, 1870-09-13
GRAVELOTTE.


.titcF the tKnttoe-t:rAphiC Dc.Crtp-
tion OF shocking Scenes.
Matat Haistead, editor OF the Cincinnati
ton,mercia1 wlo Is with the pruseian head
,lnar.crs, By permission Of Biannrk, has
w'itten n feries OF very graphic letters Of the
rccues he has witnessed. Writing from near
Metz, August 90, the day after the llard-fnuSlt
battle OF uraveotte, he thus depicts what he
saw on tho cory scene Of strife and horrors.
Il il shocking iu the niputeucae OF detail.
I'VE met separately two officers aud two
.ollicrs, and received frum them four dle-
iiEcs ard inllnrrnonious stories. Even the
old soldier could Lot eee his way clearly, but
according to hts best Judgment there IVES a
bu1inl truce. But Why have bnr:at truce
after the battle OF Gsavelosse, when there llal
rot been such Ceremony after the battles us
Vi: Ayi,le and Rczonyilles The evidence ~,a
umrle that ,he:c lad no. then been truce to
bury tho dead. There were, fo7 itIstaacc,
tuur or fivo thousand dead men III sight.
uese. there. ever! "l'crc; he Poor fellows ...l
teen tuntic1 over. We came 10 a Ereucl.-
u.al whose head had bean knocked off by
c*ui,uM ahot. There remained of it tWo scraps
Of skin, each as large as your ha1d, and vi
mo "ns hin moustache aud the end Of his
r''se, IND cu the orlre1 patch Of the hair Of
h,s head. Another lad ,ccu struck in the
.entre Of his lo1y anil aluaost eut iu two.
Tie shoulders mud head were left. the L1iry
knarsatk and red cap still cliuSing to them,
and, below the bloody nass, lis coarss
shoes were visible; his face was
;,etu disen,bowclcd by 4 fragment Of shell.
and the fatal missile had torn npou his pa,lt1-
looms pocket, showing largo piece CT hard
bread and bit OF neat. A tsil rrus.iau.
dead, was a full length on his back, h,s he'll
,lsat s ado adorned / wi with Tho legend .sFer ss Kss
aud FAtherland," aud tho buckle Of his hi,
showing in conspicuous letters s'io1 with.
us." On the north side OF the road vas u
slender little Frencl. soldier. lying on his
face, his gun III hi. hands, He h.d been
killed as he was making ready to ,irs, aud
uasl crouchcd in the collapse Of death like
| rltiful little arimal. a triangular rent in the
| hsnl OF Ills red cap told that he had been
, e.:.et through the ltad. At bis side was
larger mal. thrors:, nhosa r:sslea bead a
Ehastis fu1row bad teen pio1cd and fiou il
| TIC torn lldins i1sutHl. HIS chasstptt wa.:
might olhood was French Colonel, MOI
di=iigcred at all hy lis death wound.
| I think lie had Lot met l,in death
instantly, but Aad been struck III the thigh
Aud died from loss Of blood. He had, 1t
| seemed, attempted to do something to =taanc..
| composed himself for Ieath. lie Krs al nea,
! eulIse ~ you ever saw. His -puTs wcre
sill on lis heels. lus KEPT OF lis head. lis
Lands b. Ills side His e1ol1les lad been oi,eu-
| ed utuut Lis breast tss son1e Que i'll search uf
| >atnab!ee. suppose, sud there were n.ticl.=
acastezed about shuwinS tLs1 hc had leet.
careful in camp 70 he neat. Amoas item
| wcre tutth-1,r1lsh and tox OF tcoih.po.-
| der. Tie duet from tl,s Paris road had pow
trrGd him. Itia features Wei. tot swollen or
distorted, but clear and colo1lees. and his
fnenes would hare recognized him quickly
/ i. Ill life.
| " How it ha?2cnci tha! in the SAME groups
| Ut deud come were hidcorsly affected BY the
sun, black aid INDUSTRIOUS, with detaila uf
horror il tbt If ~ t'ea1anco that ! must not
nsGnslou. wh1le others were pale aud waten,
every facial outline delicatcly preserved. do
Lol l,rdt rstan.l.
..Somc Of the most terrible Of the pictures
| of death Wcro smouS the fallen horses.
