Books: The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, v10
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Constant >> The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, v10
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Prince Eugene having returned to Italy at the beginning of the campaign
in order to organize a new army in that country, we did not see him at
Dresden; the King of Naples, who had arrived on the night of the 13th or
14th August presented himself there almost alone; and his contribution to
the grand army consisted of only the small number of Neapolitan troops he
had left there on his departure for Naples.
I was in the Emperor's apartment when the King of Naples entered, and saw
him for the first time. I did not know to what cause to attribute it,
but I noticed that the Emperor did not give his brother-in-law as cordial
a welcome as in the past. Prince Murat said that he could no longer
remain idle at Naples, knowing that the French army to which he still
belonged was in the field, and he asked only to be allowed to fight in
its ranks. The Emperor took him with him to the parade, and gave him the
command of the Imperial Guard; and a more intrepid commander would have
been difficult to find. Later he was given the general command of the
cavalry.
During the whole time of the armistice, spun out rather than filled with
the slow and useless conferences of the Congress of Prague, it would be
impossible to describe the various labors in which the Emperor occupied
himself from morning till evening, and often far into the night. He
could frequently be seen bending over his maps, making, so to speak, a
rehearsal of the battles he meditated. Nevertheless, greatly exasperated
by the slowness of the negotiations as to the issue of which he could no
longer delude himself, he ordered, shortly before the end of July, that
everything should be prepared and in readiness for a journey he intended
making as far as Mayence. He made an appointment to meet the Empress
there; and as she was to arrive on the 25th, the Emperor consequently
arranged his departure so as to arrive only a short time after. I recall
this journey only as a fact, since it was signalized by nothing
remarkable, except the information the Emperor received at this time of
the death of the Duke of Abrantes, who had just succumbed at Dijon to a
violent attack of his former malady. Although the Emperor was already
aware that he was in a deplorable state of mental alienation, and must
consequently have expected this loss, he felt it none the less sensibly,
and sincerely mourned his former aide-decamp.
The Emperor remained only a few days with the Empress, whom he met again
with extreme pleasure. But as important political considerations
recalled him, he returned to Dresden, visiting several places on his
route, and the 4th of August we returned to the capital of Saxony.
Travelers who had seen this beautiful country only in a time of peace
would have recognized it with difficulty. Immense fortifications had
metamorphosed it into a warlike town; numerous batteries had been placed
in the suburbs overlooking the opposite bank of the Elbe. Everything
assumed a warlike attitude, and the Emperor's time became so completely
and entirely absorbed that he remained nearly three days without leaving
his cabinet.
Nevertheless, in the midst of the preparations for war all arrangements
were made to celebrate on the 10th of August the Emperor's fete, which
had been advanced five days, because, as I have previously observed, the
armistice expired precisely on the anniversary of Saint-Napoleon; and, as
may be readily inferred from his natural passion for war, the resumption
of hostilities was not an addition to his fete which he would be likely
to disdain.
There was at Dresden, as had been customary at Paris, a special
representation at the theater on the evening before the Emperor's fete.
The actors of the French theater played two comedies on the 9th at five
o'clock in the evening; which representation was the last, as the actors
of the French Comedy received orders immediately afterwards to return to
Paris. The next day the King of Saxony, accompanied by all the princes
of the royal family, repaired at nine o'clock in the morning to the
Marcolini palace, in order to pay his respects to the Emperor; after
which a grand morning reception was held as was the custom at the
Tuileries, and a review, at which the Emperor inspected a part of his
guard, several regiments, and the Saxon troops, who were invited to dine
by the French troops. On that day the city of Dresden without much
exaggeration might have been compared to a great dining-hall. In fact,
while his Majesty was dining in state at the palace of the King of
Saxony, where the whole family of this prince was assembled, the entire
diplomatic corps was seated at the table of the Duke of Bassano; Baron
Bignon, envoy from France to Warsaw, feasted all the distinguished Poles
present in Dresden; Count Darn gave a grand dinner to the French
authorities; General Friant to the French and Saxon generals; and Baron
de Serra, minister from France to Dresden, to the chiefs of the Saxon
colleges. This day of dinings was concluded by a supper for nearly two
hundred guests, which General Henri Durosnel, Governor of Dresden, gave
that evening at the close of a magnificent ball at the residence of M. de
Serra.
