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towards the envoy of the French republic (5th Auguft). The answer given by the directory was expreffive of their friendship to the Swedish nation, but enjoined the minifter of police in Paris to order that M. Renhaufen fhould inftantly quit the capital. The French en

voy was likewife ordered to leave the court of Stockholm; the directory confidering that the dignity of the French nation was committed in retaining any friendship for a court which was now become a dependant on a power in open hoftility with the republic.

CHA P.

X.

Arrival of General Wurmfer in Italy. Repulfe of the French. Siege of
Mantua raifed. The Pope takes Poffeffion of Ferrara. Defeat of the
Auftrian Army on the Mincio. Defection of the Polish Soldiers from the
Imperial Army. Conduct of the Milanefe during the Conte. The French
Army under Moreau in Poffeffion of the whole Circle of Suabia.
The Army
under Jourdan in Poffeffion of the Circle of Franconia. Peace concluded be-
tween the French Republic and the Princes of Wirtemberg and Baden.
Alliance offenfive and defenfive formed between the French Republic and
Spain. New Treaties between the French Republic and Prufia. Secret
Articles of thofe Treaties. Seizure of Nuremberg by the King of Prufia.
Further Projects of that Prince defeated by the Retreat of Jourdan's Army.
Caufes of that Retreat. Moreau advances into Bavaria. Attack on
Fourdan's Army. Rapid Retreat of this Army to the Banks of the Lorven
Rhine. Critical Situation of General Moreau. Advances to Munich, levies
Contributions on the Elector of Bavaria, and concludes an Armistice with
him. Project of Moreau to recall the Archduke from the Purfuit of Jourdan.
Failure of that Project. Retreat of Marcau from Bavaria. Victory gained
by him over the Auftrian Army. Surrounded by imminent Dangers. Cuts
his Way through the Pages of the Black Foreft. Repaffes the Rhine at
Brifac and Huningue. Reflections on the Benefits refulting to the French
from the Invafion of Germany. Conjectural Benefits refulting to the Austri-
Evacuation of Nuremberg by the King of Prujia. Reflections on the
Conduct of this Monarch. Defeat of the Austrians before Rovere to, and
March of the French Army to Trent. Defeat of Wurmfer at Bassano.
Wurmfer takes Refuge in Mantua.

ans.

THE deftruction or difperfion of

TH the imperial army in Italy

under Beaulieu, which had given to Buonaparte the means of conquering the whole of the northern part of that country, was now repaired by the arrival of a new army compofed of the flower of the German troops ferving on the Rhine, under the direction of general Wurmfer.

On his approach, the hopes of the Italian powers who had not made their definitive arrangements with the French republic, began to revive, as they cherished the expec, tation that he was about to become the deliverer of Italy from the Gallic voke.

The first fuccefs of the Austrie

ans fortified this illufion of the

Italian

Italian ftates; for, having affembled what remained of the forces under marshal Beaulieu at Trent and Roveredo, general Wurmfer, while he threatened an attack on the whole line of the French army, marched along the Adige with the whole body of his forces, and fuddenly, on the 29th of July, fell upon the poft of Salo, on the lake of Guarda, and that of Corona, between this lake and the river, which pofts covered the city of Mantua. The lofs of thefe important pofitions was immediately followed by the deliverance of Mantua, from the fiege of which place the French were driven in great diforder, and with a confiderable lofs of artillery and ftores. The Auftrians, emboldened by their fuccefs, after taking poffeffion of Salo, whofe garrifon withdrew to Pefchicru, inftead of Brefcia as they were ordered, feized on this latter place, together with the magazines of the republic, and their hofpitals, and thereby cut off the communication of the French army with Milan.

The pope, on the news of this fuccefs, fent his vice-legate to take poffeffion of Ferrara, which the French had now evacuated, notwithstanding the remonftrances of Azzara the Spanish ambaffador, who reprefented this ftep as a direct violation of the armiftice between his holiness and the republic. The vice-legate made his public entry without oppofition; but when he fubftituted the papal arms for those of the republic, the citizens of Ferrara immediately affembled, and replaced thofe of France.

The pofition of the French was extremely critical; for while the garrifon of Mantua was now at liberty to act with the Auftrians on

the one fide, Wurmfer was purfuing Buonaparte on the other. The French general, in danger of being furrounded, fuddenly with drew his forces from Verona and other parts on the Adige, and by a forced march threw himself, with the whole of his army, on the other fide of Mantua, and regained poffelon of Brefcia. He then brought together his forces between the lake of Guarda and Mantua, at Caftiglione, behind which village Wurmfer had drawn up his forces after paffing the Mincio. French had fucceeded in retaking their various pofis, and were now to decide the contest.

