Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-09-14

wards we saw the first Prussian skirmishers
on the crest of the Loganne hills, above
! Toucy. They did not seem in strength, and
Gen. Sheridan. who was standing behind me,
exclaimed, - All the beggars are too weak !.
they can never hold that position against all
those French generals. y
i The prophecy soon proved correct, tor the
trench advanced at least six to one, and the
Prussians were forced to retreat down the
hill to seek reinforcements from the columns
which were hurrying to their support In
i've minutes they came back again, this time
IN greater force, but they were still terribly
inferior to those of the huge French masses.
" Good heavens the French cuirassiers are
going to charge them, cried Gen. Sheridan,
and sure enough regiment of cuirassiers,
with their helmets and breast plates flashing
in the September sun, form in sections of
squadrons and dash down on the Prussian
skirmishers without deigning TO form in line.
The squares, never used by the Prussian in
I-lantry, received the cuirassiers with a crush
ing quick lire at about one hundred yards
distance, loading and firing with extreme
rapidity and unfailing precision into the
dense French squadrons. The effect was
startling; over went the boz and men in
numbers, in NM .s@ass and the
regiment - Sassicrs
went hufSl Frhey went
back faster tfa@ 1c' They went
back scarcely regiment in strength, and not
at all regiment in form. Its cOmely array
was suddenly turned into a shapeess mass
and helpless crowd Of flying men. The
moment the cuirassiers turned back the brave
Prussians actually dashed forward in hot
pursuit at double quick, the infantry plainly
pursuing the flying cavalry. Such thing
has not often been recorded in the annals of
war. | know not of an example to compare
. xritb
sode in the battle. When the French in
fantry saw their cavalry thus fleeing before
foot soldiers, they in their turn came forward
and attacked the Prussians. The Prussians
waited quietly and patiently, enduring a
rapid and telling fire from chassepOts, until
their enemies had drawn so near as to be
within hundred yards from them; then
they returned with the needle gun the rapid
fire from the chassepOts, and the French in
fantry could no more endure the Prussian fire
than the cavalry to whose rescue they had
come. The infantry fled in its turn and fol-
! lowed the cavalry to the place from which
they came, that is behind ridge some 500
yards on the way to Sedan, where the Prus-
slams with their teasing fire could no longer
reach them. The great object of the Prus-
slams was gained, since they were not driven
from the crest of the hill they fought to hold.
Holding it thus against cavalry the Prus
slams pursuaded themselves that it was pos
sible to establish artillery on the hill.
The French on the hills west of the city
stood their ground fercely till , in the after
noon, three times repulsing with great loss
their assailants. They were fiercely pounded
back here, also, and about ,. 80 they fell back
suddenly, firing steadily though little too
rapidly, upon the inner road to Sedan, closely
followed up by the Germans, who were pres
sing on to meet the columns emerging from
under the smoke which enyeloped the woods
of Givonne
At Bazeilles the battle wavered still. the
ground there favOring the French artillery,
which kept up a murderous and almost lit
orally intermittent fire with extraordinary
accuracy. | think the German losses here
were the heaviest Of the day, and from what
L myself saw, / should put them down at
from ten to twelve thousand in killed and
wounded, at this point alone. Three attempts
wtyrv s1cre made aC using cavalry, the only
attempts, | think, that were made during
the day, but the nature of the country made
them useless, and neither on the French side
nor on the German was there any serious
display of this arm, in which the German
army was SO mucn stronger and better equip
ped than its rival.
1t was towards three O'Clock. | think, that
the decisive moment came The Germans
who had fought and won on the GivOnne
{
byways and couaty roads along the line of a
small water-course up TO Daigny hamlet,
where they gathered around some of the iron
factories TO the east of Bazeilles. pressed
through the wood, and came out upon the
flank of Lebrun in overwhelming strength,
firing as they came on 10 that cool, del .berate,
unexcited irreguarity which has such
striking effect upon the morale of the enemy
| SAW their dark lines emerging, the sun
glittering on the brass ornaments, which
mark them out 50 clearly when in masses
from the French, at any distance, and heard
the cracking rattle of the vOlleys deepen and
grow nearer, rolling at last inO sort Of
continuous shattering noise, like the crack
ing OF branches in tue forest. The attack
was decisive The French were driven in
on the west and south, as on the east and
north. The ground fought over was won
and kept. Everywhere, at each point, the
German troops were handled with such sense
and GOODNESS that always they came in
greatest force upon the weakest point. The
day was never in doubt. My journey here,
by Bouillon and Givet has been terrible. All
is confusion and alarm among the refugees,
deserters and broken companies of troops.
The Belgians are greatly excited The En-
pire is done with, If half we hear tonight be
true, that all France is in revolution; soldiers
shooting their officers, peasants attacking the
houses of the rich. This city is crowded
with Belgian troops, and just outside of the
great dark railway station are cantoned two
regiments Two thousand Prussians and
French are nere. Many wounded in the
hospitals and many have died. The magniti-
cent ctidel is full Of soldiers. The Duke of
Aumale was here yesterday with the Duke
of Penthieore, and the Count Of Flanders is
f with the army on the line.