Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-07-10
CELL BRAIION At
POL LTAvA
One of the Greatest Battles
in History.
A Spectacle the Like of Which Has
Not Been Seen i'm Russia Since
the Coronation Ceremonies
in Moscow.

Poltava, Russia, July 1.-THE Car
| was astir early today to inaugurate
the festivities in connection with the
celebration If the two-hundredth an
| niyersary OF the battle of Poltava, in
! which the Russians administered a
crushing defeat to the redoubtable
| Charles XII, Of Sweden. Accompa-
MED by other members of the imperial
family and attended by large and
| brilliant suite, his imperial majesty
reviewed the great body of troops as
sembled for the occasion and wit
messed the pageants and other festiv-
| tiles that were included in the day s
program.
The great parade which marked the
| opening of the celebration beggars
description. Column after column in
variegated uniform marched in splen
did array past the Car and his at
| tendants. Surrounding his masjesty
were the generals of the rany, the
ministers of state, the grand dukes,
and tie military attaches of the for
| eign embassies. Reviewing stands
| were provided for the invited guests,
among whom were official representa-
tives of scores of municipalities and
men of great prominence from all
parts of the empire.
Tomorrow, which will be the con-
cluding day of the celebration, will
witness a spectacle the like of which
in Gin no
coronation ceremonies in Moscow. The
spectacle will be of combined mill
tary and historical character. The
scenic pageant has been arranged by
Mazwiofsky, the battle painter, and
Mouravieff, the military historian
The battle of Poltava will be enacted
as it was fought two hundred years
ago, part of the Russian forces rep
resenting the Swedes. The climax
the regimental chiefs laying the
Swedish standards at the feet of Peter
the Great will be taken from Kotchu-
bey's picture.
The battle of Poltava, fought July
8, 1909 is regarded as one of the
decisive battles of history. On the
issue of the conflict depended the SUI
premacy of northern Europe. The
victory placed Russia among the pow
ers of civilized Europe. Charles XII
was defeated and with him fell Swed-
en- from the high estate to which he
had raised it.
When Charles XII came to the
Swedish throne, Sweden was one Of
the first powers Of Europe. Her SOL
diers were among the bravest and the
best disciplined, and her destiny
seemed to be that of a leader among
nations. Once at least in the heroic,
but meteoric, career of Charles, he
had the opportunity to dictate a peace
which would have given Sweden an
undisputed pre-eminence in northern
Europe, but he permitted this occa-
sion to go by. He had dethroned the
king of Poland and broke the Cars
ambassador on the wheel as a traitor.
Peter the Great, maddened by the
vengeful act of Charles, prepared for
a struggle to the death. Charles,
however, continued his triumphs, and
invading Russia at the head of his
army, marched by almost the very
route which Napoleon followed a little
more than a century later, and shared
almost identically the same fate.
Charles at last, in the heart of Russia
with an exhausted army, was over
whelmingly defeated at Poltava, and
his conquests were at an end.
Sweden fell with Charles XII, and
it was the fall of Sweden that justi-
fies Greasy in placing Poltava among
decisive battles" 1t decided the
vexed question which should be as
cendant along the Baltic, Russia or
Sweden, in favor of Russia. Sweden
at the peace was compelled to cede
| to Russia Esthonia, Livonia and a
| large slice of Finland. Thenceforward
the progress of the reduction of Swed-
en-, if not rapid, was steady. Dip
| Iomacy might hold it, but could not
turn it backward. A century after
| Poltava Russia gained complete pos
session of Finland, and when on the
readjustment that followed the peace
| of 1915 Swedish Pomerania became
Prussian, Sweden became a purely
| peninsular nation, consoled for its iSo-
lation by permission to seize Norway
| which it has since lost.
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