the suburbs of Prentzlow, already encumbered with infantry and artillery. To complete their misfortunes, Marshal Lannes appeared at this critical moment on their right flank, having, with indefatigable perseverance, marched all night from Templin on the direct road. Murat now summoned Hohenlohe to surrender, which the latter refused, and brought up a powerful battery of cannon to answer the fire of the French artillery, which was severely galling his troops as they attempted to debouch from the town. This battery was immediately attacked and carried, and a regiment of infantry and cavalry which advanced to support it broken and made prisoners. Prince Augustus of Prussia, at the head of his regiment, which was still two leagues in the rear of Prentzlow, was surrounded, and after heroically resisting the repeated charges of the French cuirassiers, during a march in hollow square of four miles, was at length made prisoner, with almost all his men, while bravely resisting to the last. 69. Overwhelmed by such a multitude of calamities, and seeing no chance of escape, while every hour increased the forces against him by permitting the formidable battalions of Lannes to arrive on his rear and flank, Prince Hohenlohe, after several unsuccessful attempts to obtain a capitulation, was obliged to lay down his arms, on condition that the officers should be dismissed on their parole. With him were taken fourteen thousand men, including the flower of the Prussian army; the Guards, six chosen regiments of cavalry, forty standards, and fifty pieces of field-artillery. Notwithstanding the many defeats and disastrous circumstances which had occurred, this grievous surrender did not take place without the most profound grief on the part of the Prussian troops. The officers retired from the circle where it had been agreed to in stern silence, or shedding tears; many of them fiercely and indignantly accused their commanders of treachery, and invited their comrades to cut their way through the enemy, sword in hand. The private soldiers, by loud sobs and lamentations, gave vent to their grief, and, flinging their muskets on the ground, slowly and mournfully pursued their way into the town; while a loud flourish of trumpets, the quick rattle of drums, and the triumphant shouts of the soldiers, announced the successive arrival of the French regiments at the scene of their triumph. 70. Meanwhile another Prussian column-consisting of six regiments of cavalry, four of infantry, and eight pieces of artillery, which, avoiding Prentzlow, was moving upon Passewalck- -was overtaken by Milhaud's light cavalry, and surrendered. Of the army, lately so splendid and numerous, there remained only in the field the corps of the Duke of Weimar and General Blucher. The former of these, which formed the advanced guard of the host that advanced to the Saale, and had been pushed on through the Thuringian Forest to Verra, with the view of threatening the rear of the French army, had become entirely detached by subsequent events from the principal body, and thus escaped the catastrophes of both defeats. Almost forgotten in the rapid succession of succeeding triumphs, the duke was left to his own discretion; and he no sooner received accounts of the ruin of the main army, than he took steps for making the best of his way back to the Elbe. He had much difficulty in steering his course through the numerous corps of enemies which traversed the intervening country in every direction; but by great exertions he contrived to escape, and, rallying to his standard a considerable detachment of Ruchel's corps, which had been separated from the remainder, reached the Elbe in safety at Stendal, by Seesen, Lutter, and Schladen, with fourteen thousand men. He was there superseded in the command by the King of Prussia, and his corps passed into the hands of General Winning, who gave it a day's rest at Kyritz. As the approach of the French corps rendered those quarters dangerous, he broke up and retired towards the Oder, and by good fortune, and no small share of skill, he succeeded in reaching Kratzemberg, near the lake of Muritz, in the first week of October, | The besiegers could not approach it to where he joined Blucher with the ca- take possession till the garrison furvalry which had escaped from Auer- nished them with boats. stadt. Their united forces now amounted to twenty-four thousand men. 71. Meanwhile the fortresses on the Oder fell in the most disgraceful manner. The day after the capitulation of Hohenlohe, a brigade which had escaped from the wreck of his corps, presented itself at the gates of Stettin; the governor sternly refused them admittance upon the pretence that his provisions were only adequate to the support of his own garrison. Next day, however, he capitulated, on the first summons, to the advanced guard of Marshal Lannes; and the French, without firing a shot, became masters of a fortress of the first order, armed with a hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, and garrisoned by six thousand men. The brigade of Prussians, shut out from its walls, was soon after surrounded at Anclam and made prisoners. Encouraged by these repeated successes, the French soldiers deemed nothing beyond the reach of their arms; and the advanced