:si -rrrr^y \' 't'l II '"I ^mBMmmmm m\m\'im m ifilH!!; I'l'iriiii 'viri'i(<..li" ' I'Mf.i'ri ii iiiil If ni liiliHH^^i^^^^'f m '/V~ ^/^ mil m iiiMliiiii mi iMmniimutatiwatau MiiMMiii CopyiightN^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. AMONG THE GREAT MASTERS OF WARFARE AMONG THE GREAT MASTERS By Walter E, Rowlands Among the Great Masters of Warfare Among the Great Masters of Literature Among the Great Masters of Music Among the Great Masters of Painting Among the Great Masters of Oratory i2mo, handsome cover design, boxed separately or in sets DANA ESTES & COMPANY Publishers Estes Press, 2J2 Summer Street, Boston i8oy. From painting by J. L. E. Meissonier % Among the Great Masters of Warfare Scenes in the Lives of Famous Warriors Thirty- two Reproductions of Famous Paintings with Text by Walter Rowlands A Boston fi Dana Estes & Company 9j Publishers THE LIBRARY OF 0ONRRES8, Tviw) Cowed Reckiveo OCT. 7% ^m^ OL/»aS ^XXo No. Copyright, igo2 By Dana Estes & Company ^// rights reserved AMONG THE GREAT MASTERS OF WARFARE .Publish^ October, 1902 (Colonial ?Pr52S Electrotyped and Printed by C, H. Simonds & Co. Boston, Mass., U. S. A. ^^\^ ^ ■Si ^on " Gashed with honorable scars, Low in Glory's lap they lie ; Though they fell, they fell Uke stars, Streaming splendor through the sky." — Montgomery. " A GENERAL is the head, the soul of an army ; it was Caesar, not the Roman army, who conquered Gaul ; it was Hannibal, not the Carthaginian army, who made the Republic of Rome tremble at its gates ; it was not the Macedonian army, but Alexander that reached the Indus ; it was not the French army that warred on the Weser and the Inn, but Turenne ; it was Frederick the Great, not the Prussian army, who defended Prussia for seven years against the three greatest powers of Europe." — Napoleon. " All history is the decline of war, though the slow decline." — Emerson. " For what miscarries Shall be the general's fault, though he perform To the utmost of a man." — Shakespeare. PREFACE The compiler's thanks are due to Mr. Loyall Farragut for permission to quote from his life of his father, published by Messrs. D. Appleton & Co., and to Gen. James Grant Wilson for the use of a portion of his paper, " Recollections of Admiral Farragut," pub- lished in The Criterion. CONTENTS PAGE Alexander i Hannibal 9 C^SAR 16 Attila . 26 Charlemagne 34 Roland 42 Godfrey de Bouillon .... 48 Barbarossa 53 Charles V 57 Alva 66 Drake 74 Spinola 84 Wallenstein 88 GusTAvus Adolphus 96 Cromwell 104 Turenne 115 CONDE . . 121 xii Contents PAGE Marlborough 129 Prince Eugene 134 Dessau 143 Charles XII. 150 Marshal Saxe 156 Frederick the Great .... 163 Washington 171 Blucher 180 Nelson 188 Napoleon 194 Wellington 209 MoLTKE ' . .217 Farragut 225 Grant 233 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Siege of 1807 The Death of Alexander Hannibal Crossing the Rhone The Death of Caesar Attila The Baptism of Witikind . Roland at Roncesvalles . Godfrey de Bouillon at the Jerusalem The Death of Barbarossa Charles V. at the Siege of Metz . A Family of Nobles before the Council OF Blood The Admiral of the Spanish Armada Surrenders to Drake The Surrender of Breda . The Murder of Wallenstein PAGH -y Frontispiece 4 ' 12 ' 23 - 29 40 46 51 54 61 70 83 85 95 xiv List of Illustrations GusTAvus Adolphus before the Battle of lutzen .... Cromwell at Marston Moor . The Death of Turenne Louis XIV. and the Great Conde Marlborough at Malplaquet . Prince Eugene at the Battle of Zenta The Courtship of Leopold of Dessau The Burning of the Palace at Stock HOLM IN 1697 .... The Battle of Fontenoy . Repulsed at Torgau .... Washington's First Meeting with La FAYETTE Marshal " Vorwarts "... Nelson Leaving Portsmouth, 1805 . Napoleon on Board the " Bellerophon " The Last Return from Duty . MoLTKE AT Sedan Farragut The Surrender of Lee 99 106 118 128 133 139 146 151 162 169 173 183 191 20s 212 218 228 234 AMONG THE GREAT MASTERS OF WARFARE ALEXANDER " And though mine arm should conquer twenty worlds, There's a lean fellow beats all conquerors." — Dekker. And now in Babylon he waits short space for Alexander, whose marvellous career death stopped when the great conqueror was but thirty-two. Stricken with fever a few days since, his end comes quickly, and with Rox- ana standing beside his couch, he faintly bids a last farewell to the valorous souls who have fought for him so nobly. One by one the veterans of the Granicus and of Arbela sadly 2 TJie Great Masters of Warfare take leave of the dying hero and depart, their hearts filled with sorrow and gloomy fore- bodings for the future. As Piloty has thus pictured them, so has the Irish poet, Aubrey de Vere, imagined the scene in his "Alexander the Great." " Amyntas {speaks). Eight brief days ago That was a hall of council whence the world Waited her sentence. I could deem its air Was thick with phantom shapes. Is all hope lost? Socrates. At midnight hope surceased. The fever sank ; With it his strength. He bade them bear him hither : He speaks not since. Amyiitas. In yon black palace lies The aged queen ! from window on to window The lights pass quick. There's sorrow there. 'Tis cold! Socrates. You shake. Amytitas. They woke me sudden with the news. A7itig07itis {entering). The Persian has his trouble as the Greek. Old Sisygambis sinks from hour to hour : She came from Susa hither, vexed by dreams. Found the king sick ; foodless she sits since then Alexander 3 Upon the palace floor. Dread gifts, men say, Of prophecy are hers. A funeral veil O'erhangs her glittering eyes and plaited forehead : Her Magians stand around j the royal children Kneel at her feet. Socrates. In great Serapis' temple Four generals watched from early night to morn, Hoping some intimation from the god : Nor oracle nor vision was vouchsafed. At last Seleucus, kneeling at the shrine. Besought " Shall the sick king, a suppliant, lay him Beneath the healing shadow of this fane ? " 'Twas answered, " Where he lies, there let him bide." Amyntas. That meant, that here abiding he shall live. Antigonus. It meant, that death is better than to live. Ptolejny {near the pallet). Seleucus, you were with him ? Seleucus. Half the night My tears bedewed his hand. Ptolemy. Knew he things round him ? Seleucus. He knew them well ; and knew of things beyond. Long time he watched, or seemed to watch, the pas- sions Of some great fight that makes a world or mars, 4 The Great Masters of Warfare And saw all lost. ' Parmenio fought against me ; 'Twas death's cold river gave him back his youth,' He muttered. Next he spake as to some priest: And seemed to grasp his wrist, and reasoned with him — I caught no word — two hours with lips foam-flecked, As one who proudly pleads, yet pleads for life ; Then ceased, and slept. Eii7nenes. Keep silence at the gates ! Antzgonus {drawing near). The soldiers will to see him. Ptolemy. Let it be : 'Tis now too late for aught to work him ill. \The soldiers strea7n zjt, circling succes- sively the royal pallet.^ till the whole hall is thronged.'] Seleucus. The soldiers' friend! He hears their stifled moaning : His eye is following them ; he fain would stretch His hand toward them ! Eu7nenes. Speak to him, Ptolemy ! Ptolemy. Sire, it is come ! the king is king in death : Speak the king's ordinance. Who shall wear his crown ? Alexander. The worthiest head. \^A long silence. Ptole?ny. Once more his lips are moving : The Death of Alexander. From painting by Carl von Piloty. Alexander 5 Perdiccas, you are keen of ear : bend low — Bend to his lips. Eumeiies. His fingers move : he slides The royal ring into Perdiccas' hand. Ptolemy. Hear you no words ? Perdiccas. I think he said, ' Patroclus.' Ptolemy. Once more? Perdiccas. He said, ' Achilles followed soon.' Ptolemy. Bend down once more. Perdiccas. He spake it plain: I heard it: ' Patroclus died : Achilles followed soon.' Seleucus. And died in saying it. 'Tis past. He's gone ! Ptolemy. The greatest spirit that ever trod this earth Has passed from earth. He, swifter than the morn, O'er-rushed the globe. Expectant centuries Condensed themselves into a few brief years To work his will ; and all the buried ages Summed their old wealth, to enrich, for man's behoof, With virtuous wisdom one Olympian mind. Which, grappling all things — needing not experi- ence — Yet scorned no diligence, the weapons shaped, Itself, that hewed its way, nor left to others The pettiest of those cares that, small themselves. Are rivets which make whole the mail of greatness. 6 The Gi'eat Masters of Warfare ■ The world hath had its conquerors : one alone Conquered for weal of them who bowed beneath him, And in the vanquished found his firmest friends And passionatest mourners. The world hath had its kings : but one alone To whom a kingdom meant a radiant fabric, No tyrant's dungeon-keep, no merchant's mart, But all intelligential, so combining All interests, aspirations, efforts, aims. That man's great mind, therein made one o'er earth, Might show all knowledge in its boundless glass, As the sea shows the sun. Rough Macedon, Boast, yet be just ! Thou wert this wonder's nurse : A mightier was his mother. Earth, take back Thy chief of sons ! Henceforth his tomb art thou. Seleuais. Lords, he is gone who made us what we are ; And we, remanded to our nothingness. Have that, not words, to offer him for praise. There stand among us some that watched his boy- hood ; They have had their wish ; he lived his life. The gods. Feared they the next step of their earthly rival, Who pressed so near their thrones ? Your pardon, lords ! He's dead who should this day have praised the dead. Alexander J Happiest in this, he died before his friend. Lords, we have lived in festival till now, And knew it not. The approaching woes they^best Shall measure greatness gone. The men who 'scape. Building new fortunes on the wreck-strewn shore, Shall to their children speak in life's sad eve Of him who made its morning. Let them tell His deeds but half, or no man will believe them It may be they will scarce themselves believe, Deeming the past a dream. That hour, their tears Down-streaming unashamed, like tears in sleep, Will better their poor words : who hear shall cry, Pale with strong faith, ' There lived an Alexander ! ' " Historical subjects engrossed the brush of the noted German artist, Piloty, who died at Munich — where he was born and where he studied — in 1886, at the age of sixty. Hav- ing been for many years a professor in the Munich Academy, Piloty numbered among his pupils some distinguished painters, of whom may be cited Lenbach, Defregger, and Makart. His most famous picture is ''Thusnelda at the Triumphal Entry of Germanicus into 8 TJie Girat Masters of Warfare Rome," in the New Pinacothek at Munich, a smaller version of which belonged to A. T. Stewart, the New York merchant prince, and is now owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. '*Nero Walking among the Ruins of Rome," "The Wise and Foolish Virgins," '' Galileo in Prison," "The Battle of the White Mountain, near Prague," "Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn," "The Discovery of America," and three canvases depicting scenes in the life of Wallenstein, are the work of Piloty. His " Elector Maxi- milian Adhering to the Catholic League in 1609" was painted for the Maximilianeum at Munich, and his " Elizabeth and Frederick of Bohemia Receiving News of the Loss of the Battle of Prague " was formerly in the Probasco collection at Cincinnati. Hannibal HANNIBAL •* Hannibal was a very pretty fellow in those days ; it must be granted." — Congreve. Alexander fought Persians : Hannibal fought Romans, and it may well be ques- tioned if the Carthaginian does not outrank the Macedonian soldier. No favorite of fortune, as was Alexander, Hannibal was admirable in defeat ; during the fifteen years he campaigned in Italy, a mutiny was un- known in his army ; not only did he wage successful war against heavy odds, but also against many skilled leaders ; and, finally, his exploits were told by his enemies, — a detail worth considering. One of the most famous deeds recorded of Hannibal was his passage of the Alps, but "the crossing of the river Rhone is also a noteworthy feat. It is commonly agreed lo The Great Masters of Warfare that this took place at a point near Roque- maure, a little north of Avignon. Finding himself opposed on the farther bank by a tribe of Gauls, Hannibal sent Hanno, one of his ablest lieutenants, some twenty-five miles up the river. Here Hanno crossed and at once moved down-stream to the point where the Gauls waited to resist the landing of his leader. Announcing his arrival to Hannibal by the preconcerted sig- nal of the smoke of a huge bonfire, Hanno routed the enemy by a sudden attack in their rear and the Carthaginian army began the passage of the Rhone. The elephants, of which Hannibal had thirty-seven, crossed last, and Polybius thus describes their ferrying. "The elephants were brought over in the following manner : Having made a number of rafts, they joined two of them together strongly and made them fast to the land on the bank ; the breadth of the two thus united Hannibal 1 1 being about fifty feet. They then fastened two more to the extremity of these, which advanced out into the river ; they secured also that side which was on the stream by cables from the land, fastened to some trees which grew on the bank, in order that they might not be forced away by the strength of the current. Having made this raft in the form of a bridge about two hundred feet in length, they added to the end of it two other larger floats very firmly joined together, but fastened to the rest in such a manner that the cable by which they were held might easily be cut asunder. They fixed also many ropes to these, by means of which the boats that were to tow them across might keep them from being carried down the stream ; and thus resisting the current, convey the elephants on them to the other side. They next spread a great quantity of earth upon the rafts, laying it on until they had rendered them level, and similar in color with the 12 The Great Master's of Warfare road on the land that led to the passage. The elephants, being accustomed to obey the Indians, did so till they approached the water, but never daring to venture in, they first led forward two female elephants along the rafts, when the rest presently followed. Upon reaching the extreme rafts, the cables which fastened them to the rest were cut, and they were instantly towed by the boats toward the other side. At this, the ele- phants, being thrown into great disorder, turned every way, and rushed to every part of the raft. But being surrounded on all sides by water, their fears subsided, and they were constrained to remain where they stood. In this manner were the greater part of the elephants brought over, two rafts being thus continually fitted to the rest. Some, how- ever, through fear, threw themselves into the stream in the midst of the passage. The Indians who conducted these all perished, but the beasts themselves escaped ; for owing Hannibal Crossing the Rhone. From painting by Henri Paul Motte. Hannibal 1 3 to the strength and size of their trunks they were able to raise these above the water, and breathe through them ; and thus discharging the water as it entered their mouth, they held out, and walked across the most part of the river." The use of elephants in warfare was com- mon in the East in ancient times, and the custom was later imported into Europe. Hannibal seems to have thought well of it and often made use of these great beasts in fighting, although their employment was a source of danger, for if the enemy succeeded in alarming them, or inflicted wounds upon their sensitive trunks, they became unman- ageable, and in their headlong flight would throw everything into confusion, and damage friends as much as foes. Thus it happened at the battle of Palermo (b. c. 251) where Asdrubal, the Carthaginian general, fought against Caecilius Metellus, and his array of elephants, one hundred and forty in number, 14 The Great Masters of Warfare were rendered furious by the darts of the Roman archers. The huge creatures, some throwing off their guides and treading them under foot, and all becoming unmanageable, rushed wildly through the ranks of Asdru- bal's army and made great havoc. Metel- lus, perceiving this, took advantage of the enemy's confusion, successfully attacked their battalions, and came off victor, among his spoils being over a hundred of the ele- phants whose rout had cost the Cartha- ginians so dearly. The painter of Hannibal's army passing the Rhone has gained distinction by several works wherein episodes of ancient history are reproduced with an attempt at the ut- most possible fidelity. The legend of the geese whose cackle once saved Rome, by announcing to the sentinels of the Capitol the advance of the Gauls, was illustrated by him in a picture sent to the Salon of 1881 ; ** Vercingetorix Surrendering to Caesar " be- Hannibal 1 5 longs to the museum of Puy, and the " Tro- jan Horse " is in the Corcoran Gallery at Washington. "Baal Devouring Prisoners of War at Babylon," " The Betrothed of Belus," and *' The Passing of the Chief Vestal " are works of a kindred nature by this artist. " Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle" is the property of the museum of that city, and the '' Hannibal " is owned by the museum of Bagnols. At the Chicago World's Fair of 1 893, Motte was represented by a paint- ing entitled, "The loth of August, 1792." He is a Parisian and a pupil of Gerome, and his talent has been recognized by the be- stowal upon him of a third class medal in 1880, a bronze medal at the Paris Exposi- ion of 1889, and one of silver at the Paris Exposition of 1900. 1 6 The Great Masters of Warfare C^SAR *' O mighty Csesar ! Dost thou lie so low ? Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils. Shrunk to this little measure?" — Shakespeare. The night before his murder, Caesar supped with Lepidus, and the talk turned on death and on the kind of death most to be desired. Caesar said, "A sudden one," and on the morrow had his wish, Froude's description of the tragedy is this : " Thus the Ides of March drew near. Caesar was to set out in a few days for Parthia. Decimus Brutus was going, as governor, to the north of Italy, Lepidus to Gaul, Marcus Brutus to Macedonia, and Trebonius to Asia Minor. Antony, Caesar's colleague in the consulship, was to remain in Italy. Dolabella, Cicero's son-in-law, was to be consul with him as soon as Caesar should have left for the East. The foreign appoint- ments were all made for five years, and in Ccesar 17 another week the party would be scattered. The time for action had come, if action there was to be. Papers were dropped in Brutus's room, bidding him awake from his sleep. On the statue of Junius Brutus some hot republican wrote, 'Would that thou wast alive ! ' The assassination in itself was easy, for Caesar would take no precautions. So portentous an intention could not be kept entirely secret ; many friends warned him to beware ; but he disdained too heartily the worst that his enemies could do to him to vex himself with thinking of them, and he forbade the subject to be mentioned any more in his presence. Portents, prophecies, soothsayings, frightful aspects in the sacri- fices, natural growths of alarm and excite- ment, were equally vain. 'Am I to be frightened,' he said, in answer to some report of the haruspices, ' because a sheep is without a heart } ' *' An important meeting of the Senate had 1 8 The Great Masters of Warfare been called for the Ides (the 15th) of the month. The pontifices, it was whispered, intended to bring on again the question of the kingship, before Caesar's departure. The occasion would be appropriate. The senate-house itself was a convenient scene of operations. The conspirators met at supper the evening before at Cassius's house. Cicero, to his regret, was not invited. The plan was simple, and was rapidly arranged. Caesar would attend unarmed. The senators not in the secret would be unarmed also. The party who intended to act were to provide themselves with poniards, which could be easily concealed in their paper boxes. So far all was simple ; but a ques- tion rose whether Caesar only was to be killed, or whether Antony and Lepidus were to be despatched along with him. They decided that Caesar's death would be suffi- cient. To spill blood without necessity would mar, it was thought, the sublimity of Ccesar 19 their exploit. Some of them Hked Antony. None supposed that either he or Lepidus would be dangerous when Caesar was gone. In this resolution Cicero thought that they made a fatal mistake ; fine emotions were good in their place, in the perorations of speeches and such like ; Antony, as Cicero admitted, had been signally kind to him ; but the killing Caesar was a serious business, and his friends should have died along with him. It was determined otherwise. Antony and Lepidus were not to be touched. For the rest, the assassins had merely to be in their places in the Senate in good time. When Caesar entered, Trebonius was to detain Antony in conversation at the door. The others were to gather about Caesar's chair on pretence of presenting a petition, and so could make an end. A gang of gladiators were to be secreted in the adjoining theatre, to be ready should any unforeseen difficulty pre- sent itself. . . . When great men die, im- 20 TJie Great Masters of Warfare agination insists that all nature shall have felt the shock. Strange stories were told in after years of the uneasy labors of the elements that night. " ' A little ere the mightiest Julius fqll, The graves did open, and the sheeted dead Did squeak and jibber in the Roman streets.' The armor of Mars, which stood in the hall of the pontifical palace, crashed down upon the pavement. The door of Caesar's room flew open. Calpurnia dreamt her husband was murdered, and that she saw him ascend- ing into heaven, and received by the hand of God. In the morning the sacrifices were again unfavorable. Caesar was restless. Some natural disorder affected his spirits, and his spirits were reacting on his body. Contrary to his usual habit, he gave way to depression. He decided, at his wife's en- treaty, that he would not attend the Senate that day. Ccesar 2 1 **The house was full. The conspirators were in their places with their daggers ready. Attendants came in to remove Caesar's chair. It was announced that he was not coming. Delay might be fatal. They conjectured that he already suspected something. A day's respite, and all might be discovered. His familiar friend whom he trusted — the coincidence is striking! — was employed to betray him. Decimus Brutus, whom it was impossible for him to distrust, went to en- treat his attendance, giving reasons to which he knew that Caesar would listen, unless the plot had been actually betrayed. It was now eleven in the forenoon. Caesar shook off his uneasiness and rose to go. As he crossed the hall, his statue fell, and shivered on the stones. Some servant, perhaps, had heard whispers, and wished to warn him. As he still passed on, a stranger thrust a scroll into his hand, and begged him to read it on the spot. It contained a list of the 22 The Great Masters of Warfare conspirators, with a clear account of the plot. He supposed it to be a petition, and placed it carelessly among his other papers. The fate of the empire hung upon a thread, but the thread was not broken. As Caesar had lived to reconstruct the Roman world, so his death was necessary to finish the work. He went on to the Curia, and the senators said to themselves that the augurs had foretold his fate, but he would not listen ; he was doomed for his contempt of religion. ''Antony, who was in attendance, was de- tained, as had been arranged, by Trebonius. Caesar entered, and took his seat. His pres- ence awed men, in spite of themselves, and the conspirators had determined to act at once, lest they should lose courage to act at all. He was familiar and easy of access. They gathered around him. He knew them all. There was not one from whom he had not a right to expect some sort of gratitude, and the movement suggested no suspicion. The Death of Ccesar. From painting by J ean Louis Gerome. Ccesar 23 One had a story to tell him ; another some favor to ask. Tullius Cimber, whom he had just made governor of Bithynia, then came close to him, with some request which he was unwilling to grant. Cimber caught his gown, as if in entreaty, and dragged it from his shoulders. Cassius, who was standing be- hind, stabbed him in the throat. He started up with a cry, and caught Cassius's arm. Another poniard entered his breast, giving a mortal wound. He looked round, and see- ing not one friendly face, but only a ring of daggers pointing at him, he drew his gown over his head, gathered the folds about him that he might fall decently, and sank down without uttering another word. Cicero was present. The feelings with which he watched the scene are unrecorded, but may easily be imagined. Waving his dagger, dripping with Caesar's blood, Brutus shouted to Cicero by name, congratulating him that liberty was restored. The Senate rose with 24 TJie Great Masters of Waif are shrieks and confusion, and rushed into the Forum. The crowd outside caught the words that Caesar was dead, and scattered to their houses. Antony, guessing that those who had killed Caesar would not spare him- self, hurried off into concealment. The murderers, bleeding, some of them, from wounds which they had given one another in their eagerness, followed, crying that the tyrant was dead, and that Rome was free ; and the body of the great Caesar was left alone in the house where a few weeks before Cicero told him that he was so necessary to his country that every senator would die before harm should reach him ! " The master-hand of Gerome has drawn the scene for us on the canvas which he exhib- ited at the Paris Exposition of 1867, 3.nd which, together with many others of his works, now enriches the collections of our countrymen. It once belonged to John Taylor Johnston, at the sale of whose pic- Ccesar 25 tures in 1876 it brought ^8,000, and became the property of John Jacob Astor. Jean Leon Gerome, born at Vesoul in 1824, went to Paris in 1841 and became a pupil of Paul Delaroche. His first appear- ance at the Salon was in 1847, when he presented the " Cock Plght," now in the Luxembourg. Li a long life of unwearied industry, he has produced a great number of pictures, the reputation of some being world-wide. Among the best known are *' The Duel after the Masked Ball," *' Gladiators Saluting Caesar," ''Louis XIV. and Moliere," ''Cleo- patra and Caesar," "Bonaparte before the Sphinx," and " Christian Martyrs." Hon- ors without number have been showered on Gerome, who adds to his fame as a painter the rare distinction of being also a sculptor of great merit. 