War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [832]
Saltykov, Prince Nikolai Ivanovich (1736–1816): Counselor to Paul I before he assumed the throne and tutor to his sons, the future Alexander I and the grand duke Konstantin.
Savary, Anne Jean Marie René (1774–1833): Served in the early republican wars, and under Desaix in Egypt and at Marengo. Took part in the murder of the duke of Enghien. After the peace of Tilsit was sent to Petersburg as ambassador. Made duke of Rovigo in 1807, fought in Spain with Murat in 1808, and in 1810 took over the ministry of police, which he ran with inquisitorial vigor. After Waterloo, he accompanied Napoleon to England, but was not allowed to go with him to St. Helena.
Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von (1775–1854): German idealist philosopher midway between Fichte and Hegel, of a protean and unsystematic mind, wrote a Naturphilosophie admired as much for its poetry as for its thought.
Schöngraben: Scene of a battle on 14 November 1805, two weeks before Austerlitz, between the 45,000 troops of Murat and the 7,000 troops of Bagration’s rear guard. Bagration’s stiff defense of the position, followed by a skillful retreat, allowed Kutuzov time to join his main army with that of Buxhöwden. French historians refer to it as the battle of Hollabrunn, from the larger town nearby.
Schwarzenberg, Prince Karl Philipp (1771–1820): Austrian field marshal. Entered the cavalry in 1788, took part in the early battles against the French. In the 1805 campaign, at Ulm, when Mack was surrounded and chose to surrender, Schwarzenberg and his cavalry cut their way through the French lines. Sent as ambassador to Petersburg in 1808, he came back to fight at Wagram. In 1810 he went to Paris to negotiate Napoleon’s marriage to Maria-Louisa of Austria. Reluctantly commanded an auxiliary corps under Napoleon in the Russian campaign. In 1813, when Austria decided to rejoin the anti-French coalition, he was made commander in chief of the army of Bohemia.
Semyonova, Nimfodora Semyonovna (1789–1876): Russian opera singer, made her début in 1807. Generally appreciated more for her acting than for her singing. The poets Pushkin, Griboedov, and Zhukovsky sought her company. She retired from the stage in the early 1830s.
Seslavin, Alexander Nikitich (1780–1858): A major general and partisan leader during the Napoleonic war. Fought in the Austrian campaigns. In 1812 distinguished himself at Borodino, and was instrumental in turning Napoleon’s retreat from the Kaluga road to the Smolensk road at the battle of Maloyaroslavets. Later fought under Wittgenstein in the European campaign.
Shishkov, Alexander Semyonovich (1754–1841): Russian writer and statesman, a naval officer by training, retired in protest against the early liberal reforms of Alexander I. In 1811 he founded the Society of Lovers of the Russian Word, dedicated to preserving the old forms of Russian and purifying it of foreign influences, especially Gallicisms. In that same year, Alexander I, inspired by Shishkov’s “Discourse on Love for One’s Country,” made him secretary of state. In 1813 he became president of the Russian Academy, in 1814 a member of the State Council, and later minister of education.
Sismondi, Jean Charles Léonard de (1773–1842): Swiss-born historian and economist of liberal leanings. His sixteen-volume History of the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages, published in 1817, brought him considerable fame.
Smolensk: Town on the Dnieper, on the road to Moscow, site of an important battle during the war of 1812 between the French under Bonaparte and the Russians under Bagration. The Russians fought a delaying action and then retreated; the town, a possible supply point for Napoleon, was virtually destroyed.
Sorbier, Jean Barthélemot de (1763–1827): Served in various parts of the French revolutionary army in the east of France; commanded three divisions of light artillery at Austerlitz, and later served in Spain. In 1808