The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-10-15 00:00:00

THE CAPITULATION OF SEDAN.
THE INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE KING OF PRUSSIA AND

THE EX-EMPEROR NAPOLEON.

(From a Correcpontlent of the Daily News, under date,
Troucille, Oct. 6.)

The following statement is derived from a member of the
stall of the ox-Emperor Napoleon, who was present w ith
at the battle of Sedan. Ile Is the son of an ex-Minister of
the Empire, One of the (Milder Cabinet well known In Eug-
laud. He arrived here a few days back, and lam authorited
to give puhlicity to the details below, in order to contradiot
various Inaccurate unions of the events referred to, which
have appeared both in the EngiLsh and Continental press.
The statement was made to me this morning in French ver-
belly. I wrote It down, and will endeavour to translate lies
literally as poilaible

_
At five am. on the morning of the battle of Sedan my
informant, who slept at an hotel in the town, was suddenly
r used by a loud noise In the street beneath hie window.
On looking out he found the Emperor and Ma suite passing
along. Ile dressed in great haste, and was soon with the
Etat-Major, from whom he learned that the battle of the two
previous days had begun at resit At half-past Mx am.
%teethe blactiahon was brought in severely wounded, bat
perfectly self-possessed. He at once gave orders, in
presence of the Emperor, to General Ducrot that the
troops should be Immediately massed, and retreat upon
Mild,'.,, and expressly directed that they should no
accept • battle. He further ordered that General Duero
with. certain force should immediately occupy the height
which overlook Sedan. Measures were taken at once to carry
out his instructions, when General to Wimihfrn appeared
on the scene. Ile promptly addressed General Duero; say-
ing, "I have undertaken the command of the army. he-
sides, I am an older general than you, and I hold the posi-
tions you are about to take to be entirely wrong. On the
contrary, the troops nmat he commanded to advance
directly," The order was given, and the &deuce
was made, with what fatal results a few hours
proved. It Is but justice to Marshal MacMalum to
make known the accurate foresight he showed. The battle
soon began at all points, and with 'ellen,e vigour. espe-
cially on the side of the Prunians. Towards eleven o'clock
General de Wirnt lien communicated to the Emperor that
the trench troops had the advantage In every direc-
tion At this time shells were falling fast near and
round the poaillon occupied by the Emperor and his
stall, but all escaped so far unhurt. Suddenly the Emperor
perceived a French brigade suffering fearfully from the
Ore of the enemy. The men fell like wheat battered
by a storm. The Emperor inked an officer et artillery,
Doll viennent ces projectiles ? " No one knew. shortly
after another artillery officer answered, "Sire, the
bah which fall on them and us come from a new Prus-
sian battery erected at • distance from here of 4,900 metres."
The Emperor was ir credulous ; he could not believe in their
murderous effects at such a remote range. He, however,
immediately ordered cannon to play upon this newly dis-
covered battery, but ta no purpose. The balls chiefly fell
into the river Meuse. at a distance of only 1,500 metres. Tile
Emperor then joined the divieme, and march el steadily for-
ward. Balls continued to fall near and around him, but Ito
still remained untouched. There stems no doubt at prelent
that he did expose himself at this moment with consider-
able courage. Again assured that the French troops were
gaining advantages at all point., to said to his Eat-Major
that he should return to Sedan to breakfast, and would re-
mnant his horse and take the field again in all hone He had
scarcely entered Sedan when he found soldier. flying in
various directions utterly panic stricken. They rapidly filled
the town. At the same time a terrific cannonade resounded
from the very heights which Marshal MacMahon, with ad-
mirable prescience, had ordered to be occupied by the French
troop., but which were now in poseesalon of the Crown Prince
and • pectin of his corps d'arrne, Me advantage was
fatal. Then and there the day was virtually lost. The
Crown Prince continued to rain fire upon the town
without intermission, and the streets were strewn with
dead. Fresh crowds of soldiers arrived in flight withont
arm., addleg to the general confusion and wild terror.
About one o'clock the Emperor, appalled by the euormons
slaughter around him, and the bombardment at the same
time increasing In force, summoned the generals, dm, of
his staff, and ukeel in simple language, "What was to he
dose t t All immediately decided in favour of capitulation,
and the Emperor at once ordered Captain Lauziston to
