Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1859-07-27
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ThfRATTLE OF SOLFERIN0

'.sfelSi e Il lie s.- Yo+s fssssl :. >
rim Rattle OF sOLFERINo.
~. CAs.sslsosk, IrALr, FRrpAY NIGHT.
......sis e..-.-s.s .ses.e 57# June "a 1851
, Icante from Breacia carly this morning. and ar.
rived lust in time to witness the last half OF what
have very little doubt will turn out to have been the
greatest battle the modern world has seen. You
will get the official summary Of its results by teie-
grsP& before this letter reaches YOU, and will DC
prepaNd therefore for this statement OF it's magn'-
tude,. cannot describe it with any precision as
yetstss L has lasted all day, and extended over
circuit Of not less than fifteen mlesS and noise OF
the oonuonadA and even Of the nisketfy, moreover,
il mi IN my ears and none of chose engaged IN IT.
.xct the wounded have returned to give us any dis
tinctand connected account Bntnot less :han 45o,-
OOOmsh havebeen engaged init; andot these not less
than 80 0O0-dcad or disabied--le, on this bright,
starry night upon the bloody field.
The hattie commenced at little before five o'clock
in the morning-not far from sunrise. just back
Of Castigone rises high range Of hills which pro-
jects mile or thefeabodts into the plain and then
breaks OF towards the left into wide expanse Of
smaller hills, and so into the rolling surface which
makes that portion Of the plain: The A,'strlans
had taken position upon these hs-planting can
non upon those nearest to Castighone, whlcn mex
coald approach, a. the French army was IN full
force in and around that little vage-and had sta
toned their immense array all over the surrounding
As nearly as We can now learn the Emperor
Francis Joseph had collected here not less than
295, 900 troops and commanded them in person.
His evident purpose was to make stand here and
risk the fortunes of the war upon the hazards OF
the day. Napoleon promptly accepted the challenge
and commenced the attack as soon as It vas light
this morning by placing cannon upon the hills still
nearer to Castiglione than those held by the Aus
triShs. and opening fire upon them on the heights
beyond He took his own stand upon the highest
Of these, steep, sharp-backed ridge. which COM
mands magnificent view Of the entire circdit Of
the plain and from that point directed the entire
mosements of his army during the carly portion OF
the day.
The French very soon drove the enemy out Of
the posts they held nearest to the town. and follow
ed them into the small villages Of the plain below.
The first of these was Solferino, where they had a
sharp and protracted engagement The Austrians
disputed every inch of the ground and fought here,
as they did throughout the day, with the utmost
desperation They were three times driven out Of
of the village, moreover. took part against the
French, upon whom they fired from their windows
and the French were compelled in selfdefence to
burn the town.
When the Aus trians fund it impossible to hold their
ground any longer they fell back, slowly and stead
Y.
as you will see by the map, lies directly southeast
from Castiglione. and is only about mile from the
river Mincio, from which, however. it is separated
by range Of hills Upon these hills in the rear
Of the town. and overlooking it completely on the
u. and southeast Sides the Austlians had planted
very formidable batteries; and when arrived upon
the field and went at once to the height where the
Emperor had stood at the opening Of the engage
ment but which he had left an hour before to fol-
viC he haiti IA
away upon the French who were stationed on the
plain below.
I was too far off to observe with any accuracy
the successive steps of the action, but could dis
tinetly 81 the troops stationed upon the broad
plain, and moving up in masses towards the front,
where the artillery was posted, as their services
were required. But as soon as they reached this
point they were speedily developed in the smoke Of
the cannon, and disappeared from observation. But
the general result was soon made evident by the
slackening of the Austrian fire. and by the falling
back of their smoke and a corresponding advance
on the part of that which rose from the French ar
tllery. The cannonading at that point lasted fol
over an hour; but in precisely what direction tn,
Austrians retreated it was not possible from tn,
position l occupied, to see. Part of the Austrian
force probably crossed the Mincio river which flow.
southwark from the lower end of Lake Guarda, ant
empties into the Pc.
But the battle continued to rage al! over the re
gon northwest of a line connecting the towns o
Castiglione, Solferino, and Volta. At one point al
ter another sharp cannonading would arise ant
continue for half or threequarters of an hour ant
after each successive engagement of this kind tn
result became apparent in the retreat Of the Aus
TRANS and the advance of the French forces.
During all the carly part of the day the sky ha
been clear and the weather hot But clouds besal
to gather at about noon and at o'clock, while tn
cannonade was at its height tremendous thnn
derstorm rolled up from the northwest; the win
came first sweeping from the parched streets a
enormous cloud Of dust and was soon followed b
heavy fall of rain, accompanied by vivid lightnin
and rapid explosions of rafting thunder Tn
storm lasted for about an hour, and the cannonai
ing, 50 far as we could distinguish. was suspended
Then the rain ceased, the clouds blew away, tn
sun shone out again, and the air was cooled an
perfectly delightful
Though the cannon may have ceased for tim
to take part in it the fight had meantime gone on
and when again resumed my post of observation
from which the storm had expelled me. the cannon
aiding commenced quite on the extreme left of tn
entire field and on the very borders of the lax
northeast from Castiglione and west of Pescher,
The Piedmontese troops, under the King, who con
mlnds them in person, had been posted there d.
receiSed the Austrians as they came around. Frou
about o'clock until after nightfall an incessant an
most terrible combat was here kept up. The bait
ries Of the two armies were apparently about half
mile apart and at the outset they were both serve
withnearly equal and effective vigor; but the Au
TRANS gradually slackened their fire and sever
times took up new positions, while the Sardinia,
poured rapid and uninterrupted shower of bal
upon them, suspending only for few minutes at
time. and then renewing it again with redoubl.
fury. 7.-aa -
The wind had now gone down, the air was still
and the sound Of musketry, Is well as of the ca
non, was distinctly heard The former was CONT
uous, sharp, and incessant, sounding like the ca
slant and irregular pattering Of hail upon a ro<
while the latter was occasionally suspended, b.
while It lasted was overwhelmingly grand and ter
ble Over the Sandman park rose dense Viii
cloud Of smoke, directly upwards its sides perfect
upright and well defined, and spreading outwa