath- a reputation without a blemish.  My
protection is secure to them; and they will inherit the
place in my affection which their father filled." A




262        JEAN BAPTISTE BESSIERES.
monument was erected to Bessieres by the king of
Saxony, on the very spot where he was slain. It is a
simple stone, surrounded by poplars, and is similar to
that of Gustavus Adolphus, from which it is not far
distant.
The talents of Bessieres developed as he advanced,
and were always on a level with his expanding fortunes.
" He possessed," says the emperor in his memoirs, " a
cool species of bravery, and was always calm in the
midst of the enemy's fire: his sight was excellent, and
being much habituated to cavalry manceuvres, was peculiarly adapted to command a reserve. He and Murat were the best cavalry officers in the army, but possessed very different qualities.  Murat was a good
vanguard officer, adventurous and impetuous: Bessieres was better qualified for a reserve, being full of
vigor, but prudent and circumspect." He was not a
mere soldier, but his political judgment and abilities
were of a high order. His moral qualities were not
less valuable.  " Bessieres," says Las Cases, " always
continued good, humane, and generous; of antique
loyalty and integrity; and, whether considered as a
citizen or a soldier, an honest, worthy man. He often
made use of the high favor in which he stood, to do
extraordinary services and kindnesses, even to people
of very different ways of thinking from his. I know
persons, who, if they have a spark of gratitude in them,
will confirm my assertion, and bear testimony to his
noble, elevated sentiments." To the emperor he was
attached with a kind of worshipping affection, and the
emperor entertained for him the warmest regard.




LOUIS ALEXANDER BERTHIER.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19TH, 1804.
PRINCE AND DUKE OF NEUFCHATEL: VICE-CONSTABLE OF FRANCE:
PRINCE OF WAGRAM.
"NATURE, in forming some men," said Napoleon,
" intended that they should always remain in a subaltern situation. Such was Berthier. There was not
in the world so good a chef d'etat major: but change
his occupation, and he was not fit to command five
hundred men."
In a feeling of natural disgust, at the faithless selfishness of one, who, for twenty years had been the recipient
of his lavish bounty, Napoleon, at St. Helena, spoke
of Berthier as " a mere goose, whom I had converted
into a kind of eagle." The description was, probably,
quite accurate; yet, this tame, domestic bird, in the
situation which he occupied, was of inestimable use to
Napoleon's service, and was adapted, by the very
mediocrity of his talents, to occupy a sphere which the
impatient spirit and soaring pinion of a nobler fowl
could never have submitted to traverse.  His total
want of original vigor, and his incapacity to invent or
combine, rendered him the more fitted to be the faithful
medium of the will of the great commander whom he
served, and to communicate, with exactness, between




264       LOUIS ALEXANDER BERTHIER.
the mind and the body of the army. As associated in
the most intimate relations with the emperor, and, as
having shared his unbounded familiarity, his name will
always be remembered with a peculiar interest.
Louis Alexander Berthier, was born at Versailles,
on the 20th of November, 1753. His father, JeanBaptiste Berthier, was engineer of the camps and
armies of the king, to Louis XV. and Louis XVI.;
they frequently employed him to draw plans of chases,
and were fond of pointing out the errors they discovered
in his plans, on their return from hunting. Young
Berthier, at the age of thirteen, received the honorary
appointment of geographical engineer to the king, and
at seventeen, was a lieutenant in the royal staff. In
1777, he became a captain of dragoons, and served in
the American war, from 1780 to 1782, as lieutenantadjutant to Rochambeau's staff. He was a lieutenantcolonel in 1789, and major-general of the national
guard of Versailles. He afterward served as quartermaster-general of the revolutionary armies, in La
Vendee, where he was wounded, and he again held
the same station in the army of the north, when it was
commanded by Marshal Luckner, and by General Kellermann. He followed the latter, when he took command of the army of Italy, and when he returned to the
army of the Alps: but, when Napoleon succeeded to
the head of the army of Italy, Berthier solicited, and
obtained, the post of quartermaster-general to him, in
which capacity he served during the campaigns of
Italy. At the close of 1797, after the return of Napoleon to Paris, Berthier received the provisional command of the army, and was ordered by the directory
to advance to Rome. On the 25th of January, 1798,




MARCHES UPON ROME.              265
he entered Ancona, at the head of eighteen thousand
men, and, on the 10th of February, appeared at the
gates of Rome.   A  revolution followed, and the
French commander-in-chief was the unwilling abettor
of the odious scenes of violence and rapine which disgraced his government. Berthier, however weak, was
a man of honor and probity, and of sound principles;
and he looked, with disgust and horror, upon the enormities of which his presence was the pretext and support. " I always told you," he wrote to Napoleon, on
the 1st of January, when the invasion of the ecclesiastical states was meditated, "that the command in
Italy was not suited to me. I wish to extricate myself
from revolutions.  Four years' service in them  in
America, and ten in France, is enough, general. I
shall ever be ready to combat, as a soldier, for my
country; but I have no desire to be mixed up with
revolutionary politics." On the 10th of February, he
again wrote to Napoleon, " I have been in Rome since
this morning; but I have found only the greatest consternation among the inhabitants. One solitary patriot
has appeared at headquarters: he offered me the services of two thousand galley-slaves! You may imagine
how I received such a proposition. My further presence here is useless. I implore you to recall me: you
can not confer a greater kindness upon me." A few
days after, Berthier was recalled, and Massena assumed
the command.
In the same year, 1798, he was placed at the head
of the staff of the army which was preparing with a
view to the invasion of England; and, in that character
he accompanied Napoleon to Egypt. Berthier, at this
time, was the subject of a most passionate love for
VOL. II.- 23




266       LOUIS ALEXANDER BERTHIER.
Madame Visconti; a devotion which completely absorbed his character, and besotted his understanding.
When Napoleon was preparing to sail from Toulon,
Berthier posted down to tell him he was unwell, and
could not follow him. The general-in-chief took no
notice of what he said, and, Berthier, finding it impossible for him to abandon his master, set sail along with
him. In Egypt, his passion for his mistress, grew to a
kind of idolatrous worship. Adjoining his own tent,
he had another prepared with all the elegance of a
Parisian boudoir; this was consecrated to the portrait
of his mistress, and Napoleon stated that he would sometimes go so far as to burn incense before it. "One
day," says De Bourrienne, "I went with an order
from Bonaparte, to the chief of his staff, whom I
found on his knees before the portrait of Madame Visconti, which was hanging opposite the door. I touched
him, to let him know I was there. He looked round,
but did not think proper to interrupt his devotions."
After some time, his desire to see the object of his
idolatry became so strong, that he solicited, and obtained,
permission to return to France. The Courageuse,
frigate, which was to convey him home, was preparing
at Alexandria. He had received his instructions and
his passport, and took leave of Napoleon, and bade him
a formal adieu; but, soon after, returned with tears in
his eyes, and said that he could not, after all, dishonor
himself, and that he could not separate his destiny from
his general's.
He returned to France, with Napoleon, in 1799, and
was, soon after, made minister of war: but, not giving
satisfaction in that department, Napoleon superseded
him by Carnot, an intellectual statesman of the highest




CREATED MARSHAL.              267
rank. This appointment took place on the 2d of April,
1800; and the first consul, at the same time, to console
Berthier, placed him at the head of the army of reserve,
which, professedly, was assembling at Dijon. In announcing this change, Napoleon dictated, to Bourienne,
the following letter to Berthier: "Citizen-general:
The military talents, of which you have given so many
proofs, and the confidence of the government, call you
to the command of an army. During the winter, you
have re-organized the war department, and you have
provided, as far as circumstances would permit, for the
wants of our armies. During the spring and summer,
it must be your task to lead our troops to victory, which
is the effectual means of obtaining peace, and consolidating the republic." Bonaparte, says Bourienne,
laughed heartily while he dictated this epistle, especially
when he uttered the word in italics. The appointment
was merely illusory: when the army was ready to
march, Napoleon took the command himself, and, at
Marengo, Berthier was in his true position.
In 1804, Berthier was made a marshal of the empire,
and grand officer of the legion of honor, and chief of
the first cohort of that order. In 1805, he made the
campaign of Austria as major-general of the grand army.
In 1806, he was created prince and duke of Neufchatel,
and in 1807, was made a member of the senate and
vice-constable; and in the same years, he served in the
Prussian and Polish campaigns. In 1808, he served for
a time in Spain; and on the 9th of March in that year,
he married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of the king of
Bavaria. In the campaign of 1809, he won the further
title of prince of Wagram. In the capacity of majorgeneral of the grand army, he made the campaigns of




268       LOUIS ALEXANDER BERTHIER.
Russia in 1812, of Saxony in 1813, and of France in
1814.
The person to whom Napoleon intrusted such important offices, and upon whom he lavished such honors, undoubtedly possessed talents of the very first order
for the station in which he was placed.  "He was of
an irresolute character," said Napoleon, " and unfit for
a principal command, but possessed of all the qualifications of a good quartermaster-general."  There was
an attempt made at one time to represent him as Napoleon's Mentor, and to consider him as the person who
directed all operations.  Berthier himself did all that
he could to silence these reports, which rendered him
ridiculous in the army. His utter incapacity to exercise a principal command was shown at the beginning
of the campaign of 1809, when his irresolution, and the
absurd dispositions which he made of the troops in the
presence of the archduke Charles, came exceedingly
near ruining the army. Davoust, indeed, who was on
the point of being the victim of Berthier's imbecility,
charged him with treachery; but there was no ground
to impute anything worse than incapacity.
But as an executive officer, and as an assistant in preparing and expediting military affairs, his powers were
of the highest value. From long training, he was able
to present the most complicated movements of an army
with perspicuity. He was perfectly acquainted with
the disposition of all the corps, and could name their
commanders and their several forces. He was exceedingly regular and exact, and attended personally to the
despatch of orders.  He could receive and transmit
intelligence and directions of the most complicated variety, at all hours of the day and night, with entire




HIS CHARACTER.               269
distinctness and accuracy. His geographical and topographical science exceeded those of any man of the
time. He was well acquainted with the map, and understood the reconnoitring duty perfectly. His activity
was extraordinary: he followed his general in all his
reconnoitring parties and all his excursions, without in
the least neglecting his official duties. Cool and collected, his ability to distinguish and comprehend the
movements of the troops on the field of battle was remarkable; and Napoleon often employed him to report
of the exact situation of' the battle. Napoleon, in describing to the directory the generals in his army in
1796, said: "Berthier has talents, activity, courage,
character - all in his favor." He was then forty-three
years of age. After 1S05, war had become hateful to
him, and he submitted reluctantly to the duties required of him. Berthier's manners were abrupt, egotistic, and unpleasing.  His character was one of extreme weakness. Napoleon estimated that he had given
him in the course of his life not less than forty millions;
yet, in the hour of his master's misfortunes, no man exhibited a more selfish and time-serving conduct. Napoleon said, that his behavior was the result of his want
of spirit and absolute nullity of character.
At Fontainebleau, in the crisis of the emperor's political overthrow, Berthier came into the apartment
where he was busily occupied, and requested permission to proceed to Paris, only, as he said, for a short
time, and for the purpose of settling some business, after
which he would return to the emperor, never again to
leave him. Napoleon, who knew the weakness and
worthlessness of his old trusted companion, at once assented; and as Berthier withdrew, said to the person
23*




270       LOUIS ALEXANDER BERTHIER..
whom he had been engaged with, " There he goes, to
seal his own degradation; and in spite of all his protestations, he will never come back again." So lost to
every sentiment of decency did Berthier afterward become, that he was known to speak of the emperor as
"that man!"  Upon the arrival of Louis XVIII. at
Compiegne, Berthier, at the head of the marshals, in
their name, delivered an address to the king, in which
he told him, that " France, groaning for five-and-twenty
years under the load of misfortunes that oppressed her,
had anxiously looked for the happy day which she now
saw dawning." The king made him a peer of France,
captain of the royal body-guards, and a commander of
the order of St. Louis. Upon the return of Napoleon,
Berthier followed the court to Lisle. Napoleon, whose
temper was calm and placable, and who retained no
personal animosities, expressed his regret at not seeing
his old comrade. " The rogue," said he, with a smile,
"is afraid of me, I suppose; but he has no reason to
be so. The only punishment I should have inflicted
upon him, would have been to require him to appear
before me in his new costume of captain of the king's
body-guards." But a gloomier fate was soon to close
a career of pitiable baseness. Berthier retired to Bamberg, in Bavaria, where, while viewing some Russian
troops who were passing by, he fell from a window and
was killed, on the 1st of June, 1815. According to
some suspicions, he had become compromitted with his
new friends by the discovery of some of his correspondence, and his death was self-inflicted, to escape this fresh
disgrace.




LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, JULY 8, 1811.
DUKE OF ALBUFERA.
AMONG the lieutenants of Napoleon, there can be no
doubt that the most complete military character presented to our view is the marshal Suchet. He filled, through
a series of years, the most distinct and even opposite
departments of effort, and attained in all of them a firstrate and surpassing reputation. The qualities which
make an efficient general of division are extremely different from those which constitute a great commanderin-chief: yet through the great campaigns of Napoleon,
Suchet's division is identified with the fiercest and hardiest encounters in the field; and in later years, we find
the same chieftain exhibiting, in several campaigns, a
grand scheme of scientific operations scarcely inferior
in ingenuity of conception and perfection of skill to those
which have given immortality to the name of Wellington. The civil virtues and moral excellences displayed
by this great soldier, in an administration in which the
political responsibility was even more pressing than
the military, contribute to shed peculiar lustre upon his
character, and set it in an honorable contrast to the
odious features which, in this department, were exhibited by Soult. Napoleon himself had formed a very




^272        LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET.
high estimate of Suchet's abilities. At St. Helena, in
1817, O'Meara asked him who, in his opinion, was at
that time the first of the French generals: " It is difficult to say," replied Napoleon: " I think, however, that
Suchet is probably the first. Massena was; but you
may say that he is dead. Suchet, Clausel, and Gerard,
are, in my opinion, the first of the French generals."
He also mentioned Soult in terms of praise. To Las
Cases, Napoleon named Suchet as one whose courage
and judgment had been surprisingly improved.
Louis Gabriel Suchet, son of Pierre Suchet, was
born at Lyons on the 2d of March, 1770. His family
was one of respectability and consideration; but, in
common with a multitude of youths of the best standing in France, the circumstances of the country threw
him into the ranks at an early age. He rose in his new
profession with unexampled rapidity. A private soldier in 1792, he had attained in the course of a year
the rank of a lieutenant-colonel, in which capacity he
served at the siege of Toulon, and was one of the courageous band who captured General O'Hara. He here
formed the acquaintance of Napoleon, with whom he
served in the army of Italy in 1796 and 1797. He
fought with distinguished valor under the eye of that
commander at Dego, Lodi, Rivoli, Castiglione, and
Lonato, and won the rank of colonel at the age of
twenty-six years. In 1798, he was employed in the
army of Switzerland, where he rose to the station of
brigadier-general; and in 1799, he was made chief of
the staff in the army of Italy, where he continued
throughout the following year. His vigor, firmness,
and integrity, in the difficult office of chief of the staff,
exhibited a character of the first order of excellence,




MADE GENERAL OF DIVISION.         273
and won the respect and confidence of all with whom
he was brought into connexion. His severity in exposing the corrupt practices of the commissioners who
attended the army, excited the displeasure of the directory, and he was summoned to their bar to defend his
conduct. Owing to the generous friendship of Joubert,
who left his post to bear testimony to the merits of the
young officer, Suchet was acquitted, and sent to rejoin
the army under Massena. On one occasion, being separated from the rest of the army, and shut in by a lake
among the Alps, he escaped by a daring and perilous
march across the ice, without the loss of a man. " I
was sure," said Massena, when his arrival at camp was
announced, " I was very sure that Suchet would bring
me back his brigade." When Joubert took the command of the army, Suchet was raised to the rank of
general of division, retaining his station of chief of the
staff. He fought with devoted courage at the battle of
Novi, so glorious and so fatal for his friend. He continued to serve under Championnet; and when Massena took the command in Italy, he made him his lieutenant, and on the 7th of March, 1800, gave him the
command of three divisions of the army. The operations of Melas and Elnitz in the beginning of April,
which enclosed Massena in Genoa, separated Suchet
from the main body of the army, and drove him back
toward France. He took position at Borghetto on the
2d of May; but, being driven out and pursued by immensely superior forces, he retired gradually, with great
ability, until he reached the fortified line of the Var.
Thrice was he attacked here by Elnitz in great strength,
and thrice did his obstinate valor make good the important position which he held, until the advance of Napo



274         LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET.
leon on Milan compelled the Austrian general to retreat.
Suchet then instantly resumed the offensive, and harassed his retreat with the utmost vigor. Carnot, the
celebrated minister of war, impressed with both the importance and the bravery of this defence, said to Suchet
that he had immortalized a new Thermopylae.
At the passage of the Mincio, on the 20th of December, 1800, when the army was under the command of
General Brune, Suchet commanded the centre; and
Brune, to mask his design of passing at Mozambano,
ordered a false demonstration to be made at Pozzolo,
below Borghetto. Dupont, commanding the right, had
already crossed, and was in presence of the enemy,
when the rest of the army were ordered to resnme their
former positions. Suchet, as he was returning, heard
a heavy firing on the left bank of the river, which indicated that part of the army might have become engaged:
remembering the military precept of Napoleon, always
to march toward the firing, he assumed the responsibility of departing from his orders, and instantly marched
to the relief of Dupont. His arrival saved that division
from total destruction, and after a protracted engagement, the Austrians were repulsed with great loss.
In the following year, Suchet was made inspectorgeneral of the infantry; and in 1803, was placed in
command of the fourth division in the camp of Boulogne. In the following year, he received the grandcordon of the legion of honor; and in the campaign of
1805, at the head of the fourth division of Lannes's
corps, who had long held him in high esteem, he extended his reputation for invincible courage and hardihood. In the Prussian and Polish campaigns of 1806
and 1807, Suchet's troops fully deserved the title of




HIS SERVICES IN SPAIN.          275
the fighting division. At Saalfield, where he commanded the advanced-guard of the fifth corps, the
rapidity and vigor of his manoeuvres resulted in the
destruction of Prince Louis's troops and the death of
that prince. At Jena, Suchet cleared the plain at the
base of the Landgrafenberg, which opened the way for
the French army to reach their enemies; as Napoleon
expressed it, " he broke down the gate of the field of
battle." At Pultusk, he sustained the shock of superior forces with heroic resolution, and won the highest
honors of bravery and endurance.
In 1808, Suchet was created a count, and when
the fifth corps entered Spain under Lannes, he commanded the first division: he served at the siege of
Saragossa, and Lannes, when he returned to the emperor, in 1809, advised him to give the supreme command
in Aragon to Suchet, as the only general capable of
conducting that difficult war. Suchet, accordingly, after the return of Junot to France, received the command of the third corps before Saragossa; and his
achievements, always brilliant and always successful,
during five campaigns, extending through six years,
elevated him into the front rank of great generals.
The same sort of complicated difficulties-military,
political, and financial - embarrassed the position of
Suchet, as harassed the duke of Wellington; and they
were dealt with, and mastered, with an ability not less
consummate. The troops had fallen into disorder and
irregularities, and the officers had become discontented;
but the firm measures and impressive character of the
new general, soon re-established the organization and
spirit of the army. His career of victory, which thenceforth proceeded without an interruption, began by the




