Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1855-07-10
From the Peace Manual.
Horrors Of War.

"Sir," said an old soldier 10 a peace
lecturer in England, "all you have rela.
ted have seen, and great deal more.
| was on the field Of Waterloo f; and
there | saw, on plot Of ground not
much larger than gentleman's garden,
six thousand ofmy fellow men with man.
gled limbs, dead and dying"
During the expedition Of the French
into Egypt, they marched where the
whole way was strewed with the bones
and bodies of men and animals /; there
was but one solitary tree to be seen and
TO warm themselves at night, they gath.
cred together those dry bones and bodies
of the dead, and by fire composed Of
such fuel, Napoleon lay down to sleep
in tho desert! The suferings and hor.
rors Of their march were in some in.
stances so great, that many Of his sol.
diers killed themselves in despair; and
some, going up 10 the general who had
tempted them to embark in this expedi-
ton, blew out their brains in his pies
ence, exclaiming, "this is your work."
Napoleon's massacre in cold blood Of
1000 Turks at Jalra, was horrible be.
yond description. Driven 10 the sand.
hills near that city, they were halted
near pool, when the officer in command
divided the mass into small bodies, and
ordered them all to be shot down in rows.
This horrid operation, though many
troops were employed, required much
time; and the soldiers, having at length
exhausted their cartridges, found it nc.
cessary to dispatch the remainder with
the bayonet and the sword There was
formed there a pyramid Of the dead and
the dying, streaming with blood; and
the soldiers were obliged to drag away
the bodies OF those who had already ex-
pired, in order to finish the wretches who
hid under this shocking rampant, had
not yet been reached!
Take, from an English reviewer,
sketch Of the way in which the British
troops re.caplured the cities of Spain
from the French. thousands" he says.
crushed through the breaches and tram.
pied one another to death at the very
mouths of the French guns, which cut
them down by regiments; while the
shrieks and cries Of the wounded, the
howls of the maddencd, the roar OF ord.
nance, the shouts Of an army, the be.
wilderment of midnight, and the horri
BILE stencil Of burt human flesh, lit up by
the flash Of unnumbered guns and mus
kerry, seemed like the wild burning
waves Of the bot,omless pit rolling over
the souls of the shrieking lost. Still on,
on they rush. There is no madness like
maddened mob. Hundreds were i'm.
paled upon the sharp sword.b blades fas.
tened in rows across the breaches yet
hundreds moro pressed on, and fell upon
other tiers Of the same horrible instru.
ments. Over these, as they writhel and
shrieked, mounted others, and trod and
crushed them down, till an army passed
over, unharnssd by the pointed steel be
. meath and even horsemen rushed upor
,, this causeway Of living beings, anc
trampled and crushed it into reekinl
jelly Of human flesh and blood, and still
plunged onward through the crimson riv
d. er which flowed hey ond!'
= The Russian campaign was series o
:, horrors from which we will select few
specimens. Take the passage of th'
Berezina:--"There were two bridges,
says Labaume, some for the carriages
!, the other for the infantry but the Grove
' ' was so great and tho approaches SO dan
gerous, that the throng collected on tn
. bank Of the Berezina became incapabl
Of moving. In spite Of these diffic ullle:
;, some who were on foot saved themselve
by their perseverance but about sist
o'clock in the morning, the bridge rese
= we'd for the carriages having broken dow
the baggage and artillery advanced
the other, and attempted to force pa'
:, sage. Then began frigh,ful conte
~ ~ between the infantry and the cavalry,
=, - which many Of them pershed by II
hands of their comrades, and sti
greater number were suffocated at Il
- foot Of the bridge, where the carcass
y 10 of men and horses obslructed the roa
=, to such degree. that to approach Il
: river it was necessary TO climb over Il
70 bodies of those who had been crushe
10 70 Some of them were still alive, and stru
~ Cling in the agones Of death. In ord
70 to extric ate themselves, they caught no
.. 60 of those who were marching over thel
+. hut the latter disengaged themselves wi
" violence, and trampled them under tn
feet. While they contended with
., much fury, the following multitude, Ii
~ ~ q raging wave, necessarily overwhelm
.J M fresh victims.
ar elm the midst Of this dreadful con-
he sion, the Russians made furious
rth tack on the rear.guard; and in the n
ho Of the engagement. many balls ieli
r.. the miserable crowd that for three ds
he had been pressing round the BRIDGE
70. even some shells burst in the midst
for them. Terror and despair then to
,gh possession Of every heart anxious
yo. self.preservation women and childr
.rt. who had escaped so many disast'
of seemed to have been preserved 10 OK
ass rience a death still more deplorabls
, 10 Leaving their carriages. they ran to
Nv brace the knees Of the first person I
AXE met, and implored him with tears to t
s. them TO the other side. The sick
es" wounded. seated on the trunk Of t
OF supported on crutches, looked eaI