THE CONQUEST OF GAUL.
[Sidenote: Caesar aspires to be a soldier.]
[Sidenote: His success and celebrity.]
In attaining to the consulship, Caesar had reached the highest point of
elevation which it was possible to reach as a mere citizen of Rome. His
ambition was, however, of course, not satisfied. The only way to acquire
higher distinction and to rise to higher power was to enter upon a
career of foreign conquest. Caesar therefore aspired now to be a
soldier. He accordingly obtained the command of an army, and entered
upon a course of military campaigns in the heart of Europe, which he
continued for eight years. These eight years constitute one of the most
important and strongly-marked periods of his life. He was triumphantly
successful in his military career, and he made, accordingly, a vast
accession to his celebrity and power, in his own day, by the results of
his campaigns. He also wrote, himself, an account of his adventures
during this period, in which the events are recorded in so lucid and in
so eloquent a manner, that the narrations have continued to be read by
every successive generation of scholars down to the present day, and
they have had a great influence in extending and perpetuating his fame.
[Sidenote: Scenes of Caesar's exploits.]
[Sidenote: Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul.]
The principal scenes of the exploits which Caesar performed during the
period of this his first great military career, were the north of Italy,
Switzerland, France, Germany, and England, a great tract of country,
nearly all of which he overran and conquered. A large portion of this
territory was called Gaul in those days; the part on the Italian side of
the Alps being named Cisalpine Gaul, while that which lay beyond was
designated as Transalpine. Transalpine Gaul was substantially what is
now France. There was a part of Transalpine Gaul which had been already
conquered and reduced to a Roman province. It was called The Province
then, and has retained the name, with a slight change in orthography, to
the present day. It is now known as Provence.
[Sidenote: Condition of Gaul in Caesar's day.]
[Sidenote: Singular cavalry.]
The countries which Caesar went to invade were occupied by various
nations and tribes, many of which were well organized and war-like, and
some of them were considerably civilized and wealthy. They had extended
tracts of cultivated land, the slopes of the hills and the mountain
sides being formed into green pasturages, which were covered with flocks
of goats, and sheep, and herds of cattle, while the smoother and more
level tracts were adorned with smiling vineyards and broadly-extended
fields of waving grain. They had cities, forts, ships, and armies. Their
manners and customs would be considered somewhat rude by modern nations,
and some of their usages of war were half barbarian. For example, in one
of the nations which Caesar encountered, he found, as he says in his
narrative, a corps of cavalry, as a constituent part of the army, in
which, to every horse, there were _two_ men, one the rider, and the
other a sort of foot soldier and attendant. If the battle went against
them, and the squadron were put to their speed in a retreat, these
footmen would cling to the manes-of the horses, and then, half running,
half flying, they would be borne along over the field, thus keeping
always at the side of their comrades, and escaping with them to a place
of safety.
[Sidenote: Caesar's plans.]
But, although the Romans were inclined to consider these nations as only
half civilized, still there would be great glory, as Caesar thought, in
subduing them, and probably great treasure would be secured in the
conquest, both by the plunder and confiscation of governmental
property, and by the tribute which would be collected in taxes from the
people of the countries subdued. Caesar accordingly placed himself at
the head of an army of three Roman legions, which he contrived, by means
of a great deal of political maneuvering and management, to have raised
and placed under his command. One of these legions, which was called the
tenth legion, was his favorite corps, on account of the bravery and
hardihood which they often displayed. At the head of these legions,
Caesar set out for Gaul. He was at this time not far from forty years
of age.
[Sidenote: His pretexts.]
Caesar had no difficulty in finding pretexts for making war upon any of
these various nations that he might desire to subdue. They were, of
course, frequently at war with each other, and there were at all times
standing topics of controversy and unsettled disputes among them. Caesar
had, therefore, only to draw near to the scene of contention, and then
to take sides with one party or the other, it mattered little with
which, for the affair almost always resulted, in the end, in his making
himself master of both. The manner, however, in which this sort of
operation was performed, can best be illustrated by an example, and we
will take for the purpose the case of Ariovistus.
