Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-09-09
No. ,215 i, !,
Ast so

:
furious French horse had ridden on to a
point not fifty yards away, they fired.
The fire seemed to us to empty the sad
dies of almost the whole of the leading
squadron. The dead so strewed the
ground as to block the path of the follow-
ing squadron and close before them the
dangerous road they maent to follow.
When once this last effort of the French
horse had been made and failed-failed,
though pushed gallantly as far as men and
horses could gothic French infantry also
Tell swiftly back toward Sedan. 1t fell
back because it saw that its chance of car
rying that fiercely contested hill was gone,
and saw that, with the Prussians holding
the honor of crowning it with guns OF
tier own, the French line in its place
could not much longer be held.
In an instant. as the French retired, the
whole slope of the ground was covered by
swarms of Prussan Tierile, who seemed
to rise out of the ground and push for
warl by the help of every slight rough
ness and dent ON the surface. As fast as
the French went back, these restless ene-
mics followed after the last desperate
charge of the French cavalry. +aef
| General Sheridan remarked to me that
he never saw any thing SO reckless, SO
utterly foolish as that last charge. Itwas
a sheer murder. The Prussians, after the
French infantry fell back, advanced rapid
ly, so rapidly, that the retreating squadrons
of the French cayalry, being pressed so
closely, turned sullenly round andcharged
desperately once again, but it was all OF
no use. The days of breaking squares
are over, and the thin, blue line soon
stopped the Galle onset. 1t struck me as
most extraordinary that at this point the
French had neither artillery nor mitrail-
leurs, especially the latter, on the hill to
cover the infantry. The position was a
most important one and certainly worth
straining every nerve to defend. One
thing was clear enough, that the French
infantry after once meeting the Prussians
declined to try conclusions with them
again, and that the cavalry were seeking
to encourage them by their example.
About two O'Clock other reinforcements
came to the Prussians over this long dis
puted hill between Farey and Sedan, to
support the regiments already established
there. All the time that this great conflict
was going on under Frit2s eyes-and
mine, may add---another was fought
none the less severe, and as murderous for
the Bavarians as the one Just described.
Two Bavarian officers told me that the
loss in their regiment was terrific, and that
it was the mitrailleurs which made the
havoc.
At five minutes past two in the afternoon
the French totally abandoned the hill be-
tween Tarcy and Sedan, and fell back on
the Faubourg of CavaNert, outside the
ramparts of the town. .'Now the battle Is
lost for the French" said Gen. Sheridan,
to the great delight of the Prussian officers.
One would fancy that the French had al
most heard his words they had hardly
been uttered when there came lull in the
firing all along the line, or rather circle, as
| it had now become. Count Bismarck
chose that moment to come and have
talk with his English and American friends.
was anxious to know what the Federal
Chancellor had done about the threatened
neutrality OF Belgium, and my curiosity
was soon gratitied. a"I have told the Bel
gian Minister of War; said Count Bis
marck, THAT so long as the Belgian troops
do their utmost to disarm any number of
French soldiers who may cross the From
tier will strictly respect the neutrality of
Belgium, but if, on the contrary. the Bel
gians, either through negligence or mac
tivity, do not disarm and capture every
man in French uniform who sets his foot
in their country, we shall at once follow
the enemy into neutral territory with our
troops, considering that the French have
been the first to violate Belgian soil. l
have been down to have look at the Bel
gian troops near the frontier" added Count
Bismarck, land | confess that they do
not inspire me with very high opinion of
their martial order or discipline. 1t is only
when they have their great coats on that
one can see great deal OF paletot, but
hardly any soldier" asked His Excel
lency where he thought the Emperor was,
in Sedan ''Oh no, was the reply" ma
poleon is not very wise, but he IS not quite
so foolish rs TO put himself in Sedan just
now For once IN his life Count Bis
marck was wrong. aEt@N
AT quarter to three o'clock, the King
came to where was standing. saying that
he thought the French were going to try
and break out just beneath us in front OF
the second Bavarian corps. At ten min
utes to four, General Sheridan told me that
Napoleon and Louis were in Sedan.
At twenty minutes past three the Bava-
rians below us not only contrived to get
inside the Notifications of Sedan but to
. maintain themselves there, working their
way forward from house to house. About
four o'clock there was great fight for the
possession of the bridge above BaZcille,
and that done, Sedan was swept on all
sides by the Prussian cannon.
About five o'clock there was again u
sudden suspension of the cannonade along
the whole line. Many were the specula-
tions as to the cause, but nobody seemed
to divine the truth. You may judge of
our surprise when, four minutes later, we
saw French officer attendedby the t'hans
coming at hard trot up the steep bridge
path from Sedan to our post. one OF the
Uhlans carryinga white duster on tag-
cot stick rs a flag of truce. The messen-
ger turned out to be French colonel
who came to ask the terms of surrender.
After very short consultation between
the King and General Won Moltke the
messenger was told that in matter as i'm
portant rs the surrender of at least $4,000
/ men and an important fortress il was nee
essary to send an officer of higher rank.
You are therefore to return to Sedan
and tell the governor of the town to re-
port himself immediately to the King OF