The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1870-10-19
The Horrors Of Sedan.

OF the battle OF Sedan, sent to thes
London Times, occurs the fol-s
lowing fearful sketch {
The greatest event of our times
has occurred under the eyes of I
those who saw the battle Of Sc I
dan. [ think the British publics
1nast have had enough Of battle-E !
field horrors and hospital scenes.
There will DC plenty Of letters de- 4
scrlbing krankcn-tragcrs, burial
parties, wounded men, heaps Of
dead, the hideous reverse Of thea
medal on the other side Of whichs
are the bright emblazonments off
glory and victory. | will nots
dwell on the topic, but. ask yours
readers to be content with thcS
assurance that no human eye cvers;
rested on such revolving objcctsS
rs were presented by the battle:
fields around Sedan. Let themS
fancy masses Of colored rags gluedS
together with blood and brains, s
and pinned into strange shapes
by fragments Of bones. Let them
conceive mems bodies without#
heads, legs without bodies, heaps
OF human cntrails attached to reds
and blue cloth, and discm bowclleda
corpscs in uniform, bodies yinys
about in all attitudes, with skulls;
shattered, faces blown off, hips s
smashed, bones, flesh, and gay
clothing all pounded together as if
b-ayed in q mortar, extending forz
miles, not very thick in any one !;
place, butrocarring gpcrpetually forS
weary hours, and then they can E
not. with the most vivid imagina. 3
t;on, come up to the sickening 3
reality Of that butchery. NoS
nightmare could be so frightfnl. 6
Several times 1 camc on Spots#
where there were two horses ly-S
ing dead together in harness, s
killed by the same fragmcnt.-a
Several times | saw four, five, ands
six men, four, five, and six horses, g
all killed by the explosion Of ones
projeetile, and j. one place there =.
l;ty no less than eight French sol IS
dierS who must have been struck 8;
down by the bursting Of shell 8
over u company, for they lay all 3
round in = circle with their feet g
inwardS, each shattered in the g
Eea'! or chest by q piece Of shell, 8
and no other dead being within i
hundred yards Of them. A cu-Ss
rions and to mo unaccountable !
phenomenon was the blackncss Of =
mos. of the faces Of the dead. De- 6!
had not Set in, for s.
they were killed only the day beg
fore. Another circumstance which 8
struck me was the expression otss
agony on many faces. Death bya
the bayonct is agonizing, and 9
those who die by steel, open-eyed 4
and opcn-mouthed,. have an ex-1
preston Of pain in their features, g
with protruding tongue. \ mus 3
ket bail. which is at oace vital, q
does not seem to cause much pain, q
and the features are composed 4
and qnict, sometimes with 4 sweet !
smile on the lips. But the pre- =
vailinS expression on this field OF !
the faces which were not mutila-%A
ted Was one of terror and OF agony q
unutterable. There must haveI
been i hell Of torture raging lna
that scmicirclc in which the earth =
was torn aSSunder from ali sides l
" ith u real tempest OF iron hiss 8
ing. and >creeching, and burstings
into the heavy masses at the handsa
OF an unseen enemy. | cannot1
imagine any so trying to theSI
Dravcst man rs TO meet death ala
most inyloriously in suci, u scenc@Ss
as that-nothing so maddening toI
soldiers as to be annihiatcd Wlth-%ESg
out chance Of vengeance-no 8
thing 50 awful to the fugitive asa
to see his comrades blown to frag q
ments all around him. 1t is welIA
that wives and mothers and fondA
sisters were spared the sight otHa
their beloved ones, and 1t is wcIISa
that in France it is only mothers q
an, sisters who will have to deg
0}ore the slain. Whether thca
p-ussians buried their dead earlym
the night Of the battle ITSELF
or not | cannot tell, but their ios-A
sys were almost nothing if they5
were to be estimated by the mum A
Der Of bodies on the field. Sol-s
dicrs we'll know how deceptive is s
the appearance Of ground viewedsI
from an elevated point; and dur-a
ing the battle which ragged for IF s.
teen miles before and around US 8
there were outbursts Of firing FROM
valleys and knobs which seemed B
but which were a'ks
once explained when the positions e:
:. were gained: 4 ThorcEI
was 2 rain Of Prussian and Bava-a q
riaH bombs upon the town, tl'ied5
with terrified citizens who had nos 9
time to escape. The troops oat- 8
side had been lighting wlthou'H
:3ol since the morning, and ther'sss
were no resources in the city toS5
meet their wants. They were ing:
an angry and terrible mood, ups
;,l;,r tbrir officers, mGtlnOuS.sSl