New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1896-07-29
LAST I CA !! R / | ]! i } IGES.
STORY OF THE INCIDENT DETECTED
IN A CELEBRATED PAINTING.

STORY OF THE INCIDENT DEPICTED
IN A CELEBRATED PAINTING
The Magnificent Bravery Of Handful of
French Marines soldiers Whose Draw
cry Was Recognized BY Their Conquer
0rs. s$;
Who has not seen print Of the Ia
NOUS picture, The Last Cartridges, 9
by Alphonse de Neuville? The original
is in the gallery Of one Of New York's
citizens. Well in that picture the
wounded major leaning against the old
chest and watching through the win
dow the effect Of the Turco's last shot
is Lambert, the hero Of Bazeilles.
The story Of that picture is brief
enough, and yet it has never been printed
in full in any American paper It is as
follows:
On Sept. l, 1876, the German artil-
lery was laundering around Sedan. The
French army was shattered. It's cavalry
had made that last and desperate charge
which brought from the lips Of old King
William the exclamation SO often quoted
in French papers, "Oh, les braves
gensl' At Bazeilles, where the French
infantry in scattered groups continued
to fight furiously and hopelessly, dis
putting every inch Of ground with the
enemy, the German losses were severe.
On the northern outskirts of the town
small number of French marines, barri-
caded in house known as La Maison
Bourgerie, kept up prolonged resist
ance, actually holding in check almost
an army corps. This handful Of heroes
was composed of Lambert and his men
The Fifteenth Bavarian regiment in
vested the house, firing at the windows,
without attempting to take the place by
storm. Major Lambert and Captains
Ortus and Aubert directed the fire.
They transformed all the openings of
the house into loopholes, from which
they poured a deadly fire into the ranks
of the Bavarians, who were obliged to
fall back repeatedly. endorsements
after re-enforcements arrived, but re-
pulse followed repulse. The marines
kept up a perfect hail of bullets, against
which it seemed impossible to advance.
The Bavarians were moved down
mercilessly. But the besieged, too, had
hard time of it. The bullets tore into
shreds the mattresses with which they
had barricaded the windows, and the
woodwork was shattered into splinters.
But from the two rooms of the first story
Of the building the Frenchmen handled
their chassepots with deadly effect.
Lambert, with pale cheeks and flashing
eyes, constantly shouted in a hoarse
voice: <*Stick to it, boysl Stick to it!''
Captains Ortus and ALBERT, each with
a chassepot in his hand, blazed away
with the rest. The odor of powder was
almost sitting, but the Frenchmen
coolly continued to use up their last
cartridges. The little troop was gradu-
ally becoming smaller and smaller. The
wounded and the dead lay in heaps upon
the floors. The Bavarian general, out
Of patience with the extraordinary re-
sistance Of that handful Of Frenchmen,
ordered an attack by the artillery. A
shell fell upon the roof, tearing big.
hole in it, and also in the ceiling just
above the heads Of Lambert and his
men. But, fortunately for them, it
burst above, and, strange enough, did
comparatively little damage. "A few
men were wounded by the flying pieces
of timber But the smoke with which
it filled the place was suffocating and
almost binding. "Stick to5it, boysp'
shouted Lamb bert. And they stuck to it.
At last the ammunition was becoming
exhausted. The cartridge boxes of the
dead and wounded were picked up and
their supply eagerly grabbed. But it
did not last long. Each one was fred,
the last by Captain Aubert.
Then Lambert opened the door and
with a white handkerchief in his hand
limped out in front Of the enemy. The
Bavarian soldiers were furious at their
losses. A crowd of them IT the sight of
the Frenchman made dash at him
| with their bayonets, but just then brave
Captain Lessignold of the Fifteenth
Bavarian infantry dashed forward, COW
cred the Frenchman with his body and
sword in hand drove back the men who
were about to butcher him.
So Lambert and all that remained Of
his men became prisoners of war; They
numbered about 40, all more or less
wounded. That evening Major Lambert
| and Captains Ortus and ALBERT were
brought before the crown prince Of
Prussia, afterward Emperor Frederick
III. They offered him their swords.
Keep your swords, gentlemen, said
the crown prince 1--WE don't disarm
brave soldiers like you =
On the LIST Of September, 1895, Cen
eral Lambert made pilgrimage to the
crypt where lie the remains Of his COM
panions Of that memorable day. Then
he went to see the Maison Bourgerie.
That establi shment is transformed into
a national museum-that is to say, it
is covered and sheltered by another
building, and the original house stands
inside, just as it was when Lambert left
| it.
But there is one unfortunate mistake
in De Neuv' les picture. There was no
Turco in Lambert's band, and the man
who fred the last cartridge was Cap
tain Aubert. The captain must have