Year: 1859




on the opposite bank of the Sesa. --rs.. .


If, then, the experiments of Messrs. Goddard are
successful the intelligence department of the allied
armies will have acquired most fruitful source of
information. They are, of course, cannon balls,
which may stop up this source in a second, but,
tillery has now and then considerable difficulties in
touching bodies that slowly, or not at all,
there is very little chance of its being able to hurt
an object flying through the air. 'TE-yi


. This morning the general headquarters left BreH-
cia, and have been transferred to this place This
looks like an advance. 1t seems the news of the
movement of the Austrians in our rear and left
Hank, II 1t had any influence on our movements,
had merely that of Fastening our advance, lse#


JUNE 2l-6 p. m.-Decidedly we are. on the eve
of some great event. We advancing toward it
tarnbour boHdmt. The Chiese is crossed and we are
close to the positions of Castiglione and Louata.-
According to some this latter place has already
been occupied by the Sardinians The last troops
have come up, and the allied armies are passing
the night in as compact a body their number and
the ground admit. The general headquarters of
the allied armies have been transferred to this
place, and around it arranged the whole infaItry of
the guard. While am writing the cavalry of the
guard is passing through to take up its position
down in the plain of Montechiaro, which stretches
ou' IN front of the little ridge which this village
IS out. 1t Is the first open piece of ground fit for
a battlefield which | have seen during this cam
paign, and on looking at it one can quite under
stand that the Austrians returned to look at it sew
eral times before they quilted it. Even an indiffer
ent traveller must be struck by the between
the country he left behind him and between that
which opens out before him when he stands on the
ridge OF Castenedolo. From Brescia, whether you
take the main road, whether YOU take one Of the
many byroads to avoid dust and crowding, there
are the Lombard fields, with their bitches and rows
of trees more less Dense out of which peeps here
and there casino or mill. You are shut in eve
rywhere; so that you have only rarely an opportu-
nifty OF feasting your eyes the mountains which
rise in bold grand lines to the left On approach
ing Castenedolo, there is steep ascent in the road
and you look from this artificial causeway down to
the fields on both Sides where you have Just this
moment most picturesque bi d's-eye view of a bi-
youac in all its stages-n some places the troops
just arri7ed reconnoiterng the commodities offered
by the place assigned; in others the troops just be-
ginning to install themselves; again, further on,
already busy cooking, pitching their little tentes
ddbri, the artillery picketing their horses, or ta
king them to water. In fact, you the soldier at
home.


The village is like all Italian villages, and needs
no description. About the middle of it, just where
the newly built church is-an ugly, barn-ike look
ing editce-the ground descends again as precipi-
tousy as it has assembled before the village. If
you have time you had better go a little to the
right and to the end Of the street; you will be re-
paid for your trouble with view over the whole
plain. The trees, which have hitherto been your
constant companions eaveyou all ofasudden about
half a mile beyond the village, and then comes an
open plain, which for several miles you don't see
a trace of them, grasspots, corn-tields, and even
pasture ground, monopolizing the whole space,
only faint trees of irrigation in halfhlled dry
dtches and several dirty white lines of roads, This
lasts up to the banks of the Chiesa, which are
marked by the Temperance of trfes, and behind
these trees you line of low hills from Carpen-
doo to the right all round, until they lose them
selves in the mountains to the left, which you
now in all their picturesque grandeur, true chill
dren Of the glaciers. This line of low hills skirts
the right bank of the Chiesa; they are almost all
detached from each other, forming groups. The
two most prominent among them are those of Mon
techiaro and of Calcinato standing out distinctly
from the horizon with their churches and detached
houses on the summit, which form landmark from
atar. They can be seen even from the hills above
Brescia.


Certainly for an enemy strong in cavalry, and
determined to have a decisive battle, no fairer
ground for the meeting can be found. The only
difficulty is that in the meeting of the two armies
not the same etiquette and courtesy observed
in that OF two private gentlemen pugnaciously dis
posed. The great art in warfare is just to find
your adversary in an awkward position, and make
him fight, not where he likes, but where itsuts
best. The Austrian army might, therefore, have
waited long in the plain of MOntecharo.


hear all the information obtained has been to
the effect that the Austrians are still retiring but
just when began writing the sound of cannon was
heard in the direction Of Castiglione | counted
only 10 or II shot, it may be, after all, nothing
but small outpost of the enemy which has been
met by our advancing troops.


Tomorrow we shall, suppose, know, not from
uIt
trans will resist this side of the Mncio.