276         LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET.
defeat of Blake at Maria and Belchite, on the 15th and
18th of June, 1809, which produced the most decisive
results. The siege of Lerida, which was carried by
storm on the 13th of May, 1810, and of Mequinenza,
which was taken on the 8th of June, gave Suchet the
entire control of Valencia, with a base of operations
against Catalonia. The celebrated sieges of Tortosa
and Tarragona, the former of which was taken on the
1st of January, 1811, after thirteen days' operations,
and the latter carried by storm at the end of June,
after fifty-six days of open trenches, made Suchet master of Catalonia, raised his reputation to the highest
pitch, and procured for him the rank of marshal on the
8th of July, 1811. Montserrat was taken in the beginning of July, and everything was prepared for the subjection of Valencia. This kingdom was invaded about
the middle of September: Saguntum, after two unsuccessful assaults, became the prize of the battle of Saguntum, at the close of October; Blake's whole army,
enclosed in Valencia, was reduced to a desperate condition by the battle of Valencia on the 26th of November; and on the 9th of January, that city, with Blake's
whole army, surrendered, and eighteen thousand regular troops, eighty stands of colors, two thousand horses,
three hundred and ninety guns, forty thousand muskets,
and immense quantities of other stores of war, were
placed at the disposal of the conqueror. Suchet made
his triumphal entry into that city on the 14th of January: and Napoleon expressed his sense of his services
by conferring upon him the immense domain of Albufira, together with a dukedom.
Suchet's civil administration was not less admirable
than his operations in the field. He pacificated the




CLOSE OF HIS ACTIVE LIFE.         277
country as he conquered it. Obliged, by Napoleon's
system of making war support war, to raise a large revenue of the kingdoms which he subdued, he organized
native governments, and through their instrumentality
raised large subsidies without oppression or violence.
" Had I but two marshals such as Suchet in Spain,"
said Napoleon, as he read the despatches from Aragon, "I should not only conquer, but I should keep,
the peninsula. What a pity that monarchs can not
improvise such men as that!" The complete subjugation, military and political, of Aragon, Catalonia, and
Valencia, held out the brightest promise for the success
of the French designs, when the tremendous defeat at
Vittoria shattered in a moment every hope of Napoleon
in Spain. Suchet, obliged to abandon all his conquests,
retreated, with skill, into France. When the emperor
mnet him, after an absence of seven years, he pressed
his hand with warmth, and said, " Marechal Suchet,
vous avez beaucoup grandi depuis que nous nous
sommes vus!"
The active life of the great soldier and statesman
ceases at this period. After the return of the Bourbons, he was made a peer of France, governor of the
tenth and fifteenth military divisions, and commandant
of the order of St. Louis. In 1S15, he commanded
the seventh corps of the army of observation, which
was called the army of the Alps.
On the 16th of November, 1808, he had married, at
Paris, a daughter of Baron Anthony de Saint-Joseph,
a niece of the wife of Bernadotte; and in the society
of this amiable lady, to whom he was affectionately attached, the later years of his life were passed, chiefly
in the composition of those memoirs which are regarded
VOL. II.  24




278          LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET.
as presenting to the military reader one of the finest
studies that the literature of the camp exhibits. He
died at the chateau of Saint-Joseph, near Marseilles,
on the 3d of January, 1826, at the age of fifty-six
years, leaving a son, who inherits a seat in the chamber of peers, and a daughter married to Count Matthew
de la Redorte, peer of France.




LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, AUGUST 27TH, 1812.
MARQUIS OF ST. CYR.
LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR, a marshal whose
unquestionable abilities were not accompanied by that
higher inspiration which constitutes good fortune, was
born at Toul, on the 13th of April, 1764. Entering
the army as a volunteer, in the first battalion of chasseurs, of Paris, he rose with extraordinary rapidity: he
became a captain in the same battalion in 1792, a
major and adjutant-general in 1793, and, successively,
colonel, brigadier-general and general of division, in
1794. He served in the army of the Rhine, during the
first three campaigns of the wars of the revolution; and,
in 1795, passed to the army of the Rhine and Moselle,
where he continued until 1798. In 1799, he served in
the army of Italy, with great distinction, under Joubert
and Championnet. He commanded the right wing of
the army at the battle of Novi, and his sagacity anticipated and would have avoided the catastrophe of that
day, where the youthful commander retrieved the fault
of his judgment by the heroic sacrifice of his life.
When Moreau resumed the direction of the army after
that disastrous battle, St. Cyr was stationed with a




280        LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR.
strong rear-guard to defend the Bochetta pass; and,
under Championnet, in October, 1799, St. Cyr, in
command of the right wing, gained considerable success near Novi. In the beginning of December, the
Austrian army under Kray, attacked St. Cyr's corps
with great spirit, and drove them back into the rigorous
fastnesses of the Bochetta. Here, the soldiers, worn
out by the dreadful privations which they had long
endured, openly revolted, and, leaving their entrenchments on the mountains, rushed down, tumultously, into
Genoa.  "What can we perform here?" they cried.
"W'  e are sacrificed: we are abandoned: we shall die
of cold and hunger. To France! to France." St.
Cyr, with admirable firmness and composure, presented
himself before the gates. " Whither do you go, soldiers?" said he.  " To France," they replied.  "Be
it so," said the general, calmly: "if duty no longer
restrains you; if you have become insensible to the
voice of honor, attend at least to reason. If you continue in your present course, your destruction is certain: you have made a desert between yourselves and
France, and in a tumultuous retreat you are certain to
perish. Your only safety is in your bayonets: if you
desire again to see France, unite with me in repelling
from the harbor the enemy who now endangers the
arrival of succors, and will prevent your reaching the
country which you love." The soldiers were, at once,
recovered to their duty by this energetic appeal: the
enemy were repulsed, and retired into winter-quarters;
and the expected convoys arrived from France, to relieve the sufferings of the soldiers. In April, 1800,
St. Cyr was transferred from the command of Genoa,
to the army of the Rhine, under Moreau, and com



SERVICES AT VARIOUS PERIODS.        281
manded the centre during the operations of that able
general in that year. At the battle of Engen, where
his arrival on the field, through the greatest obstacles,
decided the victory, and, in the actions near Biberach,
in the beginning of May, this general acquired a high
character for courage.
In 1801, St. Cyr was placed at the head of the
armies of occupation, assembled at Bordeaux, for the
invasion of Portugal; and, on the 28th of June, at the
head of twenty thousand men, he invaded that kingdom,
which offered no resistance. At the close of that year
he was sent embassador to the court of Spain; and, in
1803, was appointed lieutenant-general and commanderin-chief of the army of observation of Naples. In 1804,
he was made colonel-general of the cuirassiers, and, in
the following year, was commander-in-chief of the first
corps of reserve, at the camp of Boulogne. In 1807, he
was recalled to the grand army, and formed part of the
fourth corps, under Soult. He was distinguished by
his gallantry at the battle of Heilsberg; and, as a reward for his services, was afterward created governorgeneral of Warsaw. In 1808, St. Cyr was placed at
the head of a corps, which had been assembled at Perpignan, and with which he entered Catalonia, as commander-in-chief, in that province, on the 5th of November, of that year. Napoleon's directions to him, were,
" Preserve Barcelona for me; if it is lost, I can not retake it with eighty thousand men."  The siege and
capture of Rosas, and the battle of Cardadeu, on the
16th of December, fully accomplished this object. The
Spaniards were again defeated, at Molinos del Rey,
on the 21st of December, and at Igualada, on the 17th
of February, 1809. -On the 1st of June, the siege of
24*




2S2        LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR.
Gerona, so celebrated in the annals of heroic patriotism,
was completely begun, by the driving in of all the outposts. After being prosecuted with the greatest rigor
for more than three months, a grand assault was made,
on the 19th of September, which was repulsed with
great loss: and, St. Cyr converting the siege into a
blockade, awaited the slow,but certain effects of hunger
and distress.  The emperor, vexed by the tardiness
of the operations, declared that St. Cyr had remained
two months before a sentry-box; and, on the 5th of October, he recalled him, and placed Augereau in command, to whom the place surrendered on the 12th of
December. In 1808, St. Cyr was created a count.
In 1812, St. Cyr commanded the sixth corps of the
army, in the invasion of Russia; and, on the 17th of
August, when Oudinot had been wounded in an attack
made by Wittgenstein, at Polotsk, St. Cyr took command, also, of his corps, the second. On the 18th of
August, St. Cyr, during the day, amused the Russian
general by the proposal of an agreement to withdraw
the wounded, and by demonstrations of a design to
retreat; meanwhile, he secretly drew up his army, in
three columns, behind a village near the Diina. At
five o'clock in the afternoon, when everything was
ready, and Wittgenstein's vigilance had been put to
sleep, St. Cyr gave the signal: his columns rushed
forward with impetuosity, and the artillery opened a
furious cannonade. The Russians, taken by surprise,
resisted in vain.  Their right gave way first, their centre
soon fell into disorder, and fled, leaving a large number
of dead, one thousand prisoners, and twenty pieces of
cannon.  On the news of this victory, the emperor
sent St. Cyr the staff of marshal of the empire. While




IN THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN.           283
the main army advanced to Moscow, St. Cyr remained
on the left bank of the Duna, in possession of Polotsk,
and the entrenched camp before it. On the 18th of
October, with about fourteen thousand men, he was
attacked with the utmost fury by Wittgenstein, at the
head of fifty thousand, who carried the redoubts not
less than seven times, and were as often repulsed from
them: at five in the afternoon, the Russians withdrew
after sustaining a severe loss. At the beginning of the
affair, the marshal was wounded by a musket-ball; he
remained, however, in the midst of his troops, and,
being unable to support himself, was obliged to be
carried about. On the following day, in the presence
of Steingell on one side, and Wittgenstein on the other,
with superior forces, he effected his retreat across the
river, with admirable firmness, and in good order.
In the campaign of Saxony, in 1813, St. Cyr commanded the fourteenth corps, and was honored by the
emperor with important commands. When Napoleon
set out from Dresden, to advance toward Leipsig and
Baden, St. Cyr was left at the head of thirty thousand
men, in Dresden. About the middle of October, the
city was partially invested by Count Tolstoy, at the
head of twenty thousand men: but a skilful and vigorous assault, by St. Cyr, on the 17th, drove this general
back into Bohemia. After the battle of Leipsig, the
city was blockaded by about fifty thousand troops, on
the 27th of October; and, St. Cyr being reduced to the
most desperate extremities, and having failed in a sortie,
surrendered on the 6th of November, 1813. By the
terms of capitulation, St. Cyr, and his staff, were allowed to return to France; but these conditions were
disapproved and rejected by the allied powers, and, in




284        LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR.
violation of good faith, he was conducted, with all his
followers, into Bohemia, as prisoners-of-war.
In 1814, Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr, was created a
peer of France. In 1815, he was made commanderln-chief of the corps d'armee on the Loire, and afterward minister of war, member of the privy council, and
governor of the twelfth military division. In the following year, he was governor of the fifth military division,
and grand-cross of the order of St. Louis: in 1817, he
was, first, minister of the marine and of the colonies, and
then minister of war: and, in 1819, he was advanced
to the title of marquis. He died at Hyeres, on the
17th of March, 1830, in the sixty-sixth year of his age.
Imperturbably cool, of undaunted courage, endowed
with a quick perception, and an understanding fertile
in combinations, Gouvion St. Cyr wanted nothing but
a certain enthusiasm of mind, to take rank among the
greatest of Napoleon's generals. But there was a trace
of jealousy in his character, and an absence of that confiding ardor which hurries men on in felicitous daring;
and, his name, therefore, does not shine with all the
lustre it might seem to deserve. As a writer on military operations he is held in high esteem.




CLAUDE VICTOR.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, JULY 13, 1807.
DUKE OF BELLUNO.
CLAUDE VICTOR PERRIN, son of Charles Perrin,
and Ann Floriot, was born at La Marche, in Lorraine,
on the 7th of December, 1764. He entered the army,
in 1781, as a private soldier in the fourth regiment of
artillery, and, rising through successive grades, had
attained, in 1792, the rank of major. At the siege of
Toulon, in 1793, he was severely wounded in the
assault on Little Gibraltar, but his courage was rewarded
by the promotion to the rank of chef de brigade. Here,
also, he gained the friendship of Napoleon. The same
year he was appointed adjutant-general, and general of
brigade; and served in that capacity, first, in the army
of the Pyrenees, in 1794, and, afterward, in that of
Italy, in 1795, and 1796, under General Dumerbion,
and under Napoleon. In 1797, he was made a general
of division, and placed at the head of the twelfth military division in the army of Italy, where he served
from 1798 until after the battle of Marengo. He commanded in the right wing, at the disastrous battle of
Magnano, in April, 1799; and, though unsuccessful,
displayed great courage and ability.  After Moreau
took the command of the army, Victor's division was




286             CLAUDE VICTOR.
detached toward Genoa, to keep open communications
with Macdonald, while the residue of the army retired
toward Turin. Victor, without artillery or baggage,
successfully accomplished his retreat by Acqui and
Dego, upon Genoa, where he was soon after joined by
Moreau, who placed him in charge of the important
post of Pontremoli. About the middle of June, Victor
joined Macdonald to the north of the Apennines, and
took a distinguished part in the battle of the Trebbia,
on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of that month. At the
battle of Genola, on the 4th of November, Victor commanded in the centre, under Championnet, and sustained a severe defeat. In the campaign of Marengo,
under Napoleon, Victor served with increased celebrity.
At Montebello, his arrival on the field decided the victory; and, at Marengo, he sustained, with Lannes, the
shock of the battle, and his division was completely
overpowered and disorganized.
In 1800, Victor was appointed lieutenant of the general-in-chief of the Bavarian army; and was minister
plenipotentiary in Denmark, during the years 1805 and
1806.  During the Polish campaign of 1807, after
Bernadotte was wounded at Spandau, on the 5th of
June, Victor was placed in command of his corps, being the first corps of the army; and his valor contributed largely to the victory of Friedland. On the
13th of July, 1807, he was raised to the dignity of
marshal of the empire; and created grand-eagle of the
legion of honor. In 1808, he was created duke of
Belluno, and placed in command of the first corps of
the army in Spain, and continued to serve in the peninsula until 1812. When Soult advanced into Portugal,
in March, 1809, Victor received orders to descend the




THE SPANISH CAMPAIGN.          287
valley of the Tagus, and co-operate with him in an
attack on Lisbon. Accordingly, on the 15th and 16th,
he passed the river at the bridges of Talavera and
Arzobispo, driving Cuesta from all his positions, and
advanced to Medellin, where, on the 28th, he defeated
that general, with the loss of an immense number killed
and made prisoners, and the total rout and disorganization of his army. This blow, however, was not followed up with any vigor, and Victor remained inactive
for nearly two months: in the meantime, the retirement
of Soult rendered his march abortive, and, in the middle
of May, he fell back toward Madrid, and took post at
Torremocha. Upon the approach of Wellesley, Victor
destroyed the bridge of Alcantara, passed the Tagus at
Alvarez, on the 19th of June, and took post at Placentia. On the 22d of June, in obedience to the orders
of Joseph, Victor withdrew to Talavera; and, on the
same day, the English and Spanish armies, under Wellesley and Cuesta, having effected a junction at Orpesa,
came up with the French rearguard near the village of
Gamonal. On the 27th, the allied armies took position
at Talavera, and on the following day, King Joseph, in
accordance with the advice of Victor, and in opposition
to that of Jourdan, advanced to give battle. The allied
force consisted of about nineteen thousand British and
Germans, with thirty guns, and thirty-four thousand
Spaniards, with seventy guns; while the French army
contained fifty thousand good troops with eighty guns.
The battle began about two o'clock, and after four hours
of hard fighting, the French attack was repulsed in all
quarters. The British loss was about five thousand
five hundred, and that of the French about seven
thousand five hundred, of whom four thousand were of




288             CLAUDE VICTOR.
Marshal Victor's corps. After this severe engagement,
Victor retired to Maqueda, and Wellesley, menaced
by Soult upon his rear, retraced his steps down the
valley of the Tagus.
In the invasion of Andalusia, under the orders of
King Joseph, in January, 1810, Victor took part, and
commanded the right of the army in the irruption
through the Sierra-Morena on the 20th of that month.
Albuquerque, having interposed in vain to arrest the
torrent of invasion, became alarmed for the safety of
Cadiz, and retreated rapidly to that city, which he
reached on the 3d of February, closely followed by
Victor, who began a vigorous blockade of the place.
The works constructed for this purpose were of immense extent, being not less than twenty-five miles in
length. The blockade was maintained by Victor with
great energy until November, at which time Soult took
the command, and was preparing for an attack of the
place, when he received the emperor's orders to invade
Estremadura, in co-operation with Massena's advance
into Portugal. In the beginning of March, 1811, an allied army, which sailed out from Cadiz and landed near
Algesiras, in the end of February, consisting of about
four thousand British troops under General Graham,
and eight thousand Spaniards under La Pena, took
post at Barosa, for the purpose of making an attempt
to drive Victor out of his lines.  On the 5th, the
French marshal moved out to the attack, and a brief,
but fierce contest ensued between the French and English, of which the Spaniards remained unconcerned
spectators.  The French were defeated, with the loss
of above two thousand men killed and wounded, and
four hundred taken prisoners; while the British loss




INCURS THE EMPEROR S DISPLEASURE.  289
was not less than twelve hundred, of whom fifty were
officers. The utter inactivity and cowardice of the
Spanish general, alone, prevented the French from being entirely destroyed.
Victor was recalled from Spain to take the command
of the ninth corps of the army in the invasion of Russia,
amounting to thirty thousand men. When the emperor
advanced to Moscow, this corps was stationed at Smolensk, to preserve the communications of the army;
and upon the retreat, Victor protected the rear and displayed the most obstinate courage and endurance, especially at the passage of the Beresina. In the campaign
in Saxony, Victor was again at his post, and at the head
of the second corps: at the battle of Dresden, he commanded the right wing, which, with the aid of Murat's
cavalry, captured so great a number of prisoners. At
Leipsig, he fought with his accustomed valor; and in
the invasion of France, in the winter of 1813-'14, he
defended the passes of the Vosges with heroic resolution, and retarded, though he could not arrest, the avalanche of enemies which rolled over France. Serving
with devoted zeal in that small band that rallied so
valiantly around the sinking empire, Victor had yet the
misfortune at one point of the campaign to incur the
displeasure of his master. His corps had been ordered
to seize the bridge of Montereau on the day before the
battle at that place - a measure which might have obviated the necessity of that engagement, but which the
fatigue of the troops prevented their executing. Napoleon, extremely dissatisfied, sent Victor permission to
retire from the service, and gave the command of his
corps to General Gerard. Victor, with mortification,
repaired to Surville, and with deep emotion appealed
VOL. IT.-2fi




290             CLAUDE VICTOR.
against this decision. Napoleon gave full vent to his
indignation, and overwhelmed the unfortunate marshal
with expressions of his displeasure. With great difficulty, the marshal obtained a hearing. He then made
a protestation of his fidelity, and reminded Napoleon
that he was one of his old comrades, and could not quit
the army without dishonor. The recollections of Italy
were invoked not unsuccessfully. The conversation
took a gentler turn, and Napoleon merely suggested'
that the duke stood in need of a little repose from the
exertions of a military life, and that his ill-health and
wounds now, probably, rendered him unable to encounter the fatigues of the advanced-guard and the privations of the bivouac. But the emperor's endeavors
to induce the marshal to retire were ineffectual. He
insisted on remaining with the army; he attempted to
justify his tardy advance on the preceding day, but
tears interrupted his utterance; if he had committed a
military fault, he had dearly paid for it in the fatal
wound which his unfortunate son-in-law, General Chateau, had received. At this allusion, Napoleon became
deeply affected; he inquired if there was any hope of
saving his life, and sympathized sincerely in the grief
of the marshal. The duke of Belluno again resuming
confidence, declared that he would never quit the army:
" I can shoulder a musket," said he; " I have not forgotten the business of a soldier. Victor will range himself in the ranks of the guard." These last words completely subdued Napoleon: " Well, Victor," said he,
stretching forth his hand to him, " remain with me. I
can not restore you to the command of your corps, because I have appointed General Gerard to succeed
you; but I give you the command of two divisions




CREATED A PEER OF FRANCE.          291
of the guard: and now, let everything be forgotten between us."
Upon the establishment of the Bourbons, Victor was
created a knight of the order of St. Louis, and governor
of the second military division: and upon the return of
Napoleon, he used all his endeavors to keep the soldiers
to their duty; and being unable to prevent their defection, he followed the king to Ghent, having escaped
from Chalons just in time to avoid being arrested. His
fidelity was rewarded, upon the second restoration of
Louis XVIII., by numerous evidences of the royal approbation. He was created, in 1815, a peer of France,
and one of the four major-generals of the royal guard;
and in the following year, was made governor of the
sixteenth military division, and commander of the order
of St. Louis. In 1820, he received the grand cross of
the same order; and in 1821, was made commandant
extraordinary of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and nineteenth military divisions; and in the same year, was appointed minister of war. He held this post until 1823,
when he was appointed major-general of the army of
invasion in Spain. He afterward received the title of
minister of state and member of the privy council; and
in 1828, was called to the superior council of war. After the revolution of 1830, he fell into disfavor with
Louis Philippe, from his supposed connexion with the
designs of the Carlists. He died at Paris, on the 1st
of March, 1841, at the age of seventy-six.