On our return from Mayence to Dresden I learned that the residence of
General Durosnel was the rendezvous of all the highest circles of
society, both Saxon and French. During the absence of his Majesty, the
general, taking advantage of this leisure, gave numerous fetes, among
others one to the actors and actresses of French Comedy. I recall in
this connection an amusing anecdote which was related to me at the time.
Baptiste junior, with no lack either of decorum or refinement,
contributed greatly to the amusement of the evening, being presented
under the name of my Lord Bristol, English diplomat, en route to the
Council of Prague. His disguise was so perfect, his accent so natural,
and his phlegm so imperturbable, that many persons of the Saxon court
were completely deceived, which did not in the least astonish me; and I
thereby saw that Baptiste junior's talent for mystification had lost
nothing since the time when I had been so highly diverted at the
breakfasts of Colonel Beauharnais. How many events had occurred since
that time.
The Emperor, seeing that nothing could longer delay the resumption of
hostilities, had consequently divided the two hundred thousand men of his
infantry into fourteen army corps, the command of which was given to
Marshals Victor, Ney, Marmont, Augereau, Macdonald, Oudinot, Davoust, and
Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Prince Poniatowski, and Generals Reynier, Rapp,
Lauriston, Vandamme, and Bertrand. The forty thousand cavalry formed
six grand divisions under the command of Generals Nansouty, Latour-
Maubourg, Sebastiani, Arrighi, Milhaud, and Kellermann; and, as I have
already said, the King of Naples had the command of the Imperial Guard.
Moreover, in this campaign appeared for the first time on our fields of
battle the guard of honor, a select troop recruited from the richest and
most distinguished families, and which had been increased to more than
ten thousand men, divided into two divisions under the simple title of
regiments; one of which was commanded by General Count of Pully, and the
other, if I am not mistaken, by General Segur. These youths, but lately
idlers given up to repose and pleasure, became in a short time most
excellent cavalry, which signalized itself on various occasions, notably
at the battle of Dresden, of which I shall soon have occasion to speak.
The strength of the French army has been previously stated. The combined
army of the allies amounted to four hundred and twenty thousand infantry,
and its cavalry to hardly less than one hundred thousand, without
counting a reserve army corps of eighty thousand Russians, in readiness
to leave Poland under the command of General Beningsen. Thus the enemy's
army outnumbered ours in the proportion of two to one.
At the time we entered into this campaign, Austria had just declared war
openly against us. This blow, although not unexpected, struck the
Emperor deeply, and he expressed himself freely in regard to it before
all persons who had the honor to approach him. M. de Metternich, I have
heard it stated, had almost certainly forewarned him of this in the last
interviews this minister had at Dresden with his Majesty; but the Emperor
had been entirely unable to bring himself to the belief that the Emperor
of Austria would make common cause with the coalition of the north
against his own daughter and grandson. Finally all doubts were solved by
the arrival of Count Louis de Narbonne, who was returning from Prague to
Dresden, as bearer of a declaration of war from Austria. Every one
foresaw that France must soon count among its enemies all the countries
no longer occupied by its troops, and results justified this prediction
only too well. Nevertheless, everything was not lost, for we had not yet
been compelled to take the defensive.
CHAPTER XIV.
War recommenced before negotiations were finally broken, for the Duke of
Vicenza was still in communication with M. de Metternich. The Emperor,
as he mounted his horse, said to the numerous generals surrounding him
that he now marched to conquer a peace. But what hope could remain after
the declaration of war by Austria, and above all, when it was known that
the allied sovereigns had incessantly increased their pretensions in
proportion as the Emperor granted the concessions demanded? The Emperor
left Dresden at five o'clock in the afternoon, advancing on the road to
Koenigstein, and passed the next day at Bautzen, where he revisited the
battlefield, the scene of his last victory. There the king of Naples,
who did not wish royal honors to be rendered himself, came to rejoin the
Emperor at the head of the Imperial Guard, who presented as imposing an
appearance as in its pristine days.
