General Jean Victor Moreau: biography. Alexey Zotov is Napoleon's main rival. Great Moro General Return to Europe
This book is dedicated to all French soldiers who found their last refuge in Russian soil
The author expresses gratitude to everyone who helped him in the preparation of this book, namely the staff of the Russian National Library and the Russian State Historical Archive; The Library of Congress of the United States, the National Union of Museums of France and personally Mrs. Elisabeth Mollet for the opportunity to use beautiful reproductions of paintings from the museums of Malmaison and Bois Préau, Versailles and Trianon, as well as the Orsay Castle Museum and the Army Museum in Paris. At the same time, the author thanks Mr. Patrick Joubert, director of the Morlaix museum, for his assistance in searching for documentary materials relating to the early period of the life of General Moreau.
The author expresses his gratitude to the President of the International Napoleonic Society, Knight of the Legion of Honor, Mr. Ben Weider, for the inspiration that the author drew from correspondence with this amazing person, and for his support in the publication of a number of materials on the topic of research.
Messrs. Alain Pijard, Yves Minassian and Jean-Louis Martin for providing unique materials on the history of the French Revolution and the first empire; Mr. Philippe Moreau, Deputy Trade Counselor, Consulate General of France in St. Petersburg for his interest in this study; Mr. George Mount, Director of the Information Center of the Municipality of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, USA, for assistance in locating documents related to the stay of General Moreau in the United States of America;
Ms. Tatiana Eman, representative of the Spanish Center for Culture, Business, Education and Tourism in St. Petersburg for assistance in preparing illustrative material reflecting the Spanish period of General Moro’s life; member of the International Napoleonic Society V.Yu. Chabukiani for permission to use reproductions of paintings from his personal collection.
The author expresses special gratitude to the head of the department of written sources of the State Historical Museum of the Russian Federation, candidate of historical sciences A.D. Yanovsky for providing the author with copies of previously never published 7 letters from General Moreau and one note from Napoleon.
Finally, the author is grateful to his niece Nadezhda for photographs of the Hohenlinden battlefield memorial, to his son Nikita for technical support in preparing the manuscript, and to his wife Olga for useful advice on correcting individual chapters of the book.
PREFACE
“Napoleon's rivals...? Did he have them? - another reader will ask. Napoleon is a recognized genius and not only in the military sphere. This is the great reformer who transformed France, gave it a new set of laws - the famous “Civil Code”, according to which all of Europe has lived for more than one century. Napoleon spread education, restored the Catholic Church, built bridges, roads, and encouraged science and art. He created the Bank of France and the Paris Bourse, and also established fair taxation. Napoleon established a system of state awards, including the Legion of Honor, as an expression of the nation's gratitude to those who deserved this gratitude, be it a scientist, musician, politician, clergyman, writer or ordinary soldier. In the military field, Napoleon first formulated the principles known as the “principles of war,” which are still studied in most military academies around the world. A countless number of books have been written about Napoleon, dozens of films have been made, and even now, due to the discovery of new sources, the study of his life continues in all civilized countries of the world.
Could such a person have rivals?
As it turned out, they could... and there were... and not just one. Just to name Lazare Carnot and Louis Nicolas Davout in the military field, as well as Bernadotte, Sieyès, Talleyrand and even Lucien Bonaparte in politics. But the most brilliant of all was General Jean-Victor Moreau (1763-1813). Let us remind the reader that before 1800 Napoleon had not yet become that great emperor, reformer and commander whose genius amazed his contemporaries. At that time he was only General Bonaparte, albeit an illustrious one.
If we mentally travel back in time, finding ourselves at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, and ask the “average Frenchman” if he knows who General Bonaparte is, we will probably be answered: “Oh yes, this general conquered Italy twice and made an expedition to Egypt . He has glorious victories to his name: Castiglione, Lodi, Rivoli, Pyramids, Marengo.” Who is General Moreau? We would probably get the following answer: “This is a famous general. He defended the Republic from external enemies, conquered Holland and Belgium, fought with the formidable Suvorov at Cassano and Novi, saved the best of the revolutionary armies, skillfully taking it beyond the Rhine, and won the famous victory over the Austrians at Hohenlinden, which gave the French a long-awaited and lasting peace.” .
As can be seen from these virtual responses, the military glory of the two generals at the turn of the century was equal. Their methods of warfare may have differed, but the results shocked the imagination of the French, who were inclined to glory.
However, why did the name of Napoleon, as a brilliant commander, go down in History, but the name of General Moreau, also a brilliant commander, did not. The answer is simple: absolute power. Having established the Consulate, and then the Empire, Napoleon did everything so that the name of General Moreau not only was not mentioned on the pages of newspapers, in Parisian salons and in the army, but so that it disappeared forever from the memory of the people.
In the preface to his book “Moro - Napoleon’s Republican Rival,” the French historian Pierre Savinel writes: “While this phenomenal adventurer, who considered the revolution only a springboard for realizing his dream of creating an eastern empire, and France as a tool for realizing his ambitious goals, renamed the beautiful arteries Paris in the name of useless and increasingly bloody victories (although his true story is in London, somewhere between Trafalgar Square and Waterloo Station), Moreau sank deeper and deeper into oblivion.
The indisputable classic of Soviet historical science about Napoleon E.V. Tarle wrote: “Having strangled the French revolution, Napoleon drove away all memories of it, and Moreau was its most prominent representative. In December 1800, Bonaparte mercilessly dealt with the Jacobins because of an attempt on his life; he soon realized that they had nothing to do with it; he sought to destroy the republican spirit of that part of the French people who did not want to exchange revolutionary traditions for the glory of the “big battalions” and the enthusiastic cries of “Vive l" Empereur!”
