of the Rue St. Denis. The royal guard were early in possession
of it. All the outlets were speedily closed by barricades, from
behind which, from the corners of the various streets, and from the
windows of the houses, the people fired on the guards, and there
was a terrible slaughter on both sides. The hottest engagement
seems to have been in the Rue St. Honoré, opposite the Palais
Royal, where the military were assembled in great force, and the
people resisted their assailants with desperate determination.
At the Place de Grêve they fiercely contended with the household
troops, the Swiss guards, and compelled them to fly with great
loss. In the Rue Montmartre an attack was made by the duke of
Ragusa in person. During part of the day the Place des Victoires
was occupied by some troops, among whom was a part of the fifth
regiment of the line, who had gone over to the national guards
established at the Petits Peres. About two o’clock the duke de
Ragusa arrived at the place at the head of fresh troops. He drew
them up opposite the Rues du Mail, des Fosses, Montmartre, Croix
des Petits Champs, and Neuve des Petits Champs. He immediately
commanded a charge, and on both sides hundreds of men were killed.
The marshal directed his troops down the Rue du Mail, and they
scoured the Rue Montmartre without much difficulty till they
reached the Rue Joquelet, where the people were prepared. Each
house was armed and guarded. The black flag was displayed on the
Porte St. Denis and other edifices.
As soon as the firing ceased, the people made preparations for
the next day by strengthening the barricades and increasing
their number. They were assisted by women and even children. The
remainder of the afternoon and evening, and the whole of the
night, was spent in raising these important obstacles to the
evolutions of cavalry. Excellent materials were at hand in the
paving-stones; they were dug up and piled across the streets in
walls breast high, and four or five feet thick. These walls were
about fifty paces distant from each other. Hundreds of the finest
trees were cut down for blockades. Nothing could be more effective
for the defence of a large open town like Paris, traversed in
every direction by long narrow streets, overlooked by houses of
six, seven, and eight stories, than such barriers, scientifically
constructed. All the means that industry and ingenuity could
devise, in so short a time, were carried into execution, for the
energetic stand and assault determined to be made against the
military in the morning.
At day-break on Thursday the tocsin sounded “To arms;” and the
people began to assemble rapidly and in great crowds. The military,
whose guard-houses had been destroyed, were chiefly quartered at
the Louvre and the Tuilleries, the Swiss and the royal guards
being posted in the houses of the Rue St. Honoré and the adjacent
streets. At the same time, the students of the Polytechnic
School joined the citizens nearly to a man; they then separated,
proceeding singly to different parts to take the command of the
people, and nobly repaid the confidence reposed in them. The garden
of the Tuilleries was closed. In the Place du Carousel were three
squadrons of lancers of the garde royale, a battalion of the third
regiment of the guards, and a battery of six pieces, also belonging
to the guards.
About one o’clock in the afternoon, a party of the royal guards and
of Swiss, to the number of nearly 800 men, appeared on the Place de
Grêve. A brisk fire commenced, but the national guards not being
in sufficient strength, were obliged to give ground and to suffer
the royal guards to take possession of their post. The royal guards
had scarcely made themselves masters of the Hotel de Ville, when
they were assailed on all sides with a shower of bullets from the
windows of the houses on the Place de Grêve and in the streets
abutting on the quay. The royal guards resisted vigorously, but
were ultimately compelled to retreat along the quay; their firing
by files and by platoons succeeding each other with astonishing
rapidity. They were soon joined by fresh troops of the royal
guard and of Swiss, including 100 cuirassiers of the guard and
four pieces of artillery, each of them escorted by a dozen of
artillerymen on horseback. With this terrible reinforcement they
again advanced on the Hotel de Ville, and a frightful firing began
on all sides. The artillery debouching from the quay, and their
pieces charged with cannister shot, swept the Place de Grêve in
a terrific manner. They succeeded in driving the citizens into
the Rues de Matriot and du Mouton, and entered for the second
time that day into their position at the Hotel de Ville. But
their possession of it did not continue long; for they were soon
again attacked with a perseverance and courage which was almost
irresistible. Their artillery ranged before the Prefecture of the
Seine and the Hotel de Ville threatened death to thousands.