We arrived at Gorlitz on the 18th, where the Emperor found the Duke of
Vicenza, who was returning from Bohemia. He confirmed the truth of the
report his Majesty had already received at Dresden, that the Emperor of
Austria had already decided to make common cause with the Emperor of
Russia and the Kings of Prussia and Sweden against the husband of his
daughter, the princess whom he had given to the Emperor as a pledge of
peace. It was also through the Duke of Vicenza that the Emperor learned
that General Blucher had just entered Silesia at the head of an army of
one hundred thousand men, and, in violation of most sacred promises, had
seized on Breslau the evening before the day fixed for the rupture of the
armistice. This same day General Jomini, Swiss by birth, but until
recently in the service of France, chief of staff to Marshal Ney, and
loaded with favors by the Emperor, had deserted his post, and reported at
the headquarters of the Emperor Alexander, who had welcomed him with
demonstrations of most intense satisfaction.
[Baron Henri Jomini, author of the celebrated treatise on the art
of war, was born in the Canton de Vaud, 1779; aide-de-camp to Ney,
1804; distinguished himself in several battles, and on his desertion
was made lieutenant-general and aide to Emperor Alexander; died
1869.]
The Duke of Vicenza gave the particulars of this desertion, which seemed
to affect his Majesty more than all the other news. He told him, among
other things, that when General Jomini had entered the presence of
Alexander, he found this monarch surrounded by his chiefs, among whom
Moreau was pointed out to him. This was the first information the
Emperor had received of General Moreau's presence at the enemy's
headquarters. The Duke of Vicenza added, that when the Emperor Alexander
presented General Jomini to Moreau the latter saluted him coolly, and
Jomini replied only by a slight inclination of his head, and retired
without uttering a word, and the remainder of the evening remained in
gloomy silence in a corner of the saloon opposite to that occupied by
General Moreau. This constraint had not escaped the Emperor Alexander's
observation; and the next morning, as he was making his toilet, he
addressed Marshal Ney's ex-chief of staff: "General Jomini," said he,
"what is the cause of your conduct yesterday? It seems to me that it
would have been agreeable to you to meet General Moreau."--"Anywhere
else, Sire."--"What!"--"If I had been born a Frenchman, like the general,
I should not be to-day in the camp of your Majesty." When the Duke of
Vicenza had finished his report to the Emperor, his Majesty remarked with
a bitter smile, "I am sure that wretch Jomini thinks he has performed a
fine action! Ah, Caulaincourt, these desertions will destroy me!"
Perhaps Moreau, in welcoming General Jomini so coldly, was actuated by
the thought that were he still serving in the French army he would not
have betrayed it with arms in his hand; and after all it is not an
unusual thing to see two traitors each blush for the other, deluding
themselves at the same time in regard to their own treachery, not
comprehending that the sentiments they feel are the same as those they
inspire.
However that may be, the news which M. de Caulaincourt brought caused the
Emperor to make some changes in his plans for the campaign. His Majesty
entirely abandoned the idea of repairing in person to Berlin, as he had
expressed his intention of doing, and, realizing the necessity of
ascertaining first of all the contemplated operations of the grand army
of Austria, commanded by the Prince of Schwarzenberg, penetrated into
Bohemia; but learning through the couriers of the army and his spies that
eighty thousand Russians still remained on the opposite side with a
considerable body of the Austrian army, he retraced his steps after a few
engagements in which his presence decided the victory, and on the 24th we
found ourselves again at Bautzen. His Majesty from this place sent the
King of Naples to Dresden, in order to restore the courage of the King of
Saxony and the inhabitants when they should find the enemy at the gates
of their city. The Emperor sent them the assurance that the enemy's
forces would not enter, since he had returned to defend its approaches,
and urged them at the same time not to allow themselves to be dismayed by
any sudden or unexpected attack made by isolated detachments. Murat
arrived at a most opportune moment, for we learned later that
consternation had become general in the city; but such was the prestige
attached to the Emperor's assurances that all took courage again on
learning of his presence.
After the King of Naples had gone to fulfill this mission, Colonel
Gourgaud was called during the morning into the Emperor's tent, where I
then was. "I will be tomorrow on the road to Pirna," said his Majesty;
"but I shall halt at Stolpen. As for you, hasten to Dresden; go with the
utmost speed; reach it this night. Interview on your arrival the King of
Naples, Durosnel, the Duke of Bassano, and Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr;
reassure them all. See also the Saxon minister Gersdorf. Say to him
that you could not see the king because you set out in such haste; but
that I can to-morrow bring forty thousand men into Dresden, and that I am
preparing to enter with all the army. Next day you will see the
commandant of the engineering corps; you will visit the redoubts and the
fortifications of the town; and when you have inspected everything, you
will return quickly and meet me at Stolpen. Report to me exactly the
real state of affairs, as well as the opinion of Marshal Saint-Cyr and
the Duke of Bassano. Set out." The colonel left immediately at a
gallop, though he had eaten nothing as yet that day.
