The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-10-05
NAPOLEON AND Ills GENERALS

In the Life of Sir William Napier !"
we find the following notes Of a remark
able conversation which the gallant Off
Ger had with Marshal Soult relative to
Napoleon and his generals:
"Grouchy," he said, "was not tral-
tor; he was unequal to his situation
that is to say, he could not command
more than few thousand men. cal.
culated (said SoulD the value of French
generals by the number of men they
were capable of commanding. name
nobody, but there were amongst them
men who were worth ten thousand men !,
who were worth fifteen thousand, twenty
thousand, thirty thousand, forty five
thousand; or even, in case of necessity,
sixty thousand The art of command
ing armies becomes more difficult as the
numbers increase. 1t is very different
to command eighty Thousand and to com
mand hundred thousand ~ Pass hun
dred thousand, and the human mind is
scarcely equal to the task.
Napoleon committed great error in
giving SO many men to-GrOuchy. lst
That General was not equal to the com
mand Cd Ten thousand men would
have been sufficient to impose on the
Prussians. But the Emperor seemed at
times to be changed there were mo
ments when his genius and activity
seemed as powerful and as fresh as ever
at other moments he seemed apathetic.
For example, he fought the battle of Wa
terloo without having himself examined
the enemy's position. He trusted to
General Haxos report. In former days,
he would have examined and re eexamined
it in person. Ney was the evil genius of
the campaign; he neglected his orders at
Quatre Bras. and again at Waterloo; he
attacked Wellington's position beyond la
Haye Sainte contrary to orders and too
soon but he is dead he was unfortu-
nate. | do not like to speak of his errors.
Hoche. .-Soult knew him well. II
was with him." he said, when he died ;,
he was poisoned by the Directory;
thought SO at the time; think so still )"
Napoleon -. Marshal! Was not Ma
poleon the greatest genius of all the men
France produced ?" '"Ah! bah! yes!
LnGfc Was ilO CUIIlpdiiaou. w as Uc
not good and kind man alsof" Here
Soalt raised his head with great eager
ness, and exclaimed in an emphatic man.
ner, "Napoleo" ma jamais perdu per-
sonne de son prOp'e mouremeAt--,iamais,
jamais, jamais! 1t was necessary, when
once you were known to him, to commit
faults, nay even crimes, over and owe
again, twenty, thirty times, before he
could bring himself even to punishr'
Joseph. AT the battle Of Ocana,
Joseph was at my side, and so meek, SO
quiet, l could have put him in my pocket.
After the battle was gained, and we
had supped, instead of conversing upon
the action and the war, he entered into
vehement allocution against the Empe-
ror, and told me that he had written to
him letter which he would show me.
II was menacing, urgent, insolent; and
his discourse went to sounding me upon
exciting the army to resist Napoleon. l
rose from my chair and addressed him
thus "Sire, you speak and act in such
manner that you give me the right to
treat you without reserve or ceremony
and, first, it is fortunate for you that. ]
choose TO speak TO you as a private per-
son and not as . marshal OF France.
What! you imagine that the sclat Of
such victory as Ocana renders ou SO