The “conspiracy” of Pichegru, Moreau and Cadoudal of the year XII (1804), inspired by the consular police, the murder of the Duke of Enghien and the exile to America of the most important of his opponents and rivals - General Moreau - were the milestones of the emerging dictatorship - the absolute power of one person - the emperor. In introducing this new title for himself, Napoleon at first wanted to be called Emperor of the Republic, at least for the transition period, but then changed his mind and approved a different name - Emperor of the French. A tyrant, he expelled any, even remote, idea of freedom from the entire state and social life of his country and beyond. Complete silence reigned throughout his entire reign in the vast French empire. He wanted to lead everything and command everything. It got to the point that at his court, among the highest dignitaries, among the highest generals and marshalates, people got married on his direct orders and got divorced if he found it necessary.
He, a gray-haired old man, understands me somewhat; but I have more of him. I am proud that I dealt with a nice man!...
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov about General Jean Victor Marie Moreau
On August 27, during the battle of Dresden, the French General Moreau, who was assigned the post of commander-in-chief of all allied armies instead of Field Marshal Schwarzenberg, was mortally wounded.
General Jean Victor Moreau, engraving by unknown artist
He died a few days later, namely on September 2, 1813, 200 years ago.
It seemed that the young man was destined to become a successful lawyer or government official, to follow in the footsteps of his father Gabriel Louis Moreau, as did his younger brother Joseph Marie Francois. As usual, his father sent Jean Victor to study at law school in Rennes, but he was captivated by his military career and simply ran away to military service. But the father insisted on continuing his studies and bought his son out of the army. I had to gnaw on the granite of science. This is how Moreau himself recalled: At the beginning of the Revolution, which was intended to usher in the freedom of the French people, I was doomed to study the laws. The revolution changed the direction of my life: I devoted it to military affairs. I did not join the ranks of the soldiers of freedom out of ambition, but chose the military field out of respect for the rights of the people: I became a warrior because I was a citizen.
Jean Victor Moreau
Jacques Francois Joseph SCHWEBACH-DEFONTAIN
Jean Victor Marie Moreau, lieutenant colonel of the battalion of volunteers of the Ille-et-Vilaine department, 1792
Francois BOUCHOT
In 1789, Jean Victor swapped his boring career as a lawyer for the life of a professional soldier, joining the ranks of the newly created National Guard as an artillery captain. He was soon elected lieutenant colonel of the First Volunteer Battalion of the Ille-et-Vilaine department. Moreau took part in the war against Austria and Prussia, proved himself to be a knowledgeable and fearless officer, distinguished himself in many operations, which did not fail to affect his promotion; in four years he rose to the rank of division general, becoming the commander of a division of the Northern Army under the command of General Jean Charles Pichegru , and then commander of the army. Despite the fact that Father Moreau laid his head on the guillotine during the Jacobin Terror in 1794, Jacques Victor remained a republican. And in 1796, he was already appointed commander of the Rhine-Moselle Army, becoming one of the best commanders of the French Republic. Together with his comrades, generals Dese and Saint-Cyr, he won victories in southern Germany, occupying Regensburg and Munich. However, the campaign ended with a 40-day retreat, which Moreau carried out brilliantly, receiving the nickname of the French Fabius from his compatriots.
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
from an engraving by PARMENTIER for the History of the French Revolution by Louis Jean Joseph Blanc
However, in 1797 he was removed from command due to the fact that his commander and comrade General Pichegru, being chairman of the Council of Five Hundred, declared war on the Directory, was accused of treason and expelled from France. But soon the republic again felt the need for the services and talent of General Moro; he was drafted into the Italian army, which he soon led. So at the end of the 18th century, fate brought Moreau together with the Russian commander A.V. Suvorov.
Portrait of General Moreau
Engraving by E. MONSA based on a drawing by A. RUSSO
It must be said that both military leaders treated each other with respect; Jean Victor spoke of the Russian general as follows: Suvorov is one of the greatest generals: no one knew how to animate troops better than him, no one combined in himself to the highest degree the qualities of a military leader, such as his main exploits in Italy: the battles of Novi and Trebia, especially the march to Trebia, which is perfection in military art. He knew what he was talking about. He failed to defeat the great Russian commander, but Moreau himself was a capable student. And Alexander Vasilyevich saw Moro as a worthy opponent: And here I see the finger of Providence. It would be little glory to defeat a charlatan. The laurels that we steal from Moreau will bloom and turn green better...
Jean Victor Moreau. General-in-Chief of the Republican Army
Jacques Luc Barbier-Valbonne after an original by François GERARD, 1816
In Paris, meanwhile, dissatisfaction with the Directory was growing more and more. Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès was preparing a coup d'etat, for the success of which he needed good general's sword. Moreau came to the attention of the abbot, but he was absolutely indifferent to politics, and when Napoleon Bonaparte, who had fled from Egypt, appeared on the horizon, Jean Victor said with relief to Sieyès: This is the one you need; he will arrange a coup for you much better than me(A. Vandal). Moreau supported Napoleon on the day of the coup, with a detachment of 300 soldiers blocking in the Luxembourg Palace two members of the government - Louis Goyer and Jean Francois Moulin, who were not involved in the conspiracy.
Jean Victor Moreau. General-in-Chief of the French Army of the Rhine
Battle of Stockach May 3, 1800
Felix FILIPPOTO
In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte, in order to get Moreau out of sight, appointed the general commander of the new Army of the Rhine and French troops in Switzerland. In the spring, he crossed the Rhine and won victories over the Austrians at Stockach, Hochstein and Neraheim. Napoleon sent Moreau a dispatch dated May 16, 1800: I would gladly exchange the purple robe of the First Consul for the epaulettes of the commander of the brigade under your command. In September he arrived in Paris, where he was favorably received by Bonaparte, who honored the general with two pistols decorated with precious stones. In November, Jean Victor married a lovely young Creole, Alexandrina Gullot, but after 10 days he again left for active duty.
