Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez. Vol II

by Sir John Ross

CHAPTER XI.

1809-1810.

Sir James's third year in the command of the Baltic Fleet.—Proceeds to Gothenburg and Havre.—Correspondence with Mr. Foster, Admiral Krusenstjerna, and others.—Swedes shut their ports.—Death of the Crown Prince.—Murder of Count Fersen.—Restrictions of the Swedish commerce.—Sir James's judicious conduct in that and in several disputes.—Election of Bernadotte, and his entry into Sweden.—Correspondence on the subject.—Sir James returns to England, and receives the approbation of the government and the nation.

We must now revert to the state of affairs in the central continent of Europe, on which the fate of Sweden so materially depended. Buonaparte, having withdrawn the greatest part of his troops from Spain, had planted his eagles at Vienna, and, after the battles of Aspern and Wagram, had obliged the Emperor of Austria to sue for peace, which was concluded on the 14th October 1809; by this the whole sea-coast had been ceded to France, and Prussia was recompensed for her neutrality by the cession of a part of Galicia; while Joseph Buonaparte was declared King of Spain, and acknowledged as such by the Emperor of Austria, who consented to the union of his daughter, the Arch-duchess Maria Louisa, with Buonaparte, as soon as he had divorced his wife Josephine, an event which took place in December.

Meanwhile, the ruler of France had proclaimed himself mediator of Switzerland, and declared that every port in Europe should be shut against British commerce. Early in 1810 he began to unfold his designs upon Holland, which, he gradually occupied and annexed to France, obliging his brother Louis to resign his throne. He subsequently took possession of the mouths of the Scheldt, the Meuse, the Rhine, the Weser, and the Elbe. Rome, Holland, Valais, and the Hanse Towns, with a population of thirty-eight millions, were added to France; while Hanover was given to the kingdom of Westphalia.

That the politics of Sweden should have undergone a change in consequence of the extraordinary success of Buonaparte, can hardly excite surprise; but another untoward circumstance took place, which seemed to militate against a continuation of an alliance with Great Britain, namely, the untimely death of the Danish prince, who had been unanimously elected to succeed Charles XIII, and who, having acted in Sweden as Crown Prince since the 21st of January 1810, had endeared himself to the nation as well by his amiable disposition and the admirable regulations he had made, as by his conduct in Norway, while opposed to the Swedes, particularly in forbearing to attack them from Norway, where he commanded a Danish army during the revolution. It had been falsely and unfortunately circulated that he had been poisoned by Count Fersen, then Riks-Marskall (prime minister) of Sweden. On the arrival of the remains of the deceased prince at Stockholm, the Count fell a victim to the indignation of the lawless and infuriated populace. The following is an authentic account of that lamentable event.

21st June 1810.

All Stockholm was in an uproar! At noon, the corpse of the lamented Crown Prince entered the city by Horngatan, escorted by only a company of dragoons, and preceded by several members of the court, and finally by Riks-Marskall Fersen, Fabian Fersen, and Doctor Rossi. On entering the street, the mob began to insult the Riks-Marskall, and soon after to throw stones and other missiles. When the windows of his carriage were broken, the mob gave a loud hurrah. The people now followed the carriage into Nygatan, opposite the inn called Bergstratska Husset, into which Count Fersen jumped, already covered with blood, but followed by the infuriated mob, who first tore off his order riband and threw it into the street; then, having stripped him naked, they threw him out of the window into the street. Here the mob proceeded to beat him with clubs, and trample on him, until death put an end to his sufferings. In the mean time, General-adjutant Silversparre and Aldercreuts rode through the street, and in vain talked to the people; they had no troops, and the assistance came too late, being only in time to preserve the lifeless body being torn to pieces.

The fury of the mob being now satiated, and the soldiers having fired a few shots among them, they began to disperse, but not before many were killed and wounded, and it is believed that the remainder of the suite which attended the lamented Prince at his death would have shared the same fate as Count Fersen, had the military not arrived in time to save them. The body of Count Fersen was with difficulty carried off on a sledge. In the night the windows of Count Ugglas and several others were broken, and it was not until some days that tranquillity was restored.

Buonaparte had now sent peremptory orders to enforce his commands that the port of Sweden should be shut against British commerce, but it was evident that these orders could never be carried into effect, unless they had a superiority by sea. The principal ports might, indeed, be nominally shut, but Sweden could neither prevent the British navy from entering her numerous unfortified harbours by her own army, or support troops sufficient for the purpose of defending them. It was therefore only necessary to make a show of compliance, in order to satisfy the despotic ruler of France, who had absurdly declared Great Britain to be in a state of blockade.