Connecticut western news., 1878-04-04

out artillery and ammunition, naked under their grape-shot. The German, have ambush on their side, the Frencl have on theirs nothing but heroism. Il is fine thing to die, but good thing tc
 surprise.
 This achievement at arms IS Q surprise 1 Is it fair war? Yes, but if this be fail war, what is foul war the same thing.
 Thus much said, the battle of Sedan il recounted. ... .
 We would stop here. But we cannot Great though the horror of the historian be, history is duty, and must be full T filled. There is no more imperious slope than this to tell the truth whoeve, ventures upon it rolls to the bottom. II must be so. The Judge is doomed te justice. .-.'l,
 The battle of Sedan is more than 6 battle which is fought it is syllogism which finishes itself dread premedita- tion of destiny. Fate never hurries, but always attains it's goal. It's hour strikes and it is there. It lets years go by, then when least thought of, it appears. Se- dan is the fatal unexpected. From time to time, in history, divine logic makes sorties. Sedan is one of these sorties,
 So, on the 1st of September, at five o'clock in the morning, the world .awoke under the sun, and the French Army under the thunderbolt.
 Bazeille, takes fire, Givonne takes fire, Floing takes fire the thing begins by a furnace. The whole horizon is afame. The French camp is in this crater, stupe- fled, scared, startled, in funereal swarm. A ring of thunderbolts encircles the army. determination hems it in.
 | This immense murder is carried on on all sides at once. The French resist, and they are terrible, for they have noth- ing left them but despair. Our guns, almost all old fashioned and carrying badly, are immediately dismounted by the terrible and precise aim of the Prus- sians. The density of the rain of shells upon the valley is such that ''the earth is ruled, says 8 witness, "as by rake. g How many guns? Eleven hundred at least. Twelve German batteries on the Moncelle only, the third and fourth a6theilu'g, a frightful artillery, on the crests of Givonne, with the Second Horse Battery as reserve opposite Doigny, ten Saxon and two Wurtemburg batter ies the curtain of trees in the wood north of Vlllers-Cernay conceals the mounted abtheilung with the Third Heavy Artillery as reserve, and from this gloomy thicket is poured formida- ble fire the 25 pieces of heavy artillery form a battery in the clearing near the road from La Moncelle to La Chape1le :; the battery of the Royal Guard sets fire to the wood De Ia Garenne the bombs and bullets riddle Suchy, Francheval, Fouru-Saint Remy, and the valley be- tween Heibes and Givonne and the triple and quadruple row of guus extend without break to the cavalry of lily, the most remote point of the horizon.
 The German soldiers, seated or recum- bent before the batteries, look upon the artillery doing it's work. The French soldiers fall and die. Among the corpses which cover the plain is one, that of an officer, upon which they will find, after the battle, sealed paper containing this order, signed by Napoleon: "This September l, rest for the whole army" The valiant Thirty fifth Regiment of the Line disappears almost entirely under the crushing mass of shells; the brave mailnes hold the Saxons and Bavarians in check for an instant, but, being over- flowed on all sides, fall back the whole admirable cavalry of Margueritte's di- vision, hurled against the German in- fantry, stops and breaks down when half way on its road, exterminated, says the Prussian report, "by we'll directed and quiet fire." This field ot carnage has three issues, all of which are closed the Bouillon road, by the Prussian Guard, the Carignan road, by the Ba- varians, and the Mezieres road, by the Wurtembergers. The French have not thought of barricading the viaduct of the railroad three German battalions have occupied it all night two isolated houses on the Balan road might have been the pivot of prolonged resistance, but the Germans hold them the Mont villers Park, at Bazeilles, deep and full of thick foliage, might have prevented the Saxons, who are masters of La Moacelle, and the Bavarians, who are masters of Bazeilles, from effecting junction, but the French have been forestalled, and the Bavarians are seen there, cutting away the hedges with their sickles
 The German army moves all of piece with absolute unity the Prince of Saxony is on the hill of Mairy, whence he commands the scene. In the French army the command oscillates at the out set of the battle at 5:45, MacMahon is wounded by the fragment of shell at seven o'clock Ducrot takes his place at ten o'clock Wimpfen takes Ducrot's.
 From minute to minute the wall of the fire approaches, the thunder-ron is con- tinuous, sinister pulverizing of 90, 800 men. Nothing like it was ever witnessed never did an army sink under such a falling mass of grape. At one o'clock all is lost. The regiments take refuge, pell-mell, in Sedan. But Sedan begins to burn Le Dijonval burns, the ambu- lances burn nothing but dash through the lines is possible. Wimpfen, brave and firm, suggests it to the Emperor. The Third Zouaves, maddened, have set