The next evening at eleven o'clock, Colonel Gourgaud returned to the
Emperor, after performing all the requirements of his mission. Meanwhile
the allied army had descended into the plain of Dresden, and had already
made some attacks upon the advance posts. It resulted from information
given by the colonel that when the King of Naples arrived, the city,
which had been in a state of complete demoralization, now felt that its
only hope was in the Emperor's arrival.
In truth, hordes of Cossacks were already in sight of the faubourgs,
which they threatened to attack; and their appearance had compelled the
inhabitants of these faubourgs to take refuge in the interior of the
city. "As I left," said Colonel Gourgaud, "I saw a village in flames
half a league from the great gardens, and Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr was
preparing to evacuate that position."--"But after all," said the Emperor
eagerly, "what is the opinion of the Duke of Bassano?"--"Sire, the Duke
of Bassano does not think that we can hold out twenty-four hours."--"And
you?"--"I, Sire? I think that Dresden will be taken to-morrow if your
Majesty is not there."--"I can then rely upon what you tell me?"--
"Sire, I will answer for it with my head."
Then his Majesty summoned General Haxo, and said to him, his finger on
the map, "Vandamme is advancing by way of Pirna beyond the Elbe. The
eagerness of the enemy in penetrating as far as Dresden has been extreme.
Vandamme will find himself in his rear. I intend to sustain his movement
with my whole army; but I am uneasy as to the fate of Dresden, and am not
willing to sacrifice that city. I can reach it in a few hours, and I
shall do so, although it grieves me much to abandon a plan which if well
executed might furnish the means of routing all the allies at one blow.
Happily Vandamme is still in sufficient strength to supplement the
general movement by attacks at special points which will annoy the enemy.
Order him, then, to go from Pirna to Ghiesubel, to gain the defiles of
Peterswalde, and when intrenched in this impregnable position, to await
the result of operations under the walls of Dresden. I reserve for him
the duty of receiving the swords of the vanquished. But in order to do
this it is necessary that he should keep his wits about him, and pay no
attention to the tumult made by the terrified inhabitants. Explain to
General Vandamme exactly what I expect of him. Never will he have a
finer opportunity to gain the marshal's baton."
General Haxo set out instantly; and the Emperor made Colonel Gourgaud
reenter his apartment, and ordered him to take a fresh horse, and return
to Dresden more quickly than he had come, in order to announce his
arrival. "The old guard will precede me," said his Majesty. "I hope
that they will have no more fear when they see that."
On the morning of the 26th the Emperor was seated on his horse on the
bridge of Dresden, and began, amid cries of joy from both the young and
old guard, to make dispositions for the terrible battle which lasted
three days.
It was ten o'clock in the morning when the inhabitants of Dresden, now
reduced to despair, and speaking freely of capitulation, witnessed his
Majesty's arrival. The scene changed suddenly; and to the most complete
discouragement succeeded most entire confidence, especially when the
haughty cuirassiers of Latour-Maubourg defiled over the bridge, holding
their heads high, and their eyes fixed on the neighboring hillsides
covered by the enemy's lines. The Emperor immediately alighted at the
palace of the king, who was preparing to seek an asylumn in the new town,
but whose intentions were changed by the arrival of this great man. The
interview was extremely touching.
