CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME. OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library DC 203.G44 Military career of Napoleon the Great an 3 1924 024 345 997 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024345997 Military Career OF Napoleon the Great An Account of the Remarkable Campaigns of the " Man of Destiny " Authentic Anecdotes of the Battlefield as Told by the Famous JVlarshals and Generajs of the' Firk Empire BY Montgomery B. Qibbs '^He fought a thousand gUyrious wars. And more than half the world was his; And somewhere , now, in yonder stars, Can tell, mayhap, what greatness is." —Thackeray CHICAGO New York London Paris Berlin The Werner Company 1895 COPymOHT, 1895. BY THE WERNER COMPANY HIL Car. Napoltna o^^MllajtoT To My Friend JOHN L. STODDARD This Volume is Affectionately Dedicated. Preface. As the closing chapters of this volume were being written , a " Napoleonic wave ' ' seemed to be passing over the country, an echo, no doubt, of the furore which Napo- leon's name has excited in France during the past three years. One writer wittily says : " Where'er I turn, I'm forced to learn, Some detail of his life, I read about his sword and hats, And how he beat his wife." It seems but fair, therefore, for the author of this volume to declare that the revival of interest in the career of the man who for fifteen years had been the glory of France, has in no way caused the hasty writing, or publication, of this anecdotal military history. It is the result of years of study, and represents, not only a careful reading of those authorities which all must have access to who would write intelligently of the subject, but also of the more recent volumes which have appeared from time to time, each having something new to reveal concerning the seemingly inexhaustible fund of information pertaining to this son of a poor Corsican gentleman, who as his greatest biographer has said of him, ' ' played in the world the parts of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and Charlemagne." There has never been a time, during the last fifty years at least, when the public was not eager to learn something new concerning the wonderful career of the man who once held all Europe prisoner in the folds of the French flag. The world regards Napoleon Bonaparte as a military genius at least, whatever it may think of the political or social side of his life, and its relation to France. The writer does not believe that they are inseparably con- nected, and in offering this work it is his desire to better acquaint the admirers, as well as the enemies of the " lyittle Corporal," with his miUtary career, not tech- nically, but to picture him as his marshals, generals and soldiers knew him on the battlefield and around the campfire. Many of these famous marshals and generals, who shared day by day all the glories and perils of their chief, and who vied with him in their activity and daring, have lately given to the world their "Memoirs," pubUshed many years after their death, for obvious reasons. From them one gets a much clearer insight into the true characteristics of their heroic leader. Being men of sUght education their writings are confined largely to the gossip of the campaigns in which they were active participants, and in reading them one is often tempted to believe'that Napoleon was in command of both belligerent armies, so accurately did this giant among warriors forecast the move- ments of the enemy on the battlefield ; and after victory had favored his bold strokes, finding himself in a position to reshape, at will, the map of Europe ; for he conducted Ms campaigns with a degree of skill which, it is conceded by all military authorities, has never been excelled. No man ever understood how to excite emtilation, by distributing praise or blame, as did Napoleon. Chaboulon well says that the ascendancy possessed by the Emperor over the minds and courage of the soldiery was truly incomprehensible. A word, a gesture, was sufficient to inspire them with enthusiasm, and make them face the most terrible ordeals. If ordered to rush to a point, although the extreme danger of the manoeuvre might at first strike the good sense of the soldiers, they immediately reflected that their general would not have issued such a command without a motive, or have exposed them wan- tonly. "He knows what he is about," they would say, and immediately rush on to death, uttering shouts of " I/ong live the Kmperor !" No attempt is here made to give a history of France from the time Bonaparte first made his entrance into the drama of which he was so soon to be the leading actor. The successive periods of the Revolution, the Directory, the Consulate and the Empire are only introduced when found neccessary to explain the rapidly advancing steps of this wonderful character in history, the worshiped idol of an entire nation, that his mihtary career may be the better understood ; hence it has been thought advisable to refer briefly, at times, to the relations of France with other countries, and the cause of his spending, during the ten years of his reign as Emperor, exactly fifty-four days less in camp, and under the enemy's fire, so to speak, than he did in his royal residences ! This, then, is the story of the man who personally commanded in 600 skirmishes, and 85 pitched battles, resigning at last his leadership on the field of Waterloo, a victim of treachery and incompetency exceeding even his own well-grounded fears ; but even after these years of constant warfare and conquest, after maintaining huge armies in almost all parts of the world, he left France the richest nation in the universe, and in possession of a larger amount of specie than the rest of Europe ; and not- withstanding the fact that in ^1796, when he was given command of the Army of Italy, he found his government not only incapable of paying its ragged and weary troops, but unable, even, to feed them ! M. B. G. Chicago, m. December 31, iSp^. Contents Chapter, i. Page Boyhood Days AND EARiY Cakber .... 9 Chapter II. Bonaparte's Campaign in Itai3 the bosom of tlie Mediterranean, they erected a monument over his body and placed thereon an appropriate inscription. Napoleon, having been informed of the embarkation of the English army, instead of returning to Madrid to com- plete his Spanish conquest, proceeded at once towards Astorga where his fears with reference to Austria were heightened by news from Paris by courier. The storm that was gathering once more along the shores of the Danube was of more vital consequence to France than the kingdom of Joseph Bonaparte. On his arrival at Astorga he changed all his plans. ' ' It was late at night when the Emperor and lyannes, escorted only by their staffs, and some hundred cavalry, entered Astorga," says General Marbot. ' ' So tired and anxious for shelter and warmth was everyone that the place was scarcely searched. If the enemy had had warning of this, and returned on their tracks, they might perhaps have carried off the Emperor ; fortunately they were in too great a hurry, and we did not find one of them in the town. Every minute fresh bodies of French troops were coming up and the safety of the Imperial headquarters was soon secured." Proceeding to Valladolid with his Guard, which he wished to keep as near to events in Germany as himself, after placing Joseph on the throne at Madrid again, he soon afterwards hastened to Paris with all speed, riding on post horses on one occasion not less than eighty-five miles in five and one-half hours. He had traversed Spain with the rapidity of lightning, followed by his Guard, to the spot where new dangers and triumphs awaited him. He left behind a feeble king, equally as incapable