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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. irrata to pelure, n d D 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^ i«^ ■pp Pffll!.,, ),,l;.l' A :.^3*' ■: &■' ;-;:.i--7' ■ Mf-,: :^k'^^:'m: ^■^^jitt'f^iLii^t^j^.-:: m \\'J:'':.;^:;'k/.,.,: ^ i^^l »^m T^ THE HISTORY OF THE Franco-German ¥ar OF 1870-'71. coiiriusixo A DETAILED DESCRirTION OF ITS ORIGIX AXD CAU.SES ; TJIK FIXAXOIAL, SOCIAL AND MILITARY CONDITION OF THE TWO COUNTRIES ; THE WEAPONS IN USE, AND AN ACCURATE HISTORY OF ALL THE MILITARY MOVEMENTS AND RATTLES OF THE WAR ; THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE, THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR, AND THE TREATY OF PEACE, IXCLUDIXO IJIOGRAPniES OF KING WILLIAM, NAPOLEON III., COUNT DlSlIARCIi. M. THIERS AND OTHERS. By L. p. BROCKETT, M.D., Ai'THOR OK "History ok tub Civil War in Amhrica," "Camp, Ratilk-F/kM) an;> HosriTAL," "Oi'K GuKAT Caitaixs," etc., ktc, To WHICH IS PbEFIXKT) A BRIEF HlSTOUY OF THE C)HU;iN, (JuoWTif AN1» Present ('ondition of PuussrA, By REY. JOHN 8. C. ABBOIT. Illustrated tcith Pc/rtmUs of diatingui^heil French and PriiHtiian Opccr.s, rii:jrri>:'n;)-i of battle scenes, and a finely executed map, sliowinn the chanr/en iirotii/ht b;/ tlie ivar.. •^•f.^ TORONTO, ONT.: PUBT.ISr"' D ^Y A. H. HOYEY, 34 KTNd ST. WEST. YARMOUTH, N. S. : JOHN KILLAM. 1871. r wamwsw^nnmmmm Ul 1.^ OCT ?/^ id^3 HUNTER, ROSE & CO., nilX'TKUB, BOOKJilNDEM, ELSOTUOTYPBBa, HTO. PREFACE. HE unprecedented demand for the liistoiy of that short but severe and decisive struggle for the mastery of Europe, vt^hich has, of late, occu- pied so large a share of the world's attention, has already exausted three large editions of this work and rendered necessary the preparation of the present or fourth edition. It contains one-third more matter than any previous issue, and T trust will be found sufficiently full in detail to satisfy tlie most fastidious. The war having finally terminated, the con- tending hosts having withdrawn from the field of their terrible conflict, and the smoke and tumult of battle hav- ing rolled away, leaving France once more at peace with the world and with herself, writers are enabled to take a clearer and more dispassionate survey of the causes, events and results of this most wonderful campaign than the excitement incident to the contest, the fast-following battles, and an almost unavoidable partizanship or sym- pathy with one side or the other, rendered possible during the actual continuance of the war. Like the quick shifting scenes of the stage ha?j this great drama of the past year been presented to our view- The curtain rose but a short twelve-month ago and then dawned upon our vision two proud and powerful nations : the one trusting in the careful discipline of her troops, the intelligence and patriotism of her people, and IV prp:face. liopeful of tlic future ; the other proud of her glorious military record, prestige of victory, the Sclat of her troops, and scouting the possibility of defeat and disaster to her victorious eagle. The scene shifted. Armed millions poured forth in battle array. Rifled cannon, mitrailleur and needle-gun belched forth their death-dealing missiles, and drenched fair France with a deluge of blood. How are the mighty fallen ! France, of late so haughty and defiant, dictating terms to Europe, the arbiter of war and peace, now crushed to the earth, stripped of her laurels, her prestige gone and none so poor as to Prussian Fleets Compared - 375 XXIV. Philanthropy of the War 377 ILLUSTRATIONS. Prussian Group.— Containing Portraits of William I., the Emperor of Germany, the Crown Prince, Prince Frederick Charles, Count Bismarck, and GentvaXYouMoUke.. Frontispkce French Group— Napoleon III., Jules Favre, Marshals Mac- Mahon, Ba/.aine, and Trochu 141 . 353 . 308 - 375 . 377 ^H Hl[,TOEI OF PRUSSIA. Lck tispkcc. !ac- . 141 CHAPTER I. ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. BOUT the year of our Lord 997, Adolbcrfc, Bishop of Prague, with two compani(jiis, set out on a missionary tour to the shore-s of the Baltic. The savage inhabitants killed him. Still Christianity gradually gained ground. As the ages rollecl on, idolatry- disappeared, and nominal Christiaiaty took its j)lace. The people were poor, ignorant, widely dis[)ersed, and but partially civilized. During weary centuries, as jxenerations came and went, nothino: in that ref;ion occur- red of interest to the world at large. When, in the sixteenth century, Protestantism was re- jected by Southern Europe, it was accepted by the in- habitants of this wild region. At the commencement of the eighteenth century, there was found upon the south- ern shores of the Baltic a small territory, about as large as the State of Massachusetts, called the Marquisato of Brandenburg. The marquis belonged to a very renowned family, known as the House of HohenzoUern. At the distance of some miles east of this marquisate, there was a small duchy called Prussia. The Marquis of Branden- burg, who had come into possession of the duchy, being a very ambitious man, by skilful diplomacy succeeded in B 99! HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. ►I ! I I having the united provinces of Prussia and Brandenburg recognized by the Emperor of German}'- as the Kingdom of Prussia. The sovereigns of Southern Europe looked ({uite contemptuously upon, this new-born and petty realm, andwerc not at all disposed to receive the 2Mrvenit king into Hieir society as an equal. Berlin was the capital of the Marquisate of Branden- burg ; Konigsberg was the capital of the Duchy of Prus- sia. Though the marquis, Frederick, was crowned at Konigsberg, he chose Berlin as the capital of his new kinordom. He took the title of Frederick I. The kin;? had a son, Frederick William, then ten years of age. As heir to the throne, he was called the Crown Prince. When eighteen years of age, he married Sophie Dorothee, his cousin, a daughter of George, Elector of Hanover, who subsequently became George I. of England. On the 24th of January, 1V^2, a son was born to the Crown Prince, who received the name of Frederick, and subsequently became renowned in history as Frederick t^o Great. The babe, whose advent was hailed throughout the kingdom with so much joy as heir to the crown, had at that time a sister, Wilhelmina, three years older than himself. At the time of the birth of Frederick, the monarchy was but twelve years old. His grandfather, Frederickf I., was still living ; and his father was Crown Prince. When Frederick was fourteen months old, his grand- father, Frederick I, died, and his father, Frederick Wil- liam, ascended the throne. He was one of the strangest men of whom history makes mention. It is difficult to account for his conduct upon any other supposition than that he was partially insane. Hio father had been fond of the pageantry of courts. Frederick William despised Such pageantry thoroughly. Immediately upon assuming the crown, to the utter consternation of the court, he dis- missed nearly every honorary official of the palace, from the highest dignitary to the humblest page. His houge- hold was reduced to the lowost footing of economy. Eight servants were retained, at six shillings a week. His father had thirty pages. All were dismissed but three. There were one thousand saddle-horses in the ed hu th( pel sin sel the upj ^ii .'"» ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY, 23 enburg ingdoni looked petty avvenii randen- )f Prus- rned at lis new- lie king ge. As Prince, orothee, VQVf who ,he 24!th Prince, jquently it. The kingdom lat time ielf. At was but was still s grand- ick Wil- ■5trangest fficult to ion than een fond despised assuming t, he dis- ice, from is house- economy. a week. issed but is in the ^ k royal stables. Frederick retaineu thirty. Three-fourths of the names were struck from the pension list. The energy of the new sovereign inspired the whole kingdom. Everybody was compelled to be industrious. Even the apple- women were forced, by a royal decree, to knit at their stalls. The king farmed out the crown lands, drained bogs, planted colonies, established manufac- tures, and encouraged every branch of industry by all the energies of absolute power. Frederick William, a thick-set, burly man, ever carried with him, as he walked the streets of Berlin, a stout rat- tan-cane. Upon the slightest provocation, he would soundly thrash any one whom he encountered. He espe- cially hated the refinement and poUsh of the French na- tion. If he met a lady in rich attire, she was sure to be rudely assailed : he would often even give her a kick, and tell her to go home and take care of her brats. No young man fashionably dressed could cross the king's path with- out receiving a sound caning, if the royal arm could reach him. If he met any one who seemed to be lounging in the streets, he would hit him a blow over the head, ex- claiming, " Home, you rascal, and go to work !" Frederick was scrupulously clean. He washed five times a day. He would allow in the palace no carpets or stuffed furniture. They caught the dust. He ate rapidly and voraciously of the most substantial food, despising all luxuries. His di'css usually consisted of a blue military coat, with red cuffs and collar, butf waistcoat and breeches, and white linen gaiters to the knee. A well-worn trian- gular hat covered his head. By severe economy, small as were his realms, and limit- ed as were his revenues, he raised an army of nearly a hundred thousand men. An imposing army seemed to be the great object of his ambition. He drilled his troops, l)ersonally, iis troops were never drilled before. Posses- sing an iron constitution, and regardless of comfort him- self, he had no mercy upon his soldiers. Thus ho created the most powerful inilitary engine, for its size, ever known upon earth. The French minister at Berlin, Count Rothenburg, was 24 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. il u % >l a very accomplished man. He wore the dress, and had the manners, of the French gentlemen of that day. He and his associates in the embassy excited the ire of the king as they appeared at Berlin in the gorgeous court- dresses of the Tuileries and Versailles. The king, in his homespun garb, resolved that the example should not spread. There was to be a grand review at Berlin. The French embassy would be present in their accustomed costume of cocked hats, floAving wigs, and laced coats. The king caused a party of the lowest of the populace of Berlin, equal in number, to be dressed in the most grotesque cari- cature o\' the French costume. As soon as the French ap- peared upon the field, there was a great sound of trum- pets ; and these harlequins were brought forward to con- front them. Military discipline reigned. There was no derisive laughter. There was perfect silence. The king sat upon his horse as immoveable as a marble statue. With French politeness, the ministers of Louis submitted to this discourtesy, and ever after appeared in the homespun garb of Berlin. Frederick was very desirous that his son, whom he call- ed by the diminutive Fritz, should develop warlike tastes ; but, to his bitter disappointment, the child seemed to be of an effeminate nature. He was gentle, affectionate, fond of music and books, and cluns: to his sister Wilhelmina with almost feminine love. The king deemed these quali- ties unmanly, and soon began to despise, and then to hate, the child. Still the energetic king resolved to leave no efforts untried to make a soldier of his boy. When Fritz was six years old, his father organized a company of a hundred high-born lads, to be placed under his conunand. The number was gradually increased to a regiment, of which Fritz was colonel. When seven years of age, he was placed under the care of tutors, who were directed to press forward his education, intellectual and military, with the most merciless vigor. In the orders given to the distinguished military men to whom the edu- cation of the child was entrusted, the king said, — " You have in tlie liighest measure to make it your th ch plc sti ^IF ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY, 25 id had y. He of the couit- in his ild not French tume of le king Berlin, |ue ctiri- ench ap- f trum- to con- Avas no he king . With itted to omespun a. he call- :e tastes ; 3d to be late, fond Ihehnina )se quali- [1 to hate, leave no ^anized a :ed under ased to a ven years i^ho were ',tual and le orders a thecdu- 5 it your care to infuse into my son a true love for the soldier- business, and to impress on him, that as there is nothing in the world which can bring a prince renown and honor like the sword, so he would be a despised creature be- fore all men if he did not love it and seek his sole glory therein." The poor little fellow was exposed to almost incredible liardships. His ftither took him on his journeys to review his garrisons. Their carriage was what was called a sau- sage-car. It consisted merely of a stuffed pole, about ten feet long, upon which one sat astride, as if riding a rail. This pole rested upon wheels before and behind, without springs. Thus tliey rattled over the mountains and through the mud. The delicate, sensitive child was rob- bed of his sleep as his cast-iron fother pressed him along on these wild adventures, regardless of fatigue or storms. " Too much sleep," said the king, " stupefies a fellow." Every fibre in the soul of Fritz recoiled from this rude discipline. He hated hunting boars, and riding on the sausage-car, and being drenched with rain, and spattered Avith mud. Instinctive tastes are developed very early in childhood. When Frederick William was a boy, some one presented him with a very beautiful French dressing-gown, embroid- ered with gold. He thrust the robe into the fire, declaring that he would never Avear such finery. Fritz, on the contrary could not endure homespun. Ho loved clothes of fine texture and tastefully ornamented. Most of the early years of the prince were spent at Wus- terhauseu. This was a plain rectangular palace, surroun- ded by a ditch, in a very unattractive region. Though there were some picturesque drives, yet, to Frederick's eye, the gloomy forests and pathless morasses had no charms. The palaces of Berlin and Potsdam, which the pleasure-loving monarch Frederick I., had embellished, still retained much splendor; but the king furnished the apartments which he occupied in stoical simplicity. Tlic health of Fritz was frail. lie was very fond of study, ]:)articularly of the Latin language. His illiterate father, who could scarcely Avrite legibly, and whose spel- 26 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. m 'I ling was ludicrous, took a special dislike to Latin. One day he caught his son with a Latin book in his hand, under the guidance of a teacher. The king was infuriated. The preceptor escaped a caning only by flight. Still more vehemently was he enraged in detecting his son playing the flute, and with some verses, which he had written, by his side. With inexpressible scorn, he exclaimed, " My son is a flute-player and a poet ! " There was no point at which the father and the son met in harmony. Every month they became more es- tranged from each other. The mother of Fritz, Sophie Dorothee, and his sister Wilhelmina, loved him tenderly. This exasperated the king. He extended his hatred for the boy to his mother and sister. At length, another son was born, — Augustus William, — ten years younger than Frederick. The father now evidently wished that Frederick would die, that Augustus William might become heir to the throne. He hoped that he would develop a different character from that of Fritz. Still the king persevered in his endeavors to inspire Fritz with his own rugged nature and tastes. George of Hanover having become Ceorge L of Eng- land, his daughter, the mother of Fritz, became very desi- rous of marrying her two children, Wilhelmina and Fritz, to Frederick and Amelia, the two children of her brother George, who was then Prince of Wales. But Frederick William, and George, Prince of Wales, had met as boys, and quarrelled; and they hated each other thoroughly. The other powers of Europe were opposed to this double marriage, as thus the kingdoms of Prussia and England would virtually be united. The young English Frederick bore the title of the Duke of Gloucester. It was at length agreed by the English court that Frederick should marry Wilhelmina ; but there were still obstacles in the w.ay of the marriage of Fritz with Amelia. The Duke of Gloucester sent an envoy with some presents to Wilhelmin.i. In the follow- ing graphic terms, the Prussian princess describes the interview : — " There came, in those days, one of the Duke of Glou- ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. 27 I. One s hand, iriated. 11 more playing fvritten, claimed, the son liore es- Sophie enderly. tred for rVilliam, ler now ugustus Ded that of Fritz, ire Fritz of Eng- jry desi- id Fritz, ' brother rederick as boys, roughly. s double England > of the by the lelmina ; marriage sent an e foUow- •ibes the of Glou- cester's gentlemen to Berlin. The queen had a soiree. lie was presented to her as well as to me. He made a very obliging compliment on his master's part. I blushed, and answered only by a courtesy. The queen, who had her eye on me, was very angry that I had answered the duke's compliments in mere silence, and rated me sharply for it, and ordered me, under pain of her indignation, to repair that fault to-morrow. I retired, all in tears, to my room, exasperated against the queen and against the duke. I vowed I would never marry him." Wilhelmina was a very remarkable girl, endowed witli a very affectionate, intellectual and noble nature. Fred- erick of England was eighteen years of age, a very disso- lute fellow, and exceedingly unattractive in personal ap- pearance. Wilhelmina says that her grandfather, George I., after he became King of England, was intolerably puffed up with pride. He was disposed to look quite contemptuously upon her father, who was king of so feeble • a realm as that of Prussia. Though George had given a verbal assent to the marriage of his grandson with Wilhelmina, he declined, upon various frivolous excuses, signing a marriage-treaty. Wilhelmina was quite indif- ferent to the matter. She declared that she cared nothing for her cousin Fred, whom she had never seen ; and that she had no wish to marry him. When Fritz had attained his fourteenth year, his father appointed him captain of one of the companies in the Potsdam Grenadier Guard. This was a giant regiment created by the caprice of Frederick William, and whi(;h had obtained a world-wide renown. Such a regiment never existed before, and never will again. It was com- posed of giants, the shortest of whom were nearly seven feet high: the tallest were almost nine feet in height. Frederick William had ransacked Europe in search of gigantic men. No expense of money, intrigues or fraud, were spared to obtain such men wherever found. The Guard consisted of three battalions, — eight hundred men in each. Frederick William swayed a sceptre of absolute power never surpassed in Turkey. It was a personal govern- ■^ ^m 28 HISTORY OF mUSSIA. ■4 \W ment. The property, the liberty, and the lives of his subjects were entirely at his disposal. He v/as anxious to perpetuate a race of giants. If he found in his domains any young woman of remarkable stature, he would compel her to marry one of his military Goliahs. It does not, however, appear that he thus succeeded in accomplishing his pui'pose. One only thought seemed to engi'oss the mind of Sophie Dorothee, — the double marriage. Her maternal ambition would be gratified in seeing Wilhelmina Queen of Eng- land, and her beloved son. Fritz married to an English princess. Freder' ;k William, with his wonderfully deter- mined character, his military predilections, and his army of extraordinary compactness and discipline, began to be regarded by the other powers as a very formidable sovereign, and one whose alliance was greatly to be desi- red. Notwithstanding he had an army of sixty thousand men, — which army he was rapidly increasing, and sub- jecting to discipline hitherto unheard of in Europe, — he practised such rigid economy, that he was rapidly filling his treasury with silver and gold. In the cellar of his palace a large number of casks were stowed away, filled with coin. A vast amount of silver was also wrought into massive plate, and even into furniture and the balus- trades of his stairs. These, in case of emergency, could be melted and coined. This strange king organized a peculiar institution, which was called "The Tobacco Parliament." It consisted of a meeting of about a dozen of his confidential friends, who were assembled almost daily in some room in the palace to drink beer, smoke their pi]3es, and talk over matters. Distinguished strangers were sometimes admit- ted. Fritz was occasionally present, though always re- luctantly on his part. His sensitive physical system recoiled from the beer and the smoke. Though he was under the necessity of putting the pipe in his mouth, he ])laced no tobacco in the bowl. His father despised the fragile boy, whom ho deemed so effeminate. The doujjle marriage was still the topic of conversation in all the courts of Europe. In t\\Q year 1720, the Em- -•IP ORIGIN OF THE MONAIICIIY. 29 of his anxious lomaina compel oes not, plishing ■ Sophie mbition of Eng- English y deter- is army egan to 'midable be desi- housand md sub- ope, — he [y filling lf of his ay, filled wrought lie balus- [3y, could )n, which isisted of 1 friends, n in the alk over 3s admif- ^vays re- 1 system li he was louth, he [)ised the vcrsation the Em- peror of Germany, who was invested with extraordinary nower over all the German princes, issued a decree, de- claring that he could not consent to the double nu])tial alliance with England. This decision did not trouble Frederick William ; for he so thoroughly hated his Eng- lish relatives, that he was not desirous of any very inti- mate alliance with them. He was willing that Wilhel- mina should marry the Duke of Gloucester, because she would thus become eventually the Queen of England. On the other side, the King of England earnestly de- sired that his grand-daughter Amelia should marry Fritz ; for she would thus become Queen of Prussia, He there- fore declared that he would not allow the Duke of Glou- cester to marry Wilhelmina unless Amelia also married Fritz. But Frederick William was opposed to the marriage of Fritz and Amelia for three reasons: First, he was, by nature, an intensely obstinate man ; and the fact that the King of England was in favor of any project was suffi- cient to make him opposed to it. Secondly, he hated Fritz, and did not wish him to enjoy the good fortune of marrying a rich and beautiful English princess. And, thirdly, he knew that Amelia, as the bride of Fritz, would bring to Berlin, wealth of her ovv-n, and the refine- ments of the British Court, and thus Fritz might be able to organize a party ngainst his fathei*. Fi-ederick William therefore said, " Frederick of Eng- land may marry Wilhelmina ; but Fritz shall not marry Amelia." George I. replied, *' Both marriages, or none." Thus matters were brought to a dead lock. While these intrigues were agitating both courts, Fritz was residing, most of the time, at Potsdam, — a favorite royal residence, about seventeen miles west of Berlin. In the year 1729, he was seventeen years of age, a very handsome boy, attracting much attention by his vivacity and his engaging manners. He was occasionally dragged by his father into the Tobacco Parliament, where, sick- ened by the fumes of tobacco and beer, he sat in mock gravity, pufiing his empty clay i>ipe. In June, 1729, a courier brought the intelligence to w 30 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. 'Ill Berlin, that George I. had suddenly died of apoplexy. He was sixty-seven years of age when death's fatal shaft struck him, while on a journey in his carriage. As he sank before the blow, he exclaimed, " All is over with me !" and his spirit passed away to the Judgment. Much as the half-insane King of Prussia hated George I., his sudden death deeply affected him. He became very religious in all pharisaic forms of self-denial, and in spreading almost sepulchral gloom over the palace by the interdict of all enjoyment. Wilhelmina Avrites of her father at this time, — " He condemned all pleasures. ' Damnable all of them,' he said. You were to speak of nothing but the word of God only. All other conversation was forbidden. It was always he who carried on the improving talk at table, where he did the office of reader, as if it had been a re- fectory of monks. The king treated us to a sermon every afternoon. His valct-cle-chambre gave out a psalm, which we all sang. You had to listen to this sermon with as much devout attention as if it had been an apostle's. |My brother and I had all the mind in the world to laugh. We tried hard to keep from laughing ; but often we burst out. Thereupon reprimand, with all the anathemas of the Church hurled on us, which we had to take with a contrite, penitent .air, a thing not easy to bring your face to at the moment." Fritz, about this time, was taken by his father on a visit to Augustus, King of Poland, at Dresden. The court was exceedingly dissolute, filled^with every tempta- tion which could endanger an ardent young man. Fritz, who had hitherto encountered only the severity and gloom of his father's palace, was bewildered by scenes of voluptuousness and sin, which could have hardly been surpassed at Belshazzar's feast. He was very handsome, full of vivacity, and remark- ably qualified to shine in society ; and, being direct heir to the throne of Prussia, he was the object of incessant at- tention and caressings. Child as he was, he fell before these great temptations. It Wtas a fall from which he "H^ »i*l!*^' yr ORIGIN OF THK MONARCHY. 31 •plexy, 1 shaft As ho !!' with George )ecamo and ill by the of her them,' kvord of It was t table, n. a re- n every I, which with as e's. |My laugh. ^e burst 3mas of ) with a our face ler on a 1. The teinpta- Fritz, ity and cenes of lly been remark- it heir to ssant at- 1 before vhich he never recovered. His moral nature received a wound which poisoned all his days. Upon his return to Potsdam, after a month of reckless abandonment to sin, he was seized with a severe lit of sickness. It was many years before his constitution re- covered its vigor. His dissipated habits clung to him. He chose for his companions those who were in sym- l)athy with his newly-acquired tastes and character. His vigorous lather, keeping an eagle-eye upon his son, often .issailed him with the most insane ebullitions of rage. Still, Sophie Dorothee, notwithstanding all obstacles, cluncf with a mother's pertinacity to th'e idea of the double marriage. Her brother, George II., was now King of England ; and Frederick was Prince of Wales, direct heir to the crown. He was then twenty-one years of age, living an idle and dissolute life in Hanover. Wilhelmina was nineteen years old. Fritz, though he had never seen Amelia, had received her miniature. She was pretty ; would bring with her a large dowry ; and the alliance, in point of rank, would be as distinguished as Europe could furnish. He was, there- fore, quite desirous of securing Amelia for his bride. By the advice of his mother, he wrote to Queen Caroline, the mother of Amelia, expressing his ardent affection for her daughter, and his unaltered resolve never to lead any one but her to the altar. Frederick William knew nothing of these intrigues ; but his dislike for his son had now become so intense, that often he would not speak to him, or recognize him in the slightest degree. He treated him at the table with studied contempt. Sometimes he would give him nothing what- ever to eat ; he even boxed his ears, and smote him with his cane. Fritz was induced to write a very suppliant letter to his Itither, endeavoring to win back at least his civil treatment. The answer which Frederick William returned, incoherent, confused, and wretchedly spelled, Avas as follows — Contemptuously, he spoke of his son in the third person, writing he and his, instead of you and yours : — "His obstinate, perverse disposition, which does not m 32 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. ■lii I ii love liis father : for when one docs cvevytliing, and really loves one's father, one docs what the father requires, not while he is there to see it, but when his back is turned too. For the rest, he knows very well that I can endure no effeminate fellow who has no human inclination in him ; who puts himself to shame ; cannot ride or shoot ; and withal is dirty in his person ; frizzles his hair like a fool, and does not cut it off. And all this I have a thou- sand times reprimanded, but all in vain, and no improve- ment in nothing. For the rest, haughty, proud as a churl; speaks to nobody but some few ; and is not popular and affable ; and cuts grimaces with his face as if he were a fool ; and does my will in nothing but following his own whims ; no use to him in anything else. This is the answer. Frederick William." The king was a hard drinker ; very intemperate. In January, 1729, he was seized with a severe attack of the gout. His boorish, savage nature was terribly developed by the pangs of the disease. He vented his spleen upon all who came within hearing of his tongue, or reach of his crutch; and yet this most incomprehensible of men, while assailing his wife with the most vituperative terms which the vocabulary of abuse could afford, would never allow a profane expression or an indelicate allusion in his presence ! His sickness lasted five weeks. Wilhelmina writes, " The pains of purgatory could not equal those which we en- dured." The unhappy royal family at this time consisted of the following children : Wilhelmina, Fritz, Frederica, Char- lotte, Sophie Dorothee, Ulrique, August Wilhelm, Amelia and Henry, who was a babe in arms. Frederica, who is described as beautiful as an angel, and a spoiled child of fifteen, became engaged to the Marquis of Anspach. She was the only one of the family who ventured to speak to her father with any freedom. One day, at the talkie, just before her approaching nuptials, the king, who was then suffering from the gout, asked her how she intended to regulate her housekeeping. She replied, — ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY, 33 d really ires, not turned I endure ition in r shoot ; r like a a thou- mprove- a churl; ular and were a his own s is the LIAM." -ate. In k of the eveloped 3en upon ,ch of his an, while ns which r allow a presence ! tes, "The h we en- ,ed of the 3a, Char- 1, Amelia an angel, ;d to the he family freedom. 1 nuptials, asked her ng. She " I shall have a good table, delicately served, — better than yours ; and, if I have children, I will not maltreat them as you do, nor force them to cat what they have an aversion to." " This," writes Wilhelmina, " put the king quite in ji fury ; but all his anger fell on my brother and me. He lirst threw a plate at my brother's head, who ducked out of the way. He then let fly another at me, which I avoided in like manner. He then rose into a passion against the queen, re[)roaching her with the bad training Avhich she gave her children. " We rose from the table. As we had to pass near him in going out, he aimed a great blow at me with his crutch, which, if I had not jerked away from it, would have ended me. He chased me for a while in his wheel chair ; but the people drawing it gave me time to escape to the (pieen's chamber." While the king's peculiarly irascible nature was thus stimulated by the pangs of the gout, he was incessantly venting his rage upon his wife and children. " We were obliged," writes Wilhelmina, " to appear at nine o'clock in the morning in his room. We dined there, and did not dare to leave it, even for a moment. Every day was passed by the king in invectives against my brother and myself He no longer called me anything but the English blackguard : my brother was named the rascal Fritz. He obliged us to eat and drink the things for which we had an aversion. Every day was marked by some sinister event. It was impossible to raise one's eyes without seeing some unhappy people tormented in one way or another. The king's restlessness did not allow him to remain in bed : he had himself placed in a chair on rollers, and was thus dragged all over the place. His two arms rested upon crutches, which supported them. We always followed this triumphal car, like un- happy captives who arc about to undergo their sentence." CHAPTER II. •ii :|l! li^il FRITZ, AND THE COMMENCEMENT OF lnH REIGN. S we have nieiitioned, Fritz was very fond of music, A teacher from Dresden, by the name of Quantz, was secretly instructing him on the flute. His mother, in sympathy with her child, aided him in this gratification. They both knew full well, that, should the king detect him with a flute in his hand, the instrument would in- stantly be broken over the poor boy's head. Fritz resi- ded with his regiment at Potsdam. He never knew when his father would make his appearance. Whenever Fritz was with his music teacher, an intimate friend, Lieut. Katte, was placed on the look-out. His mother also, at Berlin, kept a vigilant watch, ready to despatch a courier to her son whenever she suspected that the king was about to visit Potsdam. One day, the prince, luxuriating in a rich French dress- ing-gown, was in the height of his clandestine enjoyment with his flute, when he was terrified by Katte's bursting into the room with the announcement that his wily and ever-suspicious father was already at the door. Katte and Quantz seized flute and music-books, and rushed into a wood-closet. Fritz threw off" his dressing gown, and, hurrying on his military coat, sat down at the table as if engaged in some abstruse mathematical problem. The father burst into the room, frowning like a thunder cloud. A French barber had dressed Fritz's hair in the most approved Parisian style. The sight of his frizzled curls called down upon the head of the prince the most aston- ishing storms of vituperative epithets. Just then, the king caught sight of the dressing-gown. With a new outburst of rage, he crammed it into the fire. ^ ^lb,» FRITZ. 35 S REIGN. ' fond of ,he name 11 on the ler child, oth knew him with i^ould in- ^ritz resi- lew when I intimate out. His ready to 3cted that ich dress- njoyment 3 bursting wily and i\ Katte ished into own, and, :able as if Lem. The der cloud. the most szled curls ost aston- jmg-gown. to the fire. Hating every thing that was French, he searched the room, and collected every book he could find in that language, of which Fritz had quite a libi-ary. Sending for a neighboring bookseller, he ordered him to take them away, and sell them for what they would bring. Had he chanced to open the door of the wood-closet, Katte and Quantz would have been tembly beaten, even had they escaped tlie headsman's block. "The king," writes Wilhelmina, "almost caused my brother and myself to die of hanger. He always acted as carver, and served everybody except us. When, by chance, there remained any thing in the dish, he spat into it to prevent our eating of it. I was abused with insults and invectives all day long, in every possible manner, and before everybody. " The queen contrived in her bedroom a labyrinth of screens, so that I could escape without being seen, should the king suddenly enter. One day, he surprised us. In attempting to escape, several of the screens fell. The king was at my heels, and tried to catch hold of me and beat me. He overwhelmed me with abuse, and endeavored to seize me by the hair. I fell upon the floor, near the fire. The scene would have had a tragical end had it con- tinued, as my clothes were actually beginning to take fire. The king, fatigued with crying out and with his passion, at length put an end to it, and went his way." Again Wilhelmina writes, " This dear brother passed his afternoons with me. We read and wrote together, and occupied ourselves in cultivating our minds. The king now never saw my brother without threatening him with the cane." The following occurrence is recorded by Wilhelmina, as related to her by Fritz : " As I entered the king's room this morning, he first seized me by the hair, and then threw me on the floor ; along which, after having exercised the vigor of his arm upon my person, he dragged me, in spite of all my resistance, to a neighboring window. His object, apparently, was to perform the office of the mutes of the seraglio ; for, seizing the cord belonging to the cur- tain, he placed it around my neck. I seized both of his 36 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. i; l> 1 1 '' i u ir ' m M hands, and began to cry out. A servant came to my assistance, and delivered me from his hands." In view of this event, Fritz wrote to his mother, " I am in despair. The king has forgotten that I am his son. This morning, at first sight of me, he seized me by the collar, and struck me a shower of cruel blows with his rattan. He was almost beside himself with rage. I am driven to extremity. 1 have too much honor to endure such treatment, and I am resolved to put an end to it one way or another." In June, 1730, the King of Poland held a magnificent review at Muhlberg. Frederick William attended, taking his son with him. Fritz was exposed to every mortifi- cation which his unnatural parent could inflict upon him. In the presence of the monarch, the lords and ladies, he was treated by his fiither with the grossest insults. The king even openly flogged him with a rattan. Adding mockery to his cruelty, he said,-^- "Had I been so treated by my father, I would have blown my brains out. But this fellow has no honor : he takes all that comes." Fritz, goaded to madness, attempted, with the aid of a friend (Lieut. Katte), to escape to England. He was arrested. The king, in his rage, seized him by the collar, hustled him about, tore out handfuls of his hair, and smote him on the face with his cane, causing the blood to gush from his nose. " Never before," exclaimed the unhappy prince, " did a Brandenburg face suflfer the like of this. I cannot endure the treatment which I receive from my father, — his abuse and blows. I am so miserable, that I care but little for my own life." The king assumed that his son, being an oflicer in the army, was a deserter, and merited death. He imprisoned him in a strong fortress to await his trial as a deserter. He assailed Wilhelmina with the utmost ferocity because she was in sympathy with her brother. " He no sooner noticed me," writes Wilhelmina, " than rage and fury took possession of him. He became black in the face, liis eye!? sparkling fire, his mouth foaming. ^.litiP FRITZ. 37 ic to my otlier, " I n his son. lie by the with his ore. I am bo endure 1 to it one agnificent ,ed, taking y mortiti- upon him. [ ladies, he lilts. The .. Adding ^roiild have honor : he the aid of He was the collar, , and smote od to gush ice, " did a Liiot endure —his abuse t little for mcer in the imprisoned a deserter. ity because [iina, "than icaino black th foaming. 'Infamous wretch/ said he, 'go keep your scoundrel brother company ! ' " So saying, he seized . me with one hand, sirikinnr me several blows in the face with his fist. One of the blows struck me on the temple. I lay on the floor without consciousness. The king, in his frenzy, proceeded to kick me out of the wii.dow, which opened to the floor. The queen and my sisters ran between, preventing him. My head was swollen with the blows which I had received. They threw water upon ray face to bring me to life; which care I lamentably reproached them with, death being a thousand times better in the pass things had come to. The king's face was so disfigured with rage, that it was frightful to look upon. " ' I hope,' said he, * to have evidence to convict the ras- cal Fritz and the wretch Wilhelmina, and to cut then* heads ofl". As for Fritz, he will always, if he lives, be a worthless fellow. I have three other sons, who will all turn out better than he has done,' " Wilhelmina was imprisoned in her room. Two sentinels were placed at the door. She was fed upon the coarsest prison fare. A court martial was convened. By order of the king, Fritz was condemned to die. Lieut. Katte, the friend of Fritz, was accused of being privy to the attempt of Fritz to escape, and of not making it known. He was condemned to two years', some say a life-long, imprison- ment. The king was exasperated by the leniency of the verdict. " Katte," he exclaimed, " is guilty of high treason. He shall die by the sword of the headsman ! " A scaflbld was erected in the yard of the castle where Fritz, then a slender, fragile boy of eighteen, was impri- soned. Katte was taken to the scaffold on the death-cart. Four grenadiers held Fritz at the window to compel him to see his friend beheaded. Fritz fainted as Katte's head rolled upon the scaffold. The Emperor of Germany inter- fered in behalf of the prince, whom his father intended to have also beheaded. The kings of Poland and Sweden also interfered. Thus the life of Fritz was saved. ,'> Such were the influences under which tlie character of *i 88 HISTOllY OF PRUSSIA. ; '1' ',1 .\m Mi r w Frederick the Great vv-as formed. On the 20th of Novem- ber, 1731, VVilhelmina was, by moral compulsion, married to the Marquis of Baireuth. The king gradually became so far reconciled to his son as to treat him with ordinary courtesy. By a similar compulsion, on the 8th of January, 1733, Fritz was married to Elizabeth, daughter of the Duke of Biimswick. Elizabeth was beautiful, amiable, and accomplished, und '~'f irreproachable integritj^ of character. But the Crown nee of Prussia was cold, severv^, un- loving. With undisguised reluctance, he took the htvnd of his innocent bride ; while, then and ever after, he treated her with most cruel neglect. Soon after the ceremony of maiTiage was performed, he caused, by previous arrange- ment, a false alarm of fire to be raised. Frederick rushed from the apartment of his bride, and did not return. He had often declared that he never would receive the prin- cess as his wife. Frederick ever recognized the legal tie of their marriage. On state occasions, he gave Elizabeth the position of queen, and treated her with that stately courtesy with which he addressed other ladies of the court who were entitled to his respect. Such wms the only recognition Elizabeth ever received as his wife. On the 31st of May, 1740, Frederick M-illiam, after a long and painful sickness, found himself dying. That dread hour had come to him, which, soot^.c?' or later, comes to all. He sent for a clergyman, M. Cochins, and as he entered, exclaimed, — " Pray for nle ! — pray for me ! My tr-ust is in the Sav- lour. He called for a mirror, and carefully examined his ema- ciated features. " Not so worn out as I thought," ho said, " an ugly face, — as good as dead already." As he was thus faintly and almost inarticulately talk- ing, he seemed to experience son^c monition that death was immediately at hand. "Lord Jesus," h'^. exclaimed, " to thee I live ; Lord Jesus, to thee I die. In life and in death, thou art my gain." These wci'e his last words on earth. Thus the soul of Frederick ])asse(l to the judgment-seat of Christ. RElCiX OF FREDERICK II. 39 Fritz was now King of Prussia, — King Frederick 11, lie v/as just completing his twenty-eighth year. His realms comprised an area of about tifty-nine thousand square miles ; being about the size of the State of Michi- gan. It contained a population of 2,240,000 souls. Fred- erick was absolute monarch, restrained by no parliament, no constitution, no custom, or law.-, superior to his own resolves. He connnencedhis reign by declaring that tliere ahould be entire freedom of conscience in religion, that the press should be free, and that it was his wish to make every one of his subjects contented and happy. Speedily he taught all about him that he was to be un- disputed monarch. " I ho])e," said a veteran officer, speak- ing in behalf of himself and his sons, " that avo shall retain the same posts and authority as in the last reign." "The same posts',' replied the king, "certainh'. Au- thority — there is none but that which resides in the sover- One of his boon-companions advanced, as had been his wont, to meet him jovially. The young monarch, fixing a stern eye upon him, almost floored him with the rebuff, " I am now king !" Those who had been his friends in the days of his ad- versity were not rewarded; those who had been his foes were not punished. Ti.e Giant Guard was disbanded ; cind, in- stead of them, four regiments of men of ordinary stature were organized. The king unexpectedly developed a very decided military taste. He immediately raised his stanel- ing army to over ninety thousand men. Very systemati- cally, every hour Avas assigned to some specific duty. He rose at four o'clock in the morninjj : a sinrrle servant lighted his fire, shaved him, and dressed his hair. He al- lowed but fifteen minutes for his morning toilet. Tho day was devoted untiringly to the immense cares which de- volved upon him. His nominal wife he recognized in })ub]ie as queen, and ever treated her, when it was necessary that they should meet, with cold civility. Gradually these meetings grew rai'c, until, after three or four years, they ceased almost entirely. Frederick was anxious to embellish his reign I' ' ' fi 40 HISTOllY OF PRUSSIA. ¥ (■■: id w'lih men of literary and ':oientific celebrity. He estab- lished an academy of sciences, corresponded with dis- tinguished scholars in other parts of Euro])C, and com- menced correspondence and intimate friendship with Vol- taire. On the River Maas, a few miles from Liege, there was ii renowned castle, whicli, with some thousand surrounded acres of land, had long been considered a dependency of the lords of Herstal. Frederick demanded this property upon a claim too intricate to be here fully explained. Vol- taire, who drew up the manifesto, declares the claim to liave been a mere pretext. Two thousand men, horse and foot, were sent to take possession of the surrounding ter- ritory, and to quarter themselves upon the inhabitants un- til the ])roperty, or its equivalent, was surrendered. The Bishop of Liege, who was in possession, was a feeble old man of eighty-two years. Resistance was impossible. The sum of a hundred and eighty thousand dollars was paid as a ransom. " This," writes Voltaire, " the king ex- acted in good hard ducats, which served to pay the expen- ses of his pleasure tour to Strasburg." On the 20th of October, 1740, the Emperor, Charles VI., died. He left no son. That he might secure the crown to his daughter, Maria Theresa, and thus save Eurojie from a war of succession, which otherwise appeared inevitable, he issued a decree called " The Pragmatic Sanction." This law had been accepted and ratiiied by the leading powers in Europe, — England, France, Spain, Russia, Poland, Swe- den, Denmark, — and the Germanic body had solemnly pledged themselves to maintain the Pragmatic Sanction. Tlius, by the death of the Emperor, his daughter Maria Theresa, a very beautiful young wife, twenty-four years of age, whose husband was Francis, Duke of Lorraine, and who was just about to become a mother, inherited the crown of Austria. She was inexperienced ; had scarcely the shadow of an arm}'-, and her treasury was deplorably empty. On the s()uth-ea,stern frontier of Prussia, between that kingdom and Poland, Maria Tlieresa had a {)rovince called Silesia. It was about twice as large as the State of Ver- i REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 41 mont, and contained a population of two millions. For more than a ccntiny, Silesia had belonged to Anstria. The assent of Euro])e had sanctioned the title. Frederick Avas ambitions of enlarging his dominions ; it was not pleasant to be a king of a realm so small that other sovereigns looked upon it with contempt. With his powerful standing army, it was easy to take military possession of Silesia : it had no strong fortresses : there were not two thousand Anstrian soldiers in the province. Frederick could present no claim to the territory whicli "was deserving the slightest respect. In conversation with his friends, he frankly admitted that " ambition, interest, the desire of making peo[>lo talk about me, carried the day, and I decided for war." With the utmost secrecy he matured his plans, gathered his army near the frontier, and then, after some slight dip- lomatic manoeuvring, but without any declaration of war, rushed his troops across the border, and commenced taking military possession of all the important posts. It was pro- posed that ho should ])lace upon the banners the words, " For God and our Country." " Strike out the words 'For God,' " said the king; " I am marching to gain a pro- vince, not for religion." That Austria might not send troops to the rescue of her invaded province, Frederick commenced his campaign in mid-winter. The roads were miry, storms of sleet swept the bleak plains ; there wius scarcely any enemy to be en- countered. In the course of a few weeks the whole coun- try seemed subjugated. Frederick left Berlin for his cam- paign on the 12th December, 1740. The latter part of January, he returned to receive the congratulations of his subjects upon the conquest of Silesia. In six weeks he had overrun the province, and virtually annexed it to his realms. .But Maria Theresa developed character which alike sur- prised Frederick and all Europe. The chivalric spirit of the surrounding monarchies was enlisted in behalf of a young queen thus unjustly assailed, and despoiled of an important province of her realms. The preparations which Maria Theresa made to regain her lost possessions induced 42 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. li Frederick to send an army of sixty thousand men into Si- lesia to hold firmly his conquest, A terrible war Avas the consequence, — a war in which nearly all the ni tions of Europe became involved, and which extended even to the distant colonial possessions of England and France. Mil- lions of money were expended, hundreds of thousands of lives sacrificed, cities sacked, villages burned, while an amount of misery was spread through countless homes which no imagination can gauge. Year after year rolled on, while the strife was continu- ing in ever-increasing fury. France, wishing to weaken Austria, joined Frederick ; England, jealous of France, joined Maria Theresa ; Prussia, Sweden, and Poland were drawn into the maelstrom of lire and blood. The energy displayed by Frederick was such as the woi'ld had never before witnessed ; he was alike regardless of his own com- fort and that of his soldiers. His troops were goaded for- ward, alike over the burning plains, beneath the blaze of a summer's sun, and through winter's storms and drifts and freezing gales. " On the head of Frederick," writes Macaulay, " is all the blood which was shed in a war which raged during many years and in every quarter of the globe, — the blood of the column of Fontenoy, the blood of the brave moun- taineers who were slaughtered at Culloden. The evils produced by this wickedness were felt in lands where the name of Frederick was unknown. In order that he might rob a neighbor whom he had promised to defend, black men fought on the coast of Coromandel, and red men scalped each other by the Great Lakes of North America. Frederick was equally versed in diplomacy and in war. He did not hesitate to resort to any measures of intrigue, or of what would usually be called treachery, to accom- plish his ends. Several of the victories which he gained gave him world-wide renown. By a secret treaty, in which he perfidiously abandoned his French allies, he ob- tained ])ossession of the Fortress of Neisse, and thus be- came, for a time, undisputed master of Silesia. On the 11th of November, 1741, Frederick returned to s ^^ REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 43 Berlin, congratulating himself and his suLjects with the delusion, that his conquest was established, and that there would be no further efforts on the part of Austria to re- gain the i)rovince. He was thus secure, as he supposed, in the possession of Silesia. There seems to have been no sense of honor or of hon- esty in any of these regal courts. The Province of Mora- via was a part of the Austrian kingdom ; it was governed by a marquis, and was about one-third larger than the State of Massachusetts. Frederick entered into an alli- ance with Saxony, Bavaria and France, to wrest that ter- ritory from Maria Theresa. Moravia, which bounded Silesia on the south, was to be annexed, in general, to Saxony ; but Frederick, in consideration of his services, was to receive a strip five miles in width along the whole southern frontier of Silesia. This strip contained the important military posts of Troppau, Friedenthal, and Olmutz. Again the storms of war burst forth with re- newed fury; again Frederick displayed that extraordinary energy which has filled the world with his renown. In the midst of winter, on the 26th of January, 1742, Frederick set out upon this campaign. Speaking of the first day's movement from Glatz to Landscrona, Gen. Stille says, — " It was such a march as I never before witnessed. Through the ice and through the snow which covered that di-eadful chain of mountains, we did not arrive till very late : many of our carriages were broken down, and others were overturned more than once." By the skilful diplomacy of Frederick, aided by France, Maria Theresa was thwarted in her efforts to place her husband, Duke Francis, on. the throne of the empire; and Charles Albert, King of Bavaria, was chosen emperor. This was regarded as a great triumph on the part of Fred- erick. Charles Albert, whose life from the cradle to the grave, was a constant tragedy, took the title of the Em- peror Charles VIT. Frederick, in the intensity of his earnestness, was greatly annoyed by the lukewarmncss of his allies. He was not disposed to allow any considerations of humanity J 44 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. ill ill i ' X I to stand in the way of his plans. Eegardlcss of his own comfort, lie was equally regardless of that of his troops. But the allies, whom he had with some difficulty drawn into the war, and who were not goaded on by his ambi- tion, had no taste for campaigning through blinding, smothering snow-storms, and bivouacking on frozen plains swept by ■'.vintry gales. At last, Frederick, in disgust, withdrew from his allies, and with marvelloas sagacity and determination, though at an awful expense of suffering and death on the part of his troops, conducted the campaign to suit his own pur- poses, and in accordance with his own views. An inces- sant series of bloody battles ensued. Cities were bom- barded, villages laid in ashes, and whole provinces devas- tated and almost depopulated. Frederick was again tri- umphant. On the 11th of June, 1742, a treaty of peace was signed at Breslau. Again his conquest was assured to him : Sil- esia was ceded to Frederick and his heirs for evermore. Elate with victory, the young conqueror cantoned his troops in Silesia, and, with a magnificent suite, galloped to Berlin, greeted all along the road by the enthusiastic ac- claim of the people. In the following terms, Frederick, in his " Histoire de mon Temps," narrates the results of these two cam- paigns : — " Thus was Silesia re-united to the dominions of Prus- sia. Two years of war sufiiced for the conquest of this important province. The treasure which the late king had left was nearly exhausted. But it is a cheap pur- chfuse where whole provinces are bought for seven or eight millions of crowns. The union of circumstances at the moment peculiarly favored this enterprise. It was neces- sary for it that France should allow itself to be drawn into the war ; that Russia should be attacked by Sweden; that from timidity, the Hanoverians and Saxons should remain inactive ; that the successes of the Prussians should be uninterrupted ; and that the King of England should become, in spite of himself, the instrument of its aggrandizement. J REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 45 " What, however, contributed most to this conquest, was an army, which had been formed for twenty- two years by means of a discipline admirable in itself, and superior to the troops of the rest of Europe ; generals who were true patriots; wise and incorruptible ministers; and, finally, a certain good fortune which often accom- panies youth, and often deserts a more advanced age," Maria Theresa regarded the loss of Silesia as the act of a highway robber. She never ceased to deplore the cal- amity. If the word " Silesia," were spoken in her pres- ence, her eyes would be immediately flooded with tears. i CHAPTER III. I.I .r I THE HKVEN-YEAIIS WAR. REDERICK, having obtained Silesia, felt now disposed to cultivate the arts of peace. He had withdrawn from his allies, and entered into ex- ternally friendly relations with Austria. But still the storms of war were raging over nearly the whole of Europe. Though Frederick had dexterously escaped from the tempest with the spoil he had seized, other nations were still involved in the turmoil. Maria Theresa became signally victorious over France. Austrian generals had arisen who were developing great military ability. Bohemia and Bavaria were reconquered by Austria ; and the emperor, Charles VI., desolate, sad, and pain-stricken, was driven from his realms. Encour- aged by these successes, Maria Theresa was quietly pre- paring to win back Silesia. Thus influenced, Frederick, in the spring of 1744, entered into a new alliance with France .and the emperor. With characteristic foresight, he had kept his army in the highest state of discipline ; and his magazines were abundantly stored with all the materials of war. Having arranged with his allies that he was to receive, as his share of the spoils of the anticipated victory, the three important Bohemian ])rincipalities of Koniggratz, Buntz- lau, and Leitmeritz, he issued a manifesto, saying, with unblushing falsehood, — "His Prussian majesty requires nothing for himself: he has taken up arms simply to restore to the emperor, his imperial crown, and to Euro])e, peace." In three strong military columns the king entered Bohemia, and on the 4th of September, having thus far ■> THE sb:vkn-years war. 47 encountered no opposition, invested Prague. The cam- ]).iign proved to be the most sanguinary and woful he had yet experienced. The swee]) of maddened armies spread desolation and misery over all Bohemia. Stai-ving soldiers snatched the bread from the mouths of starving women and children. Houseless families froze in the fields. In the dead of winter, Frederick was compelled to retire to Silesia in one of the most disastrous retreats recorded in the annals of wai*. Cantoning his shattered army in the Silesian villages, he returned to Berlin to prepare for a new campaign. His pecuniary resources were exhausted, his army dread- fully weakened, and his mo.Uriel of war impaired or con- sumed. It was in such hours of difficulty that the genius of Frederick was developed. The victorious Austrians had pursued his troops into Silesia. The unhappy emperor died in poverty and pain. France alone remained an ally to Frederick. His situation seemed almost hopeless. On the 29th of March, 1745, he wrote from Neisse to his minister, Podewils, at Berlin, — " We find ourselves in a gi'eat crisis. If we do not, by mediation of England, get peace, our enemies from different sides will come plunging in against me. Peace I cannot force them to ; but, if we must have war, wo will either beat them, or none of us will ever see Berlin again. On the 20th of April he again wrote, "If we needs must fight, we will do it like men driven desperate. Never was there a greater peril than that I am now in. The game I play is so high, one cannot contemplate the issue in cold blood." Another desolating campaign, with its series of san- guinary battles, ensued. At Hohen-Freidberg and at Sohr, Frederick gained great victories, though at the ex- pense of the terrible slaughter of his own and of the Austrian troops. Dreadful as were the blows he inflicted upon others, he received blows almost equally terrible himself At length, once more a victor, having captured Dresden, the ca])ital of Saxony, he again sheathed his 48 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. it: drippinf,' sworfl.aiid concliuled a peace. In his coiniiients on this war, Frederick writes, — " Considering, therefore, tilings at their true value, Ave are obliged to acknowledge that this contest was in every respect only useless etfusion of blood, and that the con- tinued victories of the Prussians only helped to contirm to them the possession of Silesia. Indeed, if consideration and reputation in arms meant that efforts should be made to obtain them, undoubtedly Prussia, by gaining them, was recompensed for having undertaken the war. But this was all she gained for it : and even this imaginaiy advantage excited feelings of envy against her."* Frederick returned to his capital on the 1st of January, 1746. Prussia now enjoyed a few years of repose. The king, with energies which never tired, devoted himself to the development of the resources of his realms, and, like Ca3sar, to writing the history of his own great achieve- ments. In a letter to Voltaire upon this subject, he writes modestly, — " ' The History of my Own Time,' which at present occupies me, is not in the way of memoirs or commenta- ries. My own history hardly enters into my plan ; for I consider it a folly in any one to think himself sufficiently remarkable to render it necessary that the whole universe should be informed of the details relating to him. I describe generally the disturbed, state of Europe ; and I have particularly endeavored to expose the folly and the contradictions which may be remarked in those who govern if'-f* The impulse which Frederick gave to industry was very great ; and the reforms which were introduced into the laws by the Code Frederick were worthy of all praise, when compared with the semi-barbaric and confused sys- tem which had before existed. During this time, Frederick became involved in a, bitter quarrel with Voltaire, into the details of which we have no space here to enter. But again the clouds of war began to gather, and darken the horizon. * " Histoire de mon Tempo." t Letter to Voltaire of the 24th of April, 1747. LW!!f THE SEVEN-YEARS WAR, 49 Maria Theresa, ever anxious* to regain Silesia, entered, with that object in view, into a secret alliance with I'^lizabetli, Empress of Russia, and with Augustus III. of Poland. Both Elizabeth and Maria Theresa enter- tained a very strong personal dislike for Frederick. The Marchioness of Pompadour, who ruled France, Imd con- sidered herself insulted by the sarcasms of his P: .sian majesty. Anxious for revenge, she also joined th ■ dli- ance. It so chanced at that time, that three women 'led Continental Europe. These three women were arrayed against Frederick. Thus, in addition to the important diplomatic issues which were involved, personal pique envenomed the conflict. There were also many rumors that Frederick was contemplating additional conquests. Frederick, by bribery, became acquainted with the plan of the coalition. It was nothing less than taking posses- sion of Prussia, and essentially dividing it between them; leaving to their vanquished foe, perhaps, a small duchy or marquisate. The king resolved to anticipate his foes, and to strike them before they had begun to move. Franco was at that time at war with England, and hoped to take Hanover. This led the British court, trembling for its Continental possession, to enter into a reluctant and in- efficient alliance with Prussia. Thus commenced the Seven- Years War. France had already assembled an immense force on the Rhine to march upon Prussia from the west. The Swedes, who had been drawn into the alliance, and the Russians, were marshalling their forces in Pomerania and Livonia for an attack from the north. Austria had gathered a lumdred and fifty thousand men on the frontiers of Silesia to invade Prussia from the south. Prussia seemed now doomed to destruction. Frederick having demanded, as a matter of form, the object of these military demonstrations, and receiving an evasive answer, informed the court of Vienna that he considered their answer a declaration of war. Imme- diately, three divisions of the Prussian army, amounting in all to over a hundred thousand men, entered Saxony, and were soon united near T3resden. Dresden was easily 50 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. captured ; and its archives fell into the hands of the victor. Immense sums of money were levied from the people. Austria rushed to the aid of Saxony. The utmost human energy was expended in the mortal struggle. The reader would weary at the recital of the names even of the battle-fields. Dispersing his foes, though at a vast expense of misery and blood on the part of his own troops, the Prussian monarch rushed into Bohemia, and fell fiercely upon the Austrian troops intrenched outside of the walls of Prague. The renowned battle of Prague, which, says Carlyle, "sounded thiough all the world, and used to deafen us in drawing-rooms within man's memory," was fought on the 5th of May, 1757. " This battle," writes Frederick, " which began towards nine in the morning, and lasted till eight at night, was one of the bloodiest of the age. The enemy lost twenty- four thousand men. The Prussian loss amounted to eighteen thousand. This day saw the pillars of tlie Prus- sian infantry cut down." The routed Austrians fled for shelter behind the walls of Prague. The city, which contained one hundred thousand inhabitants, was quite unprepared for a siege. The garrison, daily expecting an Austrian army to march to its relief, held out with great firmness. The scene of misery witnessed in Prague was awful. An incessant storm of shot and shell fell upon the crowded dwellings. Conflagrations were continually bursting forth. There was no safety anywhere. Famine came; pestilence fol- lowed. Demons could not have inflicted more misery than the wretched inhabitants of Prague endured. At length the banners of Marshal Daun appeared, wa- ving over sixty thousand Austrians. The antagonists met, and fought with the utmost ferocity. The slaughter on both sides was awful. Frederick, almost frantic with grief, saw his battalions melting away before the battci'- ies of the foe. Six times his cavalry charged ; six times they were repulsed. Frederick was beaten. Sullenly he withdrew, leaving fourteen thousand behind him slain, or pris'^mers. With but twenty-five thousand men. their ranks shattered and bleeding, and their hearts despond- ? j i-i R m THE SEVEX-YEAKS WAR. 51 cnt, Fredeiick retreated to the Fortress of Breslan, in Silesia. An allied force of ninety tliousand Austrian^ and French pursued them. Soon another terrific battle ensued. The Prussians, having lost eight thousand more men, were driven from Breslau. It was now mid--\vinter. The allies supposed that Fred- crick was ruined. The Austrians spoke of his shattered bands with ridicule and contempt. Marvellous are the vicissitudes of war. On the 4th of December, l7o7, the antagonistic hosts again met on the Plains of Lissa. Fred- erick had thirty thousand men ; the allies, ninety thous- and. The battle was short and decisive, it lasted only from the hour of noon to the going down of the sun. The Austrians were thoroughly routed Seven thous- and of their slain were strewn over the blood-stained snow. Twenty thousand were made prisoners. All their baggage, their military chest, one hundred and thirty-four pieces of cannon, and fifty-nine standards, fell into the hands of the victors. Tlie Prussians paid for tliis victory five thousand lives. Frederick, with triumphant banners, marclied upon Breslau. The city capitulated, surrendering its whole garrison of eighteen thousand men and its supplies. The victor then turned upon the approaching Russians, and drove them out of the kingdom. He then advanced up- on the Swedes ; they fled ])recipitately to take shelter behind the walls of Stralsund. Thus terminated the cam- paign of 1757. During the winter, both })arties were recruiting their .strength for the renewal of the fight. Tlie returning sun of spring ojiened new woes for war-stricken Europe. The summer was passed in a series of incessant baioles, sweep- ing over nearly the whole of Germany. In the battle of Hochkirchen, on tlio 14th of Octol)er, Frederick, in his turn, encountered a wofid defeat. He retreated, leaving behind him nine thousand slain or prisoners, and a liun- dred and one guns. Nothing decisive Avas accom[)lish(.d by the enormous expenditure of treasure, and the carnage and woe of this campaign. Thus ended the third year of this cruel and Avastiiiu: Avar. A 52 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. i 1 il ■} ' The spring of 1759 came. Maria Theresa was elated by her victories at the close of the last campaign. The allies redoubled their efforts. Catholic Germany gener- ally rallied with religious zeal against heretical Prussia and England. England, a maritime nation, could afford Frederick but little assistance, save in money. Her gifts in that respect were small, amounting to but little over three millions of dollars a year. Indeed, England did but little, save to protect her own province of Hanover. The armies of France, Austria, Poland, Sweden, and Russia, were now marching upon depopulated and impov- erished Prussia. The allies represented a population of over a hundred millions. The population of Prussia was less than five millions. Thus Frederick had against him about twenty to one. With incredible exertions, the king had raised forty thousand troops. Early in June, he met eighty thousand of the allies near Frankfort on the Oder. Both parties were vanquished : first the allies in awful slaughter ; then, by a sudden and unexpected turn in the tide of battle, the Prussians were over- whelmed. Frederick, in the moment of supposed success, sent the following despatch to Berlin : " We have driven the ene- my from his intrenchments. In two hours, expect to hear of a glorious victory." The two hours of battle's hideous and hateful clamor passed away ; and another courier was dispatched with the appalling message, " Remove from Berlin with the royal family. Let the archives be carried to Potsdam, and the capital make conditions with the enemy. Twenty -four thousand of the allies, and twenty thous- and Prussians, fell on that bloody day. Two horses were shot beneath Frederick ; and his clothes were pierced with many balls. In the darkness of the night, he retreated Avith the remnant of his troops. The allies had suffered so sevei'ely, that they did not attempt to pursue. Disaster never disheartened Frederick : it only aroused anew his energies. With amazin*.; vigor he rallied his scattered forces, dismantled distant Ibrtresses, and brought their cannon into the field, and in a few days was at the men THE SEVEN-YEARS WAK. 53 iscd his ght tho head of twenty-eight thousand men to dispute tho ad- vance of the foe upon Berlin. Week after week, tho thunders of war continued to echo over the wretched land. Winter came. The soldiers, on both sides, suffer- ing more from famine, frost, and sickness, than from tho bullets of the foe, could no longer remain in the open field. Tn the Austrian army, four tliousand died in six- teen days from the inclemency of the weather. Thus terminated the campaign of l7o9, the fourth year of this desperate conflict. The spring of 17G0, found both parties equally eager for the renewal of the war. Maria Theresa was elate with hope. Frederick Avas inspired by despair : the veteran army of the Prussians was almost annihilated. Tho Prussian king had filled his broken ranks with peasants and boys, and any raw recruits whom he could force into the ranks by tho energies of absolute power. With his utmost efforts, he could muster but seventy-five thousand men ; and these, to use his own language, "were half peasants, half deserters from the enemy, — soldiers no longer fit for service, but only for show." The " desert- ers" were prisoners of war, whom Frederick had compel- led to enlist under his banners. The allies were marching upon him with two hundred and fifty thousand men. Against such unequal numbers, Frederick fought Avith energy and skill, which filled Europe with wonder. Village, were burned ; harvests were trampled under foot ; fields were crimsoned with gore ; Avidows and orphans starved on the dreary plains; and still there Avere no decisive results. On the whole, tho campaign was in Frederick's favour. To the surprise of all, he had succeeded in thwarting .the endeavors of tho allies to crush him. Again tho combatants retired to Avin- tcr quarters ; and the fifth year of the war Avas ended. Frederick, in his correspondence with his friends, con- fessed that his prospects were hopeless. He, hoAvever, re- solved to struggle to tho last, and to bury himself beneath the ruins of his kingdom. HaA'ing rejected Christianity, and having none of the consolations of religion to sustain D 54 HISTORY OF mUSSIA. him, he carried constantly with him a phial of poison, that, as a last resort, he might commit suicide. The sixth campaign, that of 17G1, proved uneyentful. Frederick fortified himself with so much skill at Kuners- dorf, that the allies did not venture to attack him. They surrounded him in large numbers, as hounds surround a tiger at bay. There were many bloody skirmishes and sieges : large regions were devastated, and thousands per- ished in their misery. Frederick encountered severe re- verses, and was, apparently, every month approaching nearer to his end. Despairing, yet resolute, when the storms of winter drove the allies from the field, the Prus- sians sought refuge in a camp near Leipsic. The sixth year of blood and woe had ended. BVederick could no longer conceal his despondency. The English withdrew their subsidy : the Prussians declared that they could struggle no longer against such fearful odds. The allies Avere elated ; it seemed manifest that one campaign more would finish their Avork, and that Prussia would lie helpless at their feet. In this dark hour, in a day, as it were, the Avhole prospect became changed. One individual chanced to be taken sick and die : that individual was Elizabeth, the Empress of Russia. She died on the 5th of January, 1702. Her death changed the fate of Europe. Peter III., who succeeded Elizabeth, hated Maria Theresa, and admired Fre«lerick. He order- ed his troops immediately to withdraw from the alliance, and sent them to the aid of Frederick. The Swedish court was so allied with that of Russia, that their troops also withdrew. Peter HI. even solicited a position for himself in the Prussian arm}\ Peter HI. Avas assassinat- ed. His Avifo, the Avorld-i'enowned Catharine II., ascended the throne : she dissolved the Prussian alliance, and ordered her troops to return to Russia. In the meantime, Frederick had roused tlie Turks against Austria. Before the Rus- sians liad I'lft his camp, he attacked the Austrians Avitli h\!*. accustomed impetuosity, and they Avere routed Avith great loss. Maria Theresa Avas now in dismay : lier allies Aveie leaving her; her treasury was exhausted. The Turks, sAveeping .'ill opposition before tlicni, were ascending the 111! THE SEVEN- YEARS WAR. 00 Danube ; Frederick, victorious, was enriching himself with the spoils of Saxony and Bohemia. On the 15th of Feb- ruary, 1703, peace av.is concluded. Freaerick refainnl Silesia. According to Frederick's computation, the conquest of the province had cost the lives of six hundred and seventy thousand of the allies, and one hundred and eighty thou- sand Prussians who had perished on the field of battle. The treasure expended and wasted in the desolations of war can never be estimated ; neither can there be any ac- curate estimate of the hundreds of thousands of men, wo- men and children who had perished of exposure, famine, pestilence and misery. The po})ulation of Prussia had diminished five hundred thousantl during the Seven- Years War. The day after the treaty of peace was signed, Frederick wrote to his friend D'Argens, " For me, poor old man that I am, I return to a town where I know nothing but the walls ; where I find no longer any of my friends ; where great and laborious duties await me; and where I shall soon lay my old bones in an asylum which can neither be troubled by war, by calamities, nor by the wickedness of men." Under the enerfjetic and saortant battle, was prodigious. The victory of Jemappes instantaneously filled all France with joy, and Europe with new surprise. Nothing was talked of but the fact of the coolness with which the Austrian artillery had been confronted, and the intrepidity displayed in storm- ing their redoubts. The danger and the victory were even exaggerated ; and throughout all Europe, the faculty'' of gaining great battles was again awarded to the French."