The North-Carolinian. [volume] (Fayetteville [N.C.]) 1839-1861, 1856-02-16
The French Imperial z;uard.


Times If it be correct, there will be hot work
in the Baltic by the first of next May.
The BODY which in France bears the name OF
Imperial Guard was called into existence more
than fftv wears ago 1t first surrounded Il
Republican Consul, but it not until the
founder called himself Emperor, aud meditated
the conquest Of Europe, that it assumed its
great proportions, aud the matchless discipline
which has given it an enduring fame. In the
great battles of the later Empire the Guard was
always conspicuous; the enemies of France
learnt skill and stubbornness from defeat and
grew every day more ma teh oE the eons!:'erer,
the services of the Guard were more and more
Il sad necessity. Both Sovereign and people
looked upon them with houndIess favor and
admiration. 1t was the Guard to which Ma
poleoH babe farewell at Fontainebeau and the
feeling requitcd by the unHinching de,o-
ton of Waterloo. With this last catastrophe
its days of glory closed, and during Il genera
ton it was unknown to France The present
Emperor had not long been in power before he
carried out a desi gu probably long before
formed. An Imperial Guard was a natural
project to a Bouaparte restored to the throne.
The memory of such force was deeply seated
i'll the hearts of the people. If reconstructed it
would equally invite the fidelity of the army
The revived organization was even more efficient
than forty years back The force was never a
mere body guard but it is a complete army
OF tried soldiers, light infantry, and field TAIN
To judge of the Guard by the regiments
winch bear corresponding name i'll Eng and
would give most incorrect notion The Off
GERS have almost always served with distinction
III the Line, while the privates are similarly
draughted from other reg ments, to avoid
the mtermlNture Of young and untried soldiers.
The Guard, as reconstructed, is fitted to be the
great nucleus of French armies the reserve for
the day OF danger, the chief defence in any long
aud hardly-contested conflict. But the French
Emperor had no wish that his newly formed
force should rest at home while less favored
troops were ncurrng dangers and earning fame
lnathc EuSt 1t was necessary to the honor Of
the empire that the Guard should in
scribe Oh its flags names worthy to be rcincni-
hcred. Accordingly, in the spring Of the
present year nearly 1000 landed in the Bos-
phorus. Under commander who had shared
III the wars of the first Napoleon they cncampcd
with the reserve Of the French army. \ few
weeks after they were ordered to the Crmea
and at the capture of the Mamclon they proved
that the old spirit was alive which had led to
Is years of glory. On the 18th Of June and
Sth OF September the same valor Was shown in
defeat and victory. These brave men now re-
turn to their own country after absence
short, if mere time be taken into account, but
Of long duration if measured by the crowd of
brilliant actions which have marked the year
that has closed. 1t would be unfair, however,
to attribute the uuwontcd enthusiasm which the
Parisans have shown merely to the fact that it
Was the Guard who entered the city. Several
toilworn and shattered regiments of the Line
were there-men who had bivouacked at Old
Fort amid rain and tempest, who had fought
at the y na and for eleven months had been
decinated in the trenches before Sehastopol.
The respect and welcome Of the people were
equally given to these, but the presence of the
Imperial Guard gave higher tone to the
solennity, inasmnch as it called upon the chief
of the State to address i'll pcsron the troops
which are especially his own.
We are not among those who endcavor to
extract meaning from every word that falls
from a Potentatc or his Ministers. 1t is per-
haps, impossible for the French Emperor to
utter a sentence so guarded that the political
world will not see in it peace a speech
addressed to veteran soldiers newly landed on
their own soil, amid the piaudits of thousands
must be animated, and IN a certain degree war
like; yet NAL kin" allowance for the OCCASION
the Emperors address certainly gives signs of
determination to carry out the war which
has been begun The Guard is recalled, that
other regiments may have their turn of service
and its rewards ''The country" ne SAYS,
(which maintains 900 600 soldiers has an inter
est in maintaining in France numerous and
experienced army, ready to march wherever
occasion may require" lie tells them to pre-
serve carefully the habits of war, and, while
resting for a time from hardships, to be yet in
readiness to respond to his appeal. This is
certainly not the tone Of who cOntenl-
plates the ending Of an incomplete by
ineffective peace. 1t rather shows conviction
that the contest is more ar,luous than was at
first believed; that, though success is sure, it is
still far Off and must be sought by exer-
tions ever Il wider field.
No nation Of Central Europe need fear the
that the French Guard are to
the Allied Powers would gladly sec the CO.
operation of Prussia and Austria is so great a
cause, yet their neutrality is not likely to be
interrupted SO long it is reality 1t is
against the common foe of Europe that the
newly raised lcvies of the French empire will be
directed it is on the frontier of the Gar that
the storm will break which is presagcd by the
short address of the French Sovereign
The plan OF the next campaign is not decid-
cd, nor can III its extent be vet forescen. 1t
must be remembered how the contest in the
Cr'nea grew from moderate beginnings until it
became the most gigantic of modern times
But we are able at least to form some imaye of
the war of 1856
1t will be carried on with equal energy in
two seas and will threaten the enemv's i'll
acquired provinces at both eNtremities of the
Empire 1t is probable that the struggle in
the Baltic will not fall short Of that in the
South either in regard to the magnitude the
results. The land forces may not reach the
numbers which are now conyrcgatcd in the
shortly dispatch to the northern water Will ex-
II, Ifan