heavy infantry. The legion des Francs, at prefent the 14th light infantry, fhowed alfo, in Schauenbourg's corps, much ardour and intrepidity in the attack and purfuit of the Bernese militia. The ftaffs of the armies of the Rhine, and of Italy, joined here yefterday in a civic repaft. Among the toafts given were, The Executive Directory, The glory of republican armies, The Helvetic army, Destruction to England, Peace to the world. The fraternal kifs was mutually given and received. Health and fraternity.

(Signed)

BRUNE.

P. S. Citizen Suchet, chef de brigade of the 18th, fets out with Citizen Ruby to carry you twenty-five pair of colours taken at Fribourg, Neveneck, Gumine, and in the march of General Schauenbourg from Bienne to Berne. Citizen Suchet has shown in this expedition, zeal, bravery, and talents, on which I muft bestow the highest praise.

Official Letters to the Directory.

Citizens Directors, Bienne, 21 Ventofe (Mar. 11), 6th Year. THE HE Bernefe have just been beaten, and it was themselves who provoked hoftilities. At feven o'clock laft night an officer came with a parley to Adjutant-general Freffinet, chief of the staff of the right wing of the army of Erguel. He delivered to him a dispatch from Colonel de Grofs, commander in chief of the Bernese army at Niddau, conceived in the following terms:

"I inform you, that unless fome unforeseen change thould take place, hoftilities will commence this evening. Order therefore your fentries, which are within reach of my cannon charged with grape, to retire. I do not at all understand this military difpofi

tion.

The Adjutant-general Freffinet detained the officer, and fent a difpatch to General Schauenbourg. In the mean time a fecond letter was received from Colonel de Grofs, in which he ftated that he did not mean to commence hoftilities: to this General Freffinet anfwered:

"Sir,

Your officer yet waits the anfwer of the commander in chief, but he will return to you before the hour you have fixed upon for the commencement of hoftilities, namely, ten o'clock. When that moment is arrived, you are at liberty to employ all your forces. The French republicans await you with that courage which characterizes them."

General Freffinet, who had no orders to commence an attack, formed a line of battle before Bienne, and from Bonfau by Niddau

along

along the Lake of Bienne: He remained upon the defenfive until a Bernese poft, advancing from the villages fituate at the bottom of the Lake, commenced the attack, and had the cowardice to make a furious charge upon a French poft of four men, who were at Vigneule, a lordship belonging to Bienne, without embarraffing themselves with the cuftom generally obferved between foldiers at. the commencement of a war. The Adjutant-general Freffinet, quickly informed of this attack, and of the motions of the enemy, turned the villages of Diefe and Orvin, to take them in the rear at Evilard or Bonjeau: he fent a reinforcement to the poft of Vigneule, whilst one company advanced from Bienne by Evilard, to fall upon the enemy's flank. This manoeuvre had complete fuccefs. The French, inferior in numbers, but accuftomed to conquer, gathered fresh laurels. The Bernefe at first fought bravely, and their arquebufiers killed many of our people; but in a fhort time, aftonished at the rapidity of our movements, they loft that fang freid which enfures victory; attacked fuddenly with the bayonet, au pas de charge; they were completely broken, and retreated precipitately down the mountain to gain their boats: but this resource they were deprived of by the fire of a platoon of the brave grenadiers of the 38th demi-brigade, who pursued them. from the heights to within a very short distance of the banks.

General Schauenbourg this morning, at half past three o'clock, attacked the poft of Lengnau, and, after having forced it, continued his victorious march againft Soleure. The lofs of the enemy in this first affair confifts in four pieces of cannon, a great number of killed, wounded, and prifoners: among the latter are three Bernese officers. Ours is inconfiderable: we have to regret the lofs of fome brave men, but they fell covered with glory, and we entertain hopes of terminating in a few days the fcandalous ftruggle of the tyrannic oligarchy of the Swifs Patricians against the liberty of the defcendants of William Tell. The Adjutant-general Freffinet contributed greatly by his activity, his fang froid, and his good difpofitions, to the fuccefs of this day. Health and respect. (Signed) LIOMIN.

Letters from General de Divifion Schauenbourg, to the Executive

Directory.

Berne, 17 Ventofe, 6th Year (March 10, 1798).

Citizens Directors,

IINFORMED you in my laft difpatch, dated from Soleure, that I was going to march againft Berne with a confiderable body of forces. On the 14th, after joining to the main body the five battalions commanded by Adjutant-general Bonami, I extended

T 2

the

the advanced guard as far as Schahinen, pofted the 16th demibrigade of light infantry as an intermediate body at Delterchingen, and my main body at Lhofne. At five in the morning of the 15th, we began our march, and fell in with the enemy in a wood behind Schahinen, where a fevere firing took place between the 14th demi-brigade of light infantry, and the Bernese troops, who were provided with cannon. I immediately ordered two pieces of artillery and a howitzer, attached to the advanced van guard, to advance; and after a fhort refiftance the enemy returned, and took up a pofition on the heights before Fraumbruner, where they kept firm. We were obliged to make new difpofitions for driving them from this fecond pofition. They then retreated, and formed them felves behind Urtenen, where they again halted; but being driven from this poft alfo, they retired in good order, and placed themselves between the rocks and a large fir-wood, which covers the heights of Altmerchingen. The highway from Soleure to Berne forms a defile which croffes thefe heights. In this pofition the enemy had their right covered by rocks, and their left by woods and marshes. They had taken the precaution to make confiderable abbatis to obftruct the road, and pofted themselves behind these abbatis, from which they kept up a brifk fire. The 14th demi-brigade of light infantry, and the 89th of the line, were employed to carry this formidable pofition: the action continued more than an hour. Ruby, chef de brigade, who commanded the advanced guard, caufed three companies of the fecond battalion of the 89th, to climb the rocks; a battalion of the 14th demi-brigade, and a demi-battalion of the 89th, paffed the marshes to turn the enemy on the left, while the light artillery cannonaded the high road. These different movements were fo happily concerted, that the enemy, attacked on the front and on the flanks, were furrounded in a manner at the fame moment. They loft a great many men, and were completely routed, abandoning all their artillery: they however rallied again on the heights before Berne, where they gave us battle a fifth time. The huflars of the 7th and 8th regiments charged with bravery in the face of their cannon; and it is certain if Berne had not then fent deputies to capitulate, all its troops would have been made prifoners of war; and the advanced guard, cutting off their retreat, would have entered the town before the inhabitants could have had time to fhut the gates. I granted to Berne the fame capitulation as that granted to Soleure. We entered the place at one in the afternoon. I must add to these details, that the advanced guard fought always at the distance of two leagues from the main body, and thus the infantry marched with fuch rapidity, that the cavalry were forced to follow them on a trot. I cannot give you an exact account of the cannon and carriages taken. Wherever we found artillery we took poffeffion of them. I reckon the number to be about 25 pieces, of different calibres.