* The Duke of Orleans (subsequently King Louis Phil- lippe), at that time a young man, known as the Duke of Chartres, greatly signalized himself by his bravery in this conflict. The French armies now swept trium- phantly towards the Rhine, driving their foes bcforw * Tliieri' History cif tlie Frciicli Ucvolutitui, vol. il., p. 10. PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. C9 i them. Cheered by these victories, the Convention in Paris, on the 19th of November, 17^*5 i::sued the decree : — " That they -would grant fraternity and succor to every people who were disposed to recover their liberty ; and that they charged their generals to give aid to all such people, and to defend all citizens who had been or might be disquieted in the cause of freedom." This decree was followed by another, on the loth of December, declaring that France would proclaim, in all the provinces it conquered, " the sovereignty of the peo- ple, the suppression of all the constituted authorities, of all feudal and territorial rights, of all the privileges of nobility and exclusive privileges of every description."* The peoples were invited to meet, and organize new re- publican governments founded on popular suffrage. By these defeats, the Prussians were placed in a very deplor- able condition. Winter was at hand ; disease was making dreadful ravages in their camps ; republican principles were penetrating even the ranks of the army. A flag of truce was sent by Frederick William III. to confer upon terms of comj)romise. Dumouriez wrote to the French Government, — " The proposals of the King of Prussia do not appear to offer a basis for negotiation ; but ^hey demonstrate that the enemy's distress is very great. I am persuaded that the King of Prussia is now heartily sorry in being so far in advance, and that he would readily adopt any means to extricate himself from his embarrassments. "*!* The negotiations for peace were not successful. During the winter, the allies gathered their forces anew ; and, in the spring, Frederick William commenced another campaign by besieging the French fortress of Mayence, on the left bank of the Rhine. The King of Prussia brought forward fifty-five thousand men ; and Austria sent enough troops to swell the number to eighty thousand. The French had about the same number in the valley of the Moselle, and in their fortresses on tho Rhino. )w * Jotnini, Histoiro dos Gucrres do la Revolution, vol, li,, 204. t Dumourlea* despatch to tho French Government. iit; 70 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. ^ M : vmM Ml Hi 11^! si < M' The King of Prussia crossed the river, without opposi- tion, at a point a little below Mayence, and invested the city from both sides of the Rhine. The garrison consist- ed of twenty thousand men. The investment commenced in April, 1793. The city of Mayence, nearly opposite the mouth of the river Maine, was even then a very strongly fortified place. The King of Prussia, in person, conducted the siege. There were the usual scenes of bombardment, tumult, and blood, storming-parties repulsed, and sorties driven back. Two hundred pieces of artillery plaj'^ed upon the fortress ; while floating batteries, placed upon the Rhine, threw into the streets an incessant storm of shells. " Distr?ss was at its height. Horseflesh had long been the only meat the garrison had. The soldiers ate rats, and went to the banks of the Rhine to pick up the dead horses which the current brought down with it. A cat sold for six francs ; horseflesh at the rate of forty-five sous per pound. The officers fared no better than the soldiers. Gen. Albert Dubayet, having invited his staff" to dinner, set before it, by way of a treat, a cat, flanked b}'^ a dozen mice. " Communications were so completely intercepted that for three months, the garrison was wholly ignorant of what was passing in France. The Prussians, who h'.id practised all sorts of stratagems, had false "Moniteurs" printed at Frankfort, stating that Dumouriez had over- thrown the Convention, and that Louis XVIII. was reign- ing with a regency. The Prussians placed at the advanced posts transmitted those false "Moniteurs" to the soldiers in the French garrison. " At length the distress became so intolerable, that two thousand of the inhabitants solicited permission to depart. Albert Dubayet granted it ; but, not being received by the besiegers, they remained between two fires, and partly perished under the walls of the place. In the morning, soldiers were seen bringing in wounded infants wrapped in their cloaks." * On the 25th of July, the starved garrison was compelled * Thlcrt* French Ucvolution, vol. 11. p, 250. PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 71 to capitulate. The King of Prussia allowed the ti'0()})s to march out with their arms and baggage. They snnply engaged not to serve, for a year, against the allies. But Frederick William III. had now become weary of the war. He would have abandoned the enterprise ; but England came forward with liberal promises of gold. England, uniting with Holland, agreed to pay the King of Prussia two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a month, and also to meet all expenses of bread and forage for the Prussian army. There was also granted the Prus- sian King a gratuity of one million five hundred thousand dollars to aid him in commencing operations, with the promise of five hundred thousand dollars upon his return to the Prussian States. In consideration of this subsidy, Frederick William agreed to furnish sixty-four thousand five hundred men to the coalition; of which coalition England was now the acknowledged head. The Prussian army was to be under a Prussian commander. All the conquests made of French territory were to belong jointly to England and Holland.* " The discontent of the Prussian troops," writes Alison, "was loudly proclaimed when it transpired that they were to be transferred to the pay of Great Britain. They openly murmured at the disgrace of having the soldiers of the great Frederick sold like mercenaries to a foreign power. The event soon demonstrated that the succors stipulated from Prussia would be of the most inefficient description." The conflict raged on the Rhine, month after month, with varying success. Gen Kleber, who was in command of the French forces, driving the allies before him, crossed the Rhine, and carried the horrors of war into the terri- tory of the enemy. Ere long he encountered overwhelm- ing numbers, and was compelled to retreat across the Rhine, back into France. Again, re-enforcements arri- ving, the French republicans assumed the offensive, and carried the war across the river to the right bank. Thus the blood-red tides of battle ebbed and flowed. This majestic stream, the Rhine, which had so long been the boundary of the Roman Empire, mainly separated the * Tliiers' French Revolution, vol. il. p. 18. 72 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. antagonistic armies from the Alps to the ocean. The allies had an immense advantage in still holding the strong fortress of Mayencc, which they had captured on the French side of the Rhine ; but as the republican troops gained victory after victory, and Prussia itself was threat- ened with invasion by the tricolor flag, Frederick William, disheartened and trembling, again resolved to withdraw from the alliance. Republican France had so roused herself, that she had twelve hundred thousand men under arms. All the im- portant military points on the Rhine w^re in their posses- sion. Holland was organizing as the Republic of the United Provinces, and entering into an alliance with the French Republic. Frederick William III. sent a commissioner to the head- quarters of the French commander to propose peace. The commissioners met at Basle; and on the 5tli of April, 1795, peace was concluded with Prussia. The French agreed to evacuate all the provinces they conquered on the right bank of the Rhine. The Prussian king pledged himself to friendly relations with the French Republic. Still England, Austria and Naples continued the war for three years longer. The French armies, having encoun- tered some repulses in the conflict with the Austrians, oc- cupied the left bank of the Rhine, and, with that broad and rapid river for their protection, warded off the invasion from Germany. Immense French victories gained by the young general, Bonaparte, over the Austrians in Italy, led to a convention at Rastadt to confer upon terms of peace. We give the substance of these negotiations as stated by M. Thiers. The intelligent reader will be deeply interested in comparing the claims of France and the reply of Germany in 1798 with the claims of Germany and the reply of France in 1870. France demanded, not only that the line of the Rhine should be the recognized frontier between thetwo countries, but that France should also have possession of all the is- lands in the Rhino, which were very important in a military point of view ; France also demanded Kehl and its terri- tory, opposite to Strasburg ; and Cassel and its territory, PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 73 opposite Mayence ; and that fifty acres of land on the Ger- man side of the Rhine, facing the old bridge of Huningen. should be transferred to the republic. In addition to this, France insisted that the important fortress of Ehren- breitstein, nearly opposite Coblentz, should be demolished. These concessions, it was asserted, were essential to protect Frauce from the menace of Germanic invasion. The deputation of the German Empire, on the other hand, replied, that the river Rhine was the natural bound- ary between the two nations, ofiering equal security to both; that, if France were to keep all the offensive points, this security would cease to exist for Germany. They proposed, as the real boundary, the channel of the main branch of the river, — all the islands on the right of that line to be- long to Germany ; all on the left, to France. The deputa- tion was not willing that France shouldretain any offensive points on the river, while Germany was to lose them all.* After long negotiations, the obviously reasonable German proposition was accepted. The main channel of the river Rhine was declared to be the boundary between France and Germany. This important treaty was signed in Sep- tember, 1798. The establishment of, first the consulate, and then the empire, in France, increased rather than diminished the ex- asperation of the old feudal monarchies. Under these new organizations, the republican doctrine of equal rights for all men was retained. Hereditary nobility wa« rejected, at first entirely rejected, and then but partially revived. Titles of honor were conferred as the reward of merit only. The doctrine of the " divine right " of kings was utterly repudiated ; and the powers of government were based up- on popular suffrage. The feudal kings and nobles of Europe were not to l^e deceived by a name. The fact that t\. ■ republic called it- self an empire, and that the elected executive was called Imperator, instead of President, rendered republicanism, thus arrayed, as formidable as ever. The principles avowed were in direct antagonism with all the old Hginies ; con- sequently, (coalition after coalition was organized against * Thiers' History of the French Revolution, vol. Iv. p. 295, 1^ 74 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. till these democratic principles, whatever names they might assume. The antagonism which had so long existed between Prussia and Austria was one of the inf'iumces which in- duced Frederick William III. to withdrawfrom the alliance against France, During the ten years of peace which Prussia enjoyed,thekingdom had rapidly increased in popu- lation and wealth. The vicissitudes of war had thrown a large proportion of the commerce of Germany into its hands. The population had increased to nine million five hundred thousand souls ; its net income amounted to about fifty million dollars ; its standing army numbered two hun- dred thousand highly-disciplined troops.* " The Prussian capital was one of the most agreeable and least expensive in Europe. No rigid etiquette, no rigid line of demarcation, separated the court from the ])eople. The royal family lived on terms of friendly equa- lity, not only with the nobility, but with the leading in- habitants of Berlin. An easy demeanor, a total absence of aristocratic pride, an entire absence of extravagance or parade, distinguished all the parties given at court ; at which the king and the queen mingled, on terms of per- fect equality, with their subjects. " Many ladies of rank, both in Paris and London, spent larger sums annually on their dress than the Queen of Prussia. None equalled her in dignity and grace of man- ner and the elevated sentiments with which she was in- spired. Admiration of her beauty, and attachment to her person, formed one of the strongest feelings of the Prussian monarchy."-]- The King of Prussia was the first of the monarchs, among the great powers, who recognized the empire in France. When, in 1804, Russia, in coalition with Austria and England, was preparing to send down her Muscovite legions into France, Frederick entered into an agreement with the French Empire to maintain a strict neutrality, and not to j)ermit Russian or any otlicr foreign troops to cross her teiritorics. * Biffiion'a Histoirc ile France dci)uiH lo 18nio Brutuaire, t. ii. p. 293. t AIIhou'b History of Europe, vol. ii. !>. 288. PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH HEVOLUTION. 75 rlit Early in the spring of 1805, England, Austria and Russia formed a new coalition against France, into which Sweden, Hanover, Sardinia and Naples were soon drawn. The united army of the allies was to number five hundred thousand men. " It was a great object," writes Sir Archibald Alison, " if possible, to unite Prussia with the alliance. For this purpose, M. Noviltzoff was despatched to Berlin. Not- withstanding all the efforts of England and Russia, it was found impossible to overcome the leaning of Prussia to- wards the French interest. The real secret of this parti- ality was the effect of the glittering prize, which her ministers had long coveted, in the Electorate of Hanover. The Prussian Government could never divest itself of the idea, that, by preserving a dubious neutrality, and reser- ving her interposition for a decisive moment, she might, without danger, add that important acquisition to her domains. " The Prussian ministers at length openly broached the project of taking provisional possession of that Electorate, ' as the union of the continental dominions of His Bri- tannic Majesty to Prussia is of such consequence to that monarchy, that it can never relinquish the prospect of gaining such an acquisition, providing it can be done without compromising the character of His Majesty.* " The king at length put the question, * Can I, without violating the rules of morality, without being held up in history as a king destitute of faith, depart, for the acquisi- tion of Hanover, from the character which I have hitherto maintained V "It was easy to see in what such contests between duty and interest would terminate. Before the middle of August, the Prussian cabinet intimated to tlie French minister at Berlin, their willingness to conclude a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, with the French Gov- ernment, on the footing of the annexation of Hanover to their dominions. Subsequent events prevented the treaty being signed, and saved Prussia from this last act of cu- pidity and infatuation."* * Alison, vol. 11. p. 322. i : i Ml .. 7G HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. M Hi ■ If dL ■ > During all this time, there was a strong minority in Pi-ussia in favor of war against the rapidly-spreading lib- eral opinions of France. The Queen Louisa and Prince Louis were prominent in this party. A French army- corps had marched through a corner of Anspach, thus violating the territory of Prussia. Though immediate apology was made, the cabinet at Berlin," writes Alison, " had taken umbrage to an extent which could hardly have been anticipated, and which was gi'eatly beyond the amount of the injury inflicted. "Matters were in this inflammable state when the Em- peror Alexander arrived at Berlin, and employed the whole weight of his great authority, and all the charms of his captivating manners, to induce the king to embrace a more manly and courageous policy. Under the influ- ence of 30 many concurring causes, the French influence rapidly declined. " On the 3rd of November, 1805, a secret convention was signed between the two monarchs, for the regulation of the affairs of Europe, and to erect a barrier against the encroachments of France. " The conclusion of this convention was followed by a scene as remarkable as i( •' romantic. When they signed it, both wer fn^ y aware of the perilous nature of .ch they vere adventuring. The iia.d arrivec. .wo days before with de- the disastrous results of the com.bats Oi the enterprise ( Archduke Anth tailed accounts around Ulm. " Inspired with a full sense of the dan; ^rs of the war, the ardent and chivalrous mind of the queen conceived the idea of uniting the two sovereigns by a bond more likely to be durable, than the mere alliance of cabinets with each other. This was to bring tliei together at the tomb of the great Frederick, where, it ^vas hoped, the solemnity and recollections of the scene would powerfully contribute to ctment their union. " The emperor, who was desirous of visiting the mauso- leum of that illustrious hero, accordingly repaired to the church of the garrison at Potsdam, where his remains are dcpoeited : and at midnight the two monarchs proceeded togel ing. pall, I sia, ship] solei the the^ PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 77 together, by torchlight, to the hallowed gi-ave. Uncover- ing, when he approached the spot, the emperor kissed the pall, and taking the hand (Sword ?) of the King of Prus- sia, as it lay on the tomb, they swore an eternal friend- ship to each other, and bound themselves by the most solemn oaths to maintain their engagements inviolate in the great contest for European independence in which they were engaged. " A few hours after, Alexander departed for Gallicia, to assume, in person, the command of the army of reserve, which was advancing through that province to the sup- port of KutusofF. Such was the origin of that great alliance, which, though often inteiTupted by misfortune, and deeply checkered with disaster, was yet destined to be brought to so triumphant an issue, and ultimately wrought such wonders for the deliverance of Europe."* Before the Prussians had brought their two hundred thousand troops into the field, the French armies, under Napoleon, had captured Tienna, and had almost annihila- ted the Austrian anny in the great victory of Austerlitz. Prussia, had, as yet, made no declaration of war. The treaty was kept a profound secret. The 15th of Decem- ber, 1805, was the appointed day in which war was to be declared against France, and hostilities were to com- mence. The result we give in Sir Archibald Alison's words, somewhat abbreviated. The Prussian minister, " Hauguitz, had come to Vienna to declare war against Napoleon ; but the battle of Aus- terlitz had totally deranged their plans. The armistice had completely detached Austria from the coalition. The severest morality could not condemn a statesman who sought to withdraw his country from a contest which now appeared hopeless. But, not content with this Hau- guitz resolved to go a step father. " On the breaking-up of the confederacy into which he had just entered, he determined to secure a part of the spoils of his former allies, and, if he could not chase the French standards beyond the Rhine, at least wrest from Alisoii'n Ilistorj' of Europe, vol. ii. p. 357. II hr' Ii "f : ] I I. 1 >( ■ 111 ill 78 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. Im ! England, those Continental possessions which she now appeared in no condition to defend. " With matchless effrontery, he changed the whole ob- ject of his mission ; and when admitted into the presence of Napoleon, after the victory, congratulated him upon liis success, and proposed a treaty, the basis of which should be the old project of annexing Hanover to the Prussian dominions. " Although Napoleon had not receivjd full accounts of the treaty of the third of November, he was aware of its substance. Upon receiving Hauguitz, therefore, ho broke out into vehement declamation against the pei*fidy of the Prussian cabinet ; informed him that he was ac- quainted with all their machinations ; and that it now lay with him alone, after concluding peace with Austria, to turn his whole forces against Prussia ; wrest from them Silesia, whose fortresses, unarmed and unprovisioned, were in no condition to make any defence ; excite an in- surrection in Prussian Poland, and punisti them in the most signal manner for their perfidy. " Reasons of state, however, he added, sometimes com- pelled sovereigns to bury in oblivion the best founded causes of animosity. On this occasion, he was willing to overlook their past misconduct, and ascribe it entirely to the efforts of England ; but this could be only on one con- dition, — that Ptc'ssia should at length .abandon its doubt- ful policy, and enter, heart and hand, into the French alliance. On these tcrnio he was still willing to incorpor- ate Hanover into their doniiiions, in exchange for some of its detached southern possessions, which were to bo ceded to France and Bavaria. " Overjoyed at the prospect thus afforded of extricating his country, not only without loss, but with great acces- sion of territory, Hauguitz at once accepted the stipula- tions, it was agreed that Prussia should enter into an al- liance with France, and receive, besides the Margravate of Baireuth, the whole Electorate of Hanover, in full sover- olgnty, as well as nli the other Continental dominions of Ids Britannic Majesty."* * Alison's History of Euroiw, vol. 11. p. 20J. Th — th( hosti trans Fox, ment that odior PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, 79 Tliis treaty was signed on the 15th of December, 1805 -the very day on which Prussia wjis to h.ave commenced hostilities against France. The indignation which this transaction excited in Gieat Britain was intense. Mr. Fox, who was then minister, said in his place in parlia- ment, "The conduct of Prussia is a union of every thing that is contemptible in servility with every thing that is odious in rapacity." "f* t Parliamcntarj' Debates, vi. 801. W" if it s > t 111 i!" CHAPTER VI. PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. OUISA, the Queen of Prussia, was, intellectu- ally, far the superior of her husband. She saw- clearly that the principles of the French Revo- lution, organized in the Empire of France, if unchecked, would inevitably undermine the Pnissian and all other feudal thrones. The war-party in Berlin, with the queen and Prince Louis at its head, were unmeasured in their vituperation of this alliance with France. Their remonstrances, how- ever, were of no avail. The annexation of Hanover to Prussia gave to that king- dom an increase of territory amounting to fourteen thou- sand eight hundred square miles (equal to about twice the State of Massachusetts), and increased the population by over a million. The course, however, which Prussia pur- sued, was so vacillating, that " all sincere friendshi[) had become impossible between Prussia and 1 Vance. Prussia was regarded as a suspected power, whose hollow friend- ship had ceased to have any value." * England was greatly exasperated. The Prussian har- bors were immediately declared in a state of blockade, and an embargo laid upon all vessels of that nation in the British harbors. " An order of council," writes Alison, " was soon after issued, authorizing the seizure of all vessels navigating under Prussian colors. And such was the effect of these measures, that the Prussian flag was instantly swept from the ocean ; and, before many weeks had elapsed, four hun- dred of its merchant-vessels had found tlicir way into the harbors of Great Britain." -f* * r' Tion, Hiatoiro tie France, t. v. p. 223. t Allstoii, vol. il. p. 425. Qu( all th Engh ciples borne Sudde with theF as ex "1. PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 81 Queen Louisa and Prince Louis were still consecrating Jill their energies to bring Prussia into co-operation with England, Russia and Austria, in antagonism to the prin- ciples of the French Revolution, which were now being borne widely through Europe on the imperial banners. Suddenly Prussia changed front, renounced the alliance with France, and commenced vigorous hostilities against the French Empire. We give the reasons for this change as expressed by Sir Archibald Alison : — "1. France had overturned the constitution of the Ger- manic Empire, and, by the newly-formed Confederation of the Rhine, had made Germany essentially tributary to the French Empire. " 2. The Queen and Prince Louis did not appeal in vain to the patriotic spirit of the nation. The inhabitants of that monarchy, clear-sighted and intelligent beyond almost any other, as well as enthusiastic and brave, perceived distinctly the gulf into which they were about to fall. One universal cry of indignation burst forth from all ranks. The young officers loudly demanded to be led to the combat : the elder spoke of the glories of Frederick and of Rosbach. An irresistible current swept away the whole nation. "3. But all these causes of complaint, serious as they were, sanlc into insignificance compared to that which arose when it was discovered by M. Lucchesini, the Prussian ambassador at Paris, that France had entered into nego- tiation with England, on the footing of the restitution of Hanover to its lawful sovereign ; that, while continually urging the cabinet at Berlin to look for indemnities for such a loss on the side of Pomerania, Napoleon had en- gaged to Russia to prevent them from depriving the King of Sweden of any part of his German dominions; and that, while still professing sentiments of amity t^nd friend- ship to Frederick William, he hr offered to throw no ob- stacles in the way of the re-establishment of the kingdom of Poland, including the whole of Polish Prussia, in favor of the Grand Duke Constantino. " Irritated beyond endurance by such a succession of in- sults, and anxious to regain tho place which he was con- .'■"' I 82 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. i\ rifw ' ' lib ',,(( I'll i'.i 1: 1'i scions he had lost in the estimation of Europe, the Kin<,' of Prussia put liis armies on a war-footing ; desiuitched M. Krusemark to St. Petersburg, and M. Lacobi to Lon- don, to endeavor to effect a reconciliation with these powers ; opened the navigation of the Elbe ; concluded his difficulties with the King of Sweden ; and caused his troops to defile in the direction of Leipsic. "The torrent of public indignation at Berlin became irresistible. The war party overwhelmed all opposition. In the general tumult, 'the still small voice' of reason, which counselled caution and preparation in the outset of so great an enterprise, was overtossed. Prince Louis and his confederates openly boasted, that Prussia, strong in the recollection of the gi'eat Frederick and the discipline he had bequeathed to his followers, was able, single-hand- ed, to strike down the conqueror of Europe. Warlike and patriotic songs resounded, amidst thunders of applause, at the theatres ; and the queen roused the general enthu- siasm to the highest pitch by displaying her beautiful figure on horseback in the streets of Berlin, at the head of the regiment of hussars, in the uniform of the corps." * The Prussian armies, numbering two hundred thousand, entered the heart of Saxony. Frederick William compel- led the King of Saxony to join the alliance. " Our cause," he said, "is the common cause of legitimate kings. All such must aid the enterprise." The young emperor, Alexander of Russia, anxious to efface the stain of Austerlitz, was hastening by forced marches over the wilds of Poland, with two hundred thou- sand veteran troops in his train. The invincible fleet of England crowded the shores of the Mediterranean and of the Channel. At midnight on the 24th of September, 180G, Napol- eon entered his carriage at the Tuileries to join his army in the valley of the Rhine. Iri his parting message to the senate, he said, " In so just a war, which we have not provoked by any act, by any pretence, the true cause of which it would be impossible to assign, and where we only take to arms to defend ourselves, we depend entirely * Alison, vol. ii. p. 428. PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 83 upon the support of the laws, and upon tliat of the i)co])le, whom circumstances call upon to give fresli |)roofs of their devotion and couracje." " Napoleon," says Alison, " had no gallantry or chival- rous feelings in his breast. In his first bulletin he wrote, * The Queen of Prussia is in the army, dressed as an Am- azon, bearing the uniform of the regiment of dragoons, writing twenty letters a day to spread the conflagration in all directions. We seem to behold Armida in her mad- ness, setting fire to her own palace. After her follows Prince Louis of Prussia, a young prince full of bravery and courage, hurried on by the spirit of party, who flat- ters himself he shall find a great renown in the vicissitades of war. Following the examples of these illustrious persons, all the court cries, * To arms ! ' but when war shall have reached them, with all its horrors, all will seek to excul- pate themselves from having been instrumen&al in bring- ing its thunders to the peaceful plains of the North.' " Such," continued Sir Archibald Alison, " was the language in which Napoleon spoke of the most beautiful princess in Europe." By skilful manoeuvres, the whole French army, in a few days, having crossed the Rhine, were tlirown in the rear of th6 Prussians, thus cutting off all their supplies. Vic tory seemed no longer doubtful. Under these circum- stances, the emperor wrote as follows to Frederick Wil- liam : — " Sire, I am now in the heart of S;>xony. Believe me my strength is such, that your forces cannot long balance the victory. But wherefore shed so much blood ? to what purpose? Why should we make oui* subjects slay each other? I do not prize a victory which is purchased by the lives of so many of my children. If I were just com- mencing my military career, and if I had any reason to fear the chances of war, this language would be wholly misplaced. Sire, your Majesty will be vanquished ; you will have compromised the repose of your life and the ex- istence of your subjects, without the shadow of a pretext. At present you are uninjured, and may treat with me in a manner conformablo ^^ ith your rank. Before a month 1 I? m\ * i r • 84 HISTORY OF PRLSSIA. has piissed, you will treat, but in a different position. I am aware that I may, in thus writing, irritate that sensi- bility which belongs to every sovereign ; but circumstances demand that I should use no concealment. I implore yoi.r Majes-ty to view in this letter nothing but the desire I have to spa. > the effusion of human blood. Sire, my brother, I pray G 1 that he may have you in his worthy and holy keeping. Your Majesty's good brother, Napoleon." "Finding afi'airs," writes Alison, "in a situation so much more favorable than he could have anticipated, Napoleon, to gain additional time to complete the encircling of his antagonist, despatched an officer of his household with proposals of peace to Frederick William." Whatever may have been the motives which dictated the pacific over- ture, no reply was returned to the letter. Though the despatch was entrusted to a Prussian officer, it is said that the king did not receive it until the morning of the battle of Jena. On the morning of the 14th of October, the two hostile armies met, face to face, on the plains of Jena and Auer- stadt. The two battle-fields were at the distance of but a few miles from each other. On each side the soldier.s were equally brave, equally enured to war, and were led by able generals, Immediately there was commenced one of the most a^vful storms of battle which has ever desola- ted this globe. For eight hours the struggle continued, with the summoning of all possible human energies. About mid-day, the Prussian commander felt sanguine of victory. Ho despatched the following order to one of his generals : — "Send all the force you can to the chief point of attack, At this moment we beat the enemy at all points. My cavalry has captured some of his cannon." A few hours later, the whole aspect of the field was changed. The tide of disaster was surging in upon the Prussian general from all directions. The following al- most frantic despatch was sent to his reserve : — " Lose not a moment in advancing with your yet un- broken troops. Arrange your columns so that through their openings there may pass the broken bands of tho lost. PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 85 battle. Be ready to receive the charges of the enemy's cavalry, which in the most furious manner rides on, over- whelms and sabres the fugitives, and has driven into one confused nuvss the infantry, cavalry, and artillery." Night came. The Prussian army was destroyed. It was no longer a battle, but a massacre. All order was lost, as the Prussians, a rabble rout, fled like an inunda- tion from the field. The king himself narrowly escaped ])eing made prisoner. In the gloom of the night, and almost alone, he leaped hedges and fences, and plunged through field and forest, to efi'ect his escape. Prince Louis fell in one of the conflicts which ushered in the great battle, his head being split open by a sabre blow. The Prussians lost, during this disastrous day, twenty thousand in killed and wounded ; and twenty thousand were taken prisoners. In nothing was the military genius of Napoleon more conspicuous than in the vigor and ability with which he pursued a vanquished foe. In less than fourteen days, every remnant of the Pnissian army was taken, and all the fortresses of Prussia were in the hands of the French. Frederick William III. fled to the confines of Russia, to seek protection behind the bayonets of the troops of Alex- ander. Prussia was struck as by a thunderbolt. The history of the world presents no other example of such power being so speedily and so utterly destroyed. In one month after the emperor left the Tuileries, the feat was accom- plished. An army of two hundred thousand men was killed, captured, or dispersed. Fortresses hitherto deemed impregnable had been compelled to capitulate. Napoleon Avas reposing in the palace of the Prussian king at Berlin, while the French army was encamped in the streets and squares of the city. Prussia was a captive in the hands of France, bound hand and foot. By what is called the right of conquest, Prussia now belonged to France. Monarchical Europe heard these tidings with amazement and dismay. Wherever the French araiy appeared, it was the pro- pagator of the revolutionary doctrines of " equal rights P ■I ^ ; ■■ff 80 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. m m H m hi I Ppi for all men," Every soldier in the ranks was animated by the conviction, that all the avenues of honor and of wealth were oi)en before him ; that merit, not birth, was the [)a.ssport to distinction. Many of the Prussian officers appreciated the tremendous power with which the doctrine of equality invested the French soldiers. One of them wrote, in a letter which was intercepted, " The French, in the fire, become supernatural beings : they are urged on by an inexpressible ardor, not a trace of which is to be discovered in our soldiers. What can be done with peasants who are led into battle by nobles to encounter every peril, and yet have no share in the honors or rewards ?" The King of JSaxony, as we have mentioned, had been compelled to join Prussia against France. Such is the fate of the minor powers. Immediately after the great battle, the emperor assembled the Saxon officers in one of the halls of the University of Jena. " I know not why," he said to them, " I am at war with your sovereign. He is a wise, pacific prince, deserving of respect. I wished to see your country rescued from its humiliating dependance upon Prussia. Why should the Saxons and the French, with no motives for hostility, fight against each other ? I am ready, on my part, to give you a pledge of my amicable dis})osition, by setting you all at liberty, and by sparing Saxony. All I require of you is, no more to bear arms against France." The ofticers, with many expressions of gratitude, de- parted for Dresden ; and Saxony immediately withdrew from the coalition. But the armies of Russia, two hun- dred thousand strong, rapidly advancing, were still to be encountered. " It was shortly after having detached Saxony from the Prussian, and united it to his own, alliance, that Napoleon received an answer from the tCing of Prussia to the illusory' ])r()posals of acconmiodation made by him before the battle of Jena, and which that unhappy monarch easily caught at alter that disaster, {is the only light which seemed to l)reak u])on his sinking fortunes."* " Alison, vol. ii. p. 4'15. I'r I'JIUSSIA UVEllWllELMED. 87 The omporor replied, that he had then no time to nego- tiate upon the terms of a final peace ; that the campaign was but just begun, and that he must await its issue. He, however, entered into an armistice with a foe who was disarmed and bound, and entirely at his mercy. The French army then pressed forward, through Decem- ber storms, for the banks of the Vistula. There they en- camped for the winter. On the 7th of February, 1807, the terrible battle of Eylau was fought. Irmnediately after this great victory, the French emperor wrote to the King of Prussia as follows : — "I desire to put a period to the misfortunes of your ftimily, and to organize as speedily as possible the Prussian monarchy. Its intermediate power is necessary for the tranquillity of Europe. I desire peace with Russia ; .and, provided the cabinet of St. Petersburg has no designs upon Turkey, I see no difficulty in obtaining it. Peace with England is not less essential with all nations. I shall have no hesitation in sending a minister to Memel, to take part in a conferenccjof France, Sweden, England, Russia, Prussia and Turkey ; but as such a congress may last many years, which would not suit the present condition of Prussia, your Majesty therefore will, I am persuaded, be of opinion, that I have taken the simjilest method, and one which is most likely to secure the prosperity of your subjects. At all events, I entreat your Majesty to believe in my sincere desire to re-establish amicable relations with Russia and England." These overtures the allies peremptorily rejected, Tlie King of Sweden wrote to the King of Prussia,^- " I think that a public declaration should be made in fiivor of the legitimate cause of the Bourbons by openly espousing their interests, which is plainly that of all es- tablished governments. My opinion on this point is iixed and unalterable."* In reference to these proposals of peace made by the Em- peror of the French, Alison says that the Russian general strongly advised P"'rederick William not to treat. He urged, that the fact of Na))olcon proposing an armistice, ' McnuiircH d'uu Ilonimc U'Ktivt (I'rincc Ilanlciibuiij:;, t. ix.Jp. 31U(. '1 88 HlSTOUY OF PRUSSIA. i i. '■ t ::■'. after so doubtful a battle as that of Eylau, was the best evidence that it was not for the interest of the allies to grant it. Napoleon, being thus foiled in his endeavors to arrest the war by negotiation, gathered up his strength to conquer a peace with his sword. Scarcely had the snows of winter begun to melt, ere the French anny commenced its march northward from the banks of the Vistula to the banks of the Niemen. A campaign of ten days, which culminated in the great French victory of Friedland, secured the following re- sults : — The French took one hundred and twenty pieces of can- non, seven colors, and killed, wounded, or captured sixty thousand Russians. They took from the hostile army all its magazines, its ho.spitals, its ambulances, the fortress of Konigsberg, with three hundred vessels which were in that port, laden with all kinds of military stores, and one hundred thousand muskets, which Enghmd was sending to the aid of the Russians.* Frederick William was with Alexander at the time of this terrible defeat of the Russian arms. The conference at Tilsit, between the Emperor of France and the Em- peror of Russia, ensued. " France," says Alison, " had nothing to demand of Rus- sia, except that she should close her ports against Eng- land ; Russia nothing to ask of France, but that she should withdraw her armies from Poland, and permit the Em- peror to ])ursuo his long cherished projects of conquest in Turkey."t The two emperors speedily agreed upon terms of peace. The poor King of Prussia was quite disregarded in these arrangements. " The King of Prussia arrived two days after in Tilsit, with his beautiful and unfortunate queen, and the minis- ters on both sides, — ^Talleyrand on the part of France, and Marshal Kalkreuth, on that of Prussia. But they were of little service ; for such was the extraordinary length to which the intimacy of the two emperors had gone, * Oip:iinii,IIiHt(>iac do Prance dcpu'iH Ic 18inc Urtiiimirc, t, vi. p. 311. t All.son, vol. ii. p. 041. that fll ¥ PRUSSIA OVEUWIIELMKD. «i) est tf) to to that not only did they invariably dine and pass the even- ing to{];ethei-, hut almost all the morning conferences, dur- ing which the destinies of the world were .arranged, were conducted by them in person."* " Had the Queen of Prussia arrived earlier at our con- ferences," says Napoleon, " it might have had much influ- ence upon the result of our negotiations ; but, hap))ily, she did not make her appearance till all was settled. As soon as she arrived, I went to pay her a visit. She was very beautiful, but somewhat past the first flower of youth. She received me in despair, exclaiming, ' Justice, justice !' and throwing herself back with loud lamentations. I at length prevailed on her to take a seat ; but she continued, nevertheless, her pathetic entreaties. " * Prussia,' said she, ' was blinded in regard to her power. She ventured to enter the lists with a hero, oppose her- self to the destinies of France, and neglect its fortunate friendship. She has been severely puni.shed for her folly. The glory of tlie great Frederick, the halo his name spread round our arms, had inflated the heart of Prussia. They ha-^'o caused her ruin,' " Magdeburg," continues the emperor, " was the object of her entreaties ;" and when Napoleon, before dinner, pre- sented her with a beautiful rose, she at first refused it, but immediately after took it with a smile, adding, " at least with Magdeburg." " ' I must observe to your Majesty,' replied the emperor, ' that it is I who give, and you only who must receive.' "The Queen of Prussia," Napoleon continues, "unques- tionably j)0ssessed talents, gi'cat information and singular acquaintance with affairs. She was the real sovereign for fifteen years. In truth, in spite of my address and utmost efforts, she constantly led the conversation, re- turned at pleasure to her subject, and directed it as she chose, but with so much tact and delicacy, that it was impossible to tak(i offence."*f The Queen of Prussia was most bitterly disappointed at the terms of the treaty which her husband felt con- * Mcmoirch do Savary, Duke of Rovigo, t. iii. p. 77. t Napoleon at St, Helena, by John S, C. Abbott, pp. 271, 27'J. WTT if ' i-- i ) i; fi^ I 90 lllSTOllY OF I'llUSSIA. strained to sii;n. The losses of Prussia, hy tiiis treaty, wore C'lionnoiis. Frederick William had .iboiit oiic-hiilt* hiskiiiirdoin restored to him. The portion which I'russi.i had wrested from Poland, was oryniiized into a Polish state, called the Duchy of Warsaw. The Piovinot^s of Prussia upon the left bank of the Elbe, were formed into the Kingdom of Westphalia. The Kingdom of Prussia was reduced from about nine millions of inhabitants to {ibout five millions. Her revenue of twenty-four million dollars, was diminished to fourteen million dollars. The foi'tresses left her, whether in Silesia, or on the Oder, re- mained in the hands of France as security for the pay- ment of the war-contributions.* " At the same time," writes Alison, " enormous contri- butions, amounting to the stupendous, and, if not proved by authentic documents, the incredible sum of twenty millions sterling, were imposed on the countries which liad been the seat of war between the Rhine and the Nie- men. This grievous exaction completely paralyzed the strength of Prussia, and rendered her, for the next five years, totally incapable of extricating herself from that iron not in v/hich she was cnveloj)ed by the continued occupation of her fortresses by the French troops."-]- * DIgnon's Ilistoirc de France, t. vi. ]\ S5. f Alison, vol. ii. i>. 547. 'J. ii.'i. si, <>{' to i'lii to )11 10 CHAPTER VIJ. FllEDKRlCK WILLIAM III. AN.O THE NEW C()ALITU>N. "''i.:i:T^ERICK WILLIAM of Prussia, tl.on-Ii of iiiodemtc abilities, seciiis to have beuii an liou- cst and humane mnn. The followinL( touehiii<^ proclamation, which he issued to the iidialtitaiits of his lost provinces, won for him the esteem of every generous heart in Europe : — "Dear inhabitants of faithful ]»rovinces, dis- tricts, and towns, my arms have been iinfoitu- nate. Driven to the extreme boundaries of my empire, and having my powerful ally conclude an armi.'.tice, and sign a peace, no choice remained to me but to follow hi,s exam])le. That ]icace imposed on me the most pahiful sacrifices. The bonds of treaties, the reciprocal tics of love and duty, the fruit of ages of labor, have been bro- ken asunder. All my eftbrts (and they have been most strenuous) have proved in vain. Fate ordains it. A fiither is compelled to depart from his children. I hereby release you from your allegiance to mc and my house. My most ardent prayers for your welfare will always fit- tend you in your relations to your new sovereigns. Be to them what you have ever been to me. Neither force nor fate shall ever sever the remembrance of you from my heart,"* The grief of the unhappy Queen of Prussia woi-o so heavily upon her s])irits, that she soon sank into the grave, when but thirty-nine years of age. She, above all others, had instigated the war ; and she could not l)rook the ruin which she had thus brought up(m her country and her house. Her life was indeed a sad one, full of trouble. ( I i I! * Scott's Napoleon. ,,•1! ;"■) ;4, 02 HISTORY OK PRUSSIA. Her virtues ^vere her own : her faults were to be attri- buted to her education and the times. The kingdom of Frederick the Great had a]iparently njct with an irreparable blow; but the king, Frederick William III., instead of sinking in despair, nobly roused himself to additional exertions to develop the wealth and resources of his diminished realms. The calamity which had befallen Prussia, in the end proved a blessing. A new era of freedom and equality dawned upon the renlin, which had hitherto been governed by absolute power. The illustrious Baron Stein, in the retirement of liis estates, had jiondered the great questions which were now agitating Europe. Ills mind, greatly liberalized, had be- come deeply convinced of the necessity of political reform. Upon being appointed minister of the interior, he issued an ordinance, conferring upon peasants and burghers the right, hiiherlo confined to the nobles, of acquiring and holding landed property. The nobles, in their turn, were pcrmittc'i, witliout losing caste, to engage in pursuits of commerce aiid industiy. Every species of slavery and of feudal servitude was forever abolished. The inhabitants of cities were allowed to choose councillors, who should regulate all local and municipal concerns. Thus the dis- asters which Prussia had encountered led her to relax the fetters of the feudal system, and vigorously to commence the introduction of republican reforms.* Gen. Scharnhorst was appointed minister of w^ar. "In him," says Alison, " a blameless life and amiable manners were combined with the purest patriotism and the soundest judgment. Exalted attainments were undisfigured by pride." Gen. Scharnhorst, following the admirable example of Baron Stein, threw open to the common soldiers the higher offices of the army, from which they had hitherto been excluded. Ho abolishe*! ^.hose degrading corporal punish- ments under which the self-res[)ect of the soldier had wilted. He also abolished those invidious distinctions, which, by exempting the aristocratic classes from the burde seven By Pruss fortyj wa-s niore younj to th( but than In mgs tl Ml iioircH d'uii Ilonime d'Etat (I'rincc Ilardcnbcrir), t. ix. \). 4C0. 1 FREDERICK WILLIAM III. 1)3 .' r 1- 3li biiidcu of military service, caused its weight to fall more severely upon those who were not relieved. By the engagements with France, it wjis stipulated that Prussia should not keep on foot an .army of more than forty -two thousand men. The letter of this agreement wa.s kept, while its spirit was evaded, l:>y never having more than the agreed number at once in arms. The young recruits, having been thoroughly drilled, were sent to their homes ; and others took th'eir places : thus, while but forty thousand were enrolled, there were soon more than two hundred thousand thoroughly trained to arms. In the year 1812, Napoleon commenced his fatal cam- paign to Moscow. The latter part of December, the tid- ings of the uttci disaster which hnd overwhelmed the French armies reached Berlin. The opponents of the French alliance, still numerous in Prussia, were clamorous for a general ujirising, to attack the French in the disorder, the misery, and the helplessness of their retreat; but the king, and his able minister Hardenberg, remained faithful to their treaty-obligations. Great anxiety was felt in Paris in consequence of the past fickleness of Prussia : but Augereau, tlw) French minister at Berlin, wrote to the French (jovernment, that France had no cause for anxiety ; that the Berlin cabinet would remain firm to the French alliance.* Still the opponents of France were unwearied in their endeavors to change the policy of tii. 'overnment, and enter into an alliance with Russia. One of the Prussian generals, de York, treacherously entered into a secret treaty with a Russian general to do nothing to oppose the advance of the Russian troops in their pursuit of the French. He excused himself for this act of perfidy by the declaration that the French were so utterly routed, and his own forces so weak, that in this way only could he save his army-corj)s from destruction. In a despatch, to the King of Prussia, he stated, — "Now or never is the time for your Majesty to extri- cate yourself from the thraldom of an ally whose iuten- ' Atlgcr I' to Bcrthicr, Dec. 22, 1812. H ' ; r !)i HISTORY or PRUSSIA. I a tions ill regard to Prussia arc veiled in ijiipenotrablc darkness, and justify the most serious alarm. Tliat (con- sideration has guided me : God grant it may be for the salvation of the country !" * " Never," writes Alison, " was a monarch more cnd)ar- rassed by a stop on the })art of a lieutenant than the King of Prussia was on this occasion. Hi.s first words were, ' Here is enough to give one a stroke of apoplexy.' Deep- ly impressed with the sanctity of his existing treaties with France, and feeling, as eve-v man of honor would, that the obligation to maintaii th<. in. inviolate was only rendered the more stringent by the disasters which had overwhelmed the imperial armies, he saw clearly that tliu agitation in his dominions was such, that it was not im- ])robablo that the people would ere long talce the matter into their own hands, and, whatever the government might do, join the Russians as soon as they advanced into the Prussian territory. "-f* Oppressed by these embarrassments, the king remained faithful to his treaty obligations. Gen. de Yoik was or- dered under arrest. His command of fifteen thousand men was conferred on Gen. Kleist, who was ordered to take his contingent as rapidly as possible to the aid of the retreating French. At the same time, Prince Harden- berg submitted to the French ambassador at Berlin, with the approval of the kin:.,, a proposal to consolidate tlic union between Prussia and France by the marriage of the Prince Royal of Prussia with a princess of the family of the French emperor. Frederick William engaged, un- der these circumstances, to raise the Prussian contingent in the service of France' to sixty thousand nien.j Frederick WilJiam wrote to tlic French minister, the Duke of Bassano, on the 12th of January, 1813, — "Tell the emperor, that as to pecuniary sacrificesj they nro no longer in my jiower ; l)ut that, if he will give me money, I can raise and arm fifty thousand or sixty thou- sand men for Ids servicie. lam tlie natural ally of France. By changing my system of policy, I shouhl only cndau- ' Haron Kain, Cuinpau;no do 1814, t. ii. |t. SOrt. t Alison, iv, HJ. i itarun Fiiiii, Cauiimyiic dc Isll, 1. i. p. 207. FllEDEllICK WILLIAM IH. !)5 1^'or my position, and ,L,n vc the cinj)Cror jj^rounds lor treatiiinr niu as an oncniy. I know there are fools who rt'i^^'iril l^'raneo as struck down; hut you wall soon see it present an army of three liundred thousand men as brilliant as the former.* Early in January, 1810, the Russian armies, pursuing the j'etrcating French, entered the Prussian territory. Proclamations were scattered broadcast, urging the inhal)- itants of Pi'ussia to rise, and join in the war against France. The Russians rapidly took possession of the fortresses of Prussia. On the 4th of March the advance guard of Cos- sacks entered Berlin, and on the 11th Berlin became the headquarters of the Russian army. Still the Prussian monftrch, who had retired to Breslau, icmained firm in his allegiance to France. On the loth of May, 1813, the Prussian minister, Har- denberg, wrote to the French mihister, St, Marsau, — " The system of the king has undergone no alteration. No ovei'tures, direct or indirect, have been made to Rus- sia. If the emperor approves the steps which have been taken to secure the neutrality of Silesia, and will grant some pecuniary assistance to Pru.ssia, the alliance could l)e contracted more closely than ever. Nothing but despair will throw Prussia into the arms of Russia."-f '* There can be no doubt," writes Alison, " that these j)rotestations on the part of the Prussian monarch were sincere ; and that it only lay with Napoleon, by giving him some pecuniary assistance, to secure the cabinet of Berlin in the French alliance, and gain an auxiliary force of .sixty thousand men to aid him in defending the course ofthe'Elbe."! ]]ut it was obvious to the emperor, that Prussia, over- run by the triumphant armies of Russia, would be com- pelled to join in the coalition against France. He judged correctly. The anti-French party, sustained by the Rus- sian armies, rapidly increased in influence. Secret nego- tiations were opened between them md the Russian gon- eral. At lengtli a iren.y was fonncd, called the " Treaty • Haroii Fain, t. i. )'. 213. t Mcmuiros U'uii Iluiinuu d'Ktat, t. .\ii. p. 32;. I A'i.son, vul. iv. {>. i!j. r DO HISTORY OF PllUSSIA. i I > rw rV'f w* I il of Kalisch," to wliich Frederick William was induced, with great difficulty, to give his assent. By this treat}', an alliance, " offensive and defensive," was formed between the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia to prosecute the war with France. Prussia agreed to bring eighty thousand men into the field, inde- pendent of the garrisons in the fortresses. Neither party was to make peace without the consent of the other; joint- ly, they were to do everything in their power to induce Austria to join the alliance, and to induce England to af- ford pecuniary aid to Prussia. The Emperor of Russia engaged never to lay down his arms until all the possess- ions wrested from Prussia in the cainpaigns of Jena and Auerstadt were restored. The treaty w^as to be kept secret from Franco fen* two months, while privately com- municated to England, Austria, and Sweden.* " Frederick William," writes Alison, " who was only brought to accede to this treaty with the utmost difficul- ty, was well awaie that his political existence was thence- forth bound up in the success of Russia in the German Avar. His first Avords, after agreeing to the alliance, were, ' Henceforth, gentlemen, it is an affair of life and death.' Great pains accordingly, were taken to conceal the treaty from the knowledge of the French ambassador; but, not- withstanding every effort, its oxistence soon transpired ; and it was thought unnecessary to dissemble any longer. The French Government, informed of these facts, which were not unexpected, replied to the Prussian minister, — "'As long as the chances of war were favorable to us, your court remained faithful to its engagements; but scarcely had the premature rigors of winter brought back our armies to the Niemen, than the defection of Gen. de York excited the most serious suspicions. His Majesty the Emperor of France prefers an open enemy to .an ally always ready to abandon him. A power whose treaties are considered binding only so long as they are deemed serviceable can never be either useful or resi)ectablc. The finger of Providence is manifest in the events of last ' Martin's Collection Ucs Traitfes du TayS) sup. "i. 234. winte from your on bei Th St.H loyal he WJ were T FllEDElUCK WILLIAM III. 1)7 winter. It lias produced them, to distinguish tlic true from the false friends of humanity. His Majest}'^ feels for your situation, M. Baron, as a soldier and man of honor, on being obliged to sign such a declaration.'" * The Emperor of France, speaking u])on this subject at St. Helena, said, — "The King of Pru?>sia, in his private character is a good, loyal and honorable man ; but, in his political capjicity, he was unavoidably ^forced to yield to necessity. You were always the master with him wlicn you had force on your side, and the hand uplifted."*f- Frederick William issued a proclamation, informing his subjects, that, if they would volunteer their services, he would, as a reward, confer upon them a constitution se- curing to them many civil rights,} Universal enthusiasm pervaded the nation. In the terrible conflict which en- sued, the Prussian troops took a conspicuous part. At Waterloo, it was the appearance of Blucher, with sixty -five thousand Prussians, late in the day, u[)on the field, which secured the victory of the allien, the over- throw of the Frencli Empire, and the re-establishmcnt in France of the old regime of the Bourbons. " It is almost certain," says Gen. Jomini, " that Napo- leon would have remained master of the field of battle, but for the arrival of sixty-five thousand Prussians in his rear." The Prussian army returned in triumph to Berlin. And now the peojile demanded the promised constitution ; but the Emperor of Austria interposed. "I cannot allow," he said, " free institutions so near my throne. They will excite disaffection among my subjects. I shall therefore consider the granting of a constitution as a declaration of war against me." The Emperor of Russia also issued an equally impera- tive remonstrance. Thus the king forfeited his pledge, being unable to redeem it without involving his kingdom, in a desolating and hoi)eless war. " Baron Fain, t. i. \\ 260 t Las Casas, ii. 3(j.'5, imrou rain, i, i. p. -ou. t i^as t.;aKas, ii, ouo. t "This was a pigantic contest ; for liis enemies, by decoivin^; their siihjeots with false promises ot lil)erty, hail brought the whole nation ajjainst hhii."—M {ipicr's Wur in the rcninsula, vol, iv, p. U05. I i! i I 98 ITTSTOIIY OF PUIJSSIA. 1 i 'it 111- ' Ai ; I It I Whcii ihc allies met at Vienna, to partition out Europe among them, they were not generous in their treatment of Prussia. Though the kingdom was considerably en- hirged, tiie treaties of IHl;') did not give ccmipactness to her irreguhir territor}'. The kingdom was divided into two very unequal ])arts, — tlie eastern and the western, — se[)arate. 3'J'i. T :! ; \r ■■■ i ( 3 [1 :' 'li li 't¥ 11 m i fl^a .-! 1 fc,y[i I! 1: :|i I- 100 IIISTOUY Ol-' riiussiA. ' her of States, consisting of kingdoms, electorates, duchies and principalities. Each State was independent, in the regulation of its local affairs, hut bound in offensive and defensive alliance with the great confederation. Austria liad long been the predominating power in this league. Though the crown of the Germanic Empire was elective, it had for some time been almost hereditary in the royal family of Austria. Prussia had become exceedingly jeal- ous of the domination of Austria. A party had arisen in Germany, as in Italy, calling for unity. Germany contained a population of forty million inhabitants, and had two thousand walled cities. It was affirmed that, by concentration and unity like that which existed in France and Russia, Germany might become the controlling power in Europe. There were many leading minds in Prussia in favor of this unification, hoping by diplomatic intrigue to secure the imperial crown of united Germany for the King of Prussia. On the 18th of March, 1848, Frederick William IV. issued a royal proclamation, in which he said, — "Above all, we demand that Germany shall be trans- formed from a confederation of States into one federal State. We demand a general military system for Ger- many ; and wo will endeavor to form it after that model under which our Prussian armies reaped such unfading- laurels in the War of Independence. W^c demand that the Gorman army be assembled imder one single federal banner ; and we hope to see a federal commander-in-chief at its head," &;c. This remarkable document placed the King of Prussia at the head of the party in favor of German unity, which was then considered the liberal or popular party. Austria Avas by no means disposed thus to yield her supremacy. The ultra democrats of the liberal party regarded this movement of the Prussian king as a mere feint to gain power which he would wield against them. On the evening of March 19th, 1848, — the day after the issuing of the proclamation, — there was an immense gathering of the populace in King Street, <)ppo.-.ite the palace, in Berlin, to testify thc'r gratitude to the monarch who ■ tho I with FllEDERICK WILLIAM IIL 101 who '^hiid thus apparently espoused their cause. Wlieu the king appeared upon tlic balcony, the sky was rent with their acclamations. A squadron of cavalry and a body of infantry were drawn up under the windows of the palace to jn-eserve order. The disaffected party washed to provoke the hostility of the people against the government by exciting a collision between the citizens and the royal troops. With this design, in the midst of the tumult caused by the immense gathering, some pistol-shots were fired at the troops ; and an eager party commenced throwing up barricades. The cavalry, without drawing their swords or makin'f a charge, moved their horses forward, upon the walk only, to clear the square. Either by design or accident, two muskets were discharged from the ranks of the infantry into the retreating mass of the populace. The response was a general discharge of fire-arms upon the soldiers from numerous insurgents who had come prepared for that purpose. The insurrection i)roved to be very formidable. The students of the university, as bravo as they were intelli- gent, were at its head. A battalion of the guard soon joined them. " The cavalry now drew their sabres, and charged the mob in good earnest. A sanguinary conflict ensued ; for the insurgents had among them a great number of old soldiers as well trained to arms as the royal troops, and the students combated with the utmost resolution. The conflict continued until nightfiill, and even long after it had become dark, by the light of the burning houses, several of which were broken into, and, after being sacked, were set on fire by the insurgents. "Overwhelmed Avith terror at this calamitous event, which cost sixty persons their lives, besides four times that number wounded, the king issued a proclamation, addresssed to * My beloved Berliners,' in which he ex- pressed the utmost rcgi* cat the events which had occurred, and declared that the conflict had arisen from accident, and the shots first fired from Kiner Street."* 'j* M M "Alison, vol. vHi. p. 413. o lis 102 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. fM '■' i) I The king wns jiii ultra Jibsoliitist. His cabincfc was in })tn-feot Rympatliy witli him in his liatred of ])opiilar lib- erty. The more intelligent of the liberal party understood full well that the king in advocating German unity, sought only to eonaolidate the powers of despotism. He wished to become Emperor of united Germany, that he might sway a sceptre of unrestrained power like that wielded by the Sultan of Turkey and the Czar of Russia. He could thus easily silence the clamors of the people for reform. But the king was greatly alarmed by the indication the insur- rection gave of the most formidable opposition to his views. There was infinite danger that the insurrection would become revolution unless he instantly retraced his steps. " The next morning the king gave token of his submis- sion, by accepting the resignation of his whole ministers, who were immediately succeeded by a, new cabinet, com- l)osed of known liberals. * " On the 20th, a general amnesty was i)roclaimed ; and the whole persons in custody on account of the insurrec- tion were liberated without bail ; and two additional min- isters were appointed, known to belong to the most advan- ced liberals. On the 22nd, the bodies of the citizens who had been killed in the affray on the evening of the 18th were paraded with great pomp before the royal palace ; and the king was obliged to submit to the humiliation of inclining his head before the lifeless remains of those who liad perished under the sabres of his guards. At the same time the king published a decree appointing a national guard in the capital, and ordered the royal troops to leave the city ; and, after riding through the streets in the Gcr- juan uniform, in the course of Avhich he made repeated j)rotestations of his anxious desire for German freedom, he issued tAvo proclamations, in which he 0])enly announ- ced his intention of putting himself at the head of the re- stored and united German nation."* Ali.'i'in, vol. viii. p. 413. ClIAITKIl VUI. S'l'llUddLKS FOJl MnEI{Ty. T is a <^ruat mistake to sup))()se, that, in tlic grout conflicts wliidi have agitated tlie monarchies of Europe, there has been a clearly marked line of division between the oppressed })eople on the one side, and the despotic kings and courts on the otlier. Tlie people have been in antagonism between themselves ; and often the hirge ma- jority have been in favor of the old feudal des))otisms. The })cople in Prussia Avere thus divided. The Catliolic ])arty, which were (^uitc numerous, and which embraced a large ])art of the ])easantry, strongly op[)osed the liberal movement. The Poles were mostly in favor of it. As a general rule, the liberals, as they were called, were con- fined to the large towns. The peasantry were o})posed to change. While Prussia was in this state of agitation, the newly- appointed assembly met, on the 2nd of April, to draw up a constitution. The king, in opening the assembly, said, — " His Majesty has promised a real constitutional char- ter, and we are assembled to lay the foundation-stone of the edifice. Wo hope that the work will i)roceed rapidly, and that it will perfect a constitution for the whole Ger- man racer The following were the fundamental princi- ples of the constitution, presented by the king, and adopted by the assembly : — 1. Every houseliolder twenty-four years of age was en- ed to a vote for representation in the lower house. 2. Every five hundred voters could choose an elector. 3. Every householder thirty years of age was eligible as a deputy. %. r^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MI-3) V /. {./ y O 4 1.0 I.I .25 iU IIM IIIIM •si 4 II— 2.2 2,0 11= 1.4 11.6 Photographic Sciences Corooration 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 145B0 (716) 872-4503 i' m. & f ^% r 1 :l li "HI ■' i 104 HISTORY OF PllUSSIA. 4. Two deputies were to be chosen by every sixty thou- sand irdiabitants. The king also promised to lay before them a bill pro- viding for freedom of the press, personal liberty, the right of meeting and petitioning, the publicity of judicial ]:)ro- cecdings, trial by jury and equal civil and political rights for all ])crsons. These regulations referred to Prussia alone, and could bind no other State of Germany. Still the agitation in Prussia extended throughout all the German States. The legislature was to consist of two houses. The first, or senate, was composed of the princes of the blood royal, and sixty peers appointed by the king ; and also of one hundred and eighty members, to be chosen by the people. The dignity of the sixty peers was hereditary. The others were chosen for eight years. No commoner could be cho- sen who wjas not in receipt of an income of two thousand live hundrted dollars. The members of the lower house were to be elected for four years, and were subject to no property qualification. This constitution, though a great advance from the abso- lutism of the past, did by no means satisfy the democratic leaders. During the whole summer, there were excited gatherings of the people, and violent and inflammatory debates. There were mobs in the streets of Berlin, and many acts of violence were perpetrated. Under these circumstances, the king resolved on very energetic repressive measures. Assuming the pretence of a general review of the royal forces, fifty thousand troops were assembled at Potsdam. Gen. von Wrangel, a very determined royalist, was appointed to command them. The review took place on the 22nd of. September, 1848. In an order of the day the general thus addressed the troops : — " The king has honored me with the highest proof of his confidence in giving me command of all the troops. I will establish order when it is disturbed. The troops are staunch, their swords are sharpened, and their muskets are loaded. It is not against you, men of Berlin, that this is done, but to protect you. Grass is growing in yoiu* STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 105 streets. Your houses arc empty. Your sliops are full of goods, but void of purchasers. This must be changed ; and it shall be changed. I swear it to you ; and a Wrangel never yet failed in keeping his word." The Burgher Guard, a body somewhat corresponding with our militia, were in sympathy with the people. Though this was the natural force to be called upon to preserve order in the city, it could not bo relied upon by the king. In a discussion which took place upon the articles of the constitution, it was decided, by a vote of two hundred and seventeen to one hundred and thirty-four, that, in the title given to the king, the words, " by the grace of God," should be omitted. This was very dis- tinctly announcing the democratic principle, that the king's sole title to the throne was the luill of the people. Nearly all branches of business were thrown into con- fusion by these distractions and agitations. The chief manufactories were closed. Thousands were without em- ployment and without bread. The assembly, chosen by popular suffrage, had a decided majority in favor of reform. This majority kept up a constant warfare against the king and court, confident of support, should it be needed, from the Burgher Guard and the populace at Berlin. On the 31st of October, 1848, the assembly passed a resolution, " that all Prussians are equal before the law ; that neither privileges, titles, nor rank, are to exist in the State ; and that the nohllity are abolished." In fact, the democratic clubs now governed the assembly, controlling its measures by the menaces of the mob. " Not content with the majority which they already ]iossessed in the assembly, the mob from without, with the avowed pur- pose of intimidating the conservative members, broke into its hall, amply provided with ropes, nails, and nooses, as a preparation for summary hanging." * The king speedily developed the resolute measures he had decided to adopt. Ho dismissed his liberal ministry, and appointed, defiantly, an administration of the most decided conservatives. It was certain that a collision o . " Alison, vol. vlil. 1). 423. 10(5 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. 1- r .'■ I i would soon occur. The king, having inauguratcel the new ministry, sent in a royal decree to the assembly, stating that the insubordination in the streets of Berlin was such, that he transferred the sittings to Brandenburg. A scene of fearful violence ensued. The monarchical party, fifty in number, withdrew with the president. The i'cst, in a state of intense excitement, passed a series of indignant remonstrances, and declared themselves in per- manence. Thirty of the members remained in the house all night. The next morning, as the members began to arrive, they found the building surrounded by royal troops, vdio were ordered to allow any one to go out, but none to go in. The Burgher Guard warmly espoused the cause of the assembly. The majority, two hundred and twenty- five in number, which remained after the withdrawal of the monarchical members, re-assembled, at an early hour next morning, in the hall of the Schutzen Gild. Before daylight, a numerous body of the Burgher Guard, well armed, had met around that hall for the protection of the assembly. The king immediately issued a proclamation, dissolving the Burgher Guard, and ordering them to give up their arms. No attention was paid to the order. The order was reiterated more peremptorily ; thirty thousand royal troops were brought into the city; and Berlin was declared in a state of siesfc. As there were but fifteen thousand Burgher Guards, and the royal troops were incomparably better disciplined, the Guard dispersed, and a bloody con- test was avoided. The next day, the assembly again met in the Schutzen Gildhall. An officer from Gen. Wrangel ordered them to disperse as an illegal assembly. " Never, till forced by arms !" was the cry of the assembly. The vice-president was in the chair. A body of soldiers entered. Four officers quietly lifted uji the chair upon which the vice- president was seated, and carried it, with its occupant, into the street. The members followed in a state of great exasperation. The Jtssembjy made several otlier efforts to moot ; but STRUGGLES FOK LIHERTV. 107 it was alw.ays dispersed by the soldiery, without blood- shed. The months rolled on, fraught witli intrigue, agita- tion, peril, and distress. The people, in thuir blindness, were often warring against their own interests. The court was struggling to retain the despotic power which had descended to it through the dreary ages. Throughout all the States of Germany, there had been a struggle between the democratic and monarchical party in reference to the choice of the Emperor of the German Confederacy. The democrats wished to have any man of ability eligible : the monarchists wished to confine the choice to one of royal blood. In the diet at Frankfort, in 1849, it was voted, by 258 to 211, that the choice should be limited to one of the ruling sovereigns of Germany. It was then moved that the imperial crown should be offered to the King of Prussia. After an exciting debate of eleven days upon this subject, it was announced, by a vote of 290 out of 558, that the King of Prussia was chosen emperor. " The time was when this flattering offer would have been joyfully accepted ; but the time had worked many changes. The imperial crown, as now tendered, was very different from the imperial crown as originally coveted. Being elective, it nearly resembled the presidency of America, or the empire of imperial Rome, than the old Germanic diadem. " Austria had openly declared against the union of all the confederacy under one head ; and there could be little doubt that the acceptance of the imperial crown by Fre- derick William would at once bring on a war with that power, backed by Russia, with whom she was now in closest alliance. Influenced by these considerations, tlic king determined to decline the proffered honor."'