Battle of Hohenlinden. General Moreau
Henri Frederic CHOPIN
It was this time that became the peak of the career of this one of the most talented generals of the French army. On December 3, 1800, the French army under his command won a brilliant victory over the Austrians at Hohenlinden, luring there, as if into a trap, the troops of the Archduke of Austrian Karl Ludwig Johann Hohenzolern. This further strengthened France's position. The result was the conclusion of the Peace of Luneville on February 9, 1801 between France and Austria, which consolidated the territorial annexations stipulated by the Treaty of Campo-Formia in Italy, Belgium and the Rhine. Of all its Italian possessions, Austria retained only Venice. She recognized the formation of the Batavian, Helvetic and Cisalpine Republics. The treaty meant the end of the decade-long war in Europe that had disgusted the French. This was the finest hour of General Moreau, he became extremely popular in his homeland, his compatriots put his victory at Hohenlinden above the victory at Marengo, attributed only to himself by Napoleon. Naturally, this triumph irritated Napoleon.
The victory at Hohenlinden was the last republican victory. Never again did France see such modesty in its commanders, such heartfelt respect for them on the part of the soldiers, such touching manifestations of patriotism as the embrace of two comrades, Ney and Richpans, on the battlefield, after they had united, breaking through the Austrian army on both sides . It never occurred to Moreau to inflate his victory with boastful reports: he reported about it in a strikingly modest letter containing only a few lines. Bonaparte reported it to the Legislative Corps as one of the greatest victories ever won, and wrote to Moreau that he had surpassed himself. But he later took back his praise. He argued that this victory was the result of pure chance and that Archduke John's operations were far superior to those of his enemy(Ernest Lavisse, Alfred Rambaud History of the 19th century)
Moreau, remaining a Republican, and, being an opponent of Bonaparte’s one-man dictatorship, retired from service, stepped aside, trying to stay away from politics: We're no good for conspiracies, settling in the Chateau Grosbois in the suburbs of Paris. Having learned that Bonaparte was going to become emperor, Jean Victor refused the Order of the Legion of Honor sent to him. But it should be noted that his wife and mother-in-law gathered at their home those dissatisfied with Napoleon’s rule, intrigued against him, expressed their dissatisfaction, which, naturally, immediately became known to the police...
Georges Cadoudal
Paul Amable COUTAN
This state of affairs did not suit many French people and, above all, the royalists. Conspiracies and assassination attempts on the First Consul were spreading. One of these irreconcilables was the fanatical leader of the Chouans and Breton rebels, Georges Cadoudal. After Moreau refused to cooperate with him, Cadoudal and his comrades decided to simply kidnap Napoleon during a walk and then kill him.
General Charles Pechegru Alexandre-François CAMINAD
The person who could replace the First Consul, according to the conspirators, should have been General Moreau, as a man whose authority in the army was akin to Napoleonic. As a mediator between them and Moreau, they appointed the former general Pichegru, who hated Napoleon, who was exiled by him to Guiana, but fled from there and was living illegally in Paris. It would be strange if the ardent Republican General Moreau agreed to this adventure. Not even wanting to meet with Cadoudal, he told Pichegru that he would agree to act against Bonaparte, but did not want to serve the Bourbons. He later wrote to Napoleon about the plot: I don’t even understand how a handful of people can hope to change the government and restore a family to the throne that the efforts of all of Europe and many years of civil war could not return. I assure you, General, that I rejected all the offers that were made to me as completely insane.
Arrest of General Peshegru
Artist of the French school
19th century French school engraving
Meanwhile, Napoleonic police tracked down the conspirators. First, General Jean Victor Moreau was arrested (for knowing but not reporting), then General Charles Peshegru, who was betrayed to the police by a friend, the owner of a safe house. Pichegru, despite the torture, remained silent, and 40 days after his arrest he was found in his cell, strangled by his own tie. Nobody believed in the general's suicide. Later, everyone was arrested by Cadoudal. At the trial, he confessed to the conspiracy, taking all the blame upon himself, refused to submit a request for pardon and was executed in the summer of 1804.
Portrait of General Jean Victor Moreau
Unknown artist
General Moreau was also tried. He defended himself brilliantly during the trial; the ladies present in the hall threw flowers at his feet, every now and then exclaiming: Moreau is innocent! Freedom for General Moreau! All this is colorfully described in the memoirs of Madame de Stael. He was sentenced to 2 years, to which Napoleon complained: They decided to punish him as if he were stealing handkerchiefs! And he replaced the imprisonment with deportation to the United States. In a letter to his wife, Jean Victor wrote that the verdict was a triumph for him horror and dishonor. In addition to moral ones, the general suffered material losses, the court withheld more than a million francs from him, Bonaparte gave his Paris apartment to General Bernadotte, and his estate in Grobois to Alexandre Berthier.
At the end of 1804, Moreau arrived in the United States and was excellently received by President Jefferson, who invited him to head the military schools opening in America. But the general chose to settle in Philadelphia, where he lived as a private citizen, hunting and fishing. He rejected all offers of cooperation from visiting political emigrants and agents of powers hostile to Napoleon. With the beginning of the Russian army's foreign campaign in 1813, Emperor Alexander I, on the advice of the former French Marshal Bernadotte, invited Moreau to take part in the joint fight against Napoleon. Coincidentally, the general’s wife fell ill and went to Europe for treatment, his adjutant J.B. Rapatel entered the Russian service, and a fire broke out on the estate, destroying the house, library and Moro’s manuscripts. When Jean Victor Moreau learned that many captured French soldiers remained in Russia, he wrote that I am ready to go to France with French troops, but I will not hide my disgust to enter my fatherland with a foreign army... And ...If a significant number of these unfortunates agree to go to the shores of France under my leadership, I guarantee that I will overthrow Napoleon.
Self-portrait
Pavel SVININ
Russian diplomats Andrei Yakovlevich Dashkov and Pavel Petrovich Tugoi-Svinin were not asleep either. Pavel Petrovich, a man from a tribe of adventurers and adventurers, a notable writer and artist, a distant relative of M. Yu. Lermontov (and, according to some pathfinders, A. S. Pushkin), became friends with Moreau, organized the general’s secret departure from America to Europe for the fast brig Hannibal, accompanied him on his journey. Svinin was with the general during the battle in Dresden, witnessing his injury, and remained with him until his death on September 2.
