Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-06-28

Tic ulN ESlOIlS VI MEL 6nu StSSAoaSh htonS saSh
appearance. They arrived and were saiuted
with a long bravo, which astonished and dis
concerted the enemy.
aGen. Mcmahon advanced to Magenta with
an ardor. q dash, and an enthusiasm which was
the admiration ofthe whole army. At the mo-.
ment when his attacking column was crossing
the bridge Gen. EspinasSe, who was leading it
with his well-known intrepidity, was unfortu-
nately struck by a ball in the very centre of his
breast. He must have died instantly. On seeing
him fall, the soldiers, quite beside themselves,
rushed forward to avengc his death. Nothing
could stop them; on, on they went, sweeping
away every obstacle; and after completely rout-
ing the enemy, they effected their junction
with the Imperial Guard, which was all the while
commanded by the Emperor in person.
The battle was gained. Marshal Canrobert
and Gen. Rcgnault de Saint Jean d Angely had
done wonders on their side. We were masters
Of the field.
II hear that the Emperor warmly congratu-
lated the new Duke Of Magenta, to whom hr
attributed a large share in the success of the
day. The Emperor did not shrink from expo
sing himself during the action, and more than
once General Flcury threw himself before him,
Drawing, with a devotion which all admired,
though all were ready TO do the same, the bull
lets which threatened his Majesty" .
THE FIELD OF MAGENTA.
Especial Correspondence Of the London News
Yesterday evening, not without great difficult
ty, succeeded in getting here to inspcctt the field
Of the glorious battle fought on Saturday last.
Nv pen is not adequate to describe the heart
rendlng scene which surrounds Inc. Trees
thrown down by the dreadful effect Of artille-
49,. .,-, &c la,I holin. human limbs ccottar.
cd about, carriages broken, farm houses burnt,
crops tramplcd, vineyards devastated, houses
plundcrcd. Such is the deplorable sight that
has met my eyes since my arrival in this town.
Town, however, Magenta is no more. The
small inn whence | am now writing these lines
bears marks OF the tremendous struggle, for it
was thrice taken and rctakcn during the action.
Not a piece offurniture is to be found; not even
a chair TO sit upon.
Some Of the details ] sent you on Sunday
were not quite correct. The field-guus captured
By our troops were not twenty, but four. ]
was led into an error BY . man who showed
me some other guns which were captured at
Palestro and Borso Yercelli. The battle ofMa-
genta was not begun by our troops, but by the
Austrians, who, although in full retreat to-
wards Pavia, were ordered TO change their front
and attack our advanced guard, which had
crossed the Ticino ut Buffalora. One battalion
Of the IouavcS and two companies Of the same
regiment, together with two regiments Of Grena-
diers, all belonging to the Imperial Guard, were
suddenly attacked by 25, 900 .Austrians under
the orders Of General Zobel. Our gallant Al
lies had three batteries with them, but only
two field-pieces were brought to play upon the
advancing columns Of the enerHy.
You must not forget that the country which
lies between this village and .Abbiate-Grasso is
intersccted by numbcrless canals which supply
the water to the rice fields of the district. All
these fields had been Of course inundated for
agricultural purposes; so the guns Of our adj
vanced guard could not be placed except on the
main road, which, by the by, is very narrow,
and by which the .Austrians were advancing.
The right wing of tile French advanced guard
thus attacked was formed by the abovc-mcn-
toned troops. Five other companies Of Zou-
ayes of the Imperial Guard were marching on
the left. This heroic column. which CALAMITY
disputed the advance Of Zobel's corps darmec
for five long hours. scarcely numbered 1000
men. The rolling of muskctry. the pounding Of
/ field guns, the crash of steel, ] have been told
BY an actor Of the bloody drama, were deafen-
ing. The !Austrians advanced, halted, adj
4 NIuCpu uHUllll JtCGlNC "a hlu uIl a NlOSS sitth
deadly fire: but the bayonet is the queen Of
wcapons-Magenta proved it. The brave band
of our Allies were rainly clinging to their guns.
After two hours Of a fearful struggle three Of
them were captured by the enemy. 1t was
then that brave, kind-hearted General Clerc
fell from his horse. The Colonel Of the first
Zouaves soon followed. A minute later the
Lieutenant.C Colonel and twelve officers of the
same regiment were no more. The battalion
il you can designate by such a word the three
hundred left-was now fighting for life; it was
surrounded BY a division of the enemy; there
was no help visible. But "Les Zo"ares sont
les Zouarsa." said my informant, who has the
honor to belong to this famous corps. The
five companies on the left. seeing the peril Of
their comrades. rushed with such impetuosity
against the cncmy's division. that the three
hundred were left alone, and all the force Of
Crotians and Bohemians was brought to bear
against the new corners
This last hand to hand fight last lasted two
hours. The disproportioE Of numbers was,
however, too grcat-thc French were exhaust
ed with fghting-but at last came the help
About twelve o'clock the endorsements ap-
peared on their left-a joyful sight to our
struggling regiments. The three field guns al
ready captured by the enemy were soon re-
captured at the point of the bayonct. Zobel's
corps daymee was easily routed by the Impe-
rial legions and obliged to retire. The action
then became general and lasted three hours
longer till the bold assault of Mcmahon decided
the victory. The effect Of this gallant Gene
rails move was that Of cutting the Austrian
army into two bodies. Threatened on all sides,
forced in his position, mcnaced with being sur.
rounded, General Gyulai gave orders to retreat,
Routed as they were. they now ran pell.mell-
some towards Guolo Visconti, some toward Ro-
safe, Ternale, and Pavia. Covering their hasty
| and disordered retreat by bodies of horse and
by a tremendous fire Of artillery, the AustrianS
fell back upon their cntrenched lines in i'm
mense confusion. The battle Of Magenta had
been won.
General Gyulai had brought into action
100, 900 men; he left nearly 10000 of them
wounded and dead on the battlefield, 1000
were taken prisoners; two flags, 1000 KNAPP.
sacks, L., 900 muskets, and four guns have
fallen into our hands. Besides these difficult
ties, General Gyluai knows that Marshal
paraguay d'Hilliers is marching fast towards
the AIDA, and that he may succeed in inter
cepting the main road, which from Cologne
leads to Cremona.
Alctter from Novara of the eth, in the d.
bets, says
1.-THE striking results ofthe encounters at Pa
lestro naturally make one ask what has become
ofthc famous Hungarian rcgiments-ofthose IA:
nous battalions Of the military colonies-and OF
those bands of Croats who were said to rush into
the fire with the most enthusiastic cheers. At
the time ofthe offensive movement of the 3lst
Nav, the divisions of Generals Lila and Jel-
lachich had not less than 10000 men, accor-
ding to the avowal of the Austrian officers
themselves. They were covered BY a deep
canal, protected by a height, and defended by
an advantagcously placed battery. Three
battalions of Zouaves overthrow the whole,