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RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE
A SKETCH OF THE DIPLOMATIC AND
MILITARY HISTORY OF CONTI-
NENTAL EUROPE
HAROLD MURDOCK
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
JOHN FISKE
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
189s
Copyright, 1889,
Bt HAROLD MUSDOCS.
AU rights reserved.
EIGHTB EDITION.
l%e River gide Press , Cambridge, U.S.A.:
Xleotro^rped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.
Ttvw 0
PREFACE.
This work, originally undertaken as a recreation,
lias been completed in its present form in the hope
that it may serve the busy public as a helpful epitome
of the events which have transformed the Europe
of 1850 into the Europe of to-day, and also afford
a clue to future events as foreshadowed by present
complications. While no claim is made to extensive
research, yet the works consulted are probably too
numerous and volimiinous to be perused by most peo-
ple in the active pursuits of life. To attempt any-
thing more than a sketch of events so recent, while
political animosities still run high, and while so many
of the principal actors are living, would be a task that
few historical students would care to undertake.
This book purports to be merely a running narrative,
introducing the great leaders and noting the great
convulsions of twenty-one years of contemporaneous
European history.
The general style of this work partakes somewhat of
that " drum and trumpet " character which Mr. Green
deplored, but it ought to be considered that every
great change during these years has been wrought by
IV PREFACE.
force of arms, for wliich diplomacy has served merely
as a convenient stepping-stone. Cavour's greatest
stroke was the entangling of the French emperor in
the military alliance of 1859. Bismarck's foreign
policy has been directed with a view of drawing his
enemies upon the newly whetted Prussian sword.
On nearly every battlefield great questions of dynastic
and national reconstruction have himg in the balance.
Italy would scarcely have been united to-day if the
Austrians had been directed at Magenta and Solfe-
rino by the military genius which moved the Prussians
in Bohemia and the Germans in France. The Frank-
fort Diet might have been still dozing on the Main if
military science had been more carefidly studied in
the Austrian staff, or if the Prussian crown prince
had been remiss on the day of Koniggratz. Metz
might not have fallen if Bazaine had been alive to his
situation on the 14th and 16th of August, 1870, and
Alsace and Lorraine might not have become German
provinces if Metz had not fallen. Is not one justified
in saying that military operations have been the
decisive factors in Europe since 1850, that the for-
tunes of rulers and of peoples have rested upon such
men as Gyulai, Benedek, Moltke, and Bazaine ?
Possibly too much space has been devoted to the
Crimean War, but it was the French emperor's mili-
tary bow to Europe, and it affords a glimpse of
Komiloff's "Russian Defense," as well as the spec-
tacle of England engaged once more in war with a
first-rate power. Few have time to read Mr. King-
PRE FA CE. V
lake's ponderous volumes, and the first chapters on
this war as well as the one on the Eastern Question
are largely based upon his work, modified, it is true,
by Todleben and Rousset.
A bibliographical note has been appended, giving a
list of works for the use of those who desire to go
deeper into the subject, and to which the author
acknowledges his obligation. He has endeavored to
express himself with moderation and allow full scope
to the judgment of the reader; any more positive
decisions belong to future times and the verdict of
events.
BosTOK, September, 1889.
CONTENTS.
Intboduction bt John Fiskb
CHAPTER I.
EUROPE IN 1850.
EuBOPE IN 1850. — LoTTis Napoleon elected Pbbsidezit oi*
THE French Republic. — His Previous Career. •— Thb
Reyolxttion in Gerkant, Austria, and Italy. — State of
Italy in 1850. — The Attitude of Piedmont. — Tran-
quillity OF Russia. — Prestiqe of the Czar in Europe.
— The Great Powers in 1850 1
CHAPTER n.
THE COUP d'etat.
The Foreion Policy of France in 1851. — The President's
Oath. — Enmity between the President and the As-
sembly. — The Speech at Duon. — St. Arnaud and Mau-
PAs appoentbd to the Ministry. — The 2d of December.
— The President's Proclamation and the Are^sts. —
Dispersion of the Assembly. — How the Coup d'Etat
WAS MANAGED. — ThE EyENTS OF THB 3d. — ThE 4tH OF
December. — State of Affairs on the Boulevard. —
The Massacre and its Influence. — Conflict of Testi-
mony IN REGARD TO THE MASSACRE. — ThE PRESIDENT'S
Responsibility. — Disposition op Political Prisoners. —
The President sustained by the National Vote. — The
Te Deum in Notre Dame. — The President becomes Em-
peror 7
CHAPTER in.
THE REVIYAL of THE EASTERN QUESTION.
The French Emperor's Standing in Europe. — He has
Recourse to the Eastern Question. — The Quarrel
viu CONTENTS.
OVEB THE Holt PiiAces. — The Attitude of Russia.—
The French Ambassador carries his Point. — Wrath of
THE Czar. — Nesselrode on the Situation. — Menschi-
Kopp's Mission to Constantinople. — Lord Stratford
as Peacemaker. — Menschikofp's Demand and its Recep-
tion BY THE Porte. — Stratford's Position. — European
Suspicion of Russia. — Attitude of the Powers on the
Eastern Question. — England the most interested. —
The Czar's Visit to England in 1844. — " The Sick Man "
Interviews and their Result. — Strength of the Czar^s
Claim to a Protectorate. — Progress of Menschikofp's
Mission. — He is opposed by Stratford. — Menschi-
koff's Ultimatum. — Stratford's Communication to the
Sultan. — Position in which England was placed by
IT. — Failure of Menschikoff's Mission. — The Russian
Army crosses the Pruth. — The Czar's Proclamation.
— The Vienna Congress. — The War Fever in Turkey.
— The Franco-English Fleet enters the Sea of Mar-
mora — Turkey and Russia at War 16
CHAPTER IV.
THE DANUBIAN CAMPAIGN.
The Russian Army enters Moldavia. — The Military
Blunder of the Czar. — The Turkish Army and its
Commander. — The Turks cross the Danube. — Fight-
ING ABOUT KalAFAT. — ThE CzAR DETERMINES UPON THE
Offensive. — The Career of Paskevich. — His Advice
TO THE Czar. — The Russians cross the Danube. — Siege
OF SUJI^I'RIA AND FalL OF PaSKEVICH. — AuSTRIA INTER-
FERES. — Retreat of the Russian Army and Battle of
GlURGEVO — GORTSCHAKOFF ABANDONS BUCHAREST. — EN-
TRY OF THE Turkish and Austrian Armies. — Isolation
OF the Czab in Europe 33
CHAPTER V.
the western alliance.
France and England in 1853. — Cause of the Emperor^s
Forwardness. — His Influence over the English Gov-
ernment. — The Battle of Sinope. — Injustice of Pub-
lic Sentiment in England and France respecting it. —
CONTENTS. IX
The Empebob advocates a Naval Seizube op the Black
Sea. — He cabbies his Point. — Rage op the Czab. —
COBBESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE EmPEROB AND THE CzAB.
— Declabation op Wab by England and Fbance and
SiGNATUBE OP THE TbEATY OF ALLIANCE. — AuSTBIA's WaB-
LiKE Attitude. — The Allied Commandebs. — Chabacteb
OP LoBD Raglan. — The Allies at Constantinople and
at Vabna. — Ravages of the Choleba. — Lobd Raglan's
Views on the Invasion of the Cbimea. — The At.t.ttm bm-
babk at Vabna fob the Cbimea 42
CHAPTER VL
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA.
Populabity op the Conquest op Sebastopol in England.
— Landing op the Allies in the Cbimea. — The Advance
ON Sebastopol begins. — Pbince Menschikoff seizes the
Line op the Alma. — Chabacteb op the Position and
Stbength of the Russian Abmy. — Menschikopp's Fatal
Blundeb. — The Battle of the Alma. — The Fbench
tubn the Russian Lefi' Wing. — Pbogbess of the Eng-
lish.— Theib Advance checked. — The Fbench Flank
Attack succeeds. — Retbeat op the Russians. — St. Ab-
naud's Opinion op the Battle — The Allies continue
theib Advance. — Theib Flank Mabch. — Obtuseness of
Menschikoff. — His Letteb to Kobniloff. — Occupation
of Balaclava by the English. — Death op St. Abnaud.
— Canbobebt opposes the Motion to attack Sebastopol.
— Pbobable Result of such an Attack ....... 53
Descbiption op Sebastopol. — Abbival of Colonel de Tod-
leben thebe. — The Allied Fleet is sighted. — Effect
OP THE Battle of the Alma upon Sebastopol. — Men-
scHiKOFP's Obdebs — He betires fbom the Town with
the Abmy. — Despair op Kobniloff and Todleben. —
Kobniloff accepts the Command op the Gabbison. —
His Enthusiasm. — The Defenses of Sebastopol. — Kob-
NILOFP'S CONTBOVEBSY WITH MeNSCHIKOFP. — ThE LaTTEB
induced to send Tboops to Sebastopol. — Stbength of
THE Gabbison on Octobeb 6. — The Allied Bombabdment
of Octobeb 17. — Kobniloff' s Demeanob on that Day. —
His Death. — Result of the Bombardment 60
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER Vn.
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN.
The Allied Positioks on the Chersonese. — Failitbe of
THEiB Bombardment. — The Announcjement op the Fall
OP Sebastopol in London. — Eppect op this Report upon
THE Armies. — Chagrin op Lord Raglan. — The Siege op
Sebastopol begins. — Its Peculiar Character. — The
Russian Field Army assumes the Ofpensive. — Battle op
Balaclava and Charge of the Light Brigade. — Results
op the Battle. — The Battle op Inkermann. — Its Ir-
regular Character and its Results. — The Great
Hurricane. — Terrible Suffering and Losses of the
Allies. — Public Opinion in France and England con-
oernino the campaign 68
CHAPTER Vin.
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL.
Death of the Czar Nicholas. — Sardinia joins the West-
ern Alliance. — Progress op the Allies before Sebas-
topol.— Pelissier succeeds Canrobert in Command of
THE French Army. — The June Bombardment and First
Assault. — Capture op the Mamelon by the French.
— Failure of the Second Assault. — Death op Lord
Raglan. — Desperate Condition of Sebastopol. — Tod-
leben wounded. — The Russians defeated on the
TCHERNAYA. — ThE GrEAT AlLIED AsSAULT IN SEPTEM-
BER. — The French carry the Malakofp. — Evacuation
AND Burning of Sebastopol. — Prince Gortschakopf's
Estimate op the Defense. — The French Emperor and
the Czar desire Peace. — The Congress of Paris. —
Signature of Peace. — Results op the War. — Sar-
dinia the only Gainer 81
CHAPTER IX.
THE RISE OF SARDDOA.
The Map of Italy in 1850. — Political State of Sardinia.
— The Two Sicilies. — States of the Church. — Tus-
CONTENTS. XI
CANT. — Parma. — Modena. — Lomb abdy and Vknetia. —
Secret Societies. — Younq Italy and its Mission. — The
Sardinian Kino and his Policy. — His Parliamentary
Trials and Loyalty to the Constitution. — Legislation
IN the Sardinian Parliament against Clerical Abuses.
— Advent of Cavour. — The Diplomatic Duel between
Sardinia and Austria and its Influence upon Europe.
— Cavour takes the Helm. — His Dislike for Secret
Societies. — His Policy defined. — Throws Sardinia
into the Alliance against Russia. — Departure of the
Army for the Crimea. — Effect of the War News in
Piedmont. — Victor Emmanuel visits London and Paris.
— Napoleon's Solicitude for Italy. — Is appealed to
BY Cavour. — Cavour in the Paris Congress .... 96
CHAPTER X.
ITALY AND CAVOUR.
Austria's Influence upon the Italian Governments. —
Metternich on Cavour. — Cavour disappointed in Eng-
land. — He turns to France as an Ally. — The Orsini
Incident. — Cavour appeases the Emperor, and strikes
AT THE Papal Government. — The Conference at Plom-
BiiiRES. — Cavour jubilant. — Warlike Declarations at
THE TUILERIES AND AT TuRIN. — MaRRIAGE OF PrINCE
Napoleon and the Princess Clotilde. — Cavour im-
pels THE Emperor toward War. — Quizot on Cavour. —
Signing of the Franco-Sardinian Alliance. — Futile
Efforts of the Powers to preserve the Peace. —
Austria declares War. — Enthusiasm in Italy. — Na-
poleon's Manifesto. — He leaves for the Front. —
Concentration of the Armies 110
CHAPTER XI
■ ^
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. — GENOA TO MILAN.
Romantic Character of the Theatre of War. — Unpre-
PAREDNESS OF THE FrENCH ArMY. — ItS OrDER OF BAT-
TLE. — Enthusiastic Reception of the French Troops
AT Genoa. — Arrival of the Emperor at Genoa. — The
Austrian Generalissimo and his Career. — His Timid
xii CONTENTS.
Tactics. — Combat at Montebello. — The Emperor
VISITS THE Field. — The Emperor plans a Flank March.
— Gyulai deceived. — Battles op Palestro. — Action
AT TuRBiGO. — Success op the Flank March. — The Em-
peror's Orders por June 3. — Position op the Two
Armies at Noon on the 4th. — Battle of Magenta.—
The French Guard on the Naviglio Grande. — Anxiety
OP THE Emperor. — Critical Condition op the Guard. —
Arrival op Canrobert and Niel. — MacMahon carries
Magenta. — Death op Espinasse. — Ei:snM£ of the Bat-
tle 122
CHAPTER Xn.
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. — 80LFERIN0 AND VILLA-
FRANCA.
Entry Op the French Army into Milan. — The Te Deum.
— Fighting at Melegnano. — Gyulai retreats upon
Verona. — The Emperor advances prom Milan. — Igno-
rance OF EACH Commander as to the Plans of the
other. — The Austrian Army harassed by Conflicting
Orders. — It occupies the Heights of Solperino on
June 23. — Advance op the French Army on the 24th.
— Commencement op the Battle of Solperino. — Re-
pulse of the Sardinians. — The Emperor arrives on
THE Field. — Heavy Fighting at Solperino and on the
French Right. — The Lethargy op Canrobert. — Sol-
perino outflanked and abandoned by the Austrians.
— Failure of Wimppfen to retrieve the Day on the
Austrian Left. — Canrobert arrives. — General Ad-
vance of the French. — The Emperor at Cavriana. —
Firmness op General Benedek. — The French Advance
RENEWED July 1. — The Armistice and Conference at
ViLLAPRANCA. — RAGE OP CavOUR. — HiS UNDIGNIFIED
Conduct. — Why the Monarchs made Peace 137
CHAPTER XIII.
garibaldi and CAVOUR.
Disappointment in Italy at the Sudden Termination op
the War. — Insurrections in Central Italy. — Demands
of the Central Italians- — Attitude of Victor Emman-
CONTENTS. xui
UBL. — The Peace of Zurich. — Reconciliation of Ca-
VOUR AND Victor Emmanuel. — Their Battle with the
Papal Government. — Napoleon agrees to a Plebiscite.
— Central Italy declares for Annexation to Sardinia.
— The First Italian Parliament. — Cession of Nice and
Savoy. — Revolution in the Two Sicilies. — Qaribaldi
leaves for Sicily to head the Insurgents. — His Rapid
Advance. — He captures Palermo. — Extraordinary
Character of his Achievements — Excitement in Turin.
— The Policy of Cavour. — Garibaldi becomes Head-
strong. — He crosses to the Mainland and marches
upon Naples. — Francis II. abandons Naples. — Entry
OF THE GaRIBALDIANS. — CaVOUR'S CONCEPTION OF THE
Crisis. — Sardinian Troops enter Papal Territory. —
Battle of Castelfidardo. — The Sardinians pass the
Neapolitan Frontier. — Meeting of Garibaldi and Vic-
tor Emmanuel. — The Neapolitans vote for Annexation
TO THE Italian Kingdom. — Garibaldi's Hatred of Ca-
vour. — Cavour's Health gives way. — His Death. —
The World's Estimate of Cavour 150
CHAPTER XIV.
GERMANY IN 1850. — THE ADVENT OP BISMARCK.
The German Confederation and the Frankfort Diet.
— Old Understandings and Modern Misunderstandings
between Austria and Prussia. — Austria gains the As-
cendency in Germany. — The Olmutz Incident. — The
Crimean War. — Prince William becomes Regent of
Prussia. — Change in the Prussian Policy. —The Kai-
ser ANNOYED. — The Regent becomes William I. of
Prussia. — His Early Career. — His Struggle with the
House of Deputies on the Army Bill. — He calls
Bismarck to the Presidency of the Ministry. — Bis-
marck's Political Creed. — His Views on the Revolu-
tion OF 1848 AND THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION. —
His Early Opposition to German Unity. — His Admi-
ration OF Austria. — Changes wrought in ehs Views
AT Frankfort. — His Contempt for the Diet. — He
distrusts Austria. — Warns his Government against
Austria. — His Course at St. Petersburg and Paris. —
Foresees War with Austria, and pushes Army Reform 178
XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV.
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA.
The Prussian Army Reorqaiozation Ain> rrs Reorganizers.
— Bismarck forces the Measure over the Lower
House. — Commencement op the Prusso- Austrian Diplo-
matic Campaign. — Prussia misunderstood at Vienna.
— Bismarck explains her Position. — Alarm of the
Austrian Statesmen — Bismarck's Polish Policy and
its Result. — The Schleswig-Holstein Question reyiyed.
— State op the Quarrel. — The Confederation inter-
feres IN Behalf op the Duchies. — Bismarck inyites
Austria to Independent Action. — The Two Powers
LAY THEIR Ultimatum upon Denmark. — Firmness op
THE Danish Government and the Reasoi^or it. — The
Allied Armies enter Schleswig. — Evacuation of the
Dannewerk by the Danes. — Austrian Victory at
Oeversee. — The Danish Position at Fredericia and
DtJppEL. — Bombardment op the Duppel Lines. — De-
struction OP THE Danish Army at Duppel. — Evacua-
tion OF Fredericia. — The London Conference. — Re-
newed Fighting. — The Peace of Vienna 193
CHAPTER XVI.
BISMARCK VS. AUSTRIA.
Bismarck's Attitude on the Augustbnburg Claim. — His
Sudden Change of Front. — Mensdorff's Blunder. —
Bismarck anticipates War. — His Remark at Salzburg.
— The Conference at Gastrin and the Bargain ar-
ranged THERE. — Bismarck's Opinion of the Confer-
ence. — He sounds Italy. — Interviews Napoleon at
Biarritz. — Napoleon's Views on European Affairs. —
His Ideas respecting the Military Strength of Prus-
sia AND Austria. — Condition op Affairs in the Elbe
Duchies. — Bismarck reopens the Diplomatic Campaign
AGAINST Austria. — Austria and Italy begin to arm.
— Attitude of the Diet on the Dispute. — Bismarck's
Bait to Germany. — The Prusso-Italian Alliance. —
The Prussian Army mobilized. — The Claims of Prussia
A2a> Austria presented in the Frankfort Diet. —
CONTENTS. XV
Prussian Troops enter Holstein. — Bismarck's Profo-
siTioN FOR A New Confederation. — Its Failure. — Aus-
tria MOVES THE Mobilization of the Federal Army
against Prussia. — The Miutart Situation. — The Diet
VOTES TO SUPPORT AuSTRIA. — PRUSSIA DECLARES War
UPON THE Petty States. — Prussian Occupation of Han-
over, Hesse-Cassel, and Dresden. — Brilliancy of the
Prussian Conquest 211
CHAPTER XVn.
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA.
The Military Situation on June 20. — Benedek's Plan of
Campaign checkmated. — Advance of the Prussians
INTO Bohemia. — Combats at Liebenau and Podol, and
Defeat of the Austrians. — Capture of Munchengratz
BY THE Prussians. — Retreat of the Austrians upon
Gitschin. — Battle of Gitschin and Rout of the Aus-
trians. — Bismarck at Gitschin. — Advance of the Sec-
ond Prussian Army into Bohemia under the Crown
Prince. — Victories of the Prussian 5th Corps at Na-
CHOD and SkALITZ. — DISCOMFITURE OF THE PRUSSIANS AT
Trautenau. — Battle at Soor won by the Prussian
Guards. — Arrival of the Second Army on the Elbe.
— Communications restored between the Prussian
Armies. — Dilemma of the Austrian Commander. —
His Orders to his Army. — His Ignorance of the
Prussian Designs. — Character of the Austrian Posi-
tion on the Bistritz 224
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PRUSSIANS AT K0NI66RATZ AND BEFORE VIENNA.
Prince Frederick Charles prepares for Battle. — Night
March of the First Prussian Army upon the Bistritz.
— Arrival of the King of Prussia at Dub. — OPEioNa
of the Battle of EoiaGGRATZ. — The Prussians cross
THE Bistritz. — State of the Battle at Noon. — Criti-
cal Position of the Prussian Left. — Anxiety of the
Prussian Staff. — Approach of the Crown Prince to
the Field. — He threatens the Austrian Right. — Con-
•
XVI CONTENTS,
FUSED State of that Wing anb Causes thbbefob. — Thb
Crown Prince moves upon Chlum. — Capture op Chlum
BY THE Prussian Guards and its Results. — Benedek^s
Amazement upon learning op the Fall op Chlum. — He
HEADS HIS Reserves in the Efpobt to retake it. —
Failure of the Attack. — Total Defeat of the Aus-
trian Army. — Heroism of the Austrian Artillery. —
Immediate Results op the Battle. — Archduke Al-
brecht assumes Command of the Austrian Armies. —
The Prussian Advance upon Vienna. — Benedek's Re-
treat.— Battle of Blumenau. — The Armistice . . . 237
CHAPTER XIX.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE GERMAN FEDERAL ABMT.
The Campaign in the West. — Critical Situation op thb
Hanoverian Army. — Indifference of Prince Charles
OF Bavaria. — Victory op the Hanoverians at Lan-
GENSALZA. — CAPITULATION OP THB HaNOVERIAN ArMY. —
Indecision IN THE Federal Councils. — Advance of the
Pbussian General Falckenstein upon Frankfort. —
Prussian Occupation op Fulda. — Battle of Kissingen
AND Defeat of the Bavarians. — Defeat of the 8th
Federal Corps at Laufach and Aschaffenburg. —
Prussian Entry into Frankfort. — Junction of Prince
Alexander with Prince Charles. — General Manteuf-
FEL succeeds Falckenstein. — Hb marches from Frank-
fort. — Indecision of the Federal Commander. — Fight-
ing ON the Taubbr. — Retreat of the Federal Army
UPON WijRZBURG. — BOMBARDMENT OP WtJRZBURG BY THE
Prussians. — The Armistice 249
CHAPTER XX.
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866.
Italian Affairs after the Death of Cavour. — Garibaldi
AGAIN. — The Battle at Aspromonte. — Fall of the Ra-
tazzi Ministry. — France and the Roman Question. —
Drouyn de Lhuys on the Situation. — Transfer of the
National Government to Florence. — Joy of the Flor-
CONTENTS. xvii
BNTiNES. — Declaration op War upon Austria. — Condi-
tion OP THE Opposing Armies. — The German Plan por
THE Italian Campaign and its Rejection at Florence. —
The Italian Army crosses the Mincio. — The Plans of
the Opposing Comioanders result in a Collision. — The
Theatre op Action. — Opening op the Battle of Cus-
tozza on the italian right. — fightino at ouosi and
Rout of the Italian Left Wing. — Bold and Success-
ful Move of the Italian General Pianelu to check
THE Austrian Pursuit. — Progress of the Battle in the
Centre. — La Marmora's Incapacity. — State of the
Battle at Two o' Clock. — Concentric Attack of the
Archduke upon Custozza and Retreat of the Italians.
— The Italian Army recrosses the Mincio. — Responsi-
bility OF La Marmora for the Defeat. — The Archduke
Albrecht summoned to Vienna. — Advance of the Ital-
ian Army under Cialdini. — Defeat of the Italian
Fleet at Lissa. — Degradation of Admiral Persano. —
Good Faith of the ItaliajT Government in 1866 . . . 256
CHAPTER XXI.
results of the seven weeks* war.
The Treaty of Prague. — The Four Great Results of the
Seven Weeks' War. — The Federal Reichstag. — Bis-
marck AND BeNEDETTI. — BiSMARCK AND SoUTH GERMANY.
The New Era in Austria. — The Transfer of Venetia.
— Victor Emmanuel in Veihce. — Critical Condition op
Europe in 1867 269
CHAPTER XXII.
the decline of the french empire.
Napoleon's Dream is shattered. — The Crisis of his Reign.
— Drouyn de Lhu ys' Conception op the Crisis. — In-
decision of the Emperor. — Condition of the French
Army in 1866. — The French Government unable to
MEET THE MILITARY SITUATION. — BeNEDETTI AT NlKOLS-
BURG. — BeNEDETTI IN BeRLIN. — EFFORTS OF THE PaRIS
Government to indemnify itself through Diplomatic
Channei^. — Refusal of the French Propositions by
iyiii CONTENTS^
BiSMABCK. — POUOY OF DbOUYN DB LhUTS AND HIS Re-
MOYAIi FBOM OFFICE. — BiSMABCK ESTABUSHBS AN ALLIANCE
WITH THE South Qebman States. — Second Attack of M.
BeNBDETTI. — CONFIDENOE IN PABIS OYER THE SuCCESS OF
HIS Mission. — Benbdetti's Discomfiture and Eetubn to
Pabis. — Desperation of the Fbench Goyebnment. —
The Contemplated Purchase of Luxemburg frustrated
BY Bismarck. — Prussia consents to remoye her Gar-
rison FROM LuXBMBURO. — SuMMARY OF THE FrENCH DI-
PLOMACY FOR 1866-67. — The Declinb of the Empire. —
Paris in 1867 • . . ^ 276
CHAPTER XXIIL
last days of the second empire.
Condition of Eurcxpe in 1867. — The Powers at Peace*
— Unsettled State of Spain. — Garibaldi in the Field
AGAIN. — The Battle of Menta^a. — Bitter Feeling en-
gendered BY rr IN Italy toward France. — Power of
THE Empress in the French Councim. — Her Ambition.
— Effobts op the Empeeor to steady his Thbone. —
The Reorganization of the Army. — Warlike Senti-
ment IN Paris. — The Hohenzollern Incident. — The
Rage of France. — Excitement in the Corps L^gislatif.
— M. Benedetti seeks the Prussian King at Ems. — The
French (Government becomes unreasonable — Insult-
ing Demand upon the King op Prussia. — Bismarck's
Circular in Reference to it. — Ollivier's Bellicose
Speech in the Corps L^gislatif. — Enthusiasm in Paris.
— The Emperor's Misgivings. — His Hopes and Fears. —
The Shattering of his Hopes. — Baron Beust's Letter.
— The Isolation of the French Government in Europe.
— The Emperor's Proclamation and Departure for
Metz. — Wretched Condition of Affairs there. — Im-
pATiENCB OF Paris. — The ^^ Affaire " OF Saarbruck . 289
CHAPTER XXIV.
WORTH AND FORBACH.
Delivery of the French Declaration of War at Berlin.
— Perfect Preparation of Prussia for War. — Mobili-
CONTENTS.
ZATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE PbUSSIAN AbMY. — COM-
POSITICN OF THB ThIBD AbMY. — POSITION OF THB CON-
TENDING FoacES ON August 3. — Fight at WsissENBUBa
AND Defeat of the French. — MacMahon pbepabes to
BEOEIYB AN AtTACK ON THE SauER. — HiS GONFIDENOB OK
THB 5th of August. — Opening op the Battle of Worth.
— MacMahon is ouTFiiANKED. — Heroism of thb French
Cavalry. — Destruction of MacMahon's Army. — Hard
Fighting on thb Saar. — Critical Situation of thb Ger-
man Force engaged there. — Final Retreat of thb
French. — Consternation at Metz over the Result of
THE Day's Fighting. — Despair of the £mperor. — Hb
TURNS TO BaZAINE AS A SAVIOUR. — BaZAINE ASSUMES THB
Command under Protest. — He appreciates its Full
Import. — He is embarrassed by the Emperor. — Thb
Condition of Affairs at the German Headquarters. —
Moltkb's Plan. — The March through Lobbainb . . 804
CHAPTER XXV.
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ.
The French Retreat upon Verdun begins. — Battlb Kxr
BoRNY. — Bazainb's Night Visit to the Emperor. —
Flight of the Emperor to Gravelotte. — Bazaene visits
HIM THERE. — FaREWBLL BETWEEN BaZAINE AND THE Em-
PEBOB ON THB DePABTURE OF THE LaTTEB FOB VeRDUN.
— Position of the Armies on August 16. — General von
Alvensleben opens the Battle of Vionville — Char-
acter OF THE Battle and its Results ~ Bazaine takes
UP A New Position. — Moltke's Plan for August 18. —
The Battle of Gravelotte. — Repulse of Steinmetz.
— Incapacity of Bazaine. — Second Repulse of Stein-
metz. — Canrobebt ovebpowebed. — Capture of St. Pri-
VAT AND Turning of the French Right. — Close of the
Battle. — Influence of the Battle upon the Military
Situation. — Formation of the Army of the Meusb. —
The Siege of Metz begins 320
CHAPTER XXVI.
SEDAN.
Confusion at the Fbench Headquabtebs at Chalons. —
MacMahon^ s Abbival there. — Result of the Militabt
CONTENTS,
Councils. — The Paris Cabinet takes a Hand. — Mao-
Mahon's Irresolution. — Finally concludes to aiakch
UPON Metz. — Strength and Condition op his Forces.
— Desperation op the Ministry at Paris. — General
Blumenthal on MacMahon's Movement. — Moltke
MOVES to checkmate HIM. — SITUATION ON THE 27tH OP
August. — On the 29th. — Battle op Beaumont. — Rout
OF Db Failly's Corps. — Discomfiture of the French
7th Corps by the Bavarians. — Terrible Demoraliza-
tion of MacMahon's Army. — The Retreat upon Sedan
AND MacMahon's Telegram to the Ministry. — The
Germans close in upon Sedan. — The French Position
at Sedan. — First Attack of the Germans on Septem-
ber 1. — MacMahon wounded. — Splendid Work of the
Saxon Artillery. — The Qu^vrrel at the French Head-
quarters AND ITS Result. — General de Wimpffen. —
Heroism of the French Marines. — Terrible Fighting
at Bazeilles. — Awful Effect op the German Artil-
lery Fire. — Misery op the Emperor. — The White Flag
AT Sedan. — The Prussian King on the Heights op
FrAnois, — Napoleon's Letter. — Evening on the Bat-
tlefield 329
CHAPTER XXVn.
LAST MEETINGS OP BISMARCK AND NAPOLEON.
The Military Conference at Donchery. — Bismarck's
Account of rr. — Wimpffen seeks the Emperor. — The
Meeting between the Emperor and Bismarck as nar-
rated BY EACH. — Scene at the Weavers' Cottage. —
Signature of the Capitulation. — The Emperor leaves
FOR Belgium 342
CHAPTER XXVIII.
PARIS IN WAR TIME.
The Early War Days in Paris. — False Report op Vic-
tory. — Popular Rage over the Deception. — The Em-
press RECEIVES the NeWS OF DISASTER — ThE GOVERN-
MENT CONTINUES TO DECEIVE THE PUBLIC. — ThE EmPRESS
CONTENTS. xxi
OONYOKES THB CHAMBERS. — Faix OF THB OlUYIEB MINIS-
TRY. — Paukao. — The Empress at the Tuileries. — De-
moralization DT the Pau^^ce.— The News of Sedan.-—
Night Session of the Corps LiiaisiiATiF. — The 4th of
September. — The Bloodless Revolution and Fall of
the Empire. — Flight of the Empress from Paris. —
General Trochu. — The Defenses of Paris. — The De-
fenders OF Paris. — Regulars, Mobiles, and Nationals.
— The Marines and the Fortress Artillery. — Arri-
VAL of Vinoy's Corps at Paris. — Favre and Bismarck
AT FERRliCRES. — PaRIS INVESTED. — FiRST COMBATS OF
THE Siege. — Dispositions of the Besieging Army. —
The Temper op Paris. — More Sorties. — Destruction
op the Chateau at St. Cloud. — Insubordination in the
National Guard. — Aspect of Paris during the Last
Weeks of October. — The Besiegers . ^ 350
CHAPTER XXIX.
the war in the provinces.
Strasbubg and its Garrison. — The Bombardment. —
Burning of Kehl. — Firmness op General Uhrich. —
General Werder invests Strasburg. — Final Bombard-
ment AND Surrender of the Place. — Condition of
Metz. — Repulse op Bazaine's Sortie. — Capitulation
of Metz. — Bazaine's Culpability. — Complex Nature
of the Military Problem prom the German Standpoint.
— Vitality op Republican France. — A French Force
APPEARS ON THE LoiRE. — ItS DeFEAT BEFORE ORLEANS. —
Formation of the Army of the Loire. — Its Organiza-
tion BY General d'Aurelle de Paladines. — Wins a
Victory at Coulmiers. — Retreats upon Orleans. — Con-
flict between Gambetta and the French Commander.
— Appearance of the French Army of the NoSth. —
Prince Frederick Charles marches upon Orleans from
Metz. — Advance op the Army of the Loire. — Its
Right Wing is beaten at Beaune. — Gambetta insists
UPON A Continuation op the Advance. — The Left
Wing defeated at Loigny and Poupry. — Frederick
Charles assumes the Offensive — The Two Days' Bat-
tle IN Front of Orleans and Rout of the Army of thb
• •
xxii CONTENTS.
LomB. — Chanzt rallies the Left Wing and takes
Position at Josnes. — Is attacked by the Gkand Duke
OF Mecklenbubg. — Retkeat of Chanzy upon Le Mans.
— Inaction of the First Army of the Loire under
BOURBAKI. — GaMBETTA MARCHES IT EASTWARD. — FRED-
ERICK Charles and Mecklenburg concentrate against
Chanzy. — Severity of the Weather and Suffering by
the Troops. — The Battle before Le Mans and Defeat
of Chanzy. — The Second Army of the Loire and its
Record. — Destruction of the French Army of the
North by Manteuffel. — March of Manteuffel to Wer-
der's Succor. — Bourbaki crosses the Swiss Frontier . 368
CHAPTER XXX.
the fall of paris.
The Eastern and Italian Questions reopened. — The
London Conference. — Occupation of Rome by the
Italian Army. — The German Foreign Office at Ver-
sailles. — Its Attitude on European Questions. — Con-
dition OF Affairs in Paris. — Events of the 31st of
October. — Temporary Success of the Commune. — Un-
reliability of the National Guard. — Preparation for
THE Great Sortie. — The Battle of Champigny. — Its
Character and Results. — Increasing Gravity of the
Situation in Paris. — Fighting near Le Bourget. —
Opening of the German Bombardment. -^ Abandonment
OF Mont A vron by the French. — New Year's in Paris.
— The King of Prussia hailed German Emperor at
Versailles. — Battle of Buzenval and Retrfj^.t of the
French. — Fwrb at Versailles. — Capitulation of
Paris and Signature of the Armistice. — The French
Assembly meets at Bordeaux. — Appoints Thiers Chief
OF THE Executive Power. — Thiers and Bismarck at
Versailles. — The Preliminaries of Peace ratified by
the Assembly. — Entry of the German Troops into
Paris. — The Peace of Frankfort. — Europe at the
Present Day. — Prevalence of Militarism and the
Causes therefor 388
Bibliographical Note 403
Index 407
LIST OF MAPS.
PAcn
The Gountby fbom the Alma to Balaclava 54
The Campaign is Italt, 1859 ; the CouirrBr from Alessak-
DBLA TO MiLAK 122
Battlefield of Maqenta 130
The Campaign in Italy, 1859 ; the Countbt fbom Milan
TO Yebona 138
Battlefield of Solfebino 144
Earlt Opebations of the Pbussian Abmies in Bohemia,
1866 226
Battlefield of Koniggbatz 238
Battlefield of Custozza 260
Enyibons of Metz 320
Sedan and Vicinity 336
Envibons OF Pabis (1870-1871) 850
Enyibons of Obleanb 374
INTRODUCTION.
He who Is inclined to take optimistic views of hu-
man history must contemplate the' course of events
during the past f oriy years with genuine satisfaction,
for to whatever part of the globe he turns his atten«
tion he will find much more to confirm than to dis-
credit his hopeful attitude. Everywhere, doubtless,
there are difficult and anxious problems to be solved ;
the spirit of evil, in one shape or another, goes on
rearing its head defiantly ; and the condition of man-
kind improves but slowly. Nevertheless, in almost
every quarter of the world since 1860 we can point
to solid and unmistakable progress. In the depart-
ments of scientific discovery and industrial art this
has been so conspicuous a fact that to mention it is
like uttering a truism. But in political history the
illustrations of progress are no less striking. A mar-
velous revolution in Japan has transformed the feu-
dal regime of the Shogun and daimios into a consti-
tutionally governed empire, eager to learn wisdom
from every available source. The English rule in
India, since the dreadful days of Cawnpore and
Lucknow, has been marked by a prosperity unpar-
alleled in the history of that teeming population.
Australasia is witnessing the rapid growtii of a new
English civilization, destined soon to become a valua-
ble moral power in the world. With the labors of
xxiv INTRODUCTION.
Livingstone and Stanley during this same period, a
new and more hopeful era has begun in the career of
Africa. In the southern parts of South America, on
the shores of both oceans, Spanish civilization has
assimied a thrifty and progressive character, more
especially since the triumphs of Montt in Chili and
of Mitre in the Argentine Republic (1852-60). As
for North America, we need only to remember that
1860 was the year in which the Fugitive Slave Law
was enacted, with the consent of the foremost Amer-
ican statesman then living, who could see no other
way of saving the United States from disunion and
anarchy. That negro slavery has been abolished,
while the spectre of secession has been exorcised, and
a reconciliation achieved between states so recently
hostile, marks an amount of political progress which
may well be set off against the tale of public corrup-
tion and extortion of which the daily report is slowly
but surely kindling the righteous indignation of a
long-suffering people.
In no part of the world has the improvement in the
political situation since 1850 been more striking than
in Europe. The author of the present book has done
well to entitle it "The Reconstruction of Europe."
It has been indeed a reconstruction such as one could
hardly have dared hope for in the days of Haynau
and Radetzky. Yet no intelligent observer could
even at that time suppose that the crude adjustments
made by sheer military force were likely to prove
enduring. It seemed in 1850 as if despotism were
triumphant, but appearances were deceitful. Sisera
could not conquer, for the stars in their courses were
fighting against him. The movement toward consti-
tutional freedom and the independence of oppressed
INTRODUCTION. xxv
nationalities, temporarily cheeked by the arms of
Kadetzky and Paskevitch, was a movement that had
been gathering strength for more than two genera-
tions. For its remote sources we must look back to
the middle of the eighteenth century, when English
ideas of constitutional liberty, vindicated by Vane
and Cromwell and expounded by Locke and Milton
yet a century earlier, were at length taken up and in-
corporated into the speculations of French philoso-
phers whose writings were widely read upon the con-
tinent. In deference to the spirit of the age, as
represented in various ways by Montesquieu and
Voltaire, by the Physiocrats and the Encyclopaedists,
the work of reform was begun by crowned philoso-
phers and public-spirited despots, such as Frederick
of Prussia, Catherine of Russia, Joseph of Austria,
and Charles III. of Spain.
In the country which had become a more coherent
nationality than any other upon the continent, which
had less enlightenment in its dynasty and more in its
people, and which had been brought most closely into
contact with English and American ideas, the terri-
ble revolution beginning in 1789 at once brought
matters to a crisis and inaugurated for the European
world the great modem movement of which our
author describes the most recent phases. With the
French revolutionary propaganda it became a move-
ment toward democracy, toward the final abolition of
feudalism with its arbitrary privileges for the few
and its excessive burdens for the many, toward the
fuller participation of the people in the work of gov-
ernment and their more efficient protection in the en-
joyment of the fruits of their labor. When the gov-
ernments of Austria and Prussia in 1792 undertook
XXVI INTRODUCTION.
to stem the rising tide by invading France, they
called into existence a French levee en masse of revo-
lutionary soldiers destined forthwith to overrun all
Europe, carrying democratic notions with them every-
where. When the National Convention published its
famous proclamation of November 19, 1792, offering
French assistance to all peoples who wished to get
rid of their governments, it laid down a revolution-
ary programme which Napoleon in very considerable
measure carried out. In many respects the policy of
the First Empire was a reversal of the policy of the
Revolution, and keenly disappointed the generous
aims and hopes that had sustained the nobler spirits
amid the horrors of that time ; but there were ways
in which the Napoleonic conquests, albeit marked by
a most shameless and cynical disregard of morality
and decency, were beneficial and stimulating to the
people of Europe. One of these ways was the tem-
porary extension of the new French laws, and of
methods of administration connected therewith, over
certain regions, especially the so-called Confederation
of the Rhine and some parts of Italy. Another was
the partial consolidation effected in the same regions,
along with the overthrow of a swarm of petty tyrants
who were not reinstated in 1815. A third was the
spirit of nationality evoked in resistance to Napoleon,
especially in northern Germany, under the lead of the
noblest statesman of that age, the gallant and glorious
Stein,
The seed sown in these ways had become too deeply
rooted in 1815 to be destroyed by the ingenious ar-
rangements made at the Congress of Vienna. The
next thirty years were, by comparison with what had
gone before, a time of profound peace ; yet they wit-
INTRODUCTION. xxvii
nessed political and military events charaeteristio
enough as indicating the general drift of affairs.
Such events were the establishment of independence
by the Spanish colonies in America, the successful
revolt of Greece, the unsuccessful revolt of Poland,
the troubles in Spain after the death of Ferdinand
VII., the uprising which drove Charles X. from
France in 1830. The most characteristic feature of
this period was restlessness. Ideas of reform, aspira-
tions after a better state of things, were everywhere
in the air. The moral influence of the gi'cat Parlia-
mentary Eeform of 1832, and other contemporaneous
reforms in England, such as Jewish and Catholic
emancipation and the abolition of the slave-trade,
counted for much. The success of democracy on
a vast scale in the United States, however dimly
apprehended by the people of continental Europe,
doubtless also counted for much. Increasing com-
fort, scientific discoveries, railroads and steamboats,
cheaper and more abundant popular literature, were
powerful factors in stimulating the revolutionary
spirit. The revival of historic studies, the keenly
aroused interest in the past, as shown in Guizot and
Sir Walter Scott, in the romantic school in poetry,
painting, and music, did much to strengthen the
growing sense of the sacredness of nationality. It
came to be more and more generally felt that it was
wrong for Greeks and Bulgarians to be trampled
down by the ruthless Turk,* and for Magyars and
Italians to be held in subjection by a ruler at Vienna.
It was especially in the Italian peninsula that the
aspiration toward political reform was identified with
the aspiration toward national unity. Since the ar-
rangements of 1815, Austria had held Lombardy and
ocxviii INTRODUCTION.
Venice in subjection, but Austrian control. Ovei? the
peninsula really went much farther than this. In
1821 an insurrection against Bourbon tyranny in
Naples was suppressed by Austrian bayonets ; and in
1831 a revolution in the Papal States was suppressed
in the same way. Gradually, therefore, it became
apparent to all thoughtful Italians that the only prac-
ticable way of putting an end to misgovernment was
to unite the population of the peninsula in the effort
to throw off the Austrian yoke. The cause of Lom-
bardy and Venice must be made the common cause
of all Italy. In this conclusion Italian statesmen
came to agree, however they might differ as to thd
means by which the desired end was to be attained \
whether with Mazzini they looked forward to a united
Italian Republic, or with Gioberti dreamed of a re*
formed and enlightened Papacy taking the lead in
driving out those whom bellicose Julius II. used to
call " the barbarians," or with Cavour saw clearly
that the hope of Italy lay in Piedmont, the one Italian
state which combined political freedom with organ-
ized military strength.
Where there is so sound a principle at work as
that represented in the policy of Cavour, it is sure to
profit by every opportimity that is offered for steady
and healthful expansion, as was illustrated in the
masterly skill with which the Italian statesman made
use of the French emperor from the time of the Cri-
mean war to the time when the people of one Italian
state after another elected Victor Emmanuel as their
king. But perhaps the most curiously significant
feature in the complex process of European recon-
struction is the wholesome Nemesis that has over-
taken Austria, and at the cost of a brief military
INTRODUCTION.
Iiiimiliation placed her in the ranks of progressive
states. In the days of our fathers the very name of
Austria had a hateful sound. It stood for mean and
cruel oppression, A survival of the contemptuous
anger with which all true lovers of liberty then re-
garded Austria may still be seen in Mr. Freeman's
writings, whenever that great historian has occasion
to allude to her. But the policy to which Metter-
nich Had devoted his rare abilities provoked reaction ;
and Cavour, securing by the sacrifice of Nice and
Savoy at first the active help and then the secret
connivance of the French emperor, struck the blow
which called into existence the Kingdom of Italy.
Then in the final phase of the struggle between Aus-
trian conservatism and the movement toward German
unity begun by Stein and carried on by Bismarck, the
Italian kingdom played its part as an ally of Prus-
sia, and brought itself nigh to completeness by the
acquisition of Venetia. Austria, driven from the
German federation to shift for herself, discovered
that she could no longer maintain her footing in the
world without granting to Hungary all that Kossuth
and his brave companions had vainly contended for
in 1849. From the moment that she was thus freed
from the deadly burden of peoples held in unwilling
subjection, Austria began to show symptoms of
healthy national life. The surgery of 1859 and 1866
was sharp but salutary. Then in that year of doom,
1870, a united Germany, freed from complications
with Austria, made short work with the French em-
peror, the greatest sham of the century, and left
France humbled and exasperated, but probably in
a less unsound condition than at any previous mo-
ment since 1789. The Italian kingdom, seizing this
INTRODUCTION.
opportunity, attained completeness by acquiring the
city of Rome and putting an end to the temporal rule
of the Papacy. Lastly, the causes of dissension be-
tween Germany and Austria, as well as between
Austria and Italy, having been removed, we see these
great powers leagued together in a triple alliance that
bids fair, especially if favored by the wealth and
maritime power of England, to serve as a potent
guarantee for the maintenance of peace in Etlrope.
Truly the advance since the days of Paskevitch and
Radetzky has been wonderful.
The tares that the enemy has so industriously sown
have not, however, all been uprooted ; some of them
are still thrifty and seem likely to prove fruitful in
disturbance. Our author, no doubt, does well in
bringing his narrative to a close with the victory of
Germany over France ; for if he had gone on to treat
of the Balkan war of 1878, he would have begun
upon a chapter of history which, in a peculiar degree,
is not yet ended. It is a pity that the beastly Turk
could not then have been sent over to Brusa, as a pre-
liminary step toward improving him off from the face
of the earth ; for not until that has been done can we
hope to see civilization restored in those beautiful
lands which to the historian, the philosopher, and the
Christian are fraught with such hallowed memories.
But how the cumberer of the earth can be disposed
of without kindling a general European conflagra-
tion is a question that puzzles the wisest statesmen.
To tliis Eastern difficulty, which is an old one, the
issue of the war between France and Germany unfor-
tunately added a new source of probabje contention
in the future. The Germans deemed it necessary to
annex Alsace and Lorraine in order to secure a bet-
t
INTRODUCTION. xxxi
ter military frontier in case of any future war with
France. By so doing they made it ahnost impossible
for France to abandon her attitude of enmity toward
Germany, and they annexed a hostile population sure
to be a source of weakness to Germany, as the pos-
session of Venetia had been a source of weakness to
Austria. Moreover in doing this they shocked public
sentiment, so that if in some future European com-
plication France goes to war with Germany in order
to recover her lost provinces and free their people
from foreign domination, then enlightened public
sentiment in both hemispheres will probably sympa-
thize with France in this one particular, even though
it may sympathize with her in nothing else. And
this is because the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by
Germany was reaUy a violation of what is the sound
basis of the principle of the sacredness of national-
ities ; in other words, it was a violation of the sacred-
ness of self-government. It was easy to argue that
in blood and speech the people of Alsace-Lorraine
were almost more German than French, and that in
point of history their connection with France was
scarcely two centuries old. Such arguments go but
little way when confronted with the fact that the
people of Alsace-Lorraine — who are among the most
intelligent, cultivated, and virtuous people in the
world — consider themselves Frenchmen. They love
France and hate Germany, and would hail with de-
light any such opportunity as was offered to Lom-
bardy in 1859 and to Venice in 1866. Their present
position immensely increases the difficulty of dealing
with the Eastern question. It remains to be seen
whether the Germans did wisely in 1871 in allow-
ing military considerations to prevail over such grave
xxxii INTRODUCTION.
objections to the forcible severance of these people
from France. Perhaps it may by and by appear
that in this one instance they made the same sort of
mistake that the first Napoleon was so apt to make,
in setting a higher value upon sheer brute force than
upon the sagacious statesmanship that takes morality
and sentiment into the account. Time will show.
JOHN FISKE.
THE
RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
CHAPTER I.
EUKOPE m 1850.
Europe m 1850. — Louis Napoleon elected President ofthb
French Bepublic. — His Previous Career. — The Revolu-
tion IN Germany, Austria, and Italy. — State op Italy in
1850. — The Attitude op Piedmont. — Tranquillity of Rus-
sia. — Prestige op the Czar in Europe. — The Great Pow-
ers IN 1850.
In the year 1850 Europe was emerging from the
throes of a revolutionary era, with military autocracy
generally triumphant, at the expense of liberal and
free ideas. France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and
the Italian states had been shaken by the great popu-
lar upheaval, but in France alone was the revolution
sustained. The government of Louis Philippe had
fallen, never to rise again. A provisional government,
established to direct affairs pending the election of a
republican president, was obliged to maintain itself
with powder and ball against an insurrection of the
Commune in Paris. The Faubourg St. Antoine was
mercilessly bombarded, barricaded streets were raked
with cannon and musketry, before order was restored,
and the government enabled to turn its hand to the
2 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
last act in a Paris revolution, the execution and trans-
portation of prisoners.
Tlie election of 1848 summoned to the presidency
of the new republic Charles Louis Napoleon Bona-
parte, the recognized heir of the great Napoleon. He
had been elected to the Assembly in June and Sep-
tember, and had taken his seat in the latter month,
in the face of protests ty the f axjtion most warmly
attached to the cause of the republic.
The character and views of Louis Napoleon were
not imknown to his supporters. He had always
asserted his belief that he was one day to rule over
his uncle's empire, and had proved the sincerity of
his convictions by twice attempting to seize supreme
power by tampering with the army. For the latter
of these ill-starred attempts he had suffered imprison-
ment in the fortress of Ham, but, escaping, had fled
to England: When he returned to Paris in 1848 it
was virtually to accept at the hands of the people a
recall from exile. The prestige of his name won the
votes of lovers of domestic order, while the absurdity
of his conduct at Strasburg and Boulogne gained him
the support of a less patriotic element, who regarded
him as clay to be moulded at will by unscrupulous
potters. The state of affairs in France at the opening
of 1850 was without parallel in Europe. The revolu-
tion had overthrown Louis Philippe, crushed out a
revolution that conspired against itself, established
the republic, and crowned its work by choosing an
imperial pretender for a republican president.
Of all the continental governments, those repre«
sented in the Germanic Diet at Frankfort had suf-
fered most severely. Mobs raged through the streets
of Berlin, Dresden, Munich, and Vienna. The Hun-
EUROPE IN 1850. 3
garian and Italian subjects of the Kaiser revolted
and defeated the troops sent to suppress them. The
Kaiser fled from Vienna, the king of Bavaria abdi-
cated his throne, while the petty princes of Germany
were driven to the promulgation of constitutions, and
the adoption of liberal ministries. In the general
uprising against absolutism, the Frankfort Diet itself
was swept away. It had never been popular with
the masses, as it represented the princes, and not the
people, of the German states. In its stead there was
convened a national assembly, elected by popular suf-
frage, whose leading articles of faith were constitu-
tional liberty and national unity. Adherence to the
latter principle induced it to order Prussian troops
to the assistance of the people of Schleswig-Holstein,
who were endeavoring to throw off the Danish yoke,
while devotion to the former led it to offer to Fred-
erick William of Prussia the crown of united Ger-
many. Prussia had clearly outstripped Austria in
the favor of the German people. Her advocacy of
the Zolleverein which had made Germany a commer-
cial unit, and the adoption by Frederick William of
certain liberal reforms advocated by the Berlin rev-
olutionists, had done much to establish this state of
things. Frederick William, however, had never
really sympathized with the new views of his subjects.
He was a devout believer in his divine right, and in
the power of the Austrian army, and furthermore felt
a deep veneration for the House of Hapsburg. He
mistrusted the wisdom and stability of the Frankfort
assembly, and refused its offer of imperial honors.
This proved the deathblow of the liberal assembly on
the Main. Had Russia remained quiescent, perhaps
it might have risen superior to this rebuff. In fact,
4 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
however, the Czar placed his troops at the dispo-
sal of the Kaiser, and confided to his famous lieu-
tenant, Paskevich, the subjugation of Hungary.
With his right arm free again, the Kaiser turned to
the rectification of affairs in Germany, Despotism
took fresh heart, liberal ministries came tumbling
down, and Frederick WiUiam, who had been playing
fast and loose with the Prussian revolutionists, turned
a cold shoulder to their requests. The Prussian
troops were recalled from the Elbe Duchies, while
Austrian troops succeeded them, and reestablished
the Danish authority. In the mean time, Paskevich
in Hungary, and Radetsky in Italy, had crushed out
all opposition. Austria was again dominant, not only
in Germany, but in Central Europe and Italy as well.
The condition in which Hungary and Italy were
left by the Russo- Austrian triumph was a deplorable
one. While the former was the victim of the stern-
est military reprisals, the state of affairs in Italy was
even worse.
With an intensely national spirit animating all
classes from the Alps to the Tiber, the Italians for
generations had been held asunder by foreign bay-
onets. Austria held Venetia and Lombardy as prov-
inces of the empire, but her influence extended far
beyond their frontiers. The Neapolitans crouched
under the Bourbon lash with the might of Austria
behind it. Tuscany, Parma, and Modena had their
old rulers, who had fled upon the outbreak of 1848,
again forced upon them, while the troops of the
Kaiser were billeted on their territory. The Pope
returned from his retirement in the Neapolitan do-
minions under the protection of Austria, the French
Republican army having previously occupied Rome.
EUROPE IN 1860. 5
Even Piedmont, the little northern kingdom, the
sole representative of constitutional government in
Italy, had suffered from a temporary Austrian occupa-
tion consequent upon Badetsky's victory at Novara.
But the Piedmontese were not cast down. As Austria
stood for despotism in the peninsula, so Piedmont had
come to stand for constitutional government and Ital- ,
ian regeneration. From the dismal night of Novara,
when the broken-hearted Charles Albert abdicated
the Sardinian throne to his son, a new era was inau-
gurated in Italian history. While the battle-smoke
still brooded over the field of Badetsky's greatest vic-
tory with evidences of misery and disaster on every
hand, Victor Emmanuel had voiced the oath "Per
Dio, Italia sara ! " In the presence of the principal
dignitaries of the kingdom, he committed himself to
the fostering of the liberal institutions of the state
and the furtherance of the Italian cause. Even as
early as 1850, while still reaping the bitter fruits of
unsuccessful revolution, the Italian people were com-
ing to regard Piedmont as the national David, by
whom the giant strength of foreign oppression should
one day be broken.
Throughout this period of turmoU in Europe, the
vast realms of the Czar had remained undisturbed.
Not certainly that there were no burdens to be light-
ened or wrongs to be redressed, but simply from the
fact that liberty such as was being fought for in Ger-
many, Austria, and Italy had never entered into the
conception of the stupid, plodding Russian serf. As
for the sprinkling of uneasy, restless agitators, from
which Russia is never free, perhaps the memory of
Poland and the fear of Paskevich held them back.
Russia remained tranquil, a fact that won new pres-
6 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
tige for the Czar. The generous, majestic fashion in
which he came to the assistance of Austria, and hurled
back the Hungarian patriots before his stubborn bat-
talions, impressed all Europe with a sense of his great
might. While every continental government was
employing the full strength of its military arm to
preserve or restore order within its territories, the
Czar was demonstrating the fact that his armed power
was far beyond his necessities. The withdrawal of
his troops from Hungary was no less imposing than
their entry had been. No allusion to compensation
lessened its moral influence. Austria was grateful
and profuse, while the rest of Europe was awed by
the splendid courtesy and boundless power of the
northern autocrat.
The general position of the great European states
at the opening of the year 1850 may be summed up
briefly as follows : —
England still remained engrossed in the arts of
peace and the doings in the Commons. The reforms
for which the continental peoples contended were
only those which the English fought for at Naseby
and Marston Moor, and had enjoyed for centuries.
France, emerging from a complication of revolu-
tions, was again sailing smoothly, but with the Bona-
parte pretender at the helm.
In the German states, despotism, temporarily in
danger, had resumed its sway, with the Diet again
established on the Main. Imperialism, reentrenched
in Vienna, cast its baleful shadow over Germany,
Hungary, and Italy.
Finally, Russia loomed vast and haughty in the far
East, an object of dread and misgiving, and clothed
in newly-acquired prestige.
CHAPTER n.
THE COUP d'etat.
•
The Foreign Pouct op France in 1851. — The President's
Oath. — Enmity between the President and the Assem-
bly. — The Speech at Duon. — St. Arnaud and Maupas
appointed to the Ministry. — The 2d of December. — The
President's PROCLAiaATiON and the Arrests. — Dispersion
OP THE Assembly. — How the Coup d'Etat was managed.
— The Events op the 3d. — The 4th op December. — State
OP Appairs on the Boulevard. — The Massacre and its
Inpluence. — Conflict op Testimony in regard to the
Massacre. — The President's Responsibility. — Disposition
OP Political Prisoners. — The President sustained by the
National Vote. — The Te Deum in Notre Dame. — The
President becomes Emperor.
In the year 1851 France was attracting more atten-
tion than any other of the great powers on account of
her conspicuous foreign policy. With an army in
Kome as a body-guard to the Pope, and an ambas-
sador in Constantinople vigorously claiming the Holy
Places at Jerusalem, this policy was strongly sugges-
tive of the Crusades. But the fact, above all, that
arrested the attention of the world was the unique
experiment then in progress of a republican govern-
ment, with the heir of the First Napoleon as president.
Prince Louis entered upon his duties as president
of the French republic December 20, 1848. On that
day, before the Assembly, he swore " to remain faithful
to the democratic republic," and declared, " My duly
is clear. I will fulfill it as a man of honor. I shall
8 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
regard as enemies of the country all those who
endeavor to change by illegal means that which all
France has established."
The president and the Assembly were soon at war.
The Assembly, or a large proportion of its members,
suspected the president of treasonable designs against
the republic, while he believed that the Assembly was
conspiring for his overthrow. A state of affairs like
this could not be attended with much good for France.
In May, 1851, the president declared at a public ban-
quet in Dijon, " The Assembly has given me its co-
operation in every means of repression, but has failed
me in all the measures which I have devised for the
welfare of the people."
On October 27 Achille St. Amaud, an officer in
the French Algerian army, with a bold, venturesome
spirit and a reputation by no means stainless,^ was
appointed by the president minister of war. On
the same day M. de Maupas was appointed prefect
of police. Maupas unfortunately had won a reputa-
tion which seemed better calculated to bring him
under the surveillance of the police, than to place
him in charge of its intricate machinery.^ It cer-
tainly could not be regarded otherwise than as a grave
danger to France that the army should be under the
orders of an unscrupulous soldier like St. Amaud,
and the police in charge of a character like Maupas.
The true significance of these appointments was in-
dicated by the events which occurred in Paris between
the 1st and 5th of the following December.
On the morning of December 2, 1851, Paris awoke to
find its walls blazing with proclamations by the presi-
^ Kinglake, chapter xxix.; T^not, pp. 78, 79.
^ See Kinglake, chapter ziy.
THE COUP D'ETAT. 9
dent, declaring that he had dissolved the Assembly,
charging it with being " the hotbed of sedition," that
it forged the weapons of civil war, that it imperiled
the tranquillity of France, and that he, the president,
made the whole people judge between him and it.
"I make, therefore, my loyal appeal to the whole
nation, . . . and I say if it be your will that the pres-
ent state of disturbance continue, choose another to
fill my place, for I will no longer retain a power which
is ineffectual for good." Parisians found, further-
more, that the press had been muzzled, and they
learned only by word of mouth from the wild stories
that circulated upon the boulevards, that there had
been wholesale arrests during the night, and that the
leading statesmen and soldiers of France were behind
prison bars. The vast massing of troops at strategi-
cal points proved that some move of unusual impor-
tance had been made. A brigade was drawn up on
the Quai d'Orsay, another was stationed in the Place
de la Concorde, another in the garden of the Tuile-
ries, while a fourth under Canrobert, with no less than
three brigades of cavalry, was located about the palace
of the Elys^e.
Later in the morning the Assembly came together,
but were ejected by a body of troops, and several of
the members arrested. Another attempt was made
to hold a session at the mayoralty of the tenth arron-
dissement. A resolve was passed that the high-handed
acts of the president were a forfeiture of his office.
At this juncture General Forey arrived before the
building at the head of several battalions. A detach-
ment entered the room where the deputies were sitting,
and an officer ordered them to disperse. This they
refused to do, but upon the seizure of the president
10 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
by the soldiers the whole body declared themselves
prisoners, and were marched through the streets to
the Quai d'Orsay, hemmed in by a cordon of bay-
onets. They were confined here through the day, but
after dark they were sent, in close vans, some to the
fortresses of Vincennes and Mont Val^rien, and others
to the prison of Mazas. This concluded the first act
in the coup d*etat which overthrew the republic
and left Louis Napoleon the dictator of France.
The ministers of the president discharged their
duties with such skill and vigor that people were
willing to believe they had been chosen with this
object in view. Maupas, at the head of the police,
isolated the state printing-office during the striking-
off of the proclamations dissolving the Assembly, and
arranged with beautiful precision and a brazen dis-
regard of law the early morning arrest of the mil-
itary and civil leaders of France. The total number
of arrests was seventy-eight, and they included all
those statesmen who were regarded as most likely
openly to combat the bold step of the president and
incite the people to resist him. St. Amaud directed
the soldiery against the Assembly, and stationed them
in imposing masses through the city, to intimidate
those who might feel impelled to protest with the cus-
tomary barricade arguments. M, de Morny, generally
known as a daring speculator, assumed charge of the
home office shortly before light, and the rising sun
found him at his post, superintending the vast tele-
graphic system which was conveying to the country
such accounts of the state of enthusiasm in Paris as
the president and his ministers deemed best suited to
their interests.
The second part of the coup d*Stat^ which drenched
THE COUP jyETAT. 11
the boulevards with innocent blood, has cast a shade of
horror over the whole transaction that time has been
unable to efface. Paris is never so reduced in a crisis,
whether the cause be just or unjust, that she is bereft
of hands to erect and defend barricades in her streets.
In the Faubourg St. Antoine an incipient rising on
the 2d was suppressed inunediately by the troops.
The volcanic district from the Hotel de Ville north-
ward to the boulevards also showed signs of uneasi-
ness, and throughout the morning of the 3d the mil-
itary were busy pulling down partially completed
barricades and dispersing small bodies of insurgents.
There seems to be little question that the army was
embittered against the populace. If this were so, the
proclamation circulated by the president through the
ranks on the 2d was not calculated to appease it.
He styled the soldiers as " the flower of the nation."
He pointed out to them that his interests and theirs
were the same, and that they had suffered together in
the past from the course of the Assembly. He re-
minded them of the years 1830 and 1848, when the
army had fought the people in the streets of Paris,
and concluded by an allusion to the military grandeur
of the Bonapartes.
During the afternoon of the 3d and morning of the
4th the troops remained inactive, pending orders from
the minister of war, and in this interval several strong
barricades were erected in the restless quarters. On
the afternoon of the 4th the boulevards, from the
Madeleine to the Rue du Sentier, were occupied by a
great body of troops awaiting orders to move east
through the Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle upon the bar-
ricaded district. The soldiers stood at ease, and the
officers lounged about, smoking their cigars. The
12 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
sidewalks, windows, and balconies were crowded with
men, women, and children, thoughtless onlookers of
the great military display. Suddenly a single shot
was heard. It was fired from a window near the Rue
du Sentier. The troops at the head of the column
faced sharply to the south, and commenced a deliber-
ate fusillade upon the crowded walks and balconies.
The battalions farther west caught the murderous con-
tagion, until the line of fire extended into the Boule-
vard des Italiens. In a few moments the beautiful
boulevards were converted into a bloody pandemonium.
The sidewalks were strewn with corpses and stained
with blood. The air was rent with shrieks and groans
and the breaking of glass, while the steady, incessant
rattling of the musketry was intensified by an occa-
sional cannon-shot, that brought down with a crash
the masonry from some fine fa9ade. This continued
for nearly twenty minutes, when a lack of people to
kill seems to have restrained the mad volleys of the
troops. If any attempt was made by officers to check
their men, it was wholly unavailing, and in some cases
miserable fugitives were followed into buildings and
massacred. Later in the day the barricades were
attacked, and their defenders easily overcome. By
nightfall insurgent Paris was thoroughly cowed.
These allegations, though conflicting with sworn
statements of Republicans and Imperialists, can hardly
be refuted. The efforts of the Napoleonic faction to
portray the thoughtless crowd of the boulevards as
desperate and bloody-minded rebels have never been
successful, while the opposition so brilliantly repre-
sented by the author of " Histoire d'un Crime " have
been too fierce and immoderate in their accusations
to win public credence. The questions as to who fired
THE COUP D'ETAT. 18
the first shot, and whether it was fired as a signal for,
or a menace against the miKtary, are points on which
Frenchmen of different political parties still debate.
It is charitable to accept M. Hugo's insinuation that
the soldiery were drunk with the president's wine,
even though the fact implies a low state of discipline
in the service.
To what extent was the president responsible for the
boulevard horror ? M. Victor Hugo and M. de Maupas
do not agree upon this point, and it seems useless to
discuss it. Certain facts are indisputable. We know
the army bore small love toward the Parisians, and
we know it was in the streets by order of the presi-
dent. We know that the latter was in bad company,
and playing a dangerous game. We may discard M.
Victor Hugo's statement as to the orders issued by
the president from the Elys^e on the fatal day, but
we cannot disguise the fact that the boulevard horror
subdued Paris, and crowned his cause with success.
In other words, Louis Napoleon was the gainer by the
slaughter of imoffending men, women, and children,
and in after-years, when referring to the 4th of Decem-
ber, he found it for his interest to distort facts, and
make figures lie.^
There was no deviation from time-honored customs
in regard to the treatment of prisoners taken in arms
against "the government." Many were executed,
while several hundreds were transported to Africa
and Cayenne, and so ended the heroic measures that
were deemed necessary to shatter the power of the
Assembly and place Louis Napoleon and his minis-
ters in control of France.
^ For a concise and able review of the evidence bearing^ on the
events of the 4th of December, see T^not's Paris in DecembeTf 1851«
ohapter vi.
14 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
But Louis Napoleon had expressly stated in the
proclamation that astonished Paris on the 2d that he
made the people judge between him and the Assem-
bly. The citizens of France were called upon to vote
on the 20th and 21st of December "Yes" or "No"
to the question as to whether the president should be
sustained in the measures he had taken, should be
empowered to draw up a new constitution, and should
retain the presidential chair for a period of ten years.
The army had already voted two weeks previously,
indorsing the president with a remarkable unanimity.
Furthermore, the vote "No," if successful, provided
no substitute for Napoleon, and, leaving the land with-
out a legal ruler, would of a certainty plunge it into
anarchy. Moreover, many of the provinces were un-
der martial law, which, taken in connection with the
fact that the police and military machinery was in
the hands of the president and his ministry, left but
one possible result to the voting. Napoleon was op-
posed in a total vote of 8,000,000, by only 640,000.
On January 1, 1852, the morning after the result
of the vote had been officially announced to him at the
palace of the Elys^e, he repaired to the cathedral of
Notre Dame, and there, in the presence of his min-
isters and the agents of his schemes, he invoked the
divine protection and blessing upon his future admin-
istration of the affairs of France.
On January 14, 1852, the new constitution was
promulgated, which the plebiscite had empowered the
president to frame. It eradicated almost the last
jot of republicanism from France. The presidential
power was well-nigh absolute, while the popular branch
of the government was reduced to impotency. There
was only one more step to be taken, and the republic
THE COUP D'ETAT. 15
would be extinct. Louis Napoleon still retained the
title of president. On the 21st of November the
people of France voted upon this proposition as
framed by the Senate : " The people desire the re-
establishment of the imperial dynasty in the person
of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte," etc., etc. On the 1st
of December the members of both houses repaired to
the shades of St. Cloud, and there officially announced
to the president that he had been elected Emperor of
France. Since the 14th of the previous January he
had been imperial in all but name, but now he stood
before the world the legal inhabitant of the Tuileries,
" Napoleon the Third, by the Grace of God and by
the will of the people, Emperor of the French."
CHAPTER m.
THE REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION.
Thb French Emperor's Standing in Europe. — He has Re-
course TO THE Eastern Question. — The Quarrel over
THE Holy Places. — The Attitude of Russia. — The French
Ambassador carries his Point. — Wrath op the Czar. —
Nesselrode on the Situation. — Menschikoff's Mission
TO Constantinople. — ' Lord Stratford as Peacemaker. —
Menschikoff's Demand and its Reception bt the Porte, —
Stratford's Position. — European Suspicion of Russia. —
Attitude of the Powers on the Eastern Question. —
England the most interested. — The Czar's Visit to Eng-
land IN 1844. — "The Sick Man" Interviews and their
Result. — Strength of the Czar's Claim to a Protector-
ate. — Progress of Menschikoff's Mission. — He is op-
posed BY Stratford. — Menschikoff's Ultimatum. — Strat-
ford's Communication to the Sultan. — Position in which
England was placed by it. — Failure of Menschikoff's
Mission. — The Russian Army crosses the Pruth. — The
Czar's Proclamation. — The Vienna Congress. — The War
Fever in Turkey. — The Franco-English Fleet enters
the Sea of Marmora. — Turkey and Russia at War.
The influence of the coup d'etat extended far
beyond the limits of France. The bold overthrow of
the popular assembly was a bitter blow to the friends
of constitutional government in all countries, and
however satisfactory the results may have been to the
despotic continental sovereigns, the methods adopted
by the president for their consummation awakened
toward him, in every court, a feeling of distrust. In
England the news of the coup Wetat was received
with mingled feelings of horror and alarm. Lord
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 17
Palmerston, then foreign secretary, alone seems to
have approved it, and his unwise avowal of his views
resulted in his withdrawal from the cabinet.
The French emperor began to appreciate the fact
that in aU qiuirters he was looked at askance. He
also realized the absolute necessity of making some
move that should overshadow the hideous events of
the coup d'etat. The prestige, and perhaps the ex-
istence, of his government depended upon his making
himself a prominent figure in European politics.
For a number of generations in Europe there has
been one question that, carelessly or maliciously
touched upon, has never failed to stimulate strife and
discord among the nations. This is "the Eastern
Question," the problem how to settle the disputes,
political and religious, in the east of Europe. In
1850 it had temporarily ceased to disturb the con-
tinental councils, and Europe was rejoicing in a res-
pite from the diplomatic strife that always attends
its agitation. But Louis Napoleon deliberately ap-
plied the torch that kindled Eastern fanaticism, when
he instructed the French ambassador at Constantino-
ple to demand from the Porte a strict enforcement of
the grant in regard to the Holy Places. Lord John
Russell accused France directly in a letter to Lord
Cowley, then British ambassador at Paris, of inter-
rupting the general concord : " Her majesty's govern-
ment cannot avoid perceiving that the ambassador of
France at Constantinople was the first to disturb the
status quo in which the matter rested."
The Holy Places is the general title applied to
those sacred precincts about the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem where tradition has located
the scenes of the sufferings, death, and burial of the
18 THE RECONSTRUCTION OP EUROPE.
Saviour. The dispute for the protectorate of these
sacred shrines has been maintained for centuries be-
tween the Greek and Latin churches. In the year
1740 France, as the champion of the Latin Church,
succeeded in obtaining from the Porte a grant of dis-
tinguished privileges in regard to these sacred shrines.
Later, however, the Greeks pushed their claims with
greater zeal than their rivals, and succeeded from
time to time in obtaining firmans from the Sultan,
which were in nearly every case opposed to the con-
cession. France, as the champion of the Latin cause,
silently acquiesced, until the zealous Greeks and the
world at large came to regard the grant as null and
void.
The emperor of Russia is the great protector of
the Greek Church, and his popularity as a sovereign
depends largely upon the zeal he displays in the de-
fence of her sacred interests. The Russian people,
religious and superstitious, regard the Holy Places of
Jerusalem with a veneration wholly incomprehensible
to the practical peoples of Western Europe; and
when the French ambassador assumed to revive the
grant of 1740, it sent a shudder of pious horror
throughout the length and breadth of the Czar's
dominions.
The French ambassador at Constantinople, upon
finding his demands refused by Turkish statesmen
imbued with fear of Russia, openly threatened the
use of a French naval force, and even hinted at a
military occupation of Jerusalem. The Russian
envoy was less violent, but no less firm, than the rep-
resentative of France. Some concessions were made
by both sides, until fiually the questions in dispute
were narrowed down to such points as these : whether
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 19
the Latins should possess a key to the great door of
the Church of Bethlehem, and the privilege of placing
in the grotto of the Nativity a silver star with the
arms of France. Situated between two fierce fires,
the Porte was in a sad quandary. Private guarantees
of an assuring nature were made to both ambassadors,
but were repelled with demands for public action.
The Frenchman pressed his case unflinchingly, and
temporarily the fear of the French fleet outweighed
the Ottoman dread of Bussia. On December 22,
1852, the silver star with the arms of France, having
previously been brought from the sea with great os-
tentation, was placed in the sanctuary of the Nativity,
and at the same time the long-coveted key passed into
the possession of the Latin Church.
The Czar was in a furious rage, and all Russia was
deeply stirred. "To the indignation of the whole
people following the Greek ritual," wrote Count Nes-
selrode, the Russian chancellor, to Baron Bnmnow,
" the key of the Church of Bethlehem has been made
over to the Latins, so as publicly to demonstrate their
religious supremacy in the East. The mischief, then,
is done, M. le Baron, and there is no longer any ques-
tion of preventing it. It is now necessary to remedy
it. The immunities of the orthodox religion which
have been injured, the promises which the Sultan had
solemnly given to the emperor, and which have been
violated, call for an act of reparation. It is to obtain
this we must labor. ... It may happen that France,
perceiving any hesitation on the part of the Porte,
may again have recourse to menace, and press upon it
so as to prevent it from listening to our just demands.
. . . The emperor has therefore considered it neces-
sary to adopt in the outset some precautionary meas-
20 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ures, in order to support our negotiations, to neutral-
ize the effect of M. Lavalette's threats, and to guard
himself in any contingency which may occur against
a government accustomed to act by surprises."
There was an ominous movement in the Kussian
military establishment, and at the time it became def-
initely known throughout Europe that three corps
d^armee were advancing upon the Pruth, Prince
Menschikoff appeared in Constantinople to extort
satisfaction from the Sultan for the affront suffered
by the Greek Church. France was represented at
Constantinople by M. de la Cour, who had succeeded
M. Lavalette, and England by Lord Stratford.
Menschikoff did not ask for an entire repeal of the
privileges just conferred upon the Latins, but de-
manded merely counter privileges for the Greeks.
Chief among these were the following: that the
Greeks should have the right to repair the cupola of
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, that they should
have the precedence as regards hours of worship at
the tomb of the Virgin, and that a Greek priest
should always preside over the great door of the
Church of Bethlehem. To the mind of western Eu-
rope the questions in dispute seemed strangely trivial,
but the Russian ambassador stood as the mouthpiece
of an angry sovereign and millions of pious people,
while the Frenchman represented a master bent on
creating some disturbance which might tend to ob-
scure the memory of his usurpation. Lord Stratford
was the peacemaker, and notwithstanding the obstacles
in the way, the dispute was finally settled before the
close of April by the general acceptance of Russia's
demands. The Greek Church had been vindicated,
but the end was not yet.
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 21
The Czar was not satisfied with this reparation, and
he also realized that no concessions could render his
subjects other than joyful for an opportunity to wreak
vengeance upon the enemies of the church. He had
determined to cripple Turkey, and so place his holy
church beyond the possibility of the repetition of
such an indignity. In fact, Menschikoff had taken
other instructions from St. Petersburg than those
regarding the Holy Places. No sooner had this dis-
pute been cleared away than he demanded an acknowl-
edgment by the Porte of the protectorate of the Chris-
tian peoples of Turkey, which had been given to the
Czars by virtue of the treaty of Kutchuk-K!ainardji
in 1774.
The Sultan knew that tha acceptance of this would
make the Czar the practical ruler over ten millions
of his subjects. Menschikoff pushed his demands
haughtily, and eVen fiercely. The ministers of the
Porte, while appreciating the results of yielding, also
foresaw the disastrous issue attending a conflict with
the great northern power. Behind the rough com-
mands of the ambassador they could hear the low
nmible of the Russian military advance, and could
almost catch the glint of the Muscovite bayonets re-
flected in the waters of the Pruth.
Unsupported, they must have yielded, but an un-
looked-for ally came to their aid. Prince Menschikoff
soon found himself opposed, not only by the Ottoman
ministers, but by the English ambassador as well.
Before noticing the progress and result 'of this dip-
lomatic contest, it will be well to glance at the gen-
eral attitude of England in regard to the Eastern
Question, and realize how it came about that at this
time Lord Stratford, in behalf of his government,
22 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
was found standing squarely in the path of Russian
ambition as a barrier to the dissolution of the Otto-
man Empire.
Throughout Europe in general, but especially in
England, a deep feeling of suspicion prevailed toward
the great Muscovite Empire. The suddenness of its
rise from a condition of indolent barbarism to the
position of a first-rate power in the list of European
states had fairly amazed the western nations of slower
growth. The disposition of Russia to extend her
frontiers in all directions was a serious bugbear to
Europe, but the standing menace against Constan-
tinople which she had maintained since the days of
Peter the Great had always been a terror to English
statesmen. The strongest movement on the part of
the Russian Empire was toward the south. Political
reasons aside, there was a deep-seated longing in the
heart of every true Russian to liberate the Christian
peoples of the Balkan peninsula from the Moham-
medan yoke, and convert the mosques of the Byzan-
tine capital into sanctuaries of their sacred church.
The statesmen of Europe viewed this tendency of
the Czar and his people from widely different stand-
points.
Prussia cared but little for the Eastern Question,
while Austria, on the other hand, was deeply interested.
The Russian path to the Hellespont lay through the
Danubian Principalities, and the presence of a Russian
force hovering upon her flank was something from
the Austrian view never to be permitted.
France was indifferent to the matter save in a gen-
eral way as a Mediterranean power, but England, the
most distant power from any scene of trouble in east-
em Europe, was interested far beyond any of the rest.
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 23
Though she was regarded as the leading Christian
state of Europe, it seemed to her right and satisfac-
tory that the fairest lands of the old Byzantine Em-
pire should remain the possession of a foreigner and
an infidel, whose only achievements had been those of
treachery and blood, simply because he had no power
to menace her line of Indian communication^ It
seemed far better to England that the resources of
this fair country should remain undeveloped, and that
its Christian population should be crushed in igno-
rance and degradation, than that it should ever pass
into the hands of a more energetic owner, with the
power to threaten that delicate water-way to India.
In short, England's practical Christianity was seri-
ously hampered by her anxiety for her possessions in
the far East.
Suspicion of Russia was never wholly at rest in
England, but perhaps it was less marked than usual
in the period immediately following the Czar's visit
in 1844. Every one was charmed with his frank
ways and pleasant speeches. Only a few were aware
how far his frankness had carried him in his conver-
sations with the cabinet ministers in regard to the
future of Turkey. He spoke almost tenderly of her,
but assured the ministers that however matters might
appear upon the surface, the Ottoman power was
surely falling to pieces. He regarded it as better
for Europe that England and Russia should arrive
at some imderstanding in regard to the disposition of
the Porte's dominions before the downfall really came.
After his return to Russia he forwarded to the Eng-
lish government, through his chancellor, a memoran-
dum or statement of the imderstanding existing
between Russia and England. It was merely a repe-
24 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
titioii of what lie had previously stated in his conver-
sations with the Duke of Wellington and Lord Aber-
deen. The memorandum, it seems, was never replied
to by the English government, but was filed away
among the state papers. Nicholas, on the supposi-
tion that " silence gives consent," regarded the Eng-
lish government as in sympathy with his ideas on the
Eastern (^estion.
The dispute in regard to the Holy Places, first en-
gendered, as we have seen, by the French ambassador,
had awakened the Czar from his temporary lethargy
in regard to the fate of the Ottoman Empire. All
Kussia was burning with religious and patriotic fervor.
It was an imperative necessity for the Czar to retrieve
the prestige of the church ; was it not also the fitting
time to break the Ottoman power in pieces with the
weapon which the outraged feelings of his subjects
had placed at his command ?
His influence at Berlin was all powerful, and Prus-
sia was his friend. The memory of the Hungarian
revolt was not forgotten in Vienna, and he felt secure
in the friendship of the young Kaiser. England was
engrossed in commercial pursuits and opposed to war,
and furthermore her statesmen had been in accord
with his views in regard to Turkey for years. France
was the only power he had to reckon with, and
France unsupported would hardly deem it wise to
combat his schemes. This was unquestionably the
general line of argument that Nicholas was following
at the opening of the year 1853.
On January 9 a ball was given at the palace of
the Archduchess Helen in St. Petersburg. Few who
mingled in the brilliant throng on that winter's even-
ing dreamed that the occasion was destined to become
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 25
more famous in the diplomatic than in the social
annals of Europe. In the course of the festivities
the Czar drew aside with the British ambassador, Sir
G. Hamilton Seymour, and in his frank, engaging
way divulged his views, as to a sympathetic hearer.
The conversation was upon the prospects of Turkey
and its speedy downfall, and was renewed again and
again during the few days succeeding. "We have
on our hands a sick man, a very sick man," said the
emperor ; " it will be a great misfortune if, one of these
days, he should slip away from us before the neces-
sary arrangements have been made." He declared
that he did not desire a permanent Kussian occupation
of Constantinople and would allow no other power
that privilege. He preferred that the Christian prov-
inces north of the Balkan Mountains should become
independent states imder his protection. If England
wanted Egypt " he had no objection to offer ; " if Can-
dia, he would not oppose her. He dwelt especially
upon the sad condition of the Christian peoples under
Turkish rule, and the duty that devolved upon him
to exercise a protecting care over them. This duty
was made incumbent upon him, he explained, by the
treaty of 1774. The Czar sought these conferences
for the purpose of acquainting the English government
with his intentions and eliciting a ratification of the
views expressed in the memorandum of 1844. The
response to his overtures was far different from what
he had expected, and chilling in the extreme. It was
hardly customary. Lord Aberdeen replied, to distrib-
ute the possessions of a friendly state still in exist-
ence. England had not lost confidence in the stabil-
ity of the Turkish government.
The Czar was enraged at the useless exposure of
26 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
his schemes. At least, he argued, if England is not
in sympathy, she will not fight ; the English people are
opposed to fighting. Then he dispatched Menschi-
koff to Constantinople, literally to force a quarrel, —
a quarrel in which the wrongs of the church would
be thoroughly revenged, and the hateful dominion of
the Sultan overthrown. Thus it was that in the
spring of 1853, the integrity of the Ottoman Empire
being threatened. Lord Stratford was at Constanti-
nople stimulating the Turkish ministers to resist the
demands of Prince Menschikoff and his imperial mas-
ter.
Russia's claim to a protectorate over the Greek
Christians was based solely upon the treaty of Ku-
tchuk-Kainardji. This treaty was forced upon the
Sultan by Catherine II. after her victorious war in
1774. The Ottoman power had been thoroughly
humbled, and by the terms of the treaty Russia
gained vast territorial acquisitions and the free navi-
gation of Turkish waters. Furthermore this treaty
allowed Russia to erect a Christian church in Con-
stantinople, to be always imder her protection.
It was in reference to this church that Russia and
Europe were openly at variance in 1853. Russia
claimed that when the Sultan allowed the right of
Russian interference in the case of the Constantinople
church, he admitted her claim to do likewise in behalf
of all Christians within his dominions. Turkey denied
that any such protectorate was implied. A superficial
glance at the disputed clauses seems adverse to the
Russian view of the case, but it is interesting to note
that even among her enemies Russia has found prom-
inent defenders of her position.^ Lord John Russell^
^ Mr. Gladstone has defended Kussia's position in this matter.
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 27
perhaps unintentionally, justified tlie Kussian claim at
a critical time. In writing to Sir G. Hamilton Sey-
mour at St. Petersburg under date of February 9,
1853, lie said : " The more the Turkish government
adopts the rules of impartial law and equal adminis-
tration, the less will the emperor of Russia find it
necessary to apply that exceptional protection which
his imperial majesty has found so burdensome and
inconvenient, though no doubt prescribed by duty and
sanctioned by treaty." This was pleasant reading to
Nicholas. He had stated to the English ambassador
in his famous "sick man" interviews that he was
bound by treaty to protect the Christians of the Bal-
kan peniasula, and Ls letter was a virtual a^knowl-
edgment of his claim. He felt that he could press
the Porte without fear of England. Perhaps it was
due in some part to this admission of Lord John Rus-
sell's that the Czar failed to comprehend for so long
a time that Lord Stratford really represented the
spirit of the English government.
Prince Menschikoff had arrived at Constantinople
early in March. liord Stratford arrived upon the
6th of April. Count Nesselrode had given the Eng-
lish government to understand that MenschikofiPs mis-
sion concerned solely the question of the Holy Places.
The English government thought otherwise, and Lord
Stratford soon found that their suspicions were well
grounded. In four days he had won the confidence of
the Turkish ministry so far as to learn that Menschi-
koff had been pressing upon them the Czar's claim for
a protectorate, and urging, fu^hermore, the necessity
of strict secrecy in the matter. By the time the dis-
pute over the Holy Places had been settled, it had
become useless for the Russian ambassador to attempt
28 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
longer to preserve secrecy in regard to the more im-
portant matter. It was plain to him that Lord Strat-
ford was aware of the nature of his demands, and that
he was responsible for the increasing firmness of the
Turkish ministry. He saw, to his chagrin, the terror
inspired by his harsh commands and the presence of
the army on the Pruth failing to impress the mind of
the Sultan under the counsel and support of the Eng-
Ksh ambassador.
On May 5 Menschikoff, in a haughty note, openly
demanded of the Porte an immediate compliance with
the requests of the emperor of Russia in regard to
the protectorate of the Greek Christians in Turkey,
declaring in conclusion that he could not " consider
longer delay in any other light than as a want of re-
spect towards his government, which would impose
upon him the most painful duty." This was just one
month after Stratford's arrival. The matter had
been under active discussion for three weeks, and it
was evident that the Kussian ambassador was deter-
mined to push things to a conclusion.
The Turkish ministry were seriously alarmed at this
peremptory summons. They conferred anxiously with
Lord Stratford, and sought to obtain from him some
pledge of material aid in case they pushed the Czar
too far by their opposition. In this they were un-
successful ; Stratford counseled them to firmness and
patience, and wrote to Menschikoff, pointing out to
him the danger of the path in which his imperial
master was treading, and the deep stain that he was
bringing upon his hitherto just and temperate reign.
Menschikoff was immovable, and the Porte was
brought to another pitiful strait. As a last resort
Stratford requested a private audience with the Sul-
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 29
tan, and then informed him that in ease the Turkish
integrity was seriously threatened, he should order
the admiral of the English Mediterranean fleet to
hold himself in readiness for service. The effect of
this communication was electrifying. The quick-
witted pashas comprehended its full import. It was
something tangible, it smacked of men and guns, and
was far more satisfactory than any amount of disin-
terested counsel.
England was rapidly drifting into a critical posi-
tion. Lord Stratford had not openly opposed the
Kussian claims, but the Czar realized that the English
ambassador alone stood between him and the accom
plishment of his desires. Stratford rebuked every
sign of wavering in the Ottoman councils, and always
advocated refusal to the Russian demands. He be-
came absolutely responsible for the strength of the
Turkish opposition.
On the 10th Menschikoff received from the Porte
a courteous but firm refusal of all his demands regard-
ing the protectorate, and after a few days more of
fruitiess threatening he declared his mission at an end.
Before this Lord Stratford had assembled the am-
bassadors of the three powers for consultation, and
secured their approval of the course so far pursued
by the Ottoman government. On the 21st, taking
with him the entire legation, Menschikoff departed for
Kussia to face the wrath of an angry and disappointed
sovereign.
Upon the receipt of the intelligence of Menschi-
koff's failure. Count Nesselrode immediately informed
Keschid Pasha that " in a few weeks the Russian troops
will receive the order to cross the boundaries of the em-
pire, not for the purpose of making war, but in order
80 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
to obtain material guarantees," etc. Almost at the
same time with the receipt of Nesselrode's threat,
Lord Stratford received from Lord Clarendon a state-
ment to the effect that England was *' bound to main-
tain the independence of Turkey," and that " the use
of force was to be resorted to as a last and unavoid-
able resource." From this time England was hope-
lessly bound to the Porte. The policy of Lord Strat-
ford had of necessity brought her to a pass where she
was in honor compelled to sustain the Sultan in any
crisis that might arise from the stand he had taken
against the Czar.
On the 3d of July the vanguard of the Kussian
army crossed the Pruth and entered Moldavia.
"Having exhausted all persuasion," declared the
emperor to his faithful subjects, " we have found it
needful to advance our armies into the Danubian
Principalities, in order to show the Ottoman Porte to
what its obstinacy may lead. But even now we have
not the intention to commence war. By the occupa-
tion of the principalities we desire to have such a
security as will insure us the restoration of our
rights."