[Sidenote: Ariovistus.]
[Sidenote: The Aeduans.]
Ariovistus was a German king. He had been nominally a sort of ally of
the Romans. He had extended his conquests across the Rhine into Gaul,
and he held some nations there as his tributaries. Among these, the
Aeduans were a prominent party, and, to simplify the account, we will
take their name as the representative of all who were concerned. When
Caesar came into the region of the Aeduans, he entered into some
negotiations with them, in which they, as he alleges, asked his
assistance to enable them to throw off the dominion of their German
enemy. It is probable, in fact, that there was some proposition of this
kind from them, for Caesar had abundant means of inducing them to make
it, if he was disposed, and the receiving of such a communication
furnished the most obvious and plausible pretext to authorize and
justify his interposition.
Caesar accordingly sent a messenger across the Rhine to Ariovistus,
saying that he wished to have an interview with him on business of
importance, and asking him to name a time which would be convenient to
him for the interview, and also to appoint some place in Gaul where he
would attend.
[Sidenote: Caesar's negotiations with Ariovistus.]
To this Ariovistus replied, that if he had, himself, any business with
Caesar, he would have waited upon him to propose it; and, in the same
manner, if Caesar wished to see him, he must come into his own
dominions. He said that it would not be safe for him to come into Gaul
without an army, and that it was not convenient for him to raise and
equip an army for such a purpose at that time.
[Sidenote: His message.]
Caesar sent again to Ariovistus to say, that since he was so unmindful
of his obligations to the Roman people as to refuse an interview with
him on business of common interest, he would state the particulars that
he required of him. The Aeduans, he said, were now his allies, and under
his protection; and Ariovistus must send back the hostages which he held
from them, and bind himself henceforth not to send any more troops
across the Rhine, nor make war upon the Aeduans, or injure them in any
way. If he complied with these terms, all would be well. If he did not,
Caesar said that he should not himself disregard the just complaints of
his allies.
[Sidenote: Ariovistus's spirited reply to Caesar.]
Ariovistus had no fear of Caesar. Caesar had, in fact, thus far, not
begun to acquire the military renown to which he afterward attained
Ariovistus had, therefore, no particular cause to dread his power. He
sent him back word that he did not understand why Caesar should
interfere between him and his conquered province.
"The Aeduans," said he, "tried the fortune of war with me, and were
overcome; and they must abide the issue. The Romans manage their
conquered provinces as they judge proper, without holding themselves
accountable to any one. I shall do the same with mine. All that I can
say is, that so long as the Aeduans submit peaceably to my authority,
and pay their tribute, I shall not molest them; as to your threat that
you shall not disregard their complaints, you must know that no one has
ever made war upon me but to his own destruction, and, if you wish to
see how it will turn out in your case, you may make the experiment
whenever you please."
[Sidenote: Preparations for war.]
Both parties immediately prepared for war. Ariovistus, instead of
waiting to be attacked, assembled his army, crossed the Rhine, and
advanced into the territories from which Caesar had undertaken to
exclude him.
[Sidenote: Panic in the Roman army.]
As Caesar, however, began to make his arrangements for putting his army
in motion to meet his approaching enemy, there began to circulate
throughout the camp such extraordinary stories of the terrible strength
and courage of the German soldiery as to produce a very general panic.
So great, at length, became the anxiety and alarm, that even the
officers were wholly dejected and discouraged; and as for the men, they
were on the very eve of mutiny.
[Sidenote: Caesar's address.]
When Caesar understood this state of things, he called an assembly of
the troops, and made an address to them. He told them that he was
astonished to learn to what an extent an unworthy despondency and fear
had taken possession of their minds, and how little confidence they
reposed in him, their general. And then, after some further remarks
about the duty of a soldier to be ready to go wherever his commander
leads him, and presenting also some considerations in respect to the
German troops with which they were going to contend, in order to show
them that they had no cause to fear, he ended by saying that he had not
been fully decided as to the time of marching, but that now he had
concluded to give orders for setting out the next morning at three
o'clock, that he might learn, as soon as possible, who were too cowardly
to follow him. He would go himself, he said, if he was attended by the
tenth legion alone He was sure that they would not shrink from any
undertaking in which he led the way.
