Newspaper Page Text
niche in fames proud temple? ami 'when
it has for its object the restoration of our
dear old State to her former prosperity.
Poor Carolina,
'•The Niobe of Nations there she stands,
Childless and crownless in her voiceless
woe,
An empty urn within her withered hands,
Whose holy dust was scattered long;
ago,”
God grant that the day of her deliver
enee is rear at hand.
Colonel R. B. Carpenter “an upright
Judge,” and Gen. M. C. Butler, whose
name is the synomyme for chivalry and
patriotism, are the candidates for Gover
nor and Lieut. Governor. There is no
political issue at stake in the coming
contest simply honesty against corruption.
The entire conservative press of the State,
with two solitary exceptions, are labor
ing zealously for the success of the new
movement. Let, the “Sumter News'*
and “XIX Century ’ discharge their
paper pellets against the reform party.
The radical journals are trying to make
capital out of them. The Editors are
spoken of as magnanimous enemies, but
if they continue to furniiii aid and
comfort to the enemy- -our people
will arrive at the conclusion that some
thing other than the welfare of the Demo
cratic party is the solution of their mag
nanimity.
Charleston is well represented in the
newspaper line. The daily journals are—
the Courier, the oldest in the State—
edited by Colonel T. Y. Simons, a dis
tinguished member of the Bar and form
erly an offieev in Gen. Hagood’s Brigade.
Colonel A. 0. Andrews. P. J. Malone,
and John A. Moroso, Esqs., are the as
sociate editors. It has the reputation
of being one of the very best commercial
papers in the South and enjoys a large
circulation. William Laidler, Esq ,is the
principal proprietor, and manager of the
business, in which he is ably assisted by
Major J. H. Murrell arid Messrs. W. L.
and S. 11. King. The Daily News, own
ed and edited by Messrs. Kiordan, Daw
son A Cos., though established but a few
years, has rapidly won its way to
popular favor. Mr. B. 11. Riordan is a
first-class journalist. He was attached
to the editorial staff of the Mercury be
fore and during the war. Captain F. W.
Dawson is an able and versatile writer.
He won honor and distinction in the
glorious old array of Northern Virginia.
F. D. Lee, J.S. Simons, and J. H. Schulte,
all of whom “wore the grey,” are attached
to the News. The News claims to have
the largest circulation of any paper in the
State, but as I am not paid for this ad
vertisement I will not assert that such is
the case. The Bepublica?i is edited by
Messrs. Morris and Fox. It is Radical
in the extreme. John W. Forney speaks
of his “two papers both daily.” The
editor of the Republican can say “our
five papers’’—for they issue the daily
and weekly Republican dated Charles
ton, one dated Sumter, one at Beaufort,
and another at Columbia. I understand
that they are all printed in this city. It
is said to be a paying concern. Apart
from polities the paper is quite readable.
Three of its editors have recently receiv
ed striking proofs that the way of the
agressor as well as the transgressor is a
hard one. The paper having charged T.
J. Mackey, the shooting star in the firma
ment of South Carolina Radicalism, with
an attempt to shoot his nephew, the
redubtable Tom got his courage up to
the sticking point, and meeting the local
editor, tested the strength of a heavy
walking stick on his shoulders. In the
melee he lost the stick and it is now
placed in the Republican office as captur
ed property. In a later edition there ap
peared a false and malicious attack cm
General M. C. Butler. The writer knew
it to be such, but in order to advance the
interests of the “great moral idea” party,
perpetrated a base slaudjr on this high
toned, chivalric gentleman, who, like
Bayard, is sans peur et sans reproche.
Captain George Tapper, who was a fear
less soldier in General Butler's command,
happening to see Mr. Morris at the Co
lumbia Hot®! inquired of him if he was
the author of the article, the reply was
‘ No, but I am responsible for it;” where
upon Captain Tapper struck him in the
face with his fi-t. The doughty knight
of the quill called to mind the old proverb—
" Discretion shall preserve thee, under
standing shall keep thee.*’ Discretion
preserved his face from the Captain’s
well directed blows; ids understanding
Lurried him up stairs, which preserved
him from a vigorous kick. Following
the tirade against General Butler was a
bitter editorial stigmatizing in unmeasur
ed terms Captain Dawson, one of the
News editors. Captain Dawson, accom
panied by his friend, Mr. James A.
