The National Register.
London, England, 1812-12-27 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

C. 27.

filease.e•
bead of Borisov with 3,001 men. On the •.::.1d lie was :orcei, Nei
obliged to evacuate this position.
Toe (fleetly/ then passed the Beresina, twitching upon Bobo ; the
division Lainbert formed the advanced pare.
The second corps, commanded by the Duke of ;Leggin, which was
at 'fa.:hcrein, had received orders to march upon Bonsow, to secure
w the army the passage of the Bereshia.
On the elth. the Duke of Reggio met the division, Lambert, loft
le toes train Basrieow. attacked and Ueicated it, topic 2000 prisetiers,
six panics of cannon, SJ) baggage waeg -ns of the aril ot Vent! nia,
and threw the enemy on the tight bank of the Beresina.
General Ilerkeim, oith the 4ti' cuirassiers, disting,uislied hin:ele
bs ;, See charge. The eociny could only secure his safety ha hviroae.
inieee, which is ::ore than SOO toi,es in length. Neverthetroa,
the cagily eccupie all the passages of the Rvesine ; this. liver is 40
;eke, c.: e, oiet had much ttoatine ice on it, bu; its banks are covered
with marshee 30.1 toises long, winch present great ohstaales in clearing
it. The enemy's General heel placed his four divisions at the Mt-
latent debauches, where he presumed the French army wuule attempt
to pass.
Ori the 26th, at break of day, the Emperor, after hay* dece:ved
the enemy by dia.:rent movements marte during the day of the ‘2sth.
marched upon the village of Studzeanea, and caused, in ep to of au
enemy's divi-ioa mei is its presence, two bridges to be thrown over
the neer. The bulee of Reggio passed, attackel the eneMy, and led
him, fightirg. two hours. The enemy retired upon the tote-du-pont
of Lorosow. General Legrand, an ctlicer et the first rate merit, was
badly. but not daneerouslv wounded.. During the whole oldie 26th
and 277 h the army passed.
Tae Puke of Belluno, commanding the 9th corps, -had received or-
ders to fAlew the movement ct the Duke of Reggio, to form the rear-
pare., and keep in check the R essian army tremetie Duna, which
followed Ilia). rorteunaux's division formed the rear-guard of this
corps.
On the 27th, at noon, the Duke of Belluno arrived with two divi-
sions at the bridge of Studzeanca.
Portatmeux's division set out at night from Borissow. A brigade
of this divison, which formed the rear-guard, and which was charged
with burning the bridge, marched at seven hi the evening, and arrived
between 10 and 11 o'clock ; it sought its first brigade and its General.
who ha l departed two hours betore, and which it had not met with in
its route.
Its researches were in vain; some uneasiness was then conceived.
MI we have been) elite to learn is, that the first brigade set out at five
o'clock, missed its way at six, went to • he right in place of prom ding
to the lett, and marched two or three lesgues in this direction ; that
during ti-.e night, and benumbed with cold, it rallied at seeing the
enemy's fires, which it mistook for these of the French army. Thus
surrounded, it was *lee.% This cruel mistake must haie caused us
a loss of 2,000 infantry, 300 cavalry, and three pieces of artillery. Re-
ports state, that the General of Division was not with his column,
and had marched alone.
All the army having passed on the morning of the 28th, the Duke
of Belluno, guarded the tete-du- pont upon the left bank ; the Duke
of Reggio, and behind him all the artily, was upon the tight bank of
the Burisow, having been evacbated, the armies of the lltina and Vol-
hvnia communicated : they planned an attack onahe /lth,• at break
of day. The Duke of Reggio caused the-Emperor to be informed
that he was attacked. Half an hour afterwards the Duke of Belluno
was on the left bank.. The Duke of Elchitign immediately followed
tee Duke of Reggio,ond the Duke of Treviso, the Duke of 'Achim-
gen. The battle became warm. . The. enemy evielting to turn our
light, General Dotnere, commanding the sth division, of cuirassier 5,
'tench made part of the 2d corps that rentaitu.d •n the Dura, ohicred
a charge of cavalry, by the 4th and le regiments of cuirassiers, at tile
moment when the legton of the Vistula was-engaged in the woods, to
pierce the centre of the enemy, who was defeated and put to the route,
ith the enemy's cavalry which came to the assistance of its infantry:
Sex thousand prisoners, two standards, and six pieces of.cannon, fell
"I°l his
ourl
side
ands.
0l the Duke of Belluno vigorausly charged the enemy,
:crated rim, took from 5 to 600 prisoners, and did riot sutler him to
it a,rcc wi!hin the reach of the cannon of the bridge. Gen. Fournier
a 'tie e charge of cavalry.
Lt :he battle of Beresina, the army of Volitynia suffered much. The
u 1;,: of Reggio was woulated, but his wound is not dangerous. He
exived a ball in Iris side.
Tile next day (the '.9th) we remained on the field of battle. We
rl to make our choice bet watin two roues—that to Minsk, and that
0 \Vilna. The road to Minsk let through tee middle of a forest
:el uncultivated marshes, where it was impossible for the army to
ebest itself.
On the contrary, the road to \Vilna led through a very fine country.
he army being without cavalry, deficieet of ammunition, and hoe-
ely fatigued by 50 days march, carrying in its train all the sick and
°ended of so many battles, stood greatly is need ut getting to its
agazines.
Ou the 30th, the head-quarters were at Plechnitsi ; on the Ist De-
ltber at Starke ; and un tire SI, at Mulur-LAsclino where the mine
ceived the first convoys front P
All the wounded oliieers and -soldiers, -and whatever els: =kJ

