Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-08-26

upon Metz. Murat TIalstead, Editor-in-
Chief Of the Cincinnati Commercial.
having witnessed this battle sent the fol-
lowing dispatch in regard to it:
LUxEMBURG. August 2I.-I was pres
ent at the battle Of Gravelotte on Thurs
day. The King Of Prussia. Count Bis
marck and General Sheridan were on
the field. It was the third and great
battle for the road from Metz to Paris.
Tie FreHck zUeyS 0HtNHaEbezed and beat
en- buck to he zUaHs 0f 1Zefs. The
slaughter on both sides Eeas A01Tz6Ze- I
zgaLked seen miles Oze7 TIE IEela Sfyr7Ctz
Ink z5zkk aelzd men ami kO7Ses. The
lines Of battle were marked with dead IN
heaps.
Further particulars in regard 10 the
battle we have referred to. as well as
subsequent operations and other matters
connected with the war. are given in the
subjoined dispatches.
BERLIN. August zo.-The Queen has
received the following dispatch from
King William: NEAR REZoNvILLE.
August IS-osP M.-The French army
was attacked to-day west of Metz. is
position was very strong. My command,
after combat of nine hours duration,
totally routed the French forces. and IN
terrupted their communications with
Paris and threw them back upon Metz.
THE BATTLE OF GRAvELorTE-
A correspondent of the New York
75Tbffue teiegraphs to that journal un-
der date of August p. the following des-
cription of Thursdays battle of which
he was an eye witness:
At BIonvient on the Moselie. about
half way to Metz. found vast bodies Of
cavalry Of Uhlans and hussars crossing
the riYer by pontoon bridge and
hurrying at top Of their speed to
ward Core HuTrying my own steps.
/ soon heard the first thunder of can
nonade. seemingly coming from the
heart of a range of hills on the right
Passing through the village, and ascend
ing a high plain beyond, l found my
self suddenly on the battlefield strewn
literally as far as my eye could reach
with dead bodies. On one or two parts
of the field companies were burying the
dead, chiefly Prussian. The French be-
| ing necessarily buried last. were still
| lying in vast numbers on the ground
| A few of those saw were not dead. As
! hurried on, a splendid regiment Of
/ cavalry came on behind, and when they
reached the brow of the hill they all
broke out In a wild hurrah and rushed
! forward. A few more steps and gain
ed the summit and saw the scene which
| had evoked their cry and seemed to
thrill their horses. II would be difficult
to imagine a grander battlefield from
the hill to which / had been directed by
good authority to come. The entire sweep
of the Prussian and French centers could
be seen, and considerable part of their
wing. The spot where stood was fear
full. It was amid ghastly corpses and
! burdened with the stencil of dead horses,
of which there were great numbers.
/ was standing on the battlefield of the
10th, the Prussian side thereof On the
| left stretched, like a silver thread, the
road to Verdun, to Paris also. for the
possession Of which this series of battles
| had begun. 1t ran between lines of
poplars which stood against the horizon
on my left and on as far as eye could
reach toward Metz with military regu-
larity. Strung on this road like beads
were pretty villages, each with its church
tower, which, although they have a sep
aFate name, are really only few hum
dred yards apart Mars la Tour Flaw
/ igny, little south of the road Won
4 vile, Rezonville and Gravellotte, which
is divided into Great and Little Gravel
lotte. On my right were the thickly
wooded hills, behind which lies the most
important village of the neighborhood,
/ the one had just left. Gore. So en-
vironed was the foreground of the bat
! tie which one would say should be call
/ ed the battle of Gravellotte, for it was
/ F1,aE raH
town that It ragged. The area
have indicated is. perhaps. four miles
square.
Owing to having come on foot Tath-
er than along the blockaded road, l ar
rived just as the battle waxed warm
that is, about noon of the 18th. At that
time the headquarters of the King of
Prussia were at the spot l have describ-
ed. The great representative men and
soldiers of Prussia were standing on the
ground watching the conflict Just begun.
Among them recognized the King,
perhaps Bismarck, General Won Moitke,
Prince Frederick Charles, Prince Carl,
Prince Adalbert and Adjutant Krauski
Lieutenant General Sheridan, of the
United States Army, was also present at
the time. At this moment the French
were making the most desperate effort
to hold on to the last bit of the Verdun
road, that between Rezonville and Grav-
ellotte, or that part of Grovellotte which,
in some maps, is called St Marcel
Desperate. but unavailing. for every one
man IN the French ranks had two to
cope with, and their line was already
beginning to Waver. Soon it was plain
this wing of the French right was with
drawing to a new position. This was
swiftly taken up under cover of a con-
tinuous fire of their artillery from the
heights beyond the village The move
ment was made in good order, and the
position reached at 1870. l believe nine
military men of ten would have pro-
nounced it impregnable when once this
movement had been effected.
The battlefield was no longer at Re
zonville, but had been transferred and
pushed forward to GravelIotte, the Juno
ton of two branching roads to Verdun.
The fields in front Of the village were
completely covered by the Prussian re-
serves, and over it interminable lines of
soldiers were perpetually marching on
ward, disappearing into the village, and
emerging on the other side of it with
flaming volleys. This second battlefield
was less extensive than the first. and
DAOeS5 III t4AG opposing AOIGGS INTO ICdTIQl-
ly close quarters. The peculiarly of it
is.that It consists of two heights intersec-
ted by a deep ravine. This woody ra-
vine is over hundred feet deep, and at
the top, some three hundred yards wide,
the side of the chasm next to Gravellotte,
where the Prussians stood IS much low
er than the other side, which gradually
ascended to a great height From their
commanding eminence the French held
their enemies fairly beneath them, and
poured upon them a searching fire
The French guns were in position far
up by the Metz road, hidden and cover 4
cred among the trees. There was not
an instant's cessation of the roar ; easily !
disdnguishable amid all was the curious |
gruntlng roll of the mitrailleuses. The
Prussian artillery was posted to the
north and south of the village, the guns |
on the latter side being necessarily rais- |
ed for an awkward half vertical fire
The French stood their ground and |
died. The Prussians stood their ground /
and died by hundreds, had almost said |
bV thousands This for an hour or fv,o /