The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-09-14
THE CREAM OF THE VAR LETTERS
Murat Halstead on the Field of Crave
lntfe.

TIE CREAM OF Ih6 UAn AciIEHS'
murat Halstead on the Field Of Crave
lotte.
The carnage on the hill where we now stood
had been IN the battle Of the lIth, (the day be-
fire In the fullest sense OF the term extraor-
binary. On both sides of the road were rows
ot dead French and Prussians indiscriminately
| MINGLED. The centre and climax Of ofdestruction
hereabout was the position in which Prus-
sian battery had stood. Here In space not
more than fifteen yards by ten, and perhaps
not quite so large, counted seven dead
horses and forty men. Four OF the horses
| onen. and contained two-thirds OF Its ammuri-
ton. Evidently the four horses had fallen at
| once. The wheel horses mad sunk In their
places. instantly killed, for their feet were all
under them, and their swollen bodies strained
the harness, which marked them by Its re-
straint with deep creases. About one-fourth
of this cluster Of dead were French, and the
evidence of the situation was that the French
| had shot down the horses and most of the men
about Prusslan gun, and made desperate
charge to take It. Whichever way we turned
our ewes the plain was dotted with dead
horses, and there were swathes OF dead men
living as they had been literally moved down.
We could here, better than from our first
position, see the troops engaged: engaged. ,.a Ga In tne
|
Of fire along the edge of a Prusslan column as
the needle gun came in play. 1t was at times,
for few seconds, a steady glare. The pierc-
ing darts Of flames when the artillery was at
work, were also quite perceptble, and 1t be-
came apparent that the Prussians were gain
ing ground. The. earth trembled with the
thunder of the contest, or seemed to do SO, and
at the bombardment at Fredericksburg, when
Burnside's artillery, to the amount of nearly
two hundred guns, gave the town rain OF
| iron one pleasant December morning; bu. the
musketry fire here far surpassed that which
heard at Fredericksburg In sustained severity.
At halfpast four o'clock there was violent
explosion ofmusketry on the right, and after
| It continued few minutes there was a min
ute in which hardly snot was fired, and then
| another amazing roar. Now there was new
fire in the village, and another to the left, and
still another on the right. The whiffs OF smoke
| from bursting bombs above the lines grow
more frequent, both on the right and ieft,
spotting the dull background first with sparks
OF fire and then globes of vapor. A little after
five o'clock the head of the column of rein
forcements we had noticed looming in the
west came upon the field. The men had
marched hard and were bending under their
loads. and going on with that long, springy,
slashing step that only soldiers who have sefn
service can acquire, which they know go well.
The French seemed to be attentive to the COM
ing of this column, and for time their artil.
lery fire was exceptionally rapid. The column
OF Germans going into action extended from
the battlefield to the west as far as we could
see, and there the glitter Of bayonets at a turn
of the road on ridge declared they were still
coming. If l had not spoken so often OF
rivers of steel In vain efforts to tell Of the CO.
lossal armies OF the Germans In France, !
should say this was one.
TEE CLOSE OF A BLOODY DAY.
On the left just. in the edge OF the smoke,
our new army was Inassed In blocks en- echeton
fashion, and other masses appeared to be COM
ing out OF the ground, fora wide e1panse
where had not noticed soldiers was covered
with them The smoke was spreading, the
dust of the column from the west was blown
across the fields, and the sun declining, was
our Indian summer evenings. The Prussian
masses went forward into the hazy field of
battle, and the hoarse shouting OF the legi0ns
was heard as they advanced. For an hour
the army from the west slreamed down the
road and strobe into the smoke and dust that
more and more obstructed the view of the
contest, until at last we could see only
cloud, In which were glimpses Of ponderous
squares and dark lines Of men, and out Of
which issued a voice OF many thunders. It
was necessary to think OF our position for The
night. sixteen long miles from Pont-a-Mous-
son, and all the villages filled with wounded;
SO we returned 10 the old place on the Kings
hill, and as the shades OF evening 1ell, saw the
outlines and prominent features OF the en-
paoement from the well selected point for safe
observation. Here we had the good fortune
to meet q German artist, who had noticed and
taken an interest in us at st. Avoid. He was
sketching the sunset scene oil the battle, and
had room in Cora, where we might sleep
on the floor, privilege for which we were
duly and truly grateful. rms seh1leman aIti maa
heard the mitrailleurs before, and had called
our attention 10 the savage whirr that tells Oh
iIs discharge. 1t would not be inappropriate,
I think. to call the noise that 1t makes Internal.
Once indicated TO You and you could not mis-
take that noise. Judge from the talk oil the
prussians about it, and the stories that are
atloat concerning It's exploits IN killing whole
companies, and even cutting doWn group Oh
thirty officers at discharge, leaving but three
standing, that it is O deadly weapon, and that
Il really has done such signal execution that
those who have to face 1t are In no slight de-
gree annoyed and worried.
Everybody had been telling us during the
afternoon that the Prussians were winning the
battle-that they were carrying all the posi-
lions. and sweeping everything before them.
Sadowa had been cited as precedent-this
was bloodier battle than that, and 1t was to
end the war with France, as Sadowa had ter
minated the conflict with Austria. But as
darkness came on the French were still tight
inc as stoutly as when, seven hours before, we
came upon the field. Certainly there was no
panic or rout There were evidences that the
French were being, as they must oe, under the
conditions of this war, slowly driven before
the overwhelming Germans; but their line
was still steady, as far as | could see, and
the glitter of the fire OF their rifles was
bright on their front. IL is to-day positive
that they rave up the battlefield wholly
10 the Prussians, Withdrawing to Mount st.
Quentin and vicnity-that Is to say, close to
the outworks of Metz. 1t is certain, too, that
the King and his household stopped last night
in Rezonyille, (which, in itself, tells that they
won the day and hold the road to Paris,) hav-
ing nothing to eat for supper, am told, but
black bread and raw pork; and certain, too,
that Bismarck has been in Gravelotte to-day,
for being here myself, saw him, with Phil.
Sheridan by his side, riding over the field of
battle. having been out to the road whose tall
trees pillared our battle horizon yesterday, to
look ut the French army. distinctly visible
thence, in battle array, under the walls OF
Metz. But last evening, after 3 o'clock. on
the way to Core, as often as we gave atten-
tion we could still hear raging the tempest OF
musketrv. as the chassepot and needle-gun
crossed their lightnings In the gloom Of night
fall.
The Sufferers by the War-Hospital
Scenes i'm Germany.
A correspondent of the London Times-ap-
narentlv n nhyscian-whO writes from Spche-
ren ,rives his account OF the reverse side OF
ibe ,nedaiSof the scenes and suferings which
yoIIo h,tf