^ :"s,^--' M !Eiistor^ of BY EDWIX EMERSOxV, Jr. Member of the American Historical Association, New York Historical Society, Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Honorary Member of the RoyaJ Philo- Historica] Society of Bavaria, etc.; etc. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY GEORG GOTTFRIED GERVINLS ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTEEN* COLORED PLATES AND THIRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE, HALF-TONE CUTS AND TWO MAPS 7iV THREE VOLUMES— VOLUME C.XE # NEW YORK P. F. COLLIFR AND SON M C M 1 1 304 COPYRIGHT, 1900 Bv EDWIN EMERSON, Jr. Tj ^ ^ £ 53 CONTENTS VOLUME ONE Thk Napoleonic Bra VOLUME TWO The Middle Period VOLUME THREE The Modern Age ...__ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOLUME ONE FULL PAGES IN COLOR The Battle of Trafalgar. Painted by C. Stanfield Frontispiece "Friedland, 1807." Painted by B. Meissonier The Retreat from Moscow. Painted by E. Meissonier The Battle op Lake Erie. Painted by J. 0. Davidson „. The Sunken Road at Waterloo. Painted by Stanley Berkley — FULL PAGES IN BLACK AND WHITE Goethe in Weimar. Painted by Willielm Kaulbach Queen Louise. Painted by G. Richter ",. Napoleon at Wagram. Painted by Horace Vernet Wellington. Painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence Congress op Vienna. Painted by J. Tsabey , Napoleon on Board the Bellerophon. Painted by W. Q. Orchardsou . / j ^ OR invaluable assistance received the author desires to ^ express his indebtedness to Messrs. Andrew D. White, Datus C. Brooks, Maurice Magnus, Waldemar Kaempffert, William G. Brown, and to the most faithful of his helpmates — his wife. Grateful acknotoledgment for professional courtesies is also rendered to the officers of the Public Libraries of New York and Boston, of the American Congressional Library, British Museum, and Paris Library, a^ well as to the libra- rians of the Universities of Harvard and Columbia and of the Historical Society of New York. A HISTORY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY NAPOLEONIC ERA PREFACE A SURVEY of the last century reveals it as an age of some great men and many marvellous achieve- ments. As the achievements exceed the giants of the age in number, so, too, they surpass them in grandeur. All the restless activity of a Napoleon or the iron policy of a Bismarck have not wrought upon modern life as did the steam engine. The great inventions and their adaptation to the needs of humanity are the real glories of the Nineteenth Century. Thus new epochs in the development of man have been brought about by our modern modes of transit and transportation, our steam cars and boats, electric motors, bicycles and automobile vehicles, as well as our new modes of communication by means of the electric telegraph, telephone and phonograph. Human life, as it exists now among civilized com- munities, owes still more, perhaps, to our new labor- saving machines and devices. Of these, our various agricultural implements, our sewing machines, type- writers and printing presses are but instances. The comforts of life have been immeasurably in- creased by the universal adoption of things now (9) 10 PREFACE termed common and indispensable, such as friction matches, gas lighting, electric light and appliances, or steel pens — as well as modern methods of heating, plumbing and construction. Among the esthetic gains of mankind attained during this same cent- ury must be reckoned such results of the study of light as photography or the kindred processes of photo-engraving, electrotyping, lithography, color printing and similar new methods of illustration. The modern study of light has resulted in other scientific achievements of lasting importance, nota- bly our knowledge of the velocity of light. Spec- trum Analysis and the Roentgen Rays. In the study of medicine, to which this last invention has been principally applied, a new era may be said to date from the use of anaesthetics and antiseptics, first adopted during the middle of the last century. A similar impulse to the theoretical study of medi- cine has been given by the discovery of the func- tions of the blood corpuscles, the cell theory in embryology, and the germ theory. Of like impor tance to science are such scientific discoveries as the correspondence between heat and energy, the theory of gases, of molecules and of atmospheric dust, the nebular and meteoric theories in astronomy, and the determination of geological epochs resulting indi- rectly in Darwin's theory of the Evolution of Spe- cies and the Origin of Man. War has been made more terrible by such instruments of destruction as torpedoes, rifled firearms, machine guns, smokeless powder, lyddite and melmite. So much for a single century's achievements PREFACE 11 in science. They outnumber the great inventions of all the previous centuries within historic times. The same may be said of some other triumphs of the past century — notably of Music. No less has been accomplished in some other arts. The great masterpieces in painting of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance have been rivalled in this century by the artists of France, England and other modern schools. Unlike Music and the Fine Arts, the march of Modern Literature has been along national lines. It was a far cry from Haydn to Wagner, or from David to Millet, yet it seems no further than the intervals of intellect that lie between Keats and Kipling, Kant and Nietzsche, Schiller and Sudermann, Pushkin and Tolstoi, Alfieri and Annunzio, or Chateaubriand and Zola. The years between the men representing these two extremes of various literary developments are filled with illustrious names. Well could Browning sing: "And did you once see Shelley plain, And did he stop and speak to you, And did you speak to him again ? How strange it seems, and new 1" What is true ol the Letters and Art is true of almost every other phase of human attainment ia ihe Nineteenth Century. Since Napoleon, Nelson, Pitt and Wellington, down to Garibaldi, Cavour, Kossuth, Bismarck, Moltke, Gladstone and Krue- ger, there has been a constant succession of famous captains, sailors, statesmen, philosophers, inventors 12 PREFACE and other great men, whose biographies alone would fill many more volumes than this history. It is the pride of Americans that their hemisphere has contributed its share, and over, to the sum-total accomplished by the world since the death of Wash- ington. In the roll-call of the great men of this age few names stand forth more brightly than those of Jefferson, Bolivar, Lincoln, Grant, Farragut and Lee, or those of Fulton, Ericsson, Morse, Edison, Diaz and Dewey. Considerations such as these have entered largely into the preparation of this work. To them must be ascribed the apparent preponderance given to the part played by America in the history of the world during the Nineteenth Century. When a similar work was undertaken by Gervinus, the great German historian, he laid the responsibility for modern statecraft and ideals of government at the feet of America. Had he lived to complete his work, his pen might have traced the great story of the rise of nations during the last fifty years. Since the great civil war, which established the union of the North American States, the world has seen the rise of a national Italy, Japan, Germany and the Slavic States, and of colonial empires, like those of India, Australia and Africa. The attempt of the small Boer Republic to start a similar national movement in South Africa could not have failed to impress an observer like Gervinus as but another inevitable symptom of the times. He it was, too, who predicted the opening of the Far East as a re- sult of these modern tendencies. PREFACE 13 The Empire of Japan, since it faced about to adopt the latest benefits of Western civilization, has indeed become the Land of the Rising Sun. Of her eastern neighbors across the China Sea, on the other hand, Matthew Arnold's lines on the Alexandrian conquest still hold true: "The brooding East with awe beheld Her impious younger world. The Eoman tempest swell 'd and swell'd. And on her head was huri'd. "The East bow'd low before the blast In patient, deep disdain: She let the legions thunder past, And plunged in thought again.'' Matthew Arnold's as well as Gervinus' predic- tion, strangely enough, has been fulfilled at the very close of the Nineteenth Century. Now that the century has ended, the eyes of men have turned from the new world in America to a newer world in ancient China. Edwin Emerson, Jb. New York, December, 1900. AN INTRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY BY GBORG GOTTFRIED GERVINUS (Translated by Maurice Magnus) i THE HISTOEY of the European States dur- ing the Christian Bra forms as inseparable a whole as that of the Greek Peninsula and its colonies in Antiquity. In both eras the same Forms of ■^ '' Law and forms of law and order are revealed in their course chrfstiaa of inner development. These laws are the same Antiquity which repeat themselves at large in the history of the entire human race. From the despotism of the Orient to the aristocratic States of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, founded on slavery and serfdom, and from them to the policy of the Western States still in development, there is a regular progress ' This famous essay was written as an introduction to Gervinus's projected history of the Nineteenth Century. He was then a pro- fessor of history at Heidelberg. As soon as the pamphlet appeared, in 1853, Gervinus was placed on trial for high treason. He declined to plead in his own behalf. In behalf of his work he declared in court: "The charge, though it appears directed against me, is in fact an accusation against Providence, or let us say History^ which can- not be condemned." — Gervinus was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison and his work was burned. The "Introduction" immediately became a classic in Germany and throughout Europe. (15) 16 INTRODUCTION Rise and of intellectual and civil freedom — first from one to l>ecliiie of ^^'^^ that of the few, and from them to all. But where States have completed their cycle of existence one may again observe from the height of their develop- ment a corresponding decline of culture, of freedom and power, from the many to the few, and from them to one alone. It is this law which is found in every part of his- tory, in every, mature independent State, likewise in the group of States mentioned above. England, notably in its later development, has given the pat- tern of a mixed constitution. William Pitt, one of England's greatest statesmen, found the chief value of the unwritten constitution in its preservation of all the different forms of government — monarchy, aristocracy and democracy — while avoiding the evils of each. fn|io-sax- Those advanced views on policy and religion, tutions -which some intuitive and prophetic minds held in Germany at the beginning of the Reformation, were not really realized until the establishment of the American Constitution. Certain changes had been effected in the English Constitution which led to a similar end, but in a different way — that of realizing existing circumstances and gaining all from them. Both in England and America popular government worked well — the fortune, power and freedom of each competing for a prize which con- sisted in the glory of their own constitution. Th.»Enpiish The growth of the Enerlish Constitution was not '■"'" the outcome of a regular system. But those who filled out the inefficiencies knew how to do the work mrRODUCTION 17 in such a way as to bring their own views into evi- dence, and yet to remain in harmony with their predecessors. It took centuries to build up such a constitution, but every period contributed its best material and labor. No modern State has passed through such a nor- mal history as England — the different phases of State development have nowhere else been so clearly defined. The old Teutonic constitution under the Teutonic 11 <• 11 T Constitu- patriarchal monarchy appears nowhere so fully de- t'oa veloped as with the Anglo-Saxons; and no race has left such treasures of law books and literature of its first period of State formation. The feudal system was nowhere so finished and perfect from its begin- ning, nor so strong and lasting for such a period of time, as in Normanic England; no other aris- tocracy has shown itself as capable as the English, Eoyal despotism has nowhere else used its powers, both at home and abroad, with so much benevo- lence, nor shown itself so reluctant to use its pre- rogatives as in England. In no other country than anlth"'** Nobility England, in fine, have the people so strengthened the State with their individual force and also gained so much political influence. Thus, when the con- stitution was to be amended in 1688, no one could be found to suggest even a curtailment or an omis- sion of the existing elements of State — all having proved their utility. The people were not envious of the large estates of the nobility which the repub- lic wanted to divide by an Agrarian law. They felt secure in their industry, to the large development of which they had been driven by the fact that 18 INTRODUCTION the land was almost exclusively in the hands of the nobles. And again the nobility willingly granted to the people a share in their privileges. The State fostered their industries as well as their increasing power in the lower House of Parliament. They knew then how indispensable taxes and credit were to the State. In their leisure, and knowledge of State affairs, the great nobles felt secure of their influence. The two classes were not separated by the advantages or disadvantages of birth, but were united by family ties; their interests were not politically opposed, but each formed a body of men divided only by the natural differences of political purpose for which they were formed. Both classes agreed in the expedient of a monarchical head over three united states, at that time without a common uonV^on* legislation. Accordingly they retained the mon- wchy°°' archy, restricting only some of the royal privileges. The monarchy in return received the throne from Parliament, and thereby renounced its claim to di- vine origin. Therewith fell all royal claims to special rights above the rights of others. The po- sition of the King, Lords and People rather rested on the basis of an acquired and acknowledged right, and each saw in the right of others a confirmation of their own. In this they remained faithful to the character of those times when revolutions were only undertaken in defence of thosQ that were wronged — or to restore ancient rights. .^'T he well-balanced in- fluences of these powers of the State, the manly and political character of those in administration, de- pended upon the equality of their rights. Their INTRODUCTION 19 different callings acted as a safeguard against politi- cal degeneration, which, according to Aristotle, is produced by appropriating the oflSces of State to serve individual purposes on the narrow ideas of rank. It is in this mixed constitution that the different classes of the people appear side by side, each pos- sessed of peculiar privileges; while the elements are so thoroughly blended that History stands up and points to the English Commonwealth as her'^'^^^Jo'^:. r D moD wealth masterpiece. It is the constitutional form of the State in its most perfect and natural development — where the constitution has continued through all ages, where no essential has been lost in the material of its history, where the old customs by a wonderful adjustment have been adapted to the wants of the new, while the experience of a mature political science has been superadded. Where one will dis- cover in it the perfection of the old Anglo-Saxon, another will discern the perfection of the class institutions of the Middle Ages. The separation into corporate bodies is still re- tained in English habits of life, in their society, as well as in the constitution. The different classes and powers of the State, with their respective inter- ests, resemble great blocks of stone wherewith the edifice of the State is constructed with extraordinary solidity. It is hard to tell which of the two gives the particular character form and name. If we con- sider the prerogatives of the government, the royal veto, the power and strength which it lends in the relations with foreign powers, we feel as if the State 90 INTRODUCTION were monarchical.. If we view the Church, which with a royal pope at its head endeavors to effect a national standard in matters of faith, as Catholicism endeavors to effect general conformity, we stumble on the theocratic element. If we survey the whole public spirit, the conservative nature of its policy, the character of those to whom the administration cSftoms '^ intrusted, the privileges, customs and habits of the representatives of this people, the English State appears essentially aristocratic. If we reflect that the consent of the people is required for their own taxation, the chief influence seems to reside in the community at large. So, too, if we still further examine the institutions and relations of society in detail — the activity and independence of private life, the decentralization of the administration, the self-government of the people, the absence of bu- reaucracy, the entire freedom of person and prop- erty, the system of the land defences, the rights of meeting and of the press, everything seems to be democratic. It is likewise pure democracy that the chief power should reside in the Commons, and that the people by controlling the crown through Democ- its Parliament should assert its own sovereignty. racy v» ° -^ Monarchy y^^ qq people spcak less of their sovereign power than the English, or have a more genuine loyalty for their monarchy. No State depends more upon the traditions of the past and no people insist more on aristocratic conservatism. It is the Englishman's boast that his constitution is open to all progress, and is plastic to the influence of every great idea, every experience and every demand of necessity. INTRODUCTION 21 No one is more jealous than the Englishman of the safety of his person and property from the usurpations of the State; yet there is no State of modern times constructed more on the model of antiquity, where the individual lived for the State, and sacrificed to it his personal will and private interests. This gives an exclusive narrow j^^ce Wi- self-interest and strictly national character to the"^^ English nation. Still, no people have proved them- selves more capable of showing regard and forbear- ance toward foreign nations, even in their defeat. These reconciled contradictions, this varied unity and continued harmony resulting from the happy mixture in the character of the people and the ex- ternal State institutions are the actual worth and Essence of British In- merit of the English State policy, the source of its stitutions power and the pledge of its freedom. This com- pound nature is also the reason why it is theoreti- cally difficult to comprehend and to do justice to this State and its institutions, and why, practically, it has remained without a true counterpart in spite of many copies. This constitution, in truth, is not fit to be a formula for any other State. It may only serve as a model to a people of equally strong patriotic feeling, and desirous of making the same use of old and new institutions, a people capable of form- ing a constitution that would be in its nature and attributes the same, equal in worth to the English, yet most unlike it in form. The English democracy in the time of the first Stuarts had already begun to turn their attention 22 INTRODUCTION toward emigration. They hoped that on the free soil of America, unperplexed by monarchical and aristocratic privileges, habits and power, they might raise the edifice of a new State and a new Church Tendencies in their own simple style. Shortly after the time when Spain had lost her influence in Europe by her successive defeats in the wars with Germany, the Netherlands, and England, a Teutonic element set- tled in the north of Spanish-America imbued with the desire not to permit Spain and the Catholic Church to rule absolutely in the New World. Nowhere else were the habits and character of Teutonic and Romanic culture in more striking contrast than in the drama of the new life which unfolded itself here. In the vast tracts of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies the old spirit of the Middle Ages was ex- pressed in all its original barbarity and its degra- Conquests Nation of mankind. Spanish despotism with the narrow spirit of its religion was here transplanted — a ready-made hierarchy with all its external pomp and inward crudeness, and in its train a feudal aris- tocracy bent on conquest, covetous and inhuman. There mercantile industry and mental activity were excluded, while conformity in Church and State, under which both Indian and negro suffered, spread over this part of the New World. The reverse took place in the north. Since the beginning of the Seventeenth Century people of the Teutonic races, chiefly Germans, Dutch, Swedes, and English, the latter of the Saxon blood, gathered here. They were for the most part Protestants of the clearest INTRODUCTION 2^ dye, notably Puritans and Quakers. No viceroy with monarchical institutions was admitted here. On the contrary a true republican spirit prevailed among the colonists, and not only among those who^jj^jj^^ had emigrated without royal consent, but even with "^^^^^ those who came provided with charters and accom- panied by governors. The hierarchy never reached iiere, the English noble and the Flemish patrician only made feeble and short-lived attempts to trans- plant their institutions. The feudal usages and all the habits of the Middle Ages were behind them '—the New Era with its intellectual growth, with its commercial industry, and with its equality of rights had sprung into being. The slow natural process of development into a national life lasting centuries ■was a matter of a few years here. Its independence permitted commerce closely to follow the primeval occupations — bunting, fishing and farming. The emigrants had the close and exclusive spirit of Teutonic reserve which forbade them to form connections with the Indians, whom they re- garded as being incapable of accepting humanity. ^^^^.^ ^.^ Withal they were conscientious enough to purchase ^°"''^ the land fit for their uses from the natives, instead of taking possession of the country as a grant from the Pope. In contrast to the conformity of the one dominion of Spanish-America, a varied world com- posed of numerous petty States grew up here, and its diversity was a singularly apt expression of the conditions of the south and the north before the emigration from Europe. The Spaniards, coming from vast domains at 24 INTRODUCTION home, found great Indian States already established in Mexico and Peru. It was therefore absolutely necessary to overthrow these with an extensive colonial State in order to assert their authority. The English in the north, who had come few^ in numbers and wide apart in time, found petty tribes of Indians scattered over the country — unconnected, weak in numbers and in power. The colonists were therefore quite free to follow their Teutonic bent, European living apart in small varied communities. Thus Prototypes o r Massachusetts became a theocracy on the pattern of Geneva; Maryland a feudal princedom; Carolina a realm of eight lordships with a landed aristocracy; Virginia an English province with high-church in- stitutions; Rhode Island and Connecticut democra- cies; Pennsylvania a cosmopolitan Quaker republic, which in its commencement opened an asylum to the world; and New Amsterdam a Flemish town with a well-ordered patrician municipality. In their gen- Engiish eral development the States followed England. Un- dency observed in the beginning they formed their consti- tutions freely according to their demands. During the era of the English Commonwealth the spirit of democracy planted itself securely. Under the Res- toration it suffered* much injury and danger to self- government and property, with charters and privi- leges. After 1688 each separate State returned to its previous institutions. Throughout all these first varying fortunes of the colonies it may be remarked that freedom of action and democratic development continued to prosper. This can only be attributed to one cause — that those institutions which hinder INTRODUCTION 21S the progress of the State and Church, the hierarchy and the aristocracy, did not reach them from Europe. They prospered exactly in proportion as the one re- maining engine of oppression — Monarchy — found no occasion or opportunity to assert itself. That the republican spirit of the colonists would rebel against Demo- any free exercise of Monarchy, when they realized Spirit its inability to interfere with independence, was al- ready prophesied by certain wise men at the begin- ning of the Eighteenth Century. The principles of the first emigrants, their customs and struggles, had for the first time firmly established democracy. The Puritans had fled from the tyranny of Church and State in Europe, impelled by principle. They came to America determined not to allow the home gov- ernment to lay claim to the possessions they had paid for. They came, after the example of the Greek colonies, to maintain free and general inter- course with the mother country, but resolved to oppose every interference in their government and their religion. They resented any attempt at legis- lation by a distant Parliament to which they could send no representatives. In 1646 Massachusetts re- garded her relations with England in the same light as the Hanseatic towns did theirs to the German empire, and this fundamental principle of indepen- Growth d dence increased more and more with the numbers dence and power of the colonists. The same spirit of de- mocracy, which grew so rapidly in the State, entered also into the affairs of the Church, where, however, it moved slowly and not without hindrances. Neces- sity decided the former case, but the latter depended XTXth Century— Yol. 1—2 26 INTRODUCTION entirely on their education and culture. In some few States, sucii as Carolina, New York, and Mary- land under the philanthropic Lord Baltimore, all re- ligions were tolerated from the beginning, although equal privileges were not granted. Virginia still required conformity to the High Church; even amid the Puritans of Massachusetts Calvinistic in- tolerance excluded every other creed from the State and persecuted the Baptists and Quakers by exile Puritan ^ *^ intoier- and executiou. Roger Williams, in accordance with EQce this principle, urged liberty of conscience in Massa- chusetts and a separation of Church from State mat- ters. But he was obliged to flee, and in 1636 he founded a small new society in Rhode Island on the principles of entire liberty of conscience and the uncontrolled power of the majority in civil rights. This also became the constitution of Connecticut. Principles and theories of political and ecclesiastical freedom were here brought into practice in the gov- ernment of a small community before they were taught in the schools of philosophy in Europe. It was prophesied that the democratic attempts to obtain universal suffrage, a general elective fran- Reiigious chise, annual elections, entire religious freedom and Tolerance ' ' " the Miltonic right of schism would be of but short duration. But these institutions have not only main- tained themselves here, but have spread from these smallest of States over the whole Union. They su- perseded the aristocratic commencement of Carolina and patrician New York, the high church of Vir- ginia, the theocracy of Massachusetts and the mon- archy throughout America. They have given laws INTRODUCTION 27 to a continent, and, dreaded for their moral influ- ence, they stand in the background of every demo- cratic struggle of Europe. The purely Saxon, purely democratic constitution ^heAmeri- of the United States stands in direct antithesis to*^"'"''°° the Normanic-Saxon constitution of England. The Puritans when they emigrated brought with them ideas, more or less clearly defined, of the edifice of their constitution, and carried them into practice without hindrances. The last completion after the Declaration of Independence was only the fulfilment of the first thought. No antiquity, no tradition, no history or experience devised a plan for them or fet- tered them to existing materials. Aristocracy aad hierarchy were left behind in Europe; the royal and parliamentary government of England was rejected. Common-sense and the natural instincts of the sim- plest consequence led here to the completion of a new edifice in a rising State, apart from all existing State organizations. They ventured, though with admirable prudence, on the great trial of extending it over an immense region, in spite of the prophecies which, in their small beginnings, promised them only a temporary success. It was not a question New woria here how different classes might be brought into relationship with one another, and how all might enjoy equal rights. In the first outbreak of the Eevolution, the Americans appealed to their char- ters and self-created institutions and endeavored to defend them as conceded rights, but, at the separa- tion, they ceased to look for justification for their rebellion. Had they still urged their claim to ex- 28 INTRODUCTION isting relations, they would have had to begin by acknowledgment of their chief relation to the mother country, which they were on the point of exchang- ing for independence. They scorned, therefore, to demand rights and freedom which they claimed natural and universal, and thus acted as much in conformity with the earliest principles of Protes- tantism aa with those of the latest theories, which France had sent into the world a short time before the rebellion of the colonies. The American Bill The BUI of q{ Rights in 1776 began with an acknowledgment of the natural rights of man, of which no form of government can deprive him, of his freedom and independence, his claim to the enjoyment of life and liberty, of the means for the acquisition of property and wealth, and for the attainment of for- tune and safety. The people were entitled to change or depose any government which denied these uni- versal rights to man, by which clause they justified the separation. By the introduction of universal suf- frage they pronounced the great democratic maxim that the government is the legal expression of the people's will. This did not produce a mixed consti- suffrage*' tution composed of several parts united into one, as in England, but a single symmetrical State-union of the utmost simplicity. It is not the skilful adminis- tration of the many different elements which is the boast of the American constitution, but the perfect fulfilment of a logical sequence, deduced from one single principle — freedom, or the right to obey only the law, and equality — the duty of one and all to obey the same law. There was, therefore, no neces- INTRODUCTION 29 sity to level ranks, power, pretensions, iiifluence or privileges, as there only existed one society and one class from which all particular rights and privileges were abolished. Power, which, in the hands of the few, has often led to arbitrary rule, and, in the hands of the many, to privileges, was equally distributed as the right of all. C>neg}|^^^28o« right insures one common practice. The rich adopted the tone of the middle class, to which the poor aspired, and from whose customs and for whose convenience the law was actually made. Old and new institutions had not here to be reconciled with one another in the spirit of progression or con- servatism. Everything in this State of the Future is new; everything is already in progress and built upon innovations. The picture of an ancient incor- porated State, of a strict, exclusive nationality, is not presented to us, but a society originating from all parts of the world, with the greatest adaptability of government, of a cosmopolitan nature. The North American Republic is not one great nation, but a federal union, in which each separate State strives to obtain the sovereign power, while within th^m again individuals claim the utmost independence of the government. The feeling ofP^m^c^ individuality, the characteristic feature of modern "^^'^'^ times and of Protestantism, has here maintaiued its rights. The State exists more for the individual than the individual for the State. The institutions of the State are in the service of personal liberty. The freedom of man is more important than his duties as citizen. The widest field upon which the 30 INTRODUCTION claims of man and the claims of the State have contended, and yet always contend — the Church — is here entirely withdrawn from the State, and noth- ino- remains as a ground on which to legislate, and concerning which the government and the individ- ual can dispute, but general principles. The pano- A N«" rama of a new State, such as had never existed be- st ate ' fore, lies now unrolled before us after an interval of one hundred years. This new State, by its astonishing achievements in fortune and power, has suddenly surpassed all others, and the boldest political ventures have suc- ceeded, in spite of all scejitics. The government of the people, even when scattered over immeasurable tracts of country, has shown itself to be compatible with order and prosperity. An apparently impro- vised constitution is adapted to the maintenance of old, confirmed usages. The free exercise of religion goes with piety; the reverse of military pretensions with a warlike spirit. An ever-increasing popula- tion brought together by haphazard appears imbued with patriotism rooted in freedom. The general government is administered by officials and repre- sentatives, often chosen from the poorest classes, with comparative economy and thrift. The result- ing prosperity, combined with the simplicity of the constitution, which is clear to the plainest under- standing, has made a model of both State and Con- stitution which the discontented and lovers of free- The Creed dom of all uutions Strive to emulate. The American or Lil»eral- '""' Declaration of Independence in 1776 has become the creed oE the liberalism of the world. INTRODUCTION 31 After a compromise constitution had been estab- lished in England, and when the Declaration of In- dependence bj the American colonies had been fol- lowed by a purely republican constitution in the United States, both began to exercise an influence across the sea upon the European continent and to react upon the Romanic races. At the very period l®^^'^®'^ when the English colonies prepared for separation, however, some new tendencies appeared in history, which interrupted, magnified and involved the hith- erto simple course of affairs. Previous to this, war and peace both had been largely a result of religious differences. Even when the issue was one of national moment, or when it was ostensibly a struggle for power between hostile States, religious questions were still deeply involved in them. This simple relation of the European people toward one another, this long-lasting cause of dispute in history, was lost in the wars which arose after the independence of the English colonies in America. The interests of commerce and territorial expansion took the place of those of religion and dictated the ^^^^ laws and policy of States, settled the occasions of war and revolutions and prescribed the articles of am- nesties and treaties of peace. Religion likewise no longer lay at the root of the political struggles in America, but commercial and international prin- ciples, which were largely borrowed from abstract philosophical theories. They proclaimed the ad- vent of a new agent in politics, the influence of Science and Literature. This altered position of nations, these new and 82 INTRODUCTION potent forces in the history of the world, are the first signs that the bitter hostility caused by relig- ious differences and the political principles which had exclusively belonged to either division of the great European people, had lost their power. The immediate consequence was, that as soon as the in- dependence of America was established, the great ^Ir^^J"^^ movement for freedom passed from there over to °™ France and tore down religious bigotry and despot- ism in the greatest of Romance races. During Spain's encounter with the Teutonic races, the clash of Catholicism with Protestantism, France had found herself, if not exactly in a central posi- tion, in a suspended state of balance between the diverging tendencies which led to the hostility of the north and south. It seemed as if it were her vocation to prevent a lasting superiority of either party, just as if the Teutonic and Gallic-Roman elements of the race had alternately fought for it. ance^cff" France felt the necessity to repress the overgrown power of Spain, even if it had to be in league with Protestant States; but as soon as England grew to be a dangerous neighbor by this alliance, France considered herself bound to return to her connection with the Catholic powers. When Charles V. drove the French out of Italy, the House of Valois united with Landgraves Philip and Maurice of Saxony against Spain. In the Sixteenth Century, France joined Spain in an al- liance against England, and three years later allied herself with England against Spain. Henri lY. con- tinued to keep on good terms with both the Protes- INTRODUCTION • S3 tant and Catholic powers. The former changes re- commenced under Richelieu, and while in league with England against Spain, he laid schemes with Spain and the Pope for an attack on England, and at the same time formed an alliance with Sweden against Spain and Austria. By this shifting policy, France vacillation had been frequently saved from Protestantism, as in the time of Maurice of Saxony and the period of Gustavus Adolphus, when Protestantism gained so much ground. But Protestantism was promptly suppressed by Louis XIV. when it ceased to be a source of danger and alarm. To the cause of free- dom in France it has always been detrimental for her rulers to side with Spain or to follow the lead of Spanish policy, whereas her temporary alliances with England and Protestantism have proved bene- ficial, not less so in the times of Henri IV. than in those of Louis Philippe. This perpetual vacilla- tion produced the reverse of constancy in the politi- cal and religious character of the people as in that the^Peopie of their government. Throughout the later history of France, the strangest discords occur in the princi- ples of her government, in the administrative bodies of the State, and in the different factions either in politics or in literature. Absolutism had its demo- cratic freaks, and Democracy its despotic propensi- ties. Literature wavered between pagan free-thought and monkish bigotry. Poets praised republican vir- tues with a servile muse, Parliaments fluctuated be- tween cringing flattery and vulgar uproars. The clergy preached to-day the divine right of princes and to-morrow the sovereignty of the people. The 84 ' INTRODUCTION Jesuits taught democratic principles in matters of State and despotism in those of dogma. This play lifiiutuces of alternate extremes may be observed in all the relations of France down to the present day. The prosperity of the colonies of the JSIew World at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century caused a change in the condition of those States from which they had proceeded. Shipping was carried on far more extensively and underwent great improve- ments. Maritime commerce seemed to promise to become more lucrative than that by land. The con- nection of the two hemispheres multiplied human wants as well as the means of satisfying them; it increased the materials for industry and spread its happy results. Vast commercial relations were es« tablished to equalize demand and s apply, superflu- ity and want. Industry and trade became sources of wealth to the middle class, and, therefore, a stim- ulus to individual exertion which had never before existed. They also became the sources of the na- tion's wealth, and, therefore, tke first object to be considered in politics and government. This was New World all the more the case, since, by the altered condition of the world, the growth of the States, and the com- plicated relations of all the affairs of life, the re- sources which formerly had provided for the exi- gencies of the government, such as crown-lands and land-taxes, sufficed as little now for the expenses of the State as the feudal military service for its defence. In this new aspect of affairs it became a question which nation would apply its skill and industry to the greatest advantage. France discov- INTRODUCTION 36 ered this later than all her neighbors, and roused herself, finally, under Richelieu and Louis XIV. Then she endeavored to make amends for her de- lay by improvements in her navy, by new commer- cial industry and by her attempts at colonization, ^n Awak- Two radically different examples served to entice FraJu;©*' and to warn. The policy of the Spanish kings had always turned to an aggrandizement of power and domin- ion, and for this purpose they required the most unlimited authority and the disposal of all the re- sources of the State. This system of government, both at home and abroad, repressed the ancient love of freedom in the people. Those means from which other nations, in the altered condition of the world, derived their abiding strength, checked all intellectual and commercial activity. The Spanish settlements were made in the spirit of this despotic policy. They were conducted and regulated by the government. To add to her splendor, Spain took possession of enormous tracts of land, which the emigration of a thousand years could scarcely peo- ple. Grants of land were made only to native Spaniards, and the mother country exhausted her The Ex- am pie of population, which was already weakened by the ex- ^p*'"^ pulsion of the Moors and the Jews. The settlers looked for gold, for rapid gain, for indulgence, not for labor. Incitement to all active energy was stifled. Spanish commerce declined, as agriculture had long ago declined under the thraldom and privilege of class. With the failure of home profits, trade ceased or passed into the hands of strangers. With the 9» INTRODUCTION Spanish Mistakes British Colonists Profit poverty of private individuals came the weakness of the State, which was required to grant the convoy of great fleets to private galleons laden with gold, when it had not a ship for the defence of its coasts. The situation of the colonies, the luxuriant world of the tropics, which needed little human aid for its productions, favored the indolent inclinations of the Southern settler. Religious bigotry impeded the growth of home rule and active independence of mind. Even where it assumed an appearance of humanity, it promoted only the material advan- tage of the foreigner, without avoiding the decline of morals at home. Thus, because the inhuman monopoly of the importation of black slaves into the Spanish colonies was a scandal to the Catholic Church, the trade was given over into the hands of foreigners, and finally, by the Assiento of 1711, resigned wholly to the English, who reaped from it an immense profit both for their own commerce and for that of their colonies. With the Teutonic and democratic colonies all this was reversed. Spain discovered the new world, but the Teutonic race tilled its soil. Under them everything conduced rather to the energy and cul- ture of each member of the State than to the acqui- sition of territorial power. The State as such did little for the colonization of America. The colo- nists took possession of only a few tracts of land for their settlements. They were not like the lower gentry which emigrated from Spain, but were the middle class from the country and towns, a class which was unknown in the Romanic States. Emi- INTRODUCTION 37 grants from all the world were at liberty to settle down beside the Englishman. The greatest profit fell to the most industrious. Enjoyment was sought in labor. The climate and soil, which resembled that of the home they had abandoned, sharpened rather than blunted their exertions. The habits of the north, the vigorous spirit of Protestantism, the assiduity of the Teutonic races, everything contrib- uted to favor great commercial activity at home New world and in the colonies. From it arose a degree of pros- perity and political importance in the middle class of which history affords no previous example. In the colonies, the French Jesuits in Canada performed wonders of conversion and martyrdom, but the planters of Louisiana did nothing which could be compared to the miracles performed by Anglo-Saxon activity. The French planter never exhibited the daring spirit of the Anglo-Saxon pioneer, who penetrated into the depths of the forest and conquered the wilderness for cultivation, saxon ^ Darinj Unlike the Spaniard in the South, he found no ex- cuse for indolence in the relaxation of the tropics. The fault here was with the men, who were not accustomed to think and act for themselves in the free life of a community. In additioh to this, the French settlers assumed a hostile attitude toward England from the commencement. The French settlers in North America surrounded the English colonial cities in the rear and on either side. They instigated the Indians to attack them, and, by a more rapid increase of their settlements, they hoped at some future time to advance from 38 INTRODUCTION the rear upon their coasts. However, this prospect of gaining advantage over the English colonies b_y their superior position was soon frustrated by the indifference and incapacity for colonization of the French themselves. The first half-century of the Impotence French settlement in Louisiana did not exhibit one- of LatiD ^ce tenth part of the population nor of the results which were produced in that time in New England, This fact only stirred up more jealousy between France and England, which already derived too much nourishment in their religious differences, in their diverse origin and in the geographical proximity of the two countries. This jealousy, which soon led to war, proved of material service in laying the foundation of free- dom in North America. If the French settlers had succeeded in establishing themselves there in great numbers, the English would probably, from the dread of French rule, have consented to remain faithful to the mother country under any condition, French As there was no hope of this, France conceived the Hostility Turned to thought of Weakening England by a separation from her colonies; and they, as soon as they saw France change from an enemy into an ally, threw off their regard foi* the mother country and set themselves free — an aim they had kept in view ever since the parliamentary government in England laid its hand on them, England herself, by her foreign colonial policy, had given the chief pretext for this alliance with France and even with Spain of her rebellious colonies. However the whole scheme and commercial INTRODUCTION 39 activity of the English colonies might differ from those originating with Romance races, yet the practice of the English government had essentially agreed with that of the latter. They all maintained that the mother country had the exclusive right to trade with the colonies, to subject them to a commercial code and to treat them as a means to their ends. Every other nation was debarred from trading with them; the foreign merchant was coioniai ° ' ° Spirit treated as a privateer. By this measure he became such, and the prize was allotted to him whose bold- ness and activity dared the most, and accordingly fell to the energetic Englishman. From the time of the Assiento, in 1711, the English wrought havoc on Spanish-American commerce by a shameless system of smuggling, for which the importation of the negro furnished a pretext. About the time of the conclusion of the thirty years' trace, the merchants urged upon the English government a war with Spain on the subject of the exclusive sys- tem of monopoly which they themselves practiced at home. England was opposed to Spain in theEngHs^J^ great naval expeditions against Carthagena and"*^ Panama, in 1741 and 1742, the object of which was the separation of Mexico and Peru from the mother country, as Spain had once opposed England in the time of the Invincible Armada. Both armaments came to a like inglorious end. The world already trembled before the naval power of England, and France consulted with Spain on a compensation by the English colonies, even at the risk of her own. The great naval war of 1755 confirmed this project 40 INTRODUCTION in the eyes of France even more than in those of Spain. France was punished for it by the loss o?can^a of Canada and of her navy. The English influence during that period was rising in the East Indies, and England appeared as much resolved to assert her supremacy at sea, as Spain had once been to assert hers on land. In pursuance of these projects, Parliament was as despotic as any monarchy in its measures both at home and abroad. England con- tended against the republican movements in her colonies with the same means that an absolute monarchy might have used. The importation of negroes was encouraged to diminish the numbers of dangerous white freemen. No doubts were enter- tained concerning Canada, as the presence of the French there kept up the loyalty of the colonies to the mother country. But when the Americans had already succeeded in laying the plan for a Eucroach- federal constitution which plainly announced their "^° views of a possible independence, and wheu fear of the French after the wars of 1755 could no longer restrain them, Parliament, instead of trying to at- tach them by offering conciliatory measures, adopted a still more oppressive line of conduct than that which had already excited the discontent of the colo- nists. The British Parliament, in which the Ameri- cans were not represented, and which was even igno- rant of their affairs, since the revolution of 1688 had gradually invested itself with supreme authority over the colonies and their usages. It insisted that the final decision in matters of jurisdiction must be reierred to England. The colonies were treated INTRODUCTION 41 only as a commercial establishment. Commerce among themselves or with foreign nations was for- bidden, and all industry was suppressed. This ex- cited so much discontent about the middle of the Eighteenth Century that wise men prophesied the approaching separation. But no one as yet had conceived the idea of imposing a tax upon the colo- Taxes'*' nies. In 1764, when this innovation was first at- tempted in the form of a stamp tax, systematic resistance began. The first open rupture was oc- casioned by a tax on tea. The Colonial Congress of 1774 commenced by a Declaration of Eights, in which they announced their intention of maintain- ing all existing relations, and in which they re- hearsed and vindicated their old privileges, follow- ing the example of the English in their declaration of rights to William III. Yet they shrank from the name of rebellion. But as oppression grew regard- less, so also grew the desire for independence in ^™|pe'n'!f the colonies. Formal independence was declared ''^"^^ in 1776. The injustice of decrees levied to satisfy the covetous desires of the mother country had irritated the Americans ; the folly of wavering reso- lutions had inspired them with courage; the last brutal procedure, which Fox called the scalping tomahawk measure, ended all hesitation. The year 1782 gave the colonies their independence. France had declared war on England in 1Y78 — all the naval forces in the West failed England, and those of the East disputed her usurped rights of the sea. But there was a considerable difference in the position of England at that time compared with former rulers 42 INTRODUCTION of the world under similar circumstances. The Bympathy greatest men of the English Parliament had contin- ually been opposed to the taxation of the colonies for the benefit of the English treasury — they had rejoiced in the insurrection and prophesied its vic- tories. Parliament early adopted their views and refused to prolong the war indefinitely as the Span- iards had done in the Netherlands. England was no more weakened by the loss of her colonies, which gave so much satisfaction to France, than she was by the closing of the Continent under Napoleon. On the contrary, the full development of her internal strength and her judicial administration now really began. That to which she chiefly owed the great- ness of her commerce, and the power it communi- cated to her government — the active energy of the people — no war could destroy. This was strength- ened indeed by the greater freedom of the State and the now untrammelled trade with North America, niaisystem The rcsult of it was the sentence of doom on the old condemned , . , m, . „ colonial system. The separation of the Spanish colonies was a natural sequence to the liberation of North America. The patent errors of the pre- vailing commercial system were clearly demon- strated and denounced by all. The first great path to free commercial intercourse was opened, which was followed by succeeding generations. A new road had been opened to political freedom, for which new possibilities arose in the foundation of the new American States. The foreign aid of France had helped to complete the independence of the United States, a turn of INTRODUCTION 43 affairs which would not have been thought possi- ble during the reign of Louis XIY. Tlie inflacnce of the intellectual movement which had taken place in France since that time added to the internal State development which the new federal government adopted. These two facts led to the entire over- throw of the old French constitution. The theories of Rousseau were first brought into practice in the American constitution as the princi- Influence pies of a new code of politics. The combination of o° France new theories of government with their realization after the independence of the American colonies ac- celerated the reaction of the movements for freedom in the Old World upon these results. When, in the Sixteenth Century, France was obliged to strengthen herself to the utmost possible unity, on account of the menacing power of Spain, so now, when she was exposed to similar dangers during the Revolution, she was obliged to apply the same policy for her preser- vation. Both the moderate constitutional monarchy of Louis XVI., and the Dictatorship, showed them- selves either unwilling or unable to meet the alarm- ing confederacy of European princes. The Reign of French Re- Terror was first needed to collect the whole effective force of the country. Later on, the universal empire and military despotism were required to fight the great nations of the east with their own weapons. The emancipation of all those that are oppressed and suffering is the vocation of the Nineteenth Century. The force of this idea has been vic- torious over mighty interests and deeply-rooted institutions, which may be perceived in the aboli- 44 INTRODUCTION Ethical tiQu of serfdom and villanage in Europe and in the liberation of slaves in America. This is one of the greatest features of the time. The strength and belief of conviction, the power of thought, the force of resolution, a clear view of the object pur- sued, endurance and self-sacrifice, are all enlisted on the side of the people, and give this historical movement the character of Providence which can- not be resisted. It is this character we recognize in all the move- ments of the age, even those not appearing periodi- cally. The history we propose to narrate was divided into three movements, which appear to be impelled by a higher power, and in turn have shaken a great part of the world to its foundation. They follow one another almost in geometric progression. The same progression which we have observed in time, people and country may be observed also in the direction of the movement itself. The course of freedom, as we have seen since the Reformation, has been chiefly in the regions of the north among Teutonic races until it reached America, where it found its natural limits. From that time it moved Modern back toward the east. Its landing in France was Movements difficult to effect; the whole of the east of Europe and even the free west opposed the new importation — but it secured its first footing. The movements of the twenties passed over from South America to Spain, from Italy to Greece, in regular line toward the east. The July revolution procured soil for freedom in France, and it breathed again in Spain, in Belgium, and in Old England — it endeavored INTRODUCTION 45 even to reach Poland. In the year 1848 the Con- tinent was shaken to its centre, and the revolution penetrated the stronghold of Conservative principle, even as far as Prussia and the Balkans. In this his- tory we shall above all see the hand of Providence in these movements. The resources of the United States, sufficient for their own supply, and their refusing all other na- tions the right of occupation in America as pro- claimed in the famous Monroe Doctrine, will in time P^?^?^'"^ ' Doctrine restrict the amount of emigration from Europe, and limit the commerce of the West. In an equal pro- portion the increasing decay of the East will invite to a renewal of the old commerce and civilization of Asia. To effect this, the freedom of the continental na- tions of Europe is required, if the advantages which these prospects open are not to be lost to those whom they most concern. This eastern course of the principle of political freedom, which history Beems so confidently to predict, will be fulfilled. A HISTORY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY A YEARS OF FORECAST T THE END of the Eighteenth Century the Discussion civilized world, though distracted with wars S"'L of .^ and revolutions, found time to spare for^''"'"''^ quarrels about the beginning of the new century. Two parties disputed the question then, as they did a hundred years later. One held that the Nineteenth Century began with January 1, 1800, the other maintained that it would not begin until after the last day of that year. Those that clung to the first view were known as the "Ninety-niners" — chief among whom were the German poets Goethe, Schiller, and Jean Paul Eichter. The philoso- phers of the so-called Age of Reason disputed this view almost to a man. Thus, the savants of the French Academy put themselves on record in opposition to this theory, as did the ablest schol- ars of England. On New Year's Daj', 1800, even the London "Times" thundered against the heresy of "Ninety-nine." At best this was but an aca- demic discussion of mere momentary interest amid the startling events that crowded one upon another in those days. (47) 48 A HISTORY OF TEE r^eath of Iq the New World the revolutionary period came **"* to an end with the death of its master spirit, George Washington. In his farewell address, issued when he declined the Presidency for a third term, Wash- ington had left a solemn legacy to his countrymen to avoid foreign entanglements, holding it to be "the true American policy to steer clear of per- manent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." In pursuance of this policy, Washington had not hesitated to break with France. When the new French Republic became embroiled in war with England, he issued a proclamation of neutrality. Washington's efforts, while productive of immedi- ate evil, wrought ultimate good. They saved the young American Republic from entering into a long and costly war at a time when his country's greatest need was peace and the establishment of a solid national credit. Then began the wonderful development of the western prairies, while a new impulse to industry and commerce in the Southern States was given by Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. By the time the capital of the nation was transferred from D^ve'iop't" Philadelphia to the city of Washington, the Ameri- can people were well started on the way to pros- perity. Upon Washington's successor, John Adams, fell the immediate brunt of the new American policy. The first prospect was war with France. Through- out the European wars, brought forth by the French Revolution, the United States were in the position of a feeble neutral between aggressive belligerents. me lit NINETEENTH CENTURY 49 Whatever turn the tide of war might take, Ameri- can commerce was sure to suffer. Jay's treaty withTrel'y Great Britain had brought some amelioration by providing for a commission to pass upon claims of American citizens for loss or damage sustained by reason of the illegal capture or condemnation of their vessels. The concessions obtained from Eng- land only provoked the privateers of France to fur- ther outrages. The American commissioners sent to France were not received by the Directory. At last they reported that immunity from attack could only be bought with money. President Adams, substituting the letters X Y Z for the names of the French agents, sent a full report of their demands to Congress. The people of the United States were at once aroused, and acting upon Pinckney's pas- sionate declaration, ''Millions for defence, not one cent for tribute!" forthwith armed for war. A new navy department and marine corps were created, Maritime *■ War with twelve frigates were fitted out, and letters of marque ^'■ance granted to privateers. Altogether a navy of thirty- eight stanch vessels was called into being. "Hail Columbia" became the popular song of the day. The first conflicts were in West Indian waters. Captain Decatur, commanding tlie "Delaware," cap- tured the French privateering schooner "Croyable." Eenamed as the "Retaliation," she was presently recaptured by the French. In February, 1799, the American frigate "Constellation," commanded by Captain Truxtun, near the island of Nevis, defeated and captured the French man-of-war "Insurgente." David Porter, then a midshipman, with eleven XTXth Century— Vol. 1—3 60 A HISTORY OF THE American seamen brought in the prize, single- handed. The American squadron in the West Indies, while cruising for French prizes, improved American Naval Ex- the occasion by suppressing the piracies of the troublesome picaroons of the West Indies. Nearly a year later, on February 3, 1800, Captain Truxtun added to his laurels and those of the "Constellation" by beating the French frigate "Vengeance" to a standstill off the island of Guadeloupe. Previous to this. Captain Little of the "Boston" had defeated and captured the French corvette-of-war "Berceau." In all, some ninety French vessels, carrying alto- gether more than seven hundred guns, were cap- tured during the war, and a great number of Ameri- can ships were retaken. By the close of 1800 the purposes of the war had been accomplished. Bona- parte, who had just come into power, willingly granted redress to the United States. Napoleon Bonaparte had weightier problems on bis mind than the prosecution of a harassing gue- rilla warfare on water against a distant race of sail- ors. For his own part, Bonaparte had learned his first bitter lessons of the sea when the French fleet of seventeen vessels that had carried his army to Egypt was destroyed by Nelson in the battle of the the Nile Nile, on tbe first day of August, 1798. Another French fleet of nine vessels, attempting to reach the coast of Ireland early in September of the same year, likewise fell into the hands of the British. Ruinous as these strokes of war were to the French in Egypt, who thus found themselves cut off from all succor, General Bonaparte pursued his conquest of Egypt. NINETEENTH CENTURY 61 After defeating the Mameluke horsemen under the p^J:^*Jjg shadow of the Pyramids, he marched into Syria, stormed Jaffa, and pushed on to St. Jean d'Acre, after massacring his prisoners. Here again English ships under Sydney Smith spoiled his plans. After a siege of two months, during which the French suc- ceeded in beating off an overwhelming number of Turks that came to the relief of Acre, Bonaparte had to retire baffled from the ruined walls of the ancient stronghold. This ended his project for the subjugation of the Orient. Years afterward he confessed that Sir Sydney's defence of Acre had made him miss his destiny. For Bonaparte, further stay in Egypt was fruitless. His brilliant defeat of the Turks in the second battle of Aboukir did notAboukir change the situation. Before this, battle. General Bonaparte had received urgent tidings from his brothers in France. Then and there he resolved to return to Europe. Leaving his army in the lurch at Cairo, under the command of the brilliant Kl^ber, he embarked secretly at Alexandria on October 6, 1799, and made a run for France. Pur- sued by British cruisers and beaten about by storms, the ship that bore him finally landed him at Samt Kaphau, near Fr^jus, after a voyage of thirty-six days. During Bonaparte's absence, disaster threatened the young Fjench Eepublic. Russia, Austria and England were leagued against her. In Italy the Russian general, Suvaroff, had beaten the French in a series of brilliant battles. In the final battle of Novi, General Joubert, one of the most promis- 62 A HISTORY OF THE ing of French generals, had fallen at the head of his troops. The so-called Parthenopean republic of Italy fell with him. Less decisive campaigns _ ^ were waged in Switzerland and Holland where the Weakness '-' Qovern^*^ Frcnch gcncrals, Mass^na and Brune, succeeded in ™^° holding their own against an English and Russian army under the Duke of York. The varying issues of so many campaigns had their serious effect on the political fortunes of the men who composed the Directoire government in France. They were all civilians and were accordingly disliked by the army. Internal dissensions leading to frequent overturns of the Cabinet had further weakened their hold on the people. All France yearned for a strong man. About this time came the reports of General Bonaparte's victories at Mount Tabor and Aboukir, together with a false account of the fall of St. Jean d'Acre. France went into frenzies of delight. Political agitators, instigated by Napoleon's broth- ers, Joseph and Lucien, inveighed against Bona- parte's continued "exile," and petitions were made to the Council of Five Hundred to revoke the suc- cessful general's "deportation." Now came the news that General Bonaparte had landed on the Bonaparte r n t i i i R.-turns to coast oi Frovencc. it seemed like a miracle. "1 France was sitting that day," wrote B^ranger in his au- tobiography, "in our reading-room, with thirty ot- forty persons. Suddenly the news was brought in that Bonaparte had returned from Egypt. At thft words every man in the room started to his feet and burst into one long shout of joy." From the moment Bonaparte set foot on the soil NINETEENTH CENTURY 53 of France he was her master. As he flew from Fr6jus to Paris by means of fast relay stages, all the countryside welcomed him with open arms. In Lyons they gave a hastily prepared play in his honor, entitled "L'H^ros d'Egypte." Arrived in Paris, Bonaparte's first visit was to Gohier, thej^^^^S*® newly elected president of the Directory, an intimate friend of Josephine Bonaparte, his wife. The next day the Directory received the young general in state and exonerated him from blame for abandon- ing his army in Egypt. Siey^s, the strongest mem- ber of the Directory, at once went over to the new- comer, and himself prepared the coup d'itat which was to drive his fellow directors from office. Bona- parte first fought shy of him, but presently came to terms. It was arranged that a Triumvirate should be formed with Napoleon Bonaparte at the head. The details of the plot were intrusted to Napoleon's brother Lucien, now president of the Council of Five Hundred, aided by Talleyrand, Fouch^, and the generals Murat and Lannes. On the morning of November 9, or the 18th Bru- Brumau« maire according to the revolutionary calendar, a crowd of generals and officers met at Napoleon's house. At the same time certain members of the Council held an early meeting of the Assembly and passed a decree giving General Bonaparte com- mand of all the troops in Paris. They then ad- journed the Council to St. Cloud outside of Paris. General Bonaparte, escorted by his military friends, at once took charge of the troops that had been adroitly stationed at the various com- 64 A HISTORY OF THE manding points of the city. The new decree waa read aloud and he was acclaimed as chief by the host of officers who brandished their swords before „ „ him. Those of the directors who were in the plot The Coup *^ d'Etac resigned, and the others were put under arrest. When the deputies met on the next day in St. Cloud, they wasted their time by administering new oaths of allegiance to each member of the Assembly. Lucien Bonaparte addressed them from the Presi- dent's chair until Napoleon appeared upon the scene. The Council of Ancients received the dic- tator in silence. When he entered the Chamber of Five Hundred he was greeted with a roar of fury. Some deputies tried to drag Lucien from his chair while others surged toward Napoleon. Then he beckoned to his soldiers, and General Murat ordered the grenadiers to fix their bayonets. The deputies took to their heels and the hall was cleared. At midnight Bonaparte, with the two former directors, Ducos and Si^y^s, took the oath of office as consuls, their joint consulate to last three years. Bonaparte, now barely thirty-one years old, speedily made himself absolute master. His fellow consuls were such only in name. When the Abb^ Sidy(is drafted a constitution with certain terms Bonaparte which might havc acted as a check on the First 8ui* °' Consul, Napoleon brushed the flimsy fabric away with a stroke of the pen. "Was there ever any- thing so ridiculous?" he exclaimed. "Wliat man of spirit would consent to hold such a post?" As Si^yds said, after one of their first meetings, "Be- hold, gentlemen, we have a master. He means to NINETEENTH CENTURY 65 do everything; he knows how to do everything, and he has power to do everything." In the new French Constitution of 1799, as con- tionVf 1799 ceived by Si^yds and amended by Napoleon, all executive, administrative and judicial powers were conferred on the First Consul as head of the State. A system of centralization came into force which has remained in France to the present day. its basis was universal suffrage, carefully pruned by letting the power from above select its appointees from the host of candidates chosen by popular vote. All governing and judicial officers were appointed, with all their subordinates, by the central govern- ment, and were directly responsible to it. These offi- cers were divided into ranks as strict and absolute as those of the army. In its rational order, regularity of function and apparent stability, the new govern- ment was a vast improvement on the old, and could not fail to confer great and rapid benefits upon dis- ordered France. It was a working government from the start, and its work was accomplished so smoothly and thoroughly that it relieved the common people from all need of taking a share in it. On December Dictatorial 15, the new Constitution was offered to the French "^"'^ people for acceptance or rejection with this famous concluding phrase: "Citizens, the Eevolution is fixed to the principles which commenced it. It is finished." The new harness was accepted by a popular plebiscite of more than 3,000,000 yeaa against 1,567 nays. Thus France passed from a distinctly democratic government to the most abso- lute rule yet imposed upon her. 56 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1799 So rapidly was popular government relinquished that within a year no one raised a hand when the First Consul quietly removed the very authors of the new instrument, his fellow consuls, Siey^s and Bonaparte Ducos, and appointed Cambac6r6s and Lebrun in neS^°^ their place. By means of life-senatorships the Consuls former consuls were paid to sink into instant ob- scurity. To Sidy^s, the covetous abb6 of the E,e vo- lution, the hereditary estate of Crosne was granted in addition. In the words of a contemporary epigram — "Sieyes a Bonaparte a fait present du trone Sous son pompeux debris croyant I'ensevelir. Bonaparte a Sieyes a fait present du Crosne Pour le payer et ra\ilir. " ' When Bonaparte selected Dr. Corvisart for his oorv^ieart physician he little knew that he thereby gave a new impetus to the modern science of medicine. Dr. Corvisart somewhat surprised the First Consul by tapping his chest by way of examination. With characteristic shrewdness, Bonaparte recognized the advantage of scientific test over guesswork, and engaged Corvisart to be his regular adviser. For fifteen years Jean Nicolas de Corvisart had practiced chest tapping, getting little but abuse from his fellow practitioners, but now the new method came into instant vogue. Thus was laid the foundation of modern physical diagnosis in medicine. ' "Si^y^a to Bonaparte made a present of a throne Thinking to raise biiuseli upon its stool. Bonaparte to Sieyda made a present of Cr6ne, Thus the priest was paid and made a fool." 1800 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY bl B 1800 ONAPARTE'S first acts were conciliatory. Bona- parte's He drew around him the leaders of all parties C""<^^'f tory Acts and men of high talents : if they showed them- selves submissive they were rewarded with public honors. Thus he honored Volta, the inventor of the new voltaic pile, and La Place, the great astronomer, voita, La Gaudin, the greatest financier of France, was in-oaudin trusted with the public moneys, and, encouraged by Napoleon, founded the Bank of France. Tronchet and two of the most eminent lawyers of the Revolu- tion were appointed at the head of a commission to codify the laws. Aided by Napoleon, they drew up an admirable civil code which was afterward known as the "Code Napoleon." It was the first The "Code Napoleon" working code effected in France, and has stood as a standard of its kind throughout western Europe and the Latin countries since its adoption. Equally well calculated was the First Consul's indulgence for the ancient enemies of the Revolu- tion — the Royalists and the Clergy. Thus he re- stored the freedom of religious worship. All those emigrants who had not actually borne arms against their country were invited to return. More than Return of •' theEmi- 150,000, most of whom were priests, responded. ^''^'^'^^ Bonaparte m person went to the Temple Prison to 58 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1800 set the political prisoners free. In those early days of his rule great moderation was also used with the Vendean nobles and Breton peasants who had risen in arms against the Revolutionary government. A Proclamation of Amnesty for those who laid down their arms was issued on Christmas Day. Overtures ^'^ ^^® samc day Napoleon, with his own hand, wrote courteous letters to the King of England and to the Emperors of Germany and Russia. Diplo- matic steps were also taken to conciliate the King of Prussia and the Pope. In his letter to George III. of England, Napo- leon asked: "Are there no means of coming to an understanding?" The rest of the letter was given over to praises of peace. Paul I. of ^^^ only monarch who gave a willing ear to w"o^'* Napoleon's offers of friendship was Paul, the Czar of Russia. This eccentric ruler publicly drank to the health of Consul Bonaparte and surrounded himself with portraits of the successful general. Suvarov, the Russian general who had won such signal victories over the French, was sent into disgrace. The Czar's friendship for the exiled Bourbon prince, Louis XVIII., and for his ally, England, became lukewarm and then cold. The Austrian government contented itself with politely declining to entertain Napoleon's overtures to the German Emperor. When the Austrian am- bassador ascertained that Napoleon had no intention of restoring the territory yielded by Austria in the recent treaty of Campo Formio, the imperial govern- ment at Vienna begged to be excused on the plea 1800 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 69 that it could not negotiate peace without consulting its allies. England, under the guidance of the younger Pitt, England's Reply bluntly rejected all offers and avowed its intention to continue the war until the Bourbons should be restored to the throne of France^ It was a curious State paper which Lord (xrenville transmitted to Count Talleyrand, I^apoleon's Minister for Foreign Affairs: "Downing Street, January 4, 1800 "Sir — I have received and laid before the King the two letters which you have transmitted to me. His Majesty, seeing no reason to depart from those forms which have long been established in Europe for transacting business with foreign States, has commanded me to return in his name the official answer which I send you herewith. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Grenville." The letter itself recited that "the best and most natural pledge of the reality and permanence of peace would be the restoration of that line of princes which for so many centuries have maintained the French nation in prosperity at home and in con- sideration and respect abroad. Such an event would have at once removed, and will at any time remove, all obstacles in the way of peace." Great Britain's curt reply was like a blow in the Effect <» face to France. Frenchmen of all parties burned to avenge the insult. At one stroke Napoleon had all France arrayed behind him. The cause of the Royalists waned from that day. In January their 60 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1800 leaders, De Chatillon and d'Antichamp, signed cod- ventions of peace with General H^drouville on the Loire. By the middle of February followed the submission of the Eoyalist Chouans of Jirittany and Normandy. Other chiefs in the Vendue were beaten by General Brune. The Prince of Cond6 entered British service. The remaining rebels were proclaimed as outlaws, and a price was set on the heads of the leaders. Count Louis de Flotte, who was taken alive, was shot by Napoleon's orders. The rank and file were quickly enrolled m the army and sent away to the frontierSo Napoleon celebrated his complete suppression of the Koyalists by installing himself in the former ent^*s*tife royal palace of the Tuileries. To veil the signifi- Tuiieries pi- i ■ n im-i- cance of this step, his nrst entry into the Tuileries was made on the occasion of an imposing memorial service in honor of the death of Washington. The speaker of the day drew a comparison between Washington and Bonaparte, giving the preference to the latter. In obedience to Napoleon's orders no mention whatever was made of Washington's brother-in-arms, Lafayette. Relieved of internal dangers, the First Consul was able to turn his attention to those outside of France. Disquieting news was not lacking. By an irony of fate General Kl^ber's indignant remonstrance to the TheEKYp- Dircctorv against the treatment meted out to him by General Bonaparte fell into the hands of the First Consul. Napoleon was the more annoyed at Kl^ber's complaints as he knew them to be true. He, too, while in Egypt, had written to the Directory that 5800 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 61 unless reinforcement reached him he would be com- pelled to sue for peace. Now he found himself at a loss how to avert the sure disaster impending over his ambitious projects in the East and over those that had followed him to Egypt to execute them. His relief expedition was bottled up by the British fleet before Brest. Instead of reinforcements Napo- leon despatched a letter to Kl^ber assuring him of his full confidence, and therewith left him to his fate. One of General Kl^ber's appeals for help had fallen into the hands of the English. It encouraged them to repudiate the previous agreement to let the French evacuate Egypt unmolested. On January 18, Lord Keith, commanding the British fleet in Egypt, called upon General Kldber for an uncondi- tional surrender. The French general communi- cated the text of the British demands to his troops and gave out this rally: "Soldiers, such insults can only be avenged by a victory. Forward!" The French, early next morning, fell upon the sixty thousand Turkish soldiers encamped on the ruins of Heliopolis and completely routed them. Cairo ^^^^^.i^ ^^ was recaptured. While strengthening the French ^^''^^p®'** position in Cairo, General Kl^ber was assassinated by an Arab cutthroat. The command fell upon an incapable subordinate, General Menou. From that time the evacuation of Egypt by France became inevitable. In the meanwhile the war between Austria and war with Austria 1 ranee was reopened. To provide for it the consuls revived the Revolutionary measure of general con- scription. Every male citizen over the age of eigh- 62 A HISTORY OF THE May 1800 Moreau seizes teen and under the age of sixty was called into the army. A reserve corps of 60,000 recruits was thus raised and placed under the command of the First Consul. Through his foreign agents Napoleon levied tribute from Genoa and Hamburg, and tried to force loans from Holland and Portugal on the security of their own jeopardized territory. By the spring of 1800 France was ready to strike. Toward the end of April a French army under Moreau crossed the Ehine and seized the town of Freiburg: Freibiirg. A series of bloody fights followed. The plan for opening the campaign, as arranged between Moreau and Napoleon, was to make a feint against the corps of Keinmayer and the Austrian right; and, having thus drawn Kray's attention to that quarter, to concentrate the French centre and left upon the imperial centre, break through the Aus- trian line, cut off their communication with the Tyrol and Italy, and force them to the banks of the Danube. On May 3, General Moreau defeated the Austriaus and Germans under Kray at Engen, near the falls of Schaffhausen, Nearly 20,000 men fell on both sides. On May 5, the Austrians and Bavarians, five miles from there, were beaten in an- other battle at Moeskirch. They lost 7,000 killed and wounded, 1,600 prisoners, and a part of their stores. On May 9, the loss of a third battle at Biberach Bibcrach near Ulm cost Kray 4,000 men and all his stores. On May 11, the French generals Lecourbe Memmin- ^ud Ncy took the small town of Memmingen after a fierce assault, in which some 5,000 fell on either side. The Austrians, having suffered four bloody Engen Moeskirch gen 1800 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 68 reverses within eight days, fell back on Ulm. After a short respite this city was wrested from them by the French, who swam the river and treated them to another bloody fight at Hochstaedt on the f amous ^^^^5^^ °' old battlefield of Blenheim. Five thousand pris-^'^*^' oners and twenty cannon were surrendered to the French. During this time General Massena, who had fought so well in Switzerland, had taken charge of the French army in Italy and was hemmed inlenoa"' at Genoa. Wapoleon, instead of taking measures to relieve the garrison by sending an army along the coastwise roads on which he had won such successes before, determined to deliver a counter stroke in the rear of the Austrian army. This could only be done by crossing the Alps. Leaving the government in Paris to his colleagues he took charge of the new army of the reserve and manoeuvred with it in various directions. He de- ceived Massena as well as the Austrians. All thought that he would surely descend upon Genoa. The Austrians accordingly drove the French back upon Genoa, and its harbor was blockaded by an English fleet. In the third week of May, after Marescot and his engineers had prepared the way, Bonaparte sud- crossesThe ' Alps denly took the main body of his army over the Great St. Bernard Pass, while smaller detachments crossed over the passes of the Little St. Bernard, Simplon, St. Gotthard, Mont Cenis and Mont Genevre. The march, though toilsome, presented no extraordinary difl&culties, till the leading column 64 A HISTORY OF THE june 18OO arrived at St. Pierre: but from that village to tiae summit it was painful and laborious in the highest degree. A hundred men were harnessed to each gun, incased in a hollow log, and they were soon relieved. Ford of St. The worst obstacle encountered was at the moun- Bard tain ford of St. Bard, which commanded the only- passable road. Here the men had to pass in single file over a goat path high above the ion. The whole passage of the Alps was accomplished in four days without any serious mishap or confusion. This has always been accounted one of the most brilliant military feats of modern times, surpassing the ancient Alpine exploits of Hannibal and Julius Ctesar. The advance guard of the French army poured down into the plains of Piedmont before the Aus- trians could dispute their entrance into Italy. Old General M^las, who had pursued a French division to Nice, hurried to Turin with a few thousand Aus- trians. From Turin he sent word to General Ott, whom he had left before the walls of Genoa, to raise the siege of that city and come to his support with all his men. Ott could not tear himself away from Fall of so sure a prey. Before Masseua struck his flag on June 5, fifteen thousand of the people within the walls of Genoa had died of hunger. Mass^na's stubborn resistance served the purpose of keeping the Austrian forces divided. It cost tliem nearly as dear as a defeat. Napoleon, instead of marching on Genoa, as was still expected of him, turned to the east and thrust 1800 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 65 himself between the Austrians and their strongholds in the rear. Lannes defeated one Austrian force at Montebello. Mu rat took care of another. Nothing Battle of MoDtebeilo remained for Melas but to escape to Genoa or make a bold break through the French lines. The arrival of Ott's forces, at last, making his numbers slightly superior to those of Napoleon, encouraged the aged Austrian leader to stake all on a pitched battle. On the 12tli of June Napoleon advanced westward from Milan and Piacenza, through Stradella. So anxious was he lest Melas should make good his escape that he detached a division of 6,000 under his special favorite Desaix, who had just arrived from Egypt with his aides-de-camp, Savary and Rapp. They were to head off any possible move- ment toward Genoa. Early next morning the Aus- trians came forth from Alessandria and attacked the French at Marengo. Their onslaught was so impetu- Marengo OU8 that it carried all before it. At the end of seven hours' fighting the French forces were in full retreat. Tired out, the aged Austrian general rode back into Alessandria to despatch tidings of his victory. The pursuit of the French was left to General Zach. Far in the distance, nearly twenty miles away, Desaix's division had halted at the first sound of the cannon. As the distant booming increased, Desaix turned his column and countermarched for Alessandria, on the double quick. He had covered half the stretch when he was met by a despatch rider from Napoleon summoning him to the relief. Fur- ther couriers urged him to the utmost haste. At last his panting vanguard arrived upon the battle- 66 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1800 field at sunset, only in time to meet their retreating comrades. Desaix galloped up to his commander and said: "I see that the battle is lost. I am afraid I can do no more for you than to secure your retreat." "Not so," replied Napoleon. "Charge with your column! The disordered troops will rally in your rear." Such was Napoleon's own version in after years. Others, at the time, said that Desaix on his own motion offered to retrieve the fallen fortunes of his chief. Whatever he may have said, Desaix at once placed himself at the head of his first two half- brigades and charged into the victorious Austrians. Desaix"^ He was shot through the heart, but his men charged on. At this moment Colonel Kellerman, with eight hundred French dragoons who had halted behind a wood, dashed furiously into the Austrian flank as it swept forward. The Austrians wavered and broke. Desaix's main body and rearguard fell upon them. French detachments from all sides returned to the fray. Melas' victory turned into defeat for Zach. He surrendered with 5,000 Hungarians. Melas was so upset by the unexpected reverse that wIth'Aus! '^® sued for an armistice under humiliating terms. All Austrian fortresses in Northern Italy west of the Mincio were abandoned to the French. After the battle Napoleon wrote: "All the chances of suc- cess were with the Austrian army." Referring to Desaix he said, "Victory at such a price is dear.'* 1800 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 67 To Kellerman he said curtly, "You made a good charge." In Paris, French consols rose from 29 to 35 points. Before the 18th Brumaire they had stood at 11. Napoleon returned to Paris. The Austrian people were dismayed at the disas- trous turn taken by their war with France. But the Ministry of Thugut stood firm. On the day the news of Marengo reached Vienna, Thugut in a formal treaty accepted England's offer of a money-subsidy to prolong the war. Yet, in deference to public clamor, and to gain time. Count St. Julien was sent as an envoy to Paris to ascertain the French terms for peace. They tried to patch up a naval armistice with England, but the negotiations fell through. In ^oS'of'°" TLI o If Q the middle of September, the garrison of Malta, hav- ing been entirely reduced by famine, capitulated, on condition of being sent to France and not serving again until regularly exchanged. The noble for- tress, with its unrivalled harbor and impregnable walls, was permanently annexed to the British do- minions. The English also made themselves mas- ters, in the course of this year, of Surinam, Berbice, Dutch St. Eustache and Demerara, Dutch settlements in the Losses West Indies and on the mainland adjoining them. The Austrian emperor finally was constrained to apply for an extension of the armistice on laud. For this concession he had to yield Munich and Ingolstadt to the French in Bavaria. In the end Count St. Julien's arrangements were repudiated. The gain in time was turned to no material ad- vantage by the Austrians. In all, they had 230,000 soldiers in the field. The French maintained five C8 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 1800 Strong armies, numbering altogether 250,000 men. They controlled the Rhine, Alps, Upper Danube and the Po. The portfolio of the French war de Thu t partment was placed in the hands of Carnot. Dis- Be^il^^ content at this state of affairs grew so acute in Hungary and Austria that the Thugut Ministry had to resign. In the month of November, Napoleon announced the conclusion of the armistice, and on the 28th of that month both parties were prepared to fight. Archduke Johann, a youth of eighteen, now took command of the Austrian army in the valley of the Inn. Moreau held the high plateau of Munich and the banks of the Isar. The young archduke had a pet plan of surrounding the French and cutting off their supplies. As soon as the armistice expired, on the third day of December, during a heavy fall of snow, he manoeuvred his army into the rough Hohen- country around Hohenlinden, Moreau waited until liDdea the Austrians, amid fatal confusion, had penetrated into the heart of the forest and had become entangled with some of his skirmishers. The Archduke, it was said, believed them to be the French rearguard and began to rejoice over his easy victory. Then Moreau fell upon the bewildered Austrians with his whole force from front, flanks and rear. The slaughter was appalling. Ten thousand Austrians were taken prisoners, among them three general officers. Eighty cannon and two hundred caissons were among the loot. The scattered remnants of the Archduke's army were chased across the rivers Inn, Salza and Traun straight to Vienna. They tried to make a 1800 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 69 Stand at Herdorf and again at Schwanstadt, but were only the more thoroughly routed. This overwhelming victory made a deep impres- sion on the men of that day. It moved the English poet Campbell to write this poem, which has become a classic : HOHENLINDEN CampbeU'a Stanz&s On Linden, when the sun was low, All bloodless lay the untrodden snow. And dark as winter was the flow Of Iser, rolling rapidly. But Linden saw another sight. When the drum beat at dead of night, Commanding fires of death to light The darkness of her scenery. By torch and trumpet fast arrayed. Each horseman drew his battle blade, And furious every charger neighed, To join the dreadful revelry. Then shook the hills with thunder riven. Then rushed the steed to battle driven, And louder than the bolts of heaven Far flashed the red artillery. But redder yet that light shall glow On Linden's hills of stained snow, And bloodier yet the torrent flow Of Iser, rolling rapidly. 'Tis morn, but scarce yon level sun Can pierce the war-clouds, rolling duj2^ Where furious Frank, and fiery Hun, Shout in their sulphurous canopy. The combat deepens. On, ye brave. Who rush to glory, or the grave! Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave' And charge with all thy chivdiry I 70 A HISTORY OF THE Uec. laoo Ah, few shall part where many meet! The snow shall be their winding sheet. And every turf beneath their feet 8haU be a soldier's sepulchra In the same time the three other French armies had woQ laurels of their own. On the day of Ho* henlinden, General Augereau gained an important advantage near Bamberg. General Macdonald, un- dismayed by the rigors of winter and a series of dis- Passage of ^^^''^'^^ avalanches, crossed his army over into Italy spiuegeD across the dizzy heights of the Spluegen Pass, and beat back his enemies. Vienna was struck with terror. Archduke Charles took command of the army and tried to infuse new courage into his troops. On viewing the French posi- tion before Vienna he was quick to sue for an armis- Treatyof tlcc. It was coucludcd at Stcycr on Christmas Day. By its terms the Austrians practically agreed to the provisions of the former treaty of Campo Formio, which they had repudiated earlier in the year. Be- yond that they gave up additional territory, relying on Moreau's promises of restitution. William Pitt, sensible of Austria's alarming situation, released the German emperor from the terms of his alliance with England. Napoleon showed himself disposed to be lenient with his vanquished foe for the sake of peace. The kingdom of Naples was saved for the moment by the intercession of the Czar of Eussia. Napoleon also concluded definite peace with the United States, and entered into negotiations with Spain for the retrocession of Louisiana. England was now left JSOODec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 71 aione in her struggle with France. Not only had her allies fallen off, but new enemies had arisen. In distant India, Seringapatam had to be taken at ,^g^p^^^®^' the point of the sword. Emperor Paul of Russia, exasperated by the Duke of York's mismanagement of the Anglo-Russian attack on Holland, and piqued at England's blockade and seizure of the Isle of Malta, of which he styled himself the Grand Mas- ter, had gone over to Napoleon. On September 9, the Czar seized all the English vessels in his ports and imprisoned their crews. His quarrel was sec- onded by the other Northern kingdoms, which strove to resist the harsh measures of the Brit- ish at sea. Foremost among them was Denmark, which had just lost the frigate "Freya," on account of her captain's refusal to submit to British search. Late in 1800 the Armed Neutrality of 1780 was re- vived in this new Northern Maritime League, the^or^tbern conventions of which were signed, on December ^^^^^^^ 16j by Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and, later, Prus- sia. Gustavus IV., the young king of Sweden, convoked a Riksdag to raise money. Its sessions were so stormy that he never repeated the experi- ment. On his own authority the king mortgaged the Swedish city of Wismar to the Duke of Meck- lenburg for one hundred years for the sum of two million dollars. The determination of the League to resist the seizure of French goods on board their own merchantmen was received by England as a general declaration of war. Such was the close of the Eighteenth Century. Great changes had occurred throughout Europe as 72 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1800 War with the Fcsult of the incessant wars of the last decade. EDgland In England, owing to the increased annual expen- diture of £60,000,000 for the war, the debt of the nation had doubled, rising from £244,000,000 to £484,000,000. The British navy bad been nearly doubled in strength and now numbered eight hun- dred vessels with 120,000 fighting men. On land the fighting strength of Great Britain had grown from 80,000 to nearly half a million. These bur- British dens could not have been borne but for a corre- Besources sponding increase in British trade. The imports and exports together had grown from forty to sev- enty million pounds sterling. Yet it is to be noted that during the last year of the Eighteenth Century the Bank of England paid out no coin. The poor harvest of 1799 resulted in famine prices. In Lon- don and elsewhere the poor people rioted for bread. One poor devil, discharged from the army, attempted to assassinate the king. In Paris, too, an attempt was made to blow up the First Consul with an infernal machine. It served as a pretext to banish a number of inconvenient Jacobins. Cerachi and Demerville, two determined Jacobins, charged with inciting the plot, and St. Hegent and Carbon, who were actually concerned in it, were sentenced to death and executed. The old French debt had been repudiated, and a new Finances debt Contracted for fifty-five millions. The expen- ditures of the first year of the Consulate amounted to twenty-two millions. This paid for an aggregate army of nearly a million men in the field. On the other hand, the French navy had been reduced by 1800 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 78 one-half and was still dwindling. The tricolor had, been chased from the seas by the combined efforts of British and American sailors. A relief expedi- tion for Egypt was bottled up at Brest. The for- eign trade of France was practically extinct. All Europe, in fact, had suffered immeasurably from the long war. Across the seas, in America, on the other hand, the new century opened serene and full of bright hopes for the future. The last Presidential election iffafrs^" under the old electoral system had brought only a passing cloud. It was held in the fall of 1800. Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, and Aaron Burr, of New Jersey, were the candidates of the Eepublican- Democratic party against the Federalists John Adams and C. C. Pinckney. The contest was practically de- cided in May, 1800, when the Legislature of the State of New York was found*to have a Eepublican ma- jority. Four years previous, the State of New York had given most of its votes to Adams. At this elec- tion Jefferson and Burr tied with 73 votes each, while John Adams only got 65 votes. For a long time Congress, which had the decision, stood even for Jefferson and Burr. Thirty-one tie ballots were taken. At last Jefferson received the votes of ten jefferson States, leaving four for Burr and two blank. Under Burr the old law Burr as the next strongest candidate was declared Vice-President. A grave peril to the young country was thus averted. Burr never got over this disappointment. The tragedies of his later life were largely due to the resentments begotten in him by the failure of more legitimate ambitions. XTXrh Century— Vol. 1—4 74 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1809 Jefferson takes the Oath of Qfflce Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office in the new Capitol, ridiculed as a palace in the woods. The building stood on a hill in the city of Wash- ington, then nothing but a straggling village of a few hundred inhabitants. It provoked comment at the time that Jefferson, who preferred republi- can simplicity in all things, wore "long pantaloons, an innovation of the French Be volution." Painted by Wilhelm Kaulbach eOETHE IN WEIMAR ^IXth Cent.y Vol. 0>ie JSWJ&n. KDfETEEXTH CESTURY lb 1801 THE BIRTH of the Nineteenth Century was most elaborately celebrated at Weimar. During the year 1800 the two poets, Goethe and Schiller, had experienced a change of heart in regard to the trne beginning of the century. ^ff^^°^ Ko?r they were at last in accord with their patron ^°*"^ Carl August, the Duke of Weimar. The young poet, Leo von Seckendorf, who was afterward killed in battle, was most enthusiastic. He wanted the New Year to be celebrated by special produc- tions of the latest dramatic works of Goethe and Schiller, with musical performances of Haydn's new "Creation," and Gluck's "Iphigenia." But the Duke took the defeat of the Germans at Ho- henlinden so ill that he was in no mood for merry- interestof making. Shortly before New Year Schiller had top^S*" write to Goethe at Jena: "The Duke, so we have been informed, a few days ago, gave it to be understood that he is very much opposed to our proposed cen- tenary festivities. You know what this means. . . . In God's name let us bury ourselves in our poetry and try to produce things from within, as we have BO little success in producing from without." Goethe was not so easily foiled. He was translat- ing Voltaire's "Tancred" at the Duke of Weimar's summer castle at Jena. He had with him Friedrich 76 A HISTORY or THE ^au. reoi Wilhelm Schelling, the great German philosopher, then but in his twenty-fifth year. A few days be- fore their return to Weimar, about Christmas time, Goethe wrote to Schiller, "I shall bring Schelling with me so as to have a strong support for our cen* tenary plans." The Duke gave in. A record of the event is preserved in an entertaining letter of Schiller to Koerner, the father of the poet who at Weimar later lost his life in the wars. In the afternoon of January 1, 1801, Haydn's "Creation" was sung and the Duke's players at the court theatre gave a mask written by Goethe for the occasion. A masquerade ball at court finished the evening. Some of the most enlightened spirits of Germany were present. Goethe, who was then in his prime, was hailed as Olympian Jupiter. In the throng of maskers were the poets Schiller, Herder, Wieland and Von Seckendorf. With them were Schelling, the philosopher, Hufland, the great physician, and Heinrich Steffens, the learned Dane. Among the ladies were the Duchess Louise, the lively Dowager Duchess Amalie, with the beautiful Frau von Stein, Amalie von Imhof, the poetess. Corona Schroeter, the singer, and Henrietta Jageraan, the tragedienne, with Goethe's latest favorite, the lovely Countess von Egloffstein. It was a notable gathering. Next day Goethe had a falling out with his oldtime Illness of n- 1 ,1 'in Goethe friend l^rau von Stein, and was taken seriously ill. For a long time he lay unconscious and the best physicians of Germany were summoned to attend him. All literary Germany held its breath until the crisis was safely over. ISOiJan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 77 More lasting tributes to the new century were the opening ceremonies of the Peace Conference at Luneville and Pitt's iBnal accomplishment of the Union of Ireland and England. This event was union ot celebrated in London and Dublin by the ringing of ^"''^'"®'"<* bells, salutes of guns and the hoisting of the new imperial standard over the Tower. To accomplish this great result Pitt had promised to remove those obnoxious laws against Roman Catholics that drove Ireland into rebellion in 1798. Now one hundred Irish members were taken into the Commons and free trade between England and Ireland began. The terms of the treaty agreed to at Luneville ^^*^^^,'g changed the map of Europe materially. First of all the cessions wrested from Austria at Campo Formio were confirmed. All German territory on the left bank of the Rhine was ceded to France. The Ger- man princes who lost by this arrangement were to be indemnified with other possessions taken from Italy, the Free Hanseatic cities and other weak land- holders. It meant the disintegration of the old German Empire. The net loss to Germany was 25,180 square miles with nearly 3,500,000 inhabi- tants. The provisions for indemnity proved an apple of discord. For years afterward a horde of German princelings haunted the antechambers of Bonaparte, outbidding one another with concessions and bribes. Spain lost Parma and Louisiana. Tuscany was merged with Parma. Formal recog- nition was given to the French foster Republics of Batavia, Helvetia, Liguria, and the Cisalpine Republic. 78 A HISTORY OF THE March 1801 Peace of Florence Pitt Resigns Battle of ▲boukir The Peace of Luneville was followed by treaties at Madrid; and the Peace of Florence, between France and the kingdom of Naples, was concluded on March 28, after a number of Italian cities had been overrun by the French army. Naples ceded her principalities in central Italy and undertook to close her ports against all vessels of Great Britain and her ally, Turkey. Thus Napoleon took up a new weapon of offence against England's shipping — the Continental Embargo. In England, meanwhile, the days of the younger Pitt's ministry were numbered. Early in the year the first United Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland met in London. Pitt tried to carry out his promise to remove all political disabilities from the Irish Catholics. This met with George III.'s oppo- sition. Powerless to move a ruler who staked his soul on the letter of his oath of coronation, Pitt resigned. With him went Grenville, Dundas (later Lord Melville), and Windham. The new Prime Minister was Addington, the Speaker of the House of Commons. Addington's Cabinet found themselves with a general declaration of war on their hands. Willy- nilly they had to prepare for hostilities. An em- bargo had been declared on the ships of all the northern powers. The French army in Egypt was still unsubdued and a French fleet lay watching for a chance to go to its relief. On March 8 a British fleet under Sir Ealph Abercrombie debarked 18,000 troops at Aboukir. On March 13 a battle was fought with the weak French army under 1801 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 79 Menou, in which, the French were worsted. On March 17, Sir Sydney Smith, the hero of the Siege of Acre, seized the lake of Madieh and reduced the forts of Aboukir. On March 20 a pitched battle was waged between 15,000 Englishmen and 9,000 Frenchmen. Abercrombie, the British commander, ^ was mortally wounded. The French lost heavily and were thrown back upon Alexandria and Cairo. I'lexaQdha A large Turkish army landed at Aboukir and the French were invested in Alexandria. At home another British fleet was preparing to strike a blow at Eussia. All was changed by the sudden death of Emperor Paul of Hussia. This Death of ^ Paul I. eccentric monarch had ruled but four years. Of late his conduct had excited general comment. Thus, on December 30, 1800, the St. Petersburg "Court Gazette" contained the following item: "His Majesty, the Emperor, perceiving that the European powers cannot come to an accommodation, and wishing to put an end to a war which has raged fourteen years, has conceived the idea of appointing a place to which he will invite the other potentates to engage together with himself in single combat on lists which shall be marked out; for which purpose they shall bring with them, to act as their esquires, umpires and heralds, tlieir most enlightened minis- ters and able generals, as Thugut, Pitt and Bern- storff. He will bring on his part Count Pahlen and Kutuzov." Kotzebue, the famous dramatist and political writer of those days, published this comment: "It is not known whether this rumor can be depended 80 A HISTORY OF THE March 1801 upon. Meanwhile it does not seem altogether with- out foundation, as it bears the mark of what has often been imputed to him." Emperor The Czar's next surprise was to order Louis Vagaries XVIII., the French pretender, to leave his refuge at the Eussian town of Mitau. At the same time he cancelled the handsome annuity granted to the Bourbon prince. About the middle of March the Czar gave to his minister a warrant for impris- oning or banishing the Czarina, his wife, and his two sons, Alexander and Constantine. Count Pahlen showed the warrant to the two princes and said: "Your father is ruining the country and himself. He will now destroy you if this is to be borne." He suggested that something must be done to stop the Czar's course. The Czarovitch left all to him. On the night of March 24 thirty of the most influ- ential members of the court, after a long carouse, forcibly entered the Czar's bedroom. They de- manded his abdication. While wrangling over this matter. Prince Zubov, one of the former favorites of Empress Catherine, got into a violent dispute with The Czars the Czar. Seizing a chair he struck the Emperor ▲ssassina- '■ tion down. Then the others jumped on the prostrate Czar and beat and strangled him to death. Next morning Alexander announced in an imperial proc- lamation that his father had died of a stroke of apoplexy. After his coronation the assassins were advised to leave court and went into retirement. Paul's death came just in time for Russia. On March 12, a British fleet of eighteen ships of the line, four frigates and a number of gunboats, 1801 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 81 amounting in all to fifty-two sail, left Yarmouth under the command of Sir Hyde Parker. Nelson went with him as his first flag-officer. The imme- diate objective point was Copenhagen. They bore with them a British ambassador who had instruc-fjJ.?,'*°o^ tions to allow Denmark forty-eight hours wherein to ^""^"^ accept Great Britain's terms and withdraw from her engagements with the other northern powers. This done, the Russian fleet at Revel was to be attacked. In anticipation of what was coming, Danish troops seized the free port of Hamburg and closed the mouth of the Elbe to British ships. The Danish navy, at this time, numbered twenty ships of the line, fit for service, and fourteen frigates. Sweden had eighteen ships of the line, with fourteen frigates. Together with the Russian ships at Revel, St. Petersburg and Cronstadt, there were some eighty sail of the line and fifty frigates available for sea service against England. But they were widely scattered. On March 19 the British envoy rejoined the fleet oflE Elsinor. His demands had been rejected. This amounted to a declaration of war. On March 80 the British fleet entered the sound. Next night was employed in soundings. Sir Hyde Parker, in accordance with Nelson's sug- gestions, directed him to make a front attack on ^|||^ Copenhagen with twelve ships of the line and allh^lS' the smaller vessels, while he himself was to menace the crown batteries and four Danish ships on the inner line. The Danish battle front, composed of anchored ships, floating batteries and coast defences, was one mile wide. Of the six hundred and twenty- 82 A HISTORY OF THE April 1801 eight Danish guns, three hundred and seventy-five could be brought into action on the engaged side. The approach was covered by a large shoal called the Middle Ground. At half-past nine in the morning of April 2, Nelson weighed anchor. Three of his ships of the line soon ran aground. Their place was taken bj several frigates that had to suffer dearly for their copeQ-° gallantry. By noon the battle was at its height. Manoeuvring had ceased and all depended on gun- nery and sheer endurance. At one o'clock the signal-lieutenant of the "Elephant" reported that the admiral had thrown out No. 39, the signal to discontinue the fight. Nelson was pacing his quarter-deck and took no notice of the report. The signal-ofiicer met him at the next turn, and asked if he should repeat the signal. Nelson asked if his own signal for close action was still hoisted. Nelson's "Ycs," Said the ofiicer. "Mind you keep it sol" Insubordi- . natioQ gaiij^ Nelson. Nelson continued to tramp his quarter- deck, the thunder of the battle all about him, his ship reeling to the recoil of its own guns. The stump of his lost arm jerked angrily to and fro, a sure sign of excitement with him. "Leave off ac- tion!" he said to his lieutenant; "I'm hanged if 1 do." "Vou know, Foley," he said, turning to his captain, "I've only one eye; I've a right to be blind sometimes." And then putting the glass to his blind eye, he exclaimed, "I really do not see the signal!" He dismissed the incident by saying, "D — the sigrall Keep mine for closer action flying!" 1801 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 83 By two in the afternoon most of the Danish guns had been silenced and the flagship "Danebrog" was in flames. One hour later nearly all of the floating defences had been destroyed or had struck their flags. The shore batteries were still unharmed, as were the Danish ships hovering under their protec- tion at the mouth of the harbor. At this point, Nelson sent in a flag of truce, and thus gaiaed a valuable respite wherein to save his grounded ships. It is still a matter of dispute whether the use of the white flag in this case was a bona fide act of human- ity, or a ruse de guerre. Whichever it was, Nelson succeeded in the difficult manoeuvre of withdrawing Nelson obtains his injured ships during the long interval that the'^®'^™^ gig with the flag was pulling to and fro between the Danish batteries and Sir Hyde Parker's flagship four miles in the offing. In the end the Danish king agreed to an armistice. The result of the battle was to lay the front of Copenhagen open to bombardment. Under this threat Denmark was driven to consent to a long armistice, which gave the British admiral a free hand for his attack on the Baltic. The value of this service was never adequately understood by Sir Hyde Parker or the British authorities at home. On the same day that the British fleet forced the passage of the Sound, the Prussian Cabinet made a formal demand on the regency of Hanover, to permit fg,"|g'* the occupation of the Electorate by the Prussians, ^*°''^®'" and disband a part of their own forces. As this proposal was supported by an army of twenty thou- sand men, the Hanoverian government was com- 84 A HISTORY OF THE May 1801 pelled to submit; and Hanover, Bremen and Hameln were occupied accordingly. At the same time, the Danes took possession of Hamburg and Lubeck, so as to close the mouth of the Elbe against English commerce; and, on the other hand, a British squad- ron, under Admiral Duckworth, reduced all the Swedish and Danish islands in the West Indies. Three weeks later, Nelson's measures were ap- Neison proved in this chilling note from the British admir- SustaiDed alty office. "Upon a consideration of all the cir- cumstances, his Majesty has thought fit to approve the armistice." Very different is the verdict of the greatest naval authorities on this subject. They all agree in declaring Nelson's service on this occasion as admirable in the highest degree. His fellow ad- miral. Lord St. Vincent, wrote at the time: "Your lordship's whole conduct, from your appointment down to this hour, is the subject of our constant admiration. It does not become me to make com- parisons. All agree there is but one NelsoQ." The news of the Russian Emperor's death, which arrived during the naval armistice with Denmark, gave a wholly different cast to the situation. The Czarovitch was known to incline toward England. Alexander Now that he was ou the throne, one of Alexander's releases British first measures was to release the British seamen Seamen imprisoned by his father. This order was issued on the 7th day of April. Four days later, the northern powers were surprised to find that the British fleet had entered the Baltic Sea. To pass the Kdgge Shoals, the heavy guns on the three-deckers had to be transshipped. Sir Hyde Parker was now re- 1801 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 86 called and Nelson placed in full command. He kelson in ^ Command had orders to suspend hostilities if Russia followed up the release of British sailors with the suspension of her embargo on British ships. Still Nelson at- tempted to intercept the Russian fleet at Revel, but Parker had delayed too long. The Russian ships had sailed away the day before. After all it did not matter, since peace was now in the air. On April 17, Russia and Prussia had agreed to cease warring ° ° Peace with on England. On May 17, the Czar ordered the re- Russia lease of all embargoed British ships. On June 17, a convention at St. Petersburg settled the points in dispute. It was conceded by Russia that a neu- tral flag should not cover an enemy's goods, whereas England agreed to respect bona fide neutral ship- ments. Sweden and Denmark were not expressly included in this convention, but they of necessity followed the example of Russia. The Danish gov- ernment agreed to evacuate Hamburg, and restore the free navigation of the Elbe, and both Sweden and Denmark raised the embargo. Great Britain adopted corresponding measures; and Prussia took an early opportunity to withdraw her troops from Hanover. Thus was dissolved, in less than six Northern ' Maritime months after its formation, the most formidable ^fg'^gl"®^ confederacy that had yet been arrayed against the maritime power of England. Napoleon sent Duroc to St. Petersburg to counter- act the influence of Great Britain, but his ambassador accomplished little beyond a flattering reception. For France, during this interval, a new annoyance had arisen in the West Indies. Early in the year, 86 A HISTORY OF THE June 1801 the island of Sau Domingo had been thrown into fer- ment by the high-handed acts of a negro military chieftain known as Toussaint L'Ouverture. Pre- ^nDo-*^^ tending to act in the name of France, Toussaint, ™'"=° heedless of the protests of the French civil commis- sioners, annexed other portions of the island that had been ceded to Spain in the treaty of Basle five years before. In July, 1801, the negro leader had himself acclaimed governor for life. A new consti- tution was promulgated abolishing slavery and all distinctions of color. Free trade was adopted. The landed estates belonging to Frenchmen not residing on the island were confiscated. To his French re- monstrants, Toussaint replied haughtily: "I am the Bonaparte of San Domingo. The colony cannot get along without me." Napoleon was constrained to gather a naval force wherewith to recapture the lost colony. To make so distant an enterprise a safe venture, a disproportionately formidable fleet had to be assembled, for British cruisers were scour- ing the sea. With the bad tidings from San Do- mingo came the news of a fierce sea fight of two Sea Fight souadrous of French and English ships off Algesiras ofAlgeairas ^ o i & in the Bay of Gibraltar. The French were trying to reinforce Cadiz. With the help of the Spanish land batteries, the French rear-admiral, Linois, suc- ceeded in capturing one of Admiral Saumarez's big ships, the "Hannibal," that had grounded under the Spanish guns. Saumarez withdrew to Gibraltar. Linois, having been reinforced with five Spanish ships of the line and another Frenchman, came out into the bay. The British attacked after dark and 1801 August NINETEENTH CENTURY 87 the fight lasted through the night. The French man-o'-war, "Formidable," beat off three British ships. In the dark two of the largest Spanish ships, the "Real Carlos" and "San Hermenigeldo," taking each other for enemies, set fire to one another and blew up. The French "St. Antoine," was cap- tured. Throughout the summer all England had been Threat- ened Inva* aroused by the menace of invasion because ofi;**"^^^ the French gatherings of troops and ships at Tou- lon, Dunkirk and elsewhere. Coastguards were picketed all along the shore, and a British vol- unteer army called into service. When Admiral Ganthaume succeeded in taking a French squadron into the Mediterranean, in his attempt to succor the French in Egypt, the alarm grew. This was not abated when Ganthaume returned to Toulon after capturing three small English war vessels and the "Swiftsure," a ship of the line, carrying seventy- four guns. Early in August Nelson made an un- successful dash at the French flotilla off Boulogne. By the middle of the month he reappeared with eight ships of the line and a dozen or more frigates. The engagement that ensued was indecisive. By October both countries were heartily tired of the war. The various modes of prosecuting a war of offence were exhausted. One thorn in the side of both belligerents had been removed when Lord French D evacuate Keith brought about the French evacuation of^^^^' Egypt by undertaking to ship their army back to France on his own vessels. This was accomplished early in September to the satisfaction of both sides. 