with land laws. But the second and more warlike period of his
Ministry has also left a faint impression in the minds of many
among us, who are in the habit of regarding him as the founder
of the Tugendbund. In August and September [1808], the very
months in which Stein was taking up his new position, this
society was attracting general attention, and accordingly this
is the place to consider Stein's relation to it. That he was
secretly animating and urging it on must have seemed at the
time more than probable, almost self-evident. It aimed at the
very objects which he had at heart, it spoke of him with warm
admiration, and in general it used language which seemed an
echo of his own. ... Whatever his connexion with the
Tugendbund may have been, it cannot have commenced till April,
1808, for it was in that month that the Tugendbund began its
existence, and therefore nothing can be more absurd than to
represent Stein as beginning to revolutionise the country with
the help of the Tugendbund, for his revolutionary edict had
been promulgated in the October before. ... In his
autobiography ... Stein [says]: 'An effect and not the cause
of this passionate national indignation at the despotism of
Napoleon was the Tugendbund, of which I was no more the
founder than I was a member, as I can assert on my honour and
as is well known to its originators. About July, 1808, there
was formed at Königsberg a society consisting of several
officers, for example, Colonel Gneisenau, Grolmann, &c., and
learned men, such as Professor Krug, in order to combat
selfishness and to rouse the nobler moral feelings; and
according to the requirements of the existing laws they
communicated their statutes and the list of their members to
the King's Majesty, who sanctioned the former without any
action on my part, it being my belief in general that there
was no need of any other institute but to put new life into
the spirit of Christian patriotism, the germ of which lay
already in the existing institutions of State and Church. The
new Society held its meetings, but of the proceedings I knew
nothing, and when later it proposed to exert an indirect
influence upon educational and military institutions I
rejected the proposal as encroaching on the department of the
civil and ecclesiastical governing bodies. As I was driven
soon afterwards out of the public service, I know nothing
of the further operations of this Society.' ...
{1517}
He certainly seems to intend his readers to understand that he
had not even any indirect or underhand connexion with it, but
from first to last stood entirely aloof, except in one case
when he interfered to restrain its action. It is even possible
that by telling us that he had nothing to do with the step
taken by the King when he sanctioned the statutes of the
society he means to hint that; had his advice been taken, the
society would not have been even allowed to exist. ... The
principal fact affirmed by Stein is indeed now beyond
controversy; Stein was certainly not either the founder or a
member of the Tugendbund. The society commonly known by that
name, which however designated itself as the Moral and
Scientific Union, was founded by a number of persons, of whom
many were Freemasons, at Konigsberg in the month of April.
Professor Krug, mentioned by Stein, was one of them; Gneisenau
and Grolmann, whom he also mentions, were not among the first
members, and Gneisenau, it seems, was never a member. The
statutes were drawn by Krug, Bardeleben and Baersch, and if
anyone person can be called the Founder of the Tugendbund, the
second of these, Bardeleben, seems best to deserve the title.
The Order of Cabinet by which the society was licensed is
dated Konigsberg, June 30th, and runs as follows: 'The revival
of morality, religion, serious taste and public spirit, is
assuredly most commendable; and, so far as the society now
being formed under the name of a Virtue Union (Tugendverein)
is occupied with this within the limits of the laws of the
country and without any interference in politics or public
administration, His Majesty the King of Prussia approves the
object and constitution of the society.' ... From Konigsberg
missionaries went forth who established branch associations,
called Chambers, in other towns, first those of the Province
of Prussia, Braunsberg, Elbing, Graudenz, Eylau, Hohenstein,
Memel, Stallupöhnen; then in August and September Bardeleben
spread the movement with great success through Silesia. The
spirit which animated the new society could not but be
approved by every patriot. They had been deeply struck with
the decay of the nation, as shown in the occurrences of the
war, and their views of the way in which it might be revived
were much the same as those of Stein and Fichte. The only
question was whether they were wise in organising a society in
order to promulgate these views, whether such a society was
likely to do much good, and also whether it might not by
possibility do much harm. Stein's view, as he has given it,
was that it was not likely to do much good, and that such an
organisation was unnecessary. ... It did not follow because he
desired Estates or Parliaments that he was prepared to
sanction a political club. ... It may well have seemed to him
that to suffer a political club to come into existence was to
allow the guidance of the Revolution which he had begun to
pass out of his hands. There appears, then, when we consider
it closely, nothing unnatural in the course which Stein
declares himself to have taken."
_J. R. Seeley,
Life and Times of Stein,
part 4, chapter 3 (volume 2)._
ALSO IN:
_T. Frost,
Secret Societies of the European Revolution,
volume 1, chapter 4._
GERMANY: A. D. 1808 (September-October).