A

calibres. The Bernese in their different actions fuftained confiderable lofs. We have taken several officers. It is a duty I owe to truth to say, that it is aftonifhing, that troops who for two hundred years have not carried on war, fhould have maintained with great bravery five fucceflive combats, and that they were hardly driven from one pofition when they refumed another. On the night between the 15th and 16th, the advanced guard of General Brune joined the troops under my command, and the general himself arrived at Berne in the morning: he has affumed the chief command of the whole army. Ruby, chef de brigade, an officer of as much courage as ability, will deliver to you, Citizens Directors, fixteen pair of colours taken from the Bernese. All the troops behaved with their ufual bravery. The general officers, and chiefs of the corps, whom I mentioned in my difpatch from Soleure, have acquired a new title to my praifes. Health and refpe&t.

(Signed)

SCHAUENBOURG.

Head Quarters at Soleure, 13 Ventofe (March 7). THE commander in chief of the troops of the French republic in the canton of Soleure and in Erguel, having nothing more at heart than to accomplish the intentions of the Executive Directory, and to contribute with all his power to the speedy re-establishment of good harmony between the French republic and the canton of Soleure, which could not have been interrupted but by the pride and perfonal intereft of the members of the ancient government of the canton, appoints as members of the provifional government Citizens Victor Oberlin, prefident; Balthazar Wallier, vicepretident; Xavier Zeltner, Pierre Zeltner, ex-chancellor ; Nicholas Gloutz, ex-procurer-general; Benoit Gloutz, Victor Brommer, treasurer of the feals; John Sclilup de Nenmkoffen, Jofeph Luthy, fecretary-general. Thefe citizens will enter on their functions, dating from this day.

(Signed)

SCHAUENBOURG.

The general, commander in chief of the troops in the canton of Soleure and in Erguel, orders, in conformity to the intentions of the Executive Directory, as follows:

Art. I. The functions of the fenate of the canton of Soleure fhall immediately ceafe.

II. It fhall be replaced by a provifional government of eleven

members.

III. The functions of all the bailiffs and other magiftrates, the nomination of which belonged to the ancient fenate, fhall cease alfo, unless the provifional government fhall think it necessary to retain any of them.

(Signed)

SCHAUENBOURG.

General

General Brune, Commander in Chief of the French Army in Helvetia.

Quarters of General Brune, 26th Ventofe (16th March).

A GREAT number of citizens of the feveral cantons of Helvetia having teftified a defire to form a republic, one and indivifible, democratic and reprefentative, the territory of which fhould be compofed of the Pays de Vaud and the four Mandemens, of the Upper and Lower Valais, of the Italian bailiwicks, of Oberland and Geffenay, of the canton of Fribourg, and of the countries of Morat and Nidau; I have taken the motives of their defire into confideration, and acknowledge that it is conformable to the principles of liberty, as well as to their local interests; and that a republic, compofed of all the defignated territories, would be able to govern itfelf freely according to its own laws, and enjoy the advantages of an alliance with the French republic. It is therefore decreed as follows:

ift. The reprefentatives of the Upper and Lower Valais, of the Italian bailiwicks, of Oberland and Geffenay, the canton of Fribourg, fhall affemble, without delay, in the city of Laufanne, with the reprefentatives of the Pays de Vaud, for the purpose of giving their joint confent to the government of the republic of the Rhone.

2d. There fhall be in this republic five cantons; firft, Leman, ci-devant Pays de Vaud, and the four Mandemens, of which Laufanne is the capital; fecondly, Sarino and Broye, ci-devant canton of Fribourg, and the countries of Morat and Nidau, their capital provifionally Payerne; thirdly, Oberland, its capital Thun; fourthly, Valais, its capital Sion; fifthly, Tefin, ci-devant Italian bailiwicks, its capital Locarno.

3d. There fhall be a legiflative body, confifting of 62 deputies, divided into two councils. The fenate to confift of 24 members, and the grand council of 48. Leman fhall appoint 18 deputies; Sarino and Broye 18; Oberland 12; Valais 12; and Tefin 12.

4th. There fhall be an executive directory, composed of five members.

5th. The legislative body and the directory fhall refide at Laufanne. They shall be empowered to fix, in fix months, their place of refidence definitively.

6th. The legislative body fhall meet the 25th of March. They fhall hold their fitting whenever 25 members attend in the grand council, and 12 in the fenate.

7th. The directory fhall be put in activity the 30th of March. The qualification that a member fhall be either married or a widower, is not neceffary.