to repent: for whether beyond the Vistula, or on the other side of the Danube, whether in the middle of winter, or the beginning of autumn, we shall still be found French soldiers, and soldiers of the grand army."

Napoleon distributed his army in the following cantonments: Bernadotte was at Braunsberg, in PrussianHolland; the troops of Davoust were stationed at Allenstein, Deppen, and Hohenstein; Ney was at Gustadt; and Soult at Leibstadt and Mohringen; General Lefebre was engaged in besieging Dantzick.

Towards the close of February, a detachment of Russians was dispatched against Braunsberg, where Bernadotte was encamped, who ordered General Dupont to oppose them; the Russian division consisted of ten thousand men; the French in this, as on other occasions, had recourse to that dreadful weapon of destruction the bayonet fixed, and the Russians were overthrown; when, further resistance being vain, they evacuated the town; two thousand men were made prisoners, and the French also captured sixteen pieces of cannon, with two pair of colours.

The Russians were again unfortunate at Peterswalde, where General De Korff was made prisoner by the French General Belaiz, with the whole of his staff, and four hundred men.

The French Emperor now directed his sole attention to the possession of the rich city of Dantzick; and the trenches were opened before it on April 3, 1807. The grand army of France was now immensely augmented by Bavarians, Dutch troops, Poles, Saxons, Spaniards, and Swiss, in addition to which Napoleon ordered part of the conscripts of 1807, to be sent to the grand army.

The Emperor Alexander had left Petersburgh on March 28, to repair to his army, and afterwards had an interview with the King of Prussia; and a great Russian army arrived at Koningsberg, commanded by the Emperor's brother, the Archduke Constantine, while the siege of Dantzick was carrying on: the garrison of that place consisted of twelve thousand Prussians, and six thousand Russians, the whole under the direction of General Kalkreuth. On April 24, the bombardment took place, when the garrison behaved with undaunted courage, making

1

several desperate sorties upon the besiegers. In one instance, some of the battalions, at night, rushed upon the French of the third parallel; twice were they repulsed, but, with renovated vigor, they returned a third time to the charge, when the French body of reserve advanced to the relief of their comrades, to defend the parallel, and were obliged to erect new batteries for its future protection. In a grand council of war, held by the allies, relative to the perilous situation of Dantzick, it was ascertained, that there were only two methods of relieving it, either by forcing a way across the Passage, and thus attacking the French line at different points, and risking a general engagement, which if terminating successfully, might occasion the raising of the siege of that place; or else to endeavor to throw succours into it by sea. It was finally resolved upon the latter plan. General Kamenskoy was, in consequence, embarked with two Russian divisions, and several Prussian regiments; and on May 10, these forces were landed in the port of Dantzick.

Lasnes who commanded the reserve of the French grand army, was dispatched by Napoleon from Marienburgh, to join the forces under Lefebre. The Russians now made arrangements for an attack upon the French, whose army occupied a space of nearly three miles in extent. General Schramm, who was the commanding officer on this occasion, placed his army in hostile arrangement, in a situation by which it was protected by the redoubts opposite the fort of Weischelmunde. Kamenskoy marched his troops, formed into three divisions, from the fort, with the avowed design of penetrating to Dantzick, by advancing along the right bank of the Vistula. Marshal Lefebre ordered several battalions of Saxons to aid General Schramm; and General Gurdanne, who was placed on the right bank of the Vistula, was on the alert. General Lasnes, who was on the opposite bank of the river, no sooner observed the manœuvres of the Russian army, than he instantly crossed the river with four battalions of troops, with which he immediately fell upon the Russians, and after an obstinate engagement, the latter were thrown into confusion, when they were driven into the fort of Wieschelmunde. The statement of the loss of the Russians was estimated at thirteen hundred men killed, fifteen

hundred wounded, and two hundred made prisoners: while the French estimated their own loss at such an astonishing disparity as defies all credibility, which was only twenty-five killed, and two hundred wounded.

As soon as the maritime expedition had arrived before Dantzick, the Russian commander of the land forces, ordered his light troops to reconnoitre the whole French line; but the sharp-shooters belonging to the enemy made terrible execution among them, and they were repelled with very great loss. The Russians were afterwards driven across the Narew, by General Girard; and Suchet defeated them also at Otholenka; their loss on this occasion was but trifling.

