Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1870-09-02
VOL. VI.

At the moment the French were maxi
! ing u most desperate effort TO hold on
10 the last bit of the Verdun road
that between Rpzonville and Graveo-
| Iette which in some maps iscalled S {.
Marcel. The struggle was desperate
out unayailing, for every one man in
tho French army had two to cope with.
and their line was already beginning
TO waver. Soon IL was plain that this
| wing, the French right, was withdraw
| ing To new position. This was
swiftly taken up under cover of a CON
lnuous fire of the artillery from the
nights beyond the village. The move
ment was made in good order, and the
position, which was reached mt one
| O'Clock and thirty minutes, would |
believe, have been pronounced imprcg-
nahle by nine out of ten military men.
When once this movement had been
effected, the French retrcating from
! the pressure of the Prussians as rapid
| ~ advancing, the battlefield was no
longer about Rezonv!lle, but had been
transferred and pushed forward to
| braveolette, the junction of the two
| branching roads to Nerdun. The fields
| in front of that village were oOmDlete-
| ly covered by the Prussian reserves.
and interminable lines of soldiers
were steadily marching onward, disap-
| pearing into the.yillsge, and emerging
on the other side of it with flaming
volleys.
THE SECOND BATTLEFIELD
was less extensive than the first, and
brought the opposing forces into fear
fully close quarters. The peculiarity of
| ii is that it consists of two nights, inter
sected by deep ravine. This woody
ravine is over 100 feet deep and at the
| top some 800 yards wide. The side of
the chasm next to Gsaveclette, where
the Prussians stood, is much lower
| than the other side, which gradually
ascends to a greater hight. From their
commanding eminence the French
| held their enemies fairly beneath them,
and poured upon them scorching fire.
! The French guns were in position far
up by the Metz road, hidden and COW
cred among the trees. There was not
an instant's cessation of the roar. E,a-
silly distinguishable amid all was the
curious grunting roll of the gIitrdH-
| tcUSe. The Prussian artillery Mas DOS
| ted to the north and south of the viii
| lage, the guns on the latter side being
necessarily raised for an awkward half
vertical fire.
THE CARNAGE.
The French stood their ground and
| died-the Prussians stood their ground
and d.ed-both by hundreds, had al
most said thousands. This, for an
| hour or two seemed ages, so constant
was the slaughter. The hill where
stood commanded chiefly the conflict
behind the village and to the south of
| it. The Prussian reinforcements, COM
| lug up on their right, filed out of the
| BOis des OgnOns; and it was at that
! point as they marched on to the field
| that one could perhaps get the best
! idea OF the magnitude of this invading
army now in the heart of France.
| There was no break whatever
| for four hours in the march of
men out cf that wood. Its seemed
| almost as if all the killed and woun-
ded revived and came back and
marched forth again. Birnam Wood
advancing to Dunsinane Hill was not
u more oninous sight TO Macbeth than
| these men of Gen. Goeben's army to
Bazaine, shielded rs they were by the
woods till they were fairly within
range and reach of their enemies guns.
| SO the French must have felt for, be-
tween and o'clock, they concentra-
| ted upon that spot their heaviest fire,
massing all available guns and shelling
! the woods unremittingly Their fire
reached the Prussian lines and tore
through them; and though the men
were steady, it was test to which no
! General cares to sujCct his troops long.
| They presently swerved "A little from
that line of advance, and there was no
longer u continuous column of infan-
try pouring out of those woods.
! TIE PRUsSIANs RECEIVE A CHECK.
| The attack of the Prussians in the
center was clearly checked. About
o'clock, however, II brigade of fresh
infantry was again formed in the
| wood and emerged from its cover. Once
out from under the trees, they ad-
vanced ut double-quick. / watched
their movement. The French guns
had not lost the range of the wood,
nor of the ground in front. Seen ut II
distance, through n powerful glass
the brigade was u huge sepent bending
| with the undulation of ,hc field. But
il left dark track behind it, and the
glass resolved the track into falling
aud dying and dead men. As the horid
Significance of that path, so traced,
came upon me, gazed on more iii-
tcntly. Many of those who had fallen
leaped up again. and ran forwarda little
way, striving still TO go on with their
comrades. or those who went bac X
ward instead offorward there We're few,
though many fell as they painfully en-
deavored TO follow the advance.
] do not know whether, after the
vain effort of that brigade, another
movement was attempted from within
the wood. But half an hour afterward
great numbers of troops began to
march over the hill where / was
standing, and moved forward toward
the field whore so hard struggle had
been so long protracted. These also
were, | think, n portion of Gen. Goe-
ben's troops, who had been directed
upon n less dangerous route.
TIMELY ARRIVAL or sTEINAlETZ.
The battle from this point on the
Prusssian left became so fierce that il
was soon lost TO us, or nearly lest, by
reason of the smoke. Now and then
the thick cloud would open little
} and drift away on the wind, and then
we could see the French sorely tried.
10 get better view of this part of the
J field, | went forward about half Il
mile, and from this new standpoint,
found myself not far from Malmaison,
The French line ON the hills was still
unbroken, and to all appearances they
were having the best of the battle
But this appearance was due, perhaps,
to the fact that the French were more
clearly visible in their broad height
and fighting with such sinsular obsti-
macy. They plainly silenced IA Prus-
sian battery now and then, But the
Prnssian line also was strengthened by
degrees on this northern point. In
fantry and artillery We're brought up
and from far i'm the rear, away seem
ingly in the direction Of NerneVille
= shot and shell began reaching the
French ranks. These were the men
and these were the guns Of Steinmetz
who there and then effected his june
ton with the army of Prince Fred
J erick Charles, and completed the in