like the camp, were turned into markets, whither every one repaired to
exchange superfluities for necessaries. There the rarest articles, the
value of which was not known to their possessors, were sold for the
merest pittance; while others of little worth, but more showy
appearance, were purchased at the most exorbitant prices. Gold, from
being most portable, was bought at an immense loss with silver that the
knapsacks were incapable of holding. Everywhere soldiers were seen
seated on bales of merchandise, on heaps of sugar and coffee, amid
wines and the most exquisite liquors, all of which they were offering
in exchange for a morsel of bread. Many, in a state of intoxication
aggravated by hunger, had fallen near the flames, which, reaching them,
put a miserable end to their lives.
The houses and palaces which had escaped the fire served as quarters for
the officers, who respected whatever was found in them. They beheld with
pain this vast destruction, and the pillage which was its necessary
consequence. Some of our best men were reproached with being too greedy
in collecting whatever they could rescue from the flames; but their
number was so small that they were all mentioned by name. In these
ardent men war was a passion which presupposed the existence of many
others. It was not covetousness, for they did not hoard; they spent
lavishly what they had thus picked up, taking in order to give,
believing that one hand washed the other, and that they paid for
everything with the danger they encountered in acquiring it.
It was amid this confusion that Napoleon again entered Moscow. He had
allowed the pillage, hoping that his army, scattered over the ruins,
would find much that was valuable; but when he learned that the disorder
increased; that the Old Guard[153] itself had yielded to the temptation;
that the Russian peasants, who were at length allured thither with
provisions, for which he caused them to be liberally paid, that they
might induce others to come, were robbed of what they brought to us by
our famished soldiers; when he was informed that the different corps,
destitute of everything, were ready to fight each other for the relics
of Moscow; that, finally, all our existing resources were wasted by this
lawless freebooting, he then issued severe orders, and forbade his guard
to leave their quarters. The churches in which our cavalry had sheltered
themselves, were evacuated, and restored to their religious uses.[154]
The business of plunder was ordered to be taken in turn by the different
corps, like any other duty, and directions were at length given for
securing the Russian stragglers.
But it was too late. These soldiers had fled; the affrighted peasants
returned no more; and great quantities of provisions were wasted. The
French army have sometimes fallen into these faults, but on the present
occasion the fire must plead their excuse; no time was to be lost in
anticipating the flames. It is, however, a remarkable fact, that at the
first command of the emperor perfect order was restored.
Most of our men behaved generously, considering the small number of
inhabitants who remained, and the great number of enemies they met with.
But if, in the first moments of pillage, some excesses were perpetrated,
ought this to appear surprising in an army exasperated by such urgent
wants, such severe sufferings, and composed of so many different
nations?
Misfortunes having since overwhelmed these warriors, reproaches, as in
such circumstances is ever the case, have been raised against them. Who
can be ignorant that similar disorders have always been the bad side of
great wars, or, so to speak, the inglorious part of glory; that the
renown of conquerors casts its shadow like everything else in this
world? Does there exist a creature however diminutive, on every side of
which the sun can shine at once? It is a law of nature, therefore, that
great bodies shall cast great shadows.
Sec. 8. Rostopchin sets fire to his country-seat; anxiety of Napoleon at
not hearing from the Czar.
Meanwhile Kutusoff, on leaving Moscow, had drawn Murat towards Kolomna,
the point where the Moskwa intersects the road. Here, under favor of the
night, he suddenly turned to the south, proceeding by the way of Podol,
to throw himself between Moscow and Kaluga. This night march of the
Russians around Moscow, the ashes and flames of which were wafted to
them by the violence of the wind, was gloomy in the extreme. They were
lighted on their march by the baleful conflagration which was consuming
the centre of their commerce, the sanctuary of their religion, the
cradle of their empire! Filled with horror and indignation, they kept a
sullen silence, which was unbroken save by the dull and monotonous sound
of their footsteps, the roaring of the flames, and the howling of the
blast. The dismal light was frequently varied by livid and sudden
flashes. The brows of these warriors might then be seen contracted by
intense and unutterable grief, and the fire of their sombre and
threatening looks answered to these flames, which they regarded as our
work; they already betrayed the ferocious revenge which was rankling in
their hearts, which spread throughout the empire, and of which so many
Frenchmen were the victims.
