Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-09-08
EUROPEAN SOLDiERY.
a Remarkable Letter of General S,,erI-
dan on the Subject.


General Adam Badeau publishes the
following letter written by General Sheri-
dan 20 General Grant from the Prussian
headquarters in 1870, after the fall of
Sedan:
RHEIMS, France, September iS, 1870.
NY Dear General Grant: The capture of the
Emperor Napoleon and McMahon's army at
Sedan on the 1st of September has thrown
France into u chaos which even embarrasses
he Prnssian authorities' II seems to . o,1iei
observer as though Prussia has done too much
Whom to negotiate with, whom to hold re-
sponsible in the final settlement, are becoming
grave questions, and one cannot see what will
De the result. / was present at the battles of
Beaumont, Gravelotte and Sedan, and have had
my imagination clipped, in seeing these battles,
of many of the errors it had run into in its con-
ception of what might be expected of t. c
trained troops of Europe. There was about the
same percentage of sneaks or runaways and
the general condition of the battles were about
the same as our own. One thing was especially
noticeable-the scattered condition of the men
in going into battle, and their scattered condi-
tion while engaged. at Grayelotte Beaumont
and Sedan the men engaged on both sides were
so scattered that it looked like thousands OF
men engaged in deadly skirmish, without any
regard to lines or formation.
These battles were OF this style of fighting
commencing at long range, and might be called
progressive fighting, closing at night by the
French always giving up their position or being
driven ffom 1t in this way by the Prussians.
selle. and it was good and successful After that
river was reached the French made the strategy
for the Prussians, and it was more successful
than their own. The Prissiau soldiers are very
good brave fellows, all young, scarcely man
oyer27 in the first levies. They had gone into
each battle with a determination TO win II is
especially noticeable, also, that the Prussans
have attacked the French wherever they have
found them, Let the numbers be great or small :;
and, so far as have been able to see though
the grand tactics of bringing, on the engage
ments have been good, yet the battles have
been won by the good, square fighting of the
men AID junior officers. IL is true the Prussans
have been two TO one except in one OF the bat
ties before Metz-that of the 10th OF August
still the French have had the advantage OF very
strong positions.
Generally speaking, the French soldiers have
not fought well. 1t may be because the poor
fellows had been discouraged by the trap into
which their commander had led them but fmust
confess to having seen some of the "tallest" run
ming at Sedan / have ever witnessed, especially
on the left of the French position-all attempts
to omake the men stand seemed to be unayailifg
So disgraceful YVES this that it caused the French
cavalry to make three or four gallant but foolish
charges, as If it were to show that there was at
least some manhood left in a mounted French
soldier.
l am disguised; all my boyhood's fancics of
soldiers OF the great Napoleon have been dis
sipated,, or else the soldiers of the Little
Corporal have lost their elan in the Dampered
parade soldiers of the a. Man OF Destiny
The Prussians will settle think by making
the line of the Meselle the German line, taking
in Metz and Strassburg and theexpenses of the
war.
have been most kindly received by the King
and Count Bismarck and all the officers at the
headquarters of the Prussian Army-have seen
much of great interest, and especially have been
able TO observe the difference between the Eu-
ropean battles and those of our own country
have not found the difference very great but
that difference is to the credit of our own coun-
try. There is nothing to be learned here pro-
fessionally, and it is satisfaction to learn that
such is the case. There Is much however
which Europeans could learn from Us the use
of ritle-pits, the use of cavalry which they do
not use WELL for instance there is line of
communication from here TO Germany exposed
to the whole of the South OF France, with
scarcely soldier on the whole line, and il has
never been touched. There are hundred
things in which they are behind u.s. The staff
departments are poorly organized: the Quarter
masters Departments very wretched, etc.
Very respectfully. your obedient servant,
p. II. SHERIDAN, ,Lieutenant-General.
p. S.-We go tomorrow with the bcadauar-
ters OF the King to point about twenty miles
from Paris. PHS