Litchfield enquirer., 1879-11-06
WHOLE NO. 27S7

It was Olr6CJeQ the aSSaulL OI lQ0 O1SG IN6gI- ment (the Vladimir Polk), who had behaved so heroically at Plevna under Scobielef in storming and holding for twenty -four hours the Green Hill redoubts. This day they main- tained their reputation. Colonel SavadSky was at their head, and, waving his sword, he cheered on his men, showing the way by &C., tually riding into the redoubt. Strange to say, amid the hall of shell and bullets he was un- hurt, and, being followed by streams of his splendid fellows, the redoubt was in few minutes in their hands. A new redoubt in the wood, hidden by the trees, was unmasked, and it was ordered to be assaulted. Then ensued terrible struggle; too close quarters had been reached for musketry fire, and the battle became bayonet fight of the bloodiest character. In the center and on the felt of the Russian line success was no less certain. The key to the centre of the Turkish position was small redoubt perched on peninsula formed by stream of no great depth, but running in broad bed. This redouut was likewise the scene of a terrific struggle, in which both sides lost heavily. Within radius of thirty yards 200 Turks were found slain, while the Rus- sian dead were scarcely less numerous. Upwards the Russians pressed, and, following up with stern determination their advantage, one after another of the redOubts fell into their hands. The Turks retreated to the wood. and sheltered by the trees and the undergrowth,
 
 them thither, and as on the right flank, so everywhere, the battle developed itself into bayonet charge. It may be asked what had become all this time of Prince Mirsky's force. It had succeeded in overcoming the difficulties of the Maglis Pass, and had advanced on the 27th to the attack on Vessel Pasha; but the latter had met Mirsky with stubborn resist ance, and. Scobieleff being as yet unable to ion in the attack, the combination failed. As Oonhinloff fhn OEN the 18th, and engaging Vessel Pasha, that general had to withdraw from the pursuit of Mirsky, who had been compel led to retire. Now Mirsky, informed of the result of Sco- bieleff's attack, readvanced, and joining hands with Scobieleff by means of the cavalry along the Kazanlik road, the Muscovite commanders completely enclosed the Turkish troops and compelled them to surrender. Forty-nine thousand prisoners were taken, 12O guns 26 standards, and 13 pashas. The victory was complete and triumphant, thanks to the energy and genius of Scobieleff. But at what loss "a fifth of the total men engaged; which makes it, believe, the bloodiest battle of the century certainly of the last forty years
 To return to my former narrative. Our little camp was early astir, and a universal demand was made for coffee, which was speedily brought by some soldiers. While the refresh ing beverage was being discussed by the staff,
 
 survey at leisure of the position of which l had heard so much. What was my astonish- nlent to find that this was the very same wood in which, one night in August 1877, con- panion and myself, together with an Out-pick- ct of dragons, had been lost for many hours! We had been flying from the pursuit of the Turks, after GourkOs retreat from his first raid across the Balkans. In trying to take short cut down the Lower Balkans into the valley of the Tundza from the Pass of Dalboka, we had become separated from the retreating army, and wandered about for the best part of two days and nights in constant danger of being cut off by Bashi- Bazouks. At last we found our way to Kazanlik only to discover,
 instead of haven of safety, that the town
 was in possession of brigands, who attempted to shoot us. Fortunately escaping this new danger, we galloped out of the town and fell in with vedette of dragons, one of whose number had been shot few minutes before. Joining their company, we galoped as hard as | our tired horses would permit to the edge of | the wood where we were received by the off, | cer in command of the picket, and informed that, if we would accompany him in his round of duty, he would thereafter take us with him | to the Russian camp. We had to enter the
 wood to see that all was quiet in the villages of Sekersevo and SenovO, in which some Turks
 were underftood to be harbored and in the gloomy recesses of the forest we lost our way. When l thought of then and now, the horror of the night ride came upon me with almost all the force of present reality, and it was with something like the relief experienced
 when at last we reached the Russian camp, that shook off the reverie and looked over towards the village of Shpka (now the scene of desolation) and up to the hoary head of
 Mount St. Nicholas, against which Suleiman
 Pasha in the preceding September had una-
 vailngly hurled his battalions, and which had heen so heroically and successfully defended by the Russians under Radetsky. Just at this time General Scobieleff came out of his tent and being joined by the whole staff we commenced, under his direction, an inspection in detail of the positions. We had only gone few steps when we came upon a wooden cross erected under the shadow of a group of four spreading beeches. The General at once uncovered, an example which all followed, and stood for a few minutes in silence. Turning away, the General said to me, ''That is the grave of a hero, and on the day of the battle specially ordered that cross to be planted over his grave so as to mark his last resting-pla He was mere boy of between 15 and 16, of good family in Russia. During the war, fired by military ardor and the righteousness of the cause for which the armies of Holy Russia were fighting, he escaped from school and home and made his way to the seat of war, Turning up at Plevna, 1 accepted him as a volunteer, and he.fought galfantly and well at | the great assault and subsequent capture of | Osman Pasha's stronghold. At Senovo he | led a company of the Sand Regiment, and l their duty it was to make the attack on the central redout. Carried away by his enthusi-
 asm and utter disregard of danger, the brave
 boy speedily left his men a considerable way | behind, and escaped the shower of bullets only | to be bayOneted as he entered the redOubt l His was a hripf Inn heroic life i"'
 l Chief interest was felt in the positions in the | center and right flank, and accordingly we di- rected our stept thither with cursory glance
 at the strength of the line to the left, with it's l redoubts echeloned nearly all the way to Ship | ka. Crossing the stream, we entered the cen ter redoubt on the little peninsula, and what a sight was presented All around the door of the redoubt were scattered broken cansters, fragments of shell, rags of uniforms, as if the battle had only taken place few days ago. But was hardly prepared for the ghastly scene within. Several hundred men had been hastily buried here but the rain and the snow had beaten aside the loose earth, wolves and dogs had done the rest, and all over the floor of the redoubt was scattered vast melange of human bones, vertebr8, arm and leg bones commingled in the strangest fashion with skulls bleached by srfh and rain. 'sMark how their lifeless mouths grin without breath. Mark how they laugh and scOrn at all you are, and yet soere what you are!' have experienced all the shuddering of ride over a battlefield immediately after the event, when as yet the earth was covered thick with other clay ''heap'd and pent, rider and horse friend and foe;" but it did not possess half the ghastly horror of this scene sixteen months after war had ceased it's tumults and alarms General Scobielef said to me, as we gaZed on this charnel4 house, 'And this is gloryl" ''Yes," I responded, after all, General,-
 The drying up 8 single tear has moro
 Of honest fame than shee ding seas of gore"
 "You are right" he replied, ''and yet am nothing but soldier" Leaving the redoubt, he called out two small detachments of soldiers representing the infantry and cavalry who had | taken part in storming these positions, and de- siied them to accompany us. "Evcry one of these men, he said to me, twas wounded in 1 the hattie and they have a rinht