New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-11-17
Napo.eon,s Russian Campaign.

enough 10 lick blm-magnaniInouely cohciudeo
to let him alone. Q. Z. P. D., P. B.
Napoleon's Russian Campaign.
Many able pens have been employed upon
this subject, and the horrors of the disastrous
retreat from Moscow have been described by
writer's whose command of Language and vivid
imaginations enabled them to present the
terrible scenes with almost painful dstinctness.
But we have never met with more concise.
and at once graphic and comprehensive account
of the campaign than the following. taken from
book just published in New York, g Wilson's
Outlines of History" The subject derives some
interest from events of the present day:
During the reyerses to the French armsin Spain events
Of greater magnitude than those of the peninsuar war
occupying ths personal attention of Napoeon The
jealousy of Russia at his repeated encroachments in Gem
tral and Northern Europe has already been mentioned
moreover the commercial interests of Russia in common
with those the other Northern Powers had been greatly
injured the of Napoleon for destroying the
trade of England but the French Emperor refused to
between the cabinets Of St. Petersburg and Versailles led
to the assembling of vast armies both sides and the
of hostties in the early part Of the
of 1872 Napoleon had driven Sweden to enter into
| alliance with Russia and England; but he arrayed
around his standard the immense forces Of France Italy
Germany the Confederation of the Rhine, Poland and
| the two monarchies, Prussia and Austria
The Grand Army, assembled in Poland for the Rus
sian amounted to the immense aggregate of more
than 100000 of whom LOCO cavalry the whole
supported by 1900 pieces Nearly
Of all descriptions followed the army while the
whole number Of horses amounted to 1877 000 To oppose
this vast army the Russians had collected at the begin
ming of the contest nearly men: but as the war
carried into the interior their forces increased in
numbers until the armies on both sides nearly equal
On the oath of june 1872 Napoleon crossed the ME-
men at the head of the Grand Army and entered upon
his memorable Russian campaign. As the
superiority of his forces rendered hopeless for the Rus
slams to attempt any immediate they
retreated The wisdom Of this became appar
emit terrible tempest set in and the horses In the
French army perished by thousands from the combined
effects of incessant rain and scany forage The soldiers
sickened in great numbers and before single shot had
been fred 25OO0 sick and dying men flied the hospitals
10000 dead horses strewed the road to Wilma and 100
pieces of cannon were abandoned for the want OF the
| means of transport.
qusnty sgirmishing with the enemy, and driving them
before him until he arrived under the fortified walls of
| to oppose him. hundred and fifty cannon were
brought up to batter the walls but without effect for the
thickness of the ramparts deed the efforts Of the art
lery. But the French howzers set fire to houses
near the ramparts the flames spread with wonderful
pdity and during the night which followed the battle
urid light from the burning city cast the French
bvouac grouped dense for several miles in cir
cumtereuee At three in the morning solitary French
soldier scaled the wall and penetrated into the interior
but he found neither Inhabitants opponents The
work Of destruction had been completed by the voluntary
sacrifice of the inhabitants who had withdrawn with the
which mounted them. as the only trophy to the con-
queror.
The division of the army led by Napoleon followed the
Russians the road to Moscow engaging in frequent hui
indecsve encounters with the guard. When the
retreang forces had reached the small village of Borodno
their commander, Gen Kutuso resolved to risk battle
in the hope Of saving Moscow. On the evening of the
9th of September the two armies took their positions
facing each other-each numbering more than hundred
and thirty thousand menthe Russians having six hun
dred and forty pieces of and the French five hun
dred and ninety Napoleon sought to stimulate the
of Marengo, of jena and of Auserlitz while process
sion Of dgnfed clergy passed through the Russian ranks
oeseompe .le'! sue soiueis ane
invoking the aid of the God of battles to drive the inva
ders from the land. #4 ~
AT six o'clock on the morning of the 7th, gun, free
from the French lines announced the commencement
the battle: the of than Thousand cannon
the earth vast clouds of smoke shutting out tht
light of the sun arose awful sublmity the
two hundred and sixty thousand combatants led
in the gathering gloom by the light OF and mus
kerry engaged in the work of death The battle rage
with desoating fury until night put end to its horrors
The slaughter was immense. The loss on both sides wa
nearly equal amounting in the aggregate to ninety thou
sand in killed AID wounded The Russian position wa
eventually carried but neither side gained decisive vic
tory.
