Cervoni invited him to enter a café; Bonaparte accepted, and the two men had a chat over a bowl of punch. The young captain doffed his hat, so that his features were lighted up by the blue flame of the liquor; his complexion was sallow and his head large, measuring as it did twenty-three inches round. If the size of his skull was large, the space between the two cheek-bones was enormous. The hair grew low on his forehead; the well-arched brows disclosed large eyes, sharp as steel, cold, clear and piercing; the aquiline nose was of the most delicate shape, the lower lip strong and receding, while the chin and the jaws were as well developed as the skull.
After a conference Napoleon departed for Toulon where he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General of Artillery, with the command of the artillery during the siege. The arsenal was filled with military stores, and twenty-five English and Spanish battleships were then riding in the harbor to protect it. Three months had passed, during which time no apparent progress had been made towards the recapture of the town, and when Napoleon arrived he was invested with the command of the artillery train.
A strong fort commanded the harbor, and after a careful examination Napoleon said the only way to retake Toulon was to neglect the body of the town, carry "Little Gibraltar," and the city would surrender in two days. Napoleon's brother Lucien visited him about this time. They went together one morning to a place where a fruitless assault had been made, and two hundred Frenchmen were dead upon the ground. On beholding them Napoleon exclaimed: "If I had commanded here all these brave men would still be alive!" A moment later he added: "Learn from this example, young man, how indispensable and imperatively necessary it is for those to possess knowledge who aspire to the command of others."
Napoleon's own account of his experiences here is extremely interesting, and was thus related by him during his exile at St. Helena:
"I reported, as I had been ordered to do," he said, "to General Cartaux, (a portrait painter of Paris) who was in charge of the revolutionary forces. He was a tall man, all covered with gilt decorations, and a type of the militia officer. I saw at once that he was utterly incompetent to the task that had been laid out for him. I said: 'I have been directed to assist, under your order, in the taking of Toulon.' He replied: 'We need no assistance in taking Toulon; but since they have sent you here you may enjoy yourself as best you can and see the siege.' Then he gave orders to have me treated with courtesy.
"Well, the next morning I went out with the general to look at the preparations for bombarding the stronghold. He called an aid-de-camp and asked in a business-like manner: 'Are the red-hot shot ready?' I was surprised, but said nothing. The subordinate replied: 'Oh, yes, the men have been busy all night heating them.' I was now more surprised than ever, but still kept silent. What followed would have made me believe they were trying to guy me if their manner had not been so serious. General Cartaux asked how they were going to get the red-hot shot over to the guns. That seemed to puzzle the aid-de-camp. The General himself didn't know what to do. After a great deal of speculation, and some swearing, he asked me what I would do under the circumstances. I said:
"'You will find it an excellent idea to try the range of your guns with cold shot first. If the range isn't right the hot-shot will be of no service.'
"He laughed merrily and agreed with me. The order was given to try the range. The result was that the cold shot didn't carry more than a third of the distance. The bombarding of the fort was put off another day.
"Luckily Gasparin, the direct representative of the people with plenary powers, came riding up that night, and I told him what I had seen and heard. He agreed that the man in command was incompetent, and put me in charge. You all know the rest. I began the attack on the outlet of Toulon and was successful. Gasparin consoled Cartaux by telling him that I was only a subordinate, and that all the glory would go to him anyhow."
During this siege of the "Little Gibraltar Castle" Bonaparte showed his extensive knowledge of mankind, and which enabled him to discover and attach to him those men whose talents were most distinguished, and most capable of rendering him service. Several who afterwards became marshals and generals under the Empire, first made Napoleon's acquaintance at Toulon. Among these were Duroc and Junot. During one of the days of this long siege Napoleon, in passing one of the trenches, called for some one to write an order from his dictation, and in obedience to this request a young and handsome soldier stepped out of the ranks, and resting his paper on the breastwork, began to write as directed. Scarcely had he done so when a cannon ball fell at his feet and covered both commander and private with dirt. The soldier laughingly held up his paper and said: "Thank you, now I shall need no sand."
Napoleon was so pleased with his bravery, and ready wit, that he immediately promoted him. The name of this fortunate man was General Junot; he subsequently became Duke of Abrantes and was one of the most distinguished generals of the Empire under Napoleon. An apparent total insensibility to fatigue was observed in the young Corsican officer at this time. He worked through daylight, and slept nights wrapped in a blanket under his guns till his batteries were ready to begin operations.
During the siege Paris was very restless, and after a few weeks had passed it became almost the sole topic of conversation at the capital; the newspapers contained innumerable suggestions for the ending of the siege, and hundreds of letters were addressed to the officers at Toulon, telling them how to drive the English from the shores of France. One day fifteen carriages arrived at Toulon containing sixty young men who had journeyed thither from the capital; they were gorgeously arrayed and asked to be presented to the commander-in-chief.
Bonaparte received the party courteously and asked what he could do for them. "Citizen Bonaparte," said the spokesman, "we come from Paris. The patriots there are indignant at your indecision and delay. The soil of the Republic has been violated. She trembles to think that the insult still remains unavenged. She asks, 'Why is Toulon not yet taken? Why is the English fleet not yet destroyed?' In her indignation she has appealed to her brave sons. We have obeyed her summons and burn with impatience to fulfill her expectations. We are volunteer gunners from Paris. Furnish us with arms. To-morrow we will march against the enemy!"