On May 13, the Russians made an attack upon the forces of the French General Marrois, who was instructed to burn some rafts which the Russians were employed in making; this service he completed, and the Russians were routed. Three days after, General Turkow, with six thousand Russians, advanced in the road to Pultusk, with the view of destroying some works erecting by the French, when they were defeated by some troops commanded by the Prince Royal of Bavaria, who secured the works from destruction.

On May 19, when the French army had prepared every requisite measure for a grand assault upon Dantzick, General Kalreuth, the commander of that city, made offers of capitulating, and it was rejected; but it was agreed, that the same terms should be allowed them, as had, in a former instance, been granted to the garrison of Mayence: consequently, the garrison was permitted to march out with all the honors of war, and to be conducted to the advanced posts of the King of Prussia, at Pillaw. The garrison engaged not to serve against the French army, or its allies, for the space of twelve months; and the prisoners of war confined at Dantzick, whether French or others, were to be discharged: a vessel also was to be furnished by the French for conveying away the whole of the baggage of the garrison. The magazines, and all that belonged to his Prussian Majesty, was to be delivered up to the French. The sick and wounded were to be taken care of until their recovery, and then they were to be sent to the advanced post of the Prussian army. This capitulation was carried into effect on May 26, and on the fol

lowing day, the garrison marched out with all the honors of war, headed by General Kalreuth.

By the surrender of this important city, the French gained possession of eight hundred pieces of artillery, an immense quantity of clothing, five hundred thousand quintals of grain, magazines of every kind, and several thousand artillery horses.

CHAP. XVII.

Operations of the French Armies.

Campaign in Swedish Pomerania. Battle of Friedland.

THE system of pillage, extortion, and plunder, was regularly organised in the French armies: amongst those of the Generals who peculiarly distinguished themselves by enormous exaction, Mortier was infamously conspicuous. This vulture had been preying on the very vitals of the inhabitants of Hamburgh, Lubeck, and Mecklenburg; and after causing the greatest distress, he advanced with his army into Swedish Pomerania, and laid siege to the capital of that province: the siege of Stralsund he consigned to General Granjeau; while Dantzick was blockaded, the troops were withdrawn from Stralsund.

Von Essen, the governor of Pomerania, received orders to make an attempt to drive the French entirely out of that province: for this purpose he marched his army in two divisions, and having met with the French at Lussow, he succeeded in routing them, and pursued them in their flight to Voidehagen, where they entrenched themselves under shelter of a battery of four pieces of artillery, and two howitzers; they were, however, obliged to retreat, and Von Essen entered Denmin. General Armfieldt also, his coadjutor, captured Anelam, where the French military chest was depòsited, containing three thousand crowns. The French were now driven out of Pomerania, and in their retreat not less than ten thousand prisoners were taken by the Swedes.

The Swedish army having crossed the river Peene, Mortier advanced against it, and overthrew a detachment stationed at Ferdinandskaff, where four hundred Swedes were taken prisoners, and two pieces of cannon captured. Mortier then entered Anelam, when all the magazines in that place were taken; as were also several sloops of war that were stationed on the lake adjoining, and General Armfieldt was wounded.

Cardell, another Swedish General, was attacked on April 17, 1807, and defeated by General Veau, at Neckermunde, when five hundred men, and three pieces of cannon were captured. Denmin also fell into the hands of the French, with a garrison of five hundred men. The Swedish army now crossed the Peene, and retreated to Griesswah.

The circumstances of this campaign paved the way for propositions of a pacific nature to be discussed between the French and Swedish Generals, which terminated in an armistice, the terms of which were considerably advantageous to the French. The Swedes were to resign the islands of Usedom and Wollin; the line of demarcation between the armies was to be the river Peene, and the Trebel, with a proviso, that the French might occupy a position beyond the Peene, and behind Anelam. The Swedes were imperiously bound down not to afford any kind of assistance whatever, during the armistice, to Dantzick, nor to any power whatever at war with France, or its allies. No troops belonging to any of the powers at war with France, should be suffered to land in the isle of Rugen, in Stralsund, or any part of Swedish Pomerania. This armistice (which it was agreed should not be broken without ten days notice) afforded another proof of the policy of the French government, in gradually detaching the European powers from that most formidable enemy to the presumption, arrogance, and despotism of France, Great Britain.

The news of this armistice had no sooner reached Stockholm, than Gustavus resolved to repair in person to Swedish Pomerania, and arrived at Stralsund in May. Here he had an interview with General Sir Henry Clinton, who was authorized on the part of his Britannic Majesty, to convey to the King of Sweden the most flattering assurances of the interest which his Majesty took in the contest in which his Majesty of Sweden was en