The battle was fought on the 15th of Auguft with great obftinacy and courage, and ended in the total defeat of the Auftrians, wo were compelled to repafs the Adige, leaving the French once more in poffeflion of the country round Mantua; the fiege of which plac, from the lofs of their heavy artillery, they were compelled to turn into a blockade. This victory is faid to have coft the Auftrians twenty thousand men; the number of prifoners was very great, owing to the prompt fubmiflion or rather defection of various divifions, who were oldiers origi nally of the Polith nation, and who feized the favourable, moment of conteft, or defeat, to abandon a fervice which was hoftile both to their principles and their feelings; and who afterwards formed a legion, under Polish officers, and were incorporated into the armies of the republic. During this engagement, which lafted feveral days, the inhabitants of Milan, by offering at the moment of danger to organize battalions, and march for the common defence, gave proofs of their attachment to the cause of

liberty,

liberty, fo much the more unequivocal, as the further defeat of the French, whofe retreat was at first cut off, would have rendered the Auftrians complete mafters of Lombardy. The fucceffes of the armies of the republic on the Rhine correfponded with thofe in Italy. The battle of Ettingen, as has been already obferved, determined prince Charles to retreat into Germany. Moreau, after taking pofleflion of Fribourg in the Brifgaw, and Stutgard (18th July), the capital of the duchy of Wirtemberg, crofled the Necker in purfuit of the divifion under prince Charles, and, after various skirmishes, in fome of which he met with obftinate refiftance, forced him to retreat across the Danube, making himfelf mafter of the whole of the circle of Suabia. Jourdan, in the mean while, marched along the Mein through Frankfort, Afchaffenburg, Wurtzburg, and Schweinfurt, each of which places furrendered at his fummous; and having pufhed the Auftrians under Wartenfleben across the RedDitz (August 1ft), at Bamberg, became poffeffed of the whole circle of Franconia, threatening at the fame time the territories of the German princes, and, among others, thofe of the elector of Saxony, which lay undefended on his left. A divifion of the army of the Rhine and Mofelle, under Ferino, had taken poffeffion of Conftance, and of the various fortreffes on the lake; fo that the republican army formed one immenfe chain acrofs the whole of this part of Germany, of which the left extended almoit to the frontiers of Bohemia, and the right to the Tyrolean mountains, feparating Bavaria from Italy.

In the mean time, the duke of Wirtemberg and the prince of Baden, whofe territories were in

poffeffion of the armies of the republic, fent their refpective ambaffadors to Paris to treat for peace with the directory. By thefe treaties the duke of Wirtemberg (17th of Auguft), engaged himself to withdraw from every alliance, of fenfive or defenfive, entered into by him against the French republic; to furnih in no wife any aid or affiftance, by loan, contingents, or ftores, either individually or as a member of the Germanic empire, to any power at war with France, and to renounce, in favour of the French republic, whatever poffeilions he held on the left of the Rhine. The treaty with the prince of Baden was concluded on the 31 of Auguft, on the fame conditions, together with certain ftipulations for the free navigation of the river, which had hitherto been fubjected, from various arbitrary regulations, to heavy exactions.

Thefe treaties were followed by other diplomatic arrangements of ft'll greater importance with the cabinet of Madrid. The treaty of peace concluded with that power on the 22d of July 1795 had been much blamed in France, on account of the conditions, which were thought in general to have been lefs favourable to the republic than it had a right to expect from the fuccefs of its arms. Prudent politicians, however, applauded this moderation on the part of France, which probably induced the Spanish court to liften to the propofils of the directory, and open negotiations for a nearer alliance. The coalition had long fince been fo disjointed and broken, that what remained, compared with the powers that had at firft united against France, scarcely deserved the same. It was not, however, to have been expected, that any of

thefe

thefe powers, juft efcaped from a ftruggle in which they had been in a manner compelled to throw themselves on the mercy of the enemy, would have readily mingled again in the conteft in any hape; but the influence of the republic was at this period as predominant in various cabinets of Europe, as its arms had been victorious against their refpective forces; and Pruffia and Spain did not fatisfy themselves by withdrawing their armies from their former allies, but entered into new and ftrict alliances with the French republic. While the emperor was daily lofing fome part of his poffeffions by the progrefs of the French arms, the king of Pruffia was employed in taking advantage of his reverfes by feizing on independent ftates, which had hitherto been fecure under the imperial protection, and the laws of the empire. The fuburbs of the city of Nuremberg were claimed by him, under fome obfolete title of upwards of two hundred years' date; and troops were fent by him to enforce the demand. The fuccefs of the French arms had haftened the negotiation carrying on between the court of Berlin and the republic, and as the humiliation of the house of Auftria was a primary confideration with this court, its friendfhip towards France kept pace with the victories gained over the imperial armies.

