BOOK XIV. CHAP. III. 1815. CHAPTER III. Bonaparte reviews his Army.-His Address to them.-Departure from Elba.-Dangers of the Voyage.—Arrival at the Gulf of Juan.—March through the Country.-Treason of Labedoyère. -Entrance of Bonaparte into Grenoble.-Proclamations.—Proceeds towards Lyons.-Proceedings of the Bourbon Government.—Proclamations of the King.—Preparations at Lyons, which is entered by Bonaparte without Opposition.—His Decrees.—Proceedings at that Place.—Treason of General Lefebvre Desnouettes. In order to complete the arrangements for his departure from Elba, Bonaparte purchased some small feluccas at Genoa, some ammunition at Naples, and a few arms at Algiers. On the 25th of February he presided at a fête which he gave to his Liliputian court, and was observed unusually cheerful and affable. On the following day, he reviewed his little army, and at their dismissal ordered them to prepare for immediate service, and to assemble on the same parade at six o'clock in the evening. Accordingly, the troops assembled at the time appointed, when Bonaparte made his appearance, and forming them into a hollow square, placed himself in their centre, and unfolded to them his purposes and views. He then represented to them, in that military and popular eloquence by which he was so peculiarly characterized, and to which he owed so much of his former influence over the minds of his followers, that fortune now afforded them an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of that estimation in which he had always held them ;that it had been the consolation and delight of his retirement to form them to the discipline and noble daring of soldiers;-that the time was at hand in which they might shew that his labours were not lost;-that France, Belgium, and Italy, invited him to resume the imperial crown, and that he had only to effect his landing, and display his standard, and the whole military of France would obey his summons, and rally round their emperor; that he had been compelled to abdicate the sovereignty, not by the will of the French, but by an overwhelming foreign force, which untoward circumstances had formed into a coalition, and to which coalition the calamities of war had given a temporary successs ;-that that coalition had been dissolved by the divisions, the jealousies, and the narrow and personal views of its members; that Italy was deceived, Germany sacrificed, Poland enslaved, Saxony extinguished, and Russia, Prussia, and England the dividers of the spoil-that France had now recovered the 300,000 men whom the cruelty of the season had rendered prisoners to Russia;-that, perse cuted by the Bourbon government, they now wandered destitute through France, and that their well known attachment to his person was rewarded with insult and beggary. "And will not these men," he continued, "return to the general who remembers them as ardently as he is remembered by them? "Fellow-soldiers !-Comrades in glory and in arms! for such you are about to become, judge of them as you would judge of your selves; and answer me from your own feelings, whether my brave soldiers will pass over to my enemy and theirs, or whether, again seeing my standard shining in the sun, and my imperial eagle again elevated to its own skies, they will re seek their standard, their eagle, and their general, and again conduct them to the throne which belongs to them. What are the Bourbons to them or us? Who is it in France, still in the vigour of his life, who remembers them, or knows any thing of them, but their name, their mad extravagance, and their contemptible debaucheries ? In the course of 300 years did they add an acre to the French territory, or an unit to the lasting glory of the French name? Are these kings for the French? No, comrades ;-the age and the people demand another kind of leaders. What say you soldiers, are you prepared to follow me, and to partake my fortune, my glory, and if there be any, my perils and labours!" The soldiers answered this harangue by the most enthusiastic acclamations. Napoleon imme diately placed himself at their head, and con ducted them to the place of embarkation. His whole force amounted to 1,140 men; viz. 700 men of his old guard, 300 Corsicans, and 140 Poles: his fleet consisted of a brig (L'Inconstant) mounting twenty-six guns, and six small transports, To invade a kingdom, containing upwards of 28,000,000 of souls, with this small force, at first sight, certainly appeared a most desperate undertaking. But Napoleon calculated on the ascend ancy of his name over the army, and the terror with which it inspired the peaceable citizens: be reckoned on the stupor which great novelty pro duces, and that perplexity and confusion which seize the mind when suddenly struck by some bold and unexpected enterprize. It has been asserted by many, and particularly the partizans of Bonaparte, that there was no regular conspiracy formed for aiding him in his invasion of France. Carnot declared that he had held no communication with Elba, nor was he aware that any had been held. General Labedoyère affirmed, that "he had no sort of intercourse with the isle