Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era

by George F Nafziger

  In September 1808 Savary went with Napoleon to Erfurt where an interview was held with Czar Alexander I of Russia. In 1810 when Fouché was disgraced and removed from office, Savary took his post as Minister of Police. Savary was loyal to Napoleon to the last, standing by him long after most of the others had deserted him and he was among the first to rally to Napoleon when he returned from Elba. During the Hundred Days Savary served as inspector-general of the Gendarmerie and became a peer of France. After Waterloo Savary went with Napoleon to Rochefort and then on to Plymouth. Savary was not permitted to go to St. Helena, but instead was incarcerated for several months in Malta. He was eventually allowed to return to France and regained his civil rights, though he settled in Rome. During the 1830 July revolution Savary was restored to favor, returned to France, and in 1831 was given command of the French army in Algeria. Ill heath forced his return to France and he died in June 1833 in Paris.

  SAXONY. Friedrich Augustus II succeeded Friedrich Augustus, Elector of Saxony, and mounted the throne of Poland in 1734. The last years of his reign were unfortunate, as his Saxon territories were ravaged by the Seven Years’ War. He was compelled to abandon his capital. Friedrich II of Prussia entered Dresden and levied heavy contributions from its inhabitants. The Saxon army was trapped in the camp of Pirna and taken prisoner. Many of the soldiers were incorporated into the Prussian army.

  Friedrich Augustus II attempted to negotiate a peace with Friedrich II of Prussia with no success. Eventually he was permitted to depart for Poland. Saxony remained in Prussian hands until the Peace of Hubertusberg on 15 February 1763.

  The invasion of Saxony had cost Saxony 250,000,000 pounds in contributions and destroyed property. These losses effected the country for many years.

  Friedrich August II died on 4 November 1763 and was succeeded by his son Friedrich Christian Leopold, or Friedrich August III. His wife, Maria Josephina, was daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph, which tied the family to Austria. One of the daughters of Friedrich August II married into the Spanish royal household and another became the Dauphine of France and mother to Louis XVI.

  The King of Saxony was the senior branch of the Saxon families founded by Elector Albert before 1500. The electoral house possessed several provinces in upper Saxony. They were the electorate of Saxony composed of several united principalities; the county of Mansfeld, in great part, and the principality of Querfurt; the circle of Franconia, the county of Henneberg and the Margravate of upper and lower Lusace.

  Saxony contained about 53,000 square miles; Lusace had about 500 and Henneberg had 24 giving a total area of the electorate of about 72,000 square miles.

  The census of 1755 gave it a population of 1,680,908, but after the Seven Years’ War it had 1,633,000. The famine following the war killed 65,844, but by 1785 the population had grown to 1,941,806. By 1808 it had approximately 2,300,000 inhabitants.

  The states of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg and Saxe-Coburg were independent states ruled by other branches of the family founded by Albert. They were not tied politically to the electorate and later Kingdom of Saxony.

  In 1806 Saxony found the Prussians once again invading its territory. There is some question as to whether or not the Saxon army was dragooned into participating with the Prussians or if it voluntarily joined them in their campaign against France. Many of the Saxon officers resented the French, but many had memories of the Prussian devastation of their country. Certainly feelings were mixed.

  The result of the brief campaign was a rapid reconsideration of the Saxon attitude toward France. Seeing the wisdom in joining France, the Elector of Saxony joined the Confederation of the Rhine, albeit not as one of the founding members. When it joined the Confederation of the Rhine the elector was elevated to the title of king.

  After the 1806 campaign the Saxons quickly put together a small contingent that joined the French in the 1807 campaign. The Saxons served in Lefebvre’s Corps and fought bravely in the Siege of Danzig, in the battle of Heilsberg and at Friedland.

  When Napoleon founded the Grand Duchy of Warsaw he reinstated the Saxon house as the rulers of his newly formed Polish state. The King of Saxony was the ruler of the grand duchy from 1807 to 1813.

  The Saxon adherence to the Confederation of the Rhine grew and in 1809 their entire army marched with the French against Austria. They participated in Aspern-Essling and in the Battle of Wagram where they suffered their famous rout under the command of Bernadotte. The Saxon army again marched to war with the French in 1812 when it was used to form the VII Corps under General Reynier.

