History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 6

by William Francis Patrick Napier

The prince frightened at these symptoms of reaction desired lord Dalhousie to bring his troops into Bordeaux to awe the Napoleonists, and meanwhile each party strove to outvie the other in idle rumours and falsehoods relating to the emperor. Victories and defeats were invented or exaggerated, Napoleon was dead from illness, had committed suicide, was poisoned, stabbed; and all these things were related as certain with most circumstantial details. Meanwhile Wellington, writing to the duke of Angoulême, denied the veracity of the mayor’s proclamation and expressed his trust that the prince was not a party to such a mendacious document. The latter however with some excuses about hurry and confusion avowed his participation in its publication, and defended the mayor’s conduct. He also forwarded a statement of the danger his party was exposed to and demanded aid of men and money, supporting his application by a note of council in which with more ingenuity than justice, it was argued, that as civil government could not be conducted without executive power, and as lord Wellington had suffered the duke of Angoulême to assume the civil government at Bordeaux without an adequate executive force, he was bound to supply the deficiency from his army, and even to furnish money until taxes could be levied under the protection of the soldiers.

The English general was not a man to bear with such sophistry in excuse for a breach of faith. Sorry he was he said to find that the principle by which he regulated his conduct towards the Bourbon party, though often stated, had made so little impression that the duke could not perceive how inconsistent it was with the mayor’s proclamation. Most cautious therefore must be his future conduct, seeing that as the chief of an army and the confidential agent of three independent nations, he could not permit his views to be misrepresented upon such an important question. He had occupied Bordeaux as a military point, but certain persons contrary to his advice and opinion thought proper to proclaim Louis the Eighteenth. Those persons made no exertions, subscribed not a shilling, raised not a soldier, yet because he would not extend the posts of his army beyond what was proper and convenient, merely to protect their families and property, exposed to danger, not on account of their exertions for they had made none, but on account of their premature declaration contrary to his advice, they took him to task in a document delivered to lord Dalhousie by the prince himself. The writer of that paper and all such persons however might be assured that nothing should make him swerve from what he thought his duty to the sovereigns who employed him, he would not risk even a company of infantry to save properties and families placed in a state of danger contrary to his advice. The duke had better then conduct his policy and compose his manifestos in such a manner as not to force a public contradiction of them. His royal highness was free to act as he pleased for himself, but he was not free to adduce the name and authority of the allied governments in support of his measures when they had not been consulted, nor of their general when he had been consulted but had given his opinion against those measures.

He had told him that if any great town or extensive district declared in favour of the Bourbons he would not interfere with the government of that town or district, and if there was a general declaration in favour of his house he would deliver the civil government of all the country overrun by the army into his hands, but the fact was that even at Bordeaux the movement in favour of the Bourbons was not unanimous. The spirit had not spread elsewhere, not even to La Vendée, nor in any part occupied by the army. The events contemplated had not therefore occurred, and it would be a great breach of duty towards the allied sovereigns and cruel to the inhabitants if he were to deliver them over to his royal highness prematurely or against their inclinations. He advised him therefore to withdraw his prefects and confine his government to Bordeaux. He could give him no money and after what had passed he was doubtful if he should afford him any countenance or protection. The argument of the note of council, affirming that he was bound to support the civil government of his royal highness, only rendered it more incumbent upon him to beware how he gave farther encouragement, or to speak plainly, permission to the Bourbonists to declare themselves. It was disagreeable to take any step which should publicly mark a want of good understanding between himself and the duke, but count Lynch had not treated him with common fairness or with truth, wherefore as he could not allow the character of the allied sovereigns or his own to be doubted, if his royal highness did not within ten days contradict the objectionable parts of the mayor’s proclamation he would do so himself.

Thus it appeared that with the French as with the Spaniards and Portuguese neither enthusiastic declarations nor actual insurrection offered any guarantee for sense truth or exertion; and most surely all generals and politicians of every country who trust to sudden popular commotions will find that noisy declamations, vehement demonstrations of feeling, idle rumours and boasting, the life-blood of such affairs, are essentially opposed to useful public exertions.