Hundreds of the constitutionalists were killed by the fire of
the Swiss guard from the windows of this edifice. It was erected
in 1600, and though it does not appear to possess any of the
characteristics of strength in a military sense of the word, yet
its gates, being of immense thickness, furnished a good defence
from the musketry of the attacking parties. The Hotel de Ville was
afterwards employed as the head-quarters of La Fayette and the
provisional government.
The Rue St. Honoré, for two days, was a perpetual scene of
slaughter. The Louvre, except the picture-gallery, was on all sides
attacked and defended at the same moment, and for hours. In the
court of the Louvre a field-piece was planted, which commanded
the Pont des Arts, being exactly opposite the Institute. Here the
fighting was so dreadful and so maintained, that the front of the
building of the Institute was completely covered with muskets and
grape shot. One cannon ball smashed a portion of the wall, and from
its elevation did dreadful execution in sweeping the bridge. The
attack on the Tuilleries was over in two or three hours. A young
man marched with a tri-coloured flag at the head of the attacking
bourgeois. A thousand balls, fired from the front of the chateau,
whistled by him without touching him. He continued to march
with perfect _sangfroid_, but with, at the same time, an air of
importance, up to the triumphal arch, and remained until the end of
the battle.
While the people and the military were combating at the Place de
Grêve, the Louvre, and the Tuilleries, troops were arriving by the
Champs Elysees. A great party of the people, and many national
guards, with two pieces of cannon, were hastening along near the
Place Louis XVI towards the Barrier St. Etoile, when a largo
troop of dragoons arrived, made a desperate charge, and cut down
the people without mercy who made a very bold stand. Many of the
soldiers solemnly vowed that they would not continue to obey orders
to massacre their brothers and sons. Their numbers were thinned,
they were fatigued, disheartened, discomfited, beaten, and fled. At
Chaillot, a district of Paris, verging on the route to St. Cloud,
the inhabitants, though few in number, sustained the fire of five
regiments of the guards, who attempted to effect their retreat by
the barrier of Passy. At length, all the royal troops left the
capital by the way of the Champs Elysees, and in their retreat were
fired upon by the people.
At night, part of the town was illuminated, particularly
the streets of St. Denis, St. Martin, St. Jacques, and the
neighbourhood of the Hotel de Ville. Perfect tranquillity prevailed
throughout the city. Strong patroles silently paraded the streets,
passed gently from barricade to barricade, and disarmed individuals
whom fatigue and the heat of the weather, more than wine, had
rendered incapable of employing their weapons usefully.
A deputation from Charles X at St. Cloud, arrived at the Hotel
de Ville early in the morning. It consisted of the marquis de
Rastoret, chancellor of France; M. Semonville; and count d’Argout,
peer of France. They announced that Charles had named the duke de
Mortemart president of the council, and that he was willing to
accept a ministry chosen by him.
At eleven o’clock, the deputies and peers then in Paris assembled
in their respective halls, and established regular communications
with each other. The duke de Mortemart was introduced to the
chamber of deputies, and delivered four ordinances, signed,
the previous day, by Charles X. One of them recalled the fatal
ordinances of the 25th; another convoked the chambers on the 3rd;
the third appointed the duke de Mortemart president of the council,
and the fourth appointed count Gerard minister of war, and M.
Casimir-Perier minister of finance. The reading of these ordinances
was listened to with the greatest attention. At the termination
profound silence continued;--no observation was made;--the deputies
passed to other business.--The duke de Mortemart returned to
acquaint his master that he was no longer acknowledged as king of
France. The manner in which the duke and his communications were
received by the deputies, was an announcement that Charles X had
ceased to reign.
