Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1868-11-06
Charge of Murat at Eylau.
BY J. T. HEADLY.

1t Is at Eylau that Murat appears in
his most terrible aspect. This battle.
fought in mid winter, in 1907, was the
most important and bloody one that had
then occurred. France and Russia had
never before opposed such strength to
each other, and complete victory on ei-
ther side would have settled the fate of
Europe. Bonaparte remained in possess
sion of the field, and that was all ; no
victory was ever so like defeat.
The field of Eylau was covered with
snow, and the little ponds that lay scat
tered over it were frozen sufficiently hard
to bear the artillery. Seventy-one thou
sand men on one side, and eighty-fve
thousand on the other, arose from the
frozen field on which they had slept the
night of February, without tent or cov-
ering, to battle for continent. Auge-
reau, on the left, was utterly routed in
the morning. Advancing through a
storm so thick he could not see the ene-
my, the Russian cannon moved down
his ranks with their destructive fire
while the Cossack cavalry, which were
ordered to charge, came laundering on,
almost hitting the French infantry with
their long lances before they were visi-
bic through the storm.
Hemmed in and overthrown, the whole
division, composed of 10000 men, with
the exception of 1900, were captured or
slain. Just then the snow storm clear
ing up, revealed to Napoleon the peril to
which he was brought, and he immedi-
ately ordered grand charge by the I'm
perial Guard and the whole cavalry
Nothing was further from Bonaparte's
wishes or expectation than the bringing
of his reserve into the engagement at
this early stage of the battle, but there
was no other resource left him.
Murat sustained his high reputation
on this occasion, and proved himself, for
the hundredth- time, worthy of the great
confidence Napoleon placed in him.
Nothing could be more imposing than
the battlefield at this moment. Bona
parse and the Empire trembled in the
balance, while Murat prepared to lead
down his cavalry to save them. Seventy
squadrons, making in all 1900 we'll
mounted men, began 20 move over the
slope, with the Old Guard marching
sternly behind.
Bonaparte, it is said, was more ag;ta-
ted at this crisis than when, few mo-
ments before, he was so near being cap
tured by the Russians. But as he saw
those seventy squadrons come down on
plunging trot, pressing hard after the
white plume of Murat, that streamed
through the snow storm far in front, a
smile passed over his countenance.
The earth groaned and trembled as
they passed, and the sabres, above the
dark, angry mass below, looked like the
foam of a sea-wave, as it crests on the
deep. The rafting of their armor, and
the muffled thunder of their tread
drowned all the roar of battle, as with
firm, set array, and swift, steady motion,
they bore down with terrible fronton the
foe.
The shock of that immense host was
like falling mountain, and the front
line of the Russian army went down like
frost work before it. Then commenced
protracted fight of hand to hand, and
sword to sword, as in the cavalry action
at Eckmuhl. The clashing of steel was
like the ringing of countless hammers,
and horses and riders were blended in
wild confusion together. The Russian
reserve were ordered up, and on these
Murat fell with his fierce horsemen,
crushing and tramping them down by
thousands. But the obstinate Russians
disdained to fig, and rallied again and
again, so that it was no longer cavalry
charging on infantry, but squadrons of
horse galloping through broken hosts
that, gathering into knots, still disputed,
with unparalleled bravery, the red and
rent field.
1t was during this strange fight that
Murat was seen to perform one of those
desperate deeds for which he was SO re-
nowned. Excited to the highest pitch
of passion by the obstacles that opposed
him, he seemed endowed with ten-fold
strength, and looked more like super
human being treading down helpless
mortals, than an ordinary man. Amid
the roar of artillery, and rattling of
musketry, and falling of sabre-strokes
like lightning about him, that lofty white
plume never once went down, while ever
and anon it was seen glaring through the
smoke of battle, the star of hope to Ma
poleon, and showing that his right arm"
was still uplifted and striking for victo-
ry.
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