Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-06-18
NAPOLEON'S MISTAKE.
A. veterans "Reminiscences of Bona
parties Disastrous Invasion of R ussia.

parties Disastrous INVASION Oh rs ussaa
At that moment, writes a ST. Peters
burg correspondent to The New York
Times, | espied in a corner an cid
man ia the uniform of Russian
Major general, from whom Tourgnen
eff had Just turned away after ex-
changing few words with him. He
was evidently verging upon extreme
age, and his thin dark face, framed in
snow-whlte hair, looked like some
old Italian painting, But, bowed
and feeble though he now was, there
was a pameless something IN his look
and bearing which suggested that he
must have been gallant soldier in
his prime, long years ago. / was still
watching him when Nine Miluntine
came up and: go and talk to that
old gentleman he's one OF the last of
our Borodlno soldiers, and he can tell
you more about Napoleon and the
retreat from Moscow than any man
alive. Payel Yakovitch paul son of
James,, here is q gentleman from
England who would like to hear some
thing Of what you saw IN the year
1872"
eff you will be so good, Pavel Yak
ovitch, " added ], you will oblige me
very much. Everything is interest
ing that has to do with the greatest
year Of Russian history, when
''Barklai de Toll Tutoczoff' .
REORGANIZATION godu morozili Frentzoozof.'
Barclay de FOLLY aHd KutoozoH IN
the year 1912 froze the French.
"Aha! have you picked that up al
ready?" said the veteran, with thin,
piping laugh. Eyes, that was a year
for Russia to- b3proud of and our chill
dren's children will talk of II hundreds
of years after we are dead and gone.
He came against us in all his power
and pride and fury, like an enemy of
God, as ne was; but ne melted like
snow in the sunshine, and s1lnk away
as wolf sinks into the forest at
dawn. I felt when I saw hina he
couldn't last!'
Have you really seen Napoleon
face to face, then?' asked I, beginning
TO be interested. AYE, that have,
upon the greatest Of all his battle
fields. 7 was only a boy then, but [
wasn't going to hang back when the
Russian flag was flying against an in
vader, and begged my father to let
me serve with his battery III the Grand
redoubt, which was the center of our
line at Borodino When the morning
broke 1t was all one great sea of gray
mist on every side of us, but through
the gloom IL our front we could hear
the voices of the enemy and the neigh
ing of their horses and the rumble of
their artillery wheels. Then sudden
ly the cannon on both sides began to
roar, making the very earth tremble
under our feet. Even when the fog
rose the smoke was so thick that [
couldn't see anything except a fash of
fire now and then like lightning in
cloud, but from the sound of the firing
it seemed to me as if the battle was
hot along the line except just where
we were. / thought our turn would
never come, but when it did, it came
with a vengeance. All the Fl gifts that
ever fought (and the old warriors
eyes flashed fire as he spoke ''were as
nothing to the battle of that day.
Three times all our gunners were
killed to the last man, and three times
others came forward to take their
places. All the air seemed shaking
with the whoop of cannon balls and
the howl of shells, the crash of burst
ing bombs, and the whiz of bullets fly
ing thick as hail. Men dropped dead
or mangled every moment, and no one
minded them. Our blood was on fire,
and all looked red before our eyes.
Everyone was mao. At last we heard
strange sound far in the distance
like rain pattering on withered leaves,
which grew louder and louder till it
filled the air like the roar of a stormy
sea, and all at once a great wave of
bright swords and helmets and horses
heads came surging up over the breast
work IN front of US. The cavalry of
the imperial Guard were upon us and
In a moment | felt a shock like fall
ing mountain, and down [ went to
the earth and then I lost all conscious
ness.
when I came to myself again all
was still except a few dropping shots
In the distance. The battle seemed to
be over, although there was red
glare low down IN the sky, showing
where Borodino village was on fire.
My father lay within three PAGES of
me, crushed and dead, and beside him
shot through the heart, was Colonel
Caulaincourt, the French man who
led the charge Suddenly 1 heard
trampling Of hoofs and several voices
talking loudly IN French, and had
just time to creep under gun car
riage when a group OF gaily- dressed
horsemen came past, whom guessed
at once TO be Napoleon's staff riding
over the battlefield, for there were
several of them whom I knew by sight
already. Then the group parted sud
denly, and there was the man him
self in the midst of them, With his
face hard and immovable as marble
amid all that blood and agony, and
'far-away kind nf look in those cold
gray eyes of his, as if he saw Moscow
somewhere up in thu sky and could
see nothing between.
~