General Jean Victor Moreau
Pavel SVININ
In mid-August, Jean Victor arrived at the headquarters of Emperor Alexander I, was kindly received by him, a dinner was given in honor of the general, and he himself was introduced to King Frederick William III of Prussia and Emperor Franz I of Austria. As already mentioned, Alexander Pavlovich intended to do Moreau became the commander-in-chief of all coalition forces, since he considered only him a worthy opponent of Napoleon. The general himself preferred to remain chief of staff under the Russian emperor. The first covenant he gave to his allies was this: Do not attack those parts of the army where Napoleon himself is, attack only the marshals. The next day, Alexander I and General Moreau went to the theater of military operations, and for the rest of the time Jean Victor remained inseparably with the Russian emperor.
Death of General Moreau, par Paul Lehugeur
Death of General Moreau
Thomas SUTHERLAND
Jean-Victor Moreau dies from wounds received at the Battle of Dresden
Engraving by Thomas SUTHERLAND after the aquinta of William HEATH
On August 27, 1813, in the Battle of Dresden, the commander of the Allied forces, General Moreau, was mortally wounded by a cannonball explosion.
The French see divine Providence in the death of the traitor.
Carl Antoine Charles Horace VERENET
Illustration for the History of the Emperor Napoleon, Laurent de l'Ardèche
Well, then Dresden happened, the second day of the battle, a shootout of enemy batteries. Moreau suggested that the emperor drive away from the dangerous place and as soon as they moved, Jean Victor in front, Alexander half a length behind, a stray cannonball hit Moreau. It tore off his right leg and, having pierced his horse, crushed his left one... He was evacuated from the battlefield on a stretcher, built from Cossack pikes covered with greatcoats, to Netnitz, where physician Willie amputated Moreau both limbs above the knees.
Death of General Moreau
Louis-Charles-Auguste COUDER
Death of General Moreau (fragment)
The general was then transported to Laun, where he died on September 2. In his suicide note to his wife, he wrote: This scoundrel Bonaparte was lucky again. He turned out to be happier than me here too. His faithful adjutant Colonel Rapatel, Alexander I's aide-de-camp Colonel Orlov, and Pavel Svinin were constantly at his bedside. The latter painted a portrait of Moreau from life these days: He is represented as lying on his deathbed, but not changed in the least in his resemblance. The portrait of General Moreau was drawn by me in Prague from life and, upon my departure to England, was presented by Colonel Rapatel to the Emperor, who ordered it to be placed in the Hermitage. This portrait could not be found. Moreau dictated the last message for the Russian emperor: Sovereign! I go to my grave with the same feelings of respect, surprise and devotion that I felt for your Majesty in the first minute of our meeting...
Upon learning of Moreau's death, Alexander I sent his widow a letter: When the terrible misfortune that struck General Moreau near me deprived me of the experience and knowledge of this great man, I still cherished hope through efforts to preserve him for his family and my friendship. Providence determined otherwise. He died as he lived, with the strength of a strong and unshakable soul. Everywhere in Russia you will find sympathy for yourself, and if you wish to settle with us, I will use all the ways to decorate your life, making it my sacred duty to be your comforter and support. My friendship for your husband extends beyond the grave, and I have no other way, although in part, to express it, as by doing something for the well-being of his family. The emperor assigned the widow a one-time allowance of half a million rubles and assigned a lifelong pension of 30 thousand rubles annually. In addition, later King Louis XVIII, at the request of the Russian emperor, granted Alexandrina Moreau a pension of 12 thousand francs and the title of marshal's wife (la Marechale Moreau), as well as compensation of about half a million francs for lost property.
Dresden. Monument to General Moreau
Engraver William MILLER
View of Dresden and monument to General Moreau, 1815.
F. TEUBERT
Monument to General Moreau in Dresden
And at the site of the death of General Moreau near Dresden, Alexander I ordered the installation of a monument in the form of a granite obelisk with an antique helmet and a laurel wreath and a sword on top.
We managed to find crumbs about the general’s children. His only son, three-year-old Eugene, remained in France with his grandmother and soon died. I don’t know how many daughters there were, but the names (Amalia, Isabel) are different, although apparently we are talking about the same lady. OUR EVERYTHING wrote about her in his diary dated December 5, 1834: Ermolova and Courval (daughter of General Moreau) dress the worst of all. And Dolly Fikelmon added: The family of the Frenchman Viscount Courval appeared here; his wife is Moreau's daughter. As such, she received the code of maid of honor of the Russian Court with a large boarding house. She is not at all beautiful and not even elegant, but she seems to me to be a creature with a good, cheerful character. Her husband is a handsome man, terribly talkative and a phrase-monger when inspired to do so. They have beautiful and smart children.
A rogue Bonaparte in exile on the island of Saint Helena said to the Count of Las Cass: I am saddened by the fame of Moreau, who found death in the ranks of the enemy. If he died for his homeland, I would envy such a fate. They blamed me for his expulsion; one way or another - after all, there were two of us, when only one was needed... And he turned out to be right: Napoleon’s posthumous glory completely eclipsed the glory of Jean Victor Marie Moreau...
Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria
Ironically, two opponents - Suvorov and Moro - are buried in one country, one city, on one avenue - Nevsky. At the behest of Alexander I, the body of Jean Victor Moreau was embalmed in Prague and taken to St. Petersburg. He was buried in the crypt of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria with the honors of a Russian field marshal. The Russian military department took upon itself all the worries about the burial. Posthumously, King Louis XVIII promoted Moreau to marshal of France (as did Georges Cadoudal).
During the years of Soviet power, a warehouse was located in the church.