of Elba;-that he had never' been present at any meeting in which the recall of Bonaparte had been agitated ;-that he had often heard vague suggestions, and some expressions of discontent, but he knew nothing of any determined plan. At eight o'clock on the evening of the 26th, the little army was embarked. The firing of a cannon gave the signal of departure; and they sailed from the harbour, enthusiastically shouting "Paris or death!" The night was clear, and beautiful, the wind favorable, and fortune seemed to smile on the enterprize. Sir Neil Campbell was in Italy; no cruiser appeared in sight; and, before the dawn, they hoped to double the island of Capraia, and to be completely out of danger from the vessels which were known to be cruising off that station. But the wind, which at first wafted them gaily on, gradually died away. At daybreak they had made only six leagues' progress, and were yet between Capraia and Elba. To add to their vexation, some vessels were seen in the offing, of sufficient force to annihilate their diminutive fleet. The danger was imminent. The captain and the greater part of the crew advised and urged a return to Porto Ferrajo. But Napoleon was resolute. "He had set his life upon a cast, and he would stand the die." He expressed his determination, if overtaken by the cruisers, which consisted of two. French frigates and a brig, first to declare himself, and try the influence of his name. He doubted not that they would immediately hail him with acclamations, and hoist the tri-coloured flag. Should they prove faithful to the oath which they had taken to Louis, he would rely on the tried courage of his veteran guard, and attempt to carry them by boarding. They did not however appear to observe him. Bonaparte had long and successfully manoeuvred to lull all suspicion which the appearance of his little fleet might occasion. He often went on-board the English ships of war. He made frequent excursions to the neighbouring islands. His own brig, and another which he bought, had sailed to Genoa and Leghorn. The English and French cruisers were thus accustomed to meet his flag, and therefore paid no attention to it at present. Towards noon the wind freshened a little, and at four in the afternoon they were off Leghorn. 1 CHAP. III. 1815, One of the frigates was now about five leagues to BOOK XIV the leeward, and the other was on the coast of Corsica but a ship of war was coming up before the wind to meet the brig. It seemed of nearly equal force. A consultation was held; and it was resolved, first, to attempt to deceive the cruiser, and should that fail, immediately to board her. The soldiers were concealed between the decks, and the two vessels ran along-side of each other. 66 The cruiser proved to be the Zephyr, Captain Andrieux, a man of known talents and tried patriotism. Taillade, a lieutenant of the Inconstant, was personally known to him, and undertook to carry on the conference. Assuming a careless tone he hailed the Zephyr, and demanded whither she was bound. It was answered " To Livornia." Andrieux then inquired in his turn whither the Inconstant was proceeding. Taillade replied without hesitation, "To Genoa," and offered to undertake any commission which Captain Andrieux might have to execute. At the same time, he invited him on-board the Inconstant, to spend a few hours with an old messmate. Andrieux was completely imposed upon, and thanking the lieutenant for his civility, and excusing himself on account of want of time, sailed on, and the two brigs were soon out of sight of each other. During the night of the 27th the wind continued to freshen, and at day-break, on the 28th, a seventy-four gun ship was seen at a distance of four leagues, making for St. Florent, or Sardinia, It either did not perceive, or did not think it necessary to bail, the little flotilla. At seven in the morning of the 28th, they discovered the coast of Noli: at noon, Antibes was in sight, and at three o'clock in the morning of the 1st of March, they entered the gulf of Juan, at a short distance from Frejus, in the department of Var. Previous to the disembarkation, Bonaparte mustered his troops on deck, and ordering them. to throw the cockade of Eiba into the sea, presented them with the national colours. They were received amid the shouts of "The emperor for ever." A captain of the guard, with twenty-five men, was disembarked to take possession of a small battery, which might have annoyed the landing of the troops. It was found completely unoccupied. In the afternoon Bonaparte disembarked the whole of his troops, and, as he again set forth on the French territory, exclaimed with exultation, "There is an end of the Congress." An officer, with twenty-five men, was now dispatched to Antibes, to invite General Corsin, the governor of the place, to join Napoleon; and this invitation was accompanied by the most seducing offers. But the commandant, faithful to honor and to his king, rejected the overture with contempt, Another officer was soon dispatched to regularly summon the place in the name of the emperor. He was arrested and thrown into prison. A third