Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1870-11-04

Human Slaughter.
THE LOSSES SUSTAINED IN SOME OF THE
GREAT BATTLES OF THE WORLD

The shocking slaughter which has charac-
terized recent European battles has naturally
directed attention to the comparative blood.
shed of these md other farugglcs, and sug.
gested estimates Of tho practical bearing on
the question of the now weapons of warfare.
Whether rified cannon, the acknowledgements,
and mitrailcuse are or arc not, as the guillo.
tine was alleged to be, bcneicicnt inventions,
appenrs to depend iu these calculations. For
if it should appear that, while war costs no
moro than formerly, it is much sooner over,
and that this is in an appreciable measure
consequent on the use of better or moro eff
cient weapons, the affirmative of this PROPOSE.
ton must be accepted. War concerns non.
combatants as we'll as others, and the shorter
it is the better of course, for all industrial ia.
terests. If lO0, 900 men must be killed, it is
better for their country that they should be
killed in a month than in year. A recogni.
tion Of this principle would seem in part to
have inspired the existing Prussian military
system. The accounts that reach us of the
current strife arc certainly terrible and dis.
tressing The details of mangled bodies, of
"colored rags, glued together with blood and
brains, and pinned in fantistic shapes with
bits of bone," arc sickening beyond measure
1t is, however, a debatable question, gran.
ting that war must still be, whether the SOL
dicr is worse off for going through great
danger for short time rather than q consid-
cradle danger for long time. An examina-
tion of some details of the loss of life in past
and recent battles will assist the formation
of intelligent opinion.
For the losses as we'll as the number en-
gagged in the battles Of antiquity, we have but
uncertain data. Such history as VIC possess
asserts that uts&1nrathon 10000 Greeks over
threw 6oo;O60 +,..+ & 2nn OOO
OF the latter were slain. This, Of course. is
the Greek history, and not the Persian At
the taking of Jerusalum by Titus more than
l,OOO,O 900 Jews are believed to have perished.
At Naissus, when Clnudius defeated the
Goths, it is said 10000 of the later were
killed. The siege Of Acre cost an equal num-
bcr Of Christian soldiers. At the battle of
! Hastings 10000 we're kiled-a vast proper
tion of the numbers engaged. The famous
struggle at Bannockburn was one of the most
disastrous for England that ever occurred be
fore its date or since, the total loss being 50,-
600, or one half Of King Edwards whole
army. At Crcssy the English under the
Black Prince killed nearly as many as their
own number Of the French, i. O., somewhat
over 80, 600; and at Agincourt, Henry "
did even better, for, with only 5000 men, he
is declared to have beaten 10000, of whom
10000 were killed and Id 900 taken prison.
crs. The records state that at Blenheim the
English under Marlborough slew $1,000 Of
their advesaries, and took $4,000 prisoners
At Fontenoy, whore Marshal SAKE, at the
head of the French, defeated the English un.
der the Duke of Cumberland, both sides con.
fessed to a loss of about 10000. At Nal,
phaquet the Allies lost oncsixth of their whole
force of 5000 men, and the French one. fifth
of theirs, or 100000 The loss Of the Allies
at Austerlitz was 10000 one third Of their
whole array; while that Of the French was
| lO,OO0-one seventh of theirs Of the l4O,-
600 Austrians at Wagram, $4,000 were
wounded or slain, and of the l80, 900 French
10000. at Borodno, the awful number
of ID 900 Russians wero put hors ae combat,
being one.third Of their whole army, and So.
| 900 French, or one-fourth of tl,ers. The
Allies loss at Leipsic was 48,000-one sixth
OF their army, and that Of the French, as 900
! --opequarter, At Waterloo. of the I110,
900 Allies, tho loss was 10000 and of the
$4,000 French, $4,000, or more than ono
half.
ln the present generation tho great Euro
pean battles hive been considered to have
been Solferino, Kon,ggratz or Sadowa, Metz
and Sedan Az Solferino the French aid
Italians had 1872, ,6Oo,'dhd lost II 900 hnnsn, or
one ninth, and the Austrians had 100, 900,
aud lost 1000, OF one.eighth Of their total
force Of220, 900 Prpssiahs at Sadowa; but.
5000, or one twenty, third, and of the 3l0,.l
600 AustriaDs, 81 900, or ore-seyonth.: we're
lost. The present estimate is that there
were 100000 French in tho throe days bat
Ties before Metz, and that $4,000 3f them
| wore destroyed; and that'of tho 250,O00
Germans, 2O,000,nof one,sixth, tsp,esent the
lossds!!' It lis difficult as yet ~ pqonoaacs
upon tho number of killed and wountledhtSe.i
dan It's yariously reckoned at from. .2p, 900
to 10000 men. The French who howe, were { made
prisoners numbered some 81, ,O00,--the 6Irsstt