Inactivity soon engendered sedition. Other armies, other corps, which
had not the excuse of being misled by a political combination, had
trampled under foot military discipline. Is it strange that, in the
midst of the general effervescence, my soldiers should for a moment
have forgotten themselves? this episode is painful to me. I ought
neither to write it, nor omit it. I can well bear the blame which
Joubert, Massena, and so many other Generals, whom I do not pretend
to equal, have incurred. The following are the terms in which this
act of disobedience is related by an anonymous writer:—he has not
thought proper to tell every thing, but it is my own conduct that is
concerned; I must imitate his reserve. I submit, moreover, to the
judgment which he has delivered.
“The Austrians, despairing of ever getting possession of Strasburg by
force of arms, endeavoured to form an understanding with a party in
the town. They succeeded by their sagacity in the application of the
two means which act the most powerfully on the heart of men—gold and
terror. They decoyed some by the attraction of riches, they subdued
others by making them dread the vengeance of the government. When they
were in this manner assured of all those whom they thought open to
seduction, they hastened to execute their perfidious designs.
“From the commencement of the campaign our soldiers had been in a
state of irritation, well calculated to promote the secret views
of the enemy: they were acquainted with the disastrous affair of
Waterloo, they knew all the details of it; but they had too much
confidence in the skill of that celebrated man, with whom they had
five times triumphed over all Europe—they had too often seen him, by
sudden inspirations, regain his hold of victory when she was escaping
from him, to believe that his military genius had on the sudden
abandoned him; they were perpetually thinking of this disaster, and
they could never think of it without rage. Persuaded as they were
that our troops had continued the same, and that they had to do with
the same enemies, such a defeat appeared to them inconceivable. Not
knowing the true cause of it, they attributed all our misfortunes to
treason. Traitors had given intelligence of our plans; traitors had
commanded false manœuvres, traitors had raised the cry of _sauve qui
peut!_ There were traitors among the generals, among the officers,
among the soldiers; and who knew whether there were none but in the
army of the north? Who knew whether the corps, of which they were a
part, their regiment, their company, were not infested with them?
Could they reckon on their chiefs, on their comrades? Every one was
suspected, it was necessary to distrust every one!
“Such was the language in which anger found vent, which malevolence
caught up, magnified, envenomed, and which every soldier in the end
repeated and believed. This idea soon became the medium through
which every thing was explained. Accustomed to keep the field, they
saw themselves with pain compelled to retreat before an enemy whom
they despised. It would have been natural to attribute his progress
to an immense numerical superiority. They chose to explain it
otherwise; their chiefs were in correspondence with the Austrians.
Several circumstances, as unfortunate as they were unavoidable,
concurred to give to this opinion an appearance of probability, in
the prejudiced eyes of these soldiers. The first of these was the
order which General Rapp received, to disband the army, and to
dismiss each soldier separately, without money and without arms. The
next was, an injunction sent to him by the government to deliver
to the Russian commissioners ten thousand musquets taken from the
arsenal at Strasburg. These two despatches obliged him to enter
into a correspondence with the Allies. The frequent interchange of
messengers which took place on this occasion produced a bad effect on
their minds. The mystery which the General was obliged to observe,
to conceal from the troops the removal of the firearms, increased
the irritation; malevolence raised it to its height. It was loudly
said that Count Rapp had sold himself, that he had received several
millions of francs from the Austrians to introduce them into the
fortress, and that if he discharged the soldiers individually, and
without arms, it was in consequence of an agreement to deliver them up
to the enemy.
“As soon as these seeds of discontent had been once sown in the
different corps, they were developed of themselves; the instigators
had nothing more to do than to observe their progress, to combine
the incidents calculated to augment the disorders, and to render
inevitable the catastrophe which they were preparing.
“Although General Rapp was far from suspecting such a plot, he had
taken, in some way, all the measures that he could take to frustrate
it. As soon as the ministerial despatch relative to the disbanding
the troops reached him, he had despatched with all speed to Paris one
of his aides-de-camp, the chief of squadron Marnier. This officer saw
the ministers repeatedly, and represented to them into what violence
the army would be led, if the whole amount of the pay due to it was
not discharged; but he could only obtain, notwithstanding the most
earnest solicitations, a bill for 400,000 francs, on the chest of the
war department. His return with this trifling sum, destroyed all the
hopes that had been excited. The General-in-chief, who saw the troops
getting more and more exasperated, left nothing untried to allay the
storm. The want of money was the principal cause of dissatisfaction.
To put an end to this source of discontent, Count Rapp endeavoured
to raise a loan in Strasburg. The inhabitants having demanded of him
a security, he solicited from the minister of Finance authority to
pledge the stores of tobacco in the town: the minister refused it.
Nevertheless, by the interposition of General Semelé, who commanded
the fortress, a sum of 160,000 francs was obtained. Such slight
supplies could not satisfy the soldiers, who were inflamed by false
reports, and among whom the insurrection was not slow in breaking out.
It was sudden and general, and presented a character quite peculiar. I
will enter into all the details of it, because they will serve to make
the spirit of the French soldiery better known.
“On the 2d of September, about eight in the morning, about sixty
subaltern officers of different regiments met in one of the bastions
of the place. They agreed on a plan of obedience to the orders for the
disbanding of the army, but on conditions, from which they resolved
not to swerve. This declaration began in the following manner.
“In the name of the army of the Rhine, the officers,
sub-officers, and soldiers, will obey the orders issued for the
disbanding of the army only on the following conditions:
“Art. I. The officers, sub-officers, and soldiers, will not leave
the army till they have received all the pay that is due to them.
“Art. II. They will set out all on the same day, carrying their
arms, baggage, and fifty cartridges each,” &c. &c.
“As soon as this document was drawn up, they repaired to the
General-in-chief to communicate it to him. The General, who was at the
time unwell, was taking a bath. Astonished at this unexpected visit,
he gave orders that they should be admitted. Five officers immediately
entered the bathing room; they explained the object of their mission,
and declared that the army would not submit to be disbanded till those
conditions should have been fulfilled. At the word conditions the
General in a rage sprang out of the bath, and tearing the paper out of
the hands of the speaker, cried, “What, Sirs, do you wish to impose
conditions on me? you refuse to obey! conditions on me!”
“The tone of his voice, the look of Count Rapp, and perhaps the
attitude in which he presented himself, struck the deputation. It
retired in confusion, and each of the officers returned to give an
account to his regiment of the bad reception they had met with.
“The sub-officers, who were assembled to the number of about 500,
were waiting for the General's answer. They clearly perceived, when
they were made acquainted with it, that such a man was not easily
intimidated, and that they were not likely to be more successful in
such an attempt than their chiefs. But their determination was taken;
they came and ranged themselves in line of battle in the palace-yard,
and demanded to be introduced to the General-in-chief. An aide-de-camp
came down to know the purpose which brought them there; they refused
to enter into any explanation with him. 'Who is the chief of the
troop?' asked the officer.—'No one! Every one!' they all replied
together. He called into the centre of the court the oldest of each
regiment; he remonstrated with them on the act of disobedience that
they were rendering themselves guilty of. A thousand voices at once
interrupted him. 'Money! money!—we will be paid what is due to us; we
know how to get ourselves paid!'
“The chief of the staff Colonel Schneider, whose courage they had so
often admired in the midst of danger, arrived at this conjuncture,
and endeavoured, but with as little success, to quiet them. 'Money!'
they again repeated, 'money!' Wearied with uttering their cries,
and holding out useless threats, and not being able to get at the
General-in-chief, they dispersed, after having fixed on a rendezvous.