88 A HISTORY OF THE October i801 Preliminary peace negotiations were entered into at London on the first day of October. Previous to Coercion of this, Portugal purchased a treaty with her powerful neighbors by ceding to France one half of Guiana, paying twenty millions of francs for the support of the French troops, confirming Olivenza with its territory to Spain, and closing her ports against all English ships, whether of war or of commerce. On October 18, another secret treaty with Spain was signed at Madrid, by the terms of which Loui- siana once more changed hands. In England, the implacable Pitt and Nelson were among those who approved the conciliatory policy of the new Minis- Feaceof try. Peacc was ratified in Parliament, on October London -^ 10, by a majority of ten to one. It was agreed that hostilities with France should immediately cease by land and sea; that Great Britain should restore its colonial acquisitions in every part of the world; Ceylon in the East, and Trinidad in the West Indies, alone excepted; that Egypt should be re- stored to the Porte, Malta and its dependencies to the order of St. John of Jerusalem, the Cape of Good Hope to Holland; the integrity of Portugal was to be guaranteed, the harbors of the Roman and Neapolitan states evacuated by the French, and Porto Ferrajo by the English forces. The news of the definite signing of the treaty at London made French consols go up from forty-eight to fifty- three. In the same year, peace treaties were con- cluded between France and Turkey, France and Bavaria, France and America, France and Algiers, and France and Russia. 1802 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 89 1802 IN ENGLAND the threatening phantom of for- eign invasion had been laid at rest. The British "Annual Register" thus records the beginning of the year: "It was the opinion of ap||cl*fn°' vast majority of the British nation that the year^"^*"^ 1802 commenced under circumstances highly au- spicious. ... It was universally understood that the income tax, a burden which the bulk of the nation had rather impatiently borne, was now to be withdrawn, and that vast reductions were to take place in our military and marine establishments." The last part of this promise was actually fulfilled, much to the disgust of Sheridan, who spoke agamst these measures in Parliament. He said that the country had failed in every object for which it had plunged into war. Instead of checking the aggran- dizement of France, Great Britain had raised her to such a height as to endanger the existence of all. He saw the immense power of France now con- solidated, all her continental enemies subdued or won over to her interests. For his part his fears and alarms began where those of the Ministry had ended. Mr, Sheridan was scarcely heeded. Pitt, for the moment, silenced all opposition by support- The oppo. ing his successors in office. Even Nelson arose ^''®°*'^'^ 9U A HISTORY OF THE Jan. i8oa in the House of Lords to say that the possession of the Island of Malta and of the Cape of Good Hope were of little consequence to England. The next thing to take up the attention of Parlia- ment was the petition of the British printers and booksellers asking for a release from the heavy duties on paper. In their petition they recited that by the additional duties levied on paper "the prog- ress of literature and the encouragement of genius had been equally fettered." Parliament agreed to a reduction of the paper tax on the ground that the tax "struck directly at the very existence of English literature." The true makers of literature scarcely stood in need of such encouragement. Unlike France, the leaven of the new age in England, as in Germany, had called forth a fresh harvest of brilliant writers. Romantic fpj^g English romantic movement in literature was Movement D tur^'^*^'^^' in full bloom. To be sure, Burke, the great Parlia- mentarian, Cowper, the poet, and Burns, the Scot- tish bard, had just died, but their names were in every one's mouth. The stirring events of the ^p;^^^"^8 of Pj-qq^i^ Eevolution, together with the sudden bril- Leiters ji^Qt ^igg q[ literature in Germany, where Goelhe, Schiller, Richter, Wieland, Herder, and the great philosopher Kant were vying with each other in new productions, acted as a spur to the writers of England. Coleridge turned from his translations of German plays and ballads to write his "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Walter Scott sought inspiration for his revivals of medieval chivalry by translating Goethe's "Goetz von Bcrlichingen." itt03 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 91 Sheridan, at the same time, translated Kotzebue's "Pizarro." The next years brought Tom Moore's Revival ot *' ^ British "Anacreontics," Campbell's "Poems," Coleridge ^'^^'''^ and Wordsworth's lyrics, Southey's "Thalaba," the prose masterpieces of Charles Lamb and Thomas DeQuince}'', with Paley's "Philosophical Essays." In 1802 Scott brought out his "Minstrelsy of the "Scottish Border," while the works of Chaucer were revived by Godwin, Shelley's friend. The same year saw the establishment of the "Edinburgh Review" and of Bees' great Cyclopedia. Nowhere else in the world was there such an out- pour of literature. In Italy the death of Alfieri, the dramatic poet, left a void. In France the only writer of note was Chateaubriand. Art, too, lan- guished. In France the painter David stood alone. Canova, the Italian rival of the Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen, had just finished his famous group of Theseus. Napoleon made haste to summon him to Paris. The First Consul, after concluding his various peace treaties, continued to play the game of world politics on a grand scale. Before the end of January Napoleon caused the Cisalpine Republic to call a con- vention at Lyons. The 300 delegates had to cross the Alps in midwinter. Napoleon, proceeding there with Josephine his wife, had himself proclaimed president of the Italian Republic. A constitutioa like that of France was adopted. The acceptance of a similar constitution was imposed upon the Batavian Republic of Holland. On March 25, a formal treaty of peace was concluded at Amiens Am^n» 92 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1802 between France, Holland and Spain on one side, and Great Britain on the other. France kept pos- session of the Austrian or Flemish Netherlands, the left bank of the Rhine, the greater part of Italy and Switzerland and that vast tract of territory on the Gulf of Mexico known as Louisiana. England kept none of her new possessions, excepting Ceylon wrested from Holland, the Island of Trinidad taken from Spain, and a new slice of India won from the conquered Hindu prince, Tippoo Sahib. San Do- mingo for the moment was restored to France by General Leclerc's early victories over the blacks under Toussaint. The same fate befell the negro colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique. coDcordit ^^ April 8, the final adoption of the religious m France QQ^^ordat arranged with the new pope, Pius VII., was celebrated in the Church of Notre Dame de Paris by a grand Te Deum in honor of the re-estab- lishment of public worship. Throughout France the priests turned from foes into loyal supporters of the new government. At the same time forty- four articles of the Protestant cult were sanctioned by law. This caused bitter dissatisfaction among the old Republicans. The country at large hailed the re-establishment of religion with joy. At the Return of end of the month came another act of amnesty for grees the Royalist exiles, though Napoleon's efforts to make the Count de Lille renounce his rights to the throne of France had failed. All but one thou- sand of the proscribed royalists were permitted to return. Their lands, seized by the State, were to be returned to them if not exceeding a certain area, but 1803 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 93 not so their hereditary privileges over canals, high- ways or other public institutions. As a result of these measures a great number of exiles returned from England, and with them came a host of travel- lers eager to visit the land that had so long been closed to them. The British Embassy in Paris was reopened. Napoleon's next measure was to reorganize the^'i-ench ^ '-' Internal French educational system. On the first of May, Reforms an act was passed governing secondary schools. Thirty of the best ecoles centrales were reorgan- ized as lycees, where the pupils were drilled and trained in semi-military fashion. To bind these new schools as closely as possible to the State, 6,000 pupils, called "wards of the nation" were to receive free education. Most of these were the children of deserving soldiers. Technical and spe- cial schools were also founded. Education, which up to 1790 had been in the hands of the clergy, became a prerogative of the State. On May 8, a decree of the Senate extended Napoleon's Consu- late ten years beyond the original term of ten years in recognition of his services to France. Napoleon accepted the honor in these words: "Fortune has smiled upon the Republic. But Fortune is incon- stant. How many men whom she has showered with her favors have lived more than a few years? The interests of my happiness and of my good fame demand a termination of my public life so soon as general peace is assured to the world. But you say that I owe my country another sacrifice. I will make it." 94 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1802 Order of ^ few davs afterward the Order of the Loyal the Loyal '' J ^'^'°" Legion was established, not without determined opposition in the Chamber. The two Tribunes Savoie-Eollin and Chauvalin denounced the meas- ure as a monarchical institution. On the next day the Chamber passed a law re-establishing slavery in the West Indian colonies j-estored to France by the Treaty of Amiens. This goaded the blacks of San Domingo to further desperate resistance. The Revo- General Leclerc and Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse lution of Hayti \>^2A landed their expedition at Samana. Leclerc first tried to win over Toussaint by a friendly let- ter from the First Consul, and offers of bribes sent him through his own sons, who had been brought from school in France. The attempted restoration of slavery made the blacks reject all proposals. On the night after the French troops landed, the negroes burned the French settlement at Cape Frangois, now Cape Haytien. Of 800 houses but 60 escaped. The blacks carried their war into the mountains. Revolting cruelties were practiced on both sides. Yellow fever came to the aid of the blacks. Then General Leclerc again tried diplo- macy. The two black leaders, Dessalines and Christophe, were won by false representations. Next he induced Toussaint to come to a con- ference at Gonaive. Toussaint was seized and de- ported to France. There he died of neglect in the dungeons of Chateau Joux. General Leclerc, with the bulk of his army, remained to fall a prey to the ravages of yellow fever. On June 25, the final treaty of peace between 1802 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 95 France and Turkey was concluded. It assured free navigation in the Black Sea to French ships, and pel^e^^vith in some other respects was found to be inimical to England. Similar conventions were established with the Deys of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. On August 3, the French Senate revised the constitu- tion of the year VIII., so as to extend the term of office of the consuls for life. To the First Consul Bonaparte Consul for was given the former royal prerogative of executive ^^® clemency. The troublesome Tribunes were reduced from one hundred to fifty. Lafayette, who opposed the suspension of political liberties and of a free press, was retired from public life. Napoleon ac- cepted his new honors in these words: "Senators! the life of a citizen belongs to his country. The French people wish mine to be entirely consecrated to them. I obey their will." It was in those days of general reforms that an ample supply of fresh running water was secured to Paris by aqueducts from the Eiver Ourcq. Toward the end of the year most internal ques- tions were settled for France, and Napoleon once more felt the need of reaching out. In September a decree of the French Senate "reunited" the Island of Elba with France. Next, the Italian province of Piedmont was annexed to France. On October 9, French troops occupied the Duchy of Parma upon New ^ ^ -^ ^ French An- the sudden death of the Duke, Don Ferdinand de°«**"°^^ Bourbon. On October 21, General Ney, at the head of 12,000 French soldiers, entered Switzerland to suppress the disorders that had been brought about by JSapoleon's agent. Already the canton of Wal- 96 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1808 lis had been detached, ostensibly to form an inde- pendent republic, but really to secure to France the control of the Simplon Pass into Northern Italy. The British ambassador in Paris alone protested against these breaches of the peace. Napoleon si- lenced him with the proud declaration, *'It is recog- nized in Europe that Italy, Holland, and Switzerland are at the disposal of France. ' ' No part of Napoleon's diplomacy was more ably conceived or better carried out than the negotiations with the German princes intrusted to Talleyrand. Diet of All through the years 1801 and 1802 a Diet at Regens- EatfsboD B,6gensburg deliberated over the changes imposed upon the German empire by the treaty of Lune- ville. The proverbial antagonism between the vari- ous German States and princes played its usual part. In the summer of 1801 Prime Minister Mont- gelas of Bavaria had signed the first of those treat- ies which made Napoleon the arbiter of Germany. Two months later a secret treaty between Alexan- der and Bonaparte admitted Russia to a share in the reorganization of Germany. Equilibrium was to be maintained between Austria and Prussia. Be- yond that the Czar stipulated for the advancement of his own relatives on the thrones of Wurtemberg, Bavaria, and Baden. One after another the German princes settled with their patrons for a share in the spoil. On June 3, a secret agreement between France and Russia embodied all of these arrangements, and oloCTmany *'^^ Spoliation of the ancient German empire was a settled fact. The Diet of Regensburg in its final conclusions, known as the Reichsdeputationshaupt- 1802 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 97 schluss, solemnly ratified the provisions by which forty-two out of forty-eight free cities, and all the ecclesiastical states lost their independence. Only six free cities remained — Hamburg, Bremen, La- beck, Frankfort, Augsburg, and Nuremberg. All the landed property of the Church was confiscated. The free Universities, too, lost heavily. Most of the former feudal States were wiped oflE the map. For Germany as a nation the destruction of these innumerable petty principalities was a distinct gain. A constant source of discord was done away. The^e^^V'^ national feeling of the German people grew in unity FeeiW and strength. During the same year, in October, 1802, the deci- sive battle of Poona in India changed the fate of the Mahratta empire. The united armies of Sindia and Mahratta the Peishwa were defeated by Jaswant Rao Holkar, an illegitimate pretender to tbe Mahratta throne. Peish Baji Rao fled for his life to the western coast, and escaped on board an English ship to the port of Bassein, about twenty miles to the northward of Bombay. Baji Rao was paralyzed by the disaster. Another Peishwa was set up by Jaswant Rao Holkar at Poona, and Baji Rao saw nothing before him but ruin. In this extremity he agreed to sign the ob- noxious treaty, provided the English restored him to his throne at Poona. Accordingly the treaty of Treaty of Bassein was concluded on the last day of iiecem- ^^*^ ber, 1S02. XTXth Century— Vol. 1—6 98 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 180J 1803 THE DESIRE for peace led Addington's gov- ernment in England to remain inactive until the French aggressions in Holland, Italy and Switzerland became accomplished facts. Even Napoleon renews then Naoolcon was the first to renew the quarrel. quarrel ^ * wah Eng- jj^ January, Talleyrand, urged by his master, com- plained to the British ambassador of the hostile articles in the English newspapers. Lord W hit- worth made a countercharge against Napoleon's official organ, "Le Moniteur." Then Talleyrand called for an explanation of Great Britain's delay about evacuating Malta. On January 13, the " Mon- iteur' ' published Sebastiani's report on the mission that the First Consul had intrusted to him in the East. The report, which filled eight columns of the "Moniteur," contained a very complete account of the resources and possible allies available for a new French '^ Ely^t"^ °° conquest of Egypt. The exact number and disposi- tion of the British in th^ East were given with those of the Turkish forces, estimated altogether at 19,000 men. They were declared to be, "not an army, but a collection of men, badly armed, undisciplined, and worn out by debauchery." In conclusion, it was stated that "six thousand French would suffice to reconquer Egypt." I803Feb.-March NINETEENTH CENTURY 99 This threatening manifesto resounded in England like a war cry. The British ambassador in Paris henceforth became intractable on the subject of Malta. On February 13, Lord Whitworth at- tended a state function at the Tuileries.- He was violently accosted by the First Consul. When hefi't.To?'' War tried to reply, Napoleon exclaimed: "1 suppose you are going to speak of Piedmont and Switzer- land. They are mere trifles. You ought to have thought of this during the peace negotiation. You have no right now to complain." Lord Whitworth transmitted the conversation verbatim to his govern- ment. Two days later the "Moniteur" published the government's annual report on the situation of the Republic to the legislative body. Referring to England, Napoleon's mouthpiece said: "Be the success of intrigue what it may in London, it will not drag other nations into its net. The nation asserts with just pride that England, single-handed, is unable to cope with France." It was a cry to arms. On March 8, King George, f^lfjand in a message to the House of Commons, informed ■^'^'"'^ Parliament that he had thought it expedient to adopt additional measures for the security of his dominions. Discussions of great importance be- tween l^is Majesty and the French government, it was set forth, induced him to rely on the assistance of Parliament to adopt such measures as the honor and interest of the English people required. On March 10, followed a royal proclamation calling the militia into service. Two days afterward, the First Consul summoned Lord Whitworth to the Tuil- 100 A HISTORY OF THE March 1803 eries, and loudly assailed him: "So you are bent on war." Turning to the other ambassadors he shouted: "The English are bent on war, but if they are the first to draw the sword, I shall be the last to sheathe it. Since Britons do not respect treaties, we shall cover them with black crape." Next day FVench Napolcou despatched confidential couriers to Alex- aratioas ^uder of Eussia and to the King of Prussia to induce them to make common cause with him. Negotiations were opened to sell French Louisiana to the United States of North America for eighty million francs. On March 25, a law was passed in France which placed 120,000 new conscripts under the colors. During the French parleys with England it had been explained that the naval armaments at Toulon and Brest were made to take possession of Louisi- ana. Previous to this Bonaparte, in a confidential communication to England, had laid stress on the The United ^"^P^^*^^*^^ of Louisiana for keeping the United Th^^at- States in check. President Jefferson, receiving ened ... c i • i • intimations of this, protested against such a pro- ceeding. In America, the presence of General Le- clerc in the West Indies with so large a force was regarded as a menace. Napoleon's sudden need of money in 1803 changed all that. Four nations — France, Spain, Great Britain and the United States were concerned in determining the boundaries of this territory. It was finally agreed that American Louisiana should extend from the Mississippi along the thirty-first parallel to the Gulf of Mexico, thence along the Red Hiver up to 1803 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 101 the Arkansas, and thence north with the mountain chain to the forty-second parallel of latitude. The region practically included the present States of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and Indian Territory. The official dis- cussions over the various lines lasted for years. In the meanwhile, Napoleon yielded all the French ^ -^ TheLouisW territory in dispute, aggregating more than a mil- ^{J^g^'"" lion square miles, with 85,000 mixed inhabitants, for the sum of $11,250,000, to be paid in six per cent bonds, payable fifteen years after date. For the United States, Messrs. Monroe and Livingston concluded the terms of the purchase on April 30, 1803. In the autumn the United States took peace- able possession. The purchase of Louisiana was the greatest event in Jefferson's administration. The power of the Mississippi was no longer a matter of dispute. Very aptly did Mr. Livingston say to the French ministers as they arose from signing the treaty: "We have lived long, gentlemen, but this is the noblest work of our lives." Napoleon said: "This will forever strengthen the power of the* United Sates." Among the American people this was not so clearly recognized. Jefferson's administration American Expansion was severely assailed by critics who declared that Denounced the new territory was a barren wilderness which would never be worth the price. Previous to this, during Jefferson's first term, the new State of Ohio had been taken into the Union. Two other notable American achievements under- 102 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1803 taken in that year were Chief -Justice Marshall's reorganization of the American law, and the war against the Barbary pirates. For some time the Moorish pashas along the Northern coast of Africa had exacted tribute from all American shipping that came within their reach. The American gov- ernment consented to pay a subsidy to exempt with Bar- American ships from these exactions, in 1801 Cap- Pirates ^j^j^ Bainbridgc, commanding the "George Wash- ington," took the money to the Dey of Algiers, and was ordered by him to convey the Dey's own tribute to the Turkish Sultan to Constantinople. At the request of the American Consul, Bainbridge con- sented, but expressed a hope that the "next tribute might be delivered from the mouths of his guns." In the same year the Sultan of Tripoli clamored for more tribute. He tried to enforce his demand by acts of war. An American squadron was sent to the Mediterranean under Captain Dale. The Bey of Algiers came to terms. Not so the Pasha of Engage- Tripoli. The first engagement of note was fought Corsairs j^^ ^hc fall of 1801, off Malta, between Lieutenant Sterrett, commanding the twelve-gun schooner "En- terprise," and the war polacre "Tripoli." The corsair struck her colors after a two-hour fight. She discharged another broadside when the Ameri- can vessel came into close range. "Sink the damned treacherous Moor," shouted Sterrett. His gunners raked the enemy fore and aft, shot away her mizzen- mast and killed fifty of her Arab crew. At last the pirate captain threw his flag into the sea and begged for mercy. All his guns and small arms were 1803 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 103 thrown overboard. The "Tripoli" was sent home under a jury mast and jibsail with the compliments of the American navy. The "Enterprise" had not lost a man. In July, 1802, the "Constellation," under Cap- ^l^f/lh*" tain Murray, fought nine gunboats oflE Tripoli and drove five of them ashore. Next summer a Tri- politan cruiser of twenty-two guns was driven into a bay seven leagues east of Tripoli. The "John Adams," under Captain Rutgers, and the "Enter- prise," under Lieutenant Isaac Hull, stood in and gave battle at close range. In three-quarters of an hour the enemy's flag came down. The Americans tried to take possession, but the Tripolitan met them with another broadside and then blew up with all aboard. Iq 1808 the American squadron in the Mediterranean under Commodore Preble numbered nine ships. The "Philadelphia," under Bainbridge, captured a Moorish corsair. Commodore Preble entered the harbor of Morocco and brought the Sultan to terms. The "Philadelphia" soon after chased the pirate into the Bay of Tangiers and ran upon a reef. She was surrounded by gunboats and ^ T -*^° Amerb Captain Bainbridge had to surrender. Among the '^^"(P"^ prisoners were Lieutenant Porter, James Porter, Jack Jones and James Eenshaw, of future fame. Three hundred American seamen were sold into slavery. The "Philadelphia" was floated and re- fitted, with her thirty-six guns, as a corsair. While in prison Captain Bainbridge managed to send home a secret letter written in lime juice, in which he sug- gested that the ship might be retaken. Lieutenant 104 A HISTORY OF THE May 1803 Decatur's Decatup acted upon the su2;o;estion a few months Moorish 1 oo Exploit lo^^Qj.^ In the Moorish ketch "Mesticah," captured by himself, this gallant officer slipped into the har- bor of the enemy one night. Pretending to be a Maltese merchantman that had lost his anchors he made fast to the former "Philadelphia." The in- stant the two ships came abeam, Lieutenant Decatur gave the order: "Boarders away!" His disguised seamen swarmed over the side of the brig. The pirates were cutlassed and driven overboard. De- catur, with the help of his midshipmen, Morris, Lawrence, McDonough and Laws, fired the former Yankee brig. By the light of the burning ship the Americans sailed for the mouth of the harbor. Within half an hour the "Philadelphia" blew up. The ketch got away safely without the loss of one man and was joined by the American ship "Siren" waiting outside. Decatur was made a captain by Congress and his crew were rewarded. The ketch was renamed "Intrepid," in honor of the event. Nelson's Lord Nclsou characterized it as "the most bold opinion of gecai^r'3 and daring act of the age." The Dey of Tripoli vented his rage by casting Bainbridge and his offi- cers into deeper dungeons. The war continued unabated. \ This little pirate war, while full of stirring ex- ploits, was of slight importance compared to the impending world-war between France and England. On May 13, the British ambassador had been ordered to withdraw from Paris. On May 22, the French Senate declared all British travellers in France prisoners of war. French troops under Gen« 1803 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 106 eral Mortier immediately invaded Hanover. As the French '^ invade hereditary elector of this principality, King George S'^'^^^®' of England had attempted to save his domain by declaring neutrality for Hanover. All England took to arms. Wordsworth's vigorous sonnets in behalf of Switzerland and Holland were followed by this clarion cry: No parleying now. In Britain is one breath. We are all with you now, from shore to shore. Te men of Kent, 'tis victory or death! In June a royal message informed Parliament that Holland had been drawn into the campaign and more armaments were called for. The whole num- ber now raised in Great Britain was 103,000 men. Further war measures were passed early in July. On July 20, Napoleon issued a decree in Antwerp excluding all vessels that had even touched at a British port. It was the beginning of his famous ^ & to Continen- continental embargo against English shipping, ade^begua Admiral Brui was placed in command of a small French naval force for the avowed purpose of in- vading England. Great Britain retaliated by de- claring a blockade on the waters of the Elbe and Weser, Genoa and Spezzia, and Havre-de-Grace. More than a hundred prize vessels were captured by the English before the middle of June, Things were at this pass when Emperor Alexander of Russia, on August 19, offered to mediate between England and France. Great Britain refused to ac- cept mediation unless the French first evacuated Hanover. About this time another insurrection 106 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1803 Rebellion broke out in Ireland under the leadership of Nap- ID Ireland i- " per Tandy, Redmond and Emmet, who had come from France. Lord Kilwarden, Chief-Jastice of the King's Bench, was murdered , in the streets of Dublin. It took several months to quell the rebellion. The chief rebels were brought to trial and condemned to death. England in turn tried to stir up trouble among the Royalists in France. In November, Portugal, England's former ally, after a secret treaty with Spain and France, declared neutrality. The British Admiralty despatched a fleet to the West Indies to take a hand in the struggle going on in San Domingo. Here the news of Toussaint's captivity and death had been followed by renewed disaffection on the part of his fellow leaders, Des- The Hor- saliucs and Christophe. They were joined by Sans Hayti Souci, another negro chief, and Bellair with his Amazonian wife. These two were captured and tor- tured to death by the French. Henceforth the war degenerated into unspeakable horrors. The bulk of the French army was down with yellow fever. The survivors were driven back into the chief towns. Both sides sank into savagery. Blood- hounds were imported irom Martinique wherewith to hunt down the luckless negroes, and whole ship- loads of captives were killed. In the fall of 1802 General Leclerc died of fever. His successor, Gen- eral Rochambeau, ventured an open battle with the blacks and was driven back to Cape Haytien. In exasperation the French massacred their prisoners. The blacks m turn gibbeted all the French officers »903 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 107 they had taken. Neither side asked nor gave mercy. Jerome Bonaparte was glad to return to France. fie^tVakea At this point the British squadron hove in sight and blockaded the French at Cape Haytien. The situation became intolerable. General Rochambeau thus commented on it in later life: "Pressed almost to death by absolute famine, wretchedly feeding on our horses, mules, asses, and even the bloodhounds, we had no way to escape the poniards of the en- raged negroes but by trusting our fate to the sea." During the last days of November the French, after a final assault by Dessalines, capitulated first to the negroes, and then, fearing a general massacre, to Commodore Loring of the British squadron. Five French vessels that tried to escape without surren- ' French dering were caught. General Noailles alone got capitulate away. The force taken by the British numbered 8,000 troops, three frigates and seventeen merchant- men. That was all that was left of the total French expedition of 36,000 men that had been sent to the West Indies. Altogether 80,000 human beings had lost their lives within the space of two years. French San Domingo declared its independence and became the Republic of Hayti. The other colo- nies of France and Holland also suffered severely by the war. A squadron under Sir Samuel Hood successively captured St. Lucia, St. Pierre, Tobago, Berbice, Demerara, and Issequibo. During this time French agents succeeded in stirring up trouble in England's colonies in the Far East. While the British were straining every nerve to resist Napo- leon's projected invasion of England, they were dis- 108 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1803 Lidia''^ ^^ tracted by incessant insurrections and border wars in India. The great Sultanate of Mahratta had split up into a federation of warlike chiefs, who were forever overrunning their borders. In their armies they employed many French ofi&cers. After the subjugation of Tippoo Sahib a series of treaties were concluded by various Hindu princes, Lord Cornwallis and the Marquis of Wellesley. In 1802 the Mahrattas, after defeating the Peishwa of Poona, became threatening, and Lord Clive pre- pared for emergencies at Hyderabad by gathering an army of 19,000 men and five hundred guns. In 1803, General Wellesley was directed to restore the deposed Peishwa. By a march of sixty-two miles in thirty-two hours he reached the city of Poona. An attempt was made by some of the Mahratta chiefs to turn their territory over to France. Ad- miral Linois, who arrived at this juncture with a French squadron, failed in his demonstration. The troops he landed at Pondicherry were taken prison- ers. The arrival of reinforcements and the oppor- tune death of the Nizam of Hyderabad strengthened England's position in Northern India. In the autumn of 1803, General Wellesley defeated the Defeat of Mahrattas and stormed Ahmednuggur. The Mar- tha Mah- ^^ ratias ^^jg ^^f Wcllesley's brother, the future Wellington, earned his spurs in this campaign. The fort of Djalnapoor was taken in September. On Septem- ber 23, another bloody battle was fought at Assaye, SIdUiI^^" in which Colonel Arthur Wellesley had the supreme command. Though outnumbered by ten to one, and quite overmatched by the Mahratta artillery, he won J803 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 109 the day by a series of wild charges. One-third of the British were slain. Finally, after 15,000 of the enemy had been killed, the Mahrattas were put to rout. For his share in this victory Colonel Wel- lesley received a sword of honor from Parliament. Meanwhile hostilities had broken out in the prov- ince of Bombay. The town of Baroach was stormed by the British under Colonel Woodington, and his victory was followed by the conquest of Chimapeer. In the east, the British troops stationed in Bengal and Madras stormed the fortress of Barbutty. Per- ron, a Frenchman placed in command of 15,000 „ Sindias, suffered a defeat in front of Allyghur. '''^*^<'^*«<* On September 4, the fort itself was stormed and Perron was taken prisoner. General Lake pushed on and attacked a large Hindu army under the French general, Bourgnieu, in front of Delhi. The surrender Hindus lost 8,000 men and 68 guns. The French officers surrendered, and Peishwa Allum of Delhi accepted British suzerainty. General Dudernaigne surrendered Mathura in October. By the end of that month the Mahrattas made a determined at- tempt to recapture Delhi. On October 27, General Lake's cavalry was defeated at Lashwaree. Colonel Vandeleur, the leader, was killed. The British infantry, coming up, renewed the attack with great loss. Major-General Ware was killed, and General Lake and his son were wounded. Two thousand Hindus and a large number of elephants were cap- tured. On October 29, General Wellesley defeated the Mahrattas at Arghaum and captured thirty- eight guns with all their elephants. The stronghold 110 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1808 of Dammergaun was taken early in December with great slaughter. After these events the Rajahs o! Berar, Sindia and Bhonsla came to terms. They en- British Ac-S^S^d ncver to enter into another treaty with French* ?n 'fS^ nien and yielded all their territory in Northern Hin* dustan between the Jumna and the Ganges. All the forts in the Deccan were given up. The war in India had lasted altogether five months. During its course the natives of the Island of Ceylon were likewise subjugated and brought under British rule. While Great Britain thus had her hands full, King George III. succumbed to a temporary attack of insanity and had to be put in a strait- jacket. In Paris the "Moniteur" published this comment: "Why are we at war? Because the English people have no one to conduct their affairs but a mad king and a prime minister who is like an old nurse." Napoleon, himself, was inspecting the camp of in- t^tn^l vasion at Boulogne. Frenchmen were reminded of England ^.j^g gloHous dccds of Joau of Arc, and new songs were composed on the descent into England. The poets were publicly rewarded by Napoleon. Not so Madame de Stael, who about this time ventured to return to France from her recent exile. "Inform her," wrote Bonaparte to Regnier, "that if at the end of five days she is still in France, she will be conducted to the frontier by the gendarmerie. The arrival of this woman, like that of a bird of ill omen, has always been a signal of some trouble. It is my intention that she shall not remain in France." Together with the poet Chateaubriand, who had been sent to Switzerland by Napoleon, Madame de 1803 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 111 Stael had helped to start the French romantic move- ^^^^ ment in literature. The literary career of this gifted daughter of Necker began with her "Lettres sur J. J. Rousseau." Conviction led her to oppose Bonaparte, whom she enraged with pinpricks of irony. Upon her second banishment from France she went to Germany, which, as was then said, "ruled the kingdom of the air." There she sought out the literary celebrities at Weimar. Goethe put her off on Schiller. This poet put her off on Wil- helm Schlegel, the critic, who helped her gather the material for her celebrated book on German institutions, "L'Allemagne." The exile of Madame de Stael was followed by a reorganization of the French Institute, which practically reduced that body to a nullity. 112 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. i804 T 1804 'HE new year opened amid general feverish The Bou- I preparations for war. At Boulogne, Napo- campment leon had gathered a flotilla of fiat-bottomed, ships and an army of 120,000 veterans, who were constantly drilled in the tactics of embarkation. It was only necessary for Napoleon to be master of the Channel for a few hours to make the descent upon England a reality. Meanwhile Englishmen were distracted by the growing opposition to the gov- ernment at home and the alarming mental condi- tion of their king. Parliament asked for explicit . information on the subject. This led to prolonged debates between the Ministry on one side and Fox, Pitt and Canning on the other. Finally the House was informed that the king was in a fair way to recovery. The opposition returned to the attack on the subject of naval defence. Pitt practically moved a vote of censure of the Admiralty. De- feated in this, Fox next opposed a government bill to increase the regular army at the expense of the volunteer system. The government won by a ma- jority of fifty-five, but Addington's Ministry was so shaken at these repeated onslaughts that late in ^^ ^ April the Cabinet resolved to resign. On May 8, Pow^el-'^*^ Pitt was once more called to power. Fox was left out of his Cabinet. 1804 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 113 During the interval, Napoleon put the finishing strokes to the foundation of his Empire. Some time previous to this Fox had written to his nephew that the rumor was current that Bonaparte would soon proclaim himself Emperor of the Gauls. The im- pending war with England was favorable to the enterprise. By way of prelude an elaborate plot conspiracy on the First Consul's life was discovered by theBoaaparte / police. George Cadoudal, a Breton gentleman, was suspected of negotiations with the Count of Artois and the English government to murder Bonaparte. Suddenly the French secret police made a number of arrests. Cadoudal was brought to trial and exe- cuted. On April 6, Pichegru was found strangled in prison. Captain Wright, the commander of the vessel which brought Pichegru to France, was murdered in prison. General Moreau, the hero of Hohenlinden, was tried for high treason. Jury trial in his case was suspended, and Thuriot, one of the associates of Robespierre, was placed in charge of the prosecution. Of the forty-seven prisoners, twenty were condemned to death, five sentenced to imprisonment, and the rest acquitted. Moreau was sentenced to two years in prison. "I only wished to pardon him," said Napoleon to the ^ Judges. Judge Clavier rejoined: "But who will pardon us?" Armand Polignac, one of the pris- oners, was spared from death only by the interces- sion of Josephine Bonaparte. Moreau's sentence "was commuted by Napoleon, who banished him for '' * ' Qener&S life. The unfortunate general with his wife betook ganfsh'ed himself to America. 114 A HISTORY OF THE March 1804 In the principality of Baden, twelve miles from the French frontier, there remained the Duke of Knghien, one of the Bourbon princes. He was said to be implicated in the conspiracy. On March 15, a troop of French soldiers made a dash across the border and arrested the prince in his house at Etten- Execution hcin. He was taken by Savary to the Fort of Vin- d'Eaghiea ^ennes, where a grave had already been dug for him. On the night of his arrival he was court- martialled and shot. His body was scarcely cold when the French Senate, at the suggestion of Na- poleon's chief of police, Fouch^, hastened to gratify the First Consul's ambitions: "You are founding," they said, "a new era, but you ought to make it last forever. Splendor is nothing without duration. Do not delay, great man, to accomplish your work! Render it immortal like your glory! You have rescued us from the chaos of the past. You make us blessed with benefits of the present. Guarantee for us the future!" Bonaparte begged for time wherein to consider this offer of a crown. While he was considering, the rest of the world awoke. At the news of the iurope*" Duke of Enghien's death a thrill of horror seized the princes of Europe. Chateaubriand, the poet, resigned his office as ambassador in Switzerland. The court of Russia put on mourning. The Rus- sian charge-d'affaires in Paris lodged a formal pro- test against the execution of Enghien and the inva- sion of German territory. Napoleon, on the other hand, issued orders to the German States to expel all French Royalists and English subjects irom their 1804 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 115 dominions. The British ambassador at Munich re ceived bis passports. Other German princes has- tened to execute Napoleon's orders. The Austrian Mmister told the French ambassador that his master "understood the necessities of politics." But at the Diet of Eegensburg official protests were raised against Napoleon on the part of Russia and Sweden. Prussia immediately allied herself to Russia in aP^^ggf^^*"^ secret treaty in which both agreed to declare war fiance "on the first encroachment of the French govern- ment upon the States of the North." Napoleoa answered Russia's protest with a cutting allusion to the unpunished death of the late Czar. "The complaint now raised by Russia," he wrote, "leads us to ask whether, when England was meditating the assassination of Paul, if Russia had been informed that the conspirators were assembled one league from her frontier, she would not have hastened to seize them." At the same time Talleyrand was instructed to recall the French ambassador from St. Petersburg. Count D'Ouvril, the Russian am- bassador, was instructed to leave Paris unless four tum to"" France points were granted: 1. The French evacuation of Naples. 2. A convention on Italian affairs. 3. An indemnity for the King of Sardinia. 4. French evacuation of Northern Germany. These demands were not granted. "I do not wish for war," wrote Napoleon, "but I do not fear it with any one. . . . I will suffer no interference in France." For the moment, France was allowed to accom- plish her own destiny. On May 18, Napoleon ac- cepted the French Senate's offer of hereditary em- 115 A HISTORY OF THE May 1804 Napoleon maide Emperor Bona, parte'a Lieuten- ants Re- warded pire. Cambacer^s, the regicide, first saluted him with the title of Majesty. "I accept," said Bona- parte, "the title which you believe to be useful to the glory of the nation. I hope that France will never repent of the honors with which she endows my family. At all events, ray spirit will no longer be with my posterity on that day when they shall cease to merit the love and confidence of la grande nation." A procession of Senators, accompanied by trumpets and kettledrums, announced the event to the people of Paris. The act was ratified by means of lists to which the people signed their names. The affirmative votes numbered 3,572,329, as against 2,509 negatives. The succession was to be in the male line, the Emperor having the privilege of adopting the children of his brothers, in default of which, or of direct issue, the crown was to go to Joseph and Louis Bonaparte. The consular constitution was amended by an imperial decree. Cambacdr^s and Lebrun, the two outgoing consuls, were made arch-chancellor and arch-treasurer. Na- poleon's two brothers became grand elector and grand constable. Their sisters were princesses. Eighteen marshals of the empire were created. They were Murat, Mass€na, Kellerman, Soult, Brun, Lannes, Ney, Money, Jourdan, Augereau, Bernadotte, Mortier, Davoust, Bessidres, Junot, Le Febvre, Perignon and Lessurier. Of the illustrious leaders of the Army of the Rhine, none were hon- ored. Moreau was disgraced, and Lecourbe, hia right hand, with Macdonald, had to shun Pans. Moreau 's house and estate were given to two ot 1804 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 117 Napoleon's generals. A new nobility was created and the Order of the Legion of Honor was enlarged. An imperial court was established at the Tuileries. "Whoever," says Madame de Stael, in speaking ^^«°c|> j of these days and events, "could suggest an addi- ^''"^"^''^ tional piece of etiquette from the olden time, pro- pose a new reverence, a novel mode of knocking at the door of an antechamber, a more ceremonious manner of presenting a petition or folding a letter, was regarded as a benefactor of the human race. The code of imperial etiquette is the most remark- able authentic record of human baseness that the history of the world contains." The new dyrasty was recognized at "Vienna and Berlin. Two months after the assumption of the imperial title by Napoleon, Francis II. of Austria Austria ■•^ ./ I ' made an raised the dominions of the House of Hapsburg to^™P"* the dignity of an empire in place of the dismem- bered ancient German empire, of which he had been the nominal head. In distant Hayti, the negro leader, Dessalines, assumed the title of Emperor Jean Jacques I. His neighbors, the people of the United States, viewed these proceedings with indifierence. The interminable naval warfare between Great Britain and France had increased American shipping nearly fivefold. The little war against the Barbary pirates still lingered on, and several attempts were made by Commodore Preble in the Mediterranean to bring Pasha Yusuf of Tripoli to terms by bombarding his harbors. Finally General Eaton, the American Con- sul at Tunis, brought about an alliance between the 118 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1806 American forces and those of Ilamet, who was then commanding an army of Mamelukes against the Turks in Upper Egypt. From the other side, Turkey was threatened by the Servians, who threw off the Turkish rule under the leadership of Czerny Georgos. Af^xander "^^ homc the American people had been deeply Hamilton gj^Qcij-ed by the killing of Alexander Hamilton, the great Federalist, in a duel with Vice-President Burr. President Jefferson's first term was draw- ing to a close. Aaron Burr, who had been defeated in obtaining the Presidency the last time, foresaw that Jefferson would be renominated, and that he would fail again. While holding the office of Vice- President, he became a candidate for the governor- ship of New York, hoping to strengthen thereby his candidacy for the Presidency. The powerful influence of Hamilton prevented Burr's election. Burr sought a quarrel with Hamilton and chal- lenged him to a duel. On the morning of July 11, on the heights of the Hudson, opposite New York, he shot Hamilton dead after Hamilton had declined to fire. Duelling came into disfavor in America from that day. Burr was indicted for murder and sought refuge in the South. After the expiration Aaron Burr o o r Disgraced ^f jjjg Vicc-Presidcncy, he conceived a plan to found a Western Empire composed of the southernmost States of the Union and Mexico. Thomas Jefferson was re-elected. By the death of Alexander Hamilton, America lost one of her great statesmen. He was bom in the West Indies of English and French parentage. 1804 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY US Having been sent to school in New York, he joined the American Revolution at the age of seventeen. He served early in the Revolutionary war as a cav- alry officer and later on General Washington's staff. At the end of the war he married the daughter of General Schuyler. Next he served in the Conti- nental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. Soon he became the leader of the Federal party in New York. Of the eighty-five papers in the ° "^ ^ ^ .The Feder. "Federalist," more than fifty were written by him. aiistPaperc In 1789 he entered Washington's Cabinet as Secre- tary of the Treasury. When war broke out with France, he was made Inspector-General. In poli- tics he was the opponent both of Jefferson and Burr. Another famous man who died during this year^l*'^'^^*^ was Immanuel Kant, the great German philosopher. His metaphysical doctrines belonged to a closely connected system of reasoning begun by Hume and ended by Hegel. As an ethical thinker he first achieved fame at Konigsberg in 1781. The existence of an authoritative moral law (his so- called "categorical imperative"), he contended, im- plied immortality of the soul and the existence of a power above. The theory is best put forward in Wordsworth's famous "Ode to Duty." Kant's teachings excited persistent controversies through- out Germany. His doctrines were summed up in his "Critique of Pure Reason" (1781), "Critique of Practical Reason" (1787), and "Critique of the Faculty of Judgment" (1790). When this philoso- pher died, it could be said of him that the whole of his life had conformed to his teachings. 120 A HISTORY OF THE Dec.iSM Id contrast to this, the latest utterances of Napo. leon conflicted oddly with his acts. On December 1, the French Senate presented to Bonaparte the re- sults of the plebiscite by which he was elected Em- peror. Next day Napoleon and his wife, Joseph- ine were solemnly crowned as Emperor and Em- press in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Pope Pius ?rcwi^° VII. officiated. When the Pope reached for the mperor ^,j,q^^ Napolcon snatchcd it out of his hands and placed it on his own head. In his first imperial proclamation to the Senate, Napoleon said: "If death do not overtake me in the midst of my en- terprises, I hope to leave to posterity a memory which shall serve forever either as an example or as a reproach to my successors. ... I do not de- sire to increase the territory of the Empire. I have no ambition to exert influence in Europe. No other State shall be incorporated in the Empire under my rule." Eef erring to his foreign relations he said: "The spirit of Catherine the Great will watch over aglfifst the counsels of Alexander. He will remember that, Kussia situated far from France as he is, he could neither reach us nor disturb our peace." The close of this year was marked by an absolute rupture between Spain and Great Britain, Spain had been in a measure compelled to purchase peace from France by the payment of a large subsidy, the amount of which was kept carefully concealed from the British Cabinet. When the facts were learned, the English Minister In Madrid remon- strated against the payment of such money. It was not long after discovered that a squadron of 1804 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 121 Spanish line-of-battle ships were equipped and ready to sail for Ferrol, where a French fleet awaited their junction, and that the Spanish ves- sels would put to sea the moment that four Spaa-g^. ish frigates, with the subsidy on board in specie, |?ealure should arrive from America. The British Cabinet '''^ immediately issued orders to Lord Nelson in the Mediterranean, Lord Cornwallis on the Brest sta- tion, and Admiral Cochrane off Ferrol, to prevent the sailing of both the French and Spanish squad- rons; they also directed each of the three naval commanders to detach two frigates to cruise off Cadiz, and intercept the homeward-bound treasure- ships of Spain. Four of the six British frigates soon fell in with the four Spanish ships off Cadiz. The Spanish commodore declined to submit to aa equal force, and a naval engagement was fought. It ended in the blowing up of one of the Spanish ships, and the capture of the other three, with ten millions of dollars on board. The capture of these frigates, before any formal announcemen : of hostilities, produced the result which might have been anticipated; to wit, asnaind©- declaration of war by Spain against Great Britain. onEngiamfl XlXth Century— Vol. 1— t 122 A BISTORY OF THE Jan. 1806 1805 IT has remained a subject for conjecture to this day whether Napoleon's preparations for invading England were serious or intended only as a feint. At all events he proceeded so earnestly at Boulogne that all the world anxiously awaited the blow. . To Napoleon it afforded an excellent excuse for keep- ing large bodies of troops on their feet ready for Napoleon's iustaut action. It was at this time that Napoleon Eeforma perfected his new military system. He divided his army, in the first instance, into corps of from twenty to thirty thousand men, each of which was intrusted to a marshal of the Empire. Again he separated these corps into four or five divisions, under the command of generals who received their orders from the marshal. In this way, ths generals be- came familiar with the qualities of their officers and the officers with the capacity and disposition of their men; an esprit de corps was formed, not only among the officers of the same regiment, but among those of the same division and corps. Early in January, after Admiral Villeneuve had suc- ceeded in taking a French squadron out of Toulon past the ever-watchful cruisers of Great Britain, only to be pursued to the West Indies by Nelson — Napoleon explained to his privy council that 1805 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 123 the Boulogne encampment was maintained but to hoodwink the continental neighbors of France. He justified his expenditure of thirty million francs, for twenty thousand artillery horses and the like, by the fact that he was now able to throw an army into the field within twenty days France ready for — one month earlier than Austria could mobilize instant Mobilize* her artillery. Yet the preparations at Boulogne'^''"' were so thorough that Napoleon could afford to bide his time for a favorable opportunity to make a dash across the Channel after all. Whichever way he turned he did not mean to be caught nap- ping. When Austria, under the promise of more sub- sidies from England, started to reorganize her ar- tillery service, Napoleon curtly told the Austrian ambassador in Paris that he and his marshals looked ^°J,ngiated^ the Prussian territory of Anspach, joined Marmont. Thirty thousand soldiers of the Southern German States threw themselves into the arms of the first comer. This swelled the French army to 200,000 men. By the time the Austrians threw an ill- mobilized advance force of 60,000 into Bavaria, the soldiers of Bavaria and Wurtemberg had already joined the French at Stuttgart. Bernadotte occu- pied Munich. 1805 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 129 The Austrian general, Mack, stood at Ulm with 45,000 men waiting for the 50,000 Eussians under Kutusov, who were to reach him by October 10. The Russians were several days behindhand. Mean- while the French with four army corps crossed the Danube nearly a week before they were expected, ^oss^'the The left wing of the Austrians was turned and the- Austrian forces in the Tyrol were thus cut off. Bernadotte's and Key's divisions pushed in between General Mack and the slowly advancing Russians, Army^° while Marmont swung around to the Austrian rear. Ney, Soult and Lannes advanced their three army corps from Donauwoerth, while Murat, with his cavalry, made a dash along the banks of the Dan- ube. The concerted movement was executed by Napoleon's seven marshals with admirable pre- cision. Ney rolled up the Austrians under Arch- duke Ferdinand at Gunzburg and again at Elchin- Eichlngel* rni 1 1 • en- i-i i Memmin- gen. Three thousand prisoners tell into his bands, gea Soult overran Augsburg and took Memmingen, with 4,000 prisoners. Murat overtook General Wer- neck's battalions marching out of Ulm and threw them back into the city, taking 3,000 prisoners. From all sides the Austrians were thrown into Ulm. There they were completely surrounded by over- whelming numbers, and, as it were, suffocated. On October 20, Mack surrendered with 23,000 Austri- guj.rgn^gj, ans, without ever a chance to fight a pitched battle. Napoleon could write to Josephine: "During all the days of the week I have been drenched with rain and my feet have been nearly .frozen. To-day I have had some rest. I have ful« 130 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1806 tilled my designs. I have destroyed the Austrian army by simple marches. I have taken 60,000 prisoners, 120 guns, 90 flags, and more than 30 general officers. I am content with my army. We have lost but 1,500 men, two-thirds of whom are merely wounded. I now go in pursuit of the Kus- sians. They are undone. Adieu, my Josephine. One thousand loving words to you." On the day after this brilliant success the French arms elsewhere suffered irretrievable disaster. Before quitting France, Napoleon had given orders for the French fleet to enter the Mediterranean to help the French army under St. Cyr to strike at Naples. ^^aoed^ At the same time there was to be a change of com- mand. "As Villeneuve's excessive pusillanimity will prevent him from undertaking this," wrote Napoleon to Decrds, "we will send to replace him Admiral Rosily, who will bear letters directing Villeneuve to return to France and give an account of his conduct." On the approach of Admiral Rosily, Villeneuve, getting wind of his mission, determined to strike a blow on his own behalf. On October 18 he wrote to Decr^s: "I will sail hence to-morrow if circumstances favor." The next day He sails his fleet weighed anchor. Nelson, waiting far out- forth for . • /~,-\ Battle side, at once made sail- for the Straits of Gibraltar to bar the entrance to the Mediterranean. Early on the morning of October 21 thirty -three French and Spanish ships of the line with live frigates and two brigs headed due south for the Straits. The two British columns were nearly a mile apart, sailing parallel according to Nelson's prearranged plan of 1805 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 131 battle. Nelson was on the "Victory," with seventy- four guns, commanding twelve ships on the right. Collingwood on the "Koyal Sovereign" headed fifteen ships on the left wing. The French and Spaniards steered south in five columns, two of whicb were detached to windward under Admiral Gravina. Cape Trafalgar loomed up twelve miles in the distance. Nelson hoisted the signal: "Eng- land expects every man to do his duty." To the British double column advance the French TrliSgi opposed a long line, close-hauled, so as to curve away from the point of attack. Admiral Villeneuve was almost in the centre on the "Bucentaure, " an eighty-gun ship, and Vice- Admiral Alava was but a few ships from him on the "Santa Anna." Both British columns made for the middle of the French line, Nelson's flagship heading for the "Bucen- taure," while Collingwood made a dash for the "Santa Anna." "Let us do something to-day that the world will talk of hereafter," said Collingwood. So far did the "Koyal Sovereign" outsail, or rather •^ ° Colling- outdrift, the rest of the fleet, that Collingwood en-^oodo^ens tered the enemy's fire three-quarters of a mile ahead of the rest at noon. For fully half an hour he had to support the combined fire of the enemy's ships quite alone. "See!" cried Nelson, as he watched his progress, "see how that noble fellow Colling- wood carries his ship into action!" and Collingwood at the same time observed to his officers, "What would Nelson give to be here!" Collingwood's first broadside raked the "Santa Anna" from stern to stem. Her decks ran with blood. Then the "Royal 132 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1805 Sovereign" luffed up close to her chief antagonist, and side by side with the "Santa Anna" she fought off the enemy's ships that closed in upon the two. At last Collingwood's> next-in-line came up with the "Royal Sovereign," and together they sank or cap- tured twelve of Admiral Alava's sixteen ships forming the rear line. Nelson, at the head of his squadron, did not reach the "Bucentaure" Until half an hour after his right wing was in full battle. Nelson's flagship raked the "Bucentaure," but a ship close to leeward blocked her way. A furious "Victory" close-range fight followed between the "Victory" and "Re- doubtable" and the "Redoubtable." The English broadsides were stronger, but the French swept the "Vic- tory's" decks with their musketry. Of the French crew of 643 but 35 were left, and they kept up the fight. At half-past one Nelson was struck by a bullet fired from the Frenchman's rigging. He fell Death of Nelson on the deck mortally wounded. As his ship trem- bled under the thunder of her continued broadsides, Nelson exclaimed: "Ah, Victory, Victory, how thou dost rack my brain." "They have done for me at last," he said. While they carried him down to the cockpit he covered his face and epaulets with a handkerchief, lest the news of his injury should discourage the fighting sailors. When they brought him news that fifteen of the enemy's ships had been taken, he whispered: " 'Tis well, but I bargained for twenty." Lord Nelson died a few moments after the "Achille" and the "Intrepide" had blown up. Perez Galdos, in his "Episodios Nacionales," has i805Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 133 given a realistic picture of the scenes within the^^^^^^.^ gloomy recesses of the great Spanish four-decker, ''^°^"^'"'* "Santissima Trinidad," as the British ships hung on her flanks and wasted her with their fire: "The English shot had torn our sails to tatters. It was as if huge invisible talons had been dragging at them. Fragments of spars, splinters of wood, thick hempen cables cut up as corn is cut by the sickle, fallen blocks, shreds of canvas, bits of iron, and hundreds of other things that had been wrenched away by the enemy's fire, were piled along the deck, where it was scarcely possible to move about. From moment to moment men fell — some into the sea; and the curses of the combatants mingled with groans of the wounded, so that it was often difiicult to decide whether the dying were blaspheming God particu- or the nghters were calbng upon Him tor aid. 1 Fight helped in the very dismal task of carrying the wounded into the hold, where the surgeons worked. Some died ere we could convey them thither; others had to undergo frightful operations ere their worn-out bodies could get an instant's rest. It was much more satisfactory to be able to assist the car- penter's crew in temporarily stopping some of the holes torn by shot in the ship's hull. . . Blood ran in streams about the deck; and, in spite of the sand, the rolling of the ship carried it hither and thither until it made strange patterns on the planks. The enemy's shot, fired, as they were, from very short range, caused horrible mutilations. . . The ship creaked and groaned as she rolled, and through a thousand holes and crevices in her strained hull Capture Villeneuve 134 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1805 the sea spurted in and began to flood the hold. The 'Trinidad's' people saw the commander-in-chief haul down his flag; heard the 'Achille' blow up and hurl her six hundred men into eternity; learned that their own hold was so crowded with wounded that no more could be received there. Then, when all three masts had in succession been brought crashing down, the defence collapsed, and the 'San- tissima Trinidad' struck her flag." When the i'rench flagship struck, she was taken possession of by a tiny boat's crew from the "Conqueror," consisting of three marines and two sailors. The ^j marine officer coolly locked the powder magazine of the Frenchman, put the key in his pocket, left two of his men in charge of the surrendered "Bucentaure," put Villeneuve and his two captains in his boat with his two marines and himself, and pulled off in search of the "Conqueror." In the smoke and confusion, however, he could not find that ship, and so carried the captured French ad- miral to the "Mars." French Bv two in the afternoon the enemy's fleet was cut and Span- '' •' ish losses JQ ^^Q^ Altogether the French and Spaniards lost eighteen ships. At five in the evening Admiral Gravina retreated to Cadiz with the remnants of the allied fleet. Only five French ships got away. Admiral Villeneuve and the Spanish Rear- Admiral Cisneros were taken prisoners. Admiral Gravina and Rear- Admiral Alava were wounded, and the French Rear- Admiral was killed. Villeneuve, later, Jdmmfil^^ committed suicide. Four of the French ships that escaped shortly afterward fell a prey to the British MOB Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 135 off Cape Vilano. After a four hours' fight between Commodore Strachan and the French Rear- Admiral, Dumarois, thej struck their colors. Napoleon took pains to suppress all reports of this disastrous battle in France. In a subsequent message to the Corps Legislatif he thus referred to it: "We have lost some ships by storm after a battle imprudently undertaken." As a matter of fact the battle of Trafalgar at one stroke destroyed iDgTe^su*it» , c o • 1 r n T ofTrafal- the sea power oi bpam and of Jb ranee. Its conse- gar qnences have lasted to the present day. In Italy the command of a French force number- ing 90,000 men had been given to Massena. The Austrians confronted him with their strongest army numbering 75,000 under Archduke Charles. FaceJuiy"* to face, on the opposite banks of the Adige, the two armies waited only for the signal of attack. Massena, hearing how favorable matters stood in Germany, resolved to strike simultaneously with Napoleon. On October 18 he crossed the Adige, but encountered such a murderous fire from the Austrian trenches that, after securing a lodgment, he had to fall back. On October 20 the French army crossed the river a second time and stormed the heights of Valpantena and St. Michael amid great slaughter. On October 30, upon the news of the surrender of Ulm, Massdna attacked very vigor- ously all along the line. A bloody battle followed at Caldiero, in which both sides suffered severely, gattie oe ' -^ Caldiero In the end 3,000 Austrians were made prisoners. A detached column of 5,000 under Hillinger like- wise had to surrender to the French. Archduke 136 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. 1805 Charles, after obtaining a short armistice, fell back and began a steady retreat toward Vincenza and Venice. The French followed step by step. All attempts to reinforce him from the Tyrol were frustrated. In Germany, Napoleon followed up the surrender of Mack by sending his cavalry under Murat after the detached Austrian battalions, with instructions to come in touch with the approaching Russian column. Kutusov, the Russian general, fell back over the Danube. Murat failed to engage him, but Capture of pushcd ou to pluck the easy prize of Vienna. His Vienna ' victorious squadrons rode through Vienna on No- vember 13. As a result of this tactical mistake on the part of Napoleon's brother-in-law, Mortier's ad- vance columns under General Gazan were almost annihilated by the Russians. Murat received peremp- tory orders to leave Vienna and attack the Russians on their right flank in Moravia. In a stubborn fight at HoUabrunn the Russian general, Bagration, held the French long enough to prevent the Russian flank from being turned. The Russian reserve of 45,000, Allies Join uudcr Gcucrals Bennigsen and Essen, came up and joined forces with Kutusov and the remnants of the Austrian armies. Napoleon, standing at Brunn with 80,000, found himself confronted by an army of 100,000 allies. To protect his flanks. Napoleon had to extend his array far into Bohemia, Hungary, and down to the Alps. Behind him in Italy, Rus- sian and British forces had landed at Naples to throw the French out of Taranto. At this critical moment the Prussian prime minis- I I forces 1805 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 187 ter, Voa Haugwitz, appeared at Napoleon's head- Tiireat- quarters. By way of reparation for Bernadotte'suemauds march through Prussian Ansbach, he demanded immediate evacuation of all recent French acquisi- tions. Otherwise Prussia stood ready to join the allies with an army of 180,000 men. As it was, the King of Prussia had already shown his temper by permitting the Russians to march through Prus- sian Silesia. For Napoleon, it became all-important to hold the Prussians off, if only for a few days. To gain this time he sent Von Haugwitz to Talley- rand at Vienna with private instructions to that master of diplomacy to prolong his proceedings with the inconvenient envoy as long as he possibly could. In the interval all might be won by a bold stroke of fortune. In the camp of the allies the youthful Czar of^'ex- '■ '' ancier 8 ■; Russia felt equally impatient. Alexander burned ^^ip®'"*'" to measure his imperial generalship against that of the Corsican upstart, and, forthwith. General Weyrother was ordered to draw up a plan of battle. The allies, in their plan of attack, meant to turn the right flank of the French army, to cut them off from Vienna and drive them to the Bohemian mountains. They sought to effect this by one of the most hazardous operations in war — a flank march in column in front of a concentrated enemy — and that enemy Napoleon. Accordingly, early on December 1, they moved forward in five columns obliquely across the French position, while the re- serve, under Grandduke Constantine, occupied the heights in front of Austerlitz. The moment that Measures 188 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1806 Napoleon- saw this manoeuvre undertaken, he ex- claimed, "That army is mine!" co^t^° ^ His vanguard was at once withdrawn to lure on the Rassians. For the sake of better concentration, Napoleon fell back behind Brunn, where Bernadotte and Davoust could the more readily join him with their army corps. The Russians harassed the right flank of the French. To detach the Russian forces still further, Napoleon, on the eve of battle, ex- tended the end of his right flank in the direction of Tellnitz. The Russian general fell into the trap. While turning the distant French flank he denuded the centre of the allied battle line. Napoleon had planned to strike the allies in their weak centre. The better to accomplish his purpose he meant to take them by surprise. Upon the approach of the allies, early next morning, Marshal Soult, who held the French centre, was ordered to fall back from the heights of Pratzen. This was done. The Russian vanguard hastened to climb the heights and waited for the rest to come up, while the French concen- trated in the valley below. All was hidden in the mists of winter. At nine o'clock the haze blew away and the sun rose glorious above the heights — the famous "Sun of Austerlitz." It was Napoleon's lucky day, De- cember 2, the date of his coronation. As soon as the fog lifted, Soult's columns dashed up the hill and stormed the heights. The Russian guns, just unlimbering on the crest of the hill of Pratzen, were turned against the allies. At the point of the bayo- net their infantry was driven down the steep slope Austerlitz 1805 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 139 and threw the Russian reserve columns into inde- ^"^*^''*^* scnbable disorder. The struggling mass of allies came under the shot and shell of their own cap- tured batteries on the hill, while the French horse artillery dashed to other points of vantage. The Russian guards made a brave stand in the plain, but they were overwhelmed by Soult's compact corps charging down the hill. Soult pierced the centre and cut the allied army fairly in two. All the French reserve cavalry under Murat crum- pled up the Austrian left wing. For a while the right flank still held its own. The Russian horse- guards repulsed the French grenadiers-a-cheval and cut their way through them to the foot of the emi- nence, where Napoleon stood directing the battle; but the combined forces of Soult, Lannes and Da- voust were too much for them. Napoleon's aide- de-camp, Rapp, was wounded, and the Russian prince, Ruppin, was taken captive during this encounter. Whole battalions were bayoneted by the French. The bridge at Aujezd broke under the weight of fleeing Russians. Other large bodies of allies broke through the ice of Lake Satcha, which was burst by means of French artillery fire. Several thousand were drowned or taken prisoners. Elsewhere six thousand Austrians perished, and 20,000, most of whom were Russians, were taken alive. AH the stores and ammunition of the com- bmed armies fell into Napoleon's hands. "I had previously seen some lost battles," says an eye- witness of this frightful scene, General Langeron, "but 1 had no conception of such a defeat." The 140 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1805 Fi'^'^^r y^^^g Czar wept as he rode away from the scene temw '° of the disaster. After him went all that was left of the Russian army. The Austrian emperor sought out Napoleon at his headquarters and sued for terms. Thus ended the battle of The Three Emperors. ^an^'% Through Von Haugwitz at "Vienna, Prussia, in- ^'■°°*^ stead of attacking Napoleon, entered into a secret treaty with the conqueror at Schoenbrunn. Napo- leon remarked: "Voila un compliment dont la for- tune a changd I'adresse!" Prussia's reward for this change of front was to be the dominion of Hanover. Ten days after the departure of Haug- Peaceof ^^^^ from Vienna, Austria made peace with France Pressburg ^^ Pressburg. Napoleon's threat that his marshals would eat their Christmas dinner in Vienna was ful- filled. Austria had to give up 28,000 square miles of territory, with three and a half million inhabi- Venice tauts. Venice -and Dalmatia went to France; the taken from Austria Tyrol and the free cities of Augsburg and Nurem- berg to Bavaria, which was elevated to a kingdom South together with Wurtemberg. Prussia obtained Haa- German Princes ovcr, but lost Neufchatcl in Switzerland to France, rewarded ' ' and Anspach to Bavaria. The treaty of Pressburg was followed by Napoleon's famous proclamation against the House of Naples: *'We have pardoned," it ran, "that infatuated king, who has thrice done everything to ruin himself. Shall we pardon him a fourth time ? Shall we a fourth time trust a court without faith, without honor, without reason ? No I It is incompatible with the repose of Europe and the honor of my crown." Once more Napoleon 1805 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 141 was master of Europe, with none to dispute hia sway but England. The year 1805 was a sad one for Germany in other respects. During this year the poet Friedrich Schil- ogj^tijo, ler died at Weimar in his forty-fifth year. He was^^'^'"®'' then in the midst of a Eussian historical play, "De- metrius." Schiller was one of the brightest stars of German literature. In his convictions he waa pre-eminently an idealist like Shelley, and, like him, he was a master of lyric expression; and this at a time when the German language was still in an uncouth and crude stage. As a historian, unlike most German scholars, he was distinguished rather by his command of facile and lucid prose than by the thoroughness of his research. Idealist that he was, his philosophical studies made him a clear thinker. Thus, as early as 1794, he gave this fore- cast of the main results of the French Eevolution, then at its height: "The French Republic will pass away as suddenly as it arose. It will pass into an- archy, and this will end in submission to a despot, forecalt^oi Napoleon who will extend his sway over the greater part of Europe." Schiller began his literary career as a revolutionary. While serving as a regimental sur- geon in Stuttgart, he wrote "The Robbers," a wild, rhapsodical play, the performance of which created a tempest in a teapot. Schiller was called to ac- count for it and left Stuttgart as a fugitive. The next few years were spent at Mannheim, Leipsic and Dresden in great poverty. With the aid of his old friend, Koerner, Schiller found his way at last to Weimar, where he was kindly received. Goethe 142 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1805 secured for him an appointment as professor of history at the University of Jena, a post which Schiller held until his death. In his capacity of historian he wrote *'A History of the Revolt of the Netherlands" and an elaborate *' History of the Thirty Years' War," which is still a standard. His last From 1795 to 1800 the poet wrote his finest bal- Works '■ lads and his most finished drama, the trilogy of *' Wallenstein." In the following years, spent mostly at Weimar, he produced "Mary Stuart," *'The Maid of Orleans," "The Bride of Messina," and "William Tell," the last and most successful of his plays. 1806 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 143 1806 ON January 1 of this year the reigning princes of Bavaria and Wurtemberg assumed the royal crown. From Schoenbrunn in Aus- tria Napoleon dictated a decree deposing the Bour- House of bon family in Italy: "La Dynastie de Naples ad&throned cesse de regner." The Queen of Naples fled to Palermo in Sicily, where her court was protected by the guns of British cruisers. In England the opponents of the government opened the year by asking for an inquiry into the causes of the disasters to the British policy abroad "so far as they were connected with the conduct of the Ministry." The motion, though read in both Houses of Parliament, was never bx ought to a vote, owing to the severe illness into which the Prime Min- ister had fallen after the disaster at Austerlitz. On January 23, William Pitt died in the forty-seventh Death of year of his life. The death of Nelson, with the dis- asters of Ulm and Austerlitz, followiog so closely upon one another, were too much for Pitt's failing health. The dying statesman's exhortation to Em- peror Francis, written after the surrender of Ulm, is one of the most soul-stirring appeals to be found in English diplomatic correspondence. "Auster- litz killed Pitt," wrote Wilberforce in his diary. 144 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1808 *' 'Roll up that map,' he said in a hollow voice, as he pointed to a map of Europe which hung upon the wall. 'It will be useless for ten years to come.' " "While in the stupor of death Pitt rallied for a last time. Those that bent over him caught a faint murmur: "My country! How I leave my country!" The bearer of a great name, he had Younger Hiadc it cvcu moro illustrious. During his lifetime acbilve- he exerted a powerful influence over the destinies of cnents his country and of Europe. For twenty-three years he presided over the councils of Great Britain. He showed his chief ability in the management of the internal affairs of his country, particularly in the regulation of its finances. But for his reso- lute creation of a national sinking fund based on the increment of compound interest, England would have been unequal to the financial burdens of her gigantic war against tbe power of Napoleon. The union of Ireland to England was Pitt's crowning stroke. In external affairs he was singularly unfor- tunate. His ^lunt letters to Napoleon are a case in point. Almost all his political reverses came from that source. Had he lived, his recent disastrous foreign policy would probably have foundered his administration before the close of Parliament. Lord Grenville, who succeeded Pitt in office, took Mr. Fox into his cabinet to act as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. For the moment Mr. Fox had to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor. After Pitt's death, Parliament voted a sum of £40,000 to pay the dead statesman's debts, and decreed that he should be buried by the nation in Westminster Abbey. The 1806 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 145 City of London voted to erect a public monument to Fitt at Guildhall. On the same day, the French Senate decreed that a public monument should be erected to "Napo- leon le Grrand." The young Italian sculptor Canova was intrusted with this task. A few days later the last remnants of the French navy under Leiss^gues were destroyed in the bay of San Domingo by aoff^sin*^*^ British squadron, under the command of Admiral °'""*^ Duckworth. After a fierce sea-fight, lasting sev- eral hours, two French ships were blown up and three surrendered. Next, the French Vice- Admiral navli Liuois, returning from India, fell into the hands of the British with one ship of the line and one frigate. The "Cannonni^re," another French ship of the line, was captured olf the Cape of Good Hope. French paralysed commercial shipping was annihilated. Henceforth Napoleon had only his land forces to count on. In the first week of February he sent an army of in- vasion to Naples under Massena, and his brother Joseph was made King of the Two Sicilies. Na- poleon announced it at the opening session of the Corps Legislatif. His address contained the follow- ing characteristic sentences: *'I have avenged the rights of the weaker States. The royal House of Naples has lost its crown for- ever. Italy from end to end now forms a part of our great empire. Frenchmen, I have not been deceived in my hopes. Your love more than the acquisHion of rich territories is my chief glory. Henceforth nothing shall be done that is not es- sential to guarantee the glory and safety of mj peoples." XlXth Century— Vol. 1—7 146 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1808 N^apoieoa's Simultaneously with this, Joseph Bonaparte, very K^s^*^ much against his will, was proclaimed King of Na- ples and Sicily. Napoleon's other brothers, Louis and Jerome, were likewise disposed of. Louis, in the face of his protest, was selected for the throne of Holland. "If you have not been consulted in this affair," wrote Napoleon to his brother, "it was because a subject cannot but obey." Jerome, who had married a Miss Patterson of Baltimore, was ordered to give up his wife and child to marry a princess of Wurtemberg, with whom to reign over the projected kingdom of Westphalia. When Pope threatened Pi '^s VII. demurred to this divorce, Napoleon wrote brusquely: "Your Holiness is sovereign of Rome, but I am her Emperor. . . I am accountable to God, who has chosen my arm to re-establish relig- ion. . . It is not by sleeping that I have reorgan- ized religion in France in such a manner that there is no other country in which it is productive of so much good, or where it is so much respected." To his cousin, Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon wrote: "I do not intend the court of Rome to mix longer in poli- tics; I shall inform the Pope in a very few words. If he does not acquiesce, I shall reduce him to the same condition in which he was before Charle- magne." Napoleon's stepson, Eugene Beauharnais, married Princess Augusta of Buvaria and was made Prince of Upper Italy, while her former betrothed was united by force to Stephanie de Beauharnais, Napoleon's mistress. To this system of grand fiefs Napoleon's Napolcou added a number of lesser sovereignties rewarded ^j^^^j)^ ]^q distributed at will among his relatives and 1806 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 147 favorites. His sister Elise received Lucca and Piom- bino; Pauline Bonaparte obtained the Duchy of Guastalla; Marshal Berthier got the Principality of Neufchatel; Murat was made Grandduke of Cloves- Berg; Lebrun became Duke of Piacenza; Berna- dotte received Ponte-Oorvo, and Talleyrand, the former bishop, became Prince of Benevento. The Venetian States alone formed twelve additional fiefs. Napoleon's most gifted brother, Lucien, alone held out. He had angered his brother by marry- ing Madame Jouberteau, a lively lady of Paris, at a time that Napoleon wished him to marry the Queen of Etruria. "I wish to place all my brothers on thrones," wrote Napoleon, "yet you, who ought to second my wishes, whom I love, your only delight consists in running after this woman." Several attempts at reconciliation failed. Finally, when one of Napoleon's go-betweens proposed tc Lucien to make peace with his brother by putting ^^^^^^ away his wife "at least for a time," Lucien ended defiant''^'* all negotiations in a letter which ended with the famous line: "I glory, sir, in being ignorant of the language which you employ." After this Lu- cien was expatriated. During the war of 1805 the internal affairs of France were going from bad to worse. The annual expenses for the year 1805, according to Gaudin's reports, were 894,000,000 francs. On starting for the front of war. Napoleon remarked to bis new minister, Mollien: "Our finances are in a bad state. French It is not here that I can restore them to order. ' ' refwm? After the battle of Austerlitz all this changed. 148 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 180« The enormous French army was quartered outside of France at the expense of other countries. From the contributioDS levied on Austria and Southern Germany a "Caisse militaire" was formed and in- trusted to Mollien for the especial benefit of the soldiers of the empire. Triumphal arches to the army were erected at the Carrousel and the Etoile; the bridge of Austerlitz was laid across the Seme, and columns were raised, cast from the bronze of the enemy's cannons. "The belles-lettres and arts are about to take a soaring flight," wrote JSapoleon, as he issued decrees for the completion of the mu- seum of the Louvre, the restoration of the Pantheon to religious worship, and the construction of a "Tribunal of Commerce" on the site of the Church other in- of La Madeleine. New streets were opened, among ternal re- forms them the handsome Eue Rivoli and Rue de la Paix. The foundation of the new University of France was postponed until later. The most lasting of all these home measures was the great code of civil procedure. It was promulgated a few days after the death of Tronchet, the celebrated legal defender of Louis XVI., who had helped to frame the new code. It went into effect by the end of the year. The Code The "Codc Napolcou," as it has come to be Napoleon called, was so admirably constructed that it soon became the organic law of the land. It swept away the last remnants of feudalism and established the equality of all French citizens before the law. The freedom of divorce, one of the innovations of the French Revolution, was abolished, and in its place came a strict legal recognition of the responsi- S? S » •- 15°^^ * a? '. o in Kj — " ;_r " Sc- ow m o ,4"^ "Jot: SS— '^ 2 ^oe du-°^^||iiojU(3^o 1^-^ ^ '^ !-■ " CQ i-aW -■a§ 0. ^. i^^ — j3 «> Z '2 a .5 2 1 asj3 illl- I? ^ja-a Kt— ;g O C OS ^3 ^ %Z — J- 1- 30 oB Ph^'O e t- 00 § 3 a ^S ■ » .2 ®jqjBT3 l_ >s >^ 5g.2 o " 3 . &§S225|S 2; o^ ^Sogg i-.SlI a».l_.a § c'-'-S^ 3 2 S - ® • • II o^ 'lO* (149) 160 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 180« bilities of the marriage tie and of all family rela- tions. Laws for the dower of daughters and the distribution of property among all the members of the family were established. These laws, while protecting the property rights of women and chil- dren, gave but inadequate recognition to the general rights of woman. This has been declared one of the chief defects of the Code, together with those laws which, by rendering marriage difficult, are believed to have brought about the ultimate depopulation of France. Another grave defect in the Code, which has been attributed partly to the influence of Napo- leon, partly to the fact that the f ramers of the Code understood law better than political economy, are the loose laws concerning workingmen's associa- tions and industrial combinations that were destined to play such an important part in France later in the century. British After the partial accomplishment of these reforms Naval Em- -^ '^ bargo ^1; tiome, Napoleon's attention was drawn once more beyond the borders of France. Prussia's announce- ment of her annexation of Hanover, and the em- bargo laid upon British ships in the North Sea, as stipulated in the treaty of Schoenbrunn, was counteracted by Great Britain's embargo on all Prussian shipping. During the next few weeks, nearly four hundred Prussian ships were taken by the British, but the right of confiscation was not as yet enforced in their case. Not only Prussian and French shipping was made to suffer by British cruisers, but also that of America. A formal pro- test was addressed to Great Britain by President 1806 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 151 Jeiferson, The main points of this State paper are thus summed up in the British Annual Register for IniDrcss- 1806: "Tiie forcible impressment of American sea- ment of American men into the British navy, so the United States ^'^''"'■^ contended, was a practice derogatory to the honor of their flag and inconsistent with their rights as an independent nation. While it lasted, there could be no real friendship between Great Britain and the United States. So intolerable an abuse could not be endured by an independent State unless from inability to resist the injury." Great Britain did not heed the protest. On April 25 the feeling be- tween the two countries was aggravated by the killing of an American seaman named Pierce, byander'^®" a stray shot from the British cruiser "Leander, " within sight of New York. The captain of the "Leander" was permitted to go unpunished. Presi- dent Jefferson issued a proclamation excluding the "Leander" and her two convoys from all harbors of the United States. In New York the citizens held an indignation meeting at the Tontine coffee house, and had the captain of the "Leander" in- dicted for murder. The New York rabble clamored for war. Yet war with England was not to be lightly undertaken. As John Randolph said in one of his speeches at the time: "I will never consent to go to war for that which I cannot protect. I deem it no sacrifice of dignity to say to the Levia- than of the deep: 'We are unable to contend with you in your own element, but if you come within our actual limits, we shall shed our last drop of blood in their defence.' " Finally a treaty was 152 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1808 Attempts draughted between Lords Hollaad and Auckland on at adjust- ^ ™®°' one side and Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney on the other, in which an attempt was made to regulate these abuses. But President JefEerson, finding England's concessions inadequate, withheld his ratification. About the same time that the British squadron before Ivlew York was excluded from American ports of entry, the United States stopped all trade with Hayti. Though this was done at the bid of Napoleon, whose ministers had written that "Com- San Do- '^ mitigoout- nmerce with San Domingo must not continue," the true motive for this unusual measure lay in the Southern slave-holders' execration of the successful revolt of the negroes in San Domingo. The latest outrage in that quarter was a massacre of all the remaining French colonists at Cape Haytien, per- petrated under the orders of Dessalines. In the end the so-called Emperor was himself assassinated. Early in the year the American Secretary of State, Madison, had been seriously embarrassed by an abortive filibustering expedition against Spain. The moving spirit of this enterprise was one Fran- cesco de Miranda, a Spanish revolutionist, who had gained personal access to Madison. Another Ameri- can statesman was more deeply interested in Miran- bitioua da's plots; this was Aaron Burr. Finding Miranda projects too impetuous, Burr dropped him and entered into a project with the British Minister in America and others to separate the Western and Atlantic States and seize Spanish territory in Florida and Mexico wherewith to form a new empire of the South, In 1806 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 153 pursuance of this plan, Burr made a hurried trip through the southwest, and tried to gain adherents to his plans. From Great Britain Burr demanded a promise of naval aid and a credit for £110,000. Burr and his fellow conspirators talked so freely that the plan became known to the Spaniards. Marquis Yrujo, the Spanish Minister, informed his government of all the main details of the plot, which he characterized as "almost insane." Burr's wild scheme at this time was to introduce his fellow con- spirators into Washington and there to seize the cai con- i " spiracy President, Vice-President and president of the Sen- ate, together with the public funds and Capitol defences. With this end in view. Burr made over- tures to General Wilkinson, chief commander of the American army. Commodore Truxtun, and to Gen- eral Eaton, the hero of Derne. Andrew Jackson was likewise approached. President Jefferson, when apprised of the plot, showed himself inclined to give Burr liberal leeway. By midsummer, in 1806, Burr had accomplished all that could be done in the East and betook himself westward. In Ohio, Burr induced Blennerhassett, an Irish gentleman of means, to throw his fortunes in with him. Blenner- hassett started to raise troops and armaments for the enterprise on his island estate. Meanwhile the Spanish Minister had written to the governors of the Spanish Floridas and to the Viceroy of Mexico to keep their eyes on Burr. In Ohio and Kentucky Burr's project for disunion aroused intense opposi- tion. Even one of Blennerhassett's servants frankly said to Burr: "If you come up our way the people 154 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 180« Bu'rTiflied ^^^^ shoot jou!" Firiallj the district-attorney of to court Ohio made formal charges against the conspirators. Burr appeared in court seconded by young Henry Clay and was acquitted. At last President Jefferson took action. On October 22, he ordered gunboats to proceed as far as Fort Adams and called for Burr's arrest upon the commission of any overt act. His letter began in this wise: "During the last session of Congress, Colonel Burr, who was here, finding no hope of being employed in any department of the government, entered into a scheme to separate the Western from the Atlantic States and to erect the former into an independent confederacy." Burr was again arraigned in court, Henry Clay pledged Aaron Burr ^^^ ^^° houor on his fricud's innocence, and Burr acquiLte ^^^ once more triumphantly acquitted by a grand jury. A public ball was given in his honor. Then President Jefferson issued a proclamation against "sundry persons conspiring against Spain," and ordered them and all their property to be seized. The expedition at Blennerhassett's island fled down the river. Burr escaped from Nashville and floated down the Mississippi only to surrender in the end. While the South was still in a turmoil over Burr's enterprise, a peaceful mission, far more last- ing in its effects, had just been accomplished. In Lewis and September, Lewis and Clarke had returned from Kxpior^ a trip of exploration into the new western territory tiOD of the United States apon which President Jefferson had sent them. They had been absent nearly two and a half years, and had travelled over eight thou- sand miles in boats, on horseback and on foot. 1806 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 155 They had worked their way up the Missouri until they reached the gates of the Rocky Mountains near the present city of Helena in Montana. Thence they floated down the Oregon River to the Pacific Ocean. Their full report of their travels was a revelation of the boundless possibilities of the newly acquired territory of Western North America. In the meantime, the war between England and France was lagging on in a half-hearted fashion. Englishmen at home were too much occupied with the impeachment proceedings against Lord Melville vnieim-' 1 111-1- ■ 1 '1- Peaclied on charges that he had misappropriated public funds to take very active interest in matters abroad. Finally Lord Melville was acquitted. Mr. Fox was inclined to enter into more peaceful relations with Napoleon. Thus he sent word to the French Em- peror of a plot for Napoleon's assassination that had been unfolded to him. Talleyrand returned the compliment with a graciously worded message of appreciation. This exchange of courtesies presently ppaol** led to direct parleys on the subject of peace. They °''®'"'^"''®* were carried on through Lord Yarmouth, one of the many British travellers detained in France at the outbreak of hostilities. Talleyrand, speak- ing for Napoleon, expressed his readiness to give up Sicily. While the parleys lasted peace had been made to appear even more desirable to Napoleon by a bloody defeat inflicted upon the French under General Regnier by Sir John Stuart, at St. Euphe- ^atue of mia or Maida, in Calabria. The battle was fought on July 6, between 7,000 Frenchmen on one side 156 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1806 and 4,800 Englishmen on the other. Both sidea advanced to the attack with fixed bayonets, but at the first shock of meeting the French vanguard broke and their whole force was thrown into dis- order. The French lost 4,000 men in the rout, while the English had only 45 men killed and 282 Revoitof wounded. All Calabria rose in revolt against the Calabria ° French, and the province was drenched with blood, until the last of the French garrisons had been driven from the country. The capture of Graeta by Massena more than counterbalanced these reverses. Fall of The surrender of Graeta, after its severe siege under Gaeta the Prince of Hesse, cut off communications with the disaffected northern provinces of the kingdom of Naples. Some 16,000 of the besieging army were set at liberty to act against the Calabrians. With their help, Calabria was finally reduced to subjec- tion, but for many months that part of Italy was plunged into a bloody bandit war. Hordes of galley slaves and convicts under the notorious Fra Diavolo and Pane di Grrande kept up a stubborn struggle. It was waged on both sides with a feroc- ity that recalled the horrors of San Domingo. Napoleon's covert offer to cede Sicily to England was communicated to the reigning house of Spain, the rightful owners of that province. Spain took alarm the more as the enmity of England had been brought home to her by the recent temporary cap- British ture of her South American colony of Buenos Ayres c;iptuie by an English fleet that had been sent to seize the Cape of Good Hope, and by the appearance of a formidable British squadron under Lord St. Vincent Calabrian horrors Buenos Ayres 1806 Summer NINETEENTH HENTURY 157 off Lisbon. Godoy, the Spanish Prime Minister, went to England to negotiate a secret treaty. The Emperor of Russia, whose troops had seized the moath of the Cattaro when the French were about to occupy it, influenced by other counsels, now decided to withdraw his forces. In pursuance Russian peace of this new policy he sent Count D'Ouvril to Paris overtures as a peace commissioner. The conclusion of the preliminaries of the peace with Russia, on August 15, completely changed the tenor of Napoleon's negotiations with Fox. He would no longer hear of yielding Sicily, not even to the Spanish Bour- bons. Instead of that he offered to return Hanover to King George of England. This offer came upon the heels of Napoleon's formal announcement of the confeder*. formation of his new Confederacy of the Rhine. Rhine By the terms of this confederacy, as arranged in July, fourteen German princes seceded from the German Empire and entered into a league with France. Besides the three sovereigns of Bavaria, Wurtemberg and Baden, the new confederation in- cluded the new Prince Arch-Chancellor of Dalberg, the Elector of Hesse-Darmstadt, the Duke of Nas- sau, the French Grandduke of Berg, the Prince of Salm-Salm and others. They entered into a deisn- sive and offensive alliance with France in perpetuity and agreed to furnish an army of 63,000 men to be mcorporated into the French army of 200,000 still standing in Southern Germany. Within a week after this announcement, Francis II. of Austria, who had been despoiled of all his German fiefs, relinquished his vain title of German Emperor, 158 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1800 End of Holy Elo- maa Em- pire Prussia takes alarm The Holy Roman Empire, so-called, was dissolved. The French Minister informed the members of the ancient German Diet that the Emperor, his master, no longer recognized the Germanic constitution, though he recognized the sovereignty of each of the German princes considered individually. The old town of Regensburg, where the Diet met, was ceded to Bavaria. The German princes had been induced to join hands with Napoleon, partly through fear and partly by the new accessions to their realms, which Napoleon consented to grant them. The announcement of this new powerful league caused consternation among those German States that had not been included in it — most of all at Berlin. The King of Prussia had reason to be alarmed. In the north, the King of Denmark seized this opportunity to declare "Holstein for- ever separated from the German Empire," and an- nexed it to Denmark. More alarming still were the significant manoeuvres of the French army evacu- ating Austria. When the French columns left Bo- hemia and Moravia, they did so in oblique marches that brought them between the Palatinate and the banks of the Weser. This placed General Augereau, with a French reserve corps, at Frankfort, a conven- ient central position. An official betrayal of Napo- leon's offer of Hanover to England brought matters to a point. Prussia began to mobilize her army. Russia, taking alarm at the French preparations for a northward move, on August 15 broke off all proposals for peace. England, through her ambas- sador at Berlin, confirmed the report of Napoleon's i806Au-ust NINETEENTH CENTURY 169 Hanoverian bargain. This put an end to all peace negotiations between Talleyrand and Fox. It was the last stroke in Fox's career. He died on Septera- Fox ber 13. Thus, within a few months after his illus- trious rival, another of the most eminent statesmen of England passed away. The most prominent feature of this great man's character was his love of liberty and hatred of oppression. Napoleon ascribed England's change of policy to the death of Fox. To anticipate the inevitable coalition forming against him, Napoleon issued an ultimatum to Prussia. He refused to evacuate Ger- timatum'to many unless Prussia agreed to put a stop to the mobilization of her array. Failing to receive a sat- isfactory reply by October 8, he threatened immedi- ate hostilities. In Germany public opinion, long pent up, burst forth in great violence against Napo- leon. His destruction of the Holy Roman Empire had wounded German patriotic sensibilities. Popu- lar murmurs arose and patriotic pamphlets against the French appeared on all sides. One of these, entitled "Germany in the Depths of Degradation," the work of Genz, was published by Palm, a book- seller of Nuremberg. On August 6, Napoleon wrote to Berthier: "My cousin, you have, I pre- sume, arrested the booksellers of Augsburg and Nuremberg. I intend them to be brought before a military commission and shot within twenty-four hours." In obedience to these instructions Palm Executi«n of Palm was at once arrested and shot. The unfortunate bookseller met death with a simple fortitude that made him a popular martyr among his countrymen. 160 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 180» ^Ber^n'*^ Id German song and story public feeling against the French rose high. In Berlin the war party, headed by Queen Louise, got the upper hand. The officers of the guards whetted their swords on the stone steps of the French embassy. Philosophical writers like Fichte and popular poets like Arndt stirred up the people by their appeals to patriotism. The Prussian regular army, proud of its achievements under Frederick the Great, burned to prove its met- tle against the foreign invaders. Only Freder- ick William III., the King of Prussia, hesitated. While he took council with his cautious Cabinet, Napoleon Napolcon hurricd to Mainz at the rate of sixty goes to the ^ *' front miles a day. From there he flew to the front at Carlsruhe. The hostile forces stood facing each other in central Germany. The Prussian army numbered 130,000 men, under the command of the aged Duke of Brunswick, with a staff of inexperienced princes and old officers like Mollendorf, grown gray in ser- vice. The soldiers were armed and drilled accord- ing to the precepts in vogue at the time of Freder- ick the Great. They were well disciplined, but had no other incentive to drive them on but brutal cor- poral punishment. Promotion from the ranks was unheard of. All the officers' commissions were held by the nobles. The French army, on the other hand, was commanded by youthful officers through- out. Every man in the ranks was made to feel that he carried a marshal's baton in his knapsack. Na- poleon had taken pains to eqaip all the branches of the service with the most modern arms and ac- Conserva- tism of Prussian army 1806 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 161 coutrements. Under the stress of constant active ^'■^"ch artny up- service in the field, the whole French army had ^*^'^'''^® been reorganized from top to bottom. Everything down to ordinary tactics had been brought up to date. In strategy, Napoleon and his marshals could be presumed to be immeasurably superior to their antagonists. To the French leaders advancing from campaign to campaign the art of war had become almost second nature. Where their opponents de- liberated, they acted. All were firm believers in Napoleon's maxim: "The strength of an army, like the power in mechanics, is estimated by mul- tiplying the men by the rapidity. A rapid advance augments the morale of the army, and increases its means of victory. Press on!" The events of" the next few weeks made all this plain. The Prussians, Prussian ^ ' liilatoiy instead of taking the offensive, as was counselled *^^"*^ by Scharnhorst, one of their few young generals, remained in their original position on the banks of the Saale. There they waited for the commence- ment of hostilities. On October 6, three days be- fore the expiration of the period set in Napoleon's ultimatum, six French army corps advanced simul- taneously into Saxony. They marched in the form of a large square. The Prussian general, Bliicher, commanding a detached corps of Prussians, made haste to join the main army. The Prussian reserve, under Prince Eugene of Wurtemberg, moved too late to catch up in time. On October 7, Napoleon was in Amberg. In contemptuous allusion to the blunders of the old Prussian generals he said, "They will make frightful fools of themselves, those old 162 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 18O6 Napoleon's wigg/ ' The ncxt day the French army made a advance j-^pid advance in three divisions. By their move- ments the left wing of the Prussians was exposed to the attack of the whole French army. While the vanguard of the Prussians fell back, the extreme end of the left flank was turned by the French. Davoust, with 33,000 men, overran the Prussian stores at Hof, and made for their base of supplies at Naumburg. The Prussians met the concerted French advance by advancing their central army corps under Prmce ing fight" Hohenlohe. On October 9, the two vanguards came in touch. Marshal Lannes, by forced marches, brought his whole army corps to bear down upon the firing line. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia advanced with a brigade of crack cavalry over the bridge at Saalfeld. His troopers, proud of their former prowess, ("were eager to distinguish them- selves. The French fell upon them in overwhelm- ing number. The Prussians put up a furious fight, but were overthrown and utterly routed. Prince Death or Louis Ferdinand was killed in action. With him Louis Fer- dmand fg^j gj^. hundred of his troopers. "Diable! That will make an impression upon them!" said Lannes, when they showed him the dead prince, riddled ■with bullets. As soon as Napoleon arrived in Gera, he divined ihe position of the Prussian army, and gave orders to his marshals to swing their divisions around to the west, while advancing north toward the Prus- sian flank. By October 12, Murat's cavalry had already penetrated to Naumburg, the Prussian base 1806 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 163 of supplies. Threatened in their rear, the Prussian Prussian •^r » base of general staff was seized with consternation. After caffld endless consultation, they decided to retreat. By the time they came to this decision, Davoust's corps had already passed the dangerous defiles of Koesen and was advancing toward the Prussian centre. Further back, near Weimar, marched General Kue- chel with 30,000 Prussians, while Prince Hohen- lohe's former van was transformed into a rear- guard, covering the Prussian retreat. On the night of October 13, Napoleon, from the crest of the Landgrafenberg, beheld the camp fires of the Prussian rearguard at Jena. He determined to strike on the morrow. All that night was spent in getting the French artillery up the Landgrafen- berg. Napoleon himself lighted the way with a torch. Lannes's corps hastened to occupy the foot- hills. Bernadotte's advance corps was despatched parallel with the Prussian line of retreat. Ney and Soult hurried up in all-night marches, to fill the place left by Bernadotte's division, while Murat's cavalry was summoned from afar. All night long endless columns of troops were toiling to reach the firing line. At last Napoleon snatched a few hours of sleep at one of the camp fires. At dawn he was up and rode with Lannes through the lines. The soldiers, shivering in the ranks, waited impatiently for the command to advance. Under cover of the morning mist the army was ranged in final battle order. The guards remained stationed at Napo- leon's headquarters. At six in the morning, Lannes's corps poured down J.04 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1806 Prussian leaders deceived Battle of Jeaa the hillsides. The Prussians, who had watched the distant torchlights flickering up and down the Land- grafenberg all night long, were ready for the fight. The whole vanguard came under fire. Prince Ho- henlohe believed he had but one French army corps to deal with and determined to crush it with his whole force. Lannes's corps suifered severely. Of the other French divisions only that of Ney was within striking reach. At noon, Prince Hohenlohe thought victory was sure and sent this despatch to General Ruechel in his rear. "Send all the force you can to the chief point of attack. At this mo- ment we beat the enemy at all points. My cavalry has captured some of his cannon." Napoleon was on the point of throwing his guards into the battle when Ney's main army descended upon the Prus- sians, and Soult also came into action with his vanguard. Ney's men stormed the hamlet of Vier- zehnheiligen. Soult crumpled up the Prussian left wing and threw the disordered Prussians under the fire of the French batteries stationed on the Land- grafenberg. Hohenlohe realized that he was losing the battle. He despatched an aide-de-camp to Eue- chel with this message: "Lose not a moment in ad- vancing with your yet unbroken troops! Arrange your columns that through their openings may pass the broken strands of the battle. Be ready to re- ceive the fierce charge of the enemy's cavalry which is overwhelming our infantry, cavalry and artil- lery." Hohenlohe's situation was made still worse by the entry of Augereau's corps in the line of battle. General Sujet broke through the woods J806 0ct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 166 of Isslerdorf and cut off the Saxon guards on the line of retreat to Weimar. They alone lost 6,000 prisoners. At last Euechel marched on from Weimar with 20,000 reserves. They were thrown into confusion by the disordered retreat of their comrades. It was now four in tlie afternoon. Napoleon saw that the decisive moment had arrived. He ordered Murat's cavalry, which had just come up from its all-night ride, to charge the Prussians. Twelve thousand horsemen dashed down the slope straight into the confused masses of Prussian infantry. Everything went down before them. The battle was over. Murat's squadrons chased the fleeing Prus- sians along the road to Weimar. The rest of the French army followed. At dusk the French horse- men met the straggling hordes of the Prussian main army, which had gone to pieces at Auerstaedt. While the Prussian right and centre were thusf^"H°'^* " Auerstaedt engulfed, their left, under the personal command of the King, his aged field-marshal, the Duke of Brunswick, and General Mollendorf, were en- gaged by Davoust's division. The loss of the Prussian supplies at Naumburg had left most of the troops without provisions. Many of the sol- diers had eaten nothing for the last two days, and Bliicher's cavalry had to go without fodder. Early in the morning, while Napoleon was attacking at Jena, General Schmettau was sent forward to se- cure the mountain passes of Koesen. The Prussian squadrons found they were too late. Fighting began at Hassenhausen. Hidden under a heavy mist, the 166 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. I80fl Auerst^'dt ^''®°®^ vanguard appeared as a formidable army, the more so since the French infantry, forming in squares, fought oft' the first fierce onslaughts of the Prussian cavalry. In the fog and confusion, several batteries of Prussian horse artillery were ditched. The main body of the Prussian cavalry under Blucher now tried a general assault, but in the haze their horses were hindered by the roughness of the country. The incessant fire of the French skirmishers created havoc among them. They never got within sabre-reach of the French. In the confusion some squadrons came under the fire of the Prussian batteries posted on their flank. They raised a cry of treason and galloped to the rear. On the extreme right the Prussian dragoons suc- ceeded in flanking the French, but the Prussian infantry was so slow to follow that Davoust had time to throw his reserves under Morand into the intrenched village of Hassenhausen. Here the French held off the Prussian infantry. At last the fog lifted and the generals on both sides could see how the battle stood. The Duke of Brunswick brought some field batteries into action, but their scanty ammunition gave out. In exasperation, the aged field-marshal ordered a general assault, and himself took the lead. Riding at the head of the famous regiment of which the late Prince Louis had been the colonel, the old general could be seen by the entire battle front charging into the French. The whole Prussian line followed. Their vanguard got into the village, but were shot to pieces in the 1806 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 167 churchyard, la the thick of the charge the Duke^^^t-hof of Brunswick fell, shot through the head. The^'^""^"'^'''' Prussian ranks were disheartened bj a report that their King had been killed. At this point, Davoust made a counter-attack with all his cavalry. The Prussians broke and fell back under a heavy artil- lery fire. At Auerstaedt they came to a standstill, and the reserves were called into battle. It was nearly noon. The King of Prussia himself assumed command. As he rode through the lines the Prus- sian ranks raised a cheer and rallied. Davoust's third division, under Friant, was trying to outflank the Prussians on the left near Poppel. Past this village ran the highway to Weimar, the Prussian line of retreat. The King took alarm and threw his reserves under Arnim in the direction of Poppel. This weakened the Prussian line at Auerstaedt. Davoust drew his two remaining di- visions together, and, shattering the Prussian bri- JiaL^'^'^^ gades, seized their position at Auerstaedt. The centre of the battle shifted to Poppel. Here the Prussian rearguard stood its ground, while the bulk of the army retreated toward Weimar. The French tried to storm the hills on the other side of Auerstaedt, but were repulsed by a murderous fire from the heights. The Prussians followed up their success by a bayonet charge and threw the French back into Auerstaedt. But the King was anxious to reach Weimar, hoping there to join forces with his centre and right under Ruechel and Hohenlohe. Of their terrible fate he knew nothing. So orders were given to retreat, and fall back on Weimar. At 168 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 180« Double re- Weimar, the Prussian battalions, fleeing from two treat to ' i o Weimar battlefields, were mixed up in inextricable confu- sion. Darkness came. It brought no relief to the vanquished. From both sides the French pursuers were upon them. Marauders from their own ranks seized the transport wagons and increased the horror of the night by their drunken excesses. The Prus- sian King with his staff narrowly escaped Murat's dragoons. He fled in the gloom of night, plunging through forests and rivers, until, utterly worn out, he found a safe retreat at Charlottenburg. From there he fled toward the Russian frontier. Prussian In this disastrous twofold battle, the Prussians losses lost 20,000 killed and wounded, and 30,000 prison- ers, with 260 guns. Twenty-six of their general officers were taken. The Duke of Brunswick and General Schmettau were killed. Prince Henry of Prussia and General Ruechel were severely wounded. The French losses, according to their official reports, were 1,100 killed and 3,000 wounded. Among their killed were one brigadier- general and nine colonels. Marshal Napoleon raised Marshal Davoust to the rank of Davoust ^ honored J)^\^q ^f Aucrstadt. To honor him still more, he made a public promise to him that he and his troops should be the first to enter Berlin. Davoust re- joined: "Sire, the soldiers of the third corps will always be to you what the tenth legion was to Caesar." In his official account of the twofold bat- tle of Jena-Auerstadt, Napoleon wrote: "On our right the corps of Marshal Davoust performed prodigies. Not only did it keep the enemy in 1808 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 169 check but pursued the bulk of his forces over a distance of three leagues. Marshal Davoust has displayed alike the distinguished bravery and firm- ness of character which are the first qualities of the soldier." While the shattered divisions of the Prussian army were driven along the Elbe, to fall a prey to their pursuers one by one, Napoleon established his headquarters at Weimar. The Grandduke ofaovefrnM- Weimar had commanded a division of the Prus- sian army. His wife was the sister of Emperor Alexander of Russia. The Grandduchess, greatly agitated, went to meet Napoleon as he rode into the devastated city — the Athens of modern Gennany. "Madame, you see what war is," said Napoleon. That was his only comment. Weimar, with the other Saxon States, was spared. To the captive saxony ^ ■■ spared Saxon officers. Napoleon said: "I know not why I am at war with your sovereign. He is a wise, pacific prince, deserving of respect. I wish to see your country rescued from its humiliating depen- dence upon Prussia. I am ready on my part to give you a pledge of my disposition toward you by setting you all at liberty, and by sparing Saxony. All 1 require of you is your promise no more to bear arms against France." On October 28, General Mollendorf, with his flee* ing corps of 16,000 Prussians, surrendejed to Murat. Among the prisoners were Prince August of Prus- sia, the Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Gen- eral Tauenzien. Later the prisoners were liberated by a bold charge of hussars led by Lieutenant von Yol. 1 —3 170 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1806 Napoleon Hellwig. On the same day Berlin was taken. ^'"'"^ J^apoleon, riding in his faded gray cloak at the head of his resplendent marshals, made a triumphal entry into the city. He established himself at the royal palace, where the apartments of Queen Louise had been left in disorder. While at Berlin, Count Hatzfeld, the governor of the city, got into trouble through clandestine correspondence with the absent king. Kapoleon ordered him to be shot, but par- doned him when the condemned man's wife threw herself at his feet. Heinrich von Buelow, who had counselled against the war, was delivered to the Russians, whom he hated, and was beaten to death by his Cossack escort. Previous to this Napoleon Takes visitcd the tomb of Frederick the Great. The sword Frederick the Great's of Frederick, suspended above the tomb, was placed in his hand. Napoleon regarded it thoughtfully and said; "I would not exchange this sword of Frederick for millions. I will send it to the Inva- lides. My old soldiers will regard with religious reverence a trophy which has belonged to the most illustrious captains of history." General Rapp sug- gested that Napoleon keep it himself. The Em- peror gave his aid a look, and said haughtily. •'Have 1 not a sword of my own?" All the me- morial standards taken from the French and Aus- trians in the Seven Years' War were shipped to France, together with the stone column that com- memorated B'rederick's victory over the French at Rossbach. A fortnight later the 13,000 Prussian reserves were scattered by Bernadotte at flailo, and were Paiuted by G. Richt By peril QUEEN LOUISE ol Uciliu l'liotuii.ai,liic Co., N. Y. XlXth Cent., Vol. One 1806 Nov. NINETEENTH CENTURY 171 driven into the strong city of Magdeburg. 