^' The new constitution prepared by the general assembly at Frankfort was rejected by Austria, Bavaria, Hanover and Saxony. It was, however, received by twcnty-ono of the lesser States of Northern Germany. These minor States concurred, by a collective vote, in an address to the 1 :;! < I , id Alimm, vol. viii. ji. 431. Tf I ;• 108 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. m i.i 1 tti "■ ^ m I ., King of Prussia, urging him to accept tlie proffered dig- nity. AH Germany was thrown into confusion by these dis- cussions ; and there were insurrections, which were only quelled by the sword. It was manifest that the constitu- tion of Frankfort could not be accepted. The Kings of Prussia, Hanover and Saxony met, and drew up, with great precision, a constitution of a hundred and ninety articles. By this arrangement, the imperial crown was made hereditary in the Prussian monarchy. The liberals, in derision, called this the " Constitution of the Three Kings." Neither Austria nor Bavaria would accept it. Thus it ftiiled. While the King of Prussia was thus struggling to gain the ascendancy in Germany, the spirit of revolution con- tinued to agitate his kingdom. A new chamber »f depu- ties was chosen, which consisted strongly of democrats. The representatives boldly declared themselves against the government. The challenge thus thrown down was accepted by the court. On the 29th of April, 1849, a cir- cular was addressed by the Prussian cabinet to all the States of Germany. In this it was said, — " Prussia engages to oppose the revolutionary agitation of the times with the utmost energy, and promises to fur- nish the other governments with timely assistance for the same purpose. The danger is a common one. Prussia will not betray its mission to interfere, in the hour of peril, wherever and in any manner it may deem neces- sary. It is convinced that a limit must be put to the re- volution of Germany, This cannot be effected by mere passive resistance; it must be done by active interfer- »* : I ence. Thus tke King of Prussia endeavored to place himself at the head of the party opposed to reform ; and thus he called upon all throughout Germany, who were in sym- pathy with his views, to rally for his support. Ho wished for Ji united Germany, that he might consolidate the pow- ers of absolutism, and, with the tramp of his armies, crush ' Amuml UcKiNtur, 1810, i). 341). STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 109 out the revolutionary spirit. The liberals wished foi' a united Germany, that republican freedom might work in unison, and that their nation might be brought more in harmony with the United States of America. The king invited a congress of all the German princes to meet in Berlin in May, 1849. Twenty-two of the mi- nor princes came ; but Austria, Bavaria, Wurtemberg and Saxony declined the invitation. The assembly was a failure. An American gentleman, who was in Berlin at that time, gives the following interesting account of the scenes which he witnessed. This was in 1848, when William I. was not yet king, but only crown prince, the king's brother. We give the narrative in his words, though abbreviated : — " The king, in those days, was his poor Majesty Clicquot, as he was called, — a man not without literary cultiv.ation, of a great deal of maudlin sentimentality, and a prodigious capacity for drinking champagne ; but champagne and political sentimentality were his bane and ruin. It was a great pity both for him and his country ; but his Majesty was not respected. " For many days, in Berlin, there had been thunder in the air. It was evident that something impended. The reading rooms along the pleasant street, XJnter den Lin- den, and all the hier lokals were full of attentive students of the papers, who discussed the chances of events. At length, the final news came.* The first ihing that we heard in Berlin was, that the government was ready, and had plenty of soldiers. Probably it knew the necessity : for the city had an air of suppressed excitement ; and the feeling was such, that troops of the cavalry of the paternal government paraded the streets at night to help everybody keep quiet. " But the amazing and sudden success of the revolution in France put all the crowned heads of Europe in a panic ; and they began to make concessions to the people. It was pitiful to see, because it implied a kind of conscious robber relation between the rulers and the nations. The kings * Tho iicwH of thu ruvolution in Franco of 1848, runiors of whicli hud ulreiuly upruad throut,'h all Europe, creating intonso excitement. li k no HISTORY OF PliUSSlA. Ill * i'l a 1 f seemed like pirates who had been overtaken, and, in mor- tal terror at the probable consequencos of their crimes, ])roposed to disgorge their plunder. They professed wil- lingness to restore large shares of the treasures of liberty that they had stolen ; and were evidently much more con- scious, at that moment, of the power of the people, than of their ' God-given' authority. King Clicquot went with the rest, and promised well : There should be a constitu- tion, and all the modern improvements, added to the ])oli- tical edifice of Prussia. There were optimists in those startling days, who thought that Europe was to be repub- licanized by the mere force of reason ; and that kings were about gi'acefull}^ to own themselves in the wrong, and to retire. " But suddenly, one Saturday afternoon in Berlin, tlie mere force of reason gave way. The writer was dining with some student friends at the old Belvidere. While we were yet dining, anxious faces appeared ; and we were told tliat trouble was brewing. A crowd of people had been to the royal palace to demand arms, and they had been refused. The revolution was coming : the tidal wave was even now lifting us. We all arose, and went out. A huge concourse of men was swiftly swarming from the palace into the broad street. As it passed along like a dark cloud, covering everything with shadow, doors and windows were closed, and shop-keepers hurried to make all fast. Before the palace of the Prince of Prussia, his present Majesty King William, a carriage was standing ; and, the moment the crowd had passed, the Princess of Prussia, the present queen, and a beautiful woman came out with children, and stepped quickly into the carriage, which drove oft" rapidly towards the king's palace. The crowd swept on ; and the leaders of revolution knew that the liour had come. " As we strolled curiously along, we saw men with clubs and iron bars, hurrying by, evidently, to a rendezvous ; and officers on horseback clattered through the streets, which all carriages had deserted. The leaders knew that no time couhtbe safely lost; and, by three o'clock, barri- cade>< were risini"- in the chief streets that led into Untcr if . STllUCCiLES Foil LIJiEUTV. Ill den Linden. Wc turned into our rooms in the Fricdrich Strasse, and at the same moment saw from the window tliat the crowd had brou^^ht the materials to build a bar- ricade just beneath it. " The barricade was soon built ; and the sound of firing grew heavier and nearer. We lieard the approach of sol- diers advancing upon the barricade. At the same mo- ment, the sloping roof of the house opposite the window began to heave, and was finally burst through by the iron liars of the insurgents, who, completely protected by the eaves, from the fire of the soldiers in the street, could throw down upon them every kind of deadly missile. But the clear voice of the commanding officer ordered, loud enough foi- all on the neighboring houses to hear, that the troops should fire upon every person who ap- peared at a window ; and he sent a detachment into the opposite house, The barricade was then assaulted and carried. But for hours the alarm-bells rang, and the sharp volleys of musketry rattled, and the dull heavy (lannon thundered and shook the air. A great battle was going on in the citj''. The moon shone ; the white clouds drift- ed through the sky ; Jind there was no other sound than that of the bells, the muskets, and the cannon. " The next day, tho city was like a city that had been carried by assault. The soldiers had taken the barri- cades, and held the streets. But there was a universal feeling that the people v ere strong enough to bring King Clicquot to terms ; and there was bittei* hatred of the Prince of Prussia, who had counselled and directed the operations of the night. The king issued a sentimental proclamation to his llehe Berliner (his dear Berlinese). But the dead were carried to the royal palace, and brought into the court ; and his poor Majesty was compelled to come to the window and look upon his subjects, wliom he was plainly told that he had murdered. He wejit and promised ; and it was understood that his brother sharply reproached him for not maintaining his prerc»gative ])y the grace of God. But there was a kind of national guard organized and armed. There was a solemn and triumphal funeral of the dead ; and Humboldt walked in i ' i h r II i Wl a| S i vi ii 'if^ ij 112 HISTORY OF mUSSIA. the y)roce.ssion among the national mourners. There was a little feeble talk of Clicquot as Emperor of Germany ; but, after the ^udicrous and brief empire of the Archduke John, the last of poor Clicquot's wits ebbed away. Robert Blum, the popular leader, had been shot ; and the Prince of Prussia, becoming king, stoutly held that ho owed his crown to God, and was resj^onsible to Him, and not to the people."* * Harper's Magazine, Nov., 1870. rW' CHArTEU IX. ORIGIN OF THE WAK. HE war of 1870, between Franco and Germany, is often denounced as " wanton," " causeless," and "unprovoked;" and in one aspect of the case this is true ; for the immediate causes of the war were trivial, and could only have led to a conflict where one or both parties were "nsii*' eager for a pretext for fighting. Had these been the only grounds on which the contest was based, it could not have occurred ; for, if the rulers had been such fools as to knock their heads together on the question of a possible Spanish succession, their people would have protested against it. The true origin of the war, though perhaps unjustifiable on the part of the French Emperor, lies farther back, and appeals to higher motives and jealousies than a putty question of succession to a foreign throne. There have been, for two hundred and twenty years past, almost con- stant encroachments by France upon the provinces of the old German empire. Some of these, like the old provinces of Alsace and Lorraine (the old Elsass and Lotheringen of the Germans), gained by treaty, by seizure, by the in- trigues of French Bishop-princes, or by the real or sup- posed exigencies of mercantile policy, France has been allowed to keep; and though 1,007,477 out of the 1,097,000 inhabitants of Alsace, and 351,681 out of the 1,291,000 inhabitants of Lorraine, were Germans, yet the severest measures of oppression have been resorted to by the French Government to compel the people to abandon all use of the German language, customs, and manners. The natural boundary between France and Germany is the Vosges range of mountains, not the Rhine ; and 114 IlISTOllY OK niUSSlA. ['/ tliougli Napoleon 1, among- his other eon([uo.st.s of territory hclonging to other nations, seized and lield, for six or ei * fill •' ?; ^ F:ir IP' 120 ^ HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. lowered, they were all aware that no justifiable pretext for war had been made out. Napoleon III. had sent his emissaries and missives throughout Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden and Hanover, in the hope of alienating them from the Prussian cause ; but he met with no encouragement from that quarter, and found, when it was too late, that he had all Germany, instead of Prussia, to fight. Such was the origin and such the immediate causes of the war, which, in six weeks, has caused a slaughter of nearly a quarter of a million of men, and produced extra- ordinary changes in the condition of Europe. Let us next trace the personal history of the two monarchs, their counsellers and their leading commanders. William I., who now occupies the throne, was the second son of Frederick William TIL He was born on the 22nd of March, 1797. In 1829, he married the Duchess Cath- arine of Saxe-Weimar. He has two children. The eldest, the Crown Prince, Frederick William Nicholas Charles, was born October 18, 1831. He was married to Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain, on the 25th of January, 1858. The younger child, the Princess Louisa Maria, was born December 3rd, 1838 ; and married, on the 20th of September, 185G, the Grand Duke Frederick of Baden. The coronation of the king took place in the ancient town of Konigsberg. In this city, which is situated upon one of the inlets of the Baltic Sea, there is an antique castle, very imposing in its structure, which overlooks and commands the city. In the chapel of this venerable edi- fice, the ceremony of coronation took place. There was no enthusiasm on the occasion. The king, who had jdready attained the age of sixty-four, a blutF, stern man, fully conscious that he was hated by the pop- ulace, whom he despised, apparently made no efforts to secure popularity. He Avas far too proud to & ek the applause of the canaille. An eye-witness thus graphi- cally describes the scene at the coronation : — " The first time I saw the king, was when ^< rode in procession through the ancient city, some tw« r three days before the performance of the coronation. Ho seemed KING WILLIAM I. 121 a line, dignified, handsome, somewhat bluff old man, with gray hairs and gray mustache, and an expression, which, if it did not denote intellectual power, had much of cheer- ful strength, and the charm of a certain kind of frank manhood about it. He rode well, — riding is one of the accomplishments in which kings almost always excel, — and his military costume became him. " Certainly no one was just then disposed to bo very enthusiastic about him; but every one was inclined to make the best of the sovereign and of the situation ; to forget the past, and to look hopefully into the future. The manner in which the coronation ceremony was con- ducted, and the speech which the king delivered soon after it, produced a terrible shock of disappointment ; for in each the king manifested that he understood the crown to be a gift, not from his people, but from heaven. "To me, the ceremonies in the chapel, splendid and pic- turesque as was the mifie en schne, appeared absurd, and even ridiculous. The king, bedizened in a regal costume which suggested Drury Lane or Niblo's Garden, lifting a crown from off the altar, and, without intervention of hu- man aid or other than his own hands, placing it upon his head to signify that he had his crown from Heaven, not from man ; then putting another crown upon the head of his wife to show that sJie derived her dignities from him; and then turning round, and brandishing a gigantic sword, as symbolical of his readiness to defend state and people, all this seemed to me too suggestive of the ophxi comiique, to suit the simple dignity of the handsome old soldier. "Far better and nobler did he look in his military uni- form, and with his spiked helmet, as he sat on his horse in the streets, than, when arrayed in crimson velvet cloak and other such stage paraphernalia of conventional royalty, ho stooi|y^the castle chapel, the central figure in a cere- monial ^^Pfifidi.cval splendor, and worse tlien juediroval tcdious^k^" * The W Ki '^^ ^ Wi^n of unusually fine [)hysique. He is J and well proportioned form ; and his finely i __ , ^ • Mr. Justin McCartliy, in Galaxy for October, 1870. O maji w^ HISTORY OF niUSSIA. iiv cliisclled icfiturcs are expressive of that indomitable reso- lution which has characterized every act of his life. There was present on this occasion Marshal McMahon, Duke of Magenta. He had just returned from the campaign in Italy against the Austrians, where he had won his title and European renown. At the coronation, he represented the empire of France. " There was great curiosity among the Konigsberg pub- lic to get a glimpse of the military her^ ; and, although even Prussians could hardly be supposed to take delight in a fame acquired at the expense of other Germans, I remember being struck with the quiet, candid good humor with which people acknowledged that he had beaten their countrymen. There was, indeed, a little vexation and anger felt when some of the representatives of Posen, the Prussian Poland, cheered somewhat too significantly for McMahon as he drove in his carriage from the palace. " The Prussians generally felt annoyed that the Poles should have thus publicly and ostentatiously demonstra- ted tlieir sympathy with France, and their admiration of the French general who had defeated a German army. But except for this little ebullition of feeling, natural enough on both sides, Mi?Mahon was a popular figure at the king's coronation ; and, before the ceremonies were over, the king himself had become any thing but popular. " The foreigners liked him, for the most part, because his manners were plain, frank, hearty, and agreeable; .and to foreigners it was matter of little consequence what ho said or did in accepting his crown. But the Germans winced under his blunt repudiation of the principle of popular sovereignty ; and in the minds of some alarmists, |)ainful and odious memories began to revive, and trans- form themselves into terrible omens for the future." * "William I. had but a bloody record to presen^jfcEvery uju'ising of the people in behalf of liberty, "WlWaier in Prussia or in any other of the States, he had been eager to cut down with the sword. More than once,%is dra- goons had crimsoned the pavements of the streeis^f Ber- Mr. Justin McCarthy, Galaxy, October, 1S70. KINCJ WILLIAM L i'2'3 lin with the blood of its citizens ; iind when, in Hanover, in Saxony, in Baden, the people attempted by violence to effect that reform which they found themselves unable to attain by peaceful means, the helmeted squadrons of Prince William hewed them down, and trampled them in the dust." "This pleasant, genial, gi-ay-haired man," writes Mr. McCarthy, " whose smile had so much honest frankness, and even a certain simple sweetness, about it, had a grim and blood-stained history behind him. The blood of the Berliners was purple on those hands which now gave so kindly and cheery a welcome to all comers. The revolu- tionists of Baden held in bitter hate the stern prince, who was 80 unscrupulous in his mode of crushing out agitation. "From Cologne to Konigsberg, from Hamburg to Trieste, all Germans for years had reason, only too strong, to re- gard William, Prince of Prussia, as the most resolute and relentless foe of popular liberty. During the greater part of his life, the things he promised to do, and did, were not such as free men could approve. He set out in life with a general detestation of liberal principles and of any thing which suggested popular revolution." King William is not regarded by any who know him as a man of superior abilities, or of much intelligence. He has a dogged firmness of character, which his friends call decision, and his enemies stigmatize as obstinacy. His strongest mental development consists of a clinging to the despotism of the past, and a horror of reform. In the year of 1815, he was one of the princes who enter- ed Paris with the allies as they trampled bcncatli iron hoofs the first empire in France. Since then, he has seemed conscientiously to deem it his divinely-a]ipointed mission to keep the people in subjection. Freaerick William IV. was one of the most vaciUating of men. He was kind hearted, and sought the happiness of the people, but had not sufficient force of character to mark out and pursue any clearly defined policy. William I. is one of the most inflexible monarchs who ever sat upon a throne. The fundamental principle of his reign seems to be, that there shall he no innovations. The m 124 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. u '•} ^'f I I policy of the government is, not to bend to meet the ex- igencies of modern times, l)ut to force those exigencies to frcime and mould themselves in accordance with the exist- ing government. " William I," writes Mr. McCarthy, " was for many years a downright, stupid, despotic old feudalist. At one of his brother's councils he flung his sword upon the table and vowed that he would rather appeal to that weapon than consent to rule over people who dared to claim the right of voting their own taxes." Unattractive as appears the character of William I., he has secured a certain degi'ee of respect by the imquestion- able and almost religious sincerity with which he pursues his inflexible course. The simplicity of his mode of liv- ing and his address invested the bluff, unpolished soldier with a certain charm over the minds of the people. The gi'e3''-haired old man could often be seen by the passers in the streets, sitting at one of the windows of his palace, reading or writing. It is reported that domestic discord disturbs the repose of the palace. In the celebrated diary of Varnhagen von Ense, which seems to be authentic, and which very graphi- cally describes life in the Prussian court, it is stated that the king and his wife Augusta do not live very lovingly together. August > has a vein of radicalism in her nature, and cannot conceal a certain degree of admiration for some of those popular leaders in Germany, and other parts of Europe, whom her husband detests and despises. King William is far too stubborn a man to be a yielding and agreeable companion. Varnhagen represents the king as naturally kind-heait- cd, but dull, brusque, and pig-headed in the extreme, — a man who will not do what he thinks is wrong ; and who will do what he believes to be right, come what may. He is like those conscientious inquisitors who prayed God to strengthen them to break the bones of heretics on the rack, and to consign them to the flames. From the revelations of Varnhagen, which have never been contradicted, it does not appear that the court in Berlin has been, in modern times, a model of purity. KING WILLIAM 1. 1:>5 Humboldt was «a constant inmate of that court. From his diary, it appears how thoroughly he despised most of those royal personages by whom lie was patronized. His life at court must often have been almost loathsome to him. The following anecdote throws a flood of light up- on the character, or at least the reputation, of the court: " The late King of Hanover was a coarse, rough, uncul- tivated man. His reputation for brutality was such, that he was accused, by the general voice of the people, of tlie murder of his valet. " He once accosted Humboldt in the palace of the late King of Prussia, and, with his customary brusqueness, inquired why it was that the court was always full of philosophers and dissolute characters. Humboldt replied, ' Perhaps the king invites the philosophers to meet me, and the others to please your Majesty.' "* After the coronation of the king, he grew, month after month, increasingly unpopular. He quarrelled constantly with his parliament, silenced the journals, and persecuted every one who ventured to speak in favor of reform. Count Bismarck, to whom we shall hereafter allude, was in entire sympathy with the king in his hostility to rep- resentative governments, and in his support of absolutism. He was called into the council of the king, and became the power behind the throne stronger than the throne itself. "There was, probably," writes Mr. McCarthy, "no pub- lic man in Europe, so generally unpopular as the King of Prussia, — except, perhaps, his minister, the Count von Bismarck. In England, it was something like an article of faith to believe that the king was a bloody old tyrant. The dislike felt towards the king was extended to the members of his family ; and the popular conviction in England was, that the Princess Victoria, wife of the king's son, had a dull, coarse drunkard for a husband. It is perfectly wonderful how soon an absurdly erroneous idea, if there is any thing about it which jumps with the popular humor, takes hold of the public mind in England." if it I Galaxy for Novembor, 1870, '■U 12G illSTOllY OF PRUSSIA. it^ ;*:, In the month of July, 1861^ as tho king was taking a Walk, accompanied by one or two of his suite, along the fashionable avenue of Baden-Baden, a fanatic discharged at him two barrels of a pistol. Both balls, happily missed the king. The event caused many deputations to wait upon him with congratulations for his providential escape. An American -gentleman who chanced to be in Badon at that time accompanied a delegation of Englishmen to ])resent an address to the king. In the following terms lie describes the interview : — " At the appointed day and hour, we assembled, some fifteen or twenty of us, in the lower story of the hired house which the king occupied. It was known in Baden parlance as the Mesmeric House, from the name of its owner, Herr Mesmer. "We were all in full evening dress. The spokesman of the delegation, while mustering his forces, said to us, ' Gentlemen, please take off your gloves.' So I learned one bit of court etiquette, — that you take off your gloves to a king ; at least, to the King of Prusi^ia. "The gloves being removed, we were conducted up stairs, and ushered into his Majesty's presence. The first impression his Majesty gave me was that of a very badly- dressed man. His dark cutaway and striped trousers looked as if they had been bought at a slop-shop, and a second-rate one at that. " The next impression that his Majesty gave me was, that his manners were no better, that is, no more elegant or graceful, than his dress. He reminded one of a mili- tary puppet. All his actions were stiff and jerky. When he advanced, it was ' Forward, march!' When he turned, it was a manoeuvre executed by pivoting on one heel. His massive features and powerful frame could not be devoid of a certain dignity; but it was a clumsy dignity at best, — like that of an ^Eschylean actor in mask and buskins. " The king's reply to the address — probably the same speech which he had made to each successive deputation, was brief, and well worded. One expression some of us noted at the time, and had reason to remember after- wards : — ' I am convinced,' said he, * that Providence hay K1X(J WILLIAM L 127 a ])resorvcd nio lor n special purpose. But, when each in- dividual was successively f)rosentcd to liim, his awkwartl- ness camo out again,"* With discriminating criticism Mr. McCarthy writes " I do not believe that the character of the king is anywise changed. He was a dull, honest, fanatical martinet when he turned his cannon against the German liberals in 1848; he was a dull, honest, fanatical martinet when he unfurled the flag of Prussia against the Austrians in 18GG, and against the French in 1870. " The brave old man is only happy when doing what he thinks is right ; but he wants alike the intellect and the susceptibilities which enable people to distinguish right from wrong, despotism from justice, necessary firm- ness from stolid obstinacy. But for the war, and the great national issues which rose to claim instant decision, King William would have gone on dissolving parliaments and punishing newspapers, levying taxes without the con- sent of representatives, and making the police-ofiicer mas- ter of Berlin. The vigor, which was so popular when employed in resisting the French, would assuredly, other- wise, have found occupation in repressing the Prussians. I see nothing to admire in King William but his courage and his honesty. " For all the service he has done to Germany, let him have full thanks ; but I cannot bring myself to any warmth of personal admiration for him. It is, indeed, hard to look at him, without feeling, for the moment, some sentiment of genuine respect. The fine head and face with its noble outlines, and its frank, pleasant smile ; the stately, dignified form, which some seventy-five years have neither bowed nor enfeebled, — make the king look like some splendid old paladin of the court of Charle- magne. He is, despite his years, the finest physical spe- cimen of a sovereign Europe just now can show. "But I cannot make a hero out of stout King William, altliough he has bravery enough of the common military kind to suit any of the heroes of the Nibelungenlied, * Mr. Carl Benson, Galaxy for Nov., 1870. J't. ' 128 lilSTOllY OF WIUSSIA. :i!' ■;-v.? lie never would, if he could, render any .service to lib- erty, lie cannot understand the elements and first prin- ciples of ])opular freedom. To him the people is always as a child, — to he kept in leading-strings, and guided, and if at all boisterous or naughty, to bo smartly birched, and put in a dark corner. " There is nothing cruel about King William ; that is to say, he would not willingly hurt any human creature, and is, indeed, rather kind-hearted and humane than otherwise. He is as utterly incapable of the mean spites and shabby cruelties of the great Frederick, whose statue stands so near his palace, as he is incapable of the savage brutalities and indecencies of Frederick's father. " He is, in fact, simply a dull old disciplinarian satu- rated through and through with the traditions of the feudal past of Germany ; his highest merit being the fact, that he keeps his word ; that he is still a strong man, who cannot lie ; his noblest fortune being the happy chance which called on him to lead his country's battles, instead of leaving him free to contend against, and perhaps, for the time, to crush, his country's aspirations for domestic freedom. " Kind Heaven has allowed him to become the cham- })ion and the representative of German unity — that unity which is Germany's immediate and supi'eme need, calling for the postponement of every other claim and desire. And this part he has played like a man, a soldier, and a king. " But one can hardly be expected to forget all the past, — to forget what Humboldt and Varnhagen von Ense wTote ; what Jacobi and Waldeck spoke ; what King William did in 1848, and what he said in 1861. And unless w"o forget all this, and a great deal more to the same effect, we can hardly help acknowledging, that, but for the fortunate conditions which allowed him Lo prove himself the best friend of German unity, he would pro- bably have proved himself the worst enemy of German liberty." CHAPTER X. fe^ THE CTriEF SITPrORTEUS OF THE CROWN. HE Crown Prince, Frederick William, the son of the king, is not considered a man of much ability, or of any marked integrity of charac- ter. He is now (1870) thirty-nine years of age ; having been born in 1831. He has command of the central wing of the Prussian army in- vading France, Having seen considerable ser- vice, and not being wanting in energy or courage he occupies a respectable rank as a military comman- der. Having married the eldest daughter of Queen Vic- toria — who will thus, probably soon become Queen of Prussia, — it is difficult for the British court to adopt any efficient measures to thwart the ambitious designs of the Prussian monarchy. The most prominent military man, is Prince Frederick Charles. He is forty-two years of age, and is comman- der-in-chief of the Prussian forces. Frederick Charles is the nephew of the king ; being the son of the king's brother Frederick. At ten years of age, Frederick Charles entered the army. , It was deemed essential, that every prince of the House of Hohenzollern should be thoroughly instructed in «f Nnpoloon HI., to nialcc it more .icciiptahlc to tlio )ml)lic, linH addeJ to the Canadian edition, tliis sketch o( liis lite, from tlio jieu of L. 1'. Urockctt, M.U. I 142 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. 1830, and the accession of Louis Philippe to the throne, the younger asked permission for himself and family to return to France; and, this being refused, he requested to be allowed to serve as a private soldier in the French army. The French government answered these requests by a renewal of the decree for his banishment. He con- cealed his chagrin at this action, at the time, but, thence- forth, did not cease to plot for the overthrow of the Orleans dynasty. In the beginning of 1831, he and his bro- ther left Switzerland, and settled in Turkey, from whence, a month later, both took part in the unsuccessful insurrec- tion at Rome. The fatig-ues and exposures of that period led to the death of his elder brother at Forli, March 17, 1831; and Louis Napoleon escaped through Italy and France to England, where he remained a short time, and then reti- red to the castle of Arenenberg, where his mother still re- sided. Soon after his arrival there, the Duke of Eeich- stadt, the only legitimate son of Napoleon I., died, and Louis Napoleon became the legal heir of the family, and the claimant of the imperial throne of France. His efforts were secretly directed, from this time, to the overthrow of Louis Philippe, and he had succeeded in winning the favor of some of the distinguished men of the time to his projects. Outwardly, duriiig this time, he appeared to be very quiet. He wrote, between 1832 and 1835, three works — "Political Reveries," "Political and Military Considerations in regard to Switzerland," and a " Manual of Artillery." The " Manual of Artillery," a mere techni- cal book, is incomparably the best of the three, and re- ceived from some of the military journals a favorable notice. But he was restless, and sick of this quiet life. Some of his correspondents in France, had encouraged him in the belief that France was ripe for a revolution, and he resolved to attempt it. On the SOth October, 1836, Louis Napoleon suddenly made his appearance in Strasbourg, was presented to a part of the garrison by Colonel Vaudrey, who at the same time announced to the soldiers that a revolution had taken ])lao(! in Paris, and was accepted by the 4th Artil- NAPOLEON III. AND HIS GENERALS. 14:j •one, y to 5dto encli lesis lery and a portion of some other regiments. The prompt action of General Voirol and Colonel Tallandier arrested the movement. The troops hesitated ; in a few minutes more, the epaulettes and decorations of the would-be em- peror were torn from him. He was .arrested without delay, and forwarded to Paris. Louis Philippe felt too secure in his place to be vindictive ; the attempt, in fact, illustrated its own impotence ; and the culprit was dealt with very leniently. Within three weeks he was shipped to Now York, without any conditions being attached to his release, and $3,000, the gift of Louis Philippe, in his pocket. He was first taken to Rio Janeiro, where the vessel delayed but a few days, and then sailed for the United States. He was landed at Norfolk, in March, 1837, and thence made his way to New York, where he remained until some time in May. His residence in Amerca was not marked by any events at all to his credit. The news of the serious illness of his mother recalled him to Switzerland. He reached Arenenberg shortly be- fore her death, which occurred on the 3rd of October. In the following year, his account of the Strasbourg affair was published by Lieutenant Laity, who had also been concerned in it. Louis Philippe took offence at the state- ments it contained, and demanded his extradition from the Swiss government, which, in spite of Louis Napoleon's citizenship, would probably have been compelled to accede, had he not relieved it from the embarrassment by migra- ting to England. Here, in 1839, he published his IdSes NapoUoniennes, which were widely circulated. They reiterated the assertion of his Rheriea PoUtiques, that France could only be developed by a Napoleonic ruler, and assailed both the policy of the Orleans family and its right to the throne. Although, in 1840, the Orleanist rule was still firmly established in France, Louis Napoleon, yielding loss to the impatience of liis small band of followers in London, than blindly and recklessly trusting his fortntios to chance, oi'ganized a new attempt. Accompanied by Count Mon- tholon (one of the companions of Napoleon at St. Helena), I 'I ■; ^ Si m ^ ' V,; :»l : 144 IIISTOllY 6F PRUSSIA, i and above fifty others, he crossed the Channel in a small steamer, and landed at Boulogne. One of the " proper- ties" of the expedition was a tame eagle, which — accord- ing to the gossip of the day — had been trained to alight on the Prince's head by the lure of a piece of raw beef- steak attached to his hat. The landing was made, the bluffs ascerlded, and the garrison summoned to acknowl- edge their legitimate commander; but the eagle forgot his lesson, and the soldiers had not yet learned theirs. The first alighted upon a post, instead of the selected head, and the second charged upon their self-styled sov- ereign and his adherents. Plunging into the sea in his endeavor to regain the steamer, Louis Napoleon was drag- ged out, dripping and collapsed, and forwarded a second time to Paris. Louis Philippe brought him to trial before the House of Peers, where he was defended by Berryer, then the first advocate in France, and acquiesced in the sentence of perpetual imprisonment. Nay,- more ; it was reported, and generally believed, that the escape in 184G, was ac- complished with the knowledge and tacit connivance of the French Government. Louis Napoleon's imprisonment in Ham — a small place near St. Quentin, about half way between Paris and the Belgian frontier — was voluntarily shared by Dr. Conneau, a physician, who had faith in his destiny. During the six years at Ham, however, the prisoner was not idle. He occupied himself chiefly with political studies, and wrote three works — " Historic Frag- ments" (published in 1841), a comparison between tlic fall of the Stuart dynasty in England, and certain fea • tures of French history ; an "Analysis of the Sugar Ques- tion (1842), in which he took ground against specially favoring production in the French colonies ; and, finally, an essay on ilio " Extinction of Pau]*erism," which was the most important of all, inasmuch as it indirectly favored the communistic theories which Avero then rap- idly taking root among the labeling classes of Franco. He projiosod that the Government shoukl advance funds to establish settlement and cultivation in all the waste districts of the country, and that the ])rofits of the under- 1 lili. NAPOLEON HI. AND HIS CiKNEllALS. 145 )per- ;ord- taking «lioul(.l be appropriated to tlic support and eleva- tion of the manufacturing cljisscs. He asserted, more- over, his own intention " to act ahvays in the interest of the masses, the sources of .all right and of all wealth, al- though destitute of the one and Avithout any guarantee for attaining the other." Toward the end of 1845, the cx-king Louis, then ill at Florence, made an appeal to the French Government for the release of the only son who bore his name. After a long consideration, the appeal was refused; but the refu- sal was followed, in May, 1846, by the esca[)e of Louis Napoleon from Ham. With Dr. Conneau's assistance, disguised as a workman, he walked out of the fortress carrying a board upon his shoulder, easih?- made his way to the Belgian frontier, and then to England. His long confinement, and the evidence of literary abil- ity in his published works, had, by this time, partly re- moved the impression of folly and pretension which the attempts at Strasbourg and Boulogne had cast upon his name ; and during his second residence in England, ho ap[)ears to have associated with another and better class of society. He was welcomed to Lady Blcssington's receptions at Gore House, was a frequent visitor of Sir John (then Dr.) Browning's, and, made a strong impres- sion on Walter Savage Landor, at Bath, by declaring to him confidentially, that he would yet reign in France. Then came, startling all Europe, the revolution of Feb- ruary, 1848, and liouis Napoleon, who had been brougnt before the people as a candidate by his followers, and had l)cen elected deputy from four departments, was free to visit Paris. Thereupon he left England, reached Paris on the 24th of ►September, and on the 20th, took his seat in the National Assembly. He made a short address, taking strong ground in favor of the preservation of order and the development of democratic institutions. The Bona])artists had used every means in their power to unite the numerous discordant elements in tlie nation uj)on him ; and, thanks to their adroit management and the lack of any poi)ulai' name for a rallying-cry among i rri 14U HISTORY OF niU.SSIA. ■:s .*j ' !lll i^lJi''l!l i*i 4 the other parties, they were successful. The election was held on the 10th of December, 1848, and the result gave evidence of an almost complete union of all other parties against that of the Republic of Order represented by Cava'gnac. The latter received 1,460,000 votes ; Louis Napoleon, 5,500,000 ; and Lamartine a comparatively trifling number. The two monarchical parties designed making use of Louis Napoleon as an instrument to weaken the republicans, trusting that his own incom- petency would complete the work, and hasten a counter- revolution. "When, therefore, on the 20th of December, he was installed President of the French Republic, it was under auspices seemingly very fortunate, because the hostile influences were temporarily held in abeyance. Cavaignac, a noble Spartan nature, had restored France to order, although the blood he had shed, in saving the country, lost the country to him. The new president, with no record of offence except against the banished dynasty, took quiet possession of the realm which another had made ready for his hands. His policy, which was speedily developed, was to im- prove the social and business condition of France. A system of internal improvements was planned and put in execution ; industry of all kinds revived, and the change from the depression produced by the uncertainties of the previous year was felt as a happy relief by the whole population. In January, 1851, a completely Bonapartist ministry was appointed ; but the Assembly, having voted its lack of confidence, another ministry was substituted. An attempt was then made to change the Constitution in such a manner that the president's term of office might be extended, since an immediate re-election was pro- hibited ; but, after a very fierce and stormy discussion, the proposition failed to receive the requisite majority of three-fourths. The Assembly wa.^ soon after adjourned until November, which gave the Prince-President time to mature his plans. His term would expire the follow- ing Spring ; the Prince de Joinville was already named as a candidate ; the elcr^ents of opposition, although NArOLEON III. AND HIS (JENEIlALS. 147 ave in without combination, were increasing in strength, ami the temper of the French people was anxious and uneasy. On the 13th of November, 1851, the National Assem- bly, by a large majority, defeated the proposition for universal suffrage, and the Prince-President and his co- conspirators speedily determined upon desperate measures. Before daylight on the morning of the 2nd of December. 1851, seventy-eight prominent men were seized, many of them being dragged from their beds, the National Assem- bly forcibly dissolved (220 of the deputies having been arrested and imprisoned the same day), Paris declared in a state of siege, and the people called upon to elect a president for ten years, with power to select his own ministry, and a government consisting of two chambers, with limited powers. All legal opposition was crushed underfoot. Paris arose against the outrage, and, until the night of December 4, its streets ran with blood. Entire quarters of the city were given up to murder and plunder. Men, women, and children, natives and foreign- ers, were shot and bayoneted indiscriminately. The greatest pains have been taken to suppress the dreadful details; but the number of persons butchered cannot have been less than 5,000, and may have been twice as many. Within the next month, according to the Bonapartist, Granier de Cassagnac, 26,500 persons were transported to the penal colonies of Cayenne and Africa, where the greater number of them died. In January, 1852, he ordered the confiscation of all the property belonging to the Orleans family : in February, the last vestige of liberty was taken fi^jm the press ; in May, the Napoleonic eagles were distributed to the army; and in December the Prince-President, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, became Napoleon III., Emperor, "By the grace of God and the will of the French people.' After various unsuccessful attempts to ally himself by marriage with some of the reigning houses of Europe, ho abandoned the quest, and in January, 1853, married Eugenie Marie de Guzman, Countess de Tdba, a Spanish lady, though descended, on her mother's side, from a Scottish family. I ,'. » ['.[: I ■ 148 HISTORY OF rilUSSIA. In the siimincr of 1853 he succeeded in forming an alliance with England, which, a few months later, was riveted by the Crimean war. In this war, through the ability of his generals, he managed to secure the lion's sliiu-e of the glory for France. le empire was not Peace, but it seemed to be Order. The country was covered with a network of railways, harbors were created, a fleet built and manned, Paris was piciced m all directions with broad and splendid streets, the empress inaugurated a new era of luxury, labor was [)lentiful, money was plentiful, morals were pleasantly relaxed, and the French people were free to enjoy the good things of this life, so long as they abstained from meddling with politics. The material ^n&tificsition. of the empire became popular throughout Europe, and even with many Americans. An imperial prince was born in March, 1856 — an only one, and again a resemblance to Napoleon! Even persons not superstitious began to incline toward the theory of " destiny." With his positive power and his increasing prestige, it was now possible to relax some- what ofhis former caution, and for a few years the world, convicted of having undervalued him, persisted in aton- ing for its offence by interpreting his stolidity as depth, his reticence as wisdom, his straining after theatrical effect an the force and daring of genius. From 1853 to 1861 he was the most over-estimated man in the world. It would, perhaps, be unfair to say that sympathy for the Italian cause had no part in bringing on the war of 1859. But there were other equally powerful considerations : he would abolish the relentless determination of the Carbon- ari, and he would increase the territory of France by the annexation of Savoy. (There is little doubt that the latter clause was agreed upon when Cavour visited Na- poleon III. lit Plombieres, before the war.) His course being decided, there remained only the finding of a pre- text, which Austria blunderingly furnished, in April, 1859. Although Napoleon's ministry were reported to be un- favorable to the war, it was hailed with great enthusiasm by the masses of the ])eople. After entering Piedmont, the (imperor delayed three NAPOLEON III. AND HIS GENERALS. 149 weeks, plotting and planning, before commencing hostili- ties. He had an interview with Kossuth, and agreed witli the latter upon a plan for cooperating with the Magyar and Sclavonic population of Austria. Tuscany had al- ready risen, the Romagna was stirring, and there were movements in Naples and Sicily. The emperor's design was to secure the former for Prince Napoleon and the liittcr for the Murats ; a united Italy was the fartliest thing possible from his plans. But he was forced to Him- ulate a generosity he did not feel, and to give battle with no other gain than Savoy and Nice assured in advance. After a small engagement at Montebello, the battle of Magenta, on the 4th of June, gave Milan and Lombardy to the French and Italian armies. The emperor's recep- tion in Milan was warm and cordial, but a storm of uncon- trollable joy surged around the path of Victor Emanuel. Taking this view of the matter, the battle of Solferino was a piece of great good luck. The Sclavonic conspiracy had so far succeeded that the Croat regiments in the Austrian, army refused to serve; the Emperor Francis Joseph trusted in Gyulai, the most incompetent of generals ; and Venice, in the Austrian rear, was thoroughly prepared, and only awaited the signal to rise. On the other hand. Napoleon III. appeared to the world as commander of the united French and Italian armies. By this time other forces were fast developing into form, and he took good note of them while seeming im- passive and imperturbable. Tho Pope, in spite of the French garrison at Rome, threatened excommunication. The spirit of Germany was thoroughly aroused, and even in Prussia the phrase was current, " The Rhine must be defended on the Adigc." This was geographically false, but politically true ; for the plans of Napoleon III., from the moment his rule was assured, embraced the extension of France to the Alps (which was now accomplished), then to the Rhine, from Basle to the sea, including Belgium. This was the price ho meant to pay France for the per- manence of his dynasty. Moreover, had he not already said, in the Idhs NapoUonicnnes, " After a victory, offer peace ? " 150 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. I ' ;V » h\ mi 1; His disappointment, however, w«as bitter. Basing his own imperial power upon the Plebiscite, he was powerless to interfere, when all Italy, except the little Roman terri- tory held by the French troops, pronounced for a united nationality under Victor Emanuel. Savoy and Nice were acquired, it is true ; the names of Magenta and Solferino were added to those of the Alma and the Malakoff ; the influence of France was more potent than ever in the councils of Europe ; but more than this was necessary. The doubt in the permanence of his dynasty was general, even among his own adherents. The French appetite for glory, he knew, was only satisfied for a little while by such minor results as he had obtained in the Crimea and Lombardy ; it craved undiluted success, overwhelming victory. Meanwhile, the benumbing horror of the coiq) d'etat of December, 1851, was beginning to fade from men's minds; the undying republican instinct of the mind of France began to show signs of its life ; and even the intelligent un-republican classes, who had acquiesced in the empire, recognized the social and moral degenera- tion which had followed its establishment. His great suc- cesses were beginning to be followed by indications of a change of fortune. His own health, from a complication of disorders, was precarious; his boy had been frail and sickly from his earliest infancy ; the empress, with the already preceptible waning of her beauty, was coming more and more under the influence of her confessor and the Jesuits every year ; and her Spanish bigotry was loos- ing her hold — never very strong — upon the hearts of the nation. The republican element was becoming strong in the cities, and it was evident that something must be done or there was slight hope for the continuance of his dynasty. A great European war was not to be undertaken without a better pretext than he could find just then ; but he sought a quarrel with Mexico, meaning to use it as a pre- text for interfering in our war. How miserably he failed, is within the recollection of all ; an j. the execution of the gallant but unfortunate Maximilian, whom he made his tool and dupe in his Mexican enterprise, and the plaintive I i?i ' NAPOLEON 111. AND IIIS GENEllALS. 151 laments and lifelong insanity of the hapless Carlotta, must even now fill his soul with horror for his treachery. He also made some small experiments in the way of war in Cochin-China and China, but his success was not com- mensurate with his expenditure, and there was not glory enough to satisfy the greed of the French nation. Ho promised constitutional and political reforms, the freedom of the press, the liberty of interpellation, the partial con- trol of the finances by the Covps. In the midst of these vain strivings after a success which constantly eluded his grasp, a severer blow fell u]i- on him than any he had yet experienced. Prussia, which he had ever regarded as a second-rate power, declared war against Austria in 18GG. In seven weeks Prussia had thoroughly defeated Austria, fighting a great battle (that of Sadowa), which entirely overshadowed his own battles of Magenta and Solfcrino ; and this seven Aveeks' war had led to changes in the map of Europe the most important which had occurred since 1815 : changes, too, in regard to which he had not been consulted. The prestige of the Bonaparte name was fast passing away, both at home and abroad, and it was a serious ques- tion how it could be recovered. From the day of the re- jection of his proposed treaty with Prussia, in 18G7, it had been evident to him that he must fight Prussia, and seize and hold the Rhenish provinces and Belgium, or lose his throne. What the result was, we shall see presently. It is, nevertheless, a sad commentfuy on our boasted progress in the nineteenth century, that an adventurer, with no higher intellectual ability than Louis Napoleon j-sossessed, could have ruled one of the foremost nations in the Avorld for twenty-one years, and have been recognized by other nionarchs of Europe as their peer. General Edmond Le Boeuf, Minister of War and Cliief of Staff" of the French arm}'- at the beginning of the war, had a good, though by no means the highest, reputation as a military leader among the French generals. Ho was born November 5, 1809, and received his military educa- tion at the Polytechnic School in Paris and the School of Artillery at Metz. At twenty-eight years of age he was h #- ur^' It' 152 IlISTOllY OF TRUSSIA. I' I 1 1 n i0 i I iii lll:l I • a ca])taii), arul, nine years later, major of a regiment of artillery. In 1848 he was made assistant-commandant of the Polytechnic School, where he remained till 1850. In 1852 he was promoted to a colonelcy, and during the whole of the Crimean war served as chief of artillery. In 1854 he was made brigadier-general, and in 1857, general of division. In the Italian war of 1859 he was again chief of the large artillery force there engaged, and distin- guished himself for bravery and skill, receiving the rank of grand officer of the Legion of Honor from the emperor in August, 1859. He was subsequently appointed aid- de-camp to the emperor, and made head of the Artillery Bureau. On the death of Marshal Kiel, in 18C9, he was made Minister of War, and introduced some essential re- forms in the organization of the army. The taint of cor- ruption, however, had attached to him. On the appoint- ment of a commission to decide upon a new breech-loading rifle for the French army, there were many patterns offered, but he excluded all except the Chassepot, in the manufac- ture of which he had a large interest; and this gun, though inferior to several of the others, was supplied in immense quantities to the French army. With his down- fall, the reputation of the rifle fell also ; and in the midst of the war, the French Provisional Government, and, in- deed, the successor of Le Bneuf, began to order American patterns of rifles, which stood the test of actual warfare much better, but which Le Ba>uf had rejected because he could make no profit on them. It is averred, also, that large quantities of the Chassepot rifles, of imperfect and defective construction, were passed by the inspectors and placed in the hands of the soldiers, by the orders of this corrupt War Minister. Subsequently to his removal from office, he is said to have acknowledged that he knew that neither the nation nor the army were prepared for war, but that he did not dare to tell the emperor so, lest he should excite his displeasure. Marshal Marie Edme Patrick Maurice do MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, born at Sully, July 13, 1808, is a descendant of an old Irish Catholic family attached to the Stuarts. He entered the military school of St. Cyr in NAPOLKON III. AND HIS OKNKRALS. ir>;3 1825, won his first laurels in Algeria, where he fcmght in numerous battles and minor engagements. An incident in the African campaign shows his intrepid charactci'. At the close of the successful battle of Tercliia, General Achard wished to send an order to Colonel Rulhiercs, at Blidah, between three and four miles off, to change the order of his march. This commission he entrusted to MacMahon, and offered him a squadron of mounted chas- seurs as an escort. He declined their protection, and rode off alone. His journey lay entirely through the enemy's country, which was rugged and irregular. About six hundred yards from Blidah was a ravine, broad, deep, and precipitous. MacMahon had ridden close to the ravine, when suddenly he beheld a host of Arabs in full pur- suit of him from every side. One look told him his chances. There was no alternative but to jump the treacherous abyss or be butchered by his pursuers. He set his horse's head at the leap, put spur and whip to it, and cleared the ravine at a bound. The pursuing Arabs, dismayed, ventured no further, and only sent after the daring soldier a shower of bullets as horse and rider rolled over on the other side, with the poor steed's leg broken. At the attack on Con- stantino he received further promotion. His superiority as a tactician became soon apparent, and v, - * '"uUy appre- ciated and rewarded by rapid advancement. His long career as a military commander in the colony, and his never-ceasing activity in behalf of the firm establishment of French authority in Northern Africa, were interrupted, for some time at least, by his recall to France in 1855. It was not, however, the intention of the government to let him remain inactive ; he was, on the contrary, immedi- ately assigned to the command of a division of infantry, forming part of the .army under Marshal Bosquet. Here he laid the foundation of his military glory. On the 8th of September, the perilous honor devolved on him of carrying the Malakoff, which formed the key of the de- fences of Sebastopol. The impetuous ardor of his troops proved irresistible. Tlicy entered the works and main- tained for hours a desperate (conflict with tlie Russians. Pellissier, the commander-in-chief, believed the fort was '■* r 154 IIISTOIIY OF PRUSSIA. f'^. ■ i ! \ mined. He sent MacMahon orders to retire. " I will hold my ground," was the reply, " dead or alive." Suc- cess crowned his bravery, and the tricoloi* soon floated above the fortress. Tn 1857, he returned to Algeria, forced the revolting Kabyles into submission, and was soon after appointed commander-in-chief of all the French forces there on land and sea. The outbreak of the Ital- ian war, in 1859, caused his return to France, when he was assigned to the command of the second co"ns of the Army of the Alps. Here his brilliant mover on the Austrians, turning a threatened defeat into r ^ory at Magenta, and concealing the blunders of his iftiperial master, was rewarded by the conferring on him the titles of Duke of Magenta and Marshal of France, on the field of battle. In November, 18G1, he was sent to Berlin to represent France at the coronation of William I, the present King of Prussia ; and in the splendor of his ap- pointments, and the magnificence of his retinue, outshone all the other representatives of foreign courts. In Octo- ber, 1862, he succeeded Marshal Canrobert in the com- mand of the third army corps ; and, two years later, was made governor-general of Algeria, where he intro- duced many administrative reforms. He was recalled from Algeria shortly before the opening of the Franco- German war, and took an active part in organizing the army for seiVice. Marshal MacMahon bears the reputa- tion of a gallant, manly, and honest officer ; and though his long experience in Algeria had partially disqualified him for civilized warfare, and made him reckless of those details on which, in a contest with an able aud intelligent foe, all success depends, yet he deserves the reputation of being the best of the French army commanders. General Trochu, who w.as at first ignored as being out of favor with the emperor, but eventually, in the time of his distress, assigned to the command of Paris and its fortifications, bears the reputation of being an honest, brave and capable officer, on whose character, public or private, there is no stain. He was born in the depart- ment of the Morbihan, March 12, 1815 ; was educated at St. Cyr, and at the staff-school. A lieutenant in 1840 and NAPOLEON in. AND IIIS (JKNKUAl.S. 155 a captain in 1843, he was attaclied to Marshal Biigoaud'a staff in Algeria, and, like all the rest of the I'rench otfi- cers, took Ids ten yeara' or more of training there. In 1853, he was aid-de-canip to Marsh.al St, Arnand, in the Crimea, with the rank of colonel ; and, in 1854, had risen to the rank of brigadier-general. In 1859, as major-gen- eral, he went through the Italian campaign, winning dis- tinction for bravery and military skill. He was made grand officer of the Legion of Honor, in 18G1. As we shall see further on in this history, he has displayed, since the commencement of his command in Paris, great skill and remarkable executive, ability under the most trying circumstances in which a commander could be placed, and has won the confidence of jill as a patriot, who sought his country's good in preference to his own, or that of any aspirant to power. Such men are so rare, that it is but right that their names should be honored when they are found. rr 150 THE GREAT WAR 3r CHAPTER XII. -,-«» FINANCIAL CONDITION OF FRANCE AND TRUHSIA. HE financial condition of the two countries, which are the principals in this war, is an important item in its relations to their ability to endure a great war. It is, however, a matter of no small difficulty to arrive at the facts in rela- tion to the financial condition of France, since the statements of her Ministers of Finance, under the empire, were irreconcilable with themselves and with each other. In the first place, they gave the " pro- ject of the budget," or estimates of the receipts and ex- penses of the next year ; then, a year or two later, the "rectified budget," or corrected estimate for the same year ; and, a year or two later still, the " definitive bud- get," or ascertained amount of the expenses of, perhaps, three years before ; and these estimates would vary from forty-five to fifty millions of dollars from each other. And, what was worse, even tliese definitive statementi did not represent tlie actual expenditure ; and, in the course of sixteen years, loans were contracted in all to the amount of five hundred and fifty million dollars, to supplement the current revenue. There is too much rea- son to believe that fraud and peculation were rife in every department of the governmbJit. As nearly as can bo ascertained, however, the following statement represents pretty accurately the financial condition of France in the beginning of 1870. The total revenue received in France, in 1869, was $425,744,800, being $54,800,612 in excess of that of the United Stnies. This sum was raised by customs duties and an elab.)rate system of inland revenue, which directly afl'eots all interests in the empire. BETWHEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 157 The military expenditure of France during a year of profound peace, was, it appears, in round numbers, $74,000,000; such being the burden entailed by the French standing army of 404,000 men irrespective of their forced withdrawal from productive industry. The marine, in addition, exacted, including colonial expendi- ture, the sum of $32,267,684. In the presence of this large revenue, it cannot be said that France has been, as the United States were, at the commencement of hosti- lities, free, for years, from heavy taxation, and, conse- quently, all the better prepared to meet the burders of war. On the contrary, her expenditure was augmented in the following extraordinary proportions, and has since these years, rather increased than diminished. 1852 $371,000,000 1853 441,600,000 1854 416,800,000 1855 434,000,000 1856 422,400,000 1857 457,400,000 The ordinary revenue in the twelve years from the establishment of the empire till the end of 1863, increased from $297,400,Oeo to $452,800,000 ; while the expendi- tures augmented, in the same twelve years, from $302,- 600,000 to $457,400,000. With the exception of 1855, when the revenue waa raised high above the average by special means, there was not a year without a large deficit. To cover the ever-recurring financial deficits, the govern- ment, between the years 1854 and 1870, procured a series of loans — seven in number — in sums, as to nominal capital, varying between $50,000,000 and $150,000,000. Those loans were raised on a new principle, viz., that of borrow- ing, not from a few large banking houses acting as ageni«, but directly from the people, or the mass of small capita- lists, both in France and other countries. This course was highly successful. The fifth loan, for instance, which was offered in 1859 and issued at 66 francs, 30 centimes — bearing 3 per cent, interest, was received with the offer, on the part of half a million persons, of 4,487,000,000 francs, or sixteen times the amount require*!. 158 THE GREAT WAR In connection with the increased expenditure referred to, it should be borne in mind that the material wealth of France has rapidly increased, n. Ay owing to the in- tervals of peace which she enjoyed. Her home industries have suffered from the operation of the commercial treaty with England, but, despite that, their expansion has been great and general, if we except shipbuilding. The imports and exports in 18G0 and 1868 contrast as follows : Imports. 1860 $379,466,965 1868 679,714,400 Exports. §1455,425,223 581,358,000 Total. $834,892,188 1,201,072,400 One legacy which Napoleon III. will leave France is an enormous increase in her national debt. It was, in 1853, $1,103,238,940. In 1868 it was $2,760,344,022, or two and a half times greater. This is exclusive of a floating debt amounting to about $173,200,000, consisting of Treasury bills, funds from savings banks, the Army Dota- tion Fund, and other liabilities. This debt, as stated in the revenue returns, entails an annual interest of $74,449,153, which is, however, much below the total expenditure, on account of interest, pen- sions, and annuities, which, in 1869, amounted to $128,- 225,000, or very nearly the interest on our debt the same year. Despite the increase in the national debt, French credit has improved. On June 29, 1870, before the fears of war awakened the tremulous capitalists, Rentes bearing 41 per cent, interest sold for 104, and 3 per cents for 72.65, The coinputed value of the real property in France is $16,000,000,000 : the rural properties are valued at $10,- 000,000,000, and the town properties and buildings at $6,000,000,000. Turning now to the financial condition of Germany .and Prussia, we find a different state of affjiirs. The finances of both the North German Confederation and the Prussian kingdom were in a good condition, and the debt compara- tively small. Tlio revenue of Prussia, .iccording to the budget accounts in 1869, was $125,052,370, and the cxi)enditure the same. Tlio revenue and expenditure of Prussia has, since 1865, BETWEEN FRANCE AND (JEiaiANY. 159 been almost stationary, and no deficits have marked her annual financial returns — a feature unusual in most Euro- pean budgets. This revenue, in 18G9, was raised to the extent of $31,500,000, from direct and indirect taxes, to the amount of S14,180,44Jj, which includes the share of the Zollverein customs. The State railroads, mines, forges, nnd other govern- ment monopolies, yielded the greater part of the balance. The public debt of Prussia is very light, and has been almost entirely incurred since 1850. While six and a half years of the large French annual revenue is repre- sented by the amount of the French debt, that of Prussia amounts to only one and a half years of her moderate annual receipts. The total debt of the kingdom, both old and new provinces, amounts to $188,497,520, exclusive of the small liabilities incurred by the annexed provinces for the establishment of State railroads. The revenue and expenditure of the other German States is unimportant. The same economy is ap^mrent in their financial affairs as in the Prussian, the standing armies being the only serious burden. It follows, from the solvency and well-managed finances of Prussia, that her credit is untarnished. During fifty- five years the German people have (excepting the recent Austrian war) been undisturbed by war, and have been enabled to develop the immense resources of their fertile territory and accumulate large material wealth. The social condition of the two countries ofl'ers an equally striking contrast. In Germany, and especially in Prussia, education is well-nigh universal. The population of the North German Confederation, in 1SG7, was 29,653,- 038, and that of South Germany 8,809,328 ; making a total of 38.522,300. Of this population, only an infinite- simal proportion arc unable to read and write, while the greater part have a good public school education. The great advantages of this thorough education have made themselves visible in the improved social condition and greater intelligence of the masses, and have made them vastly better soldiers in a cause where their patriotic feelings were enlisted. It has resulted, too, in a larger sir ! it 100 THE CaiEAT WAR measure of thrift and business enterprise throughout the whole of Germany, Nearly every town has its thriving manufactory ; and though the price *of labor is low, it is advancing, and with it the wealth of the community. The social condition of France is not so good. The wealth, intelligence, and business activity of the country, .and, to a large extent, its poverty and crime also, have been concentrated in Paris and two or three other large cities. Education is very much neglected. Thirty per cent, of the conscripts (who represent very fully the male adult population of France) cannot read or write. The school-age of children is only from seven to thirteen, and nearlv a million, or about one-fifth of the entire number of children between tliesc ages, do not attend school. Morals are, as is well known, at a very low ebb. One eighth of the births (taking city and country together) are known to be illegitimate, and a still larger proportion are concealed by infanticide, which is so prevalent as to make the percentage of increase of population in France smaller than that of any other European State. As a nation, the French are brave, full of dash, and, when properly trained, good soldiers ; but under existing circumstances they have been badly led and but indifferently trained, and the lack of high intelligence has made them less effective as soldiers than the Germans. The country communes are, for the most part, very poor, and there is much less intelligence and enterprise than in Germany. The peasantry in Ger- many do not live any too well, but they have more and better food than the same class in France. The statements which were at first put forth in regard to the military and naval strength of the two countries proved subsequently to be erroneous, the errors being, however, in opposite directions — the army of France being greatly overrated, and that of Prussia and the North Ger- man Confederation singularly understated. In regard to France, the overestimate was the result of two causes : one, the national tendency to exaggeration, and to regard the official statements of the army on paper as having their full equivalent in the actual ddpots and barracks ; and the other, that neither the public, tlie emperor, nor any one BETWEEN FlUNCE AND (^.EllMANY, 161 of his officials, knew the full extent of the sy.stcni of frautls which had pervaded every department of tlio service. The underestimate of the Prussian government of its forces was also attributable to two causes : the natural cautiousness of the Prussians leading them to make allow- ances beyond the actual deficiencies ; and the indisposition on the part of the government to lay before the people the vast amount of their military strength, lest, as in pre- vious years, it should be regarded as in excess of their need, and a useless expenditure. The French army, it was reported, when war was first declared, including the active army, the reserve, the national guard, and the numerous less important branches, would make up the imposing array of 1,350,000 men. The active arm}'-, according to the oflScial statistics, comprised : staff, 1,082; gendarmes, 24,548; infantry, 250,900; cavalry, 01,583 ; artillery, 37,950 ; engineers, 7,845 ; military train, 8,954 ; commissariat, 11,208. It was said to be com- manded by 8 marshals, 86 generals of division, and 160 generals of brigade. To this active army of 404,794 men v/as to be added tlic reserve of 400,000 ; 318 battalions of infantry of the national guard, numbering 508,800 men in all, and 123 batteries of artillery, and 6 companies of pontoniers, numbering together 29,923 men. Beyond this vast force, it was said, were the garde mobile, answering to tlie English disembodied militia, as the national guard did to the volunteers. The garde mobile consisted, it was said, of about 600,000 men, who had a skeleton organization of officers, but had not been called out for any actual service ; but it was believed by the French people that they would be a very formidable addition to their military force, and probably be fully capable of meeting on equal terms the German soldiers of the line. Here, then, were military organizations which could, on an emergency, throw nearly two million soldiers into the field. This was not, to be sure, an extravagant estimate, as tlie population of France was .about thirty- eight millions. But the sanguine French people forgot, or rather did not know, that such had been the facilities for procuring substitju-tes by a money pfiyment, that not less It r 162 THE GREAT WAll N' .'! 'Ff "S ' .'I m ! than one-fifth of the conscripts of any year released them- selves from service by the payment of a commutation, which, instead of being employed by the government in hiring substitutes, was perverted to private purposes; another fifth was declared exempt for various causes more or less just ; and a "-^ird fifth, though nominally on the rolls, and pay and rations drawn for them, had their existence only there. Thus it happened that, of a con- scription nominally of 125,000 men, not over 50,000 or 55,000 were actually in the service. Thus, though, as stated above, the army on the peace-footing amounts to 404,000 men, and the first reserves to as many more, yet from both there were at no time more than 350,000 men to take the field, and it is doubtiul if even this number ever actually reported for duty. The following statement of the military strength of Ger- many at the beginning of the war is condensed from an elaborate article in the Frankfurter Ze.itiing (Frankfort Gazette), the highest German authority on the subject, and is undoubtedly drawn from official sources. It is evident, from several circumstances, that the computation was made in April, 1870, and, therefore, when there was no immediate prospect of war. It is remarkable that, before the 1st of October, the King of Prussia should have been able to bring into the field a force considerably ex- ceeding this computation, notwithstanding the inevitable shrinkage of troops when called into the field. The North German Confederation comprises 23 States, including Hesse, the northern part of which alone belongs to the Confederation. Prussia has military conventions with the Kingdom of Saxony, with several Thuringian States, with Hesse, Mecklenberg-Schwerin and Strelitz, with Oldenburg, &c., whereby the armies of all these States are closely bound up with the Prussian forces. The forces of the North German Confederation arc as follows : Line. — Infantry: 4 Prussian regiments of foot guards, 4 Prussian regiments of grenadier guards, 1 Prussian regi- ment of fusilier guards, [15 regiments of grenadiers of BETWEEN FRiVNCE AND UEllMANY. 