A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon / For the Use of Schools and Colleges

by John Lord

For his distinguished services and talents, he was appointed second in command, by the National Convention, when that body was threatened and overawed by the rebellious National Guard. He saved the state and defended the constitutional authorities, for which service he was appointed second in command of the great army of the interior, and then general-in-chief in the place of Barras, who found his new office as director incompatible with the duties of a general.

The other directors who now enjoyed the supreme command were Reubel, Laréveillère-Lépeaux, Le Tourneur, and Carnot. Sièyes, a man of great genius, had been elected, but had declined. Among these five men, Carnot was the only man of genius, and it was through his exertions that France, under the Committee of Public Safety, had been saved from the torrent of invasion. But Barras, though inferior to Carnot in genius, had even greater influence, and it was through his favor that Bonaparte received his appointments. That a young man of twenty-five should have the command of the army of the interior, is as remarkable as the victories which subsequently showed that his elevation was not the work of chance, but of a providential hand.

The acknowledged favorite of Barras was a young widow, by birth a Creole of the West Indies, whose husband, a general in the army of the Rhine, had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror. Her name was Josephine Beauharnois; and, as a woman of sense, of warm affections, and of rare accomplishments, she won the heart of Bonaparte, and was married to him, March 9, 1796. Her dowry was the command of the army of Italy, which, through her influence, the young general received.

Then commenced his brilliant military career. United with Josephine, whom he loved, he rose in rank and power.

The army which Bonaparte commanded was composed of forty-two thousand men, while the forces of the Italian states numbered one hundred and sixty thousand, and could with ease be increased to three hundred thousand. But Italian soldiers had never been able to contend with either Austrian or French, and Bonaparte felt sure of victory. His soldiers were young men, inured to danger and toil; and among his officers were Berthier, Massena, Marmont, Augereau, Serrurier, Joubert, Lannes, and Murat. They were not then all generals, but they became afterwards marshals of France.

The campaign of 1796, in The Italian Campaign. Italy, was successful beyond precedent in the history of war; and the battles of Montenotte, Millesimo, and Dego, the passage of the bridge of Lodi, the siege of Mantua, and the victories at Castiglione, Caldiero, Arcola, Rivoli, and Mantua, extended the fame of Bonaparte throughout the world. The Austrian armies were every where defeated, and Italy was subjected to the rule of the French. "With the French invasion commenced tyranny under the name of liberty, rapine under the name of generosity, the stripping of churches, the robbing of hospitals, the levelling of the palaces of the great, and the destruction of the cottages of the poor; all that military license has of most terrible, all that despotic authority has of most oppressive."

While Bonaparte was subduing Italy, the French under Moreau were contending, on the Rhine, with the Austrians under the Archduke Charles. Several great battles were fought, and masterly retreats were made, but without decisive results.

It is surprising that England, France, and the other contending powers, were able at this time to commence the contest, much more so to continue it for more than twenty years. The French Directory, on its accession to power, found the finances in a state of inextricable confusion. Assignats had fallen to almost nothing, and taxes were collected with such difficulty, that there were arrears to the amount of fifteen hundred millions of francs. The armies were destitute and ill paid, the artillery without horses, and the infantry depressed by suffering and defeat. In England, the government of Pitt was violently assailed for carrying on a war against a country which sought simply to revolutionize her own institutions, and which all the armies of Europe had thus far failed to subdue. Mr. Fox, and others in the opposition, urged the folly of continuing a contest which had already added one hundred millions of pounds to the national debt, and at a time when French armies were preparing to invade Italy; but Pitt argued that the French must be nearly exhausted by their great exertions, and would soon be unable to continue the warfare. The nation, generally, took this latter view of the case, and parliament voted immense supplies.

The year 1797 opened gloomily for England. The French had gained immense successes. Bonaparte had subdued Italy, Hoche had suppressed the rebellion in La Vendée, Austria was preparing to defend her last barriers in the passes of the Alps, Holland was virtually incorporated with Republican France, Spain had also joined its forces, and the whole continent was arrayed against Great Britain. England had interfered in a contest in which she was not concerned, and was forced to reap the penalty. The funds fell from ninety-eight to fifty-one, and petitions for a change of ministers were sent to the king from almost every city of note in the kingdom. The Bank of England stopped payment in specie, and the country was overburdened by taxation. Nevertheless, parliament voted new supplies, and made immense preparations, especially for the increase of the navy. One hundred and twenty-four ships of the line, one hundred and eighty frigates, and one hundred and eighty-four sloops, were put in commission, and sent to the various quarters of the globe.