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42 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
The vivid pictures of war, however ensanguined, have a wonderful attraction for the mass of men. They stir the heart like a trumpet. No narratives are so generally perused with avidity as those of “feats of broils and battles;” for in them, in spite of many disgusting features, there is always something to excite a pleasing thrill. We love excitement, and it seems that it is to war, and the descriptions of its varied scenes of danger, during which the faculties of the combatants are roused to ex
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LIST OF PRINCIPAL EMBELLISHMENTS.
LIST OF PRINCIPAL EMBELLISHMENTS.
BATTERY OF THE MEN WITHOUT FEAR. Page 13....
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT TOULON.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT TOULON.
It was the night of the 19th of December, 1793. A sky of darkness, unbroken by the twinkling of a single star, arched over the town and harbor of Toulon. But on the rugged heights of Balagrier and L’Equillette, where the English had vainly constructed their “Little Gibraltar,” the watch-fires of the French beseigers were redly burning; sending up showers of sparks, which looked like rising stars against the intense blackness of the heavens. It was the 19th of December, and the fate of Toulon, wh
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MONTE NOTTE.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MONTE NOTTE.
The pure, bright moon shone with serene majesty in the soft, dark blue of the Italian sky, dimming the light of the silver stars, in her own calm glory. The rugged heights of Monte Notte, with here and there a tower and wall, or a row of trees upon its broken ascent, and the two small villages at its base, surrounded with groves and vineyards, were revealed with scarce the variation of a shadow. They would have seemed to sleep beneath the soothing influence of the night, but for the numerous red
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MONDOVI.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MONDOVI.
When the conflict is at an end, and the awful silence of night descends upon the field where stark and stiff lie the mangled dead, among the broken weapons and spoils of the fight, the scene is fearfully impressive. There lie the cold forms of those, who in life were furious foes; but in death, side by side, united in their doom of darkness, they are all clay together. The bugle and the drum, which were sounded to signal the contest, are broken beside the mutilated and bloody bodies of those who
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT THE BRIDGES OF LODI.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT THE BRIDGES OF LODI.
Beaulieu, the veteran general of the Austrians, had been beaten and compelled to retreat before the French commander of twenty-six. The Po being crossed and the Tesino turned, Bonaparte beheld the road to Milan open before him. But he prepared to make the effort to cut off Beaulieu’s retreat, and compel the Austrian army to surrender. Like Nelson, upon the sea, he thought no triumph complete unless the enemy was entirely prostrated. But to cut off the retreat of Beaulieu, it was necessary to ant
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT CASTIGLIONE.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT CASTIGLIONE.
It was at Castiglione and in its vicinity that the wonderful spirit and rapidity of Napoleon’s movements were more fully displayed than at any other of his scenes of victory in Italy. The aged Beaulieu had been superseded in the command of the Austrian army, by General Wurmser, a commander of high reputation. His army was greatly superior in numbers to that of Bonaparte. It descended from the Tyrol during the last days of July, in three divisions, commanded by Davidowich, Quasdanowitch, and Wurm
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT ARCOLA.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT ARCOLA.
The indomitable Bonaparte had nearly destroyed the army of Wurmser. The laurels of Roveredo, Bassano, and Saint George, adorned his young brow, beside those of Monte Notte, Lodi and Castiglione. Within ten days, he had carried positions, the natural difficulties of which seemed to defy human assault, killed or captured about twenty thousand men, and taken artillery and stores which were almost an encumbrance to his gallant little army. His brave officers, Massena, Augereau, Bessieres, Murat, Ber
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT RIVOLI.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT RIVOLI.
The chain of Monte Baldo divides the lake of Garda from the Adige. The high road winds between the Adige and the foot of the mountains, to the extent of some leagues. At Incanale the river washes the very base of the mountains, leaves no room whatever for proceeding along its bank. The road then leaves the banks of the river, rises by a zig-zag direction round the sides of the mountain, and debouches upon an extensive elevated plain, which is that of Rivoli. It overlooks the Adige on one side, a
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THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE ALPS.
THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE ALPS.
