Array Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne - The Collected Works of Napoleon Bonaparte

Events of 1809.

January 7th. —King and Queen of Prussia visit Alexander at St. Petersburg.

January 12th. —Cayenne and French Guiana captured by Spanish and Portuguese South Americans.

January 13th. —Combat of Alcazar. Victor defeats Spaniards.

January 14th. —Treaty of Alliance between England and Spain.

January 16th. —Battle of Corunna. Moore killed; Baird wounded.

January 17th. —English army sails for England.

January 22nd. —King Joseph returns to Madrid.

January 27th. —Soult takes Ferrol (retaken by English, June 22nd).

February 21st. —Lannes takes Saragossa.

February 23rd. —English capture Martinique.

March 4th. —Madison made President of United States.

March 29th. —Soult fights battle of Oporto. Spaniards lose 20,000 men and 200 guns. Gustavus Adolphus abdicates throne of Sweden.

April 9th. —Austrians under Archduke Charles cross the Inn, enter Bavaria, and take Munich. Napoleon receives this news April 12th, and reaches Strasburg April 15th.

April 15th. —Eugène defeated on the Tagliamento.

April 16th. —And at Sacile.

April 19th. —Combat of Pfafferhofen. Oudinot repulses Austrians, while Davoust wins the Battle of Thann. Napoleon joins the army.

April 20th. —Battle of Abensberg. Archduke Louis defeated. Austrians take Ratisbon, and 1800 prisoners. Poles defeated by Archduke Ferdinand at Baszy.

April 21st. —Combat of Landshut; heavy Austrian losses. Austrians under Archduke Ferdinand take Warsaw.

April 22nd.—Battle of Eckmühl. Napoleon defeats Archduke Charles.

April 23rd. —French take Ratisbon.

April 25th. —King of Bavaria re-enters Munich.

April 26th. —French army crosses the Inn.

April 28th-30th. —French force the Salza, and cut in two the main Austrian army—"One of the most beautiful manœuvres of modern tactics" ( Montgaillard ).

April 29th. —Combat of Caldiero. Eugène defeats Archduke John.

May 3rd. —Russia declares war on Austria, and enters Galicia.

May 4th. —Combat of Ebersberg. Massena defeats Austrians, but loses a large number of men.

No. 1.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Donauwoerth, April 17, 1809.

I arrived here yesterday at 4 A.M.; I am just leaving it. Everything is under way. Military operations are in full activity. Up to the present, there is nothing new.

My health is good.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

No. 2.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Enns, May 6, 1809, Noon.

My Dear ,—I have received your letter. The ball that touched me has not wounded me; it barely grazed the tendon Achilles.

My health is very good. You are wrong to be uneasy.

My affairs here go excellently.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

Kind regards to Hortense and the Duke de Berg. 32

May 8th. —Eugène crosses the Piave, and defeats Archduke John.

No. 3.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Saint-Polten, May 9, 1809.

My Dear ,—I write you from Saint-Polten. To-morrow I shall be before Vienna; it will be exactly a month to the day after the Austrians crossed the Inn, and violated peace.

My health is good, the weather splendid, and the soldiery very cheerful; there is wine here.

Keep well.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

May 13th. —French occupy Vienna, after a bombardment of thirty-six hours.

May 17th. —Roman States united to the French Empire.

May 18th. —French occupy Trieste.

May 19th. —Lefebvre occupies Innsbruck.

May 20th. —Eugène reaches Klagenfurt.

May 21st-22nd. —Battle of Essling. A drawn battle, unfavourable to the French, who lose Marshal Lannes, three generals killed, and 500 officers and 18,000 men wounded. The Archduke admits a loss of 4200 killed and 16,000 wounded.

May 22nd. —Meerveldt with 4000 men surrenders at Laybach to Macdonald.

May 25th. —Eugène reaches Leoben in Styria, and captures most of the corps of Jellachich.

May 26th. —Eugène joins the army of Germany, at Bruck in Styria.

No. 4.

May 12th. —Soult evacuates Portugal. Wellington crosses the Douro, and enters Spain.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Schoenbrunn, May 12, 1809.

I am despatching the brother of the Duchess of Montebello to let you know that I am master of Vienna, and that everything here goes perfectly. My health is very good.

Napoleon.

No. 5.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Ebersdorf, May 27, 1809.

I am despatching a page to tell you that Eugène has rejoined me with all his army; that he has completely performed the task that I entrusted him with; and has almost entirely destroyed the enemy's army opposed to him.

I send you my proclamation to the army of Italy, which will make you understand all this.

I am very well.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

P.S. —You can have this proclamation printed at Strasburg, and have it translated into French and German, in order that it may be scattered broadcast over Germany. Give a copy of the proclamation to the page who goes on to Paris.

May 28th. —Hofer defeats Bavarians at Innsbruck.

No. 6.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Ebersdorf , May 29, 1809 , 7 P.M.

My Dear ,—I have been here since yesterday; I am stopped by the river. The bridge has been burnt; I shall cross at midnight. Everything here goes as I wish it, viz., very well.

The Austrians have been overwhelmed ( frappès de la foudre ).

Adieu, dear.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

No. 7.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Ebersdorf May 31, 1809.

Your letter of the 26th to hand. I have written you that you can go to Plombières. I do not care for you to go to Baden; it is not necessary to leave France. I have ordered the two princes to re-enter France. 33

The loss of the Duke of Montebello, who died this morning, has grieved me exceedingly. Thus everything ends!!

Adieu, dear; if you can help to console the poor Maréchale, do so.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

June 1st. —Archduke Ferdinand evacuates Warsaw.

June 6th. —Regent of Sweden proclaimed King as Charles XIII.

No. 8.

To the Empress, at Strasburg.

Schoenbrunn, June 9, 1809.

I have received your letter; I see with pleasure that you are going to the waters at Plombières, they will do you good.

Eugène is in Hungary with his army. I am well, the weather very fine. I note with pleasure that Hortense and the Duke of Berg are in France.

Adieu, dear.—Yours ever,

Napoleon.

June 10th. —Union of the Papal States to France promulgated in Rome.

June 11th.—Napoleon and all his abettors excommunicated.

June 14th. —Eugène, aided by Macdonald and Lauriston, defeats Archduke Ferdinand at Raab.

No. 9.

To the Empress, at Plombières.

Schoenbrunn, June 16, 1809.

I despatch a page to tell you that, on the 14th, the anniversary of Marengo, Eugène won a battle against the Archduke John and the Archduke Palatine, at Raab, in Hungary; that he has taken 3000 men, many pieces of cannon, 4 flags, and pursued them a long way on the road to Buda-Pesth.

Napoleon.