On the 31st, the deputies published a proclamation, declaring that
they had invited the duke of Orleans to become Lieutenant-General
of the kingdom. At noon of the same day, Louis Philippe d’Orleans
issued a proclamation, declaring that he had hastened to Paris,
wearing the “glorious colours” of France, to accept the invitation
of the assembled deputies to become Lieutenant-General of the
kingdom. A proclamation of the same date appointed provisional
commissaries for the different departments of government. The king,
with his family, escaped to St. Cloud.
On the 3rd of August the chambers met, when the abdication of
Charles was announced; and on the 9th, Louis Philippe, having taken
the prescribed oath, was created king, under the title of “King of
the French.”
Thus terminated this desperate struggle for popular rights, and
which has no parallel in the annals of history. The Parisians left
their homes to fight, without organization and almost without
arms, against some of the best troops in the world;--and for what?
Were they a rabble driven by hunger, or a rebellious nobility
endeavouring to wrest new privileges from the monarch? No: they
were men who, animated with an ardent desire to be free, would not
suffer themselves to be stripped of their civil rights, but firmly
and manfully defended them with their lives. It was in this respect
a great moral revolution, and forms a brilliant epoch in the annals
of the world.”
RETREAT OF THE GREEKS.--Whoever has read the beautiful descriptions
of Xenophon, has read of the memorable retreat of the 10,000
Greeks. It happened B.C. 401, after the battle of Cunaxa; Xenophon
was chosen commander. He rose superior to danger, and though under
continual alarms from the sudden attacks of the Persians, he was
enabled to cross rapid rivers, penetrate through vast deserts, gain
the tops of mountains, till he could rest secure for a while, and
refresh his tired companions. At last they returned home, after a
retreat of 1155 parasangs or leagues, which was performed in 215
days,--and after an absence of 15 months.
RIDGEWAY, BATTLE OF, OR LIME RIDGE.--Fought, Saturday, June 2nd,
1866, between the Canadian Volunteers of Toronto and Hamilton, and
the Fenians, a lawless band of predatory scoundrels, who wantonly
invaded Canada, and were driven back by Canada’s brave sons. The
following succinct account is from the pen of the Rev. D. Inglis,
D.D., of Hamilton, who was present in the engagement.
“Rev. Mr. Burwash and myself were appointed by a number of the
ministers of this city to join the 13th Battalion of Hamilton
volunteers, and to render them such assistance as might be in our
power. The shadows of night had just given way to the bright light
of that June morning when we reached Port Colborne and joined
the battalion in the cars, a few minutes before the train left
for Ridgeway. Much has been written on the proper rations and
equipments for the men, and I only refer to this with the view
of noticing the want of shoulder-straps with which to fasten the
overcoats on the back of the soldiers, and the fact that they were
obliged to roll them up and sling them over their right shoulders,
under their left arm-pits, an expedient which afterwards greatly
impeded them in aiming and firing, and caused them to abandon their
overcoats when going into battle.
The train proceeded slowly to Ridgeway, where the men left the
cars and were drawn up on the Stevensville road. The Queen’s Own
were in the front, then came the 13th Battalion, and a company of
riflemen from Caledonia forming the rear-guard. The men were in
good spirits, and I could not look without admiration upon the
coolness and intrepidity with which these volunteer soldiers,
many of them mere lads, prepared for the advance. The ammunition
was distributed to the men, the order given to load with ball
cartridge, and then followed an interval of suspense and waiting.
The sensation of relief was great when after some minutes of
anxiety and impatience the order to advance was given. The position
assigned to the waggon containing the ammunition, &c., in which Mr.
