The union Democrat., 1870-08-13
NUMBER 10.
French conm.sa.r. in a. Nee w.-.

FRENCH cemmaadcrs i'm me Nes war
It's remarkable fact that all the tfesf
uenerais IN command on both sides AZ ~
c0nnict IN Europe are over sixty wears az aSe.
Inc war opens as military comne,;s;nr ~
tween ola men, trained TO arms indeed. decs
Grated with crosses and orders. and sesrrsS /.
many OF them with honorable waunSs. 49,.
all past three score. Should the strnss,. \.
a prolonged one, younger leaders will snr.Is
come to the front, eager for the MarsAsl,s
baton and the black Eagle; bat for ,ha r,s..-
ent the public interest is centered ON a ac,s,,
figures more or less bent by the WEIGHT of
years and the hardships of former camns;sn.
Of the Generals of the French armv Ma.
shal Valiant Jean Baptiste Philibertl il the
Oldest, having reached his eightieth veny
He was born in the First Revolution. beams
pupil of the Polytechnic, served with disl
tinction in the Grand Armv in Russia. nart;.
cipated in the battles of Lingny and Water
loo. was engaged in the siege Of Antwerp IN
1882, went to Algeria, where be lost leg In
command Of the engineers, conducted as se.
cond in command, but really as Commander.
in-Chief of the Lacquer OF Rome, was Minis.
ter of War during the struggle with Russia
in 1854, and Military Governor of Milan in
the italian campaign Of 1859, and is now
Grand Marshal of the Palace and Senator of
France
Changarnier is seventy-seven years old.
He was pupil of the Academy Of st. Cyr,
belonged to the boiy-guard of Louis XVIII,
won distinction in Algeria, and had COM
mand of the National Guard In the days pre-
ceding the coup d'etot. His arrest at mid
night by Louis Napoleon, and sabsequent
hop psSl,c
bered. He returned to his estates of the
Seine and Loire after the general amnesty.
and as he has been made Marshal and been
placed in commend of the reserves, he comes
once more before the public eye, but will
probably play no great part in the present
war.
General Cousin de Montanban (Count do
Palikao,) who has attained the age Of seven
ty-four, served in Algeria with credit but il
chiefly remarkable in history for having led
the French forces, after the affair of the Pei
ho, to the capture of Pekin. His title Is de-
rived from his victory over the Chinese arms
at Palikso. He is the commander of the
Eighth Military Division and of the Fourth
Army Corps, with its headquarters at LYONS.
Marshal Forey, sixty-six years old, was
educated at St. Cyr, and saw his earliest ser-
vice in Algeria. His most remarkable
achievement was the repnlse Of the Austrians
at Montebe!lo, Goth May, 1882 He com.
manded the French expedition to seat Maxi.
milan on the throne of Mexico, but soon
gave way 70 Marshal Bazaine, and returned
to Paris. .
The three men, however, on whom public
attention is fixed most strongly at the head
of the three great columns of the French
army-McMahon, Canrobert and Bazaine--
are nearly Of the Same age, year or two
over sixty. Mcmahon is Of Irish descent.
With Canrobert, he was q cadet at st. Cyr,
while Bazaine rose from the ranks. He show
ed conspicuous courage at the stormine Of
the gate of Constantine, in the hlgerine var;
it was his command that carried the MsIa.
kof in the Crimean war. and no was created
Marshal Of France and Duke Of Magenta for
winning the battle of that name, in the war
in Italy, in command of the Second Corps.
He is personally known to the King of Prus-
sia. as having attended his coronation as EN-
bassador Extraordinary from the French
Court. He has since been Governor General
of Algeria, and now goes to the Rhine for i'm.
mediate active operations.
Francois Certain de Canrobert, who has
been one of the steadiest adherents of the
present Emperor, was conspicuous in Algicrs.
in Paris, ut the time of the coup d'efat. when
he commanded one of the divisions of the
Army Of the Capital, and in the Cri1nee. He
was wounded botn at Alma and at Inker-
mann. He succeeded st. Arnaud in the chief
command of the French troops, but yielded
the command in turn, to Pelissier, in con-
sequence OF disagreement with lord Rag
Ian. He was at Magenta and Solferino, 10
the Italian war.
The third leader who has just gone to the 8
front, Francois Achille Bazaine, was trained
to arms in that practical school which made
so many soldiers, the Algerine subjugation,
and played a part at the surrender of Abdel--
Kader. He arrived at Sebastopol tie very
day en- which the bombardment was opened,
and having contributed materially to its re-
duction, especially in the capture Of Kin5urn.
one of the outposts of the great Russiar for
trees, he was appointed military Governor Of
the town upon the retreat of the Russian
forces. Il will be recollccted how speedily
be put Jurai to flight in succeeding to the
command of the French in Mexico, and also
how promptly he was called to France when
Napoleon saw his blunder in attempting to
establish the empire ia that country. As his
master seeks to repair that blunder in wsrT
for territorial aggrandizement, 80 il may he
well supposed that Bazaine. ia carving on
that war, will ardently desire to efFacs the
humiliation Of his inglorious exit from the
Mexican scene.