Early on the following day Napoleon conducted the "volunteers" to the seashore. During the night he had ordered a number of cannon placed in position and as he pointed to the black hull out at sea he said: "Sink that ship!"
At some distance from the shore lay an English frigate, upon whose deck were to be seen a formidable array of cannon, all pointed shorewards.
"But there is no shelter here!" said the volunteers in chorus. At this moment a broadside was fired by the gunners on the frigate and the brilliantly decorated patriots from the capital fled in every direction, amid the smiles of the commander-in-chief who at once gave orders for his own gunners to return the fire of the enemy.
Toulon was at last retaken on December 17th, the siege having lasted four months.
When Bonaparte at last raised the French emblem over the city, and as it floated with the breezes over a scene of desolation long remembered by those who witnessed it, he said to Dugommier: "Go to sleep; we have taken Toulon!"
It was here that Napoleon was first severely wounded. When his body was being prepared for burial at St. Helena there was found upon his left thigh so deep a scar that it was nearly possible to place one's finger in it. This had been caused by a bayonet thrust received during this engagement, and in consequence of which he nearly lost his leg. In addition to the wound he had a number of horses shot under him. Another of the dangers which he incurred was of a singular character. An artilleryman being shot at the gun which he was serving, while Napoleon was visiting a battery, the commander took up the dead man's rammer, and to give encouragement to the soldiers, charged the gun with his own hands. The gunner had been afflicted with a skin disease which Napoleon contracted from the weapon, and for a number of years afterward he suffered from its ravages.
Soon after the retaking of Toulon Bonaparte accompanied General Dugommier to Marseilles. Some one struck with his appearance asked the general who that little bit of an officer was, and where he picked him up?
"That officer's name," replied the general, "is Bonaparte: I picked him up at the siege of Toulon, to the successful termination of which he eminently contributed; and you will probably see, one day, that this little bit of an officer is a greater man than any of us!"
Napoleon was now rapidly rising in reputation. His science as an artillery officer and his valor had saved France from humiliation—taught her enemies to respect her—had suppressed the spirit of insurrection in the southern provinces, and had given the government of the Convention control of the whole army.
It has been said that Napoleon's fame first came to the knowledge of Barras, a member of the Directory, through a letter taken by his young protegé to Paris not long after this siege. It was a commendatory letter addressed to Carnot in which Barras thus expressed himself: "I send you a young man who has distinguished himself very much during the siege, and earnestly recommend you to advance him speedily: If you do not, he will most assuredly advance himself!"
Bonaparte's name was on the list of those whom the veteran Dugommier recommended for promotion, and he was accordingly confirmed in his provisional situation of chief of battalion and appointed to hold that rank in Italy. He therefore proceeded to join the headquarters of the French army then lying at Nice. Here he suggested a plan by which the Sardinians were driven from the Coe di Tendi. Saorgio, with all its stores, soon surrendered, and the French obtained possession of the maritime Alps, so that the difficulties of advancing into Italy were greatly diminished. Of these movements, however, Napoleon's superior officers reaped as yet the honor. While directing the means of attaining these successes Bonaparte acquired a complete acquaintance with that Alpine country in which he was shortly to obtain victories in his own name, not in that of others who were now rapidly acquiring reputation by acting on his timely suggestions.
One of his favorite methods of planning manoeuvres he originated at this time while studying his maps and plans of the Alpine country. He had so familiarized himself with the locality that no point of importance was unknown to him. With this data before him, Bonaparte would sit for hours, intent on studying the maps of the country, and upon which he had stuck pins, the heads of which he had covered with wax of various shades. One color was used to designate the French, another the enemy, and by changing the location of the pins on the map he formed various intricate plans of attack and retreat that some years later were most valuable to him. This ingenious scheme is often used at the present day by large wholesale houses to designate the territory of their salesmen while travelling about the country.
While in Nice Napoleon was suddenly arrested and thrown into prison on an order sent from Paris by the Committee of Public Safety. He had been sent there with secret instructions from the government "to collect facts that would throw light upon the intentions of the Genoese government respecting coalition, etc.," and although he acquitted himself with all the care necessary to success, his excess of zeal came nearly ending fatally to him, for it was a time when it was safe to have secrets from no one. It was a time, too, when revolutionists owed it to themselves to arrest their predecessors, and as there had been a change in the government, Napoleon's secret journey was unknown to Salicetti and Albitte, who had succeeded Ricord.
Young Robespierre, who received the order of arrest, was much astounded at it. The document added that the prisoner was to be at once brought under a strong escort to Fort Carré near Antibes and there imprisoned and tried "for treason against the Republic." Robespierre asked Napoleon to come into his room, and showed him the document, which might mean death. Then he said: "You must not go away yet. I will put you under arrest, and then I will write to my brother, who has some influence with the committee. He may be able to get the order rescinded."
Napoleon refused to get agitated over his arrest. Junot, Sebastiani and Marmont, his young aides-de-camp, had formed a plan of escape and advised him to choke the guard, steal a small boat, and flee to the Corsican coast, where he could hide himself in the mountains. Bonaparte, knowing his innocence, refused to try to escape, but addressed the following letter to Junot, et al: "I fully recognize your friendship, my dear Junot, in the proposition you make me: you have long known the sincerity of mine for you, and I hope that you trust in it. Men may be unjust towards me, my dear Junot, but for me my innocence is sufficient. My conscience is the tribunal before which I summon my conduct. This conscience is calm when I question it. Do nothing, therefore; all friendly greetings. Bonaparte.
