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Pavel Alekseevich Tuchkov 3rd

Pavel Alekseevich Tuchkov 3rd (10/8/1769, Vyborg - 1/24/1858, St. Petersburg), major general (10/8/1800). In 1785 he was enrolled as a sergeant in the Bombardier Regiment. From the end of 1787 he was listed as his father's adjutant. He began his service on July 24, 1791 as the captain of the 2nd bombardment battalion. In 1798 he was transferred to colonel in the Life Guards artillery battalion. From 8.10.1800 chief of the 1st artillery regiment. In 1803 he retired. In 1807 he returned to the service, the chief of the Vilmastrand infantry regiment and the brigade commander of the 17th infantry division (Belozersky and Vilmastrand regiments). During World War II he fought in the ranks of the 2nd Infantry Corps. 7(19) Aug. near the village of Valutina Gora with 3 thousand. a detachment for 10-15 hours detained the corps of Marshal M. Ney, which was pursuing the Russian troops. At about 4 p.m., he retreated beyond the river. Strogan, but then, having received the division of P.P. Konovni-tsyn resumed the fight. He personally led the bayonet attack of the Yekaterinoslav Grenadier Regiment, was seriously wounded and captured. His troops lost approx. 6 thousand people, while the enemy 8-9 thousand. 13 (25) Aug. presented to Napoleon, who, admiring the courage of T., returned his sword to him. Was a prisoner in France, released in the spring of 1814. In 1815 he returned to active army and was given command of the 8th Infantry Division. In 1819 he retired. In Aug. 1826 entered the civil service with the rank of Privy Councilor and was appointed chairman of the Moscow Board of Trustees of the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria. From 11/12/1828 senator, from 1838 member of the State Council. From 1839 he headed the Commission of Petitions. In 1840 he was promoted to active privy councilor.

His brothers:

Tuchkov 1st, Nikolai Alekseevich(1761-1812), lieutenant general

Tuchkov 2nd, Sergey Alekseevich(1767-1839), lieutenant general

Russian empire Russian empire

1791-1803, 1807-1819

division

Pavel Alekseevich Tuchkov(1776- ) - major general Russian army, a virtual privy councillor. Hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Biography

After the end of the war, the Tuchkov brigade, until the end of 1811, was engaged in the construction of the Dinaburg fortress. In early 1812, she became part of the 2nd Infantry Corps. On July 1, 1812, Tuchkov became commander of the 2nd brigade of the 17th Infantry Division (Belozersky and Vilmanstrand regiments).

Awards

• Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (04/23/1851)
• Diamond signs for the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (08/26/1856)
• Order of St. George 4th class. (02/15/1819)
• Order of St. Vladimir 1st class (04/13/1845)
• Order of St. Vladimir 2nd class (07.11.1831)
• Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (04/02/1838)
• Diamond badges for the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (21.04.1842)
• Order of the White Eagle (01/18/1834)
• Order of St. Anne 1st class (04/10/1808)
• Imperial crown to the Order of St. Anne 1st class. (04/21/1831)
• Order of St. Anne 3rd class (1798)
• Order of St. John of Jerusalem, honorary commander (08/03/1800)
• Bronze medal "In memory of the war of 1853-1856" (26.08.1856)
• Insignia "for XLV years of impeccable service" (08/22/1845)
• Insignia "for XL years of impeccable service" (08/22/1841)
• Insignia "for XXXV years of impeccable service" (08/22/1834)
• Insignia "for the XXX years of impeccable service" (08/22/1830)

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Notes

Links

• // Russian archive: Sat. - M., Studio "TRITE" N. Mikhalkov, 1996. - T. VII. - S. 584-585.

An excerpt characterizing Tuchkov, Pavel Alekseevich (1776)

During the first time of his stay in St. Petersburg, Prince Andrei felt his entire frame of mind, developed in his solitary life, completely obscured by those petty worries that seized him in St. Petersburg.
In the evening, returning home, he wrote down in his memory book 4 or 5 necessary visits or rendez vous [dates] at the appointed hours. The mechanism of life, the order of the day is such as to be in time everywhere, took away a large share of the very energy of life. He did nothing, did not even think about anything and did not have time to think, but only spoke and successfully said what he had managed to think over in the village before.
He sometimes noticed with displeasure that it happened to him on the same day, in different societies, to repeat the same thing. But he was so busy all day long that he did not have time to think that he did not think anything.
Speransky, both on the first meeting with him at Kochubey’s, and then in the middle of the house, where Speransky, privately, having received Bolkonsky, spoke with him for a long time and trustingly, made a strong impression on Prince Andrei.
Prince Andrei considered such a huge number of people to be contemptible and insignificant creatures, he so wanted to find in another a living ideal of that perfection to which he aspired, that he easily believed that in Speransky he found this ideal of a completely reasonable and virtuous person. If Speransky had been from the same society from which Prince Andrei was, of the same upbringing and moral habits, then Bolkonsky would soon have found his weak, human, non-heroic sides, but now this logical mindset, strange to him, inspired him all the more respect that he did not quite understand it. In addition, Speransky, whether because he appreciated the abilities of Prince Andrei, or because he found it necessary to acquire him for himself, Speransky flirted with Prince Andrei with his impartial, calm mind and flattered Prince Andrei with that subtle flattery, combined with arrogance, which consists in tacit recognition your interlocutor with you together the only person able to understand all the stupidity of everyone else, and the reasonableness and depth of their thoughts.
During their long conversation on Wednesday evening, Speransky said more than once: “We look at everything that comes out of general level deep-rooted habit…” or with a smile: “But we want the wolves to be fed and the sheep safe…” or: “They can’t understand this…” and all with such an expression that said: “We: you and I, we understand who they are and who we are.”
This first, long conversation with Speransky only strengthened in Prince Andrei the feeling with which he saw Speransky for the first time. He saw in him a reasonable, strict-thinking, huge mind of a man who had achieved power with energy and perseverance and was using it only for the good of Russia. Speransky, in the eyes of Prince Andrei, was precisely that person who rationally explains all the phenomena of life, recognizes as valid only what is reasonable, and knows how to apply the measure of rationality to everything, which he himself so wanted to be. Everything seemed so simple, clear in Speransky's presentation that Prince Andrei involuntarily agreed with him in everything. If he objected and argued, it was only because he wanted on purpose to be independent and not completely obey the opinions of Speransky. Everything was like that, everything was fine, but one thing confused Prince Andrei: it was Speransky’s cold, mirror-like look that did not let him into his soul, and his white, tender hand, which Prince Andrei involuntarily looked at, as they usually look at the hands of people in power. For some reason, this mirror look and this gentle hand irritated Prince Andrei. Prince Andrei was also unpleasantly struck by the too great contempt for people that he noticed in Speransky, and the variety of methods in the evidence that he cited in support of his opinions. He used all possible tools of thought, excluding comparisons, and too boldly, as it seemed to Prince Andrei, he moved from one to another. Now he took the ground of a practical figure and condemned the dreamers, then he took the ground of a satirist and ironically laughed at his opponents, then he became strictly logical, then he suddenly rose into the realm of metaphysics. (He used this last instrument of proof with particular frequency.) He carried the question to metaphysical heights, passed into the definitions of space, time, thought, and, bringing refutations from there, again descended to the ground of the dispute.

