CHARLES XIV. 



CHARLES XIV. 



202 



under the Marquis la Romano, was stationed in the island of Funen 

 The marquis, having learnt the invasion of Spain by the French 

 embarked his men on board the English fleet, and Bernadotte hac 

 just time to prevent the other division from following their example 

 In April 1809 Bernadotte was ordered to join the army on th< 

 Danube, for the war against Austria. He took the command of the 

 ninth corps, chiefly composed of Saxon troops. At the battle ol 

 Wagram, 5th of July, whilst opposed to the principal body of the 

 Austrian army, he was deprived by Napoleon of his reserve division 

 which received another destination. The consequence was that he 

 was obliged to fall back and evacuate the village of Deutsch Wagram 

 The following morning he expostulated in very strong words with 

 Napoleon, on the order which had deprived him of his reserve, anc 

 exposed him to be crushed by superior forces. The battle was 

 resumed, and, after another desperate contest and a fearful loss, was 

 gained by the French. Bernadotte's corps alone lost six thousand 

 men. An armistice being concluded, the marshal demanded his 

 retirement and obtained it. Having returned to Paris, about the time 

 when the English landed at Flushing, the minister of the interior and 

 the minister-at-war urged Bernadotte to take the command of the 

 troops hastily collected to oppose the enemy and protect Antwerp. 

 He did so, but Napoleon soon after took away his command, and 

 replaced him by Marshal Bessieres : he was offended at some sentence 

 of a proclamation which Bernadotte had addressed to his soldiers. 

 The marshal was nettled, but the minister-at-war sent him back to 

 the army at Vienna. There he had again a warm explanation with 

 Napoleou, and a seeming reconciliation took place. When he set out 

 to return to Paris, Napoleon left Bernadotte in command at Vienna, 

 till the ratification of the treaty of peace with Austria. At the 

 beginning of 1810 Napoleon offered him the government-general of 

 the Roman States. Bernadotte hesitated, but at last accepted, and 

 began making his preparations. 



Meantime important events had taken place in the North, in which 

 Bernadotte was to act an unexpected part. Gustavus IV., kingi of 

 Sweden, bad been obliged to abdicate the crown in March 1809 on 

 account of his incapacity ; and the States of Sweden had declared him 

 and his descendants excluded for ever from the throne. His uncle, 

 the Duke of Sudermania, assumed the government under the title of 

 Charles XIII. Being childless, the States chose for prince royal and 

 heir to the throne, Augustus of Holstein Augustenburg, brother of 

 the reigning Prince of Augustenburg. But in less than a year Prince 

 Augustus died suddenly, whilst reviewing some troops at Helsinborg, 

 '2<Mi of May 1810. It was necessary to choose another heir to the 

 crown of Sweden. Several candidates presented themselves; the 

 brother of the deceased prince, and the King of Denmark, among 

 others ; but none of them seemed to suit the circumstances of 

 Sweden. Sweden required a man of firmness, a good administrator, 

 and of tried military abilities. Bernadotte had displayed all these 

 qualities during his command in North Germany in 1808 and 1809. 

 The people of Hamburg and the other Hanseatic towns spoke highly 

 of his justice and moderation. He had behaved with kind regard 

 towards the Swedish prisoners of war, and had readily granted an 

 armistice on the first application of th Duke of Suderinauia, after- 

 wards Charles XIII., who on the present occasion cast his eyes upon 

 him, and proposed to the Swedish Diet assembled at Uurebro in 

 August 1810 Marshal Bernadotte, prince of Pontecorvo, as prince 

 royal of Sweden. "His majesty," said the message, "having consulted 

 the Secret Committee, as well as the Council of State, on this important 

 question, has met with a great majority in the first and a unanimity in 

 the second of these bodies in favour of his proposal. The Princo of 

 Pontecorvo being once entrusted with the future destinies of Sweden, 

 his established military reputation, whilst ensuring the independence 

 of the kingdom, will make him avoid useless wars for the mere sake 

 of renown ; his mature experience and energy of character will main- 

 tain order in the interior ; and the love of justice und humanity which 

 he has exhibited in hostile countries is a guarantee of his conduct 

 towards the country which should adopt him; and lastly, the existence 

 of his son will put an end to any further uncertainty concerning the 

 succession to the crown." Two Swedish officers had been sent to Paris 

 to sound Bernadotte on the subject of his election. Bernadotte asked 

 the emperor Napoleon, who told him, that if he were elected by the 

 free choice of the Swedes he (the emperor) would consent to his accept- 

 ing the crown. " I cannot assist you however in this," added Napoleon, 

 "but let things take their own course." It being rumoured however 

 that the French minister at Stockholm supported the claims of the 

 King of Denmark, Bernadotte frankly told Napoleon of this, who 

 seemed to disbelieve it, and soon after recalled his minister. The 

 Emperor Alexander, on his part, did not oppose Bernadotte's election, 

 but rather approved of it. On the 2l*t of August 1810, the Diet 

 voted unanimously, and in the midst of acclamations, Jean Baptiste 

 Jules Bernadotte, prince of Pontecorvo, to be prince royal of Sweden 

 and heir to the throne, on condition of his adopting the Communion 

 of Augsburg. Charles XIII., at the same time, formally adopted him 

 as his son. A Swedish envoy carried these documents to Paris, with 

 letters from the king to the new-elected prince and to the emperor 

 Napoleou, who both answered in the affirmative. Bernadotte however 

 could not leave France without having received letters of emancipation, 

 relieving him from his allegiance to the emperor. After waiting a 

 Bioo. DIV. VOL. II. 