Lafitte, repaired to the Republican office;
they found Mr. Fox, and, on asking if
he was the editor, the latter replied yes.
Captain Dawson then struck him with a
ught cane, when they clinched; a number
of Fox’s employees rushed in, seized the
Captain and had him arrested by the
Police. We have a number of weekly
papers, among them the Southern Celt,
The Suderlicer Correspondent, and Sun
day Times. The large and enterprising
firm of Walker, Evans & Cogswell pub
lish the Rural Carolinian devoted to
agriculture. The Rev. Dr. Hicks and Capfc
C. E. Chichester, the latter a distinguished
artillery officer in the late war, conduct
the XlXth Century , a monthly maga
zine, which, barring its unnecessary and
ill-timed flings at the Reform Party, is a
fine companion. I must not omit to
mention the Missionary Record edited
by a colored Preacher and State Senator,
R H. Cain, more familiarly known as
“Daddy Cain.” Some time since he de
nounced the “Scott ring” as public
thieves, but now he has gone over and
comes out strongly in favor of Scott and
Ransier (the Radical nominees for Gov
ernor and Lieut. Governor.) Cain has
been accused of taking a bribe to vote for
the passage of the Phosphate Bill, which
has been a hone of contention here for
some time.
I notice that the Hon. A. H. Stephens
pays a handsome and well-deserved com
pliment to your distinguished Editor,
Father Ryan, in his second volume of the
“War between the States.” It is a source
of great gratification to your readers to
know that his Harp still vibrates with
“sweet but melancholy pathos.”
There are other items which I shall re
serve for my next. The weather is too
warm for epistolary writing. Were I
comfortably seated, as I oft have been,
at our friend Mr. G. S’s charming
retreat, neath the shade of his vine and
fig trees I would be in better spirits to
write. Survivor.
From the New York World, 18th.
News from tlie Seat of War
POSITION OF THE ARMIES PROBABLE
MOVEMENTS, AND NEW POLITICAL COM
PLICATIONS.
Although the doe? not give us
many or reliable details it is quite clear
that a general attack has been made on the
defensive line of the French along the
Moselle, with the fortress of Metz as a
point of support in the North, and Toul
and Nancy as points of support in the
South.
A great battle is reported to have been
fought near Metz. The fighting is said to
have been terrible in the extreme. King
William himself commanded, and the
Germans arc reported never to have fought
better, and equal to the best French troops.
The resistance of the French seems to have
amounted to an absolute determination to
die rather than to give way, but neverthe
less they were compelled to retire under
the shelter of the fortifications of Metz,
after having left on the battle-field 5,000
dying and wounded. The town of Foht-a-
Mousson is said to have been occupied by
the Germans in spite cf the determined
resistance of the French, who had blown
up the bridge across the Moselle before re
treating, in order to retard the advance of
their enemies. It is even asserted that
German cavalry—a regiment of Prussian
lancers—had arrived before Comrnercy,
fully 3G or 40 miles west of Pont-a-Mous
son and the Moselle, and in the rear of
Toul, McMahon’s headquarters, also, as
far west as the neighborhood of Verdun.
