The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-04 00:00:00

a TOWN and COUNTRY CIRCULATION, at ONE CHARGE.

GENERAL' PAJOL.

" The excitement occasioned here by the dtsmisss
of General Pajol," says our Paris let44r, " still con
tinues. Before handing to you ,a,translation of a bio•
graphical sketch of that distinguished offi2er, it ma.)
not be amiss I should mention that he i and ha:
been, one of the finest, men in Eurore ; full sii feet
high, gigantic in proportion, but so well made" as to
preient nothing extraordinary to 'a casual observer:
He is, 'moreover, remarkably handsome, though a very
fair man. His manners are amiable,'but he has proved
himself exceedingly susceptible, and no. stranger to
violent passion ; for example, v,.l;en it was proposed,
at the interview of the deputies from Charles X. with
M. Laffitte and the., chiefs of the popular party, on
the 28th of, Ju1y,,1830; that that Prince (Charles X.)
should.emitinue. to reign, Pajol, :who was present,
drew his sword, and swore he would immolate any
man mho should again utter such a proposition:- This
was felt to be no idle threat. The subject was there-.
fore dropped." ,
The following biographical sketch is. from :the
National
" Claude Pierre .Pajol was bOrn- at Besancon; 'on
the ad of February; 1775, of a family distinguished
in the profession of the law. He entered the military
service, at, an early age, .perforMed prodigies. of valour
during the campaigns of the Revolution, and advanced
from rank to .rank to that of Brigadier-General, which
he ottatned in 1805. He fought valiantly in Poland
during the, years 1806 and 1807. At the battle of
Heilsburg he supported With his-brigade the charge
of the enemy's entire body of cavalry, and gave the
French an opportunity to rally. After the battle of
Friedland he was the,first to pass the river at Fregel ;
he unceasingly harassed the enemy, with whom he,
entered Tilsit, received the first propositions for an
armistice, and forwarded them to INapoleon.
" The foiloWing year he commandel the entire line
of advanced posts on the frontier of Bohemia, and re-
ceived in this position in 1809 the declaration of war
from Austria, whose forces attacked him on all points.
He held them in check with 2,000 cavalry until
General IDavoust had asseintled his corps dormice.
After having passed the Dannbe at Ratisbon, he en-,
gaged the enemy 'at Peissing on the 20th of April, and
prevented thein'hy his intredidity from attacking
vouses 'left wing. On the 23d he contributed to the
success of Davoust at Eamuhl, where he had two
horses killed under him. He subsequently pursued
the enemy: to Ratisbon, and captured more than, 2,000
men. Napoleon, Who was a witness, oil his intrepidity,
created CoMnander! of the 14h:tr-I of Honour.
General Pa of pursued the enemy" into Bohernia,
but was reealled 'by the Emperor to join the grand
array,. which had just occupied Vienna. Having ar-
rived, at the island.of ,Lobau on the 4th of July he
pasted. the Danulae ; on the, sth, debouched on the
plains of Essfin_g, whence he. drove the enemy and took
a poSition on the 'esselbach. At the battle of Wags.
ram-he resisted all the effOrts tirade' by.the enemys
Cavalry to 'reach the "Danube, and defeated them.
On the follOWing day- Pajol routed_ all the enemy's
cavalry 'which were on the river Taya, and "made
many prisoners. lie was the first .to pass this river
with 2,400 cavalry in, presence_of the enemy's rear
guard, whicithe. drove back to. the heights .of Zriaim.
At the conclusion of this day an. ustrian Lieutenant-
General came to him' to propose terms, which he cora-
thunicated to Napoleon.
"Hostilities having ceased; General Pajol was ap.
pointed to take the command of the cavalry at Dant-
zie and on the line of the Vistula.. On the expedition
to Russia, in 1812, he formed the advanced guard of
Marshal Dayoupt',§.corps-d'armee, was the first to pass
the Niemen , the 24th of Jane, , took possession.:of
Kowas, and made prisoner a battalion of Russians.
He
!captured Trezimori„Wilna, Minsk, .and the, hns
mensentagazines of that city, Having been informed
that General Bragation's large park of artillery was
engaged' on difficult ground, he followed with 100
picked.. men. This expedition, which was crowned
with success, gained him the rank of General of '
Division, on the • 7th of August, 1812. Having
been :ordered to observe the fortress of. Bobruisk
on . the Beresina, General Pajol succeeded in
keeping the garrison in check, and likewise, by
deceiving the left wing of the Russian, army, he
! assisted Marshal Deroust in the capture of Mohilew.
ajol, ever at the heels of the Russians, took pog-
session of Dontbrowna Krasnoi, Orcha, and Rassasna,
' drove the enemy from the left bank of the Dwina, re-
lieved Witepsk captured Poriechi, and, after having
traversed, a frightful country, reached the grand army
on the eve of the battle of the 11loskwa. He there
resisted the combined efforts of the enemy, and saw
Generals :Montbrun, Caulaincourt, and his own aide-
de-camp, perish at his side. In fine, by taking in
flank the great Russian redoubt With his cavalry,
whilst the infantry attacked it in front, Pajol forced
the enemy to•retreat, „ Having,.occupied:Mojaisk on
the 9th, he made two Russian battalions prisoners,
had his right arm broken by a musket shot, and his
horse killed under him„ but nevertheless pursued the
enemy, to Moscow. He did not. wish to return with
the wounded,.but remained with the army until their
fatal retreat.• Napoleon sent for him to consult him,
when. he arrived at. the Bober, to ask for :information

