Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

himself by the strict order which he enforced, and by his humanity towards the inhabitants. A different conduct was pursued in Finland. That country had been the happiest in the whole north of Europe, while all other nations of the same race suffer under the most brutal and brutalizing tyranny. While the Esthonian mother weeps over her infant, because slavery and wretchedness are its inheritance, while the Livonian nobles send their young greyhounds to be suckled by the female peasantry, the Swedish Finlanders were free, and enjoyed the produce of labor in comfort and security. Gustavus alluded to this contrast in his declaration against Russia. "Inhabitants of Finland," said he, "a people worthy of esteem, your king has, during the whole of his reign, attended to your instruction and to the cultivation and prosperity of your country. A faithless neighbour threatens to hurl you back to that state in which you were in past ages, and this because your neighbourhood is a reproach unto him." Well might Gustavus thus address them. There had been an increase of 60,000 in the population of this province during the last twenty years; and Seume, a traveller, whose judgment is as sound as his feelings are excellent, declares the whole country was so highly cultivated, that he had seen nothing equal to it in Italy, Germany, or France, considering the difficulties that were to be surmounted. "I never" says this good man, "felt so much respect for human industry as during my tour through Swedish Finland." This happy country fell under the yoke of Russia. The generals of that country resembled Suwarrow in barbarity, however unlike him in the nobler parts of his character. The town of Wasa was given up to be plundered; and, while the soldiers were perpetrating every atrocity, in open day, their generals, Kniper, Demidof, and Emine, to whom the government of the town had been given on its capture, rode through the streets, hallooing these wretches on, and at all their enormities crying out, Well

done !-Many of the officers imitated the conduct of their superiors; and, when the work of havoc was over, they publicly divided the spoil with the common soldiers. The adjacent country presented only a scene of devastation and wretchedness; viilages in ashes, and houses in which nothing was left but such of their miserable inhabitants as had escaped death or captivity; happy even then if they were not mangled or dishonored. dishonored. General Rajewski repressed these horrors while he was present, expressing his utmost detestation of them; and the official account published by the deputy lord-lieutenant of the province, acknowledges that some few of the soldiers and even of the officers, without regard to their own danger, did all they could to protect the poor inhabitants. The officers were worse than the soldiers, as is generally the case in that great empire,-natural virtues are to be found in the lower ranks,-the higher ones have exchanged them for the vices of French refinement. Gustavus addressed a letter to the emperor Alexander, conjuring him to put a stop to these horrors, which, he said, could not fail of bringing down on his person and government, the curses of divine Providence, In consequence of this letter, Demidof was displaced from his command and ordered to Petersburgh.

Wasa, after it had thus been sacked, was evacuated by the Russians; but Klingspor, who had advanced beyond that town, and endeavored to maintain a position which would cover the most fruitful part of East Bothnia, was unable to resist the increasing numbers that were brought against him. His line of operations extended from Lindalax and Omyssa to Lappfjerd, 28 Swedish miles. corps at Lindalax was driven back; and the Russians, after having been repulsed on three successive days, succeeded in cutting off the communication between Lappo and Lappfjerd.

The

This latter post

was now threatened; and Klingspor was compelled to retreat. He effected his retreat as he had on the former occasion, with the greatest skill and courage, still

[ocr errors]

facing a superior enemy, and bringing off all his baggage and artillery. An armistice for an unlimited time was concluded be tween the two armies at the end of September. It left each party in possession of the country-which it occupied; but the Russians were soon strong enough to resume offensive operations, and a second armistice, signed on the 20th of November, virtually surrendered Finland to Russia. The Swedes were to evacuate all their posts there, and retire beyond the river Keims, the limit of the province.

