The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-10-10
From Mr. Sisphsason's ase " Iaeidsnis Of Irapei'
THE BATTLE OF GROKOW.

THE BATTLE OF GROhOW.
The battle of Grokow, The greatest in Eu-
rope since that of Waterloo, was fought on
the 25th of February, 1881, and the place
where l stood commanded view OF the
whole ground. The Russian army was under
the command Of Diebitsch, and consisted OF
one hundred and forty-two thousand infantry,
forty thousand cavalry, and three hundred and
twelve pieces Of cannon. This enormous
force was arranged in two lines OF combatants,
and a third of reserve. Its left wing, between
Warsaw and the marshes of the Vistula, con-
sisted Of four divisions of infantry Of forty
seven thousand men, three of cavalry Of ten
thousand FIVE hundred, and one hundred and
eight pieces of cannon; the right consisted of
three and a half divisions Of infantry OF thirty
one thousand men, four divisions Of cavalry
Of fifteen thousand seven hundred and fifty
men, and fifty-two pieces Of cannon. Upon
the borders of the great forest opposite the
Forest Of Elders, conspicuous from where !
stood, was placed the reserve, commanded by
the Grand Duke Constantine. Against this
immense army the Poles opposed less than
| fifty thousand men, and hundred pieces Of
cannon, under the command Of Gen. Skrizy-
necki.
AT break Of day the whole force Of the Rus
sian right wing, with terrible fire OF fifty
pieces Of artillery, and columns of infantry,
charged the Polish left with the determine
ton Of carrying it by a single and overpower-
effort. The Poles with six thousand FIVE hum
dred men, and twelve pieces Of artillery, not
yielding foot of ground, and knowing they
could hope for no succor, resisted this attack
tor several hours until the Russians slackened
their fire. About ten o'clock the plain was
suddenly covered with the Russian forces, is
suing from the cover of the forest, seeming
one undivided mass Troops. Two hundred
pieces of cannon posted on single line,
commenced fire which made the earth trem-
BILE, and was more terrible than the oldest off,
GERS, many Of whom had fought at Marengo
and Austerlitz, had ever beheld The Rus
slams now made an attack upon the right wing,
but failed in this as upon the left; Diebitsch
directed the strength Of his army against the
Forest Of Elders, hoping to divide the Poles
into two parts. One hundred and twenty
pieces Of cannon were brought to bear on this
one point, and fifty battalions necessarily
pushed to the attack, kept up scene Of mas
sacre unheard Of in the annals Of war. A
Polish officer who was in the battle, told me
that the small streams which intersected the
forest were so choked with dead that the in
fantry marched directly over their bodies
The heroic Poles, with twelve battalions, for
four hours defended the forest against the tre-
mendous attack. Nine times they were
driven out, and nine times, by series of adj
mirably executed manGuvres, they repulsed
the Russians with immense loss. Batteries
now concentrated in one point, were in mo-
ment hurried to another, and the artillery ad-
vanced to the charge like cavalry, sometimes
within hundred feet of the enemy's columns,
and there opened murderous fire of grape.
At three o'clock, the Generals, many Of
whom were wounded, the most of whom had
their horses shot under them, and fought on
foot at the head OF their divisions, resolved up
on retrogade movement, so as to draw the
Russians on the open plain. The Russian
troops then debouched from the forest, cloud
of Russian cavalry, with several regiments Of
heavy curiassiers at their head, to the attack.
Colonel Pientka, who had kept up an unre-
hitting fire from his battery for five hours,
with perfect sang froid, upon disabled piece
of cannon, remained to give another effective
fire, then left at full gallop post which he had
so long occupied under the terrible fire of the
enemy's artillery. This rapid movement of
his battery animated the Russian forces. The
cavalry advanced on a trot upon the line of a
battery of rockets. A terrible discharge was
poured into their ranks, and the horses, CALLED
to madness by the flakes of fire, became
wholly ungovernable, and broke away, spread
ing disorder in every direction; the whole bo-
dy swept helplessly along the fire OF the Polish
infantry, and in few minutes was so COM
pletely annihilated that of a regiment Of curas-
siers who bore inscribed on their helmets the
"lnvincibles," not man escaped. The wreck
of the routed cavalry, pursued by the lancers,
carried along in its flight the columns Of infan-
try. A general retreat commenced and the
cry Of g Poland forever ~ reached the walls
Of Warsaw to cheer the hearts of its anxious
inhabitants. So terrible was the fire Of that
| day, that in the Polish army there was not
single general or staff officer who had not his
his horse killed or wounded under him two
thirds of the officers, and, perhaps, of the SOL
diers, had their clothes pierced with balls, and
more than tenth part of the army were
wounded. Thirty thousand Russians and ten
thousand Poles were left on the field Of battle
rank upon rank lay PROSTATE on the ground,
and the Forest Of Elders was so strewed with
bodies that it received from that day the name
of the " forest Of the dead" The Gear heard
with dismay, and all Europe with astonish-
ment, that the crosser of the Balkan had been
foiled under the walls of Warsaw.
All day, my companion said, the cannonad-
ing was terrible. Crowds of citizens, of
both sexes and all ages, were assembled on
tho srni where we stood, earnestly watching
the progress Of the battle, sharing in all its
vicissitudes, in the highest state Of excitement
as the clearing up of the columns of smoke
| showed when the Russians or Poles had fled !;