, Alexander Tuchkov.

Already at the age of 9 he was enrolled in the Bombardier Regiment with the rank of sergeant. At the end of 1787, he became an adjutant at the headquarters of his own father, who served in the rank of engineer-lieutenant general and was commander of all the fortresses on the Russian-Swedish border.

Entered active service with the 2nd bombardment battalion on 24 July 1791 with the rank of captain. By direct order of Paul I, in 1798, the Artillery Battalion was transferred to serve in the Life Guards, receiving the rank of colonel; On October 8, 1800, he was promoted to major general and appointed chief of the 1st Artillery Regiment. He remained in this position until August 27, 1801; June 18, 1803 became chief of the 9th Artillery Regiment.

In the period from November 6, 1803 to March 11, 1807, he was retired from military service for family reasons; March 11, 1807 he returned to active duty as chief of the Wilmanstrand Infantry Regiment, which from August 16, 1806 to February 22, 1811 had the status of a musketeer. He participated in the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809: he commanded a separate cover detachment, at the head of which he captured the enemy’s fortified position near the Finnish village of Kuskose, cleared the Kamito-Stremsky Strait, thereby ensuring the successful passage of the Russian flotilla through it, occupied the islands of Sando and Chimita, having captured the last Swedish landing, pursued the enemy to Uleaborg, occupied the Aland Islands (Aland).

After the end of the war, the Tuchkov brigade, until the end of 1811, was engaged in the construction of the Dinaburg fortress. In early 1812 she became part of the 2nd Infantry Corps.; On July 1, 1812, Tuchkov became commander of the 2nd brigade of the 17th Infantry Division (Belozersky and Vilmanstrand regiments).

From February 10, 1829, he was appointed manager of the Moscow Treasury and, additionally, from February 26, manager of the Sheremetyevsky invalid home.

01/28/1832 - Was appointed acting. first present in the 2nd division of the 6th department of the Senate on January 28, 1832 (approved in office only on December 3, 1837).

In 1838 he became a member of the Council of State and on January 27, 1839, he assumed the position of chairman of the Commission of petitions filed in the name of the monarch and held this position until January 1, 1858. At the same time, from January 1845, he was a member of the Main Council of Women's educational institutions, and from October 28, 1846 - a member of the Special Committee to consider the arrangement of the salt part in Russia.

Tuchkov Pavel Alekseevich (1776-1858) - Russian general, active privy councillor. In 1812 - major general, commander of the 2nd brigade (Belozersky and Wilmanstrand infantry regiments) of the 17th infantry division of the 2nd infantry corps. He distinguished himself in the battle of Lubino, the wounded was taken prisoner. He was summoned to Napoleon, who tried through Tuchkov to notify Tsar Alexander of his readiness for peace negotiations. This fragment of "Memoirs ..." fully describes the meeting of Tuchkov with Napoleon and the content of their conversation.

My memories of 1812. Autobiographical note by P. A. Tuchkov

Russian archive, 1873, published by Peter Bartenev, book 2, vol. 10, art. 1928-1968.

/ st. 1939-1967 /

Returning with my detachment and not even reaching Smolensk for ten versts, at the dawn of the day, we heard cannon shots; soon afterwards, rifle fire also signaled to us that we were approaching the battlefield; when we ascended to the heights of the banks of the Dnieper, we saw, one might say, under our feet all the movements of the enemy and his efforts to take possession of the city, as well as the defense of our troops. No matter how tired the people were from the night march, which we had made for more than thirty miles, no one thought about rest; the eyes of all during the whole day were turned to the place of the battle, which was presented to us in the form of a panorama. The enemy army surrounded the fortifications of the city, lying on the left side of the Dnieper, and formed a large semicircle, of which both flanks adjoined the Dnieper.

