The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-08-04
TALL Talking

The very character OF ther mbguage
with its long and sonorous words, and its
sounding phrases, seems to encourage
the spirit Of gasconade. No people can
talk so masnificently about small AFFAIRS
or utter bubbles in hcroics, so naturally,
50 gracefully, with so much gravity, ana
with effects so immutably ludicrous' -
When speaking of their own achieve
msnts, they ascend into the very seventh
heaven Of invention, and nothing IN fable
;s so marvellous "a what they make out
Of the simplest occurrences OF the day :
They had peculiar opportunities to IN
dulge this vein during their long war
with the first Napoleon, and they did not
neglect a single one Of them. Never
since troops first trod the field of battle
were such prodigies Of valor performed
never were such fearful odds SO fearlessly
encountered; never were such unpar
allsled victories gained !, never such piles
OF slaughter beheld; never such num-
bers of trophies and prisoners won from
a conquered foe as the Spanish generals
constantly reported to the Cortez, the
Cortez to England, and the English
newspapers to the world. Foreign ma
tons were for time completely de-
ceived-for a time believed the Spanish
soldiers the heroes they represented
themselves to be-and refused to listen
TO the French, who asserted that. so far
from performing all these prodisies OF
yalor in very truth, the Spanish armies
scarcely dared look the bronzed veterans
of the Rhine and the Danube in the face,
and invariably fled Ike sheep whenever
dispositions were made to give them the
charge.
There were many Spanish rhodomon-
fading generals at that day, the least OF
whom deserved to have his history writ
ten by Cervantes, that inimitable master
of the ludicrous in action. They have
all had their day, and have been sung by
better men than we. But one we
would select from that proud throns
because of his infinite and inexpressible
superiority to all others in that profes-
sion, in which they all so far surpassed
the rest of mankind. This is the Condo
de Belvdera a young nobleman, who, on
Napoleon's advance in 1908, headed that
division of the Spanish army directly
opposed to the column that marched
under the orders of Marshal Soult.-
This division Soult found drawn up in
order of battle at Gamon3, Immediately
in front Of the ancient town of Burgos,
which it was its mission to defend. He
thought so little Of any resistance it was
likely to make that he ordered the at
tack to be made almost without hating,
and certainly. without dismounting from
the post-horse which he was riding-for
he had travelled fast to Overtake his
army, and had found it in. presence OF
the enemy. The effect was instantanc-
ous The Spaniards, to the number Of
10000, threw away their arms, KNAPP
sacks, and everything calculated to i'm
pede their flight; broke into thousand
fragments, scattered to all the quarters
of the compass, and fed faster than the
wild deer of the mountains, Belvidera
himself leading the way, and keeping far
in advance of the most aeet-footed. For
four DAYS this heroic chief continued to
run. and at the end of four days he
found time to write to the Cortez, and to
inform them that he had been attacked
by an overwhelming force, had stood his
ground for twenty -four hours, Staying q
prodigious number of the foe, had then
commenced falling slowly back, and had
retired, fighting all the way, to the place
from which he dated, and which was
about one hundred miles from the field
of battle! At that moment Col. Maple,
expressed the belief that there was not
Spanish soldier within twenty miles Of
Belvidera. E.
We said this story could not be sur
passed-and we are sure it could not, at
least in Spain. But the Yankees beat
the Spaniards as far in romancing as the
Spaniards beat the rest Of the world
Here, for instance, is Yankee descrip.
ton Of the disgraceful flight of the Yam
KEGS at Kernstown, in the late action at
that place:
1.-THE battle which was fought at this place
lastt:ca all day that ia, the engagement which
was here commenced was continued until
dark, the enemy in the meantime having, By
force Of numbers, driven our men to within
SIX miles of NJ artinsburg.
"Soon after the opening Of the engagement
a. 1t promised to be serious one, the com
nanding general made every possible pre-
parAtion to make a stand and fight IL out or
the spot. hat this was soon found to bs
tmpracttcable, because no sooner had W.
{crmed our lines than the enemy's superi
oTtty In numbers gave him the very eas,
advantage OF outhanking Us.
"As We, from time to time, changed posi-
tion, (the firing both with musketry and can
non being 1T the tame time continued wifi
all our effective force, the enemy moved mn
Every possible resistance for each new and
further advance was presented. The rebel,
fought with great obstinacy, and SO did we
They made dash after dash with their cav