emissary presented himself to reclaim the prisoners, and to command General Corsin, under the most dreadful threats of military punishment, to repair to the gulf of Juan with the civil authorities. He, likewise, was detained. Irresolute what plan to pursue, Napoleon bivouacked on the sea-side, in a vineyard surrounded by olive trees; but reflecting on the consequences of this repulse, and the necessity of proceeding before the news of it had spread through the country, and encouraged others to follow the noble example of Corsin, he commenced his march at one o'clock in the morning, and leaving Antibes unmolested, proceeded to Cannes. His unexpected appearance produced a sentiment of mingled astonishment, fear, and joy. The recollections attached to that name, which the most romantic enterprises, the most heroic exploits, services the most signal, and establishments the most useful, vices unparalleled, and actions unspeakably atrocious had contributed to render so celebrated;-all these recollections, in which horror was mingled with admiration, and hope with terror, produced at Cannes, and in the whole of the country which he traversed, a scene of magical illusion easier to comprehend than to describe. It resembled the effect of a sudden and strange apparition on a crowd of unreflecting gazers. Every rational faculty is momentarily suspended, and the mind is ready to receive any strong or dangerous impression, any new and inexplicable direction which chance, or folly, or design, may give. Already discontented with the measures of government, and dreading the reestablishment of those feudal rights, which the publications of some anti-constitutionalists had lately imprudently advocated, the unexpected appearance of Bonaparte produced the most fatal effects. Continuing his progress to Grasse, he found the town deserted. A report had been spread that a troop of corsairs had landed and were ravaging the country, but the fears of the populace dissipated as soon as they bad learned the truth. The mayor was required to furnish rations for the followers of Napoleon. He nobly replied, that he acknowledged no authority but that of Louis XVIII. The inhabitants, however, returning in crowds, opened their shops and were easily induced to supply the wants of the soldiers. He left here the six pieces of cannon which he had brought from Elba, finding that they incommoded and retarded his march. 7 At four o'clock in the afternoon he arrived at the village of Cérénon, having travelled twenty leagues in the first day. On the 3d of March he slept at Bareme, and on the 4th at Digne. The news of the landing of Bonaparte was known at Marseilles on the same day; and if a body of troops had been immediately dispatched, his progress might have been intercepted. The national guards and many volunteers were eager to march, but Massena, who commanded the gar rison of Marseilles, could not be induced to take any decisive steps. On the third day, however, when the invader had penetrated eighty miles into the country, one regiment was sent in pur suit. At Digne, as at Cannes, the peasants flocked from every quarter, and manifested their sentiments with an energy that no longer left any doubt of the real feelings of this part of the population. The fear of losing the emigrant property, which they had purchased at one-third of its value, and of again becoming subject to their feudal masters, had alienated the affections of the peasants from their legitimate and virtuous sovereign. Leaving the main body of his troops behind, who were unable to keep pace with the rapidity of his march, he proceeded with ouly ten horse men and forty grenadiers, and, on the 5th, arrived at Gap. Here he issued the following proclamations, thousands of which were quickly dispersed through the country. They are dated the Gulf of Juan, March 1, 1815. Napoleon, by the grace of God, and the constitutions of the empire, Emperor of the French, &c. &c. &c. To the Army. "Soldiers !-We were not conquered: two men, risen from our rauks, betrayed our laurels, their country, their prince, their benefactor. "Those whom during twenty-five years we have seen traversing all Europe to raise up ene mies against us, who have passed their lives in fighting against us, in the ranks of foreign armies, and in cursing our fiue France, shall they pretend to command and control our eagles, on which they have not dared ever to look ? Shall we en dure that they should inherit the fruits of our glorious labours ;-that they should clothe them selves with our honors and our goods ;--that they should calumniate our glory? If their reign should continue, all would be lost, even the memory of those immortal days. With what fury do they pervert their very nature! They seek to poison what the world admires; and if there still remain any defenders of our glory, it is among those very enemies whom we have fought on the field-ofbattle. "Soldiers! In my exile I heard your voice. I have arrived through all obstacles and all perils. Your general, called to the throne by the choice of the people, and educated under your banners, is restored to you. Come and