On the 5th of August, all day long, we witnessed a very heated battle near the walls of Smolensk. The enemy attacked desperately and tried to seize the fortifications, now on one side, then on the other side of the city; his greatest desire was for the so-called Malakhov city gates; all day long, his artillery did not stop firing at the city and throwing grenades at it. By evening, the whole city was on fire (the building was mostly wooden); even the ancient stone towers surrounding the city, everything was on fire, everything was on fire. The evening was most beautiful, there was not the slightest wind; fire and smoke, rising in a column, spread out under the very clouds. However, despite the thunder of cannons, the firing of rifles, the noise and cry of the fighters, the piety of the Russian people found consolation for itself in the temple of the Eternal. At eight o'clock in the evening the bells rang out in the cathedral church and in all the parishes. It was on the eve of the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Already the bell towers and even the churches themselves were on fire, but the all-night service continued. Never have such fervent prayers been performed before the throne of the Most High as in this fateful hour of the city. Everyone just prayed, not thinking about saving their property and life, as if in reproach to the enemy that the reward for him would be one ashes. At last all was quiet; except for the devouring flame and the crackle of collapsing buildings, nothing broke the silence. The enemy stopped the attack and took up their former position around the city fortifications.
There was no one left in the city, except for the troops defending it: all the inhabitants, leaving their houses and property to sacrifice to the enemy, withdrew from the city. Throughout that day, the roads leading to Russia were covered with unfortunate residents fleeing from the enemy: old people with minors, women with babies, everyone fled, not knowing where and what would happen to them. The only consolation left for us was that the enemy was completely repulsed at all points with a greater loss for him. Yes, and from our side it was significant; we lost (as they said) killed more than six thousand people, including worthy generals: Skalon and Balla; the enemy lost more than 20 thousand people. We learned from the prisoners that among them, among other things, General Grabovsky was killed that day, and General Zaionchik and many others were wounded.

The next day, everyone believed that the battle under the walls of Smolensk would be resumed; but suddenly, unexpectedly, at 12 o'clock at night, the army received an order, leaving the city and the big Moscow road, to go to the right side of the Dnieper and take the heights, located two or three versts from the city.

The former troops in the city and on the left bank of the river, having crossed the bridge in the city itself, went to the places assigned to them; the regiments of our division, which on the eve of the reserve of troops who were in action, being close to the city itself, in close platoon columns, remained in their places; the guns were piled up, and the people were lying on the ground with them; suddenly enemy bullets rained down on us: for the enemy, seeing our retreat, rushed into the city and, having crossed the river into the St. Petersburg suburb, sent his shooters against us. Before we could get into the gun, several people were wounded, and below me was a saddle horse. The Commander-in-Chief ordered Adjutant General Baron Korf to hold off the enemy, who, having driven him across the river, occupied the St. Petersburg suburb again; we retreated to the places assigned to us according to the disposition.

On the 6th of August, the army spent the whole day in position in columns, in battle formation; everyone expected that the commander-in-chief would finally decide on this place to give the enemy a general battle. But at six o'clock in the evening I received an order to report to the main apartment. Upon arrival there, I was met by Major General Yermolov, who corrected the post of chief of staff of the army and, having given me the disposition of the commander-in-chief about the retreat of the army along the road to Moscow, announced his order to take command of the vanguard of the first column, composed of the Elisavetgrad and Izyumsky hussar regiments, the infantry Revelsky , huntsmen: on the 20th and 21st, and a company of horse artillery, with which I had to follow the country road to the villages: Krykhotkino, Gedeonovo, Karelia, Pisartsy, Stupino and Bredikhino, to the big Dorogobuzh road. The first army was to go in two columns, of which the first was: the 2nd, 3rd and 4th infantry and 1st reserve cavalry corps, under the command of my brother Lieutenant Tuchkov 1st; this column was to follow the disposition of my detachment at four versts; the second column, made up of the 5th and 6th infantry, 2nd and 3rd cavalry and 1st cuirassier corps, under the command of General Dokhturov, behind the detachment of Major General Neverovsky, was to continue the retreat along the road to Dorogobuzh .

At 8 o'clock in the evening I set out with my detachment, whose vanguard was the Elisavetgrad Hussar Regiment and 2 horse artillery guns, under the command of General Mayr Vsevolozhsky; the other regiments of the Chasseurs, under the command of Major General Prince Shakhovsky, and the Revel Infantry, under the command of his chief, my own brother, Major General Tuchkov 4th, went with me.

The country road, along which my detachment and the 1st column of the army were to follow, ran in many places through forests and marsh streams, through which, although there were bridges, they were very dilapidated and made only for the passage of peasant carts, so that at the first crossing artillery pieces and cavalry, which had to be corrected and even re-moved, dismantling nearby peasant buildings for this, which made it very difficult and stopped the course of the detachment and the 1st column of the army.

On the 7th of August, at about one o'clock in the morning, I went out onto the big Moscow road, although, according to the instructions I received from the chief
Headquarters, I should have gone straight to the village of Bredikhino, but to my surprise I saw that Bredikhino was separated from the junction of roads, where we went to Bolshaya Moskovskaya, a few versts further from Smolensk, so that if I had followed exactly the order given to me , then this important point would be opened to the enemy, and the enemy, having come to it, would cut off all that part of our troops and burdens, which, following the country roads, would not have had time to reach the big Moscow road. That is why I decided, instead of going to the left towards Bredikhin, to turn to the right along the road to Smolensk, so that, having found a convenient place ahead for defense, take a position and, thus covering the junction of roads, give time to the column following me. , get out on the big road. And as Major General Vsevolozhsky with the vanguard of my detachment, following exactly the instructions of his superiors, went out onto the main road and left for Bredikhino, I sent the adjutant of my lieutenant Novikov with the command that he should go back as soon as possible and join me.