The greatest part went to the parade, where they immediately proceeded
to the election of the new chiefs whom they had determined on having.
One of them, called Dalouzi, sergeant in the 7th light regiment,
well known for his ability, his courage, and particularly for a
soldier-like oratory which was peculiar to him, was unanimously
elected. 'You want to be paid,' he said to his comrades, 'and it
is for this that you are here.'—'Yes!' they replied with a common
voice.—'Well then! if you will promise to obey me, and to abstain from
all confusion, to respect property, to protect persons, I swear by my
head that you shall be paid within twenty-four hours.' This speech was
received with cries of joy, and the sergeant was appointed General.
He immediately chose for the chief of the staff the drum-major of the
58th; a second sub-officer was charged with the office of governor of
the fortress; a third with the command of the first division; another
with that of the second, and so on. The regiments had colonels, the
battalions and squadrons chiefs, and the companies captains; in short,
a complete staff was formed.
“The other sub-officers had returned to the barracks, where the
soldiers were waiting with impatience for the result of the step
that had been taken. The drum was immediately beat to arms, and all
the corps, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, marched in order and in
double quick time to the parade. The organization was scarcely ended
when they arrived there. As soon as they appeared, the new chiefs went
and took command, and marched the troops to the points they had orders
to occupy.
“In the mean time General Rapp, astonished to see so serious an
insurrection break out, had dressed himself in haste, in hopes
of ascertaining the motives of these seditious movements, and of
succeeding in quieting them. But the different operations of which we
have just given an account had been effected with such celerity, that
at the moment when he set out, accompanied by his adjutant-general and
a few officers, several columns, followed by a numerous populace, were
already debouching through all the streets leading from the square
of the palace. As soon as they perceived the General, the troops
hastily put themselves in order of battle, and charged bayonets to
hinder him from passing. Immediately furious cries were heard in the
rear ranks. “Fire! he has sold the army.—Fire then!” Some wretches,
scattered among the troops, excited them by their gestures and voices
to massacre this brave man. Rage spread from man to man, and confusion
was soon at its height. The soldiers, enraged, loaded their musquets;
the ranks were doubled, eight pieces of cannon arrived at a gallop,
and were immediately loaded with grape-shot.
“Every time that General Rapp addressed those who menaced him,
vociferations commenced, and irritating cries were uttered with
increased violence. Musquets were repeatedly levelled at him, and the
pieces of cannon were constantly directed against his person, and the
gunners followed all his movements. 'Stand aside!' they exclaimed,
'that we may fire on him.' A howitzer was constantly kept so directly
pointed at the group which surrounded the General, that he perceived
it. He ran to the cannoneer who was holding the match, 'Well! what
would you do, wretched man? (he said to him) do you wish to kill me?
Fire then, here I am at the mouth of your gun.' 'Ah, General,' the
soldier exclaimed, letting the match fall from his hand, 'I was at the
siege of Dantzick with you, I would give you my life; but my comrades
will be paid, and I am obliged to do as they do and he resumed his
match.
“Wearied with senseless questions, with appeals without any object,
deafened by the clamours of the multitude, the mass of which was
continually increasing, the General decided at last on returning to
the palace.
“The troops followed him, and the different avenues were immediately
occupied by eight pieces of cannon, a thousand infantry, and a
squadron of cavalry. This guard called itself the Exterior guard of
the palace. A battalion came and established itself in the court,
and took the name of Interior guard. Nearly sixty sentinels were
placed in pairs at all the gates, and on the stair-case which led to
the apartment of Count Rapp; there were also some for a few moments
at the door of his bed-chamber. The telegraph and the mint were
immediately taken possession of. To shew that they had no bad designs,
a detachment was sent to the hotel of the Austrian General Volkman,
who was in the place, and was put at his disposal. The drawbridges
were raised, and there was no communication with any one out of
the fortress without a permission signed by the new commander. The
drum-major of the 58th repaired with a trumpet to the head-quarters of
the Allies, and signified to them that if they respected the truce,
the garrison would not commit any act of hostility, but that if they
endeavoured to take advantage of the misunderstanding which existed
between the chief and the soldiers, it would know how to oppose a
noble resistance.
“Meanwhile Dalouzi had established his staff at the Parade, and had
appointed two commissions, the one for the provisions, composed of
quarter-master-sergeants, and the other for the finances, composed of
sergeant-majors: they constituted themselves permanent, deliberated on
the measures best calculated to maintain the public tranquillity, and
to put the town in a state of security against surprise. The posts of
the citadel and those of the interior were doubled; guards were even
placed at some old posterns, which, till then, had been neglected; the
outer line was strengthened, the troops bivouacked in the squares,
and in the streets; in fact no precaution was omitted which the most
suspicious prudence could suggest. In order to prevent the excesses to
which malevolence might excite the soldiers, it was forbidden, under
pain of death, to enter any of the places where brandy, wine, or beer,
was sold. The same punishment was denounced against all who should be
guilty of plunder, riot, or insubordination. Lastly, still better to
secure the public tranquillity, it was resolved that the army should
be informed of its situation every six hours.
“These arrangements having been made, the receiver-general, and the
inspector of reviews, were sent for. The latter made a calculation
of the sums necessary for the present year's pay, the other presented
the account of what he had in the chest; after which, Dalouzi convoked
the town council, to whom he declared the motives which had made the
garrison take arms, and requested the mayor to take means to get funds
necessary to pay the arrears.
“He then despatched to Count Rapp a deputation, composed of the new
governor and of five or six general-sergeants: 'Well, what do you
want of me again?' cried the General in a tone of indignation and
contempt.—'You are unworthy to wear the French uniform. I believed
that you were men of honour; I am deceived. You allow yourselves to
be seduced by wretches. What do you wish to do? Why do these guards
surround the palace? Why is this artillery pointed against me? Am I
then so formidable? Is it believed that I wish to escape? Why should
I escape? I fear nothing—I do not fear you. But to the point, what do
you want of me?' He repeated this question. The agitation of Count
Rapp while pronouncing these words was a striking contrast to the
melancholy air of the deputation. These sub-officers, ashamed of
keeping a chief whom they loved, and whose valour and fidelity were
so well known to them, a prisoner, kept a profound silence. They were
on the point of withdrawing, when one of them spoke: 'General', he
said, 'we have learned that the other corps of the army have been
paid; our soldiers also are resolved to be paid; they are in a state
of revolt, but they obey us. We only ask what is due to us, the slight
indemnification for so much blood and so many wounds; we only ask for
what is indispensable to enable us to perform our march and withdraw
to our homes. The troops will not return to order, it is a thing
firmly resolved on, until every one be paid.'—'There is not enough
money in the chest,' replied the General. 'It was my intention to have
you paid, stoppages and all. I despatched an aide-de camp to Paris;
he saw the ministers, but they could only give him 400,000 francs. It
is this sum, together with that in the chest of the paymaster, which
I will order to be divided among the different regiments.'—'The army
will be paid, my General.'—'I have told you all that I have to say
to you; withdraw, and return as soon as possible to order.—If the
enemy unfortunately should be acquainted with what is going on here,
what will become of you?'—'All this has been foreseen, my General:
a regiment of cavalry and twelve pieces of cannon, have set out to
reinforce the division which is at the camp. It is easy for you to get
us paid; and you have every thing to fear on the part of the soldiers,
if in twenty-four hours from this time their request is not complied
with.'—'What is it to me what you and your soldiers may do? I repeat
that you shall only have the funds which are destined for you. Do
not hope that whatever happens, you can compel me to do what my duty
prohibits.—'General, the soldiers can conduct you to the citadel, they
can even shoot you; we answer for them now, but if you do not cause us
to be paid....'—'I have nothing more to say to you, quit my house. If
you shoot me, so be it; I prefer death to shame. You are the enemies
of order, you are the instruments of malevolence and of a conspiracy
which you yourselves are not acquainted with. The enemy perhaps is in
concert; I make you responsible for every thing that may happen. You
have heard me; begone! I am ashamed to converse with rebels!'