respecting.,thel3eresina, which this General had par-
ticularly reconnoitred. He indicated Zambinan -as
the only point practicable, and it was •there that the
wreck of the glorious army traversed the river.
"Pajol, having recovered of his wounds, returned
to the grand army in ,1813, and fought at Lutzen,
Buntzlau,•and.ißautzen, and continued the campaign
until the armistice of the Elbe. His .good conduct
procured for him the good will of the inhabitants,
who gave him constant information relative to the
enemy's movements. .On the armistice being broken,
Pajol was attacked and obliged to give way. Having
collected all the troops in the. neighbourhood he re-
tired on -Dresden. sweeping away all who resisted
him, and. reached ;hat city without loss. The defence
of the approaches to that town was intrusted to him,
and it was from one of his pieces of artillery that the
ball was fired which took off General Moreau's legs.
During two days he resisted the attacks of the
Austro-Russians, who were endeavouring to penetrate
into Dresden, and gave Napoleon, timelo arrive with
his guard and. part 'of the grand army, with which he
gained the celebrated victory, and made 20,000 pri-
soners. Pajol, pursuing the enemy, made himself
master of Pirna, the defiles of Gezhout, protected
General Vandamme's retreat, and guarded the defiles
of Boheniia. At the head of the sth corps of cavalry,
of . which Napoleon had given him the command, he
resisted the' united' force of the enemy's cavalry at
Wachau. In a charge, a shell having exploded
against his horse's breast, Pajol was blown a consider-
able height into the air, had his left arm broken, and
his ribs fractured.
"He had his arm still a sling, when two months
afterwards he offered his services to the Emperor, who
intrusted to him the command of the army of obser-
vation of the Seine, of the Yonne, and .the Loine.
Having been obliged to follow the army, in his retreat
he destroyed the bridgeS, took up a position on Ypres,
and occupied Mellin. Napoleon having sent for him
to Guignes, the 15th of February, 1614, communi
cated‘to him his plan on Montereati, and ordered him
to arrive with his corps early in the morning of the
17th, to attack the enemy on the heights of Surene.
On the 16th, Pajol entered Cbatelet, after a hard
fought contest, and at six o'clock on the morning of
the 17th, defiling from the wood of Valence, whence
he had dislodged the enemy's advanced guard, forced
him to fill hack on his line of battle, which he attacked
with vigour, believing that Marshal Vidor would at-
tack the right flank at the same hour. The latter
not having appeared, Pajol having, to contend with
the entire army, lost nineteen pieces of artil-
lery out of twenty-four, together with a' number of his
men, and was about to retreat, when Bertrand, the
Grand Marshal of the Palace, galloped up and, desired
him to hold his ground, assuring him that ,General
Gerard, who had succeeded Marshal Victor,. had
arrived, and that his riflemen were already engaged.
General Pajol then collected all his forces, advanced
and charged the enemy who had abandoned his posi-
tion, on the high road to Montereau. Pajol came up
with the enemy's columns under a horrible fire, over-
threw it, and captured 5,000 men with all their artil-
lery, and pursued the remainder until night, which
alone saved them from total destruction. This charge,
one of the most brilliant in the annals of military ex-.
ploits, gained Pajol the rank of Grand Officei• of the
Legion of Honour, conferred upon him by Napoleon
on the field of battle, who embraced him and ob-
served, If all my Generals had served me like you,
the enemy would not now be in France.'. Towards
the end of this day, Pajol had his horse killed under
him, and his fall having opened his wounds he was
obliged to return to Paris for medical advice.
" After a few' days he heard that the Emperor had
abdicated. ,
" After the restoration he organized the King's four
regiments, which he commanded in 1814, and which
were afterwards disbanded. Oh Napoleon's return
in 1815, he sent him,-on the 21st of March, his sub-
mission, distributed the tricoloured, cockade to his
soldiers, took the command of the army of the Loire,
led it to Paris, and 'advised the Emperor to march upon
Brussels with the 'lB,OOO men composing it:-

"Having been appointed member of the Chamber of
Peers, created by Napoleon, received the command
of the first corps of cavalry,.. assed the Sambre on the
15th of June, took possession of Charleroi, was the
first to enter the town, and- fObk up a position the
same evening behind Fleurus, whence he dislodged
the Prussians. - On the 16th he attacked "the enemy,
although superior in uuintets, ..and having perceived,
on the 17th; that the enema 'had weakened his lines,
he charged their advanced posts, and . captured; ten
pieces of cannon, all their baggage, and a vast number
if prisoners. Those cannons the only ones captured
„luring this campaign, were sent to Napoleon, who
decorated Pajol with the grand cordon of the, Legion
of Honour., •

" On the ltith a June, after having captured Na-
mur, he followed the high road to Brussels, when he
heard , the terrible cannonade of Waterloo. He
marched in that direction, but did not arrive at the
Dyle until five in the evening, when he informed
Crrouehy of his arrival. The latter commanded him
to pass the Dyle at Limale, which he effected at nine
in the evening, but .too late, ,as he was informed in the
morning of.the 19th ;of the disaster a 'Waterloo, This
news did not discourage Pajol ; he imopOsed to attack
the enemy with the, 36,000 men which had not been
engaged, and to fall suddenly. on the
.left flank of the
Anglo-Prussian army. 'This- advice not 'having been
approved of, Pajol recrossed the Dyle, and' effected his
retreat to Paris in good, order, notwithstanding the
repeated-attacks of the enemy. He subsequently fol=
lowed the army behind the Loire; and remained with
it until it was disbanded, when he was placed on half-
pay the 7th of Augus', 1815.7