After walking two or three versts high road, near the village of Latyshino, I found an elevated location called Valutina Gora, which seemed to me convenient for taking a position: for the main road from it went down its slope, at the foot of which a small, but rather dirty and swampy Strogan river flowed. Its shores were covered with frequent shrubs; further to the left to the Dnieper, this place was separated from the coast by a swampy hollow, reaching almost to the very river of the Dnieper.

Approaching this place and not yet seeing the enemy, I ordered the entire detachment to stop in order to give time to rest for people who were tired of a very difficult night march, which lasted more than ten hours without rest; he himself, having traveled around and inspected the location, was about to return to my detachment; but then I found Colonel Tolya, who was correcting the position of the quartermaster general of the army, at whose invitation, having given him a riding horse from under my adjutant, we rode forward together in order to inspect the position proposed for occupation, and to the detachment of Major General Karpov, who was ahead of us with the Cossacks . On the advice of Colonel Tolya, I ordered to take another small height lying on the road to Smolensk, two hundred sazhens from Valutina Gora and
separated from it by the flowing river Stroganya, two horse artillery guns and a squadron of Elisavetgrad hussars, in front of which a company of huntsmen scattered through the bushes formed a chain that covered this height; I ordered the 20th and 21st Chasseur regiments, under the command of Major General Prince Shakhovsky, to occupy the bushes on both sides of the road along the banks of the Strogani River; The Revel infantry regiment with horse artillery, under the command of Major General
Tuchkov on the 4th, remained on the hill of Valutina Mountain. In this position I expected the enemy.

At 11 o'clock in the morning the enemy appeared. His arrows entered into a skirmish with our rangers; having occupied the heights lying opposite us, he opened strong cannon fire at two of our guns, placed on a height with a squadron of hussars, under the cover of which I saw the enemy cavalry coming towards us. Fearing to lose the guns, after a few shots fired from them, I ordered to take them on the limbers and, together with the hussars and rangers, retreat to the main position across the Strogan River, while retreating, dismantle the bridge located on it, that everything was done exactly, without any our part of the loss.

Seeing the superiority of the enemy forces, I immediately sent a message to the commander of the 1st column of the army, my brother, Lieutenant General Tuchkov 1st, who knew the importance of the point I was defending, especially since our entire second corps, having been detained by the enemy near Smolensk, still stretched along a country road and not before evening could reach the big one. He sent grenadier regiments to reinforce me: the Life Grenadier and Count Arakcheev, of which the first remained on the heights near the high road, and the second occupied the edge of the forest to the left of the road, lying behind the hollow that separated our position from the Dnieper River.

The enemy, entering the height left by us and arranging a strong artillery battery on it, opened fire; but since the heights of Mount Valutina commanded it, its fire could not do us much harm, while our shots did it much more. The arrows sent by the enemy, no matter how hard they tried to drive our rangers out of the bushes occupied on both sides of the road, in order to clear the way for their columns, but all their efforts were unsuccessful, and our rangers, taking advantage of the location, did not yield a single step to the enemy. Soon after the enemy
having built a strong cavalry column, he led it straight along the high road, with the intention of either taking possession of our battery, or, forcing us to bring it, to leave the position. His cavalry went at a trot, despite the cruel cannon and rifle fire we opened on it; but, having approached the bridge we had dismantled and seeing the impossibility of crossing the river into a ford, under heavy shots of grapeshot, she was forced, turning back, to leave in haste, having suffered significant damage.

The enemy, observing all the movements of our army and knowing what harm he could do to it if he managed to force our detachment to retreat beyond the junction of roads (for with this one movement he could master all the burdens of the army that had not yet reached the main road) , ceaselessly multiplied his forces with troops approaching him; and therefore the Commander-in-Chief Infantry General Barclay de Tolly, having arrived at the scene of the battle himself and seeing how necessary it was to hold it, ordered the Adjutant General Count Orlov-Denisov, with the Cossack detachment of Major General Karpov and the hussar regiments of Sumy, Mariupol and Elisavetgradsky, to occupy all the space to the left of our position to the Dnieper River, for all the enemy cavalry, under the command of the Neapolitan king Murat, stretched there (as it was visible), with the aim of bypassing our left flank, forcing us to retreat; but the courage of the cavalry of our detachment, General Orlov-Denisov, did not allow him to do this. Finally, hours
at five in the afternoon, Marshal Ney, having arranged strong infantry columns and opened the fiercest cannon fire from his batteries, led an attack directly on our center; but the regiments arrived in time, by order of the commander-in-chief of the armies, under the command of Lieutenant General Konovnitsyn, stopping the enemy’s desire,
forced him to retreat to his original position. After this, for more than two hours, the enemy did not make any movement and it seemed that this time it was all over, when suddenly at 7 pm, when the sun was already completely at sunset, he, having opened the most severe cannon fire from all the batteries, in the center of our line, led the attack in strong columns. I was given to know that the enemy had taken possession of a small village lying under our right flank; why I, having galloped there and found near that place the Polotsk infantry regiment that had come to me for reinforcement under the command of Major General Filisov, ordered him, having driven out the enemy, to occupy this village as before, which was carried out with success. Meanwhile, I heard that our battery, located in the center of the position, on the main road, was completely silent, why the entire line of shooters, occupying (as was said above) the bushes lying in front of the position, no longer hearing the action of our artillery, began to move back . Having galloped to this battery, I found that all the guns had already been taken on the limbers and taken from their places. To my question, who dared to do this without my order, the head of the battery answered me that he did this due to the lack of more charges, because the charging boxes, by order of the authorities, had been sent ahead with a convoy to Dorogobozh on the eve, in order to shorten the length retreating army; with the guns, only one charging box was left, from which all the charges were fired. I, not relying on his words, ordered all the boxes to be opened with me and, finding that two or three guns still had a few charges left, I ordered them to be removed from the limbers and, turning against the enemy, to begin to act from them in order to show our troops , who are in the chain, that we have not left the position and that it should still be held; himself, having galloped to the place where the commander-in-chief was with all his staff, in order to explain to him everything that was happening, he found him already leaving the position together with the chief of artillery, Major General Count Kutaisov, who
to my report to the commander-in-chief that the artillery had left their places without orders, due to a lack of shells, he assured me that he had already ordered another battery company to go to change those guns and take the same places where the first ones were, to which I answered him, that it will already be very difficult to accomplish this: for the enemy, taking advantage of the retreat of our troops, will, of course, ascend and occupy the heights we have left, which is exactly what happened; for he, seeing our chain moving back and that the battery had ceased its fire, boldly went forward and, having crossed the river Strogan, approached our position.

