Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-09-08
NO. 214
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and covered by the woods of La Glvonne,
which runs down to the valley of which,
have just spoken. f.
Between this wood and the town were
several French camps, their white shelter
tents standing out clear among the dark
! fruit trees. In these camps one could see
| throughout the day huge masses of troops,
which were never used, Even during the
height of the battle they stood as idle as
Fitz John Porter at the battle of Bull Run.
| We imagined that they must have been
undisciplined Gardes Mobiles, whom the
French genedals dared not bring out
against the enemy.
| To the Prtlssiap left of these French
camps, separated from them by wooded
ravine, was a long, bare hill, something
like one of the hills on Long Island. The
hill, on which was some of the hardest
fighting of the day, formed the key OF the
position OF the French army When once
| its crests were covered with Prussian az
tillery. the whole town of Sedan was COM
petely 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
Still further to the left lay the village of
lily, which was set on fire early in the day
by French shells. South of this a broken
railway bridge, blown up by the French
to protect their right, was conspicuous
object. Right above the bridge, on a line
to MeZieres, was wooded HILL crowded
by the new and most hideous chateau, as
he calls it, of one Monsieur Paue. 1t was
here that the Crown Prince and his staff
stood during the day, having rather
more extensive butsless central view, and
therefore less desirable view than ours,
= inc
Won Room, the War Minister, General
Moltke, and Generals Sheridan and For
syth, to say nothing of your correspondent.
| Having thus endeavored to give some
| faint idea of the scene of what is in all
/ probability the decisive battle of the war,
| | willneXt give an account of the position
of the different corps at the commence
ment of the action, promising that all the
movements were of the simplest nature
possible, the object of the Prussian gen.
erals being merely to close the crescent OF
troops, with which they began, into a
circle by eifecting junction between the
Bavarian corps on their right and the Prus-
sian corps on the left. This junction took
place about noon, near the little village of
Alley, ON the Bazeiiles ravine, Of which
have already spoken. Once their terrible
circle formed and well soldered together,
/ it grew steadily smaller and smaller until
at last the Notifications of Sedan itself
were entered. l.t
On the extreme right were the Saxons,
one corps d'armee with King Williams
Guards, also corps d'armee in reserve
behind them The Guards had suffered
terribly at Gravellotes, where they were
met by the Imperial Guard, and the King
would not allow them again to be so cruel
| " cut up. Jnstice compes me to state
that the management was very far indeed
from being pleasing to the Guards them
selves, who were anxious to be in the fore
front of the battle The Guards and Sax
ons then, about 5000 strong, were all
day on the right bank of the Meuse, be-
tween Rubecourt and La Chapelle, at
which latter village Prince Albert of Sax
| ony. who was in command OF two corps
which had been formed into a little army
! by themselves, passed the night of Tues
day.
The ground from Rubecourt to the
Meuse was occupied by the first Bavarian
corps, and the second Bavarian corps ex-
tended their front from near the Bazeilles
railway bridge to point on the high road
from Donchery to Sedan, not far from the
little village of Torcy, below the hill on
which the Crown Prince was placed. The
ground from Torcy to lily, through the
large village of Floin was held by the
first and third Prussian corps, belonging to
Prince Frederick Charles and temporarily
attached to the army of the Crown Prince.
This was the position of the troops about
9 o'clock on Thursday morning, Septem-
Der / and no great advance took place
till later than that, as the artillery had at
first all the work to do. Still further to
the left, near Donchery, were 10000
Wurtemburgers ready to cut off the French
| from MeZieres, in case of their making
push for that fortress. t4t
Thenumber of troops engaged on the
! Prussian side is estimated by General
Moltke at 900, and the number of
those on the French side at 10000. We
know that Mcmahon had with him ON
Tuesday 100000 men, that is four corps,
his own, that lately commanded by Gen.
De Failly, now under General Lebrun,
that of Fitz Douay, brother to General
Abel Douay, killed at Wissemburg. and
4 the fourth corps, principally composed OF
the Garde Mobile, the name OF the COM
mander of which escaped me. McMahon,
although wounded, commanded in chief
on the French side. 1t is almost needless
TO say that the real ammander-in. chief of
the Prussians was Won Moltke, with the
Crown Prince and Prince Albert of Sax
ony Immediately next in command.
| There were a few cannon shots fired, but
the real battle did not commence until six
o'clock, and became II sharp artillery fight
! at nlne, when the batteries had each got
within easy range, and shells began to do
serious mischief At IL :55 O'Clock, the
musketry fire in the valley in the rear of
Sedan, which had opened about 1l:25
became exceedingly lively, being one con-
tinuous rattle, only broken by the growl-
ing mihailleurs, which played with dead
ly effect on the advancing Saxon and Ba-
varian columns. General Sheridan, by
whose side | was standing. told me that
he did not remember ever to have heard
such well sustained small-arm fire. 1t
made itself heard above the roar of the
batteries at our feet. 4t 4a
AT twelve O'clock, precisely. the Prus-
sian battery of six guns on the slope
above the broken railway bridge, over the
Meuse, near villete. had silenced two bat