Decisive Battles Since Waterloo/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI.
CAPTURE OF ANTWERP AND LIBERATION OF BELGIUM—1832.
The history of Belgium as an independent state dates from its separation from the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830. It had previously been under the domination of Spain, Austria, and France, and finally, in the general peace which followed the wars of Napoleon, it was united with Holland under Prince William Frederick of Orange-Nassau. The union was not to the taste of the Belgian people, who differed materially from the Dutch in language, religion, and occupations. In the union Holland, with 2,000,000 inhabitants, was to have an equal number of representatives with Belgium's 4,000,000; furthermore, the national debt of Belgium was only 4,000,000 florins, while Holland had a debt of 1,200,000,000; the consolidated debt was to be assumed by both countries, and would naturally be a severe and unjust burden upon Belgium with its superior population. In the convention which passed the constitution containing these objectionable provisions, the Belgians who dissented were in actual majority, but all absent Belgians were held to have assented, and so the vote was carried. The use of the French language in judicial and other proceedings was to be abolished, and there were other conditions equally objectionable.
Officials holding Belgian opinions were dismissed, a severe press law was enacted, and several persons obnoxious to the government were banished. The revolutions in Paris in 1830 caused much excitement in Belgium, and in August of that year there was an outbreak in Brussels, speedily followed by similar manifestations of discontent in other cities of Belgium. Insurrection led to open warfare; Brussels, Mons, Ghent, Liege, and other places passed into the hands of the Belgians, and by the end of October only Antwerp remained in control of the Dutch. General Chassé, the Dutch commander, occupied the citadel of Antwerp, whence he subjected the city to a two days' bombardment, doing great damage to property. Belgium had already formed a provisional government, and after the bombardment of Antwerp the quarrel was appealed to a conference of the European powers at London. The conference ordered an armistice and the retirement of the troops of Belgium and Holland into their own countries, acknowledged the independence of Belgium, bound her to the payment of a portion of the state debt, and left her to the management of her own affairs independently of Holland.
In July, 1831, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was crowned king of the Belgians under the title of Leopold I. Soon after his coronation he found himself burdened with war, as the Dutch in violation of the armistice had sent an army across the frontier. With an unformed government, a hastily organized army, and a kingdom in disorder, the new king felt unable to oppose the invaders, and in his dilemma he appealed to France for aid. The aid was promptly given; Marshal Gérard, accompanied by the Duke of Orleans, marched into Belgium with 60,000 men, whereupon the Dutch retired to their own boundaries.
The conference of the powers determined to compel the Dutch to give up the citadel of Antwerp, which they still held. Accordingly the army of Marshal Gérard advanced upon Antwerp, and a combined English and French fleet entered the Scheldt to co-operate with the 
army. The army consisted of forty-eight thousand infantry, nine thousand cavalry, and six thousand artillery, the latter comprising a siege train for the special purpose of reducing the Antwerp citadel. The British fleet comprised five ships of the line, the French fleet included three ships of the line and five frigates, and these combined armaments made their rendezvous on the coast of England and sailed together for the Scheldt. It was an odd spectacle to see England and France co-operating in warfare after centuries of enmity.
For more than a year the town of Antwerp had been in the possession of Belgium while the citadel was held by General Chassé, the Dutch commander, with a garrison of five thousand men. It was commonly called the "citadel du Sud" to distinguish it from the "citadel du Nord" on the other side of Antwerp. This celebrated fortress was separated from the city by an esplanade, and commanded the harbor, as it was close to the bank of the Scheldt. It was long considered one of the strongest places in Europe, and owed its existence to the Duke of Alva, during the war between Spain and the United Provinces in the sixteenth century, to command the navigation of the Scheldt and be the principal frontier post toward Holland. Napoleon added greatly to its strength when he formed the design of invading England, and decided upon Antwerp as his base. The invention of rifled cannon in later times has rendered this citadel of less consequence than formerly, and in 1874 it was dismantled, but not until Antwerp had been provided with other and more modern defences,
One side of the fortress (towards the west) was protected by the river; towards the land it was covered by several strong outworks, but these were of little avail at the time of the siege, as the garrison was not sufficiently large to man them all. The garrison, five thousand strong, was composed of veteran soldiers who were well worthy of their leader, General Chassé; the fort mounted one hundred and eighty guns, most of them of heavy calibre, and the fortress was well supplied with ammunition. Immense casemates and covered galleries and lodgments for the protection of the troops had been constructed, and the Dutch general was prepared for a hard fight. The French army had an enormous battering train, as it was well known that the siege of Antwerp would be no holiday affair.