BON-ADRIEN DE MONCEY.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804.
DUKE OF CONEGLIANO.
AMIDST the tumults of revolutionary excitements,
when the passions of men become at once sordid and
violent, and the changes of public government are the
wreck of private honor, the character of Marshal
Moncey- spotless, gentle, faithful, firm, disinterested,
and incorruptible-stands forth in a grandeur and elevation, purely beautiful; august in the lineaments of its
dignity, and graceful with something of heroic nobleness; reviving, in a debased age, the model of a genuine greatness, which recognised duty as superior to
self, which was always obedient to the sanctity of truth,
and in which honor was the guide of the conduct, as
well as the boast of the lips.  He received the confidence, and deserved the honors of the republic, the
empire, and the kingdom; finding in each of these,
the representative of that public to which his service
was due, and the opportunity to illustrate his superiority
to all considerations of person and of accident. A soldier of Louis XV., an officer of Louis XVI., a general
under the convention and the directory, a marshal and
duke under the empire, made a peer of France under
the first brief restoration, and a senator during the " hundred days," and, afterward, a recipient of the favors of




HIS EARLY YEARS.              293
the antagonist houses of Bourbon and of Orleans; he
was true to all these dynasties, simply because he was
always loyal to those sentiments of truth and those
principles of duty which became the inspiration of his
being, and grew to be "a light, that made the path
before him always bright." Beneath the changeable
and perplexing phantasms of power and greatness in
France, which deluded the constancy and ruined the
integrity of so many, there were certain permanent sentiments of patriotism, social duty, and personal dignity,
on which the character of Moncey established itself in
immovable firmness, and found repose amidst all agitations. " Moncey was an honest man," said Napoleon:
and he was honest at a time, when, to be so, implied
the clearest, coolest, and strongest judgment, a spirit
elevated above the shafts of selfish temptation, and
an understanding proof against all the impostures of
ambition.
Bon-Adrien Jannot de Moncey, was born at Palisse,
in the hamlet of Moncey, near Besanqon, on the 31st
of July, 1754. His father, a respectable advocate,
was desirous of educating his son to the same profession; but so strong was young Moncey's inclination
for a more exciting profession, that, before his studies
were finished, he enrolled himself, without the knowledge of his friends, in the regiment of Conti. After
six months' service, his family bought his discharge,
and it was hoped that the experience he had had would
cure him of his fondness for a soldier's life; but he
very soon enlisted again in the regiment of Champagne,
and continued to serve as a simple grenadier, until
1773. After a campaign, in Brittany, he consented
again to abandon the army, and devote himself to the
25*




294         BON-ADRIEN DE MONCEY.
study of the law; but finding this employment intolerably irksome, he again enlisted in the light horse, in
1774, and in 1778, became sub-lieutenant of dragoons,
in the volunteer regiment of Nassau-Siegen.  This
regiment having been, afterward, formed into the third
battalion of light infantry, Moncey was appointed captain, in 1791; and, when the battalion was incorporated
in the army of the eastern Pyrenees, he became its
major, in June, 1793, and, in the following year, was
appointed brigadier-general, general of division, and
commander-in-chief.  The modesty which was so
striking a feature in an age of universal ambition, induced Moncey to decline the last of these appointments, as above the measure of his capacity; but the
committee of public safety, with a graceful compliment
to his merit and diffidence, insisted upon his accepting
it. He continued in command until peace was signed,
in 1795; and, though thwarted and annoyed by the
commissioners who attended him, distinguished himself
against Count Colomera, especially by the seizure of
the vale of Roncevaux, where the commissioners destroyed the pyramid that had been erected to commemorate the defeat of Charlemagne, by the capture of
Bergara, and the founderies of Ascoitia and Aspeitia,
and by the victory of Maquirnechu. On the 1st of
September, 1795, Moncey was placed in command of
the army on the coast of Brest; and, in 1796, was
transferred to the head of the eleventh military division,
at Bayonne, and, afterward, of the fifteenth division, at
Lyons. At the opening of the campaign of Marengo,
he was commanding, in Switzerland, a detachment of
the army of the Rhine, under Moreau, and was ordered
to pass into Italy, by the Mont St. Gothard and by the




INSPECTOR-TENERAL OF GENDARMERIE.  295
Simplon, with fifteen thousand men, and move upon
Belinzona, to unite with the first consul, about Milan.
T'his perilous enterprise was executed with skill and
success; Moncey reached Belinzona on the 22d of
May; and, while Napoleon destroyed the Austrian
army at Marengo, Moncey's corps occupied the positions along the Adda, the Tesino, and the Po. Subsequently, he passed the Mincio, and marched to the
Adige, driving Hohenzollern and Laudon before him;
and, the latter general, surrounded by Moncey and
Macdonald, in the Tyrol, escaped capture only by announcing that an armistice had been concluded between
the commanders-in-chief; a device too frequent in the
practices of Napoleon, but to which the honorable mind
of Moncey became a dupe.
In 1801, when the corps of gendarmerie was established, upon the model of the ancient marshelsea, Moncey, impressed with the great responsibility belonging
to the control of a body, whose military and civil functions connected it so vitally with the safety of the empire, advised Napoleon to give the command of it to
one of his brothers.  "It can not be in surer hands
than Moncey's," said Napoleon, signing the commission
which appointed him the first inspector-general of this
magnificent body.  "It was the lot of the marshal
Moncey," said President Dupin, in a eulogy pronounced upon him after his death, " to raise the dignity
of every employment which he undertook to administer.
By the civil instructions, and the moral sentiments
which he imparted to the gendarmerie, he made that
service a kind of magistracy, of infinite use to the administration of justice and the laws. He thus established one of the most solid foundations of the public




296         BON-ADRIEN DE MONCEY.
security, and one of the valuable means of supervision,
good order, and prompt as well as exact information."
In 1804, Moncey received the highest military rank of
marshal of the empire, and became, soon after, a grandofficer of the legion of honor; and, in 1808, was created
duke of Conegliano.
In December, 1807, Moncey commanded the corps,
which, under the title of the army of observation of the
coast, entered the Spanish territory from Bayonne.
His firmness and moderation, at Madrid, restored order
after the rashness of Murat had created an alarming
tumult. In June, 1808, he led an attack upon Valencia, which, though unsuccessful did not diminish
his reputation for vigor and bravery. Toward the
close of that year, his corps, and Mortier's, were occupied with the siege of Saragossa, which proceeded
rather ineffectively, until Lannes took the supreme
command. In September, 1809, Moncey was transferred to the head of the army of reserve of the north
of France, and received the title of grand-dignitary of
the order of the crown of iron; and, in 1813, he was
named commander-in-chief of the army of reserve of
the Pyrenees.
On the 8th of January, 1814, the emperor confided
to Marshal Moncey the responsible, and now active,
office of major-general of the national guard of Paris;
and the marshal swore to defend, to the last extremity,
the walls of the capital. This solemn pledge was nobly
redeemed.  At the battle of Paris, on the 30th of
March, the national guard, amounting to twelve thousand men, destined to act as the reserve of the army,
were drawn up at sunrise, and harangued by the duke
of Conegliano, with a spirit worthy of the momentous




CREATED PEER OF FRANCE.            297
nature of the contest. From the barrier of Neuilly, to
that of Clichy, the line was defended by the guard
alone, and they were engaged with all the valor of veteran heroes, when the proclamation of the armistice
which Marmont and Mortier had concluded, arrested
their devotion.  Moncey fired the last shots that signalized that long and obstinate defence, and then resigned his authority to the duke of Montmorency, in
order to join the army which had left Paris. When
the abdication of the emperor had taken place, Moncey
gave his support to the royal government, and on the
10th of April, 1814, secured, at Fontainbleau, the adhesion of the gendarmes to the new sovereign. Louis
XVIII. hastened to testify his sense of the exalted
character of Moncey, by heaping upon him  all the
honors which could attest his respect. He continued
him in the post of inspector-general of the gendarmerie;
and on the 13th of May, appointed him  a minister of
state; on the 2d of June, named him a chevalier of
the order of St. Louis, and on the 4th of the same
month, elevated him to the rank of a peer of France.
When Napoleon landed again in France, and hastening forward, to Paris, on the wings of enthusiasm, summoned his old comrades to rally about his standard,
Moncey compared the emotions which he felt, to those
of a bride, who, after the indissoluble bonds of a marriage of reason have attached her to another, beholds
the object of her heart's affections suddenly reappear
before her.  But the moral principles of this ancient
soldier, were as firm and self-controlling, as his feelings were vivid; his duty to that empire, to which he
had pledged his allegiance, was too clear to the mind
of this right-thinking hero, to permit any inclinations of




298         BON-ADRIEN DE MONCEY.
passion to force their way. He addressed to his troops
the following order of the day: " Gendarmes! Bonaparte has entered one of our provinces with arms in his
hands. The enemies of the throne, and of the country,
will seek to kindle, from this event, the flames of a civil
war. Their rash and criminal attempt will be in vain.
I am sure of the sentiments of honor which animate
your breasts; and to signalize your loyalty by the most
decisive process, you will seize this occasion to give
the best of kings an evidence of a devotion that knows
no limits, and to make good the fidelity which you have
sworn to bear him." The emperor himself, afterward,
spoke in high terms of Moncey's conduct, and, after
his sway had become the established and unquestionable government of France, he conferred upon him the
rank of senator.
Upon the reaccession of Louis XVIII., Moncey was
called upon to preside in the council of war assembled
to pass sentence on Marshal Ney, but he promptly and
indignantly refused, in a letter (already referred to in the
life of Ney) which breathes the resentments of justice
and of honor in terms of dignified rebuke and defiance.
" If, sire," concludes this noble monument of personal
independence and self-respect, "' it is not granted to me
to save my country or my life, at least I will save my
honor; and if any regret remains to me, it is that I have
lived too long in surviving the glory of my country."
The lofty language in which this protest was conveyed
could scarcely escape some marks of the royal displeasure; and Moncey was deprived of his military functions,
and sent for three months to the castle of Ham, then
guarded by the Prussians. The officer in command
declared that he received the illustrious warrior only as




GOVERNOR OF HOTEL DES INVALIDES.  299
his guest: he received a Prussian guard of honor to
protect the house where he resided; entertainments
were given to him; and his residence at the castle was
a continual ovation, rather than a disgrace. But it was
not long before the elevated character of Moncey was
acknowledged with increased respect, even by those
who had been mortified by so striking a display of it:
the king restored him to his honors and titles, and received him at court with the other dignitaries of the
kingdom.
In 1823, he received the command of the fourth
corps of the army of the Pyrenees, in the duke d'Angouleme's invasion of Spain. On the 17th of September, 1833, Marshal Moncey, upon the death of Marshal
Jourdan, was spontaneously nominated by the king to
be the governor of the hotel des Invalides. " This post,"
says Dupin, "is, perhaps, the only one of which the
marshal was really ambitious. He was delighted with
the idea of watching over the welfare of his companions
in arms. An invalid himself, he brought to his duties
all the ardor of a heart which alone retained the vigor
of youth." Though in his eightieth year when he entered upon this employment, he performed its labors
with earnest fidelity, and became an object of veneration and love to those over whom he watched with the
tenderness of a father. It was a striking evidence of
the uncommon prolongation of the life of this veteran,
that the last days of one who was a youth of fifteen years
old at the birth of Napoleon should have been honored
by the duty of receiving the remains of the emperor
when they came home " to rest on the banks of the Seine,
in the bosom of the country which he had loved so well."
It was at the close of 1840 that the body of Napoleon




300         BON-ADRIEN DE MONCEY.
arrived under the dome of the Invalides. Moncey, no
longer able to walk, was carried in a chair and seated
by the spot where the august ashes were to repose. As
the sublime remains of the conqueror of the world advanced into the mighty nave, the venerable old man
was seen to make a last, but vain attempt to rise.
"Maintenant," he muttered, inclining his snow-white
head toward the tomb, of which the guardianship was
confided to him- " Maintenant, j'ai assez vecu!"  The
life of this interesting veteran was not much further extended: he died on the 20th of April, 1842, one of the
oldest and the bravest of the soldiers of Europe. Conscious of the integrity of his career, and grateful for the
rewards which it had met with, the last words which he
uttered were, " Que chacun remplisse et finisse sa carriere comme moi!" On the 25th of April, a discourse
was pronounced at his obsequies by Marshal Soult;
and on another occasion, the president Dupin bore an
honorable and earnest testimony to the excellence of
his private career and the purity of his civil virtues.
The heart of Moncey was overflowing with kindly
feelings for those who were the proper objects of indulgence and consideration. " In the person of Marshal
Moncey," says Dupin, " the importance of every command which he received was heightened by the virtues
which adorned his character. Full of humanity and
care for the conquered, he was severe to the officers
under his orders, always occupied about the welfare of
the soldiers, just toward all men, and in relation to himself of a chivalrous disinterestedness." When he commanded in Italy, in 1801, the municipality of Milan
offered him a pension of four hundred thousand livres
a year, by way of indemnity for the sufferings and pri



HIS KINDNESS OF HEART.           301
vations of war. "My government," said Moncey, "pays
me in full; but since you understand that the soldier
suffers, give each fusileer four sous a day: the generals
will be satisfied." It was a maxim with him, that an
officer should retire after the soldiers and rise before
them.  The interest which he felt for the old partners
of his dangers and his toils, extended to a class who
could make him no return for the bounty which they
received. He kept twenty-nine war-horses, which he
refused to sell, and suffered to die quietly of old age in
his stables.
Marshal Moncey married, on the 30th of September,
1790, Charlotte Rernillet, daughter of Claude Antony
Remillet; and the lady, surviving her husband but
three-and-twenty days, died at Besanqon, on the 13th
of May, 1842, aged eighty-two years. In December,
1817, the marshal had the misfortune to lose his only
son, a colonel in a regiment of huzzars, a youth of
twenty-five )years, full of the noblest promise. As he
was leaping a ditch, he chanced to lean upon his gun;
a branch caught the trigger, and he was killed upon the
spot. Two daughters, however, survived the marshal:
the elder married to Colonel Bourlon, who has taken,
in addition, the name of Moncey; and another married
to Baron Duchesne de Gilvoisin, who was authorized
by an ordinance of Louis Philippe to take the title of
duke of Conegliano.
VOL. II.-26




AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, JULY 12, 1809.
DUKE OF RAGUSA.
THE career of the duke of Ragusa, illustrates the
observation, that "' to be weak' is to be wicked, as well
as' to be miserable."' With no greater fault than vanity,
with no other defects than dread of responsibility, and
want of moral courage, he incurred all the odium of
treachery and cowardice, and whatever else can disgrace a soldier and a man. Connected, immortally,
with the history of Wellington and of Napoleon, as having afforded to the former, occasion to show one of the
most brilliant exercises in war, that the world ever saw,
and as having consigned the latter to hopeless overthrow, he stands gibbeted in a kind of infamy the least
endurable; an object not of indignation and hatred, but
of mingled contempt, compassion, and disgust.
Augustus Frederic Louis Viesse de Marmont, was
born on the 20th of July, 1774, at Chatillon-sur-Seine,
where his father resided, a knight of the order of St.
Louis, and seigneur of Sainte-Colombe, a man of
ancient family and considerable fortune, and a proprietor
of some iron works in Burgundy. The young Marmont, feeling a strong inclination for a military life, endeavored to obtain entrance into the royal artillery, but,




EXPLOIT AT MALTA.             303
not succeeding, he joined a provincial regiment. He
was, afterward, recommended to the friendship and
patronage of Napoleon, by an uncle who had been
among his school-fellows at Brienne, and his comrade
in the regiment of La Fere, and who emigrated at the
revolution.  " This circumstance," said the emperor,
" imposed upon me the obligation of acting the part of
his uncle and his father, which I literally did. I took
a real interest in his welfare, and felt a pleasure in advancing his fortunes." In 1792, with the rank of lieutenant of artillery, Marmont served in the army of the
Moselle, and then, rising to the grade of captain, passed
to the army of the Alps, and, afterward, to that of the
Pyrenees; and, in 1794 and 1795, he was employed
in the armies of Italy and Mayence. Here he attracted
attention by his intrepidity and coolness amid scenes of
danger. In 1796, he was made first aide-de-camp to
Napoleon, with the rank of major, and distinguished
himself by his gallantry at Lodi and Castiglione. He
was sent up to Paris with the colors taken in the battles
of Roveredo, Bassano, and Saint Georges, and the
actions of Primolano and Cismone. He returned to
Italy with the rank of chef de brigade, conferred by the
directory. In April, 1798, he was married, under the
auspices of Bonaparte, to Mademoiselle Hortense Perregaux.
When the expedition to Egypt was undertaken, Marmont was selected as one of its officers. He took a
distinguished part in the seizure of Malta, and was reported to have taken, with his own hands, the flag of
the order. For this exploit he received the appointment of brigadier-general of artillery. He signalized
himself at the assault of Alexandria; and, upon Napo



