The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 26, 1863.

it was speedily and easily repaired. As in all the
great encounters of tha war, no great advantage
accrued to either party from the obstinate struggle,
except the destruction of the Nashville, which
might perhaps have been effected but for the acci-
dent cf her running aground. It was at the best a
drawn battle between fort and iron-clad, and de-
cided nothing. The problem to, be solved is whether
the iron-clads are positively invulnerable if shot of
sufficient weight be properly discharged against
them by rifled guns of adequate calibre, whether
the attack be made from land defences or from con-
tending iron-clads upon the water. This problem
was not solved in the Ogeechee, but much valuable
information was gained that may aid in its solution
at a future time.

THE POLISH INSURRECTION,

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

BRESLAU, March 21.
But too rapidly, I find, have my anticipations been
verified by fact. Langiewicz, surrounded on all
sides, and encumbered by a superfluity of troops,
has found it impossible to continue his old stratagem
of march and countermarch. Unable to fight a
pitched battle, and prevented at length from
evading the fight, his doom was sealed both by the
number of the enemy and his own. Had he been
possessed of sufficient artillery and ammunition it
is only fair to suppose we might have a different
tale to tell.

Though deficient, the particulars received speak
with unmistakeable clearness as to the cause of the
disaster. For a week he strained every nerve to
extricate himself from the meshes of the net. Still,
although ever on the alert, and flitting from position
to position with restless activity, his manceuvring
ground was drawing together with every succeed-
ing day. As the Rtissian masses increased in number
they closed in upon the Poles, and by mere bodily
volume blocked up the ways and roads, and shut
up the nooks and corners their gallantry had ben
unable to stop. Space getting too narrow for the
Dictator, he ultimately found himself face to face
with a formidable artillery, protected by thousaids
of rifles, and covered as a third line of attack by a
dense girdle of swarming Cossacks. To force his
way through this living circuit of armed men be-
came as impossible as to evade their front or cir-
cumvent their flanks. Too deep to be thrust aside,
and too widely extended to be avoided, they were
pressing in upon the heroic minority, slowly, gra-
dually, but with the irresistible power of physical
laws. It being a rule in natural philosophy that
two bodies cannot occupy the same place at the
same time, the weaker and, so to say, the more
liquid force had to yield eventually to the momen-
tum of the more solid and ponderous matter. It
was to the law of impenetrability that Langiewicz
succumbed.

For ten days they had tried to catch him in the
south-western corner of tha kingdom. Ordering
on their reinforcements from Kielce and Czensto-
chow, they occupied Walbrom to the north and
Olkusz to the south, strengthening simultaneously
their garrison at Miechow to the east of the indomit-
able Poles. Wedged in at three miles' distance on
either side, and surrounded by a force superior to
his own, the Dictator once more succeeded in
threading his way through the hostile maze.
Marching off to the north-west and turning suddenly
to the east, he freed himself again, to the astonish-
ment and dismay of the enemy, from the circle they
had been drawing around him. Early in the morn-
ing of the 16th he reached Xions, eight miles to the
north of Miechow. His intending captors thus
placed to the west and south, he hoped to have the
road to the east free before him. The north, at a
distance of some 30 miles, remained blocked up by
Kielce. To march towards the rising sun appeared
his only means of salvation. Cautiously progressing
with measured steps, he moved on with unusual de-
lay, and on the 17th arrived at Dzialassize, 10 miles
east of Miechow. Pursuing the same direction a few
hours more, he made for Chrobrze, and in the after-
noon of the same day passed the Nida river, near the
village of Zagosciow. It does not appear from our in-
telligence whether at this point he was overtaken by
the Miechow garrison ,who came panting after him,
or confronted by fresh troops despatched from Kielce
or Pyrzow ; but the fact of Colonel Czengeri being
given as one of the commanders makes the second
alternative the more probable of the two. Here,
then, he had to cope with the second girdle of the
enemy laid down in the rear of the inner circle,
who had enclosed him two days before. There
were the Muscovites arrayed before him in the
plain, 500 strong—guns, Cossacks, and all. Chasing
the Russian vanguard from the hills, and leaning
his right wing on the ridge, his left was protected
by the river and the wood covering its banks. In
front he had the fields extending between Zagosc
and Krzyzanovice, the baggage being disposed in
the rear, guarded by some infantry and horse.
As usual, the Russian artillery opened the fight;
the volleys of the infantry followed, and, the Polish
equipment proving inferior to the Tula rifles, the
Kossiniaires (sithemen) rushed to the charge. The
encounter terminated in the Russians retreating to-
wards the north. The Poles hastening after them,
captured 500 muskets, together with some knap-
sacks, cartridges, and a score of prisoners. For a
moment the road to Kielce appeared practicable,
should escape become impossible towards Sando-
mierz and the east. At any rate, a diversion might
be attempted towards the north, and the Vistula
reached in a zigzsg course.

