Produced by Brett Fishburne (william.fishburne@verizon.net)
Napoleon, finding his proffers of peace rejected by England withcontumely and scorn, and declined by Austria, now prepared, withhis wonted energy, to repel the assaults of the allies. As he satin his cabinet at the Tuileries, the thunders of their unrelentingonset came rolling in upon his ear from all the frontiers ofFrance. The hostile fleets of England swept the channel, utterlyannihilating the commerce of the Republic, landing regimentsof armed emigrants upon her coast, furnishing money and munitionsof war to rouse the partisans of the Bourbons to civil conflict,and throwing balls and shells into every unprotected town. On thenorthern frontier, Marshal Kray, came thundering down, through theblack Forest, to the banks of the Rhine, with a mighty host of150,000 men, like locust legions, to pour into all the northernprovinces of France. Artillery of the heaviest calibre and amagnificent array of cavalry accompanied this apparently invinciblearmy. In Italy, Melas, another Austrian marshal, with 140,000 men,aided by the whole force of the British navy, was rushing upon theeastern and southern borders of the Republic. The French troops,disheartened by defeat, had fled before their foes over the Alps,or were eating their horses and their boots in the cities wherethey were besieged. From almost every promontory on the coast ofthe Republic, washed by the Channel, or the Mediterranean, the eyecould discern English frigates, black and threatening, holding allFrance in a state of blockade.
One always finds a certain pleasure in doing that which he can dowell. Napoleon was fully conscious of his military genius. He had,in behalf of bleeding humanity, implored peace in vain. He now,with alacrity and with joy, roused himself to inflict blows thatshould be felt upon his multitudinous enemies. With such tremendousenergy did he do this, that he received from his antagonists themost complimentary sobriquet of the one hundred thousand men .Wherever Napoleon made his appearance in the field, his presencealone was considered equivalent to that force.
The following proclamation rang like a trumpet charge over thehills and valleys of France. "Frenchmen! You have been anxious forpeace. Your government has desired it with still greater ardor.Its first efforts, its most constant wishes, have been for itsattainment. The English ministry has exposed the secret of itsiniquitous policy. It wishes to dismember France, to destroy itscommerce, and either to erase it from the map of Europe, or todegrade it to a secondary power. England is willing to embroil allthe nations of the Continent in hostility with each other, that shemay enrich herself with their spoils, and gain possession of thetrade of the world. For the attainment of this object she scattersher gold, becomes prodigal of her promises, and multiplies herintrigues."
At this call all the martial spirit of France rushed to arms.Napoleon, supremely devoted to the welfare of the State, seemed toforget even his own glory in the intensity of his desire to makeFrance victorious over her foes. With the most magnanimous superiorityto all feelings of jealousy, he raised an army of 150,000 men,the very elite of the troops of France, the veterans of a hundredbattles, and placed them in the hands of Moreau, the only man inFrance who could be called his rival. Napoleon also presented toMoreau the plan of a campaign in accordance with his own energy,boldness, and genius. Its accomplishment would have added surpassingbrilliance to the reputation of Moreau. But the cautious generalwas afraid to adopt it, and