During this campaign, many unimportant actions took place between the flotillas of the contending powers, and our trade in the Baltic received considerable injury from the Danish gun-boats. The honor of the British flag, was, however, gallantly supported by that distinguished officer, sir Samuel Hood, who, having joined the Swedish admiral Nauckhoff with the Centaur and Implacable, two seventy-fours, sailed in quest of the Russian fleet, on the 25th of August. Next morning the enemy were discovered off Hangolldd. All sail was set in pursuit. The British ships out-sailed their allies; and, about five o'clock on the following morning, the Implacable brought the Sewolod, of 74 guns, being the most leeward of the enemy's line of battle, to close action. The Russian admiral immediately bore up with his whole force. In the course of twenty minutes, the Sewolod was completely silenced, and her colours struck both ensign and pendant; but sir Samuel was obliged to make signal for the Implacable to join him. The Russian admiral sent a frigate to take the disabled ship in tow, and again hauled his wind. As soon as the Implacable was ready to make sail, sir Samuel gave chace again,

and soon obliged the frigate to cast off her tow. This made the Russian again bear down with his main force, and it was hoped that a general action would be brought on, but the enemy availed themselves of a favorable slant of wind, and entered the port of Rogerswick.

The Sewolod, which had fallen to leeward, grounded on a shoal just at the entrance of the port; she soon, however, rode at anchor, exertions were made to repair her damage, 100 men from the other ships were sent on board to replace her loss in the action, and at sun-set boats came out to tow her in. Upon this sir Samuel stood in with the Centaur to cut her off. She was just entering the port when he laid her on board. Her bowsprit took the Centaur's fore-rigging, and she swept along with her bow, grazing the muzzles of the British guns. When the bowsprit came to the mizen, it was lashed there. Sir Samuel now attempted to tow her out,—but an anchor had been let go from her. A severe contest for about half an hour ́ensued; when the Russians, after losing in this second conflict 180 men, struck. The Centaur and her prize now grounded, and two of the enemy's ships were seen under sail standing towards them; but captain Martin, in the Implacable, anchored his ship so as to heave the Centaur off, aud they then retreated. The prize was first on shore, and sir Samuel, finding it impossible to bring her off, burnt her. Hopes were entertained in England when this intelligence arrived, that the Russian fleet might be destroyed; but the harbor was strongly fortified. They landed their men, and erected more batteries, and it was found impossible to make any impression upon the enemy.

HISTORY OF THE WAR.

[ocr errors]

CHAP. XLIX.

Capture of Scylla by the French-Treaty with Sicily-Capri taken-Parma, Pla centia, and Tuscany, Incorporated with France-The Territories of the Pope united with the Kingdom of Italy-Buonaparte creates a new Nobility-Affairs of Spain-Conspiracy of the Escurial-Secret Treaty of Fontainbleau for the Partition of Portugal-The French treacherously seize on the Frontier Fortresses-Alarm of the Spanish Court-Tumults at Aranguez-Abdication of Charles IV.-First Acts of Ferdinand VII-Murat enters Madrid-Buonaparte decoys the whole of the Family to Bayonne-Transactions there till their Compulsory Renunciation of the Crown.

TH

HE castle of Scylla in Calabria, which was held by an English garrison under lieutenant-colonel Robinson, was taken by the French general Regnier, early in the year. The town of Scylla lies partly on the shore, but the greater part on the rocks above, where nine rows of houses are seen, one immediately above the other and above the highest of these, in an oblique direction, there are six or seven other rows. The castle is upon a cliff over the sea; but, notwithstanding the advantages of its situation, it is not strong. There were between 400 and 500 armed Calabrians in the town, and about 200 British soldiers in the castle. The besieging force consisted of about 6000 men, who were now incessantly enployed in forming roads to bring their heavy ordnance from Seminara: the besieged laboring on their part to render the approach difficult, and to harass the French outposts. The month of January was past in these preparations, when four Sicilian gun-boats, each carrying a 24pounder, were taken by the enemy; and thus all the endeavors which had been used to prevent him from bringing battering cannon into that part of Calabria

VOL. I.