26 The Great Masters of Warfare ATTILA "The vigor with which Attila wielded the sword of Mars convinced the world that it had been reserved alone for his invincible arm." — Gibbon. The Huns first appeared in Europe about the year 374, which was perhaps some thirty years before the birth of Attila. Ancient chroniclers tell of their hardy way of living, how they " never frequent any sort of build- ings, which they look upon as set apart for the sepulchres of the dead, and, except in case of urgent necessity, they will not go under the shelter of a roof, and they think themselves insecure there, not having even a thatched cottage amongst them ; but, wandering in the woods from their very cradle, they are accustomed to endure frost, hunger, and thirst. They are clothed with coverings made of linen and the skins of wood-mice stitched together, nor have they Attila 27 any change of garment, or ever put off that which they wear till it is reduced to rags and drops off. They cover their heads with curved fur caps ; their hairy legs are de- fended by goat skins, and their shoes are so ill fitted as to prevent their stepping freely, on which account they are not well quaUfied for infantry ; but, almost growing to the backs of their horses, which are hardy and ill-shaped, and often sitting upon them after the fashion of a woman, they perform any- thing they have to do on horseback. There they sit night and day, buy and sell, eat and drink, and leaning on the neck of the animal take their slumber, and even their deepest repose. They hold their councils on horse- back. Without submitting to any strict royal authority, they follow the tumultuous guidance of their principal individuals, and act usually by a sudden impulse. When attacked they will sometimes stand to fight, but enter into battle drawn up in the figure 28 The Great Masters of Warfare of wedges, with a variety of frightful vocifera- tions. Extremely light and sudden in their movements, they disperse purposely to take breath, and careering without any formed line, they make vast slaughter of their ene- mies ; but, owing to the rapidity of their manoeuvres, they seldom stop to attack a rampart or a hostile camp. At a distance they fight with missile weapons, most skil- fully pointed with sharp bones. Near at hand they engage with the sword, without any regard for their own persons, and while the enemy is employed in parrying the attack, they entangle his limbs with a noose in such a manner as to deprive him of the power of riding or resisting. None of them plough, or touch any agricultural instrument. They all ramble about like fugitives without any fixed place of abode with the wagons in which they live." These barbaric fighters, after ravaging many other parts of Italy, set out under ^■.^'r^ Atiila. From painting by Ulpiano Checa. I Attila 29 Attila for the overthrow of Rome in the spring of the year 453, but the Eternal City was not destined to suffer the assaults of the sreat Hunnish warrior. Its savior appeared in the person of Pope Leo I., called the Great, who was despatched by the Em- peror Valentinian on an embassy to endeavor to avert the threatened onslaught of the " Scourge of God." " Leo is stated by his biographer and some other writers to have thrown himself at the feet of Attila, and to have delivered a speech of the most abject and unconditional submission. He is made to say, after the manner of Lupus, that evil man had felt his scourge, and to pray that the suppliants who addressed him might feel his clemency. That the Senate and Roman people, once conquerors of the world, but now defeated, humbly asked pardon and safety from Attila, the king of kings ; that nothing amid the exuberant glory of his great actions could have befallen him more 30 TJie Girat Masters of Warfare conducive to the present lustre of his name, as to its future celebrity, than that the people, before whose feet all nations and kings had lain prostrate, should now be sup- pliant before his. That he had subdued the whole world, since it had been granted to him to overthrow the Romans, who had conquered all other nations. That they prayed him, who had subdued all things, to subdue himself ; that, as he had surpassed the summit of human glory, nothing could render him more like to Almighty God, than to will that security should be extended through his protection to the many whom he had subdued. The letters, however, of Leo, which are extant, upon various subjects chiefly connected with church discipline, seem to testify a right-judging and upright mind, and render it very improbable that he should have debased himself and the govern- ment which he then represented by such mean and contemptible adulation. Whether Attila 31 he addressed the mighty Hun m the lan- guage of abject submission or strove to con- ciHate him by a more rational and dignified appeal, he was completely successful in ob- taining the object of his mission. The king is said to have stood silent and astonished, moved by veneration at the appearance, and affected by the tears of the pontiff ; and, when he was afterward questioned by his vassals, why he had conceded so much to the entreaties of Leo, to have answered that he did not reverence him, but had seen an- other man in sacerdotal raiment, more august in form and venerable from his gray hairs, who held a drawn sword, and threatened him with instant death, unless he granted every- thing that Leo demanded. The vision was reputed to be that of St. Peter, and accord- ing to Nicolas Olaus he saw two figures, who were reported to have been St. Paul and St. Peter. This celebrated anecdote ... is to be looked upon as an ecclesiastical fiction. 32 TJie Great Masters of Warfare but Attila seems to have been alarmed by a superstitious dread of the fate which over- took Alaric speedily after the subjugation of Rome. A joke is related as having been prevalent against Attila amongst his fol- lowers, founded on the names of two bishops, Lupus and Leo, — that as in Gaul he had yielded to the wolf, he now gave way before the lion. He had probably more weighty reasons for his retreat than the venerable aspect of the lion, the visions of the apostles, or the fate of the Gothic conqueror. His army was enervated by the sack of the Italian towns, and a grievous pestilence had thinned its ranks ; the devastation of the country had rendered it difficult to obtain subsistence, and his troops were suffering from famine as well as disease ; the recol- lection of Radagais, who had not long before in the plenitude of his power been starved into unconditional surrender on the heights of Faesulae, may have furnished him with Attila 33 rational grounds of apprehension, while the army of Aetius, fresh and unbroken, was hanging upon his skirts, intercepting his foragers, cutting off his stragglers, and watching opportunity to inflict some more important injury. An ample donation of gold, according to the base practice of that period, was probably added to the causes which induced Attila to forego, for that sea- son at least, the attack of Rome; and he consented to withdraw his forces." Checa, the able Spanish artist who painted Attila riding at the head of his fierce Tar- tars, was born in i860, studied at the Ma- drid Academy, and gained the Spanish Prize of Rome in 1884. In 1887 his "Invasion of the Barbarians " was rewarded with a first class medal at Madrid, and in 1890 his celebrated " Roman Chariot Race," one of the most spirited pictures of horses in vio- lent action ever produced, won a medal at the Paris Salon. 34 TJie Gi'eat Masters of Warfare The horse in motion has been the chief theme of several works by Checa, — " Ma- zeppa," '' The Ravine at Waterloo," and "The Abduction of Proserpine" are among them, — but he has proved in his " Nauma- chia " and other instances that his art is not confined to such subjects. CHARLEMAGNE " Emperor of the West, King of France and Germany, restorer of the arts and sciences, wise lawgiver, great converter of infidels, — how many titles to the recollec- tion and gratitude of posterity ! " — Pauline Paris. Charlemagne, " the hero of two nations," began in 772 the great mission of his life, which was to subdue and convert the Saxons, a work which was effected only after more than thirty years of conflict. "After having, in four or five successive expeditions, gained victories and sustained checks, he thought himself sufficiently advanced in his Charlemagne 3 5 conquest to put his relations with the Saxons to a grand trial 'In 'j'j'j he resolved,' says Eginhard, ' to go and hold, at the place called Paderborn (close to Saxony), the gen- eral assembly of his people. On his arrival he found there assembled the senate and people of this perfidious nation, who, con- formably to his orders, had repaired thither, seeking to deceive him by a false show of submission and devotion. , . . They earned their pardon, but on this condition however, that, if hereafter they broke their engage- ments, they would be deprived of country and liberty. A great number amongst them had themselves baptized on this occasion ; but it was with far from sincere intentions that they had testified a desire to become Christians.' "There had been absent from this great meeting a Saxon chieftain called Witikind, son of Wernekind, king of the Saxons at the north of the Elbe. He had espoused the 36 The Great Masters of Waif are sister of Siegfried, king of the Danes, and he was the friend of Ratbod, king of the Prisons. A true chieftain at heart as well as by descent, he was made to be the hero of the Saxons just as, seven centuries before, the Cheruscan Herrmann (Arminius) had been the hero of the Germans. Instead of repairing to Paderborn, Witikind had left Saxony and taken refuge with his brother- in-law, the king of the Danes. Thence he encouraged his Saxon compatriots, some to persevere in their resistance, others to repent them of their show of submission. War began again, and Witikind hastened back to take part in it. " In jjZ the Saxons advanced as far as the Rhine ; but, ' not having been able to cross this river,' says Eginhard, 'they set themselves to lay waste with fire and sword all the towns and all the villages from the city of Duitz (opposite Cologne) as far as the confluence of the Mosplle. The Charlemagne 37 churches as well as the houses were laid in ruins from top to bottom. The enemy in his frenzy spared neither age nor sex, wishing to show thereby that he had invaded the territory of the Franks, not for plunder, but for revenge ! ' For three years the struggle continued, more confined in area, but more and more obstinate. Many of the Saxon tribes submitted ; many Saxons were bap- tized ; and Siegfried, king of the Danes, sent to Charlemagne a deputation, as if to treat for peace. Witikind had left Denmark ; but he had gone across to her neighbors, the Northmen, and thence reentering Saxony, he kindled there an insurrection as fierce as it was unexpected. In 782 two of Charle- mao:ne's lieutenants were beaten on the banks of the Weser, and killed in the bat- tle, * together with four counts and twenty leaders, the noblest in the army ; indeed, the Franks were nearly all exterminated. At news of this disaster,' says Eginhard, 38 The Great Masters of Warfare ' Charlemagne, without losing a moment, reassembled an army and set out for Saxony. He summoned into his presence all the chief- tains of the Saxons, and demanded of them who had been the promoters of the revolt. All agreed in denouncing Witikind as the author of this treason. But as they could not deliver him up, because immediately after his sudden attack he had taken refuge with the Northmen, those who, at his instigation, had been accomplices in the crime, were placed, to the number of four thousand five hundred, in the hands of the king, and by his order, all had their heads cut off the same day, at a place called Werden, on the river Aller. After this deed of vengeance the king retired to Thionville to pass the winter there.' But vengeance did not put an end to the war. * Blood calls for blood,' were words spoken in the English Parlia- ment, in 1643, by Sir Benjamin Rudyard, one of the best citizens of his country, in her Charlemagne 39 hour of revolution. For three years Charle- magne had to redouble his efforts to accom- plish in Saxony, at the cost of Prankish as well as Saxon blood, his work of conquest and conversion. * Saxony,' he often re- peated, 'must be Christianized or wiped out.' At last, in 785, after several victories, which seemed decisive, he went and settled down in his strong castle of Ehresburg, ' whither he made his wife and children come, being resolved to remain there all the bad season,' says Eginhard, and applying himself without cessation to scouring the country of the Saxons and wearing them out by his strong and indomitable determination. But deter- mination did not bhnd him to prudence and policy. ' Having learned that Witikind and Abbio (another great Saxon chieftain) were abiding in the part of Saxony situated on the other side of the Elbe, he sent to them Saxon envoys to prevail upon them to re- nounce their perfidy, and come, without hesi- 40 Tlie Great Masters of Warfare tation, and trust themselves to him. They, conscious of what they had attempted, dared not at first trust to the king's word ; but having obtained from him the promise they desired of impunity and, besides, the hos- tages they demanded as guarantee of their safety and who were brought to them, on the king's behalf, by Amalwin, one of the officers of his court, they came with the said lord and presented themselves before the king in his palace of Attigny (Attigny-sur- Aisne, whither Charlemagne had now re- turned), and received baptism.' " Charlemagne did more than amnesty. Witikind, on his side, did more than come to Attigny and get baptized there ; he gave up the struggle, remained faithful to his new engagements, and led, they say, so Christian a life, that some chroniclers have placed him on the list of saints." Thus did the Saxon leader justify the words which, according to a German poet. The Baptism of Witikind. From painting by Paul Thumann. Charlemagne 4 1 Charlemagne addressed to him on his bap- tismal day : *' All honor to thee, my friend, my mate ! Thou Saxon Lion, my foe of late ! For Christ is the Lord of Lords, And God like him there is none beside. Thine angel hath Sent thee hither to-day, O valorous Witikind ! " The mighty God Hath chosen thee ! He hath work, no doubt, for thee to do. Be thou but faithful and leal and true, And thou in thy turn shalt see That never another hero trod The earth whose worth And glory will match thine own, O Witikind ! " Rule henceforth o'er Fair Saxony's land; Rule thou, and thine heirs to the latest age, — Thy name will yet shine in history's page In colors glowing and grand ! " Great popularity has been bestowed upon the pictures of Paul Thumann, a German artist, who, born in 1834, became a pupil of 42 The Gi'eat Masters of Warfare Julius Hubner and Ferdinand Pauwels, and eventually attained the honor of a professor- ship at the Berlin Academy. His most familiar works are the " Return of the Victorious Germans after a Battle in the Teutoburg Forest," " The Three Fates," " Psyche at Nature's Mirror," and "Art Wins the Heart," but in addition to producing a multipUcity of other pictures, Thumann has drawn many illustrations to the writings of Goethe, Heine, Chamisso, Shakespeare, and Tennyson. ROLAND " Oh for a blast of that dread horn, On Fontarabian echoes borne, That to King Charles did come. When Roland brave and Olivier, And every paladin and peer, On Roncesvalles died ! " — Scott. Of all the paladins whose exploits added lustre to the glorious reign of Charlemagne, Roland 43 Roland was first. A son of Bertha, sister to the great emperor, he rejoiced in the posses- sion of a magic sword, called Durindana, which was the handiwork of fairies and once belonged to Hector, a matchless horse named Veillantif, and a wonderful ivory horn. On the return of Charlemagne from Spain, Roland commanded the rear-guard, which fell into an ambuscade at the pass of Ronces- valles in the Pyrenees and was utterly anni- hilated by a countless horde of Basques and Spanish-Arabians. The great French epic called " The Song of Roland," describes this woful event in detail : " Count Roland entered within the prease, And smote full deadly without surcease ; While Durindana aloft he held, Hauberk and helm he pierced and quelled, Intrenching body and hand and head. The Saracens lie by the hundred dead, And the heathen host is discomfited. " Valiantly Olivier, otherwhere, Brandished on high his sword Hauteclere — 44 ^/^^ Great Masters of Warfare Save Durindana, of swords the best. To battle proudly he him addressed. His arms with the crimson blood were dyed. ' God, what a vassal ! ' Count Roland cried. ' O gentle baron, so true and leal, This day shall set on our love the seal ! The emperor cometh to find us dead, Forever parted and severed. France never looked on such woful day ; Nor breathes a Frank but for us will pray, — From the cloister cells shall the orisons rise, And our souls find rest in Paradise.' Olivier heard him, amid the throng, Spurred his steed to his side along. Saith each to other, ' Be near me still ; We will die together, if God so will.' < Roland and Olivier then are seen To lash and hew with their falchions keen ; With his lance the archbishop thrusts and slays, And the numbers slain we may well appraise ; In charter and writ is the tale expressed — Beyond four thousand, saith the geste. In four encounters they sped them well ; Dire and grievous the fifth befell. The cavaliers of the Franks are slain All but sixty, who yet remain ; Roland 45 God preserved them, that ere they die, They may sell their lives full hardily. " As Roland gazed on his slaughtered men. He bespake his gentle compeer agen : ' Ah, dear companion, may God us shield ! Behold, our bravest lie dead on field ! Well may we weep for France the fair, Of her noble barons despoiled and bare. Had he been with us, our king and friend ! Speak, my brother, thy counsel lend, How unto Karl shall we tidings send?' Olivier answered, ' I wist not how. Liefer death than be recreant now.' "'I will sound,' said Roland, ' upon my horn, Karl, as he passeth the gorge, to warn. The Franks, I know, will return apace.' " Then to his lips the horn he drew, And full and lustily he blew. The mountain peaks soared high around ; Thirty leagues was borne the sound. Karl hath heard it, and all his band. ' Our men have battle,' he said, ' on hand.' Ganelon rose in front and cried, ' If another spake, I would say he lied.' 46 The Great Masters of Warfare " With deadly travail, in stress and pain, Count Roland sounded the mighty strain. Forth from his mouth the bright blood sprang, And his temples burst for the very pang. On and onward was born the blast, Till Karl hath heard as the gorge he passed. And Naimes and all his men of war. ' It is Roland's horn,' said the emperor, 'And, save in battle, he had not blown.' ' Battle,' said Ganelon, ' is there none. Old are you grown — all white and hoar ; Such words bespeak you a child once more. Have you, then, forgotten Roland's pride, Which I marvel God should so long abide, How he captured Naples without your hest ? Forth from the city the heathen passed. To your vassal Roland they battle gave, — He slew them all with the trenchant glaive, Then turned the waters upon the plain. That trace of blood might not remain. He would sound all day for a single hare: 'Tis jest with him and his fellows there ; For who would battle against him dare ? Ride onward — wherefore this chill delay ? Your mighty land is yet far away.' " On Roland's mouth is the bloody stain, Burst asunder his temple's vein ; Roland at Roncesvalles. From painting by Louis Felix Guesnet. Roland 47 His horn he soundeth in anguish drear ; King Karl, ' That horn is long of breath.' Said Naimes, ' 'Tis Roland who travaileth, There is battle yonder by mine avow. He who betrayed him deceives you now. Arm, Sire ; ring forth your rallying cry, And stand your noble household by ; For you hear your Roland in jeopardy.' '« The king commands to sound the alarm, To the trumpet the Franks alight and arm ; With casque and corselet and gilded brand, Buckler and stalwart lance in hand, Pennons of crimson and white and blue, The barons leap on their steeds anew, And onward spur the passes through ; Nor is there one but to other saith, ' Could we reach but Roland before his death, Blows would we strike for him grim and great.' Ah ! what availeth ! — 'tis all too late." *' Roland at Roncesvalles " is the work of a French artist, Louis FeHx Guesnet, who was born in 1843, and studied under Lamothe. It gained for its painter a medal at the Salon of 1873. Guesnet has also 48 The Great Masters of Warfare painted '' Mazeppa," "After the Pillage,' "Before the Chase," and ''The Harvest." GODFREY DE BOUILLON " The fame of Godfrey and the First Crusade rivalled the older legends of Arthur and Charlemagne, and he is named with them as one of the three Christian heroes who made up the number of the nine noblest." — T. A. Archer. Despite the stain upon his character caused by his merciless treatment of the conquered Saracens, Godfrey de Bouillon must be considered the hero of the First Crusade. When, a few days after the capture of the Holy City, he was chosen King of Jerusalem, Godfrey would not consent to wear a golden crown in the place where our Saviour had worn a crown of thorns, and contented him- self with the modest title of Baron of the Holy Sepulchre. His rule lasted but a year, as he died on July 18, 1 100, being about forty Godfrey de Bouillon 49 years of age, and was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Hundreds of years after his death, in the forty-eighth year of that nineteenth century which has raised monuments to so many of the illustrious ones of the past, there was unveiled in Brussels, on the spot w^here he is said to have exhorted the Flemings to join the crusade, an equestrian statue of Godfrey holding aloft the banner of the Cross. But more lasting than bronze is Tasso's tribute to the great crusader in his epic of "Jeru- salem Delivered : " " O glorious Captain ! whom the Lord on high Defends, whom God preserves, and holds so dear ; For thee Heav'n tights, to thee the winds (from far, Called with thy Trumpets blast) obedient are. " The Angel Michael, to all the rest Unseen, appeared before Godfredo's eyes, In pure and heav'nly armor richly drest, Brighter than Titan's Rays in clearest skies; Godfrey (quoth he), this is the moment blest To free this Town that lonor in bondage lies. 50 The Great Mastei^s of Wai'fare See, see what Legions in thine aid I bring, For Heav'n assists thee, and Heav'ns glorious King: " Lift up thine eyes, and in the Air behold The sacred Armies, how they mustred be, That cloud of flesh in which for times of old All Mankind wrapped is, I take from thee, And from thy Senses their thick mist unfold, That face to face thou mayst these spirits see, And for a little space, right-well sustain Their glorious light, and view those Angels plain. " Behold the Souls of every Lord and Knight That late bore Arms and dy'd for Christ's dear sake. How on thy side against this town they fight, And of thy joy and conquest will partake : There where the dust and smoak blinds all mens sight, Where stones and ruines such an heap do make. There Hugo fights, in thickest Cloud imbard, And undermines that Bulwark's Ground-work hard. *' See Dudon yonder, who with Sword and Fire Assails and helps to scale the Northern Port. That with bold courage doth thy Folk inspire. And rears their Ladders 'gainst the assaulted Fort: Godfrey de Bouillon at the Siege of Jerusalem. From drawing by Gustave Dore. Godfrey de Bouillon 5 I He that high pn the Mount in grave attire Is clad, and crowned stands in Kingly sort, Is Bishop Ademare, a blessed Spirit, Blest for his faith, crown'd for his death and merit. « But higher lift thy happy eyes, and view Where all the sacred Hosts of Heav'n appear; He lookt, and saw where winged Armies flew, Innumerable, pure, divine, and clear ; A Battel round of squadrons three they shew, And all by threes those Squadrons ranged were, Which spreading wide in rings, still wider go, Mov'd with a stone, calm water circleth so. " With that he winkt, and vanisht was and gone That wondrous Vision when he lookt again, His Worthies fighting view'd he one by one, And on each side saw signs of Conquest plain, For with Rinaldo 'gainst his yielding fone, II is Knights were entred and the Pagans slain. This seen, the Duke no longer stay could brook. But from the Bearer bold his Ensign took. " And on the bridge he stept, but there was staid By Soliman, who entrance all deny'd. That narrow tree to vertue great was made, The Field as in few blows right soon was try'd. Here will I give my life for Sion's aid. 52 The Great Masters of Warfare Here will I end my days the Soldan cry'd. Behind me cut or break this Bridge, that I May kill a thousand Christians first, then die. " But thither fierce Rinaldo threatning went, And at his sight fled all the Soldan's train. What shall I do ? if here my life be spent, I spend and spill (quoth he) my bloud in vain. With that his steps from Godfrey back he bent, And to him let the passage free remain, Who threatning follow'd as the Soldan fled, And on the walls the purple Cross dispred : " About his head he tost, he turn'd, he cast That glorious Ensign, with a thousand twines. Thereon the wind breaths with his sweetest blast, Thereon with golden Rays glad Phoebus shines. Earth laughs for joy, the streams forbear their hast, Clouds clap their hands, on mountains dance the Pines, And Sions Towers and sacred Temples smile. For their deliv'rance from that bondage vile. " And now the Armies rear'd the happy cry Of Victory, glad, joyful, loud and shrill, The Hills resound, the Echo showreth high. And Tancred bold that fights and combats still Barbarossa 5 3 With proud Argantes, brought his Tower so nigh, That on the Wall, against the Boasters will, In his despight, his Bridge he also laid, And won the place, and there the Cross displaid." Although Gustave Dore painted many pic- tures and produced some able works of sculp- ture, it is as an illustrator that he will always be best known. When, in 1883, this re- markable Frenchman died at fifty, his fertile brain and rapid pencil had given to the world many thousands of drawings, made in illus- tration of the Bible and of Dante, Cervantes, Rabelais, Montaigne, La Fontaine, Balzac, Milton, Coleridge, Tennyson, and Poe. BARBAROSSA "No man ever put the cross upon his shoulder with a higher and a purer heart." — Edward A. Freeman. Frederick Barbarossa in youth had borne a part in the unfortunate Second Crusade, and forty years later he joined 54 The Great Masters of Waif are Philip Augustus of France and Richard Coeur de Lion in the third of those great enterprises which had for their aim the Hber- ation of Jerusalem from the grasp of the infidel. But the gallant "Kaiser Red-beard" was not fated to behold the Holy City. On the loth of June, 1190, while his army was on the march toward Cilicia, Frederick, in at- tempting to swim his horse across the river Saleph, was swept away by the current and drowned. Tradition, ever busy with the name of the great emperor, alleged that