'J^^isre ^j*',|,^^jj^jj. "Von Kleist capitulated to Ney. The town of Erfurt surrendered next with 14,000 men. The stronghold of Kustrin fell without a blow. Bliicher and YorkKustrin at Luebeck and Kadkan, after sustaining a fierce Luebeck siege until hand-to-hand fighting occurred in the streets, were forced into submission. Of the Prus- sian army of 150,000, only Estocque's division of 15,000 r.emained. They crossed the frontier to join the Eussian army approaching through Poland. Northern Germany, from the Ehine to the Oder, lay at the feet of the conqueror. Napoleon called for a war indemnity of 150,000,000 francs from Prussia and her German allies. The dominions of Hanover, Hesse, and Brunswick were forcibly an- nexed to France. From Berlin, Napoleon issued Berlin ^ decree a decree prohibiting all intercourse with Great Britain. Englishmen and English property where- ever found were to be seized. Confiscations were made at Hamburg. The harsh provisions of this decree, so Napoleon declared, "should be regarded as a fundamental law of the French Empire, and her allies, till England recognized the law of war to be one and the same by sea and by land, and in no case applicable to private property or to indi- viduals not bearing arms, and until she consented^ ,, <-> ' Contlnen- to restrict the right of blockade to fortified places ade'^'*'°''' actually invested by a sufiicient force." The issue of this decree caused consternation in the commer- cial centres of the Continent. Deputations were sent to Napoleon from Hamburg and other seaports. They informed Napoleon that "these measures 172 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. 1806 trado°' would involve them in universal bankruptcy and banish commerce from the Continent." He replied: *'So much the better. The bankruptcies in Eng- land will be more numerous and you will be less able to trade with her." As it turned out, the de- cree could not be enforced sufficiently to make it effective. The world owes to this decree the ex- Invention su-lr*^ traction of sugar from beet-root, invented by a Frenchman. The decrSe of Berlin was followed by another authorizing the levy of 80,000 new con- scripts in France, to form a national guard. On War with Novcmbcr 25, Napoleon hastened to the province of Posen to arouse Poland against the Russians. Some 60,000 Polish peasants rose in arms. Eussia issued a formal declaration of war, beginning thus: "The Lord on high will take our just cause under War in the "^^^ protection." At the same time a Turkish army Balkans advauccd to the Lower Danube. General Sebas- tiani, the French ambassador at Constantinople, had at last aroused the Sultan to this act of open hostility. The Russians had to detach 80,000 men to meet the new danger, and the Austrian army of observation likewise turned eastward. Aus- tria had reason to feel concerned, for the Ottoman Empire then, as so often after this, seemed on the verge of dissolution. The Russians, under Michael- son, were overrunning Moldavia, Bessarabia and Wallachia, after they had occupied Bucharest. The Troubles Servians, under Czerny Georojos, had driven the of Turkey . "^ . . Turks from their land and laid siege to Belgrade. Egypt was in a state of anarchy. Mecca and Medina were in the hands of the Wachabees. Bagdad had 1806 Deo. NINETEENTH CENTURY 173 become independent, A French army lay in wait in Dalmatia, and a British squadron of seven men- of-war under Admiral Louis was cruising in the Dardanelles. In Constantinople the Janizaries were so discontented over the introduction of European tactics in the Turkish army that a palace revolt was regarded as imminent. Yet Turkey somehow man- aged to survive. During the last days of November, Napoleon be- gan his advance against the Russians. Bennigsen's column of 60,000 was pushed back on Pultusk. ^^^^°l* Ney and Bernadotte's division moved eastward over the river Weichsel or Vistula. Davoust and Launes occupied Warsaw and swung their divisions north- ward. In the centre, the divisions of Soult and Augereau advanced amid constant skirmishes as far as Golymin. Lannes's corps pushed on to Pul- tusk to cut off the Russians from the Narev. Soult and Bernadotte were to cover a possible Russian retreat on Ostrolenka. On Christmas Day the Rus- sian right wing became engaged with Bernadotte's forces at Moehrungen and was pushed back under Moehrun- gen heavy losses on both sides. Bernadotte's attempt to outflank the Russians failed. The next day Lannes attacked Bennigsen's centre at Pultusk, thirteen leagues north of Warsaw. Simultaneously Napoleon sent the divisions of Augereau with Murat's cavalry against the lius- sians under Buxhovden at Golymin, six leagues Qoiymin away. The Russians stood their ground so well that the fight at Golymin lasted all day, with heavy losses on both sides. General Rapp, Napoleon's 174 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 180e aide-de-camp, was severely woanded. It the end puitusk ^Yie Russians retreated in good order. At Jfultusk equally bitter fighting on both sides only resulted in a drawn battle. For eight long hours Lannes's veterans had to sustain the murderous fire of the Russians while standing in a deep morass. Lannes himself succumbed to the strain and had to relin- quish the command. At nightfall Bennigsen took the Russian army across the Narev without serious hindrance from the French. After this double disappointment, Napoleon's army went into winter hardships quarters. The closing days of the year brought in Poland famine and wretchedness to the French soldiers camping on the frozen marshes. Bad weather made the roads impassable for the transport wagons. The Russians had destroyed everything for miles around, so that food and provender were very scarce. The distress was so great that a number of the starving soldiers committed suicide. Napoleon betook him- to^'^arsaw ^^^^ *^ Warsaw. There the Polish nobles and patriots gave him an enthusiastic welcome as their deliverer. One of the first to greet him was Countess Valevska, a Polish beauty. Her efforts to win the French Emperor to her country's cause ended in a love afl:air. She was induced to follow Napoleon from camp to camp, and finally to Paris. Later she bore him a son, Alexander, who distinguished himself un- der the second empire. Yet Napoleon gave a deaf ear to all entreaties for Poland. "I like the Poles," he said, "their enthusiasm pleases me. I should like to make them an independent people; but the cake has been shared by too many. When the 1806 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 176 match is kindled who knows where the con flagra- doubts as ° to inten- tion may stop. Mj first duty is toward France. J;ardl"n; I must not sacrifice her interests for Poland. In short, we must refer the matter to the universal sovereign — Time." It is doubtful, at best, whether Napoleon ever intended to free Poland. At that time he could not afford to arouse the eomity of Austria with her army of observation in his rear. To the entreaties of Polish deputations he made this final statement: "I have not come here to involve France in new quarrels. I am not in want of thrones \o give away." 176 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1907 1807 Results of Con- tinental blockade THE OLD YEAE had scarcely run out before the civilized nations had begun to feel the eflEects of JMapoleon's staggering blow to commerce. Late in December, (xeneral Armstrong, the American Minister in Paris, asked Talleyrand for an explanation of Napoleon's decree so far as it affected American trade. He received no satisfactory reply. All was deferred to the French Emperor lying in distant winter quarters at War- saw. The new year opened with international com- merce at the mercy of the two most powerful nations — France and England — now locked in deadly conflict. On January 7, the British Min- istry responded to Napoleon with a retaliatory retaliatory measurc. The bill related that King George measures "felt himself bound to retort upon the French the evils of their own injustice, and therefore has ordered that no vessel shall be permitted to trade from one port to another, both which ports Effects on shall bcloug to or be in possession of France or her allies." This bill proved a blow to American com- merce. It deprived American ships of the right to sail from one European port to another. From the point of view of the more enlightened British Whigs, the bill, though drafted by a Whig Min- Americao shipping 1807 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 111 ister, was really a concession to King George apd Tory prejudices. The Whigs denounced iv a8> against common-sense and good political economy, a measure in line with the violent aggressions of Pitt. For three weeks the debate raged in Parlia- ment before the bill was finally passed, it was the last important measure of Grenville's so-called Min- istry of "all the talents" — a Ministry more liberal than England was destined to see for a generation. As an immediate result of this bill, the United umted ' states e3« States were estranged from England. Jefferson re- fro^"^'' pudiated the new treaty concluded by Monroe and °^'*° Pinckney without even submitting it to Congress. A few weeks previous to this the French Minister had written to Talleyrand: "If I am to judge by the talk and countenances of the general people, this Congress will be more favorable to England than the last was. Already its leader, under the President's own invitation, shows a benevolent dis- position toward the British government." Jefferson himself wrote to Monroe at the Court of St. James: "No two countries have so many points of common interest and friendship, and their rulers must be great bunglers indeed if with such dispositions they break them asunder. England may, by petty lar- ceny thwartings, check us on the ocean, but she cannot seriously retard us." Now all this was changed, and a feeling of exasperation set in which was destined to bring the two countries into conflict. For the moment, President Jefferson was too engrossed in other affairs to take any decisive f^fed't^r'^ act. The exciting trial of Aaron Burr for trea- 178 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1807 son was just getting under way, and the political enemies of the President were beginning to bait him. Without such distractions, Jefferson's natu- ral inclinations were against war. "The present administration," said he, "has taken up a new system of defence — it is that of saving the public money. This system is new and was not known in Federal times. We have not gone on increasing taxes like our predecessors." This was the truth. With the help of Gallatin, the Secretarj of the fii^nc'r^" Treasury, the administration had succeeded in pay- ing off twenty-four millions of debts. Still the rev- enues grew. Eppes, of Virginia, the President's son- in-law, said in Congress, "If there is any principle which ought to be hooted at in a Eepublican gov- ernment, it is that to preserve peace we should be prepared for war. Sir, it is this very principle which is the source of all the miseries of Eu- rope." In his message to Congress, Jefferson called for a broad system of internal improvements, a na- tional system of roads and canals, a national univer- sity and the organization of a national militia to re- jefferson placc the regular army. The most striking feature proposes opposition of his message was the proposed abolition of all of slave ° r r trade slave trade. "I congratulate you, fellow citizens, on the approach of the period when you may inter- pose your authority constitutionally to withdraw as citizens of the United States from all further par- ticipation in tbose violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending in- habitants of Africa, and which the morality, the 1807 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 179 reputation, and the best interests of our country have long been eager to proscribe." It was a reform worthy of the new spirit of the age. In England, Parliament at this very time was debating a bill to put a stop to all slave trading with Africa. In Russia, Emperor Alexander freed the Russian serfs in the Baltic provinces. Jeffer- ^["^"f'P"^' son's proposed prohibition of the slave trade threw ^"fa'*" a vivid light on those sectional differences in Amer- ica, which were destined to lead to secession and civil war. Under the act, a cargo of a forfeited vessel was to be sold on behalf of the United States government. The cargo of a slave ship consisted of negroes. Bather than see this done, Sloan of New Jersey offered an amendment in Congress that every forfeited negro should be entitled to free- dom. Upon this amendment a debate arose which waxed exceeding hot. The Southern representa- Premoni- tives, almost to a man, opposed it. The debate ^i'J!,^'"^^^^ was adjourned, resumed, and adjourned again. It was further imbittered by a motion of Smiley of Pennsylvania to make the importation of negroes a felony punishable by death. "All the people in the Southern States are concerned in slaves," retorted Early, the chairman of the committee in charge of the bill. "By them it is not considered as criminal. I will tell the truth — a large majority of the people in the Southern States do not consider slavery as even an evil." The Quaker amendment was rejected by a majority of ten. Bidwell of Mas- sachusetts next moved, "That no person shall be sold as a slave by virtue of this act.'' On this m A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1807 Seeds of discord SOWD Burr a source of embar- rassment amendment the House of Representatives tied, sixty to sixty. Tlie speaker by his vote threw out the amendment. When other similar amendments were proposed, Early made this significant statement in behalf of the South: "We want no civil wars, no rebellions, no insurrections, no resistance to the authority of the government. Give effect to this wish, and do not pass this bill as it stands." Randolph of Virginia asserted that the coastwise prohibition touched the right of private property and expressed fears, "Lest, at a future period, it might be made a pretext of universal emancipa- tion. I had rather lose all the bill, 1 had rather lose all the bills of the session, I had rather lose all the bills passed since the establishment of the government, than agree to the provisions contained in this slave bill. If ever the time of disunion be- tween these States should arrive, the line of sever^ ance will not be between Eastern and Western, but between slave-holding and non-slave-holding States. All that I ask is that the North shall remain neu' tral, that it shall not erect itself into an abolition society." Yet the bill prohibiting the slave trade went through. President Jefferson approved the measure. The opposition against Jefferson's administration was largely strengthened by this. The proceedings against Burr helped to place Jefferson in an awk- ward position. The conspiracy of Burr had been a mere episode amid many more vital questions thai stirred the American people. While New Orleans was convulsed by Burr's attempted coup d'etat in 1807 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 181 that city, the rest of the country refused to believe that the former Vice-President was so insane as to expect a dissolution of the Union. For this general apathy Jefferson himself was largely responsible. He had long belittled the importance of Burr's conspiracy, and he permitted Greneral Wilkinson to remain in command of the American army after it had become evident that this general suffered himself to become involved in Burr's schemes. Wilkinson saved himself by turning against Burr, kinaon's' -TTT'ii • 1 treachery To understand W ilkinson s conduct, Americans must look into the archives of the crown of Spain. On January 28, 1807, Yrujo, the Spanish Minister to the United States, wrote to Cevallos in Madrid: "According to appearances Spain has saved A|^anwh the United States from the separation of the union which menaced them. This would have taken place if Wilkinson had entered cordially into the plans of Burr. This was to be expected because Wilkinson detests his present government, and the separation of the Western States has long been his favorite plan. The evil has come from the foolish and per- tinacious perseverance with which Burr has per- sisted in carrying out the wild project against Mexico. Wilkinson is entirely devoted to us. He enjoys a considerable pension from our King. . . . Failure of Burr's attempt would have left Wilkin- son like the dog in the fable with the piece of meat in his mouth — that is, he would lose the honorable position he holds at home, and the generous pension he enjoys from the King. These considerations, se- cret in their nature, he could not explain to Burr. 182 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 18OT When the latter persisted in an idea so fatal to Wilkinson's interest, nothing remained but to take the course adopted. By this means he assures his pension, and will allege this as an extraordinary service, either for getting it increased or for some generous compensation. On the other hand, this proceeding secures his distinguished rank in the military service of the United States. In such an alternative he has acted as was to be expected; that is, he has sacrificed Burr in order to obtain, on the ruin of Burr's reputation, the advantages 1 have pointed out." On one point Yrujo wrote from positive knowledge. The general-in-chief of the American army was in the pay of Don Carlos lY. He took a pension of $2,000 a year in consid- eration of secret services. For twenty years these services had been rendered and the pension had Jefferson's bccu paid. By supporting Wilkinson, Jefferson Wilkinson lost the last support of such men as John Ran- dolph and Chief -Justice Marshall. From the first arraignment of Burr in January, until the last day of his trial at Richmond in October, the proceedings against Burr seemed a matter of secondary impor- tance compared with the discomfiture of the Presi- dent of the United States. Burr, who was himself Burr's trial °*^ nican lawyer, was defended by the ablest counsel &aa,^ of the American bar — Edmund Randolph, George Washington's attorney -general; John Wickham, the famous Virginia wit; Benjamin Botts, an un- usually thoroughgoing attorney, and Luther Mar- tin, who had made a great name for himself by his defence of Justice Chase. On the government side, 1807 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 183 the death of Attorney-General Breckenridge left an irreparable loss. Caesar A. Eodney, his successor, left the prosecution of Burr to District-Attorney Hay and his associates, William Wirt and Alexan- der McRae, the Lieutenant-Grovernor of Virginia. From the very outset Chief-Justice Marshall de- cided against the government. In one of his early opinions he blamed the administration for neglect feffefso°n of duty: "Several months have elapsed since this^"'*''^* attempt occurred — if it did occur. More than five weeks have passed since the opinion of the Supreme Court has declared the necessity of proving the fact if it exists. Why is it not proved? To the Execu- tive Government is intrusted the important power of prosecution of those whose crimes may disturb the public repose or endanger its safety. It would be easy in much less time than has intervened since Colonel Burr was alleged to have assembled his troops, to procure affidavits establishing the fact." Jefferson's reply to this censure from the Supreme Bench gives a glimpse of the general condition of the country ^n those days. "In what terms of de- cency can we speak of this ? As if an express could go to Natchez or the mouth of the Cumber- land and return in five weeks to do which has never taken less than twelve!" Chief-Justice Marshall's jug^fje ruling, that the President of the United States could censure be subpoenaed in court as a witness, stung Jefferson to the quick. He wrote to the District- Attorney: "The leading feature of our Constitution is the in- dependence of the legislative, executive and judiciary of each other; and none are more jealous of this 184 A HISTORY OF THE Summer isa? than the judiciary. But would the executive be independent of the judiciary if he were subject to the commands of the latter and to imprisonment for disobedience?" The judge upon the bench retorted cuttingly, "It is apparent that the President's duties as chief magistrate do not demand his whole time and are not unremitting." Jefferson gave way to a burst of anger. "I have heard," he wrote in another letter, "that my predecessor, General Washington, sometimes decided things against his council by dashing and trampling his wig upon the floor. This only proves what you and I knew, that he had a better heart than head." Justice Marshall appointed John Randolph, Jefferson's political op- ponent, as clerk of the grand jury. Raudolph made General evcrv effort to fasten Burr's guilt on Wilkinson, Wilkinson "^ *= ' implicated j^^^. failed. The motion to indict Wilkinson was lost in the grand jury room by a bare majority of two. Randolph wrote in a letter, "Perhaps you never saw human nature in so degraded a situation as in the person of Wilkinson before the grand jury. And yet the man stands on the very sum- rait and pinnacle of executive favor, while James Monroe is denounced." Throughout the trial feel- ing ran very high, especially in Richmond and the South. "As I was crossing the court-house green to the Eagle Tavern," wrote an eye-witness, "1 heard a great noise of haranguing some distance off. Inquiring what it was, I was told it was Andrew ^ great blackguard from Tennessee, one Andrew and'^u^r Jacksou, making a speech for Burr, and damning Jefferson." Finally Judge Marshall struck the ISOfr Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 185 prosecution dumb by a ruling which excluded the testimony of Blennerhassett against Burr: "Because such testimony, being in its nature merely corroborative and incompetent to prove the overt act in itself, is irrelevant until there be proof of the overt act by two witnesses." After Aaron Burr acquitted this ruling of the court, the prosecution aban doned the case and the jury entered a verdict of "not guilty." Jefferson made elaborate preparations to im- peach the Supreme Court, but, in truth, nothing was to be feared. The days of Jefferson's power and glory were passing, while Marshall was only at the threshold of his illustrious legal career. While this cause c^l^bre was on the boards in the New World, another more tragic State trial had drawn to a close in Vienna. General Mack and ■^"^'^'■'^° generals several of his unfortunate fellow officers were court- p"'^'^^®'' martialled for their disastrous blunders during the last Austrian campaign against Napoleon. General Mack was unanimously sentenced to death, but Em- peror Francis remitted the sentence. The Prince of Auersperg, who had neglected to destroy the bridge at Vienna, though he had received positive orders to do so, was condemned to imprisonment for tea years. Several other officers were punished, but in most cases the Emperor softened their sentences. In Paris, questions of more lastmg importance Jewish Sanhedrim were settled by the great Sanhedrim, a convention of Paris of seventy-one Jewish rabbis and notables which sat for over a year under the leadership of David Sinzheim and Furtado. As a result of their delib- 186 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. isoi erations they issued a rescript for Jewish guidance in the spring of 1807. The Mosaic dispensation, while recognized as absolute in religious matters, was declared inapplicable to mundane affairs, since the Jews had ceased to exist as a nation. Polyga- mous marriage as practiced by the patriarchs was forbidden. Marriages between Christians and Jews were recognized. Jews called to military service were exempted from religious observances conflict- ing with military duty. Usury, in particular, was denounced as a crime against law and religion. Napoleon, during this interval, had been held in check in his winter quarters on the distant Vistula. The cam- His soldicrs fouud themselves in a worse situation paign in Poland ^jj^jj QyQY before. The winter was severe and the wretched state of the impoverished country made campaigning atrocious. All supplies had to be brought from interminable distances and over roads that were all but impassable. In Silesia, the Prussian strongholds of Breslau, Brieg and Schweidnitz had to be reduced by long sieges. The Eussians under the command of Bennigsen Sufferings held their ground tenaciously. By the end of Jan- of French ° J J soldiers uary, Marshal Ney's corps had suffered so severely that he resolved to strike northward for better win- ter quarters at Koenigsberg. A Prussian division of 10,000 under Estocque stood in his way. At the news of Ney's movement, Bennigsen marched his whole army out of cantonments. He hoped to over- whelm Ney's 12,000 men with his 56,000 Russians. Napoleon at once broke up his winter quarters at Warsaw and marched, with his guards and the 1807 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 187 divisions of Soult, Augereau and Davoust. Ber- nadotte, who stood at Elbing, received iiis march- ing orders too late to fall into line. The corps of veterans, hitherto commanded by Lannes, was left behind to cover the banks of the Narev. Bennig- sen, finding his flank threatened, had to give up his pursuit of Ney, nor could he prevent the latter from getting in touch with the French main army. The ^oft^ftfea Prussian column, engaged with Key's forces, re- mained detached. On February 7, Bennigsen gath- ered all his available forces to withstand the French at Eylau. The first to arrive were Murat's cavalry and some of Soult's mounted squadrons. Together they attacked the Russian line and captured Prus- sian Eylau. At nightfall a solid mass of Russian infantry stormed the town with the bayonet and sent the French squadrons flying. Prince Eugene of Wurtemberg tells in his memoirs how hideously the raucous battle cry of the Tobolski regiment rang in his ears during that night. Under cover of the darkness the main army with Napoleon came up and ranged itself in battle line. The divisions of Ney and Soult formed the left wing, while Augereau with the guards and Murat's cavalry behind them held the centre. Davoust's columns marching over- night were to form the right wing. It was a dark night and bitterly cold. Eylau lay on a slight rise of land extending two or three miles, skirted by a vast bleak plain on which the snow blew in drifts. Upon the ridge the Russians posted all their artil- Advantage *■ '^ * K-aiiied by lery and the bulk of their infantry, 80,000 strong. Russians Before them in the plain 70,000 Frenchmen bi^ 188 A HISTORY OF TEE Feb. 18(W ouacked in the snow. At midnight Napoleon snatched an hour's sleep on a camp-stool. Before dawn he made his last dispositions. The battle opened on both sides with prolonged artillery fire at pointblank range. The eifects of this cannonade were fearful. Whole regiments of St. Hilaire's corps were mowed down by grape-shot. The Twenty-fourth French regiment of the line, con- sisting of 3,600 veterans under Colonel Sem^le, was wiped out. Napoleon and his guard established themselves in the churchyard of Eylau. From Battle of there Napoleon ordered the corps of St. Hilaire and Eylau ^ "^ Augereau to lead the advance against the flussian left. Marshal Augereau, shaking with fever, had himself strapped to his horse and galloped up the slope at the head of his division. In the face of a blinding blizzard the French standards were lost to sight among the whirling snowflakes. During the storm, which lasted three-quarters of an hour, Au- gereau's column missed its objective. Napoleon ordered Murat to ride to their rescue with some of his squadrons. Suddenly there was a rift in the storm. From all sides the Eussians fell upon Augereau's stray columns. The Frenchmen were shot down with grape and canister and fell a prey to the spears of the Cossacks. Marshal Augereau went down with his horse, and his troops fell all around him. The Fourteenth regiment of the line, rallying to its standard, was cut down almost to a man. Through the struggling mass dashed the yel- low hussars of Novgorod. They cut their way up to the very wall of the graveyard in which Napo* 3807 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 189 leoa stood watching the battle through his field glass. "Save the Emperor 1" cried the members of his staff as they scrambled on their horses. But Napoleon did not stir. At an order from him, the Old Guard, under their colonel, Dorsenne, threw themselves between their Emperor and the Hussians and broke the force of the cavalry attack. At the same instant Napoleon's scarlet horseguards swooped down on the Russian Hussars and carried them down the hill in a running fight. General Corbineau was killed by a shell while he was re- ceiving orders from the Emperor. Young Captain Auzoni of the Guards, one of Napoleon's favorite officers, died kissing his hand to La Belle France. At this point Murat thundered into the breach Jurat's ••■ memorabia with eighty squadrons of cavalry. Colonel Haut- *^^^^s^ poul, who led the charge, was the first to fall. This assault of 10,000 troopers in full career has remained one of the famous traditions of the French army. As a strategic manoeuvre it cannot be pro- nounced a success. All it did was to bring the battle to a standstill! At least such is the verdict of Prince Alexander of Wurtemberg, who saw it with his own eyes. In and about the town of Eylau, the fighting was so fierce that the Rus- sians used the bodies of the dead for barricades. Marshal Murat and his chief lieutenant, Count Lasalle, had to fight for their lives, sabre in hand. Fisfhtinor from street to street and from house to house, the French at last succeeded in retaking Eylau. On the right, Davouat drove the Russians from 190 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 18OT Serpallen to Saussgarten, and thence as far back as the village of Kuschitten. There he was stopped short by the sudden appearance of a division of Prussians under L'Estocque, who had succeeded in joining the Russian main army despite Ney's diver- Prussians siou. "With buglcs blowing and drums beating, the save tlie day Prussians threw themselves into the fight and drove back Davoust's division. At nightfall Ney's de- tachments came up on the road from Schmodetten just in time to stop the retrograde movement of the French right wing. It was dark, and the snowy plain was strewn with the dead and dying. As Marshal Ney rode upon the battlefield he shud- dered and said, "What a massacre — and ^without any issue." It was in truth a drawn battle. The French army had suffered so fearfully that Napoleon could not have kept his positions any length of time before a resolute foe. As it turned out, he prevailed by dint of sheer tenacity. General Bennigsen, in disregard of the entreaties of General Knorring and Tolstoi, who v^ished to renew the fight on the morrow, fell A drawn battle back during the night. In the face of this volun- tary retreat of the enemy, the weakened French forces were yet in a mood to fall back across the Vistula. On the day after the battle. Napoleon wrote: "It was a very bloody affair. The field of battle remained in our hands. Though a great piany men were killed on both sides, our situation renders my loss the more sensible. . . It is pos- sible that in order to get quiet winter quarters I shall remove to the left bank of the Vistula." To 1807 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 191 Josephine, Napoleon wrote: "I send you one line, ^fp^'^o^'s my love. You must have been very anxious. !"''''■ have beaten the enemy in a memorable battle, but it has cost me many brave men. Corbineau was killed by a shell. It gave me great pain. Alle- magne was wounded dangerously. My horseguards covered themselves with glory. The country is cov- ered with the dead and wounded. This is not the pleasant part of war. One suffers and the soul is oppressed to see so many victims. The inclement weather constrains me to return to my canton- ments, but all this will soon end. I have re- pulsed the enemy and compelled him to abandon his projects." Some idea of the frightful loss of human life on The losses ° ofEylau both sides can be gained from the official report of Chief Surgeon Larrey of the French army. In the space of one square league, the surgeons counted more than 10,000 dead soldiers and the carcasses of 5,000 horses. Forty-eight hours after the battle, there were still upward of 6,000 wounded Russians lying unattended on the snow. The wounded bad to be carried on long trains of sledges to the field hospitals at Thorn. The French surgeons observed with astonishment that long exposure to cold did not seem to affect the wounded Russians. The ex- tent of the losses was never accurately stated. A German historian estimates them at 40,000, including subsequent deaths from wound fever. At the time, both Bennigsen and Napoleon issued misleading bulletins to bolster up their claims to victory. In bulletin fifty-eight of La Grande Armee, the French 192 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1807 conceded the loss of 1,000 killed and 5,700 wounded. Of these 1,090 were rendered unfit for further service. Four general officers and six regimental colonels were among the fallen. The loss of one French eagle was admitted. The enemy's losses were given as 12,000 killed, 15,000 prisoners, 45 guns and 18 standards. General Bennigsen, in his RuLian letter to Czar Alexander, written on the night after the battle, gave a very different account. He as- sured the Czar that the enemy had been completely defeated; that a thousand prisoners and twelve standards, which he had the honor to send to hia imperial majesty, had fallen into his hands. He had been attacked, he stated, on the centre and both wings by Bonaparte in person, who, however, had been beaten back at all points and everywhere defeated. Napoleon's imperial guards had attacked the Eussian centre three times, and had as often been repulsed. Several columns of French infantry and regiments of cuirassiers had been destroyed. The loss of the Russians he believed might exceed 6,000 men, but that he might estimate without exaggera- tion the loss of the enemy at more than 12,000. The plain soldiers who saw things their own way knew better. Thus a Eussian officer of dragoons, whose letter has been preserved, wrote home from Common Tilsit three days after the battle: "For these three Boidiers In the dark Jays we have been asking one another on which side the victory lay. This question may appear singular, but in truth it is impossible for us to tell which of the two armies did the greater mischief to the other." One of Napoleon's bulletins, assigning 1807 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 1^3 the credit for the victory to the Emperor's brother- in-law, Marshal Murat, gave rise to much discoQ- teat in the French ranks. Marshals Lannes and Augereau, the sorely wounded, dared to give voice to these murmurings, and were sent to the rear in disgrace. One week after the battle of Bylau there was another bloody fight at Ostrolenka. It was fought Osfoieik* between the Prussian General Von Essen on one side and Generals Suchet and Oudineau on the other. Thanks to their better manoeuvring, the French won and drove the Prussians back from the banks of the Narev. Here, too, the losses were out of all proportion to the gain. General Suvarov, a brother of the famous Eussian field- marshal, was killed, and the French lost General Campana and two colonels. The Cossacks, under their fiery Hetmann, rescued a number of their wounded, and were in turn taken prisoners. When Napoleon learned of the combat and the casualties it entailed, he ordered the fifth army corps to cease active operations. The Russians retreated in good order to Koenigsberg, though Murat's cavalry fol- lowed them almost to the walls of the city. Under stress of the severe winter weather, both armies went into cantonments and waited for spring. The ninth and tenth corps of the French army alone continued their operations in Silesia. With the aid of the Poles, the Piussians were driven into their strongholds. The French invested Sweidnitz, Prussian Kosel, Neiss, Graudenz, Colberg, Stralsund and j'^^^^^l^g^ Dantzig. Had Bennigsen been equal to a diversion XlXth Century— Vol. 1—9 194 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 180? with his Russian armj at Koenigsberg, eSective siege operatioas against these cities would have been impossible. Without such interference, Mar- shal Lefebvre was able to concentrate 30,000 men around Dantzig. At the same time Napoleon ordered new levies of troops from Poland, Ger- many, Holland, Spain and France. Little Switzer- land even had to furnish 16,000 men under pain of forfeiture of all her treaty rights. An excuse for these additional armaments was furnished by the attitude of England. The successful resistance of the Turks to Michaelson's Russian army on the Danube, induced England to make a demonstration in that direction. Admiral Duckworth's fleet was flilt be- called from the coast of Spain to the Dardanelles fore C 'D- . Btantinopie to givc Weight to the rcmonstrancc of Ambassador Arbuthnot in Constantinople. On February 28, Arbuthnot insisted on the dismissal of General Sebastiani, Napoleon's envoy to the Sublime Porte. On the Sultan's refusal, Arbuthnot joined the British fleet, and war was declared. Duckworth sailed through the Dardanelles and anchored off the Sultan's palace in the Bosphorus. The British admiral was held off by pretended negotiations in- spired by Sebastiani. Presently he found that Du^ worth ^^^^J batteries had been mounted against him, driveooff ^JJ(JgJ. jjjg f^j.g ^f which hc was compelled to leave the Bosphorus and sail once more through the Dar- danelles. The British squadron had to sustain a heavy fire from the strong shore batteries at the Straits, aided by Turkish ships anchored there. The Turks lost one line-o' -battle ship, four frigates, 1807 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 196 three corvettes and one brig. The English suffered only in their rigging and complements. Altogether, forty-two British sailors were killed and two hun- dred and thirty-five were wounded. The British squadron sailed to Egypt and took the city of Alexandria. Napoleon exulted in Turkey's success. To th« Sultan he wrote: "You have shown yourself a worthy descendant of Selim and Soliman. Yoa have asked me for officers: I send them to you. Generals, officers, soldiers, arms of every kind, even money, I place at your disposal. You have only to ask. Ask plainly, and whatever you ask shall be sent forthwith. Make friends with the Shah of Persia, who is also the enemy of the Eus- sians. Persuade him to remain firm, and vigorously to attack the common enemy." Before Selim III. suitan Selim could enter fully into these schemes he was deprived deposed of his throne by a palace revolution. The Jani- zaries raised his nephew, Mustapha lY., to the throne. It was now the immediate object of Napoleon to secure complete command of the countries he had overrun. To do this he had to reduce the Prussian Prussian slroug- fortresses that still held out on the Vistula and J^g^J^^^^j the Oder. The Russians, determined to harass the French in every way, engaged them in a series of sharp actions. On February 26, a Russian detach- ment of 10,000 marched against Braunsberg, the most advanced of the French cantonments. General Dupont of Bernadotte's division met the Russian attack. At the point of the bayonet the Cossacks 196 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1807 were repulsed and thrown over the river Parsarge. Two thousand of them were taken prisoners, with sixteen guns. On February 24, Baron Korff next occupied the town of Peterswald with a Russian column. General Leger Belair, hastening thither, attacked the town at daybreak and defeated the Russians in a sharp fight. General KorfiE sur- rendered with his staff and a full battalion of his guard. After the affairs of Peterswald and Braunsberg, Napoleon moved his headquarters from Osterode to the Castle of Finkenstein, that he ^Avtn^ir miglit be nearer to Graudenz and Dantzig. Some campaign .^^^ ^^ ^^^ hardships of the winter there may be gathered from this letter of Napoleon to his brother Joseph at Naples: "The officers of our staff have not undressed for these two months, and some not for four months past. I myself have been a fort- night without taking off my boots. We are amid snow and mud. Without wine or bread, eating potatoes and mule flesh, making long marches and countermarches without any kind of comfort, we fight in general with bayonets and under grape. The wounded have to be carried in sledges, ex- posed to the cold, two hundred miles away." While thus engaged. Napoleon received the news of the death of his little nephew, Charles Napoleon, a son of Louis and Hortense, whom he had wished to make his heir. The siege of the Prussian cities was pursued with relentless vigor. Troops were brought from as far as Spain, and heavy artillery sturd was dragged over hundreds of miles. Graudenz and ofcoiberg Colbcrg, uudcr the gallant command of L' Homme 1807 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 197 de Courvi^re, a French refugee, and Gneisenau, an old-fashioned Prussian soldier, held out until the bitter end. Count Kalkreuth, with the flower of the Prussian army at Dantzig, showed himself less sturdy. The old Ilanseatic city was defended by double rows of fortifications, ditches and inunda- tions, with the Fort of Weichselmunde on the other side of the harbor. The garrison numbered 18,000 men. On March 8, the siege was begun, and wasxhesieg* conducted through sixty-iive days under the skil- ful leadership of the French military engineers Chasseloup and Larevoisiere. On April 24, the French, having assembled all their artillery, com- menced the bombardment. After sustaining a heavy fire for several days, the garrison made a sortie, but were beaten back in three successive attempts to rush the French parallels. King Wil- liam of Prussia and Grandduke Constantine deter- mined to relieve the city by sea. Accordingly, two Russian divisions embarked in a fleet of sixty-six transports at Pillau, Napoleon, hearing of this, sent his reserves under Lannes to reinforce Le- febvre before Dantzig. By a forced march from Marieaburg, the French managed to arrive on the day that the Russians were landed at Weichsel- munde. On May 15, the Russians attacked a Futile "^ ' Russian French detachment of General Schramm that was *^'^®''®'**°" holding a fort opposite Weichselmunde. In a hard fight lasting several hours, the Russians were thrown back into Weichselmunde by a combined attack of the French forces under Marshals Lefebvre and Lannes. Simultaneously with this stroke at Dant- 198 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1807 zig, the whole length of the Kussian line facing Napoleon demonstrated against the French out- posts stationed on the AUe, Parsarge, Vistula, !Narev, Boug, and at Ostrolenka. They were repulsed at all points. The British brigantine "Dauntless," which attempted to sail into the harbor of Dantzig with Kussian and Prussian offi- cers aboard, came under the fire of the French batteries and musketry, and had to surrender. An attack on the strong French post at Pultusk, under- taken by a column of 6,000 Russians under General Turkov, likewise failed. On April 19, the French proceeded with all their forces to make a combined assault on Dantzig. In the face of this movement, Dantzig General Kalkreuth agreed to capitulate the city on capitulates " -^ ' condition that the whole garrison be paroled with all the honors of war. On May 27, the Prussians marched out of the city nine thousand strong, with General Kalkreuth at their head. All the rich stores and eight hundred pieces of artillery fell to the French. Napoleon was able to distribute one million bottles of wine among his soldiers. The Russian garrison at Weichselmunde followed suit with a surrender at discretion. The fleet that had brought them escaped to Pillau with General Ka- minskoi, the Russian lieutenant-general. Owing to the advance of a Swedish army under General von Essen, and an English expedition under Gen- itratsund eral Clinton, the siege of Stralsund had to be raised by the French. They were forced to evacu- ate Swedish Pomerania. During their retreat, the French lost 3,000 prisoners, among them twenty 1807 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 199 officers. The Swedes pursued so hotly that they extended their line too far, and were caught at a dis- advantage after crossing the river Pirne, Marshal Mortier suddenly turned on them with his division and seized the bridges. Two Swedish posts were overthrown and a third column under General Cardell was cut off. General Kronfeld, a Swedish commander-in-chief, was wounded by grape-shot. The next day a detached column was overwhelmed at Neckarmunde, and another Swedish post at Dem- nin was captured. Seventeen hundred prisoners were taken, together with seven guns. The Swedes had to fall back over the Pirne. General Kronfeld, finding himself at the mercy of the French, entered forced to a truce into an armistice, by which the Swedes bound them- selves not to give further succor to the allies. On April 29, it was agreed between Von Essen and Marshal Mortier that the truce should hold for one month. The King of Sweden, on news of this, hastened to Stralsund. General Kronfeld, who con- cluded the first truce, had to resign his commission. But General Yon Essen was made Governor-General of Pomerania and the terms remained in force. After the opening of spring, when the ice of the rivers had melted, and the roads became passable, Bennigsen grew restless in his intrenched camp at Heilsberg, near Koenigsberg. He gave up his wise policy of harassing the French advance lines and ^"y'^''* took the offensive. As once before, he could not resist risking a descent upon Ney's exposed posi- tion. Ney's corps occupied an isolated advance post at Gutstadt in the midst of screening forests. 200 A HISTORY OF THE June ,807 On June 5, the Eassians suddenly advanced on sev- eral points at once. Two of these attacks, at Span- dau and Lomitten, were only feints to hold off the detachments of Bernadotte and Soult, but the third at Bergfried was a bold manoeuvre to cut off Ney's corps from the rest of the French army. The Rus- sian columns under Sacken and Gortshakov did cilver their part so clumsily that ISej was able to beat a steady retreat, contesting point by point until he reached Deppen. There, in a masterly rear action, he made his way across the Parsarge. Having lost this battle, the Russians had to retro- grade in their turn. The bulk of the French army was marching to drive them back, and their right was already outflanked. Bennigsen fell back on his camp at Heilsberg, where he lay strongly in- Battieof trenched on both sides of the Alle. Here he re- Heilsburg .ii r\ -r ^/^1 solved to give battle. On June 10, the advance troops of Soult, Lannes, Davoust and Murat's cavalry debouched before the camp. They did not advance to the attack until late that evening. Soult's corps was the first to assail. It was beaten back by a murderous fire from the Russian trenches. The successive assaults of Murat and Lannes fared no better. General LeGrand, who threw one of his regiments into a redoubt, was so overwhelmed with grape that he had to give up his advantage. The fight lasted far into the night. At last the French gave it up. The next morning it was found that nearly 10,000 Frenchmen had fallen before the Rus- sian trenches. Soult's corps in particular suffered enormous losses. The Russian casualties were 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 201 comparatively light. Napoleon abandoned further frontal attacks on Heilsberg, and started to oat- flank Bennigsen and make a rush for Koenigsberg. To do so he had to risk seeing his communications cut off, but he reckoned rightly, for when Bennig- sen learned that the French were streaming past his flanks, he burned all his bridges over the Alle and broke up camp at Heilsberg. Both armies made for Koenigsberg, descending the river on either bank. For three days they marched thus in parallel col- umns. The Prussians under L'Estocque reached The race Koenigsberg first, though harassed on their flank nigsberg by the vanguards of Murat and Davoust. Behind these marshals came the divisions of Soult and Lannes, followed in turn by the corps of Mortier, Ney, and Napoleon's guard. Bernadotte's division, under the temporary command of General Victor, brought up the French rear. Napoleon's only de- sire was to take Koenigsberg before Bennigsen could find refuge there. The prospect for this was fair, since the Eussians, on the other side of the Alle, were marching on a road that followed all the windings of the river. Bennigsen, on the other hand, could count on reaching Koenigsberg in time to prevent a premature capitulation of that city by the Prussians. Napoleon felt no apprehensions that his long-drawn-out column might be attacked en route, since the Eussians to do so were bound to cross the river. Yet Napoleon took the precaution to order Lannes's troops to cover Friedland and priediand Wehlau, the only points at which the Eussians objective could cross for an attack. Bennigsen, too, had his 202 A HISTORY OF THE June 1807 Time lost by eye on those points. He feared that the French, in their turn, might there attack his left flank and cat him off from the Pregei and Koenigsberg. By crossing first, he hoped he might catch the long- extended French line unawares, and roll up Lannes's vanguard upon the rest of the army. On the evening of June 13, a strong detachment of Cossacks crossed the river, and riding into Fried- land drove out an advance outpost of French hus- sars, who had ridden into the town. At three o'clock in the morning the Russians crossed the river. So much time was spent in marching the JBusstans various columns over the bridges, that half of the Russian artillery was left behind. As a con- sequence, Bennigsen's first attack, instead of over- whelming Lannes's detached division by one stroke, was carried out but feebly. A fraction of the Rus- sian army only came into play, and Lannes waa able to prolong the fight. The French veterans hastily intrenched themselves at Posthenen, and fought like lions against overwhelming odds. Mar- shal Lannes, recognizing the danger of the posi- tion, sent despatch after despatch to the Emperor, ten miles away. Napoleon thought, at first, that the attack on Lannes was merely a Russian demonstration to safeguard the river crossing against the French. He could not believe Ben- nigsen capable of jeopardizing the whole of his army in such a place. Yet he sent orders to all the nearest columns, marching parallel with him, / to press on to Friedland. While he hastened to the scene with the old guard, Ney's division and Lauues's strong stand 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 203 « Mortier's corps, with Grouchy's Polish cavalry had already come to Lannes's assistance and es- tablished themselves at Heinrichsdorf. There they were hard pressed. The Russians bore in on the French at every point. It was afternoon when the Emperor with his staff galloped into Posthenen. General Oudinot, his face black with powder, rode up on his bleeding horse and cried, "Make haste, sire! My grenadiers are at the last point." Napo- leon rode up to the crest of the hill and overlooked the field. When he saw the Russians hemmed in by a bend of the river, and thought of his own divisions marching np on every side, a gleam of joy lighted up his features. "This is the 14th of June," he said; "the anniversary of Marengo." Then he dictated his dispositions for the battle as Fnediaad he would have done at the beginning of the combat. It was in reality a second battle that was about to begin. One of his officers ventured to suggest a postponement of the attack until all the French troops had arrived. "No, no!" retorted Napoleon, "one does not catch an enemy twice in such a scrape." Lannes and Mortier were ordered to re- tain their central position, with Murat and Bes- siere's cavalry divisions on their left. Ney's corps pushed up on the right, supported by General Victor and the imperial guards. As Marshal Ney wheeled on his horse to assume command of the French right flank, Napoleon grasped him by the arm. "There is the goal," he said, pointing to Friedland. "Make for it without a look behind you. Break into that Russian mass, whatever the cost. Seize the towa 204 A HISTORY OF THE June isor and hold the bridges. Never mind what happens on your right, on the left, or in the rear; i and my army will attend to the rest." Russian jNJey went to carrv out his desperate attack. In centre •' '' ^ byNey*^ plain sight of the army he led his men straight into the Russian centre. As Napoleon caught sight of him galloping proudly at the head of his troops, he exclaimed, "Behold, there goes our lion!" Ney's vanguard was first engaged by a horde of Russian Cossacks, but Latour-Maubourg rushed in with his dragoons and drove them back. At a mill-pond close to the walls of Friedland, Ney's advancing column was met by a corps of Alexander's impe- rial guards, the choicest troops of the Russian army. They charged the French with their bayonets and crumpled up Brisson's division. His regiments fell back on the other brigades, and Ney's entire col- umn wavered and fell back. General Dupont saw the danger, and rushed his reserves through Ney's broken lines. The Russian guards were stopped in their onslaught, and driven back on Friedland. Ney's Ney rallied his trooos, and with his united forces brilliant -^ * charge stormed the flaming town. The Russians were cut down or thrown into the river, and the bridges were burned. Prince Gortshakov, commanding the Rus- sian right, now found himself between the victori- ous French troops at Friedland and the divisions of Lannes and Mortier in the centre. Retreat across the bridges was cut off. Fighting desperately all the way he led off his troops along the bank of the river, while his Cossacks hunted for fording places. At the moment of Ney's assault upon Friedland, 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 206 Napoleon ordered thirty-six guns of Sernarmont'a artillery to cover the French advance with a steady hail of grape and canister. He led the second line at the head of his guards and Victor's division. Marat's cavalry with Bessi^res's cuirassiers charged into the Russian columns and utterly overwhelmed them. Several thousand Russians were caught on this side of the river, and found themselves at the mercy of the French crossfire. Others were tram- pled under foot by the rush of the cavalry squad- ron, or were drowned in the river. Several regi- ments surrendered. When night fell, the French had won at all points, Napoleon had achieved an- other decisive battle, worthy not only of Marengo, but of Austerlitz and Jena as well. The Russians lost at Friedland nearly 20,000 men Losses of ''riedland in killed and wounded. The French lost scarcely half that number. As usual the official bulletins vied with each other in misrepresentations. Ben- planation Bennig- nigsen, in his letter to the Czar, pretended that he ^1°'^ ex- had only sent his infantry to take possession of Friedland, so that his troops might march in se- curity. The infantry was attacked, he supported them, and thus was drawn into battle. He gave his total losses as 8,000, with sixteen pieces of can- non. Napoleon's bulletin was in his best vein: "Soldiers, on the fifth day of June we were at-tttf""'* tacked in our cantonments by the Russian army. The enemy mistook the cause of our inactivity. He perceived too late that our repose was that of the lion. In a campaign of ten days we have taken a hundred and twenty guns, seven flags, and have 206 A HISTORY OF THE June 1807 killed, wounded or taken prisoners 60,000 Russians. We' have taken from the enemy all his magazines, his hospitals, ambulances, the fortress of Koenigs- berg, with 300 vessels, which were in that port laden with all kinds of military stores, and 160,000 mus- kets, which England was sending to arm our ene- mies. From the banks of the Vistula we have come "with the speed of the eagle to those of the Niemea. At Austerlitz you celebrated the anniversary of my coronation. At Friedland you have worthily cele- brated the battle of Marengo." After the battle General Victor was elevated to the rank of Marshal. Koenigsberg was occupied by the troops of Marshal Soult. The strongholds forts ' ° of Neisse, Glatz and Kosel capitulated, one after Burrender another. Only Graudenz and Memel still held out fh^.2L for Prussia. The war was over. tiie war On his entry into Tilsit, a little town on the river Niemen, Napoleon received a letter from the Czar of Russia. Alexander proposed an armistice until he could arrive for personal conference. Marshal Kalkreuth, on behalf of the Prussian army, asked for the same. The truce was granted. The first interview between the emperors was appointed for June 25. On the appointed day Napoleon ordered three rafts, richly carpeted and surmounted by splendid pavilions, fluttering with flags, to be moored in mid- stream. The two armies were drawn up on the shores of the Niemen. At the stroke of one, can- nons roared and regimental bands played, as each Emperor, accompanied by a few officers, stepped 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 20? into a boat on his own side of the river. The imperial suites, gorgeously apparelled, followed ^g'^at'lfuit in other boats. The main raft was intended only for Napoleon and Alexander. Napoleon reached the raft first, and immediately crossed it to receive Alexander stepping from his boat. In the sight of the armies the two Emperors embraced. A multi- tudinous shout arose from the soldiers drawn up on either bank. The first words which Alexander uttered were: "I hate the English as much as you d'b. I am ready to second you in all your enterprises against them." "In that case," replied Napoleon, "everything will be readily arranged and peace is already made." So much for Napoleon's own ac- count of the interview. It lasted two full hours. Certain it is that Napoleon, by his charm of man- ner, fascinated the youthful Czar. In later years Alexander said: "Never did I love any one as I loved that man." It was agreed between them to neutralize the town of Tilsit, so that they might meet frequently and at their leisure. As Napoleon wrote to Alexander in one of his notes at that time, it was his intention "to pass in one moment from open war to the most friendly relations." Accord- ingly the two Emperors met, dined together, enter- tained one another, and reviewed the French, clad in each other's insignia. William III. of Prussia hastened to Tilsit anxious to plead the cause of his own country. He was regarded as something of a marplot. Queen Louise, who came later, cut a very diflierent figure. "The Queen of Prussia," said Na- Queen ° Louise ar- poleon, "in spite of my address and utmost efforts, "v^'* 208 A HISTORY OF THE July 1807 constantly led the conversation. She returned at pleasure to her subject and directed it as she chose, Queen but Still with SO much tact and delicacy that it was Louise pleads for impossible to take offence. Had she arrived earlier, Prussia r ' it might have had much influence upon the result of our negotiations. Happily she did not make her appearance until all was settled. It is plain that she has been the real sovereign of Prussia for the last fifteen years." Queen Louise made a strong effort to have Napoleon withdraw some of the hard conditions imposed upon Prussia. When she found that she had failed, she said to Napoleon: "How much I should admire you, sire, were you as mag- nanimous as you are powerful." Later, when he had handed her into the carriage, she burst into tears. Napoleon's report of the Czar's confession of re- sentment against England was not inherently im- probable. There was ground for resentment, for the reason that the British Ministry had failed to pay Russia the subsidy of £6,000,000 which it had Settle- arranted to Austria. Apart from this there was a ments of " r '^'^"' well-defined movement in Russia for the annexa- tion of Finland, then possessed by the King of Swe- den, one of England's allies. Napoleon readily entered into this, and also agreed to leave Russian Poland under the yoke of Russia. Only Prussian Poland with Warsaw and Posen were incorporated into the federation of the Rhine, while Russia ac- quired the former Prussian province of Bialistok. With the exception of dismantled Prussia, all Ger- many entered into the alliance with Erance. The 1807 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 209 King of Saxony, as a reward for his complete change of front, received the new duchj of War- saw, and was elevated to the rank of king. Hesse, Brunswick, and all former Prussian provinces west of the Elbe were molded into the new kingdom of Westphalia, which was given to Napoleon's brother Kiiis^t . -11 Westphalia Jerome. Prussia retained only one-half of her for- mer territory, with but six million subjects. She had to agree to pay an indemnity of twenty million francs. Her army was restricted to 60,000 men. Under the new arrangement her frontier lines leftf^omof her a prey to French invasion from the West. The^''"'*'^ city of Dantzig benefited by the rearrangement in so far as it was restored to the rank of a free city. Alexander lost practically nothing. He agreed to evacuate Moldavia and Wallachia, and gave formal recognition to the new-fledged royal titles of Napo- leon's three brothers. For the future, the two Em- perors made some sweeping secret arrangements, Turkey was to be despoiled of Montenegro and the Ionic isles. Sweden, Denmark and Portugal were to be treated as enemies if they did not agree to join the continental blockade against England. In case ^"J^^^"*^ the King of Sweden clung to England, as was to®"^"^ be foreseen, Finland was to be wrested from him forthwith and incorporated as a Russian province. Alexander bound himself to act as an ally of France against England, if peace were refused by that power. The peace of Tilsit was fully ratified on July 9, in a final convention at Koenigsberg. Peace with Prus- Bia was formally declared and terms were made for a French evacuation of Pomerania and Silesia, after 210 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 180r Prussia sbould have begun the payments of her war indemnity. NapoieoD JNapoleon returned to France. He was reoeived returns to France with the roar of cannon, and once more became the object of the most extravagant adulation. The Pres- ident of the French Court of Appeals delivered aa address of welcome, in the course of which he said: "Our victorious Emperor has never desired any- thing but peace. He has ever presented the olive branch to those who have forced upon him the lau- rels of victory. Napoleon is above human history. He belongs to the heroic age. He is above mere admiration." Napoleon in turn said: "Let us now turn to trade and manufacture. I have had enough of the trade of General. I shall now resume with you that of First Minister. I will recommence my great reviews of affairs, which it is time to substitute for my great reviews of armies." The state of pub- lic affairs in France warranted such an utterance. The new armaments called for by Napoleon's pro- longed campaign in Prussia had caused consterna- tion among the French peasants. The expense of the war had sapped the resources of the country both in products and in men. The stoppage of commerce by the continental blockade struck all branches of production sterile. Public credit was shaken and French consols were at an alarmingly Need of ^^^ ^^^' Napoleou Called a Council of State to reforms inquire into the causes of the evil, and the proposed remedies. The suggestion to refurnish the palaces of bishops and prefectures, so as to give work to the poor, did not commend itself to Napoleon. Yet he i6or Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 211 ordered his apartments in the Tuileries to be refur- nished, and cautioned his wife and sisters to confine their purchases to the public workshop for military supplies. He decreed that 600,000 francs a month nondition should be advanced to the manufacturers who were JjUiul"*^*^ in difficulties, on condition that they should con- ^^ ^^^ tinue in operation. The launch of this loan dcewr attention to the country's need of commerce, for the goods thus acquired spoiled on the hands of the State and had to be got rid of. On the other hand, not enough was manufactured in France to clothe even the army. Thus Bourrienne, Napoleon's pri- vate secretary, records in his diary that the bulk of the French army was supplied with shoes and clothing smuggled into France Irom England. The financial distress spread to the neighboring coun- Distress ia tries. Holland was hard hit. Louis Bonaparte, Holland reigning there as king, sided with his stricken subjects and declined to raise 50,000 Dutch con- scripts for his brother. Louis, on the other hand, was quick to raise money for the sufferers of Ley- den, when a powder ship blew up in the harbor of that city and destroyed 200 houses and killed 150 men, among them the celebrated Professors Luzac and Kleit. At this Napoleon was moved to wrath: "Have you so completely lost your head as to forget what you owe to me ? Do you want to force me to express my great displeasure publicly? Aid my troops! Make a large levy of conscripts! A prince who passes for good in the first year of his reign is a prince who will be ridiculed in his second. When a king is said to be a good man his reign is unsuc- 212 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1807 cessful. The first thing that you ought to do, and that I require of you to do, is to raise a subscription for me." After the Peace of Tilsit came a sharp change' Immediate ^ *=> peTce^ °^ for the better. Confidence was restored in Paris, and French consols rose to a higher pomt thaa ever before. While things stood thus in Europe, the people of England were comparatively tranquil. The danger of a foreign invasion once removed, they Engfand experienced a relief very similar to that which, followed the destruction of the Armada, two hun- dred years before. As in Elizabethan times, colo- nial conquest, commerce and letters flourished side by side. While Coleridge, Wordsworth, Moore, Crabbe and Charles Lamb were giving their best works to the world, Byron, then still a lad, was stirred to attempt his first poetic flight. During his leisure hours at school and college he had written occasional verses, which appeared at Newark in 1807, in a little volume entitled "Hours of Idle- ness." Boyish and weak as these verses were, they scarcely deserved the weighty scorn with which the "Edinburgh Review" pounced upon them. Stung in his pride, Byron retorted with his "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," a long poem full of scathing invective and satire. It showed his contemporaries that this stripling author of puny versicles, when aroused, could slash about him with a pen dipped in gall. In this poem, Byron fell foul of nearly all the En- glish poets of the day — Soumey, ihe poet lau- Byron's early poetry ibo, Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 213 rente, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott and Moore. The stanzas on Wordsworth were the best. "Next comes the dull disciple of thy school That would apostate from poetic rule, The simple Wordsworth, framer of a lay As soft as evening in his favorite May ; Who, both by precept and example, shows That prose ia verse, and verse is merely prose." For British commerce, the recent annihilation of Spanish trade with the West Indies and the acquisition of the rich Dutch colonies at Curacoa and at the Cape of Good Hope opened a flourish- Financial ing field. Lord Petty's finance reform, undertaken England early in the year, brought about a total redemption of £152,348,529 in national debts. The daily pur- chase of £96,000 of floating stocks alone amounted to a redemption of £17,422,000, or a sum but little short of the whole loan for the public service dur- ing the preceding year. These financial successes made Sir Spencer Percival, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the leader for the nonce of the new Portland Ministry which had replaced "All the Talents" in April. Sir Spencer's mouthpiece was George Canning, the foreign secretary, who soon overshadowed his rival. Lord Castlereagh. All these gentlemen were Tories of the most conserva- tive stamp. Sydney Smith, who delighted to ridi- cule them in his witty Peter Plymley letters, said of Percival that he had the head of a country parson and the tongue of an Old Bailey lawyer. Canning, the most gifted member of the Cabinet, Canning'a ° ° 'change of long ago had turned from an ardent revolutionist''"''"'' 214 A HISTORY OF THE June 1807 into a rabid anti-republican. This change of mind, coming so early in his life, gave rise to a Whig sarcasm that "men had often been known to turn their coats, but this was the first time that a boy had turned his jacket." By the time Bonaparte overthrew the French Republic on the 18t[i Bru- maire, Canning was in a mood to exult in the change. "Huzza! huzza! huzza!" he wrote to a friend, "it is the lasting ridicule thrown upon all systems of democratic equality that makes the name of Bonaparte dear to me. Henceforth republican and fool are synonymous terms." Canning now held that Napoleon's course ab- solved England from ordinary rules of morals. To fight Bonaparte with his own weapons had become the rallying cry of Englishmen. The first acts of the new administration showed what was Coercion of meant by this famous phrase. Weak neutral pow- ers, which yet were England's rivals in commerce, were the first to suffer. Such were Denmark and the United States. Early in 1807, the British squadron happened to lie off Hampton Roads, in Virginia, watching for some French frigates that had taken refuge at An- napolis. In spring a whole boat's crew of the British sloop-of-war "Halifax" deserted and made off to Norfolk. The commander of the "Halifax" was informed that his men had enlisted on the "Chl°a-"^^ American frigate "Chesapeake," then preparing for a cruise to the Mediterranean. The British Minister at Washington at the same time made complaint that three deserters from the British 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 216 frigate "Melampus" had enlisted on the "Chesa- peake." The Secretary of the Navy instituted an inquiry, and found that these men were native Americans who had been improperly impressed ^^ ^. into British service, and were, therefore, not sub-fmpressed ject to reclamation. Admiral Berkeley, command- ing the British North Atlantic Squadron, issued an order to all his captains to search the "Chesapeake" for British deserters whenever they might meet her outside of the three-mile limit. The "Chesa- peake," owing to various delays, did not drop down the Potomac until June. When she tried to fire the customary salute while passing Mount Vernon, it was found that her ammunition would not fit her guns. At Hampton Roads, Captain James Barron, the newly appointed commodore of the Mediterranean Squadron, assumed command, and on June 21 the "Chesapeake" started on herapeake" sets sail cruise. Sailing under a fair wind, she passed the British cruisers "Bellona, " "Melampus" and "Leopard" at Lynnhaven Bay. The "Leopard" stood out to sea after the "Chesapeake." While dining in his cabin. Commodore Barron caught a glimpse of the "Leopard" through a porthole, and remarked that her movements appeared suspicious, but that she could certainly have nothing to do with the "Chesapeake." At half-past three the "Leopard" came down before the wind, and, rounding to about half a cable's length to wind- ward, hailed the "Chesapeake," and said she had despatches for the Commodore. Barron returned the hail: "We will heave to, and you can send 216 A HISTORY OF THE June 3807 your boat alongside." The fact that the "Leopard" tatio^^r mancBuvred to windward was not taken exception to, since British commanders had long been in the habit of arrogating unto themselves the windward position as a sort of maritime right. The lieuteaant from the "Leopard" came aboard and delivered to Commodore Barron a written copy of the British admiral's order respecting the alleged deserters on board the "Chesapeake," with this note from his Britishde- immediate commander: "The captain of the 'Leop- maiid on ^ "^ peake^ ard' wiil not presume to say anything in addition to what the commander-in-chief has stated, more than to express a hope that every circumstance re- specting them may be adjusted in a manner that the harmony subsisting between the two countries may remain undisturbed." Commodore Barron, after some reflection, wrote out the following re- ply: "I know of no such men as you describe. The officers that were on the recruiting service for this ship were particularly instructed by the govern- ment through me not to enter any deserters from his Britannic Majesty's ships, nor do I know of any being here. I am also instructed never to permit Com- the crew of any ship that I command to be mus- tered by any other but their own officers. It is my disposition to preserve harmony, and I hope this answer to your despatch will prove satisfactory." The British gig pulled away, and Commodore Barron, after consultation with Captain Gordon, gave orders to have the gun deck cleared. The captain of the "Leopard," as soon as he had re- ceived Barron's reply, edged nearer and hailed the Barron's deQance 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 217 "Cbesapeake": "Commodore Barroa, you mu8t bo aware of the necessity I am unaer ot compiymg with the orders of my commander-in-chief." It was plainly seen that the British crew were at quarters. Barron repeated the order to clear for action without drumbeat. The men were hurried to their quarters. To gain time Barron shouted through his trumpet. "I do not hear what yoa say I" The British captain repeated his hail, and Barron again replied that he did not understand. For answer, Captain Humphreys fired a shot across ^^e'cf™"* his bow. Another shot followed. A few moments afterward the *' Leopard" poured her whole broad- side into the "Chesapeake" at pointblank range. Commodore Barron was wounded where he stood on the gangplank, but continued to hail the "Leop- ard" while his own men were getting their guns ready. The "Leopard's" fire lasted fifteen min- utes. In all there were seventy discharges, three American sailors were killed, eighteen wounded, all three masts badly injured and twenty-two round shots entered the hull of the "Chesapeake." Then Commodore Barron, bleeding from his wound, ordered his flag to be hauled down. As it touched peake" '-' hauls dovnt the taffrail, the third lieutenant of the "Chesapeake" ^erflag managed to fire one gun by means of a live coal which he brought from the galley in his fingers. The boats of the "Leopard" came alongside and the crew of the "Chesapeake" were mustered by the "Leopard's" officers. The three deserters from the "Melampus" were taken, and one, Jenkin Rat- ford, the ringleader of the British deserters from XlXth CcuturF— Vol. 1— -10 218 A HISTORY OF THE June 1807 the "Halifax," was dragged out of the coal hole. At sevea in the evening the British officers left the ship, and Commodore Barron reported to the cap- American tain of the "Leopard": "I consider the frigate Burrender '■ " refused 'Chesapeake' your prize and I am ready to de- liver her to any officers authorized to receive her." Captain Humphreys replied immediately: "Having to the utmost of my power fulfilled the instructions of my commander-in-chief, I have nothing more to desire, and must in consequence proceed to join the remainder of my squadron." to^the""^ Without a flag, disgraced and humiliated, the nation "Chesapeake" returned to Hampton Eoads, with her crew smarting under an insult that was never forgotten or forgiven by Americans. The American people were thoroughly aroused. The citizens of Norfolk, for want of anything better, destroyed the water casks of the British squadron. The mayor of Norfolk forbade all intercourse with the British squadron in Lynnhaven Bay. The British com- mander retaliated by threatening to blockade Nor- folk. President Jefferson approved the action of Norfolk's mayor. He issued a proclamation begin- thr^tena "^'^S tlius: "Hospitality under such circumstances *" ceases to be a duty, and the continuance of it would tend only to bring on a rupture between the two nations." The United States cruiser "Revenge" was sent to England with despatches demanding a complete disavowal, the restoration of the impressed seamen and the recall of Admiral Berkeley. Minis- ter Monroe was instructed to communicate the inci- dent to Russia. Congress, as the only body em- 1807 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 219 powered to make war, was called into session. In regard to the unfortunate commodore, who was involved in this disgrace, an immediate court of in- quiry was ordered on the ''Chesapeake." Among / the judges sat Captain Decatur, one of Barron's harshest critics. Commodore Barron was court- martialled for neglect of duty in failing to prepare his ship for action, and for surrendering without having fired a shot. He was convicted and sen- ''ore Barron tenced to suspension from rank and pay for five '*'^&'"^<^®** years. In later years, he was refused an active command. In the end, Commodore Barron chal- ^ lenged Captain Decatur for his vindictive attitude toward him and shot him dead in a duel. The British captain, on the other hand, came out with colors flying. Admiral Berkeley hastened to give him his formal approval. "So far as I am enabled to judge," he wrote in a letter dated on the day of American independence, "you have con- ducted yourself most properly. I hope you mind the public accounts that have been published of this affair as little as I do. We must make allow- ances for the heated state of the populace in a country where law and every tie, both civil and religious, is treated so lightly." The three Ameri- can deserters from the "Melampus" were sentenced to receive five hundred lashes each. Jenkin Eat- ford, the British deserter, was hanged from the foreyard arm of his own ship, the "Halifax." In England the people warmly approved Admiral Emgiish- Berkeley's measures. Thus the "Morning Post, " e^"''*"*- the chosen mouthpiece of the British Foreign Office, 220 A HISTORY OF THE July 1807 published this comment: "America is not content with striking at the very vitals of our commercial existence, she must also, by humbling our naval greatness and by disputing our supremacy, not only lessen us in our own estimation, but degrade us in the eyes of Europe and the world. ... It will never be permitted to be said that the 'Royal Sov- ereign' has struck her flag to a Yankee cock." And again: "A few short months of war would convince their desperate politicians of the folly of measuring the strength of a rising but still infant and puny nation with the colossal power of the S™ts British Empire." The London "Times," in a similar vein, declared that "The Americans could not even send an ambassador to France — could hardly pass from New York to Staten Island with- out British permission." In view of this temper of the English people, the British Foreign Office, while expressing regret for the occurrence, preferred to put off Mr. Monroe's demands for redress until popular feeling should have subsided. For the present Mr. Canning had a far more pressing enter- prise on hand. As soon as the British Ministry had been informed of the portent of Napoleon's ne- gotiations with Alexander at Tilsit it was decided to despatch a large naval expedition to Copenhagen. Denmark Denmark was to be forced away from an alliance the next Tictim vvith France. On July 26, a fleet commanded by Lord Gambier sailed from the Downs. The expe- dition consisted of some twenty ships of the line and forty frigates and transports, carrying 27,000 mer under Lord Cathcart. A diplomatic agent lB07Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 221 went along, with instructions to require the sur- render of the Danish fleet as a temporary security for England. The unfortunate Danes, by reason of their enterprise as shippers and traders, found themselves between two millstones. Denmark was the only neutral power the control of whose ship- ping was necessary for the success of Napoleon's designs against English commerce. On August 2, Jrom^'" he sent orders to Bernadotte at Hamburg: "If England does not accept the mediation of Russia, Denmark must declare war on England, or I will declare war on Denmark." Bernadotte was ordered to hold his troops ready for an instant invasion of Denmark. Great Britain's ugly message to Den- marls was intrusted to Jackson, the former British Minister to Berlin. This was the same Jackson whose appointment as Minister to the United States had been opposed by Rufus King, on account of Jackson's notorious ill-temper. In obedience to his instructions, Jackson sought out the Danish Prince Royal at Kiel, and had a stormy interview with Bernstorff. The Danish Prime Minister treated the British demands as a direct insult to Denmark. The Prince Royal likewise refused to countenance British interference with Denmark's international relations. Jackson's manner of presentinff Great J'^ckson'* Britain's ultimatum came in for severe criticism. Thus Lord Eldon, who said in private that the story made his heart ache and his blood run cold, related in after life what old King George thought of the matter. When Jackson returned to London and was presented at court, King George asked: 222 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1807 jackson'9 " W^as the Prince upstairs or down when he received interview '■ Ki^'^^^ you." "He was on the ground floor," replied Jackson. "1 am glad of it," exclaimed the old king. "For if he had half the spirit of his uncle [King George III.] he would have kicked you down- stairs." As a result of Jackson's threats of coer- cion, Prince Christian sailed immediately for Copen- hagen, whither Jackson followed him. On August 13, Jackson was informed that the Prince would not see him again, and that his Ministers had no au- thority whatever to conclude any arrangement upon terms at all compatible with Jackson's instructions. The British envoy at once got his passports and joined the fleet lying outside Copenhagen, Two days later, the British transports landed 20,000 soldiers at Vedvec and the city was invested on the land side. Copenhagen was utterly defenceless. Outside of Elsinor Castle there was not a battalion under arms in all Denmark. Not a gun was mounted on the ramparts. To man the defences, volunteers had to be raised among the populace. The ships in the harbor lay at anchor without a sail ^™bard- flapping. On September 2, the bombardment of oopenha- Copenhagen was begun. For three days the field batteries on land and the British fleet in the harbor poured an unceasing fire into the helpless city. In a very short time several blocks of houses were on fire. At the end of a three days' bombardment half of the city was in ashes and nearly 2,000 non- combatants lay buried in the smoking ruins. The British took possession of eighteen Danish ships of the line and all the war frigates, and stripped the 1807 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 223 dockyards of their stores. Denmark lay prone before England. All Danish merchant vessels that happened to be in English waters were confiscated with their cargoes to the value of £10,000,000. In distant India the flourishing Danish factory at Bengal was swept into England's pouch. The bombardment of Copenhagen affected Europe as did Napoleon's execution of the Duke Enghien. The King of Denmark at once addressed a procla- Prociama- mation to all friendly powers. These were the mostKinl-of . Deumark striking passages: "All Europe is acquainted with Denmark's unceasing neutrality during this period of disturbance and war. This state of peace and tranquillity is suddenly annihilated. The Danish government saw the English ships of war on its coast without even a conjecture that they were to be employed against Denmark. The English court then declared to the court of Denmark in the most overbearing manner that Denmark was to deliver up all her ships of war to the British government. This opening, as offensive in the manner of presen- tation as in the demand itself, left no room for negotiation. Placed between danger and dishonor, the Danish government had no choice. Cut off'^|^f°*- from all means of defence we were forced into the England unequal contest. Let impartial cabinets judge of the results. Even in England every noble and generous mind must disown this act of violence which deforms the character of a virtuous sovereign and will ever remain a scandal in the annals of Great Britain." Denmark immediately entered into an alliance 224 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. 1807 with Napoleon. Emperor Alexander of Russia re- vived the northern embargo against Jinglish ship- ping in a proclamation in which he said: "The at- tack of England on Denmark was an outrage in which history, so replete in acts of violence, has no equal. Russia will have nothing to do with England until satisfaction shall have been given to Denmark." England's high-handed acts at sea left retaitatory her without E friend save Portugal. Her policy of retaliation was enforced all the more relentlessly. Following upon the attacks on the "Chesapeake" and Copenhagen, the British cabinet issued a decree which prohibited all neutral trade along the entire European sea-coast from Copenhagen to Trieste. Only the Baltic ports were left open. No American vessels should be allowed to enter any port in Europe from which British vessels were excluded. Tbese rigorous measures were taken upon the recom- mendation of a parliamentary committee which had Orders in '■ '' ^^ Council declared that the distress in the West Indies was due to "the facility of intercourse, under the American flag, between the hostile colonies and Europe, by means of which the whole of their produce was carried to market at charges little ex- ceeding those of peace, while the British planter is burdened with all the inconvenience, risk and expense resulting from the state of war." After November 11, 1807, any American vessel carrying any cargo was liable to capture if it sailed from any port not under British control. American com- merce was to be turned perforce into exclusively English channels. 1607 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 225 America, like those other hapless neutrals, Den mark and Portugal, was caught between the two 1- -11 f Ti 1 T T T-i /-A 1 Oppression grinding millstones or Jiingland and r ranee. Unly oi neutrals her greater distance from Europe saved her from a fate similar to that of the others. A characteristic note of the time has been pre- served in one of the letters of the American Minis- ter at Paris. It was written after Napoleon's first diplomatic reception at the Tuileries on his return from the campaign in the North. After telling how roughly the French Emperor accosted the Danish and Portuguese Ambassadors within the hearing of their colleagues, General Armstrong goes on: "These circumstances go far to Justify the whisper Letter of American that begins to circulate, that an army is organizing Miuister at in the South for the purpose of taking possession of Portugal, and another in the North for a similar purpose against Denmark. Under the influence of this suggestion, the Danish Minister, asking me aside, inquired whether any application had been made to me with regard to a projected union of all commercial States against Great Britain. On my answering in the negative he remarked: 'You are much favored, but it will not last.' " The Danish Minister was right. Shortly after Napoleon's orders forced the governments of Den- mark and Holland to close their ports, the Emperor wrote to Decr^s: "France cannot regard flags which enjoy no consideration as neutral. That of Amer- ica, however exposed it may be to the insults of the English, still has some sort of existence. Those of Portugal and Denmark exist no longer." When 226 A HISTORY OF THE Mtumn 1807 General Armstroug protested against the condem- Hiition of an American cargo that had been wrecked threaten" off MoHaix, Napoleon responded sharply: "Since America America suffers her vessels to be searched, she adopts tbe principle that the flag does not cover the goods. . . . Why should Americans not equally suflEer their vessels to be searched by French ships? France recognizes that these meas- ures are unjust and subversive of national sover- eignty, but it is the duty of nations to resort to force and to declare themselves against things which dishonor them and disgrace their independence." The American people, aroused as they were over the "Chesapeake" affair and the West Indian block- American ade, Were coming to the same conclusion. Gallatin, pre para- e t m tionsfor tlie Secretary of the Treasury, began making his economic preparations for war. Congress, at the behest of President Jefferson, voted $1,854,000 for additional gunboats, harbor fortifications and shore defences. The navy was left as weak as before. Among the various proposals for the national defence was one for building submarine torpedoes. It came from Eobert Fulton of New York. On early ex- July 20, 1807, iu pursuaucc of the experiments which the government had authorized him to make, Fulton, with one of his torpedoes, blew up the hulk of a large brig in New York harbor. This exploit did not produce a favorable impression on the gov- ernment, as the torpedo locks missed fire several times, and the explosion did not occur until sev- eral hours after the time announced to the spec- tators crowding the New York water front. The penments 1805 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 227 torpedo in this instance was a copper case two feet long, charged with one hundred pounds of gun- powder with clockwork to set it off. Previous to this, Fulton had offered a submarine boat to Napoleon and to the British admiralty. Napoleon commissioned Fulton to blow up some Napoleon ^ ^ and Fulton British cruisers outside of Brest. When Fulton failed in the attempt, Napoleon lost interest in the project. Then the Earl of Stanhope, the inventor of the Stanhope printing press, who had been in- terested in Fulton's inventions of a flax-spinning machine and cast-iron aqueducts, persuaded Lord Sidmouth to call Fulton to England. A naval com- mission was appointed to examine Fulton's scheme for floating mines and torpedoes. On October 15, 1805, Fulton blew up the hulk of a Danish brig in Walniar Roads, in sight of Mr. Pitt's country house. As reported by Fulton in a letter to Lord Castlereagh, the experiment proved a complete sue- Forerunner cess: "Exactly in fifteen minutes from the time of torpedo drawing the peg and throwing the loaded carcass in the water, the explosion took place. It lifted the brig almost bodily and blew her completely in two. She went to pieces like a shattered eggshell." An attempt to blow up some French gun brigs in the roads of Boulogne proved a failure. The torpedoes exploded alongside of the Frenchmen and did no harm. Fulton left England in disappoint- ment and returned to America. Here he perfected his model of a steamboat which he had first ex- hibited before the members of the French Academy on the waters of the Seine. In Paris, Chancellor 228 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1807 Chancellor Jjivinffston of New York had become deeply inter- Livini:st<)n o i ^ interested ggjg^^ j^ Falton's Steamboat. He entered into active partnership with the inventor and had a bill passed through the Legislature of New York granting to Livingston and Fulton the exclusive right of navi- gating steam vessels in the waters of New York. For a long time this steamboat bill was a standing subject of ridicule among the legislators of Albany. Upon his return to America, Fulton and Livingston began in earnest to build their steamboat. The engine was furnished by Watt and Bolton in Bir- mingham, who but five years before had constructed an engine for the first working locomotive in Eng- land. In August, 1807, Fulton's steamboat was fin- ished and steamed out of the shipyard of Charles Brown in the East River. She was named the "Clermont," but the people of New York called "Fulton's her "Fulton's Folly." The "Clermont" was a Folly" _ •' schooner-rigged boat of a hundred and sixty tons, and had a cylinder measuring twenty-four inches in diameter with a four-foot stroke. The paddlewheels revolved amidships with no box or covering. Dry pine wood was used for fuel, which sent forth thick black smoke with flames and sparks leaping high above the single funnel. This gave the ship a terrific aspect, and spread terror among the superstitious watermen of New York harbor. On August 11, the "Clermont" made her maiden trip up the Hudson River to Chancellor Living- ston's country-seat near Albany. It was a voyage of a hundred and ten miles, and took twenty-four hours, without a mishap. Fulton wrote to his 1807 Auff. NINETEENTH CENTURY 229 friend Barlow in Paris: "My steamboat voyaere ^""^""'^ J JO success to Albany and back has turned out rather more favorably than I had calculated. The voyage was performed wholly by power of the steam engine. I overtook many sloops and schooners beating to windward and parted with them as if they had been at anchor. The power of propelling boats by steam is now fully proved. The morning I left New York there were not thirty persons in the city who be- liev'ed that the boat would ever move a mile an hour, or be of the least utility. While we were putting otf from the wharf I heard a number of sarcastic remarks. This is the way in which igno- rant men compliment what they call philosophers and projectors. I feel infinite pleasure in reflecting on the immense advantages my country will derive from the invention." Soon the boat was running as a regular packet between New York and Albany. The river men grew to hate her, and several attempts opp*^*^ were made to sink the "Clermont." The New York Legislature finally passed an act declaring all com- binations to destroy her, or wilful attempts to injure her, public offences punishable by fine and impris- onment. Next the courts were asked for an injunc- tion to restrain Fulton from using his new machine on the Hudson, but with _ Daniel Webster for a pleader, Fulton won his case. Other steamboats were soon built by Livingston and Fulton, and, in the end, Fulton furnished the city of New York with steam ferries. The newspapers of the time gave scarcely any attention to Fulton's steamboat. Much was said on the other hand about the experi- 230 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. ISOT Qarneria'8 meots of M. Garnerin, with a newly invented bal- loon tilled with hydrogen gas, the great invention of Lavoisier. After his first ascension in Milan, Garnerin addressed a letter to the newspapers of Paris, in which he disposed of an earlier aeronaut's contentions that the sun and moon lost their bril- liancy and gravity in force at high altitudes. After Garnerin 's second ascension at Paris late in Septem- ber, 1807, he was publicly entertained by a scien- tific society and the officers of a regiment of cui- rassiers, whose standard he had planted on a high mountain. Reforms While sciencc and inventions were thus progress- ing in other countries, the Prussian people, chas- tened by war, were catching up their lost place in the march of civilization. At the recommendation of Napoleon, who disliked Minister Hardenberg for his steadfast resistance to French encroachments, of'stein' Stein was summoned to the head of the Prussian Ministry. To Napoleon he was known only as a skilful financier who was likely to succeed in rais- ing the money for the heavy war indemnities ex- acted by France. Stein entered into office on Sep- tember 4, 1807, Four days later his first great legislative measure was launched. It was the abolition of sarfdom in Prussia, and of all feudal dis- tinctions between the nobles, burghers and peasants. The family estates were freed from entail. Stein appointed Scharnhorst as president of the military commission, which did away with the enforced mili- tary service of the former peasant serfs, and created in Its stead a system of universal service with the 1807 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 231 colors. To comply at least outwardly with Napo- leon's demand for a restriction of the Prussian army to 40,000 men, Scharnhorst devised a short service system, with various reserves, by means of which all citizens could be made to serve their time with the colors. Stein likewise planned to give to Prus- sia a Constitutional Parliament, modelled after that of Great Britain, with municipal home rule, but succeeded only in establishing the last. Stein's re- reforms forms aroused so much opposition on the part of the Prussian nobles, besides incurring the jealous suspicions of Napoleon, that his Ministry was not destined to endure. While it lasted the way was prepared for Prussia's resurrection from the politi- cal degradation and gloom to which she had sunk through the events of the last few years. Toward the end of the year, war clouds once more gathered over Europe. England's uncompromising attitude determined Gustavus IV. of Sweden to carry on the war in the North, which, had lapsed after the defeat of the Russians and Prussians, and his own armistice at Shlakkov. Outgeneralled by Marshal Brune, the Swedes lost Stralsund and K^^""** Kuegen, and had to withdraw into the interior. This ended the campaign in the North for the nonce. The only remaining neutral in Europe was Portu- gal. The Regent, placed between the alternative of losing his ancient kingdom or his vast new pos- Predjca- sessions across the sea, leaned toward England, ^"'■'^"fi^ Napoleon saw his opportunity in Spain by making a bold stroke against Portugal. Portugal's refusal 232 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. i807 to confiscate all English property set the ball roll- ino-. Oa October 17, General Junot marched from Bayonne with 27,000 men headed for the Pyrenees. Ten days later, a secret treaty for the spoliation of Portusral was concluded at Fontainebleaa between Treaty " Taik^raui Talleyrand and Godoy, the Prime Minister of andGodoy gp^-^ rpj^g King of Etruria was to exchange his kingdom for a Portuguese province, and Godoy was to receive the sovereignties of Al- garvez and Alentejo, in Portugal. All Portu- guese colonies were to fall to Spain, and King Charles IV. of Spain was to be recognized as Emperor of both Americas. Neither the Spanish Minister, nor the Crown Prince, who intrigued with Napoleon against Godoy, realized the danger of the projected French invasion of Spain. General Junot, with his army of the Gironde, marching across Spain at the utmost speed, was jYench welcomed by both government and the people. At iDTasioD of Portugal the Portuguese frontier no resistance was encoun- tered. The governor of the Portuguese province Tras los Montes wrote: "We are unable to enter- tain you as friends or to resist you as enemies. I have the honor to be," etc. The French troops swarmed over the mountains and concentrated rap- idly upon Lisbon. At Lisbon, the royal Princes of Braganza were still deliberating what to do when they received a copy of "Le Mouiteur, " printed on November 13, in which was published Napoleon's decree: "La Maison de Brag.mze a cess^ de regner en Europe." After consultation with the British ambassador, the Hegent of Portugal resolved to 1807 Nov. NINETEENTH CENTURY 233 maintain the independence of his family by flight^'5^^^"^^^ across the Atlantic. As the French troops ap- ^"'■^"°'^* peared before Lisbon, the Regent with his family embarked on a fleet of sixteen ships. Accompanied by four British convoys under Sir Sydney Smith, and saluted by British guns, the fleet dropped down the Tagus and put to sea for Rio Janeiro. Marshal Junot, a few hours later, occupied the royal palace. The B'rench troops were in wretched condition from their prolonged rapid marches. Cannon were placed in all the streets and the inhabitants were disarmed. Heavy contributions were levied for the support of the French troops. The flower of the Portuguese army was sent to France. The island colony of Madeira was occupied by a British garrison to be held for the Portuguese princes until better days. In Madrid, Grodoy, the Prime Minister, looked for- ward to receiving his share in the spoil of Portugal, Spanish but Napoleon had another end in view. Not only '" Portugal but Spain, too, was to be his prey. For more than a year he had contemplated some such project — since the day in 1806 that Godoy had dared to prepare for war against France, by call- ing the Spanish people to arms. Godoy's attempt to propitiate Napoleon after the French victories at Jena and Auerstaedt, by sending 14,000 Spanish auxiliaries against Russia, proved a mere sop to the conqueror. Under the circumstances, Godoy's chosen title, the "Prince of Peace," partook of ironical significance. Latter-day historians have come to regard this man as the prince of evil for Spain. 234 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1807 ^doyi ^'^ *^^ autumn of 1807, Godoy stood at the zen- ^^^ ith of his power. His full name and titles were Don Manuel Godoy, Prince of Peace, Duke of Alcu- dia, Count of Evora Monte, Grandee of the first class of Spain, Commander of the Knights of Malta, K.night of the Golden P'leece, Grand Cross Bearer of the Order of Charles 111., President of the Coun- cil of Castile, Generalissimo of the Spanish armies, High Admiral of the royal fleet, Colonel of the Household Troops, etc. With the exception of his promised principalities in Portugal, all these honors had come to him by the grace of Queen Maria Louisa, one of the Naples Bourbons. She was thirty-four when she first bestowed her favors on Godoy, then an untitled young gentleman trooper of twenty-two. She had him educated and drew oodoy's ^i™ i^*o all the intrigues of court. Within two years she caused him to be made Colonel of the Guards and procured him a seat in the Council of Castile. When Count Aranda, the former Minis- ter, was dismissed for recognizing the revolutionary government in France, the Queen's favorite was in- stalled as Prime Minister. After an unsuccessful campaign against the French republic, in 1794, Godoy concluded peace and presented France with the Pandora box of Western San Domingo. For this he received the title "Prince of Peace," with large sums from the secret fund of Portugal. The next war was with England, and was even more disas- T?fnid^^^ trous for Spain. England took the Island of Trini- dad, and practically wiped out all Spanish com merce with the West Indies. By this time Godoy 1807 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 285 was so thoroughly ingratiated at court that nothing could harm him. He was the reputed father of one of tbe royal princes, Don Francisco de Paula. At the same time he lived in open relations with Donna Josepha Tuda, who bore him several children. Be- sides this the Queen permitted him to marry the second daughter of Don Luis, brother to the King. The Archbishop of Toledo declined to perform the marriage ceremony, and the outraged grandees of Spain all remained aloof, but the nuptials were duly celebrated in the royal chapel, and the Queen appointed Grodoy's mistress as one of her ladies in waiting. When France dragged Spain into a war with Portugal, Godoy was made generalissimo in the field, but sold out to Portugal without evergSh*"* encouifitering the enemy. A few years later, when ^° "'^ the United States made preparation to secure free navigation of the Mississippi by seizing the Spanish colony of New Orleans, Godoy averted war by se- cretly deeding Louisiana to France. The next war, brought on by England's seizure of the Spanish treasure ships from Mexico in 1804, resulted in the disaster of Trafalgar. The Prince of Peace ex- pressed himself as satisfied, for he had never ap- proved of this war which threatened Spain with the loss of all her colonial possessions. What remained of the Spanish fleet was sent to Toulon just previ- ous to Napoleon's descent upon Portugal. In the meantime, the Spanish king's eldest son Ferdinand Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias, who was virtually wini •' France banished from court by the disfavor of his mother, carried on a plot of his own with Napoleon. He 236 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. lao? entered into a secret upderstaadiog with Empress Josephine's relative, De Beaaharnais, the French nand's ambassador at Madrid. On October 11, 1807, Fer- leiier to i • i xt i r i Napoleon dinand wrote an abject letter to rsapoleon for the ostensible purpose of congratulating him on his "providential salvation of Europe and the restora- tion of the tranquillity and happiness of nations." The letter went on: "If those men, who unfortu- nately surround my father, suffered him to become acquainted with your imperial and royal majesty's real character, it would draw closer the ties which would unite our respective houses. What means could be better calculated to attain this object than that of soliciting from your imperial and royal majesty the honor of giving to me in marriage a princess of your august family. This is all my heart desires, but it is not what is calculated upon by the perfidious and selfish men who surround the King, and who will on the first opportunity mislead him." Godoy, through his spies, had been fully informed of Ferdinand's plotting with Beauharnais, and furthermore of his disposition to seize the reins in case of his father's death, before Godoy might use his powers to place on the throne his own reputed Godov son, Prince Francisco. On October 29, Ferdinand cbecK- ' FenUnand ^^ Suddenly arrested and brought before his father on charges that he had plotted against his mother's life. King Charles ordered Ferdinand to be cast into prison and wrote an indignant letter to Napo- leon in which he announced his intention to deprive his eldest son of the succession. This was a misstep. Ferdinand was very popular 1807 Dec NINETEENTH CENTURY 237 with the mass of the Spanish people, chiefly because he was known to be an enemy of Godoy, who was hated by all. On the Prince of Asturias were fixed all Spanish hopes of reform. There were threaten- ing indications of the popular feeling on the subject, and Grodoy was further alarmed at Ferdinand's reve- lations of the French ambassador's complicity in his plans. Godoy thought best to recede from his extreme position, and prevailed upon the King toA.^turias liberate his son, on condition that Ferdinand begged the King's and Queen's forgiveness. This the Prince was more than ready to do. On November 5, a royal manifesto announced the King's forgiveness of bis son. Ferdinand was set free. His friends, who had been placed on trial as so-called accom- plices, were acquitted by their judges and left Madrid unharmed. Napoleon, while receiving the confidences of both Napoleon's A ' <-' uesigns on father and son, had no idea of doing anything for^^'^^'^ either, for that would not further his own interests. The imbroglio at Madrid fitted admirably into his plans. While the Emperor strove to lull Spain into security by making an aimless journey to Italy, his generals at Bayonne received orders to prepare for a sudden march on Madrid. During the interval many things happened to divert the attention of Europe. On December 1, the King of Prussia, at the behest of Napoleon, cut off all relations with England. A few days after ward, Napoleon's brother Jerome formally as- cended the throne of his new kmgdom, Westpha- lia. On December 10, the kingdom of Etruria was 238 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1807 relinquished by the JBourbons and French troops occupied the country. On December 17, Napoleon Decree issucd a decfce at Milan, in reply to the British note of J^ovember 11, in which he declared any ship that touched at an English port or yielded to England's demands, thereby lost the protection of her neutral ilag, and should be seized as a prize. A blockade was declared against all British possessions. As if in answer, the British Ministry on the following day published King George's response to Russia's protest against the bombardment of Copenhagen. The right of search and impressment, with all other obnoxious British practices at sea, were reiterated as a maritime privilege, the enforcement of which was rendered doubly necessary by Napoleon's acts of usurpation. American In anticipation of what was coming, the Ameri- u,tionAct can Congress had already passed a Non-Impor- tation Act, which now went into force, despite the protests of American and English merchants. British trade was seriously affected. Among the forbidden articles were all products of leather, silk, hemp, glass, silver, paper, pictures, prints, woollen hosiery, ready-made clothing, millinery, malt liq- uors, and so forth. The intention practically was to punish England by a fine of several million dollars for her interference with American transatlantic trade. Under the stress of new restrictive measures threatened by France and England, the United States and France went even further. On December 17, simultaneously with the new French and English decrees, President Jefferson issued a proclamation 1807 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 239 to Congress calling for a general embargo of all "^elflrir"'* American trade with Europe. In his message he*^'"''^'"^° said: "The whole world is laid under interdict by Great Britain and France, and our vessels, their cargoes and their crews are to be taken by one or by the other, no matter to what place they may be destined, out of our own limits. If therefore on leaving our harbors we are certainly to lose them, is it not better as to vessels, cargoes and seamen to keep them at home?" Within four or five hours after the message had been read, the Senate sent the Embargo Act to the House. The House passed it on December 21, by a vote of 82 to 44. The President signed the bill the next day. For most Americans, this embargo. disastrous as its effects were on American commerce, American premoni- tions of war brought premonitions of the impending war with England. In Spain, during these same days, the curtain rose on a war that is known to English-speaking men as the War of the Peninsula — to Spaniards as LaJ;f^enm-^ Guerra de la Independencia. General Dupont's French army corps crossed the Pyrenees in the last days of 1807. The French troops were re- ceived with acclamation by the Spanish populace. Spaniards still believed that Napoleon had espoused the cause of Ferdinand and meant to free Spain from the detested rule of Godoy. The French in turn proclaimed themselves as the friends of Ferdi- nand and protectors of the true Catholic faith. 