emperor a chain and medal of honour, which encouraged him in the belief
that Austria did not intend again to desert him; the news of the
conclusion of the treaty of Schonbrunn (October 14), by which Tirol was
again ceded to Bavaria, came upon him as an overwhelming surprise. The
French in overpowering force at once pushed into the country, and, an
amnesty having been stipulated in the treaty, Hofer and his companions,
after some hesitation, gave in their submission. On the 12th of
November, however, urged on by the hotter heads among the peasant
leaders and deceived by false reports of Austrian victories, Hofer again
issued a proclamation calling the mountaineers to arms. The summons met
with little response; the enemy advanced in irresistible force, and
Hofer, a price once more set on his head, had to take refuge in the
mountains. His hiding-place was betrayed by one of his neighbours, named
Josef Raffl, and on the 27th of January 1810 he was captured by Italian
troops and sent in chains to Mantua. There he was tried by
court-martial, and on the 20th of February was shot, twenty-four hours
after his condemnation. This crime, which was believed to be due to
Napoleon's direct orders, caused an immense sensation throughout Germany
and did much to inflame popular sentiment against the French. At the
court of Austria, too, which was accused of having cynically sacrificed
the hero, it produced a painful impression, and Metternich, when he
visited Paris on the occasion of the marriage of the archduchess Marie
Louise to Napoleon, was charged to remonstrate with the emperor.
Napoleon expressed his regret, stating that the execution had been
carried out against his wishes, having been hurried on by the zeal of
his generals. In 1823 Hofer's remains were removed from Mantua to
Innsbruck, where they were interred in the Franciscan church, and in
1834 a marble statue was erected over his tomb. In 1893 a bronze statue
of him was also set up on the Iselberg. At Meran his patriotic deeds of
heroism are the subject of a festival play celebrated annually in the
open air. In 1818 the patent of nobility bestowed upon him by the
Austrian emperor in 1809 was conferred upon his family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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