Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/445

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NAPOLEON I. 375 NAPOLEON III. divided the whole continent of Europe between Napoleon and Alexander. Napo- leon now seized on Portugal without a good pretext, and decoyed the king, queen and heir-apparent of Spain to Bayonne where he succeeded in extract- ing from them all a renunciation to the throne of Spain, on which he immediate- ly placed his brother Joseph, and at the same time gave the throne of Naples to his brother-in-law, Murat. But Spain resisted the French invaders, and the defeat and capitulation of Dupont at Baylen, and Junot at Cintra, were the commencement of the declining for- tunes of the emperor. Meanwhile, Josephine, having given no heir to the empire, was divorced by Napoleon in 1809, and Maria Louisa, daughter of his old enemy the Emperor of Austria, became Empress of the French. The fruit of this union was a son, who, at his birth, was styled King of Rome. Having drained France of her treasure. Napoleon next conceived a formidable invasion of Russia. In 1812 he assembled the largest army that was ever led by a European general, and, at the head of 500,000 men passed into Russia, whose army he defeated in sev- eral engagements. In September he entered Moscow, which had been previ- ously evacuated, and almost totally con- sumed. After spending a month there, in expectation of overtures of peace f -om St. Petersburg, the frost and snow of a Pussian winter compelled him to commence a precipitate retreat. Harassed by innumerable foes, the French army, deprived of everything, perished in the snow, or found a grave in the icy waters of the Beresina. Hastily returning to France, the em- peror succeeded in creating another army, and opened the campaign in Germany with the victories of Liitzen, Bautzen, and Dresden; but Russia, Prus- sia, Austria, and Sweden were now in arms against him; and at Leipsic, where, in three days, the French lost upward of 50,000 men, his power re- ceived a death-stroke. The allies en- tered France, and Napoleon, finding his army disorganized and most of his min- isters and generals disaffected toward him, abdicated the throne of France, at Fontainebleau, April 4, 1814. The Bour- bons were re-established in France, Na- poleon accepting the island of Elba for his retreat. In less than a year he again appeared in France, and, by the time he had reached the capital, the whole army had declared for him. Immediately the coalition that had dethroned him was renewed, but Napoleon at the head of his brave and enthusiastic troops, took the initiative, and de- feated the Prussians at Ligny, June 16; but. betrayed by Bourmont, and de- prived by a fatal misunderstanding, of the division and artillery under Grouchy, he was beaten by Wellington and Bliicher at Waterloo, June 18. This de- feat was decisive. Napoleon returned to Paris, and abdicated in favor of his son, June 22, 1815, 100 days after his land- ing from Elba. Napoleon went then to Rochefort, and embarked voluntarily on the English vessel the "Bellerophon." He was declared a prisoner by the British and was taken to St. Helena, where he remained until his death, on May 5, 1821. NAPOLEON II. (NAPOLEON FRAN- COIS BONAPABTE), titular Emperor of France, son of the Emperor Napoleon I. and of Maria Louisa of Austria; born in Paris, France, March 20, 1811. From his birth he was styled "King of Rome." After his father's first abdication in 1814 he went with his mother to Vienna, where he was bi'ought up at the court of his grandfather, the Emperor Francis, who created him Duke of Reichstadt. He died, July 22, 1832, in the palace of Schonbrunn. NAPOLEON III. (CHARLES LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE), Emperor of the French; born in Paris, France, April 20, 1808. He was the youngest son of Louis Bonaparte, brother of Na- poleon I. and King of Holland, and of Hortense de Beauharnais. His early life was spent chiefly in Switzerland and Ger- many. By the death of his cousin the Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II., see above) he became the recognized head of the Bonaparte family. In 1836 an attempt was made to secure the garrison of Strassburg, but the affair turned out a ludicrous failure. The prince was taken prisoner and conveyed to Paris, and the government of Louis Philippe shipped him oflF to the United States. The death of his mother brought him back to Europe, and for some years he was a resident of England. In 1840 he made a foolish and theatrical descent on Bou- logne; was captured, tried and sentenced to perpetual confinement in the fortress of Ham. After remaining six years in prison he escaped and returned to Eng- land. On the outbreak of the revolution of 1848 he hastened to Paris, and secur- ing a seat in the National Assembly, he at once commenced his candidature for the presidency. On the day of the elec- tion, it was found that out of 7,500,000 votes Louis Napoleon had obtained 5,434,- 226; On Dec. 20, the prince-president, as he was now called, took the oath of al- legiance to the republic. On the eve-