304      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
leon's excursion to Alexandria, he was made governor
of that city, in which post he conducted himself so well,
especially during the ravages of the plague, as to gain
the approbation of the general-in-chief.  Napoleon,
however, reproached him for not having resisted the
landing of the Turks at Aboukir; Marmont replied
that he had but twelve hundred men, and the Turks
were eighteen thousand."-" Well," replied Napoleon,
" with your twelve hundred men, I should have marched to Constantinople."
Upon the return to France, Marmont took a part in
the events of the 18th of Brumaire, and upon the establishment of the consulate, was made commander-inchief of the artillery of the army of reserve, which Napoleon led to Marengo. Marmont's skill and activity
in the organizing of this arm, and in the conduct of it
during the campaign, were eminently conspicuous.
His efforts during this expedition, were rewarded by
a promotion to the rank of general of division. At the
close of the Italian war, he was selected by Brune to
negotiate the armistice of Treviso. In 1802, he was
appointed first inspector-general of artillery, and, in
1804 was made commander-in-chief of the camp at
Utrecht. In the following year, he made the campaign
of Austerlitz, with the rank of colonel-general of the
chasseurs-a-cheval. In 1806, he was appointed comrnmander-in-chief of the forces in Dalmatia, where he
remained until 1809. On the 30th of September, 1806,
with six thousand men, he defeated a combined army
of six thousand Russians, and ten thousand AIontenegrians, near Old Ragusa, and succeeded in pacificating
the country confided to his care. Marmont had been
created, in 1806, grand-eagle of the legion of honor,




CREATED A MARSHAL.             305
and commander of the order of the iron crown; and
in 1808, his services in Dalmatia were acknowledged
by the title of duke of Ragusa.
After the battle of Essling, orders were sent to Marmont, then commanding two divisions in Dalmatia, to
hasten up. The disaffection created by the result of
that battle, rendered the movement extremely difficult
and perilous; nevertheless, this general, animated by
a sentiment more active than a mere love of duty, conquered every obstacle, and brought up a noble body of
veterans, to the great satisfaction of the emperor. He
received the command of the eleventh corps of the
grand army, and his conduct at Wagram, and in the
subsequent pursuit, was so much approved that, on the
12th of July, 1809, on the same day with Macdonald
and Oudinot, he was elevated to the dignity of marshal
of the empire. Marmont had not been on the field of
battle since Marengo, and he well knew that he owed
this exalted mark of distinction solely to the emperor's
personal regard. In the intoxication of joy which he
felt at being named a marshal of France, he could find
no expressions strong enough to express his sense of
the emperor's bounty; and the professions which he
made of his determination to devote his life to the service and honor of his sovereign, struck the bystanders
as noble effusions of feeling. Soon after, he was sent
as governor to the Illyrian provinces, where his administration was mild and judicious.
Upon the return of Massena from Portugal, in 1811,
on account of his impaired health, Marmont was recalled from Illyria, and sent to take the head of the
army of Portugal. The troops at that time were in a
bad condition; discipline had been neglected, and sup26*




306      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
plies were deficient. Marmont restored order and reorganized the various corps, with great activity and skill.
But in his conduct as leader of the military operations
in that part of the peninsula, the duke of Ragusa
showed a total incapacity for his station. His enterprises were ill-judged, and the execution of them tardy
and feeble; and he may justly be referred to as the
author of the ruin of the French cause in Spain and
Portugal. Having, in the first instance, co-operated
with Soult, and obtained some advantages in the direction of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo, he lost, from want
of sagacity and vigor, a very favorable opportunity to
attack Wellington's divided army at Elbodon and Guinaldo, on the 24th and 25th of September, 1811, and
took up an extended line of cantonments between Salamanca and Toledo.  Wellington, profiting by the
imbecility of his opponent, reduced Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo without the French commander's taking
any efficient step to raise the sieges.
In June, 1812, Marmont assumed an activity which
was more completely fatal to his cause than his previous
inaction had been. Then took place a series of movements and counter-movements, of advances and retreats,
between Wellington and himself, which resembled a
game of chess between a cautious, profoundly able master, and a showy, dashing, superficial opponent, in which
the contest seems to hang doubtful, while the former is
feeling the strength and taking the measure of his antagonist, whom, at the proper moment, he suddenly
overwhelms by a combination which displays his immeasurable superiority. In June, Wellington advanced
to the Tormes and laid siege to the forts of Salamanca
Marmont retired for a time, but again advanced, and




SPANISH CAMPAIGN.             307
the allies yielded to his approach; but presently resuming the offensive, the forts of Salamanca were taken,
and the French were compelled to withdraw behind
the Douro. On the 1Sth of July, Marmont repassed
the Douro, and superior in effective strength, obliged
Wellington to retire upon Salamanca. The French,
in these operations, had obtained a decided advantage
over their opponents, and Wellington's situation was
critical; but Marmont, who expected soon to be superseded by the arrival of King Joseph, hastened to snatch
the glory of a decisive victory, and, in his rashness,
ruined himself and his emperor for ever. Near Salamanca, and covering the communication with that city
and with Ciudad Rodrigo, which was the line of Wellington's retreat, are two rocky heights called the Arapeiles. On the morning of the 22d, a contest for these
important heights took place, which resulted in the
French seizing the more distant one, and the English
holding the one nearer to Salamanca. This position on
the part of the French rendered Wellington's communications with Ciudad Rodrigo hazardous, and Marmont
conceived a plan for menacing and assailing them still
more decisively. For this purpose, he ordered his left
wing, under Thomieres, to stretch forward toward Ciudad Rodrigo, intending to face his whole army toward
the road from Salamanca to that city, for the purpose
of attacking Wellington in flank as he moved past in
his retreat. A brilliant delusion, in which he forgot the
perils to which he exposed himself: for, in the execution of his complicated evolution, he was changing his
front in presence of the enemy, and was moving laterally
past the position of his opponent. He was operating
in the face of the "sun of Austerlitz."  About three




308      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
o'clock, intelligence of these motions was brought to
Wellington: he immediately ascended the English Arapeiles, and watched with stern satisfaction the flank movement of Thomieres, who had now advanced so far as to
be completely separated from the centre. Turning to
the Spanish general beside him, he said, " Mon cher
Alava, Marmont est perdu!" and then issuing his orders with the utmost rapidity and decision, in a moment
his army was sweeping forward like a tempest upon the
flank of Thomieres. It was a stroke of lightning from
a clear sky: the overthrow was instantaneous and total.
A French officer described it as " the beating of forty
thousand men in forty minutes." Marmont at the beginning of the attack was badly wounded by the explosion of a shell. This victory on the part of Wellington
was not only one of the most brilliant ever gained, but
one of the most important in its consequences; for it at
once delivered the south of Spain, expelled Soult from
Andalusia, and ruined the French cause in the peninsula. Napoleon received intelligence of it shortly before the battle of Borodino; and wrote to the minister
of war, on the 2d of September, 1812, a letter full of
just indignation, yet breathing personal kindness for his
friend and pupil.  " It is impossible," he writes, " to
conceive of anything more senseless than the duke of
Ragusa's report of the battle of the 22d of July. It is
as full of stuff and wheelwork as a clock, and does not
contain a word that gives information of the true state
of affairs.  Wait till the duke of Ragusa has recovered
from his wound, and till his health is almost entirely restored — then ask him, categorically, these questions:
Why did he deliver battle without the orders of the
king, his general-in-chief? Why did he not subordi



THE VICTORY OF ROSNAY.           309
nate his movements to the general system of my operations in Spain? There is there a crime of insubordination which has been the cause of all the disasters of
this affair. * * * It is a reasonable conclusion, that
this marshal has been afraid lest the king should participate in the success of the battle, and that he has sacrificed to vanity the glory of, the country and the good
of my service."
The French army was saved from destruction by
General Clausel, who succeeded to the command, and
Marmont returned to France to recover from his wounds.
He served in the campaign of Saxony, and fought at
Lutzen, Bautzen, and Dresden, with a vigor which, in
some degree, retrieved his military reputation.
In 1814, Marmont made the campaign of France with
the most conspicuous devotion and bravery. After the
unsuccessful engagement at Brienne, on the 1 st of February, the French army crossed to the left bank of the Aube,
with the exception of AMarmont's corps, which remained
on the right bank, to cover the movement of the rest of
the army, and intended to retire toward Arcis. Here,
on the 2d, he was pressed by Wrede at the head of the
Bavarian troops, who attempted to turn him and cut off
his retreat. Already they had occupied the village of
R.osnay, and intercepted the passage of the Voire; and
the destruction of the French marshal seemed inevitable. The commander and his troops were alike impressed with the seriousness of the moment. Marmont
drew his sword, and gave the signal for a charge: his
corps rushed forward with bayonets extended, and
twenty-five thousand Bavarians were put to the rout.
" If the muse of history," says the baron Fain, "should
be hereafter induced to obliterate some pages of her




310      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
book, let her, at least, for the honor of the duke of Ra
gusa, preserve that in which the battle of Rosnay is recorded! That exploit amply justifies the confidence
which Napoleon placed in the intrepidity of Marmont."
In the movement from the Seine toward the Marne,
on the 9th and 10th of February, Marmont led the
advanced-guard: he took an important part in the battle of Champaubert, and when Napoleon moved to the
left in pursuit of York and Sacken, Marmont proceeded
in the opposite direction to intercept Blucher. At Vauchamps, he sustained the shock of the Prussian fieldmarshal, until the arrival of the rest of the French troops
gave him relief and victory. When Napoleon returned
to the rescue of Macdonald and Oudinot on the Seine,
Marmont and Mortier remained to oppose the Russians
and Prussians in the north. On the night of the 9th10th of March, the eve of the intended battle of Laon,
Marmont's corps was suddenly attacked at night by very
superior numbers of the Prussian army, and thrown into
such disorder and dispersion, that the retirement of the
whole army became necessary. Napoleon soon after
passed over to the Aube, and Marmont and Mortier
were left to dispute the approaches to the capital upon
the north. After the battle of Arcis-sur-l'Aube, they
supposed that the emperor was effecting his retreat toward them, and they therefore thought it their duty to
move forward upon their right to meet him. The messengers that had been despatched to give notice of Napoleon's movement upon Saint-Dizier did not arrive.
The marshals marched from Chateau-Thierry upon
Fere-Champenoise, where they fell in with the whole
body of the allied armies, who were now pressing on




BATTLE OF PARIS.             311
to Paris, and on the 25th of March were routed with
great loss.
After the battle of Fere-Champenoise, Marmont and
Mortier retired rapidly through Sezanne and narrowly
escaping being cut off at La Fert6-Gaucher, reached
the capital on the 29th. At the battle of Paris, which
began at daybreak, on the 30th, Marmont commanded
the right, and Mortier the left, while Moncey, with the
national guard and the pupils of the Polytechnic school
formed a reserve. The conduct of Marmont, on this
day, was unexceptionable for courage and gallantry.
Putting himself forward in every part of the contest, a
dozen men were killed by the bayonet at his side, and
his hat was perforated by a ball. His corps was reduced to between seven and eight thousand infantry,
and eight hundred cavalry, with whom, for twelve
hours, he sustained himself against an army of fifty
thousand men. About noon, the marshals made known
to Joseph, who had been appointed lieutenant-general
of the empire, the desperate position of affairs. They
received the following reply:" If the dukes of Ragusa and Treviso can no longer
hold out, they are authorized to negotiate with Prince
Schwartzenberg and the emperor of Russia, who are
before them.
" They will fall back on the Loire.  JOSEPH.
" MONTMARTRE, March 30, 1814.
"Quarter-past 12 o'clock."
Joseph had no sooner signed this, than he repaired
to the Bois de Boulogne, gained the Versailles road,
and set out precipitately for Rambouillet. The marshals, however, still held out, until at four o'clock in
the afternoon, a suspension of arms was agreed upon.




312      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT'
"Methinks I still see Marmont," writes an officer of
the national guard, " when, on the evening of the 30th
of March, he returned from the field of battle to his
hotel in the Rue de Paradis, where I was waiting for
him, together with about twenty other persons. When
he entered he was scarcely recognisable. He had a
beard of eight days' growth; the great-coat, which
covered his uniform, was in tatters, and he was blackened with powder from head to foot."  On the morning of the 31st, at about six o'clock, the emperor
reached Fontainebleau, and in the evening he sent for
Marmont, who had just arrived with his troop, at Essonne. The marshal came to him, between three and
four o'clock, on the morning of the 1st of April, and
the emperor received a detailed account of his proceedings, and bestowed much praise on his gallant conduct before Paris.
On the 2d of April, the senate published a senatus
consultum, declaring Napoleon's forfeiture of the
throne, and abolishing the right of succession in his
family.  This was sent to all the marshals. Montessiers carried it to Marmont, who, surrounded by persons eager to terminate the anarchy that existed, agreed
to give his adhesion to the provisional government, on
condition that the troops who might quit Napoleon's
standard, should be allowed to retire into Normandy,
and that the life and liberty of Napoleon, in a circumscribed space, should be guarantied. At the same
time, he gave orders for the troops, which were under
his command, to pass over from Essonne and Fontainebleau, to Versailles and the quarters of the allies. So
long as Napoleon was at the head of the army, his situation was formidable, and he might have required any




HIS DESERTION OF THE EMPEROR.    313
terms that he saw fit: but, by the treachery and deser~
tion of the chief to whom he had intrusted the arm of
his power, his position became desperate, and he was a
prisoner in the hands of his enemies. It may safely be
said that, but for the desertion of Marmont, Napoleon
would have succeeded in establishing the regency of
Maria Louisa, and the succession of his son: the faithlessness of his trusted friend and officer caused the ruin
of the imperial family. It was on the night of the 4th,
that Gourgaud, who had been sent to Essonne with
orders, returned to Fontainebleau with the utmost speed,
to announce the defection of Marmont, and the removal
of the soldiers.  The emperor, at first, refused to credit
it, and when the truth could no longer be doubted, his
eyes grew fixed, and he threw himself into a chair,
overwhelmed by amazement and grief. After a long
silence, he exclaimed, "Ungrateful man! but he will
be more unhappy than I."
On the 5th, the emperor issued an order of the day
to the army, in which he gave utterance to the deep
indignation which had been inspired by the conduct of
the senate and of Marmont.  In relation to the latter,
he spoke as follows: " The emperor thanks the army
for the attachment which it has evinced for him, especially, because it acknowledges that France is with him
and not with the people of the capital. It is the soldier's duty to follow the fortune and the misfortune of
his general: that is his honor and religion. The duke
of Ragusa has not sought to inspire this sentiment in
the breasts of his troops. He has gone over to the
allies. The emperor can not approve of the condition
on which he has taken this step: he can not accept of
life and liberty at the mercy of a subject."
VOL. II.- 27




314      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
Napoleon ever spoke of Marmont's conduct as the
cause of his destruction: yet he alluded to him feelingly, and commented with discrimination upon his
motives and his moral qualities.  "I have been betrayed," said he at St. Helena, "by Marmont, whom
I might call my son, my offspring, my own work; by
him to whom I had committed my destiny, by sending
him to Paris, at the very moment when he was putting
the finishing stroke to his treason and my ruin." At
another time he said, " Posterity will justly cast a shade
upon his character; yet his heart will be more valued
than the memory of his career." Again, alluding to
this subject, he spoke of Marmont as a person to whom
he had been much attached, and whose defection had
proved a severe wound to his heart; he added, that
from what he knew of the marshal " he was sure he
must occasionally suffer deeply from remorse. Never,"
he observed, "was defection more fatal, or more decidedly avowed. It was recorded in the Moniteur, and
by his own hand. It was the immediate cause of our
disasters, the grave of our power, the cloud of our glory.
And yet," he continued, in a tone of affection, " I am
convinced his sentiments are better than his character;
his heart is superior to his conduct. Of this, he himself appears to be conscious. The newspapers inform
us that when soliciting, vainly, for the pardon of Lavalette, he exclaimed with warmth, in reply to the obstacles urged by the monarch,' Sire, have I not given
you more than life?' We were, it is true, betrayed by
others, and in a manner still more vile; but no other
act of apostacy was so solemnly recorded by official
documents." He said that, notwithstanding the occupation of Paris by the allies, had it not been for the




UNDER TIlE BOURBONS.            315
treachery of this marshal, he would have driven them
out of France. His plan was to have entered the city,
in the dead of night, and to have excited the citizens
and canaille to attack the allies from the houses.
" Marmont," said he to O'Meara, "will be an object
of horror to posterity. As long as France exists, the
name of Marmont will not be mentioned without shuddering. He feels it, and is at this moment, perhaps,
the most miserable man in existence. He can not forgive himself, and will terminate his life like Judas."
Marmont was made a peer of France, by Louis
XVIII., and appointed captain of the king's bodyguard.  Napoleon, upon his landing in France, denounced Marmont as a traitor; and excepted him from
the amnesty which he published at Lyons, on the 12th
of March. The marshal commanded the army that
covered the retirement of the king; and then went,
himself, to Aix-la-Chapelle, where he remained during
the " hundred days." Upon the second return of the
Bourbons, he was appointed one of the four marshals
in command of the royal guard. In 1S17,he was sent
to Lyons with extraordinary powers, as lieutenant of
the king, to pacify the disturbances in that region; a
mission which he executed with success.  The same
year, he was made a minister of state, and member of
the privy council. In 1820, he was created grandcross of the order of St. Louis, and a knight of the
order of the Holy Ghost; and in 1821, received the
government of the first military division.  Upon the
accession of the emperor Nicholas, the duke of Ragusa was sent to the court of Russia, as extraordinary
ambassador, to assist at the coronation of the emperor.
For two or three years after his return, he occupied




316      AUGUSTUS FREDERIC MARMONT.
himself extensively in agricultural operations, and in
working the iron forges which belonged to his hereditary
estates. In these speculations his fortune was much
impaired.
At the time of the revolution of 1830, Marmont was
intrusted by Charles X. with the suppression of the
insurrection, and the preservation of order in Paris.
Here his conduct was imbecile in the last degree: his
dispositions were the most injudicious, his operations
the most feeble, that could be imagined. He ruined
the cause of the Bourbons, as he had that of the Bonapartes. By many, he was accused of intentional
treachery; but his known want of judgment, vigor, and
coolness, and his dread of political responsibility, were
sufficient to explain his disgraceful conduct.  Since
that period he has been an exile from his country, and
a wanderer through Europe, his principal residence
being at Vienna. He has published an account of his
travels, in six volumes. In 1845, he published a work
entitled, " Esprit des Institutions Militaires."
Marmont was well instructed in his profession, and
possessed a superior degree of military science. His
courage and endurance, also, were unquestionable. He
was well qualified to organize an artillery corps, and to
command it efficiently. But his capacity was totally
incommensurate with the complicated and great duties
of a general-in-chief. He was ruined by his vanity:
and the real merit which he possessed was shipwrecked,
by his being placed in situations too great for both his
mental and his moral abilities.




