Tt istery. 
a 
Batile of 
Wigrar, 
ith 
July, 1809. 
The Tyro- 
lese, 
Peace be- 
tween Aus- 
tria and 
Vrapce. 
and tith van 
650 
Vicenza, crossed the Brenta, and drove the Austrians 
before him. At this period, these hostile armies were 
sent for, in order to remforce the grand armies on the 
Danube; but as they were proceeding towards Austria 
from Italy, they met at'Raab, where a severe engage- 
ment took place on the lath of June, the anniversary 
of the battle of Marengo. The battle began at two 
o'clock in the afternoon, and though the’French were 
superior in numbers, victory was long doubtful; at 
length, the troops of the Hungarian insurrection, un- 
accustomed to service, gave way, and the Austrians 
were forced to save themselyes by flight. The Arch- 
duke Charles retreated to Comorn, in order to secure 
his junction with the grand Austrian army ; while the 
Viceroy about the same time accomplished the same 
object. 
On the 4th of July, the whole army of Bonaparte 
was concentrated in or near the island in the Danube, 
where the Archduke Charles had not deemed it pru- 
dent to attack them. Fone. having been feinfor- 
ced by the Viceroy, resolved to cross the river, and 
the issue of another engagement with the Archduke ; 
for this’ purpose, in a very short space of time, three 
bridges were thrown across it, by which he intended 
to pass, and another bridge opposite to Essling, erected 
in order to draw off the attention of the Archduke to 
this quarter. In the short seg of two hours, during 
‘the night of the 4th, while the Austrians were expect- 
ing to be attacked on their right, near Essling, the 
French the Danube, and on the morning of the 
5th appeared drawn up on the left of the Austrians, 
“This masterly manceuvre, by which the Archduke had 
been completely deceived, gave Bonaparte a great ad- 
; which he did not fail to profit by, in the ob- 
stinate but decisive battle of Wagram, which was fought 
on the evening of the 5th and during the 6th of July. 
During the movements on the former day, the 
Archduke was obliged to give up his entrenchments ; 
and on the 6th, Bonaparte, having strengthened his 
centre, attacked the weakened centre of the Austrians ; 
the consequence was, that the latter gave way, and the 
wings, bemg thus exposed, also retreated. After this 
battle, all thoughts of serious resistance to Bonaparte 
were given up. sae ty for an armistice were,car- 
ried to him from the Emperor Francis, which was 
agreed to, and signed immediately. By one article it 
was stipulated, that the Austrians were not to afford 
any succour to the Tyrolese. 
These brave and bold mountaineers, as soon as they 
‘earned the rupture between France and Austria, re- 
solved to use their utmost efforts to shake eff the yoke 
of Bavaria. At first they were successful; the Bava. 
rian troops, though 27,000 strong, having been defeat- 
ed by them. A still greater force was then sent against 
them under Marshal Le Febre, consisting of French, 
Bavarian, and’ Saxon troops. These they could not 
venture to meet in the field, but, taking advantage of 
the nature of their country, they destroyed thousands 
of them as they through the gorges of the moun- 
tains, by precipitating masses of rock on them. When, 
however, the armistice wes Concluded between France 
and Austria, their cause became hopeless, though they 
continued, for some time afterwards, to fight obstinate- 
ly for their national independence. 
On the 14th of October, a treaty of peace was signed 
at Vienna between France and Austria. By this trea- 
ty, the latter ceded to the former all her sea coast ; and 
the kingdoms of Saxony and Bavaria were enlarged, so 
as to become sufficient checks on her, Prussia was re- 
FRANCE. 
— 
compensed for her neutrality by the cession ha of 
Gallicia ; and_the Emperor Francis agreed to acknow- 
sole Joseph Bonaparte King of Spain. Such were the 
leading articles of this treaty, that were communicated 
to the world at the time: but the Emperor Francis ob- 
tained these favourable terms only by a sacrifice of a 
domestic nature, which we shall therrapes have occa- 
sion to notice. lake ; 
Soon after Bonaparte’s return to France, the meet» 5... 
ings of the legislature were opened by a speech from grecch to 
him. In this speech, the events of the year 1809, and * 34 legi 
the state of France at the close of it, were, as usual, ture. 
the principal topics. He was marching, he said, on 
Cadiz-and Lisbon, when = was under the necessity of 
treading back his steps, and planting his eagles on the 
ramparts of “Vienna. ‘Tianes wiontee hall te the rise 
and termination of this fourth Punic war. He next 
adverted to the Walcheren expedition ; and, in short 
and unsatisfactory terms, to the state of Spain, . The 
annexation of Tuscany and the Roman states were next 
dwelt upon; but that part of the eo of Vienna 
which had put him in possession of the Illyrian pro- 
vinces, and thus brought the French empire contiguous 
to the empire of Constantinople, seemed the favourite 
topics of this speech. “I shall find myself in a situa- 
tion,” he observes, * to watch over the first interests of 
my commerce in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and 
the Levant. I will-protect the Porte, if the Porte with- 
draws herself from ‘the :fatal influence of 1 
shall know how to punish her, if she suffers to 
be governed by cunning and perfidious councils.” In 
the course of 1809, Bonaparte had advanced one step 
towards blotting out even the nominal independence of | ~ 
Switzerland, by declaring himself the Mediator of that 
country. This he adverted to in his speech; and at 
the same time he hinted, that changes might F 
necessary in Holland, as she was equally mjured: 
France and England, and yet was the debouche of the 
principal arteries of his empire. cas 
vere oe having thus succeeded in all his plans of 
izement except what regarded Spain, and be- 
ing doubtless convinced that that country also would 
soon be reduced ; having fixed all his brothers (except 
Lucien) on thrones, began’to reflect on the le 
of his own vast empire, on the event of his death. There 
was no probability of his having issue by Josephine ; 
besides, even if there were, his power would be much 
more firmly consolidated, if he were united with some 
of the ancient sovereign families of Europe. .Consider- 
ations of political ambition always weighed most in his 
mind ; but by such a marriage, not only would his em- 
pire be , and, if there were issue from it, 
rendered secure after his death, but his mal vani- 
ty would be gratified. The divorce of the Empres 
osephine, to whom he appears to have been anh at: 
tached, was therefore agreed upon ; and she, though 
equally attached to him, seems to have consented to 
this measure without reluctance, It took place in De- 
cember’1809; but it was not till the 27th of February 
1810, that it was publicly and certainly known whom 
he intended to marry. On that day, he anced, 
by a message to the Senate, that Berthier had been 
sent by him to Vienna, to demand for him the hand of 
the Archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the Empe- 
ror Francis. The ceremony of marriage was perform- on4 
ed on the 11th of March at Vienna, the Archduke Maria 
Charles representing Bonaparte on this occasion! > Louisa, 
Early in 1810, Ponsa began to unfold his de- 4- D. 1810, 
signs upon Holland. Frénch army of 40,000 men j 
w " $\ 
