The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-12 00:00:00

GERMANY AND DENMARK.

(From the Times Special Correspondent)

PRUSSIAN HEAD QUARTERS, HADERSLEBEN,
March 7.

Much to the disgust of the army, and especially
of the officers, to Vim this country offers few re-
sources for passing their time, inaction is still the
order of the day ; but we hoar that a part of the
heavy artillery required for the siege of Duppel has
came up, so that there are hopes of something been
done before long. There were changes of quarters
yesterday, the troops that lay here having marched
north-west, in the direction of the Jutland frontier
—a move which gave rise to reports that Fredericia
was shortly to be attacked. The change of place
may have been merely from motives of convenience
in the matter of quarters, or it may have been con-
sidered desirable to cover that part of the frontier
whence the troops had marched which lately lay
there. To replace the departed we have now in
Hadersieben the Gondrecourt brigade, which fought
and distinguished itself in the principal action of
this campaign, the fight at Oberselk.
My last letter from Kolding was written under
pressure of the post, and contained no mention of
the ceremony which occurred the same day at
Wonsild, a small village two miles on this side of

that town. Early in the forenoon seven battalions

of the Guard, three squadrons of hussars, the Bran-
denburg Cuirassiers, and three batteries of artillery
(all Prussians) formed a square in a field near the
road. Into this square rode the Crown Prince, who
then dismounted and proceeded to the distribution
of tai:e medals which the King has bestowed upon
soldiers Fc.
ho have found opportunities of distinc-
tion in this cu:1213
aign. As you know, the Pros-
sians have not y 0 had much to do, and the
number of the decorated could not be very nu-
merous. Twenty medals we're to have been given,
but one of the intended recipients died the day be-
fore, and five were in hospital with wounds. On
the breast of each one of the other 14 _Prince Wil-
liam fastened the medal, then shook the newly-
decorated man by the hada, and rejoiced him with
words of praise and kindness. He then remounted;
the troops closed in, and he spoke ict them as foi- I
lows :

" Comrades I—llis Majesty the King has been graciously
pleased to bestow marks of honour upon several among you,
and I feel particular pleasure at being able to celebrate this
day with you. It is true that what you have done has as
yet been but little, but already you have had opportunities
of showing that the old Prussian soldierly spirit inspires
you, and that you are worthy of the confidence placed in you
by our military chief. In company with our old accustomed
brothers in arms, our comrades of the Imperial Austrian
atmy, we have now been for a month in presence of the
enemy, and whatever may be in reserve for us, you will, I
am certain, fulfil the expectations of the King, whose heart
is ever with us."

A soldier, eager and vigilant for opportunity of
distinction, may, if fortune aids him, find them in
a petty skirmish as well as in a great battle, and
doubtless the medals given on Saturday were well
deserved, but it is a delicate matter to address
eulogiums to troops before the victory, lest with the
intention only to encourage one should seem to
overpraise_ The Crown Prince got over the diffi-
culty with his usual judgment and good taste. The
few words he spoke were exactly waat the occasion
required, and his praise of the good spirit that ani-
mates the Prussian troops was perfectly well
merited. They have had a month of great hardship,
which they have borne with the utmost cheerful-
ness, the only complaint heard from them being
that they had so little to do in the way of fighting.
The Prince concluded his short speech with a cheer
for the King and the Emperor, and, turning to
General GabLenz, the Austrian commander, who had
ridden over from Hadersleben to witness the cere-
mony, he shook him by the hand. The troops then
marched past, and the parade was over.
Fair play is generally considered to be a particular
characteristic of Englishmen, and, however Danish
their sympathies may be, I wonder to see certain
English journals accepting gross fabrications as
truths, and making them the groundwork of unjust
and insulting attacks upon the Austro-Prussian
army now in Schleswig. As a general reply to such
attacks I beg to state in the most positive manner
that no cruelties or misconduct of any kind have
been committed by either Prussians or Austrians.
We do not see many English papers up here, but
we do see a few, and now and then some kind
friend sends a particularly abusive scrap to some
officer whom he thinks it may annoy. So far as
I have observed, the Prussians are comparatively
spared, but the Austrians are set down as barba-
rians, plundering Croats, and bloody Pandours,
going about, doubtless, with little children spitted
on their bayonets. Ido not believe there are any
Croats in the Austrian army corps now in Schles-
wig; but it matters very little whether there are or
not, for if Croats there be they form no exception
to the rule of good conduct that prevails among the
troops under Marshal Wrangel's command. I be-
lieve that in no garrison town in England is there less
disorderly conduct and less crime in proportion to
numbers than there is on the part of the Geaman
army now in Schleswig. I need not say that Ido
not speak merely from my own observation, and
that I do not take my accounts of the behaviour of
the Military from the military themselves. I ask
the inhabitants; especially those whose sympathies
I have reason to think Danish, and others who
have repeatedly had numbers of troops quartered
upon them, and they all give the same account, and
speak highly of the good behaviour of the men. It
is the rarest thing possible to gee a drunken soldier.
As to offences against property, I have heard ex-
tremely few alleged, and those of the most trifling
description. The only well authenticated outrage
that has come to my knowledge was committed by
a Hungarian corporal and four soldiers, who de-
manded money from a peasant, and, as he had none,
took his watch. Punishment followed quickly on
the crime. The corporal was shot, and the men
sentenced to terms of imprisonment. With such
rigorous justice as this, there are not likely to be
many infractions of discipline or injuries inflicted
on the inhabitants. In no way do the Austrian
troops merit the name of barbarians, which I saw
lately applied to them in an English paper. They
are as orderly and well behaved as any troops lever
saw. I hear they have been taxed by the Danes
with cruelties and atrocities, but I doubt if evidence
could be adduced in support of such charges. What
amount of quarter they may have given on the
battle-field I know not; both at Oberselk and Oyer •
see the bayonet was freely used, but in both com-
bats prisoners were taken, and in former letters I
deposed to the kindness with which the Danes were
treated, no difference whatever being made in the
hospitals between them and wounded Austrians.
At Oberselk Gen. Gondrecourt was near losing his
life by the hand of a Danish prisoner. The man
was
wounded, a handkerchief had been given him to
serve as a temporary bsndage, and none were paying
further attention to him, when he took up a musket
and fired it at the General, who was within a few
pacesof him. Fortunately, ne massed his aim. The
incident was related to me by an officer who wit-
nessed it.

A number of German newspaper writers who had
distributed themselves in the district occupied by
the army received orders yesterday to depart within
three days. It appears that there exists at Flens-
burg a regular committee, with the object of sup-
porting and furthering the cause of the Prince of
Augnstenburg, and that in connexion with it a num-
ber of correspondents have been writing to German