Thus far we have news of importance,
if true ; for they prove that, after all, the
French have decided not to make the line
of the Moselle a grand battle-field, but
only to use it as a means to retard the ad
vance of the German armies. The capture
ofMarsal. or more correctly Marceralie, a
small fortress some thirty miles east of
Nancy, by the Bavarians under the Crown
Prince, is of not much importance. The
place is a small, antiquated mountain
fastness, formerly a valuable defence on
the road to Nancy, but modern warfare has
turned this stronghold into no account. It
is almost impossible to form a correct opin’
ion of what is going on, but two great facts
are becoming more and more s°;f evident
first, that the success of the German
armies has been continuous, and by far
surpassing the expectations not only of
their most sanguine admirers, but also
their own ; and, secondly, that the French
army since their defeat near the frontier,
have, after defending every foot of ground,
gradually and slowly fallen back on their
historical defensive ba f tie-fields—on the
line of the Moselle, the Meuse and Chal
ons:
There is nothing in the French retreat
to justify the assumption that they are
demoralized, and will soon give up ; ou the
contrary, they have not only fought brave
ly but bitterly, a fact which is acknowl
edged by no one more readily than their
adversaries. They have also shown most
admirable esprit du corps under their re
verses, and have thus far retreated in the
best of erder and without a panic.
More we Know not, and the future strat
egic intentions of France as well as Ger
many are matters of speculation only.
It is probable that Napoleon and his
generals have decided to make Chalons
and neighborhood their battlefieid for the
delivery of France from the invader; and
why not?
Chalonsjis a fortified place, and it D, on
| account of the fortified camps around it,
: one of the strongest positions ia France.
The topographical formation cf the
country is that of an undulating plain, in
the main a free and open country, admira
bly adapted for the mac delivering of ar
mies on the grandest scale.
At the same time it is a neighborhood
well known to the greater part of the
present French army, who have there, for
about a quarter of a century, gone regu
larly into camp for their grand field ma
noeuvres and know the country well. The
fortifications are extensive and very strong,
composed of earthworks and towers and
bastions at intervals, and strongly de
fended by ditches interlacing each other
for miles in every direction. The accom
modations for an army of at least 100,000
men are perfect, and 200,000 men more,
on an extraordinary occasion like the pres
ent, can readily be accommodated. No
thing is easier than a ready supply of men,
ammunition of war, and other means of
defence from Pjiris direct in this admira
ble position, and the chances for fighting
and manceuveripg a grand army of some
three or four hundred thousand men are
certainly better there than anywhere else
between Paris and the Rhine.
That such an army is collecting to arrest
and defeat the advancing Germans, ail the
reports lately received seem to establish.
The general i olitica! situation and senti
ment is more favorable to France. It
seems very much as if all Europe and also
semi-Asiatic Russia were beginning to
look upon the good luck and enormous
military power of Prussia and Germany
not only with considerable astonishment,
bus postive distrust, envy, and alarm.
England, Holland, and Belgium are clearly
rnakiDg secret preparations lor emergen
cies, and have come down to an under
standing. Denmark may join them for
the people are decidedly anti-Prussian, and
her government, too. if we mistake not,
but they dare not show their true colors as
ye*. Russia has always been a very doubt
ful friend of Germany, no matter how
closely the Russian and Prussian houses
a,e allied. So it may Wellcome to pass
that isoon a European Congress will be
proposed and France may find some allies
sooner than she now expects —for the bal
ance of power in Europe is no chimera,
and no power for many centuries to come
will again be permitted to domineer it
over the rest.
The majority of the latest news received
by telegraph up to 12 p. m. yesterday,
does not amount to much. So far as the
reliability is concerned, it is mere rumor,
gathered up in some way, in any way, and
sent on to satisfy the universal craving for
information. To bo sure there is beyond a
duubt great activity ia both camps, and a
series oi fights has taken place in the plain
which extends between Nancy, Bar-le-
Duc, Verdun and Mefz. A few days more
and we will know whether the German ad
vaceo has continued successful up to this
time, or whether the French have succeed
ed in checking it.
That both armies are fighting continu
ously and most gallantly no one can deny,
but to grant one or the other sile a decid
ed victory just now would be premature.
Regarding the possible and probable
movements of the French wc have one
short telegram, which, if true, is of the
highest importance, and worth more than
all the rest of the news regarding their
army movements. It says :
The main body of the French army is
concentrated at Etain , about twelve milts
east northeast of Vefdun , and ninety-six
kilometres from Chalons.