the spot had been marked from remote an- tiquity and that a rock near the river bore the ominous words, " Hie Iwminufn maxinnis peribW ("Here shall perish the greatest of men"). It was, however, firmly believed that Frederick, like the EngHsh King Arthur, would come again to right all wrongs and rule over a greater and a happier nation. The Death of Barbarossa. From painting by Wilhelm Beckmann. Barbarossa 5 5 The German poet, Geibel, has told in verse how — " Far within the lone Kyffhauser With a lamp red glimmering by Sits the aged Emperor Frederick At a marble table nigh. " Covered with a purple mantle And in armor glancing bright, Still upon his moveless eyelids Lieth slumber's heavy night. « On his features, calm yet earnest, Love and sternness each is shown, And his beard, so long and golden, Through the marble stone hath grown. " Here, like brazen statues standing, All his knights their lord surround, Sword begirt, in armor gleaming, But like him in slumber bound. " All is silent, save the moisture Dropping slowly from the wall, Silent, till the appointed morning Breaks in glory over all. 56 The Great Masters of Warfare " Till the eagle's mighty pinions Round the mountain summit play, At whose rush the swarming ravens, Quick, affrighted, flee away. *' Comes a sound like far-off thunder, Rolling through the mountain then. And the emperor grasps his sword-hilt, And the knights awake again. " Loud upon its hinges sounding Open springs the brazen door. Barbarossa and his followers Walk in bright array once more. *• On his helm the crown he beareth, And the sceptre in his hand ; Swords are glancing, harps are ringing, Where he moveth through the land. *' All before the monarch bending Render him the homage due, And the holy German Empire Foundeth he at Aix anew." Wilhelm Beckmann, who painted the " Death of Barbarossa," was born at Dussel- dorf in 1852, and had Eduard Bendemann Charles V. 57 for his master. *' Hussites Receiving the Sacrament before Battle," "Wagner at Home," "Luther after his Discourse at the Diet of Worms," and ''Surrender of the Castle of Rosenberg in the Hussite Wars, 1427," are the titles of some of his paintings. CHARLES V. " When he was born into the world, he was born a soldier." — Duke of Alva. Charles is said to have declared that the three greatest captains of his age were, him- self first, then Alva, and then Montmorency. He usually said to the young officers who came to take service under his banner, " Pray only for my health and my life, for so long as I have these I will never leave you idle ; at least in France. I love peace no better than the rest of you. I was born and bred to arms, and must of necessity 58 The Great Masters of Warfare keep on my harness till I can bear it no longer." Navagero, the Venetian ambassador to the emperor's court, wrote to the doge in 1546: " It is the received opinion that the emperor has no better general in the army than him- self. . . . He is present in every place, sees everything, and forgetting that he is a great emperor, he does the work of a subaltern or inferior captain." He was, however, signally repulsed in 1552, at the siege of Metz, which was ably defended by the French, under the leader- ship of Francis of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, against the imperial army, which numbered at least sixty thousand men. "The chief command, under the emperor, was committed to the Duke of Alva, assisted by the Marquis de Marignano, together with the most experienced of the Italian and Spanish generals. As it was now toward the end of October, these intelligent officers Charles V\ 59 represented the great danger of beginning, at such an advanced season, a siege which could not fail to prove very tedious. But Charles adhered to his own opinion with his usual obstinacy and, being confident that he had made such preparations and taken such precautions as would ensure success, he ordered the city to be invested. As soon as the Duke of Alva appeared, a large body of the French sallied out and attacked his vanguard with great vigor, put it in confu- sion, and killed or took prisoners a consider- able number of men. By this early specimen which they gave of the conduct of their officers, as well as the valor of their troops, they showed the imperialists what an enemy they had to encounter, and how dear every advantage must cost them. The place, how- ever, was completely invested, the trenches were opened, and the other works be- gun. . . . "The Duke of Guise, though deeply af- 6o The Great Masters of Warfare fected with his brother's misfortune, did not remit in any degree the vigor with which he defended the town. He harassed the be- siegers by frequent salHes, in which his officers were so eager to distinguish them- selves, that, his authority being hardly suffi- cient to restrain the impetuosity of their courage, he was obUged at different times to shut the gates, and to conceal the keys, in order to prevent the princes of the blood and noblemen of the first rank from exposing themselves to danger in every sally. He repaired in the night what the enemy's artil- lery had beat down during the day, or erected behind the ruined works new fortifications of almost equal strength. The imperialists, on their part, pushed on the attack with great spirit, and carried forward at once approaches against different parts of the town. But the art of attacking fortified places was not then arrived at that degree of perfection to which it was carried toward the close of the six- Charles V. at the Siege of Met^. From painting by Lucien Melingue. Charles V. 6 1 teenth century, during the long war in the Netherlands. The besiegers, after the un- wearied labor of many weeks, found that they had made but little progress, and although their batteries had made breaches in different places, they saw, to their aston- ishment, works suddenly appear, in demolish- ing which their fatigues and dangers would be renewed. The emperor, enraged at the obstinate resistance which his army met with, left Thionville, where he had been confined by a violent fit of the gout ; and though still so infirm that he was obliged to be carried in a litter, he repaired to the camp, that, by his presence, he might animate the soldiers, and urge on the attack with greater spirit. Upon his arrival, new batteries were erected, and new efforts were made with redoubled ardor. " But by this time, winter had set in with great rigor ; the camp was alternately del- uged with rain or covered with snow ; at 62 The Great Masters of Warfare the same time provisions were become ex- tremely scarce, as a body of French cavalry, which hovered in the neighborhood, often interrupted the convoys or rendered their arrival difficult and uncertain. Diseases began to spread among the soldiers, espe- cially among the Italians and Spaniards, unaccustomed to such inclement weather; great numbers were disabled from serving, and many died. At length, such breaches were made as seemed practicable, and Charles resolved to hazard a general assault, in spite of all the remonstrances of his generals against the imprudence of attacking a numer- ous garrison, conducted and animated by the most gallant of the French nobility, with an army weakened by disease, and disheartened with ill success. The Duke of Guise, sus- pecting the emperor's intentions from the extraordinary movements which he observed in the enemy's camp, ordered all his troops to their respective posts. They appeared Charles V. 63 immediately on the walls, and behind the breaches, with such a determined counte- nance, so eager for the combat, and so well prepared to give the assailants a warm recep- tion, that the imperialists, instead of ad- vancing to the charge when the word of command was given, stood motionless in a timid, dejected silence. The emperor, per- ceiving that he could not trust troops whose spirits were so much broken, retired abruptly to his quarters, complaining that he was now deserted by his soldiers, who deserved no longer the name of men. " Deeply as this behavior of his troops mortified and affected Charles, he would not hear of abandoning the siege, though he saw the necessity of changing the method of attack. He suspended the fury of his batteries, and proposed to proceed by the more secure but tedious method of sapping. But as it still continued to rain or to snow almost incessantly, such as were employed 64 The Great Masters of Warfare in this service endured incredible hardships ; and the Duke of Guise, whose industry was not inferior to his valor, discovering all their mines, counterworked them, and pre- vented their effect. At last, Charles finding it impossible to contend any longer with the seventy of the season, and with enemies whom he could neither overpower by force nor subdue by art, while at the same time a contagious distemper raged among his troops, and cut off daily great numbers of officers as well as the soldiers, yielded to the solicitations of his generals, who conjured him to save the remains of his army by a timely retreat. 'Fortune,' says he, *I now perceive, resembles other females, and chooses to confer her favors on young men, while she turns her back on those who are advanced in years.' *' Upon this, he gave orders immediately to raise the siege, and submitted to the disgrace of abandoning the enterprise, after having Charles V. 65 continued fifty-six days before the town, during which time he had lost upwards of thirty thousand men, who died of diseases or were killed by the enemy." Lucien Melingue's picture of the gouty and ailing emperor being assisted into his litter in the snow-covered camp before Metz is an excellent example of the ability of the artist, who died in 1889, at forty-seven. The Luxembourg holds his '' Etienne Marcel and the Dauphin Charles," and he won a first class medal at the Salon of 1877, with "The Morning of the lOth Thermidor." 66 The Great Masters of Warfare KINK " In war ... he was inferior to no commander in the world during the long and belligerent period to which his life belonged. . . . But his professed eulogists admitted his enormous avarice, while the world has agreed that such an amount of stealth and ferocity, of patient vindic- tiveness and universal bloodthirstiness, were never found in a savage beast of the forest, and but rarely in a human bosom." — Motley. Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, was, in his youth, a very hero of romance. Brave and enthusiastic, he had proved his prowess on a battle-field when but sixteen years of age, and a later exploit con- sisted in riding from Hungary to Spain and back in seventeen days, for the sake of a brief visit to his newly married wife, to whom he was ardently attached. Such a chivalrous deed seems but little in keeping with the Duke of Alva who established, to his ever- lasting infamy, the terrible " Council of Blood." Alva 67 " In the same despatch of the 9th Septem- ber (1567) in which the duke communicated to PhiHp the capture of Egmont and Horn, he announced to him his determination to estabUsh a new court for the trial of crimes committed during the recent period of troubles. This wonderful tribunal was ac- cordingly created with the least possible delay. It was called the Council of Troubles, but it soon acquired the terrible name, by which it will be forever known in history, of the Blood Council. It superseded all other institutions. Every court, from those of the municipal magistrates up to the supreme councils of the provinces, was forbidden to take cognizance in future of any cause grow- ins: out of the late troubles. The council of state, although it was not formally disbanded, fell into complete desuetude, its members being occasionally summoned into Alva's private chambers in an irregular manner, while its principal functions were usurped 6S The Great Masters of Warfare by the Blood Council. Not only citizens of every province, but the municipal bodies, and even the sovereign provincial estates them- selves, were compelled to plead, like humble individuals, before this new and extraordinary tribunal. It is unnecessary to allude to the absolute violation which was thus committed of all charters, laws and privileges, because the very creation of the council was a bold and brutal proclamation that those laws and privileges were at an end. The constitution or maternal principle of this suddenly erected court was of a twofold nature. It defined and it punished the crime of treason. The definitions, couched in eighteen articles, de- clared it to be treason to have delivered or signed any petition against the new bishops, the Inquisition, or the edicts ; to have toler- ated public preaching under any circum- stances, to have omitted resistance to the image-breaking, to the field-preaching, or to the presentation of the request by the nobles, Alva 69 and 'either through sympathy or surprise,' to have asserted that the king did not pos- sess the right to deprive all the provinces of their liberties, or to have maintained that this present tribunal was bound to respect in any manner any laws or any charters. In these brief and simple, but comprehensive terms was the crime of high treason defined. The punishment was still more briefly, simply, and comprehensively stated, for it was instant death in all cases. So well, too, did this new and terrible engine perform its work, that in less than three months from the time of its erection, eighteen hundred human beings had suffered death by its summary proceedings ; some of the highest, the noblest, and the most virtuous in the land among the number ; nor had it then manifested the slightest indi- cation of faltering in its dread career. " Yet, strange to say, this tremendous court, thus established upon the ruins of all the ancient institutions of the country, had not 70 The Great Masters of Warfare been provided with even a nominal authority from any source whatever. The king had granted it no letters patent or charter, nor had even the Duke of Alva thought it worth while to grant any commissions, either in his own name or as captain-general, to any of the members composing the board. The Blood Council was merely an informal club, of which the duke was perpetual president, while the other members were all appointed by himself. " Of these subordinate councillors, two had the right of voting, subject, however, in all cases, to his final decision, while the rest of the number did not vote at all. It had not, therefore, in any sense, the character of a judicial, legislative, or executive tribunal, but was purely a board of advice by which the bloody labors of the duke were occasionally lightened as to detail, while not a feather's weight of power or of responsibility was re- moved from his shoulders. He reserved for A Family of Nobles before the Council of "Blood. From painting by Charles Soubre. Alva yi himself the final decision upon all causes which should come before the council, and stated his motives for so doing with grim simplicity. 'Two reasons,' he wrote to the king, * have determined me thus to limit the power of the tribunal ; the first that, not knowing its members, 1 might be easily deceived by them ; the second, that the men of law only condemn for crimes wJiicJi are proved; whereas your Majesty knows that affairs of state are governed by very different rules from the laws which they have here! "... Such being the method of operation, it may be supposed that the councillors were not allowed to slacken in their terrible indus- try. The register of every city, village, and hamlet throughout the Netherlands showed the daily lists of men, women, and children thus sacrificed at the shrine of the demon who had obtained the mastery over this un- happy land. It was not often that an indi- vidualwas of sufficient importance to be tried J 2 The Great Masters of Warfare — if trial it could be called — by himself. It was found more expeditious to send them in batches to the furnace. Thus, for example, on the 4th of January, eighty-four inhabitants of Valenciennes were condemned ; on another day, ninety-five miscellaneous individuals, from different places in Flanders ; on an- other, forty-six inhabitants of Malines ; on another, thirty-five persons from different localities, and so on. *'. . . Thus the whole country became a charnel-house ; the death-bell tolled hourly in every village ; not a family but was called to mourn for its dearest relatives, while the sur- vivors stalked listlessly about, the ghosts of their former selves, among the wrecks of their former homes. The spirit of the nation, within a few months after the arrival of Alva, seemed hopelessly broken. The blood of its best and bravest had already stained the scaffold ; the men to whom it had been ac- customed to look for guidance and protection Alva 73 were dead, in prison, or in exile. Submission had ceased to be of any avail, flight was im- possible, and the spirit of vengeance had alighted at every fireside. The mourners went daily about the streets, for there was hardly a house which had not been made desolate. The scaffolds, the gallows, the funeral-piles, which had been sufficient in ordinary times, furnished now an entirely inadequate machinery for the incessant exe- cutions. Columns and stakes in every street, the door-posts of private houses, the fences in the fields, were laden with human carcasses, strangled, burned, beheaded. The orchards in the country bore on many a tree the hideous fruit of human bodies.'* 74 ^/^^' Great Masters of Wai'fare DRAKE "Chaste in his Hfe, just in his dealings, true of his word, and merciful to those that were under him, hating nothing so much as idleness." — Thomas Fuller. To the majority of people, the best known incident in Drake's life is probably one con- nected with the Great Armada — how, when the famous English sailor was playing Ijowls one July day on Plymouth Hoe, word was brought that the Spanish fleet had been sighted off the Lizard, and Drake checked the disposition of his officers to put to sea at once by laughingly declaring that there was plenty of time to "win the game and beat the Spaniards, too." Yet, though Drake played an important part in the defeat of the Armada, his renown, through circumstances which space forbids explaining here, rests mainly on other ex- ploits. One of the most noteworthy of these Drake 75 was performed at Cadiz in 1587, the year before the coming of Phihp's ships-of-war to the hoped-for conquest of England. It is thus described by an EngUsh writer : " By all the rules of war, on which Borough was the great authority in the service, to attack without the most elaborate precautions was madness. But Drake was born to break rules. He was ready to pit bowline and broadside against oars and chasers. In vain Borough pleaded for waiting at least till nightfall ; Drake would not listen. The enemy were before him ; his authority was in his pocket ; the wind held fair ; and, to the vice-admiral's disgust, at four o'clock in the afternoon he stood in. ''From Port. St. Mary two galleys had been ordered out to ascertain the stranger's intention, and at these Drake dashed, nor did they escape without severe punishment. As he opened the harbor there lay before him, opposite the shore end of the town, 'J 6 The Great Masters of Warfare some sixty sail of ships, and under the sec- ond battery were a crowd of caravels and small barks. Almost every class and every nationality were represented in the throng, and all of them, except those which were preparing for the American voyage, were engaged in some way or other upon the ser- vice of the great enterprise. Some were loaded, some loading, some waiting for a cargo, and almost all waiting for their guns to arrive from Italy. Many of them had no sails, it being the practice to remove them from requisitioned ships in order to prevent desertion. As Drake's fire upon the galleys declared his purpose, the harbor became a scene of terror and confusion. Every vessel that had means of movement cut its cables and fled for the nearest refuge. A score or so of small French and native craft got over the shoals into Port St. Mary, and six Dutch hulks made for Port Royal. To cover the rest, ten galleys were seen to put boldly Drake 77 out from under the first battery and bear down upon Drake's beam. But he was not to be frightened. Leaving the merchantmen to take the helpless vessels in hand, with the four queen's ships he defiantly met the Span- ish attack. Passing across the course of the advancing galleys, he received them with raking broadsides. It was a lesson that needed no repeating. Torn and mangled by the unprecedented storm of fire, they turned and fled. Two retired beyond Pun- tales without more ado, and made off to Port Royal ; seven took up an unassailable posi- tion inside the Puercas reef, where they were covered by the castle guns, while the tenth had to be hauled ashore to save her from sinking. Thus left to complete their even- ing's work unmolested, the Enghsh came to anchor amongst their prizes. " By nightfall all the vessels that had not been able to get into the inner harbor were in Drake's hands. One, a large 'argosy' 78 The Great Masters of Warfare carrying forty guns, was unfortunately sunk by the English fire. Those that had sails were kept, and the rest were plundered and given to the flames. All this was done under fire of the second battery. So now by the flare of the conflagration, as the burn- ing ships drifted upon the shoals, Drake ordered the Me^xhant Royal to lead the private ships close up to the Puntales pas- sage, and there to anchor out of range of the town guns. He himself took up a position somewhat to seaward, with the other royal ships near him, to cover his merchantmen from a fresh attack by the galleys. Bor- ough, it seems, was anxious to complete their work at once and get out safely to sea again, content with the havoc they had wrought. But Drake would not listen to such caution. Great as was the destruction, he was still unsatisfied. As yet there was little to show of profit to the adventurers. He had still another exploit in his mind, and, Drake 79 dismissing the captains who had come to consult him, he ordered them to He quiet all night and not move unless he did. " At daylight next morning Drake weighed, and to Borough's dismay, instead of working out, moved the Bonaventure still farther in, and came to anchor amongst the rearmost merchantmen. In the inner harbor lay a splendid vessel belonging to no less a person than Santa Cruz himself, the com- mander-in-chief of the English enterprise ; this he was resolved to take, and regardless of the two galleys that were in the inner harbor covering the shipping at Port Royal, he rapidly organized a flotilla of the pinnaces and boats of the fleet, and with the McrcJiant Royal led them in on the flood in person to effect the capture. . . . Meanwhile Drake's work was completed, and having gutted Santa Cruz's galleon and set her on fire in spite of the galleys, the flotilla and the Merchant Royal came out. During the past thirty-six 8o The Great Masters of Warfare hours, the fleet had been entirely re-victualled with wine, oil, biscuit, and dried fruits. Thou- sands of tons of shipping, and a vast quantity of stores had been destroyed, and six vessels laden with provisions were prizes in the fleet. The official Spanish return sets the loss down at twenty-four vessels, valued with their cargoes at 172,000 ducats, or about three- quarters of a million of our money, but all told it was probably still more. Satisfied at last, by midday Drake had the inshore division all in their positions again, and in fine order prepared to make sail. But now, as luck would have it, the wind fell, and he had to remain where he was, exposed to all the devices the Spanish could invent to des- troy him. By this time troops were pour- ing along the isthmus into Cadiz, and the Spaniards, inspired with new life, made every effort to take advantage of Drake's predica- ment. Guns were moved down into the sand-hills and brought to bear on the fleet, Drake 8 1 fire-ships were launched against him with the tide, and the galleys attacked again and again. Now, if ever, was their time. ' There were never galleys,' says one English report, 'that had more fit place for their advantage in fight ; for upon the shot that they received they had present succor from the town, which they used sundry times, we riding in a narrow gut, the place yielding no better,' yet all was of no avail. Drake, the day before, had demonstrated the superiority, in a wind, of well-armed broadside ships against more than double their number of galleys; now he was to prove it in a calm. If the smooth water was favorable to vessels of free movement, it was also favourable to gunnery. Galleys, we have seen, never carried more than one gun of long range. The Bonaventiire had sixteen (culverins, cannons, and demi-culverins). The result was that the galleys one after another were disabled and compelled to retire before they 82 The Gj^eat Masters of Warfare could get within effective range. Nor were the fire-ships more successful. Not one did the Enghsh allow to approach them, and as they watched the vessels burning themselves out harmlessly upon the shoals, they laughed to think how the Spaniards were saving them trouble. Still the calm continued, and for all that day they had to lie where they were, harassed by the Spanish fire. It was not till two o'clock the next morning that the land wind sprang up again. Drake immediately made sail, and sweeping the galleys once more from his path, stood out past the batteries. 