[Sidenote: Effect of Caesar's address.]
[Sidenote: Proposals for an interview.]
The soldiers, moved partly by shame, partly by the decisive and
commanding tone which their general assumed, and partly reassured by the
courage and confidence which he seemed to feel, laid aside their fears,
and vied with each other henceforth in energy and ardor. The armies
approached each other. Ariovistus sent to Caesar, saying that now, if he
wished it, he was ready for an interview. Caesar acceded to the
suggestion, and the arrangements for a conference were made, each party,
as usual in such cases, taking every precaution to guard against the
treachery of the other.
Between the two camps there was a rising ground, in the middle of an
open plain, where it was decided that the conference should be held.
Ariovistus proposed that neither party should bring any foot soldiers to
the place of meeting, but cavalry alone; and that these bodies of
cavalry, brought by the respective generals, should remain at the foot
of the eminence on either side, while Caesar and Ariovistus themselves,
attended each by only ten followers on horseback, should ascend it. This
plan was acceded to by Caesar, and a long conference was held in this
way between the two generals, as they sat upon their horses, on the
summit of the hill.
[Sidenote: Conference between Caesar and Ariovistus.]
[Sidenote: Caesar's messenger seized.]
The two generals, in their discussion, only repeated in substance what
they had said in their embassages before, and made no progress toward
coming to an understanding. At length Caesar closed the conference and
withdrew. Some days afterward Ariovistus sent a request to Caesar,
asking that he would appoint another interview, or else that he would
depute one of his officers to proceed to Ariovistus's camp and receive a
communication which he wished to make to him. Caesar concluded not to
grant another interview, and he did not think it prudent to send any one
of his principal officers as an embassador, for fear that he might be
treacherously seized and held as a hostage. He accordingly sent an
ordinary messenger, accompanied by one or two men. These men were all
seized and put in irons as soon as they reached the camp of Ariovistus,
and Caesar now prepared in earnest for giving his enemy battle.
[Sidenote: Defeat of the Germans.]
He proved himself as skillful and efficient in arranging and managing
the combat as he had been sagacious and adroit in the negotiations which
preceded it. Several days were spent in maneuvers and movements, by
which each party endeavored to gain some advantage over the other in
respect to their position in the approaching struggle. When at length
the combat came, Caesar and his legions were entirely and triumphantly
successful. The Germans were put totally to flight. Their baggage and
stores were all seized, and the troops themselves fled in dismay by all
the roads which led back to the Rhine; and there those who succeeded in
escaping death from the Romans, who pursued them all the way, embarked
in boats and upon rafts, and returned to their homes. Ariovistus himself
found a small boat, in which, with one or two followers, he succeeded in
getting across the stream.
[Sidenote: Release of Caesar's messenger.]
As Caesar, at the head of a body of his troops, was pursuing the enemy
in this their flight, he overtook one party who had a prisoner with them
confined by iron chains fastened to his limbs, and whom they were
hurrying rapidly along. This prisoner proved to be the messenger that
Caesar had sent to Ariovistus's camp, and whom he had, as Caesar
alleges, treacherously detained. Of course, he was overjoyed to be
recaptured and set at liberty. The man said that three times they had
drawn lots to see whether they should burn him alive then, or reserve
the pleasure for a future occasion, and that every time the lot had
resulted in his favor.
[Sidenote: Results of the victory.]
[Sidenote: Caesar's continued success.]