month, Bei-nadotte complained to Napoleou of the delay, when the 

 latter told him, that hia Secret Council had decided that the letters of 

 emancipation should only be delivered to him after he had signed an 

 engagement never to wage war against France. Bernadotte replied 

 with some warmth, that the condition was impossible ; that by the 

 very act of his election he was precluded from entering into any 

 engagement towards a power foreign to Sweden, and that nothing 

 remained for him but to renounce the proffered dignity. Napoleou 

 mused for a moment, then said, hurriedly, " Well, go ! let our desti- 

 nies be accomplished." He then reverted to the continental system, 

 and said that Sweden must conform itself to it. Bernadotte observed, 

 that he must have time to examine things on the spot, to make out 

 the feelings of the Swedes, and make himself acquainted with their 

 interests. " How long do you require ?" cried out Napoleon. "Till 

 next May," said the prince. This was at the beginning of October. 

 " I grant you this delay," replied Napoleon ; " but theu declare your- 

 self, either friend or enemy." Beruadotte hastened to leave France, but 

 did not think himself safe until he had crossed the Sound. The day 

 of his departure from Paris, Napoleou told Duroc that he wished that 

 Bernadotte had refused ; but that Bernadotte did not like him ; that 

 they had never understood one another, and that it was now too late. 



The prince royal was met at Elsinor by several Swedish high digni- 

 taries, and the Archbishop of Upsal among the rest He told that 

 prelate that he had been in his youth instructed in tho reformed 

 religion, which was professed by many in his native B<5aru, that he had 

 since conversed in Germany with Protestant clergymen on religious 

 subjects, and that he now declared that he believed in the doctrine 

 contained in the Confession of Augsburg, such as it was presented by 

 the princes and states of Germany to the emperor Charles V. On the 

 20th of October he landed at Helsinborg, and he entered Stockholm 

 on the 2nd of November, amidst the salutes of the artillery. On the 

 5th he attended the Assembly of the States, in whicli Charles XIII. 

 presided. He addressed the king and the States in succession, declaring 

 his intention to live entirely for the good of his adopted country. 

 " Brought up in the camp," he thus concluded, " I have been familiar 

 with war, and am acquainted with all its calamities ; no conquest can 

 console a country for the blood of its children shed in a foreign laud. 

 Peace is the only glorious object of a wise and enlightened government. 

 It is not the extent of a country, but its laws, its commerce, its indus- 

 try, and above all its national spirit, that constitute its strength. 

 Sweden has of late experienced great losses, but the honour of the 

 Swedish name remains unscathed. We have still a land sufficient for 

 our wants, and iron to defend ourselves." Two days after despatches 

 came from Napoleon, demanding iu the most imperious tone that 

 Sweden should declare immediately war against England. Tho winter 

 was setting in, precluding all hopes of assistance from England iu case 

 of an attack by the French troops through Denmark. In this emer- 

 gency the king declared war against England ; but his situation was 

 well understood by the British cabinet, and the result was a state of 

 non-intercourse rather than hostilities. But Napoleou did -not stop 

 here ; he demanded a draft of Swedish sailors for the French fleet, 

 a body of Swedish troops for the French army, the introduction of 

 French custom-house officers at Gothenburg, and, lastly, the formation 

 of a Northern Confederation, consisting of Sweden, Denmark, and the 

 duchy of Warsaw, uuder the protection of Frauce. All these demands 

 were respectfully but firmly refused; but the prince royal became 

 convinced, that with such a man as Napoleon, Sweden could not 

 remain at peace and retain its independence as a nation. He wrote 

 several letters to Napoleon, explaining the delicate and painful position 

 in which he found himself. Sweden could not live without maritime 

 trade. After three months, Napoleon answered by fresh demands of 

 liostilitieg against Great Britain, and of a vigorous exclusion of all 

 English or colonial goods. Meantime, French privateers in the Baltic 

 and Northern seas seized the Swedish vessels, whilst the French 

 authorities confiscated the Swedish ships in the German ports, ar.J 

 marched their crews into France to serve iu Napoleon's dockyards. 

 Napoleon treated Sweden as an enemy. The year 1811 was a dread- 

 ful period for Sweden, and the prince royal in particular, and his 

 wealth was affected by his anxiety. At last a fresh act of violence of 

 Sfapoleon put an end to all uncertainty. In January 1812, French 

 .roops invaded Swedish Pomerania aud the island of lliigeu ; arrested 

 ihe public functionaries, who were sent to the prisons of Hamburg, 

 and replaced them by Frenchmen ; disarmed two Swedish regiments, 

 which had been surprised under the appearance of pence, and sent the 

 men prisoners into France ; and sequestrated all public property and 

 all Swedish vessels iu the port of Stralsund. All Sweden was roused 

 it the news. The prince royal wrotj a strong remonstrance to Napo- 

 eon upon this wanton outrage against the rights of Sweden as a nation. 

 Charles XIll. sent an envoy to St. Petersburg to conclude an alliance 

 with the Emperor Alexander, which was signed on the 24th of March, 

 and from that time the prince royal, having renewed friendly relations 

 with England, exerted himself to promote peace between Russia and 

 Jngland, and Russia and Turkey. All this was well known at Paris, 

 while Napoleon was preparing his gigantic expedition against Russia. 

 t was a very bold step for Sweden thus to tlirow the gauntlet at the 

 freat conqueror ; but the step was taken with tho courage of despair, 

 or Napoleon would not let any nation live independent. Those who 

 lave talked of Bernadotte's treason, as they call it, of his taking 



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