It was only when told that he was dismissed from the army, and declared unworthy of public confidence, that he addressed a spirited letter to Albitte and Salicetti, the committee that ordered his arrest, and which caused them to reconsider their resolution.
In his dramatic communication to this committee, Bonaparte said in part: "You have suspended me from my functions, arrested and declared me suspected. Therein you have branded me without judging,—or rather judged without hearing. * * * Hear me; destroy the oppression that environs me, and restore me in the estimation of patriotic men. An hour after, if villains desire my life, I shall esteem it but little; I have despised it often."
In a few days the influence of the great Robespierre had made itself felt; a message was consequently received rescinding the order and Napoleon was honorably discharged from custody. His papers had been examined, and as nothing was found in them to implicate him, he was set at liberty at once. In those stormy times more than one innocent man had been sent to the guillotine on a less flimsy accusation than this, and Napoleon had, therefore, good reason to be thankful for the interposition of Robespierre.
At this time the young warrior was most studious, and is said to have thus early acquired the habit of taking short snatches of sleep, which seemed to refresh him fully as much as the longer periods required by others. While at Nice one of his friends, on a particular occasion, went to Napoleon's apartments long before daybreak, and not doubting that he was still in bed, knocked gently at the door, fearful of disturbing him too abruptly. Upon entering his chamber he was not a little astonished at finding Bonaparte dressed as during the day, with plans, maps and various books scattered around him.
"What!" exclaimed the visitor, "not yet in bed?"
"In bed," replied Napoleon, "I am already risen."
"Indeed, and why so early?"
"Oh, two or three hours are enough for any man to sleep!" was the general's reply.
Some years later, when Bonaparte was forming the "Code Napoleon," he astonished the Council of State by the readiness with which he illustrated any point in discussion by quoting the Roman Civil Law, a subject which might seem entirely foreign to him, since the greater part of his life had been passed on the battlefield. On being asked how he had acquired so familiar a knowledge of law affairs he replied: "When I was lieutenant I was put under arrest, unjustly, it is true, but that is nothing to the point. The little room which was assigned for my prison contained no furniture but an old chair and an old cupboard: in the cupboard was a ponderous volume, older and more worm-eaten than all the rest. It proved to be a digest of the Roman law. As I had neither paper, pens, ink or pencil, you may easily imagine that this book was a valuable prize to me. It was so voluminous and the leaves were so covered with marginal notes in manuscript that, had I been confined one hundred years I could never have been idle. I was only deprived of my liberty ten days; but, on recovering it, I was saturated with Justinian and the decisions of the Roman legislators. Thus, I picked up my knowledge of the Civil Law."
Bonaparte did not resume his functions at Nice, after his release from imprisonment, but repaired to Marseilles where his mother was living in distressed circumstances. Before the end of the year he again came to Paris to solicit employment. At first he met with nothing but repulses. Aubry, president of the military committee, objected to his youth, at which Bonaparte replied rather sharply: "One ages quickly on battlefields, and I have just left one." The president, who had not seen much actual service himself, thought he was insulted, and treated Napoleon very coldly in consequence.
Shortly afterwards Bonaparte was offered the command of a brigade of infantry which he refused, declaring that nothing could induce him to leave the artillery. Writing to Sucy, a friend, on this subject, Napoleon said: "I have been ordered to serve as a general of the line in La Vendée. I will not accept. Many soldiers could direct a brigade better than I, and few have commanded artillery with greater success." His refusal was followed by the erasure of his name from the list of general officers in employment. Some time later he asked for a commission to Turkey to form a barrier against the encroachments of Russia and England, but it was not granted. No answer was returned to his memorial, over which he conversed for some weeks with great enthusiasm. "How strange it would be," he said to his friends, "if a little Corsican should become king of Jerusalem." Already he was contemplating greatness, and firmly believed in his "Star of Destiny."
At length he was nominated to the command of a brigade of artillery in Holland. The long-deferred appointment was, no doubt, very welcome; but in the meantime his services were called for in a more important field. When the National Guard sided with the enemies of the Convention, and took up arms against the Government, a man of force and decision was needed to defend them from the insurgents. A collision had taken place on October 3rd, 1795, when the troops of the Convention were withdrawn by that body. The insurgents, who represented the forty-eight sections of Paris, were prepared to attack the Palace of the Tuileries next morning with upwards of 40,000 men, and take the Government in their own hands. The nation, and especially the superior classes, aided by the Royalists, were indignant at the conduct of the members of the Convention,—who schemed to perpetuate themselves in office,—and formed a most formidable opposition to the measures of the existing Government.
General Bonaparte was at the theatre when informed of the events that were passing. He at once hastened to the Assembly where he found the members in the heat of debate and greatly exercised over their approaching danger.
Deliberating with Tallien and Carnot, Barras, who had been present at Toulon during the siege, said: "There is but one man who can save us. I have the man whom you want; it is a little Corsican officer who will not stand upon ceremony!" Napoleon was sent for and notified that he had been chosen to defend the Government as second in command under Barras. Unknown to the Assembly, he had been present at their meeting, and heard all that had been said of him. He deliberated on the best course to pursue for more than half an hour, and at last decided to take up their cause, if allowed to do so in his own way. When Barras presented Napoleon to the Convention as a fit man to be intrusted with the command, the President asked:
"Are you willing to undertake the defense of the Convention?"
