hundred and fifty artillerymen, and three hundred soldiers of the
royal regiment of foreigners, were drawn from their respective
garrisons; and formed, with the royal volunteers, an army of twelve
thousand men; which must necessarily be increased by the levies daily
made in the provinces, that continued subject to the royal government,
and by the succours, which the Prince had hastened to demand from the
King of Sardinia, and from Switzerland, and which he hoped to obtain
from them.
The Duke of Angouleme divided his army into two corps.
The first, commanded by General Ernouf, under whose orders were
Major-Generals Gardanne and Loverdo, proceeded through Sisteron for
Grenoble.
The second, commanded by the Prince in person, and under his orders by
Lieutenant-general Monnier, Baron Damas, and Viscount Descars, took
the road of Valence.
These two corps, after having reduced the country to submission, and
rallied the royalists, were to join at Grenoble, and march together to
Lyons.
The advanced guard of the second corps, conducted by M. Descars, met
no serious resistance, till it came to pass the Drome.
General De Belle, at the head of a few hussars of the 4th, a battalion
of the 39th, and about eight hundred national guards, had suffered
himself to be driven from Loriol, and retired as well as he could
behind the Drome.
The volunteers of Vaucluse, covered by the royal artillery, forded the
river, and came and took post on the left flank of the national
guards. At the same moment the Prince directed the 10th of the line,
to attack the bridge. This manoeuvre did not intimidate the national
guards; they stood firm; and the 10th, notwithstanding the ardour,
with which it was inspired by the example of the Duke of Angouleme,
was on the point of giving way; when several of the light infantry,
who were at their head, discovered among their antagonists some of
their ancient comrades. They began with a mutual cessation of firing,
and finished with embracing amid shouts of Long live the Emperor.
During this conversation and embracing, the rest of the 10th regiment
recovered ground. The imperials, supposing they were coming to join
them, advanced without distrust: a volley undeceived them: the troops
of General De Belle were thrown into disorder, he made no attempt to
rally them, and the rout became complete. Part of the imperials were
made prisoners by the royalists; others took refuge in the mountains,
or went to carry the news of their defeat to Grenoble or Valence.
The next day, the 3d of April, the Duke of Angouleme and his
victorious army entered Valence, and proceeded without loss of time to
Romans on the Isere.
The first corps, after having occupied Sisteron, separated into two
columns: one, with General Loverdo at its head, proceeded to Lamure;
the other, commanded by General Gardanne, having taken Gap in its way,
advanced as far as Travers; where the garrison of Grenoble, and the
national guards of Vizille, Lamure, and the surrounding communes, had
just taken up a position.
Hitherto every thing had proved favourable to the wishes of the royal
army: it marched from one success to another; and the noise of its
victories, swelled by fear and rumour, had spread consternation and
dismay as far as Grenoble and Lyons.
The Emperor himself was uneasy. On leaving Lyons he had foreseen the
possibility of a partial rising in the south; and, relying on the
energy and patriotism of the Dauphinese, he had entrusted to them the
care of defending their territory and their capital. But, if they were
strong enough to repel the aggressions of the royalists, they were not
in a condition to resist four thousand soldiers, who had embraced
their cause, and fought in their ranks.
General Grouchy had orders, to hasten to Lyons, and raise in mass the
national guards of Dauphiny, the Lyonnais, and Burgundy.
At the name of the Emperor and of their country all were in motion:
the patriots of la Drome and the Isere descended from their mountains;
the Lyonese quitted their workshops; the Burgundians spontaneously
began their march with half-pay officers at their head.
This patriotic burst was so unanimous, that the roads were instantly
covered with national guards; and General Corbineau, whom the Emperor
had despatched to accelerate their march, was obliged, on the
contrary, to retard it. But all these arrangements, sad presages of a
civil war, were happily unnecessary.
The troops of General Gardanne, during their stay at Gap, became
acquainted with the Emperor's proclamations. These had awakened their
remembrances, electrified their minds, and the 58th mounted the
tricoloured cockade.
