The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-03-20
Sir Robert Wilson'S Secret History of the
Russian Campaigu or 1912.

represented, ana u ne did not Ia vent, yet gave
credit to anything which might be said to the
disadvantage of NAPOLEON so readily, that he
obtained the Character of an inventor almost
~ ingenious as HoxKR or TAsso. NAPOLEON
was the great bugbear Of his existence, as long
as he WAS fulfilling his astonishing mission
He fought against him wherever ne appeared
in arms. In Egypt, In Poland, in Portugal,
in Spain, I'm Russia, in Germany, and in
France. In fact, he was one OF the most tho
rough fighting men that ever existed. lie
could not live ont of the smell of gunpoWder.
II was to him what the odor of sacrifice and
Frankincense was TO the gods of the heathen.
He went any distance, and underwent any
tolls. to get sniff at it. He was an officer
in the English army, but when the English
army was not fighting he got leave OF absence
and went somewhere where fighting was 60
ing on He was as fond of scribbling as he
was of fighting, ans, he could not touch a pen,
any more than pistol, without producing an
explosion He was a warm hearted, gener-
Gus, impuIsiye man, with strong affections
and bitter anmosities. He wrote under the
impulse Of his feelings, and there was nothing
he would not say, and believe, too, against
any man whom be hated.
Sir ROBERT was born in London, in 1877, and
seventeen, his inordnate love of lighting
ried him over 10 Holland, with the Duke of
York's army, in 1894, where, having no COM
mission, he entered as n volunteer. He socn
distinguished himself by q succession of dar-
ing exploits, in one CT which he was so fortu-
nate as to rescue the Emperor of Austria,
when he was on the point of being captured
by the French. His galIsntry attracted at
ho 81
In 1921, he was a captain, and during the next
year, served in Ireland, on the staff of Gen.
ST. JOHN. In 1899 he made the campaign of
Holland, and in 1901 he accompanied the ex-
petition of Sir RALPH ABERcEoMBrB to Egypt,
and was personally engaged III all the battles.
In 1902, having returned to England in conse-
quence Of the peace, he published his history
of the English expedition to Egypt, in the
course Of which he INDUCED his hatred of Bo
NAPARTE in series of gross and unfounded
sul was so much irritated that he made it
the subject of formal com plant to the
government Of Great Britain. Finding
that he could obtain redress, but that
on the contrary, the book was specially
patronized by royalty, on account of its ca
dummies with respect to himself, the first Con-
counter statement This book OF WILSON'S,
and the vile abuse of the English press, had
great influence, it was supposed, upon the
rupture of the treaty Of Amiens. WILSON, il
was said, was deceived by one RowoRrH,
printer, who assisted him in compiling his
history, and who produced an obscure PAM
phlet, published at Cons tantinopie, and OF no
sort of authority, in proof o. the Inonstrous
orir,a atfrihutad n {,appr1l RDCsp
1t was not in WILSON'S nature to examine
very strictly anything which tended to the
discredit of BoNAPARrE, and so he readily
adopted tho lies of the pamphlet. About the
same time he published work upon the or
ganization of the British army, in which he
denounced the practice of corporal punish
ment with all the vehemence peculiar to his
character, for he was no halfway man about
anything.
The war broke ont again in 1908, but rs the
English sent no army TO the continent, WIZ
SON, no doubt much to his discomfort, was
compelled 10 remain quiet until 1896, when he
went abroad with the embassy OF LORD HurcE-
ISsoN. In December he Joined the RusSian
army in Poland and was once more in ms
element. lie participated in all the terrible
battles of that terrible campaign, was present
ut PuItusk, Eylau, Fredland, and many other
less decisive actions, fought like lion in al
of them, and attracted the particular atten
ton and regard of the Emperor AtExANpRH
In 1911 he published narrative of this cam
paign, so full of exaggerations; misrepresen-
tations and errors of every description, that
il could not so down even in England. 1t was
handled numerically by the Edinburgh Re
rien, and the question was significantly
asked, s'if the Russians are such heroes and
beat the French continually on all occa-
sions, why did NAPOLEON obtain all the OBJ
iects of the war, and why did the Russians
always give way before him - III the mean
time, however, the peace of TILsIT destroyed
all Sir RoBERT's hopes of smelling any more
gunpowler in that part of Europe, and he
forthwith removed his quarters to the
Peninsula, where there was very
pretty prospect of q row. In 1905
he organized the Lusitanian legion, an
engaged in innumerable conflicts with
French detachments, but WAS finally ron ted
with almost the entire destruction of his force
at Banos. He contrived to reorganiZe II, but
it was never SO effective as it had been before
its defeat. In 1872 we find him at Constan .
tinople, whence he was sent on a secret mis-
sion to the Emperor ALEXANDER. This mis-
sion forms the subject of the posthumous
book, the title of which stands at the head of
this article. Its statements with regard TO
well known historical facts seem to have been
drawn from publications made since that
tilne-such as the works OF LsBAUME and SEGUR
and not to have been derived from his o,X,
observation. Ee was present at the battle of
Smolensko, but not at that of Borodino. He
was in most of the actions on the retreat =, and
went with the Russian army TO Germany
where he made the campaign of 1913. He was
engaged in all the battles Of that gigantic
ampagn-Lutzen, (where he distinguished
HIMSELF Bautzen, Wurehen, Dresden, Leip-
zig. He continued with the allies during the
campaign of 1914 in France, and was engaged
in all the battles.
After the return of NAPoIs oN from Elba,
and his defeat at Waterloo. Sir ROBERT VIII
SON won the applause OF all Europe, by as
sistinG LAFAYETTE TO escape, at his own i'm
minent personal risk. For this exploit, he
was reprimanded in general orders, by the
Duke of York, Commandment in Chief Of the
British army. In 1918, finding Europe at
peace, he went to South America, and took
service under BOLIVAR, but becoming dissat-
isf.ed, he returned to England, and was in
1918 returned to Parliament from the borough
OF Southwark. In the trial OF Queen CARO-
LINE, which took place in the autumn of 1920,
he distinguished himself by the zeal with
which he embraced the cause of that
unfortunate Princess. GEORGE ". never
forgaye him. At the funeral of the Queen,
in 1921, the popular sympathy was great,
and the demonstration 50 threatening, that
an outbreak appeared inevitable. Sir RoB-
sRr exerted himself with all his accus-
toned energy to prevent the effusion OF