"Yes," was the reply.
"Are you aware of the magnitude of the undertaking?"
"Perfectly; and I am in the habit of accomplishing that which I undertake. I accept, but I warn you that, once my sword is out of the scabbard, I shall not replace it until I have established order."
He refused, however, to accept the appointment unless he received it free from all interference. The trembling Convention quickly yielded, and although Barras enjoyed the title of "Commander-in-chief," Bonaparte was actually in control of the troops.
Upon consultation with Menou, who was then in prison, and whom he succeeded, Napoleon quickly obtained the information desired. He learned that the available defense consisted of but 5,000 soldiers of all descriptions, with 40 pieces of cannon then at Sablons and guarded by only one hundred and fifty men. Without the loss of a moment Napoleon began his preparations for the morrow which was to decide whether the mob was to triumph, and France lose all the fruits of her Revolution, or law and order be established. His first act was to dispatch Murat, then a major of chasseurs, to Sablons, five miles off, where the cannon were posted. The Sectionaries sent a stronger detachment to seize these cannon immediately afterwards; and Murat, who passed them in the dark, would have gone in vain had he received his orders but a few moments later, or had he been less active.
When the reveille sounded on the morning of October 4th, over 32,000 National Guards advanced by different streets to the siege of the palace; but its defense was in firmer hands than those of Louis XVI.—the hero of Toulon was now at the helm.
At the Church St. Roche the column which was advancing along the Rue St. Honoré, found a detachment of Napoleon's troops drawn up in line with two cannon to dispute their passage. It is unknown which side began the firing, but in an instant Napoleon's artillery swept the streets and lanes, scattering grape-shot among the National Guards, and producing such confusion that they were soon compelled to give way. The first shot was a signal for opening all the batteries which Bonaparte had established, the quays of the Seine opposite the Tuileries being commanded by his guns below the palace and on the bridges.
In less than an hour the action was over. The insurgents fled in all directions, leaving the streets covered with the dead and wounded. The troops of the Convention then marched into the various Sections, disarmed the terrified inhabitants, and before nightfall everything was quiet. The sun went down as calmly over the helpless city as though nothing had happened. That same evening the theatres were opened and illuminated, and there were general rejoicings on almost every hand.
Napoleon's star rose that night above the horizon; all Paris rushed to catch a glimpse of the young commander, and for many years afterwards France continued to look to him for protection,—and not in vain.
On the night of the 13th Vendemiaire Napoleon wrote to his brother Joseph, saying: "At last all is finished and I hasten to send you news of myself. The Royalists, formed into Sections, were becoming daily more threatening. The Convention gave orders for the disarmament of the Lepelletier Section which resisted the troops. Menou, who commanded, was, it is said, a traitor, and was immediately disgraced. The Convention appointed Barras to command the armed forces; the committee named me to command them under him. We placed our troops; the enemy came to attack us at the Tuileries. We killed many of them, and lost thirty killed and sixty wounded of our men. We have disarmed the Sections, and all is peace again. As usual I am unhurt. P.S. Fortune is on my side. Love to Eugenie and Julie."
Within five days from the defeat of the Sections Napoleon was named second in command of the Army of the Interior, and shortly afterwards Barras, finding his duties as director sufficient to occupy his time, gave up the command to his "little Corsican officer."
After his inauguration as general of the armed force of Paris, Bonaparte waited on each of the five directors. While on a visit to Carnot a celebrated writer was there by invitation,—it being presentation day,—and as the young commander entered, was singing at the piano forte accompanied by a young lady. The entrance of Napoleon, then a short, well-made, olive-complexioned youth, amidst five or six tall young men who seemed to pay him the greatest attention, was a very surprising contrast, and made something of a stir.
On Bonaparte's entrance Carnot bowed with an air of perfect ease and self-possession, and as he passed by the author the latter inquired of the host who the gentlemen were.
The director answered: "The general of the armed force of Paris and his aides-de-camp."
"What is his name?" said the author.
"Bonaparte."
"Has he any military skill?"
"So it is said."
"What has he ever done to render himself conspicuous?"
"He is the officer who commanded the troops of the Convention on the Thirteenth Vendemiaire." (Day of the defeat of the Sections).
A shade passed over the visage of the inquirer, who happened to be one of the electors of the Vendemiaire, and he retired to one of the dark corners to observe the new visitor in thoughtfulness and in silence. Carnot then took occasion to predict that the young general would soon take another step to fame and glory.
It was about this time that a lady asked Napoleon: "How could you fire thus mercilessly upon your countrymen?"
"A soldier," he replied calmly, "is only a machine to obey orders!"
A few years before, while at a party given in the drawing rooms of M. Neckar, a celebrated financier, the Bishop of Autun commended Fox and Sheridan for having asserted that the French army, by refusing to obey the orders of their superiors to fire upon the populace, had set a glorious example to all the armies of Europe; because, by so doing, they had shown themselves that men, by becoming soldiers, did not cease to be citizens.
