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ness of the campaign in Poland, above quoted, who says that at "Wehlaw the Russian army passed the Pregel, without any loss or even annoyance, on a single bridge. A detachment of 4000 French troops watched their movements, but did not oppose their retreat. The bridge was then burnt: and the Russians continued their retrograde move ment to Pepelken, where they were rejoined by the Prussian corps, under general Lestocq, and a Rus sian corps under general Kaminskoy, who had been detached to Koningsberg on the 10th: for after the defeat of the main Russian army, Koningsberg was untenable." At eight in the morning Buonaparte threw a bridge over the Pregel, and took a position there with the army. Almost all the magazines which the enemy had on the Alla, had been thrown into the river or burnt. At Wehlaw, however, the French found more than 6000 quintals of corn-possession was taken of Koningsberg by the corps under marshal Soult. At this place were found some hundred thousand quintals of corn, more than 20,000 wounded Russians and Prussians, and all the ammunition that had been sent to the Russians by England, including 160,000 muskets that had not been landed. The French bulletin (79) concluded as follows: "It was on the 5th of June that the enemy renewed hostilities. Their loss in the ten days that followed their first operations may be reckoned at 60,000 men, killed, wounded, taken, or other. wise put hors de combat. They have lost a part of their artillery, almost all their ammunition, and the whole of their magazines on a line of more than 40, leagues. The

French armies. have seldom obtained such great advantages with so little loss."

Over the conduct of this short campaign, on the part of the Rus sians as well as its commencement after the reduction of Dantzig, there still hangs a mysterious cloud. Af ter this important event, and the addition that was made to the French army by the liberation of between 30, and 40,000 fighting men, it was universally supposed, that general Bennigsen would play the part of Fabius. As the possession of Dantzig and the peninsula of Nehrung gave great facilities to the French, while they presented so strong a front on the Passarge and from thence to the heights of the Alla, for turning the right flank of the Russian army on the north, it was supposed, that instead of ma. king an attack, he would fall back behind the Pregel and support his right on Koningsberg; where he would be nearer his resources, and the French farther from their's.

Thus, also.

me would have been afforded for the execution of those military plans which were projected in Swedish and Prussian Pomerania. But, if general Bennigsen wished to put an end to the war, at once, by a decisive action, why did he refuse to give battle in his strong position at Heilsberg? The conduct of the Russian general, who had been so much extolled when his operations were supposed to have been successful, was now, as commonly happens to the unfortunate, very much censured. The grounds of censure appear indeed to have been, at least, very plausible. But the world did not then know, nor do we now know, the whole of the case. That the Russians should

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have lost in the course of ten days, 60,000 men, while the French had only about 1200 killed, and 5 or 6,000 wounded, appears so monstrous an exaggeration, that even the policy of it may reasonably be ques. tioned. Yet, the losses and disasters of the Russians were admitted by themselves to have been immense. General Bennigsen did not attempt to conceal the real situation of affairs after the battle of Friedland, as he had done after that of Ey au: and he did not hesitate to give it as his opinion, that any farther contest with the French in the field of battle, would be, at that time, a hopeless project. It was computed by the most dispassionate and competent judges, that, the French commenced this short campaign of ten days with 160,000 men, including all kinds of troops stationed between the Oder and the Alla; and that the allies had about 100,000 effective men, infautry and cavalry, besides Cossacks, Bashkins, and other irregular troops. It was acknowledged by the French officers, that from the 5th to the 14th June, the grand army had lost, in killed and wounded, at least 20,000 men

On the 19th at two o'clock P. M. Buonaparte with his guards entered Tilsit. The Russians pursued after the battle of Friedland by the grand duke of Berg, at the head of the greater part of the light cavalry, and some divisions of dragoons and cuirassiers, crossed the Niemen, burned the bridge of Tilsit, and continued their retreat eastward. The emperor of Russia, who had remained three weeks with his Prussian ma. jesty at Tilsit, left that place along

