The Memoirs of Baron Lejeune, Aide-de-Camp to Marshals Berthier, Davout and Oudinot. Vol. II

MEMOIRS

OF

BARON LEJEUNE

AIDE-DE-CAMP TO MARSHALS BERTHIER,

DAVOUT, AND OUDINOT

TRANSLATED AND EDITED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH

BY

MRS ARTHUR BELL (N. D'ANVERS)

AUTHOR OF THE ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF ART

THE SCIENCE LADDERS SERIES ETC.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

BY

MAJOR-GENERAL MAURICE, C.S.

IN TWO VOLUMES-VOL. II.

This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING

Text originally published in 1897 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2011, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

Contents

CHAPTER I 1

RETURN TO VIENNA-CRACOW-THE REVIEW-RETURN TO PARIS-THE DIVORCE-DECEMBER 31, 1809 1

CHAPTER II 35

MISSION CONFIDED TO ME BY THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON -GENERAL DORSENNE AT BURGOS-KING JOSEPH AT MADRID-GRENADA-CORDOVA -SEVILLE-THE BATTLE OF CHICLANA, OPPOSITE CADIZ-MARSHAL VICTOR AT SANTA MARIA-MARSHAL SOULT AT SEVILLE 35

CHAPTER III 72

I AM TAKEN PRISONER AND ALL BUT HANGED 72

CHAPTER IV 116

MY STAY AT FORTON—I LEAVE ASHBY—I ARRIVE AT BOULOGNE—PRINCE BERTHIER 116

CHAPTER V 137

PASSAGE OF THE NIEMEN—WITEBSK —POLOTSK— SMOLENSK—WIASMA 137

CHAPTER VI 164

BATTLE OF THE MOSKWA—MOSCOW—BEGINNING OF OUR RETREAT—BATTLE OF MALO-JAROSLAVITZ 164

CHAPTER VII 198

VIASMA-KRASNOE-THE BERESINA DISASTER-THE EMPEROR LEAVES THE ARMY—WILNA 198

CHAPTER VIII 248

THE ARRIVAL OF THE EMPEROR AT PARIS—THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813—LUTZEN—BAUTZEN—THE ARMISTICE, DRESDEN —KULM, LEIPZIG—HANAU—MY RETURN TO PARIS 248

CHAPTER I

RETURN TO VIENNA-CRACOW-THE REVIEW-RETURN TO PARIS-THE DIVORCE-DECEMBER 31, 1809

I LEFT General Rusca at Klagenfurt, and set out once more for Vienna. The journey back was one long delight to me, for I was now able to examine at comparative leisure the interesting places I had had to hasten past all too rapidly on my way to the Tyrol. I had scarcely passed the quaint little town of Friesach, picturesquely situated at the foot of the lofty chain of mountains separating Carinthia from Styria, when I was overtaken by another of the storms of such frequent occurrence in these lofty districts. On August 15, the Emperor's birthday, which is generally oppressively hot, I was in such a deluge of rain that I thought I should be washed away. This was succeeded by a heavy fall of snow, which lasted several hours, but I at last reached and passed through the ugly little town of Leoben, where the preliminaries of peace were signed, which saved the town of Vienna from the entry of the troops of General Bonaparte in 1797. Leoben is situated on the Mur, which winds backwards and forwards in a remarkable way, as if loth to leave the lovely valley it waters. At Burg, the Mur, the waters of which are as clear as crystal, widens out at the base of a huge rock, whose foundations it is gradually eating away. This isolated mass of stone, rising up like some defiant giant, is covered with venerable trees, the mighty, sombre-hued, drooping branches of which are reflected in the placid mirror of the waters beneath, as they gently lave the marble they are powerless to overturn.

At the Sommering pass a wall of rocks rising up into the clouds seems so completely to shut in the valley, here extremely narrow, as to leave absolutely no means of passing out of Styria into Austria. But for all that the traveller is able to reach the summit of the pass crowned by an ancient manor house, the walls and towers of which have been partly destroyed by the storms which have swept over them. The view from this point is magnificent, embracing as it does the rich plains of Austria and the banks of the Danube, with the towers and belfries of Vienna rising up against the horizon.

When I got back to the Emperor at Schönbrunn, I found him engaged in distributing rewards to those who had served him in the arduous campaigns just over. He could not without disorganising the whole army give promotion to all who deserved it; and, moreover, many of his bravest soldiers were illiterate men, whom it would not do to make officers. Anxious, however, to confer some real distinction on those brave fellows who had taken part in the actual defence of the flag, the eagle of their regiment, he conceived the idea of giving them a costume and equipment which should mark them out as specially honoured, and at the same time be suitable to the duties they had to perform.

