General Dautancourt’s battle accounts, 1814 …

General Dautancourt’s experiences set during three battles of the 1814 campaign. Note that he writes in third person.

Montereau, 18 February 1814.

With General Lion, commanding the four service squadrons close the Emperor, having been slightly wounded on February 14 at Vauchamp, General Dautancourt was summoned to command these squadrons on the morning of the 15th at Montmirail, and thus stepped down from the command of the brigade of the (Old) Dragoons and Old Grenadiers [of the Guard]. It was at the head of three of these service squadrons (the Poles, the chasseurs and the dragoons, the Emperor having kept the grenadiers close to him) that General Dautancourt passed the bridge of Montereau on February 18 and emerged in the plain between the Yonne and the Seine, on the road to Bray. There he was struck head-on by a hail of cannonballs and shells, while the enemy, who was retreating along the left bank of the Yonne, bombarded him and caught him in the flank. This position could not be held for long, however it was necessary to manoeuvre to give the army time to break through; thus the squadrons received this fire with the greatest composure, despite the loss of several brave men, a loss which would have been more considerable if the wet ground had not swallowed up a large part of the enemy’s projectiles, and especially if its fire had been better directed.

Berry-au-Bac, 5 March 1814.

On the 5th, the cavalry of the Guard, still commanded by General Nansouty, arrived in front of Berry-au-Bac around two o’clock in the afternoon. Squadron Commander Skarzinski, who was fighting along the vanguard consisting the Polish Lancers, rushed the bridge defended by a division of enemy cavalry, who were supported by two guns, and captured it. The Cavalry Division of the Guard followed. The impetuosity of the attack was such that the enemy could only present weak resistance. They tried however to rally beyond the Miette in the plain which extends from Ville-aux-Bois to (Grand) Jusincourt. However, charged again by the brave Skarzinski and noticing the whole division ready to fall upon them, the enemy was placed in such a complete rout that I do not believe that cavalry has ever been seen to flee with such desperation. For more than two leagues that the pursuit lasted, not one of these cavalrymen even dared to look behind him. Among the prisoners was a Russian prince, named Gagarin[e], who was declaring his title at the top of his voice.

It is worth mentioning here a particular fact about the brave Squadron Commander Skarzinski, on this day which was already so honourable for him. After the passage of the Aisne and in the heat of the pursuit, this intrepid senior officer snatched a heavy lance from the hands of a Cossack. From that moment onward, he left his sabre behind: young and very robust, he in turn used only this formidable weapon (particularly in a similar rout), for which he was known in the regiment to wield with surprising skill and dexterity. He knocked out these miserable fugitives with side blows and pierced others. Imitated in this by some other officers, their example inflamed the lancers. The enemy’s loss was great; the road and its borders were covered with lances, and General Dautancourt had many of them collected and used to arm those of his lancers who had had theirs broken, shattered or lost. Mr. Skarzinski was, as a reward for his valiant conduct, named Baron of the Empire and the coat of arms granted to him bears a bridge in one of its quarters.

Craonne, 7 March 1814.

On the 7th the battle of Craonne took place. It is known that all the cavalry corps of the Guard, still under the command of General Nansouty, competed in this beautiful day, where the infantry added, if it were possible, to its reputation. The Polish Lancers, manoeuvring under the command of General Dautancourt, on the plateau on the right of the road which leads to l’Ange-Gardien, and under the fire of the enemy artillery, lost men and horses. One of their surgeon-majors, Mr. Girardot, dressing the wounded in the rear of the regiment, had his thigh shattered by a biscayen. He was taken to the ambulance, where an amputation was recognised as necessary and he underwent the surgery. Realizing that he was passing in front of the Emperor, this brave man, who had served during all the campaigns alongside the regiment, greeted this sovereign with a strong voice and the usual vivat. He was appointed Baron of the Empire.

Source : Le Carnet de la Sabretache, 1894, pp. 283-285.