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THE DEATH OF MARSHAL NEY. 



MUCH has lately been said both in England and France respecting 

 the death of Marshal Ney, but with the particulars of that dreadful 

 tragedy few of our readers we suspect are fully conversant. With 

 the strictest adherence to historical accuracy, we shall therefore give 

 a brief and succinct narrative of the facts, more particularly as re- 

 gards the Duke of Wellington's connexion with it. It will be neces- 

 sary to give a short review of the events which preceded it. 



Michel Ney was born at Sarre Louis in 1769, and entered when a 

 mere youth into a regiment of hussars, in which he had risen to the 

 rank of sous-officier when the revolution of 1789 was effected. During 

 the sanguinary wars waged by nearly the whole of Europe against 

 the French republic he served in every campaign, and for his good 

 conduct, talent, and patriotism was made general of brigade in 1796. 

 In the following year he commanded a division under the celebrated 

 Hoche, and subsequently under Schaumberg, Massena, and Moreau, 

 contributing in no slight degree to the gaining of the glorious battle 

 of Hohenlinden. 



In 1804 he was, for his distinguished merit, created a marshal of 

 the empire by Napoleon, and the following year gained the battle of 

 Elchingen in Suabia, for which he was created duke of that name. 

 Marshal Ney subsequently commanded a division at the decisive 

 battle of Jena with the most signal success, but as it would occupy 

 too much space to enumerate all the invaluable and glorious services 

 he rendered his country during his life, we shall only add that at the 

 terrible battle of the Moskwa, in Russia, Ney commanded the centre 

 with his usual talent and success, for which the emperor conferred 011 

 him the title of Prince of the Moskwa, observing at the same time 

 " Le Marechal Ney est le brave des braves his soul is of tempered 

 steel !" 



After the disastrous campaign of 1814, finding it was no longer 

 possible for Napoleon to continue to reign, he was one of the first 

 generals who submitted to the Bourbons, who soon after created him 

 a peer of France. 



In 1815 he was at Condreaux when Napoleon landed from Elba; 

 he immediately received orders from the Bourbon government to 

 assemble a military force at Besan^on, with which he marched 

 towards Lyons; but some proclamations from Napoleon having 

 reached the troops at the same time that intelligence arrived of his 

 triumphal entry into that city, Ney, yielding to the desire of the 

 entire army and a united people, declared for the emperor, who in a 

 few days again occupied the Tuileries. 



During the hundred days, Marshal Ney used every exertion to save 

 France from a second invasion, and, two days previous to the decisive 

 battle of Waterloo, seriously checked the Anglo-Belgian army com- 

 manded by the Duke of Wellington in the actions of Ligny and 

 Quatre Bras. 