Although Bonaparte had performed amazing, and, in some respects, unparalleled, exploits in Italy, there was a general disposition among both Frenchmen and foreigners to set up inferior commanders as his rivals. Now it was Moreau, then Massena; then Hoche, and then the young Archduke Charles, of Austria. The last mentioned had attained a high reputation by a campaign in which he triumphed over Generals Moreau and Jourdan, but his valor and skill, although great, were overrated, as Bonaparte and M
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THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE NILE.
THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE NILE.
The evening of the 21st of July, 1798, had cast its shadows on the Nile. Although the day had been excessively warm, the air was now cool and pleasant. The full moon was gradually deepening the placid splendor of her light, and giving a silvery sheen to the winding waters of the river. On an elevated terrace, in the distance, could be distinguished the bold and gorgeous minarets and gilded domes of Cairo. The villages of Bulak and Shoubra were nestled on the river banks, overlooking a vast exten
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MOUNT TABOR.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MOUNT TABOR.
In Lower Galilee, to the north-east of the great plain of Esdraelon, rises an eminence rendered intensely interesting by memories sacred and profane. It is Mount Tabor. Although surrounded by chains of mountains on nearly all sides, it is the only one that stands entirely aloof from its neighbors. The figure of the mount approaches that of a semi-sphere, and presents a regular appearance. Its ground figure is usually described as round; and, indeed, seems to be perfectly so to those coming from
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT ABOUKIR.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT ABOUKIR.
The battle of Aboukir, was, perhaps, the only instance in the history of war, in which a hostile army was utterly annihilated by an inferior force. The victory, therefore, was one of the most splendid which Bonaparte ever achieved. The Turkish army, conveyed by the squadron of Sir Sidney Smith, anchored in Aboukir Bay on the 11th of July, 1799. The place fixed upon by the English for their landing, was the peninsula which defends this road, and which bears the same name. This narrow peninsula ru
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CAMP-FIRE IN THE VALLEY OF AOSTA.
CAMP-FIRE IN THE VALLEY OF AOSTA.
We are now to behold Bonaparte as First Consul of France—as the successful rival of the Carthagenian Hannibal in the prodigious exploit of leading an army over the lofty and wintry Alps—and as the conqueror of his old enemies the Austrians. The time was May, 1800. At Paris, Bonaparte had formed the plan of the most astonishing of his campaigns, with a precision so wonderful that it pointed to the very spot on which the decisive battle should be fought. While the intrepid Massena defended Genoa w
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MARENGO.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MARENGO.
The victory of Marengo was the crowning glory of a campaign unsurpassed in the annals of war, as regards the display of daring genius and profound combination. It was a stroke which changed the face of affairs in Europe, and raised the conqueror to the imperial height of his ambition. The immense plain of Marengo extends between the Scrivia and the Bormida. In this place, the Po retreats from the Appenine, and leaves a vast space, across which the Bormida and the Tanaro roll their waters, now be
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT ULM.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT ULM.
Five years of peace, following the battle of Marengo, had enabled Napoleon Bonaparte to do much for France, and more for his own elevation. Under his wise and vigorous administration, the country made wonderful progress. But the price she paid was first the Consulship for Life, and finally the imperial crown. Napoleon now appears as Emperor of France. His old brothers-in-arms, are Marshals. His beloved Josephine is an Empress. Besides, he has cherished designs of placing his brothers upon the th
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT AUSTERLITZ.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT AUSTERLITZ.
The victory of Austerlitz is considered by many competent judges as the most splendid triumph ever gained by Napoleon; and the “sun of Austerlitz,” is a watchword with the French soldiery to the present day. The scene of this great battle is in the vicinity of the small seignoral town of Austerlitz, situated on the Littawa, in Moravia. Napoleon, with that military tact which he had received from nature, and which he had so greatly improved by experience, had adopted, among other positions which
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT PALENY.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT PALENY.