The consequence of this victory was, that Caesar's authority was
established triumphantly over all that part of Gaul which he had thus
freed from Ariovistus's sway. Other parts of the country, too, were
pervaded by the fame of his exploits, and the people every where began
to consider what action it would be incumbent on them to take, in
respect to the new military power which had appeared so suddenly among
them. Some nations determined to submit without resistance, and to seek
the conqueror's alliance and protection. Others, more bold, or more
confident of their strength, began to form combinations and to arrange
plans for resisting him. But, whatever they did, the result in the end
was the same. Caesar's ascendency was every where and always gaining
ground. Of course, it is impossible in the compass of a single chapter,
which is all that can be devoted to the subject in this volume, to give
any regular narrative of the events of the eight years of Caesar's
military career in Gaul. Marches, negotiations, battles, and victories
mingled with and followed each other in a long succession, the
particulars of which it would require a volume to detail, every thing
resulting most successfully for the increase of Caesar's power and the
extension of his fame.
[Sidenote: Account of northern nations.]
[Sidenote: Their strange customs.]
[Sidenote: Well-trained horses.]
Caesar gives, in his narrative, very extraordinary accounts of the
customs and modes of life of some of the people that he encountered.
There was one country, for example, in which all the lands were common,
and the whole structure of society was based on the plan of forming the
community into one great martial band. The nation was divided into a
hundred cantons, each containing two thousand men capable of bearing
arms. If these were all mustered into service together, they would form,
of course, an army of two hundred thousand men. It was customary,
however, to organize only one half of them into an army, while the rest
remained at home to till the ground and tend the flocks and herds. These
two great divisions interchanged their work every year, the soldiers
becoming husbandmen, and the husbandmen soldiers. Thus they all became
equally inured to the hardships and dangers of the camp, and to the more
continuous but safer labors of agricultural toil. Their fields were
devoted to pasturage more than to tillage, for flocks and herds could be
driven from place to place, and thus more easily preserved from the
depredations of enemies than fields of grain. The children grew up
almost perfectly wild from infancy, and hardened themselves by bathing
in cold streams, wearing very little clothing, and making long hunting
excursions among the mountains. The people had abundance of excellent
horses, which the young men were accustomed, from their earliest years,
to ride without saddle or bridle, the horses being trained to obey
implicitly every command. So admirably disciplined were they, that
sometimes, in battle, the mounted men would leap from their horses and
advance as foot soldiers to aid the other infantry, leaving the horses
to stand until they returned. The horses would not move from the spot;
the men, when the object for which they had dismounted was accomplished,
would come back, spring to their seats again, and once more become a
squadron of cavalry.
[Sidenote: Caesar's popularity with the army.]
[Sidenote: Caesar's military habits.]
[Sidenote: His bridge across the Rhine.]
Although Caesar was very energetic and decided in the government of his
army, he was extremely popular with his soldiers in all these campaigns.
He exposed his men, of course, to a great many privations and hardships,
but then he evinced, in many cases, such a willingness to bear his share
of them, that the men were very little inclined to complain. He moved
at the head of the column when his troops were advancing on a march,
generally on horseback, but often on foot; and Suetonius says that he
used to go bareheaded on such occasions, whatever was the state of the
weather, though it is difficult to see what the motive of this
apparently needless exposure could be, unless it was for effect, on some
special or unusual occasion. Caesar would ford or swim rivers with his
men whenever there was no other mode of transit, sometimes supported, it
was said, by bags inflated with air, and placed under his arms. At one
time he built a bridge across the Rhine, to enable his army to cross
that river. This bridge was built with piles driven down into the sand,
which supported a flooring of timbers. Caesar, considering it quite an
exploit thus to bridge the Rhine, wrote a minute account of the manner
in which the work was constructed, and the description is almost exactly
in accordance with the principles and usages of modern carpentry.
[Sidenote: System of posts.]
[Sidenote: Their great utility.]
