The Shasta courier., 1863-07-25
The Burning of Moscow.


The following sketch is the statement of
Venerable man. who was subaltern in the
grand army of Napoleon at the taking and
4burning of Moscow:
II After all our marches, fatigues, fights,
herils. privations. hopes andifears fsays the
Arrator,) picture our wild delight, when we
first came in sight of the magnificent ci Of
doscow, with its thousand gilded steeples,
I]domes and minarets glitterine in the rays of
the sun, and appearing to our eyes rather
Hike some illusiye scene of enchantment than
place of reality. | could scarcely credit
nv senses. 1t seemed to me like fairy Wis
lion that was soon to vanish away. Alas
| true was my presentiment in fact, but how
different in manner from the fancy of my
| waking dream The great city of the Rus
sian czars was doomed to be no more--but
2 ms to go down with roaring flames, amid the
1 lrieks of thousands, instead of fading from
lie view like phantasmagoria.
+ We crossed the Moskwa. and entered the
city by a deserted road and PASSED into de-
/ serted streets, where our heavy, measured
tramp, tramp, tramp were the only sounds
that broke the awful silence. 1t seemed as
if we were marching into some mighty city
of the dead and never befcrs did | experience
such sense of utter and fearful desolation.
Around US, on every side, were the architec-
| tural structures of man, reared with gran
deur and picturesque beauty, that l had new
er seen before. and yet SD deserted that not
even single human face was to be discover
ed at any of the thousand windows. There
may be II feeling of loneliness in the Forest
in the desert, or on the ocean-but it has not
the appalling force of deserted city, With
nature we may feel lonely, for the want of
human companionship-bu we know this
not especially belong there, as in a mighty
city reared by human hands. Alone with
nature, we behold the works of God, and
1 know that His great living principle is il
and through all things. Sustaining them in
harmony with their creanon-but among the
tenantless habitations of man, we feel the
awful void that only human presence can fill.
Add to this, that in taking possession of the
abandoned city of Moscow, there was an un-
deGnabls dread Of some imnehding catastro
phc I've feared something unseen and un
known We could not feel satisfied that we
were safe for I moment. even ii our NJ ls. ap-
parelt security. We we're in constant fear
of q sudden attack, a terrible ambuscade, 4
secret mine. Il we heard an unusual sound,
we ianciei the anemy vas upon rs If we
syy seidicrs Il 4 distance, rs we sometimes
did. even though they were Of our own na-
i.on, we were ready to fly fronl them and
they from Us. All was evil expecta.ion,
dread, fear, ,iis.rust.
As we ar7roaghcd the locality where we
had been ordered to quarter ourselves, il the
grand houses, palaces and churches, we cala
upon a few wretches who had fingered be-
hind the departed multitude, as If they could
no. bear tha th9u.ht Of leaving forever the
beautiful city which had 1ecn all the world
10 them. the only home they ever had known
They were generally crying. sobbinc, wiring
ing their hands, and ieplorng their hard for
'ane in tOnes-we could understand, if not
their language There were old men. wom-
en- and children, interspersed with cripples
and wounded soldiers, all bemoanirg their
hard fate together. In general they took lit
tie notice of us, rs we marched past, with
our steady, solemn tramp, but seemed alb
sorbed with their grief Of desolation-bowed
down and crushed with the thought that
hAnceforth they were to be homeless wander
ers, doomed to persh by disease and famine
IL unknown places. Further on, and in the
quarter assigned to us, we came upon our
own troops, of another division, which had
entered the fatal city the day previous. AL
ready they had lost that order and displine
which still governed our ranks. Conquer
oTs in one Of the richest and most magnii-
cent cities of the world, their busy hands had
already begun that work ofpillage which was
destined to be carried to such fearful excess.
While the officers rioted in the halls of mobiles,
aud drank to the ambitious emperor who had
lef US hither, the common soldiers began
tksir plunder in inferior places. Sto -es were
broken opon and their contents seized as fan
cy dictated, and dwellings were ransacked
and robbed of all the plate and money that
eohld be found. The spectacle which was
NOW presented to our eyes, and which grew
mdre fearful as we advanced, was one nev-
er wish to look upon again. Everywhere we
beheld men of our own nation turning to
shameless robbers and loaded with plunder.
many with more than they could carry-that,
after tottering along for a while under the
richest burthens, part would have to be
thrown away. All would have been sellers,
but there were few TO buy. Goods of the
most costly description-silks, grapes, laces.
and furs-were tumbled promiscuously into
the streets, and each was free TO help him.
self to what he valued most. 1t was a wild
scesle of riot, but without the usual noise at
ten,iant upon such devastation. All were
yeG fearfully still in their work of plunder,
as if oppressed with a nameless dread. The
runior had already gone forth that the COVER
nor and mobiles had ordered the city to be
burned, and already, as if in confirmation of
this startling fact, the great exchange. in the
| vers heart of the town around which our di-
vision was to be quartered, was on fire, the
flames pouring out of the windows and roar
ing with terrible distinctness. At first
tneFe had been desire on the part of the
military TO suppress the flames but when it
was discovered there were no means for this
that all the engines had been Withdrawn
or destroyed-the idea was abandoned as fu-
tile, and only that of securing plumber con-
sidered
The building in which the officers of my
regiment were finally quartered, if not pal
aoe. was at least so lofty, ,'grand, sumptuous-
ly furnished, that an emperor might have oc-
cupisd it with propriety. On entering, we
| found it in charge of porter and two other
servants, all the rest of the household having
fed, no one knew whittier. We were allow
| ed to select our bed chambers according to
rank, and the house was so large and roomy