solution for that purpose.' A committee was accordingly appointed, but as American citizens we are mortified to acknowledge, that a resolution, frought with so much justice and generosity, and pledging in terms so positive the good faith of Congress, has never been carried into effect. The same unmerited and culpable neglect has awaited a similar resolution of the same body, by which it was ordered, that a monument should be erected to the memory of the brave Baron de Kalb, who fell, pierced with eleven wounds, in one of the hottest engagements, which occurred during the American revolution. Let the time soon come, when a sense of justice, if not of gratitude, shall awaken the thoughts of our national legislature to a proper estimate of a duty so long neglected.

From the account here given of the assault on Savannah, which, as coming from an eyewitness, merits implicit confidence, an error may be corrected, that has been transferred from Gordon into all the other histories of the American revolution, respecting the manner in which Pulaski received the wound that caused his death. Gordon says, that' Count Pulaski, at the head of two hundred horsemen, was in full gallop, riding into town between the redoubts, with an intention of charging in the rear, when he received a mortal wound.' All this is essentially incorrect. Pulaski was not at the head of his troops, nor was he riding into the town; on the contrary, his cavalry was stationary and properly posted, and himself, at the time he received his wound, proceeding to reanimate the French soldiery, when it was known that D'Estaing was wounded.

The further history of Pulaski's legion may be learned from the following sketch, which we take from Niles's Register for October 16, 1824. It is contained in an article describing the entrance of General Lafayette into Baltimore.

'As the general passed down the line, a sacred and interesting relic of the revolution was presented to his notice. It was the original standard of the brave and generous General Count Pulaski, whose heroism and devotion to the cause of liberty are conspicuous in the records of the war of independence. The corps of Forsyth's riflemen had solicited and obtained from its possessor, the worthy Colonel Bentalou, the honour of carrying this standard upon the day of the General's arrival in the city; and it was on VOL. XX.-NO. 47.

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this occasion displayed upon one of the spears used by the lancers of the legion, entwined with Pulaski's sword belt. It was when this gallant officer received his mortal wound in the attack upon Savannah, on the 9th of October, 1779, and his noble soul was about leaving its earthly tenement, that he bequeathed this belt to his loved and equally brave companion in arms, Colonel, (then captain,) Bentalou. The legion of Pulaski was raised, organised, and disciplined in Baltimore in the spring of 1778. At that period the country generally was destitute, none of the fine or useful arts were cultivated the whole energies of the country being bent on war. The army was poorly clothed and badly fed—and, in the absence of more elegant materials or accomplished artists, the standard of the legion was formed of a piece of crimson silk, and embroidered by the Moravian nuns of Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania. On one side are the initials, U. S. with this motto-unita virtus fortior-on the reverse, the all-seeing eye, surrounded with thirteen stars, and the motto, non alius regit. It may appear, as it certainly is, a singular circumstance that the standard, (first consecrated at Baltimore when a small village,) after having waved over the greater part of the old thirteen states, should be returned to the same place, now a large and important city, and there be permanently enshrined. The history of the "times which tried men's souls," while it shows the unsurpassed bravery, and great services of the legion, furnishes also an explanation of this circumstance. We find that in the summer of 1778, the lieutenantcolonel of the legion was killed at Egg Harbour, in New-Jersey, by British bayonets. In 1779, the colonel, at the advanced age of nearly seventy, (and who had been a colonel of hussars in the armies of Frederick the Great of Prussia,) fell under the cuts of sabres before Charleston, South Carolina. On the 9th of October, of the same year, the General Count Pulaski was mortally wounded by a swivel shot, at the attack on Savannah, in Georgia. In 1780, we find that the major was sabred at Monk's corner, in South Carolina, and the command then devolved upon Captain Bentalou, of the first troop of light dragoons of the legion, and senior surviving officer. When the legion was disbanded at the close of the war, the standard was retained in the possession of Colonel Bentalou, by whom it had been carefully preserved.'

As a military man of science, knowledge, and experience, as a soldier in the highest sense of the word, quick to perceive and decide, prompt to act, unwearied in perseverance, collected in the midst of danger, brave without rashness, and discreet in his designs, Pulaski has few rivals in the lists of eminent warriors. His fame spread over Europe during the

short space in which he maintained the unequal contest in Poland, and even Wraxall says of him, that he was acknowledged by the Russians, his enemies, to possess military talents of a very superior nature; nor were they ever able to take him prisoner during the civil war.' Dr Franklin says in a letter to General Washington, dated Paris, June 13, 1777, 'Count Pulaski, who was a general of the confederates in Poland, and who is gone to join you, is esteemed one of the greatest officers in Europe.' These testimonies to his military character were fully borne out by his conduct in this country. Wherever he appeared, he showed himself a brave and skilful soldier, inspiring his officers and men with a warm attachment to himself, and confidence in his talents.