STEPHEN MACDONALD.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE.
DUKE OF TARENTO.
STEPHEN JAMES JOSEPH ALEXANDER MACDONALD,
the son of Noel Stephen Macdonald and Alexandrina
Gonant, was born at Sancerre, in Berry, on the 17th of
November, 1765. He was descended from an eminent
Scottish family, which had followed the fortunes of their
sovereigns of the house of Stuart to France, and there
fixed their residence. The young Macdonald, having
completed his studies, entered the legion of Maillebois
in 1784, and was appointed a sub-lieutenant in the regiment of Dillon in 1787. In 1791, he was promoted
to the rank of lieutenant; and in the following year,
was made a captain, and an aide-de-camp to Generals
Dumouriez and Bournonville in the army of the north.
At the battles of Valmy and Jemappes, in the autumn
of that year, he distinguished himself so honorably by his
calm courage and presence of mind, that he was advanced
to the grade of colonel in the ninety-fourth infantry. In
1793, he was appointed a brigadier-general, and took
an active part in the operations against the allies in the
north; and after the retreat of the duke of York, he
commanded the advanced-guard which pursued him.
In 1794-'95, he served under Pichegru in the celebra27*




318          STEPHEN MACDONALD.
ted winter campaign, in which Thiel was taken and the
Waal passed. In 1795, he was made general of division, and commanded at Cologne and Dusseldorf in
1796, and afterward in the army of Italy. In 1798, he
served under Championnet, in the revolutionary invasion of Rome and Naples by the orders of the directory.
After the reduction of Naples, and the establishment of
the Parthenopeian republic, Championnet, disgusted by
the iniquity and violence of the decrees which he was
called upon to execute, refused to obey his instructions,
and was, accordingly, deposed and arrested on the 16th
of March, 1799, and Macdonald appointed to the chief
command in his stead.
The disasters sustained by Jourdan, Scherer, and
Moreau, at the beginning of the campaign of 1799, and
the prodigious successes of Suwarrow in Lombardy,
rendered the evacuation of Naples by the French army
indispensable. On the 7th of May, Macdonald commenced his retreat from Naples through Rome and
Florence to Lucca, where, after a march conducted
with great ability and judgment, he arrived at the close
of the month, and entered into communications with
Moreau. The allied forces were distributed throughout
the country at such distances from one another, that
Macdonald hoped to fall upon them separately, and destroy them in detail. On the 7th of June, he crossed
the Apennines and marched to Modena, where he attacked Hohenzollern on the 12th and defeated him.
He then advanced to Parma, and thence to Placentia,
where he was joined by Victor; and having concentrated all his forces, prepared for a general engagement
with the allies. Suwarrow, as soon as he had become
apprized of Macdonald's approach, recalled his dis



THE BATTLE OF TREBBIA.           319
persed troops, and rallied all his forces, with a rapidity
and decision worthy of Napoleon himself. The hostile
armies came into collision on the banks of the Trebbia,
on the morning of the 17th of June; and then began
the most obstinate and sanguinary of the battles which
till then, had occurred in the experience of the revolu
tionary armies. The force under Macdonald consisted
of about thirty-five thousand men, while the allied army
amounted to somewhat more. On the 17th, the French
crossed the Trebbia, and drove back the Austrians in
disorder; but Suwarrow quickly restored the combat,
repulsed the assailants, and drove them beyond the
river, into which the Russians attempted to follow them,
but were in their turn arrested by the furious discharges
of the French batteries. On the 18Sth, the combat was
repeated under similar circumstances: the French
crossing the river to the attack, and being driven back
again after a sanguinary contest. On the third day,
Macdonald, strengthening both his wings, crossed the
river with the design of turning both flanks of the allied
position: his centre, being thus weakened, was attacked
by the reserve under Lichtenstein, and the whole army
was again obliged to recross the river. The loss during
this three days' battle had been about twelve thousand
on each side; but the allies were hourly expecting reinforcements, and Macdonald had been disappointed in
not being joined by Moreau. On the night of the 19th,
therefore, he drew off his army, and retired to Parma
and Placentia, and then with difficulty reached Genoa,
by a circuitous course, in the middle of July. In consequence of the state of his health, he was now recalled
from the army, and was succeeded by St. Cyr. He
was present at Paris on the eighteenth and nineteenth




320          STEPHEN MACDONALD.
of Brumaire, and rendered Napoleon the assistance
which is mentioned in the life of the emperor.
On the 24th of August, 1800, Macdonald was appointed commander-in-chief of the army of reserve assembled at Dijon, under the name of the army of the
Grisons. In October, it advanced into the Grisons, being intended to pass the Alps, and threaten in flank the
imperial army on the Mincio, against which Brune was
operating in front. In November and December, Macdonald, at the head of fifteen thousand troops, accomplished, with infinite labor, courage, and perseverance,
that immortal passage of the Splugen, which will invest
his name for ever with the loftiest honors of heroism.
The orders of this commander required- him to-reach
the valley of the Adige; and accordingly, having been
repulsed in an attempt to cross Mont Tonal between
the Oglio and the Adige, he passed by the Col de San
Zeno, ascended the Chieza, and reached Storoe, in the
Italian Tyrol, on the 5th of January, 1801. He entered Trent on the 6th, and was following the enemy
vigorously, when the armistice of Treviso put an end
to his progress.
The same year, Macdonald was appointed minister
plenipotentiary to the court of Denmark; and after his
return thence, was made a grand officer of the legion
of honor in 1804. In the years of glory that elapsed
between 1801 and 1809, Macdonald took no part in
what was going forward. He continued in a kind of disgrace, for which no cause has been assigned but those
jealousies and intrigues to which an elevated mind is
always exposed.  "Malevolence," says the duke of
Rovigo, " had succeeded in prevailing upon the emperor to remove him from his presence; and his innate




CREATED A MARSHAL.             321
pride of heart had prevented his taking any step to be
reconciled to a sovereign who did not treat him with
that kindness to which he felt that he had a claim."
At the opening, however, of the campaign of 1809, the
emperor gave him command of a corps under Eugene
in Italy; and his conduct and courage in that post, especially at the battle of Piave on the 8th of May, and
his subsequent advance into Carniola, established his
character as a first-rate soldier. In the concentration
of troops that took place after the battle of Essling, he
was ordered to advance to Lobau; and the glorious
service performed by him at Wagram has already been
recorded in the history of that battle. On the 7th of
July, 1809, the day after that great battle, Napoleon,
in going over the field, as was his custom, encountered
Macdonald. He stopped and held out his hand, sayng, "Shake hands, Macdonald! no more animosity
6etween us: we must henceforth be friends; and as
a pledge of my sincerity, I will send you your marshal's baton, which you so gloriously earned in yesterday's battle." - "Ah! sire," replied Macdonald, "I
am henceforth yours, in life and in death!" His appointment bears date the 12th of July; and very soon
after, he was created duke of Tarento and grand-eagle
of the legion of honor. " The general opinion," says
De Bourrienne, "was, that the elevation of Macdonald
added less to the marshal's military reputation, than it
redounded to the honor of the emperor."
In 1810, Macdonald was sent to Spain, to replace
Augereau in the command of the seventh corps of the
army in northern Catalonia; and here he was called
upon to display all the firmness and strength of his
character, in restoring that discipline and decorum to




322           STEPHEN MACDONALD.
the habits of the army which the system of his prede.
cessor had nearly destroyed. The operations of Macdonald in this field of Suchet's peculiar renown, did
not add greatly to either his military or his moral reputation. On the 21st of October, he engaged unsuccessfully with O'Donnell at Cardona; and incurred much
odium from the unnecessary and wanton burning of
Manresa, on the 29th of March, 1811. In August of
that year, he retook by blockade the fortress of Figueras, which the Spaniards had captured in the spring.
On the invasion of Russia, in 1812, Macdonald received the command of the tenth corps of the army,
thirty thousand strong, composed of one French and
two Prussian divisions, and destined for an independent
line of operations toward Riga. His movements had
been crowned with entire success, and he was in possession of Riga when orders to retreat arrived.  He
fell back about the 20th of December; and though
deprived of half his army by the defection of the Prussian troops, succeeded in reaching Konigsberg on the
3d of January, 1813, with the honor of having commanded the only part of the expedition which had continued successful in the field. In the campaign of
Saxony, Macdonald was in command of the eleventh
corps of the army, and rendered important service at
the battle of Lutzen. After the armistice of Plesswitz,
he was placed at the head of the army of Silesia. Here
his movements were rash and injudicious, and in opposition to the orders of Napoleon; and on the 26th of
August, he was signally defeated by Blucher at the
Katzbach, with immense loss of men and artillery. At
Leipsig, Macdonald again combated stoutly for the
emperor; and at the time of the retreat, received, with




RESIGNATION OF NAPOLEON.         323
Poniatowski and Lauriston, the responsible charge of
protecting the rear of the army. When the bridge over
the Elster was destroyed, Macdonald escaped by swimming the river.
The valor and ability with which Macdonald served
during the interesting campaign of 1814, are already
recorded in the life of the emperor.
When Napoleon returned to Fontainebleau, Macdonald was in command of the rear-guard of the army,
at Montereau.  Having received orders to put his
troops in motion, to aid the emperor's design of marching upon Paris, he left his corps at Montereau and
hastened to Fontainebleau. Admitted to the emperor's
presence, on the 2d of April, he pointed out to him the
hopeless impossibility of the attempt, especially since
the senate had declared his forfeiture of the empire.
The emperor became, at length, convinced that an
abdication in favor of his son was the least unfavorable
result that awaited him. He had been seated during
the conversation, and when he had come to the resolution of abdicating, he rose, and walked once or twice
up and down his cabinet, and then drew up and signed
the act of abdication. He then appointed Caulaincourt,
Ney, and Marmont, his commissioners to the allied
powers, and after those who surrounded him had expressed their satisfaction at these appointments, he
threw himself on a small yellow sofa near the window,
and striking his thigh convulsively with his hand, exclaimed, "No, gentlemen, I will have no regency!
With my guards and Marmont's corps, I shall be in
Paris to-morrow." Macdonald and Ney endeavored
to expostulate: but he rose with displeasure, and rubbing his forehead, as he was wont to do when vexed,




324          STEPHEN MACDONALD.
exclaimed in a loud, authoritative tone,' Retire."
Some conversation then ensued between Caulaincourt
and the emperor, by which the latter seemed to be
satisfied. "Vicenza," said he, "call back Macdonald." When the marshal returned, Napoleon's excitement had subsided, and he said with kindness, " Well,
duke of Tarento, do you think that the regency is the
only possible thing?"-" Yes, sire."-" Then I wish
you, instead of Marmont, to go with Ney to the emperor Alexander. It is better that he should remain
with the army. You will, therefore, go with Ney. I
rely on you. I hope," he added with emotion, and
pressing the marshal's hand in the most affectionate
manner, "that you have forgotten all that has separated us for so long a time."-" Yes, sire; I have not
thought of it since 1809."-" I am glad of it, marshal,
and I must acknowledge to you that I was in the
wrong."  Macdonald, accordingly, accompanied the
other commissioners, and maintained the cause of the
regency in the presence of the allied powers, with every
argument and persuasion which he could command.
The emperor of Russia seemed partly inclined to yield
to Macdonald's noble appeal, but the king of Prussia
was resolute; and the commissioners returned to Fontainebleau about one o'clock, on the morning of the 6th,
to inform Napoleon that an unconditional abdication
was required. Having received new powers from Napoleon, Ney and Macdonald returned to Paris. On
arriving there, Ney sent in his adhesion to the provisional government, so that Macdonald, alone, returned
to Napoleon with the definitive treaty of the allies.
During the night, the emperor had made an unsuccessful attempt to poison himself. When Macdonald en



LAST INTERVIEW  WITH NAPOLEON.    325
tered his chamber, he found him dressed in a morninggown of white dimity, and wearing slippers without
stockings, seated in a small arm-chair before the fireplace, his elbows resting on his knees and his head
supported by his hands-motionless, and lost in revery.
The dukes of Bassano and Vicenza, were with him.
"Sire," said the latter, "the duke of Tarento has
brought for your signature the treaty which is to be
ratified to-morrow." The emperor, as if roused from a
lethargic slumber, turned to Macdon.ald and said, " Ah,
marshal, so you are here." He rose, took the treaty,
read it, and signed it in silence, and returned it to Macdonald.  " I am not rich enough," said he, " to reward
these last services."-" Sire, interest never guided my
conduct."-" I know that, and I now see how I have
been deceived respecting you. I understand, also, the
designs of those who prejudiced me against you."" Sire, I have already told you, as long ago as 1809,
that I am devoted to you in life and death."-" I know
it; but since I can not recompense you as I desire, let
a token of remembrance, at least, assure you that I shall
ever bear in mind the service which you have rendered
me."  Napoleon then turned to Caulaincourt: " Vicenza, ask for the sabre which was given to me by
Murad Bey, in Egypt, and which I wore at the battle
of Mount Thabor." Constant brought the sword, and
the emperor taking it in his hands, presented it to the
marshal: "Here, my faithful friend," said he, "is a
reward, which, I believe, will gratify you." Macdonald
took the sabre, and said, "Sire, I will never part with
it while I live: and, if I have a son, this will be his
most precious inheritance."-" Give me your hand,"
VOL. II.-28




326           STEPHEN MACDONALD.
said Napoleon, "and embrace me."  They rushed
into one another's arms affectionately, and parted with
tears in their eyes. After a formal and entire abdication had been executed byNapoleon, on the 11th, Macdonald sent in his resignation to the provisional government, in these dignified and manly terms: "Being released from my oaths, by the abdication of the emperor
Napoleon, I declare that I adhere to the acts of the
senate and the provisional government."   He was,
afterward, created, by Louis XVIII., a knight of the
order of St. Louis, and a peer of France: and appointed governor of the twenty-first military division.
Upon the return of Napoleon, Macdonald exhibited
an unwavering fidelity to the house of Bourbon. In
company with the comte d'Artois, and the duke of
Orleans, he advanced to Lyons, on the 8th of March,
and made every effort to keep the army to its allegiance; but the case was hopeless. Macdonald remained
until the troops had actually deserted him, and then,
with some difficulty, made his escape. Returning to
Paris, he vainly united his efforts with those of Mortier,
in maintaining the fidelity of the forces in the capital;
and, when the king determined to retire, he accompanied the unfortunate monarch as far as Menin, and
then returned into France. He declined all Napoleon's
offers, and contented himself with doing the duty of a
grenadier in the national guard of Paris. After the
second restoration, Macdonald retired with the army
behind the Loire, and presided over its disbanding. In
July, 1815, he was nominated grand-chancellor of the
legion of honor, and on the 13th of October, following,
was admitted a member of the king's privy council.
In subsequent years, he took an important part in




VISITS GREAT BRITAIN.          327
several civil transactions, and received numerous marks
of the royal favor.
A noble instance of the pride and good sense, and
manly openness of Macdonald, was afforded in 1815.
At that time several marshals claimed from the allied
powers their endowments in foreign countries; and
Madame Moreau, a friend of Macdonald, wrote, without his knowledge, to M. de Blacas, the French ambassador at Naples, begging him to use his influence to
preserve for the marshal, the endowments which had
been given him in the kingdom of Naples. Macdonald,
when informed of it, expressed his thanks to Madame
Moreau, but wrote immediately to M. de Blacas, as.
follows: " I hasten to acquaint you, sir, that it was not
with my consent that Madame Moreau wrote to you,
and I beg that you will take no step that might expose
me to a refusal. The king of Naples owes me no
recompense for having beaten his army, revolutionized
his kingdom, and forced him to retire to Sicily." This
letter was shown to the king, who replied, " If I had
not imposed a law upon myself, to acknowledge none
of the French endowments, the conduct of Marshal
Macdonald would have induced me to make an exception in his favor."
In 1825, the duke of Tarento visited England and
Scotland, where he was warmly received, and where
he rendered himself extremely popular, by his liberality
and kindness. Upon his return, he was appointed one
of the four marshals in command of the royal guard, at
the Tuileries. He died in September, 1840, at the
chateau of Courcelles, near Gien, at the age of seventyfive. Macdonald was thrice married; the first time to
a lady named Jacob; the second time, to the widow




328          STEPHEN MACDONALD.
of General Joubert, a daughter of the marquis of Montholon; and, for the third time, in 1823, to a daughter
of the baron de Bourgoing, the French embassador in
Saxony. In 1823, a royal ordinance authorized the
transmission of his title and rank as peer, to the marquis
of Roche-Dragon, his son-in-law.
Macdonald was distinguished for lofty honor, for a
firm, proud loyalty, for calm resolution of temper, and
indomitable courage; but his abilities were not of a
very high order; and in Spain and Silesia, where he
held a principal command, his conduct did not elevate
his reputation as a general, or a man of intelligence.




JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE.
KING OF SWEDEN.
THE only man in Europe who was insensible to the
fascination of Napoleon-the only person whom he
could not make instrumental to his designs, either by
allurements, or by craft, or by terror-was Bernadotte.
The subtle fire of the Corsican's genius played in vain
around the hard and selfish independence of the Gascon's character. He, in fact, used Napoleon fearlessly
for his own purposes. He refused to aid him when he
was struggling for the mastery of France; he quietly
availed himself of all the rewards and distinctions which
the emperor heaped upon him, and rose by his means
to a throne; and then, when his own interests required
it, came forward to consign his rival to defeat and exile.
The life of such a man would demand an extended
memoir: the present limits allow only of tracing that
part of his career which connected him with Napoleon.
Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, afterward Charles
XIV., of Sweden, was born at Pau, in Bearn, on the
26th of January, 1763. His father, Henry Bernadotte,
was a member of the bar, and designed his second son
for the same profession, which an elder brother already
28*




830    JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
adorned: but the lad, who was by no means a favorite
at home, and who felt his position disagreeable, enlisted,
without his father's knowledge, in the regiment called
Royal-la-Marine, afterward the sixtieth infantry, on the
3d of September, 1780. This regiment was in garrison
on the island of Corsica, and there Bernadotte passed
the first two years of his service.  A  severe illness
obliged him to return home toward the close of 1782;
but at the end of eighteen months, notwithstanding the
entreaties of his family, he rejoined his regiment, and
passed gradually through all the degrees of inferior
honor. He was made a corporal on the 16th of June,
1785,fourrier the 31st of August, following; sergeant,
the 21st of June, 1786, sergeant-major, the 11th of May,
1788, and adjutant sub-officer on the 7th of February,
1790. Thus, the future king of Sweden and Norway,
served ten years before he obtained the epaulette of a
sub-lieutenant.
In 1790, Bernadotte's regiment was in garrison at
Marseilles, and here he had an opportunity of saving
the life of his colonel, M. d'Ambert, who was suspected
of royalism. D'Ambert reported at the war-office so
favorably of the merits of his adjutant, that in 1791,
Bernadotte received a lieutenancy in the regiment of
Anjou, stationed in Bretagne. He used, afterward, to
say that he had found it more difficult to obtain a lieutenancy, than to become a marshal of France.  He
displayed his gratitude to the colonel, in 1799, by his
efforts to save his life, which was forfeited under the
law against the return of emigrants. In 1793, Bernadotte was promoted to the rank of colonel, and served
under General Custine, in the army of the Rhine. The
ability and courage which he displayed, during the re



GALLANTRY AND MODERATION.           331
treat of Custine to the frontiers, procured him the command of an advanced guard in the army of the north,
where the seventy-first demi-brigade, and the thirid regiment of cavalry, were placed under his orders. About
this time, for some cause or other, he had incurred the
suspicions of the committee of public safety, who sent
an order to General Ferran, and the representative in
attendance, to have him arrested and conducted to
Paris. The order arrived on the day before the attack
of Landrecy, and it was thought advisible to postpone
*its execution until after the battle: Bernadotte, here,
displayed such valor, that, upon the report of the representative, the committee changed the order of arrest for
a commission of general of division, which, however,
Bernadotte declined, on the ground that, not having
passed through the grade of general of brigade, he could
not be nominated to a superior rank. Soon after, Bernadotte passed to the army of the Ardennes, and then
joined that of Sambre and Meuse. He displayed such
gallantry at Fleurus, that, at the request of Kleber, he
was nominated a general of brigade on the field of battle.
From that time, he took rank as one of the most prominent generals of the republic, and figured inlall the most
celebrated actions of the army.  At the passage of the
Roer, the battle of Heinsberg, the battle of Juliers, the
siege of Maestricht, and the passage of the Rhine, Bernadotte was equally distinguished for the gallantry with
which he fought, and the moderation with which he
used the victory.
In 1797, Bernadotte was ordered by the directory to
take the command of a corps of twenty thousand men,
detached from the army of Sambre and Meuse, for the
reinforcement of the army of Italy. At the head of twc