At that solemn moment, Kutusoff, in a firm and impressive tone,
addressed his sovereign, and informed him of the loss of his capital. He
stated that, "in order to save the fertile provinces of the south, and
to keep up his communications with Tormasoff and Tchitchakoff, he had
been obliged to abandon Moscow, but emptied of its inhabitants, who were
its life; and," said he, "as the people are the soul of every country,
so where the Russian people are, there will be Moscow and the empire of
Russia."
It is said that on receiving this intelligence Alexander was
thunderstruck. Napoleon, it was known, built hopes on the weakness of
his rival, and the Russians themselves dreaded the effects of that
weakness. But the Czar disappointed as well these hopes as fears. In his
addresses to his subjects he exhibited himself no less great than his
misfortune: "No pusillanimous dejection!" he exclaimed; "let us vow
redoubled courage and perseverance! The enemy is in deserted Moscow as
in a tomb, without means of domination or even of existence. He entered
Russia with three hundred thousand men of all countries, without union
or any national or religious bond: he has already lost half of them by
the sword, by famine, and by desertion: he has but the wreck of this
army in Moscow: he is in the heart of Russia, and not a single Russian
is at his feet.
"Meanwhile our forces are increasing and closing around him. He is in
the midst of a mighty population, encompassed by armies which are
waiting his movements and keeping him in check. To escape from famine,
he will soon be obliged to direct his flight through the ranks of our
brave soldiers. Shall we then recede, when all Europe is looking on and
encouraging us? Let us, on the contrary, set it an example, and kiss
the hand which has thus led us forth to be the first among the nations
to vindicate the cause of independence and virtue." He concluded with an
invocation to the Almighty.
This circuitous march of Kutusoff, whether made from indecision or as a
stratagem, was much in his favor. Murat lost all traces of him for three
days. The Russian general employed all this interval in studying the
ground and in intrenching himself. His advanced guard had nearly reached
Woronowo, one of the finest domains belonging to Count Rostopchin, when
that nobleman proceeded on before it. The Russians supposed that he had
gone to take a last look at this splendid mansion, when all at once it
was wrapped from their sight by clouds of smoke.
They hurried on to extinguish the fire, but Rostopchin himself repelled
their aid. They beheld him, amid the flames which he was encouraging,
smiling at the demolition of this magnificent edifice, and then with a
firm hand penning these words, which the French, shuddering with
astonishment, afterwards read on the iron gate of a church which was
left standing: "For eight years I have been embellishing this
country-seat, where I have lived happily in the bosom of my family. The
inhabitants of this estate, to the number of 1720, leave it on your
approach, while I have set fire to my house, that it may not be polluted
by your presence. Frenchmen, I have relinquished to you my two houses at
Moscow, with their furniture, worth half a million of rubles. Here you
will find nothing but ashes!"
It was near this place that Murat came up with Kutusoff. On the 29th of
September there was a smart engagement of cavalry and another on the 4th
of October. Murat fought till nightfall, and repulsed the Russian
force.
Meanwhile, the conflagration at Moscow, which commenced in the night of
the 14th of September, suspended through our exertions during the day of
the 15th, revived the following night, and, raging with the utmost
violence on the 16th, 17th, and 18th, abated on the 19th: it ceased
altogether on the 20th, and on that day Napoleon returned to the
Kremlin. To this point he attracted the looks of all Europe. There he
awaited his convoys, his re-enforcements, and the stragglers of his
army; certain that his soldiers would all be rallied by his victory, by
the allurements of a rich booty, by the imposing sight of captive
Moscow, and, above all, by his own glory, which, from the summit of this
immense pile of ruins, still shone attractive like a beacon upon a rock.