Since Lieutenant-General Konovnitsyn, who came by order of the commander-in-chief with grenadier regiments to reinforce me, was older than me in the service, I asked permission from him to take one of his regiments that had come and with it, descending from the height of the position, go to meet the enemy to which he expressed his consent. And therefore, having approached one of them, I announced to the regimental commander his order that the regiment follow me to meet the advancing enemy, but to my surprise I heard various excuses from the commander of that regiment, somehow; that his people were very tired, and that there were already many regiments in disarray, and his regiment was in order, therefore it would seem to him better to save it than to expose it to new danger. I reprimanded him for this and, without listening to anything, ordered the regiment, already formed into a column, to follow me, which was done. But as already in the meantime it began to get dark and it was even rather dark (for although the day was clear, but by evening the sky was covered with thin clouds, from which the darkness began to increase), seeing the bad disposition of the regimental commander, and judging by this and other things, I could not hope that the regiment would carry out my undertaking with success; but I could not fear any bad consequences for myself, especially since, being on horseback, in case of any failure, I was less in danger than everyone else. As soon as I took a few steps at the head of the column, a bullet hit my horse in the neck, causing it, rising to its hind legs, to fall to the ground. Seeing this, the regiment stopped; but I jumped off my horse and, in order to encourage people, I shouted to them to go
forward behind me, for it was not I who was wounded, but my horse, and with this word, standing on the right flank of the first platoon of the column, he led it to the enemy, who, seeing our approach, stopped and waited for us. I don’t know why, but I had a premonition that the people of the rear platoons of the column, taking advantage of the darkness of the evening, might delay, and therefore I walked with the first platoon, shortening the step as much as possible so that the other platoons could not delay. Thus, approaching the enemy, already a few steps away, the column shouted hurray! lashed out at the enemy. I don't know if the whole regiment followed the first platoon; but the enemy, having met us with bayonets, overturned our column, and I, receiving a wound with a bayonet in my right side, fell to the ground. At this time, several enemy soldiers galloped up to me to pin me; but at that very moment a French officer named Etienne, desiring to have this pleasure himself, shouted at them to let him do it. Laissez moi faire, je m "en vais l" achever, were his words, and at the same time he hit me on the head with his saber in his hands. Blood gushed out and suddenly filled my mouth and throat, so that I could not utter a single word, although I was in perfect memory. Four times he dealt fatal blows to my head, repeating at each: Ah, je m "en vais l" achever, but in the darkness and vehemence of his he did not see that the more he tried to strike me, the less he succeeded in this: for I, having fallen to the ground, lay with my head close to it, why the end of his saber, with every blow, resting on the ground, almost destroyed it so that, with all his efforts, he could no longer harm me, as soon as inflicting light wounds on the head without damaging the skull. In this position, it seemed that nothing could save me from obvious death: for, having several bayonets pressed against my chest and seeing the efforts of Mr. Etien to take my life, there was nothing left for me but to expect with every blow of my last minute. But fate wanted
determine something else for me, Because of the clouds flowing over us, the moon that suddenly shone brightened us with its light, and Etienne, seeing the Anne star on my chest, stopping the last fatal blow that had already been lifted, said to the soldiers surrounding him: “Do not touch him, this is a general, it is better to take him prisoner"; and with this word ordered me to be raised to my feet. Thus, avoiding almost certain death, I was taken prisoner by the enemy.

Not more than half an hour later they brought me to the place where the Neapolitan king Murat, who, as you know, commanded the vanguard and cavalry of the enemy army, was located. Murat immediately ordered his doctor to examine and bandage my wounds; then he asked me, "how strong was the detachment of our troops,
who were in business with me, "and when I answered him that there were no more than 15,000 of us in this matter, he said to me with a grin:" À d "autres, à d" autres; vous étiez beacoup plus forts que cela;" to which I did not answer a word. But when he began to bow to me, I remembered that while I was being led before him, my brave Etienne, hearing a few words from me in French, began ask me earnestly that when I am presented to the King of Naples, I would put in at least one word about him, which will certainly make him happy. I, not wanting to pay him evil, bowing to the king, said that I had a request to him. "What? - asked the king, I will willingly do everything that is possible. "-" Do not forget in the awards of this officer who introduced me to you. "The king grinned and bowed and said to me:" I will do everything that is possible, "and the next day Etienne was decorated with the Order of the Legion of Honor.

