Weekly national intelligencer., 1848-10-14
THE BoMBARDMENT OF .MEssINA.
FROM THE FRENCH PAPERS.

THE COMMANDMENT OF MEssINA.
PAPERS.
We read in the Union g We have received by Touon
letters dated the 18th which give ghful details of the events
which preceded and followed the taking Of Messna by the
Neapoitan army According eye witnesses the not
Of Christians, but desperate struggle of cannba In
sugens Of Messna roasted Neapotan soldiers and ate them
This horrible feast is unfortunately fable preceded
and called forth terrible eprisas Is the world returning
the state The Neapoans replied these
by other The town, taken by assault given
up fire and piage murder and violation Letters are
filled with heaending episodes. population of eighty
thousand souls is III flight despair Five thousand
received by the French manofwar the Hercue thou
sand hy the Panama impossible receive more and
these unforlunaes packed pe-me Many women and
children died of suiocaon board these ships The Duchess
de Noya, saved amidst thousand peris in wrehed fishing
boat, able to reach Naples General Fangera remains
master Of the city. The NeapoIan flag floats from all the
forts"
letter from Napes of the 10TH brought by the Pluton
steamer TO Touon, says
'Ihe Neapotan squadron, which is composed Of twenty
steamers, two gate and several gunboas moored
the south of Messna under protection of the batteries of the
CITADEL from the lst and did serious attack
Until the 3D.. To the wesustaned fire from the citadel the
forts commanding the town, which in the hands OF the
besieged answered but feeby. Until the 9th nothing very
decisive took place. the Nespoan cruising about and
the cannon roaring About five hundred Swiss landed the
beach, gained of small edoubt the entrance
the town, but they driven OF it with loss Of sixty
Of their killed. The small column nevertheless retired
in good order At this the enthusiasm of the Mes
sese became unreEaned and their shouts Of victory reach
ed the ships in the roadsead Several Of their chiefs on
board the French ship Hecue and their exuaon was SO
great that nothing less than terrible conflict could be expect
ed During the 9th the cannonade hotter and hotter
The citadel kept up nccssan shower of shells upon the
city, making great avages and the least era'peaed
the Mesnese began to be discouraged and the evening
great number took refuge board the French and English
ships Of In the morning Of the 9TH all order and conf
dence at end doubt and uncertainty prevailed, and
the Of independence sank capulaon propos-
ed Captain Nonay, Of the Hecue and Captain Robb, Of
the English fgate Bulldog, hasened offer their
diaon, but unable TO bring General Fangera
manderin chief of the Neapolans and the delegates from
the Messnese, understanding The canncnade, which
had for the moment been suspended resumed and be-
tremendous than the preceding day. The army
landed and the steamers into the port support its
operations In few minutes the Neapoitans in
the town. and took possession Of all the forts without having
fire shot On the 9Th the firing ceased, and oil calm
The country around presented the aspect Of desoaon and
several quarters Of the town fire. very large por
ton Of the popuaon-more than thousand persons Of all
ages aud both sexessought refuge board the Hercule
Panama, and Bulldog Numerous families went into the
country The pen refuses the horrors committed on
both sides. There actually Of cannbalsm bodies
up into pieces, roasted and eaten All the
Neapoan army bad landed and possession Of Messna
becomes
that the greater number Of persons who had taken refuge
board the French and English ships moment Of the a
king Of Messina have returned. Those who most
promised, about hundred in NUMBER will be conveyed to
other parts Of Sicily tecgaphc despatch from Messna
Of the 9th states that the fire, which had broken diff
ent parts Of the town. has been extngushed that order
hasbeen restored, and property respected Meuzza stated
10 have given in its submission"
Paris letter Of September 81 published in the New York
Tribune, has the following Of the above events
"The destruction Of Mesna is one Of the most heroic
desperate, and bloody affairs that occurred in Of in
dependence The Neapoan forces bombared the city for
five days. and the 5h and 9Th Of September attempted to
carry il by storm, but epuled though the discharges
the CITADEL which has throughout been held by the troops
Of Ferdinand, ncessant and terrific and aided by
the and Of the feet and the enenchncn:s
without the walls. On the 7th with their city almost in
ruins the Mesnese attempted negotiate amstce but
faithful TO the spirit Of the people, the leaders would
cept the conditions that the Neapolan commander offered
On The sb, the final assault took place the majority Of the
inhabitants had LEFT the city the night BEFORE only the fight
ing remained to resist 10 the last The icilians
bed their positions most gallanty, and re,reacd fighting
The Neapotans entered the city, which little than
of ruins already. As its defenders withdrew from
street, ndomsbe in The midst Of their battered and
smoking homes they fire to what LEFT undestroyed.
Their antagonists followed them into quarter Of the city
which had suffered the least ia the bomhardmen when sud-
denly mighty explosion like earthquake, completed the
ruiz, and buried in destruction the remaining ofces Of
Mesna and thousands Of the mecenacs Of the yrant The
city had been conquered but in its stead the conqueres held
only backened and worthless Of devastation.
"In this struggle greve to say that ourages COM
med by Of the defenders Of liberty which should
have stained heroic resistance Wrought up to the ex
eme anatcal hatred Of tho assaants apoon Of the most
ignorant class Of the population mua,ed the bodies Of the
fallen Neapoans carried their heads pixies through the
Streets and pcrpeirsed other horrible which such
moment the authorities unable TO prevent But these
things should be remembered not the work Of the
people Of Messns, but only Of the worst part Of them, and
shadow but not obscure the courage and persistence in
spite Of which they vanqushed. The King Of Naples
may now be able conquer the whole Of the and he has
10 his possession its main fortress but he win conquer only
~ ss,ermnang the inhabitants and devastating their fields
tnd villages. Conquer them be cannot"