'Then,' says the 'Brief Relation/ 'having performed this notable service, we came out of the Road of Cadiz on the Friday morning with very little loss, not worth the mentioning.' Ten of the galleys presumed to give chase, and upon the weather falling calm again, when the English were barely outside, they once more attacked. During the whole forenoon the action continued, but 1 The Admiral of the Spanish Armada Surrenders to Drake. From painting by Seymour Lucas. Drake 83 with the same result as before. Before the galleys had inflicted any harm on their enemy, a south breeze sprang up, and they were compelled to draw off and leave Drake to anchor outside in full view of the town, in triumph and undisturbed." The " Surrender " depicted in the painting we here repeat was that of the Spanish ad- miral Don Pedro de Valdes, who commanded a division of the Armada, to Drake, on board of the Revenge. John Seymour Lucas, a Royal Academician (born in 1849), ^^^ painted *'The Surrender," has also portrayed the episode of Drake and his captains at bowls, in his picture entitled "The Armada in Sight." Lucus has contributed to British art several other works of a historic nature, such as ''The Gordon Riots," ''Charles I. before Gloucester," "A 'Whip' for Van Tromp," and "St. Paul's: The King's Visit to Wren." " William the Conqueror Granting the Charter to the Citizens of London," by 84 The Great Masters of Warfaj^e Lucas, is one of the frescos in the Royal Exchange. SPINOLA '* When Maurice of Nassau, second son of William the Silent, and even more distinguished in the field than his father, was asked who was the greatest living general, he replied, * Spinola is the second.' " — S. Arthur Bent. Allowing that Maurice was right in esti- mating himself as \\\^ first general of his day, he was so nearly matched by his great adver- sary, the Marquis Spinola, that he must often have experienced — " the stern joy which warriors feel In foemen worthy of their steel." It was in the year (1625) of Maurice's death that Spinola captured Breda, after a ten months' siege, during which the Dutch defended the city with great valor and endur- ance. The siege was undertaken by Spinola on receipt of this laconic order from Philip The Surrender of Breda. P>om painting by Velazquez. Spinola 8 5 IV., "Marquis, take Breda" — and its suc- cess added greatly to his reputation. The capture of Breda is, indeed, considered to be Spinola's most illustrious action. This distinguished general, although in the service of Spain, was an Italian, a native of Genoa. Here, though of ancient family, he had been engaged in commerce, until the renown obtained by his younger brother Frederick, an admiral in the Spanish navy, aroused in him an ambition to seek similar distinction. It may have been Spinola's business train- ing which prompted him to do what few generals of his period endeavored to per- form, namely, to see that his soldiers were paid regularly and fully, and this custom proved of the greatest advantage to him. The words which he addressed to his army, when about to cross the Rhine, are well worth noting in this connection : "And as Julius Caesar, when he passed the 86 TJlc Gi'cat Mastei's of Warfare river in Italy, set up his resolution to put up for the Roman Empire or to die under the attempt, so, though there be great difference in the enterprise and far more in the person, yet I will with your help and the sword make my passage through this country before us, and possess it ; and, as I shall receive com- mandment from my king to join with the imperial army in a contest which I undertake for the Catholic religion, and for the just rights of the emperor, you shall not want for anything, having, as ye well know, brought sufficient treasure with me. And for a testi- mony of my love to you, and of my confidence in you, I will expressly give order that you have two months' pay beforehand, which shall be paid unto you before you pass any further upon my service. We are seven and twenty thousand men at arms by muster ; better men the world cannot afford. Of these, above three-fourths have met the enemy in the face. All are valiant and spina la 87 loyal, and sithence the eye of all the Chris- tian world and more is upon us, let us, for God's sake and our own, effect things worthy of so valorous an army. So I commend you all and our endeavors to the affection of the Almighty." Ambrogio Spinola was, moreover, humane, just, and generous, in short a gentleman, as he certainly looks in the picture of the sur- render of Breda, painted by his friend, the great Velazquez, wherein the courteous con- queror receives the key of the fallen city from its governor, Justin of Nassau. It is not pleasant to read that Spinola' s eminent services to Spain were ill requited. He is said to have died of a broken heart — a victim to the ingratitude of princes. S8 The Great Masters of Warfare WALLENSTEIN " He was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest generals of his time, and thus in a sense superior to all others ; for he knew how to collect armies, how to discipline them in the shortest time, how to organize them, how to direct them best in combat, and how most ce'rtainly to lead them to victory." — Sir Edward Cust. Three pictures having Wallen stein for their subject were painted by the celebrated Piloty. One, which was at the Paris Expo- sition of 1878, shows the imperiaUst general on his way to Eger ; another, which we here present, depicts the assassins of Wallenstein carrying his dead body from the chamber, while the astrologer, Seni, looks on in hor- ror ; and the third, the best known of all (being in the New Pinacothek at Munich), represents Seni standing in sad and solemn contemplation by the Hfeless form of his great patron. Had Wallenstein' s towering ambition in- Wallenstein 89 deed led him so far that he was ripe for revolt against his master, the Emperor Fer- dinand, or was the death secretly and with- out trial inflicted upon him, the cowardly deed of an ingrate who thus basely repaid the immense services rendered to his crown by the great general ? Historians do not agree in their answers to this question. Schiller allies himself with those who believe Wallenstein a traitor, as may be seen by reading these lines from the fifth act of his drama. The scene is in Eger, just before the assassination of the general by some of his own soldiers : "Scene IV. — Wallenstein, Gordon WALLENSTEIN All quiet in the town ? GORDON The town is quiet. wallenstein I hear a boisterous music ! and the castle Is lighted up. Who are the revellers? 90 The Great Masters of Warfare GORDON There is a banquet given at the castle To the Count Terzky and Field Marshal Illo. WALLENSTEIN In honor of the victory. — This tribe Can show their joy in nothing else but feasting. \^Rings. The Groo7n of the Chauiber enters. Unrobe me. I will lay me down to sleep. [Wallenstein tatees the keys from Gordon. So we are guarded from all enemies, And shut in with sure friends, For all must cheat me, or a face like this {^Fixing his eye on Gordon. Was ne'er a hypocrite's mask. yrhe Groom of the Chamber takes off his 7nan- tle, cottar, and scarf WALLENSTEIN Take care — what is that? groom of THE CHAMBER The golden chain is snapped in two. WALLENSTEIN Well, it has lasted long enough. Here — give it. [^He takes and looks at the chain. 'Twas the first present of the emperor. He hung it round me in the war of Friule, Wallenstein 9 1 He being then archduke ; and I have worn it Till now from habit — From superstition, if you will. Belike, It was to be a talisman to me ; And while I wore it on my neck in faith, It was to chain to me all my life long The volatile fortune, whose first pledge it was. Well, be it so ! Henceforward a new fortune Must spring up for me ; for the potency Of this charm is dissolved. \Groom of the Chamber retires with the vest- ments. Wallenstein rises, takes a stride across the room, and stands at last before Gordon in a posture of meditation. How the old time returns upon me ! I Behold myself once more at Burgau, where We two were pages of the court ; together We oftentimes disputed : thy intention Was ever good ; but thou wert wont to play The moralist and preacher, and wouldst rail at me That I strove after things too high for me. Giving my faith to bold, unlawful dreams. And still extol to me the golden mean. — Thy wisdom hath been proved a thriftless friend To thy own self. See, it has made thee early A superannuated man, and (but That my munificent stars will intervene) 92 The Great Masters of Warfare Would let thee in some miserable corner Go out like an untended lamp. GORDON My Prince ! With light heart the poor fisher moors his boat, And watches from the shore the loft}^ ship Stranded amid the storm. WALLENSTEIN Art thou already In harbor then, old man ? Well ! I am not. The unconquer'd spirit drives me o'er life's billows ; My planks still firm, my canvas swelling proudly. Hope is my goddess still, and youth my inmate ; And while we stand thus front to front, almost I might presume to say, that the swift years Have passed by powerless o'er my unblanched hair. \^He jnoves with long strides across the saloon and rejnaijis on the opposite side, over against Gordon. Who now persists in calling Fortune false ? To me she has proved faithful ; with fond love Took me from out the common ranks of men, And, like a mother goddess, with strong arm Carried me swiftly up the steps of life. Nothing is common in my destiny, Nor in the furrows of my hand. Who dares Wallenstein 93 Interpret then my life for me as 'twere One of the undistinguishable many ? True, in this present moment I appear Fallen low indeed ; but I shall rise again. The high flood will soon follow on this ebb ; The fountain of my fortune, which now stops, Repress'd and bound by some malicious star, Will soon in joy play forth from all its pipes. GORDON And yet remember I the good old proverb, " Let the night come before we praise the day." I would be slow from long-continued fortune To gather hope : for Hope is the companion Given to the unfortunate by pitying Heaven. Fear hovers round the head of prosperous men, For still unsteady are the scales of fate. WALLENSTEIN {S7mlmg) I hear the very Gordon, that of old Was wont to preach, now once more preaching : I know well that all sublunary things Are still the vassals of vicissitude. The unpropitious gods demand their tribute; This long ago the ancient pagans knew, And therefore of their own accord they offer'd To themselves injuries, so to atone 94 ^/^^ Great Masters of Warfare The jealousy of their divinities : And human sacrifices bled to Typhon. \^After a paiise^ serious^ and in a more subdued manner. I, too, have sacrificed to him. — " Mitchell thus describes the murder of Wallen stein : " Toward midnight, Butler, followed by Devereux and six dragoons, pro- ceeded to Wallenstein's quarters ; and as it was not unusual for officers of rank to call upon the general at late hours, the guard allowed them to enter. Devereux, with his party, ascended the stairs, while Butler re- mained below to wait the result. " It is said that Wallenstein had, only a few minutes before, dismissed for the night an Italian astrologer of the name of Seni, who was then attached to his household, and who declared that the stars still boded im- pending danger, which Wallenstein himself either could not or would not see. He had just retired to bed, and the servant who had The Murder of IValLenstein. From painting by Carl von Piloty. " ^^^^^^^H^Xl;!^^^^;^^-^^^^^ .^^^ I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Bjj^K^*^'^^^^^ -^ J^W^ ^^^^^^^Prl^ .i^'^R^H^l ^^^^^^HH^^di^sS^^'^ .v'^IH RS^^^ ""MHI ^^T^'^^i^^^H Wallenstein 95 undressed him was descending the stair when he met Devereux and his party and desired them to make less noise, ^as the duke was going to sleep.' 'But this is a time for noise ! ' shouted Devereux, as he pressed on. Finding the door of the bed- chamber locked, he burst it open with his foot, and entered, followed by the soldiers. Wallenstein was standing at the window: startled by the screams of the ladies, Terzky and Kinsky, who lodged in the house oppo- site, and who had just learned the murder of their husbands, he had opened the casement and was asking the sentinel what was the matter, at the moment Devereux broke into the room. The sight of his long-honored and long-obeyed commander arrested not the hand of this bold and ruthless assassin. * Thou must die ! ' he exclaimed, and Wal- lenstein, true to his pride of character, dis- dained to parley, even for life, with a slave and a stabber. Dignified to the last, he 96 The Great Masters of Warfare threw open his arms to the blow, and sunk without a word or groan beneath the first thrust of the traitor's halberd, the blade of which went right through his breast. Thus fell a man who, as Gualdo says, 'was one of the greatest commanders, m.ost generous princes, and most enlightened ministers of his own, or of any preceding time.' " GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS " The great leader, captain, and king, the Lion of the North, and the bulwark of the Protestant faith, had a way of winning battles, taking towns, overrunning countries, and levying contributions, whilk made his service irresist- ibly delectable to all true-bred cavaliers who followed the noble profession of arms." — Scott's " Legend of Montrose." The greatest and best of the great cap- tains whose names are irrevocably linked with the history of the Thirty Years' War died at a younger age — excepting his suc- cessor, the gallant Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, Giistavus Adolphtis 97 who perished at thirty - four — than any of the men who rose to eminence in the mighty struggle. The veteran Tilly was both defeated and mortally wounded at the battle of the Lech, in the spring of the same year (1632) that saw the death of Gustavus on the field of Liitzen a few months later. The Swedish hero then lacked a few days of thirty-eight years old, being some six months younger than the imperial general, Pappenheim, also killed at Liitzen. It is a matter of curious interest that this brave and battle-scarred Pappenheim, who had received over a hun- dred wounds, and was said to be the only one of his opponents whom Gustavus feared (if he feared any), not only affected to re- semble him in all things, " but, what was, indeed, more difficult, he did, indeed, resem- ble the King of Sweden in good morals and piety." Archbishop Trench, in his " Gustavus 98 The Great Masters of Warfai^e Adolphus in Germany," gives us an admi- rable account of the end of the '' Lion of the North." He says : " The field of Liitzen, only a few miles from the Breitenfeld, and, like it, not then, for the last time, destined to take the rich incarnadine of blood, was the spot which his death should make memorable forever. There should be the appointed term and bourne of his short but glorious career. GustavLis would appear, for some time back, to have had a presentiment that the end was not far off. At the siege of Ingolstadt, — the only city, by the way, in Germany which, besieging, he did not take, — his horse was killed under him by a cannon-ball from the walls, and the king himself, hurled with it to the ground, was at first supposed, by those about him, to be slain as well. Had this been so, the same day (April 20, 1632) would have seen his death and that of Tilly, who had been carried to the city, and was dying there. His hour, however, had not Gustavus Adolphus before the battle of Liil{en. From painting by Ludvvig Braun. Giistavns Adolphus 99 fully come ; and he rose, not seriously hurt, only saying to those about him, ' The apple is not ripe yet.' It was not ripe, but it was nearly so. Yet, whatever presentiment he may have had, he was more than cheerful as he went forth to this, the latest labor of his life. It was ever so with him upon such occasions, for in him were grandly fulfilled those grand lines of our own poet, who por- trays * The Happy Warrior ' as one who, — " ' called upon to face Some awful moment, to which Heaven has joined Great issues, good or bad, for humankind, Is happy as a lover, and attired With sudden brightness, like a man inspired.' A severe wound, received in his Polish cam- paigns, made the wearing of his armor very painful to him. When it was brought him this morning, he declined to put it on, say- ing, ' God is my armor,' and entered into battle without it. The story of his death is told in many ways ; and, while the broader L.oFC. lOO The Great Masters of Warfare features of the closing scene stand out before us distinct and clear, there is much uncertainty in the accessory details, and we have no choice but to select such of these as seem to us the best accredited, or, where there is no weight of evidence on the one side greater than on the other, the most probable ; and this, to the best of my judg- ment, I shall proceed to do. The king was a little short-sighted, and always, as I have already mentioned, tempted to expose him- self overmuch. That morning a heavy mist hung over the field ; and, in riding, accom- panied by a small staff, from one part of the field to another, he found himself suddenly face to face with some of the imperial cuiras- siers. ' Look out for those black fellows, or they will do us mischief,' he said, to those around him. But presently, whether urged on by his native impetuosity, by that Ber- serker rage latent in his Scandinavian blood, or that this was not now to be avoided, he was Gtistavus Adolphus lOi entangled in a conflict hand to hand with these. His left arm was shattered with a pistol-shot. At first, he thought to have remained on the field, and was unwilhng it should be known that he was wounded ; but, growing faint with pain and the loss of blood, he said to a German prince at his side, * Cousin, lead me out of the tumult, for I am hurt.' At this instant, an imperialist officer rode close behind him, — no one hindering, for he was not recognized as an enemy, — and shot the king between the shoulders. He fell from his horse, which dragged him a few paces, and then, disengaging itself and rushing wildly along the Swedish lines with bloody housings, announced to all that some misfortune had befallen the king. All who were round him fled, save one young Ger- man aide-de-camp or volunteer, who, dismount- ing, would fain have raised and set him on his own horse. The king stretched out his hands to him ; but the attempt to lift him was vain, I02 TJie Great Master's of Warfare for Gustavus was a large man, and probably wounded to the death already. Meanwhile, three of the enemy's horsemen rode up, and demanded who this officer of rank, that lay wounded on the ground, might be. Lobel- fing, — for he should not pass unnamed, — refusing to give the name, received several hurts, of which he died five days after, but was able to give this account of the latest moments of his lord. ' I am the King of Sweden,' feebly exclaimed Gustavus. A pis- tol-shot through the head and several sword- thrusts through the body were the answer. His hat, blackened with the powder and pierced with the ball, is still to be seen in the arsenal at Vienna, his bloody buff-coat as well. More is not known of the final agony, except that, when the tide of battle had a little ebbed, the body of the hero-king was found with the face to the ground, de- spoiled and stripped to the shirt, trodden under the hoofs of horses, trampled in the Gustavus Adolphiis 103 mire, and disfigured with all these wounds. The surgeon who embalmed the corpse, that it might be sent to Sweden for burial, found upon it seven freshly inflicted wounds, with the scars and cicatrices of thirteen more. Such was the end. The pitcher which had gone often to the well zvas broken at last; but the treasure which the earthen vessel contained was not, with the broken sherds of that vessel, spilt upon the ground." The German battle-painter, Louis Braun, born in 1836, has produced two pictures of Gustavus at Liitzen, the one which we repro- duce, and another showing the death of the king. Besides these, among others, he has painted a " Tournament at Nuremberg in 1496," a "Suabian Kirmess," " Episode from the Battle of Worth," " Capitulation of Sedan," " The Germans at Versailles," " The Entry into Paris," and a panorama of the battle of Sedan. 104 ^/^^ Great Masters of Warfai'e CROMWELL " It was by his military genius, by the might of the legions that he created and controlled and led to victory upon victory ; it was at Marston and Naseby, at Preston and Worcester, in Ireland and at Dunbar, that Cromwell set his deep mark on the destinies of England as she was, and of that vaster dominion into which the English realm was in the course of ages to be transformed." — John Morley. The distinguished English writer from whose book on Cromwell the above lines are taken, sees an interesting similarity between the conflict at Bunker Hill and that at Mars- ton Moor. These battles, he says, '' rank among those engagements that have a lasting significance in history, where military results were secondary to moral effect. It was these encounters that first showed that the cham- pions of the popular cause intended and were able to make a stand-up fight against the forces of the monarchy." On the changeable July day when Mars- Cromivell 105 ton Moor was fought, forty-five thousand men faced each other on either side of the ditch which divided the armies, during a long after- noon. Then, as Baldock's account says : " Rupert and Newcastle met and discussed the situation. It was seven o'clock, too late to begin the action. The Roundheads were short of provisions, there was no water but that in puddles on their side, the wells near Marston had already been drunk dry. It would be better to rest and refresh their men and attack the fasting enemy in the morning. Newcastle turned off to his coach to sup and sleep. Rupert to his, to solace his impatient temper with a pipe. Probably an order was passed through the ranks that the men might eat their suppers. But there were quick, eager eyes watching every movement in the royalist army from the corn-fields on the gentle slopes yonder. Scarcely had Rupert lit his pipe, when the well-known Puritan war-cry, the drawling chant of some old io6 TJie Great Masters of Warfare psaltn tune, struck his ear. He looked round — the whole Puritan army was advancing! Down off the Cow Warrant, past Bilton Breame, came Cromwell's steel-clad horse- men. Three hundred picked men of his own regiment led by himself formed the forlorn hope. On his right Crawford's infantry were pressing forward at the run, and farther to their right the Scots and Lord Fairfax's infantry were pushing through the hedgerows toward the ditch. Down by Long Marston village, Sir Thomas Fairfax's horse were crowding into the narrow lane which led across the ditch, or picking their way through the furze bushes on the extreme flank. The roar of cannon, the ring of musketry, the loud cries, the chanted psalms, and the tramp of men and horse confused the ear. A mo- ment before all had been stillness and silence, now all was movement and noise. Swinging himself into the saddle, Rupert galloped down to lead on his men and stop the rush of Cromwell at Marston Moor. From painting by Ernest Crofts. Cromwell 107 Cromwell's troopers. It is said he led his own regiment in the van. But the Puritan for- lorn hope crossed the ditch in unbroken order, and crashed into the royaUst ranks. Unable to sustain the weight of the heavily armored, close-knit mass, Rupert's regiment gave way. The Cavalier second line came to its support and restored the fight, and, pressing on the flanks of Cromwell's chosen troopers, suc- ceeded even in driving them somewhat back. But they were in turn supported, and a furious fight ensued. ' We stood,' says Walton, 'at swords' point a pretty while, hacking at one another.' Then David Leslie, with his reserve of Scotch horse pushing into the gap between the Cavalier horse and foot, fell upon Rupert's flank, and at last Crom- well's squadrons ' brake through them, scat- tering them like a little dust.' 'They fly,' says Shngsby, ' along by Wilstrop woodside as fast and as thick as could be.' " Sending his leading troops on to press the io8 TJie Great Masters of Warfare pursuit, Cromwell re-formed the remainder ready for use elsewhere. In the centre the battle was raging furiously. Crawford's bri- gades, running on a level with Cromwell's horsemen, crossed the ditch, and their left wing, pouring into the gaps between the royal horse and foot, swung round to the right and fell on Tillyer's flanks, driving back the regiments on that side. This success enabled the Scots of the centre to cross the ditch. But then the forward movement was checked. Away on the Parliamentary right, Fairfax's troopers had dashed down the lane and through the furze bushes in some dis- order. As they approached the royalist Une, the fire from the musketeers behind the hedges and between the squadrons added to their disorder. Debouching on to the moor, they attempted to re-form, but being charged by Goring's horsemen, they were flung back in great confusion. Without giving them a moment's respite, Goring pressed furiously Cromwell 109 on, and drove them back to and through the reserve of Scots. In a few minutes Fairfax's horsemen were scattered in hopeless rout. Galloping wildly back, they trampled the Yorkshire foot under their horses' hoofs. The panic spread ; the men threw away their arms and ran. Sir Thomas, plucking the white symbol out of his helmet, with a few followers broke through the royalist horse and joined Cromwell on the left. A troop of Balgony's Scotch lancers did the same. Eglington's horsemen preserved their ranks, but lost heavily. Excepting these, the whole Parliamentary right wing, horse and foot, were streaming across the fields in the wildest flight. After them spurred Goring in hot pursuit. " Sir Charles Lucas, who commanded part of the royalist horse of this left wing, kept his men back when Goring galloped off in pursuit. Wheeling to the right, he flung himself on the flank of the Scotch foot, now no The Gi'eat Masters of Warfare across the ditch, and hotly engaged with the royaHst foot. The Scotchmen fought gal- lantly, but lost heavily. Twice were the Cavaliers repulsed, but at a heavy price. Whole regiments disappeared or became mixed with others. Lumsden, seeing the danger, hurried up his reserves to support Lindsay's and Maitland's regiments, who were making a gallant stand. A third charge was repulsed, and Lucas himself dismounted, wounded, and taken prisoner. But no foot could much longer withstand these repeated attacks in front and flank. Unless help came soon they must be crushed. '' Cromwell, as soon as he had rallied his own and Leslie's squadrons, wheeled to his right, as Lucas had. done on the other flank, and fell on the right and rear of the royalist foot^,' hotly engaged with Crawford's brigades. Conspicuous amongst the royalists, stood Newcastle's own Northumbrian regiment. These men had sworn to dye their white Cromwell 1 1 1 coats red in the blood of their foes. Attacked by horse and foot in front, flank, and rear, they refused to fly or yield ; and, like the king's regiment at Edgehill, died where they stood in their ranks. Only forty of them escaped. *' Sweeping down the line, Cromwell's troop- ers rode over and dispersed one royalist regiment after another. Suddenly, through the deepening twilight, their leader perceived the royal horse charging the flanks of the Scots, and pursuing the Yorkshire foot over the ridge beyond. He thus became aware for the first time that the Parliamentary right wing had been routed. Ever cool in the hottest fight, with his well-discipHned squad- rons always well in hand, Cromwell called his men off, and re-formed them in line of battle ; re-formed them on the same ground and fac- ing the same way as Goring' s horse had stood before the battle commenced. Crawford formed up his Eastern Association foot on I 12 The Great Masters of Warfare Cromwell's right. When all was ready, the signal to charge was given. *' Lucas's and Porter's men were reeling back from their last charge on the Scots. Goring's horsemen were returning from the chase, when they found the dreaded Ironsides drawn up across their path. In vain they tried to rally. Hampered now as Fairfax had been before, by hedgerows and bushes, they were, like him, caught before they could re-form. Cromwell's heavy, compact masses burst through their scattered squad- rons. In a few minutes the Cavaliers were urging their tired horses more vigorously in flight than they had just before in pursuit. " The remaining foot were soon dispersed. Darkness — it was now ten o'clock — stopped the pursuit, but the victory was already com- plete. Lucas, Porter, and Tillyer were pris- oners, with fifteen hundred officers and men. All the royalist cannon, 130 barrels of Cromwell 1 1 3 powder, and ten thousand arms remained in the hands of the victors." The English poet, W. C. Bennett, has written a stuTing poem on the victory, from which the following verses are taken : " And Cromwell, his servant, spoke the word : Praise we the Lord ! ' On ! smite for the Lord ! spare not ! ' we heard : Praise we the Lord ! Hotly our spirits within us stirred ; Reins were loosened and flanks were spurred, And the heathen went down before God and his word. To his name alone be the glory ! " Lo, the bow of the Lord was strong this day ; Praise we the Lord ! And the arm of our God was strong to slay ; Praise we the Lord ! He gave us the proud ones for a prey; He chased the mighty from out our way ; He gave us the high ones low to lay. To the Lord alone be the glory ! " Where are ye, ye noble and ye proud ? Praise w^e the Lord ! 