Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1856-11-19

A LEAF FROM THE Ms. OF REv.J. p. DoNELi

soldier--hs exci'abil'y, his martial lire,
and idoiarous love for the name Of ~ En-
pereur Napoleon form al idea Of the
wild Joy Of these veterans, when the body
OF Napoleon was brought from ST Helena
for burial in France. Will it be believed
there were among them the remnants o'
Wagram, AusfeTlitz ami Waterloo. many
who would shake their wooden s'umps ih9
anger, even at the French Government, oe-
cause whole fleet was not sent to BRING
back in triumph him whom they never
could believe TO b- dead, though the storms
and winds of nineteen years had sung ms
requiem.
spoke with one of these veterans, VINO
wa. in the midst OF all The horrors OF the
re,rea, from Moscow: Re was every inch
solder-that is, what wa left OF hm-tor
he was minus an eye, an arm and i's'
wi lie cash across the forehead 'o't mat
he had fallen with his face 10 the foe. tie
came near being captured Hi,h The ih.u~
prisoners. who were bu little better on
than the 1000 OF their companions left
dead on the field. or the well disciplined
hosts with which Napoleon crossed the
Nleman, but a confused mass numbering |
about $4,000 was left TO march towards
wilma. The prestige OF La Grande
Armleo was destroyed Mai f"," ex-
claimed the old veteran, Struggling his
shoulders, "that was a terrible lime at the
" hal
had hard times al Borodlt". where the
| Russians fought US like devil. They were
| determined to hin3er u, from n'ering Mos
| cow..but, mai fol- what could stop lie
| Grade Armie Ceftes- he Emperor was
| th.fe..ani We wouli have taken Moscow
! If we'd ha.! 10 storm -! But at Borodi
| 40 We hA1 ialr H. ht--'ne Russians are noble
fellows, Mon, noble fellows How we
but, mai FL, the Gfands ArInie must 70
ahead
Al the crosslg OF the Berr>Ina, Mons,
THERE we had hard tllnes We had loO, 200
6gttius men when We iefl MoscOw-in five
and tweuiy days we had bn' 10000 capable
of action. Ii the RJ,s.aas had been wiie
awake they misn have clt u, on 10 man,
at The Berrs.na. That Is a .liiashoas river
on The borders between Russia and Poland.
1t had no b.idge-ahd We had to wade
through marshes aud nui. We mad $1,000
men when We left Smolrhsh, 1911 eannon,
besides good supply vi ammunition. but
a., a Hal mi 1
ten thousand of the nsdnte ArmI", ali IN
rags and scarcely cannsn! oudIno' ana
Victor soon loined us, however, and bettrred
our condition.
On the night OF the 9Th November, we
commenced throwing bridges ACROSS the
river. The cold was excessive, and the Ice
floating down the rapid cufrent amazed us
greatly. On the opposite SIDE were 10000
Russians, and behind us and below us on the
bank were large arm OF the enemy. An,
Mons. there vas the moment for Napoleon
TO show his skill, AID he was equal 10 The
difficulty. Dombi ou-ki Ga i!hot and Vic.
tor We're ordered 10 inai >ha their commands
for one last struggle. W. had some des'
perate fights. TIL EmprieuI completely
out-witted The X is>laas, ~ pretending 10
b nd bridge some LliIes lower than where
we had actually buIiy iEr,n. o. never
Mon, can forget he enthusiasm Of our
nob!. sodi. While W. Were at that work
On engineers worked wonders-nothing
could resist th sm H. lfreAng water up 10
. a Par I...4 LIT a
when the Russians t-'., ID ~ .tal motive.
and began To ga,heI Oh ite post" SIZE 10
FIRE upon Us, Corbneau VII. ms gallant
cavalry swan acros. The r,v-t 4" drive them
attacked rs on both d a lie River.--
Ouaino' stood Il bravei,. Mons. tie was
on the r,gat bank with tie ni4la body; tie
fight continued Till mlinist,; - lost abou,
l,n0O, but his was nu;hns e, rht hoGrots
of the lsft bank ald the Bird, e. Ihe enc.
my was then strong; We We're weak; they
poured IN their cannon shots from a good
position, aud raked the bridges for and aft.
Crowds were always pressing, tul only a
few could pass at time, aud the mnrderons
fire Of tn Russians threw he women and
sras.ers into confusion The scene, Mons.
was awful On they rushed like torrent
TO cross the Bird .e: horses, Infantry, caval-
~. artillery, and crowds OF helpless sick
men, and the families Of he soldiers who
had followed the arm, through all the hor-
rors of the Russian campaign.
h.. I. =, H.. 1,
aperlect hurricane; the Roaring and dashing
Of the ice floating in huge pies and masses
in the river; the internal fire OF the Russians,
the balls falling thick and fast ouhd US;
the screams of the women; the groans Of the
dying; the crrsing of the soldiers. the ,iash-
ing heajlong fury of the cavalry, aud hors-
Is dragging cannon over and through the
frantic crowd ,Ploughing them down in hun
dreis, as they dashed ahead more tearfully
destructive than the enemies fire in the rear.
when crash in the midst of oil this horror,
the artillery bridge trembles, it swa,s 10
and fro, aud with all its cargo sinks INTO
the ma idened river. And then, ali Mons,
| what scene followed have been ~
many battle, and have witnessed many
I sights that even myse sometimes Thick
! dream, but the Boresina, Moses the Bores
ina beats them all. One bridge was on fire.
anc the frantic people rushed IN over flames
ani heaps Of dead only TO plunge into the
waves. Thousands persisted iau., and r.
600 dead bodies were ibind Afterwards
along the river, The crowd still rushed on
from the rear, ignorant OF the breaking OF
the bridge; and, frightful as the scene was,
said the old soldier, | stopped and leaned
against pile of corp'es, who had been
crushed 10 death, to see and hear the strng