Now. if this be true, Marshal Bazaine
has decided to take this position near Metz
to secure himself support from that for
tress, and for the purpose of taking the
advancing Germans in the flank, a move
ment cn his part which shows superior and
bold generalship, and may prove success
ful, particularly if we take into considera
tion that he must have among his army of
about 300,000 men at least 200,000 men
who have not yet been uuder fire in the
present war, and who cornpr se the flower
and elite of the French aimy. The Ger
mans will net dare to pass by him on to
Chalons, where General Trochu is intrench
ed with not less than 200,000 regulars and
gardes mobile, without giving Marshal
Bazine battle first; and upon this battle
will depend the movements of both armies
during the next few weeks. Should the
Germans lose, they will have to fall back
to the Rhine, for Marshal Bazaine will
move at once on the shortest rouie into
the Rhine Provinces, via Metz ana Thion
viiie. Should the Frehch lose, they will
fall back on Chalons, and the dicisive bat
tle cf the “war will be fought there, as
already pointed out repeatedly. Altogeth
er it is impossible to say who will finally
be the victor ; Two great nation*, like the
French and Germans, of some forty mil
lions of people each,“'and almost evenly
matched, both determined to make good
their own cause, both fighting for home
hearth, will not be able to secure
easily any such advantages over each other
as would determine the war in a short time,
and rivers of blood will continue to flow
before propositions for peace will be listen
ed to by either side.
THE CAMPAIGN THUS FAE.
"With the aid of our correspondence and
from other sources, it is possible to now
give some connected account of the ma
neuvering of the two armies from Saar
brucken to Verdun. As originally formed,
the opposing lines lay as follows: General
L’Admirault, commanding the Fourth
Corps, held the French left at Thionville;
next to him came the Second Corps, under
General Frossard, at St. Avoid, forming,
with the Third Corps, under Marshal
Bazaine, at Metz, the left centre; next the
Fifth Corps, under General De Failly, at
Bitsehe, forming the right centre; and then
the First Corps, under Marshal McMahon,
at Haguenau, forming the French right.
Back of the Third Corps, as the 1 bird was
back of the Second, was the Eighth Corps,
under General Bourbakl Opposed to the
French line, the Prussian right, under
General Steinmetz, lay from Trior to Saar
brucken; the centre, under Prince Fred
erick Charles, between Saarbrucken and
Dahn; and the left, under the Crown
Prince, from a point opposite Worth to in
front of Weissenburg. With this formation
the French opened the campaign by moving
upon the left flank of the Prussian right,
Gen. Froward leading the assault. Pushing
on from St. A void, through Forbacb, he as
saulted and took Saarbrucken on the 2d
instmt. With this success for the French,
the Crown Prince advanced the Prussian
left on the next day, the 2d, upoa Weissen
burg, and, after a determined contest, car
ried that point by storm upon the 4th.
On the sth Marshal McMahon advanced
on Weissenburg to retake it, and simul
taneous with this movement on the French
right, the Prussian right, under General
Stei'.metz, advanced upon Saarbrucken to
retake that, the right of either army mov
ing upon a victorious opposing left, and
the centre of both armies lying on their
arms. In both encounters the French
were, from all accounts, heavily outnum
bered, worsted, and driven back. General
Fcrssard lost heavily at Saarbrt cken, but
drew off in some tolerable order under
cover of his weli-served artillery. At
Froschweiler, or Worth, Marshal Mac-
Mahon claims to have fought 35,000 against
140,000, and though defeated the French
appear to have crippled the Prussians so
seriously that no effective immediate pursuit
was possible. Asa result of these reverses at
Saarbrucken; Weissenburg, and Proseh
welier, or Worth, the French left centre and
right having been disorganized, the right
centre and left were equally ia danger oi be
ing flanked, and a retreat and reformation
cf the whole contre and right of the line be
came necessary. Advancing their whole
army from Saarbruck to Suiz, the Prus
sians occupied Forbach, St. Avoid, Luzel
stein, and Haguenau, with intermediate
villages ; or in a word, took possession of
the original French line, the French failing
bmkuntila new line was formed from
ThionvilJe to Nancy. Then General L’Ad
mirault was ordered in Lorn Thiouvilie,
and the lice narrowed down to from Metz
to Nancy. At this time Marshal Bazaine 1
was made the actual commander-in-chief
of the entire Freneh army, and General
Trochu appointed to the head of the ad
ministrative department, or to be major
general of the army. Pushing on, the
Prussians brought up their army to con
front this new line oi the French. A cloud
cf calvary was at once thrown out, before
a complete reconnoissance could te ob
tained the French army again took
up the line of retreat for the
Meuse. This was on the 13tb, Saturday
last, and on ascertaining the movement
the Prussians at once assaulted in force.
