The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-02 00:00:00

was the key,of the whole position. This order of lie at the entrance of the plain, and from which
battle pieteeted all the approaches to the Mincio, the infantry of the enemy had been before driven
but it was just the necessity which was felt to pro- Out.- As soon as General Niel was able to debouch
tect all the 'roads leading to the Mincio which into the plain from the right, tae day was gained,
• caused this long extent, and became thusan element for such was the superiority of the French artil,.
of weakness in the whole position; and this length lerY, that the Austrian Artillery, who it must be
',of line, and ccrreSt;cnaing. weakness -increased the .acknowledged foUght its adversary with: great
more the Mincio is-approached, for the road to bravery, AV-as obliged to yield. This was in the
Goito, which is the principal paSsage, goes off from afternoon, aboui 4 o'clock. The centre had come
Castiglione at a considerable angle -towards; the to the hills about Ca,vriaria, and while one column
south-east. - , scaled the steep ridge under which the road runs,
" This weakness was'recognised, and the disposi- another was sent on the road into the Village.
tions taken accordingly. Instead of taking the From the rapidity with which these columns ad-
position is front, where it is of formidable strength, vanced you could see that the Austrians had. given
the whole weight of the attack was thrown on the given up the idea of resisting any longer in this
wings, with the view of breaking through the line position, and were only now anxious to make good
if possible, and gaining one of the'Nliiicio passages, their retreat, The position of Cavriana, which is
or at any rate forcing the enemy out of the strong almost as formidable as that of "Solferino, Was
position in the hills • • • only held until the other troops could 'be with,
"Accordingly the- 4th = corps; commanded by drawn, and wass ultimately taken with little less.
General (now Marshal) Niel, reinfoiced by part of In the plain the Austrian artillery executed a
the reserve and artillery, received - the mission to very good retreat en, echelon; while. the cavalry
act in the plain, towards Goito, , The Ist corps, of was sent forward •to - arrest . somewhat the
Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers,' was to, proceed by progress of the Allies.. On this Occasion there welFe,
the road which runs ;from Castiglione along -the a couple of brilliant charges executed by the Chas-
base of the hills, near-the littlevillage of Grole, up seurs d'Afrique, but this did not prevent the enei4y
to Solferino. One division of the 2d corps, of • the from keeping, the road to Golfo. By 5 o'clock,
Due de Magenta,,w_as to take this same village almost everything wad. over on the right wing and
,from the hill road in front, while the 'other was Ito the centre. The end was ..precipitated by a smart
take quite in rear by S. Cassiano. The 3d corps,Of shower which_ began to fall about this time.
Maishal-Canrobert, .did, not enter in line, biit was " What happened on the left' I must reserve for
bent back .-en potence in, the direction -of Castel another letter, as I emild not overlook that part of
Onzage, while:the Sardinian army was to execute the field, and have had as yet no time-to hear the
on the left wing a flank movement corresponding details and. see the field of battle. But when the
to that on the right, trying to break through the,
.hatfle ended on the right a smart cannonade began
line between Peschiera and Possolengo, and.get to on, the left, which must have been either' a renevilll
• . one of. the Mincio passages which exist inthat di= 'of the attack in order to gain the passage of Ponti
rection. The Guards remained as a reserve, undk or Monainbano, or else it was an attack on apart
the personal direction of 'the Emperor, who took-. °tithe Austrian army retiring towards,Peschiera.
• the cemmand of the moYement.' Some of the guns must have'been fired frem this
"Although the :hilly; nature' of the country' is. hitter place, for, to judge by the sound; they wet
- favourable enough 'for obserVation, the line was [large position guns.
too, extended to overlook the ,whole, while the -" The result of the day is, driving the Austrian's
simultaneous character of the movements made it • from the position which they had themselves chosen
impossible to follow details in every point. fithist:
.and fortified in every way, so as. to make it almoSt
confine myself,, therefore; only.to the'niain features,: impregnable.. It was the strongest proof of supe.,..
as far as I'saw them myself, or have had time as yet riority which could hp given,. From the extent
L to ascertain them. The attacks :began almost simul- :of the ppsition, and the force in which they ap=.
taneensly'Onthe right and in the centre; for while peared, in all they must .have been , very
,_nearly
the fire of -msketrY and !the advance of tolainns on .200;000 men strong, and, if the prisoners are to be
Solferino indicated that the battle had begunin the credited,- they brought up all their reserves from
Mantua by railway during the battle. 'These 200,000
centre, thePiedmontese gun were heard to the left
and the artillery of ,Gen:; Niel to ;the right, in the were in one of the most formidable positions that
direction of S. Vigilio and Medole. • Can be conceived, had the ground carefully prepared
,
'for defence, and were -driven by about, 140,000 to
" The hill around which the village of _Solferino
1'50,000 from their positions,leaVng I 5 grins, besides' is built is the most prominent: Object all along this
rinnifier, of ammunition . wAgens, . and several country. lt is Of a conical:shape., and has at its -
thonsand :prisoners. If .the defeat did- not become summit a high, sqintre tower, called the. Spin (spy) ,much-greaker it was that the Austrians thought of,
d'ltaliu,' for from the top of it You can overlook the
atitnely: retreat, As soon as Solferino was, lost, it
plain: of `.CPperltaly fromthe Alps to the Po; This -
was evidently a losing battle that they.*ere fight-
' hill is detached from the rest of 'the raiige, and
ing They Wore thinking all the time of their te-
throWe' ant three Plateaux—one.' in the direction of •
treat, and held only sufficiently not to exppse
4he lake, another towards the plain, and a third
selves to worse evils. So close te the Vicio,,it
.towards It forms thus as it were a high
would hove been. an act of desperation, to ii(ttiniiit
vastle, with three bastions, and all the roads leading
)
owards it run in the openings between:the
to hold their position, with the risk of being pusidel.
eaux.All the sides, :with-the exception of that to- bask on theriyetror else of palrom it.
2,There, ;Can be no mincing of thel#irret:afat