Imperial conference and Treaty of Erfurt.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1808 (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER).
GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (January-June).
Outburst of Austrian feeling against France.
Reopening of war.
Napoleon's advance to Vienna.
His defeat at Aspern and perilous situation.
Austrian reverses in Italy and Hungary.
"The one man of all the Austrians who felt the least amount of
hatred against France, was, perhaps, the Emperor. All his
family and all his people--nobles and priests, the middle
classes and the peasantry--evinced a feeling full of anger
against the nation which had upset Europe. ... By reason of
the French, the disturbers and spoilers, the enemies of the
human race, despisers of morality and religion alike, Princes
were suffering in their palaces, workmen in their shops,
business men in their offices, priests in their churches,
soldiers in their camps, peasants in their huts. The movement
of exasperation was irresistible. Everyone said that it was a
mistake to have laid down their arms; that they ought against
France to have fought on to the bitter end, and to have
sacrificed the last man and the last florin; that they had
been wrong in not having gone to the assistance of Prussia
after the Jena Campaign; and that the moment had arrived for
all the Powers to coalesce against the common enemy and crush
him. ... All Europe had arrived at a paroxysm of indignation.
What was she waiting for before rising? A signal. That signal
Austria was about to give. And this time with what chances of
success! The motto was to be 'victory or death.' But they were
sure of victory. The French army, scattered from the Oder to
the Tagus, from the mountains of Bohemia to the Sierra Morena,
would not be able to resist the onslaught of so many nations
eager to break their bonds. ... Vienna, in 1809, indulged in
the same language, and felt the same passions, that Berlin did
in 1806. ... The Landwehr, then only organized a few months,
were impatiently awaiting the hour when they should measure
themselves against the Veterans of the French army. Volunteers
flocked in crowds to the colours. Patriotic subscriptions
flowed in. ... Boys wanted to leave school to fight. All
classes of society vied with each other in zeal, courage, and
a spirit of sacrifice. When the news was made public that the
Archduke Charles had, on the 20th of February, 1809, been
appointed Generalissimo, there was an outburst of joy and
confidence from one end of the Empire to the other."
_Imbert de Saint-Amand,
Memoirs of the Empress Marie Louise,
part 1, chapter 2._
"On receiving decisive intelligence of these hostile
preparations, Napoleon returned with extraordinary expedition
from Spain to Paris, in January, 1809, and gave orders to
concentrate his forces in Germany, and call out the full
contingents of the Confederation of the Rhine. Some further
time was consumed by the preparations on either side. At last,
on the 8th of April, the Austrian troops crossed the frontiers
at once on the Inn, in Bohemia, in the Tyrol and in Italy. The
whole burthen of the war rested on Austria alone, for Prussia
remained neutral, and Russia, now allied to France, was even
bound to make a show at least, though it were no more, of
hostility to Austria. On the same day on which the Austrian
forces crossed the frontiers, the Tyrol rose in insurrection
[see below: A. D. 1809-1810 (APRIL-FEBRUARY)], and was swept
clear of the enemy in four days, with the exception of a
Bavarian garrison, that still held out in Kufstein.
{1518}
The French army was at this time dispersed over a line of
forty leagues in extent, with numerous undefended apertures
between the corps; so that the fairest possible opportunity
presented itself to the Austrians for cutting to pieces the
scattered forces of the French, and marching in triumph to the
Rhine. As usual, however, the archduke's early movements were
subjected to most impolitic delays by the Aulic Council; and
time was allowed Napoleon to arrive on the theatre of war
(April 17), and repair the faults committed by his
adjutant-general, Berthier. He instantly extricated his army
from its perilous position--almost cut in two by the advance
of the Austrians--and, beginning on the 19th, he beat the
latter in five battles on five successive days, at Thaun,
Abensberg, Landshut, Eckmühl, and Ratisbon. The Archduke
Charles retired into Bohemia to collect reinforcements, but
General Hiller was, in consequence of the delay in repairing
the fortifications of Linz, unable to maintain that place, the
possession of which was important, on account of its forming a
connecting point between Bohemia and the Austrian Oberland.
Hiller, however, at least saved his honour by pushing forward
to the Traun, and in a fearfully bloody encounter at
Ebersberg, captured three French eagles, one of his colours
alone falling into the enemy's hands. He was, nevertheless,
compelled to retire before the superior forces of the French,
and crossing over at Krems to the left bank of the Danube, he
formed a junction with the Archduke Charles. The way was now
clear to Vienna, which, after a slight show of defence,
capitulated to Napoleon on the 12th of May. The Archduke
Charles had hoped to reach the capital before the French, and
to give battle to them beneath its walls; but as he had to
make a circuit whilst the French pushed forward in a direct
line, his plan was frustrated, and he arrived, when too late,
from Bohemia. Both armies, separated by the Danube, stood
opposed to one another in the vicinity of the imperial city.