1G3 tho line, 77 regiments of infantry, 13 regiments of fusi- lici^s, 4 Hessian regiments of 2 battalions each, 1 Prussian battalion of chasseurs of the guard, 1 battalion sharp- shooters, 16 battalions of chasseurs. Total infantry, 118 regiments and 18 battalions — 368 battalions in all. Gavali'y : 10 regiments cuirassiers (including 2 regi- ments of guards), 11 regiments dragoons (including 2 regiments of guards), 18 regiments hussars (including 1 regiment of guards), 21 regiments lancers (Uhlanen), (including 4 regiments of guards), 6 regiments light cavalry (including 2 regiments of guards). Total cavalry, 76 regiments. Artillery: 1 reghnent of field artillery (guards), 12 regiments of field artillery, 1 Hessian division of field artillery, 1 regiment of siege artillery (Festungs artil- lerie) (guards), 8 regiments of siege artillery, 4 divisions of siege artillery, 1 division rocket train; in all, 13 regiments and 1 division field artillery, and 9 regiments and 1 division of siege artillery. Engineers : 1 battalion of pioneers of the guard, 12 battalions of pioneers, 1 Hessian company of pioneers. Train : 13 battalions and 1 division of baggage, am- nmnition, &c., train. Landwehr, — 97 regiments of infantry, two battalions each — 19^! battalions; 12 reserve battalions — 12 batUd- ions ; 4 regiments of the guard, three battalions each — 12 battalions. Total, 218 battalions. If we summarize the foregoing, we have tho following result : Field- Army. — Infantry, 394,310 men; cavalry, 53,528 men; artillery, 1,212 pieces. Reserve. — Infantry, 145,944 men ; cavalry, 18,991 men ; artillery, 234 pieces. Garrison Troops. — Infantry, 143,924 men ; cavalry, 10,208 men ; artillery, 234 pieces. In the above computation arc not reckoned the armies of the allied South German States, which now follow: Bavaria. — 16 regiments of infantry, of 3 battalions each ; 10 battalions chasseurs; 10 regiments of cavalry; 2 brigades of artillery ; which give 69,064 men in field IK 1G4 THE GREAT WAR B ■■ %!: '(■• ( troops, 25,757 men [reserve, and 22,614 garrison troops ; making, in all, 117,435 men, and 240 guns. WuRTEMBERG. — 8 regiments of infantry of 2 battalions each ; 2 battalions of chasseurs ; 4 regiments of cavalry ; 2 regiments of artillery; which give, in field troops, 22,070 men ; reserve, 6,540 ; garrison troops, 5,064, ma- king in all, 34,680 men and 66 guns. Baden. — 6 regiments of infantry of 3 battalions each ; 3 regiments of cavalry ; 3 field divisions of artillery ; giving 16,656 field troops ; 3,995 reserve, and 9,640 garrison troops ; making, in all, 30,291 men and 64 guns. Thus the auxiliarj'^ troops which the three South Ger- man States would bring to the aid of the North German Confederation, amount to the respectable figure of 169,802 men, and 370 guns. The aggregates are: field army, 555,634 men, and 1,584 guns ; reserves (Landwehr), 201,207 men, and 234 field-pieces; garrison troops, 192,450 men, and 234 pieces of {trtillery. Grand total, 949,291 men and 2,052 guns. That the German army in the field since the beginning of the war, has considerably exceeded 1,200,000 men, does not admit of a doubt. But if the Germans had a decided preponderance in military strength, the French were, in turn, greatly their superiors in naval power. In this direction, indeed, France claimed to be second to no nation in the world, and only equalled by Great Britain, which for so long a period had boasted of " ruling the waves." The French people, it is true, do not naturally take to maritime pur- suits ; their commercial marine has been at all times smaller and less efficiently manned than that of many smaller nations, and their very large and well-appointed navy, was not so well manned as that of Great Britain, its vessels being supplied with crews by conscription, and these not always from the coasts ; so that, though the French navy has had no important naval battles to test its prowess, it is hardly to be supposed that it would bo found much superior in fighting ability to its old reputa- tion. The French naval force consisted, in January, 1870, of BETWEEN FRANX'E AND GERMANY. lor> 74,064 officers and men. There were 2 admirals, C. Reg- nauld de Genouilly and F. T. Trehouart ; C active vice- admirals, and 30 active counter-admirals. The fleet, on the 1st of January, 1870, was composed as follows : Number. Guns. Screw steamers, iron-clad 55 1,032 Screw steamers, non-iron-clad 233 2,018 Wheel steamers 51 IIG Sailing-vessels 100 914 Total 489 4,680 Besides these there were 8 screw steamers, iron-clad, with 68 guns, and 23 non-iron-clad, with 144 guns, build- ing. The Prussian navy was small, but its vessels were well constructed, and some of them were more than a match for any single vessel of the French navy. The following was their number, January 1, 1870 : Number. Guns. Iron-clads 6 70 Frigates and corvettes 202 Gunboats 23 54 Yachts 1 2 Paddle-corvettes 3 15 Sailing-vessels 69 315 Total 101 ()58 The cannon in use in the German army, are mostly of steel, breech-loaders, of different sizes and calibres as re- quired, but mostly of one general pattern, devised by Herr Krupp, a Prussian founder, at whose extensive- works most of them were made. The steel of whicli they are made is of the low but malleable grade, pro- duced by the Bessemer and other kindred processes. Most of these cannon are rifled, and their range, accuracy,, and toughness is extraordinary. A French authority, writing of the battles around Sedan, states that, on the morning of the surrender, the emperor was, with his staff", suddenly subjected to a terribly severe cannonade, the shot and shell being thrown with most uncomfortable K F" T-' 100 THE tlREAT WAll if- « i I 'i HI i ^ accuracy, and, on inquiry, found that they came from a Prussian battery 4,900 metres (a little more than three miles) distant. One of the best of the French batteries was put in position to reply to it, but its shot and shells fell into the Moselle, not over 1,500 metres, or less than one mile, from the battery. The French cannon are mostly of bronze, muzzle-load- ers, and of the pattern claimed by the emperor as his own, and named " Napoleons," They are greatly inferior to the Pnissian guns in range, accuracy, and case of handling, and not superior to them in tenacity. The French, in the war of 1870, have, however, introduced one weapon which, with some modifications, seems likely to })lay an important part in wars hereafter. It is the mit- railleuse, or, as it is sometimes called, the niitrailleur, a weapon analogous to, though hardly as effective as, our Gatling battery. The principle of this new and destruct- ive weapon, is somewhat like that of the revolver, or the many chambered pistol, applied to a species of field-piece. A number of barrels of a calibre sufficient for an inch- ball are gi'ouped around a central steel staft* and, metallic cartridges being supplied, they are, by a simple crank- movement, forced into the several barrels, and discharged with gi'eat rapidity, from two to three hundred per min- ute. The range which presents any considerable accuracy, in the French mitrailleuse, does not much exceed a mile, but within this range the weapon is exceedingly destruc- tive. The Prussians had examined the Gatling battery, acknowledged to be the most effective of all the guns of this class, but had not been favorably impressed by it ; but their late experiences have probably changed their opinion. The Fosberry battery, or mitrailleuse, does not seem to be the most perfect form of this destructive weapon, ex- periments in England proving the decided superiority of the Gatling battery to it in all respects ; but there can be no doubt that it will in some form add a formidable wea- pon to the armament of civilized nations It will not take the place of cannon, and it will be liable to be de- stroyed by cannon-shot and shell at long range ; yet the experience of the war proves that it has its place, and an fin ve] adi • • OL ba] BETWEEN FIIANCE AND (lEllMANY. 1G7 ity of can be e wea- iU not be de- ret the and an I important one, in botli offensive and defensive warfare. There have been rumors of a steam mitrailleuse worked with the frightful velocity of which that powerful agent is capable, but there are evidently difficulties to be over- come before this combination can be made practicable. The weapons with which the rank and file of the two armies were provided also deserve our attention. The Kddelgewehr, or needle-gun of .the Prussians, has now been in use in their armies more than twenty years. It has been slightly modified and improved in such a way as to increase its certainty of discharge, and, perhaps, slightly its accuracy, but the principle of the gun is the same as in 1848. The Prussian needle-gun is the invention of Herr Dreyse, a gun-manufacturer, who spent thirty years in trying to construct a perfect breech-loading rifle that would be of practical use in war. There is no necessary connection between a breech- loading gun and the method of firing by the penetration of a needle into a detonating cap or fulminating powder within the cartridge ; but the desire to dispense with the separate application of the percussion cap, as his prede- cessors had done with the more clumsy mechanism of the flint and match-locks, led Herr Dreyse to seek the best and simplest method of combining these two qualities — loading at the breech, and firing by a needle. The great- est, as it was the earliest, objection to breech-loading fire- arms has been their tendency to foul by the escape of a portion of the gases of the powder and the residuum of water and incombustible, or, at least, unconsumed matters left after repeated firing. There are two methods of over- coming this difliculty, which is in danger of preventing the perfect closure of the breech upon the barrel. The first is by a method of closing which shall eflfectually pre- vent the escape of gas at the breech ; the second, by the adoption of a cartridge which shall cleanse the barrel and joint at each discharge. There are difficulties in both. Obturation, or the complete closing of the breech upon the barrel, is effected in three distinct ways : IGH TIIK GUKAT WAIJ ■iit-J;. ' i II 'Ti J : m im jih 1. By inserting a cylinder into the barrel, or by inside or internal obturation. 2. By shoving the open end of the barrel into the mov- able closing-piece so that the latter encompasses the end of the barrel, called outside or external obturation. 3. By closing the end of the barrel with a flat, massive piece of metal, which method is denominated Hat obtura- tion, and can only bo resorted to where metallic cartridges are used, like those invented for the Lefancheux gun, tlie Spencer or Henry rifle, &c., &;c. Of these three methods of obturation, the first is objec- tionable and imperfect, inasmuch as the cylinder to be in- serted into the barrel of the gun comes into immediate contact with the gas-development, and with the dirty residue of the powder, in consequence of which the free forward and backward movement of the closing mechanism is soon materially checked, and the rapid loading of the gun seriously interfered with. The third method depends wholly upon the use of metallic cartridges, which are too expensive for a large army. The firing of these breech- loaders is also much less rapid than that of tho T>mMsian needle-gun and the Chaesepot, as it i< nf..essai;), after each discharge of the gun, to ^emo^ iuetallic (^np or the cartridge, often firmly inclosed i ae rear end the barrel, except where, as is the case w.ih some American rifles, there is an automatic an-angement for lirowing out each shell by the firing of each successor. The Prussian needle-gun is, we believe, up to this day, the only one in the manufacture of which the external obturation has been resorted to, in preference to the other methods. And just to the application of this system one of the most essential advantages of the needle-jjun can be attributed, as the metallic plates coming into contact in the process of obturation are not directly exposed to the danger of becoming overheated, and the closing mechanism is kept free from all obstruction by the residue of powder, from which tho Chassepot, with its internal obturation, sufters so severely. This inconvenience, which is called, in French, '^craGlie/inent," has been partly overcome by the application of India-rubber knobs, which, however, be- k' w BETWEEN FIlA^'CE AND CIEllMANV. IGD Iff out coinc in their turn dangerous to the working of the ucmhIIc. Tlio necdlo-gun consi.sts, a« rogarils its breech apparatus and needle-lock, of three concentric hollow cylinders, with a solid cylindrical bolt, to which the needle is affixed, in- side the innermost. The rear end of the barrel is tirmly screwed into the head of the chamber which is fixed to the stock of the piece, and is open at the rear end. The upper half of the cylinder is cut away at the front end for rather more than the length of the cartridge, to secure its ready admission. From the rear of this opening to the back of the chamber a groove is cut sufficiently wide to allow the square pillar of the breech-handlo to pass along it. In the middle of this groove is a right-angled shunt stopping the breech-handle when drawn backwards, unless it is turned downwards, when it may be completely drawn out at the rear end. This breech-handle is connected with and forms part of the breech-piece, a solid steel cylinder moving within the chamber, and having its front end bevelled with an inward slope to fit the external bevel of the rear end of the barrel, thus closing it perfectly, and forming the external obturation of whicn we have already spoken. Firmly screwed within the breech-piece is a solid block of metal, with a conical projection extending to the base of the cartridge, called a tige, or pillar. Through this block is the channel in which the needle works. In- side the breech-piece cylinder is another, with its springs constituting the lock of the gun. It slides within the breech-piece, and is retained from falling out by a spring, which catches in a notch at the rear end of the breech- piece. Along the bottom of this cylinder is a groove to admit the passage of the trigger, and at the back of the chamber is a short upright handle, by means of which the weapon is cocked. Lastly, within the lock is a solid steel bolt having the needle firmly fastened in its front end, and its motions regulated by a strong-spiral spring. When tiie cartridge (which is of paper) is thrust into the cham- ber, and moved forward by the act of half-cocking to its place, the point of the needle and the end of the tige touch the base of the cartridge, but the spiral spring is relaxed, mm 170 HIE tJIlKAT WAH and without i)ower; when the gun is at I'ull-cock, the spring is compressed, the bolt to which it is attached drawn Lack and hckl in a place by the trigger, which catches upon a shoulder of the bolt in front of the spring. In the act of firing, the trigger releases this shoulder oi the bolt, the spring asserts its power, and the bolt shoots forward, driving the needle unerringly to the fulminate in the centre of the cartridge. Hero is no opportunity of fouling, for the cartridge wipes out the barrel, and the closely-fitting bevel allows no escape of gas. The con- struction of the ^un is so simple, that, without screw- driver or any other implement, it can readily be taken to })ieccs and cleaned or repaired. Its v/eight — eleven or twelve pounds — is an objection to it, but it has good qualities sufficient to balance this. The Chassepot rifle is a needle-gun, but varying in many and important particulars from the Zilndnaclelgc- iveliv, or Prussian needle-gun. It was invented by M. Chassepot. the French Inspector-General of arms, in 1863 (but improved in 1866), to supply the demand of the French government for a gun which should be different from, yet equal to, the Prussian weapon. A much smaller amount of time has been expended over it than over its rival, and it has several serious defects. Its method of closing the breech is by internal obturation, or the thrust- ing the chamber into the barrel ; and hence, for the reasons already stated, is more liable to foul, and to have its free movement in loading checked and obstrui:t'>d. This difficulty lias proved so great in the war of 1870, *ihat the F'-ench have abandoned the gun, and are supplying their troops as fast as possible with the Remington rifle, an American weapon. Tts spiral spring is shorter and weaker than the PrusaLan, and hence more liable to fail ; and the rubber knob on the end of the cylinder, intended to close the joint cuinpleteiy agaiiioc fouling, is apt to press on the needle and form a crust, which interferes with its free motion. The French fire rapidly, and after a number of rounds, in all the recent battles, they invariably manifested their impatience at the foulness and obstruction of their rifles by blowing into them, shaking them, and trying to clear them — which only made them worse. lil . i BETWEEN FllANCE AND GEllMANY. 171 ^ CHAPTER XIIL <* OPENING OF THE WAl?. jE have deemed it necessary, to a full uudei- standing of the position of the two contcndini^ powers, to go thus fully into the history of their antecedents, their financial, social, and military condition, the history of their leaders, and the peculiar weapons of the opposing par- ties. We now proceed with the narrative of the opeulug uf the war. There had sprung up, partly, perhaps, from the coldness and jealousies of France, a veiy cordial feeling between the Spanish Government since the revolution of 1868, and Prussia, and there had been a more than usually frequent interchange of civilities. General Prim, who was personally very friendly to the French emperor, had sounded the Prussian minister to Spain in regard to the candidacy of one of the Hohen- zollern princes for the Spanish throne, indicating his pre- ference for the elder brother of the family of Hohenzollern- Sigmaringen, but the proposition not being very favorably received, it had been allowed to drop, not, however, till the general had alluded to its possibility before the Cortes. In May, or early in June, General Prim had an interview with the French emperor at Biarritz, and, almost imme- diately after his return, proposed to the Spanish Cortes the name of Prince Leopold, second son of Prince Carl Anton, the head of the house of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, for the vacant throne of Spain, and a large majority of the Cortes accepted his candidacy. A correspondence with the prince resulted in his expression of his willing- ness to bo the candidate of the Cortes for the pt)siti()n. Prince Leopold was from an independent branch of the HohenzoUern family, having no claims on the succession I7:i THE GREAT WAR to the PrusHian throne, and was not in any sense directly responsible to it for their action, unless it was treasonable to the reirminir house of Prussia to the Prussian Kinjx. The prince was about thirty-five j'ears of age, highly educated, very wealthy, and a Catholic, and held the nominal rank of colonel in the Prussian array. The Kino- of Prussia . was, when the matter was laid before him, prompt to express his disapprobation of it, believing that it would prove another Maximilian affair, and that the prince would lose his head. In spite of this disapproval, the prince gave his consent to be a candidate. On the 4th of July, 1870, General Prim advised Senor Olozaga, Spanish minister at Paris, of his selection of Prince Leopold, and the sanction of it by the Cortes. On the 5th of July, Baron Werthcr, Prussian minister at Paris, left that city for Ems to con- sult with the king relative to this affair. On the 6th of July, the French government sent a note to Count Bene- detti, the emperor s minister at Berlin, instructing him to demand the disavowal of Prince Leopold's candidacy by Prussia, and the withdrawal of his name from the list of candidates for the Spanish crown, on the ground that France would consider his elevation to that position as a check and menace to her, which she would not under any pretext permit. Count Benedetti, himself a Corsican, and of very fiery temper, acting also evidently under instructions from the emperor, made haste to present the matter as offensivel}'' as possible to the King of Prussia. Mr. George Ripley, of the Tribune staff, was in Berlin at this time, and ha,s given a most accurate and graphic account of the series of interviews between the count and the king, the truth of which is certified to by the king and his personal suite. The first audience, Mr. Ripley says, took place on July 0, at the request of Count Benedetti. It was demanded by him that the king should require the Prince of Hohcn- /oUern to withdraw his acceptance of the Spanish crown. The king rcpluxl that, as in the whole affair, he had been addrosH(^d only as the head of the family, and never as the King of Prussia, and had, r-cordingly, given no command / BETWEEN FRANCE AND GEllMANY. 173 for the acceptance of the candidature, he could alyo give no command for withdrawal. On the 11th of July, Count Benedetti requested a second audience, which was granted. In this interview he was urgent with the king to prevail upon Prince Leopold to renounce the crown. The king replied that the prince was perfectly free to decide for himself, and that, moreover, he did not even know where he was at that moment, as he was about to take a journey among the Alps. On the morning of July 13, the king met Benedetti on the public promenade before the foun- tain, and gave him an extra sheet of The Cologne Gazette, which he had just received, with a private telegram from Sigmaringen, relating the withdrawal of the prince, I'c- marking, at the same time, that he himself had heard nothing from Sigmaringen, but should expect letters that day. Count Benedetti replied that ho had already re- ceived the information the evening before from Paris, and, as the king regarded the matter as thus settled, the count wholly unexpectedly made a new demand, proposing to the king that he should expressly pledge himself never to give his cr '•sent in case the question of the candidature should at Ay subsequent time be revived. The king decidedly refused to comply with any such demand, and, when Benedetti returned to his proposal witii increasing importunity, stood by his answer. In spite of this, a few hours after, the count requested a jthird audience. Upon being asked what subject was to be considered, he gave for answer that lie wished to renew the discussion of the morning. The king declined another audience, as he had no answer but that already given, and, moreover, all nego- tiations must now take ])lace through the ministry. Benedetti requested permission to take leave of the king upon his departure from Ems, which was so far granted that the king bowed to him as the latter was leavin/^ the railway station the next day for Coblenz. p]ach i the interviev/s of Benedetti with the king had the character of n. private conversation. The count did not once pre- tend to be acting in his olHcial capacity. In the preceding statement, which is sanctioned by the king himself, no mention is made of the rudeness of Bene- 7 174 THE GHEAT VVAK (letti in forcing liirnself upon His Majesty wliilo indulging ill the recreation of a walk on the crowded promenade of Ems. It is generally regarded, however, as a studied in- sult on the part of the French minister, and is commented on with indignation by the German press. Such a viola- tion of diplomatic courtesy could hardly have been acci- dental. Not even the excitement of a sudden surprise could excuse the incivility ; but there was no surprise in the case ; the count had received the news the night be- fore, and had at least twelve hours to meditate his course of action. The affair was witnessed with astoniyhment by the numerous spectators of the scene, who drew their own augury of its probable consequences. It was interpreted as a sign of hostility towards Prussia, and two days after came the declaration of war. The actual demands of the French government upon the king are contained in a subsequent despatch from Baron Werther, the Prussian minister at Paris. In a con- versation with the Duke de Gramont, the latter remarked that he regarded the withdrawal of Prince Leopold as a matter of secondary importance, but he feared that the course of Prussia in regard to it would occasion a per- manent misunderstanding between the two countries. It was necessary to guard against this by destroying the germ. The conduct of Prussia towards France had been unfriendly. This was admitted, to his certain knowledge, by all the great powers. To speak frankly, he did not wish for war, but would rather preserve amicable relations with Prussia. He hoped that Prussia had similar dis- gasitions. He was satisfied with the intentions of the russian minister, and they could accordingly freely dis- cuss the conditions of reconciliation. He would suggest the writing of a letter to the emperor by the king, disavow- ing all purpose of infringing upon the interests or the dignity of France in his authorizing the acceptance of the Spanish crown by Prince Leopold. The king should con- firm the withdrawal of the Prince, and express the hope that all ground of complaint between the two govern- ments would thus be removed. Nothing should be said in J5ETVVEEN FllANCK AND GKKMANV. 175 the letter concerning the family relations lictwoen Prince Leopold and the emperor. The refusal of the king to accept the liumiliating condi- tions proposed by the French government has called forth the liveliest approval and sympathy in all parts of Ger- many. As early as the 8th of Julj', the emperor had ordered two corps cVarm^e to be ready for immediate movement, one under the]command of Bazaine, the other of Lo Boiuf. This, it will be noticed, was the day before Benedetti's first interview with the king. On the 12th, French troops passed through Paris on their way to the frontier. On the 14th, the French fleet sailed to blockade the Ger- man ports. On the 15th, war was declared by the French Corps LSglslatif against Prussia, at 1.50 p.m., on these grounds : First, the insult offered at Ems to Count Bene- detti, the French minister, and its approval by the Prus- sian government ; second, the refusal of the King of Prussia to compel the withdrawal of Prince Leopold's name as a candidate for the Spanish throne ; and third, the fact that the king persisted in giving the prince liberty to accept the crown. On the same day Count Bismarck warned German ves- sels to hasten to ports of shelter ; Holland ordered the mobilization of her army ; Austria professed neutrality, unless a third power intervened ; King William returned to Berlin from Ems ; the German army was ordered to be put in motion ; the President of the United States recom- mended to Congress a temporary and partial relaxation of the navifjation laws. On leaving Ems at an early hour on the morning of the 15th, King Willielm found a great crowd of citizens assembled to witness his departure, and said lo them in pjirting, " God is my witness that I have not desired war ; but if I am forced into it, I will maintain the honor of Germany to the la«t man." The enthusiasm for the war, forced uj)on them by France, was intense throughout Ger- many, the patriotism and war-like sjurit of the ])eo,-le of South Germany and Schleswig-Holstcin.both of which had been a few years before at war with Prussia, apparently ■I mi i Hi , 1 lit' H * I i '■i ■ v: 'I !!^' 170 THE GREAT WAR riHing higher even tliaii tliat of tho citizens of the Noitli German Confederation. Addresses of the most earnest dmraetcr to the king were adopted everywhere, «and tho legend, " With God for King and Fatherland," blazed out all over Germany. The Prus. 'an legislature, called in extraordinary session at Berlin, \ as a unit for prompt and vigorous war. The king opened vhe session with a brief address, which was greeted with the wildest enthusiasm. The king said Prussia had no interest in the selection of the Prince of Hohenzollern for the Spanish throne, except that it might bring peace to a friendly people. It had, nevertheless, furnished the Emperor of the French with a pretext for war unknown to diplomacy, and, scorning peace, he had indulged in language to Germany Avhich could only have been prompted by a miscalculation of her strength. Germany was powerful enough to resent such language and repel such violencd. He said so in all rever- ence, knowing that the event was in God's hands. Ho had fully weighed the responsibility which rested on the man who drives into war and havoc two great and tran- quil nations yearning for peace and the enjoyment of the common blessing of Christian civilization and prosperity, and for contests more salutary than those of blood. Those who rule France have shrewdly studied the proper me- thods of hitting the sensitive pride of that great neighbor- nation, and, to promote selfish interests, have misguided it. Then," concluded the king, " as our fathers before us have done, let us fight for liberty and our rights against the wrv^.igs inflicted by a foreign conqueror ; and as He was witi- our fathers, so God will be with us in a struggle without which Europe can never enjoy lasting peace." After the king's speech had been delivered, a loan of 120,000,000 thalers was carried unanimously, amid the wildest expressions of enthusiasm by all parties. The enthusiasm was not so gi'eat in France, nor the legislature so unanimous ; there were a considerable number of tho republican members who perceived that the war was pro- claimed in the interests of the Napoleonic dynasty, and therefore opposed it; but tho French people are excitable, and the cry of glory and conquest rendered most of them . Trf? BETWEEN FKANCE AND tlEUMANV. t^T 177 deaf to reason for the time, and the war could be said, in general, to be popular with them. As we have already said, the emperor delayed his de- parture, as it was thought at the time very singularly, from Paris, after the declaration of war. It is now known that he was astounded to find how utterly unprepared his army was for moving, and made vain and desperate efforts to undo the evil wrought by years of corruption and fraud. Finding, at length, that his enemy was fully ready for him on the frontier, he issued on the 23d of July, the follow- ing address to the people of France : " Frenchmen : There are in the life of a people solemn moments, when the national honor, violently excited, arouses itself iiTcsistibly, rises above all other interests, and applies itself with the single purpose of directing the destinies of the nation. One of those decisive hours has now aiTived for France. Prussia, to whom we have given evidence, during and since the war of 1856, of the most conciliatory disposition, has held our good-will of no account, and has returned our forbearance by encroach- ments. She has aroused distrust in all quarters, necessi- tating exaggerated armaments, and has made of Europe a camp where reign disquiet and fear of the morrow. A • final incident has disclosed the instability of the interna- tional understanding, and shown the gravity of the situa- tion. In the presence of her new pretensions, Prussia was made to understand our claims. They were evaded and followed with contemptuous treatment. Our country ma- nifested profound displeasure at this action, and quickly a war-cry resounded from one end of France to the other. " There remains for us nothing but to confide our des- tinies, to the chance of arms. We do not make war upon Germany, whose independence we respect. We pledge ourselves that the people composing the great Germanic nationalities shall dispose freely of their destinies. As for us, we demand the establishment of a state of things guaranteeing our security and assuring the future. We wish to conquer a durable peace, based on the true inte- rests of the people, and to assist in abolishing that prcca- 17« tup: great war rious condition of things when all nations are forced to employ their resources in anning against each other. " The glorious flag of France which we once more unfurl in the face of our challengers, is the same which has borne over Europe the civilizing ideas of our great revolution. It represents the same principles ; it will inspire the same devotion. "Frenchmen: I go to place myself at the head of that gallant army, which is animated by love of country and devotion to duty. That army knows its worth, for it has seen victory follow its footsteps in the four quarters of the globe. I take with me my son. Despite his tender years, he knows the duty his name imposes upon him, and he is j)roud to bear his part in the dangers of those who fight for our country. May God bless our efforts. A great people defending a just cause is invincible. "Napoleon." In this address there is evident not only a disposition to misrepresent the real causes of the war, but a some- what flippant appeal to the French passion for glory, and a manifestation of that tendency to theatrical eftect which has given a tinge of the ludicrous to so many of his pub- lic performances. The allusion to his son, a backward and very mediocre boy of fourteen, was, to say the least, in very bad taste. The emperor did not, however, leave at once on the promulgation of this address ; at least, he did not reach Metz, with his very luxurious and amply provided train, until the 28th of July, when he at once issued the follow- ing address to the soldiers on taking command of the army. When we consider that he knew fully the condi- tion and weakness of his army, and was, at least, tolerably informed concerning the powerful and perfectly organized foe with whom he had to contend, some of it« assertions will be thought remarkable : — "Soldiers: I come to take my place at your head to defend the honor of the soil of our country. You go to combat against one of the best armed of European coun- tries ; but other countries, as valiant as this, have not been HKTWEKN FRANCE AND (iEllMANV. 171) able to resist your valor. It will be tbe same to-day. The war which now commences will be long and hardly contested, for jts theatre will be places hedged with obstacles and thick with fortresses ; but nothing is beyond the persevering efforts of the soldiers of Africa, Italy, and Mexico. You will prove once more what the French army is able to accomplish, animated by a sentiment of duty, maintained by discipline, influenced by love of country. Whatever rojul we may take across our frontiers, we will find upon it glorious traces of our fathers, and we will show ourselves worthy of them. " All France follows you with ardent prayers, and the eyes of the universe are upon you. Upon our succesii ^«*^ depends the fate of liberty and civilizatimL Soldiers let ^^ , \ ( each one do his duty, and the'God of Battles will be with \^«daw^' * us. " Napoleon. ' '* At tlio general headquarters at Metz, July 28, 1870." During this period, when both nations were summoning i their forces into the field, but before any serious conflicts had occurred, Count von Bismarck, the Prussian premier, ; on the 29tli of July, addressed to the representatives of j Prussia, at the courts of neutral powers, a circular giving an exposS of secret propositions made by Napoleon III. | to Prussia in May, 1806, and since repeated with slight j variations, and always accompanied with threats, which showed most conclusively what were the motives which prompted him to declare the war just commenced. Before the Danish war, says Count Bismarck, the French legation at Berlin urged an alliance between France and Prussia for purposes of mutual aggrandizement. France, anticipating war with Austria as a consequence of the Danish war, made overtures relative to the restoration of the Luxembourg frontier of 1814, the acquisition of Saar- burg and Landau, while a broader settlement of the boun- dary question on the basis of language was not to bo excluded. These instances, in May, 18GG, took the form of propositions for an alliance oflfensive and defensive, the manuscript original of which is in the foreign offico here. These propositions were as follows : — n ^ 180 THE GIIEAT WAR •(■ ■■,;, m I iHs" ii M; *; 2^'i?'s^. Should the congress of the powers assemble, Italy to have Venetia, and Prussia the duchies. Second. Should the congress disagree, alliance offensive and defensive will be made between France and Prussia. Third. Prussia to open hostilities against Austria within ten days after the dissolution of the congress. Fouiih. Should no congi'ess meet, Prussia to attack Austria within thirty days after the signature of the pre- sent treaty. Fifth. Napoleon to begin hostilities against Austria as soon as Prussia begins ; despatching 300,000 men during the first month across the Rhine. Sixth. No separate treaty shall be made by either power with Austria. When a joint treaty is made, the following are to be the conditions : — 1. Venetia to go to Italy. 2. Prussia to select German territory at will for annexation, the number of inhabitants not to exceed 8,000,000 of souls ; the territory thus acquired to become a part of the King- dom of Prussia, without federal rights. 3. France to have a liberal share of the Rhine provinces. Seventh. A military and maritime allegiance to be made between France and Prussia, to which Italy may be a party should she so desire. This programme, the circular states, was rejected in June, 1866, in spite of the threatening urgency of France. The proposals were incessantly renewed with modifications sacrificing Belgium and South Gennany, but they were never seriously entertained by Prussia. For the sake of peace, however, it was thought best to leave Napoleon to liis delusions. No word implying approval was returned ; time was counted on to revolutionize France and extin- guish the scheme; hence the long delay and silence. The attempt against Luxembourg failing, France repeated hei' former propositions, making the specifications clear in regard to the acquisition of Belgium by France, and South Germany by Prussia. These last propositions were formulated by Count Benedetti himself, and it is ira])robable that he wrote them without the authority of the emperor, as they are the same which were made four years ago under threat of war as the alternative of their ref ha^ of syi of BETWEEN FRANCE AND (JERMANY. 181 refusal. Any one aoquainted with these antecedents must have known that, had Prussia acquiesced in the seizure of Belgium, France would soon have found another Bel- gium in Prussian territory. Some effort was made by tlie imperial government to weaken the force of this damaging exposure, and to con- vince the neutral powers that the propositions had been suggested by Prussia ; but the falsity of this was so ap])a- rent that it obtained no credence from anybody. The neutral ])Owers, which had, at first, given indications of sympathy with the emperor, were, after the publication of this document, and the cii'culation of jjhotographic copies of the manuscript of Benedetti, much less disposed to depart from the strict neutrality, and thus the contest was narrowed down to the two belligerents. Efforts, however, were not wanting on the part of other powers to effect a reconciliation, and to avert a war, which, it was evident, must be so ten-ible in its results. Great Britain, Russia and Austria exerted all their power with both parties, but in vain ; the French emperor would not, and Prussia, as she was situated, could not, make any such concessions as would have secured peace. The blockading tleet sailed from Cherbourg on the 25th of July, and the emperor, being unable to be present at their departure, sent the emi)ress with a proclamation to be read to the officers and crews. The vice-admiral of the squadron having delivered a somewhat boastful ad- dress, full of laudation of the imperial family, the empress read, it was said, in tones full of emotion, the emperor's proclamation, as follows : " Officers and Seambn : — Although I am not in your midst, my thoughts will follow you upon those seas where your valor is about to be displayed. The French navy has glorious reminiscences. It will prove itself worthy of the past. When, far from the soil of our countr}'-, you are face to face with the enemy, remember that Franci^ is with you ; that her heart throbs with yours ; that she inv( ikes upon your arms the protection of heaven. While you are combating at sea, your brethren in arms will be struggling with the same ardor for the same cause ! msw la ft ■ i ; 1 m 182 TIIK (iiU.AT WAIl a.s youiselvos. Do you njciprocally second oadi otliei's otibrts, the saiiiu success will crown tlieni. (Jo I display with i»ride our national colors. On beholding the tri- coloied tlay; floating over our ships, the enemy will know- that in its Iblds it bears everywhere the honor and the genius of France. " Nai'olkon. " Rilace of St. Cloud, 23r(l July, 1870." The headquarters of the French army and its emperoi- and commander were at Metz, but the advance wjus thrown forward to the Rhine as early as July 19, though in small force. On that day a company of French skirmisliers crossed the frontier and seized a small custom-house on the frontier near Saarbruck. No resistance was otiercd. On the 2()th a French soldier was shot by a ]-'russian fusileer. On the 2',h\\ a Prussian force from Saar-Louis crossed the border, and made a reconnoissancc in the direction of St. Avoid and Metz. There was some skir- mishing, but no serious engagement. On the 2(jth there was another slight engagement, and the French were repulsed. The 27th of July was observed as a day of fasting and prayer throughout the North German Con- federation. The period between the declaration of war and the 1st of August was industriously occupied by the agents of the emperor in circulating hundreds of thou- sands of addresses to the peojjlc of South Germany, of Hanover and of Schleswig-Holstein, urging them to unite with France against their old enemy, Prussia, or, at least, to paralyse her by theii' determined neutrality. Never was so vast an amount of advice so perfectly wasted. Without a dissenting voice, the South German States — Hanover, and foremost of all Schleswig-Holstein — had hastened to declare their adherence to Prussia and (}cr- many in this war for " God, King and Fatherland," and there was no evidence that, among those twelve millions ot people, the ]^impci*or Napoleon III. had a single adherent. • ; ( <:1 :i ]5F;r\VEEN FRANCE AND tJEllMANY. 183 CHAPTER XIV. THE FIRST ONSET. S we litivc already Si 'I, the emperor reaehed Itis head-quarters at Metz, and took command of the army in ])erson on the 28tli of July. KiiK»' Williani left Berlin for the front with his chief of staff, General von Moltke, on the 31st, and, arriving at his temporary headquarters at May- encc on the 2nd of August, issued the next day the following brief address to his troops : "All Germany stands united against a neighboring state, which has surprised us by declaring war without justification. The safety of the fatherland is threatened. Our honors and our hearths are at stake. To-day I as- sume command of the whole army. I advance cheerfully to a contest like that in which, in former times, our fath- ers, under similar circumstances, fought gloriously. The whole fatherland and myself trust with confidence in you. The Lord God will be with our righteous cause." On the 1st of August, the French attacked the Ger- mans near Saarbruck in small force, and after some fight- ing were repulsed. On the 2nd of August, the strength and position of the contending armies were reported as follows : The French Army. — First corps, MacMahon, 45,000 men, at Strasbourg. Second corps, Frossard, 30,000 men, at St. Avoid. Third corps, Bazaine, 30,000 at Metz. Fourth corf)s, I'Admiranlt, 80,000 men, at Thionville. Fifth corps, do Failly, 30,000 men, at Bitsche and Saarguemines. Sixth corps, Canrobert, 30,000 men, at Chalons. Seventh corps, Douay, 30,000 men, at Besan(;on and Belfort. Eighth corps (guards), Bourbaki, 30,000 men, at Metz. Cavalry 34,000. Total, 309,000. With artillery an.l reserve cavalry, about 350,000. P 184 THE GREAT WAR 1! The left wing liad before it, at this time, the Moselle and the French Nied, the centre the Saar, and the right wing the Laiiter in front. The German armies having been assembled at camps on the Rhine, began to move forward. The entire regu- lar Ger'iian force consisted of eighteen corps (Varmh con- taining; 40,000 men each at their normal strength. The First/:. rmy, under Steinmetz, had the first, seventh, and eighth corps ; the Second Army, under Prince Frederick Charles, the second, third, ninth, and tenth corps; the Third Army, under the Prussian Crown Prince, the fifth, sixth, and eleventh corps, and the two Bavarian corps. The Fourth Army, under the Crown Prince of Saxony, con- tiiining the fourth and twelfth corps, and the Saxon and Prussian guard, occupied, in the regular advance, the I'ight of the crown prince ; the Fifth Army, under Gen- eral Werden, had the Wurtemberg and Baden divisions, engaged in the siege of Str«"^'bourg ; the reserves were composed of the Sixth Army, under the Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Schwerin, on the Rhine, and the Seventh Army, under Generals von Canstein at Berlin, and Loe- wentield in Silesia. The defence of the northern coast was committed to these reserves. The advance to the French lines was made by the First Army, against the French left wing; Second Army, Prince Frederick Charles, against the centre ; and the Third Army, Crown Prince of Prussia, against the French right wing. The French forces being scattered over a line of eighty- five to ninety miles in length, MacMahon, after a council nt Metz, received oi'ders to make a Hank inarch toward do Failly, at Bitsehe. He sent the corps of General Douay to Weissenboui'g to cover the movement. General Fros- sard, with tln^ second cor{)s, advanced on Snarbruck, and, after seven hours' fighting, drove out the three battalions of infantry, three squadrons of cavalry, ana three guns, which formed the German fcjrce there. The emperor was present with the printu^ imperial. On his return to Metz, after the battle, the em[)eror sent the following d(isi)atch to the empress: " Loui« has received his b; ptis.n of fire. He was ad- BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 185 Wing luirably cool and little impressed. A division of Fros- sard's command carried the heights overlooking the Saar. The Prussians made a In-icf resistance. Louis and I were in front, where the bullets fell about us. Louis keeps a ball he picked up. The soldiers wept at liis tranquillity. We lost an officer and ten men," On the 3rd of August, the French commenced fortify- ing the Spicheren hills, back of Saarbruck. The next day, August 4th, the Third German Army, under the Crown Prince of Prussia, crossed the Lauter and advan- ced upon the corps of General Douay, j^osted behind the fortifications of Weissenbourg, thus entering upon Frencli territoiy as the French had the day previous invaded Germany. A glance at the map and a reference to the position of the two armies, will show that this movement was made by the advance-guard of the German army of the left, under the Crown Prince of Prussia, against the French right, under Marshal MaoJVIahon. The defences behind which the French general and his troojjs were posted extended from the town of Lauterburg, northwest- erly, to Weissenbourg. After crossing the Rhine at Maxau, the Baden and Wurtcmberg troops marched against Laut- erburg ; the fifth and eleventh Prussian corps marched west of the Rhine against the centre of the works ; and the Bavarian fourth division against W^cisscnbourg. The first shot was fired at 8.30 A. m. The crown prince stood on the Schweigen hill, north of the town. •Weissenbourg was occupied by the 74th French regiment, and on the Gaisberg hill, south of the place, were the 1st Turco regiment, 5th and oOth line, three light batteries of artil- lery, and one of mitrailleurs. These troops also occupied Altstadt, on the right of the French position. Alstadt was quickly taken by the ninth Prussiaudivision ; Weissen- bourg, after sharp resistance, by the Bavarians and some battalions of the 47th and 48th regiments, and the grena- diers marched against the Schafenburg hill, where the mitrailleurs were stationed. The mitrailleurs did not, in this action, do the terrible execution expected (tf them ; the German columns steadily advanced without firing a shot, and the position was taken. There "'as no fight at 18G THE GREAT WAR lis 'lyx] hl':N Lauterburg, wliich was found to be unoccupied by the French, and, after midday, jill the German troo})3 Avere concentrated for the action at Weissenbourg. The defeat clongto an army worthy of the civilization of centuries, by a calm and friendly demeanor, temperate bearing, resjiecting the positions of strangers, wdiether friend or foe. On each one of you rests the responsibility of maintaining the honor and fame of the whole fatherland." Sooner even than their commander had ex})ected, the First German Army was called to a fierce and bloody battle ; one fought at such odds, and under such dis- couraging circumstances, that it is a wonder that the Germans could ever ha^ e won the victory. The losses on both sides were very heavy ; heaviest, of course, on the German side, since they were the attacking party, and had to climb the very steep Spicheren hills under a terrible fire ; but their victray was complete. 'JMie battle is known as the battle of Spicheren heights, or as the battle of Forbach, The oHiinal report of the battle by von Stein- metz states the facts without exaggeration,and with more complete fairness than most re[)orts of its class. It is as follows : " On the foi'enooii of August fi, the Seventh Corps dArmde pushed its vanguard to Herchenbai'h, one and a (piarter Germa]) miles northwest of Saarbruck, with out- posts stretching as i'ar as the river Saai-. The preceding night the enemy had evacuated its position on the drill- ing-ground of Saarbruck. "Toward noon the cavalry division iindor General Hheinhaben jtassed through the tjwn. Two sipiadnmr formed the van. 'J'he moment they readu ' the highest point of the drilling-ground, and Ixcame visible to spec- m '■H i if^m , *t)iWWP^',jif . ^ • ■■*" ■-I It*.-- A. If ' ■ dvt ■' \ 5 188 THE GIIEAT AVAR tators oil the fsoutli, they were fired at from the hills near Spicheren. "The drilling-ground ridge ovcrliangs a deej) valley stretching toward Forl)ach and Spicheren, and bordered on the other side by the steep and partly-wooded height named after the latter village. These hills, rising in almost perjjendicular ascent several hundred feet above the valley, fonn a natural fortress, which needed no addi- tion from art to be all but impregnable. Like so many bastions, the mountains project into the valley, facing it on all sides, and affording the strongest imaginable posi- tion for defence. French officers who were taken prisoners on this spot confess to having smiled at the idea of the Prussians attacking them in this stronghold. There was not a man in the second French corps who was not j)er- suaded in his own mind that to attempt the Spicheren hills must lead to the utter annihilation of the besiegers. "Between 12 and 1 o'clock the fourteenth division arrived at Saarbruck, Immediately proceeding south, it encountered a strong force of the enemy in the valley between Saarbruck and Spicheren, and opened tire forth- with. Upon this General Fiossard, who was in the act of withdrawing a portion of his troops when the Prussians arrived, turned round and reoccnpicd the Spicheren hills with his entire force. A division of the third corps, under General Bazaine, came up in time to support him. "The fourteenth division at first had to deal with far superior numbers. To limit the attack to the enem3'^'s front would have been useless. General von Kamcckc, therefore, while engaging the front, also attempted to turn the left tlank of the enemy l)y Styring ; but the five bat- talions he could spare for this o])eratioii were too weak to make an impression upon the much stronjjfer numbers of •f^ -' the French. Two successive attacks on his left were re- pulsed by General Frossard. Toward 3 o'clock, when dl the troops of the division were under fire, the engager ipnt assumed a very sharp and serious aspect. "Eventually, however, the roar of the cannon attracted several other Prussian detachments. The division under General von Barkcnow was the first to be drawn to the H BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY 189 spot. Two of its batteries came dashing up at full speed to relieve their struggling comrades. They were promptly followed hy the 4()th Infantry, under Colonel Rex, and three squadrons of tlic 9th Hussars. At this moment the vanguard of the fifth division was espied on the Win- terberg Hill. General StUlpnagel, whose van had been stationed at Sultzoach the same morning, had been ordered by General von Alvensleben to march his entire division in the direction from which the sound of cannon proceeded. Two batteries advanced in a forced march on the high road. The infantry were |)artly sent by rail from Nuen- kirchen to Saarbruck. "At about 3.30 o'clock the division of Kamccke had been sufficiently re-enforced to enable •General von Goben, who had arrived :n the meantime and assumed the com- mand, to make a vigorous onslaught on the enemy's front. The chief aim of the attack was the wooded portion of the declivity. The 40th Infantry, supported on its right by troops of the fourteenth division, and on its left by four battalions of the fifth division, made the assault. A reserve was formed of some battalions of the fifth and sixteenth divisions as they came up, " The charge was a success. The wood was occupied, the enemy expelled. Penetrating further, always on the ascent, the troQps jiushed the French before them as far as the southern outskirts of the wood. Here the French made a stand, and, combining the three arms of the ser- vice for a united attack, endeavored to retrieve the day. But our infantry were not to be shaken. At this juncture the artillery of tlie fifth division accomplished a rare and most daring feat. Two batteries literally clambered up the hills of Spicheren by a narrow and precipitous moun- tain path. With their help a fresh attack of the enemy was repulsed. A fiank attack directed against our left from Ajslingen and Spicheren was warded off in time by battalions of the fifth division stationed in reserve. " Tke fighting, which for hours had been conducted with the utmost obstinacy on both sides, now reached its climax. Once more the enemy, superior still in numbers, rallied his entire forces for a grand anc' Irapef uous charge. ml ^ * hII -;5^I .^ ^ ■>- 190 THE CHEAT WAR 1 -i i It was liis tliirava- riaiis, A little later the fifth eorps was ordered to break off the eiigageinent, it heing the intention of our generals to bei^in the battle against the eoncenti'ated forces of the enemy oidy when the change of front had bec.-n effected, and the entire German Army was ready to be brought into action. At 7.45 o'clock, the fourth division (Both- mer) of the second J3avarian corps (Hartmann), induced by the heavy fire of the outposts near Woerth, had left their bivouac at Lembach, and, pi-oceeding by Mattstall and Langen-Salzbach, after a sharp engagement, penetra- ted as far as Neschwiller, where they spread, fnjnting to the south. At 10.30 o'clock, this Bavarian corps, suj)- jjosing the order to break off the engagement, which had been given to the oth Prussians, to extend to thtimselves, withdrew to Langen-Salzbach. The enemy being thus no longer pressed on his left, turned all his strength with the greatest enei'gy against the 5th Prussians at Woerth. lie-enforcements were continually thrown in by rail. Finding the enemy in earnest on this point, and })er('eiv- ing the 11th Prussians to approach vigorously in the direction of Gunstett, the .")th Prussians innnediately pro- ceeded to the attack, so as to defeat the enemy, if }>ossible, before ho had time to concentrate. The twentieth briir- adc was the first to defile through Woerth, and marched toward Elsasshausen and Froschwiller ; it was promptly fl)llosved by the nineteenth l)riga(le. The French stood their ground with the utmost pertina(;ity, and their fire was crushing. Whatever the gallantry of our tenth divi- sion, it did not succeed in overcoming the obstinate resis- tance of the enemy. Eventually, the ninth division liav- ing been drawn into tho fight, tliC whole fifth corps found itself involved in the sanguinary conflict raging along the heights Avest of Woerth. "At 1.15 p. M., order- 'vcre given to the fri'st Bavarian cori)s (von Der-Tann' leave one of its two divisions wlier-e it stood, and, senumg on the other as quick as pos- sible l)y Lobsann aird Lampertsloch, soi/o upon the ene- my's froirt in the gaj) betweerr tho second Bavarian corjis at Langerr-Salzbach and the fifth Prussiair coi'ps at Woerth. mmmmm^mt^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / ^ ^ O :♦. <" C^x ^v '^ f<'^ f/j fA 1.0 I.I 1.25 !ff ilM " !III!M ;• 11140 ||M III™ 1.4 III 1.6 VI e. e-i ^^> a % ^■_ ;■■ '% O A / /A Photographic Sciences Corooration 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 S. ^F ,\ \\ «■»" <> A'" <° O^ % V <> "%'■ A^ &< I ! 19G THE GREAT WAR i'-. 1' a k. n >: '' ' H ,1 1 \ r; 1 i Tlie 11 til Prussians were ordered to advance to Elsass- hausen, skirt the forest of Niederwald, and operate against Froschwiller. The Wiirtemberg division was to proceed to Gunstett and follow the 11th Prussians across ihe Sauer ; the Baden divisior was to remain at Sauerbourg, " At 2 o'clock, the combat had extended along the en- tire line. It was a severe struggle. The oth Prussians fought at Woerth, the 1 1th Prussians near Elsasshausen. In his strong position on and near the heights of Frosch- willer, the enemy offered us a most intense resistance. The first Bavarian corps reached Gorsdorff, but could not lay hold of the enemy fast enough ; the second Bavarian had to exchange the exhausted troops of the division Bothmer, who had spent their ammunition in the fierce fights of the morning, for the division Walther. While the division Bothmer fell back, the brigade Scleich of the division Walther marched upon Langen-Salzbach. The W iirtemberg division approached Gunstett. " At 2 o'clock, fresh orders were given. The Wiirtem- berg division was to turn toward Reichshofen b}"" way of Ebersbach, to threaten the enemy's line of retreat. The 1st Bavarian was to attack at once and dislodge the enemy from his position at Froschwiller and in the neigh- boring vineyards. Between 2 and 3 o'clock, the enemy, ])ringing fresh troops into the field, and advancing witli consummate bravery, assumed the oftensivc against the fifth jindeleventh Prussian corps. But all his assaults were beaten off. Thus the fight was briskly going on at Woerth, neither party making nmeh progress, till at length the brilliant attack (?f the first Bavarian corps at Gorsdorff, and of the 1st Wiirtemberg brigade on the extreme left at Ebersbach, decided the fate of the day. " Toward the close of the battle the French attempted a grand cavalry charge against the fifth and eleventh corps, especially against the artillery of these troops. Our ar- tillery awaited them in a stationary position, Jind repulsed them with severe loss. The infantry did so likewise. This last experiment having fiiiled, the enemy, at 4 o'clock, evacuated Froschwiller, and retreated through the moun- tain-passes in the direction of Bitsche. The cavalry of all our divisions were despatched in pursuit. BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 19: " The cavalry division, wliich, on account of tlio dillicnlt 'Tuimd, which allowed little scope for its man ecu vrcs, had been left at Schonburg, were ordered at 3.30 o'clock to advance to Gunstett. On the morning of the 7th, this cavalry corps began the pursuit in the direction of Ingweiler and Bronstweiler. All the troops who had taken part in the engagement bivouacked on the battle-Held, the cavahy at Gunstett, the Baden division at Sauerbourg. " Our losses are gi'eat, but cannot, as yet, be exactly estimated. The enemy lost 5,000 un wounded prisoners, thirty guns, six mitrailleurs and two eagles. The ene- my's troops arrayed against us were General MacMahon's army, and the second and third divisions of the sixth corps." The French attempted to make a stand at ISiederbronn with their artillery, but the guns were captured by the Bavarian troops, and active pursuit was made on all the roads by the German forces, the French flying in confusion. The military chest of the fourth French division was cap- tured. At Saverne, twenty-five miles S. W. of Woerth, Marshal MacMahon rallied his disheartened troops, and, from thence, on the 7th of August, despatched his official report to the emperor. As the army of the cro . n prince, however, occupied the territory between him and Metz, his communication with the emperor was broken, and was not resumed for several days ; so that, for ten days or more, the right wing of the French army was entirely cut oft' from the remainder. King William telegraphed to the queen, on the night after this battle, as follows : "Good news! A great victory has been won by our Fritz, God be praised for his mercy. We captured 4,000. j)risoncrs, thirty guns, two standards and six onitirtilleurs. MacMahon, during the fight was heavily re-enforced fi-om. the main army. The contest wns very severe, and lasted from 11 o'clock in the morning until 9 o'clock at night, when tho French retreated, leaving the field to us. Our losses were heavy." The two defeats (of FroR.sard and MacMahon), both occuri'ing on tlie same day, were a very severe blow to M !>!r4i > ft' rii 198 THE GREAT WAR Napoleon III., but, with his accustomed stoicism, he tele- graphed to the empress : " Marshal MacMahon has lost a battle. General Fros- sard, on the Saar, has been obliged to retire. His retreat was eflected in good order. All can be re-established." The next day further disasters to the French cause were reported. Haguenau, a considerable town of Alsace, was captured by the Baden cavalry, the French taken prisoners or driven out, and the town occupied by the Germans. The same cavalry overran the greater part of Alsace, taking many prisoners, and beleaguering Pfalz- bourg, Bitsche and Luneville. At the west, Saargemund was occupied, and Forbach taken after a slight action. On the 7th of August, the emperor telegraphed to the empress : " My communication with MacMahon being broken, I had, until yesterday, but little news of him. General Laigle informed me that MacMahon had lost a battle against very considerable forces of the enemy, and that he had withdrawn in good order. The battle began at 1 o'clock, and did not appear very serious until gradually increasing re-enforcements came up on the enemy's side, without, however, compelling the second corps to fall back. Only between 6 and 7 o'clock, as the enemy became con- stantly more compact, did the second corps, and the regi- ments from other corps which served as his supports, fall back upon the hills. The night was quiet. I go to the centre of our position." General Le Boeuf, commanding the French forces, repor- ted the same day to the Minister of the Interior : "After a series of engagements, in which the enemy brought heavy forces into the field. Marshal MacMahon was forced to fall back from his first line. The corps of General Frossard had a fight yesterday, from 2 o'clock in the afternoon, with an entire army of the enemy. Having held his position until 6 o'clock, he ordered a retreat, which was made in good order." Up to the evening of the 7th of August all unfavorable news had been carefully kept from the people of Paris, The battla of Weissenbourg had been represented as a BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 199 he tele- al Fros- retreat hed." h cause f Alsace, taken by the part of g Pfalz- •gemund action, to the roken, I General a battle md that began at ;radually ly's side, fall back, ime con- ihe rogi- orts, fall JO to the !S, repor- 3 enemy icMahon corps of clock in Having t, which ivorable ►f Paris. ;ed au a French victory ; but this deception was suspected and resented by the people ; and the empress found herself compelled to acknowledge, partially, the misfortunes which had befallen the army. Accordingly, the following pro- clamation was made public in the evening, though dated in the morning. " Frenchmen : — The opening of the war has not been favorable to us. We have suffered a check. Let us be firm under this reverse, and let us hasten to repair it. Let there be but one party in the land — that of France ; a single flag — that of the national honor. I come among you, faithful to my mission and duty. You will see me the first in danger to defend the flag of France. I adjure all good citizens to maintain order. To agitate would ba to conspire with our enemies. " Done at th > Palace of the Tuileries, the 7th day of August, 1870, at 11 o'clock A. M. (Signed) " The Empress Regent, " Eugenie." This proving unsatisfactory, as giving no details, the ministers very reluctantly published the despatches of the emperor and General Le Boeuf ; and, as they were by this time thoroughly alarmed, they appended also the following appeal, signed by the ministers then in Paris. " Details of our losses are wanting. Our troops are full of ilan. The situation is not compromi^ d; but the enemy is on our territory, and a serious eftbrt is neces- sary. A battle appears imminent. In the presence of this grave news our duty is plain. We appeal to the patriotism and energj'^ of all. The Chambers have been convoked. We are placing Paris, with all possible haste, in a state of defence. In order to facilitate the execution of military preparations, we declare the capital in a state of siege. There must be no faint-heartedness, no divisions. Our resources are immense. Let us pursue the struggle without flinching, and the country will bo saved. "Paris, the 7th of August, 1870, at 10 p. M. " By order of the empress regent." pi'-'.: i ' I I ;;i ) A m 200 THE GREAT WAll In connection with these demonstrations, other changes were dictated by Napoleon IIT. and made by the govern- ment. Among these were the dismission of General Le B(Teuf from the command of the army, and the appoint- ment of Marshal Bazaine in liis place, and the promotion of General Trochu to be Major-General in the army and commander of Paris. Ollivier was also compelled to resign his premiership, and Palikao was made premier. I P! m ! kl ' ' ^B y\ ; Hft! T'^'l lu^' jP"'!'" ■ - " -W"-'^ 1 |;,#f :'^''| ^B ;'|:f|',?\ 3 ■*l»'-l ■•■■• -'4 |-f*'F' M:' ;■ , ^^ ti * ^11 :■/■* TWrr^^ 4iii ■ii: ■1:11 i Is i.i., P-Ji SI ^ ^ V 1^ V. <5 I "4 I BETWEEN FRANCE AND GEKIIANV. 201 CHAPTER XV. BATTLE OF ORAVEtOTTE. HERE were, indeed, at this time, indications of the speedy approach of a revolution in Paris, hoarse mutterings of the corning storm which was destined to overthrow the dynasty of the Man of December — the despot who for twenty- one years had cruslied pitilessly the liberty which he professed to cherish, and to which he owed his own elevation to power. A few days more of grace were left to him, but most of them were passed in tierce battles and overwhelming defeats. We resume our narrative in chronological order. While the First Army (General von Steinmetz's) and the Third Army (the Crown Prince Frederick William's) had both done some desperate fighting with the French, and the latter, in particular, had signalized its valor both at Weis- senburg and Woerth, the Second, or Army of the Centre, commanded by Prince Frederick Charles, and with which the King of Prussia had his headquarters, had not been in any engagement. Indeed, they did not leave their position around Homburg, in Rhenish-Bavaria, until the Gth of August, and the king did not move forward until the 8th or 9th. On the 6th, before marching to the fron- tier line on the Saar, Prince Frederick Charles issued the following order, bearing evidence, like most of the German l)roclamations, of the desire of the German commanders to conduct the war on civilized and Christian principles : " Soldiers of the Second Army : You enter upon the soil of France. The Emperor Ntipoleon ha.s, without any reason, declared war upon Germany, and his army are our enemies. The French people has not been asked if it wished to cany on a bloody war with its German neigh- !:■> '•Li t ' lb;: ii K ■• ' ii i{; ' i •.*,■ :i .. . 202 THE GIllCAT WAR ])ors. A reason for enmity is not to he found. Meet the feeling of the peaceable inhabitants of France with a like sentiment ; show them that, in our century, two civilized people do not forget their humanity even in warring with each other. Bear always in mind how your fatli(.;rs would have felt if an enemy — which God forbid ! — overran our provinces. Show the French that the German people confronting its enemy is not only great and brave, biit also well controlled and noble-minded." Two days later the king issued from his headquarters at Homburg the following general order to all the armies in the field : " Soldiers : The pursuit of the enemy, forced back after bloody fighting, has already carried a great part of our army over the frontier. Many corps will enter upon the French soil to-day and to-morrovr. I expect that the self-discipline with which you have heretofore distin- guished yourselves will be also especially maintained in the enemy's territory. "We carry on no war against the peace- able inhabitants of the land ; it is, on the contrary, the duty of every honest soldier to protect private property, and not to allow the good reputation of our army to be marred by even one example of lawlessness. I depend upon the excellent feeling which possesses the army, but also upon the vigilance and rigor of all commanders." On the 9th of August the Baden contingent of the German army approached Strasbourg, and summoned it to surrender. General Uhrich, the French commander, refused, and the next day issued the following proclama- tion: " Disturbing rumors and panics have been spread, cither by accident or design, within the past few days in our brave city. Some individuals have dared to express the opinion that the place would surrender without a blow. We protest energetically, in the name of a population courageous and French, against these weak and criminal forebodings. The ramparts are armed with 400 cannon. The garrison consists of 11,000 men, without reckoning BETWEEN FBINCE AND GERMANY, 203 the stationary national guard. If Strasbourg is attacked, Strasbourg wiil defend herself as long as there shall remain a soldier, a biscuit, or a cartridge. The well-affected may reassure themselves ; as to others, they have but to with- draw. "The General of Division, XJhrtch. "The Prefect of the Bas-Khin, Baron Pron. " Strasbourg, August 10." On the 11th of August the three German annies form- ing the advance all stood upon French soil, and King William addressed to the inhabitants of the departments then in possession of the German army the following pro- clamation: " "We, William, King of Prussia, give notice to the in- habitants of the French departments in possession of the German army as follows: — After the Emperor Napoleon had attacked by sea and by land the German nation, which desired, and still desires, to live at peace -with the French people, I assumed the chief command over the German armies in order to repel this attack. In the pro- gress of events I have had occasion to cross the French boundary. I make war with the French soldiers, and not with the citizens of France. These will, therefore, continue to enjoy a perfect security of tlieir persons and their property just so long as they do not deprive me, by their own hostile acts against the German troops, of the right to extend to them my protection. The generals who command the different corps will establish by especial regulations, which shall be brought to the knowledge of the public, the measures which are to be taken against communities or against single persons, who set themselves in opposition to the usages of war. They will in similar manner fix every thing in regard to requisitions which shall be demanded by the necessities of the troops. They will also fix the rate of exchange between German and French currency, in order to make the single transaxitions between the troops and the people easy." ^he defeat of Marshal MacMahon at Woerth, with the subsequent slight but disastrous engagements at Nieder- « m ^ ■:'M .. i|K:, ■f? ■I '51' ■»;-1 Hi in t h 204 riiH oTlKAI' war ^:; '■i broiiu and Reiclisliofen, was found to be even more appallinj^ tlian was at first supposed. His losses, as a,s- certakied some days later, were more than 9,000 killed and wounded, and G,500 prisoners, besides a very eonsi- derable numl^'r of deserters. Making the Lest of this great yet inevitable misfortune, he issued, on the Oth of August, the following order of the day to his remnant of an army : "Soldiers : In the battle of the Gth of Augi, ...fortune betraj^ed your courage, but you yielded your positions only after a heroic resistance which lasted not less than nine hours. You were 35,000 against 140,000, and were overwhelmed by force of numbers. Under these condi- tions defeat is glorious, and history will say that in the battle of Froschwiller the French showed the greatest valor. You have suffered heavy losses, but those of the enemy arc much greater. Although you have not been successful, you see a cause for your misfortune which makes the em])eror satisfied with you, and the entire country recognize that you have worthily sustained the lionor of the flag. Let us show that, though subjected to the severest tests, the first corps, forgetting these, closes up its ranks, and, God aiding us, let us seize great and brilliant revenw." The necessit}^ for strong re-enforcements compelled MacMahon to summon to his aid General de Failly (a portion of whose corps had already been with him at Woerth) and Generals Canrobert and de Caen, both of whom were in Southern Alsace. With all these troops, however, he could only gather from 50,000 to 60,000 men, so far had the real number of the French army corps fal- len below their nominal standard, and so numerous, even in this first stage of the war, were the deserters. The nominal etrength of these four army corps had been 200,000 men. Having obtained these re-enforcements, MacMahon fell back to Nancy and Toul, his objective being Paris by v/ay of Bar-le-Duc and Chalons, as he saw very clearly t])fit, mdess a strong force was inter})0Hed lit;- tweeu Paris and the Prussian armies, the}; could not lie fiET\VEI':N FRANCE AND (jKKMANY. 205 checked ill their victorious march towards the French capital ; and the probability of their reaching that city was much greater than that of the French entering Berlin as conquerors, as the <; iperor had promised them at the beginning of the war. It was necessary, moreover, that he should be in a : osition to ro'^eive the Ir.rge re-enforce- ments yet to be oontout frr^ii Paris, that he might attack the Prussians in flank, ^. hile Bazaine, who was now in chief command under thi. emperor, and was gathering a large army in the neighborhood of Metz, should attack them in. front. These plans, however, were destined to be sud- denly and completely frustrated. The Crown Prince of Prussia, who, after the battle of Woerth, ascertained what was the line upon which MacMahon was retreating, and had drawn his own armv northward to Saarunion, to within reach of the other armies, commenced a relentless pursuit of the French general through Nancy and Toul, leaving to the German reserves the siege and reduction of the small fortified places on the route, and pressed on his rear through Commercy, Bar-le-Duc, and (yhalons, not re- linguishing the pursuit when MacMat^on turned north- ward and attempted to create a diveSrsion in favor of Bazaine. Meanwhile, as we have already intimated, Bazaine, fal- ling back from St. Avoid, which had been for a time his headquarters, concentrates as large a force as possible in the vicinity of Metz, the strongest and best-provided of the French fortresses, but found, to his great annoyance and dismay, when he reached the Moselle, that an infantry force, the advance of Prince Frederick Charles' army, had secured an eligible location for crossing that river at Pont-^-Mousson, less than twenty miles south of Metz. With his large army, now numbering probably 150,000 or more troops, it would not answer for him to be shut up and besieged in Metz by the Prussian armies ; yet l^e was in great peril of being caught there, for General Frossard, who came in with his corps from St. Avoid on the 13th of August, reported himself pressed closely all the way by tlie Gei-mans ; the advance of von Steinmetz's army and the Second German Army (Prince Frederick Chnrles') werck : ihe Mo- Dwledge len half addenly rs, they ,EON." sing the e aware I able to len, the is army ' with a nty-four ead who my. but t all the md been 1 Rezon- i of the > guards, rmy, lay ig south- one by point of or both was pre- ice Fred- ntly and ixjross the Moselle to Thiancourt, and thence to Mars-la-Tour, and that it was blocking the southernmost of these roads; but he was not probably aware that the left and centre had been, since Sunday, crossing the Moselle south of Metz, and were taking position east of the Second Ai-my, but within supporting distance of it ; nor was he aware of the other important fact, destined to turn the fortunes of the terrible battle of the 18th, that the right wing of the First Army, under the immediate command of von Steinmetz himself, was at this very time (the 15th and 16th of August) pontooning the Moselle north of Metz, and between that city and Thionville, and would at a critical moment, be hurled with crushing force on hi» right wing, effectually cutting him off" from the Conflans road. For the present, however, he was simply concerned to regain possession of the Verdun road by Mars-la-Tour, and for this, on Tuesday, August 16th, he fought another desperate battle. The advance-guard of Prince Frederick Charles, which had been hurrying forward by forced marches from the right bank of the Moselle, reached the southernmost Verdun road, near Mars-la-Tour early on the morning of the 16th, and attacked the left wing of the French army. General von Alvensleben, with the third corps, opened the conflict, and a bloody battle, with divisions from all the corps under Bazaine's command, was gradually developed as the troops on each side came up. The fifth German division (General Stiilpnagel) fought from 9 A. M., until 3 P. M., without supports. Then the tenth corps, the seventeenth division of the ninth corps, and the Hessian twenty-fifth division one after the other, came up, and after six hours more, the defeat of the French was complete. The positions they had occu- pied were in the hands of the Germans. They lost 2,000 prisoners, among whom were two generals, and seven f;uns. The victory was claimed by both sides ; by Bazaine, because ho had nearly held his position (he was' driven back nearly to Gravelotte); by the Prussians, with more reason, because they had held possession of the road, and had inflicted on the French much heavier losses than they had sustained. It was clear, however, that the bat- JSiV n i^H il'l m m i 'fill; ff, '.VI' i. ,■ !