The conditions of the new treaty with Pruffia were not rendered public, as the fulfilment of them depended on circumftances. Spain openly declared her friendship for the French republic; and the conditions of an alliance offenfive and defenfive were arranged between the duke of Alcudia and M. Perignon, ambaffador of the French republic at the court of Spain, at

St. Ildefonfo on the 19th of Auguft, which were ratified on the 12th of September in the usual forms, by the French government. By this treaty, the contracting powers engaged to guarantee to each other their refpective poffeffions; but the moft prominent part of the treaty is the eighteenth article, in whigit is exprefly ftipulated, that as Eng. land is the only power against which Spain has caufe of complaint, the operations of the prefent alliance fhould be confined folely to that power. The fecrecy obferved with regard to the Pruffian treaty was not fo inviolable, as not to fuffer the knowledge of fome of its important articles to escape. Among thefe was the guarantee of their republic to the Dutch by the Pruffian government, to the perpetual exclufion of the ftadtholder; an article of which the Spanish cabinet thought it neceffary to be well affured, before it admitted Holland into the alliance which it was about to form with the republic of France.

Whatever might have been the projects of the king of Pruffia while the French armies were advancing victoriously into Germany, and thofe imputed to him were nothing lefs than the breaking up of the Germanic conftitution if he could not find the means of placing him. felf at its head, the fudden and unexpected reverfes of the French, who were now in the centre of Bavaria, and on the frontiers of Bohemia, compelled him to change his plan, or at least to fufpend the execution of it. The expulfion of one of thofe armies from Germany, and the memorable and well-conducted retreat of the other, form too interefting a topic, not only in the hiftory of the campaign, but alfo in that of the revolution,

to

to permit it to be paffed over with out noticing the causes which produced thofe reverfes, when every appearance promifed the approach ing annihilation of the Auftrian power, and the univerfal triumph of the French republic in that country, and of the principles on which it was founded.

During the whole courfe of the war, it was understood that the progrefs of liberty in Germany had been fo extenfive, and the love of it fo rivetted in the hearts of the people, that the French armies had only to penetrate through the Auftrian lines, and crofs the river, not to conquer enemies, but to embrace brethren in all the countries, bordering on the eaftern fide of the Rhine, where this infurrectionary spirit had moft obtained.

The only motive, it was afferted, which reftrained the inhabitants of the circle of Suabia from operating a revolution in their government, was the dread of the Auftrian forces, which had been in continued poffeffion of that country during the whole course of the war. The ir ruption of the French was therefore regarded by confiderable numbers of the inhabitants of that country, as the harbinger of liberty; and even thofe who felt no difpofition for change, obferved with pleasure the progress of the French arms, as it refcued them from the inconveniencies of Auftrian requifitions, and removed the theatre of war from their borders. But whatever might have been their expectations, the fyftem of revolutionizing was neither in the plan of the campaign, nor at that period in the difpofitions of the French government. Independent of other motives, a more urgent feeling than that of fraternization compelled them to adopt a line of conduct fo different from

every idea which had been entertained of the profeffors of republican principles, that the astonished and indignant Germans were driven to figh for their accustomed chains, and regret their deliverance from their Auftrian tyrants. The fober and fyftematic claims of their princes to carry on the war against France, though they had been felt by the people to be burdenfome, were not grievous; and though they expected that contributions would be raised by the French, they cherished the expectation that if republican generofity did not entirely exempt them from the tax, the mode of levying it would be fo managed, that the great mafs of contributions fhould fall on the rich and the cler gy. From the profeffions of refpect towards the people, and the predilection which they heard the French government paid to their rights, this expectation was not unreafonable.

The French commanders, or commiflaries, whofe care it ought principally to have been that the people under fuch circumstances fhould be as little aggrieved as poffible, were folicitous only that the fums demanded fhould be raised; and as the mode of levying was left to the will of the respective governments, the levies, as might be expected, were made in the ordinary mode of raifing taxes; fo that the noble and priest paid but flight portions of the contribution, and the people as ufual, were compelled to furnish almost the whole. To the refentment occafioned by this improvident conduct of the commanders in chief, muft be added the private depredations and plunder of the inferior officers, and foldiers, who, finding their fuperiors tranfgrefling with impunity, indulged the difpofition natural to military

men,

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