DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/lifeofnapoleonbu01unse uapcdileos' bijo^afailt:;; THE LIFE OF ' .EON BUONAPARTE : CONTAINING HISTORICAL SKETCHES, AND TES ILLUSTRATIVE OP HIS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CHARACTER. SELECTED AND ARRANGED EROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS. • ITH A PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR. BY AN AMERICAN. ELIZABETH-TOWJV, J\\ J. PUBLISHED BY ALLEN AND BRYANT, J. 8c E. Sanderson, printers. 1820. CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER XXIII. English a . — death of sir Ralph Abercrombie, 369 CHAPTER XXI Y. Moveme :e; Hutchinson — close of the campaign of Egypt . . 390 CHAPTER XXV. Affairs i Europe — Buonaparte’s vexation at the progre of English, . . . . . . 409 CHAPTER XXVI. Suonapa :’s :etr ci the republic, .... 428 CHAPTER XXVII. Proceed :S nsulta — disturbances in St. Domingo — extern arte’s power — he is declared emperor, 443 CHAPTER XXVIII. Affairs o — battle of Trafalgar — campaign in Rus- sia— L !c ig, ...... 460 CHAPTER XXIX. Buonapar abdicate the throne — sets out for Elba— . accoa lission appointed to coovej him — return to Pa Waterloo—nbrliration of Buonaparte a secon - ider of his person to captain Maitland— sails! jd St. Helena, . . . . 481 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER I. Napoleon Buonaparte was born on the 15th of Au gust, l 769, a t Ajaccio, a small town in the island of Corsi- ca. He waj} the eldest son of Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer of Italian extraction, by his wife Letitia Raniolini : and it has been saj c i j that general P*aoli was his god father. Gen- eral count Iilarbceuf was the early patron of Napoleon; he had conquered Corsica for the kingdom of France, and was appointed governor of the island. His protection became advantageous to the family of Buonaparte, and it is report- ed to have been excited by the charms of Napoleon’s moth- er, that her blandishments obtained the count’s warmest re- gards, and hat he rewarded her intimations of fondness by an attachment disgraceful to her reputation, and dishonora- ble to her husband ; that these solicitations were but a con- tinuation c,f the conduct she adopted towards others previ- ous to her marriage; that slie was then notorious!^ unchaste, and that h e r connection with the count, at the same time that it confirmed her husband’s suspicion of her infidelity, also gave hjm Napoleon for an heir. The story 0 f Buonaparte’s illegitimacy is at present des- titute of tho authority we require ; but be his origin what it may, he became so much an object of the count Marboeuf’s protection as to have been admitted by his influence with the MareC'h a l c le Segur, tire French minister at war, as an Eleve du I{ 0 i, into iJEcole Roy ale Militaire, at Brienne, in the province of Champaigne. It was there that he acquired a knowled ge of the military and political sciences, which he has since ; 30 well matured by experience, and which has en- abled him to lead mighty armies to battle, and to conquer; nces to his feet to sue for the nomi- ■ states ; which has procured for him 2 THE LIFI f kingdoms that he has bestowed c .hose >vhe n create sovereigns, and which has given W 1 ' f 50 led and the absolute dominion of ar empire : v at be the mightiest on the continen of IV 1 : him on the throne of the most an: ait id y‘ ties of the civilized world. The school atBrienne was one of the ' v itary schools, or colleges, which ous provinces of the kingdom of an c particularly patronised by the two Lsr. - 1 Bourbon family. These establish -cents v ’ ly endowed, and the pupils enjoy t o ao 1 was essential to their domestic co ice. VEcole Roy ale Militaire at Pais, vo at >.'■< other military schools in the provin < s, i : . school that not only subordination t aekoo' pupils of the others, but to which mey look the haven for all the youths of pre-en ; :■« t :yv military schools of the provinces ha-! edocai d; ations were annually held in the pres- . v! • tor, who was most commonly a gener 1 -do . members of the French academy, and - ; proficiency in study qualified them ft -cat’ good reputation in the school was \ ny of the regents, were then selected the Royal Military School at Pari: were completed, and from hence the} • or missed, and immediately attached to pointed to some military employ mer Napoleon Buonaparte arrived at the . at Brienne, in the year 1779, being the At this early age, however, he discov of mind. He avoided the juvenile Sj of the other pupils, and courted soliti. drawing himself from their mirth, he ful dynas- V al Mil- ii vari- were of the ificent- which ;; of the ,va o this dged by the for w rd as ius that the x min- spec- two hose > > hose stimo- -•ils of studies dis- ap- ioo! Did, per nts th- ion ar- ur- x-vs, >ri- in- bv thc 1 iiar ter miseir ip* l * nnec NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE. II A large pi of ground adjoining the school, had been divided into aiumber of portions, and the boys were allow- ed to cultiva these portions, or appropriate them to such other purposi as they pleased. One of these parcels was allotted to Bipnaparte and two other lads ; he succeeded in prevailing oijhis two partners to give up their right to par- ticipate in thjamusements which their ground would have afforded, andhaving thus