The French crossed the frontier at Charleroi on the 18th November, and arrived in front of Antwerp near the end of the month. The preliminary work of the siege was begun immediately, and at the same time there was a correspondence between the Dutch and French generals of a somewhat novel character. General Chassé insisted that the French should not make use of the works of the city in their siege operations, otherwise he should consider the city taking part in the siege and would proceed to bombard it. Marshal Gérard sent the following letter to General Chassé:
"Sir.—In the name of His Majesty the King of the Belgains, I ask you to hand over the citadel and all the forts along the Scheldt; if not so disposed, I shall force you. Whatever you do, mind not to fire on the city."
To this summons the Dutch commander replied as follows:
"Sir.—I shall stick to my post as long as life will last. The city is safe. Pray stop your siege works before negotiations have come to an end, or else I shall fire."
For a time there was little prospect that the city could be spared the horrors of war, and preparations were made in Antwerp by barricading the streets and removing the pavements so as to reduce as much as possible the effects of the bombardment. Many people left the city in anticipation of their worst fears being realized, but it was finally agreed that the city with all its outworks should be considered neutral by both parties; the fire of the citadel was to be directed only to the open plain to the southeast, and the approaches of the besiegers were to be only from that direction. It was a novel spectacle—peace reigning all around, the city neutralized, and the attack and defence limited to one side of the fort. It seemed more a trial of military skill than an instance of actual warfare.
Operations began on the 30th November. On that day the following letters passed between the commanders:
To General Chassé.
Sir.—It is you that fired the first shot on my soldiers, hence do not talk any longer about negotiations. Surrender, I say again, in the name of humanity, and all will be well.
Head-quarters at Bouhem.
To Marshal Gérard.
Sir.—The fault is with you. I shall fight for the city, and it will be safe as long as you will not force me. Chassé.
Citadel at Antwerp.
On the receipt of General Chassé's letter Marshal Gérard began in dead earnest. The trenches were opened and continued night and day amidst torrents of rain. Soon the French had one hundred and four guns in position, throwing solid shot and shell into the citadel. On the 4th of December all the batteries began playing upon the fortress with a steady, well-directed fire, which was maintained for nineteen days without cessation.
The return fire was slow at first, but better in time and admirably directed. Of course, no vessels or boats could pass either up or down the river; a few that tried it were fired upon and taught to keep aloof. All communication between citadel and city was cut off, and the garrison was thus left unsupported.
In spite of the steady and well-directed fire of the citadel, the besiegers made steady progress. Their third and fourth parallels were directed against the lunette Saint Laurent; a mine was run under one of its bastions, and sprung on the night of the 14th December, making a practicable breach in the walls. Three companies of the 65th French regiment assaulted immediately, passed the ditch without firing a shot, and carried the breach at the point of the bayonet. At the same time a battalion of grenadiers took advantage of the springing of the mine and consequent confusion; they scaled the walls of the lunette on the opposite side, and the garrison of less than three hundred men was compelled to retire to the citadel with the loss of sixty prisoners, after making a most gallant defence.
The capture of this position was of great advantage to the French, as it enabled them to bring their approaches close to the edge of the ditch on the summit of the counterscarp. General Chassé planned a sortie, which was led by Captain Morré. It resulted in the capture of five mortars, and the levelling of some twenty-five yards of the trenches, but the working force of French was speedily strengthened, and the Dutch were beaten back with the loss of their captain, who was killed. Other sorties were made, the Dutch displaying great bravery, but the retardation of the work of the besiegers was hardly sufficient to compensate for the loss of men. Night and day the bombardment continued, and so vigorously was it carried on that as many as fourteen bombs were seen in the air at once.
The immense casemates of the citadel were not strong enough to stand the French fire. The casemates were broken through by the weight of the falling bombs; some of the missiles penetrated to the hospitals, piercing the six feet of earth piled upon the roofing of heavy timber, and exploding in the midst of the sick and wounded. The garrison daily diminished from the effects of the fire and the exhaustion of the men, who were obliged to be almost constantly under arms; forty heavy guns, mounted on the edge of the counterscarp, converged their fire upon the bastion of Toledo, and the high brick walls tumbled in ruins from its effect.