803

be of embarrassment, with the baggage, &c. were sent off to
V./dna. •
To say that the army stands in need of re-sstahlishing its discipline,
of refr eihing it self, of remounting its cavalry, completing it, :at; Ilery ,
and its materials, this is the result of the :Expose .yvilicir has just
been made. Its repose is of the first necessity. 'The materials and
'he horses are coming. in; General Boureier has already more than
13,00 J remount horses in the different derots.
The artillery has already repaired its losses. The Generals, Offi-
cers, anti soldters have suffitred greatly from want. . Numbers have
lost their baggage by the loss of their horses, snd s,'veral by the
ot the Cossacks' ambushes: The Cos3acks have taken
_numb.!rs of
isolated persons, of geographical engineers, who were taking positions,
ot wouncte. Officers, who were matching without precaution, .
preferring running tire risk to marching s;owly, and • goiilg with the
,oitvoy.
The reports of the General Officers co•rmanding the different
corps will make known what officers and soldiers have chiefly dis-
tinguished themselves, and the details of these memory-6l' events.
• In all rhese movements the Emperor has.bcen co:rtinualln marching
in the middle of his guards. The cavalry comnmnded by Marshal
Duke of Istria, and the infantry vominanded by -the Duke of
Dautzie.
His Majesty has been well satisfied with the fine spirit shown by,
his guards. They have always been ready to sliew themselves every
where that their presence was needful : but circumstances have al—
ways been such, that their appearance alone was sufficient, and that
they never were in a ca e which required them to charge.
The Prince of Neufchatel, th' Grand Marshal, the Grand Equerry,
Mid all the Aides-de-Camp and Military Officers of tire Household,
have always accompanied his Majesty.
Our cavalry was dismounted to such a degree, that it was neces_
sary to collect the Officers, who had still a horse remaining, in order
to form four companies of 150 men each.
The Generals there pz.-t formed the functions of Captains, and the
Colonels those of subalterns. This sacred squadron, commanded by
General Grouchy, and under the orders of the King of Naples, did
not lose siOt of the Emperor in all those moverneirts. The health
of his Majesty wis never better.

Paris, Dec. 18.
On the bth December, the Emperor having called together at his
head-quarters at Smorgony the Viceroy, the Prince of Neufchatel,
arid Marshals Dukes of Elehingcn, Dantzic, 'Treviso, the Prince of
Eckmuhl, and the Duke of Istria, acquainted them, that he had
nominated tin. King of Naples his Lieutenant-General to command
the army during the rigorous season.
His Majesty, in passing through Witna, was employed several
hours with tie Duke of Hassan°. His Majesty travelled incognito,
in a single sledge., with and under ete name of the Duke of Vicence.
He examined the I.etifications of Prague, surveyed Warsaw, and re.
stained there several hours unknown. .
Two hours before his departure he sent for Count Potocki, and the
Minister of Finance of tire Grand Duchy, with whom he had long
conference.
His Majesty arrived on the 14th, at one o'clock in the morning, at
Dresden, awl alighted at the house Of his Mi:rister, Count Serra.
He hid a long conference- with the King of Saxony, and imrnedi•
sliately afterwards pursued his journey, taking the road of Lcipzic
and Mentz.
M. De Montesquiou, Aid-de-Camp of the Prince of Neufchatel,•
dispatch.:d by the Emperor from his head-quaiters at Selitche, on
the 2d of December, with dispatches for the Empress, arrived .at
Paris last night.
\VILNA, Dec. 5 —The cavalry belonging to the corps of the Dukes
of Reggio and Belluno has not suinred in proportion-to that which
has arrived from Moscow : it was this cavalry that made: such
brilliant charges against Tchitchagoff's corps. Prince Schwan zen.
berg, and Marshal the Duke of Tarenturn, have also a very fine ca.
valry. . These different united corps still infer an imposing aspect.
Vre daily see reinforcements of mea as well as transports of aminu-
dition, and remount horses, arrive, destined tor the G!.and Army,
whish,thanks'o those succoursovillbe corn p letelylre-estahlis lied before
the end of w inter. Prut sia' Saxony, Mack lenberg,F ranee, aly,
Bavaria, and. the whole Confederation of the R hire, unit 7d in the
same political system,. present such a miss of resources of every
description, that feeble eff:rts only are requisite to collect all the
means necessary for decivve operations against the common enemy.
Besides, we have near us wherewith to supply our immediate wane ;
the magazines and a•senals upon the Niemen and Vistula are filled.
Poland is going to ne.lce all the kt,ffires her honour and salvati ri de-
mand. A Confederation al-IA.10,0X) of Europeans' has sent us its
legions, to free us from the yokeut the Mu,covites ; we are ourselves
1300,0000 t Poles : . how then doubt theissue of a contest in ohkh
the most just of causes is supportekttry euperineity of forces and talent
the most decided ? • • V
t EN N -.•
ier
• tilitiatch44
.ley Pence Schwarzen-
A \
berg, arrive Dec. G.— courd
here to day, stud: hi as brought that General's re:Norrs
the battles that have taken plasein tire env.rons ut Wolkowitie. •
. The head quarters of the PfiilCC were on the 224 at ,Dwer hetz.
little in the enga.:c. The Austrien auxiliary corps:has suffered very