But if these fond delusions were entertained in
the Polish camp, the sight that greeted their eyes on
the following morning must have dispelled all hope
of success. Once more the defeated Russians showed
fight in front. Word was sent at the same time from
the south that the vanguard of Prince Schakowskoi
had been observed in the rear. The right wing was
thretened from Chmelnik, and in the north lowered
the fortification of Kielce upon the chased game.
Langiewicz, who was now stationed near Busk,with
his front to the north, immediately retreated to a
wood, and for the last time attempted to retrieve
his fallen fortunes. The question was to conquer or
be cut to pieces. Everything was to be risked in
order to prolong, if possible, the existence of the
corps for a day or a week. Little encumbered with
baggage, which had already disappeared the day
day before, he ordered the Kossiniaires from the
:sheltering wood right up to the cannon's mouth. For
some time the fight wavered to and fro. Langiewicz
placed himself at the head of the storming columns.
Capt. Zachert, one of his adjutants, fell at his side,
another having his horse shot under him. At length
the Kossiniaires, escorted by the Zouaves, who par-
ticularly distinguished themselves in this sangui-
nary day, having performed the intermediate dis-
stance between the wood and the enemy, closed in
with the Russian ranks. Before cold steel the Rus-
sians broke and fled. A large number of prisoners,
among them a lieutenant-colonel and a major, re-
warded the daring attack. The Poles had about 200
killed and wounded, but the day was theirs.
The night was spent at Welce, the Russians hav-
ing returned to Piuczow, and egress remaining as
impracticable as ever for the victors of two succeed-
ing days; that night settled the fate of the corps.
To escapo in a body was out of the question. In a
council of war, held in the open air, Langiewicz
determined to break up his force into smaller and
more manageable detachments. Of the army of
8,000 men which he still had with him, four
divisions were to be formed of 2,000 each. One
of them, it was hoped, or perhaps two, might be
able to make good their way to the east, the re-
maining ones being engaged meanwhile, and, if ne-
cessary, destroyed by the enemy. But Cie morale
of the corps was gone. Hardly were the men in-
formed of the plan when a panic swept through
the camp. Even before the word of command was
given one of the new detachments effected a hasty
retreat to Opatowice, and, p3ssing the Vistula,
crossed over the Austrian ground. The rest may be
imagined from the telegrams.

MARCH 22.

The fame of Gen. Langiewicz, I am afraid, will
not be increased by the tenour of the latest ad-
vices. The council of war the Dictator called at
Grochowiska was held about midnight of the 18th,
12 miles distance from the Austrian frontier. Sur-
rounded by his general, and with the hostile
bivouacs encircling his position, he made the very
ratioual proposal of dividing his force into the

smaller detachments. Leaving it for each of them
to attempt an escape which the whole were no
longer in a position to effect, he appointed the se-
veral commanders and prescribed the way as well
as the manoeuvres of the individual corps. The
Dictator at the same time announced his intention
of retiring to another part of the country, leaving
his companions in arms to weather the storm as
best they might. Before the troops had realised the
danger of their position, or been informed of the
breaking up of the corps, Langiewicz had disap-
peered from the camp, and made good his way to
the south. The division of the force and the depar-
ture of the Dictator transpiring at one and the same
time, a panic immediately seized upon the terrified
troops, and retreat became the order of the day. It
was then that the following proclamation was dis-
tributed among them, as a parting farewell of their
vanished commander :

" Brave and faithful companions in arms 1 The duties of
Dictatorship render it incumbent upon me to give particular
attention to a variety of subjects, and also to inspect the
numerous bands and detachments fighting in other parts of
the country. The war has now arrived at a stage where
it becomes a matter of considerable importance to form and
guide the operations of the various corps upon a uniform
system of tactics.

"
" For these reasons I shall have to leave you for a short
interval.