'wards the plain, are very precipitous; the roads •'-
Magenta,- that only part of the troops pieselt7
run down arse steep an incline hat they ire called
or that they were fatigued ; it was as fair a trials of
the Scale di Solferino. Towards the plain the ap-
proaches rise by a griduilincliiie untilitey teach respective strength and skill- •f& them as theysan
desire, for all disadvantages' in -nUnilicra as Well, as
the first houses, from thence they assume the same
precipitous charaCter which the others, have. -It Position were entirely, on the side et their. ads er
Was this side was_: chosen- as-the point of s'ariea-• •
" The losses. on both sides were naturally cousi-
attack., - The Austrians had prepared4or this, `gnu
rali were ready to receive their adierSaries:''Bgth-sidea'of de le„,especially in and about Solferino, which
the road, up to the village' itSeit 'are. covered with looked like a human butchery after *7'4414;
vineyards; into these theYhadthrdivri- es- of in this point alone I saw lying.,464,more th&n 4,600
fantry,
4dYant4,49.0.-f eof th Nicl dead, besides a latge mass of .WOUIO9Ii-LI-t;04.,
give the shelter aiift:A/4*iiiiii the French did not lose very. mooli.74olEtriitithbre
As for artillery, tkey---'note:Pnlfreattionlitiltdlii•• r';oad, ot wounded cannot be lesithan 3,;000'4,4110"00;;;only
but on the different elOviNd the"'aighfand it- small proportion, however, i's,e've;E,.
left, which abitti4 s'the road among them.: What the Austrian, •10a.4 was it is
not possible tojudge, for. they, took away adlcrng ,as
towards, the viliage. ~hie fight-began .almost in the
they-COI:a-both dead and wounded, having Made a
Plan; just where the road coming from Castiglione
behda to ascend the village, and crosses the road
o
requisition.; f 2,000 carts invillages the on the
from the 'latter to the main. Toad of Goit4 Two
diiisions Of the,' Ist corps (Forey and Bazaine) had " soon as the battle was over, orders came to
transfer-the head-quarters to Cavriana, and' last
the mission to drive the enemy. from this ,position,
night-the Emperor occupied the very,romn which
'while one diviSion of the 2d- corps Was to take
the village in the rear by S. CaSsiano: -The enemy's his colleague and antagonist had prepared. for him-
skirmishers being driven •back,. the .two divisions self. Even the dinner was found all prepared and
of ..the Ist corps advanced, and, after a sharp waiting fcr the victor."
fusilade, succeeded. in driving. him •back towards
the village. But it; was enly .at the village
that the real fight began. , The • entrance to it
had been barricaded, and' the' high garden, walls
which extend to the right and left loopholed for
musketry,while on the space which lies to the right
of the Toad as you ascend a 'battery was sending
doWn a, shower of grape.: This entrance became the
scene of a- most desperate fight, but was at last'
forced, arid. then began one of those street fights
which seem to become a characteristic of this cam-
paign; every:home had been' loopholed, and was
occupied by the enemy. As there are no gates in
the ',Tear 'of the court-yards of these hedges, the
defenders in each were obliged to fight to the last
or else -surrender. 'Twice the first division-of 'the
Ist corps had succeeded in penetrating tc the church,
whose enclosure :wall is just at the foot 'of the great
tower and the top of the hill, and • twice it had to
retire again before the . reserve . which the enemy
brought up. The fight had lasted for more than
two, hours, and the strength of the soldiers began
to fail. :At this moment, which was about 8 o'clock,
the Voltiguers and the Chasseurs of the Guard re-
ceived orders to relieve them... 'At. the same time
the PiVision of the Second Corps,: With: the Tams
or Chasseurs 'lndigene's, pushed.. .home' its attack
froM San CasSalio, 'while the Other di•iision of the
First *COrps had attained the heights:to the- left of
the road. In less than half an hour the enemy was
driven out of his- stronghold, and had to retire,
leaving ,12 guns behind.: He retired in the direction
of Cavriana, but only step by step. Looking down
froniSolferino towards Cavriana there is.a range of
hills' before. you, which I can compare to nothing,,
but to the ruins of anumbereolossafßonian camps
formed by nature; and half obliterated. by. age..,
is one succession of- ascents' and' descenta; the best
descriptof which I heard froth a 'soldier; who, de-
scribing the battle on the height,: 'Said, c'etat une
chasge wrecureuil.' • • • „ •
" After the. taking of Solferino the engagement
assumed really the shape of, a battle, where tactics
came' into play. The taking-of village: Was more
due tobravery than science. Battles have often been
compared to the game of chess' well, I never was
so struch by the truth of Chia .conittaii.s4dasyester-,
day during the advance from Solfetino,,toClOriana.
How .one:body after another 'Was moved forward;
and the enemy then fOreed back by. degrees. It was,
in this fight that the immense superiority of the new
French rifled cannon shoWed -The lightness of
the pieces is such that they could be brolighfuP
hills so steep, that even infantry had no small. differ
eulty in scaling them. Still the range: of them and
their precision is almost incredible. You' could' see
their ra
eiT shells bursting among the guns and i f nfantryo
the
enemy, while the shells fired from .his-guns. at
th
_n the
elevation were falling short .orbursting.
!was e air. The attack on this succession of positions
de, front the .plain; at the same time as- from,
the h•
ei"tB'
the object of 'both being I'd gain the
teen.heights (TCavriana, the centre Of the Austrian
,While one column advanced
.by the road which
1
ead s,along the base of the hill to Cavriari, the main
body lillowed the chaise a recUreuil over hill and
dale in a regular steeple-chase towards the tower of
Cavriana.
,While. the, attack, in 'what was now the
centre, took this shape, the attack of the 4th corps ,
in the plain to the right had likewise developed it-'
self. .For 'a short distance from Castiglione the
country to the right and left of the road is full of
vineyards and mulberry trees, not• very closely,
planted, but Wildest to :be an ''obstacle to 'the
movements of . artillery. and ca.valry„. Mier tWo,
miles or so, however; the trees recede on-bOth sides,
partly grass, -partly','
and an almost naked plain;
planted with corn; stretches. out "almost' fromthe
foot of thehills- across the main ',road-to the
bourhbod of Medoie.. This plain, which extends'as
far as Cavriana, Guidizzolo, and- Ceresole, became
the scene of, a most animated artillery and Cavalry
engagement, which was verreffectiye seen with a
good *lass " from the heights', xate 1n431.17y took
Only part in it, to the extreme right, towards Me=
dole and Ceresole, occuping the -vineyards which