240 A HliSTORV OF THE Jaa 1808 Resources 1808 ON New Year's Day, Napoleon returned to Paris to execute his designs against Spain. At the outset of the struggle in the penin- sula, Great Britain's military power consisted of more than a thousand warships — to wit, 250 sail of the hne, 261 frigates, 258 brigs and 300 sloops-of- war. The British army, numbering some 200,000 ^FVan*ife^ mcu, was held in small esteem by the French. land ° The French navy, what little was left of it, in land-locked harbors, was despised by the British. Of French soldiers there were nearly a million under arms. By a new decree of January 21, an- other levy of 80,000 men was added to this. Spain, at this time, had a population of about thirteen millions. The Spanish soldiers had been distrib- uted by Napoleon in different parts of the world, some serving under Junot in Portugal, others in Germany, and some on the frontier of Sweden. At the opening of 1808 two French army corps had entered Spain in the wake of Junot's first army of the Gironde. They numbered 53,000 men. The second army of the Gironde, under Dupont, Invasion of Spain advanced to Vittoria and thence to Valadolid, while Marshal Money's column, called the army of the seu-coast, marched along the road from Bayonne to 1808 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 241 Madrid. Together they cut off the northern prov- inces from Madrid and put themselves in possession of the upper Spanish strongholds. A fourth divis- ion, under General Duhesme, crossing the Eastern ^jjg^g_ Pyrenees, marched for Barcelona. General Brandt t^'pyr^™ in his memoirs tells how some of the northern for- tresses fell into the hands of the French. At Pam- peluna the French soldiers, who had been welcomed by the inhabitants, went into quarters near the cas- tle. Every day a file of them went to the citadel with large bags to fetch bread. One day, after a slight snowfall, a number of French soldiers took to snowballing in front of the castle, while their Northern " ' strong- comrades crowded around as if to watch the fun. ^'^^^ Meanwhile the French commissary men entered the citadel with their bread sacks, in which were con- cealed short swords and pistols. Of a sudden they overpowered the guards at the gate, and the mass of apparently idle soldiers near by made a concerted rash into the citadel. In Madrid the advance of the French aroused great gpaaish alarm. King Charles wrote to Napoleon in a tone alarmed of friendly inquiry. He received a vague reply that was anything but reassuring. On February 20, Marshal Murat left Paris to assnme command in Spain. On March 1, he entered the country with no instructions, but to reassure all parties and com- mit himself to none. It was now that the Spanish court, expecting to see the French in front of Ma- drid before another fortnight, resolved to follow the example of the Prince of Braganza, by flight to Mexico. Preparations for the preliminary journey XlXth Century— Vol. 1— ii 242 A HISTORY OF THE March 1808 to Seville were in progress when Prince Ferdinand's grooms spread a report that Godoy was about to ab- duct the King in order to continue his own misgov- Riots of ernment. The people of Araniuez rushed out of Araujucz *■ ^ •' their houses and cut the traces of the royal car- riage. Quiet was restored when the King gave his word that no journey was intended. That evening he issued this proclamation: "My beloved subjects, calm your perturbed spirits. Know that the army of my dear friend the Emperor of the French is marching through my States with sentiments of peace and amity. The object is to protect the points threatened by the landing of an enemy on the coasts of Spain. My guards have not been called either to defend my person or to escort me on a journey, as some malignant spirits have told you. " The next day a mob marched from Madrid to Aranjuez, and called for the blood of Godoy. The soldiers of the royal guard joined them. Godoy's Godoy ^ palace in Madrid was sacked. The Prime Minister himself, after lying hid for thirty-six hours, was dragged forth and hurried to the barracks amid blows and curses. On the 19th, the riots recom- menced in Aranjuez. The terrified King first issued a decree depriving Godoy of all his dignities, and Chafies ^^^^ abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand. On March 20, a new king was proclaimed in Madrid. Two days later, Murat rode into Madrid with a vanguard of cavalry, followed by Money's corps of infantry. Dupont's division occupied Aranjuez and the Escurial. Here as elsewhere the French soldiers were welcomed by the populace as the abdicates 1808 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 243 deliverers of Ferdinand. The next day Ferdinand '^^P/T"?'* •^ m Madrid himself made a solemn entry into Madrid. During the festivities it was noticed that the French troops paid scant attention to the royal pageant. Marshal Murat, while presenting a claim for the famous sword of Francis I. of France, abstained from ac- cording any formal recognition to Ferdinand. Murat himself entertained secret hopes that he might be placed on the throne of Spain, as he had longed before to become King of Poland. The enthusi- asm of the populace quickly turned into suspicion and ill-will. There was constant friction between Murat's soldiers and the people of Madrid. Tlie late king wrote to Murat that his abdication had been forced and was therefore void. Ferdinand had a conference with Savary, Napoleon's special emissary, to obtain the French Emperor's recogni' tion in person. He was led to believe that Napo- leon would meet him half way at Burgos. Accord- ingly he journeyed northward in company of Savary and his suite. At Burgos they found the Emperor. From all sides Ferdinand received warnings not tOp^..^ proceed. Some of his noblemen offered to carry ."[Icoyed™* him out of danger by sea. At Vittoria the people held up the horses and implored him not to leave the country. Ferdinand was obdurate. Beguiled by a letter from Napoleon, who had proceeded to Bayonne with Josephine, he crossed the Pyreaees and sought out the Emperor there. After a recep- tion and a dinner at a neighboring chateau, Ferdi- nand was informed by Savary that he was expected to exchange his crown for that of the defunct king- Madrid 244 A HISTORY OF THE May 1808 dom of Etruria. For several days the tricked prince PrnJcIs held out. Virtually, he was a prisoner in the hands cants at of Napolcon. He was joined presently by his father BayoQDe t i i • i • and mother, who had come in their turn to sue for favors from Napoleon. Godoy, who had been liber- ated by Murat, also came to Baj^onne. All three overwhelmed Ferdinand with reproaches. Things were at this pass when the population of Madrid, exasperated by the events of the last few weeks, rose against the foreign invaders. Before this, anti-French riots had already broken out in d^Makfin Tolcdo. On May 2 — the famous Dos de Maio, which has since become a Spanish holiday — the people of Madrid went wild at the sight of a carriage in front of the royal palace which was intended to cany the infant prince, Don Antonio, the last member of the royal family, to France. The horses were taken out of the traces and the little prince was snatched from the carriage. At this moment, Murat's aide- de-camp galloped up. He was dragged from his horse and roughly handled till the French guards of the palace came to the rescue. In an incredibly short time the commotion spread through the whole city. French soldiers were struck down on every street, and the military hospital was attacked. Squadrons of cavalry were called in from the sub- urbs. The great thoroughfare of Alcala, Puerta del Sol and the central square were the chief scenes of slaughter. At the commencement of the conflict Murat ordered a detachment of 200 men to take possession of the arsenal. Two ofl&cers happened to be upon 1808 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 2)^ guard there, by name Daoiz and Velarde. They pointed a cannon down the street and with the help of their gunners succeeded in sweeping the street with grape-shot. Two battalions of French soldiers had to be ordered up, and finally the small band jiaasacr* was killed. Several regiments of infantry wereienos marched through the city in detachments, firing volleys into ail cross streets. Many of the rioters were shot, others were taken prisoners, and finally order was restored with the help of the Spanish garrison which had been confined in its barracks during the tumult. But at nightfall the peasants from the suburbs beset the gates. As many as sixty were shot during the night. On the morrow it was found that more than five hundred French- men had been killed. In exasperation the French shot eighty of their prisoners on the Prado. Others were shot to death in the barracks. Such was the news from Madrid that reached Bayonne in the midst of the royal family supplica- tions for their lost throne. Napoleon curtly in- formed Ferdinand that if he withheld his abdication for another day he would be treated as a rebel. The bearer of this message was Savary, who had played so prominent a part in the memorable execu- tion of the Duke of Enghien. With the fate of that luckless prince thus recalled, Ferdinand hesitated crowa*^ no longer. His father, Charles, likewise renounced from ^ BourbOQ* the throne. The crown of Spain was yielded to Napoleon by both father and son. They were dis- missed with a couple of country houses near Paris, and a life annuity of seven and a half million francs. 246 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1808 About the same time that French troops were seizing the Spanish citadels in Pampeluna, Barce- lona, Figueras, and San Sebastian, French soldiers French wcrc marchcd into Rome. Their avowed object oc'cilpy was to eject from the Vatican the emissaries of those countries that still maintained hostility to France, to wit: England and Sweden. Pope Pius VII. threatened to excommunicate Napoleon. In a papal bull of March 27, the grievances against Napoleon were recited: "For a long time the Holy- See has been burdened by the enforced sustenance of the French troops, which have consumed nearly five million scudi. You have deprived us of the duchies of Beneventum and Ponte-Corvo. Now you have invaded the capital itself, and have made us a prisoner in our own apostolic residence." Napoleon fh*reaf°i'ed replied to the Pope's threat of excommunication excommu- by a dccrce announcing the annexation of the papal nicatioa provinces Ancona, Urbino, Macerata and Camerino to the kingdom of Italy. The King of Naples, Joseph, was summoned to serve as King of Spain, since his brother Louis had declined that honor. In northern Europe, too, there was a lively inter- change of State papers. Russia declared war on Finland SwedcQ and seized Finland as per agreement with annexed ^ " by Russia Napolcou. In a proclamation to the Finns the Czsar pledged his imperial word that all the internal aSuirs of their country should pursue their usual course and be managed according to their ancient laws and cus- toms. The payment of taxes, freedom of religious worship, as well as all other privileges guaranteed by the constitution of Finland, were to remain on 1807 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 247 the same footinsr. Denmark and Prussia followed ^^V" ° Sweden suit with declarations of war against Sweden. The King of Sweden answered in kind. General Arm- feldt at the head of the Swedish army occupied Norway. Great Britain engaged to assist Sweden with a monthly subsidy of £100,000, beginning with January, 1808. Napoleon, during this interval, collected a body of Spanish notables at Bayonne, composed mainly of the courtiers that had come into the suite of the dethroned king and queen. Joseph was hurried from Naples by the following peremptory letter: "I desire poQa^^arte immediately on the receipt of this letter that you will ^'^™™ ° give the regency of the kingdom of Naples to whom- ever you like, the command of the troops to Marshal Jourdan, and then start for Bayonne. You will receive this letter on the 19th. You will leave on the 20th, and be here on the 1st of June." Joseph unwillingly complied. Murat, who had set his heart on the throne of Spain, sickened with chagrin and nearly died. In every part of Spain the people were arming to expel the foreign intruder. On May 20, the same day that Tuscany, Piacenza and Parma were wrested from another Bourbon prince, the abdication of the Spanish Bourbons was announced in the "Gazeta" of Madrid. Napoleon, through this medium, thus addressed the Spanish people: "I have watched your sufferings; I shall remedy them. Your princes have ceded to me their rights to the crown of Spain. I do not wish to reign over your provinces, but I would earn a title to your eternal love and the grati- 248 A HISTORY OF THE May 1807 Napoleon's tude of vour descendants. Your monarchy is old; Spanish •/ j i nieDto"'^'* my mission is to rejavenate it. Be full of hope and contidence, therefore, and your descendants will pre- serve my memory, and say, 'He was the regenerator of our country.' " The effect of this pronunciamiento was magical. The whole country, as by one impulse, rose up in arms. The Mayor of Mostoles, a small village near Madrid, sent out this bulletin: "The country is in danger; Madrid is perishing through the perfidy of the French. All Spaniards, come, and deliver usl" The news of this spread like wildfire. Carthagena rose against the French on May 22. Valencia, on the next day, proclaimed Ferdinand as the only rightful ruler of Spain. Two days later the moun- tain district of Asturias, with a population of 500,000, declared war on Kapoleon in the name All Spain o£ the royal house. On May 26, Seville and San- up in artas tander, on opposite sides of the peninsula, joined the movement. The feast of St. Ferdinand, on May 30, was selected as a fitting day for most of the remain- ing provinces to declare war against the French. Granada, Corunna, and Badajos took up arms; and national juntas were formed. The junta of Asturias sent emissaries to England to ask for aid. One of them was Viscount Matarosa, better known as the Count of Toreno, who has left one of the most faith- ful records of these events. The junta of Asturias issued a declaration warning Spaniards that their native country, their king, their property, laws, liberties, religion, yea, even their hope for a better world, were at stake. At Valencia every French- 1807 Juno NINETEENTH CENTURY 249 man seen on the streets was killed at sight. In Valladolid the people erected a gibbet before the residence of the Governor of Leon and gave him the choice whether he would join their movement or be hanged. In the country, frightful excesses were committed on straggling French soldiers. The fourteen Spanish provinces all rose against The peopja France. The four Basque provinces alone, ^bsiiLg '^*'' overrun by French soldiers, did not join the move- ment. On June 6, the junta of Seville issued a proclamation in the name of Spain and of Ferdi- nand. Napoleon was charged with the criminal ab- duction and terrorization of their king and nobles. His announced intention to impose the French king upon Spam was denounced as the worst "perfidy, fraud and treachery that was ever committed against any nation or monarch by the most barbarous and ambitious kings." "War should not cease," de- clared the junta, "until Ferdinand and the rest of the royal family be restored to their throne and Spain relieved of the last French soldier." Anda- lusia was the province that contained the most Spanish troops. They joined the insurrection at ^ ^ "^ '' The army once. That circumstance, with the fact that the J^j^^^g^^^jj^ Sierra Morena, a wild mountain range, runs through that region, made Andalusia the most formidable centre of the rebellion. The Marquis of Solano, commanding a Spanish auxiliary force at Cadiz, was ordered by the junta to seize the French squadron there. He refused and was put to death. His suc- cessor ordered Admiral Kosily to surrender, but the French sailed to the middle of the wide harbor, 250 A HISTORY OF THE Juae 1807 dered where they were out of reach of guns and awaited Brfta^in's aid from Dupont. Before a week had passed, the aidinvoked ,-».., . • , ^i i /^ British ministry, through Canning, sent assurances to Spain that troops and money would be furnished. Three hundred thousand pounds in Spanish dollars were sent at once, with a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. The speedy despatch of a fleet with a- strong landing force was promised at Grijon. Sir Charles Cotton, commanding the British naval forces ofiE the coasts of Spain, was ordered to render all pos- sible aid. Within a month, a treaty for offeusive and defensive alliance was signed in Oporto between the emissaries of England and Spain. "Hitherto," cried Sheridan, leader of the Whig opposition. Immediate "Bonaparte has contended with princes without aifl ren- dignity, numbers without ardor, or peoples with- out patriotism. He has yet to learn what it is to combat a people who are animated by one spirit against him." Tory and Whig alike held that "never had so happy an opportunity existed in Britain to strike a bold stroke for the rescue of the world." On June 15, Napoleon's Assembly of Nota- bles was convoked at Bayonne, and accepted a con- stitution modelled on that of France. All privileges of nobility were abolished. The Catholic religion was declared to be the only one permitted in Spain. Joseph Bonaparte received royal homage from the notables, and hastened to cross the Pyrenees. On July 12, he arrived at Vittoria with a guard of 8,000 Italian soldiers. His best protection was the forces of General Verdier posted along his route in Spain. At Vittoria an attempt was made to stop French COll^itltU- tion lor Spain 1808 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 251 Joseph's progress, but his guards quickly sup- pressed the riot. All over the country, in fact, the French were engaged in suppressing uprisings against them. The trained veterans of France ^ , o Early easily worsted the insurgents wherever they metj^'feats them in the open. General Verdier defeated the rebels without trouble at Logrono, Fr^re at Segovia, Lasalle at Torquemada, at the bridge of Cabezon and before Valladolid, where Gregorio della Cuesta made his troops fight with their backs to the river. The Aragonese bands were scattered at Tudela and Mallen. In all these engagements the French losses were insignificant, while the peasants were butchered right and left. In the east and south of Spain, on the other hand, the French were checked. Money, who was to subdue Valencia, had to come to a halt half-way. General Duhesme found himself blocked in Barcelona, and Lefebvre-Desnouettes was held in check before Saragossa, by Palafox. In Andalusia, Dupont had to retreat to Andujar before the armies of Castanos and Granda. The sack of Cordova by his troops, and the pillage of the churches there, was resented on the part of the Spaniards by acts of unexampled ferocity against Retaiia. the French. Every soldier found at large was^^,^"^^^ killed by the peasants and the sick and wounded were mutilated. The wells around the French camps were poisoned. The French grew to real- ize that they had to do with an enemy who neither asked nor gave quarter. Such was the state of affairs when Joseph entered Madrid. He was proclaimed king on July 20. On 252 A HISTORY OF THE JulyfflOB the same day, as it happened, the Janizaries in Con- stantinople deposed Sultan Mustapha. When they called for their former Saltan Selim, his dead body revolution was filing before them. His cousin Mahmoud was in Turkey made Sultan. In Naples, Murat was crowned King of both Sicilies in Joseph's stead. During Joseph's journey from the Pyrenees the scales had dropped from his eyes. To his brother he wrote: "No one has hitherto told you the truth. The fact is that not one single Spaniard comes forward to take part with me. Fear does not make me see double. BonTparto Siucc I havc been in Spain, I say to myself every aged^*^' day, 'My life is of little value.' I am not frightened by my position, but it is unique in history. I have not a single partisan," The warning was lost od Na- poleon. In all this affair with Spain he gave little evidence of the great genius which had hitherto distinguished his public conduct. His wonted per- spicacity and ability to cope with the situation in advance of the actual event changed into a blind= ness of which history offers but few examples. From the start he misunderstood the character of the Spanish people and of their peculiar warfare, biumws"'"''!'^^*'^^^ of centralizing his forces for a master- n.pain stroke, as he had always done in the past, he scattered them over the whole country in isolated detachments. So purblind was he that he under- took to direct all military movements from home, a thing which he himself had so often denounced as one of the capital errors of war. Instead of flying to his eagles when they were hard beset in Spain, the Emperor started on a S808Juiy NINETEENTH CENTURY 253 leisurely tour of inspection through the southern provinces of France. In the face of the alarming information which he had lately received from his brother and hard-pressed generals, he dictated a long despatch, in which he reviewed the military situation as it appeared to him from afar. To each general he pointed out the line of conduct he should take. Bessieres was praised for his brilliant defeat of 25,000 Spaniards under Cuesta and Blake at Medina del Rio Seco, on July 14. With no more Medina del ' -^ Rio Seco than 20,000 men, Napoleon felt sure General Dupont could take the offensive and overthrow everything before him. The chances in Dupont's favor were estimated at more than eighty in a hundred. The whole situation was summed up in these confident words: "There is nothing to fear on the side of Mar- shal Bessieres, nor in the north of Castile, nor in the kingdom of Leon. There is nothing to fear in Aragon. Saragossa will fall some day, sooner or later. There is nothing to fear in Catalonia, there is nothing for the communication from Bur- gos to Bayonne." To his brother Joseph, Napoleon wrote: "Be courageous and gay. Never doubt of complete success." On the day these despatches were dictated in Dupont's* defeat France, Napoleon's favorite, Dupont, whom he had selected for the next marshalship, sufEered a disas- trous defeat at Baylen, and capitulated with his whole army of 20,000 men. The battle of Baylen was the worst reverse suffered by French arms on land in all the many campaigns waged since 1792. After Dupont's troops had pillaged Cordova for 254 A HISTORY OF THE July 1809 three days, they fell back to Andujar before an army of 8,000 Spanish regulars and 20,000 peasants led by Castanos. So despondent was Castafios of success that he embarked his heavy artillery at Seville, in- tending to sail to Isla de L^on if Dupont advanced against him. Instead of that, Dupont sent to Ma- drid for reinforcements. His letter to General Bel- Predica- Hard was intercepted. In it he wrote: "We have ment of .... ... French on not a momcut to losc lu Quitting a position in theMorena ^ or which we cannot subsist. For heaven's sake send us prompt reinforcements with medicines and lini- ment for the wounded. For the space of a month, the enemy has intercepted all our ammunition wag- ons and the provisions sent from Toledo." When Castafios read this despatch, he took heart and de- termined to intercept all reinforcements. The re- lieving column that Belliard sent out was too small, and gave up all attempts to reach Dupont after much desultory fighting in the defiles of the Morena. A detachment of 500 Frenchmen, which was sent to make a junction with the relieving column, was cut off to a man by the smugglers of Granada. Dupont saw the Spanish forces growing daily in numbers, while his own raw recruits dropped under the sum- mer sun of Spain. Of his men, 600 lay sick with no medicines or ambulances in sight. After severe fighting on July 16, in which the French found themselves hampered by their immense wagon trains containing the loot of Cordova, Dupont determined to fight his way through. On the 19th of July, at three in the morning, the French army moved out from the ferry of Mengibar over 1808 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 256 tbe Guadalquivir Eiver. They numbered 20,000 men. The Spaniards facing them had a division of 9,000 under Lieutenant-Greneral Reding, a Swiss, and 25,000 more under Castafios, De Compigny, La Penna and Jones. One-half of their fighting men were peasants. The brunt of the engagement that ensued fell on Compigny and Eeding. The first shock of -ihe French was so furious that the Spanish vanguard suffered fearful losses. But the infantry of the line held its ground and their artillery was so well served that forty French guns were dis- mounted. The French advances in the face of a galling fire were renewed throughout the forenoon, Bayien*' and in the end Dupont himself led a general assault on the Sj-anish batteries. At this point, another Spanish division under Greneral La Penna arrived and bore in on the French from another quarter. The Swiss regiments serving under the French col- ors went over to the Spaniards. At noon, Dupont, wounded and despairing, sent a white flag with a request for an armistice wherein to arrange for a capitulation. While the generals on both sides were conferring, Vedel brought a French division from Guaroman, where he had halted for several hours within hear- ing of the roar of battle. Coming upon the Spanish rear, be attacked Reding's division and captured two guns with about fifteen hundred prisoners. Then an aide-de-camp from Dupont ordered him to cease firing. Surrender of all the French troops was de- manded. Vedel expressed his preference for a joint attack on Reding, and like counsel was given by 266 A HISTORY OF THE July 1808 General Prive. Dupont suggested, by way of com- promise, that Vedel give up tiis Spanish prisoners and retire out of their reach. Thereupon the Span- ish generalissimo, Castanos, threatened Dupont with a general massacre if Yedel were not recalled. Un- der orders from Dupont, Vedel came in and sur- ^fsu^ln- I'endered. Eighteen thousand Frenchmen laid down ^^'" their arms on a Spanish promise that the oflficers were to be paroled and their baggage left undis- turbed, while the common soldiers were to be rb- turned to France. Villontreys went into the Mo- rena, and gathering up the French detachments as far as Toledo, brought them in as voluntary prisoners. The capitulation, shameful in itself, was Spaniard's shamefully broken. The French troops, instead of breach of faith being returned to France, were imprisoned in gal- leys. Others were exported to the desert island of Cabrera. A number were so maltreated that they died, and at Labrixe more than eighty of the pa- roled officers were shot down on the market-place. Dupont himself, with all his staff, was allowed to return to be court-martialled in France, but General Priv^, who had protested against the surrender, was left in the hands of the Spaniards. Marshal Marshal Money was no more successful in Valen- Moncy 8 •' cia than Dupont in Andalusia, though he escaped capture and succeeded in reaching Madrid after heavy losses. His attempt to take Valencia by storm had resulted disastrously. Of his division of 15,000 men, only 10,000 returned, with 150 wag- ons carrying the wounded. The Spaniards sent 1,600 of his men to Carthagena. losses 1808 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 257 The campaign of Aragon was equally glorious Ca^p^'&° for the Spanish patriots. Saragossa, then a city of 50,000, had risen against the French two hoars after Napoleon's proclamation was read aloud by the town crier. Palafox, an officer of the guards and one of Ferdinand's retinue who had escaped from Bayonne, assumed command. He was aided by Tio Jorge and Tio Marin, two simple citizens. Surrounded by a low brick wall, Saragossa pre- sented no regular defences and possessed very few guns, but the houses were massively built and the great monasteries and convents, forty in number, served as citadels. The Convent of San Jos^, cov- ered by the torrent Huerba, and Monte Torrero, a high hill, served for towers. Palafox was beaten in a succession of preliminary fights in front of Saragossa, when Lefebvre with his French army was marching on the heroic town. By the middle of July, the French drove Palafox from the olive groves and country houses between the convents of San Josd and Monte Torrero. The city was closely oi'^seja? invested. Two French companies penetrated into^°^^* the street of Santa Bngracia. The French could have taken the town had the soldiers not feared an ambush and retired. During the night, the citizens threw "up defences and put the whole city in con- dition to withstand assault. In the meanwhile, Palafox recrossed the Ebro at Pina, and joining Baron Versarge at Belchite, gathered some 8,000 scattered Spanisti insurgents. With them he gained the Xalon in the rear of the French and made an attempt to relieve Saragossa by a diversion from 258 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 18O8 chat quarter. While still on the march his forces were routed by two French regiments. Lefebvre, Tor"rero during the interval, took Monte Torrero by assault. taken Palafox with his beaten troops hastened back to Saragossa and entered the city just in time to see the French storm the convents of San Jos^ and of the Capuchins. Jioth convents, though occupied and fortified by the French, were again relinquished by them. Presently Lefebvre received orders to join Bessi^res on the Ebro with one of his bri- gades. General Verdier remained in command with 10,000 French soldiers. This general, though har- assed by small bodies of insurgents all around him, pressed the siege more closely. Daring July the French made several successful assaults on the gates of El Carmen and the Portillo. It was on one of Heroism of *^®^® occasious that Augustiua Saragossa, a young a woman ^^j^^j^ ^f twcuty-two, is Said to have leaped on a cannon and to have discharged it in the face of the enemy, after which she recorded a vow that she would serve the battery until the bitter end, be it her own death or the relief of Saragossa. She was decorated with a medal and henceforth received the full pay of a regular gunner. Shortly after this the besieged Spaniards tried to retake Monte Torrero. Nearly one thousand Spanish regular soldiers suc- ceeded in fighting their way into the city. The French, too, were increased to 15,000 by the arrival of two veteran regiments. On August 3, the city was bombarded by all the French batteries from morning to night. The Spanish powder magazine was blown up. The next day the Convent of Santa Engracia 1808 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 259 was stormed by the French. A detachment of Desperate French soldiers got into the old Moorish quarter nghimg and terrible street fighting ensued. Soldiers, citi- zens, monks, women and children took part in the hand-to-hand struggle, and the French were assailed on all sides. A squadron of French cavalry charged through the narrow streets. They got entangled in the Arco de Cineja, a crooked street with archways, and were cut to pieces. During the tumult the hos- pital for the insane was set on fire and the maniacs rushed out into the thick of the fight. In another part of the city, the French had been victorious, but lost all by stopping to plunder. The Saragossonese set fire to the convent of San Francisco and drove the scattered French into the fire. At close of day the French still held one side of the Cosso, one of the great thoroughfares of Saragossa, while the citizens were barricaded on the other side. Here the most murderous fighting was carried on. The con- tending forces shot at each other across the street with muskets and cannon, and gutters were filled with dead bodies. After several days of this, the French sent a summons for surrender. They re- ceived the laconic answer: "Guerra al cuchillo — War to the knife!" Slowly the French were mak- -' French ing headway when orders came to General Verdier^fgll'^* to raise the siege and to fall back on Larona. The French retired, pursued by Palafox's forces as far as to Navarre. In Catalonia, the small town of Gerona defended The de- • T~v 1 A • fence of itself With equal success against Duhesme. After Oerona a siege of a fortnight, during which 400 bombs and A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1808 hand grenades were dropped into the town on one single night, the French were forced to retreat by a sortie of the Geronese. Duhesme had to fall back on Barcelona, leaving his artillery and ammunition behind him. At Madrid the news of these disasters caused con- sternation. King Joseph had reigned but one week when Dupont surrendered at Baylen. Joseph called a council of war. It was proposed to concentrate all the French force at Madrid to fall upon the Spanish armies one by one as they advanced to the capital, joslph But Joseph had enough. He left Madrid on July leaves Madrid 29, just nine days after his entry into the city. A proclamation was published that "the French army would seek healthier quarters where the air was better and purer drinking water could be ob- tained." On the same day that Madrid was thus abandoned an English army of 16,000, under Sir Wellington Arthur Wellesley (Wellington), landed in Portugal lands in Portufe'ai at the mouth of the Mondego, and marched to Leirra, sixty miles from Lisbon. King Joseph ia the meanwhile retreated over Vittoria and Segovia to Burgos. This town was made the rendezvous off the whole French army. Before leaving Madrid the French plundered the public treasury and carried off all the crown jewels of the royal family. Thence arose a Spanish saying: "The crown of Spain was too big for Joseph's head, so he put it in his pouch." In Portugal, Marshal Junot was unable to bring more than 13,000 men into the field against the En- glish. Aware that General Wellesley wourd shortly 1808 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 261 be reinforced from the sea, Junot determined not to await a joint attack on Lisbon. He advanced to Vimeiro. There a pitched battle was fought, at the vime?ro end of which the French retired in good order, Junot's forces could scarcely escape capture, but at this point General Wellesley was replaced by Sir Harry Bourrard. This commander entered into negotiations for a peaceful evacuation of Portugal. In the convention of Cintra, signed August 30, it was agreed that the French troops should be shipped to France at the expense of the British government. A Russian fleet under Admiral Siniavin, riding at ^"et^'^^^ge^ anchor in the Tagus, fell a prey to the British. The French, during their embarkation, had to be pro- tected by British bayonets against excesses on the part of the enraged people of Lisbon. Special pro- tests were made against letting the French carry oS the rich loot they had gathered while in Portugal. Yet Junot succeeded in carrying away with him the famous manuscript Bible of Belem, which had been presented to the monastery of the Hieronymites by Pope Julius II. In later years these precious vol- umes had to be bought back by Portugal at the price of 80,000 francs. The convention of Cintra afforded little glory forfio°^o°" either side. When on the point of court-martialling Junot for his capitulation, Napoleon learned that the British military had ordered their own generals, Bourrard, Wellesley, Moore, and Dalrymple, to be brought to trial for permitting Junot to escape them. While Junot's troops were embarking for France, 262 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1808 another more famous embarkation was made in Denmark. There 10,000 Spanish soldiers, enrolled under the French eagles of Bernadotte, with their ^o^ana's captain, the Marquis of Eomana, revolted against the French and seized the islands of Nyborg and Langland. Having established communication with the English, they embarked on a British cruiser. By the middle of August they were transported to Spain, with arms and ammunition, to join the cause of their countrymen. Of the entire Spanish forces in northern Europe, 8,000 had to be left behind. Eomana's exploit won him a generalship in Spain, but in French annals it has gone down as the trea- son of Eomana. The consequences of the French reverses in Spain were far-reaching. It broke the spell that the arms of Napoleon, hitherto invincible, had cast over the spirit of his cowed enemies. In Austria, the Minis- try of Stadion, aided by Archduke Charles, pushed forward the new armaments with fresh vigor. The peasants of the Tyrol, oppressed under the new Ba- varian rule, grew restive. In Prussia the younger elements of the nation began to seethe. "I do not see," said Bliicher, "why we should not think our- anfpte^of selves as good as the Spaniards." Stein's Ministry adopted a policy of resistance to Napoleon, and Scharnhorst infused the same spirit into the army. The Sultan of Turkey, apprehensive of new French and Eussian aggressions, showed inclination to throw in his lot with England. Even the Dey of Morocco, AH Mahomet, felt called upon to issue a proclama- laon of sympathy with the Spanish cause: "Arouse, 1808 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 263 Christians! Ah, French dog, why did you give ^ *^«0j"8*^ opium to the Christians to eflFect your entry into their country without exciting apprehension, and to come before long to deprive me also of my throne ? Why did you not enter sword in hand, that your objects might be seen, and the Christians might cut off your head ? Christians, attack these dogs and defend your kingdom, for the son of my friend Charles! Let Seville be firm and attack that ab- horred currish race, and Allah will assist you! Let the Englishmen help likewise! All nations heed this, so ye may know who the French dog is, that all may arise against him with the blessing of Allah!" In England, the Tories ioined with the Whigs in Great ^ 1 i o Britain cheering the Spanish revolution. It was resolved aroused to make the most of the foothold gained in Spain by placing a strong army under the command of Sir John Moore. For America the upheaval in Spain meant corresponding upheavals throughout Central and South America. The United States caught the fever. President Jefferson saw in this an opportu- nity to offset the serious consequences of his policy of non-intercourse with Europe. Negotiations were set on foot to obtain the Floridas from Spain. Na- fo^^unes m poleon, treating all Spanish possessions as if they ^™®"*^* were his own, offered to cede Florida to the Ameri- can Union, on condition that the United States join in his war with England. "War exists in fact be- tween England and the United States," declared Napoleon, in a famous letter, transmitted by Cham- pigny. "It was declared practically when England 264 A HISTORY OF THE A.ug. 1808 published her decree against American commerce." General Armstrong, at the American legation in Paris, was informed that "shoaid England make any movement against the Floridas, Napoleon would not take it ill if the United States moved troops there for their defence." When Napoleon suffered disaster in Spain, Jefferson at once saw^ a new op- de^|L1i''on portunity for America. On August 9, he wrote to one of his Cabinet Ministers: "I am glad to see that Spain is likely to give Bonaparte employment. Tant mieux pour nous. . . . Should England make up with us while Bonaparte continues at war with Spain, a moment may occur when we may, without danger or commitment with either France or England, seize this country to our limits of Louisiana as of right, and the residue of the Flori- das as reprisal for spoliation. It is our duty to have an eye to this in stationing our new recruits and armed vessels, so as to be ready, if Congress authorizes it, to strike in a moment." Shortly af- terward the Cabinet debated the subject. Jefferson recorded this memorandum of his attitude toward the Spanish colonies in America: "If you remain under the dominion of the kingdom and family of Spain, we are contented; but we should be ex- tremely unwilling to see you pass under the domin- ion or ascendency of France or England." Here is to be seen the germ of the famous American attitude toward the Old World, enunciated in later years by Monroe. In truth, Jefferson and his Southern sup- porters cared little for the cause of Spanish free^ dom. The independence of the Spanish colonies Forecast of MoQroe Doctrine 1808 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 266 from European rule in any form was Jefferson's steadfast ideal. Throughout South America, in Mexico, Cuba, and in the Floridas, meanwhile, the Spanish patriots were eager to do their part for the mother country. The French settlers were sufferin«i driven out of Porto Eico, Deseada and Maria Ga- settlers lante. In Cuba, the Spanisti governor had difficulty in preventing a massacre of the French at Havana and Santiago de Cuba. All Florida was seething. Jefferson's non-committal attitude toward this move- ment gave rise to a suspicion in America that the President was secretly leagued with Napoleon. . Opposition This lost him many supporters in the North, ^^^f^^. The New England conscience declared itself with fervor for the Spanish cause. Northern opposition to the continued immolation of American trade on the altar of Jefferson's embargo grew exceedingly bitter. A young New England poet, William Cul- Bryant'* len Bryant, then barely in his teens, published what^®*"^®* he called "The Embargo: a Satire against Thomas Jefferson": "And thou, the scorn of every patriot name, Thy country's ruin and her council's shame. Go, wretch ! Resign the Presidential chair. Disclose thy secret measures, foul or fair; Go search with curious eye for horned frogs 'Mid the wild waste of Louisiana bogs. Or, where Ohio rolls his turbid stream, Dig for huge bones, thy glory and thy theme!'* In later life Bryant would have given much to suppress this boyish libel, as unfortunate in its con- ception as it was lacking in felicity of versification. XlXth Century— Vol. 1—12 266 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1808 Yet Bryant's verses reflected the spirit then pre- vailing in certain parts of America. The cost of J^ufuor the embargo to the nation had been fearful. At a American -r» • i r rr embargo momcnt's noticc, President Jefferson and his follow- ers in Congress had bidden all ocean commerce to cease. Every ship was withdrawn from the sea and merchants closed their doors. American products sank in value. Wheat dropped from two dollars to seventy-five cents a bushel. Other produce became unsalable, such as cotton, tobacco, rice and timber. Artisans ceased working, laborers dropped their tools and wages stopped. Every imported article rose in price. Thousands of sailors hung idle around the wharves. A British traveller, Lam- bert, visiting New York in 1808, sent home this description: "The port, indeed, was full of ship- ping, but they were dismantled and laid up. Their decks were cleared, their hatches fastened down, and scarcely a sailor was to be found on board. Not a box, bale, cask, barrel or package was to be seen upon the wharves. Many of the counting- houses were shut up or advertised to be let, and the few solitary merchants, clerks, porters, and la- borers that were to be seen were walking about with their hands in their pockets. The coffee- houses were almost empty. The streets near the waterside were all but deserted. The grass had begun to grow upon the wharves." In the South the effects of the embargo were felt the worst. To- bacco, rice and cotton were almost worthless, yet 400,000 negro slaves had to be supported. Jeffer- son's own Slate, Virginia, sunk into stagnation. guffering in tlie South 1808 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 267 The President's private family fortune was involved in the general ruin. By the time Jefferson was ready to hand over the reins of power to his chosen party successor, Madi- son, the political consequences of the embargo act^^erican made themselves teit. !New England was lost to upheaval Jefferson's party. After the spring elections and during summer, Massachusetts declared for Federal- ism. Gallatin, who, as Secretary of the Treasury, knew best the difficulties created by the embargo, began to despair. Early in summer he wrote: "From present appearances the Federalists will turn us out by the 4th of March next. I think that Vermont is lost. New Hampshire is in a bad way, and Pennsylvania is extremely doubtful." And again: "If propositions from Great Britain or other events do not put it in our power to raise the embargo before the 1st of October, we shall lose the Presidential election. I think that at this mo- ment the Western States, Virginia, South Carolina, and part of Georgia are the only sound States." Nothing saved Jefl'erson's party but the fact that the opponents of the government divided their forces between three candidates — Clinton, Monroe and Pinckney. James Madison was elected Presi- Madiaon fourth dent and George C. Clinton, as the second strong- President est candidate, was re-elected to the Vice-Presidency. The Federalist votes had risen from fourteen to forty -seven votes. The consequences of the embargo, while by no means so disastrous in England, were serious enough to be made the subject of Parliamentary inquiry. 268 Jt HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1808 Comments The Ministrv was driven to admit that "loss to on Amen- •' ^g^' America was loss to Great Britain, just as the pros- perity of the United States had meant prosperity for the mother country." Napoleon took the same view, in his report on foreign relations, September 1, 1808, he expressed approval of the embargo: "The Americans — This people, who placed their fortune, their prosperity and almost their exist ence in commerce, have given the example o a great and courageous sacrifice. By a genera embargo, they have interdicted all commercial ex change, rather than shamefully submit to that trib ute which the English pretend to impose on the shipping of all nations." The aspect of other foreign affairs appeared less satisfactory to Napoleon. The new military reforms that were under way in Austria and Prussia gave rise to serious apprehension. The alliance with Kus- sia likew^ise seemed shaky. To Emperor Francis of Austria, Napoleon wrote a remonstrance against all attempts at further hostility, with this threaten- ing conclusion: "All that you have now, you have solely through my goodwill." On September 8, he concluded a new convention between France and further Prussia. The Prussian army was reduced from bumbled 60,000 to 40,000. The war indemnity still due to France was declared to be 145,000,000 francs. This, in the face of the Prince of Prussia's protest that 19,000,000 only remained to be paid! Until the final payment of the indemnity. Prince William of Prussia undertook to remain in France. The Prussian strongholds of Glogau, Stettin and Kus- 1808 Sipt. NINETEENTH CENTURY 269 trin were to remain in French hands, garrisoned by 10,000 men at Prussian expense. Such were the hard conditions imposed at a time that the Prussian revenues amounted to 386,000 thalers, while the public expenses ran up to two and a half millions. Besides this, Napoleon exacted that seven military roads were to run through Prussia, and the region around Magdeburg was to be ceded to France. After this convention had been duly signed at - • r trt • 1 -Kr • Prussian Paris, the resignation of Stein s Ministry was only Ministry *-" %i J distnisaed a question of time. Stein had become persona ingrata with Napoleon since one of his confidential despatches to the Prince of Wittgenstein had fallen into the hands of the French, In this letter Stein wrote under date of August 15, 1808: "The exasper- ation in Germany increases daily. It must be en- couraged and stimulated. The affairs of Spain are making a profound impression. They prove what ought long since to have been foreseen," etc. Na- poleon had this letter printed in the "Moniteur" with this comment: "The King of Prussia may be pitied for having Ministers who are as unskilful as they are perverse." Stein asked for his dismissal. For a while his Ministry lingered on. On September 11, Napo- leon wrote to Soult: "I have demanded that Stein Expulsion of Ministar be expelled from the Ministry. Otherwise the^^^"^ King of Prussia shall not re-enter possession of his States. I have placed Stein's property in Westphalia under sequestration." For Napoleon much depended now on the attitude of Russia. To clear up the situation, he arranged Erfurt 270 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1808 for a personal interview with the Czar, to be held at JDrfurt. It was to be made a State affair, attended by all the princes of the Confederation of the Rhine. On September 27, almost simultaneously with the establishment of a supreme Spanish junta at Aran- juez, the princes met at Erfurt. The departure of Alexander from St. Petersburg, and of Napoleon from Paris, was calculated to a nicety, so that the two might arrive on the same day. Napoleon took pains to reach Erfurt first in order to welcome Alexander a few miles beyond the town. Through- out the festivities that followed he had Alexander placed at his right to show that he was receiving him on his own soil. All the expenses of this occa- ingof sion were paid from the French civil list. Die tol- len Tage (The mad days) at Erfurt, as the Germans called them, lasted three weeks. Among those who attended were the Kings of Saxony, Bavaria, and Wurtemberg, the Prince Primate, the Archduke of Baden, the Dukes of Saxony, and many minor princes. Emperor Francis of Austria was not in- vited. Nor did Napoleon heed the hints of Metter- nich, the Austrian Ambassador in Paris, that he be bidden to attend. To gain some information of what went on. Emperor Francis sent Baron de Vin- cent, a friend of Talleyrand, to deliver an ostensi- ble letter of goodwill to both the emperors. Erfurt was so filled with notables that a French officer of the guard, so the story has it, once stopped a drum- beat salute to a passing German prince with the words: "Taisez vous, ce n'est qu'un roil" For the benefit of the invited guests the entire Comedie 1808 Sept NINETEENTH CENTURY 271 Frangaise played classic dramas to a pit full of royalties. On the first of these occasions Alexan- der repeated to Napoleon the line from CEdipus: "The friendship of a great man is a gift of the gods." Of mutual compliments there was no end. In the presence of the Czar, Napoleon decorated the officers of the regiment who had distinguished them- selves in the campaign against Russia. Prince Wil- g,fi's'ts^°'^'* liam of Prussia was bidden to attend a rabbit hunt on the battlefield of Jena. One of the most interesting events of those days was the meeting of Napoleon and Goethe. Tbe great German poet had just finished the first part of his "Faust." Unlike his contemporaries, Fichte, Schleiermacher, Koerner, Rueckert and Von Arndt, whose writings at this time were all intensely patri- otic, Goethe was an open admirer of Napoleon-. Bonaparte in his turn admired Goethe. When Bonaparte sailed to Egypt, Goethe's early master- piece, "The Sorrows of Werther, " had accompanied him. In later years the same book served to lighten Napoleon's solitude at St. Helena. The two men, goetheand r ' Napoleon standing each in his way on the pinnacle of genius and of egotism, met as equals. "Vous ^tes un homme. Monsieur de Goethe," said Napoleon as he decorated him with the cross of the Legion of Honor. "Voila un homme," remarked Goethe to his neigh- Dor. Previous to this, the poet had written a hymn of praise to Napoleon, in which he sang: "Doubts, that have baffled thousanda, he has solved; Ideas, o'er which centuries have brooded, His giant mind intuitively compassed." 272 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1808 Goethe's later im- pressions Goethe found Napoleon, at close range, more admirable than ever. He found that the French emperor knew the classic drama "down to the mi- nutest details." His observations on Werther were the best critique yet vouchsafed to Goethe. To the end of his days, the poet admitted the justice of Napoleon's criticisms. Napoleon's suggestion to Goethe to write a new drama on Julius Caesar, which might be an improvement on Shakespeare's tragedy, flattered the German poet. Shortly afterward he wrote a letter to Cotta: "I confess gladly that there is nothing more elevating or more gratifying that could have happened to me than this meeting with the French emperor, and the manner of it. Never before have I found so sympathetic a listener, who met me, if I may use the expression, so thoroughly as an eqaal." Goethe met Napoleon early in Octo- ber. A week later, at a court ball in Weimar, Na- Napoieou poleou met another famous German poet, Wieland. While the Czar was exciting the admiration of all by his graceful dancing. Napoleon drew the old poet into a corner, and talked to him alone for an hour and a half. An interesting record of this conversa- tion has been given by Wieland: "Napoleon saw, notwithstanding my wretched celebrity, tliat I was a simple unassuming old man. To leave a lasting good impression on me, at least so it appeared to me, he assumed on the instant that disguise which he knew would accomplish his purpose. In all my life, I never saw a more simple, quiet, gentle and unassuming mother's son of a man. He talked with me like an old acquaintance, as one of his set. land 1808 Oct, NINETEENTH CENTURY 273 From his utterances on poetry, it was clear to me that he was without deep feeling — our German Ge- miith. . . . Though the man was uncommonly friendly and affable with me, it yet appeared to me at times as though Napoleon wore a mask of bronze." Napoleon's most important interviews, of course, ^f^rl^^e"' were with Alexander, as were the meetings of Tal- ^^'^ Russia leyrand and De Champigny with Count Romanzov, the Russian Prime Minister. The Czar, in return for a free hand in Finland and in the Balkans, ac- knowledged Napoleon's brother Joseph as King of Spain, and agreed to enter into an offensive and de- fensive alliance with Napoleon in case France were the first to be attacked. Napoleon, at the Czar's request, remitted 20,000,000 francs from the amount to be paid to him by the King of Prussia. Talley- rand, at one of his frequent audiences with the Czar, first broached the subject of the possible j^^^ j^j^^^^^ divorce of Josephine. With this contingency inbroacfhed view, he voiced Napoleon's suit for the hand of Alexander's sister, but Alexander begged to be excused. Talleyrand improved the occasion by obtaining the hand of the Princess for his nephew, Egmont de Perigord. Before leaving Erfurt, the two emperors issued a joint letter to the King of England. It opened thus: "Brought together at Erfurt, our first thought is to yield to the wish and the wants of every people, and to seek a speedy pacification with your Majesty, the most efficacious remedy for the miseries which oppress all nations. . . The cause is to be found in 274 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 18O8 the state of agitation and misery in which the stag- nation of maritime commerce has placed the great- overtures est nations. We unite in entreating your Majesty to England ° "^ J ./ to listen to the voice of humanity silencing that of passions." The letter concluded in the same strain. England's answer to the joint proposals was sub- mitted by Canning to the Eussian Ambassador in Paris. The British official note began in this wise: "The King has uniformly declared his readiness and desire to enter into negotiations for a general peace on terms consistent with the honor of his Majesty's crown, with fidelity to his engagements, and with the permanent repose and security of Europe. His Majesty repeats that declaration. ... If the cause of much misery is to be found in the stagnation of commercial intercourse, although his Majesty cannot be expected to hear with unqualified regret that the Cannings svstem dcviscd for the destruction of the commerce reply •' of his subjects has recoiled upon its authors or its instruments — yet it is neither in the disposition of his Majesty nor in the character of the people over whom he reigns to rejoice in the privations and un- happiness even of the nations which are combined against him. "In the progress of a war, begun for self-defence, new obligations have been imposed upon England in behalf of powers whom the aggressions of a com- mon enemy have compelled to make common cause with his Majesty, or who have solicited his Maj- esty's assistance and support in the vindication of their national independence. . . . The interests of the Crown of Portugal and of his Sicilian Majesty 1808 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 276 are confided to his Majesty's assistance. With the King of Sweden his Majesty is connected by ties of the closest alliance. With Spain his Majesty, though not bound by any formal instrument, in thCg ^^j^^ face of all the world has contracted engagements questton no less binding than the most solemn treaties. His Majesty therefore assumes that in overtures for gen- eral peace Spain is understood to be a party to any negotiations in which England is invited to en- gage." The upshot of the new peace overtures was that France and Russia declined to admit the Spanish "in- surgents" to any part in the negotiations. George III. of England issued a formal proclamation an- nouncing the continuance of the war: "We deeply lament an issue by which the sufferings of Europe are aggravated and prolonged. But neither the honor of the crown nor the generosity of the Brit- ish nation would sanction the abandonment of a^ ,g^jjjj brave and loyal people, who are fighting for aip^^°<^'*fl"° that is dear to man; and whose exertions in a cause so unquestionably just we have solemnly pledged ourselves to sustain." England's interference in the affairs of the Penin- sula was at first resented by Portuguese and Span- iards alike. W hen Sir Arthur Wellesley brought the first British expedition to Spain his services were declined in one port after another, until he betook himself to Portugal. After the Convention of Cintra the Portuguese junta recorded an emphatic protest against the manner of its conclusion. It ap- peared for a while as if fears of too permanent a 276 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1806 British lodgment were almost as strong as hatred of the French. A late instance of this occurred when Colonel Doyle organized the Spanish prisoners at i:*ortsmouth and sailed with them for Corafia. The prisoners, who had been armed and clothed by Eng- land, mutinied and carried the transport to different ports of Spain, whence they went to their homes. After Joseph's retreat from Madrid, the insurrec- Peninsular .,._,. i • n i i campaign tiou ot Spain may be said to have ceased as a spon- taneous popular movement. Thenceforward it be- came a war for the military control of the Peninsula, conducted between France and various organized bodies of men, now Spaniards, now Portuguese, now Englishmen. The most picturesque accounts of this warfare may be found in such books as Galdos' "Episodios Nacionales, " Blackmore's "Alice Loi-- ish^var*^n raiue," or Levcr's "Charles O'Malley." When the literature • r z-^- Convention of Cintra opened a way for operations in Spain, Sir Hugh Dalrymple sent Lord William Bentinck to Spain to arrange a plan of co-operation with the Spanish generals. Associated with him were a number of British military agents whose divergent plans added greatly to the confusion al- ready existing among the Spanish leaders of the war. Councilor A council of most of the generals commanding generals at Madrid armics was held at Madrid in the autumn. Castaiios, Llama, Cuesta, Infantado and others came. Blake gave his proxy to Infantado, while Palafox was rep- resented by a member of his staff. They could not agree upon a general-in-chief, but decided to unite their forces in the so-called army of the centre. 9908 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 277 Even this movement was carried oat but partially. Owing to the factional intrigues and corruption ex- isting among the Spanish juntas, Castanos declared Dissension he would no longer serve under them. Cuesta was "^^ J'r^'J^^'^ ready to put the juntas down by force of arms, and Palafox held himself quite aloof as a successful Captain-general. In the end a central government was vested in the Assembly, and by the advice of Lord Bentinck and Mr. Stuart, who were authorized to supply the government with British funds, Cas- tanos was to be appointed generalissimo. His ap- pointment, however, was deferred on the character- istic ground that when the enemy was driven over the frontier he might then have leisure to assume command. Yet the condition of the Spanish sol- diers, ill fed, poorly armed and half naked, was declared by Mr. Stuart to be "neither calculated to inspire courage nor to increase enthusiasm," Napoleon, during the interim, had not been idle. p,.ench While he was conversing with poets and princes at concen- trating Erfurt, and dangling the olive branch before the eyes of Englishmen, his armies were marchmg southward from the banks of the Vistula, Elbe, Danube and Ehine— northward from Italy and Dal- matia and from all points of France. Denmark was evacuated and 100,000 soldiers of the Empire were withdrawn from the Prussian States. The French garrisons left in Germany were concentrated on the side of Austria. The army in Italy was placed under Prince Eugene de Beauharnais and Massena. Marat in Kaples was directed to raise a Neapolitan army wherewith to threaten Sicily. In France 278 A HISTORY OF THE Not. 1808 80,000 new recruits, called to arms before their time, were sent to support the veterans in Spain, while 80,000 more beardless youths were called to the colors as reserves. The march of the multi- Napoieon tude was incessant. As the soldiers poured through threatens Enfc'iaua Paris, Napoleon addressed them: "Soldiers, I have need of you. This day, without a moment of re- pose, I command you to traverse France. The hideous presence of the Leopard contaminates the peninsula of Spain and Portugal. In terror he must fly before you. Let us bear our triumphant eagles to the Pillars of Hercules. There we have injuries to avenge." At the opening of the Corps Legislatif, October 20, the Emperor declared: "In a few days I go to put myself at the head of my armies, and with the aid of God to crown the King of Spain in Madrid — to plant my eagles on the towers of Lisbon." On the same day Sir John Moore left Lisbon with his British force to march for Madrid. e)5f|^ror Napoleon arrived in Bayonne on November 3, and command crossed the Pyrenees at once at the head of 12,000 troops. Within two days he joined his brother Joseph at Vittoria. By this time the French troops, immediately available, numbered more than 90,000. They were distributed at various points under Mar- shals Money, Ney, Bessi^res, and Generals Saligny, Doraienne, Menthion, La Grange and Dunat. The Spaniards numbered 76,000. Dissatisfied with his brother Joseph's dispositions, Napoleon at once took command. While Sir John Moore, with his British army, was floundering along the wretched iSOSNov. NINETEENTH CENTURY 279 roads of Portugal and northern Spain, Napoleon was conducting his military movements with accus- tomed precision and despatch. The Spanish forces had at last been united under Castanos. They crossed the Ebro at three points, and took possession of Lerin, Viana, Capporoso and other French posts on the left bank of the Ebro. The French did not oppose Castafios' ad- vance toward Pampeluna any further than was necessary to mask their own operations. Marshal Money decoyed Castanos well beyond the banks of oastano* the Allagon and Ebro. Then, suddenly, Marshal aiied Ney, dashing across the river in three separate col- umns, took the Spanish posts of Lagrona and Col- chora. He threw the whole army into confusion and cut off communication between Castanos' main army and Blake's corps. In a series of actions during the first week of November, the Spanish right wing under Greneral Blake was driven south from Durango to Guenas, from Guenas to Valmesda, and from there to Espi- noza. In the strong position there the Gallican army made a stand in order to save its magazines Battle o« EspinoM and artillery, but was routed after two days of fighting. Most of the guns were captured by the French. General Blake, with the remains of his broken army, retreated to the mountains of Astu- rias. Marshal Soult occupied Santander on Novem- ber 16. The Bishop of St. Anderos took refuge in an English frigate. Napoleon made his head- quarters at Burgos. This town was sacked under his eyes. An eye-witness has told how he saw a 280 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. 1808 Battle of Burg-OS Battle of Tudela bivouac fire under Napoleon's windows fed all night with musical instruments. The Estramaduran army, under Count Belvidere, was lured to a weak position near Burgos, where the French fell upon them in overwhelmmg num- bers. After an all-day fight, this whole army was all but annihilated. The Spanish commander fled to Aranda. The north of Spain was thus laid pros- trate. All the rear communications of the French army were safeguarded to Napoleon's generals. Having disposed of these two armies, the French combined their forces against a central army under Castanos. The Spanish vanguards were drawn on to Tudela, and there, on November 23, the main army stood battle. The outcome fixed the fate of the whole campaign. A concise description of the whole affair was given in the eleventh bulletin of the grand army of the empire in Spain: "On November 23, at break of day, the general of division, Lefebvre, at the head of the cavalry, and supported by the division of General Morlat, forming the advance guard, met with the enemy. His army was found to be in seven divisions consisting of 45,000 men under arms, with its right before Tudela, and its left spread over a league and a half — a disposition alto- gether faulty. Forty pieces of artillery covered the enemy's Ime. The Duke of Montebello (Marshal Lannes) caused the centre to be pierced by the division of General Matthews. The general of divi- sion, Lefebvre, with bis cavalry, immediately passed on the trot through this opening, and, by a quarter 1808 Not. NINETEENTH CENTURY wheel to the left, enveloped the enemy. The mo- ment when half the enemy's line found itself thus turned and defeated was that in which General Lagrange attacked the village of Cascante and over- fe^rs?on°of' threw Castanos' line. They abandoned the field ^'^'^''"^ of battle, leaving behind their artillery and a great number of prisoners. The cavalry pursued the re- mains of the enemy's army to Mallen, in the direc- tion of Saragossa, and to Terragona, in the direction of Agreda. Seven standards, thirty guns, twelve colonels, three hundred officers, and five thousand troops of the line were taken. No quarter was given to any of the peasants found in arms. Four thousand Spaniards were left dead or plunged into the Ebro, Victory was thus struck home as with a thunderbolt and the league of our enemies is dispersed." As a matter of fact, Tudela fell short of Napo- leon's expectations, for, thanks to the carelessness or stubbornness of Ney, who rejected Jomini's sug- gestions to advance at once upon Calatyud, Cas- tanos was able to rally 20,000 of his men at that place. By the battle of Tudela the road was laid French advanceon open to Madrid. On November 29, the French ad- ^^^'^"'^ vance guard reached the foot of the Somosierra. In the strong pass of El Puerto, 11,000 Spaniards, under Don Benito San Juan, were judiciously posted. A battery of sixteen guns planted in the neck of the pass swept the steep road. The Span Ish infantry lay in the mountain ridges, one line above the other, with intrenchments at all open parts. A French detachment, sent to attack the 282 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. i808 advance post of Sepulveda, was beaten back with loss. Yet the Spaniards retired. At daybreak the French swarmed over the mountain-side in skirmish order. Their fire was well returned, and the central column waited at the foot of the pass, unwilling to expose itself to the frowning batteries mounted on the crest. At this moment Napoleon rode into the mouth of the pass, through the halting ranks of his infantry. The blue smoke of musketry hung over the road. In sudden inspiration he ordered the ifpuerto Polish Lancers of his guard to charge up the moun- tain-side and take the Spanish guns. Three squad- rons dashed up the steep road. As the mass of crimson-clad wild horsemen swept past the Spanish sharpshooters on both sides, the Spaniards dis- charged their muskets and ran toward the summit of the pass. The first platoon of the Lancers went down, but the others galloped over them, led by Kraszynski and Montbrun. The foremost ranks of the Poles were mowed down by grapesliot, but before the gunners could reload, the Lancers were upon them. Leaping their horses over the intrench- ments, they took the battery. The Spanish infantry, drawn up on both sides, took to their heels. Phi- lippe de S^gur, a favorite of the imperial court, was wounded during the short fight. This wild charge, rash and almost hopeless from a military point of view, is one of the most glorious exploits of French and Polish annals. It could have been stopped by two good companies of in- fantry. As it was, an almost impregnable position, defended by 12,000 men, was abandoned to a fev<» IbOb Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 288 liundred horsemen. Madrid was now uncovered. On the news of Napoleon's passage of the Somo- siirra, the central junta left Aranjuez and com- mitted the defence of the capital to the people. Barricades were erected and volunteers enrolled in Madrid. But without any leadership but that of Tommaso Di Morla, the former governor of Cadiz The capital ' o 1 unprepared everything went topsy-turvy. Sand having been found in a number of cartridges and in a powder magazine, the mob lynched the Municipal Admin- istrator, Marquis de Perales. On December 2, the French army appeared in force before the gates. Napoleon called for a surrender. His summons was ignored. The next day French batteries played on the Baen Eetiro, commanding the town, while as- saults were made on the gates of Alcala, Reccollets, Atocha and Fuen Caril. A breach having been opened, the French division of Villate stormed the Retiro. The Madrilenos fell back behind their barricades. Again Napoleon called for a surren- der. Morla, with Yriarte, replied by asking for an armistice. The next day Madrid capitulated. Napoleon with his army made a triumphal entry ^^,P°g^°° into the capital. The inhabitants shut themselves *^^'^""* up in their houses, and not a voice was raised in welcome of the French. After some excesses of the mob against the French soldiers, Napoleon can- celled all the terms of his capitulation. He notified the paroled Spanish officers that they were prison- ers. Sentences of imprisonment were likewise im- posed upon the Prince of Castelfranco, the Marquis de Santa Cruz, Count d'Altamira and the Mar- 284 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. la- quis de St. Simon. Other decrees abolished feudal rights, the Inquisition, internal custom regulations. French , i-ii-iii •• •!,• reforms in and one-third or all the convents existing in Spam. Spain _ ^ I Napoleon issued a proclamation announcing that if Spain refused recognition to King Joseph he would himself place the crown on his head. "1 shall know how to make myself respected by all rebels, for God has given me strength and the will to surmount all obstacles. From that day will date the prosperity of Spain." Another decree was in regard to Prussia. The evacuation of Berlin by the French troops was sanc- tioned, but one Stein, the fallen Prime Minister of stein Prussia, was declared to be an outlaw and enemy exiled ' •' of the empire. His property was confiscated and he was ordered to be apprehended at sight. Stein escaped across the border to Bohemia. As a crown- ing humiliation to the King of Prussia, he was com- pelled to pursue with his police, as a criminal, the wisest counsellor he had ever had. While at Ma- drid, Napoleon learned of the recent palace revolu- Turkish ^^^^ ^^ Constantinople. The Janizaries had risen revo?utioD again and had strangled Mustapha, the Grand Viz- ier. Baraiktar blew himself up with his guards. During the latter part of December the French won several handsome victories. At Cardeda, or Llenas, near Barcelona, General Saint Cyr attacked the army of Catalonia. The French troops, though unprovided with artillery or ammunition, routed French the Spaniards with the bayonet. Oq December 21, victories *• "^ ' in Spain General Saint Cyr, in a threefold battle at Llobri- gat, San Felice, and Molino del Rey, near Barcelona, 3808 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 285 inflicted a crushing defeat on the Spaniards and took all their artillery and ammunition. Sir John Moore, marching into Spain, learned at Salamanca of the disasters that had overtaken the Spanish army. His own artillery and cavalry did not re- join him until December. Moore at first decided ■' Sir John to retreat to Portugal, leaving an order for Sir Moore's David Baird to return to Coruna. At the entreat- ^""^^ ies of the Spanish general, and of Frere, the British envoy to the central junta, Moore agreed to march to Valladolid, thereby sacrificing his communica- \ions with Portugal. Henceforth his base must be Coruna. On December 20, he effected a junction with Baird at Majojorga, which brought his forces up to 25,000 men. Marshal Souit fell back before ret^o-lade 1 1 1 o 1 movement them beyond Sahagun. Napoleon divined the significance of Moore's movement. "Everything leads me to believe," he wrote to Joseph, as he left Madrid, "that they are evacuating Portugal, and directing their line of operation on Coruna. In making this retrograde movement, they may hope to inflict a check on Marshal Soult's corps." Late in December he wrote to Josephine: "I am starting this moment. I am going to outmanoeuvre the English. They appear to have their reinforcements and now wish to play the swaggerers." That evening he crossed „ , ^ '' "O " Napoleon the Guadarrama in a fearful storm. The snow was ^'^^^f^®^^''^® so thick that all had to dismount and plod on foot, ^^^^ with Napoleon leading the way. On Christmas Day the Emperor was near Valladolid, in hourly ex- pectation of catching the English between his own 286 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1808 Medina del Rio Seco forces and those of Soult, Sir John Moore, who was about to engage Soult, learned through the Mar- quis of Romana of Napoleon's rapid advance and prudently fell back. The road to Corufla was en- cumbered by the Spanish transports, and the Brit- ish had to go by the way of Benevento toward Astorga, blowing up the bridge over the Ezla. Fishtof Greneral Lefebvre, with an advance guard of cav- alry at Medina del R-io Seco, was so eager to catch up that he swam his squadron across the river. There they were met by Lord Paget's rearguard of cavalry and were put to the sword. Lefebvre himself was made a prisoner while struggling in the water. Napoleon pursued the British until the end of the year, amid -wretched weather and over muddy roads. When he reached Astorga, he saw that he was no longer able to prevent Moore from embarking at Coruna. Abruptly he turned the command over to Soult and Ney, and returned to Valladolid. In one of his letters of that period, Napoleon stated that he did so because further pur- suit would have carried him twenty days' distance from Paris. In Paris, the intrigues of Fouchd and Talleyrand made him uneasy, and the continued military prepa- rations of Austria made war with Germany appear imminent. The finances of France were once more in such a shape that only a successful war could help them. The effects of the tremendous struggle between Great Britain and Napoleon were felt even at the other end of the world, in China. Fearful of Napoleon gives up pursuit French home affairs 1608 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 287 a Frencli attack on the Portuguese trading sta- tion at Macao, a squadron of the East India Com- pany landed marines at Wampoa. Thereupon, the mandarin Vu, the governor of Canton, addressed a "chop" or proclamation to Commodore Craig on the "Elphinstone," It read in this wise: "I, the Man- darin Vu, by favor of the son of heaven, Tsonto, of the province of Quangtong and Quangsi, member of the tribunal of war aod of the Tsungli-yamen, warn you, that, being certain that your bad king- dom is situated in the islands of the sea, and that you originally employed yourselves in making manifesto watches to enable you to pay your taxes, after- ward by the especial and profound goodness of our great Emperor, who was desirous of benefit- ing you, he granted you permission to come to this empire to trade. If you do not cease your disturbances our innumerable soldiers shall arrive, who will destroy and burn you, even if you are as hard as stone or jasper. In order that you may heed this I direct this chop to you in the thirteenth year of the Emperor Kia King, on the seventeenth day of the tenth moon" (December 3, 1808). The British reply to this note was no less quaint: "May it please your excellency, we the undersigned commanders of the Honorable East India Company ^"^^^^'^ at Wampoa, for ourselves, our officers and our men, have the exalted honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency's most gracious letter delivered to us by the two mandarins whom, we are informed, it was your descending pleasure to send for that pur- pose. Our object in visiting this country is purely 288 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1808 commercial, to continue in the same manner that friendly and useful intercourse which has existed for many years, and is now become from its magni- tude of the very first importance to both our vast empires. We understand that our admiral, who is an officer of high rank, at the request of the Portu- guese landed, some troops at Macao to help them defend it against the French. This wicked nation, ever since they murdered their sovereign, have waged war upon all nations within their reach, and Efforts to we understand are now marching by land to make iinplica.te _ France war upon the Celestial Jb^rapire, as the British navy prevents them by sea. We, of course, wish to have no concern with any disturbance in the Celestial Empire, and we most humbly implore your excel- lency to order trade to be reopened, that we may thereby find employment in the quiet habits of industry." This reply did not satisfy the ruler of China, and trade was suspended for the nonce. Great Britain had too much at stake in other quarters of the world to pick a quarrel with China, and so British traders had to be content to bide their time in the East. ifl09Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 289 1809 N the first of January, Sir John Moore's rear- guard quit Astorga. On the same day Na- poleon confessed himself beaten in this final order to Marshal Soult, transmitted to him through Berthier: "The Emperor, foreseeing the Napoleon's embarkation of the British, commands that whentionsm Spaia the English shall have embarked you shall march on Oporto," Next day Napoleon, having received new despatches from Paris, in his turn left Astorga and hastened back to Valladolid, en route for Paris. Marshal Lannes, who had just caught up with him, having been summoned from a sick-bed, was placed in charge of the second siege of Saragossa. Imme- diately after his departure, the British cavalry beat off their pursuers in a sharp skirmish at Calcabeles. French victory at At Prieros a Spanish division laid down their arms. Caicabeies By January 6, the British rearguard, having thrice checked the French pursuit, rejoined the main body at Lugo. For two days the exhausted British troops lay at rest there in battle order. They needed a rest badly. When they crossed the snow-covered mountain ridge between Villafranca and Lugo their provisions had failed them. Then the men had to live by pillage; horses were slaugh- tered for food, and stores of all kinds had to be XlXtli Century— Vol. 1—13 290 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. i809 thrown away by the exhausted soldiers. Thou- sands of stragglers were left to freeze to death or fall a prey to the French. By the time Lugo was British I'eached the whole army, excepting the rearguard, Lugo**^ was in a state of dissolution. Marshal Soult neg- lected to press his advantage by a pitched battle at Lugo, and the English slipped out of their position during the night of the second day. The night march from Lugo to Batanzas cost the British in stragglers more than double the number of men lost in all preceding operations. The troops got to Batanzas on the 10th of January. By a forced march next day they reached Cor una. In nine the^coast clays of marching they had covered 150 miles. Napoleon, during the early part of his pursuit, had covered 164 miles over worse roads in seven days. At Coruiia the British to their dismay found no sign of their fleet. Nothing remained for Moore but to prepare for a last stand. With their backs to the sea, the British soldiers were lined up for battle. Happily for them the French were slow in coming up. At last, on January 14, the British squadron hove in sight off Coruna. Then Mar- shal Soult woke up and made a determined effort to prevent the British from embarking. All day long, on the 16th of January, the battle raged, but Battle of Coruna the English held all their positions. Their two commanding generals, Moore and Baird, were struck down in battle. Moore, while in the midst of the fight, received a cannon ball in his breast. The wound was so gaping that the 1809 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 291 hilt of his sword got entangled in it. When an officer tried to remove it Moore stopped hira, say- ing: "It is well as it is. I would rather have my sword to go out of the field together with me." Sir "^ ° Death of John Moore died in the knowledge that his men Moo^'re'^" were saved. With his eyes on the transports, he expired in the arms of his friend, Colonel Ander- son, murmuring, "You know that I always wished to die thus — I hope the English people will be content." That night the whole British army em- barked to the last man. Next morning they put to sea. The end of the first English expedition to Spain was followed by a burst of feeling in England. As it happened, a terrible storm off Coruna scattered end of the expedition the transports. Many ships were wrecked, and the others driving up the Channel were glad to put in wherever they could. The soldiers were thrown on shore from Land's End to Dover in a pitiable state. Their tales of the sufferings they had under- gone were harrowing. A Parliamentary inquiry was called for, and severe strictures were passed on the conduct of the campaign. Moore's character was vindicated even by his enemies. His immedi- ate foe. Marshal Soult, said: "Sir John Moore took every advantage that the country afforded to oppose General 1 • • TT /> • 1 I 1 Moore an active and vigorous resistance. He finished by vindicated dying in a combat that must do credit to his mem- ory." Napoleon, in later years, both at Elba and St. Helena, afiirmed that Moore's talents and firm- ness alone had saved the English army from destruction. 292 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1809 The most famous tribute to the memory of Sir John Moore was Charles Wolfe's poem on his burial, which has become a classic: Wolfe'b stanzas Not a drum-beat was heard nor a funeral note, As his corse to the rampart we hurried; Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O'er the grave where our hero lay buried. We buried him darkly at dead of night, The sod with our bayonets turning, By the struggling moonbeams' misty hght And the lantern dimly burning. No useless coffin inclosed his breast, Nor in sheet, nor in shroud we bound him; But he lay like a warrior taking his rest "With his martial cloak around him. Few and short were the prayers we said, And we spoke not a word of sorrow ; But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, And we bitterly ''.;ought of the morrow. We thought, when we hollowed his narrow bed. And smoothed down his lonely pillow, That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head, And we far away on the billow. Lightly they talk of the spirit that's gone, And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him — But little he recks, so they let him sleep on. In the grave where a Brilon has laid him. But half of our heavy task was done When the bugle blew for retiring, And we know by the distant random gun That the foe was sullenly firing. Slowly and sadly we laid him down From tlie field of his fame, fresh and gory; We carved not a line, we raised not a stone- But wo left him alone in his glory. i 1809 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 293 During the acrid Parliamentary discussions that followed the unfortunate campaign in Spain, an opportunity was afforded to clear the reputation of Sir Arthur Wellesley for the part he bore in ratify- ing the Convention of Cintra. The inquiry into the causes of this sore disappointment resulted in an official vindication for the generals concerned in it British ^ general with this qualification: "Considering the extraor- ^^'^"®'"*^®^ dinary circumstances under which two new com- manding generals arrived and joined the army (the one during and the other immediately after the bat- tle of Vilmeiro — and these successively superseding both each other and the original commander within a space of twenty-four hours), it is perhaps not sur- prising that the army was not carried forward." Sir Arthur, who strongly condemned the inaction of his superior officers after the battle, agreed with them that when the enemy had once been permitted to escape, the evacuation of Portugal was the best result the English could obtain. Accordingly the King of England, while approving the verdict of the board of inquiry, formally announced his dis- approval of the convention itself. By way of con- solation for Sir Arthur's enforced inactivity during these proceedings, Parliament gave him a vote of ^ ° ' ^ Wellington thanks, and he was promptly appointed to another ^j,^|r*°^^j_ command in Spain. The wrath of the people ™^° turned against the Duke of York, the commander- in-chief of the British army, who was found to have carried on a corrupt traffic in military com- missions through the medium of his mistress, one York dis- Mrs. Clarke. At the end of the sensational trial 294 A HISTORY OF THE JaD. 1809 Napoleon' parting measures A flying trip to France Prepara- tions for another war the matter was so plain that the Duke of York had to resign. Across the Channel, at the same time, equally high functionaries of the French Empire found them- selves in trouble. Napoleon had left Valladolid on January 17, without waiting to learn the outcome of Soult's operations against the English. He con- tented himself with leaving instructions to reoccupy Portugal, to send the best masterpieces of Spanish art to the Louvre, and to hang a score or so of Spanish malcontents in Madrid. From Valladolid he sent a warlike circular note to the princes of the Germanic Federation, bidding them beware of Austria. He announced to them that he was ready to move into the valley of the Inn with 150,000 men without withdrawing a single soldier from Spain. From Valladolid to Paris Napoleon travelled at such speed that all his suite were left behind at various stages of the journey. In the first five hours he rode eighty-five miles, by means of saddle horses posted along the route in relays of nine horses for every ten miles. At Bayonne he took a coach and travelled thence to Paris by equally rapid relays of post horses. On the 23d of Janu- ary he arrived in Paris. Marshal Berthier was despatched at once to Germany to assemble the French forces of the Danube. From the scenes that followed in the Tuileries it was clear that the Emperor had returned to his court in a very ill humor. Acting on the reports of his spies, who Informed him of the recent reconciliation of Talley- rand and Fouch(3, and of their alleged plans to make 1809 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 295 Murat Napoleon's successor, he summoned each in turn before him. Unable to prove the truth of these allegations he took occasion to overwhelm Fouchd with public censure at the first meetinsr ^ ^ i D Fouche of the Imperial Council. Talleyrand was called famnus!^' to account for some of his reported comments on ^^ ^^ Napoleon's dealings with the Bourbons, in particu- lar those with the princes of Spain and the Duke of Enghien. The Emperor became very violent dur- ing the interview, and once or twice threatened to strike Talleyrand with his fist. Talleyrand received his master's reproaches in silence. When all was ended he made a low bow and retired. Next day he attended the Sunday levee at court as usual. Napoleon pretended not to see him. He deprived TuUeyrand of his dignities as Grand Chamberlain at the imperial court. One of Talleyrand's royal- ist friends, Madame de Chevreuse, for her refusal to act as lady-in-waiting to the deposed Queen of Spain, was banished from Paris. Murat, at Naples, was informed that his presumption in bestowing Sicilian orders on some of his friends was "su- premely ridiculous." Louis of Holland was sharply Bmaparte . . ' ropri- reprimanded for his benign toleration of the smug- manded gling trade that flourished between England and Holland. The social atmosphere of Josephine's imperial court, never too free from apprehension, was full of gloomy forebodings. Several former fa- vorites were exiled from court. Josephine's friend, the Duchess of Gesvres, an old lady of eighty, was to be punished similarly, but Josephine succeeded in saving her from the imperial wrath. Since the 296 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 180» I day that Talleyrand had broached the subject of a | possible divorce for Napoleon at Erfurt, the posi- ' tion of Josephine had been precarious. At the Josephine Elys^cs, ths HBW palace, which the Emperor had BHghfe^"^ taken over from Murat, Napoleon did not hesitate to vaunt his Jatest love affairs before Josephine. While at the Elys^es the Emperor was informed of the progress of the second siege of Saragossa. This city, though still unfortified, put up a more Second gallant defence even than during its first siege. At siege of '^ o o Saragossa this period the city had a population of barely 50,000, together with the remnants of the Spanish army that had been scattered at Dudela. As before, j Palafox was in command. He had taken an oath to bury himself beneath the ruins of the city rather than surrender to the French. Gibbets were raised in the market-place for those who should dare to speak of capitulation. The siege was begun on December 20, 1808, when Mortier's and Money's divisions arrived before Saragossa. Next day the French assaulted the place. Monte Torrero was stormed and the city was entered through the canal sluices. The French were beaten off with a loss of 400 men. Then engineering tactics came into play under the direction of Chief Engineer Lacoste. By the end of December the French were ready for a general assault from their earthworks, which now completely encircled the city. A summons to sur- render was sent, in which the recent example of Madrid was cited. Palafox replied: "If Madrid has surrendered, Madrid has been sold. Saragossa shall neither be sold nor surrendered." The French IBOgJan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 297 attacked at three points at once, but were beaten off again with heavy losses on both sides. Money's place was now taken by Junot. An epidemic of ^ . ^ Cholera cholera, together with famine, rendered the suffer- a"<^ fa™'"» ings of those within almost intolerable. Yet they harassed the French by sallies almost every day. On January 10, the city was bombarded by thirty- two siege guns, and the convent of St. Joseph wao battered to pieces. Next day the French stormed the convent, and a few days after succeeded in seiz- ing all the bridge works in front of Santa Engracia. Strong batteries of fifty guns, reaching the bridge over the Ebro, cut off the city from all intercourse with the suburbs. Withal, the condition of thccut^^"'^* French army was unenviable, for its ranks, too, were wasted by famine and fever. From the rear, the French were worried by various bodies of Span- ish insurgents eager to relieve Saragossa. On Jan- uary 22, Marshal Lannes arrived and the siege was pressed with more vigor. The Spaniards, too, be- came more aggressive as their situation became 1 T • TIT • /~i 1- 1 Desperate more desperate. in one sortie Mariano (jalindoresist- ^ auce of succeeded in penetrating through the French Hues ^p^"'^'^'^ and in spiking a mortar battery behind the second • parallel trench. In the hand-to-hand fight he was cut down with all his followers. January 29, the French attacked at four points, and three chosen columns leaped upon the ruined walls of Saragossa. They did not get further than the first large crosp- street. Some of the stone houses along this street nad to be stormed no less than three times by suc- cessive bodies of Frenchmen. Finally the French Death of Lacoste 298 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. i609 lodged themselves within the city walls, and street fighting became general. During the first days on- slaught 600 Frenchmen and nearly that number of Spaniards were killed. Chief Engineer Lacoste was killed during the fight, and so was San Grenio, one of the foremost Spanish colonels. From then on, fighting grew so fierce that every house had to be assaulted in turn, while mines were laid under it as if it were a fort. General Brandt in his memoirs has given a glimpse of the horror of those days: Brandt's '*The morc we advanced the more desperate grew ebcnp 1 "i^^g-j, resistance. One by one we had to take each house, transformed into a redoubt. Death lurked for us everywhere, from the cellar, between the doors and from behind shutters. If you entered a house, you had to inspect and search it from cellar to attic. Often, as you entered a room, you would be shot at from the room above through holes drilled in the flooring. The stairways, galleries and queer turns of those old Spanish houses were admirably adapted for such warfare." On the last day of January the convents of Santa Monica and Santa Engracia were blown up by the French sappers, but the Spaniards fought on in their ruins. Whenever the French succeeded in taking a house, the Spaniards, having previously saturated it with oil, would set it on fire. In this manner the fight was carried on from street to street until February 7, when the French got a firm lodging all along the Coaso. Under that great The^ocsso thoroughfare they dug six galleries and made mines to be exploded simultaneously with those under the university. By this time the siege had lasted fifty of Sara- g'ossa blown up 1809 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 299 days. Half of the fighters on both sides had suc- cumbed to sword and fire, or to sickness from pesti- lence and hunger. Those that were left carried on the struggle underground among the heaps of the dead and dying. On February 18, having com- pleted all preparations, Lannes ordered a general assault. Three thousand pounds of powder were sprung under the University of Saragossa, and the u^j^g^gi^ walls of the ancient edifice fell in a heap. Even in^ofsa*^ the ruins the French were beaten off, but finally got a foothold. A score of similar explosions all around the city made the French masters of the remaining fortifications between the Convent of St. Augustine and the Ebro. The concentrated fire of fifty cannon opened a breach in the Convent of St. Lazarus, and Baron Versarge with nearly a thousand of his fol- lowers were put to the sword. Three hundred beat their way into the inner city across a burning Pf^"®'^'"'^'® bridge. This success for the French was followed °"^^ on the 19th by another attack on the right bank of the Ebro, where a whole row of buildings was blown up by a series of mines. At last Palafox, who lay sick in his bomb-proof, sued for terms. Most of the other leaders of the siege lay dead, among them the famous Tios Jorge and Marino, ^e' the curate of St. Giles and the indomitable lemon- ade seller of the Corso. The simultaneous explo- sion of 45,000 pounds of gunpowder together with the bombardment of 16,000 bombshells had shaken the city to its foundations. Thousands of dead bodies lay about the streets and in the vaults. Throughout the last month the daily deaths among French jenetral nto inner Heroes of siege 800 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1809 the besieged had been five hundred, and the living were too weak to bury the dead. Yet the people of Saragossa wanted to kill Palafox when they learned of his offer to surrender. Only by aban- doning the citadel to the French could the Spanish generals make the populace come to terms. Ac- cording to French writers, Saragossa surrendered at discretion; but, judging from Brandt's memoirs Surrender and the Spanish records, the garrison was per- ofSara- or gossa mitted to march out with all the honors of war, while the peasants were returned to their homes, and the property of the citizens and church was guaran- teed against the French plunderers. The Supreme Junta of Spain pronounced the funeral oration over Saragossa in the following prouunciamiento: A Spanish "Spaniards, the only boon which Saragossa pronuncia- x ' ./ o miento begged of our unfortunate monarch at Vittoria was that she might be the first city to sacrifice herself in his defence. That sacrifice has been con- summated. More than two months the murderous siege continued; almost all the houses were de- stroyed, those which were still standing had been undermined; provisions were nearly exhausted, am- munition all consumed; 16,000 sick were struggling with a mortal contagion, which every day hurried hundreds to tbe grave; the garrison was reduced to less than a sixth part; the general dying of the pestilence; O'Neille, the second in command, dead; St. Marc, upon whom the command then devolved, prostrated by the fever. So much was required, Spaniards, to make Saragossa yield to the rigor of fate, and suffer herself to be occupied by the 1809 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 301 enemy. The surrender was made upon such terms as the French have granted to other towns, and those terms have been observed as usual by the perfidious enemy. Thus only were they able to take possession of those glorious precincts, filled only with demolished houses and temples, and peo- pled only with the dead and the dying; where every street, every ruin, every wall, every stone, seemed mutely to say to the beholder. Go, tell my king that Saragossa, faithful to her word, hath joyfully sacrificed herself to maintain her honor 1" The story of the twofold siege of Saragossa, to- gether with the three sieges of Gerona, has justly taken foremost rank among the most famous sieges of history. Among the notable achievements of the proudest Peninsular War, the defence of Saragossa stands of Spain forth as one of the proudest traditions of Spain. Even Napoleon, who had watched the siege from afar, as soon as he learned of the capitulation, gave orders to have a special work prepared giving a full record of this siege, "to serve as a model for all cases where an open city is attacked, and the inhab- itants wish to defend themselves." In Catalonia, during the same winter, the French were likewise beset with difficulties, but were vic- torious in the main. Gerona had to be besieged again and so had Rosas, but these annoyances were offset by St, Cyr's victories over the Catalonians at Cardadeu, Molino Del Rey, Capelladaes and Vails. |^,fj® ** The last battle, fought on February 25, finished the regular campaign in Catalonia for a time. Coming so closely after the fall of Saragossa, the defeat of 802 A HISTORY OF THE March 1809 Vails spread dismay far and wide in Spain. It looked as if the backbone of the war had been broken. Yet St. Cjr's campaign, though costing great efforts on the part of all troops concerned in it, remained without corresponding advantages. St. Cyr attributed this to the wretched condition of fatSfl^d'^'^^^ soldiers, "destitute and neglected because the Emperor disliked their chief and therefore wished their ruin." in this St. Cyr was prejudiced. Napoleon, indeed, had been watching the opera- tions of his scattered divisions in Spain with con- stant anxiety. This is attested by the great number of records containing his military instructions to his various generals. After the fall of Saragossa, with the dispersal of the Catalonians, and after Marshal Soult's second invasion of Portugal had been suc- cessfully accomplished, Napoleon breathed more freely. Cuesta's defeat at Medellin, on March 28, settled it. Now he could turn his attention to another point. He did so with that singleness of view which his secretaries, Bourrienne and Mene- val, have characterized as one of the most striking features of his genius. There was enough to distract the attention of a statesman. In England it looked as if the govern- ment were falling to pieces. The old king, nearly blind, and mentally unbalanced, was in no condi- tion to bear the scandal of his son's disgraceful resignation from the command of the army; nor did the Prince of Wales stand in better repute. In the Ministry, Canning was arrayed against Castlereagh, the new Secretary of War, and each took pleasure Battle of Medellia Affairs in Elngland 1809 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 303 in foiling the other's projects. Regular commerce was upset by the conditions brought about by the continental blockade and the American embargo. Low ebb ° of British English credit stood at a low ebb. The public <=''«<^''^ funds were shaken by the constant drain of money for the British expeditions and financial subsidies to Spain. In the absence of specie, discounts at long date became the rule, and doubtful joint-stock speculations were rampant. At the close of 1808, gold coin had risen at one leap from the prevailing rate of 103 to a steep premium of 113. A finan-Qe„erai cial crash seemed close at hand. In Holland and depression France, public finances, if possible, were in a worse condition. Such was the state of affairs in Europe when Thomas Jefferson relinquished control in America. Reviled by his political opponents, and beset by private creditors, he passed out in gloom. His debts amounted to $20,000. This practically ^'ui^^^d ^.^^^ him as a grand seigneur of Virginia. He returned J^^^f^^ to Monticello alone on horseback, as he had come to Washington. To a deputation of his townsfolk welcoming him home, he said: "Of you, my own neighbors, I may ask in the face of the world, Whose ox have I taken or whom have I defrauded ? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hands have I received a bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? On your verdict will I rest." On March 4, Madison was inaugurated as Presi-;^*™?^ dent. George Clinton of New York went in as rated"" Vice-President. Most of the former members of the Cabinet held over. They were Robert Smith 804 A HISTORY OF THE April 18O8 of Maryland, Secretary of State; Albert Gallatin of Pennsylvania, Treasury; William Eustis of Massa- chusetts, War; Paul Hamilton of South Carolina, Navy; Gideon Granger of Connecticut, Postmas- ter, and Caesar A. Rodney of Delaware, Attorney- General. Immediately after the change of adminis- tration had been accomplished, both America and England took mutual steps to remove the embargo so harmful to both nations. On March 6, Parlia- conciiia- mcut entered into a debate of this subject, and the tory roeas- ^^^ British press voiced the public discontent. The London "Times" went so far as to say: "If Amer- ica will withdraw her Embargo and Non-Importa- tion Acts, so far as they relate to England, provided we rescind the Order-m-Council, we cannot consider this as a disgraceful concession on our part." On March 15, the American Cabinet agreed to remove the Embargo, but commercial intercourse between England and the United States was still prohibited. On April 7, Canning sent instructions to the British Minister at Washington, Erskine, to settle up the "Chesapeake" affair and the commercial relations between the two countries at one stroke. The at- "Cheaa- affa'lr dis- ^^^^ upou the "Chesapeake" was disavowed, and some impressed American sailors were returned. Admiral Berkeley was to be recalled. The Ameri- can demand for a court-martial of the British Ad- miral was not entertained. President Madison ac- cordingly withdrew the demand, but added that he was "none the less persuaded that to grant the American demand would best comport with what is due from his Britannic Majesty to his own honor." avowed 1809 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 305 It was an unfortunate sentence destined to breed ^''^'^'^'^'l. trouble. Erskiue further offered the withdrawal of ^*"**°"^® the late British Orders-in-Council if the President would issue a proclamation renewing trade inter- course with Grreat Britain. Within two days Presi- dent Madison's proclamation to this effect was pub- lished in the "National Intelligencer." Erskine in a few lines declared that he was authorized to state that "His Majesty's Orders-in-Council of January and November, 1807, shall have been withdrawn, as respecting the United States, on the ItOh of June next." The American people hailed this outcome with delight. Without waiting for June, the mer- American ° . trade with chants along the sea-coast began to hurry ships and^g"g»'^^^ merchandise to British ports. For the time being everything seemed plain sailing in America. Not so in Europe. In Sweden the people were so aroused by the disastrous consequences of the King's antagonism to Napoleon, the reverses of the army in Norway and the loss oi Finland, Stralsund and Eiigen, that they rose against their king. Young Gustavus Adolphus IV. drew his in Sweden sword on the deputation that came to protest against a further continuance of the war. One of his nobles disarmed him, saying: "Sire, your sword was given to you to use against the enemies of the country, not to be drawn on your own sub- jects. We desire nothing but your happiness and the prosperity of Sweden." The King was confined under guard, and his uncle, the Duke of Soeder- manland, assumed the regency. Within ten days Q^g^^^^^g Gustavus Adolphus abdicated, to be succeeded by abdicate 806 A HISTORY OF THE April 18W bis uncle as King Christian XIIL Napoleon con- gratulated Sweden on having got rid of "the su- premacy of a fool." An armistice was granted by Bernadotte, but the war with Eussia went on. The aged General Klercker commanded a Finnish army at Tavastehus, where Klingspor arrived with his royal orders, which were for retreat and evacua- tion of the country. The troops were deprived of their hopes of a battle and forced to make a retreat of nearly 600 miles, suffering from cold and hunger. The retreat continued without interruption for two months, until the army in April found itself be- tween Brahestad and Uleoborg. A battle was fought at Siikajoki, April 18, the sub-commander, General Adlercreutz, receiving instructions to make a stand against the enemy until the safety of the fukafoki ^^'^J supplics could be insured. After five hours of fighting, the Finns won a glorious victory over the Kussians, but royal orders for a continued re- treat arrived, Siikajoki and Sveaborg, the Gibral- tar of the North, were treacherously surrendered to the Russians. Prussia in The German people in Austria and Prussia were a ferment ■^ '■ likewise seething. In Prussia secret patriotic organ- izations, like the Tugendbund and Father Jahn's Deutsche Turner, were preparing young Prussia for the inevitable conflict, while in the army such men as Scharnhorst, Blucher and Schill had their hearts set on another trial of strength with France. Austria In Austria, the preparations for war were quite Drepares ' r r T ?c open. Since the Austrian Emperor had been left cut of the Conference of Princes at Erfurt, the at- iwj'j March NINETEENTH CENTURY 307 titude of his government had grown almost defiant. Count Stadion, Prime Minister since the Peace of Pressburg, had become convinced by the proceed- ings in Italy and Spain that Napoleon had designs on all the thrones of Europe. Special suspicions were excited concerning the French and Russian intentions as to Turkey and the Balkans. Stadion accordingly encouraged Archduke Charles in bring- ing the army to a greater strength and efficiency than ever before. By the beginning of March, 1809, Austria had 260,000 men ready. Prince Schwarzen- berg was sent to St. Petersburg to try to win over Russia. Alexander, with his mind set on Turkey, thought that he had more to fear from Austria than from France, and therefore held fast to Na- Russia poleon. So strong were the hopes of a general na- ^'^^^s with tional rising in Prussia and other parts of Germany, however, that the Austrian generals based the plans for their campaign on such an event. The original intention was to take the offensive against the French in central Germany, where they were weakest. With Austrian plan of this plan in view, the troops were massed in Bo- campaign hernia. Early in the spring, Count O'Donnell, the Austrian Finance Minister, found that the resources of the Empire no longer sufficed for a continued maintenance of the army on a war footing. France, too, was bleeding to death. By a new levy of 180,000 men from the conscript class of 1810, Napoleon had forced up the French deficit to nearly one hundred million francs. No relief was in sight from any internal fiscal measures. In Iwief, the strain for both nations was growing un- SOS A HISTORY OF THE March 180» Urgent bearable, yet neither could afford to disarm. War reasons for ' -^ ''"' had become only a question of time. On March 2, Metternich, the Austrian Ambas- sador at Paris, complained to Ghampagny that the measures adopted by Napoleon had forced Austria to place Germany on a footing of war. A few weeks later, Metternich coolly answered Napoleon's question: "Why does your Emperor want so large Diplomatic an army?" with the remark, "To make his ambas- sador respected by you." Henceforward it was merely a race in the completion of mutual mili- tary preparations before actual hostilities should commence. Marshal Berthier, at Strasburg, re- ceived urgent orders to draw together all remain- French ing French srarrisons at Resrensburg. Davoust was plan of fo & & G campaign ^^ advaucc a corps from Wuerzburg to Regensburg. Lannes was despatched to Germany to concentrate an army corps at Augsburg. In Italy, Murat was or- dered to fall upon Rome with the speed of lightning, to seize the papal dominions and replace the French troops hurried northward. Nothing restrained the French from taking the offensive but the Czar's con- ditional agreement with Napoleon to aid him against Austria only in case France should be first attacked. Had Austria struck then and there, the advantage ^aol^p^et might have been on her side. Unluckily for her, Archduke Charles at the last moment upset the ex- cellent plan of a quick advance into North Ger- many, and, instead of that, marched his troop» down to the Danube to safeguard Vienna. Early in April, things were brought to a point by mutual acts of aggression A French diplomatio 1809 April NINETEENTH CENTURY o09 courier between "Vienna and Munich was arrested onjp^^"""^: tional uis- Austrian ground and despoiled of his despatches. ^"""'^'"®* A day or so later, Davoust's outposts violated the territory of the Austrian Empire. On April 10, Metternich demanded his passport. On the same day, the peasants of the Tyrol from one end of the mountain ranges to the other rose to shake off the ^be Tyrol yoke of Bavaria. In anticipation of probable hos- tilities by the middle of the month, Napoleon had fixed April 15 as the day when he would join his armies on the Danube. On the night of April 12 he received a transmitted semaphore message that Archduke Charles had crossed the Inn, and that his troops were even then marching on Munich. The ^ar begun next morning, on April 13, Napoleon left the ' Elysee, and driving night and day reached his head- quarters at.Donauwoerth on the fifth day. At lud- wigsburg and Dillingen lie stopped for a few hours of the night to meet the kings of Bavaria and Wurtemberg. As the Emperor stepped out ot his carriage at Donauwoerth, on April 17, he learned that the Aus- trians, turning to the right, were slowly marching on Eegensburg. "That's a lost army," was his first Napoleon on the remark. Napoleon then learned for the first time Danube that Berthier had failed to carry out his instructions to combine the French armies. Davoust was still north of the Danube, cut ofiE from the French main army. The ruin of Davoust's corps appeared immi- nent. Napoleon on the instant changed his plans and hastened to Eggmuehl with three corps to in- tercept the inevitable advance of the enemy against 310 A HISTORY OF THE April 1809 cbanseof Davoust. For Bei'tliier he left this sharp note: plans "What you have done appears so strange that, if I were not aware of your friendship, I should think you were betraying me. Davoust is at this moment more completely at the disposal of the Archduke than of myself." To Mass^na, at Augsburg, he wrote: "Descend toward the Danube at once. Leave all your sick and stragglers behind. Never have I had more need of your devoted zeal, activity and speed!" To Davoust he sent a despatch rider with this order: ''Quit Eegensbarg at once, leaving one regiment behind ! Break down the bridge there so that it cannot be repaired! Manoeuvre carefully between the river and the Austrians! Beware of running any risk of an engagement before joining me near Abendsberg!" These various manoeuvres, ^klffufms^ t'"- which Napoleon concentrated his army in the face of threatening disaster, have ever been con- sidered a remarkable demonstration of the very higheso skill in war. The forces whica Napoleon had at his command were thus given by Chauvent: In Poland, 18,000 commanded by Bernadotte; in Saxony, 12,000 un- der Gratien; in Westphalia, 15,000 under King of'^^.'ench J^rome. The main army consisted of the divi- sion of Lannes 25,000, that of Davoust 45,000, that of Mass^na 30,000, Lefebvre's 30.000, and 30,000 more under Vandamme. The Confederation of the Rhine furnished 12,000 men besides those serving in Spain. Prince Eugene Beauharnais, Vice-roy of Italy, had 45,000 at his disposal. Marmont had 15,000 in Dalinatia. Altogether there were 287,000 ncEuvres forces 1809 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 311 men under arms with 560 guns, besides the 200.000 still in Spain. Under the immediate eye of JSapo- leon, 150,000 Frenchmen were now arrayed against the enemy, numbering about 200,000, in ten army^j^ osaiof corps. One corps under Archduke Ferdinand oc- forces*" cupied Warsaw. Another corps under Archduke John covered northern Italy and the Tyrol. Two army corps marched from Bohemia straight for Re- gensburg. One remained at Linz for the protection of the capital, while the main body, comprising seven corps, zigzagged between Linz and Regens- burg, so as to effect a junction with either at short notice. As one of Napoleon's most ardent biog- raphers has said: "The mind that could grusp such interests and guide such enormous com- binations must have been one of extraordinary mold." While the allied troops on the Danube were skir- mishing on all sides. Napoleon issued this address: "Soldiers, I was surrounded by your bayonets when 1 T-i c A • -1 1 • Napoleon's the Jimperor of Austria arrived at my bivouac at add. ess to his army Austerlitz. You heard him implore my clemency and swear me eternal friendship. Conquerors in three wars, we granted everything to Austria in our generosity. Three times has she perjured herself. Our former victories are our guarantee for future triumphs. Onward, men, and let the enemy see the faces of his conquerors!" In the Tyrol, meanwhile, the peasants had chased the Bavarian garrisons from their mountain seats, Peasants capture and seized the capital, iansbruck. A French de- 1°^^'""<'^ tachment under Brisson, marching for Innsbruck 812 A HISTORY OF THE April 1808 from Iialy, was caught unawares and had to sur- render. The captives numbered two generals, ten staff officers, 100 field officers and 1,000 men. In Pordenone andsaciie Italy, Archduke John defeated the French at Por- denone and again at Sacile. By April 18, Napoleon, while urging Mass^na to do his utmost to reach Pfaffenhofen on the next night, gave this precis of the situation on the Dan- French ubc: "One word will explain to you the urgency Fof&ttie of affairs. Archduke Charles, with 80,000 men, deboucbed yesterday from Landshut on Regens- burg. The Bavarians skirmished all day with his advance guard. To-morrow (April 19) all the troops that can be mustered at Pfaffenhofen with the Wurtembergers and our cuirassiers, should be in condition to fall upon the rear of Prince Charles. A single glance must show you that never was there more pressing need for diligence than now. 1 con- sider Prince Charles ruined without resource if Oudinot and your three divisions are on his rear before daybreak on the 19th. On the 18th, 19th and 20th the whole affair of Grermany will be decided." On the night of April 19, after the Austrians had been outmanoeuvred in a sanguinary encoun- b^^g ^' ter at Abendsberg, Napoleon learned of the safe arrival of Davoust at Neustadt. In great elation he mounted his horse and galloped along the entire line of his bivouac fires. Next morning he pushed his main army between the Austrian forces under Archduke John and Hiller. The French divisions of Lefebvre and Mass6na, operating together, over- 1809 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 318 threw Hiller's corps and drove the Austrians back to Landshut. Davoust cleverly extricated his de-ertT^catea tached array from the immediate vicinity of the Danube, and joined Napoleon's main body on the left. On the 22d, Archduke Charles made a rapid advance southward, hoping to overwhelm Davoust. Instead of that, he came upon Napoleon's main army united to Davoust's strong division at Eggmuehl. EggmueU The battle that followed was waged in modern style, that is, by different bodies of troops, ex- tended over a large area, manoeuvring against different positions. The Austrian centre under Eosenberg was overthrown by Vandamme's divi- sion. The hottest fighting, that on the left, fell to Davoust's men. The most decisive part of the complicated battle was Lannes's successful flanking outflanks* movement toward Regensburg. Napoleon made his headquarters on a rise in the ground, and there re- ceived a constant stream of aides-de-camp, bringing the bulletins from the various corps commandants. One officer, while pointing out the position of his command to Napoleon, had his arm torn oft' by a cannon shot. Not long afterward. General Cervoni, while in the act of opening a map before Napoleon, was killed by a shell. The officers of the Old Guard tried to drag the Emperor away, but he waved them off impatiently: "What is the use? I must see how matters are going." Late in the afternoon, when the belated Austrian cavalry rode into battle line, the Emperor had re- course to one of those magnificent cavalry charges which were carried so far in the Napoleonic cam- XlXth Century— Vol. 1—14 . 