Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1859-06-03
Correspondence Of the Free Press.
LETTERS FROM EUROPE.
NO. LXX.
Lsips,e.

ward, going by rail to Leipsic, (Lips'a,) via
Halle, (Hala Magdeburgiea, alias Hata Sdro-
nun,D We did not leave the train at Halle,
but kept directly on to Leipsic, at which
venerable little city we halted long enough |
to take look at it, and its near surround |
ings. remember well in our boyhood, as
you and read the first news of the battle of
Lcpsic how we wished we could have been
on the tower in the city, and looked out upon
that sublime and bloody field. as the battle
ragged from the 18th to the 10Th of October,
1913. 1t was from that tower that the mar
rator had watched the scene. So with almost
thcsam boyish curiosity,so many years later,
went to the tower. | could look out upon
the fertile and smiling plains and villages
scattered hero and there, and the lazy streams
that glistencd in the sun-that vcrdant plain
in northern summer, 7 could easily change
to the dun and quaker landscape of sombre
October could take the plans and charts
and make out the positions of the great cap
talns who were mannuvcring to decide one
of the greatest issues--pcrhaps the greatest,
that ever depended upon ball and bayonet
could place the 800 900 men of the allies,
and the 10 900 of Napoleon but seemed
to be fully conscious Of my inability even to
| imagine the thunder of the captains, and the
shouting and the smoke and the fire and the
thunder of lines Of 200 heavy cannon at once,
such as the Oldest veterans had never before
heard these desperate charges of thousands
of cavalry led by Kellerman and Murat, and
the columns of the bayonet charge, so solid
and SO solemn in their tread, fit image of the
march of Fate From in the morning till
night-iall those columns fought, all the live
long day, and the dead and the dying and
the disabled, the horse and his rider, lay on
the bloody ground through the silent and
solemn night The next day, from sheer
necessity, both armies reposed through cold,
rainy, autumnal day. On the 18th, at 3 in
the morning, the two armies were again in
motion, and another day till darkness shut
down upon the field, was devoted to the
laundering shocks of those great masses oil
men of superhuman bravery, each fighting in
desperation, as it were for his own dear life,
and as if conscious of the great political con-
sequences which hung upon theissue.
During the night Napoleon saw that ruin oil
retreat was his only alternative and he accord
ingly ordered retreat, covered by Poniatousk
and Macdonald Slowly, during the night
the retreat went on. In the morning it con
tinued through the city. Napoleon gav'
orders to have the only bridge across the rive
blown up on signal, to prevent pursuit
He babe goodbye to his ally, the Kius
of Saxony, at his lodgings in the city, ant
crossed the bridge. Soon after by a mstak
the bridge was blown up too soon. TIL
: news of this unlucky mishap ran back alon
the rctreating thousands, and the wildnes
e of panic seized them, and the little city, it
, streets and squares presented an awful seen
+, OF confusion and fright as the army rushe
, along. They reached the river, plunged il
5 and endeavored to reach the other bank blu
G were swept away and 20 900 were drowned
c Macdonald and Poniatousk threw up
temporary bridge which proved too weak
and while Macdonald was saved, the BRAY
Prince the last of the Poles, was precipitate
; into the stream. The charger that haC
: borne him so proudly in the battle, no,
weary and worn by the fatgucs of the day
, and disheartencd perhaps by the chagrin q
Y defeat, had not strength enough to carry hi
| l. ba
, sank together and were drowned. A monu
, ment in public garden now marks the spot
= With Napoleon, his Russian campaisl
was the beginning of the end. His successe
after this were but the occasionally creste
i waves Of continually ebbing tide. Hi
first great challenge to fate, after his return
from Moscow, was decided also on the plain
. of Leipsic,' in the great battle of May ID
1913. 1t was fit that he should call it vic
tory, because it was not defeat. 1t was a
best a drawn battle. The allies took courag
from it and hemmed him in for the sublim
! DAYS of October. Oct. 10, he fled from Leip
I, Sic, after losing the /" Battle of the Nations
On the 4th of t next May, he entered tn
Island of Elba, prisoner. What fal
from what he light what twelve mont
, of history
But the battles Of 1918 are not the onl
great days of Leipsic-for Breitenfeld anc
Lutzen, as well as Grossgerschen are all in tn
plains of Leipsic and the battles of 1881
1852, and 1912, were in their day quite a
important as those which have succeeded
them The Thirty Years War-that grea
r conflict in which the Roman Catholic power:
endeavored for a generation to suppress b.
force of arms the growing principles of Prot
: estantism was really decided here In 1853
at the village of Breitenfeld, the Catholic
forces under lilly and Pappenheim were to
tally routed by the Lion of the North, Gus
, tavus Adolphus, the immortal King of Swe
, den. This victory really settled the question
but the next year Pappenheim and Wallen
stein the great Bohemian, invaded Saxon.
|, with 40 900 men to bring the question agail
to an issue. This brought the great Swed
again to the field with % 900 men and 100 can
non with Marshal Kniphausen and the Duk'
: of Wemar as his generals of division. Tn
. battle ragged with "A ferceness characteristic
of religious strife and of such great captain
: fighting the battles of the Lord, In the mids
, of the fight, when the fate of the day wa
yet undecided, Gustavus Adolphus WA
! killed. This would probably have lost tn
hattla IN tho protastants had no
1 the Duke OF Weimar with great adj
dress, caused the report to be spread tina
he had fallen into the hands of the enemy
, This reused his Swedes to drawer.