The Emperor, therefore, sent for me, and asked me to make a sketch of a costume such as he wished to give to what he called his Eagle Guard, or those non-commissioned officers whose office it was to surround and defend the actual standard bearer. The chief weapons of each one were to be a pistol, a sword, and a lance, so that in the heat of the battle they would never have to trouble themselves about loading a gun. There was to be gold on their epaulettes, sword belts, and helmets. I made a drawing and took it to the Emperor, and he sent it with his own instructions on the subject.

Napoleon then asked me to draw, under his own eye, a design for the new Order he intended to institute. The Order of the Golden Fleece, he said, was typical of victory; my eagles have triumphed over the Golden Fleeces of the Kings of Spain and the Emperors of Germany, so I mean to create for the French Empire an Imperial Order of the Three Golden Fleeces. The sign of this Order shall be my own eagle with outspread wings, holding in each of its talons one of the ancient Golden Fleeces it has carried off, whilst hanging from its beak it will proudly display the Fleece I now institute. He then took a pen and roughly marked out the size I was to make my drawing. He also said he wished the chain on which the Order would be hung round the neck to be of very rich workmanship, with martial designs. The chain of the ancient Orders, he explained to me, consists of bits of flint which emit fire when they rub against each other; the new chain must be made of gleaming splinters of burning grenades. I made the drawings as desired, and he issued his orders accordingly. The institution of the new Order was duly announced in the Moniteur, but the terms of the treaty of peace compelled him to suppress a distinction the chief aim of which had been to humiliate the conquered countries of Spain and Austria.

Peace had already been signed on the 14th, and the Emperor now returned to France.

Major-General Prince Berthier remained in Vienna at the head of the army. The important arrangements for the withdrawal of our troops, and the various precautions taken in case of any infringement of the conditions of the treaty, did not prevent us from devoting a good deal of time to amusement. The wives of several generals came to rejoin their husbands. The Countesses of Daru and Bertrand had also lately arrived in Vienna, charming every one about them with their grace and courtesy. Fêtes and balls succeeded each other rapidly, leaving us little time for repose. The young Viceroy, Prince Eugene, who was just at the age when pleasure is so fascinating, was not the least active in promoting the festivities.

Eight days had passed happily away in amusements when Prince Berthier sent me to Prince Poniatowski, at Cracow, to inform him of the additional clauses of the treaty of peace, to tell him where his future cantonments were to be, and to ascertain from him the condition of his troops, the state of his fortresses, and what his requirements were.

When the first news of the armistice of Znaim reached Prince Poniatowski, his army had already ascended the Vistula beyond Cracow, and he was master of the strongholds of Modlin, Sierosk, and Zamoski, which he had placed in a good state of defence. I went to Galicia by way of Brünn and Olmütz, the latter a strong fortress, where the Austrians put considerable difficulties in my way, detaining me for five hours, and passed thence by way of Teschen into Austrian Silesia, finally arriving at Cracow, where I found the Prince.

I had already frequently met him at Warsaw during our campaigns, and he now received me with all courtesy and honour. Prince Poniatowski was much beloved by the Poles, who all hoped the Emperor would place him on the throne of Poland. His handsome person was set off by his easy, graceful manners, the outcome of the truly chivalrous nature which made him the hero he was in war and in gallantry. No soldier was ever braver than he, and though perchance others may have been more faithful, no lover was ever more respectful. Very often was he to be seen sleeping on straw at night, as did the rest of us. He was always most careful for the welfare of his soldiers, and I used to see him sometimes in the midst of his cares toying with a very small gold ring, which he tried to get on to his little finger. No doubt when he took this ring from the willing hand which had bestowed it on him, he had promised never to part with it; and as he could not wear it, he was in constant dread of losing it.

I dismounted at the Prince's quarters at Cracow, and found him surrounded by many of the chief nobles of Poland, who had flocked to his banner. Amongst them were Princes Lubomirski, Radzivil and Czartoriski, Counts Potocki, Kaminski, Sarekowski, &c., who all loaded me with attentions. The Russian General, Prince Suvaroff, son of the General who had fought against us in Italy, was at Cracow with his division, supposed to be there to co-operate with the Polish army in the interests of France; but the probability is that these troops were really waiting to profit by our defeat rather than to aid in our success, and everything Suvaroff did pointed to this conclusion.