The defection of this regiment was soon known to the division of
General Loverdo; and, in spite of this general's efforts, a part of
the 14th chasseurs, and the whole of the 83d, equally embraced the
imperial cause. On the other soldiers, though faithful in appearance,
the generals could no longer confide: "they could not speak to a
single inhabitant of the country, without receiving impressions
absolutely inimical to the party of the King[89]," and they expected
every moment, to see them go over to the enemy.
[Footnote 89: Report of General Ernouf.]
General Loverdo, impatient to give battle, and imagining, that he
could dispense with their assistance, attempted to force the defile of
Saulces, in advance of Gap, supported only by his royal volunteers:
but this attack, as rash as it was useless, did not succeed, and he
was forced to fall back to Sisteron.
The second corps, restrained by the presence of the Duke of Angouleme,
had lost but a small number of soldiers. The order to advance had just
been given, when the Prince received the most disheartening news from
all parts at once.
On one hand he was informed of the defection of the regular troops
under General Ernouf, and his forced retreat to Sisteron.
On another he heard, that General Grouchy was advancing to meet him
with a formidable force.
From a third source of intelligence he learned, that the royal party
at Nismes, and at Toulouse, had dispersed without resistance: that M.
Vitrolles, the head of the committee of insurrection, had been
arrested; and that the patriots, and the troops of the 9th division,
united under the orders of General Gilly, having marched to take him
in the rear, had retaken the bridge of St. Esprit by assault, and
passed the Rhone.
In fine, despatches from Turin announced to him, that he must no
longer reckon upon any assistance from the Swiss, or upon the promises
of the King of Sardinia.
The Prince in consequence ordered a retreat to be sounded, and retired
to Valence.
The Emperor, who, according to custom, took the trouble to compose
himself the articles in the Moniteur relative to this little war, gave
the following account of the evacuation of Valence.
"_Valence, the 7th of April._ The Duke of Angouleme has made a sad
figure here. The alarm bell sounded throughout Dauphiny, and numerous
battalions of the national guards departed for Lyons. The Duke of
Angouleme, informed of their arrival, set off helter skelter with the
four thousand insurgents, who are under his orders. The troops of the
line, informed by our citizens, that we were engaged in the cause of
the nation against a few privileged families, of the people against
the nobility, and in short of the revolution against the
counter-revolution, suddenly changed sides. The army however reckons
three traitors, who appear to have taken the part of the enemies of
their country: they are Generals Ernouf, Monnier, and D'Aultannie." He
forgot General Loverdo.
The Emperor was equally careful, to make public the correspondence,
that was intercepted: and as some announced _the intention of
separating the chaff from the wheat, and throwing it into the fire_;
others, _of hanging all the rebels, without exception, and without
mercy_; and, in fine, others, _invited Spain, Switzerland, and the
King of Piedmont, to come and reduce France to reason_; they
contributed not less powerfully than the success of the imperial army,
to detach from the cause of the Bourbons every Frenchman, who was an
enemy to treachery, hanging, and foreigners.
General Grouchy, informed of the retreat of the Duke of Angouleme,
sent some light troops in pursuit of him. Most of the chasseurs of the
14th, and of the artillerymen, joined the imperialists. The volunteers
of the south, who had hitherto set no bounds to their presumptuous
hopes, now found none to their fears. As cowardly in adversity, as
they were arrogant in prosperity, they abandoned their general at the
approach of danger; and all, with the exception of a few hundreds of
brave fellows, sought safety in flight.
The Duke of Angouleme, surrounded by the feeble remnants of their
battalions, and by the 10th of the line, which still remained
faithful, continued his retrograde march night and day; and traversed
in silence the places, which his army had made ring with the shouts of
victory but a few days before. The mountaineers, who had suffered so
much from the exactions and ill treatment of the royal volunteers, now
repeated in their turn "Wo to the vanquished!" and did not allow a
moment's rest to the Duke of Angouleme and his followers. Pressed on
one side by the columns of Grouchy, on the other by the troops of
General Gilly; shut in, without hope of succour, between the Drome,
the Rhone, the Durance, and the mountains, the Duke of Angouleme had
only two resources: one was, to abandon his army, and get over the
mountains to Marseilles or Piedmont; the other, to submit, with his
companions in misfortune, to the law of the conqueror.