8U A HISTORY OF THE AprU 1809 A Napo- leouic cavalrj' charsre Austrian troopers out- matched paigns. At sundown he ordered the imperial cav- alry, which had been held in reserve all day, to charge the massed squadrons of Austrian cavalry riding into the firing-line. As the cuirassiers of Bessieres, incased in glittering breastplates, and helmets surmounted by plumes, cantered to the crest of the slope, a mighty shout arose from the French infantry below. The soldiers felt sure that a blow was now to be struck that would prove decisive. With a wild battle cry of "Vive L'Em- pereur," the imperial cavalry charged into the plain. The Austrian cuirassier squadrons, led by Prince Lichtenstein, galloped forth to meet them. With sabres flashing the contending hosts of horse, men fell upon each other and fought it out in plain sight of the infantry, until darkness spread over the battlefield. In the hand-to-hand struggle, the Aus- trian horsemen, though better mounted, were no match for the French cuirassiers, since they were armed only with breastplates, while the French cuirass incased the body all around. Whenever an Austrian trooper was caught in the rear, he was doomed, and even in face-to face fencing the French swordsmen soon learned to rely on side thrusts. At length the Austrian squadrons, hav- ing lost nearly two-thirds in killed and dismounted, wheeled in dismay and rode for life. Napoleon's imperial guards followed in mad pursuit. The French infantry heard the shout of their conquer- ing comrades and charged the wavering enemy with Betreatto ^^^ bayonct. The Austrians fell back in the dark- i^jjens- j^^gg ^j^j retreated during the night to Regensburg. 1B09 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 315 Next morning, April 23, the Austrians at Re- gensburg recrossed the Danube by two pontoon bridges. The French did not force their way into the town until nearly all the Austrians had crossed. A small portion of the rearguard was captured. The fighting of the last five days — at Tbann, Abendsberg, Landshut, Eggmuehl and Regensburg — had changed the doubtful backward movement of vfctorious the French into a victorious advance. JNever hadtheime strategic difficulties of such an extremely awkward character been solved with greater coherence or de- spatch. Napoleon's severest critic, Lanfrey, even, has felt compelled in this instance to give the great captain his due. He says: "The opening of this campaign is a model of scientific warfare; a master- piece alike of boldness and of prudence worthy in g^f^^cat^^ all its points of the first campaign in Italy, and also^"^*^ above criticism, but for the falsehoods contained in Napoleon's bulletins." This is an allusion to Napoleon's claim that the whole Austrian army of 300,000 men had been crushed, and that they had lost one archduke, twenty generals, and upward of 30,000 prisoners. So far as can be judged from the widely conflicting estimates, the Austrian casualties probably amounted to less than one-third of that number. At St. Helena, Napoleon said of this cam- paign: "The greatest military manoeuvres 1 ever made, and those for which I give myself most credit, were executed at Eggmuehl. They were Napoleon's . r> • 1 • 1 -HI own estl- mfinitely superior to those at Marengo, or to any mate other of my actions." As the French were advancing on Regensburg, 816 A HISTORY OF THE April 1809 V"^ Napoleon was wounded in the foot by the bullet of a Emperor r -^ wounded fyrolese sharpshooter. The news that the Emperor had been shot spread through the French ranks. It caused such a commotion that Napoleon remounted his horse and rode along the lines until loss of blood made him faint. In its effects the wound proved trifling, and the Emperor continued in active com- M^treaf"^ mand at Regensburg. The Austrians retreated Danube^ dowu the Dauubc. Archduke Charles marched for Bohemia, hoping to threaten the French advance on Vienna from their flank and rear. Hiller tried to cover the capital by recrossing the Inn, but had to deviate from his march at Linz, when he found that Mass^na's pursuers were outflanking him. At General ^ ° flanked"*^ the river Traun he made a stand in the little strong- hold of Ebelsberg. Had the French possessed them- selves with patience. Marshal Lannes could have made the enemy's position on the Traun untenable, by flanking the Austrians at Steyer. As it hap- pened, Greneral Coehorn, a Corsican hot- bead, com- manding the so-called "infernal legion" of Corsi- cans and Bersaglieri, arriving prematurely, wildly dashed his men against the overwhelming forces of the Austrians. A wooden bridge, some 600 feet long and protected at each end by bastions, sur- charpeof mountcd by a citadel with 100 pieces of cannon, the infer- ^ r 7 Bai legion ' ^^^^^ stormcd by the frenzied Italians. Colonel Clapareda, in the face of fearful losses, led his men to the assault again and again, and at last succeeded in breaking down the city gate. Other French troops entered into the fight, and a detach- ment of Legraud's division got a foothold in the ie09May NINETEENTH CENTURY 317 little town. At last Mass^na brought up his whole division, yet the Austrians held firm until after nightfall, and then evacuated the place in good order. Napoleon, who arrived next day, was dis-^, „ ,. ^ ' -' ' The fight mayed to find that nearly 6,000 of his men had bLg''^'^' fallen before Ebelsberg, and that Clapareda's bri- gade was practically wiped out. Massena was cen- sured for countenancing a frontal attack, when flanking manoeuvres were possible, but the Corsi- can leader Coehorn was patted on the back as "a man of great worth." The pursuit of the Aus- trians was kept up with vigor. Neither Hiller's division nor Archduke John's forces were able to get a foothold in front of Vienna. By the middle of May they barely succeeded in joining forces at Krems on the other side of the Danube many miles beyond Vienna. Vienna now lay open to the French columns. On Vienna left the way there the Emperor's staff rode by the ruins ^^''^^^ of Dierstein, the dungeon of Richard Coeur de Lion. Napoleon turned to his companions, Berthier and Lannes, and said: "He, too, fought in Syria, and he had better luck than we had at St. Jean d'Acre. Still the lion-hearted was no more valiant than you, my brave Lannes. Those were barbarous times, which they now have the folly to represent to us as so heroic." On May 10, the French appeared before Vienna. The old part of the city, containing some hundred thousand inhabitants, was still encircled by the an- cient walls that had once kept out the Turks. In the city, Archduke Maximilian had 15,000 regulars S18 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 with 10,000 militia. He sacrificed the suburbs with • their population of nearly 200,000, and tried to de- fend the city from behind the old ramparts. urbsgiven Captain Marbot, bearing Napoleon's summons to surrender, was struck down in the street. Next day Old Vienna was bombarded. For thirty-six hours ^ent*'of**' 3,000 shells were dropped into the city. Toward evening a flag-of-truce bearer from the Archduke begged Napoleon to spare the imperial palace, where the Princess Marie Louise had been left behind on account of illness. She was Napoleon's future bride. As one historian has said of the inct- dent: "It was by the thunders of artillery and the flaming light of bombs across the sky that Napo- leon's first addresses to the Archduchess Marie Louise were made." Archduke Maximilian after the second day gave up the struggle, and burning the great bridge of Tabor behind him crossed the Spituiates l^anube. His successor in command capitulated within a short time. Napoleon entered the city Just one month after he had left the Elys^e. Gen- eral Andreossy was appointed governor of Vienna. Two days after his entry into Vienna, Napoleon issued the famous decree deposing the Pope. In his proclamation he said: "Since the time of Charle- magne, the union of spiritual and temporal power has been and still is a source of dissension. The Popes have bat too frequently availed themselves of the one to support their pretensions to the other." deprfved^of -^^^ the papal dominions were united with the temporal Prg^ch Empire. Rome was declared a free im- perial city. The Vatican was reserved for the use 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 319 of the Pope without restrictions, and a pension of 2,000,000 francs was accorded him. Pope Pius Vll. Sfmmu. , . , , line • nicated launched his long-threatened bull or excommunica- tion against Napoleon. After that the Pope's fate was but a question of time. During these days Joseph Haydn, "the favorite of the Austrian people," lay dying. During the siege a French bomb burst near his house in the Kleine Steingasse (now Haydn Strasse), where the great composer lay. After the occupation a French officer, a passionate admirer of Haydn's music, visited the old composer and played to him a selection from his "In tempore Belli." The dying maestro was deeply affected and embraced his caller at parting. On May 26, he called his family around him, and having himself carried to the piano, solemnly played his great national anthem, "Gott erhalte unseren Kaiser." A short time after this ^^^^^3^^ died. Mozart's requiem was performed in his°*^ ^ memory, and his funeral was attended by many French officers and a French guard of honor. In Paris a sacred cantata by Cherubini, written on a previous false report of his death, was given in his honor. Haydn's rank in the history of music is of the first importance. The foremost among his contem- poraries, such as Mozart and Beethoven, called him Father Haydn. All his works, multitudinous as they were, are characterized by lucidity, perfect form and rich development. To him the world ^ Haydn's owes the evolution of the two finest phases of the ^^^"^^J^'^^"* sonata form, the orchestral symphony and the quar- ""'*'*' 820 A HISTORY OF THE May 1801 tet. Chamber music was brought by him to its greatest perfection. "It was from Haydn," said Mozart, '*tbat I first learned the true way to com- pose quartets." Haydn's masses and offertories to this day are among the favorite pieces played on the church organs of Austria and Germany. His celebrated oratorios have remained unsurpassed. Haydn may be said to have stood in direct line of succession from Sebastian Bach, the great pro- influence taofonist of modern music. Bach said of Haydn ofSebas- ^ tianBacb that he alonc fully understood his music, and knew how to build on it. His worldly success dated from the time that Prince Anton Esterhazy engaged him as a second leader of his private orchestra in Hun- gary. There Haydn met Gluck, the great com- poser. After the death of Prince Anton, his suc- cessor, Prince Nicolaus, made him first leader of Encour- the orchcstra. Nicolaus Esterhazy was a typical thlElt^r" Hungarian magnate, very rich and an enthusiastic patron of the arts. Haydn himself said: "The Prince was always satisfied with my work. Not only had I the encouragement of his constant ap- proval, but as a conductor of his orchestra I could make experiments, observe what produced an effect and what weakened it, and was thus in a position to improve, alter, make additions or omissions, and fplfrecia- ^^ ^^ '^^^^ ^^ ^ plcascd. I was cut off from the tbeVheip world; there was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original." When the castle of Esterhazy burned down in 1779, Haydn got up his famous "Farewell Symphony," in which one musician after another arises and leaves his 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 321 place in the orchestra, until only the leader is left. "If all go," said the Prince, "we may as well go too," and so the company was dispersed, until Castle Esterhazy was rebuilt. In the new theatre Haydn j^^^ . ^j performed Gluck's operas, and there he also met the com°p°os1"* Czarina of Russia, wife of Paul, to whom he dedi- cated his famous Eussian songs and quartet com- posed in 1802. i^'or the Russian Princess he also wrote the opera, "Orlando Paladino," the most fre- quently performed of all his operas. About this time Mozart dedicated his first six quartets to Haydn in terms of filial affection. Haydn said to Mozart's father: "I declare to you on my honor Frie'idship •^ -^ ot Mozart that I consider your son the greatest composer *'^'* ^^y^ I have ever heard." After the death of Prince Nicolaus, Salomon of London hastened to Vienna and induced Haydn to come to London. He did this regardless of the protests of the King of Naples, then in Vienna, who wished Haydn to come to Italy with him. Mozart saw Haydn off and promised to follow him to London, but before he could do so he Haydn .^ goes to died. In London Haydn was lionized by the musi- England cal set. The University of Oxford made him a doctor of music. One of Haydn's quartets was per- formed at the royal palace, with the Prince of Wales playing the bass violin, the Duke of York the viol, and the Princess of Wales at the piano. In London Haydn was visited by J. B. Cramer, then twenty years old, and by Clementi, the boy violinist, for whose benefit Haydn performed his new "Seven Words." He also aided in the Handel commemora- tion at Westminster Abbey. When the Hallelujah 3*22 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 chorus swept through the nave, Haydn wept, and said with a choking voice, "He is the master of us all." His symphonies written at this period, known mnn Ivm. ^^ ^^® Salomou Symphonies, are accounted his great- phomes ^^j. QpcJiestral works. When he returned to Germany next year he met Beethoven at Bonn, and passed judgment on a new cantata of that rising composer. Beethoven followed him to Vienna and became his Beethoven -i t i tt i . meets pupil. In later years Haydn was again summoned to London to write six more symphonies. He re- turned to Vienna with a competence sufficient for the rest of his days. During the last decade of his life Haydn wrote his greatest works, "The Four The -crea- Seasons," and his stupendous "Creation," inspired by Milton's "Paradise Lost." His last composition was the vocal quartet, "Hin ist alle meine Kraft" — "My strength is gone; old and weak am I." His last public appearance was at the performance of his "Creation" at the University of Vienna in 1808. He was taken to the hall in an armchair, and was Haydn's SO overcomc by his own music that he had to be last ap- pearance carried away. As he was leaving, the ladies of the court 'thronged around him, and Beethoven, rushing forward, embraced and kis.sed him. Among the pupils left behind by Haydn besides Beethoven must be mentioned Ignace Pleyel, Edward Von Weber, the Countess Thun, Streck, Neucomm and Lessel. At the time that Haydn died, Napoleon had al- ready removed his headquarters from Schoenbrunn to the island of Lobau, where the Danube branches below Vienna. There the French established them- 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 823 selves with a view to crossing the river to give battle to the Austrians on the northern shore. The strength of Austria's remaining forces, and the threatening situation elsewhere, made a decisive battle a political necessity for Napoleon. The British fleet under Lord Cochrae, on April 11, had destroyed a French squadron in the roads ^^1°^^ of Aix. Four French warships were blown up and^rx^^^** seven were driven ashore. In the south the second French occupation of Portugal, after the successful seizure of Oporto, ended in failure; when Craddock, commanding the weak British forces there, had been superseded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, the fortunes of war turned against the victor Soult. The British crossed the Douro in spite of French resistance, and Wellington drove the enemy back to Vallonga. Soult was so crosses the hard pressed that he had to burn his wagons, stores and ammunition. By May 19, he finally got his army out of Portugal, having lost 6,000 men and all his guns. Still the retreat was conducted in so masterly a manner that Soult's reputation as a general was undiminished. In Italy there was similar sharp fighting between the Austrians under the Archduke John, and Prince Eugene Beauharnais. On the part of the French, the opening of the Italian campaign was badly mis- Eugene . Beauhar- managed by Prince Eugene. His reverses did notnais's ^ J o blunders cease until Napoleon ordered General Macdonald to supplement Beauharnais's faulty strategy with his more experienced counsels. With his help Eugene won his first point against Archduke John at Cal- ^**^J|^°' diero, near Verona, and passing the Piave inflicted 324 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 a severe defeat on the Austrians. Trieste was oc- cupied by the French. The headquarters of the French army of Italy were established at Villach, with advanced posts as far as Klagenfurt. In the Tyrol an expedition under Lefebvre gained some headway against the rebellious peasants, and re- French retrain the capturcd their capital of Innsbruck. In the inter- val 700 Frenchmen and 1,800 Bavarians had been massacred in the mountain fastnesses of the Tyrol. In northern Europe likewise public affairs bore a threatening aspect. The Czar of Russia, after his easy victories over the Swedes, displayed marked hesitation about living up to his part as the ally mklwartn ^^ Napolcon. Only when the French came out as victors, and the Austrian offensive had been seen to fail at every point, did Russia at last declare war on Austria and move an army corps into Poland. In Prussia, the failure of the Austrian generals to throw the campaign north of the Danube caused deep chagrin to those patriots who had counted on arousing Northern Germany. Some of the hot- heads still persevered in their plans. The leaders of this military conspiracy were the Duke of Bruns- wick, Baron Ddrnberg, an officer in the service of King Jerome, Major Von Schill, a Prussian cavalry conspi>acy officer who had distinguished himself in the defence m Prussia ^£ (jfyW^^^g, and Lieutenant Katt at Magdeburg. It had been agreed between them that Dcirriberg should raise the Hessian standard in Westphalia, and turn Jerome's own army against him. Schill at the same time was to march from Berlin with what- ever troops he could collect, and try to arouse the 1800 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 826 people by proclaiming war against the French in defiance of the government. At the last moment, revolt" Dornberg was transferred from his own regiment to the command of other troops on whom he could not rely. He placed himself at the head of a band of peasants, and raised the standard of insurrection. King Jerome's household troops dispersed the riot- ers with a volley, and Dornberg had to flee for his Domberg'a life. He took refuge with the Duke of Brunswick. Brunswick The revolt in Hessia was ended. In the meanwhile, Schill blindly did his part. On April 28, he led his battalion out of their barracks in Berlin and marched his men out of the city, as if for some routine exercise. Outside of the city he was joined by a small detachment of cavalry raiders who had been let into the secret. He addressed his troops and offered to lead them against the French. The proposition was received by the soldiers with shouts of approval. The march to Westphalia was begun. On the way, many volunteers joined the movement. The Elbe was crossed and Schill prepared to fall on sd^nf* ^ raid the communications maintained by the French with their forces operating on the Danube. On reach- ing Halle, Schill learned of Napoleon's victories near Regensburg, and of the failure of Dornberg's coup d'etat in Westphalia. Henceforth his raid became hopeless. The only chance for Schill and his compromised troops was to escape either to Bohemia, where they might effect an ultimate junc- tion with the retreating Austrians, or to fight their way to the sea in the hope of rescue from British cruisers. After many purposeless marches, Schill hoi>eIess Schill seizes Stralsund 326 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 chose the latter course. Od May 5, he was over- rend^ld taken by a detachment of Westphalian troops from Magdeburg, and successfully fought his way clear of them. A price was set on his head. Late in May, the raiders fell in with 3,000 Poles and Meck- lenburgers, commanded by the French governor of the province. SchiU's 1,800 men fought their way through the French brigade, and suddenly appeared before Stralsund, just as the French gun- ners on the ramparts were firing a salute in honor of Napoleon's entry into Vienna. The garrison was surprised, and a short hand-to-hand fight put Schill in possession of the town with all its stores. Until the arrival of an English fleet, Schill hoped to make a second Saragossa of Stralsund. But, on the last day of May, 8,000 Danes and Frenchmen moved on the town. Capitulation was out of the question for the rebels. In overwhelming numbers the French stormed the town. Fighting in the streets, Schill split open the head of Carcaret, the Dutch general. Major °' lie was himsclf killed by a cannon ball. With him fell one-third of his men. Five hundred of his followers under Lieutenant Brunow cut their way out and escaped. Of the prisoners taken, all officers were shot at Wesel, and fourteen subalterns at Brunswick, while the common soldiers, about 500 Fateof the^° number, were sent to the galleys at Tunol. Only laiders ^2(j survived the treatment there. SchiU's head was cut off and sent to the library of Leyden. Less tragic, if no less unfortunate, was the young Duke of Brunswick's raid. Of his duchy nothing was left but the family seat of Oels. To avenge his 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 327 father's death he raised 2,000 volunteers. His fol- Failure of lowers, known as the Black Brunswickers, on ac- Bruns-* count of their coal-black uniform with a silver death's-head on the helmet, beat off several detachments of Westphalian troops, and finally fought their way through a strong force under General Ochs. At the mouth of the Weser they were picked up by British cruisers, and were finally enrolled as an auxiliary brigade under Wellington in Spain, Such were the threatening diversions which prompted Napoleon to risk a decisive blow. His secretary, Meneval, who was attached to his head- quarters at the time, recorded this memorandum; "If the ill-arranged enterprises of Dornberg, Schill and the Duke of Brunswick had taken place some- what earlier and simultaneously, French domination in the North would have been seriously leopard- crosseTth* . J I DaQube ized." On the night of May 20, Napoleon's light cavalry under Count Lasalle crossed the Danube. They were followed next day by the divisions of Massena, Lannes and the Imperial Guard, 40,000 strong. Next night the same troops laid pontoons and crossed the second branch of the Danube to the north bank. Early in the morning the villages of Aspern and Esslingen were occupied by the French, pont^ The Austrian army encamped within easy striking broken distance. At noon a number of heavy rafts and river barges loaded with stones were suddenly cast loose by the Austrians above Lobau, and came sweeping down the river headed for the French pontoon bridge between Lobau and Oberstof. At 328 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 French re- serves cross the river Battle of Aspern Esslingen the same time the whole Austrian army advanced upon the French from Bisamberg. Fighting began at once and soon grew hot. From their fresh in- trenchments at Aspern and Esslingen, the French repulsed all the first onslaughts. The bridges were repaired in a hurry, and the French reserves of heavy cavalry and artillery had a chance to get over the river. By nightfall the French, who had been holding out against the Austrians all the after- noon, were almost as strong as their enemy. For Napoleon, much depended on the timely arrival of Davoust's division in Oberstof. That marshal was ordered to cross over to Esslingen from the Island of Lobau, to support Lannes's division in his attack on the Austrian centre, while Massena engaged the enemy at Aspern. By noon next day Napoleon had word of Davoust's arrival. His reserves could be counted on for the afternoon. In the meanwhile the river had swollen, and the Austrians took ad- vantage of this to launch whole barns, boathouses and burning mills to be swept down against the French bridges by the flood. Lannes received or- ders to advance forthwith from Esslingen. He did so with his two veteran divisions of grenadiers, supplemented by the Young Guard and thirty-two squadrons of horse under General Lasalle, one of the most brilliant of French cavalry leaders. The Austrian centre was pushed back, so that the Arch- duke's battle line became almost concave, but his regiments held their own manfully. The officers encouraged their men by personal example. The Archduke himself snatched a flag from one of his 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 329 Zach grenadiers and led the regiment forward. Suddenly the French attack slackened. Lannes, who perceived himself unsupported, gave orders to fall back. In the ranks the news spread that the great pontoon bridge had again given way before the flood, and had been rent asunder by the floating French retreat rams of the Austrians. This cut off the French cut off from all further aid or from a safe retreat. Lannes 's soldiers were alarmed. During the retreat General Espagne was killed and St. flilaire was mortally wounded. The backward movement was covered with cavalry attacks by General Lasalle. The whole French cavalry was ordered to advance. The combined cuirassier regiments galloped for- ward with sabres and breastplates flashing. The Austrian dragoons could not sustain the shock. Together with their horse artillery, they were driven back between the Austrian infantry mass- ing in squares. The French cuirassiers swept down upon these in solid squadrons. The Aus- ^^^^ trian musketeers and gunners held their fire until the heavy cavalry men were nearly upon them. When the white of the horses' eyes could be seen, the gunners fired at pointblank range with grape and canister, while the squares volleyed. The fore- most horsemen went down in whole platoons, while those that followed wheeled in panic, so as to make the French battle line revolve upon itself. At all points the attack had been repulsed. Prince I^ich- Napoleon tenstein's dragoons pursued the fleeing cuirassiers, and the French line of infantry was made to waver. Napoleon himself, who had ridden out of Aspern 330 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 to watch the success of the cavalry charge, had to take refuge within a square of his guards. Mem- bers of his suite and the chief equerr}'^ of the Em- press Josephine were taken captive. The Austrian infantry renewed its attack on the village of As- pern, and at Esslingen the struggle became des- perate. Marshal Lannes, while conducting the re- treat across the Marchfeld, was struck by a cannon ball which carried away both his legs. When Na- poleon heard of this, he left his post of observa- tion, and hurried to the litter of the dying general. There he threw himself on his knees, and with a choking voice said: "Lannes, do you know me? It is your friend, Bonaparte." The dying marshal languidly raised his head and murmured incoherent Death of . Marshal words. According to Cadet Gassicourt, who at- Laiines '-' ' tended the fallen hero, Lannes said: "I am dying for you, like so many others. You will not mourn my loss any more than the rest. Make peace before it is your turn." General Petit, on the other hand, has recorded that Lannes's words were these: "I am dying for you and for my country. Do not mourn my loss. May you live and save the army." Whatever may have passed between the two. Na- poleon did mourn the loss of Lannes most keenly. When he was told that the Marshal was dead, the Emperor sat for a long time staring dumbly before him, then he buried his face in his hands. To Mas- s^na, who was fighting the battle of his life at the time, he said: "Nothing but so terrible a stroke could have coaxed me from headquarters at that time." To Josephine Napoleon wrote: "The loss 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 831 of the Duke of Montebello deeply afflicts me. Thus all things end. If you can contribute to the comfort of his poor wife do so." In later years Napoleon wrote at St. Helena: "At the period of his death, Lannes had reached the high- est point in his profession. He was a most able estfrn^e^of commander. I found him a dwarf, but I lost him a giant." Massena had a hard time in covering the French retreat over an emergency bridge across the Danube. The Austrians made assault after assault on the two intrenched river towns, and with the help of inces- sant artillery fire succeeded in setting fire to both. The French were driven from Esslingen into a nar- row peninsula where they brought up at the brink of the river. At last, at the personal request of Napoleon, General Mouton headed his famous fusilier guard in a bayonet charge against the Austrians, and pushed them back to the further end of Esslingen. ^°"^*'°^ For this exploit the Emperor gave to Mouton the*^*^ new title, Count of Lobau. Long after nightfall the last French detachment returned safely over the improvised bridge to Lobau. As soon as they had marched over the bridge, the pontoons were cast loose. Meanwhile the Emperor sat on the river bank angrily switching his boot with a riding- whip. "Are you satisfied, little corporal?" cried one of the wounded guards, as they marched by him. Later in the night Napoleon was ferried across the river in a small boat. With him were an aide- de-camp and Lieutenant Field-Marshal Von Weber mz A HISTORY OF THE May 1801 l?rench marshals advise retreat of the Austrian army, a mortally wounded prisoner. "How is it with yon, General?" asked Napoleon, as he heard the wounded man groaning. "It is well," said the dying hero, "Have 1 not seen you tremble." Napoleon said no more. On the other shore the Emperor held a council of war. Mass^na, Davoust, Bessi6res, and Berthier joined him. Sa- vary, who was present, has recorded that all the Marshals advised further retreat across the other branch of the Danube and thence to Vienna. Na- poleon would not have it. "If we retreat it will not be a retreat to Vienna, but to Strasburg. Our allies, dismayed and made treacherous in their weakness, would turn against us. The good fortune of the Empire would be at an end and the grandeur of France destroyed. You, Mass^na and Davoust can save the army. Come! show yourself worthy of Napoleon had his way. It was decided to remain on the island of Lobau, and to intrench it against all attacks. The drawn battle of Aspern and Esslmgen was found to be one of the most bloody affairs of the century. In its fearful losses and lack of result to both sides it can only be compared to the battle of Eylau. On the French side, the casualties were four general officers, five hundred other officers and at least 18,000 soldiers. The Austrians reck- oned their losses at 16,000 killed and 42,000 wounded. Both sides claimed a victory, but Na- French . ... „ - , . claim the polcou got his couricrs out hrst, and so, producing the first impression, weakened the effect of the Archduke's bulletins. He elaimed but 1,100 dead Uapoleon Stands firm jQ^j. q^q p^g^^ 1809 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 833 and 3,000 wounded. Only "General Danube," he avowed, prevented him from profiting by his victory. While holding the Austrian main army in check on the Danube, Napoleon and his generals made the most of their breathing space. The Island of Lobau was made impregnable. The Tyrolese revolt ^J^^^^Q was put down without mercy. General Wrede com-**"^"®"^ manding the Bavarians succeeded in driving the Austrians out of Salzburg. The greater part of the Tyrolese occupying the valley of Strub, having quit fighting on Ascension Day to go to church, were overpowered and butchered. The stronghold of the Scharnitz was taken, and the Bavarians under Arco penetrated into the country from that side. The news of Napoleon's defeat at Aspern spurred the Tyrolese to new activity. The Austrian Em- peror encouraged them with this statement: "My faithful county of Tyrol shall henceforward ever Francis' promise remain incorporated with the Austrian Empire. I will agree to no treaty of peace save one forever uniting the Tyrol with my monarchy." The Tyro- lese besieged General Deroy in Innsbruck. Hofer, Eisenstecken and the brave Speckbacher assembled their peasants on the mountain of Isel. The fight- Battle of ^ Innsbruck ing lasted three days. In the forefront of the battle- line could be seen Hofer's little boy Anderl, who brought the men their ammunition, and Haspinger, a red-bearded monk who led his parishioners gun in hand. The Count of Stachelburg from Meran, who fought as a volunteer among the peasants, fell OP this occasion. The fortress of Kuffstein waa 334 A HISTORY OF THE May 1809 likewise besieged by a detachment under Speck- bacher. Finally, General Lefebvre led a strong col- umn of 30,000 Frenchmen, Bavarians and Saxons into the Tyrol and ended the revolt, amid general bloodshed. General Macdonald commanding the right wing of the French array of Italy compelled 4,000 Aus- Surrender ofLaybachtrians Under General Meerfelt to surrender at Lay- bach, in Carinthia, shortly after the battle of Aa- pern. On May 25, Prince Beauharnais, by a series of successful manoeuvres, pushed his main army through to Loeben in Steiermark, and overcame the major portion of Jellalich's Austrian corps. Goerz. Klagenfurt and Trieste opened their gates to the French. Next day the advance outposts of the French army of Italy came in touch with those French join forces of the grand army at Brack, south of Vienna. This event had been anxiously awaited by Na- poleon, who sent his aide-de-camp Lauriston to cut his way through to the viceroy. As soon as the French joined forces. Archduke John had to fall back into Hungary. The French occupied the whole of Tyrol and the region of Salzburg, Vorarl- berg, Carinthia, Frioul and Istria. General Mar- mont, marching up from Dalmatia, penetrated retreat through Croatia as far as Fiume. Prince Beau- into Hun- gary harnais presented himself at Napoleon's headquar- ters on the Danube by the end of May. In the north. Napoleon's Hussian allies made so threatening a demonstration against Poland, that Archduke Ferdinand felt constrained to withdraw his Austrian forces from Warsaw and to commence M09June NINETEENTH CENTURY 33fi his retreat southward. On the other side, Russia was relieved of embarrassment by the conciliatory attitude of the new King of Sweden, Charles XIII., who, having failed to drive the Russians from west Austrian* " retreat Bothnia, speedily reversed his nephew's warlike po/and measures. Napoleon's star was once more in the ascendant. It was at this moment that Pope Pius VII. in- censed by the French occupation of Rome, launched his bull of excommunication against Bonaparte: "Let the Sovereigns of the world learn once more that they are subject by the law of Jesus Christ to ■ Napoleon our throne and our commands. For we too holdexcom- municated sovereignty, and a sovereignty far more noble; for it shall not be said that spirit must yield to flesh, nor the things of heaven to those of the earth." Napoleon did not suffer himself to be distracted by such things. He simply issued orders to Murat to have the Pope seized in person to be sent as a prisoner to Savona. This done, he devoted himself JpVkoner to the completion of his military campaign with ac- customed ardor. The pursuit of Archduke John's forces by the army of Italy carried them well be- yond the borders of Hungary to the banks of the Danube. At Raab, Archduke John tried to join forces with the Archduke Palatine. Beauharuais^ French attacked him and was aided in his advance by Gten-"^^^ ^ era! Grenier. General Macdonald with the right and General Lauriston with a detachment of the grand army came up toward the end of the day. Together they defeated the Austrians with great loss. The town Raab was invested. 836 A HISTORY OF THE June ISOQ Within a day or so of this success, it so happened that Greneral Suchet at Beichite in Spain utterly- routed a Spanish army under Greneral Blake. The Spaniards ^"ctjte* Spaniards, though largely outnumbering the French, ran away without tiring a shot, and threw down their arms. Their own general denounced them as cowards. Wellington wrote to his brother, the Marquis of Wellesley: "1 am of the opinion that an effort should be made immediately for clothing the Spanish troops in a national uniform. This would put a stop to the custom, which I am sorry to say so generally prevails, of their throwing down ton'sel- ^^i^ir arms and accoutrements and betaking them- pianation ggi^gg ^^ jBight ou pretence of their being not sol- diers but simply peasants." A few days after this the stronghold of Raab in Hungary capitulated to General Lauriston. This threw Hungary open to the French. Napoleon foyai'"^ called upon the Hungarians to secede from Aus- tria; but no one responded. Then he ordered the advance on Pressburg. When the news of these various victories had been spread far and wide, Napoleon thought the time was right to try for another decisive blow on the Danube. In response to his brother Jerome's clamors for help in West- phalia he wrote a reassuring letter: "Take things quietly. You have nothing to dread. The English are not to be feared. All their troops are in Spain and Portugal. They can do nothing in Germany. Even so, it will be time enough when they come. I always wait until an affair is ripe and I understand it well. Then I act." 1809 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 337 In three weeks' time the island of Lobau had been transformed into a bristling fort. Material had been amassed for crossing the river at short notice. Under Napoleon's directions General Ber« trand had constructed two bridges on spiles, 800 yards long. Both were protected against floating rafts and fire-ships by a breakwater and stockades. ^^,^„gg ^ Marines in boats guarded the waterway day and^°''^" night. The big bridge was wide enough for three artillery trains to pass abreast. The other, but eight feet wide, was intended for the infantry. Na- poleon grandiloquently compared his work to that of Csesar. "Caesar's bridge over the Ehine," he said, "was thrown across m eight days, to be sure, but no carriage could pass over it." On July 2, Napoleon issued his orders for the crossing of the Danube. Everything was regu- lated down to the most minute details, and the exact time was fixed for every man to act. That same night a feint movement was made on Mill Island, where the first crossing had been made. On the night of July 4, during a heavy rainfall, a flying bridge was floated from Alexander's Island and was swung in place. At the same time, six pontoon bridges were strung across the Danube, while a flotilla of ferryboats made incessant trips prencb re to and fro laden with troops. A sham attack at Danube Aspern and Esslingen diverted the Kleinau grena- diers, who guarded the Austrian position on the water-front. The first French detachments, as they got over immediately deployed in skirmish order and engaged the Austrians in regular battle at XlXth Century— Vol 1—15 838 A HISTORY OF THE July 1809 Archduke Charles's mistake The Aus- trian$> over- matched Essendorf, five leagues from Vienna. The rest of the army crossed the Danube during the night, marching as if on a solid road. The Austrians knew something was under foot, but did not rea- lize the extent of the movement. The Emperor of Austria in his anxiety sought out his brother Charles, where he stood on the river-bank look- ing out into the darkness. The Archduke reckoned that twenty-four hours at least would be needed to effect a crossing in force. "The French van- guard has indeed crossed the Danube," he ad- mitted to his brother, "and I am letting some of the rest come across." "Very good," said Em- peror Francis, "but don't let too many of them come over." This remark subsequently became a byword in the army. Before daylight, 200,000 French soldiers — in- fantry, cavalry and artillery — had crossed the Danube. At sunrise the whole army was ranged in battle line. Oudinot commanded the centre, Mass^na the left, Davoust the right. In the sec-" end line were the forces of Beauharnais, Bernadotte, and Marmont, with the Bavarian corps. They were supported by the Guards, and the heavy cavalry and artillery. Archduke Charles was caught at a woful dis- advantage. Of his available forces 20,000 were in Hungary, 12,000 were at Vienna under Prince Roess, 6,000 at Nussdorf, and as many more before Krems. This left him weaker than the French by 40,000 men. The result could only be a foregone conclusion. tm Ju\y NINETEENTH CENTURY 839 It was a magnificent sight when Np.poleon's army moved to the advance. The slanting rays of the morning sun shone on the serried lines of warriors clad in all manner of colors and equip- ments, as befitted their cosmopolitan commands. Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Dutchmen, Poles and Dalmatians, marching under their respective colors and standards, surged forward against the white clad lines of the German Austrians, Mag- yars, Roumanians, Czechs and Slavonians. The French Emperor on a white charger galloped along the front of his battle line, and repeated his last instructions to his marshals. The artillery opened the battle from the heights. The Austrians re- ceived the French advance with a hail of grape shot and musketry. The first attack of Massdna'sg^jtig^j corps was repulsed. The whole left wing of the^^^"^^^ French army was outflanked at Siissenbrunn and pressed back toward Wagram and the Danube. On the French right wing, on the other hand, Davoust outflanked the Austrians at Markgraf-Neufchatel. It was the greatest flanking manoeuvre of all the Napoleonic campaigns. The Austrian corps of Ro- senberg was overthrown, and Montbrun's squadrons of chasseurs-^-cheval were sent out to intercept a possible support from Archduke John. The Aus- trian centre swerved over to the rescue of Rosen- berg's left wing. In the meanwhile, Mass^na's men, fighting stubbornly, had been forced back as far as the bridge of Aspern. Several officers of his staff were cut down at his side. Massdna himself suf- fered severely from a fall with his horse. In 840 A HISTORY OF THE July 1809 desperation be despatched his aide-de-camp, the Margrave of Baden, to the Emperor. The young prince galloped to the very centre of the square of guardsmen, where Napoleon was crouching on the ground sticking pins into his map of battle. He reported that Massena could no longer hold Ills lines, and held the battle for lost. Napoleon looked up and said: "What time is it, Berthier?" That marshal, resplendent in the yellow uniform of ANapoie- hjs ducal bodyguard of Neufchatel, looked at his onic effect watch and said: "Twelve o'clock, sire." "Tell the Prince of E,ivoli," replied Napoleon, "that the bat- tle is won. It is noon and Archduke John has not yet come." Dumfounded, the young prince rode off. Napoleon gave instant orders to Beauharnais to advance his strong corps on Wagram with those of Marmont and Grenier, while Oudinot was to advance between Wagram and Neufchatel. The Emperor's guards swung in behind the central advance. Napoleon himself mounted his white charger and galloped over to the left wing, fol- lowed by all the reserve cavalry and artillery. Berna- ^^ arrived in time to encounter the regiments success' of Bernadotte's shattered divisions retreating from Aderklaa. Massena was found sitting in a field wagon desperately holding his own. Napoleon climbed into the wagon beside him. Here he gave orders for an unprecedented manoeuvre: the m^iia^li'vie j^^^ction of three entire divisions under Macdonald, Gerra and Wrede with Beauharnais's army in one solid column. While these four corps were welded 1809 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 841 into one irresistible whole, their movements were masked bj an impetuous cavalry attack led by General Lasalle. He had not ridden a hundred yards before he was killed by a cannon ball, fii^ General squadron wheeled before the murderous fire of thckmed"* Austrians and came streaming back upon the French infantry. Bessi^res was ordered to charge with all the cavalry reserves, so as to pierce the Austrian centre. Riding through a tempest of grape and chain shot, Bessi^res led his cuirassiers into the thick of the fight. Suddenly he was seen to pitch headlong to the ground, where he lay as Bessieres dead. A wail went up from the Old Guard. The»°«^<*°^^ Emperor averted his eyes, and, spurring his horse onward, shouted: "Let us go! I have no time to weep." Bessieres, who had only been grazed by a passing cannon ball, revived and clambered into the saddle again. The Emperor sent Savary after him. When next he saw him, he said: "The ball which struck you down, my dear Bessieres, drew tears from all my Guard. It ought to be very dear to you." By this time Lauriston had brought up the reserve artillery and had unlimbered his bat- teries close to the Austrians. Macdonald had ad- vanced his infantry far into the wedge opened by the French cavalry. Over three miles of ground his corps advanced, fighting steadily. Then it got cionaws ^ ' O o .7 & famous wedged under a murderous cross-fire from the^'*^'^"®® Austrians, His men were mowed down by whole companies. Of his sixteen thousand soldiers he lost nearly ten thousand. Napoleon, watching Macdonald, grew anxious. Several times he ex- 342 A HISTORY OF THE July 1809 claimed, "Brave homme!" The death gaps in Macdonald's corps were filled by men from the divisions of Wrede and Beauharnais. At last the artillery of Davoust was seen to pass the tower of Neufchatel, where one wing of the Austrian army was cut off by Macdonald. Napoleon's face lighted up. "The battle is gained!" he exclaimed. The French cavalry was ordered to wheel around and charge into the right wing of the Austrians. Under the combined shock of the threefold attack, the Austrian line wavered and broke. Beauharnais's storm and Marmont's columns stormed Wagram. Mas- Wagram s^na burst his bonds at Aspern and threw his ad- versaries back to Siissenbrunn. At three in the afternoon. Archduke Charles ordered a general re- treat. Emperor Francis, watching the course of the battle from a high tower in Wolkersdorf, mounted his horse and sought the protection of his retreating columns. Not till then did Arch- Archduke dukc John's vauguard come up to the main army. rives too His corps had to be withdrawn without a chance late '■ to strike a blow. While the battle was still raging in the distance, Napoleon, burning with fever, had his Mameluke orderly spread a bearskin on the ground and went to sleep on the battlefield under a pyramid of bayonets. The Austrians withdrew Napoleon in good order. The rearguard fought off the goes to Sleep French pursuers, and their retreat was covered by a well-directed artillery fire. The French cavalry, though ordered to harry the retreating Austrians, for some unexplained reason did so but languidly. During the pursuit, Oudinot's brother, who had just 1809 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 843 been promoted to a generalship by Napoleon, was shot dead. Mass^na, Davoust, Friant, Mortier and brave Gudin were wounded. Late in the evening Napoleon rode over the battlefield. Over a dis- tance of nine miles the ground was covered with the bodies of the dead and wounded. The advance of Macdonald's corps in particular could be traced by the heaps of his slain. Presently the Emperor met Macdonald. A coldness had existed betweea Bonaparte and the Scotch Jacobite since the Em- peror's persecution of Moreau, the hero of Hohenlin- den. After that Macdonald refused all preferments from Napoleon. Now the Emperor offered his hand and said: "Accept it, Macdonald! Let there be no more ill will between us. From this day we musttiot. of Macdonald be friends. I will send you as a pledge your mar- shal's staff, which you have so gloriously earned." Macdonald gave in. Oudinot and Marmont were likewise made marshals. It proved a dearly won battle. The French had 27,000 killed and wounded, while the Austrians lost 25,000. Three general officers fell on either side. The disparity in casualties was due to the fact that the French had been forced to advance in compact formation under a long-sustained artillery fire. Both sides lost heavily in prisoners, guns and standards. Oudinot's corps alone, according to that of wagram marshal's report, lost 8,946 men, while Gerot's divis- ion suffered so severely that it had to be disbanded. Bernadotte's beaten corps was likewise disbanded, and their commander was sent back to France in disgrace. In later years, Napoleon told Admi- 844 A HISTORY OF THE Julyi8(» ral Cockburn, while on his way to St. Helena, that it was the biggest battle of his entire career. After the battle, the Austrians went to pieces. The French under General Marmont pursued so impetuously that by July 10 they suddenly found themselves in the midst of the enemy at Znaim, twenty-six leagues from Wagram. There was no available support. Davoust and Massena were full two marches away. Perceiving his danger, Mar- preuica- mout showcd a bold front and ordered a mad attack ment at Znaim ^^ Zuaim, as if confident of support. The Aus- trians contented themselves with a mere repulse of his forlorn attack and suffered him to hold his own until nightfall. Thus the Archduke lost a splendid chance to avenge his defeat by the destruction of one of Napoleon's finest divisions. On the follow- ing day Massdna came to the rescue. Fighting had recommenced when Prince Lichtenstein presented himself with powers to conclude a general armistice. This put a stop to hostilities. The Emperor of Austria at first refused to rat- ify the armistice, but after five days he gave in. Until the final conclusion of peace the French oc- ^fznata^ cupied Vienna, and Napoleon established himself at Schoenbrunn. For fifteen long days the am- bulances rattled through the streets of Vienna. Twenty-three hospitals had to attend to them. V^ithout waiting for further pourparlers, Napoleon called for a war indemnity of 237,860,000 francs. Loss of On the day that the armistice went into effect, the coiouies English seized the French colony of San Domingo with the help of the Spanish colonists. Martinique, 1809 July NINETEENTH CENTURY o45 and Senegal in Africa, also fell into the hands of the English. The time had come for the British to strike nearer home, in the Peninsula, Sir Arthur Wellesley, after his return from tne pursuit of Mar- shal Soult, had remained long inactive in the vicin- ity of Lisbon. At last a plan for combined action was agreed upon between him and the Spanish gen- erals, particularly Don Cuesta. Both began from different points to march on Madrid. A junction of their armies was effected on July 20. The main body marched toward Ollala, where the French were encamped under Marshal Victor. Within a week Aiiies ad- m vance oq the advance skirmishers were engaged near Tor- Madrid rijos. Both sides prepared for a general battle. General Wellesley, by virtue of his greater aptitude, took command. He had 19,000 British and Bruns- wickers with thirty guns. Cuesta had 33,000 Span- iards with seventy guns. Against this combined army the French could oppose not quite 50,000 veterans with eighty guns. The position taken up by Wellesley's troops at Talavera extended over two miles. The right wing of the allied army was held by Cuesta's Spaniards, immediately in front of Talavera down to the Tagus. The ground was very rough and Battle of covered with olive trees. On July 27, the French attacked and drove General Mackenzie's vanguard back on the allies. The attack was covered by heavy artillery fire. At night the French were driven back in a bayonet charge, and were likewise repulsed on their right wing. A famous cavalry charge was made by the Twenty-third itight Dra- 346 A HISTORY OF THE July i809 goons over a sunken chasm, in which two-thirds went down before reaching the enemy. The rest astrous Were killed off by Victor's Polish Lancers. The cavalrj charge German hussars, only, escaped. On the 28th, the British attacked in force, and the French gave way all along the line. Their losses were twenty cannon and 10,000 in casualties. Among them were General Lapisse and a brigadier-general. The British lost nearly 6,000 men. Among their killed were Generals Mackenzie, Langworth and Becket. The Spanish troops, having been but partially engaged, lost only 1,200. The victory was not completed, owing to the oppressive heat and the great fatigue of the British soldiers, who had covered sixty-two miles in twenty-four hours. The Spaniards, when called upon to press the defeat home, did not respond. For the victories weiiiDKtnn of Oporto and Talavera, Sir Arthur Wellesley was raised to the peerage with the title Baron Douro of Wellesley and Viscount Wellington of Talavera. The title was chosen by his brother William, then in the Ministry, to minimize the change of name. Napoleon, when he heard of Victor's defeat at Tala- vera, remarked: "II parait que c'est un homme, ce Wellesley." The British joy of victory was of short duration. In the first days of August, word was received that Soult, Ney, and Mortier, having joined forces, were advancing through Kstremadura to fail on the rear of the British. In Wellington's own words "the allied army could only be saved by great celerity of movement." Wellington and Cuesta separated their 1809 Augr. NINETEENTH CENTURY 847 forces so as to present a front either way. By August 2, the French, 30,000 strong, had pushed in between the British and the bridge of Almarez. the'^uies The allies moved off in haste. The British crossed the Tagus on August 4, at Arzo Bispo, and re- treated toward Deleytosa and Badajos. The Span- iards under Cuesta followed in the same direction, leaving all the British wounded behind. This cir- ° British cumstance, in connection with the fact that theT""^®'^^ ' abandoned British retreated in advance of the Spaniards, be- came the subject of caustic comment. The "Moni- teur" in Paris said: "The post of honor is that which is nearest the enemy, but Lord Wellington, having it in his option to give the post of honor either to the English or to those Spaniards of whom he speaks so ill, determined in favor of the Span- ish troops." In England, a parliamentary vote of thanks to Lord Wellington only went through after much opposition. The retreat of the allied army was pressed so hard by the French that the English were forced far up the course of the Tagus. The Spaniards, thus isolated, were surprised at Arzo Spanish Bispo and lost all their artillery. Cuesta was re- 'defeats at ^ ^ Arzo Bispo, placed by General Eguia as generalissimo. At the and o'caaa same time, a strong Spanish army under General Venegas was routed by General Sebastiani at Al- mancid in Old Castile. Shortly afterward the same forces under General Ariezaga were routed again at Ocana on the side of New Castile. The Spaniards lost 4,000 killed and wounded with 10,000 prison- ers. The defeat of Ocana was quickly followed by the reduction of Cordova and Seville. In Catalonia 348 A HISTORY OF THK Summer 1809 the event of the year was the third heroic siege sus- tained by the little town of Gerona with a garrison of scarcely 2,800 men. The siege lasted from mid- summer to the end of the year. As during the preceding sieges, priests, monks and women fought on the ramparts with the peasants and soldiers. To utter the word capitulation meant death. While Third sic'G ofGerona the garrisou defended itself behind its wretched earthworks, General Blake with a force of Spanish regulars made numerous diversions from without. The frequent repulses of the French so displeased Napoleon that St. Cyr and Verdier, the two commanding generals, were recalled, and Marshal Augereau appointed in their place. Not until Alvarez, the Spanish commander, went mad under the long strain, did the Geronese give in. Finally they surrendered with all the honors of war. Al- varez died in an ambulance while on the way to France. Some idea of the desultory character of the military operations in the Peninsula this year may be gathered from this estimate of the situation, given by Lord Wellington to his brother in 1809: He calculated the disposable forces of the French in Spain as 122,000 men, well provided with cav- alry and artillery, without including the troops in Forces luthe Pampeluna, Barcelona and other garrisons. There Peninsula ^ ' '^ was the Catalonian corps under St. Cyr and Suchet amounting to 82,000 men. The other 90,000 were distributed in Castile and Estremadura. Of the aggregate forces, 70,000 men were actually in the field, namely the divisions of Victor, Soult, Ney, Mortier and Sebastiani. The rest were distributed 1809 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 34S in Madrid, the Escurial, Avila, Valladolid, Toledo and other convenient centres. To these forces the Spaniards could only oppose two corps under Venegas and Eguia. Blake, in Catalonia, had about 6,000 men. The Marquis of Eomana had 15,000, but having neither artillery nor cavalry, he had to keep to the mountains of Gallicia. There was also a stationary Spanish garrison of 9,000 at Ciudad Eodrigo. The English numbered from 20,000 to 25,000 in Portugal. Toward the end of the year all the Spanish fortresses had fallen into the hands of the French and most of the patriot armies had been practically dispersed. In other quarters, British military operations were carried on against Napoleon. In early summer, Sir John Stewart, who commanded the British army in Sicily, embarked with 15,000 troops to capture Naples and Calabria. The expedition was joined British at- by a body of Sicilian troops. On June 6, theNa^ies^" French garrisons of Procida and Ischia surren- dered to the British. By this stroke 1,500 regu- lar troops, one hundred guns and forty gunboats fell into British hands. After considerable fighting for the possession of the castle of Scylla, which was taken and retaken several times, the British were forced to abandon the slight footing they had obtained. Another British expedition of a more formi- dable nature was intended to create a diversion in favor of Austria by invading Holland. Toward Simci- taneous the end of July, troops were collected to the num- ^'^«™^p^"» ber of 40,000, with 150 siege guns, supported by 350 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1 809 forty ships of the line, thirty-six frigates and a fleet of gunboats and transports. The whole expedition numbered about 100,000 sailors and soldiers. The fleet was commanded by Sir Eichard Strachan, while the Earl of Chatham led the land forces. The departure of the expedition at the end of _ July was a great event. On the arrival of the The Wal- -^ ° expedition troops at Walchercu and South Beveland, it was found that the French had evacuated their position, to concentrate at Antwerp. The French squadron likewise took refuge in the harbor of Antwerp. Resistance was encountered only at Flushing. By the middle of August, Flushing was bombarded for thirty-six hours. The next day General Mounet surrendered with his garrison of 6,000 men. Na- poleon was incensed at the news, and had Mounet court-martialled and condemned to death while still a prisoner in British hands. Instead of pushing straight on to Antwerp, the British lay a long time idle at Flushing. They were quartered in a marshy Malaria at region, which was so notoriously unhealthy that "^ '°° Napoleon had forbidden any French troops to be garrisoned there. Thousands of the soldiers fell ill with malignant fever. All idea of pushing up the Scheldt to destroy the arsenal and dock- yards of the French at Antwerp and Terneuse was abandoned. At last, by the middle of September, Lord Chatham returned to England with the greater portion of the troops. Only the island of Walche- returiS™ Ten was retained by a British force to maintain a blockade on the Scheldt. The ignominious failure of this expeditioa 1809 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 351 stirred up bad blood in England. The Ministry was rent by factions. Percival, Castlereagli and Canning were at cross-purposes. For some time the Duke of Portland and Castlereagh had been at odds — ever since Canning had privately stipulated that he would not remain in the Cabinet unless Castlereagh were removed from the War Office. The unfortunate Walcheren expedition, a pet project of Castlereagh, brought matters to a head. The Mar- quis of Wellesley had wished the troops to be sent to Portugal, where his brother was fighting. Can- ning supported him in this, but said nothing to Castlereagh. When Castlereagh was finally brought to resign, and Wellesley was selected for his place, Castlereagh charged Canning with double dealing. On September 22, they fought a duel on Putney Heath. Canning was shot in the thigh. The Dukcduei^with' of Portland resigned from the Ministry, and a fewrea^h days afterward he died. Thus ended the first part of Canning's ministerial career. Walter Scott, who had interested Canning in the foundinor of the ° ° "Quarterly "Quarterly Review," advised him to take his own ^j^^^|.®^" ground in Parliament and hoist his own standard. This Canning did. Canning's conduct of the Foreign Office had given much umbrage. This was especially true of America. All the rejoicing over the termination of the hurtful embargo was turned to wormwood when Canning disavowed the promises and negotiations entered into by his Minister, Erskine. Upon Erskine's American •^ ^ policy remonstrances Canning wrote: "I must signify to you the displeasure which his Majesty feels that 352 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1S09 any Minister of his Majesty should have shown himself so far insensible of what is due to the dignity of his sovereign as to have consented to re- ceive and transmit a note in which such expressions were contained." To others, Canning justified his Frskine re- repudiation of the compact with America by the pudiated single reason that the United States government could not be trusted long enough to prove its good faith. For Erskine's place, Canning selected Jack- son, whose conduct at Copenhagen had made him notorious. The London "Morning Chronicle" pub- lished this comment: "The appointment has excited general surprise owing to the character of the indi- vidual." Pinckney, from the American Legation in London, sent this warning to President Madison: "It is rather a prevailing notion here that this gentleman's conduct will not and cannot be what we wish." Jackson himself complained that Can- doubtf*i?i'^ ning had sent him on an errand which he knew to mission ^g impossible to perform. On July 1, Jackson received his instructions. Their wording showed them to be conceived in the spirit of arrogant in- tolerance, which did so much to arouse the United States to war with Great Britain. Erskine's com- pact was repudiated with a charge of bad faith against President Madison, founded on the "pub- licity so unwarrantably given by the American government." The news of Canning's disavowal did not reach America until July 21, after three months of un- Conster- nation ir America general bewilderment. "The late conduct of the nation in restricted trade with England. The first effect was 1809 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 853 British Ministry," commented the "National Intel- ligencer" of July 26, "has capped the climax of atrocity toward this country." President Madison was away from Washington on his Virginia planta- tion. Gallatin, in temporary charge of affairs, real- ized at once that a crisis was at hand and advised the President to return. "I will only observe," he wrote in his letter, "that we are not so well pre- pared for resistance as we were a year aaro. . . . Premo- We have wasted our resources without any national ^^"^ utility, and, our treasury being exhausted, we must now prepare for resistance with considerable and therefore unpopular loans." Madison wrote to Jef- ferson: "I find myself under a mortifying necessity of setting out for Washington to-morrow (August 4). The intricate state of our affair with England, pro- duced by the mixture of fraud and folly in her con- duct, . . . requires that I should join my Cabinet." Upon his arrival in Washington, without waiting for the authorization of Congress, Madison issued a proclamation, reviving the non-intercourse act against Great Britain. Madison saw no reason why he should remain in Washington to receive the British Minister upon his arrival, the more so since he agreed with Gallatin that Jackson's dis- claimer was likely to be neither operative nor agree- able. When the President returned at last, in early Madison autumn, he received the British Minister in frock- ^I^^^J^^ coat, "as one gentleman another, in strong con- trast," wrote Jackson, "to the audiences I have had with most of the sovereigns of Europe." When Jackson failed to make any oral proposi- o54 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1800 tions to the Secretary of State, the President requested d^k.ma^[c him to Submit proposals in writing. Jackson wrote a letter of remonstrance, beginning with the assertion, "there does not exist, in the annals of diplomacy, a precedent for stopping verbal communication within so few days after the delivery of credentials." Madison replied in extenso, reminding him at the outset that only in the previous year Canning had put an end to oral communications after two inter- views with Pinckney on the subject now under consideration. The rest of the letter drove the awkward position of the British Minister home to him. Jackson wrote to Canning :»" Madison is now as obstinate as a mule. Until he gets the absolute surrender of the Orders in Council, he will not even accept satisfaction for the a£fair of the 'Chesapeake,' which has now for the third time been offered to him in vain." A few days after this, Jackson re- ceived a third note, requesting him to show his full powers, as an indispensable preliminary to further negotiations. In reply to Jackson's insinuation that the American government had connived with Erskine, when the latter exceeded his instructions, Madison wrote sternly: "The view which you have presented on the subject makes it my duty to ap- c^edTo prise you that such insinuations are inadmissible in the intercourse of a foreign Minister with a gov- ernment that understands what it owes to itself." This communication placed Jackson in a difficult position. Unable to defend himself against the charge, he asserted that it was based on fact. The President's reply to this note came on No- accxjunt 1809 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 355 vember 8. It was short and to the point: "Sir — Finding that, in your reply of the 4th inst., you have used a lansruage which cannot be understood The British but as reiterating and even aggravating the same ^".^"y/i's- gross insinuations, it only remains for me, in order to preclude opportunities which are thus abused, to inform you that no further communications will be received from you." On Napoleon's foreign policy, the effects of Amer- ica's dealings with England were various. Napo- leon was in Vienna, preparing for the battle of Wagram, when the news reached him that America and England had settled their commercial disputes. Fearful of forcing the United States into the coalition Napoieon'a against France, he sent to Champigny the draught poTicy^*'* of a new commercial decree. It declared that since the United States, by their firm resistance to the arbitrary measures of England, were no longer obliged to pay imports to the British government, the Milan decree of December 17, 1807, should not longer be applied to the United States, and neutral commerce with America should be restored. Be- fore this change of policy could be effected, the battle of "Wagram was won. At the same time, Canning repudiated the new American arrange- ment, and the United States and Great Britain were once more at odds. These events were fol- lowed by a corresponding change in the tone of the French Emperor. On August 22, Champigny in- tone ^^°' formed the American Minister that France would not revoke her retaliatory decrees on commerce until England should raise her blockades. Sofi A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1809 While residing at Schoenbrunn, Napoleon was be- set with other problems beyond the remote vexation of commercial non-intercourse with America. The peace negotiations with Austria were dragging, and in the meanwhile the Tyrolese insurgents refused to be pacified. The rebellion, secretly fomented by The Tyrol '^ ^ j .1 uupacified t^e Austrian government throughout the armistice, had to be put down with fire and sword. A thou- sand Saxons were massacred in the valley of the Eisach, and the Bavarians lost 1,200 men in the Pusterthal. The peasant leaders caught were shot. Speckbacher escaped to Vienna after great suffer- ing. Andreas Hofer, the soul of the Tyrolese in- surrection, was betrayed by an unfrocked priest. He was dragged off to Mantua to be tried by drum- head court-martial. It was at this time that Staaps, a young German student from Erfurt, tried to kill Napoleon. He approached the Emperor, during a military review at Schoenbrunn, with a paper in his hand; but Greneral Eapp stopped him, and finding his answers suspicious, had him arrested. On hie person was found a large kitchen knife. Later, Attempted ^ ° ' SitH^nof Napoleon had Staaps called into the drawing-room, apoieoD ^^Qj.g jjQ ^^g receiving his marshals. The young man declared that he wished to free Germany in freeing Europe. He added that he was neithei ill nor mad. In the face of the Emperor, Staapg expressed regret that he had not succeeded in hig attempt. "But," said Napoleon, "you have a fam- ily whose ruin you will cause. You will fill with despair the heart of the young girl who loves you. If 1 grant you your life, will you be grateful ?" — "J J809Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 367 will kill you none the less," said Staaps. Napoleon had him removed in the hope that the young man would express repentance. Staaps remained three days without eating; then he walked to the place of „ ^ ..^ his execution, crying: "Long live Germany! Death °^^^*^p^ to the tyrant!" Peace between France and Austria was at last concluded on October 14, 1809, a few days after Napoleon had called for a new levy of troops in France. Count Stadion resigned from the Minis- try, and Metternich took his place. The treaty of Vienna, the last which Napoleon signed as a con- queror, took from the Austrian Empire 60,000 Peace coa. eluded at square miles of territory and nearly five million Vienna inhabitants. Austria, which at the beginning of the Napoleonic wars possessed territory from the Danube to the Rhine, with the greater part of Italy, now found herself cut off from Grermany and from the sea. The dominion of Napoleon extended with- out a break from the North Sea to the borders of Turkey. Bavaria and Saxony were increased at the expense of their once powerful neighbor. Salz- burg a^ad upper Austria, in addition to the Tyrol, were ceded to Bavaria. Austrian Poland was trans- ferred to the Grandduchy of Warsaw, under the control of the King of Saxony. This was a direct slight to the Czar, intended as a punishment for Russia's lukewarm conduct as an ally. Part of Carinthia, and the whole of the country lying be- tween the Adriatic and the Save, as far as Bosnia, f*g^°^*** were annexed to the French Empire as the Illyrian*'™^""® provinces. Napoleon appeared to have gathered 35^ A HISTORY OF THE Oct jiJ09 richer spoils than ever before, but in truth his posi- tion had grown worse rather than better. Tbe con- tinued revolts in Spain and the Tyrol held out a hope to northern Europe, while the estrangement with Russia involved new dangers from that quarter. The maritime war with England, with the result- ing stoppage of foreign trade in France and Hol- land, had stricken a hidden wound which weakened the internal resources of the French Empire. Yet Napoleon was confident of ultimate victory. At Amoricaii Vienna, he wrote another decree revoking his con- vleuua ciliatory attitude toward American trade. It called for confiscation of American merchandise, in retali- ation for penalties imposed on French ships for vio- lating the American embargo. Furthermore, Na- poleon declared that American merchandise was English property in disguise, and should be treated as such. Peace was finally concluded between France and Denmark as well as Sweden. In return for a promise to close all Swedish harbors against English ships, Pomerania was returned to Sweden. In the treaty between Sweden and Russia, signed at Sweden muues Fredericshamm, on September 17, Sweden had to cede Finland, the archipelago of Aland and a part of Swedish Bothnia. So it came that the great national singer of Finland, John Ludvig Runeberg, who was to become the greatest poet that ever wrote in the Swedish language, was born a Russian subject. Immediately after signing peace. Napoleon left Schoenbrunn. As a parting measure, he gave or- ders to raze the Vienna fortifications to the ground. peace 1808 Nov. NINETEENTH CENTURY 859 After a short visit to the Bavarian court at Nymph- enburg, he arrived at Fontainebleau, on October J^tu?Q8°to 29, without having been announced. Empress Josephine was not there to receive him. Napoleon made this a pretext for a violent scene. It served to foreshadow the divorce which had long been arranged by Fouche. At the imperial palace, the doors were closed between the apartments of Na- poleon and those of Josephine. Men^val, who witnessed these scenes, wrote in his memoirs: "So cruelly was Josephine troubled that she was constantly appealing to me. My part became em- barrassing, and, in order to escape from the unhap- py princess and her questions, I had to avoid her. "When by hazard she was able to keep the Emperor with her for a moment, she did not dare to touch on this question for fear that the fatal sentence should fall from his lips. ... At last the Emperor was ^ ^^ unable to bear it any longer, and one evening, after ^^eak^with the most silent and sorrowful of meals, he broke the ice. . . . From that day, Josephine was seen no more at court." It was on December 16 that a senatus consuUum announced the dissolution of the marriage of Na- poleon Bonaparte with Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie, mother of Prince Eugene Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, etc. The act read as follows: "Article I. — The marriage contracted between Emperor Napoleon and Empress Josephine is dis- solved. "Article II. — Empress Josephine will retain the Napoleon's • I 1 11- 1 T-i divorce titles and rank oi a crowned Empress. "Article III. — All arrangements which may be made by the Emperor in favor of Empress Joseph- 860 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1809 Joseph- ine's farewell Kio(> and Quceo of Pr'jssia ririurn to Berlin ine, on the funds of the civil list, must be observed by his successors." After the decree was entered, Napoleon gave orders to conduct Josephine to Malmaison, and went to say farewell. M^neval, who was present, thus describes the scene: "When it was announced that the carriages were ready, Napoleon took his hat and said, 'Meneval, come with mel' I fol- lowed him up the little winding staircase from his study to the Empress's apartments. Josephine was alone, and appeared wrapped in the most painful reflection. The noise we made in entering aroused her. Springing up, she threw herself on the Em- peror's neck, sobbing and crying. He pressed her to his bosom, kissing her again and again; but in the excess of her emotion she had fainted." Napoleon left Josephine with Men^val, whe finally followed alone. That gentleman, as he put it, "felt very miserable, and could not help deploring that the rigorous exactions of politics should violently break the bonds of an affection which had stood the test of time, to impose another union full of uncertainty." Tlie rest of the month, until the close of the year, was spent by Napoleon in solitude, at Trianon. By an odd coincidence, it was at this same time that the King of Prussia and Queen Louise made their joy- ful entry into tiie old royal palace at Berlin, after an absence ot three years. 1810 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 861 1810 NAPOLEON had reached a point in his ca- reer when he was more bent on holding fast what he had already acquired than on making new conquests. The war with Eng- land, in his mind, had resolved itself into a test of endurance. He was satisfied, therefore, to leave the active prosecution of tlje war in Spain to bia marshals, while he trusted to the effects of his cou- tinental blockade to bring England to time. The retroactive effect of commercial stagnation on the Continent itself was not yet realized by Napoleon. Yet the French peasants had to extract sugar from beet root, and substituted chicory for coffee, luofconti- Germany and the Netherlands, smokers had to blockade forego their tobacco and took to canaster. But for a flourishing smuggling trade, Holland would have been ruined. In Scandinavia, likewise, the inclu- sion of Sweden and Denmark in the continental union made smugglers out of the hardy seamen of the North. In Russia, where there was no such outlet, the ruin of trade was complete, and pnblic pj^^^^jj^ finances went from bad to worse. All this was lostjiu^i'a on Napoleon. For the present he was bent on se- curing his empire as a dynasty by a personal alli- ance with one of the oldest reigning families in XlXth Century— Vol. 1—16 362 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1810 Europe. Having failed in one of his matrimonial advances on the side of Kussia, he turned to Aus- mtt^i-^ °° * tria. The fact that marriage with the Corsican monial advances usurper could not even be classed as a morganatic alliance, for a princess of the ancient House of Hapsburg, was not permitted to interfere with the plans of so calculating a Prime Minister as Prince Metternich. Before Napoleon divorced Josephine, Prince Metternich had already been sounded on the subject by Napoleon's emissary, Alexandre Laborde. Metternich wrote to Prince Schwarzen- berg, the Austrian Ambassador in Paris: "His Majesty, the Emperor [Francis], to whom nothing is repugnant which can contribute to assure the well- being and tranquillity of the state, far from reject- ing this idea, authorizes you, Sir, to follow it up, to Austria g^^^^ ^q refusc no overtures which may be made on the subject. . . . You will also try to determine, so far as possible, the advantages that France will ofier to Austria in case of the conclusion of a family alliance." On New Year's day Princess Metternich, who had remained in Paris, was presented to Napoleon at the Tuileries. The next day the Princess was bidden to Malmaison to meet the ex-Empress. Josephine herself broached the subject of the projected mar- riage of Napoleon to Marie-Louise. She said: "It must be represented to the Emperor of Austria that his ruin and that of his country is certain, if he does not consent. It is perhaps the only means of pre- venting the Emperor trom making a schism with the Holy See." 1810 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 363 Metternich replied to his wife: •'1 regard this affair as the greatest which cculd, at this moment, occupy Europe. . . . Tbis con- sideration led me from the first moment 1 wag informed of the probability of a divorce, to turn to the Princess, who might be called to take this part. The Archduchess is ignorant, as is only riglit, of the views concerning tier . . . but our princesses are little accustomed to choose their husbands from affection, and the respect due to the wish of a father from a child so good and well brought up as the archduchess makes me hope that there will be no obstacle on her part." Metternich's private views of the prospects ofdifpol^of Marie- such a union may be gathered from this observa- Louise tion in his letter to Schwarzenberg on the same subject: *'If the deepest feeling arise in the heart of any father against the mere notion of an alliance with Napoleon, how much must these feelings be in- creased when the father finds himself the sover eign of a great empire." Effects of news Definite arrangements for the marriage were con- cluded on February 7. When the news was madefh^' public in Vienna, stocks fell at the bourse. Met- ternich wrote to Schwarzenberg: "At a distance it would be difficult to judge of the sensation generally produced here by the news of the marriage. The first effect on the exchange was such that the rate to-day would have been at three hundred, and even less, but that the Govern- ment had interest to hold it higher. It was only by buying a million of guldens in specie withia 364 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1810 the limit of two days that we were able to fix it at three hundred and seventy. Count Shuvalov [the Russian Ambassador] was terrified at the news." Metternich forthwith set out for Paris to add to the splendor of the imperial wedding. The cele- bration was set for April, and was to be modelled closely after the ceremonial used when Marie An- toinette was married to Louis XVI. While Metternich was thus employed in serving his imperial master according to his lights, another faithful servant of the Austrian emperor was aban- doned to his fate. Andreas Hofer, the leader of the Tyrolese peasants, who had been betrayed into Execution of Hofer French hands after the abandonment of the Tyrol by Austria, was court-martialled as a bandit. Some of the judges stood out for acquittal, but a per- emptory order arrived from Napoleon by the helio- graph from Milan, fixing Hofer's execution within twenty-four hours. He was shot on the morning of February 20, on the bastion of Mantua. His last words were: "Good-by, wretched world, this death is easy!" Scarcely a fortnight after Hofer's execution came the death of Lord Henry Cavendish in England, one of the greatest scientists of the time. With Watt, Black and Priestley in England, and with Laplace, De Luc and Lavoisier in France, Cavendish had conducted a series of experiments in chemistry which determined the true character of air. He was the first who by purely inductive experiments converted hydrogen into water and who established that water consists of two gases. This discovery, Death of CaTeodmb 1810 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 865 announced by Cavendish in his "Experiments on Air," published in 1780, provoked a greater amount of discussion and angry polemics than any other dis- covery in the history of chemistry. Arago went 80„ far as to charge Cavendish with deceit and plagia- watlr^'^ °' rism, in a formal charge brought before the Freucti Academy of Sciences. Cavendish's observations oa the action of light, and on specific and latent heat, prepared the way for the more important scientitio discoveries in these subjects later in the century. Cavendish also anticipated several of those great facts in common electricity that were subsequently made known to the scientific world through the in- vestigation of Coulomb. It was Cavendish that first computed the density of the earth at 5.45. He did Computa- tion of this by means of but seventeen experiments. The earth's •' '■ density approximate accuracy of Cavendish's observation was shown by the fact that the German scientist, Reich, after fifty-seven experiments, came to the conclusion that the density of the earth was 5.44. "jord Cavendish died, in his eightieth year, alone. Though a peer of the realm, and very rich, he had spent almost all his long life in solitude. He avoided all intercourse with women and scarcely ever spoke to any one. Visitors were not received at his house, and his dealings with the few ser- vants who attended to his wants were carried on by means of notes which he left on the hail table, liord Brougham, who saw him at one or two meet- ings of the Royal Society, has recorded "the shrill cry of the old philosopher as he shuffled from room to room, seeming to be annoyed if looked at, but 866 A BISTORT or THE March 1810 sometimes timidly approaching to hear what was passing among others. On all points which had no scientific bearing, Cavendish was coldly indifferent; but when the discovery of a new truth in science was announced, he seemed to glow all over." At the time of Cavendish's death, public opinion in England was wrought up by the parliamentary storms raging over the Walcheren fiasco, and the questions that arose out of them relative to the privileges of the House of Commons and the lib- erty of the press. Mr. Percival, who had become Change in Prime Minister after the death of the Duke of Port- rfritisn Ministry j^qJ^ Q^^st tried to wcakcu the opposition by draw- ing Lord Grey and Lord Grenville over to his side. Failing in this, he formed a cabinet, with the Marquis of Weilesley as Secretary of State for Foreign AfiEairs, the Earl of Liverpool Secretary of War, and Mr. Eyder for Home Secretary. On the meeting of Parliament, late in January, the opposi- tion, headed by Canning, Grenville and Grey, imme- diately called for a censure of the government for its conduct of foreign affairs, involving the military expeditions to Holland and Spain. Lord Chatham had to resign his master generalship of ordnance. The Ministry yet prevailed by a majority of ninety- ofwar six, and finally obtained a parliamentary vote of criticised ' ./ I- J thanks for Lord Wellington and his army in the Peninsula. During the parliamentary debates over the course of the war, all gazetteers were excluded from the house. Sheridan objected to this in a great speech on the liberty of the press, and was supported by Cobden, but their motion was de- 1810 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 367 feated. This outcome was severely censured by a London debating club called the "British Forum." For this insult to Parliament, John Gail Jones, the president of the society, was haled before the House and was committed to Newgate jail. The editor of the "Morning Chronicle," who pleaded his own case, and likewise his printer, were let off. Sir Francis Burdette objected to such summary meas- ures as an infringement of the right of all English- men to jury trial, as secured by Magna Charta. ov^eHi^b°° His motion to liberate Jones was overwhelmingly press*' ' * defeated. Sir Francis Burdette repeated his argu- ments in an open letter to his constituents, in which he denounced the action of Parliament. For this infringement of parliamentary privilege Burdette was committed to the Tower by a vote of 190 against 152 of his colleagues. Burdette's house was surrounded by a mob, and the warrant for his arrest had to be executed by a large force of con- stabulary and soldiers. Riots occurred around the Tower and in Piccadilly. In the street fighting that followed a number of persons were killed. Remon- strances and petitions about the matter were sent to Parliament from all over England. Sir Francis Burdette brought an action in law against the Francis Speaker of the House and the sergeant-of-arms, Burdette t^ ° imprisoned but lost his case. When he was finally released at the prorogation of Parliament, his supporters in great numbers paraded London with placards bear- ing such inscriptions as "Magna Charta," "Trial by Jury," etc. At night all the lower districts of London were illuminated. The episode served to 368 A HISTORY OF THE March 1810 establish the custom of newspaper reports of par- liaraentary debates as a public privilege. Tbe "British Register" of that year commented on this as follows: "When the House of Commons first connived at the introduction of booksellers, or tbeir ^^1?^ reporters in the gallery, they were little aware of ment the consequcnces that were to follow this indul- gence. A breed of satellites have noV fastened themselves on Parliament, whom it is irksome and grievous to endure, yet whom it would be danger- ous in different respects altogether to exclude." While the mistakes of the British Ministry were thrashed out in Parliament the Spanish situation be- came ever more complicated. The national struggle for independence in Spain had produced a political revolution there unforeseen by Spaniards, French- men, or Englishmen. The threatening attitude of the various provincial juntas, and of the old royal councils, induced the Supreme Junta, itself an Cortes irregular and revolutionary body, to convoke the to&^ Cortes or National Parliament for March 1, 1810. According to old Spanish usage, there were three chambers in which three estates were entitled to representation; to wit, the clergy, nobility and the people. The Spanish Liberals now demanded a single chamber for all three estates, while the Junta, beaded by Jovellanos, declared for a double cham- ber, with an Upper House for the clergy and no- bles, and a House of Commons for the representatives of the people. Writs of election had already been issued when the advance of the French drove the J unta irom Seville to Cadiz. Here the J unta found 181C Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 369 itself divided among its own members, and fell into such execration that by the end of January, 1810, it resigned its powers into the hands of a fivefold regency. On January 20 and 21, the French forced their way over the Sierra Morena, and marched on Be\ len, Cordova, and Seville. Soult sent a divis- ion under Sebastiani against Granada. The French defeated ten thousand Spaniards under Ariesaga prench and Frere, and captured all the artillery. Granada in pema- sula. opened her gates to the French, and a battalion of Swiss who had deserted to the British eagerly returned to French allegiance. Sebastiani left a strong garrison at the Alhambra and pushed on to Malaga. There he defeated a large body of insur- gents. On the battlefield some fifteen hundred dead bodies were found, among them many peas- ants, priests and monks. The capture of Malaga was of great importance to the French, since it cut off communications between the maritime provinces of Spain on the east coast and the region of Cadis and Gibraltar. The whole peninsula was cut in two parts by a military cord stretching from Bayonne through Burgos and Valladolid to Madrid, and thence by Toledo, Andujar and Jaen to the Gulf of Malaga. In Portugal, Wellington prepared for another French invasion by establishing a cor- vveiiin?- don of his own along the line of the mountain aratlonr'*^ ridges, running from the Tagus to the sea. While the English army wintered near Almeida, Wellington, with the help of thousands of Portu- guese, turned this mountain tract into an impreg- nable barrier by a double serried line of fortifica- 870 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1810 tions. No rumor of the work was allowed to reach the French or even the babbling newspapers at home. On the first day of February, Seville surrendered to Marshal Victor. The Supreme Junta, on the ap- proach of the French army to the Guadalquivir, fled to the Isle of Leon. Of the eighty -six members of Flight of the Junta, most betook themselves to Cadiz, some went over to the French, while others fled to Eng- land and America. Thus Count Tilly found means to reach Philadelphia with a round sum of three million dollars. By the middle of February, Cadiz was invested by the French, with King Joseph act- ing as commander-in-chief. The French forces be fore Cadiz were about fifty thousand, while the Spaniards, Portuguese and English, numbered twenty thousand, with a fleet of eight sail-of- the-line and a dozen smaller ships. In antici- pation of the siege, the South American loyalists sent large contributions of money; and flour in great abundance was brought from the United States. The siege went on but slowly. About the middle of March a terrific storm wrecked half of the Span- Sie^eof ish fleet and drove the ships ashore. Later, a party Jieg« :;adi of two thousand French prisoners succeeded in es- caping from the bay of Cadiz on board of their prison ship. It was a notable exploit. During this interminable siege, as at Saragossa and Gerona, Spanish women figured in the fighting on the ram- parts. The French during this same time made at- tempts at Valencia and flostalrich. From Valencia they were beaten back with great loss. At Hostal 1810 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 871 rich, the Spanish column under O'Donnell tried to relieve the garrison, but was beaten back after a desperate battle at Yich, in which thirty-five hun- dred Spaniards were taken prisoners, with almost 33^^^,^ ^^ as many killed and wounded. General Souham, ^'*''^ commanding the French forces, had an eye shot out. On the night of May 12, the garrison of Hostalrich made a desperate attempt to escape from the city, but they were caught in the act and •^ ' -^ ^ Fall of slain almost to a man. General Suchet captured Hostairioh Lerida with all its stores by refusing to let the women and children escape, and he also took Mequineza, the key of the Ebro. Valencia and Tortoza were invested in turn. Ney's corps set- tled down to besiege Ciudad Rodrigo. sieg-eof Ciu'lad While matters stood at such low ebb in Spain, Rodrigo the tide of revolutionary spirit rose in South Amer- ica. Early in the year the Junta at Se villa granted direct representation to the South American colo- nists, proclaiming them to be an integral part of the Spanish nation. "At last you are raised to the dignity of free men," declared the Junta. "The times are already past in which, under an unsup- portable yoke, you were the victims of absolutism, ambition and ignorance. Bear in mind that in electing your representative to the Cortes, your destiny will no longer depend on kings, ministers or governors, but is in your own hands." ThCg^^j^^j^ regency at Cadiz, while confirming this measure, asLIra^^, granted to the South American colonists but one deputy for every million inhabitants. Spain had one representative for every hundred thousand, re- 372 A HISTORY OF THE fpring iMO ^rdless of the fact that the greater part of the peninsula was under French dominion. At the same time French commissioners arrived in South America to demand the oath of fidelity to King Joseph. The arrival of the hateful "afrancesados," as they were called, was like a spark in a powder mill. All South America was ripe for revolution, and as of one accord the colonists rose in the north, south, east and west to throw ofif the yoke of Eu- rope. The movement had already started in Mex- ico, when the viceroy, Don Jos5 de Iturrigaray, was viceroy dcposcd by the people and superseded by a marshal of the army. After a few months of his rale, the central Junta in Spain ordered him superseded by the archbishop in Mexico. He was replaced in turn by the regency of Cadiz, who appointed General Vinegaa as viceroy. In these rapid changes of rule the people discovered how easy it was to overturn a government. The doctrine, that on the disap- pearance of a monarch his sovereignty reverted to the people, found an enthusiastic advocate in Hidaieo Hidalgo, a Mexican curate, who had already been disciplined by the Inquisition for maintaining dan- gerous opinions. In Venezuela, there was Don Simon Bolivar, who had sworn to free his coun- try years ago on the Monte Sacro of Rome, after he saw Napoleon place the iron crown of Lombardy EoUvM ^"^ ^'^ ^^° head. Bolivar had just returned to his country after a personal study of republican insti- tutions in the United States. On April 18, Wednes- day of Holy Week, the Spanish commission arrived in Caracas, and demanded adhesion to the Kegency 1810 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 373 in Cadiz. Bolivar spoke the word which set South America aflame. "Tbis power," he said, "which fluctuates in such a manner in Spain and does not secure itself, invites us to establish a Junta of our own and to govern ourselves." The next day the Municipal Council of Caracas invited Em- peran, the Spanish governor of the colony, to at- tend their session, with the intention of offering him the presidency of the Junta. Jos^ Cortez Ma- dariga, a Chilian, rushed into the council room and exclaimed: "Beware what you do. You are blind if you put yourselves at the mercy of the represen- tative of Spain." Emperan fled to the balcony and addressed the crowd below: "Are you content with me?" he asked. "No," shouted the crowd, "we j^^oj^j^q don't want you!" "Then 1 don't want you!" re-°^ aracas torted Emperan, and gave up his governorship. That day the Junta of Caracas was proclaimed. It refused to recognize the regency of Cadiz, and banished the former governor to the United States. The revolution had been accomplished without a gunshot. Previous to this there had been similar revolts, the first of which was instigated by Miranda in 1806. In 1809 the colonial authorities of Quito were over- turned and a governing Junta was set up with a proclamation that "law has assumed its authority under the Equator." In the same year the Creoles other revolts of Peru rose in Chuquisaca and La Paz, and set up an independent government composed exclusively of Americans. Both these revolts were put down and the leaders were hang;ed or shot. The success video Chile 874 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1819 of the revolution of Caracas inspired the other colo- nists to follow Bolivar's example. The viceroy of Nueva Granada was exiled to Cartagena. In Buenos A3^res an assembly of six hundred natives rose ^^^^ against Portugal, and deprived the viceroy, Bal- thazar de Cisneros, of power. The Portuguese sol- diers were beaten and retreated to Montevideo, but Monte- here, too, as in all other provinces of upper Peru, the revolution prevailed, and an independent Junta •was established. In lower Peru the colonial gov- ernment of Lima was able to hold the revolutionists in check. Chile likewise rose in 1810 and succeeded in throwing off the Spanish yoke, though the Cre- oles, who fought for independence, had nothing but the most primitive arms. In Mexico the new viceroy Yinegas's demand of money for the support of the Spanish cause was met by Hidalgo's Grito de Dolo- res, "The Cry of Wrongs." It was taken up by a Mexico couple of hundred insurgents. They succeeded in seizing the stronghold of Guanuajato. Driven from there, Hidalgo established an independent govern- ment on Guadalajara, where he maintained himself for the rest of the year. In western Florida, filibus- ters from the United States assaulted the Spanish Baton Rouge fort at Baton Rouge. Louis Grand Pr^, the com- mandant, died as its sole defender. Western Flor- ida was turned over to the United States. Even Cuba became uneasy. The divorce of the American colonies from Spain and Portugal was effected at a turn in their career when further union was only hurt- ful to all concerned. When these revolutions ISlOSunimer NINETEENTH CENTURY S76 broke out in 1810, there was but one other re public in the world — the United States of ^Jorth America. Switzerland had long since become a dependency of the French empire. It was confi- dently asserted by European statesmen that South America would have to revert either to France or to England as soon as one of these two great con- testaots should prevail over the other. Otherwise nothing but barbarism was expected. That South America did not fall into British hands at this time can be ascribed only to the forbidding atti- tude of the United States. Already an English fleet but a few years before had seized Buenos Ayres and Montevideo, only to be ousted again by the native settlers. Both ports then had to sustain a long and formidable blockade on the „ .,. . o British part of British cruisers. During the course of the^®'^""^®* year 1810, the British also seized the French colo- nies of Guadeloupe and Isle de Bourbon. Finally Java and Isle de France fell into the hands of the British, who thus were made absolute masters of the sea. Napoleon's new Prime Minister, Fouchd, con- ceived a fantastic plan to offset this loss of French prestige beyond the seas. Early in the year he sent a secret agent named Fagan to suggest that if Great Britain would yield Spain, France would join in creating out of the Spanish -American colonies an empire for Ferdinand VI. of Spain. From Louisi- ana it was suggested a monarchy might be created Plans of °° JO Fouch6 for the French Bourbons. Fouchd was instigated to^^^^^g^j^ this in a measure by Aaron Burr, who had betaken 876 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1810 himself to Paris and there presented a memoir to the French Government, showing that the destruc- tion of the United States could be accomplished by a combined attack of French troops from Canada and from Louisiana. Fouch^'s proposals were con- temptuously dismissed by the British Ministry. Na- poleon learned of Fouch^'s secret correspondence by an accident, as he was about to set out with his new empress on their wedding journey to Holland. Fouchfi "Fouch6," said the Emperor, "is always thrusting dismissed j^jg ^jgjy £^Q^ .j^^^ ^^^^^ people's shocs. " The over- zealous Minister was dismissed and was exiled to Italy as Governor of Rome. The marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise had been first solemnized at Vienna, on March 11, without Napoleon. On this occasion he felt called upon to write an autograph letter to Emperor Napoleon's Francis as his prospective father-in-law. Hitherto, betrothal ^ '^ owing to the fact that Napoleon could not write legibly, all his letters had been written by secre- taries. "What a terrible business it was for him," wrote his secretary, Mdndval. "At last, having taiica infinite pains, he succeeded in writing a letter which was fairly legible. He told me to rectify the badly formed letters in such a way that my corrections would not be noticeable. 1 did my work as best I could, and sent it oS to 'His Majesty, Sir, my Brother.' Of course Emperor Francis never knew what trouble it had caused the writer." When Marie Louise left Vienna, the people rioted on the streets. She was conveyed in triumph 1810 Spring: NINETEENTH CENTURY 877 through southern Germany and through France. It was arranged that she was to meet her husband for the first time at the Chateau of Compi^gne, la the presence of all his court. To save her from embarrassment, Napoleon set out from Compi^gne with no other escort but Murat. He entered her carriage and embrr.ced her cordially. Marie Louise, who was then but eighteen years old, was agreeably surprised by his youthful appearance. "Your por- trait, Sire," she said, "has not done you justice." Later she confessed that she had looked forward to her union with Napoleon in terror. How Napo- leon was regarded in the imperial household ia Vienna may be gathered from the fact that the young princes used to burn him in effigy, a S^^^ weddias which they called "roasting the monster." The re- S^f *'*^ petition of the marriage ceremony in France, though a mere formality, was made a state occasion. Na- poleoD gave a dowry of 725 francs to each of six thousand young girls who on the day of his French nuptials should marry a soldier of his army. On April 2, the Emperor and Empress, seated in the coronation carriage of glass and gold, with a traia of a hundred equipages following behind them, en- tered Paris by the Arc de Triomphe. Three hun- dred thousand persons thronged the Champs Elys^es. Hand in hand Napoleon and Marie Louise passed into the Tuileries through the long gallery of mag- nificent paintings which connects it with the Lou- vre. In the evening, amid brilliant illuminations, they received the nuptial blessing. From her re- treat at Navarre, Josephine wrote: "Your Majesty 378 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1 810 shall never be troubled in your happiness by any expression of my grief." Napoleon said to his friends: " Josephine is indeed the best woman in France." At St. Helena Napoleon freely recog- nized that his divorce was a mistake. He then said: "A son by Josephine would have completed my happiness, not only from a political point of view, but as a source of domestic happiness. As a political result it would have secured to me the Napoleon's retrospect possession of the throne. The French people would have been as much attached to the son of Josephine as they were to the King of Eome, and I should not have set my foot in an abyss covered with flowers." From Paris Napoleon set out on his wedding Journey to Holland. Napoleon's brother, tbere. King Louis, had come under extreme disfavor by his lenient attitude toward his Dutch subjects, who carried on their commerce in spite of the continental blockade. To help out the French deficit of fifty uaparie^ millions, much to the disgust of Louis, Napoleon gave orders to seize all American ships that should enter Dutch ports in violation of his Milan decree. To the Prussian government. Napoleon wrote at the same time: "Let the American ships enter your ports! Seize them afterward! You shall deliver the cargoes to me, and I will take them in part payment of Prussia's war debt." To the American Minister, Napoleon thus explained his attitude: "If American ships have been sequestered in French {)orta, France only imitates the example given her by the American government, l^he American act troubles American BGized 1810 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 379 of Congress of March. 1, 1809, which orders In cer- tain cases the sequestration and confiscation of French ships, that are excluded from American ports, practically interdicts France to Americans. In the ports of Holland, of Spain, of Italy and of France, American vessels have been seized because the Americans have seized French vessels." Napo- leon's official orders in that sense, known as the decree of Rambouillet, were issued in March. The Decree total amount of the American seizures was t.heno[^^j^^- esti mated by Napoleon at six million dollars. The American consul at Paris reported that between April, 1809, and April, 1810, fifty-one American ships had been seized in France, forty-four in Spain, twenty-eight in Naples, and eleven in Hol- land. Had Louis carried out his brother's orders, the seizures in Dutch ports would have been far more numerous. Louis was summoned to France, and by way of punishment was compelled tq sign the Dutch treaty of March 16, in which he ceded the provinces of Brabant, Zeeland and a part of Guelders to France. All Dutch commerce with the Ji'eatyo' Holland outside world was to be suppressed. When Louis returned to Holland, he could not bring himself to carry out these humiliating pledges. He tried to evade the surrender of the American ships to France, and objected to the invasion of his king- dom by French troops. During riotous public pro- ceedings in Amsterdam, Louis publicly expressed his sympathy with the cause of the Dutch people against his brother. Napoleon wrote to Louis: "They who do not love France, do not love me. lands 380 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1810 Your Majesty will find in me a brother, if 1 fiad m you a Frenchinau. But sbould you be unmind- ful of the sentiments which attach you to our com- mon country, you must not take it amiss if 1 disre- gard those which nature formed between us." In private, Napoleon said angrily: "Louis has been spoiled by reading the works of Rousseau." A NeThl*r-"°' French army of occupation was sent into Holland. The Exchange at Rotterdam was turned into a sta- ble for French cavalry. About the middle of June, a French column of 20,000 moved on Amsterdam. At this, Louis left his capital and abdicated the throne of Holland. In a farewell address to the Dutch people he said: "I have the cruel satisfac- tion, yet now the only one that is left me, that I have fulfilled my obligations to Holland. ... I should be much to blame if I consented to retain the title of King, being no longer anything but an instrument, no longer commanding in my own capi- teaigas^^^ tal, and perhaps soon not even in my own palace. By doing so I should betray my conscience, my people and my royal duty," etc. Louis went to Toeplitz in Bohemia without a single attendant. To his wife, Hortense, then living in Paris, he wrote a letter forbidding her to accept anything from Napoleon. Napoleon was more than vexed. Savary relates that when Napoleon received the news of his brother's flight and abdication, he sat silent for several minutes. After that momentary stupor, he became greatly agitated. "It cannot be denied," adds Savary, "that his brother's conduct seriously affected the Emperor's cause in public Louis 1810 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 381 opinion." Napoleon made matters worse by first refusing to recognize Louis's abdication as not au- thorized by him, and next by his annexation of all the Netherlands, "as a mere aflfluvium of the rivers of France." Amsterdam was made the third city of the Empire. Of the effect of these measures, Napo- leon said in after years at St. Helena: "My an- Fi^enchAn. nexation of Holland produced a most unfavora- ^°"*'"* ble impression throughout Europe, and contributed greatly to lay the foundation of our misfortunes." While Louis Bonaparte went into voluntary exile to Bohemia, Lucien- Napoleon's other refractory brother, prepared to ship his family to America, lucien The vessel was intercepted by British cruisers ovl^^^^^^ the way, and Lucien was taken to England, where he remained in like voluntary exile. In England, Napoleon's continental system wrought havoc in all commercial enterprises. Financial failures became alarmingly frequent as the common people fell into pauperism. Many eminent merchants committed suicide, among them Francis Baring and Abraham Goldschmid. Paul Benfield, the East-Indian millionnaire, died in ex- treme poverty. Napoleon, observing these effects, gave another turn to the screw. He issued a de- cree that all English manufactures found in France, Holland or the German states, should be burned. Another blow for England was the absolute acces- sion of Sweden to the continental system. Late in pr.nc^^Jf spring, the Crown Prince of Sweden had died sud-^^^'**° denly. During a parade of troops at Qvidinge he suddenly dropped dead from his horse. Reports 882 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1 810 of attempts to poison him had been in circulation before his death. A post-mortem examination by the celebrated chemist Berzelius, favored this sup- position. The people became greatly excited. At the funeral of the prince in Stockholm, the mob killed Count Furzen, marshal of the realm, who was suspected of complicity in the death of the prince. Sweden was once more without an heir-apparent to the ohrone. Those in power were anxious to see a good soldier put in charge, who could recap- ture Finland. Count Otto Moeruer, who had been a prisoner in Jutland when Marshal Bernadotte commanded that province, conceived the original scheme of placing him on the throne. Bernadotte consented in a guarded manner, and so did Napo- leon, though privately he declared himself averse Bernadotte to the project. Count Mocrncr's act was disavos^cd called to ,<-< i-i»«-- 1 >« -1 Sweden by the Swcdish Ministry, but Moerner carried on his agitation with so much success that the Swed- ish Riksdag selected Bernadotte. Thus Bernadotte, though by no means among the most brilliant of the military adventurers produced by the French Revo- lution, found himself at the goal of all, on as high a plane as the Bonapartes and their immediate rela- tives, Murat and Eugene Beaiiharnais. Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, at the outbreak of the BVench Revolution, was a common soldier in the Royal Marine corps. After ten years' ser- previous vice hc had been promoted only to a sergeantcy. The disorders of the Revolution gave him his chance. On the flight of his superior officers, he was made captain of his company. General Kleber career 1810 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 383 took him unaer his patronage and made him a colonel. After Kleber's victory at Flearus, Ber- nadotte was given command of a brigade. He served with Napoleon throughout the first Italian campaign. Having opposed the latter, at the time of his coup d'dtat, on the 18th of Brumaire, he found means of making peace with him through his marriage with the sister-in-law of Joseph Bonaparte, one Mademoiselle Clairy, the daughter of a grocer in Marseilles. Though thus related to Napoleon byp^^j^., marriage, the two never got on well together. His w'lth^BoIi^^ career as a general was attended by varying success. ^^^ ^ Altogether he saw so much service, that by dint of experience alone he was bound to learn the art of war. Thus he distinguished himself at the crossing of the Rhine at Neuwied, and in the battle of Aus- terlitz. At other times his lack of success exasper- ated Napoleon. This was notably the case during f^jl^J^^^ the early part of the last Austrian war, and again at the battle of Wagram, when he was sent home in disgrace. As military governor of Jutland and Pomerania, he showed himself an able adminis- trator, and his treatment of the Swedish captives, who were then under his charge, was so humane that he endeared himself to them forever. It was to this that he owed his elevation to the Swed- ish throne. The last obstacle was overcome when Napoleon lent him a million francs. Bernadotte joined the Lutheran Church at Elsinor. As he„ ^ ,, * Bernadotts landed in Sweden, on October 10, 1810, he was de-p,?Jnceof clared heir-apparent as Prince Charles, or Charles Johann, as he called himself henceforward. By 384 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1810 Napoleon': comment French capLiire Ciudad Roiirigo Welling- t<'ii in Portugal his politic conduct and diplomatic manners, he soon gained such an ascendency that the throne of Sweden fell to him. as by right. Those Swedish politicians, who had thought by their selection of Bernadotte to please Mapoleon and gain a strong point with him, were mistaken. Napoleon revealed his true motives in consenting to their choice in a private conversation with Metternich. To him he said: "For my part I am delighted to be rid of him, I ask nothing better than his removal from France. Ue is one of those old Jacobins with his head io the wrong place. . . . Yet a French marshal on the throne of Grustavus Adolphus is one of the best ti'icks that could be played on England." Other measures to hurt England were not neg- lected. Throughout this time, the war in Spain and Portugal had been carried on with obstinate vigor. On the day after the French flag was hoisted over Amsterdam, Ciudad Rodrigo, at the end of a long siege, was compelled to surrender to Marshal Ney. His troops were about to storm the last breach. Half a year had ^passed since the French had re- sumed the ojBEensive in Spain. Battle on battle had been won, and stronghold after stronghold had fallen. Portugal alone remained unsubdued. To hold Portugal, Lord Wellington called for re- inforcements to bring the British fighting force up to 30,000 men. He also asked for a financial sub- sidy of several million pounds sterling, wherewith to keep 60.000 soldiers on their feet. The British Ministry, though startled at these figures, granted 1810 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 386 Wellington's demand, and undertook to pay an annaal subsidy, £1,000,000, to Portugal. Welling- ton had himself made marshal-general of Fortugal, independent of the Portuguese Kegency. By vir- tue of this authority he revived the ancient military laws of the kingdom, by which he brought 66,000 Portuguese to the colors, and forced them to devas- tate their own country along the entire line of the invasion, four hundred miles long. The French forces available for the invasion numbered over 80,000. The famous triple line of defence of the t'^^^to"^* Torres Vedras was Wellington's own idea. Be- tween the lines lay a wasted country in which no invader could maintain himself for any length of time. The innermost line of intrenchments was thrown up in case disaster should make sudden embarkation imperative. For the same purpose, an English fleet was held in readiness wherein to embark the army at short notice. As the ravages Enf^-iish subsidies of the war increased, all Portugal had to be fed by England. During the siege of Ciudad Eodrigo, the English lines of outpost under General Craufurd were grad- ually forced back on the banks of the Agueda. Wellington felt himself too weak to succor Ciudad Eodngo, and had to see the place fall, though within easy striking distance. On July 24, Gen- eral Craufurd, having kept on the other side oi the Coa against Wellington's express orders, was overwhelmed by Ney's whole army. His forces ^^ro^ were thrown across the river in great confusion. At the bridge of Castillo Boin, the British made a XlXth Century— Vol. 1—17 886 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1810 Stand, and successfully held up the advancing col- c^tfiio'' umns of the French. A thousand Frenchmen fell in trying to force the passage. Ciudad Kodrigo furnished the French with a good base of supplies, and Wellington's situation soon became embarrass- ing. The corps of Ney and E,eynier were too strong to be attacked by the British, and on the other side Massena was approaching with the Spanish army. The Spanish generals, discontented with Welling- ton's abandonment of Ciudad Rodrigo, grew restive, and undertook operations on their own responsibil- ity. Romana and Ballesteros, in a joint action at gpg^jjjgjj^g. Benveneda, were routed by Mortier. Their defeat j^nveneda was a scrious matter for the defence of Portugal. It might have proved disastrous, had an English expedition landing at Moguer not drawn Mortier's forces rearward. Still more serious for Wellington was the fall of Almeida and the accidental explosion of the British powder-magazine at Albuquerque, Ahneida which killed four hundred men. In September, Mass^na's forces at last invaded Portugal for the third time. Massdna, now grown cold with age and honor, was in complete ignorance concerning the strength of the lines of Torres Vedras. Even the English officers and soldiers generally believed that their unpropitious campaign, like that of Sir John Moore, would end with embarkation for England. Indeed, the British Ministry was prepared for such an event. Lord Liverpool, writing to a friend in Lisbon about this time, opened his letter thus. "As it is probable, the army will embark in Sep- tember." Deceived by imperfect reconnoissance, rmiiU'iJ by air 1 Uuuima Luwrcuc* WELLINGTON A'/Ai/i Cent., yoi. One 1810 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 387 Massena threw the main column of his army, num- bering 61,000 men, on the worst road in Portugal, on the right bank of the Mondego. The British and Portuguese retreated all along the line. They concentrated their forces in a formidable position on the Sierra Busaca in front of Coimbra, Mas- s^na's slow approach gave Wellington a chance to rally his retreating troops. Before daybreak, on September 29, the columns of Ney and Reynier "^ Battle ol Stormed the heights. They were driven from tht- sierra crest again by the countercharge of British re- serves. Thenceforward the fight was for the pos- session of the hilltops. During this battle occurred the famous incident of the Portuguese girl, who drove an ass laden with baskets straight through the contending lines of both armies, apparently un- mindful of the fact that she was in the thick of a bloody battle. By nightfall the French gave up the attempt to gain the Sierra. They had lost two generals and forty -five hundred men, while the Brit- ish and Portuguese lost thirteen hundred. Though Wellington won his battle, he had been compelled to fight It at too great a risk. He himself in later years characterized it as a political battle and there- , A mistak* fore a mistake. On the part of Massena it was a ^■^^o'^ still worse mistake, as his army was not in a con- dition to fight. Napoleon, while commenting on this battle, said of Massena that his dispositions for battle were always bad. The French reached Coimbra on the first day of October, just as their fortnight's supply of bread was exhausted. Three days afterward, Massena 388 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1810 pushed on. The next day Colonel Trant, operat- ing with a detached column in the neighborhood, Coimbra' galloped into Coimbra with several squadrons of yeomanry, and seized the French stores and hos- pitals in Massena's rear. Nearly five thousand prisoners fell into the hands of a small British force. The brilliance of the exploit was tarnished by acts of barbarous atrocity. Mass^na did not let this deter him from pushing on. By the middle of October he came up to the line of the Torres Vedras. The first line stretched from the Alhandra on the Tagus to the mouth of the Zizandro on the sea-coast, twenty-nine miles away. The next line, about ten miles further back, extended from Quintello on the Tagus to the mouth of the St. Lorenzo, twenty-four miles away. An innermost short line, intended to cover the possible embarkation, ran from the Passo The Torres ^'"^''^^^ ou the Tagus to the Towcr of Junquena, Vedras ^ distance of three miles. Altogether the three lines included fifty miles of fortifications, a hun- dred and fifty separate forts, with six hundred mounted guns, commanding good ranges. Here the combined British and Portuguese armies were reinforced by Romana's force of six thousand Span- iards. In all, 120,000 fighting men were stationed between the lines behind ramparts of stone walls and crossed trees twenty feet in thickness. As Napier, the great historian of the Peninsular war, has remarked: "Not even the Romans ever reared greater works in their time." Mass6na, when he realized the strength of the 1810 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 389 Torres Vedras, sat down with his army at Santa- rem. The war thenceforth was reduced to a block- ade. For the JPortuguese this proved a severe trial of endurance, and 10,000 men of their line deserted before the end of the year. The generals on either side were loth to risk a battle without distinct advantage, and therefore preferred to wait for Pemusuiar •^ ■*• war at reinforcements. Thus the war in the Peninsula ^^^"''*'''^ dragged itself out with the French besieging Cadiz on one side, and Wellington holding them in check before the Torres Vedras on the other. Late in November, the French forces in the north had to full back on their base, and Wellington descended from tbe Torres Vedras to harass tbeir retreat. Iti England there was great reluctance to rein- force Wellington, largely on account of the King's incapacity for public affairs. The spell of insanity from which he had suffered in 1788, and intermit- P^°'"«®^ tently since that time, returned during the con-***'®^ tinned illness of his youngest daughter, Amalie. When she died in the autumn the old king grew unmanageable. Parliament appointed a commission of inquiry preparatory to appointing the Prince of Wales regent of the kingdom. During this period of political depression, the arts and sciences flour- ished in an unusual degree. The end of this year was made signal in literary annals by the first appearance of Shelley's early lyrics, and by the fnliisb simultaneous publication of Southey's ''Curse of Kahama" and Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake." From a political-economical point of view, gloom at this time seemed to hang over a large part of 390 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1810 Europe. Austria passed through a financial crisis, worse than ever before, aggravated as it \riis by an Austrian issue of spurious government bonds that had been financial crisis printed by Napoleon before the conclusion of the peace of Schoenbrunn. An affliction fell on the royal Death of housc and people of Prussia by the death of Queen Queen . . . Louise Louise, the idol of her country. This sad event in a measure spoiled the popular rejoicings over the University long-defcrrcd foundation of the University of Ber- of Berlin ° -^ founded \\j^^ which began its academic career under the lead- ership of Wilhelm von Humboldt. From the start this university, like the older universities of Ger- many, became a hotbed of patriotic agitation against Napoleon and the aggressions of the French. By the students of the universities, Napoleon's high- Fnn^v^ handed annexation of the three Hanseatic cities, citi^^^ "^ Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck, at this time, was openly resented as a national affront. In the south of Europe great preparations were made during this period, by King Joachim Murat of Naples, for an invasion of Sicily. To this end 37,000 troops and a flotilla were collected. Early in the summer, Murat had declared he would be in Palermo by the middle of August. The peo- ple of Sicily were called upon to throw off tha British yoke. Sir John Stuart gathered together a Sicilian army and his own fifteen hundred troops, and encamped them along the coast from the Straits ^^lonir^^ Messina to the Faro Pont. A strong British '"'^ squadron cruised up and down the coast of Sicily. A debarkation of 3,500 Neapolitan and Corsican troops was effected only by September 18. After 1810 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY S91 a sharp encounter they were driven back to their boats with a loss of eight hundred prisoners. On October 3, Murat gave up the attempt with a proc- lamation to his soldiers that the expedition had been adjourned. In spite of the armistice supposed to exist in the Balkans, the Russian troops there continued their encroachments against the Turks. When the Sul- tan refused to countenance their aggressions the war recommenced. The Russians conquered nearly all the forces on the Danube, but were defeated in Bulgaria by the Grand Vizier. The Russians took warmth© Vidin, Custov, Georgioi, but their progress was ar- rested at Rustshuk, Shumla and Varna, with heavy losses on both sides. Field-Marshal Kemenski re- conquered Bulgaria as far as the Balkans and gained a briUiaut victory at Batyma. The Servians, too, were successful in almost all their operations against the Turks. Pressed as the Sultan was by these troubles in the Balkans, he was able to send troops into Syria to suppress the rebellion of the Wacha- bites, and he also sent a fleet into the Black Sea, as a demonstration against the Crimea. At last with- the imminence of a rupture with France forced Rlfssian troops the Czar to withdraw several divisions of his army from the Danube. The estrangement between Alexander and Na- poleon was gradually becoming more acute. Napo- leon vented his discontent at the lukewarm support of Russia during his war with Austria, by favoring the growth of the Duchy of Warsaw, and by his abrupt abandonment of the project of his marriage 392 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 1810 with a Russian princess. It was at this time that drscoluent L^sur published the famous book entitled: "The Alexander Progress of the Russian Power," in which we meet for the first time with the apochrjphal "Will of Peter the Great," enjoining upon his descendants never to lose sight of Constantinople. To the personal bitterness of feeling between Alexander and Napoleon, was added the increasing rivalry of the two nations on the Danube, and the Russian Commercial distress occasioned in Russia by Na- with'°° poleon's continental blockade. The ruble, which France was worth sixty-seven kopeks in 1807, was worth not more than twenty five kopeks in 1811. When Napoleon, emboldened by his easy annexation of the Canton of Vallis, in Switzerland, without fur- ther warning announced the annexation of the an^i^° Duchy of Oldenburg in the north, the patience urg ^j Alexander was exhausted. First he issued a formal protest against this spoliation of bis kins- man, the Duke of Oldenburg. He followed this up by an imperial decree breaking up the conti- nental blockade as far as Russian ports were con- cerned. All colonial produce was to be admitted to Russia, while, on the other hand, he forbade Alexander i\^q importation of articles of luxury, to wit: silks, ribbons, embroideries, bronzes, porcelain and wine — in fine, all the chief products of France. After the pattern of Napoleon's latest measure, all con- traband goods were ordered to be burned. This struck France in a tender spot. Napoleon, en* raged, said to the Russian Ambassador: "I would rather have received a blow on the cheek." iSliJaa. mNETEENTa CENTURY S93 1811 AT THE opening of the year 1811 in Eng- land the question of the insanity of King George III. came up for final settlement. The Prince of Wales was appointed regent pending En|iish the king's indisposition. That he, too, regarded this as a mere temporary measure was made plain by the fact that he continued his father's ministers in of- fice, although personally out of accord with them. Furthermore, lie refused to open Parliament in per- son, nor would he accept a special grant for his house- hold pending the regency. The Crown's opening ad- dress to Parliament, accordingly, was written by the ministers of the mad king, as heretofore. The most important point of the speech, was a pledge to con- tinue the war in the Peninsula. The campaign in Portugal had by this time taken a turn distinctly favorable to the English. Massdna, with his French army, lay in a devastated country remote from all sources of supply, whereas Welling- ton was among a friendly people, with Lisbon for a base of supplies and a harbor accessible to all the vessels that the power and wealth of England could freisfht. For a while brisk fiojhtinac continued. Dur-Faiiof ing the month of January, Marshal Suchet took Tortosa and Santo FiUpe de Balagnier in Cat, 394 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 18H Death of Romafia Battle ot Barosa Ionia. The important stronghold of Olivenza like- wise fell into French hands after a short siege. SoLilt now marched on Badajos. The untimely death of the Marquis of Eomana, who com- manded the Spanish forces in that region, proved a great loss to the allies. He was succeeded by General Mendozabal, who imprudently shut him- self up in Badajos with six thousand men. The siege of the French was enlivened by constant sal- lies and skirmishes beyond the works. On Feb- ruary 19, Marshal Soult crossed the Gebora and beset Mendozabal's fortress with such fury that the Spaniards were routed early in the forenoon. The Spanish general escaped with difficulty. Nearly eight hundred Spaniards were taken with all their stores. The rest got into Badajos. Near Cadiz, in the meanwhile, the English landed reinforcements and marched on Victor's forces at Barosa. The French attacked first and routed the Spanish aux- iliaries under General La Pena. The British, under Graham, made a counter-attack, and in a brief but hard-fought action overcame the French. Gener- als Kuflin and Chaudron-Rousseau, commanding the French grenadiers, were both killed. The French lost 2,500 men, two general officers, six guns and one eagle. The British casualties were 1,200 sol- diers and five officers. General Graham, who won this battle, was so imbittered by the attempt of La Penu to claim the victory as his own, that he fought a duel about the matter, and then relinquished his command, to join Wellington's army in Portugal. Then Imaa, the new Spanish commandant of Bada- Mil March NINETEENTH CENTURY 395 jos, misled by false reports of the French numbers, weakly surrendered the town to Soult. When the ^p?ure place fell, Mortier marched against Campo Major, * ^^*^ and Latour-Maubourg seized Albuquerque and Valencia d'Alcantara. Great as were the suc- cesses of Soult, he was compelled to fall back into Andalusia when he heard of Mass^na's re- treat from Sant' Arem. Mass^na claimed that Soult's delay before Badajos, instead of coming down the Tagus, was the chief cause of his fail- ure. The more obvious reason lay in the inability of the French to maintain communications. The arrival of British reinforcements early in March, before the promised reinforcements from France could reach Massena, compelled the latter to fall back. The French retreat was conducted in a masterly manner. A full week passed before the English got into touch with the French rearguard jjassena's under Ney. In a brilliant rear action, at Eedinha, Ney foiled his pursuers. At this point Massena could have seized Coimbra, but a demonstration of British cavalry in his rear scared the French into a belief that British reinforcements had come by sea to the Mondego. Thereafter the retreat of the French became ever more hurried. At Fontecoberta, Mas- sena, having lingered too long, only escaped himself by plucking the feathers off his hat and making a dash for life through the lines of pursuing cavalry. At Castelnova, Marshal Ney was nearly captured Battle of '' >■ Castelnova by the Fifty-second British Infantry, which, ad- vancing through a mist, found itself detached in the midst of the French rearguard. By a general 896 A HISTORY OF THE March 1811 engagement only did Wellington succeed in extri- eating this regiment from its dangerous predica ment. In the face of heavy losses, Key heid the entire British line until the end of the day, and thus saved Mass^na's retreat. During this retreat, all the resting-places of the French were burned down Ravages by the Spanish peasantry, and the country was rav- aged for miles around. Colonel Napier, who was an eye-witness of some of the miseries of those days, has thus summed up the general impres- sions: "Every horror making war hideous at= tended this dreadful retreat. Distress, conflagi*a' tion, death in all modes — from wound, from fa- tigue, from water, from the flames, from starvation; on every side unlimited ferocity. Even the body British ot John I. of Spain was wantonly exhumed from Tandalism Its tomb in the convent of Batalza and was pulled to pieces by British officers." When Massena opened communication with th© town of Almeida, his retreat was practically at an end. To retrieve his fallen fortunes, he deter- mined to countermarch through Sabougal, thence to resume communications with Soult across the Tagus, and, by the valley of the Tagus, with Joseph. At this point long-standing quarrels be- tween him and his marshals broke out afresh. Ney refused to march his division to Coimbra and was deprived of his command. The absence of so able a figliier as Ney was felt by the French at Behnonte, where a sharp action drove them back on SabougaL Here the premature attack of a solitary British bri- gade brought on a general action. The brigade led 2611 April NINETEENTH CENTURY S97 by Beckwith took the nearest hill and held it against 15.000 Frenchmen. Around the hill the fight raged fabougS for hoars. The crest was stormed several times by both sides, and several notable exploits were per- formed. When the French were finally driven down the slope, three hundred dead bodies were found heaped up around a howitzer that stood on the top of the hill. It was no exaggeration for Wellington to report — "This was one of the most glorious actions British troops were ever engaged in." The defeat at Sabougal spoiled Massena's plans. He felt compelled to continue his retreat to Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca. On April 5, accordingly, the French crossed the frontier of Portugal and re- evacuate Portugal entered Spain — a beaten army. The third invasion of Portugal had cost them 30,000 men. Welling- ton once more invested Almeida and Badajos. Another brilliant two days' battle was fought at Fuentes Onoro on May 5 and 6, during which ap^g^^gg British battery of horse artillery cut its way out of a squadron of French dragoons. After the bat- tle, a French soldier named Tillet dashed singly J^''^^|^ through the British lines to Almeida and brought them orders to evacuate that city, Bernier de Mo- rano, the French commandant, destroyed all his guns and most of his fortifications, and then, with his garrison of 1,500 men, broke through the invest- ing lines of the British, numbering 45,000. Stung J^eiiingtoa o J b ' O foiled by this event, Wellington issued a severe rebuke to his officers. The French reverses iu Portugal were a serious 398 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1811 matter for Napoleon. Already he had determiQed pit^^^°'^ to bring matters to a point with Russia. For a successful invasion of Russia, as he well knew, he would need all the military resources of his empire. Further reinforcements to Spain, therefore, were out of the question. It became desirable, on the con- trary, to withdraw some of the best French troops from the Peninsula. As Metternich wrote in one of his resumes of the situation for Emperor Francis: Met- "The Spanish war has recently taken a turn teroich's ^ ■^ comment which leavcs France little hope of a favorable ter- mination. The latest information speaks of the very serious situation of Mass^na's army. . . . Further defeats in Spain might be the signal for fresh disturbances in other directions. . . . France is very far from being happy. Under an iron rule, an unexampled finance, a tremen- dous load of taxes, an entire destruction of com- merce, the idea of their internal condition would be intolerable to the French were it not softened by what appears like a calm after prolonged storms, in comparison with other nations and their heavier burdens. By his marriage with your Majesty's daughter, Napoleon has found in his sense the guarantee for peace which he formerly intended to find m the overthrow of the Austrian throne. Yet your Majesty will deign to observe that the follow- ing all-decisive question is now presented to us: Can Austria prevent the outbreak of a fresh con- tinental war with Russia? To this question, from my innermost conviction, I give a decided 'no'." Metternich knew whereof he wrote. But a short time before, Napoleon had proposed to him the Verms of a defensive and offensive alliance against 1811 Spring: NINETEENTH CENTURY 399 Russia, and had in conversation with him fore- shadowed his plan of campaign for the forthcom- ing invasion of Russia. During this interval an event had occurred which appeared to some a more substantial guarantee of peace than any other. On March 20, Marie Louise was delivered of a son. Napoleon presented the in- fant to the marshals of his empire, saymg: "Here is^rthof the king of Rome!" Elaborate preparations hadofRomf been made for the event. If it should prove to be a sou a salute of one hundred and one guns was to be fired. Only twenty-one shots were destined for a princess. All France awaited the issue with sus- pense. In Paris the vast crowd collected before the Tuileries remained in deep silence until the twenty-first shot had been fired. When the twenty- second boomed forth the crowd went wild. Napo- leon himself said after the birth, which had proved very laborious for the mother, that he "would have preferred being present at a battle." Dr. Dubois told Napoleon that a second confinement would result in the death of the mother — a diag- nosis which was confuted eight years later. All the poets of France were invited to write some- thing on the occasion. Excepting Chateaubriand, most of them responded promptly. Among the best productions were those of Casimir Delavigne, and Pierre Lebrun. Gerard painted a charming half-length portrait of the baby, and Prud'hoa portrayed the imperial child asleep in the shrub- bery. Among those who came to congratulate Napo- 400 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1811 leon in person were Prince Poniatovski of Poland and King Joseph of Spain. Both had more seri- ous matters to bring to the attention of the Em- Reiieffor p6rc>r. Joseph told Napolcon that if the military ^p^'° government of Spain and the annexation of several of its provinces were not repudiated, he would feel constrained to abdicate. Napoleon was induced thereby to promise relief. Joseph was advised to convoke the Cortes. Poniatovski came to enter into a full discussion of Napoleon's plans for the coming invasion of Kussia through Poland and the part that was to be played in the affair by the Poles. With Poland, Napoleon, so far, had played a double game. He had promised Alexander not to favor any enterprise which might tend to the re-estab- The'^opes lishment of Poland. On the other hand, he won of Poland ' Poniatovski by his plans for the reconstruction of Poland to serve as a buffer state against Russia. The loss of Galicia to Austria was to be made up • by the restitution of the Illyrian provinces, while the King of Saxony was to be consoled in some other way for the loss of "Warsaw. By autumn, 1811, it was plain to most men that %vith war with Russia was on the cards. Shortly after Bussia Napoleon's seizure of Oldenburg the Czar had re- marked to Caulaincourt, the French ambassador at St. Petersburg: "Tell your Emperor that the earth here trembles beneath my feet. Tell him that here in my own empire he has rendered my position intolerable by his violation of treaties. Transmit to him from me this candid and final declaration: If once the war be fairly entered upon, either he, iSliAutumu NINETEENTH CENTURV 401 Napoleon, or I, Alexander, must lose our crown." Napoleon thuB commented on these preliminary andlr's pourparlers in later life: "Alexander and I were ^'^"^ ^°^ in the condition of two boasters, who without wish- ing to fight were trying hard to frighten each other. 1 should most willingly have maintained peace, Napoleon's commeat surrounded and overwhelmed as I was by unfavor- able circumstances. All I have since learned con- vinces me that Alexander was even less desirous of war than myself." Financially considered, the war was the worst thing that could happen to botli countries, yet neither sovereign could bring himself to back down. "Toward the end of the year 1811," says the Duke Gaeta, at that time acting finance minister of France, "I availed myself of the liberty which the Emperor had always granted me in our private of F^aiM» conversations to express to him my solicitude. 'A new war,' 1 said, 'conducted at the distance of eighfc hundred leagues, will impose upon us a great ex- pense, of which but a small portion can be defrayed by that distant country, which offers no resources. What, then, must become of the present state of our finances, particularly should the events of the war prove disastrous?' "'You speak thus,' answered Napoleon, 'be- cause you do not fully comprehend our true politi- cal situation. 1 have strong reason to believe that Austria, who will now march with us, soon will march against us. . . . I cannot refrain from pre- paring for war without at the same time neglect- ing to adopt measures to keep its ravages at a distance. Thus I am driven to obey a necessity which my position unhappily exacts, that I should be now the fox, and now the lion.' " 402 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1811 With two world powers tbus inevitably drifting into war, nothing remained for the other nations but to take sides quickly and fall into line. The various States of Lower and Middle Germany had long ago thrown in their lot with Napoleon. For aiu^'®°°'^ Austria, Metternich struck a bargain that she was to aid France only as an independent ally, on Napoleon's promise that the Illyrian provinces should be restored to her. Prussia wavered for a while between Russia and France, but Russia had little use for a foreign alliance, since it was intended from the start to fight a purely defensive campaign on Russian soil. Napoleon, on the other hand, was in no mood to bargain for something which he could obtain by force. Late in 1811 he moved an army Coercion ^^om the Rhine toward the Prussian frontier, and of Prussia ^^ ^^^ same time he raised the strength of the French garrisons on the Oder. With Prussia thus at his mercy. Napoleon dictated the terms of his proposed alliance, which meant, in short, unquali- fied submission, and the despatch of an auxiliary force of 20,000 Prussians to be incorporated in the French army. As Fyffe has expressed it in his "History of Modern Europe": "The sovereign who was about to be attacked by Napoleon and the sovereigns who sent their troops Spirit to Napoleon's support perfectly understood one an- aiiiance other's position. The Prussian corps, watched and outnumbered by the French, might have to fight the Russians because they could not help it: the Aus- trians, directed by their own commanders, would do no serious harm to the Russians as long as the Rus- sians did no harm to them. Should the Czar succeed 1811 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 403 in giving a good account of his adversary, he would have no difficulty in coming to a settlement with his adversary's forced allies." When it was suggested to Bernadotte that he should furnish a quota of eight thousand Swedish soldiers to Napoleon, the temper of the new-made king was early shown. "Sweden, not beinsr a ?«'^oa'^otta ^ >) ' o defiant member of the Rhenish confederation," he replied, "is under no obligation to furnish a quota of troops. Sweden maintains no more soldiers than are neces- sary for her own security." Napoleon forthwith moved an army corps north- ward to threaten Scandinavia. While western Eu- rope was thus once more drifting into a general war, an extraordinary act was perpetrated in the East. The threatening growth of power of the Mamelukes in Egypt was broken by a high- handed measure similar to that whereby Peter the Great broke the backbone of his notorious bodyguard, the Strelitzi. The reigning Khedive of Egypt, Mohammed Ali, some time previous to this had made his peace with the Mamelukes onE-y"pt^^ the stipulation that the whole corps should serve as his household cavalry at his palace in Cairo. The greater part of them did so, but nevertheless they connived with the Pasha of Acre to overthrow Mohammed Ali should he fail in his war with the Wachabites. The plot was discovered by the Khe- dive and was foiled in a manner characteristic of the Orient. The Mamelukes were bidden to attend a solemn festival on the day when the Khedive's son was invested with the command of the espedi« 404 A HISTORY OF THE ftimmer 1811 tioD against the Wacbabites. The Mamelukes were placed between the vanguard of Turkish infantry of the and a rearguard of household cavalry. At the Mamelukes instant when the infantry had entered the citadel, and the Mamelukes were passing between the inner and outer ramparts, the gates were suddenly closed. The Turkish troops fired on the helpless horsemen until most were slain. Those that surrendered were beheaded. Thus the flower of the Egyptian cavalry was destroyed, and Mohammed rested more secure on his viceregal throne. South In America, during those days, a new spirit was America restive abroad. Two men had come to South A{nerica to help the patriot cause. One was Francisco Miran- da, the old conspirator who had served with La- Miranda fayette under Washington, and had commanded a regiment under Dumouriez in the campaigns of Valmy and Jemappes. He soon made common cause with Bolivar in Venezuela. The other was s*n Marti.i San Martin, an Argentinian, who had likewise learned the trade of war in Europe, and who has been styled by the foremost South American his- torian as the "greatest of the Creoles of the New World." When San Martin returned to Argentina in 1811, he had some reputation as a soldier. Eight days after his arrival he was intrusted with the task of raising a squadron of cavalry. Tiiis was the origin of the famous South American regiment of mounted mounted grenadiers, which fought in so many bat- greuadiers , , , ^ i. • i j ties of the South American war of independence, and which gave to America nineteen generals and more than two hundred officers. San Martin and 1811 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 405 his friend Alvear founded the secret society of the Revolution known as the Lautaro Lodge. In Caracas, similarly, Bolivar was the leading BoUvm spirit of a patriotic society, which, like the Jacobin Club of France, practically controlled the destinies of the revolution. The society held its first meeting on July 4, 1811. In a fiery speech, Bolivar called upon them to lay the foundation stone of South American liberty. The next day the Congress of Caracas adopted Bolivar's resolution and Venezuela was declared a republic. The declaration of inde- indepen- pendence was modelled on that of the United States Venezuela of North America. It was declared that "the united provinces of Venezuela are and ought to be by act and right, free, sovereign and indepen- dent States, and they are absolved from any sub- mission and dependence to the throne of Spain.'* On the same day the Congress adopted the tricolor flag of Miranda as the emblem of new liberty. About the same time that Venezuela was declared a republic, a new British commissioner, Mr. Foster, arrived in Washington to settle up the "Chesa- peake" affair and enter a formal protest against the^^-^l** American seizure of west Florida — "as an attempt reizure contrary to every principle of public justice, faith and national honor." His remonstrances were re- ceived in a Pickwickian sense. On July 6, Foster wrote to Wellesley: "It was with real pain, my lord, that I was forced to listen to arguments of the most profligate nature; to wit, that other na- tions were not so scrupulous, that the United States showed sufficient forbearance in not assist- 406 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1811 "Little Bell" affair Damages lone ing the insurgents of South America, and looking to their own interests in the present situation of the country." Unfortunately for any settlement of the "Chesa- peake" affair, another similar outrage had just oc- curred on the high seas, in which the Americans were the aggressors. On Maj'- 16, Commodore Rod- gers of the American frigate "President," carrying forty-four guns, overhauled the British corvette-of- war, "Little Belt," carrying twenty guns. She was believed to be the "Guerriere," and was approached for the purpose of ascertaining whether an Ameri- can sailor named Digio was on board. At nightfall the two ships came within hail, with the American coming to, close to windward, a manoeuvre which British captains were disposed to resent. After an ineffectual hail, both ships fired upon one another, each claiming afterward that the other had fired first. A series of broadsides from the "President" disabled the British corvette. Captain Bingham of the "Little Belt" reported afterward: "I was obliged to desist from firing, as, the ship falling off, no gun would bear. Not a brace nor a bow- line left, upper works all shot away; starboard pump also. I have to lament the loss of thirty- two men killed and wounded, among whom was the master." The "President's" loss was one boy wounded, and some damage to the rigging. So it came that Foster found himself compelled to demand redress for the "Little Belt" affair, rather than to offer such for the "Chesapeake" outrage. President M:idison showed himself little inclined 1811 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 407 to eater into a discussion of either, unless the British restrictions on American shipping were withdrawn. The more Napoleon played fast and AmericaD '■ ^ policy loose with his own promises to suspend operations of the continental blockade in favor of the United States, the firmer was the stand of the American government toward England. At last when Napo- leon issued a decree admitting American ships to French ports, though holding to the American seiz- ures already made. President Madison and his new Secretary of State, Monroe, turned completely against England. As in former times a petty fight against Indians, far in the American wilderness, began a convulsion which was to end in full-fledged war. It was a favorite saying of General Harrison, Gov- Attitude of ernor of the Indian Territory of those days, that '■tie Indians "the conduct of the Indians was a sure thermom- eter for the chances of war or peace between Eng- lishmen and Americans." William Henry Harrison had been appointed Governor of the "Indian Territory" in 1800, It then consisted of two tracts, one on the Ohio and the other at Vincennes on the Wabash, and be tween these there was a hundred miles of wil- derness. The population grew from twenty-five hundred in 1800 to as many thousand in 1811. Westward and northwestward stretched the Indian country to the lakes and the Mississippi, broken only by military posts at Fort Wayne and Chicago, over which roamed 5,000 Indians. Tecumseh, the great one-eyed leader of the In-Tecumsea dians, gathered his warriors about him at Green- 408 A HISTORY OF THE Bummer 1811 Harrison Tille, Ohio. He aimed to build up an Indian con- federacy which should assume joint ownership of all Indian lands. With his brothers he established himself on the Tippecanoe Creek where it joins the Wabash. From this point they could by water reach Vincennes, Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Fort Wayne and Detroit, and the waters of the Ohio and Mis- sissippi. Harrison's various transactions exasperated the Indians, and they turned to the British for help. Alarming reports concerning the Indians reached Vinceunes. Harrison saw that an Indian war was inevitable, and that his safety lay in crushing the Indians before the British could come to their aid. Oq August 12 Tecumseh, at Harrison's request, came to Vincennes for a conference. Tecumseh said: "You are constantly driving the red people, Vinceunes ^^j^ ^t last you wiU drive them into the great lake, where they cannot either stand or walk." Later in 1811 Tecumseh, with 200 warriors, came to Vincennes for another interview, and spent two days expostulating with Harrison. A few days afterward Tecumseh passed down the Wabash on his diplomatic errand with the Indian tribes in the south. Immediate action before his return was urged on Harrison, and he spent the next week rais- ing troops. In September Harrison sent his force. consisting of 300 of the Fourth Regulars and six or seven hundred volunteers, to a point in the new purchase, sixty-five miles above Vincennes, where he budt a small wooden fort, called after his name. His outposts were fired on and the war was begun. Confer- ence of Fort Harrison 1811 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY i09 On October 28 Harrison broke camp and marched up the river, fifty miles from Tippecanoe to the mouth of the Vermilion, within one and one-haif miles of the Indian town. There the soldiers en- camped. Early the next morning a shot was heard i^f*J^®°' from the sentinel at the farthest angle of the camp. *^°*^ In an instant came the Indian yell, and the soldiers were shot down by their camp fires. The Ameri- cans received the attack in good form. At the broken angle the Indians had not strength to fol- low up their advantage, and the Americans at day- break drove them into the swamp. The fight lasted two hours. Harrison's total loss was 188, of whom 61 were killed, and the bodies of 38 Indians re- mained on the field. The number of Indians in 1 the battle was probably not more than 400. Te- ' cumseh, when he learned of it, deplored the en counter. Tbe battle of Tippecanoe gave great satisfaction throughout the West. Harrison re- ceived the official thanks of Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, but in New England the aggressions against the Indians were deprecated. When a deputation of eighty Indians with Tecum- seh visited Harrison at Vincennes, and asked leave premature TTT 1 • • • T I 1 Intlian war to go to Washington, permission was readily granted, but Tecumseh's Indian braves could not be held in check. Hostilities broke out all along the border, settlers were shot at Fort Dearborn, at Fort Madisoa on the Mississippi, at Vincennes, and within a few miles of the Ohio. Harrison reported: "Most of the citizens of the country have abandoned their farms and taken refuge in temporary forts." YbC XTXlh Century— Vol. 1—18 410 ^ HISTORY OF THE Winter 18U the American Government was slow to act. Te- cumseh, on the other hand, waited for the inevi- table outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain to throw his lot in with the Englishmen. In winter the war fever of 1811 was at its height. Madison, Monroe and Gallatin were generally supposed to be aiming for some diplomatic makeshift rather than open rupture. The active leaders in Con- gress were young men. Clay, Calhoun, Lowndes, Williams, Grundy, l^orter and Johnson were all under forty. They were bent on "creating a na- tion," as the}'^ expressed it, by carrying the Ameri- can flag up to Canada and down to Key West. Calhoun's speecii of December 12 was, perhaps, the best made in the long debate on war. A famous sentence was: "Protection (of the citizen) American ^ ■' war fever j^^^j patriotism are reciprocal. This is the road all great nations have trod." Finally a resolution au- thorizing naval vessels to arm was adopted by 97 against 22 votes. Kieist About this time, Herman von Kleist, one of Ger- many's most brilliant poets, put an end to his ca- reer. Had he waited but a little while longer, the poet might have lived to see the fulfilment of his dearest patriotic hopes. Born at Frankfurt on the Oder, Kleist served as an officer in the Prussian campaigns on the Ehine. In 1803 he brought out the romantic tragedy "The Schroffensteins," fol- lowed presently by a mystic version of Plauius and Molidre's "Amphitryon." While in Switzerland he began his classic, "The Broken Pitcher," one of the best comedies in German verse written dur* His works 1811 winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 411 ing the nineteenth century. In Koenigsbcrg, Kleist wrote his famous short story, "Michael Kohlhaas," a stirring psychological study of the effects of wrong on a deeply emotional character. During the war of 1806, Kleist returned to the colors and fell into the hands of the French as a prisoner of^^gp® war. On his liberation, in 1808, he published the play "Kaethchen von Heilbronn," which in operatic form was destined to achieve a great success some seventy-five years later. Kleist's patriotic poems against the French soon got him into trouble. The production of a suggestive drama on the fight of the ancient Germans against the Romans was for- bidden in Germany, as was his Prussian soldier- play, "The Prince of Homburg." On the revolt of Austria against Napoleon, the poet tried once more to plunge into the whirl of war, but he ar- rived on the field of Aspern only after that battle had tu~rned against the Austrians. For a while he seemed to cherish a wild project of assassinating Napoleon, but at last he returned to Prussia an imbittered man. An unhappy love affair sickened ^^^^^ him of life. On November 21, Kleist shot himself ""'*'''*^ on the shore of the Wansee near Potsdam. But for Tieck's efforts the literary remains of this great- est of Prussia's early poets would not have beea preserved. 412 A HmTOHY OF THE Jan.lSia 1812 i WHILE the prospect of war between tbo United States and Great Britain held / public attention in America, the minds / of most Englishmen were fixed on Spain and the war with France. The French armies of Marmont ,;^ and Soult, 67,000 strong, lay within touch of each other, barring Wellington's entrance into Spain. Situation ' o o r Pen^uia-'^'^^ allied forces under Wellington^ numbered 35,000, badly wasted from sickness and insuffi- cient supplies. In this extremity Wellington was meditating a leap upon the great frontier fortress of Ciudad R drigo, the French base of supplies in the province of Salamanca. Siege guns were collected for the ostensible purpose of fortifying Almeida, but the guns were secretly transshipped and brought to the mouth of the Douro. Early in January, when the French had Weiiine- been lulled into security, Wellington, to use Na* ton 8 ad- pjgj-'s cxprcssive phrase, "instantly jumped with both feet upon Ciudad Rodrigo." The siege began on January 8 in bitter cold weather. The British had to encamp on the side of the Agueda furth^-st from the city. On the first night, Colonel Colborne, afterward Lord Seton, led the three light divitsiuus aguiubt the redoubt that Tanoe 1812 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 413 crowned the Great Teson. The accidental dis- charge of a French hand-grenade burst the gate open, and the attacking party swept through it. siegreof The fight lasted only twenty minutes, but at the^^''^^'^^ end of it every Frenchman within the redoubt was killed, wounded or a captive. For ten days a desperate artillery duel was kept up. The French brought fifty of their guns to bear on the English lines, and thus held them off amid wintry weather until Marmont, with his relieving forces, came with- in four marches of the besieged city. On the eve of January 20 Wellington issued the general order: "Ciudad Rodrigo must be stormed this evening." assault ^ ° ° ordered The third division, under General Mackinnon, was to attack the chief breach with a forlorn hope led by Ensign Mackie. The smaller breach was a gap twenty feet wide, to the left of the larger one. This was to be attacked by the light division, under Crau- f ord, its smaller party of twenty-five men, being led by Garwood, and its storming party by George Na-'"^P^"^®^ pier, the brother of the historian. General Pack, with a Portuguese brigade, was to make a feint on the eastern part, while another attack was made on the south front by more Portuguese troops and a picked company of the Eighty-third regiment of the line. In the storming party were the Earl of March, afterward Duke of Richmond, the Prince of Orange and Lord Somerset, afterward Lord Raglan, all vol- unteers unknown to the Commander-in-Chief. Shortly after seven in the evening, the fortress waa assaulted from all four sides at once. As Napier has described it: 414 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1813 "The men were walking on fire! Yet the attack Napier's could not be denied. The Frenchmen — shooting, description o» Stabbing, yelling — were driven behind their in- trenchments. There the fire of the houses com- manding the breach came to their help, and they made a gallant stand. None would go back on either side, and yet the British could not get for- ward. Men and officers falling in heaps choked up the passage, which from minute to minute was raked with grape from two guns flanking the top of the breach at the distance of a few yards. Thus striving, and trampling alike upon the dead and the wounded, these brave men maintained the combat." Crauford, with whom Napier's brother was a favorite, gave to that officer the command of the The lesser assault ou the Icsscr breach. Wellington himself came to the trench and showed Napier and Col- borne, through the gloom of the early night, the exact position of the breach. A staff ofiicer, look- ing on, said, "Your men have not loaded. Why don't you make them load?" Napier replied, "If we don't do the. business with the bayonet we shall not doit at all." "Let him alone," said Welling- ton; "let him go his own way!" Picton had adopted the same grim policy with the third di- vision. As each regiment passed him, filing into the trenches, his injunction was, "No powder! We'll do the thing with the could iron." Half way up, Napier's right arm was smashed by a grape shot. As he lay bleeding, he shouted: "Push on, my men, and give them the bayonet!" Crauford, the famous leader of the light division, 1812 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 416 was killed, and so was Mackinnon, the leader of the Highland brigade that stormed the great breach. craufo?d With them fell seven hundred officers and men. Atkl'nnon'"' last, near midnight, Ciudad Rodrigo was won, when the French commandant had to hand his sword to the beardless British subaltern, who, bleeding from ' ' ° Fall of a staggering wound, had brought his forlorn hope C'^"^'|.^^ into the heart of the citadel. In all, the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo lip,d cost Wellington twelve hun- "lired" men-.-^'— — ~ ' -^'■' Allison has said in his "History of Modern Eu- / rope" that "with the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo began the fall of the French empire." As a matter of ^"lact it was the first of that swift following series of strokes which drove the French eagles out of Spain, while Napoleon was facing disaster ^__^Jja,Jlussia. From the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, Advanceof Wellington pushed on to Badajos, the rocky for- *^ ^ °^''' tress standing on the last spur of the Toledo range, which twice already had been assailed in vain by the English. It was now held by a resolute gar- rison of five thousand men under General Phillip- son, a Scotch Jacobite, with a genius for defence. Even without such defenders, Badajos was an all but impregnable stronghold. The river Guadiana, five hundred yards wide, served as a natural moat on the north, with the river Rivilla on the west. On their banks towered five great fortified outposts — Christobal, Saint Roque, Picarina, Pardeleras and a fortified bridge-head across the Guadiana. Wel- lington brought up 18,000 men for the siege. Most of them were veterans led by young officers. The 416 A HISTORY OF THE March 1812 Sie?e of Badajos A night attack British repulsed A sevea- fold as- sault siege was begun in March, and lasted three weeks. It was waged in the stormiest weather, with the rivers steadily rising, and under a continuous can- nonade from the ramparts. The losses on the Brit- ish side averaged 250 men for each day. On the eighth night of the siege, Wellington ordered a night attack on the Picarina. Napier tells how "the axmen of the light divi- sion, compassing the fort like prowling wolves," dis- covered the gate at the rear, and so broke into the fort. The engineer officer who led the attack de- clared that the place would never have been taken had it not been for the coolness of these men in absolutely walking round the fort to its rear, dis- covering the gate, and hewing it down under a tempest of bullets. The assault lasted an hour, and in that period, out of the five hundred men who attacked, no less than three hundred, with nineteen officers, were killed or wounded! Then followed two weeks of furious trench fight- ing, during which the British lost almost as heavily as in the actual assaults. Of these days Captain MacCarthy, of the Fiftieth British Infantry, has left a curious monograph, full of tragi-comic incidents. On the night of April 6, Wellington, who had a fondness for night attacks, ordered a general as- sault from seven sides. On the extreme right, Pic- ton, with the third division, had to cross the Ri villa and scale the high walls of the citadel. On the side of Budajos, the fifth division, under Leith, was to attack on the strong bastion of St. Vincente, where the glacis was mined, the ditch deep and the scarp J812Apra NINETEENTH CENTURY 417 thirty feet high. At ten o'clock the assault began. MacCarthj says we can only picture the scene by c^thy's ''supposing that all the stars, planets, and meteors *^^*^"'^ '°° of the firmament, with innumeraoie moons emitting smaller ones in their course, were descending on the heads of the besiegers." MacCarthy himself, it is reported, addressed his commander with the exultant remark, '"Tis a glorious night, sir — a glo- rious night!" and, rushing forward to the head of the stormers, shouted, "Up with the ladders 1" The five ladders were raised, the troops swarmed up, an officer leading; but the first files were at once overwhelmed by cannon fire, and the ladders slipped into the angle of the abutments. "Dread- ful their fall," records MacCarthy of the slaugh- tered stormers, "and appalling their appearance at daylight." With but one ladder left standing, the British .pj^g^j^^^ scaled the battlements of the citadel, one by one, ^^^^^^ in a hand-to-hand fight against heavy odds. On the other side of the city, the French garrison succeeded in beating off their assailants from the open breaches. Every time the British renewed the attacks their ranks were mowed down by hun- dreds. The baffled British soldiers became so stub- born that they would not obey the bugle call from the reserve line, blowing to the retreat, and they struck their own buglers who tried to repeat it. At last the sullen soldiers discovered a likely spot in the ramparts, and by a couple of ladders swept into the bastion. Swarming through the streets they met the men of Picton's division descending from 418 A HISTORY OF THE Spring I8t3 the citadel. Caught between two fires, the French BaUajoa ***poured from the ramparts and were carried through the rear gates. In the wild night assault more than five thousand men fell on both sides — but Badajos was won. Even more sullen, though unrelieved by such brilliant exploits as marked the dash of Badajos, was the siege of San Sebastian, the fall of which finally cleared the way for Wellington's famous Fall of San -^ '' ° Sebastian march through Spain. Spurred on by this vic- tory, the British army crossed the Agueda and marched for Salamanca three days before Napo- leon crossed the Niemen on his way to Moscow. Assassi- In England, during this time, the assassination nation of & » & ) Perceval Qf Perccval by a maniac named Bellingham, m the House of Commons, had brought about a change of Ministry, though not of parties. Another Tory Ministry was returned under the guidance of the Earl of Liverpool, a leader of uncertain strength, but well qualified to hold discordant col- leagues together. Thanks to their continued sup- Ministry of port, Wellington and his army m Spain were soon enabled to reap the fruits of their dear-bought victories. As Green has said in his "History of the English People:" "The death of Perceval marked more than a mere change of Ministry. From that moment, the developrneut of English life began to take its natu- ral course again. The increase of wealth was indeed enormous. In spite ot the serious blow which com- merce received from the qii;irrel with Ainerica, En- glish exports had grown to be nearly double what 3812 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 419 they were at the outbreak of the war. Manufac- turers profited by the great discoveries of Watt and Arkwrigbt, and the consumption of raw cotton ia the mills of Lancashire rose during the same period from fifty to a hundred millions of pounds. . . . So long as Perceval lived, efforts at reform had been vain, but under Lord Liverpool, the advanc- ing strength of a more liberal sentiment in the na- tion was brought to a head by Canning. Catholic emancipation became an open question in the Cabi- net itself, and was adopted in 1812 by a triumphant majority in the House of Commons." All questions of home politics, however, were soon thrown into the background by the more absorbing interests of war. The extension of privateering rights to Ameri- can merchant vessels practically had the effect of a declaration of war with England. Adventurous p™vT°^ captains of privateering vessels on both sides were ^^"^"^ not slow in taking advantage of the situation. Early in the spring, four British barges in Hamp- ton Roads were taken as prizes with all their crews by the American cutter "Jefferson," sup- ported by the United States frigate "Constitu- tion." A few weeks later, on April 25, Captain Cotthell, of the privateer schooner "Surprise," captured the British brig "Kutous," 12 guns, and brought her into port. Next, Captain David Por- ter, of the United States ship "Essex," sailed off ^ PrelimU on a cruise against the British with a flag bearing ^^"jje^o' the motto, "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights." On April 10, Castlereagh's note defining Great Brit- ain's measures of retaliation was received. Presi- 420 A HISTORY OF THE Jvmeim Madison's war mes- saire dent Madison immediately convened his Cabinet and recommended open war. On June 1 he sent his recommendation to Congress. In it he charged that British cruisers had been "in the continued practice of violating the American flag on the great highway of nations, and seizing persons sailing under it; that British cruisers also vio- lated the process of the courts, and harrowed en- tering and departing cruisers; that British coer- cive measures, consisting of pretended blockade without the presence of an adequate force, were mere means by which our commerce had been plundered on every sea; and this had culminated in the fourth grievance, the sweeping system of blockades known as the Orders in Council." On America ^^^^ 1^, after a fortnight's secret discussion, oJfEugiaad tbe American Senate passed the bill declaring war, the House accepted it, the President signed it, and war was begun. Naval encounters oc- curred almost forthwith. Land operations were a long time getting under way. This was owing on one hand to a lack of adequate preparation in America, and on the other hand to British reluc- tance to enter seriously into what could at most f- be regarded as but a side issue. ' On June 22, but four days after the American makes war declaration of war, Napoleon opened war on E,us- sia — the second "Polish war," as he designedly called it in a curious declaration ending with the phrase, "Kussia is swept downward by her desti- nies; her fate must be fulfilled." ' Since the days of Xerxes no invasion of war 1813 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 421 had been prepared on so gigantic a scale. Napo- leon's grand army alone numbered 610,058 men, arlm/J^"^^ with 182,111 horses. With them lumbered 1,800 pieces of artillery and 20,000 commissary wagoQS. Of the soldiers, 200,000 were Frenchmen, the rest were Grermans, Italians, Poles, Swiss, Prus- sians, Austrians and Bavarians. These troops, at the commencement of the cam- paign, were divided into five great masses. The first, 220,000 strong, was under the immediate or- ders of the Emperor; the second, 75,000 strong, was commanded by his brother Jerome; the third, under the Viceroy Eugene, numbered, also, 76,000; the right wing, under Schwarzenberg, consisted of 30,000 men, and the left, under Macdonald, also of 80,000, Seventy thousand more followed Distnbu- T .... 'ion of the corps, ready to support any division. Among French the marshals were "Victor, Murat, Davoust, Ney, Oudinot, Reynier, St. Cyr, Vandamme, Schwarz- enberg, and Poniatovsky. The Russian forces actually in the field at the commencement of hostilities, did not exceed 215,000 men; of whom 127,000 were commanded by Bar- clay de Tolly, 48,000 by Prince Bagration, and 40,000 by Tormasov. In addition to these, 85.000 men were assembled in the interior provinces, and 50,000 were in Moldavia, all of whom eventually aided in the war, and raised the total strength Russia^ brought into action during the campaign, though never all collected together at one time, to 300,000 men. On the 23d of June, Napoleon approached the 422 A HISTORY OF THE June 1812 Niemen, and the numerous columns of the grand army converged toward Kovno. This town at the extreme point of a salient angle where iTus- sia projected into Russian territory, seemed n fa- vorable spot for commencing operations. As Na- omen polcou rodc aloug the banks of the river, his horse stumbled and threw him upon the sand. Some one exclaimed, "It is a bad omen: a Roman would retire." Characteristic of the whole subsequent campaign was the final banquet which Napoleon gave to his marshals just before the outbreak of hostilities. In contrast to other similar functions all the gen- erals sat grim and silent. At last Napoleon ex- claimed angrily: "What, my brave men, you don't seem to enjoy the prospect of more glory?" "How can we," answered one of them, "since we have everything to lose and nothing to gain?" Napoleon During the next few days the Niemen was crossed crosscH the " •' by the whole army marching in three parallel col- umns. As Napoleon's army advanced, the inferior Russian forces fell back, leaving a ravaged coun- try devoid of food and fodder. The resulting dis- tress to the marching columns of the French was aggravated by the sultry summer heat followed by drenching rainstormsj which spoiled the supplies. The horses fell by thousands and the raw recruits straggled from the ranks until a mass of 80,000 marauders in the rear gave almost as much trouble as the Russian Cossacks swarming in front. When the French army had been on Russian soil but six days, and before the first general engagement ciad Niemen Early truuDles 1813 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 423 been fought, more than 25,000 men were invalided in the field hospitals at Vilna. The first action was fought between retreating J^!^^/'"' Cossacks on one side and the extreme vanguard of Murat's cavalry. On June 26, Murat brought his Polish Lancers and ten picked regiments of the French cavalry to bear on Count Ostermann's extended division of Cossacks, and there was fight- ing all along the line. In the main, the various actions were desultory and undecisive, serving no other purpose than to give each side a chance to bring up their main columns. On the eve of June 29, Napoleon had brought forward 180,000 of his Prepara- tions for men, ready to fall upon Barclay's army of 82,000 ^'^'^tie drawn in at Vitepsk. As Napoleon retired into his tent, his last words to Murat were: "To-morrow at five, the sun of Austerlitz!" The next morning the Russians were gone. Nothing had been left behind but their smoldering watch-fires. Murat's skirmishers, rid- ing far in advance, could not determine whether Napoleon the Russian army had taken the road to Moscow or pointed that to St. Petersburg. Baffled in their hopes of a decisive conflict, the French marshals fell to quarrelling among themselves, while their various commands became an unwieldy mass, as difficult to move as to keep on its feet. The transport service fell into confusion, and the suffering ofFrpnch sufferings the soldiers grew in proportion. Among the allied '"^^'■ease Germans and Austrians the officers and men alike showerl such apathy that they could scarcely be reckoned upon for the prompt execution of any 424 A HISTORY OF THE July 18« movement. While Napoleon's army was thus coiled up at Vitepsk, the Russians executed their retreat to Smolensk without molestation. At last Emperor Alexander had been induced to leave his army, where the memories of Aus- terlitz counted against him, and hastened to Mos- cow to arouse his nobles there. On July 27, they were all summoned to a banquet at the Impe- rial palace, and, toasting their Emperor unani- mously, voted to raise and equip at their own RusMa*^ expense a levy of every tenth man in the popula- tion. The merchants contributed two million rou- bles on the spot. Amid the burst of enthusiasm that followed the proposal, Alexander swore on his sword that he would "exhaust the last re- sources of the crown rather than give in." Thus the opoltchenye, a powerful reserve of bearded peasants, was created in sixteen interior provinces of the vast empire, while the Russian army at the front, falling back step by step, was steadily draw- ing the invaders further away from their supplies. Wise as this policy proved in the event, the fSfiu!^" continued retreat of Barclay exasperated most Rus- Barciay sians at home and many of the young hot heads serving in the army. The feeling among his offi- cers grew so that Barclay at last detached Witt- genstein with 25,000 men to make an offensive movement on the Doina, while Tormasov, on the other flank, was permitted to demonstrate against the Austrians and Germans under Schwarzenberg and Reynier. Kutusov, commanding Wittgenstein's vanguard, got into action with Oudinot's corps oa 1812 Aug-. NINETEENTH CENTURY 425 the last day of July. In spite of heavy losses he held out until heavily reinforced and then sue- fife pri^a ceeded in throwing Oiidinot back over the river Drissa. Four thousand Frenchmen fell in the fight. At the same time Tormasov, finding Schwarzen- berg unwilling to do anything serious, fell upon the Saxon corps stationed at Kobrien and captured ^or- a whole brigade of Reynier's best troops, This^''^'^'"'^ double disaster so weakened Napoleon's ends that he had to deprive himself of his reserves to strengthen his flanks. Yet Barclay continued to draw in his front and fell steadily back until he succeeded in effecting a junction with Bagration's Russian corps of 40,000 men at Smolensk. Here the Rus- jom forces sians resolved to make a stand. On August 8, a determined attack was made on the French right wing under Murat, but only a drawn fight ensued. Napoleon responded in force. Within a week, he suddenly pushed 200,000 of his men over the Dniepr and thus entered the soil of Old Russia. Napoleon r crosses the The Russians promptly fell back on Smolensk. '^"'«p'' The French vanguard under Murat and Ney over- took the Russian rearguard under General Neverov- skoi. Murat sent eighteen cavalry regiments to de- tach and capture the slow moving column of Russian infantry, but though outmatched three to one, the Russians, marching in square formation, withstood Neverov. assault after assault and fought their way through ^eat '^"* to Korytnia. This fight is cherished as one of the proudest traditions of the Russian army. It lasted all day, and during its course forty distinct cavalry- attacks were launched against the column by Murat. 426 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1813 Neverovskoi lost 1,100 men and five guns, more than one-iifth of his force, but he reached Korytnia with unbroken ranks, and the next day joined forces with 12,000 men under Raeffskoi and so succeeded in gaining Smolensk. The two generals threw themselves into the old town, resolved to hold it Russian Imoiensic ^^^i^ ^^^ ^^^^ extremity. The next day Napoleon drew up before the city with the main body of the army. Marshal Ney, leading the first corps, tried to take the place by assault, but was repulsed with great loss. While the fight was on, the Russian main column under Barclay arrived and regained Smolensk from the rear. Napoleon now felt sure of his prey and ordered a general assault on the morrow. Barclay, realizing the weakness of his position and the danger of being cut off entirely from his rear, ordered Bagration and the main army to quit the city under cover of the night, while he remained with a rearguard of 25,000 to hold the enemy in check. The next day Napoleon, as yet unaware that he had been foiled once more, assailed Smo- lensk with his whole army, but the Russians fought so well that the fight lasted all day. At seven in the evening Napoleon at last gave up the attempt for that day, having lost 15,000 men. Of the Rus- tZ^Telid '^'^°« nearly 10,000 had fallen. Too weak to face another day of such frightful losses, Barclay during the night set fire to the ancient city and retired in safety from the flaming citadel with all his wounded and the town refugees. When Davoust with his vanguard scaled the smoking ramparts at three S8i3Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 427 in the morning they found all the magazines and stores destroyed, the bridges over the Dniepr broken down, with nothing of value left behind save the brass cannons mounted on the outer for- tifications. Napoleon, bound to bring his elusive enemy to bay, drove his army headlong in quick pursuit. During the same day Ney's cavalry overtook Bar-Battieof clay with his rearguard at Yalentina. Undismayed by his strong position, Ney attacked the enemy along the whole fighting line. The losses of the French were fearful, but they kept up the fight until their main body came up and the engagement became general. The Eussians, thanks to reinforcements from Bagration's main column, stood their ground, and thus effectually covered their comrades' retreat. During the night they once more made good their frelfma^e own retreat. When Napoleon advanced to renew ^^'^"'^^ the attack next morning he found nothing but a desolate battlefield strewn with 15,000 dead and dying men from both armies. In front of Politsk, during these same days, another Russian corps under Wittgenstein fought two similar rearguard engagements against Oudinot's corps and a divi- sion of Bavarians, after which Wittgenstein, too, retreated further into the interior. Adam, the military artist, who accompanied the French general staff into Russia, has left a series of drawings which give a vivid idea of the depress- ing character of this campaign. The country was,,. . r ^ J Miseries of ravaged, the harvests trampled down, the wretched paTga*™' isbas of the moujiks in ashes. The carcasses of 428 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1812 thousands of dead horses and half-buried bodies of men infected the air, and broken-down wagons and caissons obstructed the roads. Typhus fever phlCrof^ and dysentery raged among the men and turned the French . ' i -rr the military hospitals at Vilna and Vitepsk into vast charnel houses. Already the war, barren of glory as it was, had cost the army one-third of its original number. The total results of a week's protracted fighting since the middle of August, were 21,000 corpses and the smoking ruins of a deserted city. Napoleon, though face to face with disaster, yet trusted to some conclusive masterstroke: "The condition of the army," said he, "is fright* Napoleon's , ^i -^ a^-TTi u if . i comment tul; 1 kuow it. At Vilna, one-half were stragglers; now, they amount to two-thirds: there is not a mo- ment to lose: we must grasp at peace, and it can be found only at Moscow. Besides, the state of the army is such as to render a halt impossible; con- stant advance alone keeps it together; you may lead it forward, but you cannot arrest its inove- msnt. We have advanced too far to retreat. If 1 liad only military glory in view, I should have nothing to do but return to Sniolensko, and extend my wings on either side, so as to crush Wittgenstein and TormasoflE. These operations would be bril- liant: they would form a glorious termination to the campaign; but they would not conclude the war. Peace is before us; we have to march only eight days to obtain it: when we are so near our object, it is impossible to deliberate. Let us ad- vance to Moscow." Advance Qn Auffust 22, Napoleon set out from Smolensk on Moacow ~ ' r on his march to Moscow. At St. Petersburg the 1812 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 429 feeling of dismay at the enemy's steady approach on the sacred city had reached such a pitch that Stein, Emperor Alexander's best counsellor during these gloomy days, found himself unable to main- tain Barclay de Tolly in chief command. Of f or- g;;^°[|J eign extraction, like Stein himself, the crafty Scotch general was execrated by the Slav party at court and in the army. He had to give way to Kutu- sov, the septuagenarian soldier, notorious for his pronounced Muscovite traits. Kutusov took charge at Gyatsk and soon bid a^"*"^^'' »-j '^ assumes halt to the general retreat at Borodino. This was*^***'^® on the second day of September. Redoubts and trenches were thrown up and everything prepared for a strong stand. The Russians mustered 121,- 000 men, many of whom were Opoltchenye militia or raw recruits that had never been under fire. Within four days the French column came up. Murat's vanguard immediately threw themselves upon the first line of Russian redoubts, the Che- varadino, held by twelve thousand under Gort- shakoff. After severe fighting the redoubt was stand at Borodiufi carried at nightfall and the Russians fell back on their second line of defences, the Raevsky battery between the Red Mount and the village of Boro- dino. Deep silence reigned in the Russian camp on the eve of battle; religious fervor and patriotic fury inflamed all hearts; they passed the night con- fessing and communing; they put on white shirts as if for a wedding. In the morning 100,000 were blessed on their knees and sprinkled with holy water by their priests. The eikou of the Virgin 430 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 18I3 of St. Vladimir, rescued from Smolensk, was car- ried around among the troops. Napoleon next morning was elated to find the Russians still drawn up in the line of battle. The French officers and soldiers shared his enthusiasm; and even to the wearied allies the prospect of battle appeared to bring relief. At sunrise Napoleon, ap- Battieof pealing for the last time to his "sun of Austerlitz," Borodino ^ ° ' ordered all the bugles and drums along the French battle front to sound for the charge. The French ar- tillery posted on an eminence behind the vanguard, opened fire. Under cover of this, the French right under Davoust charged into the Russian left, where three little redoubts were held by Bagration. Da- voust went down with his horse at the first shock. Generals Rapp and Campans were likewise struck down. When Rapp, wounded for the twenty-sec- ond time, was carried past Napoleon, the Emperor said impatiently: "Always Rapp I" After a hot hand to hand fight, the French, with superb dash, succeeded in taking the second line of redoubts, but were almost immediately dislodged by the Russian reserves brought up by Bagration. Ney now threw himself into the fight with his entire corps and re- took the redoubt, but Kutusov, seeing his left wing shaken, threw Baggovud's corps over from his right, and thus once more made himself master of the po- sition. Ney returned to the attack again and i>.gain, but after a most stubborn fight of several hours, found himself constrained to send for help to the Emperor's headquarters. The officers of the Old Guard clamored to be sent, but the Emperor re- 1812 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 431 fused them: *'Eight hundred leagues from France I will not risk my last reserve." Instead he or- dered up the Young Guard. A column of three full army corps thus combined advanced to the attack led by Mey and Davoust. The Eussian batteries concentrated their fire on this mass. The French ranks were mowed down in platoons. W hen they still persevered, Bagration, staking all on this end of the battle, ordered his entire left wing out of the trenches and charged them into the French flank. He himself led the charge, and fell, mortally wounded, at the head of his troops. Bagration For more than an hour the battle was carried on with the utmost fury until nearly 80,000 troops on both sides were engaged in it. Only when the Russian centre under Barclay began to give way at Borodino and on the Red Mount, under re- peated charges of the cuirassiers and a final bay- onet charge of the Old Guard, did the Russians yield the battle. Fighting still, they withdrew slowly to a strong position behind the ravine of Semenevskoy at Psarevo. There they resolutely held their ground. "Napoleon," says General Brandt's " 1. T J descnptioE Brandt, in his memoirs, "had succeeded, but at what a price! The great redoubt and its sur- roundings offered a spectacle which surpassed the worst horrors that could be dreamed of. The ditches, the fosses, the very interior of the out- works had disappeared beneath a hill of dead and dying, six or eight men deep heaped one upon another." In this terrible battle the total casualties aggre- 432 A HISTORY OF TtSE Sept. 1818 gated Dearly one hundred thousand. In the ^^°^ French bulletins it was designated as the battle of the Moscova. The Kussians know it as the battle of Borodino. There, in Tolstoi's pregnant phrase, "the beast was wounded to the death." The French lost 12,000 killed and 38,000 wounded. Among the killed was one of the Caulaincourts who led the cuirassier charge, and Montbrun, while Da- voust, Kapp, and Uampans were severely wounded. The Kussians lost 15,000 killed, 30,000 wounded and 2,000 prisoners. Among the dead were Kou- taisov and the two Tutshkovs. The loss of brave Bagration was felt the most, reire^i" ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ such frightful losses Kutusov, resumed j^eeding the counsels of Barclay, resumed the re- treat toward Moscow, nor did he bid a halt until half a league in front of that city. On September 15, the Kussian generals held a council of war on the hill of Fily, which overhangs Moscow, and de- termined in the end to abandon the ancient city to its fate. Bennigsen, Ostermann, and Prince Eugene of Wartemberg were in favor of a last battle, but Barclay declared that after all Moscow was "only a city like any other." Kutusov, after listening to all, said: "Here my head, be it good or bad, must decide. We will retreat." In justification of this tragic measure Kutusov wrote to the Qzdr that "it was indispensable to preserve the army until the abauuouod new levies could be brought up, and, moreover, that it would lead the enemy into a snare where his destruction would be inevitable. ' ' The next day the Russian army defiled sorrow* 1812 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 433 fully through the streets of Moscow, and marched for Kolomna, followed by an endless train of 300,- 000 refugees from the city. During the forenoon of the same day the advance columns of the French came within sight of the sacred city. As they be- Arrival of held the rays of the sun glinting from the golden dome of the Kremlin and descried the many mina- rets of the old Kussian metropolis, the soldiers broke into a jubilant shout: "Moscow!" Napo- leon himself drew rein on an eminence to exclaim: "Here is the famous city at last!" But he added immediately: "It was high time." When the French entered the city they marched through silent streets and found deserted quarters. No one appeared to present the keys of the city, and Napoleon asked impatiently, "Where are the Boyars?" On the great red staircase of the Im- perial Kremlin palace he waited until late in the evening before Mortier's provost guards succeeded in getting together a deputation of nondescripts to present their submission. The next day, Septem- ber 15, when the bulk of the French army had been quartered in the city, fire broke out in dif- ferent parts of Moscow. No fire pumps were to incendiary be found. Many incendiaries were caught red- handed and were shot by the soldiers. No less than four hundred were court-martialed. At raid- night the windows of the Kremlin were lighted op by flames leaping from the roof of the Governor's palace. Prince Rastopshin, a true Muscovite, com-^^^^^ _ bining the polish of a European with the savagery ^'^^'^'^ p*^ of a Tartar, had the torch put to his own palace. XlXth Century— Yol. 1—19 434 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. i8ia At the same time he ordered Voronenko to set fire to the public stores of vodka and oil. Withal he took pains to spread the report that the fire was the work of the foreign invaders. As he grimly put it in his curious memoir, "The Truth About the Burning of Moscow": "It was an event which I had prepared, but I contented myself with inflam- "The truth ing the spirits of men." On the iron door of hia burningr of splcudid couutry seat at Vorovono, Prince Eastop- shin wrote: "For eight years I have lived happy here with my family. Frenchmen, at your ap- proach, I set fire to my house, lest it be polluted by your presence. I have also given you ray two houses in Moscow worth half a million of rubles. You will find nothing but ashes." A veering wind spread the conflagration in Mos- cow. By the next morning the Tartar quarter, the "white town" and parts of the suburbs or "laud Fre ^ Kenera.r towu," Were a sea of fire. Napoleon's guards worked hard to save the Kremlin, but at last the danger became too imminent and the Emperor had to abandon the palace. With some difficulty he made his way through the burning city to the Czar's summer palace at Petrovski. For four days the fire raged unabated, until by September 20 only one-tenth of the city's houses were left untouched. The news of the burning of the sacred city The peas- aroused the mass of Russian peasants to a state furiated of blind fury against the French invaders. The moujiks fell on foraging parties or single marau- ders and killed them with pitchforks. In the 1812 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 435 single district of Porovsk 3,500 soldiers were thus slain. Guerilla war broke out wherever the French pitched their camps. The Czar, in St. Petersburg, exclaimed: "Now we shall make war in earnest." As if in token of these words the Russian com- Russians manders at Kolomna, wheeling their divisions offensive around the French outposts, assumed an offensive position at Tarutino — a masterly move which served to secure them reinforcements and supplies from the richest provinces of the empire, while at the same time it threatened the enemy's communications. Hordes of Cossacks skirmished in close vicinity of Moscow. At a loss what to do next, Napoleon bivouacked his army on the barren ground of what was left of Moscow, and waited for the Russians to give some sign of surrender. While he thus lost time his fate was accomplished in other quarters of the world. The burden cast upon England by the maritime war with America, which had already cost the British navy some of her best cruisers, made the new Ministry the more anxious to profit by Napo- leon's troubles in Russia. After Wellington had taken the last French stronghold on the Portuguese frontier, Marmont, cut off from Soult's forces in Andalusia, found his position very precarious. In response to his appeals. Napoleon wrote from the French re- north: "You grumble about distances and the lack Spain of food. 1 have in Russia very different distances to go over, and very different difficulties to over- come to feed my soldiers. Eh bien, we must do as we can." Marmont was forced back from the 436 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1818 Tagus after General Hill with 15,000 men had taken the bridge of Almarez, Unable to resist Welling- ton's march on Salamanca, Marmont withdrew first Salamanca ^^y^^*-^ ^^^ Tormes and then to the Douro. On stormed j^^^ 28, Wellington, after a hot fight, stormed Salamanca. An Anglo-Sicilian army worried Mar- shal Suchet in Catalonia, and an English squad- ron, cruising On the Bay of Biscay, threatened the provinces of the north with a disembarkation. The siege of Cadiz had to be raised by the French, and Andalusia was evacuated. Marmont resolved to siefreof make a bold stroke. He crossed the Douro and Cadiz raised met the Steady advance of the British by a counter advance upon Salamanca. After a series of well- fought skirmishes on July 22, Marmont took up a strong position opposite the hills of Arapilez, one league from Salamanca. The battle had barely begun when Marmont, perceiving weakness at the British right end, detached his left wing to out- flank the enemy. Wellington, from the height of Arapilez, caught sight of the widening gap be- tween Marmont's centre and his left, and exclaimed joyfully to the Duke of Alava: "Behold, I have Battle of them: Marmont is lost." The whole of the British Salamanca . . main column was driven like a wedge into the gap and the French arniy was cut in two. General Maucune, commanding the French left, turned columns and bravely fought his way back to the village of Arapilez, but the French centre suc- cumbed to the shock. While trying to save the day Marmont was wounded, and so was Bennet, bis successor in command. Young General Clausel, 1812 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 4^17 who next took charge, found the odds too heavy against him and ordered a retreat. The loss of the French had been 14,000, whereas the allies lost 5,600 men. Eeturning in good order, Clausel led his troops over the Douro, and fell back on Burgos. He was joined there by King Joseph and 13,000 men. It was too late. The campaign was over — lost to France. At the continued approach of the British, King Joseph retreated first to the capital. Even Madrid had to be given up to retire to Valencia. Welling- |(^^(fHat« ton triumphantly entered Madrid on August 12, Only after Soult and Jourdan had joined forces with Joseph and Marmont were the French able to regain control of Madrid, but so acute was the dis- cord between the French commanders, that they failed to bring their united columns to bear, either on Wellington's main army, operating before Bur- gos, or on Hill's detached corps, which might have been cut off. The concentration of the three great French armies in Spain remained without result. Great Britain's war with America, during the interval, had grown to serious proportions. The American navy, when the war of 1812 broke out, ^an war"* was but poorly prepared for service. The "Con- stitution," "Chesapeake" and "John Adams" were not ready for sea service. The only vessels avail- able were placed under the command of Com- modore Rodgers. They were the "President," "United States," "Commodore Decatur," "Con- gress," "Constellation" and "Argus." The Brit- ish ships stationed on the North Atlantic coast 438 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 181» were neither many nor formidable. Their squad- ron in all numbered eight sail-o'-the-line and frig- ates bearing a total armament of 312 guns, not counting those mounted on the smaller corvettes and sloops-o'-war. Yet they were sufficient to render hopeless any naval attempt at Canada or the British West Indies. The war on sea, as it turned out, was fought as a series of single naval encounters — ship against ship — where all depended on individual seamanship and straight shooting. Three days after the declaration of war Commo- dore Rodgers sailed out of New York harbor with his squadron. He reached Jamaica on June 23. Soon a sail was discovered, which proved to be the The "Preai- English "Blandina" with thirty-six guns. Rodgers dent" ° J & o ^Bian-*^^ himself fired the first gun. The first three shots '*^*' were seen to do much damage. Then a gun on the "President's" main deck blew up, killing and wounding sixteen Americans, among them Com- modore Rodgers. The "President" now bore up and fired her first broadside, but only injured the "Blandina's" rigging while sustaining a galling fire. Twice after that the "President" repeated these tactics, but the "Blandina" succeeded in wearing away and by midnight had run beyond danger. The chase took the "President" far out of her course, and so it came that the American squadron turned up at the Newfoundland banks early in July, cruising thence eastward nearly to the English Channel. Thence they returned to Boston. They had made seven prizes and suc- ceeded in retaking one American vessel. 1832 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 439 On July 23, the "Essex," Captain David Porter, insufficiently armed, set sail from New York. Ono/The'^ Jaly 11 she fell in with the "Minerva," then act- ing as a convoy to seven transports with 1,400 troops bound for Quebec. The "Essex" ran in and took one transport with 200 soldiers, but the captain of the "Minerva," by skilful manoeuvring, kept in close touch with his other transports. Among the youngest midshipmen on the "Essex" was D. G. Far- ragut, then thirteen years old. He wrote in a letter home that the crew of the "Essex" had been so thoroughly trained as boarders that every man was prepared for such an exploit, with cutlasses ground to razor edge, boarding pistols, and dirks made out of files. On August 13, the "Essex" fell in with the British ship "Alert." Captain Porter handled the "Essex" in such a manner that the enemy was led to believe that he was trying to escape. Pass- ing under the stern of the "Essex," the "Alert" sent in a broadside, doing no damage. Thereupon Captain Porter opened with all his guns. In less capture of the than ten minutes the "Alert" struck her colors, "•^lerf was boarded, and had her crew disarmed. On September 7, the "Essex" returned to New York, having r&ade ten prizes. The British frigate "Blandina," on escaping from Rodgers, carried the news of the war to Hali- fax. On July 5, Vice- Admiral Savage despatched a British squadron on a cruise for American ves- sels. It was commanded by Captain Broke of the "Shannon" with thirty-eight guns, and included the "Belvidera," thirty-six, the "Africa," thirty- 440 A HISTORY OF THE July 18ia four, and the "tKoIus," thirtj-two guns. After capturing the "Nautilus" on July 16, when the fleet was four leagues off Barnegat, they discovered The "Con- *^® frigate "Constitution," Captain Hull command- to action' ii^g- She had four hundred and fifty men who were all new to the service. At 7.30 p.m., the "Consti- tution," having sighted the five sail of the enemy, beat to action and signals were exchanged for an hour with the "Guerri^re." Early next morning the captain of the "Guerri^re, " sighting the "Bel- videra" and other British ships in the offing, came to the conclusion that they were Commodore Rod- gers' squadron and stood away from the "Constitu- tion" before discovering his mistake. At five in the morning the "Constitution" had on her lee quarter two of the enemy's ships with three more astern. The sea was calm and both the American and British ships were towing. The "Shannon" gained, but, thanks to the handling of Hull, the American frigate glided away. Shortly after nine in the morning Hull cleared for action. About this time the "Guerridre," recognizing her ene- mies, opened fire, but her shots fell short. At two in the afternoon Captain Byron on the "Bel- videra" got near enough to the "Constitution" to exchange shots with her. Hull expected to be overtaken and had prepared to disable the first frigate before her consorts should close with him. All through the afternoon and evening the nearest British frigate kept on towing barely out of gun- shot. Next morning early, the "Belvidera," forg- ing ahead off the "Constitution's" lee, tacked to I 1812 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 441 the eastward, compelling the "Constitution" to do likewise. By this time the five British frigates were all on the eastward tack with all canvas out. At noon Hull had dropped his pursuers from two to five miles behind. Near sundown Hull, taking advantage of a threatening rainstorm, bore contest^ away, and thus made good his escape from an over- whelming force after an exciting three days' chase. It was a bloodless encounter, but the honors for superior seamanship, so highly prized by British sailors, fell to America. . On August 2, the "Constitution" stood out of Boston Harbor again and headed for Cape Eace. Having turned southward. Captain Hull, on Au- gust 19, made out a large sail which proved to be the "Guerri^re." The English ship opened fire. For a full hour the two big ships exchanged broad- sides. By six o'clock they came within half pistol shot and raked one another's decks with a furious cannonade. After twenty minutes of this murder- ous fire the "Guerri^re's" mizzen mast came down. Then the ships got foul of each other and the Americans attempted to board. Captain Dacres of the "Guerri^re" was severely wounded. At last the "Guerri^re" got clear, but the loss of her main- mast and foremast left her a defenceless hulk. At i'Constitu- seven in the evening the English ship struck her the "olTer- colors. Out of the crew of 272 men, the "Guer- ri^re" lost 23 killed and 56 wounded. The ship itself was sinking and had to be blown up by Cap- tain Hull, who forthwith returned to Boston to re- pair his badly battered ship. 442 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1812 The career of the "Wasp," an American sloop "Wasp's" of eighteen guns, commanded by Captain Jack career Jones, was brief and brilliant. Her first opponent was the "Frolic," a sloop-o'-war of one hundred feet. They ran parallel, sixty yards apart, for fifteen minutes. Drawing closer, they at last ran foul. The "Wasp" crossed the "Frolic's" bow. Her crew then clambered over the bowsprit of the "Frolic" and found only twenty survivors aboard her. Of the "Wasp's" crew but ten had fallen. The fight was won by superior marksmanship. Be- fore the smoke of the guns had cleared away, the British ship "Poictiers," of seventy-four guns, came up, and, capturing both, took them as prizes to Bermuda. Rodgers and Decatur sailed from Boston on Oc- tober 8 with the frigates "President," "United States," "Congress" and "Argus." Rodgers, with two of these vessels, cruised far and wide. The "Argus" in particular made valuable prizes and escaped from a British squadron by excellent manoeuvring. Decatur in the "United States" sailed eastward, and when near the Azores sighted a sail. It turned out to be the British man-o'-war "Macedonian," with thirty-eight guns. The En- glishman came too close and was badly handled by Decatur a raking fire that cut her rigging to pieces. After captures the "Mace- a numbcr of her eruns had been dismounted she donian o surrendered. Decatur apologized for the length of time spent in forcing the surrender, "by reason of a rough sea and the enemy's reluctance to come to closer quarters." The "Macedonian" was the 1812 Oct. NINETEENTH CENl'URY 443 only British man-o'-war brought in as a prize to an American port. Before the year closed the "Constitution" took another cruise. She sailed October 26, with Bain- bridge in command, in company with the "Hor- net." By the middle of November she went into • port at San Salvador. There she left the "Hor- net," and soon after sighted the British frigate "Jena," of the same tonnage as the "Guerriere," with a crew of 426 men. Early in the afternoon the "Constitution" came within pistol shot, and ten minutes later the two ships were foul. There- after the conflict was a slaughter. In fifteen tion" de- ' feats the minutes the "Jena's" rigging was cut to pieces. "J^°*" At four in the afternoon she ceased firing. Her captain was mortally wounded, 48 of her men lay dead and 102 were wounded. The "Constitution" lost only 12 men with 22 wounded. Thus ended the first year of the naval war be- tween the United States and England. The com- merce of the United States had suffered almost total destruction. The contest so far hung not so much on the losses which were inflicted on Eng- land, as on those which the people of the United Results of ^ ^ naval war States could sustain. On land the American opera- tions contrasted dismally with the brilliant exploits won at sea. One w '^ek after the declaration of war the Ameri- can army was fixed at twenty-five regiments of infantry, four of artillery and two of dragoons — quaking 36,700 men. The actual force was only 10,000, of whom nearly half were recruits. 444 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1812 Detroit claimed early attention. It was within gunshot of British territory and was surrounded by hostile Indians. William Hull, the Governor of Land oper- -■ . i • c i ations Michigan, advised an increase of the naval force on Lake Erie. General Dearborn, of Boston, was given a command on the Ontario and St. Lawrence. Hull set out in the spring of 1812, having no under- standing with Dearborn or the Secretary of War. The force destined for Detroit consisted of 1,500 men, and they were joined in June by 1,000 more men. Hull took command. Detroit was two hun- dred miles away, and the little army had to cut its way through wild forests and over unbridged rivers. Late in June, when he had advanced seventy-five miles, Hull received a despatch from Secretary Eustis "urging haste, and he left his camp equi- page behind and hurried to the Maumee River, thirty-five miles away. There he despatched his personal effects, including his papers, in a schooner, and within twenty-four hours received a despatch announcing the declaration of war. On the same Hull day the schooner was seized by the British. Hull invades Canada reached Detroit on July 5. The fort was a square inclosure of two acres, but did not command the river. The people of the territory numbered about 5,000, while the town itself contained 800 souls. On July 9, Hull received orders to invade Canada, and on the 12th he crossed the river. Meanwhile Dearborn at Albany and Boston wasted time with details for two months. On June 22, he received news of the declaration of war. On July 9, he received orders to engage the iai2 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 445 enemy on Lake Champlain, at the same time that fl nil's army crossed into Canada and challenged the British forces on the lakes. On July 19 and 24, American detachments were driven in by tbe British. Then came news that Mackinaw had sur- t^tlY^ rendered, and that the Indians were gathering to fall on Detroit. Upper Canada from Detroit to Ottawa contained 80,000 people. The political capital was York (now Toronto) on Lake Ontario. The British civil and military commander was Brock. He was a man of unusual power and of military training. During the winter vessels had been armed on Lake Erie, giving him command of the inland waters to Detroit. Hull's passage of the Detroit, on July 12, showed Brock where the first blow was to be struck. Brock's energy at once burst forth; he sent to Amherstburg all the force possible, and he ordered the seizure of Mack- British activity inaw. On August 6, he left for Lake Erie. Secure at Niagara, he took 300 picked men and coasted up to Detroit River. Early in August, Hull awoke to the dangers of the situation. He made arrange- ments to send 1,000 men to the relief of Niagara. Alliance On August 15, Brock held a council at which there dians were 1,000 Indians. "Among them," he said, "I found some extraor- dinary characters. He who attracted most my at- ' tention was a Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, brother to the prophet who the last two years had carried on an active warfare, contrary to our remonstrances, against the United States. A more sagacious and active man does not, 1 believe, exist." 446 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1812 At noon on August 15, Hull was summoned to surrender and refused. Brock instantly ordered two armed vessels to move up the river, while a battery opened fire from the Canadian shore. During the night Tecumseh, with 600 Indians, crossed the river two miles below and cut off communication between the fort and McArthur and Cass. Brock crossed before daybreak. He came to close quarters within three-quarters of a mile of the American 24-pounders. Nothing but the boldness of the enterprise rendered suc- cess possible. Brock formed his column for as- sault. The ships were firing into the fort. On the American side two companies of Michigan Capituia- men deserted, and Hull sent a flag to surren- tion of Detroit (Jer. The capitulation included McArthur and Cass. "The treachery and cowardice of Hull, like that of Arnold, cannot be a matter of blame to our government," wrote Jefferson to Lewis Cass on learning the story. At the same time Fort Dearborn in Chicago was in flames. Hull had ordered it evacuated, and on August MasM,cre 15^ i]r^Q garrison was attacked and murdered by Dearborn ^ ^SLTge hodj of Indians. With it went the last vestige of American authority on the lakes. Lake Erie was lost to the Americans; but on Lake Ontario new supplies and troops were gath- ered, the ships were moved to Sackett's Harbor and became the nucleus of a fleet. On the night of October 8, Lieutenant Elliott of the navy, with one hundred men, cut out two British vessels under the guns of Fort Erie, Van Rensselaer formed a 1812 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 447 plan for a double attack, a part of which was to land boats in the rear of Fort George. He wasfS**' successful. Captain Wood with a few hundred ^^^^ men climbed up an obscure path and found them- selves thirty yards in the rear of a battery, from which Brock was watching the contest below. While leading the subsequent attack "Wood was killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott volun- teered to take command of Wood's forlorn hope. At two o'clock a scarlet line of British was seen advancing from Fort George, with a thousand Indians against the six hundred Americans on Death of the heights. The Americans were cut up. Gen- Brock eral Brock was killed in the action. Several hun- dred surrendered; the rest were scalped. Scott and his followers were pushed down to the river. Scott saved his life only by fighting his way through the Indians into the British lines. The burden of defending the border between the Ohio and the lakes fell on Ohio, with its quarter of a million of people, and Kentucky, with its four hundred thousand. Harrison's ambition drew him to lead a new crusade for the recovery of Detroit. Harrison'* Under the immediate advice of Henry Clay andfh"§o/th- others, he was given command and proceeded to organize a campaign. The news of Hull's surrender reached him at Frankfort. He was swept on far beyond where he thought it prudent to go by the current of Western enthusiasm. The President and Cabinet decided to give him the command of the Army of the Northwest with ten thousand men. On September 27, he announced his plan of cam- 448 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1818 paign, which was to concentrate at Maumee Rapids and to have 2,000 Kentucky militia destroy the In- dian settlements. But he found himself unable either to advance or to retreat. He passed weeks searching in vain over two hundred miles of dry ridges. Throughout October and November his army stood still. Late in 1812, Harrison wrote to Monroe that Maiden, rather than Detroit, should be the point of attack. An ill-conceived raid into Dearborn's invasion of Canada, led by General Dearborn, turned out an utter fiasco. The American troops fired into each other, and then beat a precipitate retreat. The Army of the North went into winter quarters; thus bringing to a close the American land campaign for that year. Napoleon Napolcou, in Moscow, for some time nursed the in Moscow i ' ' illusion that the fall of the ancient Russian capital would be followed by a speedy peace. In his ex- tremity he did not hesitate to make the first over- tures. On September 20 he wrote to the Czar: His over- ' ' M Y BROTHER : Having learned that the brother of tu res for _ -i-ir- i-»»-- »r -^ peace youi" Imperial Majesty s Minister was at Moscow, I sent for him and had some conversation with him. I requested him to wait upon your Majesty and acquaint you with my sentiments. The handsome and superb city of Moscow no longer exists. Ros- topchin has had it burned. Four hundred incen- diaries were taken in the act; and having all declared that they had lighted the fire by order of that governor and the director of police, they were shot. The fire at last seems to have ceased. Three-fourths of the houses are burned, 1812 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 449 and one-fourth remain. Such conduct is atro- cious, and serves no purpose. It is the proce- dure followed since Sniolensko, and it has reduced 600,000 families to beggary. Humanity, the in- terests of your Majesty and this great city, de- manded that it should have been intrusted to my keeping, since it was deserted by the Russian army. They ought to have left administrations, magistrates, and civil guards. That is what was done at Vienna twice, at Berlin and Madrid; and what we have ourselves done at Milan, when Souvarov entered If I thought such things were done by your Maj esty's orders, I should not write you this letter but I consider it impossible that, with your prin ciples, heart, and sense of justice, you have au thorized such excesses, unworthy of a great sov ereign and a great nation. "I made war upon your Majesty without ani- mosity. A letter from you before or after the last battle would have stopped my march, and I should have been ready to forego the advantage of entering Moscow. If your Majesty still retains aught of your former sentiments, you will take this letter in good part. In any case, you must feel indebted to me for giving an account of what is taking place in Moscow." By the advice of Stein, Emperor Alexander sent Napoieon'a •^ *^ letter un- no reply to this letter. Romantzov, who repre- answered sented the peace party in the Czar's councils, was dismissed and Nesselrode took his place. Stein wrote to Bernadotte, who, by this time, unreserv- edly cast the lot of Sweden with that of Russia: "After the wound of Moscow all our previous re- stein's comment verses are but mere scratches. Now, more than ever, shall we fight it out to the bitter end. Rather 4o0 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1819 be buried under the ruins of the empire than come to terms with this new Attila!" After waiting several weel^s in ill-concealed anx- iety, Napoleon despatched Lauriston to Kutusov's J^^Hg'^ajjg headquarters. Lauriston's obvious errand was to ®"*° arrange for the exchange of prisoners. Inciden- tally he was to bring up the topic of a possible peace, and thus smooth the way for it. Succeed- ing in this, he was authorized to ask for passports to St. Petersburg, there to conclude the final peace negotiation. Kutusov craftly detained Lauriston until he could get word to St. Petersburg. In the meanwhile he replied that the word "peace" figured nowise in his instructions, nor did he feel free to conclude even an armistice. By way of em- phasizing this determination. Prince Kurakin cap- tured the French convoys on the way to Smolensk, while Dorokhov, with his Cossacks, took the French stores at Vereiya by assault. Altogether the Cos- sacks, forever hovering about the French outposts, made no less than 15,000 prisoners. The most seri- ofthe ous Russian move during this period was the iunc- Cossacks D I J tion of the Army of the Danube under Admiral Tchitchakov, with Tormasov's corps on the Styr, and the accession to the Russian ranks of Platov's twenty-one fresh Cossack regiments, recruited from the Don. At last Prince Volkonsky arrived at Kutusov's headquarters with this answer from Alexander: "All the advices which you have received from me, all the determinations expressed in the orders addressed to you by me — everything ought to con- 1812 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 451 vince you that my resolution is immovable. At the present moment no proposal of the enemy can make ^^^^^°^er me think of ending the war. I shall not fail in the ^a"" sacred duty of avenging our outraged country." Before this defiance could be communicated to the French Emperor in Moscow Napoleon had already realized that the game was up. On October 13, came the first snowfall. To Napoleon and his veterans it recalled the horrors of their first winter campaign in Poland. Within an hour Napoleon gave his or- ^Icuate ders for the evacuation of Moscow. The advance columns had scarcely got to the valley of Yinkovo when they were attacked by the Cossacks, supported by Bennigsen's infantry. They came within an ace Battle of , 1 . Ill n- f 1 • Vinkovo of being surrounded and cut on from the mam army. Only the splendid dash of Murat and Poni- atovski's Polish lancers saved the French from this disaster. As it was, they lost 1,500 men, 3,000 horses and 38 guns. The leader of the Russian at- tack, General Baggovud, was killed in the first on- SSgovud slaught. Within two days after this misfortune Napoleon left Moscow with 107,000 men, 15,000 horses and 605 guns, ostensibly "for the pursuit of the enemy." The bitterness of his resentment resent" ment found expression in these final orders to Mortier, the Governor of Moscow: "The Duke of Trevisa will put on march, to-mor- row at daybreak, all the tired and lame soldiers of the corps of Prince Eckmiihl and the viceroy, of the foot cavalry, and the Young Guard, and to direct the whole upon Mojaisk. On the 22d or 23d, at two o'clock in the morning, he will set fire to the 452 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1812 brandy storehouse, the barracks, and the public buildings, except the Foundling Hospital. He will have the palace of the Kremlin set on fire. He will take care that all the guns are broken into pieces, that powder is placed under the tow- ers of the Kremlin, that all the gun-carriages are broken, as well as the wagon wheels. "When these orders are attended to, and the Kremlin is on fire in several places, the duke will leave the Kremlin, and advance on the Mojaisk tiofof'^' ^'oad. At four o'clock, the ofiicer of artillery ap- paTace" pointed to that duty will blow up the Kremlin, ac- cording to instructions, "On the march he will burn all carriages left be- hind, use every endeavor to bury all the dead, and burn all the muskets he can find. On reaching the Gallitzin Palace, he will take the Spanish and Bava- rians stationed there, and put fire to the ammuni- tion wagons, and everything which cannot be re- moved. He will collect all the commanders of posts, and order the garrisons to fall back. "He will be particular to remain in Moscow till he has himself seen the Kremlin blown up; and he will also set fire to the Governor's two houses and to that of Easomovsky." French Napolcou, with his main column, advanced to- demon- a-Tinst "^ard Kuluga, hoping to defeat Kutusov there and Kuiufc-a ^jj^g gg^jj^ access to the rich inner provinces of Russia. Kutusov anticipated him by breaking up his cantonments to meet the French half way. Battle of Prince Eugene's advance division penetrated as far as the Malo-Jaroslavetz on the Lugea, when they encountered the Russian vanguard. General Dorochov charged into the French and fell in the mel^e. A fierce all-day fight followed. Six times J8l2 0ct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 453 the town was stormed and lost again by the French, until at nightfall they finally remained victorious. They had lost nearly 10,000 men and seven gen- erals. The Eussian losses, too, were very heavy. When Napoleon arrived he was shocked at the heaps of the fallen soldiers around the ruins of the town. As he was reconnoitring along the banks of the Lugea, that evening, there was a sud- den cry of "Here come the Cossacks," and the next Napoleon's moment he and his followers were swept into the narrow *■ escape river, with hand-to-hand fighting all around them. General Eapp barely managed to extricate the Em- peror. That evening Napoleon held a council of war amid the charred ruins of the village Goro- dino, Murat, Berthier and Bessieres attended. In the face of their heavy losses, and the grow- ing lack of horses, the three generals objected strongly to another battle, and advised the aban- donment of Kaluga. After they had tjieir say, the Emperor, with his head in his hands, sat mute for more than an hour staring vacantly at a map spread over his knees. Then he sighed deeply and dismissed his marshals without announcing his in- tentions. Late in the night he issued orders for a Retreat from retreat to Moschaisk. This meant a march over the Moscow same barren stretch along which the French army had advanced to Moscow. The greater part of the stores forwarded from Moscow had been used up in the demonstration against Kaluga. As a result the retreat, from its very start, was attended by unusual hardships. Horses fell right and left and hundreds of ammunition wagons had to be blown up. In the 454 A HISTORY OF THE Nov. 18ia wake of the army, along the stretch of forty-eight miles from Gorodino to Smolensk, Eussian peasants found no less than 208 pieces of abandoned artillery. On October 27, the retreating army, now thoroughly discouraged once more, came within view of the bat- tlefield of Borodino. There the troops were demor- Horrors of '■ the retreat aiized by the ghastly spectacle of 30,000 dead bodies rotting on the ground. The marching soldiers had to turn deaf ears to the heartbreaking plaints of their wounded comrades bedded on the stone floors of the Monastery of Kolotsov near by. Already the nights were bitterly cold. The Russian prisoners were stripped of their clothing and afterward murdered by the fierce hordes of stragglers. These, in turn, fell into the hands of the pursuing Cossacks, or were butchered by the enraged peasants if they ventured beyond the protection of the marching columns. Alternating snowfalls and thaws made the roads impassable. On November 8, the rearguard under Trials Davoust, having reached Viazma one day behind rearguard the main column, was attacked by Platov's Cos- sacks, and was all but cut oS. by a flank attack from Miloradovich's column. Davoust and his stafiE officers were driven headlong through the streets of the town by the levelled spears of the Cossacks. Six thousand Frenchmen fell in the fight. Previous to this the constant skir- mishing on the rear had cost Davoust 10,000 men. Only the reluctance of the Russians to follow in force on the hunger-stricken route of rl*eved' *^® French army had saved the rearguard from early annihilation. Now Napoleon answered Da- ear command 1812 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 456 voust's despairing appeals for succor by relieving him of command and putting Ney in his place. It proved the severest task ever imposed on that hero of a hundred battles. On November 6, the Russian winter set in with a howling snowstorm. It be- Ney's i came frightfully cold. Shoes and blankets were scarce, and there was nothing to eat but horse- flesh. The soldiers perished by thousands from hunger and cold. All the bonds of discipline were relaxed. "Au diable avec les officiers! II n'y a que les malheureux!" was heard on all sides. As one eye-witness put it: "To see men die before your eyes in this triumphal March of Death made no more impression than a drunken man at a Po- lish country fair." Henceforth the retreat became a rout. Other no less telling scenes of this famous tragedy of history can be gleaned from the con- temporaneous accounts of eye-witnesses who have given us glimpses of the disastrous march from Mos- cow, through Moschaisk, Gyaatsk,Viazma, and Smo- lensk, from the Lugea to the Dniepr and Beresina and thence to Vilna and the Niemen. When theL^gggg Emperor reached Smolensk, only his cherished Old retreat Guard had preserved its entity. Of the 100,000 men who set out from Moscow, but 40,000 men remained under arms, with only 5,000 mounted men. There were 30,000 stragglers, and 350 field guns had been abandoned. Worse disaster awaited Napoleon at Smolensk. The stores had been pillaged, and noth- ing was left wherewith to feed the starving soldiers. The long-awaited reinforcements of the Ninth Corps, which Victor had been bringing from Germany, were 456 A HISTORY OF THE Winter iSfll summoned away to support Oudinot and St. Cjr's corps, which were threatened on three sides by three Eussian corps under Wittgenstein, Tchit- Austrian chakov and the auxiliaries from Finland. Napo- unreliable Icou's Austrian allies, under Prince Schwarzenberg, as usual, showed themselves averse to serious hos- French tilities, and Napoleon had to detach Prince Eugene vftepsk to protect Vitepsk. In spite of all heroic attempts to reach there in time, the viceroy found the place already in the hands of the Russians. Wittgen- stein had established himself in force. General Hilliers, who advanced along the Jelnia road, was surprised by the Russians, and lost 2,000 men. column Already the Russians were threatening the French Hilliers' column ambushed base of supplies at Minsk and Warsaw. Worse than that, they were preparing to eJSect a junction between their armies at the passage of the Beresina, so as to bar the French from their only safe return to Poland. Napoleon saw that there was not a moment to lose, and, leaving Smolensk, he marched at once for Vilna. His marshals were to follow with their eT^'uated respective corps in extended columns. Ney, who had been fighting incessantly since he took com- mand of the rearguard, received orders to blow up what was left of the ramparts of Smolensk, and to bury the remaining guns. By this time the French had only 1,800 horses left, all of which were in- trusted to Latour-Maubourg, the leader of the cav- alry. Napoleon and his staff marched on foot. When they reached Krasnoe they found the van- guard under Sebastiani, in a church, beleaguered by 1812 winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 457 the enemy. Broussier's division had been all but annihilated. The village of Kutkovo had to belu"ilovo taken in the face of severe artillery fire, and there the fight was stubbornly maintained while Napo- leon hurried up the other columns lagging behind. At last, finding himself more and more hemmed in. Napoleon was constrained to cut his way through without regard for the fate of Ney and his rear- Ney's <-' "J rearguard guard. Luckless Davoust was ordered to do the ^''^°**°°*"* impossible — to wit, keep in touch with Mortier's retreating columns and at the same time wait for Ney to come up. With the Cossacks closing in upon him, Davoust was finally compelled to fight his way along with Mortier's 6,000 men. Thus the remnants of the French army, under constant fire, advanced to Liady and Orsha. When the French rearguard was cut off, Tor- masov and General Wilson, who had been sent to Eussia by the British Government, urged Kutusov Kutusov to drive his whole column of 50,000 men into the French flank, but they could not move the old gen- eral. "You think the old man a fool," he said. "You are young and do not understand. Napo- leon is still terrible. If he turns back we shall all regret it. Let him proceed to the Beresina, ruined and without an army, and I shall be satisfied." Marshal Ney, in his extremity, proved himself Ney's un- the resourceful soldier he was known to be. With- surprise out warning of his danger — for all despatch riders had been intercepted by the enemy — he came face to face with Kutusov's main army before Krasnoe at nightfall. A crushing repulse of his first at- XlXth Century— Vol. 1—20 458 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 1812 tempt to fight his way through showed him how thoroughly he was cut off. Undismayed, he re- solved to swerve his column sidewise toward the Dniepr, and to cross that river, so as to regain the main army by the right bank. "But if the Dniepr is not frozen, what shall we do?" said some of his officers. "It will be frozen," retorted the marshal. "Besides, frozen or not, we shall do as we can. But we shall cross." For an hour Ney drew his men back toward Smolensk. Then turning abruptly to the north he marched at double quick for the Dniepr with a flying column of one thousand picked men. At the village of Syrokenci, his vanguard picked up a peasant who pointed out His brill- a place for crossing the frozen river in safety. iaat escape Under cover of the night Ney succeeded in moving eight hundred of his men over the ice, without horses or artillery. He even gave his stragglers three hours time to come up, while he wrapped himself in his cloak and slept till the last man was over the river. Breaking the ice behind him, he made straight for Orsha. The remainder of his corps, 11,000 men in all, fell into the hands of the Rest of Russians. Altogether the Russians captured 26,000 rearguard taken French soldiers, 300 officers, and 28 guns. Ten thousand Frenchmen were killed. The total loss of the Russians barely exceeded 2,000 men. At Orsha, Napoleon mustered his waning forces. There remained but 6,000 effective men of the waning' 35,000 Imperial Guards; Eugene had saved 1,800 forces out of 43,000; Davoust 4,000 out of 70,000, and Ney 750 out of 40,000. The situation was critical i t § ^ 2 S ^ \ 1813 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 459 in the extreme. Tchitchakov, with 33,000 Russians, lay in front guarding the approach to the Beresina, Wittgenstein's corps occupied an impregnable posi- tion on the right, while Kutusov's main army was coming upon the left. Napoleon, after cleverly Further joining forces with Victor and Oudinot's corps ascutoCf well as with Dombrovsky's Poles, formed his troops into one strong column and demonstrated against the lower Beresina as if to join forces with Schwar- zenberg. Tchitchakov speedily took alarm, and, drawing in his long-extended line on the other side of the river, counter-demonstrated against the apparent point of attack. In the meanwhile Napo- leon sent all his engineers to the upper Beresina with orders to construct two bridges at any cost. On the night that they began work, as it happened, Tschaplitz's division, guarding that point of the river, was ordered to jom Tchitchakov's main army on the lower Beresina. The next morning, thanks to this stroke of fortune, the French engineers, under General Ebl^, finished the first bridge, andofthe"^ Beresina a French brigade, passing over, established itself in the deserted bivouacs of the Russians. Another bridge for artillery and wagons was soon com- pleted. Then Napoleon drew his columns together at that point, leaving but one division on the lower Beresina to further hoodwink the enemy. That same day the Russians, made aware of what was going on, attacked the French on both sides of the river. Wittgenstein opened the affair by inter- PartoM- neaux s division abandoned had been left below to fight it out alone. After cepting the forlorn Partouneaux division which '^•7'^»o° 460 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 18M standing his ground for twelve hours, General Par* touneaux and eight thousand men laid down their arms. Tschaplitz's efforts to regain his lost posi- tion only brought him great loss. The next morn- ing Tschaplitz renewed his attack, but during the night Ney's corps had crossed with the Imperial Guards and would have routed Tschaplitz's divi- sion if the whole of Tchitchakov's corps had not come up to his support. More than 10,000 men on Beresin both sides fell in the fight. During the same day Wittgenstein, on the other side of the river, sig- nally defeated Victor's corps and drove it down the slopes to the river's edge. While the men were struggling to get across the bridges, the Russian batteries from the heights concentrated their force on this point. The artillery bridge broke down and the horses and guns with their gunners fell through in an inextricable mass. Artillery, wag- ons, horsemen and foot soldiers all commingled now rushed over the other bridge, and hundreds were crushed to death or pushed over the sides. Mar« shal Victor and his rearguard had to fight their way through the struggling hordes of their own comrades at the point of the bayonet. A desperate throng of stragglers hung back on the shores of the river, wavering between the fears of capture and all but certain death in the frightful crush. These Horrors of horrors continued throughout the night. When the flight ° ° day broke at last, and the Russian Cossacks were seen charging down the hillside. Marshal Victor abandoned all those that had stayed behind to their fate, and burned the bridge down before the 1812 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 461 eyes of the wailing multitude. Sixteen thousand prisoners fell into the hands of the Russians. The loss of life during the passage of the Beresina was at the Beresina later estimated at 12,000. Twenty-five pieces of artillery had to be abandoned. On December 5, Napoleon, dragging himself along with his ragged bodyguard of officers, the so-called "Sacred Squadron," reached Smorgoni. There he received tidings of what was to him the most alarm- Aiaming •■!