Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-08-03

The Austrian right AMI reserves ie1om, nor,
uusteaiy. but their artillery contests every foot
OF ground Suddenly sr1ttcriuz cr musSetry
breaks out of the trees ani houses u Klum right
down On the Austrian gunHeTs, AMI ou the cal-
umn 4 infantry drawn up the ,l5rcs below
/ The gunners fall on all siics-thtir horse. are
/ disablel-thc fire increases in It- ut,us.tv--be
/ frussians On the ridges press on over the Mat
sdu; here Is an awful catastrophe columns
Of Austrians are lei against the village, but they
/ cannot stand the FIRE, and after three attempis
to carry 1t, retreat, leaving the hillside covered
/ with the fallen. It is terrible moment The
Prussiaus see their advantage; they here get IN
/ TO the very centre Of thepositi0n In vain the
staff officers fly TO the reserves and hasten 20 get
/ back some Of the artillery from the front The
/ daik blue regiments multiply on al sides and
from their edges roll perpetually sparkling mus
ketry. Their guns hurry up. and nom the
slope take both the Austri.ns on the extreme
right and the resery5s in flank. They spread
away to the woods near the Prague road and fire
into the rear Of the Austrian gunners.
Thus a wedge, growing broader and driven IN
more deeply every instant, was forced into the
very body Of the Austrian army. separatin, il
at the heart and dividing is left and centre from
the right The troops in the centre and left are
dismayed at hearing the enemy's guns in their
rear, and are soon exposed 10 the fire which most
OF all destroys the morale u soldiers already
shaken by surprise. The right, previously bro
ken up and discounted, hurry toward the
Prague road in something ike confusion and
spread alarm among the reserves Of the centre
and left. The regular lines Of the columns be-
low are gradually bulging out and are At last
swallowed up in disordcred multitude
ALAsT HorE.
Even yet there was hope for the Austr1ans t-
There on the Prussian front wheeled force Of
horse with which Nlurat, or a Rclerman, or a
Seidlitz could have won battle anu saved an
empire. There, still uushakcn, we're at least
10000 men, OF whom scarcely one had ever fired
a shot. The indomitable Austrian artillery still
turnel hundred Of muzzles on the eneny's guns.
and grit their men in a band Of fire To let Sin
that cavalry on both sides Of klum, to crash
through infantry and guns, seemed really worth
dong though failure would have made the diff
ference between defeat and a rout
TIE DEFEAT
The spirit q Bismark or his genius ruled the
battlefield. While the Austrian was hesitating.
the Prussian vas acting. The lines ofdark blue
which came in sight from the right teemed from
the wales below as If the Garth yielded them
They filled the whole background Of the awful
picture OF which hlum was the centre. They
pressed down on the left Of the Prague road In |
square, IN column, deployei or wheeling hither
and thither-everywhere pouring in showers Of
dead y precision-penetrating the whole line Of
the Austrians, still they could not force their
stubborn enemy to fly. On all ,ides they met |
brave but unfortunate men, ready to die, if they
could do no more. At the side Of the Prague |
Ioad the light went on with incredible vsheme nee.
The Austrians had still an immense force Of ar
tillery, and although its concentrated fire swept
the ground before it, its effect was lost in some
degree by reason Of the rising ground above, and
at last by Its divergence to so many points to an
swer the enemy's cannon.
Many Aus,rians must have fallen by their own |
artillery Once an Austrian column, separating |
itself from the great multitude below, with lev
eled bayonets, led by its officers in front waving
caps and sabres, went straight at the woods |
around klum and drove back the Prussian Tir- |
ailleurs, but were staggered BY fearful volleys |
of musketry. Their officers we're all killed or /
wounded They fell sullenly back. Down came |
the Prussians, but they were received on the |
bsyonet point and with clubbed muskets. and |
were driven back to the shelter Of the wood, and |
some we're carried of prisoners in the retreatlny
column Indeed, handfulls Of Prussians we're |
coming into the town behind US all the day.
showing how close the bght sas