332   JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
divisions, he left Metz, passed Mont Cenis in the depth
of winter, and joined Napoleon at Milan. From their first
interview, these remarkable men regarded one another
with an instinctive distrust. " I have seen yonder," said
Bernadotte to his staff, when he returned to his quarters,
"a man of twenty-six or seven, who wants to appear
fifty; that augurs no good for the republic." Napoleon, on his part, spoke of the Gascon extravagance of
the new general: he gave him, however, the command
of his advanced guard, and in this position, Bernadotte
encouraged his men to acts of the utmost gallantrya
At the passage of the Isonzo, and the attack of Gradisca, in his eagerness to outrival the achievements of
the Italian divisions, he exposed his corps to unnecessary loss and defeat.
After the signature of the preliminaries of Leoben,
Bernadotte was placed in command of the corps left by
Napoleon on the frontiers of Germany, and was invested, provisionally, with the government of the Frioul
and the Venetian states. Shortly before the crisis of the
18th of Fructidor, Napoleon sent Bernadotte up to
Paris, upon the same errand upon which Augereau
had lately been despatched, but for the ostensible purpose of transmitting to the directory four flags, which,
out of the twenty-one taken at Rivoli, had been sent, by
mistake, to Peschiera.  "Bernadotte, however," says
Bourienne, "did not take any great part in the affair:
he was always prudent." He returned, soon after, to
the government of the Frioul, and the command of the
rear-guard of the army of Italy: but Bonaparte's arrangements deprived him of the command of half the
troops which he had brought from the Rhine. Bernadotte was indignant: and wrote, both to the directory




HIS MARRIAGE.               333
and to Napoleon, complaining of the ill-treatment he
had received. The government then conferred upon
him the command of the army of Italy, previously held
by Berthier; but Napoleon's influence intervened at
the moment when he was about to enter upon his new
station, and his appointment was changed for an embassy to Vienna. He accepted this with great reluctance. Here his Gascon spirit displayed itself, in a
manner that was near proving serious. The inhabitants
of the capital celebrated, with much brilliancy, the anniversary of the arming of the volunteers despatched
against France; the embassador replied by a splendid
fete, the same day, in honor of the victories of the republic, and decorated the front of his hotel with a tri-color
flag. An explosion ensued, as might have been expected: the mob broke into the hotel, and Bernadotte
and his officers drove them out with firearms. In his
report to the directory, however, he endeavored to
diminish the insult which the Austrians had offered to
the republic, and advised them to accept the apology
which the emperor was willing to offer. At the same
time, he quitted Vienna and went to Rastadt, to wait
for orders. The directory, not pleased with his moderation, appointed him embassador to Holland, which he
declined, on the ground of his unfitness for diplomatic
duties. Soon after, returning to Paris, he was married
to Mademoiselle Desiree Clary, fourth daughter of
Madame Clary, the widow of a rich merchant, and
sister-in-law of Joseph Bonaparte. Joseph, who wished
to attach Bernadotte to the interests of his family, obtained her for him; and the marriage was celebrated
on the 16th of August, 1798, in his hotel in the Rue
de Rocher. There can be no doubt that this marriage




334   JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
had much to do with Bernadotte's subsequent rise.
Napoleon seems to have counted a great deal upon the
ties of blood and connexion, in attaching persons to his
cause; and thus, he heaped honors and power upon
those who were allied to him by either, with a prodigality which, by stimulating too great an ambition,
generally defeated its own purpose.
In January, 1799, Bernadotte was, a second time,
named general-in-chief of the army of Italy, an appointment which he warily declined.  He accepted the
command, however, of the army of observation on the
Rhine: which he shortly changed for the post of minister of war, for which he was indebted to the influence
of Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte. In this situation,
according to Napoleon, he committed nothing but
faults; he organized nothing, and a majority of the
directory summarily removed him from the cabinet.
When Napoleon returned from Egypt, Moreau and
Bernadotte were the persons then foremost in character
and power, and to win them, or to dupe them, was one
of the first objects of Napoleon's intrigues. Bernadotte
had ceased to be minister of war about three weeks before: he was a sincere republican, a man of the most
acute sagacity, of inflexible firmness, and predetermined
not to be made use of for the advancement of the Bonapartes. He saw through Napoleon's character and
designs; and though he did not become an active
foe during the proceedings which led to the eighteenth
Brumaire, that scheming soldier found him utterly intractable to his purposes. "I do not fear Moreau,"
said Napoleon upon his first arrival from Egypt, when
discussing the prospect of success: "he is devoid of
energy. He prefers military to political power, and




UNDER THE CONSULATE.            335
the promise of the command of an army would gain him
over. But Bernadotte has Moorish blood in his veins:
he is bold and enterprising: that devil of a fellow is not
to be seduced: he is disinterested and clever." A few
days after, upon the failure of an attempt to move this
impracticable man, he exclaimed, " Bernadotte is a bar
of iron." Accordingly, on the 18th of Brumaire, though
Joseph induced Bernadotte to come to the house of his
brother in the morning, he stole away from the procession which was formed to accompany Napoleon to the
Tuileries, and went to join the Societe du Manege.
Bernadotte, however, had his share in the honors of
the consulate. He was appointed a counsellor of state,
and soon after named commander-in-chief of the army
of the west, and intrusted with the pacification of La
Vendee.  "His conciliating disposition," says Bourrienne, " his chivalrous manners, his tendency to indulgence, and a happy mixture of prudence and firmness,
made him succeed where others would have failed: he
finally established good order and submission to the
laws." He did not, however, escape the suspicion of
having connived at a plot which was formed in the west
for the overthrow of the first consul: after his return to
Paris, he was more seriously implicated in the various
conspiracies which were in progress for his destruction;
and it was chiefly owing to the influence of Joseph and
his wife, that Bernadotte was not brought to trial. " The
first consul," says Gourgaud, " forgot everything; Bernadotte forgot nothing."
In 1803, Napoleon appointed Bernadotte governorgeneral of Louisiana, which had lately been ceded to
France by Spain: the latter readily accepted the nomination; but the rupture of the treaty of Amiens hav



336   JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
ing determined the government to sell Louisiana to the
United States, this mission did not take effect. Bernadotte was then commissioned as embassador to the United States; but the vessel had scarcely left the port
when it was ordered to return, for the purpose of receiving troops to be conveyed to St. Domingo, and the
embassador was officially informed that the negotiation
which he was to conduct at Washington had terminated,
and that war was declared by England; in consequence
of which, his embassy was revoked. On the 19th of
May, 1804, Bernadotte was created a marshal of the
empire; and soon after, appointed commander-in-chief
of the army of Hanover. His administration here was
able, judicious, and conciliatory; and his memory was
long cherished, with affection and gratitude, by the objects of his government. Upon the opening of the campaign of 1805, the Hanoverian army and the Bavarian
troops constituted the first corps of the grand army, and
were commanded by Bernadotte. In obedience to Napoleon's orders, he marched through the territory of
Prussia, and took post on the Danube between Neuberg and Ingolstadt, to co-operate in the reduction of
Ulm; and then passing through Bohemia and Moravia,
arrived at Brunn on the 1st of December. At Austerlitz, he fought gallantly in the left wing of the army:
and after the treaty of Presburg, he was ordered to occupy the marquisate of Anspach, which was detached
from Prussia for the purpose of being annexed to Bavaria. In 1806, Bernadotte was invested with the principality of Ponte-Corvo, " to hold it," said the patent,
" as an immediate fief of our crown." Napoleon sought
by this accumulation of honors to bind the soldier to his
service, either by interest or by gratitude; but his cold




AT THE BATTLE OF EYLAU.           337
and jealous temper seemed to grow more envious and
impracticable with every evidence which he received
of the superior power of his rival. In the campaign of
1806, he again commanded the first corps of the army,
and his behavior at Auerstadt excited the deepest indignation of the emperor. The circumstances under which
he failed to co-operate with Davoust have been already
stated in the life of the latter marshal. Napoleon was
so enraged at his conduct, that he is said to have actually signed the order delivering him over to a courtmartial to be shot, and to have cancelled it only out of
regard for Bernadotte's alliance with Joseph. " Were
I to bring him before a court-martial," said the emperor, "he would be shot. I shall say nothing to him
about it; but I will take care he shall know what I
think of his behavior. He has too keen a sense of
honor, not to be aware that he has acted disgracefully."
Bourrienne asked Bernadotte if he had heard of these
observations: " I think him very likely to have made
such remarks," replied the latter: "he hates me, because he knows I do not like him; but let him speak
to me, and he shall have his answer. If I am a Gascon, he is a greater one still. I might have felt piqued
at receiving something like orders from Davoust, but I
did my duty." At the battle of Eylau, Bernadotte was
equally unlucky. Orders had been sent to each corps
to be at Preuss-Eylau on the 8th of February, 1807:
all the corps arrived according to order, with the exception of Bernadotte's. It was alleged that the messenger charged with delivering the instructions to him
was captured on the way, and that the message did not
reach him. His conduct, however, on these two occasions, viewed in connexion with his known feelings towVOL. II.-29




338   JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
ard the emperor, certainly raise suspicions of his fidelity. On the 5th of June, while leading a column which
was passing the Passarge at Spandau in the face of the
Prussians, he was seriously wounded in the back of
the neck, and obliged to retire from the command of
his corps, which was soon after given to Victor. On
the 14th of July, 1807, he was ordered to occupy the
Hanseatic towns, and to take the command-in-chief of
the French, Spanish, and Dutch troops, assembled in
Hamburg, and act as governor of the whole country:
a duty which he discharged with eminent ability and
integrity. Toward the end of March, 1809, the prince
of Ponte-Corvo was ordered to repair to Dresden, to
take charge of the organization of a corps of Saxons intended to form part of the grand army in the approaching war with Austria. He left the banks of the Saale in
the end of April, and passing through Plauen, Passau,
and Lintz, joined the grand army in the island of Lobau, and took part in the battle of Wagram. His conduct here was the cause of a grand explosion between
himself and Napoleon.
From the opening of the campaign, Bernadotte had
been complaining of the inexperience and want of ardor
of his Saxon troops; and their lukewarmness during
the battle had been observed by many. The army was,
therefore, astonished to hear of an order of the day from
Bernadotte, ascribing to the troops under his command
the principal merit of the victory of Wagram. The
moment Napoleon was informed of it, he sent for the
marshal, and removed him from the command of his
troops: Bernadotte, insisting on the justice of the congratulations which he had addressed to the Saxons,
caused them to be inserted in the public papers. The




NAPOLEON S ORDER OF THE DAY.                339
emperor, indignant at this impropriety, issued an order
of the day, which he directed not to be circulated among
the army at large, nor among the Saxon troops.
" ORDER OF THE DAY.
"From our Imperial Camp at Schbnbrunn,
" the 11th of July, 1809.
"His majesty expresses to marshal, the prince of
Ponte-Corvo, his displeasure at the order of the day
from the latter, bearing date Leopoldau, the 7th of July,
which has been inserted simultaneously in almost all the
newspapers, and is of the following tenor: —
"' SAxoNs: In the battle of the 5th of July, seven or eight thousand
of your nation pierced through the centre of the enemy's army, and
penetrated as far as Deutsch-Wagram, notwithstanding the opposition of forty thousand men, supported by fifty pieces of cannon: you
fought until midnight, and bivouacked in the heart of the Austrian
lines. On the 6th, at daybreak, the battle recommenced on your part
with the same obstinacy; and in the midst of the havoc created by
the hostile artillery, your living columns remained as firm as brass.
The great Napoleon witnessed your devoted valor: he reckons you
in the number of his gallant soldiers. Saxons! the soldier's fortune
consists in fulfilling his duties: you have worthily performed those
that devolved upon you. The marshal in command of the ninth corps,
1"' BERNADOTTE.
"' Bivouac of Leopoldau, the 7th of July, 1809.'
"Independently of the circumstance that his majesty
commands his army in person, it belongs to him alone
to assign to each one the share of glory to which he
may be entitled. His majesty is indebted to the French
troops, and not to any foreign soldiers, for the success
of his arms. The order of the day of the prince of
Ponte-Corvo, which has a tendency to give false pretensions to troops of a secondary description, to say the
least of them, is opposed to truth, to policy, and to the
national honor. The success of the battle of the 5th
is due to the corps of marshals the duke of Rivoli and




340    JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
Oudinot, who pierced through the enemy's centre, while
the corps of the duke of Auerstadt was turning their left.
The village of Deutsch-Wagram was not in our possession on the 5th: that village was certainly carried,
but not until the 6th at noon, by the corps of Marshal
Oudinot. The corps of the prince of Ponte-Corvo did
not remain asfirm as brass: it was the first to give way.
His majesty was obliged to have it protected by the
corps of the viceroy, by Broussier's and La Marque's
divisions, commanded by Marshal Macdonald, by a division of heavy cavalry under the orders of General
Nansouty, and by part of the cavalry of the guards. To
that marshal, and to his troops, belongs the praise which
the prince of Ponte-Corvo claims for himself. His
majesty desires that this expression of his displeasure
may serve as an example, and prevent any marshal
from attributing to himself the glory that belongs to
others. His majesty, however, directs that this order
of the day, which might be painful to the Saxon army,
shall be kept secret, although its soldiers are well aware
that -they have no title to the praises bestowed upon
them: and he further directs that it shall merely be transmitted to the marshals commanding the several corps.
1" NAPOLEON."
The prince of Ponte-Corvo returned to Paris in disgrace, and was appointed by the minister of war to command at Antwerp during the English expedition to the
Scheldt. When the emperor heard of this, he ordered
him to be removed, and Bessieres to be sent in his stead.
The sudden death of Charles Augustus, crown prince
of Sweden, on the 2Sth of May, 1S10, opened the succession of the throne of the northern peninsula to all
the intrigues of Europe. The states-general assembled




KING OF SWEDEN.             341
at Orebro to nominate a successor; aud three candidates were named. The prince of Augustembourg,
brother of the late crown prince, was the person most
acceptable to the king and to the people: a portion of
the clergy were in favor of Frederic VI., the king of
Denmark; and the army were favorable to Bernadotte;
who was known to them by many acts of kindness and
consideration while he commanded in the north. In
1806, he had protected a Swedish corps made prisoners at Lubeck; in 1809, upon his own responsibility,
he had granted an armistice to the Swedes; and while
governor of Hanover and of Hamburg, had conciliated
the regard of that nation with particular diligence. In
the beginning of August, a vote was taken in the electoral committee, consisting of twelve, and it was found
that eleven were in favor of Augustembourg, and one
in favor of Bernadotte. The Swedish court and state,
however, were extremely anxious to connect themselves
with Napoleon, and to obtain his patronage and protection; and it was distinctly intimated to him, that the expression of a wish on his part would be decisive of the
matter. At this time, there arrived at Orebro, from
Gothenburg, a Frenchman of obscure pretensions and
doubtful character, who circulated the intelligence that
the secret wishes of the emperor were in favor of the
prince of Ponte-Corvo. The effect was instantaneous:
the proposals of the electoral committee were annulled;
the king presented Bernadotte a second time to the diet,
as the candidate upon whom all votes ought to unite;
a new electoral committee was appointed, in which the
French marshal received ten votes out of twelve; and
on the 21st of August, 1810, he was elected prince
royal of Sweden, under the name of Charles John.
29*




342   JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERN'ADOTTE.
Napoleon afterward strongly disavowed this agent, and
there seems no reason to doubt that Bernadotte's election was disagreeable to him; but whether this person
acted upon his own responsibility, or, which is most
probable, was an emissary of Bernadotte's, is to this
day wholly unexplained; and the influences by which
this election was decided, form one of the most curious
and perplexing problems in modern European politics.
Napoleon, however, willing, if possible, to gain a friend
and ally upon the throne of Sweden, gave Bernadotte
his consent to become king, and advanced him a loan
of a million of francs. When the marshal, upon the eve
of his departure, came to receive the letters of emancipation which had been promised him, Napoleon announced to him that, by a decision of the council, they
would not be delivered to him until he had signed an
engagement never to bear arms against France. Bernadotte refused, alleging that he had become a subject
of the king of Sweden: "Well," replied Napoleon,
abruptly, " go, and let our destinies be accomplished."
Bernadotte set out, and travelling with great haste, from
fear lest an order of recal might be sent after him, arrived at Elsinore on the 19th of October, 1810.
The policy of the Swedish court, under Bernadotte's
influence, was cautious, wise, and patriotic. The power
of Napoleon, at first, was too formidable to be resisted;
and in compliance with his dictation and command, war
was declared against England by Sweden in November,
1810. The commercial results, however, soon proved
too disastrous to the kingdom to allow hostilities to be
continued; and the tyranny and violence of the emperor during the next two years, showed so clearly that
he was willing utterly to-sacrifice Sweden to his own




DEFEATS OUDINOT AND NEY.          343
interests and passions, that all obligations of gratitude
or friendship were discharged toward such a despot.
On the 5th of April, 1812, a treaty was concluded between Sweden and Russia, by which the former engaged, in the event of a war with France, to assist with
thirty thousand men, who were to operate with Russia
in the north of Germany: and on the 12th of July,
1812, a treaty of peace was concluded between Great
Britain and Sweden. Thus was formed the league
which, in 1813, destroyed Napoleon in Saxony. His
intervention in that campaign had the most decisive
effect upon the fortunes of his ancient master; yet his
operations were cautious, moderate, and interested, showing, that he sought to repress the power of Napoleon, in so
far as it endangered himself, rather than contribute to the
entire restoration of the old monarchical system of policy.
Upon the resumption of hostilities, after the armistice
of Plesswitz, Bernadotte advanced in the direction of
Berlin at the head of twenty-eight thousand Swedish
troops and twenty-five thousand Hanoverians, and entered into communication with the Russian and Prussian forces under Winzingerode and Bulow. In August,
Marshal Oudinot was despatched by Napoleon to meet
him; and on the 23d of that month, was signally defeated at Gros-Beeren: a disaster which proved, perhaps, more injurious to Napoleon than any event which
occurred in that campaign before the battle of Leipsig.
On the 4th of September, Bernadotte established his
headquarters at Rabenstein, near the Elbe. Marshal
Ney was now senI to take the place of. Oudinot: and
he sustained, on the 6th of September, at Dennewitz,
an overthrow and rout not less decisive than his predecessor had met with. The crown-prince in these great




344   JEAN-BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE.
battles displayed conspicuous ability; but the allies
were dissatisfied by the languor and indifference with
which he pursued his advantages. At the battle of
Leipsig, Bernadotte did not arrive in time to take part
in the engagement on the 16th; but, by the earnest
efforts of the English minister, Sir Charles Stewart, he
was brought upon the field on the 17th: and on the
18th of October, he combated valiantly, in conjunction
with Blucher, against Ney on the north of the city.
In 1814, Bernadotte visited Paris, then in possession
of the allies, and entertained hopes of being made king
of France; but he received from his old friends nothing but expressions of disapprobation and disgust. He
returned through Brussels to Sweden, and reached
Stockholm on the 10th of June. Upon the landing
of Napoleon in the bay of Juan, Sweden wholly refused to take part in the new coalition against France.
The former alliance, it was declared, had been terminated by the treaty of Paris; and to engage again in a
remote contest, Bernadotte wrote, " would be to expose
ourselves to the greatest losses, without the prospect of
any compensation, even in case of complete success."
To trace the history of Bernadotte as king of Sweden, would be foreign to a book relating only to the
marshals of France. It remains only to say, that, on
the 5th of February, 1818, he succeeded to the throne
of Sweden and Norway, under the name of Charles
XIV. John; and after a reign of more than a quarter
of a century, died on the 8th of March, 1844, in the
eighty-second year of his age. He was succeeded by
his only son, whose name, Oscar, served as a monument of his imperial godfather's youthful admiration of
*)ssian.