On the day after the battle the Russians retired per
feet order the great road to Moscow. Preparation
immediately made by inhabitants for abandonin
that city long revered the cradle of the empire
when on the 4th, Napoleon entered it, no deputaton
citizens awaited him to deprecate his hostility but th
dwellings of three hundred thousand slep
the Wilderness 1t seemed like city of the dead Ma
:
palace of the but the Russian authorities had de
termined that their beloved city should not afford she
, to the invaders At midnight, the 10TH vas
light to illuminate the most distant part of th
city fires broke out in all directions and Moscow soo
exhibited vast of flame agitated by the wind
Nineenths OF the city were consumed and Napoleon va
driven to geek temporary refuge fer his army in th
country; but afterwards returning to the Kremin wnc
escaped the ravages of the fire. he remained
until the 10th of October when all his proposals of peae
being rejected he was compelled to order retreat
The horrors OF that retreat which, during ftyye daJ
t,,tnr nf
almost continued battle exceeded any thing befo
known in the annals of The exasperated Russial
intercepted the retreating army wherever opportun
offered; and cloud of Cossacks. lowering ncessant
around the wearied columns gradually wore away the
numbers But the severties OF the Russian winter whit
set in the 9Th of November far more desruct
of life than the sword of the enemy The weather befo
mild suddenly changed to intense cold tha wind howl
of rghtuly through the forests swept the pa
with restess fury and the snow fell in thick aud
tinued showers confoundng a objects and eavit
the army to wander without landmarks through an i
desert Thousands of the soldiers, falling benumbed wi
cold and exhausted persisted mseraby in sight of tht
companions and the route of the guard of the
literally choked up by the icy mound of the dead.
their nightly bivouaes crowds of starving prepare
l- around their scanty fires miserable meal of rye mix
with water and horse flesh; but numbers .nes
ly awoke from the slumber that followed and the sites
4 nghtres marked by circles of dead bodies wi
their feet still resting the extingushed piles Clou
ravens issuing the forests hovered the dyi
90 remains Of the soldiers while troops famished do
a which had followed the army from Moscow howled in
and often fell their victims before life was
tinct. The ambition of Napoleon had led the pride a
lie chvary of Europe to perish amid the of Russi
e. winter he bitterly felt the taunt of the
"Coud the French find graves in their own land ID
- Napoleon had first thought Of remaining in win
w. quarters Smolensko; but the exhausted state of
@ magazines and the concentrating around him of v
forces Of the enemy which threatened to oyerwht
II him, convinced him that proracted stay was mposs
y and the 14th of November the retreat renew
d. Napoleon still in the midst of his faithful guards lead
the advance, and the heroic Ney bringing up the
mr. But the enemy harassed the at every step During
16th 18th and lSth in the battles of Krasnoi Napoleon
ten thousand killed twenty thousand taken prisoners
Us more than hundred pieces of fell into the ha
I'M Of the enemy The terrible passage of the Beresi
M which WAS purchased by the loss of sixteen thouss
prisoners and twenty thousand killed drowned
ne the stream completed the ruin Of the Grand Army
ICE Ali subordination ceased, and it with difcu
We that Marshal Ney could collect three thousand
foot the guard and protect the helpless
% ttude from the indafatigabs Cossacks and when
ot length the remaining ugtves reached the
Ter the Niemen the guard was reduced TO thirty
ed The veteran MARSHALL bearing musket and still fac
"a the enemy was the last of the Grand Army who left
so Russian territory Napoleon had already abandoned
ID remnant of his forces, and setting out in sledge
SS Paris he arrived there at midnight on the 18th OF
cember even the OF his terrible reverses
reached the capital 1t has been estimated that in
Inc famous Russian campaign, one hundrd and twenty
lp thousand men Of the army Of Napoleon persisted In
nd tie; that one hundred and thrtytwo thousand die
rs iatgne 9oagef sSa 9uJ t"' nun
m --=--=
OF The Pittsburg Dispatch Of the 7th states
ny the cholera was raging among the inmates of the
Id, House. and large number Of them had died