Burwash and myself were riding, was immediately behind the main
body, and in front of the rear guard. When about a mile and a half
from Ridgeway several companies of the Queen’s Own were ordered
into the fields and woods to clear them of Fenians--and in a short
time the first shot was fired--and then in a rapid succession we
saw small clouds of blue smoke issuing from the woods, telling us
of a rapid discharge of musketry before the reports reached our
ears. The sergeants in charge concluded to halt with their waggon,
and Mr. Burwash and myself hurried on in the rear of our main body.
The Fenian skirmishers fell back upon the main body of their force,
who were drawn up in an entrenched position along the Fort Erie
road. They had converted a stone wall and the ordinary snake-fences
into barricades, and held a strong position; but on the advance of
our forces, fearing lest our skirmishers should out-flank them,
they retired in good order, and amid rapid firing, to a slightly
elevated piece of ground covered with thick woods, some distance
in their rear. It was in this advance that Ensign McEachren was
mortally wounded. It has been stated that Colonel Booker rushed to
the rear calling for a surgeon. I am in a position positively to
deny this; the cry for a surgeon was heard by me, but it did not
come from the Colonel. Mr. McEachren was borne to the rear by some
men of his company, accompanied by the Captain, a noble fellow,
whose name I do not know, to whom I at once introduced myself as
a minister, and offered to do all I could for his friend. He
thanked me with tears in his eyes, and hastened back to the post of
danger. Dr. May was in attendance; but a glance at the wound shewed
that it was mortal--and it fell to me to inform him of the fact.
He received the intelligence as a Christian soldier--informing me
that his faith rested in the Lord Jesus Christ. I prayed with him,
and after a few moments’ conversation I mentioned Mr. Burwash’s
name, and finding that he was an old parishioner of Mr. Burwash,
I left him mainly to his care--though I several times spent a few
moments with him afterwards. I then returned to the battle-field to
see if I could be of use there. Our forces had advanced, throwing
out their skirmishers right and left of the skirmishers--Queen’s
Own--to the extreme right--13th battalion--the distance was
probably a little more than three-quarters of a mile. Not a Fenian
was to be seen, but as our brave soldiers advanced, nearer and
nearer, there came again first a single shot, and then a rapid
discharge of fire-arms along the whole line. From their elevated
position, or from what other cause, I know not, the shots went
over the heads of our men, and I could see them striking the field
behind. I hastened back to the hospital with feelings of admiration
for the brave fellows who, exposed to a terrible fire from an
unseen foe, so nobly stood their ground, while the sharp crack of
their rifles assured me that the gallant fellows were doing their
duty amidst those showers of bullets, in spite of all the manifest
disadvantages of their position; but I could not rid myself of a
feeling of depression and anxiety when I thought of the result.
In the hospital I found a few men slightly wounded. One of them
told me there were no litters with which to bear the wounded from
the field. I set the men who were on guard to work to make litters
with some poles which we found near--and such sheets and blankets
as I could lay my hands on--and returned to the field with the men
carrying the litters. I took my old position, from which I had a
full view of the whole field, and was startled to notice strange
movements going on among our men. They had halted--the whole line
trembled--I do not mean that the brave men trembled, but there was
a movement along their line which I find no other word to describe.
The order to receive cavalry was given, and an effort was made to
obey it. Then another and another order. The only one which the
men seemed eager to obey was the one to advance, and then came the
fatal bugle’s notes that told them to retreat, and our men began to
fall back. I hurried to the hospital and told the Doctor and Mr.
Burwash that I feared the day was against us, but said I would
return to the field while they made the necessary preparations to
remove the sick and wounded from a place which should soon be the
very centre of the battle. When I again reached my old post of
observation a shower of bullets fell around me, and before I got
back to the hospital, a number of men belonging to the Queen’s Own
had got between me and the house. These were quickly followed by
a large number of the 13th Battalion, and I was forced to leave
without again communicating with my friends. I soon found, however,
that the Doctor and his wounded men, as well as Mr. Burwash, had
got safely out of that terrible fire.
The descriptions given of the retreat, are, for the most part
greatly exaggerated. Some men, it is true, ran away in terror,
but the main body, though in confusion, were not panic-stricken.