And recently a memorial plaque was installed in the room
On the brick wall of the crypt hangs only a portrait of the outstanding general. I read that on the 200th anniversary of the death of the commander, they plan to create a memorial at the grave and open it to the public...
pro100-mica.livejournal.com
A. Kuznetsov: Jean Victor Moreau is one of the most brilliant generals of the era of revolutionary wars. At that time, he put on a military uniform quite late, having had absolutely no military training before, except that he was very interested in military history and military literature, and even read some textbooks on artillery. But this was all at the hobby level.
In general, Moreau is from a classic bourgeois family, many generations of which served in different positions. His father was a fairly successful provincial lawyer, apparently a fairly strong man. He said very harshly: “You will be a lawyer.” However, Jean Victor had several brothers who were also sent to study law. True, unlike him, his older brother, they all somehow calmly accepted their father’s will. And our hero tried to rebel, to quit all these activities. As a student, he led a very wild lifestyle and was the leader of a student gang...
Moro put on his military uniform quite late
Then Moro tried to escape into the army. The father came specially, almost under the threat of criminal prosecution for disobeying the will of the parent, forced him to return. As a result, Jean Victor nevertheless became a bachelor of laws, and even in 1790, during the outbreak of the revolution, he received a lawyer's license. However, he worked in the legal profession only once - in his own trial.
As soon as Moreau had the opportunity - the National Guard began to organize - he immediately joined it. He was elected an officer. But when he found out that the guard did not have enough artillery, he became an ordinary artilleryman. There he again made his way to captain. Well, then - an enchanting career...
Moro met the revolution at that time as a completely adult man - at the age of 26. Of course, for a marshal (unless you take the oldest generation) this is quite late. But our hero almost instantly rose to the rank of brigadier general. And here is the first mystical coincidence: in the same order, on the same day, under the same number, both Moreau and Bonaparte received brigadier general status. Before this, they did not know each other. This happened later...
Yes, Moro became a division general several years earlier than Napoleon. He ended up in the so-called Northern Army, from which, in general, nothing special was expected. The main task was assigned to the Army of the Rhine. And then suddenly good fortune began: Belgium was practically conquered, Holland was invaded... So, under the patronage of one of the heroes of these years, General Pichegru, Moreau became known throughout France.
Portrait of General Jean Victor Moreau by François Gérard, circa 1797. Source: en. wikipedia.org
Well, and then the completely strange, mixed atmosphere of 1794-1795, perfectly described in literature - the first Directory. On the one hand, this is the time when the terror ended. On the other hand, from all sides, like mushrooms after rain, conspiracies began to multiply... And in this situation, both the army and society as a whole began to look around in search of the so-called sword: the idea was constantly floating in the air that the regime of the Directory should be replaced by some strong military hand.
S. Buntman: Intelligible.
A. Kuznetsov: And here, of course, eyes turned to General Bonaparte after his enchanting First Italian Campaign.
It is worth noting that before this, candidate No. 1 was another person - Louis-Lazare Gauche. In 1797 he died suddenly. And then it turned out that Bonaparte and Moreau turned out to be figures of approximately the same, as they say, weight.
Many people are well aware of the story of 1799, when Sieyès began looking for a sword to overthrow the Directory. Initially, he did not count on Bonaparte’s candidacy, since he was hopelessly stuck in Africa, in Egypt. But Moreau, under a plausible pretext, called to Paris... And here is another mystical coincidence: at the same hour, General Moreau, who had finally reached Paris, and a representative of Bonaparte, who had already reached France, entered Sieyès. And Moreau then said: “This is the one you need. He will arrange a coup for you much better than me.”
True, it must be said that Moreau was also an active participant. It was then, in the fall of 1799, that they finally met. And Napoleon began to fool Moreau. He knew how to do it. He invited our hero home, gave him a luxurious dagger trimmed with precious stones, and subtly flattered him, describing his victories (the same ones that later on the island of St. Helena would be considered more a matter of chance than of military talent). And as a result, Moreau became one of his closest assistants...
S. Buntman: Is it possible to find some point?
A. Kuznetsov: Napoleon himself often spoke with evil words about Moreau's wife and mother-in-law. And this despite the fact that this marriage - Moreau married in 1800 a recognized beauty, a young aristocrat, one of Josephine's friends, Eugenie Ulot - was arranged by his wife. Looking ahead, it is worth saying that this union was very happy. The couple lived, as they say, in perfect harmony for many years. And for some reason Napoleon considered Eugenie and her mother to be intriguers and gossips, although there were many of them around him. But for some reason he especially couldn’t stand these ones.
S. Buntman: Maybe they got it?
A. Kuznetsov: May be. Or maybe Bonaparte needed to somehow explain the increasingly obvious hostility towards Moreau, which was caused by other things.
Moreau became a division general before Napoleon
But one way or another, by this time Jean Victor Moreau was already the hero of another great military period. The fact is that the French general several times turned out to be a direct partner at the chessboard of Suvorov himself. Moreover, each time he was forced to retreat. For this, Alexander Vasilyevich sarcastically and respectfully called him “the general of brilliant retreats”...
And here is the beginning of the 19th century. The third, as we now know, the last Vendée, has been crushed and covered in blood, but the underlying seething still continues. Some Shuang leaders are hiding in forests, caves, abroad, but expect to return. Including the famous Georges Cadoudal, a man who once in his youth, like many others, was infected with revolutionary sentiments, but quite quickly (largely due to the harsh anti-church policies of the revolution) became a convinced royalist and an enemy of the existing regime.
Apparently, Cadoudal was somehow involved in the famous assassination attempt on the first consul in 1800, after which Bonaparte ordered Fouche to properly deal with the conspirators.