excluded all claim on the part of .any one elsehe proceeded to lay it out into a garden, which he took mud pains to improve, and his attention to which was the principal part of his recreation. He expended the money whic the count Marboeuf had sent him for his pock- et, iu the costruction of a strong palisade around his gar- den, by whic: he rendered it difficult of access. The shrubs which he af^p planted, some of which were formed into im- penetrable srbours, contributed to its seclusion from the grounds of iie other boys, and increased the difficulties of their intrusDn. It does mt appear, that on his first entrance at school, any ' acquirements of learning marked an inordi* struction, or intenseness of application ; he :glected, if not altogether rejected, in his ear- :ainment of the Latin language. He soon, d himself with earnestness to the mathe- iments of which he wagtail ght by Father m at Brienne; Fortification, and all the Df military science and tactics he studied ig ardour ; and these, with the reading of his- of ancient Rome and Greece, were his most rations. i eriod which Buonaparte continued at Bri- was formed for the amusement and instruc- s, and which was to be under their entire give them proper notions of arrangement superiors left the distribution of the" books to the management of two of the boarders, omrades. T. he calls of Buonaparte on one of minted librarian, were so often and so much an the applications of his companions, that msidered him tiresome, and sometimes lost >naparte was not less patient, nor less posi- occasions extorted submission by blows. extr" nate seer ] y y hov\ mat Patr other with tory delis D enne tion direc and * and c chose these more the yc his te; tive, an tun . Bu dies THE LIFE OF The hours of vacation between his attenclace on the pre- ceptors of the school were spent in his garen, which he cultivated so assiduously, as to preserve it; interior in a state of order and cleanliness. Its boundarit became im- pervious, and enclosed a retreat that might live been cov- eted by a religious recluse. Here, when his horticul- tural labours were ended, he retired to its arburs, with his mathematical and scientific works, and, surronded by these and other books chiefly on historical subj he < ditated . the reduction of the principles he had irr Ui to mactice. He planned the attack and defence of fc a es, the arrangement of hostile corps in order of Is, culated the chances of success on the one part, ar ■ >[ ief- on the other, altered their position, and formed r d victo- ries upon paper, and on the ground, wh . rvvards realised with success when directing the vol of the French armies. His military ardour was by his historical reading ; his enthusiasm was e: a* ]> the lives of those ancient legislators, heroes, and w ' .ch are recorded by the venerable Plutarch, the sr- r i whose Actions have eclipsed the injustice at whic . etimes aimed, and which more frequently origin; the daring purposes of the factious partisan, or in the a f :e policy of the bold faced tyrant, than in the lauda i of the intrepid patriot, to free his country iron; ,o.ism ; or, than in the resolution of the chief of a fre> to pre- serve their independence, and secure t mient from treachery. The life of the Marshal, Saxo- ny, was also a frequent recreation to Bu • fi.tr a close application to the mathematics. H in all his studies with avidity. The Belles Lettres were not any source rtain- ment, his sole and undivided attention was {c a piire- ments, and a proficiency in the studies whi i . " hab- ts of a warrior. Polite, or liberal accomp i, he ap- •?ared to consider that a soldier should disc. He had, mbtless, heard of the achievements of Marli n the Id, and perhaps that he had also studied it of pleas- g, “ that bv it he gained, whoever he had i , t gain ; d he had a mind to gain every body b it; lie knew iat every body was, more or less, worth gaining.” But p not by gracefulness of demeanor that ;o mpnrt e de- N APOLEON BUONAPARTE. 13 signed to win what he could not gain by mere force ; he never sought t< i aUair by a display of any endeavour to please, what he co 3 d no; possess by his power; he never relin- quished t 1 part if a thing, but acquired it by stratagem, in which 3 sere 1 was 10 seeing of his influence. He scorn- ed the ar t i courtier, nor even employed them where it might ha ■ b< n su pposed that no other attempt would suc- ceed. 1 a means, which power and the ingenuity of an unculm, s j mi d would have devised, he used, without hesitation hs comrades called him the Spartan, and he retained ; > ;e until he quitted Bricnne. Buon i's attachment to Corsica was almost proverbi- al. It v Jaa! or the boys to receive the communion, and be nm n,: on the same day, and, the ceremony was perform o I >: Military School by' the archbishop; when he cam : uonaparte, he asked him, like the rest, his Christi; ::l s Buonaparte answered aloud. The name of Nape v [-eii g uncommon escaped the archbishop, who desired peat it, which Buonaparte did, with an appean c . itience. The minister who assisted, re- market late — “Napoleon! I do not know that saint.” ; •: a ! I believe it,” observed Buonaparte — “ the s int orsican.” His ; i ,s frequently irritated him by calling him a Fren He retorted eagerly, and with bitterness ; he sor -s do dared a belief that his destiny u j as to de- liver ( u