However the presence of Kussian troops in tbe
principalities might be interpreted by the Czar, it
was practically an invasion of the territory of the
Porte, and as such formed a good and sufficient casus
belli. Lord Stratford, however, held the belligerent
party at Constantinople in check, and the ministry
were not slow in realizing that their safety depended
on the closeness and fidelity with which they followed
his instructions.
Diplomatists did not despair, even after this hostile
move of the Czar. The representatives of the four
REVIVAL OF THE EASTERN QUESTION. 31
powers assembled in Vienna during July for another
effort to settle the questions in dispute without war.
The fruit of this meeting was the drafting of an
agreement purporting to come from the Sultan. This
paper, which became famous under the title of " The
Vienna Note," practically insured to the Czar the
right of a protectorate, thus yielding the chief point
of dispute. If there could have been any doubt of
this fact, it was dispelled by the extreme eagerness
with which the proposals were received by the St.
Petersburg cabinet. The note reached Constantinople
early in August. Lord Stratford declared it to be
a complete acceptance of all Russia's objectionable
demands, and under his direction the clauses in regard
to the protectorate were amended in such a way as to
make it plain that the Sultan, and he alone, should
exercise a tender watchfulness over the Greek Chris-
tians in his dominions. The note in its altered form
was promptly rejected at St. Petersburg. The Vienna
Congress came to an end, leaving matters exactly as
they stood before its labors began.
This was the last serious effort made toward the
preservation of peace. The war feeling throughout
the Moslem population of the Sultan's dominions
grew in intensity day by day. The ministry did not
fail to take advantage of this, and to warn the ambas-
sadors of foreign courts in Constantinople that the
peace of the city and the lives of Christians were
seriously jeopardized in consequence. The impres-
sion upon the French ambassador was so strong that
he openly advocated to his government the expediency
of moving the French fleet from Besika Bay to Con-
stantinople. This was exactly what the Ottoman
ministry wished. The Emperor Napoleon, perhaps
82 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
nothing loath to force hostilities, called the attention
of the British cabinet to the subject, and strenuously
urged the policy of sending the allied fleets into the
Sea of Marmora. The English government had a
reapect for treaties, and demurred. Under the treaty
of 1841 no war vessel was allowed to enter the Dar*
danelles in time of peace. The English cabinet were
not certain as to whether the state of affairs between
Kussia and Turkey could be regarded as one of war.
Omar Pasha, the Turkish commander, had on Octo-
ber 8 summoned the Russian forces to evacuate the
principalities within fifteen days, and upon the ac^
ceptance or refusal of this demand the question of
war was hanging. The influence of the French em-
peror, however, prevailed, and on the 22d the com-
bined fleets steamed through the Dardanelles into the
Sea of Marmora, and came to anchor off Constanti-
nople. On the next day, Omar Pasha's summons
hi^ving been disregarded, Turkey was openly at W4r
with Kussia*
CHAPTER IV.
THE BAKUBIAN OAMPAIGN.
The Russiak Army sntebs ^oja>ayvl. — The Mhjtabt Blitvdeb
OF THE GZAB. — ThE TuBKISH AbMY ASH ITS GOMMAin>EB. —
The Turks cross the Daitubb. — FioHTiNa about Kaxafat. —
The Czar determines upon the Offensive. — The Career of
Paskeyich. — His Advice to the Ckab. — The Russians cross
the Danube. — Siege of Sujstria and Fall of Paskevigh. —
Austria interferes. — Retreat of the Russian Army and
BaTOTLE of GiUROEVO — GORTSCHAKOFF abandons BUCHAREST.
— Entry of the Turkish and Austrian Armtks. — Isolation
of the Czar in Europe.
The Kussian army entered Moldavia under cotn-
mand of Prince Gortscliakoff , and the advance was
made without haste.^ Gortschakoff established his
headquarters at Bucharest, where he was received in
great pomp by the nobility and functionaries of the
church. In a few weeks the advanced posts were on
the Danube and the uniform of the Czar was a com-
mon sight in the streets of the larger towns. The
strength of the army during the first weeks of the
occupation was close upon 75,000 men, with 74 guns.
Upon the declaration of war by Turkey, the power
of this army was compromised by the foolish decision
^ Prince Mikhail Qortsohakoff. He entered ihe Russian anny in
1807, took part in the Persian campaign in 1810 and those of 1812-15
against Franoe. He also served in the Turkish campaigpi of 1828,
the Polish campaign of 1831, and commanded the Russian artillery
against the Hungarians in 1849. He must not be confounded with hia
brother Prince Peter, who figured as a corps commander at the Alma
and Inkermann.
34 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
of the Czar which Nesselrode dispatched to all the
European courts on October 31. He declared that
notwithstanding the declaration of war the Kussian
troops would still refrain from the offensive and
merely stand in defense of the principalities. This
rendered it incumbent upon Gortschakoff to cover
nearly the whole length of the Danube from Widdin
to Gralatz, making it possible for the Turks to fall
upon his extended line at any point in overwhelming
numbers.
Throughout the negotiations at Constantinople the
Porte had been steadily preparing for war, and the
fanatical hatred of the Moslem for the Giaour had
been thoroughly whetted. When imbued with this
religious zeal and ably led, the fierce soldiery of the
Sultan have always proved themselves the equals of
any in Europe. They are at their best when com-
manded by officers of foreign birth and education,
and in the campaigns of the Danube in 1853-54 they
were officered by representatives of the two peoples
principally interested in checking Russian aggression.
Omar Pasha, the Ottoman generalissimo, was an
Austrian, while in nearly every critical engagement
the Turkish soldiers were encouraged to success by
volunteers from the service of the English queen.
Toward the close of October, Omar Pasha had un-
der his command in Bulgaria a Turkish army of at
least 120,000 men. He was quick to see and improve
the advantage offered by the mistake of his enemy, and
commenced massing troops at Widdin, situated on the
Danube just above the point where its course changes
to the east. Opposite Widdin, in Wallachia, is the
smaller town of Kalafat, and on October 28 the
Turkish force crossed the river and occupied it after
THE DANUBIAN CAMPAIGN. 35
a short skirmisli. The result of the move was to
establish a strong Turkish defense squarely upon the
Russian flank. Another crossing was made by the
Turks from Turtukai to Oltenitza, while they also
met with temporary success in an attempt from Silis^
tria upon Kalarash.
These were practically the only movements of the
year, the approach of winter and the enforced in.
activity of the Russians conducing to a temporary
lulL About the middle of November, Omar Pasha
withdrew his troops from Oltenitza, leaving the force
at Kalaf at his only large detachment on WaUachian
soil. The position of this force was too serious a
menace to be left unheeded by the Russian com-
mander, who proceeded to mass his available troops
in Lesser Wallachia* Achmet Pasha, commanding
the garrison at Kalaf at, determined to anticipate the
Russian attack, and on the 6th of January moved
with 15,000 men against CState. A Russian brigade
held the village, and had thrown up earthworks in
its rear. The Turks attacked the village furiously
with the bayonet, and in the streets and lanes a terri-
ble conflict took place. The Russians, heavily clothed
and accoutred, were soon worsted by their agile ad-
versaries, but driven from the streets they threw
themselves into the houses and maintained a desper-
ate resistance. It was fochr hours before the last
Russian detachment was dislodged, and by that time
their supports were at hand. Achmet Pasha brought
up his Teserves to confront these troops, whose move-
ment placed him between two fires and threatened his
communications with Kalafat. The Russians ad-
vanced in close column under cover of their artillery,
and despite their numerical inferiority they finally
36 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
recaptured Citate and compelled the retirement of the
Turks upon Kalafat.^ During the week succeeding
there was severe and indecisive fighting, after which
the Kussians commenced a leisurely retreat toward
the east, abandoning finally the object of their ad-
vance.
The Russian situation was by no means promising.
The Czar, mortified at the Ottoman successes, deter-
mined to relinquish his defensive plan, and inaugurate
without delay an invasion of Turkey. To insure suc-
cess he called Prince Paskevich, and sought his coun-
sel as to the best way to push his battalions to the
Bosphorous. Paskevich, then an old man, was an
honored soldier and the most successful general that
Kussia possessed. He first saw service in 1805, and
fought in the campaign that ended with the disastrous
sunset of Austerlitz. In 1812-14 he was again in
the field, participating in the battle of Leipsic and
the victorious march to Paris. In 1825 he led the
armies of the Czar in a victorious campaign against
the Persians, and in the Turkish campaign of 1828-29
he conquered Armenia, subjugating even the great
fortresses of Kars and Erzerovun. In 1831, when
Poland was in revolt, it was his firm if cruel hand
that crushed out the insurrection. In 1848 he en-
tered Hungary at the head of the imperial troops,
and in 1850 the fiftieth anniversary of his entry into
the military service was celebrated at Warsaw amid
general rejoicing, and the sovereigns of Austria and
Prussia created him field marshal in their respective
*
1 This action was reported in Vienna, London, and Paris as a great
Turkish victory. Achmet Pasha's course certainly protected Kalaf at
from an attack, if he cannot be credited with winning a victory in
the field.
THE DANUBIAN CAMPAIGN, 87
armies. With this event the old soldier would will-
ingly have closed his active career, but the summons
of the Czar in 1854 found him ready for service as
heretofore. Paskevich insisted that it was useless to
attempt to cover the length of the Danube, and that
Lesser Wallachia should be abandoned. An invasion
of Turkey, he contended, was only feasible via Silis-
tria and Shumla, and the success of this plan de-
pended upon the ability of the imperial troops to re-
duce Silistria by the 1st of May.
The pride of the Czar was touched at having to
relinquish any portion of his "material guarantee,"
but he yielded nevertheless to the hard counsel of his
general. The Bussian military establishment entered
into vigorous action once again. Heavy masses of
troops began to converge upon the Danube toward
Silistria, while all through April the Moldavian vil-
lagers witnessed the march of fresh battalions pass-
ing southward from Bussia to the front.
But the Czar had waited too long, and no amount
of ene;rgy could now retrieve his failing fortunes.
Russia was openly at war with both France and Eng-
land, and their fleets had been blockading the Black
Sea since the opening of the year. Furthermore,
Austria was increasing her army on her eastern fron-
tier and the Vienna cabinet left no room for doubt as
to its purpose. Paskevich knew well that even if
Silistria fell by May 1, if his hardy soldiers succeeded
in forcing the intrenched camp at Shumla, and indeed
if they should pass the Balkan range in the face of
the Ottoman resistance, all this would be but the pref-
ace to a sterner conflict beyond. On the plains of
Eoumelia, if not before, he would have to face the
combined strength of England and France. Nor
88 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
was this the worst feature of his dilemma. The Aus-
trian army was a yet more fatal menace, possessing as
it did the power to break in upon his flank. By
April 1 the Czar had lost his last chance of pushing
his forces within sight of the minarets of St. Sophia.
Paskevich entered upon his difficult task in the hope,
perhaps, of gaining for Bussia a position of some mili-
tary advantage, when she might be better prepared to
throw her case upon arbitration.
Silistria, with about 20,000 inhabitants, was a for-
tified Bulgarian town on the Danube, forming at this
time with Bustchuk and Shimda a formidable military
triangle. Its naturally strong defenses had been ren-
dered almost impregnable during the year 1853 by
the erection of a series of detached forts on the south
and southeast. The Turkish attempts to cross the
Danube here had been unsuccessful, and when the
Czar removed the restrictions from his troops they
forced a passage and laid siege to the town on the Bul-
garian side. About the same time the Bussians
crossed the river lower down near Matchin, and after
a little fighting obtained control of that large but
unhealthy tract of country known as the Dobrudscha.
Omar Pasha, leaving Moussa Pasha with 15,000 men
to defend Silistria as best he could, began to concen-
trate all his available troops about Shumla.
Paskevich arrived to superintend in person the
siege of Silistria, but May was far advanced before
serious operations commenced. The 1st of June
found its defenses terribly battered by the Bussian
artillery, but still stubbornly defended by the soldiers
of the Sultan. Paskevich was badly wounded and
obliged to relinquish his command, while the gar-
rison of Silistria was reduced to extremities. Moussa
THE DANUBIAN CAMPAIGN. 39
Paslia was killed on June 2, and the command de-
volved upon Hussein Pasha. After this the affairs
of the garrison became daily more desperate until the
efforts of the besiegers suddenly relaxed.^ An influ*
ence more potent than Ottoman military succor had
come to the deliverance of beleaguered Silistria.
On the 3d of Jime Austria had formally sum*
moned the Czar to withdraw his troops from the
Danubian Principalities. This fell like a death-knell
upon the heavy-hearted Autocrat of all the Bussias.
He had seen his hopes for a conquest of Turkey fad-
ing away, and had beheld with pain the woimding of
his greatest general and the aimless slaughter of his
choicest troops. These were as nothing, however,
compared with the ingratitude of Francis Joseph.
He had "i-eckoned" upon Austria because he felt
secure of the Kaiser's love.^
On the 14th of Jime the fate of the Czar's cam-
paign was finally sealed by the agreement signed
between Austria and Turkey, wherein it was declared
that ^^his majesty the emperor of Austria engages
to exhaust all the means of negotiation, and all other
means, to obtain the evacuation of the Danubian Prin-
cipalities by the foreign army which occupies them,
and even to employ, in case they are required, the
^ Lientenant Nasmyth, an English officer of the garrison, npon
-whose statements English aecoonts of the sieg^ haye been generally
founded, estimates the Russian losses at twelve thousand men. Qten."
eral Todleben, on the other hand, ridicules the much vaunted defense
of Silistria, and declares the Russian casualties during the inyestment
amounted to only twenty-five hundred, or an average of fifty a day.
^ In one of the rick man interviews with Sir Hamilton Seymour
the Czar spoke of his relations with Austria as follows : '* Ton must
understand that when I speak of Russia, I speak of Austria as well.
What suits one suits the other. Our interests as reg^ards Turkey axe
perfectly identieal."
40 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
number of troops necessary to attain this end." " The
number of troops necessary " were already in position
awaiting orders to sweep down upon the Kussian flank
and rear. Furthermore, the green uplands about
Varna were already whitened by the camps of the
French and English soldiery. It was clear that the
Austrian summons was not to be disregarded.
On the morning of June 23 the weary defenders
of Silistria awoke to find the Bussian works deserted
and their recent occupants across the Danube retreat-
ing northward. The troops in the Dobrudscha like-
wise began to retire, and soon all the roads leading to
the north were crowded by the broken and retreating
battalions of the Czar. Omar Pasha, stealing out of
his camp at Shumla, cautiously advanced as his foes
retired, and on July 7 the final engagements of
the campaign were fought in the neighborhood of
Giurgevo. The Turkish soldiery crossed the river
in small detachments from Rustchuk, and furiously
assailed the retiring Muscovites. On an island close
to the Giurgevo shore the fighting was especially
fierce, and cost the lives of several English officers
who were leading the Ottoman troops. The day's
fighting may have served to increase the rapidity of
the Russian retreat, but the results were hardly com-
mensurate with the loss of life. After these engage-
ments Omar Pasha crossed the Danube in force from
Rustchuk and moved leisurely upon Bucharest.
On July 28 Prince Gortschakoff, having already
informed the Wallachians that his troops were to be
temporarily withdrawn, broke up his headquarters at
Bucharest, and ten days later a Turkish army entered.
On the 6th of September the principalities were des-
tined to undergo one more humiliation, when the
THE DANUBIAN CAMPAIGN. 41
Austrian troops under Count Coronini marched into
Bucharest. Coronini prochiimed to the Wallachians
that his troops came among them as friends, and
would remain only as long as danger existed of a
second Russian occupation of the territory of the
Porte.
The Bussian Czar, as the smnmer of 1854 was
waning, found himself hopelessly isolated from the
consummation of his dearest schemes. He was openly
at war with England, France, and Turkey, while any
move toward Constantinople was sure to be opposed
by Austrian as well as Ottoman bayonets. The fleets
of England and France controlled the Black Sea, and
compelled the retirement of his inferior squadrons
under the guns of Sebastopol. It was literally the
Czar against all Europe. With anger and sorrow
Nicholas realized the bitter truth that with all his
vast army, and the years of careful preparation he
had lavished upon it, he stood powerless against these
overwhelming odds.
CHAPTER V.
THE WESTERN ALLIANCE.
Francs and England in 1853. — Causb of tbs Emfkbob'b Fob«
wABDNEss. — His Invluence over the English Goyebnment.
— The Battle of Sinope. — Injustice of Public Sentiment
IN England and France respecting rr. — The EitPEROR ad-
vocates A Natal Seizure of the Black Sea. — He cARRisg
HIS Point. — Rage of the Czar. — Correspondence between
THE Emperor and the Czar. — Declaration of War by Eng-
land AND France and Signature of the Treatt of Alliance.
— Austria's Warlike Attitude. — The Allied Commanders.
— Character of Lord Raglan. — The Allies at Constanti-
nople AND AT Varna. — Ravages of the Cholera. — Lord
Raglan's Views on the Invasion of the Crimea. — ^The Allies
EMBARK at VaRNA FOR THE CrIMEA.
The great western powers were at war with Bussia.
A narrative of the events that preceded the declara-
tion of hostilities will help to demonstrate upon whose
shoulders should rest the responsibility for this disturb-
ance of the continental peace.
If Stratford's course at Constantinople had bound
England to support the Sultan, then France was
bound to the support of England. As early as Jan-
uary, 1853, the Emperor Napoleon had expressed the
opinion to the English cabinet that France and Eng-
land together should preserve " the integrity of the
Ottoman Empire." On July 8, 1853, Lord Palmer-
ston declared in the House of Commons " that Eng-
land and France were agreed, that they continued to
follow the same policy, and that they had the most
THE WESTERN ALLIANCE. 43
perfect confidence in each other." The speech from
the throne was to the same effect.
In fact, so vigorously had the Paris government
adopted the hereditary English views on the Eastern
Question that it actually pushed Lord Aberdeen and
his ministers into decisive measures which otherwise
they might have been slow to adopt.
The question naturally arises, Why should France
have thrust herself so prominently forward in a mat-
ter so foreign to her interest as the Eastern Question ?
It was not France which was responsible, but the
French emperor. It was the same influence that led
M. Lavalette to threaten the Porte with fleets and
armies during the first debates on the Holy Places.
Napoleon was bent on a showy policy, and was willing
to enter upon any course that promised prestige for
his government. The English people, from the queen
downward, had been shocked at his coup d'etat^ and he
well knew the moral effect which an English alliance
would have upon his standing in Europe. England's
" hobby," so to speak, being the Eastern Question,
he adopted unreservedly her policy. His gratifica-
tion must have been keen when, as the months went
by, he found his influence over Lord Aberdeen's
cabinet steadily growing, until at last it became all
powerful.
Through the spring of 1853, while Lord Stratford
was duelling with Menschikoff at Stamboul, the hand
of the French emperor did not prominently appear,
and his representative at Vienna agreed to the Note
which it was hoped would preserve the peace of Eu-
rope. Upon the rejection of this, however, and the
entry of the Russian troops into the principalities,
while still retaining his representative at the Vienna
44 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Congress, he commenced to urge warlike measures
upon the London cabinet. It was his influence that
sent the allied fleets to Constantinople on the 22d of
October, one day before Russia and Turkey were
actually at war.
The presence of a foreign war-flag in the Sea of
Marmora was perhaps the most galling affront that
Nicholas could suffer. Whether or not there was any
immediate connection between this event and the one
which followed, the movement of the allied fleets was
terribly revenged on the 30th of November. It had
been known for several days to the Turkish ministers,
and the allied admirals as well, that the Bussian fleet
was cruising in the Black Sea, and that, if so disposed,
it could easily annihilate the inferior Turkish squad-
ron at Sinope. The Turkish commander at Sinope
realized the danger, and repeatedly warned his govern-
ment of the great peril in which he stood. Perhaps
Turkey, like England and the rest of Europe, was
lulled into a sense of security by Nesselrode's declara-
tion of October 31, that Kussia would '' remain with
folded arms, resolved only to resist all aggression." ^
At all events, the appeal of the Turkish admiral re-
mained unheeded, while Omar Pasha attracted all
attention by his brilliant operations on the Danube.
Early in December the tidings reached Constanti-
nople that the Sultan's fleet at Sinope had been de-
stroyed ; that four thousand men had been killed, and
the town of Sinope itself badly battered by Bussian
broadsides. The news was received with dismay by
the Ottoman government, while in England and
^ This expression was used by Nesselrode in conyersation with Sir
Hamilton Seymonr, but the same idea was embodied in the October
oironlajr.
THE WESTERN ALLIANCE. 45
France it aroused a storm of rage. All England
was stirred to its depths, and so unreasonable had
popular opinion become that the Czar was univer-
sally condemned as having broken his plighted word.
He stood before the English people as a man devoid
of honor, with innocent blood upon his hands. The
Sinope affair was never dignified by the title of " bat-
tle," but was alluded to as a treacherous massacre.
English writers of the present day, in cooler blood,
candidly admit the distortion of public opinion on
this point. In the activity of Omar Pasha, whose
achievements on the Danube they applauded to the
echo, the public failed to detect any provocation for
aggressive measures on the part of tiie Czar. The
presence of the allied fleet at Constantinople was en-
tirely overlooked, as was also the fact that the first
shot at Sinope had been fired by a Turkish vessel.
The voice of the nation was for war, and the cabinet
with its peaceable hopes and projects came to repre-
sent but tamely the spirit of the masses.
The French government declared the " massacre "
of Sinope to be an insult to France, perpetrated as it
was ahnost under the guns of the allied fleet. The
English cabinet, while deploring the event, was little
inclined to take a decisive step. Lord Palmerston
resigned in consequence ; but as December advanced.
Napoleon again tried his hand with the London states-
men. He urged that a summons should be immedi-
ately forwarded to St. Petersburg to this effect, " that
France and England were resolved to prevent the rep-
etition of the affair of Sinope, and that every Rus-
sian ship thenceforward met in the Euxine would be
requested and, if necessary, constrained to return to
Sebastopol; and that any act of aggression after-
46 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
wards attempted against the Ottoman territory or
flag would be repelled by force." The English cab-
inet yielded, and Palmerston returned. Napoleon's
responsibility in this move is clearly shown by Lord
Clarendon's statement that the government " believed
the whole matter might be left to the discretion of
the admirals, but they attach so much importance, not
alone to the united action of the two governments, but
to the instructions addressed to their respective agents
being precisely the same, that they are prepared to
adopt the specific mode of action now proposed by
the government of the emperor."
In compliance with instructions forwarded from
Paris and London, the allied fleets entered the Black
Sea on the 4th of January, 1854. A few days later
the Emperor Nicholas at St. Petersburg was officially
informed of the determination to drive his flag from
the Euxine. He responded by recalling his legations
from Paris and London. If the presence of hostile
war-flags in the Dardanelles had been a thorn to the
Czar, their appearance in the Black Sea could have
been little less than maddening. The Black Sea he
regarded as his own peculiar property, and in fact,
the treaties of 1774 and 1828 had rendered it in aU
save name a Russian lake. To see its supremacy
snatched from him by the tremendous naval prepon-
derance of the western powers was a staggering blow,
and from the day that the allied fleets passed into the
Bosphorus there never existed a chance of peace.
The Emperor of the French now came before Eu-
rope in the role of a pacific letter-writer, and posed
as a ruler who was being forced into hostilities for the
sake of principle alone. His correspondent was the
Czar of all the Russias. If you do thus and so,
THE WESTERN ALLIANCE, 47
the letter implied, peace is assured ; " if you do other-
wise, then France as well as England would be obliged
to leave to the arbitrament of arms and the chances
of war that which might be decided at once by rea-
son and justice." This letter was written with the
knowledge and consent of the English government.
Useless in any circumstances as a medium of peace,
the closing threat only added fuel to the anger of the
Czar. " Whatever your majesty may decide," replied
Nicholas, after reviewing the letter, "threats will not
induce me to recede. My trust is in God and in my
right, and Russia, as I can pledge, will prove herself
in 1854 what she was in 1812." This last reference
to the year of the discomfiture of the grand army on
the bleak plains of Russia could not be lost upon the
heir of the First Napoleon. Personal animosity now
served to quicken the movements of the Emperor of
the French in warlike channels.
Russia's isolation was complete. The four powers
were in full accord as to the evacuation of the princi-
palities and the preservation of the " integrity of the
Ottoman Empire." Austria was bellicose in the ex-
treme, and Prussia, while less aggressive, had entered
into an agreement with Austria that bound them both
alike for the protection of their respective territories.
On the whole, the attitude of Austria, even after the
fleets had entered the Euxine, was the most warlike
of any of the powers. Her troops were swarming in
the Banat and on the Transylvanian frontier, while on
February 22 Count Buol, the Austrian chancellor,
informed the representative of France at Vienna that
" if England and France will fix a day for the evacua-
tion of the principalities, the expiration of which shall
be the signal for hostilities, the cabinet of Vienna will
support the summons."
48 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
On February 27 Lord Clarendon dispatched a
special messenger to St. Petersburg ma Vienna, where,
however, no effort was made to obtain a further pledge
of Austria's " support." The summons declared that
if the Czar did not pledge himself to evacuate the
principalities by the 30th of April, " the British gov-
ernment must consider the refusal or the silence of
the cabinet of St. Petersburg as equivalent to a deo-
laration of war, and will take its measures accord-
ingly." A similar message was forwarded from Paris
at the same time. The messengers reached the. Bus«
sian capital on the 13th of March, and on the fifth
day after their arrival Count Nesselrode stated that
the emperor ^^ thought it unbecoming to make any
reply."
On the 27th of March the Emperor of the French
informed the Senate and Assembly that the refusal of
his demands by the Czar had placed France in a state
of war with Bussia. On the same day the queen
communicated the situation to Parliament, and on the
next issued her declaration of war. On the 10th of
April was signe^ the treaty of alliance between Eng-
land and France that bound them to act harmoniously
together for the protection of the Sultan's dominions
and the restoration of peace in Europe. They pro-
fessed a willingness to receive any other power into
their agreement, but were not solicitous in this re-
gard.
The last demand of the western cabinets had been
that the Czar should evacuate Moldavia and Wal-
lachia, and upon his refusal they had taken up arms.
Austria had far more interest in securing this evacua-
tion than either of the powers which had made it their
ultimatum. Austria's hand was upon her sword hilt.
THE WESTERN ALLIANCE. 49
and apparently she was determined at all hazards to
break the Museoyite grip on the Danubian Princi-
palities. Perhaps she was nothing loath to find what
seemed her own especial task undertaken by the two
powers, which, in their hot zeal, never waited to secure
even her cooperation. Austria was not destined to
fire a shot, but when, after three months of hostilities,
she found the principalities still held by the Bussian
troops, she sternly conmianded the Czar to retire.
What the summons of the allies, supplemented by
three months of military and naval demonstration,
had failed to bring about, the command of Austria
effected.
The war fever in England increased steadily after
the Sinope affair. For weeks before the declaration
of war, preparations for the struggle had been vigor-
ously pushed in all the military and naval centres.
From time to time troops were forwarded to Malta,
while Liverpool, Southampton, and Cork were gay
and sad together, as to the strains of martial music
the men marched aboard the transports. The first
detachment of the enormous fleet destined for service
in the Baltic under the command of Sir Charles
Napier sailed from Spithead. The Guards departed
for Gibraltar late in March, and upon receiving the
news of the declaration of war were forwarded to the
East.
In France, too, the war was popular. No French-
man is indifferent when an opportunity to achieve
martial glory is in prospect. The officer appointed
by the French emperor to command his armies in
the field was Marshal St. Amaud, of Algerian and
coy.p d*Stat fame. The direction of the forces of the
queen was given to Lord Kaglan, an honorable gen*
50 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE. '
tleman, a brave soldier, and a friend and pupil of the
creat duke. Lord Radian's only military experience
L been in Welling^n's campaigns. He was his
aide and military secretary, and lost his arm during
the thickest of the fighting about La Haye Sainte on
the day of Waterloo. He served as military secre-
tary at the Horse Guards from 1827 to 1852, when
he was made master general of the ordnance and
raised to the peerage. In February, 1854, he was
made a general, and in April, at sixty-six years of
age, found himself at the head of the army destined
for service in the East. Lord Kaglan left England
on the 10th of April. He called at Paris, and with
the Duke of Cambridge was received at the Tuileries
by the emperor, presented to Marshal St. Amaud,
and treated to a military pageant on the Champ de
Mars.
French as well as English troops began to congre-
gate at Malta, and in the quaint streets of Yaletta
the Zouave and Highlander met as friends and gazed
in gaping wonder upon each other. Gallipoli was
soon fortified by an allied force, and Constantinople
itself was thronged with tangible evidence of the great
alliance. Guardsmen, cuirassiers, and soldiers of the
line jostled each other in the narrow streets, and
swarmed in the caf 6s, while the placid sea was alive
with the boats of pleasure-loving officers passing to
and fro between the camps.
As summer approached, however, and the situation
at Silistria became more and more precarious, the
rendezvous at Constantinople was broken up and the
troops pushed on to Varna, to be ready if need be, to
repel the Russians on the north of the Balkan range.
The plans of the western powers do not seem at this
THE WESTERN ALLIANCE. 61
time to have been clearly defined. If Silistria fell,
there would be work enough in Bulgaria, beating
back the tide of Russian invasion that would be sure
to follow, but while the Russians were held on the
Danube, the military councils were at sea. The
armies concentrated slowly at Varna, but by the 1st
of August at least 60,000 troops were in camp about
the town. The green rolling country beyond, with
its broad views and glimpses of the blue swelling
Balkans, is a feast to the eye, but proved the last
glimpse of life to many a stout soldier. Cholera ap-
peared in the allied camps during the last of July,
and spread rapidly through the ranks. The news
had arrived that the siege of Silistria was raised,
and the Russians in retreat. There was nothing left
to stimulate the heavy-hearted troops, and the gen-
erals saw that some change of plan must be imme-
diately fixed upon. " We must escape from this
sepulchre of Varna," wrote Marshal St. Amaud.
The Russians retreating, and the Austrians in the
principalities, the nominal end for which the expedi-
tion had been sent out was accomplished. The west-
em governments, however, had determined upon a
more thorough humiliation of Russia. It was now
that the plan for the invasion of the Crimea was pro-
mulgated. It originated among the statesmen in
Paris and London, and not among the soldiers in the
field. On the 29th of June the Duke of Newcastle
wrote to Lord Raglan advocating the reduction of
Sebastopol with a vigor which rendered it tantamount
to an order from the government. Lord Raglan,
realizing the almost total ignorance that prevailed in
regard to the Czar's strength and resources in the
Crimea, was opposed to the plan. So were Omar
52 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE. '
Pasha and St. Arnaud. Lord Raglan's reply to the
Duke of Newcastle was that of an honest soldier who
disbelieved in the move he felt obliged to make. " It
becomes my duty," he said, ^*to acquaint you that
it was more in deference to the views of the British
government as conveyed to me in your grace's dis*
patch, and to the known acquiescence of the Emperor
Louis Napoleon in those views, than to any informa-
tion in the possession of the naval and military au*
thorities, either as to the extent of the enemy's forces,
or their state of preparation, that the decision to make
a descent upon the Crimea was adopted."
- The last of August the camp about Varna was
broken up and the troops began to embark for the
new field of action. The generals were entering upon
the new project with doubt and misgiving, but as for
the men, the whole mighty Muscovite army possessed
no such dread for them as the smiling but pestilential
couAtry they were leaving.
CHAPTER VI.
THE INVASION OP THE CRIMEA.
POPUIiABITY OF THE CONQUEST OF SeBASTOPOI. IK ENGI<Ain>.—
Landing of the AuirKs in the Crimea. — The Advance on
Sebastopol begins. — Prince Msnsghikoff seizes the Line
OF THE Alma. — Character of the Position and Strength
OF THE Russian Army. — Mbnschikoff's Fatal Blunder. —
The Battle of the Alma. — The French turn the Russian
Left Wing. — Progress of the English. — Their Adyangb
CHECKED. — The French Flank Attack succeeds. — Retreat
of the Russians. — St. Arnaud^s Opinion of the Battle —
The Allies continue their Adtancb. — Their Flank March.
— Obtusbness of Menschikoff. — His Letter to Eornilofp.
— Occupation of Balaclava by the English. — Death of
St. Arnaud. — Canrobkrt opposes the Motion to attack Se-
bastopol. — Probable Result of such an Attack.
Description of Sebastopol — Arrival of Colonel de Todlebek
THERE. — The Allied Fleet is sighted. — Effect of the
Battle of the Alma upon Sebastopol. — Menschikoff^s
Orders — He retires from TgE Town with the Army. —
Despair of Korniloff and Todleben. — Eorniloff accepts
the Command of the Garrison. — His Enthusiasm. — The Db-
fenses of Sebastopol. — Korniloff's Controversy with Men-
schikoff. — The Latter induced to send Troops to Sebas-
topol.— Strength of the Garrison on October 6. — The
Allied Bombardment of October 17. — Korniloff^s Demeanor
ON that Day. — His Death. — Result of the Bombardment.
I.
The conquest of Sebastopol was thoroughly popular
in England and France outside of military circles.
The rage engendered by the Sinope affair was still
high, and to the public mind there was a poetic jus-
tice in the destruction of the naval port that equipped
54 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
and sheltered the obnoxious Black Sea fleet. " The
Times " voiced the popular opinion, when it declared
that " the gi-and political and military objects of the
war could not be attained, so long as Sebastopol and
the Kussian fleet were in existence ; but, if that cen-
tral position of the Kussian power in the south of the
empire were annihilated, the whole fabric, which it
had cost the Czars of Kussia centuries to raise, must
fall to the ground."
Toward the middle of September the great allied
armada in the Black Sea began to converge upon the
northwestern coast of the Crimea. Eupatoria was
occupied without resistance, and on the morning of
the 14th the general debarkation of the troops began
at a point fourteen miles south of that town. By
the 18th the whole army, comprising 30,000 French,
27,000 English, and 7,000 Turks were on Russian
soil.^ The commanders found themselves in a hostile
country, only a score of miles from the famous for-
tress of Sebastopol, entirely ignorant as to the strength
or whereabouts of their enemy. It was determined
to follow the coast in the advance, keeping in conmiu-
nication with the fleet, upon which the armies were
dependent for supplies.
On the 19th the advance commenced, with the
Turks on the right close to the sea, the French in the
^ The English possessed the only cavalry in the one thonsand sabres
of the weak diyision under Lord Lucan. They had five infantry
divisions with artillery attached, as follows: First Division com-
manded by Duke of Cambridge ; Second Division, by Sir De Lacy
Evans ; Third Division, by Sir Richard England ; Fourth Division,
by Sir George Cathcart; Light Division, by Sir George Browne. The
French had four infantry divisions, commanded as follows : First
Division, by General Canrobert ; Second Division, by General Bos-
quet ; Third Division, by Prince Napoleon ; Fourth Division, by G^n.
eral Forey.
THB COTIMTEY FEOH THE ALMA TO BAIACWTA
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA. 65
centre, and the EngKsh on the left, with the hostile
country on their flank. It was an inspiring pageant,
and the men moved over the grassy, roUing coimtry
in excellent spirits. That night the army bivouacked
a few miles north of the Alma River, and it was
rumored through the ranks that the enemy were close
at hand.
Prince Menschikoff,^ commander of the Czar's mili-
tary and naval forces in the Crimea, had seized with
all his available troops an exceedingly strong position
on the heights south of the river Alma. These heights
rise abruptly from the river, and, while higher far-
ther east, are steepest from a point nearly opposite
the village of Almatamack and from there to the
sea. Prince Menschikoff regarded this portion of the
heights as insurmountable, and consequently neglected
to occupy it. A space of two miles thus intervened
between the sea and the left of his forces, his entire
front extending about three miles. Rather on the
left of his position, opposite the village of Bour-
liouk, is a deep ravine through which the road from
Eupatoria to Sebastopol passes. This road crosses
the Alma at Bourliouk, but Menschikoff destroyed
the bridge, and placed his heaviest batteries to cover
the ravine, which he regarded as the weak spot in his
position. To defend these lines he had a force aggre-
gating nearly 34,000 men.^ It comprised some of
the choicest battalions in the Russian establishment,
and he was confident in his ability to hold his ground
against any force at the disposal of the allies^ A
good general would certainly have been justified in
^ The same who conducted the negotiations at Constantinople.
^ According to Todleben. Mr. Einglake figures the Russian
strength at 40,000 men.
66 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
this feeling of assurance, but Menschikoff, when he
determined to leave his left protected only by cliffs
presumably insurmountable, committed a blunder, to
which the result of the battle that followed can be
justly attributed.
The allied armies came within sight of their ene-
mies shortly before noon on the 20th. From a height
of land that sloped gently into the Alma valley, they
could see the cliffs beyond capped with artillery and
bristling with infantry. The English were on the
left, the French and Turks on the right as usual.
The French commenced the action, and their skir-
mishers soon discovered that the heights in their front
were not inaccessible. The conflict that ensued for
the next three hours has become famous under the
title of the battle of the Alma. It has been desig-
nated by an eminent EngKsh historian as « a big
scramble," and this conveys the true idea of the ac-
tion. General Canrobert's French division clambered
up the heights between Bourliouk and Almatamack
almost unopposed. General Bosquet^ reached the
summit of the cliffs farther west from Almatamack.
Menschikoff's plan of battle was thrown hopelessly
out of joint by these movements, and he dispatched
all his available forces to protect his left. Meanwhile
the English were dashing blindly and bravely against
the face of the main Russian position. Avoiding the
blazing village of Bourliouk, fired by the Russian out-
posts, they pushed through the vineyards, forded the
river, and clambered up the heights to get at bayonet's
point with their foes. Codrington's brigade was
^ Mr. Kinglake cites Bosquet as being the only divisional or bri-
gade commander in the French army of the East who was not promi-
nent in the Paris massacre of the 4th of December.
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA. 67
driven back with awful slaughter, but was supported
by the GKiards in the nick of time. Prince Gortscha-
koff ^ came up with the Vladimir regiment, and the
struggle became desperate and stationary in the heart
of the Russian position. At this crisis the French
made their presence severely felt on the Russian flank.
Menschikoff had lost all idea of his battle, and his
troops began sullenly to retire. The retreat was a
strange mixture of order and confusion. The " big
scramble " was at an end, and the French and English
rested on the summits they had so gallantly carried.
It is rarely that a battle reveals such a total lack
of generalship as did this. The English claim that
St. Arnaud's movements were bungling and left them
pi*actically to fight the battle single-handed. The
French assert, however, that they saved the English
from defeat. ^ St. Amaud expressed himself tersely
as to both English and Russian generalship : " As
Lord Raglan was the pupil of the Duke of Welling-
ton, so Prince Menschikoff followed the rules be-
queathed by Suvarof to Kutusof ." ^ Fortunately for
the allies, generalship was not a necessity for them.
The great strength of the Russian position and the
acknowledged bravery of the Russian soldiers were
whoUy neuti*alized by the gross carelessness and mis-
calculation of Menschikoff. *
^ Prince Peter Gortschakoff, brother of Mikhail.
^ Todleben agrees with St. Amaud, and regards the French move-
ments as the decisive ones of the day. He ascribes the Russian de-
feat to bad manoBuvring and the inferiority of their muskets, which
had only one third the carrying power of the allied weapons. He
deplores the machine tactics practiced by the Russians as tending to
destroy the self-reliance of the soldier and to render him dependent
upon massra.
' Rousset, vol. i. p. 830.
* The English loss at the Alma was 2,002 killed and wounded. The
58 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
No pursuit was attempted, the English having but
one thousand cavalry, and the French being wholly-
destitute of this branch of the service. On the 23d
the advance recommenced, and the armies encamped
that night in the vicinity of the Katscha River. On
the next day the march was continued to the Belbek,
and from the high ground south of the river the city
of Sebastopol, the coveted prize of the expedition,
was plainly visible. So near, indeed, had the army ap-
proached to the great stronghold of the Czar that the
military councils were rendered spicy by the questions
as to how and from what point the city should be ap-
proached. The opinion prevailed that the north side
had been rendered impregnable by the garrison, and
it was determined to make a flank march, and, leav-
ing the town on the right, approach it from the south.
The route of this march was over a rough, broken
coimtry, covered with low, thick woods. The English
led the advance, and tJie army wound about among
the hills like an attenuated serpent. On the after-
noon of the 25th a detachment of cavalry and horse
artillery debouched upon a broad plateau known to
the allies as Mackenzie's farm, and came squarely
upon a Russian colunm moving northeast at right an-
gles to their line of march. The surprise was mutual,
but the Russians were seized with something like a
panic. The English artillery fired a few shots after
the fugitives, and the excitement was over. Lord
Raglan surmised correctly that the Russian troops
were the rear-guard of an army that had just left
SebastopoL It was, in fact, the army of Prince Men-
Rnssians estimated their losses at 5,709 and the French theirs at 1,343.
Mr. Kinglake asserts that Lord Raglan considered the French loss to
he groaalj exaggerated. He placed it at less than 600.
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA. 59
schikoff that for thirty-six hours, during the 25th and
26th, had the allies completely in its power. Had
Menschikoff taken any measures to learn the where-
abouts of his enemy and his line of advance, he could
have hopelessly crushed him, as he struggled through
the difficult, wooded country. At the very hour, how-
ever, when the allied army was painfully defiling
within a few miles of his headquarters, he was writ-
ing these words to Admiral Korniloff in Sebastopol :
" Our further movements will depend upon the posi-
tion of the enemy, and it would be therefore desirable
to get, from time to time, some information from
Sebastopol as to the position of our adversaries. We
neither see nor hear anything of the enemy here."
Delivered again from peril by the carelessness of
their opponent, the allied generals pushed on their
columns toward Sebastopol. The English occupied
Balaclava after a bloodless skirmish with its handful
of defenders. This was a gratifying success, as this
place had already been settled upon as the base of
supplies for the army before Sebastopol. Its harbor
is narrow, surrounded by high hills, and so deep as to
afford access to the largest ships. The highlands of
the Chersonese, sloping off on the north into the har-
bor of Sebastopol, are traversed from Balaclava by a
good road. Upon these heights, carpeted with green
grass and swept by the pure sea breezes, the English
and French began to establish themselves. The clear
air cheered and invigorated the men, wasted by fa-
tigue and the disease that had followed them from the
deadly Bulgarian coast. Marshal St. Arnaud, how-
ever, was beyond the reviving powers of the sea winds,
and yielding, like many a lesser soldier, to the grim
scourge of cholera, was soon overcome by the uni-
60 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
versal conqueror. He was in ill health on leaving
France, and on the day of the Alma was barely able
to keep his saddle. On the 29th he was taken aboard
a French man-of-war, where he expired in a few
hours. General Canrobert succeeded to the command
of the French armies, and entered upon his duties, at
a most critical time. The question of assaulting the
city was then under discussion. Lord Raglan was in
favor of an immediate attack, and entertained but
little doubt of its success. Canrobert, however, wa«
opposed, and advocated awaiting the arrival of the
siege trains, when the place could be reduced with
less waste of life.
Canrobert's opinion was based upon sound military
grounds and prevailed, but we know at this day that
had the allies attacked, either from the north or the
south, any time previous to September 29 they could
hardly have failed of success. The interval between
the battle of the Alma and this date was not lost by
the defenders of the town. Thanks to the devotion
of soldiers, seamen, and citizens, inspired by the pa-
triotic enthusiasm of an admiral, and directed by the
splendid genius of a colonel of engineers, its defenses
were made well-nigh impregnable. The operations
of the allies during the last ten days of September
were tame indeed compared with the stirring events
that occurred within Sebastopol. The skill, energy,
and unselfish patriotism displayed by all classes of its
defenders certainly deserve some notice.
II.
Sebastopol in 1854 had a population of 46,000, of
which 38,000 were connected with the army and navy.
It stood on the southern shore of the roadstead or
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA. 61
great harbor, a deep cut between the hills extending
eastward a distance of three and a half miles from the
sea to the mouth of the Tchemaya River. The city
was separated from the Karabel suburb on the east
by a branch of the larger harbor known as the " Port "
of Sebastopol. The main city was traversed by broad
thoroughfares running north and south, while the
streets crossing these at right angles were narrower
and less pretentious. On the most commanding point
of the city stood the building known as the Naval
Library, a sort of exchange or kursaal, where the
officers of the garrison met for business or social in-
tercourse. The Karabel suburb contained the gov-
ernment storehouses, barracks, and dock-yards. On
the northern side of the roadstead opposite the city
there were other military buildings covered by strong
sea forts, but almost unprotected from land attacks.
Under the Emperor Nicholas Sebastopol had be-
come strictly a naval port. The Black Sea fleet had
its headquarters here, where all the machinery and
supplies that would insure its efficiency were to be
found. The docks were among the finest in the world,
being in many cases hewn out of the solid cliffs. To-
ward the sea the place had been rendered impregnable
by a chain of magnificent forts and batteries. Against
land attacks, however, Sebastopol was almost defense-
less. A series of fortifications had been projected to
protect the place on the south, but little work had
been accomplished at the breaking out of the war.
Prince Menschikoff steadily refused to credit the
idea that the allies would attempt an invasion of the
Crimea. He was not, however, left without warnings.
As the Danubian campaign approached its disastrous
end, Prince Gortschakoff sent a messenger to him
62 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
with a letter calling his attention to the immediate
necessity of fortifying Sebastopol on the landward
side. The letter also informed MenschikoiBf that in
this work of fortification the messenger would be
found a valuable counselor. This messenger was
Lieutenant-Colonel de Todleben of the engineers.
It was the 22d of August when Todleben reached
Sebastopol with the letter of his conunander. He
was well received by Menschikoff until he began to
urge too strenuously the fortification of the place.
Menschikoff was still unconvinced even by Gortscha-
koff's warning, and it is certain that Todleben would
have been dismissed from* Sebastopol, had not the
allied fleet suddenly appeared off the coast.
The hostile squadrons were first sighted on Septem-
ber 12. In the harbor lay the Russian Black Sea
fleet, comprising about forty ships of aU classes,
carrying 1,908 guns, and manned by 18,500 well-
disciplined seamen. Leaving this fleet in command
of Admiral Komiloff, his chief of staff, Menschikoff
proceeded to mass his land forces on the Alma. All
the afternoon of the 20th the firing was plainly audi-
ble in Sebastopol, and toward night Komiloff and
Todleben rode out toward the battlefield. They met
the prince returning from the scene of disaster, heavy-
hearted and almost prostrated with fatigue. His only
orders that night were to sink some of the ships across
the entrance of the roadstead to prevent the entry of
the enemy's fleet. To Korniloff, an enthusiastic naval
officer, these were cruel orders. By dawn of the 23d,
however, eight fine ships had been scuttled, the har-
bor had been closed, and the hearts of thousands of
brave seamen had been wrung with sorrow. It was
on this day that Menschikoff came to his extraordi-
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA, 63
nary decision to withdraw the army and leave Sebas-
topol to its f ate. He determined to move northeast
and gain possession of the great road to Simpheropol,
in order to secure his communication with Russia.
Against this Komiloff protested, but the prince
assured him of his cooperation against the flank of
any enemy that threatened SebastopoL On the night
of the 24th the army withdrew from the town, Men-
schikoff leaving General Moller in command of the
handful of militia and gunners, Admiral Nachimoff ^
in command of all the seamen that had been trans-
ferred to the south side of the roadstead, while to
Komiloff he left the charge of the forces on the
north side, against which it was believed the allies
would move.
The position in which Sebastopol was left by the
withdrawal of the army was a desperate one. The
whole garrison, including the seamen landed from
the fleet, comprised but 16,000 men, a force wholly
inadequate to cope with the allied armies behind half-
finished works. Komiloff, a true-hearted, religious
patriot, made the best use of his scanty means of de-
fense on the north side. He encouraged his men,
but to the officers on his staff he openly expressed his
hopelessness. "From the north side," he declared,
" there is no retreat. All of us who are there will
also find our graves.*' He carefully assigned his staff
officers to positions elsewhere. " I should not like,"
he said, " to have all fall with me." Colonel Todle-
ben was scarcely more hopefuL Speaking of the
efforts made by the garrison, he declared that "there
remained to them no alternative, but that of seeking
to die gloriously at the post committed to their
bravery."
' This officer commanded the Russian fleet at Sinope.
64 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
It was about noon on the 25th that the officers con-
gregated at the Naval Library saw the allied armies
marching southward over the heights at the head of
the harbor. It was plain at a glance that the north
side was not to be molested. Komiloff immediately
threw up the command imposed upon him by Men-
schikoff , and passing over to the south side, offered his
services to Nachimoff . Later a conference was held
between Nachimoff, Moller, Komiloff, and Todleben.
Precedence of rank was disregarded, and influenced
only by motives of the purest patriotism, Moller and
Nachimoff offered the supreme command of the Se-
bastopol garrison to Komiloff. Korniloff accepted,
and from that moment, shoulder to shoulder with
Todleben, for whom he had conceived a great respect
and admiration, he pushed with all his energy the
work of defense. Korniloff inspired the men by his
piety and enthusiasm, while Todleben turned the
energy thus awakened into the most useful channels.
The work on the fortifications was pushed with the
most unremitting zeal. Soldiers, sailors, citizens, and
even women toiled night and day imceasingly. While
the engineer grew more and more absorbed in the
vast system of defenses he had planned, Komiloff
still continued anxious. Where was Menschikoff
with the army? On the 26th, heavy-hearted and
harassed by many cares, he made the entry in his
diary, " Of the prince nothing is heard." The next
day he had divine service performed in the presence
of the soldiers, and then addressed them himself.
" Let the troops," he said, " first be reminded of the
Word of God, and then I will impart to them the
word of the Czar." That evening he seems again to
have been overcome by despondency. " Of the prince
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA. 65
nothing still is to be heard. The evening passed in
gloomy thoughts about the future of Kussia."
On the 28th tidings were received from Menschi-
koff, but he evinced little inclination to come to the
aid of the city. He merely wished to know the
whereabouts of the enemy. On the 29th the de-
fenses were practically completed, forming a half
circle on the south of the city, four miles in length.
On the western side, from north to south, the three
salient points in the lines became known as the Land
Quarantine Bastion, the Central Bastion, and the
Flagstaff Bastion. On the east side were three other
strong works, from south to north, as follows : the
Redan, the Malakoff Tower, and the Little Bedan.^
To arm these fortifications the ships were dismantled,
and their great guns brought ashore. The seamen
Kkewise were transferred to the land service, but even
with this addition Komiloff knew that the presence
of -trained troops was a necessity of the situation.
On the 30th Prince Menschikoff himself appeared
on the north side of the harbor, and had an interview
with Korniloff, whom he found in command of the
place. He reiterated his intention to keep his army
aloof, upon which Komiloff, hot with patriotic rage,
retorted, " If that takes place, then farewell to Sebas-
topol ! " The entry that night in Komiloff's diary
shows that he was brooding over the strange policy
of the prince. " To hold Sebastopol with troops is
very possible ; nay, it is possible even to hold out long,
but without troops — that alters the case ! "
Komiloff's retort had induced Menschikoff to call
a coimcil of war, and upon hearing this Komiloff
^ These are the names by which they were known to the allies and
to the world.
66 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
determined upon presenting there a written protest.
Upon being informed of this Menschikoff weakened.
Whatever the motives that were inducing him to
pursue his extraordinary tactics, he was not prepared
to let this emphatic paper pass under the eye of the
Czar. He yielded before the council met, and de-
tached twelve battalions from his field army to the
assistance of the garrison. Komiloff and Todleben
could now breathe freely for a time, for on October 6
25,000 soldiers and 13,000 seamen were ready for the
defense of the town. The energy of the defenders
never flagged ; and when on the 17th of October the
allies opened their bombardment, they were enabled
to return a fire of equal power. At early dawn the
French batteries opened against the western defenses,
the English against the lines on the east, while from
the sea the men-of-war trained their broadsides upon
the coast forts. Shortly after ten o'clock the French
batteries were silenced by the explosion of a powder
magazine, nor was their fire resumed during the day.
Komiloff was early on horseback, riding from
work to work, watching the progress of the contest,
and encouraging the gunners at their toil. His course
could be traced from a distance by the " hurrahs "
that greeted him as he passed along. He had. an eye
for everything. At one moment he was directing the
care of the wounded, at another superintending the
transfer of some regiment to a place of greater secu-
rity, at another arranging for the transportation of
water to the men at the front. He exposed his life
almost recklessly, and was often on the parapets
among the screaming shot, peering through the smoke
to detect, if possible, the effect of the Russian fire.
It was in vain that his officers entreated hun to caur
THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA. 67
tion. To one he replied, " What will the soldiers say •
of me if they do not see me to-day ? " to another, with
a smile, " You can never run away from a shot." Just
before noon, as he was leaving the Malakoff Tower,
he was struck down by a cannon ball. " Now, gen-
tlemen," he said to the officers who thronged about
him, " I leave you to defend Sebastopol. Do not sur-
render it." He was carried to the hospital, where he
lived for a short time in great pain. " TeU all," he
said, ^^ it is sweet to die when the conscience is at
rest;" then, as the roar of the bombardment fell upon
his ears, he prayed again and again, ^^ O God ! bless
Kussia and the emperor. Save Sebastopol and the
fleet." An orderly came into the apartment with
the tidings that the English guns were being silenced.
Komiloff, simunoning all his strength, cried out,
" Hurrah ! hurrah ! " and a few moments later ex-
pired.
All unconscious of Komiloff's death, the Russian
gunners still toiled at their heated pieces ; and when
darkness began to faU it was plain that the allied
attack had been a failure. The ships were withdraw-
ing, and the English guns alone were left to maintain
the unequal contest. No assault had been attempted,
and Todleben still hved to direct the defense. The
Russian people regard their prolonged and resolute
defense of Sebastopol with pride, but they look upon
it as something more than a common honor to have
been numbered in the garrison during this brief,
heroic period of Komiloff's command.
CHAPTER Vn.
BALACLAVA AND INKEBMANN.
The Alldsd Positions on the Chersonese. — Failure of thxib
BoifBABDMENT. — ThE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FalL OF SeBAS-
TOPOL IN London. — Effect of this Report upon the Armies.
— Chagrin of Lord Raqlan. — The Siege of Sebastopol
BEGINS. — Its Peculiar Character. — The Russian Field Army
assumes the Offensive. — Battle of Balaclaya and Charqb
of the Light Brigade. — Results of the Battle. — This
Battle of Inkermann. — Its Irregular Character and its
Results. — The Great Hurricane. — Terrible SuFFSRiNa
AND Losses of the Allies. — Public Opinion in Francs and
England concerning the Campaign.
The allied positions south of Sebastopol formed a
half circle. The French held the lines on the west,
from a point nearly south of the formidable Kussian
work known as the Redan. The English positions
extended from the Redan to Mt. Inkermann, over-
looking the Tchernaya a short distance above its
confluence with the harbor of Sebastopol. General
Canrobert's judgment having prevailed, intrenching
was pushed during the first weeks of October, while
heavy guns were brought up from the coast. The
confidence of the allied commanders in the success of
their bombardment increased with every day, and
when on the 17th the batteries opened fire, the least
sanguine were inclined to limit the Muscovite defense
to three days. By the night of the 17th not only had
this confidence disappeared, but all hope of reducing
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN. 69
the place with artillery had gone down with the sun.
The naval and military commanders were compelled
to admit that they had made no serious impression
upon the Kussian works, while they had received a
return fire at once vigorous and destructive. The
next day the bombardment was renewed, and indeed
it was not finally relinquished until the 25th ; but
after the first day of fruitless powder burning, no
decisive results were looked for.
On the 18th a mail arrived from England with
London papers enthusiastically announcing ^^the
fall of SebastopoL" To the men on the shot-swept
ridges of the Chersonese these glowing and ill-founded
accounts were the most cruel mockeries. Said " The
Times : " " The latest dispatches received from our
correspondents at Vienna and Paris remove all doubt
as to the triumph of the allied armies, and the reality
of the most splendid achievement of modem wai-f are,
an exploit alike unequaled in magnitude, in rapidity,
and in its results. It may now be confidently stated
that the forts of Sebastopol fell successively before
the combined forces of the assailants ; that at least
half of the Kussian fleet perished ; that the fiiags of
the allies were waving on the Church of St. Vladimir,
and that, on the 26th at latest. Prince Menschikoff
surrendered the place. The battles are over, and the
victory is won. . . . Never since the days of Napoleon,
we may almost say since the days of Caesar, has an
exploit of arms been attended with such entire, or
such instantaneous, success. The arrival, the sight,
and the conquest form parts of one and the same
event. The final triumph followed close on the first
disembarkation ; and all the anticipated incidents of
an arduous campaign — marches, battles, sieges, and
70 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
stormings — have been crowded into a single impulse
of onslaught and victory.^
So spake " The Times," and from the perusal of
such pompous exultations the British soldier turned
again to the reality about him, the air screaming with
Bussian missiles and the wounded passing to the rear.
Lord Baglan was deeply chagrined and mortified
that such a rumor should have been circulated ' as
truth in England. On the day of the receipt of the
mail he wrote to the Duke of Newcastle as follows :
" I cannot but deplore the ready credence which has
been given by the public in England to the annoimce-
ment in the newspapers of the capture of Sebastopol ;
and indeed it is an injustice to our troops to view the
accomplishment of the enterprise as an easy opera-
tion, and with the f uU determination to do everything
to insure success, I must stiU regard it as one of
extreme difficulty, and of no great certainty."
With the abandonment of the idea of the speedy
reduction of Sebastopol the allies entered upon ^^ the
siege," — a siege, however, in which at times, they
themselves were the besieged. By the middle of Octo-
ber, as we have noticed, Sebastopol was garrisoned by
a force sufficiently large to insure a stout defense of
all its works. The allied forces at the same time, in«
eluding seamen and marines from the fleet, comprised
40,000 French, 25,000 English, and 11,000 Turks.
The Sebastopol garrison was left free to communicate
^ Mention of this false ntmor is found in Prosper M^rim^'s Let"
ters to an Incognita, Writing from Vienna, he says : '* We are
agitated by news from the Crimea. Is Sebastopol taken ? It is be-
lieved so here ; and the Anstrians, with the exception of a few ancient
families who are Russian at heart, congratulate us God grant that
the news may not be an inyention such as the telegraph delights in
when at leisure."
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN. 71
with Bussia, and open at all times to the receipt of
supplies and reinforcements. In other words, unless
the allies could render Sebastopol untenable by direct
assault or the power of their bombardment, its gar-
rison had nothing to fear. The 4th Kussian army
corps, which had been detained on the Bessarabian
frontier through fear of the Austrians in the princi-
palities, was moved to the south when it became evi-
dent that the Kaiser's government was not for war.
As a result, the Sebastopol garrison was again rein-
forced, while it was assisted furthermore by the
appearance of the field army which Menschikoff so
long and fatally mismanaged. With the Sebastopol
garrison nearly equal in numbers to the hostile force
on the Chersonese, and in perfect communication with
a field army of considerable strength, the difficulty of
settling at all times the question as to who was be-
sieged will be readily ajjpreciated.
On the 25th of October the Russian field army
under General Liprandi, comprising about 25,000
men of all arms, advanced from the northeast and
east for a demonstration against Balaclava. It was
early morning when their movements were first de-
scried, and much later when Lord Baglan learned the
fact and ordered two infantry divisions down to the
plain for the protection of the threatened point. The
town itself was covered by the guns of an English
frigate, and garrisoned by a force of marines and
artillery. On the north, a short distance from the
village of Kadikoi, was the camp of the 93d High-
landers, while the advanced line of defenses on the
Causeway heights, which cross the plain from east to
west, was held by the Turks. Against these latter
works, preceding their action by a heavy artillery fire.
72 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
the Bussians moved in overwhelming numbers. The
Turks, finding themselves unsupported and their line
of retreat threatened, were seized with a panic and
abandoned their guns. With the capture of these
redoubts the affair might have ended but for a chain
of accidents that precipitated more useless carnage.
Upon the flight of the Turks, a portion of the Eng-
lish heavy cavalry brigade, under General Scarlett,
moved from its position near the western base of
the Causeway heights in a southeasterly direction to
cover Balaclava. At the same time a heavy column
of Russian cavalry, advancing from the northeast,
passed over the Causeway heights and down the
southern slope, toward the plain where the English
cavalry were marching. Notwithstanding his great
inferiority in numbers (he had but 300 men) Scar-
lett charged the Russians furiously, overthrowing
them by the mere impetus of Jiis onset. The discom-
fited troops fell back over the ridge, and again the
fighting seemed over.
At this time the Russians still held in force the
Causeway heights and the Fedioukine Hills across
the valley on the north. At the eastern end of this
valley their discomfited cavalry halted and reformed
under the protection of some batteries of horse artil-
lery. At the western end of the valley, under the
heights of the Chersonese, stood the English light bri-
gade, nearly 700 strong, under Lord Cardigan, which
up to this time had not been engaged. Lord Raglan,
from his commanding position on the Chersonese,
thought he detected signs of withdrawal among the
Russians on the Causeway ridge. Anxious, if possi-
ble, to recover the guns lost by the Turks in the morn-
ing, he forwarded by Captain Nolan an order to the
»'
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN. 73
Earl of Lucan commanding the cavalry division as
follows : " Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance
rapidly to the front and try to prevent the enemy
carrying away the guns. Troop of horse artillery
may accompany. French cavalry is on your left."
Lord Lucan, it seems, protested against the move-
ment in Nolan's hearing. He asked him where and
what he should attack. Nolan's reply was not a
model of military respect; he assei'ted that Lord
Raglan's orders were positive, and as he rode away,
it is said, pointed up the vaUey, at the farther end of
which the Russian guns were located.^ " The guns "
that Lord Raglan meant were the captured ones on
the Causeway heights, and this had been clearly des-
ignated to Lucan in a former order. Li some way,
however, the orders became hopelessly jumbled in the
process of conveyance from Lord Raglan to Lord
Cardigan, the general commanding the light brigade.
Cardigan certainly failed to comprehend that any
other guns were meant than those of the batteries in
the valley. Exposed the whole distance to a murder-
ous flanking fire, few of his gallant corps reached the
hostile guns. Some indeed penetrated beyond and
crossed swords with the supporting cavalry, but in
fifteen minutes from the moment that the brigade
had left its position the scattered survivors were
streaming back toward their rendezvous. The corps
might have been utterly destroyed but for the timely
and brilliant charge of the French 4th Chasseurs
d'Afrique against the Fedioukine Hills. This tem-
porarily demoralized the Russian artillery stationed
^ This is Lord Lucan^s description of what passed between Nolan
and himself. Nolan accompanied the brigade, and was the first man
kiUed.
74 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
there, and left the valley comparativelj clear for the
retreat of the light brigade.^
The Chersonese heights were thronged with mili-
tary spectators gazing down upon the battlefield. In
fact, the cavalry manoeuvred all day under the eyes
of some of the keenest military critics in Europe.
Perhaps the day's work showed that English cavalry
generals did not know how to handle their men, but
the bold ride of the light brigade through that tem-
pest of plunging cannon-shot proved that the men
knew how to handle themselves. The French gen-
eral Bosquet appreciated the affair in all its phases
when he exclaimed, ^^ C'est magnifique ; mais ce n'est
pas la guerre."
Who was to blame for the charge of the light
brigade ? To this day opinions differ as to where the
weight of responsibility should lie. This much is cer-
tain, that Lord Lucan, Lord Cardigan, Lord Raglan,
and the memory of Captain Nolan, who fell in the
charge, have aU suffered in consequence. Further-
more, it cost Lord Lucan his command.
The results of the battle of Balaclava, aside from
the disputes it engendered in English military circles,
were the loss of the Woronzoff road to the allies, the
practical blockade of the English in Balaclava, and
the earning of a great prestige for the English cav-
alry soldier.
This October skirmkh proved but the prelude to the
grand effort of the Russians to break the allied hold
upon the Chersonese. On the evening of November
^ The light brigade out of 673 men lost 247 killed and wonnded.
Only 195 horses escaped. The English losses in the day^s fighting
-were about 600 men, the French and Turks losing 200 more. The
Bussian casualties amounted to 600 men killed and wounded.
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN. 75
4th the English pickets on Mt. InkermannweFe warned
that some unusual event was taking place among the
Russians from the clanging of the Sebastopol bells
that was borne along to them on the wind. The even-
ing being rainy, nothing could be seen ; and as dawn
approached, the fog rising from the dripping valleys
settled down upon the Chersonese like a pall. It
was scarcely light when the rattle of musketry and
the scream of shells announced to the astonished pick-
ets that the Russians were upon them. Bewildered
by the suddenness of the attack, the English camps
sprang quickly into lif e.^ There was no time to form,
and in broken detachments the half-awakened soldiers
moved f orwaixl through the mist to where the uproar
told them that the enemy was attacking. Colonels
lost their regiments, captains their companies, while
officers were found in the ranks that day, armed with
rifles. In fact, during the battle of Inkermann, from
the moment when the Russian shells began to cleave
the fog until the hour when the last dropping fire
was dying away, there was absolutely no system in
the English defense.
On the Russian side the scheme of attack was
boldly conceived and bravely, if clumsily, executed.
The movement against Mt. Inkermann was confided
to General Dannenburg. One column, under General
Soimonoff moved up from the Karabel suburb through
the Careenage ravine, while another, under General
Pauloff, attacked from the Tchemaya valley on the
north. Prince Gortschakoff^ with 22,000 men oc-
cupied the Tchemaya vaUey toward Kadikoi, with
orders to move upon the Chersonese when the English
grip upon Mt. Inkermann had been broken. An-
^ Prince Peter Qortsohakoff.
76 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
other force under General Timof ^ieff was detailed to
create a diversion from Sebastopol against the French
left. Owing to Dannenburg's failure to make any
serious impression upon the Inkermann position,
GortschakofiE's troops remained inactive through the
day.^ The Russians engaged against Mt. Inker-
mann comprised nearly 40,000 men,^ and to them
were opposed 8,000 English and 6,000 Frenchmen.
Owing to the dense mist, it is doubtful if at the time
the allies had any idea of the vast odds against which
they were contending, while, on the other hand, it is
clear that the Russians whoUy failed to comprehend
the weakness of the forces opposing them. The
great numerical superiority of the Russians was
largely neutralized by the unfavorable character of
the ground, which prevented the cooperation of their
columns ^ and allowed the allies to fight on a narrow
front. General SoimonofPs death early in the action
paralyzed the Russian right column, nor was it rallied
again during the day. The battle swayed to and fro
upon the heights during the early hours of the morn-
ing, and the French regiments arrived not a moment
too soon. At noon the Russians practically relin-
quished the struggle, retiring all along the line by
order of General Dannenburg.
The battle of Inkermann cost the British in kiUed
and wounded nearly 2,600 men, while the French
losses aggregated nearly 1,800. On the other hand,
the Russian losses have been computed as between
eleven and twelve thousand. This unequal showing
^ This inaction is aUaded to by Todleben in an uncomplimentary
manner-
2 34,835 according to Todleben.
^ It is questionable if the Russians had 20,000 men engaged at
any one time.
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN. 77
at least reflects credit upon the stolid bravery of the
poorly armed Russian soldier.
In England Inkermann became renowned as " the
soldiers' battle." The private soldiers took the affair
in charge and fought it through, unhampered by
"generalship." They demonstrated the fact that
forty years of enervating peace had failed to eradicate
from the national character those indomitable qualities
that rendered Wellington's squares impregnable on
the slopes of Mt. St. Jean.^
Prince Menschikoff was bitterly disappointed over
the failure of his crowning effort to crush his foes.
Had his troops succeeded in getting a permanent foot-
hold on the Inkermann heights, the aUied situation
could have been nothing less than * desperate. The
defeat at Inkermann dissipated his last hope of gain-
ing a position on the Chersonese before winter.
Relieved in a measure by their victory from the
danger of Eussian aggression, the aUies found them-
selves called upon to confront other trials and hard-
ships. Winter was approaching, and the management
of the Russian campaign was slowly drifting into the
hands of those two merciless chieftains, "Janvier
and Fevrier." ^ The blue sky had become murky, the
bright expanse of the Euxine a leaden gray. The
grassy slopes of the Chersonese were transformed
into slippery mire, while the white city of Sebastopol
appeared black and forbidding through drifting
clouds of fog. Everything was cheerless and gloomy.
Rain feU incessantly, and the road from Balaclava to
^ The battle of Inkermann demonstrated the force of the remark
attributed to Marshal Soult, *^ The British infantry is the finest in
the world, but I thank God there is n't much of it."
^ The Emperor Nicholas used to say that Russia had two generals
upon whom she could always rely, '* Janvier and Fevrier."
78 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
the camps became a slough, in which men waded and
supply wagons floundered and 'collapsed. Notwith-
standing these surroundings, up to November 14 the
tents were fairly dry and habitable. On this day,
however, during the early morning hours a great hur-
ricane arose. It was accompanied at first with tor-
rents of rain, which diminished toward dawn, as the
wind increased in violence. The furious blast roared
through the camps, literally sweeping away the tents.
The men came staggering in from their fatiguing
duties in the trenches to fi^ad their habitations gone,
and their belongings scattered for miles over the miry
plains. The hospital tents went with the rest, and
the sick as weU as the strong were left unprotected
in the gale.
To the men on the ships at Balaclava and all along
the coast it was a trying time. The seas, beating in
at Balaclava harbor, brought huge masses of floating
debris that told of destruction among the shipping
outside. When the gale subsided it was found that
between forty and fifty vessels had been wrecked or
disabled and 1,000 lives lost. Eleven transpoi*ts were
lost and with them vast amounts of supplies, including
ammunition, medical stores, and warm clothing for
the troops. The Henri Quatre, the fi^aest ship in
the French navy, was driven ashore near Eupatoria.
The losses suffered by the allies through this disas-
trous freak of nature could not be reckoned in gold.
The men on the heights found themselves almost shel-
terless, with nothing but their ragged simuner uni-
forms to protect them from the wintry blasts. To
add to their misery cholera broke out again with re-
newed severity, and the dismal scenes of Bulgaria
were repeated. The rain was superseded by sleet and
BALACLAVA AND INKERMANN. 79
snow, and portions of the trenches were knee-deep
with icy water. Fuel was scarce, and provender for
the animals as well. The horses died in great num-
bers, and their carcasses festered on the plains until
they sank out of sight in the mire or were devoured
by the hungry dogs which infested the camps.
Meanwhile in England the people were wrought
up to a high pitch of rage* and disgust, and it was
asserted on all hands that the war had been an un-
mitigated failure. The contradiction of the fictitious
statement of the fall of Sebastopol was the first blow
to the calm assurance that had existed before. To
make matters worse, the Baltic fleet, of which so much
had been expected, returned after an experience re-
sembling that of the king of France who marched
up the hill and down again. The details of the suf-
ferings of the soldiers, resulting from the total inca-
pacity of the medical and commissary departments,
stirred the popular feeling almost to frenzy. Miss
Florence Nightingale, a lady of vast experience in
hospital affairs, was induced by the government to go
to the East and supervise personally a reform in the
wretched state of affairs existing in the Crimea and
at Scutari. This move allayed but little . the public
discontent. Parliament met just before Christmas,
and a motion to investigate the management of the
war was carried by a large majority. As a result
Lord Aberdeen's government went out of of&ce, and
it devolved upon Lord Palmerston to form a new one.
It was the habit of the English people during these
times to exalt the French military establishment as a
model for their government to follow. The French
people naturally became magnificently conceited over
their admitted superiority. Perhaps the different
80 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
estimate in England and France in regard to the state
of their military affairs was owing somewhat to the
measure in which free speech was allowed in the two
countries. In England every weakness in the army
was ruthlessly exposed by an unhampered press. In
France disagreeable facts were smothered, or so peiw
verted by a cringing press as to suit the ends of a
government whose existence depended upon success.
CHAPTER Vm.
THE FALL OP SEBASTOPOL.
Death of the Czar NichoiiAs. — Sardinia, joikb thb Webtebn
At.t.tawce. — Pbogress of thb Ajajva before Sebastopoii. -*
P&LISSIEIt SUCCEEDS CaNBOBEBT IN COMMAND OF THE FbENGH
Abmy. — The June Bombardment and First Assault. — Cap-
ture OF THE MamELON BT THB FRENCH. — FAILURE OF THE SeO-
OND Assault. — Death of Lord Raglan. — Desperate Condi-
tion OF SbBASTOPOL. — TODLEBEN WOUNDED. — ThE RUSSIANS
DEFEATED ON THE TcHERNAYA. — ThE GREAT Attjicti AsSAULT
IN September. — The French carry the Malakoff. — Evacu-
ation AND burning of Sebastopol. — Phince Gortschakoff^s
Estimate of the Defense. — The French Emperor and the
Czar desire Peace. — The Congress of Paris. — Signature
OF Peace. — Results of the War. — Sardinia the only
Gainer.
Two events of deep import to Europe opened the
year 1855. The first was the death of the emperor
of Russia, the other the entrance of Sardinia into the
Western Alliance.
The death of the Czar occurred on the 2d of March.
The battle of the Alma was his deathblow, and after
that all hope forsook him. The window of his sick-
room commanded the stately splendor of his capital,
but his mind still retained the vision of the hostile
fleet before Cronstadt, his ear seemed to catch the
low moan of his suffering people, and the ominous
roar of the Sebastopol cannon. Upon realizing that
his end was near, he dictated the telegram for trans-
mission to the country, " The emperor is dying." On
82 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
the 2d of March he delivered these parting words to
his son and successor : " All my care, all my endeavors,
have been directed for Russia's welfare. I was anx-
ious to continue to labor so that I might leave you
the empire steadfast and orderly, safe against dan-
gers from without, thoroughly prosperous, and at
peace. But you see at what a time and under what
circumstances I am dying. God has willed it so.
You will find . the burden hard to bear." A few
hours later, with a simple prayer upon his lips, tiie
broken-hearted emperor passed away.
It was not apparent to the superficial observer what
interest Sardinia, one of the smallest of European
states, could have in the Eastern Question, but com-
ing forward at a critical time, her aid was not to be
despised. On the 26th of January King Victor Em-
manuel signed at Turin the treaty that bound him to
furnish 15,000 men for service against Russia. Early
in the spring the first detachments sailed for the
Crimea, and a few weeks later, under the command of
General La Marmora, were in camp side by side with
the soldiers of two of the great European powers.
The first military movements of the year 1865 oc-
curred at Eupatoria, where Omar Pasha, in an in-
trenched position, worsted a Russian force sent from
Sebastopol to dislodge him. This affair concluded
Menschikoff's long season of mismanagement in the
Crimea and threw the burden of the Russian leader-
ship upon Prince Gortschakoff, who had directed the
Danubian campaign.
Meanwhile the siege of Sebastopol was being ac-
tively pushed by the allies. By the first of March
the hospitals were thoroughly renovated, the English
commissariat overhauled, and the thinned ranks rein-
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 83
forced. The severity of the winter had been favora-
ble to the aUies, inasmuch as by rendering the roads
impassable it checked the flow of Russian reinforce-
ments and supplies. During January, February, and
March skirmishing frequently occurred, but as the
allies pushed their siege lines nearer to the Russian
defenses, the genius and ceaseless activily of Todleben
foiled them at every turn. New redoubts sprang up
in their front as if by magic, to sweep their path with
"mitrail."^ On the 9th of April the second bom-
bardment of Sebastopol was undertaken. It was a
repetition of the events of the preceding fall, and on
the night of the 20th, when the firing ceased, nothing
had been accomplished.
On May 16 General Canrobert resigned his com-
mand in consequence of ill health.^ The French
army at this time numbered 120,000 men. The Eng-
lish strength, which during the winter months had
fallen as low as 12,000, had been restored to nearly
30,000. Beside these there were 50,000 Turks under
Omar Pasha and the 15,000 Sardinians under La
Marmora. In consequence of their superior strength,
^ This is the word used by Todleben to indicate the cross fire of the
defenders of Sebastopol.
^ Mr. Eanglake asserts in his closing Yolomes that Canrobert's can-
tious tactics and final resignation were induced by the extraordinary
orders of the French emperor, who contemplated going to the Crimea
to assume command himself. *^ No one seems to have divined that
the emperor, though a man strangely fond of effecting theatric sur-
prises and belieyed to be intent on the notion of assuming high com-
mand at the seat of war, might desire to keep Canrobert's army
in a state of restraint, with its fires, as the phrase is, ' banked up,'
until the time of his own arriyal, when troubles unnumbered and suc-
cessive disappointments and the weariness of hope long deferred
would be all at once followed by what the play-books call * flour-
ishes,' by victory, conquest, and triumph." — Kinglake, " From the
Morrow of Inkerman to the Fall of Canrobert/' chap. v.
84 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
the French had gradually assumed the defense of the
ground occupied by the English during the early days
of the campaign. Indeed, by the middle of May the
English were only holding a small portion of the al-
lied line, with the Sedan in their front. General
P^lissier,^ who succeeded Canrobert, was anxious to
justify his reputation as a brilliant soldier, and the
belief became prevalent throughout Europe that some
extraordinary efforts would now be made toward
breaking down the Russian defense.
A council of war held early in June decided to
reopen the bombardment on the 6th, to be followed
by a general infantry assault. Accordingly on the
afternoon of the appointed day the cannonade recom-
menced, and was maintained through the night to pre-
vent the Russians repairing damages. The bombard-
ment on the part of the allies was of greater power and
better sustained than either of the previous ones, while
the Russians maintained a comparatively sluggish fire
in response. On the 7th the allied commanders deliv-
ered their assault. P^lissier was to direct his main
attack against the Mamelon redoubt, a dangerous out-
post of the Malakoff , and upon its capture the English
were to make a rush for the Quarries under the Redan.
All through the afternoon the cannonade languished,
and the troops destined for the attack were drawn up
in readiness. At half past six the signal rockets were
discharged, and the French columns broke forward
with wild cheers. The Russians, lulled into a sense
of security by the waning of the bombardment, were
^ P^liasier, ''the short, thickset, resolute Norman," as Mr. E[iii^-
lake describes him, entirely disregarded the commands of the Tuile-
ries. He persisted in handling his army with reference to the enemy
in his front.
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 85
taken unawares, and the French bayonets were swarm-
ing over the parapets on the Mamelon before they
realized that an attack was in progress. Had the
French troops been under good control at this time,
their victory might have been cheaply bought. The
heat of the charge was upon them, however, and as
they clambered over the crest. of the hill they saw
before them, separated only by a gentle hoUow, the
shot-scarred Malakoff looming defiantly against the
evening sky. They charged down the slope, while its
great guns played upon them and the dusk was illu-
minated by the flashing of the Russian musketry.
When the rush is on them French troops care little
for death-dealing missiles, and it was not till they
came close under the deadly work, and, baffled by the
abattis and abrupt parapets, found themselves help-
less under a galling fire, that the reaction came. A
Russian column emerged from the redoubts adjacent
to the Malakoff and fell furiously upon them. The
retreat became a rout and swept over the crest of the
Mamelon, leaving it again in the hands of the Rus-
sians. The whole object of the attack seemed lost,
and it was with extreme difficulty that the discomfited
troops were rallied in the trenches at the foot of the
Mamelon. The reserves under General Brunet com-
ing up, however, at eight o'clock, just after sunset
another attack was made, and when darkness had
fallen on the Chersonese, at a terrible cost of life the
French had again made themselves masters of the
coveted hill.
Meanwhile Lord Raglan, upon the first capture of
the Mamelon, had sent a column of 1,000 men against
the Quarries. The conquest was achieved with slight
loss, but in defending the position against the Rus-
86 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
sian attacks that followed, the English sufiFered great
slaughter. At intervals throughout the night, the
heavy rolling of musketry and the lurid flickerings in
front of the English lines told the weary soldiery on
the heights that the Russians were still disputing the
possession of the Quarries with their comrades.
The next morning, the allied commanders could
congratulate themselves upon having made progress,
almost the first since the siege began. The English
in the Quarries and the French on the Mamelon
were within striking distance of the Bedan and Mala-
koff.
Felissier was impatient of delay. On the 15th a
council of war was held, and it was determined to
strike another blow for Sebastopol. It was to be no
afPair of outworks this time, but a general assault
along the whole line. The French were to exercise
their main strength against the Malakoff, and the
English, as usual, against the Redan. The details
were arranged with great precision. Upon the cap-
ture of the Malakoff a flag was to be displayed on
the work as the signal of success, when Lord Raglan
would make his assault upon the Redan.
At two o'clock on the morning of the 18th the ex-
pectant French infantry was under arms, massed in
three strong divisions. The mistaking of a bomb for
the signal rocket threw Pelissier's plans into hope-
less confusion. The three divisions were beaten in
detail, and the whole assault repulsed before it had
been ordered. The English, too, failed utterly at the
Redan. Their columns became confused in the ad-
vance and were beaten back with terrible slaughter.
To the English commander this was a heavy blow.
Worn with care and emaciated by cholera, he was
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 87
unable to rise above the mortification of his defeat,
and his sorrow at the useless sacrifice of so many
lives. On the 28th, just ten days after the disaster,
he passed away. He was succeeded by Sir James
Simpson, who had been sent out by Lord Palmer-
ston to investigate the management of the campaign.
Once again the siege settled down into trench work
and desultory skirmishing.
Meanwhile within Sebastopol the Bussian leaders
realized that events were approaching a crisis. The
parallels of the enemy had approached close under
their main defenses, and the new artillery placed in
position against them had proved of far greater power
than any in their possession. Furthermore the de-
struction of the great granaries on the Sea of Azov
made it necessary to bring their supplies from Russia,
and the roads were often rendered impassable by the
weather. From this and other causes reinforcements
were slow in arriving. The army in Sebastopol and
its vicinily numbered less than half as many bayonets
as the allies. Of the 18,000 seamen who had fought
under Korniloff in the previous October only 4,000
were left, and on July 11 Admiral Nachimoff their
commander was killed in the Malakoff Tower. Tod-
leben himself was suffering from a severe wound,
though he still continued to superintend the defense
from a villa in the suburbs.^
By August 1 the Russian commanders were at log-
gerheads as to whether it were wise to prolong the
defense of the city, already badly injured by repeated
bombardments. On the 9th a council of war was
^ The personal presence of Todleben had become an inspiration to
the garrison. From the day he was wounded the vigor of the defense
began to wane.
88 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
held, upon the arrival of General Vrevski from St.
Petersburg. The sentiment of the assembly was for
a vigorous sortie, and Gortsehakoff, while personally
opposed to the measure, issued his orders for an
attack upon the Franco-Sardinian positions on the
Fedioukine heights in the Tchemaya valley. The
object of this attack was to secure control again of
the whole valley as far as Kadikoi, and to threaten
the allied positions on the Chersonese from the east.
That he was almost hopeless of success Gortscha-
koff's dispatch to the minister of war proves. "There
is no doubt about it. I am attacking the enemy un-
der wretched circumstances. ... If things go wrong,
it will not be my fault. I have done my best, but
the task has been too difficult ever since I came to
the Crimea." On August 16 the attack was made at
dawn under cover of a dense fog. The rank and file
of the Russian army had imbibed something of the
hopelessness of their general, and failed to fight as
stoutly as usual. Several assaults were made, and at
first with some success. Later, Generals Head and
Vrevski were killed, and before noon Gortschakoff
abandoned the struggle and a general retreat com-
menced. This contest, generally known to the allies
as the battle of the Tchemaya, was the last aggressive
movement of the Russians in the Sebastopol cam-
paign. Their next step was of a different nature, the
construction of a floating bridge from Sebastopol to
the north side of the great harbor. Even the com-
mon soldiers could not mistake the meaning of this.
Sebastopol was to be given up. Their generals were
securing their retreat.
The long campaign was surely drawing to a dose.
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 89
With their vastly superior resources the allied gen-
erals were determined at whatever cost to break the
Russian defense. On September 6 the allied bat-
teries began to rain a destructive tempest of missiles
upon forts, town, and suburbs. All through the 6th
and 7th the cannonade was steadily maintained, the
Russian works were terribly battered, while at night
dull, lurid clouds of smoke told of devastation worked
in the town itself. At noon on the 8th the bombard-
ment, which had been waning for a few hours, broke
out with redoubled violence. This was maintained
for about twenty minutes, when suddenly it entirely
ceased. Scarcely had the reverberation died away
than the pealing of the French bugles rang out upon
the air, and the chasseurs and zouaves of MacMahon's
division swept up the slope of the Malakoff Hill. It
was a rush of only seventy-five feet to the ditch of
the tower, which had been almost filled by the debris
of the bombardment. The Russians were surprised
again, and, opposed only by a feeble musketry fire,
the French in a twinkling were clambering over the
parapets and through the embrasures of the work.
General Pelissier, from his position on the Mamelon,
scanned with intense anxiety the progress of the
struggle. Regiment after regiment swept across the
hollow to the support of the troops already engaged,
hand to hand, with the defenders of the Malakoff
which had cost France so many lives. At last with
exultant eyes the French commander descried the tri-
color waving from the parapet. " Tenez ! voila mon
baton de marechal ! " he exclaimed as he lowered his
field-glass.^
^ Prissier was right. He became a Marshal of France with the
title of Due de MalakofiE.
90 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
The attacks at all other points had utterly failed.
The French were repulsed at the Little Kedan, while
at the Redan itself the English soldiers, after strug-
gling valiantly to a position close under the work in
the face of a decimating fire, were compelled to re-
treat for lack of supports.
But the possession of the Malakoff was the posses-
sion of SebastopoL It completely dominated the
harbor, the town, and all its important defenses. The
Russians, realizing this, made almost superhiunan
efforts to recapture it. A terrible contest was waged
in its passages and inclosures throughout the after-
noon, the Russians pushing up heavy columns from
the north, while the French supports poured in from
the other side. At dusk, however, the Russians were
sullenly retiring. The last fight for Sebastopol had
been fought and won.
With the cessation of the struggle at the Malakoff
an almost complete silence reigned. The sky was
murky and overcast, and an impenetrable darkness
settled upon the country. As the night deepened the
muffled tread of marching columns arose from the
gloomy town. Then puffs of flame became visible
far below, and spreading rapidly they began to dis-
pel the darkness and reveal buildings on fire. The
crackle and roar of the flames soon became audible
on the heights, while the explosion of vast magazines
shook the very hills of the peninsula. At midnight
Sebastopol was literally in flames. The harbor, the
ships, the heights, and ruined forts were all revealed
as by day, while the French tricolor, on the Mala-
koff, as once at Moscow, tossed in the fierce glare of
a Russian conflagration. The English outposts foimd
the Redan unoccupied, and soon it became evident
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 91
that the Russians had abandoned their defenses all
along the line. Their retreating masses of bayonets,
that flashed back the glare of the fire, could be traced
passing over the bridge to the north, while the con-
stantly recurring explosions in the ill-fated town ef-
fectually prevented any interruption with their move-
ments.
When morning dawned the Russians were gone,
the ships burned or sunk, and the bridge destroyed.
Sebastopol itself was a smoking waste, scarce a dozen
bundings remaining. WeU might Prince Gortscha.
koff declare, " It is not Sebastopol which we have left
to them, but the burning ruins of the town, which we
ourselves set fire to, having maintained the honor of
the defense in such a manner that our great-grand-
children may recall with pride the remembrance of it,
and send it down to all posterity."
With the fall of Sebastopol the campaign in the
Crimea came practically to a close, though the Rus-
sians still clung to the north side of the harbor and
confronted their foes in the Tchemaya Valley.
With Sebastopol in their possession, and the prose-
cution of hostilities still upon their hands, the allied
generals were at a loss what course to pursue. An
advance into the interior of the bleak and thinly
settled Crimea was not an attractive or promising
undertaking. The cabinets of London and Paris took
the question in hand, while the military men occupied
themselves in the destruction of those magnificent
docks and fortifications that had rendered Sebastopol
famous.
The Emperor of the French, having awakened in
Europe a satisfactory opinion of his military strength,
92 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
was anxious to be rid of the war and gather new
laurels as a peacemaker. The English government,
on the other hand, was more strongly inclined toward
aggressive movements. English pride had been
touched. The second Baltic expedition under Ad-
miral Dundas had returned after bombarding Svea-
borg and executing a few harmless manoeuvres off
the Bussian coast. The operations in the Black Sea
and Sea of Azov had been mostly confined to the
destruction of the batteries at Odessa and the reduc-
tion of Kertch, Yenikale, and Kinbum, and there
was little in these affairs to gratify the British ambi-
tion for naval glory.
The sentiment of the continent was for peace.
Austria at this crisis redoubled her efforts for the
achievement of a settlement of the dispute. She
found the French emperor in accord with her designs,
and the new Czar to be far more pliable than his im-
perious father. Alexander II. was not of a warlike
temperament, and he regarded peace at this time as an
absolute necessity to the empire. The finances were
in a terribly reduced and disordered state, the expen-
diture of life had been enormous, and he was willing
to avail himself of any plan that seemed to afford an
honorable retreat. The tidings of the fall of Kars,
the celebrated Turkish fortress in Armenia, came as
a soothing balm to the mortified military pride of
Russia. In fact, the campaigns in Armenia had been
throughout generally favorable to the Russian arms.
The capture of Kars was a brilliant consiunmation of
the fighting in Asia, and with this fortress in his pos-
session the Czar might reasonably hope for easier
terms from the western powers.
During the last of December Austria submitted
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 98
to the St. Petersburg cabinet proposals for peace.
After some bickering over the clauses relative to the
supremacy of the Black Sea, on January 16 the
Czar accepted the propositions entire. On February
25 the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria,
France, Bussia, Sardinia, and Turkey convened at
the palace of the ministry for foreign afFairs in Paris.^
An armistice was concluded between the belligerents,
and on March 30, the day before its expiration, the
plenipotentiaries waited upon the emperor at the
Tuileries, and informed him of the conclusion of a
treaty of peace.