Portrait of Georges Cadoudal by Amible-Paul Cauthant, 1827. Source: en. wikipedia.org
In 1802, for some of his pranks, the all-powerful Fouche ceased to be the Minister of Police and was in forced downtime for two years. Meanwhile, General Pichegru, who at one time was found guilty of betraying the revolution, was sentenced to hard labor (in fact, to slow death in Cayenne, but on the way he managed to escape), in exile, in London, became very close friends with Cadoudal. Moreau, who received very decent capital, was in Paris, engaged in opposition. His words were spread all over Paris, which would later be blamed on him quite officially. And royalist agents began to seek an approach to the general. How far they found it is unclear, although a lot has been written about this...
Yes, first Cadoudal, then Pichegru secretly moved to French territory. According to one version, the French police missed them, according to another version - not. This was part of Fouche's plan, who dreamed of returning. His agents tracked these people, but for the time being did not touch them, because Fouche needed to show: “Sire, you are in danger. Look, I’m retired, and you’re in danger.”
One way or another, Pichegru and Moreau met. Moreau later claimed that he did not consent to this meeting, that Pichegru secretly came to his house at night, he could not kick him out, but did everything to make this visit as short as possible. Witnesses testified that Moreau and Pichegru met in a carriage, that in fact they had several meetings and several conversations. There is documentary evidence - Moreau’s response to one of Pichegru’s emissaries: “I will not stand at the head of any party whose goal is to restore the Bourbons. They have discredited themselves so much in the eyes of the people that any attempt to return to their rule is doomed to failure. If Pichegru agrees to act in a different direction, something that I told him, then this will require the elimination of the consuls and the governor of Paris.”
Suvorov called Moreau “the general of brilliant retreats”
Well, then the mousetrap slammed shut. Moreau was arrested. Pichegru was arrested. In the literal sense of the word, they took Cadoudal, who during his arrest managed to kill one policeman and wound several others. And when during the investigation he was reproached: “You killed a policeman, but he has several children,” Cadoudal, without raising an eyebrow, replied: “But you should have sent bachelors to arrest them.”
As a result, a huge conspiracy case unfolded. And when the trial began at the end of May 1804, 47 people were involved in it...
Moreau was forced to defend himself. He defended himself to such an extent that, stepping over his pride, he wrote a letter to Napoleon. Here is a short excerpt: “General, it’s been a month since I’ve been kept here as an accomplice of Cadoudal and Pichegru, and I’m probably destined to stand trial for attempting to attack the foundations of the state. Having gone through the crucible of the revolution and subsequent wars, it is difficult to accuse me of ambition or lack of civic position. Since the enemies have separated us from each other, that is why I am here with regret forced to talk about myself and what I have done. But now that I am accused of being an accomplice of those who are considered mercenaries of England and acting at her bidding, then in this case I will probably have to defend myself from the snares that she sets for me. If you deign to give this letter your attention, General, then I will no longer doubt your justice, and I will only have to wait for the decision of my fate with the clear conscience of an innocent person.”
Napoleon imposed a resolution: “Apply to the case.” The process, very conscientious, lasted about two weeks. More than 150 witnesses were questioned. The lawyers fulfilled their professional duties in full.
Auguste Couder. Death of General Moreau.
The Hermitage and Rodina magazine continue a joint project, within the framework of which we introduce readers to little-known rarities from the storerooms of the main Russian museum.
“Among the ten churches decorating Nevsky Prospekt,” wrote the French poet F. Anselot, who visited St. Petersburg in 1826, “there is one Catholic;<...>it contains a grave that a Frenchman cannot look at without pain: this is Moreau’s grave.”
We present to the reader a little-known portrait of this outstanding French commander, executed by the Roman sculptor C. Prosperi.
Only one was needed
During the revolutionary wars the name of General Moreau was as popular as that of General Bonaparte; Moreau's victory at Hohenlinden almost eclipsed Napoleon's victory at Marengo. Moreau was not ambitious, but he was independent and had a high sense of self-esteem. He remained a staunch republican, and the election of Bonaparte as consul for life aroused indignation in Moreau, which he did not hide.
On the eve of Napoleon's proclamation as Emperor, Moreau was accused of involvement in the Cadoudal conspiracy and sentenced to two years in prison for simply not informing on the conspirators. Bonaparte, expecting a death sentence from the judges, was disappointed; he considered it better to replace imprisonment with exile. “There were two of us,” Napoleon recalled on the island of St. Helena, “and only one was needed.”
Moreau went to America.
There he remained until 1813, leading the life of a private man, but keenly interested in the dramatic events that were shaking Europe. In Europe, the exiled general was also remembered more than once.
Emperor Alexander had been nurturing the intention to involve Moreau in the fight against Napoleon since 1805; This plan was realized only in 1813.
Meeting of the Varangian
General Moreau's invitation was received ambiguously among the Allies. The Austrians, who had repeatedly suffered crushing defeats from Moro, did not express delight at his appearance.
“We Russians, in general, more than other European peoples, are partial to everything new,” later recalled Staff Captain A.I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, an officer in Emperor Alexander’s retinue, “and saw in General Morov a great guarantee of victory.” However, not everyone in Russian society shared this opinion: others recalled to Moro the defeat he suffered in Italy from Suvorov; others considered the very fact of turning to a foreigner for salvation shameful. Princess Varvara Turkestanova wrote on August 8, 1813: “As for me, my blood boils when I think how happy they are that the Russians can look at a foreigner as if he were the liberator of Russia.” And even the rejoicing in the world over the arrival of Moreau a week later did not shake the princess: “In vain they will gild this pill for me: I will always feel its bad taste.”
Moreau himself felt the bitter aftertaste of his new position. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, who saw the main feature of the French general in “his attachment to his ungrateful fatherland,” says: “Once, discussing the mutual position of the armies, he said: “The enemies can make such and such a movement,” and suddenly, changing his face, he said in a loud voice: “My God!” I call them enemies, and among them there are perhaps fifty thousand warriors with whom I fought together!
Moreau refused to wear someone else's uniform and wore civilian dress.