Both commanders were desirous of coming to a decisive
engagement. The French had secured the island of Lobau, to
serve as a mustering place, and point of transit across the
Danube. The archduke allowed them to establish a bridge of
boats, being resolved to await them on the Marchfeld. There it
was that Rudolph of Habsburg, in the battle against Ottakar,
had laid the foundation of the greatness of the house of
Austria; and there the political existence of that house and
the fate of the monarchy were now to be decided. Having
crossed the river, Napoleon was received on the opposite bank,
near Aspern and Esslingen, by his opponent, and, after a
dreadful battle [in which Marshal Lannes was killed], that was
carried on with unwearied animosity for two days, May 21st and
22nd, 1809, he was completely beaten, and compelled to fly for
refuge to the island of Lobau. The rising stream had,
meanwhile, carried away the bridge, Napoleon's sole chance of
escape to the opposite bank. For two days he remained on the
island with his defeated troops, without provisions, and in
hourly expectation of being cut to pieces; the Austrians,
however, neglected to turn the opportunity to advantage, and
allowed the French leisure to rebuild the bridge, a work of
extreme difficulty. During six weeks afterwards, the two
armies continued to occupy their former positions under the
walls of Vienna, on the right and left banks of the Danube,
narrowly watching each other's movements, and preparing for a
final struggle. Whilst these events were in progress, the
Archduke John had successfully penetrated into Italy, where he
had totally defeated the Viceroy Eugene at Salice, on the 16th
of April. Favoured by the simultaneous revolt of the Tyrolese,
he might have obtained the most decisive results from this
victory, but the extraordinary progress of Napoleon down the
valley of the Danube rendered necessary the concentration of
the whole forces of the monarchy for the defence of the
capital. Having begun a retreat, he was pursued by Eugene, and
defeated on the Piave, with great loss, on the 8th of May.
Escaping thence, without further molestation, to Villach, in
Carinthia, he received intelligence of the fall of Vienna,
together with a letter from the Archduke Charles, of the 15th
of May, directing him to move with all his forces upon Lintz,
to act on the rear and communications of Napoleon. Instead of
obeying these orders, he thought proper to march into Hungary,
abandoning the Tyrol and the whole projected operations on the
Upper Danube to their fate. His disobedience was disastrous to
the fortunes of his house, for it caused the fruits of the
victory at Aspern to be lost. He might have arrived, with
50,000 men, on the 24th or 25th, at Lintz, where no one
remained but Bernadotte and the Saxons, who were incapable of
offering any serious resistance. Such a force, concentrated on
the direct line of Napoleon's communications, immediately
after his defeat at Aspern, on the 22nd, would have deprived
him of all means of extricating himself from the most perilous
situation in which he had yet been placed since ascending the
consular throne. After totally defeating Jellachich in the
valley of the Muhr, Eugene desisted from his pursuit of the
army of Italy, and joined Napoleon at Vienna. The Archduke
John united his forces at Raab with those of the Hungarian
insurrection, under his brother, the Palatine. The viceroy
again marched against him, and defeated him at Raab on the
14th of June. The Palatine remained with the Hungarian
insurrection in Komorn; Archduke John moved on to Presburg. In
the north, the Archduke Ferdinand, who had advanced as far as
Warsaw, had been driven back by the Poles: under Poniatowsky,
and by a Russian force sent by the Emperor Alexander to their
aid, which, on this success, invaded Galicia."
_W. K. Kelly,
History of the House of Austria (Continuation of Coxe),
chapter 4._
ALSO IN:
_Sir A. Alison,
History of Europe, 1789-1815,
chapter 56-57 (volume 12)._
_Duke de Rovigo,
Memoirs,
volume 2, part 2, chapters 3-12._
_Baron Jomini,
Life of Napoleon,
chapter 14 (volume 3)._
_Baron de Marbot,
Memoirs,
volume 1, chapters 42-48._
GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (April-July).
Risings against the French in the North.
"A general revolt against the French had nearly taken place in
Saxony and Westphalia, where the enormous burdens imposed on
the people, and the insolence of the French troops, had
kindled a deadly spirit of hostility against the oppressors.