mount the ramparts and hoist the white flag. Prevl.
ously, owing to the exterminating fire directed by the
Crown Prince, especially ou the troops surrounding the
town, a general rout had taken place. All the efforts of the
Officer. to rally the men ware fruitless, and the belief was
general and proclaimed throughout the ranks that they were
betrayed. It Is quite certain that the Crown Prince had re,-
I solved upon the complete reduction of the town at an costa
had not the surrender ensued. The superiority of his an.
Hilary had been terribly proved. Ills guns were loaded at
I the breech, and oould be fired live times against these et the
French once. Further, in nearly all these battles the pre-
, motion of the Prue.an troops to the French was four to
one, and taktng into account the greater artillery
I Delwin of the Prussians, It has been estimated that their total
advantages were as twenty to one against the French. lam
, not responsible for these calculations. I merely write them
! as they have been given to me. I believe them to emanate
directly from the Etat-Major. One thing Is beyond dispute,
that the French never could have had any substantial pros-
pect of victory from the beginning; and auch facts afford
additional evidence of the iniquity—the absolute =Ones.—
of embarking in • war of offence under similar conditions.
The Emperor sat in the courtyard of the Prefecture at
the time the while flag vs. fixed upon the ramparts, his
staff standing apart. His face was burled in his hands,
and he appeared completely overwhelmed by the catastrophe,
and equally perplexed. During the battle, owing to the
Weft alesse from which he suffers, he was compelled
to dismount several times, and moral prostration
was now added to great physical fatigue. Then came
the interview between him and the King of Preuesia.
They were entirely alone the whole time. The Staff
remained In • room adjoining, %filch was separated
by • partition of glass. No one heard a word of
what passed. My Informant was there, and I am
therofore enabled to assure you thst all the ac-
count. and dialogues which have been published rota-
tive to what transpired at this solemn conference are
pure, or rather impure Inventions. The Emperor retired a
prisoner and an exile Also ' for France that he ehould have
exchanged his previous prison for • throne. Morbid syni.
pathy for the fallen most not stay the pen of justice. Louts
Napoleon from his youth has been art adventurer, a compl-
Mon and an evil influence for Fl&l:Ce. For nearly twenty
yearn the nation has become more and more demoted .ed.
The court, the theatre, the literature of )'rare,, have all
tended to promote vice and degrade the people, and ore if
the Ilackest chapters in the his, op of the nation will, at
least to posterity, be that of the decline and fall of the Second
Empire.
MlDaring the present week several wounded have snivel
here. 1 have visited the ambulance. myself. Yesterday
and to-day I have conversed with nearly all the men. Teel,
are Mildly hit lathe legs and IMO., but the majority win
rapidly recover. Some are limping about on the sands now
In the bright summer eunshine with which this place has
been favoured for the last week. The sea I. as tranquil
as a hke, and the pure air one of the best restoratives
there poor fellows can obtain. Almost all were
wounded at Sedan, and yesterday two or three assered
me that they had no rations served out to them
for nearly three days before the battle. One told me he
had a small leg of mutton In his knaesack on the morn(' g
of the fight—how he got It he did not explain—but he eat
obliged to throw it away when he had to mount a hill On
account of it, weight. The opinion Is strong among
them that they were betrayed. I canna speak ton
highly of the arrangements made here for the comfort e
the sufferers. The Duch.. de Ledo, formerly the Duchess
de Morny, among others has given an ambulance, ami
there I found the sister. of charity—charity indeed. Whe.t
marvels of patience, kindness, and gentle orderly tendlee
. are theee heaven-rent women. Their bright rosy feces
beaming with gondtes, end health teem to cheer the peer
PI tf,ras a I.c. et cr y o prolich ti, m, and no triable
apetars to, Lre.t. 1. Hoy can o, ly relieve pain or give co,
gelation. All the ambulance, I have nen are equally well
cared for. I took my leave this afternoon with a legal
of a few things the poor fellows wanted, aid few they
are—" haccy and banks" seemed chiefly coveted. Thanks
to a friend I distributed a fair supply of the latter, and they
were thankfully accepted. As I left their bedsides I could
but curse it my heart the authors of so much misery, and
wonder whether the day will ever come when the lion sill
lie down with the lamb and wars will owe from the earth.