Death
On August 13 (25), 1813, the Allies approached Dresden, which was the key to Napoleon’s line of operations. Several French columns appeared before the Saxon capital. Moreau considered it necessary to attack them immediately, since Napoleon's main forces were confronting Blücher's Prussian troops in Silesia. However, the Austrians refused to attack the French until all allied forces arrived. Only on the morning of August 14, the Allies besieged Dresden.
As a result of this indecision, a sharp clash occurred between Moreau and the Austrian Field Marshal Prince Schwarzenberg, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. Moreau threw his hat to the ground and angrily said to his opponent: “I’m no longer surprised that for seventeen years now you’ve always been beaten!”
The attack was launched only at five o'clock in the afternoon; the allies began to push back the enemy, but by this time Napoleon arrived and reduced their successes to zero; The battle took place in pouring rain and died out as darkness fell. The Russian emperor spent the night in the deserted Netnitz castle; Moreau whiled away the time in conversation with Adjutant General Prince Nikolai Repnin and Staff Captain Alexander Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, who had obtained a bowl of sour milk...
At five o'clock in the morning on August 15 (27), Emperor Alexander and his headquarters were already in position. The rain was still pouring down in buckets. At six o'clock the artillery began to speak. Around two in the afternoon, a French cannonball mortally wounded Moreau, who was in close proximity to the emperor: it crushed the general’s right thigh and tore off the calf of his left leg. On a makeshift stretcher made from Cossack pikes, the wounded man was taken to the nearest village, where physician Jacob Willie amputated both of his legs...
Moreau was transported to the town of Laun (now Louny in the Czech Republic); there he died on August 22 (September 2). He was 50 years old.
“I have nothing to reproach myself with,” he said before his death.
Grave on Nevsky
The Saxon peasant removed the boot from Moreau's right leg, cut off by Willie, and after the retreat of the allies, in the hope of a reward, presented it to the King of Saxony, Frederick Augustus I, a loyal vassal of Napoleon. He handed the boot to the emperor as proof of the serious injury of one of the high-ranking officers of the coalition. But at Napoleon’s headquarters they only established that the boot was not sewn in France or England...
“The sovereign surrounded him with touching care,” R. Edling recalled about Moreau’s last days, “his family was showered with blessings...” The general’s heart was sealed in a silver vessel and delivered to the widow; Moreau's body, accompanied by his former adjutant, was sent to St. Petersburg for a ceremonial burial.
Moreau was buried with military honors in the Catholic Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria on Nevsky Prospect on October 3 (14), 1813. The ceremony was magnificent: a huge sum of 21,454 rubles was allocated for it. 40 kopecks The church was overcrowded; Russian ministers, generals and French emigrants crowded around the hearse, made according to the design of G. Quarenghi. For the most part, those gathered were strangers to the deceased during his lifetime.
“In the middle of the indifferent crowd that had gathered for this strange funeral,” says R. Edling, “two figures suddenly appeared, hastily pushed their way to the coffin and, crying, rushed at it. They were the deceased’s adjutant and his little black man.”
P.S. Jean-Baptiste Rapatel, Moreau's adjutant, outlived his commander and friend by only six months. In the battle of Fer-Champenoise, he drove up to the French square with a white scarf, intending to persuade his compatriots to surrender in order to avoid senseless bloodshed. Colonel Rapatel was killed by a French bullet, just as Moreau was killed by a French cannonball.
At the end of the 18th century, as a result of the Great French Revolution, there was a surge of French representatives to Russia. Most of these forced emigrants remained in Russian service under Emperor Alexander I. Naturally, they had to fight with their compatriots during Russia's wars with Napoleon. A similar fate befell the prominent French commander General Moreau, whose name in Russia is now, alas, forgotten...
Clash of the Titans
Jean-Victor Moreau first showed himself as a talented military leader in 1793: at the head of the Republican French army, the young general stormed several Dutch fortresses. But he gained wide fame only five years later, when at Novi he encountered the Russian-Austrian army, which was then under the command of the famous Suvorov. In the first minutes of the battle, the French lost their commander-in-chief, General Joubert, and Moreau took his place. In this fierce battle, he almost died: three horses were killed under him, and he himself was wounded in the shoulder.
The Battle of Novi was one of the longest and bloodiest of Suvorov's field battles; in terms of the number of killed, it was second only to the assault on Ishmael. It is not surprising that Moreau could not withstand Suvorov’s victorious onslaught: he retreated, taking the remnants of his defeated army to Genoa.
For Moro himself, the Battle of Novi was the only battle in which he confronted the Russians. Subsequently, the general often recalled this battle and generally liked to talk about Suvorov, although he was very critical of his military tactics. For his part, Suvorov, respecting Moreau, called him “the general of glorious retreats (retreats - A.E.).” “He understands me, a gray-haired old man,” Suvorov said about his opponent, “but I understand him even more. I’m proud, however, that I dealt with a nice man.”
When Moreau returned to Paris from Italy, France was shaking: Napoleon had just carried out a coup and became the first consul of the republic. Moreau initially served Bonaparte faithfully, leading his Army of the Rhine and defeating the Austrians at Hohenlinden. It was a real triumph for the commander: upon returning to Paris, Napoleon presented the winner with a pair of pistols decorated with precious stones. However, the relationship between Moreau and Bonaparte soon fell apart; As a result, Moreau became involved in a conspiracy against Napoleon, went to prison and, after trial, was deported outside his homeland in disgrace.
In the United States, Moreau received warm sympathy from those who did not like Napoleon. The disgraced commander himself settled 30 miles from Philadelphia in the town of Mauriceville. Here he became an ordinary citizen, whose favorite pastimes were hunting, reading and receiving guests.
While Moreau, forgotten not only in Europe but also in France, lived peacefully in the New World, his longtime offender - Napoleon - went from victory to victory. Bonaparte's success and fame irritated Moreau. And finally, having lost all hope that France would be able to save itself from Bonaparte, the general accepted Alexander I’s offer to enter Russian service. The fact is that after the death of Kutuzov, the Russian government was in search of a worthy candidate who could lead the allied armies in a foreign campaign against Bonaparte. And the candidacy of General Moreau was perfectly suited to this place.