For all that, the Poles and Russians lived together in Cracow on very good terms, and Prince Suvaroff, to whom I went to pay my respects, received me as a friend. Near him, stretched out upon a big rug of sable fur, was a very beautiful woman, to whom he presented me. Her long black hair, into which were twisted strings of large pearls, hung about her shoulders in studied negligence, and her snow-white neck and arms were also decked with chains of magnificent pearls. The expression of her face was pleasing and gentle. I thought she was the Princess, wife of the General, and I began to address her, when the Prince said: She does not understand you; she is a Circassian, whom I bought not long ago. He then acted as interpreter, and I had quite a long chat with her, feeling as if I were transported for the moment to an Eastern seraglio.

On November 3, Prince Joseph Poniatowski held a review of 20,000 of his Poles on a fine plain six leagues from Cracow. We went to see it, escorted by more than a hundred officers. The Prince had sent me a magnificent and richly caparisoned horse, the only white one in the army; and when we arrived opposite the troops I noticed that the donor of my steed drew back a little, so as to give me the place of honour. I manoeuvred in the same way to give place to him, and not succeeding, I begged him to excuse me from going first. Then with perfect grace and dignity he said, as he reined in his horse to allow me to pass, You are here as the envoy of the Emperor. Prince, I replied, your orders must of course be obeyed; and giving the reins to my horse, I let him show off his grace and docility before the eyes of the whole army, as I rode between Prince Poniatowski and Prince Suvaroff, but slightly in advance of them.

Before the march past the Prince had several manoeuvres executed, and I congratulated him on his skill in achieving evolutions so much more rapid than those of our infantry, which always loses an incredible amount of time in deploying. This slowness of movement may add to the precision of a manoeuvre, but it is dangerous under the fire of the enemy. I fought against it whenever I had anything to do with manoeuvring troops, and I rejoiced greatly when, as long afterwards as 1840, the corps known as the Chasseurs d'Orléans was formed, and the so-called pas gymnastique with greater rapidity of formation was introduced into the French army.

The 20,000 Poles, whether infantry, artillery, or cavalry, all wore uniforms similar to those of the French, and they seemed delighted at being reviewed by their Prince in sight of a French officer sent to them by the Emperor. I had been charged by him to congratulate them on the courage they had shown in the campaign, and to distribute rewards, such as increase of pay and crosses of the Legion of Honour, all of which were received with loud cheers.

Our return to Cracow after this fine review was like a cavalry charge, for we dashed at full gallop through the deep mud of Poland, which just now was at its worst; and when we arrived we were so completely coated with mire from head to foot, that we could only recognise each other by our voices. We had started all gleaming with gold—we came back reduced, men and horses alike, to one uniformly hideous state of chocolate colour. We all had baths and changed everything, so that when we appeared at dinner no traces were left of our mad ride; and our costumes at the ball after it were by no means the least brilliant there.

On the 4th I took leave of our allies and of their fair companions. A little later I met the Archduke Ferdinand at the Posoritz posting station, and he did me the honour of chatting with me for a few minutes. He asked me how I liked the country and if I knew it well, and I answered, smiling, that I had bivouacked in the garden of this very house on the eve of the battle of Austerlitz. The Prince frowned as he looked round on the memorable scene, but for all that he asked me to explain certain points, and as I did so I vividly recalled the glorious and interesting memories of four years before, over which, however, I could not very well gloat in the Archduke's presence. The damage to his carriage, which had delayed him, having been repaired, he resumed his journey, and I went on to Brünn, where I found Austrian troops. I got back to Vienna on the 7th, having traversed 300 leagues going and returning.

The few days I had at Vienna were spent in fêtes given by Prince Eckmühl, the Countesses Daru and Bertrand, the Princess Czartoriska, and others, and when I left the city I had but just come from a ball. A little incident of my departure will give an idea of the Viennese mode of speeding their parting French guests. A coach-builder had made for me, and duly delivered, a handsome barouche, for which I paid him two hundred florins before I started in it for Cracow. The paper money I had given him had lost a twentieth part of its value during my absence, and on my return, hearing that I meant soon to be off again, the man demanded a hundred francs to make up for his loss. I refused, and the matter seemed at an end; but as the carriage—which was to be drawn by four horses—was to start before daybreak, my postillion went to look at the wheels, to see whether they were well greased, so that we might go at a good pace. Great was his surprise at discovering that the coach-builder had removed the screws of the wheels, evidently intending me to break my neck the first time the horses felt the whip. How these good Germans did love us, to be sure! And we fully returned their feelings. I sent some guards to the coach-builder to take all the screws he had, and having picked out those which fitted my wheels, I started.