■ ' '• ( : 212 THE GREAT WAR !|-, .■^,"■1- ■ m If;'' .:'/ sr tie was indecisive, and that another must be fouglit be- fore it could be determined which side should finally win. t The following additional details of this battle were pub- lished in Paris : — " Prince Frederick Charles attacked our right, and was firmly met. The corps of General Ai'gand, at Rezonville, hastened into the action, which ceased only with night. The Prussians repeatedly attacked us, and were as often repulsed. Towards night a ft ^sh corps sought to turn our position, but was beaten otf. Our losses are serious. General Battaille is wounded. By 8 o'clock in the even- ing the enemy were repulsed along the entire line. He had 120,000 men engaged." Vionville is nine miles west of Metz ; Dancourt three miles north of Vionville. The French General Le Grand was killed; he was commander of a cavalry division, fourth corps. The emperor, after leaving Metz on the 14th, proceeded no further than Gravelotte, eight miles. Leaving that place on Monday, he passed, in advance of his escort, through Jarny, fifteen miles from Metz, on his way to Verdun. Hardly was he out of sight, when the town was in the hands of the German dragoons. The flank-march by the north road, or by making a wide dStour further north, still remained possible. Al- though such a retreat entailed on the French commander great dangers, it appeared possible that he would under- take it, as the only mode of escape from a highly unfavor- able position, since otherwise the army was cut off from Paris and all its means of assistance. On the Prussian side, the 17th was turned to account in bringing forward, for a final struggle, the necessary corps, part of whom were already over the Moselle, while part had, in the night, thrown various bridges over it above Metz. At the same time the movements of the French forces were care- fully watched by the German cavalry. King William remained on the spot until, from the advanced hour of the day, no further movement of the enemy was to be ex- pected. On the 17th, Napoleon III., not deeming himself or the little prince safe at Verdun, proceeded to Rheims. ■ I m BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 213 On Thursday, the 18th, the first struggle of this week of battles occurred. The most complete and intelligible account of this fearful battle of Gravelotte, evidently com- piled from official sources, is that of the Arnxy and Navy Journal of September 24, 1870, which we append : " At daybreak the First German Army, with the first seventh, and eighth corps, stood off the hills south of Rezonville. The Second Army, with the third, ninth, tenth, twelfth, and guard, corps were on the left flank south of Mars-la-Tour and Vionville. The southern branch of the Verdun road, west of Rezonville, was in the hands of the Germans. The northern branch as far as Cautre was held by the French, whose line extended from Amanvillers, through Verneville and Gravelotte, to the Forest of Vaux. Towards 10 o'clock in the morning, after having already spent six hours in visiting the corps in position, the king, from the heights of Flavigny, ordered the ninth corps, in position there, to move toward the woods behind St. Marcel ; while the seventh and eighth corps marched against the Forest of Vaux, south of Grave- lotte. The latter had orders to push the enemy very slowly, in order to give time to the guards and twelfth corps to make a long dUour on the left, by way of Joua- ville, Batilly, and Ste. Marie. The third and tenth corps were in reserve, and but few of their troops were in the fight, these being mostly artillery. The principal move- ment was that on the left. Preceded by Prussian and Saxon cavalry, the Second Army advanced, still maintain- ing communication on the right with the First Army. The twelfth corps took the direction by Mars-la-Tour and Jarny, while the guards advanced between Mars-la-Tour and Vionville on Doncourt, and the ninth corps crossed the highway to the west of Rezonville, toward Cautre farm, north of St, Marcel. Their purpose was to gain the central and northern roads. They quickly found that the French were not retreating, and moved to the right, meet- ing at Ste. Marie and Roncourt resistance, which was over- come, and, after another struggle among the steep hilLs at St. Privat-la-Montagne, that place was gained. The right flank of this Second Army, holding the centre of the N •S-L .41 1 m in; i ■i -I 1 1 y I n '«,) ?. U, i ■ f,T ■ i 214 THE GREAT WAR whole German line, had been earlier engaged with some advanced forces of the French, and toward noon the ninth corps was engaged at Verneville. The guards and twelftli corps reached St. Privat about 4 P. M., and immediately moved south and east against Amanvillers. The fighting here was exceedingly severe. The Germans lay in a long curve, sweeping from St. Privat, where the Saxons fought on the extreme left, through Ste. Marie and St. Ail (guards), Verneville (ninth corps), Gravelotte (eighth corps), and Forest of Vaux (seventh corps), across the Moselle, on the right bank of which a brigade of the lirst corps and artillery from the reserves were engaged. The French army fought with its back to Germany ; the Germans had Paris in their rear. Bazaine's entire army was in line, including those troops which had been prepared for the Baltic expedition. On the left wing the flanking column, after meeting with resistance at every point, pushed its enemy back through Ste. Marie, Roncourt, St. Privat, St. Ail, Habonville, the wood of La Cusse, and Verneville, until, toward evening, two small outworks of Metz lying northeast of Gravelotte, and named Leipsic and Moscou, were reached. All three roads out of Metz were then firmly in the grasp of the Germans. "The right wing had great difficulties to overcome. Firly in the day its work was to press tlie French lightly in the Forest of Vaux. Back of this wood was the strongest part of the French position. It was covered by a deep road with sides fifty feet high, back of which was a plateau 325 to 600 feet in height. Behind this is the RozieriuUes hill, along the slopes of which the highway to Metz runs. This whole steep was covered with rifle-pits in three tiers. Behind these were the infantry ; behind the infantry the artillery. The highway as it runs along this hill is only 5,000 yards in a straight line from Fort St. Quentin, one of the strong outworks of Metz. But the crest of the hill intervenes between them, and by the road the distance is nearly twice as great. The French soldiers, driven from this last position and crossing the ridge, would find themselves directly under the guns of their forts. When news of the succeBses on the left, and the evident ^^ . I.il BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 215 th some le niutli twelfth ediately fighting n a long s fought 'guards), "ps), and B, on tho rps and French Germans s in line, for the ■ column, ished its rivat, St. erneville, ^tz lying , 3I0SCOU, ere then )vercome. ;h lightly was the •vered by hich was his is the ^hway to rifle-pits ; behind ms along irom Fort But the the road 1 soldiers, ye, would aeir forts. e evident sibandonmcnt of the retreat by the French, was brought to the king, he moved forward to a hill near Rezonville, and ordered more positive action on the right wing. The French, however, maintained their post with great deter- mination. Driven from it at one time, they retook it by a countercharge. The king, to whom news of the success had been sent, arrived on the hill back of Gravelotte only to see his cavalry on the wrong side of the defile, on the opposite side of which the enemy stood. The fire of the artillery ceased ; the troops had lost so heavily that the position seemed to be beyond their grasp. The king, however ordered another attempt, and after an hour, dur- ing which night came on, the troo])s Avere re-formed. They were no sooner in motion, than the whole face of the hill revealed such rows of artillery and infantry deliver- ing an extremely rapid and deadly fire, that General von Moltke sent an officer to recall the troops. Before he was out of sight the men appeared themselves, returning down the hillside, fully repulsed. Just then the second corps, which had been on the march since 2 o'clock in the morn- ing, came up, and as soon as enough regiments showed themselves, they were sent to take the hill from which their comrades had so often returned in failure. Follow- ing the withdrawing storming party came the French in counter attack. Their success was so great, that the German troops showed symptoms of serious disorder. Some parts of the line began a disorderly retreat, and the moment was critical. General von Moltke, who had anxiously awaited the coming of the second corps, rushed up, and himself gave them the word to advance. They sprang forward after him, and when the re-enforcement was well up the hill, the repulsed troops were again sent forward, going through their terrible experience for the last time, as it proved, with great steadiness and spirit. This attack succeeded, and at 8.30 o'clock the last position of the French was in the hands of their enemy. During the night they withdrew completely into Metz. The losses in this battle, as in the encounters immediately pre- ceding it, were immense. Even now they are not officially known, though an account from Paris says that Bazaine u I ) • 111 1 , , 'i r iy 21(5 THE GREAT WAR officially reported liis wounded at Gravelotte at 18,000 ; l)ut tliis probably includes the losses in all the battles west of Metz. Estimating the dead at 5,000, and adding the captured wounded, 3.000 (up to August 22d), the whole French loss would be 23,000. From C,000 to 10,000 prisoners were taken in the battles east and west of Metz. On the German- side, with the exception of prisoners, the losses must have been still greater ; and for 18,000 killed and wounded that Bazaine lost, his enemy must have lost at least 25,000. An official report of the losses on the ICth of August has been published. It shows that there were 626 officers and 15,925 men placed hors de combat. Eighteen hundred and thirty-two horses were lost, not including those of several South German cavalry regiments." In such a battle, extending over thirty or forty square miles, no eye-witness can see the whole} or can compre- hend fully all the movements of the various corps and divisions. What one man could see, however, of this bat- tle, which up to its date must be considered the severest of modern times, a correspondent of the New York Tri- bune has described with wonderful accuracy and life- likeness. Portions of his description are not necessary to our work, but those which portray the actual incidents of the battle we gladly transfer to our pages. "The troops," says this correspondent, "had been passing through Pont-a-Mousson almost continually for several days previously ; but now the tramp through every street and by-way made between midnight and dawn a perpetual roar. Hastily dressing, I ran out into the darkness and managed to get a seat on a wagon that was going in the direction of the front, now understood to be a mile or two beyond the village of Gorze, some twelve miles from Pont- a-Mousson, On our way we met a considerable batch of French prisoners, who were looked upon with curiosity by the continuous line of German soldiers with whom we advanced. The way was so blocked with wagons that I got out of my wagon and began to walk and run swiftly ahead. At Mouvient, on the Moselle, about half-way to Metz, I found vast bodies of cavalry — uhlans and hus- IJETWKEN FUINCI-: AND GRllMANY. 217 sar« — crossing the river by a pontoon-bridge, and hurrying at the top of their speed towards Gorze. Quickening my own steps, I first heard the thunder of the cannonade, seemingly coming from the heart of a range of hills on the riirht. Passing: through the villajre and ascending the high plain beyond, I found myself suddenly in a battle- field, strewn thickly, so far as my eye could reach, with dead bodies. In one or two parts of the field companies were still burying the dead, chiefly Prussians. The French, being necessarily buried last, were still lying in vast numbers on tlie ground. A few of those that I saw were not yet dead. " As I hurried on, a splendid regiment of cavalry came up from behind mo, and when they reached the brow of the hill they broke out with a wild hurrah, and dashed forward. A few more steps and I gained the summit, and saw the scene which had evoked their cry, and seemed to thrill even their horses. "From the hill to which I had been directed by good authority to come, the entire sweep of the Prussian and French centres could be seen, and a considerable part of their wings. The spot where I stood was fearful. It was amid ghastly corpses, and the air was burdened with the stench of dead horses, of which there were great numbers. I was standing on the battle-field of the IGth — the Prus- sian side. On the left stretched, like a silver thread, the road to Verdun — to Paris also — for the possession of which this series of battles had begun. It was between the lines of poplars which stood against the horizon on my left ; and on, as ftir as the eye could reach, toward Metz, with military regularity, strung on this road like beads, were the pretty villages, each with its church-tower, all of which are really only a hundred yards apart, although they have separate names — Mars-la-Tour, Flavigny, a little south of the road, Vionville, Eezonville, and Grave- lotte, Avhich is divided into Great and Little Gravelotte. On my right were the thickly-wooded hills behind which lies the most important village of the neighborhood, which I had Just left — (jlorze. So environed was the foreground of the battle, which should, one would say, be called the Ml' fi r.\ '-it s 218 THE GREAT WAR !■' 1 . i battle of Gravelotto, for it was mainly over and around that devoted little town tluit it rancd. The area I have indicated is perhaps four miles scjuaro. "I arrived just ius the battle waxed warm. It vvns about noon of the 18th. The headquarters of the Khig ol' Piiis- sia were then at the spot which I have described. Tlie great representative men of Prussia, soldiers and states- men, were standing on the ground watching the conflict just begun. Among them I recognized the king, Bismarck, General von Moltke, Prince Frederick Charles, Piince Charles, Prince Adalbert, and Adjutant Kranski. Lieu- tenant-General Sheridan, of the United States Army, was also present. At the moment the French were making a most desperate effort to hold on to the last bit of the Verdun road — that between Rezonville and Gravelotte, or that part of Gravelotte which in some maps is called St. Marcel. The struggle was desperate but unavailing, for every one man in the French army had two to cope with, and their line was already beginning to waver. Soon it was plain that this wing — the French right — was with- drawing to a new position. This was swiftly taken up under cover of a continuous fire of their artillery from the heights beyond the village. The movement was made in good order, and the position, which was reached at 1.30 o'clock, would, I believe, have been pronounced impreg- nable by nine out of ten military men. When once this movement had been effected, the French retreating from the pressure of the Prussian artillery-fire, and the Prussians as rapidly advancing, the battle-field was no longer about Rezonville, but had been transferred and pushed forward to Gravelotte, the junction of tlie two branching roads to Verdun. The fields in front of that village were com- pletely covered by the Prussian reserves, and interminable lines of soldiers were steadily marching onward, disappear- ing into the village, and emerging on the other side of it with flaming volleys. "The second battle-field was less extensive than the first, and brought the o])posing forces into fearfully close fpiarters. The peculiarity of it is that it consists of two heights intersected by a deep ravine. This woody rfivine round have .•ll)OUt Ills T e BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMAnY. 219 is over one hundred feet deep, and, at the top, three hun- dred yards wide. The side of the chasm next to Grave- lotte, where the Prussians stood, is much lower than the other side, which gradually ascends to a great height. From their commanding eminence the French held their enemies fairly beneath them, and poured down upon them a scorching fire. The Fi-ench guns were in position far up by the Metz road, hidden and covered among the trees. There w 24 THE (ilJKAT WAR with llio whito smoko of the hntfle. More and more picturesque grew the whole field. As evening fell, the movements of the troops could be followed now by the lines of fire that ran flickering along the front of a regiment as it went into action. Tongues of fire pierced through and illuminated the smoke out of the cannons' mouths, and the fuses of the shells left long trains of fire like fall- ing stars. No general likes fighting by night in ordinary circumstances, for chance takes then the place of skill ; but the tianking movement on the French right had been re- solved on by daylight, and it was the necessity of moving troops to a great distance over difficult ground which de- layed its execution, and brought about what seemed a renewal of the battle after the day was done. " To leave the French in their positions during the night would have been to imperil the plan on which the Prus- sian commander had resolved. So, from 8, or 8.30 to 1) o'clock, the decisive blow was struck. When the battle of Gravelotte had actually ended, we knew that the Prus- sians held the strong heights beyond the Forest of Vaux, which commanded the surrounding country to the limits of artillery-range from Metz ; we knew that two great Prussian armies lay across the only road by which Bazaine could march to Paris for its relief, or for his own escape ; we knew tliat a victory greater than that of Sunday, and more decisive than the triumph of Tuesday, had been won. We believed that the French army, which had fought as valiantly and as vainly as before, was now hopelessly shut i;p in its fortress. "As I went back to the village of Gorze to pass the night, I turned at the last point to look upon the battle- field. It was a long, eartli-bound cloud, with two vast fires of burning buildings at either end. The day hatl been beautiful so far as nature was concerned, .and the stars now looked down in splendor upon a work of agony and death such as no one could ever wish to see again." On the li)th the French army of Marslud Bazaine, which had, during the night, rested on its arms near the Avestorn outworks of Metz, withdnnv sullenly into its fortifica- tions, having lont in the three days' fighting, in killed, d more fell, the by the giment bhroufjli mouths, ike fall- trdinaiy ill ; but been re- movinir nch de- 3emed a P.ETWEEN FKANCE AND CJEllMANY, 225 wouuded, and prisoners, not far from 60,000 men. Their own reports acknowledge 12,000 dead and G,00()unwounded prisoners ; Avhilc the Germans have sent into Germany full twice that number, besides the many thousands of the wounded. The French name the battles of the 14th, IGth, and 18th of August respectively, Courcelles, Vionvillc, and Gravclotte. A general order of Marshal Bazainc, bearing date Gravelotte, August l(3th, was found on the battle-field, which gives directions to tlie officers of the several army-corps for the marching of their troops to Verdun by the two roads via Conflans and Mars-la-Tour. On the 19th the two German armies completely enve- loped Metz, and its siege was formally commenced. le night le Prus- .30 to 9 e battle le Prus- n Vaux, 10 limits vo great Bazaine escape ; lay, and en won. lught as sly shut pass the ! battle- wo vast lay had ind the f agony '^iim. !, which ivestorn )rtific!i- killed, 226 THE GREAT WAR CHAPTER XVI. BATTLE OF SEDAN — SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON IIL ROM Chalons, to which city he had betaken himself early in this week of battles, the em- peror, on the 17th of August, sent to Paris the following decree : " The General Trochu is named governor of Paris and commandant-in-chief of all the forces charged to provide for the defence of the capital. " Done at Chalons. Napoleon." On the 19th, by imperial order, a committee of defence was formed in Paris, consisting of General Trochu, presi- dent; Marshal Vaillant, Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, Baron Jdrome David, General De La Tour, General Guiod, General d'Autemarre d'Ervilld, and General Soumain. It possessed the fullest powers, and had a special executive committee that met daily in the War Office, receiving reports on the state of the defensive works, armament, munitions, and provisions in store, and all operations. These reports went subsequently to the Minister of War, and thence to the council. All the acts of the Corps L^gislatif were to take effect without imperial decrees con- firming them or directing their execution. On the 20th General Trochu published an address to the people, explaining how he desired to aid them. In this address he said : " The idea of maintaining order by force of the bayonet and the sword in Paris, which is so agitated and given up to grief, fills me with horror and disgust. The mainten- ance of order by the ascendency of patriotism, freely ex- pressed by the knowledge of the evident danger of the country, fills me with hope and serenity. But this problem BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 227 NAPOLEON III. had betaken ttles, the em- it to Paris the d governor of all the forces of the capital. S'apoleon." itee of defence Frochu, presi- de Genouilly, reneral Guiod, Soiimain. It cial executive Rce, receiving :s, armament, 11 operations, nister of War, of the Corps l1 decrees con- an address to id them. In f the bayonet and given up The mainten- im, freely ex- ianger of the t this problem is arduous, and I cannot solve it alone, but I can with the aid of those liaving such sentiments. That is what I term moral aid. The moment may arrive when malefactors, seeing us defending the city, will seek to pillage. Those the honest must seize. The error of all governments I have ever known is to consider force the ultimate power. The only decisive power in the moment of danger is moral force." The German reserves, to the number of 200,000, were now called out to fill up the gaps in the regiments and occupy the territory which had been run over, so as to enable the soldiers of the line to go to the front. The bombardment of Strasbourg commenced on the 19th, and continued for several days. Vitry, a fortified town of some importance on the Marne, on the railroad from Chalons to Nancy, surrendered, and with it a large amount of arms, cannon, and ammunition. The French mined and destroyed at several places the railroad between Sedan and Thionville. Since the 8th of August Marshal MacMahon had been engaged in collecting all the troops in Alsace and Lorraine which could be spared, and had received large re-enforce- ments from Paris and elsewhere, till his army numbered somewhat more than 150,000 men". With this army he pushed on as rapidly as possible on the route to Paris as far as Chalons, the Crown Prince of Prussia pursuing him, and often pressing him closely. Up to the 24th of August MacMahon remained at Chalons. The German cavalry had pushed on its advance, and some battalions of uhlans (lancers) had appeared around Epernay. The Third German Army, after the battle of Gravelotte, had been joined by the guards, fourth and twelfth corps, which were organized as a Fourth Army under the Crown Prince of Saxony, and preparations were made for the immediate investment of Chalons. On the 25th the German forces learned that, the night before, MacMahon had evacuated Chalons, and, instead of marching upon Epernay, had gone northwestward to Rhcims, where the emperor had preceded him on the 21st. The emperor meantime had gone on to Rethel. The object M,ri!! ■ fi-| *sa 11 I'm n 228 THE GREAT WAR 'V' III iLl «'! 'V I 1 J. w •=■'■ itiriiu i/^ i, of this movement was evidently to draw the German army northward, and aid Bazaine in raising the siege or environ- ment of Metz. There were several strategical difficulties in the way of this movement, which should have made a skilful commander hesitate long before attempting it. It required a very considerable detour, and it is not easy to take a large force rapidly o\'er a long road, — especially when, as was the case here, it is much of it a forest, and traversed with difficulty, — when it is constantly pressed by a foe fully equal and possibly superior in numbers, and flushed with victory. Then, again, the route lay for a considerable portion of the way close to the Belgian frontier, the territory of a neutral ; and their enemy, ap- proaching them from the south, could easily force them over the line, where they would be disarmed and held as prisoners. The German forces around Metz, the First and Second Armies, were more than sufficient to hold Bazaine in check, and were being largely re-enforced from the re- serves, so that they could easily spare from 50,000 to 100,000 men to take the French in front, while the Third and Fourth Armies were pressing upon their flank. The opportunity was too tempting a one for the Germans not to avail themselves of it, and, conquering the French armies in detail, soon make themselves masters of France. MacMahon and his army were making a rapid progress northward towards Bethel and M dzi^res, having passed the first-named point with part of his force on the 27th, while the remainder was marching in a line with it east- ward towards the Meuse. The country is difficult ; the Argonnes forest, better known as the forest of Ardennes, occupying at least one half the territory, and the country being hilly and broken. The movement of the German armies to cut MacMahon off from a junction with Bazaine commenced on the 26th of August, At their commencement eight and a half army-corps lay in a long line, north and south. This front had to be changed for one at right angles to it — a task the difficulty of which was greatly increased by the fact that the line of march lay partly amid the forests of the Argonnes. The operations were so directed as not li; m army inviroD- [iculties made Dting it. lot easy pecially 33t, and pressed umbers, ! lay for Belgian my, ap- ce them held as irst and Bazaine t the re- ),000 to le Third k. The lans not French ' France, progress g passed he 27th, I it east- idt; the rdennes, country icMahon the 26th i a half h. This to it — a d by the brests of i as not BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 229 onl}'' to prevent MacMahon from reaching Metz, but also to cut him off from returning to Paris, thus compelling him to fight with the alternative of surrender, or of retreat to Belgium in case of defeat. Within the next three days, notwithstanding these difficulties, the front of this great army had not only been changed, but they had pushed forward until their advance- guard, part of the twelfth (Saxon) corps, had reached Nouart, and the whole army were occupying a line nearly parallel with the Meuse, and extending from near Stenay westward beyond Vouziers. A skirmish took place at Nouart, seven miles southwest of Stenay, on the 29th of August, between the Saxon advance-guard and the head of the French column (fifth corps), which was attempting to reach the Meuse. The French troops were stopped and cut off from the road by which they were marching. Voncq was also stormed the same day by two dismounted squadrons of German hussars, and a large number of prisoners taken. Pressed thus closely by his enemy, MacMahon had only the alternative of giving battle in this forest, and retreat- ing into Belgium in case of defeat, or of crossing the Meuse if he could, and resting on Sedan. By this movement, though brought still nearer to the Belgian frontier, he would have a strong fortress to protect his right wing, and the advantage of a more open country to fight in. He chose the latter alternative, but found himself so hard pressed that he was obliged to accept the battle forced on him on the 30th, before he could cross the Meuse. Mac- Mahon's army lay between the Ardennes mountains and the river Aisne, the left, formerly the right wing (since they had fflced the other way in this movement), resting below Toui-teron, while the right wing was attempting to cross the Meuse at Mouzon. The lines on which the various corps and divisions of the German armies moved, and their action through the day, are given as follows in their reports, " According to the orders given the Third Army, the first Bavarian corps, which, on the 27th, had been advan- ced past Vouziers, on the road to Stenay, as far as Bar and o 1:1 M Ft h' *m rsi) THE GREAT AVAU i\ ^ 7*';' ■ ' * (■ 1' Hi' . t, i ■ 1 1 1 t ^■■, t Ih . 1 ■ iij Buzancy, was to go via Sommauthe toward Beaumont. The second Bavarian corps followed behind the first. The fifth Prussian corps moved from Breguenay and Autlio toward Pierremont and Oches, and formed, therefore, the left wing of the Third Army. The Wiirtemberg division directed itself from Boult-aux-Bois, via Chritillon, against La Chene. The second Prussian corps moved on the left of the Wlirtembergers, via Vouziers and Quatre Champs ; and a side column of this corps occupied Voncq on the Aisne. The sixth corps was to extend itself from Vouziers southwesterly, or toward Chalons. The fifth cavalry di- vision marched toward Tourteron, the fourth toward Ch5,tillon, the sixth toward Semuy, with advance troops toward Bouvcllemont, cutting the road to Mdzieres. The second division of cavalry moved toward Buzancy. Head- quarters of the crown prince were moved at 8.30 o'clock from Cernuc, via Grand Prd (where the king's headquarters were), toward Breguenay, before which place three regi- ments and some artillery lay in two rows about half a mile long. Precisely at noon came the first shot from the hills before Oches, where some French artillery had posted itself, and was directed against some German artillery back of Buzancy, nearly 5,000 paces distant. This was, however, no attempt to make a stand, and the position was deserted so soon as German cavalry approached. The artillery retreated, following the chain of hills on which it lay, back to Stonne, its highest point. Although the ground here was very favorable, the retreat was soon continued toward Beaumont, where the French centre had been driven in after a sharp fight. The battle here was opened about midday by the fourth corps, which, making a sudden attack upon Beaumont, swept so sud- denly upon the French, that a camp, from which not an article had been removed, fell into their hands. This coi-ps was supported on the left by the first Bavarian corps, placed in the Petit-Dieulet wood, where being at- tacked on its left flank, a return attack was made, and the enemy thrown back on La Bcsaee. On the riglit of the fourth w^as the tweftli corj)s, o])era ting against Letanne. Beaumont liaving been Ijrilliinitly seized, tlie fourth and BETWEEN FRAXCL: -4ND CJERMANT. 231 sj luiuont. tt The Autlie ore, the division , against the left ^*hamp.s ; q on the V^ouziers airy di- toward ;e troops es. The Head- o'clock quarters L'ee regi- it half a from the id posted artillery 'his was, position 3d. The )n which DUgli the ras soon li centre ttle here ;, which, so sud- h not an 3. This Bavarian Deing at- ade, and right of Lctaniic. irth and f twefth corps of the Fourth Army moved against the Givo- deau wood and Villemontry, fighting at every stc}), and steadily extending its left wing, in order to occupy tlie hills which enclose Mouzon. From to 8 o'clock a tre- mendous artillery and mitrailleur battle was kept uj) here, to which night alone put an end. The fourth corps tlien occupied the place. As tlic bridge here was the line of retreat for a great part of French army, its crowded col- umns sutlcred terribly in crossing. Large (pinntitios of bajjo-arre and material were also abandoned. Meanwhile, tlie western Aving of the French army, formerly the right, now the left, wing, crossed the river at Bazeilles. Part of the first Bavarian corps, having advanced in a north- easterly direction toward Voncq. driving back on its wny a force that liad been withdrawn without a fight from a strong position at Stonne, attacked them late in the day, and, in its turn, won guns and prisoners, and inflicted severe loss on the retreating columns. The German army bivouacked on the line Raucourt-Villemontry. The advan- tages gained during this day were : the winning of so much ground that the passes of the Ardennes remained entirely in German hands, and an approach to the frontier so close that the gi'ound between it and the Meuse could be occupied as a base of operations; in addition, the num- ber of guns and prisoners taken was enormous, amounting to more than thirty guns and 5,000 prisoners. The French appeared to have withdrawn toward Sedan, the main body having crossed the Mouse at Mouzon, under cover of heavy artillery lire from the high right bank of the river. Mouzon is six miles north of Beaumont and ten miles southeast of Sedan. Bazeilles is about four miles southeast of Sedan." The next day, August 31st, the king telegraphed to the (pieen : "We had yesterday a victoiious action hy the fourth, twelfth (Saxon) and first Bavarian corps. MacMahon beaten and ])usl»ed back from Beaumont over tlie Meuse to Mouzon. Twelve guns, some thousands of pi'isoners and a great deal of material in our hands. Losses modei-ato. 1 return innnediately to the battle-field in order to follow vifi ;f| 1 i 1 M-; im' 232 THE GREAT WAR i i .'. i i': :i i; i' fc& iiW .-• L« II lip the fruits of the victory. May God graciously help us further, as tluis flir. " WlLLlAM." This despatch shows that the Fourth Army, under the Crown Prince of Saxony, which was moving between the crown prince and MacMahon, had been re-enforced from the Third Army. This battle was of great importance to the German armies, as, although the greater part of MacMahon's army was not engaged in the fight, only de Failly's corps suf- fered largely, yet the whole French army was held back and prevented from concentrating so speedily as its com- mander had intended, on the east side of the Meuse, and more time vas given to the Germans to close around it, and, by hemming it in at Sedan, compel its surrender. The 31st of August was mainly occupied by the Ger- mans in bringing their forces across the Meuse, and by MacMahon in concentrating his forces around Sedan, most of them having, during the night of the SOth and the morniii;; of the 31st, crossed at Bazeilles and Remillv. Tl-ieie ^^ IS, however some hard fighting by the twelfth (Sax'>!i) corps from 5 A. M. to about 10 A. M., in the vicin- ity of Douzy. There was also a long artillery combat at Rerailly between the first Bavarian corps and the French, which resulted in the latter being driven back, and the former occupying the position ready for crossing. As the German troops had been making forced marches and fighting for three days, and it was evident that Mac- Mahon was in a trap from which he could not escape, it liad been the purpose of the King of Prussia to give his troops a day of rest on the 1st of September, before deal- ing the finishing stroke to the French army ; tut the enthusiasm and ardor of the men were so great, and their desire to complete tHe work, so earnest, that late in the night of August 31st, the decision was made to move for- ward the ensumg day. At midnight the necessary orders were issued by the Crown Prince of Saxony, and the battle was to begin at 5 o'clock in the morning. His army occupied the right fiank, the twelfth corps as advance-guard, behind them the fourth, then the guards and, finally, the fourth cavalry sly help LIAM." nder the vcen the ed from German n's army orps sut- 3ld back its com- use, and round it, nder. the Ger- , and by an, most and the Remillv. twelfth he vicin- Dmbat at > French, and the marches lat Mac- iscape, it give his ore deal- tut the i.nd their e in the lOve for- . by the begin at he right id them cavalry I BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 233 division. Those troops which remained west of the river were to cross at Douzy. On the left, and lying on the left bank of the Meuse, were the first and second Bavarian corps ; their bridge was thrown over opposite Bazeilles. On the left flank, the eleventh Prussian corps laid down its bridge, 1,000 paces below Donchery, and close by, the fifth corps crossed ; on the extreme left flank, the Wur- temberg troops crossed, at the village Dom-le-Mesnil. The sixth corps was in reserve between Attigny and La Ohene. Opposed to these bodies were the French corps of Mac- Mahon, de Failly, Canrobert, the remains of General Douay's forces, and the newly-formed twelfth corps. Sedan was the centre of their position, and their lines extended from Givonne on the left, along the spurs of the Ardennes, which lie behind their fortress, to the neighborhood of M^zieres, upon which their right flank rested. Headquarters of the crown prince were established on a hill near Chateau Donchery, from which not only the positions of all the German troops, but all the developments of the battle, could be plainly seen. A thick fog overhung the country as the Fourth Army put itself in motion, a little after 5 o'clock, and at 6.30 steady artillery-fire was heard from behind Sedan, where the right wing had attacked the enemy on his left flank. His position here was very strong, lying in a wooded and hilly country by the villages Floing, Illy, La Chapelle, and Villers, and traversed by the valley in which lies the village of La Givonne. In spite of stout efforts on the part of the Germans, the conflict at length came to a standstill for an hour. During this time the eleventh corps pressed forward over the small hills which lie on the plain between Donchery and Sedan, and the fifth corps undertook the tactical march of the day, passing along the high hills north-west of the fortress to the rear of the enemy. Its object was to unite with the extreme right of the Fourth Army, and thus envelope the French. The Wiirtemberg troops, and, later, the fourth cavalry division also, were to hold the plain against any sortie of the enemy — an event that could hardly have proven fortunate for him, as the river-crossings all lay in the hands of the Germans. c 1 i ! '% 234 TflE GllKAT WAR !' ' • 'L ,■■ ^i i ', 1 Mi .,. ' ' !■ r j (, ( •4 The Wiirtembcrg troops were also charged witli re|)vilsiiig any riioveinent made from Mdzitires. It was directed to cross at Nouvion, on tlie right bank, and take position near Viviers-au-Court on the road from Sedan to Mdzieres. Breaking camp at 6 o'clock in the morning, the river was crossed on a pontoon bridge which had been thrown across at daybreak, and at 9 o'clock Viviers-au-Court was reached. Here they were ordered to advance eastward, toward Briguc-au-Bois in battle order. In front of the latter place the iifth and eleventh Prussian corps were met, who were in march toward St. Menges. At 10.30 o'clock the order was to take up position near Donchery, While in this place, at 3 p.m., word came that a column from Mdzi^res was marching in the direction of the pon- toon bridge, and a detail of one regiment infantry, one squadron cavalry, and a field-battery, was sent to head it otf, which was successfully done. Toward 5 p.m. the ar- tillery was advanced to a point west of Sedan, for th« purpose of bombarding the place. To go back to the main operations : At 9.15 o'clock the eleventh corps had finished its extension in the ground west of Sedan, and begun a heavy fire from its batteries. At this signal the Saxon troops on the right flank, who hid not before exhibited their full strength, attacked in force, and oven at this early hour the French showed in some points a disposition to retreat. But the troops who resorted to this movement only fell into the hands of the flanking columns. West of Sedan, where the eleventh corps had posted strong batteries, the French made two cavalry attacks, which were conducted with great courage, and, by some regiments, as the chasseurs d'Afrique, witli the greatest valor. The infantry, however, showed less sjnrit, and the number of men taken without arms in their hands was considerable even at noon. In the mean- time the fifth corps had accomplished its flanking march, falling in, toward the end of its movement, with those })ortions of the fifth Frencli corps which had begun tlic retreat. The artillery, which, by the emperor's orders, had been directed against this flanking corps, was quickly driven back, and the commander sent word that at tlie BETWEEN FRA^'CE AND (;EKMANY. 235 |)VllsIll(r cted to position ^zieres. ver was a across rt was stward, of the )s were ^.t 10.30 nchery, column ic pon- try, one head it the ar- for tli« ock tlie ground atterics. Dk, who eked in )wed in )ps wlio s of tlie tlevcntli ido two iouraire, le, witli red less inns in B mean- march, h those jun the orders, quickly I at tlie most onlj a few disordered l»nnds could have found their Avay to the frontier. The attention of the German leaders was now directed to Sedan itself and the ground near it, the only remaining refuge for an army that had retreated from so many fields. But even this lino of retreat was rapidly cut off. The batteries of the right and left Hanks approached each other rapidly. In this part of the field lay Bazeilles, a village which became the scene of one of the most terrible events of the war. Already, on August 31st, some houses hacl been fired by shells, because they harbored French soldiers, who endeavored to oppose the crossing of the river. During this day's battle some Bavarians advanced against the town, but met with so destructive a fire from some houses that these, too, had to be burned. The fight afterward extended through the streets, and, after several hours of very bloody work, the place was taken. Members of the sanitary corps advanced to bring off the wounded who were lying in the streets. The Germans report that these were received with a murderous fire, and six of them wore wounded. Some troops then advanced to scour the town, and men, women, and children (ere driven from the houses with arms in their hands. JDUt the French seemed determined to make a Saragossa of the place. No sooner had the soldiers passed by than the houses filled again, and firing from the windows was re- sumed. Several soldiers Avere shot, and orders were given for the destruction of the place. In the terrible scene which followed — soldiers, citizens, women, and children were burned to death ; and for days afterward the place is said to have been noisome with the stench of half- roasted, half -putrid flesh. Scenes of dreadful cruelty oc- curred ; and each side charges the other with dragging and throwing the living into the flames. Continuing on, the Bavarians took the village Balan, and towards midday Villette was shelled from one of their batteries. The church-tower was immediately in flames ; the French artillery withdrew;, and the eleventh and twelfth corps had now nothing in their way to Sedan. The French were hastening in dark masses to the fortrosa, T Hi 23G THE GREAT WAIl '!! n ' ' ' t- i . !' i „ m ' I*.' ■ V nit' r i k- 1: ■' s ,1 : ; I. .. \. 1. and at the same time, beyond the line .of -German troops, thousands of prisoners were descending the hills to be col- lected in squads in the plain, and transported to the rear. A little before 2 o'clock the junction of the right and left wings had been accomplished, and a double line of Ger- mans stood around the town and its crowded refugees. In isolated positions a few troops still kept up the contest; but the great cannonade had ceased, and a pause began, during which the conquerors awaited the course of their enemy. No sign was made, and at 4.30 o'clock the bat- teries were ordered to open again. In a quarter of an hour a straw-magazine was in flames ; and immediately after a white flag appeared upon the fortifications. The further history of this important event we will leave to be told by King William, who has written an account in every way remarkable of the surrender, and the extraor- dinary occurrences which preceded and followed it. The letter from the King says : Vbndressb, September 3rd, 1870. "You now know, from my three telegrams, the entire extent of the great historical event that has occurred. It is like a dream, even when one has seen it develop hour by hour. " When I remember that, after a great, fortunate war, I had nothing more glorious to expect during my reign, and now see this world-historic act completed, I bow my- self before God, who alone, my Lord and my Helper, luis chosen me to fulfil this work, and has ordained us to be instruments of His will. Only in this sense did I venture to undertake the work — that in humility I might praise God's guidance and mercy. " Now for a picture of the battle and its consequences, in condensed terms : "The army had arrived, on the evening of the 31st, and early on the 1st, in the positions before described, roimd about Sedan. The Bavarians had the left wing at Ba- zeilles on the Mouse; near them the Saxons, toward Moncelles and Daigny; the guards still on the march toward Givonno ; the fifth and eleventh corps toward St. ill BETWEEN FllANCE AND GERMANY. 237 troops, be col- Menges and Fleigneux, Tlic Meuso makes here a sharp curve, and therefore from St. Menges to Donchery there wiiH no corps placed, but in the hitter town Wurtember- gers, who at the same time covered the rear against attacks from Mezieres. The cavalry division of Count Stolberg was in the plain of Donchery as right wing ; in the front toward Sedan, the rest of the Bavarians. "The battle began at Bazeilles early on the 1st in spite of a thick fog, and a very heavy fight gradually spread, in which we were obliged to take house by house, which lasted nearly the whole day, and in which Schbler's Erfurt division (from the reserve fourth corps) had to take part. Just as I arrived on the front before Sedan, at 8 o'clock, the great battery began its fire against the fortifications, A tremendous artillery battle now spread on all sides, continuing for hours, and during which ground was gradually won by our side. The villages named were taken. " Very deep-cut ravines with woods made the advance of the infantry difficult, and favored the defence. The villages of Illy and Floing were taken, and the ring of fire drew itself gradually closer and closer around Sedan. It was a grand sight from our position on a commanding height behind the before-named battery, before and on the right of Frenois village, above St. Torcy. " The determined resistance of the enemy began gra- dually to slacken, as we could discover by tlie disordered battalions which ran liastily back out of the woods and villages. The cavalry tried an attack against some bat- talions of our fifth cor[)s, which maintained an excellent bearing; the cavalry rushed through the intervals be- tween the battalions, then turned around and back bv the same way; which was repeated three time by diffe- rent regiments, so that the field was strewn with corpses and horses, all of -which we could clearly see from our standpoint. I have not yet been able to ascertain the number of this brave regiment. " Inasmuch as the retreat of the enemy lapsed in many places into flight, and every thing — infantry, cavalry, and artillery — crowded into the city and immediate neighbor- . J^n^ hi i Ii!i I '' ■'•I'i 2;3S TIIK GREAT WAR }, H hood, l)nt istill no sign that the enemy proposed to with- (h'aw liiinsclf hy capitulation out of this dultious position showed itself, notliinuf remained but to order the Loni- bardnient of the city by the above-mentioned battery. After about twenty minutes it was already on fire in many phices, which, with the numerous burning villages in the whole ring of battle, made a shuddering impression. I therefore ordered the fire to cease, and sent Lieutenant- Colonel von Bronsart of the general staff as flag of truce, to propose the capitulation of the army and fortress. Ho was immediately met by a Bavarian officer, who informed me that a French flag of truce had presented itself at the gate. Lieutenant-Colonel von Bronsart was admitted, and upon his inquiring for the general-in-chief he was unexpectedly led before the emperor, who wished to give him at once a letter to me. When the emperor asked what messages ho had, and received for answer, ' To demand the surrender of army and fortress,' he replied that for that purpose he must apply to General de Wimp- ffen, who had just then taken command in place of the wounded Marshal MacMahon, and that he would also send his Adjutant-General Reille with the letter to me. It was 7 o'clock when Reillc and Bronsart came to me. The latter came a little in advance, and from him we first learned with certainty that the emperor was present. You can imagine the impression it made upon me, above all, and upon all ! Reille sprang from the saddle, and handed mo the letter of his emperor, adding that besides that he had no message. Before I opened the letter I said to him, ' But I demand as the first condition that the army lay down its arms,' The letter began in this way : 'N'ayant pas pu mourir a la tete de mes troupes, je ddposo mon 6p6o a Voire Majestd' — (Not having been able to die at the head of my troops, I lay down my sword to your Majesty) ; confiding all the rest to mo in secrecy. " My reply was, that I (;omplained of the style of our intercourse, and desired the sending of an authorized representative with whom the ca])itulation could bo con- cluded. After I had given the letter to Adjutant-General 1 ni-yrwEEX franc k and (!E1{many. 239 Reille, I spoke soiiio words Avitli liim as an old acfjiiaint- aucc, and so ended this act. I em])(nv(;red Moltke as commissioner, and instructed Bismarck to remain beliind, in case political questions came up ; rode then to my wagon, and drove here, greeted everywhere on the road with stormv hurrahs from the advancing trains, while everywhere the popular hymns rose in chorus. It was thrilling ! All had stinick lights, so that one drove for a time in a improvised illumination. At 11 o'clock I was hei'e, and drank with those around me to the health of the army who had fought out such a conclusion. " Since I had received on the morning of the 2nd no information from Moltke upon the terms of the capitula- tion which should liave taken place in Donchery, I drove somewhat downcast towards the battle-field. At 8 o'clock in the morning I met Moltke, who came to me to obtain my acquiescence in the capitulation which he presented, and at the same time pointed out that the emperor had left Sedan at 5 o'clock in the morning, and had also come to Donchery. Since he wished to speak to me, and there was a little castle in the park, I chose this for the meeting. At 10 o'clock I arrived on the height before Sedan. At 12 o'clock Moltke and Bismarck appeared with the com- pleted terms of capitulation. At 1 o'clock I placed m}'self in motion with Fritz, accompanied by the staff cavalrj- escort. I alighted before the ca^stle, where the emperor came to meet me. The visit lasted a quarter of an hour. We were both very much moved at thus seeing each other again. All that I felt, after having seen Napoleon only three years before at the summit of his power, I cannot describe. " After this meeting I rode from 2.30 to 7.30 o'clock through the entire army around Sedan. " The reception by the troops, the sight of the deci- mated guards — all that, I cannot describe to you to-day. I was profoundly moved by so many j)rooffi of love and fidelity. " Now, Iche wold. Witii an agitated heart at the end of such a letter, " William." ill !* J ; i% », :3. i^^ m"' V. mm ft' '. i 240 THK GREAT WAR According to French i)aper.s, the terms of c;4)itulation were : " Between the undersigned, chief of the general staff of King William, commander-in-chief of the German armies, and the general commanding the French army, both fur- nished with full powers from their Majesties, the King William and the Emperor Napoleon, the following con- vention has been concluded : " Article I. The French army placed under the orders of General do Wimpffen, finding itself actually, surrounded by the superior troops about Sedan, is prisoner of war. " Article II. Considering the valorous defence of that French army, exemption for all the generals and officers, also for all the superior officials having the rank of officers, who give their parole of honor in writing not to carry arms against Germany, and' not to act in any manner against her interests, up to the end of the present war. The officers and officials who accept these conditions retain their arms, and the effects which belong to them personally. " Article III. All the arms, as wcU as the material of the army, consisting of flags, eagles, cannon, munitions, (fee, shall be delivered at Sedan to a military commission appointed by the general-in-chief, to be sent immediately to the German commissioners. " Article IV. The place of Sedan shall be placed in its present condition, and at the latest on the evening of the 2nd, at the disposal of his Majesty King William. "Article V. The officers who do not accept the engage- ment mentioned in Article" II., as well as all the troops, disarmed, shall be conducted, ranged according to their regiments or corps, in military order. This measure will commence the second of September, and be finished the 3rd. These detachments shall be conducted to the ground bounded by the Meuse near Iges, to bo delivered to the German commissioners by their officers, who will then surrender their command to their under-officers. The surgeons shall, without exception, remain at the rear to attend the wounded. " At Frenois, September 2, 1870. " MoLTKE and de Wimpffen," BEl'WEEN FEANCE AND GERMANY. 241 The King's telegram announcing the success of his army was : "Since 7.30 o'clock continuously advancing battle round about Sedan, guards, fourth, fifth, twelfth corps, ahd Bavarian. Enemy almost entirely thrown back on the city. " William." The king also s(;nt the follov^ing despatches from Sedan at 1.80 P. M. : " The capitulation by which the entire army in Sedan [become] prisoners of war, is just now concluded with General de Wimpffen, who takes command in the place of the wounded Marshal MacMahon. The emperor has surrendered only himself to me, since he does not occupy the command, and hands over everything to the regency in Paris. I shall determine his residence after I have seen him at a rendezvous which takes place immediately. What a change of fortune through God's guidance! " William." " What a thrilling moment that of the meeting with Napoleon ! He was bowed, but dignified and resigned. I have given him Wilhelmshohe, near Cassel, for a resi- dence. Our meeting took place in a little castle before the western glacis of Sedan. From there I rode through the army about Sedan. You can imagine the reception V)y the troops — indescribable ! At dusk — 7.30 o'clock — I had finished the five hours' ride, but returned here only at 1 o'clock. God help further ! " WiLLlAM." On the 2nd of September General vou Moltke, the chief of staff of the Prussian army, issued the following order for carrying out the capitulation : **Headquakteks, Frenois, September 2, 1870. " The French army lying in and about Sedan has capitulated. OflScers will be liberated on their word of honor ; the under-oihcers and common st)l(liers are priso- ners of war. Aims and army mateiial will be given up." (Here follows tlie text of the capitulation ah'eady given.) " The prisoners of war, whose number is not yet ascer- ■ ft I :;:i:m — ^^ 242 THE (iRKAT WAR : 1 ' I .11 -5 1 , --. 11 i. -ij' i' i" ^'■■' ^g It:- taincd, will be assembled in the bend of the Meiisc, near Villette and I<,^e.s, and afterward conducted away in echelons. The eleventh and twelfth royal Bavarian anny- corps, under the general command of General von Der Tann, are appointed to the first guard. The supplying of the prisoners, for which, according to the promise of the French general commanding, stores are to be brought from Mezieres to near Doncliery by railroad, will also be regulated by General von Der Tann. That no difficulty in the approach of trains is laid in the way, is carefully to be observed. An infantry regiment from the eleventh corps will be placed in the fortress as garrison to-morrow after Sedan shall have been evacuated. " The withdrawal of the prisonei's in two lines by way of Stenay, Etain, and Gorze to Remilly, and Buzancy, Clermont, and St. Mihiel to Pont-a-Mousson, will be con- ducted by the army inider his Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Saxony and the royal commander-in-chief of the Third Army, according to the order of this morning. In order to avoid every doubt, it is to be remarked that the French officers captured yesterday in battle, and to- day before the close of the capitulation at 11 o'clock, are to be treated in accordance with the rules previously in force. " Officers and officials who give their parole must themselves prepare the proper notification. Both classes must report as soon as possible to the quartermaster- general of the army. The horses to be delivered on the part of the French army shall, in accordance with the orders of his Majesty the King, be distributed for the benefit of all the active German forces, and the army commanders will be hereafter informed upon their respec- tive quotas. " The clearing up of the battle-field is the duty of the general of d(5])ot-inspection of the amiy of his Royal Highness the Crown Pr'ice of Saxony. The burial of the dead is to be liastened by means of tlie civil authori- iies. " VON MOLTKE." The severe wound received by Marshal MacMahon, on tlie .'Slirit of August, prevented his i)resence in the final BETWEEN FRANCE Mil) (JEKMANY. 243 battle or the capitulation, and also prevented his londcr- ing any report of the battle. General do Winiplicn, who Avas in command during the Ixittlc, issued an address to his soldiers after the capitulation, of which tlie following is a translation : " Sedan, September, Srd, 1870. " Soldiers : — On Thursday you fought against a force greatly superior in numbers, from daybreak until dark. You resisted the enemy with the utmost bravery. When you had fired your last cartridge, were worn out with tighting, and not being able to respond to the call of gen- erals and officers to attempt to rejoin Marslial Bazaine on the road to Montmedy, you were forced to retreat on Sedan. In this desperate effort, but 2,000 men could be got together, and your general deemed the attempt utterly hopeless and impracticable. Your general found, with deep regret, when the army was reunited within the walls of the town, that it had supplies neither of food nor am- munition ; could neither leave the place nor defend it, means of existence being alike v/anting for the popula- tion. I was, therefore, reduced to the sad alternative of treating with the enemy. I sent, yesterday, to the Prus- sian headquarters, with full powers from the emjieror, but could not at first bring myself to accept the conditions imposed by the enemy. This morning, however, menaced by a bombardment to which we could not reply, I decided to make a fresh attempt to get honorable terms. I have obtained conditions by which we are saved much of the possible annoying and insulting formalities wliicli the usages of war generally impose. " Under the circumstances in which we find ourselves, it only remains for us, officers and soldiers, to acccjit, with resignation, the consequences of this surrender. We have at least the consolation of knowing a useless massacre has been avoided, and we yield only under circumstances against which no army could fight, namely, want of food and ammunition. Now, soldiers, in conclusion, let me say, that you are still able to render brilliant services to yoin- countr}', without being needlessly slaughtered, " de Wimrffen, " Q-en^ral Commanding -in-Chief." rniir it 244 THE GREAT WAE m \ [ ■ :i . J ' • '■) } • ■ -« 1 s : ,' .a'i: ; I \ J- ■) '■ ■ ' ' IP-1p^^ li:i^i. ■'"Ji J •..; . * ' , ' * 1 - •■ • t;«. . ' ":'(': i-^>M.;; »■ ■ !. .'^,••^ H A member of General do WimpfFen's staff, soon after the battle, published an account of the general's part in it, reflecting very severely on the mana!;ement of the whole matter by the emperor, asserting that he refused to de Wimpflen, the opportunity of making an escape with the greater part of tlie army, and, wlien he sought to resign, compelled him to continue in the command and capitulate in consequence of liis own blunders. To these charges, the emperor's adjutant-generals replied, and, though admitting his ofi'er of resignation, demonstrated the impossibility and folly of his attempting to escape with any considerable portion of his force. But though there are no official reports of the battle and surrender by French officers, there are not wanting gi'aphic and unusually accurate descriptions of both by French correspondents. One of these, from the pen of a French officer, a correspondent of the Tribune, we ap- pend, as perhaps the best account extant, from a French standpoint :. " I pass over all that has happened since I wrote you from M^zieres, to come at once to the events of August 31st, and September 1st — the latter the saddest day the French arms have ever witnessed "Early in the morning of the 31st, orders were given to bring into Sedan, all the wagon-trains and oxen which had been left outside the glacis. By this time, the streets were blocked up by troops of every kind, which had en- tered the town during the night. I tried to ride down to the Porte de Paris, v/here the train was stationed, to carry the orders. I was obliged to get off my horse and make my way as best I could between the horses and caissons, which choked up every street and square of the town. As I I'eached the Porte de Paris, I met the wagon- train entering as fast as possible, followed closely by the rushing oxen, and intermingled with the weeping and terror-stricken peasantry of the neighborhood flying into the town for protection. They little knew that it was about the worst place they could have chosen. The gates on that side were immediatelv afterward closed, while the troops slowly filed out through the opposite gate toward Bl^TWEEN FRANX'E AND CfERMANY. 24.J Douzy, where all MacMalion's forces were posted, expect- ing t(j be again attacked hy the Prussians, who had closely tbllowed up the French army. " About 10 o'clock that niorninf' cannonadini; was lieard six or seven miles away, toward the village of Bazeille. I went up on the rampart overlooking the country in that direction. Thence I could see the Prus- sian position, and, with my field-glass, could watch the firing ; but I could not see the French lines, which were hid from me by trees about a mile from the town. I therefore, at noon, walked out of the town to the Porto de Balan, and ascended, on my left, the rising ground which is close by the town. Not more than half a mile from the gate, I passed through regiments of reserve in- fantry. Their arms were piled, and the fires smQking, the soup not having long been eaten. I continued ascending and everywhere passed reserve corps of infantry and artillery. I got higher and higher, from hillock to hil- lock, till I reached a battery of reserve, the guns of which were unlimbered and placed facing the rear of the French left. This battery was so pointed as to fire over the crest of the rising ground on which I stood. About a quarter of a mile distant, in front of a little churchyard, stood also several officers of the diff .e it corps, which were stationed on my right and left, aii ueing of the reserve. , :," From the point I had now reached, a charming pros- pect was within view. The French line of battle extended right in front, spreading on the slope of the ground which forms one side of this basin of the Mouse. In front of the centre of the French lines, and lower down in the vale, was the village of Bazeille, which was then beginning to burn, the Prussian shells having set fire to it. Parallel almost to the front of the French positions ran the Mouse, crossed by a bridge a little to the left of iJazeille. The French right was upon a knot of wooded ground held by tirailleurs, the wooded ground extending nearly to tho grounds of Sedan. The left was lost to my sight behind the inequalities of the ground toward the road to Bcniillon. As far as I could see, on the right and left and in front of me, were massed regiments of all arms ; but toward tho W I ':^« Wr i . • i: ■ i -i * • ' ' .v..i i" i ' |:i ,;. 1 J ' ii 4 li; M^^i 24() TIIK (illEAT WAJ^v left, on the second lino, w^ 11^ I y- ' . ^l both wings at the same time. Some French infantry which was close to the town on the east side gave way, as it seemed to me, rather quickly. Soon afterward shells were coming from behind my left, and it became evident that the French position had been turned, and that a fresh German corps had taken a position in our rear. "The reserves were now necessarily directed against these points. The battery near which I stood was already in action, and I thought it quite time to beat a retreat. The place was becoming as dangerous as any in the field. Among the guns close to me, the Prussian shells began falling with their usual beautiful precision ; so I got on the other side of the slope, and made my way toward the town. " As the road to Bouillon, which crossed the field of battle, was wholly closed to me now, I also perceived that I should be shut up in that circle which the Prussians had been drawing about the army and the town, and which was ultimately completed. I made my way as fast as I could, by the safest paths. When I reached the suburb before the Poj^te de Balan, I found it encumbered with soldiers of all corps, hastening, as I was, into the town. It was a defeat, evidently, yet it was not 11 o'clock, and the battle was destined to continue at various points foi some time longer, though continuing without any real hope of victory. "To one entering the town as I did, there was no longer any battle to describe, It was first a retreat, and too soon a rout. I thought myself lucky to get away from the field as I did ; for, an hour afterward, the rout of those forces that hac! been near by me was complete. Already soldiers were crushing against each other in the struggle to get inside the town. Dismounted cavalry were trying to make their way, some even by the ramparts, leaping down from the counterscarp, others forcing their way in by the postern gates. From a nook of the ramparts, where I rested a moment, I saw also cuirassiers jumping — horses and all — into the moat, the horses breaking their logs and ribs. Men were scrambling over each other. There were ofiicers of all ranks — colonels, and even gene- i nfantry way, as I shells evident that a ar. against already retreat, le field, began got on rard the field of ved that russians wn, and y as fast :hed the umbered into the not 11 : various without was no I, and too 'ay from of those Already struggle e trying , leaping way in ran parts, mping — ng their h other, en gene- BETWEEN FllANCE AND tiEllMANY. 249 rals, in uniforms which it was impossible to mistake — mixed in this shameful melee. Behind all came guns, with their heavy carriages and powerful horses, forcing their way into the throng, maiming and crushing the fugitives on foot. " To add to the confusion and horror, the Prussian bat- teries had by this time advanced within range, and the Prussian shells began falling among the struggling masses of men. On the ramparts were the national guards man- ning the guns of the town, and replying with more or less .efiect to the nearest Prussian batteries. It was a scone horrible enough to have suited the fancy of Gustavo Doro himself. I could form but one idea of our unhappy army — that it was at the bottom of a seething caldron. " I hurried back as best I could to my hotel, following the narrow streets, where the shells were least likely to reach the gi'ound. Wherever there was a square or open place, I came u])on the bodies of horses and men quite dead or still quivering, mown to pieces by bursting shells. Reaching my hotel, I found the street in which it stood choked, like the rest, with wagons, gu^is, horses and men. Most luckily, at this moment the Prussian fire did not enfilade this street ; for a train of caissons filled with powder blocked the whole way, itself unable to move backward or forward. There was every chance that these caissons would explode, the town being then on fire in two places ; and I began to think Sedan was a place more uncomfortable than even the battle-field over which a victorioi's enemy was swiftly advancing. " From friends whom I ifound at the liotel I learned that the emperor, who had started early in the morning for the field of battle, had returned about the same time that I did, and passed through the streets with his staff. One of my friends was near him on the Place Turenne, when a shell fell under the emperor's horse, and, bursting, killed the horse of a general who was behind him. He liimself \, .is untouched, and turned round and smiled; though my friend thought that he saw tears in his cye.s, which he wiped away with his glove. Indeed, he had cause enough for tears on that fatal 1st of September. i k\\ 11 m ■ ■'•I t^ r ■ '-^ M liiH^I IM'i ill 250 Til J;: GREAT WAR " Meantime, shells began to fall in the direction of our street and hotel. We all stood niidev the vaulted stone entrance, as the safest .oiter we could find. I trembled on account of the caissons still standing in t'nc street, and tilling all the space from end to end. It was at this tini(.» when we waited, "watching painfully for the shell whii.:li would have sent us all together into another world, that General de Wimpffen came past, making a vain effort to rally and ins})irit his flying troops. He shouted, * Vive la France! En avantF But there' was no response. He cried out that Bazaine was taking the Prussians in the rear. News which had been current all the morning at intervals, coming now from the mouth of General de Wimpffen, seemed to be believed, and a^w thousand men were rallied, and followed him out of the town. Peoi)lo began to have hope, and for one brief moment we believed tlie day might yet be saved. Need I say that this intel- ligence was a patriotic falsehood of bravo General do Wimpffen ? Mad with anguish, and in direct o])position to the emperor's orders, he had re.solved to rally what men ho could, and make a stand. He could not have known that he was bound in the grasp of at least 300,000 men. " The bugle and the'trumpet ring out on all sides. A few thousand men hearken to the sound. My friend Rdne de Guiroye, of the chasseurs d'Afiique, when I. have just met, after losing sight of him for ten or twelve years, got on horseback again and joined the general. The sortie took place thus : They went out at the Porte de Balan. The houses of the suburb are already full of Prussians, who fire on the French out of every windov;-. The church, es[)ecially, is strongly garrisoned, and its heavy doors are closed. The general sent off de Guiroyo to bring two ])ieces of cannon. These soon arrived, and with them the door of the church was blown in, and 200 Prussians were captured and l)rought bo.ck with the French, who, in spite of all efforts, were themselves soon obliged to retire into the town. It was the last incident of the battle — the last struggle. " While this took place at the Porto do Balan, the Prus- BETWEEN FRANCE AND GEIIMANY. 251 of GUI' 1 stone cir/oled ■ct, and l:^ tilil(.> wliioli Id, tliiit ftbrt to ' Vive so. He in tlio iiiiig at era! de md men Peojile relieved s intcl- leral de position y what ot have 300,000 !. Afcw id Rdne ive just 'ars, got e sortie Balan. ussians, chiircli, 3ors arc ng two li them •ussians 1, who, liged to of the le Prus- sian shelling went on, and the shells began to fall into the liotcl. Shocking scenes followed. A boy, the son of a tradesman around the corner of the street, camo in crying, and asking for a surgeon. His father's leg had been shot off. A woman ii. front of the house met the same fate. The doctor who went to the tradesman found him dead ; and, returning, attempted to carry the woman to an am- bulance. He had scarcely made a step, when she was shot dead in. his arms. Those of us who stand in the gateway and witness such scenes have got beyond tho feeling of personal fear. Any one of ua, I will venture to say, would give his life to spare Franco on this dreadful day. Yet we stand pale and shuddering at tho sight of the fate which befalls tho poor people of the town. " I care not to dwell upon hon-ors, which, nevertheless, I shall never bo able to forget. I can mention more than one brave officer who did not fear to o^v^l that ho shrank from tho sight of what had become a mere massacre. Thoso who werd safely out of the way as prisoners, whether officers or men, needed no pity. When, after a time, it became clear that ther* was no sign of Bazaine, the hopes of the French again departed. A sullen sort of fight still went on. The guns of the town answered tho Prussians. An aid-de-camp of tho emperor went by on foot, and I heard him ask the officers near by to help him in putting an end to tho fire. Such being the emperor's M'ish, at length tho white flag was hoisted on the citadel. Tho cannonade ceased suddenly about 4.30 o'clock. Eager as wo were to know tho cause, wo cannot leave tho house, for the street is impassable, and wo havo to bo content with learning tho mere fact of tho surrender. As night drew on, tho crowd a littlo diminished, and by some effort it was possible to mako one's way about tho town. Tho spectacle it offisred was more horrible than war. Dead were lying everywhero ; civilians and soldiers mingled in the slaughter. In one suburb I counted more than fifty bodies of peasants and bourgeois — a few women among them, and one child. Tho ground was strewn with splin- ters of shells. Starving soldiers wcro cutting up the dead horses to cook and eat, for proviiiion had again failed us, I I I I i n i^r '( • « h'JAi tM '**f IN,f' 1 252 Till-: (iliEAT WAR began. I m Ui ^^j as cverytliint'' had failed since this campaign was glad to get away from the sight of our disasters, and lose tlieir remembrance in a few hours of sleep. " The next day wo were told that the emperor had gone to the king's headquarters to treat for a surrender. At 11 o'clock his household and carriages left the town, and wo knew that he was a prisoner, and the empire no more. About the same hour there was posted in the streets a proclamation from General de Wimpffen, saying that, not- withstanding prodigies of courage, the army, having no more ammunition, found itself unable to respond to the summons of its chiefs, and force its way to Montmedy. That being surrounded, he had made the best conditions he could — conditions such as would inflict no humiliation on the army, " These conditions prove to be the surrender of the whole army, not less than 100,000 men, as prisoners of war, with all their arms, baggage, horses, standards, and guns. The officers who sign an engagement not to serve against Prussia during the war may return to their homes, the remainder to be sent to German towns in Germany. Many officers refuse to sign, preferring to share the cap- tivity of their men. " On Saturday the whole force laid down their arms. Not a few soldiers, in their rage, broke rather than give up their arms, and the streets were littered v/ith frag- ments of all kinds of weapons broken : swords, rifles, pis- tols, lances, helmets, cuirasses, even mitrailleurs covered the ground ; and in one place, where the Meuse runs through the town, the heaps of such fragments choked the stream, and rose above the surface. The mud of the streets was black with gunpowder. The horses had been tied to the houses and gun-carriages, but nobody remem- bered to feed or water them, and in the frenzy of hunger and thirst they broke loose and ran wild through the town. Wlioever liked might have a horse — even officers' horses, wOiich Avere private pro[)erty — for the trouble of catching them. " When the Prussians came into the town they were very sore and angry at the sight of all this destruction BETWEEN rilANCE AND CEllMANY. 