After the countries which were the scene of these conquests were pretty
well subdued, Caesar established on some of the great routes of travel a
system of posts, that is, he stationed supplies of horses at intervals
of from ten to twenty miles along the way, so that he himself, or the
officers of his army, or any couriers whore he might have occasion to
send with dispatches could travel with great speed by finding a fresh
horse ready at every stage. By this means he sometimes traveled himself
a hundred miles in a day. This system, thus adopted for military
purposes in Caesar's time, has been continued in almost all countries of
Europe to the present age, and is applied to traveling in carriages as
well as on horseback. A family party purchase a carriage, and arranging
within it all the comforts and conveniences which they will require on
the journey, they set out, taking these post horses, fresh at each
village, to draw them to the next. Thus they can go at any rate of speed
which they desire, instead of being limited in their movements by the
powers of endurance of one set of animals, as they would be compelled to
be if they were to travel with their own. This plan has, for some
reason, never been introduced into America, and it is now probable that
it never will be, as the railway system will doubtless supersede it.
[Sidenote: Caesar's invasion of Britain.]
[Sidenote: His pretext for it.]
One of the most remarkable of the enterprises which Caesar undertook
during the period of these campaigns was his excursion into Great
Britain. The real motive of this expedition was probably a love of
romantic adventure, and a desire to secure for himself at Rome the glory
of having penetrated into remote regions which Roman armies had never
reached before. The pretext, however, which he made to justify his
invading the territories of the Britons was, that the people of the
island were accustomed to come across the Channel and aid the Gauls in
their wars.
[Sidenote: Caesar consults the merchants.]
In forming his arrangements for going into England, the first thing was,
to obtain all the information which was accessible in Gaul in respect to
the country. There were, in those days, great numbers of traveling
merchants, who went from one nation to another to purchase and sell,
taking with them such goods as were most easy of transportation. These
merchants, of course, were generally possessed of a great deal of
information in respect to the countries which they had visited, and
Caesar called together as many of them as he could find, when he had
reached the northern shores of France, to inquire about the modes of
crossing the Channel, the harbors on the English side, the geographical
conformation of the country, and the military resources of the people.
He found, however, that the merchants could give him very little
information. They knew that Britain was an island, but they did not know
its extent or its boundaries; and they could tell him very little of the
character or customs of the people. They said that they had only been
accustomed to land upon the southern shore, and to transact all their
business there, without penetrating at all into the interior of
the country.
[Sidenote: Volusenus.]
Caesar then, who, though undaunted and bold in emergencies requiring
prompt and decisive action, was extremely cautious and wary at all other
times, fitted up a single ship, and, putting one of his officers on
board with a proper crew, directed him to cross the Channel to the
English coast, and then to cruise along the land for some miles in each
direction, to observe where were the best harbors and places for
landing, and to examine generally the appearance of the shore. This
vessel was a galley, manned with numerous oarsmen, well selected and
strong, so that it could retreat with great speed from any sudden
appearance of danger The name of the officer who had the command of it
was Volusenus. Volusenus set sail, the army watching his vessel with
great interest as it moved slowly away from the shore. He was gone five
days, and then returned, bringing Caesar an account of his discoveries.
[Sidenote: Caesar collects vessels.]
In the mean time, Caesar had collected a large number of sailing vessels
from the whole line of the French shore, by means of which he proposed
to transport his army across the Channel. He had two legions to take
into Britain, the remainder of his forces having been stationed as
garrisons in various parts of Gaul. It was necessary, too, to leave a
considerable force at his post of debarkation, in order to secure a safe
retreat in case of any disaster on the British side. The number of
transport ships provided for the foot soldiers which were to be taken
over was eighty. There were, besides these, eighteen more, which were
appointed to convey a squadron of horse. This cavalry force was to
embark at a separate port, about eighty miles distant from the one from
which the infantry were to sail.
[Sidenote: Embarkation of the troops.]
At length a suitable day for the embarkation arrived; the troops were
put on board the ships, and orders were given to sail. The day could not
be fixed beforehand, as the time for attempting to make the passage must
necessarily depend upon the state of the wind and weather. Accordingly,
when the favorable opportunity arrived, and the main body of the army
began to embark it took some time to send the orders to the port where
the cavalry had rendezvoused; and there were, besides, other causes of
delay which occurred to detain this corps, so that it turned out, as we
shall presently see, that the foot soldiers had to act alone in the
first attempt at landing on the British shore.