  When the Grande Armée returned to Germany little remained intact of the Saxon army. Reynier did withdraw much of his command successfully because it had not penetrated very far into Russia, but it was necessary to reorganize and re-raise all of the units in the Saxon army.

  The war in Germany was principally a war in Saxony. The two major battles were Dresden and Leipzig. The Saxon army, under Oudinot, suffered a nasty defeat in the battle of Gross-Beeren just before the battle of Dresden.

  In September the Saxon army began to grow disaffected and units began defecting. The major defection occurred in the battle of Leipzig when nearly the entire Saxon army passed over to the Allies.

  On 19 October 1813 Generalmajor von Ryssel assumed command of the Saxon division and was sent to operate with the Prussian General Tauenzien’s corps blockading Torgau. Torgau fell and on 14 November the remaining Saxon forces were taken to Merseburg where they were reorganized. The Saxon army participated in a few minor operations in Germany until Napoleon’s abdication in 1814.

  With the Congress of Vienna, Saxony found many of its soldiers drafted into the Prussian army and much of its northern provinces seized by Prussia as an indemnity for losses Prussia had suffered. Saxony lost half of its territory and inhabitants to Prussia as a result of the congress.

  When Napoleon returned from Elba the Saxons were mobilized. Initially the army of the “rump” Saxon state was to be organized under Prussian leadership. On 2 May 1815, as Saxon soldiers who remained with Saxony began organizing with those that had been forcibly made part of Prussia, they began a rebellion, calling for reunification of their lands. Rocks and insults were exchanged. They were then reassigned to the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine where they engaged in a few blockades and sieges and returned to Saxony on 20 November 1815.

  SCHARNHORST, GERHARD JOHANN DAVID VON (1755–1813). Scharnhorst was born on 12 November 1755 in Bordenau, near Hanover. He was commissioned as an officer in Hanoverian service in 1778. While in Hanoverian service Scharnhorst was involved in the development of the Handbuch für Offiziere in den anwendbaren Theilen der Kriegeswissenschaften. In 1792 he published his Militärische Taschenbuch für den Gebrauch im Felde. Scharnhorst went to war for the first time in 1793 in the Netherlands and though he was still in Hanoverian service, he served under the Duke of York in his campaign against the French. In 1794 Scharnhorst participated in the defense of Menin and documented the escape of its garrison in his Vertheidigung der Stadt Menin (Defense of the City of Menin) (Hanover, 1803). Somewhat later he was promoted to the rank of major and was employed as a staff officer. Between 1793 and 1795 Scharnhorst was present at the battles of Samars, Comtroy, Licelles, Hochlede, Hondschoot, Wormhout, Rexpoede, Veniers, Borlet, Bentheim, the bombardment of Menin, Werwick, the defense of Nimwegen and the siege of Valenciennes.

  In 1801 Scharnhorst left Hanoverian service and joined the Prussian army, receiving a patent of nobility and the rank of oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). He served in the Berlin War Academy as an instructor and one of his students was Clausewitz. During this period he founded the Berlin Military Society. When it appeared that war with France was likely after 1804, Scharnhorst was serving as the lieutenant quartermaster (chief of staff) to the Duke of Brunswick. Scharnhorst fought with the Duke at Auerstädt, and though the duke was killed, Scharnhorst was only slightly wounded in the disastrous battle. Scharnhorst joined Blücher as
the campaign closed and was taken prisoner at Ratkau. He was exchanged and continued the war serving in L’Estocq’s Prussian Corps. L’Estocq’s Corps served with the Prussians and fought at Eylau. Scharnhorst won the order of Pour le mérite for his services in that battle.

  Shortly before the Treaty of Tilsit, Scharnhorst was promoted to the rank of major general and was to chair the commission established to reform the Prussian army. The commission contained Gneisenau, Grolman, Boyen, Stein and others. It was through Stein that Scharnhorst soon acquired free access to the king by having him appointed aide-de-camp general. In 1812 Scharnhorst was given an unlimited leave of absence, amounting to retirement. Scharnhorst returned, however, to the army in 1813 when Prussia declared against Napoleon. He became chief of staff to Blücher and was present at the battle of Lützen. Scharnhorst was wounded at Lützen and died of his wound a little over a month later, on 8 June, while in Prague negotiating with Schwarzenberg and Radetzky to bring Austria into the war.