On the 23d of December General Chassé wisely concluded that he had prolonged the defence quite as long as was required either by military honor or state policy, and that further resistance was useless. He hoisted a white flag, and the firing ceased immediately. Two Dutch officers were sent to treat for terms and ask that the garrison be allowed to retire with the honors of war. Marshal Gérard immediately granted the request, and the rest of the matter was arranged in a few minutes. The Dutch were to surrender the citadel, with the forts of Lillo and Liefkenshock farther down the river and commanding navigation from the sea to Antwerp. The garrison was to retire into Holland with its colors and arms, but all government property inside the fort was to be given up to Belgium. The commander of the Dutch flotilla tried to break through the French lines, but finding he could not do so, he burned his gun-boats rather than surrender them to the enemy.
When the terms of the surrender were submitted to the king of Holland, he refused to ratify them, so far as the forts down the river were concerned, on the ground that they were not under General Chassé's orders at the time of the capitulation. Marshal Gérard then offered to let the garrison of the citadel retire into Holland with their arms upon the simple obligation not to serve again against France or Belgium during the continuance of hostilities, but General Chassé refused to do so. He said it would not be in accord with the original terms of capitulation, and therefore he and his men must be treated as prisoners of war. At an appointed time the garrison marched out and piled their arms, and were then marched back into the citadel, where they took food with their late antagonists, from whom they received every courtesy. Afterwards they were taken to France as prisoners of war; General Chassé wished to march with them, but with his seventy years of age, added to the fatigues and excitement of the siege, he was so broken down, that he was unable to enter a carriage without assistance.
Rarely, if ever, was a siege conducted with so much chivalry and courtesy as that of the citadel of Antwerp. The stipulation regarding the neutrality of the city and the restrictions of the line of fire of both parties are noteworthy, and so well were they carried out, that not a single non-combatant beyond the lines was harmed in person or property. An eye-witness of the siege says that when Marshal Gérard, in company with the Duke of Orleans, entered the citadel to meet his opponent, General Chassé, he found the latter standing near the casemates, amidst a heap of ruins. "Quickly he walked forward, extending his hand. 'Count,' he said, 'all these ruins speak of your prowess.' But no reply fell from the lips of the saddened old man, who was too much cast down to be able to speak."
At the time the white flag was displayed all was ready for the assault, which would have been made within a few hours. The same eye-witness who is quoted above says: "It was well that the surrender was made without a previous assault; for, according to the French officers, there would have been a terrible slaughter following it. 'Friendly though we were with the Dutch the eve before, exchanging courtesies,' said one of them, 'our soldiers would have changed in a moment, sparing nobody. We cannot help being so; it is the nature of the soldier everywhere.'"
Commenting on the siege of Antwerp, the author of "Alison's History of Europe," who was personally present in the latter part of the operations, pronounces it one of the most memorable sieges of which the annals of Europe make mention. "Such had been the intrepidity of the governor and the courage of the garrison, that five thousand men kept sixty thousand at bay during twenty-four days of open trenches, during which the fire, both of artillery and small-arms, was incessant, and besiegers and besieged were alike standing to their guns day and night through the severities of a rude season, in the depth of winter. It is hard to say whether, in such circumstances, there is most to admire in the vigor and perseverance of the besiegers, or the devotion and constancy of the besieged. Both sides made the utmost efforts during the continuance of the operations. The besiegers opened up 14,000 fathoms of trenches. The artillery discharged 63,000 shots, and they took 5,000 men by capitulation. The Dutch lost 90 killed, 349 wounded, and 67 prisoners during the siege. But the losses of the besiegers were much more considerable: they amounted to 608 killed and 1,800 wounded."
The other forts, Lillo and Liefkenshock, were not evacuated, and the French proposed to operate against them; King Leopold declared himself satisfied to hold Limburg and Luxemburg against them, and so the French army retired across the frontier into its own country. The king of Holland refused to accept the situation, and declared that he would continue the war, but the blockade of the ports of his country by the combined fleets of France and England, and the consequent paralysis of Dutch commerce, were not long in bringing him to his senses. England and France informed him in the most emphatic terms that no interference with the march of Belgium towards independence would be permitted, and that at the first move he made in that direction the French army would be summoned back again and the consequences might be very serious for his kingdom. In the resumption of negotiations there was no difficulty in settling the principal points of the convention; the agreement turned chiefly on the minor points of trade and commercial relations, in which Holland displayed the obstinacy for which the Dutch are traditionally renowned.
