The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1854-09-13
Destruction OF the Hmquli-
sidiOlR i'm Spain.

Destruction Oh the dnaqII-
sitiOm i'm Spain.
In 1909, Col. Lehnanowskv was
attached to that part Of Napoleon's
army which was stationed in Madrid.
;" When in this city," said Col. L. 81
used to speak freely among the people
,ahout the priests and Jcsuits, and of
the Inquisition." 1t had been dccrccd
by the Emperor Napoleon that the
,lnquisition ard Monas;crics should be
suppressed; but the decree, has some
of the laws enacted in this country.
was not yet executed. Months had
passed away, but the prisons of the
lnqnisition were still unopened. One
might about 10 or II O'clock, rs Col.
L., was walking the street of Madrid,
;twq armed men sprang upon hin, from
;,n alley, and made !. furious attlck -
He INSTANTLY drew his sword, put
himself i'll position Of defence, and
while struggling With them, saw at u
distance the lights Of the patrols
French soldiers mounted, who carried
lanterns, and rode TIN Rough the streets
,of the city at all hours of the night, to
preserve order. FIe called to them
i'll French. and. rs they has1cncd 10
dis assistance, inc assalants took to
.th2!: heels and ESCAPED; not. however.
;beforc he saw by their dress that they
belonged to the guards Q. the Inc ,isii-
ton.
The Colonel went Immediately to
Marshal Soult, then Governor Of
Madrid, and told Hin what had taken
place, and reminded him OF the decree
so snpprcss this institution. Marshal
Soult replied that he might 20 and
destroy it. . Col. L., told him that his
Regiment (thc 9th Of the Polish Ian.
ccrs) was not sufficient for such q ser
vice, but il he would give him an adIi
tional rcginient-the ll7th, he would
,undeftake the work. The lI7th Reg
iment was under the ccmn.and of CGl.
De Lille, who is now like Col. H., 4 min.
lister Of the G. opcl, an pastor of an
Evangelical church,. i.,. .Ntarsciles
France. The troops required were
granted, and preceded (said Col. L.)
to the lnquiStion, which was situated
about five miles from, the city. 1t
was surrounded by wall of great
strength, and defended. By, q cympany
ofsoldiers. When, We arrived at the
walls, addressed one Of the septineIs,
and summoned the holy fathers to
surrender to the Imperial army. and
open the gates Of the lnquisitiiii. Tie
sentinel, who was standing on the
: wall, appeared to enter into convcrsa.
ton for a moment with some one
within, at the close Of Which lie pre-.
sented his lnuskct and shot one Of niy
men. This was the signal for attack,
and | ordered my troops to fire upon
those who appeared upon the walls:
"lt was soon obvious that it was an
unequal warfare. The walls Of the
lnqnisition were covered with the
soldiers Of the holy Office, there was
also q hreast.work upon the wall,
behind which they but partially ex,
posed themselves as they discharged
their muskcts. Our troops were in
the open plain and exposed to dc.
.structive fire. We had no cannon
nor could we scale the walls, and the
gates successfully resisted all attempts
at forcing them. could not retire
and send for cnnnon to break through
the walls without giving them TIME to
lay train to blow us up, | sa& that
it was necessary to change the mode
ofattack, and directed Some trees to
be cut down and triH!iicd, to be used
rs battering rams. Two of these were
taken up by dctachmei,ts of nien, as
numerous as could worR to advantage,
and brought to bear upon the walls
with all the power which they Gould
exert, while the troops kept up fire
to protect them from the fire poured
upon them from the walls Presently
tn" walls began to treii!blc, breach
was mnde, and the Imperial troops
rushed into the lnquisiL:on. Here we
met with an intldeiit which nothing
but Jesuistical ctlrontery is equal TO-
J he inqnisitor-scncraI, followed by the
father confcssors in their priestly
robes, all came out of their rooms rs
we were making our way into the it,
t''i"r of the lnquisition, and with
",g faces, and their arms crossed
nvrr heir hr"",;S ;hrir fingers ros'i,,.r