of keeping as obtaining a conquest ; and marshals who, no longer 274 MILITARY CAREER OF restrained by the presence of an inflexible chief, for the most part delivered themselves over to their own self-love or private jealousies. In his " Memorial " written in exile at St. Helena, Napoleon said " that the war of Spain destroyed him, and that all the circumstances of his disasters connect them- selves with this fatal knot. " "In the crisis France was placed in," he said at another time, "in the struggle of new ideas in the great cause of the age against the rest of Europe, we could not leave Spain behind." WAR WITH AUSTRIA, 1809. Before Napoleon returned to Paris from Spain he learned that, yielding to England's instigations, Austria was about to take advantage of his being so far away, to cross its borders, invade Bavaria, carry the war to the banks of the Rhine, and then effect the liberation of Germany. The opportunity was an excellent one for attempting such an undertaking. The Emperor had been compelled to send the pick of his battalions to the other side of the Pyrenees, thus greatly reducing the number of French foes in Germany. The French minister of foreign afEairs, Talleyrand, had during Napoleon's absence made every effort to conciliate the Emperor Francis, but the warlike preparations throughout the Austrian dominions pro^ ceeded with increasing vigor. » NAPOLEON THE GREAT 275 After the declaration of war by Austria on the 6th of April, couriers were at once dispatched with orders to the armies on the Rhine, and beyond the Alps, to concen- trate themselves on the field. To the ambassadors at Paris the Kmpercr spoke most freely of the coming con- quest. " They have forgotten the lessons of experience there," he said ; " They want fresh ones ; they shall have them, and this time they shall be terrible I promise you. I do not desire war ; I have no interest in it, and all Europe is witness that my whole attention and all my efforts were directed towards the field of battle which England had selected, that is to say, Spain. Austria, which saved the English in 1805 when I was about to cross the straits of Calais, has saved them once more by stopping me when I was about to pursue them to Corunna. She shall pay dearly for this new diversion in their favor. Either she shall disarm in- stantly, or she shall have to sustain a war of destruction. If she disarms in such a manner as to leave no doubt on my mind as to her further intentions, I will myself sheathe my sword, for I have no wish to draw it except in Spain, against the English ; otherwise the conflict shall be imme- diate and decisive, and such that England shall for the future have no allies on the Continent. ' ' The instant Napoleon ascertained that Bavaria was invaded by the Archduke Charles, he at once proceeded, without guards, without equipage, accompanied solely by the faithful Josephine, to Frankfort and thence to Stras- bourg. Here he assumed command of the army on the 13th of April, and immediately formed the plan of his campaign. He found the two wings of his army, the one under Massena, the other under Davoust, at such a dis- 276 MILITARY CAREER OF tance from the centre that, had the Austrians seized the opportunity, the consequences might have been fatal to the French. On the 17th of April, while at Donawerth, Napoleon commanded Davoust and Massena to march simultane- ously towards a position in front, and then pushed forward the centre in person, to the same point. The Archduke Louis, who commanded the Austrian divisions in advance, was thus hemmed in unexpectedly by three armies, moving at once from three different points. At Donawerth Napoleon addressed his troops in a procla- mation in which he said:- " Soldiers, the territory of the Confederation has been violated. The Austrian general expects us to fly at the sight of his arms, and to abandon our allies to him. I arrive with the rapidity of lightning. Soldiers, I was surrounded by you when the sovereign of Austria came to my camp in Moravia ; you have heard him implore my clemency, and swear an eternal friendship towards me. Victors, in three wars Austria has owed everything to your generosity ; three times has she per- ■* jured herself. Our past successes are a safe guarantee of the victory which awaits us. IvCt us march, and at our aspect may the enemy acknowledge his conqueror. ' ' It should be remembered that at this time, while Napoleon was astonishing Etn-ope by the rapidity of his movements, and the display of the resources' of his military and political genius, he had left an army in the Peninsula, distributed over an immense space of territory, weakened by diseases, reduced by partial combats, and without receiving reinforcements from the interior of the Empire. During the whole of the German campaign of 1809, the French in Spain were merely able to maintain NAPOLEON THE GREA T 277 themselves in the positions they had occupied soon after Napoleon's departure. Austria had reckoned on the absence of Napoleon and his Guard and on the veteran troops of Marengo and Aus- terlitz being far distant. She knew that there did not remain more than 80,000 French scattered throughout Germany, and her army, divided into nine bodies, under the orders of the Archduke Charles, had not less than 500,000 men. The Archduke I^ouis was defeated and driven back at Abensberg on the 20th, and utterly routed at I^andshut on the 2ist, losing 9,000 men, thirty guns and all his stores. Those unfortunate Austrians who had been led from Vienna singing songs, under a persuasion that there was no longer a French army in Germany, and that they should only have to deal with Wurtemburgers and Bavarians, experienced the greatest terror when they came to conflict and found themselves defeated. The Prince of I# ■-....■■'>-■■ -;•"" V 'M % ftCj^ ippgp^-^ Jr- Sl_^3kk!^^B' , -'V'. '■'■••:... 4/ -:.;:®;'S; 1 '' f ^__„ L: ST. ^ r-n^^^j^ f •*.>» ^5^ mwk '■1~J-^'^ K"^ iil3lteaSiP' M """1 \aK L Q ^^^H^^^^HR^^^^^^)^ f 3^m , NAPOLEON THE GREA T 363 The Emperor, by movements most phenomenal, now had 200,000 men gathered round him, and he poured them out with such skill on either flank of the enemy's line, that ere the close of the day they were forced to withdrav,-. At 3 o'clock the battle of Dresden was definitely gained for Napoleon. The allied monarchs, in danger of losing their communication with Bohemia, were obliged to provide for their safety and beat a retreat leaving in the power of the Conqueror from twenty-five to thirty thousand prisoners, forty flags, and sixty pieces of cannon. Napoleon remained on the field until his victory was decided, and then returned to Dresden on horseback ; his gray-coat, and weather-worn hat streaming with water, and his whole appearance forming a singular contrast to that of Murat, who rode by his side with all the splendor of his usual battle-dress. The latter had, however, especially distinguished himself during the action. On either side 8,000 men had been slain or wounded and one of the ablest of all the enemy's generals — Moreau, had fallen. Early in the day Napoleon had observed a group of reconnoitring officers and ordered that ten cannon be prepared at once. He believed that he rec- ognized in the group ' ' the traitor Moreau. ' ' He at once ordered that the heavy guns, charged with all their power, be pointed in that direction. He superintended the oper- ation and decided himself the angle of elevation, the aim and the moment to fire. Ten pieces went off at once, carrying a storm of cannon-shot over the heads of the contending armies. This was followed by a movement which was thought to indicate that some person of impor- tance had been wounded. 