253 3gan. 1 ors, and lad gone At 11 and wo lo more, streets a lat, not- hing JIO to tlio ntmcdy. •nditions niliation • of the oners of rds, and to .«erve r homes, rermany. the cap- iir arms, an give th frag- fles, pis- covered Lse runs )kc(l the of tlie ad been remem- hunger igh the officers' 111 bio of y were ruction and waste. What must have pleased them .->till less, was the state in which they found the militar;^ cr.ost. As soon as the surrender was resolved on, the Frencli oiTiccrs were told to make out the best accounts they could, pre- sent them, and receive payment. Naturally, the state- ments thus brought in soon proved sufficient to empty the treasury. I know of officers who demanded and received payment for horses that were not killed and baggage which had not been lost. Demoralization showed itself ill every way. Even the standards were burned or buried — an act of t)ad faith, not to be palliated even by the rage of a beaten army. " Their rage is greater against no one than General do Failly. He had a room in the hotel where 1 was staying. On Friday a great multitude of soldiers gathered before the house, the doors of which were closed, demanding General de Failly with such shouts and menaces, that the landlord thought it prudent to hurry him out of a back window. The soldiers, could they have reached him, would have torn him to pieces. Since then T have heard the report that he was shot by one of his own men ; but no such event had happened on Saturday, and could not well happen later. " It was a relief on Saturday when the Prussians came in and occupied the town, and restored order. I am sorry to have to acknowledge that all through the campaign the French have acted much more like a conquering army, in a hostile country, than the Prussians. All the annoy- ance I have experienced personally came from my own countrymen — from the peasants, who, above all, saw a spy in every stranger. When I fell into the hands of the Prussians, I found them courtesy itself On leaving Se- dan, and thence to the frontier, in passing through the Prussian posts, I was stopped often. I had but to say, 'I am the correspondent of an American journal,' and I was at once sent kindly forward. On the liack of my French military pass th(^ Prussian staff had ondoi'sed a Prussian safe-conduct. Often I was not obliged even to show my ])aper3 — my word was taken ; and, once out of Sedan, I was speedily through. 254 THE OREAT WAR If: ilif.^ £:., " When I left SoJau on Sunday morning, things were rapidly getting in order. The streets were cleared of dead horses and men. The indescribable filth of the town was swept into the river. The shops were o]:)ening again. Disci[)line had taken the place of disorder. I saw enough of Prn<^sian organization and energy to change, if the grievous defeat of a noble army had not already changed, the opinion I have so often expressed, that ultimate vic- tory for France was sure. "I have followed MacMahon from the day when I found him re-organizing his army at Chalons to the fetal day at Sedan, when he surrendered the last organized force in France, save the remnant of that which is shut up in Metz. Certainly, when I was at the camp of ChAlons, and then at Kheims, I had observed that the number of stragglers was enormous, and I continually met soldiers who did not know where their regiments were. I had seen men and officers disabled by wounds which French soldiers of other days would have despised ; I had remark- ed how untidy and careless the men were allowed to be about their dress and equipments. These things, slight, but significant to a military eye, had caused me, no doubt, some misgivings as to the rapidity of the success wo had a right to expect. I saw, also, how prone French officers were to avoid the fatigues of long marches rnd the dis- comfort of bivouacs. I remember how often I have tra- versed the French lines at dead of night and at early dawn, and never heard a challenge, never came across a French vidette, never have fallen in with a party of scouts. On the other hand, I have seen officers spend the time that ought to have been given to their men, in cafda or in poor village inns. Often even officers of the staff seemed to neglect their duties for paltry amusements, showing themselves ignorant, sometimes, even of the name of the department in which they were ; so that I have known a French general obliged to ask his way from peasants at the- meeting of two roads. I struggled long against all this kind of evidence; but the end is only too clear. Pain- ful it is to me, but I am bound to declare my belief that jiny further effort France ma^ make can only cause use- iJETWEEN FHANCE AND GEllMANY. '2ory loss liloodshed ; and that a means of escape from her peril must now be sought otherwise than by force of arms." Not less vivid and graphic are the descriptions of the battle and surrender from correspondents who were in the Prussian headquarters and on the field during the whole of that terrible day. One of these descriptions, from tlio same pen that furnished to the Tribune the glowing des- cription of the battle of Gravelotto, is deserving of a place. We give portions of it : " On the evening of Wednesday, from 5 to 8 o'clock, I Wfis at the crown prince's quarters at Ch emery, a village some thirteen miles from Sedan to the south-southwest on the main road. At 5.30 we saw that there was a great movement among the troops encamped all around us, and we thought, at first, that the king was r-ding through the bivouacs ; but soon the 37th regiment came pouring through the village, their band playing * Die wacht am lihein ' as they marched along with a swinging stride. I saw at once, by the men's faces, that something extraor- dinary was going on. It was soon plain that the troops were in the lightest possible marching order. All their knapsacks were left behind, and tlicy were carrying nothing but cloaks, slung around their shoulders, except that one or two hoii vivants had retained their camp- kettles. But if the camp-kettles were left behind, the I cartouche-cases were there — hanging heavily in front of the men's belts, unbalanced, as they ought to bo, ])y the knapsacks. Soon I learned that the whole Prussian corps — those lent from Prince Frederick Charles' army, the Second Army, and the crown prince's — were making a forced march to the left, in the direction of Donchery and Md- ziere, in order to shut in MacMahon's army in the west, and so drive them against the Belgian frontier. T learned from the officers of the crown prince's staff, that at the same time, while we were watching regiment after regi- ment pass through Chemery, the Saxons and the guards, 8(),()0() strong, on the Prussian right, under Prince Albert of Saxony, were also marching rapidly to close on the doomed French army on the right bank of the Meuse, which they had crossed at Remilly on Tuesday, the 30th, ?? '•' If 250 THE (JllEAT WAR 4\ 1 i: ' 1.1 )| '!' ' in the direction of La Chapelle, a small village of 930 inha- bitants, on the road from Sedan to Bouillon, in Belgium, and the last village before crossing the frontier. " Any thing more splendid than the men's marching it would be impossible to imagine. I saw men lame in both feet hobbling along in the ranks, kind comrades, less foot- sore, carrying their needle-guns. Those who were actually incapable of putting one foot before another, had pressed peasants' wagons and every available conveyance into ser- vice, and were following in the rear, so as to be "eady for the great battle, which all felt sure would come off on the morrow. The Bavarians, who, it is generally believed, do not march so well as they fight, were in the centre, be- tween us at Chemery and Sedan, encamped around the woods of La Marfee, famous for a great battle in 1041, during the wars of the League. When I had seen the last regiment dash through — for the pace at which they went can really not be called 'marching,' in the ordinary sense, — I rode off, about a quarter past eight in the evening, for Vendresse, where the king's headquarters were, and where I hoped to find house-room for man and beast, especially tlie latter, as being far the most important on the eve of a great battle. " When I got within about half a mile of Yencjresse, going at a steady trot, a sharp * Halt ' rang out through the clear air. I brought my horse to a stand-still, know- ing that Prussijin sentries are not to be trifled with. As I })ulled up, twenty yards off", I heard the clicks of their locks as they brought their weapons to full cook and co- vered me. My reply being satisfactory, I jogged on into Vendresse, and my mare and myself had soon forgotten sentinels, forced marches, and coming battles, one of us on the straw, the other on the floor. " At 7 o'clock on Thursday morning my servant came to wake me, saying that the king's horses were harnessing, and that his majesty would leave in half an hour for the battle-field ; and as a cannonade had already Ijccn hoard near Sedan, I jumped up, seized crusts of bread, wine, cigars, &c., and crammed them into my holster, taking my breakfast on the way. BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 257 inhii- ihing it came " Just as I got to my horse, King William drove out in an open carriage with four horses, for Chevange, about three and a half miles south of Sedan. Much against my Avill, I was compelled to allow the king's staff to precede me on the road to the scene of action, where I arrived my- self soon after 9 o'clock. It was impossible to ride fast, all the roads being blocked with artillery, ammunition wagons, ambulances, &c. As I rode onto the crest of the hill which rises sharply about GOO or 700 feet above the little hamlet of Chevange, nestled in a grove below, a most glorious panorama burst on my view. As General For- syth, of the United States Army, remarked to me later in the day, it would have been worth the coming, merely to see so splendid a scene, without ' battle's magnificently- stern array.' In the lovely valley below us, from the knoll on which I stood with the king and his staff, we could sec not only the whole Valley of the Meuse (or Maas, as the Germans love to call the river that Louis XIV stole from them), but also beyond the great woods of Bois de Loup and Francheval, into Belgium, and as far as the hilly forest of Numo, on the other side of the frontier. Right at our feet lay the little town of Sedan, famous for its fortifica- tions by Vaiiban, and as the birthplace of Turenne, the great marshal. It is known, also, as the place where sedan chairs originated. As we were only about two and a quarter miles from the town, we could easily distinguish its principal edifices without the aid of our field-glasses. On the left was a pretty church, its Gothic spire of sand- stone offering a conspicuous target for the Prussian guns, had General von Moltke thought fit to bombard the town. To the right, on the southeast of the church, was a largo barrack, with the fortifications of the citadel. Behind it and beyond this to the southeast again was the old chateau of Sedan, with picturesque, round-turreted towers »f the sixteenth century, very useless, even against four-pounder Krupp field-pieces. This building, I believe, is now an arsenal. Beyond this was the citadel — the heart of Sedan, on a rising hiU above the Meuse to the southeast, but completely commanded by the hills on both sides of the river, which runs in front of the citadel. 11 ^[ i il m i ,f . A'; i W'f, I .-HI W.f !>>= ■» >i tlVf Li ;.^.:R! 1j 258 TJIK (JRKAT WAR " TliG French had flooded the low meadows in the valley before coming to the railway bridge at Bazeille, in order to stop the Germans from advancing on the town in that direction. With their usual stupidity (for one can find no other word for it), the French had failed to mine the bridge at Bazeille, and it was of immense service to the Prussians throughout the battle. The Prussians actually threw up earthworks on the iron bridge itself to protect it from the French, who more than once attempted early in the day to storm the bridge, in the hope of breaking the Bavarian communication between the right and left banks of the Meuse. This they were unable to do ; and although their cannon-shots have almost demolished the parapet, the bridge itself was never materially damaged. " On the projecting spurs of the hill, crowned by the woods of La Marfee, of which I have ah-eady spoken, the Bavarians had posted two batteries of six-pounder rifled breech-loading steel Krupp guns, which kept up a duello cill the very end of the day with the siege-guns of Sedan across the Meuse. Still further to the right flank, or rather to the ea^st (for our lino was a circular one — a cres- cent at first, with Sedan in the centre, like the star on the Turkish standard), was an undulating plain above the village of Bazeille. Terminating about a r ile and a half from Sedan, at the woods near Rubecourt, midway — that is to say, in a line from Bazeille north — there is a ravine watered by a tiny brook, which was the scene of the most desperate struggle and of the most frightful slaughter of the whole battle. This stream, whose name I have for- gotten, if it ever had one, runs right behind the town of Sedan. "From the woods of Fleigreuse on the north, behind the town rises a hill dotted with cottages and fruit-laden orchards, and crowned by the wood of La Givonne, which runs down to the valley of which I have just spoken. Between this wood and th» town were several French camps, their white shelter-tents standing out clear among the dark fruit-trees. In these camps one could see through- out the day huge masses of troops which were never used. Even during the height of the battle thoy stood as idle as ]{ETWEEX riUNCK AND (;i:ilMANY, 259 Fitz- John Porter's at the second battle of Bulls-Run. Wo imagined that they must have been undisciplined gardes mobiles, whom the French generals dared not bring out against their enemy. " To the Prussian left of these French camps, separated from them by a wooded ravine, was a long bare hill, some- thing like one of the hills on Long Island. This hill, on which was some of the hardest fighting of the day, foi-med one of the keys of the [)osition of the French army. When once its crests were covered with Prussian artillery, the whole town of Sedan was completely at the mercy of the German guns, as they were not onl\^ above the town, but the town was almost within musket-range of them. "Still further to the left lay the village of Illy, set on fire early in the day by the French shells. South of this the broken railway-bridge, blown uj) by the French to protect their right, was a conspicuous object. " Right .above the railway -bridge, on the line to Mdzi^res, was the wooded hill crowded hy the new and most hideous ' chateau,' as he calls it, of one Monsieur Pav(;. It was here the crown prince and his staff stood during the day, having a rather more extensive but less central view, and therefore less desirable than ours, where stood the kinir, Count Bismarck, von Roon, the War Minister, General Moltke, and Generals Sheridan and Forsyth — to say no- thing of your correspondent. " Having thus endeavored to give some faint idea of the scene of what is, in all probability, the decisive battle of the war, I will next give an account of the position of the different corps at the commencement of the action, pre- mising that all the movements were of the simpk'st possible nature, the object of the Prussian generals being merely to close the crescent of troops with which they began into a circle, by effecting a junction between the Saxon corps on their right and the Prussian corps on their left. This junction took place about noon, near the little village of Olley, on the Bazeillo ravine, behind Sedan, of which I have already spoken. Once their terrible circle formed and well soldered together, it grow steadily smalloi- and smaller, until at last tho fortifications of Sodan itself were entorod. 'I iSjf'' {a^; M ^r ' i w 2G0 TIIK (illEAT WAR "On tho extreme right were tlic Saxons — one cor})s , dVirniee, witli King William's guards ; also a corps d'arindo in reserve beliind them. The guards had suflered terribly at Gravelotte, where they met the imperial guard ; and the king would not allow them to be again so cruelly decimated. Justice compels me to state that this arrange- ment was very far, indeed, from being pleasing to the guards themselves, who are ever anxious to be in the fore- front of the battle, "The guards and Saxons, then about 75,000 strong, were all day on the right bank of the Meuse, between Rubecourt and La Cliapelle, at which latter village Prince Albert of Saxony, who was in command of the two cor}:s which have been formed into a little extra army by them- selves, passed the night of Thursday. " The ground from Rubecourt to the Meusc was occu- pied by the first Bavarian corps. The second Bavarian corj)s extended their front from near the Bazeille railway- bridge to a point on the high road from Donchery to Sedan, not far from the little village of Torcy. Below the hill on which the crown prince was placed, the ground from Torcy to Illy, through the ^aig^ Uage of Floing, was held by the first and th ^ russian corps, belonging to the army of Prince Fr^ ,. ijharles nd temporarily «.ttached to the army of t. i-rown prince. "This was the position ol the troops about 9 o'clock on Thursday morning, September 1, and no great advance took place till later than that, for the artillery had t first all the work to do. Still further to the left, near Don- chery, there were 20,000 Wurtembergers ready to cut off the French from Mdzieres, in case of their making a push for that fortress. "The number of the Prussian troops engaged ^\■as esti- mated by General Moltke at 240,000, and that of the French at 120,000. We know that MacMahon had with him on Tuesday 120,000 men, that is, four corps ; his o\vn, that lately commanded by General do Failly, now under General Le Brun ; that of Felix Douay, brother of General Abel Douay, killed at Weissenbourg ; and a fourth corps, principally composed of gardes mobiles, tho name of whoso IJETWEKN F^vA^X'E AND tiEKMANY, 1>G1 coniinandcr has escaped mo. MacMahon, althougli vv'oiukI- cd, coinniaiided iii chief on the French side. "It is ahuo.st needless to say that tlio real cominandor- iii-chief of the Prussians on that day v.'as von Moltke, with the crown prince and Prince Albert of Saxony, im- mediately next in command. " There v/cre a few stray cannon-shots fired, merely to obtain the range, as soon as it was light ; but the real battle did not begin until o'clock, becoming a sharp artillery-tight at 9, when the batteries had each got within easy range, and the shells began to do serious mischief. At 11.55 the nuisketry-fire in the valley behind Sedan, which had opened about 11.25, became exceedingly lively — being one continuous rattle, only broken by the loud growling of the mitrailleurs, which played with deadly etfect upon the Saxon and Bavarian columns. General Sheridan, by whose side I was standing at the time, told me that he did not remember ever to have heard such a well-sustained fire of small-arms. It made itself heard above the roar of the batteries at our feet. "At 12 o'clock precisely the Prussian battery of six guns, on the slope above the broken railway-bridge over the Mouse, hear La Villette, had silenced two batteries of French guns at the foot of the bare hill already mentioned, near the village of Floing. At 12.10 the French infantry, no longer supported by their artillery, were compelled to retire to Floing, and soon afterward the junction between the Saxons and Prussians behind Sedan was announced to us by General von Roon, eagerly ])eering through a largo telescope, as being safely completed. " From this moment the result of the battle could no longer be doubtful. The French were completely sur- rounded and brought to bay. At 12.25 we were all aston- ished to see clouds of retreating French infantry on the hill between Floing and Sedan, a Prussian battery in front of St. Menges making accurate practice with percussion sliells among the receding ranks. The whole hill, for a quarter of an hour, was literally cover<^d with Frenchmen running rapidly. Less than half an hour afterwards— at 12.50 — General Q '«'?»■ r ti\ ywp. ^"^ li , ' ft ■m I,. ■' iiG2 THE (;eeat war ;!; 1 h i^ voiv llooii called our attention to another French column in full retreat to the right of Sedan, on the road leading from Bazeille to the La Givonnc wood. They never halted until they came to a red-roofed house on the outskirts of Sedan itself Almost at the same moment General Sheridan, who was using my opera-glass, asked mo to look at a third French column moving up a broad, grass-covered road through the La Givonnc wood, innnediately above Sedan, doubtless to support the troops who were defending the important Bazeille ravine to the northeast of the town. " .A.t 1 o'clock the French batteries on the edge of tlie Avood tovv^ards Torcy and above it opened a vigorous tire on the advancing Prussian columns of^the thiixl corps, whose evident intention it was to storm the hill northwest of La Givonne, and so gain the key of the position on that side. At 1.05 yet another French battery near the wood opened on the Prussian columns, which were compelled to keci) shifting their gi'ound till ready for their final rush at the hills, in order to avoid offering so good a mirk to the French shells. Shortly afterwards we saw the first Prussian skirmishers on the crest of the La Givonnc hills, above Torcy. They did not seem to be in strengtli, and General Sheridan, standing behind me, exclaimed, ' All ! tiie beggars are too weak ; they can never hold that posi- tion against all those French.' " The general's prophecy soon proved correct, for the French advanced at least six to one ; and the Prussians were forced to retreat down the hill to seek re-enforce- ments from the colunms which wee hurrying to their support. In five minutes th(iy came back again, this time in greater force, but still terribly inferior to those huge French ^.nasscs. '"Good heavens! The French cuirassiers are going to charge them,' cried General Sheridan ; and sure enough, the rogijTicni; of cuimssiers, their helmets and breast-plates tlashing in the SeptciP.ber sun, formed in sections of s(piad- rons and dashed down on the scattered Prussian skir- mishers, without deigning to form a lino. S(piares are never used by the Prussians, and the infantry received the cuirassiers with a crushing *([uick-iirc' — schndlfeuer — i 4 vl BETWEEN tTiANCE AND C'EllMANY. 2G3 column loading r halted ikirts of General ! to look covered f above ifendinf; 10 toAvn. 3 of tllC :ous tiro i corps, rthwest on that 10 wood mpelled nai rush mirk to ;hc first no hills, ;th, and d, 'Ah! lat posi- for the russians enforce- to their his time ^c huge ^oing to enough, ;t-plates f s(piad- Lu skir- ares are •eceived at about a hundred yards' distance, loading and firing with extreme rapidity, ahd shooting with unfailing })recision into the dense French squadrons. The effect was start- ling. Over went horses and men in numbers, in masses, in hundreds; and the regiment of proud French cuirassiers went hurriedly back in disorder; went back faster than it came ; went back scarcely a regiment in strength, and not at all a regiment in form. Its comely array was suddenly changed into shapeless and hefphiss crowds of Hying men. "Tlio moment the cuirassiers turned back the brave Prussians actually dashed forward in hot pursuit at double- quick, infantry evidently pursuing flying cavalry. Such a thing has not often been recorded in the annals of wars. I know not when an example to compare precisely with tins has occurred. There was no more striking episode in the battle. " When the French infantry sav/ their cavalry thus flee- ing before foot-soldiers, they in their turn came forward and attacked the Prussians. The Prussians waited (quietly, patiently enduring a rajiid and telling fire from the Ohassepots, until their enemies had drawn so near as to be within a hundred yards of them. Then to the fire of the Chassepots they returned a tire as rapid from their nee Ale guns; and the French infantry could no more en- dure this Prussian fire than the cavalry, to whose rescue they iiad come. The infantry fled in its turn, and followed the cavalry to the place whence they came, that is, behind a ridge, about 500 yards on the way to Sedan, wliere the Prussian fire could no longer reach them. "The great object of the Prussians was gained, since they were hot driven from the crest of the hill th(!y fought to hold. Holding it thus against cavalry, the Prussians jiersuadcd themselves that it was possible to establish artillery on this hill. '"There will bo a devil of a fight for that crest before it is won or lost,' said Sheridan, straining'his eyes through his field-glass at the hill, which was not three mil(>s fi-om us. The full sun was shining upon that hill ; we, <'a/ino- U])on it, had the sun behind us. .'I. fi 2G4 THE ClilEAT WAli m »l>: k "At l.oO French cavalry — this tunc, I presume, a regi- ment of carabiniers — made another dasli at the Priis«iaiis, wlio, on their part were receiving re-enforcements every moment ; but the carabiniers met with the same fate jis tlieir brethren in iron jackets, and were sent to the right- about with lieavy loss. The Prussians took advantage of their iiight to advance their line about 200 yards ncarei- the line which the French infantry held. "This body of adventurous Prussians split into two P'ortions, the two parts leaving a break of a hundred yards in their line. We were not long in perceiving the object of this movement, for the little white puffs from the crest behind the skirmishers, followed by a commotion in the dense French masses, showed us that these 'dlables dc. Prus- siens' have contrived, Heaven only knows how, to g t two four-pounders up the steep ground, and have opened tire on the French. Something must at this point have been very much mismanaged Avith the French infantry ; for, instead of attacking the Prussians, whom they still out- numbered by at least two to one, they remained in colunui on the hill; and, though seeing their only hope of retrieving the day vanishing from before their eyes, still they did not stir. Then the French cavalry tried to do a little Balaklava business — tried, but without the success of the innnortal six hundred, who took the guns on which they charged. The cuirassiers came down once more, this time riding straight fc^r the two lield-pieces ; but before they came within 200 yards of the guns, the Prussians formed line, as if on })arade, and, waiting till those furious French horsemen had ridden to a point not fifty yards away, the}' fired. The volley seen\ed to us to empty the saddles of almost the whole of the leading scpiadron. The dead so strewed the ground as to block the path of the squadron folhjwing, and closed before them the direct and dangerous road they had meant to follow. Their dash at the guns became a halt. " When once this last effort of tlie French horse had been made anil had failed — failed, though ])ushed gallant- ly so far as men and horses could go — the French infantry fell swiftly ba< i toward Sedan. It fell back because it BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 2G5 saw that the chance of its canying that fiercely-contested hill was gone, and saw, also, that the Prussians holding the hill were crowning it with guns, so that their own line could not much longer be held facing it. In an in- stant, as the French retired, the whole slope of the ground was ^covered by swarms of Prussian tirailleurs, ^v^ho seemed to rise out of the ground, and push forward by the help of every slight roughness or depression in the surface of the hill. As fast as the French went back these active eneiiiies followed. After the last desperate charge of the French cavalry, General Sheridan remarked to me that he never saw anything so reckless, so utterly foolish, as that last charge. ' It was slieer murder.' " The Prussians, after the French infantry fell back, ad- vanced rapidly — so rapidly tliat the retreating squadrons of French cavalry, being too closely pressed, turned sud- denly round, and charged desperately once again. But it was all no use. The days of breaking squares arc over. The thin blue line soon stopped the Gallic onset. " It struck me as most extraordinary that at this point ho French had neither artillery nor mitrailleurs, espe- cially the latter, on the field to cover their infantry. The position was a most important one, and certainly worth straining every nerve to defend. One thing was clear enough, that the French infantry, after once meet- ing the Prussians, declined to try conclusions with them again, and that the cavalry were seeking to encourage them by their example. About 2 o'clock still other rein- forcements came to the Prussians ovei* this long-disputed hill between Torcy and Sedan to supj)ort the regiments already established there. "All the time that this great conflict was going on under Fritz's eyes, another was fought not less severe rnd as murderous for the Bavarians as he one I have attempted to describe was for the Front, BETWEEN FKANCi: AND (JKUMANY. 2G7 " At 8,20 the Bavaricans below its not only contrived to fet themselves inside the fortifications of Sedan, but to maintain themselves there, working their way for\\ard from house to house. About 4 o'clock there Avas a ^reat fight for the possession of the ridge above Bazeille. That carried, Sedan was swept on all sides by the Prussian cannon. This point of vantage was earned at 4.40. When carried there could no longer be a sliade of doul»t as to the idtiniate fate of Sedan. " About 5 o'clock there was again a sudden suKpension of the cannonade along the whole line. Many were the speculations as to the cause, but nobody seemed to divine the truth. You must judge of our sur[)rise when, five minutes later, we saw a French officer, escorted by two uhlans, coming at a handsome trot up the steep bridle- ]iath from Sedan to our [)ost, one of the uhlans carrying a white duster on a faggot-stick as a flag of truce. The messenger turned out to be a French colonel, come to ask for terms of surrender,.. After a very short consultation between the king and General von Moltke, the messenger was told by the general that, in a matter so important as the surrender of at least 80,000 men, and an important fortress, it was necessary to send an officer of high rank. ' You are, therefore,' said the general, ' to return to Sedan, and tell the governor of the town to report Jiimself immediately to the King of Prussia. If he docs not arrive within an hour, our guns will again (jpen fire. You may tell the commander that there is no use of Ids trying to obtain any other terms than uncondition.d sur- render.' The iKLrlemcntairc rode back with this mes- sage. When he was fairly out of ear-shot his mission was most eagerly canvassed. " At G.30 there arose a sudden cry among the members of the king's staff, ' I)ev Kaiser ist da !' and then came a loud hurrah. Soon wo began to look anxiously for the arrival of the second flaf; of truce. In ten minutes moro Adjutant-General Ileille rode up with a letter for the King of Prussia. " As soon ;is the French adjutant-general was in sight, t]u> slender escort f)r cuirassiers and dragoons we had with •n m ■mi '1 HI III '■3 2G8 THE GREAT WAU IM '«*,! ' /• llpif ■¥■ 111 ill ' ' iWit m , rJ'Hf iMii' m f - us was drawn up in lino, two deep. Behind the king, in front of tlio escort, was the staff; and ten yards in front of them again stood His Majesty King William of Prussia, ready ' receive Adjutant-General Reille. Thot officer, as wo soo i learned, was the bearer of an autograph letter from the Emperor Napoleon to King WiUiam. The Emperor of the French wrote : 'As I cannot die at the head of my army, I lay my sword at the feet of your majesty' — [' N'ayant pas pu mourir a la tete dc ones tr: ipes,je depose man cp6e d voire Majestd^ '' Why Napoleon III. could not die, as did thousands of his soldiers, sword in hand, with his face to the foe, is not so clear. " On receipt of this most astounding letter, there was a brief consultation between the king, the crown prince, who had come over from his hill on the arrival of the flag of truce. Count Bismarck, General von Moltkc, and General von Roon. After a few minutes' conversation, the king sat down on a rush-bottomed chair, and wrote a note (on another chair held as a table by two aids-do- camp) to the emperor, asking him to come next morning to the King of Prussia's headquarters at Yendresse. " While the king was wi'iting this note, Count Bis- marck came up to Generals Sheridan and Forsyth, and myself, and heartily shook our hands. ' Let mc con- gratulate you most sincerely, count,' said General Sheri- dan. ' I can only compare the surrender of Napoleon to that of General Loe at Appomattox Court-House.' " When it came my turn to grasp the chancellor's hand, I could not help saying, after I had warmly congratulated him, ' You cannot but feel a pride. Count Bismarck, in having contributed so largely to the winning of to-day's victory.' ' Oh ! no, my dear sir,' was the mild answer ; * I am no strategist, and have nothing to do with the win- ning of battles. What I am proud of is, that the Bavarians, the Saxons, and the Wiirtembergers have not only been on our side, but have had so largo a share — tlie largest share — in the glory of the day ; that they are with us, and not against us. That is my doing. I don't think the French will say now that the South Germans will not fight for our common fatherland.' l]ETWLMi:N FRANCE AND GERMANY. 2Gi) "I asked his excellency whether Louis was taken with liis papa, and was told that no one knew ; and I tliink that no one much cared where that little man was. " When the king had written his letter, he himself lianrled it to Adjutant-General Reille, who stood bare- headed to receive it — the Italian and Crimean medals glittering on his breast in the fading sunlight. Queen Victoria's imago and superscription have not often been seen on the uniforms of men surrendering without (conditions. " At 7.40 Adjutant-General Reille left for the belea- guered town, escorted by the uhlans. The duster which had served as a flag of truce was offered to mo as a souvenir of that memorable day ; but it had a strong resemblance to other dusters, and I declined the proffered relic. •'As soon as Adjutant-General Reille was gone I was most anxious to be off to the Belgian frontier, in the hope of getting messages through ; but Count Bismarck's aid- de-camp assured me that it was physically impossible to go that night, and that I must wait till morning, and even then must be careful not to fall into the hands of stray French soldiers, who were known to be dispersed in all directions along the Belgian frontier, and to be little better than bandits. So I slept at the village of Chevange, a mile behind our post, after a little hunting for quarters, actually getting a bed. " Next morning early I started for Belgium. As I rode along I suddenly came first on a knot of uhlans ; then on two lackeys in the green and gold imperial livery. Direct- ly behind them came His Majesty Napoleon III, in his travelling carriage, on his v/aj- to report himself a prisoner at King William's headquarters at Veiidresse, a litUe dirty villan;e some ciu'lit miles fi'om Sedan." ■ill w m tm i'M 270 THE GREAT WAR CHAPTER XVII. FAIJ. OF TIIH EMPIRE — CARITULATION OF MKTZ- 5^ REPUBLIC PROCLAIMED. -Tin: (HILE this desperate fighting, terminating in an inevitable, if not an ingloiious, surrender, was going on around Sedan, Marslial Baz- aine, for whose benefit and release Mac- Mahon had perilled and lost his army, at- tempted to break out of Metz by a sortie from the northeast. Why he selected this point, which would, if successful, have carried him still iiirther away from MacMidion's army, docs not exactly appear ; })ossibly because he may have believed the Ger- man investing force weakest at that point. The sortie was commenced on the morninjj: of Auijust 31st, at which time the army of Marshal MacMahon was not less than seventy miles distant, and the railroad con- nections broken .and in the hands of the Prussians. The German foi'ce on the cast side of the Moselle besieging, or rather isolating, Metz, belonged to the Second Army, and that corps, consisting almost entirely of East-Prussian line-troo})s and landwehr, was under the s])Ocial connnand of General von Manteufiel. This corps lay in almost a semicircle from Malvoy and Olgy, eight or nine miles north of Metz, to tlie river Sille, three miles south of the city. The fighting commenced between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning of August 31st, the French troops massing heavily, and hurling themselves on the German left wing just at Colombcy and Bellecroix, villages nearly due east from Metz. They were vigorously supported by the fire from Fort Bellecroix and Fort St. Julien, as well as from some batteries hitherto masked. There was a feint of nt- 111 UCTWEEN FKANCE AND (lEllMANV. 271 attacking the German right wing lying between Malvoy and Chai-ly, liut it was only a feint. About *A r. M. the French, under command of (Jencral Le Bci'iif in person, made a most determined and resolute attack upon the German centre at Sei-vigny, Retonfay, and Noisseville, supported by concealed batteries and the forts. The fighting was of the most des}ierate and obstinate charac- ter. Servigny, Noisseville, Retonfay, and Poixe were each taken and retaken several times, much of the fight- ing on the German side being done with the- bayonet. The battle did not cease till 11 P.M., and the troops on both sides rested on their arms. Fighting was resumed the next morning at 4 A.M., al- though the whole field was covered with a thick fog. The ground about the village of Noisseville was again fought over obstinately, the village itself being captured and lost three times by each party. On the left flank, Flanville and Corney were captured by the Germans ; and on the right, after desperate fighting, the French were driven southward and into Metz, being pushed into and through the Grimont wood, .and Grimont itself, under the guns of Fort St. Julien. Once more the French centre advanced against Servigny, and its right think tocrk and retook, but finally lost, Mercy Ic Haut ; but their attacks were de- livered with less force than at first, and finally ceased about midday, Sejitember 1st. The loss en the German side was about 3,000, officers and men ; on the French side, considerably heavier. The full reports of these bat- tles have not yet, we believe, been published, but we subjoin the despatches of two of the German generals. From Malaincourt General Steihlp (chief of staff to Prince Frederick Charles) telegraphed on the 2nd of September : " From the morning of August 31st to mid-day of Seji- tember 1st, Marshal Bazaine has almost unceasingly attempted, vt'^ith several corps from Metz, to break througli toward the north. General von MantcuHel, under the chief command of I'rincc Frederick Charles, lias repulsed all these attemjjts in glorious battles which may be united under the name of Battle of Noisseville. T]»o ^.1 VMS r ;V fi '.. ilfi «i It;? :J:iy: 272 THE cau:AT WAll enemy was thrown Lack into the fortress. The first and ninth corps, Kunimer's division (lino and hmdwohr), and the twcnty-ei^dith infantry hrigade, took part in the hattle. Tliu jn-incipal fighting took place at Servigny, Noissevillo, and Retonfay. Night snrprises were repulsed with East-Prussian bayonets and clubbed muskets. Our losses are not yet ascertained, but not very large jiropor- tionally ; those of tlie enemy heavy." General vcjn j^.lanteuffel telegraphed : " Since yestei'dny morning Marshal Bazaino has been in battle day and night with his entire army, against the first army-corps and Kunimer's division; and yesterday night and to-day lie has been everywhere driven back. The French liave fought with the greatest courage, but liave to give way to the East-Prussians. Prince Freder- ick Charles, the commander-in-chief of the blockading troops, has yesterday and to-day exjiressed his recognition and his good wishes for both victories. The fourth landwehr division took a distinguished part in to-day's victory. " von Manteuffel." The French trooi)s, finding all their efforts to break through the cordon of troops which surrounded them unavailing, withdrew, in the afternoon of September 1st, within their fortified lines. Strasbourg, Laon, Toul, and Pfalzburg still held out, and these, with Metz, detained nearly 200,000 German troops to isolate and besiege them. Thcsre was, however, no lack of German soldiers, notwithstanding the terrible slaughter of the battles already fought. On the 4th of September the King of Prussia, at the head of the First, Third and Fourth Armies — a force of not less than 300,000 men — was marching toward Paris. Subsequent re- enforcements brought up the entire German armies in France to above 700,000 men, notwithstanding all losses. While this surrender was going on at Sedan, and the attempted sortie at Metz was proving unsuccessful, what wjis the condition of affairs at Paris ? There had not been wanting indications of the speedy downfall of the empire. Even as early as the battle of Woerth, on the Gth of BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 273 August, tlio Ollivicr ministry liad tried in vain to r(>j)n«ss tliL- i)old questioning nnd the daring and inconvenient in- terpellation of the radicals in the Corjxs L(5gislatif; and after the downfall of that cabinet, the Palikao ministry found themselves compelled to allow the radical members a share in the Committee of Defence. ]3onunciations of the emperor's policy and generalship liad become alarm- ingly frequent, and, though the Palikao ministry had [)er- sistently deceived the people, representing nearly every defeat as either a victory, or, at most, a drawn battle, and on the very day of the surrender, and at least an hour after the preliminaries of the capitulation had been agreed upon, had published a desj»atch from the emperor, saying, " All goes wonderfully well ; our plans all succeed, ' yet there was a restlessness and impatience which betokened the coming storm. And a fearful storm it proved. " The commotion," says an eye-witness, " commenced on Saturday, September 8rd. The news of the emperor's surrender, and the capitulation of ^lacMahon's arm}^ were made known to the empress at 7 o'clock in the evening. She immediately retired into her apartment, and refused to receive even intimate friends. Toward I) o'clock the broad fticts were known to a few persons only, but a general uneasiness ])revailed, and angry groups assembled. At 11 o'clock on Sunday, while the mobiles, on their way to camp at Saint Maur, accompanied by a small crowd., were proceeding uj) the Boulevards toward the Bastille, the}'" sung the Marseillaise, and some shouted, ' L(t d6cli(^ance !' — ' The overthrow' (of the empire). This cry had been already heard in other localities. " Opposite the guard-house of the police sergeants, on the Boulevard Bonne Novelle, the police charged a crowd with drawn swords and i-evolvers, killing a garde mobile, a national guard, and injuring sever.-d people. The mob turned upon the police and drove them back. The news of this act excited great indignation, and cries of ' Down with the police sergeants'' were heard everywhere. The crowd had also assembled in the Place de la Concorde and about the Chamber of Deputies. This crowd was also charged by the police, and many individuals were I km I Nil I'M 274 THE (aU':AT WAR *r.:t 4s hurt. I'lio l)ri(li>^o was IkutlmI to tlio public, and paraded by tliu ])()]ico and troops till niidnij^lit "At the sitting of tho cliandter, at noon, Count do Palikao made the following olHcial statonient of the disaster to MacMahon's army, and the c'a})ture of the emperor : " ' Frkxcjimen : France has encountered a great mis- fortune ' After three days' heroic lighting by AlacMahon against o()(),()00 enemies, 40,000 men were made prisoners. General do Wimpffen, who had assumed the chief command of the army in the place of the severel3''-wounded Marshal MacMahon, subscribed the capitulation. This terrible nusfortune shall not shake our courage. Paris is to-'lay in a state of defence. The military forces of the land arc organizing themselves, and in a few days a new arm}'- will stand under the walls of Paris. Another army is forming on tho banks of the Loire. Your patriotism, your unanimity, your energy, will save France. The emperor was made prisoner in this battle. The govei'n- ment unites with the great bodies of state. They will take every measure which the gravity of the occasion demands.' " Jules Favrc demanded a vote of decheancc, but the chamber adjourned till next day at 12 o'clock. The news w^as not generally known till after 9 o'clock on Sunday morning, when the ministerial statement appeared on the walls and in the morning [)apers. Soon immense excite- ment was apparent everywhere. By noon the Place de la Concorde Avas crowded, and tho ]mssage of the bridge interrupted to the public by the police sergeants, gendar- merie on liorseback, and the troops on the bridge and around the chamber. Popular deputies were recognized, and met Avith acclamations and cries of 'La decheance !' and ' Vive la rcqnihlique!' As the day Avorc on the crowds augmented. On the passage of companies of national guards, the people shouted, ' Vive iijjarde natiomde !' ' Vive la repuhliqe f and the guards reciprocated, " At "1 P.M. the gates of tho Tuileries garden were closed, and had remained so since morning, Avatched by the zou- i;et\vi:l:n fiianch and (jeiimany, •no uvea and other (lotaclinicnts of tlio iniperlal guard. The ])eo})le oil the outside were trying to shake the gates on tlie side of the Phiee de la Concorde. At ''I'M) o'clock a rush was made by a ])art of the crowd, heaJed by some of the national guard. The police sergeants and gendarmerie made an armed demonstration of resistance, but suddenly Adclded, and the crowd rushed by, shouting, 'La dcclie- ancc !' and 'Vive la repiihliquc f People fraternized witli the genda ^nes and troop.s, and these with the na- tional nuard. Tiieivi was no resisting the masses who followed, and soon they surrounded the chandler, and finally invaded it. At 3 o'clock shouting and commotion in front of the chandicr'Avere heard. I saw the crowd from the Place de la Concorde. A procession marched slowly along the quay. The members of the Left recog- nized that they were being escorted to the Hotel de Ville. Then came a rush of the mol) from the other side of the bridge, the national guards, the mobiles, and the troops shouting, ' Dech^ancc !' and ' Vive la rcpLiblique !' "It becomes known that the emperor is deposed by the chamber, and that the republic is declared. The people rush upon the police sergeants and disarm them. One national guard has his head gashed with a sword, and in led away. The police sergeants get off the best way they can. The people assail the gates of the Tuileries. The guards, after a menace, consent to a parley. The men clamber up and wrench off the eagles from the gates. The gates are presently opened, and the people flock in, going toward the palace. The flag is still flying from the toj) of the central ])avilion. The crowd approaches the jH'ivate garden. There is a detachment of troops there. The ofKcer is summoned to open the gates. Ho refuses, but says he can let his men be re[)laced by the national guard. This is done, and the officer saves his honor. The people walk in, and immediately invade the interior of the palace. The flag is torn and handed down. The em- press has left. The moljilcs and people amuse themselves looking at the albums and the prince imperial's playthings. They notice that the draj)eries of the windows are partly removed. 'J'he people write with chalk, ' Death to m ■I.T.C ::■ h I ^^v 270 THE (JTIEAT WAR m\ (, ;. Tliieves.' They respect property. The whole piiL-iee is visited, but notliing removed. " Meanwhile, in the morning-, at an earlier hour, the deputies were returnhig to a[)point a committee to con- sider the three proposals submitted by Palikao, Thiers, and Favre. These were as follows : That of Jules Favi'e, |)resented the previous day, was : " ' Article I. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte an ,i ■ff wmn :i7i> TJIK (UIKAT WAIl \ . ■'* n; \'^' 1 ; .1 ' . ^1 ;llul,fililill^^ |)uts on liis liiit and ([uits the cliaiiilier. The president tries unsiu'cesst'ully to allay tho nproar, tAvo'dep- utics going to bis assistance, and all tlircc very violently gesticulating. The depnties of th( Left, address the })e()- plc, striving to ijueli the tumult. Then Ganibetta ap})e!\ls to them to j)rescrvc order, and to await the arrival of tho re))resentatives, as they will bring in the (,ucstion of ' JJachcance.' " it is now l\ o'clock, Sudtlenly a crowd of jieoplc rush into the ball. The deputies try to ken tbem back, but the ball is entirely invaded. The prr mIci ., puts on his hat and leaves the hall, dcchiring the susaiOn closed. As ho quits his seat, national guards and people come crowd- ing in. There are general cries of ' Vive la rapuhluiKe !' The de[>uties of the Left, njix witb the ])eople, anil cry, 'To the Hotel de Ville !' Gambctta and other repnl»lieaii leaders, leave the chamber and go in procession down tho Pont de la Concorde, followed by the crowd. " Meanwhile, outside the chamber, men climb up to the statue of Law, over the ])ortal, and destroy the eagle which adorns the baton in the hands of the image. Then it is itself destroyed — the head lirst, then the arms. Gambctta and the ])rocession ])ass down the Quai des Tuilerios. Soldiers applaud and shout with the crowd. A lieutLMi- ant-colonol cries, * Vive la rcpuhliqae f The ])rocessiou stoi)S and fraternizes. The Turos and the Spahis at the barracks of tho Quai d'Orsay, wave their turbans. Tho ilag over the pavilion of the Tuileries is hauled down. In fi'ont of tho Prefecture thei'c are cries of ' Dc)wn with Pietri !' The Prefecture is closely shut. " Arrived in front of the Hotel de Ville, the crowd for- ces its way in. Jules Favre and Jules Ferry go to tho fuither end of tho gTcat hall. Two gardes mobiles, Avith drawn swoi'ds, claml;)er u]) the oi'namental chinnied. As ; crowtl- hluiner aiui cry, )iil)lican own tlio [) to tlic Ic wlucli lien it is ambotta 'uileries. lieutcii- 'ocession is at the IS. The 3\vn, In vvn with jwd for- ;o to tlic les, with ;i(!y, antl iinbettn, e beside i-Bizoiii, K<5ratry public a I fact, and that Emmanuel Arago is aj)pointed mayor of Paris, The people shout approval. The bureau is con- stituted. Keratry is appointed prefect of police. The bureau retires to constitute a provisional government and ministry. At 4 o'clock the bureau returns, and Gambetta declares the provisional government constituted under the title of the Committee of National Defence, consist- ing of Arago, Crdmieux, f'avre, Simon, Gambetta, Ferry, Glais-Bizoin, and Garnier-Pages. The people shout Roche- fort's name. It is added amid acclamation. The mem- bers of government again retire. There is a discussion wluither the tri-color or the red Hag is to be adopted. Schrelcher says 'tri-color,' and it is adopted. " The Rochefort episode was as follows : A ]iundred of Rochefort's constituents met, by appointment, at 3 P.M., at the Great Mai'keC Hall. At a given signal the leader raised a cane with a tlag attached to it, and, with a shout, 'To Sainte Pdlagie !' ascended. The group was joined by other men who, up to that time, had been lurking in the immediate vicinity, making in all about 300 when they reached the prison. There were three mariiie.in])er the investment of I>^: 1 '*' im 'i? ^ 1 ! I n; ^]} f i M^ i ^ iil 282 THE ClRKiST WAR Paris was complete. On the 23rd, Toul surrendered, and Strasbourg followed on the 27th of Se])teniber. 7'he gar- rison of Toul was very small (only about 2,350), but the fortifications Avere of such strength that they had endured a long siege. The amount of war-material surrendered was large. The garrison of Strasbourg numbered i7,0{)t) men and 451 officers, aside from the large jjopalation of the city. The events of the 1st and 2nd of September, followed by the revolution of the 4th of September, seemed to have so confused and stunned the minds of the Fj'ench leaders and people as to render them incapable ot' any judicious action. Even General Trochu, the only one of their leaders who had any clear idea of their difficulties and dangers, confined his efforts to fortifying Paris, re- gardless of the fact that, with a population of two millions in the city, and an army of 430,000 cut off by the siege from any active movements, a capitulation must be inevitable within a short period — not more, certainly, than ten or twelve weeks — and that capitulation would involve the surrender of this great army, and the virtual annihihition of the entire French military power. Of the entire armed force which France had been able to put into the field, or could in any emergency bring into service, estimating it in round luimlx^rs at 1,000,000 men — though that number was never under arms at once during the war — not less than 150,000 were hors de combat from sickness, wo\uids, or death on the field of battle. 00,000 men had been taken prisoners previous to the surrender at Sedan ; over 100,000 were made prison- ers there ; nearly 30,000 at MgIa, in the battles of August 31st and September 1st, and the subsequent capitulations of Toul, Strasbourg, &c. More than 200,000 more were shut up in Metz and eventually surrendered ; and these 430,000 being withdrawn from active service, there would be left, in the event of their surrender, but a mere hand- ful of troops to defend France against the invader. It seems never to have occurred to these leaders that 150,000, or 200,000 at the utmost, could defend Paris better than twice that number, iind that, with fewer moutlis to feed, i BETWEKX FRANCE AND CEllMANY. 2sn 4 thoy couM protract the .siege proportionally lonj^or ; while their Jirmies in the field niii^ht inliict such daniaj^^i upon the enemy as to compel him to raise the si(^ge of the cii])ital. But the greatest misfortune wliich aHiicted France during the whole of this war, was the want of honest, capable, and efficient leaders. The people were bravo and patriotic, though, except the regular army, they were unskilled in the use of arms; but their leaders, when not traitors — as some of tliem imdoubtedly were — lacked knoAvledge of military affairs, and cajmcity for the important and responsible positions in which they were placed. The siege of Paris illustrated this most pain- fully. With two millions of people shut u]) in that gi'cat city, the accumulated sup})lies dealt out b}" weight ami measure, and their enemy carefully guarding every avenue by which further supplies could reach them, the great mass of the population seem to have been turbu- lent and troublesome, improvident, and insensible to the the dangers which threatened them. « Crime was ram- pant, riots frequent, and the sorties to drive back the foe and raise the siege infrequent and ineffective. At the same time, their tendency to boasting and exaggeration seemed constantly to increase. ICvery little sortie, how- ever badly conducted or speedily repulsed, was magnified into a wonderful victory. They had slain 15,000, 20,000, or 30,000 Prussians, with a loss of only a. hundred or two themselves; — the Prussians had Ijecome disgusted, and were about to abandon the siege ; indeed they had already abandoned it, and the way was now open to all ])arts of Fi'ance ; — the German leaders were wounded or killed in these sanguinary battles, or had died of typhoid fever, or become maniacs from remorse ; — von Moltke, Prince Fi'cderick Charles, the Crown Prince of Prussia, the Crown Prince of Saxony, the Duke of Mecklenburg- Schwerin, and General von Manteuffel, were all reported as dead, and the King of Prussia had gone back to Berlin m a straight-jacket, under the care of Count von Bis- marck, If it had been only idle, sensational ])a])ers which hatl propagated these silly stories it would have been bad enough, for the immense crop of falsehoods r:: ii] .'■ ii ' .^. V 0|.',''' it ? ;!■' m 11 I'M i m M n 1^ '-^ :«l ^■•i t'l 284 TilJI ORHAT WAR would Imvo indicated that the people were ready to be deceived ; but it was their leaders — such men as Gaui- betta, Crdniieux, Glais-Bizoin, and Favre — who reiterated these falsehoods, and, in default of any foundation upon which to base them, fabricated, in their proclamations, the details of oonflicts and victories which were entirely fictitious. The sympathy of the friends of free and liberal gov- ernment were at first heartily with the newly-proclaimed French Republic ; they hoped to see a sound government of the people, for the people, spring from the corruption, rottenness and decay of the empire ; but a government founded upon falsehood, and maintaining its hold upon the people solely by the grossest misrepresentations, whatever may be the motive of those falsehoods, soon loses its hold on the confidence or sympathy of right- thinking men of all nations. For the people they may feel the tonderost concern ; for their leaders, their only emotion can bo that of disgust When the Gernum armies were about closing around the doomed city, a part of the provisional government removed to Tours, and there exercised their functions. At first it waa only Crdmieiix, Glais-Bi^oin, and Fouri- clion who thus attempto^l to govern from Tours. Favre subsequently joined them, and Gambetta, after remaining awhile in raris, finally escaped from that city in a bal- loon, Trochu, Ferry, Arago, Rochefort, and one or two more or less prominent, remained in Paris. The Tours section postponed the election of a constitutional assem- bly indefinitely, and, while making the most frantic appeals to the European powers to intervene and secure peace, constantly proclaimed that they would not give up one foot of territory or one stone of a fortress. Great efi'orts were made to raise an array in the south of France, to bo called the Army of the Loire. Only undisciplined and raw recruits were available, with few excei)tions, for this army, but it was expected to do great things. General Bourbaki, who, by an adroit manoeuvre, had succeeded in getting out of Metz before its surrender, was to have command ol' it, ami its nuK.liors were vari- DETWRKN FRANCIS AND GERMANY. 285 may only give ously stated at from 100,000 to 150,000 men. At length, in the last days of October, General Bourbaki assumed command ; but, finding that it had at no time mustered over 00,000 men, and that tlicsu were the rawest (jf recruits and const.antly deserting, he threw up the com- mand in disgust. Garibaldi, iha Italian hero, was called to command ono of the armies of the republic, and, thougli crippled and Buffering from the still unhealed wounds of Montana, ho camo, only to find that all his efforts would be neutralized by tho jealousies of Gam- betta and his associates, and that not more than 5,000 men — not a quarter of them well equipped — could be allowed to gather around his standard. The frane- tireurf!, a class of guerillas or brigands, formed themselves into bands of considerable numbers, and occasionally raided on tho German lines ; but finding that, under the wholesome though rigid regulations of King William, they wore liable to bo marched immediately to execution when caught, they very generally preferred tho safer if less honorable plan of plundering their own countrymen. There were, indeed, occasional sorties of some magnitude l>oth from Paris and Metz ; but these seldom rose to tho dignity of battles,and were invariably unsuccessful, though ono or two of them inflicted considerable loss upon tho Germans, but a much gi'eater one on themselves. The most noteworthy of those at Paris was ono of the 19th of September, and another early in Octobei-. Neither seem to have been in any respect a success for the French, though both were vaunted as such. Tho affair of the 19th of September originated in an attack made by General Ducrot, who, in violation of his parole of honor given at Gravelotte, had taken a command again in tho French army, upon the Germans who were occupying the woods of Meudon, Clamart, Chatenay, Fontenai, and Choisy, a lino of six miles on tho south of Paris. Ducrot had about 40,000 men, and occupied a strong position at Villojuif, and tho heights of Chatillon and Clamart ; but, attacking rnshly, and Avithout knowing what force was in his front, lie threw himself against the corps of Vogeldc Falkenstein, over 100,000 strong; and though a ]iart of his trooj)s m si m 1 I.I w 280 TIIK CHEAT WAIl m i(*^i in- fought well, othf^rs were i)anic-.stiickcn, find, in tlic end, ho WJis soundly \vhi])pcd, and lost his fortiiiod |)Osition — ji serious disaster to the French cause. SuhscMjuejit to this, there were three or four successive soi'tics made in the sanu! direction by the French, but their only result was that, after considerable severe fighting and heavy losses, the Germans each time gained some ground the}' had not ])revi()usly lield. The Germans were meanwhile oveiTunning and captur- ing other cities of France, Epinal, Etampes, Angerville, Orleans, a large and important city on the Loire, the gra- nary of France ; Gicn, and later Dijon, were taken and held by their ti-oops, and Tours, Lyons, and Marseilles threatened. The new troo})s raised (nitside of Paris after its isolation were raw recruits, a small proportion (the gardes mobiles) capable, with sufficient training and good officers, of making very superior troops, but, under the circumstances, entirely unable to cope with the thoroughly-trained Ger- man soldiers, commanded as they were by the best military talent of the century. The greater part of the French levy, whether known as national guards, partisans, franc- tlreurs, or by other titles, were utterly incapable, and either ran or surrendered after the iirst fire. Knowinu' nothing of the use of fire-arms (since Napoleon III had prohibited their use, except in the regular armj^), they had no confidence in themselves, and could not be made to fight, excej^t where the objects of their assault were un- armed. An added difficuHy which the French ])rovisional gov- ernment had to encounter, was found in the diversity of opinion among the people, and the want of cordiality which existed toward them in many parts of Franco. In Mar- seilles and Lyons, the red republicans were largely in the majority, and organized a provisional government of their own, whose object was to proclaim the doctrines of the Revolution of 175)1. " Down with the aristocrats !" was their cry ; and these ruffians Avere disposed to seize the reins of government, and I'ule renvoi at lonnairement. A fear of the German troops, and a disposition to conciliate end, on — tliis, I tliu t was ossos, d not gra- BETWEKN FJIANCK AND (;EUMAXV. 2S7 them by crood treatment and ready siiironder, ['vevailed very widely among the smaller towns and villages of* Franco, and it was not easy to raise volunteers for the army in any section to which th(!y had ))enetrated. The tract, sixty or seventy miles in width, and extend- ing from the Rhine to Paris, over which the con([iiering armies had passed, was thoroughly stvi|)|)ed of food for man and beast, and the liorrors of famine were I'elt throughout the whole district early in October. On the 29th of October Metz Avas surrendered liy jMar- shal Bazaine, although it was said there was ])rovision sufficient for the army for four months longer. Yet, as a capitulation must come sooner or later, and there was no hope of the raising of the siege, it was perhaps liumane and wise to give up before starvation came. By this ca])i- tuhition an army and garrison of 173,000 soldiers, and over 20,000 sick and wounded, were surrenderetl, the details being as follows : " C7 infantry regiments ; 13 l;)attalions of foot chasseurs ; 18 foot and ddpot battalions ; 30 cavalry regiments, na- mely : 10 of cuirassiers, 1 of guides, 11 of dragoons, 2 of lancers, 3 of hussars, C) of chasseurs, and 3 of chasseurs d'Afrique ; also, ddpot squadrons; 115 field batteries; 17 batteries of mitrailleurs ; 69 eagles belonfjinrj to in- fantry, 2 of which were captured at Mars-la-Tour, and 3G eagles belonging to cavalry. " Including the garrison surrendered, the army originally comprised 221 battalions of infantry and 102 scpiadronsof horse. The original numerical strength was 210,000 in- fantry, 21,450 cavalry, C90 guns, and 102 mitrailleurs. "Besides the forec^oinir, there were three mai-shals — Bazaine, Canrobert, and LeBauif; three corps com- manders — Frossard, do Caen, and I'Admirault ; 40 division generals ; 100 brigadier generals ; of sound ])risoners, 90,000 nt to North Germany, and 50,000 sent South ; the si ,d wovuided being distributed in tlie same pro- portion. Thirty-five thousand had perished in the siege and sorties made by the besieged, not including those who were slain in the three battles of August 14th, Kith and 18th. 'm ■*■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIIIIU i63 He 1.4 1.6 V] / A \;> y /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation £: ^^ J :\ iV \ % V «J^ '^O 6^ ^ <> " i/x /. ^ A T^k: V 288 TflR OnRAT Wi.R i ■ .'; I The intelligence of this surrender was reoeiv^ed at Tours by the provisional government with great rage and indig- nation. Marshal Bazaine was denounced as a traitor, and the resolve to continue the resistance unflinchingly wuh duly promulgated in the following proclamati(Hi : " FiiKNcii Republic. "Liberty — Equality — Frateunitt. "Proclamation to the French People. " Frenchmen : Raise your spirits and resolution to the fearful height of the perils which have broken upon the country. It still depends on us to mount above misfor- t me, and show the world how great a people may ho who are resolved not to perish, and whose courage increases in tlie midst of calamity. " Metz has capitulated. A general, upon whom France counted, even after Mexico, has just tak«n away (vieni d'enlever) from the country, in its danger, more than a hvmdred thousand of its defenders. Marshal Bazaine luvs betrayed us. He has made himself the agent of the Man of Sedan, and the accomplice of the invader ; and, regard- less of the honor of the army of which he had charge, he has surrendered, without even making a last effort, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men, twenty thousand wounded, guns, cannon, colors, and the strong- est citadel of France — Metz-]a-Puoelle; hut for him, to the contamination of the foreigner, such a crime is oven above the punishments of justice! " Meanwhile, Frenchmen, measure the depths of the abyss into which the empire has precipitated you. For twenty years Franco submitted to this corrupting power, whicli extinguished in lier the springs of greatness and of life. The army of France, stripped of its national charac- ter, became, without knowing it, an instrument of tyranny and of servitude, and is swallowed up, in spite of the heroism of the soldiers, by the treason of their chiefs. " In the disasters of tlie coiuitry in less than five njonths, 250,()()0 men have been delivered over to the i n V ;.} m' UETWBEN FllANOIi: AND GERMANY. 289 to enemy — a Hinister Hcqiiel to the military coiq^ da main of December. " It is time for us to reassert ourselves, citizens ; and under the a^gis of the republic, which we have determined not to allow to capitulate, within or without, to seek, in the extremity even of our misfortunes, the renovation of our political and social morality and manhood. " However tried by disaster, let us be found neither panic-stricken nor hesitating. Let it be seen that we are ready for the last sacrifices ; and, in the face of enemies whom everything ftivors, let us swear never to give up so long as there remains an inch of sacred soil under the soles of our feet. Let us hold firmly the glorious banner of the French revolution. Our cause is that of justice and of right. Europe sees it ; Europe feels it. In the presence of so many unmerited misfortunes, Europe, of her own accord, receiving from us neither invitation nor encouragement, is moved, and begins to act. No illusion is now left. Let us no longer languish or grow weak, and lot us prove by our acts that wc can by ourselves maintain honor, independence, integrity — all that makes a country proud and free. " Long live the republic, one and indivisible ! " Cr^mieux, " Glais-Bizoin, " Gambetta." This proclamation had the merit of being more trutliful than those which had preceded it, but it did not come up to the full measure of the misfortunes of France. At this very time over three hundred thousand French soldiers were ])risoners in Germany ; one hundred and fifty thou- sand more had perished by sickness, or had fallen on the field of battle ; the regular army, except a few regiments on garrison duty, or who had but just returned from Algeria, was completely destroyed ; the more than four hundred thousand troo])s shut u]i in Paris were composed of national guards, mobiles, and other raw recruits, not only undisciplined, but completely ignorant of the use of lire-arniK, having been forbidden to posBOBS tbem during mm -'■:l i;-. \ ' * i % . It it ■■.; ' ) . * m !2D0 THE CHEAT WAil ^^^1 II \ fl^B 1™" k ■ f . ■ Hi t]i(3 whole of Louis Napoleon's administration. The armies which Gambetta was trying to raise and arm in the pro- vinces Averc e(pially undisciplined and ignorant. There were no generals oi" known reputation left, cxcei)t Troclni and Ducrot, who were both in Paris, and Bourbaki in the army of the Loire, whose fidelity to the pro- A'isionnl government was probably unjustly doubted. The encj'gy and executive ability which Gambetta had displayed, and which had enabled him to improvise large armies, was very creditable to him ur der the circumstances in Avhich he was placed ; but if he permitted himself any moments of sound reflection, he must have seen that his l.isk was a hopeless one. The errors already committed in the defence of Paris rendered its surrender at no very distant day inevitable; and the irregular and undisciplined troops he had collected and could collect were not only incompetent to compel the raising of the siege of Paris, but were unable to withstand the thoroughly trained and disciplined German troops, Avhenever they met in any- thing like equal numbers. There was nothing to hope for in the future, except a peace made on terms which Avould be more severe and distressing with each added (lay of resistance. Meanwhile the winter months were drawing on, and the crops, unusually scanty as they were, had been in many sections either harvested, or seized by the invading forces ; the French peasantr}-, never too provident, and living almost from hand to mouth, were famishing, and looked forward in grim de- spair to a winter of famine and death. Already, too, Avere the hoarse muttcrings of another revolution heard from, various quarters, and the provi- sional government found its authority denied, and its orders unheeded in Southern France. Yet the pride and conceit of the French leaders and of the French people was unsubdued. Though almost every- Avhere defeated, they insisted that every reverse Avas a victory, or, at the most, but a blessing in disguise ; and until they Avere sufficiently humbled to OAvn their Aveak- ncss, there seemed no hope of their relief, Alas, poor France ! hoAV bitterly dost thou suffer for all 1!ETW1-:EN FRANCE AND GEILMANV. 201 thy sins in the past ! Tlie 1)1(K)iI of thousands of martyrs slain by thy kini^s ; the terrible disorder and anarcliy of tliy rrreat llevohition ; the greed and vain-glory which led tiiec to crave and take, whenever thou hadst the opportunity, the lands and spoil of other nations ; the insane love of glory which lias made thee willing to ])lungc into v/ar on the slightest pretexts, and thus ren- dered thee the terror of all thy neighbors ; and, above all, the licentiousness and corruption which have eaten out thy life, and rendered thee seemingly only fit for destruc- tion — all these thy crimes rise up in judgment against thee, and cry for vengeance on thy head. But if thou wilt be wise, there is still hope for thee. When thou hast passed through the furnace, and thy dross is thoroughly l)urged from thee, there shall arise a new France, purer and better than the old, and take its place among the sisterhood of the nations, a regenerated and truly great people. :..|: 'II il iiii ■I ■: JJ>H 'Ut r ^ijft-B? %^p^ i 292 THE GREAT WAll ■ 1 ^'lv'Hr#^' CHAPTER XVIII. SIEGE OF PARIS — THE ARMY OF THE LOIRE. N continuing our narmtive of the events of the war after the surrender of Metz, we must confine ourselves mainly to two topics : the siege of Paris, with its sorties and final surrender ; and . the eiforts made in the provin;:;es to compel the '"^^^ raising of the siege of Paris, and also to defeat •^^^ the Germans in other parts of France. Though distinct from each other, these two topics were so con- nected that they can only be considered properly to- gether. We have already detailed the approach of the German nrmies to Paris, their partial investment of the city on the loth of September, and the more complete beleaguering of it by the close of the month ; but one or two items in relation to this investment are worthy of notice, though antedating the capitulation of Metz, The German armies first deployed, about the middle of September, before the northeastern defences of Paris. This part of the line of investment was established without se- rious opposition, greatly to the surprise of the Germans, who anticipated resistance at the passage of the Seine. Trochu's troops were certainly unfit at this time to be trusted in battle, and could not have prevented the in- vestment, though they might have retarded it under a skilful general, without jeopardy to themselves. If it was wise, however, not to oppose the passage of the Seine with such troops, it was madness to attempt, as Trochu did four days later, the re-occupation of the elevated country south of Paris. The extension of the German line from the Seine to Versailles in front of the southern line of forts, brought on im engagement (September lUth) OIKK. its of tlie -ist confine siege of nder; and ompel tlie to defeat Thougli •e so con- Dpei'ly to- le German 2ity on the leagiiering ) items in !e, though middle of iris. This 'ithout fic- Germans, ihe Seine, me to be d the in- i under a If it was the Seine is Trochu elevated 3 German southern iber lyth) ►^ ^ ■ I ' ■ 'A ■i ■. ■■ '4 ... ii if I »5 -". \ ■.' 1^ II II ■V^:!fe-r r.ETWEKN FRAXCi: AND (JKiniANY. 