He was one of the
generals
under Moreau when the latter achieved his
well-known retreat through the Black Forest, begun on the 15th of
September 1796, and during which many battles were fought.
well-known retreat through the Black Forest, begun on the 15th of
September 1796, and during which many battles were fought.
William Wordsworth
Des troupes qui ont battu de tels Francais
peuvent se flatter ainsi de vainere des peuples assez laaches pour
se reunir centre un seul et encore pour la cause des rois! Enfin, je
ne sais si je me trompe, mais cette guerre de brigands, de paysans,
sur laquelle on a jete tant de ridicule, que l'on dedaignait, que
l'on affectait de regarder comme meprisable, m'a toujours paru, pour
la republique, la grande partie, et il me semble a present qu'avec
nos autres ennemis, nous ne ferrons plus que peloter.
Adieu, brave montagnard, adieu! Actuellement que cette execrable
guerre est terminee, que les manes de nos freres sont satisfaits, je
vais guerir. J'ai obtenu de tes confreres un conge qui finira au
moment ou la guerre recommencera.
LE GENERAL DE BRIGADE BEAUPUY.
I think I can recognize in this letter some traits of Beaupuy's
character as pointed out by Wordsworth, not excepting the
half-suppressed criticism:
'. . . somewhat vain he was,
Or seemed so, yet it was not vanity,
But fondness, and a kind of radiant joy
Diffused around him . . . '
Passing over numerous military incidents, on the 26th of June 1796
Beaupuy received seven or eight sabre-cuts at Jorich-Wildstadt. But on
the 8th of July he was already back at his post.
He again greatly distinguished himself on the 1st of September 1796 at
Greisenfeld and Langenbruck, where the victory of the French was owing
to a timely attack made by Desaix and himself.
He was one of the generals under Moreau when the latter achieved his
well-known retreat through the Black Forest, begun on the 15th of
September 1796, and during which many battles were fought. In one of
the actions on the banks of the Elz, Beaupuy was killed by a
cannon-ball, while opposing General Latour on the heights of
Malterdingen. His soldiers, who loved him passionately, fought
desperately to avenge his death (Oct. 19, 1796).
One of Beaupuy's colleagues, General Duhem, in his account of the
battle to the Government, thus expressed himself on General Beaupuy:
"Ecrivains patriotes, orateurs chaleureux, je vous propose un noble
sujet, l'eloge du General Beaupuy, de Beaupuy, le Nestor et
l'Achille de notre armee. Vous n'avez pas de recherches a faire;
interrogez le premier soldat de l'armee du Rhin-et-Moselle, ses
larmes exciteront les votres. Ecrivez alors ce que est vous en dira,
et vous peindrez le Bayard de la Republique Francaise. "
Such bombastic style was then common, but what we have seen of Beaupuy
in this sketch shows that he had through his career united Nestor's
prudence [B] with Achilles' bodily courage and Bayard's chivalric
spirit,--to use the language of the time.
General Moreau had Beaupuy's remains transported to Brisach, where a
monument was erected to his memory in 1802, after the peace of
Luneville.
In short, Beaupuy seems to have always remained worthy of the high
praise bestowed on him by Wordsworth. His name is to be remembered
along with those of the unspotted generals of the first years of the
Revolution--Hoche, Marceau, etc. --before the craving for conquest had
developed, and the love of liberty yielded to a fond admiration of
Bonaparte as it did in the case of Kleber, Desaix, and so many others.
[C]
N. B. --The great influence which Beaupuy exercised at that time on
Wordsworth will be easily understood, if we take into account not only
his real qualities, but also his age. When they met, Wordsworth was
only twenty-one, Beaupuy nearly thirty-five.
peuvent se flatter ainsi de vainere des peuples assez laaches pour
se reunir centre un seul et encore pour la cause des rois! Enfin, je
ne sais si je me trompe, mais cette guerre de brigands, de paysans,
sur laquelle on a jete tant de ridicule, que l'on dedaignait, que
l'on affectait de regarder comme meprisable, m'a toujours paru, pour
la republique, la grande partie, et il me semble a present qu'avec
nos autres ennemis, nous ne ferrons plus que peloter.
Adieu, brave montagnard, adieu! Actuellement que cette execrable
guerre est terminee, que les manes de nos freres sont satisfaits, je
vais guerir. J'ai obtenu de tes confreres un conge qui finira au
moment ou la guerre recommencera.
LE GENERAL DE BRIGADE BEAUPUY.
I think I can recognize in this letter some traits of Beaupuy's
character as pointed out by Wordsworth, not excepting the
half-suppressed criticism:
'. . . somewhat vain he was,
Or seemed so, yet it was not vanity,
But fondness, and a kind of radiant joy
Diffused around him . . . '
Passing over numerous military incidents, on the 26th of June 1796
Beaupuy received seven or eight sabre-cuts at Jorich-Wildstadt. But on
the 8th of July he was already back at his post.
He again greatly distinguished himself on the 1st of September 1796 at
Greisenfeld and Langenbruck, where the victory of the French was owing
to a timely attack made by Desaix and himself.
He was one of the generals under Moreau when the latter achieved his
well-known retreat through the Black Forest, begun on the 15th of
September 1796, and during which many battles were fought. In one of
the actions on the banks of the Elz, Beaupuy was killed by a
cannon-ball, while opposing General Latour on the heights of
Malterdingen. His soldiers, who loved him passionately, fought
desperately to avenge his death (Oct. 19, 1796).
One of Beaupuy's colleagues, General Duhem, in his account of the
battle to the Government, thus expressed himself on General Beaupuy:
"Ecrivains patriotes, orateurs chaleureux, je vous propose un noble
sujet, l'eloge du General Beaupuy, de Beaupuy, le Nestor et
l'Achille de notre armee. Vous n'avez pas de recherches a faire;
interrogez le premier soldat de l'armee du Rhin-et-Moselle, ses
larmes exciteront les votres. Ecrivez alors ce que est vous en dira,
et vous peindrez le Bayard de la Republique Francaise. "
Such bombastic style was then common, but what we have seen of Beaupuy
in this sketch shows that he had through his career united Nestor's
prudence [B] with Achilles' bodily courage and Bayard's chivalric
spirit,--to use the language of the time.
General Moreau had Beaupuy's remains transported to Brisach, where a
monument was erected to his memory in 1802, after the peace of
Luneville.
In short, Beaupuy seems to have always remained worthy of the high
praise bestowed on him by Wordsworth. His name is to be remembered
along with those of the unspotted generals of the first years of the
Revolution--Hoche, Marceau, etc. --before the craving for conquest had
developed, and the love of liberty yielded to a fond admiration of
Bonaparte as it did in the case of Kleber, Desaix, and so many others.
[C]
N. B. --The great influence which Beaupuy exercised at that time on
Wordsworth will be easily understood, if we take into account not only
his real qualities, but also his age. When they met, Wordsworth was
only twenty-one, Beaupuy nearly thirty-five.
