Memoirs of Napoleon - Volume 12 , livre ebook

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pubOne.info present you this new edition. Riots in Hamburg and Lubeck- Attempted suicide of M. Konning- Evacuation of Hamburg- Dissatisfaction at the conduct of General St. Cyr- The Cabinets of Vienna and the Tuileries- First appearance of the Cossacks- Colonel Tettenborn invited to occupy Hamburg- Cordial reception of the Russians- Depredations- Levies of troops- Testimonials of gratitude to Tettenborn- Napoleon's new army- Death of General Morand- Remarks of Napoleon on Vandamme- Bonaparte and Gustavus Adolphus- Junction of the corps of Davoust and Vandamme- Reoccupation of Hamburg by the French- General Hogendorff appointed Governor of Hamburg- Exactions and vexatious contributions levied upon Hamburg and Lubeck- Hostages.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	06 novembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819949091
Langue	English

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MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, VOLUME 12.
By LOUIS ANTOINE FAUVELET DE BOURRIENNE
His Private Secretary
CHAPTER XXVIII.
1813.
Riots in Hamburg and Lubeck— Attempted suicide of M.Konning— Evacuation of Hamburg— Dissatisfaction at the conduct ofGeneral St. Cyr— The Cabinets of Vienna and the Tuileries— Firstappearance of the Cossacks— Colonel Tettenborn invited to occupyHamburg— Cordial reception of the Russians— Depredations— Levies oftroops— Testimonials of gratitude to Tettenborn— Napoleon's newarmy— Death of General Morand— Remarks of Napoleon on Vandamme—Bonaparte and Gustavus Adolphus— Junction of the corps of Davoustand Vandamme— Reoccupation of Hamburg by the French— GeneralHogendorff appointed Governor of Hamburg— Exactions and vexatiouscontributions levied upon Hamburg and Lubeck— Hostages.
A considerable time before Napoleon left Paris tojoin the army, the bulk of which was in Saxony, partialinsurrections occurred in many places. The interior of Franceproper was indeed still in a state of tranquillity, but it was notso in the provinces annexed by force to the extremities of theEmpire, especially in the north, and in the unfortunate HanseTowns, for which, since my residence at Hamburg, I have always feltthe greatest interest. The intelligence I received was derived fromsuch unquestionable sources that I can pledge myself for the truthof what I have to state respecting the events which occurred inthose provinces at the commencement of 1813; and subsequently Iobtained a confirmation of all the facts communicated by mycorrespondence when I was sent to Hamburg by Louis XVIII. in1815.
M. Steuve, agent from the Court of Russia, who livedat Altona apparently as a private individual, profited by theirritation produced by the measures adopted at Hamburg. His planswere so well arranged that he was promptly informed of the route ofthe Grand Army from Moscow, and the approach of the Allied troops.Aided by the knowledge and activity of Sieur Hanft of Hamburg, M.Steuve profited by the discontent of a people so tyrannicallygoverned, and seized the opportunity for producing an explosion.Between eight and nine o'clock on the morning of the 24th ofFebruary 1813 an occurrence in which the people were concerned wasthe signal for a revolt. An individual returning to Hamburg by theAltona gate would not submit to be searched by a fiscal agent, whoin consequence maltreated him and wounded him severely. Thepopulace instantly rose, drove away the revenue guard, and set fireto the guard- house. The people also, excited by secret agents,attacked other French posts, where they committed the sameexcesses. Surprised at this unexpected movement, the Frenchauthorities retired to the houses in which they resided. All therespectable inhabitants who were unconnected with the tumultlikewise returned to their homes, and no person appeared out ofdoors.
General Carry St. Cyr had the command of Hamburgafter the Prince of
Eckmuhl's departure for the Russian campaign.
— [General Carry St. Cyr is not to be contused withthe Marshal
Gonvion de St. Cyr; he fell into disgrace for hisconduct at
Hamburg at this time, and was not again employed byNapoleon. Under
the Restoration he became Governor of French Guiana.]—
At the first news of the revolt he set about packingup his papers, and Comte de Chaban, M. Konning, the Prefect ofHamburg, and M. Daubignosc, the Director of Police, followed hisexample. It was not till about four o'clock in the afternoon that adetachment of Danish hussars arrived at Hamburg, and the populace:was then speedily dispersed. All the respectable citizens and menof property assembled the next morning and adopted means forsecuring internal tranquillity, so that the Danish troops wereenabled to return to Altona. Search was then made for theringleaders of the disturbance. Many persons were arrested, and amilitary commission, ad hoc; was appointed to try them. Thecommission, however, condemned only one individual, who, beingconvicted of being one of the most active voters, was sentenced tobe shot, and the sentence was carried into execution.