oiu its dependence on France. The name of Pac • ko cr mentioned but with reverence, and he as- pired o hoe jr of achieving the design which the plans of tha hie r oi Id not accomplish. Genoa had added to thecal; nit i is country by surrendering it to France, and tl ; sec it to a subjection which it gallantly resist- ed, bt hieh superior force compelled submission. To the Ge"o< h his hatred was inveterate and eternal. A young Corsi \ h : arrival at the college was presented to Buo- n .par her students as a Genoese ; the gloom of his co ic instantly kindled into rage ; he darted up- on th !V (h vehemence, twisted his hands in his hair, and ^ o ih, prevented using further violence by the im- medi re nee of the stronger boys, who dragged the lad av bis resentment. His anger rekindled against 14 THE LIFE OF this youth for many weeks afterwards, as frequently as he came near him. Buonaparte was always desirous of hearing accounts of the public transactions in Corsica. He revered his coun- try, and never mentioned its resistance to France without enthusiasm. He listened with the most lively interest to the various successes of the Corsican patriots in arms. — Some of the French officers who had served in Corsica would frequently go to the school at Brienne, and the con- versation often turned upon the Corsican war. They would sometimes exaggerate their advantages over the Corsicans, and he allowed them to talk quietly on, occasionally, how- ever, asking a shrewd question ; but, when he was certain they had falsified a fact, he would eagerly exclaim, “are you not ashamed, for a momentary gratification of vanity, to calumniate a whole nation?” At one time an officer was describing a victory, that he said had been obtained by six hundred of the French ; Buonaparte exclaimed, “ you say there were six hundred of you in the engagement : I know you were six thousand, and that you were opposed only by a few wretched Corsican peasants.” He then opened his journals and maps, and referring to them, declaimed against the vain glorious boastings of the French off! sirs. His manners were very remarkable ; pride v.as the prom- inent feature of his character ; his conduct was austere; if he committed an error, it was not the fault of t boy, it was the result of deliberation, and what would, in mature age, have been deemed a crime. His severity never forgave the offences of his companions. His resolves were immovea- ble, and his firmness. in trifles tinctured his behaviour with obstinacy and eccentricity. Frequently engaged in quar- rels, he was often the greatest sufferer, as he generally con- tended on the weakest side, and though he was mostly sin- gled out as an object of revenge, he never complained to Ins superiors of ill treatment. He meditated retaliation in silence, and if he could not inflict a punishment himself, he disdained appealing to an authority that could erjforce it. The boys of the school were, however, gradually famil- ' iarized to his temper ; he would not bend to them, and they were contented to concede to him. He accepted this ac- knowledgment of his superiority, 'without any appearance of self gratulation, and although they could not esteem him NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE. 15 for any of the wilder virtues, they feared his inflexible na- ture, and allowed him either to indulge in seclusion, or to associate with tlemselves as he might please. 1 he insur- frequent, rections of the scholars against the masters were and Buonaparte was either at the head of each rebellion or was selected to advocate their complaints. He was there- fore generally selected as the leader, and suffered severe chastisement. He often vindicated his conduct, but never entreated pardon He listened to reproach and to reproof, to promises, an l to threats, without emotions of fear or sur- prise. He was never humiliated by those punishments that were intended ito disgrace him, and the raillery of an ungen- erous comrade, [or a powerful superior, was equally receiv- ed in sullen sjlence. He neither courted good-will nor feared resentment. The meetings of the boys were on the plan of a military establishment.,' They formed themselves into companies, each under tha command of a captain and other officers, and the wholj composed a battalion, with a colonel at its head. The officers were chosen by the boys, and decora- ted by the ormments usually attached to the French uni- form. These distinctions of rank being conferred by the lads were mostly the reward of some pre-eminent virtue or ability, they vere therefore considered by those who were so fortunate tq obtain them as an honourable insignia of mer- it. Buonaparte was unanimously chosen, and held the rank of captain. Me, however, by no means courted their ap- probation, foi he was soon afterwards summoned before a court-martial which was called with all due formality, and, on charges being proved against him, declared unworthy to command thpse comrades whose good-will he despised. — The sentence disgraced him to the lowest rank in the bat- talion, he wtjs stripped of the distinguishing marks of his command, but disdained to shew that he was affected by the disgrace! The younger boys, however, were partial to Buonaparte’s manners, fqr he sometimes encouraged them in their sports, and occasionally pointed out some advantage which in their warlike