In respect to the charge of Judge Johnson, above alluded to, very little needs be added. It is presumed that no one, who takes pains to become acquainted with Pulaski's history, will entertain the impression on the subject, which seems to have existed in the mind of the biographer of General Greene. Speaking of the unfortunate result of the battle at Germantown, he uses the following words. It is a melancholy fact, of which few were informed, that the celebrated Pulaski, who commanded the patrol, was found by General Washington himself, asleep in a farm house. Policy only, and a regard to the rank and misfortunes of the offender, could have induced the general to suppress the fact. Yet, to this circumstance, most probably, we are to attribute the success of the enemy's patrol, in approaching near enough to discover the advance of the American column.' admitting this to be true, it is a most extraordinary thing, that it should have been kept secret so long, especially as all the circumstances of that engagement were of a nature to call forth the severest public scrutiny into every transaction, to which the failure could possibly be ascribed. Whatever may have been the indulgence of Washington, it is not credible, that the few who were informed,' and who cannot be supposed to have had any such motives of delicacy, should not reveal a fact, so well calculated to screen the American officers from the disgrace of a defeat, by throwing the burden on the shoulders of a foreigner just then arrived in the country.

Now,

Nor is the imputation, which this charge casts on Washington himself, such as we should be willing to admit. The

kind of policy,' to which: Washington's silence is here ascribed, was not that which became the commander in chief of a nation's forces, nor was it that which Washington was known in any other case to exercise. Such a policy, indeed, would have been little else, than betraying the high trust confided to him, and a most unjustifiable breach of right conduct, in suffering the odious consequences of the neglect of one officer to be borne by those, who had faithfully done their duty. Moreover, Washington afterwards recommended Pulaski to Congress, was instrumental in procuring him a very high and responsible appointment in the service, and always treated him as an officer, whom he respected, and in whom he had the fullest confidence.

These considerations alone are enough to destroy the force of the charge. It needs not be inquired whether Pulaski was found in a farm house, or what he did, or whether he did anything, at the battle of Germantown; it is enough to know, that Washington was acquainted with all his conduct there much better than any other person, and that he never lisped a whisper of censure for neglect of duty, but on the contrary aided his future promotion. In short, we doubt not, that Judge Johnson has been deceived, and that the authority on which he relied, from whatever source it came, is not entitled to credit; and every generous minded citizen of the United States must lament, that he should have sanctioned by his name a charge, calculated to reflect no honor on the character of Washington, and to cast reproach on the memory of a brave man, whose fame was so well earned, who devoted his best days to a defence of the rights of outraged humanity in his native land, and, when exiled by the usurpers whom he could not conquer, gave the last years of his life, and the last drop of his blood, to the struggle for the liberties of America.

E. Everett,

ART. VII.-1. Code Civil, suivi de l'Exposé des Motifs sur Chaque Loi présenté par les Orateurs du Gouvernement, &c. 11 Tomes, 12mo. à Paris. 1809.

2. Conference du Code Civil avec la Discussion particuliere du Conseil d'Etat et du Tribunat, &c. 8 Tomes, 12mo. à Paris. 1805.

3.

4.

Code de Procedure Civile. 2 Tomes, 12mo. à Paris. 1808.

Code Pénal, suivi des Motifs présentés par les Orateurs du Gouvernement, &c. 2 Tomes, 12mo. à Paris. 1812. 5. Code d' Instruction Criminelle, suivi des Motifs, &c. 12mo. 1809.

6. Code de Commerce. 2 Tomes, 12mo. 1812.

7. Les cinq Codes avec Notes et Traités pour servir à un Cours complet de Droit Français; à l'Usage des Etudians en Droit, et de toutes les Classes de Citoyens cultivés. Par J. B. SIREY. Avocat aux Conseils du Roi, et à la Cour de Cassation. 8vo. Paris. 1819.

We know not the individual to whose character justice is so little likely to be done, as Napoleon Bonaparte. The child of the French Revolution, he is, by most persons, confounded with its active leaders. The criminality of its horrid excesses fixes on him, as on the most prominent individual, that owed his advancement to that Revolution. It is difficult to induce men to reflect, that the most revolting of these excesses were perpetrated while Bonaparte was at school; and that though he did not bring the Revolution to a close, by restoring the Bourbons, he brought it still more effectually to a close, by crushing its parties, reviving many useful institutions, which it had destroyed, and reorganising the government of the country. It is very easy to charge him with being a tyrant and an oppressor; the changes are easily rung upon his ambition, conquest and devastation of foreign states, the conscription, and the murder of the Duke d' Enghien. It is in no degree our design to defend him from the real or imaginary guilt, imputed in these or any similar charges. We are even free to confess, that we do not think Napoleon possessed the true sentiment of greatness.