guard of Davoust's corps, which had traversed the district between the Elbe and the Oder without meeting with any enemies, presented itself before Cüstrin, and threatened the garrison with a severe bombardment if they did not instantly capitulate. This menacing outpost consisted merely of a regiment of foot, and had only two pieces of artillery at its command. On the other hand, the governor of the town had ninety pieces of cannon mounted on the ramparts, and four hundred in the arsenal; four thousand brave men for a garrison, and every requisite for a prolonged defence. Nevertheless, such was the terror produced by Napoleon's arms, and such the skill with which the French officer, General Gauthier, concealed the real amount and description of his force, that the Prussians capitulated almost on the first summons; and one of the strongest places in the kingdom, amply garrisoned, situated in an island of the Oder, and invested only on one side, had the disgrace of surrendering to a regiment of foot with only two pieces of cannon. 72. These disgraceful capitulations, at which the brave troops involved in them were so much exasperated that it was with difficulty they could be induced to yield obedience to their officers in carrying them into execution, demonstrated that the Prussian generals were so overwhelmed by the magnitude of their misfortunes, that they deemed the monarchy irrevocably ruined, and that sauce qui peut had become the only remaining principle of their conduct. Astonished at his good fortune in effecting the reduction of such a fortress without firing a shot, Marshal Davoust inspected the fortifications on the day following, which he found in the best condition; and, deeming his base on the Oder now sufficiently secured, pushed on his light troops to Posen, in Prussian Poland; while six thousand Bavarians formed the investment of Glogau, the only remaining stronghold on its banks which was still in the hands of the enemy; and Augereau established himself at Frankfort. Meanwhile Napoleon, after resting a day at Wittenberg, which he ordered to be put in a respectable posture of defence, in order to give him the command of the bridge over the Elbe, and where he established one of his chief depots, was busied with preparations for securing his rear during the perilous advance, so far from the base of the operations, in which he was about to engage. The grand park of artillery was established at Wittenberg, where immense depots of ammunition and provisions were ordered to be formed; while, at Erfurth, a grand depot was by his provident care formed for the collecting of horses from all parts of Germany. All the cavalry regiments were directed through that town, while those on foot were mounted, and those indifferently provided with horses soon found themselves in possession of hardy and powerful steeds. 73. The only corps of the Prussian army which had hitherto escaped destruction was that formed by the union of Blucher's cavalry with the Duke | more honourable, its ultimate fate of Saxe-Weimar's infantry, and com- was not less calamitous. No sooner manded by the former of these gene- was Napoleon informed of the junction rals. Before this junction was effected, of these two corps in the north of PrusBlucher's cavalry had been hard press-sia, than he ordered their pursuit by ed by a brigade of horse under the French general, Klein, and escaped in consequence of his affirming that an armistice had been concluded on the propositions for an accommodation sent to Napoleon after the battle by the King of Prussia. Whether the Prussian general really believed the report to that effect, which unquestionably prevailed through the whole army at that time, or whether he made use of this very questionable military stratagem as a device to extricate his troops from present danger, does not appear; and therefore neither praise nor blame can in this uncertainty be awarded on the subject. But this much is clear, that if he knowingly affirmed a falsehood, as the French assert, no necessity, how pressing soever, no advantage, how great soever, can suffice as any apology.* Though the resistance of this corps, however, was they forget or wilfully conceal immediately preceding events, on which they bestow no sort of censure. What is to be said to General Lecourbe, who, in November 1799, escapgeneral Starray, solely by falsely affirming that a negotiation for peace was commenced? to Lannes and Murat, in the campaign of Austerlitz, who won the bridge of Vienna by ed destruction at the hands of the Austrian the fallacious declaration that an armistice had been concluded, which they well knew was not the case? or to the latter of these marshals, who a few days afterwards tried a similar piece of deceit with Kutusoff, and was only foiled by the superior finesse of that astute commander? All the French historians, Bignon, Norvins, and Thiers, mention these unworthy stratagems not only without censure, but with the highest admiration. It would be well, if, in making such random assertions, they would calculate less confidently on the want of information or recollection in their readers; and if, in the survey of the conduct of their own officers, they would display a little of that warm anxiety for the great principles