1 1 4 The Great Masters of Warfare Where are ye who cried 'gainst his saints aloud ? Praise we the Lord ! The great of the earth in death are bowed ; They who vaunted their strength his breath has cowed ; Bloody they lie, where the kite screams loud. To the Lord our God be glory ! " Lo, the Lord our helper hath heard our cries; Praise we the Lord ! He hath raised the foolish and shamed the wise ; Praise we the Lord ! In him our rock and our sure hope Hes ; To him shall the cry of his servants rise ; Woe to them who his chosen dare despise ! To the Lord our God be glory ! " Ho ! Baal priests, did we cry in vain ? Praise we the Lord ! He shall break ye, ye sons of Dagon, again ; Praise we the Lord ! He shall winnow the chaff from the priceless grain ; He shall skim the pot till no dross remain ; And the Lord our God and his saints shall reign ! To the Lord alone be glory ! " One of the leading^ military painters of England is Ernest Crofts, now a Royal Acad- Cromzvell 1 1 5 emician, who, born at Leeds in 1857, studied his art in Germany under Emil Hunt en. His "Cromwell at Marston Moor" was at the Royal Academy in 1877. Several of his pic- tures have for their subject either Cromwell or Charles I., while others present episodes in the military careers of Napoleon and of his great antagonist, the Duke of Wellington. Crofts was awarded a bronze medal at the Paris Exhibition of i TURENNE " He preserved the reputation of a man of worth, wise and moderate, because his virtues and great talents, which were his own, covered weaknesses and faults which were common to him with so many other men." — Voltaire. Six thousand of Cromwell's famous " Iron- sides " once fought under Turenne against the Spaniards, at the battle of the Dunes, whither they had been sent by the Protector in accordance with a treaty made with France, 1 1 6 TJie Girat Masters of Warfare in 1658, and materially aided in gaining the victory which brought about the Peace of the Pyrenees. Seventeen years later, Turenne fought his last campaign. During this he "crossed the Rhine by a bridge of boats at Ottenheim, and for some time kept oscillating between that place, where he had to defend his own communications, and Strasburg, which of- fered, without vigilance on his part, a pas- sage to the enemy. He found this arc too large, and contracted his exposed front by bringing his bridge somewhat lower down, to Altenheim. Above Strasburg the river is studded with countless islands, which offer great facilities for laying pontoons at any point. Then ensued a long struggle between him and Montecuculli, each endeavoring with all his ingenuity to starve the other ; encamping and decamping, threatening the neutral inhabitants of Strasburg, palisading the shallower channels of the river, and can- Tiirenne 1 1 / noimding the wider, to prevent the passage of meal and flour, striking out new foraging roads through unpenetrated forests, and ex- hausting the 'mere toys and arts of strategy. These manoeuvres were seasoned with more exciting matter : skirmishes, battle offered and refused, attempts to surprise the oppo- nents, or to cross the Rhine at some new spot. At last, near Sassbach, about half-way between Strasburg and Baden, Turenne broke from a deep reverie, with the words, ' I have them ! They will not give me the slip any more, and I shall now reap the fruits of a campaign so wearisome.' This fulness of anticipation was contrary to his usual cus- tom ; he had a very commendable habit on such occasions of holding his tongue. The enemies' camp betrayed many symptoms of agitation and of retreat, and somebody com- ing up said that the German infantry was in motion. He moved to observe them, ordered those about him not to follow, and said to the 1 1 8 TJie Great Masters of Warfare Due d'Elbeuf, ' Nephew, stay here, you will only draw their attention.' Lord Hamilton saw him as he went past, and said, ' Come this way ; they are firing in that direction.' The viscount only answered, ' I do not want to be killed to-day,' and continued his course. St. Hilaire, lieutenant-general of artillery, then met him, and, stretching out his hand, said, ' Cast your eyes on the battery I have had planted there.' At this moment a can- non-shot carried off the arm of St. Hilaire, and struck right upon Turenne's belly ; the horse carried him back to the assembled staff, his head bowed upon the saddle, and the illustrious general fell dead in the arms of his people. Amid the sorrowful group, St. Hilaire, in the spirit of a good officer, told his son, who apprehended the loss of the arm would be mortal, not to weep for him, but for that great man, pointing to the corpse of the viscount. Hamilton, who alone pos- sessed any presence of mind, threw a cloak The Death of Turenne. From drawing by Alphonse de Neuville. ^.M:&£M', Turenne 1 1 9 over the dead, to conceal the misfortune from the soldiers. But the sad event got abroad ; the soldiers tore their hair, and cried, ' Our father is dead, and we are lost.' Then they flocked round the body, and, after weeping at the sight, demanded to be led against the enemy, that they might revenge their father's death. '' Two lieutenant-generals, one of them suf- fering from a wound in the foot, succeeded to the grave responsibilities of the situation ; they spent a long time in consultation. Im- patient of this indecision, the men called out, ' Let loose the piebald, that will lead us.' The piebald was a horse Turenne had long ridden when with the army ; it had lost an ear in 1672. Notwithstanding the temper of the troops, a retreat across the Rhine was resolved on, and executed in confusion. " Montecuculli, the Austrian commander, when he heard of what had happened, did fitting homage to the memory of the de- 120 TJie Great Masters of Warfare ceased. ' There died a man,' said he, * who was an honor to humanity.' As the re- mains of Turenne were conveyed toward Paris, mournful processions came out to meet them ; among other instances, the peo- ple of Langres went into mourning. A funeral service was performed at Notre Dame, at which the clergy, the Parliament, and university, and the corporation of Paris, attended. His bones were laid at St. Denis, and Louis XIV. granted a singular mark of his esteem, that they should repose in the royal chapel, among the kings and queens of France." In 1801, Napoleon transferred the remains of the great marshal to the church of the Invalides, where they now rest beside the ashes of the Emperor. Paris, some years ago, honored Alphonse de Neuville, the brilliant military painter, who died in 1885, with a statue — a tribute resulting more from patriotism, perhaps, than TiLrenne 12 1 from a pure appreciation of his art, meritori- ous as that was. Both as an illustrator and painter, De Neuville won high rank, and sev- eral of his works are in public galleries in France, two being in the Luxembourg, while some good examples of his talent are owned by American collectors. One of the few pictures by De Neuville which does not illus- trate the Franco-Prussian conflict, is his *' De- fence of Rorke's Drift," a scene from the Zulu war. CONDfi *' I know nothing more noble than the despatches of Conde to the court, announcing his different victories. He speaks little of himself and much of others. In this respect Turenne resembles Conde." — Cousin. An instance of the great Conde s modesty is mentioned by Madame de Sevigne, in her letters. It was after the death of Turenne, when the king had ordered Conde to take the place of his former rival. Although in decay- 122 The Great Mastej's of War-fare ing health, the prmce obeyed the command, but finding on his arrival that the army of Alsace was disorganized and that Turenne's plan of campaign had perished with him, he exclaimed, *' How much I wish I could have conversed only two hours with the ghost of Monsieur de Turenne, so as to be able to follow the scope of his ideas." This was Conde's last campaign, as Se- neffe, fought the year before, was his last great battle. Mahon says : ''In 1674, Conde commanded once more upon the Flemish frontier. He encamped upon the heights of Pieton, two leagues from Charleroi, with an army of forty-five thousand men. When joined to the Spaniards, the Prince of Orange had nearly sixty thousand. He went to reconnoitre the position taken by Conde, and thinking it unassailable, he re- solved to move toward Le Quesnoy. To accomplish this object, he marched from Seneffe on the i ith of August, at the earliest Conde 123 dawn of day, leaving, by this movement, his flank exposed to the French army. The con- queror of Rocroi was not the man to leave such a fault unpunished. ' We have only to attack them to beat them,' cried he, laughing. Accordingly, dividing his cavalry into three squadrons, and placing himself at the head of the first, he fell upon the vanguard of the enemy with a tremendous shock, and with the most complete success. The vanguard, beset on all sides, sought refuge in the centre of their army, which had taken up its posi- tion on a hill close to Seneffe, defended by orchards and hedges, as well as by the de- clivity of the ground. Two attacks on the part of the French failed before such obsta- cles. More and more inflamed, Conde ordered M. de Fourille, one of his generals, to make a third attack. ' Monseigneur,' said this officer, ' I will go everywhere your Highness commands ; but I must represent to you that the position of the enemy is such 124 T^^^^ Great Masters of Warfare that it cannot be forced without great blood- shed.' 'I well see,' replied the prince, fiercely, 'that you like better to reason than to fight ; but it is obedience that I ask of you, and not advice.' The brave Fourille, stung to the quick by this unjust reproach, added not another word, but marched head foremost toward the enemy, as if to wash out this stain with his own blood. He did, indeed, receive soon after a mortal wound. A crowd of officers and soldiers fell around him. However, by dint of valor and sacrifice of life, the troops reached the summit of the hill, and Monsieur le Prince entered victori- ously the formidable position of the enemy. " The enemy had, however, retreated in good order to the village of Faith. There the Prince of Orange called all his troops to- gether, and ranged them in order of battle, in a position still stronger than the last, de- fended by gardens, hedges, ditches, and marshes. Conde might and ought to have Conde 1 2 5 been contented with his first triumphs ; a new one could only be achieved by making immense sacrifices. Without allowing him- self to be discouraged by these considerations, he gave the signal for attack, and the French charged with the same vigor as though they had not yet fought. Several times they suc- ceeded in breaking through the enemy ; sev- eral times they were themselves repulsed. As fast as one battalion gave way, another took its place ; blood flowed on every side ; every one did his duty, with the exception of two battalions of Swiss, which, scared at the slaughter, refused to proceed any farther. The chiefs of the opposite army gave a like example of the most brilliant valor. The Prince of Orange remained calm and serene during six hours in the midst of the fight; he had several horses killed under him, and was also several times on the point of being taken. On the other hand, the Prince of Conde had two horses killed under him ; and 126 The Great Masters of Warfare on the second of these occasions was flung with great violence into a fosse. His son, the Duke d'Enghien, who fought at his side, threw himself before him, and assisted him in rising, bruised and bleeding, from his fall. He himself was wounded while in the dis- charge of this sacred duty, and in saving the life of a father who passionately loved him. " Night, however, came ; but produced no pause. The conflict continued by moonlight. By eleven o'clock, however, the moon her- self had disappeared, and darkness separated the combatants. At that time the enemy were still in possession of the post they had occupied, but the ground was strewn with twenty-seven thousand corpses ! Conde, not- withstanding his weakness of health, had been seventeen hours on horseback. While lying upon a cloak, at the corner of a hedge, and in the rnidst of dead and dying, he gave his orders for recommencing the con- flict at the break of day. But the soldiers Conde 127 on both sides were equally discouraged by their immense losses. The enemy com- menced a retreat before sunrise. On the other hand the greater part of the French divisions dispersed at the sound of this retreat ; and thus it may be said that both armies fled at the same time. Conde here- upon only thought of rallying and recall- ing his troops. Toward nine o'clock in the morning he reentered his camp at Pieton, ' I met him,' says Gourville, 'a league from the camp, returning in his open carriage. He could hardly speak from exhaustion ; but yet he did not omit telling me that if the Swiss would have pushed on, he should have succeeded in defeating the whole army of the enemy.' " Such was the battle of Seneffe of which each party claimed the victory ; for which the 'Te Deum ' was chanted at Brussels and Madrid, no less than at Paris. It was no doubt very glorious for William of Nassau, 128 The Great Masters of Warfare who had scarcely attained his twenty-fourth year, to have balanced even for a moment the former renown of Monsieur le Prince : and allowing for the disproportion between Conde and Fuentes, it might be said that the Prince of Orange did nearly as much at Seneffe against Conde as Conde had himself done in his youth at Rocroi. Conde generously took pleasure in doing full justice to his adversary, saying that the Prince of Orange had every- where behaved himself like an experienced captain ; but that he had exposed his own person too much. The French, however, could display as warrants and proofs of their victory at Seneffe a hundred standards, and nearly five thousand prisoners." Upon the return of Conde after Seneffe, he was received at Versailles by Louis, who did him the honor to await him on the grand staircase of the palace. Conde, who suffered from gout, apologized to the king for his slowness, whereupon Louis m.ade the Louis Xiy. and the Grand Conde. From painting by Jean Louis Gerome. Conde 129 famous answer : " Do not hurry, my cousin. It is hard to walk quickly when a man is as loaded with laurels as you are." This historic episode has been treated by Gerome in a picture which was owned by W. H. Vanderbilt, and which we reproduce. At the right hand of Louis stands the dauphin, then a boy of about thirteen, and behind him appears Cardinal Bossuet. MARLBOROUGH "Though in your life ten thousand summers roll, And though you compass earth from pole to pole, Where'er men talk of war and martial fame They'll mention Marlborough's and Caesar's name." — Gay. The sanguinary battle of Malplaquet was fought on September 11, 1709, and ended in a dearly bought victory for England and her alHes. About ninety thousand men were engaged on each side, the two armies being 130 The Great Masters of Warfare as nearly as possible equal in point of military strength. Alison says : " In truth, the battle of Mal- plaquet was a desperate duel between France and England, in which the whole strength of each nation was put forth, and the successful result was rather owing to the superior talent of the EngUsh general, and the uncon- querable resolution he had communicated to his followers, than to any superiority either of military skill or national resources enjoyed by the victorious party. Nothing had occurred like it since Agincour, nothing occurred like it again till Waterloo. Blenheim itself was not nearly so hard fought. The allies lost, killed in the infantry alone, 5,544, wounded and missing, 12,706 — in all, 18,250 — of whom 286 were officers killed, and 762 wounded. Including the casualties in the cavalry and artillery, their total loss was not less than twenty thousand men, or nearly a fifth of the number engaged. MarlborougJi 1 3 1 "The French loss, though they were worsted in the fight, was less considerable : it did not exceed fourteen thousand men — an unusual circumstance with a beaten army, but easily accounted for, if the formidable nature of the intrenchments which the aUies had to storm in the first part of the action is taken into consideration. " Villars wrote with truth to the French king after the battle, in the words of Pyrrhus, ' If God vouchsafes to our enemies another such battle, your Majesty may consider your enemies as destroyed.' " Truly <*a very murdering battle," as Marl- borough himself called it. The opposing generals were Marlborough and Prince Eugene against Marshals Villars and Boufflers, while on the French side rode the son of James II. (the "Old Pretender," who was generally known as the Chevalier de St. George), and no less than twelve nobles who afterward became marshals of France. 132 The Great Masters of Warfare The young Maurice de Saxe, later the hero of Fontenoy, was also present at Malplaquet under Marlborough, and likewise Leopold of Dessau. Prince Eugene was wounded on the head, Villars in the knee (so badly that he had to be carried from the field), and the Pretender also received a wound. Thackeray makes his " Esmond " say : " Every village and family in England was deploring the death of beloved sons and fathers. We dared not speak to each other, even at table, of Malplaquet, so frightful were the gaps left in our army by the cannon of that bloody action. 'Tvvas heartrending for an officer who had a heart to look down his line on a parade-day afterward, and miss hundreds of faces of comrades — humble or of high rank — that had gathered but yester- day full of courage and cheerfulness round the torn and blackened flags. Where were our friends } As the great duke reviewed us, riding along our lines with his fine suite Marlborough at Malplaquet. From painting by R. Caton Woodville. Alai'Ibo rough 133 of prancing aides-de-camp and generals, stop- ping here and there to thank an officer with those eager smiles and bows of which his Grace was always lavish, scarce a huzzah could be got for him, though Cadogan, with an oath, rode up and cried — ' D — n you, why don't you cheer ? ' But the men had no heart for that ; not one of them but was thinking, 'Where's my comrade? — where's my brother that fought by me, or my dear captain that led me yesterday ? ' 'Twas the most gloomy pageant I ever looked on, and the ' Te Deum ' sung by our chaplains the most woful and dreary satire." At Malplaquet, Marlborough charged the Garde du Corps at the head of a body of English horse and drove them from the field. This is the subject of Caton Woodville's picture, which we reproduce. Richard Caton Woodville, although born in London in 1856, is the son of an American artist of the same name, who was a native of 134 Tlie Great Masters of Warfare Baltimore. The younger Woodville sent his first picture to the Royal Academy in 1879, its subject being <' Before Leuthen." He painted the '* Marriage of Princess Beatrice " for Queen Victoria, and has produced a number of battle pictures, among them being *' Blenheim," '' Candahar," " Maiwand — Sav- ing the Guns " (belonging to the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), "The Guards at Tel-el- Kebir," *'The Charge of the Light Brigade," and " The Death of General Sir Herbert Stewart." As a war-artist for the Illus- trated London News Woodville has gained a wide and well-deserved reputation. PRINCE EUGENE " He takes cities like snuff." — Pope. Malplaquet was fought on the twelfth anniversary of the battle of Zenta, in Hun- gary, where Prince Eugene gave the Turks a thorough beating in 1697. Prince Eugene 135 A lively account of the affair of Zenta, supposed to be from the famous general's own pen, appears in his ** Memoirs " (pub- lished in London in 18 11). It is well worth reading, and is here quoted, but truth com- pels us to mention that these '^ Memoirs " cannot be considered authentic, nor is the statement that Eugene fought at Zenta in direct disobedience of the emperor's orders accepted by the latest authorities. It fol- lows, therefore, that the account of what took place between Leopold and Prince Eugene upon the latter's return to Vienna after the battle also falls to the ground. But the story of the conflict itself remains. *'The Turks are never in a hurry. The Grand Signior himself, Kara Mustapha, did me the honor to arrive at Sophia with his army in the month of July. I marshalled mine at Verismarton ; I recalled to me Vaude- mont and Rabutin, for it appeared that the Grand Signior intended to possess himself of 136 The Great Masters of Warfare Titul, in order to carry on the siege of Peter- waradin. I encamped on the 26th August, at Zenta. General Nehm was attacked. I arrived too late to his assistance, at the head of seven squadrons ; I do not censure him, for he could not hold out any longer, over- powered by numbers. Thank Heaven, I have never complained of any one, nor have I ever thrown upon another the odium of a fault or a misfortune ! Titul was burned. The Grand Vizier remained on this side of the Danube, which the Grand Siguier had to cross to go and besiege Peterwaradin ; but, after coasting it along, and concealing my intentions by my skirmishes with the spahis, I anticipated him, and passed the bridge be- fore him. It was thus I saved Peterwaradin. This march, which I confess was a brilliant one, was worth a battle gained. I soon intrenched myself, and they did not venture to attack me. Among some prisoners which we took, there happened to be a pacha, whom Prince Eugene 137 I interrogated, but in vain, respecting the designs of Kara Mustapha, but four hussars, with drawn swords, ready to hew him to pieces, soon made him confess that it was in- tended to approach Segedin : that afterward the Grand Signior changing his opinion, he had already begun to pass the Teisse, and that a great part of the army, under the orders of the Grand Vizier, was already strongly intrenched near Zenta. I was marching to attack him when a cursed cou- rier arrived, and brought me a letter from the emperor, ordering me not to give battle under any circumstances whatever. " I was already too far advanced. By stopping, I should have sacrificed a part of my troops and my honor. I put the letter into my pocket, and, at the head of six regi- ments of dragoons, I approached near enough to the Turks to perceive that they were all preparing to pass the Teisse. I returned to my army with an air of satisfaction, which 138 The Great Masters of Warfare was, they told me, a good presage to the soldiers. I began the battle by rushing on two thousand spahis, whom I forced to fall back within the intrenchments. There were a hundred pieces of cannon, which incom- moded me greatly. I bade Rabutin advance his left wing, inclining a little to the right ; and Stahremberg, who commanded the right, to make the same motion on the left, thus to embrace, by a semicircle, the whole intrench- ment : a thing which I would not have dared to do before Catinat, who would have inter- rupted me in so tardy and somewhat com- plicated a movement. But the Turks left me alone. They attacked my left wing too late ; however, it would have turned out but badly, without four battalions of the second line, and the artillery, which I sent very oppor- tunely to disperse their cavalry and to make a breach in the intrenchments. It was six o'clock in the evening : we commenced the assault. The Turks, attacked at all points, Prince Eugene at the Battle of Zenta. From painting by Eduard von Engerth. Prince Eugene 139 threw themselves in crowds on the bridge, which we blocked up so that they were forced to throw themselves in the Teisse, where all those that could not swim were massacred. On all sides were heard the cries of Aman ! Aman ! which signifies quarter. The slaugh- ter continued till ten o'clock : I could not make more than four thousand prisoners ; for twenty thousand men remained in the field, and ten thousand were drowned. I did not lose a thousand men. The first runa- ways, at the commencement of the battle, succeeded in joining the corps which re- mained on the other side of the river. This was on the i ith of September. I sent Vaude- mont to carry the intelligence to Vienna. I proceeded to capture two phalanxes and some castles in Bosnia, to burn Seraglio, and returned to my winter quarters in Hungary. " I set off for Vienna, where I expected to be received a hundred times better than I had ever been yet. Leopold received me in 140 TJie Great Masters of Warfai^e the coldest manner ; more austere than ever, he heard me without replying by a single word. I saw immediately that I had been circumvented during my absence ; and that while I was getting rid of the Turks, the good Christians at Vienna were endeavoring to get rid of me. I retired indignantly from the audience. I was still more indignant, when Schlick came to me, full of alarm, to demand my sword. I put it into his trem- bling hand, with a look of the most profound disdain, which alarmed him still more. It has been asserted that I said, ' There it is, still smoking with the blood of his enemies ; I consent never to take it again unless to be useful in the service of his Majesty.' The one half of this sentence would have been a gasconade, and the other half a base resigna- tion. My rage was mute. I was put under an arrest in my own house. I now learned that Gaspard Kinsky and some others would have had me brought to trial for disobedi- Prince Eugene 14 1 ence, and for having performed a bold and hazardous action ; that I should be tried before a council of war, and that my head should pay forfeit. The rumor of this soon spread through the capital. The people assembled round my house, and deputies from the citizens offered to guard me, and to prevent me from being removed, in case it was attempted to carry me to my examina- tion, as had been talked of. I entreated them not to swerve from