13,000 Swedes, and 4,000 Prussians, and he was in expectation of being soon joined by a large force from England.

Even after the peace of Tilsit, this heroic prince, too much, alas! in the spirit of Charles XII. of Sweden at Bender, issued from the fortress at Stralsund, the following address to the German nation: "German soldiers! A German prince still speaks to you, who has never forgot what is due to honour and duty. Still his voice assails you, to remind you that ye are a nation destined to honour and independence; not to infamy and oppression. Your princes have forgotten the loyalty of their ancestors. They have forgotten that Germany is but one state, and the Germans but one nation. They have exposed you to the most in. famous destiny; to promote the abhorred principles and designs of the Corsican Napoleon Buonaparte. Shake off then, in God's name, the ignominious bondage. Never can a more favourable opportunity occur to turn your arms against the oppressors of your unhappy country. From the ramparts of Stralsund, the only independent burgh remaining in Germany, and which has bid de fiance to time, thousands will de scend and unite with you for your deliverance."-At Putt, a town of Anterior Pomerania, eight miles SSW. from Stralsund, the Swedes were attacked in their entrenchments by a corps of the grand army of observation under marshal Brune. The Swedes, though bearing no proportion to the number of the assailants, made an obstinate, and, to the enemy, a destructive resist. ance. The loss of the French, or rather of their German and Dutch allies, was computed at

3

2,400 in killed and wounded; that of the Swedes at 1,500. A regiment of Hollanders was cut in pieces; one of Bavarians destroyed by a masqued battery. The Swedes, however, were driven under the walls of Stralsund; from whence they made frequent and vigorous sallies. They performed prodigies of valour: but these availed not against the army under Le Brune, composed of different nations to the amount of 70.000 men. The Swedish army found itself reduced to the necessity of evacuating Stral sund, which it did on the 19th of August, after destroying their ma gazines, spiking their cannon, and smashing their carriages, and throwing them into the ditches. In the evacuation of Stralsund, his Swedish majesty shewed a good deal of finesse. The king being sen sible of the impossibility of draw. ing any more troops, consistently with the safety of the kingdom, from Sweden, and of the neces sity there was of strengthening the defence of Rugen, sent his adjutant. general, baron Vegesack, chief in command at Stralsund, to the senate and deacons of the corporations of Burghers, to ask them if they were determined to stand a siege; in which case they might depend on all the assistance and protection to be expected from the valour of wedish troops: or if, in order to avoid the calamities of a siege, they were inclined, agreeably to a former petition of their's to the king, to treat with the enemy for peace? They humbly thanked his majesty for his gracious message; and, of the two options they had given to them, preferred the last in consequence of which, the fortress of Stralsund was on the same day committed

committed to their care, and measures were immediately taken for conveying the troops and stores to Rugen; which was effected in the night of the 19th and 20th of August. On the 20th, at three o'. clock in the morning, the king lea ving Stralsund, went to Altafer, to give all necessary orders respecting the operations going forward; and remained there during the passage of the troops. That the measure adopted by the Swedes might not be suspected by the enemy, an aid de-camp, by orders of the king, pre. senting himself at the out-posts of the French, announced that at any hour that should be appointed, a Swedish officer, general Peyron, would attend general Brune with some proposals relating to the fortress of Stralsund, and that, in the mean time, there should be a sus. pension of hostilities for twenty-four hours. The aid-de-camp was received by general Reille, and it was agreed on, that marshal Brune should

see general Peyron at six o'clock in the evening. At that hour, de. puties from the senate of Stralsund arrived at the French out-posts, and in a little time thereafter general Peyron, who had it in charge to declare in the name of his master the king of Sweden, that as the fortress of Stralsund had been wholly given up to the management of the senate, the king had nothing to do with any military arrangements respecting it; and that he appeared, on the part of his master, only to see that the terms of capitulation should be just and reasonable. Early on the 20th, all the troops and stores were safely landed on the island of Rugen where 8,000 Germans, in British pay, had arrived some weeks before, under the command of lord Cathcart, but were by this time employed in another part of the Baltic. The small Swedish army capitulated early in September, and all the islands on the German coast of the Baltic were included in the capitulation.

*

CHAP.

13,000 Swedes, and 4,000 Prussians, and he was in expectation of being soon joined by a large force from England.

Even after the peace of Tilsit, this heroic prince, too much, alas! in the spirit of Charles XII. of Sweden at Bender, issued from the fortress at Stralsund, the following address to the German nation: "German soldiers! A German prince still speaks to you, who has never forgot what is due to honour and duty. Still his voice assails you, to remind you that ye are a nation destined to honour and independence; not to infamy and oppression. Your princes have forgotten the loyalty of their ancestors. They have forgotten that Germany is but one state, and the Germans but one nation. They have exposed you to the most in. famous destiny; to promote the abhorred principles and designs of the Corsican Napoleon Buonaparte. Shake off then, in God's name, the ignominious bondage. Never can a more favourable opportunity occur to turn your arms against the oppressors of your unhappy country. From the ramparts of Stralsund, the only independent burgh remaining in Germany, and which has bid de. fiance to time, thousands will de. scend and unite with you for your deliverance."-At Putt, a town of Anterior Pomerania, eight miles SSW. from Stralsund, the Swedes were attacked in their entrenchments by a corps of the grand army of observation under marshal Brune. The Swedes, though bearing no proportion to the number of the assailants, made an obstinate, and, to the enemy, a destructive resist ance. The loss of the French, or rather of their German and Dutch allies, was computed at