This famous congress discussed and acted upon
other matters than those immediately pertaining to
the belligerents in the eastern war. Privateering was
declared abolished, and the state of affairs in Bel-
gium, Greece, and Italy was brought to notice. It
was owing to the exertions of Count Cavour that the
Italian question was introduced, and forced into a
prominence that committed every power to an expres-
sion of opinion. This discussion, which practically
closed the work of the congress, developed at least
three facts : First, that the French emperor was will-
ing to withdraw his troops from Bome ; second, that
the Austrian occupation of the Papal States was in no
sense beneficial ; and third, that there was no prob-
ability that Austria would of her own free will dis-
continue that occupation.
Peace having resumed her sway, the belligerents in
the eastern war could count the cost. Bussia, it is
^ Prussia was not represented at the congress until some days later,
when Baron Manteuffel was admitted at the instigation of the French
emperor. This incident gives a striking idea of the relative standing
of France and Pmsma in Europe in 1856.
94 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
said, lost 250,000 men by wounds, exposure, and dis-
ease, France lost nearly 100,000, England 26,000,
Turkey 35,000, and Sardinia 3,000. Kussia entered
the war to maintain her right of protectorate over
the Greek Christians in Turkey, to humiliate the
Porte, and perhaps destroy it. By the terms of the
treaty of Paris she not only failed in this, but lost
her nominal protectorate over the Danubian Princi-
palities. She also lost her supremacy on the Black
Sea, being forbidden to maintain a naval fleet on its
waters. She yielded Kars for Sebastopol and other
points held by the allies, and was obliged to suffer a
loss of territory on her southeastern frontier. Aside
from the expenditure in blood and treasure, Bussia
stood as the principal loser by the war.
The Emperor of the French had entered the contest
for military " glory," and to strengthen the insecure
foundations of his throne. He gained the plaudits
of an admiring world, which hastened to crown him
as the sovereign of the first military power of Eu-
rope.
England had taken up arms to maintain the integ-
rity of the Ottoman empire, to curb the ambition of
Russia, and to settle the Eastern Question : England
was regarded in the light of a power that had gained
ber ends.
Turkey fought for self-preservation, and, propped
by the strong arms of the western powers, she still
lived. Furthermore, she gained admittance into the
great family of European states, with all that the
dignity implied. The Sultan renewed his old pledge
to close the Sea of Marmora to ships of war during
times of peace.
Sardinia fought to gain the attention and ear of
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 95
Europe. The 8th of April at the Paris congress
demonstrated her success.
This is the way in which the nations were affected
by the terms of the treaty of Paris, in the days when
the treaty was young. After a lapse of twenty-five
years, what are the permanent results achieved by
two years of bloodshed in the East ?
Bussia has scoffed at the treaty, and resumed her
sway on the Euxine and in the principalities.
The French emperor sleeps in exile, and the
" glory " the world awarded him has passed away in
the wreck of his tinsel empire.
England still frets over the unsettled Eastern
Question.
The " sick man " lives on, but his palsied hand has
lost its grip on the north of the Balkan range.
Sardinia, and Sardinia alone, has proved to be the
real gainer by the Crimean war ; for from the day
when the gallantry of the Bersaglieri on the heights
of the Tchemaya gained Cavour an influential voice
in the congress of Paris dates the birth of the king-
dom of Italy.
CHAPTER IX.
THE BISE OF SABDINIA.
The Map op Italy in 1850. — Politigal State op Sabduoa. -^
The Two Sicilies. — States op the Chubch. — Tuscaky. —
Parma. — Modena. — Lombabd y akd Venetia. — Secret Socie-
ties. — Young Italy and its Mission. — The Sardinian King
AND his Policy. — His Parliakentary Trials and Loyalty
TO THE Constitution. — Legislation in the Sardinian Par-
liament AGAINST Clerical Abuses. — Advent op Cavoub. —
The Diplomatic Duel between Sardinia and Austria and
ITS Influence upon Europe. — Cavour takes the Helm. —
His Dislike for Secret Societies. — His Policy defined. —
Throws Sardinia into the Alliance against Russia. — De-
parture OF the Army for the Crimea. — Effect of the Wab
News in Piedmont. — Victor Emmanuel visits London and
Paris. — Napoleon's Solicitude for Italy. — Is appealed to
BY Cavour. — Cavour in the Paris Congress.
In the year 1850 Italy had almost realized the pre-
diction of Prince Mettemich as a " mere geographical
expression." The divisions of the peninsula remained
practically as they had been settled by the treaty of
1815. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies comprised
all southern Italy, including the island of Sicily. The
States of the Church, with the grand duchies of Tus-
cany, Parma, and Modena, occupied all central Italy
northward to the Po. The territory of the Sardinian
kingdom on the west and the Lombardo-Venetian
provinces of Austria on the east carried the Italian
frontiers high up among the Alps.
Of all these states Sardinia was the only one gov-
erned constitutionally by an Italian prince. The
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 97
Bourbon dynasty continued to disgrace the throne of
the Two Sicilies. The Pope directed the temporal as
well as the spiritual affairs of his realm, while the
grand dukes followed the standard set by the Vienna
government in its administration of its Italian prov-
inces.
The condition of the majority of these states was
most deplorable. As for the Two Sicilies, the govern-
ment of " King Bomba " had become a scandal to civ-
ilization. The history of the state since 1815 had
been one dark page of royal perjury and popular in-
surrections cruelly suppressed. Twice, in 1820 and
in 1848, the imhappy people had seen their hopes
strangled by sovereigns whose lack of honor was as
notorious as their ingenuity in all manner of oppres-
8ion and misrule. In only one respect did this for-
eign dynasty seem to become nationalized. The in-
habitants of the volcanic districts of southern Italy
are notoriously careless of the future, and refuse to
be taught by hard experience. The dwellers on the
slopes and along the base of Vesuvius, after losing
their all in some sudden outburst, will rebuild on the
same precarious spots. With the smoking moimtain
in view from his palace windows, perhaps the Bourbon
caught this much of the national character. At all
events he failed to profit by previous experience, and
in the lurid flickerings of discontent that blazed out
here and there within his realm, he failed to compre-
hend the great popular upheaval that it presaged.
So the Neapolitan dungeons swarmed with miserable
prisoners arrested on suspicion and committed without
trial. So the people sank lower in ignorance and deg-
radation, while poverty, villainy, and brigandage
grew apace.
98 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
In the States of the Church matters were scarcely
better. Pius IX. forfeited the love and confidence
of his subjects when, in 1848, he refused to use his
troops against Austria and fled into the arms of the
Neapolitan king. When under the protection of
French bayonets he resumed his rule in Some, no
Italian patriot looked to him for the lightening of the
national burdens. With his return the Jesuits again
resimied their sway, and the whole state became mis-
erably priest-ridden. Liberalism in religion became
the worst crime of which a subject of the Pope could
be guilty, offenses against the civil law receiving com-
paratively slight attention. As a result crime flour-
ished, and brigands f oimd another successful field for
operation. The papal government was cruel yet
weak, oppressive yet inefficient. The subjects of the
Holy See were held in check only by the French in
Some and the Austrians in the Legations.
In Tuscany greater liberty and comfort were en-
joyed, thanks to the disposition of the Grand Duke
Leopold. But the Tuscans had never forgiven the
duke for his course in 1848, when, disregarding their
invitation to return to them in peace, he chose to
come back with Austrian bayonets and over the wreck
of a short-lived constitution.
In the grand duchies of Parma and Modena the
win of Vienna was maintained in a rigorous rule,
while the Austrian eagle with whetted beak hovered
ever ready within the famous " Quadrilateral." The
turbulence of the people of the Lombardo-Venetian
provinces necessitated the employment of a vast secret
police. The work of this organization in a province
charged with conspiracy can be better imagined than
described. The Austrian dominion in Lombardy and
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 99
Venetia deserves little else than condemnation, and
none the less that Austria was one of the leading
powers of the civilization of the nineteenth century.
Such, briefly, was the condition of the Italian states
in 1850. It was the old sad story. Wars had swept
over the peninsula again and again, only to leave it
more hopelessly enslaved. In that year there seemed
no ray of light on the horizon to the millions of Ital-
ians gazing longingly for the rising of the sun of lib-
erty and national regeneration.^
One result of the stolid indifference of the rulers
to the interests of their peoples was the formation of
secret societies. The most celebrated of these was the
Carbonari, which, originating in the south of Italy,
spread rapidly into the Papal States and northern
provinces. It included within its ranks the noble
and gifted as well as the ignorant and villainous.
The ends to be attained were vague, beyond the over-
turning of the existing order of things. No oppor-
tunity was to be lost to incite and promote revolution.
The torch and stiletto were its legitimate weapons.
The papal power^ finding itself helpless against this
hidden danger, had sanctioned the organization of a
coimter society opposed to its aims. The notorious
sect of the Sanfedisti was the result. The character
of the work to be accomplished by this organization
can be comprehended by a few clauses from their
oath. The neophyte swore " to have no pity either
on children or old men, and to shed the last drop of
the Liberals' blood without regard to sex or rank." ^
^ For a condensed narrative of the terrible state of Italian affairs in
1852 see the letter of Lnigfi Carlo Farini written in December of that
year to Mr. Gladstone. It is appended to yol. iv. of Mr. Gladstone's
translation of Farini's Roman State.
^ See introduction to Gbdkin's Victor Emmanuel IL p. xviL
100 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Furthermore this society, working presumably in the
interest of Christ on earth, swore to " implacable ha-
tred of the enemies of our Holy Roman Catholic and
only true religion." So the subterranean struggle
grew fiercer and fiercer, until the whole structure
upon which the Soman and Neapolitan governments
rested was honeycombed to the core.
But the most active society in 1850, for the achieve-
ment of Italian independence, was known as " Young
Italy." It was foimded by Joseph Mazzini, and first
came into notice about 1831. " Yoimg Italy " had
one advantage over the Carbonari inasmuch as it
aimed at a definite result, the foundation of an Italian
republic with Rome as its capital. " Young Italy "
was bitterly opposed to aU things monarchical. The
numbers of the society increased rapidly, but its move-
ments were governed by zeal rather than judgment.
The misdirected efforts of its devotees threw serious
obstacles in the path of the calmer and more constitu-
tional methods of achieving national unity.
There is but one state that we have failed to notice,
the kingdom of Sardinia, including Piedmont, Savoy,
Nice, and the island of Sardinia. From the year 1850
the history of this little state is the history of Italy.
In 1848 Charles Albert, king of Sardinia, at the head
of his brave and enlightened people, took the field
against Austria in the cause of Italian independence.
Deserted in the hour of need by Rome and Naples,
he sacrificed the blood and treasure of his little state
on the altar of Italian freedom. Since the mournful
evening when his abdication left the destinies of the
kingdom in the hands of his son, Sardinia had taken
no step backward. When Victor Emmanuel assumed
the duties his father had laid aside, he found his peo-
V
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 101
pie wearied with the war and heart-broken at Its
results. At the outset the fidelity of the king to con-
stitutional principles was severely tested, the parlia-
ment refusing to ratify the treaty of peace he had
concluded with Austria at Milan. The terms were
by no means light, but he had refused to adopt the
one course that would have won Austrian leniency,
the abolition of constitutional government in his
realms. It was a hard position for a young king.
On the one hand an easy peace and Austrian protec-
tion over his despotism, on the other, harsher terms
and a conflict with an injudicious and ungrateful par-
liament. His high sense of honor asserted itself in
this the first crisis of his reign. He rejected the
40,000 bayonets which Marshal Badetzky declared to
be at his service, and returned to his capital and hos-
tile parliament.
It became clear immediately that nothing reason-
able could be hoped from the Chambers. They were
composed largely of " Young Italy," while the judg-
ment of many of the wiser heads had become dis-
torted by the national misfortunes. The king seized
boldly the only course open to him and dissolved the
Chambers. Then, calling a new election, he entreated
the people to return wise and patriotic representatives
for his support. The result was a more reasonable
parliament, which recognized above all that the neces-
sities of the state compelled an immediate settlement
of peace. The first danger of Victor Emmanuel's
reign was over, and constitutional government became
more strongly rooted by the ordeal through which it
had passed.
The king and his ministry then turned to the de-
velopment of the country, healing the ravages of the
102 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
war, and righting long condoned clerical abuses.
The prime minister was the Marquis Massimo d' Aze-
glio, a man of intelligence and refinement, who had
made himself famous by his exposure of misrule in
central Italy, and by his general prominence in mat-
ters relating to national unification. For these ten-
dencies he was expelled from Tuscany in 1846,
returning to Piedmont, his native state. The reor-
ganization of the army was confided to General Al-
f onzo La Marmora, while Count Siccardi was sent to
Rome to discuss reforms of the church in Piedmont.
Siccardi found the Pope obdurate and unwilling to
yield a jot. Upon his return in February, 1850, and
his admission to the cabinet as minister of grace and
justice, he brought a biU before parliament abohsh-
ing the *' Foro Ecclesiastico," the courts held by the
bishops of the church, and the only ones to which
ecclesiastical offenders against the civil law were
amenable.* In spite of the opposition of Rome the
bill was finally carried, and its practical enforcement
was soon demonstrated by the arraignment of clerical
criminals in the civil courts.
It was in the fall of 1850 that Count CamiUo Benso
di Cavour first appeared in the cabinet as minister of
agriculture and commerce. He was a true represen-
tative of the old Piedmontese aristocracy, had been
trained for the army, and later made himself a reputa-
tion for great political ability. He had strong liberal
tendencies, and was an ardent advocate of English
governmental methods. He was a prominent sup-
porter of Siccardi's bill for the abolition of the eccle-
siastical courts. His talents were of such an order
as to immediately impress the king. Upon the de-
cision to tender him a poiii olio, the king is reported
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 108
to have said laughingly to D' Azeglio, " Look out
what you are doing ; Cavour will soon be master of
you all."
The royal speech at the opening of parliament in
November, 1850, evinced no intention of retracing a
step taken in the teeth of papal protestation. It was
plain that the papal thunders were powerless against
the resolution of the king. Already he had earned
the title of " H Re Galantuomo," in which he gloried
through his life.
The efforts of the Sardinian government toward
the development of free institutions received a tem-
porary check when the influences awakened by the
French coup (Tetat swept over Europe. The only
popular government of the continent had been over-
thrown, and the supreme power seized by a man who
appealed to the military traditions of the Bonapartes
to stir enthusiasm. The downfall of the French Re-
public left Piedmont like a green spot of liberty in
the far-spreading desert of European autocracy.
Austria, already dreading the influence of Turin
upon the people of Italy, seized this moment of ap-
parent despotic ascendency to terrorize the Sardinian
king by protestations and warnings which the Berlin
cabinet supported. On December 10, 1851, the Mar-
quis d' Azeglio replied, defending the policy of Pied-
mont, and concluded in this fashion : '' His majesty
was unable to forbear observing that the political
condition of the two countries governed by the two
sovereigns who addressed to him this species of ulti-
matum, appeared to him to stand much more in need
of advice than to give them any right to offer their
advice to others. The king added that he was master
in his own house, that he in no way interfered with
104 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
what other sovereigns thought fit to do, and that he
desired, on his part, perfect Kberty of action; he
again expressed his perfect confidence in the efforts
by which he continued to support the wise and mod-
erate course of his government."
This was hot shot for the governments of central
Europe. It was plain to Austria, as it was to the
Pope, that the Sardinian king was incorrigible. She
saw trouble in the future, and went on building up
her military strength within the Quadrilateral.
In the fall of 1852 D' Azeglio, wearied with his long
contest with the papal authority, resigned his premier-
ship, and it devolved upon Cavour to form a new min-
istry. Scarcely had he assumed his duties when in
February, 1853, he was diverted from his contem-
plated task of internal development by an incipient
uprising against the Austrian authority in Milan. It
was probably the work of " Young Italy," and per-
haps the product of Mazzini's plotting brain. The
Austrian government, however, laid the charge of
being accessory to it at the door of Sardinia. This
was indignantly denied by Cavour, who proved the
innocence of his government to the satisfaction of the
continental courts.
Cavour had always deprecated the violent methods
of the great Italian societies in the cause of freedom.
As for " Young Italy," it had been from the first a
serious embarrassment to the benevolent designs of
>ardinia."^J^ former days Charles Albert, upon his
refusal to tak§>^ arms against Austria at Mazzini's
appeal, had found himself compelled to defend his
borders against Mazzini's revengeful attack from
Switzerland. Cavour deplored lawlessness and assas-
sination as political methods, and was especially tena^
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 105
clous of maintaining constitutional obligations. The
Carbonari and " Young Italy " might be striving for
the same end as the Sardinian government, but they
struggled on in secret and divergent channels, inspir-
ing crime and impeding healthful progress. In the
mind of Cayour no less than in Mazzini's, was the
picture of a united Italy, but Cavour's sight was
clearer and more definite, revealing the House of
Savoy dominant on the banks of the Tiber. He be-
lieved Piedmont must of necessity be the principal
agent in effecting this transformation. " Events have
led Piedmont to take a clear and decided position in
Italy," he wrote at this time. " That position is not,
I am well aware, without danger, and I feel all the
weight of the responsibility that in consequence presses
on me, but duty and honor alike impose it upon us.
As providence has willed that in Italy Piedmont
alone should be free and independent, Piedmont ought
to use her liberty and her independence to plead be-
fore Europe the cause of the unhappy peninsula. We
shall not recoil from this perilous task : the king and
the country are decided to go through with it to the
end."
In furtherance of this policy, and while using
every endeavor to force the Italian question upon
tl^e attention of Europe, Cavour went on strengthen-
ing his own state for the great duties to which with
the approval of the king he had dedicated it. The
taxation was overhauled, free trade introduced, rail-
ways opened, and bridges built under the encourage-
ment of the government. In 1S54 the final and
decisive blows were struck at clerical abuses. A law
of civil marriage was passed, while certain religious
corporations were abolished and church property gen-
106 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
erally brought under control of the state. Against
these measures, as was anticipated, the Pope pro-
tested in unison with the local clergy. Cavour was
immovable, however, in his consistent adherence to
his policy of a " free church in a free state."
Moreover, during these debates in the Chambers,
Cavour's mind was running in other channels. The
Crimean war was in progress, winter was approach-
ing, and the condition of the allied armies was known
to be anything but satisfactory. Piedmont with its
well-trained army would be no contemptible succor in
a time like this. Cavour was little inclined to run
a great risk, but he recognized in the condition of
affairs a glorious opportunity. In fact, he favored
the sending of a military force to the Crimea to assist
the allies. England was known to be desirous of
this, and here was an opportunity to win her gratitude
and perhaps assistance, later, in his settlement of the
Italian question. Furthermore the alliance of Sar-
dinia with England and France would accomplish the
great purpose of bringing her into friendly sympathy
with the two great courts. A successful campaign in
the Crimea would also raise the " morale " of the
Piedmontese army and give it confidence for future
service. This consideration had great weight with
the king. " Our defeat," he exclaimed, referring to
Novara, "was too ignominious, we have need of a
little glory to raise us up." There was one other
reason, perhaps, that may have influenced Cavour's
mind; a blow at Russia was a blow at European
despotism. ■
The ministry was opposed to Cavour's bold plan.
In the Chambers, too, it provoked bitter criticism. It
was represented as ruinous, as suicidal, for a little
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 107
state scarcely able to preserve her free institutions
against vast hostile influences, to waste her strength
in a quarrel in which she had not even a remote in- .
terest. But Cavour remained steadfast to his purpose,
confident in the royal approbation. His firmness and
patience were rewarded ; the Chambers supported his
project, the treaty of alliance was signed, and the
battie-fiags of Sardinia again committed to the charge
of her devoted soldiery.
These were trying days for the king. At the open-
ing of the year 1855, with the church still heaping its
anathemas upon him, and the strong minority in the
Chambers bitterly condemning his folly, the hand of
domestic affliction was laid heavily upon him. The
treaty of alliance between Piedmont and the western
powers was signed on January 10, and within a
month of that event the king lost his wife, mother,
and his only brother, the Duke of Genoa. These
trials aroused the deep sympathy of his people, but
they were cited by the church as the pimishment of
God upon an impious monarch. The king, fatigued
and sorrowing, leaned more than ever upon the wis-
dom of Cavour. He would have been glad to leave
the atmosphere of civil and clerical strife that sur-
roimded him, for the head of his army in the East.
On April 14, at a review of the troops destined for
the Crimea, he bade farewell to General La Marmora
with these words : " Ah, general, happy you. You
go to fight soldiers. I remain to fight monks and
nuns."
Meanwhile the struggle in the Chambers went on
over the Rattazzi bill for the abolition of religious
corporations. The clamors of the angry clergy that
followed its passage were soon drowned in the en«
108 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
thusiastic acdamations that greeted the tidings of the
Franco-Sardinian victory of the Tchemaya. The last
note of the opposition was silenced, and no one could
question longer that the prime minister's foreign
policy had been right. The narrow streets of Genoa
and the broad avenues of the royal capital only re-
flected the pride and joy that were animating every
village and mountain chalet over the news that the
gallant soldiers of Sardinia had again proved their
valor against one of the first military powers of
Europe.
Cavour determined to strike while the iron was
hot, and force Sardinia still more upon the notice of
the courts and people of western Europe. It was in
furtherance of this policy that in November the king
paid a visit to Paris and London. He was received
with courtesy and an interest bordering perhaps upon
curiosity. It was during his stay in Paris that the
king received his first intimation from the lips of the
emperor that he was deeply interested in the solution
of the Italian question. What did the emperor mean
by that inquiry, " Que pent on faire pour I'ltalie?"
After all, the destroyer of the French republic might
become the destroyer of Austrian despotism in Italy.
Soon after the return of the king, Cavour, presimiing
upon the solicitude the emperor had expressed, wrote
as follows to him : " The emperor can render immense
service to Italy: first, by inducing Austria to do
justice to Piedmont and maintain her engagements ;
secondly, by obtaining from her a mitigation of the
regime that weighs upon Lombardy and Venetia ; in
the third place by forcing the king of Naples not to
scandalize civilized Europe by a deportment contrary
to all the principles of justice and equity ; in the fourth
THE RISE OF SARDINIA. 109
place, by reestabKshing an equilibrum in Italy such
as was settled by the treaty of Vienna, that is to say,
rendering possible the removal of the Austrians from
the Legations and the Romagna; by placing these
provinces under a secular prince, or procuring them
the benefit of a laic and independent administration."
Then followed the congress of Paris, and it was
the French plenipotentiary who opened the way for
Cavour's exposure of the evils resulting from the
Austrian domination in Italy. Cavour much desired
the support of England as a constitutional power of
far greater moral weight than the French empire.
He was not, however, to be lulled into a sense of false
security. While still hoping for signs of tangible
encouragement from the reticent statesmen of Great
Britain, he never for a moment relaxed that vigilance
and marvelous skill which in their subtle development
were drawmg the French emperor into the position of
the champion of Italian unity.
CHAPTER X.
ITALY AND CAVOUR.
Austria's Inplubncb upon the Italian Govebkments. — Mkt-
TERNICH ON CaVOUR. — CaVOUB DISAPPOINTED IN ENGLAND.
He turns to France as an Ally. — The Qrsini Incident.
— Cavour appeases the Emperor, and strikes at the Papal
Government. — The Conference at PLOMsikRES. — Cavoub
JUBILANT. — Warlike Declarations at the Tuileries and
AT Turin. — Marriage op Prince Napoleon and the Prin-
cess Clotilde. — Cayour impels the Emperor toward War.
— GuizoT ON Cavour. — Signing op the Franco-Sardinian
Alliance. — Futile Efforts of the Powers to preserve
the Peace. — Austria declares War. — Enthusiasm in
Italy. — Napoleon's Manifesto. — He leaves for the
Front. — Concentration of the Armies.
Though only a small portion of Italian territory
was occupied by her troops, Austria was largely re-
sponsible for the oppression exercised by the despotic
rulers throughout the peninsula. The tyranny in the
Two Sicilies and the bigoted inefficiency of the papal
government could not have stood a month without the
support of Vienna. The Pope and " King Bomba "
relied implicitly upon the material as well as the moral
aid of Austria against their rebellious subjects.
The more rational of the Italian patriots had
already begim to pin their hopes to the king of Sar-
dinia as a champion. His liberal course, pursued in
the face of Austrian opposition, had compelled even
the most ardent republicans to acknowledge that there
was one monarch in Italy true to his pledge and the
ITALY AND CAVOUR. HI
interests of his people. Secret societies had only
harassed the despotic governments, and shown them-
selves not only incapable of improving opportunities,
but propagators of anarchy as well. It began to be
realized that to wage a successful battle with the Ital-
ian governments supported by the might of Austria,
it would be necessary to adopt methods sufficiently
honorable to arouse and retain the sympathy of Eu-
rope.
Of course the great societies died slowly, and
Cavour, who was constantly replying to Austrian ac-
cusations, was sometimes handicapped by the mis-
guided zeal of "Young Italy." Nevertheless he
always defended his state successfully, turning with
telling force the responsibility of political outrages
upon the governments whose intolerance rendered
such deeds possible. "We have always followed a
frank, loyal policy," he declared in the Chambers,
"without duplicity, and as long as we shall be at
peace with other potentates we will not employ rev-
olutionary means, nor ever seek to excite tumults or
rebellions in their states." The energy, skill, and
straightforwardness displayed by Cavour in these dis-
putes with Austria was not lost upon Europe. Old
Prince Mettemich could already see the drift of pub-
lic opinion setting in against the empire he had so
long and faithfully served. An Austrian and an im-
perialist to the core, he could not conceal his admira-
tion for the Sardinian minister. " Diplomacy is pass-
ing away," he is reported to have said ; " there is only
now one diplomatist in Europe, and unfortunately he
is against us ; I mean M. de Cavour."
Before the close of 1856 Cavour realized that Eng-
land's interests Wiere drawing her closer to Austria, and
112 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
of necessity farther away from the championship of
Italian freedom. Cavour's creed being undying hostil-
ity to Austria, it was plain to him that England could
never be his ally in the sense he wished. The loss of
England was a heavy disappointment to him, for no
support could ever be as satisfactory as that of the
great people whose institutions he always held up to
his countrymen as worthy of emulation. "Public
affairs hold me in very great suspense," he wrote at
this time. " Abandoned by England, having in front
of us Austria, malevolent and hostile, obliged to strug-
gle against Rome and the other Italian princes — you
can imagine how difficult our position is. In spite
of all, I am not quite discouraged, because I believe
that the country is with us."
The English influence upon Austria tended to bring
about certain reforms in Lombardy and Venetia, am-
nesty being granted for political offenders and Prince
Maximilian appointed viceroy of the provinces. Ca-
vour, however, saw in this, as well as in the Kaiser's
visit to Venice and Milan that followed, only a tardy
effort on the part of the Vienna government to win
the loyalty of its Italian subjects. Cavour had no
faith in Austrian reforms ; Austria was a usurper on
Italian soil, and her rule could never be endured by
the true sons of the fair peninsula.
Cavour's only hope now was in the Emperor of the
French. It is true that the turn of the diplomatic
wheel that had estranged constitutional England
brought about more friendly relations with despotic
Russia, still it was to France that he must look for
material support. The emperor's course, since his
first profession of interest in the Italian question, had
been so consistently friendly as to awaken within
ITALY AND CAVOUR. 113
Cavour the brightest hopes. AU the ingenuity and
seductive wiles of his diplomacy were now directed
toward drawing the Emperor of the French into an
alliance with the Sardinian state.
The unhappy attempt upon the emperor's life in
January, 1858, threw a temporary cloud upon the
growing cordiality that existed between the courts of
Paris and Turin. The crime was traced to Felice
Orsini, an Italian agitator, who expiated his guilt
upon the scaffold. If the whole matter could have
been forgotten with Orsini's death, it would have been
to Cavour's liking. There followed, however, a long
series of charges, counter-charges, and denials be-
tween the French, English, and Sardinian govern-
ments. Orsini had been striving, by means legitimate
and criminal, to incite in all quarters hostility to Aus-
trian rule in Italy. In England he addressed public
meetings, but soon awoke to the knowledge that
English enthusiasm would never blossom into action.
While engaged there, the French emperor visited the
queen at the Isle of Wight, and it seems probable
that the deluded enthusiast gained the idea that in
some way Napoleon was responsible for English in-
difference. The attempted assassination on the Rue
de r Opera may have been actuated by motives of
revenge or for the purpose of frightening the em-
peror into hostility to Austria. The correspondence
that passed between England and France was ex-
tremely bitter. England was denominated by the
French press as a den of assassins, while the retorts
from England galled the emperor by their uncom-
plimentary allusions to his coup d^etat. In contrast
with England, the conciliatory tone of Sardinia was
extremely marked and agreeable. The king wrote a
114 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
note to the emperor, expressing his sorrow and horror
at the attempt upon his life, and begging him not to
allow the impious deed of an unhappy zealot to influ-
ence him to abandon the Italian cause. Nor was this
all, for in the Chambers stringent laws were passed
in regard to regicide and conspiracy. The charges
against Piedmont as a nurser of conspiracies being
renewed at this time by the Austrian and Italian
courts, Cavour again turned skillfully at bay. He
struck a vigorous blow at the papal power, laying
the prevalence of political lawlessness in Italy at the
door of the Vatican. The system of expulsion prac-
ticed by the pontifical government in regard to its
subjects could not, he claimed, fail to be attended by
" dreadful consequences " in filling other states with
homeless, discontented, and desperate Italians. " To
the measures adopted by the Holy See is to be attrib-
uted the extraordinary vitality of the Mazzinian
party."
What seemed at first to be the .deathblow to
French intervention in Italian affairs was turned by
Cavour into an impelling force in the right direction.
However much the French emperor was thrown out
of conceit with the Italian cause by the explosion of
Orsini's bombs, he was completely moUified by the
course of the Sardinian government. In fact, so sud-
denly did the fierce zeal of the emperor for the op-
pressed Italians blaze forth, that for some years it
was a prevalent belief in Europe that he was driven
forward through fear of other Orsinis that might in-
fest his gay capital.^
1 * * The truth is that he is determined to go to war with Austria to
« propitiate the Italians, and to save his own life from assassination since
the cUtentai of January, 1858. Cavour worked upon this at their inter^
ITALY AND CAVOUR. 115
An open alliance with Sardinia meant war, and per-
haps the emperor thought that it was time to break
another lance for his popularity at home. Possibly,
too, a war with Austria, as has often been intimated,
was one of the great strokes of the policy he had
determined upon when he seized his imcle's throne.
It is certain that his spleen and jealousy had been
whetted by the preponderance of Austrian influence
in Italy. His bayonets preserved the peace in Borne,
but in the papal coimcils the will of the Kaiser was
more potent than his own. He might style himseK
" the eldest son of the church," but it had become a
hollow title. Whatever his motives, when he turned
the face of encouragement to the appeal of Sardinia
in behalf of a down-trodden people, he entered upon
a course that has entitled him to the gratitude of the
civilized world.
On the 20th of July, 1868, Cavour met the em-
peror at Plombieres. The conference was private ; and
when they parted, the outside world could only surmise
as to the topics discussed and the conclusions reached.
But though the world was in darkness, a great light
shone upon Cavour's path. He had long looked for-
ward to a death grapple with Austrian despotism as
a necessity, and he no longer confronted the crisis
with only the help of the slender ranks of Piedmont,
but he felt behind him the mighty support of the
French military empire. In case of an Austrian
attack upon Piedmont, the French army would take
the field in her defense. As for aggressive move-
ments, they were to be left to the judgment of the
view at Plombieres last antunm, and persuaded him that taking up
the cause of Italy will save his life, forfeited according to the laws of
the Carbonari.'' — Malmesbury's Memoirs of an ex-Minister^ p. 460.
116 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
emperor. Already while Europe plodded on, never
suspecting war, while the Bourbon persecuted and
misruled calm in the sense of Austrian protection,
while the clergy fumed and conspirators plotted, Ca-
vour saw, fair and beautiful, a united Italy, and all its
roads converged toward Rome.
On the 1st of January, 1859, an event occurred
that rudely shattered the quiet of Europe. At a re-
ception at the Tuileries the French emperor expressed
himself as follows to the Austrian ambassador: "I
regret that our relations with your government are
not as good as in the past, but I pray you to inform
the emperor that my sentiments toward him are not
changed." Words like these from the Emperor of
the French could not fail to be regarded in aU quar-
ters as a menace to the peace of Europe. Following
close upon this came the royal speech at the opening
of the Sardinian parliament on January 10. " Our
coimtry," declared the king, " though small in terri-
tory, has acquired credit in the councils of Europe,
because it is great by the ideas it represents, and by
the sympathies it inspires. This state of things is
not devoid of perils, for while we respect treaties, we
are not insensible to the cry of grief which comes
up to us from so many parts of Italy." The Cham-
ber was crowded; and as these words were uttered
the enthusiasm could no longer be restrained. The
room rang with cheers for the king and the House of
Savoy.
The declaration at the Tuileries, followed so closely
by the exciting scene in Turin, left no room for doubt
that France was pledged to support Sardinia in push-
ing the Italian question to a solution. The emperor
had always been made to feel a sense of isolation in
ITALY AND CAVOUR. 117
his intercourse with European monarchs, and had
long been anxious to ally himself with some ancient
royal line. A match with the House of Savoy was
certainly a step in the right direction, and on Janu-
ary 29 his cousin Prince Napoleon was married to
the Princess Clotilde, daughter of Victor Emmanuel.
The union was by no means agreeable to the king,
but it was urged by Cavour as a portion of the price
to be paid for French bayonets in the coming strug-
gle. In short, it was a bargain : a few army corps for
a princess. The necessities of the state blinded Ca-
vour to every other consideration.
The emperor needed at the last some stimulating
influence to drive him forward. When he saw war
staring him in the face, he seems to have half re-
pented his course. Cavour had been leading him on
step by step from encouraging remarks to positive
pledges, now craftily picturing Austrian dominance at
Rome, and then offering inducements like a tract of
country or the hand of a princess. After committing
himself at the Tuileries, the Emperor of the French
was hopelessly bound to Sardinia, to rise or fall with
her fortunes. Cavour was determined to draw the
sword, and there was nothing for Napoleon but to
support him. " There are," exclaimed M. de Guizot
at this time, " but two men upon whom the eyes of
Europe are fixed, the Emperor Napoleon and M. de
Cavour. The game is being played. I back M. de
Cavour."
The treaty of alliance between France and Sardinia
was signed on the 18th of January, but already the
startled powers had commenced to exert themselves in
the interests of peace. Their efforts were hopeless
from the first. Both Austria and Sardinia had been
118 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
pushing their war preparations for weeks, and the
first question for the peacemakers was how to effect
at least a partial disarmament. Neither Austria nor
Sardinia wished to take the first step. As for Cavour,
there was nothing he dreaded so much as peace, for
he had much to lose and nothing to gain by it. So
he claimed he was acting strictly on the defensive,
and continued to augment the military strength of his
state. A congress was next suggested, but now, to
the joy of Cavour, the Austrian government began to
raise serious objections. The Vienna statesmen de-
cided that in case a congress were held, Sardinia, not
being a power of the first class, could not claim admit-
tance. Cavour protested, and through the efforts of
England, Austria agreed to the admission of Sardinia,
but to discuss the question of disarmament alone.
Cavour refused this compromise. At last England
urged the French emperor to induce Sardinia to dis-
arm on condition of her entering the congress on
equal terms with the great powers. This proposition
was so fair that Cavour was forced to accept it. The
Sardinian acquiescence was dispatched from Turin on
April 18, and it only remained to secure the approval
of Austria. But Austria, hopeless of peace and
goaded to rage by the insolence of her petty foe,
solved all Cavour's difficulties by dispatching an ulti-
matum to Turin. On April 23 the Austrian am-
bassador delivered to Cavour the message of Count
Buol, that unless Sardinia should disarm within three
days, the Austrian government would enforce its de-
mands by force of arms. There could be only one
response to this. Everything was as Cavour wished
it. He still appeared to Europe to be standing
purely on the defensive.
ITALY AND CAVOUR. 119
The enthusiasm with which the declaration of war
was haUed was not confined to Sardinia alone. While
the weU-disciplined strength of that state was being
rapidly massed, thousands of volunteers from all parts
of Italy poured into Piedmont to offer their aid to
" II Re Galantuomo." In fact, the force that Victor
Emmanuel led to the field might properly be desig-
nated as an -Italian army. His proclamation was ad-
dressed to the liation. "People of Italy," he ex-
claimed, "Austria assails Piedmont because I have
maintained the cause of our common coimtry in the
coimcils of Europe, because I was not insensible to
your cries of anguish. Thus she violently breaks now
the treaties which she never has respected. ... I
fight for the right of the whole nation. We confide
in God and in our concord ; we confide in the valor of
the Italian soldiers, in the alliance of the noble French
nation ; we confide in the justice of public opinion. I
have no other ambition than to be the first soldier of
Italian independence. Viva V Italia ! "
The excitement in Paris was hardly less intense,
though scarcely of so sacred a character as that which
animated the Sardinian capital. Immediately upon*
the declaration of war by Austria, the emperor issued
his manifesto to his people. " Austria, by ordering
the entry of her armies into the territory of the king
of Sardinia our ally, declares war against us ; setting
at nought treaties and justice, and menacing our fron-
tiers. All the great powers have protested against
this aggression. Since Piedmont has accepted every
condition proposed for the preservation of peace, we
may naturally ask. What inducement can have led to
this sudden invasion ? It is simply this : Austria has
pushed matters to such an extremity that either her
120 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
dominion must extend to the Alps, or Italy must be
free to the Adriatic. . . . Courage, then, and concord.
The world shall see yet again that our coimtry has
not degenerated. Providence will bless our efforts,
for the cause must be holy in the sight of Heaven
which rests on justice, humanity, love of coimtry, and
of independence."
It was not the moral side of the question that in-
spired the throngs on the boulevards and made the
streets ring with their plaudits as the emperor passed
along. It was rather the romantic glory attaching to
another contest with Austria on the classic fields of
Bonaparte's great victories. Paris was gay in the
pomp and music of departing battalions. It pleased
the martial spirit of France to hear that the imperial
eagles were again climbing the Alps and glittering
on the sunny Italian plains. It was not for the ex-
cited populace crying " Vive I'empereur '* and " Vive
la guerre" to know at that time how slowly and
lamely mobilization progressed, and how unprepared
after all the emperor was for a trying war. On May
10, the day the emperor left Paris for the army, he
was to aU appearances at the zenith of popularity and
power.
The war manifesto of the emperor of Austria had
been issued on April 28, defending the course of
his government and regretting the necessity that com-
pelled him to order his armies over the Sardinian fron-
tier. The war was not popular in Austria, as it was
in France and Piedmont. Austria was too complex
internally, with too much discontent at the core, to dis-
play great enthusiasm at this time. The hatred of
France was the one influence that lent popularity to
the Kaiser's project, and in Munich, on their way to
ITALY AND CAVOUR. 121
the front, the Austrian troops were hailed as the exe-
cutioners of the hated Napoleon.
The three armies converged steadily toward the
theatre of carnage, accompanied by their respective
sovereigns, each relying on the justice of his cause
and the blessing of Heaven upon his arms.
CHAPTER XI.
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. — GENOA TO
MILAN.
BoMAirric Chabacter op the Theatbe of War. — Unprepared-
NEss OP THE French Army. — Its Order op Battle. — Ek-
THusiASTio Reception op the French Troops at Genoa. —
Arriyal op the Emperor at Genoa. — The Austrian Gener-
AlilSSIMO AND HIS CAREER. — HiS TiMID TaCTICS. — COMBAT AT
MONTEBELLO. — ThE EmPEROR YISITS THE FtELD. — ThE Em-
PEROR PLANS A FlANK MaRCH. — GyULAI DECEIYED. — BATTLES
OP Palestro. — Action at Turbigo. — Success op the Flank
March. — The Emperor's Orders for June 3d. — Position of
the Two Armies at Noon on the 4th. — Battle op Magenta.
— The French Guard on the Nayiglio Grande. — Anxiety
of the Emperor. — Critical Condition op the Guard. —
Arriyal op Canrobert and Niel. — MacMahon carries Ma-
genta. — Death op Espinasse. — II]&sum6 of the Battle.
The campaign of 1859 in Italy, as the meeting of
the first military powers of Europe, was regarded with
supreme interest. The peculiar nature of the French
emperor's casus JcZZi, and the historic country in
which the scenes were to be enacted, added a tinge of
romance to the picture. It was as if the days of Ma-
rengo and Rivoli had returned, to read of " Napoleon
in Italy " battling with the hosts of Austria. More-
over, despite the two sanguinary battles that charac-
terized it, the Italian campaign had more of pageantry
than is conmion in modern days of scientific warfare.
The story must be told to-day in a manner less
eulogistic to French generalship, than characterized
the works based on official data which appeared be-
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1869. 123
fore the disasters of Sedan and Metz laid bare the de-
fects of the imperial military establishment. Indeed,
the Emperor of the French, although he had officially
announced to the Vienna cabinet that he should re-
gard the passage of the Ticino by an Austrian army
as an act of hostility, found himself at a disadvantage
upon the acceptance of his gauge. Great confusion
attended the mobilization of the army, and matters
were especially deplorable in everything pertaining to
its equipment. The supply of horses, tents, ammuni-
tion, and shoes was found to be insufficient, while the
majority of the battalions went to the front with thin
ranks.
Upon issuing his manifesto of war, the emperor
declared his intention of taking the field at the head
of the Imperial Guard and directing in person the
operations of his army. The five corps of the army
were commanded as follows : 1st corps, Marshal Bara-
guey d'HiUiers ; 2d corps. General MacMahon ; 3d
corps. Marshal Canrobert ; 4th corps. General Niel ;
5th corps, Prince Napoleon. All these officers had
earned more or less distinction in the Crimean cam-
paign. Baraguey d'Hilliers had won his baton in
the Baltic expedition. Canrobert had commanded
the army for several months, and Niel had officiated
at his headquarters as the emperor's mouthpiece.
Prince Napoleon commanded a division at the Alma,
while it was MacMahon's division that bore the brunt
of the fighting at the taking of the Malakoff. Many
of the divisional commanders, too, had won laurels on
the same field of action. While the 1st, 2d, and 5th
corps embarked at Toulon, Marseilles, and Algeria
for Genoa, the 3d and 4th passed the Alps by Mont
Cenis into Piedmont. There was a grand scramble to
124 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
attain the battle-ground, as the Sardinian army was
supposed to stand in jeopardy from the overwhelming
strength of its foe.
On April 26 the eager watchers on the ramparts of
Genoa descried on the horizon the first French trans-
port. A few hours later General Bazaine landed on
the quay, and the troops began to disembark. The
excitement of the Genoese knew no bounds, and they
swarmed about the soldiers with the most extravagant
expressions of joy and welcome. Day after day, as
the booming cannon announced the arrival of rein-
forcements and the chasseurs and zouaves went swing-
ing through the streets to their camps, the enthusiasm
grew in intensity. Citizens walked the streets arm
in arm with the red-trousered soldiery, while in the
Acqua Sola and public promenades, the Genoese
ladies in spotless white did not shrink from the soci-
ety of the jaunty officers of the empire. The enthu-
siasm culminated on May 12, when the emperor him-
self arrived in the imperial yacht. As he looked
about upon the sea of glad faces that surrounded
him, and heard the shouts of " Viva Napoleone," he
must have felt that here at least was true sincerity :
not the fawning of the fickle Paris mob, but the
demonstration of a grateful people. Upon landing,
the emperor foiuid fresh proofs of the popular joy.
The streets were strewn with flowers, and the house
fronts were ablaze with the interwined colors of
France and Sardinia. As night deepened, the city
became transformed. Every window seemed illumi-
nated, from the poorest hovels to the stately palaces
that in other days rendered Genoa truly " the superb."
From the sea the appearance of the terraced city was
brilliant in the extreme, while the colored illumina-
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. 125
tions on the shipping were reflected in the placid mir-
ror of the harbor. The emperor left Genoa on the
14th, proceeding to Alessandria, in the vicinity of
which his army was massing.
Meanwhile the Austrian commander had utterly
neglected to make use of his splendid opportunities.
For weeks previous to the final rupture he had been
steadily massing his troops in Lombardy, until in the
last week of April he was able to cross the Ticino at
the head of five corps d^armee. What Count Gyulai
had achieved to merit his distinction as general of
the Kaiser's forces, it is difficult to determine. He
won some credit as governor of Trieste in 1848 and
as minister of war for a few months previous to 1850.
After that he reappeared in Italy as a corps com-
mander under Eadetsky, and upon the death of that
distinguished general he was appointed to command the
army in Lombardy. With little reputation as a sol-
dier, at sixty years of age he found himself in com-
mand of the army advancing on Turin. Had he been to
any degree energetic, he might easily have overthrown
or masked the Piedmontese army, and by the close of
the month been thundering at the gates of Turin.
He advanced timidly, however. The absence of foes
seemed to alarm him as much as their presence could
have done. He became possessed with the idea that
his wily antagonists were preparing some trap for the
engulfing of his devoted battalions. After occupy-
ing Novara and Vercelli he came to a halt; and
while he deliberated upon the situation, the head of
Canrobert's corps entered Turin. The first point in
the game was lost to the Kaiser.
On the 19th of May Gyulai withdrew his head-
quarters to Garlasco. The king of Sardinia was at
126 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Occimiano, the French emperor at Alessandria. The
five Austrian corps held a line from Mortara to Strsu-
della, the Sardinians being massed about Casale and
the French between Voghera and Alessandria. Gryu-
lai interpreted the presence of the French in such
force about Voghera as an evidence of their inten-
tion to attempt the passage of the Po somewhere
south of Pavia. In order to better assure himself on
this point, he determined to push a reconnoissauce
against Voghera to test the French strength. On
May 20 he dispatched five Austrian brigades under
Coimt Stadion upon this service. Stadion moved in
three columns converging toward Voghera.
General Forey's division of the 1st corps was hold-
ing Voghera, supported by three regiments of Pied-
montese cavalry, and his outposts were in Castegg^o
and the adjacent villages. The advancing Austrians
drove the French from Casteggio through Montebello
and Genestrello with slight loss. Forey, with only
two brigades at his disposal, would have been justified
in declining battle and in standing on the defensive
at Voghera. He was little inclined, however, to miss
the possibility of winning the first success of the war,
and in consequence, what had been intended by the
Austrian commander as a mere reconnoissauce soon
developed into a warm engagement. While General
Blanchard's brigade operated against the Austrians
on the north of the Montebello road, Forey threw
Beuret's brigade against Genestrello. The village
was carried at the point of the bayonet, the Austrians
falling back in some confusion upon Montebello. The
contest for the possession of this village was stubborn
and protracted. Driven from the streets after hot
bayonet-work, the Austrians made a last stand in the
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1869. 127
cemetery on some rising groimd just outside the vil-
lage. General Beuret was killed at this point, and
his troops were roughly handled. The position was
finally carried, however, and the Austrians retired in
good order upon Casteggio.
The whole contest, known to the French as the bat-
tle of Montebello, was a furious, disorderly scrimmage
from the moment that Beuret first pointed his men to
Genestrello. There was no system or cohesion either
in the attack or defense. Stadion was completely
demoralized and glad to retire immolested. He had
mismanaged throughout. He failed to utilize his
strong right against Blanchard's brigade, and left
Urban's division to bear the brimt of the fighting at
Genestrello and Montebello, while a brigade at Cas-
teggio and one at Casatisma remained inactive
throughout the day.
The following day the emperor visited the battle-
field. He gazed upon the stricken country, upon
wheatfields torn and trodden by horses and cannon-
wheels, upon dismantled Montebello with its shot-
scarred church and wreath of fire-withered vines, and
upon dead men lying as they fell, the blue and crim-
son of his chasseurs thickly interspersed with the
white livery of the Hapsburgs. Finally he congrat-
ulated Forey, embraced him, and returned to Ales-
sandria.
Gyulai was confirmed in his belief that the French
were heading for Piacenza, and would cross the Po
south of Pavia. Napoleon, knowing this, determined
to profit by it. He decided to execute a long march
to the north, carrying his army via Casale and Ver-
celli to No vara, and, crossing the Ticino near the lat-
ter place, turn the Austrian right and place them at
128 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
a disadvantage for the defense of Milan. On May
27 his orders to this effect were issued, and on the
following day the various corps were on the move.
The possession of the railway between Alessandria
and Novara proved a great advantage in this enter-
prise. The unsuspecting Gyulai still maintained his
strength between Mortara and Stradella, with his
headquarters at Garlasco. On the 30th occurred the
battle of Palestro, brought on by an advance of the
Piedmontese army eastward from Vercelli. With
the approval of the emperor the move was made
against the Austrian posts at Casalino, Yinzaglio, and
Palestro. Lilia's division of the Austrian 7th corps
was opposed by the three Piedmontese divisions of
Cialdini, Durando, and Fanti. The former dislodged
the Austrians from Palestro after a sharp conflict,
while his colleagues gained equal success with less
difficulty. On the day following, General Zobel,
commander of the Austrian 7th corps, came up
with Jellacich's division of the 2d corps to assist in
recovering the lost ground. The result was some
heavy fighting about Palestro, though the Austrians
scarcely had a chance of success against the over-
whelming numbers that opposed them. Szabo's bri-
gade of Jellacich's division made a desperate effort
to seize the river bridges and cut off the Sardinians
from their supports. They advanced as far as the
bridge of La Bridda, and here the contest became so
dubious that the sword of the Sardinian king himself
flashed in the smoke of the melSe, At the critical
moment for the Sardinians the 3d French zouave
regiment was brought up to their support. Their
impetuous charge carried everything before it, and
Szabo was driven from all his positions. At the
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. 129
same time the Austrian centre and right withdrew
from before Palestro and Confienza, General Zobel
having learned of the vast strength of the Sardinian
supports west of the Ticino.
The battles of Palestro were the result of question-
able strategy on the part of the emperor and the king
of Sardinia. It was all-important to them that the Aus-
trian commander be kept in ignorance of their north-
ward movement, and a demonstration of force in the
vicinity of Vercelli was certainly calculated to draw
Austrian attention in the very direction in which it
was least desired. That the two days' battle was not
attended with evil results to the allies was due largely
to Austrian obtuseness. It was not until the 2d of
Jime that Gyulai learned of the presence of the
French on his right, and began to hurry his troops
northward. On the 3d the action took place in which
MacMahon's corps crossed the Ticino at Turbigo, and
wrested the village of Robecchetto from the Austrians.
This aroused Gyulai to a full sense of his error, and
threw the Austrian camps into a paroxysm of ener-
getic preparation.
On the evening of the 3d the headquarters of the
French emperor were at Novara. He was all in the
dark regarding the numbers and whereabouts of the
enemy. He was aiming for Milan, but was undecided
as to the best means of reaching it. The guard was
at Trecate and Turbigo, the 2d corps at Robecchetto,
and the rest of the army close at hand. The Sar-
dinian headquarters were at GaUiate. The emperor
finally decided upon a plan, and issued his orders
accordingly on the evening of the 3d. General Mac-
Mahon with the 2d corps was to move in the morn-
ing upon Buffalora and Magenta, supported by the
130 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
light division of the Guard and the Sardinian army,
which was to cross the Ticino at Tui'bigo. The 3d
corps was to remain at Novara with the exception of
Picard's brigade, which was ordered to Turbigo. The
grenadier division of the Guard was to cross the
Ticino at San Mai^tino, while the 4th corps was to
move from Trecate to the same place. On the morn-
ing of the 4th, however, the emperor changed his
mind, and dispatched messengers to Canrobert and
Picard to support the Guard at San Martino.
It was noon when the emperor reached San Mar-
tino. The engineers were repairing the stone foot
and railway bridge that spanned the river at this
point, two arches of which had been blown up by the
Austrians. After passing the river, the next obstruc-
tion was the Naviglio Grande, the great canal that
connects Milan with the Ticino and Lake Maggiore.
The canal was crossed in this vicinity by four bridges
— at Buffalora, at Ponte Nuovo di Magenta, Ponte
Vecchio di Magenta, and at Eobecco.
It was plain to the emperor that the Austrians held
these villages, though he did not anticipate that they
were in force. He determined to await some signal
from MacMahon before advancing. It was a fair sight
that his eye dwelt upon, meanwhile, from his position
above the Ticino. The sun blazed forth from a cloud-
less sky. Before him he could trace the line of the
canal by the red-roofed villages peering through their
wealth of dark foliage. Beyond these, rising above
the verdure that clothed the hills, was the bell tower
of Magenta. On the northern and southern horizons
the Alps and Apennines shone dimly through the
haze, seeming to melt into the blue of the heavens.
Meanwhile the Austrian commander was entirely
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. 131
Innocent of any definite knowledge concerning Ms
foe. Count Clam Gallas was in command about
Magenta, and had at Ms disposal six brigades of the
1st and 2d corps. Three of these brigades were in-
trenched at Ponte Nuovo and in the outskirts of
Buffalora ; another occupied the heights on the east
bank between Ponte Nuovo and Robecco. The other
two held Magenta itself. In addition to these, there
were two brigades of the 7th corps at Casa Cerella,
while the two other brigades of the same corps
and the whole of the 3d corps were at Abbiate
Grasso. At ten o'clock, the hour when Ms sentries
in the bell tower of Kobecco reported the enemy in
sight, Gyulai had the bulk of his army well in hand.
Napoleon, on the other hand, was at San Martino
with a single division, never imagining the magnitude
of the forces in his front. He supposed that the ap-
proach of MacMahon to Buffalora would compel the
retirement of the Austrians from all their positions
on the canal north of the railway. About two o'clock
the grumbling of artillery toward the north told him
that MacMahon was at hand. He determined to accel-
erate the movements of the Austrians before Mm,
and ordered an advance upon their positions at Buf-
falora, Ponte Vecchio, and Ponte Nuovo.
The Austrians blew up the bridge at the former
place upon the approach of the French, but at Ponte
Nuovo they were driven across the canal and from
all their defenses on the other bank. They were
utterly demoralized by the fury of the French assault.
One of the brigades that came up from Magenta to
their support was carried away in the general rout.
Kinzel's brigade abandoned its positions about Ponte
Vecchio, and fell back toward Robecco. The brigade
132 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
at Buffalora was completely isolated. The panic ex-
tended to Magenta itself, where the streets became
blocked by supply - wagons, artillery, and fugitive
soldiers.
This was the first stage of the battle, but the ad-
vantage gained by the French was too great to be
maintained by so small a force. The Austrian Gen-
eral Keischach came up at the head of two brigades
from Casa Cerella, and rallying a few of the broken
battalions on the way, fell fiercely upon the French
at the bildges. The tide of battle was turned in a
twinkling, and it was plain that if left unsupported
the Guard must be wholly overthrown at this point.
The emperor from his post in front of the Ticino
contemplated the struggle with a stolid countenancie.
To requests for supports he could only reply that he
had none to send. He betrayed his anxiety to his
staJBf by his frequent interrogations as to the where-
abouts of Canrobert and MacMahon. Canrobert had
not been signaled, and MacMahon's artillery had be-
come silent. All eyes were turned toward Buffalora,
but in vain. If MacMahon was beaten, what was to
become of the Guard? Perhaps the doubt flitted
through the mind of the emperor as to MacMahon's
loyalty. It was the price of his throne that he must
always suspect his servants. He looked to the south
and there, as if he had not foes enough in front, the
head of the Austrian 3d corps could be descried ad-
vancing from Eobecco between the canal and the
Ticino. The emperor seemed dazed and bewildered.
It was at this crisis, at about 3.30, that Picard's bri-
gade arrived, having come in hot haste through the
fields and over crowded roads from Turbigo, inspired
by the urgent messages of the emperor and the dis-
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. 133
tant roar of the battle. Picard threw his brigade
into action between Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Nuovo,
and for a time the Austrian advance was checked.
It was not long, however, before the Austrian 3d
corps began to develop its strength against Ponte
Vecchio. The French were beaten back, though
fiercely contesting every inch of ground. Another
crisis arrived.
It was five o'clock. Marshal Canrobert appeared
at San Martino and reported the head of Niel's col-
umn close at hand. Half an hour later and the
bridge of the Ticino was resounding to the hurried
tramp of tjie long expected battalions. It was Vinoy's
division. General Niel rode up to the emperor, who
had no order to give, and Vinoy pushed on to the
bridges without a halt. The troops continued to
defile past the emperor, and his aides reported the
long delayed flood of reinforcements as flowing in a
steady stream over the Novara road. Better than
all, the air began to throb again to the music of
artillery on the north, telling the staff that MacMahon
was not beaten, and the emperor that after all he was
true.
At six o'clock Canrobert's corps was also arriving,
and it was plain to every one save the emperor that
the Austrian resistance was weakening. Threatened
by MacMahon on the north, they slowly retired from
their positions on the canal. The Austrian 5th corps
had arrived at Robecco, all ignorant of the state of
the contest. They advanced slowly up the west bank
of the canal until, finding their path illuminated only
by the flashing of the French artillery, they halted
for orders. Darkness put an end to the battle, and as
it settled down upon the country the French emperor
134 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
was still in his old place, his anxiety unallayed, peer-
ing through the darkening air toward Magenta, and
glancing ever and anon at the fresh regiments as they
poured on to the already crowded banks of the canal.
When the firing finally died away he was fearful as
to how matters had terminated. Where was Mac-
Mahon ? More important still, where were the Aus-
trians ? The uncertainty on these points oppressed
his mind, and he could glean no intelligence from his
staff. He returned to San Martino, and in a room
dimly lighted by a smoky candle paced restlessly up
and down. He dispatched an orderly toward Ma-
genta to leara if possible MacMahon's whereabouts.
After a weary period of anxiety the messenger re-
turned. He reported that MacMahon had won a great
victory, and that Magenta was in his possession. The
emperor breathed freely again and lay down to rest.
The movements of MacMahon decided the fate of
the day. To incumber the roads as little as possible,
he had divided his columns in the morning, sending
the division of General Espinasse by a circuitous
route on the left. MacMahon, with the division of
General Motterouge, advanced rapidly, and about two
o'clock engaged the Austrians before Buffalora. This
was the cannonading that first attracted the notice of
the emperor at San Martino. In his haste, however,
MacMahon had advanced regardless of his other divi-
sions. A brief survey convinced him that the Aus-
trians were in great force before him. Fearing to
involve his single division too deeply, he fell back
and effected a junction with Camou's division of the
Guard. He realized how the cessation of his cannon-
ade might be misconstrued by the emperor, and
waited impatiently for the approach of Espinasse.
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. 135
Finally in a paroxysm of anxiety, escorted only by a
platoon of horse, he galloped across country to Mar-
caUo, where he found Espinasse and urged upon him
the necessity of haste. At five o'clock, with his line
of battle extending from Bemate to MarcaUo and
guiding on the bell tower of Magenta still visible
through a screen of smoke, MacMahon began his ad-
vance. The Austrians had evacuated Buffalora, and
the advance of Motterouge's division found the French
Guards already in possession. Prince Liechtenstein,
who commanded the Austrians on the north of Ma-
genta, had only a few battalions, already disheartened
by hard knocks received at other points. A brigade
from Buffalora, in attempting to execute its orders to
occupy MarcaUo, was taken on the flank by Espinasse
and routed. Two fresh brigades at Corbetta re-
mained inactive on account of conflicting orders. As
a result the French advanced rapidly. While their
artillery swept the plain before Magenta, the infantry
closed in upon the village, carried the line of the rail-
way, and turned the station into a slaughter-pen. The
brave survivors of the broken Austrian brigades bar-
ricaded the streets of the village, converting every
house into a fortress from which the Tyrolese rifle-
men fired with unerring aim. Enraged at the mur-
derous opposition encountered by his troops. General
Espinasse threw himself at the head of the 2d zouave
regiment and led them to the charge. He fell mor-
tally wounded, but his example electrified the men.
In the dubious light they cut their way through the
streets and cooperated with the column of General
Motterouge in the storming of the cemetery. With
Magenta thorouglily in his possession, MacMahon
arrested the battle at dark.
136 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
The battle of Magenta consisted of two distinct
battles, for the emperor at San Martino and Mac-
Mahon on the north did not communicate from morn-
ing until after the fighting was over. The Emperor
of the French did nothing to merit approbation. He
did not plunge into the smoke, sword in hand, as at
one time the world was led to believe, but with mud-
dled brain and brooding dread w atched from a dis-
tance the varying fortune of the day.
Gyulai comprehended little more of the contest than
the emperor. In fact, on the evening of the battle,
from his headquarters at Robecco he issued orders
for a renewal of the combat to brigades that did not
exist, or were scattered over the fields and roads
toward Milan. He failed to appreciate the fact that
a large portion of the army had been routed, until
informed by Clam Gallas that the execution of his
orders was an impossibility.
The French soldiers carried away the honors of
Magenta. The conduct of the Guard and the few
regiments that bore with them the burden of the day
shed new lustre upon the military glory of France.
That the Austrians, though numerically superior,
showed to such poor advantage at many points was
due largely to the fact that their battalions were
weighted by Italian blood. One brigade composed
exclusively of Italian subjects of the Kaiser broke at
the first fire. In this war the Italians fought well
only under the standard of Italy.
CHAPTER Xn.
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OP 1859. — SOLFERINO AND
VILLAPRANCA.
Entry of the French Army into Milan. — The Te Deum. —
Fighting at Melegnano. — Gyulai retreats upon Verona. —
The Emperor advances from Milan. — Ignorance of each
Commander as to the Plans of the other. — The Aus-
trian Army harassed by Conflicting Orders. — It occupies
THE Heights of Solferino on June 23 — Advance of the
French Army on the 24th. — Commencement of the Battle
OF Solferino. — Repulse of the Sardinians. — The Emperor
ARRIVES ON THE FlELD. — HeAVY FiGHTING AT SOLFERINO AND
ON THE French Right. — The Lethargy of Canrobert. —
Solferino outflanked and abandoned by the Austrians.
— Failure of Wimpffen to retrieve the Day on the Aus-
trian Left. — Canrobert arrives. — General Advance of
THE French. — The Emperor at Cavriana. — Firmness of
General Benedek. — The French Advance renewed July 1.
— The Armistice and Conference at Villafranca. — Rage
OF Cavour. — His Undignified Conduct. — Why the Mon-
archs made Peace.
The battle of Magenta compelled the abandonment
of Milan by the Austrians. The emperor did not
appreciate the fuU extent of the victory until the 6th,
when he met at Magenta the deputation representing
the municipality of Milan, who came to offer the
crown of Lombardy to the Sardinian king. They
reported the city evacuated by the Austrians and
awaiting with open arms the arrival of its liberators.
The emperor became jubilant. He congratulated the
army, and acknowledged the heroism of the Guard
138 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
by conferring the rank of marshal upon its com-
mander. As for MacMahon, he not only received the
marshal's b§.ton, but was hailed as the conqueror of
the day and created Duke of Magenta.
That night MacMahon's corps bivouacked on the
Milan road, with orders to enter the city next day.
Consequently at nine o'clock on the morning of the
7th, wiijh bands playing and flags flying, the first
French troops passed into the ancient capital of Lom-
bardy. The reception tendered them by the Milanese
surpassed the April scenes at Genoa. A little girl
offered the marshal a bouquet of flowers, and was
lifted to his saddle, where she rode at the head of the
column.^ The long pent-up feelings of the populace
broke forth into cheers and the wildest demonstra-
tions of joy. Men and women saw through their
tears the foreign soldiers bronzed by Italian suns
and begrimed with the smoke of Austrian cannon.
The men who had carried Magenta under a tempest
of bullets traversed the streets of Milan under a rain
of flowers. All through the day the excitement in
the city increased. In the public squares the mili-
tary bands played patriotic airs long prohibited by
the Austrian government.
Next morning before light MacMahon was again
on the march southward, while the head of the 1st
corps entered the city, bound in the same direction in
execution of the imperial orders to " intercept the
Austrian army retiring by Binasco and Landriano
on Lodi." The emperor and king of Sardinia arrived
in the city at early dawn with a small escort. They
were soon recognized, and once again the emperor saw
^ This incident is alluded to by Mrs. Browning in her poem,
Napoleon III. in Italy,
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 139
in the happy faces that pressed about his cavalcade,
and heard in the shouts that burst from thousands of
throats, an evidence of popular enthusiasm and grati-
tude. The day following both sovereigns attended
service in the cathedral. The tinted rays that fell
across the misty nave glanced upon a profusion of
military and priestly splendor, as the two monarchs
bowed before the altar with its candles gleaming
dimly through the smoke of burning incense. In the
afternoon appeared the proclamation of the king,
accepting the union of Lombardy with his kingdom,
and that of the emperor addressed to Italians, urging
them to " be nothing to-day but soldiers, to-morrow
you wiU be free citizens of a great coimtry."
The final feature of these four days of jubilation, the
happiest perhaps that Milan had known for centuries,
was the performance at the theatre of La Scala. The
auditorium was ablaze with the colors of France and
Sardinia, gay with rich toilets and brilliant uniforms,
while the two monarchs were cheered to the echo.
All the officers of the liberating army were not so
agreeably entertained during these days as the pa-
trons of La Scala, and at the hour when the brilliant
audience was assembling, the ambulances from Mele-
gnano were rumbling through the streets.
Marshal Baraguey d'HiUiers, after leaving Milan
on the morning of the 8th, had received information
from the emperor that the Austrians were at Mele-
gnano. The same messenger brought the order for
him to assume command of the 2d and 4th corps
and dislodge them from that place. The 2d corps
was directed to pass east of Melegnano and cut off
the Austrian retreat on Lodi. The 4th corps was
moving southeast from Corsico. The marshal, with
140 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Bazaine's division of his corps, followed the highway
from Milan to Melegnano, with Ladmirault's divi-
sion traversing the villages on his left, and Forey
those on his right. These dispositions, employing so
large a force, seemed to portend a heavy battle. They
were, however, merely the result of the ignorance of
the French headquarters concerning the position of
the Austrians. Three corps d'armee were moving
upon Melegnano defended by a single brigade !
The marshal pushed rapidly over the highroad,
and at half past five, when he approached Melegnano,
both Ladmirault and Forey were still distant. Ac-
tuated, perhaps, by the same spirit that induced Forey
to risk the action of Montebello, at six o'clock he gave
Bazaine orders to carry the village. The Austrians
made but slight resistance in the outskirts, but de-
fended the streets and houses with their usual tena-
city. The French were unable to make the least prog-
ress in the face of the murderous fusilades they
encoimtered. But the appearance of Ladmirault's
division soon convinced the Austrian General Ber-
ger of the uselessness of a longer defense, and he
gave orders for the retreat. Great confusion attended
this movement, as his men were distributed in small
detachments in the houses throughout the village.
The French entered the streets and attacked with the
bayonet. General Berger, however, transferred his
brigade safely to the other side of the Lambro. Here
he was joined by Boer's brigade, but upon the appear-
ance of MacMahon's corps on the north, the whole
column began its retreat upon Lodi.
This action, so far as the French were concerned,
was a blunder. The Austrian commander had deter-
mined to evacuate Melegnano, and the French attack
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 141
only hastened his movements by a few useless hours.
The capture of Berger's brigade was all that could
have justified the action, and this was prevented by
the impatience of the French commander, who allowed
MacMahon no time to come up and intercept the Aus-
trian retreat.
It was on the day of the fight at Melegnano that
Gyulai had finally determined to fall back upon the
army which was being concentrated at Verona under
the eye of the Kaiser. Reduced in numbers, with the
morale of his troops seriously affected by successive
defeats, Gyulai was not inclined to risk another battle.
He argued that every step in retreat would raise the
spirit of his soldiers, as it brought them nearer to the
impregnable Quadrilateral and the imperial army at
Verona.
Meanwhile the French emperor had determined in
the future to avoid such dangers as he had encoun-
tered at Magenta, by keeping his army well together.
How to move an army of 160,000 men in one mass
was a serious problem to the commissary department.
It would be necessary to keep open rapid communica-
tion with a distant base of supplies. The Po was
dominated by the Austrians, and there was no alter-
native for the French but to hug the railway from
Milan to Venice in their advance. The engineers
were soon at work repairing the numerous breaks in
the line, the troops were all recalled to the vicinity of
Milan, and on the 11th the advance was recommenced.
The Sardinian army moved on the left of the French
and advanced with imprudent zeal. On the 14th
Victor Emmanuel had carried his headquarters to
Brescia, while the French were just approaching the
Oglio, two days' march in the rear. This state of af-
142 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
fairs was by no means agreeable to the emperor. The
isolation of the Sardinians was a grave danger to the
whole army. No one knew where the Austrians
were, though it was not doubted that they were re-
treating upon the Quadrilateral.
On the 16th news arrived from Brescia that Gen-
eral Garibaldi had encountered an Austrian detach-
ment at a little village a few miles east of that place.
This intelligence still further disconcerted the emperor
and induced him to adopt the precaution of always
advancing in line of battle. On the 18th he effected
a junction with the Sardinians, establishing his head-
quarters at Brescia, while his forces were distributed
between Brescia and Bagnolo.
On the day of the emperor's arrival at Brescia,
the Austrian headquarters were at Pozzolengo. The
Feldzeugmeister had brought his army in good condi-
tion to the Chiese, hoping to induce the Kaiser to
take up a strong defensive position in the hills about
SoLf erino and Cavriana south of the Lago di Garda.
His scheme, however, was overruled at headquarters,
where the opinion prevailed that the French would
foUow the Po to turn the Quadrilateral. On the 15th
of June the command had passed to the Kaiser, and
on the day following the army was in full retreat
toward the Mincio.
The skirmish near Brescia had shaken the theory
in every mind that the allies were following the Po.
Could it be possible they were advancing from Milan
upon the front of the Quadrilateral ? If this were so,
certainly there was no spot so favorable to oppose
them as that which Gyulai had suggested. Orders
were issued to regain the Chiese, but when they were
received the troops were already approaching the
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 143
Minclo. Again the councils wavered. The old or-
ders were renewed, and on the next day the army was
crossing the Mincio. On the 19th, owing to the con-
fusion of orders, the 1st, 5th, 7th, and 8th corps were
still midway between the rivers. Count Schlik went
out to assume command of these troops and conduct
their retreat on the Mincio. These four corps be-
came known as the second army, the remainder formed
thie first. On the 21st the whole army was in the
rear of the Mincio. The headquarters of the first
army were at Tormene, of the second at Valeggio.
The Kaiser was at Villafranca. The idea steadily
gained credence that the French were approaching
the front of the Quadrilateral. Their patrols had
been seen several times during the retreat, and they
were reported in force at Montechiaro. On the 22d
a reconnoissance was made toward Rivoltella, Cas-
tiglione, and Carpenedolo. There could be no longer
any question that the whole French army was on the
banks of the Chiese. It was imperative to seize at
once the heights about Cavriana to withstand them.
The instructions to this effect were hurriedly given,
and at nine o'clock on the morning of the 23d the ad-
vance began. AU that day the troops poured across
the Mincio at Valeggio, Ferri, and Goito. At evening
the 5th corps bivouacked on the heights about Sol-
f erino ; the 1st corps at Cavriana, with one of its bri-
gades at San Cassiano ; the 8th corps at Foresto and
Volta ; the 3d and 9th corps at Gxiidizzolo, with their
outposts in Medole and at Casa Morino, a farmhouse
on the road to Castiglione. The 7th corps was ap-
proacliing Volta, and the 11th corps was distributed
along the road from Cerlungo to Goito.
From the heights of Solferino the French bivouacks
l44 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
could be seen. It was determined to continue the ad-
vance the next day and take up a position in front of
the hills. The 8th corps was to move upon Lonato,
the 6th toward Castiglione, the 1st to Essenta with
the 7th in reserve. The 9th corps on the left was to
advance by Medole, and the 3d on its right toward
Carpenedolo. These last two were to cross the Chiese
at Bosco, their left covered by cavalry with the 2d
corps in reserve.
In the mean time the French emperor had become
convinced that the Austrians had passed beyond the
Mincio. Even the alarming reports of his patrols
on the evening of the 23d failed to convince him that
anything more formidable than reconnoitring parties
were in his front. In the evening the orders for the
next day's march were given as usual. The Sardinian
army had Pozzolengo for its destination ; the French
Guard, Castiglione ; the 1st corps, Solf erino ; the 2d,
Cavriana ; the 3d, Medole ; and the 4th Guidizzolo.
A glance at the map will indicate how the plans of
the rival monarchs were unconsciously bringing their
hosts into collision.
The Austrians had the advantage of position in
possessing that group of abrupt heights that extends
southward from the Lago di Garda to the vicinity of
Volta. The " rock " of Solferino, the loftiest and
most precipitous of these, was clearly the key to the ad-
jacent country. The conspicuous tower that crowned
its summit, and appropriately styled " Spia d' Italia,"
commanded a view for miles in all directions, while
on the west it swept to the blue horizon, the green
plain diversified by canals, villages, orchards, and
mulberry groves. The French emperor committed a
grave error in leaving this point unoccupied.
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SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 145
In order to avoid the extreme heat of the day the
French took up their march soon after midnight.
Ganrobert crossed the Chiese at Visano and advanced
upon Castel-Goffredo via Acqua-Fredda. Niel fol-
lowed the highway to Medole. MacMahon moved
from Castiglione over the Mantua road. Baraguey
d'Hilliers marched straight upon Solferino through
the great ravines that admit the roads clambering up
the heights to the town.
Ganrobert approached Gastel-Goffredo about seven
o'clock, and after a brush with the Austrian cavalry
took possession of that place. Here he was discon-
certed by the receipt of a message from the emperor
to the effect that an Austrian corps was reported to
have left Mantua for the north on the day previous.
From this he inferred that his right flank was en-
dangered, and called a halt to await developments.
Niel found Medole stubbornly defended.^ He bat-
tered it with his artillery, and at seven o'clock carried
it at the point of the bayonet. Advancing cautiously
toward Ghiidizzolo the Austrian bivouacks were re-
vealed.2 Niel halted and deployed his divisions be-
tween Eobecco and Gasa Nuova on the Mantua road.
About three o'clock MacMahon from Monte Medo-
lano had assured himself that the Austrians were in
great force before him, and dispatched a messenger
to the emperor with that information. He then dis-
lodged the Austrians from the farmhouse of Gasa
Morino, and, deploying his divisions on the right
and left of the road, awaited word from Niel before
advancing.
Baraguey d'HiUiers, advancing from the northeast,
^ Held by two battalions with two cannon.
^ Bivouacks of the 3d and 9th Austrian corps.
146 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
was driving in the enemy's outposts upon Solf erino.
At eight o'clock he carried Le Grole.
With a view to effect an early junction with the
French at Solferino, General Durando's division of
the Sardinian army moved from Malocco across the
hills to the chapel of Madonna delle Scoperte. Gen-
erals Mollard and Cucchiari moved southward from
Eivoltella by the Strada Lugana upon Pozzolengo.
Durando's vanguard, after reaching Madonna delle
Scoperte, was surprised by the enemy and compelled
to retreat. Their colleagues, after gaining the vicinity
of Pozzolengo, were attacked by heavy Austrian col-
umns advancing from the south and driven through
San Martino to Kivoltella.
Such was the state of the battle at eight o'clock.
Along a front of twelve miles the French command-
ers found themselves confronted by a powerful foe.
The corps were acting almost independently of each
other. As for the Sardinians, their repulse at Ma-
donna delle Scoperte and the presence of the Aus-
trians at Solferino left them completely isolated from
their allies.
The messengers of MacMahon and Baraguey d'Hil-
liers arrived at the headquarters in Montechiaro
about seven o'clock. The emperor was asleep at the
time, but before an hour had elapsed his equipage
was whirling into Castiglione. There he climbed the
staircase of the bell tower and peered westward to
the " Spia d' Italia," a silhouette against the morning
sky, and southward to where the early mists had
given place to white billows of battle-smoke. As to
the state of the contest, however, he could gain no idea, .
and galloped away to MacMahon for information.
He found the marshal in the alignments he had taken
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 147
up after carrying Casa Morino. He also found him
reticent. " When I am assured of the cooperation
of General Niel, I shall advance on Cavriana," he
said. The emperor knew Niel was waiting for Can-
robert. He struck the matter at the root by dispatch-
ing an order to the latter to hasten his movements on
Medole, and then rode away to the 1st corps, whose
progress had been checked in the ravines before Sol-
ferino.
The Austrian General Wimpffen furiously assailed
Niel's corps at Guidizzolo. Beaten back from this
attack, he formed another line of battle from Guidiz-
zolo to the Val de Termine. At nine o'clock the
Kaiser reached Volta, and sent orders to Wimpffen
to advance toward Medole without delay, in order to
relieve the tremendous pressure upon Stadion's corps
at Solf erino. In fact, that corps was nearly exhausted.
The French batteries on the heights west of the vil-
lage swept the advance positions with a murderous
fire. Stadion had but two brigades of his corps to
hold the French in check. One had already been
demoralized by the cannonade, and the other two were
in pursuit of the Sardinians, who had suffered another
repulse. Just before noon the Kaiser directed the
1st corps to the aid of the 5th at Solferino, and the
7th upon San Cassiano, while he sent another mes-
sage to Wimpffen, urging him again to advance, not
toward Medole, but in the direction of Castiglione.
Wimpffen had his hands full, however. All through
the morning his two corps vainly assailed the three
divisions of General Niel in line between Robecco
and Casa Nuova. In the village, in the orchards, in
the inclosures of farm-buildings, and in the fields,
the combat was savagely maintained without advan-
148 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
tage to the Austrians. Niel watched anxiously the
fortune of the day, and scanned the country on the
southeast for some sign of Canrobert, who was still
busily engaged at Castel-Goffredo worrying about his
flank.^ How long Niel could hold his ground unsup-
ported was uncertain. His retreat meant the cutting
in two of the French army, and in consequence its
utter defeat.
In the mean time the Emperor of the French had
become convinced by the reports he had received, and
by the clouds of dust among the hills, that the Aus-
trians were reinforcing their position at Solferino.
He arrived at the conclusion that the battle was to be
settled in that vicinity, and that delay was fatal to
his cause. He sent a message to the king of Sar-
dinia to advance immediately on Pozzolengo, while he
held the light division of the Guard to assist the 1st
corps. Baraguey d'Hilliers was making superhuman
efforts to carry the heights of Solferino. While Gen-
eral Bazaine with his division attacked the village it-
self, Ladmirault stormed the heights on his left, and
Forey the positions on Monte Alto and summits south
of Solferino. Before the development of this attack
the Austrians on Monte Alto had been heavily rein-
forced,^ while a few battalions arrived in Solferino
itself. Bazaine's columns advanced doggedly up the
ravine, but at the entrance of the village were stag-
^ Canrobert's action in withholding his aid during the crisis of the
battle deepened the bitterness between Niel and himself that had ez>
isted since the Crimean campaign. Matters had reached such a pass
in the French army even in 1859 that the generals suspected each
other of being capable of actual treason in order to bring disgrace
upon a rival. Canrobert^s delay seems to have been induced only by
that extreme caution that governed all his movements, and prevented
bis taking a high place among military conmianders.
^ By the 1st corps.
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 149
gered by the close fusillades and brought to a halt.
Bazaine hurried a battery up the steep incline and
opened on the village at short range, but the massive
stone houses resisting well the cannonading, the battle
became stationary at this point. General Ladmi-
rault was also checked, while at Monte Alto Forey's
division was beaten back in confusion. The emperor
at this crisis sent forward the Guards. They rallied
Forey's division, and advanced straight against the
heights south of Solferino. They carried the posi-
tions. This settled the fate of Solferino, for the Aus-
trians there, finding themselves flanked, abandoned
the contest and retired from the village. The French
following close, the Austrian retreat became a disor-
derly flight. In fact, the capture of Solferino and
adjacent heights resulted in the almost complete dis-
persion of the 1st and 5th corps. Moreover, the 8th
corps, still engaged with the Sardinians before Pozzo-
lengo, was completely isolated from the main Austrian
army.
But the Austrian generals did not despair. Their
line of battle was still intact from Cavriana to Gui-
dizzolo, while the 7th and 11th corps had not yet
been engaged. A strong advance upon Castiglione
would compel the abandonment by the French of
their conquests about Solferino. At three o'clock,
however, the hopes of the Kaiser received a death-
blow in this dispatch from Count Wimpffen : " I have
twice taken the offensive, and have engaged my last
reserves. I cannot hold out much longer, and find
myself under the necessity of beating a retreat under
the protection of the 11th corps. I direct the 9th to-
ward Goito ; the 3d by Cerlungo on Ferri ; the 11th
by Goito on Eoverbella I regret that I can report
150 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
nothing more satisfactory to your majesty." There
was nothing more to be done, and the Kaiser issued
orders for the general retreat.
Before this time MacMahon had thrown off his
lethargy, and was advancing upon Cavriana. He ex-
pected the cooperation of Niel, but upon reaching
San Cassiano found no sign of him. In conjunction
with the Guard on his left he pressed rapidly on to-
ward the heights of Cavriana. A change in the Aus-
trian tactics prevented Niel's cooperation. Wimpffen,
detecting MacMahon's advance, and seeing the road
to Castiglione open, determined, despite his message
to the Kaiser, to make one final effort to save the day.
Niel's men were nearly exhausted by their long con-
test with overwhelming numbers, and the Austrians
gained groimd. He was even reduced to the use of
cavalry to gain a brief respite for his infantry. Be-
tween four and five o'clock the vanguard of Canro-
bert's column passed through Medole to his aid.
About the same time a furious tempest burst upon
the country. The wind that prefaced it swept the
dust in blinding clouds across the plains, completely
obscuring the operations. The violence of the storm
was enhanced by thunder and lightning, as though
the elements were in sympathy with the fierce pas-
sions of wayward humanity. When the clouds broke
away the air was cleared of polluting smoke, and the
long slanting rays of the sun glittered on the spark-
ling foliage of the valley. The battle was then over,
Canrobert and Niel were joined, Wimpffen was in
retreat, and MacMahon was at Cavriana. Only on
the extreme right were the Austrians still in line.
There General Benedek with the 8th corps still con-
fronted the baffled Sardinians, adding to a fame that
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 151
a few years later was to place him in command of the
armies of his sovereign. Perhaps he hardly deserved
all the credit he gained at San Martino. His defense
was stubborn and skillful, and to the close of the day
he worsted his antagonists. He committed the error,
however, of overrating the numbers opposed to him,
and refused to dispatch a portion of his forces to the
defense of Solf erino. Upon finding how the day had
gone he began his retreat, regaining the Mincio in
perfect order during the night.
The French made no pursuit. The emperor rode
on to Cavriana, and established himself in the house
occupied by the Kaiser in the morning. Darkness
fell. The army of the second empire slept for the
last time on a victorious field.^
On the 1st of July the advance was continued.
The French army passed the Mincio, and the Sar-
dinians invested Peschiera. On the 2d the emperor's
headquarters were at Valeggio, while the 1st, 2d,
and 4th corps held a line from Castelnuovo through
Sommacampagna to ViUafranca. The Guard and 3d
corps were at Valeggio, the 5th corps had joined the
army at Goito. It seemed plain that another battle
was to be fought before Verona. On the 6th of Jidy
the emperor issued his orders for the following day
with unusual minuteness. The whole army was to
be under arms by daybreak. Long before light the
eager battalions were awaiting the order to advance,
but none came. The morning passed without event,
and then early in the afternoon the tidings ran
through the astonished ranks that an armistice was
to be signed.
^ This is a fact, if we disregard the petty successes of the Mexican
campaign.
152 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
In fact, the French emperor had decided to make
peace. He had turned to Lord Palmerston the day
following the battle of Solferino, inviting his media-
tion on the basis of a cession of Lombardy and Parma
to Sardinia. Palmerston was in favor of driving Aus-
tria from Italy, and would not lend the good offices
of his government to effect any other arrangement.
Determined to bring hostilities to a close, Napoleon
communicated directly with the Kaiser at Verona.
His note suggesting an armistice was on its way
while he was busy issuing his elaborate instructions
to the army on the 6th. The next day he received a
favorable reply, and on the 8th an armistice was
signed.
On the 11th the two monarchs met at a small house
in Villafranca to discuss the preliminaries of peace.
The Kaiser was inclined to peace for other reasons
than that his army had been beaten in the field. He
had entered the contest calm in the assurance that the
Frankfort Diet would never allow him to be stripped
of a foot of his Italian territory. With the mobil-
ization of the German federal army his confidence
had increased ; but when the command of that army
passed to the prince regent of Prussia, his feelings
underwent a change. He longed to be free from his
Italian difficulties, that he might devote his energies
to the recovery of Austrian prestige in Germany.
Of course the mediation of Prussia was not to be
thought of ; that might prove too costly. England was
against him, and Kussia had not forgiven his aban-
donment of her in 1854. Napoleon's note of July 6
opened to him a means of escape from his dilemma
without mortifying his pride. With both monarchs
of one mind, there could be no serious difficulty in
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 158
coming to an understanding. Napoleon even modi-
fied his demands from the shape in which Lord Pahner-
ston had disapproved them. He had made no allu-
sion to Parma, but only insisted upon the cession of
Lombardy. He even compromised on this so as to
leave the Austrian Quadrilateral intact. The prelim-
inaries were signed in the afternoon. Napoleon was
glad to have an end of the fighting, and Francis
Joseph had come off much better than he expected.
There was nothing for the king of Sardinia but to
acquiesce in these arrangements. His task was ren-
dered doubly hard by the action of Cavour, whose
judgment failed him for the first and only time in his
diplomatic career. Cavour left Turin immediately
upon the receipt of the news of the armistice. He
hastened to the Sardinian headquarters, and in the
royal presence bitterly denounced the measure, while
he raved against the emperor, and urged the non-
acceptance of Lombardy. The king was deeply
offended, and naturally was not dissuaded from his
course. He signed the preliminaries of peace, but
attached the words " pour ce qui me concerne," merely
signifying that he accepted Lombardy, but held him-
self unembarrassed for future events. Then he re-
turned to his capital disgusted with the result of the
campaign, and indignant with his minister. Cavour
went also to Turin, his rage unabated, to resign his
post. Napoleon, in better spirits than either, jour-
neyed to Paris, and on the 15th was recreating within
sound of the plashing fountain at St. Cloud.
What influenced the French emperor to abandon
the Italian cause on the Mincio ? Was he swerved
from his purpose by the carnage of Solf erino, by his
dread of offending the Pope beyond reconciliation, or
154 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
by his awakening to the knowledge that he was not a
general ? Was he alarmed by the attitude of central
Italy, that presaged a Sardinia too powerful for the
safety of his southern frontier ; did he mistrust the
hostility of the German federal army ? These ques-
tions were asked by an astonished world. The em-
peror's explanation, delivered to the Chambers, July
19, was as follows: "Arrived beneath the walls of
Verona, the struggle was inevitably about to change
its nature as well in a military as in a political aspect.
Obliged to attack the enemy in front, who was in-
trenched behind great fortresses and protected on his
flank by the neutrality of the surrounding territory,
and about to begin a long and barren war, I found
myself in the face of Europe in arms, ready to dis-
pute our successes or aggravate our reverses. Never-
theless the difficulty of the enterprise would not have
shaken my resolution, if the means had not been out
of proportion to the results to be expected. It was
necessary to crush boldly the obstacles opposed, and
then to accept a conflict on the Rhine as well as on
the Adige. It was necessary to fortify ourselves
openly with the concurrence of revolution. It was
necessary to go on shedding precious blood, and at
last risk that which a sovereign should only stake for
the independence of his country. If I have stopped,
it was neither through weariness nor exhaustion, nor
through abandoning the noble cause which I desired
to serve, but for the interests of France. I felt great
reluctance to put reins upon the ardor of our soldiers,
to retrench from my programme the territory from the
Mincio to the Adriatic, and to see vanish from honest
hearts noble delusions and patriotic hopes."
If the world had not learned to doubt the sincerity
SOLFERINO AND VILLAFRANCA. 155
of Louis Napoleon's sayings, it would have rested
content with this statement, and accepted earlier the
fact that he was induced to sheathe his victorious
sword by the strength of the Austrian Quadrilateral
and the threatening attitude of the Grerman federal
army on the Rhine.
CHAPTER Xm.
GABIBALDI AND CAVOUR.
DiSAPPOtNTMBNT IN ItALT AT THE SuDDEN TERMINATION OP THE
Wab. — Insurrections in Central Italy. — Demands of the
Central Italians. — Attitude op Victor Emmanuel. — The
Peace op Zurich. — Reconciliation op Cavour and Victor
Emmanuel. — Their Battle with the Papal Government. —
Napoleon agrees to a Plebiscite. — Central Italy de-
clares POR Annexation to Sardinia. — The First Italian
Parliament. — Cession op Nice and Savoy. — Revolution in
THE Two Sicilies. — Garibaldi leaves por Sicily to head
THE Insurgents. — His Rapid Advance. — He captures Pa-
lermo. — Extraordinary Character op his Achievements —
Excitement in Turin. — The Policy op Cavour. — Garibaldi
BECOMES Headstrong. — He crosses to the Mainland and
MARCHES upon NaPLES. — FrANCIS II. ABANDONS NAPLES- —
Entry op the Garibaldians. — Cavour' s Conception op the
Crisis. — Sardinian Troops enter Papal Territory. — Bat-
tle OP Castelpidardo. — The Sardinians pass the Neapol-
itan Frontier. — Meeting op Garibaldi and Victor Emman-
uel. — The Neapolitans vote for Annexation to the Italian
Kingdom. — Garibaldi's Hatred op Cavour. — Cavour's
Health gives way. — His Death. — The World's Estimate
op Cavour.
The statement of the French emperor that Italy
must be free to the Adriatic had received a literal
acceptance by the Italians, and confidence had grown
to certainty as victory after victory crowned the
allied arms. The news of the armistice came as a
bewildering, crushing blow. It was received first
with incredulity, and then with demonstrations that
expressed vividly the wrath and disappointment which
everywhere abounded.
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 157
Venice was in tears. For days the eyes of her
citizens liad been lifted to the belfry of San Marco,
for from there they knew that the allied fleets were
yisible in the Adriatic beyond Lido. When the glad
faces of the Austrian garrison betrayed the news from
Villafranca, the high confidence of the Venetians gave
way to a despair rendered almost paralyzing from the
suddenness of the reaction.
