GENERAL HISTORY. 



[9 



the Seine, and established his liead- 

 quaiteis at Troyes. 



The army of Silesia being re- 

 stored to marching condition, ad- 

 vanced on Feb. 21 to ."vleri on the 

 Seine, purposing- to I'orra the right 

 wing of the grand army at Troyes. 

 It was there attacked from the left 

 side of the river by a large force 

 under Marshal Oudinot, upon 

 which Marshal Bluclier made im- 

 mediate preparations to burn the 

 bridge, which connects the two 

 parts of the town, and to defend 

 the part on the right hand. By 

 some accident, however, ihe town 

 was set on fire, which rendered its 

 defence impracticable ; and the 

 rapid advance of the French saved 

 the bridge from being so far in- 

 jured as to destroj' the communi- 

 cation. The small party left in 

 the town was obliged, after a firing 

 of some hours, to give way to llie 

 enemy who crossed the bridge. 

 In the mean time Blucher had 

 drawn up his army in two lines on 

 a plain, and three battalions of the 

 enemy having pushed forward to 

 make a passage for the rest of their 

 troops, they were driven back over 

 the bridge, leaving some wounded 

 and prisoners behind. Intelli- 

 gence being received that Mar- 

 uiont was marching in force from 

 Sezanne towards Chalons, Blucher 

 on the 24th crossed the Aube with 

 liis whole army, and followed 3Iar- 

 uiont, who continued his route to 

 Ferte-sous-J.'uarre on the Murne. 

 On arriving at Uebais, Blucher was 

 informed that Marshal Mortier, 

 with the young guard, had marcli- 

 ed from Chateau-Thierry to make a 

 junction with Marmont ; and it 

 being probable that Napoleon 

 I>earing of the march of the army 

 olSjlcbia ill this direction, would 



detach a force to the rear of it, the 

 passage of the Marne in face of 

 the united troops of Mortier and 

 Marmont, became a matter of de- 

 licacy. The plan therefore was 

 adopted of directing the corps of 

 Sacken and Langeron to march by 

 Coulomiers upon Meaux, whilst 

 those of D'Yorck and Kleist were 

 to proceed to Ferte-sous-Jouarre. 

 The result was, that the two French 

 Marshals precipitntely quitted that 

 town, and tliat the passage of the 

 Marne was effected without dif- 

 ficulty. Sacken's advanced guard 

 occupied the suburbs of Meaux on 

 the left bank of the river. On Feb. 

 23, the French troops with Napo- 

 leon invested Troyes on all sides, 

 and a Russian aid-de-camp came 

 to the advanced posts to demand 

 time for evacuating the city, other- 

 wise it would be set on fiie. This 

 threat arrested the movements of 

 the French, and Tropes was eva- 

 cuated during the night. Napo- 

 leon entered it in the morning ; and 

 accoiding to the Frencli accounts, 

 there were tuken in the city 2,000 

 prisoners, besides 1,000 wounded 

 in ihe hospital. 'I'his lecovery of 

 the capital of Champagne was a 

 cause of no small triumph; and 

 tbe spirits of the Parisians were 

 further supported by the pre- 

 sentation in grand procession to 

 tlie Empress, of the colours taken 

 from the allies. 



Napoleon displayed both his ap- 

 prehensions and liis ferocity in a 

 decree issued at Troyes, by which 

 he ordered that every Frenchman 

 who had accompanied the armies of 

 the allied powers in this invasion of 

 the empire, should, without delay, 

 be summoned before his courts and 

 tribunals, and condemned to the 

 penalties inflicted by the laws, and 