-»• 1 news from ing thing of all. A conspiracy in Fans, working Pam on a false report of his death, had shaken the foundations of his throne. Grathering his marshals around him, the emperor explained the need of his immediate presence in Paris and bade them all farewell. Then he dictated a final summary of the situation, the famous Twenty-eighth Bulletin of the Grand Army, in which he strove to explain r^^^^ 28th to the world the causes of the terrible tragedy that ''""®*'° had overwhelmed him. It ran in this wise: "The army was in good condition on the 6th November, and till then the weather had been perfect. The cold began on the 7th, and from that time we lost every night several hundred horses, which died during bivouac. Soon 80,000 had suc- cumbed, and our cavalry were all on foot. On the 14th we were almost without cavalry, artillery, and transports. Without cavalry we could gain no in- formation beyond a quarter of a league. Without artillery we could not fight a battle, nor keep posi- tions steadily. It was necessary to march, to avoid a battle, which the want of supplies made undesir- able. It was necessary to occupy a certain space, to avoid being taken in flank, and that without 462 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 18tt cavalry to gain information and unite the columns. This difficulty, together with the excessive and sud- den cold, rendered our position dangerous. "The enemy, seeing on the roads traces of the frightful calamity which struck the French army, tried to take advantage of it. Oar columns were all surrounded by Cossacks, who, like Arabs in the desert, carried off the trains and carriages which had separated from the army. That despicable cavalry, which comes silently, and could not re- pulse a company of light-horse soldiers, became formidable under those circumstances. "The Cossacks took a number of isolated men, engineers and wounded officers who exposed them- selves imprudently. Many also lost their baggage through the Cossacks in ambush. Some, not suffi- ciently steeled against adversity, lost their spirits and dreamed of misfortune. The brave were ever cheerful. "Throughout all those operations the Emperor has always marched in the midst of his guard; the cavalry under the Duke of Istria, and the infautry under the Duke of Dantzic. Our cavalry was de- prived of horses to such an extent that the officers who were still mounted had to be collectedf to form four companies of one hundred and fifty men each. Their generals acted as captains; the colonels as under-officers. This sacred squadron, commanded by General Grouchy, and under the orders of the King of Naples, did not lose sight of the Emperor in all his movements. The health of his Majesty has never been better." Napoioon's Napoleon never admitted the full extent of his fliKtit to . France losscs in Russia. As he was flying homeward in a solitary sleigh a few days afterward, General St. Cyr, his companion, remarked: "We left 300,- 1812 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 463 000 men in Russia." "No, no!" replied Napoleon, "not so many as that." Then, after a moment's onfit^ reflection, "Ah! 30,000 at theMoskova; 7,000 here, ''*"^^'^° 10,000 there; and all those who straj'^ed on the marches and have not returned. Possibly you are not far wrong. But then there were so many Germans!" The Germans did not forget it! In one of the public squares of Munich stands a tall obelisk made from the bronze of cannon captured in France. On it are inscribed the words: "To the 30,000 B a vari- Jentrenr ans who perished in Russia." On Napoleon's departure the conduct of the retreat was intrusted to Murat. He brought the wretched army as far as Vilna. Then he, too, found that important matters in Naples demanded his presence there. Platov's Cossacks made pro- longed stay in Vilna impossible. In the flight from Vilna to Kovno even the French army funds, jjyj.at,g regimental eagles and the flags taken from the Naples'* enemy were abandoned by the roadside. Marshal Ney and old General Lefebvre were the only com- manders resolute enough to hold the Cossacks in check while the others fled onward. On December 12, the panic-stricken soldiers arrived at Kovno on the Niemen. As the covering force under Ney entered the gate of the city it was seen that the remnant of the Imperial Guard consisted of but three hundred men. The next morning the ap- proach of the Russians drove the French out of French Kovno. Pell-mell they crossed the bridge across of Russia the Niemen and thus quitted the soil of Russia. 464 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 1812 Before abandoning Kovno, Ney seized a musket, and, with a corporal's guard, held the bridge-head against the forerunners of the Cossack vanguard- When the last French column had retired in safety, Ney threw his musket into the Niemen and left stand the ramparts. He was the last combatant soldier of the Grand Army who left Eussia. The next morning he walked into the last French outpost in the Prussian village of Gambinnen, empty-handed, ragged and unkempt. To the challenge of the sentry he replied: "Here comes the rearguard of the Grand Armyl" At Koenigsberg, the Eussians, assisted by the friendly attitude of General York and his corps of Prussians, inflicted a last defeat inv^e on their fallen foe. This brought the total losses Prussia , „ of the French army up to 652,048 men, 167,000 horses, 12,000 guns, and 12,000,000 francs in money. When Emperor Alexander arrived in Vilna on December 21, 15,000 dead bodies still littered the ice of the Niemen. "What frightful horrors I" exclaimed Von Arndt. "This is not the work of Kutusov or of Wittgenstein. It is the finger of God," said the Czar. But the Eussians, too, had suffered almost corresponding losses. The long-drawn pursuit cost Kutusov's corps 62,000 men, of whom 48,000 lay in hospital. The total Eussian losses were later estimated at 300,000 men. In all it is safe to state that the wars of 1812, in- A million eluding the Peninsular campaign, and the American nflced*'^ war, cost the lives of over a million men. But greater hecatombs were still to be demanded. When Napoleon arrived in Pans his mere pres- 1812 Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 465 ence quelled the commotion caused by the disas- trous news from Russia, and the all but successful pn^ch cowp-dC etat of Malet. The Emperor's first measure ^^'^^ was to call for a new levy of 350,000 conscripts. Next he stamped out the last dying embers of the conspiracy aimed at his throne. Malet and the fourteen prisoners taken with him were condemned to death and executed. What alarmed Napoleon the most in the whole afEair was that in the crisis cospiracy of the attempted coup-d'etat his son seemed to have been overlooked by common consent. Every one took for granted that the Emperor's death, as falsely reported, would render a new election indispensa- ble. "What!" exclaimed Napoleon, again and again, "did nobody think of my son, my wife, or the constitution of the empire?" He took instant measures to secure his throne by additional de- crees of the Senate with provisions for all contin- gencies. This done he threw himself heart and The fifth coalitiott soul into preparations for the inevitable war of the coming year. Already the fifth coalition against him was forming. 466 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1813 burg 1813 THE first ally lost to Napoleon was Prussia. From the first the Prussian force of auxilia- ries under General York of Wartenburg had been a source of misgiving to the French. When York succeeded Gravert in command, he insisted on being treated as an independent commander by Marshal Macdonald. As such the Prussian general York of ° warten- distinguished himself in two actions against heavy •Kussian odds at Eckau and at Bauske. When the tide turned against the French the attitude of the Prussians became a matter of solicitude to both ^•«ides.- Napoleon acknowledged York's indepen- dent rank, and allowed Macdonald to offer the Prussian commander a marshalship, with a gratu- ity of 20,000 francs. On the Russian side. General Essen, Count Pelucci and Prince Repnin, each in turn, made personal efforts to induce York to throw his Prussian corps into the balance against Napo- leon. In December, when the ruin of the French cause was plain, the position of the Prussian aux- iliaries was precarious, and York began to waver. In a despatch to the King of Prussia he explained matters in detail, and asked the king's permission to break off his allegiance to the French. At the same time, as the king well knew, Russian confi. 1813 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 467 deatial envoys in Vienna were doing their utmost to induce Emperor Francis and Metternich to cut loose from France. Accordingly, York received •word to accommodate himself to circumstances until the political atmosphere had cleared, and, above all, not to kick over the traces ("Nach den Umstanden handeln, aber nicht liber die Schnur hauen"). For York this was not so easy. When j Macdonald with his corps fell back on Dantzig late in December, York and his Prussians brought up the rear. By a well-fought action before Tilsit the cornlrt^ Eussians succeeded in cutting off York's rearguard from Macdonald's main body. The Eussian com- mander, General Dibitch, asked for an interview between the lines. York was informed of the general Eussian orders to avoid active hostilities against Prussia, and was asked to enter into an arrangement for full neutrality. The next morn- ing Count Pelucci, the Governor of Eiga, appeared with a personal letter of the Czar, in which Alexan- der promised to fight for the deliverance of Prussia as well as of Eussia, if the Prussian troops fought on his side. A last reconnoissance convinced York thathjs^ corps was utterly cut off and surrounded. After a moment of reflection York said quietly; "You have got me. To-morrow I shall enter your lines." York's officers and men received the news with Wild loy. JNext mornins;, York and Di bitch tion of , , . Tauroggea met at the mill of Tauroggen, and signed a con- vention whereby neutrality was declared between Prussia and Eussia. The Eussians were privileged to move their troops through Prussia. In case of 468 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1813 repudiation of the contract, York and his officers were paroled not to serve against Kussia for a period of three months. In January, York's troops, escorted by Russian Cossacks, entered Tilsit, and effected a jun'ction with a detached body of Prus- sians, under Massenbad. This practically deliv- Bian'defec- ^^^^ Koenigsberg over to the Russians. The ^^°^ German revolt against Napoleon had begun. York thus reported his act to the King of Prussia: "1 lay my head at the feet of your majesty. If I have erred, 1 should gladly die, in the consciousness that I have not sinned either as a faithful subject or a true Prussian, Now or never is the time when your Majesty can tear loose from the haughty demands of an ally whose inten- tions in regard to Prussia have ever been a matter of serious concern. These considerations governed my conduct. God grant it be for the good of the Fatherland." King Frederick William of Prussia, surrounded as he was by French troops quartered York in Berlin, repudiated York. He declared the con- repudiated *■ vention of neutrality null and void. York was summoned before a court-martial. Thanks to the vigilance of the Russian outposts, the king's couriers bearing these orders were not permitted to reach the Prussian general. Failing to receive any answer, York could only surmise his predica- ment. As a soldier of the old school, who had once before il?een cashiered for criticising a supe- rior officer, Ydrk took it hard. "With bleeding heart," he wrote)/'I burst the bonds of obedience; and carry on the ^war upon my own responsibility. ,813 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 469 The army desires war with France; the nation de- sires it; the king himself desires it, but his will ig not free. The army must make his will free." / Stein, Moritz, von Arndt, and other Prussian /patriots, returning from exile to Russia, hastened / ,to Koenigsberg to strengthen York's resolution. '^' fS'tein bore a commission from the Czar to assume ^^®i'^ 'the government of the Prussian province occupied by Russian troops, and raised a Prussian army for the war with France. Stein's powers were to con- tinue until the Czar could come to some arrange- ment with the King of Prussia. Armed with this commission, Stein appeared in Koenigsberg and boldly convoked an assembly of the people to take proper measures for the Father- land independent of their king. York, though de- clining to act as chairman, was induced to give some countenance to the movement. On the prom- ise of Stein's abstention from further Russian in- terference, he entered the house and spoke a few words. York's undisguised declaration of war was received with unbounded enthusiasm. Forty thou- sand Prussians flocked to arms from the province of East Prussia alone. Recruits began to arrive Germans ° aroused from all other parts of Germany. This unprece- dented spectacle of the people working out their salvation without help from the crown, decided the timid Prussian king and his councillor, Hardenberg. Moreover, the Russians were advancing toward the Oder. On January 25, the royal family removed from Berlin to Breslau. This put the king beyond the power of the French troops at Berlin, and 470 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1813 Treaty of Ealisch War prrp- aratiODS brought him so much nearer to Alexander. York's defection was condoned. Warlike preparations be- gan at once. Swarms of Prussian volunteers bound for East Prussia passed through Berlin," shaking their fists at the French soldiers. On February 3, appeared a royal edict calling for volunteers. A week later all the Prussian men between the ages of seventeen and fifty were called to arms. One- fourth of the entire population responded to the call. General Knesebeck was sent to the head- quarters of the Czar to arrange for military co- : operation. The Czar sent Stein to Breslau with"' a Eussian plenipotentiary to conclude the terms. Qa, JFebruary 27, the treaty of Kalisjch was signed. . Eassia undertook not to lay down her arms until the Prussian state should be restored to the same strength of area and population which it had be- fore 1806. Eussia reserved to herself the lost prov- inces of Prussian Poland, on a promise that Prus- sia should indemnify herself by an equal amount of territory taken from western Germany. This ar- rangement, though deplored by the foremost Prus- sian statesmen of the time, contained the germ of Prussia's coming leadership in German affairs. Prussia's formal declaration of war was still with- held until her feverish military preparations could be perfected. The Eussians, on the other hand, sure of popular support throughout Prussia, carried the war into Germany with undiminished vigor. The French rearguard under Eugene Beauharnais had to abandon the strong line of the Oder and fall back to Berlin and the Elbe. On February 1813 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 471 20, the first Kussian Cossacks appeared before Ber- lin and fought in the outskirts. Within a week the French had to quit the capital, closely pursued by the Russian vanguard. Some days later, Wittgen- stein, who took command after the expiration of aged Kutusov at Bautzen, entered Berlin with the Russian infantry. On March _ 17, York and his^^^Jf^'" Prussian corps made their appearance. They were received with tumultuous joy. On the same day came^ the^king's long deferred declara1iion,of^^ It was the famous appeal "To my People," which stirred the Germans of those days to their depths: "For my faithful people, as for all Germans, there is no need of justification for the war which now be- gins. The causes for war are clear to the unblinded eyes of Europe. "We succumbed to the overwhelming numbers of ^edenck France. A peace which deprived me of half my sub- appeal jects brought us no blessings. It inflicted wounds deeper than those of war. The marrow of the land was sucked out by our invaders. The strongholds of the country were held by the enemy. Agricul- ture and the arts were laid low. The freedom of commerce ceased and the sources of trade and pros- perity were dried up. The country became a prey to robbers. "By a strict fulfilment of my pledges I hoped to make things easier for my people and to convince the French emperor that it was to his own advan- tage to leave to Prussia her independence. My honest intentions were frustrated through his pride and faithlessness. It was plain that the emperor's treaties, worse still than his wars, aimed at our sure perdition. The moment has come when we can no longer be deceived about our condition. 472 A HISTORY OF THE March 1813 "Men of Brandenburg, of Prussia, Silesia, Pome- rania and Lithuania! You Jsnow what you have suffered for nearly seven years. You know what your sorry lot will be if you do not wage this war with honor. Remember your forefathers! Remem- ber the great Elector, and Frederick the Great! Re- call your blessed privileges for which our ancestors paid with their blood, freedom of conscience, honor, independence, commerce, art and science. Behold the great example of our powerful allies, the Rus- sians! Behold the men of Spain, of Portugal! Lesser peoples than we have striven for the same ends against mightier foes and they have won. Re- member the heroes of Switzerland and the Nether- lands! "It is the last decisive fight that we make for our existence, our independence and our property. There is no alternative but peace with honor or glorious defeat. Even this can be endured so it be in honor, for without honor life is nothing for a Prussian and a German. Yet we can trust to the future. God and our strong will must bring victory to our just cause. After victory we shall have glorious peace and the return of happy times. "Frederick William." reserves Military On the Same day that Frederick William issued his proclaniatioh to the people, he de^rged the for- mation of the great military reserves known as the Landwehr and the Landsturm. As the result of these measures and Scharnhorst's farsighted mili- tary preparations, 100,000 men were joined to Prus- sia's standing army of 45,000. Scharnhorst, against the advice of York and others, gave to Bliicher the chief command. A general feeling of enthusiasm swept through the country like unto that which 1813 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 473 created the armies of the French Revolution. Beardless youths and gray haired men flocked to the colors. Clergymen, professors, and the students of the universities shouldered muskets. Even women found their way into the ranks, arma^'^^" Other women contributed their jewelry and trin- kets, receiving in turn delicately wrought orna- ments of iron, with the inscription: "I gave gold for iron; 1813." The king instituted the order of the Iron Cross, to be awarded for acts of bravery in battle. Thus a fresh impulse was given to the wrought-iron industry of Berlin, which has since been carried so far. Already the peasantry was rising against its French oppressors, and flying de- tachments of volunteers under Dornberg and Liit- zow carried raids into the French districts. The poet. Koerner, himself a soldier, appealed to the patriotic people in strains of patriotic ardor that have lived to the present day. His song "The people rise, The storm breaks loose," or the stirring lines on "Liitzow's Raid," were sung from one end of Germany to the other. "What is the German Fatherland?" wrote Arndt, the people's poet from Riigen: "Where'er resounds the German tongue, Arndt's Where'er its hymns to God are sung! That land is the land, Brave German, that, thy Fatherland! "That is the German Fatherland! Where scorn shall foreign triflers brand, Where all are foes whose deeds offend, Where every noble soul's a friend: Be this the land, All Germany shall be the landl" 474 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1813 Other German poets joined in the chorus with the uumoved exception of Goethe, who said: "Well, well, shake your chains! That man Napoleon is too strong for you. You will not break them." Napoleon, in Paris, faced the gathering storm with a bold front. In reply to a letter of warning from Napoleon's Pavoust he wrotc: "Pah! Germans never can be- measures come Spaniards." Yet he lost no time in gathering his new army of 350,000 conscripts and 27,000 fresh horses. Money was raised by floating paper cur- rency. To allay the growing resentment arising Papal Con- among the French peasantry, he went to conciliate cordat the Pope in his prison palace at Avignon, and greeted him by the name of Father. Pius VII. was set at liberty in Savona, and Napoleon consented to come to an agreement with him in which both parties yielded some of their long contested points. On February 13, Napoleon opened the Corps Legis- latif with this characteristic speech: Acharac- "GENTLEMEN — The war again begun in the north a^dreM of Europc presented to the English a favorable op- portunity for their plans; but all their hopes have fallen to the ground. Their army failed before the citadel of Burgos, and after suffering great losses was obliged to evacuate the territory of all the Spains. I myself entered Russia. Everywhere our eagles triumphed. "But the excessive and premature rigor of the winter subjected my army to a frightful calamity. In a few nights I saw everything changed, and 1 suffered great losses. They would have broken my heart if, at such an important time, I had been ac- cessible to other sentiments than the interest, the glor}'', and the future of my peoples. 1813 Feb. NINETEENTH CENTURY 475 "In view of the evils which have weighed upon us, the joy of England has been great and her hopes unbounded. She offered oar fairest provinces as a reward for treason; she laid down as a condition of peace the dismemberment of this beautiful empire. It was, in other words, a proclamation of perpetual warfare. "The agents of England are propagating among all our neighbors the spirit of revolt against the sovereigns. England wishes to see the whole, con- tinent a prey to civil war and all the terrors of an- archy; but Providence has marked herself to be the first victim of anarchy and civil war. "I have myself personally drawn up with the Pope a Concordat which puts a stop to all the difficulties which had unfortunately arisen in the Church. The French dynasty reigns and will reign in Spain. The Russians will go back to their frightful climate. "I wish for peace; it is necessary for the world. Four times since the rupture which followed the Treaty of Amiens I have offered it in a formal manner. I snail never make any peace except an honorable one — one suited to the interests and great- ness of my empire. So long as this murderous war continues, my peoples ought to be ready for sacri- fices of every kind; for a bad peace would cause us to lose everything, even hope itself; and everything would be compromised, even the prosperity of our grandchildren." To Emperor Francis of Austria, Napoleon wrote: "I shall take no steps toward peace, because the Austrian , . , . Ill mediation last Circumstances having turned to the advantage invited of Russia, it belongs to her Cabinet to take steps, if they understand the position of affairs. Never- theless, I shall not object to those made by your Majesty." 476 A HISTORY OF THE April 1813 The fifth coalition Battle of Mockeru Weissen- fels Gross- Oorshea It was too late. Austria was already being irre- sistibly drawn into the new coalition against France, for which England as heretofore had to furnish the money. In addition, the British Min- istry agreed to furnish 30,000 troops. For the nonce Austria remained neutral, but the hasty re- turn of Schwarzenberg's corps and the mobilization of Austria's remaining troops revealed to Napoleon that nothing but a victorious campaign could keep his newly acquired father-in-law off his heels. Bliicher's new Prussian corps had not yet formed a junction with Wittgenstein when Napoleon re- turned to the fray at the head of 160,000 men. He advanced over the familiar country of Erfurt and Merseburg, headed straight for Saxony; for the fate of Saxony hung in the balance. Already Bliicher had entered Dresden at the heels of a retreating French garrison, and Wittgenstein, pushing for- ward to Magdeburg, had repulsed 40,000 French- men at Mockern. Now Napoleon threw his 160,000 men into the path of the 80,000 allies and marched on Leipzig. On the first day of May Marshal Ney, with 40,000 men, overwhelmed Winzingerode's Rus- sian vanguard at Weissenfels and forced him back. Marshal Bessi^res, the famous French cavalry chief- tain, lost his life in this fight. Wittgenstein brought the Russian column up and fell on Ney's flank at Gross-Gorschen. The fight lasted nearly all day, and gave the raw Prussian recruits a chance to measure their strength against the equally youth- ful new conscripts of France. Unfortunately for the Russians, the affair was dragged out by Wittgen- j813May NINETEENTH CENTURY 477 Stein, who ordered up one brigade after another in- stead of massing their attack at Liitzen. Bliicher's^"*^®" slowness in bringing up his Prussians, owing to the negligence of a despatch rider, gave Napoleon a chance to swing his long lines around the enemy's ends. The Russians would have been encircled had Bliicher not arrived in time to interpose his Prus- sian reserves. Firing incessantly until after dark, the allies finally retired in good order. On the evening of the bloody engagement of May 2, the Prussian Hussars under Ziethen, supported by a Cossack brigade, tried to pierce the French centre with a fierce night attack, but were repulsed by Napoleon's well-concentrated artillery fire. They Death of captured some guns, but suffered irreparable losshoret^ ' in the death of Scharnhorst. Further away a Prus- sian division, during this same time, stormed Halle, but had to fall back after the main army, lest it be cut off. After a sharp rear action at Koldiz, theKoWiz allies gained Dresden and made a stand at Bautzen. An attempted French diversion against Berlin was frustrated by Barclay de Tolly and York at Koe- Koenigs- nigswarte and Weissig, and both armies drew in their reserves for the coming battle. The accession ^^'^^^s of two Bavarian and Saxon corps brought Napo- leon's fighting force up to 150,000, whereas the allies had 90,000 men. On May 19, Napoleon ad- vanced on Bautzen and delivered a determined attack on Bliicher's right wing. It resulted in a drawn fight with heavy losses on both sides. The next morning the engagement became general. During the battle the French crossed the river 478 A HISTORY OF THE May 1813 Spree under fire and made a combined attack on the centre. The fight was kept up as long as the French infantry could see to shoot, until Napoleon had accomplished his object of making the enemy strengthen his centre at the expense of his right wing. Under cover of darkness, Ney's corps made a long night march to get around Bliicher's right end. Early the next morning. Napoleon made a sharp attack on the Russian left under Milarado- vitch, and, meeting with determined resistance there, followed it up by throwing Macdonald's and Oudi- not's divisions against the Russian centre, where Alexander and his suite had their headquarters. While the battle was on. Napoleon listened anx- Eautzen iously for the sound of Ney's cannon on the ex- treme right. Ney's instructions had been to work around the enemy's flank and to attack in force no later than noon. At the early hour of ten, the dis- tant roar of artillery on the enemy's right flank and rear announced to Napoleon that Ney had carried out his difficult manoeuvre. The Emperor immedi- ately despatched a courier to Paris with a pencilled note to Marie Louise proclaiming a sure victory. Then he galloped over to his left to press home Ney's success. Ney had Bliicher surrounded on three sides, and beset the Prussians so fiercely that Bliicher had to call for reinforcements wherewith to protect his retreat. As soon as these manoeuvres had the desired effect of weakening the Russian centre. Napoleon hurled his whole mass of 76,000 men into the centre of the enemy's line. The re- sult was an almost instantaneous retreat all along 1813 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 479 the line. The Eussiaas fell back on Hochkirch and Lobau, while the Prussians fought their way back to Wurschen and Weissenburg, holding that posi- tion through the night. The next morning the al- lies, in the face of Kapoleon's continued advance, fell back steadily into Silesia behind the strong line of the fortress Schweidnitz and the ridges of the Eiesengebirge, where they could readily join hands with the Austrian forces massed on the frontier of Bohemia. Napoleon entered Breslau. The con- tinued fighting of the last five days had cost him 25,000 men. The hospitals of Dresden were filled with 18,000 wounded men. Generals Bruyeres and Kirchner were among the dead, and Marshal Duroc was killed close to the Emperor's side. They were buried without religious honors. "I will have no priest!" said Napoleon. When the pursuit came to an end, the Emperor exclaimed angrily to his surviving marshals: "Quoi? No result after such Tories a massacre ? No prisoners, no guns, nor standards ? They leave me not even a nail!" The threatening presence of the Austrian troops caused Napoleon anxiety to ascertain the precise intentions of Austria before exposing his flank and long-drawn communications to an attack from that quarter. An armistice was proposed and gladly , entered into by both sides. The convention was Truce of signed at jPlesvy:ilZ,^on June 4, and all hostilities ^^^^'tz were suspended for six weeks. The struggle shifted instantly from the battlefield to the diplomatic chan- celleries at Vienna. To win the support of Austria was alike the endeavor of Napoleon and of the al- Barren vio« 480 A HISTORY OF THE June 1818 Conven- tion of Reichen- bach British subsidies Denmark with France Austria in balance lies. Even the British Ministry awoke to the exi- gencies of the situation. Shortly after the conclu- sion of the armistice, Sir Charles Stewart and the Earl of Cathcart appeared at the allied headquar- ters. A formal agreement was reached by the con- vention of Reichenbach on the 14th of June. In this treaty Great Britain agreed to furnish to Prus- sia £666,000, on King Frederick William's promise to restore the status quo in Hanover. Russia ob- tained a subsidy of £1,333,000 and the continued maintenance free of cost of her fleet locked up in English harbors since the convention of Cintra, on the Czar's formal permission to keep 160,000 men in the field against Napoleon. Besides this,' the British Government guaranteed fifty per cent of an issue of Prussian war bonds amounting to £5,000,- 000. In fine, England, Russia, Prussia and Sweden bound themselves not to conclude any truce, peace^ or convention whatsoever otherwise than by mutual consent. Napoleon, on the other hand, entered into an offensive and defensive alliance with Denmark, thereby securing a valuable hold on the mouth of the Elbe, where Davoust held Hamburg, besides the acquisition of 20,000 troops in that quarter. At Vienna, during the first three weeks of the armis- tice, all negotiations hung fire. Prince Metternich, rather than compromise himself with either~party, " chose the role of mediator. To the French ambas- sador he suggested a "suspension of last year's treaty of alliance between France and Austria." As Maret insisted that this was equivalent to a dis- solution of the alliance, Metternich himself finally 1813 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 481 repaired to Dresden to have a personal interview with Napoleon. The two men met on the night of June 28. Both have recorded their recollection of the interview. "You are welcome, Metternich," said Napoleon, "but why do you come so late? We have lost nearly a month in coming together, meets Met- and your mediation has assumed almost a hostile aspect. ... Is it because you conceive yourself in a position to dictate terms, that you pay me this visit?" Metternich soon came to the point, de- \) manding not only the return of Illyria, but the evacuation of Germany, Italy, Holland, Poland and Spain. Napoleon flew into a rage. "How much has England given you?" he demanded. At the same time the Emperor dropped his hat. When Metternich made no movement to raise it, Napo- leon turned pale, and, after striding past it several times, at length kicked it away. "You are not a soldier, sir," he exclaimed. "You have not, like me, a soldier's soul. You have not lived in camps. You have not learned to despise the life of another man, and your own, when need be. What care I for 200,000 men?" Metternich turned on him with unwonted emo- tion. "Let us open the doors, sire!" he exclaimed. "And if the doors are not sufficient, open the win- dows! that the whole of Europe may hear you." When he at last left the Emperor's room he remarked to Marshal Berthier, "I declare to youmch's com- ment solemnly, that your master is out of his mind." The final upshot was that both Metternich and Napoleon agreed to postpone the settlement of XlXth Century— Yol. 1—21 482 A HISTORY OF THE July 7813 terms to a Peace Congress to sit at Prague dur- pSIe^ ing the first week of July, while the armistice " was to be prolonged until August 10. ^ While the delegates to this congress were con- vening, tidmgs came from Spain which quite offset the moral effect of Napoleon's latest victories. It was the news of Wellington's victory of Vittoria. Its immediate effect was to give England sucFatT ascendency in the impending negotiations that Aus- tria ceased to waver. From that moment the sit- tings of the Peace Congress served no other purpose but to give either party more time wherein to rush the last reinforcements to the front. In vittoria The battle of Vittoria was the result of half a year's patient waiting and planning on the part of Wellington. After the campaign of Salamanca large reinforcements reached Wellington in Portu- gal. He made a hurried visit to Cadiz, and the Cortes invested him with the supreme command of the nation's forces in Spain. He set to work at once to restore the disorganized Spanish army to a state of efficiency. In this he was left com- paratively unhampered by the Spanish Government — all engrossed as it was at that time by the dissen- sions that followed the government's suppression of the Inquisition. By the beginning of April the total forces arrayed against the French in Spain aggregated 185,000 men, 75,000 of whom were un- der Wellington's immediate direction. The French mustered altogether 230,000 men, of whom 100,000 mvenuon'' ^^J ^^ Central Spain. It was at this time that Major Shrapnel's new invention of explosive shells filled 1313 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 483 with small bullets came into use. The campaign / began on April 11, when Suchet, with a corps of 68,000 men, was foiled in an attack on Sir John Murray and Elio's allied forces numbering 36,000 men at Castilla. Suchet retired in good order with a total loss of 2,000 men. A fortnight later a con- centric movement on Madrid was begun by the army of reserves in Andalusia, followed by the Duke del Pargne's march into La Mancha, and Wellington's southward advance from Portugal. As the British forces crossed the frontier stream, v/eiiingtcn Wellington rose in his stirrups and waving his Spain hand exclaimed: "Farewell, Portugal!" Thanks to the demonstration in New Castile, the French failed to oppose Wellington in force, and he was thus enabled to drive them from Valladolid, and from the southern banks of the Douro and Carrier. On June 14, King Joseph abandoned Burgos. The ramparts of the stronghold had to be blown up in such a hurry that 300 Frenchmen were killed in the explosion. From Burgos the king with all his court and army retreated to Vittoria. Their flight was Joseph's •^ ° flight encumbered by an endless file of wagons and car- riages loaded down with the accumulated spoils of five years. Rather than lose all this loot, the French army, on July 19, faced about in front of Vittoria. Wellington came up, on June 20, with 78,000 Englishmen, Portuguese and Spanish, sup- ported by 90 guns. The next morning Wellington advanced all along the line. The Spanish division under Murillo led the attack, but after Murillo had been wounded, a regiment of British infantry and 484 A HISTORY OF THE July 1813 a battalion of Highlanders had to go to their sup- port. The colonel of the Highlanders was killed at the decisive moment when the French lines were swept back. In the centre, meanwhile, Wellington had broken through into the plain of Vittoria; but the battle was not won until Graham, after a long fight on the left, drove the French from their strong posi- v?ttoria tion on the Heights of Ariega. When the French gave way they left behind them 7,000 killed and wounded, and 151 guns, 451 caissons of ammuni- tion, and a wagon train containing immense spoils, among them Jourdan's marshal's baton, Joseph's private carriage, the military chest with twenty-two million francs and private loot beyond estimation. More than that, the victory of Vittoria meant the immediate expulsion of the French from all the northwestern provinces of Spain. It was the most brilliant achievement of the Peninsular war. At its close, to quote Napier's clarion sentences: "The English general, emerging from the chaos of the Peninsular struggle, stood on the summit of the Pyrenees, a recognized conqueror. From these lofty pinnacles the clangor of his trumpets pealed clear and loud, and the splendor of his genius ap- peared as a flaming beacon to the warring nations." The victory not only freed Spain from its invad- ers, and prepared the way for an early invasion of American Prancc, but it restored the spirit of England, sorely tried by the unsatisfactory progress of the war with the United States. In America, the campaign on land this year had J813 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 485 opened with a British reverse at Frenchtown, offset by the successful capture of General Winchester ^wn^*** and his force of 800 Americans. The Indians after- ward massacred 260 wounded Americans. A week later, fortune again favored the American cause when Captain Forsyth, with 200 voiunteers, suc- ceeded in surprising the Britisa. at Elizabeth and^'i^abeth took 68 prisoners. Then came the famous exploit when the American sloop-of-war "Hornet," com- manded by Captain Lawrence, attacked and sunk^^j.^^^ the "Peacock," a British" sloop-of-war of superior coe'k ^®** armament. This put an end to the oft-repeated boast of Englishmen that British sloops could lay alongside of American frigates and whip them. Next the "Hazard," an American privateer schooner, captured the British frigate "Albion" and her convoy, the cutter "Caledonia." In de-^kes'li- fiance of the blockade of Chesapeake Bay by a British squadron under Admiral Warren, the Amer- ican privateer schooner "Adeline," on March 10, at- tacked and sunk a British schooner in that same bay. Shortly afterward, another naval action was fought out on the waters of tho Chesapeake betweea four American vessels and seventeen British barges. An American ship was lost in the fight. The British blockade was now extended all along the Atlantic coast, and British men-of-war cruised out- side of Boston. The captain of one of them, the frigate "Shannon," challenged Captain Lawrence, of "Peacock" fame, to come out with his new frig- shannon challenges ate, the "Chesapeake," and fight him. Stung by^Jiiesa- the challenge, Lawrence prematurely put out to 486 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1813 sea and made for the "Shannon." The fight was watched by multitudes on the high shores. After a repeated exchange of broadsides, the "Ches- apeake" fouled with the "Shannon," and be- came unmanageable. As the British boarders were swarming over the side, Lawrence was shot through "^o^'*^ ^^Q the body. He fell shouting: "Don't give up the ^•"'P'" ship! Fight her till she sinks!" The carnage on the two ships was dreadful. In thirteen minutes 252 men were killed. The first officer of the "Shannon" was killed by his own men, for mis- takenly hoisting up the Union Jack under the Stars and Stripes. Captain Broke of the "Shannon" had a narrow escape. As he stood alone for a mo- ment on the breach of the forecastle, three Ameri- can seamen leaped upon him. He was felled to the ground with the butt of a musket and was slashed in" the head with a cutlass. As' he lay on the deck grappling with his antagonist, a British marine ran up, and, taking him for an American, raised his bayonet for a final thrust. "Pooh, pooh, you fool!" said Broke as he lay pinioned down by his narrow es- foe , "dou't you kuow your captain?" whereupon the marine changed the direction of his thrust and slew the captain's assailant. On the same day with this encounter in Massa- chusetts Bay a British squadron chased Decatur into New London, with the "United States," the "Hornet," and the prize "Macedonia." None of these ships got to sea again while the war lasted. Decatur claimed that his movements were signalled to the enemy by means of blue lights. Hence the 3813 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 487 opprobrious term "Blue Lights" applied to the Federalists of New England. The news of Brokers ^[1,^^°"*°° victory was announced in the House of Commons, '^ on July 7, just as Lord Cochrane was concluding a fierce denunciation of the Admiralty for the re- peated naval defeats inflicted by the Americans. By way of defence, the Secretary of the Admiralty read aloud the report of Broke's victory. Amid Bloke's re- wild cheers, the Crown, then and there, created ^^"^ Broke a baronet and a Knight of the Bath. In Europe, the end of Napoleon's armistice had been postponed, to August 10. Within a few days of that date, the Congress at Prague was still sitting, while both sides were preparing for the resumption of immediate hostilities. Prom Italy, from ITrance, from the provinces of Germany, from Denmark, Sweden, and from Russia, reinforcements were hurrying to the theatre of war. Even from America, still warring with England, the allies de- rived some unexpected help. General Moreau, the - victor of Hohenlinden, who had lived in exilei at New York, since his trial and condemnation by Napoleon in 1804, was induced by the Czar to pit his military genius against that of his former Moreau's , reappear- commander-in-chief. The old general consented ance to come only on condition that France should be maintained within the limits she had acquired under the Republic, and that the French people should be suffered to choose their own govern- ment. As soon as he received the Czar's reassur- ance on this score, Moreau embarked from New York on board the American ship "Hannibal," and, elud- 488 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1813 ing British cruisers, landed at Gothenburg late in July. In the company of Bernadotte and Jomini, the great theoretical strategist, he journeyed from Other de-^^'^^^^^^ ^^ Prague. They arrived at the Czar's lectioas headquarters in time for Moreau to put a final touch to the plan of campaign which was adopted by the aJlies. y On August 7, Metternich transmitted to Napoleon /the ultimatum of the Austrian Cabmet. Metternich promised to procure peace if France would restore uitLmaJifm ^^^ provinccs taken from Austria in 1809, the North German districts and free cities annexed in 1810, and the Polish territory wrested from Prussia and Russia during the last war. Independence was to be re-established in Italy, in tbe papal dominions, in Holland and in Spain. Napoleon was ill dis- posed to grant any of Metternich's demands. A new French army from Italy was marching straight for Austria. The appearance of these troops on the Austrian frontier, according to his calculations, would put the most effective stop to the warlike attitude of Austria. It was a game of intimidation, but, unfortunately for Napoleon, he was seriously misinformed concerning the strength of Austria's Diaparity armaments. Maret's spies in Vienna had led him of forces ^ to believe that the whole force of Austria was but 100,000, whereas, in truth, more than 200,000 men were assembled on the frontier. At the time that Napoleon received Metternich's ultimatum, his armies in Germany had grown to a total strength of more than half a million men. Of these, 235,000 were under his immediate command Strength of 1813 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 489 in Saxony; Oudinot had 80,000 at Torgau facing Bernadotte; 50,000 Frenchmen and Bavarians lay in upper Bavaria threatening the Austrian frontier, while some 150,000 men held the northern strong- holds from Hamburg to Dantzig and along the Elbe and Oder. The available forces of the allies aggre- gated 400,000 men, of whom 220,000 threatened the French flank and rear from Bohemia. Two more armies of 80,000 and 90,000 respectively pressed on Napoleon from the east and from the north. Behind ^iHes them 200,000 reserves were on the march. On August 10, twelve hours after the receipt of Austria's ultimatum, Napoleon returned a partial answer. He conceded some of the demands, but / refused peremptorily to restore either Trieste or the middle German provinces. His terms were un- . '■ acceptable — moreover, they did not reach Prague / until August 11. By that time the armistice had terminated and the Peace Congress was dissolved. Before dawn of the next morniag, the soldiers bivouacked in Silesia beheld the blaze of innu- merable beacon-fires along the ridees of the Rie- „ , , " '-' End of sengebirge. It was the signal that hostilities would ^''"^^ resume and that Austria had declared war on France. Napoleon's plan was to descend first on the enemy's rear, from the heights of the Koenigstein, and to push him toward Dresden, to be caught be- tween his armies on the Elbe under St. Cyr. This done he meant to make a dash for Prague. Berlin . , , Napoleon'3 was to be taken by a concentric movement oi thepiaa strong armies of Davoust, Girard and Oudinot, ad- 490 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1813 Moreau's touater plan Death of Koerner Qross- beeren Battle of the Katzbach vancing from Saxony, Magdeburg and Hamburg. The plan of the allies was to let their main col- umn of 128,000 Austrians and 70,000 Russians, un- der Schwarzenberg, push through the Erzgebirge to take Napoleon in the rear. The first engage- ment of importance was that of August 21, between Wallmoden and Davoust at Wellahn. It was in the skirmishing that followed this fight that Theodore Koerner lost his life. He was struck bj a stray bullet at Gadebusch. One hour before, he had com- posed his famous sword song. On August 23, Oudi- not, near Berlin, came in contact with his old com- rade Bernadotte, at Blankenfeld. A general en- gagement followed at Grossbeereu. Without the aid of the Swedes, whom Bernadotte held back, the Prussians routed the French. They captured 2,400 prisoners. Girard's division of 8,000 advanc- ing from Magdeburg was turned back after a sharp encounter with the Prussian Landwehr, under Hirschfeld. At the same time, Napoleon, to free himself from the Prussians in Silesia, made a dash into Bohemia, and in a series of well-fought engage ments forced Bliicher back to the Katzbach River The last fight cost Bliicher 2,000 men. With Na poleon thus engaged, Moreau advised Schwarzen berg to make an immediate advance on Breslau Napoleon had to abandon all further pursuit of the Prussians. Wheeling his columns in haste he countermarched for Dresden, while Vandamme, with his 40,000 men, was ordered to cut oflE the allies' retreat at the Koenigstein and Pirna. Had Schwarzenberg been alive to the situation the allies 3813 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 491 could have captured Dresden with comparative ease. As it was, the Austriaus moved with accustomed slowness. Dresden was not attacked until the 25th of August. Then the city was heavily bombarded and St. Cyr's outposts were driven into the sub- urbs. On the morrow the wellnigh frantic citizens Dresden of Dresden were overjoyed to see Napoleon ride into the city from the other side, followed by his strong army. He was received by the King of Sax- ony and King Murat, who had come from Naples at last to throw in his lot with the Emperor. The combined attack of the allied forces on that day was met with a murderous repulse. During the night, Napoleon made all his dispositions for a masterstroke. At daybreak, the French columns poured out of the city and attacked in turn. The Austrian left wing was drawn off into the valley of Plauen by Murat and Victor, and there succumbed ""^p"'^®** to their combined attack. Yandamme, advancing from Koenigstein, drove the Prince of Wiirtemberg into Pirna, Napoleon himself, with the bulk of his artillery, pierced the centre of the allies. Emperor Alexander's suite at Kacknitz came under a heavy fire. General Moreau at his side had just remarked, "It is rather warm here," when a cannon shot laid Death cf Moreau him low. "That Bonaparte is always lucky," re- marked the dying hero as they dragged him from Tinder his horse. His legs had to be amputated where he lay, and he died soon afterward. It needed no Moreau to tell that the battle was lost to the allies. In great disorder they fell back into Bohemia. The French took thousands of prisoners.. 492 A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1813 So signal a victory might have brought more de- cisive results for Napoleon, had Vandamme suc- ceeded in intercepting the retreat of the allies. He was foiled in this by the gallant stand of the Rus- sian rearguard under Ostermann. Though over- matched as four to one, the Russians held back ^and*at ^^^ French for a whole day at Kulm, until the first ^"'"^ corps of their army came up. Ostermann's 8,000 men had been reduced to 2,000, and he himself lost an arm during the light; but those who survived had the satisfaction of seeing Vandamme's division overwhelmed in turn by superior numbers. The French tried to escape through the mountains, but there fell into the hands of Kleist's Prussian corps retreating from Dresden. Vandamme and the bulk of his corps were taken prisoners. The victory of Dresden was further offset by a severe reverse of the same day inflicted on the French by Bliicher in Silesia. After having drawn Macdonald's wide extended lines from the banks of the Bober across the Katzbach and foaming Neisse, Bliicher sud- denly turned about and shattered the French centre by a fierce attack with his whole column. Under a heavy thunder-shower the French were driven into the swollen rivers. When the wet firelocks of the Prussians put an end to their volleys, Bliicher drew his sword shouting "Vorwarts!" and led a Battle of ° wahistadt bayonet charge against the French over the ancient battlefield of Wahistadt. The French were utterly routed. A part of their retreating troops under General Puthod fell into the hands of the Russians. In all, the allies captured 18,000 prisoners and 103 1813 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 493 guns. Bliicher lost but one thousand of his men. For this action he was created Prince of Wahlstadt, but his soldiers surnamed him Marshal Vorwarts. Macdonald returned to Dresden almost unattended ™ . , Blucner 3 and broke the melancholy news to Napoleon:''®"^''** " Voire armee du Bobre n'existe plus /^^ Oudinot reported a similar distressing disaster. Napoleon despatched Ney to take his place, butNey even that undaunted leader sent back discouraging Oudinot reports. "It is my duty," he wrote from Wurtzen, "to declare to your Majesty that with the present organization of the Fourth, Seventh and Twelfth army corps no good results can be expected from them. Both generals and officers are demoral- ized. . . . Your Majesty should be informed that the foreign troops of all nationalities show a very bad disposition, and that it is doubtful whether the cavalry which I have with me be not more hurt- ful than useful." On September 6, Ney risked a general engagement at Dennewitz and met with a^^i°^^'* crushing reverse. The Prussians under Von Bue- low and Tauenzien, supported by two inactive corps of Eussians and Swedes, utterly routed the French army and nearly annihilated their rearguard of Wiirtembergers. The Bavarian corps under Rag- lowich, which had remained almost inactive during the battle, retired in another direction, firing on their French allies whenever the fugitives came too near them. Ney lost 8,000 men, eighty guns and three eagles. The loss of the allies was but 6,000, of whom nearly 6,000 were Prussians. Ney's report of the disaster of Dennewitz was sufficient- 494 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1813 Ney's report Blucber's strategy French situation ly ominous: "I have been totally defeated, and do not know yet whether my army has reassembled. The spirit of the generals and officers is shattered. To command in such condition is but half to com- mand. I had rather be a common grenadier." Na- poleon tried to offset these reverses by another dash on the Prussians in Silesia, but Bliicher, after a series of exhausting marches and countermarches amid torrents of rain, skilfully evaded him. "These creatures have learned something!" ex- claimed Napoleon bitterly as he returned to Dres- den to ward off another attack from that city. While the time consumed in these constant fights meant so many more marches for Bennigsen's re- serves hurrying down from Russia, it meant noth- ing for Napoleon but an increasing consumption of men and stores. For the French army the situation became serious. Already orders had been sent to strengthen the Rhine fortresses along the line of re- treat. The French Minister of War in transmitting Napoleon's orders wrote: "Our army is still large and in good condition, but the generals and officers, wearied with the war, have no longer that action which formerly led them to great exploits; the theatre is too extended. The Emperor is victorious whenever he can be on the spot; but he cannot be everywhere, and the generals who command in his absence seldom answer to his expectations. You are aware of what happened to General Vandamme; the Duke of Tarento has met with reverses in Silesia, and the Prince of the Mos- kova has just been beaten in marching upon Berlin. I present you with this picture in order that you may know all, and take steps accordingly." 1813 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 495 While Napoleon lay at Dresden a series of minor defeats were inflicted on his outlying marshals. As Davoust was retiring to Hamburg in the middle of September, his rearguard was cut off by Wallmoden j^^^^^. ^ on the Gorde. During the last days of September '^''^'^"^^ Platov's Cossacks captured 8,000 Frenchmen at Zeitz, and then descended upon Cassel and drove King •'• Jerome King Jerome from his dominions, Thieleman, a^®^^ Saxon soldier of fortune now serving on the Prus- sian side, intercepted the French convoys at Leip- zig, capturing 1,200 prisoners at Weissenfels and^®'^ 2,000 more at Merseburg. Lefebvre's division wasMerseburg badly handled at Altenburg. On this occasion the •^ _ ° Altenburg French auxiliaries from Baden fired on their al- lies and helped to disperse them. Napoleon, while manoeuvring incessantly around Dresden, felt the ground shaking under him. On October 7, he left Dresden, to demonstrate against BlUcher's corps which had crossed the Elbe. The next day came ^^ "^ Defection the defection of the Bavarians. Wrede, an old-time °^ Bavaria favorite of the Emperor, united his forces to the Austrians and laid himself across the line of Napo- leon's retreat. The King of Bavaria justified this change of front in an official note recalling the fact that he had been compelled to sacrifice 30,000 of his subjects in Eussia "under punishment of felony." Napoleon spent the next four or five days in pain- ful irresolution. Meanwhile, the allies were concen- trating on Leipzig. At last Napoleon executed a few rapid manoeuvres to overwhelm Schwarzenberg's main column advancing from Bohemia, but it was already too late. On October 14, the flower of 496 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1818 Wachau Eattle of Pleisse Uockern the French cavalry under Murat was engaged by Bliicher's and Wittgenstein's cavalry at Wachau. The contest, which was the most important cav- alry engagement of the campaign, lasted all day and resulted in a drawn fight. The next day a hurricane swept through the French camp, carrying away roofs and tents and drenching the soldiers. At midnight two rockets were fired from Schwarz- enberg's headquarters, on the south of Leipzig. They were immediately answered by blue and red lights from Bliicher's camp on the north. These signals told the allies that all was in readiness. On the morning of October 16, while Napoleon was riding forward to direct the attack on Schwarz- enberg, the French were unexpectedly attacked by the Austrians on the right bank of the Pleisse. The attack was repulsed. Latour-Maubourg carried the French cavalry so far into the enemy's lines that the Russian Czar and King of Prussia had difficulty in escaping. Only the fall of Latour- Maubourg' s horse saved them from capture. Na- poleon joyfully exclaimed: "Le monde tourne pour nous!" and sent off couriers to Dresden and Paris announcing his victory. Unfortunately for him, a simultaneous attack from Neerveldt's division of Austrians across the Pleisse kept the French engaged until Bliicher with the Prussians could throw himself upon the corps of Marmont at Mockern, and compelled him to retire with the loss of 6,000 men and forty guns. One single Prussian brigade in this fight lost all but one of its officers. On the other side Napoleon succeeded in repulsing Ml3 0ct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 497 the troublesome Austrians. Neerveldt himself was taken prisoner. This was the same officer who had on former occasions come a suppliant to solicit the armistice of Loeben, who had represented the Em- peror of Austria in the negotiations of Campo Formio, and who, on the night following Auster- litz, bore the proposals for the famous campfire con- ference of the two emperors. Napoleon summoned him to his headquarters and engaged him in conver- sation. ' ' This struggle is growing very serious, ' ' he said. "Should we not put a stop to it?" — "That is all we are fighting for," replied Neerveldt. — "Let England restore me my colonies, ' ' rejoined the Em- peror, "and I will give her back Hanover." Then he spoke of the possibility of an armistice. — "The allies want no armistice," said Neerveldt; "they reckon to go to the Rhine this autumn." — "To the Rhine!" exclaimed Napoleon. "Before they can get there, I must lose a battle!" Then he dis-N|«-^-,^ missed Neerveldt on parole to repeat what he had ^^^^^^^ told him. "Au revoir, general," he called after him; "when you speak to the two emperors you may recall some of our recollections of the past." Neerveldt' s report only strengthened the allies in their determination, the more so since Bernadotte's reserves and Bennigsen's reinforcements were ex- pected hourly. Napoleon was weak enough to hold his army in leash throughout a whole day awaiting the results of Neerveldt' s mission. When no an- swer came by nightfall, he reluctantly made his dispositions for a retreat through Leipzig. After a night spent in going over the whole ground, 498 A HISTORY OF THE Oct 1813 Napoleon returned to his bivouac at Probstheyda at daybreak just in time to see three columns of the enemy advancing on his reformed lines of bat- ^ ^ tie. From all sides the French, now numbering Probs- ' ° theyda barely 190,000 men, were attacked by the united forces of the allies mustering 300,000 men. "Mes enfants," said General Maison, "this is the last battle of France, and we must all be dead be- fore night." Everywhere, throughout the French ranks, like despondency reigned. When Marshal Augereau rode up to the Emperor's headquarters, Napoleon chid him: "You are long in coming, my old Augereau. You are no longer the Augereau of Castiglione." "I shall be the same old Augereau," replied the marshal, "so soon as you can give me back the soldiers of Italy." The Emperor himself was deeply discouraged. While the first cannon balls were striking into the French lines he still pondered over the map spread out at his feet. "What an intricate problem it all is," he sighed. "No one but myself can get me through it. But for luck, I, too, may find it too hard a task." The arrival of Bennigsen's reinforcements really turned the day against him. It swelled the army of the allies to nearly double the number of Napoleon's forces. All day long the great battle of the na- tions raged. As the German historian, Menzel, has admirably summarized the action: The Austrians, stationed on the left wing of the allied army, were opposed by Oudinot, Augereau, and Poniatovsky; the Prussians, stationed on the right wing, by Marmont and Ney; the Russians Arrival of teDOigseii 1813 Oct. NINETEENTH CENTURY 499 and Swedes in the centre, by Murat and Eegnier. In the hottest of the battle, a Saxon cavalry regi- ment, with two brigades of Saxon infantry, went over to Bliicher with bugles blowing, and General Normann, when about to be charged at Taucha by the Prussian cavalry under Billow, also deserted to him with two Wiirtemberg cavalry regiments. The whole of the Saxon infantry, with thirty-eight guns, under Eegnier, shortly afterward went over to the ° '' Battle of Swedes, five hundred men and General Zeschau^^'^^NaUoaa alone remaining true to Napoleon. The Saxons stationed themselves behind the lines of the allies, but their guns were instantly turned upon the French. In the evening of this terrible day, the French were driven back close upon the walls of Leipzig. Their losses were 40,000. On the certainty of vic- tory the three monarchs, who had watched the prog- ress of the battle, so it is reported, knelt on the open field and returned thanks to God. Napoleon, before nightfall, gave orders for full retreat. But next morning he returned to the fight with a part of bis array to save the retreat of the rest. At the last bridge remaining across the Elster, the scenes of the Beresina were re-enacted. The allies over- whelmed the fugitives with grape-shot. Under cover of the artillery, Bliicher's cavalry charged into the French masses thronging through the streets of the suburb Halle. A French corporal of engineers, under orders to blow up the bridge at the approach of the enemy, deemed the moment come and exploded the mine. The bridge collapsed 500 A HISTORY OF THE Oct. 1818 with 20,000 fugitives still on the wrong side. A cry of horror arose, W bile the rearguard rallied for a last stand against the enemy, thousands of fugitives threw themselves into the water. Marshal Mac- donald swam his horse across the river. Prince Poniatovsky, who tried to follow him, was drowned tovsky with his horse. Generals Reynier and Lauriston urowned and a score of other generals, as well as the King of Saxony, were made prisoners with nearly 23,000 men. Thus ended the battle of Leipzig. Napoleon with barely 100,000 men fell back pre- cipitately to Erfurt and thence to Mentz. While passing through Weimar, he sent a farewell message to Goethe. On the march, nearly half of his raw recruits gave out under the strain. At Hanau, Na- poleon found his retreat barred by an Austrian- Bavarian corps under Wrede. By this time he could count on barely 20,000 men whereveith to oppose nearly 60,000 fresh troops. Napoleon was undaunted. As he surveyed the position of the Ba- ^o^m^'a^ varians he exclaimed disdainfully: **Poor Wrede I I made him a count, but I could not make him a general." Then he hurled his main column into the Bavarian flanks like a thunderbolt and utterly dispersed them. Wrede, while trying to save the day, was severely wounded. The French troops re- gained Mentz, after one more reverse at Hochheim. The allies occupied Frankfort. As Napoleon crossed the Bavarian frontier, he said significantly; '*The King of Bavaria and I will meet again. He was a little prince whom I made great. Now he is a great prince whom I shall make little." 1818 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 601 Germany as far as the Rhine was now completely freed from the French. St. Cyr, with his corps of cafjau^'* 35,000 men at Dresden, was tricked into capitula- tion. In November, 140,000 Frenchmen and 790 captured guns were in the iiands of the allies. Next the French garrison at Dantzig surrendered with fourteen generals, among them Napoleon's aide-de- camp, Rupp. The allies, too, lost heavily. The^''^^'"^^'^ Austrian casualties alone aggregated 80,000. The French were no sooner driven across the Rhine than the whole of the Rhenish Confedera- tion declared for the German cause. After King Jerome's ignominious flight from Westphalia, the exiled princes of Ilosse, Brunswick and Oldenburg returned to their domains. Switzerland, Holland roiiapse of Napofeon'a and Italy revolted against l^rench rule. Even empire Murat went over to the enemy. Before the end of the year Trieste and the greater part of Dalmatia surrendered to the Austrian troops. Almost simul- taneously with the events around Leipzig, Welling- ton drove Soult's forces across the Pyrenees and invaded France. The French garrison of Pampe- luna, cut off in the rear, had to surrender. President Madison, in America, during this inter- val, had become profoundly discouraged by the disheartening progress of the war with England. X^enca"' The unsuccessful siege of Fort Meigs had cost the Americans nearly one thousand men. At last, in the autumn, two events occurred which served to hearten the Amerit-an President and his Cabinet. . On September 5, the American ship "Enterprise," 16 guns, Captain Barro, sighted the Briush brig 502 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1818 "Boxer," 14 guns, off the coast of Maine. The two vessels promptly came into action and exchanged the "En- broadsidcs. Early in the fight both captains fell. terpris&-' The "Boxer" finally struck her colors and was towed into Portland as a prize. On September 9, Barclay with a British squadron started on his cruise for the American fleet under Commodore Perry, then at anchor off Put-in- bay. The British fleet consisted of six vessels: the "De- troit, ' ' of 490 tons, carrying 19 guns and Comman- der Barclay; the "Queen Charlotte," 17 guns; the "Lady Pre vost," 13 guns; the "Hunter, " 10 guns; the "Little Belt," 3 guns, and a small sloop with one gun, numbering in all 63 guns and 450 men. Perry's squadron consisted of nine vessels: the "Lawrence," Perry's own brig, carrying 20 guns; the "Niagara" of the same armament; the "Cale- donia" of 3 guns, and the schooners "Ariel," "Scorpion," "Somers, " "Proserpina" and "Ti- gress," carrying ten guns altogether, and a one gun sloop, in all bearing 54 guns and 532 men. The American broadsides threw at close range 950 pounds, against 450 of the British. At long range the British ships could throw 195, against 288 of the Americans. In tonnage, the Americans over- matched the English as eight to seven. At daylight on September 10, Perry bore down, striking the British fleet obliquely near its head. He was anxious to fight at close range. The battle Lake Erie began in earnest about noon. The British fire was very destructive. Perry's flagship, the "Lawrence," within canister shot, sustained the action for two 1813 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 6U3 hoars, until every gun was useless and the greater part of the crew was killed or wounded. The "Ni- agara" then came into action, and Perry went on board of her, "At quarter to three in the after- noon," wrote Perry, "signal was made for close action. The 'Niagara' as yet but little injured, I determined to pass through the enemy's line; bore up and passed ahead of their two ships and a brig, giving them a raking fire from our starboard guns. Our small vessels, under command of Captain El- liot, by this time got their grape and canister to bear, and the two British ships, two brigs and a schooner, surrendered." More than any other bat- tle throughout the American war, the victory was won by the courage and obstinacy of one man. The losses of the British amounted to nearly one in three. On September 12, General Harrison received Perry's famous despatch: "We have met the enemy despatch and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." Harrison's force at this time was less than three thousand. Richard M. Johnson, who gathered a thousand Kentuckians and Tennesseeans armed with guns and bowie-knives, had joined Harrison during the summer. While his mounted men went by road, Harrison's main force embarked in boats and were conveyed, 4,500 in number, to the vicin- ity of Fort Maiden, reaching there toward the end of September. The British withdrew to the north bank of the Thames. To the left of the road was a river, to the right a forest. Harrison followed and formed in line of battle early in the afternoon. 604 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 1818 Johnson led half of his men up against the six- Battieof pomj(j gjmg ^f ^^\^q British, while the other half ^ wheeled to the left across a swamp to attack twice their number of Indians. The battle was over in less than half an hour. Tecumseh was among the slain. Thus ended the troublesome war with the Creeks. Its cost to the United States had been nearly 20,000 men and $5,000,000 in money. Thereafter cums^h's^ the British ceased to be formidable in the North- west. Tecumseh's confederation of Indian tribes was broken up. When Napoleon arrived in Paris, Soult was pre- paring for a stand on the banks of La Nivelle. On November 9, he was overthrown and the British The war colors wcrc planted on the French fortress. Soult in France iii -rw o-iitwti was forced back to Bayonne. Still, Napoleon de- clined to accept the terms of peace offered to him by the allies at Frankfort. He levied new war con- tributions in France. Failing to obtain immediate funds, he ordered Soult to provision his troops at the expense of the country. As a result, hundreds of French peasants flocked to the English lines, where they received hand money for their provis- ions. "The English general's policy, and the good discipline he maintains," wrote Soult, "does us more harm than ten battles. Every peasant longs tou'sauc- to be under his protection." During the second cesses week of December, Wellington made a determined assault on Bayonne, and drove the French into the inner city. Napoleon realized that Spain was irre- trievably lost to France. He offered to release the imprisoned Prince of Asturias and to restore him to J813Dec. NINETEENTH CENTURY 505 tis throne. When his brother Joseph talked of indemnities, Napoleon became impatient: ''Joseph has lost Spain and will certainly never recover it. Let him consult the lowest of my generals. He will Napoleon be told how impossible it is to retain a single village i'^^Q"P beyond the Pyrenees. The first condition of any peace with Europe is the restoration pure and sim- ple of Spain to the Bourbons — happy if at that price I can rid myself of the English and bring back my armies of Spain to the Rhine! As for compen- sations elsewhere, where are they to be found?" New levies of troops were ordered from the classes of conscripts liable for service two years ahead. Frenchmen were struck with consternation. Oa December 19, the Emperor opened the Corps Legis* latif: f "As a monarch and a father, 1 feel what peace adds to the security of thrones and of families. \ Negotiations have been begun with the allied i powers. 1 have adhered to the preliminary bases 1 proposed by them, and was therefore in hopes that \ before the opening of this session the Congress \ would have assembled at Mannheim; but new de- peace j^ro- lays, for which France is not blamable, have de-^^^^^J f erred that event." The Frankfort proposals of peace were turned over to a commission of the Chambers. Their re- port, recommending peace on almost any basis, so enraged Napoleon that he determined to dissolve the legislative body. When the deputies appeared before him at the close of the year, he assailed theia with these words: XlXth Century— Vol. 1—22 506 A HISTORY OF THE Dec. 181S Napoleon rejects peace Corpe Lejfislatif di^lved "Deputies of the Legislative Body, you can do much good, and you have done much harm. I sum- moned you to assist me, and you have come to say and do what is necessary to help the foreigner. Eleven-twelfths of you are good, the rest are fac- tious, and you have been their dupes. Your com- mission has been inspired by the spirit of the Girondins. M. Laine, who drew up your report, is a worthless man. He is sold to England; I shall keep my eye on him. Two battles lost in Cham- pagne would have done less harm than his report. M. Raynouard, who said that Marshal Mass^na pil- laged a citizen's country-house, is a liar. . . How can you blame me for my misfortunes? You say that adversity has given me good advice. Is it by reproaches that you propose to restore the glory of the throne? I am one of those men who can face death, but not disgrace. Besides, what is the throne ? Four pieces of wood covered with a piece of velvet: everything depends upon him whose seat it is. The throne is in the desire of the nation, whom I represent; I cannot be attacked without attacking it. Four times have I been called by the nation; I had the votes of 5,000,000 of citi- zens. I have a title, and you have none. You are only deputies of the departments. Is this a time for remonstrance when 200,000 Cossacks are cross- ing our frontiers ? . . . I am beyond reach of your declamations. In three months we shall have peace, or I shall be dead. Our enemies have never con- quered us, nor will they now. They will be driven away more speedily than they came." Bent 6n carrying out his will alone. Napoleon signed the decree for the dissolution of the Corps Legislatif on the last day of the year. ^H •r G 1614 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 507 1814 ON THE first day of the new year, Bliicher j crossed the Rhine at Kaub. The invasion f of France was begun. From all sides vast armies poured into France. Wellington advanced from the south; the Austrians, under Schwarzen- berg, from Switzerland, and Bernadotte's corps from the Netherlands. To stem this tide, Napoleon made of France haste to send his latest levies to the Rhenish fron- tiers. There Macdonald, Marmont and Victor, with the remnants of their armies, stood ready to meet the first shock. Another French army was concen- trated at Lyons to block the allies' advance from Switzerland and Savoy. The outstanding French troops in Spain were drawn in to strengthen Sou It's opposition to Wellington. On January 25, Napo- leon started for Chalons-sur-Marne. Marie Louise and Joseph Bonaparte were made Regents of the^J*Jy,|, Empire, with a Council of State, including Camba- '*''«^^" c^r5s and Talleyrand. When Napoleon kissed Marie Louise for the last time he gave Talleyrand a hard look, and said significantly: *'I am well aware that I have in Paris other enemies besides those 1 am going to fight." The care of raising an army of re- serves at Paris was intrusted to old Marshal Keller* mann. A picture of the French capital at that time is given in Guizot's Memoirs: 608 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1814 *'I have still before my eyes the appearance of Paris — for example, the Kue de Rivoli, which was then only partly built. No workmen, no move* „ . ment, materials in heaps unused, deserted scaffold- Paria pre- ' ^ ' Fhe^wirs't i^gj structurcs abandoned from want of money, hands, and confidence; new ruins. Everywhere the population seemed uneasy and restlessly idle, like people who are in want both of work and rest. On the highways, and in the towns and villages, there was the same appearance of inaction and agitation, the same visible impoverishment of the country, many more women and children than men; young conscripts, sadly on the march to join their corps; sick and wounded soldiers pouring back. Never was such public apathy seen in the midst of so much national anxiety, or malcontents refraining to such an extent from all action, or agents so eager to dis- avow their master while remaining so subservient to his purposes. It was a nation of harassed onlookers, who had lost all habit of taking any share themselves in their own lot, and knew not what determination they were to desire or to dread for the terrible drama in which their liberty and national existence were at stake." Those that left Paris with Napoleon fully appre- hended what was in store for them: "We are about cioeeof t^ undertake a task, not only difficult, but very use- ^apo eon c j^gg^ , , ^^.^ ^j^^ Dukc of Vinccuza. "Do what we may, the Napoleonic Era is drawing to a close and that of the Bourbons is recommencing." A Minis- ter of the Regency asked the departing Emperor for instructions in case communications should come to 1814 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTURY 509 be intercepted between Paris, blockaded by the enemy, and the imperial headquarters. "My dear fellow," replied Napoleon, "if the enemy reach the gates of Paris there is no more empire." When the Emperor reached Chalons-sur-Marne, the situation was the reverse of encouraging. The new conscripts received him with black looks, and from their ranks arose cries of "Down with war- taxesl" "Does your Majesty bring reinforce- ments?" was the pointed question of the marshals as they gathered around him. "No, there were none to bring," replied the Emperor. Of imme- diately available forces, there were but 60,000 men wherewith to oppose 220,000 allies. Napoleon sent instant orders to treat for terms to ^ Futil4 Caulaincourt, his rejected peace commissioner, then pe^ce^j.^^ detained at the advance outposts of the enemy's army. "We are waiting for Lord Castlereagh, " was the reply transmitted from Metternich to Coulam- court. Napoleon, finding himself thus put off, re- solved to exact a better hearing at the point of the sword. It was at this downward turn of his career \ that Napoleon's military genius shone forth in new \ splendor. ^ While the allied armies were moving cautiously forward in expectation of a speedy termination of hostilities by the new peace commissioners conven- ing at Chatillon, Napoleon suddenly pounced on Bliicher's Prussian corps at Brienne. Though over- matched in numbers. Napoleon manoeuvred hisBiucher driven forces so skilfully over this ground, familiar to him ^om from the days of his early military schooling at 510 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1814 Brienne, that Bliicher's army was separated in de- tachments and routed piecemeal. Bliicher barely escaped capture in the citadel of Brienne. The Prussians fell back until they came in touch with the South German corps under "Wrede and the Prince of Wurtemberg advancing from Belfort. dlfeju^at Thus reinforced they advanced again to La Ro- Rotiudre ^[^^^^6^ and there engaged the French with such superior forces that the Emperor had to give way with heavy losses. Seventy-three of his guns were left sticking in the mud. Counting on the co-opera- tion of Schwarzenberg's main column, which lay within striking distance, Bliicher pushed forward with utmost haste over widely distant roads. Na- poleon profited by the scattered marches of his ene- mies to deliver one telling blow after another. First he caught the Prussians far in advance of the other brilliant allics and threw them ojBE their route in utter confu- sion. Then he fell upon the Russians under Olsu- fiev at Champcaubert; next upon those under Sacken at Montmirail; then upon the second Prussian corps under York at Chateau Thierry, and finally returned to the reunited columns of Bliicher at Beaucbamp. All were overthrown in turn. Having achieved so much by the middle of February, Napoleon swung his waning forces about and inflicted a telling defeat on Schwarzenberg's Austrians; then he repulsed the Russians under Pahlen at Marmont, the Bavarians under Wrede at Villeneuve-Lecomte and the Wur- tembergers after a hard-fought two days' battle at Montereaux. Marshal Augereau in the north, rid for the moment of his most pressing enemies, im- raJly 1814 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 511 proved the lull by driving the Austrians under Bubna into Switzerland. At a council of war held at Troyes, Schwarzen- berg advised a general retreat. Bliicher alone would ^^^^^^^ have none of it. In defiance of the commander-in- sie^fast chief's directions he pushed his column, and uniting with Baelow and Winzingerode on the Marne, at- tacked Napoleon's dwindling army at Laon. The first day's engagement resulted in a drawn battle. The French rested on the battlefield. After dark York's division turned one of the enemy's flanks and burst in upon the French with a wild night at- Night at- tack. Everything was turned topsy-turvy, and the tack at French bivouac was stampeded. An artillery park of forty-six guns was captured. At the news of this brilliant success Schwarzenberg stopped his retro- grade manoeuvres and advanced once more far into the interior. Napoleon gathered his demoralized forces for a supreme effort, and on March 20, made a bold dash for the enemy's position at Arcis-sur- Aube. Schwarzenberg, stronger as he was by his overpowering numbers and superior artillery, stood his ground with unwonted resolution. Five times in succession the Prince of Wartemberg led his Battle of troops to the assault against Napoleon's centre, butArcis at nightfall neither side had gained much advan- tage. While things stood thus in the field, the peace / , plenipotentiaries were deliberating at Chatillon. I \ Metternich and Castlereagh, as the representatives" of Austria and England, which held the balance of power, were the guiding spirits. Stein stood for a 512 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1814 rv'n united Germany. Wilhelm von Humboldt spoke Eotiaxions ^01" ■t'russia. ilasumovski and the vengeful Corsi- ^'^^ can Pozzo di Borgo represented Kussia, though the Czar was always near enough to make his presence felt at crucial moments. It was at this time that South ey wrote his famous ode: Southey's Who couqsgIs peace at this momentous hour, ode When Grod hath given deliverance to the oppress'd, And to the injured power? Who counsels peace, when Vengeance like a flood Rolls on, no longer now to be repress'd ; When innocent blood From the four corners of the world cries out For justice upon one accursed head; When Freedom hath her holy banner spread Over all nations, now in one just cause United; when with one sublime accord Europe throws ofiE the yoke abhorr'd. And Loyalty and Faith and Ancient Laws Follow the avenging sword 1 Woe, woe to England I woe and endless shame. If this heroic land, False to her feelings and unspotted fame. Hold out the olive to the Tyrant's hand I Woe to the world, if Bonaparte's throne • Be suffer'd still to stand! For by what names shall Right and Wrong be known, . What new and courtly phrases must we feign For Falsehood, Murder, and all monstrous crimes, If that perfidious Corsican maintain Still his detested reign. And France, who yearns even now to break her chain. Beneath his iron rule be left to groan? No! by the innumerable dead Whose blood hath for his lust of power been shed, Death only can for his foul deeds atone; That peace which Death and Judgment can bestow. That peace be Bonaparte's . . that alone I For sooner shall the Ethiop change his skin, Or from the Leopard shall her spots depart. iai4 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 51S Than this man change his old flagitious heart. Have ye not seen him in the balance weighed. And there found wanting? — On the stage of blood Foremost the resolute adventurer stood; And when, by many a battle won, He placed upon his brow the crown, Curbing delirious Fiance beneath his sway. Then, hke Octavius in old time, Fair name might he have handed down, Effacing many a stain of former crime. Fool! should he cast away that bright renown! Fool! the redemption proffer'd should he lose! "When Heaven such grace vouchsafed him that the way To Gk)od and Evil lay Before him, which to choose. But Evil was his Good, For all too long in blood had he been nuret, And ne'er was earth with verier tyrant curst. Bold man and bad, Remorseless, godless, full of fraud and lies. And black with murders and with perjuries, Himself in Hell's whole panoply he clad; No law but his own headstrong will he knew, No counsellor but his own wicked heart. From evil thus portentous strength he drew. And trampled under foot all human lies. All holy laws, all natural charities. O France I beneath this fierce Barbarian's sway Disgraced thou art to all succeeding times; Bapine, and blood, and fire have mark'd thy way. All loathsome, all unutterable crimes. A curse is on thee, France I from far and wide It hath gone up to Heaven ; all lands have cried For vengeance upon thy detested head; AU nations curse thee, France! for wheresoe'er In peace or war thy banner hath been spread. All forms of human woe have follow 'd there: The hving and the dead Cry out alike against thee! They who bear, Crouching beneath its weight, thine iron yoke. Join in the bitterness of secret prayer The voice of that innumerable throng Whose slaughtered spirits day and night invoke 514 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 18U The everlasting Judge of right and wrong, How long, Lord I Holy and Just, how long! One man hath been for ten long wretched years The cause of all this blood and all these tears ; One man in this most awful point of lime Draws on thy danger, as he caused thy crime. Wait not too long the event. For now whole Europe comes against thee bent; His wiles and their own strength the nations know; ,Wise from past wrongs, on future peace intent, The People and the Princes, with one mind, From all parts move against the general foe: One act of justice, one atoning blow. One execrable head laid low, Even yet, France! averts thy punishment: Open thine eyes I too long hast thou been blind; Take vengeance for thyself, and for mankind I South ey need not have feared. Napoleon's rep- resentative, Caulain^ourt, cut ofiE as he was from quick communication with his master, was playing a losing game. From the heat of battle, the Em^ peror sent him contradictory or vague instructions iMll!ruc°°^ like this: "Metternich's proposals are absurd. He *°°^ thinks he can lead Europe by the nose. Matters must be decided immediately. Accept the allies* terms if they are acceptable; in the contrary case, we run the risk of battle and even of the loss of Paris with all that may result therefrom. You ought to know how to decide." Coulaincourt was scarcely the man to take such responsibility. The allies' terms grew more and more exacting as they penetrated further into France. Metternich was always pressing Coulain- Coulain- court court to yield now or lose all. Whenever Napoleon Irreaoluto "^ ' won a battle, on the other hand, he despatched couriers to Coulaincourt urging him to stand firnr. I8l4 8prinar NINETEENTH CENTURY 615 All Caulaincourt's remonstrances broke themselves against the fixed resolve of Alexander to wipe out the humiliation of Moscow by a triumphal entry into Paris. In this resolution the Czar was strengthened by the impetuous Bliicher and the ardent aspira- j tions of the Bourbon princes, now drawn to France as vultures are to carrion. In their behalf Talley- rand at Paris was turning the situation to account. He advised the Empress to await her fate in Paris. Napoleon, feeling the last supports of the throne fail him, sent an indignant protest to his brother Joseph: "I write to you frankly; if Talleyrand gives such^^^jj^ ^^^^j advice, it is an act of treason implying conspiracy. |o*^*^j^« I repeat to you, have no trust in that man! for six- teen years I have had experience of him, and have even shown favor for him; but he is certainly the greatest enemy of our house now that fortune has for some time abandoned it. I see that fear is turning all the heads in Paris. As for my opinion, I should prefer that my son's throat be cut rather than ever see him brought up at Vienna as an Aus- trian prince; and my opinion of the Empress is so good that I believe she is also of the same way of thinking, as far as a wife and mother can be so. I Napoleon . . at bay never saw Andromache on the stage without pitying the lot of Astyanax." The dragging negotiations were brought to a de- \ cided turn on the first day of March at Chaumont, when the allies accepted Lord Castlereagh's draft | of a treaty for mutual defence and offence. The four great powers, England, Austria, Russia and Prussia, bound themselves together for a period of :> 616 A HISTORY OF THE March 1814 twenty years to come. England undertook to fur- nish each of the powers with a subsidy of fifty mil- lion francs, throughout the duration of the war. Sixth ^ach power in turn promised to keep a contingent coalition ^f 150,000 men in the field. The propositions to ' \ Napoleon calling for a reduction of his empire to the I original limits of France were to remain open for a / fortnight longer. If he refused them then, all nego- Ttiations with him were to be broken off, and Napo- leon was to be proclaimed an outlaw of Europe. Treaty of The compact was sealed at a game of whist played by Metternich, Castlereagh, Nesselrode and Har- denberg. The Emperor in the field rejected the allies' propo- sitions with contumely. To Joseph he sent the min- utes of the plenipotentiaries, characterizing them as "not a proposal but a capitulation, dishonorable to France." To Cambac^r^s he wrote: "You will see from what King Joseph communicates to you how moderate these gentlemen are — just like their sol- diers, who pillage, slaughter and burn everything in France." Thc"Great Then camc the "Great Week," as it has been Week" ' called, when Napoleon, outlawed and everywhere outmatched by the advancing allies, stood at bay against the world. Scbwarzenberg and BlUcher had effected a junction of their armies. Winzingerode was detached with a cavalry division of ten thou- sand picked horse to hang on Napoleon's flanks. Wellington and Hill, who had driven Soult and Clausel to Toulouse and Bordeaux, advanced from the south and fomented royalist risings in that quar^ 1814 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 617 ter. The Due d'Angoul^me entered Bordeaux in triumph. The restoration of the Bourbons was pro- Bourbon claimed by the mayor of the town amid acclama- tions from the merchants and wine-growers of Bor- deaux, who had been ruined by the Continental blockade. Having lighted such firebrands all around Napoleon, the allies, on March 26, began their joint advance on Paris. By noon on the first day they overtook the de- tached columns of Marmont and Mortier, covering ' ° Marshals the Paris road at Sommessons. Both commands g^'j^gl^ were completely overwhelmed, and narrowly escaped ^^"^ capture. General Pacthod's corps of National Guards was cut to pieces. Napoleon, about the same time, was fighting between Troyes and Arcis. Winzin- gerode's Cossacks made a dash for Napoleon's head- quarters. The Emperor's horse was shot under him, and his Polish lancers had to rally around him in a square. Ney was fighting a losing fight at Grand- Farcy, and General Friant in vain sacrificed the purther Imperial Guards. Caulaincourt, at this juncture, defeats rejoined the Emperor, fresh from his futile peace negotiations. •'You did well to return,** said Napoleon. "Death is preferable to what they offered. We are old enough soldiers to have no fear of death. But you shall see something worth while." "Your Majesty has no doubt other resources that we are not aware of?" asked General Sebastiani. Napoleon motioned toward the fight raging all around them and said: "Nothing more than is be- iore your eyes." 518 A HISTORY OF THE March 314 •'Then, why does your Majesty not think of a general rising?" "Sach ideas are purely chimerical, my dear Se- bastiani," replied Napoleon. "Fine recollections of Spain and the French Revolution, A general rising, indeed, in a country where the Revolution destroyed the nobles and priests, and where I myself have de- stroyed the Revolution!" The Emperor resolved on the desperate expedient of taking the enemy on the rear. He hoped to create so powerful a diversion as to draw the allies o2 from Napoleon Paris. It was too late. By the time he realized that cut off "^ the forces operating around him were only detached cavalry the allies were already two marches ahead of him on their way to Paris. Bliicher's vanguard skirmished at the very gates of the capital. Mar- mont and Mortier were gathering tlie National Guards for a last defence of Paris. There was no artillery, and half the National Guards were un- armed. Some one proposed to throw up barricades on the streets or to throw paving-stones from the windows. "Why, that is a revolutionary mode of defence!" objected General Savary. "1 shall most certainly not do that. What would the Emperor say?" A detachment of 2,000 mounted National Flight of Guards were bidden to take the Empress and Prince Louise Imperial to Rambouillet. The King of Rome clung to the curtains of his nursery, and Marie Louise wept as she entered her carriage. From the north, south and east the allied forces, numbering 170,000 men, advanced to the attack. They were led by Bliicher, the Prince of Wurtem- 1814 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 519 berg, and Barclay de Tolly. Marmont and Mortier had 29,000 men, not quite 20,000 of whom were regular troops. Their resistance was to be confined to a pitched battle before the octroi wall. The^,ygg^^_ heights of Montmartre and the Barri^re du Trone, ***''' ^^""^ with the plateau of Eomainville, were the points of attack. On the morning of March 30, the fight be- gan in the suburbs. The plateau of Romainville was several times taken and retaken. The Prince of Wurtemberg carried the bridge of Charentoa against the National Guards and the pupils of the Belfort School. Bliicher's Prussians stormed the Montmartre. At the Barri^re du Trone the stu- dents of the Polytechnic School held their ground under heavy artillery fire. Marshal Mortier was fighting, sword in hand, at Villette, when General Dejean, who had got through the enemy's lines, an- nounced to him the Emperor's approach. At the same time an order arrived from Joseph's headquar- ters beyond Montmartre: "If M. le Marechal Due de Ragusa and M. le Marechal Due de Trevisa cannot Marshals " ordered to hold their ground, they are hereby authorized to ^"'■'^°^®'' enter into pourparlers with the Prince of Schwarzen- berg and the Emperor of Russia, now before the walls." Mortier sent a flag to request an armistice. The request was refused: "It depends on the mar- shals," said Schwarzenberg, "to put a stop to this butchery." Late in the afternoon the French forces all around Paris capitulated. They were permitted to withdraw with all their arms. "And what of Paris?" they asked of Marshal Marmont as he came out of his house on the Rue Paradis-Poissoni^re, his 520 A HISTORY OF THE March 1814 face blackened with gunpowder. "Paris is none of my business. 1 am only a corps commander, and I have saved my corps. I fall back on Fontaine- bleau and join the Emperor." Talleyrand alone re- mained to safeguard the interests of Paris. To the French aide-de-camp who sought out the allied mon- archs at Chateau Bondy, the Czar said reassuringly: "It is not my intention to do the least harm to' the town of Paris. It is not upon the French nation that we are waging war, but upon Napoleon." "And not upon himself, but upon his ambition," added the King of Prussia. evacuated Early on Wednesday morning, March 81, the city was evacuated by the French regular soldiery. It- was entered by 120,000 of the allied troops. The Prussian soldiers were found to be in too ragged a condition to share in the triumphal march. As the Cossacks rode through the Faubourg St. Germain a profusion of white lilies was showered upon them. Napoleon, in the meanwhile, had come up in the rear of the allies as far as Villeneuve-rArchevecque. When he learned of the defeat of his marshals at F6re-Champenoise his troops were driven onward in forced marches. Failing to catch up with his ene- mies at Villeneuve, the Emperor could no longer suppress his impatience, and threw himself into a Napoleon carriage. He flew toward Paris. At Fromentain, arrives tooiat« about midnight, the postilion drew up his foaming horses at the approach of a troop of cavalry. "Who goes there?" called the Emperor. General Bel Hard rode to the carriage step. He has left this record of what passed between them: 2«14 April NINETEENTH CENTURY 621 "Where is the army ?" asked Napoleon. "Sire, it is coming behind." "And the enemy?" "At the gates of Paris." "And who holds Paris?" "Nobody, it is evacuated." "What! evacuated? And my son, my wife, the government, where are they ?" "On the Loire, Sire." "On the Loire! who sent them there?" "Sire, it was said to be by your orders." "My orders! Where is King Joseph, and Clarke, broken to Napoleon and Marmont, and Mortier?" "Sire, we did not see King Joseph or the Duke of Feltre; the marshals did all that it was possible for men to do. A defence was made in every part, and the National Guards fought like soldiers. We had nothing, not even cannon! Ah! Sire, had you but been there!" "I cannot be everywhere. Joseph lost Spain, and now he is losing me France! And Clarke, too; if I had believed that poor Rovigo, who always kept tell- ing me that he was a coward and traitor! But we must go there at once! My carriage, Oaulaincourt!" The officers threw themselves before the Emperor, to stop him as he proceeded to walk along the road. "It is impossible. Sire! It is too late! There is a capitulation! The infantry is behind us, and will presently reach us." Some of the detachments were already coming in sight. Napoleon let himself fall by the roadside and hid his face. It was the end of his empire, and 522 A HISTORY OF THE AprU 18U he felt himself once more reduced to the rank of an adventurer. After the fall of Paris, Napoleoa remained at Foq- tainebleau awaiting developments. The soldiers and officers of the line still stood ready to fight, but the marshals and general officers were utterly weary. They insisted on giving up the struggle. Even Ney turned from his master. Yielding to their pressure, Napoleon sent Caulaincourt to Paris with a formal Napoleon's abdication abdication in favor of his infant son. Caulaincourt exacted was mformed that only an unconditional abdication would be accepted. The Emperor convened his mar- shals. They were obdurate. Marshal Marmont drew ofiE his whole Sixth Army Corps. At length, on April 11, Napoleon signed an act surrendering the throne of France for himself and his heirs. He was permitted to retain the empty title of Emperor with an annuity of two million francs. Furthermore, he was allowed to retain a bodyguard of one thousand men wherewith to retire to Elba, one of the Tuscan islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Parma and Pla- centia were reserved as the dowry of Marie Louise jofepiik^e ^°^ ^^^ King of Rome. Ex-Empress Josephine re- tamed an annual income of one million francs. She only enjoyed it for a few weeks, as her deuth came within a month. Before leaving France, Napoleon tried to poison himself, but failed. Next day he took leave of the remaining members of his Old Guard, kissing their colonel and their flag. Then he departed, under a Russian escort, to embark for Elba on the British cruiser "Undaunted." On the way he had to dis- 1814 May NINETEENTH CENTURY 523 guise himself in an Austrian uniform to escape the insults of the populace. On May 30, he stepped ,^^1^^° ashore at Porto Ferrajo and received the homage of the island population of Elba. With Napoleon out of the way the question arose what was to be done with France ? The Austrian Emperor would have liked a Regency under Marie Louise. Bernadotte had high hopes of assuming charge. Alexander showed himself not averse to a return of republican rule. The proposed restoration of the Bourbons at first excited scant enthusiasm except among themselves. At the advent of the Count of Artois, some weeks previous, neither the Austrian nor the Russian commanding generals would give him official recognition. Wellington would not receive the Due d'Angoul^me at his headquarters. He wrote to Lord Bathurst: "The only opinion I can form is this: Twenty years have elapsed since the princes of the House of Bourbon left France. They are all but unknown here. In proposing a sovereign in place of Napoleon it mat- ters little to Frenchmen whether he be a prince of Bourbon or of any other royal family." Talleyrand was the man who most keenly recog- \ nized the expediency of recalling a prince of French conflicting clajms in blood to preside over the destinies of France. As Frajnce he put it: "The Republic is an impossibility; the Regency or Bernadotte means nothing but perpet- ual intrigues. The Bourbons alone represent a principle." Talleyrand was pre-eminently the man of the hour. As the only remaining officer of the Regency, and 624 A HISTORY OF THE May 1814 an old aristocrat of France as well, he had the imme- diate entree to the sessions of the allied sovereigns ■ and their councillors. Trained diplomat that he Taiie andr^^' ^® ^ncw how to cope with the wiles of Metter- to the fore Ljch and Pozzo di Borgo, no less than with the more /blunt proposals of Castlereagh and Humboldt. In / his capacity as Vice-President of the French Senate, Talleyrand convened some thirty remaining mem- bers of the Corps Legialatif. With their help he hastily drafted a new constitution, which, as he phrased it, "restored to France her rightful king — Prince Louis Stanislaus Xavier de Bourbon." On the fourth day of May the new king appeared in Louis Paris. He soon showed that he preferred to rest his xvm claim to the throne on the "divine right of kings," never relinquished by him or his house. He was recognized by the royalists as Louis XVIII., King of France and Navarre. Ten days later, Prince Ferdinand Louis Ferdinand of Asturias re-entered Madrid in VII. re- B^^ triumph, and ascended the throne of Spain. On May 20, Prince Victor Emmanuel of Savoy returned to his capital, Turin. Bernadotte and Murat, the I two upstart rulers of Sweden and Naples, strove to I make sur^ of their doubtful thrones by absolute ad- ?*i?^ I hesion to the new order of things. Bernadotte had dotte'a D Sweden improved the last interval by wresting Norway from Denmark with the help of a Russian army corps. On May 27, the draft of the new French constitu- tion, known as the Charta, was submitrted to Louis XVIII. It was signed by him on compulsion only of the Czar of Russia. Three days later the Treaty of Paris was signed by the representatives of France 1814 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 525 and of all the great powers, France got off very / lightly, thanks to the generous spirit of Alexander / and the ascendency over him gained by Talleyrand. 1, In vain did old Bliicher vent his wrath against the "qaill drivers," as he called all diplomats. France was allowed to retain her limits of 1792, and got \ some slight additions of territory besides. Nearly ] all the French colonies, captured by Great Britain, changes were restored to France. Alsace-Lorraine, wrested ""^^^^ from Germany under Louis XIV., remained a prov- ince of France. No money indemnity whatever was exacted. Even the French prisoners still held in Germany had to be sent back to France at the ex- pense of the German people. Of the rich spoils plundered from Italy, Spain and Germany, none were returned but the bronze horses taken from 1 the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and some priceless manuscripts of the Library of Vienna. By other clauses of the treaty the navigation on the Ehine was made free. Switzerland was declared indepen- dent. Holland was restored to the Prince of Orange. Italy and Germany, with the exception of the Aus- trian provinces in both countries, were rearranged as clusters of independent principalities. This arrangement, while it satisfied the princes who profited by it, or such simple loyal people as the Tyrolese, deeply outraged the growing feeling for national unity, which had arisen in Germany National sentimente and Italy. Englishmen, and the lovers of freedom outraged throughout the world, took it hard to see the old sea-going republics of Venice and Genoa brought absolutely under Hapsburg rule. Poland and Fin- 626 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1814 J land had to bend their necks to the yoke of Russia. The Norwegians, much against their will, found themselves cut off from their ancient union with Denmark to have their political destinies linked to those of Sweden. At a Diet held at Eidsvold, the Norwegian people repudiated the arrangement. They drew up a constitution of their own and elected Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark King of Norway. When the Diet dissolved, all Revolt of ^^^ members formed a ring, and locking hands, Norway chanted in chorus: "United and true until Mount Dover falls." England promptly put the coast of Norway under blockade. Russia sent troops to the border. It was to adjust this and similar difficulties that the representatives of the great powers deter- mined to convoke within the same year a great European congress at Vienna. To this congress the settlement of all vexed questions was to be committed. A period of universal rejoicing followed. After the festivities of Paris, Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia visited England. Their stay there Rojoicing ^^^ cloudcd Only by the gloom at court, arising uj England £j,^^ the Continued insanity of the blind old king and from the open rupture between the Prince of Wales and his consort, Caroline of Brunswick. General Bliicher was the lion of the occasion. When the University of Oxford conferred a doc- tor's degree on him, the old warrior remarked: *'Why don't you make General Gneisenau apothe- cary ? It was he who prepared my pills." About the same time that these visitors were honored in 1814 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 527 England, Lord Wellington was raised to a duke- dom, and had his annuity increased by Parliament. Robert Southey was made Poet Laureate — the best Poet ^^' It'll -r» T Laureate of his kind since the laureateship of Ben Jonson in Elizabethan times. He set himself to work at once on an elaborate prose "History of the Peninsular War." Of his work as poet laureate, little has out- lived his day but the exquisite lines of his "Ode on the Death of the Princess Charlotte." The withdrawal of the British arniy from Spain and France, and the collapse of the Continental blockade, left England free to put more vigor into her war with the United States. The blockade of the Atlantic coast was made more stringent. Ad- miral Cockburn, by his relentless raids along the shores from Loner Island to Charleston, inspired ap-Tbewarin '-' '11 America prehension and resentment in the hearts of all who dwelt on the Atlantic seaboard. Fourteen thousand veterans who had fought under Wellington were sent into Canada. The American army, under Gen- eral Wilkinson, lay idle until February 1, when 2,000 troops were sent to Sackett's Harbor and 4,000 to Plattsburgh. Wilkinson was retired in March and Izard took his place. The British at that time hacr control of Lake Erie. Early in May a British force British •J •' success at destroyed the American base of supplies near Os- Oswego wego in northwestern New York. In June, General Brown with a force of nearly 5,000 American troops marched to York in Canada. Having seized Fort Erie, he hastened on to Chip- pewa, where he found a strong force of British. General Eiall, the British commander, drew up 528 A HISTORY OF THE July 1814 in three columns on Chippewa Plain. Scott had ordered a general parade, "to keep the men in breath." When the presence of the enemy was re- ported to him he advanced his men across a bridge dividing the two forces, and formed them in col- umns on the other side. Thomson's battery of twelve-pounders on the right opened fire. The ar- tillery fire was so well directed that the British col- umns were unable to withstand it. During the ad- vance of the American infantry that followed the British columns broke and withdrew. Eiall's losses were 615, while those of the Americans were 300. On July 24, the American force under Brown in Canada encamped on the field of Chippewa. When the American forces marched to Lundy's Lane, a mile below Niagara Falls, the British followed. The two armies camped but three miles apart. Riall was joined by Drummond with 815 men. Scott advanced in the hope of meeting the British, and deployed in line of battle as soon as a hostile Battle of force was sighted. Lundy's Lane, at right angles Lundy's Lane with the rivcr, ran close behind the British position. The American attack was delivered on the British left. An American battalion under Jessup opened a wedge and let Scott's main column through into the British rear. General Riall himself was taken captive. From seven until nine in the evening Scott's brigade clung to the British left and centre, and at last ceased firing when the ammunition was exhausted. The order was then given to Ripley's brigade to capture the British guns. Miller, the officer in command of the American vanguard, as 1814 July NINETEENTH CENTURY 629 the order was repeated to fiim, replied; "I'll try, sir." The 21st Eegiment of American infantry silently advanced under cover of the darkness, and with a sudden rush carried tlie guns at the point of the bayonet. Behind the guns was massed a force of 2,600 British soldiers. For twenty minutes a hand- to-hand fight was carried on, but at last the British fell back. Their guns were turned on them from the hilltops. The British reformed under this artillery fire for a night attack. The two lines were engaged along their whole length at close quarters. After half an hour of such fighting the British retreated again, but three times more were called upon to re- capture their guns. The battle ceased late in the night from sheer exhaustion on both sides. The American losses were 853, those of the English 878. Both Generals Brown and Scott, on the American side, were severely wounded. Next day the Ameri- cans retired to Fort Erie, leaving the captured bat- teries behind them. On August IS, Fort Erie, held by 2,000 A meri- British ° ' ' -^ ' assault cans, was assaulted by a force of 3,400 British. The^°''*^'^« attack failed. The British casualties were 780, as against 84 of the garrison. A month later General Porter took the chief blockhouse by assault, and, spiking the guns, blew up the powder magazine. The first American battery remained untaken. Gen- eral Drummond thereupon retired with the whole of the British forces. Thus ended the indecisive opera- tions along the northern border. In August, General Ross with 8,500 men, fresh from their victories against the French, arrived in XtXth Century— Vol. 1—23 630 A HISTORi OF THE Aug. 1814 the Chesapeake. They were reinforced by 1,000 to|fon marines from Cockburn's squadron. Their obvious objective point was the city of Washington. The attack could have been anticipated, for Gallatin, writing from England two months before, had fore- warned President Madison. Nothing, however, was done. Although General Winder, in command of the District, could marshal 5,000 men against the British column of 4,000, no determined resistance was offered. Instead of sending troops to protect the flotilla of gunboats lying at Marlboro, Com- modore Barney was ordered to burn his ships and retreat. After great confusion within the city of Washing ton a force of 2,500 men, with twelve field-pieces was brought together by General Winder. He marched beyond the confines- of the city. On in formation that the British were comitfg for Bladens burg the American column headed for that point President Madison, Colonel Monroe, and Genera Armstrong, the Secretary of War, were with Win der's column at the first encounter with the British Americaaa ^t the bridge of Bladcnsburg, on August 24. The routed at. . . , i /> i i t Bladens- American infantry gave way at the first shock and scurried out of danger. Their total loss was one man killed. The only real fighting was done by the marines stationed at the bridge. They held the bridge for one hour in the face of repeated charges by the British. The losses of the enemy, here, were greater than the total number of American marines. They were surrounded at last by flank- ing parties that forded the river. Not until Com- burg 1 1814 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 631 modore Barney and Captain Miller, his second in command, had been shot did the marines surrender. The British pushed on to Washington after the re- treating American army. ''The Eace of Bladens- burg," as the battle was satirically called, and the . undignified exploits of the President and his Cabi- net, who took to the woods, were a bitter pill for i^^btof - the American patriots of those days. As J udge '^'^'^'*^" Cranch, an eye-witness of the invasion of Washing- ton, wrote in a letter: "A wound has been inflicted which age will not cure; and a scar has been left which time will scarcely efface." Before abandoning Washington, the Secretary of the Navy, Jones, ordered the Government Navy Yard to be set on fire. T&e loss in ships and stores was enormous. The British on entering the town followed suit by burning the White Hoase, the un- finished structure of the Capitol, with the books and archives of the Congressional Library. One of the traditions of the day is that Admiral Cockburn, bursting into the halls of Congress, leaped upon the Speaker's chair and shouted: "Shall this harbor of Yankee democracy be burned? All for it will say *Ay.' The ays have it. Light up!" The build- oapitoi burned by ing went up in flames. Two days afterward the British British marched to Marlboro, twenty-five miles away. President Madison returned to the Capital on horseback, but finding the White House in ashes crossed the Potomac and joined his wife in the coun- try. Driven by false alarms they took refuge in the woods. The adventures of Secretary Monroe were scarcely less mortifying. He had passed the night 532 ■ A HISTORY OF THE Aug. 1814 in seclusion in Maryland until he succeeded in join- ing the President. The British frigates came up the Potomac River, and Fort Washington had to be abandoned. The squadron then crossed to Alexan- dria and destroyed the government buildings and stores. Baltimore Ncxt, an attempt was made to attack Baltimore. threatened ' r The British fleet bombarded Fort McIIenry, while the land forces were to move on the city. Both at- tacks were repulsed. During the bombardment, Francis S. Key, who had gone to the British fleet under a flag of truce to obtain the release of a friend, could see the Stars and Stripes blowing over Fort tKHnbarded ^^cHenry from the deck of the enemy's flagship. The British commander boasted to Key that the American garrison could not hold out all night, and that Baltimore would surely be taken. At early dawn Key was up to watch for a glimpse of the American flag. When he beheld it still waving he wrote the famous song which has become one of America's national anthems. _ , "Oil, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, stanzas What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, WliOHO broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly sircammg? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Gave proof through tho night that our flag was still there; .Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner j'ct wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" After the failure of the attempt on Baltimore the British re-embarked for Halifax. At this time the British had 10,000 soldiers near Lake Champlain, with a fleet of sixteen vessels, consisting of the J814Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 533 "Confiance," a 86-gun ship, two sloops with 10 guns each, and twelve gunboats. The American ships, Tinder Macdonough, comprised the "Saratoga," with 240 men and 26 guns; the "Eagle," 20 guns; "Ti- conderoga," 17 guns; "Preble," 7 guns, and ten gunboats, in all 86 guns against 90. Prevost, in command of the approaching British land forces, reached the Saranac Eiver, and saw the ridges be- yond surmounted with formidable works and the American flotilla at anchor. On September 11, the British fleet hove in sight. Prevost ordered a general assault. The "Confiance," under Captain Downie, sailed in and tried to range ^^^J®®' alongside of the ' ' Saratoga. ' ' The first British broad - champiain side disabled one-fifth of the "Saratoga's" crew. Captain Downie was killed. After a two hours' fight the American squadron was on the poiat of capture, but Macdonough wound ship and raked the "Confiance's" decks with one gun after another. The "Confiance" soon struck her colors, and three other British ships followed suit. Only the light draught gunboats escaped. The British attack by land was equally unsuccessful. The news of the defeat caused great mortification in England. Izard returned to Sackett's Harbor late in September, and in October went into winter quarters. The American privateer "General Armstrong," commanded by Captain Samuel Keid, put into the harbor of Fayal in the Azores about the middle of September. Her armament consisted of eight 9-pounders and one long gun, with a crew of ninety men. A British squadron, bound for Jamaica to 634 A HISTORY OF THE Sept. 1814 join Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane's naval expedi- tion against New Orleans, halted at Fayal on Sep- tember 25. The British squadron consisted of three vessels; the flagship "Plantagenet," 74 guns, Cap- tain Eobert Floyd; the frigate "Eota," 38 guns, Captain Philip Somerville, and the brig "Carna- tion," 18 guns, Captain George Bentham. These vessels were manned by 2,000 men. Fayal °' On entering Fayal harbor, Captain Floyd sighted the Yankee privateer and distributed his ships around her so that escape was impossible. Though he was in the waters of Portugal, a neutral power, Captain Reid put his ship nearer shore, with springs on her cables and boarding nets. At eight o'clock a number of boats were lowered from the British men-of-war, and filled with armed men. The ac- counts in regard to the boats are conflicting. An English eye-witness of the afiair has reported that there were fourteen boats with about forty men each. The "Carnation" came within shot of the privateer to prevent escape. At midnight all the boats rowed close for the attack. Three boats were sunk by the American long gun as they approached. The others lay alongside, and the boarding nets were hacked to pieces. The British sailors clambered over the bow and stern, shouting "No quarter." They were cut down to a man. The English lieu- tenant who led the expedition was the first man killed. Only two boats managed to get back with Portuguese^ handful of men. Early next morning the Portu- protebt guese Governor sent a peremptory request to Cap- tain Floyd to stop hostilities in the harbor. Captain 1814 Sept. NINETEENTH CENTURY 535 Floyd replied that he would do as he chose, and that if he were hindered he would treat Fayal as a hostile port. The American captain prepared for the worst. Before close of day the British ships closed in pa the "Creneral Armstrong" and poured their broad- sides into her. The privateersmen replied in kind, and soon disabled the "Carnation." Yet the fight could have only one end. The British had threeApiucky vessels against one smaller than their smallest, one " hundred and fifty guns against nine, two thousand men against ninety. Captain Eeid, to avoid cap- ture, scuttled his ship, and pulled for the shore. By the time the British reached the "General Arm- strong" she was beyond hope. So they set her afire and she burned to the water's edge. Captain Keid seized a stone fortress ashore and dared the British to follow. They did not come. The "Carnation" was damaged so badly, and all the British ships had lost so many men, that the British squadron had to put back to England to refit, delaying Sir Thomas Cochrane's expedition. As a result, that admiral arrived at New Orleans four days after Jackson reached there. The affair in the harbor of Fayal resulted in a Diplomatic long diplomatic correspondence. President Madi-recrimiaa- son took steps to compel Portugal to insist upon the inviolability of her neutral ports. He also claimed indemnity, and obtained the promise of an award, but later Louis Napoleon, to whom the matter was referred as arbiter, reversed the award. Great Britain apologized to Portugal for the act of Captain Floyd in attacking an enemy in a neutral port. 536 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1814 The stirring fight at I'ayal inspired James Jef- frey Roche to write the ballad, the opening lines of which are: Roche's * "Tell the story to your sons ballad Of the gallant days of yore, When the brig of seven guns Fought the fleet of seven score. From tlie set of sun till morn, Through the long September night — Ninety men against two thousand, And the ninety won the fight, — In the harbor of Fayal in the Azores," Military movements in the South attracted little attention, though they were scarcely less important. The hope of obtaining the Floridas had encouraged the Southern States to enter into the war. The President had expected Congress to approve the seizure of Spanish Florida. Andrew Jackson, as the most prominent military man in the South, was appointed major-general of militia. He wrote: "If the government so orders, I will rejoice at the op- portunity of placing the American eagle on the ram- parts of Mobile, Pensacola and St. Augustine." While Madison and Monroe raised no objection to seizing the territory of a friendly power, Congress was reluctant to act. At last a bill was signed authorizing the seizure of western Florida and the Pensacola occupatlou of Mobile. Pensacola was captured. This was the only gain of territory made during the war. A particularly atrocious Indian massacre at Fort Mims in southern Alabama was avenged by General Jackson in the battle of Horseshoe Bend, in which 800 Creeks were slain. Not only the power of the 1814 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 637 Creeks was broken at Horseshoe Bend, but the power of the red men east of the Mississippi. At Ht"e8h'oo Tehapecathe the long struggle for the possession ^''°'* of the western world was ended bj the surrender of Weathersford. It was plain even to the Indians that the continent had changed owners. Tecumseh and Weathersford were the last Indian chiefs who could style themselves spokesmen of a sovereign - race. Fort Jackson completed the line of forts which separated the Indians of northern Alabama from the hostile Indians and their British allies. Hundreds of the Indians fled to the swamps of Florida after Holy Ground was taken. Jackson returned to Ten- fndla^u' war nessee after eight months, and announced the end of the Indian troubles. Peace reigned throughout Mis- sissippi, hitherto uninhabitable to white men. In the North, on the other hand, the presence of the British weighed heavily on the people of New England. A large part of Maine and the southern portion of Massachusetts was held by the British. The complete ruin of New England's shipping was felt even more severely. As a result the people of that section became more confirmed in their hostil- ity to the war. From the outset they had refused to put their State troops at the disposal of the Fed- eral government. Now there was talk of separating from the rest of the country. The Legislature ofgew^^^ Massachusetts called for a convention of delegates ''^^'"'^ from all the New England States at Hartford "to consider their public grievances." The story of John Henry, a former British spy, that plans were 538 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1814 a underfoot to restore New England to British rule found ready credence in Washington. Already the people of Nantucket had declared neutrality and placed themselves under British protection. Presi- dent Madison and his Ministers grasped eagerly at the first overtures for peace coming from England. While the American war was thus drawing to a dreary close, the brief war of Norway against Swe- den came to an inglorious end. Before leaving Paris, the representatives of the great powers had granted Bernadotte's request to urge Norway to ac- scandina- cent the supremacy ot Sweden. The special envoys Tian war f r j sr j of the powers arrived in Christiania on June 80. They brought with them, besides their instructions, a letter from the Danish king to his son Christian Frederick, recently elected King of Norway, com- manding him to abdicate and return to Denmark under pain of disinheritance. Prince Christian re- fused. A British squadron put the Norwegian coast under blockade. The Swedish fleet, under the per- sonal 'command of Charles XIII., took up a position outside of Fredericksstad. Insufficiently defended, the fort, on August 4, was compelled to surrender. About the same time, the main Swedish army, under Charles John, crossed the frontier south of Freder- ickshald. One division of it laid siege to the for- ., tress of Frederickssteen, which was stanchly de- r.orwegian ' J reverses fg^^ed by General Ohme. The Norwegian army was eager for a general action; but the king ordered a retreat across the Glommen River. North in So- loer, where Lieutenant-Colonel Krebs had the com- mand, the Norwegian forces were more successful. 1814Autuma NINETEENTH CENTURY 539 A Swedish force, under General Gahn, was defeated by the Norwegians on August 2, at Lier. The Nor- SsTes'' wegians, under Colonel Krebs, afterward attacked the Swedes at Matrand and drove them back across the frontier. The battle at Matrand was the most formidable encounter during this war. General Gahn's losses were 16 ofEcers and 320 men. The Norwegian loss was 140 officers and men. This was the last important engagement of a compara- 11111 A 1 /-I . -. .- Convention tively bloodless war. At the Convention of Moss, of Moss on August 14j the rebellious Danish prince came to terms. He convened the Storthing, or Norwegian Parliament, to which he surrendered his claims to the crown. This done, he sailed back to Denmark. On October 20, the Storthing bj a vote of 72 to 5 accepted the supremacy of Sweden, and elected the King of Sweden for King of Norway. The Scandi- navian union, as finally agreed on, made the person of the king and his management of the foreign affairs scandina- of the country the only common bond. Each coun- try had its own constitution, diet, and cabinet. In case of war, Norway reserved to its own diet the right of refusing troops or financial support. By the time the diplomats began to assemble for the Congress of Vienna, much had happened to efface the transformations of the last twenty years. In England such important domestic problems as the question of the Corn Laws came up for settle- ment. During the last years of the contest with Napoleon, England by dint of her own agricultural development had rendered herself independent of foreign countries as regarded bread stuffs. Now Tian union 540 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1814 that grain could be imported again, and this at a cheaper price than it was grown at home, the landed proprietors and farmers, who had invested capital and labor in this species of culture, felt threatened in the means of their existence. The matter was corn agita- debated at ffreat length in the Commons by Huskis- son, "Vansittart, Frankland Lewis, and Sir Henry Parnell, in favor of the Corn Law, with Rose and Canning in the opposition. A bill was finallj passed by large majorities in both Houses of ParJiament, establishing the sliding scale, to commence with a duty on imported wheat of twenty-four shillings, when the price should be sixty- three shillings the .j-ijgaii^ij,„ quarter; and this duty was to decrease one shilling for every shilling of rise in the market price of grain. In France, one of the first results of the restora- tion was that 14,000 of Napoleon's old army officers were retired on half-pay. The common soldiers had to substitute the white cockade of Bourbon for their tricolor emblems of the Revolution. The head of Napoleon was removed from the badge of the Legion of Honor, and his statues were dismantled through- out the land. Such idols of the army as Mass6na and Davoust were exiled to their country seats as "foreigners." General Dupont, known only for his Restora- disgraceful capitulation at Baylen, was made Min- tion in " . France istcr of War. Fouch^ and Chateaubnand returned to Paris. Napoleon's great code of law was wisely retained in its entirety. The provisions of his fa- mous Concordat with the Church were repudiated. The Society of Jesus was invited to return to Bourboa \ 1814 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 641 France. The government's efforts to prohibit all buying and selling on religious holidays and Sun- days precipitated a crisis of the Cabinet. Deep offence was given by the Duke of Wellington, now- holding the new post of Ambassador to France, by his thoughtless hunting excursions through the wheat fields of the peasants. Everywhere in France there were premonitions of that situation which Na- poleon's malevolence foresaw when he said: "The Bourbons may put France at peace with Europe; but how will they put her at peace with them- selves?" In Spain, the first acts of Louis Ferdinand were to dismiss the Cortes, to abolish the liberal consti- tution of 1812, and to re-establish the Inquisition. Tule'in Spain Prominent Liberals were placed under arrest, and the censorship of the press was restored. In the face of a financial crisis the clergy and their restored monasteries and church lands were exempted from taxation. The soldiers, left unpaid, degenerated into banditti. With commerce and agriculture all but extinct, the country rapidly relapsed to the semi- barbarous condition of feudal times. In certain parts of Germany similar changes went into effect. The aged Prince of Hesse, notorious of old for the way he had farmed out his subjects for service in foreign wars, abolished all modern reforms on the day after his return to Cassel. The Code Napoleon was set aside, as was the decimal system. The feudal burdens of the peasantry were revived. ^ •^ "^ Petty The former state lands were wrested from their pur- German^ chasers without recompense, and the iniquitous class 642 A HISTORY OF THE bummer 1814 system of taxation was restored. Even pigtails and periwigs once more became the order in the army. In Hanover, torture was restored, and punishment of death by breaking on the wheel. In Wurtem- berg, the peasants were once more reduced to serf- dom. When a part of Saxony was turned over to Prus- sia, and the Saxon troops in that district revolted, the whole corps was ordered to be decimated. Gen- Prussian ruiem ei'al Borstel, the hero of Dennewitz, was cashiered Saxony ' ' for refusing to burn the Saxon colors. A charac- teristic incident occurred as the men were drawing lots to die. A drummer boy threw away the dice, exclaiming: "It was I that beat the summons for revolt. I will be the first to die." He was shot before the eyes of his comrades. In Switzerland, the various cantons fell to quarrelling among them- selves on the score of old territorial claims, and the peasantry took to arms, macord in Such Were some of the aspects of the general situa- tion in Europe when the delegates to the Congress of Vienna began to assemble in the Austrian capi' tal. Gathered at the court of Emperor Francis were the Czar of Russia, the Kings of Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtemberg and Denmark, with nearly all the statesmen of eminence in Europe. By common con- sent Prince Metternich presided at the councils of the delegates. Among them were the Duke of Wel- lington, Viscount Castlereagh, Lord Stewart, Count Clancarty, and General Cathcart, representing Great Britain; Counts Nesselrode, Stackelberg, and Prince Easumovski attached to the Czar of Russia; Har- im Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 543 denberg, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and Stein with the King of Prussia; Prince Talleyrand de P^ri- gord, the Duke of Dalberg, and Count Alexis de Noailles, representing HVance; Count Loevenhielm for Sweden, and a host of other titled personages, sent by Spain, Portugal, and all the minor Grerman and Italian principalities. Of the recognized pow- ers, only the Sultan of Turkey and the United States were unrepresented. By way of background to this Congress brilliant picture, Napoleon's wife and infant son could °^ Vienna be seen walking in the Gardens of Schoenbrunn. The fii;:st few weeks of the Congress were spent in a succession of magnificent festivities. Notwith- standing the financial ruin of the country, the Aus- trian Exchequer diverted sums amounting to 25,000 guldens a day for this purpose. Among the long- forgotten records of these faded pageantries one chapter still stands forth with the lustre of immor- tal genius. Ludwig van Beethoven was in "Vienna. The Emperor placed the great assembly room of his court at the disposal of the composer. Bee- thoven was privileged to send out invitations in his own name to all of the sovereigns and grandees then in Vienna. To Beethoven the homage and admirers Beethoven thus won came doubly welcome, since he had by this time turned totally deaf, and had been left to live in solitude. Among his compositions presented to the world at this period was the descriptive piece on the "Battle of Vittoria." He also assisted at the great mass which Talleyrand arranged to solemnize the anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI. of France. 644 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1814 i Talleyrand was the leading spirit of the whole \ Talleyrand (jo^gpess. This was but another proof of his Ihigh diplomatic talents, for in a secret clause of , the treaty of Paris the allies had agreed to exclude / France from participation in any of their territorial ( arrangements. Talleyrand, who was well aware of this, insisted that France, too, must now be reck- oned as one of the allies, and in the end he carried his point. He also brought it about that the Con- gress met in open session and not behind closed i doors, as first arranged by Metternich. Talleyrand I used the question as to what was to be done wiTh - ^ Saxony and the duchy of Warsaw as an instrument wherewith to break up the concert of the powei*s. Eussia and Prussia had agreed, in the treaty of Kalisch, that Prussia should yield all of her Polish provinces to Russia and indemnify herself therefor by the annexation of Saxony. Already a Prussian military government was administering Saxony. To this aggrandizement of the Russian empire, Austria and England were opposed. The British statesmen wanted to see Poland restored to her former inde- pendence, while Austria dreaded to have- Cracow .and other Polish strongholds on the Austrian fron- tier pass into Russian hands. Talleyrand, accord- \ ingly, made the defence of the King of Saxony the keynote of his policy. In pursuance of this object Metternich ^^ reared a fetich of legitimacy, which Metternich i promptly seized upon as the best of means where- I with to hold together the patchwork fabric of the Austrian empire. The minor princes of Germany, who had in their day sided with France, like the V 1814 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 545 King of Saxony, and who had reason to fear the growing strength of Prussia, cordially agreed with [ Emperor Francis's sentiment: "It would be too bad j to thrust an honest German prince from his throne." Talleyrand's enthusiasm for legitimacy was re- garded by the Englishmen in Vienna as one of the drolleries of the former Minister of the Directory. Talleyrand, in his letters to Louis XVIII., ascribed this British attitude to a consciousness of their own blood guilt toward Tippoo Sahib. Yet, when the two northern powers had been thoroughly isolated, \ and France offered to join her army to those of Aus- I tria and the southern German States, England fell p-HctioA into line. A rash threat of war by Hardenberg waspowe^^'*^ followed by immediate armaments on the part of / Austria, Hanover and Bavaria. The Czar sent in- stant orders for his soldiers, then returning to Rus- sia, to halt in Poland. With another European war in prospect, the Brit- ish Ministry was glad to dispose of the troublesome war with America and its serious annoyances to British maritime commerce. The chief cause for disDUte was removed by the withdrawal of the Orders desire for ^ peace in Council on the collapse of the Continental block- ade. Since the time that Russia had offered to mediate, commissioners from both countries had been deliberating at Ghent for nearly five months. The American commissioners were John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell and Albert Gallatin. ' Gambler, Gouldburn and William Adams represented Great Britain. The original instructions of President Madison were 546 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 1814 to insist on the abolition of forcible impressment at sea as a sine qua non of peace. The disquiet- ing attitude of the New England States made the American government more tractable. By the time the notorious Convention of Hartford met, and the cry of disloyalty was raised, Madison's Secretary of cOTference ^''^^^ was ready for peace at any price. Colonel at Ghent j^^onroe's last instruction to his commissioners was this: "Omit any stipulation on the subject of im- pressment, if found indispensably necessary to ter- minate the war." The American commissioners accordingly declared that, "the causes of the war having disappeared by the maritime pacification of Europe, the government of the United States does not desire to continue war in defence of abstract principles, which have for the present ceased to have any practical effect." Both commissions ^ agreed in the end "that all questions betweefi the BUt'usVuo '^*^ nations should be left essentially where they were when the war began." In fine, nothing had been accomplished by the war beyond the loss of lives and property. On the day before the treaty was ratified, Henry Clay still stood out, exclaim- ing: " 'Tis a damned bad treaty, and I don't know wliether I will sign it or not." But on the morrow, — Christmas — the treaty was signed, and peace was held to be concluded. 1816 Jan. NINETEENTH CENTUUT 547 1815 y THOUGH a peace treaty had been duly signed by the commissioners of England and Amer- ica, the news of this event did not reach the belligerents for several weeks. From England, rein- forcements of 5,000 men had been sent some time ' previously to General Ross, with orders to "seize the whole province of Louisiana." ^The United States ,^™^'^'"^" had 2,378 soldiers at New Orleans. Andrew Jackson "^^^^ °° was in command. At that time the city of New Orleans contained 20,000 inhabitants, including the black^aves, who were greatly in the majority. Od December 15, 1814, while Jackson was on a tour of inspection in Louisiana, the British struck their first blow. A few days before they had entered Lake Borgne under convoy and captured six American gunboats. Jackson on his return declared martial law, and assumed dictatorial powers. The British lost no time. Seven thousand men were transferred ^ from their ships to the island in Lake Borgne, The British line of advance was selected six miles down the Mississippi from New Orleans. A force of 1,688 British soldiers was landed three miles from the Mis- sissippi. Thev commanded a point which Jackfeon tack New ^^ J ^ Orleans recognized as one of the three necessary approaches. News arrived that the British had entered the near- 548 A HISTORY OF THE Jan. 1815 est plantation. Jackson had 2,000 men, with two field pieces, immediately available. In the river lay an American war schooner, the "Carolina," armed with one long 12-pounder and six 12-pound carro* Dades. The British had no artillery beyond two 8-pounders. The Americans advanced along a narrow road through the plantation. Colonel Cof- fee, with 732 men, marched around to attack the British from the rear. Commodore Patterson on the "Carolina" opened the fight at seven in the evening. A quarter of an hour afterward Jackson struck the British outposts while the main column was resting. The Americans rushed in on them and a brisk fight followed. At the same time Coffee struck the British flank opposite the "Carolina's" „ ,, . fire. Within an hour the British were forced to seek Piellmi- u^'Sing protection on an old levee. Their casualties were 277 men. Jackson lost 214 of his soldiers. The moral effect of the fight was greater than the actual military results. Jackson's next position was chosen behind an old dry canal three-quarters of a mile in length. Major-General Sir Edward Pakenham was in com- mand of all the British forces. They numbered 6,500. The Americans deepened the canal and put up a parapet behind it. Pakenham was reinforced by two howitzers and a n^ortar from the British flee^ Under the fire of his artillery, the "Carolina," lying off in the river, had to be abandoned. Early in January, the Brjtish attacked Jackson's line with heavy artillery fire. The fire became general and lasted until noon. It proved so disastrous to the iSlSJan. NINETEEJSITH CENTURY 549 British that they abandoned their position with their guns at one o'clock. The British commanders at- tributed their defeat to the American superiority in the use of artillery. On January 4, Jackson was reinforced by 2,250 Roth sides "^ reinforced backwoodsmen from Kentucky, mostly unarmed. The English within a day or so were also rein- forced, bringing their army up to about 8,000. On January 7, Jackson learned that a British force had crossed the river and threatened New Orleans. He could do no more than put 800 of his Kentuckians on the west bank. At six in the morning Pakenham sent a force of 5,300 men to the attack in two col- umns. Jackson, with an extended line of picked riflemen, awaited the attack behind bales of cotton. When the British lines came within musket-shot the fire that met them was so deadly that they faltered, and after a few rods of struggling advance, wavered and broke. General Pakenham fell at the head of his troops, and General Gibbs was mortally wounded. A British column, under Keane, mean-^^,^ while marched along the road between the river and the levee. The concentrated fire from the whole American right wrought havoc among his troops, and Keane himself fell wounded. On the west side, too, the British were repulsed, and had to be re- called from under fire. Next day, General Lam- bert, who had succeeded Pakenham in command, began preparations for a hazardous retreat. On January 27, his troops were re-embarked. Of their total force of 6,666 men, 2,000 were lost. The total American loss was 71. Orleans 550 A HISTORY OF THE Feb. 1815 I When the news of peace reached New Orleans, and was communicated to the newspaj)ers by M. Louaillier, member of the Louisiana Legislature, Jackson had him put under military confinement. Judge Elall, who issued a writ of habeas corpus for Louaillier, was haled before a drum-head court- martial en the charge of ''abetting and inciting mu- tiny.' For this contempt of court, Jackson sub- sequently had to pay a fine of a thousand dollars. „ .,. . , General Lambert, after withdrawing from New British at- ' o Mobiie°° Orleans, decided to attack Mobile in Alabama. This plan was frustrated by the landing of an . American brigade in the rear of Fort Bowyer on February 8. The British position was so ill chosen that they had no choice but to capitulate. They surrendered on February 11, while their fleet with- drew to the West Indies. of'MobUe"^ There were several actions at sea during this period, which added new laurels to the American navy. Decatur, m the "President," fought the "Endymion," and reduced her to a wreck, when, three other ships coming to her aid, he was com- pelled to surrender to this overwhelming force. The last two naval actions of the war were no less brilliant for the Americans. These were the cap- naval turc, in February, 1815, by the frigate "Constitu- tion," Captain Stewart, of two British eloops-of- war, the "Oyane" and "Levant," off the island of Madeira, and in March, by the "Hornet," Captain Biddle, of the brig "Penguin" off the coast of Brazil. "Thus terminated at sea," says Alison, the British historian, "this memorable contest, in J815 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 551 which the English, for the first time for a century and a half, met with equal antagonists on their own element; and in recounting which the British his- torian, at a loss whether to admire most the devoted heroism of his own countrymen or the gallant bear- ing of their antagonists, feels almost equally warmed in narrating either side of the strife." On the same day that the British surrendered at Mobile, news arrived in New York of the conclusion of the peace negotiations at Ghent. The American Senate unanimously confirmed the treaty on Feb- ruary 16. A special message was despatched late Peace ■J ^ or welcomed on Saturday evening to Boston. By making special i° America haste the messenger reached Boston in thirty-two . hours. The Boston bells were set ringing early oh Monday morning, and schools and shops were closed; while British and American flags were hoisted in honor of the event. In the South the relief was 1 greater. Along the entire coast, from Maine Alississippi, the news of peace was received with ^ •ansports of joy. Yet peace was still delayed. In midsummer, Captain Warrington, in command of the "Peacock," captured the "Nautilus" in the Straits of Sunda. On the next day, July 1, 1815, he learned of the rati- fication of peace; so he gave up the "Nautilus" and sailed for the United States. When he reached home he found that every cruiser, both public and private, had returned to port some time before. To Warrington, therefore, belonged the distinction of^^^^^^ having fired the last shot of the war between Amer-^'^o' ica and England. Readjust- 552 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1816 Peace found the United States in a deplorable condition — trade was ruined, commerce gone, no / ready money, banks without credit, and a general depression. In shipping alone it had cost America 1,683 vessels and the lives of 18,000 sailors. Yet, such were the resources of the country,- that the United States almost immediately entered on a career of unexampled prosperity. Cotton rose from ten to over twenty cents per pound. At Vienna, during this same time, the 'diplomats of the allies had virtually finished their labors. The Polish and Saxon difficulties were settled by Prus- sia contenting herself with a portion of Saxony on Europe"^ the right bank of the Elbe, while Russia consented to maintain Poland as a separate province and re- linquished her claim to Cracow and the border for- tresses. The German states were united in a con- federacy, with a diet in which Austria and Prussia each had two votes. Belgium was joined to Holland in a kingdom to be ruled by the Prince of Nassau. He agreed to maintain the great fortress of Luxem- bourg and its surroundings as a stronghold of the German confederation. Holland likewise had to re- linquish all claim to her colonies, Demerara, Esse- quibo, Berbice, and the Cape of Good Hope, forfeited to England during the years of war. In a measure colonies she was Compensated therefor by England's restora- tion of the rich island of Java. The various cantons of Switzerland were all made part of the Swiss confed- eracy on an equal footing, and the Pope's dominions were restored. At the request of Great Britain the allied powers joined in a declaration against the traf- 1815 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 663 fic in black slaves. There remained only the ques- tion of Naples, where King Murat still ruled overuadl the former possessions of the Bourbons. The un- nanced satisfactory drift of affairs in France and Spain under Bourbon rule left the representatives of the other powers lukewarm toward Talleyrand's pro- Bourbon representations. When Metternich seat secret inquiries to Fouche, his spy in Paris, ask- ing what would happen if Napoleon should take it into his head to return to France, Fouch^ replied: "Should a single regiment of an army sent against fo^cJ^^^^'s Napoleon declare for him, the others would surely follow the example. In case nothing of the sort happens, France of her own volition will soon seek refuge in the dynasty of Orleans." It was at this juncture that a report suddenly reached Vienna that Napoleon had left Elba. The effect of this startling news was magical. All differ- ences were sunk in the common desire to meet the situation. Talleyrand, to be sure, expressed a con- viction that Napoleon would only cross into Italy, and there combine with Murat; and Wellington added his contemptuous opinion that, "Even if ^ Wellington NapoleoD should venture into France, he had acted ^^^^■^gjjj, upon false information, and the king would speedily destroy him." Others knew better. The sovereigns of Austria, Eussia and Prussia had learned from their own bit- ter experience whom they had to deal with. Alex- ander sent immediate orders to mobilize his army of 280,000 men in Poland, and declared that he would throw all his resources into the balance to "put an XlXth Century— Vol. 1—24 554 A HISTORY OF THE Spring 1816 end to these revolts of Pretoriun Guards." The Czar was the more aroused, since it was he who had saved for Marie Louise the principality of Parma, and who had opposed all jjrojects to re- move Napoleon from Elba, on the ground that he had given his imperial word that he should be left undisturbed. "We can have no peace now," ex- claimed Alexander. "There is a mortal duel be- tween me and Napoleon. He has broken bis word with me. I am freed from my engagement to him, and Europe shall have an example." Napoleon in Elba had been kept well informed of the happenings in France and at Vienna. For sev- eral montbs all his old followers in France were look- ing forward to his return. "The soldiers plotted openly," says the Duke of Roviga, in his memoirs, •'even at the corners of the streets. Every one, ex- cept perhaps the Ministers, knew what was going on." Napoleon in Elba rallied about him his favorite veterans as a bodyguard. With the three million francs he had been allowed to keep be purchased four coasting vessels. "When do we set out for France?" m^exire*" was the standing question of his officers. On Feb- ruary 22, Fleury de Chaboulon, formerly an auditor in the French Council of State, landed at Porto Ferrajo. On his own initiative he had undertaken the mission to urge the Emperor to return. In ar- dent words he informed Napoleon of the latest signs of discontent in France, and of the reported dissolu- tion of the Congress of Vienna. "Then they still A farewell ° •' dance remember me?" inquired the Emperor. "My sol- diers have not forgotten me?" Napoleon's resolu- 1815 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 55B tion was soon taken. He despatched Fleury to Naples, while he gave orders for a final ball at court. His mother, then residing with him, was f alone informed of his determination. The old I woman, who had steadily followed her son's course with misgivings, trembled. Then she kissed him and said: *'I see you cannot remain here. Go, and may God protect you!" On the night of the ball, while Napoleon's mother and sister directed the fes- tivities, the little garrison was ordered to march to the quay for embarkation. At four in the morning all the other vessels in the harbor were embargoed. The Emperor left his guests in the assembly room i!^|?^^Efb« and, hastening to the quay, embarked with 900 of his followers. By sunrise the little flotilla was under way, with Napoleon leading on the brig "In- constant." As the ships drifted in the uncertain breeze, they fell in with a royal French brig. Na- poleon ordered his soldiers to lie down, and his ship saluted with the flag of Elba — white, strewn with bees. The French captain hailed: "Howis the Em- peror?" "Very well," answered the pilot. We are for Genoa." "We go to Leghorn," answered the Frenchman, and so they parted. On the morn- ing of March 1, a landing was made in the Bay St. Jouan, three miles out of Antibes. The troops went ashore with a cry of "Vive I'Empereur!" A detach- \^^j^^^ ment of guards who proceeded to Antibes were not admitted within the gate, but the inhabitants readily sold them provisions and horses. That night Na- poleon and his men bivouacked among the olive trees of the Provence. The next day the Emperor, 556 A HISTORY OF THE March 1815 after a brief study of the maps, struck out across the hills in the direction of Grenoble. What guns he had brought with him he left behind in the ships. *'It is not with cannon shots that I will win this campaign," he said. Over muddy roads and snow ravines the column pressed onward at the rate of forty miles a day. Not until the close of the fifth day's march did the mounted men riding in front come upon a detachment of royal soldiery in the vil- lage of La Mure, twenty miles south of Grenoble. Napoleon's Old Guards and the soldiers wearing the First white cockade mingled in the streets, until their bloodless encounter officers wcrc filled with apprehension and drew them off. The next morning, as Napoleon's col- umn advanced on the road to Grenoble, they found the full regiment drawn up to block their passage. "Never mind, they won't shoot!" said tlie country folk. "Maybe we have been deceived," said Napo- leon to Bertrand; "but, no matter, forward!" He himself rode forward, and, addressing the roval troops, called out in a loud voice: "Soldiers of the Fifth, do you recognize me?" "Yes, Sire, "said the men. "I am your Little Corporal. What man among you would fire on me? Here is my breast!" "Vive I'Empereur!" shouted the veterans, and rushed forward to press his hand. Their com- mander, left alone, saw the ranks broken and his soldiers trampling their white cockades underfoot. Napoleon rode toward him. "I know you well, Monsieur Lassard," he said. "Who made you Lffeci lieutenant-colonel?" "You, Sire." "And before that — who made you captain?" "You, Sire." 1815 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 657 "And jou wish to fight against mel" "Only be- cause it was my duty." So saying, he tendered the Emperor his sword. Napoleon took it and pressed his hand. "We shall meet again in Grenoble," he said. Then turning to Bertrand and Drouot, he re- marked: "There, it is settled. To-night we shall be in Grenoble, and in ten days in Paris." All was settled, indeed, and the famous period of the Hundred Days was well under way. The vet- eran regiments of the various royal garrisons joined Napoleon's column in a body. As they approached Grenoble, Colonel de Lab^doy^re called out his The Hun- dred Day« regiment, and raising the eagle of the seventh, marched to meet the Emperor with flying colors. Napoleon embraced the young officer and the old flag. "We are tired of seeing France humiliated," explained De Lab^doy^re; but, Sire, everything is changed. A new reign must be inaugurated." "I know it," answered the Emperor, "and am resolved to do so." This was likewise the keynote of the proclamation he issued after he entered Grenoble in triumph: "Soldiers! In my exile I heard your voices. lGre^Q^?o°' am come through all obstacles and dangers. Your General, summoned to the throne by the prayer of the people, and raised upon your shields, is now restored to you. Come and join him! Tear down those colors which were proscribed by the nation, and which for twenty -five years all the enemies of France have rallied round I Display the tricolor which you carried in our great battles! Win back those eagles which you won at Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau, Friedland, and Wagram! 558 A HISTORY OF THE March 1815 France in frenzy "The Two Grenar diers" *'Come, soldiers! stand bj the banners of your chief! His life is only yours; his rights are only yoars and the people's; his interests, his honor, and his glory are only your interests, your honor, and your glory. Victory will march at the double; the eagle, with the colors of the nation, will fly from steeple to steeple, even to the towers of Notre Dame! Then will you be able to boast of your deeds, thea will you be the liberators of your country!" The wonderful personal magnetism of the great captain once more exerted its full influence on his soldiers. The rhapsody of the Hundred Days was its token. In its most poetic expression this frenzy of France has come down to us in the immortal lyrics of Beranger. The wild loyalty of the French soldiers of those days, curiously enough, has still better been rendered by a German poet. It was Heinrich Heine's famous song of the "Two Grena- diers" that afforded to Schumann an opportunity to let his stirring music hark back to the forbiddea strains of the "Marseillaise": Straggling to France went two grenadiers, Who were taken captive m Russia; Hanging their heads to hide their tears They crossed the frontier of Prussia. 'Twas then their spirits were saddened most When thej learned how France had been shaken-^ Defeated and scattered the valiant host, And the Emperor, the Emperor taken. Full bitterly wept the two grenadiers When they heard the wofui story, And one of them said: "How salt are my tears- How burning my wound and gory." The other muttered: '"Tis the end oi the dance; I am sick of life and aweary : £ut I liave a wife and child in France, Without me their lot will be dreary." J815 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 659 "What care I for children, what for a wifel A heavier care has arisen. Let ihem beg for bread to keep up life — The Emperor, the Emperor in prisoul *'0h, grant me, brother, but one demand, When life's last hours I number; Take with you my corse to our native land, In French soil let me slumber; **My Gross of Honor and crimson band Place next to my heart for a neighbor. And put my carbine in my hand, Then buckle on my sabre I •*Thus shall I lie still to watch and peer As a sentinel stands o'er the forces, Until the roaring of cannon I hear And the hoof-beat of neighing horaea-* "Then will my Emperor ride over my grave While sabres glitter and rattle, Then armed to the teeth shall I rise from my grave For the Emperor, the Emperor to battle!" On March 8, Napoleon set out for Lyons, at the head of seven thousand men ready to die in his cause. A semaphore despatch, giving the news of Napoleon's landing, reached Paris on March 5. At first only the king was troubled. While the Pans ^ •' ^ alarmed matter was kept a profound secret in Paris, the princes of the royal house hastened to Lyons, Bordeaux and La Vendue, to see to the army. Marshals Ney and Macdonald, who were held to have compromised themselves with Napoleon when they prepared the way for his abdication, were de- spatched to Besan9on and Nlmes to take charge of the troops there. Marshal Soult, in his capacity as Minister of War, issued an address to the army denouncing the Emperor. Mortier was placed at the head of the troops in the north of France; 560 A HISTORY OF THE March 1815 Augereau was despatched to Normandy; full powers were transmitted to Mass^na, at Toulon; and Oudi- not took direction of the forces at Marseilles, la jjjgQjj,g the meantime, Napoleon's advance was unopposed. unchecked Defection after defection occurred in the army; and It was soon learned that the corps of 30,000 men, posted by order of Soult on the frontier between Besan9on and Lyons, were in large masses deserting the royal standard. The Count of Artois, the Duke of Orleans, and Macdonald could make no impres- sion either on the troops or on the mass of the people. They returned discouraged, and Napoleon, on the 12th of March, took possession of Lyons. This great success at once gave him command of the centre of France. ^sSersdis- When Marshal Ney took leave of the king at the couraged' T^^ig^-gg^ ^le kisscd his hand and said: "Sire, I will bring Bonaparte back in an iron cage." At Aux- erre, Ney was sought out by Gamotte, his brother- in-law, a great admirer of Napoleon. He intro- duced to him emissaries from the Emperor, who beset him with such arguments as Napoleon knew would appeal to his warm-hearted lieutenant and comrade-in-arms. These appeals from his former chieftain proved too much for Ney. As he himself explained at his subsequent trial for high treason: ^'I had indeed kissed the hand of the king, his majesty having presented it to me when he wished me a good journey. The descent of Bonaparte ap- peared to me so extravagant, that I spoke of it with indignation, and made use of the expression charged, relative to the iron cage. In the night 1815 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 561 of March 13 — down to which time, I protest my fidelity — I received a proclamation, drawn by Napo- leon, which I signed. Before reading it to the troops, I submitted it to General Bourmont, who sail] it was necessary to join Bonaparte, and that the Bourbons had committed such follies that they could no longer be supported." On that- occasion some of the royalist officers broke their swords, saying: "You might haveNey's ' *' ° ° defection spared us that," but the bulk of the army hastened in eager marches to join their Emperor. Napoleon received Ney with open arms. He cut short all Ney's explanations, saying: "Do you think I could ever forget Friedland?" The defection of Ney, followed by that of the whole army, opened the way to Paris and drove Louis XVIII. from his throne. When the news of Ney's act reached the capital, the king called for a review of the garrison in Paris. Only a small part of the National Guard responded. Another review was ordered for March 19, and those of the troops that put in their appearance, consisting largely of the royal guards, were drawn off to Beauvais on the other side of Paris. The significance of this manoeuvre was made plain that niglit, when the king with his household left the Tuileries and drove to Beauvais. Thence he took FiiKht of post to Lisle, and fled across the border to Ghent ^^i"- in Flanders. Napoleon arrived at Fontainebleau on the 19th, and proceeded to Paris next day. He reached the Tuileries at nine o'clock in the evening. The mo- 662 A HISTORY OF THE March 1815 ment his carriage stopped at the gates, he was seized by his waiting friends, borne aloft in their arms amid deafening cheers, through a brilliant throng of officers, and hurried up the great stair into the reception hall. Here, an array of ladies of the Imperial Court received him in state. Later, at St. Helena, Napoleon described this day as one of the most delightful of his life. On the morrow the Emperor set himself to work to form a Cabinet. Fouche was summoned and de- Tn^^S" manded the portfolio of Foreign Affairs. He was persuaded instead to resume his functions as chief of police. Coulaincourt, though plainly reluctant, was made Minister of Foreign Affairs. Marshal Davoust, who had been under a cloud during the Restoration, readily agreed to be Minister of War. Cambacer^s, Carnot and Benjamin Constant made up the Council of State. It was plain that a return to republican principles was unavoidable. The threatening attitude of the great powers and a series of royalist risings in the south of France soon convinced Napoleon that he need not hope to enjoy the fruits of his last coup d'itat in peace. His envoys to the Emperor of Austria were turned ^l^vitabie back at the frontier. Caulaincourt's efforts to pro* cure a hearing for his master failed utterly. Secret emissaries who tried to rescue the Empress and the King of Rome from Vienna could not induce Marie Louise to risk the loss of Parma. Even Napoleon's decree abolishing the slave trade fell flat on the statesmen of England. On March 25, the allied powers, reconvening 1 WIS March NINETEENTH CENTURY 563 1 their Congress at Vienna, concluded a new treaty on the basis of that of Chaument. The Cabinets of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Great Britain engaged to "unite their forces against Bonaparte and his faction, in order to prevent him from again I troubling the peace of Europe; they each agreed • to furnish 180,000 men for the prosecution of theC'op,'^®^^ ' A of Vienna war; and, if necessary, to draw forth their entire vened\ military force of every description." By a secret treaty, concluded on the same day, it was stipu- lated that the contracting parties should not lay down their arms until they had effected the de- struction of Napoleon; and that England should supply the funds. All the lesser powers of Europe acceded to these treaties within a fortnight after their ratification. An international declaration was issued: ] •'The powers vv^hich signed the Treaty of Paris, Jo>nt not© reassembled in congress at Vienna, being informed of the escape of Napoleon Bonaparte, and of his . entry with an armed force into France, owe it to | th.^.ir own dignity and to the interest of the nations to make a solemn announcement of their sentiments on the occasion. In thus breaking the convention which had established him in the island of Elba, Bonaparte has destroyed the sole legal title which is attached to his political existence. By reappear- ing in France with projects of trouble and over- throw he has deprived himself of the protection of . tne laws, and made it evident, in the face of the f world, that there can no longer be peace or truce | with him. The powers therefore declare that Bona- | parte has placed himself out of the pale of civil and i social relations; and that, as the general enemy and ; 564 A HISTORY OF THE March 1816 0«Deral mobiliza- tion New French constitu- tion disturber of the world, he is abandoned to public justice." The instrument bore the signatures of Mettemich, Talleyrand, Wellington, flardenberg, Nesselrode, and Loevenhielm, On all sides they began to mobilize. Even in Switzerland and Holland the militia were called to the frontiers. Napoleon realized that all hopes for peace were illusory. He himself informed the reconvened Chambers of the coming storm. The utmost ex- ertions were made for defence. The veterans, but lately returned from their imprisonment in Ger- many and Russia, were called from their homes. Arms and ammunition were turned out at top speed. Napoleon's splendid genius for organization, now put to the last strain, appeared at its best. Within a month he had an army of 120,000 veterans under arms. In the meanwhile, the new French Consti- tution, the "Acte Additionnel," drawn up by Ben- jamin Constant, was breeding trouble at Paris. The Republicans, feeling themselves in the saddle, in- sisted on curbing the Emperor's despotic tendencies. Surrounded by such irreconcilables as Carnot, Con- stant, Lafayette, and his own brother Lucien, not to mention the treacherous Fouch^, Napoleon had to fight for every one of his measures. When Car- not finally raised the threat of civil war. Napoleon broke out: "See nere, Carnot, with you I have no need of disguise. You have a hard head, and can see through the shell of things. Let us not sow the seed of discord when the closest union is needed to save the country I Let us first save France; after 1815 March NINETEENTH CENTURY 565 that I will accede to everything." Carnot gave in, and from that hour left Napoleon free to pursue his measures. When Fouch^ was informed of this at -^ the next Cabinet session, he said without reserve: "If that man should attempt to curb the Jacobin principles we will overturn him at once, and for- ever." Napoleon, who knew that Fouche had en- tered into relations with the royalists in the Ven- due, and who had lately been placed in possession of one of Metternich's secret despatches to Fouche, summoned his Minister of Police before the Council and, disclosing his treason, declared that he should be shot the next morning. Carnot told the enraged p^^^^^^ Emperor that this was no time for shooting cabinet '^™^^-'^ ministers, and that such measures, now, would com- promise him before the whole nation. Napoleon yielded with ill grace. His last words to Fouch^ were: "Like all other persons who are ready to die, we have nothing to conceal from each other. If I fall, the patriots fall too; you will play your game ill, if you betray me. Your party will perish under the rule of the Bourbons: I am your last dictator — remember that!" The first blow was prematurely struck by Murat. On the last day of March he crossed the Po withMurat's 1 1 1 T 1 premature 30,000 Neapolitans, and called upon all the Italians stroke to assert their independence. After some indecisive encounters, the Austrian generals Bellegarde, Bian- chi and Fremont united their forces, and, on April 9, fell upon his at ToUentino. The Neapolitans took to their heels, and Murat fled to France. 566 A HISTORY OF THE April 1815 Ferdinand VII. promptly returned to his lost tbrone in Naples and was there reinstalled with the help of British cruisers. Napoleon was so in- censed at this stroke of ill-fortune that he would not even appoint his veteran cavalry leader to a command in his own army. Next, hostilities broke out in the south of France. Louis La Roche Jaquelein landed on the coast of La Vendue and raised the people to revolt. Napo- Vendeans *■ ' revolt leon, in just alarm at this menace of civil war, de- spatched a force of 20,000 men under General La Marque and Travot to that region. The first battle was disastrous for the royalists. Auguste L;i Roche Jaquelein lost his life. This ended the revolt. At Vienna, in the meanwhile, arrangements had been made to form forthwith three great armies from the allied forces; the first, of 265,000, chiefly Aus- trians and Bavarians, to be stationed on the Upper Rhine, and commanded by Schwarzenberg; the sec- ond, of 155,000 Prussians, on the Lower Rhine, under Bliicher; the third, of 100,000, composed of allies °^ English, Hanoverians and Belgians, in the Low Countries, under Wellington. It was further re solved that military operations should be com menced early in June; previous to which time, the Russian army, 170,000 strong, might be ex pected to reach the Upper Rhine from Poland and, entering France by Strasburg and Besau9on to form a reserve for the invading armies from the east. In addition to the operations of these large masses, lesser movements were to be made on the side of Switzerland and the Pyrenees. 1815 Spring NINETEENTH CENTURY 567 From this plan of the campaign, it was evident that the British troops in Flanders would first be exposed to the shock of war; and the British Cabi- net made exertions proportionate to the emergency. On April 6, a message from the Prince Regent for- mally announced to both Houses of Parliament the events which had recently occurred in France, the measures adopted by the Congress of Vienna, and the necessity of augmenting the military and naval forces of the kingdom. The supplies of men and money requisite to the undertaking were immedi- England's ately voted by Parliament; and in addition to thetufiw''^^ enormous sums wherewith to support her own naval and military establishments, Great Britain granted and paid to the several allied powers, within the year, subsidies to the amount of more than eleven million pounds. Wellington, after careful deliberation, resolved to invade France directly from Flanders, between the Maine and the Oise; but, in order to conceal his design, he recommended that the Austrians and Rus- sians should first cross the French frontier by Befort and Huningen, and, when this was accomplished, that the British and Prussians united should march WelMng- upon Paris by Mons and Namur. He had 80,000 *o°^|g men under his orders, of whom 46,000 were British. Twelve thousand of these were veterans of the Peninsula. The rest were Dutch-Belgians under the Prince of Orange, Brunswickers under their Duke, and the Hanoverian Legion under Wall- moden. Wellington himself, rather ungraciously, described his force as an "infamous army." Blii- 568 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 Blucher"s army Napoleon at the front French tnavo- ments Allies ioactire cher had an army of 108,000 men, all Prussians, and burning once more to avenge the injuries to their country. ISJapoleon hastened to take command of his army in that quarter. The Emperor's plan of campaign was based on the necessities of his situation, and the imperative need of an early success, so as to enable him to meet the advance of the Russians and Aus- trians from the other side. For the direction of public affairs in France during his absence Napo- leon appointed a provisional government, including his brothers Joseph and Lucien, Cambacer^s, Da- voust, Coulaincourt, Fouchd, Carnot, Goudin, Mol- lien, and D^cr^s. This done, the Emperor left Pans on June 12, and joined the army on the 14th. Forthwith he moved his men into camp at Laon, behind the screening chain of fortresses on the Bel- gian frontier. BlUcher's army lay on the bank of the Sambre and Meuse, from Li^ge on his left to Charleroi on his right. Wellington covered Brus- sels. It was on Charleroi that Napoleon resolved to direct his first attack in the hope of cutting the two armies apart. On June 10, Wellington received information — which proved to be misleading — that Napoleon haa reached Maubeuge with his troops. Yet neither Bliicher nor Wellington took steps to concentrate their forces. When the French troops crossed the frontier near Fleurus on the 15th, Wellington's men lay in cantonments from the Scheldt to Brussels, and BlUcher's extended as far as Namur. This inactivity would be inexplicable but for this ac- MlSJune NINETEENTH CENTURY 669 count of the matter given by Fouch^ in his memoirs. That arch traitor had promised to furnish the British commander with a detailed plan of the campaign. Wellington was in hourly expectation of this intelligence, and quietly awaited its arrival. Why he did not receive it, Fouch^ thus explains: "My agents with Metternich and Lord Welling- 15;^» ton had promised everything, and the English gen- eral at least expected I would give him the plan of the campaign. I knew that Napoleon would attack the British army on the 16th, or, at latest, on the 18th, after having marched right over the Prussians. fle had the greater reason to expect success, inas- much as Wellington, deceived by false reports, be- lieved that the opening of the campaign might be deferred till the beginning of July. Napoleon, therefore, trusted to a surprise, and I arranged my plans in conformity. On the day of his departure, i despatched Madame D with notes, written in cipher, containing the whole plan of the campaign; but at the same time I sent such orders to the fron- tier as would prevent her reaching Wellington's headquarters until after the catastrophe. This is the true explanation of the British generalissimo's inactivity, which, at the time, excited such univer- sal astonishment." The French army crossed the frontier at daybreak on the 15th, and moved upon Charleroi. The Prus- charierol , sian force, which occupied that town, was driven out, and fell back on Fleurus. Thus, Napoleon's first object, that of taking his enemy by surprise. 670 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 was accomplislied, and he now confidently expected to separate the two allied armies. For this purpose he despatched Ney with the left wing, 46,000 strong, to Quatre-Bras, a point of intersection of the roads from and to Brussels, Nivelles, Charleroi and Na- mar; while he himself, with 72,000 men, pushed on toward Fleurus to assail Bliicher, who was concen- trating his army with all possible haste, and falling back upon Ligny. Wellington received word of these movements at Brussels on the evening of the 15th, and he immediately sent orders to his troops to concentrate at Quatre-Bras. Bliicher's army, excepting the fourth corps, which had not yet come up, arrayed themselves, on the 16th, on the heights between Brie and Sombref, and strongly occupied the villages of St. Amand and Prussian Ligny in front. The position was well chosen. The villages afforded an excellent shelter, while the artillery, placed on a semicircular ridge between them, commanded the entire field, and the elevation in the rear, surmounted by the windmill of Bussy, formed a good rallying point in case of disaster. Napoleon afterward recorded in his memoirs that he attacked Bliicher first because he well knew that Bliicher would not be supported by the overprudent English commander; whereas, if Wellington had been attacked first, the Prussians would surely hasten to his support. As a matter of fact, Wel- lington himself rode over to Bliicher's lines on the morning of the 16th and promised him his support. Apart from that, it is on record that Napoleon attacked both commanders almost simultaneously, position 1815 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 671 for the distinct purpose of preventing them from detaching troops in aid of one another. Only, in accordance with his oft-tried strategy, he endeav- ored to crush each of his opponents successively by a rapid concentration of superior numbers. In the fight at Quatre-Bras, in which the British K'^ held their ground, the Duke of Brunswick fell a sacrifice. At Ligny, by a series of superb manoeu- ^^.^^^ vres, Napoleon completely routed the Prussians. They lost 1,200 men and 21 guns. While trjnng to stem the onslaught of the French cavalry, Blii- cher's horse was shot under him, and two succes- sive cavalry charges passed over his senseless body. After nightfall his aide-de-camp, Count Nostitz, re- turned to the battlefield and succeeded in drawing the field marshal from beneath his horse. When Bliicher revived it was only to find his army routed. A characteristic anecdote is that when the surgeon attempted to rub his injured leg with spirits, Bliicher exclaimed: "The stuff is of no use taken outside," and drank it down. Bliicher's second in command, General Gneisenau, oneise- nau"s saved the situation by conducting the retreat north- s^ategy ward. Thus he brought the shattered Prussian col- umns once more in communication with the British. Of the three Prussian army corps that had figured in the battle, two were so speedily rallied at Wavre that Grouchy's division, later, was not strong enough to prevent their junction with the British. The ill success of Ney's attack on the British lines at Quatre-Bras was attributed by him to the fact that the army corps of General d'Erlon, which Na- 572 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 d'Erlon's poleon had placed between himself and Ney, was w^"ed ^ first withdrawn from >l ey to assist at Ligny. Later, when d'Erlon was recalled from that battlefield to succor i^ej, he could not reach Quatre-Braa until it was too late. Much has been written of the scenes and incidents at Brussels that preceded the Battle of Waterloo. When the news of Napoleon's first advance arrived the flower of the British army was assembled at the Countess of Eichmond's ball at the British Embassy. The Duke of Brunswick was the first to husten from the ballroom to his death. William Makepeace Thackeray, in his novel "Vanity Fair," has brought the brilliant scene to life again in the chapter de* The Eve of votcd to the cve of Waterloo. More famous still Waterloo are Byron's immortal stanzas in the third Canto of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage": • There was a sound of revelry by uiglit, And Belgium's capital had gather'd then Her Beauty and her Chivalry, and bright The lamp shone o'er fair women and brave men; A thousand hearts beat happily; and when Music arose with its voluptuous swell, Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again, And all went merry as a mamage-beli ; But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knelll Did ye not hear it? — No; 'twas but the wind, Or the car rattling o'er the stony street; On with the dance! let joy be unconfined; No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet To chase the glowing Hours with flying feet — But, harkl — that heavy sound breaks in once more. As if the clouds its echo would repeat; And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before! Arm I Arm! it is — it is — the cannon's opening roarl 1815 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 673 Within a windovv'd niche of that high hall Sale Brunswick's fated chieflaiu; he did hear That sound the first amidst the festival, And caught its tone with Death's prophetic ear; And when they smiled because he deera'd it near, His heart more truly knew that peal too well Which stretch'd his father on a bloody bier, And roused the vengeance blood alone could quell: He rush'd into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell. Ah ! tlien and there was hurrjnng to and fro, And gathering tears, and trembhiigs of distress, And cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago Blush 'd at tiie praise of their own loveliness; And there were sudden partings, such as press The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs Whicli ne'er might be repeated; who could guess If ever more snould meet those mutual eyes, Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise? And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed. The mustering squadron, and the clalteiiug car, Went pouring forward witli impetuous speed. And swiftly forming in the ranks of war; And the deep thunder peal on peal afar; And near, the beat of the alarming drum Roused up the soldier ere the morning star; While ihrong'd tiie citizens with terror dumb, Or whispering, with white lips — "The foe! They come} they come!" Last noon beheld them full of lusty life, Last eve in Beauty's circle proudly gay; The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife, The morn the marshalling in arms, — the day Bai tie's magnificently-stern array! Tlie thunder-clouds close o'er it, which when rent The eaith is cover'd thick with other clay. Which her own clay shall cover, heap'd and pent. Rider and horse, — friend, foe, — m one led burial blenti During the night of June 15, Wellington learned of the defeat of the Prussians, and that they were falling back: to Wavre. As this exposed the British 574 A HISTORY OF THE June 181« flank, Wellington, too, ordered a retreat through retreat Genappe, with orders to come in touch with the Prussians. Throughout the 17th, the British re- treated, followed closely by the French. Half way back to Brussels, when in line with the Prussians at Wavre, Wellington halted his army near the valley of Waterloo. The field of Waterloo, or La Belle Alliance, as it is called in French and German annals, stretches not quite two miles in length from the hamlet of Hou- goumont on the right, to the hedge of La Haye Sainte on the left. The road from Brussels to Charleroi runs through the centre of the field, less than three-quarters of a mile south of the village of Waterloo, and three hundred yards in front of the farmhouse of Mont St. Jean. The British army oc- cupied the crest of a range of low hills crossing the highroad at right-angles, two hundred yards in the „ „ _ rear of the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte, which The field of -^ ' Waterloo adjoJus the road to Charleroi. The French troops, on the other side of the valley, were posted along a corresponding line of hills, stretching on either side of the hamlet of La Belle Alliance. The sum- mit of these hills afforded an excellent position for the French artillery; but an attack across the val- ley would necessarily be exposed to a severe can- nonade from the British batteries. Wellington had stationed General Hill with 7,000 men at Hal, six miles on the right, to cover the road from Mons to Brussels. Early on the morn- ing of the 18th, he despatched letters to Louis XVIII. at Ghent, recommending that monarch to 2815 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 575 retire to Antwerp on the enemy's approach. Blii- cher, during the night of the 17th, sent word tOpro^fe^ Wellington that he would join him at Waterloo with his whole army, and that his men might be expected to fall upon the right of the enemy early in the afternoon. Of the two armies thus facing each other, the French felt more confident of victory. The Brit- ish officers and soldiers, after the manner of their kind, despised their allies. Wellington himself ordered his Dutch troops out of the line of battle, remarking wrathfully, " 'Tis the worst army that weiiin^on doubtful ever was got together." Napoleon had reason to expect that the English woald give him a hard tus- sle. "The British infantry are the very devil to fight!" said Foy on the morning of the battle; and Soult, too, with his bitter memories of Spain, uttered a note of warning: "Sire, I know these English, they will die on the ground on which they stand before they lose it." But Napoleon knew that he^XJfj,"^ had the advantage of numbers, and counted es- pecially on the great strength of his artillery and cavalry. Moreover, he believed Bliicher to be thor- oughly beaten, and did not think that the Prussians would prove so troublesome to Grouchy that he could not count on the support of Grouchy's 35,000 men. He was borne up, too, by a strong belief in the unfailing superiority of his own military genius. It was a beautiful June day, after a wet and chilly night. As the ground was still too soggy for rapid movements of artillery or cavalry evolutions on any 676 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 grand scale, Mapoleon put off the fight to hold a final grand review of all his hosts in battle array. On the plain of Waterloo the crops that Sunday morning stood high, with bright patches of pale green rye and red clover. On the other side of the vale, the British soldiers, lying cramped in their damp ditches, could see the sun glittering on Napo- leon's martial columns, and heard the stirring strains of the "Marseillaise" wafted across the waving wheat fields. When the men, at last, heard the roar of a hundred thousand French throats yelling "Vive I'Empereur!" a stir ran through their ranks. The auxiliaries appeared ill at ease. "The mere name of Napoleon," said Wellington, "has beaten them before they have fired a shot." Opening of Shortly before noon the battle began with heavy the battle -^ o j artillery fire from the heights of La Belle Alliance. Immediately Eeille's corps, 6,000 strong, advanced on Hougoumont. As the column swept down the slope a mass of French tirailleurs skirmished into the adjoining wood, and thence up to the orchard and garden of the chateau where the British lay. They were picked off from the windows of the cha- teau, while the British Light Foot Guards, seeking shelter in the hollow of a road between the orchard, and the house, from that line of vantage repulsed all French attacks. Muffling, the Prussian aide-de- camp on the British general staff, doubted whether taJceof Hougoumont could hold out, but Wellington ex- mont°" pressed confidence in MacDonnell, the Scotch officer in charge of that point. While the fight raged in that quarter, the French 1815 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 677 artillery played havoc with the British batteries. The gunners had been ordered to hold their lire for a general attack. About two in the afternoon a dark mass was seen moving in the woods of Ohain. The French officers turned their glasses on it, and expressed a joyful hope that it was Grouchy's corps. A reconnoitring party returned with the unwelcome news that they were Prussians. Napo- leon instantly despatched a part of Ney's troops to hold them in check, while he made haste to launch his great infantry attack. Seventy-two guns pre- pared the way with a torrent of grape shot. D'Erlon with four divisions of sixteen thousand men flung himself against La Haye Sainte on the British left and drove in the thin red line of Pic- ton's division which had already suffered heavy losses at Quatre-Bras. A Dutch-Belgian brigade took to its heels and swept through the British ranks followed by their curses. Baring's Hanove- rians, on the other hand, stoutly held their ground. At last, under the terrific fire of the French gunners the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte caught fire, justL^Haye as the French attack had spent its force. Lord Uxbridge with his cavalry fell upon the French infantry and threw them in disorder before the cuirassiers, skirmishing on the other side of a sand pit, could form for a counter charge. Picton's in- fantry followed with a bayonet charge and regamed the crest. There they were swept by such deadly artillery fire that the men flung themselves fiat on their faces. Picton was killed. "Hard poundiag^n^" this, gentlemen," said Wellington, as he rode past XLKth Century— Yol. 1—25 678 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 his prostrate lines. "Let us see who will pound the hardest." By this time the fight around Hougoumont had reached a crisis. The upper story of the chateau was riddled with solid shot and the roof caught fire. From the blazing windows the Light Guards continued to pour their unintermittent fire, while the wounded lying behind them were suffocated in the smoke. Once, the French broke in the main gateway, but were bayoneted on the threshold. MacDonnell, who was of herculean proportions, with MacDon- a clustcr of his officers, by sheer force shut the gate nell's feat again in the face of the frantic Frenchmen. Mer- cer, an eye-witness, declared later that around this spot the dead were heaped up as thick as on the great breach of Badajos. At four in the afternoon, when the British line was held to be sufficiently shaken by the prolonged artillery fire, Napoleon meant to let Ney try a cavalry charge en masse. Ney moved his columns in advance of the Emperor's orders, ticf ates Through a gap of barely one thousand yards came twenty-one squadrons of cuirassiers and nineteen squadrons of lancers, trotting down the slope. Along the British lines sounded the bugle call, "Prepare to receive cavalry!" The men formed in scjuares, or, rather, oblongs, behind the crest of the hill, while the horse artillery came dashing up and unlimbered on the ridge before them. The gunners were ordered to keep up an incessant fire of grape and canister until the French horsemen should be all but upon them. Then they were to orders »i5June NINETEENTH CENTURY 579 run for shelter under the bayonets of the nearest square. At an even gallop the French squadron came thundering up the slope — a solid front of flashing ^i^ ^ swords and gleaming breast-plates. Within a thou- ch^g7 sand feet from the British guns they put spurs to their horses and charged madly forward at full speed. As they beheld the gunners running for life, and saw the smoke drifting over a long row of field-pieces standing silent and deserted, the French cuirassiers became drunk with the rapture of vic- tory. Rising in their stirrups at mid-career, they broke into a hoarse cheer. The fate of a few un- fortunate squadrons that crashed into a sunken road traversing the field was scarcely heeded. As the horsemen swept over the ridge through the abandoned batteries, they beheld the double line of British squares. At the same time they re- ceived a volley full in the face, and the leading squadron went down, man and horse. The mad- dened steeds of the following squadrons swerved sidewise and swept past the flanks of the hollow squares. They were instantly charged by the French '■ '' J CI J horsemen British cavalry stationed behind the squares. In repulsed confusion the French went galloping back over the slope. The scattered squadrons reformed in the valley. Ney, who had taken his ill success at Quatre-Bras deeply to heart, called in the whole of Kellermann's division — thirty-seven squadrons; eleven of cuiras- siers, six of carbineers, and the Red Lancers of the Guard. Thus enforced, the French charged again. 580 A HISTORY OF THE June 181S The same scenes were enacted once more. The gunners stood, by the guns until the last moment, and the British squares stood immovable, sending volley after volley into the demoralized horsemen. Occasionally some French leader would succeed in riding home to the very bayonets, there to discharge Charge on ]^\q pistol iuto the face of some British fusilier, but as a rule the horses refused to run into the fringe of steel. From four until six o'clock these scenes were repeated. The French rode up again and again, through the batteries and around the squares — "For all the world," to quote Wellington's words, "as if they owned them." As the horsemen reappeared over the crest of the hill the British infantry, level- ling their muskets, would mutter scornfully, "Here come those fools again!" and let them have it. At last the horses themselves were so worn out that they could only be brought up on the trot. The British were careful to hold their fire until their assailants came within pistol shot. "The English squares and the French squadrons," said Lord An- glesby, "seemed hardly to take notice of each other." For two hours, 15,000 French horsemen made thirteen distinct charges on the British squares, Mercer's but the British line of battle remained unbroken. description .... i> i ^ i One of the most realistic pictures of the nght at this stage is given by Captain Mercer, in command of a battery of horse artillery. Mercer was on the extreme British right during the first parts of the battle, and only got occasional glimpses of the ridge where the fight was raging — intermittent visions of »l5June NINETEENTH CENTURY 581 French cavalry riding in furious charges, and aban- doned British batteries with guns, muzzle in air, against the background of gray and whirling smoke. About three o'clock, in the height of the cavalry struggle, Fraser, who was in chief command of the horse artillery, galloped down the reverse slope to Mercer's battery, his face black with powder, his uniform torn. He brought the battery at full gallop to the central ridge, explaining as they rode Wel- lington's orders, that, wben the French cavalry charged home, Mercer and his men should take refuge under the bayonets of the nearest square. As they neared the crest on a gallop, Mercer de- scribes the humming of the bullets as of "innumer- able gnats filling the air." Through the smoke, a few hundred yards ahead, were the French squad- rons, coming on a gallop. Mercer's guns were swung around, unlimbered, and fired with breath- less speed. The French cuirassiers still came on. "They moved in profound silence," writes Mercer, and the only sound that could be heard from them, amid the incessant roar of battle, was the low, thun-^^|°^<^ der-like reverberation of the ground beneath the simultaneous tread of so many horses, through which ran a jangling ripple of sharp metallic sound, the ring of steel on steel. The British gunners, on their part, showed a stern coolness fully equal to the occasion. Every man stood steadily at his post, "the guns ready loaded with round-shot first, and a case over it; the tubes were in the vents, the port- fires glared and sputtered behind the wheels." The French column was led on this time by an officer in 582 A HISTORY OF THE June 1813 a rich uniform, his breast covered with decorations, whose earnest gesticulations were strangely con- of^ey^^ trasted. with the solemn demeanor of those to whom they were addressed. Mercer allowed the leading squadron to come within sixty yards, then lifted his glove as the signal to fire. Nearly the whole leading rank fell in an instant, while the round shot pierced the column. The front, covered with strug- gling horses and men, was impassable. Some of the braver spirits did break their way through, only to fall, man and horse, at the muzzles of the guns. The British guns were served with astonishing ac- tivity, and men and horses tumbled before them like ninepins. Where the horse alone was killed, the cuirassier could be seen stripping himself of his armor with desperate haste to escape. The mass of the French for a moment stood still, then broke to pieces and fled. B^fulh*'^ All this while the French artillery played on the a ' ^y British guns. At the end of the day Mercer's bat- tery had lost two men out of every three, and of 200 horses sheltered behind the ridge, 140 lay dead or dying. Marshal Ney, who was probably the officer whom Mercer described, had one horse after another shot under him. With his hat and coat riddled with bullets, he still led charge on charge. "The mad- man!" said Napoleon, who watched the struggle through his field-glass, "he is massacring my cav- N6V desperate airy!" All Ney could think of was to send for new reinforcements. "If we don't die here, under the English bullets," he said to General d'Erlon, jBlSJune NINETEENTH VENTURV 583 "there is nothing left for you and me but to lose our heads on the scaffold." Napoleon, with his eye on the Prussians, reluctantly despatched his Guards to help Ney. General Friant led forward the Old and the New Guard. Ney gathered his squadrons for a last charge, and flung himself on the British centre. It was a decisive moment. General Hill, who had just joined Wellington, said, "You may be killed here, what orders do you leave me?" "To die on the spot to the last man, so that theweiiing- *• ton s deter- Prussians may be all on the ground," replied Wei- "^'"^''^^ lington. As the French Guards charged over the crest, Maitland's regiment, which had been lying fiat on the ground where the guns had stood, fired a point- blank volley in the face of the dense columns. The first line of the French went down, and those be- hind wavered. General Friant was shot from his horse. The British cavalry came forward at a gal- lop. Then it was that Wellington, reining in his horse behind the crest, gave the famous order: "Up, JJu^^ds.and Guards, and at them!" The British charged down*^*^ ^^ the slope. All the squares, relieved of their terri- ble waiting ordeal of the afternoon, broke ranks and charged forward with a hoarse yell. Wellington, smiling grimly, sent orders after them that every command should move forward as it stood. The last brigade of fresh cavalry was sent forward to retake La Belle Alliance. The Prussians at last came upon the battlefield. Grouchy, pressing part *'^^* upon their rearguard, insisted that he had never re- ceived the Emperor's orders to join him. Buelow's 584 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 Arrival of the Prussians The last stroke FUght of Napoleon La Belle Alliance corps of Prussians, relieved of pressure in front, immediately flung itself into the battle. The men had been floundering over soggy forest roads for hour after hour, harassed by Grouchy in their rear and Ney's detachments in front. Bliicher himself had to urge his men to do their utmost, crying, "Boys, don't make me break my word to the Eng- lish 1" When Wellington caught sight of the first Prussian platoons, he shouted joyfully to Muffling, "Well, you see MacDonnell held out to the last." The united hosts of Englishmen and Prussians now pressed forward and completely overwhelmed the French. Ziethen's Hussars charged into their broken infantry. Napoleon's Old Gruard was the last to make a stand, forming in solid squares long after nightfall. Called upon to surrender, they made the historic reply: "La garde ne se rend pas; elle mort." Of 10,000 of their men, only 160 still stood. The British and Prussian cavalry finally overrode them. Long after darkness the men were still fighting hand to hand. Napoleon escaped in the confusion. He spoke first of dying on the field, but Marshal Soult seized his white Persian charger by the bridle and turned him round, saying, "Is not the enemy lucky enough as it is?" Wellington's aides-de-camp on their side tried to draw him out of the danger in which he stood of being shot by both friends and foes. "What does it matter?" said the English general. "Let them fire as they like, the battle is won!" At the farm of La Belle Alliance, Bliicher offered his hand to Wellington. "I will sleep to-night in 1815 June NINETEENTH CENTURY 685 Bonaparte's last night's quarters," said Wellington. "And I will drive him out of his nextl" replied Bliicher. "Leave it all to mel" Favored bj a moonlight night, the Prussians so hotly pursued the French that an immense number of prisoners and a vast amount of booty fell into their hands. Napoleon narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. At Genappe, where the bridge was blocked by fugi- tives, the pursuit was so close that the Emperor was compelled to abandon his carriage, leaving his sword and hat behind him. Bliicher, who reached the pursuit spot shortly afterward, sent Napoleon's hat, sword and star to the King of Prussia, retained his cloak, telescope and carriage for his own use, and gave up all the money found to his soldiery. The whole of the army stores, two hundred and forty guns, and an innumerable quantity of arms thrown away by the fugitives, fell into his hands. As Lamartine has Lamar- said, "The defeat left nothing undecided. The war^'.^f'^ ' ° dictum began and ended in a single battle." The battle of Waterloo cost Wellington nearly 15,000 dead and wounded. The losses of the Prus- sians exceeded 7,000 men. The full amount of Na- poleon's losses could never be estimated, since hisoasuai- "• ties of army practically dispersed after the fugitives crossed Waterloo the Sambre. Immediately after the great battle the Austrians, under Schwarzenberg and Fremont, ad- vanced as far as Lyons. The Prince of Wurtem- berg defeated General Rapp before Strasburg, and France , reinvaded the Swiss, under General Bachman, poured over the Alps. France was lost. Napoleon reached Paris alone on the night of 686 A HISTORY OF THE June 1815 June 20. He burst in on Caulaincourt at the Tuileries, but his agitation was so great he could scarcely speak: "You have heard the news? All is lost. The army did wonders, till they were seized by a panic terror and gave up everything. I^ ey acted like a maniac and threw away my cavalry. 1 am Napoleon's doue for, and must have a bath and two hours' sleep. return to ' ^ ^^'■'^ I am choking." During his bath the Emperor an- nounced: "Nothing but a dictatorship can save the country. I have no longer an army, or a single musket. My only resources are the people. I hope the representatives will stand by me if 1 convoke the Chambers." The Deputies, however, had resolved on a differ- ent policy. Davoust and Lucien Bonaparte urged a dictatorship; but Fouche, Lafayette, Dapin and other leaders of the popular party were determined to establish the absolute sovereignty of the National Opposition Assembly. "The House of Representatives," moved plans Lafayette, "declares that the independence of the nation is menaced. The Chamber declares its sit- tings permanent. Every attempt to dissolve it is declared higli treason. The National Guards have, for six-and-twenty years, preserved the internal peace of the country and the persons of its repre- sentatives; and the means of increasing the num- bers of that force must be now considered." This resolution was carried by acclamation. Lucien called Lafayette an ingrate. "I wanting in grati- Lafayeite tudc to Napolcoul" cxclaimcd Lafayette, indig- himself nantly: "Do you know what we have done for him ? Have you forgotten that the bones of our i8l5June NINETEENTH CENTURY 587 brothers and our children everywhere attest our fidelity to him — amid the sands of Africa — on the shores of the Guadalquivir and the Tagus — on the banks of the Vistula, and in the frozen deserts of Muscovy ? Three millions of Frenchmen have per- ished for one man, who still wishes to fight the com- bined powers of Europe. We have done enough for Napoleon; let us now try to save France." The call for Napoleon's abdication now became universal. "I propose," said Greneral Solignac, "that a com- J^®^^™-^jj_ mittee wait on the Emperor for his immediate de- demanded cision." "Let us delay an hour," cried Lucien. "An hour, but no more," replied Solignac. "If the answer is not returned at that time," said Lafayette, "I will move for his dethronement." When Lucien went with this commission to Na- poleon, he found him in the utmost agitation, debat- ing with himself whether to commit suicide or to dissolve the Chambers by force. Lucien told him impressively that he must either abdicate or dismiss the Chambers and seize the supreme power. "Dethrone me!" said Napoleon. "They dare not doit!" "In an hour," replied Regnaud de St. Angely, ^^^^g^y^^i^ "your dethronement, on the motion of Lafayette, ""^*'^"™ will be irrevocably pronounced: they have given you only an hour's grace — do you hear ? Only an hour." Napoleon turned to Fouch^ and said with a bitter smile: "Write to the gentlemen to keep themselves 588 A HISTORY OF THE July 1816 Napoleon yields quiet! They shall be satisfied." Hie then dictated to Lucien a formal act of abdication in favor of his son. "My son!" he repeated two or three times, "my son! W hat a chimera! No, no. It is not in favor of my son that I am abdicating, but in that of the Bour- bons. They at least are not prisoners at Vienna!" Generals Lafayette and Sebastiani, with three others, were despatched to the headquarters of the allies to announce the Emperor's abdication and to sue for peace. Napoleon withdrew, almost alone, to Malmaison, where Queen Hortense had been liv= ing since the death of her mother, Josephine. On June 25, he said farewell to his officers and guards^ Bliicher, in the meanwhile, had pushed forward without loss of time and stood before the gates of Paris. He summoned the city to surrender. When Davoust, commanding the National Guards, held off the capitulation, and spoke of making a last de» fence, Bliicher wrote him a curt note in ill-spelled German: "Take care what you do. If we must take the city by storm, we shall remember how you dealt with Hamburg. ' ' On July 8, Paris surrendered after a futile com= bat in the outskirts at Issy. Davoust's troops had The city '^ ^ capitulates tiiree days wherein to evacuate the city. On July 7, the Prussians entered, and General Miiffling was appointed military governor. Bliicher, who was incensed at the destruction of the stone column of Rossbaoh, and the disappearance of Frederick the Great's sword and watch, placed cannons at the im- portant points, and gave orders to destroy the most galling of French trophies — notably, the Bridge of Bluchef before Paris Return of Louis XVUI. S815July NINETEENTH CENTURY Jena. By this time the allied troops had come up, and with them King Louis XVIII. and his counsel- louis lors, the Count of Artois and Prince Talleyrand Benevento. Talleyrand begged Count von der Goltz to use his influence for the preservation of the bridge. Blii- cher replied to his entreaties: "I will blow up the bridge, and should very much like to have Talleyrand Bitting upon it at the time!" An attempt to blow it up was actually made, but was given up when Wel- lington sent one of his aides-de-camp to prevent it. The King of Prussia himself rode to the spot to ° Prussian remonstrate with his field marshal. For this andr^pm^is^ other acts of interference Bliicher openly upbraided the diplomats: "I should like you gentlemen of the quill to be for once exposed to a smart platoon fire, just to teach you what perils we soldiers have to run in order to repair your blunders." It was at Wellington's great banquet in honor of the surrender of Paris, a few days afterward, that Bliicher proposed the famous toast: "May the pens of the diplomats not undo what we have won with the sword!" On the same day that Louis XVIII. entered ^^p^_ Paris, welcomed by Fouche and other self-consti- ^[Ibefort tuted spokesmen of the people, Napoleon withdrew to Rochefort. There various plans were proposed for his escape. Lafayette offered to have him con- veyed to the United States on an American mer- chant vessel. The Prefect of Marine put a govern- ment cutter at his disposal, wherewith to elude the British man-of-war in the offing. "Since the society 590 A HISTORY OF THE July 1815 of men is denied me," wrote Napoleon in a mawkish mood, "I will take refuge in the bosom of nature, and there I shall live in the solitude which harmo- nizes with my last thoughts." Projected It was arranged that all of Napoleon's brothers, America as Well as Horteuse, with others of his close family circle, should meet him in America. By this time two British cruisers drew close into the mouth of the harbor, and it became plain that it would be next to impossible to foil their vigilance. As a last resource, Napoleon, on July 9, sent Las Casas to Captain Maitland, commanding H.M.S. "Beller- ophon," to sound him as to his probable line of conduct. The British officer sent back word that he would stop any ship attempting to force the blockade. In regard to the granting of a safe con- duct for the person of the Emperor, Maitland added he had received no instructions, but felt sure that England would always show Napoleon the respect due to the high position he held. After this set- back a few more days were wasted in vacillating projects. Napoleon resolved to gain a last point BmTelfde°rs ^7 throwing himsclf upon the generosity of his vic- tors. On July 14, he wrote to the Prince Regent of England: strict British blockade "Your Royal Highness — After being aimed at, both by the factions which divide my country and by the enmity of the great powers of Europe, I have finished my political career, and now come, like Themistocles, to sit down by the hearth of the English people. I place myself under the protec- tion of their laws, which I claim from your royal 1815 Aug. NINETEENTH CENTURY 591 highness as the most powerful, the most steadfast, and the most generous of my enemies." The next day he went on board the "Bellero- phon. " in accordance with his request, Captain Maitland forthwith set sail for England. Ten days later he brought his illustrious prisoner into Plym- outh. This turn of affairs put the British Govern- ment in extreme embarrassment. It was proposed in the Cabinet to deliver JSapoleon to the King of France as a state prisoner, but in the end it was determined to put the outlaw out of harm's way on the distant island of St. Helena, a solitary rock lost between Africa and America. Lord Keith, the admiral in command at Plymouth, was instructed to inform Napoleon of his deporta- tion as a prisoner for life. The Emperor received the news with an impassive countenance. When he learned that only three of his old servants were to accompany him, and that he was to be deprived of all personal resources, he made a motion as if to surrender his sword. Lord Keith awkwardly turned his back and retired in silence. On August 9, the st Helena "Northumberland," bearing Napoleon to his exile, sailed from Plymouth. With the deposed Emperor went Generals Bertrand, Montholon and Gourgeaud, with their families, and Count de Las Casas. Eear- Admiral Cockburn, who commanded the squadron, has left the most interesting account of the voyage and Napoleon's frank disclosures in his conversa- tions with him. The tragic fate of this greatest of modern con- 592 A HISTORY OF THE querors made a profound impression on Europe. NapSlon" Groethe, at Weimar, said to his friend Eckerman: "They have chained down another Prometheus. Eor the sake of a great name he knocked half tlie world to pieces. All romance, all illusions, all poetry are as nothing before the brute strength of such a character. Bat as a hero he will grow more gigantic in his proportions the further he is removed from us." In a similar strain is Victor Hugo's immortal verse: Victor Angel or demon ! thou — whether of light Hugo's rj^i^Q minister, or darkness — still dost sway apostrophe ' This age of ours; thine eagle s soaring flight Bears us, all breathless, after it, away. The eye that from thy presence fain would stray Shuns thee in vain; thy mighty siiadow thrown Rests on all pictures of the living day, And on the threshold of our time, alone, Dazzling, yet sombre, stands thy form. Napoleon ! For most Englishmen, Bonaparte, with his dreams of British conquest, was still too threatening a real- ity to be regarded from an abstract point of view. For English children the dread name of "Bony" was still a nursery bogie. Thackeray has reported how, when as a boy he was returning home from India, and his ship stopped at St. Helena, the black stew- arl showed him a short, stout man walking in a garden: "That is he," said the negro servant in an awed whisper; "that is Bony. He eats three live sheep every day and all the little children he can lay hold of." Even Byron, cosmopolitan genius that he was, wrote his "Ode to Napoleon" in a strain of ringing British invective:" NINETEENTH CENTURY 59t- Tis done — but yesterday a king I And armed with kinga to strive — ^e°°'* And now thou art a nameless thing, So abject — yet alive I Is this the man of thousand thrones, Who strewed our earth with hostile bones? And can he thus survive? Since he, miscalled the Morning Star, Nor man nor fiend hath fallen so far. Ill minded man I why scourge thy kind. Who bowed so low the knee? By gazing on thyself grown blind, Thou taught'st the rest to see. With might unquestioned — power to save — Thine only gift hath been the grave To those that worshipped thee ; Nor, till thy fall, could mortals guess Ambition's less than littleness. Where may the wearied eye repose, When gazing on the great ; Where neither guilty glory glows Nor despicable state? Yes — one — tlie first— the last — the best — The Cinchinatus of the West, Whom envy dared not hate, Bequeath'd the name of Washington, To make men blush there was but ouel The same obvious conclusion was reached by washing- ton vs. Chateaubriand in his famous essay on "Washing- Napoleon ton et Bonaparte," published with his "Memoires d'Outre Tombe." One of the truest estimates of the great con- queror's character is that of Gruizot, who served at that time in the French Ministry of Justice. In his "Memoirs for the History of Our Times," Gui-Quizot's •' estimate zot wrote: "The genius and renown of Napoleon have nothing to fear from the light of history; jus- tice is done him and will be done every new genera- 594 A HISTORY OF THE Summer 1815 tion. Illustrious in the foremost rank among the greatest conquerors of enslaved humanity, whether subduing, ruling, or organizing, equally great by military genius, and by the supreme instinct of national government, he was constantly carried away by selfish passions and desires, whatever their importance or unimportance might be, and took no cognizance of the eternal laws of duty and justice. Corrupt, he corrupted others; despotic, he subdued minds and debased consciences; all-powerful, he constantly made a bad use of his power. His glo- rious and blood-stained traces remained soiled not only by faults but by crimes. The startling dream with which he dazzled France has disappeared; the memory still remains, weakened, but always fatal to our unhappy country." With Napoleon out of the way, the rule of the Bourbons, in France, Spain and Naples, was car- ried along its fatuous course as if the tremendous events of the French Revolution and Napoleonic The ^ reb'toration ^''^ ^^^ never happened. After the second res- toration of Louis XVIII., Marshals Mass^na and Oudinot, as spokesmen of the National Guard, im- plored the king to permit his soldiers to retain their tricolor standards. Fouch^ advised against it, and the king peremptorily refused. "What a race!" said Wellington. "It is easier to make them accept a regicide than a new idea." It was at this time that the saying arose: "The Bourbons have forgotten nothing and they have learned nothing." Thanks to the intervention of the Czar and Wel- lington, France at that time was spared the humil- 1815 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 69C iatioD of losing the strong line of border fortresses in Alsace-Lorraine which Louis XIV. had wrested L.'frmfne from Grermany. Negotiations concerning the de- "^ tails of peace dragged on for months. Special ran- cor was created in France by Bliicher's levy of a hundred million francs from Paris, and by a general demand for the restoration of pillaged art treasures. The bronze horses of St. Mark's had to be sent back to Venice. The sword of Frederick the Great was kept hidden; nor did the Germans succeed in rais- ing the column of Rossbach out of the Seine, where it had been dumped by the Invalides. On the other hand, most of the valuable manuscripts of the Uni- versity of Heidelberg, which Napoleon had placed in the library of Paris, had to be restored. "While the foreign armies still held the territory of France as a hostage for the payment of a new war indem- demuuies nity of 1,000,000,000 francs, the royalists inaugu- rated their work of vengeance. On July 24, two lists of proscription were issued. They bore the names of nineteen persons to be tried for high treason: notably, Marshals Ney, Grouchy, Ber- trand; Generals Lallemand, d'Erlon, Lefebvre- generals proscribed Desnouettes, Clausel, Drouot, Cambronne; besides Lab6doy6re, Lavalette, and Eovigo. Among those that were to be banished were Marshals Soult and Bassain. Davoust handed in his resignation as Secretary of War and commander-in-chief of the Army of the Loire: "It is my name that ought to be substituted for theirs," said he, "since they only obeyed the orders I had given them as Minister of War." 596 A HISTORY OF THE Autumn 1815 BruDe and Bamel murdered Thus encouraged, the royalist faction of the popu- lace went to worse excesses. Early in August, Marshal Brune was murdered by a mob at Avig- non. The government affected to believe that he had. committed suicide. At Toulouse, General Ramel was beaten to death at the threshold of his house. Eiotous mobs burned the houses of reputed Bonapartists at Nimes, and lynched several inno- cent persons. In August, Marshal Ney was ar- rested at a friend's house. At the same time, Lavalette and Labedoy^re were placed before a court-martial. "L'Independent," a new journal, which dared to publish an article in their defence, was suppressed. Labedoy^re made his last plea: "I protest that there was no express conspiracy to bring Napoleon back from Elba. So far as I was concerned, I was misled by some glorious memories and some new illusions." It was in vain. Lab^- doy^re was condemned to death. His wife threw herself at the feet of the king, but her appeal was refused: "I appreciate your sentiments, madame," said the king. "Never was refusal more painful." Lab^doy^re was shot August 19. On October 13, Murat, having been betrayed into the hands of the Murat shot Bourbons, was shot at Pizzo in Calabria. When they wished to bandage his eyes he said: "I have braved death too often to fear it now." Then he himself gave the order to fire. He died on the same day that Napoleon landed at St. Helena. Ney's turn came next. His trial became a cawse cel^bre. A military court-martial refused to try him on the ground that he was a Peer of France. Placed Labedo- yere con demiied to death 1815 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 597 on trial before the Chamber of Peers, Ney, while admitting everything, appealed to the amnesty act extended by the allied powers to all persons com- prised in the capitulation of Paris. He proved that , . ^ Ney's trial he was within the city at that time. The Duke of Wellington and the other ambassadors of the great powers refused to interpose in the marshal's behalf, and Ney's lawyer, Dupin, was enjoined from rest- ing his defence on that point. Ney himself refused to take advantage of the fact that he was an Alsa- tian, and should therefore come under the special act of amnesty which sheltered from prosecution all the inhabitants of ceded provinces. "As a French- man," he said, "I fought the battles of France. Now let me die a Frenchman. Since this is not the place to invoke the faith of treaties, I lodge myfp'i^ appeal with Europe and posterity." Late in the year the Chamber of Peers pronounced the con- demnation of Ney. Among those that voted for the death sentence were several former officers and marshals of the empire — his comrades in arms. The young Due de Broglie alone made a strenuous pro- test, but in vain. At two in the morning, Decem- ber 7, the sentence was read aloud to the marshal in his prison cell. As the court officer sonorously rolled off his titles — "Mardchal de France, Due d'Elchingen, Prince de la Moscova," etc.— the pris- oner stopped him: "Say Michel Ney, and soon no more of him." Madame Ney brought her children to the prison, and from there ran bareheaded to the Tuileries to throw herself at the feet of the king. She was re- A HISTORY OF THE A-utumn I8» t fused admittance — "her demand not having suffi- cient object." While she was still entreating an audience, her husband was marched to the entrance of the Grande Avenue de I'Observatoire. With his face to the gray light of dawn, 'Nej himself commanded EadofNey^he fire: "JNow, soldiers, straight to the heart!" After the execution of Marshal Nej, a story be- came current that the soldiers had only fired with blank cartridges and that I^ey had been spirited away to America. This story has since become one of the legends of Louisiana. IMow it was Lavalette's turn. Though he had never sworn allegiance to the Eestoration, he was sentenced to die on the scaffold. In vain did Ma- dame Lavalette implore the Duchesse d'Angouleme for interposition with the king. Even a last re= quest that he might be shot like a soldier was denied to Lavalette. On December 20, Madame Lavalette came to bid farewell to her husband. While alone together they exchanged clothes^ Lavalette, disguised in his wife's skirts and hold- Lavaiette's i^g her handkerchief to his face, escaped through ^^ the prison portals. For five days he was hidden in one of the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sir Robert Wilson, an English officer, finally got him out of the country. Sir Robert was cashiered for this offence. Madame Lavalette as a result of these trying circumstances lost her reason. ^ In the midst of this reign of reprisal the final / negotiations of the Second Peace of Paris were com-/ pleted. On November 20, the treaty was signedi The war indemnity was reduced to seven hundrea 1815 Autumn NINETEENTH CENTURY 59S million francs. Tending its payment, seventeen fortresses on the northern frontier were to be gar- parfsf *** risoned by German and English soldiers. The ', French frontiers were pushed in to the old limits of 1790, Five of the eastern frontier forts were sur- rendered to the Grerman Confederation, Saarbriicken being taken by Prussia. The stronghold of Hunin- gen in French Flanders was razed to the ground, and the French possessions in Savoy were ceded to Sardinia. All that Talleyrand's diplomacy had won during the negotiations at Vienna was lost to France. Talleyrand himself, realizing his impo- tence, resigned his ministry before the final con- clusion of peace. * W hile the affairs of Europe were thus rearranged by the powers, the American people were striving acfairs to readjust their own affairs. Shortly after tbe shooting of a number of American prisoners of war in an English prison at Dartmoor, hostilities with England reached their definite end on June 18. The first peace society of the world was founded at New York. The war had left a heavy legacy. American shipping as such was ruined, involving j^^.^^^j the ruin of the once thriving trade of the New Ei.g- ^'"'p"'"*^ land States with the West Indies, and almost all foreign commerce. Nearly all the banks through- out the country, including the great national bank, had suspended payment. The national debt was increased to $99,833.60. To raise any revenue whatever the Federal Government levied taxes on such personal property as hats and caps, leather boots, gold or silver watches, and umbrellas. 600 A HISTORY OF THE Sununer 1815 The work of reconstruction began at once after re-elected the rc-election of Madison to the Presidency. This election was the last stand of the Federalist party in the United States. New England's opposition to the recent war, culminating in the Hartford Conven- tion with the hue and cry against the hated "Blue- Lights," brought about its political downfall. Once this was accomplished the bitterness of factional dis- sensions ceased. The people of New York provided for the construction of the great Erie Canal from Albany on the Hudson to Lake Erie. Kobert Ful- Death of ton, who died that year, still had the satisfaction of fulton ' . . seeing bis new steam ferry in operation, and wit- nessed the launching of the first steam frigate of the world. It bore his name. In Philadelphia, the great Fairmount water- works, which supply that city with water, were brought to completion, while the people of Baltimore were laying pipes and mains to make their city the first municipality lighted by gas. In the midst of these labors of peace came another ruffle o£ war. The Barbary pirates, little heeded as they were during the preoccupation of the recent maritime war, once more grew troublesome. The Dey of Algiers compelled Lear, the American con- sul, to pay a ransom of $27,000, under threat of slavery for himself and all his household. The Barbary , ''ar American Government paid over the money, but Congress immediately followed the matter up by a declaration of war upon Algiers. On May 19, Com- modores Decatur and Bainbridge, with a squadron of nine ships, sailed for the Mediterranean. De- 1815 Summer NINETEENTH CENTURY 601 catur arrived off Gibraltar in June. Learning that the "Mashoda," an Algerian forty-six gun frigate, was in those waters, he set out to find her. On June 17 she was sighted, and the American squad- ron immediately gave chase. Decatur's flagship, the *'Guerri6re, " was in the lead, and soon came within range. The Moors fought with great brav- ery, and did not surrender until the other Ameri- can ships brought their fire to bear on them. One shot cut the Algerian admiral in two, and thirty of their sailors were killed. The "GuerriSre" had three killed and eleven wounded. Two days later, Decatur captured an Algerian twenty-two gun brig g^g^ g^j^^^ after a short but fierce fight. Then he set sail f or ''"^ ^'^'®" Algiers. The American squadron came-to off Al- giers, and Decatur sent in a demand for an imme- diate settlement. The Dey came in person, and a treaty was negotiated on Decatur's quarterdeck. The Dey offered to cease his depredations on Amer- ican ships if the United States Government would help him maintain his prestige by sending him a mere handful of gunpowder, in semblance of trib- " nte. Decatur cut him short: "If you want pow- der you will have to take our balls with it." Once the Dey had come to terms, Decatur next called on the Pasha of Tunis, and made him pay $46,000 for American ships in his waters betrayed to the Eng- lish during the late war. The Bey of Tripoli had to pay $25,000 for similar breach of neutrality and to release all Christians he held in slavery. Hence- ^J^^^^^^^ forth, absolute immunity was granted to American ships sailing in the Mediterranean. This put an XlXth Century— Vol. 1—26 - 602 A HISTORY OP THE Summer 1815 end to the anomalous submission of civilized na- tions to the insolent demands of the Arab chieftains of northern Africa. About the same time that security was thus re- established in the Mediterranean, England made another great stride toward the abolition of slave J^Jl^^o^ of trading. Through Lord Castlereagh in Paris she slave trade ^^^ ^^^ ^j^-g ^^^ couscnt of all Christian nations, excepting only Portugal and Spain. The Prince Re- gent of Portugal, with whom the interests of Brazil, just elevated to the rank of a kingdom, counted for more, now, than those of the mother country, agreed to restrict Brazil's thriving slave trade to southern waters. The statesmen of Spain obstinately de- clined the English demands for reform on this score. They justified their refusal by the fact that Great Britain herself did not suppress her own slave trade until all her colonies had been supplied with slaves far beyond the possibilities of her colo- nial rivals. With this question thus temporarily settled, Met- ternich set himself to weld together the pieces of the old German empire in the new form of a Ger- manic confederation. The terms were finally settled at Vienna, in June. The confederation consisted of thirty-five States, thirty-one of which were ruled by sovereigns. The States comprised the empire of Austria; the five kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and Wurtemberg; the electorate of Hesse-Cassel; the seven grandduchies — Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklen- burg-Strelitz, Saxe-Weimar, Luxemburg, and 01- 1815 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 603 denburg; the eight duchies — Holstein with Lauen* burg, Brunswick, Nassau, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe- Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, Aahalt-Dessau, and Anhalt-Bernberg; the five principalities— Schwartzburg-Sonderhausen, Schwartzburg-Rudol- stadt, Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe-Detmold,Waldeck:; the four dominions of Reuss, Hesse - Homburg, Neuburg, and Lichtenstein ; and the four free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Luebeck and Frank- fort. The confederation, as now constituted, had sufficient cohesive force to endure for two genera- tions. Yet it fell so wofully short of the more progressive ideals of German unity that the "good old times" of the Bund have become a by- word of outraged German liberalism. Friedrich Anton Mesmer, the originator of the pseudo-science known as Mesmerism, died during Death of this year in Meersburg. His alleged discoveries in animal magnetism and planetary influences, at the close of the previous century, had made a great stir. Through the agency of a' " Secret Society of Harmony," founded by himself, Mesmer's pre- tended achievements gained such vogue that he was able to amass a fortune of 400,000 francs. This he lost again, owing partly to the formal condemna- tion of his teachings by the French Academy; but he protested so vigorously that the French Govern- ment eventually granted him an annual pension of 3,000 francs. Mesmer's discoveries, while they gave a certain impetus to the use of electricity in medicine, proved of no permanent value. It was late in the year, during the interval pre- / d04 A HISTORY OF THE Winter 1816 ceding the conclusion of the second treaty of Paris, that the singular compact was made between the sovereigns of the Continent which has come to be known as the "Holy Alliance." It originated with Czar Alexander. This monarch, though loose enough in his private morals, was deeply imbued with religious feeling. At this time in particular he had fallen under the sway of Mme. Kriidener, who dabbled in mysticism. With her help he drew up a document which read like a profession of faith, and this he presented to his ^ llow-sovereigns. The Holy King of Prussia, who was a simple-minded ruler, Allien C6 signed the paper in good faith. Emperor Francis, who had the comfortable sense of humor of the Hapsburgs, said that if the paper related to doc- trines of religion, he must refer it to his father confessor, if to matters of State, to his Prime Min- ister, Metternich pronounced the paper a mere mass of verbiage, but advised his master to sign it for policy's sake. The treaty practically renewed the pledges of Chaumont, though couched, this time, in the terms of a religious declaration. Article 11. of the treaty is a characteristic instance: "The three Princes unite in confessing that the Christian People, of whom they and their nations form a part, have in reality no other Sovereign but Him to whom alone belongs Almighty Power; to wit, God the Father, our Divine Saviour Jesua pjoug Christ, the Holy Ghost and the Word. Their Maj- deciaration Qgjjgg |.|^gj,gf Qj,g recommend to their peoples to for- tify themselves each day in the principles and practice of those duties which the Divine Saviour has enjoined on Mankind." 1815 Winter NINETEENTH CENTURY 605 Since the King of England was mentally unfit, an invitation to join the Holy Alliance was issued to the Prince Eegent. That frivolous-minded prince, / engrossed as he was with his marital troubles with Princess Caroline, left the matter to Lord Castle- reagh, who was then in Paris. "The fact is," Lord Castlereagh wrote home, "the Russian Emperor's mind is not quite sound." Apart from that, he and the Prince Regent were well aware that the consti- 1 England tutional form of their government would not permit "ot a party them to commit England to such a compact without the sanction of Parliament. Accordingly, Alexan- der had to content himself with a personal letter . from the Prince of Wales containing a cordial ap- | proval of his good tenets. The Bourbon rulers of France, Naples, Sardinia and Spain subscribed to the treaty as a matter of course, as did the Prince » Regent of Sweden, Bernadotte. The Alliance, as finally concluded, comprised all the principal rulers ^h^ pop, of Europe, with none left out but the King of Eng- ® '*'" land, the Pope, and the Sultan of Turkey. .' Sach was the famous Holy Alliance, which, though conceived by a liberal-m.inded enthusiast in a desire for universal peace and brotherhood, was destined to fall under general execration, as an unholy league for the suppression of the high- est human liberties and free thought. ^ Qj^^^diWEVERS] RSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. URL *D Of REa;p, MAR 2 5 1970 ■\UO V Lk>-V>" DEC 41972 Form L9-50»n-4,'61(B8994s4)444 D E53 v.l UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 862 632 7