Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/24

* SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 12 SEVERN. 5, 1757. A month later he inflicted a great de- feat upon the Austrians under. Daun at Leuthen (December 5th). This battle was followed by the surrender of Breslau and Liegnitz. Mean- while in East Prussia the Prussians under Leh- waldt weie defeated at Gross-Jagerndorf by the Russians under Apraxin (August 30th) and East Prussia was overrun. But Pitt had now taken hold of English affairs with a firm grasp and entered upon the fullest eoiiperation with Prus- sia. Ferdinand of Brunswick was placed in com- mand of the Hanoverian forces and Frederick's resources were increased by a liberal subsidy from England. In 1758 Frederick opened another year of ag- gressive campaigning. He recaptured Schweid- nitz in Silesia, besieged Olmiltz unsuccessfully, then turned upon the Russians who had invaded Brandenburg, and defeated them thoroughly at Zorndorf, August 25th. He then moved into Saxony, where he was attacked by Daun at Hoeh- kirch, October 14th, and defeated, though not badly. He then passed around Daun's army and relieved Upper Silesia, which was in danger of falling into the hands of the Austrians. Prus- sia, however, was now almost exhausted. Hemmed in by the Russians and Austrians under Soltikoff and Laudon, Frederick met his worst defeat at Kunersdorf (q.v.), near Frankfort-on- the-Oder, on August 12, 1759, where almost hia entire army was destroyed or dispersed. On No- vember 21st one of his generals, Finek, was trapped at Maxen in Saxony and compelled to surrender with about 13,000 men. Prussia now seemed to be prostrate. In the west, however, conditions had changed with the change in com- manders. Ferdinand of Brunswick signally de- feated the French at Crefeld. June 23, 1758, and at Minden, August I, 1759. The victory of Min- den, with the brilliant success of the English against the French in Canada, where they took Quebec, the capture of Guadeloupe, and the naval victory of Admiral Hawke over the French in Quiberon Bay, November 20th, redeemed the year 1759 for the Anglo-Prussian alliance. After 1759 Frederick fought on the defensive. In 1760 the Prussians were defeated at Lands- hut. June 23d, and lost Glatz, July 26th. Fred- erick himself won by hard fighting the battles of Liegnitz, August ISth, over Laudon, and Tor- gau, November 3d, over Daun, but fn the mean- time, in October, Berlin itself was raided by Russians and Austrians. In 1700 George III. succeeded to the English throne and in 1761 Pitt went out of office. With Pitt went Eng- land's grand designs. The Government failed to renew the convention with Prussia, which thus lost her one ally. This desertion Fred- erick never forgave. The death of the Em- press Elizabeth of Russia, January 5, 17G2, and the accession of Peter III., Frederick's ardent admirer, coming at this critical juncture, saved Prussia. The new Czar made an alliance with Frederick and the Russian arms were turned against Austria. Frederick was able to take the initiative again and defeated the Austrians at Burkersdorf, in Silesia, July 21. 1762, and on August Ifith defeated Daun kt Reichenbach. On October 29th Prince Henry, brother of Frederick, and Seydlitz were victorious at Freiberg. Peter ■was deposed July 9th by his wife, Catharine II., and the Russian troops were ordered home. Sweden also withdrew from the struggle. At the close of 1762 a truce was concluded between Austria and Prussia, both sides being exhausted. France had drawn Spain into the struggle with England by the Bourbon family compact of August 5, 1761, which Choiseul had negoti- ated, and Bute, who had souglit peace at any price, found himself compelled to follow tardily the course marked out by Pitt. In 1762 Marti- nique, Havana, and Manila fell into the hands of the English. Tlie struggle in India was already decided in favor of England. On November 3, 1762, preliminaries of peace were signed at Fon- tainebleau between England, France, Spain, and Portugal (which had been attacked by the Bour- bon coalition), and the definitive Peace of Paris was arranged on February 10, 1763. (See Paris, Treaties of.) Austria and Prussia con- cluded the Peace of Hubertsburg on February 15, 1763. As Prussia I'etained Silesia, the war brought no changes territorially in Europe, but it placed Prussia among the Powers of the first rank. Outside of Europe it changed the aspect of the world, bringing about the downfall of France as a colonial Power and preparing the way for the British Empire in India. Consult : Longman, Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ^'ar (London, 1888), a reliable and comprehensive brief history; Carlyle. Eis- tory of Frederick the Great (in several edi- tions) ; Schiifer, Geschichte des siehenjahrigcn Krieges (Berlin. 1867-74), the principal history of the war ; Von Ranke, Der Vrsprung des siebeti- pihrigen Krieges (Leipzig, 1871) ; 'Vast, "Guerre de sept ans," with excellent bibliography, in vol. vii. of Lavisse and Rambaud, Histoire g6n(-rale (Paris, 1893-1900) . See also authorities referred to imder Frederick II., Maria Theresa, and Pitt, William. SEV'ERFNUS, Saint (c.400-82). A mis- sionary of Latin birth, born either in Noi'thern Africa or Southern Italy, often known as the Apostle of Noricum. In 454, after the death of Attila. he went among the Norici to establish the only partially recognized religion of Chris- tianity. By his courage and good works he put the new religion on a firm footing. His body was taken to Italy by his follower, Lueillus, and eventually was buried on a small island near Naples. SEVERN. One of the principal rivers of England. It rises on Plinlimmon, in Montgom- eryshire. North Wales, flows first east and north- east, then crosses Shropshire in an easterly and southeasterly direction, and finally flows south- ward through Worcester and Gloucester, form- ing a large estuary, which widens into the Bristol Channel (q.v.) (Map: England, D 5). It is 210 miles long, and navigable for barges to Welsh- pool, 180 miles from its mouth. The chief afllu- ents of the Severn are the Avon on the east and the Wye on the west. A canal. 18% miles long, navigable for vessels of 350 tons, materially shortens the navigation from the upper portion of the estuary to Gloucester. Other canals con- nect the Severn with the Thames, Trent, Mersey, and the other important rivers of Middle Eng- land. The famous Severn railway tunnel, over four miles long, passes under the estuary near Chepstow. SEVERN, .Joseph (1793-1879). An English painter, born at Hoxton, Gloucestershire. While