The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1847-05-28
NAPOLEON AND HIS MARsHALs.
NEY.

DUKE OF ELcHINGEN-PRINcE OF THE MosKwA
Pressing eagerly on, Nsy and his six thou.
sand men came upon Krasnoi, where Napo.
leon had struggled SO nobly to save Da-
voust. Ignorant of the battle that had been
fought there, the soldiers still knew its whole
history; for by the caps lying amid the
corpses, and the uniforms scattered here and
there over the frosty ground, they could pick
out even the regiments that had suffered
most. Hurrying over this sad field where
they stumbled every moment over their un-
buried comrades, anu horses lying still alive
! in their harness, amid broken muskets, and
helmets, and dismounied cannon--kicking
| up, along every ravine where the snow had
drifted, these horrid relics as they marched
forward, they came at length TO the Loss
4 nina.
II was hack over such road that Ney, af.
Ter his repulse, ordered his soldiers TO march
They stood and gazed in amazement at him,
as il they could moi have heard Alright, and
then, wondering as they afterwards said, at
their own submission, quietly oboyed him.
Ii was dark and cold night-a night of six
teen hours in length, when the shattered
and bleeding column began IFS retreat, and
retrod the battlefield over which,, marched
with shuddering only short time before
Al length, coming 10 a ravine, Ney halted
and ordered the snow to be cleared away,
thinking there must be a stream beneath lea
ding to the Dnieper. The men soon came
10 ice, whenthe Marshal taking out bis map
and looking at il for moment, ordered the
army to keep along the ravine. After pro-
ceedng short distance, he directed fires to
be kindled as f he intended to bivouac for
the night, in order to deceive the enemy. As
the lights blazed upon the darkness, the Rus
slams fred off their cannon with Joy, for their
foes now seemed within their grasp Nsy
listened moment TO the sullen echo, think
ing at first that Davous, had come: bat the
next, moment, understanding the language
spoke, she swore lie would give the lie 10
theil joy," and Immediately recommended
his march. In the hurry aud darkness, many,
who from wounds and exhaustion, Jagged be-
hind, wandered out of the way, as the col
umu, without the sound of drum or trump
et, swept silently and swiftly across the fields;
so that when he reached the Dnieper, Ney
saw that but part of his followers had arrived.
As good fortune, or rather kind heaven
above, ordained il, the river where they
struck il was frozen across, while above and
below tho ice was all afoat. Still this mar
row bridge was weak, and would bear only
one at time, and the position Of Ney was
perilous in the extreme. s......-
To save himself and army no time was TO
be lost, for not only were forty thousand men
in his rear, but the ice was gradually giving
way. But here again he exhibited that
greatness Of heart which honors him more
than his bravery, and makes our love for him
exceed even our admiration-for, having ar
ranged his fragment Of an army SO as to
march over the ice at moments warning, he
waited three hours before crossing 10 allow
the weak and wounded slragglers to come
in. Pressed by tho most appalling dangers,
he still yielded to the dictates Of mercy: and
and there on the banks of the frozen river,
and during this time of intense anxiety, with
the ice melting before him, did this strange,
indomitable man lie down with his cloak
around him, and sleep. t4 daat
Bonapar,e, far in advance, struggling for
ward on foot with birch stick in bis hand
TO keep him from falling on the ice-sur-
rounded by his few exhausted ye, faithful fol-
lowers, was pressed with anxiety for the fate
ofNey--his now last remaining hope. As
he strobe on over the desolate track, he was
heard continually murmurng TO HIMSELF
and "Ney, Ney," almost momentarily esca-
ped from his lips, accompanied with passion
ate sxclamations of grief fd e' af
But the marshal, of whom he had heard
nothing!for long time, had crossed the Dnie-
per with his thrse thousand men, although
he had lett in it's frozen current scores under
whose feet the treacherous ice had given
way. Still there was a wilderness between
him and his Emperor, and that wilderness
was filed with Cossacks. Fer sixty miles
he struggled on with his weary columns amid
six thousand Of these wild warriors--stand-
ing in o,der Of battle by day., and marching
through the deep snow by night. At one
time they got in advance of him, and fell un-
expectedly upon his advanced posts, which
were Immediately driven in, and all was Civ
On up as lost. But Ney ordered the trumpsts
to sound the charge, and with the cheering
words, "Comrades, now is the moment; for
ward, they are ours," rallied their courage to
the assault, and the COssacks fed. Think
ling their general saw what they did no. see,
and that the enemy were cut of, the soldiers
pressed forward where otherwise they would
have yielded and fled. Atlength with enly
fifteen Aandred men cut Of forty thousand
with which he had started, he approached
Orcha, and sent forward fifty horseInen for
help. Davoust, Eugene, and Mortier were
there, and had just got their soldiels nicely