CHARLES PETER FRANCIS AUGEREAU.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE.
DUKE OF CASTIGLIONE.
CHARLES PETER FRANCIS AUGEREAU, was born
on the 21st of October, 1757, in Paris, in the faubourg
Saint-Marceau, where his father followed the calling
of a fruit-merchant. He entered the army as a private
soldier, in 1774; and had attained such distinction for
his knowledge of the use of arms, that, in 1787, he was
selected to go to Naples, to instruct the Neapolitan
troops. In 1791, he was appointed adjutant-major in
the Germanic legion; and rapidly rising through the
grades of captain, in the eleventh regiment of hussars,
and colonel, he was made a general of division, in
1793, in which capacity he served with great distinction in the eastern Pyrenees, under Dugommier and
Perignon.  In the celebrated attack upon the entrenched camp at Figueras, in November, 1794, Augereau commanded the right wing, and displayed the
most extraordinary courage and perseverance.  At
Bezalu, in 1795, he acquired great celebrity, for the
success with which, at the head of a small force, he
repulsed the Spanish army. Upon the conclusion of
peace with Spain, in July of that year, he led his division to the army of Italy, and served under Scherer,




346           CHARLES AUGEREAU.
taking a prominent part in the battle of Loano, in the
month of November.  Napoleon found him  in that
army, when he took the command, in March, 1796;
and, from the day of Millesimo, where he first came
into action, to that at Arcole, where his daring and devotedness were eminently conspicuous, Augereau is
identified with the brightest glory of the Italian campaign.  At Castiglione, in particular, where he sustained the principal attack of the Austrian army, he
exhibited the most obstinate firmness, in a moment the
most critical, perhaps, in the whole war. " It was to
reward Augereau's conduct at Lonato," says Napoleon in his memoirs, "when he commanded the right
and was ordered to attack Castiglione, that he was
afterward made a duke with that title. That day was
the most brilliant of General Augereau's life, nor did
Napoleon ever forget it."
When the conspiracy which ended in the revolution
of the 18th of Fructidor, was approaching its crisis,
Augereau was sent up to Paris, by Napoleon, under
pretence of carrying to the directory some flags which
had been captured at the fall of Mantua, and which
Bessieres had not taken with him. He carried, also,
the addresses of the army. " Bonaparte made choice
of Augereau," says Bourrienne, " because he knew his
stanch republican principles, his boldness, and his deficiency of political talent.  He thought him well calculated to aid a commotion, which his own presence
with the army of Italy, prevented him from directing in
person; and Augereau, besides, was not an ambitious
rival, who might turn events to his own advantage."
The directory made him governor of the seventeenth
military division, which included Paris and its environs;




EIGHTEENTH OF BRUMAIRE.          347
and he enforced the change of the 18th of Fructidor,
in the same manner that Napoleon had effected that of
the 13th of Vendemiare.
At the close of the year 1797, upon the death of
Hoche, and the discredit of Moreau, the armies of the
Sambre and MIeuse, and of the Rhine, were united in
one, and the supreme command given to Augereau.
" He was incapable," says Napoleon, " of conducting
himself in this capacity, being uninformed, of a narrow
intellect, and little education: but he maintained order
and discipline among his soldiers, and was beloved by
them. His attacks were retgular, and made in an orderly manner; he divided his columns judiciously,
placed his reserves with skill, and fought with intrepidity: but all this lasted but a day; victor or vanquished, he was generally disheartened in the evening;
whether it arose from the peculiarity of his temper, or
from the deficiency of his mind in foresight and penetration."
In politics, Augereau was a thorough Jacobin, and
was extremely fond of taking part in civil affairs, for
which, however, he was wholly incompetent.  In
1798, he was elected a member of the council of five
hundred; and became identified with the party of
Babceuf, and the society of the Manege. He was in
this position when Napoleon arrived from Egypt: and,
the latter, wishing to keep himself clear of that party,
did not apply to Augereau for the occasion of the 18th
of Brumaire. On that day, however, he came with
Jourdan to Napoleon while the troops were passing in
review; and Napoleon advised them to remain quiet,
and not to obliterate the memory of the services which
they had rendered the country.  Augereau assured




348           CHARLES AUGEREAU.
him of his devotion, and of his desire to march under
his command; adding, "What! general, do you not
still rely upon your little Augereau?"  Napoleon,
however, did not make use of his services, and he remained a spectator of the events of the 19th of Brumaire.
Under the consulate, Augereau received, in 1800,
the command-in-chief of the French army in Holland,
and co-operated, in that year and the next, with Moreau
until the conclusion of the campaign of Hohenlinden:
and, in 1803, he was placed in command of the camp
at Bayonne, assembled for the invasion of Portugal.
On the 19th of May, 1804, Augereau was created a
marshal of the empire, and a grand-officer of the legion
of honor; and, in 1805, was made grand-eagle of that
order, and grand-dignitary of the crown of iron. In
the campaigns of 1805, 1806, and 1807, Augereau
commanded the seventh corps of the grand army. At
the battle of Jena, where he commanded the left, he
bore a very distinguished part; and at Eylau, where
he sustained the onset of almost the whole Russian
army, the losses of his corps were so enormous, that
only a single battalion remained in each regiment.
The seventh corps was, accordingly, suppressed, and
its soldiers became the nucleus of the force besieging
Dantzig, under Lefebvre: and Augereau, having received a shot wound in the battle, returned to France.
In 1808, Augereau was created duke of Castiglione;
and, in May, 1809, was sent to supersede St. Cyr in
the chief command of the seventh corps, in Catalonia.
Upon his arrival in the scene of his youthful distinction,
he issued an inflated and ridiculous proclamation; but
the state of his health, from an attack of gout, prevented




HIS OPERATIONS AT LYONS.         349
his displacing St. Cyr until October, when he took the
direction of the siege of Gerona, which he succeeded
in reducing, on the 10th of December. His success,
however, was tarnished by the severity with which he
treated his gallant opponent, Alvarez. After some unimportant, and unskilful movements, Augereau retired
to Barcelona; and, upon the pretext of bad health,
spent the most of his time in the palace, suffering the
military affairs of the country to fall into disorder and
confusion, and vainly attempting, by harsh and cruel
ordinances, to correct the mischiefs of his own inattention. In 1810, he was recalled by the emperor, and
Macdonald sent to take his place.
In 1812, Augereau was placed in command of the
eleventh corps of the grand army, which did not advance into Russia; but, in 1813, he took part in the
campaign of Saxony, and was present at the battle of
Leipsig.
In the winter of 1813-'14, when Napoleon, with the
heroism worthy of the imperial crown which he had
assumed, drew his lines of defence around France,
Augereau was stationed at Lyons. His orders were,
to collect, at that point, as large a force as possible, to
oppose, in the first instance, General Bubna, who was
approaching through Switzerland, and then to fall upon
the flank and rear of the allies, whom the emperor was
opposing in front. Augereau arrived from Paris and
took the command on the 14th of January, 1814, and
organized a corps of twenty thousand men. But his
operations were feeble and injudicious: instead of the
bold assault upon the line of the allies' march, which
Napoleon had dictated, he occupied himself with a
series of movements having relation to Bubna alone.
VOL. II.- 30




350           CHARLES AUGEREAU.
In vain, Napoleon wrote to him, "Unite your troops
in one column, and march into the Pays de Vaud;
forget that you are fifty-six years old, and think only
of your brilliant days at Castiglione;" he seemed incapable of comprehending the part he was to play in
the grand scheme which the emperor had conceived
for the repulse of the allied armies, and he lost the opportunity of saving the empire. On the 20th of March,
he was signally defeated, at Limonet; and Lyons fell,
at once, into the hands of the Austrians.
Augereau, gloomy and bitter in his temper, and full
of republican jealousy, had never ceased to hate the
character and policy of the emperor, whom he now
took occasion to insult, with a brutality as cowardly as
it was ungrateful. He was one of the first to send in
his adhesion to the provisional government, and on the
16th of April, at Valence, he issued the following
order of- the day: " Soldiers! the senate, the rightful
interpreter of the national will, worn out by the despotism of Bonaparte, pronounced, on the 2d of April,
the dethronement of himself and family. A new dynasty, strong and liberal, descended from our ancient
kings, will replace Bonaparte and his despotism. Soldiers! you are absolved from your oaths: you are so
by the nation, in which the sovereignty resides: you
are more so, were it necessary, by the abdication of a
man, who, after having sacrificed millions to his cruel
ambition, has not known how to die like a soldier."
On the 24th, Napoleon having passed through Lyons,
on his way to Elba, met Augereau at a little distance
from Valence. Either he had not heard of the proclamation, or, which is more probable, he affected to overlook it. He stopped his carriage and alighted; Au



OPPOSITION TO THE EMPEROR.        351
gereau did the same, and they cordially embraced. It
was observed that in saluting, Napoleon took off his
hat, and Augereau kept his on.  "Where are you
going?  To court?" said Napoleon.-" No, I am
going to Lyons."-" You have behaved very badly to
me," said Napoleon, addressing him in the second personal singular. —" Of what do you complain?" replied
Augereau, with the same familiarity.  "Has not your
insatiable ambition brought us to this? Have you not
sacrificed everything, even the happiness of France, to
that ambition? I care no more for the Bourbons than
you do: all that I care for, is the country." Napoleon
then turned sharply away from the soldier whom he had
made a marshal and a duke, lifted his hat, and stepped
into his carriage. The persons around were disgusted,
at seeing Augereau remain standing in the road, covered, with his hands behind his back, and instead of
bowing, making merely a disdainful salutation to Napoleon with his hand. When Augereau had taken his
leave, one of the allied commissioners expressed his surprise that the emperor should have treated him with such
an appearance of friendship and confidence. "Why
should I not?" said Napoleon. "Your majesty is,
perhaps, not aware of his conduct?"-" What has he
done?" —" Sire, he entered into an understanding with
us several weeks ago."-" It was even so," said Napoleon, at St. Helena, when recounting these circumstances; "he whom I had intrusted with the defence
of France, on this point, sacrificed and betrayed the
country. The marshal was no longer the soldier. His
early courage and virtues had raised him above the multitude; but honors, dignities, and fortune, again reduced
him to the common level. The conqueror of Castig



352           CHARLES AUGEREAU.
lione might have left behind him a name dear to his
country. But France will execrate the memory of the
traitor of Lyons."
Upon the establishment of the Bourbons, in 1814,
Augereau was made governor of the fourteenth military
division, a peer of France, and a knight of the order
of St. Louis. Upon Napoleon's landing, near Cannes,
his proclamations denounced Augereau and Marmont,
as the traitorous authors of the misfortune of the previous year. His proclamation to the French people,
dated in the " Bay of Juan, March 1, 1815," opens as
follows: "Frenchmen! the defection of the duke of
Castiglione, delivered up Lyons, without defence, to
our enemies; the army, of which I confided to him the
command, was, by the number of its battalions, and the
bravery and patriotism of the troops which composed
it, fully able to conquer the Austrian corps opposed to
it, and to place itself upon the rear of the left wing of
the enemy's army, which threatened Paris." He then
proceeds to refer to the successes which he had gained
in that campaign, and to the treason of Marmont; and
adds, "the unexpected conduct of those two generals,
who betrayed, at once, their country, their prince, and
their benefactor, changed the destiny of the war."
Augereau was sent into Normandy, by Louis XVIII..;
and, though he subsequently expressed himself favorable to the emperor, he took no share in the events of
the "hundred days."  Upon the second restoration,
he resumed his seat in the chamber of peers. He died
at his estate, La Houssaye, of dropsy, on the 12th of
June, 1816.
Augereau was an admirable general of division; and
handled troops upon the field of battle, with remarkable




HIS CHARACTER AND DEMEANOR.         353
vigor and skill.  But the range of his faculties was
narrow, and he was incapable of managing extensive
combinations, or a prolonged and systematic plan of
operations.  His moral qualities, and his manners,
alike, retained the traces of a vulgar and ignoble origin.
His temper was harsh, uncertain, and unfeeling. " Augereau," says Las Cases, as the substance of a conversation of Napoleon's, " was a cross-grained character. He seemed to be tired and disheartened by
victory, of which he always had enough. His person,
his language, and his demeanor, gave him the air of a
braggadocio, which, however, he was far from being.
He was satiated with honors and riches, which he had
received at all hands, and in all ways."




FRANCIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804.
DUKE OF DANTZIG.
THE station and honors of Lefebvre, formed to the
world one of the most striking evidences of the republican qualities of Napoleon's empire; and never had
republicanism a brighter model, or a nobler representative, than in the virtue, the integrity, the moderation of
Lefebvre.  The rise of such men as Murat and Soult
is fitted only to confirm the prejudices of aristocracy,
for their characters revolt the moral sympathies of the
gazer, in the same degree in which their external lustre
attracts his consideration.  But, upon the career of
Lefebvre, the mind rests with a pure satisfaction. His
was a character of perfect dignity. Carrying forward,
into the highest rank and station, the humility and
modesty of his first lowly condition, he maintained his
original temper and feelings, not from any jacobinical
jealousy or false pride, but from native simplicity, and,
because his inherent self-respect rendered him insensible to the outward distinctions, which fortune, at various times, had cast around him. Mingled in the most
violent scenes of the revolution, he was neither stained
nor hardened by their influence, and he carried away
from that experience, only the lessons of the vanity of




HIS ORIGIN.                355
worldly pride, and the sure reliance of honest virtue.
Raised to the first places of the empire, and covered
with its gaudiest distinctions, rank served only to make
conspicuous the higher nobleness of his own spirit, and
to prove, by being lost upon his simple character, that
it can add nothing to truth, to goodness, or to virtue.
Francis Joseph Lefebvre, the son of Joseph Lefebvre, and of Anna Maria Riss, was born at Ruffach,
in Alsace, on the 25th of October, 1755. His father
was a miller, but had served as a hussar, and at the
the time of his death, commanded the garde bourgeoise
of his place of residence. Lefebvre was but eight years
old when he lost his father; but, fortunately he found
in his paternal uncle, a warm friend and a judicious
counsellor and protector. This worthy man was desirous that his nephew should enter the church, but the
youth displayed a strong predilection for a soldier's
life. His brother's appointment as an officer in the
regiment of Strasbourg, fixed his determination. On
the 10th of September, 1773, he entered, as a private
soldier, in the regiment of the French guards, became
a corporal in 1775, a sergeant in 1782, and on the 9th
of April, 1788, first sergeant.  He was serving in this
capacity, at Paris, when the revolution broke out. In
common with all his comrades, he embraced with
warmth the republican principles of the day; but, always true to the feelings of humanity and justice, and
fearless in asserting them, he vigorously opposed the
violence of the people against the officers of his regiment, and protected them courageously against the
fanaticism of the revolutionists. Upon the disbanding
of the French guards, in 1789, Lefebvre entered as a
sub-lieutenant in the national guard. At the head of




356        FRANCIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE.
a detachment of this corps, he was twice wounded:
once, in protecting the return of the royal family to the
Tuileries, after their unsuccessful attempt to reach
Saint-Cloud; and, a second time, in aiding the king's
aunts to effect their retirement to Rome. For these
services, he received the thanks of the royal family.
Leaving these unwelcome scenes of violence and
cruelty, Lefebvre entered the regular army, on the 3d
of September, 1793; and, as captain of the thirteenth
battalion of light infantry, he served in the army of the
Moselle, and quickly rose to the rank of major and adjutant-general. Passing into the army of Mayence, he
attained the rank of brigadier-general, on the 2d of December, in that year. After the combats of Lambach
andGiesberg, he was made a general of division; and,
usually in command of the advanced guard, his name
appears conspicuously in all the operations in Germany,
until 1798. Active, enterprising, though not of the
highest military genius, he was at all times noted for
sound judgment, presence of mind, coolness in the
midst of danger, and an immovable firmness..At Fleurus, when two thirds of the French army was in rapid
and disorderly retreat, Lefebvre swore that he would
die sooner than retire, and his resolution inspired the
soldiers with so much firmness and courage, that they
repulsed three vigorous attacks, led by Beaulieu and
Prince Charles, in person. In the midst of the danger,
a powder-wagon, struck by a bomb-shell, exploded in
the centre of the French columns, and the soldiers, dismayed by the terrible occurrence, cried out loudly for
an order to retreat.  " Retreat!" cried Lefebvre,
"when we may fight and die with glory?  No, no;
no retreat!" These words were re-echoed along the




IN GERMANY.                357
lines; and the men, reanimated by the ardor of their
commander, rushed forward against the Austrians, and
finally gained the day. At the battle of Altenhoven,
he exhibited one of those traits of gentleness and
humanity, which sit so gracefully upon a bravery so
fierce as his. On the 2d of October, 1794, the inhabitants of the town of Linnich, devoted to the flames by
the vanquished Austrians, came out to implore the
generosity of the conquerors. Lefebvre received them
with kindness and sympathy, and introduced them to
his soldiers; and the French army forgot its sufferings
by the battle, to relieve the distresses of the unfortunate
inhabitants. In the same year, when the convention
sent its commissioners, to execute the law of proscription against. everything tainted with the crime of noble
blood, one of the representatives of the people said to
Lefebvre, " General, I am aware, that, in your corps,
you keep in office many persons of the patrician caste;
the law has fixed the mark of reprobation upon them:
point them out to me, for I must execute the commands
of the government in regard to them."-" I know no
persons under my orders," was Lefebvre's reply, " but
warriors worthy of the country which they have defended valiantly up to this hour. I answer for them
all, without the exception of a man." In consequence
of this noble and resolute stand, not a person in his
army was arrested.
After the passage of the Rhine, Lefebvre, in command of the advanced guard, and with such an officer
as Ney to execute his orders, deserved the largest share
of the honors won in the brilliant campaign which followed. At Opladen, before Hennef, at Siegburg, at
Altenkirchen, at Rosbach, this general established a