The disaster at Austerlitz affected the Emperors Francis and Alexander very differently, Alexander was deeply dejected; but Francis was tranquil. Under the common misfortune, he had at least the consolation, that the Russians could no longer allege that the cowardice of the Austrians constituted all the glory of Napoleon. The two emperors retreated precipitately over the plain of Moravia, amidst profound darkness, separated from their household, and liable to be insulted through the barbarity of
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT JENA.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT JENA.
Jena was one of Napoleon’s most decisive fields. There, in the conflict of a day, Prussia, who had dared to defy a power which had brought Austria and Russia to the dust, was completely annihilated. There the descendants of the great Frederick reaped the bitter consequences of his weak presumption. At Jena, the valley of the Saale begins to widen. The right bank is low, damp and covered with meadows. The left bank presents steep heights, whose peaked tops overlook the town of Jena, and are ascen
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THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE NAREW.
THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE NAREW.
Napoleon, having vanquished the Prussians, once more turned his arms against the Russians, who, under the command of Kamenski and Bennigsen, numbered about one hundred and fifteen thousand men. They were posted upon the Vistula; but as Napoleon easily passed that great river, they retired behind the Narew. The passage of this stream was one of the remarkable achievements of the French, during this portion of the Emperor’s splendid career. Having arrived in the night, between the 18th and 19th of
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CAMP-FIRE AT EYLAU.
CAMP-FIRE AT EYLAU.
The Russians, under General Bennigsen, were pursued and harassed by the French Marshals after the passage of the Narew, until the evening of the 7th of February, 1807, when they halted beyond the village of Eylau, and evinced a determination to give battle on the following day. The French army was worn with fatigue, reduced in number by rapid marches and rear-guard actions, pinched with hunger and suffering from cold. But they were now to fight a great battle against a superior number of brave a
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT FRIEDLAND.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT FRIEDLAND.
After the bloody struggle of Eylau, in which thirty thousand men were placed hors de combat , the Russians seemed desirous of avoiding a conflict until they had received large reinforcements. In the mean time, Napoleon collected about two hundred thousand men between the Vistula, and the Memel, besieged and captured Dantzic, and was again in a condition to strike a tremendous blow at the inferior forces of the enemy. Early in June, 1807, the Russian general, Bennigsen, made the first offensive m
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MADRID.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MADRID.
The war of the Peninsula and the invasion of Russia were the great sources of Napoleon’s overthrow. Having summarily dethroned Ferdinand VII. of Spain, he placed the crown of that kingdom upon the head of his elder brother Joseph. But the Spaniards resisted this transfer from Bourbon to Bonaparte, and having taken the field, with enthusiasm, they defeated and captured a French army, commanded by General Dupont, and drove King Joseph beyond the Ebro. Napoleon then left Paris, (October, 1808,) and
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT RATISBON.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT RATISBON.
Napoleon could never trust his allies. Completely beaten, they submitted to the conqueror; and yet they hated as deeply as they feared him, and therefore took advantage of every opportunity to rupture the peace of Europe, and attack his power. No wonder that he lost patience, and treated their representations, when humbled, with contempt. These old legitimates proved themselves as false as they were imbecile, and they deserved the contempt of a man who was an Emperor by nature. After the peace o
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CAMP-FIRES AT ASPERN AND ESSLING.
CAMP-FIRES AT ASPERN AND ESSLING.
After the taking of Ratisbon, Napoleon advanced upon Vienna, which offered but a feeble resistance, and was easily occupied. But the Austrian army, in abandoning the capital of the empire, had not given up the struggle. Sheltered by the Danube, the bridges over which they had destroyed at Vienna, and the surrounding places, they awaited a favorable opportunity of taking the offensive. The bridge of Lintz was the first object of their attacks; but Vandamme opposed to them a vigorous resistance, a
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT WAGRAM.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT WAGRAM.
After the bloody conflicts of Essling and Aspern, Napoleon remained stationary for a considerable time. The Archduke, uneasy at the movements of Marshal Davoust before Presburg, dared not assume the offensive, and employed himself in fortifying his position between Aspern and Ebersdorf. Napoleon labored at the reconstruction of the bridges, and the communication between the island and the right bank was re-established. Soon afterwards, the Emperor learned that the army of Italy, under the comman
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THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE NIEMEN.