"Excuse me, if I venture to interrupt you;" said Napoleon quickly, "but as I am an officer, I must claim the privilege of expressing my sentiments. I sincerely believe that a strict discipline in the army is absolutely necessary for the safety of our constitutional government and for the maintenance of order. Nay, if our troops are not compelled unhesitatingly to obey the commands of the executive, we shall be exposed to the blind fury of democratic passions which will render France the most miserable country on the globe!"
The action of the Assembly in placing Napoleon in command of the troops in Paris had caused his name to appear frequently in the newspapers, and thenceforth it emerged from obscurity. As commander his first act was to intercede for and gain the acquittal of Menou, his predecessor, who was then in prison, principally because of his failure to put down the rioters.
Bonaparte now began to hold military levees, at one of which an incident occurred which gave at once a new turn in his mode of life, and a fresh impetus to the advance of his fortunes. A beautiful boy about twelve years old appeared before Napoleon and said: "My name is Eugene Beauharnais. My father, Viscount, and a General of the Republican armies, has died on the guillotine, and I am come to pray you, sir, to give me his sword." Bonaparte caused the request to be complied with, and the tears of the boy, as he received and kissed the relic, excited the commander's interest. The next day the youth's mother, Josephine Beauharnais, came to thank Napoleon for his kind treatment of her son, and her beauty and singular gracefulness of address made a strong impression upon him. Some time later he offered Josephine his hand; she, after some hesitation, accepted it, and the young general by his marriage, which was celebrated on March 5th, 1796, thus cemented his favorable connection with the society of the Luxembourg, and in particular, with Tallien and Barras, at that time the most powerful men in France.
The first meeting with Eugene, and its influence upon Napoleon's marriage with Josephine, has been sometimes questioned by historians, many of whom have seemingly neglected the Exile's own verification of the story at St. Helena, in which, after relating the incident of Josephine's visit, he said to Dr. O'Meara: "I was much struck with her appearance (Josephine's), and still more with her esprit. This first impression was daily strengthened, and marriage was not long in following."
Tranquility was now restored in Paris, and the Directors had leisure to turn their attention to the affairs of the Army of Italy, which was then in a most confused and unsatisfactory condition. They determined to place it under it a new general, and Bonaparte, then but twenty-six years of age, was appointed to the command of the Army of Italy. It is said that when the command was given Napoleon by Carnot (grandfather of the late Sadi-Carnot, president of the present French Republic), the latter told him it was to the command of men alone that he could be appointed, the troops being destitute of everything but arms. Bonaparte replied, that provided he would let him have men enough, that it was all he wanted; he would answer for the rest, a promise that was soon fulfilled, for instead of an army wanting everything, it became, at the enemy's expense, one of the best appointed in Europe.
It was afterwards a matter of dispute between Carnot and Barras as to which of them had first proposed his appointment to this command. It is admitted in one of Josephine's letters that Barras had promised to procure the position for Bonaparte before his marriage took place.
One of the Directors hesitated and said to Napoleon, "You are too young."
"In a year," he answered, "I shall be either old or dead!"
When Napoleon set out from Paris on the 21st of March 1796, to take command of the Army of Italy, after a honeymoon of but three days, he traversed France with the swiftness of a courier, turning aside but a few hours at Marseilles with his mother and family, whom he was now able to provide for in an adequate manner. His letters to Josephine were full of passionate expressions of tenderness, and regret at their separation. But after paying his tribute to the affections, his heart was speedily filled with exultation and triumph. For the first time he was chief in command; the power within him was now free to direct his actions, unhampered by the restraint he had so long felt in the capital. He was extremely anxious to commence the career to which Fate called him, by placing himself at the head of the Army of Italy at once.
It would not be difficult to imagine with what delight this young general—then scarcely twenty-six years old—advanced to an independent field of glory and conquest, confident in his own powers, and in the perfect knowledge of the country which he had previously acquired. He had under his command such men, already distinguished in war by success and bravery as: Augereau, Massena, Serrurier, Joubert, Lannes, Murat, La Harpe, Stengel and Kilmaine, all of whom were astonished at the youthful appearance of their new commander.
It was not without some discontent that the old generals beheld a young man, lately their inferior, taking the command over their heads,—to which each supposed he had a prior claim, and reaping the benefits of a plan of operations they did not imagine to have originated with himself. As he rode along the ranks the soldiers observed that he did not sit well on horseback, and complained that a "mere boy" had been sent to command them. The young general, however, soon obtained that respect for his character, which had been denied to his physical constitution. The firmness he exhibited, soon put a stop to the insubordination which had prevailed in the army; and, even before they had conquered under him, the troops became as submissive as at any subsequent period, when his character was fully established.
Some years before, when Bonaparte was conversing at Toulon with M. de Volney, the well-known Corsican traveler and literary man, at a dinner given to the two friends by Turreau, then in command of the military force at Nice, a campaign in Italy was suggested. After the dessert was brought in Napoleon said to Turreau: "Don't you think it's altogether too bad to have 10,000 men lying idle here at Nice when the Republic could make such excellent use of them in Italy?"
"Possibly," replied Turreau, "but we can do nothing; we have no order to move from the Committee of Public Safety."
"Then," said Napoleon, "it is your duty to make the committee ashamed of its inactivity."