In Piedmont and Lombardy the sympathy for
Venice tempered the popular joy. Milan refused to
rejoice while Venice, the companion of her long thraU-
dom, still remained in chains. The French emperor,
upon returning from the front, could not fail to notice
the changed temper of Milan and Turin. The French
colors were sparingly displayed and where all had
been noisy enthusiasm a few weeks before, there was
only resentful silence.
While the war was in progress great events had
been taking place elsewhere in the peninsula. Fer-
dinand II. of Naples died, and his last moments were
embittered by tidings of the battle of Montebello.
His youthful successor recklessly followed in his steps,
turning a deaf ear to the entreaties of his people, and
spiuTiing the invitation of Victor Emmanuel to enter
the anti- Austrian alliance.
In Tuscany the people arose, demanding a constitu-
tion and an active participation by the Tuscan forces
in the war. The grand duke, finding that the spirit
of sedition had extended to his own guards, left
Florence and fled into the arms of Austria.
In the Emilian provinces of Parma and Modena
the temper of the people necessitated the flight of
their rulers.
Bologna, too, broke into revolt, — Bologna the
158 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
capital of the Papal Legations, that had been held in
subjection for ten years by Austrian bayonets. The
imperial commander, nevertheless, held his own until
the battle of Magenta necessitated his retirement upon
the Quadrilateral. The Cardinal Legate, finding his
holy office no longer supported by the foreign troops,
also withdrew. Military and priestly oppression left
Bologna together on the 12th of June.
Ever3rwhere it was 1848 repeated. In the States of
the Church general uneasiness prevailed, and would
have developed into insurrection at Rome but for the
restraining influences of the French garrison. The
state of affairs on the Tiber was curious enough.
The Pope was praying for Austrian victories, the
Romans were longing for French success, and the
French soldiery protected the Pope from the Ro-
mans.
In the central Italian states the popular position
was strengthened by the presence of a portion of
Prince Napoleon's corps, which disembarked at Leg-
horn and passed through Tuscany on its northward
march. Provisional governments were formed in all
the states, and deputations sent to Victor Emmanuel
offering him their allegiance. To the representatives
of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena he extended en-
couragement, but expressed his inability to accept
their offer until after the conclusion of peace. He,
however, sent conmaissioners in his name to admin-
ister their governments and organize their military
forces for participation in the war. When the depu-
tations from Bologna presented their petition he was
forced into a delicate position. It was one thing to
undertake the cause of the Tuscans and Emilians, but
quite another to interfere in behalf of the subjects of
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 169
the charcli. Any move in favor of the people of the
liegations was sure to bring down upon him the
denunciations of the Vatican. Furthermore, he mis-
trusted that his ally, " the eldest son of the church,"
would not regard such a course with favor. The king,
received the deputation cordially, explained his posi-
tion frankly, and referred them to the emperor, who
was then at Monteehiaro planning the march that
was to bring on the battle of Solferino. From this
visit the deputation returned to Bologna with but
little encouragement and somewhat crestfallen. But
Cavour had the interest of the Legations deeply at
heart. He understood the emperor better than his
royal master, and judged him to be lukewarm in the
position he had taken. He induced the king to send
Massimo d' Azeglio as commissioner to conduct the
temporary government at Bologna. The result, so
far as the Vatican was concerned, confirmed the ex-
pectations of the king. Victor Emmanuel, his army
and his people, were condemned by a papal allocution
and warned to mend their impious ways, while the
papal troops suppressed a rising at Perugia with un-
necessary severity and shocking cruelty.
The treaty concluded at Zurich in November be-
tween the ambassadors of France, Austria, and Sar-
dinia substantially ratified the preliminaries arranged
at Villafranca. Lombardy passed to the king of
Sardinia; Venetia was retained by Austria. The
rulers of Modena and Parma were to be restored,
the papal power again established in the Legations,
while the various states of the peninsula, excepting
Sardinia and the Two Sicilies, were to form a con-
federation under the leadership of the Pope. Accord-
ing to the terms of the treaty Lombardy was the only
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 159
the church. Any move ia favor of the people of the
Legations was sure to bring down upon him the
denunciations of the Vatican. Furthermore, he mis-
trnsted that his ally, " the eldest eon of the church,"
would not regard such a course with favor. The king,
received the deputation cordially, explained his posi-
tion frankly, and referred them to the emperor, who
waa then at Monteehiaro planning the march that
was to bring on the battle of Solferino. From this
visit the deputation returned to Bologna with but
little encouragement and somewhat crestfallen. But
Cavour had the interest of the Liegations deeply at
heart. He understood the emperor better than his
royal master, and judged him to be lukewarm in the
position he had taken. He induced the king to send
Massimo d' Azegho as commissioner to conduct the
temporary government at Bologna. The result, so
far as the Vatican was concerned, confirmed the ex-
pectations of the king. Victor Emmanuel, his army
and his people, were condemned by a papal allocution
and warned to mend their impious ways, while the
papal troops suppressetl a rising at Perugia with un-
necessary severity and shocking cruelty.
The treaty concluded at Zurich in November be-
tween the ambassadors of France, Austria, and Sar-
dinia substantially ratified the preliminaries arranged
at Villafranca. Lombardy passed to the king of
Sardinia ; Venetia was retained by Austria. The
rulers of Modena and Parma were to be restored,
the papal power again established in the Legations,
while the various states of the peninsula, excepting
Sardinia and the Two Sicilies, were to form a con-
^feile ration under tlie leadei-shiii i.f tlie Pope. Accord-
" 5 to the terms of the treaty Lombardy was the only
160 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
state directly benefited by the war. The emperor,
however, had promised Victor Emmanuel that he
would not use force to restore the old rulers in cen-
tral Italy, and that he would not allow another power
to do so. Moreover, in addressing his troops at
the close of the war he uttered these words : " Italy,
henceforth mistress of her destinies, will only have
herself to blame if she does not make regular prog-
ress in order and liberty." ^ This public statement
meant something, and perhaps Napoleon was not in-
clined to add to the iU repute he had gained in Italy
by the abandonment of his project to carry his con-
quering arms to the Adriatic. At all events the
position of the emperor simplified matters from the
Sardinian point of view, as the people of central
Italy showed no inclination to resume the old regime.
They maintained their position firmly and consist-
ently, despite the decisions of the Zurich Congress,
the advice of the French emperor, and the threatening
attitude of Naples and Rome. Their representatives
were at work in London and Paris endeavoring to
arouse popular sympathy in their behalf, but the year
closed without definite action, leaving the provisional
governments in control. In fact, matters were simply
drifting, and it seemed imperative to take some vig-
orous measures to terminate so abnormal a condition
of affairs. Finally the project of a European con-
gress was suggested. There was but one opinion as
to who should represent Italy in such an event. The
king, piqued at Cavour's course at Villafranca, was
little inclined to call upon him, though he had already
^ In conversation with Victor Emmanuel, Napoleon also let drop
this portentous statement: '*Now we shall see what the Italians
c£Ui do unaided/'
GARIBALDI AND CA VOUR. 161
felt painfully the loss of his guiding mind. The
necessity brought about a reconciliation. Cavour
made the amende honorable and the coldness be-
tween the king and the minister was at an end. He
returned to the head of affairs in January. This
event was simultaneous with the removal of M. Walew-
ski at Paris and a change in the policy of the French
government. The emperor no longer advised the
central Italians to accept the return of their rulers.
His influence at Rome was exercised to induce the
Pope to allow his subjects in the Legations to have
their will.
The months of February and March were prolific
in correspondence between Victor Emmanuel and the
Pope. The object of the king was to persuade the
Holy Father to consent to some arrangement that
would satisfy the desires of his people. The tone of
his letters was dignified and yet reverential. He ad-
dressed the " Most Blessed Father " as a " devoted
son of the church," and invariably concluded by re-
questing the benediction. As for the Pope, though
courteous and kindly of heart, he stood like a rock
consistent with his unfailing policy of " non possu-
mus^ The king's note of February 6 struck the nail
squarely on the head by the following proposal, " that
taking into consideration the necessity of the times ;
the increasing force of the principle of nationality ;
the irresistible impulse which impels the peoples of
Italy to unite and order themselves in conformity
with the model adopted by all civilized nations, an
impulse which I believe demands my frank and loyal
concurrence, such a state of things might be estab-
lished not only in the Romagna, but also in the
Marches and Umbria, as would reserve to the church
162 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
its high dominion, and assure to the Supreme PontifE
a glorious post at the head of the Italian nation:
while giving the people of these provinces a share in
the benefits that a kingdom strong and highly national
secures to the greater part of central Italy." In
short, the Pope was invited to relinquish his temporal
authority. The response was what might have been
anticipated. The war between church and state was
waxing bitter, and in the end one must suffer.
The scheme of a European congress was abandoned.
With France at his back to neutralize Austria, Ca-
vour had nothing to fear. England, too, was unmis-
takably friendly ; but despite the disappointment of
Yillaf ranca he was still firm in his old theory that
Napoleon was the monarch whose whims must be
humored. It was in pursuance of this policy that he
suggested to the emperor that the central Italians
be allowed to settle their fate by plebiscite. This
method was to a certain extent a craze with the em-
peror. It was the glorious ordinance behind which
he had attempted to conceal the blood that stained
the boulevards during the days of his coup d^etat He
was the last man who would lift his protest against
the plebiscite, and Cavour was not surprised at the
affirmative reply he received to his proposal.' The
elections took place in March, and by an overwhelm-
ing majority the people of Parma, Modena, Tuscany,
and the Legations declared for annexation to Sardinia.
Austria protested, but could do no more in the face of
^ '^ Let the populations vote, and when it is demonstrated that liie
terms of ViUafranca can only be executed in contempt of those prin-
ciples of popular rights from which I draw my power, I may change
my mind. " — Napoleon to Sig^or Peruzzi, the Tuscan Enyoy, Mazckde^
p. 231.
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 163
England and France.^ Naples followed the Austrian
example, while almost simultaneously with the news
of the elections there arrived at Turin the papal ex-
communication for Victor Emmanuel and his sub-
jects.
On the 2d of April the king opened the new par-
liament and addressed himself to the representatives
of 12,000,000 Italians. The natural enthusiasm at-
tending the session was seriously dampened by the
royal annoiincement that, subject to the approval of
their citizens and the ratification of parliament, Nice
and Savoy were to be returned to France. It was, in
fact, the concluding installment of the price arranged
at PlombiSres to be paid for the French troops in the
campaign of the previous year. The king waa loath
to make the sacrifice, and Cavour had acquiesced only
after exhausting every expedient. The emperor, mean-
while, had insisted, and with reason, upon his inability
to spend the blood and treasure of his state without
some tangible recompense to satisfy his people for the
outlay. Furthermore, as far as Nice and Savoy were
concerned, it must be admitted that in race and lan-
guage they were more French than Italian.
General Graribaldi, who sat in the parliament for
Nice, was especially prominent in the angry debates
that followed the king's announcement. Toward Ca-
vour, whom he held solely responsible for the trans-
action, he conceived a distrust and dislike that he
never wholly conquered. When the transfer had
been ratified he withdrew to a humble retreat in the
island of Caprera, with his heart bitter against the
^ " He [Napoleon] informed PriDce Mettemich at Compi^g^e, that
if Austria crossed the Po, it would be instant war with France.*'
— McLgade, p. 231.
164 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
man who had made him a stranger in his own house.
But the excitement over the loss of Nice and Savoy
was soon diminished by the startling intelligence which
arrived of rebellion in the Neapolitan dominions.
Naples was mutinous, while in Sicily, Palermo and
Messina were in open revolt. Garibaldi's time had
come. Leaving Caprera, he made for Piedmont, and
hastily organized a band of volunteers to assist in the
popular movement. On the night of May 6, with about
a thousand enthusiastic spirits, he embarked from
the coast near Genoa in two steamers and sailed for
Sicily. Cavour in the mean time winked at this
extraordinary performance. He dispatched Admiral
Persano with a squadron ostensibly to intercept the
expedition, but in reality " to navigate between it and
the hostile Neapolitan fleet." On the 11th Garibaldi
landed safely at Marsala under the sleepy guns of
a Neapolitan man-of-war. On the 14th he was at
Salemi, where he issued the following proclamation :
" Garibaldi, commander-in-chief of the national forces
in Sicily, on the invitation of the principal citizens,
and on the deliberation of the free communes of the
island, considering that in times of war it is necessary
that the civil and military powers should be united in
one person, assumes in the name of Victor Emmanuel,
King of Italy, the Dictatorship in Sicily." With
his volunteers increased by several hundred " pic-
ciotti," as the native mountaineers were called. Gari-
baldi routed several Neapolitan battalions in position
at Calatafimi, and a few days later had the camp-fires
of his rapidly swelling host blazing on the heights
above Palermo. Having by skiUful manoeuvring
among the mountains concealed his mmibers and
plans from the enemy, on the night of the 26th he
. GARIBALDI AND CA VOUR. 166
led his forces to the plain, and at dawn attacked the
city. After a few hours of street fighting, the Nea-
politans were driven back upon the citadel and royal
palace. In revenge for the defeat, the g^uns of the
fleet and the citadel opened a destructive and indis-
criminate fire upon the city. The slaughter and
misery worked by this terrific bombardment were ter-
rible beyond description. Having glutted his thirst
for vengeance, the Neapolitan commander concluded
an armistice with Garibaldi, and on the 6th of June
evacuated aU his positions and sailed from the port.
In the mean time Garibaldi had been further rein-
forced by another detachment of recruits from the
north under General Medici. On July 20 the Near
politan General Bosco was beaten at MUazzo, and so
vast had Garibaldi's prestige become that five days
later, when Medici summoned Messina, it came to
terms without a blow.
In the eyes of Europe a miracle had been accom-
plished. Was it a man or devil who in three months
time, with a handful of desperadoes at his back, could
overthrow trained armies, and conquer the fairest
province of a great kingdom ? But after all we must
now admit that Garibaldi's military achievements in
Sicily, however great in the results they accomplished,
have been exaggerated. From the moment he landed
at Marsala until he had planted the tricolored flag
on the walls of Messina, he was regarded by the sim-
ple, superstitious- Sicilians as a demi-god, mysterious
and all-powerful. He had among his followers men
whose pens were mightier than their swords, to whose
romantic narrations is due the fact that the world
became almost Sicilian in its judgment of him.
Whether marching silently over the moonlit moim-
166 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
tains, or apart from his followers gazing down from
the heights upon the twinkling lights of Palermo which
gleamed in the valley, or in the glare of the day con-
spicuous in his scarlet shirt amid the battle-smoke of
Milazzo, it was all the same. He was invested with
a halo that bordered upon the supernatural.
In reality, Graribaldi had but a contemptible foe
to deal with. The Neapolitan army with its impos-
ing array on paper of 30,000 bayonets was a mis-
erable corps of discontented mercenaries, badly dis-
tributed and poorly commanded, whose superstitious
natures were overwhelmed by the prestige Garibaldi
brought with him from the Alps. After the first ac-
tion at Calatafimi they regarded him as the Scottish
Covenanters did Claverhouse, as one who had sold him-
self to the devil, and against whom no bullet could pre-
vail. Demoralized by these beliefs, and realizing that
every Sicilian was their enemy, it is not surprising
that Garibaldi's enthusiasts made head against them.
Every retreat contributed to this demoralization,
as they were harassed by the people in the villages
through which they passed. After Milazzo the Near
politan army of the south had ceased to exist. It
succiunbed to hard blows less than to its own inherent
worthlessness. It was not destroyed, but rather fell
to pieces.
Perhaps the excitement at Turin during these days
was second only to that which animated the great
Sicilian cities. The guns of Bomba's fleet at Palermo
were no more active than the diplomatic artillery
which the courts of Central Europe trained upon the
government at Turin. Indeed, as has been tersely
expressed, it literally " rained diplomatic notes " in
the Sardinian capital. Garibaldi was a subject of
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 167
Sardinia, and the men who were overturning Bourbon
rule in Sicily were volunteers from the realms of
Victor Emmanuel. Cavour's position at this time
was a trying, deKcate, and from some points of view
a questionable one. He had publicly expressed regret
for Garibaldi'8 expedition, while privately he encour-
aged it. It cannot be denied that the position into
which he forced Sardinia^ at this time was very far
from one of strict neutrality or even of candor. He
did not conceal, however, the fact that he would be
wholly out of sympathy with any movement on the
part of his government to protect the worst govern-
ment in the peninsula from its just deserts. Cavour's
position is revealed clearly in his note to La Farina,
the Sardinian envoy at Palermo, under date of Jime
19, " Persano will give you all the aid he can without
compromising our banner. It would be a great mat-
ter if Garibaldi could pass into Calabria. Here
things do not go badly. The diplomatists do not
molest us too much. Russia made a fearful hubbub ;
Prussia less. The parliament has much sense. I
await your letters with impatience."
Cavour's desire to see Garibaldi in Calabria was
changed, a little later. La Farina was at Palermo in
behalf of the Sardinian government, to induce Gari-
baldi to consent to the immediate annexation of Sicily
to the new Italian kingdom. This Garibaldi declined
to do, preferring to wait until he could lay the entire
Neapolitan realm and Rome as weU at the feet of
Victor Emmanuel. This altered the aspect of affairs.
It was evident that Garibaldi was getting headstrong.
It was Cavour's constant solicitude to keep the Italian
question in such a shape as to allow no foreign
power a pretext for interference. Garibaldi's design
168 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
against Rome garrisoned by French troops would be
almost certain to bring on foreign complications and
ruin the cause of Italian unity. It was in conse-
quence of this dread that Victor Emmanuel wrote to
Garibaldi a congratulatory letter, urging him to de-
sist from further operations and not carry the conflict
into Calabria. The response, while it breathed per-
sonal devotion to the king, could not be regarded
with much pleasure in official circles at Turin. It
was written from Milazzo, July 27, and concluded as
f oUows : " May your majesty therefore permit me this
time to disobey. As soon as I shall have finished the
task imposed upon me by the wishes of the people
who groan under the tyranny of the Neapolitan Bour-
bon, I shall lay down my sword at your majesty's
feet, and shall obey your majesty for the remainder
of my lifetime." Garibaldi's followers numbered
nearly 20,000 men. The Neapolitan king had been
so thoroughly cowed as to proclaim his intention of
establishing constitutional liberty within his realms.
There was no mistaking that symptom. When a
Neapolitan Bourbon proclaimed liberty, he also pro-
claimed the fact that his throne was in danger. It
was too late, and this despairing effort of Francis II.
was scarcely heeded in the whirl of events.
On August 1 the Garibaldians were massing about
Faro, preparatory to crossing to the mainland. The
coast opposite was guarded by Neapolitan forts, while
hostile men-of-war ceaselessly patrolled the straits
from Reggio to Scilla. Garibaldi was reinforced by
6,000 men, adventurers of all nationalities, who had
been raised by Bertani, his agent at Genoa. Seeing
that the Neapolitan vigilance was concentrated upon
the troops at Faro, Garibaldi moved the fresh forces
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 169
rapidly to the south toward Taonnina. On the 19th
he embarked from that place, and so completely were
the enemy deceived that his whole detachment landed
unopposed at Melito. Pushing rapidly up the moun-
tains, he gained the heights above Reggio, where the
Neapolitan garrison were panic-stricken at finding
their position turned. After some fighting the Nea-
politan commander surrendered. Some of his troops
joined the Garibaldians, while the rest were allowed
to embark on their ships. Master now of both banks
of the straits, with his numbers still further aug-
mented by many thousand enthusiastic Calabrese, it
only remained for Garibaldi to advance directly upon
Naples. The excitement along his line of march
was most intense. In every village where his troops
appeared the same spirit was shown. The Bourbon
arms upon the public buildings were torn down, and
those of Savoy substituted.
At Naples itself the rioting, which had been par-
tially suppressed, broke out afresh upon the news of
Garibaldi's appearance at Reggio. When it became
known that he was advancing upon the city, the
populace passed fairly beyond the control of the
authorities. In these early September days the king
sat brooding in his palace, and the cheers for Gari-
baldi and Victor Emmanuel were borne to his ears
on every breeze that stirred the seditious air of his
capital. From all quarters the tidings became more
alarming. His soldiers were cowed, and in many
places were attacked and routed by the national
guard. From all the provinces came tidings of suc-
cessful revolts. His proclamation of liberty had won
him no friends. His ministry had turned against
him and characterized as folly the attempt to check
170 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Graribaldi's advance. There was no help for it. His
dynasty was crumbling to pieces, and no hand was
raised to save it. The recently liberated political
prisoners, the beneficiaries of his eleventh hour clem-
ency, roamed the streets, their dazed and haggard
faces presenting a terrible protest against the long
era of misrule. On the evening of September 6 the
king embarked on a Spanish ship, and leaving his
mutinous navy at anchor in the bay, quit forever those
beautiful shores which his race had too long defiled.
On the morning of September 7 Garibaldi was at
Salerno ; before night he had reached Naples, and its
teeming thousands had run mad. The Neapolitan
garrison of Castel Nuovo broke out, and rushing
down into the streets with shouts of "Viva Gari-
baldi " fraternized with the people. Castel Sant' Elmo
wrapped itself in the smoke of its saluting artillery
and hoisted the Sardinian flag, a compliment that the
Sardinian squadron in the bay acknowledged with
thimdering broadsides. The Neapolitan fleet went
over en masse to Garibaldi, and by him was placed
under the orders of the Sardinian admiral. The
Garibaldian troops came swarming into the city,
some by land and others by sea. For days the roll
of drums and blare of bugles told of new arrivals.
With little of military precision about them, in mot- •
ley imiforms, these heroes of Milazzo and Reggio
streamed along Santa Lucia and up the Toledo.
Italians and foreigners, strong men and boys, they
betrayed by eager faces and elastic step the enthu-
siasm that animated them. All Naples was out to
welcome its liberators. The city, at all times a pan-
demonium of uproar and confusion, fairly surpassed
herself during the first days of Garibaldi's occupation.
GARIBALDI AND CAY OUR. 171
Francis 11. had shut himself up in the fortress of
Graeta with the remnants of his army, holding the
line of the Voltumo. Garibaldi's vanguard was at
Caserta, and he was pushing his forces forward with
all rapidity to strike the Bourbon a final blow.
At Turin the state of unrest continued. Gari-
baldi's presence at Naples was attended with grave
perils. Of course his designs upon Rome formed the
principal danger, but his conspicuous inability as
an organizer was one of scarcely less gravity. The
ignorant subjects of Francis II. were not to be
trusted to maintain order among themselves, and
Garibaldi was not the man to enforce it. So far the
conduct of Naples had been exemplary, but Mazzini
was known to be at work forwarding his schemes for
a great Neapolitan republic. If left to drift, this
state of things might easily develop into anarchy, and
anarchy meant foreign interference and the undoing
of all the great results of Garibaldi's campaign.
Sardinian troops had become a necessity of the situa-
tion. " If we do not arrive on the Voltumo before
Garibaldi arrives at Cattolica, the monarchy is lost,
— Italy remains a prey to revolution." T^hat was
Cavour's conception of the crisis. There was no time
to lose. There could be no difficulty in finding an
excuse to enter papal territory. The inhabitants of
Umbria and the Marches, who had never ceased to
appeal for annexation to the new kingdom, were sup-
pressed by an army of foreign mercenaries that the
Pope had mustered beneath his banner. That native-
bom Italians should be held in subjection by hirelings
from abroad was certainly a scandalous matter. It
was in reality a worse state of things than Cavour
had exposed at the Paris Congress a few years before.
172 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
Cavour had interceded in vain . with the Vatican to
alter its course toward its disaffected subjects. At
last on September 7, the day Garibaldi entered Naples,
he sent the royal ultimatum to Cardinal Antonelli at
Rome. "After having applied to his majesty the
king, my august sovereign, for his orders, I have the
honor of signifying to your eminence that the king's
troops are charged to prevent, in the name of the
rights of humanity, the pontifical mercenary corps
from repressing by violence the expression of the
sentiments of the people of the Marches and Umbria.
I have, moreover, the honor to invite your excel-
lency, for the reasons above explained, to give imme-
diate orders for the disbanding and dissolving of those
corps, the existence of which is a menace to the peace
of Italy." On the 11th the unfavorable reply of
Antonelli was received, and the same day the Sar-
dinian troops crossed the papal frontier. " Soldiers,"
exclaimed the king, "you enter the Marches and
Umbria to restore civil order in their desolated cities,
and to afford the people the opportunity of expressing
their wishes. You have not to combat powerful armies,
but to free unhappy Italian provinces from foreign
bands of mercenaries. You go not to avenge the in-
juries done to me and to Italy, but to prevent the
bursting forth of popular hatred and vengeance
against misrule."
Every European power except England, which ex-
pressed open satisfaction, protested against this action.
There was an imposing flight of ambassadors from
Turin, and an ominous commotion all along the dip-
lomatic horizon. Cavour had not moved, however,
without a secret understanding with Napoleon. Fran-
cis II. issued his feeble protest from Gaeta, the Pope
GARIBALDI AND CA VOUR, 173
hurled his excommunication at his despoilers, but
with England friendly and France passive Cavour
had nothing to fear. Austria was too much broken
by her recent misfortunes to resist, while Russia and
Prussia had no interest in the matter that would jus-
tify their passing beyond protestations. The Sar-
dinian army advanced rapidly in two columns. Gen-
eral Fanti seized Perugia and Spoleto, whUe Cialdini
on the east of the Apennines utterly destroyed the
main papal army under the French general Lamori-
ciere at Castelfidardo. Lamoriciere with a few fol-
lowers gained Ancona, but finding that town covered
by the guns of the Sardinian fleet, he was compelled
to surrender. " The pontifical mercenary corps " be-
ing a thing of the past, Cavour could turn his whole
attention to Naples. He had obtained from parlia-
ment an enthusiastic permission to receive, if tendered,
the allegiance of the Two Sicilies. The army was
ordered across the Neapolitan frontier, and the king
left for Ancona to take command.
In the mean time on October 1 Garibaldi had in-
flicted another severe defeat to the royal Neapolitan
army on the Volturno. The Sardinian advance was
wholly unimpeded. On the 26th, as the king and his
staff were approaching the little village of Teano,
they descried a group of horsemen moving toward
them. It was Garibaldi and a squadron of his red
shirts. The simple soldier rode forward, uncovered,
and checking his horse beside the king exclaimed in
a voice choking with emotion, " King of Italy." " I
thank you," was the reply, and clasping each other's
hand, the two remained silent for a minute, gazing
into each other's eyes, while their followers stood
apart. Then the air was rent by enthusiastic cheer-
174 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ing \diich was caught up by the splendid Sardinian
regiments as they went swinging by.
On November 7 the king entered Naples, and on
the following day was waited upon by a deputation to
announce the result of the election that Garibaldi
had previously decreed. " Sire," said their spokes-
man, " The Neapolitan people, assembled in Comitia,
by an immense majority have proclaimed you their
king. Nine millions of Italians unite themselves to
the other provinces governed by your majesty with
so much wisdom, and verify your solemn promise that
Italy must belong to Italians."
Then followed an event so sublime as to be without
parallel in these times of selfish ambition. Grari-
baldi bade farewell to his faithful followers, and,
refusing all rewards, passed again to his quiet home
in Caprera. The man who for months had been at-
tracting the attention of the world by his victories,
and who without an army had won a kingdom by the
sword, laid his conquest at the feet of the monarch
whom he was proud to serve.
The people of Umbria and the Marches followed
the lead of Naples in declaring themselves subjects
of Victor Emmanuel. Except for the patrimony of
St. Peter surrounding the city of Rome and the Aus-
trian province of Venetia, Italy was united under the
tricolor. While Garibaldi returned to his humble
Kfe, Cavour went to Turin to resume his labors. For
years he had been staggering under the vast weight
of public affairs ; and now, while the darling object
of his life seemed almost accomplished, he felt the
burden crushing him down. All these petty states
must be amalgamated into one strong nation. There
were several budgets to be condensed into one, a com-
GARIBALDI AND CAVOUR. 176
plete reorganization of the army to be effected, brig-
andage to be broken up, railways to be opened, ruined
cities to be restored, education to be provided. Of all
the states the Two Sicilies was in the most deplorable
condition with the ignorant superstitions of its long-
persecuted people. "Northern Italy is made," ex-
claimed Cavour ; " there are no longer Lombards,
Piedmontese, Tuscans, or Eomagnols ; we are all Ital-
ians, but there are still Neapolitans." On the 18th of
February, 1861, the fii'st national parliament repre-
senting the north and south met at Turin. Five days
before, the last stronghold of Francis II. had capit-
ulated, and the enthusiasm ran high. The kingdom
of Italy was proclaimed, and the king confirmed as
" Victor Emmanuel II., by the grace of God and the
will of the nation King of Italy."
There was no mistaking the temper of the parlia-
ment in regard to Rome and Venice. Garibaldi was
there with his longing for Rome and his distrust of
Cavour unabated. Indeed, his fierce attacks upon
the man who had bartered away Nice embittered the
early days of the session. Cavour bore patiently the
criticism of the fiery patriot. "I know," he said
sadly, " that between me and the honorable General
Garibaldi there exists a fact which divides us two like
an abyss. I believed that I fulfilled a painful duty
— the most painful that I ever accomplished in my
life — in counseling the king, and proposing to par-
liament, to approve the cession of Nice and Savoy to
France. By the grief that I then experienced I can
understand that which the honorable General Gari-
baldi must have felt ; and if he cannot forgive me
this act, I will not bear him any grudge for it."
That a misunderstanding should exist between Ca-
176 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
vour and Graribaldi, both working for a common end,
is by no means remarkable. One swept all Europe
with his searching eye, and guided his policy with ref-
erence to his surroundings ; the other defied Europe,
and never looked beyond the point of his sword blade.
For all this the enthusiastic recluse of Caprera was
no more determined that Srome should be the Italian
capital than was the prime minister at Turin. While
he was being assailed for lukewarmness, Cavour was
exhausting every resource to induce Napoleon to with-
draw his troops and allow a voluntary Italian solu-
tion of the Sroman question. The work was almost
done. The scheme that a few years before would
have provoked a smile in any diplomatic circle in Eu-
rope had been perfected almost to the capstone. But
the man who had conceived the plan and carried it
through its darkest days was not destined to witness
its final consummation. Cavour was giving way. On
May 29 he was stricken down with a violent illness.
On the evening of June 5, when all hope was aban-
doned, the king visited his bedside. Upon hearing
of the royal presence, Cavour rallied from the stupor
in which he lay. " Ah, Maesti," he said with a smile,
and whispered a few words of farewell. The next
day the confessor was by his side. The face of the
dying statesman lightened as he seized his hand, ex-
claiming, " Frate I Frate ! A free church in a free
state ! " So with the battle-cry of his great adminis-
tration upon his lips, Cavour passed away.
To Mazzini belongs the credit of keeping alive the
spirit of patriotism ; Graribaldi is entitled to the ad-
miration of the world as the pure patriot who fired
men's souls ; but Cavour was greater than either, and
Mazzini and Garibaldi were but humble instruments
QARtBALDI AND CAVOUR, 177
in his magnificent plan of Italian regeneration. Mor-
alists may quibble over his course in drenching Lom-
bardy with French blood ; churchmen will denoimce
his treatment of the pontifical government at Rome ;
but the verdict of posterity will be one of admira-
tion for the man who, true to his great doctrines of
national unity and the freedom of church and state,
worked ceaselessly, unselfishly, regardless of enmity
abroad and criticism at home ; who healed schisms
among his people, and converted foreigners into
allies; who made anarchy and insubordination to
serve his ends, until at last, when he laid the burden
down, he bequeathed as a legacy to his countrymen
a nation fair and strong.
The universal sorrow in Italy that succeeded the
death of Cavour was mingled with misgiving and
fear, but for all that the new nation agreed with Mas-
simo d' Azeglio, as he wrote through his tears, " If
God will, He can save Italy even without Cavour."
CHAPTER XIV.
GEBMANT IN 1850. — THE ADVENT OF BISMABCK.
ThB GSBICAK CONFEDBBATIOK AND THE FbANKFOBT DiET. -~'
Old Undebstakdings and Modern Misunderstandings be-
tween Austria and Prussia. — Austria gains the Ascend-
ency IN Germany. — The OiiMttTZ Incident. — The Crimean
War. — Prince Wilmam becomes Regent of Pbussia. —
Change in the Prussian Policy. — The Kaiser annoyed. —
The Regent becomes William I. op Pbussia. — His Early
Career. — His Struggle with the House of Deputies on
the Army Bill. — He calls Bismarck to the Presidency
OF THE Ministry. — Bismarck's Political Creed. — His Views
on the Revolution of 1848 and the Schleswig-Holstein
Question. — His Early Opposition to German Unity. —
His Admiration of Austria. — Changes wrought in his
Views at Frankfort. — His Contempt for the Diet. —
He distrusts Austria. — Warns his Government against
Austria. — His Course at St. Petersburg and Paris. —
Foresees War with Austria, and pushes Army Reform.
The Kaiser, Francis Joseph, returned to Schbn-
brunn from the seat of war to nurse his wrath against
Prussia and the German states. In order to com-
prehend the relations existing between Prussia and
Austria at this time, it is necessary to glance at the
condition of Germany in 1850 and review the events
that characterized the ten years succeeding.
The German confederation was the creation of the
Vienna Congress of 1815. It comprised thirty-five
sovereign states besides the four free cities of Frank-
fort, Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen. The pleni-
potentiaries of these various governments met at
GERMANY IN 1850. 179
Frankfort and formed the national Diet or Bund, of
which Austria held the permanent presidency. The
principal prerogatives of this famous body, renowned
abroad for its solemnity and extreme deliberation,
were those of declaring war and settling disputes
between the states. One of its peculiar features was
the system of voting. On ordinary questions seven-
teen votes were cast, one each for the eleven larger
states, while the others, holding each a fractional vote,
made up the remaining six. More weighty questions
of constitutional importance were settled by the
" Plenum " or " full Diet." In this case each state
cast at least one vote, while the six large states had
six votes, the next five, four votes, and the next three,
two votes each. Under this system it will be seen
that Austria and Prussia with three quarters of the
population represented always less than one sixth of
the voting strength in the Diet. This in itself was
an anomaly that might have proved serious, had
Austria and Prussia united ever been opposed by the
voting majority. The minor states, however, never
sacrificed their prudence sufficiently to tempt the
wrath of their mighty patrons.
From the first there had been an understanding
between the courts of Vienna and Berlin that Prus-
sia should supervise the domestic affairs of the con-
federation on the condition of her supporting Austria
on European questions. The temporary overthrow
of the Diet in 1849 was the means of shattering this
understanding and establishing a spirit of distrust
between the great German powers. The friendly
course pursued by Frederick William toward the
national assembly, and the evident preference of the
German liberals for Prussia, as opposed to Austria,
180 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
stirred the anger of the Kaiser and his ministry. To
be sure the Prussian king refused the national crown,
but in a manner so half-hearted as to indicate that
were the experiment repeated under more auspicious
circumstances, he would not be found so coy. In-
deed, hardly was his refusal pronounced before he
commenced to ply the courts of Saxony and Hanover
for their support in measures that had imperial ends
in view. Early in 1850 a parliament convened at
Erfurt at his instigation to discuss national reorgan-
ization. By that time Austria had arranged her tur-
bulent realms, and was prepared to deal with German
affairs. Prince Metternich was in retirement, but
the Kaiser had a bold adviser in Schwarzenberg, and
one who was little inclined to follow his predecessor
in his policy of non-interference in confederate affairs.
In fact, the extraordinary position occupied by Prus-
sia at this time afforded an excuse for his breaking
loose from old traditions. He had no sympathy with
the national assembly at Frankfort, and he was de-
termined to frustrate Frederick William's scheme at
Erfurt. "Prussia must first be abased so that she
may afterwards be crushed," were his words at this
time. He turned to the southern German states with
proposals to restore the old federal diet, and not only
succeeded there, but also enticed Saxony and Han-
over to his cause. As a result, the Erfurt parliament
f eU to pieces. Then followed an event which effectu-
ally estranged the two great powers of Germany, and
threw the controlling influence into the hands of Aus-
tria. In the electorate of Hesse the people had
revolted against the oppressions of minister Hassen-
pflug, whose cause was immediately espoused by
Schwarzenberg. The Hessians appealed to Prussia
GERMANY IN 1850, 181
for protection, and Frederick William asked the Cham'
bers for an extraordinary credit to put the army on a
war footing. Austria massed troops in Bohemia, and
in company with Bavaria invaded Hesse. The Prus-
sians upon this entered Cassel, and shots were even
exchanged between the outposts. The great struggle
for German supremacy seemed at hand. But the
war cloud dissolved as suddenly as it had arisen.
While Europe awaited with breathless intensity the
clash of arms, the Berlin cabinet was frantically seek-
ing some means of escape from the warlike attitude it
had so hastily adopted. Enervated by a long peace,
and poorly organized, the Prussian army was in no
condition to take the field. " We cannot fight at all,
it is impossible for us to prevent the Austrians from
occupying Berlin ; " such was the confession of the
minister of war. Count Manteuffel hastened to meet
Schwarzenberg at Olmiitz, and there acceded to all
Austria's demands. Hassenpflug was restored, and
so was the federal Diet. War was averted, but Prus-
sian prestige had ebbed low. By her interference in
Schleswig-Holstein and the espousal of the ministerial
cause in Hesse, Austria indicated unmistakably the
line of conduct she intended to pursue henceforth in
German affairs. The Olmiitz incident was accepted
as a proof of her ability to execute her will. Schwar-
zenberg openly pronounced against any scheme of '
national unity that shoidd render the House of Haps-
burg subordinate in Germany. In 1851 Austria re-
turned to the presidency of the restored Diet amid
the servile bowing and scraping of the petty princes.
To all intents and purposes at this time Austria con-
trolled Germany. She assumed there as in Italy the
championship of despotism, the rulers in Modena and
182 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Naples being no more secure of her support than the
German princes. In the Diet she used her influence
over the smaller states systematically to oppose and
outvote Prussia. Upon nearly every question intro-
duced the Prussian envoy found himself opposed by
an overwhelming and compact opposition. The death
of Schwarzenberg in 1852 produced no change in
this policy, Count Buol his successor maintaining his
methods with relentless energy. In Austria itself the
constitution was abolished in January, 1852, the au-
thority of the Catholic priesthood reestablished, and
Hungary throttled by an irritated military. In 1854
the attention of the Vienna cabinet was at length
diverted from the prosecution of federal business by
the threatening condition of affairs in the east. Prus-
sia was thoroughly under the influence of St. Peters-
burg, while Austria from her geographical position
was led into violent hostility to the schemes of the
Czar. The majority of the small states were strongly
Kussian in their sympathies ; and had Prussia been
equal to the occasion, she might at this time have
found a way out of the galling humiliation to which
she had been subjected for three years back. But
the memory of Olmiitz was still fresh in Germany,
and Austria's prestige so firm that she not only held
the petty courts in check, but induced the government
of Berlin to sign the treaty in which Austria and
Prussia guaranteed each other their respective terri-
tories against invasion.
This event, however, marks perhaps the flood tide
of Austria's influence in Germany. Under a milder
regime than was enjoyed in the empire, Prussia had
made rapid strides in wealth and national develop-
ment. Austria, threatened from within by revolu-
GERMANY IN 1850. 188
tion and menaced from without by great military
states, regarded with alarm the growing tendency in
Prussia toward independence and disregard of the
will of the majority in the Diet. After Frederick
William fell ill in 1857, and the regency was under-
taken by his brother William, the Austrian cabinet
was brought to a knowledge that Prussia was no
longer the creature of Vienna.
Prince Schwarzenberg had violated the old under-
standing between the governments by his policy of
German interference, so auspiciously inaugurated at
Olmiitz. Prussia returned the compliment by prov-
ing to Schwarzenberg's successor that he could no
longer reckon confidently upon the support of Berlin.
The war in Italy offered Prussia a rare opportunity
to emphasize her position. At first the cause of
Piedmont was intensely popular among the German
masses, but the interference of France turned the tide
of sympathy to Austria. The old hatred of the Napo-
leonic dynasty was revived, and the Kaiser became
the champion of Germany against French imperial-
ism. The federal army was in a state of readiness
under the command of the prince regent of Prussia,
and after the first Austrian defeats there was a strong
party at Berlin which advocated armed intervention
in her behalf. The prince regent, however, remained
inactive, and refused to move unless his claim to the
command of the entire German army should be
acknowledged by Austria. The Kaiser had no idea
of thus tacitly admitting the supremacy of his rival
in Germany. Prussia's assistance was anything but
desirable except in the capacity of a vassal state.
He patched up his peace with Napoleon, and hastened
to cool his wrath in the shades of Schonbnmn. From
184 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
there he addressed his faithful subjects, telling them
how he had been " bitterly deceived " in his reliance
upon the confederation, and how his natural and
"most ancient allies" had "obstinately refused to
recognize the great importance of the grand question
of the day." The defeats of Magenta and Solferino
and the independent attitude of Prussia went far to
eradicate the influence of Olmiitz and restore the
two great German powers to something like an equal
footing in the Diet.
On the 2d of January, 1861, Frederick WiUiam of
Prussia died, and the regent succeeded to the throne
with the title of WiUiam I. Unlike his brother, the
new king had devoted himself with enthusiasm to the
career of arms. His memory went back to Bliicher's
campaigns, and he had entered Paris with the aveng-
ing army of that bluff old warrior. He held the
command-in-chief of the Prussian army at the time of
his assimiption of the regency, and realized with pain
and mortification its degeneration since he as a boy
had won the Iron Cross in its ranks. As regent he
had been engaged in one perpetual quarrel with the
Prussian Diet for its reorganization. If this body
represented truly the spirit of the masses, the love of
peace had developed marvelously since the days of the
great Frederick. The deputies declaimed against the
expense of a military reorganization and ridiculed
the idea of its necessity. The ministry of Prince Ho-
henzollem fell on this issue, and Hohenlohe formed
another which continued the contest. The king
dissolved one house, but the people returned another
even more strongly opposed to his military reforms.
Enraged by the persistent opposition he encountered,
he rashly appealed to his "divine right," thereby
GERMANY IN 1850. 185
engendering even more bitter hostility from the lib-
eral factions. lie was determined to force the meas-
ures which he regarded as indispensable to Prussia's
welfare " through or over " the Diet. The ministry,
it was clear, was not strong enough for the emer-
gency. The royal eye swept the country for "an
iron man " who valued the " divine right " above the
constitution. When it was known in September,
1862, that Herr von Bismarck had been recalled from
Paris to the presidency of the ministry, the Diet pre-
pared itself for a stern struggle.
Bismarck first came publicly to notice as deputy in
the Prussian Diet at Berlin in 1847. Throughout
that stormy period when liberalism was rampant, he
mingled fearlessly in the parliamentary melee as a
champion of the crown. He listened complacently
to the startling announcement of Frederick William,
" No power on earth shall ever succeed in moving me
to transform the natural relation between sovereign
and people into a conventional constitutional one ;
and never will I consent that a written document
should be allowed to intrude between our Lord God
in Heaven and this country, and to take the place of
the ancient faith." Such words as these, according
to Bismarck's ideas, were fitting for a king to utter.
" The Prussian crown," he stated in reply to the ex-
treme progressive party in the Diet, " must not allow
itself to be thrust into the powerless position of the
English crown, which seems more like a graceful and
ornamental cupola of the state edifice, than its central
pillar of support, as I look upon ours to be."
As for the revolutionists of 1848, Bismarck held
them in the most supreme contempt. In September,
1849, he expressed liimseK as follows : " I am of opin-
186 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ion that the motive principles of the year 1848 were
far more of a social than a national kind ; the national
movement would have been confined to a small circle
of more prominent men, if the ground under our feet
had not been shaken by the introduction of a social
element into the movement, in consequence of which
the lust of the indigent for others' goods, the envy of
the less wealthy for the rich, was stirred up by false
show. These passions gained ground all the more
easily, the more the moral force of resistance in men's
hearts was annihilated by a latitudinarianism which
had long been nourished from above."
In regard to the Schleswig-Holstein question, Bis-
marck also expressed very decided ideas entirely at
variance with those entertained by the liberal party.
He expressed his regret in the Chambers " that the
royal Prussian troops have been employed to uphold
the revolution in Schleswig against its legitimate
sovereign the king of Denmark," and later charac-
terized this military interference as " an eminently
iniquitous, frivolous, disastrous, and revolutionary en-
terprise."
Throughout its short career Bismarck was the un-
compromising foe of the national assembly at Frank-
fort. Referring to the imperial honor which it ten-
dered to Frederick William, he sarcastically observed
at Erfurt in 1849, "The Frankfort crown may be
very brilliant, but the gold which would give truth to
its brilliancy could only be gained by melting down
the Prussian crown, and I have no confidence that it
could be successfully recast in the mould of that con-
stitution." At this time he was a firm unbeliever in
any scheme of German unity. He openly accused
those of his colleagues who advocated it of a lack of
GERMANY IN 1850. 187
patriotism. " The scheme for a union annihilates the
integrity of the Prussian kingdom," were his words
in 1849. He denied the existence of any such desire
in the Prussian people, and appealed to the army in
proof of his words. " The army," he said, " cherishes
no tricolored enthusiasm. It does not feel the want
of a national regeneration any more than the rest of
the Prussian people. It is content to be called Prus-
sian. Its hosts follow the black and white banner,
not the tricolor ; imder the black and white banner
they gladly die for their country. ... I never yet
heard a Prussian soldier sing ' Was ist des Deutschen
Vaterland ? ' The people from whom this army is
drawn, and who are most truly represented by the
army, feel no desire to see their Prussian kingdom
dissolved in the rotten fermentation of South German
insubordination. Prussians we are, and Prussians we
will remain."
Throughout his three years of service as deputy at
Berlin and at Erfurt Bismarck played consistently
the role of an uncompromising royalist. The position
he adopted during these years in regard to German
unity and the question of Schleswig-Holstein is ren-
dered conspicuous in the light of his later policy.
But the most remarkable feature of Bismarck's
belief at this time, the one that separated him sharply
from the mass of his countrymen, was his admiration
for Austria. He protested against the scheme sug-
gested at Frankfort for her exclusion from the con-
federation on the ground of her not being a German
power. " People avoid calling Austria a German
power," he said sarcastically, " because she has the
good f oi*tune to extend her dominion over other na-
tionalities. As far as I am concerned, I would rather
188 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
not admit that because the Slaves and Buthenians
happen to be subject to Austria, they therefore more
especially represent that state, leaving the German
element to play the second part. On the contrary,
I look up to Austria as the representative of an
ancient Grerman power.**
His admiration of the southern empire survived
nnabated even the ignominy of Olmiitz, and in the
Prussian chamber in December, 1860, we actually
find him justifying the course of the Manteuffel min-
istry on that occasion, and making the extraordinary
assertion that " Prussia ought to submit itself to Aus-
tria in order to combat in union with her a men-
acing democracy."
In 1851 the old Diet reassembled at Frankfort.
Frederick William had been reduced to a conciliatory
mood, and was willing to placate Austria and con-
vince her that his theory of a federal German state
under Prussian leadership had been finally aban-
doned. In this case, who so fit to represent Prussia
at Frankfort as the deputy who defended Austria at
Berlin and condoned her eourse at Olmiitz ?
Bismarck arrived at Frankfort in April, 1851, the
regularly accredited envoy of the Prussian govern-
ment to the Diet. He entered upon his duties with
the same brusque energy that had characterized him
at Berlin, and was not long in making his reputation
a national one. Few were better known by sight to
the dwellers in the federal capital than the Prussian
«nvoy, his erect figure arrayed in a tight-fitting uni-
form of lieutenant of Landwehr. The life at Prank-
fort he found arduous and often irksome. The
monotony of parliamentary strife was varied only by
diplomatic journeys to Berlin or Vienna. For the
GERMANY IN 1850. 189
Diet he conceived the most supreme contempt. " I
already know perfectly well what we shall have ac-
complished in one, two, or five years," he wrote during
his early days in Frankfort, " and am ready to accom-
plish it in twenty-four hours if the others would only
be sensible and straightforward for a whole day. . . .
I am making tearing progress in the art of saying
nothing in a great many words ; I fill several pages
with reports as neat and well roimded as leading
articles, but if after reading them ManteufPel imder-
stands one word, his intelligence is greater than mine.
Each one behaves as if he believed that the other
were crammed full of ideas and plans, if he would
only tell them ; and meanwhile not one of us is an
atom the wiser as to what will become of Germany."
As for his Austrian sympathies, a few months of
the Diet thoroughly eradicated them. A short time
after his arrival we find him on the parade at Frank-
fort with a host of official personages, admiring the
evolutions of a body of the Kaiser's chosen troops.
An Austrian officer approaches him and glancing at
his broad chest, almost unadorned by medals, deri-
sively inquires as to where he won his orders. The
retort was ready. " All of them before the enemy
here in Frankfort." And yet this was the man who
had made enemies among his own countrymen by his
veneration for the House of Hapsburg.
At the opening of 1853 Bismarck was defiantly
opposed to the Austro-German alliance in Frankfort.
Even before the expiration of the year 1851 he wrote
his misgivings as follows to Berlin: "The attitude
of the Vienna cabinet since Austria, having for the
moment arranged her domestic affairs, has been once
more enabled to meddle with German politics, shows
190 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
that on the whole Prince Schwarzenberg is not satis-
fied to reoccupy the position accorded to the empire
by the federal constitution up to 1848, but desires
to utilize the revolution (that all but ruined Austria)
as a basis for the realization of far-seeing plans. . . .
In any case of divergence between Austria and Prus-
sia, as matters now stand, the majority of the federal
assembly is insured to Austria."
In 1866 Bismarck saw clearer, and on April 26
wrote as follows to Manteuffel at Berlin, svunming
up the state of affairs in Germany. " I only desire
to express my conviction that ere long we shall have
to fight Austria for our very existence ; it is not in
our power to avert that eventuality, for the course of
events in Germany can lead to no other result."
In 1859 he was recalled from Frankfort for the
St. Petersburg mission. He took the opportunity to
forward to Baron von Schleinitz, the foreign min-
ister, a resume of his experiences at the Diet and
the conclusions he drew from them. In this docu-
ment he confirms his views of 1856 by declaring:
"I see in our federal alliance that Prussia has an
infirmity which sooner or later we shall have to heal
ferro et igne^ unless we begin in good time to apply a
remedy to it." He also mentioned in this connection
certain contingencies in which he might be glad to
see " the word German " exchanged " for Prussian "
on the royal standard, proving that his life at Frank-
fort had also wrought a change in his hostility to the
unification of Germany.
Bismarck went to St. Petersburg, but his mind was
far from relinquishing the thoughts that had absorbed
it at the Diet. He became fretful and alarmed after
the opening of the Italian campaign lest Prussia
GERMANY IN 1850. 191
should use the federal army to support Austria.
" Our policy is slipping more and more into the wake
of Austria," he wrote in a private letter at this time,
"and once we have fired a shot across the Rhine
there will be an end of the Italo-Austrian war, and
in its place a Franco-Prussian war will step on to the
stage. After we have taken the burden off Austria's
shoulders she will stand by us or not, as it suits her
own interests." But his fears proved groundless, and
doubtless he entered warmly into the general satisfac-
tion that pervaded official circles in St. Petersburg
over Austria's reverses. Furthermore, he was a warm
personal friend of Prince Gortschakoff, the Russian
chancellor, and perhaps in his presence he touched
upon many of the points of his future policy then
dimly defined. At all events, from that time until
he had reached his final goal, Bismarck had a faith-
ful friend and invaluable ally in the Russian chan-
cellor.
Bismarck returned to Prussia in 1861, and had an
interview with the king. In the spring of 1862 he
was definitely transferred from St. Petersburg and
sent as ambassador to Paris. His stay there was
abruptly terminated after a few months by his call to
the head of the ministry at Berlin. His brief sojourn
on the Seine, however, he used to good advantage.
The French emperor at this time was a firm believer
in the " Piedmontese mission " of Prussia in Ger-
many, and there can be no question that Bismarck
gained some encouragement from his conferences at
the Tuileries.
Upon his return to Berlin in the autumn, he was
somewhat changed from the bluff, outspoken deputy
of 1849. While still " the king's man," he was will-
192 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ing to concede something to gain the good will of the
liberals. He had a policy, however, and he woidd
allow nothing to thwart it. It included among its
main features the humiliation of Austria and the
reconstruction of Germany under the leadership of
Prussia. So far as external influences were con-
cerned, he already felt secure in the neutrality of his
friends on the Neva, while as for Napoleon he cordd
always be tempted by Luxemburg or Belgium. " The
policy of France is one of tips," was Bismarck's say-
ing.i
The one indispensable adjimct to the successful
prosecution of his plans was a Prussian army of per-
fect discipline and invincible strength. This mighty
weapon once forged and thoroughly whetted, — then
''ferro et igner and an end of Hapsburg domination
in Germany.
^ " La France fait une politiqne de ponrboiie.*'
CHAPTER XV.
THE RISE OP PRUSSIA.
Thb Prussian Abmy Reorganization and its Reorganizers.
— Bismarck forges the Measure over the Lower Houss.
— Commencement of the Prusso-Austrian Diplomatic Cam-
paign. — Prussia misunderstood at Vienna. — Bismarck
EXPLAINS HER POSITION. — AlARM OP THB AUSTRIAN STATES-
MEN. — Bismarck's Polish Policy and its Result. — The
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION REVIVED. — StATE OF THB
Quarrel. — The Confederation interferes in Behalf of
THE Duchies. — Bismarck invites Austria to Independent
Action. — The Two Powers lay their Ultimatum upon
Denmark. — Firmness of the Danish Government and the
Reason for it. — The Allied Armies enter Schleswig. —
Evacuation of the Dannewerk by the Danes. — Austrian
Victory at Oeversee. — The Danish Position at Fredericia
AND DtJppEL. — Bombardment of the Duppel Lines. — De-
struction OF THE Danish Army at DitppEL. — Evacuation of
Fredericia. — The London Conference. — Renewed Fight-
ing. — The Peace of Vienna.
Bismarck returned to Berlin to face a house of
deputies whose majority judged him in the light of
his performances in 1848-49. The task of army-
reform had already been confided to two generals,
Moltke and Soon, neither of whom at that time pos-
sessed scarcely more than a local reputation. The
former had witnessed but one campaign, that between
the Turks and Egyptians in Syria, while as for Eoon
he had been even less favored, and was known prin-
cipally through his writings on military geography.
Nevertheless they possessed the confidence of the gov-
194 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
emment, and according to their own devices and ideas
undertook the labor of constructing that mighty en-
gine which William I. had declared to be indispensable
to the welfare of his people.
It is needless to say that Bismarck's appearance in
the Diet was the signal for a resumption of bitter
parliamentary strife, or to trace minutely the contest
that was waged through four long years. It was the
same state of things that had existed since the old
king's death, save that Bismarck was a far different
foe for the deputies to deal with than HohenzoUern
or his successor had ever been. Indeed, the conflict
resolved itself, as Bismarck himself expressed it,
into " a struggle between the House of HohenzoUern
and the House of Deputies for the dominion of Prus-
sia."
Both parties accused each other of unconstitution-
ality. The deputies combated the crown, taking their
stand on the letter of the constitution. Bismarck, on
the other hand, based his action on what the constitu-
tion admitted or implied. He was continually upon
his feet, asserting, as of old, the prerogatives of the
crown, and fiercely declaiming to the opposition that
it could not be shaken by their liberum veto. Fi-
nally, when the house refused to vote the necessary
supplies, Bismarck unhesitatingly adopted the extreme
remedy and dissolved it. New elections brought no
better results. Month after month the noisy strife
went on with threats of impeachment and dissolving
diets, but at no time was there any sign of flagging
in the activity at the war office. The barrack yards
resounded with busy life, as the raw peasantry passed
through the grinding-mill that was to discharge them
soldiers with a perfect knowledge of the deadly
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 195
needle-gun. The army question was the one on which
the crown and the deputies split, and throughout the
contest it must be admitted that the crown had its
way.
After all, the strife in the deputies was only inter-
esting to Bismarck as it affected through the army
his foreign policy. Within a few weeks after his as-
sumption of office he opened his campaign against
Austria. He squarely inaugurated his policy, when
in January, 1863, he informed Count Karolyi, the
Austrian ambassador at Berlin, that he was convinced
that Prussia's " relations with Austria must unavoid-
ably become better or worse." Karolyi refused to
take so solemn a view of the state of affairs, and even
ventured the belief " that both great powers would
revert to their old alliance, whatever might occur,
should Austria find herseM engaged in a perilous
war." This was placing Prussia in exactly the posi-
tion that Bismarck had determined she should no
longer occupy. He lost no time in assuring the Aus-
trian ambassador that his view of the case was "a
dangerous error, which, it might be, would only be
cleared up at a critical moment and in a manner
fraught with calamity to both cabinets." He pointed
out that Austria had two courses open to her, either
of persisting in her anti-Prussian policy with the sup-
port of the smaller states, or of seeking an alliance
with Prussia.
The Vienna statesmen, however, could not as yet
believe that Prussia had really passed beyond the
possibility of another Olmiitz. They failed to make
due allowance for the difference in character between
the late king of Prussia and William I., and more-
over they were guilty with the world at large of un-
196 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
derrating and misunderstanding the first minister at
Berlin. The Austrian cabinet, too, had carried its
policy too far to admit of any compromise with
its principal victim. At all events, Karolyi declared
that " the imperial house could not possibly renounce
its traditional influence upon the German govern-
ments." The position of affairs when Bismarck
turned to reply was more threatening than at any
time since the days preceding Olmiitz. It was noth-
ing different, to be sure, from what he had anticipated
in the pursuance of his policy, and Moltke and Boon
reported their portion of the contract as progressing
favorably. With every word suggesting conscious
power, Bismarck sarcastically observed "that the
alleged traditions of the Austrian imperial house
date only as far back as the Schwarzenberg epoch,"
and concluded by emphasizing the fact that Austria,
in her treatment of Prussia, " seemed to be prompted
by the assumption that Prussia was more exposed to
foreign attacks than any other state, and must conse-
quently put up with inconsiderate behavior from those
states to which she had to look for support. It would
therefore be the aim of the Prussian government,
which had at heart the interest of its royal house
and its country, to take steps to point out the error
in this assiunption, if its words and wishes are not
regarded."
As the year 1863 drew to a close, the relations ex-
isting between the two great German powers had be-
come very far removed from those of cordiality.
Austria was irritated and alarmed at the altered pol-
icy of her northern neighbor, and longed for the old
days of Schwarzenberg and Manteuffel. Bismarck
felt that he had carried things so far that it was time
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 197
to test the edge of the weapon that Moltke and Boon
had been preparing. As for his great European
neighbors, his relations with them had been steadily
improving. The revolution in Poland during the
early weeks of the year had proved a lucky dispensa-
tion in his favor. His first act was to conclude a
military convention with Russia in the face of the
openly avowed Polish sympathies of the deputies.
The plan seemed attended with scarcely any danger.
If the insurgents were crushed, Prussia merely held
her frontiers against the refugees; if the Russian
troops were worsted, then Prussia entered Poland,
subdued the insurrection, and later exacted her price.
The result demonstrated the ability of Russia to deal
with her own rebellions, but the gratitude of Prince
Gortschakoff toward the cabinet of Berlin was fervid
in its warmth. This was not all that Bismarck gained.
Austria earned the redoubled hatred of Russia by her
action in throwing open Galicia as a Polish recruiting
groimd and depot of supplies, while the Emperor of
the French committed the fatal error of protesting
against the Russian course in Poland. Doubtless,
too, he would have gone farther, could he have per-
suaded England to accompany him. The results of
the Polish outbreak, then, were to knit Prussia and
Russia closely together, to deepen Russia's hatred for
Austria, and to overturn the friendly feelings that had
existed between Paris and St. Petersburg and Paris
and London.
Meanwhile, in the north Frederick VII. of Den-
mark was busily smoothing Bismarck's path. The
Danish tendency for years had been toward the amal-
gamation of Schleswig with its own governmental
system, and Frederick YII. was led to promulgate a
198 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
new constitution incorporating Schleswig in the mon-
arcliy. The Schleswig-Holstein question was thus
again forced into prominence. By far the greater
part of the population of these duchies and of Lauen-
burg as well, were German by race and sympathy,
and had never yielded themselves cheerfully to the
authority of Denmark. Schleswig formeji practi-
cally an integral part of the Danish kingdom, while
the others were merely governed by the king as duke
of Holstein and Lauenburg, in which capacity he was
a member of the German confederation. It had
been plain for years that nothing would satisfy the
people of the duchies but complete independence of
Denmark and a closer alliance with the German
states. The hope had been entertained that upon the
extinction of the old royal line of Denmark, an event
apparently of the near future, a loophole would be
opened for the accomplishment of this end. An open
letter of Christian VIII. in 1846, combating this idea,
engendered serious discontent, which was increased
upon his death a few months later, when a new consti-
tution was promrdgated by his successor. The revolt
of 1848 followed. Upon the disarming of the insur-
gents by Austria, the Schleswig-Holstein question was
left to a conference of the powers that convened in
Liondon in 1852. The Danish claims were sustained,
and it was provided in case of the failure of the an-
cient line of Denmark, that the duchies should fall to
Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-
Glucksburg. The other aspirant for the honor was
Duke Christian of the Augustenburg line, but he was
finally induced to forego his claim for -a pecuniary
consideration which was paid by Denmark, nor did this
act call forth any public protest from his sons. The
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 199
congress came to an end, and the Schleswig-Holstein
question seemed settled. The duchies relapsed into
sullen silence, but bided their time.
The proclamation of Frederick VII. again aroused
them from their lethargy. Their outcry found ready
acknowledgment from the Frankfort Diet, but inas-
much as Schleswig was not included in the German
confederation, no decisive steps could be taken in
behalf of that duchy. Federal execution, however,
was immediately decreed in behalf of Holstein, Han-
overian and Saxon troops entering the territory and
pushing their outposts to within rifle-shot of the Danes
on the Eider. To complicate matters still more,
Prince Frederick of Augustenburg denoimced his
father's concession, and came forward to assert his
claim to the dukedom of both Schleswig and Holstein.
Then on November 15 Frederick VII. died, and ac-
cording to the stipulations of the London treaty the
prince of Glucksburg succeeded as Christian IX.,
king of Denmark and duke of Schleswig and Hol-
stein. He was immediately forced by the popular
will to ratify the new constitution for Denmark and
Schleswig.
The long-mooted question of the duchies had thus
assumed a tangled complexity without parallel in its
history. Danish and German sentries glowered at
each other across the ice-bound channel of the Eider.
The prince of Augustenburg was at Kiel receiving
the homage of his would-be subjects, and bending his
gaze toward Frankfort for an acknowledgment of his
right. At Copenhagen the determination was fixed
to recover Holstein from the German grip ; at Kiel
the hope was to wrest Schleswig from Denmark. In
both Copenhagen and Kiel the Frankfort government
200 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
was looked to with confidence, and the two great Ger-
man powers regarded with distrust. At Kiel they
argued that no good could come from an unprincipled
absolutist like Bismarck Schonhausen ; at Copenhagen
they believed that he might engender any amount of
evil.
In the mean time Bismarck was busily at work at
Berlin. Prussian aggrandizement being his aim, he
thought he detected among the sleet clouds of the
northern peninsula a chance for his first decisive
move. At this time he had determined that the
duchies so long in dispute must become the property
of his royal master. Had Christian IX. withstood
the pressure at Copenhagen, Bismarck might have
found difficulty in so early carrying out his designs.
Inasmuch as Prussia was a party to the London con-
ference, he could hardly have raised a doubt as to the
claim of Christian IX. to the dukedom over Schles-
wig and Holstein. But the treaty concluded at that
conference also stipulated that the duchies should
always remain distinct from the Danish monarchy,
and the act of Christian IX. in ratifying the incor-
poration of Schleswig formed Bismarck's opportunity.
A quarrel with the little northern power, with terri-
torial compensation at its close, was by no means dis-
tasteful to him. It would besides form a rare chance
to test the new army. Russia and France being
" fixed," he cared nothing for England. Austria was
his only fear, and to guarantee Prussia against her
enmity he conceived the extraordinary idea of drag-
ging her into the contest with him. He argued that
Austria's presence in Denmark was preferable to
leaving her to mass her strength in the Prussian rear.
She would also be in a position to share the oppro*
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 201
brium which a Prussian invasion of Denmark would
be sure to arouse in Europe. Inasmuch, too, as the
Diet was opposed to any military interference in be-
half of Schleswig, if Austria could be lured into
independent action with Prussia it would abnost of
necessity bring about a rupture between her and the
smaller states.
The Vienna cabinet feU into the Prussian trap.
They dreaded a Prussian annexation of the duchies,
and had a dim notion that by following Prussia into
Denmark they would be able to prevent this eviL
Moreover, a chance might be afforded to restore some-
thing of the lustre which the imperial eagles had lost
at Magenta and Solferino.
The state of affairs in South Jutland thus brought
Austria and Prussia together. The two powers which
seemed on the point of engaging in a death grapple
clasped hands, and turned their swords against Den-
mark early in 1864.
Of course Bismarck met nothing but hostility in
the deputies, regarding his alliance with Austria.
This fact failed to alter his course a jot, and by
December his accord with the Vienna cabinet had be-
come so well established, that both powers made a
formal demand upon the Diet to insist upon the with-
drawal of the new Danish constitution. The Diet
refusing to comply, the powers on January 16 laid
the demand upon Denmark as their ultimatum. The
Copenhagen government declined to accede, and the
allied troops immediately entered Holstein, the Prus-
sians under Marshal Wrangel and Prince Frederick
Charles, the Austrians under General Gablenz.
The poKcy adopted at Copenhagen in withstanding
the demands of the German powers was dictated by
202 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
other considerations than the undoubted valor of the
little Danish army. It was upon outside help that Den-
mark depended, upon armed assistance from Kussia or
England. To the former, from her friendly course in
1848-49, the Danes felt they could appeal with confi-
dence. But Alexander II. improved this opportunity
to display his gratitude to Prussia for her course in the
Polish troubles, and Prince Gortschakoflf was enthu-
siastically Prussian in his conferences with the Eng-
lish ambassador at St. Petersburg. The Danes natu-
rally felt that the great northern power was crtfelly
unsympathetic, but they could not claim that she
had betrayed them. The same cannot be said of
England. To her Denmark looked confidently for
aid, and with ample reason. On July 23, 1863, in
reply to certain questions touching the probable
course of the government in case of a Danish war,
Lord Palmerston declared in the English House of
Commons, "We are convinced — I am convinced at
least — that if any violent attempt were made to
overthrow the rights, and interfere with the independ-
ence of Denmark, those who made the attempt would
find in the result that it would not be Denmark alone
with which they would have to contend." This was
accepted in Denmark as well as in England as a dec-
laration of the position of the English government
in case of war, nor is there any reason to suppose that
at the time they were uttered these words did not
voice accurately the sentiments of the cabinet. Lord
John Russell, since 1862, had been busy building up
Danish hopes. He advised and instructed the Danish
government as to the course it should pursue; and
when the Copenhagen statesmen evinced an inclina-
tion to chafe under his guidance, he brought them
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 203
back by the solemn warning that unless they complied
strictly with instructions from London, they need
not look to England for support. Declarations like
these scarcely admitted of misinterpretation, and
Denmark followed blindly the English lead.^ When
the war came Palmerston looked about for allies with
whom to defend Danish rights. The English ambas-
sador sounded the Russian chancellor sufficiently to
ascertain that it was useless to proceed farther, while a
proposal at the Tuileries was met by a rebuff adminis-
tered in payment for the non-compliance of England
in the emperor's Polish project. The English gov-
ernment had no idea of going to war without an ally.
After publicly deploring the hostile and lukewarm
attitudes of the various signers of the London treaty,
the English statesmen turned their attention to domes-
tic affairs, and left Denmark to its fate.
With Marshal Wrangel's announcement to the
Danish commander that he was under orders to occupy
the duchy of Schleswig, and the response of the lat-
ter that he was charged to defend the same, the war
in Denmark began. The allies crossed the Eider
with nearly 60,000 men, of whom 37,000 were Prus-
sians and 23,000 Austrians. Prussia sent a division
of the infantry of the Guard under General Miilbe,
the 6th infantry division of the line under Manstein,
and the 13th division under Wintsingerode, two cav-
alry brigades, and eighteen batteries of artillery.
Austria sent the 6th army corps, with a brigade of
cavalry and seven batteries.
1 Evidently Bismarck did what lie could to stimulate the Danish
confidence in England. Count Beust states in his memoirs (vol. i.
p. 242) that Bismarck admitted as nauch to him: "I made the cahi-
net of Copenhagen helieve that England had threatened us with
active intervention, if hostilities should he opened, although, as a
matter of fact, England did nothing of the kind.''
204 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
At the Danish war office there was no disposition
to belittle the danger which threatened the kingdom.
All hopes were pinned to the Dannewerk, where it was
hoped the army would hold its ground until England,
Russia, or perhaps Sweden could be induced to come
to the rescue.
The Dannewerk was a chain of redoubts and forts
extending across Schleswig from the head of the
Schlei Fiord on the east to the village of Holingsted
on the Treen. The length of this line was nearly
fourteen miles, but in order to secure it against a
turning movement, it was necessary to guard the
shores of the Schlei, and patrol the marshy country
from Holingsted to Frederickstadt. Thus the de-
fenders of the Dannewerk were obliged to extend
their vigilance along a front of nearly sixty miles.
Manned by a force of 150,000 men the position might
reasonably be regarded as impregnable ; to attempt
the defense with less would be a perilous undertaking.
Neither of the three divisions of the Danish army
exceeded 10,000 men on a war footing, and yet it was
with this handful that the authorities at Copenhagen
expected General de Meza to hold the Dannewerk
against the armies of two first-rate powers.
The Danish soldiery, however, had confidence both
in the Dannewerk and in themselves, and there was
no lack of assurance among the strapping officers
who thronged the streets and hotel cafes of Schleswig
town. The king came down from Copenhagen to
inspect the position, and fly the Dannebrog for a few
days in the wintry blasts that howled around the tur-
rets of Castle Gottorp. He was not long in appre-
ciating the difficulty of the task De Meza had to per-
form. The frozen surface of the Schlei formed the
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 205
principal danger of the position, and a mere glance
through the glasses across the bleak sea-indented
country at the activity in the Prussian lines was suf-
ficient to prove that they saw their advantage. On
February 2 Canstein's Prussian brigade carried the
Danish advance posts before Missunde at the narrow-
est point of the Schlei. On the following day Nos-
titz's Austrian brigade made a dash more to the west
against the redoubts at Bustrup. Perhaps this latter
was intended for nothing but a demonstration, but it
sent the Danish bugles ringing through the frosty air
all the way to Schleswig, and alaimed the king in the
castle on the hill. These two days were sufficient to
convince De Meza of the hopelessness of a longer
stand at the Dannewerk. The cold weather had trans-
formed the marshy country into a fair field for the
operation of the allied armies. It seemed imperative
that the Danish troops should be withdrawn, and
placed on a narrower front.
It was toward evening on February 5 when orders
were circulated for the immediate evacuation of the
Dannewerk. It was a terrible humiliation to the
Danish officers to abandon thus their celebrated for-
tress without a blow, and there were long faces and
bitter words among the military devotees of Schles-
wig. The king had already left for the north, and to
complete the misery the elements conspired against
the unhappy Danes. In the midst of a driving snow-
storm the retreat began. Rarely have the patience
and endurance of an army been more severely tested.
Horses and men tugged together at the cannon over
ice-coated roads, where to stand against the gale was
an arduous task. After forty-eight hours of these
hardships, the Danish army began to concentrate at
206 THE RECQNSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Soaderburg in the Isle of Alsen, in the rear of the
intrenchments of Diippel. The aUies pushed the
pursuit vigorously, and on the 6th the brigade Nostitz,
stumbling over the slippery roads, came up with two
Danish regiments near Oeversee. The contest that
ensued was stubborn and sanguinary, and the Aus-
trians could attribute their victory to their superior
Man as well as to their overwhelming nimibers.
From this time the interest in the war centred
about Diippel and Fredericia. The latter town, sit-
uated at the entrance of the Little Belt, being hemmed
in on three sides by the sea, presented a narrow front
for land defense. It played a prominent part in the
campaign of 1849, and the growth of its defensive
works since that time had earned it the title of a for-
tress. A portion of the Danish army from the Danne-
werk had continued the retreat to Fredericia, and
was followed by the Prussian Gruard division and the
Austrian brigades Tomas and Nostitz.
The Diippel position was strong and compact. The
main works, consisting of ten detached redoubts, ex-
tended across the little Sondeved peninsula along the
Duppel heights, a distance of a mile and a quarter.
These protected the bridge that crossed the narrow
Alsen Sound to Sonderburg one mile to the east. The
Danish outposts were strongly posted in Duppel vil-
lage, on the hiU known as the Avnbjerg, and in the
forests to the west. There were other defenses nearer
the bridge-head and on the Sonderburg side to cover
a retreat in case the works on the heights became
untenable, while the ironclad Rolf Krake patrolled
the 'waters south of the Sondeved peninsula.
General de Meza was sacrificed to satisfy the
anger that pervaded Copenhagen on account of the
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 207
abandonment of the Dannewerk, and General Ger-
laeh succeeded to the command of 18,000 men behind
the Diippel defenses. The headquai'ters were at Son-
derburg and the troops billeted in all the neighboring
villages, whence they could quickly make their way
across the bridges and up the heights to where the
vast wings of Duppel windmill marked the centre of
the Danish position.
The Prussians settled down to a regular siege with
their two infantry divisions suppoi*ted by a powerful
artillery, but for six weeks nothing occurred save
occasional skirmishes. The Danes adhered to their
defensive tactics, partly on account of their inferior
numbers, and still more because they dreaded to
risk their clumsy though courageous infantry against
their more agile adversaries in the open field. If this
latter cause prevailed less at Diippel than at Fred-
ericia it was due to the poor esteem in which the
Prussian soldiers were held. The Danes hated the
Prussians and were little inclined to do them justice.
Every day of inaction only increased the contempt of
the Danish army for its foes. The Austrians they
admitted to be worthy of their steel, but it was with
confidence and gladness that the fair-haired soldiers,
huddling about their fires on the windy heights, roared
like true descendants of the Vikings the martial
chorus, —
" Now shall we fight the Prassiaiis again."
In the mean time the Prussians went about their
work leisurely under the eye of Prince Frederick
Charles, who established his headquarters in the pic-
turesque schloss among the beeches of Gravenstein.
There was no haste, nor any anxiety displayed to raise
the reputation of Prussia as a military power in Dan-
208 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ish estimation, but as soon as the alternation of cold
and thaw was superseded by milder weather and high
winds that dried the soil, then activity began, and
one by one the ponderous batteries were unmasked to
try the range of the Danish positions. A general as-
sault was ordered on the Danish advance posts on the
Avnbjerg and in Diippel village. The Danes made a
courageous stand, but numbers and modern weapons
overcame them. The Avnbjerg was carried with a
rush, and after a fierce battle about the church, Diip-
pel village fell. The Danes returned pluckily to the
onset, only .to swell their losses. The needle-guns
swept the approaches with a ceaseless leaden rain.
Night fell and progress was reported at the Prussian
headquarters.
Diippel taught the Danes a lesson in modem small
arms. Even before that, they had learned something
in regard to modern artillery. The peninsula of
Broager, three miles southwest of their main posi-
tion, which their engineers had deemed too distant to
be of any service to an enemy, had been lined with
Prussian batteries whose great guns covered Sonder-
burg itself. From the middle of March the Danes
had no reason to complain of Prussian inactivity.
Day after day the bombardment was continued. The
Prussians seemed bent on destroying not only the
redoubts, but every shelter beneath which the Danes
could find refuge. In every direction villages and
farm buildings were in flames. When the new Prus-
sian batteries on the Avnbjerg and at Duppel church-
yard opened their fire, the effect was terrific. Even
at night the fire was maintained, allowing the weary
Danes no opportunity to repair damages. Day after
day they worked patiently at their smooth-bore guns
THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 209
behind breastworks little better than rubbish, with a
burning town behind them and an irresistible enemy
in their front. It is no discredit to the Danish sol-
diers if during the last days of their defense their
spirits failed them.
At last the windmill on the heights, whose wings
had fanned so long the sulphiu^us air was shot away,
an event regarded as an evil omen. The Prussians
pushed their parallels close under the Danish works,
and frequently the roll of the needle-guns was added
to the timiult. The Danish officers, driven from the
burning streets of Sonderburg, conferred at Ulkebol
upon the advisability of abandoning their almost dis-
mantled works. The conference was speedily decided
by the production of orders from Copenhagen to hold
the position to the last extremity. This order was
fatal to the Danish army. The moral effect of the
terrible cannonade had been most pronounced, and it
was everywhere realized that the end was near.
On the morning of the 18th of April the Prussian
infantry suddenly burst from their lines against the
Danish left. It was a matter of only a few moments
before the Danes were struggling down the hiU under
the deadly fire of the needle-guns. On the crest of
the captured heights the Prussian artillery went
promptly into action. Sublime confusion reigned
among the Danes. The attack was unexpected, Ger-
lach was ill, there was no one to give orders. The
whole Diippel line was abandoned, th6 batteries in the
rear were wholly untenable, while the Rolf Krake was
disabled by a shell before she had fired a gun. When
night fell, the remnants of the brave Danish army
were scattered through the villages and along the
roads of western Alsen.
J
<*
210 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
The garrison of Fredericia, discouraged by the news
from Alsen, evacuated the town and withdrew into
Fiinen, leaving all Jutland at the mercy of the in-
vaders.
England in the mean time had been ceaselessly
bestirring herself in behalf of peace, and had invited
the five powers to a conference at London. The am-
bassadors gathered on the Thames, and an armistice
was concluded between the belligerents. Austria and
Prussia demanded the establishment of the duchies
under the sway of the prince of Augustenburg.
Their claims were supported by the congress, and
Denmark was advised to relinquish her rights over
Holstein-Lauenburg and the German districts of
Schleswig. To these terms the Danes refused to
accede, and resorted once more to arms. What they
hoped to gain by this rash step it is difficult to see,
unless some dim hope yet lingered in Copenhagen of
European interference. The fighting that followed
was insipid in the extreme. The Austrians overran Jut-
land ; the Prussians swarmed through Alsen. Den-
mark was beaten to her knees. Finally Prince John
was sent to Berlin to sue for peace. Preliminaries
were arranged on August 1, and finally ratified by
the treaty of Vienna, October 31, according to which
the king of Denmark ceded all his rights over the
duchies, including the island of Alsen, to the king of
Prussia and the emperor of Austria.
CHAPTER XVI.
BISMARCK VS. AUSTRIA.
Bismabck's Attitude on the AuGusTEifBURG Claim. — His Sui>-
DEN Change op Front. — Mensdorff's Blunder. — Bismarck
ANTICIPATES War. — HiS REMARK AT SalZBURG. — ThE CON-
FERENCE AT GasTEIN and THE BARGAIN ARRANGED THERE. —
Bismarck's Opinion op the Conference. — He sounds Italy.
— Interviews Napoleon at Biarritz. — Napoleon's Views on
European Affairs. — His Ideas respecting the Military
Strength of Prussia and Austria. — Condition of Affairs
in THE Elbe Duchies. — Bismarck reopens the Diplomatio
Campaign against Austria. — Austria and Italy begin to
ARM. — Attitude of the Diet on the Dispute. — Bismarck's
Bait to Germany. — The Prusso-Itauan Alliance, — The
Prussian Army mobilized. — The Claims of Prussia and Aus-
TRL\ presented IN THE FrANKFORT DiET. — PRUSSIAN TrOOPS
enter Holstein. — Bismarck's Proposition for a New Con-
federation. — Its Failure. — Austria moves the Mobiliza-
tion OF THE Federal Army against Prussia. — The Military
Situation. — The Diet votes to support Austria. — Prussia
DECLARES War UPON THE PeTTY StATES. — PRUSSIAN OCCUPA-
TION OF Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, and Dresden. — Brilliancy
OF THE Prussian Conquest.
In the London Congress Bismarck had advocated
the claims of the prince of Augustenburg, and stated
that Prussia and Austria were merely holding the
duchies in trust for their lawful ruler. Six months
later, however, we find him in the Prussian Diet op-
posing the claims of the Augustenburg pretender,
and declaring that "his majesty the king and his
majesty the emperor of Austria are the duke of
Schleswig-Holstein and Lauenburg." This incon-
sistency admits of easy explanation.
212 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
Austria and Prussia at London were agreed upon
the legality of the Augustenburg claims. Austria
backed the prince because she aimed at the establish-
ment of another anti-Prussian state in the confedera-
tion, with its prince under her influence. Bismarck,
on the other hand, never seriously advocated the Au-
gustenburg cause, and merely chimed in with the
Austrian views so long as it suited his policy. He
understood the Vienna government well enough to
appreciate its designs in regard to the duchies, and
on his part was determined to frustrate them.
Shortly after his return from London, when Aus-
tria and the smaller states began to clamor for the
recognition of the prince of Augustenburg by the
Frankfort Diet, he first showed his hand. He de-
clared that other pretenders having arisen, he was in
doubt after all of the value of Prince Frederick's
claim to the duchies; indeed, the succession being
so doubtful, no lawful ruler could be acknowledged
save the king of Denmark. Inasmuch, however, as
by the treaty of Vienna the king had ceded his
rights to the German powers, the position of affairs
was quite clear: "his majesty the king and his
majesty the emperor of Austria are the duke of
Schleswig-Holstein and Lauenburg." ^
This position adopted by Bismarck removed the
question from the authority of the confederation*
The endeavor of Austria, on the other hand, from the
first was to make it a federal matter for the purpose,
as of old, of combating her rival with the small states
at her back.
It was on December 13 that Bismarck first def-
initely unmasked his desire at Vienna for a Prussian
annexation of the duchies. Count Mensdorff inmie-
BISMARCK vs. AUSTRIA. 213
diately compromised the moral and federal aspect of
the Austrian cause by expressing a tacit compliance
with the Prussian proposals, on condition that Austria
should be compensated — by the county of Glatz, for
instance. This was rejected by Bismarck, who on the
22d of February, 1865, came forward with a scheme
to recognize the prince of Augustenburg, on the con-
dition that the control of the foreign, military, postal,
and commercial affairs of the duchies should be super-
vised by Prussia. At Vienna they saw no advantage
in this scheme over that possessed by a direct annexa-
tion, and refused it. From this time on, Bismarck
never entertained a shade of doubt that " iron and
blood " would settle the dispute. There was a pause in
the negotiations, but (Jomestic affairs offered sufficient
opportunity for the play of his energy. He had to
smooth matters out considerably at home before he
could proceed to greater lengths. The king himself
was the principal impediment with his conscientious
scruples against warring with the House of Hapsburg,
for which he as a true HohenzoUem entertained a
deep veneration and respect. In the summer the
king went to Carlsbad, where Bismarck followed him.
That the royal mind was influenced by his arguments
was demonstrated by the fact that Bismarck soon re-
opened the discussion with Vienna by a communica-
tion more forcible than friendly.
A few days later he met the president of the Ba-
varian council at Salzburg, to whom he spoke glibly of
an Austrian war. "Austria cannot sustain a cam-
paign," he declared ; " a single blow will suffice, a sin-
gle and great battle from the side of Silesia, to obtain
satisfaction of the Hapsburg."
The Prussian king, however, was desirous of peace,
214 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
and hastened to Gastein to confer with the emperor
of Austria. Thither Bismarck was also summoned
to meet Count Blome, and arrange some compromise
in regard to the duchies. As a result of the confer-
ence a convention was signed on August 14, by which
Prussia undertook the provisional government of
Schleswig and Austria of Holstein, while both pow-
ers " reserved to themselves the common sovereignty
over the duchies." Prussia gained the command of
the long-coveted harbor of Kiel, purchased of Aus-
tria her right to Lauenburg, and with it of course
another practical admission that the two powers had
the right to dispose of their conquest as they pleased.
The result of the Gastein convention was certainly a
Prussian victory, and King William testified his ap-
preciation of the fact by creating Bismarck a count in
September.
A tremendous uproar was engendered in Germany
by this cold-blooded bargaining. There were denun-
ciations from all quarters, and the Prussian deputies
protested with rage and horror. The Prussian policy,
however, was influenced by all this no more than in
the past. Prussian troops occupied Lauenburg on
September 15. The Austrians withdrew into Hol-
stein, and the Prussians into Schleswig. General
Gablenz was appointed governor of Holstein and
General Manteuffel governor of Schleswig.
Bismarck, at heart, had no faith in the Gastein
contract as a preventive of war. He referred to it
lightly as a mere " stopping of the cracks," and even
while the conference was sitting he was suggesting to
the Italian government an alliance against Austria.
It was plain that Prussia would have to fight, not
only the empire of the Hapsburgs, but the German
BISMARCK vs. AUSTRIA. 215
confederation as well. It was to overcome the strength
of the smaller states that Bismarck had recourse to
Italy. Venetia was the magic word that would send
the war fever throbbing through the veins of every
true Italian. With Venetia as an inducement the
Italian armies were ready at any time to throw their
strength against the Quadrilateral. Bismarck found
Italy, as he expected, ready and eager to hear more
of his project.
Early in October he turned to sound and inter-
rogate the monarch who at the time was believed to be
most potent in shaping the destinies of Europe. It was
at Biarritz that he met the Emperor of the French,
who was rusticating in the companionship of Prosper
Merimee. It was certainly a rare trio that in those
bright October days strolled along the beach where
the blue waters of the Bay of Biscay broke in foam.
The emperor was amused with the glibness with which
this Prussian count rattled on about the future of
Europe. " He is crazy," he whispered to Merimee.
The novelist, however, held his own ideas. " M. de
Bismarck pleased me. . . . He is deficient in senti-
ment, but has a great mind," such was the tenor of
Merimee's comments in his letters from Biarritz.
Time was to prove whether the emperor or the writer
was the most sagacious observer.
Bismarck left the cliffs and cool breezes of Biar-
ritz not without recompense. He found time for busi-
ness as well as pleasure, and he went away with the
belief that the emperor would be unlikely to interfere
in a German war. There can be no question, in fact,
that the emperor longed for such an event at that
time. He believed he had nothing to fear from Prus-
sia. She must of necessity be crushed by the splen-
216 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
did Austrian army, inured to service. A chance
would be afforded him to step in and interfere in be-
half of Prussia, to lighten her punishment, and obtain
from her grateful statesmen a reward, — the old Rhen-
ish frontier, perhaps. Italy's alliance with Prussia
gave him too an additional interest in the schemes of
the HohenzoUem, for if Napoleon had an unselfish spot
in his heart, it was warm toward Italy. He would
see that Victor Emmanuel gained Venetia this time.
Austria must of necessity acquiesce. After an ardu-
ous campaign against Prussia she would not care to
rufle the power which had so recently asserted its
superiority at Solferino and Magenta. Altogether
Bismarck's plans must have fallen as sweet music
upon the ears of the French emperor. There was
only one possible contingency in which a German war
might affect France unfavorably, a contingency so
vague that it seemed hardly worth considering, and
that was a Prussian victory.
The emperor had definite ideas in regard to the
relative strength of the European military powers.
He held the same views that the cadets at Metz
gleaned from the text-books. " The Prussian army,
in which service is of very short duration, is nothing
but a kind of Landwehr school. It is a magnificent
organization on paper, but a very doubtful weapon of
defense, and most useless during the first period of
an offensive war. Austria, whose population numbers
about thirty-seven millions of inhabitants, has a large
and splendid army, which is far superior in its organ-
ization to the Prussian or Kussian armies. After
France she occupies the first rank as a military
power." Leaving the emperor to his complacent
dreams, Bismarck, hardly less satisfied, reached Ber«
BISMARCK vs. AUSTRIA. 217
lin fortified for the contest. Sure of Russian friend-
ship, French neutrality, and Italian cooperation, he
was ready to enter upon his heroic treatment of the
Schleswig-Holstein and German questions.
In the mean time matters in the duchies had been
progressing exactly as he expected. In Schleswig,
Manteuffel was upholding Prussian prestige ; in Hol-
stein, Grablenz was encouraging agitation in favor of
the Augustenburg prince. The Gastein arrangement
had simply made matters worse.
• On January 20, 1866, Bismarck forwarded to the
Prussian envoy at Vienna a protest against the Aus-
ti*ian policy in Holstein. After summing up the va-
rious objectionable features of this policy, the license
allowed the press in attacking Prussia, and the def-
erence exercised toward the pretender, the dispatch
continued, "All these circumstances make his (the
pretender's) mere presence in Kiel a chronic protest
against the rights of both sovereigns. . . . His maj-
esty the king has a right to demand that this evil be
remedied by the expulsion of the prince, if the im-
perial government really feels itself unequal to putting
a stop to the demonstrations in question." The dis-
patch declared in conclusion, " The democratic agita-
tion, animated by hatred of conservative Prussia, blos-
soms out luxuriantly in the associations and the press.
The imperial Austrian government may contemplate
this demoralization and corruption of the populace
with comparative indifference. Not so we. What-
ever may be the decision ultimately arrived at respect-
ing the duchies, their condition will always be a matter
of importance to Prussia ; and should they become a
nucleus of democratic and revolutionary tendencies,
it will become Prussia's business to put them in
order."
218 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
On February 7 Count Mensdorff in his reply to
Count Karolyi stated "that Austria regards each
separate question arising within the sphere of her
administration in Holstein, as exclusively pendent
between herself and her lord lieutenant, and exempt
from interference from any other quarter." Bismarck
then took occasion to point out the fact that " Prus-
sia's relations to Austria, despite the intimate charac-
ter they had assumed during the past year or two, had
now been thrust back to the standpoint they occupied
before the Danish war, — neither better nor worse
than those obtaining with any other power."