34 364 MILITARY CAREER OF A peasant came in the evening and brought with him a bloody boot and a grey-hound, both the property, he said, of a great man who was no more ; the words on the dog ' s collar were : "I belong to General Moreau . ' ' Moreau was dead. Both his legs had been shot off. It is said he continued to smoke a cigar while the surgeon dressed his wounds, in the presence of Alexander, and died shortly after. The fatigues Napoleon had undergone between the i5th and 28th of August now overcame him and he was unable to remain with the columns in the rear of Schwartzenberg, but returned to Dresden. Here he learned of Vandamme's failure in an engagement in the valley of Culm with a Prussian corps commanded by Count D' Osterman, wherein the French lieutenant lay down his arms with 8,000 prisoners. This news reached Napoleon, still sick, at Dresden. ' ' Such, ' ' he said to Murat, ' ' is the fortune of war — high in the morning, low ere night ; between triumph and ruin there intervenes but one step. ' ' No sooner did Blucher perceive tliat Napoleon had retired from Silesia than he resumed the offensive, stiU carrying out Moreau's advice, " attack Napoleon where he is not! " and descended from the position he had taken at Jauer. He encountered Macdonald, — who was by no means prepared for him, — on the plainsbetween Wahlstadt and the river Katsbach, on the 26th of August, and after a hard fought day, gained a complete victory. The French lost 15,000 men and 100 guns and fell back on Dresden. Oudinot was defeated on the 23d of August by Bema- dotte at Gross- Beeren and Ney suffered like reverses on the 7 th of September at Dennewitz, leaving 10,000 prisoners and forty-six guns in the hands of Bernadotte. NAPOLEON THE GREAT 365 Napoleon now recovered his health and activity, and the exertions he made at this time were never surpassed, even by himself. On the 3d of September he was in quest of Blucher who had now advanced near to the Elbe, but the Prussians retired and baffled him as before. Returning to Dresden he received the news of Dennewitz and immediately afterwards heard that Witgenstein had a second time descended towards Pirna. He flew thither on the instant, the Russian gave way, according to the plan of campaign, and Napoleon returned once more to Dresden. Again he was told that Blucher on the one side, and Witgenstein on the other, were availing them- selves of his absence, and advancing. He once more returned to Pirna ; a third time the Russian retired. Napoleon followed him as far as Peterswald and once more returned to his centre point. Bernadotte and Blucher finally effected a junction to the west of the Elbe, despite the heroic exertions of Ney who, on witnessing the combination of these armies retreated to I^eipsic. Napoleon now ordered Regnier and Bertrand to march suddenly from Dresden to Berlin in the hope of recalling Blucher, but without success. Meantime Schwartzenberg was found to be skirting round the hills to the westward, as if for the purpose of joining Blucher and Bernadotte, in the neighborhood of I^eipsic. It became manifest thatLeipsic was now becoming the common centre towards which the forces of France and aU her enemies were converging. Napoleon reached that venerable city on the 15th of October and almost immediately the heads of Schwartzenberg 's col- umns began to appear towards the south. Napoleon, 366 MILITARY CAREER OF having made all his preparations, reconnoitred every outpost in person, and distributed eagles to some new regiments which had just joined him. The young sol- diers, with a splendid ceremony, swore to die rather than witness the dishonor of France. Five hundred thousand men were now in presence of each other under the walls or in the environs of Leipsic and a grand battle had become inevitable. At midnight three rockets, emitting a brilliant white light, sprang into the heavens to the south of the city. These marked the position on which Schwartzenberg — ^having with him the Emperor of Austria, as well as Alexander and Frederick William, had fixed his head- quarters. They were answered by four rockets of a deep red color ascending from the northern horizon. Napoleon now became convinced that he was to sustain, on the morrow, the assault of Blucher and Bernadotte as well as the grand army of the allies. Blucher was indeed ready to co-operate with Schwartzenberg, and though the Crown Prince had not yet reached his ground, the numer- ical strength of the enemj^ was very great. Napoleon had with him to defend the line of villages to the north and south of Iveipsic, 134,000 infantry and 22,000 cavalry ; while, even in the absence of Bernadotte, who might be hourly looked for, the allies mustered not less than 340,000 combatants, including 54,000 cavalry. At daybreak on the i6th of October, the battle began on the southern side, the allies charging the French line there six times in succession, and were as often repelled. But it was not sufficient for the Emperor to resist with success and to hold his positions ; he had, more than ever, need of a signal triumph, of a decisive victory ; and when NAPOLEON THE GREAT 367 his enemies failed in their first attack, it was for him to attack them briskly in turn without giving them time to stay the disorder and discouragement of their columns, and to replace by fresh troops the fatigued and beaten soldiers; and this Napoleon did. He at once charged and with such effect, that Murat's cavalry were at one time in possession of a great gap between the two wings of the enemy. The Cossacks of the Russian Imperial Guard, however, encountered the French horse, and pushed them back again, preserving the army of the allies from a total defeat. The combat raged without intermis- sion until nightfall, when both armies bivouacked exactly where the morning light had found them . ' ' The allies were so numerous" said Napoleon at St. Helena, " that when their troops were fatigued they were regularly relieved as on dress parade!" With such a numerical superiority, they could scarcely be definitely beaten ; therefore, not- withstanding the prodigies of valor performed by the French army, the victory remained almost tmdecided. In the centre and to the right the French had maintained their position but on the left treachery made them lose ground. Marmont commanded on this side. Blucher attacked him with a vastly superior force in numbers and while nothing could be more obstinate than his defense, he lost many prisoners and guns, was driven from his original ground, and occupied when the day closed, a new line of positions, much nearer the walls of the city. Napoleon became convinced that he must at last retreat from Leipsic and he now made an effort to obtain peace. General Merfeld, the same Austrian officer v/ho had come to his headquarters after the battle of AusterUtz, to pray 368 MILITARY CAREER OF for an armistice on tlie part of the Emperor Francis, had been made prisonerinthe course of the day, and Napoleon resolved to employ him as his messenger. Merfeld informed him that the King of Bavaria had at length acceded to the alliance, thus adding greatly to his per- plexities in finding a new enemy stationed on the line of his march to France. The Emperor asked the Austrian to request for him the personal intervention of Francis. ' ' I will renounce Poland and lUyria" said he, "Holland, theHanse Towns, and Spain. I will consent to lose the sovereignty of the kingdom of Italy, provided that state remain as an inde- pendent one, and I will evacuate all Germany. Adieu! Count Merfeld. When on my part you name the word armistice to the two emperors, I doubt not the sound wiU awaken many recollections. ' ' Napoleon received no answer to his message. The allied princes had sworn to each other to entertain no