LoNAro, June 22.-Well, what was yesterday uu-
certain is no more so to-day. The Austrans have
retired behind the Mincio leaving only patrols and
small detachmepts on this bank of the river Now
that we are on the ground which they occupied and
can speak with the people, one easily ascertain
the truth about their movements. 1t seems now
certain that it the intention of the Aus
trians to risk the chances of this side of the
MinclO. All they wanted to oppose sufficient
forces to the allied armies to retard the march Of
these latter, to gain time to withdraw whatever
they had of troops and materieL on the line of the
20. and to mature their own plans. For this pur-
pose they seemed to have sacrificed about 10000
men-probably the same corps of Benedek which
was so astonished by the charge of the Zouaves at
Maegnano. Yhis corps, which did not take part in
the battle OF Magenta was, it seems, pushed for
ward as strong arriere-gdrde, under protection of
which the troops defeated at Magenta and those
coming from the more outlying points could retreat
by the southern road to Mantua. After the rude
attack at Malegnauo this drriere-garde contented
tselfwith destroying the bridges over the AIDA and
the Chiese and thus retarding the progress of the
Allied armies. Their own retreat WIS determined
by the progress OF our troops. AS these latter adj
vanced, the Austrian drriere-gdrde vanished, and
nothing was seen Oft except their camping ground
1t was only in the north where Garibads corps
was always in advance of the great army, that
they showed and near the Chiese even stood on
the defensive but there they also gave way when
the ardnt gdrde of the allies came up. Whether
those troops with whom Garibadi had his skirmisH
on the 10Th inst. formed part of the great Grrere
garde, or were merely the garrsons of the northern
towns collected in body, ! could not make out
from the contradictory statements much is how
ever certain that the Austrian troops withdrew
sooner from the main road to Verona, than from
that to Goito and Mantua. Already on Wednesday
last, that is just week ago, the railroad bridge,
well that which the railroad goes to Pes
cheira, were blown up while the great egdrde
or at any rate, part oft was still at BozzoO on the
Mella, on Friday last. From that day till the day
before yesterday they still lowering about the
plain Of Montechiaro, as if regrettng to leave it.
1t in the afternoon of that day that they final
ly retreated all the line. Most of them retreat
ed over the two bridges of Ponti and Monzambano
probably because it was their most direct line of re-
treat.


This movement of retreat was better executed
than one might have supposed after the bad gene
ralship shown in the battle of Magenta but it was
not very difficult to make good retreat when it
never was in the plan of the attacking army to fol-
low close-and that for more than one reason
which will probably become self evident by and by.
All that was wanted was to gain the upper road
near which likewise the railway line leads, and to
clear everything north of that far the Lake of
Garda. 1t was for this purpose that oblique
line was taken, the left wing pushed forward, and
right wing always kept somewhat in rear. This
forward movement of the Allies explains the back
ward movement of the Austrians, who pressed ON
their ght by the advance of our left gave way and
retired sooner from that side. The day before yes
terday real advance against the position on the
Chiese began, and on that day they left definitely
for the Mincio, carrying with them the rihed can
non which they took from the French in the fight
at Ponte de Magenta, and As prisoners Yesterday
afternoon Tomato and Castiglione were occupied by
our troops, and the headquarters transferred to
Castenedoo. This mOrning.we pushed in advance
to Desenzano on the Lake and in the direction of
the passages of the Minco. All that remains of the
enemy this side of the river are few patrols
who roam about, but of course withdraw at our
approach. 1t was against one of these that a few
cannon shot were sent yesterday. To-day the Ber-
saglier and Sandman patrol fell in with another
Austrian patrol, took four prisoners, and killed
their officers.


Before retiring into Mantua the Austrians des-
troyed the bridge over the 0glio at Pozzoo, over
which the great Road from Mantua to Cremona
Pizzghetone, Piacenza and Pavia leads


Thus the Austrians fairly in their, as the Ger
papers | am told call it, impregnable quadrila-
tere, and is to come their turn for showing
their plans Part, at any rate, of this plan is evil
IDENTIFY an aggressive movement of some kind or
other in rear. Its first symptoms became visi-
BILE just when they retired behind the Mincio, and,
it is ascertained that they have considerable mas
ses of troops concentrated about the Stelvio Pass
it is by NO means impossible that they NAV intend
same time they debouch from behind the Mincio.-
Well, if they do that, they will give fine oppor-
tunity to the Emperor Napoleon to show how
much he has inherited of the military genius of his
uncle.


As soon as one abandons the idea of considering
the qaod'Tlotere as another Sevastopol, where an
enemy can concentrate all the forces he can dispose
OF, and if one makes offensive plan in which the
quodrildtere comes in only as part of the whole,
then one launches into field of conjecture which
has no end. For all amateurs of real campaigning