“The word conspiracy made a very deep impression upon them: they
remained silent for some time. They began again, however, and one
of them said, that if there were among them any who had secret
intentions, they were ignorant of it; that for themselves they only
wanted their pay; but that paid they would be, and that they were
going to bring to him the civil authorities, in order that he might
give directions for raising the funds: after which they withdrew.
“Whilst the council was consulting on the means of securing public
tranquillity, and of liquidating the pay in arrear, the army had
effected different movements; it had marched and counter-marched,
always at a running pace, without uttering a word, without venting
a threat against the officers whom it had put under arrest. This
silence, rather extraordinary for French soldiers, had something
sinister about it at which the inhabitants were alarmed. Nevertheless
the troops at last became calm, but they held no communication with
the towns-people; they even refused to answer their questions. In the
streets, in the squares, groups were continually seen forming, which
dispersed after they had communicated in a very low tone either orders
or opinions. The whole town was plunged in melancholy disquietude:
fatal epochs were recalled to their recollection—they feared to see
them revive: every one trembled for his property—for his life. Never
was there a more terrifying scene than that which this large city then
presented.
“The General-in-chief having learned that the inhabitants had
consented to raise the necessary funds, and that they yielded to fear
what they had for so long a time refused to his entreaties, despatched
the adjutant-general to the civil authorities to settle with them
about the distribution of the loan. This officer was conducted to the
town-hall by a corporal and six men who did not quit him. He finished
his accounts, and returned to the palace under the same escort.
“In the mean time, the Generals and chiefs of corps, employed in turn
threats and entreaties to bring back the mutineers to their duty.
The men, who loved their superiors, and who would not have dared to
fail in duty before their faces, had recourse to artifice to escape
from the ascendancy and the representations which they dreaded. When
an officer went in one direction, care was taken to oppose to him in
the front rank soldiers of a different corps and description, and
while he harangued these, the others vociferated from behind. If,
in spite of this tactic, he succeeded in getting at one of his own
men, and reproached him: 'Me, my Officer,' the other replied with
hypocritical mildness, 'I am not doing any thing, I am not speaking a
word;' and he immediately buried himself in the crowd. The troops soon
adopted a general measure to free themselves from these importunate
solicitations, and all those who had any important command were
ordered to keep to their homes.
“The alarms of the citizens were soon tranquillized, the retreat
was sounded a long time before night, and from that moment patroles
succeeded one another without interruption. Several orders of the day
were read at each post. They recommended tranquillity and obedience,
and promised that the payments should be made within twenty-four
hours. One of these orders was thus worded:
'Every thing is going on well, the inhabitants are raising the
money, and the payments have begun.
(Signed,) GARRISON.'
“The town was ordered to be illuminated, in order that it might be
more easy to keep up a strict watch.
“The secret instigators of the insurrection did not fail to perceive
that a degree of wisdom presided in all the councils, which rendered
their case desperate, that their end was baffled if they did not
succeed in again inflaming the minds of the soldiery, and in exciting
some commotion in which blood might be spilt.
“With this view, about five o'clock in the afternoon, a horse
chasseur arrived at full gallop on the parade, announcing that three
waggons full of gold had just been stopped belonging to General
Rapp, who was sending them out of the city under the protection of
the Austrians. 'These three waggons,' he added, 'have been taken
to the covered bridge, and here is the receipt I am bearing to our
commander-in-chief;—General Rapp must be shot; he is a traitor, he has
sold us to the enemy.'
“Whatever irritation still remained, this speech produced little
effect. The troops used their chief roughly to compel him to levy
contributions, but they did not entertain any suspicion against him.
His reputation as a man of honour remained unblemished, and his
integrity was no more doubted by them than his courage. Such open
provocations to murder excited distrust, and the soldiers became more
circumspect. Some, however, propagated alarms, and wished that his
person should be secured; but the army had the good sense to repel
suggestions the complete perfidiousness of which it did not perhaps at
first perceive.
“As soon as one expedient failed, the conspirators attempted another,
and left nothing untried to spill blood, persuaded that if it had
once flowed, it would be easy to make it flow again. The General's
coachman was driving from the palace to the stables a cart laden
with straw. The sentinels made some objections to allow it to pass:
it however went on, but scarcely was it out, when some ill-disposed
persons cried, Treason, and pretended that under the pretext of
removing straw the military chest was carried off. Immediately the
multitude rushed on the cart and on its load, in order to search
it the better. Nothing was found; they loaded it again, demanding
nevertheless that it should go back: the horses took fright, set off,
and ran over a child.
“At this sight fury redoubled, the guards were forced, the multitude
rushed tumultuously into the court of the palace, seized the coachman,
and massacred him without pity in the hands of an officer who had
come forth to defend him. The disorder was not meant to stop at the
death of a servant; but groupes of soldiers came up, forced the most
infuriated to restrain themselves, and thus the blow once more failed.
“All the attempts to get General Rapp massacred by the hands of
his troops having failed, recourse was had to extraordinary means
of assassinating him. As soon as night was come, a multitude of
individuals succeeded each other, and used force to introduce
themselves into his bed-chamber. But the aides-de-camp and some
officers defended the door with courage, and preserved their chief
from insult.
“In the midst of this effervescence an event suddenly happened to
cool the soldiery, and contributed to restore them to order. The
enemy's line drew its cantonments closer round the town, at the very
moment the insurrection broke out, and also received considerable
reinforcements. This coincidence of the measures adopted by the
Austrians with an event which they ought not to have been acquainted
with, gave much room for conjecture: thus the outer division
immediately doubled their main guards; fresh troops and artillery came
from the town.
“The enemy, intimidated, durst not make any attempt. Perhaps he
was also awaiting the result of the plots which he had framed in
Strasburg; perhaps he feared to enter into an engagement with an army
so much the more formidable, as it had put itself under the necessity
of conquering; and as it continued, for all that related to the
military arrangements, to receive its orders from General Rottembourg,
whose courage and skill the Austrians had experienced more than once
during this campaign. The enemy, therefore, remained in position, and
appeared to be waiting till the favourable moment should arrive. On
its side, the army was on its guard against the tricks prepared for
it, and pursued, with calmness and firmness, the only end which it had
in view, the discharge of the pay in arrear.
“General _Garrison_ redoubled his vigilance to preserve public
tranquillity, and went forth attended by his staff, all dressed in
their uniform and on horseback, to secure the execution of his orders.
As soon as he appeared the drums beat to arms, the guards were turned
out, and rendered him all the honours due to a Commander-in-chief.
“Thus Strasburg presented the appearance of the most perfect order in
the midst of disorder; and the most severe discipline reigned in an
army in a state of revolt.