were rendered unavailing. The Delight sloop of war, in endeavoring to recover them, run on shore, several of her crew were killed, and the remainder made prisoners. In this unfortunate affair, captain Hanfield, her commander, fell, a man of so much professional and individual worth, that his death was a greater misfortune than the loss of Scylla and its castle. The sloop was burnt on the next day by our boats, it being impossible to get her off. The French were now enabled to bring five 24-pounders, five 18-pounders, and four mortars, besides field-pieces, against the works. They came down from the heights on the 6th of February, and made their approaches in form. The armed peasantry opposed them with great spirit for three days; they were then obliged to yield to superior numbers, but the castle-guns covered their retreat, and they were sent to Messina, not a man falling into the enemy's bands.. On the 14th, the batteries opened; in three days the guns of the castle were buried in the ruins of the parapet, and the garrison could only defend themselves with musketry. Two breaching batteries> had now been erected at 300 and 400 yards

5 H.

distance, and by the evening of the 16th they had battered the left bastion with so much success that in the course of the following day the breach would have been practicable. From the time the batteries opened, the weather had been so stormy that the gun-boats from which much assistance had been expected could not possibly be employed.

The situation of the castle being made known by telegraph to general Sherbrooke, who commanded in Sicily, boats were sent over from the Faros during a temporary abatement of the gale to bring off the garrison. Aware of the means of retreat, the enemy on the 15th, had pushed round the front of the rock, and attempted to destroy the sea staircase, but they were discovered and beat off with great slaughter. By this staircase the British effected their way to the boats through a tremendous fire; they embarked without leaving a man behind them, and before they were musketshot distant, the French were in the fort, which they found only a heap of ruins. They purchased their success by the loss of 700 men; on the part of the garrison 11 were killed, and 31 wounded.

A few days after this event, a treaty of alliance with Sicily was signed by our envoy at Palermo, which stipulated the payment to his Sicilian majesty of an annual subsidy of £300,000 in monthly payments, commencing from the 10th of September, 1805. 1805. His Sicilian majesty engaged not to make peace with France separately from England, and his Britannic majesty on his part also engaged to conclude no treaty which did not embrace the interests of his ally.

An unexpected attack was made on the isle of Capri, by a body of troops under general Lamarque, and prince Pignutelli, second in command. The fort of Ancapri had been left to the defence of a Maltese regiment. These men, of whom four-fifths were married, would have been excellent soldiers on their own island, but it was now thought proper to unite them into one large regiment under English officers, contrary to their own entreaties, and to the judgment of sir Alexander Ball. Ac

customed to be commanded on their native rock, by their own nobility, they were sent to serve where they had no interest at heart, and in the hour of trial they laid down their arms without resistance. The French obtained possession of the heights, and shortly afterwards compelled the English garrison to surrender as prisoners of war. They were to be transported to England, on condition that they should not serve until exchanged.

Buonaparte in the mean time was steadily pursuing the views of his restless and insatiable ambition. His first act was through the medium of the conservative senate to call out 80,000 conscripts born within the year 1789, who according to the laws should have belonged to the conscription of the succeeding year. By a decree of the same date the towns of Kehl, Wesel, Cassel, and Flushing, were united to the French empire. The kingdom of Etruria which he himself had created for one of his puppet kings was no longer to exist. It was now incorporated as an inseperable indivisible portion of the French dominions, and one usurpation was made a precedent for another. A junta, with general Menou at its head, was appointed to govern the new departments of the Arno, the Mediterranean, and the Ombrona, into which the states of Tuscany had been now divided. The same decree incorporated the dukedoms of Parma and Placentia under the title of the department of the Taro. The pope had long foreseen that these events were only a prelude to his own humiliation, and demeaned himself with unexpected dignity. He protested against the designs of the French government, aud soon after the circulation of his remonstrance, French troops were marched to Rome, under pretence of freeing that city from the Neapolitans. They seized those cardinals who were attached to the pope, and forcibly carried them as prisoners, from the palace of the Quirinal; they took possession of the post-offices for the purpose of examining all correspondence; incorporated the papal troops into their own army, and set guards over all the printingoffices, that the pope might not avail him

« AnteriorContinuar »