Austria's attitude now became distinctly warlike.
On March 10 a council of war was held at Vienna, to
which General Benedek was summoned in haste from
Verona. Not only was the attitude of Prussia threat-
ening, but Italy was actually arming. The council
decided upon defensive measures, and orders were
issued for the mobilization of the army in Bohemia
and Moravia. On the 16th Mensdorff, in a dispatch
to the Austrian ambassadors at German courts in-
forming them of Prussia's menacing attitude, declared
also, " Should the danger of a breach of peace become
still more imminent, it would be necessary to take
measures promptly and decisively for self-defense.
In view of Prussia's threatened attack, these measures
could only consist of mobilizing the 7th, 8th, 9th, and
10th federal army corps, and placing them in the field
side by side with the Austrian army."
On March 24 Bismarck, to offset the effect of this,
informed the Prussian ambassadors at German courts
that Prussia was in favor of federal reform, and was
about to arm in self-defense, that Prussian and Ger-
man interests were identical, and that the fall of Prus-
BISMARCK vs. AUSTRIA. 219
sia meant the fall of G ermany . The dispatch concluded
with the question, " Whether and to what extent Prus-
sia could count upon assistance from the government
addressed, in case she should be attacked by Austria
or compelled to make war by immistakable threats ? "
The response of the various governments was gen-
erally evasive or hostile, and they referred Prussia to
the Diet for a consideration of her plan of federal
reform. This latter scheme including, as it did, the
longed-for national representation by suffrage, was
Bismarck's last trump-card to win over popular sym-
pathy. In the mean time he had been pushing things
with the government of Victor Emmanuel. On April
8 the treaty of alliance was signed, and within a fort-
night ratified at both Florence and Berlin. Matters
then progressed smoothly toward war. During the
last days of March the Prussian regiments in Silesia
were reinforced, a fact that occasioned the protest of
Count Mensdorff. He denied that Austria was arm-
ing against Prussia, and claimed that the strengthen-
ing of the imperial forces in Bohemia was due to the
supposed imminence of outbreaks among the Jews.
Negotiations followed between Berlin and Vienna
concerning disarmament. Austria finally agreed to
decrease her strength in Bohemia, but insisted upon
the necessity of placing Venetia in a state of defense.
Bismarck saw in this proposal merely a scheme of the
Austrian statesmen to crush Italy and Prussia in
detail. He refused to entertain the suggestion, and
during the first week in May the question of disarma-
ment was suffered to drop.
By May 1 the whole Austrian mobilization machin-
ery was working at its highest pitch, but it was not
until a week later that the king of Prussia issued his
220 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
final orders for placing the whole army on a war
footing. The ease and celerity with which the Prus-
sian army was mobilized, however, more than com-
pensated for the time which Austria had gained. In
fourteen days from the royal order nine Prussian
army corps, were thoroughly equipped and ready for
the field.
On June 1, in compliance with Bavaria's motion of
May 24, the envoys of the various German govern-
ments which had armed made their explanations before
the Diet. Prussia and Austria of course had done
nothing save in self-defense, but the Austrian envoy,
after explaining the dispute between his government
and that of Berlin, declared that Austria placed the
whole question of the duchies at the disposal of the
Diet, and furthermore signified that General Gablenz
had been instructed to summon the Holstein as-
sembly for the purpose of obtaining its wiU as to the
future of the duchy. This move was in direct an-
tagonism to the Prussian i>olicy, and an assertion of
a theory that Austria herself had denied by the sale
of Lauenburg. Bismarck, adhering to the Vienna
treaty and the Gastein agreement, regarded Austria's
course in this matter as irreparable, and dispatched a
circular message to the German courts with the dec-
laration, " Vienna has resolved upon war ; the next
thing to be done is to choose the most auspicious
moment for beginning it."
General Manteuffel received orders to enter Hol-
stein immediately upon the summoning of the As-
sembly by Gablenz. Bismarck's position was briefly
this : Austria, having violated the Gastein conven-
tion by attempting to make the question of the duch-
ies a federal one, had violated and thereby annulled
BISMARCK vs. AUSTRIA. 221
that conyention. The dual occupation must be re-
newed, and in consequence Prussian troops were
ordered to reenter Ilolstein. Gablenz summoned
the estates for the 11th of June, and on the 8th the
Prussian troops crossed the Eider and moved slowly
southward. Gablenz, who had but one brigade, fell
back to Altona, taking with him the prince of Augus-
tenburg. On the 9th Itzehoe, where the assembly was
to convene, was occupied by Prussian troops, and on
the 11th the assembly hall itself was placed under
guard. On the same evening Gablenz withdi-ew his
forces to Harburg, and dispatched them by train
through Hanover and Hesse to Bohemia. At last
the Schleswig-Holstein question was settled.
On June 10 Bismarck had submitted to the German
governments a constitution for a new confederation,
" to consist of those states which had hitherto been in-
cluded in the confederation, with the exception of the
dominions of the emperor of Austria and the king
of the Netherlands." This bold project for the elim-
ination of Austria as a federal power was not gener-
ally well received at the petty courts. On the 11th,
at an extraordinary session of the Diet, the Austrian
ambassador retaliated by moving, in consideration of
Manteuffel's " violent self-help " in Holstein, the mo-
bilization of the federal army against Prussia. The
vote was postponed until the 14th, and in the interval
the various governments made their final preparations
for war. The Austrians had seven corps in readiness
in Bohemia, and the Saxon and Bavarian forces were
ready to take the field. The Hanoverian army had not
been mobilized, while the troops of Baden, Wilrtem-
berg, Nassau, and Hesse Darmstadt, forming the 8th
federal corps, were in a very backward state of prepa-
222 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ration. Prussia, however, had thoroughly equipped
for service three corps in the vicinity of Gorlitz under
Prince Frederick Charles, four in Silesia under the
crown prince, three divisions under General Bittenfeld
about Halle and Torgau, and a reserve corps at Berlin
under General Miilbe. In addition to these there
was Manteuffel's division in Holstein, the division of
General von Falckenstein at Minden in Westphalia,
and another under General Beyer at Wetzlar. It
was to the roll of drums and clank of arms that the
Diet convened on the 14th. By a vote of nine to six
the Austrian motion was sustained. Prussia and
Holstein were unrepresented, and Baden was the only
one of the large states to oppose the Austrian project.
The Prussian ambassador then pronounced the con-
federation dissolved and withdrew from the hall.
That night the wires all over Germany were loaded
with messages of grave importance. Scarcely had
the Prussian ambassador at Frankfort turned his
back upon the palace of Thum and Taxis than there
went flashing out from Berlin the ultimatum of Prus-
sia to Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse, which had sup-
ported the Austrian motion. Its tenor was simply
this: in case within twelve hours the governments
addressed did not signify their intention to reduce
their armies to a peace footing and accept the Prus-
sian proposals of June 10, the Berlin government
would resort to arms.
Perhaps these states had not counted upon the
efficiency of Prussia's preparations and did not be-
lieve it possible that she was in a position to under-
take immediate action. At aU events they deliberated
too long, and on the afternoon of the 15th, no reply
having been received to its summons, the Prussian
BISMARCK vs. AUSTRIA. 223
government declared war. At the same time there
went forth from the Leipsiger Strasse the orders to
set in motion those perfect battalions upon which
such time and care had been expended.
Before daylight on the 16th Manteuffel and Falck-
enstein were on the march for Hanover, Beyer's divi-
sion was grinding into dust the long road from Wetz-
lar to Cassel, while in the east Prince Frederick
Charles was over the Saxon frontier.
On the night of the 16th King George of Hanover
abandoned his capital, and with his half -constructed
army retreated to Gottingen. At four o'clock on the
afternoon of the next day the tramp of the Prussian
troops awoke the echoes of the deserted streets.
The Hessian army eluded General Beyer by re-
treating to Fulda and thence to Frankfort. On the
19th, however, the black and white banner was
hoisted over Cassel, where the crestfallen elector sul-
lenly awaited his conquerors.
The army of Prince Frederick Charles approached
Dresden on the 18th. The Saxons had fallen back
upon the Austrians in Bohemia, and that evening the
Prussian officers strolled along the Briihl Terrace
and gravely saluted each other in the Grosse Garten.
Thus in four days after the declaration of war by
Prussia against Saxony, Hanover, and Hesse, her
troops without firing a shot had subjugated and occu-
pied those states, captured the Hessian elector, and
hopelessly isolated the Hanoverian army at Gottin-
gen. It was a brilliant combination, brilliantly exe-
cuted, and there was amazement at Paris and at
Vienna, yet it was but the first of a series of achieve-
ments with which this mighty creation of Moltke and
Boon was to astonish the world*
CHAPTER XVn.
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA.
Thb MnjTABY Situation on June 20. — Benedek's Plan op Cam-
paign CHECKMATED. — ADVANCE OF THE PRUSSIANS INTO BO-
HEMIA. — Combats at Liebenau and Podol, and Defeat of
THE AuSTRIANS. — CAPTURE OF MiJNCHENGRATZ BY THE PRUS-
SIANS. — Retreat of the Austeians upon Gitschin. — Battle
OF Gitschin and Rout of the Austrians. — Bismarck at
Gitschin. — Advance of the Second Prussian Army into Bo-
hemia UNDER THE CrOWN PrINCE. — VICTORIES OF THE PRUS-
SIAN 5th Corps at Nachod and Skalitz. — Discomfiture of
THE Prussians at Trautenau. — Battle at Soor won by the
Prussian Guards. — Arrival of the Second Army on the
Elbe. — Communications restored between the Prussian
Armies. — Dilemma of the Austrian Commander. — His
Orders to his Army. — His Ignorance of the Prussian De-
signs. — Character of thb Austrian Position on the Bis-
tritz.
I.
The action of the Frankfort Diet on June 14 was
virtually a declaration of war by the German con-
federation against Prussia. On the 17th the Kaiser
issued his manifesto to his people, and three days
later the Italian government formally declared war
against Austria and Bavaria.
On the 20th the military situation was as follows :
the Prussians by their seizure of Saxony had divided
Germany into an eastern and western battlefield. In
the east they had three distinct armies ready for the
invasion of Bohemia : the army of the Elbe, compris-
ing three divisions under General Herwarth von Bit-
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA. 225
tenf eld ; the first army, made up of the 2d, 3d, and 4th
corps under Prince Frederick Charles ; and the second
army under the crown prince, comprising the 1st, 5th,
6th, and Guard corps.
The first army and the army of the Elbe in Sax-
ony were imder orders to pass into Bohemia by sep-
arate routes through the Iron Moimtains, and unite
on the Iser.
The second army was to move from Silesia through
the moimtain passes and gain the left bank of the
Elbe. On account of the dangerous character of the
hilly country through which this army was to pass,
the crown prince was ordered to delay its movements
until the attention of the Austrians had become dis-
tracted by the operations of Prince Frederick Charles.
The total strength of these three armies was 254,000
men, of which the first army comprised 93,000, the
second army 115,000, and the army of the Elbe
46,000.
In the west Prussia had the divisions of Falcken-
stein, Manteuffel, and Beyer in Hesse and Hanover,
an aggregate of 48,000 men. In reserve was the
corps of General Miilbe at Berlin, in process of mo-
bilization.
The Austrian army of the north, concentrated mainly
about Olmiitz and Brunn, comprised the 1st, 2d, 3d,
4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th corps, with five divisions of
cavalry. To these must be added the 24,000 men of
the Saxon army, which had retired into Bohemia
before the Prussian advance. These forces, number-
ing nearly 270,000 men, were commanded by General
Benedek, whose brilliant conduct at Solferino had
won him a most exalted reputation as a soldier among
his countrymen.
226 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
In the west, opposed to the Prussian armies, was the
Bavarian army with its 50,000 bayonets, the troops of
Hanover and Hesse, and the 8th federal corps. This
made a total strength on paper of 119,000 men, of
which, however, the 19,000 Hanoverians were isolated
at Gottingen, and the 8th federal corps was only in
the first stages of formation.
It will thus be seen that while both in the east and
west the Prussian troops were outnumbered, they
were thoroughly prepared, advantageously posted,
and armed with a breech-loading weapon. Benedek's
corps, on the other hand, were badly distributed, the
federal troops only half organized, and the whole
dependent upon the muzzle-loading rifle. It must be
admitted, therefore, that the situation was decidedly
favorable to Prussia, a fact due to the foresight and
preparation of her statesmen and the skill and vigor
of her generals.
It had doubtless been Benedek's plan, supported by
the Bavarian army, to push through the passes of the
Giant Mountains into Saxony, and in company with
the army of that kingdom undertake an invasion of
Prussia. The extraordinary rapidity of the Prussian
advance overthrew his calculations. Saxony passed
into the hands of his enemy, and with it the control
of the passes through which the Bavarian cooperation
was to be expected. Benedek was forced to regard
himself as beaten in the first move of the contest,
and compelled to stand on the defensive.
On June 23 the Prussian armies crossed the Saxon
frontiers into Bohemia, the first army advancing in
three columns with the Elbe army several miles to
the west. At daybreak Prince Frederick Charles had
notified the Austrian outposts at Reichenberg that
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ing a bridge ar Tirzj^- • -r.r. .-. •.'.- r.ir-'iit,
Podol ^ra« a po:— f -T-.i: .--vri-al iiiiiiortance,
as the raUway to Prii.--- • r -- ^ the river at that
point side »>y side w-Irh '':.^ r a-I. It was alrnrwt dusk
when the Prussian van:riar«i r*rproa/rhf;^l the outskirts
of the town. A sharj-. t3::'ht at onw coiiiinenct'd,
which increased in warmth ^-ith the r-ontimied arrival
of Prussian reinforcements. Pmlol was hehl by the
" Iron Brigade," whieh had won the titles hy its stunly
conduct in the Danish war. The ax^tion was wholly
one of musketry. The Austrians wcjn* foi-ced to the
village, and from there to the hridgohead, over-
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA. 227
Prussia regarded herself as in a state of war with
Austria. A few hours later he had taken his stand
by the toll-house on the frontier to review the troops
as they entered Austrian territory. The headquarters
that night were in the Castle of Grafenstein, the seat
of Count Clam Gallas, who had left its retirement to
assume command of the 1st Austrian corps in Bohe-
mia. The next day Reichenberg, the key to the
passes, was occupied by the Prussians without a blow,
and the various columns reunited.
Count Clam Gallas had been ordered by Benedek
to hold the line of the Iser from Turnau to Miin-
chengratz, and had at his disposal in the vicinity of the
latter place the 1st corps and the Saxons. He had
thrown forward one brigade on the north of the Iser
with a few companies in advance at Liebenau. It
was in the vicinity of this village that the first fight-
ing of the campaign occurred on the 26th. The Aus-
trians retired before Von Home's Prussian division,
maintaining a running fight to Turnau, where they
broke the bridge over the Iser and retreated along
the road to Podol. Home followed fast, and throw-
ing a bridge at Turnau continued the pursuit.
Podol was a point of great strategical importance,
as the railway to Prague crosses the river at that
point side by side with the road. It was almost dusk
when the Prussian vanguard approached the outskirts
of the town. A sharp fight at once commenced,
which increased in warmth with the continued arrival
of Prussian reinforcements. Podol was held by the
" Iron Brigade," which had won the title by its sturdy
conduct in the Danish war. The action was wholly
one of musketry. The Austrians were forced to the
village, and from there to the bridgehead, over-
228 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
matched by numbers and the rapid discharge of the
needle-gnns. Podol, in fact, was the first fair trial of
the Prussian weapon, and was terribly satisfactory in
its results. Shortly after midnight the Austrians
drew oflf toward Miinchengratz, leaving the Pnissians
in undisputed possession of Podol and the bridges.
On the same day as the action at Podol communi-
cation was reestablished between the first and Elbe
armies, and on the 27th the latter, after a sharp skir-
mish at Hiihnerwasser, compelled the retirement of
the Austrians across the Iser at Miinchengratz. A
combined movement was immediately undertaken
against that town with the purpose of capturing the
whole Austrian force. While Bittenfeld moved from
Bohmisch-Aicha and Hiihnerwasser toward Miinchen-
gratz, Prince Frederick Charles sent his troops down
the valley against the same place. He also dispatched
the 1st corps from Tumau to turn the Austrian posi-
tion on the heights east of Miinchengratz and cut oflf
their retreat on Gitschin. Miinchengratz was captured,
but the Austrians escaped, their commander realizing
the dangers attaching to a prolonged defense. The
whole line of the Iser was thus relinquished to the
Prussians. In five days, and with losses aggregating
hardly 500 men, they had massed four and a half
corps in the very heart of the enemy's country.
Clam GaUas retreated upon Gitschin, and seized a
strong position with his left resting on the Anna Berg,
his centre on the heights of Brada, and his right ex-
tending beyond Diletz east of the Turnau road. On
the 29th the Prussians advanced upon Gitschin in
four columns, the left from Turnau, the centre from
Podol, the right from Miinchengratz, with the army of
the Elbe still farther south. About four o'clock Wer-
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA, 229
der's division of the 2d corps forming the Prussian
centre began to engage the enemy on the road be-
tween Sobotka and Gitschin. About the same time
General Tiimpling's division from Tumau encountered
the Saxon posts in advance of Brada and Diletz.
Werder's troops attacked without delay. The coun-
try west of Gitschin is broken by several ravines
into which the road dips. Through and over these
ravines a desperate fight was maintained, the Aus-
trians fighting stubbornly under cover of the woods,
but suffering terrible losses when exposed on the
open ground to the rapid fire of the Prussians. It
was nearly midnight when Werder's men finally ap-
proached Gitschin.
General Tiimpling on the north had succeeded in
carrying the village of Podultz, thereby cutting the
Austrian right in two. Werder's division, moreover,
being well on the road to Gitschin, the retreat of the
Austrians in Brada was wholly cut off. The Saxon
troops in Diletz retired hastily upon Gitschin under
a murderous fire, and acted as a rearguard to the dis-
comfited army. They held Gitschin until midnight,
resisting successfully the efforts of the Prussians to
gain the market-place, and then withdrew. Gitschin
was a better contested action than any of its predeces-
sors, and the losses were correspondingly heavy. On
the 30th a detachment of Prussian cavalry opened
communication with the second army at Amau on
the Elbe. On that same day Bismarck and the king
started for the front, leaving Berlin uproariously en-
thusiastic over the tidings of victory. Two days later,
and " the iron count " was mingling with the military
men in Gitschin, himself adorned with the white coat
and helmet of the cuirassiers. In the midst of the
230 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
bustle at headquarters he still found leisure to write
his wife, " I have just arrived, the ground is heaped
with corpses, horses, and arms. Our victories are
much greater than we thought. Send me some
French novels to read, but not more than one at a
time. May God bless you."
II.
In the mean time the troops of the crown prince
had been discharging their duties with the same suc-
cess, though at a greater expenditure of blood than
their comrades on the Iser. It was on June 20 that
the crown prince notified the Austrian outposts of his
intention to commence hostilities. His plans were
already formed for an advance in three columns.
The 1st corps and cavalry division on the right were
to move from Landeshut through the mountains to
Trautenau. The Guards in the centre were to march
from Wiinschelburg via Braunau to occupy the pass
at Eypel, while on the left the 5th corps, followed by
the 6th, was to move by Reinerz to Nachod.
On the evening of the 26th the Guards passed the
frontier. The 5th corps under Steinmetz occupied
the town of Nachod after a slight skirmish, seizing
also the castle commanding the defile, which the Aus-
trians with unaccountable negligence had left unde-
fended. In the morning, upon resuming the march,
the vanguard of this corps found itself in the pres-
ence of the Austrian 6th corps under General Ram-
ming. Finding his way blocked by such superior
forces, Steinmetz seized the woods fringing the road,
where, partially screened from the Austrian shells, his
infantry stood stoutly on the defensive. It devolved
upon this detachment in the wood to cover the de-
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA. 231
bouching of the main body of the corps, which was
still tangled up in the narrow defile. Thanks to the
excellence of their weapons and the presence of the
crown prince, who had forced his way to the front
through the confusion of the crowded road, their de-
fense was successful. The Austrian infantry were
unable to face the murderous fire that blazed from all
comers of the wood. At last the Prussian corps,
having extricated itself from the pass, began to
assume the oflfensive. The general advance was pre-
ceded by a cavalry combat in which the Austrian
cuirassiers who had been threatening the flank of the
wood were overthrown. The Austrian retreat com-
menced shortly after. Ramming drawing off in the
direction of Skalitz. At that place the Austrian 8th
corps was already stationed under the Archduke Leo-
pold. There was only time to send the 6th corps to
the rear for recuperation when on the 28th General
' Steinmetz came up with his leading brigades. Skalitz
was bravely defended by the Austrian jagers, though
they were finally driven across the Aupa. Toward
evening the archduke relinquished the heights be-
yond, and began his retreat, leaving 4,000 prisoners
and eight guns in the hands of the Prussians. On
the 29th, after some artillery fighting, General Fes-
tetics with three brigades of the Austrian 4th corps
abandoned Schweinschadel, the troops of Steinmetz
pushing on the same night to the village of Gradlitz
on the Elbe, about two miles from Koniginhof.
The 1st Prussian corps, forming the right of the
second army, did not cross the frontier until dawn on
the 27th. The day was intensely warm, and the
troops were already somewhat fatigued when shortly
before noon they encountered the Austrian outposts
232 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
in front of Trautenau, a hill - girdled town on the
Aupa. The Prussians immediately crossed the river,
and forced the fighting in the streets of the town.
The Austrians, not being in force, slowly retired to a
position on the hills beyond. About one o'clock they
were dislodged from there, and by three they had
relinquished the village of Hohenbruck south of
Trautenau and the heights southeast of that place.
General von Bonin was so well satisfied with the
progress of affairs that he rejected an offer of assist-
ance from the 1st division of the Guards, which had
halted at Qualitch upon hearing the heavy firing at
Trautenau. But Von Bonin was deceived, for about
3.30 General Gablenz came up with the other three
brigades of the Austrian 10th corps, and fell heavily
upon the weary Prussians. By five o'clock the Prus-
sians were giving ground in all directions, and the
Austrian infantry streamed through Hohenbruck at
the charge. Von Bonin bivouacked that night on the
same ground occupied by his corps in the morning.
The battle of Trautenau was an Austrian victory,
inasmuch as it forced the Prussian corps back into
the mountains. The losses of the Prussians, however,
were only 1,300 men to the 5,500 of the victors. This
contest alone is sufficient to prove the hopeless char-
acter of the struggle which Austria was waging with
her better armied antagonist.
After receiving Bonin's refusal of aid on the 27th,
the 1st division of the Guards had taken up the
march to Eypel. That night the prince of Wiirtem-
berg commanding the Guard corps received tidings
from the crown prince of the battle at Trautenau with
orders to proceed immediately to extricate the 1st
corps. Pushing the 1st division^ rapidly forward with
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA. 233
the 2d a few miles in the rear, the prince of Wiirtem-
berg crossed the Aupa early on the 28th and moved
toward Koniginhof. This compelled Gablenz who
was facing northward against the 1st corps to change
his front, a feat which he skillfully accomplished just
in time to receive the attack of the Guards all along
the heights of Soor. The attack, however, was suc-
cessful, and Gablenz fell back toward Koniginhof.
Later in the afternoon the 2d division of the Guards
came up, stormed Trautenau, and captured the greater
portion of the Austrian brigade engaged there. This
opened the way for the advance of the 1st corps,
which pushed on to Arnau and fell in with the cav-
alry patrols of Prince Frederick Charles. The
Guards on the 29th continued their advance, storming
Koniginhof, thus completing the union of the second
army on the Elbe.
III.
Communications were reopened between the three
Prussian armies in Bohemia on the 30th of June, or
just one week from the time the first battalion passed
the frontier. Unquestionably Benedek's plan had
been to detain the crown prince in the mountains
while with his main army he overwhelmed Prince
Frederick Charles. Military critics claim that had
Benedek reversed this plan, standing on the defensive
on the Iser while he massed his strength against the
crown prince, better fortune might have attended the
Austrian arms. It is also asserted that Benedek
committed a grave error in delaying his attack upon
the crown prince's columns until they had debouched
from the mountain passes ; that by so doing he left
his isolated corps to be beaten in detail by superior
234 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
forces, and exhausted the strength with which he
should have succored Clam Gallas on the Iser. It is
certainly to the credit of the Austrian commander,
that he did not lose his head when the tidings of
disaster poured in upon him from all quarters. No
sooner had he received information of the actions
at Miinchengratz and Skalitz than he issued orders
for the army to form on a new line, from Josephstadt
to Gitschin. For this purpose he urged Clam Gallas
to hold firm at the latter place. Scarcely had he
done so when the news arrived that Clam Gallas was
in full retreat. Nothing daunted by this disappoint-
ment Benedek with commendable promptness ordered
the retreat of the whole army under the guns of the
fortress of Koniggratz, though he must have real-
ized before this that the chances of the campaign
were against him. His enemies were consolidating
in his front after he had lost 40,000 men in the at-
tempt to keep them divided. In this crisis it seems
to be generally admitted that Benedek made the most
of the opportunities afforded him by seizing a strong
defensive position in the hilly country between the
Elbe and the Bistritz rivers.
On the afternoon of July 2d Benedek issued his
orders in anticipation of a Prussian attack. " The
royal Saxon corps will occupy the heights of Popo-
witz. . . . The 10th corps will take post on the right
of the Saxon corps, and lastly the 3d corps will oc-
cupy the heights of Lipa and Chlum, on the right of
the 10th corps. The principal duty of the 8th corps
will be to serve as support to the Saxon corps, behind
which it will station itself. Troops not herein named
have merely to hold themselves in readiness so long
as the attack is confined to our left wing ; but should
THE PRUSSIANS IN BOHEMIA. 236
the enemy's attack assume greater dimensions, and be
directed against our centre and right wing as well,
then the whole army will be formed in order of bat-
tle, and the following measures will be taken: the
4th corps will move up on the right of the 3d to the
heights of Chlum and Nedelist, and the 2d corps on
the extreme right flank, next to the 4th." These
orders also provided that the 1st and 6th corps should
act as a reserve, the former to take position near
Eosnitz, the other to occupy the heights of Wsestar.
Of the five cavalry divisions two were on the left
near Prim, one on the right, and two in reserve in the
rear of the 1st and 6th corps.
These dispositions were made clearly with a view
to repelling an attack from the west. Benedek held
the opinion that the mass of the Prussian second army
had moved toward Gitschin, and that the forces left
on the Elbe were too weak or too distant to be danger-
ous. He anticipated a Prussian attempt to turn his
left, but he seems to have given himself no uneasiness
respecting his right. This is demonstrated by the
tone of his instructions to the 2d and 4th corps form-
ing the latter wing, which were to apply only in case
of the action becoming general, a contingency which
he plainly regarded as improbable. He clung tena-
ciously to the theory that his enemies were all before
him, and this was the fatal blunder of his campaign.
Whether it was due to lack of information or faulty
information, to the sluggishness of patrols or to ob-
tuseness on the part of the commander himself, it
was the blunder that was destined to decide a great
battle, and settle the long dispute between the Ger-
man powers.
The heights on which the Austrian army took
236 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
position overlooked the Bistritz, and no labor was
spared to render their slopes unassailable. A chain
of redoubts was thrown up to protect the central
positions between Lipa and Nedelist, while the woods
above Sadowa and Benatek were obstructed by ab-
batis. Other works were ordered for the protection
of the Saxons on the left, but the Prussian advance
prevented their completion.
The main road from Koniggratz to Horsitz inter-
sected the centre of the Austrian position, passing
south of Sosberitz and Chlum and crossing the Bis-
tritz at Sadowa. The Austrian line was in the shape
of a half circle sprung from the vicinity of Prim on
the left through Lipa and Nedelist nearly to the Elbe
on the right. The Saxon outposts were in Nechanitz
on the Bistritz, the Austrians in Mokrovous, Do-
halicka, Dohalitz, Sadowa, and Benatek farther up
the stream. To hold this Kne, nearly seven mUes in
length, Benedek had eight corps, comprising perhaps
200,000 men. All but two of these corps, however,
were suffering from the depression and demoralization
consequent upon recent contact with the needle-gun.
The pluck of the Austrian army was still good, but
its enthusiasm was gone.
CHAPTER XVm.
THE PRUSSIANS AT KONIGGRATZ AND BEFOBE
VIENNA.
Pbince Frederick Charles prepares for Battle. — Night
March of the First Prussian Army upon the Bistritz. —
Arrival of the EIinq of Prussia at Dub. — Opening of the
Battle of Eoniggratz. — The Prussians cross the Bistritz.
— State of the Battle at Noon. — Critical Position of the
Prussian Left. — Anxiety of the Prussian Staff. — Ap-
proach OF THE Crown Prince to the Field. — He threatens
the Austrian Right. — Confused State of that Wing and
Causes therefor. — The Crown Prince moves upon Chlum.
— Capture of Chlum by the Prussian Guards and its Re-
sults. — Benedek's Amazement upon learning of the Fall
of Chlum. — He heads his Reserves in the Effort to re-
take it. — Failure of the Attack. — Total Defeat of the
Austrian Army. — Heroism of the Austrian Artillery. —
Immediate Results of the Battle. — Archduke Albrecht
ASSUMES Command of the Austrian Armies* — The Prussian-
Advance UPON Vienna. — Benedek^s Retreat. — Battle of
Blumenau. — The Armistice.
On the afternoon of July 2 Prince Frederick Charles
was at Kammenitz, having just returned from a coun-
cil of war at the royal headquarters in Gitschin. This
council had decided that on the following morning
the first army should push a reconnoissance in the
direction of Koniggratz, and the prince returned to
Kammenitz to direct the intended movements. Im-
mediately upon his arrival, however, he received in-
formation that led him to assume the responsibility
of disregarding the decision of the high military con-
238 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
clave he had just quitted. The reports of the officers
whom he had sent out in the morning to explore the
country in his front demonstrated clearly that the
Austrians were in force all along the Bistritz River
from Benatek to Nechanitz. He immediately con-
cluded that Benedek was on the point of assuming
the offensive with his entire army. Recognizing that
his present position was unfavorable for the accept-
ance of a great battle, the prince determined upon
an immediate advance. The plan he hastily evolved
had for its object the decisive overthrow of Benedek's
army. While the first army advanced against Sa-
dowa, the army of the Elbe was to move on its right
against Nechanitz, the second army on the north
threatening meantime the Austrian right and rear.
Considering the distance that separated the first and
second armies, there was a strong element of risk in
this scheme. The strength of the Austrian army was
not definitely known, but it was certain that the first
and Elbe armies would be obliged to hold their own
against vastly superior forces until the crown prince
had time to develop his attack.
Prince Frederick Charles immediately ordered Gen-
eral Bittenf eld to advance upon Nechanitz, while he
dispatched a messenger to the crown prince request-
ing his cooperation. It was not imtil after these
orders had been issued that he acquainted the king
at Gitschin with his proposed movements and secured
his hearty approval. Indeed a royal messenger was
hurried off to the crown prince with orders for the
immediate advance of his entire army.
Before midnight on the 2d the first army was on
the march toward the Bistritz. While the 8th divi-
sion, supported by the 5th and 6th, followed the Konig-
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KONIGGRATZ AND VIENNA. 239
gratz road, the Sd and 4th divisions moved through
the cultivated country on their right. The 7th divi-
sion marched on the left of the main army from
Horsitz toward Cerekwitz. The night was dark, save
occasionally when the moon broke through the driv-
ing clouds and revealed ghmpses of the trees and
cornfields waving in the damp wind. The dawn was
ushered in by a dismal rain that transformed field
and road into sloughs that seriously clogged the
progress of the artillery. About four o'clock the
head of the columns began to ascend the long hill on
which stands the village of Dub. From the crest of
the hill the Bistritz valley burst upon the view from
Benatek on the north to the clustering roofs of
Nechanitz four miles below Sadowa. All along the
river nestled little hamlets, backed by hills and woods
that showed dimly through the rain and mist of the
gray morning.
It was half past eight when the king of Prussia
and his staff came within sight of the battlefield, and
then the contest had fairly begun. Franzecky's 7th
division was hotly engaged on the left in front of
Benatek, while Sadowa and the villages farther down
the stream were belted with the smoke of the Aus-
trian riflemen, whose fire increased as the Prussian
skirmishers advanced. All along the heights above
the Austrian guns were at work, flashing through the
haze and mingling their billowy smoke with the mist
and fog. Their practice was good, and the shells
swept the Koniggratz road in front of Sadowa, and
went rushing up the hillside into the environs of Dub
where the royal staff had taken position.
Before ten o'clock Benatek had been set on fire
and occupied by the Prussian 7th division. About
240 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
this time, too, the Austrian artillery on the slope be-
tween Dohalitz and Mokrovous began to show signs of
weakening under the continually increasing weight of
the Prussian fire. Prince Frederick Charles, noticing
this, gave the word ^f or the infantry to advance against
the villages along the river. The 8th division moved
against Sadowa, the 4th against Dohalitz, and the 3d
against Mokrovous. It was no part of the Austrian
plan to sacrifice much for these positions, and Colonel
Proshaka commanding the garrison of Sadowa re-
ceived orders to retire. The abandonment of Sadowa
settled also the fate of Dohalitz, Dohalicka, and
Mokrovous, and before eleven o'clock the whole left
bank of the Bistritz had passed into the hands of the
Prussians. The army of the Elbe had driven the
Saxon outposts from Nechanitz, and was crossing the
river at that place preparatory to turning the left of
Benedek's position.
At noon, however, the state of affairs was hardly
satisfactory to the Prussians. Franzecky was barely
able to maintain himself in the wood above Benatek,
while all along the river from Sadowa to Mokrovous
the Prussians were subjected to a murderous and
crushing artillery fire. Shortly after noon Prince
Frederick Charles sent the 5th and 6th divisions for-
ward to the support of those already engaged in the
woods on the slope above Sadowa.^ At one o'clock,
with all their reserves engaged, the Prussian staff
could trace no improvement in the situation. The
Austidan artillery still maintained its terrible fire.
^ The Prussian generals at no time meditated a strong offensive by
their centre, but dreaded such a movement on the part of the Aus-
trians. The reserves went forward to be at hand in case of a general
assault by their enemy.
KONIGGRATZ AND VIENNA. 241
Franzecky's position on the left had become one of
absolute peril,^ while on the right the army of the
Elbe was stiU painfully defiling through the swamps
at Neehanitz, and unable to gain ground.
Everything depended upon the prompt arrival of
the crown prince. The royal staff recognized this
fact. The king, erect and white-haired, turned his
gaze from the wood where the Austrian shells were
playing sad havoc with his devoted troops, for some
sign of his son, whose arrival was to decide the day.
Bismarck turned in his saddle and peered anxiously
from under the vizor of his helmet in the vain en-
deavor to penetrate the smoke that hung over the
valley about Benatek. Even Moltke's furtive glances
beUed the habitual imperturbability of his face.
Every eye was strained for some glimpse of the
second army, every ear alert to catch the music of its
approaching artillery. The moments dragged heavily.
At two o'clock the situation was still unchanged.^
The soldiers of the Kaiser were fighting a grand
battle. Just before three the Prussian 8th division
received orders to retire, and the cavalry was held in
readiness to cover a retreat.
The Prussian staff was anxious and Benedek was
complacent, but the condition of each was induced
by ignorance of the true position of affairs. The
crown prince was in reality keeping his engagements
^ Franzecky had 14 battalions and 24 guns against 51 Austrian
battalions and 128 guns. Indeed, nearly the whole strength of the
Austrian 2d and 4th corps was employed against him. The Prussian
headquarters, however, did not feel justified in reinforcing Franzecky
at the expense of their centre.
^ Von Moltke knew at this time that the crown prince was ap-
proaching the field, but did not realize his troops were really en-
gaged. At 1.45 he informed General Bittenfeld, ''tlie crown prince
is at Zizelowes."
242 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
to the letter. His information as to the position of
the enemy was very indefinite, but he commenced
his advance at five in the morning. The 6th corps
crossed the Elbe near Jaromir and marching south-
west formed the left of his army. The 1st corps on
the right headed for Gross Burglitz, while the Guards
in the centre, accompanied by the crown prince in
person, moved from Koniginhof on Lhota and Jericek.
After passing Daubrowitz the crown prince obtained
his first distant view of the battle, but not until he
gained the hills opposite Horenowes did he appreciate
its extent, and the fact that the Prussian left was in
actual danger. About noon he directed the Guards
toward the two famous trees on the hiUtop above
Horenowes, covering their left by an attack of the 6th
corps upon Sacitz. Both of these villages and the
heights were carried with slight loss, their garrisons
consisting only of weak detachments of the Austrian
2d corps. The commander of the Austrian 4th corps
had long since left his intrenchments between Chlum
and Nedelist and plunged forward to engage the
Prussian 7th division in the wood of Maslowed. This
he did on his own responsibility, while the 2d corps, to
which had been assigned the ground between Nedelist
and the Elbe, moved up on his right. As a result,
at one hour before noon Benedek's right wing stood
on the line Maslowed-Horenowes-Eacitz, with its main
strength massed in the vicinity of the first-named
place. It was only after suffering great losses, and
after Benedek's order had been twice repeated, that
the insubordinate corps commanders began to retire
upon their original positions. Indeed, at the time
when the crown prince was developing his attack
upon Racitz and Horenowes these weary, demoralized
KONIQGRATZ AND VIENNA. 243
battalions were in the confusion of executing this
movement.
The crown prince saw his opportunity. The Guards
seized Maslowed ; the 6th corps pushed from Sacitz
upon Lochenitz to cut the bridge at that place. From
Maslowed the leading regiments of the Guard marched
along the rear of the Austrian detachments still en-
gaged in the Maslowed wood, and headed for the
conspicuous church tower of Chlum. They reached
the precincts of that village almost unopposed and
stormed it from the east. The slender garrison was
immediately overpowered, while a Prussian battalion
seized the callage of Rosberitz farther down the hill,
from which point they easily commanded the main
avenue of the Austrian retreat on Koniggratz. At
three o'clock the 1st division of the Prussian Guards
were in full possession of the heart of the Austrian
position. All about them the battle was still raging.
Just below toward Koniggratz they could see the
huge masses of the Austrian reserves. A few rods
to the east Benedek was confidently directing what he
regarded as a satisfactory battle, little dreaming that
the key of his position was already in the iron grasp
of his adversaries.
Benedek was certainly satisfied with the progress
of events. Strong in the belief that he had the whole
Prussian army before him, with his line nowhere
broken, and with ample reserves, he felt he had the
contest well in hand. He had no anxiety for his
right. It is true he was annoyed with the com-
mander of the 4th corps for quitting his allotted
position and for not promptly obeying his orders to
return to it. Apparently, however, he thought these
instructions were obeyed earlier than they were.
244 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
It was a little before noon that Benedek learned
that his right was threatened by a Prussian corps.
He was undisturbed by the information and merely
sent orders for the 2d corps to hold its ground. What
followed can readily be included among the marvels
of military history. No tidings reached the Austrian
commander that his 2d corps was being worsted near
Maslowed, or that the Prussian Guards had gained
that place. Indeed, he was never more complacent
than when, shortly before three o'clock, an orderly
came dashing up to his side with the information that
the Prussians were in Chlum.
If Feldzeugmeister von Benedek had been informed
that the Prussian army had taken to itself wings and
was flying away in the direction of Vienna, the tidings
would have been no more astonishing or incredible.
He refused to credit the news, and followed by his staff
galloped away through the Lipa wood to where the
church spire of Chlum was revealed through the smoke.
The rolling of the needle-guns and the deadly volley
that came pelting among his followers at the entrance
of the village left no doubt as to the truth. He turned
to his reserves and ordered the 6th corps against
Kosberitz and Chlum in a wild effort to recover the
day. Determined that he would not survive the dis-
aster he put himself at the head of the storming
columns. Kosberitz was cleared, but the attack failed
at the churchyard and orchards of Chlum. The
dense masses of the Austrians only served as better
food for tlie close discharges of the needle-guns. The
losses suffered at this point were simply enormous.
Whole battalions were literally annihilated, blown
away in the hot blasts of fire and iron. Every
moment of delay added to the hopelessness of the
KONIGGRATZ AND VIENNA. tJ45
Austrian efforts, for the whole of the crown prince's
army was approaching the field. Benedek was con-
spicuous in the meZee, powder blackened and furious,
but no kindly bullet found his breast.
Alas for Benedek! Eaised to the supreme com-
mand on the wave of popular approval earned by
good service on Italian battlefields, he was destined
to lose the opportunity to render his name forever
illustrious. He was trained in the wrong school and
fought the wrong foe to make a great military name.
Perhaps no general in Europe with troops similarly
equipped could have contended successfully with the
hosts which Prussia poured into Bohemia. Certain
it is that the remodeled Prussian army was an obsta-
cle against which reputations even more brilliant and
secure than Benedek's were destined to be shivered
to atoms.
At half past three the Austrian army was beaten ;
on the left the Saxons were retiring, and the reserves
had exhausted themselves in their useless struggle at
Chlum. The 2d Austrian corps had been driven
across the Elbe, and the 4th corps was hopelessly lost.
The 2d division of the Prussian Guards stormed the
batteries in front of Chlum which had been holding
the first army so long in check. This attack revealed
for the first time the position of the crown prince to
the king and his staff. They could descry the dark
masses of the Prussian infantry struggling across the
fields on the heights. They appreciated the situation,
and ordered a general advance. The Austrian guns
in position were hastily abandoned, but the artillerists
saved many fieldpieces, and covered themselves with
glory before night.' The whole Austrian army, in
fact, proved its high discipline by its conduct in these
trying circumstances. The retreating infantry never
246 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
broke under the murderous Prussian fire, nor allowed
their retreat to become a rout. Again and again the
Austrian artillerists unlimbered, and checked their
pursuers. The Austrian cavalry also added to its
high reputation, charging infantry and artillery alike,
and shedding its blood like water to cover the retreat
of the discomfited army.
The battle of Koniggratz, in the point of numbers
engaged, the losses sustained, and results achieved,
must be designated as one of the mightiest militaiy
conflicts of the century. The Austrian army sustained
a loss of over 40,000 men, 174 guns, and 11 stand-
ards, while the Prussian army was reduced by 10,000
men killed and wounded. The Prussians only appre-
ciated the full magnitude of their success when, on
the day following the battle. General Gablenz passed
through their lines with Benedek's proposal for an
armistice. His mission was wholly unsuccessful. In
fact, his errand stimulated such confidence at the
royal headquarters as to cause Bismarck himself some
misgivings. He had " the thankless task of pouring
water into the foaming wine, and reminding his peo-
ple that they were not living alone in Europe, but
with three other neighbors."
So far as Austria was concerned, there was little
more to fear. The army of the north which Benedek
had addressed with such flowery assurance a fortnight
before was a mere wreck cowering under the intrench-
ments of Olmiitz. Vienna was ablaze with rage, and
Benedek was its unhappy object. His resignation
which followed was a matter of necessity. The Arch-
duke Albrecht was called from Italy to the command
of the united Austrian armies,* and on his arrival
bent his energies to placing Vienna in a state of de-
fense. He dispatched imperative orders to Benedek
KONIGGRATZ AND VIENNA. 247
at Olmiitz to forward his army by rail as rapidly as
possible, at the same time instructing his successor in
Venetia to hurry all his available troops to the de-
fense of the capital.
The three Prussian armies renewed their advance
on the 5th, the crown prince moving upon Olmiitz,
while Frederick Charles and Bittenf eld marched for
Vienna, — the former via Brunn ; the latter by Iglau
and Znaim. The monotony of the long marches was
broken only by occasional alarms and cavalry skir-
mishes. The tide of advance swept on, leaving the
crops waving uninjured to await the harvesting of
their owners, and the stolid villagers with bare larders
but abundance of Prussian coin.
On the 13th the vanguard of the first army entered
Briinn unopposed, and the next day cut the railway
line at Lundenburg over which Benedek had been
hurrying his troops to Vienna. It was at Brunn that
the equipage of M. Benedetti first appeared, a har-
binger of peace and of would-be French aggrandize-
ment. On the 20th the Prussian columns gained the
banks of the Danube, and the soldiers obtained the
long-coveted view of the spire of St. Stephens float-
ing dimly over the haze of Vienna.
Before the cutting of the railway line Benedek had
sent four of his broken corps to the capital. With
the remainder of his army he determined to move
down the March valley to the same destination. On
the 15th, however, his right flank was struck savagely
by the cavalry of the crown prince, an event that led
him to abandon his line of march and adopt a more
circuitous route westward over the Carpathian Moun-
tains. On the 21st he reached Pressburg, and opened
communications with the archduke at Vienna.
In the mean time the Austrian cabinet had come to
#■
tI.'
248 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
the conclusion that an armistice could alone prevent
the humiliation of a Prussian military pageant on the
King-Strasse. The archduke had succeeded in bring-
ing up but a small portion of the army from Venetia,
while the troops from Olmutz were still in a state of
partial demoralization. The news that Benedek's
weary battalions were streaming into Pressburg pro-
duced no change in the conviction of the government.
On the 22d Count Karolyi and General Degenfeld
repaired to the Prussian headquarters at Nikolsburg
to arrange an armistice and discuss the preliminaries
of a peace.
On this day an action was fought in the vicinity of
Blumenau between the 7th and 8th Prussian divisions
and four Austrian brigades of the 2d and 10th corps.
The action was interrupted by news of the armistice,
though not until the Austrian position had been seri-
ously compromised. Blumenau was a useless contest,
but it brought laurels to General Franzecky and will
remain conspicuous as the last action of the Seven
Weeks' war.
The armistice was to expire on the 27th, but on the
26th, after conferences in which M. Benedetti essayed
to play a part, preliminaries of peace were signed.
The tenor of these preliminaries alone attested the
extent of the Austrian reverse. She agreed to with-
draw from the confederation, to pay a heavy war in-
demnity, and to oppose no objection to Prussia's re-
organization of North Germany. Everything which
Austrian statesmen since Schwarzenberg had been
contending for was hopelessly lost in the development
of Bismarck's policy of " iron and blood." The ar-
rangement of details devolved upon the diploma-
tists, and the Prussian army withdrew to the line of
the Thaya to await the signature of a definite peace.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE GERMAN FEDERAL ARMY.
The Campaign in the West. — Critical Situation of the
Hanoverian Army. — Indifference of Prince Charles op
Bavaria. — Victory of the Hanoverians at Lanoensalza.
— Capitulation of the Hanoverian Army. — Indecision in
THE Federal Councils. — Advance of the Prussian Gen-
eral Falckenstein upon Frankfort. — Prussian Occupa-
tion OF FuLDA. — Battle of Kissingen and Defeat of the
Bavarians. — Defeat of the 8th Federal Corps at Lau-
FACH AND ASCHAFFENBURG. — PRUSSIAN EnTRY INTO FrANK-
FORT. — Junction of Prince Alexander with Prince
Charles. — General Manteuffel succeeds Falckenstein.
— He marches from Frankfort. — Indecision of the Fed-
eral Commander. — Fighting on the Tauber. — Retreat
OF THE Federal Army upon WUrzburg. — Bobibardment of
Wurzburg by the Prussians. — The Armistice.
During the progress of the campaign in Bohemia,
the Prussian armies in the west had been gaining
most decisive successes. In three days after the dec-
laration of war they had occupied Hanover and Cas-
sel, and held the Hanoverian army in their power.
In fact, the only chance for the escape of King
George and his devoted troops lay in the cooperation
of the Bavarian army then massed in the vicinity of
Bamberg and Wiirzburg. Prince Charles of Bavaria
refusing to recognize the gravity of the crisis, it
devolved upon the hard-pressed Hanoverians to ex-
tricate themselves unaided from the necessity of a
capitulation. King George was despondent, reahzing
the unpreparedness of his troops and the utter dilap-
y
260 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
idation of his commissariat. He opened negotiations
with Berlin in the hope of securing a free passage for
his army into Bavaria on the condition that they
would not turn their arms against Prussia during the
succeeding six months. The delay caused by this
correspondence was fatal to him. The Hanoverian
army had been slowly moving in the direction of
Gotha, and on the 26th bivouacked about the town
of Langensalza. That night four Prussian divisions
were closing in upon it from the northwest and south
On the morning of the 27th the Prussian General
Flies advancing from Warza with 12,000 men en-
countered the Hanoverian outposts in front of Lan-
gensalza. The conflict that ensued was the last which
the Hanoverians were destined to wage for their royal
house. Poorly armed, poorly organized, with every
circumstance dispiriting, the raw battalions of King
George proved themselves nevertheless invincible.
General Flies was compelled to abandon the field to
his foes, and draw off toward Warza.
The victory, however, stirred no enthusiasm in the
Hanoverian ranks. The king recognized the fact that
a prolongation of the contest could only result in
useless slaughter. Forty-two thousand Prussians were
concentrating upon his position, and there was no sign
of help from the Bavarians. Even the cannon of
Langensalza had failed to awake Prince Charles from
his lethargy. On the 29th, finally despairing of aid,
the king accepted the Prussian terms and capitulated.
The soldiers laid down their arms and were dismissed
to their homes. The king became an exile from his
people.
The Hanoverians disposed of, there remained to
confront the Prussians the Bavarian army and the
OVERTHROW OF THE FEDERAL ARMY. 251
8th federal corps which was still in process of mobil-
ization. The plan conceived at Vienna for the move-
ment of the federal forces in the west comprised an
early junction of the Bavarians and the 8th corps and
an invasion of Prussian territory. The fall of the
Hanoverian army, which was to lend its support to
this movement, threw all the military calculations out
of joint. Prince Charles, after allowing his opportu-
nity to slip, made a tardy advance to succor the Han-
overians. At Meiningen he received tidings of the
battle of Langensalza and the subsequent capitula-
tion. Upon this he began a hurried retreat to join
the 8th corps, which at the same time commenced its
northward march from Frankfort. The rapid move-
ments of the Prussians, however, again frustrated the
federal commander.
General von Falckenstein, who had been appointed
to the command of all the Prussian forces in the west,
rapidly concentrated his army after the capitulation
of the Hanoverians, and moved upon Frankfort via
Fulda. On July 4 he worsted the Bavarian detach-
ment at Wiesenthal, inducing the retirement of the
whole Bavarian army beyond the Saale. Prince
Alexander, commanding the 8th corps, upon learning
of this commenced his retreat on Frankfort. On the
6th General von Falckenstein occupied Fulda, and in
view of the fact that seventy miles of country sepa-
rated the two corps of the federal army, he determined
to overwhelm them in detail. He did not overrate
the demoralization in Prince Alexander's ranks when
he concluded that there was little to fear from the 8th
corps for some days to come. On the 8th he broke
up his quarters at Fulda, on the 9th he crossed the
Hohe Rhon, and the next morning hurled his forces
252 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
against the astonished Bavarians at Hammelburg,
Kissingen, and Waldasehach on the Saale. At every
point the Bavarians were outnumbered, and so far
separated from their supports that no aid was possible
during the day. Kissingen became sadly changed in
a few hours. Its fashionable devotees were awakened
by the uproar of military preparations, and found
themselves enforced witnesses of a fierce combat.
The bridges over the Saale were destroyed and the
streets barricaded ; but before these precautions were
completed Goeben's Prussian division was attacking.
The Bavarians fought well, but under cover of their
superior artillery the Prussians crossed the river, and
carried the fight into the streets of the town. In the
Kurgarten, where twice a day fashion held high car-
nival, the combatants closed with the bayonet. At
three o'clock the Prussians had carried the town,
leaving its finery sadly battle-scarred. The Bavarians,
doggedly retreating, maintained desultory skirmishing
until dark. The retreat from Hammelburg had com-
menced earlier in the day, while at Waldasehach Gen-
eral Manteuffel's division encountered only feeble
resistance.
By these successes General Falckenstein won the
line of the Saale, and temporarily paralyzed the Ba-
varian army for offensive movements. On the 11th
he turned against the 8th corps, directing Beyer's
division to Hanau, and Goeben's division against As-
chaffenburg via Laufach, where the troops of Hesse
Darmstadt were in position. On the 13th Goeben
carried Laufach, and the next day encountered the
Austrian brigade of the 8th corps at Aschaffen-
burg. The action there was not especially severe.
The Austrian artillery was well served, but their in-
OVERTHROW OF THE FEDERAL ARMY. 253
fantry, composed largely of Italians, was thrown into
confusion, and lost 2,000 prisoners by becoming
jammed in the streets of the town. This fight set-
tled the fate of Frankfort, and there was a general
stampede of federal functionaries, civil and military.
Alarmed at the defeat of his advanced brigades,
Prince Alexander hastily withdrew from the city, and
on the 15th had his whole army on the south side of
the Main. On the 16th General Falckenstein entered
Frankfort, the public buildings were placed under
mihtary guard, and the Prussian colors hoisted upon
the palace of Thurn and Taxis. The free city of
Frankfort, the capital of the German confederation,
was to be from henceforth a Prussian municipality.
From this time the federal cause in the west was
hopeless. On the 15th Prince Alexander effected a
junction with the Bavarians, but it was then too late
to reap the benefits that would have attended an ear-
lier consummation of the movement. Both the fed-
eral corps were dispirited by their lack of success as
well as by the tidings of Kbniggratz and the Prussian
advance on Vienna. The Bavarians had lost confi-
dence in their leaders, and the heterogeneous soldiery
of the 8th corps had fought without enthusiasm from
the first.
As for the Prussians, their condition was exactly
the reverse. General von Falckenstein was called to
assume the military governorship of Bohemia, but he
was ably succeeded by General Manteuffel. Further-
more, a reserve corps had been formed at Leipsic, and
under the command of the grand duke of Mecklen-
burg-Schwerin was preparing to invade Bavaria in
the direction of Hof. The army of the Main, as
Manteuffel's army was now styled, had been strength-
254 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
ened also by the military contingents of Oldenburg,
Hamburg, Liibeek, Waldeek, Bremen, and Sehwarz^
burg-Sonderhausen, aggregating 10,000 men.
On the 21st Manteuflfel advanced from Frankfort.
Prince Charles of Bavaria was at a loss what course
to pursue. If he stood fast against Manteuffel he
left the road open for the grand duke of Mecklen-
burg to march on Miinich. If he retreated to cover
the capital he permitted a union of the two Prussian
armies. While he was thus undecided, on the 24th
Manteuffel attacked the 8th corps on the Tauber.
At Werbach where the Badeners were in position,
and at Tauberbischofsheim held by the Wiirtemberg-
ers, there was some sharp fighting, but at both places
the Prussians forced a passage of the river. Prince
Alexander retired to Gerscheim midway between
Wiirzburg and Tauberbischofsheim. That night the
Bavarian army came up on his right, prolonging the
line of battle to the vicinity of Utingen and Helm-
stadt on the north.
There was desultory fighting all along this front of
ten miles on the day following. After dark Prince
Alexander began his retreat upon Wiirzburg. Prince
Charles, ignorant of this movement, and having his
troops better in hand, moved against Utingen on the
morning of the 26th. He was not long in discover-
ing that his left fiank was uncovered, and that his
communications with Wiirzburg were threatened by
Goeben's victorious troops. A hasty retreat at once
commenced, and before night the whole federal army
was reunited at Wiirzburg. With the Main in its
rear and a determined foe in front, the position of
this army was most critical. It was literally besieged,
while the troops of the Prussian reserve corps at
OVERTHROW OF THE FEDERAL ARMY. 255
Baireuth had an open march to Munich. The one
hope of the federal forces lay in the efforts of Herr
von der Pf ordten, the Bavarian ambassador, who had
been at Nikolsburg for some days endeavoring to
arrange an honorable peace with Prussia.
Bismarck's dealings with Pfordten were more brief
than conciliatory. Bavaria must yield all her terri-
tory north of the Main, and consent to the payment
of a war indemnity. In vain the Bavarian protested
against these harsh conditions. When it became
clear that Vienna was at the mercy of the Prussians,
and he learned that the great fortress of Wiirzburg
was fast becoming a rubbish heap under the bombard-
ment of Manteuffel's artillery, Pfordten yielded to
the inevitable. News of the armistice reached Wiirz-
burg on the 29th after a day of terrific cannonade.
Hostilities were immediately suspended, and before
the close of the month preliminaries of peace had
been signed between Prussia, Bavaria, and all those
states whose contingents made up the 8th federal
corps.
CHAPTER XX.
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866.
Itauak Affaibs aftbb thb Dsiath op Cavoub. — Garibaldi
AGAIN. — Thb Battle at Aspbomonte. — Fall op thb Ra-
TAZZI MiNISTBY. — FbANOE Ain> THB RoMAN QUESTION.
DbOUYN DB LhUYS on THB SITUATION. — TbANSFEB OP THB
National Govebnment to Flobencb. — Joy of the Floben-
TiNEs. — Declaration of War upon Austria. — Condition
op the Opposing Abmies. — Thb Gebman Plan fob thb
Italian Campaign and its Rejection at Florence. — Thb
Italian Army crosses the Mincio. — The Plans of the Op-
posing Commandebs result in a Collision. — The Theatre
of Action. — Opening op the Battle of Custozza on thb
Italian Right. — Fighting at Ouosi and Rout op thb
Italian Left Wing. — Bold and Successful Move of thb
Italian Genebal Pianelli to check the Austbian Pubsutt.
— Progress of the Battle in the Centre. — La Marmo-
ra's Incapacity. — State op the Battle at Two o'Clock. —
Concentric Attack of the Abchduke upon Custozza and
Retreat of the Italians. — The Italian Army recrosses
THE MtNCio. — Responsibility of La Mabmoba for the De-
feat. — The Abchduke Albbecht summoned to Vienna. —
Advance op the Italian Abmy under Cialdini. — Defeat
OP THE Italian Fleet at Lissa. — Degradation of Admiral
Pebsano. — GtooD Faith of the Italian Govebnment in 1866.
On the evening when Prince Frederick Charles
was concentrating his troops at Reichenberg, prepara-
tory to their first contest with the Kaiserliks, the last
echoes of a stem battle were reverberating among the
hills of the Lago di Garda, and an Italian army was
retreating from a disastrous field.
The course of events in Italy since Cavour's death
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866. 257
liad been marked by bitter parliamentary strifes, by
the fall of ministries, and by inglorious insurrections,
until the battle-cry of ** Venetia " united the nation
anew. The ministry of Baron Ricasoli, who succeeded
Cavour, fell in a few months for alleged lukewarm-
ness on the Koman question. Signor Satazzi would
have left an enviable record as prime minister except
for this same Koman question. After a few months
of prosperity, however, during which the diplomatic re-
lations of Italy steadily improved, and numerous inter-
nal improvements were instituted, he was confronted by
a Garibaldian revolution with its battle-cry of " Kome
or death." This was in July, 1862. Garibaldi made
his appearance in Sicily, and simunoned his old com^
rades about him for the march upon the eternal city.
Perhaps Cavour would have found a way of turning
even this crowning folly of Garibaldi to some good
accoimt, but Eatazzi saw but one course of action in
the crisis. He immediately placed the Two Sicilies
in a state of siege, and dispatched General La Mar-
mora to restore order. On the 29th of August Gari-
baldi was confronted by the royal troops at Aspro-
monte. There was but little fighting, but an unlucky
bullet inflicted a wound upon Garibaldi's ankle that
was attended with the most serious political conse-
quences. The republican faction heading all disaffeo-
tions started a fierce agitation against the Eatazzi
ministry. Guribaldi was held up as a patriot and
martyr. The prime minister was decried as an im-
perialist and a traitor. The ministry resigned, and
in the fall of 1862 was succeeded by that of Signor
Farini. HI health brought his administration to an
end in a few months. Signor Minghetti followed,
and infused new vigor into the government. Brig-
258 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
andage in the southern provinces was mercilessly
hunted down, new railways were opened, and the
whole financial system was reformed.
At length (1864) the incessant importunity of the
Italian government with reference to Home began to
bear fruit at Paris. The emperor wanted Austria
driven from Italy, but so long as he held Rome he
could hardly lay stress upon this point. At length
he agreed to withdraw his troops on the promise of
the Italian government to protect the Papal See ; a
promise accompanied by the transfer of the royal
capital from Turin to Florence as a pledge of good
faith. " Of course this will all end in your going to
Rome," was the whispered remark of M. Drouyn de
Lhuys to the Italian minister at Paris, "but it is
important that between this event and that of the
evacuation such an interval may elapse, and such a
series of incidents occur, as to do away with the pos-
sibility of establishing any connection between them :
France must not be held responsible."
The Italian government accepted the conditions,
and yet so bitter was the feeling engendered through-
out Piedmont, and especially in Turin, upon its an-
nouncement that the Minghetti ministry resigned.
The king summoned General La Marmora to form
a new cabinet, and he proved the right man for the
crisis. He supported the odious arrangement in a
curt and military fashion. " The king's signature is
there — and that is enough," he declared in the Cham-
ber. The arrangement was finally indorsed and by a
large majority. Turin became simply the chief city of
Piedmont, the ancient seat of the Sardinian kings.
Florence became the capital of united Italy. If Turin
was grieved and angry, Florenqe welcomed the king
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866, 259
with open arms. In November, 1865, the parliament
convened in the great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio,
from the walls of which the strong features of the
Medici looked down through the dimness of the cen-
turies. Florence rang her bells anew, not in warn-
ing but in joy. The banner of the republic or the
arms of the Medici had never been so glad a sight to
Florence as the tricolor with the emblem of Savoy
that now floated from the battlements of the Palazzo
Pitti.
Having so far settled the Koman question as to
have gained a promise of the withdrawal of the
French troops, Victor Emmanuel and his ministry
turned their attention to Venice. The hostility be-
tween Austria and Prussia proved their opportunity.
The king through the French emperor sought to
induce Austria to yield Venetia as the price of Italian
neutrality in the approaching contest, but Austria
was too confident at this time to heed such a pro-
posal. In the mean time General Govone concluded
the Italo-Prussian alliance with Bismarck at Berlin.
From this time Italy steadily prepared for war.
The Italian declaration of war was issued on the
20th of June. The king left Florence to take the
command of the army. General La Marmora acting
as chief of staff. The army consisted at this time of
four strong corps, the 1st under General Durando at
Cavriana, the 2d under Cucchiari at Castellucchio,
the 3d under Delia Rocca at Gazzoldo, and the 4th
under Cialdini in the vicinity of Ferrara, a total
strength of nearly 160,000 men. The Archduke Al-
brecht, who commanded the Kaiser's forces in Vene-
tia, could muster about Verona scarcely more than
one third as many bayonets as his foe. He had the
260 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
5th corps under General Rodich, the 7th under Field
Marshal di Madonna del Monte, the 9th under Gen-
eral Hartung, and a reserve infantry division com-
manded by General Eupprecht. Each of these corps
comprised three infantry brigades of an average
strength of 5,000 men.
It seems that a plan of campaign was forwarded
from Berlin for the. consideration of the royal staff.
It provided for the masking of the Quadrilateral and
the embarkation of the main Italian army for some
point near Trieste from which it could conveniently
march upon Vienna. In other words, the Prussian
idea was for the Italians to fight a defensive battle
on the Mincio and the Po, while they threatened
Vienna from Styria. In consideration of the great
numerical superiority of the Italians, this plan was
feasible from a military point of view, but it did not
find favor with La Marmora. His preference and
the sentiment of Italy was for a march on Venice
rather than on Vienna.
The plan adopted at the Italian headquarters at
Goito was to occupy the Quadrilateral in force, to
isolate the fortresses, and push back the Austrian
field army. On the 23d, in pursuance of orders
issued from headquarters on the day previous, the
Italian armies began their advance. The 1st corps
passed the Mincio at Monzambano, Borghetto, and
Molino di Volta, Pianelli's division being retained on
the right bank to watch the garrison of Peschiera.
The entire 3d corps crossed at Goito and bivouacked
between Massimbona and Pozzolo. The 2d corps was
badly distributed. Three of its brigades were directed
upon Mantua, another brigade detailed to watch Bor-
gof orte, while two divisions remained at Castellucchio
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866. 261
with orders to cross the Mincio on the 24th as a sup-
port to the 1st and 3d corps.
General La Marmora took it for granted that the
archduke would not accept a battle west of the Adige.
On the 23d he issued his orders to the commanders
of the 1st and 3d corps to occupy the heights of Sona
and Sommacampagna. No one seems to have an-
ticipated that it might be necessary to fight for these
positions. Consequently at daybreak on the 24th the
men commenced their march with empty stomachs, in
heavy marching order, and without even the protec-
tion of patrols.
The Archduke Albrecht kept himself well informed
as to the whereabouts of his enemy and used his
cavalry to good advantage. The passage of the 3d
Italian corps at Goito and the position of Durando's
forces led him to infer that the Italian armies were
aiming at concentration in the vicinity of Albaredo
on the Adige. With this impression in mind he gave
orders on the 23d to occupy the heights of Somma-
campagna. His plan was excellently conceived. His
forces took position on a line from Sandra through
Sona to Sommacampagna, and pivoting on the latter
place executed a wheel to the left, establishing a new
line from Castelnuovo to Sonmiacampagna facing
southwest. It wiU thus be seen that on the morning
of June 24, when La Marmora's hungry and heavily-
laden troops were marching loosely to occupy the
coveted positions, the Austrians were also advancing
excellently prepared for combat.
The theatre of action was a memorable one in Aus-
trian and Italian military history. For the Italians
it was teeming with gloomy and bitter memories.
Here in Villafranca, resounding this morning with
262 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
the rumble of artillery and the blare of the bugles of
Prince Humbert's division, the hateful convention
of 1859 was signed by Napoleon and the Kaiser.
Hardly a league distant, drowsily sleeping among
those hilltops above the hot valley of the Tione is
the village of Custozza where the Sardinians were
defeated by Radetsky in 1849. A few miles away
toward the west, invisible it is true, is the shot-
scarred tower of Solferino and the grave-sprinkled
slope before San Martino. It was indeed a sad coun-
try for the Italians, and destined to become more so.
About seven o'clock Prince Humbert's division,
advancing from Villafranca upon Ganfardine and
Dossobuono, fell in with the Austrian outposts. Upon
this General Brignone, whose division had crossed
the Tione and was approaching Staffalo, promptly
seized the heights of Custozza and the Monte Croce,
whose summits command the road from Custozza to
Sommacampagna. This movement was executed none
too soon, for when the first troops gained the Monte
Croce the Austrians could be descried on the heights
of the Berettara across the valley to the north. Bri-
gnone was soon warmly engaged, the Lombard grena-
dier brigade on the heights of Custozza, the Pied-
montese grenadiers on the Monte Croce.
About the same time the Italian left wing on the
eastern bank of the Tione had begun the action.
General Cerale's division, after having lost its way at
Monzambano and marched nearly to Valeggio in the
efforts to find Castelnuovo, came up with the Austrian
division of reserve infantry near Oliosi about six in
the morning. The Pisa brigade drove the Austrians
from Mongrabia and from their strong positions on
the Monte Cricol. The other brigade of the division,
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866. 263
however, was thrown into disorder by a flank attack
of Piret's brigade of the 5th corps, which had arrived
to General Rupprecht's succor. General Cerale was
wounded in the melee^ and the Pisa brigade had no
alternative but to retire. The young soldiers, so full
of elan in the advance, became panicky when the
buglep sounded the retreat. The reserve of the 1st
corps arrived at Monte Vento about half past ten and
covered the retreat of the discomfited battalions.
General Sirtori with his division had likewise been
warmly engaged with the Austrian 6th corps on the
Pernisa plateau and between that point and Santa
Lucia. About two o'clock, however, despairing of
supports, he abandoned the latter place and began
his retreat upon Valeggio. This movement also ne-
cessitated the withdrawal of the reserve from Monte
Vento, the right flank of the position being exposed,
and no hope remaining of rallying Cerale's division.
In the mean while, unknown to his colleagues. Gen-
eral PianeUi had crossed the Mincio and adminis-
tered a severe repulse to the extreme Austrian right.
He retired to Monte Sabbione with several hundred
prisoners, and had his presence there been known
earlier the retreat of Sirtori and the reserve artillery
would hardly have been necessary.
The dissipation of the Italian left wing compro-
mised the central positions about Custozza. The fight
in that vicinity had been stubbornly maintained
throughout the morning, the Archduke Albrecht em-
ploying the 7th and 9th corps in repeated efforts to
gain the heights. The Lombard grenadiers were
driven from Custozza in disorder and Prince Amedeo
wounded. The Piedmontese made good the Monte
Croce against all assaults, but were relieved about
264 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ten o'clock by Cugia's division. Brignone's division
had been subjected to such losses as to be considered
out of the fight. Govone's division covered Cugia's
left, and after some hard fighting recaptured Cus-
tozza. Before this La Marmora had left his centre,
and was riding away to Valeggio to hunt up his
missing divisions. The Italian commander had no
staff with him on this critical day, and in his efforts
to be at every point and keep track of the battle was
never to be found when wanted and always laboring
under erroneous impressions. At noon La Marmora
at Valeggio believed the army to be lost, but in point
of fact at two o'clock Pianelli, Sirtori, Cugia, and
Govone were still unshaken, while Bixio and Hum-
bert had not been fairly engaged and were being held
in inaction by the movements of a few audacious cav-
alrymen. But at 3.30 another face was put upon
matters* Sirtori was then in retreat, and Pianelli
moving toward the Mincio. The Archduke Albrecht,
with his right wing free, inaugurated a strong concen-
tric movement against the heart of the Italian posi-
tion. One brigade of the 6th corps, advancing from
Santa Lucia, threatened Govone's flank and rendered
the heights of Custozza untenable. In vain the Ital-
ian general pleaded for reinforcements. The divi-
sions of Bixio and Humbert continued idle, though a
movement by them upon Sommacampagna would have
paralyzed the Austrian attack. Govone retired slowly,
relinquishing Custozza about six o'clock, while Cugia,
finding himself abandoned by his colleague, also be-
gan to retread When at last the archduke foimd
himself master of the heights of Custozza, the strength
of his troops was spent. The intense heat of the
cloudless day had been almost insufferable. No pur-
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866. 265
suit was attempted, and the soldiers of Bixio and
Humbert had scarcely an opportunity to foul their
gim-barrels in covering the retreat upon Yillaf ranca.
The retrograde movement did not cease at that point,
and through the darkness of the sultry night the
broken battalions of the Italian army plodded heav-
ily over the roads to Goito and Valeggio. Even the
bridge at the latter place was destroyed, a move that
for the first time led the archduke to appreciate the
magnitude of his success. This unwarrantable act
proclaimed that the Italian commander, far from
meditating a renewal of the march upon Venice, had
entirely abandoned the Quadrilateral, and deemed
the imbroken current of the Mincio necessary to the
safety of his rear-guard.
Most military critics agree that La Marmora's neg-
ligence in not keeping his staff near him was the
principal cause of the defeat of Custozza. It was
Cerale's fugitives streaming through Valeggio that
frightened the Italian general into the idea that all
was lost, and that Bixio and Humbert must be held
intact to cover the rout. If he had been in commu-
nication with his whole line, and spent more time on
the Tione and less on the Mincio, Sirtori need not
have abandoned Santa Lucia, and Custozza would
have been impregnable.
The Archduke Albrecht showed himself a capable
soldier, and handled his troops wisely, if not bril-
liantly. He became the idol of the army, and a fort-
night after the battle was summoned to Vienna to
succeed the hapless Benedek. The 5th and 9th corps
were also called to the defense of the capital, leaving
a force of barely 25,000 men for the defense of the
Quadrilateral.
266 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
The battle of Custozza cost La Marmora his com-
mand, which was conferred upon Cialdini. On the
7th of July, the confidence of the Italian army hav-
ing been somewhat restored, he commenced an ad-
vance, pushing his vanguard across the Po that even-
ing. The Austrian general did not attempt to oppose
him. On the 14th the Italian vanguard occupied
Padua ; on the 15th Vicenza. On the 18th the divi-
sion of General Nunziante drove the Austrian garrison
from Borgoforte. On the 22d, when a truce was con-
cluded, Cialdini's left was on the Isonzo and his right
within view of Venice.
But the improved military status was offset by an-
other humiliation. On July 20 the Italian fleet of
Admiral Persano was worsted by an inferior squadron
off Lissa. Three Italian iron-clads, the Affondatore,
Ee d' Italia, and Palestro were sunk. Lissa was Cus-
tozza repeated at sea. While Persano had the advan-
tage in ships, tonnage, and weight of metal, the Italian
seamen were always fighting at a disadvantage against
odds. A feeling of pity for Persano is irresistible,
for he had served his country well in past years. He
was brought before the senate, of which he was a
member, for trial, charged with cowardice, disobe-
dience, incapacity, and negligence. The upper Ital-
ian house had not attained the spirit that animated
the Roman Senate when they received the consul who
had commanded the legions at Cannae. Persano was
acquitted of cowardice on a close vote, but found
guilty of all other charges and deprived of command
and rank.
The events of 1866 have always been humiliating
memories to Italians. They gained Venetia, but not
by the force of their own arms. Though the military
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1866. 267
pride of Italy was wounded, she certainly has high
claims to satisfaction. The policy of the royal gov-
ernment throughout the year 1866 was conspicuously
honorable. The king since 1859 had always insisted
upon his determination to carry Italian freedom to the
Adriatic. His position was thoroughly understood at
Vienna, and his practical avowal that the cession of
Venetia was the only inducement which would keep
him neutral in a German war was no surprise to the
Austrian statesmen. After the conclusion of the treaty
with Prussia the king, though tried, proved himself
above temptation. In the spring Austria, thoroughly
alarmed, agreed to his proposition made in the winter.
But she met with a rebuff, for Victor Emmanuel
was then boimd, not only to Venetia, but to Prussia
as well. After the battle of Koniggratz, with his
army still demoralized by Custozza, he again put aside
Venetia and the blessings of peace until his duty
toward Prussia was thoroughly fulfilled. Cialdini's
advance into Venetia was ordered after the Austrian
cession of that province to the Emperor of the French,
The Italian army was poorly organized, poorly
equipped, and badly directed, but its prowess was
unquestionable. If it did not win a battle, it detained
75,000 good Austrian soldiers, who might have turned
the scale on the Iser or at Koniggratz,
Italy need not blush for Custozza or Lissa, but she
may take pride in the whole-souled commendation of
her powerful ally. On December 20, 1866, Prince
Bismarck made the following declaration in the Prus-
sian Chambers: "We had powerful support in the
incorruptible fidelity of Italy — fidelity which I can-
not too highly commend, whose value I cannot too
highly appreciate. The Italian government resisted
268 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
firmly the temptation to violate the alliance on ao*
count of Austria's gift (the cession of Yenetia), who
was oar mutual foe; from this fact we may draw
strong hopes that in the future the most cordial rela-
tions will xmite Germany and Italy."
CHAPTER XXL
BESTTLTS OP THE SEVEN WEEKS' WAB.
The Treaty op Prague. — The Four Great Results op the
Seven Weeks' War. — The Federal Reichstag. — Bismarck
AXTD BeNEDETTL — BiSMARCK AND SOUTH GERMANY. — ThE NeW
Era in Austria. — The Transfer op Venetia. — Victor Em-
manuel IN Venice. — Critical Condition op Europe in 1867.
Prussia concluded peace with all the South Ger-
man states except Darmstadt before the close of
August. On August 23 the treaty of Prague was
concluded with Austria, and on October 3 the treaty
of Vienna waa signed between Austria and Italy.
The treaty of Prague was a substantial ratification
of the Nikolsburg preliminaries. South Germany
procured peace at the expense of heavy indemnities,
and in the case of Hesse Darmstadt and Bavaria the
cession of territory north of the Main. The treaty of
Vienna ratified the union of Venetia with the Italian
kingdom.
The results of the Seven Weeks' war may be
simimed up imder four heads : first, the exaltation of
Prussia and the formation of the North German con-
federation under her leadership ; second, the disap-
pearance of Austria as a German power ; third, the
realization of Italian freedom from the Alps to the
Adriatic; and fourth, the shattering of Napoleon's
air-castles. England and Kussia were not seriously
influenced. The London government experienced
270 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
some misgiving over what it regarded as the downfall
of continental conservatism, while St. Petersburg was
still inclined to regard with complacency any humilia-
tion of Austria. ^
Bismarck returned to Berlin with his policy vin-
dicated and his popularity assured. In 1849 he had
publicly declared that the most prominent charac-
teristic of Prussian nationality was its warlike ele-
ment. It remained for the first battles in Bohemia
to demonstrate the truth of his words. The news
of victory worked a transformation throughout the
nation, and the very men whose names had been
prominent on peace petitions joined lustily in the
popular shout of " to Vienna," The soldiers who
left their occupations with reluctance, and entered
the ranks without enthusiasm, took kindly to the
bloody work on the heights above Sadowa, and even
grumbled over the early cessation of hostilities. It
was remarked by foreigners that there was a tinge of
ferocity in the joy which animated Berlin when the
regiments from the Danube began to throng the Lin-
den, suggesting that it was induced more by victorious
war than the satisfaction of renewed peace.
Bismarck upon returning to the Diet found a spirit
of congratulation and adulation, where two months be-
fore he had encountered oidy hostility and invective.
The houses almost unanimously acquiesced in the
proposed incorporation of Hanover and Hesse Cas-
sel and Nassau into the Prussian kingdom, and the
amalgamation of all the German states north of the
Main into a commercial and military confederation.
In June, 1866, Prussia had an area of 127,350 square
miles and a population of 19,000,000. Before the
close of that year she had extended her sway over
RESULTS OF THE SEVEN WE^KS* WAR. 271
160,000 mUes and 23,000,000 souls. Every state
north of the Main was either incorporated in the
Prussian monarchy or joined with it in the iron bands
of the North German confederation. The fate of
Saxony himg for a time in the balance, and but for
the efforts of Austria backed by France its ancient
house would have shared the fate of that of Hanover.
The settlement reached was complex and satisfactory
only to Prussia. The Saxon throne remained intact
on the following conditions : That Saxony entered the
confederation, that the military and postal affairs
passed under the control of Prussia, that the fortress
of Konigstein should receive a Prussian garrison, and
Dresden a garrison half Prussian, half Saxon, under
a Prussian commandant. The salt tax was abolished
and a war indemnity exacted of 10,000,000 thalers.
But matters in the federal Keichstag did not run
smoothly. Bismarck, having mollified his old ene-
mies, found new ones in the delegations from Hano-
ver, Hesse, and Saxony. He had no mercy upon these
imhappy patriots with their complaints and protesta-
tions. " They who dealt us a stab in the side in the
hour of our danger," he stormed, "have no right
afterwards to become sentimental and complain of
hard usage." When in July, 1867, Bismarck was
proclauned chancellor of the confederation, he could
look back upon a great work accomplished. The an-
nexed states were still turbulent, but for all that they
recognized that the confederation was a safeguard
against foreign menace. All the military forces were
in process of reorganization on the Prussian plan, and
the closer union of commercial interests was bearing
good fruit.
Bismarck was preparing even at this time for a
272 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
danger that the German people and the world at large
did not suspect ; he alone could see it looming darkly
in the west and casting its shadow over the Rhine-
land. M. Benedetti moved conspicuously in diplo-
matic circles at Berlin ; he was frequently in confer-
ence with the chancellor ; he passed restlessly back and
forth between Paris and Berlin. Even the diplomatic
world did not know what this portended, nor that
the French ambassador in his efforts to " indenmify
France " had placed in the hands of the wily chan-
cellor a weapon that was destined to make Germany
a military imit from the Baltic to the Alps. South
Germany hated Prussia and the northern confedera-
tion, princes as well as people. When, however,
Bismarck placed before them the paper which Bene-
detti had confided to him, they, too, caught a glimpse
of the tempest gathering in the west. In fact, before
the close of August, 1866, while the graves at Kis-
sengen and Laufach were still fresh, the armies of
South Germany as well as those of the confederation
were at the disposal of the king of Prussia in case of
war. Six months passed before this was developed,
but in the cabinet at Berlin, and in certain circles in
Mimich, Darmstadt, and Stuttgart, they knew that
French diplomacy had miscarried, and that the would-
be trickster had been tricked.
Austria, though humiliated in the field, turned her
losses to excellent accoimt. Driven from the Ger-
man brotherhood at the point of the bayonet, it is
questionable if she gained less by her reverse than
did her conqueror by the victory, Austria since
1815 had been endeavoring to " rim " Europe, so to
speak, or at least a large portion of it. Menacing
RESULTS OF THE SEVEN WEEKS' WAR, 273
Russia on the eastern Danube, ruling Italy from
Venice and Milan, snubbing Prussia at Frankfort,
and grappling with Denmark in Schleswig, she had
been creating foes upon all hands and frittering away
her strength. The warning of 1859 passed unheeded,
and it remained for the disaster of Koniggratz to
teach the Kaiser the lesson he had persistently re-
fused to learn by milder methods. His reputed mili-
tary power was proved a mere bubble. His soldiers
fought stubbornly but without enthusiasm. It was
plain that greater content must be achieved at home
before conquests either of a moral or military nature
could be achieved abroad. With Himgary hostile or
indifferent, it was impossible to make the will of
Vienna a powerful factor in the politics of Europe.
The battle of Koniggratz closed an epoch of Aus-
trian history and inaugurated a new era. The Kaiser
extended the olive branch to his Magyar subjects, and
gracefully conceded the national parliament for which
they had been clamoring since 1848. The result
demonstrated the wisdom of the act. The warm-
hearted Hungarians expressed their satisfaction by
electing the emperor and empress king and queen of
Hungary, and establishing the hereditary succession
in the House of Hapsburg. Austria had at last en-
tered upon the path that was destined to secure for
her the strength and cohesion she had always lacked.
If the power of the Kaiser was felt no longer on the
Rhine it became doubly potent on the Danube. If
his soldiery had held* their last parades at Frankfort
and Mayence, there was more than a compensating
satisfaction in the newly gained assurance that their
presence was no longer necessary in the loyal streets
of Buda-Pest, At Vienna they could not fail to
274 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
remark how contentedly the empire developed without
the responsibility of Europe upon its shoulders. The
enthusiasm that attended the coronation ceremonies
at Buda-Pest in July, 1867, formed a most happy
contrast to many of the then recent political events in
the Hungarian capital. With a parliament at Buda-
Pest and another at Vienna the internal machinery
of the Austro-Himgarian monarchy worked smoothly
enough, while in the Delegations ^ the Kaiser found
no more loyal subjects than the men who had been
nurtured in bitter hatred of Austria, and who had
followed the standard of Kossuth.
The transfer of Yenetia was a move beneficial alike
to the Venetians and the contracting powers. Aus-
tria lost a discontented province that had brought her
nothing but trouble and expense. Italy gained an
intensely patriotic people, who only required political
content to make them prosperous. When in October
the question of their fate was placed in their own
hands to be decided by ballot, the Venetians by an
almost unanimous vote declared for annexation to the
kingdom of Italy.
So the Austrian garrison sailed from the Lagune,
and the broad folds of the tricolor displaced the
Uack and yellow banner on the arsenal. It remained
for the 7th of November to furnish the culmination
of this most dramatic period in the history of north-
em Italy. On that day Victor Emmanuel passed,
amidst the plaudits of his newly gained subjects,
across the crowded piazza and up the dim nave to
the altar of San Marco. The work of Italian libera-
^ The Delegfations is the national parliament which sits at Vienna,
representing Austria and Hungary alike, its members being chosen
by the houses in session at Vienna and Pest.
RESULTS OF THE SEVEN WEEKS' WAR. 275
tion inaugurated by the mysterious interview at
Plombieres was thus dramatically consummated on
the shores of the Adriatic within the walls of the
cathedral of Venice.
It was a conspicuous fact that none of the powers
participating in the war of 1866 laid down their
arms upon the conclusion of peace. A spirit of un-
rest pervaded diplomatic circles. In Italy the king
was in constant correspondence with the French gov-
ernment respecting Kome, while at the same time he
suppressed the feverish enthusiasm of " Young Italy."
The Austrian chancellor, Baron Beust, while apply-
ing himself indefatigably to the restoration of the
resources of the empire, kept an ever watchful eye
upon Prussia, and smiled encouragingly upon France
as a possible avenger of Koniggratz. And the chan-
cellor of the north German confederation, while main-
taining his military strength, was looking for an ally
against France. He chatted pleasantly with the
French ambassador at Berlin and hinted at great pos-
sibilities, but in the mean time he was using soft
words on the Danube, and talking business on the
Neva.
France was the centre in 1867 around which Europe
was revolving. She held the key to the Eoman ques-
tion and Italy was her suitor ; she possessed an un-
beaten army and Austria was her flatterer ; but she
sought a sHce of Khineland and Prussia was her foe.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE.
Napoleon's Dream is shattebed. — The Crisis of his Reion.
— Drouyn de Lhuys' Conception of the Crisis. — Indeci-
sion OF THE ESIPEROR. — CONDITION OF THE FRENCH AbM7
IN 1866. — The French Government unable to meet the
Military Situation. — Benedetti at Nikolsburq. — Bene-
detti in Berlin. — Efforts of the Paris Government to
indemnify itself through Diplomatic Channem. — Refusaii
OF THE French Propositions by Bismarck. — Policy of
Drouyn de Lhuys and his Removal from Office. — Bis-
marck ESTABLISHES AN AlLIANCE WITH THE SoUTH GeRMAN
States. — Second Attack of M. Benedetti. — Confidencb
IN Paris over the Success of his Mission. — Benedetti's
Discomfiture and Return to Paris. — Desperation of the
French Government. — The Contemplated Purchase of
Luxemburg frustrated by Bismarck. — Prussia consents
TO remove her Garrison from Luxemburg. — Summary of
THE French Diplomacy for 1866-67. — The Decline of the
Empire. — Paris in 1867.
The Emperor of the French had counted upon a
Prussian defeat. Indeed, dreading lest Austria's vic-
tory might be too sweeping, he had gone so far as to
offer the services of the French army to the Berlin
government on the basis of a territorial remunera-
tion in Bavaria, Hesse, and Khenish Prussia. This
suggestion, however, meeting with no favor at Berlin,
he guaranteed Austria his neutrality, and determined
to wait a later opportunity to arouse Prussia's grati-
tude, and gain his long-coveted acquisitions in the
Rhineland.
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE, 277
The emperor regarded a long campaign as a neces-
sity of the situation, and the astonishing news of
Koniggratz was wholly unexpected. Austria was
beaten to her knees, and he had no understanding
with Prussia. The crisis of his reign was suddenly
forced upon him ; and if in his first bewilderment he
failed to realize this, his foreign minister was fully
alive to it. In fact, M. Drouyn de Lhuys insisted
that the necessities of the situation demanded a
French army on the German frontier to enforce the
emperor's demand that no remodeling of Central
Europe should take place without his sanction. M.
Benedetti, ambassador at Vienna, also warmly urged
this course. " Let the emperor make a simple mili-
tary demonstration," he wrote, " and he will be aston-
ished at the facility with which he will become arbiter
and master of the situation without striking a blow."
On July 5 at a cabinet council M. Drouyn de Lhuys
warmly urged his project, and was seconded by Mar-
shal Kandon, minister for war. When the council
broke up, it was understood that the emperor would
on the following day promulgate his manifesto con-
voking the Chambers, but during the evening he was
importuned by M. de Lavalette and other leaders of
the Prussophile party. Broken by disease, his power
of decision impaired, the unhappy emperor was led to
change his mind, and choose the course that was to lead
his dynasty to ruin.
The army was in a wretched state, and it has even
been asserted that it would have been a physical im-
possibility for the war office to have carried out the
scheme of M. Drouyn de Lhuys at that time. It
seems hardly reasonable, however, to believe that the
French military establishment had sunk so low as this
278 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
would imply. It is more probable that the emperor
had misgivings lest the " simple military demonstra-
tion " might result in hard blows. In this case his
recent losses in Mexico and the tried excellence of the
Prussian weapons must have exerted an influence
upon his mind. Again, in case of war, where were
his generals capable of coping with such masters in
the science as the Prussians had proved themselves ?
What could be expected from such a trio as Niel,
MacMahon, and Canrobert, who were always at each
other's throats ? It was a bad quandary, and unques-
tionably the decision of the emperor made it worse.
We cannot refrain from speculating at this time
upon what the result would have been, had Marshal
Kandon been ordered to move two corps d'armee to
the Prussian frontier during those critical July days.
We can hardly doubt that the disaster which over-
whelmed the empire would have been at least delayed.
We know, too, that the possibility of French inter-
ference was a danger which Bismarck had foreseen,
dreaded, and against which he had been unable to
make any adequate provision. We have it from his
own lips in reference to this crisis, " If France had
then had only a few available troops, a small body of
French soldiers would have sufficed to make quite a
respectable army by joining the numerous corps of
South Germany, which on their part would furnish
excellent materials, and whose organization alone was
defective. Such an army would have first placed us
in the prime necessity of covering Berlin and of
abandoning all our successes in Austria." ^
^ " I was mnch interested by the opinion expressed by his majesty
(King William of Prussia) .that the war of 1866 was the rain of
France, ' because Napoleon should have attacked us in the rear I ' He
-went on to say that in 1866 he never wquld believe in the neutrality
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE. 279
The French emperor, when he abandoned military
coercion as a means of restraining Prussia from ex-
orbitant territorial demands, adopted an extraordinary
substitute. He determined to appeal to her sense of
honor and of gratitude, which should certainly have
been awakened by his friendly course since 1864.
The gratitude of Prussia with Bismarck Schonhausen
to dispense it ! It was in pursuance of this meek and
gentle policy that M. Benedetti sought Bismarck at
Nikolsburg. The conversations there developed to
Bismarck the object of the French desires, and that
the emperor was in reality inclined to allow Prussia
free scope in disposing of Austrian territory, provided
he was allowed certain privileges in the Shineland as
" indemnification " for her increased area.