“The loan having been raised, the pay-officers, according to the
numerical order of the regiments, were conducted under a good escort
to the pay-master-general, where they received the sums necessary
for the pay of their corps. But they were enjoined not to make any
individual payments until all the regiments should have received what
was owing to them. Thus passed the first day: there was less agitation
on the second. Still there was an attempt to make the troops believe
some rumours calculated to produce disturbance, but little attention
was paid to them. Towards evening, the orders given to the sentinels
of the palace became less strict; the aides-de-camp had leave to go
out under escort. A file of grenadiers was appointed to escort them
where they wished, and to conduct them back again.
“During the night the posts were all renewed. Individuals, in the
uniform of sub-officers, presented themselves once more to penetrate
into the General's apartments, to satisfy themselves, as they said,
that he had not escaped. The altercations between them and the
officers of the staff were warmer than ever; the latter, nevertheless,
in the end prevailed. In fine, the division of the funds was effected
towards nine o'clock in the morning. Immediately the call to arms was
sounded, the army assembled, withdrew its posts, raised the siege of
the palace, and repaired to the parade. General Garrison, accompanied
by all his staff, drew up the troops in line, and addressed to them
the following proclamation. We give it _verbatim_.
“'Soldiers of the Army of the Rhine,
“'The bold step which has just been taken by your sub-officers
to obtain justice, and the complete discharge of your pay, has
compromised them with the civil and military authorities. It
is in your good conduct, your resignation, and your excellent
discipline that they hope to find safety; that which you have
maintained up to the present time is the best guarantee of it;
and of this they hope for a continuance.
“'Soldiers, the pay-officers have in their possession all that is
owing to you; the garrison will return to its former situation,
the posts will remain till the General-in-chief shall have
given orders in consequence. On their return from the parade,
the sergeant-majors and quarter-masters shall repair to their
pay-officers, and shall take note before paying the troops from
MM. the Colonels, in order to keep back what is not due.
“'The infantry is to be disbanded—it will take superior orders;
and the cavalry, still having no order, will wait its lot, in
order to give up, at least before setting off, the horses, arms,
and all that belongs to the Government, in order that it may be
said they are Frenchmen: they have served with honour, they have
obtained payment of what was due to them, and have submitted to
the orders of the King, under the glorious title of the Army of
the Rhine.
“'By order of the Army of the Rhine.'”
“The Sergeant-General, after having delivered this speech, which
the army heard in silence, made the two divisions of infantry,
the cavalry, and artillery defile before him, and went in great
pomp to display at the offices of the Prefect and Mayor the white
flags that had been made by his orders. The troops then returned to
their barracks, and submitted themselves to the authority of their
respective officers.
“As soon as they were restored to liberty, the Generals, Colonels, and
superior officers were anxious to repair to Count Rapp, to express to
him the pain they had experienced at seeing the army thus unmindful
of the rein of discipline. They even caused a protest against the
seditious movements which the army had given way to, to be printed,
which they all signed, and which contained expressions very flattering
to the General-in-Chief.
“Two days after, they laid down their arms at the arsenal, and all the
corps were disbanded. Dalouzi, as leader of the revolt, had incurred
the penalty of death; but he was pardoned on account of the good order
that he had maintained in the midst of the insurrection.”[3]
[3] Summary of the Operations of the Armies of the Rhine and Jura,
1815.
The army was dissolved; my command having expired, there was nothing
to keep me any longer in Alsace. But the good souls of the Faubourg
Saint-Germain had imagined that we were a source of terror to Europe.
On the field of battle I believe we were, and the Allies did not
disallow it. In other respects this was thinking too highly of us.
With regard to plots and conspiracies, it is not we who deserved the
palm. I, nevertheless, went to meet that which they wished to allot to
me. I wrote to the King, I did not attempt to disguise my sentiments
from him. If I had been able to throw the whole coalition into the
Rhine I would have done it; I did not conceal it. My letter was thus
worded.
“Sire,
“I do not endeavour to justify my conduct. Your Majesty knows
that the bent of my mind and my military education have always
led me to defend the French territory against all foreign
aggression: I could not, above all, hesitate to offer my life in
defence of Alsace, which gave me birth.
“If I have preserved the esteem of your Majesty, I desire to
finish my career in my own country; if it were otherwise, I
should be the first to demand to go and pass my days abroad: I
could not live in my country without the esteem of my sovereign.”
“I only ask this; I have need of nothing more.”
This letter was of use. Marks of regard that had escaped the Monarch
kept malevolence within bounds. I passed some months at Paris without
being disturbed; but the race of emigrants had filled the chambers
and harangued at the tribune. Their vociferations against all the men
distinguished for their talent and courage whom France can boast of,
gave me such a disgust that I withdrew. I went into Switzerland, where
at least aristocracy did not present the scandalous spectacle of the
rage of the present time combined with the meanness of the past. The
ordinance of the 5th of September was issued a short time afterwards:
I returned to Paris, where I live quietly in the bosom of my family,
and where I have experienced happiness which till then was unknown to
me.
* * * * *
Here the Memoirs terminate. We will only add a few words.
Become a member of the House of Peers, the General was called into
the presence of the King. This favour did not make him unfaithful to
old recollections. So many immortal days were too deeply engraved in
his mind! He could not forget our victories, or him who had conducted
them, or those who had obtained them! He had often taken so glorious a
part in them! Courage does not disinherit herself. In like manner the
brave soldiers who were persecuted by men whom they had eclipsed on
the field of battle always found in their General a devoted protector.
His purse, his credit were open to them. Never did he repel the
unfortunate. Those who had none of the privileges which the standard
gives, participated in his benefits; it was sufficient if they were in
distress. Misfortune was something sacred in his eyes.
The state of inactivity into which on a sudden he had fallen, after a
life of alarms and fatigue, hastened to a fatal termination the wounds
with which he was covered. His health was gone; he soon ended the
term assigned him by Nature. He beheld death without emotion, ordered
himself to be put in a position so as to front the enemy, whom he had
always looked in the face, and expired, offering up his prayers for
France and his family.
DOCUMENTS
ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE MEMOIRS.
_Letter from General Rapp to the Duke of Wurtemberg._
_June 14th, 1813._
Colonel Richemont has communicated to me the letter which your
Royal Highness honoured him with, the ... of this month. I learn
with pain that the very conciliatory proposals made, in my name,
by M. Richemont, have not been accepted, and that discussions
have arisen on points which appeared to afford no room for any
debate whatever.
I must observe to your Royal Highness, generally, that the
armistice was not demanded by the Emperor Napoleon, which
supposes that all the articles ought to be construed favourably
to the French army; but since the intentions of the treaty are
disputed, I see no other means of attaining the object of your
Royal Highness, and my own, than by proposing to your Excellency
to leave, as regards the limits, things in their present state,
and to inform the commissioners appointed by articles 9 and 12
of the armistice, of the difficulties which have arisen in the
execution of article 6. I therefore beg your Highness to name,
conjointly with myself, two officers who shall be instructed
to repair to those commissioners, and who can speedily bring a
report of the solution we are to expect.
I also consent that the article relative to supplies be only
settled provisionally, that is to say, that if your Royal
Highness would not take upon yourself to allow us 30,000 rations
of victuals, reckoning from the day of the armistice, which,
according to the returns of the force of the garrison, is
necessary, Colonel Richemont will be able to settle with the
Russian commissioners, the quantities which shall be supplied
to us on account, to be deducted from the amount which shall be
definitively appointed by the commissioners of the armistice, to
whom it will be referred, as well as the article of limits.
