The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-29
AFTER A CHARGE.
DIR. Russell, of the London "Times,o on the
Field Of Battle-Tbe Burying of AnnihiIated


DIR. Russell, of the London "Times," on the
Field Of Battle-Tbe Burying of AnnihiIated
Regiments.
Writing from Maxwiller, where the headquar-
ters of the Crown Prince were located on
August 8, DR.. w. II. Russell says
"We, after time, reached the village OF Gunstett
the envrons OF which were the scene of desperate
action between the French right AMI the Prussian
left during the memorable battle Of Woerth. Like
several others OF the villages, it was crowded with
wounded, and pale faces looked out of the windows
of the cottages, with heads bound up; but there
soon more terrible evidences OF the struggle.
The debris of knapsacks, pouches, muskets,
shoes, fragments OF clothing shakos, thickened as
we went on; dead horses swollen TO an enormous
size, with their legs stuck up in the air. lay about in
the fields; and now we came on dead Prussian
who had fallen st as If in the act Of charging and
then came ZOuaves and TurcOs, mostly the latter,
in all the fantastic rgidity OF death in battle, the
faces in most cases covered by the decent care
of the country people with little pieces of linen,
which the rain had beaten In on the lneaments
in relief. The burial parties were busy
but the harvest was too heavy for the reapers. l
have seen now many nelds-and the more 1 see of
held sight extraordinary as i came on by the
little streamlet the Sauer which flows by Guustett
had been evidently a sanguinary combat between
the infantry; but little beyond it lay the scene of
cavalry charge, the relics Of which formed the
strange spectacle | am writing of. There were
heaps of cuirasses still bright, and brass
helm helmets with from, pmmes ,o.% which had
and prisoner and piled at intervals along the road
Between these lay saddles, swords stuck in the
ground, horse trappings, valises with - and 80
them, here and there single cuirssses, dead horses
helmets, swords, muskets-the ground trampled,
the vines beaten down-pools of blood-a foul, sour
smell everywhere; this literally for two miles on
each side OF the road Ia the village itself was pile
OF thirty or forty euirasses and helmets then an
other pile of the same. Further on, mixed up with
these trophies of the hapess cuirassiers we
came on the signs OF disaster to regiment of
lanceIs-staves with red and white streamers
in all directions, lancer shakos, saddles, valises,
and tuncs, blue laced with white. One would
think lancers and cuirasslers had all fallen together
but to whatever regiments lance and cuiaass be-
longed it was plain they had been routed and de
stroyed One remarkable circumstance is this-not
a cuirass pierced by bullet j looked most
narrOwly-others did the same. And yet what had
been the fate Of the wearers? That is a problem
cannot solve, nor could any one else but 1t is plain
that the cuirassers were annhlated 1t is said that
one regiment charged battery and got In among
the guns, but was smttten by the infantry on the
TANKS with eaden shower that beat them to the
earth never to rise again-unhorsed, or dead and
wounded, the unhurt all taken in a few seconds
AS said, this sort OF work visible for quite two
miles along the road. The rain cleared up before
noon, and that must have been some little relief
from suffering to the wounded, who were still met
in carts. There were some with faces upturned,
cold and sti, who cared no more for what the ele-
ments might do. shall dwell no longer on such
scenes. There will fear, be many more OF them,
and WOrSe.n