Bismarck's reception of Benedetti's schemes seems
to have been distinctly non-committal, but he said
enough to leave hope still bright in the bosom of the
French ambassador. He enlarged upon his 4esire for
a good imderstanding between France and Prussia,
and pointed out the fact that were their interests
similar their position was such they could unitedly
bid defiance to aU Europe. There is a touch of the
pathetic in the eagerness with which M. Benedetti
seized these crumbs from the rich man's table, and in
the manner in which he displayed them upon the im-
perial board at the Tuileries. Benedetti was not only
hopeful, but sanguine. The emperor began to turn
his energies in real earnest to effect that good under-
standing which Bismarck had so pleasantly referred
to at Nikolsburg.
of France, and that only after a long struggle did he consent to re-
move his forces from the Rhine provinces. He had always been
grateful to the Emperor Napoleon for his neutrality on that occa-
sion." — BeuBt, Yol. ii. p. 280.
280 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Bismarck returned to Berlin, where he was followed
by Benedetti armed with a form of treaty to be sub-
mitted to the Prussian government for approval. The
gist of this project was the restoration to France " of
the territories which were within the French frontiers
of 1814," including all districts of Bavaria and Hesse
on the left bank of the Rhine. Benedetti heartily
approved of these demands. " Convinced," he said,
" that the imperial government has kept within the
bounds of equity by thus limiting itself to demanding
the guarantees rendered necessary by Prussia's terri-
torial aggrandizement, I shall not be easily induced
to put up with alterations of any moment. ... I
shall steadfastly point out that Prussia would ignore
the dictates of justice and prudence, beside proving
her ingratitude, were she to refuse us the guarantee
which the enlargement of her frontiers compels us to
demand."
On August 5 a draft of this secret treaty came
under Bismarck's eye. On the day following he sum-
moned the French ambassador, and met him with an
imqualified refusal. In vain Benedetti expostulated,
wheedled, and threatened. As a last resort, finding
himself refused on all points, he hinted that the just
rage of his sovereign might lead hinj to " let slip the
dogs of war." " Very well," was the curt rejoinder,
" then we will have war ; but " — and one can im-
agine a keen irony in the chancellor's tones — " let his
majesty well observe that such a war could become in
certain eventualities a war with a revolution, and
that in presence of revolutionary dangers the German
dynasty would prove to be much more firmly estab-
lished than that of Napoleon." In short, the project
which Benedetti had approved as just, and which he
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE. 281
had determined to insist upon without modification,
had been squarely refused. Prussia had shown no
compunction whatever about "proving her ingrat-
itude." Furthermore, M. Benedetti had been dis-
missed by the " iron count " with an assurance that
Prussia had even outgrown the traditional fear of the
French army.
The idea of war which Benedetti had hinted at as
a last resort seems not to have been seriously enter-
tained at Paris. The causes that prevented military
measures in July were quite as potent in August ;
France was no better prepared and Prussia had both
hands free again. In this humiliating perplexity a
scapegoat was found in the person of the foreign
minister. Judging his views in the light of subse-
quent events, M. Drouyn de Lhuys seems to have
comprehended the political situation at this time far
better than the majority of his contemporaries. He
was firmly opposed to the party represented by M.
Benedetti, though the exigencies of the times served
to swell its ranks. He laughed at the idea that what
the government had shown itself too nerveless to
grasp was to be placed at its disposal by a govern-
ment whose army was already in the field flushed
with victory and capable of sustaining a long cam-
paign. An alliance with Prussia was to M. Drouyn
de Lhuys an absurdity. Prussia and France were
natural enemies. To disguise that fact was to make
a cat's-paw of France.
M. Drouyn de Lhuys was bestirring himself ear-
nestly to lighten the burdens imposed by Prussia on
the conquered states when Benedetti returned from
Berlin after his discomfiture. The emperor was still
firm in the conviction that nothing was to be gained
282 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
by war. Can anything be imagined more humiliating
than the French position at this time ? A proposal
approved by the emperor himself had been submitted
to the Prussian government, and rejected even in the
teeth of threats of military enforcement. What was
the course of the French government to recover their
shattered prestige ? They disavowed the scheme that
had aroused the admiration of Benedetti himself as
an act of M. Drouyn de Lhuys, who had extorted the
sanction of the emperor while he was ilL M. Drouyn
de Lhuys passed from office, and the Prussophile
party seized the helm. The Berlin government thor-
oughly appreciated the political situation, however,
and were not to be misled by apologies and official
decapitation. France had tasted the cup of humilia-
tion, she had proclaimed her weakness and military
impreparedness to the power which of all others she
should have held in ignorance of it.
Prussia in the mean time kept quietly at work
demonstrating the enormity of her ingratitude. Dup-
ing August Bismarck had made Germany a military
unit. He merely displayed the French project, that
freak of M. Drouyn de Lhuys, as the new regime at
the foreign office chose to regard it, with its damning
clauses concerning the cession of Bavarian and Hes-
sian territories, and the South German confederation
was quickly brought to terms. Between the 17th
and 23d of August informal military treaties were
concluded against France between Prussia and the
states lately in arms against her. Bismarck hastily
threw off these important duties in season to welcome
Benedetti to Berlin once more.
That the government of the emperor should have
approached Prussia again on the question of indemni-
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE. 283
fication seems almost incredible, and yet it was an-
other project of this nature that Benedetti presented
to Bismarck during the last week of August. There
is nothing in the diplomatic history of the period to
show the grounds on which the French ambassador
based his assurance of success in this second effort.
Certainly it was no less objectionable than the first in
its tenor. The Ehenish frontier was avoided, it is
true, but Luxemburg and Belgium formed a substi-
tute. A strong military alliance between the two
governments was also provided for. Great stress was
laid by the emperor's government upon the necessity
of maintaining the absolute secrecy of these negotia-
tions. The tone of feeling at the foreign office on
the Quai d'Orsay seems really to have approached
confidence. Day after day, too, the reports from
Benedetti were encouraging. He returned the draft
of the treaty for inspection, and the emperor sug-
gested certain alterations. Upon receiving the draft
again Benedetti confidently placed it in the hands of
Bismarck. The Tuileries waited expectant, but they
were not to be long held in suspense.
General Manteuffel suddenly turned up in Berlin,
and after a few hours' conference with the chancellor
left for St. Petersburg. Benedetti's alarm was natu-
ral, and the information carried a chill to the heart of
the French emperor. " I asked the president of the
council," wrote Benedetti, " if this general officer had
been informed of our overture ; he answered that he
had had no occasion to make him a party to it, but
that he could not guarantee to me that the king had
not told him the substance."
Bismarck's reception of this teeaty waa far differ-
ent from that with which he met the first. There was
284 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
no refusal whatever ; he merely demurred, meditated,
and then apparently forgot it, for he left Berlin and
shut himself up for weeks from the worry of political
life, without even taking the trouble to return the
document in question.
Poor Benedetti I It was his hard fate, not only to
be the prominent actor in these inglorious proceed-
ings, but to break the doleful news of failure to the
sanguine officials of the Qua! d'Orsay. " They have
elsewhere obtained assurances which dispense with our
aid," he wrote shortly after Manteuffel's arrival at
St. Petersburg. " If they decline our alliance, it is
because they are already provided or on the eve of
being." Prussia needed the alliance of a great power,
and she arranged it on the Neva.
After these repeated rebuffs, cidminating in a Russo-
Prussian alliance, it would surely seem that the
French emperor would have desisted from his fruit-
less attempts to obtain " indemnification " at the
hands of his heartless and athletic neighbor. The
dregs in the cup of shame, however, yet remained to
be swallowed. Trusting apparently to some vague re-
marks made by Bismarck in 1866 respecting the
existing relations between Luxemburg and the north
German confederation. Napoleon opened negotiations
with the king of the Netherlands direct for the pur-
chase of the duchy. That is, notwithstanding his
former lack of success the emperor was persuaded
that, could the matter be peacefully arranged with
Holland on a financial basis, Bismarck would not take
the trouble to interfere.
Everything progressed smoothly for a time ; the
king of the Netherlands was willing and it only re-
mained to consult Prussia. On March 21, 1867, M.
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE. 285
de Moustier, then foreign minister, expressed himself
as follows in relation to the Luxemburg purchase :
" We believe that the grand duke possesses the un-
restricted right to dispose of Luxemburg with the
consent of its inhabitants, and that we have as indis-
putable a right to acquire that country under similar
conditions. But we, as well as the king of the Neth-
erlands, entertain the sincere wish to maintain good
relations with the court at Berlin ; and it is impos-
sible not to take into accoimt the presence of a Prus-
sian garrison, although no longer justified by a Jegal
right. . . . We have no objection to the cabinet of
Berlin being made acquainted with these negotia-
tions, but we wish that the information may reach it
through ourselves."
In this latter wish the French government was dis-
appointed. The information leaked out prematurely
through the Dutch envoy at Berlin. The details
received an uncomfortable publicity, and all Germany
was stirred with rage. Then the emperor's diplomatic
fabric came crashing down again. Bismarck seized
the opportunity of making himself popular with the
masses, and again placed himself squarely in the path
of French aggrandizement. M. de Moustier hastened
to inform the Chambers that the negotiations respect-
ing Luxemburg had not assumed an official character,
and were in reality merely an exchange of ideas.
There was no dignity in the final forlorn demand
of France that if she was not to be allowed to con-
summate her bargain, Prussia must at least consent
to remove her garrison from Luxemburg. It was a
demand little better than trivial, but Bismarck re-
fused to accede to it. It was a matter, however, that
involved the powers and was referred to a conference.
286 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Finally Prussia agreed to withdraw the garrison, and
raze the fortress, on the condition that the powers
guaranteed the neutrality of the duchy.
At last the Tuileries had scored a success. The
French government between May, 1866, and May,
1867, had demanded of Prussia a military alliance,
the frontiers of 1814 including Mayence, and free-
dom of action concerning Belgium and Luxemburg.
Refused on all these points, they had the mortifica-
tion of facilitating the Russo-Prussian alliance. Fi-
nally with the desperation of despair they had in-
sisted upon the withdrawal of the Prussian garrison
from Luxemburg, and this amid the laughter of
diplomatic Berlin had been allowed them. This was
their " indemnification " for the benefits accruing to
Prussia from the campaign of Koniggratz.
That other attempts were made by the French
government during the spring of 1867 to bring about
a Franco-Prussian alliance there can be no question,
but before this the hopelessness of the situation was
apparent even to the infatuated statesmen of the
second empire. One by one the deluded diplomatists
found themselves forced to adopt views held by
Drouyn de Lhuys months before. For a government
dependent upon its prestige, the empire had been
subjected to an appalling list of slights and insults.
It had abased itself in so far that, had the full truth
been made public, a victorious war would have been
a necessity to its maintenance. It was with this
eventuality fully in mind that the emperor confided
to Marshal Niel the reorganization and rearming of
the army which had proved itself so inadequate to
meet the crisis of the summer of 1866.
So far as external appearances were concerned,
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE, 287
however, it must be admitted that in 1867 the French
empire was at the zenith of its splendor. The count-
less thousands who visited Paris in the spring and
summer of that year could hardly fail to be impressed
by the air of elegance and conscious power that
seemed to pervade the city. The monarch who had
made his name illustrious by his victories over the
proudest military states in Europe had gathered
within his capital the products of the globe, and in-
vited his faithful subjects and the world at large to
inspect them. The splendor of the exhibition was
worthy of the city, at last incontestably the most
splendid in the world. The marks of Napoleonic
taste and prodigality were everywhere apparent.
Streets crooked and dark had mysteriously disap-
peared, and been supplanted by broad avenues
straight as the Boman roads, and lined with noble
edifices in every stage of completion. The magic
initial N with its laurel wreath again appeared upon
all sides in stone and metal, and to the group of
thoroughfares known by the stirring titles of Fried-
land, Eylau, and Wagram had been added those of
Sebastopol, Solferino, and Magenta. St. Cloud had
never been more gay even in the days of Marie An-
toinette, and at Fontainebleau, never since the time
of Louis le Grand had such gorgeous companies fol-
lowed the stag through the mazes of the forest. In
a word, Paris had become the resort of all lovers of
the splendid and beautiful. Everything was gayety
and frivolity, from the atmosphere and conversation
of the Tuileries or St. Cloud to the atmosphere and
conversation of the cafe tables. Indeed, the manners
and customs of the cafe and boulevard only reflected
the standard of the court, whose fair and trivial mis-
288 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
tress had become the emulation of feminine society in
Paris and the toast of every mess-room. The merely
casual observer was in ignorance of the secrets of the
foreign office, and could not recognize in the pomp
and luxury about him the signs of debility and decay.
Gorgeous the empire certainly was, but its virility
was waning. The intrigues and dissipations of the
court did not beget loyalty, the bitter feuds and jeal-
ous wrangling of officers did not promote military
discipline or sagacity. The pampered garrison of
Paris did not truly represent the army, any more
than the reports of ministers truly represented the
state of their departments. Everything was corrupt,
shifting, unreliable, and false.
Among the visitors to Paris in 1867 was Count
Bismarck, and as he strolled through the exhibition
halls and along the Champs Elysee, where fashionable
Paris amused itself after the questionable methods of
the day, he was asking himself how it would have
been had the Luxemburg quarrel been fought out ?
Would he have been in Paris or the French in Ber-
lin ? He moved about comparatively imobserved, for
royalty itself was at this time enjoying the hospitality
of the Tuileries, but in less than four years his name
was to be on the lips of every Parisian, and the igno-
rant were to see in the glow of the Aurora Borealis
the sign of his bloody hand.
CHAPTER XXm.
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE.
Condition of Eubopb in 1867. — The Powers at Peace. — Un-
settled State of Spain. — Garibaldi in the Field again. —
The Battle of Mentana. — Bitter Feeling engendered by
IT IN Italy toward France. — Power of the Empress in the
French Councils. — Her Ai^bition. — Efforts of the Em-
peror TO steady his Throne. — The Reorganization of the
Army. — Warlike Sentiment in Paris. — The Hohenzollern
Incident. — The Rage of France. — Excitement in the Corps
L^gislatif. — M. Benedetti seeks the Prussian King at
Ems. — The French Government becomes unreasonable. —
Insulting Demand upon the King of Prussia. — Bismarck's
Circular in Reference to it. — Ollivier's Bellicose Speech
IN THE Corps L6gislatif. — Enthusiasm in Paris. — The Em-
peror's Misgivings. — His Hopes and Fears. — The Shatter-
ing of his Hopes. — Baron Beust's Letter. — The Isolation
OF THE French Government in Europe. — The Emperor's
Proclamation and Departure for Metz. — Wretched Con-
dition OF Affairs there. — Impatience of Paris — The
" Affaire " of Saarbruck.
At the opening of the year 1867 the great con-
tinental peoples were turning their attention to the
husbanding of their resources and developing the
arts of peace. Though imposing military forces were
maintained, the political atmosphere seemed purified
by the seven weeks' tempest of blood and iron, and
at no time since 1850 had the public mind been so
free from forebodings of the future. Bussia seemed
absorbed in the awkward effort to accustom herself
to the new regime inaugurated by the emancipation
290 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
of the serfs, wliile Austria-Hungary was likewise en-
deavoring to turn to the best account her newly
gained blessings of constitutional ' liberty. As for
France, the great exhibition at Paris seemed to indi-
cate that the emperor was inclined to convert the
sword into the plowshare, and abandon the paths
of military glory for those of domestic improvement.
In Spain and Italy alone were there any indications
of political unrest. So far as Spain was concerned,
however, her struggles and contentions had long since
failed to arouse the apprehension of Europe. Insur-
rections, banishments, executions, and assassinations
were regarded as inseparable features of the politi-
cal life of a people once among the most cultivated,
patriotic, and chivalrous the world has ever known.
Indeed, when in the early summer of 1868 Prim and
Serrano returned from their enforced exile and set
up the standard of revolt on Spanish soil, no serious
alarm was felt north of the Pyrenees. The army
enthusiastically espousing the cause of the distin-
guished rebels, the days of the debauched and priest-
ridden court were numbered. Isabella fled to France,
and Serrano seized the reins of government. With
the dethronement of the queen the direful question
of the succession was again laid open, but still with
Serrano as regent and the army in the hands of so
just and capable a soldier as Prim, quiet in Spain
seemed far better assured than at any time for years.
Indeed, there was nothing to indicate in 1869 that
Madrid was to furnish the spark which was to set
Europe in warlike flame again.
The time-worn dispute betwixt church and state was
still agitating Italy in 1867. A long step was taken
towards its settlement when on the 4th of Decem-
LAST J)AYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 291
ber, 1866, the French emperor withdrew his troops
from Rome. Scarcely had this long delayed move-
ment been consummated, when " Young Italy " again
forced itself into serious prominence. Garibaldi
once more started the Soman battle-cry, and had set
a respectable revolution afoot before he was seized
and conveyed to Caprera. In vain the king en-
deavored to allay the popular excitement. The papal
government, alarmed, appealed to Paris for protec-
tion. Despite the assurances of Victor Emmanuel
that his government was fully equal to the emergency,
and against his protests as well, the French emperor
dispatched a military expedition to Civita Vecchia.
This proved too much for Garibaldi's self-control.
Once again he broke from Caprera and joined the
ranks of the insurgents. Before this, one attack on
Rome had been repulsed by the papal guard. Gari-
baldi hurried from the sea-coast at the head of a
motley but determined band, and at Monterotundo
routed a detachment of the pontifical mercenaries.
Encouraged by this he pushed rapidly on toward
Rome, and at Mentana encountered a detachment of
the newly arrived French troops under General de
Failly. These troops represented the reorganized
army of Marshal Niel, and were armed with the new
breech-loading rifle known as the chassepot. There
was no fighting ; the unhappy Italians were literally
mowed down by the steady fusillades. " The chasse-
pot rifle has done wonders," was De Failly's enthu-
siastic comment in his report of the battle. The
demonstration of the effectiveness of the new weapon,
however, scarcely compensated for other results of
Mentana. On November 6 the Marquis Pepoli, who
had succeeded Minghetti as head of the government,
292 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
wrote to the emperor at Paris : " The late events have
suffocated every remembrance of gratitude in the
heart of Italy. It is no longer in the power of the
government to maintain the alliance with France.
The chassepot gun at Mentana has given it a mortal
blow." It is not too much to say that this skirmish
which General de Failly regarded merely as a happy
test of firearms was the means of depriving the
French emperor of the only allies possible to him in
Europe. The personal regard in which Victor Em-
manuel held the emperor continued imtil death, but
the slaughter of Mentana forever estranged the na-
tion, whose gratitude had been awakened by Magenta
and Solf erino, and had even survived the disappoint-
ment of Villafranca. The emperor definitely sealed
his fate in Italy when he refused to again withdraw
his garrison from Rome.
Most assuredly a change had been wrought in the
Italian policy of France. The influence of the em-
press had begun to make itself felt in the schemes of
the foreign office. In her the Catholic Church had a
powerful champion, and every word from the Vatican
came to be all potent at the Tuileries. In Cavour's
time the emperor had not hesitated to incur the wrath
of Rome ; in 1868-69 his policy came to represent in-
difference to the interests of his old ally at Florence.
The empress aspired to see France the acknowledged
protector of the Romish Church. The emperor, with
a deadly disease sapping his strength and weakening
his nerve, resigned himself to the guidance of the
empress, the church, and the army. The empress
and the church urged that Protestant Prussia must
be humbled, and the army clamored that it might be
allowed to execute the task.
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE, 293
The emperor dreaded this struggle with Prussia,
which was represented to him as a necessity of the
situation. The elections of 1869 certainly seemed to
indicate that his prestige at home had sunk so low
that he must choose between a foreign war and a do-
mestic revolution. In the election of 1852 the city
of Paris had sustained his government by a majority ^
of 46,000; the country had sustained it by over
7,000,000. In 1869 Paris rolled up an adverse ma-
jority of 150,000, while the government majority in
the country at large had fallen to 755,000. It was
plain there must be more glory earned in some quar-
ter with which to prop the failing strength of the
dynasty. With this necessity in view in 1868 the
emperor had made advances for a triple alliance be-
tween France, Austria, and Italy against Prussia.
Matters progressed so far that a draft treaty stipulat-
ing a general plan for a German campaign passed
between the governments. Then the fruits of Men-
tana made themselves manifest. The Florence gov-
ernment made the evacuation of Rome the condition
of its acceptance of the French project. The em-
peror was compelled to make choice between the
friendship of Italy and the friendship of Rome. The
clerical party with the empress at its head gained the
day. Italy refused to consider the alliance in conse-
quence, and Austria, whose cooperation depended
upon Italy, was also lost to the scheme. The empire
and the Roman Church stood alone in Europe.
The reorganization of the army progressed slowly,
but the enthusiasm of the empress and the swagger
of generals failed to arouse the confidence of the em-
peror for the future. The minister of war pronounced
everything satisfactory, and it was the opinion of that
294 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
officer which the emperor proclaimed to the Chambers
on the 18th of January, 1869 : " The military law
and the supplies voted by your patriotism have
strengthened the confidence of the country, which is
now proudly conscious that it is in a position to en-
counter whatever may betide. . . . Our perfect arma-
ments (chassepots and mitrailleuses), our replete ar-
senals and magazines, our trained reserves, our mobile
National Guard, our reconstructed fleet, and our pow-
erful fortresses impart an imperative necessary devel-
opment of our might. The permanent object of my
endeavors is attained;^ our military resources will
henceforth be adequate to their mission in the world."
This declaration, the truth of which on many fimda-
mental points the emperor was inclined to doubt, was
generally accepted in France and elsewhere as a just
presentation of the military condition of the country.
It also marked an epoch, for from this time all the
influential factions at court were agreed as to the
advisability of seizing the first provocation for a quar-
rel with Prussia. The emperor, balancing his dread
of revolution against his dread of war, was borne
along on the current of brag and bluster. The talk
in military circles became bellicose and swaggering ;
the tone of the foreign office, especially toward Prus-
sia, became supercilious and irritable.
It was in this frame of mind that the summer of
1870 found the sanguine and adventurous schemers
of the French court. But the diplomatic sky seemed
unpropitious for their schemes, inasmuch as it was
unflecked by a menacing cloud. It was remarked at
the foreign office in London that for years there had
never been "so great a lull in foreign affairs."
Wearied diplomatists began to throng the watering-
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 296
•
places of Austria and South Germany. The king of
Prussia left Berlin for the retii*ement of Ems ; the
French court exchanged the Tuileries for the more
rural magnificence of St. Cloud. The great tide of
simmier travel swept through Paris and up the Bhine
to Switzerland. Official life was at a standstill ; noth-
ing more sinister was developed than a imiversal tend-
ency toward rest and recreation.
It was on July 3 that the news was telegraphed
from Madrid to liie European courts that the crown
of Spain had been tendered to Prince Leopold, of
HohenzoUern, a kinsman to the king of Prussia. So
far as France was concerned, the news was not un-
expected. The fact had been recognized that Serrano's
regency could not last forever, and the French ambas-
sador at Madrid had fully acquainted his government
with the prospects. To the French people, however,
the news came like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
In the nomination of a Prussian prince for royal hon-
ors in Spain they could see the hand of Bismarck at
his favorite task of Prussian aggrandizement. There
was a furious outburst of public disapproval. All
parties became a unit in the Chambers in urging the
government to resist what was regarded as a Prussian
scheme. The French government suddenly foimd it-
self forced by popular opinion to adopt an attitude for
which for months they had been seeking a justification.
The Due de Gramont declared in the Corps L^gis-
latif that the action of the Madrid government had
"imperiled the interests and honor of France," at
the same time informing the Prussian ambassador at
Paris that the government expected Prussia to insist
upon the withdrawal of Prince Leopold as a candidate
to the Spanish throne, and that a failure to do so
296 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
m
would be regarded as a casus belli. The press repre-
sented accurately the public excitement. The " Moni-
teur " proclaimed that the time had come to put an end
to Prussia's pretensions to acquire preponderance in
Europe. The " Pays " declared that Prussia had
reached the Caudine forks, and that her humiliation
was at hand. The " Temps " shrieked that the mon-
archy of Charles V. was being revived. The " Lib-
erte " claimed that Prussia must be driven across the
Bhine with the butt-end of French muskets.
The grievance of the French nation lay simply in
the fact that a prince related to the House of Prussia
was to be elevated to the Spanish throne. The remedy
for this seemed simple enough ; indeed, the Due de
Gramont stated to the English ambassador as early
as July 8 that the voluntary withdrawal of the prince
of Hohenzollern would be a "most fortunate solu-
tion" of the trouble. This was by no means, how-
ever, what was desired by the powers at court. On
the 9th M. Benedetti, the French ambassador at Ber-
lin, received instructions from Paris to repair to Ems,
and demand of the king of Prussia that he should
insist upon the withdrawal of his kinsman as a candi-
date for the Spanish throne. The attitude of the
king was dignified and just. He informed the am-
bassador that Prussia could have no interest in the
matter whatsoever, and that if the French govern-
ment objected to the choice of the Spanish authorities
they could settle the matter to better advantage at
Madrid than at Berlin. On the 12th, the day follow-
ing this interview, the news was telegraphed to Paris
and Ems that Prince Leopold had revoked his accept-
ance of the Spanish crown. "The fortunate solu-
tion " that Gramont had suggested had been brought
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 297
about. It was believed that the last menace to peace
had been cleared away, and an inexpressible feeling
of relief animated every European capital. Up to
this point the French government had been justified
in its course by the state of public feeling. On the
13th, however, they committed themselves to a delib-
erate effort to plunge the nation into war. On that
day instructions were telegraphed to M. Benedetti to
demand of the king of Prussia a pledge that he would
at no time in the future allow the name of any mem-
ber of the Hohenzollern family to be used in connec-
tion with the Spanish throne. Inasmuch as the king
had already stated that he regarded the matter as one
altogether outside the province of the Prussian gov-
ernment, there could be no doubt as to the reception
this demand would meet. The action of the French
government was as deliberate as it was unjustifiable
and unnecessary.
In the Kurgarten at Ems a marble tablet marks
the spot where, on the 13th of July, 1870, M. Bene-
detti encountered the king of Prussia and presented
the latest demand of his government. The tidings
of the day's proceedings reached Count Bismarck in
Berlin the same evening as he was dining with Gen-
erals Moltke and Boon. In their presence the chan-
cellor prepared the following statement, which was
transmitted to the Prussian ambassadors at foreign
courts, and appeared in the Berlin papers on the
morning of the 14th.
" Telegram from Eras, July 13, 1870 : When the
intelligence of the hereditary prince of Hohenzollern's
renunciation was communicated by the Spanish to the
French government, the French ambassador demanded
of his majesty the king, at Ems, that the latter should
298 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
authorize him to telegraph to Paris that his majesty
would pledge himself for all time to come never again
to give his consent, should the Hohenzollerns revert
to their candidature. Upon this his majesty refused
to receive the French ambassador again, and sent
the aide-de-camp in attendance to tell him that his
majesty had nothing further to communicate to the
ambassador."
That this document was issued by Bismarck with
the purpose of inflaming French wrath may reason-
ably be doubted, but that he was well awai'e of the
consequences which would attend its publicity there
can be no question. It was the truth expressed in
bold language, and not in the circumspect and care-
fuUy-chosen sentences that a timid diplomacy would
have dictated. It is certain that M. Benedetti did
not regard the king's action as in any way disrespect-
ful, and it was not until the receipt of Bismarck's
version that the Paris government decided upon forci-
ble measures. On July 15 the Due de Gramont de-
clared to the English ambassador that " the Prussian
government had deliberately insulted France by de-
claring to the public that the king had affronted the
French ambassador." On that day amid tremendous
excitement M. Ollivier addressed the Corps Legis-
latif in a manner that left no doubt of the intentions
of the government. Amid a tempest of applause the
minister declared that the government accepted the
responsibility of the crisis with " a light heart." There
was an attempt at debate, but the credit asked for by
the government for military purposes was enthusiasti-
cally granted by a majority of four fifths. That night
vast crowds filled the boulevards and swarmed in the
brilliantly lighted Champs Elysees, singing the Mar-
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 299
seillaise, and raising the cries of " A Berlin " and
" Vive la Guerre." So far as it was possible to judge,
the course adopted by the French government met
with the unqualified approval of Paris.
On this same day, when Paris was running mad
with turbulent patriotism, the emperor remained at
St. Cloud, heavy-hearted and dreading the issue of
events into which his government was so confidently
plunging. He had yielded his consent to the war
party almost upon compulsion.^ He certainly had no
cause to complain of lukewarmness and disloyalty in
the temper of the capital, and except for the reason
that he had learned to distrust his servants he might
have looked into the future with some assurance.
Marshal Leboeuf had declared that the army was
" thrice ready for war to the last button on the last sol-
dier's gaiter." He had placed in the hands of the em-
peror a document affirming his ability to place 400,000
men on the eastern frontier in fifteen days from an
order for mobilization. This certainly was an excel-
lent showing. The emperor did not underestimate
the strength of the North German confederation, but
he counted upon atoning for his numerical deficiencies
by his early preparation, which would enable him to
overthrow the enemy while their corps were in pro-
cess of formation. He also anticipated the powerful
^ ** Before the final resolve to declare war the emperor, empress,
and ministers went to St. Cloud. After some discussion, Gramont
told me that the empress, a high-spirited and impressionable woman,
made a strong and excited address, declaring that * war was inevitable
if the honor of France was to be sustained.' She was immediately
followed by Marshal Leboeuf, who, in the most violent tone, threw
down his portfolio, and swore that if war was not declared, he would
give it up and renounce his military rank. The emperor gave way,
and Gramont went straight to the Chamber to announce the fatal
news.'' — Malmesbury, p. 665.
300 THE RECONSTRUCTION 0^ EUROPE,
cooperation of the fleet with its division of marine
infantry, and looked for great results from the new
equipment of chassepots and mitrailleuses. Up to
the time, too, of M. Ollivier's bellicose speech in the
Corps Legislatif the emperor had not counted upon
the South German states as foes, and was even in-
clined to the belief that a victory for the French arms
would bring them into the field as allies. So far as
Austria and Italy were concerned, he had not on
July 15 abandoned hope of their cooperation in arms.
Taking everything into consideration, then, the out-
look for France from the emperor's standpoint was
by no means cheerless. With 400,000 men standing
ready to cross the Rhine, with a fleet threatening the
German ports on the North Sea, with Austria, Italy,
and South Germany neutral and perhaps friendly, his
ultimate success seemed assured. From this time,
however, every day developed the falseness of the
basis on which the emperor had been calculating.
On the 19th the king of Bavaria set the example for
South Germany by placing his army under the com-
mand of the king of Prussia. It was not North Ger-
many, then, but Germany united with which France
was to contend. On the 20th Baron Beust strangled
the hope of Austrian cooperation in this dispatch to
the Austrian ambassador at Paris : " You wiU repeat
to the emperor and his ministers that — true to the
engagements defined in letters that passed between
both sovereigns last year — we regard France's cause
as our own, and shall, within the limits of possibility,
contribute to the success of her arms. The^e limits
are prescribed by foreign considerations and our own
domestic conditions. We have reason to believe that
Eussia adheres to her connection with Prussia, so
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 301
that the intervention of Russian forces, under certain
eventualities, may be regarded, not only as probable,
but as certain. Our participation in the struggle
would be immediately followed by that of Russia,
who threatens us on the Pruth and Lower Danube, as
well as in Galicia. . . • Under these circumstances
the word neutrality — which we do not pronounce
without regret — is an imperative necessity, as far as
we are concerned." This was bitter news to the Paris
statesmen. Not only united Germany, but Russia
was pitted against them. " Russia has done us great
harm," groaned the Due de Gramont, as he began to
comprehend the hopeless isolation of France. Only
one possible aUy remained, and that was Italy, but
the price of her cooperation was still unchanged, the
evacuation of Rome. The French government could
not yield at this crisis without betraying weakness.
So a curt message settled the affair: "We can do
nothing whatsoever with respect to Rome. If Italy
does not choose to march, she can stay at home."
Thus one by one the air castles of the French em-
peror melted into mist. The neutral powers had
developed into enemies ; his friends had become neu-
tral. It was upon its own strength alone that the
empire must rely for its success. Paris was enthusias-
tic, but clamored for the march on Berlin to begin.
Something was evidently wrong in the military situa-
tion on the frontier. The emperor issued his proc-
lamation to the people, and on the 28th, accompanied
by the prince imperial, stepped aboard the train at
St. Cloud that was to carry him to the front. The
same night he entered Metz, and found it gay with
uniforms and uproarious with warlike enthusiasm.
Twenty-four hours at the front, however, convinced
302 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
him that he had been cruelly deceived. In every
hotel, cafe, and mess-room irreparable disasters to the
Prussians were freely predicted, and yet no intelligent
opinion as to their whereabouts or plans was forth-
coming. Jealousy was rampant among the corps com-
manders. Discipline was lax, and generals inspected
their commands in cushioned barouches, accompanied
by wives, families, and mistresses. The regiments
were far below their war strength ; indeed, of the
400,000 bayonets which Marshal Leboeuf had pro-
mised only 220,000 were with the colors on August 1.
The state of the commissariat was little better than
chaos ; chassepots, and ammunition were scarce ; the
troops were littered with useless baggage and in no
condition for rapid marching.^
In the mean time Paris was clamoring for a victory.
Miserably conscious of the state of his army, and
aware that every hour was swelling the German hosts,
the unhappy emperor set himself stolidly to await
whatever the future might bring. His judgment
urged a consolidation of his corps, and a retirement
upon a strong line of defense. The temper of Paris
would not permit such a move. To advance was im-
possible ; to stand fast was to court destruction from
the German armies ; to retreat meant the unloosing
of the "red revolution" in his capital. There is
something at once pathetic and ludicrous in the affair
of Saarbriick on the 2d of August. It was the last
feeble effort of Napoleon III. to arouse the enthusiasm
^ General Michel's dispatch of July 21 to the war office at Paris,
quoted in Hooper's Campaign of Sedan, is indicative of the confu-
sion pervading the French army. *' Have arrived at Belfort. Can't
find my brigade ; can't find the general of division. What shall I
do ? Don't know where my regiments are."
LAST DAYS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 303
of Paris for his dynasty. In Saarbriick village lay
a German infantry battalion and a squadron of cav-
alry. On the heights above a division of Marshal
Frossard's corps was encamped. The emperor came
down by train from Metz with the prince imperial,
and gazed upon the evolutions which he had ordered.
The infantry deployed, wheeled, and skirmished.
Brilliant troops of cuirassiers cantered along the
road; the mitrailleuses whirred and rattled. The
sun glanced and glinted upon a scene that would have
adorned the peaceful acres of the Champ de Mars.
The Prussian battalion retired ; the French divisions
entered Saarbriick. The emperor had done what he
could to satisfy Paris and steady his throne. That
evening the news was posted up in sight of the shout-
ing devotees of the boulevards, that the campaign had
opened, a battle had been fought, the French were
victorious, and Prince Louis had received " his bap«
tism of fire."
CHAPTER XXIV.
WOBTH AND FORBACH.
Delivery of the French Declaration of War at Berlin. —
Perfect Preparation of Prussia for War. — Mobilization
AND Organization of the Prussian Army. — Composition
OF THE ThIEID ArMY. — POSITION OF THE CONTENDING FORCES
ON August 3. — Fight at Weissenburg akd Defeat of
THE French. — MacMahon prepares to receive an Attack
on the Sauer. — His Confidence on the 5th of August. —
Opening of the Battle of W6rth. — MacMahon is out-
flanked. — Heroism of the French Cavalry. — Destruc-
tion OF MacMahon's Army. — Hard Fighting on the Saar.
— Critical Situation ov- the German Force engaged
THERE. — Final Retreat of the French. — Consternation
AT Metz over the Result of the Day's Fighting. — De-
spair OF THE Emperor. — He turns to Bazaine as a Saviour.
— Bazaine assxtmes the Command under Protest. — He
appreciates its Full Import. — He is embarrassed by the
Emperor. — The Condition of Affairs at the German
Headquarters. — Moltke's Plan. — The March through
Lorraine.
It was on the 19th of July that Le Sourd formally
delivered the French declaration of war at Berlin.
On the same day King William of Prussia addressed
the North German Reichstag in words that received
the hearty indorsement of both houses. The army
was in process of mobilization, and by the 20th the
South German princes had placed their armies at
the disposal of the king of Prussia. For the jBrst
time Europe began to comprehend the fullness of Bis-
marck's diplomatic skill. He had used the machina-
tions of his enemies for their confounding. He had
WORTH AND FORBACH. 305
used the Napoleonic proposition of 1866 concerning the
Ehenish frontier to bring South Germany into line.
Later, too, he caused the publication of Napoleon's
proposals concerning Luxemburg and Belgium. The
result of this was to shatter the emperor's influence in
every continental capital, while it completely estranged
England, which had been inclined on the whole to
support the French views in the Hohenzollern quarrel.
Austria and Denmark were hostile, but Bismarck by
his Polish policy, supported by ManteujEfel's visit, had
maxle of £.ussia a friend sufficiently strong to guar-
antee their neutrality. Bismarck had made Germany
a military unit, and it remained for the declaration of
war to consimimate the work by effecting a union of
hearts, interests, and power. No sooner had the bel-
licose speeches of July 15 in the French Chambers
been made public, than the entire people, " from the
shores of the sea to the foot of the Alps," sprang en-
thusiastically to arms. The reserves rushed to join
the colors, and the stout Landwehrmen swarmed to
the depots. Every city, village, and town was ablaze
with enthusiasm, and every train that rolled toward
the threatened frontier was densely packed with sol-
diers. Munich, Dresden, and Stuttgart vied with
Berlin in the fervor of their patriotism, and sent their
sons forth to fight in the cause of the German father-
land.
Notwithstanding the fact, however, that the mo-
bilization of the German armies progressed with even
greater rapidity and precision than that which four
years before had astonished Europe, the suddenness
with which the emperor's government had unmasked
its policy and drawn the sword left the frontier for
ten days but scantily defended. Lideed, in Germany
806 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
the affair of Saarbriick was not appreciated in all its
absurdity tUl some weeks later, inasmuch as it was
recognized that had Frossard pushed his advantage
he would have hardly met with serious resistance west
of the Shine. By the middle of the first week in
August, however, the danger for Germany and the
opportunity of France had passed away. The Ger-
man armies had entered in huge force that tract of
country lying between the Shine and the Lower Mo-
selle, and their pickets were close to the French fron-
tier. The command was nominally vested in the king
of Prussia, though Von Moltke as the chief of staff
planned and directed everything. As in the Austrian
campaign the huge host was divided into three armies.
The first army of General Steinmetz crossed the
Shine about Bingen, and followed the Moselle toward
ThionviUe. It comprised the 7th, Sth, and 10th corps
of the North German confederation, the latter corps
representing the Hanoverian army. The second army
under the command of Prince Frederick Charles of
Prussia comprised the Prussian Guard corps, and
the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 9th, and Saxon 12th corps of the
North German confederation. This army passed the
Shine at Mayence, and moving on the left of the first
army was directed upon Kaiserslautem. The third
army consisted of the Sth, 6th, and 11th corps of the
North German confederation, the two corps of Ba-
varia, and the divisions of Baden and Wiirtemberg,
This was by far the most interesting of the three
armies, for united Germany was embodied in its
ranks. The popular crown prince of Prussia was in
command, an appointment that proved at once the
wisdom and the conciliatory spirit of the German
headquarters. This army concentrated in the angle
WORTH AND FORBACH. 307
formed by the Rhine and the Lauter. The diplomats
at Miinich and Stuttgart loved Prussia no better than
in 1866, but at the front old feuds were forgotten.
The Prussian soldiers in bivouac broke into cheers as
the straight-stepping Bavarians passed them on their
march. A glimpse of the Prussian prince threw the
camps of Baden and Wiirtember^ into tumultuous
enthusiasm. The colors of North and South Ger-
many floated in unmistakable amity over the sea of
bayonets that rolled along the eastern base of the Vos-
ges during those early August days.
So far as the French army was concerned, no mar
terial change in its position was effected during the
days when Germany was in a measure defenseless.
On August 3 the various corps were in the same posi-
tions they had occupied for a fortnight. The 1st corps
of Marshal MacMahon was massed between Hagenau
and Strasburg. The 2d corps of General Frossard,
instead of improving the advantage of the 2d, still
clung to the heights above Saarbriick. Marshal
Bazaine with the 3d corps was at St. Avoid, the 4th
corps of Ladmirault in the vicinity of ThionviUe,
the 5th corps of General de Failly at Saargemiind.
These were all the troops the emperor had instantly
available on August 3. The Imperial Gnard was just
arriving at Metz, and the 6th corps of Canrobert was
on the road from Chalons to Nancy. The 7th corps
was detained far away at Belf ort to cover that weak
point in the frontier. Altogether the French army
in line between Metz and Strasburg mustered some-
thing less than 175,000 men, nor was full advantage
taken of this strength* The corps about Metz were
loosely posted, while MacMahon was hopelessly iso-
lated. With thin ranks, but vain in their own con-
808 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ceit, the French commanders indolently awaited the
future.
The German hosts congregated in the angle be-
tween the Khine and the Moselle on August 3 aggre-
gated more than 400,000 men. The outposts of the
first army were on the Saar, the vanguard of the
second army had passed Kaiserslautem, while the
crown prince was approaching the Lauter.
In the mean time the French general Douay with a
division of MacMahon's corps had gone into camp on
the Lauter, occupying the old fortress of Weissen-
burg and the heights to the south. On the morning
of the 4th, when the French troops were preparing
tlieir coffee, tlie Bavarian forces suddenly appeared
on the heights of Schweigen. At the same time their
ai*tillory opened a terrific fire upon the camps and
tlio town of Weissenburg itself. Douay, upon find-
ing himself so suddenly forced into the presence
of grim-visaged war, demeaned himself like a stout
soldier. The Bavarians from the north, assisted by a
jwirt of the 5th corps on the east, stormed Weissen-
burg, and capturtHl the garrison after a sanguinary
figlit in the streets, while the mass of the 5th corps
and a division of tlie 11th corps from the south closed
in on the Geisl>erg and the farm of Sehaf sberg, where
the main strength of the French was concentrated.
The chateau of Geisberg on its commanding hUl-top
was stublwrnly defended, and only capitulated when
the contest in other quarters was hopelessly lost.
TKniay was killeil by a sheD, and the survivors of his
division went streaming away into the Vosges.
The news of this disastrous affair reached ilao-
^[ahou at ]^[otx« where it eauseil grvat consternation.
A council of war was immediatelv held, as a result
WORTH AND FORBACH. 309
of which MacMahon left that night to join his corps,
while the emperor ordered General De FaiUy with the
6th corps to his support. MacMahon, appreciating
the necessity of an early atonement for the disaster
of Weissenbnrg hastened to oppose the advance of
the crown prince with all his forces. On the 5th he
was reinforced by Dumesnil's division of the 7th
corps and Bonnemain's cuirassier brigade of the 6th
corps. These with his four divisions made a total
strength of nearly 50,000 men, with which he seized
the heights that skirt the Sauer between Neewiller
and Morsbronn. His centre occupied Froschweiler
and Elsasshausen with its advance posts in Worth.
His left crested the heights from Froschweiler north-
westerly to Neewiller. His right occupied the Nieder-
wald south of Froschweiler with its extremity rest-
ing upon the Lansberg that overlooks the village of
Morsbronn. MacMahon had the divisions of Ducrot,
Eaoult, and Lartigue on this line, while he held
Felly's division, which had been shattered at Weis-
senbnrg, in the rear of Froschweiler as a reserve.
Dumesnil's division was stationed in the vicinity of
Eberbach as a support to Lartigue in the Nieder-
wald. The position was well chosen for purposes of
defense, while it covered the road to Strasburg and
afforded good lines of retreat. That MacMahon's
army was too small to make the most of the position
there can be no question, though with the exception
of the division which had fought at Weissenburg
the " morale " of his troops was excellent. They
comprised several of those superb Algerian regiments
that had made a world-wide reputation on Cri-
mean and Italian battlefields. The artillery was also
strengthened by several batteries of the much vaunted
810 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
mitrailleuses. Naturally, too, the marshal looked for
support from De Failly. Indeed, when on the even-
ing of the 5th he received notice from the emperor
that the 5th corps was to act under his orders, he ex-
claimed in his joy, " Messieurs les Pmssiens, I have
you." He was not aware at that time of the demoral-
ized and broken condition of De Failly's corps con-
sequent upon a multiplicity of conflicting orders from
Metz.
The crown prince of Prussia passed the Lauter
in force on the 5th, and that evening the 5th corps
bivouacked along the road between Dieffenbach and
Worth, while the 2d Bavarian corps halted at Lan-
gensulzbach. At dawn on the 6th the 6th corps
began to skirmish in front of Worth, while the Bava-
rians advancing from their bivouacs drew the French
fire in front of Neewiller. The crown prince had not
intended to attack MacMahon that day, and upon
hearing of the engagement ordered it to be broken
off immediately. While the Bavarians who had ac-
tually gained a foothold on the heights of Neewiller
began reluctantly to retire. General von Kirchback,
commanding the 5th corps, found himself too deeply
involved to allow of such a movement. As a result
he dispatched messengers to his Bavarian neighbor as
well as to the commander of the 11th corps which
was just arriving on the field, to help him continue
the contest.
The crown prince, upon learning, how far the action
had progressed, ordered the 1st Bavarian corps and
the Wiirtembergers to hasten their march to the
front where he himself arrived at one P. M., shortly
after the 11th corps had gone into action on the left
of the 5th, against the French in the Niederwald.
WORTH AND FORBACH. 811
The German batteries occupied the heights northwest
of Gunstett with 120 cannon and rained a perfect
tempest of shells upon the opposing hills from Frosch-
weiler to the Lansberg. About twelve o'clock the
Prussians crossed the Saner and carried Worth*
Against the heights of Froschweiler, however, they
could make no impression, the French fighting su-
perbly at this point despite the terrific artillery fire
to which they were subjected. The crown prince, see-
ing the terrible slaughter inflicted upon his centre
and despairing of success at that point, determined to
use his superior strength by outflanking the French
position. While the 1st Bavarian corps was pushed
forward between the 5th corps and the 2d Bavarians
against the French left centre, the 11th corps began
to exert a pressure against the French right too
strong to be resisted. The Niederwald was soon
rendered untenable, and the German columns pushing
forward between Eberbach and Morsbronn threat-
ened to envelop the French flank. MacMahon in the
desperation of the crisis hurled Michel's cavalry bri-
gade against the advancing Prussians. The cuiras-
siers and lancers rode well to their death, and heaped
the fields about Morsbronn with their slain. Their
sacrifice enabled Lartigue's and Dumesnil's divisions
to extricate themselves from their precarious position
and rally on Elsasshausen. At 1.30 the line of battle
of the Prussian 11th corps extended from Eberbach
to the foot of the hill of Elsasshausen, while the ex-
treme French right was flying in disorder toward
Hagenau. The resources of the French marshal were
nearly exhausted. He had fought a good battle and
was yielding to overwhelming numbers. He sent
appeal after appeal to De Failly for aid, but his glass
312 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
swept the coimtry in vain for a glimpse of his ap-
proaching regiments. At two o'clock the French
abandoned Elsasshausen to the flames and to the
Prussians. Realizing that his salvation depended
upon the recapture of this village, MacMahon threw
his last infantry reserve against it, and a few mo-
ments later ordered Bonnemain's cuirassier brigade
to charge. The wreck of this fine corps soon strewed
the hopfields between Elsasshausen and the Nieder-
wald ; the infantry recoiled from the hornet's nest of
Elsasshausen; Ducrot's division on the heights of
Neewiller was crumbling to pieces ; worse than all,
assailed on three sides, Froschweiler was yielding. It
was not until four o'clock that MacMahon ordered
the retreat, but before this a genuine rout had set in.
All along the heights, however, the carnage still con-
tinued. The sun shone crimson through smoke clouds
upon the blazing village, within which fragments of
regiments that had never learned to fly still fought
madly on, upon broken batteries whose hot cannon
still thundered the French defiance, and upon the
sea of glistening helmets that crested the Prussian
advance. It was nearly dusk, the roads leading to
Saveme and Niederbronn were crowded with the
wreck of MacMahon's corps, when De FaiUy's first
regiments arrived. They came rushing into Nieder-
bronn incredulous over the rumors that had reached
them, fierce and angry at the mere supposition of a
French reverse. They had come to support Mac-
Mahon ; they were scarcely able to cover his retreat.
At all events, shortly after dark the Bavarians
stormed into Niederbronn, wrested the railway station
from their grasp, and drove them back. So the bat-
tle of Worth ended. The crown prince had little
WORTH AND FORBACH. 318
cavalry available and the French rout streamed on
unmolested.
At the same time that Marshal McMahon was
being driven from his carefully chosen positions the
corps of General Frossard was recoiling shattered
and demoralized from the disastrous battle of For-
bach. On the Saar as well as on the Sauer the Ger-
mans had struck a savage blow. The conflict at
Forbach, like that of Worth, was unpremeditated,
and the result of insubordination on the part of
Frossard, and the extraordinary daring of the Prus-
sian General Kamecke. Frossard, who had been en-
camped on the Spicheren heights since his skirmish
on the 2d, was under orders from the emperor to
retire upon St. Avoid. Although twenty-four hours
had passed since the receipt of these orders, the morn-
ing of the 6th found his rear guard just breaking
camp on the heights, while the mass of his corps was
only approaching Forbach. He might have made
good progress during the day had not a Prussian
force suddenly appeared in Saarbriick. The slender-
ness of this force tempted him to resume the offen-
sive. He recalled his troops and occupied his old posi-
tions on the Spicherenberg. General Kamecke, who
had but one division of the German 7th corps, was in
no sense overawed at being confronted by a superior
force in an almost unassailable position. He was not
even content to stand on the defensive, but trusting
to the cannon thunder to bring him supports, he
hurled his infantry against the Spicherenberg. These
gallant troops shed their blood like water on the steep
fire-swept slopes, but to no purpose. At noon Kar
mecke's position was grave ; at two o'clock it was des^
perate ; at three the battle was saved by the arrival
314 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
of General Goeben with Bamekow's division of the
8th corps. A portion of the 5th division of the 3d
corps also arrived and Goeben, who had assumed
command, renewed the offensive with energy. The
French continued to dispute the possession of the
Spicherenberg until dark, when in a broken and
panic-struck condition they began their retreat.
In the mean time Gliimer's division of the 7th
corps, having crossed the Saar six miles west of Saar-
briick, marched southward upon hearing of the events
transpiring at that place. In the evening they ap-
proached Forbach, and notwithstanding the fact that
huge quantities of stores were collected here the
French garrison evacuated and retreated upon Metz.
The victory of Saarbriick or Forbach was due to
the superb steadiness of Kamecke's Westphalian in-
fantry, to the splendid marching of the supporting
divisions, to the overweening confidence of General
Frossard, and to the confusion of orders that left him
unsupported. Three divisions of Bazaine's corps
were within half a dozen miles of the Spicherenberg,
but none of the leaders cared to move on their own
responsibility. Bazaine's early proffer of assistance
was rejected by Frossard, and after that the various
divisions spent their time in marching and counter-
marching in the vain efforts to execute the erratic
orders of an incompetent commander-in-chief.
The 6th of August witnessed the crippling of the
French army of invasion. Worth annihilated the
right wing, Forbach shattered the centre. De Failly,
finding himself in danger of being cut off at Bitsche,
started on a wild chase after MacMahon. Not a field
battalion was left to confront the Prussians between
Metz and Strasburg.
WORTH AND FORBACH. 315
At Metz the news was received first with incredulity
and then with consternation. The cries of " A Ber-
lin " suddenly ceased and noncombatants began prepa-
rations for a hasty flight. The temper of the imperial
staff from a confident flippancy became despondent in
the extreme. The army was beaten, France was beaten,
the German empire was an accomplished fact, — these
sentiments were frequently expressed at headquarters
during Sunday the 7th of August. The sense of dis-
couragement pervaded all classes from the emperor
down to the ranks. At the opening of the second
week in August the emperor had under his command
the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 6th corps, with the Guard, a
total of 125,000 men, but of these, Frossard's corps
was too much demoralized to be immediately avail-
able. With this force the emperor had to contend
against two armies aggregating 300,000 men, flushed
with success. It required a soldier of rare genius
and energy to maintain the contest against such odds,
and unhappily the emperor even in his prime was
never a military leader of the first order. In these
days, moreover, of bodily pain and mental weariness,
he lost all heart and turned from Lebceuf and the
carpet soldiers of the Tuileries, to men of sounder
judgment and less selfish impulses. From the crowd
of brilliant hangers-on and would-be advisers he se-
lected two men to aid him in the crisis ; the first was
General Changamier, the other Marshal Bazaine.
In 1851 the emperor had committed the former to
prison because he was hostile to his interests and too
popular with the army. Forgetting the past, Chan-
garnier left his retirement and placed his sword at
the disposal of the emperor. The political prisoner of
1851 became the trusted imperial adviser in 1870.
316 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
As for Bazaine, he had come by his honors honestly,
and fought his way upward through the grades at the
cannon's mouth. The emperor looked upon Bazaine,
and Changamier concurred in his judgment, as the
man who might pull him through his difficulties.
These days at the French headquarters succeeding
the early August battles are memorable in modem
European history, and we have their details from the
pens of the principal actors. The first move of the
emperor after the 6th of August was the appoint-
ment of Bazaine to the command of the 2d, 3d, and
4th corps, with orders to bring them back under the
guns of Metz. In the mean time the emperor was
contemplating his resignation. The army and the
nation had lost confidence in him, he never had much
confidence in himself, and Paris was imcomf ortably
peremptory in its demands for a new commander.
On the 12th Leboeuf fell from his position a9 chief
of staff, and on the day following the emperor for-
mally resigned the command of the army of the Rhine
in favor of Bazaine. These events were well received
by the army, and Paris was satisfied. The influ-
ences that were exerted to effect these changes have
long been in dispute. The emperor claimed that the
interests of France determined his course ; in reality
it was determined for him by the ministry. There is
a strong chain of evidence to indicate that the Paris
statesmen foresaw the magnitude of the coming disas-
ters, and the necessity of finding a scapegoat who
should take the responsibility from the imperial shoul-
ders. As far as the emperor is concerned, he doubt-
less yielded to what he regarded as a public as well as
a ministerial demand. He called upon Bazaine not
to save the empire by a personal sacrifice of all that
WORTH AND FORBACH. 817
a soldier holds dear, but by his military genius and
force of arms.
Bazaine, however, appreciated fully what his ap-
pointment meant. Canrobert and MacMahon were
his seniors, but they never thought of contesting the
dangerous honor of the supreme command. Bazaine
tried to evade the appointment, but the emperor en-
treated. Then .in a manly, soldierly fashion the mar-
shal succumbed, and shouldered the duty which he
recognized was almost certain to bring upon him the
rage and contempt of his countrymen. The army,
we know, was ill-disciplined, dispirited, and terribly
outnimibered, but this was not the worst feature of Ba-
zaine's dilemma. He was destined to be hampered by
the emperor just long enough to complete the misery
of the military situation. Bazaine had a plan, a rare
thing among the French marshals of those degenerate
days, and upon it he had laid some stress. He wished
to move the whole army to a position on the Nied, to
accept a battle there, and if victorious, to fall away
southward, effect a junction with MacMahon, and take
up a new position in front of Nancy. This scheme
was perhaps the only feasible one of the French cam-
paign, and it was the last upon which the emperor
exercised an influence. He opposed it. Unquestion-
ably Bazaine might have insisted, but he yielded as
conmiander-in-chief as he had been wont to yield
when a general of division. As a result the army
began to execute the move substituted by the em-
peror, and commenced the retreat to Verdun. The
orders for retreating fell like a deathblow upon the
already disheartened soldiers of the army of the
Ehine.
In the mean time all the machinery of the German
818 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
headquarters was moving with perfect precision. In
every direction the lieutenants of Von Moltke were
vigorously pushing his carefully elaborated plans.
Every one was at work, and working for some def-
inite end. No one had prophesied or anticipated an
«asy victory, and yet there was no undue elation over
recent events. All the armies had been engaged, the
first and second touching shoulders in front of the
Spicherenberg. If some gnmibled over the risks
taken by Kamecke, the splendid marching of the sup-
porting divisions seemed to indicate that a Prussian
officer could afford to take some risks. There was
certainly something more than commendable in the
swift rush of the Brandenburgers and Rhinelanders
toward the '* kannonendonner " on the day of For-
bach. Regiments that in the morning were a score
of miles from Saarbriick had turned off the dusty
leagues under the exhilarating influence of thie dis-
tant artillery, and been found at sunset in the fight-
ing line on the crest of the Spicherenberg.
Moltke had a plan far-reaching in its aims, for it
meant the bagging of the French army of invasion
with Metz and the emperor included. He divined
the emperor's purpose of retreating on Verdun. The
crown prince directed his march upon Nancy, but the
army of Prince Frederick Charles moved on Pont a
Mousson on the Moselle, while Steinmetz covered his
right, and threatened Metz from the east and north-
east. If Bazaine moved up the Moselle against Fred-
erick Charles, he laid open his flank to Steinmetz.
If he turned against Steinmetz, or took the roads to
Verdun, his flank was exposed to Frederick Charles.
If he remained quiescent, he rendered it possible for
Frederick Charles to pass the Moselle in force, push
WORTH AND FORBACH. 819
his columns northward from Pont a Mousson, and cut
the roads to Verdun.
The villagers of Lorraine still tell with wonder, if
with sadness, of that mighty flood of German inva-
sion that engulfed them during the summer days of
1870; of the never-ceasing tide of the soldiers of
the Fatherland that poured out of the Rhineland, —
cavalry clattering and jingling through the village
street, dust-covered infantrymen timing their march
to martial chorus or tap of drum, and artillery rum-
bling and jolting over the rough ways.
From dawn until dusk and even after darkness fell
and weary regiments bivouacked by the roadsides,
still the steady muffled tramp continued as fresher
troops pursued their march. Days and weeks passed,
and still Germany poured forth her sons, and still
they streamed westward into the heart of France.
" It is not an army," groaned the Lorrainers, " but a
nation that has come among us." At last the helmets
became scarce, and the shakos appeared crowning fore-
heads that were wrinkled and hair that was streaked
with gray. It was the Landwehr going to the front
to teach the " youngsters " how to fight. They came
on by tens of thousands, the memories of other days
clustering about their standards, the memory of wife
and children clustering about their hearts, strong,
sturdy, arousing the echoes of the Lotharingian woods
and hills with the f tdl-voiced chorus, —
** Dear Fatherland no danger thine,
Firm stand thy sons to guard the Rhine."
CHAPTER XXV.
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ.
The French Retreat upon Verdun begins. — Battle op
BoRNY. — Bazaine's Night Visit to the Emperor. — Flight
OF THE Emperor to Gravelotte. — Bazaine visits hem
there. — Farewell between Bazaine and the Emperor
ON THE Departure of the Latter for Verdun. — Position
OF THE Armies on August 16. — General von Alvensleben
OPENS the Battle of Vionvtllb. — Character of the Bat-
tle AND its Results. — Bazaine takes up a New Position.
— Moltke's Plan for August 18. — The Battle of Grave-
lotte. — Repulse of Steinmetz. — Incapacity of Bazaine.
— Second Repulse op Steinmetz. — Canrobert overpow-
ered. — Capture of St. Privat and Turning of the French
Right. — Close op the Battle. — Influence of the 'Battle
UPON THE Military Situation. — Formation of the Army
OF THE Meuse. — The Siege of Metz begins.
It was dawn on the 14th of August when the
French army of the Rhine commenced its passage of
the Moselle and inaugurated the retreat upon Ver-
dun. The immediate result was chaos, the blockading
of roads with cumbersome baggage and artillery trains
that caused at once confusion and delay. To make
matters worse, about four p. M. the 3d corps and a por-
tion of the 4th corps, which still retained their positions
between Columbey and Nouilly on the east of Metz,
were furiously attacked by the first German army
under Steinmetz. The effect of the cannon thunder
in their rear was most demoralizing upon the French
army. The retreat came to a standstill ; the Guard was
moved to Bomy to support the troops in action, while
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 321
•
the army began to recross the Moselle. The French
fought well, outnumbering their assailants ; and when
the action ceased at dark they claimed the victory.
The German purpose, however, had been fully accom-
plished. They had held three entire corps d^armee
on the east of Metz, checked Bazaine's movement in
retreat, and enabled the columns of Prince Frederick
Charles to make good progress westward.
Bazaine, who from the first had deprecated the re-
treat, recognized distinctly after this action its prob-
able issue. From the battlefield about Borny he
made his way at midnight across the Moselle through
the streets of Metz crowded with weary, grumbling
soldiery, threading his way among the wreck And dis-
order that strewed the roads beyond the town, until
he reached the emperor's quarters at the Chateau de
Longueville. There he eased his mind of his fore-
bodings, and disclosed his dread of being outflanked.
The miserable emperor merely entreated caution and
the avoidance of any fresh defeat. Bazaine rode
away through the military confusion to his quarters,
while shortly before dawn the emperor was apprised of
the proximity of the Germans by the shells that came
crashing into the chateau garden. The army of the
Bhine had sunk so low in efficiency that it was in-
competent to protect its sovereign from this audacious
field battery that unlimbered on the farther bank of
the Moselle. So the emperor commenced the day,
the day of the great Napoleonic festival, by a hurried
flight. Accompanied by Prince Louis and a small
escort he made the best of his way to Gravelotte.
At the inn of this village he received Bazaine in the
afternoon, while along the road in front the sullen,
dispirited regiments passed in retreat without raising
a cheer at the sight of their unhappy monarch.
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 323
General von Alveusleben conunanding the 3d Ger-
man corps pushed the 6th infantry division across the
Moselle at daybreak, and inarched by Gorze upon
Vionville. It was Redem's cavalry, supported by
this division, that first surprised the French. Fros-
sard's corps was encamped about Vionville and Ma-
vigny, and the effect of the sudden attack was to
bring up the 6th corps on his right and establish a
line of battle from Flavigny to Bruville. In other
words, the French corps, which had been facing west-
ward, executed a partial wheel to the left and faced
southwest. Bazaine seems tn have had no conception
of the slendemess of the forces opposing him, and to
have exercised undue caution. The small force of
German infantry on the ground rendered it necessary
to use the cavalry immoderately, and a series of bril-
liant but murderous charges resulted. The position
of the German forees was critical throughout the day ;
and even at five o'clock when the entire 3d and 10th
corps had come up, they were confronted by no less
than five French corps. Indeed, the battle of Vion-
ville was a marvel of military audacity. General von
Alvensleben, realizing the great importance of holding
Bazaine in Metz, risked everything for its accomplish-
ment, hurling battalions against brigades, and driving
his depleted cavalry squadrons again and again
against the blazing lines of French cannon. The
strong men of Brandenbui^ and Hanover proved
equal to the emergency. The Hanoverians arrived
late on the field, but tliey did grand service. The
nppiug fair-haired men who under their king drove
~~ " s at Langensalza fought no less stoutly
) of the Fatherland when they faced the
t Vionville.
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 321
•
the army began to recross the Moselle. The French
fought well, outnumbering their assailants ; and when
the action ceased at dark they claimed the victory.
The German purpose, however, had been fully accom-
plished. They had held three entire corps d^armee
on the east of Metz, checked Bazaine's movement in
retreat, and enabled the columns of Prince Frederick
Charles to make good progress westward.
Bazaine, who from the first had deprecated the re-
treat, recognized distinctly after this action its prob-
able issue. From the battlefield about Borny he
made his way at midnight across the Moselle through
the streets of Metz crowded with weary, grumbling
soldiery, threading his way among the wreck And dis-
order that strewed the roads beyond the town, imtil
he reached the emperor's quarters at the Chateau de
Longueville. There he eased his mind of his fore-
bodings, and disclosed his dread of being outflanked.
The miserable emperor merely entreated caution and
the avoidance of any fresh defeat. Bazaine rode
away through the military confusion to his quarters,
while shortly before dawn the emperor was apprised of
the proximity of the Germans by the shells that came
crashing into the chateau garden. The army of the
Rhine had sunk so low in efficiency that it was in-
competent to protect its sovereign from this audacious
field battery that unlimbered on the farther bank of
the Moselle. So the emperor commenced the day,
the day of the great Napoleonic festival, by a hurried
flight. Accompanied by Prince Louis and a small
escort he made the best of his way to Gravelotte.
At the inn of this village he received Bazaine in the
afternoon, while along the road in front the sullen,
dispirited regiments passed in retreat without raising
a cheer at the sight of their unhappy monarch.
822 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Bazaine and the emperor met but once more, and
that on the following morning, the 16th. The mar-
shal being summoned by an aide found the emperor
seated in his carriage, suffering depicted on his usu-
ally imperturbable face. His words betrayed his
utter hopelessness. " I have decided to leave for
Verdun and Chalons. Make the best of your way to
Verdun. The gendarmes have abandoned Briey to
the Prussians." The marshal found the gigantic task
upon his shoulders of consummating with a disorgan-
ized and crestfallen army a movement which from the
first he had regarded as suicidal. Almost before the
dust raised by the imperial escort had faded from sight,
the roar of cannon that was borne to his ears on the
south wind told him that another battle was afoot.
The action fought on this day was the most san-
guinary of the entire war. It was commenced by the
army of Prince Frederick Charles to intercept Ba-
zaine's retreat on Verdun, and maintained by it
throughout the day against vastly superior forces.
The position of the two armies at daybreak on the
16th was substantially as follows: the French were
preparing to retreat upon Verdun, the 2d, 6th, and
Ghiard corps by the southern road via Mars la Tour,
the 3d and 4th corps moving over the northern route
via Etain. On the other hand, the mass of the German
second army was still distant from the Moselle, only
the 3d and 10th corps being close up to its banks.
The 19th infantry division of the 10th corps and the
5th division of the 3d corps had even crossed the river,
the former being in the vicinity of Thiaucourt, and the
other between OnviUe and Gorze. The 5th cavalry
division was near Mars la Tour, while the Guard dra-
goon brigade was with the 19th division at Thiaucourt.
THB AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 823
General von Alvensleben commanding the 3d Grer-
man corps pushed the 6th infantry division across the
Moselle at daybreak, and marched by Gorze upon
VionviUe. It was BMem's cavalry, supported by
this division, that first surprised the French. Fros-
sard's corps was encamped about Vionville and Fla-
vigny, and the effect of the sudden attack was to
bring up the 6th corps on his right and establish a
line of battle from Flavigny to Bruville. In other
words, the French corps, which had been facing west-
ward, executed a partial wheel to the left and faced
southwest. Bazaine seems to have had no conception
of the slenderness of the forces opposing him, and to
have exercised undue caution. The small force of
German infantry on the ground rendered it necessary
to use the cavalry immoderately, and a series of bril-
liant but murderous charges resulted. The position
of the German forces was critical throughout the day ;
and even at five o'clock when the entire 3d and 10th
corps had come up, they were confronted by no less
than five French corps. Indeed, the battle of Vion-
ville was a marvel of military audacity. General von
Alvensleben, realizing the great importance of holding
Bazaine in Metz, risked everything for its accomplish-
ment, hurling battalions against brigades, and driving
his depleted cavalry squadrons again and again
against the blazing lines of French cannon. The
strong men of Brandenburg and Hanover proved
equal to the emergency. The Hanoverians arrived
late on the field, but they did grand service. The
strapping fair-haired men who under their king drove
the Prussians at Langensalza fought no less stoutly
in the cause of the Fatherland when they faced the
French lines at Vionville.
824 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
The battle of Vionville settled the fate of Bazalne's
army. The marshal was outmanoeuvred, and at the
close of the action, while he claimed the victory, could
not disguise the fact that the command of the south-
em route to Verdun had passed into the control of
his foe. From this time date the first charges against
the marshal, which in the end were to bring about his
ruin and disgrace. It is asserted that had he shown
any energy on the 15th, fought with more spirit on
the 16th, or improved his opportunities on the 17th,
he might have shaken himself free from the steel
talons which the German headquarters was closing
upon him. Bazaine's excuses are based upon the de-
moralization of his army and the insubordination of
his coi'ps commanders. These facts rendered him un-
willing to attempt another move on Verdun. On the
17th he led his army back to an impregnable position
under the gims of Metz. He occupied with all his
forces the high plateau west of the Moselle, his left
resting on St. Ruffine, his right on Roncourt. In the
choice of this position the marshal displayed excel-
lent judgment, and his engineers rendered its natural
strength even more formidable. At no point save
perhaps on the extreme right could the enemy attack
except at a great disadvantage and exposed to a ter-
rific artillery fire. The marshal had in his first line
the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 6th corps, while he retained the
Guards as a reserve in the rear of his left wing.
On the same day that Bazaine was taking up these
positions the German headquarters in a high state of
satisfaction was making preparations for a final blow.
Long before dawn on the 18th all the corps of the
German second army were marching rapidly north-
ward in the rear of the first army that was confront-
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 325
ing the French left in front of St. Knffine. Von
Moltke was ignorant of Bazaine's intentions and
whether it would devolve upon him to receive or
deliver an attack. The movements of the German
corps had been ordered with a view to meeting either
eventuality. At ten o'clock the king of Prussia was
on the ground, and Von Moltke had become con-
vinced that the French were standing on the defen-
sive. The entire first army under Steinmetz was
detailed to act against the almost impregnable French
left southward from the farms of Moscow and St.
Hubert. The 6th and 9th corps went in about V^me-
ville against the positions among the farms of Mon-
tigny-la-Grange, La Folie, and Leipsig. The Saxons
followed by the Guards continued their march along
the rear of this line to find the French right, and
turn it. .
The artillery of the 9th corps opened the action
about eleven o'clock, and for three hours it raged
furiously all along the extended line from Amanvil-
lers to the extreme French left. The 6th and 9th
corps were cautiously handled, and made no progress
in their front, while Steinmetz, after wresting St.
Hubert from the French, failed at the Point du Jour,
and was thrown back with frightful slaughter.
Moltke's plan was to hold the French centre and
left while the turning movement of the Guards and
Saxons was being developed. Bazaine's conduct on
this day strongly suggested that of Benedek at Konig-
gratz. He posted himself in the fortress of Plappe-
ville where he commanded an excellent view of Fros-
sard on the left, of Leboeuf and Ladmirault in the
centre, while Canrobert on the right was out of sight
and in poor communication. Bazaine gave no uneasy
824 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
The battle of Vionville settled the fate of Bazaine's
army. The marshal was outmanoeuvred, and at the
close of the action, while he claimed the victory, could
not disguise the fact that the conmiand of the south-
em route to Verdun had passed into the control of
his foe. From this time date the first charges against
the marshal, which in the end were to bring about his
ruin and disgrace. It is asserted that had he shown
any energy on the 15th, fought with more spirit on
the 16th, or improved his opportunities on the 17th,
he might have shaken himself free from the steel
talons which the German headquarters was closing
upon him. Bazaine's excuses are based upon the de-
moralization of his army and the insubordination of
his coi'ps commanders. These facts rendered him un-
willing to attempt another move on Verdun. On the
17th he led his army back to an impregnable position
under the guns of Metz. He occupied with all his
forces the high plateau west of the Moselle, his left
resting on St. Ruffine, his right on Roncourt. In the
choice of this position the marshal displayed excel-
lent judgment, and his engineers rendered its natural
strength even more formidable. At no point save
perhaps on the extreme right could the enemy attack
except at a great disadvantage and exposed to a ter-
rific artillery fire. The marshal had in his first line
the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 6th corps, while he retained the
Guards as a reserve in the rear of his left wing.
On the same day that Bazaine was taking up these
positions the German headquarters in a high state of
satisfaction was making preparations for a final blow.
Long before dawn on the 18th all the corps of the
German second army were marching rapidly north-
ward in the rear of the first army that was confront-
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 325
ing the French left in front of St. Knffine. Von
Moltke was ignorant of Bazaine's intentions and
whether it would devolve upon him to receive or
deliver an attack. The movements of the German
corps had been ordered with a view to meeting either
eventuality. At ten o'clock the king of Prussia was
on the groimd, and Von Moltke had become con-
vinced that the French were standing on the defen-
sive. The entire first army under Steinmetz waa
detailed to act against the almost impregnable French
left southward from the farms of Moscow and St.
Hubert. The 6th and 9th corps went in about V^me-
ville against the positions among the farms of Mon-
tigny-la-Grange, La Folic, and Leipsig. The Saxons
followed by the Gnards continued their march along
the rear of this line to find the French right, and
turn it. .
The artillery of the 9th corps opened the action
about eleven o'clock, and for three hours it raged
furiously all along the extended line from Amanvil-
lers to the extreme French left. The 6th and 9th
corps were cautiously handled, and made no progress
in their front, while Steinmetz, after wresting St.
Hubert from the French, failed at the Point du Jour,
and was thrown back with frightful slaughter.
Moltke's plan was to hold the French centre and
left while the turning movement of the Guards and
Saxons was being developed. Bazaine's conduct on
this day strongly suggested that of Benedek at Konig-
gratz. He posted himself in the fortress of Plappe-
ville where he commanded an excellent view of Fros-
sard on the left, of Leboeuf and Ladmirault in the
centre, while Canrobert on the right was out of sight
and in ppor conimun^cation. Bazaine gave no uneasy
828 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
thought to his right, notwithstanding the fact that it
was naturally the weakest point in his line. The f ury
of Steinmetz's attacks upon Frossard and Lebceuf
held all his attention exactly as Moltke intended they
should do, although it was clear that the positions
held by these generals were little less than impreg-
nable.
At five o'clock no change had been effected in the
state of the battle, the French line being everywhere
intact. The lull that prevailed at this time was rudely
broken by another furious assault of the first army*
Steinmetz, who had been chafing at his temporary in-
action, stimulated by the debouching of the 2d corps
from the Bois des Ognons for his support, ordered
another rush against the French positions beyond
the Mance. The attacking columns were withered
by a fiery blast that nothing human could endure*
The French sallying from their trenches in great
force, an incipient panic ensued. The opportune
arrival of supports alone prevented a rout; and when
darkness fell, the weary soldiers of the first army
were standing fiercely on the defensive under a crush-
ing fire of chassepots and mitrailleuses.
In the mean time the stubborn battle had been
decided on the extreme left. Canrobert backed by
the strong high viUag« of St. Privat held his position
without difficulty during the day against the attacks
of several weak detachments of the Saxon and Prus-
sian Guard corps. At sundown, however, anothei^
face was put upon matters in that vicinity. The 12th
corps had completed its turning movement, and was
fighting its way southward through Roncourt toward
St. Privat, which had been already set on fire by the
German artillery. The Prussian Ghiards moving up
THE AUGUST BATTLES BEFORE METZ. 827
from the vicinity of Ste. Marie-aux-Chenes also de-
ployed for the attack upon St. Privat. Canrobert
was left unsupported at this crisis. Bourbaki was in
the vicinity with a few thousand grenadiers of the
French Ghiard, but the battle was raging fiercely then
about Amanvillers, and he was at a loss where to
strike in. The sun sank below the forests, and in its
stead the glare of the blazing village illuminated the
darkening country. In the flame-swept streets a
handful of Frenchmen lingered to cross bayonets
with the Prussian guardsmen and meet the fate they
courted. Canrobert drew off his corps slowly and in
tolerable order, notifying Ladmirault of his move-
ments.
All through the evening the combat was maintained
here and all along the line. Malmaison sent a pillar
of fire skyward, while St. Privat was visible for miles
by the light of its own destruction. The king of
Prussia and his staff left the position they had oc-
cupied during the day upon the gratifying intelligence
from the left wing, but it was later still before Fros-
sard's cannon ceased to illuminate the air over Point
du Jour and Leboeuf 's musketry to belt the hillsideB
north of the Verdun road with an incessant blazing.
At midnight silence reigned, and the German pickets
were holding the line from Vern^ville through Aman-
villers.
The battle of Gravelotte or Amanvillers, as the
French demoninate it, was the last of that bloody trio
that, commencing with Bomy on the 14th, cost the
German armies a loss of 42,000 and the French 34,000
officers and men. Though the Germans had shed
their blood like water, they had in every case achieved
their end. The battle of Bomy was fought to gain
828 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
time to cut the roads to Verdun, VionviUe to check
the French retreat, and Gravelotte to " nail " the
French to Metz. On the other hand, Bazaine aim-
lessly wasted his army. He fought Borny because he
had no other alternative ; at VionviUe he was fright-
ened into the defensive when a bold use of his strength
would have given him the victory ; at Grravelotte he
fought to retain a hold on the road to Verdun, and
lost it.
The military situation was simplified. Only one
field army was left to France, the one gathering at
Chalons, and against which the crown prince of Prus-
sia was moving. On the day following the battle of
Gravelotte the German fourth army (of the Meuse)
was formed to cooperate with the third army, and the
command given to the prince royal of Saxony. It
comprised the 4th and 12th corps, the Prussian
Guards, and the 5th and 6th cavalry divisions, and on
the 20th began its westward march in search of the
French army of Chalons. The strength of this army
was close upon 100,000 men, that of the third army
about 120,000 men. The first and second armies
united were 225,000 strong, and upon their shoulders
devolved the siege and subjection of Metz. The king
of Prussia and General von Moltke left the lines
before Metz to f oUow the headquarters of the third
army.
CHAPTEE XXVI.
SEDAN.
Confusion at the French Headquabtebs at ChIlons. — Mac-
Mahon^s Abbtvaii thebe. — Result of the Miutabt Coun-
cils. — The Paris Cabinet takes a Hand. — MacMahon's
Ibbesolution. — Finally concludes to mabch upon Metz. —
Stbenoth and Condition of his Fobce^. — Despebation of
THE MiNISTBT AT PABIS. — GeNEBAL BlUMENTHAL ON MaC-
Mahon's Movement. — Moltke moves to checkmate him. —
Situation on the 27th of August. — On the 29th. — Battle
of Beaumont. — Rout of De Failly's Cobps. — Discomfitubb
OF THE FbENCH 7tH CoBPS BY THE BaVABIANS. — TeBBIBLE
Demobalization of MacMahon*s Abmy. — The Retbeat upon
Sedan and MacMahon's Telegbam to the Ministby. — The
Gebmans close in upon Sedan. — The Fbench Position at
Sedan. — First Attack of the Gebmans on Septembeb 1. —
MacMahon wounded. — Splendid Wobk of the Saxon Artil-
lery. — The Quarrel at the French Headquarters and its
Result. — General de Wimpffen. — Heroism of the French
Marines. — Terrible Fighting at Bazeilles. — Awful Ef-
fect OF THE German Artillery Fire. — Misery of the Em-
peror.— The White Flag at Sedan. — The Prussian King
on the Heights of Fresnois — Napoleon's Letter. — Even-
ing ON the Battlefield.
Meanwhile all was confusion and indecision at
Chalons. The emperor arrived on the evening of the
16th and found little encouragement in the military
situation. The newly formed 12th corps and a few
battalions of the Mobile Guard were in camp, and on
the 18th MacMahon brought in his corps that had
been so rudely handled at Worth. On the 20th the
5th corps, which had followed MacMahon in his flight
830 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
from the Sauer, began to make its appearance, while
the 7th corps was reported en route from Belf ort via
Paris, and the 13th corps in process of formation at
the capital. The emperor held anxious conferences
with Prince Napoleon, Marshal MacMahon, and
General Trochu, the commander of the 12th corps.
Prince Napoleon urged that it was time to reject the
advice of the empress and her Jesuit advisers and to
cultivate the friendship of Italy. He carried his
point, and on the 19th left for Florence to inform his
royal father-in-law " that he might do as he pleased
with Rome if he would come promptly to the aid of
France in arms." General Trochu insisted that the
mobiles should be shipped back to Paris, as their
uproarious insubordination threatened to contaminate
the entire army. MacMahon urged that the army
should retreat upon the capital and accept if need
were a battle for its defense. It was decided, further-
more, that the emperor should return to Paris, whither
General Trochu was to precede him and assume the
miUtary governorship of the city.
As a result then of the conference of Chalons,
Prince Napoleon was sent to Florence, Trochu to
Paris, and the army directed upon Keims* On the
evening of the 21st the army reached the environs of
the latter place, where it was reinforced the next day
by the 7th corps. The retreat of the army and the
proposed return of the emperor to his capital had
been bitterly opposed from the first by the ministry
of the empress. On the 22d the emperor received
another dispatch from Paris to this effect : " If you
do not march to Bazaine's assistance the worst is to
be feared in Paris." At the same time a hopeful
message was received from Bazaine in which he spoke
SEDAN. 331
confidently of breaking through the German lines of
investment on the north. The first of these telegrams
frightened the emperor, while the two together shook
MacMahon's resolution. He had previously informed
the ministry that he knew nothing of Bazaine's con-
dition, and that it would be inexcusable foolhardi-
ness to attempt his relief with demoralized and half-
trained troops. The telegram received from Metz
on the 22d divulged Bazaine's plans, and MacMahon
became convinced that he had no alternative but to
march to his relief. Consequently on the 23d he
issued his orders for an advance of the whole army
upon Montmedy.
The strength of MacMahon's army was about
140,000 men. Of the corps composing it,, however,
the 1st had been shattered by battle, the 5th and 7th
dispirited by forced retreats, and the 12th, while it in-
cluded an excellent division of marine infantry, was
made up largely of raw regiments. A long period of
arduous training was necessary to lend anything like
cohesion to this force, and there was not an hour to
spare. The success of a movement for Bazaine's re-
lief depended upon celerity, and of this MacMahon's
regiments were incapable. The first day's march
filled the coimtry with stragglers. The intendance
broke down, and orders were issued from headquar-
ters for the army to live upon the country.
On the 27th, after a laborious march, the head-
quarters were at Le Chesne-Populeux. MacMahon
was alarmed by unmistakable evidences that the crown
prince of Prussia was moving northward against his
flank. On the evening of that day he telegraphed
to the ministry that he had determined to abandon
Bazaine, and issued orders for retreat upon Mezidres.
832 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
A few hours later and the agonized response of the
ministry was placed in his hand. " If you leave
Bazaine in the lurch there will be a revolution in
Paris." This was supplemented by another message
more imperative in tone from the minister of war.
" I require you to march to the relief of Marshal Ba-
zaine, by utilizing the thirty hours' start which you
have over the crown prince (of Prussia). I am send-
ing Vinoy's corps (the 13th) to Reims. The dy-
nasty is lost, and we, all of us, with it, unless you
accede to the wishes of the inhabitants of Paris."
The emperor entreated MacMahon to hold to his
resolution to retreat. It had been a struggle from
the first between the headquarters and the Paris
cabinet for the direction of the army of Chalons.
The former manoeuvred with reference to the Ger-
man armies, the latter with reference to the Paris
mob. The headquarters succimibed, and the army
and the emperor marched on to their ruin.
In the mean time at Bar-le-Duc General von Moltke
could hardly credit the reports that the French army
was advancing on the Meuse. General Bliunenthal
with the map of northeastern France before him ex-
claimed, " These French are lost, you see. We know
they are there, and there, and there, MacMahon's
whole army. Where can they go to ? Poor foolish
fellows. They must go to Belgium or fight there and
be lost," and his finger was close to the fortress of
Sedan. On the 25th the orders were issued from
headquarters that were to checkmate the army of
Chalons. The Meuse army was already in the Ar-
gonnes, the third army was approaching the Aisne
farther south and one day's march in advance. The
orders of the 25th wheeled both these armies to the
SEDAN, 333
right. The march " nach Paris " was suspended and
200,000 German soldiers turned their faces north-
ward. The orderly promptitude with which this
change of front was accomplished, and the new march
sustained has long been a subject for admiring com-
ment among military men.
On the 27th of August the French 7th corps had
not crossed the Aisne, while the rest of the army held
a line from Vouziers to Stonne. The 6th German
cavalry division was hovering on the flank of the 7th
corps. The Saxon 12th corps already held the line
of the Meuse from Mouzon to Dun, while the Prus-
sian Guards, 4th corps, and the two Bavarian corps
were distant but a day's march to the south.
So heavy and painful were the movements of the
French army that MacMahon could not issue his
orders for passing the Meuse imtil the 29th. At
nightfall on that day the 12th corps alone had crossed
and was in bivouac about Mouzon. The Saxon 12th
corps, which had repassed the Meuse to take a posi-
tion on the flank of the French advance, fell upon a
brigade of the 5th corps and drove it in upon the
main body at Beamnont.
On August 30 the French 5th corps at Beaumont
received orders to cover the crossing of the army at
Villers and RemiUy, and to cross itself at Mouzon
later in the day. Notwithstanding the well proven
fact that the whole country southward was swarming
with the enemy, De Failly took no precaution against
a surprise. He had one division in camp on the
plain south of Beaimiont and the rest of his corps on
the heights to the north. Toward noon the German
4th corps fell on the leading division, surprised and
routed it. The position north of Beaumont was
334 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
stoutly defended under the personal direction of De
Failly, but assailed on front and flank by the 4th
and Saxon corps was soon rendered untenable. Then
began a disorderly retreat upon Mouzon. A brigade
of the French 12th corps sent by General Lebrun to
cover the flight of De Failly's battalions was roughly
handled and only added to the confusion. The artil-
lery of the 12th corps, well served on the heights east
of Mouzon, checked the German pursuit.
During this combat the 1st Bavarian corps, which
had been threatening De Failly's right, unexpectedly
encountered a brigade of the French 7th corps which
had lost its way. The baggage and supply trains
were thrown into confusion by the Bavarian artillery
and nearly annihilated. The French General Douay
saw his corps demoralized without fighting, and, de-
spairing of reaching Villers, directed its march upon
Remilly. One division pursued a confused march to
Sedan, where it crossed the Meuse the following
morning.
This day's work threw the French army into ter-
rible confusion. The 5th corps had been badly beaten,
as had one brigade of the 12th corps. The 7th corps
had been hotly pursued and lost a portion of its bag-
gage. The 1st corps alone remained intact. The
emperor had met MacMahon on the hills above Mou-
zon late in the afternoon, and the latter had then no
idea of the magnitude of the disasters that had over-
taken the army. When the rout of the 5th corps
came streaming through Mouzon, however, he grasped
the situation. He could only choose between giving
battle at Mouzon and retreating northwest in the hope
of finding an open road to Paris. He determined
upon the latter course, and the ministry were in-
\
\
\
\
SEDAN. 335
formed of it by this curt telegram, " MacMahon in-
forms the minister of war that he is compelled to
direct his march on Sedan." Through the dense
darkness the army struggled on, crossing and block-
ing itself on unknown roads, the emperor making his
way miserably on foot through the crowded streets of
Sedan. After this night of panic, doubt, and confu-
sion, MacMahon still failed to recognize the full
gravity of his situation, although he was sufficiently
uneasy to hurry the prince imperial off to M^zieres,
where he had pretty much determined to retreat the
next day.
Throughout the day of the 31st the Germans
advanced with wonderful energy. At sundown the
jagers of Von der Tann's Bavarian corps were close
up to the Meuse at Bazeilles, — near enough, indeed,
to prevent the destruction of the bridge at that point,
while the artillery engaged in a fierce duel with that
of the French 12th corps. This action was main-
tained by the German commanders to hold the French
marshal at bay while they cut his line of retreat upon
Mezieres, although they were not inclined to believe
that their efforts to delay his march would meet with
such complete success. It is worthy of note that the
German headquarters invariably overvalued the mili-
tary sagacity of its foes. All through the night of
the 31st the 5th and 11th German corps were on the
march, passing the Meuse at Donchery and moving
northward to cut the road to Mezieres. Shortly after
one o'clock on the morning of September 1 the crown
prince of Saxony issued orders to the 12th corps to
direct their march from Douzy upon Sedan via La
Moncelle, the Guard corps to move on their right
upon the same point, the 4th corps to act as a reserve
to these as well as to the Bavarians,
836 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
The Frencli army was crowded into that narrow
tract between the Meuse and Givonne, bounded on
the north and northeast by a tangled wooded country
that extends beyond the Belgian frontier. The only
feasible lines of retreat were over the road to Me-
zieres and up the Chiers to Carignan. MacMahon,
as a precaution against an attack from the east,
placed the 1st and 12th corps to cover the line of the
Givonne from Bazeilles to the village of Givonne.
He posted the 7th corps on the high land between
Floing and Illy facing northwest, prepared to in-
augurate a movement upon Mezieres, at which place
General Vinoy had arrived the day previous with one
division of the 13th corps.
At daybreak on the morning of September 1 a
heavy fog enshrouded the Meuse valley about Sedan,
and before the sun had dissipated its fleecy folds a
messenger came galloping up to the French head-
quarters with the tidings that the Bavarians were
attacking Bazeilles. Hastening to the threatened
point, MacMahon found the village stoutly defended
by the marine infantry of the 12th corps. The Saxon
artillery opening fire upon La Moncelle, the marshal
next rode in that direction. As he was engaged in
studying the country he was struck by a fragment of
a shell and painfully wounded. His early incapaci-
tation was certainly an unfortunate episode for the
French. It was followed by a conflict of authority
that was attended with the most serious results.
General Ducrot, the general of the 1st corps, as-
sumed the command upon MacMahon's fall. The
Saxon corps was developing a strong attack against
the whole French line between Daigny and Bazeilles,
while the corps artillery massed on the highlands to
SEDAN. 837
the east fired with a power aad precision that stirred
at once the awe and admiration of the French gen-
erals. Ducrot decided that no time was to be lost in
getting away to Mezieres, and issued orders accord-
ingly to the 12th corps to begin their retreat. No
sooner had this been done than General de Wimpflfen
appeared on the scene, produced an order of the
minister of war appointing him to the command of
the army of Chalons in case of the disabling of Mac-
Mahon, and angrily countermanded Ducrot's orders.
