As I have announced previously, I shall endeavor to record in this
chapter some recollections of events personal to the Emperor which
occurred during the journey between the frontiers of France and Prussia.
How sad a contrast results, alas! as we attempt to compare our journey to
Moscow with that of our return. One must have seen Napoleon at Dresden,
surrounded by a court of princes and of kings, to form an idea of the
highest point which human greatness can reach. There more than ever
elsewhere the Emperor was affable to all; fortune smiled upon him,
and none of those who enjoyed with us the spectacle of his glory could
even conceive the thought that fortune could soon prove unfaithful to him
and in so striking a manner. I remember, among other particulars of our
stay at Dresden, a speech I heard the Emperor make to Marshal Berthier,
whom he had summoned at a very early hour. When the marshal arrived,
Napoleon had not yet risen, but I received orders to bring him in at
once; so that while dressing the Emperor, I heard between him and his
major-general a conversation of which I wish I could remember the whole,
but at least I am sure of repeating correctly one thought which struck
me. The Emperor said in nearly these words:--
"I wish no harm to Alexander; it is not on Russia that I am making war,
no more than on Spain; I have only one enemy,--England, and it is her I
am striving to reach in Russia; I will pursue her everywhere." During
this speech the marshal bit his nails, as was his constant habit. On
that day a magnificent review was held, at which all the princes of the
Confederation were present, surrounding their chief as great vassals of
his crown.
When the various army-corps marshaled from the other side of the Elbe had
advanced to the confines of Poland, we left Dresden, meeting everywhere
the same enthusiasm on the advent of the Emperor. We were as a result
sumptuously entertained in every place at which we halted, so anxious
were the inhabitants to testify their regard for his Majesty, even in the
person of those who had the honor of serving him.
At this time there was a general rumor in the army, and among the persons
of the Emperor's household, that his intention was to re-establish the
kingdom of Poland. Ignorant as I was, and from my position should
naturally be, of all political matters, I heard no less than others the
expression of an opinion which was universal, and which was discussed
openly by all. Sometimes the Emperor condescended to ask me what I
heard, and always smiled at my report, since I could not tell the truth
and say anything that would have been disagreeable to him; for he was
then, and I do not speak too strongly, universally adored by the Polish
population.
On the 23d of June we were on the banks of the Niemen, that river already
become so famous by the interview between the two Emperors, under
circumstances very different from those in which they now found
themselves.
The passage of the army began in the evening, and lasted for forty-eight
hours, during which time the Emperor was almost constantly on horseback,
so well he knew that his presence expedited matters. Then we continued
our journey to Wilna, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and on
the 27th arrived in front of this town, occupied by the Russians; and it
may truly be said that there, and there alone, military operations began,
for up to this time the Emperor had traveled as he would have done in the
departments of the interior of France. The Russians, being attacked,
were beaten and fell back, so that two days after we entered Wilna, a
town of considerable size, which seemed to me to contain about thirty
thousand inhabitants. I was struck with the incredible number of
convents and churches which are there. At Wilna the Emperor was much
gratified by the demand of five or six hundred students that they should
be formed into a regiment. It is needless to say that such solicitations
were always eagerly granted by his Majesty.
We rested for some time at Wilna; the Emperor thence followed the
movement of his armies, and occupied himself also with organizing the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of which this town, as is well known, is the
capital. As the Emperor was often on horseback, I had sufficient leisure
to acquaint myself thoroughly with the town and its environs. The
Lithuanians were in a state of enthusiasm impossible to describe; and
although I have seen during my life many fetes, I shall never forget the
joyous excitement of the whole population when the grand national fete of
the regeneration of Poland was celebrated, which owing either to a
singular coincidence, or the calculation of the Emperor, was appointed
for the 14th of July. The Poles were still uncertain as to the ultimate
fate which the Emperor reserved for their country; but a future bright
with hope shone before their eyes, until these visions were rudely
dispelled by the Emperor's reply to the deputation from the Polish
confederation established at Warsaw. This numerous deputation, with a
count palatine at its head, demanded the integral re-establishment of the
ancient kingdom of Poland. This was the Emperor's reply:--
"Messieurs, deputies of the Confederation of Poland, I have heard with
interest what you have just said. Were I a Pole, I should think and act
as you have done, and I should have voted like you in the assembly at
Warsaw; for love of country is the first virtue of civilized man.
"In my position I have many opposing interests to reconcile, and many
duties to fulfill. If I had reigned at the time of the first, second,
or third division of Poland, I would have armed all my people to sustain
you. As soon as victory permitted me to restore your ancient laws to
your capital and to a part of your provinces, I have done so readily,
without, however, prolonging a war which would have shed the blood of my
subjects.