"What would you do if you could act as you pleased?" asked Turreau. Napoleon promised to give a reply the next evening. At the time fixed he came prepared with a complete plan of campaign written out and classified under seventeen heads. It involved the invasion and conquest of Italy on almost the same lines that he was now about to undertake, and the outgrowth partially of that meeting, for Turreau forwarded the plan to the Committee of Public Safety at Paris on condition that it be put in the hands of Carnot, in whose judgment Napoleon had confidence. Carnot looked over the plan and was delighted. He was unable to secure immediate action, but two years later, when the invasion of Italy was determined upon, he had sufficient influence to see that Napoleon was put in charge of it.
Bonaparte arrived at the headquarters of the army at Nice on the 27th of March, 1796. The French Army of Italy, which amounted to 31,000 available men, had endured great hardships and privations, were destitute of shoes, clothing, and almost everything which their comfort demanded. The cavalry was wretchedly mounted and they were very deficient in artillery. To silence their complaints, and reconcile them to their situation, as well as to endear them to himself, Napoleon lived familiarly with his soldiers, participated in their hardships and privations, and redressed many of their grievances. "My brave fellows," he said to them on one occasion, while endeavoring to revive their spirits; "although you suffer great privations, you have no reason to be dissatisfied; everything yields to power; if we are victorious, the provisions and the supplies of the enemy become ours; if we are vanquished, we have already too much to lose."
The allies, Austrian and Sardinian, were a greatly superior force, numbering as they did 80,000 men, were well equipped with supplies, and occupied in their own, or a friendly country, all the heights and passes of the Alps. Berthier, then on Napoleon's staff as major-general, took great pleasure in showing as a curiosity in after years a general order by which three louis-d'or were granted as a great supply for an outfit to each general of division, and dated on the very day of the victory at Albinga.
On the 8th of April Napoleon wrote to the Directory: "I found this army, not only destitute, but without discipline; their insubordination and discontent were such that the malcontents had formed a party for the Dauphin, and were singing songs opposed to the tenets of the Revolution. You may, however, rest assured that peace and order will be re-established; by the time you receive this letter, we shall have come to an engagement."
It was under such circumstances that Bonaparte proposed forcing a passage to Italy and converting the richest territory of the enemy into the theatre of war. "Soldiers," said he to his destitute and disheartened men, "you are naked and ill-fed; the Republic owes you much, but she has nothing with which to pay her debts. Your endurance and patience amidst these barren rocks deserves admiration; but it brings you no glory. I come to lead you into the most fertile plains the sun shines upon. Rich provinces, and great cities will soon be in your power; there you will reap riches and glory—they will be at your disposal. Soldiers of Italy! with such a prospect before you, can you fail in courage and perseverance?"
This was the commander's first address to the army, and the words of encouragement which he gave them shot martial enthusiasm through their veins like electric fire. Under the incompetent management of Scherer the army, which had obtained some success against the Austrian general, De Vins, had been without glory, although their battalions were headed by valiant officers whose leader had neglected to improve his good fortune. The French soldiers were thirsting for a commander capable of leading them on to fame and glory, the conquest of Italy, therefore, seemed reserved for General Bonaparte.
Napoleon's system of tactics, although then unknown even to his officers, were a fixity with him. They appear to have been grounded on the principle that "the commander will be victorious who assembles the greatest number of forces upon the same point at the same moment, notwithstanding an inferiority of numbers to the enemy when the general force is computed on both sides." He eminently possessed the power of calculation and combination necessary to exercise these decisive manoeuvres.
Napoleon's career of victory began, as it continued, in defiance of the established rules of warfare, and what distinguished him above all his contemporaries was his ability to convert the most unfavorable circumstances into the means of success. He perceived that the time was come for turning a new leaf in the history of war. With such numbers of troops as the impoverished Republic could afford him, he soon saw that no considerable advantages could be obtained against the vast and highly-disciplined armies of Austria and her allies unless the established rules of etiquette and strategy were abandoned. It was only by such rapidity of motion as should utterly surprise the superior numbers of his adversaries that he could hope to concentrate the entire energy of a small force, such as he commanded, upon some point of a much greater force, and thus defeat them. He knew he would have to deal with veteran soldiers and experienced generals—men who had learned the art of war before he was born. He therefore resolved that every movement should be made with celerity, and every blow be leveled where it was least expected.
To effect such rapid marches as he had determined upon, it was necessary that the soldiery should make up their minds to consider tents and baggage as idle luxuries; and that instead of a long and complicated chain of reserves and stores, they should dare to rely wholly for the means of sustenance on the countries into which their venturesome leader might conduct them.
The objects of Napoleon's expedition were to compel the king of Sardinia, who maintained a powerful army in the field, to abandon the alliance of Austria; to compel Austria to concentrate her forces in her Italian provinces, thus obliging her to withdraw them from the bank of the Rhine where they had long hovered. It was hoped, also, to humble the power of the Vatican and break the prestige of its Jesuitical diplomacy forever. He had as yet achieved no fame in the field and not a general in Europe would have blamed him if he had only succeeded in holding the territory of Nice and Savoy, which France had already won.
Napoleon's plan of reaching the fair regions of Italy differed from that of all former conquerors; they had uniformly penetrated the Alps at some point of access in that mighty range of mountains; he judged that the same end might be accomplished more easily by advancing along the narrow strip of comparatively level country that intervenes between those enormous barriers and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and forcing a passage at the point where the last or southern extremity of the Alps melt, as it were, into the first and lowest of the Appenine range.