General de Wimpffen had been with the army only
two days. He had been summoned to Paris by
Palikao, and armed with instructions to supersede De
Failly in command of the 5th corps. Before leaving
for the front Palikao had also given him the order
which he produced on the morning of the 1st of Sep-
tember. He was a confident, energetic, blustering
man, and in Paris seems to have been impressed with
the idea that he was destined to restore the fading
lustre of the French arms. He first saw the army of
Chalons at Mouzon on the evening of the 30th of
August, when the panic-stricken refugees of the 5th
corps were executing their " sauve qui pent." He
presented himself to MacMahon but was coldly re-
ceived, while his orders in reference to the 5th corps
were entirely disregarded. The next morning he
took the field, and upon hearing of MacMahon's
wound hastened to assert himself before General
Ducrot, who had more respect for the orders of the
minister of war. Ducrot gave way only after a
heated altercation in which General Lebrun of the
12th corps seems also to have borne a hand. Wimpf-
fen reiterated his orders, and declared with bombast
that he was going to throw the Bavarians into the
Meuse and cut his way to Carignan.
888 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
During the morning the emperor wandered aim-
lessly about, watching gloomily the ever - increasing
fire of the German artillery, an object of no consid-
eration in the general melee. The 12th corps had
begun to retire in obedience to Ducrot's order, and
had lost ground which it must recover in order to
lead the way to Carignan. The brightest spot in the
French defense was at Bazeilles, where the marine
infantry held the Bavarians at bay. Von der Tann
had not met opponents like these since he crossed the
Lauter. Ducrot's men at Worth were stubborn fight-
ers, but these marines laughed at odds and held Ba-
zeilles for hours against nearly the whole power of
King Ludwig's realm. The villagers joined in the
conflict and wreaked vengeance upon the Bavarian
wounded after each repulse. As a result the fighting
became embittered, and a veritable heU raged within
the flaming streets. At last the Bavarians, assisted by
the vacillation of the French headquarters, obtained
possession of the ruins of Bazeilles, and supported
by the heavy fire of their splendid artillery advanced
upon Balan. By ten o'clock the French army was
beaten, and lost as well. The position on the Givonne
had fallen into the hands of the Guards and Saxons ;
the Bavarians had carried Balan. Douay was appeal-
ing frantically for help against the German 5th and
11th corps, which had deployed between St. Menges
and Fleigneux, and were extending their lines toward
Oily. His artillery had been literally knocked to
pieces by the fire of these two corps assisted by the
guns of the Prussian Goiard near Givonne. His can-
nons were dismounted, his tumbrils blown up, while
his infantry could find no shelter from the terrific
cross-fire.
SEDAN, 839
Rarely, if ever, has an opportunity to anniliilate an
army with artillery been more relentlessly improved
than by the Germans at Sedan. A French army
nearly 100,000 strong, crowded into an area of hardly
eight square miles, was subjected to the fire of 426
cannon served by the most perfect artillerists in the
world. What wonder that the town of Sedan became
blocked with military fugitives, that soldiers threw
away their arms and rushed into churches and cellars
for protection ? There is no need of following the
despairing efforts which the French made to recover
a long lost day, to describe the hopeless contest waged
by Douay against the Poseners and Hessians at Flo-
ing and Illy, to recite the heroism of Marguerittes'
chasseurs and their bold ride to death, to depict the
agony of the emperor and the fierce wrangling of his
generals. It was by order of the emperor that the
white flag was hoisted on the citadel. It was torn
down by General Faure, MacMahon's chief of staff.
" Why does this useless struggle go on ? " groaned
Napoleon, " too much blood has been shed." He re-
jected the proposition to lead a forlorn hope upon
Balan and insisted upon closing the contest. Wimpf-
fen in a rage tendered his resignation, but was
shamed into its withdrawal. The white flag again
went aloft, the German batteries ceased their roaring,
and, freed from the engulfing smoke, the cannon and
their defenders became revealed on the encircling
hillsides. The uproar about the gate of Torcy where
the Bavarians had been knocking hard for admission
was stilled. A Prussian officer with a message to the
commander-in-chief was admitted to the presence of
the emperor. He had come to summon the surrender
of Sedan. When he rode back it became known for
840 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
the first time at the German headquarters that the
French emperor was with the ill-fated army.
About six o'clock the king of Prussia, the crown
prince, and their staffs stood on the heights of Fr^
nois awaiting a message from Napoleon III. concern'-
ing the capitulation of the army. The air had be-
come cleared of smoke, and the golden evening light
streamed into the valley and glowed upon the placid
surface of the river. A dun cloud of smoke still
brooded over Bazeilles, but save for this and the
dark clumps of steel-fringed warriors visible here and
there, there was little sign of the iron hand of war to
be traced from this airy height. At last the French
General Reille came toiling up the hill with the ex-
pected letter from his emperor. The king breaking
the seal read the words now familiar to the whole
world : " Sire, my brother, — Having failed to meet
death in the midst of my troops, it only remains for
me to place my sword in the hands of your majesty."
The Emperor of the French had surrendered, but
not his army. Upon being informed that De Wimpf-
fen was in command, the king requested his presence
at Donchery in the evening to discuss the terms of
capitulation with General von Moltke. Then the
brilliant assemblage on the heights broke up amid
general congratulations. The king and his staff rode
away to Vendresse. Bismarck made his way to
Donchery, where he was joined by Moltke. Darkness
fell on the field that registered the downfall of the
second empire. A loiterer on the heights of Frenois
might still have marked the position of Bazeilles by
its lurid smoke-pall ; he might have traced the course
of the river as the moon broke through the windy
clouds and silvered its bosom. All through the val-
SEDAN. 841
ley bonfires flashed out, lit by jubilant soldiers of
the Fatherland. The progress of the king toward
Vendresse was marked by distant cheering, and then
as night deepened from bivouac after bivouac came
the sound of singing, until the air throbbed with the
strains of the grand old choral, ^^Nun danket alio
Gott."
CHAPTER XXVn.
LAST MEETIK6S OP BI8MAKCK AND NAPOLEON.
Thb Militaby Conference at Donoheby. — Bismabck^s Ao-
COUNT OF IT. — WiMPFFEN SEEKS THE EmPEBOB. — ThB MEET-
ING BETWEEN THE EmPEBOB AND BiSMABCK AS NABBATED BY
EACH. — Scene at the Weavebs' Cottage. — Signatube of
THE CAPITtTLATION. — ThE EmPEBOB LEAVES FOB BELGIUM.
The two prominent actors in the events following
the battle of Sedan were the French emperor and the
German chancellor. Both have given their narrative
to the public, and one may well discard all other au-
thority for theirs.^
In a small room in the village of Donchery the con-
queror and the conquered met for consultation on the
evening of the battle of Sedan. The incident has
been perpetuated on the canvas of a distinguished
artist.2 On one side of a baize table is Wimpffen, and
^ Bismarck's narratiye of the capitulation has heen made public
-with the full consent of the chancellor by Dr. Moritz Busch in his
work entitled Bismarck in the Franco-German War. The extracts
in this chapter have been taken from the authorized English transla-
tion of this work. Napoleon's story of the war of 1870 was edited
after his death by the Count de la Chapelle, with other sundry papers,
in a volume styled Posthumous Works and Urq)uUished Autographs
of Napoleon III. in Exile. The count was war correspondent for the
London Standard during the campaign of 1870, a,nd later held a
confidential post in the house of the exiled emperor. He has written
an account of the war that is a model of historical misrepresentation
and inaccuracy, but the military memoir he has edited as the work
of Napoleon is generally accepted as authentic.
^ A. von Werner's Capitulation of Sedan.
BISMARCK AND NAPOLEON. 843
behind him a few crestf alien officers in the uniform
of the second empire. On the other side are Bis-
marck, Moltke, and behind them partially visible in
the dim lamplight four or five of those clear-headed
men who had helped to build up Germany's military
power. Here are the events of that meeting in the
words of Bismarck himself : —
" Besides Moltke and myself, Blimienthal and three
or four other officers of the general staff were pres-
ent. General Wimpflfen was the spokesman for the
French. Moltke's terms were short: the whole
French army to surrender as prisoners of war.
Wimpffen found that too hard. 'The army,' said
he, 'had merited something better by the bravery
with which it had fought. We ought to be content
to let them go, under the condition that as long as
this war lasted the army should never serve against
us, and that it should march off to a district of France
which should be left to our determination, or to
Algiers.' Moltke coldly persisted in his demand.
Wimpffen represented to him his own unhappy posi-
tion : that he had arrived from Africa only two days
ago; that only towards the end of the battle, after
MacMahon had been wounded, had he undertaken the
command ; now he was asked to put his name to such
a capitulation. He would rather endeavor to main-
tain himself in the fortress, or attempt to break
through. Moltke regretted that he could take no
account of the position of the general, which he quite
understood. He acknowledged the bravery of the
French troops, but declared that Sedan could not be
held, and that it was quite impossible to break
through. He was ready, he said, to allow one of the
general's officers to inspect our positions, to convince
844 THB RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
him of this. WimpfiFen now thought that from a
political point of view it would be wise for us to
grant them better conditions. We must, he said,
desire a speedy and an enduring peace, and this we
could have only by showing magnanimity. If we
spared the army, it would bind the army and the
whole nation to gratitude, and awaken friendly feel-
ings ; while an opposite course would be the begin-
ning of endless wars. Hereupon I put in a word,
because this matter seemed to belong to my province.
I said to him that we might build on the gratitude
of a prince, but certainly not on the gratitude of a
people — least of all on the gratitude of the French.
That in France neither institutions nor circumstances
were enduring; that governments and dynasties were
constantly changing, and the one need not carry out
what the other had bound itself to. That if the em-
peror had been firm on his throne, his gratitude for
our granting good conditions might have been counted
upon ; but that as things stood, it would be folly if
we did not make full use of our success. That the
French were a nation full of envy and jealousy ; that
they had been much mortified with our success at
Koniggratz, and could not forgive it, though it in no
wise damaged them. Now, then, should any mag-
nanimity on our side move them not to bear us a
grudge for Sedan ? This Wimpffen would not admit.
' France,' he said, 'had much changed latterly ; it had
learned under the empire to think more of the inter-
ests of peace than of the glory of war. France was
ready to proclaim the fraternity of nations;' and
more of the same kind. It was not difficult to prove
the contrary of all he said, and that his request, if it
were granted, would be likelier to lead to the prolonga-
BISMARCK AND NAPOLEON. 846
tion tlian to the conclusion of the war. I ended by
saying that we must stand to our conditions.
" Thereupon Castehiau became the spokesman, and
as the emperor's personal commissioner declared that
on the previous day he had surrendered his sword to
tlie king only in the hope of an honorable capitula-
tion. I asked, 'Whose sword was that — the sword
of France or the sword of the emperor?' He re-
plied, * The emperor's only.' ' Well, there is no use
talking about any other conditions,' said Moltke
sharply, while a look of contentment and gratification
passed over his face. * Then, in the morning we shall
begin the battle again,' said WimpfiFen. ' I shall re-
commence the fire about four o'clock,' replied Moltke ;
and the Frenchmen wanted to go at once. I begged
them, however, to remain and once more to consider the
case ; and at last it was decided that they should ask
for a prolongation of the armistice in order that they
might consult their people in Sedan as to our demands.
Moltke at first would not grant this, but gave way at
last, when I showed him that it could do no harm,"
So through the darkness the unhappy Frenchmen
made their way to Sedan, where WimpfiFen told his
pitiful story to the emperor. He, poor man, prom-
ised his general to seek the king of Prussia in the
morning, and personally intercede for better terms
for the army. Here is an extract from Napoleon's
recital of the events of that morning : -. —
"On the morning of the 2d of September Napoleon
III., accompanied by the prince of Moskowa, entered
a droschky drawn by two horses, and drove towards
the Prussian lines. General Keille preceded him on
horseback in order to inform Count von Bismarck of
the emperor's arrival. As the latter reckoned upon
346 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
retuniing to the town, he did not take leave either of
the troops which surrounded it or of the battalion of
grenadiers and the eentgardes who formed his custom-
ary escort; when the drawbridge of the south gate
of Sedan was lowered, the zouaves who were on duty-
there again saluted him with the cry of ' Vive I'Em-
pereur.' It was the last adieu which was to meet his
ears. When he arrived within a quarter of a league
of Donchery, not wishing to proceed to the Prussian
headquarters, the emperor stopped at a small house
which stood by the road, and there awaited the arrival
of the chancellor of the northern confederation. The
latter, having been apprised of this by General Keille,
soon arrived."
" I met him on the high road near Fr^nois," says
Bismarck, describing the same event, "a mile and
three quarters from Donchery. He sat with three
officers in a two-horse carriage, and three others were
on horseback beside him. ... I gave the military
salute. He took his cap off, and the officers did the
same ; whereupon I took mine off, although it is con-
trary to rule. He said, ' Couvrez-vous done' I
behaved to him just as if in Saint-Cloud, and asked
his commands. He inquired whether he could speak
to the king. I said that would be impossible, as the
king was quartered nine miles away. I did not wish
them to come together till we had settled the matter
of the capitulation. Then he inquired where he him-
self could stay, which signified that he could not go
back to Sedan, as he had met with unpleasantnesses
there, or feared to do so. The town was full of
drunken soldiers, who were very burdensome to the
inhabitants. I offered him my quarters in Donchery,
which I would immediately vacate. He accepted this.
BISMARCK AND NAPOLEON. 347
But he stopped at a place a couple of hundred paces
from the village, and asked whether he could not re-
main in a house which was there. I sent my cousin,
who had ridden out as my adjutant, to look at it.
When he returned, he reported it to be a miserable
place. The emperor said that did not matter. He
went across to the house, and came back again, appar-
ently not being able to find the stairs, which were at
the back. I went up with him to the first floor, where
we entered a little room with one window. It was
the best in the house, but had only one deal table and
two rush-bottomed chairs. Here I had a conversation
with him which lasted nearly three quarters of an
hour."
Says Napoleon in his account, " The conversation
first entered upon the position of the French army,
a question of vital urgency. Count von Bismarck
stated that General Moltke alone was competent to
deal with this question. He afterwards inquired of
the emperor if he wished to commence negotiations
for peace, and the latter replied that his present situa-
tion prevented him entering upon this subject ; also
that the regent, being in Paris, and surrounded by
her ministers and the Chambers, could in complete
independence negotiate for the attainment of an end
so desirable for all. . . .
" When General von Moltke arrived. Napoleon III.
requested of him that nothing should be settled before
the interview which was to take place, for he hoped
to obtain from the king some favorable concessions
for the army. M. von Moltke promised nothing ; he
confined himself to announcing that he was about to
proceed to Vendresse, where the king of Prussia then
was, and Count von Bismarck urged the emperor to
848 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
go on to the Chateau de Bellevue, which had been
selected as the place of the interview. It became
evident that the latter would be delayed until after
the signature of the capitulation."
Napoleon divined rightly in regard to this last fact,
*'I was determined," says Bismarck, "that the mili-
tary men who can be harder should have the whole
affair to settle."
For a short time the Emperor of the French and
his staff were left alone in front of the little yellow
cottage as Bismarck rode away to Donchery to see
about their q^uarters. The Emperor of the French sat
there on the edge of the weaver's potato patch, gaped
at by German teamsters and curious rustics, awaiting
the pleasure of the German chancellor. Did the days
of Paris and Biarritz come to the emperor's remem-
brance ? An hour later, when he was rolling along
toward the chateau with the helmets and breastplates
of the cuirrassier guard flashing on all sides, did he
recollect that he had pronounced the iron man who
cantered his charger at his side as one " of no conse-
quence ? " Bismarck recalled it, but he tells us laugh-
ingly, " I did not think myself at liberty to remind
him in the weaving shed at Donchery."
While Napoleon awaited the king of Prussia at the
Chateau Bellevue, in one of the lower rooms General
de WimpfEen in despair was signing the capitulation.
Says Napoleon, " When it was signed, General de
Wimpffen came to inform the emperor, who had re-
mained all this time on an upper floor. A few min-
utes afterwards, the king of Prussia arrived on horse-
back, accompanied by the crown prince and attended
by a few officers,
" It was now three years i
BISMARCK AND NAPOLEON. 349
France and Prussia had met, under very different cir-
cumstances. . . . Now, betrayed by fortune, Napo-
leon III. had lost everything, and had surrendered
into the hands of the conqueror the only thing left
hun — his liberty."
The ink was hardly dry upon the papers that con-
verted the French soldiers into prisoners of war than
the orders were issued for the march to Paris. With
the exception of Vinoy's corps at Mezieres, which be-
gan its retreat upon the capital as soon as apprised of
the result of the battle of Sedan, no troops remained
to oppose it.
On the 4th of September Napoleon left Sedan for
the castle of Wilhelmshohe near Cassel, which the
Prussian king had placed at his disposal. The day
was dark and sad, and the falling rain converted the
roads into mire. So, bidding adieu to France for-
ever, escorted by a hostile soldiery, the Man of Decem-
ber, the Arbiter of Europe, the Modem CaBsar, was
whirled away northward into the mist and gloom that
enshrouded the Belgian hills.
848 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
go on to the Chateau de Bellevue, which had been
selected as the place of the interview. It became
evident that the latter would be delayed until after
the signature of the capitulation."
Napoleon divined rightly in regard to this last fact.
"I was determined," says Bismarck, "that the mili-
tary men who can be harder should have the whole
affair to settle."
For a short time the Emperor of the French and
his staff were left alone in front of the little yellow
cottage as Bismarck rode away to Donchery to see
about their quarters. The Emperor of the French sat
there on the edge of the weaver's potato patch, gaped
at by German teamsters and curious rustics, awaiting
the pleasure of the German chancellor. Did the days
of Paris and Biarritz come to the emperor's remem-
brance ? An hour later, when he was rolling along
toward the chateau with the helmets and breastplates
of the cuirrassier guard flashing on all sides, did he
recollect that he had pronounced the iron man who
cantered his charger at his side as one " of no conse^
quence ? " Bismarck recalled it, but he tells us laugh-
ingly, " I did not think myself at liberty to remind
him in the weaving shed at Donchery."
While Napoleon awaited the king of Prussia at the
Chateau Bellevue, in one of the lower rooms General
de Wimpffen in despair was signing the capitulation.
Says Napoleon, " When it was signed. General de
Wimpffen came to inform the emperor, who had re-
mained all this time on an upper floor. A few min-
utes afterwards, the king of Prussia arrived on horse-
back, accompanied by the crown prince and attended
by a few officers.
" It was now three years since the sovereigns of
BISMARCK AND NAPOLEON. 349
France and Prussia had met, under very different cir-
cumstances. . . . Now, betrayed by fortune. Napo-
leon III. had lost everything, and had surrendered
into the hands of the conqueror the only thing left
hun — hisUberty."
The ink was hardly dry upon the papers that con-
verted the French soldiers into prisoners of war than
the orders were issued for the march to Paris. With
the exception of Vinoy's corps at Mezieres, which be-
gan its retreat upon the capital as soon as apprised of
the result of the battle of Sedan, no troops remained
to oppose it.
On the 4th of September Napoleon left Sedan for
the castle of Wilhelmshohe near Cassel, which the
Prussian king had placed at his disposal. The day
was dark and sad, and the falling rain converted the
roads into mire. So, bidding adieu to France for-
ever, escorted by a hostile soldiery, the Man of Decem-
ber, the Arbiter of Europe, the Modern Caesar, was
whirled away northward into the mist and gloom that
enshrouded the Belgian hills.
CHAPTER XXVni.
PARIS IN WAR TIME.
The Early War Days is Paris. — False Report op Victory.
— Popular Rage over the Deception. — The Empress re-
ceives THE News op Disaster. — The Government contin-
ues TO DECEIVE the PuBLIC. — ThB EmPRESS CONVOKES THE
Chambers. — Fall op the Olltvier Ministry. — Palikla.o. —
The Empress at the Tuileries. — Demoralization in the
Palace. — The News of Sedan. — Night Session op the
Corps L:6gislatip. — The 4th op September. — The Blood-
less Revolution and Fall op the Empire — Flight of
THE Empress from Paris. — General Trochu. — The De-
fenses OP Paris. — The Defenders of Paris. — Regulars,
Mobiles, and Nationals. — The Marines and the Fortress
Artillery. — Arrival op Vinoy's Corps at Paris. — Favre
and Bismarck at Ferri^sres. — Paris invested. — First
Combats op the Siege. — Dispositions op the Besieging
Army. — The Temper op Paris. — More Sorties. — Destruc-
tion OP THE Chateau at St. Cloud. — Insubordination in
THE National Guard. — Aspect of Paris during the Last
Weeks op October. — The Besiegers.
In the mean time great events had taken place in
Paris. Upon the departure of the emperor for the
front the empress regent continued her residence at
St. Cloud, and awaited confidently the tidings of vic-
tory. On the evening of August 2 came news of
"the baptism of fire," which aroused some enthusi-
asm but more ridicule in Paris. On the 3d and 4th
no news was made public, but on the evening of the
5th the London papers arrived with a description of
Douay's rout at Weissenburg. Paris became strongly
agitated by the news of defeat and the conviction
PARIS IN WAR TIME. 361
that the government was suppressing news from the
front.
On the afternoon of August 6 it was announced
at the Bourse that the French had won a great victory
against overwhehning odds, that they had captured
the crown prince of Prussia with 25,000 prisoners,
and occupied Landau. The effect of this news upon
the anxious Parisians was indescribable. In a twin-
kling great crowds swarmed into the squares and
boulevards, the tricolor appeared qji. all hands, and
above the cheers and manifestations of delight the air
resounded with the exhilarating strains of the Marseil-
laise. The name of MacMahon was in every mouth,
and the cries of " A Berlin en huit jours " thundered
out with renewed intensity. Gradually the Parisians
came to their senses. The government was obliged to
profess ignorance of the reported victory. Rage took
the place of enthusiasm. The tricolor disappeared
as if by magic. The people stormed the Bourse,
broke furniture, and beat and ejected the few remain-
ing occupants. All through the evening agitated
crowds thronged the boulevards, while a great mob
besieged the residence of M. Ollivier and demanded
freedom and truth in the press reports. It was a
hard day for the police and military authorities of
the city, and their vigilance alone prevented serious
and violent disturbances.
On this evening when Paris was seething with
violent emotions, the empress was anxiously awaiting
more definite news from the front. Shortly after mid-
night came this telegram from the emperor : " Mac-
Mahon has lost a battle. Frossard has been com-
pelled to retreat from the Saar. The retreat was
effected in perfect order." Then followed the omin-
352 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ous words, " Tout peut se retablir." Within a few
hours after the receipt of this dismal message the
empress had abandoned St, Cloud; and when the
morning of the 7th broke gloomily over the restless,
troubled city she was conferring with her ministry at
the Tuileries.
The government made an effort to break the news
gently. A bulletin announcing, " The corps of Gen-
eral Frossard is in retreat. No details," only stimu-
lated popular anxiety. Then followed the statement,
" It almost appears as if the enemy wished to offer us
battle on our own territory. This would insure us
great strategical advantages." The supposition from
this combination was that Frossard was retreating for
strategical reasons. The proclamation of the empress
in the afternoon, however, dispelled all delusions.
She announced that the army had suffered a check,
declared Paris in a state of siege, convoked the Cham-
bers for the 9th, and published the emperor's doleful
telegram of the 6th in full.
The Corps Legislatif convened on the 9th, and it
was deemed advisable to surround the Palais Bour-
bon with a cordon of troops. The morning session
was tumultuous beyond description. Ollivier was
repeatedly interrupted and insulted. Jules Favre
declared that the country had been compromised by
the imbecility of its chief, and declared that the em-
peror should be brought back to Paris and not allowed
to embarrass the military councils at the front. Gra-
nier de Cassagnac, a firm Bonapartist, replied to Favre,
denounced his propositions as " the beginning of rev-
olution," and amid fist-shaking and general uproar
advocated arraigning the entire Left before a military
tribunal. A babel of uproar followed in which men
PARIS IN WAR TIME. 853
lost their heads and tempers. Before night the Olli-
vier ministry had fallen on a vote of confidence, and
been succeeded by that of Count de Palikao, Palikao
was a bluff soldier with a good record, and he stirred
a ripple of enthusiasm in the Chambers when he en-
treated the members to pardon the weakness of his
voice, as he carried a bullet in his chest. But the
Chamber was no place for weak lungs in these days,
and honorable wounds would not sufl&ce to secure for
an imperial minister the favor of the Left. Palikao's
regime was brief and turbulent.
The life of the empress at the Tuileries was an
anxious one. She had moments of flickering confi-
dence, but she left her gay spirits at St. Cloud. On
the 14th she held her last state reception ; the next
week she was busily engaged in poring over the dis-
patches that narrated the details of the great battles
before Metz. They were all recited as victories, and
yet Bazaine had become hemmed in ; the empress could
not understand this. It is said that after the middle
of August the atmosphere of the Tuileries became so
hopeless and dejected that well-known faces began to
disappear ; that all discipline was lost in the palace ;
that articles of bric-a-brac and wearing apparel were
missed simultaneously with pages and maids. Of
these facts, however, the empress took little note.
The army in the field and the mob in Paris held her
attention ; of the latter she lived in daily dread. She
agreed with Palikao that the emperor must not return
to Paris, and that MacMahon must march to the aid
of Bazaine, who was enjoying such singular fruits of
victory. The real danger in which MacMahon and
the emperor stood was not appreciated until Septem-
ber 1, when a telegram was received from General
854 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Vinoy at M^zieres, requesting full discretionary pow-
ers. This, coupled witii MacMahon's dispatch that he
was "compelled" to retire upon Sedan, awoke serious
misgivings at the war office. On the afternoon of
September 3 the worst fears of the government were
realized. A telegram from the emperor epitomized
the disaster of Sedan: "The army is defeated and
captured. I myself am a prisoner." The terrible
news leaked out, and by evening Paris was aware
that some new misfortune had fallen upon the country.
At one o'clock on the morning of the 4th the Corps
L^gislatif convened. Palikao gloomily announced the
news, and requested that all discussion be postponed
for a few hours. Jules Favre then offered a proposi-
tion under three heads : 1, That Napoleon and his
dynasty be declared fallen ; 2, The nomination of a
conmiittee of defense; 3, The retention of General
Trochu as governor of Paris. The assembly then
adjourned until 1.30 p. M.
The 4th of September will long be remembered in
the history of Paris and of France. At dawn Paris
began to make its presence felt. The cries of " De-
cheance " and " Vive la R^publique " were raised on
the boulevards and in the Place de la Concorde, and
were audible in the gilded saloons of the Tuileries.
Before night the French empire had become a thing
of the past, and a French republic had arisen. A
revolution vast, irresistible, but bloodless had swept
away the last vestige of imperialism, and left an up-
roarious democracy in possession.
Let us look at the events of the day through the
eyes of an American bystander.^ It is noon in the
Place de la Concorde crowded with excited humanity.
^ Sheppard's Shut-up in Paris,
PARIS IN WAIt TIME. 366
** The Garde Mobile are scattered here and there,
armed with muskets, without order or commander.
The blouses are cariying muskets, yelling ' Vive la
Bepublique.' They look like bandits. A distant
group starts the Marseillaise. It is caught up by
all the immense concourse. • . .
** The day is bright. The sun is kindly. The blue
sky smiles. Turn round once at the Egyptian obe-
lisk, and you shall see the Arc de Triomphe ; . . . the
Madeleine pillars, standing sentinel against the angry
horrors of the hour ; the palace of the Tuileries, with
the flag of the empire still floating from its top, and the
Corps Legislatif , where all the interest has now con-
centred, while beyond it the gilded dome of the tomb
of the other exiled Napoleon glistens under the blaze
of noon. The fountains are playing as usual. . . .
" The Tuileries clock strikes twelve. The flag is not
down yet. The empress is still there. Crowds assem-
ble— and so does the Corps Legislatif at twenty
minutes past one. The National Guard and some
mounted sabres protect the bridge and the approaches.
" Again the galleries are packed to overflowing. No
ventilation, great smell of unclean democrats. The
diplomatic corps are in full force. Wonderfully
magnificent ladies, and the time-honored revolution-
ary dames of dauntless front and enormous diameter.
The Corps Legislatif are debating. In a few min-
utes there is a fearful uproa; outside — soldiers and
people fraternize, and in the briefest time the edifice
is inundated with soldiers and people, young and old,
both men and women, as well as little boys and girls ;
they burst through the door opposite the president's
desk, and fill the chamber, shoxiting 'Decheance'
and * Vive la Republiquo.'
856 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
" Some are in the costume of the National Guard ;
some in that of the Guard Mobile. Many carry chas-
sepots, and some short swords. The women carry
only their native arms, bare and brawny, and uplifted.
There is the usual proportion of these masculine
dames, and of young women with their babes, and of
family men, taking no part particularly, simply smok-
ing and watching, and of boys laughing and shouting.
It is an indescribable tableau ; and after all attempts
at description, one returns to the only adequate one
— it is French.
" President Schneider rises, looks down upon the
tumult with a most disconsolate countenance, not
unmixed with disdain, rings the bell nervously, and
says : ' All deliberation is impossible under these
circumstances. I accordingly pronounce the sitting
at an end.'
" The president puts on his hat at about 3.20 p. M.,
steps down, and disappears, followed by all the depu-
ties present, except those of the extreme Left, several
of whom, and particularly Gainbetta, in vain endeavor
to control the new ' government.'
" The owners of the blouses, petticoats, and shirt-
sleeves continue to dance and howl, to brandish fists,
babies, and chassepots, as it may happen ; they cry
* Decheance,' ' Vive la Republique.' . . .
" Jules Favre tries to pacify them by saying : ' Union
is necessary ; the Repul^ic has not been declared, but
it will be presently.'
" The noise grows more unearthly, — dancing, howl-
ing, babies screaming, women and men gesticulating,
dogs joining in the chorus of cries with all their
might, till the 'extreme Left' are driven to their
wits' end. Some of the National Guard mount the
PARIS IN WAR TIME. 367
president's rostrum; a villainous, ill-looking fellow
takes the chair and shakes the bell ; the green sprigs
in the muskets are waved ; one man in a blue shirt
mounts the tribune and makes a speech, but it is in-
audible. Some men seize the pens and ram them
into the inkstands, and pretend to write ; but as they
do not know how, they can only ' make their mark,'
and spill the ink around. The ill-looking man rings
the bell furiously ; the members of the ' extreme
Left' continued their exertions on behalf of 'law
and order,' but at length they give up in despair,
and depart, leaving the mob in possession.
" The * extreme Left ' is succeeded by the extremer
Left. Somebody thinks of Eochef ort, and cries, ' To
St. Pelagic.' Nobody stirs, however. But the next
cry, 'To the Hotel de Ville — to proclaim the Re-
public,' carries all before it ; and they move tumult-
uously and noisily to the Hotel de Ville.
" In one of the rooms of the Hotel de Ville the
members of the ' extreme Left ' assemble and declare
the Republic, and themselves its rulers. Favre chooses
the portfolio of foreign affairs. Gambetta prefers
that of the interior. Trochu is continued governor
of Paris. The legislative body and senate are pro-
nounced dissolved. All political prisoners and exiles
are pardoned."
The fall of the empire was dramatically registered
as the clock of the Tuileries sounded for half past
three, by the lowering of the imperial flag. This was
the signal to all republicans who were not otherwise
engaged. The Tuileries were stormed. The soldiers
on guard interposed little resistance, but appealed to
the people with good effect to refrain from pillage
and vandalism. Just before the mob broke into the
868 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
building Signor Nigra, the Italian ambassador, en-
tered the apartments of the empress and informed her
that she must fly. Hastily bidding a tearful adieu
to the little knot of adherents who remained faithful
to her, under the escort of Signor Nigra and Prince
Metternich she made her way to the street, where a
close cab was in waiting. She was driven to the
house of Dr. Evans, the American dentist, where she
rested a few hours. She left the same mght, how-
ever, for the north, and made her way in disguise to
the little seaport town of DeauviUe. Here she em-
barked on the yacht of Sir John Burgoyne, and after
a perilous and protracted voyage landed in England,
a weary, saddened woman, her bright hopes blighted,
her husband an exile, his dynasty lost, her son a mere
pretender.
As president of the government of national defense
and military governor of Paris, General Trochu oc-
cupied an unenviable position. He was the servant
of a turbulent people, the head of a dubious govern-
ment, the commander of a motley army of doubtful
efficiency. Before the downfall of the empire he had
commenced his extraordinary efforts to place the city
in a state of defense. Paris was protected, first, by the
enceinte with its ninety-eight bastions ; and, second,
by an outlying chain of detached forts fifteen in num-
ber and occupying a circle thirty-six miles in circum-
ference. On the north of the city about St. Denis
were the strong works of La Briche, Double Couronne
du Nord, and De I'Est. On the northeast between
St. Denis and the Canal de I'Ourcq was the fort of
Aubervilliers. On the east between the canal and
the Mame, well situated on a commanding plateau,
were Forts Romainville, Noisy, Kosny, and Nogent.
PARIS IN WAR TIME. 359
The Fort of Charenton stood southeast of Paris in
the angle formed by the Seine and Marne. The hilly
wooded country in the peninsula formed by the bend
of the Seine south of the city was protected by a Une
of five forts, Ivry, Bicetre, Montrouge, Vanves, and
Issy. On the west Paris was protected by a single
fort, the largest and most formidable of all, Mont
Valerien, perched on a commanding hiUtop 363 feet
above the Seine, and commanding with its fire all the
low adjacent country. Beside these there was the
wood embowered, fortified chateau of Vincennes with
its formidable outworks, which, however, did not play
a prominent part in the outer line of defense. Ad-
vantageous points between and in advance of the
forts were occupied by redoubts. The ooimtry be-
yond the northern forts was inundated by damming
the river Rouillon, the magnificent bridges over the
Seine were blown up, houses and forests that threat-
ened to interfere with the action of the fortress artil-
lery were ruthlessly demolished or burned. The
armament of the forts and enceinte was ample, though
many of the pieces were antiquated. Indeed, as
regards defenses and armament combined, Paris may
be said to have been strongly, though by no means
perfectly, protected.
Trochu had, to defend the city, a force more niuner-
ous than the necessity required, and more motley than
nimierous. The garrison may be classed under three
heads : first, the regular troops ; second, the Mobile
Guard ; ^ and third, the National Guard. The regu-
^ The Mobile Gnard while strong in nnmbers was defectire in or*
ganization and indifferently drilled. It was made np of men nnder
thirty years of age and officered by the vote of the rank and file. It
corresponded in many respects with the state militia of the United
States.
860 THE RF.CONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
lar troops were Miade up largely of the ISth and 14tli
army corps, the mariiles, pompiers, gendarmerie, etc.,
aggregating about 90,000 men. The Mobiles com-
prised 115,000 men, 15,000 being the Paris contin-
gent, the remainder having been brought in from the
provincial districts. The influence of Paris upon
these latter troops was baneful in the extreme. " They
obstructed the boulevards and cafes ; idleness and
debauchery caused almost as great ravages in their
ranks as the fire of the enemy," such was General
Ducrot's criticism upon them. The National Guard
was literally Paris in arms, and was ever swelling in
numbers and fomenting disorder.^ By the last of
October the garrison of Paris numbered nearly half
a million of men, 300,000 of which were ill-drilled
National Guardsmen.
Trochu in assigning duties to the different branches
of his vast army made the best of a bad dilemcma.
To the marines he confided the fortress artillery.
When as the siege progressed he was accused of
throwing undue hardship and danger upon the shoul-
ders of this gallant corps, he retorted, " How in God's
name am I to help it ? I must have men at the guns
who will not run away at the first round." The Mo-
bile Guard was detailed to garrison* the forts and
redoubts. The National Guard occupied the enceinte.
The regular troops and picked battalions of the Mo-
bile Guard were held for fighting in the open country,
^ General Ducrot's comnient on these troops was as follows : " The
Parisian as a soldier is either very good or very bad, rather good
than bad on the field ; bat when enrolled in the Mobile or National
Guard he is always a detestable soldier, because his instincts of lax-
ness and revolt always dominate his natural courageous qualities. . . •
They could not be preserved from the evil contact of the masses, and
they took part in many political manifestations.'*
PARIS IN WAR TIME. 861
for sortie work, and it must be confessed for intimidat-
ing the National Guard as well.
On the afternoon of September 7 the Parisians were
served to a tangible evidence of the French defeats,,
when the weary corps of Vinoy entered after its
breathless run from Mezieres. Hardly a foilnight
before it had left for the front with all its " fuss and
feathers," new uniforms, bands, and standards. It
returned in a sad plight. The " jaded columns of red
legs and disordered mass of guns and wagons looked
like nothing so much as the floating in of a wreck
upon the beach." ^
On the 16th of September the last mail left Paris ;
on the day following clouds of Uhlans were reported
in sight. Paris began to realize that the enemy was
at her gates and that a siege was impending. The
new government recognized the fact earlier and trans-
ferred its seat to Tours. M. de Cremieux, minister
of justice, was detailed to represent the government at
the latter place, whither nearly all the diplomatic
fimctionaries hastened after him. M. Thiers left for
England in the hope of gaining mediation, while
Jules Favre visited Bismarck at Ferrieres in the hope
of arranging an armistice. Unfortunately Favre and
Bismarck were so far apart in their views of what
the occasion demanded that any agreement was hope-
less. Bismarck mistrusted the stability of the new
government and refused to consider an armistice ex-
cept on the basis of the capitulation of Bitsch, Toul,
and Strasburg, and the surrender of several of the
Paris forts. As regards peace he stood for territorial
cession. Favre planted himself squarely on the prin-
ciple, " not an inch of our territory or a stone of our
fortresses."
^ Sheppard's Shut-up in Paris,
862 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
" France will as little forget Sedan, as Waterloo or
Sadowa which did not concern you. ... As we shall
shortly have another war with you, we intend to enter
upon it in possession of all our advantages," such
were Bismarck's chilling comments. '* We can perish
as a nation, but we cannot dishonor ourselves," was
the heated rejoinder of Favre. In short, Bismarck
would not consider an armistice unless France gave
up even the slight military advantages that she yet
held. He would not discuss peace imtil the principle
of the cession of territory was fully accepted. Favre
returned to Paris in great dejection.
In the mean time the city had become invested.
The third German army crossed the Seine on pontoon
bridges near Villeneuve, the fourth closed in from
the northwest. There was skirmishing on the I7th
and 18th of September between the vanguard of the
third German army and the Parisian forces between
Villeneuve and Creteil, and on the 19th the first sharp
action occurred on the plateau between Meudon and
Sceaux. General Ducrot, who had occupied this
position in force, was attacked by the 10th Prussian
division.^ Later the 2d Bavarian corps assumed the
burden 'of the action, and the 5th corps pursued its
march to Versailles. The French fought well for a
time, and then became demoralized. The Bavarians
carried the plateau of Chatillon-Clamart and the re-
doubt at Moulin de la Tour. The 5th corps occupied
Versailles that evening, and seized the unfinished
works at Montretout and Sevres. The fugitives from
Ducrot's forces rushed madly into Paris, where they
told wild stories of the action and spread consterna-
tion abroad. The conduct of the troops was anything
^ Of the 5Ui corps.
PARIS IN WAH TIME. 368
but satisfactory, and Trochu was compelled to pub-
licly expose certain battalions. On the 21st the
headquarters of the third German army was trans-
ferred to Versailles.^ The next day the investment
was practically complete. The outposts of the fourth
army were on the line Bezons, Argenteuil, Epinay,
Pierrefitte, Stains, Dugny, Le Bourget, Villemonble,
Neuilly. The third army was on the line Brie,
Champigny, Creteil, Choisy-le-Roi, Thiais, Chevilly,
L'Hay, Bourg, Meudon^ Sevres, Bougival.
Paris blustered, threatened, and fumed. The affair
at Chatillon-Clamart shook public confidence for a
time. The citizens and National Guard " manifested "
repeatedly before the Hotel de ViUe with shouts of
" La guerre a outrance " and " A bas les Prussiens."
Cries of " Vive la Commune " also became noticeable
on these occasions. A clamor was raised for deci-
sive measures, for a sortie in force. The command-
ant of Mont Valerien was removed because " protests
against the silence of this fort were so loud and
strong." 2 His successor felt compelled to keep his
guns warm, and fired continually. On October 2 came
the news of the fall of Strasburg and Toul. An-
other "manifestation" resulted, in which the com-
munistic element again developed great strength.
On September 30 General Vinoy conducted a re-
connaissance in force against the 6th German corps
between Choisy-le-Roi and La Belle Epine. The
French fought well, and even carried the little village
of L'Hay. They were finally expelled, however, and
General Guilhelm was killed. This attack through-
^ The king of Prussia transferred his headquarters from Ferri^res
to Versailles on October 1.
^ Labouchere's Diary of a Besieged Resident.
864 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
out was ably seconded by the fire of forts Montrouge
and Bieetre.
On October 13 Vinoy conducted another attack
against the Bavarian lines in the direction of Bagneux
and Chatillon. General Susbielle's division carried
the latter village, but the Mobiles failed at Bagneux.^
where the young Count Dampierre lost his life.
Chatillon was then evacuated, and the French retreat
began. In the afternoon of this day a demonstration
was made from Mont Valerien toward St. Germain.
The king of Prussia witnessed the operations from
the viaduct of Marly until the withdrawal of the
French. Mont Valerien maintained a lazy fire dur-
ing the evening, and shelled the Park of St. Cloud.
The chateau was set on fire and burned throughout
the night. Much of its valuable contents had been
removed before the siege began, considerable more
was saved by the Prussian soldiers, but at dai^v-n
nothing remained .of the building but bare walls and
smoking ruins.
The first three weeks of the siege indicated that
the army of Paris was no match for its foe. The
mass of the National Guard had no stomach for fight-
ing, and the Mobiles and the line were unsteady. In
the National Guard there was little improvement in
discipline ; soldiers wrangled over political problems,
and threatened their officers. The hope of Paris
was transferred from her own defenders to the armies
organizing under the direction of the Tours govern-
ment on the Loire and in the northern provinces.
News from these forces was received only by balloon
or- carrier-pigeon, and anxious suspense was the result.
Gambetta left Paris for Tours in a balloon on the 7th
of October, and arrived safely at his destination.
PARIS IN WAR TIME. 365
Had the traveler who visited the International
Exhibition of 1867 found himself again in Paris
during the last weeks of October, 1870, he would
have been shocked at the change that had come over
the city. The imperial flag no longer floats from the
Tuileries, the gay turnouts are gone, the superb sol-
diery of the Guard has given place to the slouchy ill-
dressed National and Mobile. The garden of the
Tuileries is a bivouac ; the Champ de Mars a camp ;
the Cii'que de I'lmperatrice a barrack; the Palais
de rindustrie a hospital ; the Luxembourg and Ely-
see military headquarters. In the Place de la Con-
corde crowds gather, chatter, and " manifest " about
the statue of Strasburg; the quais along the Seine
are blocked with soldiery. In the Place de I'Etoile
and at the Trocadero knots of citizens gather, watch
Mont Valerien, and search in vain for a trace of the
enemy. The restless inhabitants of Belleville and St.
Antoine are busily drilling or lounging about in uni-
form at the expense of " the government." As dark-
ness falls, a full sense of the change that has come
to the city of gayety and light is apparent. The
boulevards are dimly lighted, many of the cafes and
theatres are closed. The semi-military population is
omnipresent, the gay loungers of happier days have
disappeared. The deep ominous roar of the fortress
artillery forms a dismal accompaniment to these
scenes. Does the traveler desire to drive in the Bois
de Vincennes or the Bois de Boulogne ? He is in-
formed first that horses are scarce and beginning to
be devoted to other uses than excursions of pleasure.
He also learns that these fashionable parks have been
converted into camps where the Prussian " obus " is
a frequent visitor. At the silent railway stations
866 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
crowds gather about the balloons that are preparing
to wing their uncertain way to Tours. St. Denis, no
longer a centre of attraction for the tourist, is re-
ported under the fire of the Prussian artillery.
The traveler wishes to pass the lines. Many apply,
but few receive permission. These happy mortals
who do succeed in getting out and in satisfying the
importunities of the German outposts in these days
have little desire to linger in the vicinity, but hasten
to place the water between themselves and La Belle
France. If our traveler is successful, and allowed
by the German headquarters to make the " tourist's
round," he is struck first with the invisibility of the
besieging army. Nothing so dismays the Parisian
soldier as this same facility of his foe for keeping
out of sight. No one woidd dream from the evidence
of his eyes on the German forepost line that 250,000
sons of the Fatherland are around the capital of
France. Yet on a moment's warning these quiet vil-
lages, these still woods, are ready to bristle with spiked
helmets and bayonets, and wrap themselves in battle
smoke.
At Versailles the traveler finds the quietude of the
old chateau town rudely disturbed. Here his atten-
tive eye is rewarded by a glimpse of the German
princes and generals by the score. Bismarck's white
coat is as conspicuous here as at Gitschin or at Nik-
olsburg. Orderlies come and go galloping, cavalry
troops clatter along the avenues, swords and spurs
clanking and jingling. The bronze figure of Louis
XIV. before the chateau still points grimly in the
direction of Paris as though turned traitor and urging
the national foe to the attack. The picture-gallery is
not to be inspected. The pictures have been covered.
PARIS IN WAR TIME, 367
and the cMteau turned into a hospital. One wing
forms the residence of the king of Prussia, who lives
and sleeps under the same roof with his wounded
children.
From the terrace of Meudon the traveler gains the
same view that charmed him three years before, Paris
lying resplendent amid her favored suburbs. The
Bavarian artillery has usurped the ground where the
Parisian loves to lounge and recreate. The erect
officer in the sky-blue uniform peering through his
field glass is not admiring the towers of Notre Dame
or the dome of the Invalides : he is sweeping his eye
along the French fore post line and up the glacis of
Fort Issy.
At Sevres the outposts of the 5th corps are un-
appreciative of porcelain and china, but grim profi-
cients in the use of steel and lead. The hand of
Mont Valerien lies heavily upon St. Cloud with its
guard of Poseners. The sun and stars shine through
the gaping windows of the desolate fire-blackened
pile which has been the delight of Marie Antoinette,
and of the great Napoleon, and which only a few
weeks ago was gay with the court of Eugenie.^
^ History has repeated itself at St. Cloud during the present cen-
tury. These stanzas are from Sir Walter Scott's St. Cloudy written
during the allied occupation in 1815. They are equally applicable to
the events of 1870.
" The evening breezes gently sighed
Like breath of Lover true,
Bewailing the deserted pride
And wreck of sweet Saint Cloud.
** The drum's deep roll is heard afar,
The bugle wildly blew,
Good night to Hulan and Hussar
That garrison Saint Cloud."
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES.
Strasbubg and its Garrison. — The Bombardment. — BuBNnra
OP Kehl. — Firmness op General Uhrich. — General Web-
DER invests StRASBURG. — FlNAL BOMBARDMENT AND SUR-
RENDER OF THE Pl*ACE. — CONDITION OF MeTZ. — RePULSE OF
Bazaine's Sortib. — Capitulation of Metz. — Bazaine's CuIj-
PABiLiT Y. — Complex Nature of the Military Problem from
THE German Standpoint. — Vitality of Republican Francs.
— A French Force appears on the Loire. — Its Defeat be-
fore Orleans. — Formation of the Army of the Loire. — Its
Organization by General d* Aurelle de Paladines. — Wins a
Victory at Coulmieius. — Retreats upon Orleans. — Conflict
between Gambetta and the French Commander. — Appear-
ance OF THE French Army of the North. — Prince Freder*
icK Charles marches upon Orleans from Metz. — Advance
OF the Army of the Loire. — Its Right Wing is beaten at
Beaune. — Gambetta insists upon a Continuation of thb
Advance. — The Left Wing defeated at Loigny and Pou-
PRY. — Frederick Charles assumes the Offensive. — Thb
Two Days' Battle in Front of Orleans and Rout of thb
Army of the Loire. — Chanzy rallies the Left Wing and
TAKES Position at Josnes. — Is attacked by the Grand Dukb
of Mecklenburg. — Retreat op Chanzy upon Le Mans. —
Inaction of the First Army of the Loire under Bourbaki.
— Gambetta marches it Eastward. — Frederick Charles
AND Mecklenburg concentrate against Chanzy. — Severity
OF the Weather and Suffering by the Troops. — The Bat-
tle before Le Mans and Defeat of Chanzy. — The Seconi>
Army of the Loire and its Record. — Destruction of thb
French Army of the North by Manteuffel. — March of
Manteuffel to Werder's Succor. — Bourbaki crosses thb
Swiss Frontier.
When MacMahon took up his position on the
heights of Worth, the fortress of Strasburg was left
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES, 869
in charge of an infantry regiment of the line and a
few thousand Mobile guardsmen. This slender force
received a substantial reinforcement on the day fol-
lowing the battle, when 10,000 fugitives from Mac-
Mahon's right wing poured into the city. General
Uhrich, the commandant, reestablished order and
confidence among these refugees to such an extent
that when, on the 8th, the German General Beyer at
the head of the Baden division of the third army sum-
moned him to surrender, he was enabled to return a
firm refusal. As a residt the Baden division, rein-
forced by a Pomeranian regiment from Rastatt and
a few Bavarian batteries, sat down before the place.
General Werder of the Prussian army was appointed
to command the besieging army, while the Landwehr
division of the Guard and the first reserve division
were ordered to Strasburg from their stations in the
north of Prussia. Moltke was eager for the im-
mediate reduction of the place, and Werder, with a
just idea of the character of the garrison, thought to
bring it to terms by a short bombardment. Stras-
burg being undefended by detached forts, the besieg-
ers were enabled to approach at short range and ply
their field artillery. On August 17 the batteries in
front of Kehl on the eastern bank of the Rhine
opened fire. The French, far from being overawed,
responded by raining shell upon the unprotected
town of Kehl, while they attempted numerous sorties
against the German infantry in the suburban villages
on the western bank of the river. On the 24th the
fire of the besiegers assumed greater precision and
intensity, and was maintained incessantly for three
days, a period which was improved by the engineers
in pushing their shelter trenches closer to the French
870 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
bastions. The destruction wrought by the French as
well as the German guns was considerable. Several
of the villages in which the Prussian infantry had
found shelter were destroyed, while Kehl itseU was
set on fire and vied with Strasburg in the intensity of
its conflagration. The scene at night was grand
beyond description. The delicate spire of the cathe-
dral seemed to float in the midst of the lurid glare
that rose from the burning city, while the dark waters
of the Khine glowed angrily as they swept seaward
between the stricken shores.
Though the inhabitants of Strasburg clamored for
capitulation, Uhrich was immovable. General Wer-
der desisted from his bombardment, sent to Prussia
for siege trains, and prepared for a regular invest-
ment. The northwest front of the Strasburg defenses
was selected as the weak point in the line, being open
to flanking fire, and on September 1 the siege began.
The full strength of Werder's corps was then on the
ground. Parallels were opened and the work covered
by a heavy fire from the siege batteries. The siege
operations of the Prussians form an interesting and
instructive study to the engineer and the sapper.
Every day witnessed progress. The mining galleries
of the French were unearthed and turned to account
by the Prussian engineers. An indirect breaching
fire was maintained with admirable success. The Ba-
deners occupied the Sporen island where the French
mortar batteries had been located. At length on
September 27, when two French lunettes had been
converted into Prussian works and breaches opened
in the main wall for an infantry attack, when the
citadel had been battered into rubbish and the streets
of the city placed at the mercy of buUets and shrap-
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 371
nel, Ullrich hoisted the white flag on the cathedraL
On the morning of September 28 the terms of capitu-
lation were arranged, and on the day following the
garrison marched out. Their utter demoralization
was evident ; many were drunk and raised shouts of
" Vive la Prusse." More than 19,000 prisoners, in-
cluding 2,000 sick and wounded, fell into the hands
of the Germans, these latter representing the loss of
the besieged during the seven weeks' contest. Un-
happily, three or four himdred citizens also perished,
though Werder allowed several hundred of this class
to pass out, and sent word into the city that the
cathedral would form a safe refuge to noncombat-
ants. The roof of this magnificent structure was
partially burned by shells fired at the tower, where
the French established a post of observation, but the
interior remained uninjured.
In strong contrast to the events at Strasburg were
the episodes of the blockade of Metz. There was no
bombardment and but little fighting. A great French
army 175,000 strong lay sullenly in the midst of the
encircling forts and pined away day by day, week by
week, from stagnation and disease, until at last it
succumbed to the iron embrace of its conqueror. It
might almost be said that this vast army gave up
without a blow. The only sortie in force, undertaken
primarily with the object of breaking through the
investors' lines, occurred on August 31. Bazaine was
induced to make this attempt by messages which had
been smuggled through the German lines from Thion-
ville, announcing the presence of MacMahon's army
upon the Meuse. He determined upon breaking
through on the east of Metz in the direction of St.
Barbe, and brought no less than four corps into ac-
372 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
tion for that purpose. His attack was not delivered
until late in the day, and the noise and bustle of his
preparation had thoroughly aroused the Germans.
The French right carried Columbey and the centre
Noisseville. This latter village was taken and re-
taken, but at ten in the evening remained in the
hands of the French. The 1st German corps, upon
which the brunt of the afternoon's fighting had fallen,
was heavily reinforced during the night from the 7th
and 9th corps, and on the morning of the 1st of
September assumed a vigorous offensive. The French
seemed to have lost all the Uan of the day before.
Canrobert was. driven in on the left; Leboeuf lost
Noisseville. At noon the whole army was in retreat
and the sortie was a failure. If we omit the feeble
attempt of October 7 against the Prussian Landwehr
on the north of Metz, we have done with the offensive
operations of Marshal Bazaine as commander of the
army of the Khine. He signed the capitulation at
the Chateau of Frescati on the 27th of October which
delivered the virgin fortress into the hands of Ger-
many, and with it three marshals of France, 50 gen-
erals, 6,000 officers, 173,000 men, 53 eagles, 66 mi-
trailleuses, 541 fieldpieces, and 800 fortress guns.
The principal charges against Bazaine, which were
sustained by the Trianon court-martial, were as fol-
lows : that he made no serious attempt to break
through the lines of an enemy but little his superior
in numbers, and upon whom devolved the guardian-
ship of a line thirty-eight miles in length ; that he
communicated with the deposed emperor; that he
engaged in an illicit correspondence with the Prus-
sian headquarters ; and that his final capitulation
was not a necessity. Bazaine's defense to the first
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 373
charge was the disorganization of his army, and his
lack of horses which were short of fodder. As to the
second charge, Bazaine claimed that his oath was to
the emperor, and when the empire fell he regarded
the war as at an end. He had no faith in the repub-
lic and deprecated further bloodshed. He certainly
corresponded with the German headquarters, and
even suggested that his army might be used to restore
domestic order in France. Bazaine claims that his
capitulation was a necessity. To subsist longer in
Metz was out of the question. The hospital and pub-
lic buildings were crowded with 20,000 sick and
wounded, the water was impure, salt had given out,
there were no horses for the artillery. Without
attempting to settle the question as to whether or
not the marshal was guilty of treason, the penalty of
which he suffered until his death, we must recognize
the fact that the fall of Metz sealed the fate of
France. Two hundred and twenty-five thousand Ger-
man soldiers were let loose upon the raw levies which
the republic was everywhere organizing in the frantic
hope of saving Paris.
With the fall of Metz the last soldiers of the empire
crossed the Rhine as prisoners of war. Yet the mili-
tary situation had attained from the German stand-
point a more tangled complexity than at any previous
period of the campaign. The republic was display-
ing extraordinary vitality. It reflects great credit
upon the energy of the government of national de-
fense, as impersonated by Gambetta at Tours, that
when the armies of Prince Frederick Charles and
Manteuffel commenced their westward march from
Metz, there were more men in arms beneath the tri-
color than at any time since the emperor's declara-
tion of war.
374 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
While Metz still held out Moltke had made great
effoi-ts to check the organization of new French
armies. Cavalry columns were pushed in all direc-
tions from Paris to overawe the country but without
effect. The peasantry flocked to the colors in great
numbers, until by the middle of October a strong
French corps was reported in the vicinity of Lie
Mans, another was known to be organizing on the
Somme, while a German cavalry division was com-
pelled to abandon Toury to the advance of the French
15th corps, which had sprung up in a night on the
banks of the Loire. The latter force was rightly
judged by Moltke as the most threatening. Con-
sequently the 1st Bavarian corps, the 22d division of
the 11th corps, and the 2d and 4th cavalry divis-
ions were directed southward. On October 10 these
troops encountered the 15th corps near Chevilly, and
after some preliminary skirmishing crushed it on
the day following, capturing three guns and seven
thousand prisoners. The panic-stricken survivors fled
through Orleans and across the Loire in such terror
that another Joan of Arc could hardly have brought
them to their senses and saved the city. The Ger-
mans entered at midnight, having sustained the most
insignificant losses.
With the Bavarians in possession of Orleans, and
with the surrounding country well patrolled by two
cavalry divisions, Moltke withdrew the 22d division
and 4th division of cavalry to Chartres. This column
arrived at its destination after a lively fight at Ch&-
teaudun, which had been barricaded by a force of
mobiles and Franc-tireurs. The grand duke of Meck-
lenburg assumed command at Chartres, and held him-
self in readiness to support Von der Tann at Orleans,
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES, 875
to march to Paris, or threaten the French army m
the west.
Moltke hardly did justice to the extraordinary
vitality of republican France. Before the close of
October a 16th corps under Chanzy had taken the
field, the 16th had been reorganized, and a 17th was
in process of formation. General d' Aurelle de Pal-
adines was appointed to the command of all these
forces by the government at Tours. He found them
without the esprit and discipline indispensable to a
formidable army. Their nucleus was formed by some
15,000 regulars, more than half of whom had escaped
during the early morning hours from the carnage of
Sedan, and around these were grouped the raw peas-
antry and Mobile Guards. Thanks to the energy of
the new commander, the chaotic battalions soon as-
sumed a more military bearing. At last it was
thought they might reasonably undertake an impor-
tant enterprise. D'Aurelle fixed his mind upon the
Bavarians at Orleans and determined upon their cap-
ture or annihilation. When it is considered that he
had a force of at least 70,000 men, while the Bavarians
had no substantial supports nearer than Chartres, this
plan cannot be pronounced imprudent. He decided
upon November 9 as the day for his great stroke.
No time was to be lost, as Metz had capitulated and
the first and second German armies were moving
westward by forced marches.
General d' Aurelle was a good strategist, and he
laid his plans carefully. While the 15th and 16th
corps concentrated on Orleans from the west and
south. General Pallieres with one division of the
former corps was to cross the Loire east of Orleans,
and march in the direction of Chevilly to bar the
376 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Bavarian retreat on Paris. Fortune, however, was
not favorable to the French. Von der Tann, warned
by his cavalry of the French concentration, left one
regiment in Orleans, and with the balance of his
troops crossed the Loire to reinforce his division near
Coulmiers. In this vicinity he was attacked on the
9th by the 15th and 16th corps. Divining the trap
that was being laid for him, and sending word to the
regiment in Orleans to retreat upon Artenay, he
evacuated Coulmiers, and fighting hard began to retire
over the road to Patay. At nine o'clock in the even-
ing, after suffering a loss of less than one thousand
men, the main body of his corps was approaching that^
place. D'Aurelle had been foiled utterly in his " en-
veloping " scheme. His extreme left had been thrown
into disorder by a cavalry panic, while on the right
Pallieres only reached Chevilly at midnight. The
influence of the action upon the French soldiery, how-
ever, was very inspiriting. They had seen the backs
of German columns, and this unwonted exhibition was
productive of wild sensations in the raw and enthusi-
astic troops. Von der Tann halted at Toury, where
he placed himself in communication with the 22d
division at Chartres. The 17th division was moved
from the Paris army to the south, and the command
of the united forces conferred upon the grand duke
of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His four divisions of in-
fantry and three of cavalry constituted a force of
nearly 50,000 men.
The battle of Coulmiers marked a great crisis for
France. M. Gambetta enthusiastically hailed the
army as conquerors, and urged an immediate advance
upon Paris. He became convinced in his joy that
the ardent soldiers of the republic were man for man
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 377
superior to their experienced adversaries. General
d'Aurelle de Paladines, on the other hand, regarded
matters from another standpoint. Far from advocat-
ing a movement upon Paris, he insisted that the army
should return to the intrenched camp at Orleans.
The 9th of November convinced him that these same
soldiers whom Grambetta regarded as invincible were
inclined to be panicky and incapable of great manoeu-
vres. Even the knowledge that Prince Frederick
Charles with his whole army was approaching the
Loire could not shake D'Aurelle's determination. In
spite of Gambetta's remonstrance that he was wasting
valuable time, he brought the army back to Orleans
for reorganization and drill. This was the commence-
ment of a struggle between the government and the
military authorities. M. Gambetta failed to profit
by the dismal experience of Palikao ; and while the
army of the Loire was marked by defects that must
of necessity have seriously compromised its fortunes,
yet, as we shall see, upon his shoulders must rest a
large portion of the responsibility for its greatest
defeats.
On the 15th of November France had become
divided into four distinct battlefields. In the north-
em provinces two French corps under Bourbaki were
preparing to withstand the German army which Man-
teuffel was bringing up from Metz ; at Paris Trochu
and his discordant legions still fumed within their
iron girdle ; on the Loire the rapidly swelling ranks
of D'Aurelle's corps were at last confronted by the
combined forces of the grand duke of Mecklenburg
and Frederick Charles ; while in the southeast Werder
with the 14th German corps had invested Belfort, and
was watching the south of France as far as Dijon.
378 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Gambetta never ceased to urge upon the French
commander the necessity of assuming the offensive.
During the last weeks of November he received in-
formation from General Trochu that the garrison of
Paris was on the eve of a great sortie, and his urgency
became imperative. D'Aurelle was ordered to under-
take a movement in cooperation with the army of
Paris. The German lines at this time extended from
the vicinity of Beaune la Kolande on the east, pass-
ing north of Artenay, to Ogeres on the west. The
French commander found himself under the necessity
of breaking through or turning this line in the hope
of giving the hand to a successful army from Paris.
Consequently, on the 28th of November he directed
the 18th and 20th corps against Beaune la Kolande
with orders to push the German left back from the
road to Paris. Beaune was held by the 10th corps
and stubbornly defended. The French troops made
a determined fight, but the arrival of the German 3d
corps finally accomplished their discomfiture. With
the retreat came the usual panic, both the French
corps losing numerous prisoners, and falling back
upon Bellegarde on the outskirts of the forest of
Orleans. The French commander after this would
willingly have abandoned the offensive, but Gambetta
was again excited over a dispatch from Trochu, stat-
ing that Ducrot had broken through the German
lines of investment, and was marching upon Epinay,
D'Aurelle, who had rested passively since the 28th
in dread of an advance by Prince Frederick Charles,
was once more induced to march northward. He
seems to have made no attempt at a general advance,
— indeed, the forest of Orleans would have hopelessly
divided his corps in such a move, — but in this case
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 379
used his left wing exclusively, as on the 28th of
November he had used his right. General Chanzy
with the 16th corps commenced his advance on Decem-
ber 1, driving before him the outposts of the grand
duke of Mecklenburg. On December 2 he struck
heavily against the main body of Von der Tann's war-
worn Bavarian corps, and bearing them down by sheer
weight of numbers carried Loigny, Villeprevost, and
Chateau-Goury. At this crisis, however, the Bava-
rian general was supported on his left by the 17th
division, while the cavalry division of Prince Albrecht
covered his right. The grand duke of Mecklenburg
assumed the offensive, drove Chanzy from all the
ground he had gained, and by a concentric attack
carried Loigny. The 15th corps on Chanzy's right
had in the mean time encountered the 22d German
division, and been driven before it out of Poupry at
the point of the bayonet. The French 17 th corps
also took part in the contest between Poupry and
Loigny, but was finally worsted and driven back with
the entire wing upon Terminiers. At night the
French army rested in the positions it had occupied
in the morning. The grand duke of Mecklenburg
had engaged his entire force, four weak divisions, or
about 35,000 men. The French employed the greater
part of their corps, at least 80,000 men.
The result of the combats at Beaune and at Loigny
only served to convince the French commander of the
unreliability of his young troops. There was no time
to argue with Gambetta over the advisability of fur-
ther offensive movements, for on the 3d Prince Fred-
erick Charles began a concentric advance upon
Orleans, the second army forming on a line from Arte-
nay to Beaune, the grand duke of Mecklenburg mov-
380 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
ing southward against the French left wing and later
upon Orleans over the Chateaudun road. The oper-
ations of the 3d and 4th of December, which have
become known as the battle of Orleans, were a suc-
cession of combats ill-sustained by the French, who
at many points seemed more ready to lay down their
arms than to use them. The German artillery espe-
cially exercised a powerful influence upon their raw
soldiery, spreading consternation beyond the reach of
its shells. The excitement in Orleans was intense.
The French commander, thoroughly disheartened by
defeat, and irritated by Gambetta's interference,
compromised the vigor of his defense by his indeci-
sion. On the 3d the fighting was distant from the
city, and the muffled rumbling of the artillery by day
and the nimierous conflagrations that flared on the
moonlit plain at night alone told of the German
devastation. On the 4th, however, the pluck of civil
and military authorities gave way, and the evacuation
commenced. All through the day the firing came
nearer, until the rattle of musketry echoed in the
streets and the ground trembled with the reverbera-
tion of the artillery. Great crowds of terror-stricken
soldiers streamed through the streets in flight. As
darkness fell the roar of the battle was at the city
gate ; the troops of Prince Frederick Charles were in
the suburbs. In the evening the last fight took place
about the railway station. After that it was a gen-
eral sauve qui peut^ and shortly after midnight the
German troops were tramping unmolested through
the city streets. The battle of Orleans cut the French
army of the Loire in halves. D'Aurelle with the 15th,
18th, and 20th corps retreated upon Bourges, while
Chanzy with the 16th and 17th corps retreated along
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 381
the other bank of the Loire under cover of the newly-
formed 21st corps as far as Beaugency. These two
forces were immediately denominated by Gambetta
as the first and second armies of the Loire. D'Aurelle
was removed from the command of the former, and
General Bourbaki simimoned from the north to suc-
ceed him. General Chanzy was appointed as com-
mander of the other. The first army was in a
wretched condition, and Gambetta found Bourbaki
little more energetically inclined than his precedessor.
Prince Frederick Charles had wholly allayed the
imeasiness that prevailed at Paris in reference to
Gambetta's armies, yet it was determined to follow
up the divided fragments, and if possible utterly to
dissipate them. While Prince Frederick Charles held
himself between Orleans and Vierzon to watch Bour-
baki, the grand duke of Mecklenburg moved against
Chanzy. That general had little of the timidity or
misgiving that characterized his colleagues, and hav-
ing succeeded in infusing into his men something akin
to confidence, he promptly established himself in a
strong position, his right resting on the Loire at Beau-
gency, his centre upon the plateau of Josnes, and his
left covered by the forest of Marchenoir. In this
position he was attacked by the grand duke of Meck-
lenburg on the 6th. The grand duke was too weak
numerically to attempt a turning movement, and con-
sequently attacked boldly the face of the position.
The brunt of the fighting fell upon Von der Tann's
Bavarians in the centre ; and though they lost ground
in the afternoon, they still held the village of Cravant
which they had wrested from the French in the morn-
ing. On the left, in the mean time, the 17th Ger-
man division advanced steadily along the Loire from
382 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Meung, fought combat after combat, and after mak-
ing several hundred prisoners carried Beaugency it-
self in the evening. The 22d division on the extreme
right had no serious fighting during the day in front
of the forest of Marchenoir. On the next day the
grand duke again assumed the offensive, the 17th divi-
sion and the Bavariaiis driving in the French right,
and approaching close to Josnes, the heart of the
French centre. In the evening the opinion prevailed
at the grand duke's headquarters that Chanzy would
not attempt to maintain himself longer, and would
take advantage of the night to draw off. Chanzy,
however, again registered his intrepidity and individ-
uality by resuming the struggle at daybreak, driving
in Von der Tann's outposts and well-nigh throwing
his whole corps into confusion. This attack was
beaten back by a heavy artillery-fire, under cover of
which the infantry rallied* The grand duke had been
reinforced by the 10th corps, which Prince Frederick
Charles had detached to his assistance upon becom-
ing convinced of Bourbaki's lethargy, while the 9th
corps was approaching Blois on the left bank of the
Loire on its march for Tours. Chanzy claims
that it was this corps threatening his rear and not
the grand duke's assaults that finally induced him
to retreat. At all events retreat he did, leaving sev-
eral hundred prisoners with the Germans. In the
prolonged combat at Beaugency and Josnes Chanzy
had to defend his almost impregnable position the
16th, 17th, and 21st corps, beside a new division
which had been brought up from Tours. These
troops, numbering at least 100,000 men, were nearly
all engaged. The grand duke on his part employed
less than 55,000 men, including the 22d division,
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 883
which had no serious fighting, and the 10th corps
which acted as a reserve. Chanzy retreated rapidly
upon Le Mans in severe weather and over bad roads.
He was followed closely by Frederick Charles, and
at Vendome in a rear-guard engagement lost a few
hundred prisoners. He arrived at Le Mans on the
16th of December, where he was joined by the 19th
corps.
Moltke now determined to give his weary troops
a respite. The second army was ordered to adopt a
passive attitude and not press Chanzy at Le Mans ;
the 1st Bavarian corps, weary fi'om incessant cam-
paigning, was recalled to Orleans to observe Bourbaki.
The troops of the grand duke of Mecklenburg were
withdrawn to Chartres, from which point they could
move promptly upon Le Mans, Orleans, or Paris.
Bourbaki's long inaction was due to the wretched
condition of his army and the differences that existed
between Gambetta and his generals. Chanzy inces-
santly urged a hearty cooperation of the two southern
armies with the army in the north in a simultaneous
march upon Paris. Paris was always Chanzy's objec-
tive point, and it is beyond dispute that the plans he
advocated were the ones which the German staff most
dreaded. Gambetta, on the other hand, little by little
had his attention drawn from the famishing capital,
and began to regard with favor a plan for cutting the
German communications with the Fatherland. In
an unhappy hour he decided to march to the relief
of Belfort. Werder would be overwhelmed, Baden
invaded, Carlsruhe and Stuttgart bombarded, the
German army isolated in France. On December 20
Bourbaki received his orders from Bordeaux, whither
the government had fled after the loss of Orleans.
884 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
Bourbaki's movements were slow, and the German
staff at Versailles was late in divining his destination.
They continued to believe that a combined movement
would be undertaken against Paris, and firm in this
conviction Moltke determined to annihilate Chanzy.
The new year found Prince Frederick Charles and
Mecklenburg concentrating towards Le Mans in
obedience to the instructions from Versailles. The
weather was terribly severe, the roads frozen into ruts
or impassable from ice, snow fell frequently, and the
artillery and baggage trains were moved with diffi-
culty. The imiforms and shoes of the men were
badly worn and unfit for the season, and the move-
ments as a result were slow and painful. On the 10th
of January the grand duke after a series of skirmishes
succeeded in establishing himself northwest of Le
Mans in the left rear of Chanzy's position. The 3d and
9th corps in the mean time were approaching from
the east, and the 10th corps from the. southeast. The
country east of Le Mans is hilly and heavily wooded
in parts, and the heights rising abruptly from the
Huisne admit of easy defense. Chanzy was confident
of holding his own, the more so as he anticipated that
the Germans would be unable to bring up their artil-
lery on account of the slippery condition of the
ground. On the 9th and 10th of January there was
considerable fighting, resulting in the loss of advance
positions and several thousand prisoners for the
French commander. On the day following Prince
Frederick Charles struck home. The French centre
made a determined resistance, but the left was threat-
ened from the north by the grand duke of Mecklen-
burg, while on the right the mobiles disgracefully
abandoned La Tuilerie to the advance of the German
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 385
10th corps. Upon this Chanzy's retreat commenced,
and Le Mans was soon abandoned.
The second army of the Loire does not again attract
notice as a military force in any formidable sense. It
is true Chanzy rallied it beyond the Mayenne, and
continued to assert its worth to Gambetta until the
capitulation of Paris ended all. Yet the fact of its
preservation was due more to the cold weather and
long nights than to its own cohesion or the admitted
ability of its chief. More than once the darkness and
frost stood Chanzy in good stead by stopping a los-
ing fight and driving the Germans into the villages
for warmth and shelter. The rival commanders wit-
nessed the close of a day's campaigning with widely
different sensations. While the Red Prince yearned
for the power of Joshua to stay the sun in his course,
Chanzy bade a glad adieu to the last rays that streamed
through the gray forests.
In glancing at the record of the second army of
the Loire, we notice first that it invariably fought
against inferior numbers, and yet was invariably
worsted. Where perhaps five or six thousand of its
troops met the soldier's fate in wounds or death,
nearly twenty thousand laid down their arms in ter-
ror. The achievements of this army are simg more
loudly in republican France than those of the army
of the Rhine, and yet with equal numbers and equal
lack of success we find the latter made the greater
sacrifices. The army of the Rhine lost as many men
in a few hours at Vionville as the army of the Loire
endured in six weeks' campaigning. Furthermore,
the army of the Rhine inflicted losses upon its foe at
the battle of Gravelotte three times as great as the
army of the Loire imposed from the day of its first
386 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
fight until the armistice. A well-commanded amiy
may, it is true, accomplish great results without suf-
fering great losses ; skillful manoeuvring may prevent
butchery. The army of the Loire, however, accom-
plished nothing, and while admitting that it com-
prised some excellent material, the lesson taught by
its campaign is that patriotism, enthusiasm, and en-
ergy are not the only requisites to an efficient army.
It is difficult to agree with Chanzy that France was
humiliated because she had lost confidence in herself.
After the battle of Le Mans France did wisely in
recognizing that she no longer had a military basis to
build confidence upon.
The army of the north (22d and 23d corps), which
never attained the cohesion of the army of the Loire,
was shattered at Pont-a-Noyelles in December by
Manteufifel, and practically destroyed on the 19th of
January in a fight at St. Quentin. Lideed, so im-
potent had this force become that Manteuffel was
enabled to march southward with the 2d and 7th
corps to succor Werder at BehEort. He marched hard
and fast, passed over bad roads within a few miles of
Dijon under the very nose of Garibaldi and his volun-
teers ; and yet when he approached Belf ort he found
Bourbaki already defeated. Werder with 40,000 men
had maintained the siege of Belfort, frightened Gari-
baldi into inaction at Dijon, hoodwinked Bourbaki by
a demonstration, while he chose a defensive position
on the Lisaine, and then in a three days' battle com-
pletely foiled and demoralized the three corps of the
first army of the Loire. There can be no more inter-
esting study to the student of military strategy than
this campaign in the southeast. It was but a by-play,
however, to the great drama that was almost played
THE WAR IN THE PROVINCES. 387
out on the Seine and in the west. When the starv-
ing, freezing levies of Bourbaki, caught in the toils
between Manteuffel and Werder, crossed the Swiss
frontier for disarmament, the curtain which had risen
in August upon the emperor's military pageant at
Saarbriick had already fallen at Paris upon the last
hopeless struggle of the republic against an invincible
invader.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE FALL OF PARIS.
The Eastern and Italian Questions beopened. — The London
CONFEBENCE. — OCCUPATION OF ROME BY THE ITALIAN AbMY.
The German Fobeion Office at Yebsailles. — Its Attitude
ON European Questions. — Condition. of Affairs in Paris. —
Events of the 31st of October. — Temporary Success of the
Commune. — Unreliability of the National Guard. — Prep-
aration FOR the Great Sortie. — The Battle of Champigny.
— Its. Character and Results. — Increasinq Gravity of the
Situation in Paris. — Fighting near Le Bourget. — Opening
OF THE German Bombabdment. — Abandonment of Mont
AVBON BY THE FbBNCH. — NeW YeAR'S IN PaRIS. — ThE EjLNG
OF Prussia hailed German Emperor at Versailles. — Bat-
tle OF BUZANVAL AND ReTIURAT OF THE FRENCH. — FaVRE AT
Versailles. — Capitulation of Paris and Signature of the
Armistice. — The French Assembly meets at Bordeaux. —
Appoints Thiers Chief of the Executive Power. — Thiers
AND Bismarck at Versailles. — The Preliminaries of Peace
RATIFIED BY THE ASSEMBLY. — EnTBY OF THE GeBMAN TbOOPS
INTO Pabis. — The Peace of Fbankfobt. — Eubope at the
Pbesent Day. — Prevalence of Militarism and the Causes
therefor.
During these exciting autumn days when the Ger-
man hosts were closing in upon the capital of France,
the cabinets of St. Petersburg and Florence were
turning the crisis to good account. Gortschakoff
officially proclaimed to Europe that Russia no longer
felt bound by the terms of the treaty of 1856 respect-
ing her standing in the Black Sea. The Italian
premier formally declared his intention to immedi-
ately occupy Rome as the national capital.
THE FALL OF PARIS. 389
The contemplated seizure of Rome aroused no pro-
test in Europe, even the Austiian chancellor stating
that he " considered the course which the Italian gov-
ernment had taken was reasonable, just, and such as
would conduce to an equitable solution." The action
of the Czar, while an affront to all the powers repre-
sented in the Paris Congress, was especially galling to
England. Lord Granville presented Russia's treaty
obligations very clearly from a moral standpoint, but
the Czar was not inclined to postpone the restoration
of Sebastopol and the Black Sea fleet for moral
considerations. England could find no ally on the
troubled continent, and war was out of the question.
Bismarck was induced to suggest a conference, and
Gortschakoff gracefully accepted London as the place
of meeting. The first session convened on January
17, 1871, and the sittings concluded on March 13.
There had never been a question about the success of
the revision named in the Russian circular, but the
conference smoothed England's vanity and lent an
air of official respectability to the whole proceeding.
Li the mean time (September 19) the Italian troops
imder General Cadorna went into bivouac about the
Eternal City. On the day following, the Pope having
reiterated his intention to resist, the royal artillery
battered a breach in the ancient walls, and the in-
fantry entered to an almost bloodless victory. As the
tricolor of the Italian nation was flung to the breeze
from the walls of the capitol the great beU pealed
out above the joyous tumult in the streets, announ-
cing to the world that the Italian question was settled
forever, and that Rome was free.
What was the attitude of the German confedera-
tion on continental questions at this time ? To solve
390 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
this question scores of diplomatists made their way to
the sleepy chateau town of Versailles, where in the
residence of Madame Jess^ in the Rue de Provence
the German foreign office was established. There
the German chancellor was to be found, bluff and
busy as ever, with his finger on the throbbing pulse of
Europe. While the soldiers watched the great city
before them he watched the world and guided it.
Every day brought new conferences, now with Favre
or Thiers about the fate of Paris, now with some
churchman on the Roman question, again with Odo
Russell or the Russian ambassador on the Black Sea
clause. Yet among his own people he found time for
unbending to laugh at great men, and mix his diplo-
matic comments with narrations of youthful experi-
ences at the university, or of hairbreadth escapes in
hunting. The Italian episode simply seemed to arouse
his curiosity : " I am curious to see what the Pope
will do. Will he leave the country, and where will
he go ? . . . There is nothing left for him but Bel-
gium or North Germany. . . . People with lively
imaginations, especially women, when they are in
Rome, with the incense and splendor of Catholicism
about them and the Pope on his throne dispensing
blessings, feel an inclination to become Catholics. In
Germany where they would have the Pope before
their eyes as an old man in want of help, a good,
kind gentleman, one of the bishops eating and drink-
ing like the others, taking his pinch, perhaps even
smoking his cigar, there would be no such great
danger."
Odo Russell and the English tried the patience
of the chancellor in these days. When the former
appealed to him for support against the Russian
THE FALL OF PARIS. 891
claims he saw no reason to trouble himself about it.
" For the rest," he remarked to his subordinates one
night at dinner, " I was not of Opinion that gratitude
was without its place in politics. The present em-
peror had always showed himself friendly. • • • As
for England, he knew well enough how much we had
to thank her for. The Kussians ought not to have
been so modest in their requirements; if they had
asked for more they would have had no difficulty in
getting what they want about the Black Sea."
If we were to judge of Germany's position during
these days by the remarks of the chancellor made for
trusty ears in the seclusion of Madame Jesse's dwel-
ling, we should say first that she was following a
Prussian policy with a warm side toward Russia,
induced by the gratitude which M. Benedetti had
wholly failed to evoke, that the occupation of Rome
and the wrath of England were alike of trivial in-
terest, while the Pope had become merely the object
of a humorous sympathy.
Within Paris matters drifted from bad to worse.
The troops had been reorganized into three armies,
the first under General Thomas, comprising the bulk
of the National Guard, while the regulars and mo-
biles were embodied in the second army under Du-
crot, and the third imder Trochu's personal direction.
Had this numerous force approximated the army of
Metz in military worth the siege might have been
raised. As it was, however, the confusion caused by
the wholesale conversion of the Parisian populace
into citizen soldiery seriously interfered with disci-
pline and cohesive organization. The unsuccessful
October fighting also produced an unwholesome effect
upon the city. A temporary ripple of satisfaction
892 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
was caused on October 29 by General Bellemare*s
capture of Le Bourget on the northeastern front of
Paris. This news was neutralized by the failure of
Thiers' conference with Bismarck, and when on the
31st the fall of Metz and the recapture of Le Bourget
by the Prussian Guards were officially proclaimed
Paris fairly lost its reason. Thousands of soldiers,
citizens, and women congregated before the Hotel de
Ville yelling for the Commune and no surrender.
The infuriated people broke down the gates, and
headed by a detachment of the National Guard under
Major Hourens stormed into the building. Windows
and furniture fared harshly at the hands of these
zealous patriots. Stray shots were fired and added
to the excitement. The twenty mayors were uncere-
moniously ejected from the chamber; Trochu was
visited in his private room and his clothing and dec-
orations torn. Favre and Rochefort were placed
under arrest, but Ferry slipped away, and while the
new government of the Commune was organizing,
proceeded to rally the loyal troops for the rescue of
his colleagues. The new government was ejected
during the evening with as much noise and as little
bloodshed as had characterized its conquest. The
loyal battalions poured into the square with shouts of
"Vive Trochu" and "A bas la Commune." The
soldiery who had been engaged for hours in crying
" A bas Trochu " and " Vive la Commune " suddenly
melted away. At midnight the government of na-
tional defense was busily repairing damages prepara-..
tory to resuming its functions. At that time Paris
had become absolutely quiet again. " What a city 1 *
remarked the United States minister as he threaded
the silent streets, " one moment revolution and the
next the most profound calm."
THE FALL OF PARIS, 893
General Trochu after this emeute found that he
had not only the Prussians but the Commune to deal
with. Worse than all, the latter raised its hideous
head from the very ranks of the first army. From
that day the governor of Paris ceased to reckon upon
the National Guards as a reliable force. With the
city feverish and excitable and his soldiery infected
with Communistic sentiment, Trochu realized that
some decisive action was necessary without the walls
to maintain the peace within. Paris is much the
same under all governments and will have her way.
Napoleon III. made war to appease her, MacMahon
marched to Sedan to placate her, Mont Valerieii
burnt its powder to satisfy her, and Trochu must now
do his part.
A fortnight of busy preparation heralded the great
sortie. Trochu's plan was to engage the Prussian
circle by the fire of the forts and infantry demonstra-
tions, while he pushed his main forces across the
Marne in the vicinity of Nogent and Joinville, broke
the German lines on the southeast of Paris, gained
the road to Fontainebleau, and opened communica-
tions with the army of the Loire.
The management of this movement was confided to
General Ducrot, who proclaimed his determination to
come back dead or victorious. The 29th was set as
the day, but the sudden rising of the Marne threw
the plans into confusion. General Vinoy attacked
the Prussian positions about L'Hay and Chevilly,
but the remainder of the troops could not cross the
swollen flood to cooperate. As a result Vinoy fell
back after sustaining some loss. On the evening of
this day, however, the f oi-ts opened a heavy fire on all
sides for the purpose of concealing the main point of
394 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
attack, and at daybreak on the 30th General Renault
led the 2d corps across the Mame at Nogent against
the Saxon lines, while the 1st corps crossing at Join-
ville attacked the Wiirtembergers in Champigny,
The fighting that followed was the most desperate of
the entire siege. By noon Ducrot had 70,000 men in
action, had captured Champigny and Brie, and was
brought to a stand only by the well-defended park
walks of Villiers and Coeuilly. Night put an end to
the struggle, leaving the French in possession of the
lines held by the German outposts in the morning.
The roar of the battle reverberating through the
streets caused intense excitement in Paris, which in-
creased as it became apparent that the garrison had
made progress. The return of light brought no con-
tinuance of the contest. The French were occupied
in the burial of their dead, while the Germans brought
up their 2d corps to support an offensive movement
on the morrow. Trochu must have realized before
this that his great sortie was a failure. Everything
depended on celerity, and his inactivity on the 1st was
a confession of his defeat.
At dawn on the 2d the storm of battle again burst
forth with the Germans as the aggressors. The fire
of the forts with that of the artillery in position be-
yond the Marne alone prevented the complete recap-
ture of Champigny and Brie. When night feU the
French army, weary and crestfallen, began to recross
the Marne.
The main attack had been ably seconded by demon-
strations in force from Fort Charenton and St. Denis.
On the whole, however, the influence of the battles
upon the French soldiers was extremely dispiriting.
They had been encouraged to regard success as eer-
^ THE FALL OF PARIS, 395
tain, and they never recovered from the consequent
disappointment and chagrin. They lost one of their
ablest generals in Renault, who fell in the attack upon
Villiers.
After the failure of the great sortie Paris settled
down disconsolately to siege life again. The insub-
ordination in the National Guard increased, and
General Thomas publicly denounced several battal-
ions. The army of Paris was plainly going to pieces.
Food and fuel became daily more scarce. Horse
meat brought fabiilous prices, while hungry, shivering
soldiers were detailed to guard wood yards and potato
stores from the famishing populace. Paris demon-
strated her preference to starve rather than surrender,
but so long as the Germans were well fed there was
no hope of any beneficial result from these tactics.
Paris starved better than she fought.
After General Ducrot's withdrawal across the
Mame the occasional sorties and conflicting reports
from the provinces hardly stirred the popular enthu-
siasm. On December 21 General Trochu's efforts to
open communication with the army of the north by
an attack on the German lines northeast of Paris re-
sulted in another discomfiture. The heaviest fighting
was about Le Bourget, which bristled with batteries
supported by infantry, whose presence was only to be
determined by the smoke and crash of their musketry.
The French were falling back when the sunset and the
bitter cold night came on. Despite the efforts of the
Red Cross societies, hundreds of wounded men froze
to death before relief or morning came.
On the 27th of December the first gun of the Ger-
man bombardment was fired against the French ad-
vance posts on the plateau of Mont Avron. For
896 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE,
weeks the German staff had been preparing for this
final grim argument with the defenders of Paris.
The bombardment was delayed day by day, however,
at first to enable the completion of all arrangements,
and later in the hope that it might not be necessary
to resort to this extreme measure. This delay did
not meet with the unqualified approval of the foreign
office, where the fear was expressed that the powers
would construe it into a symptom of weakness. " If
they would give me the command-in-chief for four
and twenty hours, and I were to take the responsibil-
ity on myself," stormed the chancellor, " I shoiild give
just one order — fire ! "
The German batteries on the east of Paris contin-
ued their fire on the 28th. Though the air was filled
with snow and fog, so accurately had the gunners
obtained their range that the practice was admirable.
Mont Avron was rendered untenable, and during the
night the French abandoned their positions. On the
30th and 31st the Germans steadily maintained their
fire, raining a ceaseless storm of projectiles upon the
forts Bosny, Noisy, and Nogent.
Paris was hardly to be recognized on the first day
of the year 1871. New Year's day in beleaguered
Paris ! There was the old life of the boulevard still
struggling for existence like the glimmer of the petro-
leum lamps that flickered in the wind. There was
still a suggestion of the thoughtless throngs of a year
before ; the theatres were open ; while here and there
a dimly-lighted cafe beckoned mournfully to its old
devotees. There was nothing in these symptoms to
blind one to the universal misery and despondency.
The icy wind that swept the streets was charged with
the roar of the German siege guns. It was an anx-
THE FALL OF PARIS. 397
ious, despondent day, and the sinking sun left a de-
spondent city wrapped in sleet and darkness.
The sound of the bombardment that chilled the
heart of Paris was borne faintly on the frosty air, to
fall like sweet music on the ears of the German
princes and generals in the palace of Versailles, who
thronged about the king of Prussia, as he raised his
glass to welcome the new year. Eighteen days later,
with the air throbbing to the fire of the siege guns
south of Paris, the German princes again gathered
about the Prussian king to proclaim him emperor of
united Germany.
On the 19th of January, the day following this
dramatic episode at Versailles, the army of Paris
made its last effoi*t to break the iron talons that were
crushing it to death by an attack from Mont Valerien
upon the German lines between Rueil and St. Cloud.
As usual the French swept away the German fore-
posts only to be checked by the main lines of defense.
At Montretout, Buzanval, and Malmaison there was
bloody work, but the impetuous valor and superior
numbers of the assailants availed nothing against the
cool discipline of their foe. The sound of the heavy
firing so close at hand stirred Versailles from its
stately lethargy, and brought the princes, emperor
and all, galloping to the front. A brigade of the 1st
Bavarian corps was also moved to Versailles to be at
hand in case of need. About dark Trochu ordered
the retreat after suffering terrible losses.
The immediate result of the battle of Buzanval was
the transfer of the military command from Trochu to
Vinoy, but the last battle had been fought, and hope
had even departed from so stout a soldier as Vinoy.
Jules Favre had again become a daily visitor at the
898 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE.
