Star.
London, England, 1815-07-13 00:00:00

MARSHAL NET AND BONAPARTE.

LETTER FROM VIE PRINCE OF MOSKWA SKY), TO lIIR
EXCELLENCY TIIE DUKE OP OTRANTO rouaig.)

N M. La Doc—The most false and defamatory reports have
been spreading for some days over the public mind, upon the
conduct which I have pursued during this short and unt'ortunate
campaign. The Journals have repeated these odious calumnies,
and appear to lead them credit. After having fought for 25 years
fur my country, after having abed my blood fur its glory and in-
dependence, an attempt is nude to accuse me .1
attempt is made to mark me out to the people, and the army
itself, as the author of the disaster it has just experiences,.
Pureed to break silence, while it is always painful to speak
of one's-self, and above a.l, to answer calumnies, I address myself
to you, Sir, as the Pleskleut of the Previsional Governateut, for
the purpo 41 of laying before you& faithful statement of the events
I have witnessed. On the lab of J use I received an order from
the Minister of War to repair to the Imperial presence. I had no
command, and no information upon the composition and
strength of the army. Neither the Emperor nor his Minister had
given me any previous hint, from which I could anticipate that I
should be employed in the present campaign.
" 1 was consequently taken by surpprise, without horses,
without accoutrements, and without money, and I was &Algal
to borrow the necessary eapences of my journey. Having ar-
rived on the 12th at Leon. on the 13th at Avesnes, and 011 the
14th at Beetunnot, I purchased in this last city two horses from
the Duke of 'Freels.), with which I on the 15th to
Charleroi, accompanied by my first Atr-ed de-Camp, the only
calker who attended me. I arrived at the moment when the
enemy, attacked by our troops, was reaming upon ileums and
Gossebes. _ _

" The Empetor ordered me Immediately to put myself at the
bead of the Ist mid 44 corps of infantry, commanded by Lieute-
nant-Generals d'art's: and Reale, of the division of light cavalry
of Lieutenant General Pine, of the division of light cavalry of the
Board under the command of Lieutenant-Generals Lefebvre Des-
na:sett*, and Cullom, and of two divisions of cavalry of the
Count Valmy, forming in all eight divisions of infantry, and four
of cavalry. With these troops, a part of which only I had as yet
under my immediate command, I pursued the comity, and forced
hint to evacuate Gokelies, Frames, Millet, and Hoppegnies.—
There they took up a position fur the night, with the eite ption
of the Ist corps, which was still at Marchicnnes, and which did
not join me till the folios:Avg day.
" On the 16th I received orders to attack the English, in their
position at Quatre Bras. We advanced towards the enemy with
an enthusiasm difficult to be described. Nothing resisted our im-
petuodty. The battle became general, and victory was no longer
doubtful, when, at the moment that I intended to order up the
Ist corps of infantry, which had been left by me In reserve at
Prunes, I learned that the Emperor bad disposed of tt without
advertising me of the circumstance, as well as of the division of
Girard of the rd corps, on puipose to direct them upon St.
Amend, and to strengthen his left wing, which was vigorously
engaged with the Prussians. The shock which this Intelligence
gave me confounded me. Having no longer under me more than
three divisions, instead of the eight upon which I calculated, I
was obliged to renouuce the hopes of victory; and in spite of all
my efforts, in spite of the intrepidity and devotion of my troops,
my utmost efforts after that could ouly maintain me in my posh.
don tilt the close oldie day. About eke o'clock the Ist corps
was sent me by We Emperor, to whom it bad been dm service.
Thus-2.1 or 44,000 men were, I may say, parylised, and were
Wly paraded during We whol of the battle from the right to the
left, am! the lc.r to the right, without firing a shut.
" It is itispo..tlble for me, Sir, rot,to arrest your attention for
a moment ttpwt these detalls, in order to bring before your view
all t'..e eunsequenceA of this false movement, and in general the
bad arrangements during the whole of the 44. By what fatality
for example, did the Emperor, instead of leading all hie farces
opiate Lord Wellington, who v. add have been attacked roam
water., and could not have resisted, comider this attack Moscow
dart' ? How did die Rammer, after the passage of the Sambre,
conceive it posable to light two battles so the same day 1 It was
to oppose forces double our's, mod to do what ratiltary men, who
were witnesses of it, can scarcely yet coospreitend.
" Instead of this lead be kit a coops sat observation to watch
the Proedans, and marched with his most powerful masks to sup-
I port me, the English army bad andenbeedly been destroyed De-
bate Quatro. Bras and Genappes 1 and cis postdets, which sek a-
rmed the two 'Allied armies, being seise M our power, would
bays opeoed tor the Eftwor an opportunity of advancing to the
right of the Proteins*, and mashing than in their turn. The
:poeml opinion in Frame, and especially in the army, way, that
the Eat/moue would have boot his wnole efforts to annihilate first
the English army ; and circumstances were favourable for the ac-
onisplishasent of such a project : but fate ordered otherwise.
" OnOut 17th, the anty marched so the direction of Mount
St. Jean.