I cannot undertake to describe all the occurrences of those memorable
days, in which the Emperor covered himself with glory, and was more
exposed to danger than he had ever been at any time. Pages, equerries,
and aides-decamp fell dead around him, balls pierced the stomach of his
horse, but nothing could touch him. The soldiers saw this and redoubled
their ardor, and also their confidence and admiration. I shall simply
state that the Emperor did not re-enter the chateau until midnight, and
then spent the hours until daylight dictating orders, while promenading
up and down the room with great strides, until at break of day he
remounted his horse. The weather was horrible, and the rain lasted the
whole day. In the evening, the enemy being completely routed, the
Emperor returned to the palace in a frightful condition. From the time
he mounted his horse, at six o'clock in the morning, the rain had not
ceased a single instant, and he was so wet that it could be said without
any figure of speech that the water ran down into his boots from the
collar of his coat, for they were entirely filled with it. His hat of
very fine beaver was so ruined that it fell down over his shoulders, his
buff belt was perfectly soaked with water; in fact a man just drawn out
of the river would not be wetter than the Emperor. The King of Saxony,
who awaited him, met him in this condition, and embraced him as a
cherished son who had just escaped a great danger; and this excellent
prince's eyes were full of tears as he pressed the saviour of his capital
to his heart. After a few reassuring and tender words from the Emperor,
his Majesty entered his apartments, leaving everywhere traces of the
water which dripped from every part of his clothing, and I had much
difficulty in undressing him. Knowing that the Emperor greatly enjoyed a
bath after a fatiguing day, I had it prepared; but as he felt unusually
fatigued, and in addition to this began to shiver considerably, his
Majesty preferred retiring to his bed, which I hurriedly warmed. Hardly
had the Emperor retired, however, than he had Baron Fain, one of his
secretaries, summoned to read his accumulated correspondence, which was
very voluminous. After this he took his bath, but had remained in it
only a few moments when he was seized with a sudden sickness accompanied
by vomiting, which obliged him to retire to bed.
His Majesty said to me, "My dear Constant, a little rest is absolutely
indispensable to me; see that I am not awaked except for matters of the
gravest importance; say this to Fain." I obeyed the Emperor's orders,
after which I took my position in the room in front of his Majesty's
chamber, watching with the attention of a sentinel on duty lest he should
be awakened, or any one should even approach his apartment.
The next morning the Emperor rang very early, and I entered his room
immediately, anxious to know how he had passed the night. I found him
almost entirely restored, and in fine spirits. He told me, however, that
he had had a short attack of fever. I must here remark that it was the
only time the Emperor had fever, and during the whole time I was with him
I never saw him ill enough to keep his bed for twenty-four hours. He
rose at his usual hour, and when he descended was intensely gratified by
the fine appearance made by the battalion on duty. Those brave
grenadiers, who the evening before had served as his escort, and
reentered Dresden with him in a most pitiable condition, this morning he
saw ranged in the court of the palace in splendid condition, and bearing
arms as brilliant as if it were a day of parade on the Place du
Carrousel. These brave fellows had spent the night polishing their arms,
and drying themselves around great fires which they had kindled for the
purpose, having thus preferred the satisfaction of presenting themselves
in faultless condition before their Emperor's eyes to the sleep and rest
which they must so greatly have needed.
One word of approbation repaid them for their fatigue, and it may be
truly said never was a military chief so much beloved by his soldiers as
his Majesty.
The last courier who had returned from Paris to Dresden, and whose
dispatches were read, as I have said, to the Emperor, bore several
letters for me written by my family and two or three of my friends; and
all who have accompanied his Majesty on his campaigns, in whatever rank
or employment, well know how we valued news received from home. These
letters informed me, I remember, of a famous lawsuit going on in the
court of assizes between the banker Michel and Reynier, which scandalous
affair caused much comment in the capital, and almost divided with the
news from the army the interest and attention of the public; and also of
the journey the Empress was about to make to Cherbourg, to be present at
the opening of the dikes, and filling the harbor with water from the
ocean. This journey, as may well be imagined, had been suggested by the
Emperor, who sought every opportunity of putting the Empress forward, and
making her perform the duties of a sovereign, as regent of the Empire.
She summoned and presided over the council of ministers, and more than
once I heard the Emperor congratulate himself after the declaration of
war with Austria that his Louise, as he called her, acted solely for the
interests of France, and had nothing Austrian but her birth. He also
allowed her the satisfaction of herself publishing and in her own name
all the official news of the army. The bulletins were no longer issued;
but the news was transmitted to her all ready for publication, which was
doubtless an attention on the part of his Majesty in order to render the
Empress Regent more popular, by making her the medium of communication
between the government and the public. Moreover, it is a fact, that we
who were on the spot, although we knew at once whether the battle was
gained or lost, often did not know the entire operations of the different
corps maneuvering on an immense line of battle, except through the
journals of Paris; and our eagerness to read them may well be imagined.
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