their duty of fidel- ity and tranquillity. I thanked them for their zeal ; and I was so much touched that I wept. The city of Vienna is small, and this assembly of the people was known at court a few minutes afterward. Whether from fear or repentance, the emperor sent my sword back, and begged of me to resume the command of his array in Hungary. I returned in reply that I would, 'on con- sideration of having plenary powers, and being no more exposed to the malice of 142 TJic Great Masters of Warfare his generals and ministers.' The poor em- peror did not dare give me this full au- thority publicly ; but he did it secretly, in a note signed by himself, and I was con- tented with it." Engerth's spirited picture of the close of the action fitly accompanies this. In the foreground we see some Turkish prisoners, with other sons of Islam lying dead at the feet of the conquering Eugene, while on the right a despatch bearer dashes off to Vienna with the joyful news of the victory. The Ritter Eduard Von Engerth died in 1 897, aged about eighty years, being at that time the director of the Belvidere Gallery in Vienna. Born in Pless (Silesia), he studied at the Academy of Vienna, and became a noted painter of portraits and of historical pieces. His paintings include " Haman and Esther," '^Coronation of Rudolf I.," "Sei- zure of King Manfred's Family," " Corona- tion of Francis Joseph as King of Hungary," Prince Eugene 143 "Death of Eurydice," and "Marriage of Figaro." DESSAU " His reforms in the practical discipline of troops were such that he is often called the founder of the modern system of military tactics." — Herbert Tuttle. The " Old Dessauer," one of Frederick the Great's best marshals, is credited with the invention of the iron ramrod and of the equal step, among other things of great use in their day to the world of war. He was, in fact, a sort of sublimated drill-sergeant, and made the famous Prussian infantry of his time what they were. Carlyle's story of Leopold's courtship runs thus : "As to the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, rugged man, whose very face is the color of gunpowder, he also knows French, and can even write in it, if he likes, — having duly had a Tutor of that nation, and strange ad- 144 T^'-^ Girat Masters of Warfare ventures with him on the grand tour and elsewhere, — but does not much practise writing, when it can be helped. His chil- dren, I have heard, he expressly did not teach to read or write, seeing no benefit in that effeminate art, but left them to pick it up as they could. His Princess, all rightly ennobled now, — whom he would not but marry, though sent on the grand tour to avoid it, — was the daughter of one Fos, an Apothecary at Dessau ; and is still a beau- tiful and prudent kind of woman, who seems to suit him well enough, no worse than if she had been born a Princess. Much talk has been of her, in princely and other circles ; nor is his marriage the only strange thing Leopold has done. He is a man to keep the world's tongue wagging, not too musically always ; though himself of very unvocal nature. Perhaps the biggest mass of inar- ticulate human vitality, certainly one of the biggest then going about in the world. A Dessau 145 man of vast dumb faculty ; dumb, but fertile, deep ; no end of ingenuities in the rough head of him : — as much mother-wit there, I often guess, as could be found in whole talk- ing parliaments, spouting themselves away in vocables and eloquent wind ! "A man of dreadful impetuosity withal. Set upon his will as the one law of Nature ; storming forward with incontrollable violence : a very whirlwind of a man. He was left a minor ; his Mother guardian. Nothing could prevent him from marrying this Fos, the Apothecary's Daughter ; no tears nor contri- vances of his Mother, whom he much loved, and who took skilful measures. Fourteen months of travel in Italy; grand tour, with eligible French Tutor, — whom he once drew sword upon, getting some rebuke from him one night in Venice, and would have killed, had not the man been nimble, at once dexter- ous and sublime : — it availed not. The first thing he did on reentering Dessau, with his 146 The Great Masters of Warfare Tutor, was to call at Apothecary Fos's, and see the charming Mamsell ; to go and see his Mother was the second thing. Not even his grand passion for war could eradicate Fos : he went to Dutch William's wars ; the wise mother still counselling, who was own aunt to Dutch William, and liked the scheme. He besieged Namur ; fought and besieged up and down, — with insatiable appetite for fighting and sieging; with great honor, too, and ambitions awakening in him ; — campaign after campaign : but along with the flamy, thundery, ideal bride, figuratively called Bel- lona, there was always a soft, real one, Mam- sell Fos of Dessau, to whom he continued constant. The Government of his Domin- ions he left cheerfully to his Mother, even when he came of age : ' I am for learning war, as the one right trade ; do with all things as you please, Mamma, — only not with Mamsell, not with her ! ' "Readers may figure this scene too, and The Courtship of Leopold of Dessau. From painting by Herman Prell. Dessau 1 47 shudder over it. Some rather handsome male Cousin of Mamsell, Medical Graduate or whatever he was, had appeared in Dessau : — * Seems to admire Mamsell much ; of course, in a Platonic way,' said rumor. — ' He .? Ad- mire } ' thinks Leopold ; — thinks a good deal of it, not in a philosophic mood. As he was one day passing Fos's, Mamsell and Medical Graduate are visible, standing to- gether at the window inside. Pleasantly looking out upon Nature, — of course quite casually, say some Histories with a sneer. In fact, it seems possible this Medical Gradu- ate may have been set to act shoeing-horn, but he had better not. Leopold storms into the house, ' Draw, scandalous canaille, and defend yourself ! ' — And in this, or some such way, a confident tradition says, he killed the poor Medical Graduate there and then. One tries always to hope not, but Varnhagen is positive, though the other Histories say nothing of it. God knows. The man was a 148 The Great Masters of Warfare Prince ; no Reichshofrath, Speyer-Wetzlar Kammer, or other Supreme Court, would much trouble itself, except with formal shak- ings of the wig, about such a peccadillo. In fine, it was better for Leopold to marry the Miss Fos ; which he actually did (1698, in his twenty-second year), * with the left hand,' — and then with the right and both hands; having got her properly ennobled before long, by his splendid military services. She made, as we have hinted, an excellent Wife to him, for the fifty or sixty ensuing years. . . . Leo- pold's health is probably suffering ; but his heart and spirits still more. Poor old man, he has just lost — the other week, ^ 5th February ' last — his poor old Wife, at Des- sau ; and is broken down with grief. The soft, silk lining of his hard Existence, in all parts of it, is torn away. Apothecary Fos's Daughter, Reich's Princess, Princess of Des- sau, called by whatever name, she had been the truest of Wives ; ' used to attend him in Dessau 149 all his Campaigns, for above fifty years back.' ' Gone, now, forever gone ! ' — Old Leopold had wells of strange sorrow in the rugged heart of him, — sorrow, and still better things, — which he does not wear on his sleeve." One of Germany's ablest artists is Her- mann Prell, who, born in Leipsic in 1854^ studied under Grosse and Gussow, and in time was appointed a professor of the Dres- den Academy. His " Judas Iscariot " is in the gallery at Dresden, and he has also painted a " Rest on the Flight into Egypt," "The Last Chase," and a portrait of William H. As a fresco painter, Prell has won much fame, his wall-paintings being found in public buildings in the cities of Dantzig, Worms, Breslau, and Hildesheim. His fresco of the " Battle of Gods and Titans " is to be seen at the Alber- tinum in Dresden. 150 TJic Great Masters of Warfare CHARLES XII. *' A frame of adamant, a soul of fire, No dangers fright him, and no labors tire." — Dr. Johnson. His Majesty Oscar II., the poet-king of Sweden and Norway, on the inauguration at Stockhohii of a statue of Charles XII. (sev- eral years before Oscar's accession to the throne), delivered an address which has since been published in English. The statue was unveiled on the one hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the death of the ''Alexander of the North." In his address, Duke Oscar speaks of the brave conduct of the young king (then about fifteen), at the burning of the Royal Palace at Stockholm in 1697, and proceeds to say : '' It was on this occasion that Charles, for the first time, gave proofs of the possession of that presence of mind and energy which The Burning of the Palace at Stockholm in i6gy. From painting by Johan Fredrik Hockert. Charles XII . 151 subsequently rarely forsook him. His ac- tivity and courage increased his popularity ; and when, reluctantly, he was compelled to leave the smoking ruins of his father's palace, — the threshold of which he was never again to cross, — in the applauding voices of the populace might have been heard a prophetic intimation of those events too soon to be accomphshed, and destined so greatly to influence his future fate. . . . "■ Never was a man more thoroughly suited than Charles XIL to inspire Swedish troops with courage, or to lead them to victory. Noble, just, and self-denying, and brave as a Hon, he seemed to them almost a supernat- ural being. Every victory he won made his soldiers more confident in him ; every danger he shared with them spurred them on to in- creased exertion. His enemies lost faith in their own good fortune, and the bow had to be very strongly bent before it finally snapped. The feelings that overwhelmed 152 The Great Masters of Warfare the Swedish soldier after the battle of Pul- towa were probably more of wonder that their king could have been conquered than of sorrow at the calamitous defeat. " It would occupy much time to recount the many exploits in which Charles was himself the foremost ; but to enumerate them is un- necessary, the remembrance of them being deeply graven in the heart of every Swedish soldier. None can without emotion picture the hero pressing alone through the gates of Cracow — which opened to the stroke of his riding-whip as if to an enchanter's wand — or storming the virgin ramparts of Lemberg at the head of a few hundred dragoons. Who has not read with wonder and excitement how, mounted on horseback, he forded or swam over rapid rivers, waded through bogs and morasses, or, almost alone, daringly ventured into the midst of the enemy's outposts ; heed- less alike of flying bullets, wintry chills, and the rough paths of the desert } Who has Charles XII . 153 not admired the example of fearless courage he gave to his soldiers when, during the siege of Thorn, he would not allow earthworks to be raised around his own exposed headquar- ters, because all could not enjoy the same advantage ; or when, from the flames of his burning house at Bender, he rushed amongst the janissaries crowding the courtyard, that, at least, he might die a soldier's death ; or when, at Stralsund, he heard, without turning his head, a shell explode close by the table at which he was issuing his orders ? Who must not respect the commander who always shared his soldiers' hardships ; and, that he might not suffer less than the meanest in his army, carefully avoided taking up his head- quarters in the larger towns, where he could have enjoyed much needed rest and greater comfort ? And, finally, who that knows the character of Swedes can wonder at the re- spect and love, bordering on idolatry, with which he was regarded by his army ? 154 ^^^^ Great Masters of Warfare " He was the last of the Northern Vikings, and a halo surrounds his memory similar to that which gleams on the hero of ancient legend. To the adventures of both, Svea's sons even at this day listen with enthusiasm and pride." We will append to the king's tribute to Charles, the spirited lines written by the Swedish poet Tegner, some of whose beauti- ful verse has been translated by Longfellow : " King Charles, the conquering boy, Stood up in dust and smoke ; He shook his sword for joy, And through the battle broke. How Swedish iron bites We will make trial new ; Stand back, you Muscovites : Forward ! my own true blue ! *' Not ten to one appal The angry Vasa's son ; Those fled who did not fall : So was his course begun. Charles XI I. 155 He drove three kings asunder, Who leagued against him stood, And Europe saw with wonder A beardless Thunder-god." A life which extended over only about forty years was the lot of the Swedish artist, Johan Fredrik Hockert, who died in 1866. He passed some time painting in Paris, where he obtained a medal in 1855, and, being pat- ronized by the royal family of Sweden, was made professor of the Academy of Fine Arts at Stockholm. Two of his pictures of Lap- land peasant life are in the museum of that city. His other works include "Gustavus Vasa Rescued from the Danes," " Queen Christina Ordering the Execution of Monal- deschi," and "Bellman in Sergei's Studio." 156 The Great Mastei's of Warfare MARSHAL SAXE " I have seen the hero of France, this Saxon, this Tu- renne of the age of Louis XV. I have derived instruction from his conversation, not in the French language, but in the art of war. This marshal might be the professor of all the generals of Europe." — Frederick the Great. FoNTENOY — fought in 1745 against the Duke of Cumberland — was Marshal Saxe's most famous victory. Hayward gives this account of it : "The battle was fought on the nth of May (New Style), and a full official account of it is contained in a despatch from the marshal himself, dated Camp before Tournay, May 13th, to the minister of war. From this it appears that all fell out very nearly as he had anticipated ; that the victory was the result of a preconceived plan ; that he never despaired of the result ; and that all the decisive movements were in pursuance of his personal orders adapted to the emergency. Marshal Saxe 157 The notion that he adopted as a happy hit the alleged suggestion of Richelieu to attack like foragers or sportsmen — that is, without regard to order — is preposterous. His dis- tinct directions to the troops preparatory to the grand effort were to charge together and charge home : "* Seeing our infantry (thus runs the des- patch) the household (Maison du Roi), the carabineers, and a great part of the cavalry, much discomfited by the different charges they had made uselessly against the English infantry, I went to look for the carabineers, and told them they must make a last effort, that the preceding charges had not succeeded because they had advanced with too much vivacity, and had not given time to the dif- erent reserves that I had on my left to reach this closely formed battalion, which gave the English time to repulse one attack after the other ; and that it was necessary to make the effort at the same time. Monseigneur 158 TJie Great Masters of Warfare the dauphin asked my permission to charge at the head of the household. Judge, sir, of the uneasiness such a presence may occasion a general. In short, everything succeeded beyond our hopes.' **The most vivid picture of the charge is given by Espagnac : " * Marshal Saxe had ordered that the cav- alry should touch the English with the breasts of their horses ; he was well obeyed. The officers of the chamber charged pell-mell with the guards and the mousquetaires ; the king's pages were there sword in hand ; there was so exact an equality of time and courage, so unanimous an impression of the checks they had received, — so perfect a concert, — the cavalry sabre in hand, the infantry with bay- onets fixed, — that the English column was shattered to pieces and disappeared.' . . . " Espagnac also states that the Count de Loewendal, who held an important command, rode up to Saxe at the critical moment, and. Marshal Saxe 159 comprehending the plan and situation at a glance, exclaimed: 'This is a grand day for the king, marshal ; those fellows there cannot escape him.' The marshal probably never calculated on the firmness and dogged intre- pidity with which the English, denuded of support by the backwardness of the Aus- trians and Dutch, pushed forward to a posi- tion not much unlike that of the light cavalry brigade at Balaklava ; and he had just ground for apprehension lest a panic should seize the officers or courtiers about the king:: whom, for this reason, he was most anxious to remove. According to Loss, the Saxon minister, who had his information fresh from the fountainhead, the Due de Noailles, com- mander-in-chief in the campaigns of 1 743 and 1744, elicited a sharp expression of impa- tience from Saxe by speaking of the battle as lost ; and the Due de Biron's interference obviously arose from a misunderstanding of the plan. We know, at all events, that a i6o The Great Masters of Warfare change in the position of some troops led to a murmured exclamation amongst the royal suite: 'The marshal is ill; his health is fail- ing; his brain is getting confused.' Louis went straight to him, and in a loud, clear voice addressed him thus : ' Marshal, when I confided to you the command of my army, I meant that every one should obey you ; I will be the first to set the example.' '' The marshal, speaking of the king, says in his despatch : " ' He did not disturb my operations by any order opposed to mine, which is what is most to be feared from the presence of a monarch surrounded by a court, which often sees things differently from what they are. In short, the king was present during the whole affair and never wished to retire, al- though many opinions were for that course during the whole of the action.' " To this may be added the conclusive testimony of the king's private letter to Marshal Saxe i6i Cardinal Tencin, a copy of which was sent to Dresden by Foss : " ' We owe the victory we have just gained to the good dispositions of the Marshal de Saxe. He has taught us valuable lessons, if we are willing to profit by them, but I fear he will not be our teacher long, if he remains in his present state. It would be an irrepar- able loss for us, which I should sustain with regret, above all because I should not be able to reward the great services he has done us.' " He was blamed for not turning the defeat into a rout, and it appears from the despatch already quoted, that, seeing the English cav- alry advancing to support their infantry, he halted his troops a hundred paces from his battle-ground. His very words are : * As we had enough of it, I thought only of re- storing order amongst the troops engaged in the charge.' " After the victories of Raucourt in 1746 and Laufeld in 1747, Saxe was also blamed 1 62 The Great Masters of Warfare for not improving these successes, and prob- ably with justice, as the Marquis de Valfons, one of Saxe's own staff, says : "■ The mar- shal was like all generals, too great in time of war to desire peace and secure it by too decisive successes." The Duke of Marl- borough fell under the same suspicion ; the temptation was certainly great. Saxe's own words were, ^'We are like cloaks — one thinks of us only when it rains." Vernet's " Fontenoy " shows Louis XV. on a white horse, accompanied by the dauphin, facing Marshal Saxe, who is on foot and points with his hat to the trophies of victory in the hands of his soldiers. The bare- headed man on horseback behind Saxe is the Due de Richelieu. Some Scotch pris- oners and wounded men fill the left fore- ground, and on the right an old officer is seen embracing his son. The galleries of the palace of Versailles contain numerous battle-pieces by Horace The Battle of Fontenoy. From painting by Horace Vernet. Marshal Saxe 163 Vernet (i 793-1 863), one of the most notice- able being the " Taking of the Smalah of Abd-el-Kader in 1843," which measures six- teen by seventy-one feet. The Louvre has his "Judith and Holofernes," and "Defence of the Barrier of Clichy." In addition to his many miUtary subjects, Vernet was the author of some good pictures of Arab life, such as "The Post in the Desert," and "The Arab at Prayer," and also painted "Raphael and Michael Angelo in the Vat- ican." FREDERICK THE GREAT " Napoleon did indeed, by immense expenditure of men and gunpowder, overrun Europe for a time : but Napo- leon never, by husbanding and wisely expending his men and gunpowder, defended a little Prussia against all Europe, year after year for seven years long, till Europe had enough, and gave up the enterprise as one it could not manage." — Carlyle. It was in 1760, during the fifth campaign of the Seven Years War, that the battle of 164 The Great Masters of Warfai'e Torgau, a fortified town on the river Elbe, was contested. Lord Dover describes it thus : " The battle of Torgau, perhaps the blood- iest fought during the whole war, took place on the 3d of November. The evening be- fore, the king is said to have assembled his generals, and to have addressed them in the following terms : ' I have called you together, not to ask your advice, but to inform you that to-morrow I shall attack Marshal Daun. I am aware that he occupies a strong position ; but it is also one from which he cannot es- cape; and if I beat him, all his army must be either taken prisoners, or drowned in the Elbe. If, on the other hand, we are beaten, we must all perish ; and I shall be the first to meet death. This war is become tedious, and you must all find it so : we will, if we can, finish it to-morrow. Ziethen, I confide to you the right wing of the army. Your object must be, in marching straight to Tor- Frederick the Great 165 gau, to cut off the retreat of the Austrians, when I shall have beaten them, and driven them from the heights of Siptitz.' At the same time, the King of Prussia delivered to the generals present a detailed account of the order of march and of battle, to be ob- served on the following day, written with his own hand. •^The Prussian army advanced on the morn- ing of the 3d, in three columns, through the forest of Torgau. Ziethen, as has been before mentioned, commanded the right wing ; while the king, at the head of the left, advanced to attack the Austrians on their right flank. In passing through the forest, the Prussians met the Austrian gen- eral, St. Ignon, at the head of his regiment of dragoons, who were all taken prisoners. Ziethen attacked the cavalry of Lacy ; while Frederick, at the head of ten battalions of grenadiers, commenced the combat with Daun. That general, aware of the advan- 1 66 TJie Great Masters of Warfare tages of his position, had placed two hundred cannons on the slope of the hill ; the destruc- tive fire of which obliged the Prussians to retire with incredible loss. Of the ten bat- talions who were led upon this occasion to the charge, there only remained alive the next day two small battalions of three hun- dred men each. Fresh troops then came up, and made a fresh attack ; and succeeded, for the moment, in gaining possession of the height, and in repulsing the Austrian infan- try. But Daun did not suffer them long to enjoy this advantage; with his corps of re- serve and cuirassiers, he drove them back into the forest. The Prussian cavalry then commenced a prolonged contest, in which, though at times successful, they were eventu- ally worsted by numbers. " Frederick, who seemed determined, as he had announced, to conquer or die, redoubled his attacks, and ordered Ziethen to approach, and support him : but the latter was too much Frederick the Great 167 occupied in a doubtful combat witn Lacy, to be of much service to his master. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the Prussians had not succeeded in gaining a foot of ground, though they had lost great numbers of men. The king and Daun were both wounded ; the former in the breast, the latter in the leg. Both armies were fatigued, and had exhausted their ammunition ; and nothing seemed to remain to the Prussians but a disastrous re- treat. Daun felt so certain of this result, that he actually despatched a letter to the empress queen, which contained these words : ' The just arms of your Imperial Majesty have to-day gained a complete victory over the King of Prussia.' " At this moment, however, some of the Prussian soldiers, before the night finally closed in, discovered a sort of causeway be- tween two ponds, leading to the hill, which the Austrians had neglected to guard. Colo- nel Mollendorf, with part of the troops of 1 68 Tlie Great Masters of Waff are Ziethen, passed it unobserved in the twilight ; while General Saldern followed him with the infantry. The height behind Siptitz was taken by assault, and Ziethen and the king met victorious on the field of battle. Lacy made some vain attempts to regain his posi- tion ; but the darkness of the night threw his soldiers into disorder, and prevented his offering any effectual resistance. "The two armies passed the night under arms, and very near to one another ; so much so, that many soldiers on both sides were taken, who missed their way, and fell among detachments of their enemies. A similar fate might even have befallen Frederick, for he relates himself that, in going to the village of Neiden, his escort heard the tramping of men and horses. On asking who they were, they received for answer, Austrians. The Prussians, upon this, fell upon them suddenly, and took them prisoners ; and they found out that they were a whole regiment of pandours, Repulsed at Torgau. From painting by Robert Warthmiiller. Frederick the Great 169 with two cannons, who had lost their way. Going a Httle farther, they, in hke manner, stumbled upon a regiment of Austrian cara- bineers, whom they charged and put to flight. " The King of Prussia occupied part of the night in sitting by a fire with his soldiers, conversing with them. One of the grenadiers, upon this occasion, said familiarly to him, ' I suppose, Fritz, after this, you will give us good winter quarters.' ' Not till we have taken Dresden,' replied Frederick; 'when that is done, you shall have them to your heart's content.' The king afterward retired into a village church, where he had his wound dressed, received the accounts of the state of the army, and gave his orders for the morrow. " The loss of the Prussians in the battle of Torgau amounted to 10,500; of whom 3,900 were killed, 5,100 wounded, and 1,500 taken prisoners. The Austrians lost 17,000, of whom 3,000 were killed, 6,000 wounded, and 8,000 taken prisoners. Among the latter 170 The Great Masters of Warfare were 24 generals, and 216 officers. Fifty cannons and thirty standards fell into the hands of the Prussians. The Austrians, as usual, claimed the victory ; but that they did so without the slightest reason is evident from the consequences of the battle." Robert Warthmuller, the painter of our picture of Frederick at Torgau, has in two other paintings depicted the king — one showing him overlooking the labor of some peasants who are digging potatoes, and the other portraying the old warrior beside the corpse of one of his field-marshals — Schwe- rin, often called the " Little Marlborough," who fell at Prague in 1757. At the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, Warthmiiller was repre- sented by a picture entitled " Evening." Washington 171 WASHINGTON "Where may the wearied eye repose "When gazing on the Great ; Where neither guilty glory glows, Nor despicable state ? Yes — one — the first — the last — the best — The Cincinnatus of the West, Whom envy dared not hate. Bequeathed the name of Washington, To make men blush there was but one 1 " — Byron. The friendship of Washington and Lafay- ette was a memorable one. When they first met in 1777, the young Frenchman was but nineteen, while Washington numbered forty- five years. The historian Sparks thus describes the circumstances : '* General Washington passed two or three days in Philadelphia, holding conferences with committees and members of Congress. It was here that he had his first interview with the Marquis de Lafayette. . . . 