Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-01-24
MISCELLANY.
Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow.

TENDER, Napoleon SJOOu uPOh Oho h0lBhuo
overlooking Moscow. His army now for
got all their past sufferings, their many
months of weary marching, the ashes of
Smolensk. and the bloodshed of Borodino
Beneath them lay the wonderful city of
palaces and shrines, the capital of Holy
Russia, the object of their struggles, the
place where their leader intended to die
tate peace to the world and load them all
with plumber.
Napoleon waited for the usual deputa-
ton of smiling aldermen, but he waited
long and in vain. One hour succeeded the
other, but no aldermen of Moscow came
to offer him homage; it was all painfully
like Smolensk. The hours passed and
darkness came, and in this darkness there
went UP a bright light from amongst the
thousand spires. Napoleon remarked that
Moscow was town particularly well
adapted for Examinations. Nor was Ma
poleon single in this opinion. 1t had been
shared by the decamping Russian governor,
who had provided such an illumination as
even Napoleon might regard with interest.
Light succeeded light amongst the build
ings of Moscow, and from the heights of
the citadel Napoleon readily perceived that
these fires must be more than the result
of accident But for the moment no one
concerned himself with burning house
more or less; all were too busy selecting
good quarters. Moscow was famed at that
time for its excellent fire companies, and
water was abundant, so Napoleon went to
sleep in the palace of the Cars, confident
that he would be awakened by AleXanders
messenger pleading for peace.
But while he slept the wind blew high
and the flames reached out. The men
who were sent to order the fires arrested
came back with troubled faces. All the
local firemen had fed along with the rest,
and taken with them every fre-engine
For full week Moscow kept her gigan-
tic blaze, in which some IA, 900 houses were
destroyed Napoleon hoped from day to
day that Russia would sue for peace as
humbly as Prussia had done six years be-
fore; but days passed and weeks, and no.
thing came but the signing of the wind in
the lonesome forests round about. Five
precious weeks did Napoleon wait in Mos
COW before he finally decided upon his
Tret,hCd retreat. On October 10 he start
ed, 1851 one day later than the anniversary
of the Leipzig battle, which in 1918 sent
him once again on a backward march
Before leaving Moscow, however, he left
detailed orders for the burning down of
the remaining buildings, and particularly
for the destruction of the famous Krem-
lin. Moscow was ablaze who Ae entered
it, and he left t. .,azing afresh and more
savaqn', sLlll.
In Napoleons flames, however, there
persisted some 10000 helpless wounded
Russian prisoners, whose avenging spirits
lowered over the long line of retreating
French and gave them no peace. The
French left behind them city full of foul
otnt ~ &c oh, ,,ol
horses and men. Does it not seem like
poetic justice that ice and snow should be
reserved as the punishment melted out to
these barbarous house-burners?
They were forced to go back over the
same road by which they had come, and
thus after ten days from Moscow they
reached once more the neighborhood of
Borodino. No need of sign-boards to this
place. The vultures quarreling overhead,
the howl of the wolf in the forest-these
indicated many acres of unburied bodies
slaughtered in the cause of La Gloire !
Fifty-two days had passed since the battle,
yet the fields we're strewn with bodies of
horses and men, clothing, boots, saddleIy,
equipment of all kind. The effects were
depressing, and not less so the gaunt
creatures who hobbed out from the
churches and cabins of the way-side, beg
ging that they might not be left behind to
fall into the hands of marauding Cossacks.
These were the wounded, who had not
strength to join in the triumphal march
to Moscow. They were now helped on to
artillery caissons and provisions. carts,
burdening still further loads already too
heavy for the poor beasts of burden For
the French army which left Moscow was
very badly supplied with horses, thanks to
the unanimity with which the peasants
everywhere secreted their property.
The first snow fell on November 4, if
teen days after leaving Moscow. In two
days more the thermometer sank to below
the freezing point, and the snow was driv-
en- by cruel northeast wind, which in
Europe corresponds to the American biz
card from the northwest. But the cold
alone was a small matter, for Napoleon
had before this won battles in winter
weather. His men were retreating on
empty bellies; his horses were dying for
want of forage; not only were his troopers
without horses, the roads became Uttered
with pieces of artillery and baggage-carts
whose horses died in the traces Men.
too died where they lay down to rest, and
each encampment bore next day the looks
OF battlefield. 1t was a sad picture of
needless suffering, but the survivors bore
1t with comparative cheerfulness, for
Smolensk was not far off, and there they
were promised comfortable winter quar-
tiers, warm clothing, and plenty of food.
Napoleon reached Smoensk on the 9th
of November, having been three weeks
doing the 300 intervening miles, an aver
age rate of speed less than Is miles a day.
How was it possible, we ask, that man
who had conducted campaigns with sue
cess under every climatic condition be-
tween the Baltic and the Pyramids should
have shown such bad generalship in this
year 1872, even if we stop at Smolensk to
discuss the matter? What had become of
his half a million? How is it that he
could never get enough of his men togeth-
er to do the Russians serious harm? Where
was his formerly famous commissariat sys-
tenn? and why must his men crawl along
so slowly when in past years they had as
tonished Europe by their forced marchesP
Those who are familiar with the move
ment of large troop masses can alone ap-
preciate the interminable movement re-
quired to pass single army corps, of say
10000 men, past a given point. In times
OF parade, on broad plain and without
baggage, it goes rapidly enough; but on
single road, when men can march oply
four abreast, when long trains of ammu-
milton and provisions have to be added
to the equally tedious train of artil-
lery, commander may consider himself
fortunate if single army corps can pass
given point on single road between sun
rise and sunset of a winters day. But
the army of Napoleon was dragged out to