German foreign office. He was deputed to negotiate
for an armistice and the capitulation of Paris. He
no longer advanced the principle "not an inch of
our territory or a stone of our fortresses." The state
of affairs was briefly this : The government in Paris
recognized the futility of longer resistance, but that
goverament had never been recognized by France,
and was powerless to conclude a peace. An armis-
tice must be signed to allow of an appeal to the coun-
try ; Paris must be delivered to the Germans as the
price of the armistice. On the afternoon of Jan-
uary 28 the capitulation of Paris was signed, and an
armistice agreed upon to expire on February 19 at
noon. The provinces occupied by the armies of Bour-
baki and Manteuffel were alone excluded from this
agreement. On January 29 the German troops quietly
took possession of the Paris forts. The regulars and
mobiles became prisoners of war, with the exception
of 12,000 men who were left under arms to preserve
order. At the earnest request of Favre the National
Guard were allowed to retain their arms. If Favre
urged this as a measure to counteract the imperialistic
ideas supposed to be still cherished by the prisoners
returning from Germany, it was a political crime as
well as a military folly. The National Guard became
the armed Commime. It finally devolved upon the
veterans of MacMahon and Bazaine to reconquer
Paris for the republic.
While the armies withdrew to the lines stipulated
in the armistice, the elections went quietly forward.
The assembly convened at Bordeaux, and manifested
a spirit that won for it universal respect. On Feb-
ruary 17 M. Thiers was appointed chief of the execu-
tive power, and having named his ministry, he r©-
THE FALL OF PARIS. 399
paired to Versailles to arrange the j)relimiiiaries of
peaee. The conferences that followed with the Ger-
man chancellor were perhaps the most trying ordeals
to which the Frenchman had ever been subjected.
No peace was possible save on the basis of the cession
of miles of territory and the strongest of fortresses.
France must also pay a war indenmity of no less than
five milliards of francs. Bismarck, it is true, thought
Thiers " too sentimental for business . . . hardly fit
indeed to buy or sell a horse," but no diplomatist,
however astute, could have made better terms for
stricken France. So thought the assembly at Bor-
deaux ; and when Thiers announced the result of his
mission with a quivering lip, he had its sympathy and
support. On the 2d of March the assembly formally
ratified the peace preliminaries by a vote of 646 to
107.
It had been stipidated in the armistice that the
German troops should not occupy Paris. The exten-
sion of time granted by the Germans entitled them
to some compensation, and the entry of Paris was the
compensation claimed. The troops detailed for this
purpose were not chosen at random. To the French-
man who on the 1st day of March beheld them pass
along the Avenue de Malakoff or the Champs Elys^es
it was an ominous pageant. It was a German and
not a Prussian army that he beheld. Prussians there
were in the Silesians of the 6th corps, but there, too,
were the war-worn regiments of the 11th corps, Nas-
sauers, who had lost their grand duke four years be-
fore, and the " kinder " of the exiled elector of Hesse.
There also were the faded blue lines of Hartmann's
Bavarians. Surely Bavaria deserved the honor ac-
corded her of leading the way up the Avenue of the
4jOO the reconstruction of EUROPE.
Grand Army, for the blood of her gallant sons had
been given unsparingly in behalf of the common Fa-
therland, not only at Weissenburg, Neewiller, and
Bazeilles, but in the frost-bound valley of the Loire.
Sullenly the Parisians eyed the march as it moved
u]) the Avenue of the Grand Army, the bayonets
djmmed for an instant in the shadow of Napoleon's
arch broadening into a glittering sea as they swept
into the Champs Elys^es. When the head of the
column entered the Place de la Concorde, the command
to halt was passed along the lines. The remorseless
tread that for six long months had been trampling
France in blood was stilled at last. That night the
Hessians smoked their pipes on the Trocadero, and
the Bavarians stacked their arms in the Place de la
Concorde, while the lights blazing from the palace of
the Elysee announced the German military head-
quarters.
On the third day of the month, the Bordeaux As-
sembly having ratified the peace preliminaries, the
German troops marched out, and Paris was left to
"herself again. The war was over. Beyond the
Khineland, in Bavaria and Wiirtemberg as well as in
trhe north, all was joy and enthusiasm over the return
of the army that had answered before the world the
question, " What is the German Fatherland ? " On
the 10th of May the definite treaty of peace was
signed at Frankfort by which France ceded Alsace
and a portion of Lorraine, including the fortresses of
Metz and Strasburg, to her conqueror. The prompt
and patriotic manner in which the French nation dis-
charged their enormous war debt astounded Europe,
and won the admiration of the world. It displayed
more truly the spirit of the French people than did
THE FALL OF PARIS. 401
the hideous events that occurred in Paris during the
early spring months.
The siunmer of 1871 found Europe at peace. The
German question was settled with the Kaiser at Ber-
lin ; the Italian problem was solved with the king in
Kome. But out of the war which had finally rid the
continent of two of its greatest thorns grew a new
complication from the severing of the Khineland prov-
inces from France. The traveler from the new
world who visits Europe to-day is amazed at the mil-
itary influence that everywhere dominates the conti-
nent. Above the roar of the city street sounds the
sharp drum-beat of the passing regiment ; in the sweet
rural country the village church-bell cannot drown the
bugle peal from the fortress on the hill. Why is it
that France sinks her millions in frontier strong-
holds, that Kussia masses troops in Poland and on
the Pruth, that Austria strengthens her fortresses in
Galicia, that Germany builds railways to the Khine
and bridges to span its yellow flood ? It means that
the Eastern and Alsatian questions are not settled ;
that Republican France broods darkly over the ex-
actions of 1871, while it casts friendly glances upon
aggressive and despotic Russia ; that Austria, dread-
ing Russian power, draws nearer to Germany, and
that Germany still united, with Austria and Italy
friendly, holds fast what she has won by the sword,
while with the old assurance that has never yet
betrayed him Bismarck proclaims both to the east
and west, " We Germans fear God and nothing in
the world beside."
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.
Justin McCakthy's History of Our Own Times gives a read-
able Tdsnmd of English political events since the accession of
Qaeen Victoria, with a general reference to continental affairs.
Files of the English newspapers and periodicals show the de-
velopment of public sentiment, the most powerful factor in the
national political life. Our Chancellor^ by Moritz Busch, pre-
sents an able delineation of Bismarck's policy in reference to
Austria, Russia, and France. Busch's works have a peculiar
value, he being a member of Bismarck's official family. Julian
Klaczko's Two Chancellors is a brilliant work from an anti-Prus-
sian standpoint, with special reference to Bismarck .and Gort-
schakoff. Ward's translation is plentifully supplied with notes.
They direct one to every work of any value concerning the
diplomacy of the period. The Memoirs of Count von Beusty
edited in England by Baron Henry de Worms, are valuable in
connection with Busch and Elaczko. Lord Malmesbury's Me^
moirs of an Ex-Minister abound in interesting comments on the
great leaders and events of contemporaneous continental his-
tory, as do the GrevUle Memoirs,
Among biographies should be mentioned Charles Mazade's
Life of Count Cavour (translated from the French), Wilhelm
G<>rlach's Prince Bismarck, a translation which appears in the
Tauchnitz Library, and G. S. Godkin's Life of Victor Emmanuel
IL Mazade's work is the very best on the Italian statesman ac-
cessible to English readers. G<)rlach traces Bismarck's political
development by quotations from his speeches and letters. God-
kin's work is based on the best Italian authorities, and gives
excellent portraits both of the king and Cavour. J. T. Bent's
Life of Griuseppe Garibaldi should also be read in connection
with Italian affairs. Theo. Dwight's Life of General Garibaldi
furnishes picturesque details of the Sicilian expedition drawn
from contemporary letters and other sources.
404 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.
Victor Hugo's History of a Crime and Maupas's Story of the
Coup d^Etat give extreme and opposed views of the events
which destroyed the French republic in 1860. Paris in Decem-
ber, 1851, by Eugene Tdnot, is a calmer and more just presenta-
tion of the case. M. Hippolyte Magen's Histoire popuLaire du
Second Empire draws a dark picture of the social features of
Napoleon III.'s regime.
Alexander Kinglake's Invasion of the Crimea is the most elab-
orate work on the Eastern Question and the Crimean War. It
also touches upon the coup d'etat and scores Napoleon without
mercy. General Todleben's Defense de Sebastopol should be
read in connection with Kinglake. William Howard Russell
has an excellent review of the first volumes of this work. E.
Bruce Hamley's Story of the Campaign of Sebastopol is the vivid
narrative of an English officer, now a leading authority in Eng-
land on military matters. The works of Bazancourt and Ca-
mille Rousset present the French view of the campaign, the
former abounding in picturesque and heroic incident, the other
being the more conservative and valuable work. Mr. Russell's
war correspondence is interesting reading ; his letters exercis-
ing a g^eat influence upon English public opinion at the time
they were written. Nathan Haskell Dole's American edition of
Rambaud*s History of Russia contains very readable chapters on
the Crimean campaign.
Luigi Carlo Farini's Roman State has been translated un-
der the direction of Hon. W. E. Gladstone. The high charac-
ter and position which Farini enjoyed among his countrymen
is a sufficient voucher for the worth and reliability of this work.
The letters appended to the fourth volume and addressed to
Mr. Gladstone give a startling picture of the condition of Italy
in 1850. John Webb Probyn's Italy 1815-1878 is based on
the best Italian authorities. No good work exists in English
on the Italian campaign of 1859. The official French work,
edited under the direction of Marshal Randon, has little value
now. Bazancourt's Ckroniques are picturesque but unreliable.
Alfred Duquet's book is a sharp arraignment of the French
commanders. La Guerre d* Italic, by the Due d'Almazan, is
concise, interesting, and impartial.
Rustow's Der Deutsch-Danische Krieg narrates the events of
1864 in Denmark. A. Gallenga*s Invasion of Denmark is a pen-
picture of the war by a writer with Danish sympathies.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. 405
The standard work on the war of 1866 is the Prussian official
report executed under the direction of Moltke himself. It hus
been translated into English (The Campaign of 1866 in Ger-
many, Compiled by the Department of Military History of the
Prussian Staff), The Austrian staff report is obtainable in both
French and German, and if less methodical than the Prussian is
more picturesque and interesting. H. M. Hozicr's Seren WeeL^*
War is the most readable narrative in English, being based on
letters written from Bohemia to the London " Times." J. V.
Lemoyne's Campagne de 1866 en Italie is a thoroughly satisfac-
tory work on the Italian operations. Hozier also has chapters
on this campaign.
The German staff report is again the most reliable work on
the Franco-German war. It has been only partially translated
into English. One of the best works from the French stand^
point is F^lix Bonnet's Guerre Franco^Allemande, a review and
running comment on the work of the German staff. Busch's
Bismarck in the Franco-Prussian War is at once entertaining
and valuable. Marshal Bazaine's Episodes de la Guerre de 1870
et le Blocus de Metz is a defense of his course as commander
and chief. Chanzy's Deuodem£ Armee de la Loire is interesting
as the work of the most skillful general that France developed
in the war. Ducrot's Defense de Paris 1870-1871 gives a fair
idea of that event. B. von Tiedemann's Siege Operations in the
Campaign against France is translated from the German by Ma-
jor Tyler, R. E., and may be referred to for information con-
cerning Paris, Metz, and Strasburg. George Hooper's Cam-
paign of Sedan is an admirable work, the best that exists; in
English on that portion of the war. Archibald Forbes's My
Experiences in the War between France and Germany and W. II.
Russell's My Diary During the Last Great War abound in inter-
esting details picked up at the seat of war. Laboucherc's Dkiry
of the Besieged Resident in Parisj Nathan Sheppard's Shut up in
Paris, and E. B. Washbume's Recollections of a Minister to France
are vivid pen-pictures of life within Paris during the sieges
while the latter of course possesses value beyond that of an
ordinary narrative. Files of the Almanach de Gotha and the
Statesman's Year Book may be consulted for general statistical
information.
INDEX.
ABBBDsmr, Lord, 24, 25; forced into
warlike measures by Napoleon, 43 ;
fall of his ministry, 79.
Alsace-Lorraine, ceded to (Germany, 400.
Albrecht, Archduke, commandsAustrian
army in Italy, 259-2G1 ; at battle of
Custozza, 264 ; proves himself a capa-
ble soldier, 265 ; summoned to Vienna
to succeed Benedek, 246, 265.
Alexander IL of Russia, of a peaceful
temperament, 92; accepts Austria's
peace proposals, 93 ; shows his grati-
tude to Prussia for her Polish policy,
202.
Alexander, Prince of Hesse, commands
8th federal corps m 1866, 251 ; defeated
at Laufach and Aschaffenburg, 252;
abandons Frankfort, 258; retreats
upon Wurzburg, 254.
Alma, battle of the, 55-57 ; deathblow
of the Czar, 81.
Alvensleben, German general, brilliant
conduct at Vionville, 323.
Aurelle de P&ladines, French general,
commands army of the Loire, 375;
imparts energy and cohesion to his
army, 375 ; a good strategist, 375 ;
fights battle of Goulmiers, ^6 ; brings
his army to Orleans for drill, 377 ; his
conflict with Gambetta, 377 ; assumes
the offensive, 378 ; is routed at Beaune
and Loigny, 378, 379 ; routed in three
days* fight before Orleans, 380 ; rallies
his right wing at Bourges, 380 ; irri-
tated by Gambetta, 380; superseded
by Bourbakl, 381.
Austria, in 1850, 3; offers to support
western powers against Russia, 47 ;
and Prussian alliance, 47 ; orders Rus-
sia from Danubian principalities, 39 ;
troops enter Bucharest, 41 ; efforts to
secure peace, 92; in Paris Goi^p*e8s.
93 ; influence in Italy, 97-99, 110 ; and
Roman legations, 98 ; misrule in Lom-
bardo-Yenetia, 99 ; proposes to uphold
despotism in Sardinia, 101 ; attempts
to terrorize Sardinia, 103; regards
Victor Emmanuel as incorrigible, 104 ;
suppresses Milan revolt, 104 ; worsted
in diplomacy by Cavour, 111 ; adopts
pacific policy in Italy, 112 ; threatened
at the Tuileries, 116 ; her ultimatum
rejected by Sardinia, 118 ; imiwptilar*
ity of the war in, 121 ; Italian cam •
paign of 1859, 122-152; armistice a
Villafranca, 152 ; cedes Lombardy,
153 ; crushes Erfurt parliament, 180 ;
supports Hassenpflug in Hesse, 181
humiliates Prussia at Olmiitz, 181
abolishes constitution, 182 ; holds Ger-
man states in check during Crimean
war, 182 ; loss of prestige in Germany
(1859), 184; and Bismarck, 195;
alarmed at Prussia's attitude, 196 ; en-
rages Russia by her Polish policy, 197 ;
agreement with Prussia regarding
Schleswig-Holstein, 201 ; Danish cam-
paign, 1864, 201-210 ; treaty of Vienna,
210; bargains with Prussia for Elbe
duchies, 213 ; Gastein convention, 214 ;
explains her position before the Diet,
221 ; abEindons Holstein, 221 ; moves
mobilization of federal army against
Prussia, 221, 222 ; state of army in Bo-
hemia, 225 ; Seven Weeks' War, 223-
266; benefited by her defeat in the
war, 272 ; placates Hungary, 273 ;
cedes Venetia, 274 ; foreign policy in
1867, 275; refuses French proposals
for military alliance, 293; refuses
France military aid i^ainst Prussia,
1870, 300; defends Italy in seizure
of Rome, 389; her present attitude,
401.
Azeglio, Marquis Massimo d', prime
minister in Sardinia, 102 ; resigns his
post, 104 ; sent as commissioner to
Bologna, 159; on death of Cavour,
177.
Balaclava, occupied by English, 59 ; bat-
tle of, 71-73 ; results of battle, 74.
Bavaria, invades Hesse-Cassel, 181 ; war
of 1866, 249-255; treaty of Prague
and cession of territory to Prussia,
269 ; places her army under orders of
Prussia, 1870, 300; Franco-Prussian
War, 304-398 ; troops enter Paris, 399,
400.
Bazaine, Marshal, lands at Genoa, 124 ;
at battle of Melegnano, 140 ; at battle
of Solferino, 148 ; corps commander in
1870, 307; consiilted by Napoleon at
Metz, 315 ; his honorable career, 316 ;
408
INDEX.
assumes command of the army under
protest, 316; is embarrassed by the
emperor, 317 ; orders the retreat upon
Verdun, 317 ; fights battle of Boruy,
320 ; his midnight visit to the emperor,
320 ; interviews the emperor at Grave-
lotte, 320 ; bids him farewell, 322 ;
fights battle of Vionville, 323 \ takes a
new position near Metz, 325 ; at battle
of Gravelotte, 325 ; compared with
Benedek at K5niggratz, 325 ; aimless-
ness of his conduct during the battle
week, 328 ; fights battle of Noisseville,
372 ; surrenders fortress of Metz, 372 ;
charges on which he was court-mar-
tialed, 372 ; his defense, 373.
Beaumont, battle of, 833.
Belfort, fighting near, 38G.
Benedek, Austrian general, his conduct
at Solferino, 150, 151 ; sununoiied to
council of war at Vienna, 18GG, 218 ;
his plan of campaign against Prussia
checkmated, 22G ; criticisms upon his
generalship, 233, 234 ; occupies coun-
try between the Elbe and Bistritz,
234 : his fatal blunder, 235 ; at battle
of Koniggratz, 243; amazed upon
learning of the fall of Chlum, 'Ia^\
heads the reserves in attempts to re-
take it, 245 ; incurs the rage of Vienna,
24ti ; superseded by Archduke Al-
brecht, 24C ; conducts the retreat upon
Pressburg, 247.
Benedetti, M., first appearance in Bohe-
mia, 1866, 272 ; at Berlin, 272 ; urges
military demonstration against Prus-
sia, 277; at Xikolsburg with Bismarck,
279; presents Rhine treaty to Bis-
marck at Berlin, 280 ; threatens Prus-
sia with war, 280; submits Luxem-
burg proposition to Bismarck, 283 ;
his note announcing his failure, 284 ;
encounters the king of Prussia at
Ems, 296, 297 ; his view of the king's
conduct there, 298.
Berger, Austrian general, 140.
Beuret, French general, MUed at Monte-
bello, 127.
Beust, Count von, Austrian chancellor,
1867, 275 ; his letter on Austria's atti-
tude, 1870, 300, 301 ; on Italian seiz-
ure of Rome, 389 ; his memoirs, 203.
Beyer, German general, 222; occupies
Cassel, 1866, 223 ; summons Strasburg,
1870, 369.
Bismarck, Prince, president of Prussian
ministry, 185; his early career as a
deputy, 185 ; champions the riglits of
the crown, 185 ; contempt for the rev-
olutionists of 1848, 186 ; deprecates
use of Prussian troops in Denmark,
186; opposed to liberal assembly at
Frankfort, 186; opposed to German
unity, 187 ; an uncompromising royal-
ist at Erfurt, 187; admires Austria,
187 ; represents Prussia at Frankfort,
188 ; contempt for the Diet, 189 ; be-
comes hostile to Austria, 189 ; prophe-
sies war with Austria, 190 ; willing to
consider German unity, 190; repre-
sents Prussia at St. Petersburg, 191 ;
continued distrust of Austria, 191 ;
represents Prussia at Paris, 191 ; his
estimate of Prussia's needs, 192; bis
struggles with the Diet on the army
bill, 194 ; carries his measures over the
deputies, 194 ; opens diplomatic cam-
paign against Austria, 195; supports
Russia m suppressing Polish revolt,
197 ; and Schleswig-Holstein question,
200 ; carries Austria with him in the
Diet, 201 ; stimulates the Danes to fight,
203 ; his attitude on the Augustenburg
claim after the war, 211 ; his sudden
change of front, 212 ; traps Mensdorff
into an indiscretion, 213 ; anticipates
war with Austria, 213; and Gastein
conference, 214; his opinion of the
conference, 214 ; the king creates him
a count, 214 ; seeks an alliance with
Italy against Austria, 215 ; visits Na-
poleon at Biarritz, 215 ; pushes a set-
tlement of Schleswig-Holstein ques-
tion, 217 ; protests against Austrian
policy in Holstein, 217 ; endeavors to
win favor with the German states,
218, 219 ; concludes treaty of alliance
with Italy, 219 ; orders Prussian troops
into Holstein, 221 ; submits a plan for
new confederation excluding Austria,
221 ; joins the army at Gitschin, 230 ;
at battle of Kdniggratz, 241 ; restrains
the spirit of assurance at headquar-
ters, 246 ; commends Italy for honor-
able course in 1866, 268 ; enthusiasti-
cally received by the Prussian Diet,
270; his course toward Hanover,
Hesse, and Saxony, 271 ; chancellor of
the northern confederation, 271 ; ar-
ranges military alliances with South
Germany, 272 ; conversations with
Benedetti at Nikolsburg, 279; re-
ceives Benedetti in Berlin, 280; re-
fuses French propositions concerning
Rhmeland, 280; his reply to Bene-
detti's threat of war, 280 ; uses the
French propositions to consolidate
Germany, 282 ; his reception of Bene-
detti's second project, 283; arranges
alliance with Russia, 284; combats
French scheme to purchase Luxem-
burg, 285 ; withdraws Prussian garri-
son from Luxemburg, 286; at Paris
Exhibition of 1867, 288 ; his narrative
of the incidents at Ems, 1870, 297;
summary of his diplomacy, 1866-70,
304 ; at Sedan, 340 ; discusses capitu-
lation with Wimpften after Sedan,
342 ; his narrative of the event, 343 ;
meets Napoleon near Fr^nois, 346;
his narrative of this event, 346 ; con-
ducts Napoleon to Chateau Bellevue,
348; interviewed by Favre at Ferri-
eres, 361 ; at Versailles, 366 ; his life
there, 390 ; Iiis view of the papal ques-
tion, 390; on Black Sea clause and
INDEX.
409
Russia^ 391 ; on delay in bombarding
Paris, 396 ; interviews with Favre on
the armistice, 398 ; interviews Thiers
on the peace, 399 ; comments on
Thiers, '^ \ his latest defiance to Eu-
rope, 401.
Bittenfeld, German general, 222; com-
mands army of the Elbe in 1866, 224 ;
at batUe of Koniggratz, 240, 241.
Blumenau, battle of, 248.
Blumenthal, German general, on Mac-
Mahon*s tactics, 332; at conference
of Sedan^ 343.
Bomba, King. See Ferdinand II. of
Naples.
Bomy, battle of, 320.
Bosquet, French general, at battle of
the Alma, 56; Elinglake^s comment
on, 56 ; his remark on cavalry charge
at Balaclava, 74.
Bourbaki, French general, at. battle of
Gravelotte, 327 ; commands French
armies in the north, 377 ; appointed
to command first army of the Loire,
381 ; resists Gambetta's orders to ad-
vance, 381 ; ordered to relieve Bel-
fort, 383 ; outgeneraled by Werder,
386 ; defeated on the Lisaine, 386 ;
driven into Switzerland and disarmed,
387.
Buol, Count, Austrian chancellor, 47.
Burgoyne, Sir John, carries Empress
Eugenie to England, 358.
Busch, Dr. Moritz, *' Bismarck in the
Franco-German War," 342.
Cadoma, Italian general, occupies Rome,
389.
Canrobert, Marshal, and the coup d^Siat^
9 ; at battle of the Alma, 56 ; assumes
command of French army in Crimea,
60 ; opposed to assaulting Sebastopol,
60; resigns his command, 83; King-
lake on reasons therefor, 83; corps
commander in Italy, 123; enters Tu-
rin, 125; at battle of Magenta, 133;
lethargy at Solf erino, 148 ; corps com-
mander in 1870, 307; commands
French right at Gravelotte, 326, 327 ;
at battle of Noisseville, 372.
Carbonari, Society of the, its character
and aims, 99.
Cardigan, Lord, at Balaclava, 72-74.
Castelfidardo, battle of, 173.
Cavour, Count, in Paris Congress, 93,
109; enters Sardinian cabinet, 102;
forms a new cabinet, 104 ; opposed to
violence in politics, 104 ; commits the
state to liberation of Italy, 105; his
domestic policy, 105; decides to join
Anglo-French alliance, 106 ; is opposed
b^ the Chambers, 107 ; vindication of
his Crimean policy, 108 ; letter to Na-
poleon, 108; his foreign policy, 109
disappointed over England's indiffer
ence, 112 ; his opinion of Austria, 112
turns to France as an ally, 112; the
Orsini incident, 113; appeases Napo-
leon, 114; strikes at the papal gov-
ernment, 114 ; meets Napoleon at
Plombieres, 115; his vision of united
Italy, 116; advocates marriage of
Prince Napoleon and Princess Clotilde,
117 ; impels Napoleon toward war, 117 ;
efforts to avert peace, 118 ; refuses the
Austrian ultimatum, 118; leaves for
the army on news of the armistice,
153; offends the king and resigns,
153; makes the amende honorable,
161 ; returns to office, 161 ; suggests
an Italian plebiscite to Napoleon, 162 ;
Napoleon's acquiescence and the re-
sult, 163; and Nice and Savoy, 164;
hated b^ Garibaldi, 164; protects
Garibaldi's Sicilian expedition, 164 ;
effect of this policy in Europe, 166,
167 ; efforts to restrain Garibaldi from
marching on Rome, 107, 168 ; his con-
ception of the crisis, 171 ; determines
to march upon Naples, 171 ; picks a
quarrel with the Pope, 171 ; receives
authority from parliament to annex
Two Sicilies, 173; increased anxiety
after the annexation, 174; his enor-
mous responsibility, 174 ; on the Nea-
politans, 175 ; to General Garibaldi,
175 ; comparison of, with Garibaldi,
176 ; his death, 176 ; the world's esti-
mate of him, 177 ; Massimo d' AzegUo
on his death, 177.
Champigny, battles of, 394.
Chanzy, French general, commands
French 16th corps, 375; defeated at
Loig^y, 379 ; rallies right wing of Loire
army upon Beaugency, 380 ; appointed
to command these troops, 381 ; de-
feated by Mecklenburg at Josnes, 381 ;
character of his troops and tactics,
382 ; retreats upon Le Mans, 383 ;
plans a movement upon Paris, 383 ; is
attacked before Le Mans, 384 ; his re-
treat, 385 ; his pluck and ability, 385 ;
gives reasons for French humiliation,
386.
Changamier, French general, consulted
by Napoleon at Metz in 1870, 315.
Chapelle, Count de la, his work on
Napoleon III., 342.
Charles, prince of Bavaria, commands
Bavarian army in 1866, 249 ; indiffer-
ent to fate of Hanoverians, 250 ;
his indecision and retreat, 251 ; de-
feated at Kissingen, 252 ; joined by
the 8th federal corps, 253 ; retreats
upon Wlirzburg, 254.
Charles Albert of S-irdinia, abdicates,
5 ; and war of 1848, 100 ; and Mazzi-
ni, 104.
Christian VIII. of Denmark, 198.
Christian IX. of Denmark, ratifies in-
corporation of Schleswig with Den-
mark, 199 ; joins the army at Schles-
wig, 204 ; cedes Schleswig-Holstein to
Austria and Prussia, 210.
Cialdini, Italian general, at battle of
Palestro, 128 ; defeats papal army at
410
INDEX.
Castelfldardo, 173; sapenedes La
Bfarmora in command ot the army,
2(i6 ; his bloodless march through Ye-
uetia, 2GG.
Citate. battle of, 36.
Clam Oallas, Coont, at battle of Magen-
ta, 131 ; commands Ist Austrian corps
iu Bohemia, 2^ ; defeated at Podol,
228 ; retreats from Miinchengriits,
228 ; defeated at Gitschin, 229.
Clarendon, Lord, 46, 48.
Coulmiers, battle of, 376.
Coup cPStcUf the, the 2d of December,
8 ; president's proclamation and the
arrests, 9 ; dispersion of the assembly,
9 ; how the coup d'Hai was managed,
10 ; the events of the 3d, 11 ; the 4th
of December, 11 ; state of affairs on
the boulevard, 12 ; the massacre and
its influence, 12; conflict of testimo-
ny regarding the massacre, 12, 13 ;
the president's responsibilitpr, 13.
Crimean campaign, the, idea flrst
broached, 61 ; landing of the allies in
Crimea, 64 ; the battle of the Alma,
66-67; the allies continue their ad-
vance, 68 ; their flank march, 69 ;
Canrobert opposes the motion to at-
tack Sebastopol, GO ; failure of allied
bombardment, 69 ; siege of Sebasto-
pol begins, 70; battle of Balaclava,
71-74 ; battle of Inkermann, 76, 76 ;
the great hurricane, 78 ; terrible suf-
fering of the allies, 79 ; Sardinia joins
the fJliance, 82; the June bombard-
ment and first assault, 84 ; capture of
the Mamelon by the French, 86 ; fail-
ure of the second assault, 86 ; battle of
the Tchemaya, 88 ; the French carry
the Malakoff , 89 ; evacuation and burn-
ing of Sebastopol, 90.
Custozza, battle of, 1866, qpening of
the battle on the Italian right, 262 ;
rout of the Italian left wing, 263;
General Pianelli checks the Austrian
pursuit, 263 ; the battle in the centre,
264; state of the contest at two
o'clock, 264 ; concentric attack by the
archduke upon Custouca, 264 ; retreat
of the Italians, 266.
Danish campaign, the, allied armies
enter Schleswig, 203 ; evacuation of
Dannewerk by the Danes, 205 ; Aus-
trian victory at Oeversee, 206; the
Danish position at Duppel and Fre-
dericia, 206 ; destruction of the Dan-
ish army at Diippel, 209 ; evacuation of
Fredericia, 210 ; peace of Vienna, 210.
Dannenburg, Russian general, at battle
of Inkermann, 76, 76.
Dannewerk, the, 204 ; evacuated by
the Danes, 206.
Denmark, and Schleswig-Holstein ques-
tion, 197-199 , popular sentinoent in, re-
specting Schleswig, 199 ; refuses Prus-
8o-AuslSian ultimatum, 201 ; relies for
aid upon England and Russia, 202-201 ;
popular reliaaoe in the Dannewexk.
204; campaign against Austria and
Prussia, 294-210 ; treaty of Vienna,
210 ; cedes Schleswig-Holstein to Pm»-
sia and Austria, 210.
Douay, French general, defeated near
Beaumont, 334; at battle of Sedan,
338,339.
Douay, General Abel, killed at Weissen-
burg, 308.
Drouyn de Lhuys, M., Frendi minister,
urges French intervention in war m
1866, 277 ; his views respecthig j^na-
sia, 281 ; resigns his portfolio, 282.
Ducrot, French general, at battle of
Worth, 312 ; assumes command of the
French at Sedan, 336 ; Ms altercaticm
with Wimpffen at Sedan, 337 ; on the
National Guard, 360; on the Mobile
Guard, 360 ; defeated by Prussians at
Sceaux, 362 ; in command at battle of
Champigny, 393, 394.
Duppel, siege of, 206-209.
Durando, Italian general, at battle of
Palestro, 128 ; at Solf erino, 146 ; corps
commander in 1866, 269.
Eastern Question, 17 ; agitated by Napo-
leon, 17; attitude of Prussia on, 22;
attitude of France, 22; attitude of
England, 23; treaty of Paris, 93; trea-
ty of Paris violated by Russia, 388,
389 ; still unsettled, 401.
England in 1860, 6 ; suspicion of Russia,
*^ ; her deep interest in the Eastern
Question, and the reason, 23 ; becomes
bound to maintain Turkey, 30; her
fleet enters the Sea of Mannora, 32 ;
shocked by Napoleon's coup d'Stat^
43 ; enraged by Sinope massacre, 46 ;
signature of the French alliance, 48 ;
preparations for war, 49 ; embarkation
of troops, 49 ; popularity of conquest
of SebsuBtopol in, 63 ; false announce-
ment of fall of Sebastopol, 69 ; hero-
ism of light brigade at Balaclava, 74 ;
heroism of troops at Inkermann, 77 ;
Soult on the British infantry, 77 ; pop>
nlar rage against government for con-
duct of campaign; fall of Aberdeen
ministry, 79; popular exaltation of
French military eystem, 79; desires
continuation of Crimean war, 92;
and treaty of Paris, 94 ; losses in Cri-
mean war, 94; induces Austria to
adopt mQder measures in Italy, 112 ;
and Orsini incident, 113; endeavors to
preserve peace in Europe, 118 ; re-
fuses to mediate in Italy, 1859, 152 ;
friendly to Italian unity, 162 ; express-
es satisfaction at invadon of papal
territory by Sardinia, 172 ; and Den-
mark, 202; abandons Denmark in
18(H, 203 ; and conference of London,
210 ; disturbed by Austria's defeat in
1866, 269 ; and Black Sea clause, 389 ;
Bismarck's comment on, 391.
Erfurt parliament, the, instigated bj
INDEX.
411
Frederick William of Prussia, 180;
crushed hy Schwarzenberg, 180.
Xiq>i]ia88e, breach general, killed at Ma-
genta, 135.
Eugenie, Empress of the French, her
court and mfluence, 287 ; aspires to
see France the protector of the Ro-
man church, 292 ; her influence in the
government councils, 293; advocates
war with Prussia, 299 ; at St. Cloud,
1870, 350; returns to TuUeries on
news of nJlitary disasters, 352 ; con-
vokes the Chambers, 352 ; her anxious
life, 353; bewildered by news from
the front, 353 ; flies from the Tuile-
lies hi dit^B^uise, 358 ; arrives in Eng-
land, 358.
Eupatoria, battle of, 82.
Failly, French general, commands
French at Mentajoa, 291 ; his dispatch
on the battle, 291 ; corps commander
hi 1870, 307 ; ordered to support Mac-
Mahon, 309; his tardy arrival at
Worth, 312; retreats from Bitsche,
314 ; his negligence at Beaumont, ^3.
Falckenstein, German general, 222 ; oc-
cupies Hanover, 223 ; commands Prus-
siui forces in the west, 251 ; defeats
Bavarians at Kissingen, 252 ; defeats
8th federal cOTps, 252 ; enters Frank-
fort, 263 ; made military governor of
Bohemia, 253.
Fanti, Italian general, at battle of Pales-
tro, 128 ; occupies Perugia and Spoleto
in Papal States, 1860, 173.
Farini, Lnigi Carlo,** The Roman State,"
99 ; Italian minister, 257.
Favre, Jules, in Corps L^gislatif , Sept.
1870, 352; moves detl^onement of
Napoleon, 354 ; becomes foreign min-
ister in the republican cabinet, 357;
first interview with Bismarck, 361 ;
arrested by the Communists in Paris,
S82 ; arranges armistice with Bis-
marck, 398; National Guard retain
their arms at his request, 398.
Ferdinand IL of Naples, 110 ; his death,
157.
Flourens, Major, heads mob in Paris,
1870, 392.
Forbach, battle of, 313, 314.
Forev, French g^eneral, and the coup
d^etiUj 9 ; defeats Austrians at Monte-
bello, 126, 127 ; at baUle of Solferino,
149.
France, revolutions of 1848 in Paris,
2 ; her conspicuous foreign policy, 7 ;
public opinion on Crimean campaign,
79 ; state of the press in, 80 ; moves
admission of Prussia to Paris Con-
gress, 93, note ; losses in Crimean war,
94 ; the Orsini incident, 113 ; better
feeling against England in, 113 ; signs
treaty of alliance with Sardinia, 117 ;
enthusiasm over the war, 120 ; unpre-
pared for war, 123 ; Italian campaign
of 1850, 12^162 ; peace of ViUaf ranca.
152 ; supports Saxony against Prusda,
271 ; prominent position in Europe in
1867, 275; Kuniggratz precipitates a
crisis, 277 ; Drouyn de Lhuys' concep-
tion of the crisis, 258 ; the French army
unable to meet the situation, 276 ; ef-
forts of the government to indemnify
France through diplomacy, 279 ; refu-
sal of their demands at Berlin, 280 ;
second proposition of the government
and its rejection, 283 ; desperation of
the Paris statesmen, 284 ; negotiations
concerning Luxemburg frustrated by
Prussia, 285 ; summary of French di-
plomacy for 1866-67, 286 ; the dedme
of the empire, 288; reorganization of
the army, 286; evacuation of Rome,
291 ; return of French troops to Rome
and battle of Mentana, 291 ; incurs hos-
tility of Italy, 292 ; foreign policy in
1868-69, 292 ; election of 1869, 293 ;
proffer of alliance refused by Italy, 293 ;
progress of army reform, 293 ; bellicose
temper of the government in 1870, 294 ;
effect of Hohenzollem incident in, 295 ;
warlike spirit of the Chambers, 295;
tone of the press, 296 ; demands upon
Prussia refused, 296, 297; excitement
caused by Bismarck's dispatch, 298;
declaration of war against Prussia, 298 ;
wretched condition of the army at Metz,
302; Franco-German war, 301-398;
overthrow of the empire, 357; Bor-
deaux assembly, 398 ; peace of Frank-
fort, 400 ; her present attitude, 401.
Francis II. of Naples, spurns the Sar-
dinian alliance against Austria, 1859,
157 ; and revolution of 1860, 168; pro-
claims constitutional liberty as a last
resort, 168 ; his pitiful situation at'
Naples, 169, 170 ; sails away in a Span-
ish ship, 170 ; joins his army at Gaeta,
172 ; capitulates at Gaeta, 175.
Francis Joseph, Austrian kaiser, rees-
tablishes Austrian prestige in Ger-
many, 4 ; visits Venice and Milan, 112 ;
his war manifesto, 120; takes com-
mand of the army in Italy, 142 ; directs
his troops at Solferino, 147 ; issues
orders for the retreat, 160 ; concludes
an armistice at Yillafranca, 152 ; his
personal interview with Napoleon,
152; reasons which induced him to
make peace, 152 ; cedes Lombardy, 163 ;
refuses to acknowledge Prussia's claim
to the supreme command of the federal
army, 1^ ; proclaims against Prussia
from Schonbrunn, 183, 184; confers
with the Prussian king at Gastein, 214 ;
learns a lesson from KSniggriitz, 273 ;
determines to placate Hungary, 273;
crowned king of Hungary at Pest,
274.
Franco-German war. French declara-
tion of war, 304 ; perfect preparation
of Prussia for war, 305 ; position of
contending forces on Aug. 3, 307 ;
French defeat at Weissenburg, 308;
412
INDEX.
MacMahon confident on the Sauer, 310 ;
battle of Wdrth, 310-312; battle of
Forbach, 313, 314; consternation at
Metz, 315 ; Bazaine assumes command
of the French, 316 ; French retreat
upon Verdun begins, 320 ; battle of
Borny, 320 ; position of the armies on
Aug. 16, 322 ; battle of Vionville, 323 ;
battle of Gravelotte, 325-327 ; forma-
tion of Gkrman army of the Mouse,
328 ; siege of Metz begins, 328 ; disol*-
ganization of French army at Chfilons,
323 ; MacMahon marches upon Metz,
331 ; desperation of the French minis-
try, 332 ; battle of Beaumont, 333 ; ter-
rible condition of MacMahon's army,
334 ; the French retreat upon Sedan,
335 ; battie of Sedan, 336-340 ; Napo-
leon surrenders, 340; capitulation of
Sedan, 348 ; fall of the empire, 354-
357 ; investment of Paris, 362 ; bom-
bardment and capitulation of Stras-
burg, 370-371 ; capitulation of Metz,
372 ; French army of the Loire, 375 ;
battle of Coulmiers,376 ; defeat of army
of the Loire at Beaune, and Loigny, 378,
379 ; destruction of army of the Loire
before Orleans, 380 ; the first and sec-
ond armies of the Loire, 381 ; battle
of Josnes, 381, 382 ; defeat of Chanzy's
army at Le Mans, 384 ; defeat of
French army in the north, 386 ; first
army of the Loire driven into Switzer-
land, 387 ; battles of Champigny be-
fore Paris, 394 ; bombardment of Paris,
395-397 ; battle of Buzanval, 397 ; ca-
pitulation of Paris, 398 ; German troops
enter Paris, 399 ; treaty of Frankfort,
400.
Frankfort Assembly, 3; befriended by
Frederick William of Prussia, 179 ; its
offer of the German crown rejected
by Frederick William, 180.
Frankfort Diet, 2 ; composition and
character of, 178; system of voting,
179 ; understanding betwean Prussia
and Austria in, 179; overthrown in
1849, 179 ; restoration of, 181 ; Aus-
trian ascendancy in, 181 ; Bismarck's
estimate of, 189; decrees military exe-
cution in Holstein, 199 ; refuses Axis-
tro-Prussian demand regarding Dan-
ish constitution, 201 ; listens to Prus-
sia and Austria on Schleswig-Holstein,
220 ; mobilization of federal army
against Prussia moved by Austria,
221 ; Austria's motion carried, 222 ;
the Prussian envoy pronounces con-
federation dissolved, 222 ; driven from
Frankfort, 253 ; dissolved by treaty of
Prague, 269.
Frankfort, treaty of, 400.
Franzecky, General, at battle of Kdnig-
gratz, 239, 240; wins battle of Blu-
menau, 248.
Frederick VII. of Denmark, promulgates
constitution incorporating Schleswig
in Denmark, 198, 199 ; his death, 199.
Frederick Charles, Prince, with Prussiaa
army in Denmark, 201 ; commands
Prussians before Diippel, 207; com-
mands Prussian troops at GOrlitz, 222 ;
crosses Saxon frontier and occupies
Dresden, 223; commands first Prus-
sian army, 225 ; crosses Austrian fron-
tier, 226 ; defeats Austrians at Podol
and MiinchengrStz, 227, 228; defeats
Austrians at Gitschin, 229 ; decides to
move upon the Bistritz, 238 ; opens
the battle of Koniggrlitz, 239; com-
mands second German army in 1870,
306; threatens Metz from the south,
318 ; marches from Metz upon the
Loire, 373 ; on the Loire, 377 ; advance
upon Orleans, 379 ; enters Orleans,
380 ; follows Chanzy to Le Mans, 383 ;
routs Clianzy before Le Mans, 385;
hampered by bad roads and short days,
385.
Frederick William lY. of Prussia, friend-
ly toward Frankfort assembly, 179 ;
refuses German crown, 180 ; and Er-
furt parliament, 180 ; falls ill in 1867,
183 ; his death, 184.
Fraderick William, crown prince of
Prusoa, commands second Prussian
army in 1866, 225; crosses Austrian
frontier, 230; at battle of Nachod,
231 ; his march to KdniggrStz, 242 ; di-
rectJs the guards upon CMumand wins
the day, 243; commands third Car-
man army in 1870, 306 ; his popularity,
306, 307 ; crosses the Lauter, 310 ; at
battle of Worth, 310-313 ; marches
upon Nancy, 318 ; at Sedan, 340 ; trans-
fers headquarters to Versidlles, 363.
Frossard, French general, at Saarbiiick,
303 ; defeated at Forbach, 313, 314 ; at
battle of VionvUle, 323; at battle of
Gravelotte, 326, 327.
Gkiblenz, Austrian general, commands
Austrian troops in Denmark, 201 ; ap-
pointed governor of Holstein, 2H ;
favors Augustenburg, prince in Hol-
stein, 217 ; summons Holstein assem-
bly, 221 ; evacuates Holstein upon
approach of the Prussians, 221 ; de-
feats Prussians at Trautenau, 232 ; is
worsted by Prussian Guard at Soor,
233 ; conveys proposal for an armis-
tice to Prussian headquarters, 246.
Gambetta, M., in Corps L^gislatif, Sept.
1870, 356 ; minister of the interior in
republican cabinet, 357 ; directs gov-
ernment of national defense at Tours,
373 ; enthusiastic over battle of Coul-
miers, 376 ; his conflict with General
d'Aurelle, 377 ; deceived by Trochu's
messages lurges the offensive, 378 ; irri-
tates D'Aurelle, 380; appoints Bour-
baki to succeed D'Aurelle, 381 ; ap-
points Chanzy to command in the
west, 381 ; complicates the military
situation, 383 ; orders Bourbaki to re-
lieve Belfort, 383.
INDEX.
413
Garibaldi, General Giuseppi, 142 ; in
first Italian parliament, 1G3; hatred
for Gavour aiter cession of Nice and
Savoy, 1G3 ; raises volunteers to aid
revolutionists in Sicily, 1G4 ; lands in
Sicily and defeats royal troops, 164 ;
captures Palermo, 1G5; wins a vic-
tory at Milazzo, 1G5 ; extraordinary
character of hi3 achievements, 165;
has but a contemptible foe to deal
with, 166 ; refuses La Farina's request
to annex Sicily to Italy, 167 ; his letter
to Victor Emmanuel, 168 ; crosses to
the mainland, 168 ; marches upon Na-
ples, 169; enters Naples in triumph,
170 ; meets Victor Emmanuel at Tea-
no, 173; the sublime act of his life,
174 ; attacks Gavour in x)arliament,
175 ; comparison of, with Gavour, 176 ;
his revolution of 1862, 257 ; wounded
and captured at Aspromonte, 257;
heads a new attack upon Bome, 291 ;
defeated by the French at Mentana,
^1; in Franco-Prussian campaign,
1870, 386.
Ctoorge, king of Hanover, abandons his
capital to the Prussians, 223 ; attempts
to secure free passage to Italy for his
army, 250 ; capitulation and exile of,
250.
Gerlach, General, commands Danish
army at Diippel, 207, 209.
Germany, in 1850, 3; composition of
the German confederation, 178 ; char-
acteristics of the Frankfort Diet, 179
Austria and Prussia in the Diet, 179
overthrow of the Diet in 1849, 179
the Erfurt parliament crushed by
Schwarzenberg, 180; the revolt in
Hesse, 180 ; humiliation of Prussia by
Austria at Olmiitz, 180 ; restoration of
the Frankfort Diet with Austria in
control, 182; Austria dominant in
Germany in 1854, 182 ; change in Prus-
sian policy under the regency, 183;
Prussia and Austria on an equal foot-
ing in 1860, 184; Austro-Prussian
campaign against Denmark, 203-209;
treaty of Vienna, 210 ; Gastein con-
vention, 214 ; Sclileswig-Holstein ques-
tion settled, 221.
Germany, Seven Weeks* war, 223-255 ;
peace of Nikolsburg, 248; treaty of
Prague, 269 ; four results of the Seven
Weeks' war, 269; Hanover, Hesse-
Gassel, and Nassau incorporated with
Prussia, 270; Saxony forced to join
the northern confederation, 271 ; Bis-
marck as chancellor, 271 ; military alli-
ance between North and South Ger-
many, 272 ; the Hohenzollerns and the
Spanish throne, 295-298 ; Franco-Ger-
man war, 301-398 ; William I. of Prus-
sia hailed emperor at Versailles, 397.
Germanic Diet at Frankfort. See Frank-
fort Diet.
Gitachin, battle of, 229.
Giurgevo, battle of, 40.
Gladstone, Wm. E., and Kutchuk-Kai-
nardji treaty, 26 ; translation of Far-
ini's " Roman State," 99.
Goeben, German general, 254 ; at battle
of Forbach, 314.
Gortschakoff, Prince Mikhail, com-
mands Russians in Moldavia, 33;
hampered by the Gzar, 31 ; evacuates
Bucharest, 40; sends Todleben to
Sebastopol, 61 ; takes command of
Russian army in Grimea, 82 ; opposed
to a sortie, 88 ; defeated at the Tcher-
naya, 88 ; to his soldiers on abandon-
ment of Sebastopol, 91.
Gortschakoff, Prince Alexander, Russian
chancellor, 191 ; friendship for Bis-
marck, 191 ; gratitude to Prussia for
PoUsh policy, 197; supports Prussia
against England in Danish contro-
versy, 202 ; abrogates Black Sea clause
of Paris treaty, ^ ; and London con-
ference, 1871, 389.
Gortschakoff, Prince Peter, at battle of
the Alma, 57 ; at Inkermann, 75 ;
criticised by Todleben for his inac-
tion, 76.
Govone, Italian general, arranges Prusso-
Italian alliance, 259 ; at battle of Gus-
tozza, 264.
Gramont, Due de, declares that Prussia
has imperiled interests of France, 295 ;
declares that Prussia has insulted
France, 298 ; his narrative of final war
council at St. Gloud, 299 ; deprecates
Russia's policy, 301.
Granville, Lord, and Black Sea clause in
1870, 389.
Gravelotte, battle of, 325-327.
Greek Ghurch, conflict with Latin
church with regard to Holy Places,
18 ; French ambassador scores a suc-
cess for the Latins, 19 ; rage of Gzar
in consequence, 19 ; Menschikoff's de-
mands at Gonstantinople, reparation
for the Greeks, 20 ; settlement of the
dispute, 20.
Guizot, M. de, his estimate of Gavour
and Napoleon, 117.
Gyulai, Goimt, commands Austrian army
in Ital^, 1859, 125 ; his career, 125 ;
his timidity, 125; misinterprets
French plans, 128 ; finds liis right
threatened and hurries troops nortli-
ward, 129; is attacked on the Naviglio
Grande, 131 ; his conduct at Magenta,
136 ; determines to retreat upon
Verona, 141 ; urges the Kaiser to
occupy the heiglits of Solferino, 142 ;
is relieved of the command, 142.
Hanover, invaded by Prussian troops,
223 ; battle of Langensalza, 250 ; ca-
pitulation of the army, 250 ; annexed to
Prussia, 270.
HesHC-Gassel, revolt against Hassenpflug
in, 180 ; Prussian and Austrian troops
enter, 181 ; Hassenpflug restored by
Austria, 181 ; invaded by Prussian
414
INDEX.
troops, 1866, 223 ; annexed to Pruasia,
270.
Hilliera, French marshal, corps com-
mander in Italy, 123; marches ujpon
Melegnano, 139 ; defeats the Austnans
there, 146 ; at battle of Solf ermo, 146,
148, 149.
Holy Places of Jerusalem, the, 17, 18.
Hugo, M. Victor, his '^Histoire d'un
Grime," 12 ; assertions reapectiug ccmp
d'etat, 13.
Hungary, revolution of 1848 suppressed,
4 ; granted a parliament by the Kaiser,
273 ; elects the Kaiser king of Hun-
gary, 273 ; becomes loyal to the Aus-
trian crown, 274.
Inkermann, battle of, 75, 76 ; conunents
upon, 76, 77 ; called *' soldiers' battle "
in England, 77.
Italian campaign of 1859, romantic char-
acter of theatre of war, 122 ; unpre-
paredness of French army, 123; its
order of battle, 123 ; arrival of em-
peror at Genoa, 124; the Austrian
general and his career, 125 ; his timid
tactics, 125; combat at Montebello,
126; Napoleon plans a flank march,
127; battle of Palestro, 128; Napo-
leon's orders for Jime 3, 129 ; position
of the armies at noon on the 4th, 130 ;
battle of Magenta, 130-136 ; entry of
the French into Milan, 138 ; fight at
Melegnano, 140 ; Gyulai retreats upon
Verona, 141 ; Napoleon advances from
Milan, 141 ; Austrian army harassed
by conflicting orders, 143 ; it occupies
the heights of Solferino Jime 23, 143 ;
advance of the French army June
24, 145; battle of Solferino, 145-
151 ; French advance renewed July 1,
151 ; armistice and conference at Vll-
laf ranca, 152 ; why the monarchs made
I)eace, 152-154.
Italy, map of, in 1850, 96 ; political con-
dition of, in 1850, 97-99 ; secret socie-
ties in, 100 ; Napoleon's sohcitude for,
108 ; and congress of Paris, 109 ; Aus-
tria's baneful influence, 110 ; enthusi-
asm over the Sardo-Austrian war, 119;
campaign of 1859, 122-152 ; disappoint-
ment at termination of war, 153 ; cen-
tral Italy votes for annexation to Sar-
dinia, 162; first Italian parliament,
163; revolution in the Two Sicilies,
164; Garibaldi enters Naples, 170;
Sardinian troops enter Papal States,
172 ; annexes Two Sicilies, 174 ; death
of Cavour, 176 ; concludes treaty of
alliance with Prussia, 219 ; activity of
the Roman question, 257 ; Garibaldi's
revolution, 257 ; ministries of Rica-
soli, Ratazzi, Farini, and Minghetti,
258 ; understanding with France on
the Roman question, 258 ; transfer of
the capital from Turin to Florence,
258 ; declaration of war upon Austria,
259 ; battle of Custozza, 262-265 ; bat-
tle of Liasa, 266 ; commended by Bis-
marck for her honorable course, 268 ;
annexation of Venetia, 274 ; Rioman
question stiU active in 1866, 275;
withdrawal of French troops from
Rome, 291 ; Garibaldi's revolution and
return of the French, 291 ; battle of
Montana, 291 ; results of Montana fa-
tal to France in Italy, 292 ; refuses to
enter Austro-French alliance, 293 ; re-
fuses to assist France in 1870 unless
Rome is abandoned, 301 ; occupies
Rome, 389.
Italian campaign of 1866, declaration of
war upon Austria, 259; condition of
the opposing armies, 259, 260; Ger-
man plan of campaign rejected at
Florence, 260; Italian army crosses
the Mincio, 260; battle of Custozza,
262-265; Italian army recrosses tiie
Mincio, 265; advance of the It&Iiam
army under Cialdini, 266; battle of
Lissa,266.
Josnes, battles of, 381, 382.
Kamecke, German general, daring con-
duct at Forbach, 313, 314, 318.
Karolyi, Count, Austrian ambassador at
Berlin, 195 ; correspondence with Bis-
marck, 196; and Nikolsburg peace
preliminaries, 248.
Emglake, Alex. William, on General
Bosquet, 56 ; on Louis Napoleon and
Ganrobert, 83 ; on Marshid P^liasier,
84.
Kissingen, battle of, 252.
KdniggrStz, battle of, arrival of the
king of Prussia at Dub, 239 ; opening
of the battle, 239 ; Prussians cross
the Bistritz, 240 ; state of the battle
at noon, 240 ; critical position of the
Prussian left, 241 ; anxiety of the
Prussian staff, 241 ; approach of the
crown prince to the field, 2^; he
threatens the Austrian right, 242;
confused state of that wing and causes
therefor, 242 ; capture of Chlum by
the Prussians, 243 ; Benedek's efforts
to retake Chlum, 244 ; total defeat of
the Austrian army, 245; heroicon of
the Austrian artillery, 246.
Komiloff, admiral, conimands Russian
fleet at Sebastopol, 62 ; sinks ships at
Menschikoff's order, 62 ; protests
against withdrawal of the army, 63 ;
is hopeless of defending Sebastopol,
64 ; assumes command of Sebastopol
garrison, 64 : his admiration for Tod-
leben, 64 ; his patriotism and piety,
64 ; his anxiety as betrayed in his
diary, 65 ; induces Menschikoff to re-
inforce garrison, 66 ; his conduct un-
der fire, 66 ; his death, 67 ; his mem-
ory cherished in Russia, 67.
Kutchuk-Kainardji, treaty of, 21, 26.
Ladmirauit, French general, at battle of
INDEX.
415
Mel^rnano, 140; at Solferino, 149;
corps commander in 1870, 307.
La Marmora, general, commands Sardin-
ian army m Crimea, 82 ; reorganizes
army, 102; departs for the Crimea,
107 ; defeats Garibaldi at Aspromonte,
257 ; forms a new cabinet, 25S ; takes
command of Italian army, 1806, 259 ;
his careless movements, 261 ; strange
conduct at battle of Custoxza, 2G4;
8ui>erseded by Cialdini, 266.
Lamorici^re, papal general, defeated by
Sardinians at Castelfidardo, 173.
Langensalza, battle of, 250.
Latin Church, the, conflict with Greek
Church in regard to holy places, 18 ;
French ambassador scores a success
for the Latins, 19 ; rage of the Czar
in consequence, 19 ; Mensfehikoff de-
mands at Constantinople reparation
for the Greeks, 20 ; settlement of the
dispute, 20.
Leboeuf , Marshal, his declaration to Na-
poleon concerning the army, 299 ; in-
sists upon war with Prussia, 299;
falseness of his military representa-
tions, 302 ; falls into disfavor with the
emperor, 315; corps commander at
Gravelotte, 325-327; at battle of
Noisseville, 372.
Lebrun, French general, at Sedan, 837.
Le Mans, battles of, 384.
Light Brigade, English, at Balaclava,
73.
Liprandi, Russian general, at battle of
Balaclava, 71.
Loigny, battle of, 379.
Lombardo-Venetian provinces, condi-
tion in 1850, 98 ; Lombardy ceded to
Sardinia, 153-159 ; grief in Venice over
peace of Yillafranca, 157 ; cession of
Venice to Italy, 269 ; Victor Emman-
uel enters Venice, 274.
Louis Nipoleon, Prince, elected presi-
dent of the French republic ; his early
political career, 2; oath before the
Assembly, 7 ; speech at Dijon, 8 ;
proclamation on the coup d^Statf 9;
proclamation to the army, 11 ; respon-
sibility for the boulevard massacre,
13; his course ratified by popular
vote, 14; becomes Emperor of the
French, 15; unenviable standing in
Burope ; agitates Eastern Question,
17 ; sends fleet to Constantinople, 32 ;
advocates to England preserving the
integrity of Turkey, 42 ; allied fleets
enter Black Sea at his solicitation,
46 ; letter to the Czar, 46 ; sends ulti-
matum to St. Petersburg, 48 ; appoints
St. Amaud to command in the East,
49; Kinglake's estimate of his influ-
ence on Crimean campaign, 83, 84;
desires peace, 92 ; the peace of Paris,
93; his military prestige in Europe,
94 ; receives Victor Emmanuel, 108 ;
his solicitude for Italy, 108 ; Cavour's
letter to, 109; is approached by Ca-
vour, 113; and Orslni incident, 114, •
115; is appeased by Cavour, 114; a
member of the Carbonari, 115 ; jealous
of Austria, 115; meets Cavour at
Plombi^res, 115 ; threatens Austria at
the Tuileries, 116; half repents his
course, 117; is impelled toward war
by Cavour, 117; his war manifesto,
119; at the zenith of his popularity,
120; joins army at Genoa, 124; his
reception there, 124, 125; visits bat-
tlefield of Montebello, 127 ; his flank
march, 128 ; flghts battle of Magenta,
131-134; his conduct there, 13G; en-
ters Milan, 138 ; his reception there,
139; decides to follow the railway,
141 ; his uneasiness over the course of
the Sardinians, 141 ; advances in line
of battle, 142 ; aroused at Monte-
chiaro by messengers from the front,
146; arrives on battlefleld of Solferi-
no, 146 ; interviews MacM^on, 147 ;
determines to carry Solferino, 148;
enga|^es the Guards, 149 ; occupies
Cavnana, 150 ; solicits England's me-
diation, 152; his overtures rejected
by Palmerston, 152 ; concludes an
armistice, 152 ; his personal interview
with the Kaiser at Yillafranca, 152;
returns to Paris, 153 ; reasons which
induced him to make peace, 153, 154 ;
and deputation from Bologna, 159 ;
his equivocal position regarding Italy
after the war, 160 ; is tricked by Ca-
vour with a pl(§biscite, 162 ; demands
Nice and Savoy of Sardinia, 1G3; se-
cret understanding with Cavour re-
garding the Two Sicilies, 172; first
conferences with Bismarck, 191 ; an-
tagonizes Russia by Polish policy,
197 ; interviews with Bismarck at Bi-
arritz, 215 ; his estimate of Bismarck
and the German crisis, 215, 216; his
ideas on the military status of Europe,
216 ; desires Austria's expulsion from
Italy, 258; comes to an agreement
with Italy • respecting Rome, 258 ;
tries to Induce Austria to cede Vene-
tia to Italy, 259 ; his air castles dissi-
pated by KQniggrStz, 276; confronts
the crisis of his reign, 277 ; rejects ad-
vice for military interference, 278;
adopts an extraordinary substitute,
279; seeks an understanding with
Prussia, 279 ; his first project' refused
at Berlin, 280; his propositions re-
specting Belgium and Luxemburg also
refused, 283 ; secret negotiations wi^h
Holland for purchase of Luxemburg,
284 ; is foiled by Prussia, 285 ; demands
withdrawal of Prussian troops from
Luxemburg, 285; his claim enforced
by a conference of the Powers, 286 ;
summary of his diplomacy in 1866-
67, 286 ; confides to Marshal Niel re-
organization of the army, 286 ; his
waning power, 288; falls under the
influence of the empress, 292 ; dreads
^^
416
INDEX.
war and revolution, 293; fails in ar-
rangiug alliance with Italy and Aus-
tria, 2^ ; proclaims his military pre-
paredness to the Chambers, 294;
agrees to war with Prussia against his
will, 299; and Marshal Leboeuf^s re-
port, 299 ; his illusions dispelled, 301 ;
finds his empire isolated in Europe,
301 ; joins the army at Metz, 302 ;
becomes conscious of his unprepared-
ness for war, 302; hopelessness of
his dilemma, 302 ; at Saarbriick, 303 ;
despondent over battles of Worth
and Forbach, 315 ; seeks new ad-
visers, 315 ; resigns command of the
army to Bazaine, 316 ; interferes with
Bazaine's first plan, 317; visited by
Bazaine at midnight, 321 ; his quar-
ters shelled, 321 ; flies with Piince
Louis to Gravelotte, 322; his fare-
well to Bazaine, 322 ; at Chfilons, 330 ;
harassed by telegrams from Paris,
331 ; urges MacM^ou to retreat, 332 ;
' meets Iki^Mahon at Mouzon, 334 ; en-
ters Sedan on foot, 335 ; at battle of
Sedan, 338 ; orders the white flag dis-
played, 339; his surrender to the
Prussian king, 340; conference with
Bismarck by the roadside, 346 ; inter-
cedes with Moltke, 347 ; conducted
by Bismarck to Bellevue, 348 ; meets
king of Prussia, 348; his adieu to
France, 349 ; his telegram to the em-
press after Worth, 352 ; his telegram
after Sedan, 354; attacked in the
Corps Ldgislatif, 354; overthrow of
his government in Paris, 357.
Louis Philippe of France, overthrow of
his government, 2.
Lucan, Lord, at Balaclava, 72-74.
MacMahon, Marshal, captures the Mala-
koff, 89; corps commander in Italy,
123 ; defeats Austrians near Turbigo,
129 ; wins the battle of Magenta, 134,
135 ; made duke of Magenta, 138 ; en-
ters Milan, 138 ; marches upon Me-
legnano, 138; at battle of Solferino,
145, 150; corps commander in 1870,
307 ; joins his corps on the Sauer, 309 ;
confident of victory, 310 ; at battle of
Worth, 311 ; his desperate and unsuc-
cessful tactics, 312 ; at Chfilons, 329 ;
advocates retreat upon Paris, 330 ; is
induced to march upon Metz, 331 ; his
fatal vacillation, 332 ; demoralization
of his army, 333 ; meets Napoleon at
Mouzon, 334 ; retreats upon Sedan,
335; his position at Sedan, 330; is
wounded, 336 ; and General de Wimpf-
fen, 337.
Magenta, battle of, the French Guard
on the Naviglio Grande, 131 ; anxiety
of the emperor, 132; critical condi-
tion of the Guard, 132; arrival of
Canrobert and Niel, 133; MacMahon
carries Magenta, 135 : death of Espi-
nasse, 135 ; r^sum^ of the battle, 136.
Malmesbury, Lord, " Memoirs of an Ex-
Mhiister,^' 115, 299.
Manteuffel, German general, at Faria
Congress, 93 ; appointed Prussian gov-
ernor of Schleswig, 214 ; marches into
Holstein, 221 ; occupies Hanover, 223 ;
commands army of the Main, 1866,
253; defeats federal troops on the
Tauber, 254 ; bombards Wiirzburg,
marches westward after fall of Metz,
1870, 373; in the north of France,
377 ; marches upon Belf ort, 386.
Manteuffel, Prus^an minister, at Ol-
mutz, 181 ; and Bismarck, 189.
Maupas, M. de, appointed prefect of po>
lice in Paris, 8 ; and cou]^ d^itaiy 10.
Maximilian, Prince, appointed viceroy
of Lombardo-Venetia, 112.
Mazzini, Joseph, founds Toux^ Italy,
100; and Milw revolt, 104; attacks
Charles Albert of Sardinia, 104 ;
schemes for a Neapolitan republic,
171.
Mecklenburg -Schwerin, grand duke of,
in German campaign, 1866, 253, 254 ;
commands forces south of Paris, 374,
376, 377 ; defeats Chanzy at Loigny,
advances upon Orleans, 379; attacks
Chanzy at Josnes, 381 ; compels hia
retreat, 382; witlidraws to Ctiartres,
383 ; advances upon Le Mans, 384.
Melegnano, battle of, 140.
Menschikoff, Prince, sent to Constanti-
nople by Czar, 20; character of hia
mission, 21 ; his rough and threaten-
ing tactics, 21 ; is opposed by Lord
Stratford, 21 ; his ultimatum and de-
parture from Constantinople, 29 ;
commands Russian army in Crimea,
55 ; occupies heights of the Alma, 56 ;
at battle of the Alma, 56, 57 ; criti-
cised by St. Amaud, 67; his rear
guard surprised at Mackenzie's farm,
58 ; his obtuseness, 69 ; slow to believe
allies would invade Crimea, 61 ; or-
ders sinking of ships at Sebastopol,
62 ; withdraws army from Sebastopol,
63 ; returns to Sebastopol, 66 ; in-
duced by Komiloff to reinforce the
garrison, 66 ; disappointed over battle
of Inkermann, 77 ; relieved of com-
mand in Crimea, 82.
Mensdorif, Count, his damaging negoti-
ation with Prussia, 212 ; on adminis-
tration of affairs in Holstein, 218;
protests against Prussian military
movements in Silesia, 219.
Mentani^ battle of, 291.
M^rim^e, Prosper, 70 ; at Biarritz, 216 ;
his opinion of Bismarck, 215.
Mettemich, Prince, Austrian ambassa-
dor at Paris, assists in the escape of
Eugenie, 358.
Mettemich, Prince, Austrian chancellor,
calls Italy a geographical expression,
96; on Cavour, 111.
Metz, siege of, 1870, lethargy of the gar-
rison, 371 ; battle of Noisaeville, 372;
INDEX.
417
capitulation, 372 ; cluurges against Ba-
zaine for his conduct at, 372, 373 ; ca-
pitulation seals fate of campaign, 373 ;
ceded to Glenuany, 400.
Heza, Dauisli general, commands Dan-
ish army in ^ihleswig, 204 ; evacuates
the Daunewerk, 205; removed from
the command, 207.
Modena, grand duchy of, 98; revolu-
tion of 1859, 157 ; offers allegiance to
Victor Emmanuel, 158 ; treaty of Zu-
rich and, 159 ; votes for annexation to
Sardinia, 162.
Moltke, General Von, appointed to re-
orgauize Prussian army, 193 ; at bat-
tle of Koniggxatz, 241 ; at the head of
German armies, 1870, 306 ; perfect
system at his headquarters, 318; his
designs against Metz, 318; his plans
at Gravelotte, 325 ; follows the third
army westward, 328 ; amazed at Mac-
Hahon's tactics, 332 ; moves to check-
mate him, 332 ; joins Bismarck at
Donchery after Sedan, 340; his dis-
cussion with Wimpffen at Donchery,
343-345; meets Napoleon, 347; anx-
ious to reduce Strasburg, 369 ; en-
deavors to prevent formation of new
French armies, 374; defeats French
15th corps near Orleans, 374 ; under-
rates power of republican France,
375 ; calls a halt on the Loire, 383 ;
determines to annihilate Chanzy, 384.
Montebello, battie of, 126, 127.
Momy, M. de, and the coup d^Staij 10.
Motterouge, French general, at battle of
Magenta, 134.
Nachimoff, Russian admiral, in com-
mand at Sinope, 63; at Sebastopol,
63 ; his death, 87.
Napier, Sir Charles, 49.
Napoleon, Prince, in the Crimea, 54;
marries Princess Clotilde of Sardinia,
117 ; corps commander in Italy, 123 ;
at Ch&lons council of war, 330 ; urges
an alliance with Italy, 330 ; leaves for
Florence to arrange alliance, 330.
Napoleon III- See Louis Napoleon.
Nesselrode, Count, Russian chancellor,
19 ; to Baron Brunnow, 19 ; his reply
to Anglo-French ultimatum, 48.
Newcastle, Duke of, 51.
Nicholas I., sends troops into Himgary,
4 ; protector of the Greek Church, 18 ;
enraged at conceflsions to Latin
Church, 19; dissatisfied with repa-
ration made by Turkey, 21 ; deter-
mination to cripple Turkey, 21 ; sends
Menschikoff to Constantinople, 21 ;
is distrusted in England, 23; visits
London in 1844, and interviews minis-
ters regarding Turkey, 23 ; his memo-
randum and its reception by English
government, 24; "sick man" inter-
views with Seymour, 25 ; basis of claim
to protectorate on Turkey, 20; is
misled by Russell's letter, 27 ; orders
troops into Danubian Principalities,
30 ; accepts Vienna note, 31 ; rejects
it in altered form, 31 ; at war with
Turkey, 32 ; determines to act on de-
fensive, 34; summons Paskevich to
command, 36; grief over military mis-
fortune and Austria's ingratitude, 39 ;
his cause hopeless, 41; unjustly cen-
sured for action at Sinope, 45 ; galled
by passage of allied fleets into Black
Sea, 46; recalls legations from Paris
and London, 46 ; replies to Napoleon^s
letter, 47 ; reception of the allied ulti-
matum, 48; his death, 81.
Niel, Frencli general, corps commander
in Italy, 123; at battle of Magenta,
133; his able conduct at Solferino,
147, 148-150 ; appointed to reorganize
the army, 286.
Nightingale, Miss Florence, her hospital
work in the East, 79.
Nigra, Italian ambassador at Paris, as-
sists in the escape of Eugenie, 358.
Nolan, Captain, carries order to light
brigade at Balaclava, 72; his death,
73.
OUivier, M. Emile, bellicose speech in
Corps L^gislatif, 298; besieged by a
mob, 351 ; fall of his ministry, 353.
Olmlitz, Austro-Prussian conference at.
181.
Omar Pasha, siunmons Russians to
evacuate Danubian PrlncipaJities, 32 ;
crosses Danube, 34 ; retires to Shumla,
38 ; fights Russians at Giurgevo, 40.
Orleans, captured by the Germans, 374 ;
evacuated by Germans, 376; three
days' battle before, 380 ; recaptured by
the Germans, 380.
Orsini, Felice, attempts to assassinate
Napoleon, 113.
Palestro, battles of, 128-129.
Palikao, Count de, French minister, in-
terferes with army of Ch&lons, 332;
and General de Wimpffen, 337 ; forms
a ministry, 1870, 353 ; advocates return
of the emperor to Paris, 354; an-
nounces Sedan in the Corps L^gialatif,
354; overtlirow of his government,
357.
Palmerston, Lord, and coup d^itait 17 ;
on French alliance, 42 ; resigns from
cabinet, 45; returns on pledges of
warlike policy, 46 ; forms a ministry,
79 ; hostile to Austria, 152 ; refuses to
mediate in Italian war, 152 ; his war-
like speech on Danish question in
1863, 202 ; looks about for allies to
sustain Denmark, 203.
Papal States, condition in 1850, 97;
Bologna revolts in 1859, 158 ; military
and priestly oppressors abandon
Bologna, 158 ; state of affairs in Rome
during '1859, 158; Bologna asks for
annexation to Sardinia, 159 ; Bologna
receives a Sardinian commissioner,
418
INDEX.
159; correspondence between the
Pope and Victor Emmanuel, 161 ;
Bologna and the Legations annexed to
Sardmia, 163 ; Sardbiian troope enter,
172 ; defeat of Papal troops at Castel-
fidardo, 173; Umbria and the Marches
declare for Victor Emmanuel, 174;
evacuation of Rome by the French,
291 ; battle of Montana, 291 ; Italian
troops enter Rome, 389.
Paris Congress of 1856, the, 93.
Paris, treaty of, 93-96.
Paris, revolutions of 1848 in, 1 ; its char-
acteristics in 1867, 287, 288 ; elections
of 1869. 293; in 1870, 350; false report
of victory in, 360 ; news of Sedan in,
353, 354 ; the bloodless revolution, 365-
358 ; defenses of, 358-C59 ; defenders
of, 360; aspect of, in October, 1870,
965 ; demoralization of army in, 391 ;
the communistic itncaie of Oct. 31,
392 ; battles of Champigny, 394 ; suf-
fering in, 395 ; on Nlew Year's <lay
1871, 396; battle of Buzanval, 397;
the capitulation, 398 ; entry of (Ger-
man troope, 399-400.
Parma, Grand Duchy of, 98 ; revolution
of 1859, 157 ; offers allegiance to Victor
Emmanuel, 158 ; treaty of Zurich and,
159 ; vote for annexation to Sardinia,
162.
Paskevich, Prince, subdues Hungary, 4 ;
his prestige in Poland, 5 ; in command
on the Danube, 36 ; early career, 36 ;
prepares to invade Turkey, 37; is
hopeless of success, 38; wounded at
Silistria, 38.
P^lissier, Marshal, commands French
army in Crimea, 84 ; Kinglake on, 84 ;
captures the Mamelon, ^ ; his impa-
tience, 86 ; assault upon Malakoff re-
pulsed, 86 ; captures the Malakoff, 89 ;
made Due de Malakoff, 89.
Pioard, French general, at battle of Ma-
genta, 132.
Piedmont. See Sardinia.
Pius IX., Pope, forfeits love of subjects,
98; returns to Rome, 98; receives
Count Siccardi, 102 ; protests against
anti-clerical movement in Sardinia,
106; his attitude during the war of
1859, 158 ; and treaty of Zurich, 159 ;
corresponds with Victor Emmanuel,
161, 162 ; excommunicates Victor Em-
manuel and his subjects, 163 ; refuses
to surrender Rome, 389; Bismarck's
comment on, in 1870, 390.
Podol, battle of, 227.
Poland, revolution of 1863, 197.
Prague, treaty of, 269.
Prussia and Eastern question, 22 ; Aus-
trian alliance, 47 ; admitted to Paris
congress on motion of France, 93 ; at-
tempts to terrorize Sardinia, 103 ; insti-
gates Erfurt parliament, 180 ; supports
popular cause in Hesse, 181 ; humili-
ated by Austria at Olmlitz, 181 ; change
of domestic policy under the regency,
183; refuses to support Austria in
Italy, 183; Accession of William I.
to the throne, 184 ; and Bismarck, 192 ;
opening of diplomatic campaign againfet
Austria, 195; supports Russia in Po-
land, 197 ; entices Austria into inde-
pendent action in Denmark, 201 ; Dan-
ish campaign, 1864, 201-210 ; treaty of
Vienna, 210 ; aims at annexation of
Elbe Duchies, 212; Gastein conven-
tion, 214; alUance with Italy, 219;
occupies Holstein, 221 ; defeated in the
Diet, 221; declares war upon Hano-
ver, Hesse-Cassel, and Saxony, 223;
Seven Weeks* war, 223-269 ; treaty of
Prague, 269; influence of war upon,
270, 271 ; and HohenzoUem incident,
295-297; Franco-Prussian war, 301-
398 ; William I. becomes German "Em-
peror.
Quadrilateral, Austrian, in Italy, 98, 104 ;
restored to Austria after war of 1859,
153.
Radetsky, Marshal, subdues revohition
in Italy, 4; his offer to Victor Em-
manuel, 101.
Raglan, Ix>rd, appointed to command
English army in the East, 49 ; his pre-
vious career, 49 ; opposed to Crimean
campaign, 51 ; at battle of the Alma,
57 ; criticised by St. Amaud, 57 ; ad-
vocates an assault upon Sebastopol,
60 ; mortified by false report of fall of
Sebastopol, 70 ; his orders at battle of
Balaclava, 73; his responsibility for
charge of Light Brigade, 74 ; his suc-
cessful attack upon the Quarries, 86 ;
repulsed at the Redan, 86 ; his death,
87.
ReiUe, French general, sent by Napo-
leon to Prussian king at Sedan, 340 ;
after Sedan, 345, 346.
Renault, French general, at battle of
Champigny, 394 ; his death, 395.
Roon, General von, appointed to reor-
ganize Prussian army, 193.
Russell, Odo, at Versailles, 390.
Russell, Lord John, accuses France of
disturbing the peace in the East, 17 ;
his damaging note on Eastern Ques-
tion, 27 ; and Denmark, 202.
Russia, tranquil in 1848 and causes there-
for, 5, 6 ; condition on accession of
Alexander 11. , 92 ; losses in Crimean
war, 94 ; treaty of Paris, 93, 94 ; Po-
lish revolution of 1863, 197 ; refuses to
support Denmark against Prussia,
202 ; regards Austria's defeat in 1866
with satisfaction, 270 ; holds Austria
inactive in 1870, 300, 301 ; abrogates
Black Sea clause in Riris treaty, 388 ;
and London conference, 389 ; Bis-
marck's comment on, 391.
Russian people, the, their tranquillity in
1848, 5, 6 ; their religious and super-
stitious character, 18 ; desire to pos-
INDEX.
419
fleas Constantinople, 22 ; take pride in
their defense of SebaStopol, (>7.
8aint Cloud, burning of the chfiteau,
1870, 364.
Sanfedisti, society of, its character and
aims, 99, 100.
Sardinia, potation in Ital^ in 1850, 5;
enters i^f^lo-French alliance, 82, 106 ;
in Paris Congress, 93; losses in Cri-
mean war, 94 ; only real gainer by the
war, 95; war of 1848 with Austria,
100; accession of Victor Emmanuel,
101 ; abolition of ecclesiastical priv-
ileges in, 102; influence of French
coup d''Stai in, 103 ; foreign policy un-
der D' Azeglio, 103 ; domestic policy
of Cavour, 105; aud France, 108;
opening of Parhament, 1859, 116 ; the
Idng's speech, 116 ; treaty of alliance
with France, 117 ; diplomatic contest
with Austria, 118; rejects Austrian
ultimatum, 118 ; enthusiasm for the
war, 119; battles of Palestro, 128;
battle of Solferino, 145-151 ; cession
of Lombardy to, 153-159 ; annexation
of Central Italy, 162; first Italian
parliament in Turin, 1(30 ; cedes Nice
and Savoy to France, 163 ; annexation
of the Two Sicilies, 174; annexation
of the Marches and Umbria, 174.
Saxony, invaded by Prussian troops,
223 ; Seven Weeks' war, 226-248 ; con-
ditions of the peace with. Prussia, 271;
joins North German confederation,271.
Scarlett, Enghsh general, his charge at
Balaclava, 72.
Schleswig-Hol»tein question, sketch of,
previous to 1863, 198 ; state of, in 1863,
199; and Oastein convention, 214;
finally settled, 221.
Schwarzenberg, prince, Austrian chan-
cellor, 180 ; determines to abase Prus-
sia, 181 ; espouses Hassenpflug's cause
in Hesse, 180; humiliates Prussia at
Olmi'itz, 181.
ScQtt, Sir Walter, " St. Cloud," 367.
Sebastopol, desire in England and France
to reduce, 53 ; description of, 59-61 ;
allied fieet appears, 62; sinking of
ships to close the harbor, 62 ; fortifi-
cations as plannad by Todleben, 65;
abandoned by Menschikoff 's army, 66 ;
allied bombardment of October 17,
and its failure, 66, 67 ; council of war,
87 ; condition of, in July, 1855 ; the
final sortie, 88 ; loss of tlie Mala^ofF,
89 ; evacuation and burning of tlie
city, 90, 91 ; destruction of forts and
docks by allies, 91 ; 'restored to Rus-
sia, 94.
Secret societies in Italy, 99.
Sedan, battle of, 336-340.
Seven Weeks' war, advance of Prussians
into Bohemia, 226 ; combats at Liebe-
nau and Podol, 227 ; capture of Miin-
chengr'at*; by the Prussians, 228 ; bat-
tle of Gitschin, 229; Prussian victo-
ries at Nachod and Skalitz, 230, 231 ;
Prussian defeat at Trauteuau, 232;
battle of Soor, 233 ; restoration of
communications between the Prussian
armies, 233 ; character of the Austrian
position on the Bistritz, 234-236;
night march of the first Prussian
army upon the Bistritz, 239 ; battle of
KoniggrStz, 239-246 ; immediate re-
sults of the battle, 246; advance of
the Prussians upon Vienna, 247 ; bat-
tle of Blumenau, 248 ; the campaign
in the west, 249; battle of Langen-
salza, 250 ; capitiilation of the Hano-
verian army, 250 ; Prussian advance
upon Frankfort, 251 ; battle of Kissin-
gen, 252 ; Prussian entry into Frank-
fort, 253 ; figliting on the Tauber, 264 ;
retreat of the federal army upon
Wurzburg, 254 ; the armistice, 255.
Seymour, Sir G. Hamilton, his *'sick
man " interviews with Czar Nicholas,
25.
Siccardi, Count, Sardinian envoy to
Rome, 102 ; introduces bill abolishing
ecclesiastical privileges, 102.
" Sick Man," the, mterviews, 25, 95.
Silistria, siege of, 38, 39.
Sinope, battle of, regarded as a masaap
ere ui England, 44, 45.
So'imonoff, Russian general, killed at
Inkermann, 76.
Solferino, battle of, repulse of the Sar-
dinians, 146 ; arrival of Napoleon on
the field, 147 ; heavy fighting at Sol-
ferino and on the French right, 147 ;
Solferino abandoned by the Austrians,
149 ; Wimpffen fails to f etrieve the
day, 150; general advance of the
French, 150 ; firmness of Gtoneral Ben^
edek, 151.
Soor, battle of, 233.
Soult, Marshal, his remark on the Brit-
ish infantry, 77.
Spain, revolt of 1868, 290 ; tender of the
crown to prince Leopold of Hohenzol-
lem, 295.
Stadion, Austrian general, conducts
reconnaissance against Voghera, 126 ;
defeated by Forey at Montebello,
126, 127.
St. Amaud, Marshal, appointed minister
of war, 8; appointed to command
French array in East, 49 ; at battle of
the Alma, 57 ; criticism on Raglan and
Menschikoff, 57 ; his death, 59.
States of the Church. See Papal States.
Steinmetz, German general, at battle of
Nachod, 230; defeats Austrians at
Skalitz, 231 ; commands first German
army, 1870, 306 ; threatens Metz from
tlie east, 318 ; figlits battle of Bomy,
320 ; at battle of Gravelotte, 325, 326
Strasbnrg, siege of, character of garrison
in 1870, 369 ; its defense by General
Uhrich, 3(59, 370; suffers terribly
from German artillery, 370 ; capitur
lates, 371 ; ceded to Germany, 400.
420
INDEX.
Stratford, Lord, English ambMsador, at
Goiibtaiitinople, ^ ; aetUes dispute
over Huly Places, 20 ; opposes Men-
schikoif *8 demana for a jprotectorate,
28 ; advises Turkic ministry, 28 ;
writes to Menschikoff, 28; privately
assures the Sultan of support of Eng-
lish fleet, 30; counsels Sultan to re-
fuse Vienna note, 31.
Szabo, Austrian general, 128.
Tchemaya, battle of the, 88 ; birthday of
kingdom of Italy, 95 ; effect of news
in Sardhiia, 108.
Thiers, M., intercedes with England in
behaJf of France, 361 ; interviews with
Bismarck, 390; appointed president
by the new assembly, 398 ; arranges
preliminaries of peace at Yersailles,
399 ; Bismarck's comment on, 399.
Tlionuus, French general, in Paris, 391 ;
denounces National Guard, 395.
" Times," The London, advocates reduc-
tion of Sebastopol, 54 ; publishes false
statement of fall of Sebastopol, G9.
Todleben, Lieutenant-Colonel, comments
on battle of the A.lma, 57 ; arrives at
Sebastopol, G2 ; his reception by Men-
schikoff, G2, ; hopeless of defending
£iebastopol, G3 ; proceeds to fortify
Sebastopol, G4 ; relieved by arrival of
reinforcements, G6; criticises Gort-
schakoff for inaction at Inkermann,
76 ; is wounded, 87.
Trautenau, battle of, 232.
Trochu, French general, at Chfilons,
330 ; appointed military governor of
Paris, 330 •; confirmed as militarv gov-
ernor by Corps L^gislatif, 354; his
unenviable position on the fall of the
empire, 358 ; character of his troops,
359 ; on the marines, 3G0 ; his messages
to Ganibetta announcing great sortie,
378 ; reorganizes army in Paris, 391 ;
insulted by communistic mob, 392;
feels compelled to sortie, 393 ; plans
the battle of Champi^y, 393; de-
feated at Le Bourget, ^3 ; failure of
his great sortie from Mont Valiirien,
397 ; is superseded by Vinoy, 397.
Turkey, importuned by France and
Russia resi)ecting rights of rival
churches in Jerusalem, 18; yields to
France, 19; is threatened by Russia,
20 ; yields to Menschikoff's demands,
21 ; is supported by Stratford against
Menschikoff, 21 ; gains pledge of naval
support from Stratford, 29: rejects
Vienna note, 31 ; growth of war feel-
ing, 31 ; is placed in a state of war
with Russia, 32 ; character of sol-
diers, 34; accepts Austrian aid, 39;
and treaty of Paris, 94; losses in
Crimean war, 94.
Tuscany, Grand Duchy of, 98 ; declares
for annexation to Sardinia, 1G2.
Two Sicilies, Kin^^dom of, condition of,
in 1850, 96; Francis II. continues
misrule in, 157 ; revolution in, 164 ;
royal troops defeated at Palermo, 165 ;
again defeated at Milazzo, 165 ; sur-
render of Messina, 165 ; wretched
character of royal army, 166 ; rioting
at Naples, 169 ; hopeless position of
Francis II., 170; he sails from Naples,
170; Victor Emmanuel in Naples,
174 ; votes for annexation to Italy,
174; deplorable condition of, 175;
Cavour on the Neapolitans, 175.
Uhrich, French general, in command at
Strasburg, 369, 370.
Victor Emmanuel, king of Sardinia, his
oath at Novara, 5 ; refuses Radetsky*B
offer of support, 101 ; dissolves the
chambers, 101 ; concludes peace with
Austria, 101 ; his first estimate of
Cavour, 103 ; known as II R6 Galan-
tuomo, 103 ; in favor of joining Anglo-
French alliaiice, 106 ; domestic afflic-
tions and political trials, 107 ; reviews
troops destined for Crimea, 107 ; vidta
Paris and London, 108 ; and Napoleon^a
question, 108 ; wins confidence of
Italian patriots. 111 ; his warlike dec-
laration at Turin, 116 ; his war proc-
lamation to Italians, 1859, 119; at
battle of Palestro, 128 ; enters Milan
with Napoleon, 138 ; his reception
there, 139; his rapid advance from
Milan, 142; signs the preliminaries
of peace, 153; disgusted with peace,
indignant with Cavour, 153 ; receives
deputations offering alliance of Cen-
tral Italy, 158 ; warned by the Pope,
159 ; reconciled to Cavour, 161 ; cor-
respondence with the Pope, 161, 162 ;
excommunicated by the Pope, 163;
opens first Italian parliament, 163;
announces cession of Nice and Savoy,
163 ; urges Garibaldi to desist from
military operations, 168; regards his
reply witli uneasiness, 168 ; orders his
army over the paptd frontier, 172;
meets Garibaldi at Teano, 173 ; enters
NaplcF, 174 ; proclaimed king of Italy
at Turhi, 175; visits Cavour on his
deatlt-bed, 176 ; takes command of the
army against Austria, 259; enters
Venice, 275; protests against return
of French troops to Rome, 291 ; per-
sonnl regard for Ns^soleon III., 292.
Vienna note, the, 31.
Vinoy, French general, at battle of
Magenta, 133 ; arrives at M^izeres,
336 ; retreats upon Paris, 349 ; arrives
at Paris, 361 ; is defeated at L'Hay,
363 ; is defeated at B^neux, 364 ; at-
tacks L'Hay and Chevilly, 393; ap-
pointed to command Paris army, 397.
Vionville, battle of, 323.
Von der Tann, Bavarian general, on the
Meuse, 335; at Sedan, 338; at Or-
leans, 374; evacuates Orleans, 376;
foils the French at Coulmiers, 376 ; at
INDEX.
421
battle of JoEtnes, 382; Burprised by
Ghanzy, 382 ; withdraws to Orleans,
383.
Yrevski, Russiaa general, arrives at
Sebastopol, 88 ; his death, 88.
Weissenburg, battle of, 308.
Werder, German general, at battle of
Gitschin, 229; commands Germans
before Strasburg, 369-71 ; deceives
Bourbaki before Belf ort, 386 ; defeats
Bourbaki on the Lisaine, 386.
William I. of Prussia, as regent 183;
succeeds to the Prussian throne, 184 ;
his earl^ career, 184 ; insists on reor-
ganization of the army, 184 ; his strug-
gle with the Diet, 184 ; summons Bis-
marck to the head of the ministry,
185; venerates House of Hapsburg,
213 ; meets Austrian emperor at Gas-
tein, 214 ; leaves Berlin for the army,
229; arrives on the Bistritz, 239; at
battle of Kdniggratz, 241 ; refuses
to comply with Benedetti's demands
in 1870, 296 ; his reply to Benedetti at
Ems, 297 ; addresses North German
Reichstag, 304 ; commands German
armies against France, 306 ; at battle
of Gravelotte, 327 ; at Sedan, 340 ; re-
ceives the surrender of Najwleon, 340 ;
meets Napoleon at Belle vue, 348 ; es-
tablishes headquarters at Versailles,
363 ; occupies the palace, 367 ; hailed
German emperor at Versailles, 397.
Wimpffen, French general, his d^but at
Sedan, 337; assumes supreme com-
mand, 337 ; meets Bismarck and
Moltke at Donchery, 343 ; pleads for
honorable terms for his army, 343;
his discuE&ion with Bismarck and
Mol^ike, 344, 345 ; visits the emperor,
345 ; signs the capitulation of Sedan,
348.
Wimpffen, AuEtrian genera], at Solferi-
no, 147 ; Ih'r futile effort to restore
the battle, 150.
W6rth, battle of, 311, 312.
Wrangel, Marshal, commands Prussian
army in Denmark, 203.
Young Italy, Society of, its character
and aims, 100; and Milan revolt, 104;
handicaps Cavour, 111.
Zobel, Aurtrian general, at battle of Pa-
lestro, 128.
Zurich, treaty of, 159; disregarded in
Italy, 160.
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