1/2 TJic Great Masters of Warfare " When Lafayette arrived in Philadelphia he put his letters into the hands of Mr. Lovell, chairman of the Committee of For- eign Affairs. He called the next day at the Hall of Congress, and Mr. Lovell came out to him and said that so many foreigners had offered themselves for employment, that Congress was embarrassed v^ith their appli- cations, and he was sorry to inform him there was very little hope of his success. Lafayette suspected his papers had not been read, and he immediately sat down and wrote a note to the president of Congress, in which he desired to be permitted to serve in the American army on two conditions ; first, that he should receive no pay ; secondly, that he should act as a volunteer. These terms were so different from those demanded by other foreigners, and presented so few obstacles on the ground of an interference with American officers, that they were at once accepted. His rank, zeal, perseverance. Washington's First Meeting with Lafayette. From painting by Annibale Gatti. Washifigton 1 7 3 and disinterestedness overcame every objec- tion, and he was appointed a major-general in the American army, more than a month before he had reached the age of twenty. " Washington was expected shortly in Phil- adelphia, and the young general concluded to await his arrival before he went to head- quarters. The first introduction was at a dinner party, where several members of Con- gress were present. When they were about to separate, Washington took Lafayette aside, spoke to him very kindly, complimented him upon the noble spirit he had shown, and the sacrifices he had made in favor of the Ameri- can cause, and then told him that he should be pleased if he would make the quarters of the commander-in-chief his home, establish himself there whenever he thought proper, and consider himself at all times as one of his family ; adding in a tone of pleasantry, that he could not promise him the luxuries of a court, or even the conveniences which 174 ^^^^ Girat Masters of Warfajr his former habits might have rendered essen- tial to his comfort, but, since he had become an American soldier, he would doubtless con- trive to accommodate himself to the char- acter he had assumed, and submit with a good grace to the customs, manners, and pri- vations of a republican army. If Lafayette was made happy by his success with Con- gress, his joy was redoubled by this flattering proof of friendship and regard on the part of the commander-in-chief. His horses and equipage were immediately sent to camp, and ever afterward, even when he had the command of a division, he kept up his inti- .rnacy at headquarters, and enjoyed all the advantages of a member of the general's family." At the battle of the Brandywine, on Sep- tember nth of the same year that brought Washington and Lafayette together, the latter was wounded, and writing home to his wife on the first of the following month, Washington 175 spoke thus of his friendship for the great American : '' Be perfectly at ease about my wound ; all the faculty in America are engaged in my service. I have a friend who has spoken to them in such a manner that I am certain of being well attended to ; that friend is Gen- eral Washington. This excellent man, whose talents and virtues I admired, and whom I have learnt to revere as I know him better, has now become my intimate friend. His affectionate interest in me instantly won my heart. I am established in his house, and we live together like two attached brothers, with mutual confidence and cordiality. This friendship renders me as happy as I can pos- sibly be in this country. When he sent his best surgeon to me, he told him to take charge of me as if I were his son, because he loved me with the same affection. Having heard that I wished to rejoin the army too soon, he wrote me a letter full of tenderness, 1/6 The Great Masters of Warfare in which he requested me to attend to the perfect restoration of my health." At the close of the year 1778, when Lafay- ette was about to return to his native land, Washington wrote him the letter which fol- lows : "Philadelphia, 29th December, 1778. " My dear Marquis : — This will be ac- companied by a letter from Congress, which will inform you that a certain expedition, after a full consideration of all circumstances, has been laid aside. I am sorry, however, for the delay it has occasioned you, by re- maining so long undecided. " I am persuaded, my dear marquis, that there is no need of fresh proofs to convince you either of my affection for you personally, or of the high opinion I entertain of your military talents and merits. Yet, as you are on the point of returning to your native country, I cannot forbear indulging my Washington 177 friendship by adding to the honorable testi- monies you have received from Congress, the enclosed letter from myself to om* minister at your court. I have therein endeavored to give him an idea of the value this country sets upon you ; and the interest I take in your happiness cannot but make me desire you may be equally dear to your own. Adieu, my dear marquis ; my best wishes will ever attend you. May you have a safe and agree- able passage, and a happy meeting with your lady and friends. I am, etc." Washington's letter to Franklin, written at the same time as the above, also serves to show the warmth of his feeling toward Lafay- ette. "Philadelphia, 28th December, 1778. " Sir : — The Marquis de Lafayette, having served with distinction as major-general in the army of the United States for two cam- 178 The Great Masters of Warfare paigns, has been determined, by the prospect of an European war, to return to his native country. It is with pleasure that I embrace the opportunity of introducing to your per- sonal acquaintance a gentleman, whose merit cannot have left him unknown to you from reputation. The generous motives which first induced him to cross the Atlantic ; the tribute which he paid to gallantry at the Brandywine ; his success in Jersey, before he had recovered from his wound, in an affair where he commanded militia against British grenadiers ; the brilliant retreat, by which he eluded a combined manoeuvre of the British forces in the last campaign ; his services in the enterprise against Rhode Is- land, are such proofs of his zeal, military order, and talents, as have endeared him to America, and must greatly recommend him to his prince. ** Coming with so many titles to claim your esteem, it were needless for any other pur- Washington 1 79 pose than to indulge my own feelings, to add that I have a very particular friendship for him ; and that whatever services you may have it in your power to render him, will con- fer an obligation on one who has the honor to be, with the greatest esteem, regard, and respect, sir, etc." In 1784 Lafayette paid a visit to America, and on his return after the two friends had parted Washington wrote him a letter, in which he said, " I often asked myself, as our carriages separated, whether that was the last sight I ever should have of you ? And, though I wished to say no, my fears answered yes." They never met again. " Galileo " and *' Moliere Reading His Comedies to His Cook " are two subjects which have been treated by Gatti, an Italian artist who was born at Forli in 1828. He has painted frescoes in the palace of Madame i8o TJie Great Masters of Warfare Favart in Florence, and in the Teatro Nuovo at Pisa, and two of his works, " Justice " and " Peace," were in the collection of D. W. Powers at Rochester, New York. BLUCHER " Bliicher, when praised for one of his victories, said, ' It is owing to my rashness, Gneisenau's prudence, and the mercy of the great God.' " The rugged Bliicher never failed to do justice to Gneisenau's share in all his great military exploits. On one occasion he puz- zled all present at a banquet by gravely announcing his intention of kissing his own head ; he solved the riddle by rising and embracing that of Gneisenau. When the University of Oxford gave the degree of doctor of laws to Bliicher, he wittily ac- knowledged his debt to his strategist by saying, "Well, if I am to be a doctor, they must make Gneisenau an apothecary, for he Blucher 1 8 1 makes up the pills and I then administer them." The Earl of Ellesmere said of Bliicher : "The only name connected with the great wars of our time, which we can add without scruple to those of Bonaparte, Wellington, Nelson, and Suwaroff, as likely to be per- manently one of the household words of the world, is that of a man longo intervallo inferior to three of the four — Blucher. If we are right in this supposition, it does not follow that in respect of military skill and genius he can justly be ranked even with sev- eral of those Heutenants of Napoleon whom we have ventured to condemn to comparative oblivion. It is rather on the moral ground of his identification with a great national movement, of which he was the ostensible leader and representative, that he seems to us one of the legitimate 'heirs of Fame.' " And Rose, one of Napoleon's latest biog- raphers, corroborates this view when he says : 1 82 The Great Masters of Warfare "The most inspiring influence was that of Bliicher. The staunch patriot seemed to embody the best quahties of the old regime and of the new era. The rigor learnt in the school of Frederick the Great was vivified by the fresh young enthusiasm of the dawning age of nationality. Not that the old sol- dier could appreciate the lofty teachings of Fichte the philosopher, and Schleiermacher the preacher. But his lack of learning — he could never write a despatch without strange torturings of his mother-tongue — was more than made up by a quenchless love of the Fatherland, by a robust common sense, which hit straight at the mark where subtle minds strayed off into side issues, by a comrade- ship that endeared him to every private, and by a courage that never quailed. And all these gifts, homely but invaluable in a peo- ple's war, were wrought to utmost tension by an all-absorbing passion, hatred of Napo- leon. In the dark days after Jena, when. Marshall " ^orwdrts.'' From painting by Fritz Neuhaus. B Inciter 183 pressed back to the Baltic, his brave follow- ers succumbed to the weight of numbers, he began to store up vials of fury against the insolent conqueror. Often he beguiled the weary hours with lungeing at an imaginary foe, calling out — Napoleon. And this almost Satanic hatred bore the old man through seven years of humiliation ; it gave him at seventy-two years of age the energy of youth ; far from being sated by triumphs in Saxony and Champagne, it nerved him with new strength after the shocks to mind and body which he sustained at Ligny ; it carried him and his army through the miry lanes of Wavre on to the sunset radiance of Waterloo." At the battle of the Katzbach on August 26, 181 3, where Macdonald was defeated by Bliicher, the veteran, then over seventy years of age, well sustained his sobriquet of " Mar- shal Forward," when, late in the afternoon, he headed a dashing charge of Prussian and Russian cavalry agamst the French. 184 The Great Masters of Warfare " The wearied conscripts gave way, fled pell- mell down the slopes, and made for the fords of the Neisse and the Katzbach, where many were engulfed by the swollen waters. Mean- while the Russians on the aUied left barely kept off Lauriston's onset, and on that side the day ended in a drawn fight. Macdonald, however, seeing Lauriston's rear threatened by the advance of the Prussians over the Katzbach, retreated during the night with all his forces. On the next few days, the allies, pressing on his wearied and demoralized troops, completed their discomfiture, so that Bliicher, on the ist of September, was able thus to sum up the results of the battle and the pursuit: two eagles, 103 cannon, 18- 000 men, and a vast quantity of ammunition and stores captured, and Silesia entirely freed from the foe." A German poet wrote these vigorous lines on the Katzbach fight : Bliicher 185 blucher's ball " By the Katzbach, by the Katzbach, ha ! there was a merry dance ; Wild and weird and whirling waltzes skipped ye through, ye knaves of France ! For there struck the great bass viol an old German master famed, — Marshal Forward, Prince of Wahlstadt, Gebhard Lebrecht Bliicher named. Up ! the Bliicher hath the ballroom lighted with the cannon's glare ! Spread yourselves, ye gay, green carpets, that the dancing moistens there ! And his fiddle-bow at first he waxed with Goldberg and with Jauer ; Whew ! he's drawn it now full length, his play a stormy northern shower ! Ha ! the dance went briskly onward, tingling madness seized them all : As when howling mighty tempests on the arms of windmills fall. But the old man wants it cheery, wants a pleasant dancing chime ; And with gun-stocks clearly, loudly beats the old Teutonic time. Say, who, standing by the old man, strikes so hard the kettle-drum, 1 86 The Great Masters of Warfare And, with crushing strength of arm, down lets the thundering hammer come ? Gneisenau, the gallant champion : Alemannia's en- vious foes Smite the mighty pair, her living double-eagle, shiver- ing blows." Nearly two years later, at Ligny, the in- defatigable old hero again led his squadrons to the attack. His horse was killed under him, and in his fall badly bruised the field mar- shal, whose life was saved only through the devotion of his faithful adjutant, Nostitz. This was on the i6th of June, yet Bliicher's order for the next day concluded, '* I shall lead you again against the enemy ; we shall beat him, for we must," words nobly re- deemed on the 1 8th, as the world knows, at Waterloo. Napoleon told Campbell, at Elba, that Bliicher was no general, but that he admired the pluck with which the old devil came on again after a thrashing. Wellington said that Bliicher 187 while Gneisenau was very deep in strategy, Bliicher <' was just the reverse, he knew nothing of plans of campaign, but well under- stood a field of battle," and added, '' He was a very fine fellow, and whenever there was any question of fighting, always ready and eager, — if anything, too eager." The painter of '' Marshall Vorwarts," Fritz Neuhaus, was born in 1852, at Elberfeld, and is a pupil of the Dusseldorf academy. Among the canvases credited to him are " Ash Wednesday," " Scene from the Peasants' War," "The Prince's First Ride," "An Inci- dent in the Youth of the Great Elector," " Hagen and the Mermaids," and " Frederick William I. Meeting a Company of Emigrants from Salzburg." 1 88 The Great Masters of Warfare NELSON " Whenever danger has to be faced or duty to be done, at cost to self, men will draw inspiration from the name and deeds of Nelson." — Mahan. " All agree there is but one Nelson." — Earl St. Vincent. Napoleon received his only wound at the siege of Ratisbon, where he sustained a sUght injury to one foot. Wellington, like his great antagonist, was wounded but once — at Orthez, in the hip, not seriously ; but Nelson suffered severely. During the siege of Calvi, in Corsica, in 1 794, he lost an eye ; at Teneriffe, in 1797, his right arm was so badly wounded by a musket-ball as to make amputation necessary ; and in the following year he was struck on the forehead by a langridge shot at the battle of the Nile. Surely the Portsmouth people saw a strik- ing and pathetic spectacle, on that September day when the great admiral passed through Nelson 1 89 her streets for the last time, in the short, slight figure with the empty sleeve and the shining orders on its breast. Clark Russell thus tells the story of Nel- son's departure on his last voyage : "At last came the 2d of September, on which day Captain Blackwood, of the Eitrya- hiSy arrived at the Admiralty with intelli- gence that the combined fleets had put into Cadiz. As early as five o'clock in the morn- ing, Blackwood presented himself at Merton, and found Nelson up and dressed. On see- ing Captain Blackwood, Nelson exclaimed, * I am sure you bring me news of the French and Spanish fleets, and I think I shall yet have to beat them.' . . . "Nelson received orders to resume the command of the Mediterranean fleet, and on the night of Friday, September 13th, he left Merton forever. He made this entry in his private diary: 'At half-past ten drove from dear, dear Merton, where I left all which I IQO The Great Masters of Warfare could hold dear in this world, to go to serve my king and country. May the great God whom I adore, enable me to fulfil the expec- tations of my country ; and if it is his good pleasure that I should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy. If it is his good providence to cut short my days upon earth, I bow with the greatest submission, relying that he will protect those so dear to me that I may leave behind. His will be done. Amen, amen, amen.' " No man can go forth to fight for his country without gloomy forebodings, not per- haps as to the issue of the struggle, but as to whether he shall live to return home. Sir Harris Nicholas considers that Nelson's mind was strongly impressed with the probability that he would never return alive. It is stated that before he left London he called upon his upholsterer in Brewer Street, where the coffin presented to him by Captain Hal- Nelson Leaving Portsmouth, i8o^. From painting by Fred Roe. Nelson 191 lowell had been sent, and requested that an attestation of its identity should be engraved on the Hd, for, he said, ' I think it highly probable that I may want it on my return.' He was greatly moved on leaving Merton. About ten at night, a few minutes before quitting his home, he went to his child's room and said a prayer over her. He then bade good-by to Lady Hamilton, entered the chaise, and reached Portsmouth next day. It is very evident that Nelson was not a superstitious man, or he certainly would not have chosen a Friday, and the 13th of the month, for his departure, when by linger- ing another hour and a half he could have made it Saturday the 14th. " All who have any knowledge of the hfe of Nelson will remember that wonderful scene of departure on the shore before he pushed off in his boat. He had hoped to elude the crowd by quitting the George Inn through a back way, but they were on the 192 The Great Masters of Warfare beach waiting ; they formed in procession after him. Southey tells us that many were in tears, and many knelt down before him and blessed him as he passed. When his barge pushed off the people wept, and cheered, and wept again. Nelson answered by waving his hat. Some waded into the water by the side of his boat. It was an extraordinary and pathetic picture. But then Southey has truly said, * England has many heroes, but never one who so completely possessed the love of his fellow countrymen as Nelson. All men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless ; that there was not in his nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity ; but that with perfect and entire devotion he served his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength ; and therefore they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved England.' " He was deeply touched by this demon- Nelson 193 st ration of popular affection, and turning to Captain Hardy, exclaimed, * I had their huzzas before — I have their hearts now.' " At this time he wrote the following letter to Mr. Davison : '* Day by day, my dear friend, I am expect- ing the fleet to put to sea — every day, hour, and moment ; and you may rely, that, if it is in the power of man to get at them, it shall be done ; and I am sure that all my brethren look to that day as the finish of our anxious cruise. The event no man can say exactly, but I must think, or render great injustice to those under me, that, let the battle be when it may, it will never have been surpassed. My shattered frame, if I survive that day, will require rest, and that is all I shall ask for. If I fall on such a glorious occasion, it shall be my pride to take care that my friends shall not blench for me. These things are in the hands of a wise and just Providence, and his will be done. I have got some trifle, 194 The Great Masters of Warfare thank God, to leave to those I hold most dear, and I have taken care not to neglect it. Do not think I am low-spirited on this ac- count, or fancy anything is to happen to me ; quite the contrary — my mind is calm, and I have only to think of destroying our invet- erate foe." The English artist, Fred Roe, who painted Nelson leaving Portsmouth, is the author of several other historic pictures — " Joan of Arc," ''Baptism of the First Prince of Wales," and " Philip IV. and Velazquez." "The Traitor's Wife," and ''Consulting the Witch " are also works by this painter. NAPOLEON " Napoleon was indeed a very great man, but he was also a very great actor." — Wellington. At the date of Friedland, the fortunes of the "Man of Destiny," then three years Napoleon 195 emperor, were rising rapidly to their highest. The day after the battle he wrote exult- ingly to Josephine at St. Cloud : "Friedland, June 15, 1807. '< My Dear : — I write you only a line, for I am very tired by reason of several days bivouacking. My children have worthily celebrated the anniversary of the battle of Marengo. The battle of Friedland will be as celebrated for my people and equally glorious. . . . The battle is worthy of her sisters — Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena." As at Jena, Lannes, whom Napoleon called the "Roland of the army," played a great part at Friedland. Bennigsen, the commander of the Russians, "crossed the river at Friedland, and sought to strengthen his position on the left bank by driving Lannes's vanguard back on Domnau, by 196 The Great Masters of Warfare throwing three bridges over the stream and by crowning the hills on the right bank with a formidable artillery. But he had to deal with a tough and daring opponent. Through- out the winter Lannes had been a prey to ill-health and resentment at his chief's real or fancied injustice ; but the heats of sum- mer reawakened his thirst for glory, and restored him to his wonted vigor. Calling up the Saxon horse, Grouchy's dragoons, and Oudinot's grenadiers, he held his ground through the brief hours of darkness. Before dawn he posted his ten thousand troops among the woods and on the plateau of Posthenen that Res to the west of Fried- land, and strove to stop the march of forty thousand Russians. After four hours of fighting, his men were about to be thrust back, when the divisions of Verdier and Dupas — the latter from Mortier's corps — shared the burden of the fight until the sun was at its zenith. When once more the fight Napoleon 197 was doubtful, the dense columns of Ney and Victor were to be seen, and by desperate efforts the French vanguard held its ground until this welcome aid arrived. " Napoleon, having received Lannes's ur- gent appeals for help, now rode up in hot haste, and in response to the cheers of his weary troops, repeatedly exclaimed : ' To-day is a lucky day, the anniversary of Marengo.' Their ardor was excited to the highest pitch, Oudinot saluting his chief with the words : * Quick, Sire ! my grenadiers can hold no longer : but give me reinforcements and I'll pitch the Russians into the river.' The emperor cautiously gave them pause ; the fresh troops marched to the front and formed the first line, those who had fought for nine hours now forming the supports. Ney held the post of honor in the woods on the right flank, nearly above Friedland ; behind him was the corps of Bernadotte, which, since the disabling of that marshal by 198 TJie Great Masters of Warfare a wound, had been led by General Victor; there too were the dragoons of Latour- Maubourg, and the imposing masses of the Guard. In the centre, but bending in toward the rear, stood the remnant of Lannes's in- domitable corps, now condemned for a time to comparative inactivity ; and defensive tactics were also enjoined on Mortier and Grouchy on the left wing, until Ney and Victor should decide the fortunes of the second fight. The Russians, as if bent on favoring Napoleon's design, continued to deploy in front of Fried- land, keeping up the while a desultory fight ; and Bennigsen, anxious now about his com- munications with Konigsberg, detached six thousand men down the right bank of the river toward Wehlau. Only forty-six thou- sand men were thus left to defend Friedland against a force that now numbered eighty thousand ; yet no works were thrown up to guard the bridges — and this after the arri- val of Napoleon with strong reinforcements Napoleon 199 was known by the excitement along the enemy's front. '' Nevertheless, as late as three p. m., Napo- leon was in doubt whether he should not await the arrival of Murat. At his instructions, Berthier ordered that marshal to leave Soult at Konigsberg and hurry back with Davoust and the cavalry toward Friedland : * If I perceive at the beginning of this fight that the enemy is in too great force, I might be content with cannonading to-day and awaiting your arrival' But a little later the emperor decides for instant attack. The omens are all favorable. If driven back the Russians will fight with their backs to a deep river. Besides, their position is cut in twain by a mill-stream which flows in a gully, and near the town is dammed up so as to form a small lake. Below this lies Friedland in a deep bend of the river itself. Into this cul-de-sac he will drive the Russian left, and fling their broken lines into the lake and river. 