The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-22


Tebicuari Line-The Damage TO the Iron
Clads-The Material Found In Humaita-The
Boom ON the River.
From the Anglo Brazilian Times, August 24.I
In the absence Of any official despatch regarding
the affair OF the 10th OF July, the following account
at daybreak General Osorio received orders to ad-
yond the ditch and before they had passed the piece
entrenchment in front Of our advanced batteries
cloud Of white smoke rose In the horizon and
almost instantly some cannon balls fell on the ground
we were marching over. The enemy was tellng us
he was at his posts the place had not been
Osorio continued his movements. HIS army advanced
In the best order in spite OF the vacuums eft IN MS
ranks rom the corpses and wounded falling from
the enemy's SHE'LL The van OF the attacking force
was composed Of the Fourth, Thirteenth and Thirty
ninth battalions, OF contingent OF sappers and Of
the First corps OF the Rio Grande cavalry. The
General and his STAFF followed behind the
plorers-that is, In front OF the column OF attack.
The other battalions and cavalry corps took posi-
lions for the sustentatlon of the to take part in
the combat according as circumstances would
quire. From the first opening of the enemy's fire his
artillery never ceased for moment to throw missiles
columns they were within range. At that
moment the combat was formally undertaken. The
general, beside his soldiers, threw himself upon the
enemy's entertainments, exhorting his men to valOr
by his example and his words Meanwhile the grape
and musketry gave no truce. In fact the head OF
our column advanced by defle between two deep
and wide lakes it suddenly became compromised be-
tween the sides of re-entering angle whose
tremes were the vertices of two other salient angles
each defended by three cannons whose cross fire was
augmented by musketry and by other cannons placed
the sides of re entering parallels TO The principal
entrenchment, composed OF a wide fosse and high
parapet, and 1t encountered wide antefOsse, a line
OF abattls and, between the two, network of pits
The vehicles carrying the material for the assault
tailed In great part to come within reach OF the
assailants because OF the darkness when they set
out and because of the frightening and slaughter of
the animals 10y the enemy's fire. After cutting up q
picket OF twenty men, the First cavalry dismounted
ut the ditch and sienced the artillery OF one OF the
angles. The infantry, however, notwithstanding its
unheard-of efforts, could not gain ground, owing
TO the wide gaps opened in them by the enemys
When osorio saw his soldiery shaking he advanced
honor called him. He wished to declare with his
blood, perhaps with his life the impotence of valor
against such formidable obstacles. A sudden spark
oil enthusiasm electrified the ranks they saw him
grandy and imposingly enter cloud Of smoke where
IN active and inexorable Death reaping with his
funereal scythe generous and sublime impulse i'm
PEELED the soldiers that still remained foot and all
advanced. The enemy redoubles his efforts. 1t is
the crisis Of the struggle. The Generals horse falls
shot through DsmOunted, the General seizes the
musket Of a dead soldier beside him, aims at and
shoots an arterist in the act OF pushing cartridge
into cannon. Enthusiastic at his example his star
surrounded him at the ditchs sde Major Joao
Ramos, to whom the General gave his lance dies
While thrustng 1t into the entrenchment Brandao
tails with his skull riven by grapeshot. Dias lies
lnsensibe on the ground. Adutant General Tarouco
receives ball. to die OF 1t some hours after. His ad-
lutants, Aprodisio and Lapa, and his orderly and
Sornet are beside him, lfeless. Dionyso Amaro and
two others plough his neck and hand; the former has
the skin OF his stomach cut by o grapeshot. Pires
shot traverses it, throws it into the air land and
dashes the rider far away, bruislng his limbs Sc
Verey kodrgueS, brave as the brave, Is respected
by the balls. Rocha Osorio and Torres are likewise
mraculously saved and are the only YET stand
ing. Young Ensign Rocha OsOrio, nephew to the
General ana commanding picket rushes forward
with his little squadron and receives wound In the
arm while sticking his lance into the enemy's bull
wark; OF his twenty or body guards OF the Gen.
era only i've remain; the rest dead wounded.
me commanders OF the Fourth and Thirty-ninth are
teenth are killed. General Osoro, being recognized
by the enemy, was the target for their shots; three
or four balls tore his clothes without touching him.