The king ordered me to be sent, accompanied by his adjutant, to the main apartment of Emperor Napoleon, which was already in the city of Smolensk. With great difficulty we crossed over the city bridge on the Dnieper, which we had burned down, which the French had somehow already repaired. At midnight they brought me to Smolensk and led me into a room in a fairly large stone house, where they left me on a sofa. A few minutes later a French general unknown to me entered and, sitting down beside me, asked me if I wanted anything, and when I told him that I was extremely thirsty, he went into another room, brought a decanter of water and a bottle of red wine. guilt; pouring them into a glass, gave me a drink. After sitting a few more and persuading me not to be upset by my situation, he left the room and left me alone in it. The next day I learned that it was the chief of staff of the French army, Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neuchâtel, in whose house I was.

The next day, in the morning, the well-known chief doctor of the French army, General Larrey, came to me. He examined and bandaged my wounds, and since I did not personally know him, he announced to me, among other things, that he was the chief doctor of the army, that he was with Napoleon in Egypt, and that he also had the rank of general. Questioning me, or rather, telling me everything himself, he asked me if I had ever known Dr. Mitivier in Moscow? When I answered him that I knew him very well and that I had even been treated by him in Moscow, he suggested to me: would I not want to see him, for he is in Smolensk at the main headquarters of the army, and therefore he can immediately send him to to me. And in fact, an hour later, Mr. Mityvier appeared to me, whom I was very glad to, for he was the only one of all those around me at that time, whom I had ever known. If incessant visits and stories could dispel my then gloomy thoughts and make me forget the unfortunate situation in which I was, of course, I could not feel either boredom or lack of anything: for from almost morning until evening, they constantly visited me various officials who were at the main headquarters of the army, offering all sorts of their services and whose courteous and good treatment of me made me have every respect for them. On the same day, the valet of the Prince of Neuchâtel came to me and brought two cambric shirts and two pairs of paper stockings from the Prince's underwear, asking me to accept them and saying that the Prince ordered me to say that I would not for any money, because of the complete devastation of the city, I can’t get anything in it; and since my shirt and all my clothes were covered with my dried blood, I was glad to change the linen, and therefore I accepted it all with gratitude. In Smolensk, they found me one poor woman left who undertook to wash and clean my outer dress somehow and brought it to me the next day, although not in the best condition, but at least there were no more stains of blood and dirt on it .

On the third day in the morning, the French general Denzel, the commandant of Napoleon's main apartment, came to me and, among other things, told me that he had an order to find out from me where I wanted to be sent; for due to the complete ruin of Smolensk, it is by no means impossible for me to remain in it. I answered him that it was all the same to me, wherever I was ordered to live, and that I, in my position, could not dispose of myself; but if this depends in any way on my desire, then I would only like that I should not be assigned a residence in Poland; in any other place everything will be the same for me, only the closer it is to Russia, the better; and therefore, if it were possible, I would like to be sent to Konigsberg, or to some other city of Prussia, which is closer to our borders. He approved my wish and asked me to choose one of the
two places, either Konigsberg, or Elbing, assuring me that in both of these cities I can live very calmly and pleasantly, which I completely left to his will.

Some time later, an official came to me, who was under the Prince of Neuchâtel, Mr. Leduc, and announced to me that, by order of the prince, he had come to tell me that since, at my request, I would be sent to Konigsberg, the prince believes that I, having no acquaintances there and having been removed from my fatherland, may need money, and therefore he offers me to borrow from him as much as I think I will need and which I can return to him at my first opportunity . Thanking him for such a merciful disposition towards me, I asked Mr. Leduc to report to the prince that, accepting his offer with great gratitude, I ask you to lend me a hundred Dutch red coins, which I will certainly return to him, as soon as I have the opportunity to receive them from Russia. Half an hour later M. Leduc brought me 1,200 francs in French gold, for which I gave him a receipt.

In the evening of that day, when I was sitting alone in my room, thinking about my unfortunate situation, it was already quite dark in the yard, my door opened, and someone, in a military officer's uniform, came in and asked me in French about my health. I, not paying much attention, believing that it was some kind of French officer, answered this question with somewhat ordinary courtesy; but suddenly I heard from him in Russian: “You didn’t recognize me, I’m Orlov, General Uvarov’s adjutant, sent as a truce from the commander-in-chief in order to find out if you are alive and what happened to you?” My heart fluttered with joy when I suddenly heard the sound mother tongue; I rushed to hug him like a brother. Orlov told me that I was worried about my brothers and the commander-in-chief: for no one in our army knew whether I was still alive and what had happened to me. indulging
full of joy and believing that no one would understand us if we spoke Russian, I began to tell him various circumstances relating to our military actions; but suddenly the door opened, and a head appeared from behind it. It was Polish officer, who brought Orlov to me, who reminded him that this time he could no longer stay with me, and I had to part with him. When we said goodbye, Orlov promised me, upon receiving dispatches, to come again to say goodbye to me; but, as I later found out, they did not allow him to do this, and I no longer saw him.

On the fifth or sixth day after the unfortunate incident with me, a young man in a French colonel's uniform came to me and announced to me that he had been sent to me from the Emperor Napoleon to find out if my health would allow me to be with him, and if I could do this already in forces, he will appoint me at that time. I replied that although I was still very weak, my strength nevertheless allowed me to be presented to him whenever he pleased. The next day, in the morning, at 10 o'clock, the same adjutant of the emperor of the French, as I was told, Mr. Flago, came in to me and asked me to go with him to the emperor.