THE CAMP-FIRE ON THE NIEMEN.
The oppressive continental policy of Napoleon caused the rupture of the peace of Tilsit, and led to the grand, but disastrous invasion of Russia. Alexander gave the first offence by not fulfilling the condition of his treaty with Napoleon. The French Emperor then began to see the error of that treaty. It should have secured the independence of Poland. The czar pressed Napoleon for a declaration that Poland should never be re-established, but the Emperor refused to make this concession. Both rule
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT WITESPSK.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT WITESPSK.
The first combat of importance during the Russian campaign was fought at Ostrowna. On the 18th of July, Napoleon reached Klubokoe. There he was informed that the Russian general, Barclay de Tolly, had abandoned the camp at Drissa, and was marching towards Witepsk. He immediately ordered all his corps upon Beszenkowici; and so admirable and precise were his combinations, that the whole of his immense mass of armies reached the place in one day. Segur has graphically described the apparent chaos o
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT SMOLENSKO.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT SMOLENSKO.
Napoleon halted two weeks at Witepsk. He felt that if he could not find the Russian army, it was necessary to make a conquest that would end the campaign with substantial glory. Now, more than ever the idea of capturing the ancient Moscow entered his head, and he quickly decided to advance. Already full of the plan, which was to crown him with success, he ran to his maps. There he saw nothing but Smolensko and Moscow. “At the sight of them,” says Hazlitt, “he appeared inflamed by the genius of w
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT WIAZMA.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT WIAZMA.
Even after quitting Smolensko, Napoleon did not penetrate the designs of the Russian general, Barclay de Tolly. He called the retreat, flight; their circumspection, pusillanimity. Barclay had retreated to Dorogobouje, without attempting any resistance; but here he renewed his junction with Bagration, and Murat wishing to reconnoitre a small wood, met with a vigorous resistance, and pressing forwards found himself in front of the whole Russian army. He immediately sent word to Napoleon, who was i
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THE CAMP-FIRE OF BORODINO.
THE CAMP-FIRE OF BORODINO.
Napoleon esteemed the battle of Borodino, or Moskwa, his “greatest feat of arms.” But his conduct during the conflict has been the subject of much animadversion, and many critics agree with Segur that he did not display upon that field his usual splendor and power of genius.—But to the incidents of Borodino. The Russian army halted at Borodino, and intelligence was brought to the Emperor of the French that they were breaking up the whole plain and forming intrenchments in every part. Napoleon th
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MOSCOW.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MOSCOW.
The Russians themselves kindled Napoleon’s campfire at Moscow. They lighted his bivouacs with the flames of their ancient capital, and thus gave him an awful proof of their invincible opposition to the invader. After the battle of Borodino, Napoleon found the road to Moscow open, and advanced rapidly towards the conquest he had so long desired. The city of his hopes has been thus described: “Moscow was an immense and singular assemblage of two hundred and ninety-five churches, and fifteen hundre
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CAMP-FIRE AT MALO-YAROSLAVETZ.
CAMP-FIRE AT MALO-YAROSLAVETZ.
Napoleon had left the ruins of Moscow, like a funeral pyre, smouldering, behind him, and taken up the line of march for Kalouga. He had with him a hundred thousand effective men—troops in whom he still could place the deepest confidence. But the first snow had fallen! The ghostly terror of a Russian winter hovered over the army, and vexed the dreams of the Emperor. In a weaver’s hut, where he passed the night of the 24th of October, he heard that Kutusoff had anticipated him, and had taken up a
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THE CAMP-FIRE IN THETHE SNOW.
THE CAMP-FIRE IN THETHE SNOW.
The pen has no colors to depict the horrors of the grand army’s retreat amid the fierce storms of a Russian winter. Though “horrors upon horror’s head” accumulate, there is always lacking something which shall picture to the heart the full truth of that disastrous march. The Emperor reached Wiazma in two days’ march from Gjatz. Here he halted for the arrival of Prince Eugene and Davoust; and to reconnoitre the road from Medyn and Juknof. Hearing no tidings of the Russians, he set off after thirt
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT KRASNOE.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT KRASNOE.