plats had been omitted to be occupied, hence he associated \Vith them, and they voted him, by acclamation, the Director of their Diversions. Thus, if he felt regret for the loss of his juvenile military rank, he was now re- 16 THE LIFli OF compensed by becoming the leader of the lads, who submit- ted to the authority they had bestowed on him, and which authority soon extended itself over all the youths in the school. Without being restricted to cbserve the rules which arc essential to modern military duty, he could now bring his forces into the field, and direct alltheir operations. He availed himself of this new command, tnd he disciplin- ed his comrades to a new mode of warfare. Buonaparte divided his youthful comrades into two par- ties - ; they were alternately the Romans and the Carthagi- nians, the Greeks and the Persians. To represent the mode of fighting of the ancients in the open field, was more easy for these lads than to imitate the movements of an army of modern times. They were destitute of artillery, which in European battles are sometimes more decisve of the fate of the day than any weapons of individual use. In sham fights, indeed, the tnusket is more often used, because it more often happens that artillery is not to )e obtained to heighten the effect of the contest, but the musket which is the only weapon in the hands of the soldier, is insufficient to picture in a sham fight its effect in an actual engagement, which is oftener decided by the bayonet thai by fire-arms. Buonaparte therefore instituted and encouraged the prac- tice of the ancient warfare ; he excited the enthusiasm of his youthful soldiery by his speeches and hh actions ; he led on one party against another, and the victory was olten disputed with an obstinacy that would have honoured a more important struggle. If his troops fled, he recalled them by his reproaches ; by exposing himsell to dangers he revived their ardour, and supported their intrepidity by his own bravery. These conflicts were often repeated, and the field of battle disputed with more firmness on every oc- casion. At length the games which commenced in sport, seldom closed until the wounds of the combatants proved the earnestness with which they contended. The superiors of the college interfered, they reprimanded the young gen- eral Buonaparte, and a renewal of these battles was prohib- ited. His activity repressed in the only exercise to which he was attached, Buonaparte retired to his favorite garden, re- sumed his former occupations, ai id appe ar d no more moi.g his comrades until the winter of the year 178o. The se- ifAPOLEON BUONAPARTE, 17 verity of the wea her had driven him from his retreat, the open a winter canpaign upon a new art of war succeed engaged in the st snow laid thick ipon the ground, and a hard frost had set in. Buonaparte, ever fertile in expedients, determined to plan. The modern led to the ancient. Having been deeply idv of fortification, it was natural that he should be desirojs of reducing its theory to practice. He called his fellow pupils around him, and collecting their gardening implements, he put himself at their head, and they proceeded jo procure large quantities of snow, which particular spots in the great court of the cted. Whilst they were thus occupied, tracing the boundaries of an extensive for- were brought to school, as he dir he was busied ii tification ; they ;oon formed intreuchments, and afterwards eagerly engagedlin erecting foris, bastions and redoubts of snow. They lapoiired with activity, and Buonaparte su- perintended ther exertions. The whole of these works were soon completed accor- ding to the excpt rules of art. The curiosity of the peo- ple of Brienne, md even of strangers, was excited by the reports of their extent and scientific construction, and they went in crowds during the winter to admire them. Buo- naparte, by turns, headed the assailants and the opponents ; he united addnjss with courage, and directed the operations with great apphuse. The weapons of the contending par- ties were snowjballs, and he continually kept up the inter- est by some military man oeuvre, which always surprised if it did not astonish. The encounters were equally earnest with those of the summer campaign, but the arms were dif- ferent. The mperiors now encouraged these games of the boys, by praising those who distinguished themselves. The sports continued throughout the winter, and it was not until the sun of the month of March, I7b4, liquified the fortress, that it was declared no longer tenable. The rudemss of manners which Buonaparte displayed, and the violence of temper to which he was subject, were not at all softened or subdued previous to his quitting Bri- enne ; his paroxysms of passion had sometimes amounted even to fury, and his anger was often so sudden and so un- controllable that few of his comrades would venture to haz- ard his displeasure. The following instance may be addu- ced of his extraordinary disposition : THE LIFE OF The pupils of the military school wert permitted every year, on the day of St. Louis, (the 25th of August,) to give themselves up to pleasure, and the mos noisy demonstra- tions of joy, almost without restraint. /II punishment was suspended, ail subordination ceased, and generally some ac- cident occurred before the day concluded. Such pupils as had attained fourteen y