treaty while one French soldier remained on the eastern side of the Rhine. He therefore prepared for the difficult task of retreating with 100,000 men, through a crowded town, in presence of an enemy already twice as numerous, and in hourly expectation of being joined by a thiid great and victorious army. During the 17th the battle was not renewed except by a distant and partial cannonade. The allies were determined to have the support of Bernadotte in the decisive contest. On the morning of the i8th the battle began again about 8 o'clock and continued until nightfall without intermission. Never was Napoleon's generalship or the gallantry of his troops more thoroughly tested than on this terrible day. He again commanded on the south and NAPOLEON THE GREAT 369 again, in spite of the vast superiority of the enemy's numbers, the French maintained their ground to the end. On the north the arrival of Bernadotte enabled Blucher to push his advantages with irresistible effect ; and the situa- tion of Marmont and Ney was further perplexed by the shameful defection of 12,000 Saxons who went over with all their artillery to the enemy in the very midst of the battle. These Saxons, forming nearly a third of the left, ran over to the Russians, entered their ranks, and at Bernadotte's request discharged their artillery on the French, their fel- low-soldiers, whom they had just abandoned! The loss on either side had been very great. Napoleon's army consisted chiefly of very young men, many were merely boys, yet they fought as bravely as the Guard. The failure of the Emperor vyas partly occasioned by a want of ammunition ; as in the course of five days, having fired more than two hundred and fifty thousand shots, his troops had not sufficient to continue the firing two hours longer. As the nearest reserves were at Madgeburg and Erfurt, Napoleon determined to march for the latter place. He gave orders at midnight for the commencement of the inevitable retreat, and while the darkness lasted, the troops continued to file through the town, and across the two bridges, over the Pleisse, beyond its walls One of these bridges was a temporary fabric and broke down ere day- light came to show the enemy the movement of the retreating French. The confusion necessarily accompanying the march of a whole army, through narrow streets, and upon a single bridge, was fearful. The allies stormed at the gates on either side, and, but for the heroism of Macdonald and Poniatowski, to whom Napoleon intrusted the defense of 37Q MILITARY CAREER OF the suburbs, it is doubted whether he himself could have escaped in safety. At 9 in the morning of the 19th Napo- leon bade farewell to the King of Saxony who had remained all the while in the heart of his ancient city. The King Was left to make whatever terms he could with the Allied Sovereigns. The battle was now raging all round the walls and at II o'clock the allies had gathered close to the bridge. The officer to whom Napoleon had committed the task of blowing up the bridge, when the advance of the enemy should render this necessary, set iire to the train much too soon. Tiie crowd of men, urging each other on to a point of safety could not at once be stopped and soldiers, horses and cannon, rolled headlong into the deep, but narrow river. Marshal Macdonald swam the stream in safety, but the gallant Poniatowski, who defended the suburbs inch by inch, and had been twice wounded ere he plunged his horse into the current, sank to rise no more. This order was given to Poniatowski by the Emperor himself: "Prince" said Napoleon to him, "you will defend the southern faubourg. " " Sire ' ' he replied, ' ' I have but few people." "Ah! well! you will defend yourself with what you have." "Ah! Sire, we will maintain it ! "We are always ready to perish for your Majesty." The illustrious, unfortunate Pole kept his word ; he was never again to behold the Emperor. I^ater Napoleon said of him : " Poniatowski was a noble man, honorable and brave. Had I succeeded in Russia, I intended to make him king of Poland. ' ' The body of the Prince was found on the fifth day by a fisherman. He had on his gala uniform, the epaulets of which were studded with diamonds, and upon his fingers NAPOLEON THE GREAT 371 were several rings covered witli brilliants, while his pockets contained snuff-boxes of considerable value, and other trinkets. Many of these were eagerly purchased by Polish officers who- had been made prisoners. Twenty-five thousand Frenchmen, the means of escape being entirely cut off, now laid down their arms within the city with more than two hundred pieces of cannon. In killed, wounded and prisoners. Napoleon lost at I,eipsic at least 50,000 men. ' ' This defeat at I,eipsic ' ' says St. Amand, ' ' was for Na- poleon a combination of grief and surprise. Of all the battles he had fought, this was the first that he had lost. Up to that time he could boast that if he had been con- quered by the elements he had never been conquered by man; and now he was to know for himself the sufferings he had inflicted on others. He was to learn by personal experience the bitteress of defeat, the anguish of retreat, the desperation of useless bloodshed. War, which up to this time had been a source of gratification to his unpar- alleled pride, now showed to him its horrors, with its humiliations and inexpressible anguish. The hour had struck when he could make tardy reflections on the emptiness of genius and glory on the intoxication of pride that had turned his head. ' ' The retreat of the French through Saxony was a sad ending to the auspicious beginning which the Emperor had opened the campaign with. Napoleon conducted himself as became a great mind amidst great misfortunes ; he appeared at all times calm and self-possessed, receiving every day that he advanced new tidings of evil, for the peasantry was hostile, supplies scarce, and added to this was the persevering pursuit of the Cossacks who attacked at every opportunity. 372 MILITARY CAREER OF The Emperor halted for two days at Erfurt, where extensive magazines had been established, employing all his energies in the restoring of discipline. He resumed his march on the 25th of October, 1813, towards the Rhine. The Austro-Bavarians hastened to meet him and had taken up a position amidst the woods near Hanau before the Emperor reached the Mayne. He came up with them on the morning of the 30th, and his troops charged on the instant with the fury of desperation. Napoleon cut his way through ere nightfall, and Mar- mont, with the rear, had equal success on the 31st. In these actions the French lost 6,000 men but the enemy had 10,000 killed or wounded, and lost 4,000 prisoners. The mill on the river Kinzig which runs without the town, was the scene of many desperate struggles. Here the French drove the Bavarians to the banks, precipitating hundreds into the deep stream. The miller, however, at the risk of his life, at length coolly went out, amidst a shower of balls and stopped the flood-gates, so as to leave a safe retreat to the Bavarians over the mill-dam. The side of the town next to the scene of battle was constantly taken and retaken by the contending armies, and during the night of the 30th the watch-word was changed not less than seven times. Six of the Austro-Bavarian's gen- erals were killed or wounded and both cannon and flags were left in the power of the conqueror. The pursuit' of Napoleon, which had been intrusted to the Austrians, was far from vigorus and no considerable annoyance succeeded the battle of Hanau. The relics of the French host, now reduced to 60,000 men, at length passed the Rhine ; and the Emperor, having quitted them at Mayence, arrived in Paris on the 9th of November. XIV THE