  SCHIARINO-RIZZINO, CONVENTION OF. Signed on 17 April 1814 by Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais and Austrian General Bellegarde, it ended the war in northern Italy. It surrendered the cities of Osoppo, Palmanova, Venice, Legnago and their fortresses to the Austrians and returned the French army, then in Italy, to France.

  SCHILL, FERDINAND BAPTISTA VON (1766–1809). Though Schill was born in Saxony, he entered the Prussian cavalry at the age of 12 and served continuously for the next 28 years. Schill was still a subaltern in 1806 when he was wounded at Auerstädt. Schill would play a prominent role in the siege of Colberg in 1807. After peace was signed, he was given command of a hussar regiment, but this was not sufficient. In 1809 his patriotic fervor was aroused by the renewal of war between Austria and France. Schill led his regiment out of Berlin on the pretext of taking it on maneuvers, but instead launched his tiny force in a guerrilla raid against France. On 4 May he attacked and severely mauled the 1st Westphalian Infantry Regiment. Schill then marched for the Elbe and on 5 May 1809 at Dodendorf he encountered a detachment of the Magdeburg garrison that proved too strong for him to handle. Schill turned north, hoping to link up with the British, but soon encountered a small force of Mecklenburg troops near Wismar. He crushed this tiny force at Damgarten on 24 May. From Wismar Schill moved to Stralsund. Schill was soon hemmed in by a force of Dutch and Danes under General Gratien and overwhelmed on 31 May. Schill was shot and killed. His head was then sent to Holland in a cask of wine.

  SCHÖNBRUNN, TREATY OF. The Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed on 14 October 1809 by France and Austria; it ended the 1809 campaign. By its terms Austria paid France an indemnity of 75,000,000 francs. It transferred the Inn region and Salzburg to Bavaria. France received Fiume, Istria, Trieste, maritime Croatia, Carniola and Carinthia, while the Grand Duchy of Warsaw received Lublin and Cracow. Russia had been allied to France and was obliged to act against Austria when the war broke out, but the Russians did very little. Despite their insignificant contribution, Austria was obliged to cede the region of Tarnopol to Russia. The land transfers cost Austria 3.5 million citizens and all access to the Adriatic.

  SCHWARZENBURG, KARL PHILIP, PRINZ ZU (1771–1820). Schwarzenburg was born in Vienna on 15 April 1771. He joined the Austrian army in 1788. As a cavalry officer, Schwarzenburg served under Lacy and Loudon in 1789 against the Turks. By 1792 he had risen to the rank of major. In 1794 Schwarzenburg led a brilliant charge of his regiment, supported by 12 British squadrons, at Cambrésis, and won the Maria Theresa order. He fought at Amberg and Würzburg and in 1796 was promoted to the rank of generalmajor. By 1799 Schwarzenburg was a feldmarschal-leutnant. In 1805 he was serving under General Mack when he was surrounded at Ulm. Schwarzenburg was one of the group, under the command of Erzherzog Ferdinand, that cut its way through the French lines and escaped the disaster of Ulm.

  In 1808 Schwarzenberg was sent to St. Petersburg, but returned in time to participate in the battle of Wagram. Shortly later, Schwarzenburg was promoted to general der kavallerie. It was Schwarzenberg who was sent to Paris, after the signing of the Peace of Vienna, to negotiate the marriage between Napoleon and Marie-Louise. In 1812 Schwarzenberg was given command of the Austrian Hilfkorps that marched with the French into Russia. He fought one major and several minor engagements during that campaign, but his heart was not pro-French. When the retreat ended, Schwarzenburg deliberately withdrew toward Austria rather than into Poland so he escaped direct control of the French. In doing so, he neutralized not only his army, but a large force of Polish troops that had supported his forces.

