Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-09-15

Heaven only knows how-to get a couple
OF four Founders mp the steep ground, ana
| have operated on the French. Something
mast have at this point been very wrong
with the French infantry, Tor instead OF
attacking the Prussians, whom they still
! outnumbered by at least two to one, they
remained in a column on the hill, seeing
their only hope of retrieving the day vrn-
ishing from before their eyes. Still they
| did not stir. Then The French cavalry
tried to do little Balaklaya business
/ tried, but failed, Down came the cuiras-
sers once more this time riding straight
( for the two feld-pieces, but before they
had got within two hundred yards OF the
! guns the Prussaus formed q line rs If on
( parade, and, waiting unit! that furious
/ French horse had ridden on 20 point not
/ Fl tty yards away, they fred The FIRE seem
/ cd 10 rs to empty the saddles OF almost
( the whole OF the leading squadron, The
! dead so strewed the ground as 20 block the
path Of the following squadron, and
closed before them the direct and danger
! GUS road they meant 80 follow, The dash
at the guns came TO halt When once
! this last effort OF the French horses had
, been made and haG failed failed, though
! they pushed calamity as Tar as men and
4 horses could go-the French infantry also
/ fell swiftly back to Sedan II fell back be-
/ cause il saw that its chance Of carrying
1 that iiercely contested hill was gone and
saw that with the PrUSsians holding the
I honor OF browning it with guns their own
] French line in its face could not much
! longer be held. In an instant, as the
/ French retired, the whole slope OF the
, ground was covered by swar.us Of Prus-
( slams, who seemed to rise out Of the ground
and push forward, 10y the help of every
! slight rorghness and dent upon the sur
| face. As last as the French went back,
| these reckless enemies followed
! After the last charge Of the French cav
( airy, Gen. Sheridan remarked to me that
he never saw anything SO reckless, so ut
/ terly foolish; and that the lGst charge WAS
sheer blunder. The Plussians, after
the French infantry fell back, advanced
rapidly-so rapidly that cde re,reating
squadron Of French cavalry, being pressed
too closely turned suddenly around and
charged desperately once again. But it
was al of no use, the days OF breaking
squares are over and the thin
blue line soon stopped the Gallo onset,
It struck me as most extraordinary
that at TINS point the French had neither
artillery nor mitrailleuSe, especially these
latter, Oh the Ill. to cover their infantry,
, The position was most important, and cer-
tain.y worth straining every nerve TO de-
fend One thing was clear enough: that
the French infantry; after once meeting
the 2russians, declined 70 try conclusions
with them again, and that the cavalry we've
seeking to encourage chem by their exam
pie. About 2 o'clock ogher reinforcementE
came to the Prussians over TINS loug.dis-
puted hill between Forcy and Sedan, 70
support the regiments already established
there.
All the time thpt this great conflict was
going on under FritZs eyes, and mine,
may add p another was fought none the
le S severe and as murierous for the Ba.
varans as the one have attempted to de-
scribe was for the French II there was a
want OF mi-railleuses on the hill above
Forcy, there was certainly no want Of them
in the Bazeilles ravine. on that side there
was, Tor more than an hour, one contin-
nous roar OF lpn7kCt.y and mitraileuses.
Two Bavaran officers told nae that the loss
in their regiment was terrific, and that il
was the mitra;leuees that made the havoc,
At FIVE minutes past two IL the aftem Don
the French totally abandoned the hill be.
tween Foroy and Sedan, and fell back on
the iauboRrg OF Caval, Just outside the
ramparts of the town. "Now the battle is
lost 10 the French, said General Sheridan,
to the great delight OF the PrussGn Off
GERS. One would fancy that the French
had almost heard his words. They had
hardly been uttered when there came a lull
in the firing all along the Line, or, rather,
circle, as it had now become. Count BIS
marck chose that moment to come and
have talk with his English and American
friends. ! was anxious to know what the
federal Chancellor had cone about the
threatened neutrality ci Belgium and my
curiosity was soon gratided IL have tod
the Belgian MiuiGter OF War said Count
Bismarck, THAT SO long os the Belgian
troops do their almost to Giearm any num-
Der Of French soldiers who may cross the
frontier, will strictly respect the neutral
ity Of Belgium; but il, on the contrary, the
Belgians, either through negligence or in
ability, do not disarm and capture every
mgu ia French uniform who sets his foot
in their country, We shall at once follow
the enemy into neutral territory with our
troops. Considering tina. the French have
been the first 10 violate the Belgian soil,
have beer down 10 have o look at the Bel
gian troops, near the frontier added
Bismarck, 'and 7 confess that they do not
!uspive NE with q very high opinion OF
tceir martial ardor OF discipline; only when
they have their great coats on one can see
q great deal of pale tot bat hardly any
soldier" / asked His Eycellency whether
he thought the Emperor Was in SEDAN.
"Oh, nc, was the reply Napoleon 10 not
very wise, but he is not 50 foolish as TO put
himself In Sedan just now" For once in
his life Coun. Bismarck was wrong,
At quarter 10 .lree o'clock the King
came 70 whore was standing, saying that
he thought the French we're going to try
and break ont just beneath as, on the
front Of the Second Bayarian Corps At
ten minutes to three Gen Sheridan told /
me that Napoleon and Louis were in Sc
dan. At twenty minutes past three the 1