INVASION OF FRANCE By the defeat of the Emperor in the campaign of 1813 the Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved forever. The princes who adhered to that league were now per- mitted to sue for forgiveness by bringing a year's revenue and a double conscription to the banner of the Allies. Bernadotte turned from I^eipsic to reduce the garrisons which Napoleon had not seen fit to call in, and one by one they fell, though in most cases, particularly at Dantzic, Wirtemberg and Hamburg, the resistance was obstinate and long. The Crown Prince of Sweden having witnessed the reduction of some of these fortresses, and intrusted the siege of others to his lieutenants, invaded Denmark and the government of that country severed its long adhesion to Napoleon by a treaty concluded at Kiel on the 14th of January, 1814. Sweden yielded Pomerania to Denmark ; Denmark gave up Norway to Sweden ; and 10,000 Danish troops having joined his standard, Bernadotte turned his face towards the Netherlands. Holland also revolted after lyeipsic, the Prince of Orange returning in triumph from England and alSumed administration of afiairs in the November following. On the side of Italy, Eugene Beauharnais was driven beyond the Adige by an Austrian army headed by General Hiller, and it was not at all likely that he could hope to maintain I^ombardy much longer. To complete Napoleon's perplexity his brother- in-law, Murat, was negotiating with Austria and willing, 873 374 MILITARY CAREER OF provided Naples was guaranteed to Mm, to array tlie force of that state on the side of the Confederacy. Beyond the Pyrenees, Soult, who had been sent from Dresden to retrieve, if possible, the fortunes of the army defeated in June at Vittoria, had been twice defeated ; the fortresses had fallen, and except a detached, and now useless force under Suchet in Catalonia, there remained no longer a single French soldier in Spain. Such were the tidings which reached Napoleon from his Italian and Spanish frontiers at the very moment when it was necessary for him to make head against the Russians, the Austrians, and the Germans, chiefly armed and supplied at the expense of England, and now rapidly concentrating in three great masses on different points of the valley of the Rhine. The royalists, too, were exerting themselves indefatigably in the capital and the provinces, having recovered a large share of their ancient influence in the society of Paris even before the Russian expedi- tion. The Bourbon princes watched the course of events with eager hope. The republicans, meanwhile, were not inactive. They had long since been alienated from Napo- leon by his assumption of the imperial dignity, his crea- tion of orders and nobles, and his alliance with the House of Austria; these men had observed, with hardly less delight than the royalists, that succession of reverses which had followed Napoleon in his last two campaigns. Finally, not a few of Napoleon's own ministers and gen- erals were well prepared to take a part in his overthrow. Talleyrand, and others only second to him in influence, were in communication with the Bourbons, before the allies crossed the Rhine. "Ere then," said Napoleon, "I felt the reins slipping from my ha^jds. ' ' NAPOLEON THE GREAT 375 The Allied Princes issued at Frankfort, a manifesto on the ist of December in which the sovereigns announced their belief that it was for the interests of Europe that France should continue to be a powerful state, and their willingness to concede to her, even now, greater extent of territory than the Bourbon kings had ever claimed — the boundaries, namely, of the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. Their object in invading France was to put an end to the authority which Napoleon had usurped over ■other nations. The hostility of Europe, they said, was against, — not France, but Napoleon — and even as to Napoledn, against not his person but his system. These terms were tendered to the Emperor himself,- and although he authorized Caulaincourt to commence negotiations in his behalf, it was merely for the purpose of gaining time. Napoleon's military operations were now urged with unremitting energy. New conscriptions were called for, and granted ; every arsenal sounded with the fabrication of arms. The press was thoroughly aroused and with its mighty voice warned the allies against an invasion of the sacred soil of France. The French Senate was somewhat reluctant, however ; they ventured to hint to the Emperor that ancient France would remain to him, even if he accepted the proposals of the allies. ' ' Shame on you, ' ' cried the Emperor, " "Wellington has entered the south, the Russians menace the northern frontier, the Prussians, Austrians, and Bavarians the eastern. Shame ! Wel- lington is in France and we have not risen en masse to drive him back ! All m"y allies have deserted — the Bavarian has betrayed me. No peace until we have burned Munich ! I demand a levy of 300,000 men — with this and what I already have, I shall see a million in arms. 376 MILITARY CAREER OF I will form a camp of 100,000 at Bordeaux ; another at Mentz ; a third at Iuis XVIII. had made his public entry into Paris on the 2ist of April. He was advanced in years, gross and infirm in person, yet he was, perhaps, less unpopular than the rest of his family ; but it was his fatal misfortune to continue to increase day by day the bitterness of those who had never been sincerely his friends. The King had been called to the throne by the French Senate in a decree which provided that he should preserve the political system ' ' which Napoleon had violated ' ' , and which declared the legislative constitution as composed of a hereditary sovereign and two houses of assembly ; to be fixed and unchangeable. I^ouis, however, though he proceeded to France on this invitation, did not hesitate to date his first act in the twentieth year of his reign. The Senate saw in such assumptions the traces of those old doctrines of " the divine right of kings," of which I/Duis was a shining example, and which they, who though not originally of his party, had consented to his recall — although they had through life abhorred and combatted such principles ; and they asked themselves, why, if all their privileges were but the gifts of the King, they might not, on any tempting opportunity, be withdrawn by the NAPOLEON THE GREAT 417 same authority. They, whose titles had all been won since the death of I^ouis XVI. , were startled when they found, that, according to the royal doctrine, there had been no legitimate government all that time in France! The first tumult of the Restoration being over, and the troops of the Allies withdrawn, things began to so shape themselves that there were many elements of discontent amongst all classes, one of the most powerful of which was in the army itself. The Allies had restored, without stipulation, the whole of the prisoners who had fallen into their hands during the war. At least 1 50, 000 veteran soldiers, all of whom had fought under Napoleon on many battlefields, were thus poured into France ere I,ouis was well seated on the throne ; men, too, who had witnessed nothing of the last disastrous campaigns ; who had sustained themselves in their exile by recounting their earlier victories ; and who now, returning fresh and vigorous to their native soil, had but one answer to every tale of misfortune which met them : " These things could never have happened had we been here ! " The Empress Marie was at Blois at the time Napoleon signed his abdication, and Savary has described her grief as very great, but her own reverses were sufficiently severe to account for this, without any strong feeling for Napoleon. By direction of