There we're expressions OF unatterablt {ear
a,.l suffering in their dead iaces. The wild
csve, the expanded nostr1ts. the open lips dls-
| Laying tue fnll length Of the teeth In some
uf The faces Of these noble :.,irna.s every
| lair eeeut1 to tell talo OF ttrfor. Tao at1i-
tuder of tile hurEes in death were 81 various
aid fascinating Ill their interest as t.o~e III
tic nell. Oh. tor an artist TO layo made
| >t,dv Of them! Here il ! grand tsay horse
slot through! by an explode! shell. ilia left
| shoulier crushed, antl hulc i'll his faux la1t
AZ lAtEe as thu lead OF 1our-Iarrc,.
sst1icltn down. with hi@ legs under him and
Its clln iu the dirt, there Was IN his staring
eyes aud startling EItn the suggestion. Of
l
III, oUsh the head. AID prone ot: his sil., Ii
| i,s struggles he Ead to-l the clover sod with
I'll. feet. aud the Lloody froth blown far trcm
:.ls nostr,ls. spoke Of the desperate agony OF
hi- dying breath- beautiful younEtasre, IN
| who're satib skin aLl handsome li11f-. and
graceful head, tipped with dainty ears. auv
hotec faucies would have detected tue nla.ks
of etItlc blood. Lad clasped .icr legs. i. il
they were human arms. against her body,
which had been shot through. Maay were On
81, hair dad -
o1ls were they that. glanciug over the field,
horses legs could bo seen sticking up on all
| r:des, making display ttat Spull have been
grnte.que il 1t had not been hiJeous.
lin the Gravelotte letter, l referred to tho
seven lo1ses and forty men dead in group
There Was chance for q photographer, II
the photographers OF Europe had half the
enterprise they h1yc iu America. some Of
them would have been on the spot, however
-xtrcme the trouble Of getting there. That
slaughter ed heap contsipcd soldiers Of 10th
a1nies, abd not rag should have been shift
cd for the purpose OF the artirt. II was, in
lte dreadful pic,EresQueness, complete. The
o,en sa:rscu. the horses st the wheels dcath-
enlitten ly the same stroke. the red brcechcs
ot france aud the b!ue coats of Prussia piled
together, CAPS md helmets, kuaps,cks.
swords and bayone,s, muskcts and sabtes,
,he ramu,e1s for csvantng caunon. ono
O! them lroksu, c1assepote AMI Lee
tlic-gurs. literally lying Across esch osherl;
the ground piticd with slH lis. dozen marks
ut tht,n within square rod, black holes
~here fhey had hu1es, indentatiops Hhere
lLay had bounced, deep abr1 slons where they
struck and lar une1ploded. 1 counted 7hir-
seeu Of these in cluster. and 70 suall IVES
tho space you could have concealed half ol
lheu under waEcE-coyet.
'.Ile little town Of viousille Was heaped
uith cori see- The garden walls wero over
| tlsto~p. the hou-es stiveEed NTH shots. and
oue that had been fired IN the battle still bum
Tug. Every house hAd been slaughter house.
The prrssiaCs had removed heatiy all theiz
dead, hut tho French eorpees we're &c
1 Thick that ouc could but think the battle
had teen fer them, 1t this point, 4
.nassacrv. Extending across the Paris road
from rionyiile tuuthward, WIS a line on
which the French bad ttood, their faces to.
ward Paris. Hos many miles Of corpses
there were here, in row revealing tho Cround
i OF ubicl, the French had made their las
| .sard IN tie second dar, do not knnw, bu,
certainly sew two miles rd them. Traces o.
,, the fcrcc.oEs energy with which the Frcnct
Lad sought to hurl back ,he ove1bea.ius
. ltsitns Of Germany were still to be seen ii
:leir dead faces. A few had the look O
meekness ani resignation, AZ il death had no
. ctme before visions of peace, but the nan,
lad 1 ti1tG fcTceneea quite 1igcz-lils. It va
: remarkable that this wild animal aspect Va
/ NIT notice able among the fallen Gefmaus
| Their attitudes in death seldom expressed iu
| tcpsity OF action. while the Ffeuch. in yer
many Instances, had evidently received tbei
| mortal hurts when every nerve and musel
Aas straiIed With the excitement CT som