Just before leaving America, Moreau learned that a large number of French prisoners remained in Russia. The general immediately wrote to the Russian envoy to the United States, Dashkov, that he was ready to lead Napoleon’s former soldiers and lead them to Paris (!). Moreau guaranteed that in this case Bonaparte “would have a bad time”...
Napoleon's core
In July 1813, the North American sailing ship Hannibal brought Moreau to the shores of Europe. This was a rather risky undertaking, considering that Bonaparte's agents kept a watchful eye on the general in America and had secret orders in the event of Moreau's attempt to return to Europe to “detain him by force on his way to the high seas.”
The meeting of the Russian emperor and the former Napoleonic general took place in Prague, the main headquarters of the allied forces. It lasted about two hours, and Moreau was very touched by the attention shown to him by the powerful monarch.
The next day, Alexander I went to the place of hostilities: Moro was with him, who from that time remained with the Russian emperor continuously. Ten days after leaving Prague, Moreau already took part in the Battle of Dresden.
Torrential rain covered the battlefield, and the wind whipped into the faces of the Russian soldiers. Moreau was in Alexander's retinue near the battery, which had staged a duel with the French guns opposite. A serious firefight ensued... Seeing that several cannonballs fell near the Russian emperor, Moreau asked him to drive to a safer place... At that moment, one of the cannonballs fired from the French side hit Moreau. It tore off his right leg and, having pierced his horse, shattered his left one... Later they said that the cannonball was fired from a cannon aimed by Napoleon himself. At the same time, knowledgeable people added some details: Bonaparte followed the movement of the imperial cortege and, recognizing in it his sworn enemy - Moreau, who had moved away from the royal retinue, took advantage of this moment and, like an excellent artilleryman, fired the fatal shot.
On August 30, Moreau was taken to the city of Laun in a hopeless condition. A few minutes before his death, he dictated his last letter in his life. It was addressed to the Russian monarch, under whose flag Moreau managed to serve for only a month: “Sovereign,” Moreau addressed Alexander I. “I go to my grave with the same feelings of respect, surprise and devotion that I felt for your Majesty in the first minute of our meeting.” " After the letter was dictated, Moreau's forces left him; he died.
Having received the general’s dying message, Alexander wrote a handwritten letter to the hero’s wife, where he noted that he had lost his comrade-in-arms and friend. The Emperor assured Madame Moreau that if she wanted to stay in Russia forever, he would use all his strength so that she would not need anything. “The friendship that I had for your husband continues beyond his earthly life,” Alexander wrote, “and I have no other way to declare it than by doing something for the well-being of your family.”
Along with the letter, the emperor sent the widow half a million rubles and, in addition, assigned her a lifelong pension - 30 thousand rubles annually. So that the place of the death of General Moreau would remain in the memory of descendants, Alexander I ordered the installation of a monument near Dresden in the form of a granite obelisk with an antique helmet and a laurel wreath and a sword on top. An inscription was engraved on the monument, informing that Moreau heroically fell in this place near the Russian emperor...
Letter to the Ministry
The hero's body was taken to St. Petersburg and buried with military honors in the Catholic Church of St. Catherine on Nevsky Prospekt. On this day, the public filled the center of St. Petersburg; all the streets adjacent to the cathedral were filled with carriages and carriages - so many people came to say goodbye to the famous general. The US Consul in St. Petersburg, J. Adams, was also present at the funeral.
Why was Moreau so popular in Russia at one time? This question was asked more than a hundred years ago by the writer E. Karnovich, who rightly believed that although the general never became a great commander, his many years of opposition to Napoleon, life in exile and death near the Russian emperor surrounded him with a heroic aura. True, by the end of the 19th century a lot had changed...
“The ashes of Napoleon, revered by the French of all political parties,” noted Karnovich, “lie in Paris in a magnificent tomb. The memory of Moreau has completely disappeared, and hardly anyone now knows his half-forgotten grave.” The writer mentioned that Moreau was buried on the right side of the main entrance near the “great altar.” In the 1870s, the name Moro was already difficult to read on the general’s gravestone...
The French did not remember their great compatriot soon and not at the most opportune time - during the era of Nikita Khrushchev... In 1954, the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a request from the French historian Joseph Vanizel: “Is Moreau really buried in Leningrad?” Vanizel cited a version that existed in France that the general’s widow allegedly transported Moreau’s ashes to his homeland. Surprisingly, Soviet officials not only responded to the Western historian’s letter, but even invited the foreign department of the USSR Academy of Sciences to “establish the current state of the tomb attributed to Moreau.”
In 1954, in connection with a request from the French side, a special commission was created, which opened the crypt and discovered the remains of a wooden coffin with bronze decorations on the lid and traces of velvet upholstery. Nearby on the ground lay two oval brass tablets that had fallen off the coffin over time. One of them was engraved with a medallion with the image of a knight’s helmet and the monogram “M”. The French inscription on the plaque read: "General Moreau, born July 30, 1763, died August 22, 1813, aged 50 years and 23 days."
Thus, the version that Moreau’s ashes left Russia was refuted. Unfortunately, the Church of St. Catherine, which was used for decades as a warehouse, was devastated by a terrible fire in 1984: the remains of the interiors and statues burned in the fire, the carved altars turned into a pile of rubble, and the marble cladding of the temple crumbled down to the bricks... This ashes were partly reminiscent of Moscow the fire of 1812 or, rather, traces of an artillery duel near Dresden - the same one during which General Moreau fell.
Alas, the church has not yet fully recovered from that disaster, although services are already underway here. There are no plans yet to restore Moro's tombstone - there are no funds. However, at the entrance to the church there is a marble plaque on which the name of the legendary general and the dates of his life and death are mentioned.
