Year: 1877




LONDON, Aug. 8.


A correspondent sends from Poredin,
near Plevna, a graphic account of Thurs
days battle. The correspondent is with
Prince Schackoskoy's command:


And now all hope of success anywhere
is lost, nor did chance offer to make the
best of defeat. Prince Schackoskoy had
not man left to cover his retreat The
Turks struck without stint. They had
the upper hand for once, and were de-
termined to show that they knew how to
make the most of it. They advanced in
swarms through the dusk on their orig
inal first position, and captured the Rus
sian cannon before the batteries could be
withdrawn. Turkish shells began once
more to whistle over the ridge above
Radishova and fall into the village be-
hind, now crammed with wounded. The
streams of wounded vending their pain
full way over the ridge were incessant.
The badly wounded mostly lay where
they fell. Later, in the darkness, a
baleful sort of krankentraeger swarmed
over the battlefield in the shape of
Bashi Bazouks, who spared none linger-
ing there. On the ridge, till the moon
rose, the staff could hear from below, on
the still night air, the cries of pain and
entreaties for mercy, and the yells of
blood Thirsty, fanatical triumph. 1t was,
indeed, an hour to wiring the sternest
heart.


The Turks had our range before dark,
and we could watch the flash of flame
over against US and then listen to the
scream of a shell as it tore by us. The
sound of bullets was incessant. A de-
tachment at length began to come strag-
Cling up, but it will give an idea of the
disorganization to say that when com
pany was told off to cover somewhat the
wounded in RadishOva it had to be made
up of men of several regiment. About
three O'clock the staff quilted the ridge,
leaving it Uttered with groaning men,
and moving gently, lest we should tread
on the PROSTATE wounded, we lost our
way as we had lost our army.


At ten o'clock in the morning, having
been in the saddle since six on the pre-
vious morning, we turned into a stubble-
field, and, making beds of reaped grain,
correspondent and Cossack alike rested
under the stars. But we were not even
then allowed to rest before an alarm came
that the Bashi-Bazouks were upon US, and
we had to rouse and tramp away. The
only protection of the chief of what in
the morning was a fine army was now a
handful of wearied Cossacks.


Gen. Krudener sent word in the morn
ing that he had lost severely, and could
make no headway, and had resolved to
fall back on the river Osma. There had
been talk of renewing the attack to day
with his cooperation, but it is plain
statement of facts that we have no troops
to attack with. The most moderate es.
innate is that we have lost two regiments,
say 5000 men out of the three brigades
"a CHASTITY number, beating Eyelan or
Friedland. This takes no account of
Gen. Krudener's losses. We, too, retire
on Osma River, about Bulgareni, and to
the best of our weak strength cover the
bridge at Sistova.


One cannot, in this moment of hurried
confusion, realize all the possible results
Of this stroke, so rashly courted. Not a
Russian soldier stands between Tirnova
and the victorious Turkish army in
Loreco and Plevna, and only weak di.
! vision stands between Tirnoya and the