Letter to "The Directory."
| "Headquarters, Lodi, | |
| "May 11, 1796. |
"Citizen Directors:—I thought that the passage of the Po would be the most audacious performance of the campaign, the Battle of Millesimo the liveliest encounter, but I have yet to give you an account of the Battle of Lodi.
"At three o'clock on the morning of the 21st, we pitched our headquarters at Casal. At nine o'clock, our vanguard encountered the enemy defending the approaches to Lodi. I immediately ordered all the cavalry to mount with four pieces of light artillery which had just arrived, drawn by the carriage horses of the lords of Plaisance.
"The division of General Augereau, which had camped over night at Borghetto, and that of General Massena, which slept at Casal, were put in motion. Meantime, our vanguard had overturned all the posts of the enemy, and seized one of their cannon. We pursued the enemy into Lodi, they having already crossed the Adda by the bridge. Beaulieu with all his army was drawn up in battle array. Thirty set cannon defended the