Twice, however, on the 22d and 28th of September, letters from Murat had
wellnigh drawn him from this fatal abode. They announced a battle; and
twice the orders for departure were written, and then burned. It seemed
as though the war was finished for the emperor, and that he was only
waiting for an answer from St. Petersburg. He nourished his hopes with
the recollections of Tilsit and Erfurt.[155] Was it possible that at
Moscow he should have less ascendancy over Alexander? Then, as is common
with men who have long been the favorites of fortune, what he ardently
wished he confidently expected.
His genius possessed, besides, the extraordinary faculty of being able
to throw aside the most important occupation whenever he pleased,
either for the sake of variety or for rest; for in him the power of will
surpassed that of imagination. In this respect he reigned over himself
no less despotically than he did over others.
Thus Paris diverted his attention from Petersburg. His accumulating
affairs and the couriers, which in the first days succeeded each other
without intermission, served to engage him. But the rapidity with which
he transacted business soon left him again with nothing to do. His
expresses,[156] which at first came from France in a fortnight, now
ceased to arrive. A few military posts, placed in four towns reduced to
ashes, and in wooden houses rudely palisaded, were wholly insufficient
to guard a road of nearly two hundred and eighty miles; for we had been
able to fix only these few steps, and at so great a distance apart, on
so long a ladder. This too lengthened line of operation was consequently
broken at every point where it was touched by the enemy: a few peasants,
or a handful of Cossacks, were quite sufficient for the purpose.
Still no answer was received from Alexander. The uneasiness of Napoleon
increased, while his means of diverting his attention from it
diminished. The activity of his genius, accustomed to the government of
all Europe, had nothing with which to occupy itself but the management
of one hundred thousand men; and then, the organization of his army was
so perfect, that this was scarcely any occupation to him. Here
everything was fixed: he held all the wires in his hand: he was
surrounded by ministers who could tell him immediately, at any hour of
the day, the position of each man in the morning or at night, whether
with his colors, in the hospital, on leave of absence, or wherever else
he might be, and that, from Moscow to Paris: to such a degree of
perfection had the science of a concentrated administration been then
brought, so experienced and well chosen were the officers, and so much
was required by their commander.
But eleven days had already elapsed: still Alexander was silent, and
still did Napoleon hope to overcome his rival by obstinacy: thus losing
the time which he ought to have gained, and which might have been made
so serviceable against attack.
From this period all his actions indicated to the Russians, still more
strongly than at Witepsk, that their mighty foe was resolved to fix
himself in the heart of their empire. Moscow, though in ashes, received
a governor and municipal officers: orders also were issued to provision
it for the winter: and a theatre was formed amid its ruins. The first
actors of Paris, it is said, were sent for. An Italian singer strove to
reproduce in the Kremlin the evening entertainments of the Tuileries. By
such means Napoleon expected to dupe a government which the habit of
reigning over ignorance and error had rendered an adept in all these
delusions.
He was himself sensible of the inadequacy of these means, and yet
September was past, and October had begun. Alexander had not deigned to
reply! it was an affront! he was exasperated. On the 3d of October,
after a night of restlessness and irritation, he summoned his marshals.
"Come in," said he, as soon as he perceived them; "hear the new plan
which I have conceived: Prince Eugene, read it." They listened. "We must
burn the remains of Moscow, and march by Twer to St. Petersburg, where
we shall be joined by Macdonald. Murat and Davoust will form the rear
guard." The emperor, all animation, fixed his sparkling eyes on his
generals, whose rigid and silent countenances expressed nothing but
astonishment.
Then exalting himself in order to rouse them, "What!" said he, "and are
_you_ not inflamed by this idea? Was there ever so great a military
achievement? Henceforth this conquest is the only one that is worthy of
us! With what glory shall we be covered, and what will the whole world
say when it learns that in three months we have conquered the two great
capitals of the North!"
But Davoust, as well as Daru, objected to him "the season, the want of
supplies, a sterile desert, and artificial road, that from Twer to St.
Petersburg runs for a hundred leagues through morasses, and which three
hundred peasants might in a single day render impassable. Why keep
proceeding north? Why go to meet, to provoke, and to defy the winter? it
was already too near; and what was to become of the six thousand wounded
still in Moscow? Were they then to be left to the mercy of Kutusoff?
