Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1859-03-17

che is happy. Certainly; can imagine, however,
/. the misery and anguish Of those remaining. when
dying wretch secs the future with such dread that
the hope Of escaping il gives him such s.rcng in
his last moments
..And must they, then, Re left bchindi" asked
L,rush, shuddcring at their condition H. %
'Can you carry them away land can they endure
the m ,rch7'' said Rssnski-
The Emperor has ordered that every baggage
wagon shall take up a man; they win endcavor to
save those who can vet be saved. The others will
DC left to the mercy otthc enemy. t,.
"Tenlcr mercies, indcod!' groaned Colonel La.
! rush, with a thoughtful brow
"Thcy may call themselves happy" continued
Rasnski,, adjusting the bandage over his inhamed
eye, "if they but fall into the hands OF the enemy
Should he tarry long, they must perish in the most
miserable m,nncr. The greater part of them can
not move themselves. Ii already begins to get
thick again" The fog had actually descended,
moist and cold, upon the fields making t impossi-
Die to see objects at the distance Of hundred feet
81 have never seen weather like this before .
said Captain Rosen. ur
"The wind has shifted to the mort -west,'' said l.
Wrapping our cloaks moro closely around US, We
proceeded silently on. Deep silence prevailed
the dull rum5l ne OF the artillery alone heard
! in the distance. few slight undulatons of the
ground had accidcnty brought me about thirty pa
ccs to the right Of my friends. Suddenly my horse
stumbled; pulling up the animal by the bridle and
bending forward to sec against what he had STUN
bled, brhcld sight which is fresh in my memory
t, this day. ltwas half decaycd, half-nakcd body
The face, changed by putrciaction and birls Of
prey into disgusting Disagreement Of humanity
s:.red horribly at me. An involuntary cry escaped
nv lips; and INV horror increased when, looking a
round me. Observed mmy more human bodies
half consumed in the deep furrows of the land close
by.
"wh,t is III" asked Roscn, coming towards me
"Look around you, and you will sec," said /.
sl,oushtfally. as.a .Fa3 .ea
I We had all rode in the grey fog, without paying
any attention to the way or the ground. A blast o.
wind dispensing the fog fora moment, gave US a
vicw of some tSo hundred paccs around.
"wc are on the battle field. exclaimed Larush
with surprise. w e
81 .Ind ed. did not suppose that we were sc
ncar,'' said B,lcs, looking around.
With grave attention We all permitted our eyc'
to wander over that dcsoia,e and silent field o
death, which seven weeks before shook with the
terrible uproar Of conflict Of nations, and the thun
der OF thousand guns. As when. in the dusk o
evening, the eve first catches sight ofa few stars
and at every succeeding minute discovers more
uatil last The whole vault issecn spansed through
OFT, did the fearful signs of destruction mu
tply, under the horror stricken eyes of all re
visiting this scene Of c.rnsgc.
The thick atmosphere Was momcntarily dispersed
by the wind; it appeared as though il removed tho
curtain for all to behold. Horror penetrated the
soutcst carts this terrible charnel house gsadu
ally developed itself First We only saw a few
corpses, struck by the hoofs Of our horses; anon
the numbers multiplied beyond the power Of count
ing; and il was soon evident that every dark cIeva
ton discovered by the eye was not stone, nor =
fallen tree, nor a mound, but hum,n body, or
mass Of bodies piled up together. At every stcr
forward this picture of destruction became more
and more loathsomc. The wind drove poisnou'
and pcstientisl vapor in faces. an odor so dis
gustiny III the horses, starting aside would scarce
ly obey their ,stcrs; and only when urged by the
spur would they take their way the fearful road
In m,ny places we saw large elevations, where
m,.scs ofbodes had been thrown together and SO
Iosely covered with earth that the storm and rain
hid almost washed this scanty covering away. In
m INV places the dead assumed the most horrible
postions the bones Of some were half covered with
pu.resecnt flesh; many were naked and already
bcachel ;--ofothers the heads, covered with rough,
blood, hair, sunk down to the ground, the legs
u,turs.ly turned upwards; and of not few, the
arm was lifted high, as If endeavorins to work
themselves up from their moulderins grave. Sin
glc limbs half gnawcd by wolves and birds Of prey,
were spread about. Grinnins skulls, with hollow
eye sockets bloody hair dreadfully hanging about
them, st,rcd from the ground.
Mingled with these terrible remains were the
warlike memo ials Of the battle. Crushed gun
carriages wheels drums, rusty balls, pieces ofbro-
ken mu.kcts and swords. shining helmets, lay
S rawn over the field. At first view one could dis
ccrn the places where tho cavalry and artillery had
fought; they were strcwn wthcarcasscs, partly en-
! tire aud partly reduced to skeletons. The mist,
rolling in long liaes across fell, at one time con
ceacd, at another disclosed these scenes Of horror
and at Ienst, t was SO much dispersed as to allow
the sight to range unrestricted asfar as the dreadful
I signs of destruction and death were visible
"Do you see that hill Wonder 2" said Larush point
ing with his finger to mighty ruin, which appear
I'd to rise through the haze THAT is the terrible
rcdoubt where we LETT SO many Of our men All.
now We m,y indeed recognize those fields OF glory
and horror, where bIed thirty thousand OF our COM
radcs. 'ilt - 5itt
wenow approached nearer once more, to traverse
a place which naturally would inspire Us with the
most vivid rccolIcctic-s- All of as became silent
Each one bore its sorowful remembrance deep
within his brcast- How much more fearful looked
the battle field than hen the roaring thunder
deacned the car, andthc heavy gunsrolled orcr the
ground. Then it was the grim eountensnce Of an
cwaged giant, now the horror stricken visage of a
satiatcd Nemesis As the remn mt Of the regiment
for we still pursued our way on the main road
approached the rcdoubt, the horses were scarcely
able to proceed. from the number OF obstacles COW
crins the ground. 4e4.s ash .4a al
"Xhat can that be on the rau,rart yonder 7ss Mt