with the king in great haste. the 19th, an armistice was propos to the chiefs of the French arm by the Russian commander-in-chi In consequence of this propositio an armistice was agreed on at Tilsi on the 22d of June, by which it settled that hostilities should be resumed on either side witho a month's previous notice of su an intention. That a similar mistice should be concluded betwe the French and the Prussian arm in the course of five days. T plenipotentiaries should be instant appointed by the different parti for the salutary work of pacificatio and that there should be an imm diate exchange of prisoners. T boundary between the French a Russian armies, during the arm tice, was the Thalwag, or mid of the stream of the Niemen fro the Kurisch-haff, where it falls in the sea to Grodno and a li from thence to the confines Russia, between the Narew a the Bug. Such was the formidal position of the French, while thing remained to the king Prussia but the small town a territory of Memel. The first int view between Buonaparte, or emperor Napoleon as he was n called, and the emperor Alexand took place on the 25th of June, a raft constructed for the purpo on the Niemen, where two te had been prepared for their rece 'tion by the French. Alexan and Buonaparte landed from th boats at the same time and embra each other. It was settled half the town of Tilsit should considered as neutral ground,

The second town in Prussia, after Koningsberg; containing 10,000 inhabita and enjoying a brisk commerce.

be occupied by the emperor of Russia, with the officers of his household, and his body-guards. Great were the mutual courtesies and expressions of kindness and repect that ensued among French, Russians and Prussians of all ranks visiting, feasting, and all kinds of entertainment and festivity that could be thought of. Human na ture gladly relaxed from the mise rable rage of war, and indulged, and was eager to acknowledge, and emphatically to express every sentiment of social and generous affecion. A magnificent dinner was given by Napoleon's guards to those of Alexander and the king of Prussia. At this entertainment they exchanged uniforms, and were to be seen in the streets in a motley kind of dress, partly Russian, partly Prussian, and partly French. It is much in the same spirit that the chiefs of so many islands in the South-seas exchange names for a time, with persons to whom they wish to shew friendship, or pay a compliment. A stranger to the ways of Europe, witnessing at Tilsit, such ardent love among those different tongues and nations, from the highest to the lowest, might have wondered what could possibly have impelled such good-natured and tender-hearted people to the most horrid scenes of war and bloodshed.

A treaty of peace was concluded, between his majesty, Napoleon, styling himself emperor of the French, and king of Italy, and his, majesty the emperor of all the Russias at Tilsit, July 7th. As the contest between Russia and France related not to any direct interests

VOL. XLIX.

of their own, but wholly to those of their respective allies, there was nothing to be adjusted between these powers on their own account, farther than that there should be henceforth perfect peace and amity between their imperial majesties; that all hostilities between them should immediately cease at all points by sea and land; and, that for this purpose, couriers should be dispatched to their respective gene. rals and other commanders. The great sacrifice to peace, was, of course, the kingdom of Prussia, which was reduced at once from the rank of a primary to that of a secondary, at best, power of Europe, and all that had been done for the augmentation and aggrandizement of the monarchy by the great Frederick in the course of twenty years, undone in one day. The king of Prussia, by the peace of Tilsit, together with an immense territory, lost near the half of his yearly revenues, and five millions of his subjects. For particulars we must refer our readers to the treaties between France on the one part, and Russia and Prussia separately, on the other*. On the whole, Prussia was brought back nearly to the state in which it was on the 1st of January 1772, before the first partition of Poland. The greater part of those provinces which, on that day, formed a part of the kingdom of Poland, and had since, at diferent times, been subjected to Prussia, were annexed to his majesty the king of Saxony, with power of possession and so. vereignty, under the title of the duchy of Warsaw, and was to be governed according to a new con

* Vide State Papers.

N

stitution

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stitution or system of fundamental laws, that should secure the liberties and privileges of the people of the said duchy, and be consistent with the security of the neighbouring .states. This constitution, framed on the model of that of France, was presented, approved by Napoleon, by the grace of God and the constitution, emperor of the French, king of Italy, and protector of the confederation of the Rhine, and signed by him, and countersigned by his secretary of state, Maret, at Dresden, so early as the 22d of July. The city of Dantzig, with a territory of two leagues around it, was restored to her former independence, under the protection of his majesty the king of Prussia, and his majesty the king of Saxony, to be governed by the laws by which she was governed at the time when she ceased to be her ⚫wn mistress. For a communication between the kingdom of Saxony and the duchy of Warsaw, his majesty the king of Saxony was to have the free use of a military road through the states of his majesty the king of Prussia: this road, the number of troops to be allowed to pass at once, and the resting places with magazines, to be fixed by a particular agreement between the two sovereigns, under the mediation of France. Neither his majesty the king of Prussia, his majesty the king of Saxony, nor the city of Dantzig, were to oppose any obstacles whatever to the free naviga. tion of the Vistula, under the name of tolls, rights, or duties. In order, as far as possible, to establish a natural boundary between Russia