" Companions in arms I It is with your gallant corps I
have ever been associated from the feeble origin of insurrec-
tion, and sustained so many dangers, so many hardships,
and fights. But I believe that, with the late success fresh
upon your memory, the time is opportune, and allows of a
short absence on important business.
" With this intention we manfully braved the enemy at
Sosnowka ; lured him from his lair at Miechow ; repulsed
him at Crobrze, andlworsted his superior numbers in the
glorious battle of Grochowiska.
" I deeply regret it should have become impossible for me
to offer my last adieux in person. But to insure success for
my design secrecy f( r a time, at least, is indispensable. It
is the same reason which prompts me to leave you in ignor-
ance as to my destination and the plan I pursue, Gather-
ing round me some superior officers to be appointed to the
command of forces worse officered than ourselves, I require
no more than an escort of 30 Uhlanes to accompany us a
short distance on our way.
"Before leaving, the force under my immediate command
has been divided into separate corps, each under a separat
General, and with special orders as to the march and work
that lie before them.

" Companions in arms I In the face of God and the pre-
sence of my army, I took the oath to fight it out to the last
This oath I have kept, and shall keep it in future. You, too,
have sworn to serve the country and obey my commands.
The oath of the soldier is equally inviolable with that of the
General. In the name, then, of Ged and country continue
the struggle and fight the Muscovite while fighting remains
the only means of restoring the liberty and independence
of the country, " M. LANGIENVICZ."

Valiant. The advantage, however, was pratically
still greater than this, for with all the large crews
at present on board our men of war, they could,
when fighting both broadsides, only use every alter-
nate gun, so that the actual broadside of the De-
fence was only 2801 b., assuming both sides to be
engaged ; while the shield ship, working the guns
by mechanical appliances, could continue to throw
two broadsides, each of 5601 b. Add to this, the
shield ship draws sft. Bin. less water, and she is
completely covered with 51in. armour plates, while
the Defence is only partially covered with 41in.
iron plates. Compared with the Valiant, the Prince
Albert, shield ship, threw 261 b. less in her broad-
side, but her tonnage was 1,380 tons less, she drew
oft. 2in. less water, was wholly covered with armour
plates, while the Valiant was but partially pro-
tected. Compared with the Warrior, the shield-
ship was 3,430 tons less in tonnage, and threw
2461 b. less broadside, hut drew 6ft. 2in. less water,
and was wholly protected, as against the partial
plating of the Warrior. Compared with the Favourite,
the Prince Albert threw 7641 b. more, was 340 tons
large, but drew 11 feet less water, was covered with
51 inch plates, as against partial protection afforded
by 42 inch plates. Finally, comparing the shield
ship with the Royal Sovereign, it was shown that
the latter threw a broadside of five 300 pounders,
equal to 1,5001 b. This ship was one which had
been converted from a wooden three-decker ; she
was 1,400 tons smaller than the Warrior, and
drew 2 feet 6 inches less water. Summing up the
positive and relative merits of the two classes
of ships, Captain Coles claimed for the cupolas
greater power of broadside in proportion to ton-
nage, lighter draught of water, thus admitting
the ships to docks at present available ; greater re-
sisting power, great saving of weight. in conse-
quence of the exposed portion of the ship's side
above water necessary to be protected in action being
reduced to a minimum ; while in the case of broad-
side ships the sides had to be carried some feet
above the guns. In the shield ships, on the con-
trary, the guns were on the top of the deck. Pro-
ceeding to point out more in detail the merits of
the shield ships, the gallant captain next took one
of the ships of his class, which he called "The
Naughty Child," and compared it with the Fa-
vourite, the pet ship of Mr. Reed, the newly-
appointed naval constructor. He assumed that the
two should be of equal size and tonnage, and he
pointed out first that when the Favourite would be
compelled to close her ports, and would be unable
to bring her guns to bear, the Naughty
Child could fight hers with comparative ease
and with good effect. The Naughty Child, if it
had no greater speed, would at all events have much
more complete ventilation ; and when the Favourite
was battened down her rival would have abundance
of air through her masts and turrets. In action the
Naughty Child would have a clear deck for working
her guns, while the Favourite would be cut in two
by the immense iron box in which her guns were
stored. He indignantly denied that his shield ship
could be properly compared to the Monitor, which
a short time since created some excitement in Ame-
rican waters. The one could no more be compared to
the other than could the old battered Trusty with
the magnificent Warrior. Renewing his comparison
between the Favourite and the Naughty Child, he
pointed out that, whereas the former could
only have a range from her guns of from
20 to 25 degrees, its rival could have a range of
from 40 to 50 degrees ; the one could not bring
its guns in line with the keel within nine degrees,
while the other could command stem and stern,
with a range of training of from 50 to 60 degrees.
The powers of resistance of the shield ship was
illustrated by reference to the results of the firing
at the Trusty by the best gunners of the Excellent.
In point of rapidity of firing, as well as precision,
he also claimed the superiority for the shield ship.
The chances of hitting the shield were very small
as compared with the broadside of an ordinary ship,
while if a shell were by chance to enter one of the
cupolas, it would only disable that particular one,
leaving the others still free to act ; while if a shell
were to enter the great square box of the Favourite,
in which all the eight guns were placed, like eggs
in a basket, the effect would be completely to dis-
able the E hip. The broadside of the Favourite was
limited to four guns, two of 68 and two of 1101 b.,
together 3561 b., and these could only damage the
Naughty Child by repeated blows at short ranges.
The shield ship, on the other hand, would carry
three guns of 3901 b. shot, together 9001 b., which
would easily penetrate the square box of the Fa-
vourite at 800 yards with a shell carrying a bursting
charge of 401 b. of powder. In addition to this the
Naughty Child could easily place herself in a posi-
tion where the guns of the Favourite could not
touch her, but where her guns would be brought
to bear with the greatest force upon her rival.
These important advantages he claimed for the
shield ship, and he believed that at no distant day
it would be found he had not exaggerated their
value to the nation. Four ships of this class were
now being constructed for foreign Governments,
and one for our own Government. Ho was at a loss to
understand in what consisted the great improve-
ments of the iron-clads of the Favourite and Enter-
prise class designed by Mr. Reed. The belt of iron
of which that gentleman claimed to be the inventor
had been submitted by himself (Capt. Coles) to the
Admiralty three years since, as a means of additional
protection for armour-clad ships. But the ships just
mentioned, although protected below the water-
line by iron belts, still had the wooden decks ex-
posed, and liable to be set on fire by shells. The last
point to which the lecturer referred was that of
economy, and on this point, too, he claimed that
the advantage lay with his ships as compared with
the iron broadsides. The Defence had cost £177,478;
the cost of the Prince Albert would be only
£127,587 ; and he estimated that if our iron-clad
fleet had been constructed entirely of shield ships
instead of being made up as it was of the Warrior,
Black Prince, Defence, and others, ships carrying
the same weight of broadside could have been pro-
duced for nearly two and a half millions less than
the sum which had already been expended in this
reconstruction of the navy. He stated that he had
had great difficulties to contend against in bringing
his invention under the notice of the Government,
, but he had now so far succeeded as to be able to
spread more sail, without danger of being brought
lee gunwale under, and he was resolved not to
desist until he had weathered successfully the storm
and brought up at a safe anchorage. Throughout
the lecture Captain Coles was warmly cheered, and
at its close,
Sir J. PAKINGTON proposed a vote of thanks, and
in doing so said that they could not regard the exer-
tions of Captain Coles upon this subject without
feelings of respect for the zeal, ability, and persever-
ance which he had devoted to a question which day
by day was becoming one of increasing national
importance. It had been arranged that the discus-
sion on the subject of the lecture should take place
on a subsequent evening, and it would not therefore
be advisable to offer any remarks upon the various
points referred to by Captain Coles.