Napoleon she applied for protection to the Emperor of Austria and went to Rambouillet to meet him, where he explained to her that, she was to be separated from Ijer husband " for a time. ' ' The Emperor Alexander visited her also, very much against her will, and a few days afterwards she departed for Vienna. Alexander also visited Josephine,and found her distress at Napoleon's abdication very great. She appears never to have recovered 4i8 MILITARY CAREER OF from the shock for she survived it only about six weeks. She died on the 29th of May, 1814, at Malmaison, and was buried in the church of Ruel. Her funeral was attended by several generals of the allied armies, and marshals and generals of France. The body was afterwards placed in a magnificent tomb of white marble, erected by her two children, and bearing the simple inscription : "Eugene and Hortense to Josephine. ' ' Napoleon's mother, and sister Pauline, as well as a number of ancient and attached servants of his civil government and of his army, visited him during the summer of 18 14. Not the least of these was Pauline, who made repeated voyages to Italy, and returned again as mysteriously. In the circles of Ferrajo new and busy faces now appeared and disappeared — no one knew whence they had come or whither they went and an air of bustle and mystery pervaded the atmosphere of the place. The Emperor continued to review his handful of veteran soldiers with as much pride as if they had been the innumerable hosts he had led to victory on the Continent, and seemed to be fairly well contented with his situation notwithstanding he had fallen from an eminence that had been reached by no other man in modern times. The only notable change observed in his habits was that he became grave, and reserved, and seemed no longer to take any interest in the improvements he had effected on the island. It was evident, however, that something was preparing ; but the commissioners who watched over Napoleon were unable to fathom it. They repeatedly remarked on the absurdity of the Allied Powers in withholding his pension, whiclji they had solemnly pledged should be paid every NAPOLEON THE GREAT 419 quarter, thereby tempting him to release himself; but their reports were left unnoticed by those in whose hands they fell. This obliged the Emperor to seU every luxury and comfort around him to raise the means of paying his current expenses. Then it was that he began to forecast the future and to contemplate a bold stroke, not only for liberty, but to regain his lost throne before he could be transported to St. Helena which he had been informed privately was being discussed at Vienna. In this he was aided by a nation which was far from satisfied with the man whose possession of the royal sceptre had only been made possible by the force of foreign armies, and it was apparent to nearly everyone that I/Juis XVIII. could not long rule France tranquilly, even though Napoleon did not return. Ere autumn closed Napoleon granted furloughs on var- ious pretexts to about two hundred of his Guard, and these at once scattered themselves over France singing his praises. It now began to be whispered that the Exile would retiurn to the soil of France in the spring of the coming year. Among the soldiery and elsewhere he was toasted under ^& sobriquet oi " Corporal Violet," a flower or a ribbon of its color being the symbol of rebellion, and worn openly in the sight of the unsuspecting Bourbons. It was by this secret symbol that Napoleon's friends knew each other. Rings of a violet color with the device, ' ' It will reappear in the spring, ' ' became fashionable ; women wore violet- colored silks and the men displayed watch-strings of the same color ; while the mutual question when these friends met was generally, "Are you fond of the violet?" to which the answer of a confederate was, " Ah ! well." 420 MILITARY CAREER OF The representatives of all the European princes had met in Vienna to settle finally a number of questions left undecided at the termination of the war, including a division of the ' 'spoils. ' ' Talleyrand was there for France, Wellington for England, Metternich for Austria. On the nth of March these representatives, who were then discussing a'mong other things "how to get rid of the man of Elba," were thrown into a panic by the news that Napoleon Bonaparte had reared his standard once more in France and was marching on Paris ! Of the state of afiairs in France Napoleon had been fully advised as well as of the sessions of the ministers at the Congress of Vienna, who had suggested that, as the French government would not honestly pay his pension, he should be taken to some place of greater safety, and St. Helena was even mentioned at this time. This determined Napoleon to act, especially as he was fully convinced that he had a, good chance of being well received by the twenty or thirty millions of people who were being treated with contempt by l,ouis XVIII. and his followers. The arrival also of M. Fleury de Chaboulon, with secret messages from Maret, (Duke of Bassano) then at Paris, had much to do with the hasty determination of Napoleon to quit Elba at the earliest moment possible. Reserved as Napoleon was with others he told his mother of his plans. ' ' I cannot die on this island, ' ' he said to her, ' 'and terminate my career in a repose unworthy of me. Besides, want of money would soon leave me here alone, exposed to the attack of my enemies. ' ' His mother reflected for some time in silence and then replied, " Go, my son — go and fulfill your destiny. You will fail perhaps, and your failure will soon be followed by your NAPOLEON THE GREAT 421 death. But I see with sorrow that you cannot remain here ; let us hope that God, who has protected you amid so many battles, will save you once more !" Bertrand, who was sharing Napoleon's exile, was now informed of the Emperor's decision as was also Druot who at once commenced secret preparations for the approaching expedition. Eleven hundred soldiers were collected of whom 800 belonged to the Guard and 300 to the 35th light infantry that Napoleon had found in the island. None of these men had any idea of the projected enterprise. Colonel Campbell, who was watching proceedings in Elba for the English, had left Ferrajo and gone to Leghorn. There remained then only the cruisers that were easily deceived or avoided. In order to keep his preparations a profound secret, Napoleon, two days before embarking, laid an embargo on all the vessels in the harbors of Elba, and cut off all communication with the sea. He then ordered his ordnance officer, Vantini, to seize one of the large vessels lying in the port, which, with the ' ' Inconstant ' ' of twenty-six cannon, and six other smaller craft, making in all seven vessels, he secured the means of embarking his eleven hundred men and four pieces of field artUlery. He had decided to commence his romantic enterprise on the 26th of February, 18 1 5. On this day he allowed his soldiers to remain at their usual employment until the middle of the day. They were suddenly summoned in the afternoon and after being lightly fed, were assembled with arms and baggage on the pier where they were informed that they were to go on board the vessels. The inhabitants of the island regretted the Exile's departure as they feared its prosperity would go with him. Napoleon's staff and about three 422 MILITARY CAREER OF hundred men embarked on board the "Inconstant," the others being distributed in the other vessels of the flotilla. The discharge of a single cannon at about 7 o'clock in the evening was the signal agreed upon for weighing anchor, and when the sails were unfurled, and the little fleet steered its course, reiterated cries of "Paris