until the conclusion of peace in
1814. The general rising of Central Europe against French domination
which followed the battle of Leipzig extended itself to Holland. The
French were expelled in the middle of November, and on December 2 the
Prince of Orange was proclaimed sovereign prince of the Netherlands. On
the 29th the Swiss diet voted the restoration of the old constitution.
The confederation of the Rhine was practically dissolved, but in Italy
Napoleon's viceroy, Eugene Beauharnais, after falling back before the
Austrian army, was able to hold the line of the Adige. On November 9 it
was decided to offer peace to Napoleon on condition of the surrender of
all French conquests beyond the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. These
terms represented the policy of Metternich. The Earl of Aberdeen
consented to them on behalf of Great Britain and Nesselrode on behalf of
Russia, but they were not accepted by Napoleon before the date by which
an answer was required, and the war proceeded. On December 31 the
Prussians under Bluecher crossed the Rhine near Coblenz and opened a new
campaign.

[Pageheading: _AMERICAN SUCCESSES._]

Meanwhile the war on the American continent was carried on with varying
success, though the balance of fortune was rather on the side of the
United States. The operations were in the main of a desultory character,
no permanent conquests being made. The first engagement in the year 1813
was at Frenchtown on the Raisin River in Michigan, where Colonel
Proctor, commanding 500 regulars and militia, and 600 Indians, defeated
an American force of 1,000 under Brigadier-General Winchester, and took
500 prisoners, while many of the remaining Americans fell into the hands
of the Indians. The immediate effect of this victory was that General
Harrison, who was leading an American force of 2,000 men against
Detroit, determined to retrace his steps. Three months later Proctor
made a descent upon an American position on the Maumee River in the
north of the State of Ohio. After besieging the enemy for a few days he
was compelled to retire, but, before he left, an engagement took place
on May 5, in which the British forces, with a total loss of less than
100, inflicted severe losses on their opponents and made about 500
prisoners. A subsequent attempt to capture Fort Sandusky, near the head
of Lake Erie, was repulsed on August 2; ninety out of 350 British troops
were returned as killed, wounded or missing.

The Brit