The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-03 00:00:00

IHE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1870.

Treasury amounts to $102,500000 in coin, and $37,000,000
in currency.

CANADA.
(By Atlantic Cane.)
TORONTO, Sin p,

A despatch from the special correspondent of the
Toronto Globe announces the safe arrival of Colonel Wolsey
and the regular troops engaged in the Red River Expedi-
tion at Fort Garry on the 24th ult. Riel and his chief
followers fled just before the troops arrived, The fort was
entered by the troops without opposition, the Union Jack
hoisted, and a royal salute fired.
Mr. Donald Smith has taken possession of the Hudson
Bay Company's property.
Warrants for the arrest of Riel and others have been
applied for by private persons, and it is expected that
they will try to escape from the settlement.
•James Ross, Riel's Chief Justice, had previously fled,
and has already arrived in Canada.

LOSS OF A SHIP.
(By British Indian Cable.)
BOMBAY, SEPTEMBER 2.
The St. Michael's, from Coconada to London; was
abandoned on the 25th June. The crew have arrived at'
Bombay.

THE INDIAN' MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, SEPTEMBER 2.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship
Massilia, with the above mails, has arrived. She brings
a full complement of passengers, specie £154,529, and
1,700 packages. General cargo.
The Massilia experienced thick weather in the chan-
nel.

Her Majesty's ships Hibernia, Newport, and Azo:
were at Malta. •

The following British ships had arrived out at Gibraltar
since the departure of the last mail for Southampton.
Steamers—Zakinthos, Illyrian„ Levant, Olympus, from
Liverpool; Cadiz, Tivorno, Dauntless, from Glasgow;
Lindsay, Bywell Castle, Vistulu, from Cardiff ; Cadiz,
Sydney Hall, from London. Schooners—U. Larsing,
Agnes, Margaret Jane,William and Sarah, from Cardiff;
S. A. Dickson, fr( **Newport ; Joseph, from Liverpool; ship
Nile, from Cardiff; brig Nautilus, from Newport; and bri-
gantines Ricardo, from Liverpool, and Dauntless, from
Glasgow.

Gibraltar Exchanges were quoted, on London, 90 day
date, 50g. Paris, sf. 31c. Marseilles, sf. 31c. Seville,
eight days' sight, dis. Madrid, to 2 dis. Cadiz,
dis. Malaga, 1 dis. Valencia and Barcelona, par.
Alicant, dis. Almeira, par to dis. p
The merchants of this city presented his Excellency
Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Airey, G.C.8., on the
26th ultimo, with a service of plate, as a token of esteem,
on the termination of his government of Gibraltar.

DESPATCH OF WEST INDIA MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, SEPTEMBER. 2.
The Royal Mail Company's steamer Seine, Captain
Moir, sailed this afternoon with mails for the British and
Foreign West Indies, Mexico, the Pacific, California,
and Central America. She took out 130 passengers, and
upwards of 900 tons cargo, including—English gold, £150;
silver, £850; jewellery, £14,120; French gold, £20,400;
silver, £640; jewellery, £2,312; also 900 bottles quick-
silver, value £7,000.

TEE BRAZIL MAILS.

LIVERPOOL. SEPTEMBER 2.

•The Liverpool Company's steamer Kepler, Captain
Eills, left the Mersey to-day with ship letter mails, 35 pas-
sengers, £l,OOO in specie, and a general cargo for Bahia,
Rio Janeiro, Monte Video. and Buenos Ayres.
She will . receive telegrams at Lisbon until the Bth
instant.

PRUSSIAN ACCOUNT OF THE
WAR.

(REVrER'S EXPRFSS,)

A Prussian official account of the military opera-
tions of the Ist Army Corps in the present war
against France has just been issued. It gives a de-
tailed exposition of the concentration of troops im-
mediately after the declaration of war by France,
and traces with some minuteness the various engage-
ments, the results of which are well known. The
manoeuvres that led to the battle at Gravelotte are
especially interesting, and the deadly conflict of
the 18th is thus described :—On the 18th of August,
the Ist Army kept quietly within position of the
17th, without showing themselves to the enemy, in
order to allow the Second Army to carry out their
advance towards Verneville and St. Marie-au-
Chalue, and to make it effective, When towards
noon canonading was heard from Verneville, and
reports came in that the head of the 9th Army Corps
had already reached that place, and was engaged
with the enemy, General von Steinmetz ordered
his army to take part in the battle. The
7th Army Corps brought up strong batteries
to the south and east of Gravelotte, who advanced
with the greatest precision under an effective fire
from the enemy's artillery. It was a grand moment
when these 50 guns, which were afterwards
strengthened to 80, opposed the enemy, and after a
short halt advanced to the ridge of the hill. General
von-Steinmetz and his staff- halted in the immediate
vicinity of the batteries, which ,were fired upon
repeatedly by the enemy's guns, but in less than an
hour the chief portion of the enemy's artillery were
silenced, and in retreat. The infantry of the 7th
Army Corps remained until a later occasion should
arise for them to be employed in a covered position in the
wooded valley separating Gravelotte from the heights
of Pont-du-Tour. Only the brigade of General von
des Goltz, which was in position at Ars-sur-Moselle,
to secure the valley of the Moselle, had already been
engaged. They captured the village. of Vaux, in
the valley of the Moselle, and afterwards stormed
the heights of Tussey, the possession of which they
maintained. Simultaneously with the 7th Army
Corps the Bth Army Corps advanced from Rezon-
vine against the Bois de Genevaux, and attacked the
enemy. The Bth Corps at once opened a powerful
battery from its front on to the road from
Gravelotte to Voncour-en-Farnisy, whilst the Ist
cavalry division at once took up a covered position
in the rear, and the infantry advanced to attack the
Bois de Genevaux, which was occupied by the
enemy. Here also,the enemy's artillery was quickly
silenced, while the infantry met with a most obsti-
nate resistance in the Bois de Genevaux. A close
and bloody fight raged here for hours. Owing to
the density and impenetrability of the wood, the
combating parties were completely intermingled, so
much that at certain parts of the Prussian lines so
obstinate a resistance was encountered that they
were only able to press slowly' forward, whilst in
other parts they reached the eastern skirt of the wood
and even breaking through it advanced to attack the
opposite heights and farm houses at St. Humbert.
The latter were at last taken by slow degrees, after
repeated attacks, and held, whilst all attempts to
proceed further to the ridge of the heights were
baffled by the strongly occupied rifle pits. The
infantry encounter came to a stand still, the artillery
of the enemy being almost silent, and out guns not
having any effective object to be achieved by firing.
Soon after 3 p.nt. a short panic ensued, and it was
imagined that the enemy was about 40 with-
draw. General von Steinmetz, who, with his
staff and the advancing artillery, had ri Men
along the road to the heights at Gravelotte, sent
orders to the cavalry division of General von Hart
maim to cross over the defile and pursue the retreat