358        FRANCIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE.
lofty and abiding reputation, for bravery and firmness.
Upon the appointment of Bournonville, Lefebvre, who
took part with Kleber, retired from the army of the
Sambre and Meuse, and joined the forces under Hoche,
upon the coast; and, when Hoche succeeded to the command of the army of the Sambre and Meuse, Lefebvre
again resumed his old post of danger and honor in the
van of the army, and upon the death of the commanderin-chief, in 1798, he was appointed provisionally, to
the chief command. In Jourdan's expedition to the
Danube, in 1799, Lefebvre led the advanced guard,
and was at Ostrach previously to the operations which
led to the battle of Stockach; and in those disastrous
operations, he received a severe wound, which obliged
him to withdraw from the army.
Such had been the moderation and disinterestedness
of this excellent man, that, while he was thus winning
the most valuable and glorious conquests for his country,
his own means were so limited, that he was unable to
pay his son's college expenses, and was obliged to keep
the lad with him in the camp. Upon the conclusion
of peace, Lefebvre wrote to the president of the directory a very characteristic letter, in which the modesty
of his views, in regard to himself, and his zeal for the
welfare of his fellow-soldiers, are alike conspicuous.
" The definitive settlement of peace," he said, " leaves
me no longer in a situation to render any essential service to my country. I pray you to grant me a pension
upon which I can live decently. For that purpose, I
want neither horses nor a carriage; I merely require
bread. You know what I have done, as well as I do
myself, and I, therefore, do not enumerate to you my
victories. My frankness of temper compels me to say




CREATED A MARSHAL.             359
to you that I have no defeats to recount, and that the
inhabitants of the conquered countries will never bear
any other testimonies of me, than those of the most
scrupulous probity. Before quitting the service, I am
particularly desirous that the patriotism, bravery, abilities and services of my aides-de-camp and field-officers may be rewarded."
Upon his return to France, Lefebvre was received by
the directory with great distinction, and appointed to the
command of the seventeenth military division, of which
the principal station was at Paris. The part which he
sustained in the revolution of the 18th of Brumaire, as
recited in the life of Napoleon, was simply that of a
soldier obedient to the orders of his lawful commanderin-chief. The first consul confirmed him in the appointments which he had previously held; and on the
1st of April, 1800, bore testimony to the respectability
of his character, by nominating him to the senate. On
the 19th of May, 1804, Lefebvre was raised to the
dignity of marshal of the empire, and, afterward, was
made, successively, chief of the fifth cohort of the
legion of honor, grand-officer, and grand-eagle. Upon
the opening of the campaign of Ulm and Austerlitz, he
was placed in command of the national guards of the
Roer, and of the Rhine and Moselle, being the second
corps of reserve of the grand army. In 1806, he was
made one of the commanders of the imperial guard, and
served with distinction at the battles of Jena and Eylau.
He received orders, in 1807, to reduce the fortress of
Dantzig; and with an army of sixteen thousand men,
chiefly Poles and Saxons, he commenced this celebrated
siege. On the 15th of May, the Russian general, Kamonski, who had approached for the purpose of reliev



360        FRANCIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE.
ing the garrison, was defeated, and on the 24th of May
the place surrendered. The commander, Count Kal
kreuth, a soldier and friend of the great Frederic, was
generously allowed the same terms which he had
granted the French garrison at Mayence, fourteen years
before, and'marched out with all the honors of war.
Kalkreuth addressed to his conqueror a letter, breathing the noblest sentiments of manly gratitude and
respect.
Lefebvre had the honor of receiving the first hereditary title of nobility conferred by Napoleon, being created duke of Dantzig, on the 28th of May, 1807.
"Let the title of duke," says the patent in which the
rank is conferred, "descending to his children, remind
them of the virtues of their sire; and let them feel that
they are unworthy to bear it, if ever, in the time of
war, they prefer a slothful repose, and the ease of a
great city, to the toil and dust of a camp, and if ever
their first feelings cease to be those of devotion to their
country." In 1808, the duke of Dantzig, at the head
of the fourth corps, took a leading part in the early
operations of the Spanish war: he defeated Blake and
Romana, at Durando, and pursuing and dispersing
their armies, entered Bilboa, on the 1st of November.
In the campaign of Eckmuhl and Wagram, he was
placed in command of the Bavarian army, and took
part in the principal actions of the war, and was efficient in the suppression of the insurrection in the Tyrol.
In 1812, as a commander of the old imperial guard, he
made the campaign of Russia; and, faithful to the fortunes of his master, rendered an active and zealous
service in the campaign of 1814. The inspiration of
duty seemed to revive in this aged soldier, the vigor




HIS DEATH.                 361
and earnestness of the campaigns of the Rhine; and at
the head of that immortal corps, which is identified for
ever with the glory of the emperor, he performed those
toilsome but brilliant manceuvres, which, like the
gleam of a winter sunset, illustrated with ineffectual
ray, the undiminished lustre of an orb, whose latest hour
was its proudest.
Lefebvre remained with the emperor, at Fontainebleau, until after his abdication: he then proceeded to
Paris, and was there presented to the emperor of Russia.  "You were not then, under the walls of Paris,
Monsieur le Marechal, when we arrived?" said Alexander to him. " No, sire," said Lefebvre, "we had
the misfortune to be unable to reach here in time.""The misfortune?" said the emperor, with a smile,
" you are, then, sorry to see me here?"-v " Sire," replied the soldier, " I behold with admiration and sensibility, a warrior, who in youth has learned to use victory with moderation; but it is with the deepest grief
that I see a conqueror within my country."-" I respect
your sentiments, Monsieur le Marechal," said the emperor, "and they only add to my esteem for you."
On the 2d of June, 1814, the king elevated Lefebvre
to the rank of peer of France. Upon the return of Napoleon, the age and infirmities of the marshal rendered
him incapable of taking the field; but he attended the
sittings of the upper chamber, and took part in its discussions. After the second restoration, the king confirmed Lefebvre in the title of marshal, but removed
him from the chamber of peers, to which, however, he
was recalled in 1819, and continued to vote with the
constitutional party. He died, at Paris, on the 14th
of September, 1820. A few days before his death,
VOL. II.- 31




362        FRANCIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE.
feeling that his end was at hand, he went out to Pele
la Chaise to choose his last resting-place. He marked
out a place beside Massena, and near to Marshals Perignon and Serrurier, and to General Lamartilli6re:
and here, in accordance with his wishes, he was interred.  Marshal Mortier pronounced a eulogy at his
interment: and on the 12th of June, 1821, Suchet,
duke of Albufera, delivered, in the chamber of peers,
an eloquent discourse upon his merits.  "To give evidence of superior ability and courage in arms, and to
deliver effective blows in battle," he remarked, " suffices for the fleeting renown of a general: but posterity
allots the palm of immortality, only, to those great commanders whose conduct, in subjugated countries, may
be cited as examples of moderation. In the places
where the glory of this hero is displayed, the laws
of humanity and honor are always illustrated. At the
head of warriors of various nations, Poles, Saxons, Bavarians, he inspired foreigners with all the enthusiasm
and energy of Frenchmen. All of them have lamented
his departure.  Upon the decease of this illustrious
marshal, voices of praise and regret ascended, in
mingled chorus, from the banks of the Rhine, the
Danube, and the Vistula."
Lefebvre and his wife, who was said to have been
the daughter of a laundress, retained in elevated station
the humility and simplicity of their early days, and
never lost the recollection of their former obscure condition.  The latter served as a standing amusement to
the parvenu court of the emperor, which, having no
true title to aristocratic pride, bore its false honors with
the loftiest pretension. But her excellence of feeling
and principle, and the genuine dignity of her deport



MADAME LEFEBVRE.              363
ment, rendered her, in truth, worthy of all reverence
and admiration. The baroness Lagarde was in the
habit of visiting this worthy woman, at her chateau of
Combaut; and, on one occasion, Madame Lefebvre
opened for her view, a cabinet in which were ranged
in order, specimens of all the dresses which herself and
her husband had worn since their marriage. " There,"
said she with a smile, " is a gallery of costumes of very
different conditions of life. We have been particular
in preserving them. It does no harm to look at things
of that kind, as we constantly do: it secures us from
the danger of forgetting the past."  In one of Las
Cases' conversations, at St. Helena, he related the following anecdote to the emperor. Madame Lefebvre
and her husband, during their poverty, had been engaged in a domestic capacity, in the family of the marquis de Valady, the captain of the corps in which Lefebvre served.  The marquis, who stood god-father to
Lefebvre's child, perished, because he denounced the
execution of Louis XVI. His wife, upon her return
to France, after her emigration, immediately received
the kindest offers and attention from the family of Lefebvre, then living in a style of credit and splendor.
One day, Madame Lefebvre called upon her, and, in
her usual strain of language, said, "How little kindness and goodness of heart, there is among you people
of quality. We who have risen from the ranks, know
our duty better. We have just heard that M., one of
our old officers, and your husband's comrade, has returned from his emigration, and that he is dying of want.
How shameful this is! We were fearful of offending
him by offering him assistance; but the case is quite
different with you. An act of service on your part




364        FRANCIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE.
will be gratifying to him. Pray, give him this as coming from yourself." With these words, she presented
to her friend a rouleau of one hundred louis, or one
thousand crowns. " From the moment that I heard this
story," says Las Cases, " I felt no inclination to join in
the jokes against Madame Lefebvre; I no longer entertained toward her any other feeling than that of profound respect: I eagerly advanced to take her hand
whenever I met her at the Tuileries, and I felt proud in
escorting her through the drawing-room, in spite of the
sneers that were buzzing around me."








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FRANCIS CHRISTOPHER KELLERMANN.
MARSHAL OF FRANCE, MAY 19, 1804.
DUKE OF VALMY.
THE military fame of the hero of Valmy served rather
as a foil to illustrate the youthful genius of Napoleon,
than as a light to shed added brightness upon it; and
the name of Kellermann is far better known to us by
the gallantry of the son, who never rose above the rank
of a general of division, than by the achievements of
the father, who became a marshal of France.
Francis Christopher Kellermann was born of a respectable family at Strasbourg, on the 28th of May,
1735. At the age of seventeen, he became a cadet in
the regiment of Lowendalh; and passing through the
grades of ensign and lieutenant, in 1753 and 1756, became captain of dragoons, in which rank he served in
the seven years' war until 1762, and was favorably
mentioned in the reports of the battle of Bergen. A
brilliant charge of cavalry, against a corps commanded
by General Scheider, procured him, in the last year,
the distinction of the cross of Saint-Louis, then an honor
of the highest esteem. After the peace of 1763, he
passed with the same rank into the legion of Conflans,
and in 1765 and 1766, was charged by the king with
the execution of some important commissions in Po3.1*




366   FRANCIS CHRISTOPHER KELLERMANN.
land. In 1771, the increasing troubles in Poland furnished a pretext for the invasion of that country by the
united troops of France and the Germanic confederation; and Kellermann was appointed to accompany the
French commander-in-chief of the expedition, Baron
de Viomenil; and in 1772, he was placed at the head
of a native corps of cavalry which he had been concerned in organizing. His conduct in the retreat from
the castle of Cracow, in 1772, elevated his character
for dexterity and courage. In 1780, he became lieutenant-colonel of hussars; on the 1st of January, 1784, he
was promoted to the rank of brigadier; and in 1788,
received the rank of major-general. In 1790, he was
placed in command of both departments of -Alsace, and
so approved were his services in placing that frontier in
a state of defence against the threatened invasion, that,
in 1792, he received the cordon rouge of the order of
St. Louis, and was appointed lieutenant-general and
commander-in-chief of the forces assembled at Neukirck, and afterward, on the 28th of August, in the
same year, of the army of the Moselle.
It was at this time, that the formidable invasion under
the duke of Brunswick, consisting of one hundred and
thirty-eight thousand men, of whom sixty-six thousand
were under the king of Prussia in person, and fifty thousand were Austrians under Prince Hohenlohe and Marshal Clairfait, marched toward France, and menaced
Dumouriez, who occupied the defiles of Varennes, and
with very inferior forces, Kellermann, with twentytwo thousand men, marched from Metz, on the 4th
of September, for Chalons with the utmost celerity,
reached Bar before the Prussians, saved the magazines
on the upper Saone and Marne, and put himself in a




THE PRUSSIAN CAMPAIGN.          367
situation to communicate with Dumouriez. The latter
general was attacked on the 16th of September, and
immediately ordered Kellermann to take a designated
position on his left, which was, accordingly, accomplished on the 19th. No sooner had Kellermann arrived here, than he perceived that the position was
altogether defective.  A pond on his right separated
him from Dumouriez; the marshy river of the A.uve,
traversed by a single narrow bridge, cut off his retreat
in the rear; and the heights of Valmy commanded his
left. While he was shut up in this isolated position,
the enemy might march upon the magazines at Dampierre and Voilmont, cut both the French armies off
from Chalons, and then fall upon each of them in succession. Kellermann instantly resolved to rectify this
error in the disposition of the troops; and by four
o'clock on the following morning, his army was in motion by its rear upon Dampierre and Voilmont. But
the Prussians, equally alive to the disadvantage in
which Kellermann had been placed, were already in
movement to attack him, and it became impracticable
to pass the Auve. Leaving his advanced-guard and
his reserve to check the Prussians on the plain, Kellermann drew off the rest of his army to the heights of
Valmy, and placing a battery of eighteen pieces near
the mill of Valmy, at seven in the morning was drawn
up in- a strong position to receive the attack of the enemy. The king of Prussia, who commanded in person,
drew up his army in three columns on the heights of
La Lune, and advancing in an oblique direction, a
vehement fire was kept up on both sides for two hours.
About nine, a new battery on the enemy's right suddenly opened in the direction of the mill, near which




368   FRANCIS CHRISTOPHER KELLERMANN.
Kellermann and his escort, with the reserve cuirassiers,
were stationed, and produced the utmost confusion.
Most of the escort were killed or wounded, and Kellermann had a horse shot under him, while about the
same time the explosion of two caissons of ammunition
near the mill added to the alarm. Kellermann, however, quickly disposed a battery so as to return the fire,
and the battle was restored on that side. After some
time, two of the Prussian columns, flanked by a powerful cavalry, advanced in a formidable array toward
the mill, while the third remained in reserve. Kellermann drew up his men in column by battalions, and
advancing his reserved artillery to the front of his position, waited the advance of the enemy, who approached
in silence. When they were within range of a destructive fire, Kellermann, waving his hat upon the end of
his sabre, shouted, "Vive la Nation!" to which the
whole army responded with enthusiastic cries; and at
the same moment, the artillery opened a tremendous
volley. The Prussians halted; the heads of their columns melted away under the galling discharges; and
they retreated, in good order, to their original position
after sustaining a serious loss. The fire, however, continued on both sides with spirit; and about four o'clock
in the afternoon, the Prussians renewed their attack in
column, but were again repulsed, even more decidedly,
and by six in the evening were in full retreat. The
victory was thus decided in favor of the French; but
the safety of the magazines at Dampierre and Voilmont
was still not secured.
Kellermann allowed his army about two hours' repose, and then, leaving large fires lighted along his
whole line, and some regiments of light cavalry to de



COMMANDS THE ARMY IN ITALY.    369
fend the position, if the enemy should attempt an attack,
lie quietly drew off about nine o'clock at night, and
reached Dampierre without the enemy being aware of
his movement. About six o'clock the next morning,
the Prussians marched for the same point; and were
not a little astonished to find Kellermann's army drawn
up in line of battle on the heights of Dampierre, in a
position which rendered it impracticable to attack.
They immediately retreated, and their retiring columns
suffered severely from a fire opened by the French artillery. This operation raised the reputation of Kellermann to an exalted height. The allies soon afterward
retreated from France, and Kellermann desired to attack their rear; but Dumouriez would not allow the
movement to be made.
In recompense of these services, Kellermann was
made commander-in-chief of the army of the Alps; but
incurring the jealousy of the ruling faction, he was
thrown into prison in June, 1793, and lingered there
for thirteen months, until the 9th Thermidor (27th of
July, 1794) restored him to liberty. In 1795, the army of Italy was reincorporated with the army of the
Alps, from which it had been separated in the beginning of 1793; and the command of the united force
was given to Kellermann at the close of that month. On
his way to Nice to take the command, he met Napoleon
at Marseilles, who, having been displaced by the reconstruction of the army, was now visiting his mother at
that place on his way to Paris. Napoleon gave him
much valuable information respecting the seat of war;
and Kellermann, continuing his journey, reached headquarters at Nice on the 9th of May, 1795. His operations during the campaign that followed diminished




370   FRANCIS CHRIISTOPHER KELLERMANN.
the reputation which he had previously acquired:
" Throughout the conduct of this war," says Napoleon, " he was constantly committing errors."  On the
23d of June, General Devins, at the head of the Austrian and Piedmontese armies, advanced against his
positions; and after a series of engagements on the
25th, 26th, and 27th, Kellermann was driven out of
all the posts in which Napoleon's arrangements had
placed him in the preceding October, and falling back
to the line of the Borghetto, wrote to the directory that,
unless he was speedily reinforced, he would be obliged
even to quit Nice. The government were now satisfied that the command of the army of Italy was beyond
Kellermann's abilities; and again separating the army
of the Alps from it, they placed Kellermann at the
head of the latter as a reserve, and intrusted the army
of Italy to General Scherer, and sometime afterward to
Napoleon.  "Kellermann," says Napoleon in his memoirs, " was a brave soldier, extremely active, and possessed of many good qualities; but he was wholly destitute of the talents necessary for the chief command of
an army."
After the conquest of Milan, the directory, either
jealous of Napoleon or elated by success, decided to
divide his army, and to place twenty thousand men
under Kellermann to cover the siege of Mantua, and
to direct the rest under Napoleon upon Rome. Napoleon immediately resigned his command, and wrote to
the directory: "I will not serve with a man who considers himself the best general in Europe: it is better
to have one bad general than two good ones." The directory, in alarm, abandoned their design: Kellermann




CREATED MARSHAL AND DUKE.          371
was left at Chamberry, and Napoleon was allowed to
follow his own plans.
In 1797, Kellermann was made inspector-general
of the cavalry of the army of England and of that of
Holland; and in 1799, he took his place in the senate,
and was elected president on the Ist of August, 1801.
In 1804, he was created a marshal of the empire; and
in the following year, received the grand-eagle of the
legion of honor. In 1803, he commanded the third
corps of the army of reserve on the Rhine; and in
1806, was placed at the head of the whole of that army; to which authority, the command of the army of
reserve in Spain was added in 1808: and in the same
year, in honor of the great victory of his more vigorous
days, he was created duke of Valmy.
In 1809, he commanded the army of reserve on the
Rhine, the army of observation of the Elbe, the fifth,
twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth military divisions, and the
army of reserve of the north. In 1812, he was charged
with the duty of organizing the cohorts of the national
guard in the first military division: he afterward commanded the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth divisions. In
1813, he was at first provisional commander of the
corps of observation on the Rhine, and then received
the command of the second, third, and fourth military
divisions. After the battle of Leipsig, he performed a
valuable service in reconducting to France a body of
about six thousand soldiers, who had been wounded in
the affairs about Dresden.
Upon the restoration of Louis XVIII., Marshal Kellermann received the command of the third and fourth
divisions, and took no part in the events of the " hundred days." UJpon the second restoration, he was placed




372   FRANCIS CHRISTOPHER KELLERMANN.
at the head of the fifth division, received the grandcross of the order of St. Louis, and was made a peer
of France.
He died at Paris, on the 13th of September, 1820,
aged eighty-five years. He left a son, the celebrated
general who made the decisive charge at Marengo, and
distinguished himself in Spain and at Waterloo, and
who died on the 2d of June, 1835; and a daughter,
married to General de Lery.
THE END.