Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-11-14
THE DAY OF SEDAN.
General DucrOt's Account of De
Wimpnen's Blunder-How the
Disabling of Mcmahon leff the
Army without n Head. and Cost
Louis Napoleon His Throne.

of the army of Mcmahon, when the latter
was struck down on the battlefield, the
fate of Fance was in good hands apparent
lly. General Ducrot's subsequent career
and his conspicuous action in de-
fense Of Paris are matters Of history
The account of the battle Of Sedan can
now be read, for Ducrot has published q
volume entitled the DAY of Sedan"
and from the earliest copies some OF its
most interesting pages are translated for
the Louisville Ledger:
The Emperor, who, on horseback from
early in the morning, was then in the
neighborhood of Balan. was surprised
by the retrograde movement of the
army, and despite Of his desire not to
influence in any manner the decisions OF
his generals, could not refrain from
sending TO ask an explanation from the
General-in-chief.
His Majesty has remarked, said
Captain Gusman, ordnance officer OF
the Emperor, a movement of retreat
which seems to develop itself from right
to left, and in moment when it seems
as if we held the advantage on the right.
The Emperor does not understand this
movement, and sends me to you to ask
for information on this point"
Sir, you will tell His Majesty that
the action on our right is magnificent
The enemy is amusing us there while he
maneuvers to envelop our wings, and it
is behind us, toward lily, that the real
battle will be fought Say to the EN-
peror that am taking the necessary
steps to execute my retreat and concen-
tration in good order, but with the
greatest possible rapidity. Nothing shall
stop them"
Whether the Emperor acquiesced in
the reasoning of the General, or whether
he decided to emerge from his role as a
spectator, he gave no countermand to
the retreat. That which the sovereign
of France permitted, General who ar
rived the night before was about to him
der. General de Wimpffen, on the
morning of tine lst of September, in
riding through the positions of the Fifth
corps, perceived that the action was
progressing favorably on the right and
that the Twelfth corps was not only
holding Bazeille tenaciously, but had
driven back the Bavarians. Deceived
by these appearances, he believed the
advantage Increasing, that this success
was a commencement of a victory.
Thereupon he wished to claim it as his
own, and producing an order emanating
from Count de Palakao, from Paris, de-
clared himself Commanding Generall
General Ducrot saw with admiration
that his retreat was progressing admira-
bly,. The divisions Of Vassaigues, Pelle,
and L'heriller had already turned their
heads of column to the rear, when at 9
o'clock the following order was re-
ceived;
General de Wimpffen to General Du-
crot: The enemy is in retreat upon our
right. | send the Grand Champ Division
to Lebrun. | think that at this moment
there should be no idea Of a retreat. |
have from the Minister of War a letter
con6ding the command to me; but we
will speak of that after the battle. You
are nearer to the enemy. Use all your
energy and all your skill to gain victory
over an enemy now under disadvantage
GUS conditions. (l.) In consequence
sustain Lebrun vigorously, at the same
time watching the line you were charged
with defending"
Immediately General Ducrot sought
for General de Wimpnen, and finding
him, said, "I do not come to contest
with you the right of command, although
i | received it from Marshal McMahon,
and that it has been confirmed by the
Emperor. This is not moment to dis
cuss such questions. am ready to
second you with all my efforts, but allow
me 10 observe that have been for two
months in the front Of the Prussians,
that understand their maneuvers bet
ter than you, that have studied the sit
uation and the ground, and that it is
evident to me that the enemy is now
marching to cut us of | have seen II
with my own eyes, and this note justre-
ceived from the mayor of Villers Cernay,
announcing the passage Of the enemy s
troops since early this morning, can
leave no doubt about II. In the name OF
The army's safety adjure you to permit
the retreat to be continued. In two
hours it will be too late.
General de Wimpaen-" But why re-
treat when Lebrun has the advantage
Is it not true" added he, calling to the
General, who had arrived, Is it not
true, Lebrun, that you are victorious" "
General Lebrun coincided with de
Wimpffen, and said, "We might wait and
commence the retreat, if Interior circum-
stances should demonstrate the neces-
sity."
General de Wimpfen-" Yes; we have
nothing but cavalry behind us; we have
nsthing to disquiet us. General Douay
will keep them in check. As for US, let
us unite all our efforts TO crush what is
before Lebrun"
General Ducrot-" But where has all
that infantry gone to which has been
pouring since daylight through Franche-
val and Villers Cernay, if not to lily "
General de Wimphen-"l lllyl What
is Illy2"
General Ducrot - All you don't
know where illly is2 Very we'll; look
here2"
And spreading out a map upon the
bow Of his saddle, he added; Look al
this bend in the Meuse, which runs
northward, and only leaves narrow
space between the river and the Belgian
frontier There is only one single poini
Of passage, and that is Illyl Ii the
enemy seizes it we are lost.
General de Wimpffen condescendeC
/ scarcely to glance upon the map, anC
said, Yes; yes; that is all correct; bu
for the moment Lebrun is winning, anC
we must profit by it. Ii is not retrea
we require, but victory"
All, you must have a victory Very
well; we will be only too LUCKY if we car
make retreat tonight" And striking
in his spurs, General Ducrot left at I
gallop, with death in his soul.
Nevertheless, wishing TO perform hi
duty as a soldier to the last, following
the order received, he commanded thu
division 10 resume their old position, an,
pushed into the Garenne forest TO SCI
how il was guarded.
There he verified the fact that tn,
troops were diseharging their duty verl
badly, and that they were much NOR
: occupied in sheltering themselves in thI
thickest Of the woods than in watching
: what was occurring on the northern edgl
Of il. Seeing that the general officer il
command bad dismounted and gone 4