and the duchy of Warsaw, a certa territory, heretofore under the d minion of Prussia, to be for ev united to the empire of Russia.This territory added two hundre subjects to those of the Russian er pire. Their royal highnesses, t dukes of Saxe Cobourg, Oldenbur and Mecklenburgh Schwerin, we each of them to be restored to t complete and quiet possession their estates: but the ports in t duchies of Oldenburgh to remain the possession of French garriso till a definitive treaty should be sign between France and England; accomplishing which, the mediati of Russia was to be accepted, on t condition that this mediation sho be accepted by England in one mor after the ratification of the pres treaty. Until the ratification ofa de nitive treaty of peace between Fra and England, all the ports of Prus without exception, to be shut agai the English. His majesty the emp ror of all the Russias, acknowledg the confederation of the Rhine; majesty Joseph Napoleon, king Naples; his majesty Lewis Na leon, king of Holland; and his perial highness prince Jerome poleon, as king of Westphalia: kingdom to consist of the provin ceded by the king of Prussia on left bank of the Elbe, and ot states then in possession of his jesty the emperor Napoleon. T were the most generally impor articles in the treaties. There w others relating to private estates other property, more interest no doubt, to individuals. The t and manner in which the diffe stipulations in the treaties v

Meaning always the treaty between France and Russia, and that between Fri and Prussia: both in substance the saine.

to be carried into execution, were fixed by a special convention be. tween France and Prussia.

The Prussian fortresses in Silesia, that held out the longest against the besieging French, were Glatz and Silverberg. They capitulated at last about the end of the campaign, begun the 5th and ended on the 21st of June. Graudenz and Colberg, though vigorously besieged, still held out when a negotiation for peace was entered into at Tilsit. The siege of this last place was fatal to thousands of the French. If all the governors of Prussian fortresses, from the 14th of October 1806,to the 14th of June 1807, had been animated with the fidelity, and persevering courage of general Blucher, the issue of the war might have been very different. It was at this siege that colonel Schill, whose heroism, loyalty, and patriot. ism skone forth so conspicuously in the north of Germany in 1809, first attracted the attention and admira. tion of his countrymen. He was in the situation of a Prussian captain retired from service, when the misfortunes and dangers of his country called his courage and military skill into action. He was extremely successful, during the siege of Colberg, in harassing the French at the head of an irregular levy. It was this officer that took general Victor prisoner, on his way to Dantzig; when he also intercepted a treasure of 100,000 ducats belonging to the enemy. The king of Prussia, as a reward for his services, raised him to the rank of colonel, and gave him the command of a regiment. Neither the loss of so much and so fine territory, nor of revenue, nor of population, was so severe a wound, at least a wound so severely felt by the Prussian monarchy, as the

degrading conditions on which he was suffered to retain what remained; a military road across Silesia, for opening and maintaining a communication between the king of Saxony's German dominions, and his new duchy of Warsaw, and the shutting up of all the Prussian ports against England: those very ports through which he had just received arms, and other succours. The more atten.

tively one considers the pacification at Tilsit, the more he will perceive the Machiavelian policy and deeplaid designs of Buonaparte: and farther designs in the formation of that treaty than any yet seen or suspected, may, probably, be un. folded by time. The fine duchy of Silesia would not, it may be presumed, have been restored to Prussia, if, in the hands of the Prussians, it had not been calculated to serve as a constant source of hostility be tween the courts of Berlin and Vienna. The military high-way across Silesia, was in like manner calculated to foment jealousy and discord between the courts of Berlin and Dresden; while it was to be at the same time wholly under the media. tion, that is, the controul of France. The confederation of the Rhine strengthened by the creation of the new kingdom of Westphalia, was rendered too powerful to be shaken by any aggression on the part of Austria on the one hand, or of Russia on the other. And this same kingdom of Westphalia, which it should seem was intended to be pre-eminent among the other members of the confederation, was to receive fare ther accessions of territory, by the annexation of any other states that might be thought proper by his majesty the emperor Napoleon. And the emperor of all the Russias N2

engaged

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