The Prince would not separate his fate from that of his army. He
consented to surrender. Baron de Damas and General Gilly regulated
the conditions of the capitulation. It was agreed, that the Prince
should disband his army, and have liberty to embark at Cette. As soon
as this intelligence was announced by a telegraphic despatch, it was
immediately made known to the Emperor by the Duke of Bassano, who
prevailed on him, though opposed by several distinguished persons, to
return an answer, by the same mode of conveyance, approving of the
capitulation. At the same instant a second despatch announced, that
General Grouchy refused to sign the treaty, unless he had the consent
of the Emperor, and the Duke of Angouleme was deemed a prisoner. Upon
this the Duke of Bassano hastened to transmit the first orders of
Napoleon, and delayed informing him of the impediment to the
ratification, till night rendered any new orders by telegraph
impracticable. Being made acquainted with this noble daring of his
minister, instead of reprimanding him, the Emperor dictated to him the
following letter:
"M. le Count Grouchy, the ordinance of the king, dated on the 6th of
March, and the declaration signed at Vienne on the 13th by his
ministers, would authorize me to treat the Duke of Angouleme, as that
ordinance, and that declaration, would have had me and my family
treated: but, persevering in that disposition, which induced me to
ordain, that the members of the Bourbon family might have free egress
from France, my intention is, that you give orders for the Duke of
Angouleme to be conducted to Cette, where he shall be embarked, and
that you watch over his safety, and prevent him from receiving any ill
treatment. You will only take care to recover the money that has been
taken from the public offices, and to require the Duke of Angouleme to
engage to restore the diamonds of the crown, which are the property of
the nation[90]. You will at the same time make known to him the
provisions of the laws of the national assemblies, which have been
renewed, and which apply to those members of the Bourbon family, who
shall re-enter the French territories," &c.
[Footnote 90: The diamonds that were sought to be
obtained in exchange for the Duke of Angouleme were
worth fourteen millions. The Duke of Otranto
proposed to the Emperor, to throw M. de Vitrolles
into the bargain, if they were restored; to which
the Emperor readily consented. The Duke of Otranto
opened a negotiation on this point, which had no
farther result, than procuring him an opportunity
of corresponding more at his ease with Ghent.]
While awaiting the decision of Napoleon, the Duke of Angouleme was
strictly watched. He supported this fresh disgrace with firmness and
tranquillity. The Marquis de Riviere, informed of his detention,
threatened Count Grouchy, if he did not restore him to liberty, to
surrender Marseilles to the English, and raise up all Provence. These
empty threats had no effect. The fate of the duke did not depend on
Count de Grouchy: it was in opposition to his own feelings, that he
had ventured to lay a sacrilegious hand on this prince; and he prayed
sincerely, that the decision of the Emperor would allow him to break
his chains.
As soon as the decision reached him, the general hastened to insure
the Duke of Angouleme the means of embarking speedily; and with
religious zeal took the necessary measures, for his being treated on
the passage with due respect.
The prince, on his arrival at Cette, embarked immediately, and sailed
for Cadiz.
His capitulation and departure soon led to the submission of
Marseilles: and, thanks to the prudence and firmness of the Prince of
Essling, governor of that division, the royal standard was hauled
down, and the tricoloured flag hoisted in its stead, without any
disturbance or effusion of blood.
The Emperor named General Grouchy marshal of the empire; not because
he entertained any great admiration of his conduct, for he was aware,
that he had but faintly pressed the Duke of Angouleme; but in order to
give some splendor to the disgrace of the prince, and discourage the
royalists in other parts of France. Resolving at the same time to
punish the treason committed by the 10th at the passage of the Drome,
he decreed, that this regiment should wear a piece of crape on its
colours, till it had washed in the blood of the enemy those arms,
which it had stained with the blood of Frenchmen[91].
[Footnote 91: It was discovered by the Duke
d'Albufera, that this supposed treason was the
consequence of the mistake, which I have related
above, and the decree was not carried into effect.]