That general would not fail to follow close at our heels. We should have
at once to attack and to defend, thus marching to a conquest as though
we were in flight."
These officers have declared that they themselves then proposed various
plans: a useless trouble with a prince whose genius outstripped all
other imaginations, and whom their objections would not have stopped,
had he been fully determined to march on St. Petersburg. But that idea
was in him only a sally of anger, an inspiration of despair, on finding
himself obliged in the face of Europe to give way, to relinquish his
conquest and to fall back.
It was more especially a threat to frighten his officers as well as the
enemy, and to bring about and to promote a negotiation which
Caulaincourt was to open. That officer had made himself agreeable to
Alexander; he was the only one of the grandees of Napoleon's court who
had acquired any influence over his rival; but for some months past
Napoleon had kept him at a distance, because he had not been able to
induce him to approve of his expedition.
It was nevertheless to this very man that he was now obliged to have
recourse, and to disclose his anxiety. He sent for him; but, when alone
with him, he hesitated. Taking him by the arm, he walked to and fro for
a long time in great agitation, his pride preventing him from breaking
so painful a silence: at length he yielded, but in a threatening manner.
Caulaincourt, who had formerly been minister to Russia, was to persuade
the enemy to solicit peace of him, as if it were by his condescension
that it was to be granted.
After a few words, which were scarcely articulate, he said that "he was
about to march to St. Petersburg. He knew that the destruction of that
city would give pain to General Caulaincourt. Russia would then rise
against the Emperor Alexander; there would at once be a conspiracy
against that monarch; he would be assassinated, which would be a most
unfortunate circumstance. He esteemed that prince, and should regret
him, both for his own sake and that of France. His disposition," he
added, "was suited to our interests: no prince could replace him with so
much advantage to us. He had thought, therefore, of sending General
Caulaincourt to him, to prevent such a catastrophe."
General Caulaincourt, however, more obstinate than disposed to flattery,
did not alter his tone. He maintained that "these overtures would be
useless; that, unless the Russian territory was entirely evacuated,
Alexander would listen to no proposals; that Russia was sensible of all
her advantage at this season of the year; nay, more, that this step
would be detrimental to himself, inasmuch as it would demonstrate the
need which he had of peace, and betray all the embarrassment of our
situation."
He added, "that the more particular he was in the selection of his
negotiator, the more clearly would he show his anxiety; that, therefore,
he (Caulaincourt) would be more likely to fail than any other,
especially as he would go with the certainty of failing." The emperor
abruptly terminated the conversation by these words: "Well, then, I will
send Lauriston."
The latter asserts that he added fresh objections to the preceding, and
that, being urged by the emperor, he recommended to him to begin his
retreat that very day, by way of Kaluga. Napoleon, irritated at this,
sharply replied, "that he liked simple plans, less circuitous routes,
high roads, the road by which he had come, yet he would not retrace it
but with peace." Then showing to him, as he had done to General
Caulaincourt, the letter which he had written to Alexander, he ordered
him to go and obtain of Kutusoff a safe conduct to St. Petersburg. The
last words of the emperor to Lauriston were, "I want peace, I must have
peace, I absolutely will have peace only save my honor."
The general set out, and reached the advanced posts of the Russians on
the 5th of October. Hostilities were instantly suspended, and an
interview granted, at which Wolkonsky, aid-de-camp to Alexander, and
Beningsen were present, without Kutusoff. Wilson asserts that the
Russian generals and officers, suspicious of their commander, and
accusing him of weakness, had raised a cry of treason, and that the
latter had not dared to leave his camp.
As Lauriston's instructions purported that he was to address himself to
no one but Kutusoff, he peremptorily rejected any intermediate
communication; and seizing, as he said, this occasion for breaking off a
negotiation which he disapproved, he retired, in spite of all the
solicitations of Wolkonsky, with the intention of returning to Moscow.
Had he carried this into effect, no doubt Napoleon, exasperated, would
have fallen upon Kutusoff, overthrown him and destroyed his army, as yet
very incomplete, and forced him into a peace. In case of less decisive
success, he would at least have been able to retire without loss upon
his reinforcements.
