1806.] 



Conduct of the French in Hanover. 



107 



X TIic pay of llie troops, amounting, 

 Upon iin avcrasc, to 25,000 men, wliich 

 may ha cltini;iti.'d at two niilHuus and a 

 half rix-dolliivs yearly. 



1. Bread, meat, tbra>.;c, wood, and in 

 feme cafes rice and beer, two millions a 

 year. 



3. Clothing, viz. coats, linen, fliocs, 

 breeches, wailicoats, fpatterdalhes, caps, 

 ftocking?, knapfacks, great coats, (!jcc. 

 which amounted to above half a million : 

 for we had conftant exchange of ioldicrs, 

 m1;o wqvc in want of every article of 

 (Jicfs, for fuch as we had well provided 



liefides thcfc, the country had to bear 

 a number of extraordinary expences, the 

 principal of wliich were — 



4. The erection of liolpitals, for v hich 

 pnrpofe private houfes were fitted up, 

 and furnilhcd with a vail number of beds, 

 matrafies, linen, &c. ; the lick being like- 

 wife daily provided with victuals, drink, 

 and medicines ; all which combined to 

 make a funi of 200,000 dollars. 



5. The conlhmt ufe of carriages from 

 Hanover to France, and from one part 

 of the country to tlie other; which can- 

 not be eftimated at lefs than half a mil- 

 lion. The French had an inimenfe number 

 of carts, horfes, and men in requilition 

 during their whole ftay, particularly for 

 tlic conveyance of the boot)'. 



The tranfportation of the artillery 

 taken from the armory of Ilanovcr, 

 and the fortrelVes of Hamcl, Ratzburg, 

 &c. employed above half a year; and the 

 value of the whole ordnance, including 

 all the hcautifulfire-amis, field-pieces, 6ec. 

 hiid up in Itore, from the famous founde- 

 ries of Hanover, and tlie manufactories of 

 Har/berg, was rated at ten millions. — 

 The French had likcwife now the gratifi- 

 cation of rcfovering a let of cannon de- 

 nominated the Twelve Apoftles, which 

 they had lolt in the Seven Years' War. 

 As thefe cannon were pafhng through a 

 village where an old General lived who 

 }iad been prefcnt in the battle when they 

 were taken, he is laid to have ilied a 

 flood of teajs, and foon after to have 

 ihed of grief. 



Belides th.e ordnance, the beautiful 

 horfes from the King's Itud, the fine 

 deer in Uielierwald (carried in exjieniive 

 waggons built for the piu'pofe), and many 

 other royal eft'ects, all cxcocding two 

 Jnillions in value, occupied a full year in 

 tlicir conveyance. 



6. The maintenance of, and prefents 

 to, the (Jcueruls, exceeding 200,000 dol- 

 lars. All (jencrals, particularly thofe of 

 ll/e. liijJ.er rmiks, |jad auiuiroua rctiuues, 



confifiing of twelve, and oftenor of more 

 perlbns. They refided in the capitals of 

 the provinces of l.uneburg, Verden, l.au- 

 cnbnrg, Ofnabui-g, &:c. [Jpon an ave- 

 lage, tliey received for themlelves and 

 their retinue fifty dollars })or day. Be- 

 lides thefe, the ammUjiuTS in ciicf were 

 to be jjrovide<l for; thus, for example, in 

 (Jfnaburg, D(>lfolles received for his gene- 

 ral liatf, and connniilariate, fcveiity-five 

 dollars per dnv, from whence may be 

 eafily inferred the amount of maintaining 

 the conuiiander in cluef in the town of 

 Hanover, his general Half, and retinue, 

 with the commi(Jiiirordonnutiur. He oc- 

 cupied the eiectoral palace, and had 

 e\ cry accommodation on a more princely 

 ftylc even than the Elector himfelf would 

 have liad. 



7. Several millions expended in cafu- 

 altics ; among wl-.ich may be reckoned 

 the fupply of quarters for the otflcers or 

 foldiers who could not be jjrovided in 

 certain places; the maintenance of artil- 

 lery horfes, and an army polt with three 

 horfes ; the erecilon of batteries on the 

 Elbe ; the railing and equipping of the 

 Hanoverian Legion; the fortification of 

 Hainel and Nienburg, and victualling the. 

 former fbrtrefs lor a whole year; tlu: 

 linglc contributions on particular pro- 

 vinces, fuppofed bell capable of bearing 

 the burden, with uumbertefs other (t 

 catcraa. 



8. The French gained likewife 100,000 

 dollars t'rom the electorate by a financial 

 fchcnic with Count B'entheim, which ori- 

 ginated in the tbllowing circumliance : — 

 Count Frederic Charles l'hili|) von Bent- 

 heini being deeply involved in debt, moi-t- 

 g^cd his county, in 1753, for thirty 

 3ears, witli all its appurtenances, to the 

 electorate of Hanover, for the fum of 

 900,000 dollars. The Count afterwards 

 lived as a private m.'m in Paris, and had 

 neither money nor inclination to redeem 

 his ellate, in coidcquence of which it re- 

 mained the rightful polfeffioa of Hano- 

 ver. On his death, which happened in 

 the year 1S03, his next relative, trie 

 Count von Stcinfurth, profited of tnis op- 

 portunity to recover tlie lana, on paying 

 the Fi-ench half the fum in ready monej', 

 and the reft by inllallments. The French 

 troops then left the county of Bentheini, 

 and he was reinluitcd in the quiet pof- 

 feffion of it. 



From the preceding ftatcmcnt, it will 

 be feen that the French ji^tually drew 

 from Hanover, during a ihiy of two year* 

 and ten weeks, no lelis than twentv-feven, 

 iiiiJlions of dollars (or 4,.'>0i>,000l. Iter- 

 !J iinj); 