Everywhere the Tugendbund were in activity; and the advance of
the Austrians towards Franconia and Saxony, at the beginning
of the war, blew up the flame. The two first attempts at
insurrection, headed respectively by Katt, a Prussian officer
(April 3), and Dornberg, a Westphalian colonel (April 23),
proved abortive; but the enterprise of the celebrated Schill
was of a more formidable character.
{1519}
This enthusiastic patriot, then a colonel in the Prussian
army, had been compromised in the revolt of Dornberg; and
finding himself discovered, he boldly raised the standard
(April 29) at the head of 600 soldiers. His force speedily
received accessions, but failing in his attempts on Wittenberg
and Magdeburg, he moved towards the Baltic, in hope of succour
from the British cruisers, and at last threw himself into
Stralsund. Here he was speedily invested; the place was
stormed (May 31), and the gallant Schill slain in the assault,
a few hours only before the appearance of the British vessels
--the timely arrival of which might have secured the place,
and spread the rising over all Northern Germany. The Duke of
Brunswick-Oels, with his 'black band' of volunteers, had at
the same time invaded Saxony from Bohemia; and though then
obliged to retreat, he made a second incursion in June,
occupied Dresden and Leipsic, and drove the King of Westphalia
into France. After the battle of Wagram he made his way across
all Northern Germany, and was eventually conveyed, with his
gallant followers, still 2,000 strong, to England."
_Epitome of Alison's History of Europe,
sections 525-526._
GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (July-September).
Napoleon's victory at Wagram.
The Peace of Schonbrunn.
Immense surrender of Austrian territory.
"The operation of establishing the bridges between the French
camp and the left bank of the Danube commenced on the night of
the 30th of June; and during the night of the 4th of July the
whole French army, passing between the villages of Enzersdorf
and Muhlleuten, debouched on the Marchfeld, wheeling to their
left. Napoleon was on horseback in the midst of them by
daylight; all the Austrian fortifications erected to defend
the former bridge were turned, the villages occupied by their
army taken, and the Archduke Charles was menaced both in flank
and rear, the French line of battle appuyed on Enzersdorf
being at a right angle to his left wing. Under these
circumstances the Archduke, retiring his left, attempted to
outflank the French right, while Napoleon bore down upon his
centre at Wagram. This village became the scene of a
sanguinary struggle, and one house only remained standing when
night closed in. The Archduke sent courier after courier to
hasten the advance of his brother, between whom and himself
was Napoleon, whose line on the night of the 5th extended from
Loibersdorf on the right to some two miles beyond Wagram on
the left. Napoleon passed the night in massing his centre,
still determining to manœuvre by his left in order to throw
back the Archduke Charles on that side before the Archduke
John could come up on the other. At six o'clock on the morning
of the 6th of July he commanded the attack in person.
Disregarding all risk, he appeared throughout the day in the
hottest of the fire, mounted on a snow-white charger,
Euphrates, a present from the Shah of Persia. The Archduke
Charles as usual committed the error which Napoleon's enemies
had not even yet learned was invariably fatal to them:
extending his line too greatly he weakened his centre, at the
same time opening tremendous assaults on the French wings,
which suffered dreadfully. Napoleon ordered Lauriston to
advance upon the Austrian centre with a hundred guns,
supported by two whole divisions of infantry in column. The
artillery, when within half cannon-shot, opened a terrific
fire: nothing could withstand such a shock. The infantry, led
by Macdonald, charged; the Austrian line was broken and the
centre driven back in confusion. The right, in a panic,
retrograded; the French cavalry then bore down upon them and
decided the battle, the Archduke still fighting to secure his
retreat, which he at length effected in tolerably good order.
By noon the whole Austrian army was abandoning the contest.
Their defeat so demoralized them that the Archduke John, who
came up on Napoleon's right before the battle was over, was
glad to retire with the rest, unnoticed by the enemy. That
evening the Marchfeld and Wagram were in possession of the
French. The population of Vienna had watched the battle from
the roofs and ramparts of the city, and saw the retreat of
their army with fear and gloom. Between 300,000 and 400,000
men were engaged, and the loss on both sides was nearly equal.