Unfortunately, Beningsen desired an interview with Murat. Lauriston
waited. The chief of the Russian staff, an abler negotiator than
soldier, strove to charm this monarch of yesterday by demonstrations of
respect; to seduce him by praises; to deceive him with smooth words,
breathing nothing but a weariness of war and the hope of peace; and
Murat, tired of battles, anxious respecting their result, and, as it is
said, regretting his throne, now that he had no hope of a better,
suffered himself to be charmed, seduced, and deceived.
It was soon demonstrated that the chief point in which they were all
agreed was to deceive Murat and the emperor; and in this they succeeded.
These details transported Napoleon with joy. Credulous from hope,
perhaps from despair, he was for some moments dazzled by these
appearances: eager to escape from the inward feeling which oppressed
him, he seemed desirous to deaden it by resigning himself to an
expansive joy. He therefore summoned all his generals, and triumphantly
announced to them a speedy peace. "They had but to wait another
fortnight. None but himself was acquainted with the Russian character.
On the receipt of his letter St. Petersburg would be illuminated." But
the armistice[157] proposed by Kutusoff was so unsatisfactory to him,
that he ordered Murat to break it instantly; it nevertheless continued
to be observed, the cause of which is not known.
This armistice was a very singular one. If either party wished to break
it, three hours' notice was to be sufficient. It was confined to the
fronts of the two camps, but did not extend to their flanks: such, at
least, was the interpretation put upon it by the Russians. Thus, we
could not bring up a convoy, or send out a foraging party, without
fighting; so that the war continued everywhere excepting where it could
be favorable to us.
As for the emperor, who was not so easily deceived, he had but a few
moments of factitious joy. He soon complained "that an annoying warfare
of partisans[158] hovered around him; that, notwithstanding all these
pacific demonstrations, bodies of Cossacks were prowling on his flanks
and in his rear. Had not one hundred and fifty dragoons of his Old Guard
been surprised and routed by a number of these barbarians? And this two
days after the armistice, on the road to Mojaisk, on his line of
operation, that by which the army communicated with its magazines, its
reinforcements, and he himself with Europe?"
Our soldiers, and especially our cavalry, were obliged every morning to
go to a great distance in quest of provisions for the evening and for
the next day; and as the environs of Moscow and Vinkowo became gradually
more and more drained, they were daily compelled to extend their
excursions. Both men and horses returned worn out with fatigue, that is
to say, such of them as returned at all; for we had to fight for every
bushel of rye and for every truss of forage. It was a series of
incessant surprises and skirmishes, and of continual losses. The
peasantry took part in it. They punished with death such of their number
as the prospect of gain had allured to our camp with provisions. Others
set fire to their own villages to drive our foragers out of them, and to
give them up to the Cossacks, whom they had previously summoned, and who
kept us there in a state of siege.
Thus the war was everywhere: in our front, on our flanks, and in our
rear. Our army was constantly weakening, and the enemy becoming daily
more enterprising. This conquest seemed destined to fare like many
others, which are won in the mass, and lost piece-meal.
Murat himself at length grew uneasy. In these daily skirmishes he had
seen half the remnant of his cavalry melted away. At the advanced posts,
the Russian officers, on meeting with ours, either from weariness,
vanity, or military frankness carried to indiscretion, exaggerated the
disasters which threatened us. Showing us those wild-looking horses,
scarcely at all broken in, whose long manes swept the dust of the plain,
they said, "Did not this tell us that a numerous cavalry was joining
them from all quarters, while ours was gradually perishing? Did not the
continual discharges of firearms within their line apprise us that a
multitude of recruits were then training under favor of the armistice?"
And, in fact, notwithstanding the long journeys which they had to make,
all these recruits joined the army. There was no occasion to defer
calling them together, as in other years, till deep snows, obstructing
all the roads excepting the high road, rendered their desertion
impossible. Not one failed to obey the national appeal; all Russia rose:
mothers, it was said, wept for joy on learning that their sons had been
selected for soldiers: they hastened to acquaint them with the glorious
intelligence, and even accompanied them to see them marked with the sign
of the Crusaders, to hear them cry, _'Tis the will of God!_