Napoleon occupied the house of the former Smolensk military governor, who was not far from the house where Marshal Berthier lived, his chief of staff, and who had previously been in charge of our chief of artillery. A multitude of soldiers and officers crowded in front of the emperor's house; and at the entrance
de, on both sides of it, there were cavalry sentries on horseback. The stairs and front rooms were filled with generals and various military officials. We, passing by them, entered the room, where there was no one; at the door leading further out of it, stood a footman in court livery, who, when we appeared, opened the door and let me in alone into the room where the Emperor Napoleon himself was with his chief of staff. At the window of the room, on the table, lay an unfolded map of Russia. Glancing at it, I saw that all the movements of our troops were marked on it with stuck pins with green heads, French ones with blue and other colors, apparently meaning the movement of various cornus of the French army. In the corner near the window stood Marshal Berthier, and in the middle of the room the Emperor Napoleon. I bowed to him when I entered, to which he answered me with a very polite bow. His first word was: "Which corps were you?" - The second, I answered. - "Ah, this is the corps of General Baggovut!" - Exactly. - "Are you related to General Tuchkov, commander of the first corps?" - My brother. “I will not ask,” he said to me, “about the number of your army, but I will tell you that it consists of eight corps, each corps of two divisions, each division of six infantry regiments, each regiment of two battalions; if you like , then I can even tell the number of people in each company. - I, bowing to him and smiling a little, said: "I see that your Majesty is very well informed about everything." “It’s not surprising,” he answered me with some speed: almost every day, from the very retreat of yours from the borders, we take prisoners, and there is almost not a single one of your regiments from which we would not have them; they are asked about the number of regiments and companies in which they were; their answers are put on paper, and in this way the information about which I have just told you is compiled. After a short silence, turning to me, he began: “It was you, gentlemen, who wanted this war, and not me. war; but you forced me into it." Then he began to tell me all his behavior with us from the very Treaty of Tilsit, what he was promised on it, how we did not fulfill our promises, what kind of notes his minister gave to our government, and that not only they did not give him any answer, but even finally (which is never heard anywhere) his envoy was not allowed to the Sovereign for a personal explanation; then they began to concentrate troops in Poland, a division was brought there from the new Finland and two from Moldavia, even in danger of weakening our military operations against the Turks. “Who were all these preparations against, if not against me?” he said. “Well, did I really have to wait for you, having crossed the Vistula, to reach the Oder? to the army, I still wanted to explain myself without a war; to my proposals they suddenly answer me that they don’t want to have any negotiations with me until my troops cross back across the Rhine. Well, have you already defeated me? took to make such demands from me?

I did not answer a word to this very long conversation of his, and also to the Prince of Neuchâtel, to whom he addressed several times in continuation of this. Then, turning again to me, he asked me: what do I think, will we soon give a general battle, or will we all retire?" I answered him that I did not know the intention of the commander in chief. Then he began to speak very unfavorably of him, saying, that his German tactics will not lead us to anything good, that the Russians are a brave, noble, zealous nation for the Sovereign, which was created to fight in a noble manner, for purity, and not to follow the German stupid tactics. "And what good can it lead to? You have seen the example of Prussia (he told me): she finished with her tactics in three days. What's a retreat? Why did you, instead of having already been disposed to have a war, did not occupy Poland and beyond, which you could easily do, and then, instead of a war within your borders, you would transfer it to the enemy's land. And the Prussians, who are now against you, would then be with you. Why was your commander-in-chief unable to do any of this? and now, retreating unceasingly, he devastates only his own land! Why did he leave Smolensk? Why did he bring this beautiful city to such an unfortunate state? If he wanted to protect him, then why didn't he protect him further? He could have kept it for a very long time. If he did not intend this, then why did he stop and fight in it: perhaps only in order to raze the city to its foundations? For this, he would have been shot in any other state. And what was the point of ruining Smolensk, such a beautiful city? He is better for me than all of Poland; he was always Russian and will remain Russian. I love your emperor, he is my friend, despite the war. War means nothing. Government benefits can often divide siblings as well. Alexander was my friend and will be." Then, after a pause, as if thinking about something, turning to me, he said: "With all the fact that I love him very much, I still can’t understand what a strange predilection he has to foreigners; what a passion to surround yourself with such people, such as: Fuhl, Armfeld, etc.; people without any morality, recognized throughout Europe as the most inferior people of all nations? How could he not, from such a brave nation, devoted to its sovereign, such as yours, choose worthy people who, surrounding him, would bring honor and respect to the throne?

