176] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S12. 



proceeds to state the circumstances 

 by which its safety is secured — but 

 through timely foresight to be he- 

 forehand with the freezing of the 

 rivers. After some attempts at 

 distinguishing between no present, 

 but possible future, danger, it con- 

 cludes with expressing a determin- 

 ation, " whatever may be the pro- 

 gress of the enemy, rather to drain 

 the last drop of the cup of misery, 

 than by a scandalous peace, to 

 subject Russia to a foreign yoke." 

 Another precautionary measure, 

 not only important in itself, hut as 

 it included a pledge of inviolable 

 fidelity to, and confidence in, a 

 new ally, was that of sending the 

 whole naval force of Russia to win- 

 ter in the Enghsh ports, where it 

 arrived safe at the latter end of 

 the year. 



Napoleon continued at Moscow, 

 and flattering accounts appeared in 

 the French papers of liis succes-s in 

 restoring order and procuring plen- 

 ty in the place ; at the same time it 

 is certain that he began to find his 

 situation very uneasy, and severely 

 felt the disappointment resulting 

 from the destruction of so large a 

 portion of the city, and the flight 

 of its inhabitants. An extraordin- 

 ary and atrocious proof of the 

 acuteness of his feeliiigs on tins 

 occasion, appeared in his appoint- 

 icg a military commission at Mos- 

 cow, on September 24, to try a 

 number of poor wretches who had 

 been apprehended in tlie act of 

 spreading the flames through the 

 city on the days when the French 

 entered it. Though a principal ob- 

 ject of the inquiry was, to produce 

 evidence that the conflagration was 

 ordered and directed by the gover- 

 nor, yet these men were capitally 

 condemned for executing com- 



mands, to them lawful; and tei* 

 of them were put to death with the 

 ordinary forms of justice. After 

 this mean act of vengeance, Na- 

 poleon employed himself as if it 

 were his intention to establish win- 

 ter-quarters in the ruins of Mos- 

 cow ; if such had not bten his 

 plan, it must be rejiarded as in- 

 fatuation, or indecision, unworthy 

 of his former cliaracter, whith in- 

 duced him to postpone the move- 

 ment of his vast army to a season 

 immediately bordering upon a 

 northern winter. But whatever 

 might be his secret purf)Ose, his 

 determination was precipitated by 

 the event of an action on the 18th 

 of October. General Kutusofi^, 

 having received information of the 

 march of a French corps under 

 General Victor, from Smoleusko, 

 to reinforce the grand army, re- 

 solved to attack theadvanced guard 

 commanded by Murat, and said to 

 consist of 45,000 men, before they 

 could be supported by the main 

 army. The attack succeeded, and 

 left in the hands of the victor a 

 considerable number of prisoners, 

 and 38 pieces of cannon, whicb 

 the badness of the roads prevented 

 the Frenth from carrying away. 

 The consequence of this victory 

 was, that on the 22nd tiie corps of 

 General Wiuzingerode entered Mos- 

 cow, which was evacuated by the 

 French garrison in S'Uch haste, that 

 they left the hospitals in the }»ower 

 of the foe. About the same tune 

 other successes attended tiie Rus- 

 sian cause. Count \A'itgen.stein, 

 after two days' hard fightnig with 

 the French, under Marshal Gou- 

 vion St. C\ r, in which he drove 

 the enemy from his entrenchments, 

 and pursued him to Polotzk, car- 

 ried that place by storm on Octo- 

 ber 



