The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-10-01

at a third French column moving up the ROAD
through La CAYENNE, above Sedan, douotiess 70
support the troops defending the Important
BazelIes rayine to the northeast of town. At one
o'clock the French batteries on the edge OF the
wood towards Torrey and above it, opened a
vigorous fire on the advancing Prusslan columns
of the Sd corps, whose evident intention IL was
to storm the hill northwest of La CAYENNE, ana
SO gain the key of the position on that side.
At l:l5 O'Clock, yet another french battery
near the wood, opened on the Prusslan column
which was compelled to keep shifting their
ground. till ready for their final rush at the MUS
and in order to avoid offering so good a mark to
the French shells. Shortly afterward we saw the
LIST Prussian skirmishers on the crest OF La
CAYENNE hills, above Torrey.
They did not seem in strength, and General
Sheridan, who stood behind me, exclaimed, "Oh
the fellows! they are too weak! They can never
hold that position against all those French
The Generals prophecy soon proved correct, Tor
the French, advancing, at least SIX to one, the
Prusslans were forced to retreat down the hill 60
seek achievements from columns, which were
hurrying to their support. In five minutes they
came to the attack again. This time they were
in greater force, bat still terribly inferior to resist
those huge French masses. "Good heaven the
French cuirrasieurs are going to charge them
cried General Sheridan sure enough, a regiment
of cuirrasieurs, their helmets and breast plates
flashing in the September sun, and dashlnS down
scattered the Prussian skirmishers.
Without turning to form in line, Squares are
never used by the Prussian Infantry they received
the cuirrassieurs with a crushing quick lire, at
about one hundred yards distance, loading and
firing with extreme rapidity, and unfailing precl-
sion into the dense French squadrons. The effect
was startling. Over went horses and men In
numbers, in masses, in hundreds and regiments
of proud French cuirrassieurs went hurriedly
back back faster than they came. They went
back scarcely a regiment in strength, and not at
all a regiment in form. Its comely array was
suddenly changed into ~shapeless and helpless
crowds of flying men.
The moment the cuirrassieurs turned back the
brave Prussians actually dashed forward, in hot
pursuit, at the double-quick, the infantry plainly
pursuing the flying cavalry. Such a thing has
not often been recorded in the annals of war. L
know not when an example to compare precisely
with this has occurred. There was no more
striking episode in the battle. When the French
infantry saw the cavalry thus fleeing before foot
soldiers, they, in their turn, came forward and
attacked the Prussians.
The Prussians waited quietly, enduring a rapid
and telling fire from the chassepots, until their
enemies had drawn SO near as to be within one
hundred yards from them then they returned
with their needle guns the rapid fire from the
chassepots, and the French infantry could no more
endure the Prussian fire than the cavalry, to
whose rescue they had come. The infantry fled
in turn and followed the cavalry to the place from
which they came that is, beyond the ridge, five
hundred yards on the way to Sedan, where the
Il IuccilL OIluCO III cCOGIOuc duO
squadrons.
The French had flooded the low meadows in the
valley before coming to the railroad bridge at
Basille, in order to stop the Germans from advanc-
ing on the town in that direction. With their
usual stupidity, (for one can find no other word
for 1T, the French had failed to mine the bridge
at Basille, and it was of immense service to the
Prussians throughout the battle. The Prussians
actually threw up e%arthworks on the iron bridge
itself, to protect them from the French, who more
than once attempted, early in the day, to storm
this bridge in the hope of breaking the Bavarian
communication between the right and left banks
of the Meuse. This they were unable to do, and
although their cannon shot has almost demolished
the parapet of the bridge, the bridge itself was
never materially damaged.
On the projecting spurs of the hill, covered by
the woods of Carmapin, of which [ have already
spoken, the Bavarians had stood two batteries of
six FOUNDER rifed, breach loading, steel Krupp
guns which kept up a duello till the very end of
the day, WITH the siege guns of Sedan. Across
the Meus, still further to the right flank, or rather
to east, (fOr one line was CIRCULAR crescent at
first, with Sedan in the center, like a star on the
Turkish standard) was the undulating plain,
above the village of Basille, terminating about a
mile and a half west of Sedan, at the woods near
Rubschourf, midway that is to say, in line from
Basille, north there is a ravine watered by a tiny
brook, which was the scene of the most desperate
struggle, and of the most frightful slaughter of
the whole battle.
The stream, whose name L have forgotten, if
it ever had one, runs right behind the town of
Sedan. From the woods of Fliegeruse, on the
north, behind the town, rises a hill dotted with
cottages and fruit laden orchards, and crowned
by the woods which run down to the valley of
which [ have just spoken.
Between the road and the town. several French
camps with their whole shelter tents standing
clear against the dark forest trees in the camp,
We could see throughout the day hugh masses of
troops which were not used even during the
hight of battle. They stood as idle as Fitz John
Porter at the second battle of Rull Run. We
imagined that they must have been unprincipled
Gardes Mobiles, whom the French Generals
dared not bring out against the enemy. To the
Prussian left were three French camps. Sepa-
rated from them by a wooded ravine, was a long
rear hill, something like our hill in Long Island.
This hill, on which was some of the hardest
fighting of the day, formed one of the keys of
the position OF the French army. When once
its crests were covered with the Prussian a%rtille-
ry, the whole town of Sedan was completely at
the mercy OF the German guns, as they were not
only above the town, but the town was almost
within musket range of them. Further to the
left lay the village of lily, set on fire early in the
day by French shells.
Though these had broken the railway bridge,
blown up by the French to protect their right,
it was a conspicuous object. Right above the
railroad bridge, on the line to Mezieres, was a
wooded hill crowded by the now most hideous
CudICstu, 10 Hc Cttltb IL, IL OHe n1ODeIOur rave. IL
was here the Crown Prince and his staff stood
during the day, having rather a more extensive,
but less central view, and therefore more desir-
able than ours, where stood the King, Count
Bismarck, Won Room, War Minister General
Moltke and Generals Sheridan and FOrsythe to
say nothing of your correspondents.
Having thus endeavored to give you some faint
idea of the scenes of what is in all probability the
decisive battle of the war, 1 will give an account
of the positions of the different corps at the
commencement of the action, promising that all
the movements were of the simplest possible
nature. The object of the Prussian Generals was
merely to close the crescent of troops with which
they began, into a circle, by efecting a junction
between the Saxon corps on the right, and the
Prussian corps on their left. This junction took
place about noon, near the little village of lily, !
in the woods behind Sedan, of which 1 have 6
already spoken once.
This terrible circle formed and well formed {
it grew steadily smaller and smaller, I