This reasoning of Napoleon seemed very strange to me, and therefore, bowing, I said to him: “Your Majesty, I am a subject of my Sovereign, and I never dare to judge his actions, and even less to condemn his behavior; I am a soldier and, apart from blind obedience to authority, I don't know anything else." - These words, as I could see, not only did not anger him, but even, as if with some caress, he, lightly touching my shoulder with his hand, said: “Oh, you are absolutely right! I am very far from blaming your way of thinking, but I only said my opinion, and that because we are now face to face, and this will not go further. Does your emperor know you personally?" - I hope, I answered, for I once had the good fortune to serve in his guard. "Can you write to him?" - No way, because I never dare to bother him with my letters, and especially in my present position. - "But if you do not dare to write to the Emperor, then you can write to your brother, what I will tell you now." - To my brother, it's different: I can write everything to him. - "And so you will please me if you write to your brother that now you have seen me and that I have instructed you to write to him,
that he would give me great pleasure if he himself, or through the Grand Duke, or the commander-in-chief, as it seemed to him better, brought to the attention of the Sovereign that I wanted nothing more than to stop our hostilities by peace. We have already burned enough gunpowder, and enough blood has been shed, and that someday we must finish. What are we fighting for? I have nothing against Russia. Oh, if it were the English (parlez-moi de cela!) That would be a different matter." At these words, clenching his fist, he raised it up. "But the Russians did nothing to me. You want to have coffee and sugar; well, very well, and all this can be arranged, so you will have that too. But if you think that I am easy to beat, then I suggest; let from your generals who have more respect than others, somehow: Bagration, Dokturov, Osterman, your brother and others (I'm not talking about Barclay: he's not even worth talking about); let them make up a military council and consider the position and strength of mine and yours, and if they find that on your side there are more chances of winning and that you can easily beat me, then let them appoint where and when they want to fight. I'm ready for anything. If they find, on the contrary, that all the chances are in my favor, since this really exists, then why should we shed even more blood for nothing? Isn't it better to talk about the world before the battle is lost than after? And what are the consequences if you lose the battle? The consequences are that I occupy Moscow, and no matter what measures I take to save it from ruin, none will be enough: a conquered province, or a capital occupied by an enemy, is like a girl who has lost her honor. Do whatever you want afterward, but it is no longer possible to return honor. - I know you say that Russia is not yet in Moscow; but the same was said by the Austrians when I went to Vienna; but when I occupied the capital, they started talking about something completely different; and it will happen to you too. Your capital is Moscow, not Petersburg; Petersburg is nothing but a residence, the real capital of Russia is Moscow. "- I listened to all this in silence; he, speaking incessantly, walked up and down the room. Finally he came up to me and, looking at me intently, told me : "Are you a Livonian?" - No, I'm a real Russian nin. - "What province of Russia are you from?" - From the outskirts of Moscow, I answered. - "Ah, you are from Moscow," he said to me in some special tone. - "Are You from Moscow! Is it you, gentlemen of the Muscovites, who want to wage war with me?" I said, I do not think that the Muscovites would especially want to have a war with you, and especially in their own land; but if they make large donations, then this is for protection. fatherland and thereby catering to the will of his Sovereign. - "I was rightly assured that the Moscow gentlemen want this war; but what do you think, if your Sovereign wanted to make peace with me, could he do this?" for example?" - Our Senate has no other power than the one that the Sovereign wants to grant him.

Then he began to ask me how long I served, campaigns against the enemy, and where? About the position in which we fought: did I see, and at what hour, the troops of the corps of General Junot on the left side of us, and finally, which point, I believe, was the weakest point of our position? Answering all his questions, I said to the last one that I was most afraid for our right flank: for the left was covered by an almost impassable swamp; but the right one was not covered by anything, except for a small river, which could be crossed everywhere. - "What did you do, he asked me, in your security?" - He sent incessant patrols in that direction, and since they returned, they informed me that the enemy was not visible in that direction, so I remained calm. - "Where did you go from near Smolensk with all your army," - he asked. - "And for what?" - To Rudna and Kasple, I said: the intention of the commander-in-chief was to attack you at these points. To this he did not answer me. Then resuming my desires again to me, so that I would write to my brother everything that he told me, he added that I also wrote in my letter that our commander-in-chief does a very bad thing, that when he retreats, he takes with him all the zemstvo authorities and commanders in provinces and districts, for by doing this he does more harm to the earth than to him; he does not tolerate anything from this and has no need for them, and although he was assured that he would starve to death in Russia, he now sees what an absurd fear it was; he sees that in Russia the fields are just as well cultivated as in Germany and in all other places, and that it would be wise for him to starve to death in such a land where all the fields are covered with bread; besides this, he also has with him a mobile grain store, consisting of 10 thousand wagons, which follows him and which will always be enough to provide food for his army.

After keeping me at his place for about an hour and taking his leave, he advised me not to be upset by my situation, for my captivity cannot dishonor me. Thus, as I was taken, he said, they take only those who are in front, but not those who remain behind. Then he asked me if I had been to France? - No, I answered. He asked me this question in such a tone that I immediately thought that his intention was to send me there. And in fact, as soon as I left him, the Prince of Neuchâtel, coming out almost after me, said, firstly, that the emperor ordered me to return the sword, and secondly, that as I expressed my desire to go to Konigsberg, he not only allows me to go there, but also to Berlin, and on and on, all the way to France, adding to this: if you want this.

Upon my return to my room, two hours later Mr. Leduc came to me with an announcement that he had been sent from the Prince of Neuchâtel, with the fact that, as the emperor wanted me to go to France, he believed that I had taken from him 1,200 francs will not be enough for such a long journey; and, having already been much further from Russia, I can not hope to receive anything from there so soon, and therefore he suggests that I take another 4,800 francs from him and give the same receipt as in the first money I received from him, that I and performed with great gratitude. Then he wrote a letter to his brother and translated it into French, I went to the Prince of Neuchâtel to thank him for all the favors done to me and, giving him a letter to my brother with a translation, said that although the Emperor Napoleon ordered me in my letter to write his displeasure at the expense of the commander-in-chief of our army, but I consider myself not I have the right to make such announcements to him, and therefore I do not mention anything about this in my letter to my brother, in which the prince completely agreed with me.

Among other things, the emperor Napoleon several times praised the order of the retreat of our army, saying that, following us from our very borders, he did not find even a single wheel left by us, and there were not even noticeable traces of the retreating army.