No sooner did he begin to concentrate his troops towards this region than Beaulieu, the Austrian general, took measures for protecting Genoa and the entrance of Italy with a powerful, disciplined and well-appointed army. He posted himself with one column at Voltri, a town on the sea some ten miles west of Genoa; D'Argenteau, with another column occupied the heights of Montenotte, while the Sardinians, led by General Colli, formed the right of the line at Ceva. This disposition was made in compliance with the old system of tactics; but it was powerless before new strategy. The French could not advance towards Genoa but by confronting some one of the three armies and these Beaulieu supposed were too strongly posted to be dislodged.
On the morning of the 12th of April, 1796, when D'Argenteau advanced from Montenotte to attack the column of Rampon, he found that by skillful manoeuvres during the night Napoleon had completely surrounded him—a man who had fancied there was nothing new to be done in warfare.
On the previous day the Austrians had driven in all the outposts of the French and appeared before the redoubt of Montenotte. This redoubt, the last of the intrenchments, was defended by 1,500 men commanded by Rampon who made his soldiers take an oath, during the heat of the attack, to defend it or perish in the intrenchments, to the last man. The repeated assaults of the French were without avail, their advancement was checked and they were kept the whole night at the distance of a pistol shot, 400 men being killed by the fire of their musketry alone.
At daybreak, the following morning, Bonaparte then being at the head of the French forces, and having introduced two pieces of cannon into the redoubt during the night, the action was recommenced with great vigor and with varying success. The contest had continued for sometime, when Bonaparte, with Berthier and Massena appearing suddenly with the centre and left wing of the army upon the rear and flank of the enemy, at once commenced a furious attack, filled them with terror and confusion, and decided the fate of the day. D'Argenteau, who commanded the rear, had fought gallantly, but seeing that to continue the battle would only end in total destruction, he fled, leaving his colors and cannon, a thousand killed and two thousand prisoners.
Thus was the centre of the great Austrian army completely routed before either its commander-in-chief at the left, or General Colli at the right, knew that a battle had begun. It was from this battle, the first of Napoleon's victories, that the French Emperor told the Emperor of Austria, some years later, that he dated his nobility. "Ancestors?" said Napoleon, "I, sir, am an ancestor myself; my title of nobility dates from Montenotte!"
This victory enabled the French, under La Harpe, to advance to Cairo, and placed them on that side of the Alps which slopes toward Lombardy.
Beaulieu now fell back on Dego, where he could open his communication with Colli, who had retreated to Millessimo, a small town about nine miles from Dego. Here the two commanders hoped to unite their forces. They were soon strongly posted, and dispatching couriers to Milan for reinforcements, intended to await their arrival before risking another battle. It was their object to keep fast in these positions until succor could come from Lombardy; but Napoleon had no intention of giving them such a respite; his tactics were not those of other generals.
The morning after the victory of Montenotte Bonaparte dispatched Augereau to attack Millessimo; Massena to fall on Dego, and La Harpe to turn the flank of Beaulieu.
Massena carried the heights of Biestro at the point of the bayonet, while La Harpe dislodged the Austrian general from his position, which separated him hopelessly from the Sardinian commander and put him to precipitate flight. By these movements Bonaparte was in such a position, that, though they had not traversed, his army had at all events scaled the Alps.
Meanwhile Augereau had seized the outposts of Millessimo and cut off Provera, with 2,000 Austrians who occupied an eminence upon the mountain of Cossaria, from the main body of Colli's army. Provera took refuge in a ruined castle which he defended with great bravery, hoping to receive assistance from Colli.
The next morning Napoleon, who had arrived in the night, forced Colli to battle and compelled him to retreat towards Ceva. Provera imitated the gallant example of Colonel Rampon in his defense, but not with the same success. He was compelled to surrender his sword to Bonaparte at discretion, after a loss of 10,000 in killed and prisoners, twenty-two cannon and fifteen standards. The French found on the summit of the Alps every species of ammunition and other necessities which the celerity of their march had prevented them from carrying.
Dego, situated at the summit of the Alps, secured the entrance of the French into Italy, cut off the communications between the Austrian and Sardinian armies, and placed the conqueror in a situation to crush them in succession one after the other. Beaulieu, fully sensible of the danger of his situation, collected the best troops in his army, and at break of day on the 15th of April, retook Dego at the head of 7,000 men.
The Austrians stood two attacks headed by Napoleon, but at the third Causse rushed forward, holding his plumed hat on the point of his sword, and Dego was soon again in possession of the French. For this piece of gallantry he immediately received the rank of brigadier-general. Here also, Lannes, who lived to be a marshal of the Empire, first attracted the notice of Napoleon, and was promoted from lieutenant-colonel to colonel. The triumph, however, was purchased with the life of the brave General Causse. He was carried out of the mêlée mortally wounded. Napoleon passed near him as he lay. "Is Dego retaken?" asked the dying officer. "It is ours," replied Napoleon. "Then long live the Republic!" cried Causse, "I die content."
Hotly pursued by the victors, Colli rallied his fugitives at Mondovi, where they again yielded to the irrisistible onset of the French, the Sardinian commander leaving his best troops, baggage and cannon on the field. The action was a most severe one in which, among others, the French general, Stengel, a brave and excellent officer, was killed, and the cavalry would have been overpowered but for the desperate valor of Murat.