or death!" were heard from the exultant troops. The Emperor had said to them, ' ' Grenadiers ! we are going to France ; we must march to Paris !" The English commissioner immediately attempted to get Napoleon's mother and sister to betray his destination and being unsuccessful, at once pursued ; but was unable to overtake his charge. On the voyage a French ship-of- war crossed his path ; but the Emperor made all his soldiers and those persons who could be suspected descend under the deck, and the steersman of the " Inconstant," who happened to be well acquainted with the commanding officer, had received and answered the usual challenge without exciting any suspicion. In reply to the question of how they left the Emperor at Elba, Napoleon himself made answer by signal that, "He was very well." During the voyage he dictated two proclamations which were copied by almost all his soldiers and attendants who could write. These were to be duplicated on landing and distributed throughout France. The Emperor having left Elba on the 26th of February, arrived off Cannes, near Frejus, on March ist, — the very spot he had touched when he arrived from Egypt, and from which he had embarlced ten months before. He landed without opposition, and his handful of men, — 500 grenadiers of the guard, 200 dragoons and 100 Polish lancers, these last without horses and carrying NAPOLEON THE GREAT 423 their saddles on their backs, were reviewed and imme- diately began their march on Paris. He bivouacked that night in a plantation of olives, with all his men about him. As soon as the moon rose, the reveille sounded. A laborer who was going thus early to work in the fields recognized the Emperor's person, and uttering a cry of joy, said he had served in the Army of Italj' and would join the ranks. ' ' Here is a reinforcement already !" said Napoleon to Bertrand, and after spending the balance of the evening in chatting familiarly with his Guard, the march towards Paris recommenced. Early in the morning they passed through the town of Grasse, and halted on the height beyond it. There the whole population of the place surrounded them, some cheering and many others maintaining perfect silence; but none offered any show of opposition. The peasants blessed his return ; but, on viewing his little band looked upon him with pity, and entertained no hope of his ultimate success. The roads were so bad that the pieces of cannon which they had with them were abandoned in the course of the day, but they marched full twenty leagues ere they halted for the night at Seranon. "Before arriving at this stopping place, ' ' says Thiers, ' 'the Emperor stopped a few minutes in a hut, occupied by an old woman and some cows. Whilst he warmed himself before a brushwood fire he entered into conversation with the old country-woman, who little imagined what guests she entertained beneath her humble thatch, and was asked, ' What news from Paris?' She seemed surprised at a question, to which she was little accustomed, and repUed very naturally that she knew of none. ' You don't know what the King is doing tlien ?' said Napoleon. 424 MILITARY CAREER OF " 'The King?' answered the old woman, still more astonished, ' the King ! You mean the Emperor — ^he is always j/onder.' " This dweller in the Alpine country was wholly ignorant that Napoleon had been hurled from bis throne and replaced by l/ouis XVIII. All present were struck with astonishment at witnessing this extraordinary ignorance. Napoleon, who was not less surprised than the others, looked at Druot and said, "Well, Druot, of what use is it to disturb the world to fill it with one's name?" On the 5th of March the Emperor reached Gap, where he published his first proclamations, — one to the army and another to the French people. The former said: "Soldiers ! We have not been conquered. Two men, raised from our ranks, (Marmont and Augereau) have betrayed our laurels, their country, their prince, their benefactor. In my exile I have heard your voice. I have arrived once more among you, despite all obstacles, and in all perils. We ought to forget that we have been the masters of the world ; but we ought never to suffer foreign interference in our affairs. Who dares pretend to be masters over us ? Take again the eagles which you followed at Ulm, at Austerlitz, at Jena, at Eylau, at Friedland, atTudela, atEckmuhl, atEssling, at Smolensk, at Moskowa, at I^utzen, at Wurtchen, at Montmirail. Soldiers ! come and range yourselves under the banners of your old chief. Victory shall march at the charging step. The eagle, with the national colors, shall fly from steeple to steeple, till it reaches the towers of Notre Dame ! In your old age, surrounded and honored by your fellow- citizens, you shall be heard with respect when you recount your high deeds. You shall then say with pride, ' I also NAPOLEON THE GREAT 425 was one of that great army which entered twice within the walls of Vienna, which took Rome, and Berlin, and Madrid and Moscow, and which delivered Paris from the stain printed on it by domestic treason, and the occupa- tion of strangers. ' " Between Mure and Vizele, Cambronne, who commanded Napoleon's advanced guard of forty grenadiers, met suddenly a battalion sent forward from Grenoble to arrest the march. The colonel refused to parley with Cambronne and either party halted until the Kmperor came up. Napoleon did not hesitate for a moment but dismounted and advanced alone ; some paces behind him came about a hundred of his Guard, with their arms reversed. There was perfect silence on all sides until the returned Exile was within a few yards of the men. He then halted, threw open his surtout, so as to show the star of the I^egion of Honor, and exclaimed, ' ' If there be among you a soldier who desires to kill his general — his Emperor- — let him do it now. Here I am ! ' ' The old cry of " Vive 1' Empereur ! " burst instantly from every lip. Napoleon threw himself among them, and taking a veteran private, covered with scars and medals, by his beard, said, "Speak honestly, old Moustache, couldst thou have had the heart to kill thy Emperor ? ' ' The old soldier dropped his ramrod into his piece to show that it was not loaded, and answered, " Judge if I could have done thee much harm — all the rest are the sameV The soldiers had now broken their ranks and were surrounding the Emperor, kissing his hands and calling him their general, their Emperor, their father. The commander of the 5th battalion, thus abandoned by his soldiers, knew not what to do, when Napoleon, freeing 426 MILITARY CAREER OF himself from the throng stepped forward, asked his name, his grade, his services and then added : " My friend, who made you chief de battalion ?" " You, Sire, ' ' ' 'Who made you captain?" "You, Sire," "And would you fire on me ?' " Yes' ' replied the brave man, ' ' in the performance of my duty. ' ' He then gave his sword to Napoleon, who took it, pressed his hana and in a voice that clearly indicated that the weapon would be restored at that point, said, " Meet me at Grenoble." Turning to Bertrand and Druot the Emperor then said: "All is decided: within ten days we shall be in the Tuileries ! ' ' Napoleon now gave the word, and the old adherents and the new began the march together towards Grenoble. Kre they reached that town Colonel l,abedoyere, an officer of noble family, and who had been promoted by l/ouis XVIII., appeared on the road before them at the head of his regiment, the seventh of the line. 