The officer who brought the armistice would have been able to
notify at the Imperial head-quarters the discussions which have
arisen, if his instructions did not oblige him to delay his
departure till after the first distribution which is to be made
to the garrison by the directions of the General commanding the
blockade.
I should have greatly desired that we could have come to an
understanding, on the execution of the treaty, as I have reason
to fear that false inferences may be drawn from the delay of
this officer, as to the good understanding which the armistice
supposes to exist between us; a contingency which I should the
more lament, as it appears to me that your Highness might have
acceded to the proposals of Colonel Richemont, which I should
most certainly have done in your place, without fearing the least
reproach for it from my sovereign.
(Signed,) COUNT RAPP.
ANSWER.
_Sulmin, June 15th, 1813._
I received the letter which your Excellency did me the honour to
write to me, dated the 14th of June, and I must frankly confess
that it is my duty to enter into the fullest explanation of
the cause of the misunderstandings which exist relative to the
literal execution of the articles of the truce.
This treaty having laid down fixed principles, in order to avoid
every subject of dispute, it appears to me, that it would be
infinitely more simple and natural to adhere strictly to it. I
confess to your Excellency that it is with sincere pain that I
agree to depart from it according to your proposition. It appears
to me that by this arrangement, which you wish, both of us, to
a certain degree, exceed the limits of our powers, and that it
would be much better to settle between us the line of neutrality
according to the literal sense of the armistice. Nevertheless,
to avoid all farther discussion, I consent to let things remain
on their present footing: I will even order the commanders
of my advanced posts to come to an understanding with yours
about making some arrangements, which may be agreeable to your
Excellency, in respect to sentinels and piquets, to prevent any
collision between our light troops.
Respecting what concerns the article of provisions, the
commission assembled for that purpose has already commenced its
sittings, and I hope that Colonel Richemont will soon be able to
announce that this article has been definitively settled.
As to what regards the two officers whom your Excellency would
send to the commissioners appointed definitively to settle
all the difficulties which appear to arise respecting the
stipulations of the truce, I must observe, that it is not in
my power to grant them the necessary passports: the article of
provisions, which will be forthwith settled, will allow, in the
course of a few days, Captain Planat to undertake this commission.
Be persuaded, moreover, General, that accustomed, in the course
of twenty-five years' service to fulfil with exactness the orders
of my sovereign, I should have acted in a very different manner,
if I had agreed to the propositions which have been made to me
by Colonel Richemont, and which deviated so essentially from the
articles of a truce, the simple and natural expressions of which
leave no room for the least discussion.
Your Excellency, moreover, will always find me ready to do
whatever may be agreeable to you, and which at the same time may
not be inconsistent with my duty. I shall eagerly seize all the
opportunities that I can to convince you that nothing equals the
high consideration with which I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed,) ALEXANDER, DUKE OF WURTEMBERG.
_Letter from the Duke of Wurtemberg to his Excellency Count Rapp._
_From my head-quarters, July 12, 1813._
(Received on the 14th, though the Duke was but two leagues from
Dantzic.)
GENERAL,
A messenger, who has just arrived from head-quarters, brings me
an order for suspending the allowances which have been hitherto
made to the garrison of Dantzic. The corps of Volunteers under
the orders of the Prussian Major Lutzow having been attacked,
during the continuance of the truce, without the least cause,
is announced to me as the reason which has caused this
determination, and which is not to be varied from until this
affair shall be definitively settled.
In communicating the orders which I have received to you, I
announce at the same time that this affair, which will probably
soon be settled, does not however change the other articles of
the truce, which are to remain in full force.
I have the honour be, &c.
(Signed,) ALEXANDER, DUKE OF WURTEMBERG,
General of Cavalry.
ANSWER.
_Dantzic, July 14, 1813._
Monsieur le DUC,
From the commencement of the arrangements agreed upon between us,
in consequence of the armistice, I have seen, with much pain,
that your Royal Highness does not fulfil them with that exactness
which such stipulations demand.
I have perceived, in the delay of all the deliveries, a secret
war which was destroying in detail the spirit of the armistice.
In spite of my continual protests, a great part of the provisions
has been left in arrear; you have not even supplied what is due
at present, and it is in this state of things that I receive,
to-day, the 14th, the letter from your Highness, dated the 12th,
which informs me that you have orders to suspend the provisions.
This suspension has actually taken place these four days past,
that is to say, since the 10th; and as our correspondence may
reach each other in two hours, I will not conceal from your
Highness with what sentiments I must look at the difference
between the date and the arrival of your despatch.
The conditions of an armistice, my Lord Duke, are alike binding
on both the parties; and as soon as one of them allows himself
to annul one of the principal and most essential clauses, the
armistice is from that moment broken, and he puts himself in
a state of war against the other. It is in this light, that I
consider from henceforth the declaration you have made; and
although your Highness informs me that the other articles of the
truce shall remain, you must perceive that I cannot accept such
modifications but by the orders of my sovereign. It only remains
to me, then, to beg you to acquaint me whether the six days
which are to precede the recommencement of hostilities are to be
reckoned from the 12th at one o'clock in the morning, or from the
14th at twelve.
I must declare to you, that I account you responsible for
the rupture of an armistice that was concluded between our
sovereigns, and that I cannot listen to any evasive explication
until after the reception of all the provisions which are due to
me.
(Signed,) COUNT RAPP.
_Letter from the Duke of Wurtemberg to General Count Rapp._
_From my head-quarters, July 15, 1813._
I have just received the letter which you have addressed to me,
and I cannot conceal from your Excellency that I have been more
than ordinarily surprised at its contents.
It would be absolutely useless again to repeat to your Excellency
what MM. Generals Borozdin and Jelebtzou have not failed to
observe to you repeatedly, that is to say, that the momentary
delays which the garrison of Dantzic has experienced in being
revictualled have only been occasioned by the sudden change
of the arrangement that was proposed and demanded by your
Excellency, of buying the provisions by your own commissaries,
which has necessarily produced the greatest embarrassment;
the Prussian commissaries having excused themselves on the
state of entire destitution of the provinces contiguous to
Dantzic, which have been already charged for so long a time
with the provisioning of my troops. If, as I have several times
requested, there had been at my head-quarters, conformably to
the stipulations of the truce, a French commissary permanently,
he would have been able to convince himself of the extreme
embarrassment that the Prussian commissaries have felt in
procuring waggons, and the necessary provisions for revictualling
Dantzic, and for the maintenance of my own troops; so that it
is not the army forming the blockade which has thrown obstacles
in the way of revictualling the place. Moreover, it is only my
sovereign, the august Emperor Alexander, to whom I must render an
account of my actions.
* * * * *
I now come to an article of far greater importance, since it may
be attended with the most serious consequences; for it appears,
according to the letter of your Excellency, that you are decided
on recommencing hostilities on your own authority, whilst the
places, Stettin and Custrin, are also temporarily deprived,
as well as Dantzic, of the provisions stipulated for in the
armistice. I hope, however, that you will seriously consider
what you are about to do, and I render you responsible for all
the measures you may take, and which may prevent the belligerent
powers from coming to an adjustment of their differences.
I send you an exact copy of the letter which I received from
the Commander-in-chief of all the armies, Barclay de Tolly; you
will see, that far from there being any thoughts of recommencing
hostilities, I am expressly prohibited from doing so.