Upon the retreat from Smolensk, the grand army, reduced to thirty-six thousand effective men, had been divided into four columns, commanded by Napoleon, Eugene, Davoust and Ney. These were separated by the march of a few days from each other. The Emperor reached the town of Krasnoe without difficulty; but the second division, under Prince Eugene, was compelled to fight against forces immensely superior in numbers. It was the night of the 16th of November. The weather was bitter cold; and though
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT BORYSTHENES.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT BORYSTHENES.
Ney, “the bravest of the brave,” the commander of the rearguard of the grand army, had been given up as lost by most of his heroic brethren in arms. But Napoleon could not believe it. He knew that the chances were those of desperation, but he expected all things from the lion-hearted marshal. The Emperor had reached Orcha, on the Borysthenes, with ten thousand men. He found there abundance of provisions and his troops encamped by ample fires. But his anxiety for the fate of Ney rendered him very
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THE LAST CAMP-FIRES IN RUSSIA.
THE LAST CAMP-FIRES IN RUSSIA.
At Malodeczno, Napoleon suddenly determined to leave the wretched remnant of his army, and, accompanied by a few faithful officers, to return to France. Murat was left to command the army, and the greatest hopes of speedy relief and fresh triumph were excited by the Emperor before he departed. He journeyed very rapidly, and reached Paris on the 19th of December, two days after his memorable twenty-ninth bulletin had told France the disasters of the campaign. But the remains of the grand army—wha
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT LUTZEN.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT LUTZEN.
We have seen Napoleon, with the wreck of an army, a fugitive amid the frozen plains of Russia. A few months have scarcely elapsed. It is April, 1813; and the Emperor of the French has taken the field at the head of three hundred and fifty thousand men, to beat back the enemies who have arisen against him in the hour of his adversity. Once more, in spite of the retreat from Moscow, Europe trembles at his name. The allies have posted themselves between Leipsic and Dresden. Napoleon, with a hundred
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT BAUTZEN.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT BAUTZEN.
After the victory of Lutzen, Napoleon proposed a cessation of hostilities. But those allies who continually accused him of being always for war, rejected his conciliatory proposals, and resolved to try the sword again. They entrenched their camps at Bautzen, and far from attempting the offensive, which they had found so perilous, they anxiously awaited reinforcements. In the meantime, Napoleon had entered Dresden in triumph. There he remained a week. Finding that all attempts at conciliation wer
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT MONTEREAU.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT MONTEREAU.
A distinguished historian, (Alison,) expresses the opinion that the greatest displays of Napoleon’s genius were made during his first campaign in Italy, and the next to the last in his career, in France. In spite of his triumphs at Lutzen, Bautzen and Leipsic, he was compelled to retreat upon France, into which he was followed by the overwhelming forces of the allies. His throne was threatened on all sides. His army was but a handful compared with that of his enemies. Yet by his lightning moveme
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT ARCIS.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT ARCIS.
While the allies held anxious councils, and were filled with apprehensions at almost every movement of Napoleon in his mighty struggle for his throne, he continued to strike vigorous blows at his thronging enemies. He triumphed at Craonne, and took possession of Rheims. The Austrians, under Schwartzenberg, were compelled to retreat. On the 17th of March, Napoleon broke up his head-quarters at Rheims, and advanced by Epernay to attack the rear of the Austrian army. On the 20th, his advanced guard
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THE CAMP-FIRE AT WATERLOO.
THE CAMP-FIRE AT WATERLOO.
Napoleon had returned to France. He had landed at Cannes with but a few soldiers as a guard; but he had been swept up to the imperial throne of Paris upon a mighty wave of popular enthusiasm. All Europe had arisen in arms against the choice of the nation. The campaign of the Hundred Days had commenced. At the head of a hundred and twenty thousand men, the Emperor had advanced to attack Wellington and Blucher, with two hundred and fifty thousand. BATTLE OF WATERLOO. Page 434. In order to escape f
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