By the telegraph the Emperor was informed of the submission of
Marseilles, and the entire pacification of the south, just as he was
going to review the national guard of Paris. It was always in similar
circumstances, that great news reached the Emperor: it seemed as if
fortune, attentive to please him, sought to enhance her gifts by
bestowing them _apropos_. Ever since his arrival he had been intending
to have this review, but the successive inspections of the troops of
the line had prevented him. Some persons did not fail to ascribe this
delay, so easily to be accounted for, to his fear of the sentiments
and bayonets of the legions of Paris. Meantime some grenadiers of the
royal ex-volunteers indulged in threats and imprecations against him.
This was enough to terrify some of the alarmists of the court; and
they requested Napoleon to mix a few battalions of his guards in the
review, by way of precaution. The Emperor rejected their entreaties,
and was angry at their fears: nevertheless, they caused him to be
attended, without his knowledge, by ten or a dozen grenadiers, who
were directed not to lose sight of him for a moment.
While the Emperor was walking his horse along the ranks, his escort
had followed him without his paying any attention to it: but when he
set off at a gallop, he perceived, that his grenadiers were galloping
after him, and stopped. "What do you do there?" said he to one of
them: "Go about your business!" The old grumbler[92], who knew that
apprehensions were entertained for the life of his general, appeared
disposed not to obey. The Emperor then took hold of him by his hairy
cap, and, giving it a hearty shake, repeated with a smile his order to
him to retire: "Go all of you away: I am surrounded by none but good
Frenchmen; I am as safe with them as with you." The national guards,
who heard these words, cried out spontaneously, "Yes, yes, Sire, you
are right; we would all defend your life at the expense of our own."
Encouraged by the familiarity which the Emperor displayed towards
them, they quitted their ranks, and crowded round him: some pressed
his hands, others kissed theirs to him; all expressed their
satisfaction and attachment by continued shouts of "Long live the
nation! Long live the Emperor!"
[Footnote 92: A nickname given by Napoleon to his
old grenadiers.]
After this unexpected scene, the Emperor proceeded with his review: he
then caused a circle of officers to be formed, alighted, and addressed
them nearly in the following terms:
"Soldiers of the national guard of Paris, I am well pleased to see
you. Fifteen months ago I formed you for the preservation of
tranquillity in the capital, and for its security. You have fulfilled
my expectations. You have shed your blood in defence of Paris; and if
hostile troops entered your walls, the blame falls not on you, but on
treason, and above all on that fatality, which attaches itself to our
affairs under adverse circumstances.
"The royal throne was not adapted to France: it gave the people no
security for its most valuable interests; it was imposed upon us by
foreigners. I am arrived, equipped with all the strength of the people
and of the army, to obliterate this stain, and restore the honour and
glory of France to all their lustre.
"Soldiers of the national guard, this very morning the telegraph of
Lyons has informed me, that the tricoloured flag is waving at Antibes
and at Marseilles. The discharge of a hundred cannon on our frontiers
will proclaim to foreign nations, that our civil discords are at an
end: _I say foreign nations, because we yet know of none that are
enemies._ If they assemble their troops, we will assemble ours. All
our armies are composed of brave men, who have distinguished
themselves in various battles, and who will display to foreigners a
barrier of iron; while numerous battalions of grenadiers and chasseurs
of the national guards will secure our frontiers. I shall not
interfere with the affairs of foreign nations: wo to those
governments, that shall interfere with ours! Misfortunes have tempered
anew the character of the French people: it has resumed that youth,
that vigour, which astonished Europe twenty years ago.
"Soldiers, you have been obliged to wear colours proscribed by the
nation. But the national colours remained in your hearts: you now
swear, to take them always for your rallying signal, and to defend the
imperial throne, the only and natural guarantie of our rights; you
swear never to suffer foreigners, in whose country we have appeared
repeatedly as masters, to interfere with our constitution or
government. In fine, you swear, to sacrifice every thing to the honour
and independence of France."
This oath was pronounced with enthusiasm. The national guard showed,
that it was not afraid of being taken at its word.
Apprehensions had been entertained, that the guards, who had long
borne the Parisians a grudge for having surrendered so promptly in
1814, would indulge in some offensive reproaches: but Napoleon had
enjoined his grenadiers to maintain silence; and, in order to complete
the reconciliation, he caused it to be cemented by a dinner, to which
the imperial guards invited the national guard and the garrison of
Paris.