200 known to tlio Frencli as the battle of Cliatillon, and to tlie CJernunis as that of Sceaux. Lj-ing hotwcen the two towns thus named, and comnianding the country round, and the French forts in its front, is a range of hills knoAvn as the Heights of Sceaux ; and it was for the possession of this position that the battle was fought. General Trocliu, with apparently culpable negligence, had failed to seize and fortify this important position. He had declared his intention to remain strictly on the defensive, until lie could arm, organize, and discipline the immense mass of gardes mobiles, marines, and volunteers who had crowded into Paris for its defence. He doubtless had also some indefinite hope of aid coming from the army which had already begun to form on the Loire at Orleans ; but dependance on this force, or on his own unskilled sol- diery, was, as events proved, mistaken confidence. B\it after resolving that nothing remained to him but to hold the defensive, Trochu was weak enough to be overruled by the advice of subordinates and the wishes of his asso- ciates in the government, and' consented to make an effort to retake the heights, which he had permitted the Ger- mans to seize without opposition. If it was folly not to have secured them before the approach of the Germans, it was insanity to attempt to recapture them with a single corps of half-drilled, untried troops. The unwisely-order- ed attack was badly directed and tardily conducted ; the troops displayed great gallantry, but they also displayed their want of discipline, and their efforts naturally result- ed in positive repulse. The movements of the Germans in strensjtheninG: their lines south and west of the city more than once induced Trochu to make reconnoissances, which in one or two instances resulted in brief but serious enirajxements. On September 3()th two columns, operating from Chatillon and St. Cloud, advanced to develop changes which had been made in the investing line in front of these positions, l)ut they had hardly deployed before overwhelming num- bers of Germans were advancing from their bivouacs to meet them. The French were driven back at both points, and, being flanked on their right l)y the overlapping lines N f'^ ■■II .1* M'^ li ^ 2i)-l THE ORUAT WAJl of the Germans, suffered severe losses. The only result of the afl'air was to reveal precisely what the French did not wish assured them — that the Germans were daily transferring forces from the east to the west side of Paris, and preparing to bombard the city on its weakest front. By these movements, masked by the Heights of Sceaux and their own strongly maintained lines., the Germans finally disposed their great forces around the city. The Saxon corps, a brave body of troops, but weakened by their heavy losses in the battles around Metz, were first in order on the north-northeast of the city, over- looking La Bridie, St, Denis, and the Fort de L'Est. Next in order, northeast of the city, were the Prussian guards, the finest corps of the Prussian Army, having in their front the Fort of Aubervilliers ; next, at the east and southeast, lay the Wurtemburg division, the troops which distinguished themselves at Sedan. Between these and the city were the strong forts of Romainville, Denois, Rosny, and Nogent. South of the city, and to the south- southeast, lay tho small fifteenth Prussian corps, the sixth Prussian, and tho second Bavarian corps, and along tho front of this lino bristled some of tho strongest forts of tho Parisian defences — Charenton, Ivry, Bicetre, Mont- rouge, Vanvres, and Issy. At the southwest and west tho eleventh and fifth Prussian corps held strongly fortified lines, having the great fortress of Mont St. Valerien oc- cupying a neck of land formed by the bend of the Seine, in their front; while the fourth Prussian corps extended from the opposite bank of tho Seino to Pierrefitte, whore it joined the Saxon corps. Tho circle thus completed about Paris was never broken; but it must not bo supposed that the whole army was stretched out along tho positions wo have named. From the five or six pickets who watched from the entrenched posts nearest the enemy the every move- ment of the besieged, to tho last cantonment of tho corps in tho roar, fully five miles of ground intervened. The picket posts wero all shell-proof earthworks, hardly larger that tho " gopher holes " of our own troops, but much moro elaborately built. Behind each of thewo posts liETWKRN FllANClC AND ({KiniANY, 2i).J ily result :ench did 3re daily ! of Paris, :est front. >f Sceaux Germans weakened letz, were iity, over- de L'Est. « Prussian havin;; in le east and ops which these and le, Denois, the south- , the sixth along the ist forts of tre, Mont- i west the y fortified alerien oc- the Seine, 3 extended itte, whore was never the whole , wo have ,ched from rery movo- : the corps mod. The ks, hardly troops, hut thcMO posts their reserves of a company were posted in farm-houses ; behind these a regiment in some convenient hamlet or chateau ; beliind tlicsCj again, a brigade cantoned in the comfortable dwellings of the nearest village ; further still to the rear a division lived in camps, or chateaux, or towns ; and, last of all, distant, yet not so far away that it could not promptly deploy to aid the advance when attacked, were the corps in possession of the larger cities, as Versailles, St. Germain, &c. This disposition gave the Germans every facility for concentrating immense num- bers on any threatened point to repulse the sorties of the French. The system on which the Germans conducted the siege was different in many respects from that in vogue during our own war. The advanced posts, where small bodies of men kept vigilant lookout on the proceed- ings of the French in the city and forts, wore strongly entrenched with the design of being held until supports could como up. In their immediate rear larger forces were posted in camps, or stationed in convenient farm- houses, villas, and chateaux; while divisions and corps, still further to the rear, were cantoned in the numerous villages and towns which form suburban Paris. With houses to live in, warm beds and rich linen to rest upon, wine in the cellars, fruit on the trees, and vegetables from near and distant gardens of the occupied departments, the besiegers had little dread from delay, and could afford to wait until famine forced capitulation. Strong as this lino was known to be, the French did not despair of breaking through it ; and while the Germans prepared for the bom- bardment, their enemy made two or three fruitless efforts to raise the siege and escape. The most of these were made against Trochu's judgment, and, badly supported and worse directed, failed ignominiously. The first of any note, made on October 28th against Lo Bourget, on the north of Paris, appears to have been permitted as a Bort of concession to a cor{)s of Paris volunteers, led by noted communists. It is sifjnificant of the condition of Paris at this time, that, on its failure and the repulse of their corps with heavy loss, communists of Paris invaded the Hotel do Villo, captured Troclni and the members of 'n ) J).'— i 'flTJl 1^: W'r f, ,f 1^ 1 f .iU- r'l^ :^i i 2i)0 THE CRKAT WAR tliG government, proclaimed a new republic, antl for several hours were in possession of the government. A corps of mobiles hap|)ily arriving, thrust the new leaders out, and restored the Committee of National Defence, else France would have been again revolutionized by a Paris mob. But while this siege Avas thus daily enclosing more llrmly in its iron grij)e the doomed city, what was doing in the provinces in the way of effort to compel the Ger- man king to raise the siege ? Justice requires the ac- knowledgment that their exertions were gi*eat; and if success had been possible with their undisciplined troops, the great obstacles in the way of organization, and the scarcity of able and efficient generals, they would have gone fai' toward achieving it. After the failure of M. Favre's eftbrts to obtain an armistice and negotiate a treaty of peace on terms which he and his associates con- sidered admissible, no further efforts were made in that direction for some months, and all the energies of the fiery, but not always wise, Gambetta were turned toward the organization of new armies, and, as his proclamations phrased it, hurling back the invader. We have already mentioned his escape with Fourichon, Cremieux, and Glais-Bizoin from Paris in a balloon, and the establish- ment of one branch of the government at Tours. He had no sooner arrived there than he undertook the work of rallying and organizing and training forces for the purpose of taking the field against the Germans. He inspired the people with his own enthusiasm, and, by sheer force of personal character and energy, he brought comparative order out of chaos, and organized three great armies, great in numbers, but still fatally and necessarily lacking in that discipline which was indispensable for success. Camps were established at Lille and Rouen in the north, at Conlic in the west, and at Orleans, Bordeaux, and Lyons in the south ; and to these flocked the recruits who had not, un- directed and unwisely, huddled in Paris. The formation of the most distant of those camps was not interrupted by the Germans, whose main forces were still engaged before Metz and Paris ; but General von Moltke seems early to and for nent. A w leaders fence, else )y a Paris sing more was doing 1 the Ger- es the ac- it; and if ed troops, Q, and the ould have Lire of M. jgotiate a dates con- de in that ■ the fiery, Ward the 3lamation3 ve already ieux, and establish- . He had 3 work of he purpose spired the sr force of imparative mies, great ing in that s. Camps I, at Conlic )n3 in the id not, nn- formation rrupted by ged before lis early to IJETWEEN FllANCE AND CKKMANV. 297 have contemplated a dispersal cf the forces which were concentrating, with more daring than discretion, at Orleans, only forty miles in the rear of his pu ^H'on south of Paris. A small army, detached from the invi ing force at Ver- sailles, under General von Dcr Taim, advanced upon Orleans on October 10th, surprisir ' the Frenr-^ advance at y^rtenay on that day, and driving the mrtia body of the Anuy of the Loire ou<: of Orleans on the following day. Beyond Orleans, von Der Tann durst nut venture, and the result of the expedition was simply to pv-^h the recruiting French a little further south. At the same time, von Der Tann's right became exposed to attack from the troops forming at Conlie, behind Le Mans, and thus he was placed on the defensive, in a position which demanded his utmost vigihmce. He was glad to remain quiet until a month later, when the surrender of Metz gave him pro- mise of large re-enforcements from the disengaged army of Prince Frederick Charles. No sooner had this event occurred (October 2Gth), than von Moltke resolved on the dispersal of the French armies in the provinces. Von Stcinmetz's old army, recruited to 75,000 or 80,000 men, was given to General von Manteuffel, and directed against the camps about Lille and Rouen,, and the fortified posi- tions in the north. Prince Frederick Charles, with the old Second Army, was pushed westward, with orders to disperse d'Aurelles de Palladines below Orleans, and Chanzy at Conlie or Le Mans. Von Werder was already forcing the advance-guard of the Lyons Army further southward, and debouching from the Vosges into the Saone Valley. The French Minister of War at Tours no sooner heard of the surrender of Metz, than he resolved (after absurdly stopping in his rage to outlaw Bazaine and set a price on his head) to throw the Army of the Loire in overwhelming force on von Der Tann before Prince Frederick Charles could come up, hoping to crush him, and perhaps reach the rear of the investing line about Paris. Some sort of unity of action appears to have been secured by communi- cation with Trochu by carrier-pigeons, but all plans failed. Chanzy and d'Aurelles de Palladines were hastily concen- trated for the attack, the former making also a flank move- 4'' i.)3i i! ' 1 1 7 t, ^ I 'II -^TW^ 2i)8 THE GREAT WAU mont from Lc MaiiH to the roarof von DerTanii's position at Artenay, But tlie Gerninn was too well aAvaro of tho daniicr nionacinf; him to relax in viLri!;in'N\ Constant re- connoissances of his cavalry warned him of t1ie French movement; and, though forced to abandon OrhiUis on November 9-10, lie did not yield without a struggle, which delayed the French advance, and hastened tho ap- proach of Prince Frederick Charles from Metz. Anything like victory had been so unusual with tho French in the progress of tho war hitherto, that their suc- cess in (h-iving von Der Tann out of Orleans almost crazed them. The German general had yielded, not without a stubborn resistance, to a force more than three times that of his own army, and by his resistance had effected a delay which enured to tl^e benefit of the German army siibso- (piently ; but the losses he sustained wore far less than the French journals, with their extraordinary talent for exaggeration, represented. Such announcements as the following, in a battle where tho entire loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners could not have exceeded 2,000, and by the defeated party was stated at but half that number, are even more absurd than some of the glowing despatches of our own war: "The Prussians have lost over 10,000 men in killed and wounded, and 1,S()0 prisoners, in the battles around Or- leans, and are retreating toward Chartres and Etampos. A large number of guns, thrown away by the enemy, have been picked up, and distributed among the national guards at Orleans. The entire Army of the Loire is advancing." M. Gambetta, with that rashness which often leads im- pulsive and energetic men to jump at conclusions, decided that in General d'Aurelles de Palladincs, he had found the commanding officer he had sought amid tho number whom he had been obliged to reject, and gave him full control of his newly-organized and not thoroughly-disci- plined Army of the Loire. The other armies of tho pro- vinces, were commanded by General Bourbaki, the only one of Napoleon's old generals, except Ducrot, who was in Paris, who was not a prisoner. General do Ohanzy was at this time second in command to General d'Aurelles do (?;? m 's position ire of the mstnnt re- lic Froncli )ri(,:i'.iis on Htrugglc, ed the ap- 1 witli the their suc- lost crazed without a times that :ed a delay my subso- r less than talent for its as the in killed, ded 2,000, half that le glowing killed and round Or- i Etampos. lemy, have nal guards Ivancing." . leads im- is, decided found the r> number him full fhly-disci- f the pro- , the only , who was lanzy was urelles de BETWEEN FllANCE AND GERMAN Y, 299 Palladinos. Ho was another new man, but apparently a good officer, if his troops and his subordinate officers could have been depended upon. In the north of France, another army, likewise raw recruits, was put under the command of General Faidherbe, an officer of considerable ability, who had been for some years governor of the French colony of Senegal, on the west coast of Africa. The German general von Der-Tann fell back from Or- leans to Toury, and subsequently to Angerville, in the direction from whence he expected re-enforcements from the army of Prince Frederick Charles ; but ho shoAved no panic and no disposition to avoid attacks. Meanwhile, M. Gambetta had issued a proclamation to the army, announcing that the government expected the deliverance of tho capital from its valor. But, greatly to his surprise, General d'Aurelles do Palladines did not fol- low up his success so promptly as had been expected. Day after day he remained near Orleans, in a state of in- activity, which the government could not account for. He saw, more clearly than tho minister of war did or could, that his success had been merely temporary, and in some sense accidental, and that a forward movement, un- til Orleans had been put in a state of complete defence, would, with his imperfectly-trained and not very steady troops, imperil what he had gained. Dui'ing these two or three weeks, then, ho had been exerting himself to tho utmost, to |.ut tho city into such a condition of defence, that it might be able to repel any attacks of a consider- ably superior force. Ho had formed an entrenched camj) before tho city, and fortified it with ninety-five naval guns manned by seamen from Cherbourg. Behind this defence, he believed his army might hold its ground under any circumstances, while drawing reserves and supplies from the country behind the Loiro. But while he was making these preparations for de- fence, as early as the middle of November, General von Voight Rhetz, commander of the tenth German corps, part of tho army of Prince Frederick Charles, had arrived at Tonnero with 20,000 men ; and the Duke of Mecklen- burg, with tho right wing of tho Gorman army on the % M •■i ■";■ ■ ,' Hm 1 m r::;-k: ■ 'r-Yl m •i ri |V^ r! r'! ii^ ,•1,1 300 'I'llE CHEAT WAR Loire, no longer regarding the French general, ni.-irclied westward, occupied Dreux after a slKjrt engagement, marched across the department of the Euro et Loire, and then through the Orne and the Sarthe as far as Bellemc. Notwithstanding the weakened condition of General von ] )er Tann, who remained behind, General d'Aurelles do Palladines, still remained in his position before Orleans, instead of striking at him before the German re-enforce- ments CO did come up. The Duke of Mecklenburg, in his march westward, had only encountered a feeble resistance from small bodies of ill-organized troops raised in the west. When, at last, toward the end of November, General d'Aurelles do Palla- dines Avas ready to move, his army of the Loire formed a semi-circle around Orleans, from the Forest of Cercot- tes, which it occupied, to the environs of Meung. His extreme left, the seventeenth corps, under command of General de Sonis, was at first stationed at Chateaudun, an advanced and dangerous position, so far from the remain- der of the army, that it was in danger of being cut ott'. This position it was found necessary to abandon, and draw his lines closer to Orleans. The sixteenth corps, under command of General de Chanzy, lay next, on the left ; the centre, with the headquarters, was occupied by the fifteenth corps, under General Martin de Pallieres ; on the right lay the twentieth corps, commanded by General Crouzat, who had been summoned in great haste from Chagny. The extreme right was formed by the eigh- teenth corps, which at first was stationed at Gien, but took up a position at the extremity of the Forest, and in front of Montargis. The German right was connnanded by the Duke of Mecklenburg, the centre by General von Der Tann, and the left by Prince Frederick Charles, who, when he arrived on the field of battle, rardvcd above both the other commanders. The plans for the whole move- ment, it is hardly necessary to say, had been ])rojected by that consummate stratesist, General von Moltke. Oil the !2Mth[of November, General d'Aurelles de Palla- dines attacked the tenth Prussian army cor])s and iirst cavalry division, forming the extreme left wing of the Ji ^ 1, nifiivlicd i,i,^igeiiiout, Loire, aiicl s Bollenic. eneral von airelles do re Orleans, t'e-enforcc- tward, had bodies of 3n, at last, s do Palla- ire formed of Cercot- nng. His nmand of (audun, an le remain - ig cut oil' ndon, and mth corjis, sxt, on the iciipied by Uieres ; on )y General laste from the eicfh- 1, but took id in front led by the 1 von Dcr rles, who, ■bove both lole niove- .)jected by I do Palla- i and first ng of the i BETWEEN rrvANCE AND GERMANY. 301 Ccrinan army, at Beaunc do Rolande, and had very nearly overthrown them, when the arrival of Prince Frederick Charles, who took command in person, changed the for- tunes of the day. Beaune de Rolande is twenty-seven miles northeast of Orleans, and sixteen miles northwest of Montargis. The French loss in this engagement, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was not far from 7,000. General d'Anrelles de Palladines was slightly wounded. The German loss did not exceed 1,000 men. The object of General d'Anrelles de Palladines in giving battle at this point, so far from Orleans, was undoubtedly to fur- nish moral aid, and, if possible, substantial assistance, to the sortie which, under General Trochu's direction, Gen- eral Ducrot was then making from Paris. Beaune de Rolande is only about twenty-two miles, or one good day's march, from Fontainebleau, which was to be the ])oint of junction ; and if the commander of the Army of the Loire could succeed in breaking!: throuofh Prince Fred- crick Charles' lines, and Ducrot coukl force his way tlu'ourdi the ranks of the besiepsc-woods and vineyards. This elevation is not continuous to Vil- licrs. There are occasional depressions, debouchcmcnts of ^vhich cause the trivial hollows that occur on the road to Noisy. The general tendency is, nevertheless, upward, so that the table-land at the back of which Villiers lies is higher than any ground between it and the plain. Tho ridge, therefore, though hampered by hedges and brush- wood, would form no bad position for resistance to a force which, having deployed on the plain, should attempt to carry it, if it were not swept by tho direct fire from Fort Nogent at easy range, and enfiladed at longer range, but still eflectively, by batteries on Mount Avron. " When I crossed the river, at 9 o'clock. Noisy was an eligible point from which to observe operations. Shells from Mont Avron were coming very thick ; now there was a shower of slates as a shell crashed through a roof, lifting the solid rafters as if they were laths ; now half the side of a house went down bodily iis some huge pro- jectile struck and crushed it. Brie divided with Noisy the attentions of the French batteries, and Brio is more open to attack. The 107th regiment had made a dash into Brie out of Rosny early in the morning, and I won- der much how it had fared with them — hard enough, no doubt — but could they hold the place under such ding- dong pelting ? By 10 o'clock the question was resolved. First came a drove of French prisoners, red-breeched regulars, up toward Noisy, along the slight shelter afibrd- ed by the road ; then Saxon soldiers and more prisoners ; and, finally, the bulk of the 107th, in very open order, making the most of the few opportunities for cover. It was not a pleasant way to traverse. Forts tired heavily on captors and captured alike. More than one French- man was slain by missiles from French weapons. " As the struggling columns came up, I learned that tho 107th, in a rapid rush in the morning, had surprised the occupants of Brie, somo asleep, others drinking coffee. There was a trifling resistance. Nearly 500 prisoners were taken, including eif^ht officers. Tho reason for re- Imquishing Brie was, that the terrible, persistent fire from the forts rendered it utterly untenable. rt ) 310 Till? OIIKAT WAR I ill " The prisoners looked like sturdy fellows, anything but ill-fed. One of them bade nin good morning, and told niu cheerily that, if any one indulged in the anticipation of the speedy capitulation of Paris, he was extremely out in his reckoning. Food was plentiful, he said, with a laugh, and the programme was ' sorties every day in every direc- tion.' The prisoners were escorted back to Chellcs, where, later in the day, I saw them penned in the yard of the town-hall. " As the Prussians from Brie finished filing through Noisy, an ominous sight met my eye in another direction, as I peered through a loophole I had contrived tLere. On the gradual slope of the further bank of the Marne, under the wing of Fort Nogent, and extending right and left along the Chaumont railway, were dense columns of French infantry. How they came there I know not. It was as if the spectacle had sprung up by magic. Now they stood fast, closing up as the fronts of battalions halt- ed. Then there was a slow movement forward, as the head of the column dipped out of sight between the vil- lage of Nogent and the river. Then there seemed to be a final halt. The dense masses stood, their bayonets glit- tering in the sun, as if the men had come out for a spec- tacle. " But little by little there was a gradual trickling oft down to the bight of the river between Nogent and Brie. There was a railway-bridge (the Chaumont Railway) — a lofty viaduct — but a gap in one arch had rendered it use- less. Presently, on the plain to the south of Brie, a knot of red-breeches became visible, that grew denser and den- ser every moment. Simultaneously, the whole sprang into life. From the farm-buildings about Le Tremblay, from St. Maur and Joinville, there poured out vast bodies of French troops, deploying at double-quick. The line seemed to extend right athwart the neck of the loop of the river. " At Champigny, I am informed that Wurtemburgors, after desperate fighting, had driven the French out not long after 8 o'clock, to be in turn subjected to violent attack and partial expulsion. Tho sharpshooters dashed BETWKEN FRANCE AND GRRMANY. nil mytliing but and told nie ticipation of eniely out in ►vith a laugh, . every direc- lellcs, where, yard of the ing through ber direction, id tLere. On Marnc, under ^ht and left columns of now not. It nagic. Now ttalions halt- «^ard, as the een the vil- iemed to be >ayonets glit- t for a spec- trickling of! mt and Brie. Railway) — a .dered it use- Brie, a knot iser and den- i^holo sprang e Tremblay, t vast bodies c. The line the loop of rtemburgors, ich out not d to violent iters dashed into the thicket lining the foot of the rising ground, and scrambled through. The troops behind them followed — a serried column. Whence had they come ? Tliey had crossed during tlie night and occupied the loop. Their bridges ' I 't have been between Joinville and Nogent; and the nullification of Brie enabled the utilization at a later hour of a bridge between Brie and the railway via- duct. " The Bois de Grace, lying in front (south) of Champs, afforded favourable cover for a detour into the rear of Villiers, which evidently was the point for which the French advance was intended. Their force — I refer ex- clusively to that section of it that threatened Villiers — must have been at least 20,000, How large was the force with which the Wiirtemburgers had to deal toward Cham- pigny, I had no means of ascertaining. In those dense columns standing in support under Nogent, there could not have been less than 20,000. There were 20,000 of the left advance, with whom 10,000 Saxons had to cope — not with them alone, but with those terrible projectiles, a ^iionn of which incessantly clashed into the upper ground where Villiers stands, and into the glades behind. "The French skirmishers were thrown out with as much regularity as if the day's work had been but a peaceful parade. The forces were deployed with surprising rapid- ity and apparent discipline ; but there appeared consider- able looseness in their formation ; a total want of inter- vals, and, indeed, in placas an overlapping of battalions. Had there been nothing else for the Saxons to do but to repulse an assault on Villiers directed solely against it, the task would have been comparatively simple, and not very sanguinary, notwithstanding the artillery-fire by the French. But the advance, threatening, as it did, in the evolution by which it was deployed, to sweep right on, overlapping Villiers, up the space between that place and Noisy, and so to get through upon Champs, called for other tactics. Villiers could only serve as a position on which to lean the Saxon left ; it became necessary to meet the French in the open space. •' From behind Villiers several (German) regiments came mw \^SF i; 312 THE GREAT WAR i:. out to the right of the brow of the hill under the shells fire. As the French came up the gentle acclivity, the guns of the forts continued playing without interruption. So narrow was the margin between the combatants, that I question much whether a shell or two did not fall in the French ranks. I stood by the 108th regiment as it quit- ted a position in which it had found some shelter. Two lieutenants gaily shook hands with a hussar aid-de-camp who had just rode up with an order, as they passed him to go ou' > into the battle. On went the regiment in dense columns of companies, shells now crushing into the ranks, now exploding in the intervals. " The line was formed, rear files closing up at the double- quick, and, in a twinkling, less than fifty yards separated the combatants. Then came a volley, then sharp firing by file, and the French broke and gave ground, only to get back to the next dip of the ground, to let the guns of the fort go to work again. The Saxons had to find what cover they might. When the regiment came back — they had not been gone twenty minutes — thirty-five officers out of the forty-five had gone down. Neither of the blithe lieutenants were to the fore. Now there came a lull in the musketry-fire, as, a few moments before, there had been a lull in the cannoii-fire. The Saxons could not get their artillery into action with advantage. The ground itself was unfavorable, while the fire from the forts must have speedily silenced their field-guns ; therefore, this great advantage was lost to them. " All this took place before noon. After a little time the artillery -fire from the forts slackened considerably. The French infantry made no demonstration. On the German left, however, about Champigny, it was evident that hard fighting was going on. About 1 o'clock the French made another advance, having received consider- able re-enforcements. The Saxon infantry confronted them with the old results, but a different policy was this time ado])ted. It was plain that the only escape from the thunderbolts of the forts lay in getting at close quar- ters with the French infantry, unless indeed a retrogividc movement was to bo made — and that was not to be thought irvi^cniw "v^fMfaKiMitM BETWEEN FllANCE AND OEllMANY. 313 'lie shell, vity, the irruption, nts, that fall in the s it quit- er. Two •de-camp ised hiin '' in dense lie ranks, e double- Jeparated rp firing I, only to p guns of ind what 3k— they 3 officers r of the 3 came a re, there ould not e ground rts must 3re, this tie time derably. On the evident ock the onsidcr- ifronted vas this 30 from 10 (juai'- ro^r|-.i,](. 'bought of So when the French fell back, the Saxons followed on, as if they would settle the question with the bayonet's point. It was the old cry, "Vorwarts, iramer voricarts!" but the vorwarts were very slow. " What happened in the next hour, I could only guess by the constant crackling of small-arms. The forts con- fined themselves, apparently for the chief part, to firing into and over Champigny and Villiers. At length the French were slowly and stubbornly fiilling back across the north side of the neck of land, the Saxons pushing them hard, the French ever and anon rallying. On this position of the plain, south of Brie, there was a prolonged struggle. The Saxons were striving to get at and cut the pontoon bridge ; but this became an impossibility when Fort Nogent went to work again with the frightful accu- racy of which the short range admitted. The combatants parted about 3 o'clock, both sides falling back. The fire of the fort continued some little time longer. " What shall I say of the result ? Not much have the Saxons gained. Was th^re much to gain ? The WUr- tcmburgers hold one end of Champigny. Brie stands empty and desolate ; there were French in it this morn- ing ; later there were Saxons. That is all. But look at the bloody side of the picture. The number of dead I cannot ascertain, but the German wounded were over 1,000. The French, if they lost fewer killed and wounded, lost 1,000 prisoners. Had it been possible for the Saxons to hold Brie, the French advance would have been im])os- sible; its flanking fire would have prohibited breasting the slo])e toward Villiers. The French had a mitrailleur somewhere in the plain. At any rate the day's work was the final failure of the French hopes. Tho German line stood everywhere unbroken. Paris was no more free than before." In an order of the day announcing tho termination of the sortie, General Ducrot said, that "if he had perse- vered in his plan after tho resistance he had encountered, he should only have courted disasters, and imperilled tho cause of the defence." This was the last important sortie made before the capitulation of Paris. ,r if W: 314 THE GREAT WAR IE Si !.l .V-ft» CHAPTER XIX. BATTLE OF LE MANS — GENERAL DE ClIA HE French armies had been defeated at Orleans, at Amiens and before Paris. Aside from tho temporary success of General d'Aurelles de Palla- dines at Orleans in November, and a few trifling engagements between small bodies of men on either side, they had been uniformly unsuccessful throughout the war ; but though there was cause for grave apprehension, there was none, even yet, for discouragement. Numerically, notwithstand- ing tho three hundred and fifty thousand or more French troops who were prisoners in Germany, the French armies outnumbered the Germans on French soil. They were, indeed, for the most part, raw recruits, innocent of any knowledge of the use of fire-arnis, or any military training or drill, and so not a match for the veteran troops of the German emperor ; but they were learntng fast, and they were lighting for their homes and their country. They were badly officered; their generals and their subordinate officers knew little or nothing of the topography of tho country where they were fighting, and there was no master-mind to plan engagements and combine tho forces for victory, as von Moltko did for tho Germans. Gam- betta, who really possessed considerable organizing power, was young, impetuous, hasty in action and seldom well- informed in regard to the localities where tho German troops were, and hence made grievous blunders. His judgment of men was defective, and he repeatedly pro- claimed that he had found tlic men who could organize a victory, and, within five or six weeks, denounced tho same men .'is traitors to Franco. His notorious exaggera- tions of trilling actions, or even serious defeats, as great I H BETWEEN FRANCE AND GEliaUNY. 315 ■•^i t Orleans, from the dePaJIa- d a fow bodies of miformly t though 'm none, ithstand- e French h armies tey were, t of any training s of the md tliey . They ordinate Y of the was no forces Gani- r power, m well- German vs. His Uy jDro- anize a ied the aggera- s great I victories, eventually led the people to distrust his state- ments. Trochu, more calm and frank in his character, seemed to lack heart in the enterprises ho undertook, and, though promising constantly to make sorties or to con- centrate his forces against the enemies of Franco, always found reasons for delay. We should not judge these men too hardly. Their cir- cumstances were peculiarly trying, and, in these great emergencies they doubtless felt that they were unequal to the occasion. Yet there was but little more of zeal, energy, skill and faith needed to have given them the victory on several occasions. Orleans was lost unneces- sarily, by the too gi'eat expansion of the French lines. Had General d'Aurelles do Palladines had his men well in hand, and manning strongly their crescent-shaped linesi in front of that city, Prince Frederick Charles, skilful general as ho was, must have recoiled from a fight in which the odds would have been so great. Still nearer to a victory did the French come under Trochu and Ducrot, in the sortie of November 30th to December 3rd, which was described in the last chapter. If, instead of withdrawing across tho Marne, and giving up the fight on the 3rd of December, Trochu had flung his reserves against the Saxons that day, and with that Slan which used to be the characteristic of Frenc\ troops, he would have broken their line, and, as tho Crown Prince of Saxony frankly admitted, have compelled tho Germans to raise the siege, for the timo at least. But it was the misfortime of the French armies through- out the war to havo leaders who were not thoroughly in earnest in their efforts for tho preservation of tho nation. So it happened thab while, on the 12th of December, with suitable leaders, t lo cause of France would not haA'^o been wholly desperate, yet tho measures which were taken before that time had rendered the overthrow of the nation, under its loaders, inevitable. Apparently unaware that this only hope of success lay in concentrating his armies and hurling them against the weak points of that mighty cordon which surrounded Paris, and encouraging tho Parisian garrison to co-oporato with il ( 1 '1 5 ■ -■ - m r n I, m i." I: If,'. 31G THE CHEAT WAll \-V : ili: ■;;■.■■ ■ ■^ \ . . - ? *. li ^ t iM NR-i ' Sii i $' ■ I TTT !• r- : ^ 1 tlieiu by wcll-plaiiiied sorties, Gambctta sought rat]i''v t,, scatter his troojj.s as widely as possible over France ; tli ink- ing, perhaps, that it would be more difficult for the Ger- mans to caj)turc them. Thus, when the Prince Fredei'ick Charles had cut his Army of the Loire in two, and Bour- baki, with his half, had gone southward to Bourges, and de Chanzy, with his corps d'armde, west-northwest to Blois, Vendome, and Le Mans, instead of bringing Bour- baki westward to Tours, where he might have been within su})porting distance of do Chanzy, Gambetta sent him almost two hundred miles to the eastward, to attack Gene- ral von Werder, in the vicinity of the Swiss frontier. Gari- baldi, with 30,000 men, w^as kept in the vicinity of Dijon — nearly as far distant, and in the same direction ; while General Faidherbe, with two corps, was in the extreme north of France, and General Laysel, with 30,000 more, in the vicinity of Havre. Some of these troops were indeed prevented from concentration by the interposition of mo- derate forces of German troops betw^een them and Orleans ; but, in most instances, a resolute will would have found a way of i)usliing through. The camps of instruction were said to contain 250,000 men — not well trained, it is true, but still capable of being of some service. Yet, from the 12th December, the outlook constantly grew darker and darker to the final surrender. At this very time Prince Frederick Charles was watch- ing every movement of de Chanzy, much as a cat watches a mouse which she has already captured, but which she permits to run within certain narrow limits. Blois had already fallen, and Vendome was entered two days later ; Montmedy had capitulated, and Amiens was tottering to its fall. The German forces on French soil were officially stated at 728,000, of whom more than 510,000 were effec- tive, and the calling out of 124 battalions — equal to 62 regiments more of the landwehr reserves — did not strongly indicate that the Germans were withdrawing, or that they were very weary of the war. On the 20th of December, the CJerman column on the right bank of the Loire pursued de Chanzy's army in the direction of Le Mans ; Avhile that on the left bank advanced towards Tours, finding 0,000 :c; thmk- tlic Gcr- F)-edc]-ick nd Bour- rges, and liwest to ng Bour- Dii within sent hini ^ck Gene- Gari- f Dijon — n ; whilo extreme more, in '0 indeed n of mo- Orlean.s ; found a ion were t is true, nstantly 3 watch- watches hich she lois had ^s later ; ering to )fficially ro effec- al to 62 itrongly at they cember, )ursiied iletliat f 0,000 BETWEEN ElUNCE AND CEKMANY. 317 French wounded, abandtmed without medical attenchmce, on the road. The next day (21st December) an official dcs]iatch from Versailles announced : " The nineteenth division reached the bridtro before Tours to-day, found opposition by the inliabitants, and tlierefore threw thirty shells into the city. White flags were then raised, and the city begged for occupation by the Prussians. The division contented itself, however, in accordance with its instructions, with destroying the rail- road, and withdrew to its appointed cantonments." The approach of French armies toward Paris from other points was guarded against with equal care. General Faid- herbe, who had, at the head of a considerable force (00,000 or 70,000 troops}, approached as near to Paris as the vicinity of Rouen (about ninety miles), when General von Manteuffel, who had been detached from the army of Prince Frede- rick Charles, commenced driving him northward and northwestward, causing him to retreat through Rouen, Beauconnet, Montigny, Frechencourt, Querrieux, Pont Noyclles, Brisay, Becquemont, Daours, I'Haller, and on the 23rd of December, after a severe action at the last-named point, the Germans occupied Amiens, taking 1,000 pri- soners, and, on the 25th, pushed on after Faidherbe toward Arras. On the 21st and 22nd of December the French garrison in Paris again made sorties against the position of the Saxon corps, sojnewhat north of their previous battle- ground ; but their attack was not steadily maintained by a strong force, and more than 1,000 of their troops were taken prisoners. In order to divert attention from their movements, they made two feints at the same time from Mont Valerien, on the west of Paris, toAvard Buzenval and Montretout, and on the north, from St. Denis, toward Pierreiitte and Stains. General Ducrot commanded the column operating against the Prussian guards, whose posi- tion was northeast and north-northeast of Paris ; and G(.'nerals Malroy and Blaise commanded the right wing in the attack u])on the Saxon corps. All told, 100 battalions were in line. The French occu])ied the villages Cour- neuvo, Bobigny, and Bondy, 2,000 to 3,000 paces in ad- » 318 THE GllEAT WA1{ %4 3 >i rss J) I ■'' i nMi i ' i ■]J,. :( a; :i !' ^ m^ ,.!' m liWi. ^ ^t _t'Wi v.ancc of tho forts, with their .advanced pests ; Drancy, 2,000 i)ace.s further, being occupied only at night, as the German Knc was about 2,000 paces distant. The Prussian outpost Hnc extended from Pierrefitte though Stains and Le Bourget, about 4,000 paces from the lino of forts. The main body of tho guards was posted 8,000 paces to the rear in the lino (Jarges, Dugny, Pont Iblon, Le Blanc Mesnil, Aulnay, and Sevran on the Ourcq canal, and the railroad to Soissons. Here began the Saxon (twelfth) corps, whose lino extended to the Marno. Many points of this principal line were witliin range of the forts. French troops marched out of St. Denis December 20th, proceed- ing toward Aubervilliers, while three brigades threatened the left of the guards, in front of Bobigny. Le Bourget was first attacked at 7 o'clock in tho morning. Strong detachments moved from Courneuve toward Dugny, leading the Germans to think that the attack would be on the south and west; but, suddenly changing their direction, the French attacked at the northern gate, which with tho church- yard, was taken, and 125 men captured. The attack on the south gate failed, and, re-enforcement being sent, the Germans succeeded in driving out the French after a hot light from house to house. In storming the churchyard, the last point held by the French, the Germans took 351) prisoners. According to tho reports of the latter, the relative strength of tho contestants was — Germans, 2,000 ; French, 6,000. At Stains, on the right wing of the Prus- sian corps, a severe attack was repulsed without a single house of tho town falling into French hands. Elsewhere the operations of the day were begun by a tremendous fire from the forts along the whole front, and missiles of the heaviest calibre were thrown a distance of 8,000 paces ; but the excessive range so interfered with the aim, that very little injury was done. Protected by the fire from the forts, the French artillery opened with two batteries before Courneuve, ten field and three mitrailleur batteries north and north-east of Drancy, near Groslaj'^ Ferme, sweeping the whole field as far as Dugny, Pont Iblon, Lo Blare Mesnil, Aulnay, and Sevran. This fire was returned by tho batteries of tho second division 1 Br.'incy, t, as tlie Prussian ains and rts. The 3s to the e Bhxnc and the twelfth) y points Frencli ^rocecd- •eatened Bourget Strong leading 10 south s French church- -tack on ient, the or a hot 'chyard, ook 35f) ter, the 5, 2,000 ; iG Prus- a single m by a »nt, and :ance of id with ;tod l)y id with three ly, near Dugny, .^ This livision BETWEEN FRANCE AND GEIIMANY, 31i) of guards from positions between Lo Blanc Mesnil and Aulnay. At noon, two of these batteries crossed the river at Pont Iblon, and took position 2,000 paces from the French, and, being followed by two more, showed them- selves superior to the French ; the two batteries on the Frencli right wing were silenced after two hours' lively work, and the fire of the others was weakened. Two other German batteries advanced, the fire of which com- pleted the work. The French batteries gradually became silent, the infantry retired, and the sortie was repulsed. The losses of the Prussians were 14 officers and 400 men. The strength of the columns operating against them was estimated at 40,000, but only the regular troops were really in action at Lo Bourget and Stains. The mobiles and national guards were retained at such great distance, that the reserves on the German side were not deployed. The twelfth, or Saxon corps, stretching from Sevran to the Marne, had no fighting of importance until noon, when a French division advanced from Neuilly and passed the advanced posts in Maison Blanche and Ville Evrart. A freshet in the river prevented an attack upon the position at Chelles, and the Wiirtemburg artillery was able to bring a flank fire to bear on the French. At five o'clock the German commander ordered the retaking of Ville Evrart and Maison Blanche. The latter was easily ac- complished ; but Ville Evrart is composed of strongly- built houses standing alone, and in this small labyrinth the battle continued until midnight. General Blaise, commander of a German brigade, fell here. Some of the houses remained in possession of the French until morning, when the increasing freshet in the Marne compelled the Germans to leave at three, and the French at eight o'clock. The other sorties from Mont Valerien and from St. Denis were only demonstrations, and the fighting was nowhere severe. On the morning of the 27th of December the Germans began a steady bombardment of Fort Avron, a large and strong work lying east of Paris, and 8,000 paces beyond Fort Rosny. Thirteen batteries, mounting 7G guns, played upon it incessantly during the day from a distance .t, I w ;t> I 3 -. i 'fW rr 320 TUB OliKAT WAl! Hi :;:['' ■ ^:|jt,:.. L, |f ^li P. H^^^^^^^^^M w i :i of 5,000 paces ; und ho accurate and dcatiuctivc was tliciv tiro, that the garrison aljandoned it the same evening, and the Germans occupied it the next day, and, as soon as they could rearrange its guns, opened upon forts Noissy, Rosny and Nogent, which were silenced before the new year. The loss of Fort Avron was a severe one for the French, as its iire had protected them in their pre- vious sorties. On New Year's day, Mezi^res, a strongly- fortified town west -northwest of Sedan, after a long siogo and a severe bombardment, capitulated, more than 2,000 prisoners and lOG guns being surrendered. On the 2nd of January, 1871, Count Wartenslebcn, commander of the fifteenth German division and of a cavalry detachment, both forming a portion of General von Manteuffel's army, overtook General Faidherbe's troops at Salpignies, near Bapaume, in the north of France, and, after two days' fighting, the Germans were victorious, the French losing about 4,000 in killed and wounded, and 500 prisoners, and the German loss in killed, wounded and missing being 1,066. The French retreated in the direction of Douai and Arras, on the 4th, and lost about 800 more prisoners. The besieging array before Paris, having their heavy batteries in position, commenced on the 5th of January, the bombardment of the southern and south-southwestern defences of the city — i. e., the forts Issy, Vanvres, Mont- rouge, the Pont du Jour, and the gunboats in the Seine. These points were all outside of the city walls, but formed a part of the first line of defences. It did happen occa- sionally, however, that the shells fired at long range fell inside of the city walls. Fort I.ssy was soon silenced, and the other forts not long after, as we shall see by and by. Meantime, on the 5th, Rocroy, a strong fortified post near Mezieres, was captured, with 72 guns, and 300 prisoners, and a large amount of stores. The army of Prince Fi-ederick Charles, which had been engaged since the 12th of December in a careful watch and observation of every movement of General de Chanzy's army, and had promptly followed each with a blow, dis- covered, on the 5th of January, by their rcconnoissanccs, ■ I'.i ■ BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY, 321 ^{iM their eveninrr, as soon ^n forts fore the one for leir pre- trongly- ng .siogo Lii 2,000 nslebcn, nd of a General dherbe's orth of ns were led and loss in French the 4th, r heavy anuary, western , Mont- ) Seine. I formed in occa- ngc fell ;ed, and md by, )st near isoners, -d been watch lanzy's w, di.s- isances, ifc that he was again in motion near Azuy, and the prince immediately started in pursuit. On the 6th he came up with two French army-corps at Azuy, five miles north- west of Vendome, on the road to Le Mans, A heavy battle ensued, in which the French were driven out of the town and closely pursued. They retreated for the next three days, stopping every few hours to fight, and, though new troops, stood their ground well. The number of stragglers from the ranks constantly increased, however ; and as they were pushed by the Germans through Nogent le Rotrou, Sarge, Savigny, La Chartre, St. Calais, and Ardenay, they lost over five thousand prisoners and many guns, aside from the killed and wounded. At length the time arrived when de Chanzy felt that he could not re- treat farther without destroying the morale of his troops ; he must stand, and deliver battle. He arrived at this decision a little too late. Prince Frederick Charles had already sent the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin with a largo force, to make a detour to the north and come in upon the left fiank of the French, while he should attack them in front. In the afternoon of the 10th of January the two armies converged upon the French within five miles of Lo Mans. An eye-witness of the battle thus describes it : " The French Army of the Loire, the last hope of France, has been defeated to-day in a bloody battle fought within five miles of this city (Le Mans). We heard the roar of the cannon all day, and the population crowded to the housetops and suburbs, and through the thoroughfares, watching the progress of the fight. I have never before witnessed such intense excitement, although the French] people have become accustomed to the roar of cannon. " At nine o'clock this morning the right wing of the French army in position east of Le Mans was suddenly attacked by the vanguard of the German forces, which, emerging from the wood on the extreme right of the French, moved forward to attack. Ui)on the alarm being given, the advance-posts of the French infantry wheeled into lino of battle, and the artillery was pushed forward, :i ■m fi*. ir mu i u *■' ! m ■ , I '■ ■ ..►^' M■' '■i ■!■'■ ' f| :: : u-V S-, t 322 TIIK GREAT WAR on tho open ground between the several ranks of the various commands. The cavalry took up an advantage- ous position on the right and left wings. " A more perfect lino of battle could not have been formed by the finest army in Europe. The artillery was well supplied with ammunition, and the inftmtry had 100 rounds to each man. In addition, the supply trains were well posted, and easy of access. " Real bloody work soon began. Tho field of battle was in a valley, and the two armies occupied heights opposite each other, the French line forming a semicircle extending twelve miles, overlooking the valley, which was covered by twelve inches of snow. On the opposite heights the Prussians held a somewhat similar position. "Shortly after nine o'clock the Prussians began a furious cannonade from the wood near the extreme left. They were flanked by an immense force of cavalry partly concealed by the wood. Their position was where tho German infantry massed with the evident intention of turning de Chanzy's right. The artillery fire on both sides was continued without intermission until tho ammunition was nearly exhausted. It was a fierce, well- sustained duel, the German and French artillerists dis- playing marked skill and courage. " At length the Prussian commanders gave the order for an advance, and the German infantry moved forward. The French, equally rapid, advanced along their whole line, and the opposing armies met in the valley in a fair hand-to-hand fight. The musketry-fire was very severe and effective. The German troops were cool and col- lected, and tho French impetuous and gallant. Indeed, both armies behaved with notable bravery until near noon, when the gardes mobiles began to waver, and, being unable to hold their position, a retreat commenced. Meantime the dead and wounded lay upon the battle- field by thousands, and the snow-fields were red with liuman blood. " The carnage was fearful on both sides. Before five o'clock in the evening 15,000 French soldiers had fallen, and at this hour tho whole army started in full retreat. cs of the Ivantage- ave been llery was had 100 ins were of battle i heights emicircle y, whicli opposite position, began a emo left. 'cy partly here the mtion of on both mtil the 'CO, well- ists dis- lie order forward, ir whole in a fair Y severe ind col- Indeed, til near er, and, menced. ) battlc- ed with bro five 1 fallen, reti'cat. BKTWEEX FRANCE AND GEllMANV. 323 The French and German forces were about equally matched, I should judge that they numbered 60,000 men each. Although the French have been beaten, they have not been routed." The battle was renewed the next day with more decisive results. The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, who had moved southward from Chartres, fighting heavily all the way, succeeded early that day in following out the sti'ategy which had been so successful at Orleans, and isolated the French twenty-first corps, so that it could render no aid to do Chanzy. He reported 10,000 j)riso- ners taken, with small loss on his side. Meantime the fighting between de Chanzy's main army and Prince Frederick Charles was desperate, but resulted finally, as all the previous battles had |done, in the defeat of the French, though more decisively than before. The same correspondent who witnessed the previous day's battle was also present at this, and thus describes it : " After the battle of the previous day. General de Chanzy, displaying much energy, rallied his broken columns, and having received re-enforcements, determined to strike another blow to retrieve his fortunes, knowing that the whole hope of France centred upon the ability of his army to break through the strong opposition of the red prince, and advance to the relief of Paris. After a night of unceasing labor and anxiety, daylight found the French forces prepared for the conflict. Their army consisted of three corps, the sixteenth, seventeenth, and twenty-first respectively, under the command of Admiral Jourequiberry, and Generals Colomb and Jouffroy. These corps averaged 50,000 men each, making an effec- tive force of 150,000 men, the whole under the supreme control of General de Chanzy. By ten o'clock in the morning Jourequiberry 's corps had taken up a position on the right bank of the river Huisne, General Coiomb's on the plateau of Auvours, and General Jouffi-oy's on the right, covering the village of Brette. " The Prussians advanced along throe roads, and arc said to have been under the command of Prince Frederick Charles himself. Thej-^ were apparently 100,00^ strong. r! \h ': i t VSrW i I * .. 'f m '"^ n^^ m \ y24 'IHK GUKAT WAIl iir-t i lil 'i : ; ■ Wi ,'■■ i '■ ^ >; u: fi^i;,i' U'; . . „ • i ' •:• ,^ 'W :! |::i ■^^v^; ill IH: Soon .after ten o'clock sharp firing was opened by the Prussians from well located batteries on the left of the French. It was replied to with s[)irit. Very soon a larj,^e force of German infantry, flanked by cavalry, advanced under cover of a heavy artillery-fire, striking the right of Admiral Jourequiberry's position. The assaulting column was met by a fierce artillery-fire from many guns, includ- ing a number of mitrailleurs of the new pattern. The struggle now became exceedingly severe, and was well- contested. But although the Germans suffered heavy loss, they finally succeeded in driving back the French, capturing early two guns, and taking and holding the important position near the river. "General do Chanzy, perceiving the danger which threatened his position, moved forward his reserves of artillery to the support of Admiral Jourequiberry. These opened a terrific fire, which checked for awhile the further advance of the Germans in that direction. Two or three severe assaults Avere made by the Germans to secure further advantages, the object being to take the position held by the French at La Tillere. The French, however, were strong! y posted, and fought with great courage and determination. Each assault was repulsed with serious loss to the Germans, the French also losing heavily. " Meantime an equally fierce attack was made on the French line covering the railroad to Chartres and Paris. After two hours' desperate fighting, the French centre was driven back. It retreated, however, slowly and in good order for a short distance only, to a position in rear of that first occupied, and where the rising ground afforded good facilities for the artillery. Here a heavy force of guns was parked, which, manned by the marines, opened a severe and well-directed fire upon the advancing enemy. This not only checked the Germans, but com- pelled them to fall back in turn. A heavy counter -fire soon opened from the German batteries, which, during the engagement, had advanced to a commanding position on the left of the railroad. " Tho superiority of the German guns in firing soon "it id Ly the eft of the Dii a lar^'o advanced le right of ig column IS, iiiclud- ern. The was well- ed heavy e French, )lding the jer which eserves of equiberry. xwhile the ion. Two ermans to ) take tlie le French, nth great repulsed dso losing de on the and Paris, eh centre ly and in on in rear lor ground e a heavy iB marines, advancing but coin- ounter-firo ch, during g position irinc changed. A heavy massing of troops took place on the French right, under cover of the wood, near the village of Brotte, which was held by the French. The wood was on the extreme left of the Prussian position, stretching for miles to the southeast of the plain l3etween the road and the villages, which were commanded by the Prussian artillery, which was well-posted on the left, under cover of the wood. A sharp and precise needle- gun lire was opened on the French line and position left of the village of Brette, not more than 700 yards distant. It soon became evident that it would be impossible for them to long hold the position unless the Germans were dislodged. The heavy fire of artillery directed on the woods had apparently but little effect. A large body of French infantry advanced in good order across the plain, but were compelled to retire with heavy losses before a murderous fire from both artillery and musketry. The contest for the possession of Brette was kept up at this ])oint till dark, when an order reached the French to fall Itack upon Le Mans. As the French infantry slowly fell back, the artillery was brought to the front, and it main- tained a steady fire upon the German line, successfully covering the retreat. The Germans, ap])arently in con- tempt of their partial success, seemed disinclined to pursue the advantage they had gained in the day's fight- ing. General de Chanzy actively superintended the re- treat, Avhich was never disorderly at any time. Thus, u i I M >i T i , TllJ': (JUiiAT WAK I'' i ■ ^1 I . in after a uloody encounter, laytiiig until dark, in Avliicli the carnage had Ijcen fearful on both sides, nothing decisive liad been gained by the Germans. All their successes had been negative, and the Fi-cnch officers and soldiers ren7.ained hopeful. " But an event occurred which made a total chanu-e in the pros[)ects of the French. It was an event connnon enough in the history of war. Had it failed, the result woidd Jiave been disastrous to the Germans. It succeeded, and shattered the holies of the French. Darkness had fallen upon the battlc-tield, or rather, I should say that tlay had gone ; for the evening was not very dark. One couJd see the vast tields of snow, dotted here and there by dark objects — the bodies of the victims of the day's struggle — while the patches of Nvoods rose up grindy from the midst of the white tields. Suddenly, and without their pre- parations attracting attention, a strong force of Germans renewed the battle. Making toward the French riiriit at La Tillere, the most important position held by the Army of the Loire, immense masses of infantry, supported by a large force of cavalry, advanced with the utmost rapidity, scattering in all directions tlic French forces opposed to them. "The attack was rot anticipated by the French. The suddenness and rapidity with which the movement Avas executed took them completely by surprise, and but little resistance was ofi'ered. At the onset the gardes mobiles of Brittany were seized with panic and lied in great dis- order. This completely destroyed the French line of battle, as their whole force (jii the right bank of the lluisne was compelled to make a rapid retreat to save it- self from capture. The defeat was com})lete ; or, if it lacked anything of being so, the movement of the next morning l)y General von Voights Eetz, who, by a ncatly- accom[)lished tlank movement, entered Le Mans, which the Fi-ench had intended to occupy, and compelled their retreat in disorder toward Alen^on and Laval. "The losses of the Germans in the pursuit of do Chanzy's army from January (jth t> 12th were 177 officers and 3,203 men. They cap Lured 22,000 unwounded /.Hi;- .. BETWEEN FllANCE AND GEKMANY. 327 licli the decisive accesses soldiers lange in 30111111011 e result seceded, iCss had iliat tlay lie coil] d by dark uggle— le midst eir pre- Sierniaiis right at e Army -cd by a apidity, loscd to li. TJio ent was lit littlo mobiles eat dis- liiie of of tlie save it- Dr, if it lie next neatly- , which 3d their , of do TO 177 ouuded prisoiKirs, 2 eagles, IJ) guns, more than a liiindred loaded wagons, and great quantities of arms and war material. General de Chanzy's eftective force numbered, in the beginning, 122,000 men, so that its losses by capture amount to one-sixth its strength, while the killed and wounded were more than cS,000 more." General de Chanzy felt this defeat very keenly, tiie more so as it had, aside from the actual losses, almost entirely destroyed the morale of his army. In an order of the day issued on the 13th of January to the remainder of his army, he said : "After the successful engagements in which, in the valley of the Huisne as well as on the banks of tlie Loire at Vendome, you gained victories over the enemy — after the success of the 11th at Le Mans, where you resisted the attacks of the hostile forces under the chief command of Prince Frederick Charles and the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, maintaining all the positions, a shameful weakness, an inexplicable panic, has suddenly come upon you, which partly compelled the surrender of important [lositions, and endangered the safety of the whole army. An energetic etibrt to make this good was not attempted, although the necessary orders were immediately given ; and we therefore had to surrender Le Mans. France has its eye upon its second army. We must not halt. The season is severe ; your ftitigue is great, and you have been compelled to sutler privations of every kind; but the country suffers heavily, and when a last effort may be sufficient to rescue it, we must not refuse it. Know, too, that for yourselves safety lies in the most determined resistance, and not in retreat. The enemy will appear before our positions ; we must receive him steadily, and wear away his powers. Range yourselves about your leaders, and show that you are still the same soldiers who conquered at Coulmiers and Villebonne, at Jaunes and Vendome." This studious concealment of the gravity of the situa- tion from the army is an artifice so often adopted by mili- tary leaders, especially with a failing cause, that perhaps it calls for no remark ; but we cannot conceal from our- r Uf I a mw^^^f' ■A r i < ■ , f-^ ^ i I'f i-: , . * ii • ' ■I , ^^ \'^'■: 1 (• t • 1 ?! li 1 3:^8 THE CHEAT WAR selvcH tlio Iteliot' that do Chanzv know that his cause Avas ho[)closs, except under some iinforeseen and unexpected reverao to the Germans, from the day in whicli he eva- cuated Orleans ; and that tlie month of fighting whicli followed was, so far as he was concerned, merely tlie grhn cxjnilict of despair. It is certain, at all events, that he attempted no further offensive movements, but, Avithdrawing his troops from Alen^on, which Avas occupied by the Prussians on the Kith, he concentrated them in the vicinity of Lavn,l, and there aAvaited for the not-distant end of the war. With a brief sketch of General de Chanzy, Avhose merits as an officer seem to have been equal to those of any of tlie Fi'cnch leaders, notAvithstanding his re|)eated defeats, avo close this chapter. General de Chanzy is a native of the department of Ardennes, and was born in 1823. His early predilections were for a. sailor's life, and at the age of sixteen he ran aAvay from home and Avent to sea. A year of this kind of life sufficed, and in 1840 he entered the military school at St. Cyr, and, after graduating there, Avas ordered to duty as sub-lieutenant in Algeria, where he remained for about fifteen years, rising by merit to the rank of chef de bataillon. He took part in the Italian Avar of 185.9, Avherc he Avas promoted to a lieutenant-colonelcy. In 18G0 he was sent to Syria to quell the difficulties, and served Avith such ability as to be advanced to a colonelcy the same year. On his return to France he was, at his OAvn request, sent again to Algeria, where he attained successively the rank of general of brigade and general of division. Pie i-emained in Africa until September or October, 1870, Avhen ho Avas recalled by the national gov- ernment of defence, and at first placed in command of a division. He took part in the battle of Coulmiers, on the 8th of November, and subsequently, being made com- mander of the sixteenth cov\)s, carried the strong positions held by the riglit wing of the German army at Patay, Of his subsequent career, both at the recapture of Orleans by the Germans, and that long, and, on the whole, diias- trous, retreat Avhich terminated at Laval, we have given ISO was xpccted le eva- 10 gnin furtlier ).s from on the 1,1, and wlioso iliosc of epeatod rient of lections he ran kind of i^ school ercd t<) incd for chef de f 1851), cy. In ies, and Jonelcy 3, at his attained tieral of ibcr Gl- ial gov- id of a , on the e com- :)sitions ;ay. Of Drleans , disa.s- 3 given BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. y29 sufficient account in the previous pages. One radical defect «ieems to h.T,ve been characteristic of all the French generals who had had their military training in Algeria : they regarded everything like strategy with contempt, and all topographical knowledge as useless, placing their entire reliance on the elan, or first impulsive movement, of their troops ; and if they failed in that, retreating somewhat dispirited, for a new attack on another day. Their tactics were those of the lion or tiger, who, regardless of all outward circumstances, makes a sudden but care- fully-calculated spring, and, if he fails, slinks back to try the experiment again after considerable delay. A Ger- man general at Le Mans would have studied well his battle-ground, have guarded carefully against surprises and flank movements, and especially would not have suf- fered himself to l)e so adroitly crowded out of Le Mans, and com})elled to run tlie gauntlet toward Alcn^on and Laval. mi Mm I M ' * 'J 330 THE CaiEAT WAll '% r u ■ i CHAPTER XX. STECiE OF I^ELFOUT — I5ATTLE OF ST. QUENTIN — CAPITULA- TION OF PARIS — TERMS OF PEACE. HE other wing of the Army of the Loire, wliieli, under connnand of General Bourbaki, luid re- treated to Bourges after the reeapture of Orleans, and subsequently been sent by Gambetta to attack General von Werder, who was in the Vosges Department of the Haut-Sa6ne, besieging Belfort, and keeping the newly-acquired Ger- man territories, Alsace and Lorraine, in order, comes next in place for review. We have spoken with some severity of Gambetta's want of judgment in sending Bourbaki on this expedition, instead of concentrating his troops to raise tlie siege of Paris. Let us, however, do justice to the fiery young wjir minister. While results have demon- strated that the policy of concentration would have been the wiser one, there were still not wanting powerful arguments in ftivour of the course he adopted. The pos- session of Alsace and Lorraine was the great bone of con- tention between the French and Germans ; Belfoi't, a strongly-fortified town of that region, was the only French fortress which had held out under a protracted siege, and its brave garrison deserved support. With its fall, the preservation of French territory intact would be impossi- ble; with its preservation, and the raising of the siege so long protracted, the old French prestige miglit be recovered. More than this: the region beyond the Vosges was the weakest and i: -ist-protected ]iortion of tho German fron- tier; who could tell whether Bourbaki, who had a great reputation as a fierce fighter, might not, if properly su]i- ported, be able to follow the cxam])le of the Roman general, and, while the enemy were thunc'ering at tlie gates of the French capital, carry the Avar with relentless severity into 1 -SiC ^nmtk.. BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. :3.31 PTTITLA- , wliich, had re- Orleans, )etta to 1 in the csienfinor ed Ger- les next ieverity baki on oops to :e to the dcmon- ve been owcrful 'he pos- of con- Ifoi't, a Freneli go, and ill, the iipossi- iiego so overed. ras the 1 fron- 1. great y «iip- encrnl, of tlic '>y into their own homes, and even cause Berlin to know the ter- rors it was visiting upon Paris ? Ganibetta was bold and daring enough to risi-c all upon a single chance ; and, look- ing upon the matter in the light wo have indicated, ho is not to be too hastily condemned for what i)roved, in its rcsnlts, a stupendous blunder. Having determined to send Bourbaki on this expedition, it is but justice to him to say that he did all in his ]iower to make the exjiedition successful. Recruits were gathered and armed with great promptness, till it was announced, early in January, that his force, wdiich, when he left Bourges, was but G0,00(), was increased to 200,000 men, well armed and equipped. This, like most of the French reports, was doubtless an exaggeration ; but there is some evidence that he did have, for a short time, 150,000 under his command. He maintained for a time his old reputa- tion; attacked with great rapidity and pluck first one wing and then the other of von Werder's army, which ho largely outnumbered, gained some trifling successes, and, assisted by a vigorous sortie from the garrison, gave the sturdy old Teuton, for a time, a surfeit of fighting; but very soon von Werder, who had shown no disposition to raise the siege of the beleaguered fortress, was largely re- enforced, and then came his turn. On the 13th of January, General Bourbaki made a feint on Visoul, and, after severe fighting, was repulsed, though the action was not decisive. General von Werder the next day evacuated Visoul, and, on his way to a position before Bclfort, encountered and repulsed a part of the French forces at Villerseul. On the 15th Bourbaki again assumed the offensive, attacking von Werder at Montbeliard and Chazny, six miles southwest of Belfort, but was again repulsed. On the 10th the fight- ing was renewed fit Chazny and Bethoncourt, but with the same result. On the 17th, iiftcr a hard day's figliting, ho was defeated, and began to think seriously of a i-etreat. He softened this necessity, in his report to Gambetta on the 18th, under the euphemism of a "return to-morrow to the ])ositi(ms wo occujned before the battki ;" but the fact Avas, that the retreat had already begun. IFis repoi't was as follows: -V #! ,) I'. it k 332 THH OUBAT WAP. 'm n ¥'1 ■- ,1 5.ii ^m I ^M. ^'^^^B "I ordered to-day (18tli) a general attack on the onomy from ^lontbeliard to Montvaudois, endeavoring at the same timo to cross the Lisamcat, Liettencourt, Biisserel, and Hericourt, and to capture St. Valbcrt. I also gave orders that the left wing should try to turn the enemy, in order to facilitate the operation; but the troops which wer-j. d'-f .aed to make this movement were threatened by an attack en their flanks, and they were obliged t(3 m;i!i'tain their ])ositions. We had to contend against con- siderable forco'^ of the enemy supported by formidable artillery, and re-enforced from all sides. The enem}^ in consequence of these favorable conditions, the strength of the position ho occupied, and the intrenchments he had erected, was able to resist all our efforts, but suffered seri- ous losses. "The attack we made on the loth was renewed on the 16th and 17th, and if it has not produced the desired effects wo expected therefrom, in s])ito of the coui-ago dis- played by the troops, it has inspired our enemy with respect, and ho has deemed it prudent to remain on the defensive. ''The weather is so bad that it renders difficult any for- ward movement. "I have decided to return to-morrow to the positions wo occupied before the battle." It was timo; for, although he had verified his old repu- tation aa a bravo and stubborn fighter, the odds wore becoming too heavy. Von Werder's force, as now ro- onforced, alono was too strong for him ; and two or throe days later he found that von Manteuffel, who had so per- sistently followed and so thoroughly defeated Faidlierbc in the north of Franco, leaving von Goben to look after tho wreck of the French army, had transfeiTcd his choicest troops to the cast, and wa^s now in his rear. On tho 25th, Ton Manteuffel crossed the Doubs, and occupied St. Vit, Quingey, and Mouchard, thus crowding him toward the Swiss rrontier. There was no alternative for him except capitulation, or escape into Switzerland, where his troo]»s would Ito disarmed and held as prisoners. Between the 17th and the SGtIi of January, Bourbaki had lost 2(M)()() IIETWEKN FRANCE AND GERMANY. 333 e enemy at the Biisserel, Iso gave neniy, in s which reatened )lige(l to inst coii- •niidalilc \cmy, in ongth of 5 ho liad red sori- d on tlie desired •ago dis- ly with 1 on the any for- )OsitionM Id repu- h were low ro- or tliree so per- idlier])e :)lv after choicest 10 25th, St. Vit, ard tin; except > troo|)s )en tlie 2(),()(K) of his men Jis prisoners, aside from tlie killed and wounded, and besides about 10,000 previously captured, killed, and wounded in the continuous and severe battles of January 13th-17th. Frantic with his losses, and determined not to witness the culmination of these disasters, the fierce and desperate French general attempted suicide, but, though severely wounded, ho did not succeed in taking his life ; and General Clinchart, who succeeded him in the com- mand, could only march tho remainder over the frontier into Switzerland, which he did on the 28th and 21) th of January. Eighty thousand French troops were thus sur- rendered to the neutral authorities of Switzerland ; but one division, under command of General Cremer, managed to escape and make their way southward. We have already alluded to the final defeat and rout of General Faidherbe's army in tho north of Franco. Thni general, after falling back to Cambrai and Arras be- fore von Manteuftel, attempted to retrace his steps in order to aid another sortie which had been determined on l)y the Paris garrison, and threatened tho lino of La F(Jro, Chauncy, Noyon, and Compiegne. Ho knew that the German force in his front had been weakened, and that General von Manteuffel had left to General von Goben tho task of finishing tho defeat which ho had himself be- gun ; yet, with his troops weakened by defeat and sick- ness, and with tho knowledge that von Gbben's veteran's greatly outnumbered his partially-trained troops, it wa« a very hazardous and unwise, though a very daring act, in him to attempt to take tho offensive. General Faid- herbe was really one of tlie ablest and best of tho French generals, and tho motives which ho declares prompted liim to this bold movement, were undoubtedly the true ones, and reflect credit upon him both as a soldier and a man. The efibrt was, however, in every respect, unsuc- cessful. It accomplished nothing in aid of tho Paris sortie, which, as wo shall see, w.'l^s, equally with this, a faihire ; and it only sacrificed an army, which under other circumstances, might have rendered some service to the French cause. On the ISth of January, when Faidherbe's command had reached the vicinity of St. Quentin, von 11; 'f vn? My n I 1 V :]34. TIIH (.11 HAT WAR u. w p- ■( ■■ ^1 f-;;- 1- ■. ( , , . j ni ■ ; -i * ■; ■ ^Hr Gubcii stormed tlic railway station of tlic town, and, confronting him on that and the succeeding da}' in a vevy severe battle, defeated him and drove him out of St. Qiientin, and com[)elled him to fall back upon Cainbi'ai. The French loss in killed and wounded was very heavy— not less, yirobably, than that of the Germans, which was over 3,000 ; but the French lost also 7,O0O unwoundcd, and more than 2,000 wounded men, as ])risoners, and .six guns. General Faidherbe's report is as follows: "Sir: I have the honor to forward you a short report of the battle of St. Quentin. "Comprehending the necessity of advancing, in order to assist the sortie of the Army of Paris, I proceeded, on tlio IGth instant, toward the southeast, in order to turn the army which was opposed to me, and to threaten the line of La Fere, Chauncy, Noj^on, and Compiegne. I was sure 1 should draw upon myself a crushing force ; but there are circumstances in which it is a duty to sacrifice one's self "It was before St. Quentin that I threw myself against the main body of the Prussian troops coming from llhcinis, Lahn, La Fere, Ham, Peronne, Paris, Amiens, and Nor- mandy. " As I informed you in my telegram of the 20th Jan- nary, the Army of the Noi'th, which had given proofs of great bravery, completely maintained its })ositions, which were very good, until the eveiung ; but then the contin- n.al arrival of fresh troo[)s to the enemy, and tlie exhaus- ted state of our troops, rendered it necessary that the order to retreat upon CVunbrai should be given. The cor]>s of General Lecomte was ordered to take the road by Gateau ; that of General Paul d'lvoy, that by Caste- let ; while I, with the cavalry, took an intermediate load which passes by Montbrechain. " The heads of two Piaissian colunnis then entered St, Quentin, one by the La Fei'c road, an."' the other by the Paris road. " The enemy commenced to collect, first, the wounded ; second, a large nund)er of men who, under different ])re- texts, bad remained in tlio town instead of beini-' in tlicir town, and, ay in a vevy out of St, on (Jaiabi'iii. cry heavy — , which was iinwounclod, lers, and six 's: sliort rcpoi't f, in order to ;eded, on tlic L' to turn tlic ten the line I was sure e ; but there acrifice one's yself against rom llhcims, IS, and Nor- 20th Jan- ven proofs of itions, which d the eontin- . the exhans- ary that tlio mven. 