[Sidenote: Sailing of the fleet.]
[Sidenote: Preparations of the Britons.]
It was one o'clock in the morning when the fleet set sail. The Britons
had, in the mean time, obtained intelligence of Caesar's threatened
invasion, and they had assembled in great force, with troops, and
horsemen, and carriages of war, and were all ready to guard the shore.
The coast, at the point where Caesar was approaching, consists of a line
of chalky cliffs, with valley-like openings here and there between them,
communicating with the shore, and sometimes narrow beaches below. When
the Roman fleet approached the land, Caesar found the cliffs every where
lined with troops of Britons, and every accessible point below carefully
guarded. It was now about ten o'clock in the morning, and Caesar,
finding the prospect so unfavorable in respect to the practicability of
effecting a landing here, brought his fleet to anchor near the shore,
but far enough from it to be safe from the missiles of the enemy.
[Sidenote: Caesar calls a council of officers.]
Here he remained for several hours, to give time for all the vessels to
join him. Some of them had been delayed in the embarkation, or had made
slower progress than the rest in crossing the Channel. He called a
council, too, of the superior officers of the army on board his own
galley, and explained to them the plan which he now adopted for the
landing. About three o'clock in the afternoon he sent these officers
back to their respective ships, and gave orders to make sail along the
shore. The anchors were raised and the fleet moved on, borne by the
united impulse of the wind and the tide. The Britons, perceiving this
movement, put themselves in motion on the land, following the motions of
the fleet so as to be ready to meet their enemy wherever they might
ultimately undertake to land. Their horsemen and carriages went on in
advance, and the foot soldiers followed, all pressing eagerly forward to
keep up with the motion of the fleet, and to prevent Caesar's army from
having time to land before they should arrive at the spot and be ready
to oppose them.
[Illustration: THE LANDING IN ENGLAND]
[Sidenote: The landing.]
[Sidenote: The battle.]
[Sidenote: Defeat of the Britons.]
The fleet moved on until, at length, after sailing about eight miles,
they came to a part of the coast where there was a tract of
comparatively level ground, which seemed to be easily accessible from
the shore. Here Caesar determined to attempt to land; and drawing up his
vessel, accordingly, as near as possible to the beach, he ordered the
men to leap over into the water, with their weapons in their hands. The
Britons were all here to oppose them, and a dreadful struggle ensued,
the combatants dyeing the waters with their blood as they fought, half
submerged in the surf which rolled in upon the sand. Some galleys rowed
up at the same time near to the shore, and the men on board of them
attacked the Britons from the decks, by the darts and arrows which they
shot to the land. Caesar at last prevailed; the Britons were driven
away, and the Roman army established themselves in quiet possession of
the shore.
[Sidenote: Caesar's popularity at Rome.]
Caesar had afterward a great variety of adventures, and many narrow
escapes from imminent dangers in Britain, and, though he gained
considerable glory by thus penetrating into such remote and unknown
regions, there was very little else to be acquired. The glory, however,
was itself of great value to Caesar. During the whole period of his
campaigns in Gaul, Rome and all Italy in fact, had been filled with the
fame of his exploits, and the expedition into Britain added not a little
to his renown. The populace of the city were greatly gratified to hear
of the continued success of their former favorite. They decreed to him
triumph after triumph, and were prepared to welcome him, whenever he
should return, with greater honors and more extended and higher powers
than he had ever enjoyed before.
[Sidenote: Results of his campaigns.]
Caesar's exploits in these campaigns were, in fact, in a military point
of view, of the most magnificent character. Plutarch, in summing up the
results of them, says that he took eight hundred cities, conquered three
hundred nations, fought pitched battles at separate times with three
millions of men, took one million of prisoners, and killed another
million on the field. What a vast work of destruction was this for a man
to spend eight years of his life in performing upon his
fellow-creatures, merely to gratify his insane love of dominion.