GENERAL HISTORY. 



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were now marching upon Vitry, 

 where Napoleon was to be joined 

 by the corps of Marshals Ney and 

 MacdoDald. The Prussian com- 

 tnandant at Vitry had been sum- 

 moned by Ney, with the threat of 

 military execution on refusal to 

 surrender ; but he persisted in 

 holding the place. Napoleon at 

 this time had taken the road to St. 

 Dizier with his whole army. His 

 plan, as discovered by an inter- 

 cepted letter, appears to have been, 

 to push between the two allied ar- 

 mies, to interrupt their commu- 

 nication, to fall upon the rear of 

 the Austrians, and to take any 

 other measures that opportunity 

 offered. This bold and rather des- 

 perate movement, was evidently 

 the result of his finding himself 

 too weak to oppose the different 

 advances of the allies in front. 

 He also doubtless expected that 

 the capital itself, if attacked in his 

 absence, would make a resistance 

 sufficient to give him time to march 

 to its relief. The discovery of his 

 intentions, however, produced an 

 immediate determination in the 

 allied Generals to unite their forces, 

 and march directly for Paris. The 

 conjoined armies were in number 

 at least 200,000, commanded by the 

 ablest leaders, and animated with 

 the warmest emulation to employ 

 every effort in bringing this mighty 

 contest to a triumphant decision. 



On the 25th, the combined ar- 

 my marched in three columns to 

 Fere Champenoise. The corps of 

 Marmont, Mortier, and Arrighi, 

 which had been retiring from be- 

 fore Marshal Blucher, movtd to- 

 wards Vitry to connect themselves 

 with the operations of Napoleon, 

 and to their surprise found them- 

 •elves close to the army of Schwart- 



zenberg, when they were expect- 

 ing to meet their own. They were 

 immediately attacked, and driven 

 back with a great loss of baggage, 

 cannon, and prisoners. On the 

 same day a column of 5,000 men, 

 under Gen. Ames, which had 

 brought from Paris a great convoy 

 of provision and ammunition for 

 Napoleon's army, was discovered 

 and attacked by the allied cavalry. 

 The column, though consisting of 

 young troops and national guards, 

 defended itself with great gallan- 

 try, and when completely sur- 

 rounded, continued marching on 

 in squares and firing ; nor did they 

 submit to surrender, till a battery 

 of Russian artillery opened upon 

 them, and they were broken by 

 repeated charges of cavalry. The 

 whole, with their cannon and the 

 convoy, then fell into the hands of 

 the assailants. Generals D'Yorck 

 and Kleist, who had moved from 

 Montmirail on La Ferte Gaucher, 

 contributed to the overthrow of 

 this part of the French army, which 

 was diminished by a third of its 

 numbers, with the loss of almost 

 all its artillery. The grand army 

 continued to advance, and on the 

 27th its head-quarters were at Cou- 

 lomiers. Intelligence was now 

 received from Winzingerode and 

 Czernicheff, who were harassing 

 Napoleon's rear with a large body 

 of cavalry and cannon, that he 

 was marching back with great 

 precipitation towards the capital by 

 Bar-sur-Aube and Troyes. On 

 the 28th Blucher passed the Marne 

 at Meaux and atTriportwith incon- 

 siderable opposition. Part of Mor- 

 tier's corps retreating through 

 Meaux, broke down the bridge, 

 and without giving any notice to 

 the inhabitants, blew up a vast 

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