I had the pleasure of meeting my brother with his regiment en, route, and I reached Munich on November 14, where I joined Major-General Prince Berthier; now the Prince of Wagram.

The Prince of Wagram presented me to the Queen of Bavaria, and the King assigned me apartments in his palace next door to those of the sister of the Prince of Linange, whom I had met, as related above, in the Tyrol. The King, who was always good to me, showed me his fine pictures, and invited me to dinners and fêtes at Court, where I heard the celebrated Mademoiselle Longin play the harp, and Mademoiselle Blangini, the well-known amateur, perform on the violin. The King congratulated me on having got back my nose, which he had heard had been shot off at Saragossa, and I took leave in very good spirits of my amiable host, to follow the Major-General, who was returning to France.

I was scarcely back in Paris before I found myself in a perfect whirl of fêtes, balls, and festivities of all kinds.

On the 4th the Municipality of Paris gave a grand ball at the Hôtel de Ville in honour of the Emperor. More than 6,000 persons were invited to this fête, and it was kept up until long after daybreak.

On the 6th the Prince of Wagram invited to his hunting seat, known as the Château de Gros Bois, all the kings and foreign princes who were in Paris, and during the few hours devoted to the chase the neighbouring forests re-sounded -with the blowing of horns and the firing of guns. A splendid repast, a theatrical entertainment, and a ball concluded the day's festivities.

Many of the attendants of the guests had on this occasion partaken too freely of the good things provided for their masters, and we soon discovered that our drivers -were dead drunk. In fact, my men fell off the box of my carriage. It -would have been inhuman to leave them lying helpless on the road, so, -with the aid of a friend who -was with me, I picked them up and put them inside, whilst he and I took their places outside, and drove them back to Paris. Many of the royalties -would have been wise to follow our example, but of course they did not dare to do so, and they ran great risk of losing life and throne by being turned over or smashed up through the overpowering of their coachmen by the fumes of champagne.

On the 7th there -was a grand theatrical entertainment at the Tuileries, and, as the Emperor expressed it a little later at Erfurt, "There was a regular parterre of kings. Talma, Crescentini, and Grassini were the chief stars of the evening, and surpassed themselves. I have some cause to remember that night, for I seem to have been so much absorbed in contemplation of a particular box that the Emperor asked the Prince of Wagram, Which of your aides-de-camp is it who turns so persistently towards that one box?"

It was not till the entertainment was over that the Prince could see my face, tell the Emperor my name, and make fun of me.

Four days later, on the 15th, the divorce took place. It was a regular day of mourning to all who loved the Emperor and the Empress Josephine, whose very name was synonymous with grace and benevolence. Public opinion agreed in looking upon the union between that Princess and the Emperor as a talisman indispensable to the fulfilment of his lofty destiny. When the Empress, with her gentle grace and her ever ready sympathy for the unfortunate, descended from the throne, the star of the Emperor lost something of its lustre, and his prosperity perhaps received something like a check. That was, at least, the opinion of all the good-hearted men of the time, who looked upon Prince Eugène, the son of the Empress, and the adopted child of the Emperor, as the possessor of the right qualities for carrying out, after the Emperor's death, all the grand schemes which that great man might leave unfinished. Politicians, on the other hand, considered a grand marriage and a union with some one of royal blood and long descent indispensable to the consolidation of the Empire and future fortunes of France. The Emperor, too ambitious from his very childhood, was greatly flattered at the idea of the Emperor of Russia being willing to give him his sister, and the Emperor of Austria his daughter. The latter was of the same religion as Napoleon, she was descended from the old Hapsburg family, and it was to her that French politicians wished the Emperor to pay court. The winning of such an ally as the Emperor of Austria could but increase his power, and there seemed no longer any doubt as to his choice.

On the 17th the Empress left the Palace of the Tuileries, and retired to the Château Malmaison, whilst the Emperor went to Trianon near Versailles, whither he was accompanied by his three sisters and their ladies-in-waiting. The Prince of Wagram followed him thither with a few officers, including myself. During the ten days Napoleon spent at Trianon he gave up his mornings to visiting the late Empress Josephine at Malmaison, and we witnessed a renewal of the heartrending partings, accompanied by protestations of an eternal affection sacrificed in the interests of the Empire alone. The men were full of admiration for the courage and strength of Napoleon the politician, the women were astonished at the inconstancy of Napoleon the ambitious conqueror, but for all that they did their best to please him.