With the vote of thanks cordially given, the pro-
ceedings terminated.

"Those who crossed the Simplon last summer,"
says the Athenceum, " will probably remember bri-
gades of workmen, under the command of engineers, clus-
tered in various places, many of which appeared almost in-
accessible, while others were waving flags or shouting to
those above or below them. The result of their labours has
been submitted to the Emperor of the French, at the Tuile-
ries, in the form of a plan for a railway, which is proposed
to be carried across the celebrated Pass, It is estimated to
be SO kilometres long, 44 of which will be covered over, 23
carried through tunnels, and 21 in galleries. The execu-
tion of the railway, according to the projectors, who belong
to the "Italian line," would occupy about five years, and
the cost, including the fixed and rolling material, is put
down at 72,000,000 francs.

[ADvEnnsEmENT.]—Holloway's Ointment and Pills.—
To the Hopeless.—These potent remedies have claims
paramount to all other medicines or applications for the cur
of ulcers, sores, wounds, and skin diseases generally. A
most remarkable instance of the curative virtues possessed
by Holloway's remedies has recently been furnished by a
needle-maker at Studley, whose body and legs were sorely
afflicted by malignant ulcers. He got worse under the best
surgical treatment, but was soon eased and shortly cured by
these healing and purifying preparations ; they closed the
wounds and cleansed the system. One solitary trial is saffl-
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Holloway's medicaments, which rouse, excite, quicken, and
I stimulate the feeble nerves and languid circulation.