General Steinmetz advanced upon Ba
z tine’s rear guard as it was covering
the transfer of the main army over the
Moselle, but was repulsed. The Prussian
centre, crossing at or about Pont-a-Mous
son, marched to the right oblique, or north
eastwardly, and struck the French left be
tween Metz and Verdun, the Crown
Prince advancing meanwhile from Nancy,
which he had taken in the retreat of Mae-
Mahon toward Chalton, upon Bar-le-duc.
A repulse of Prince Frederick Charles,
with a 10-s of 40,000 men, is semi officially
reported, and there our present information
ends. If it be true that Prince Frederick
Charles has been repulsed in his effort to
sever communication between . Marshals
Bazaine and MacMahen, then the entire
French army is well on its way to Chalons,
at which point all indications go to
show the main battle ot the war
was ’’mended by them as scon as
the. effort to carry their arms across the
Rhine was foiled by Saarbrucken and
Weissenburg. If victorious there, they
will be enabled to all but annihilate the
Prussians, on whose retreat every fortress
now in their rear—Metz, Strasbourg,
Bitsehe—will pour forth thousands of
fresh troops to swell the pursuit. On the
other hand, if the French are defeated, the
result will be no worse for them than if
they fought ttieir great battle at any other
point nearer the Rhine. These chaLces
considered, it is evident that Bazaine seeks
a battle where, his chances for victory be
ing the same as elsewhere, the corise
quenees of a victory will be most disastrous
to the Prussians. A knowledge o: the
fact is doubtless the occision of the persis
tent assaults of the Prussians upon his
line, in hopes of forcing it to a general en
gagement at some other point than the
one now to all appearances chosen.
McMahon to hisbolditrs—lie Proposes «i
‘ Briiiant Revenge.”
Pakis ‘ August 10. —The following is an
order of the day issued by Mar’l McMahon:
“Soldiers : In the battle oi August
6 fortune betrayed your courage, but you
yielded your position only after an heroic
resistance, which lasted not less than nine
hours. You were 35,000 against 140,000,
and were overwhelmed by force of num
bers. Under these conditions defeat is
glorious, and history will say that in the
battle of Froschweiler the French showed
the greatest valor. You have suffered
heavy losses, but those of the enemy are
much greater. Although you have not
been successful, you fee cause in your
misfortune which makes the Emperor sat
isfied with you and the entire country
recognize that you have worthily sustained
the honor of the flag. Let us show that
though subject to the severest tests, the
Pt (Arps, forgetting this elo es up its
ranks, and, God aiding u c , let ns se:z; a
great and brilliant revenge.”
The Field <4 Battle.
From the London Times.
Deputy Inspector General T. Longmore,
Professor of Military Surgery, Netley, at
tended last year at Berlin the international
conferences of societies for aid to sick and
wounded soldiers in time of war, and he
has made a report on some matters which
came under his observation there. He
witnessed the exercises of a company of
bearers to the wounded —men taught and
drilled to this duty. On the order being
given the equipment cart was unpacked
and a tent for surgical operations rapidly
erected, its character being desigrated by
a flag, and a lantern at night. A number
of men ran forward to the front with
stretchers, splints, bandages, &c., to the
place where the (supposed) wounded were
lying, each with a small label describing his
wound. Each supposed wounded man re
ceived tlie primary dressing called tor by
the nature ot his.injury, and, being placed
on the stretcher, was brought to the rear,
to the first line of surgical assistance,
where the hospital tent had been pitched,
and tlie ambulance wagons drawn up,
Here the injury was examined by one of
the assistant-surgeons, and if nothing fur
ther was required the patient was placed
in one of the wagons ready for removal fur
ther to the rear. When the stretchers had
all been employed, a second section ot
bearers advanced without stietchers, to
pici up wounded men and bring them also
to the first line of surgical aid. They car
ried them in various ways, according to
the wound, sometimes simply by means et
their hands, sometimes with the aid ot
belts, or by making use of the nfles, knap
sacks, blankets, &c , of the wounded man.
