Prose Works - 1835 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: C 63 CHAPTER LVIII. Proceedings of the Army under Prince Bagration.—Napoleons manceimres against him.—King Jerome of Westphalia is disgraced for alleged in... more »activity.—Bagration is defeated by Davoust, but succeeds in gaining the interior of Russia, and re-establishing his communication with the Grand Army—which retreats to Drissa.—Barclay and Bagration meet at Smolensk on the 20th July.— The French Generals become anxious that Napoleon should close the campaign at Witepslc for the season.—fie persists in proceeding.—Smolensk evacuated by I)e Tolly, after setting fire 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 Maret Duke of Bassano, Governor of Lithuania, and placed under the management of that minister the whole charge of correspondence with.Paris 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 be 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, when, ...« less