St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1870-09-02
The Battle Of GrareiOtte.
Graphic Account OF the Great Battle
oi Thursday before Net.

Especial Dispatch to The New York Tribune.l
The troops had been passing through
several days previously: but now the
uamp Through every street AMI byway
mad. between midnight and dawn
. rpctuai roar. Hastily die>sinG | ran
out into the darkness. and managed to
get seat n a wagon that was goinG in
the direction OF the front, nov under
S;u1l to be mile or two beyond the
village of Corr =, some twelve miles from
pont-a Mou->or, and ialt that distance
sou Invest of Metz. On our way we
met IL considerable batch of French pris-
oncr-, WHO were looked upon with con-
siderable curiosity by the continuous line
of German soldiers with whom we al
yanccd, bat only one or two offensive
cri. : toward tie prisoners Were heard,
| Tie way was 80 oblockcd with wagon, that
| finally concluded could Letter do the
>;x or seven miles remaining on foot: 81
| cot out of my wagon and BEGAN TO
walk and run swiftly ahead. At Mou-
Went, on the Mo.clle, about half way
to Metz, ! found vast bodies of cavalry
Il 'hlans and huS-ars-cros. iDg the riv
er by pontoon bridge, and hurrying at
the top of their speed toward Core.
/ Uuickening my own steps. L first heard
the thunder of the cannonad', seemingly
coming from the heart OF a range Of hills
on the right. Passing through the vii
lace and ascending the high-plain be
vund. | found myself suddenly in Il bat
tc-lield. ,irewn thckly, as lar Is my
eve could reach, with dead bodies. In
one or two parts Of the field companies
v.,rc still burving the dead, chiefly Trus
SLAMS. The French, being necessarily
buried last, were still lying i'll vast num-
b,rs on the ground. A few of those |
saw were not yet dead. A. L hurried
on, splendid regiment of cavalry camt
M from behind me, and when they
reached the brow of the hill they all
broke out with a wild hurrah and dasheC
forward \ few more steps and l galncl
the summit, and saw the scene whlcl
had evoked their cry, and seemed t'
thrill even their horses.
TIE BATTLEFIELD.
Ii would be difficult to imagine ;
rrander battlefield. From the hi
to which | had been directed by goo'
authority TO come, the entire sweep o
the Pru,sian and French ccnter5 coul'
be seen, aud considerable part OF thel
' wiues. The spot where | stood wa
fearful. 1t was amid ghastly corps
e.. and the air was burdened with tn
stencil O. dead horses, Of which there wer
treat numbers. | was standing on tn
battlefield of the l6th-thc PruSsian sid
o. thereof. On the left stretched like sill
yer the road to Nerdun-to Paris, ais
5, for the possession Of which this series {
battles had begun. 1t was between III
lines of poplars which stood agains: I'll
horizon on my left; and on, as far
= the eye could reach, toward Metz, wit
i miIitry regularity, strun5 on this roa
+. like beads, were the pretty villages, eac
ct with its church: tower. all OF whl(
are really one hundred yards apart, a
: though they have separate names-Siar
la-Tour, Fiavigny, little south of II
as- road, Vionyiile, Rezonville, and Grave
u ottc, which is divided into the Gre
and Little Gravelotte. % my rlg
were the thickly wooded bills behli
~, which lies the most important villai
nd .nd of the neighborhood, which l had Ju
Sf Ieft-Gorze. SO environed was t