It was evident that the b arers weie
thoroughly trained in their duties, and
that they would save many lives that
would otherwise be lost, and especial y
would prevent in many instances such ag
gravation of fractures and other injuries
as would render all attempts at conserva
tive surgical practice unavailing. Such a
plan for the transport of sick and wound
ed is needed in the British army. The
| bearers should understand the special
i needs of tick men, and the proper meue*
ot sick carriage. The only men wno, m
our army, have hitherto been trained for
sick transport duties in the field have a
certain number of the men of the medical
branch of the Army Hospital Corps; but
in time of war these men will be chiefly
occupied in the fixed hospitals, and not in
the ambulances, and will therefore not bo
available. Whether an army he large or
small, there should be a certain proportion
of trained bearers of the wounded. An
other matter —the Prussian arrangements
for the transport of wounded soldiers by
railway—had its share of attention at
Berlin conferences. The most successful
method appears to be that of field stretch
ers suspended in the carriages. The de
sired ease of position is as fully attained a*
practicable; and no disturbance is caused
in taking the patient ia or out of the car
riage, if the bearers are trained to the
work and properly directed. The only
want noticeable was of tne means of
cooking some slight articles ot support
and a few hospital conveniences. The
doors are at the ends of the carriages, and
there are connecting platforms, so that
there is a free passage from one to another.
A third point discussed related to the means
of identification of soldiers killed or insen
sible from wounds. The mode of identifi
cation should be common to both armies
Three plans were proposed. _ The United
(States “Christian Commission ’ supplied
soldiers in the late civil war with identifi
ers” made of vegetable parchment, to be
hung round the neck, describing the wear
;er. Er. Lcfflis, inspector general cf the
! medical staff of the Prussian army, pro
poses a ! abel of lined iron. Sergeant-
I Major Wernek, of the Bavarian army, has
[ proposed a small tin case, containing a few
leaves of paper or parchment, which b?-
i sides presenting means for identification,
i would serve for brief cotes by the examiu-
I iog surgeon. Professor Gurit, of the
I Kong's University, Berlin, who has taken
; much interest m the subject, was in favor
! of the American identifier, objecting to the
j two others because, being made of metal,
j if struck by a bullet they might add to the
I risk to a patient, either by distributing the
effects of the stroke ever a wider space, or,
if carried by the bullet into the wound,
by seriously complicating the injury.
Deputy-Inspeetor«General L mginore does
not attribute so much impoitance to the
risk from wearing a small metal tablet
over the chest, and remarks that it might
even prevent penetration. On the whole
he gives the preference to an oilcloth iden
tifier proposed by Professor Gurit, which
is described, and which may be seen at
Netiey. On the front is inscribed the
regiment, Ac., of the bearer, bis name,
birthplace, and address of nearest rela
tives ; the reverse side is left blank, and a
will might be written on it. The inscrip
tion is in printing ink, diluted with boiled
oil. At the conferences of the aid socie
ties in Paris, in 1567, it was stated in a
letter from the Austrian Minister of War
that no certain information has been re
ceived respecting the fate the majority of
the missing soldiers of the Austrian aim?
engaged in the campaign in Bohemia in
1867, so that their relations remained long
in doubt whether they were dead, woun
ded, or ou!y prisoners, ar.d were still unin
formed whether they died on the field of
battle or uKeouontly, while under treat
mere for wuunas in Losyital.
3