If, in spite of all my observations, which I have had formally
certified by my Generals, commanders of corps, you do not think
fit to wait patiently till the affair of the legion of Lutzow,
which has caused the temporary cessation of the revictualling of
Dantzic, (of which the arrears, by the way, are only suspended,)
and of the other fortresses, is amicably settled, and you
attack my forces, I will prove to you that my brave Russians
do not stand in dread of the menaces of any one, and that they
are moreover ready to shed their blood for the cause of all
sovereigns and all nations.
(Signed,) ALEXANDER, DUKE OF WURTEMBERG.
ANSWER.
_Dantzic, July 16, 1813._
I received the letter which your Royal Highness did me the honour
to write to me on the 15th of this month. I will not again touch
on the different observations which you make on the non-execution
of the conditions of the armistice; they have been constantly
brought forward, and always victoriously refuted; and therefore
present nothing new. General Heudelet, whom I sent to the
conference that was demanded by General Borozdin, has made known
on my part the only expedient for a provisional arrangement which
could again take place between us.
In a letter of the 14th instant, I intreated your Royal Highness
to appoint at what precise time the six days between the rupture
and the commencement of hostilities were to begin; to this I have
had no positive answer. I must, therefore, acquaint you, that as
the letter of your Royal Highness, dated the 12th, only reached
me on the 14th at noon, and I can consider your positive and
official refusal to continue the supplies as nothing else than
a rupture of the armistice, hostilities will recommence on the
20th; I owe this determination to the Emperor and to my corps
d'armée. Six guns fired from the different forts of Dantzic, at
noon, shall leave no doubt on this subject. I beg your Royal
Highness not to consider as a threat the obligation which I am
under to interpret the violation of one of the articles of the
treaty as a formal declaration, annulling the armistice; I know
the brave Russian troops, whom I have often fought with, and I
know that they are worthy to be opposed to our own.
Here, my Lord, my letter would close, were I not compelled to
make a remark to your Royal Highness on some expressions of
your letter of the 15th, that I also am only accountable to my
sovereign for my determinations; that, as for what your Highness
calls the cause of all sovereigns and all nations, these are
very extraordinary phrases in the letter of a prince, who knows
better than any one that the Emperor Alexander, his sovereign,
was engaged during five years, in our alliance against the
despotism of a maritime power, which would make all the Continent
tributary to it; and that his august brother, the King of
Wurtemberg, has been for a long time past one of the most staunch
supporters of this same cause.
(Signed,) COUNT RAPP.
_Letter from the Duke of Wurtemberg to General Rapp._
_From my head-quarters, July 17, 1813._
GENERAL,
I should have nothing more to add to the letter which I wrote
to your Excellency, dated the 15th of July, if the formal
declaration of war which you make to me, as from one power to
another, did not oblige me still to make a few important remarks,
before the commencement of hostilities which you axe about to
undertake.
I will observe to you, then, (although it is absolutely
impossible for me, officially, to accept the declaration, that
you are about to begin hostilities, and though I must declare
you, once more, responsible for all the consequences that this
event may produce) that if, in spite of my observations, you,
nevertheless, persist in a determination which, as I believe,
will not even be approved by the Emperor Napoleon, the period
for the rupture which you fix for the 20th of July at mid-day,
is contrary to the 2d and 3d articles of the armistice; since,
after the 20th of July, the term of the expiration of the truce,
hostilities should not take place, according to article 9th,
till six days after the 20th of July, which will bring us to the
26th of the month; and it would be really singular for us to be
the only two chiefs of corps on the theatre of war to recommence
hostilities.
I am convinced, that with a little patience we shall soon hear
that the affairs of the Cabinets are taking a different turn.
What would be then the regret of your Excellency if, by too much
precipitation, you should once more create difficulties between
the two Courts, of which my own has nothing to reproach itself
with, since it was very natural that it should for the time take
measures of retaliation, after it had learnt the destruction of
the corps of Lutzow in the midst of the armistice;—as it is not
possible to bring to life the men so destroyed, while it will,
on the other hand, be very possible to furnish the garrison of
Dantzic with the provisions in arrear.
I now close my letter, General, compelled to make an observation
or two on the last phrases in yours, which have appeared to me
extremely strange. All Europe, and, I dare say, France also, is
perfectly acquainted with the reasons which caused the rupture
of the peace that was signed at Tilsit. It also knows the
dictatorial tone which the ambassador Count Lauriston assumed in
the heart of the capital of Peter the Great. The august Emperor
Alexander was compelled, by such an excess of audacity, to appeal
to his sword; he was obliged to surround himself with his valiant
soldiers to open the churches, and to confide himself to a
generous and faithful people, who have proved to him what may be
done by a nation happy in its own territory, but who have not
hesitated a moment to arm themselves in defence of their honour
and of their sovereign.
As to what concerns my brother, the King of Wurtemberg, whom your
Excellency calls one of the most staunch supporters of the cause
which you defend, I can assure your Excellency that a Russian
General-in-chief does not think himself inferior in any respect
to a King of the Confederation, since it only depends on the
Emperor Alexander to elevate me to that dignity, if he thinks
fit; and then I shall be king like any other; I should, however,
premise one small condition, that is, that it should not be at
the expense of any power, or any person.
(Signed,) ALEXANDER, DUKE OF WURTEMBERG.
CAPITULATION OF DANTZIC.
Capitulation of the fortress of Dantzic under special conditions,
concluded between their Excellencies Lieutenant-general Borozdin,
Major-general Welljaminoff, in quality of chief of the staff,
and the Colonels of Engineers, Manfredi and Pullet, intrusted
with full powers by his Royal Highness the Duke of Wurtemberg,
Commander-in-chief of the troops besieging Dantzic, on one part;
And their Excellencies Count Heudelet, general of division, the
General of Brigade d'Hericourt, Adjutant-general; and
Colonel Richemont intrusted with full powers from his Excellency
Count Rapp, aide-de-camp of the Emperor, Commander-in-chief of
the 10th corps d'armée, on the other part.
ARTICLE I. The troops forming the garrison of Dantzic, and of
the forts and redoubts thereunto belonging, shall leave the town
with their arms and baggage on the 1st of January, 1814, at ten
o'clock in the morning, by the gate of Oliwa, and shall lay down
their arms before the battery of Gottes-Engel, if by that period
the blockade of the garrison of Dantzic is not raised by a corps
d'armée, equivalent in force to the besieging army, or if a
treaty concluded between the belligerent powers shall not by that
time have fixed the fate of the city of Dantzic. The officers
shall retain their swords, in consideration of the vigorous
defence and distinguished conduct of the garrison. The company
of the Imperial guard, and a battalion of six hundred men, shall
retain their arms, and shall take with them two six-pounders,
with the ammunition waggons belonging to them. Twenty-five
horsemen shall also preserve their arms and their horses.
ART. II. The forts of Weichselmunde, the Holm, and the
intermediate works shall, together with the keys of the outer
gate of Oliwa, be given up to the combined army, on the morning
of the 24th Dec. 1813.
ART. III. Immediately on the signature of the present
capitulation, the fort La Corte, that of Neufahrwasser, with its
dependencies, and the left bank of the Vistula, as far as the
height of the redoubt Gudin, and the line of redoubts extending
from this last-mentioned work on the Zigangenberg, as well as the
Mowenkrugschantz shall be surrendered in their present condition,
without any deterioration, into the hands of the besieging army.