About 20,000 dead and 30,000 wounded strewed the ground; the
latter were conveyed to the hospitals of Vienna. ... Twenty
thousand Austrians were taken prisoners, but the number would
have been greater had the French cavalry acted with their
usual spirit. Bernadotte, issuing a bulletin, almost assuming
to himself the sole merit of the victory, was removed from his
command. Macdonald was created a marshal of the empire on the
morning after the battle. ... The battle of Wagram was won
more by good fortune than skill. Napoleon's strategy was at
fault, and had the Austrians fought as stoutly as they did at
Aspern, Napoleon would have been signally defeated. Had the
Archduke John acted promptly and vigorously, he might have
united with his brother's left--which was intact--and
overwhelmed the French. ... The defeated army retired to
Znaim, followed by the French; but further resistance was
abandoned by the Emperor of Austria. The Archduke Charles
solicited an armistice on the 9th; hostilities ceased, and
Napoleon returned to the palace of Schonbrunn while the
plenipotentiaries settled the terms of peace. ... English
Ministers displayed another instance of their customary spirit
of procrastination. Exactly eight days after the armistice of
Znaim, which assured them that Austria was no longer in a
position to profit by or co-operate with their proceedings,
they sent more than 80,000 fighting men, under the command of
Lord Chatham, to besiege Antwerp. ...
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1809 (JULY-DECEMBER).
Operations against Naples proved equally abortive. ... In
Spain alone English arms were successful. Sir Arthur Wellesley
won the battle of Talavera on the 28th of July. ...
See SPAIN: A. D. 1809 (FEBRUARY-JULY).
A treaty of peace, between France and Austria was signed on
the 14th of October at Vienna [sometimes called the Treaty of
Vienna, but more commonly the Peace of Schonbrunn]. The
Emperor of Austria ceded Salzburg and a part of Upper Austria
to the Confederation of the Rhine; part of Bohemia, Cracow,
and Western Galicia to the King of Saxony as Grand Duke of
Warsaw; part of Eastern Galicia to the Emperor of Russia; and
Trieste, Carniola, Friuli, Villach, and some part of Croatia
and Dalmatia to France: thus connecting the kingdom of Italy
with Napoleon's Illyrian possessions, making him master of the
entire coast of the Adriatic, and depriving Austria of its
last seaport. It was computed that the Emperor Francis gave up
territory to the amount of 45,000 square miles, with a
population of nearly 4,000,000. He also paid a large
contribution in money."
_R. H. Horne,
Life of Napoleon,
chapter 32._
{1520}
"The cessions made directly to Napoleon were the county of
Görtz, or Goricia, and that of Montefalcone, forming the
Austrian Friuli; the town and government of Trieste, Carniola,
the circle of Villach in Carinthia, part of Croatia and
Dalmatia, and the lordship of Räzuns in the Grison territory.
All these provinces, with the exception of Räzuns, were
incorporated by a decree of Napoleon, with Dalmatia and its
islands, into a single state with the name of the Illyrian
Provinces. They were never united with France, but always
governed by Napoleon as an independent state. A few districts
before possessed by Napoleon were also incorporated with them:
as Venetian Istria and Dalmatia with the Bocca di Cattaro,
Ragusa, and part of the Tyrol. ... The only other articles of
the treaty of much importance are the recognition by Austria
of any changes made, or to be made, in Spain, Portugal, and
Italy; the adherence of the Emperor to the prohibitive system
adopted by France and Russia, and his engaging to cease all
correspondence and relationship with Great Britain. By a
decree made at Ratisbon, April 24th, 1809, Napoleon had
suppressed the Teutonic Order in all the States belonging to
the Rhenish Confederation, reannexed its possessions to the
domains of the prince in which they were situated, and
incorporated Mergentheim, with the rights, domains, and
revenues attached to the Grand Mastership of the Order, with
the Kingdom of Würtemberg. These dispositions were confirmed
by the Treaty of Schönbrunn. The effect aimed at by the Treaty
of Schönbrunn was to surround Austria with powerful states,
and thus to paralyse all her military efforts. ... The Emperor
of Russia ... was very ill satisfied with the small portion of
the spoils assigned to him, and the augmentation awarded to
the duchy of Warsaw. Hence the first occasion of coldness
between him and Napoleon, whom he suspected of a design to
reestablish the Kingdom of Poland."
_T. H. Dyer,
History of Modern Europe,
book 7, chapter 14 (volume 4)._
ALSO IN:
_Sir A. Alison,
History of Europe, 1789-1815,
chapters 59-60 (volume 13)._
_General Count M. Dumas,
Memoirs,
chapter 13 (volume 2)._
_E. Baines,
History of the Wars of the French Revolution,
book 4, chapter 9 (volume 3)._
_J. C. Ropes,
The First Napoleon,
lecture 4._
GERMANY: A. D. 1809-1810.
Humboldt's reform of Public Instruction in Prussia.
See EDUCATION, MODERN:
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.-PRUSSIA: A. D. 1809.
GERMANY: A. D. 1809-1810 (April-February).
The revolt in the Tyrol.
Heroic struggle of Andrew Hofer and his countrymen.