He remained and probably died.
"We left; the cold was almost unbearable. Along the road we found bivouacs,
at which one detachment relieved the other; the succeeding surpassing the
preceding one in misery and distress. Everywhere, on the road and in the
bivouacs, the dead were lying, most of them stripped of their clothes.
"It was imperative to keep moving, for remaining too long at the bivouac
fires meant death, and dangerous was it also to remain behind, separated
from the troop. (The danger of being alone under such circumstances as
existed here has been pointed out by Beaupre.)
"We marched to Molodetchno where the great road commences and where we
expected some amelioration, and, indeed, we found it. The everlasting cold
was now the principal cause of our sufferings.
"In the village there was some kind of order; we saw many soldiers bearing
arms and of a general good appearance. The houses were not all deserted,
neither were they as overcrowded as in other places through which we had
passed. We established ourselves in some of them situated on the road to
Smorgoni, and we had reason to be satisfied with our choice. We bought
bread at an enormous price, made soup of it which tasted very good to us,
and we had plenty for all of us.
"At Molodetchno men of our division joined us and brought us the news of
the crossing of the Beresina."
von Brandt gives the description of the events at the Beresina and tells of
the historical significance of Molodetchno as the place where Napoleon
sojourned 18 hours and from where he dated the 29th.
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