New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-12-24
THE c.nuRTEsIEs OF WAR.

these harrayss nav be- in some degree, aieyiated
By practices Of courtesy among tae belngetehts,
which are adopted by the armies OF oivih2ea
nations during continuous campaigns, parity from
innate chivairoas feelings, and parity for Their
mutual advantage.
fullest recognition on all sides, is % 90 as slttle
harm TO one another possible, consistent with
tho real object Of the contending armies
In a battle each party must knock ever as
many of the enemy as possible, lndiyiGaais as
we'll MS masses. in order to spedne OF dTive MIN
| from the field but even then, if the ran is dis
abled, the object is gained as well as 4 he were
| killed, and therefore no liberal -mieded soldier
would wish to do more. IN the ordinary course
Of the campaign, however, ot what auvantage Y
it to KILL wound, or make prisoner, an unfortunate
individual or tive, who may happen to be IN your
pogers With armies of very many Thousand
| men, what real injury IS done by the loss OF a
same system will be scted upon by both sides, SO
that its advantages, i any exist, will be counter
balanced by the reprisals OF the opposite party.
Therefore. we wo9ld say, apply all such courte7
4 sizes as can reasonably be used to the enemy !;
respect one another; let your proceedings be .sss
4 sharp but as polished as YOU SWORD"
There Is an extraordinary story, impossible as
I told but probably based on some foundation, OF
4 the conduct of the French and English corps OF
Royal Guards, accidentally opposed to each other
at the battle Of Fontenoyth the British politely
! called out, !" Tirez MessieuFs les Gnardes Fran
saises,' The others replied, !" The French Guards
having given them Inception, put an end to the
chfgalrons contest by opening their fire and an
I initiating their adyersaries
\ There is certainly somewhat OF the extreme and
absurd In this story; but, at the same time many
4 true anecdotes may be told of the courteous be
havior of the soldiers of civilized nations towards
one another in more recent days, and especially
during the protracted campaigns N the Psmnsula-
The French Emperor in 1907, taking advantage
of the imbecty of the Courts and Governments OF
Spain and Portugal. took abrupt possession OF
| those countries, and by military exactions and
overbearing conduct, drove the nations to general
| and formidable outbreak against him. The British
Government sent out expeditionary forces to sup
port this resistance, which ended in continued
warfare in those countries until the peace IN 1914
During that period, the ordinary circumstances oi
war were frequently relieved by acts of respect
and courtesy, between the French and British
troops which came to the knowledge of the writer
who was present throughout the whole Of those
campaigns.
| The first landing was BY the small force under
/ the Duke of Wellington, (then Sir Arthur Wees
j ley) in Mondego Bay, which led to the battle @
| Vimiera, and Convention Of Cintra. By that con
4 vention the French garrison Of Almeida was to bt
i embarked at 0porto and conveyed to France. Il
/ was accompanied during the march by small
body Of British troops. On arrival near the pop
4 ulous city Of Oporto, the exasperated citizens
made threatening dispositions for an attack on the
i French. The commanding officer appealed to the
captain commanding the British detachment, who
at declared that against such breach offaitf
! they would be marshaled together as one force
and that he would stand by the French party to ht
last. This being made known to the Portuguese
had either the effect of reproof or of intimidation
and the embarkation was not interrupted.
4 The main body of the French army embarked
for France at Lisbon, under the same treaty, will
their arms and baggage. Great complaints, how
1 ever, were made by the Portuguese, that q quan
tity of effects which had been fercibly taken pos
Il session of in the country, during the French
occupation, was being removed among the bag
i gage
touched it is believed by the justice of these com
plants, which were mentioned to him BY the Brit
| ish officer who was about to succeed him in his
billet In private house, called up the proprietor
4 and said to him:
q Monsieur, think you will bear me witness
4 that when entered your house on my arrival in
| Lisbon, brought me two portmanteaus,n This
4 being acknowledged, he turned to the British OIL
\ Ger and said, You will now bear me witness, sir
| that am retiring with but one.
/ At the battle of Talavera, the French had been
repulsed in their first attack. The weather was
4 hot, and there was partial cessation of fire in
1 parts of the field for an hour or two about the
middle of the day. During this time, the soldier
| of each army went down to get water at the samt
1 little stream and were near enough to hold AMIGA
bic intercourse together renewing the battle agar
! Immediately afterward.
| The French finally RETIRED but returned after
\ some days with an Increased force, before which
the Allies found it necessary to abandon Talavera
| and to leave their sick and wounded at the mercy
| of the enemy. So arfrom these unfortunate men
suffering by the change, the French marshal, Nor
tier, Immediately organized a good hospital fol-
them, by beds and other conveniences demanded
| from the inhabitants and placed them in very
superior position to that in which they had beer
i under our own arrangements. One very fine young
officer, who had lost leg, seemed particularly Y
I attract Mertier's sympathy. He supplied him Will
money for his drafts and other convenences and
4 when he was we'll enough gave him leave and ere
4 dentiaiH TO enable him to return home through
L sxta hp WAS
marriage of NapoleonI. to Maria Louisa Of Austria
No unnecessary harassing warfare was carriet
on between the outposts Of the two armies on the
contrary, there were frequently amicabie under
standings between them. Sometimes in changes
lof position or circumstances, partial alteration
would be required, or one party have to retire
more or less; this would be frequently settled by
polite message, or, if in movement, by wave o
the hand, when, If the party appealed to saw tina
it was reasonable they would give way.
Thus after the close of the battle of Busaco,
French outpost remained in village nearer to ou
lines than was justiable in our relative positions
Instead Of attacking them, Gen. Crawford sent
message to request them to remove to create
distance The officer commanding the post sait
he had been placed there by superior authority
and could not retire, unless obliged by forces npo
which the General ordered out one of his fel,
| pieces and fired round or two into the village
This satisfied tho honor and responsibility of tn
officer, who made bow and withdrew his party
j which, in fact, we could have annihilated.
In the retreat to Corupna, our cavalry halted on
evening at Benevente, and took measures for de
stroying the bridge. Napoleon in person followe'
us as far as this spot. During the night, the Frenc
q patrols came several times on their end of th
bridge, to ascertain whether we still held on: bu
on being challenged by our sentinels, retired. On
dragoon advanced farther than the rest, and on
of our senineis, of an Irish regiment, called cut
Will ] shoot that fellowf"
:" BY no means, :, replied his officer, and the dra
goon. hearing the hubbub, speedily withdrew.
At the battle of Corunna, our wounded wer
carried off the field, and ne returned at nightfa
4 and embarked. French drummer, with Others
/ the next day, was wandering about the field, i
hopes of picking up something of a little value
and IN fainbliug over the body Of British officer
discovered that he was not dead. Upon givinl
/ that information, the officer was removed, takel
great care Of, and finally recovered. He Is one o
i the heroic Napiers.
1 After the action of Fuentes donor, the villag
/ was between the two armies. Men from eael
4 were scattered over il, somewhat mixed, in searc
i of chairs, or utensils conyeniences, to take ou
to their respective yivouacs. To prevent confa
i sion or perhaps quarrels, they drew line of de
narration alang one street, which neither part,
was to pass: and this amicable arrangement wa
respected by both.
At the lines Of Lisbon, as they were ealled-but
III fact some twelve or fifteen miles in advance o
thateity two armies lay in front of one anothe
quiescent for some months; their advanced post
in some parts so near that friendly communication
a frequently took place hetween them. The Brtisl
| had the fine city of Lisbon in their rear, wher
j every sort of comfort could be obtained; tn
4