'Chese men and the Kmperor's little column, on coming within view of each other, rushed simultaneously from their ranks and embraced with mutual shouts of, ' ' I^ive Napo- leon ! lyive the Guard ! I^ive the Seventh ! " I^abedoyere now produced an eagle, which he had kept concealed about his person, and broke open a drum which was found to be filled with tri-colored cockades. As these ancient ensigns were exhibited by the first officer of superior rank who voluntarily espoused the side of the returned Exile, renewed enthusiasm was apparent on all sides. Napoleon then questioned young I^abedoyere concerning the state of Paris, and France in general. That gallant officer answered with much frankness: ' 'Sire, the French will do everything for your Majesty ; but your Majesty must do everything in return for them ; no more :tn NAPOLEON THE GREAT 427 ambition, no more despotism ; we are determined to be free and happy. It is necessary, Sire, to renounce that system of cr <*t and power which occasioned the misfortune of France and yourself . " Napoleon replied, ' ' I know that. I return to revive the glory of France, to establish the principles of the Revolution and to secure to the nation a degree of liberty which, though difficult at the commencement of my reign, is now become not only possible but necessary." This act of I^abedoyere was most decisive, for in spite of all the efforts of General Marchand, commandant at Grenoble, the whole of that garrison, when he approached the walls, shouted " Vivel' Fmpereur !" Though wel- coming Napoleon with their voices and shaking hands with his followers through the wicket below, they would not so far disobey the governor as to throw open the gates. Neither could any argument prevail upon them to open fire on the advancing party and in the very teeth of all their batteries Napoleon calmly planted a howitzer or two and blew the gates open. Then, as if the spell of disci- pline was at once dissolved, the garrison broke from their lines and dragging the Emperor from his horse, bore him aloft on their shoulders towards the principal inn of the place, amidst the clamors of enthusiastic and delirious joy. The inhabitants of Grenoble, being unable to bring him the keys of the city, brought him with accla- mations, the shattered gates instead, exclaiming : " For want of the keys of the good city of Grenoble, here are the gates for you!" Next morning he reviewed his troops, now amounting to about 7,000, and on the 9th recommenced his march. 28 428 MILITARY CAREER OF On the loth of March Napoleon came within sight of Lyons and was informed that Marshal Macdonald had arrived to take the command, had barricaded the bridge of Guillotierre, and posted himself at the head of a large force to dispute the entrance of the town. Nothing daunted with this intelligence, the column moved on, and at the bridge of lyyons, as at the gates of Grenoble, all opposition vanished when the person of the Kmperor was recognized by the soldiery. Macdonald was forced to retire and Napoleon entered the second city of France in triumph. Macdonald would have been taken prisoner by his own troops, had not some of them, more honorable than the rest, insisted on his escape being unobstructed. He thereupon returned to Paris where he once more hoped to make a stand. A guard of mounted citizens who had been formed to , attend on the person of Count d' Artois, the heir of the Empire, and who had accompanied Macdonald, were the foremost to offer their services to the Emperor after he reached the hotel ; but -he rejected their assistance and dismissed them with contempt. Finding that one of their number had followed the Prince until his person was out of all danger. Napoleon immediately sent to that indi- vidual the cross of the lyegion of Honor. Meanwhile, during the week that the Emperor had continued his march Parisward without opposition, the newspapers of the capital were silent, and none ventured to make any allusion whatever to his successes. There then appeared a royal decree, proclaiming Napoleon Bonaparte " an outlaw," and convoking, on the instant, the two Chambers. Next day the ' ' Moniteur ' ' announced NAPOLEON THE GREAT 429 that, surrounded on all hands by faithful garrisons and a loyal population, this ' ' outlaw and invader ' ' was already stripped of most of his followers, was wandering in despair among the hills, and certain to be a prisoner within two or three days at the utmost! Louis received many addresses full of loyalty and devotion from the public bodies of Paris, from towns and departments, and, above all, from the marshals, generals and regiments who hap- pened to be near the capital. The partisans of Napoleon at Paris, however, were far more active than the roy- ahsts. They gave out everywhere that, as the procla- mation addressed ' ' To the French people ' ' from Gap had stated, Napoleon came back thoroughly cured of that ambition which had armed Europe against his throne ; that he considered his act of abdication void, because the Bourbons had not accepted the crown on the terms which it was offered, and had used their authority in a spirit, and for purposes at variance with the feelings and the interests of the French people ; that he was come to be no longer the dictator of a military despotism, but the first citizen of a nation which he had resolved to make the freest of the free ; that the royal government wished to extinguish by degrees all memory of the Revolution; that he was returning to consecrate once more the principles of liberty and equahty, ever hateful to the eyes of the old nobility of France, and to secure the proprietors of for- feited estates against all machinations of that dominant faction; — ^in a word, that he was fully sensible of the extent of his past errors, both of domestic administration and of miHtary ambition, and desirous of nothing but the oppor- tunity of devoting, to the true welfare of peaceful France, those unrivalled talents and energies which he had been rash enough to abuse in former days. 430 MILITARY CAREER OF Napoleon's friends declared, too, and with much show of authority, that the army was, high and low, on the side of the Bmperor ; that every detachment sent to intercept him would but swell his force so that nothing could pre- vent him from taking possession of the Tuileries ere a fortnight more had passed over the head of the Bourbon King. Napoleon remained at I^yons from the loth to the 1 3th of March. Here he iormally 1 esumed the functions of civil government, published various decrees, one of which commanded that justice be administered everywhere in his name after the 15th, another abolishing the Chambers of the Peers and the Deputies and summoning all the electoral colleges to meet in Paris to witness, the corona- tion of Marie I,ouise and her son, and settle definitively the Constitution of the State ; a third, ordering into banishment all those whose names had not been erased from the list of emigrants prior to the abdication of' Fontainebleau ; a fourth, depriving all strangers and emigrants of their commissions in the army ; a fifth, abol- ishing the order of St. I,ouis, and bestowing all its reve- nues on the lyegion of Honor ; and a sixth restoring to their authority all magistrates who had been displaced by the Bourbon government. These publications soon reached Paris and caused much alarm among the adherents of the King. Marshal Ney now received orders from the Minister of War to take command of a large body of troops whose fidelity was considered sure, and who were about to be sent to l,ons-le-Saunier;to intercept and arrest the return- ing Exile before he could make further progress. Ney immediately rode to Paris from his retired country-seat NAPOLEON THE GREAT 431 and there, for the first time, learned of the disembarkation of Napoleon from Elba. He is even said to have declared that he would bring his former chief to Paris in a cage, like a wild beast, in the course of a week. On reaching I