join him! "Tear down those colours which the nation has proscribed, and which for twenty-five years served as a rallying-signal to all the enemies of France. Mount the tri-coloured cockade. You bore it in the days of our greatness. "We must now forget that we have been masters of nations; but we must not suffer any to intermeddle in our affairs. "Who shall presume to be master over us? Who would have the power? Recover those eagles which you had at Ulm, at Austerlitz, at Jena, at Eylau, at Friedland, at Tudela, at Eckmul, at Essling, at Wagram, at Smolensko, at Moscow, at Lutzen, at Wurken, at Montmirail. Do you think that the bandful of Frenchmen who are now so arrogant will endure to look on them? They shall return whence they came, and there, if they please, they shall reign, as they pretend to have reigned during nineteen years. Your possessions, your rank, your glory, the possessions, the rank, the glory of your children, have no greater enemies than those princes whom foreigners have imposed on us. They are the enemies of our glory, because the recital of so many heroic actions, which have glorified the people of France fighting against them, to withdraw themselves from their yoke, is their condemnation. "The veterans of the armies of the Sambre and the Meuse, of the Rhine, of Italy, of Egypt, of the west, and of the grand arany, are all humiliated; their bonorable wounds are disgraced; their successes were their crimes. "Honors, rewards, affection, are given to those who have served against the country and us. "Soldiers! Come and range yourselves under the standards of your chief. His existence is only composed of yours. His rights are only yours. His rights are only those of the people and yours. His interest, his honor, his glory, are no other than your interest, your honor, and your glory. Victory shall mareli at the charge-step. The eagle, with the national colours, shall fly from steeple to steeple, even to the towers of Notre Dame. Then you will be able to shew your scars with honor. Then you will be able to glory in what you have done. You will be the deliverers of your country. In your old age, surrounded and esteemed by your fellow citizens, they will hear you with respect while you recount your high deeds. You will be able to say with pride:- And I, too, was part of that grand army, which entered twice the walls of Vienna, those of Rome, of Berlin, of Madrid, of Moscow; and which delivered Paris from the foul blot which treason and the presence of the "Honored be those brave soldiers, the glory BOOK XIV. of their country; and eternal shame on those guilty Frenchmen, in whatever rack fortune CHAP. III. caused them to be born, who fought for twentyfive years with the foreigner, to tear the bosom of their country. "By the emperor, (Signed) "NAPOLEON. "The grand marshal performing the functions of major-general of the grand army, "BERTRAND." The following proclamation was addressed to the people. "To the French People. "Frenchmen.!-The defection of the Duke of Castiglione delivered up Lyons, without defence, to our enemies. The army, of which I confided to him the command, was, by the number of its battalions, and the bravery and patriotism of the troops which composed it, fully able to beat the Austrian corps opposed to it, and to get into the rear of the left wing of the enemy's army, which threatened Paris. "The victories of Champ-Aubert, of Montmirail, of Chateau-Thierry, of Vauchamp, of Mormans, of Montereau, of Craone, of Rheims, 'of Arcy-sur-Aube, and of St. Dizier; the rising of the brave peasants of Lorraine, of Champagne, of Alsace, of Franche Comte, and of Bourgoin, and the position which I had taken on the rear of the enemy's army, by separating it from its magazines, from its parks of reserve, from its convoys and all its equipages, had placed it in a desperate situation. The French were never on the point of being more powerful, and the flower of the enemy's army was lost without resource. would have found its grave in those vast countries which it had mercilessly ravaged, when the treason of the Duke of Ragusa gave up the capital, and disorganized the army. The unexpected conduct of these two generals, who be trayed at once their country, their prince, and their benefactor, changed the destiny of the war. The disastrous situation of the enemy was such, that at the conclusion of the affair which took place before Paris, it was without ammunition, on account of its separation from its parks of re serve. It' "Under these new and important circumstances my heart was rest, but my soul remained unshaken. I consulted only the interest of the country. I exiled myself on a rock in the middle of the sea. My life was, and ought to be, still useful to you. I did not permit the greater number of citizens, who wished to accompany me, to partake my lot. I thought their presence useful to France; and I took with me only a handful of brave men, necessary for my guard. "Raised to the throne by your choice, all that 1815. 