ing enemy. In consequence of these orders, about
4 p.m. two batteries of mounted artillery and the 4th
Regiment of Lancers crossed the defile and took up
a position on the right. Then, however, it became
apparent that the enemy had only sought cover from
the violent artillery fire, and had not retreated, and
the troops came into a murderous infantry fire,
which was supported by some guns and mitral-
leuses. Many dead and wounded strewed the road
taken by these brave troops. Nevertheless both bat-
teries took up their position under the fire of the
enemy's infantry, and replied vigorously to the
enemy's fire, while the cavalry deployed in their rear
to cover them. Thus two incomparably brave bat-
teries maintained their exposed position, and not
until late in the evening were they relieved by the
cavalry reserve. More than one half of the men and
horses were killed.

Our artillery on the heights of Gravelotte recom-
menced firing about 4 p.m., when that charge took
place, and the enemy reappeared, and so efficacious
was the fire that the enemy was forced to desist

from further operations, and the neighbouring
farm house within, range was set on fire, the occupy-
ing force driven out and subjected to a severe fire.
The thick black clouds of smoke issuing from burn-

ing houses, mingled with the smoke of the
gulls, and spread far and wide over the battle-

field. From the left wing the heavy roll of
infantry rifles, mixed with the thunder of cannons,
was heard between Verneville and Annantville,

which had been eagerly awaited. Apparently the

sound came nearer, a favourable sign of the approach

of the army of Prince Frederick Charles. Our infantry
maintained the battle more tenaciously than ever,
the appearance of the 2nd Army promising to bring
up support, and the brave artillery, despite their
severe losses, served their guns as if on the parade
ground. Thd French continued their fire the whole
day, especially from their iifle pits, with their
Chassepot rifles, at a range of two thousand paces,
whereby the position was continually held
insecurely, and occasioned considerable loss. The
French were in a desperate situation, surrounded on

all sides, and nothing remained for them but to
retreat into the fortress of Metz, into which this
army was forced to disappear. About

seven p.m. they made one desperate attempt
to break through by Gravelotte from Metz to

Paris. Thick clouds of skirmishers, one behind the
other, uttering loud shouts, and keeping up a con-
tinual volley, rushed forward from behind the heights
against the woods in the ravine. Our weak, deci-
mated infantry squads were nearly all dispersed,
and the danger was great that this attack
made apparently in force would be successful against
our exhausted troops. But our brave artillery
opened upon them over the heads of our infantry
so effectively that the attack was repulsed by their
combined action with the infantry, which once more
made a toand. Material and decisive sup-
port was; however, at hand. His Majesty
the King had arrived during the battle
from Rezonville in the northern direction

towards Gravelotto, and had temporarily placed
General von Steinmetz, who had hurried up, in
command of the 2nd krmy Corps, giving
him permission to draw supports from this

corps should he need it. This 2nd (Pomeranian)
Army Corps which had not yet been before the
enemy, hastened up in quick step, inspired by the
lust of battle, and at nightfall decided the battle.

Under the eyes of General von Steinmetz, who
had ridden into the defile with his staff within rifle

range, these brave troops, with loud hurrahs, drums
beating, and bugles blowing the advance, rushed
down the dark woody ravine to deploy on the other
side, and hurl themselves upon the foe. The dis-
charges from the guns shone out brightly in the
dark night, but the line of fire grew more and more

distant, and although many a brave man sacrificed
his life, and the losses were fearfully large, yet the

slope and the hostile heights were ours.
So ended the battle of the 18th August. On the
following morning the enemy had evacuated the

heights and withdrawn within the fortifica-,
tions of Metz. The battle-field is strewn
with corpses and wounded men. The victory was
dearly won, but it was brilliant and decisive.
The enemy is now shut up in his fortress ; we
shall see how long he will bear it.
During the. battle of the 18th, the officer,
Zslimitzki, with his battery and one squadron, pro-
ceeded from the Ist Army Corps to Vaux, along the
right bank of the Moselle, in order to assist in
preventing the possibility of the enemy breaking
through. The battery was posted upon the northern
ridge of the heights opposite Vaux, and opened fire
upon the enemy's artillery at Ley. In the advance
the infantry was shelled from the Fort St. Quentin,
but succeeded in obtaining shelter. The rest of the
Ist Army Cops remained in its positicin at Cour-
celles without any encounter with the enemy.