On the 26th February a similar commotion took placeat Lubeck. Attempts were made to attack the French Authorities. Therespectable citizens instantly assembled, protected them againstoutrage, and escorted them in safety to Hamburg, where they arrivedon the 27th. The precipitate flight of these persons from Lubeckspread some alarm in Hamburg. The danger was supposed to be greaterthan it was because the fugitives were accompanied by a formidablebody of troops.
But these were not the only attempts to throw offthe yoke of French domination, which had become insupportable. Allthe left bank of the Elbe was immediately in a state ofinsurrection, and all the official persons took refuge in Hamburg.During these partial insurrections everything was neglected.Indecision, weakness, and cupidity were manifested everywhere.Instead of endeavours to soothe the minds of the people, which hadbeen, long exasperated by intolerable tyranny, recourse was had torigorous measures. The prisons were crowded with a host of personsdeclared to be suspected upon the mere representations of theagents of the police. On the 3d of March a special militarycommission condemned six householders of Hamburg and itsneighbourhood to be shot on the glacis for no other offence thanhaving been led, either by chance or curiosity, to a part of thetown which was the scene of one of the riots. These executionsexcited equal horror and indignation, and General Carra St. Cyr wasobliged to issue a proclamation for the dissolution of the militarycommission by whom the men had been sentenced.
The intelligence of the march of the Russian andPrussian troops; who were descending the Elbe, increased theprevailing agitation in Westphalia, Hanover, Mecklenburg, andPomerania, and all the French troops cantoned between Berlin andHamburg, including those who occupied the coast of the Baltic, fellback upon Hamburg. General Carra St. Cyr and Baron Konning, thePrefect of Hamburg, used to go every evening to Altona. The latter,worn out by anxiety and his unsettled state of life, lost hisreason; and on his way to Hamburg, on the 5th of May, he attemptedto cut his throat with a razor. His 'valet de chambre' saved hislife by rushing upon him before he had time to execute his design.It was given out that he had broken a blood-vessel, and he wasconveyed to Altona, where his wound was cured, and he subsequentlyrecovered from his derangement. M. Konning, who was a native ofHolland, was a worthy man, but possessed no decision of character,and but little ability.
At this juncture exaggerated reports were circulatedrespecting the approach of a Russian corps. A retreat wasimmediately ordered, and it was executed on the 12th of March.General Carra St. Cyr having no money for the troops, helpedhimself to 100, 000 francs out of the municipal treasury. He leftHamburg at the head of the troops and the enrolled men of thecustom-house service. He was escorted by the Burgher Guard, whichprotected him from the insults of the populace; and the good peopleof Hamburg never had any visitors of whom they were more happy tobe rid.
This sudden retreat excited Napoleon's indignation.He accused General St. Cyr of pusillanimity, in an article insertedin the 'Moniteur', and afterwards copied by his order into all thejournals. In fact, had General St. Cyr been better informed, orless easily alarmed, he might have kept Hamburg, and prevented itstemporary occupation by the enemy, to dislodge whom it wasnecessary to besiege the city two months afterwards. St. Cyr had3000 regular troops, and a considerable body of men in thecustom-house service. General Morand could have furnished him with5000 men from Mecklenburg. He might, therefore, not only have keptpossession of Hamburg two months longer, but even to the end of thewar, as General Lexnarrois retained possession of Magdeburg. Hadnot General St. Cyr so hastily evacuated the Elbe he would havebeen promptly aided by the corps which General Vandamme soonbrought from the Wesel, and afterwards by the very, corps withwhich Marshal Davoust recaptured Hamburg.
The events just described occurred before Napoleonquitted Paris. In the month of August all negotiation was brokenoff with Austria, though that power, still adhering to hertime-serving policy, continued to protest fidelity to the cause ofthe Emperor Napoleon until the moment when her preparations werecompleted and her resolution formed. But if there was duplicity atVienna was there not folly, nay, blindness, in the Cabinet of theTuileries? Could we reasonably rely upon Austria? She had seen theRussian army pass the Vistula and advance as far as the Saalewithout offering any remonstrance. At that moment a single movementof her troops, a word of declaration, would have preventedeverything. As, therefore, she would not avert the evil when shemight have done so with certainty and safety, there must have beensingular folly and blindness in the Cabinet who saw this conductand did not understand it.
I now proceed to mention the further misfortuneswhich occurred in the north of Germany, and particularly atHamburg. At fifteen leagues east of Hamburg, but within itsterritory, is a village named Bergdorf. It was in that village thatthe Cossacks were first seen. Twelve or fifteen hundred of themarrived there under the command of Colonel Tettenborn. But for theretreat of the French troops, amounting to 3000, exclusive of menin the customhouse service, no attempt would have been made uponHamburg; but the very name of the Cossacks inspired a degree ofterror which must be fresh in the recollection of every one. Alarmspread in Hamburg, which, being destitute of troops and artillery,and surrounded with dilapidated fortifications, could offer nodefence. The Senator Bartch and Doctor Know took upon themselves toproceed to Bergdorf to solicit Colonel Tettenborn to takepossession of Ha