'J'he jike the road at hy Caste- niediatc road n entered St. other by tlio ic woundeil ; lirterent ]>rc- leinu: in tlieir r.ETWEEN FUANCE AND (!En:\rAXY :385 places in the battle ; third, all thr)se unfortunate men who, worn '^ut by fiitigue, and suffering from hunger, after four days of rorccd marches, and two d;n's of fighting, were unable to effect a retreat of eleven Icarnies throui;h the mud on a cold, dark niglit ; fourth, finally, some of those brave soldiers who sacrificed themselves in the rear- ijuard to cover the retreat. This is the extent of their trophies. They mnde no ]:)risoners on the field of battle ; and we have brought back intact our twelve batteries of division and our three batteries of reserve. Our four di- visions being reduced by six weeks of operation and fight- ing, to 0,()0() or 7,000 men each, we had but little more than 25,000 combatants at the battle of St. Quentin. The first German army, having been re-enforced by several corps, may be estimated at double the strength of our forces. Notwithstanding this reverse, I hope that the Army of the North, will be able to prove, in a few days, that it is not yet reduced to powerlessncss. " Faidherbe." The hope, expressed in the closing sentences of this re- port, was not destined to be realized. His losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners in the battles before St. Quentin, and the subsequent retreat, proved to exceed 15,000 ; and the retreat itself was disorderly and broken, and did not cease till a portion of the panic-stricken and wearied troops had reached Lisle. Of the 50,000 men who had taken the field in December, it would have been difficult, on the 25th of January, to have rallied 15,000. Longwy, an important fortress near the Belgian fron- tier, had been summoned to surrender caidy in January, and refusing, the German forces had commenced bombard- ing it on the 18th of January, and, after seven days' en- durance of a very severe fire, it capitulated on the 25th ; 4,000 |)risoners .and 200 guns being taken. In the vicin- ity of Dijon, the Garibaldis, father and son, with their Italian compatriots and the force under the cjommand of the younger Garil)aldi — about 30,000 tro()})s in all — aft(U- some trilling successes, Avei'c nearly surrounded by Prus- sian troops, and in two or three (h-iys nioi-e, would liavc^ boon compelled to surrendei'. itM '! JWl • u'f i '» '«,.: •( n 38G TlIK GREAT WAR |: 1. iii " • ■' ■=' 4 I , m ^ i' m -^4*!.' 91 m Bi M yi On the night of the 13th of January, a series of reso- lute sorties, though made by an insulHcient number of troops in each case, was made from Paris, toward the north, against Lo Bourget and Drancy, the position of the Prussian guards, and toward the southwest, against Meudon and Clamart, the eleventh Prussian corps and the second Bavarian. Each attack was promptly and fully repulsed, and the French, in some parts of the lino, fell back in disorder. On the 19th of January, General Trochu led another and the last sortie against the Germans. His force at this time engaged was 100,000 men. The sortie waa intended to keep up the courage of the people of Paris, and to as- sure them that the government was doing all in its power. It was also expected to compel the Germans to relinquish for the time, the bombardment of Paris, which was bo- ginning to be troublesome, though never pushed with any great severity, and especially to prevent their taking up any new positions for bombardment. The Germans held St. Cloud, Montrctout, the heights of Buzenval, and Fort d'Issy, which they had silenced and occupied some days before. General Trochu made the strong fortress of Mont Valerien his base, and at daybreak of the 19th, the three army-corps, under his chief command, issued from the fort. The right, commanded by Ducrot, attacked in the direction of Reuil and the heights of La Jonchorc. The centre, under Bellemare, took Montretout, part of St. Cloud, and the heights of Buzenval. The left, under Vinoy, went upon a roconnoissance toward the stone mill in front of Issy. At first, as usual, the French troops met with some suc- cess. The Gorman troops wore taken by surprise and driven out of Montretout ; the other two corps were re- pulsed from the first. But as soon as the magnitude of the sortie was discovered, the Crown Prince Frederick William took command, and, tlie Prussian batteries being brought to bear on the French, soon checked the ardor of their advance, and presently forced them to retreat. Notwithstanding the formidable army of French troops, the attack was very feebly sustained, and in the evening ncs of reso- numbcr of toward the position of 7est, against 1 corps and 'omptly and of tho lino, led anotlicr i force at this van intended s, and to as- in its power, ,0 relinquish ich was bo- mshed with their taking ho Germans izenval, and ciipied some g fortress of ho 19th, the issued from attacked in a Jonchorc. u, part of St. left, under le stone mill th some suc- urpriso and rps were rc- lagnitude of e Frederick iterics being tho ardor to retreat ench troops, the evening BETWEEN FllANCE AND GERMANY. 337 Montretout was retaken by the Germans, and no resis- tance was made by tlie French. The CJerman losses in this sortie were 31) officers, and (JIO men killed and woun- ded. The French losses were about (),()00 men, over 1,000 dead being found on the field, and almost 300 being taken prisoners. On the 20th, General Trochu sent a message to ask a foi'ty-eight hours' truce to bury the dead, but was refused, unless he would make a written application. Permission was given, however, to remove tho wounded. The failure of this sortie caused great discouragment in Paris, and led to the removal of Trochu from the com- mand of the city, which was assigned to General Le Flo. Meantime, the bombardment of the southern portion of the city was increasing in severity, and the losses of life and the destruction of property in that section, were daily becoming more serious. Several hundreds of citizens, a considerable number of them women and children, were either killed or wounded by the shells, which fell very thickly in that portion of Paris. The outlook w^as becoming increasingly dark and gloomy. Nowhere on French soil were the arms of France successful ; or, if there Avas a temporary success, it was speedily followed by a distuster so complet< rnd overwhelming, that the memory of the trilling goo '-Tor - tune was obliterated from the minds of the people. The war minister, M. Gambetta, had attemjited to keep up tho courage of the people by bulletins of victories whoso origin was wholly in his own fertile brain, or which, at the best, were mere skirmishes ; while of the heavy dis- asters which followed, he made no report. The Army of the Loire wjis divided, and both sections were broken, defeated, routed, and entirely demoralized ; the portion under the command of General do Chanzy, though still numerically the strongest of the French armies outside of Paris, had been so thoroughly beaten and dispirited, that its commander did not dare to risk another battle with it, and it had lain at Laval for two weeks, a mob rather than an army. There could be no hope of relief to beleaguered Paris from that source, though there was said to be 100,000 men on its rolls. The other half of the Army of the Loire, 8 , '" ;^;;: I \ » ;3y« TilE laiEAT WAll ,i'>- \\kV- i,' !. 1 1, l^^i 1 ]'i I 'I siiliseciueiitly llic niiigiiificcnt Army of tliu East, comniaii- (led by CJeiicnil JJourbaki, Avas in rapid aiul disorderly retreat, with the stern and ivsolute von AVerder in close pursuit, and von MantcuHel on its rirjht tiank, pressing it constantly nearer and nearer tlie Swiss border ; its gen- eral sick of life, and dcs])erate from his misfortunes, seek- uVfi; an csca])e from his troubles by attempted suicide, ami his successor completing the tragedy, by a surrender of ii third of France's (j-rcat armies to the neutral Swiss, The patriot-hero Claribaldi, whoso love of liber' was so intense that he worshipped even the name of a l- lic, and who, despite his age, his intirmities, and his still bleeding wounds, had come with his noble sons and his trusty Italian compatriots to fight the battles of a nomin- ally free government, had found his way liedged up by all conceivable difficulties, and, though ho persevered in his struggle against the Germans, felt that the cause for wiiich he was contending was hopeless ; and, after peril- ling his own life and the lives of his conu-ades without result, was at length com])elled to withdraw to his own home. The gallant Faidherbe, after contending for months against a greatly superior force, and undertaking, with a ilaring whicli strongly reminds us of the days of chivalry, to advance toward Paris in the face of dangers, wdiich made the attempt the most forlorn of " forlorn hopes," was driven back in disorder and dismay almost to the shores of the Atlantic. The schools of instruction for new soldiers had nomin- ally 250,000 men in them — reall}^, perhaps, half that num- ber; but they were the rawest of raw recruits, unac- (piainted with the use of fire-arms, and so verdant that a dozen German uhlans would chase a thousand of them. The conscription for 1871 could be called out, but the people were sick of war, and there was not power enough in the government of national defence to compel them to come into the service. In Paris matters were a[)proaching a crisis. The popu- lation had borne the trials and sutferings of a state of siege better than could have been expected. They were ]]|!;t\vi:l:n fuaxch and i; human v, IVS'J st, coinnian- l disorderly •der in eJusu , pressing it or ; its Lfm- tunes, seek- suicide, and Tender of a 5wiss, liber' was of {) 1:- nd his still )ns and his of a nomin- ;ed up by all ered in his s cause for after peril- [es without to his own for months ing, witli a of chivahy , ^ers, which hopes," was the shores lad nomin- f that num- •uits, unac- lant that a d of them, it, but the ^er enou0. Germany demanded the possession of Bel- fort, which liad surrendered after the proclamation of the armistice ; but tliis France was unwilling to give up. Tlie terms linally settled uj)on and ainiouneed l)y Piesident Thiers to the National Assembly at Bordeaux, February 28th, cOs liaving been agreed u])on by the connnissioners on the 2Gth of that month, were as followt-i : govciiimont i, M. Gv6yy, monarcliical 'lecfced })rc:>i- 8 votes. )wn as one of royalist and iiicr of Lorn the repu1)li(.', the 19th, lie 11. ?c and \)V' esi- nt Thiers, M. sociatcd, was id proceeded. the negocia- suhjcct with ,t, and many made. The ice Germany n w^as at first ihrough their rds of francs, of francs, or ssion of J3el- lation of the ,dve lip. The •y Piesident IX, February DininisHionois J^KTWEEN FRANCE AND QERMANV. 34/5 " France cedes one-fifth of Lorraine, including Metz and Thionville, and all of Alsace except Belfort, and pays an indemnity of iive milliards of francs — one millianl this year, and the remainder in 1872 and 187*5, The fortified cities of Lunevillc, Nancy, and Belfort are left to France. Longwy, Thionville, Metz, and Saarrehourg go to Ger- many. The German troops will gradually withdraw from French territory as the payments are made. The armistice irt prolonged to the 12th of March; and, last of all, the (jcrmans are to enter Paris. The Champagne country will be held by 50,000 Germans, with Prince Frederick Charles as governor, until the indemnity is paid." This preliminary treaty, as it was called, was ratified by the National Assembly on the Ist of March by a vote of 54C yeas against 107 nays. The red republicans, and .some of the more moderate ones, voted against it, on tlio ground that there should bo no cession of French terri- tory. The following detailed doscription of the lines laid down in this preliminary treaty was subsequently published : " The lino of demarcation between France and Germany, as at first proposed, is retained, with one exception. It commences in the northwestern frontier at the canton of Cattenora, in the department of the Moselle ; runs thence to Thionville, Brier}'-, and Gorze ; skirts the southwestern and southern boundaries of the arrondissement of Metz ; thence proceeds in a direct lino to Chateau-Salins, and at Pettoncourt, in that arrondissement, turns and folloAvs the crest of the mountains between the valleys of the river.s Seille and Vezouze, in the department of Meurtho, to the canton of Shirineck, in the northwestern corner of the department of the Vosgcs; thence it runsto Saales, divid- ing that commune, and, after that, coincides with tho western frontiers of tho Upper and Lower Rhino depart- ments, until it reaches the canton of Belfort ; thence it l)a6ses diagonally to the canton of Delle, and then termin- ates by reaching tho Swiss frontier. "An alteration made at the last moment in these liound- ai'ies gives Belfort to France, and cedes additional terri- tory around Metz to Germany. f m H U I :Wj THE CHEAT WAR :i H>M |,^:>J' " Germany is to possess her acquisitions from France in perpetuity. " It is agreed tliat, as soon as the preliminaries are I'ati- iied, tlie Germans shall evacuate the departments of Calvados, Orne, Eure-et-Loire, Loiret, Loire-et-Chev, Indre-et-Loire, and j onne, and all territory on the left bank of the Seine. The French troo[)s will retire behind the river Loire until peace is final]}'- declared, except from Paris and other strongholds. " After the payment of two milliards of francs the Ger- mans will occupy only the departments of Marne, Ar- dennes, Haut-Marno, Mouse, Vosges, Meurthe, and tlie fortress of Belfort. " Germany will be open to accept suitable financial in- stead of territorial guarantees for the payment of the war indemnity." An attempt was made by M. Conte, a former private secretary of Louis Napoleon, who was a member of the National Assembly, on the day of the ratification of this treaty, to j ustify the action of the emperor. This occasioned some commotion, but led to the introduction, by M. Targo, of a resolution decreeing the fall of the empire, and stig- matizing Louis Napoleon as the author of the misfortunes of France. This was passed by acclamation, no voices being heard in the negative. The Germans were very moderate in their claims in re- gard to entering Paris. But 30,000 troops were permitted to go within the walls, and these were ordered to confine themselves to a triangular section of the city, of wliidi the Seine formed the east side, the enceinte from Point dii Jour to Porte des Ternes the west side ; while the Faii- bcnirg St. Honored and the Avenue des Ternes from tlie Hue Royalo to the enceinte, iha north side or base. It in- eldded the Ave de Triomphe, in which the first Napoleon had long ago inscribed his boast, now strikingly falsified: " At the a])proach of the conqueror, the German Em[)irc has come to an cmd." There were some slight disturbances, and the Paris mobs seemed determined to wreak the vengeance whieli they dare,000,(){)0 more. The indemnity to be ])aid to the Germans is ^1,000,000,000 more, making ii total of $4,472,095,870, or about twice the amount of our national debt ; while her population is less, and her nr.tional wealth materially loss than ours. Her annual current expendituro for interest on debt and government expendituro in 1801) was $425,000,000; and there will be iin addition of nearly, or quite, a hundred millions a year for interest, giving her an annual expenditure of ,s525,O0O,OOO — a very heavy load for her alreiidy over- taxed people to bear. She is, indeed, under bonds to keep the peace for a generation to come, at leact. The advice given to the nation by the veteran Thiers, on accepting the provisional presidency on the 19th of February, 1871, was eminently sensible, and indicated a far higher statesmanship than most of the French loaders have manifested. The first duty of the nation was, most certainly, to endeavor to repair her losses, restore her national credit and her commercial prosperity, and keep her pcoplo well and profitably employed. The discussion of political questions and constitutional provisions could in their case be profitably postponed to a more favorable period. These are the words of the venerable statesman. Will France heed his counsel ? "Without placing before you a plan of government, which is always somewhat vague, I shall present you with some views on the thought of union which governs me, and on which I would base the roconstnietion of our country. In a state of society that is prosperous, regularly constituted, and yields gently to the j)rogress of opinion, each party represents a political system. To combine all in the same administration, would be placing there oppo- sing forces which would cither neutralize each other, or, ill the event of dissensions, end in inertia or conflict. " But, alas ! does our present situation show society regularly constituted, yielding gently to the progress of o[)inion ? France, precipitated without serious reasons or sufficient i)reparation into war, has seen one-half of > : H-. ' T m :j50 TIIM GIIEAT VVAJl U her soil invaded, lier army destroyed, lier line organlzfitloi) disrn[)ted, lier old and ))o\verful unity conijmujiised, her iinanees embarrassed, the ijreater part of her sons with- drawn from lal)or to die on the battle-fields, order ])ro- foimdly disturbed by the apparition of anarchy and, after the enforced surrender of Paris, Avar suspended only for some da^'s, and ready to recommence if a government esteemed by Europe, courageously accepting the authority, and assuming the responsibility, of doleful negotiations, fails to put an end to appalling calamities. " In j)resence of this state of things, are there, can there be, two policies? But must there not be only one, strong, expedient, consistent and urgent, in order to make peace as j)romptly as possible, under the evils which overwhelm us? " Who will not maintain that we must, as soon and a.s completely as possible, terminate the foreign occupation by means of a pence courageously negotiated, and which will not bo accepted unless it is honorable ; relieve our fields of the enemy which tramples and destroys them ; recall from foreign prisons our cajitured soldiers, officers and generals ; reconstruct of them a disciplined and val- iant army ; reform by election our councils-general and our dissolved municipal councils ; reorganize our disor- ganized administration ; terminate ruinous ex])enses ; re- establish, if not our finances, which would not be the work of a day, at least our credit — the only means of meeting our pressing engagements ; return to the fields and workshops our mobiles ; open obstructed roads ; rebuild destroyed bridges, and thus create employment — the only means by which our artisans and peasants can live ? " Is there any one who can say that there is anything more, pressing than all this ? And is there here, one, for example, who would gravely discuss articles of the con- stitution, while our people, dying of hunger, are obliged to give foreign soldiers the last morsel of bread that remains ? "No, no, gentlemen! Tran(]uilizc; reorganize; revive credit; reanimate industry; behold the only policy pos- JJETWEEN FUAXCi: AND (IKRMANV. 851 [;-n nidation iiiscd, hor ;on,s witli- ordur ])ro- and, after d only for )VCTnincnt authority, ^•otiations, can tlicro ne, strono-^ iko peace vervvlielm on and a.s ccupation :nd which dicvo our )ys them ; :'s, oflicers I and val- leral and )ur disor- 3nses ; ro- ot be the means of the fields ;d roads ; oyrnent — Lsaiits can anj'tliing 0, one, for the con- re obliged read that ; revive olicy pos- sible, or even conceivable at this moment. In all this, every sensible, honest, enlightened man, be he for a mon- archy or republic, can work usefully, and, if he works only for a year or six months, he may return with a high head and a satisfied conscience into the ranks of his countrymen. " Ah, no doubt, when wo shall have rendered our coun- try the pressing services I have enumerated — when we shall have raised from the soil, where she lies prostrate, that noble being called France — when we shall have staunched her wounds, restored her strength, she will return to consciousness ; and then, reanimated, and in full freedom of mind, she will say how she wishes to live. " When this work of reparation shall be over — and it may not be very long — the time of discussing and of considering the theories of government will have come, and, having accomplished our reconstruction under a re- })ublic, we can determine with discernment our destinies ; and this judgment will be pronounced, not by a minority, but by a majority of our fellow-citizens — that is, by the national will itself. " Such is the only policy possible, expedient and adap- ted to the unhappy circumstances wo are in. It is to it that my honorable colleagues are ready to devote their experienced faculties ; it is to that, for my part, despite age and the fatigues of a long life, I am ready to conse- crate all the strength that remains to me, without any design or any other ambition, I swear to" you, than to attach to my last days the regrets of my fellow-citizens, and, permit me to add, without even being assured, after the most intense devotion, to obtain justice for my efforts. But, no mattei' ; in presence of our su fieri ng and perishing country, all ])ersonal considerations would be unpardonable^ Let us be united, and, by shewing that "svo are capable of concord and wisdom we shall obtain the esteem of Europe, and, with her esteem, her support, and, further, the respect of the enemy himself; and all this will bo the strongest suf>])ort you can give to your negotiators, wlicn defendincf the intei'csts of France in the negotiations that are about to open. Defer, then, to a .! 7? '11 iui^>^ [IJ ■■», 3.52 TlIF, (JUHAT WAIl ' ])eiio(l which cannot ho i'lir, tlic political dissensions whicli have divided us, and may divirlo us still more ; and let dillen^nce of opinion, which I know is the result of sincere convictions, only return when it shall no lontj^er he an attack upon the existence and safety of the country." mm U) !i ri! IJKTWKi'N FKANCi: AM) IIEUMA.NV. 353 CHArTER XX r. llETROSrECT. t-'lTlI .'I brief review of the le{idiiiir ineiJents ,,.,, V ,ri-, 17/ of Uiis m'Qiit war, we take our leave of our Tfej|# readers. ^^Wr^ When, on the 15th of July, 1870, Louis Ix'^v^tw^ Na[)oleon Bonajnrte declared war with Prus- •• ( '^"f^^ sia, the numerous vicissitudes of his eventful /'\ * jjf^ j^jj^y have suggested to hini the possi- bility that the war, if long protracted, might prove unfavorable to his hopes ; but no seer could have pre- dicted to him that, in seven weeks from that day, ho would be defeated, dethroned, and a prisoner to the one man among all the crowned heads of Europe whom he most hated ; and that all the hopes and dreams, in which he had indulged, of the perpetuation of a Bonaparte dynasty in France would be utterly dis-sipatcd. And yet, as we look upon the matter now, it seems the most natural thing in the world that just this thing should have happened. He knew that ho was unpre- pared for the war he had most wantonly ])rovokcd ; but he did not know that the frauds .and moral corruption of which he had been guilty had permeated the entire body })olitic ; that all his subordinates, finding their chief defrauding the nation, had undertaken the same game for themselves. He knew that Prussia was strong in her armies, her finances, her resources ; but he did not know her condi- tion of ])re]>aration for war, her complete military organi- zation, the genius of her great strategist, nor the er^thu- isiasm which would be awakened throughout Germany by her going to war in a just cause. •.i-* \ ' 3:>4 THE (J HEAT WMl i :.h \i' 'i And, after ilio decluratiou of war, in the three weeks wliicli followed before a blow wa,s strack, amid all lii.s bo.'ivstingH and declarations of the necessity by v/hich ho was driven nnwillingly into war, was there no fear of a retribution for his ninnerons crimes against the nati!)n, and against the God who rules over the nations ; no mis- giving that the time was approaching -when his conduct as a ruler should be judged impartially by the nation whom he had attempted to dupe ? Whether this was so or not, there was a mai-ked and manifest diflcrenco between his manncsr and proclamations and those of the Prussian king. The one was boastful, defiant, aiid appealed to the passion of his nation for glory; the other, quiet, .and confident of the justice of liis cause, looked to heaven for aid and success. The slight affair at Saarbruck on the 4th of August possessed no significance or importance in itself, but was made the occasion of a vainglorious despatch by the emperor, and the announcement of the weeping of his veterans over the tranquillity of his wonderful boy. The more serious battles of Forbach and S|>icheren Heights, and of Weissenbourg on the Cth of August, showed the bojistful emperor that victory woifld not always perch upon his banners ; and when this was followed, on the 8th, by the decisive battle of Woerth and the precipitate retreat of MacMahon, it was almost pitiable to see how quickly his tone was changed from vaunting to terror. " Frossai'd has lost a battle," he telegra])hs. " Macl^'ihon has been defeated, vrith heavy loss, at Woerth. All tan yet be established." Bad news followed fast and faster. Strasbourg, Pfalzbourg, and Toul were besieged. Mac- Mahon, while doing his best to collect re-enforcements, was pursued pitilessly and relentlessly by the crown l)rince. Bazaine's army, with . which his headquarters were, and which had thrown o«it its advance toward Saarbiuck and Forbach, was conq)elh.H| to fall back in liot haste to its fortifications at Meiz, and, pressed by the greatly superior force of tlie German king and his trusty lieutenants von Steinmetz and Prince Frederick Charles, f(nind itself comiKjlled to attempt to gain the open coun- HETWEEN FRANCE AND tIEKiMANV, 30." rce weeks lid all his v/liieh lie ) fear of a he nation, 5 ; no mis- is conduct bo nation Ids was so diftercnce :)so of the tiant, aiid jlory; the his cause, 3f August f, but was ti by the ng of his 3oy. Tiic Heights, lowed the lys perch d, on the irecipitatc ) see how to terror. lacxJdioii All tan nd faster, id. Mac- rcemcnts, le crown dquartcrs i toward back in id by the lis trusty [ Charles, )cn coun- try and the highways leading from Metz to Paris, to avoid being shut up in the fortifications of Metz. The attempt was made too late. The battle of Cour- cclles, fought on Sunday, August 14th, detained Bazaino in Metz to save the city, which was threatened with ULstant capture if he left it. The delay of the loth to hnry the dead gave time to the ;irmy of Prince Frederick Charles to cross the Moselle and plant themselves stroncflv across the lower road to Verdun and Paris, at Mars-la-Tour, while a sumcient number of Steinmetz's veterans threatened the up])er or Conflans road, to make a passage by that difficult, if not impossible, Bazaine had waited too long ; but, convinced more fully than before of the absolute necessity of his control- ling one or both these roads, he made, on tlic 18th, his iinal effort to obtain possession of the lower, and failing in that, of the upper road. But he had by this time more than 250,000 troops oj)posed to him ; and, though he fighting on the French side was more gallant, earnest and obstinate than in any other battle of the war, and they returned to the charge again and again with an energy and resolution worthy a better cause, yet, at 1) p, M,, they were thoroughly beaten, and driven into the fortifications of Metz, from which most of them only emerged as prisoners. Thus far the Germans had been uniformly successful, rather from their ability lo endure " hard jxninding," their persistence and determination, than from any remarkable display of skill on the jiart of their leaders. Their losses had been heavy — heavier, somewhat, ])roba- bly, than those of the French ; but their superior size, weight, endurance, and intelligence had given them the advantage even over the vaunted and really deadly mit- railleur. From this time forward the victories of the Prussians were as much the result of stiategic skill as of hard lighting, Bazaine being shut up, or, to use an expressive ])hrase of General Grant's, " bottled u])" in Metz, a large army of observation was required to hold him in check ; for this ))urpose the landwehr, or reserves, were ordered m '- 1 350 THE CillEAT WAR m ■^ •lii i! up, .111(1, ine.iiiwliilo, tlio greater part of the First Anny (Stciiuiictz) was put in uiarcliiug order for Paris. At Ctialons it funuod a junction with the Third Army (th;it of tlie crown prince), and a Fourth Army, made u}) from the Saxon troops, the royal guard, and a corps from Prince Frederick Charles' army, joined the two. AlacMahon, who liad been marching swiftly on Paris, had, on reaching Clialons, been ordered by the emperor, now at Rheims, to turn northward and make a d(jtour by llheims, Retliel, Sedan and Montmedy, in tlie hope of relieving Bazaine and raising the siege of Aletz, The movement was a stupendous blunder, and the great strategist von jVIoltke saw it, and at once imjiroved his opportunity. No sooner had MacMalion fairly turned northward, than von Moltke connnenced pushing his troops toward the north between the Aisne and the Meuse, through a difficult country, the forest of Argonnes and the Ardennes mountains, and, in spite of the difficulties of tlie route, was soon on the Hank of MacMahon's advance- guard. True to his strategical principles, he struck a heavy blow just as they ^vere attempting to cross a river — the Meuse ; and mcanwliile, ho was sending over the Fourth Army, under the Crown Prince of Saxony, at a higher point, while he obstructed the passage of theFrench. The next day, the eventful Lst of September, the battle began early. Pressed in rear and on either flanks, the French army could only fall l^ack u})on the fortilied town of Sedan. MacMalion was dangerously wounded early in the day, and the command devolved upon (jleneral do Winiptfeii, though Napoleon III was present and directed in part. It was about 3 P.M. when the jaded and beaten French coqis attempted to enter Sedan. All order was lost ; it was more a mob than an army, and part of the town was already in possession of the Germans, avIio had entered with the French. There was no alternative but surrender. Clerman troops occupied every height, and were in suih })osition that, while they could soon make the town untenable, tluire was no way of escape. Und<'r these circumstances, the emperor, General de Wimjitlen, and the entire army, l:i7,0()() s^rjng, including sick and »ii,?ui BETWEEN FllANCE AND (JEIQIANY, oo7 T'lYHi Armj Paris. At Vnny (that Jc lip from H.)rp,s from ), { on Paris, e emperor, ddtour by le hopu of z. (I the great i))rove(l liis rly turned jshing his tlie Mouse, ,'onnes and difficulties 's advancc- ) struck a OSS a river :j over tlie xony, at a /lie French, tlio battle Hanks, the ified town 'd early in jieneral de d directed nd beaten order was )art of tlie , Avho liad native but eight, and ■ismarck, they had so hampered him l)y these war-cries, that he was unahlc to effect any aiTangement looking toward peace ; and an angry correspondence followed, in which the cool and diltlomatic German had greatly the advantage. It was atlirst proposed to hold elections for a constitent assemldy ; but the war minister, Gandjotta, ()[»p()sed it, Itecause it was tlecidedly uncertain whether such an as- sembly would allow them to retain tlieir power. Meantime, the (lornians ]>rosecutcd the war relentlessly. Paris was reached ]>y their troop.^ on the 15th of Se[)tem- Iter, and its investnuiut commenced on the 2()th ; and though the circuit of tlieir lines aronnd it was almost w I W- ■ 1 m I.Vi: :]r)H TIIK 0111:AT WAll m 'WV ! fti 1^^ ■ -.1 ^t ■" ■ • it ii. . Hi .a ninety miles, and they had not for some time more than 200,000 troops which they coukl emi)loy for this siege, their cordon, once formed, was never broken. Tiie mil- roads leading into the city were severed, and its supplies cutoff; the government divided — Gamhetta, Cremieux, Glais-Bizoin, and Fourichon going to Tours, while Favre, Trochu, Emmanuel Arago, Gamier Pages, and Pelletan, remained in Paris. During the month of tSeptember the new French government contented itself with abortive negotiations for peace, missions to neutral powers, and .somowliat high-sounding proclamations ; but when, on the 27th of that month, Strasbourg, with 17,O0O men, cftpitulatod unconditionally to the Germr.n forces, and Orleans was bombarded and occu])ied by von Der Tann'.s army on the 11th of October, the ; French war minister was roused to almost superhuman exertions ; and, while occasionally sending out absurdly exaggerated proclama- tions of French successes which proved to have been French defeats, he certainly deserved credit for the cmcsruy luid executive ability with which ho gathered armies Ironi all parts of Franw, organized, armed, supplied, and ])ut them in tho field. Ho formed, in the \icinity of Orleans, a great army of over 200,000 men, most of whom indeed, had never borne arms, but, under skilful officers, could Roon bo made serviceable troops. The skilful officers were, to bo sure, not readily to bo obtained, for most of those who had seen service wore prisoners. But it was not alone this Ajrmy of the Loire wdiich was to bo organized and officered. Another of o(iual numbers was formed in tho north of Franco, and placed under tho command of General Faidherbe. Still another, though of less extent, was organixed in tho east in the vicinity of Dijon, and Garibaldi's Italian Legion was mado its nucleus. Schools of instruction for troops wore established at all the military d(5pots, and within two months ho had gathered in these over 250,000 troops, inde})endent of tho conscription of 1871, which waa being wdlod out as rapidly a>s possible. In addition to these great assemblages of regular soldiers, a considerable force of irregular troojis, to perform tli(^ dutioB of scouts, rajigors, and guerillas, were organized *^-^.-j^ move than this sicn;e, Tiic riiil- ts siippHcs Creiuieux, iiilo Ftivrc, I Pclletiin, iembur the ,h abortive owors, and when, on 7,000 men, 'orccs, and Dor Tann'w ar minister and, while . proclama- havo been the energy rmiort from d, and ])ut of UrJoans, om indeed, icora, could Rccrs were, )st of those it was iiot ) organized formed in )mmand of ess extent, Dijon, and Schools le military ed in theHO icription of KS possible, ar soldiers, rform the orgjini/.ed •» ii UKTWUKN FIIANCK AND GKRMaNV. JJol) undei' the names of franc-tiveur8,i)artisans de Gers, &c., &c., wliich were intended to render similar service to tins French army with that performed by the ulilans for the Germans. Tn thus reorganizing the Frencli army from the population which for twenty years had not borne arms, M. Gambctta certainly displayed great executive ability ; and tliough there were, every now and then, examples of his impulsive nature, such as tliat proclama- tion in which he declared that Bazaine was a traitor, and outlawed and put a price upon his liead ; or those in which, he announced successive victories, whose details he had manufactured to encourage the French troo})s ; or in which, with fiery indignation, he denounced the Ger- mans and their king as foes to universal humanity, because they would not grant an armistice on the terms he desired; or vented his wrath on generals whom he had a week or two before exalted aa almost demigods, when their suc- cesses turned to failures ; yet much can be pardoned in a man who, with all his failings, shoAved a truly patriotic spirit, and who, in the midst of a corrupt and demoralized nation, was thoroughly and unim})eachably honest. But these great executive abilities were not sufficient to save France, or to drive out the German force which had y)lanted itself so strongly upon her soil. The work of conquest went steadily forward. Closer and closer were drawn the lines around Paris, and nearer and neaier ap- proached the grim spectre of famine ; and the feeble sorties made from time to time, could not sever the cordon which hound the beleaguered city. Outside of Paris, after the fall of Strasbourg and the capture of Orleans, which wo have already chronicled, there was such a succession of disastei's .us never befi:)re befell a liravo and warlike nation. Met7, capitulated on the 27th of Oetol)er, together with Ba- zaine's army, consisting of '} marshals, GO generals, 0,000 officers, and 173,000 privates. Dijon surrendered on the noth of October, Neue Breisach on the fitli of November, and Verdun on the i)th. Thionvilie, after obstinate and protracted resistance, capitidated on the 25th ; and tlu^ sorties from Paris, from Mezic5reH, from Bi^lfurt, Montmcdy, and La Fciro, were prom])tly repulsed, with heavy loss on F :m I ,'JGO TlIK GREAT WAR m the part of the besieged. There was, indeed, a temporary relief from these great disasters in the repulse of the Prussians at Coulmiers and Patay ; and the recapture of Orleans by the Army of the Loire, under General d'Aurelles de Palladines ; but it 'as only temporary. The (ilerman General von Der-Tann, s "^n after his evacuation of Orleans, was re-enforced from the army of Pi'ince Frederick Charles, and soon began to make demonstrations looking to the recovery of his lost ground. The most formidable sortie from Paris made during the war, under Trochu and Du- crot, from the 29th of November to the 2nd of December, proved a failure after two or three days of hard fighting, though another day's conflict would probably have re- sulted in success. A succession of severe battles around Orleans, in which Prince Frederick Charles managed to separate and isolate two corps of the French army, resulted, on the 4th of December, in the surrender of Orleans, and the retreat of the sundered French Army of the Loire, one portion toward Tours, Blois, and Le Mans, and the other toward Bourges. The retreat was attended with considerable losses. M. Gambetta, with ready tact, or- ganized the two divisions into two armies, one under General de Chanzy, the other under General Bourbaki ; the former commander, General d'Aurelles de Palladines, being under a cloud for his want of success. The tide of disaster continued to swell. Eouen was occupied by the Germans on the 5th of December ; Beau- gency on the 8th ; Dieppe on the 9th ; Pfalzbourg, a strong fortress and bravely defended, capitulated on the 12th ; and Montmcdy, almost as strong, on the 14th. The French were driven from Vendome on the 16th, and from Nuits on the 18th. Tours capitulated on the 2()th; Sangre, Blois, and Bapaume were captured on the 25tli and 2Gtli ; and Fort Avron, the strongest of the defences of Paris on the east, bombarded and occupied on tlie 29th; and Forts Ilosny, Noiss}'-, Nogent, d'Issy, and Vanvres, on the east and south of Paris, bombarded and silenced. General von Manteuffel had had, during the month of December, numerous conflicts, generally but partial ones, with Oenernl Faidherbe's army in the north of France, VI «w temporary .se of the 3apture of General ary. The ■cuation of Frederick [coking to able sortie 1 and Du- Decembcr, 1 fighting, have ro- es around lanaged to {y resulted, leans, and the Loire, s, and the aded with ' tact, or- me under Bourbaki ; 'alladinos, ^cuen was er; Beau- y a strong the 12th; 4th. The and from the 20th; the 25th defences the 29th; Vanvres, ilenced. month of rtial ones, >f France, BETWEEN FlUNCE AND GERMANY. :3G1 and liad pushed it back througli Rouen, Amiens, and Bapaume, to Arras ; but early in January, Faidhcrbo, under instructions from Paris, began to move southward again ; and General von Manteufi'el and his trusty lieu- tenant, General von Goben, moved against liim as speedily as possible. This was part of a concerted movement of Gambetta's, in which General de Chanzy,who was not far from Le Mans, General Faidhcrbo, who was to move southward in tlie line of Rouen, and the Parisian garrison, who were to make a sortie to the southwest and west of Paris were to co-operate. It proved a failure in all its })arts. Faidherbe found himself resisted by a supe?'ior, or at least a more resolute force, under General von Goben, and was driven back with heavy losses, and his army demoralized, through St. Quentin to Arras and Lille. General de Chanzy, who had been followed closely and watched carefully in all his movements from the time he left Orleans, on the 4th of December, found that he must fight Prince Frederick Charles' entire army before ho could ap])roach any nearer to Paris; and, after four days of severe fighting (December 9th-18th), being twice fiankcd by the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was thoroughly defeated and routed, losing about 15,000 in killed and wounded and 22,000 unwounded prisoners, and compelled to retreat to Laval, with his troops almost dis- organized. Through some misunderstanding, tlie sortie from Paris was not rightly timed, and, being feebly made, only resulted in heavy loss of prisoners. In the oast of France, Garibaldi had had some trilling successes over the Germans in the vicinity of Dijon ; but when the siege of Belfort by von Werder, and the move- ments of Bourbaki with his Army of the East, had led to the re-enforcement of the German forces from von Man- teuftel's army and a portion of Prince Frederick Charles', Garibaldi's little army of s.bout 30,000 men was in great peril, and only escaj^ed captiu'c by reason of the armis- tice. Bourbaki undertook to raise the siege of Belfort, and to drive von Werder's army across the Rhine ; |but after four days of hard fighting (January 13th-17th), repulsed each li i SI I i i L; m ill 5 1 tU>'i"^ 1 ( r r ' ■t -^if-!^; - ■;i|t::' ,1 ■?■ tfFiS 302 TllH (aiKAT WAR (lay but returning; to the iitt.'iok, lu; wus C'()iiii)olle(l to comnienco a retreat, in wliicli Ik; lost lioavily both in killed and wounded and in ])nsoneiv;, and finally, out- ilanked by von Alanteuflel anil crowded r.non the Swiss frontier, he attempted suicide; and his successor, (Uiiieral Clinchart, about the 1st of February, surrendered to tiio Swiss the. remainder of his army, said to number over 80,000 men. Mcanwliile, Abbovilliers, Longw^y, and iinally Belfort, surrendered. On the 24th of January, 1871, M. Julas Favro, the ablest di{)lomatist of the French cabinet, commenced his third effort to arrange with the German premier. Count von Bismarck, fjr an armistice of suflicient duration to ])ermit the negotiation of a treaty of peace which would ix) binding. In his previous attempts M. Favro had been greatly ham{)ered by the refusal of his colleagues to sub- mit to any cession of territory, or anytliing less than the whole demands, some of which were utterly unt(mable, and hence both the former attempts at negotiating an armistice had failed. Now, however, their pride was humbled, and they began to comprehend how fatal would bo any further resistance if peace was attainable, and hence did not put him under such limitations as they had done previously. The discusssion of the points involved in the armistice occupied three days; and on the 27th AI. Favro returned to Paris, and an armistice was agreed upon, which was to commence on tho 29th of January and last twenty-one days. It was subsequently extended to the 26th of February, to the 1st, and, finally, t-o the 6th of March, This armistice provided for the surrender of tho fortifi- cations of Pari.s, for the laying down of tho arms of its garrison, exce))t a division of 12,000 men, to whom was assigned the duty of keei)ing order in Paris during the armistice. It also prescribed the lines which should l:)0und the captured territory, required an indemnity of $40,000,000 from the captured city, and permitted its revictaalling, and tlie exchange of prisoners. Provision was made, further, for the election and assembling in Bordc^aux, on the 15th of March, of a national assembly, who might il)olle(l to )' both in inlly, out- tlio Swiss ;', (uMicral 'cd to the nber ovci' jwy, and 'avro, tlui icnccd his er, Count iration to ich would had been cs to sub- ; than tlio intcmablo, iatincj an firido was tal would ablo, and they had ; involved 27th ]\1. !i3 agreed January extended :-o the 6th ho fortifi- rms of its vhoni wa« luring the aid bound ^(),00(),00() ictaalling, t'as made, [Ic^aux, on ^ho might BETWEEN FRANCR AND (U'llMANY. 363 authorize tlio negotiation of a treaty of ix^ace, and who should be qualified to ratify it. Some o])struetions were thrown in the way of the carry- ing out of the measures agi-eod upon by the contracting parties to this armistice, by Garabetta and Trochu ; l)ut they wore speedily repudiated by the other members of the government of national defence, and their authors Avere removed from office. The national assembly met, elected M. Grevy its pro- siding officer, and, receiving the resignations of M. Favre and his colleagues, chose M. Adolpho Thiers ])resident of the provi.sional government ; and ho appointed M. Favre his f)romier. Tho preliminary treaty of peace, whose pro- visions wo have already cited, was negotiated by MM. Favre and Thiers on the French side, and Count von Bis- niarctk and Herr von Arnim on tho German, and ratified by tho National Assembly on the 3rd of March, and by King William (who had been crowned, on tho 19th of January, by voto of the Confederated States of Germany, Emperor of Germany) on tho 5th of that month. On tho 1st of March, 30,000 Gorman troops entered Paris, and marched out on the 3rd ; and ^vithin tho following ten days all except the Army of Occupation returned to Ger- many. Thus ended tho most remarkable war of modem tiraefl — remarkal)lo alike for its rapidity of movement, tho vast masses of men put in tho field, its terrific slaughter, its stupendous surrenders — for the Germans had, on tho 10th of February, in their handa and in tho liands of neutrals, over 000,000 prisoners of war ; four of tho largest armies of modem times, viz., MacMahon's at Sedan, Bazaine's at Metz, Trochu's at Paris, and Bourbaki's in Switzerland, having surrendered within five months, besides more than a hundred and fifty thousand prisoners taken in tho vari- ous engagements of tho war. It was remarkable, too, for th.e new weapons brought into use, and tho extent to which modern appliances in chemistry and tho arts wcro made subservient to military pur])ose8. Tho mitrailleur and the various breech-loading rifles Avere tested far more thoroughly than over bofoifo, some of them, indeed, for tho m ■3it >H|ii ih lite r .n if rfd ■ m ;' ill > ' ( ^ :iG4 'I'llK (UIKAT WAU lli'st time in .'ictual warfare. Tlio siipcrioiity ol'tlio I'illcd steel caniKiii of Kruj)}) over tlie Frencli bronze pjuiis was conclusively shown ; and the folly of dependanee uj)on a navy, however perfectly constructed, armed, or manned, in a war between two powers whoso lands are contigu- ous. Terril)lc and destructive as this war has been both to huniiin life (for it is estimated that, from wounds and sickness bicd in the cam])s, and freacc. In France it has ])ricked and instantly exploded a despotism, which might have continued for a generation of peace to enervate the }ico])le it tyrannized over. In Germany it has not less suddenly aroused a spirit of nationality, which I'endcrs at once ])()ssiblc that long-coveted unity of the German race which an age of j)eace miuht not have consolidated. While the French )!' tlj(j riilud 3 guns was iico upon a or manned, i"o contiau- en Loth to ^ounds and tliu battle- lay lie (lead many are )nc, includ- ily Ijclieve, 10 ultimate nr^cs whieh forever the ) most mi.s- nd the one • af,^cs. in 11 of arbiter ;cs. It ha.s •cat ])owcrs y that its mes of its mel to con- tending its ; rank that hat indivi- reral })ros- )oli(^y was same time )tcd policy 1 instantly nued for a yrannized aroused a ssildc that an aii^e of ho French nKTWKKN FllANCW AND (JIIUMANV. yuo ciupiiHi existed, there couM ho no real ju-ace in Murope. While the (Jorman cmjnro remains, there can be no war without its consent; and tlie past policy, the fixed ])rinci- |)les, the natural sympathies of her peo])lc, not the men; written records of her government, violablc at the will of one man, are ] dodges of lier peaceful ]nir])oses. Let us symjiathizc with the race which has l)een so })ainfully humiliated; but lot us also rejoice with that larg(;r civilization of all Ein'opo which gains by what the French have lost. The war is yet to find its most important result, its chief aptjlogy, and its greatest blessing, in the increased impulse it will give to a higher and better civilization in Europe. It is in their onlaiged liberty that tlio French arc yet to see themselves Idessed by their own overthrow. Franco has not merely l)een relieved of the cancer of the empire that ate its heart out, but lier people have been liberated from false and enervating direction, and are free to enter upon a sounder and truer education tlian that which has heretofore made them a race of polished but friv(^lous people — smooth and elegant of ex- terior, but too deficient in the great impulses which belong to more earnest and [)rogressive races. Wo shall not bo many years — the Fi-ench will not be a generation — in recognizing that the war has been one of the mysterious agencies of civilization, s{)rcading knowledge, wdiicli is the only true source of power; the unsuspected means of developing industry, which creates wealth. By the war, Franco is relieved of a ruler, an army, a system of govern- ment v/hich alxsorbcd and wasted her prosperity ; and not only she and Germany, but all Europe, will be saved henceforth much of that cost in wealth and loss in national spirit which follows the maintenance of hirgo standing armies. Relieved of these dread incubi. Franco may bo- oonic the rival of England and Germany in manufactures; for the delicate taste, the natural appreciation of the heautiful in art and mechanism, and the deftness and skill of her operatives in all the finer manufactures, assure her a ready pro-eminence in this direction; and, once educated beyond the belief that the glory of a nation is found in its prowess in war, not its peaceful ])rospcrity, .^5 1 1^' *^ ,,ri M. ]lm i -i .U'A--' J a yco Tin: flFiEAT WAU m ii!' K:=|%-. ■I U ']r '•?- i' sliu may bocoiiui, as n nmuufacttiring stato, more i)rosp('r- oiis and truly iiillneiitial tlinii at any period of lier fornior existence. The iiiiluence of tlio war, also, in favor of reli^-ious liberty, and the i)rogress of that freedom of religious wor- ship which has so long lieon withhold in Franco, cannnt hut be beneficial. The war had its origin in part, and in great part, in the machinations of Jesuit managers to liumble Prussia as the great Protestant ]iowor of tho Con- tinent, and to ])lace upon the throne of l^Vanco a ruler fully committed to reaction, to religious persecution, ami to tho enforcement of tho Roman Concordat. It closes with Prussia at tho head of the German Confederation, more powerful and influential than ever before, and France humbled, but inoro hostile than ever she was in tho })ast to tho sway of a despot, or the intolerance of Rome. The war has shown Franco tho evils of fraud, corruption, and deception. It has made her citizens a sadder but a wiser people ; and with ^ho disappeiirancc of their former frivolity and thoughtlessness, and tho inordinate conceit which ha.s marred their character, wo may well hope there will come a disposition to profounder and moro serious thought, a greater earnestness of purpose, and a higher moral princi- ]ile. If this result shall follow, wo may rejoice in the belief that the present misfortunes of that fair land have worked out for her greater blessings than any material ])rosperity could have done, and that all Europe, and the world, will participate with her in the benefitR which have como to her from adversity. To nations, as to individuals, there should, and generally does come, in seasons of disavster, that penitence for past errors and that desire to begin a new Jind better national life, which causes theso afflictions to bo subsequently re- cognized as "blessings in disguise," and as having wrought out a higher and nobler national destinv. But if, alas! these bitter lessons should all bo lost, anu France, despite her heavy burdens and her sad experiences, l)ecomo again what she was undoi^ the empire — vain, thoughtless, frivolous, and corrupt LETWEEN FlUNX'K AND (lEHMANY. 31)7 >f lier former of religiouH iligious wov- aiico, cannot part, and in iianagor.s to • of tho Con- inco a riilei' edition, an(l t. It closes )nfccloratioii, I, and France in tho past Rome. The ruption, and but a wiser nor frivolity t which ha.s [•e will come 3 thought, a loral princi- joico in the r land have ny material Dpo, and the which have No! no! wc have, not the licart to portray, or the words to describe, tho ruin which must come; ujxjn a nation ho often and so terri})ly adinonishod, if it does not heed the warnings it has received. id generally nco for pa«fc jGt national iquently ro- n^ wrought bo lost, and jxperiencos, )})ire — vain, W»fT 3GcS THE CillLAT WAR .'I, •;:| ' "", ; ti; #i'* . CHArTER XXII. M. lOUIS ADOLrilE TIIIEKS, President of the French Provisional Government, Feb- ruary, 1871. "He statesman who was chosen in Feljruary, 1871, to guide the helm of state in Franco, at ^ ' a time when she was in the condition of grcat- f/v est peril, has been the subject of more vicissi- tudes and changes, and has kept u]) a stouter ^'i^ heart and a more con-^tant faith i.i the future, tlian any otlicr public man in France. Louis Adoljihe Thiers was born in Marseilles, April IGth, 171)7. His father was a large i^ianufacturer of cloths, tmd was ruined by the revolution. His mother was from the illustrious family of Chenier, and her brothers undertook the education of the young Louis Adulphc, who early manifested remarkable abilities. He entered the Lyceum of Marseilles at the early ago of nine years, and at eighteen graduated with the highest distinction. He studied law at Aix, and was admitted to the bar in 1820, but soon became convinced that, for him, the path to distinction lay in politics and literature rather than in the i)ractico of the law. The year of his admission to the bar he contended for a prize olferetl by the Academy of Aix for the best memoir of the Marquis de Vauvenargues, a French moral philosopher and author, who had been a native and citizen of Aix. His memoir was found to be the best; but the judges, being royalists, and I regarding young 'J'hiers as a Jacobin, postponed their decision to the next year, to give o})portunity for further comjietition, making tie same topic the subject for til" next annual prize also. M. Thiers revenged him- IJKTWEEN FIIANCE AND GERMANY, :]()!) rnmcnl, Feb- in Fcljruavy, n Franco, at ion of great- more vici.ssi- iip a stouter 1 the future, nee. seille.s, April ufacturer of His mother er, and her y^oiing Louis 3ilities. He arlv a<;e of the liighest as admitted cd that, for id literature year of liis c offered Ly the Manpii.s and author, His memoir ng royalists, postponed »rtunity foi' the subject 'cngcd him- self for this injustice in a characteristic way. He sent in his manuscript the next yefir without change, but wrote another memoir of Vauvenargues in different style, which he dated and mailed from Paris, for the new prize ; and, when the decision was made, received both prizes. In September, 1821, he went with his faithful fricnid and classmate, M. Mignet, to Paris, to seek his fortune. ])()tli were poor and without powerfid friends, and it was at the most reactionary ])eriod of the Bourbon Restora- tion. They worked hard for a bare subsistence, aiid at fu'st found but slight encouragement. At length, just at the close of the year, Thiers, through the influence of the great liberal orator, Manuel, obtained a subordinate situa- tion on the staff of the Constitutloruiel, where his bril- liant talents so(m secured his advancement. His skill in political discussion, his wide range of general knowledge, his extraordinary memory, and his complete fearlessness made him invaluable to the ])aper, which was the princi- pal organ of the liberal party. He was not less brilliant as an art-critic than as a political writer, and his dra- matic criticisms attracted attention in all quarters. A narrative of a short tour in the Pyrenees and the south of France, published in the columns of the Const liution- nd in 1824, and subsequently issued in a volume, gave him some additional rejmtation. It is not surprising, then, that, before the close of 1823, he was in receipt of a liberal sliare of the profits of the paper whicli he had already so greatly benefitted by his ability as a writer. His literary activity was even beyond the needs of the Const itutionnd, and he added to his labors there the editing of 2%e Historic Tablets, a magazine of givat merit, in which Mignet and some of his other friends were his collaborators. He went into society considerably at this time, and one of his friends thus describes his ])ersonal appearance : " The smallness of his stature, the extreme plainness of his features, which were half hidden under an enormous pair of spectacles, his ])eculiar pronunciation, and his singular hal»it of constantly shrugging his shoulders, and dancing (or, as a New Englander would sny, ideri '.) at ;!V If ■I''! !;>■. K) f^i- 4 -■ '0A> i:-. i %M 'I ».' :370 TllK (iUKAT WAll every word, and an abaoluto lack of the ordinary frraces of inannor, made him ap])car a beinj^' apart from all olliers. But Avlien he spcjke 3'0ii could not refrain from admiring h ' Avit and vivacity, the glow of his Oriental imagination, and the vastness of his attainments. Noth- ing seemed to be foreign to hinj ; he was equally at home ^1 Rcienco, literature and art; and, turning from the most brilliant literary improvisation, lie would discuss, the next moment, with equal fulness of knowledge and soundness of judgment, questions of finance, polition' economy, war, or j)olitical action. Ho was a great f'i\-or- ite, at this period, with Talleyrand, and the othoi- einineni men of the Opposition." Young as he wa.s, lie had already connnenced the great literary labor of his life, his " History of the French Revolution," the plan of which he subsequently expanded to include the history of the " Consulate and the Em- pire," the "Restoration," and the " Monarchy of «luly" (the reign of Louis Phillipo.) The " History of the Frcneli Revolution" appeared complete in 1827, in ten octavo volumes; and though, in subsequent editions, some crudities were removed, and there was ocaisionally a snh- stitution of a maturcr stylo of though ' a^d a sounder judgment, 3'et it was, in it8 first edition, f the most reniarkablo works of tho century. We m .iio statoli- ness of style of (^lateaubriand, Lamartine, ar.l Martin; but in its profound knowledge and comprehension of the wholo Rubjoct, the rapid march of the narrative, its intensel}^ dramatic character, its admirable clearness, and its evident sympathy with republican freedom — a sym- pathy which it required some courage to avow under the administration of a government ko despotic as that of the lU'storation — it has not been surpassed in modern times. After its publication, M. Thiers entertained a project for MTiting a gc>noral history, and resolved to prepare liimself for it by an extensive) tour of travel. Ho had niad toward an absohito despotism. I linary rrraccs irt from all refrain fnjiii liis Oriental eiits. Notii- ally at lioine •oni tlio most discuss, tile wlcdgo ;ui(l ice, polifv^-'i f(reat f • Itli er eininum ;ed tlic great the French Ay expanded md the Eiii- of July" (the the French 1 ten octavo itions, .some mally a sub- d a .sounder f tlie most -iio statoli- ard Martin; nsion of the larrativo, its Icarne.s.s, and 3m — a .syni- w under the s tliat of tlic :)dern times. }d a project to prepan; 3l. Ho had passage for >, when the ro.solved to )inet, whicli JIKTWKEX FKANUK AND (iKIlSrANV .S71 Feelinp; that the old methods and wcapi^ns of warfare of ihe (JoiiKl'ifiifioniu'l were not sutlieient for a strife whieh l)ad for its ultimate purpo.se tlic establishuieut of liberal opinions and government, M. Thiers founded, with his friends Mignet and Armand Carrel, the National, of which each in turn, lor a year, was to be editor-in-chief. M. Thiers's turn came iirst, and then began a Htruggl(> in v.iiich he put himseli" at once at the head of the lil)eral party, or Young France, as it was called. The Polignac ministry iiad for its object the subversion of the French charter ; the iV7'i /a?? a^ was devoted to its i:i.'untennnc(5, even at the co.st of the overthrow of the BourlM)!! dynasty. Nothing could exceed its fearle.s,sneHs ; and wljon, rafter a succession of bold and unconipromising articles, one of them bearing tlie title, ''".rhe king reigns, hut he does not govern," the Kat'umal announced the candidature of the Duko of Orleans (Louis I'liilippe) for the throne, the jiourbon government, exasi)erated beyond iiu'ji.sure, ])rosecnted the pa])er, and condennied it to pay a heavy line. Thiers had so fully won the confidence of the })eople, that a Rubscriptii)n waw })rom])tl3^ started, whii;h soon raised the amount v)f the fine, and letters of (Sympathy poured in u})on him by thousands. From this time forward the paper assumed a deliant attitude, and day after day demanded of the government why it did not consiunmaLo its couj'> d'o'iat. The government, aware that it was treading on dangerous ground, and fearing a revolution, hesitated long, but finally, on the 20th of July, issued its docreos, one of which suppressed the National. A protest was at once drawn up and signed by all the liberal leaiiers and journalists ; and when the p.olico ofHcers came to take jiossession of the oihce of the paper, and pre- vent its furth(;r ])ublication, M. Thiers answered that ho .should yield oidy to violence. The Bourbons were too late; the revolution of duly had already begun, and on the .'51st of July the Bourbon king and his ministry were in exilic, and Louis Philip])e lieutenant-genoral of the kingdom, and, ten days later, ])rocJaim(d King oT tho French. The activo part wdiich iM. Thiers had tak>ii in accomplishing this revolution indicated tho fa'opriety of h \y^ "\ M 372 THK (illlOAT WAi; inakinf,' him a member of tlie government. TTo was as- signed to a position in connection with the finances. Pfo was jn'omoted in tliis department I'onr n.ontlis later, uiidci' the Latitte ministr3^ He was at the same time a member of tlie Chamber of De])uties from tlie College of Aix, and C(mnsellor of state. The next four months he was really, though not nominall}'-, financial minister, and showed re- markabh; ai)titude for the ])osition. On the fall of the Lalitte ministry, ho withdrew IVoni oflice, and made a visit to the south of France. In 18o2 he was called into tlie cabinet as nunister of the interior, and three months later was transferred to the post of minister of commerce and public wt)i'ks. In this position he did much to beautify and adorn Paris, and to promote a harmony of feeling throughout the nation. At his direc- tion the statue of Napoleon, was replaced upon his cohunii. The Arc tie V I'Jto'ile and the pahico of the (piay d'Crsay were erected, the Madelaine restored, and new fountiiins, boulevards, and canals were constructed. In I8o-J< ho was again minister of the interior, and remained in power, though with occasional attempts nt withdrawal, in c()n.se- (jucnce of the rivalry between M. Guizot and himself, un- til January, 1S3(), when he resigned. In February, 1830, he was made premier of a new cabinet, and minister of foreitrn affairs, but resi'nied in Aueared in 1845, and tlie othe* (there are twenty in all) at occasional intervals up to 18t]2. The work was JBETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. .0 was as- mces. Ho iiter, under ) a member f Aix, and was really, ill owed re- Ire w ffOlU III 18:52 c interior, le post of Js position :o promote t his diree- lis coliuuii. y d'Orsay fountains, 1 1884 he 1 in power, in conse- imsclf, Hil- lary, ISoC, lii lister of wing. In encli Aea- s of oppo- in Mareli, gii affairs ; no matters in Octo- thouLrh in •h time ;is :ly to tlie siilatc and unround 'li 1 matei'ial two voi- re twenly work WMs crowned hy the French Academy in 18G1, and received the prize of 2(),()()0 francs (§4,000) ; but the prize was re- turned to tl:e Academy by M. Thiers, who made it the foundation of a new prize to be callod by his name. On the appri ach of the revolution of February, 1848, M. Thiers avowed himself in favor of it. He reproached the government of Louis Philippe with its weakness and cow- ardice, and its lack of a definite policy, and acknov/ledged his conviction that another revolution was needful, and that the career of royalty was completed. Just at the crisis, the king sent for him to form a new ministry witli Odillon Eairot, but it was too late to accomplish any thing. Though dii^trusteil by the more radical republican leaders, he soon conquered for himself a position, and, as the ad- vocate of the great middl(! class in the Constituent Assem- bly and the Corps Ldgislatif, he became alike the foe of radical measures and of all reactionary tendencies. He sustained Cavaignac, acquiesced in the election of Louis Napoleon ;is president, though he had at tirst opjiosed it, predicted the rowp dctat long before its occurrence, wa~s arrested at the time (December 2nd, 1851), banished to Frankfort, but in the following August was, without any application on his ])art, notified that ho would bo permit- ted to return to Paris. He did return, and for eleven years lived in retirement, occa»sionally travelling in other countries, and devoting himself sedulously to literary and art studies. In 186.S he was elected to the Corps Legi.s- latif from one of the districts of Paris, notwitlistandinii* the strenuous opposition of the government, and took a decided | osition in opposition to tho government. In ISriG, afttr the Austro-Prussian war, lie reviewed the course of the French government, in a speech rephte witli his old fire, closing with the memorable words, "There re- main no more errors to be committed." His thorough . ... . ^ knowledge of the administration of government, his fear- lessness, jind the fierceness of his invective, rendeMed him a terror to the ini])erial government; and when lie wn^ again a candidate for election to the Corps Ldgislatif, in May, 1807, they madb great efforts to defeat him, but in vain. X m i ■ i ■ ! 1 ■ ; '' I * ' S74 TEE GREAT WAE I- I I The Olivier ministry of January Jnd, 1870, was com- posed mainly of his personal friends, and, at first, he seemed disposed to treat it with some kindness, interpo- sing in its behalf when it was too severely harassed by the radical republicans ; but when Olivier became merely the mouth-piece of Napoleonic ideas, Thiers applied the laah of his invective unsparingly. When the war was announced, he opposed it vehemently, and at no incon- siderable personal peril; predicted disaster to France from it, and refused to vote aid for it. After Sedan, he was one of the most active of the opposition in aiding in an arrangement for a provisional government, and visited most of the courts of Europe to interest them in inter- vening for a peace ; and, though his mission had not the success he must have hoped for, yet it undoubtedly had some influence in modifying the terms of the liual treaty. The National Assembly, which met at Bordeaux according to the armistice, elected him, on the 19th of February, Provisional President of France, with powor to select his own cabinet. In the negotiation of the treaty which followed, as well i\s in his counsels to the assembly and to the French people, he manifested that strong, clear common sense whieli has ever been one of his most marked char- acteristics. Wliile not devoid of faults, M. Thiers is eminently a patriot. He believes in France, and seeks her interests first and last. He has been charged with fickleness, but his modifications of his views, when there are changed conditions of affairs, is rather an indication of sound judg- ment tlian of fickleness. As statesman, historian, legislator, diplomatist and patriot, M. Louis Adolphe Thiers has few equals, and no superiors, in France to-day. Vi; was corn- first, he , interpo- trassed by ae merely plied the war was no incoii- ance from he was tiding in id visited in inter- d not the iedly had al treaty, according February, select his ty which 'ly and to r common ked char- in ently a interests less, but changed md judg- egislator, i has few BETWEEN FRANCE AND OKRMANY. 375 w- CHAPTER XXIII. THE FRENCH AND PRUSSIAN FLEETS COMrARED. HE iron-clad squadron of Prussia comprises the celebnited King William, the Prince William, diu Prince Carl, and the Prince Adalboit; tlie first-named is the most formidal)le iron-clad afloat except thellercules ; the two next are first class iron-clads, and the last is a i)o\verrul, swift little armor-(.'Iad gun-boat, carrying two very hoavy guns of Krupp's steel. The King William deserves more than a passing notice. She was designed by Mr, Reed, and built at tlie Tliames Ironworks for tlie Turkisli government. When she was finished the Sultan could not afford to pay for her, so she was offered at the sanie price to the then Board of Admiralty, who declined to buy her, and Prussia at once came forward and offere, liable to the danger of being "rammed." If she can avoid this she would be an overmatcli for f >ur Continental iron-clads. The King William is the flag- ship. Four French vessels of the Flandres' class W(juld have quite enough to do to take the King William alone, to say nothing of her two powerful consorts and the armored gun-boat. In the Baltic tlie Prussian squadron will join with six other Prussian gun-boats, all of which are heavily arrnvred, carrying two of Krupp's monstrous guns, and have a high rate of speed. The otl^er vessels of the Prussian navy aro -wooden frigates and corvettes. rli' • 'H 370 THE GREAT WAR ii: ';?; ,j '■ i :J ', ^i t^^' i^-'i :; iM ' m m 1 . • "^-m ff which would be of small acoount as cruiser-, nud could never attemjit to keep the sea. The French have now on their list of iron-c:la(ls 51 ves- sels; 45 of these are iinished and at sea; ari; li\uldiri(^ and not likely to Le finished within the next two years. Of these vessels, no fewer than S6 are wooden vessels, razeed, and plated with armor ; only 11 are huilt entirely of iron ; only 1, the Mareni^^o, is com))Osite, witli a frame of iron, and sides of wood coated with armor. The most costly French-lniilt vessel is tlie C'ourttnne, wliich cost for Imll and ilttin^^s, £191,000. The most costly in the whole tleet, is the lioohamb(eau (late Dunderberi,'!, whicli the J<>ench bought from the United States in 1S(I7, paying £480,000 for her. With the Dunderberij cime also the Onondaga, which was chen]) at £gnn last December at Toulon. Tha first two are si.ster ships of 8,.S14 tons, *l'2{) feet long, coated with 8-incli armoi-, and intended at present to carry oO ])onderou> guns. The Riclielieu is to be of the same length and armor, but of 7,1 >S0 tons. The.so vessels will be larger than any ii'on- clads ever yet jTojected. The Yietorieuse, another great iron-clad of more than 4,000 tons, fi<;ures in the French list, but this has only been ordered, and n )t yet begun. La Gallissoniere, too, is very backward in it> jtrogress, and Avill take more than another year to finish. Of the French fleet, 11 are under 1,200 tons, : t under 3,000, and 14 over J],000 but under 5,000. Taking the mean average of the speed of all on trial trips, it gives scarcely 10 knots the highest, the Marengo giving oidy 14.5, and some as low a.s 7 knots. The average armor plating of the French vessels is 5 J inches, ranging from 4 inches to 8^ inches. The thickest armor, however, is a mere belt above and below the water line, and none of the French vessels have the ])owerful armored bulkhead acro.ss the stem and stern to save them from the raking tire, under which they would fall easy victims to an active enemy. The greatest weight of armor which the largest class of French ves.sels carry is 1 ,SO0 bus, and the small- est, ti7i) ton.s, and their greatest number of guns Is 14. BETWKEX FRANCE AM) CKUMAXV. 377 S Jiiid could lads 51 ves- '■*' I'uildirif^, t t\V(» years, don vessels, lilt entirely ith a frame The most icli Cost for n the M-holo ■^vliieli the (S()7, Inlying n^i also the three most er planned, were liei^nin 'ter ships of arnioi-, and Ij-funs. The ■nior, Lnt of n any ii-on- )ther great tlie Fi-eiieh yet bei^un. 'Ogress, and S 1 4 under taking the ps, it gives iving oidy age armor ing from 4 ^vever, is a id none of bulkhead :he raking > an active he largest the smail- is 14. m CHAPTER XXIV, /7^ VlilLANTlIROPy OF TllK WAII. >>\r'2^^^ T is not so widely known as it should Lo, that, at the close of the civil war in America, and be- fore the short war of 18GG, between Prussia and Austria, an International Sanitary (Jonnnissioii was oi'ganized inCentral Europe,niaiidy througli the efforts of Rev. I)i-. Bellows, and some other members of the United States Sanitary Com- mission, M. Aug. Laugel, of Paris, and some ])rominent and jdiilanthropic citizens of Switzerland and Prussia.- This organizati«)n bore good i'ruit in the war of lS(jO, and secured from France, Prussia, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, a pledge that the badge and flag of its meni- l)ers — a red cross on a, white ground — should be protected at all times on the field. No sooner was war declared, in tlio summer of 1870, than the commission organized its branches and ambu- lance corps in both countries, and made large i)rej)aration for the fierce battles which were soon to come. In France, the empress ])atronized and aided the commission in their work ; but the most efiicient assistance they received, wa,s from American and British citizens, who oi-ganized ambu- lance corps, and contributed largely to the fund foi- sup- plies. Dr. Evans, who had rendered good service to our sanitary commission during our war, was at the head of the American movement. In Germany, the queen and princesses were all active in the proni'tion of ihis good Work, and the king and crown prinee aidod it by their in- fluGn<*e and authority. Queen Augusta took charge of the hospitals at Berlin ; the Crown Princess Victoria of those h ■,'?!. ■ 378 THE CRKAT WAR life , f: :\ at PVankfort ; Princess Aline of Hesse of those at Darm- stadt ; the Grand Duchess Louise of Baden of those at Carlsruhe ; and tlie Crown Princess Caroline of Saxony of those at Honiburg, The (Jrand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a sister of the German emperor, \vas not behind her royal sisters and CDUsins in her devotion to the wounded. She had a largo hospital for them under her own s|)ecial charge, and was ably assisted in its care, as well as in its organization, by an American lady, JMiss Clara Barton, whose ser\iceH to the sick and wounded, and to the dead soldiers of our own civil war, will ever be lield in grateful remembrance. Other American ladies who had been active and useful in our war, also lent a lielping hand in this good work; among the nundDcr, Miss Satibrd, so well remembered by our soldiers as the " Cairo iVngel," Mrs. Evans, Szc, iScc. There was need of their best efibrts ; for, before the close of the war, there were of the two armies almost half a million sick and wounded. Ambulance corps were organized, with their superintendents and attendants, in both France and Germany ; and in both countries many English and German gentlemen and ladies enlisted, and the krge sums contril)uted from America and England, were faithfully and carefully expended, and the supplies di.stri- bnted. Rev. Dr. Bellows gave to the French sanitary corps the benefit of liis large experience and great administra- tive ability, and was ably seconded by Dr. Evans, of Paris, Messrs Sykes, Swinburne, Johnstone, and other American gentlemen and ladies who had been for some time resi- dents of that city. These generous pliilanthropists con- tinued their devotion to their work till the close of the war, and many of them endured great hardship and suf- fering, and, as was often the case in our war, the over- tasked body, when the terrible strain was over, sank from exhaustion. Many of the wealthy citizens of France vied with the German princes in the largeness of their gifts to the suf- fering soldiers, not only offering large sums of money, but giving up their chateaux and castles for hospitals for the sick and wounded. Notable among these was , '1 % i! BETWEEN FRANCK AND GERMANY. 370 >so at Darm- of those at of Saxonv ^''in, a sistor royal sisters ^hc had a ^hiirrrc^ and •rgaiiization, oso .servicer Hers of our ineiiibrance. fid useful in jood work; t'Dibcred hy , l_)eforo the mies almost ( corps were endants, in itrios many ted, and the ?l