of public morality, to which they so loudly appeal when any violation of it occurs to their disadvantage on the part of their enemies, forces so considerable, that escape became impossible. Bernadotte was instructed to follow closely on their footsteps; while Murat was despatched by a circuit to cut them off, on the right, from Stralsund and Rostock, under the cannon of which they might have found shelter; and Soult threw himself on the left, to bar the communication with the lower Elbe. Blucher arrived at Boitzenburg the day after the ill-fated Hohenlohe had left that town; and having there learned the catastrophe which had befallen that brilliant portion of the army, he renounced all hope of retiring before the enemy, and retraced his steps in order to unite with General Winning and the Duke of Saxe-Weimar's corps, which he effected at Kratzemberg on the day following. Finding himself now at the head of eighteen thousand infantry, six thousand cavalry, and sixty pieces of cannon, he resolved to move to the right, recross the Elbe, raise the siege of Magdeburg, and supported by that fortress and Hameln, maintain himself as long as possible in the rear of the Emperor's army. 74. The project was boldly conceiv ed and intrepidly followed out; but the three corps now directed against him, numbering nearly sixty thousand combatants, rendered its execution impossible. A sharp conflict took place with his rear-guard at Nossentin, in which five hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the French; and the next day the junction of Bernadotte with Soult rendered it necessary for the gallant Prussian to be more circumspect. An opportunity, however, soon occurred of taking his revenge. Next day the French hussars were charged and put to the rout by the Prussian light dragoons, at the entrance of a defile. Colonel Gerard and three hundred horsemen were made prisoners: but the cavalry having fallen back on the support of their infantry, headed by Bernadotte in person, the Prussians were in their turn repulsed with severe loss. Find- | north; that of Soult approached the ing the enemy's forces so considerable, Huxtor-Thor and Muhlen-Thor, the that all chance of making good his gates of Hanover. After sustaining a way to the lower Elbe was out of the terrible discharge from the bastions, question, Blucher resolved to fall back which were armed with the Prussian by Gadebusch on Lübeck, where he field-pieces, the French advanced guard, hoped to find resources to recruit his under Generals Merle and Frère, sucwearied troops, and the decayed bas- ceeded in breaking through with their tions of which he flattered himself he hatchets the exterior pallisades of the would soon be able to put in a respect- Burg-Thor, and, rapidly following the able state of defence. Before arriving Prussian regiments which held that outat that city, he was summoned by Ber- work, entered the gate pell-mell with nadotte to surrender, and informed the fugitives, and made themselves that he was beset by forces triple his masters of the adjoining bastions. At own. "I will never capitulate," was the same moment Soult's divisions the brief and characteristic reply of threatened the gates opposed to their the Prussian general: and, continu- attack; but so murderous was the fire ing his march, he entered Lübeck which the Prussians kept up from the on the evening of the 5th, closely walls flanking their approaches, that followed by his indefatigable pursu- the assailants were unable to make any ers. In the course of the pursuit, a progress, till Bernadotte's divisions, havdetachment of twelve hundred Swedes ing penetrated into the town, threatfell into the hands of Bernadotte, who ened to take the defenders in rear. treated them with unusual courtesy and kindness. From the gratitude of the Swedes for this treatment, arose the interchange of good deeds which terminated in his elevation to the throne of Gustavus Adolphus. At that period, events, in appearance the most trivial, were big with the fate of nations. 76. Even then, nevertheless, the brave Prussians at this gate, to the number of two thousand, faced both ways, and, besieged in their turn, sustained the double attack from within and without. Posted on the roofs of houses, and on the summits of the ramparts, they kept up an incessant 75. Unfortunately for Lübeck, it fire till their cartridges were exhausted, was still surrounded by a ruined wall when they were all either killed or and deep ditches filled with water; and made prisoners. So rapid, however, this gave Blucher an excuse for repre- was the advance of the French through senting it as a military post, and dis- the Burg-Thor, that Blucher, who had regarding all the remonstrances of retired to his lodgings, after having the magistrates, who loudly protested made his dispositions, to dictate orders, against this violation of their neutrality. had barely time to mount his horse Hastily planting the few heavy cannon with his son and a single aide-de-camp, which he still retained to defend the and ride off: all the rest of his staff principal gates, Blucher caused the were made prisoners. Having joined greater part of his forces to defile the remaining troops in the town, that through the town, and take post on brave general, with