"Oa the lath the battle began, at one o'clock; and though the
Width which details it makes no mention of me, it is not ne.
Ileac/try for me to mention that I was engaged in tnant
General Count Dram has Aunty spoken of c
hatt battle in the
tiptoe of Peers. His narration is aces: ate, with the exception of
some (parinaat fins which he has pissed over in silence, or of
which be was ignorant and which it is now my duty t J declare.
About stern o'clock in the evening, aftsr the :oast fright.ui car-1
aims which I have ever witnessed, Genera! Labetioyere came to
me with a message from the Emperor, that Marshal Grouchy
bad arrived on our right, and attacked the left of the English and
Prussians united. This General °dicer, landing along the liar,
=au intelligence among Abe 'Wised, whose courage and
remained unshaken, and who gave new proofs of them
at that moment, in spite of the fatigue which they experienced.
inunediately alter, what was my astonishment, 1 should rather
my indignation, hen I learnt, that so far front Marshal Grouchy
having arrived to million us, as the whale army had been assured,
between 40 and 50,000 Prussians attae)ted oor extreme right,
and forced it to retire !
" Whether the Eniperee wee deceived with reran to the time
when the Marshal could support him, ei whether the march of
the Matshal was retarded by the efforts oldie enemy longer than
was calculated upon. the fact is, that'at the moment when his ar-
rival was announced to us, he was only at Wane upon the Dyle,
'which to us was the same as if be had been one hundred leagues
from the field of batik.
" A abort time afterwards .1 saw fear regiments of the middle
guard, conducted by the Emperor, arriving. With these troops
he wished to renew the attack, and to penetrate the cameo( the
enemy. He ordered me to lead them en; Generals, Officers,
and soldiers all.disßlayed the intrepidity, but this body
of weeps was toe weekTO— • or aka' darn thellortee apposed
to it by the enemy, and it was am asproarr to ratimat tlmK
, hope which this stack heifer a few stolbeotaared..
Priam had been wry* with% by ar/ aide,
my Muse killed, and 101 l osier it. TM Mane men who
from this sanguinary Settle, will, I hope, do me the Jade* to say,
that they saw me on foot with loused L hand during the whale of
the renting, and that 1 only quitted &s um of carnage smog
the last, and at the grow When retreat could no leaser be pre .
vented: AtdmMiir time the Prussians condoned thdr offal.

,skie mamma% ied amlbly raked, tb't English ad-
vaned la tbeir tura. Them etemlned top vie fuer pweer of
tee Old Guard to protect the retreat. These bra►e
tbu tholes et the army, tweed esermalvely to metre, yielded
ground blot by toot ell overwhelmed by lumbers they were al-
most eudrely andildlated. From that lauseet a retrograde move.
mut was declared, and the army formed se' en but a contused
man.