On the 19th May, 1833, a convention was agreed to and signed, and the long quarrel was practically over. All Dutch vessels that had been seized by France or England were to be released immediately and restored, with their cargoes, to their owners, and all Dutch prisoners were to be liberated. Holland agreed not to reopen hostilities with Belgium, and the navigation of the Scheldt was to be kept open as it had been prior to November 1, 1832. The Meuse, which flows through Holland in the lower part of its course, was also opened commercially for Belgian vessels, on condition that certain duties fixed for the states of the German Confederation should be paid. It was further agreed that Holland and Belgium should proceed to the negotiation of a treaty for a definitive and permanent peace. As all the points of the treaty were practically settled it was supposed that the negotiations would present no difificulty, but as a matter of fact, owing to the obstinacy of the king of Holland, it was not completed until 1839. Even then it was only accomplished at the dictation of the European powers. Luxemburg and Limburg were divided between the contending nations, Holland receiving the eastern divisions, with the fortresses of Maestricht, Venloo, and Luxemburg. The independence and neutrality of Belgium were guaranteed, and the country was enabled to enter upon a career of commercial and industrial prosperity.
Since the conclusion of the above-named treaty with Holland, Belgium has had no taste of the horrors of war within her borders, other than the use of the military on several occasions for the suppression of disturbances among workmen in mines or in manufacturing establishments. In all the wars of other powers Belgium has maintained a strict neutrality. In the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 she forbade the sale of war munitions to either of the contending parties, and disarmed and interned all soldiers of either army that entered her territory. Her peace was seriously threatened at one time during that war, but was saved through the conclusion of a triple treaty between England, France, and Prussia, by which the independence and neutrality of Belgium were guaranteed under the terms of the treaty of 1839.
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For nearly fifteen years following the siege of Antwerp and the establishment of Belgium as an independent kingdom the general peace of Europe and America continued. Spain suffered to some extent from civil war; Don Carlos in April, 1833, declared himself the legitimate successor to the king, and the result was the Carlist war of that period, which continued with varying fortunes until the final overthrow of the pretender in 1839. In 1840, and the three succeeding years, there were various revolutionary movements in Spain, most of them resulting in bloodshed and some in hostilities of considerable magnitude, but in the final result the succession to the throne was not disturbed, and Spain suffered no loss, or made no increase, of territory.
Russia was at peace with her European neighbors. Her impatient eyes were fixed upon Asia, and in 1839-40, she sent an expedition for the conquest of Khiva. It had a disastrous result, and for more than thirty years thereafter Khiva retained her independence in the midst of the desert sands of Central Asia.
In 1835 began the "opium war" between China and England, growing out of the proclamation of the Chinese emperor prohibiting the importation of the pernicious drug into his dominions. Opium was the chief source of revenue of the British in India, and consequently England determined to foster her commerce regardless of the consequences to China or its people. The war continued until 1842, when the treaty of peace was signed in front of Nankin. By the terms of the treaty China paid an indemnity of $21,000,000, opened the ports of Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai to foreigners, and ceded the island of Hong Kong in perpetuity to England.
England in 1839 ventured upon the Afghan war, which, at first successful, terminated in disaster; of 3,849 soldiers and about 12,000 camp followers, composing the army of General Elphinstone, only one European (Dr. Brydon) and four natives succeeded in reaching the British lines. General Sale's brigade was less unfortunate, as it held Jellalabad until a fresh division could be sent from India to enable it to retire without being destroyed. The attempt of England upon Afghanistan ended in 1842. In the following year occurred the Scinde war, resulting in the annexation of Scinde to the British possessions; and in 1843, also, came the Gwalior war, in which the fortress of Gwalior, the "Gibraltar of the East," fell into British hands. In 1845 began the Sikh war, of which more will be said elsewhere.
In 1831-33 Mohammed Ali Pasha, the sultan's viceroy in Egypt, waged a war against Turkey in the effort to obtain complete independence. He conquered Syria and a great part of Asia Minor, and would have captured Constantinople if the great powers had not interfered to prevent the possible destruction of the Ottoman power in Europe. A similar war took place in 1839, in which Mohammed Ali Pasha fought to secure hereditary power. England, Austria, Russia, and Prussia interfered for the protection of Turkey and expelled the Egyptians from Syria; Mohammed Ali was made hereditary viceroy of Egypt, but his territory was reduced through the loss of nearly all that he had gained in the first war against Turkey.
During this period South America was the scene of a few revolutionary movements, resulting in skirmishes and small battles that had no material consequences to any but the parties immediately concerned. No changes of the maps occurred by reason of these disturbances, and they are not even worthy of mention by name in our chronicle of events.
