CARNOT 13 ter. In August, 1793, he entered the commit- tee of public safety. The armies were demor- alized ; there were no funds, no provisions ; enemies had invaded France in every direc- tion ; the insurgent Vendeans were success- ful ; the city of Lyons kept at bay the be- sieging army; and Toulon had been just de- livered into the hands of the English. Carnot went boldly to work, and succeeded so well that his fellow citizens declared emphati- cally that he had " organized victory." He proved himself to be not only a skilful ad- ministrator, but a strategist of the highest ability. The 14 armies created by the rising en masse of the nation cooperated under his orders in the execution of a well devised plan ; they were placed under the command of new generals able to understand the projects of the directing mind, and defeats were soon suc- ceeded by brilliant victories. Carnot some- times repaired in person to the weakest or most exposed point to watch the operations, and to inspire the troops with his ardor and confidence. A victory was won at Wattignies, which forced the prince of Coburg to retreat; Toulon was retaken from the English; the Vendeans were defeated and almost destroyed ; and the Austrian army was expelled from France. As a member of the committee of public safety, Carnot, being entirely absorbed in the performance of his especial duties, left the interior administration in the hands of his colleagues, and was scarcely aware of the atro- cities which were perpetrated in the name of the committee. Thus he did not participate in the revolution of the 9th Thermidor; but after the fall of Kobespierre he energetically defended his colleagues, Collot-d'Herbois, Bil- laud-Varennes, and Barere, charged with be- ing the accomplices of the man in whose over- throw they had been instrumental. Carnot was on the point of being arrested, and was only saved by Bourdon de 1'Oise exclaiming, " This is the man who has organized victory." After the 1st Prairial, 1795, he was again threatened with impeachment, and was obliged to leave the committee and give up the man- agement of war affairs, which he had held for nearly two years. On the establishment of the directory, he was elected representative by 14 departments at once, and took his seat in the council of 500. Being appointed one of the five directors, he resumed his previous office and planned the admirable campaign of 1796, the success of which was secured in Italy by Bonaparte. After the coup d'etat of the 18th Fructidor, Carnot was condemned to transportation, but escaped to Switzerland, and afterward to Germany, where he wrote a me- moir to vindicate his conduct. After the 18th Brumaire he returned to France, and was ap- pointed minister of war in 1800; but being unable to agree with Bonaparte, he resigned. In 1802 he was elected to the tribunate, where he voted against the establishment of the le- gion of honor, the consulate for life, and espe- cially the empire. On the suppression of the tribunate he retired to private life, and resumed his scientific pursuits. But in January, 1814, he addressed a letter to Napoleon, proffering his services: "I staid away as long as you were prosperous ; now that misfortune has come, I do not hesitate to place at your dis- posal what little ability I may still possess." Napoleon at once intrusted him with the com- mand of Antwerp. For years the supreme di- rector of military affairs, he had gained no ad- vancement in the army, and was still merely a major. Napoleon had to promote him to the rank of general, passing him through all the intermediate degrees at once. He defended Antwerp until the treaty of Paris, April, 1814, and returned to the capital, where he published a Memoire au roi, full of liberal opinions and wise advice. On Napoleon's return from Elba, he appointed Carnot minister of the interior, which post he held for three months, during which he received the title of count of the empire, but never bore it. After the rout of Waterloo he almost alone preserved his self- possession, and suggested energetic measures, which were not adopted. " I have known you too late," said Napoleon on his departure. A member of the provisional government, his honesty was not a match for Fouche's shrewd- ness. On the second restoration he was again outlawed, and retired to Warsaw, then repaired to Madgeburg, where he died. His writings are numerous ; besides his various political pa- pers, he left disquisitions of great interest on several points of science, especially on fortifica- tion. A biography of Carnot was published by D. F. Arago (Paris, 1837). II. Lazare Hippolyte, a French statesman, son of the preceding, born at St. Orner, April 6, 1801. He was of liberal opinions, became a disciple of St. Simon, and wrote the Exposition generate de la doctrine Saint Simonienne, the authorship of which was, with his consent, ascribed to Bazard. But as soon as St. Simonism assumed the form of a religious creed, Carnot parted with his friends, and became a journalist, and the chief editor of the Revue encyclopedique. He was also in- trusted with the publication of Gregoire's and Barere's Memoires. He was elected to the chamber of deputies in 1839, and reflected in 1842 and 1846. After the revolution of Feb- ruary, 1848, he was minister of public instruc- tion till July 5, and improved the condition of the teachers, rendered the normal schools free, and established free lectures. In 1848 he was elected to the constituent, and on March 10, 1850, to the legislative assembly. After the coup d'etat of Dec. 2, 1851, he left France; during his absence he was elected a member of the corps legislatif, but refused to take the oath. He was reflected in 1857, but again re- fused to serve. In 1863 he was elected from Paris, and took his seat. He was again a can- didate in 1869, but was defeated by Gambetta. In 1861 he commenced the publication of Mi- moires sur Carnot, par sonfils.