Fifteen thousand soldiers of every description assembled at the
_Champ de Mars_ under the eyes of the people of Paris: the joyous
songs of the soldiers and citizens answered each other by turns, and
gave a truly national character to this festival.
When the repast was over, a numerous crowd of soldiers, officers, and
national guards, set off for the Tuileries, carrying the bust of
Napoleon crowned with laurels. When they arrived before his Majesty's
windows, they saluted him with thousands and thousands of
acclamations; and then they repaired to la Place Vendome, where they
devoutly deposited at the foot of the monument raised to the glory of
our armies the image of the hero, who had led them to victory. The
Emperor, as soon as he was informed of it, ordered me to write to the
minister of the police, to have the bust removed in the night. "It is
not after bacchanalian orgies," said he, proudly, "that my image
should be placed on the column."
Every body, in fact, knows, that the statue of Napoleon, by which this
monument was formerly surmounted, had been pulled down in the early
days of the restoration; and it was not for individual and
unauthorized citizens to repair this affront.
A few royalists, at the head of whom figured M. de Maubreuil and M.
Sostene de la Rochefoucault, were guilty of this profanation. M. de
Rochefoucault, whose family had shared so largely in the gifts and
favours of Napoleon, himself put a rope about the neck of his
benefactor, with intention to have it dragged through the mud by some
vagabonds, whom he had hired: but the statue mocked his endeavours;
and the only fruit he reaped from them was the reprobation of honest
men, and the contempt of foreigners[93].
[Footnote 93: The Emperor Alexander, in particular,
expressed the most generous indignation.]
The column itself was long offensive to the jealous eyes of the
enemies of our glory. They conspired its destruction; and would have
accomplished it, had they dared. History, which leaves nothing
unpunished, will brand, I trust, these unworthy Frenchmen, these new
Vandals, with eternal disgrace. It will inscribe their names, and
their sacrilegious wishes, on the foot of the immortal column, which
they wanted to overturn. No doubt it will also tell, that the
federates, the half-pay officers, and all the partisans of Napoleon,
whom some have been pleased to represent as madmen, as robbers,
respected during the hundred days the statue of Henry IV.; though
this statue, placed within reach of their blows, and constructed of
frail materials, would have fallen with the slightest shock.
Napoleon had said to the national guard of Paris, "We yet know of none
that are enemies:" and these words were true. It had been remarked,
that the foreign troops concentrated themselves on our frontiers, but
none of their dispositions appeared hostile, and Napoleon might still
reasonably hope, that his care to maintain peace would not be
fruitless.
On the very day of his entry into Lyons, he had hastened to commission
Prince Joseph, to declare to the Austrian and Russian ministers at the
Helvetic diet, that he was ready to ratify the treaty of Paris.
When he arrived in the capital, he found that the foreign ministers,
particularly Baron de Vincent, the Austrian minister, and M.
Boudiakeen, Russian charge d'affaire, had not yet quitted it, for want
of passports.
He caused the departure of M. de Vincent and M. de Boudiakeen to be
delayed; and directed the Duke of Vicenza to see them, and assure them
anew of his pacific disposition.
Baron de Vincent at first refused all kind of communication or
conferences; but at length he consented to meet M. de Vicenza at the
house of a third person. They had a conference together at Madame de
Souza's. M. de Vincent did not conceal the resolution of the allies,
to oppose Napoleon's retaining the throne: but he hinted, that in his
opinion there might not be the same repugnance to his son. He engaged,
however, to make known the sentiments of Napoleon to the Emperor of
Austria; and consented to take charge of a letter for the Empress
Marie Louise[94].
[Footnote 94: M. de Vincent set out before this
letter was written, and it was entrusted to his
secretary. The Emperor of Austria ordered it to be
delivered into his hands, and contented himself
with informing the Empress Marie, that he had
received news of her husband, and that he was
well.]
M. de Boudiakeen, after having equally refused the conference proposed
by the Duke of Vicenza, finished also with accepting it. It was
agreed, that they should meet at the house of Mademoiselle Cauchelet,
lady of the bedchamber to the Princess Hortense.