The Sardinians lost ten stands of colors and fifteen hundred prisoners, among whom were three generals. The Sardinian army had now ceased to exist, and the Austrians were flying to the frontiers of Lombardy.
Napoleon, following up his advantage, entered Cherasco, a strong place about ten miles from Turin, as a conqueror. Here he dictated the terms by which the Sardinian king could still wear a crown. From the castle where he stood, and looking off on the garden-fields of Lombardy—which had gladdened the eyes of so many conquerors—with the Alps behind him, glittering in their perennial snows, Napoleon said to his officers: "Hannibal forced the Alps—we have turned them." To his soldiers, whom he addressed in a proclamation, he said: "In fifteen days you have gained six victories, taken twenty-one stands of colors, fifty-five pieces of cannon, several fortresses, and conquered the richest part of Piedmont: you have made 15,000 prisoners, killed or wounded upwards of 10,000 men. Hitherto you have fought for barren rocks, rendered famous by your valor, but useless to your country. Your services now equal those of the victorious army of Holland and the Rhine. You have provided yourselves with everything of which you were destitute. You have gained battles without cannon! passed rivers without bridges! made forced marches without shoes! bivouacked without strong liquors and often without bread! Republican phalanxes, Soldiers of Liberty, only, could have endured all this. Thanks for your perseverance! If your conquest of Toulon presaged the immortal campaign of 1793, your present victories presage a still nobler. But, soldiers, you have done nothing while so much remains to be done; neither Turin or Milan are yours. The ashes of the Conquerors of the Tarquins are still trampled by the assassins of Basseville."
To the Italians Napoleon said: "People of Italy! The French army comes to break your chains. The people of France are the friends of all nations—confide in them. Your property, your religion and your customs shall be respected. We make war with those tyrants alone who enslave you."
The French soldiers, flushed with victory, were eager to continue their march, and the people of Italy hailed Napoleon as their deliverer. The Sardinian king did not long survive the humiliation of the loss of his crown—he died of a broken heart within a few days after signing the treaty of Cherasco.
In the meantime the couriers of Napoleon were almost every hour riding into Paris with the news of his victories, and five times in six days the Representatives of France had decreed that the Army of Italy deserved well of their country.
Murat was sent to Paris bearing the news of the capitulation of the king of Sardinia, and twenty-one stands of colors. His arrival caused great joy in the capital.
The consummate genius of this brief campaign could not be disputed, and the modest language of the young general's dispatches to the Directory lent additional grace to his fame. All the eyes of Europe were fixed in admiration on his career.
In less than a month's campaign Napoleon laid the gates of Italy open before him; reduced the Austrians to inaction; utterly destroyed the Sardinian king's army, and took two great fortresses called "the keys to the Alps!"
To effect the rapid movements required for such results, everything was sacrificed that came in the way, not only on this occasion, but on every other. Baggage, stragglers, the wounded, the artillery—all were left behind, rather than the column should fail to reach the destined place at the destined time. Napoleon made no allowance for accidents or impediments. Things until now reckoned essential to an army were dispensed with; and, for the first time, troops were seen to take the field without tents, camp equipage, magazines of provisions, and military hospitals. Such a system naturally aggravated the horrors of war. The soldiers were, necessarily, marauders, and committed terrible excesses at this first stage of the campaign; but every effort was made, and with much success, to prevent this evil after conquest had put the means of regular supply within the power of the commander-in-chief. The wounded were frequently left behind for want of the means of conveyance. According to one authority, the loss by the disorders inseparable from this means of war was four times as great as by the fire or the sword of the enemy.
The army, nevertheless, adored its fortunate general, and it still doted upon him even when undeceived respecting his providence for it. "To be able to solve this enigma," says General Foy, "it was requisite to have known Napoleon, the life of camp and of glory, and, above all, one must have a French head and heart." With the sufferings of the army, he never failed to show an active sympathy when it did not tend to the compromise of his plans. The hours, too, spent by Napoleon on the field after a battle, endeared him to his followers. He visited the hospitals in person and made his officers, after his example, take the utmost interest in this duty. His hand was applied to the wounds; his voice cheered the sick. All who recovered could relate individual acts of kindness experienced from him by themselves or their comrades.
It was at this period that a medal of Napoleon was struck at Paris as conqueror of Montenotte. The face is extremely thin, with long, straight hair. On the reverse, a figure of Victory is represented flying over the Alps, bearing a palm branch, a wreath of laurel and a drawn sword. It was the first of the splendid series designed by Denon to record the victories and honors of France's great warrior.
Napoleon determined to advance without delay, giving Tuscany, Venice, and the other Italian States no time to take up a hostile attitude. After accomplishing so much, a general of less enterprise might have thought it right to rest awhile and wait for reinforcements before attempting further conquest, but not so with Napoleon. The French army, to which recruits were now flocking from every hospital and depot within reach, was ordered to prepare for instant motion.
It was after one of the successful movements of this period that an old Hungarian officer was brought prisoner to Bonaparte, who entered into conversation with him, and among other matters asked what he thought of the state of the war. "Nothing," replied the prisoner, who did not know he was addressing the commander-in-chief, "nothing can be worse. Here is a young man who knows absolutely nothing of the regular rules of war; to-day he is in our rear, to-morrow on our flank, the next day again in our front. Such violations of the principles of the art of war are intolerable sir, and we do not know how to proceed!"