Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-06-15
NO. al.
Mistellai.eons.
THE FALL OF PARIS.
WASHINGTON. D. c., June IL, 1871.

In the latest despatch bags received by the
State department from Europe are the two
following interesting dispatches from Mr..
Washburn in Paris, giving a graphic descrip-
ton of the week of fighting succeeding the
first entry of General verge's division of
Versailles troops into Paris, and the scenes
of which he was an impartial and official wit
ness. These dispatches contain not little
that is entirely new, and the truthful style of
the narration not less than its official character
gains the credence of the reader.
PARIS, Monday evening, May %, 1871.
SIR The day of the 22d of May will be-
come an important era in the history of Paris
and of France. 1t was nine weeks on Satur-
day last since the insurrection broke out, and
those weeks have run wearily on in the ex-
pectation that every week would be the last
| returned to my lodgings last night about IL
o'clock, and had heard nothing, and could see
nothing that showed any change in the situa-
ton But it now appears that at half-past
three o'clock yesterday afternoon the first di-
vision of the army of the reserve, command
| ed by General Verge, entered the gate of St.
| Cloud, which is on what is called the t'route
of Versailles" The breach had been made
at that point, but am informed that it was
not the expectation of the regular troops that
they could enter at that time but they press
ed forward, and finding but little opposition
| they were soon within the walls. The national
guard retired very slowly but such was the
state of things existing, and so loose was the
| military organization of the commune that it
was not known until into the night that the
Versailles troops had passed the enceinte.
| The commune was reposing in fancied secu-
rity, and it was not until after midnight that
| they were advised as to the full extent of
what had happened Then was there ''hur-
rying to and fro," the tocsin was sounded all
over the city, the generate was beaten; or
derlies dashed furiously in every direction;
but all to no purpose; the national guard be-
coming demoralized began to retreat hastily
before the advancing force The entrance
| into the city having been made at the ''P0rte
| de st. Cloud" the consequence was that the
commune troops that had been guarding the
enceinte and all the gates, from that Of st.
Cloud clear round to the Porte des Ternes,
found themselves taken in the reverse, and
| by four o'clock this morning they had aban-
doned all their positions and fled to the inte-
rior of the city. The gates of Auteuil, Passy
and La Muette being thus left nndefended,
the troops of the line began pouring in
| through all of them. 1t was not until six
| o'clock this morning that / heard of what had
| taken place. My servant came to tell me that
the troops were in, and that the tri-colored
| flag foated on the top of the Arc de Tri-
omphe. hurried into the street, and saw
for myself the flag flying from the scaffold
supporting the machinery which had enabled
the insurgents to draw up and plant upon the
| top OF the Arc five pieces of cannon. By
| this time the head of the column, advancing
into the city and passing along the right bank
| of the Seine by the Courts lie Refine, was Wigs
orously attacking the Place de lie Concorde.
| AT the same time another column, crossing
the Champs Elysees near the arch, was march
ing in by the Avenue de Friedland and down
| the Rue Faubourg st. Honore. At about
nine o'clock the insurgent batteries at Mont
matre began shelling the Place sde' 'Etoile, and
soon many shells fell in the immediate neigh
| berhood of the legation, but fortunately we
received no damage. The fighting has con-
tinued all day by the Place de lie Coneorde,
| and it does not seem that the Versailles hoops
| have gained much ground. At three o'clock
this afternoon, accompanied by, friend,
took ride in all those portions Of the ram
| parts which have been bombarded by Mont
| Valerien, the great battery of Montretout,
and the several preaching batteries. We
passed around from the Porte of St. Cloud.
was at my house for the first time for two
weeks and found it but very little injured.
| Two pieces of she'll had entered, and beside
the breaking of considerable glass there was
no material damage. Some houses in the vi
cinity received many shells and several of
them had been pillaged. My servants, who
lived in the cellar, were enabled to keep
out the brigand national guards, although
they made one or two serious demonstrations.
In going from the Porte de DauphiHvt which
had not been very seriously bombarded, to
| the Porte de la Saint Cloud (more generally
known as the Point du Jour- we passed the
gates of La Muette, Passy and Auteuil.
Breeches had been made at all of them, and
the destruction of property inside the enceinte
| has been immense. Nothing could have lived
under the terrible fire of Mont Valerien and
Montretout. An English military man told
me that the battery of Montretout was the
most powerful battery the world had ever seen.
| Never had seen such a 'wreck of matter,"-
guns dismounted, their carriages torn to pieces,
barricades levelled and buildings entirely de-
molshed. We saw along the line of the RAM
parts many dead bodies of the national guard,
| several of them in a state of decomposition
The firing had been so dreadful that it had
been impossible to get them away. Return
ing from "Point du Jour" into the city, we
saw additional troops coming in, and the
streets of Passy were crowded with them. 1t
is estimated that from eighty to one hundred
thousand troops of the line will be in the city
before tomorrow morning. In all our part
| OF the city they have been received with un-
| bounded JOY by the few people remaining.
The citizens are congratulating each other
that they are at last delivered from the OPP
preston and terror of the last two months.
As write, at ten o'clock tonight, the fight
seems to be going on as furiously as ever at
the Place de la Concorde. l shall continue
this despatch tomorrow and shall hope to be
able TO send it on to London tomorrow night.
Tuesday morning, May 20, 1871.
1t seems difficult to get anything reliable
this morning. The fight continues and al
ways in the same neighborhood. The firing
was terrible all last night Shells from Mont
martre are continually falling in our quarter,
but it is extraordinary how little the damage
has been. We can see from the top of the
legation building that the red flag, that hated
emblem of assassination and pillage, anarchy
and disorder, still flies from the Tuileries and
from the Ministry of Marine. The insurgents
are evidently making desperate resistance.
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