FRANCE,.
'PARIS, FRIDAY.
PARIS BOURSE, July I.—The market .has..been
again bouyant, owing to purchases of the coulisse
to wind up their -9g04,144, and from the accounts
from Germany bung eottitlilered more favourable.'
Threes are now at 63f. -4Mobilier varied from.
667f.50c. to' 660 E; Austri, 455 f. to 445 f. ; Or-
leans, 1,240 f. to 1,235 f. ; Lyons,., 835 f. to 830 f. ,
Southern, 487 f. 50c. to 482 f. 50c. ; • Northern,;
937 E 50c. to 935 f. There 'was a little decline to-
wards the close, when the following .were the last
quotations:--
¢1 per: Cents. - 93 20 I Credit Fonder
•Do end month .. 92 75 I Belgian 4f
3 per Cents 63. .10 Piedmontese (5) ..
Do. end month 63 10 Roman
Bank Shares — Austrian
Credit Mobilier .. 652 50 Spanish Threes .
Do. Account 652 50 Home Debt
'RAILWAYS.
•

82 -
81 50

Cash. Account.
Orleans - .. 1230 ...
Northern 940 .. 936 25
New ditto
Lyons and. Mediterranean 832 50 .. 827 50
Geneva
Southern
Western... 515 .. 515 --
Eastern - .. 610
Sardinian.
Austrian ' ° 440

445

Exchange. on London, at sight, paper, 2M. 12tc. ; money,
25f. 9c. three months, paper, 24f. 971 c.; money, 24f. 95c.

Kossiith has arrived in Turin, and been niost
enthnsiastically received. Kossuth and Itlapka
will organise the Hungarian soldiery who have
come over to the Italians ; a very large number.

The Ost Deutsche Post, of Vienna; announces
that Colonel Prince Windischgratz, who was
thought to have been killed at the battle of Solfe-
rino, is only severely wounded. • •