Life of Napoleon Buonaparte Author:Walter Scott Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: [ 63 ] CHAPTER LVIII. Proceedings of the Army under Prince Bagration.—Napoleon's manoeuvres against kim.—King Jerome of West- pJialia is disgraced for a... more »lleged inactivity.—Bagration is defeated by Davoust, but succeeds in gaining the interior of Russia, and reestablishing his communication with the Grand Army—which retreats to Drissa—Barclay and Bagration meet at Smolensk on the 20//i July.— The French Generals become anxious that Napoleon should close the campaign at Witepskfor the season.—He persists in proceeding,—Smolensk evacuated by l)e Tolly, after setting Jire to the place.—Reduced condition of the French, and growing strength of the Russian Armies. — Peace effected between Russia, and England, Sweden, and Turkey.—Napoleon resolves to advance upon Moscow. Napoleon continued to occupy his headquarters at Wilna, from 28th June to 16th July, the space of eighteen days. It was not usual with him to make such long halts ; but Wilna was his last point of communication with Europe, and he had probably much to arrange ere he could plunge into the forests and deserts of Russia, whence all external intercourse must be partial and precarious. He named Mafet Duke of Bassano, Governor of Lithuania, and placed under the management of that minister the whole charge gf correspondence withParis and with the armies ; thus rendering him the centre of administrative, political, and even military communication between the Emperor and his dominions. It must not hj supposed, however, that these eighteen days passed without military movements of high importance. The reader must remember, that the grand army of Russia was divided into two unequal portions. That commanded under the Emperor by Barclay de Tolly, had occupied Wilna and the vicinity, until the French entered Lithuania, wh...« less