Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1854-11-29
THE HORRORS OF WAR.

THE HORRORS OF WAR.
The Crimean correspondent of the London
Times gives sketch of the appearance of the
field, after the battle of Alma. While in some
Of its points it does not differ from the ordina-
ry descriptions of the battle field, in others it
gives some terrible examples of the barbarity of
war:
at was terrible and sickening sight to go
over the battlefield. Till deprived of my horse
by chance shot, I rode about to ascertain, as
far as possible, the loss of our friends and in
doing SO was often brought to a stand-stl by
the difficulty of getting through the piles of
wounded Russians, mingled too often with our
own poor soldiers. The hills of Greepwich park
in fair time are not more densey covered with hu-
man beings than were the heights of the Alma
with dead and dying. On these bloody mounds
fell 2,l96 English officers and men, and upwards
of 5000 Russians, while their western extrem-
ity was covered with the bodies Of l,4OO GAL
liant Frenchmen, and Of more than 5000 of their
foes"
In speaking of the wounded Russians, he
says:
"The surgeons remarked that their (the Rus
sians,) tenacity Of life was very remarkable
Many of them lived with wounds calculated to
destroy two or three ordinary men. saw one
of the 32d regiment on the field just after the
fight. He was shot right through the head, and
the brain protruded in large masses at the back
of the head and from the front of the skull.
saw with my own eyes the wounded man raise
his hand, wipe the horrible mass from his brow
and proceed to struggle down the hill towards
the water
"Many of the Russians had small crosses and
L r. IL =
were found with Korans in their knapsacks-
most probably recruits from the Koran Tartars
Many Of the officers had portraits of wives OF
mstresses, of mothers or sisters, inside of their
coats. The privates wore the little money they
possessed in purses fastened below their left
knees, and the men in their eager search after
their money, often caused the wounded, painful
apprehensions that they were about to destroy
them. Last night all these poor wretches lay
in their agony; nothing could be done to helT
them. The groans, the yels, the cries of des
pair and suffering, were mournfu commenta
ry on the exultation Of the victors and on the
JOY which reigned along the bivouac fires of oui
men,
Long after night had closed, faint lights NIGH
be seen moving over the frightful field, mark
ing the spots where friendship directed the step,
of some officer in search of wounded comrade
or where the pilager yet stalked about on hi
horrid errand. The attitudes Of some of tn,
dead were awful. One man might be seen rest
ing on one knee, with the arms extended in tn
form of taking aim, the brow compressed tn
lips cinched-the very expression of firing at al
enemy stamped on the face and fixed there b.
death ball had struck this man in the neck
Psychologists or anatomists must settle tn
rest. Another was lying on his back with III
same expression, and his arms raised in simi
lar attitude, the Mime musket still grasped il
his hands undischarged. Another lay in per
feet arch, his head resting on one part of tn
ground and his feet on the other, but the bacl
raised above it. Many men without legs O
arms were trying to crawl down to the waite
side. Some of the dead lay with a calm, plac
smile on the face, as tho they were in some dc
lcious dream"