During my stay with the Court at Trianon, a little episode occurred in which I did not figure exactly as a hero. X lady to whom I took all the greater fancy because she had reason to complain of her husband's inconstancy, but who had hitherto repelled my advances, had at last consented to grant me an interview. Anyhow I have the pleasure of knowing that I aided in re-establishing harmony in a somewhat unsettled home. I got back to Trianon before I was missed, but, as may be imagined, I felt somewhat crestfallen.

On the 28th the Emperor returned to Paris, and until December 31 our time was spent in Court festivities, parades, brilliant reviews of the corps returning from the army, or in balls given by the Queens, sisters of the Emperor, and others, at which the display of costly materials, embroideries, jewels, &c., gave an immense impulse to the trade of Paris.

Amongst these balls a very remarkable one was given by Marescalchi, the Italian Minister, at which a grand quadrille was danced, representing a game of chess, the thirty-two dancers being dressed in exceedingly rich costumes, as the kings and princes of Egypt and Persia with certain of their subjects. On account of my height I was told off to be Sesostris or the great Ptolemy, the lovely Madame de Barral was my queen, and our purple and gold garments sparkled with the rubies with which they were lavishly sprinkled. The beautiful Duchess of Bassano, her costume one blaze of lapis lazuli and sapphires, and M. de Legrange, who was called Apollo, sat side by side opposite to us on the throne of Persia, which was assaulted, taken, and checkmated by the soldiers of Pharaoh. These soldiers were the most beautiful of the princesses and duchesses of the day. My pawn was the Princess of Aremberg. These charming battalions, who had no offensive weapons but the bewitching glances from their eyes, were attacked, supported, and defended by men dressed up as fools, bells and all, who gambolled about in true fool's style; and by horsemen mounted on docile yet fiery steeds, caparisoned in silk and gold, whose cardboard feet were not likely to trample any one down, whilst behind them rose frowning but gilded towers with battlements unmanned by archers, representing the ramparts of the Empire. The brilliant actors of the scene manoeuvred on a floor marked out to represent an ivory and ebony chessboard. The Queen advanced in a cold, imperious, and threatening manner; and the good King, compelled to submit to the laws of the game, greatly regretted not to be able to advance more than one step at a time in the direction of her pretty soldiers.

The news of the divorce and of the approaching marriage of the Emperor was received with considerable grief by the army, and great was the dismay when it was found that his choice had fallen on a foreign princess. But no notice was taken of this feeling of regret; diplomatic notes were exchanged between the French and Austrian Courts, and the marriage of the Emperor with an Archduchess was definitely arranged.

The Emperor now named the ladies who were to form the household of the new Empress; and the Duchess of Montebello, widow of Marshal Lannes, who had been created Duke of Montebello before his death, was made one of her maids of honour. On the same day the Emperor addressed a message to the Senate to announce that he was sending the Prince of Neuchatel (Marshal Berthier) to Vienna as ambassador extraordinary to represent him at the ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. The Prince did me the honour of taking me with him, and I started for Vienna once more on February 24. This tine I arrived in a carriage drawn by six horses, and not, as before, on horseback with drawn sword. The cannon greeted us yet again, but only to do us honour. I took my friend M. le Paillot with me, for I wanted him to share in the festivities; and as it was carnival time, we had a good deal of amusement of one kind and another.

I alighted at the Imperial Palace, where apartments had been prepared for the ambassador; and when I took possession of my quarters in the evening of the same day, a little accident occurred to me which gave me a strange insight into the real nature of the apparently rich appointments of the Emperor's grand residence.

My room were adorned with a profusion of gilded bronzes, and the chandelier of the salon was of specially elegant design. I noticed the rich gleam from it and its delicacy of finish, and an unlucky impulse made me think I should like to try and lift it to see how much the twenty-four branches of which it consisted weighed, for the golden chain from which it hung looked very thin. I climbed a chair, and what was my surprise at finding, when I lifted the chandelier, that it weighed no more than pasteboard or the lightest wood! I was so taken aback that I was perhaps not quite careful enough in removing my hands, and the four chains all gave way at once; the magnificent chandelier, falling with a crash, broke into a thousand pieces on the floor, revealing that the material of the whole thing—ornaments and all—was nothing more than larchwood. There was a fire burning in a magnificent grate, so I hastened to fling all the rubbish which had thus fallen a victim to my curiosity into the flames, and I never heard another word about the matter. But my thoughts involuntarily turned to the illusions of one kind and another which had led our Emperor to fix his choice on a foreign princess, and I feared that some day worse deceptions would be practised on him by the Court of Austria than that which