The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-09-03 00:00:00

THE BATTLE OF GRAVELOTTE-A
FRIGHTFUL SPECTACLE.

To return to ThUrrd I's battle, which will Talk with the
bloolihit and most hitly.canteited that lava ever been
I. light in Europe (wenn the correspondent of the Daily
Neon, under dire Gravelotte, Aug. 201. As I rode up the hill
leading to the French position, I wondered not at the fright-
ful piles of cormes oil around me, but that such a position
could ever be tasen at all thi the farther side of the Tool
the Froech had thrown nip twelve small ep iulements, about
bra art high bi eight of men tit y had placed mitridlleume,
for the ,mp-y cares were scattered all al, at. Inane ephile
Meat a'Ohe I counlat for ',Mee emuty eart•lX/e-h •Iders
Noe, as each of these boles contains twent)• five clrtrieges,
this gems 1,075 shots fired hy one Orli 011,1,4 the
Daubite.s ma", more had actually been fired, for nearly
ev.ry Was did as I did, and c arrlrd it an truply case a. a
relic The slope immudi oily beneath the French positt-n
n the Veldt', road was a frightful spechicle. Hundreds of
P. ussian gorse.; Were eLlesse, In gilt.) a email spec-
on the total spot where the P. m hatrrry it
tern placed n whlCh I spoke in My lain), there Wen
90 hora.Slytilt almost t.mChh.g ewe an dier, man. with the
drivers be. ide them. mliii gras,,lna their whip. Most OI the
corpses were on their hack., with their babas clenched. This
poaition was explatoed lo) the fact that Most of the men hau
been shot grasping their muskets, and their hands clenched
aa they dropped their weapons and felL Many corpses of
Premien officers lay by thou of their man„ with the white

A military surgeon, writing on the 19th inst., to the
Kijinilehe Zeitung from the bivouac of Gravrlotte
Cape:—
. You can easily fancy that all thehousea of Gravelotte were
crammed full of the wounded and dying; that stab es. barns,
and hay-toils were choked; and that outside the pavements
and the very cutters were filled with litters, and covered
with layers of chaff. The convoys from the field of battle
were still arriving, and appeared to Increase from hour to
hour. Amidet the tangled crosatiriug, which enveloped the
set ole battle ground In ornoke and in clouds of dust, all ac-
quaintance with the local whereabouts seemed to vanh.h. I
tuerefore transferred the bandaging department into the in.
terior of the viii -go of Grevelotte, against the walls and
gardens of which the ms-lies dropped down ii, dense masses
We took up our quartera in a large h use, on the top of
which we rabed the ',hospital) banner of St. Jobs.. Ilere
were gradually drawn together large nnmbers of cur-
germs connected with the troops and the 'innately de-
tachments.' his also made use of the adjoioir g house,
which only &few da)s before had been inhabited by the
gmperor Napoleon, and DOW was employed as an !keened-
tbnal lit detto. All of • sudden • hearer of the slob
announced that • poised pioneers, at the backdoor of the
garden wall, WWI Obetrneting the bringing In of the wounded.
This seemed to he Lc:edible. and so I hastened into the
garden to clear the lump leading hither from the battle-
field. Not far from tile wounded, who lay stretched out on
litters near the farmn wall, and were waiting to be admit•ed,
the shells of the enemy had actually penetrated the ground.
The Mr rmath n I hat received about the gourd's Interfer-
ence turned out correct. Being now prepare I for the wi rat,
I found at half-tow,t sin that suddenly the street became
darkened with pillars of dust In full station, and arnlii-t
held scresmlng and rattling, there came 1 ourgons set h
and a squadron .4 cruelty, and loose horses will
ciankleg trappings, all rushing past OM iIMOWS. We
thought we were hearing the F ar of hostile cannonading and
of ramd firing in our closest vicinify—our artillery, on •
inking move, was driving along by the stirs of the village, and
was incessantly sending volleys opon the enemy. During this
indescribable se,findon everyiimir whispered, ' Oor eon. is
defeated, and we slant in the midst of • heedless flight' A
momentary breach had certainly beer, made on sense threat-
ened point of our sing, in consequence of dellcientammunitlon
and the Want of some iletathed waggon horses and for this,
reason 'or cavalry intentiot to give support was obliged
euddenly to turn back in nice to twain, total imetrnetion
Before our house General Struberg stopped on horse,ack arid
stemmed the wild etWelditae chase of einae trot pa; whilst
be directed regiments that had dwindled dews to 40 or 5)
non, and e ere morying the banners of two battalions to
ado-nee, unde. the leadership of a lieutenant or a st rgeant,
dowde crock lime, agaisist the enemy outside the village.
We, the a4setubled elleSeMel, surrounded hy our agonised
patients determined unanimously to await the shock of the
French,and not to abandon our people even a hen In the I ands
of the enemy It was half.paot a, yen, whet, a thousand-
voiced Burrell !' rang up the Pillaae rise battalions of V.°
2nd Army C ,rps came marchine up ill rapid pica, and before
ips•,rter of as hour had gone by we heard a.ntin the crackle
of quick firing approaching from the field of batt'e, while he
artillery because silent, owing to the advancing Magmas-
Our position was sate."