Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1870-08-13
THE following is synopsis of the
war news of the 9th and 10th inst. from
the Louisville Courier-Journal

81
war news of the 9th and 10th inst. from
the Louisville Courier-Journal:
The war news this morning is full
of interest. The Prussians are follow
retreating French have, as yet, been
unable to make stand, and Gen.
Mcmahon, totally routed and cut Off
from the main army, Is striking for
Nancy, in the hope of concentrating
there and ultimately re-establshing
his communications with Metz
Nancy is one of the strongest and
most important strongholds of that
part of France, and is, in fact, the
outer wall of Paris. 1t and Metz are
now the main hope of the French,
and prodigious efforts are being made
to defend them to the last. Doubt
less the main and decisive battles of
the war will be fought at these places.
Every male person has been impress
ed into the service at Metz, and the
Emperor, reported iii again with his
old disease, has removed his head
quarters to ChalOns sur Marine, and
sent the Prince Imperial back to Par
is.
The losses In killed and wounded
already are immense, and the Prus-
slams report many thousand prisoners.
Paris Is said to be safe and reports
from that place represent the people
patriotic and applauding the procla-
nation of the Empress.
The Pall-Mall Gazette saws the re-
suit of the recent fighting means tri-
IN, nj, fpr ,
press consider the French loss ire
trievable.
LATEST.
The very latest dispatches, received
at the moment Of going to press, an
nouce that the French are resisting
the Prussians. Another report is
that battle is raging before Metz,
where the Prussian army has been
concentrated.
The French have made determin-
ed stand and are concentrating all
their available force at Metz, and the
Prussians are marching on that for
miable place with reserves and all, as
If they meant to hazard everything
Napoleon at one mighty blow. And
here, undoubtedly, the greatest battle
of the age will be fought. Marshal
Bazaine has been put in command
and has already $50, 900 men Mt Metz,
with the prospect of junction with
Mcmahon and Canrobert, and with
whatever force of new volunteers
that the dread of an invasion may
raise up in Paris and the rest of
France, and that is considerable, If we
may believe the Paris dispatches.
Metz is the most important strate-
gic point i'm this part of France and
the strongest fortress. A strong wall,
with bastions, incloses q city of more
than $4,000 inhabitants. The fortifi-
cations are irregular, but were very
strong even before the war of 1886, and
since then important works have
been laid out and carried forward to
an advance stage on four command
ing sites. These allow for the i'm.
proved range of the latest ordinance,
as well as for the destructive force OF
modern projectiles. Two permanent
bridges span the Moselle at this point,
where Is also the confluence of the
Seille. The Moselle itself sends out
an arm which incloses a part of the
town, and is called the navigable Mo-
selle, since the principal stream in
terrupted, i'm case of seige, the wa
ter can he sufficiently raised In these
| streams to inundate the low ground
on the south and southwest sides ot
the town, making those fronts doub-
~ sure. Thus 1t will be seen that the
Prussians have no easy job before
them. However, the battle Il
not long away and a few hours may
bring us the tidings.