1815. BOOK XIV. twenty-five years France has had new interests, new institutions, and new glory, which could only CHAP. III. be secured by a national government, and by a dynasty created under those new circumstances. A prince who should reign over you; who should be seated on my throne by the power of those very armies which ravaged our territory, would in vain attempt to support himself with the principles of feudal law. He would not be able to recover the honor and the rights of more than a small number of individuals, enemies of the people, who, for twenty-five years, have condemned them in all our national assemblies. Your tranquillity at home, and your consequence abroad, would be lost for ever. vanced-guard was ordered to proceed during the night. They reached the village of Mure, where they met the advanced-guard of the troops from Grenoble, who were approaching to oppose the progress of Napoleon. General Cambronne, who commanded the troops of Bonaparte, proposed a parley, but he was answered that all communication was forbidden. The soldiers of Lonis, however, retreated three leagues before forty of the adherents of Bonaparte. As soon as the invader was informed that his progress would be contested, he resolved to put in practice a ruse-de-guerre, which, if it was not previously concerted between him and the officers who so soon swelled his ranks, does infinite credit to his talents and his courage. He proceeded towards the royal troops, accompanied only by two or three officers. They consisted of a battalion of the 5th of the line, with a iny company of "Frenchmen! In my exile I heard your complaints and your wishes. You demanded that government of your choice which alone was legitimate. You accused my long slumber; you reproached me for sacrificing to my repose the great interests of the country. “I have crossed the seas, in the midst of dangers of every kind. I arrive amongst you to resume my rights, which are your's. All that individuals have done, written, or said, since the capture of Paris, I will be for ever ignorant of. It shall not at all influence the recollections which I preserve of the important services which they have performed. There are circumstances of such a nature as to be above human organization. "Frenchmen! There is no nation, however small it may be, which has not had the right, if it possessed the power, to withdraw itself from the disgrace of obeying a prince imposed on it by an enemy momentarily victorious. When Charles When Charles VII. re-entered Paris, and overthrew the ephemeral throne of Henry V., he acknowledged that he held his throne from the valor of his heroes, and not from the Prince-regent of England. "It is thus that to you alone, and to the brave men of the army, that I account it, and shall always account it, my glory to owe every thing. By the Emperor, (Signed) "NAPOLEON. "The grand marshal performing the functions of major-general of the grand army. 66 66 (Signed) "Count BERTRAND." On the 6th, Napoleon hastened towards Grenoble. As he passed through St. Bonnet, with his advanced-guard, the inhabitants proposed to ring the tocsin, to assemble the villagers and accompany him in a mass. "No!" replied he, your sentiments prove to me that I have not deceived myself, and they afford me a sure pledge of the sentiments of my soldiers. I do not need your services, and will not drag you from your homes. Those whom I meet will range themselves on my side, and the more numerous they are, the more certain will be my success. That evening he slept at Gap, but his ad sappers and miners, comprising about eight hundred men. Arriving within pistol-shot, he alighted, and advancing to the right of the battalion, which apparently only awaited the command of its officers to fire upon him, he bared his bosom and thus addressed them, "Behold me! If there is one soldier among you who wishes to kill his emperor, let him come forward from the ranks and fire upon me." The effect was instantaneous and sublime. The arms of every soldier were hurled on the ground, and the air resounded with the cries of "The emperor for ever!" The guard and the soldiers rapturously embraced; they eagerly tore off the white cockade, and with tears in their eyes enthusiastically, mounted the national colours. Enchanted with this success, he formed them into a square, and once more. harangued them. "Soldiers! I come with a handful of men to deliver you from the Bourbons, from treason, from feudal tyranny, and from the abuses which they have brought with them. The throne of the Bourbons is illegitimate, because it is contrary to the will of the nation. It exists only in the interests of a few families. Is not this true, comrades?"-" Yes, sire!" exclaimed a grenadier, "you are our emperor, and we will march with you to victory or to death!" Thus reinforced he approached Grenoble. The garrison was composed of the 7th and 11th regiments of the line, the 4th hussars, and the 4th of artillery. This was the very regiment in which, twenty-five years before, Bo naparte had commenced his military career, and in which his memory was yet idolized. The 7th was commanded by Colonel Labedoyère, who had lately received his appoint. ment from the king, and the decoration of the legion of honor. |