The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-08-30 00:00:00

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DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE OF MONTEREAU

(From Alison's llistorg
evol of
ution.)Europe during the French
R
" Situated 20 leagues to the south of Paris, at the con- '
fluence of the Seine and the Yonne, the town of Montereau
presents one of the most agreeable objects in France to the
gaze of the traveller. The part which lies on the left bank
of the Yonne, which is the most considerable, is joined to
the right bank by a bridge of stone. Another bridge. famous
for having been the theatre of the murder of the Duke of
Burgundy, in 1812, unites the opposite banks of the Seine.
These two rivers, which unite at Montereau, with the nu-
merous barks which carry on their active navigation, give
the town a gay and joyous aspect, which is increased by the
smiling appearance of the vineyards and meadows which ad-
join it on the south and east, and the country houses and
villas which glitter around it in the sun. The traveller who
approaches from the side of Paris involuntarily halts on the
summit of the heights of &Irvine, which overhang the town
on the northern bank, to gaze at the lovely scene which lies
spread out like a map beneath his feet : he would do well to
remember that there, beside the little cross adjacent to the
Château, stood Napoleon during the last, and not the least
brilliant of his many victories. On the evening of the 18th
of February, 1814, the French troops assembled in imposing
masses on these heights, which completely commanded the
bridges and town beneath ; the artillery of the Guard was
placed on either side of a road near the cross, and the Em-
peror took his station in person amidst the guns, to direct
their fire, for the enemy still held the town. He had
strongly barricaded the bridges, and everything presaged a
bloody conflict.
" It was not, however, till late in the day, and after a se- I
vere conflict, that these important heights fell into the hands
of the French troops. Bianchi, fully sensible of their im-
portance, had, during the night, occupied them in force with
the troops of Wertemberg, supported by artillery ; and Vic-
tor, who in the morning commenced the attack on the posi-
tion, was repulsed, and his son-in-law, the brave General
Chateau, killed, when in person leading on the grenadiers
to the assault. Gerard, who was now directed to supersede
Victor in the command of his corps, next advanced to the
attack, and, undismayed by the fire of 40 pieces of artillery
which the- German batteries vomited upon him from the
heights of Surville, bravely and repeatedly led his troops to
the very mouth of the guns. But it was in vain ,• still the
undaunted cannoneers made good the post assigned to them,
and morn was far past, and evening at that inclement season
was fast approaching, while yet the heights were in the hinds
of the enemy. Then Napoleon came up with the artillery
and cavalry of the guard at the gallop, and desirous of pro-
fiting by the few hours of daylight which still remained, he
instantly brought forward 40 pieces of the reverse artillery,
and disposed his redoubtable Old Guard and Cuirassiers to
aid the renewed attack of Gerard with all their forces. 30,000
men, supported by 80 pieces of cannon, now marched fiercely
forward, under the very eye of the emperor, amidst cries of
' Vive l'Empereur .1' Despairing of maintaining his post,
which wss only defended by 12,000 men against an accumu-
Winn of forces, the Prince oi rr irteugutagurew lAlb 111GLI--011
towards the bnogc it, hi. rear ; yet at first in good order,
and presenting an undaunted front to the imperial cavalry,
which now thundered in close pursuit. But by degrees,
as they descended the southern and steeper face of the
heights towards the bridges, and got entangled in the hollow
way through which the road passes to them, they fell into
confusion ; and infantry, cavalry, and artillery, breaking
their array, rushed headlong to the only issue by which they
could hope for escape- from the bloody sabres of the Cuir-
assiers.
" The Prince Royal of Wurtemberg, however, at this
dreadful moment, exerted himself with equal skill and reso-
lution to stem the torrent • he was at one time nearly en-
veloped by the French cavalry on the bridge, fighting with his
own hand to gain time for the troops to cross over; and by
the vigour which he'displayed, and noble example which he
set, succeeded in enabling the greater part of them to
get in
safety to the other side, where they were received by Bianchi,
with his hitherto untouched Austrian divisions. Meanwhile,
Napoleon had established himself with the artillery of the
Guard on the now abandoned heights of Surville, and soon
60 pieces of cannon opened a dense and concentric discharge
on the dense masses which were crowding over the bridge.
Such was the eacerness of the Emperor to direct their fire,
that he resumed, after 20 years' cessation, his old occupation
as a gunner, and, as at the seige cf Toulon, in 1793, himself
levelled and pointed a cannon. Meanwhile, the Austrian
batteries below, on the opposite bank, replied with vigour to
the fire of the French pieces ; and the old cannoneers of the
Imperial Guard, hearing the whistle of the bullets above
their heads, besought the Emperor to retie from the front
' Courage,r my friends,' he
to a situation of less donger. i
replied, ' the bullet which is to kill me s nht yet cast !'
Protected by the fire of such
a Powerful artillery on the
heights above them, the mere discharges of which shivered
every pane in the windows in the neighbouring chateau of
Surville to pieces, the French Chasseurs pressed so rapidly
on the last columns of the 'Wurtembergers, that there was no
time to fire the trains with which the bridge was undermined ;
the pursuing horsemen crossed over, pell-mell, with the fugi-
tives, the division of Duhesme rapidly passed after them, and,
amidst the shouts of the inhabitants, drove the enemy en-
tirely out of Montereau; the allies retiring, after having de-
stroyed the bridge over the Yonne, which stopped the pur-
suit, in the direction of Sens.
" This bloody combat, which was one of the most obsti-
nately contested of the campaign, and inferior to none ever
directed by Napoleon in brilliancy and valour,
in
cosctatnhaeeFgureenacche
3,000 men in killed and wounded, principally
of the destructive fire of grape so long kept up
by the Wur-
temberge artillery from the
heights of Surville ; butthetlhoesys
of the enemy was as great in killed and wounded, and
had to lament, in addition, above 2,000 prisoners, six guns,
and four standards. 'My heart is relieved,' said Napoleon,
`on beholding the flight of the allies across the bridge. I
have saved the capital of my empire.'