MEMOIRS

OF

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

CHAPTER I.

Entrance of the French Army into Naples-Siege of GaetaCauses of the Disaffection of the Neapolitans towards the French-Landing of the British Troops under General Stuart, in Calabria-Affair near St. Euphemia, called the Battle of Maida, on the 4th of July-Repulse of the French-March of the English towards Maida on the 8th-Swiss Soldiers in the French Pay mistaken for English-Departure of General Stuart and Sir Sidney Smith-Causes of the War between France and Prussia-The Kings of Sweden and PrussiaHostile Disposition of Russia towards Napoleon-Louis Bonaparte King of Holland-Confederation of the Rhine-Napoleon leares Paris to head his Army-The Prussian Ultimatum -The Prussians out-manœuvred Affair near Saalfeld-Battle of Jena-Blameable Conduct of Bernadotte-Napoleon at Weimar-Anecdotes-Slaughter of the Prussians near Halle-The French enter Berlin-The Duke and Dutchess of WeimarResults of the Battle of Jena-Napoleon at Berlin-Occupation of Humburgh, Bremen, and the Hanse Towns-The Berlin Decree-Recapitulation of the Successes of the Campaign-Napoleon's Arrival at Posen and Warsaw-Battle of Pultusk.

BETWEEN the 12th and 15th of February, this year, the French army made its entrance into the kingdom of Naples: the Russians, who came to the assistance of the queen, were under General Lascy; -when, to aggravate the violation of the treaty concluded with Napoleon only two months before,

the court of the Two Sicilies confided the city of Naples to a garrison of eighteen hundred English. Upon this the French ambassador took down the arms of France from the gates of his palace, and, demanding his passports, retired to Rome. But the Russians did not await the attack of the French, as an order arrived from the emperor Alexander for them to re-embark without delay, and to remain in the Ionian Islands till further orders.

Gaeta, added to its natural strength, was commanded by the prince of Hesse Philipstadt, an old soldier, a German by birth, and strongly attached to the Bourbons. The siege was consequently protracted a considerable time. The surrender of Gaeta, on the 17th of July, set at liberty sixteen thousand of the besieging army.

The zeal, real or pretended, with which the Neapolitans received the new king imposed upon them by Napoleon, soon began to cool in a very sensible degree. The principal places at court were given to the French; the imposts had not been lowered; arbitrary contributions were imposed; these, with the luxury of the new court, the affluence of Naples, and a crowd of French and Italians, who came there to mend their fortunes, were the causes of discontent. The Calabrians bore the French yoke with the greatest degree of impatience, and were evidently preparing for an insurrection. Accordingly, in a council held at Palermo, at which the English commandants by sea and land were present, a descent in Calabria was resolved upon.

On the 1st of July, 1806, a fleet from Palermo made sail towards Stromboli, and afterwards disembarked troops opposite St. Euphemia. These consisted of six thousand British, and three thousand

Neapolitans, who were to be joined by four thousand insurgents. This army was commanded by the English general Stuart. General Reynier left in Calabria by King Joseph to govern that province, hastened, on the first arrival of this intelligence, to collect all the disposable troops that could be spared. The division under his orders was composed of the first and twenty-third regiments of light infantry, the forty-second of the line, two battalions of the first Swiss regiment, the ninth of the horse chasseurs, and a battery of horse artillery. On the 3d of July, the French advanced guard was in presence of the Anglo-Neapolitan army in bivouac at the foot of the hill upon which St. Euphemia is built; its left was supported by this little town, and its right by the sea. French division passed the night of the 3d of July in the woods of Fundaco del Fico.

The

General Stuart formed the order of battle in a parallel line with the shore; his right was supported by the mouth of the river l'Amato. General Reynier then gave orders to General Compere, who commanded the advanced guard, to cross the Amato under the protection of some companies of voltigeurs, who cleared the little wood and the bushes upon the right bank; but the numerous tiralleurs, that the enemy sent towards this point, repulsed the French voltigeurs before General Compere could form his brigade. The whole of the English line moving forward at this instant, they engaged in a cannonade and a warm discharge of musketry, which did considerable execution in the French brigade, still suffering by the disorder occasioned by a precipitate formation. In a few minutes they had from six to seven hundred men killed and

wounded. General Compere, rallying his troops, had an arm broken by a cannon ball. Unfortunately, the greatest part of the division was still at too great a distance to remedy this first check, and the retrograde movement of the advanced guard threw the rest of the troops passing the Amato into confusion. The twenty-third regiment of light infantry alone had the firmness to arrest the progress of the enemy, and cover the retreat of the division to Catanzaro, through the valley of the Amato. This affair, in the English annals, was called the battle of Maida.

The English, being arrested in their progress by the intrepidity of the twenty-third under Colonel Abbé, did not persist in following the French, because they thought their victory would be improved by the exasperation of the Calabrian insurgents. But the French had still a sufficient force to cope with the latter, though twelve thousand of them had blocked up General Reynier in Catanzaro for some time.

General Stuart, after embarking his wounded and prisoners, began his march to Maida on the 8th of July.

The forts of Scylla and Reggio were soon after surrendered to the English. Strongoli, having refused to furnish General Reynier with provisions, was carried by assault, and pillaged and burnt.

Amongst the troops under General Reynier were two Swiss battalions; from their red uniforms, the insurgents understood them to be English. After Reynier had arrived at Cassano, where he had formed an intrenched camp, these Swiss were one night sent out, and ordered to make a considerable detour for the purpose of deceiving the insur