The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-27
WAR PRISONERS
AFTER A BATTLE.
The Great Danger Experienced BY
Men Who Have Been "to the Front
For Their Country

When EngIand's war In South AFRICA
which happily is now rapidly drawing
to a close began even the most San
g11ine persons were prepared Tor cap
lures on the debit as well as on tne
credit side of Britain's account LOOK
ing back from the recent RoodeVal am
buscade to the more disastrous one
near Nicholson's Neck, it cannot be said
that their fears were groundless; yet in
actual battle the number of English
soldiers taken prisoners has not by any
means been rmidable-indeed, when
compared with most battles 1t is trlf1-
ing
IN the great battle Of Custozza,
fought in 1866 between 10000 Austrians
and nearly zoo. 600 Italians. both the
losers and the victors, curiously enough
made a big bag in captives. The Aus
trfans, who still regard this fight as the
most brilliant in their history. had sew
eral hundreds Of their men surround
ed on one of the TANKS and taken
prisoners; but they retaliated literally
by capturing no less than ABS Italians
In the sanguinary Franco-Prussian
campaign practically every battle was
fruitful in prisoners, while the French
men who threw down their arms in the
stupendous surrenders at Metz and Sc
dan would have taxed London itself to
provide them with house-room-
At Sadowa, where the Germans,
thanks largely to their then deadly
needle-gun, scored a great victory over
the Austrians, no less than 1900 IN
wounded Austrians were sent north
under Prussian escort.
The drawn struggle at Duppel-
a dark page in Danish history-even-
tually saw the Germans and the Aus
trlans then in alliance, secure several
thousand prisoners, in addition to
scores of guns
The Spaniards, at the laundering bat
tie of Ayacucho, which virtually ami
hilated their power in South America,
lost, in addition to the day, the flower
of their magnificently-eq equipped army.
The rival forces were almost equal in
numbers, but the victors were Woe
fully short Of everything except splen-
did leadership and determination, ard
as a sequel they took off the field with
them as captives 4S4 Spanish officers
and $500 of the rank and file.
In the first Plevna battle the Turks
were left masters of the field and also
of over 1000 Russians, but the latter
were all either seriously wounded or
dead. In the second and more san
culinary fight around the same town
the undulating ground fronting the
400 Russian dead. which were only re-
covered under flag of truce.
The eventful battle of Austerlitz was
extremely prolific in prisoners. Here
the magnificent prescience and strate-
gy of Napoleon made mere play of an
enemy 30. 900 stronger than himself, no
less than $4,000 prisoners falling into
the hands Of the victorious French
on that day
In the wars that England have wag-
ed against her enemies it has long been
that country's boast that the prisoners
of war on her side of the ledger dwarf
into insignifcance those on the enemy.
In the Peninsular wars it was little
short of miraculous how English gem
erals repeatedly baked immensely
superior forces of their prey-as wit
ness Sir John Moore's glorious re-
treat on Corunna- On the other hand
Great Britain was teeming with
French prisoners. The Crimean cam
paign yielded to the Russians a sur
prisingly small number of British cap
tives. nor did England capture al many
OF the enemy as she might