, the Lozere, and Ardeche passed under his
authority.

Next day General Gilly received further despatches from General Ambert,
from which he learned that it was the general's intention, in order to
avoid the danger of a civil war, to separate the Duc d'Angouleme's army
from the departments which sympathised with the royal cause; he had
therefore decided to make Pont-Saint-Esprit a military post, and had
ordered the 10th Regiment of mounted chasseurs, the 13th artillery, and a
battalion of infantry to move towards this point by forced marches.
These troops were commanded by Colonel Saint-Laurent, but General Ambert
was anxious that if it could be done without danger, General Gilly should
leave Nimes, taking with him part of the 63rd Regiment, and joining the
other forces under the command of Colonel Saint-Laurent, should assume
the chief command. As the city was quite tranquil, General Gilly did not
hesitate to obey this order: he set out from Nimes on the 7th, passed the
night at Uzes, and finding that town abandoned by the magistrates,
declared it in a state of siege, lest disturbances should arise in the
absence of authority. Having placed M. de Bresson in command, a retired
chief of battalion who was born in Uzes, and who usually lived there, he
continued his march on the morning of the 8th.

Beyond the village of Conans, General Gilly met an orderly sent to him by
Colonel Saint-Laurent to inform him that he, the colonel, had occupied
Pont Saint-Esprit, and that the Duc d'Angouleme, finding himself thus
caught between two fires, had just sent General d'Aultanne, chief of
staff in the royal army, to him, to enter into negotiations for a
surrender. Upon this, General Gilly quickened his advance, and on
reaching Pont-Saint-Esprit found General d'Aultanne and Colonel
Saint-Laurent conferring together at the Hotel de la Poste.

As Colonel Saint-Laurent had received his instructions directly from the
commander-in-chief, several points relating to the capitulation had
already been agreed upon; of these General Gilly slightly altered some,
and approved of the others, and the same day the following convention was
signed:

"Convention concluded between General Gilly and Baron de Damas

"S.A.R. Mgr. le Duc d'Angouleme, Commander-in-Chief of the royal army in
the South, and Baron de Gilly, General of Division and Commander-in-Chief
of the first corps of the Imperial Army, being most anxiously desirous to
prevent any fur