Year: 1870

AFTER SEDAN.


Mr.. A. Seymour, NJ. p, sends to The London
Telegraph OF Sept 10 the following account Of what he
saw when he visited French prisoners taken at se
dan:


The place where the 10000 prisoners were con-
fined was island formed by a bend in the Meuse,
connects the stream the bends thus forming, it
WERE string TO the bow rms Island Is about two miles
which is now French ambulance full OF
tsmshSd and TYPHOID patients and SS RS Tase 6 s ss
south, and abbuting upon it, Isl village called uaire.
single bridge across the canal, the only means OF
ingress egress to and from the island. AZ this
bridge was, planted cannon, and large guard or
Bavarian soldiers, who likewse occupy the village;
ehn Guards reached sedan on wednesday Sept T. We
pass under our windows on the Thursday and Friday
hafstarved looks who threw themselves like furnished
wolves upon the bread which the inhabitants brought
passed said they had tasted no twenty our hos
but half biscuit and some had had no 1000 at al All
looked starved, and many were only hacOthed In the
on saturday last 10th inst We determined to 90 TO
the camp Claire and ascertain for ourselves the ac-
counts we heard Of their state were really true.


There was no difficulty in entering the island provided
IA we were with the brassard" the International So
cety OF Help TO the Wounded On passing the bridge we
found ourselves In the midst OF crowd Of sodiery all
asking for bread but passed on and going along the
eastern side OF the island where the road follows the
course the Meuse in few hundred yards found our
selves front of tho country before mentioned in
which is situated the French sOcieys ambulance There
is only the width OF the road between 10 ana the river
and at this point the river was damned Dy the car
cases Of some fifty horses pnlrd ana SINKING many
same state OF semidecompOston, On We drove with
out then stopping at the ambulance, as we wished to see
all for ourselves. For five days continuously there had
been pouring down sort OF tropical ran ana the entire
island was a Of mud In which the troops had been
living without sheer-whiCh yOdable-and with
out food, which cannot but think was ayoidable The
road rises with the rising Of the ground as slopes down
to the river your right so you command view OF
tho stream and anything floating in It, There below us;
under the opposite bank the corpse OF soldier in his
red trousers on the bank below heap covered
another victim 10 famine and exposure, though
the corpse itself we did not actually see On
we went As we ascended the hill the remainder
Of the island gradually opened out before u.s. TIL we
reached Of the road at the apex where the road
Gen Legrand quartered In Of the best OF the
houses. At this point we stopped the carriage, seeing
OF them The statement from one and al was the
same-none OF them had had more than nan oscnlt;
cut out of tho of the horses they oated
down the stream where they could reach them; Dut
of cooking, they could do 10 more than gnaw ut
far it would 20, the small quantity of bread We
had with We made sergCantmajOr get into the car
eoad % to hose S who % looked most scSy and most want
The distribution over one OF the soldiers came iorward
and thanked us in the Of those who had and on
who had not received for what we had DONE
antswSo poor creatures are ali utterly despoiled and
ruinod-were buying bread on their own account ana
selling II at from 90 centmes to one franc Tor small
sce but that then, at that price, they could not
get enough TO keep body and soul together.





asserted that several bodies beside those were
lying about the island On going to Iges we went INTO
house where told there was bread; and nndnS
a loaf there, bought 1t and gave 1t away In small
pieces two officers who were in the house assisting us 10
We came back over the crest Of the island through the
center, where soldiers digging over the potato
fields OF the poor ruined inhabitants for the huhdedh
time and glOatng the discovery or single root;
We had visited the ambulance OF the French S0cie ana
found their hospital full of patients with low IeVer'
yphus and ali the diseases arising from want and OK
posure-nO wounded. Here they had no bread ana no
for cases OF kind they had to treat The medical gen
emon confirmed all that had seen and said that ont
island it was badly distributed and was fought for
and obtained by the strongest at the bridge where was
the greatest distress existed They confirmed the
stories which we heard OF the deaths, put sala
there were many than even we had heard OF.
On our return 10 Sedan met at the AngloAmeriean
very enssI rsacd what % had ns seen
with all Its CHASTITY horrors; and MS utter he1edm
sursnce that it would be renediod If we made state
men in the proper quarter induced us y 70 he
Bayarian COmmandant OF Sedan. We received no re-
ply, however. At the time We were at the camp tnere
not than 10000 1900 prisoners the number
being daily reduced by the march OF 5000 or more each
day 10 various German Ortresscs But there hsa Deen
many as 60,OO0 or 10000.


The following Is the statement


ANGLO AMERICAN AMDuIASCE Caserne d'Asfeld,


SEDAN, Sept 10, 1870


Monsieur Commandment We the 1nder'gnsa der Ia,% % being ing
members Of the International society ior ncIP W tho
Wounded In War and being this moment returned rom
the camp Of the French prisoners at claire sna fses
have the honor OF communicating W you certain iAc"
which have come under our notice , -, - -
That there are a great number OF prisoners who arc
almOst diving OF hunger and the half biscuit per diem,
which they are supposed to receive apiece, does not
always roach each individual -, -, a.,


That there is no means OF buying bread unless they
pay from fifty centimes to one franc for small bt
which they got from tho peasants VINO puy u ior 'her



That the soldiers arc reduced TO taking pieces OF the
OF the which oat down the river 10 sus
tain life.


There IL no means Of buying tho smallest quantity VI