  In 1813 Schwarzenberg was promoted to feldmarschal and not only given command of the Austrian forces facing Napoleon, but in August 1813 he was made overall commander of the combined Austrian, Russian, Prussian and Swedish forces facing Napoleon in Germany. He fought a cautious and successful campaign in Germany and in France in 1814, but his hands were tied politically and he was under the almost constant oversight of the King of Prussia and the Czar of Russia, who accompanied him throughout most of the campaign. His final victory over Napoleon in 1814 led to his becoming president of the Hofkriegsrath (Court War Council) and the honor of the right to bear the arms of Austria as an escutcheon of pretense. In 1820, while visiting Leipzig, the scene of his great victory over Napoleon, Schwarzenburg suffered a stroke and died on 15 October 1820.

  SÉBASTIANI, HORACE FRANÇOIS BASTIEN, COMTE DE (1772–1851). Sébastiani was born on 17 November 1772 in La Porta, Corsica. He was raised by his uncle and destined for a career in the church. However, on 27 August 1789 Sébastiani abandoned thoughts of the church and was commissioned a sous-lieutenant in the Vintimille Infantry Regiment. On 20 June 1795 he joined the 9th Dragoon Regiment as a captain. He was taken prisoner at Verderio. In 1800 he was assigned to the Army of the Reserve and fought at Marengo and at Monzembano. Sébastiani served on a mission to Turkey in 1801 and then to Egypt in 1802. On 29 August 1803 he was promoted to the rank of général de brigade. Sébastiani fought at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 and on 21 December was promoted to the rank of général de division. In 1808 he served in Spain, fighting at Talavera. He was victorious at Almonacid, Ocaña, Malaga, Castrit, Rio Almanzor and Baza. Sébastiani became a comte d’Empire on 31 December 1809.

  In 1812 Sébastiani participated in the invasion of Russia commanding the 2nd Division, 2nd Cavalry Corps. He fought at Inkovo and Winkovo. During the retreat he commanded what remained of the French cavalry and once back in Germany he commanded the II Cavalry Corps under Eugène de Beauharnais. Sébastiani fought at Sprottau, Katzbach, Wachau, was wounded at Leipzig and served at Hanau. During the 1814 campaign he served at Reims. Sébastiani remained with the army during the first Restoration and did not rally to Napoleon during the Hundred Days, but went to England instead. He entered politics in Corsica, but replaced Tupinier as minister of the navy from 11 August to 17 November 1830 and later became minister of foreign affairs.

  In 1832 Sébastiani became minister of state without portfolio. In 1834 Sébastiani became ambassador to Naples and he served as ambassador to England from 1835 to 1840. On 21 October 1840 he was promoted to maréchal de France. Sébastiani died in Paris on 20 July 1851 and was buried in the Invalides, near where Napoleon is entombed today.

  SENYAVIN, DMITRY NICKOLAEVICH, ADMIRAL (1763–1831). Senyavin was born to a noble family on 6 August 1763 in the village of Konlevo in the province of Kaluga. After finishing at the Naval Academy in 1777 he served as a cadet in the Baltic fleet.

  In 1780 Senyavin was promoted to the rank of warrant officer and served on the ship Prince Vladimir. In 1781 he was sent to the forming Black Sea navy. During the Russian-Turkish war Senyavin commanded several ships. During the battle at Caliackria Senyavin commanded the HMS Voznesenie Gospodne (Ascension of God).

  During the Ionian naval campaign (1798–1800) Captain Senyavin commanded the ship Saint Peter and a small squadron of three other ships. In 1798 he captured the poweful French fortress of Saint-Maura. By 1803 Senyavin had risen to the rank of rear admiral. />
  During the naval operations in the Russo-Turkish war, also known as the Second Archipelago Expedition (1805–07), then a vice admiral, Senyavin commanded all of the Russian naval forces in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1806 the fleet under his command captured the fortress at Cattaro and several other important French posts on the Adriatic Sea coast.

  In December 1806 Senyavin’s squadron blockaded the Dardanelles and defeated the outnumbered Turkish navy in the battles at the Dardanelles and the Aphon Mountain. After these Russian victories the Ottomans asked for a truce.

  Upon Senyavin’s return to St. Petersburg in 1809, Alexander I, who hated Senyavin, sent him to a minor post as the commander of the Revel seaport and dismissed him from service in 1813.