"I love your nation. For sixteen years I have seen your soldiers by my
side on the fields of Italy as on those of Spain.
"I applaud all that you have done; I authorize the efforts you wish to
make; and all that depends on me to carry out your resolutions shall be
done.
"If your efforts are unanimous, you may indulge the hope of forcing your
enemies to recognize your rights. But in these countries, so distant and
so extensive, any hope of success can be founded only on the unanimous
efforts of the population which occupies them.
"I have maintained the same position since my first appearance in Poland.
I should add here that I have guaranteed to the Emperor of Austria the
integrity of his States, and I could authorize no movement tending to
disturb him in the peaceful possession of what remains to him of the
Polish provinces. Let Lithuania, Samogitia, Witepsk, Polotsk, Mohilow,
Wolhynia, Ukraine, and Podolia be animated by the same spirit I have seen
in great Poland, and Providence will crown with success the holiness of
your cause; it will recompense this devotion to your native country which
has made you such an object of interest, and has obtained for you the
right to my esteem and protection, on which you may rely under all
circumstances."
I have thought it best to give here the entire reply of the Emperor to
the deputies of the Polish confederation, as I was a witness of the
effect it produced at Wilna. A few Poles with whom I was associated
spoke to me of it with sorrow; but their consternation was not loudly
expressed, and the air did not the less resound with cries of "Vive
l'Empereur!" each time the Emperor showed himself in public, which is to
say almost every day.
During our stay at Wilna some hopes were entertained that a new peace was
about to be concluded, as an envoy had arrived from the Emperor
Alexander. But these hopes were of short duration; and I have since
ascertained that the Russian officer, M. Balochoff, fearing, like almost
all of his nation, a reconciliation between the two emperors, delivered
his message in such a manner as to rouse the pride of his Majesty, who
sent him back after a cool reception. Everything smiled on the Emperor.
He was then at the head of the most numerous as well as most formidable
army he had ever commanded. On M. Balachoff's departure everything was
set in order for the execution of his Majesty's plans.
When on the point of penetrating into the Russian territory, his Majesty
no longer maintained his customary serenity; at least, I had occasion to
remark that he was unusually silent at the hours I had the honor to
approach him; and, nevertheless, as soon as his plans were made, and he
had brought his troops from the other side of the Vilia, the river on
which Wilna is situated, the Emperor took possession of the Russian
territory with the enthusiastic ardor one would expect in a young man.
One of the escort which accompanied him related to me that the Emperor
spurred his horse to the front, and made him run at his utmost speed
nearly a league through the woods alone, and notwithstanding the numerous
Cossacks scattered through these woods which lie along the right bank of
the Vilia.
I have more than once seen the Emperor much annoyed because there was no
enemy to fight. For instance, the Russians had abandoned Wilna, which we
had entered without resistance; and again, on leaving this town scouts
announced the absence of hostile troops, with the exception of those
Cossacks of whom I have spoken. I remember one day we thought we heard
the distant noise of cannon, and the Emperor almost shuddered with joy;
but we were soon undeceived, the noise was the sound of thunder, and
suddenly the most frightful storm I have ever seen burst over the army.
The land for a space of more than four leagues was so covered with water
that the road could not be seen; and this storm, as fatal as a battle
could have been, cost us a large number of men, several thousand horses,
and a part of the immense equipments of the expedition.
It was known in the army that the Russians had done an immense amount of
work at Drissa, where they had constructed an enormous intrenched camp;
and the number of troops collected there, the considerable sums expended
in the works, all gave reason to believe that the Russian army would
await the French at this point; and this belief was all the more
reasonable since the Emperor Alexander, in his numerous proclamations
disseminated through the army, and several of which fell into our hands,
boasted of conquering the French at Drissa, where (said these
proclamations) we should find our grave. It was otherwise ordained by
destiny; for the Russians, constantly falling back towards the heart of
Russia, abandoned this famous camp of Drissa on the approach of the
Emperor: I heard it said by many general officers that a great battle
would have been at that time a salutary event for the French army, in
which discontent was beginning to increase, first, for want of enemies to
fight, and second; because privations of every kind became each day more
unendurable. Whole divisions lived, so to speak, by pillage. The
soldiers devastated the dwellings and cottages found at rare intervals in
the country; and, in spite of the severe orders of the Emperor against
marauding and pillaging, these orders could not be executed, for the
officers themselves lived for the most part on the booty which the
soldiers obtained and shared with them.