200 The Great Masters of Warfare "At five o'clock a salvo of twenty guns opened the second and greater battle of Friedland. To rush on the Muscovite van and clear it from the wood of Sortlack was for Ney's leading division the work of a moment ; but on reaching the open ground their ranks were ploughed by the shot of the Russian guns ranged on the hills beyond the river. Staggered by this fire, the division was wavering, when the Russian guards and their choicest squadrons of horse charged home with deadly effect. But Ney's second division, led by the gallant Dupont, hurried up to restore the balance, while Latour- Maubourg's dragoons fell on the enemy's horsemen and drove them pell-mell toward Friedland. ''The Russian artillery fared little better. Napoleon directed Senarmont with thirty-six guns to take it in flank, and it was soon over- powered. Freed now from the Russian grape- shot and sabres, Ney held on his course like Napoleon 20 1 a torrent that masters a dam, reached the upper part of the lake, and threw the be- wildered foe mto its waters or into the town. Friedland was now a death-trap : huddled together, plied by shell, shot, and bayonet, the Russians fought from street to street with the energy of despair, but little by little were driven back on the bridges. No help was to be found there ; for Senarmont, bringing up his guns, swept the bridges with a terrific fire : when part of the Russian left and centre had fled across, they burst into flames, a signal that warned their comrades farther north of their coming doom. On that side, too, a general advance of the French drove the enemy back toward the steep banks of the river. But on those open plains the devotion and prowess of the Muscovite cavalry bore ampler fruit : charging the foe while in the full swing of victory, these gallant riders gave time for the infantry to attempt the dangers of a deep ford. Hun- 202 The Great Masters of Warfare dreds were drowned, but others, along with most of the guns, stole away in the darkness down the left bank of the river. " On the morrow Bennigsen's army was a mass of fugitives straggling toward the Bregel and fighting with one another for a chance to cross its long narrow bridge. Even on the other side they halted not, but wan- dered on toward the Niemen, no longer an army, but an armed mob. On its banks they were joined by the defenders of Konigsberg, who after a stout stand cut their way through Soult's lines and made for Tilsit. There, behind the broad stream of Niemen, the fugitives found rest." Born at Lyons in the Waterloo year, Meis- sonier became the painter of the military glory of Napoleon, and most famous among his pictures of the emperor at war is '' Fried- land, 1807," of which he said: "I did not intend to paint a battle — I wanted to paint Napoleon at the zenith of his glory ; I wanted Napoleon 203 to paint the love, the adoration of the soldiers for the great captain in whom they had faith, and for whom they are ready to die." These words Meissonier used in a letter written in 1876 to A. T. Stewart, who paid the artist a very large sum for the picture, which now belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Meissonier died in 1901, after a life crowded with successes and honors, and his statue stands in the garden of the Louvre. As the eminent Frenchman pictured Na- poleon in the days of his power, so it was perhaps natural that a leading English painter should portray him in his fall. From the conqueror at Friedland to the prisoner on the deck of the Bellerophon — what a descent ! " Well may he look until his frame Maddens to marble there ; He risked Renown's all-grasping game, Dominion or despair, 204 T^^^^ Great Masters of Warfare And lost ; and lo ! in vapor furled, The last of that loved France, For which his prowess cursed the world, Is dwindling from his glance. " He lives, perchance, the past again, From the fierce hour when first On the astounded hearts of men His meteor-presence burst, — When blood-besotted Anarchy- Sank quelled amid the roar Of thy far-sweeping musketry, Eventful Thermidor ! " Again he grasps the victor-crown Marengo's carnage yields. Or bursts o'er Lodi, beating down Bavaria's thousand shields; Then, turning from the battle-sod, Assumes the Consul's palm, Or seizes giant empire's rod In solemn Notre Dame. *' And darker thoughts oppress him now, — Her ill-requited love, Whose faith as beauteous as her brow- Brought blessings from above. Napoleon on "Board the '"Bellerophon.'' From painting by W. Q. Orchardson. Napoleon 205 Her trampled heart, his darkening star, The cry of outraged man, And white-Hpped Rout and Wolfish War, Loud thundering on his van. "The white dawn crimsoned into morn, The morning flashed to day, And the sun followed glory-born, Rejoicing on his way ; And still o'er ocean's kindling flood That muser cast his view, While round him awed and silent stood His fate's devoted few." The scene is on the deck of H. M. S. Bellei'ophon, which conveyed the emperor to England on the 23d of July, 181 5. It is a cold, gray morning, with a calm sea, off Cape Ushant, the ship rolling slightly. Na- poleon, clad in the familiar gray coat (but- toned loosely over the green uniform of the Guards), stands taking his last look at the coast of France. Behind him are the officers of his suite — Colonel Planat, General Mon- tholon. Surgeon Maingaut, Count Las Cases, 206 TJie Great Masters of Warfare and Generals Savary, Lallemand, and Ber- trand. The boy leaning over the poop rail is the son of Count Las Cases, who may be known by his short stature and civilian's dress. Captain Maitland, who commanded the Bellerophon, wrote: *' Sunday, the 23d of July, we passed very near to Ushant ; the day was fine, and Bonaparte remained upon deck great part of the morning. He cast many a melancholy look at the coast of France, but made few observations on it." . Maitland's most interesting *' Narra- tive " speaks thus of the emperor's arrival on board : " At the break of day, on the 15th of July, 18 1 5, VEperviei', French brig of war, was discovered under sail, standing out toward the ship, with a flag of truce up ; and at the same time the Superb, bearing Sir Henry Hotham's flag, was seen in the offing. By half -past five the ebb tide failed, the wind was blowing right in, and the brig, which was Napoleon 207 within a mile of us, made no further prog- ress ; while the Superb was advancing with the wind and tide in her favor. Thus situ- ated, and being most anxious to terminate the affair I had brought so near a conclusion, previous to the admiral's arrival, I sent off Mr. Mott, the first lieutenant, in the barge, who returned soon after six o'clock, bringing Napoleon with him. " On coming on board the BellerophoUy he was received without any honors generally paid to persons of high rank ; the guard was drawn out on the break of the poop, but did not present arms. ** Bonaparte's dress was an olive-colored greatcoat over a green uniform, with scarlet cape and cuffs, green lapels turned back and edged with scarlet, skirts looped back with bugle horns embroidered in gold ; plain sugar- loaf buttons and gold epaulettes ; being the uniform of the Chasseur a Cheval of the Imperial Guard. He wore the star, or grand 2o8 The Great Masters of Warfare cross of the Legion of Honor, and the small cross of that order ; the Iron Crown, and the Union, appended to the buttonhole of his left lapel. He had on a small cocked hat, with a tricolored cockade ; plain gold- hilted sword, military boots, and white waist- coat and breeches. '' On leaving V Epervier he was cheered by her ship's company, as long as the boat was within hearing ; and Mr. Mott informed me that most of the officers and men had tears in their eyes. " General Bertrand came first up the ship's side and said to me, * The emperor is in the boat.' He then ascended, and, when he came on the quarter-deck, pulled off his hat, and, addressing me in a firm tone of voice, said, ' I am come to throw myself on the protection of your prince and laws.' " Orchardson's picture now belongs to the British nation, and since painting it, he has treated a closely allied subject — " Napoleon Napoleon 209 at St. Helena Dictating his Memoirs." A Scotchman, born in 1835, WiUiam Quiller Orchardson has produced many canvases bearing transcripts of the men and manners of other times. He has painted several scenes from Shakespeare ; his *' Queen of the Swords " is from Scott's " Pirate," and his ** Casus Belli " recalls the days of the Puritan and the Cavalier; while '* Voltaire" and the " Salon of Madame Recamier " remind us of Frederick and Napoleon. WELLINGTON " The Duke of Wellington in the management of an army is fully equal to myself, with the advantage of pos- sessing more prudence." — Napoleon. "Napoleon stands for glory, Wellington for duty," is hardly an unfair statement. Earl Stanhope relates : *' I breakfasted this morn- ing with Hallam, and met Mr. Webster — the justly celebrated American, whose ac- 2IO The Great Masters of Warfare quaintance I had already made the day but one before, at a dinner at Lord Stanley's- He told me that in his way out he had been reading two or three odd volumes of the * Duke of Wellington's Despatches,' and had been greatly struck at their total freedom from anything like pomp or ostentation, even in moments of the greatest triumph. The Waterloo despatch itself contained nothing about * victory and glory.' 'So unpretending was it,' said Mr. Webster, 'that Mr. Quincy Adams — who was our minister at London at the time, and who had a good deal of bitter feeling against this country, with which peace had only just been concluded — de- clared on first reading the despatch that it came from a defeated general, and that in real truth the duke's army must have been annihilated at Waterloo. This he seriously believed for some time. "'What a contrast,' continued Mr. Webster, *to Napoleon's rhetorical bulletins ! One day Wellington 2 1 1 one read in them : We have thrown Bliicher into the Bober ! And a few days afterward one found that Bliicher had somehow got out of this Bober and defeated Napoleon himself at Leipsic' " When in Portugal WeUington wrote, **I come here to perform my duty ; and I neither do nor can enjoy any satisfaction in anything excepting the performance of my duty to my own country." Tennyson's noble ode on the death of the duke says : *' Let all good things await Him who cares not to be great, But as he saves or serves the state. Not once or twice in our rough island story, The path of duty was the way to glory : He that walks it, only thirsting For the right, and learns to deaden Love of self, — before his journey closes, He shall find the stubborn thistle bursting Into glossy purples, which outredden All voluptuous garden-roses. 212 The Great Masters of Warfare Not once or twice in our fair island story, The path of duty was the way to glory : He that, ever following her commands, On with toil of heart and knees and hands Thro' the long gorge to the far light has won His path upward, and prevail'd, Shall find the toppling crags of Duty scaled Are close upon the shining table-lands To which our God himself is moon and sun. Such was he : his work is done. But while the races of mankind endure, Let his great example stand Colossal, seen of every land, And keep the soldier firm, the statesman pure ; Till in all lands and thro' all human story The path of duty be the way to glory." And what a worker the man was ! " There was enough in his daily work as commander of the forces and general administrator to unnerve and discourage any but the strongest, the most self-reliant and resourceful man. ^I work like a galley slave,' he wrote his brother at Cadiz, 'and yet I effect nothing.' He has given us a striking picture of himself, The Last Return from Duty. From painting by James W. Glass. Wellington 213 drawn by his own pen, in those famous des- patches of his, which bear such ample testi- mony to his generalship, his prescience, his masterfulness, and, above all, his unwearied industry and indomitable pluck. It will be seen that he did nearly everything himself; controlled every department civil and mihtary, often created them or improved their ma- chinery, dealt direct with their heads and with the British representatives at Lisbon and Cadiz. In all army matters, the business of his own profession, he of course showed himself thoroughly at home. He exercised the functions of command with the same intimate knowledge, the same minute atten- tion to details, that have already been noticed in his Indian campaigns. "This may at once be observed by a pe- rusal of his correspondence, and the general orders issued from time to time, which were presently codified and printed for easy refer- ence. Both personnel and materiel become 214 TJie Great Masters of Warfare objects of his minute, painstaking care. Officers general and regimental, the rank and file, the interior economy of units, the marches, baggage, discipline, supplies and so forth, he touches upon all in turn, always thoroughly, often at great length," "Nothing was too intricate, too small for his personal attention. It has been said of his despatches that they exhibit in a marked degree his extraordinary breadth of grasp. * You might have fancied the writer of one letter to have been bred in a merchant's counting-house, of another that he was a commissaire de gtierre, or a profound diplo- matist, or a financier, or a jurist.' The day before the commencement of most important field operations, with a mass of most intricate miltiary details on his hands, he wrote two sheets of foolscap, in his own hand, to Sir James M'Grigor, on a disputed question of medical administration, explaining at length his reasons for differing with his principal Wellington 215 medical officer. Then Wellington invariably saw personally to the execution of his own designs and plans." " Almost to the day of his death the duke was a real painstaking operative, a man of habit and hard work of the most varied kind. No one in England gave away more brides or had more godchildren. He rose early from his simple couch at Walmer, an old cam- paigning friend in Apsley House, a truckle- bed, and went straight to his desk, where he dealt with his day's correspondence, taking every point in turn, and giving each that concentrated attention that was one of his greatest faculties. * Rest ! Every other ani- mal, even a donkey, a costermonger's donkey, is allowed some rest, but the Duke of Well- ington never. There is no help for it. As long as I am able to go on, they will put the saddle on my back and make me go.' " Of the many pictures which have Welling- ton for their subject, one of the best was 2i6 The Great Masters of Warfare painted by an artist in whom Americans should feel an interest. James W. Glass, whose " Last Return from Duty " shows the duke leaving the Horse Guards just before his death, was the son of an Englishman who was British consul at Cadiz, but his mother was a native of Virginia. Glass, born at Cadiz about 1825, was at first a topographical draughtsman in the United States, but decid- ing to follow art, he became a pupil of Daniel Huntington, in New York, in 1845, and two years later went to London, where he re- mained until 1856. During his stay there, the Duke of Wellington died, in 1852. When Glass first applied to the duke for permission to paint his portrait, the proposal was rather coolly received, for, like other notables, Wellington was tired of sitting to artists. " How long do you want me } " he inquired. " Half an hour," replied the painter. From long experience, the duke doubted this, but finally agreed to sit, and in twenty minutes Moltke 217 Glass made a spirited sketch of his head, which so pleased Wellington that he con- sented to give him another appointment and to allow him to make studies of his horse. Aided by this, Glass produced the " Last Return from Duty," which secured much success and was bought by Lord Ellesmere, a duplicate being ordered for the queen. The artist then returned to America, but died in New York in 1857. He left behind him, among other works, " The Battle of Naseby," "Edgehill," "The Royal Standard," and "Puritan and Cavalier." MOLTKE "His industry and skill had been main elements in the creation of that mighty instrument of war, the Prussian army." — O'Connor Morris. The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed the work of some remarkable old men : William L, the German emperor, 2i8 The Great Masters of Warfare who, born in 1797, did not die until 1888; his famous field-marshal, Moltke, whose birth took place in the first year of the century and who lived to be ninety; and Leo XIIL, who is still (1902) filling the chair of the papacy, at the age of ninety-two. Gladstone, too, occurs to one as belonging in the same class, but he did not live to be a nonagenarian. In Von Werner's picture of " Moltke at Sedan," the seventy-year old strategist, as he stands watching the progress of the battle, seems like a great eagle looking on his prey. The French, indeed, called him a vulture. "The memorable ist of September had come ; a day of woe and despair for France. It was still dark when the ist Bavarian corps attacked Bazeilles, a suburb, near where the Givonne falls into the Meuse. The 12th Saxon corps had soon come into line, and assailed the hamlets of La Moncelle and Daigny, and the thunder of battle rolled along the space which extends before the Moltke at Sedan. From painting by Anton von Werner. Mo like 219 southeast of the fortress. The French made a most stubborn defence, the marines of Lebrun displaying heroic courage, and the chassepot made its superiority felt in what was, in a great measure, a combat in streets. An unfortunate incident had already oc- curred : Macmahon, who had ridden to the front of the line, still hoping to find his way to Carignan, had been struck by the splinter of a shell, and he handed over the chief com- mand to Ducrot, a lieutenant, in whom he justly placed confidence. Ducrot, we have seen, as far back as the 30th of August, had judged correctly that a retreat on Mezieres was the only chance of safety for the endan- gered French, and he instantly gave orders that the whole army should fall back to the heights of Illy, and endeavor to force its way westward. This movement could not have conjured away a disaster, but it might have saved a large part of the army of Chalons ; yet, at the supreme moment, it was 220 The Great Masters of Warfaj^e arrested by interference, unwise and calam- itous. " Wimpff en believed, like Macmahon, that the true course to adopt was to attempt to break through the enemy in front, and, by Carignan, to advance on Montmedy ; and, assuming the chief command after the mar- shal's fall, he countermanded Ducrot's orders and directed the army to hold its ground. At this time the French still maintained their positions ; they made repeated and vigorous efforts to fall on the Bavarians and Saxons, and so to force a passage and escape east- ward. But the 4th corps of the Army of the Meuse had reached the field about nine a. m. ; the Guards, who had had a long way to march, through a difficult and thickly wooded tract, had speedily joined in a general attack ; the crushing fire of the Prussian batteries told decisively as the battle developed, and the pressure on the French proved impossible to withstand, as the line of fire became more Mo like 221 intense, and spread on all sides as far as Givonne. By noon the line of the Givonne was lost ; the hamlets on it had been stormed or abandoned, and the ist and I2th corps were driven backward into the valley to the south and east of Sedan. They rallied in this position on a second line, but their sit- uation was already critical in the extreme. *' Ere long a tremendous storm had burst on the northwestern front of the French army. The mass of the Third Army had marched through the night, and by the early morning the 5th and nth corps, the Wiir- tembergers being some distance to the left, had reached the Meuse, and were crossing the river. Besides the principal bridge of Donchery, artificial bridges had been made — a striking contrast to Macmahon's negli- gence — for celerity was of supreme impor- tance, and the Germans were arrayed on the northern bank at between seven and eight A. M. The march, however, to reach the position of 222 The Great Masters of Warfare the French was long, and retarded by many hindrances ; the great bend of the Meuse closed part of the way ; the country was thickly covered by wood, and it was nearly eleven a. m. before the first troops of the i ith corps had reached St. Menges and Fleigneux, advanced posts of the 7th corps of Douay. Batteries were pushed forward to support the infantry, but the 5th corps was not yet on the scene ; the Wiirtembergers were far dis- tant, observing the roads that led to Mezieres, and this indicates that had Ducrot's orders, given between seven and eight a. m., been speedily and thoroughly carried out, the Army of Chalons might have, in part, escaped, even if assailed in flank by a victorious enemy, and probably in the rear by the Army of the Meuse. The 7th French corps met the enemy boldly, and even attempted counter attacks, but St. Menges and Fleigneux were scarcely defended, and after a fierce and protracted struggle, Floing was captured, and the tri- Mo like 223 umphant Germans passed toward and seized the heights of Illy, nearly joining hands with the advancing Guards, who had occupied, we have seen, Givonne. An iron circle was closing round the French, but their disaster was ennobled by a fine feat of arms. The few good cavalry of the Army of Chalons made a magnificent effort to beat back the enemy, and, though they failed, some hun- dreds of these gallant horsemen contrived to effect their escape into Belgium. " It was now three in the afternoon, and nothing could save the defeated French from the coming doom. To the east and south- east the troops of the ist and 12th corps were gradually forced from their new posi- tions, and were driven back on the ramparts of Sedan. To the north and northeast, the uniting columns of the Prussian Guards and of the 5th and nth corps spread over the space from which Illy rises ; and the routed 7th corps was scattered into the valley below. 224 '^^^^ G^'eat Masters of Warfare The south of the French position was closed by the Meuse and by the 2d Bavarian corps, detached in the morning from the Third Army ; and the converging enemies gathered in on the ruined host, pent in a narrow en- closure, like a flock for the slaughter. The 5 th French corps shared in the universal wreck, and by five in the afternoon a huge coil had been drawn around an army still of 1 10,000 men. Every avenue of escape was barred ; the cross-fire of five hundred guns at least carried death and despair into shattered masses fast dissolving into chaotic multitudes ; and the lost battle became a massacre." The silent Moltke has several times been painted by Von Werner, once as he appeared before Paris, once in his study at Versailles, and in other pictures. Many of Von Wer- ner's works deal with the Franco-Prussian war. Among them are : " The Capitulation of Sedan," " Meeting of Bismarck and Napo- leon at Donchery," '' King William of Prussia Farragut 225* Proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles, January 18, 1871," "The Congress of Ber- lin," <'A Prisoner of War," "In the Quarters before Paris, 1870," " Luther before the Diet of Worms," and "Konigsberg, June 18, 1701." Von Werner, a native of Frankfort-on- Oder, where he was born in 1843, has re- ceived the honors to which his ability as a painter of history entitles him, being court painter and director of the Royal Academy of Berlin. FARRAGUT "Hull, Bainbridge, Porter, — where are they? The waves their answer roll, ♦ Still bright in memory's sunset ray, — God rest each gallant soul ! ' " A brighter name must dim their light With more than noontide ray. The Sea King of the River Fight, The Conqueror of the Bay." — O. W. Holmes. Did any great sailor before Farragut have a poet among his officers } The hero of 226 The Great Masters of Warfare Mobile Bay had a true one in Henry Howard Brownell, his acting ensign on the Hartford at that time, whose ''War Lyrics," published at the close of the Civil War, are much less known than they deserve to be. Brownell, who died not long after the great admiral, wrote, in his poem of the " Bay Fight : " " From the maintop, bold and brief, Came the word of our grand old chief — ' Go on ! ' 'twas all he said — Our helm was put to starboard, And the Hartford passed ahead. " Ahead lay the Tennessee^ On our starboard bow he lay. With his mail-clad consorts three (The rest had run up the Bay) — There he was, belching flame from his bow, And the steam from his throat's abyss Was a dragon's maddened hiss — In sooth a most cursed craft ! — In a most sullen ring at bay By the Middle Ground they lay, Raking us fore and aft. Farragut 227 *' Trust me, our berth was hot, Ah, wickedly well they shot ; How their death-bolts howled and stung ! And the water-batteries played With their deadly cannonade Till the air around us rung; So the battle raged and roared — Ah, had you been aboard To have seen the fight we made ! " How they leaped, the tongues of flame, From the cannon's fiery lip ! How the broadsides, deck and frame, Shook the great ship ! " In Loyall Farragut's life of his illustrious father, he says : " Let us turn to the scene on the flag-ship. On the poop-deck stands Captain Drayton. About him are the offi- cers of the staff, — Watson, Yates, McKinley, and Brownell, — while Knowles, the signal quartermaster, identified with the Hartford, attends to his duties. We must not forget the three old sailors at the wheel — McFar- land. Wood, and Jassin. They have been in 228 The Great Masters of Warfare every engagement of the ship, and upon their coohiess, in a great measure, depends its safety. And there stood the admiral in the port main rigging, a few ratHnes up, where he could see all about him, and at the same time converse with Jouett, who stood on the wheel-house of the Metaeomet, which was lashed alongside. Freeman, his trusty pilot, stood above him in the top. In contrast with this, the scene on deck, where the men worked their guns with a will, was one of animation. As the smoke increased and obscured his view, the admiral, step by step, ascended the rigging, until he found himself partly above the futtock-bands and holding on to the futtock-shrouds. The watchful eye of Drayton detected his perilous position, and, fearing that some slight shock might precipitate him into the sea, he ordered Knowles to take up a line and make the admiral's position more secure. Knowles says, in his simple narrative : * I went up Farragut. From painting by Theodore Kaufmann. Farragut 229 with a piece of lead-line, and made it fast to one of the forward shrouds, and then took it round the admiral to the after shroud, making it fast there. The admiral said, " Never mind, I am all right ; " but I went ahead and obeyed orders, for I feared he would fall overboard if anything should carry away or he should be struck.' Here Farra- gut remained until the fleet entered the bay. "The romantic incident of the admiral's being lashed to the mast has led to consider- able controversy. (This discussion arose on the exhibition of a picture by William Page — a full-length portrait of the admiral at the battle of Mobile, which represents him as lashed in the futtock-shrouds. The picture was purchased by a committee in 1871, and presented to the Emperor of Russia.) The difference of opinion resulted from the fact that Farragut did not remain long in any one position. While the fleet was enter- ing the bay, he was in the/