4* There was noel beweeero total root, nor dm cry of reeve
yefferes, as has been calwasniousiy state.lin the Weida. As for
myself, constantly in the rear•goard, whiald:seallewed on foot,
baying all my bones killed, mourn out with , COMO" 111/Ith
contusions, and bath g no longer strength to march, I owe my
life to a Corporal, who supported me on the road, and did not
abandon me during the retreat. At eleven at night I found
LiestessatmOsnersi Letebtre Desnountes, and one of his altars
(Major Schmidt) had' the generosity to give me the only horse
that remained to him. In this manner I arrived of Marcbianne-
au-pont at four o'clock in the morning, alone, without any As
cars of my stall, ignorant of what had become of the Ihwilereo,
who before the end of the Kale bad entirely diseppeetedi
who I was allowed to believe! might be iltillf Or tikell
(Jenard Pan pbele (Amok, chid of the stalr of the
second corpse whom I tuund le this cm!, haring told me that the
Emperor Wile tat Lisarlerui, I was led to wpm, that his Naivety
was folog to put himself at the head of Mud* Grouchy% warps,
to War the hombre, and rethilato to the troops the mil.(

Ipilikteitillire Amon, mitwink tilts re . I wet to
Beaumont; but parties of cavalry following us too near, and
having already Inn the roads of Maubeuge and Philippe-
OM, 'beeline ei&M of the' total impossibility of aerating a
single soldier ou that point to oppose the progress of the victori-
ous enemy. I continued my march upon Manes, where I could
obtain no intelligence of what had become of the Emperor.
" In this state of matters, havbig no knowledge of his Majest;
nor of the Major-General, confusion increasing every moment,
and, with theexception of some fragments of regiments of tit
guard and of the line, every one follow/8g his own inclination,
determined immediately to go to Paris by St. Quentin, to disclus-
as quickly as possible the true state of affairs to the Minister c.
War, that he might send to the army some fresh troops, and aka
the measures which circumstances rendered necessary. At w
arrival at Bourget, three leagues from Paris, I learned that the
limperor had passed there at nine o'clock hi the morning.
" Such, M. le Duc, a history of this Warn:lout campaign.
" Now, I ask those who have survived this line and numerou.
army, how I can be accused of the disasters of which it has been the
victim, and of which your military moats furnish no example ?
have, it I. said, betrayed my country—l who, to serve it, ha,.
showed a zeal which I perhaps have carried to an extravagani
height; but this calumny is supported by no fact, by no einem
stance. But how can these odious repons,which spread with fright.
tul rapidity, be arrested ? if, in the researches which I could
mak.: 9n this subject, I did not fear almost as much to discover
as to be Ignorant of the troth, I would say, that they all teat
to convince ate that I have been unworthily deceived, loggia:
it is attempted to cover with the pretence of treachery the Sadie
and eltravagancies of this campaign—faults which havens* heal
avowed in the Bulletins that have appeared, and against width ;
in vain raised that voice of truth which I will yet came to re
sound in the House of Peers. I expect from the candour r'
your F.acetleney, and from your indulgence to me, that you wi..
cause this letter to be inserted in the Journal, and give It the
greaten possible publklty..—frenew to our Excellency, &e.
"Paris, June 26, LOIS. " Prioce or Me s wa."

BRUSSELS P4PERS,

GHENT. JULY T.
It was reported yesterday at Mons, and it appear
to be true, that a French Officer, commissioned by
his Majesty Louis XVII!. to summon the town c'
Conde to surrender, had been arrested, and that upo.
the glacis of the fortress, a thing without parallel in
the annals of the law of nations.

They write from Bruges. that on the 4th and &I.
of this month, there went through that place nume
roue detachments of English Guards, red and blue
coming from England. and repairing to Ghent.

BRUSSELS, JULY I.
The Allied Armiersow occupy all Lorraine.—
Jimurt, Nancy, Pont-a-bfaupon, have already sullen
dered. Toul attempted to make some resistance, be:
was soon forced to open its gates. Metz has beer
summoned, and it is thought that negociations are or
foot for the surrender of that important place. Tin
Commandant at Thionvillz has inundated all the en-
virons of the place, by means of the waters of the Mo-
selle. It is said that Charley& has been taken by
assault, by the Hessian troops, this place is in Cham-
pagne, near Memires.

BASLE, 11ILY 1.
The war is hardly begun, and it already mimes
a terrible character; the Allies advance, but witl.
great circumspection ; there has been a very serious
affair near Altkent, where a large corps of National
Guards was assembled. It was necessary to storm a
bauery, and much blood was spilt; a great many
villages in Alsace are on fire, the conilagration is seen
in many parts. Peasants taken up for being spics
are brought here in chains, litany wounded ye also
, brought to this town.