The Emperor affected before his soldiers a serenity which he was far from
feeling; and from a few detached words which I heard him pronounce in
this grave situation, I am authorized to believe that the Emperor desired
a battle so ardently, only in the hope that the Emperor Alexander would
make him new overtures leading to peace. I think that he would then have
accepted it after the first victory; but he would never have consented to
retrace his steps after such immense preparations without having waged
one of those great battles which furnish sufficient glory for a campaign;
at least, that is what I heard him say repeatedly. The Emperor also
often spoke of the enemies he had to combat with an affected disdain
which he did not really feel; his object being to cheer the officers and
soldiers, many of whom made no concealment of their discouragement.
Before leaving Wilna, the Emperor established there a kind of central
government, at the head of which he had placed the Duke of Bassano, with
the object of having an intermediate point between France and the line of
operations he intended to carry on in the interior of Russia.
Disappointed, as I have said, by the abandonment of the camp of Drissa by
the Russian army, he marched rapidly towards Witepsk, where the greater
part of the French forces were then collected: but here the ire of the
Emperor was again aroused by a new retreat of the Russians; for the
encounters of Ostrovno and Mohilev, although important, could not be
considered as the kind of battle the Emperor so ardently desired. On
entering Witepsk, the Emperor learned that the Emperor Alexander, who a
few days before had his headquarters there, and also the Grand Duke
Constantine, had quitted the army, and returned to St. Petersburg.
At this period, that is to say, on our arrival at Witepsk, the report was
spread abroad that the Emperor would content himself with taking position
there, and organizing means of subsistence for his army, and that he
would postpone till the next year the execution of his vast designs on
Russia. I could not undertake to say what his inmost thoughts were on
this subject; but what I can certify is that, being in a room adjoining
his, I one day heard him say to the King of Naples, that the first
campaign of Russia was ended, and that he would be the following year at
Moscow, the next at St. Petersburg, and that the Russian war was a three
years' campaign. Had it pleased Providence that his Majesty had executed
this plan, which he outlined to the King of Naples so earnestly, so many
of the brave would not have laid down their lives a few months after in
the frightful retreat, the horrors of which I shall hereafter describe.
During our stay at Witepsk, the heat was so excessive that the Emperor
was much exhausted, and complained of it incessantly; and I have never
seen him under any circumstances so oppressed by the weight of his
clothing. In his room he rarely wore his coat, and frequently threw
himself on his bed to rest. This is a fact which many persons can attest
as well as I; for he often received his general officers thus, though it
had been his custom never to appear before them without the uniform which
he habitually wore. Nevertheless, the influence which the heat had on
his physical condition had not affected his great soul; and his genius
ever on the alert embraced every branch of the administration. But it
was easily seen by those whose positions enabled them best to know his
character that the source of his greatest suffering at Witepsk was the
uncertainty whether he should remain in Poland, or should advance without
delay into the heart of Russia. While he was hesitating between these
two decisions he was nearly always sad and taciturn.
In this state of vacillation between repose and motion, the Emperor's
preference was not doubtful; and at the end of a council where I heard it
said that his Majesty met with much opposition, I learned that we were to
move forward and advance on Moscow, from which it was said that we were
only twenty days' march distant. Among those who opposed most vehemently
this immediate march on Moscow, I heard the names cited of the Duke of
Vicenza and the Count of Lobau; but what I can assert of my own
knowledge, and which I learned in a manner to leave no room for doubt, is
that the grand marshal of the palace tried on numerous occasions to
dissuade the Emperor from this project. But all these endeavors were of
no avail against his will.
We then directed our course towards the second capital of Russia, and
arrived after a few days march at Smolensk, a large and beautiful city.
The Russians, whom he thought he had caught at last, had just evacuated
it, after destroying much booty, and burning the greater part of the
stores.
We entered by the light of the flames, but it was nothing in comparison
to what awaited us at Moscow. I remarked at Smolensk two buildings which
seemed to me of the greatest beauty,--the cathedral and the episcopal
palace, which last seemed to form a village in itself, so extensive are
the buildings, and being also separated from the city.
I will not make a list of the places with barbarous names through which
we passed after leaving Smolensk. All that I shall add as to our
itinerary during the first half of this gigantic campaign is that on the
5th of September we arrived on the banks of the Moskwa, where the Emperor
saw with intense satisfaction that at last the Russians were determined
to grant him the great battle which he so ardently desired, and which he
had pursued for more than two hundred leagues as prey that he would not
allow to escape him.