his gallant followers, the low marshy ground on the opposite prolonged the defence. He himself reside, on the confines of the Danish peatedly charged along the Konigterritory. At daybreak on the follow- Strasse at the head of a body of caing morning the French columns were valry, but was unable to clear it of the at the gates, and every preparation was French soldiers, who had now broken made for an instant assault. In spite into the houses near the gate, and from of a heavy fire of grape and musketry thence kept up a fire of such severity from the old walls, the French ap- upon the street as rendered it imposproached with their accustomed gal-sible for the dragoons to advance to its lantry to the assault. The corps of Bernadotte advanced against the BurgThor, the gate which looked to the further extremity. Presently the besiegers brought up their field-pieces, the guns on the ramparts were turned upon the town, and repeated discharges | powerful body of troops was collected of grape from both sides swept the to prevent his entrance. In the night pavement, and occasioned a terrific he received intelligence that Traveslaughter. With invincible resolution, munde, a fortified town on the sea-coast, however, the Prussians maintained the to which he proposed to have retired, combat. From street to street, from had been taken by Murat, along with a church to church, from house to house, battalion which he had sent forward to the conflict continued. Blood flowed garrison that important post, where he on all sides. The incessant rattle of the hoped to have embarked; and to commusketry was almost drowned in some plete his misfortunes, information arquarters by the cries of the wounded rived in the morning that the saltand the shrieks of the inhabitants, who marshes between Schwertau and that in that day of woe underwent all the town were not passable by the army. horrors consequent on a town being At the same time a flag of truce arcarried by assault. By degrees, how-rived from Murat, while his numerous ever, the superior numbers of the French, who were soon reinforced by part of Murat's corps, prevailed over the heroic resolution of the Prussians. With difficulty Blucher succeeded, towards evening, in collecting five thousand men, with whom he forced his way through by the gate of Holstein, and rejoined his cavalry, which lay at Schwertau on the opposite side of the town, near the Danish frontier; while the remainder of his corps in the town, consisting of eight thousand men, were slain before nightfall in that fearful fight, or fell into the hands of the enemy. * 77. The situation of Blucher, with his cavalry and this slender body of infantry, was now altogether desperate. He was driven up to Ratkau, in the extremity of Germany, on the very edge of the Danish territory, where a The French writers made it a just reproach to the English army that its soldiers committed such disgraceful excesses at San Sebastian, Ciudad Rodrigo, and Badajos, when these fortresses fell by assault. It is the duty of the historian to condemn equally such outrages, by whomsoever committed; and certainly in this work no veil shall be thrown over those atrocities when they come to be recounted. But it would be well if they would reserve a little of their humane indignation for the sufferers under their own soldiery on similar catastrophes. On this occasion, though they pass it lightly over, the cruelties and devastation committed by Bernadotte's and Soult's corps for two days after the town was taken, notwithstanding all the efforts of these marshals, were equal to the very worst deeds that ever stained the British arms. See the frightful details, drawn with a graphic hand, in Lettre de Villers à la Comtesse Fanny Beau harnais, Amst. 1808. squadrons had already driven the Prussian infantry out of Schwertau, and were closing in, in all directions, on his last position. Overcome by stern necessity, the hardy veteran, with tears in his eyes, agreed to a capitulation, in virtue of which all his troops laid down their arms. On this occasion were taken ten battalions and fifty-three squadrons, amounting to four thousand foot-soldiers, and three thousand seven hundred cavalry, with forty pieces of cannon, the remainder of his fine train of artillery having been left on the ramparts of Lübeck. 78. To complete the disasters of the Prussian monarchy, nothing was wanting but the surrender of Magdeburg; and that important bulwark was not long of falling into the hands of Marshal Ney. Although its garrison was in great part composed of fugitives of all regiments, who had made their escape into that asylum from the disastrous fields of Jena and Auerstadt, yet such was the strength of its works, and the ample store of provisions and magazines of all sorts which existed within its walls, that a prolonged defence might confidently have been anticipated. Nevertheless, if its fall was not quite so disgraceful as that of Stettin and Cüstrin, it was such as to affix a lasting stigma on the Prussian arms. After fifteen days of a blockade, Marshal Ney commenced operations in form; but before having recourse to the tedious method of regular approaches, he resolved to try the effect of a bombardment. Furnaces for this purpose were heated, and arrangements |