3

2,400 in killed and wounded; that of the Swedes at 1,500. A regiment of Hollanders was cut in pieces; one of Bavarians destroyed by a masqued battery. The Swedes, however, were oriven under the walls of Stralsund; from whence they made frequent and vigorous sallies. They performed prodigies of valour: but these availed not against the army under Le Brune, composed of ditterent nations to the amount of 70.00 men. The Swedish army found itself reduced to the necessity of evacuating Stral. sund, which it did on the 19th of August, after destroying their ma gazines, spiking their cannon, and smashing their carriages, and throw. ing them into the ditches. In the evacuation of Stralsund, his Swedish majesty shewed a good deal of finesse. The king being sen. sible of the impossibility of draw. ing any more troops, consistently with the safety of the kingdom, from Sweden, and of the neces sity there was of strengthening the defence of Rugen, sent his adjutant. general, baron Vegesack, chief in command at Stralsund, to the senate and deacons of the corporations of Burghers, to ask them if they were determined to stand a siege; in which case they might depend on all the assistance and protection to be expected from the valour of wedish troops: or if, in order to avoid the calamities of a siege, they were inclined, agreeably to a former petition of their's to the king, to treat with the enemy for peace? They humbly thanked his majesty for his gracious message; and, of the two options they had given to them, preferred the last: in consequence of which, the fortress of Stralsund was on the same day

committed

committed to their care, and mea. sures were immediately taken for conveying the troops and stores to Rugen; which was effected in the night of the 19th and 20th of August. On the 20th, at three o'. clock in the morning, the king lea. vag Stralsund, went to Altafer, to give all necessary orders respecting the operations going forward; and remained there during the passage of the troops. That the measure adopted by the Swedes might not be suspected by the enemy, an aid. de-camp, by orders of the king, pre. senting himself at the out-posts of the French, announced that at any hour that should be appointed, a Swedish officer, general Peyron, would attend general Brune with some proposals relating to the fortress of Stralsund, and that, in the mean time, there should be a sus pension of hostilities for twenty-four hours. The aid-de-camp was received by general Reille, and it was agreed on, that marshal Brune should

see general Peyron at six o'clock in the evening. At that hour, de. puties from the senate of Stralsund arrived at the French out-posts, and in a little time thereafter general Peyron, who had it in charge to declare in the name of his master the king of Sweden, that as the fortress of Stralsund had been wholly given up to the management of the senate, the king had nothing to do with any military arrangements respecting it; and that he appeared, on the part of his master, only to see that the terms of capitulation should be just and reasonable. Early on the 20th, all the troops and stores were safety landed on the island of Rugen *, where 8,000 Germans, in British pay, had arrived some weeks before, under the command of lord Cathcart, but were by this time employed in another part of the Baltic. The small Swedish army capitulated early in September, and all the islands on the German coast of the Baltie were included in the capitulation.

СНАР.

been turned, or at least the campaign would not probably have been closed with such a peace as that of Tilsit. Nay, if a force of 30 or 40 thousand men had been kept, on our south. eastern coast, (suppose in the Downs) ready to sail at a moment's notice, this force would have operated in favour of the allies, without ever setting foot on any part of Germany, by keeping the enemy in such a state of apprehension as would have prevented him from marching such an immense force to the Vistula.

The weakness of coalitions arising from the folly, and want of good faith in the common cause, was also lamen. tably displayed in the conduct of Russia, who, at the same time that she began to put her army in motion for opposing a barrier to the encroachments of France, detached not less than 60,000 men to Moldavia and Walachia. It was the interest of the coalition, conjointly and severally, instead of parsuing individual in. terests in any part of the world, to have concentrated their whole force against the most powerful and dangerous enemy, Buonaparte *.

It was evident, the fate of Turkey was to be determined not at the mouths of the Danube, or the canal of Constantinople and the sea of Marmora, but on the Vistula, the Pregel, and the Niemen. There the question was to be resolved which master she was to obey, France or Russia?

The vast mind of the great Czar of Muscovy, PeterI, had compre. hended, in his plan of conquest in Europe, not only settlements on the Baltic and Black seas, but on

the Mediterranean, by the subjum. tion of the European provinces of Turkey. His successors on the Russian throne, kept in view hi designs, which he left for their p rusal in writing; and Catharine II, by the conquest of the Crimea, and some establishments there, had ac. vanced some steps towards their ac. complishment.- As the natural

enemies--so, in the ungracious lan. guage of politicks, neighbours 208 called-of Turkey, were Kussia,a d Austria, the natural friend and any of this empire was France. France was first asleep under the weak, improvident, and most fortunate reign of Lewis XVI., and afterwards distracted by inter d contests and dissensions, or vcupied in foreign war, first defensive, and then, in the natural progress of the passions, offensive. The situa tion of France in these circumstances, was very favourable to the designs of Russia on the Ottoman empire. The Russians, still professing peaceable dispositions, invaded Turkey in Europe, and at the close of 1806, they were masters of the three provinces of Moldavia, Bes sarabia, and Wallachia, as related in our last volume t, and threatened to cross the Danube and join the revolted Servians under Czerni, or black George: who, after gaining repeated victories over the Turks, laid siege to the strong fortress of Belgrade, while the Russians under general Myenberg were employed in that of Ismael.

The revolt and progress of the Servians excited at the Porte the ut. most indignation. By a firmaun or