The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-09-06
HOW SAINT PRIVAT FELL
1.RoN DE GRIMM's STORY OF THE
PRANCo-PRUSSIAN WAR.


Rattle-aow He Met the Saxon
Crown Prince.
From the Ne,o YORK Recorder.
sitting in his coy studio, surrounded by
,bousaud and one evidences of his remark
able ability as an artist, Baron Constantine
IA Grimm, doctor of philosophy OF Heidel-
sorg doctor of laws of Berlin, officer of the
prrssian army and artist, whose sketches,
o.rtoons and designs have been known
.broupbout the United States for ten or
.relve years past, and before that in every
bio European city, told, on Tuesday last,
how. during the Franco Prussian war, he
had first seen the enemy.
This IS the one day in the year." said
,bs baron. ION which drink champagne
That is to say, on which make a point of
donp So To-day is the 2lst anniversary
of the dav on which first saw the enemy.
It's story, think, that has never been
told before, for not many lived to tell it.
Wait let me begin at the beginning.
al was lieutenant in the kings own
royin,ent. the First Potsdam Infantry
Gnards. We had been marching ali day.
a terrible marcn; all along the route we
had seen dead and wounded soldiers, and
averv sign that the battle had been raging.
We could hear guns in the distance, but up
10 the moment of arriving, at O'Clock in
the morning of Aug. Is, at point within q
few miles between Nancy and Metz, we had
seen nothing OF the enemy. Everybody
was in a condition of the greatest excite
mert We had heard rumors of fighting
on every side. and all were anxious to see
and meet the enemy.
with these thoughts in our minds we
Law down for few hours rest before day.
break What wonder that l dreamed of
war and carnage, of soldiers dead and
diving. of fierce fighting, and every now
and then started, wide awake. to find my
comrades tossing and talking in their sleep
around me! Once in my sleep l dreamed
that heard the bugles sounding the alarm.
and, starting to my feet, wide awake,
heard them in reality
The night was pitchy dark; only here
and there a sword or bayonet shimmering
There was no moon, and not a star to be
seen. But the bugle had called us to arms
In five minutes our regiment was ready for
the march; in ten minutes the brigade was
under arms, and in fifteen minutes the en-
tire division was in marching order. The
order was given, and we started at a rapid
pace. which sometimes rose to a double
quick step.
"ln this manner we arrived in the neigh
borhood of Saint Marie aux Chenes, viii
lage held by the enemy, about a. NJ. We
went on for another hour, hearing the can
non firing in the distance, but out of range
for Us. Then, exhausted-for we.had been
running for nearly five hours-we stopped
for rest of half an hour.
"At this time the Twelfth Army corps,
the Saxon regiments under Crown Prince
Albert, now King Of Saxony, passed US, and
got ahead of US by detour in order to get
tOthe TANKS of the enemy. No sooner had
the S0xons passed than the bugle sounded
again and the whole division formed itself
into huge square, with Chaplain of Di-
vision Royce in the center. Chaplain Royce
was the brother-in-lew of the famous Min
lister Of War Room, field marshal of tho
German army, who has been called the
founder of the Prussian army.
when all was silent Chaplain Rogge
spoke. He said that by the order of his
majesty he was about to give US a last bless
ing, as it was probable that only few of us
would return alive that day. l tell you there
were many blanched faces and trembling
limbs among the men who heard those
words, but the teeth behind the white lips
were SET tight. 1t was no use to hide from
us the fact that many of us were going to
our death, continued the chaplain, and it
was best for us to be prepared. Then he
offered up prayer aud gave us the bless
Ing. A nice start for us, wasn't it?
Then we resumed the march. We
halted in front of Saint Marie aux Chenes
and witnessed the assault, which was done
By one regiment of our division and the
guard of sharpshooters. These latter are
the elite of the army, all graduates of the
Forst Academic, college for the education
OF foreSterS, from which only those who
have taken the high degree of Geernte
lager can enter the regiment. Well, they
assaulted the village, and after a severe
hight drove the French from the streets at
the point OF the bayonet. Then We fol-
lowed and marched through st. Marie aux
Chenes. We didn't join in the fight, but
we had many losses, for, every now and
again, some French soldier who had taken
I refuge in a house would open the
Stats OF the shutters a little and
fire upon US, surely killing some one.
so we marched through the village, see>
ing on every side of us the wounded and
Cne Killed, until, on reaching the opposite
side OF the village, we saw in the distance
The village of Saint Privat Ia Montague,
the destruction of whose church has been
MADE famous in picture by De Melville.
IL was in this battle that personally first
came IN contact with the enemy
Saint Privat is a little village on the
hillside, about three miles and half from
oaihte Marie, connected by a gradually
rising hIgn road bordered on each side by
trees. With the exception of these trees
snere is not tree, shrub or bush of any
ANA within eye range. Privat had been
Haghincently fortified, and every precau-
tion CaKen to prevent its capture. At f-e-
quSnG intervals between the two
villages trenches had been dug.
IA these the French infantry lay
ana ana picked us of with the terrible
Chassepots. But as we marched forward
tney Jumped out of tho trenches, ran back
70 Ine next aud began firing away at us
ogaln; so far superior were their gu ls to
OURS thaG they reached us before we could
Even Even see the red kepis of the French SOL
ui 5 we seemed to be marching against
d uownpour of leaden hail.
PRESENTLY the firing from the French
more firing. By and by. / remember
turning TO look back. | saw that the re'
serves instead, Of following US, had been
calIed back into Saint Marie. and there
"as moment when our long line OF four
- i've regiments Of trailleurs, extending
field alonei "o'e on Une
o., II tne French had seized that moment
i .oI d sorte there would have been nothing
Al. AZ tnls very moment saw coming over
cHe F nliI 70 the right of st. Privat a BODY
, y. rFench cavalry in white cloaks. | FANCY
sI ICY were Chasseurs d'Afrique, but am not
o. 1hey stopped at the top of the hill
lon moment, then began to trot-not gal
far is H our direction. That was our luck,
havnn Trey mad charged we 1ould surely
them a een oYerwhelmed. Our men saw