When Beresford marched to rejoin the army the line of occupation was too extensive for lord Dalhousie and lord Wellington ordered him to keep clear of the city and hold his troops together, observing that his own projected operations on the Upper Garonne would keep matters quiet on the lower part of that river. Nevertheless if the war had continued for a month that officer’s situation would have been critical. For when Napoleon knew that Bordeaux had fallen he sent Decaen byOfficial Reports and Correspondence of general Decaen upon the formation of the army of the Gironde, 1814, MSS. post to Libourne to form the “army of the Gironde.” For this object general Despeaux acting under Soult’s orders collected a body of gensd’armes custom-house officers and national guards on the Upper Garonne, between Agen and La Reolle, and it was one of his detachments that surprised lord Dalhousie’s men at St. Macaire on the 18th. A battery of eight guns was sent down from Narbonne, other batteries were despatched from Paris to arrive at Perigueux on the 11th of April, and three or four hundred cavalry coming from the side of Rochelle joined Le Huillier who with a thousand infantry was in position at St. André de Cubsac beyond the Dordogne. Behind these troops all the national guards custom-house officers and gensd’armes of five departments were ordered to assemble, and march to the Dordogne; but the formidable part of the intended army was a body of Suchet’s veterans, six thousand in number under general Beurman, who had been turned from the road of Lyons and directed upon Libourne.

Decaen entered Mucidan on the 1st of April but Beurman’s troops had not then reached Perigeaux, and lord Dalhousie’s cavalry were in Libourne between him and L’Huillier. The power of concentration was thus denied to the French and meanwhile admiral Penrose had secured the command of the Garonne. It appears lord WellingtonPublished despatches. thought this officer dilatory, but on the 27th he arrived with a seventy-four and two frigates, whereupon the Regulus, and other French vessels then at Royan, made sail up the river and were chased to the shoal of Talmont, but they escaped through the narrow channel on the north side and cast anchor under some batteries. Previous to this event Mr. Ogilvie a commissary, being on the river in a boatOfficial Report by Mr. Ogilvie, MSS. manned with Frenchmen, discovered the Requin sloop, half French half American, pierced for twenty-two guns, lying at anchor not far below Bordeaux, at the same time he saw a sailor leap hastily into a boat above him and row for the vessel. This man being taken proved to be the armourer of the Requin, he said there were not many men on board, and Mr. Ogilvie observing his alarm and judging that the crew would also be fearful, with ready resolution bore down upon the Requin, boarded, and took her without any opposition either from her crew or that of his own boat, although she had fourteen guns mounted and eleven men with two officers on board.

The naval co-operation being thus assured lord Dalhousie crossed the Garonne above the city, droveApril. the French posts beyond the Dordogne, pushed scouring parties to La Reolle and Marmande, and sending his cavalry over the Dordogne intercepted Decaen’s and La Huilhier’s communications; the former was thus forced to remain at Mucidan with two hundred and fifty gensd’armes awaiting the arrival of Beurman, and he found neither arms nor ammunition nor a willing spirit to enable him to organize the national guards.

The English horsemen repassed the Dordogne on the 2d of April, but on the 4th lord Dalhousie crossed it again lower down, near St. André de Cubzac, with about three thousand men, intending to march upon Blaye, but hearing that L’Huillier had halted at Etauliers he turned suddenly upon him. The French general formed his line on an open common occupying some woods in front with his detachments. Overmatched in infantry he had three hundred cavalry opposed to one weak squadron, and yet his troops would not stand the shock of the battle. The allied infantry cleared the woods in a moment, the artillery then opened upon the main body which retired in disorder, horsemen and infantry together, through Etauliers, leaving behind several scattered bodies upon whom the British cavalry galloped and made two or three hundred men and thirty officers prisoners.

If the six thousand old troops under Beurman had, according to Napoleon’s orders, arrived at this time in lord Dalhousie’s rear, his position would have been embarrassing but they were delayed on the road until the 10th. Meanwhile admiral Penrose, having on the 2d observed the French flotilla, consisting of fifteen armed vessels and gun-boats, coming down from Blaye to join the Regulus at Talmont sent the boats of his fleet to attack them, whereupon the French vessels run on shore and the crews aided by two hundred soldiers from Blaye lined the beach to protect them. Lieutenant Dunlop who commanded the English boats landing all his seamen and marines, beat these troops and carried off or destroyed the whole flotilla with a loss to himself of only six men wounded and missing. This operation completed and the action at Etauliers known, the admiral, now reinforced with a second ship of the line, resolved to attack the French squadron and the shore batteries, but in the night of the 6th the enemy set fire to their vessels. Captain Harris of the Belle Poule frigate then landed with six hundred seamen and marines and destroyed the batteries and forts on the right bank from Talmont to the Courbe point. Blaye still held out, but at Paris treason had done its work and Napoleon, the man of mightiest capacity known for good, was overthrown to make room for despots, who with minds enlarged only to cruelty avarice and dissoluteness, were at the very moment of triumph intent to defraud the people, by whose strength and suffering they had conquered, of the only reward they demanded, just government. The war was virtually over, but on the side of Toulouse, Bayonne, and Barcelona, the armies ignorant of this great event were still battling with unabated fury.