Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1810-03-29

extract. TO gave yCus VINO kuOw .Os'.s.6
al. Aorrors Of var, come little idea Of the
m;.erils attending these dreadful scenes.
9. Az. soon as the roads were safe,t my
~, ..,nnr;o,itv prumrted me 10 visit the memoir
shle .rene Of action It Eylau. Most terri.
bile indeed, had the iron hand Of war stamp.
I'd It's banefsitraess upon these unfortunate
,d;s,ricts. Hefe the peaceful peasant who
read, no newspaper, nor knows even the
name of Bcnaparts, is scared from his quiet
ahode, Both friend and foe seem to have
,n;t.L 10 make him feel to its full extent.
his woeful lot. The Russians. who are en-
canped 80 the extent Of FIVE or SIX miles
round Konigsberg, to make them fires in
This cold weather, unroofed and bioks up
the huts of all the neishbo,ing y'iiage'.-
Every kind of provision was swePe away /;
and wha. made i,sl loss more mortityIng was
that FIVE times as much waswasted as was
made. proper use of. This naturally en-
gagged all the peasants against the Russians,
not considering that these poor soldiers
themselves were half dying with hunger
Nor were those peasants near the French
quarters more fortunate for they also,
without considering the wre,ehed situation
of those miserable people. took whatever
the. could find and IN passing Jessau. the
rector of which place had fed to KoRgs-
berg, they employed his whole Pious libra
ryto boil their kettles. The rector's sister
confined by the rheumatism, could not IS.
cape. She Lay in little garrett. Some
oatmeal mixed with 'meked snow was be-
fore her, and this, for eight days had been
her only sustenance. :hWe gave her small
portion Of our travelling stock, and JOY and
gratitude beamed though her tears. The
nearer we came to Eylau, the fewer marks
of devastation We found and though there
was no provision to be had any where, yet
we saw at least human faces for the other
villages We passed through were all desert.
ed nor had the houses here been so much
damaged, which gaze US some relief, after
the various scenes of misery we had passed
through. In the totally desolated village
OF Kleiusausgerten, we once more found the
terrific picture of war; bat misery, indi-
genee and distress, first saw in extreme at
Eylau itself. Parents were there already
so far reduced as to be forced to bury their
literally starved babes in their gardens.-
Bread, meat, wine, brandy, salt, or tobac.
CO, were no where to be found. Poor, ema-
ciated, hollow.eyed sPectrrs, were crawl.
ing about the streets covered with rags like
the most pti4bIe brggars. To inter their
dead bodies, was scarcely possible ; and
even my essence Of vinegar was no: suGi-
cient to defend me in their church. never
should have believed, without seeing it my.
SILT, that human nature could hav. borne
such an excessive degree Of misery. The
place had cruelty been gwen up &c plumber.
In short, every thing was ruin DESTROYING
and laid waste. Not door nor window
nor cupboard was remaining. This is in !
desd the less extraordinary, when We con.
slider that the town had been TWICE in tn. |
possession both ofthe French and Russians,
and thus twice were the streets streaming
with blood. The combatants even follow
ed each other into the very houses. From
the highest to the lowest of the inhabitants, |
they we're all robbed Of every thing they I
possessed, and simple water with scanty
piltance of mouldy bread, was all they had
to keep life together. Many died through
fear, many from i'll treatment, and many
we're yet sick from the painful recolle csion
Of the past.
"Overpowed by such dreadful scenes of
calamity, Ideemed it even relief to go
and contemplate the horrors of the 6sld.--
Howsoever mangled there found many Of
nv fellow creatures, vet these lifeless boz
dies had at least surmounted their suffer-
ings but the unfortunate inhabitants of
Eylau were yet 'anguishiug on toward. the !
more excrueiating death of hunger. This
would certainly have been their dismallos,
As the whole surrounding district was e.
1uallyy berefs ofevery means OF sustenanee
lad they not soon received from Konigs.
,erg the most desirable relief and refresh.
nent, besides clothing, linen, and every
necessary article to repair aud make their
dwellings, tolerablv comfortable. Had L
-. ,,;.;t al the field n hattle hi. h;Jeou. |