On May 24, 1807, during the Battle of Gutstadt, Cossacks under the command of Count P.A. Stroganov captured a French convoy, in which Marshal L. Davout's baton was found. In his report to Emperor Alexander I, Bennigsen wrote: "Count Stroganov demonstrated a remarkable feat yesterday with the Ataman Cossack Regiment, which Lieutenant General Platov placed under his command: swimming across the Alle River, he immediately attacked the enemy, routed them, killed at least 1,000 men on the spot, and captured four staff officers, 21 officers, and 360 privates."2 For his distinguished performance in battle, Stroganov was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd class
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Platov also described the actions of the Ataman Regiment in his report: "... Count Stroganov, seeing the enemy's baggage train was quite large, ordered four hundred men from the Ataman Regiment to be detached under Captain Yevseyev. They attacked the enemy's baggage train, which was no less than 500 strong, and slaughtered it on the spot, capturing the remainder. At the same time, the entire baggage train fell into our lap, including the baggage train and Marshal Ney's office."
A participant in these events, quartermaster officer P.A. Chuikevich, described the captured convoy in more detail in his book dedicated to the Cossack actions in Prussia: "The entire convoy, which included many generals' and officers' carriages; Marshal Ney's chancery with his secretaries, his own carriage with the treasury and wardrobe; wagons filled with provisions, wine, and provisions; and a large number of cattle, captured from the enemy, fell into the hands of the brave Cossacks."
Count P.A. Stroganov, a diplomat and statesman, a close friend of the Emperor, joined the army as a volunteer, without waiting for a formal transfer to military service. Together with the Englishman Robert Wilson, Count Stroganov joined the Cossack corps. By entrusting him with the Ataman Regiment, Platov thereby showed great respect, since he had previously believed that the Don regiments should only be commanded by officers of the Don Army.
Six months later, the Emperor awarded Platov the Order of St. George, 2nd class, primarily for his actions on May 24, as can be seen from the rescript for the order: "For your outstanding courage and bravery, demonstrated by your celebrated exploits throughout the entire past campaign against the French troops, as well as in the battle of the 24th of last May, in which you, with the Cossack and other regiments you commanded, as well as Major General Knorring's detachment, crossed the Alle River between Gutstadt and Allenstein, under enemy fire, and attacked him initially at two points, drove him from his entrenchments, and pursued him bravely, striking him at a great distance, then again routed the enemy cavalry and infantry advancing from Gutstadt, recaptured the baggage train with part of Marshal Ney's crew, and destroyed all the cover that was there, up to 500 people; they then killed more than 200 people in the village of Buchwald, and finally, they strongly repelled the enemy in the village of Bergfried, taking prisoner on this day two colonels, 55 officers, and more than 700 enlisted men - they deserve to be awarded the Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George."
Thus, all the documents spoke of the Cossacks capturing Marshal Ney's convoy on May 24. Only many decades later did a version emerge that on that day, Cossacks under the command ofStroganov captured the convoy, in which they found the baton of Marshal Davout. In fact, and this is confirmed by documents, the Ataman Regiment under the command of Count Stroganov was operating on that day along the retreat routes of Ney's corps. Only in the evening, as they were returning, did the Cossacks encounter the vanguard at Bergfried, and not the convoy of Davout's corps. The renowned military historian Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky in his book on the war of 1806-1807 makes no mention of the capture of Davout's baton. However, in Count Stroganov's biography, compiled by himself, it states the following: "On May 24, having received the Ataman Regiment the day before, Stroganov swam across the Alle, added Ilovaisky's 5th Regiment to his regiment, and near the village of Kvets, he attacked Marshal Davout's convoy, which was traveling from Gutstadt under strong cover... To this day, among the Stroganov family's family heirlooms, relics of this daring raid are preserved - Marshal Davout's uniform, his sword, and the case of his marshal's baton."
However, Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky could not have been unaware that only Ney's convoy was leaving Gutstadt that day, since Davout was in Allenstein. Perhaps the historian simply did not dare refute the family legend, since the hero's biography was edited by his widow, Countess S.V. Stroganov, and his former adjutant, A.M. Turgenev. The most remarkable thing about this description is not immediately obvious: this earliest mention only mentions the case for Davout's baton! Thus, Stroganov's heirs believed that the uniform, sword, and baton case were captured in that battle. There are later descriptions of the Stroganov family heirlooms, from which it follows that in the library at the Maryino estate, in a special mahogany cabinet, were kept the regimental insignia of the 146th French Regiment, a black cloth uniform, a tricorn hat with a white plume and gold braid, and the red leather case of Marshal Davout's baton. A brass plaque explained that these trophies were taken by P.A. Stroganov in 1807 at the Battle of Alle.
But is this to be believed? The French 146th Line Infantry Regiment was formed only in 1813, and the case of Marshal Davout's baton could easily have come to the Stroganovs from the Kazan Cathedral, which was practically a family church for the family, since the cathedral was built through the efforts of Count A.S. Stroganov Sr. Judging by the collection of relics kept by the Stroganovs, they were trophies that were deemed unsuitable for display in the Kazan Cathedral.
Further confusion was added to this question by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (1859-1919), who decided to combine these relics with another trophy, whose history had never been a mystery. His biography of Stroganov states: "Marshal Davout's office, his hat, and the case of his marshal's baton are still preserved by the descendants of Count Stroganov; the baton itself, as is known, is in the Kazan Cathedral." It is worth noting that the Kazan Cathedral, which became a memorial church to the Patriotic War of 1812 after the burial of M.I. Kutuzov there, housed military trophies
from the campaigns of 1812-1814, consisting of 107 regimental banners and standards, and the keys to 8 fortresses and 17 cities. There is a detailed description of them, published in 1909 by Major General A.I. Gekkel.Davout's baton, in a glass case with a copper frame, was kept on the wall near Kutuzov's grave. A plaque under the case contained an explanatory inscription stating that the baton was captured from the enemy inAmong other trophies, near Krasnoye on November 5, 1812.
Haeckel described the exhibit in detail: "The baton is 50 centimeters long and 4 centimeters in diameter, covered with purple velvet embroidered with golden eagles, in four rows, eight in each; at the ends of the baton are two rings, the upper one engraved with the Latin inscription: "Terror belli. Decus pacis"; and on the lower one: "Louis Nicolas Davout nomé par l'Empereur Napoleon Maréchal de l'Empire, le 29 Floréal, an XII."