The bridge which at present connects the _tête-du-pont_ of
Fahrwasser with the fort of Weichselmunde, shall be removed and
placed at the mouth of the Vistula, between Neufahrwasser and the
Nowenkrugschantz.
ART. IV. The garrison of Dantzic shall be prisoners of war, and
shall be escorted to France. The governor, Count Rapp, formally
engages that neither officers nor soldiers shall serve again,
until their perfect exchange, against any of the powers now at
war with France. There shall be drawn up an exact muster-roll of
the names of the generals, officers, and soldiers composing the
garrison of Dantzic, without any exception. There shall be two
copies of this roll. Each of the generals and officers shall sign
a promise and give his word of honour not to serve against Russia
or her allies till his perfect exchange. An exact muster-roll
shall be also made of all the soldiers who are actually under
arms, and another of those who are sick or wounded.
ART. V. The governor, Count Rapp, engages to accelerate as
much as possible the exchange of the individuals forming the
garrison of Dantzic, rank for rank, for an equal number of
prisoners belonging to the allied powers. But if, contrary to all
expectation, this exchange should not take place for want of the
necessary number of Russians, Austrians, Prussians, or other
prisoners belonging to the courts allied against France, or if
the said courts should throw obstacles in the way of it, then at
the end of a year and a day, dating from Jan. 1, 1814, new style,
the individuals forming the garrison of Dantzic shall be released
from the formal obligation contracted in Art. IV. of the present
capitulation, and may be again employed by their government.
ART. VI. The Polish troops and others belonging to the garrison
shall be at full liberty to follow the lot of the French army,
and in that case shall be treated in the same manner, excepting
those troops whose sovereigns may be in alliance with the
coalition against his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, who shall
be forwarded to the states or armies of their sovereigns,
according to the orders which they shall receive from them, and
which orders they shall send officers or messengers to request,
immediately after the signature of the present capitulation. The
Polish and other officers shall give each his word of honour in
writing not to serve against the allied powers till his perfect
exchange, conformably to the explanation given by Art. V.
ART. VII. All prisoners, of whatever nation they may be, who
belong to the powers at war with France, and who are at present
in Dantzic, shall be set at liberty without exchange, and sent
to the Russian advanced posts by the gate Peters-Hagen, on the
morning of the 12th of December, 1813.
ART VIII. The sick and wounded belonging to the garrison shall
be treated in the same manner, and with the same care as those of
the allied powers; they shall be sent back to France after their
perfect recovery, under the same conditions as the rest of the
troops forming the garrison of Dantzic. A commissary of war, and
medical officers shall be left with these invalids to attend to
them and to claim their removal.
ART. IX. As soon as a certain number of individuals belonging to
the troops of the allied powers shall have been exchanged for an
equal number of individuals belonging to the garrison of Dantzic,
then the latter may consider themselves free from their preceding
engagement, contracted formally in Art. IV. of the present
capitulation.
ART. X. The troops of the garrison of Dantzic, with the exception
of those who, according to the terms of Art. VI. are to receive
orders from their sovereigns, shall proceed by ordinary marches
in four columns, at two days march distance one from the other,
and according to the route annexed, and shall be escorted to the
advanced posts of the French army. The garrison of Dantzic shall
be supplied on its march according to the statement annexed. The
1st column shall begin its march the 2d Jan. 1814; the 2d on the
4th Jan. and so on.
ART. XI. All Frenchmen being non-combatants, and not in the
service of the army, may follow, if they think fit, the troops
of the garrison; but they cannot claim the rations fixed for
the soldiery: they are, moreover, at liberty to dispose of the
property which may be recognized as belonging to them.
ART. XII. On the 12th December, 1813, shall be delivered up
to the commissioner appointed by the besieging army, all the
cannon, mortars, &c. &c., arms, military stores, plans, drawings,
sketches, the military chests, all the magazines of every
description, the pontoons, all effects belonging to the engineer
corps, to the marine, to the artillery, to the train, to the
waggon department, &c. &c. without any exception; and a duplicate
inventory shall be made of them, which shall be forwarded to the
chief of the staff of the combined army.
ART. XIII. The generals, officers of the staff, and other
officers, shall retain their baggage, and the horses they are
entitled to under the regulations of the French army, and shall
receive the necessary forage during their march.
ART. XIV. All details respecting the means of conveyance to be
furnished, whether for the sick and wounded, or for the corps and
officers, shall be regulated by the heads of the staff of the two
armies.
ART. XV. There shall be reserved to the senate of Dantzic, the
right of urging on the Emperor Napoleon all its rights to the
liquidation of such debts as may exist on any part, and his
Excellency the governor engages to give those to whom the debts
have been contracted, acknowledgments certifying the justice of
their claims, but under no pretext shall hostages be retained on
account of these debts.
ART. XVI. Hostilities of all kinds shall cease on both sides from
the signature of the present treaty.
ART. XVII. Every article on which a doubt may arise shall always
be interpreted in favour of the garrison.
ART. XVIII. Four exact copies of the present capitulation shall
be made, two in the Russian, and two in the French language, to
be transmitted in duplicate to the two Generals-in-chief.
ART. XIX. After the signature of these official documents the
governor, General Count Rapp, shall be at liberty to send a
courier to his government; he shall be accompanied to the
advanced posts of the French army by a Russian officer.
Done and agreed to at Langfuhr, this 29th of November, 1813.
(Signed,)
The General of Division Count HEUDELET, General d'HERICOURT,
Colonel RICHEMONT, Lieutenant-General Chevalier BOROZDIN,
Major-General WELLJAMINOFF, in quality of Head of the Staff, the
Colonel of Engineers MANFREDI, Colonel of Engineers PULLET.
Seen and approved,
COUNT RAPP.
_Letter from the Duke of Wurtemberg to General Rapp._
_From my head-quarters at Pelouken, December 23, 1813._
_11 o'clock at night._
GENERAL,
I am bound to inform you that I have just received a despatch
from his Imperial Majesty, which acquaints me, that the
capitulation concluded between your Excellency and myself has
been approved by the Emperor; excepting the part which concerns
the return of the garrison to France. Although it does not belong
to me to examine whether an apprehension lest the garrison of
Dantzic might be forced, like that of Thorn, to resume active
service before it should be perfectly exchanged, and after it
should have passed the Rhine, may have had its weight, I am
nevertheless obliged to acquaint your Excellency with the precise
will of his Majesty, being at the same time persuaded that none
of the Generals or Officers, forming part of the brave garrison
of Dantzic, would permit themselves in any case to be wanting
to their engagements, of which I myself would be willingly the
guarantee. His Majesty has also formally authorized me to declare
to you, General, that the garrison shall not be sent into the
distant provinces of Russia, if your Excellency gives up the
fortress without further injury, according to the terms of the
capitulation. You may choose for your particular abode and for
that of the Generals and Officers, any one of the towns of Revel,
Pleskow, Zaliega and Orel, to remain there till the garrison is
exchanged. Besides, it is understood of itself, that the Generals
and Officers will preserve all the advantages which have been
secured to them under the capitulation. As to what concerns the
Polish troops who are at present in Dantzic, the pleasure of his
Majesty is, that they be sent quietly to their homes on quitting
the fortress, and in like manner the German troops.