Ensign Rocha Osorio rushes to the General and
snatches the carbine from him, brings him a horse
anu obnges him TO mount.
BY tins the Field Adjutant sent to the Marquis
de CaXias for orders and TO communicate the state
OF the fight the losses endured and the resistance
of the enemy returns with the response that Osorio
might do the best he could. The General seeing
the garrison OF the entrenchment getting stronger
every moment, understood that the enemy was con-
centrating his forces there he not being troubled ut
other points.
To sacrifice more men would be useless, would be |
fruitless The reconnaissance by main force had
been made, the entrenchment attacked and the
order OF the General-inChief accomplished. AT o
cost OF nine or ten hundred men killed and wounded
the system OF the enemys entertainments was ascer-
talned together with the obstacles they presented
An appropriate observation suggests it5elf-Osorio
had not an engineer with him TO make plan Of the
The retreat OF General Osoro was effected in the
same order as the attack, according to those pre-
cepts OF tactics OF whose knowledge he has shown
himself possessed, giving thereof previously an ev-
dent proof In his reconnaissance Of the Fort OF Esp
aud regular operations OF the war. OF the fifteen
officers OF the battalion OF engineers which entered
into action nine were killed or wounded
Oflcial details OF the gunboa reconnaissance upon
the 23th or the batteries upon the Paraguay above
the mouth of the Tebicuar are published. The lead
was taken by the doube-turreted ron-clad Bahia
and the monitor Aiagoas lashed TO her side. The
Silvado followed at some distance below to aid in
case OF necessity, such the blowing up OF
the vessels by torpedoes said to be In the
channel, in addition to BOOM The enemy
was ready In the batteries upon the Fortunes
mel lay The bluf mounted fifteen cannon In re-
doubts seven OF which were sxty-eights one thirty
two four rifles and four OF unascertained calibre.
Owing to the Of the bluff the fire OF the cannon
colverged upon the narrowest part OF the channel
al avery short range. Two successive voeys struck
and shook the vessels, causing much damage, but
the vessels continued TO steam up at full speed, find
ing no boom or torpedoes as anticipated The second
redoubt raked the two vessels from ahead while the
sixty -eight-pounders shook the plating with shot
discharged within thirty yards. However, only
fifteen struck, seven on the Banla eight on the
turret and other exposed parts OF the Aag0as owing
10 the haste of the enemy, who evidently expected
the whole division was coming up For fifteen miles
upwards the Paraeuayans abandoned the banks at
the sight OF the vessels Inside twisting lake
called Kecouo many men were seen and the great
encampment OF ST. Fernando, with two small
steamers whose masts were adorned with branches
in honor OF the day of ST. Solano. The lake could not
be entered, but the vessels sheled the Paraguayan
steamers until they were taken out OF sight and then
the bombs were directed on the camp making the
enemy abandon huts near the lake and run within an
extensive entreuchment, which seemed to circle and
defend the present centre OF Lopez forces. The
bombardment was kept up for four hours and the
vessels then returned down stream
In passing the batteries again the fire was very
heavy. A ball entered the wheel turret OF the
Bahia, took half the head or the pilot, killed q
seaman and wounded another severely The three
bodies falling at once upon the wheel in the little
turret rendered IL immovable at the most perilous
part OF the descent and she would have run into the
blum few yards or but for the guidance effected
with the twin screws, the pilot OF the Aagoas jump
ing board and giving the necessary directions for
the proper signals TO the engineers In twenty min
utes occupied in repassing very serious damages
were experienced by the Bahia, for OF the sixteen
snot which then struck her on the port side four
smashed and traversed the plating almost at the
water line so that after anchorng 1t was necessary
TO stop the breeches with pitch Notwithstanding
the numberess times the plating OF the Bahia had
been tried under IRE II was the first time any loss Of
life had occurred on board and also the first time
huIa.