The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-24 00:00:00

LAST WEEK'S BATTLES.

The Daily News has received from its correspondent at
the Prussian head-quarters the following telegram, which
was despatched so far back as Saturday ;—" The result of
the action of Sunday last was that all the troops threatened
in the rear retired from the east side of Metz, within the
walls of that fortress, and on the left of the
Moselle. It was not till.the retreating French
army was hard pushed by a German division
that it brought up reinforcements, and was compelled to
accept the alternative of a battle. At a distance of from
three to five miles from Goerz three regiments of German
cavalry were posted on the side of a hill. On their left
and in their rear were eight or nine regiments of in-
fantry, and a regiment of artillery with 15 batteries.
These troops belonged to the 3rd Army Corps under
General Alvensleben. There were also a few regiments
of Hussars and Lancers, and some battalions of in-
fantry of the 10th Army Corps. About nine a.m.
the French made a dash at the Germans, and retired.
The Hussars advanced over the crest of a hill, but had to
retire from a hot fire of infantry and artillery, leaving
the ground covered with dead and wounded, the horses
rushing riderless over the field, which was quite open.
A heavy fire of artillery now commenced on both sides,
and the battle became very severe. The French
kept up a rapid fire from their Chassepots, which told
severely ; the clattering of small arms being incessantly
intermingled with the long boom of the batteries. From
2 till 6 p.m. the French resolutely resisted the advance of
the Germans, but then began to waver and retreat, keeping
up a slow but steady fire. They were pursued by a regi-
ment of Lancers and the Green Hussars of Magdeburg.
Several villages were burnt, and the scene on the field
was terrible. Miles of ground were covered with dead
and wounded of both sides. Crippled and emaciated horses
were to be seen dragging themselves slowly along, while
others were horribly mutilated. I counted' in one
little spot forty-one dead, including a major pierced
through the heart; he lay on his back, sword in hand.
The cannonade from the German side and the rattle from
the needle-guns were terrific. The defeat of the French
was complete. Their long columns could be aen pouring
towards the north, evading the Germans by way of
Briey. The loss on both sides was immense. Many
French prisoners were taken. The French dead and
wounded were left on the field. It is impossible, how-'
ever, to form an estimate of their number. 'the King
of Prussia himself was personally attentive to the
wounded French. A French peasant, who was taken
while killing a wounded German soldier, was hanged out
of hand. At Goerz, out of 1,000 inhabitants, scarcely
any remained. There were only soldiers looking for their
regiments or trying to reach the head-quarters of the Ist
Army Corps. A reconnaissance made on Wednes4.lay
showed that the French army was retreating on
Verdun. It was resolved to attack them. The Germans
were posted in a position north-east from Grave-
lotte, commanding the road from Briey to Metz.
The 7th Corps of the German army formed the right;
next came the Bth, on the road to Gravelotte; then the 9th
and 12th Corps. The Guards were on the extreme left.
In reserve were the 3rd, Ist, and 10th Army Corps. The
fire was kept up along the whole line from eleven o'clock.
The Prussian artillery was strong, and seemed overpower-
ing. At seven p.m. the French cannonading ceased,
but the Prussian guns were still firing continuously.
The King occupied a position on a hill which commanded
a view all around, though the battle front extended for
many miles. I remained on the hill, and afterwards
crossed to the right of Gravelotte, over another hill,
where three German batteries were keeping up
a constant fire on the road beyond, leading
over another high hill, along woods, on the
German right. Half an hour after French cannon-
ading had ceased the French suddenly re-opend fire, and
with such effect that the Germans near me seemed panic-
stricken. It was the fire of the mitrailleuse, and its
effects seemed terrible. I pushed over to the left of
the French, thinking that the place was abandoned,
but to my surprise I found that the French were
there, and was immediately taken prisoner by a
small body of soldiers. After that the cannonade was
again renewed on both sides, and lasted till nearly ten
o'clock, when the French appeared to be gradually
retiring, and the Prussian guns alone maintained their
fire. I was very kindly treated by my captors, who
used no sort of violence towards me. They simply took
me with them. We marched through the woods that
night until we entirely lost our way. In the darkness a
halt was called, and we slept under the trees, one of
the Frenchmen kindly lending me part of his great coat.
It was bitterly cold and wet, and I could not sleep; but
my escort did. So I took advantage of that to get up and
leave them, and I escaped to St. Marie, which was
in the hands of the Germans. The scene in
this village is beyond description. Many of the
houses were battered down, and every available spot
was covered with wounded. Straw was quickly
placed in the streets, and the wounded French and German
soldiers lay upon it close beside each other. In addition
there was a heavy fall of rain to increase the-indescribable
misery of the scene. I went on foot to Gravelotte and to
Rezonville, where the King had bivouacked for the night.
I walked on from there most of the night and most of to-day
to this town through a Country perfectly desolate,
where it was impossible to procure a conveyance of
any description, or buy a crust of bread. All Metz is
entirely surrounded by the Germans, the 4th Army
Corps having gone round from the East to the North.
The Saxon Corps of Pioneers has been sent before the
city. About four corps will be left about Metz for the
siege, and the remainder sent against the army in the
direction of Verdun. The headquarters of the King will
be moved in a day or two towards the south-west.

THE CONVICT CARVER. The sentence of death
passed upon John Carpenter Carver at the recent Surrey
Assizes, for the murder of his wife, has been respited, on
the recommendation of the learned judge before whom he
was tried.

WORKMEN'S INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION,
AGRICULTURAL HALL.—The number of visitors, exclusive
of season ticket holders, exhibitors, and others, yesterday
was 7,923.