I must believe, General, that your Excellency certainly will not
hesitate to consent to these arrangements, since it is to be
believed that the war will not last a year, and then every one
will immediately return to his own country; and I am so much the
more persuaded that your Excellency will take this determination,
because in the opposite case I should not be able to spare you,
or your garrison, any of the inevitable rigours which a perfectly
useless resistance would carry in its train, the infallible
consequence of which would be transportation of the garrison
to the most distant provinces of the Russian empire, without
the possibility of their enjoying the least of those advantages
which are now perfectly secured to them; together with all the
conveniences necessary for the route stipulated for in the
capitulation.
If, however, your Excellency, contrary to all expectation,
should take a determination as unexpected as prejudicial to
the interests of the garrison, I will then restore to you, the
day after to-morrow, Saturday, at noon, all the works which
have been surrendered to the besieging army, except the fort of
Neufahrwasser, since the supreme will of his Majesty is that your
Excellency should previously send out of the fortress all the
German troops at present in Dantzic with their arms and baggage,
as the Confederation of the Rhine exists no longer, and all the
states which composed it have become our allies; and in this
case Neufahrwasser also shall be given up to you immediately and
without the smallest difficulty. I will send also to Dantzic
by the gate of Oliwa, all the stragglers as soon as they shall
have returned; and in the event in question, hostilities shall
recommence the day after they are given up, at nine o'clock in
the morning.
(Signed) The Duke of WURTEMBERG.
P. S. I beg your Excellency to be so good as to let me have your
answer to-morrow morning. If General Heudelet or any other of
the Generals were sent to my head-quarters, it would infinitely
facilitate the conclusion of an affair which may terminate to
your satisfaction.
I have written on this subject to his Majesty by a Courier.
ANSWER.
MY LORD,
I made a capitulation with your Royal Highness:—to-day you
announce to me that, without having any respect for it, the
Emperor Alexander orders that the garrison of Dantzic shall be
sent into Russia as prisoners of war, instead of returning to
France.
The 10th Corps d'Armée leaves it to Europe, to history, to
posterity, to decide on so extraordinary an infraction of the
faith of treaties, against which I solemnly protest.
In consequence of these sacred principles, I have the honour to
inform your Royal Highness that, holding strictly to the text of
a capitulation, which I must not consider as annihilated because
it is violated, I will execute it punctually; and that I am ready
this very day to give up to the troops of your Highness, the
forts of Weichselmunde, Napoleon, and the Holm, as well as all
the magazines, and to leave the fortress with my garrison on the
1st of January next.
At that period, force, and the abuse of power, may drag us to
Russia, to Siberia, or wherever they please. We shall submit to
suffer, to die even if it be necessary, victims of our confidence
in a solemn treaty. The Emperor Napoleon and France are powerful
enough, sooner or later, to avenge us.
In this state of things, my Lord, there remains no arrangement
for me to make with your Royal Highness; referring myself
entirely to the capitulation of the 29th of November, which, I
repeat, may be infringed, but cannot be annihilated.
(Signed,) COUNT RAPP.
_Dantzic, December 23, 1813._
_Letter from Count Rapp to the Duke of Wurtemberg._
MY LORD,
My aide-de-camp delivered to me yesterday the letter which your
Royal Highness has done me the honour to address to me.
By your return of the letter which you received from me, I
imagine your Royal Highness imputes to me exasperated feelings.
Your Highness does not render me justice: I have been a soldier
twenty-two years; I am habituated to good and to evil fortune.
Your Highness does me the honour to say, that it was quite to
be expected that the Emperor Alexander should have the power
of ratifying, or not ratifying, the capitulation. Either your
Highness was furnished with full powers or you were not; under
the last supposition my conduct would have been very different
from what it has been.
Marshal Kalkreuth, after a very short defence, obtained a very
honourable capitulation. I even recollect that the Emperor
Napoleon, who was not twenty leagues from the fortress, was
dissatisfied with it, but he would not put his commander-in-chief
in an unpleasant position by annulling the capitulation. It was
impossible to perform it with more fidelity and delicacy than
it was executed with, by Marshal Lefebvre and myself. Marshal
Kalkreuth is still living, and has preserved the remembrance
of our proceedings. There are Prussian officers at your
head-quarters who can also bear witness to them.
Your Highness does me the honour to say that his Majesty orders
that all things shall be put upon their previous footing, if I
wish to recommence hostilities. Your Highness knows perfectly
well that the advantages were at the time of entering on the
capitulation on our side, for you had constantly made us offers
which you pretended to be favourable; you know that now it is
quite the contrary: this assertion stands in no need of proofs.
Besides, my Lord, it is you who have always proposed to me
to enter into an arrangement to stop the effusion of blood;
offering, as the fundamental condition, our return to France. The
correspondence of your Highness attests this fact.
Your Highness knows well in what situation we are placed, and
that it is altogether impossible, in all respects, to prolong our
defence. The choice which you leave me becomes perfectly illusory.
I pray your Highness to cause to be occupied to-day
Weichselmunde, the Holm, and the intermediate works. I have only
left in them small detachments to prevent waste. I desire also
that your Highness will send commissaries to receive inventories
of our magazines of all kinds. I attach importance to this, that
there may be no complaints, and that we may not be reproached
with having deteriorated any thing; not in the fear of going to
Russia with fewer conveniences, which your Highness insists on
in your letter, but through the desire of religiously fulfilling
all my engagements.
I have the honour again to declare to your Highness, that
the garrison of Dantzic will leave the fortress on the 1st
of January, in the morning, in execution of Art. I. of the
capitulation of November 29; to which I entirely adhere, and
to which it is quite useless to add any other arrangement.
Circumstances will, after the evacuation, place us entirely at
the disposal of your Highness.
I have the honour, &c.
COUNT RAPP.
TO THE SAME.
_December 26, 1813._
MY LORD,
General Manfredi has delivered to me your Royal Highness's letter
of yesterday, the 25th instant. Having had already the honour to
treat with you on the first articles of this letter, the last is
the only one that seems to require an answer. Your Royal Highness
declares to me that you cannot allow me to leave Dantzic without
a previous arrangement. On my part, thinking it impossible to
open again the capitulation of November 29, approved of by your
Royal Highness and by me, I have the honour to declare that,
having no means of prolonging my defence, I put myself from the
31st of December at your disposal, together with the troops under
my orders. This arrangement, my Lord, is very simple: it is for
your Royal Highness to regulate the fate of the garrison.
I content myself with recommending to your generosity, the
soldiers, especially those who, by their infirmities and wounds,
more particularly claim my solicitude.
I recommend to you also the non-combatants, the women, the
children, and the Frenchmen, resident in Dantzic.
(Signed,) COUNT RAPP.
THE END.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET.
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│ Transcriber's Note: │
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│ The original spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation have been │
│ retained, with the exception of apparent typographical errors │
│ which have been corrected. │
│ │
│ Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. │
│ │
│ Italicized words are surrounded by underline characters, │
│ _like this_. │
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│ Errors corrected: │
│ Charlottemberg (p. iii) and Charlottemburgh (pp. 96, 98) │
│ changed to Charlottenburg. │
│ Wittemberg (p. 90) changed to Wittenberg. │
│ Cremen (p. 102) changed to Bremen. │
│ Konigsberg (pp. iv, 162, 168, 218) changed to Kœnigsberg. │
│ Saint-Albretch (p. 324) changed to Saint-Albrecht │
│ Weljaminoff (p. 423) changed to Welljaminoff. │
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