The feeling was one of vexation, and at the very moment when they
expected victory, all had unaccountably gone wrong with them. Tears
were shed, but they were tears wrung from brave men at the bitter
thought of being called to retreat before their foes. In the rear,
Major Skinner, with a number of men belonging to the 13th and the
Queen’s Own, kept in good order, and so effectually covered our
retreat, that the enemy were unaware of the disorder in which the
main body were retiring. Beyond all doubt, we were at this point
saved from further disaster by the coolness and steadiness of Major
Skinner, and the officers and men who were with him.
At Ridgeway the confused and scattered mass of men who got into
order through the exertions of a Toronto officer whose name I have
been told is Captain Arthurs, and who certainly discharged his duty
in a way that marked him out as a man able to control and lead
others.
I have refrained from all criticism of the conduct of the officers
on whom the responsibilities of this matter lie. I know nothing
of military tactics, and it does not become me to say anything
of why this little band of volunteers should have been led into
a conflict with superior numbers of trained and veteran soldiers
without support from artillery or the regulars--it is not my part
to say what the commanding officer should or should not have
done. This only I am bound to say, that the officers and men of
the Queen’s Own and 13th Battalion, behaved throughout the battle
with coolness and gallantry--and even the unfortunate retreat only
brought out more clearly that, with few exceptions, they were men
of unflinching courage. The hospital, no less than the battle-field
proved the noble courage of our men, and it would have moved the
stoutest heart to tears, to see those boy-heroes suffering as they
did, without a murmur or a groan.
Major Gilmore, of the Queen’s Own, and Major Skinner, of the 13th,
distinguished themselves greatly, their words of command inspiring
their men with courage--while they themselves were steady as rocks
under the hottest fire. Indeed, but for Major Skinner’s coolness
and power over the men under his command, the retreat of Ridgeway
must have resulted in fearful consequences.”
RIFLE PITS, CONTEST AT THE.--_Crimean war._ “The bombardment was
re-opened on Easter Monday, the 9th April, soon after daybreak.
Heavy rain fell all day, and the dense atmosphere prevented our
men from observing the effect of the fire. This time the fleets
did not share in the bombardment. At the close of the day, it was
evident that our weight of metal, though greatly superior to that
employed on the occasion of the first bombardment in October,
was yet inadequate to the task of destroying the colossal works
of the enemy. In vain our artillery pounded the earthworks and
batteries. In vain showers of shell were poured into the town. The
Russian engineers proved themselves consummate masters of their
art, and every morning fresh guns poured forth a deadly reply
from the repaired embrasures. Their resources seemed literally
inexhaustible, and their courage was fully equal to the occasion.
For more than a week the tremendous bombardment continued, and
notwithstanding the intensity of the fire from the French and
English batteries, comparatively little effect was produced. In
the meanwhile both armies worked assiduously at the trenches. The
French succeeded in carrying their parallels yet nearer to the
Mamelon, a large rounded hill in front of the Malakoff Tower,
and covered with rifle pits and earthworks; while the English
gradually extended their lines towards the formidable Redan. Their
great difficulty lay in forming a trench which should connect the
zigzags leading on the right towards the Malakoff, and on the left
towards the Redan. In order to obstruct the formation of this
work, the enemy established a series of rifle-pits which enfiladed
the new parallel, and whence considerable loss was inflicted upon
our working parties. In addition to the fire from the rifle-pits,
the enemy brought down a 12-pounder gun which swept our trenches,
and effectually hindered the progress of the work. It became
necessary, therefore, to attempt to drive the Russians from their
vantage-ground; and on the night of the 19th of April, Colonel
Egerton, at the head of 250 men of the Light Division, attempted
the exploit, dashed from the breastwork, and, taking the enemy
by surprise, drove him out. The successful English immediately
established themselves in the pits, but the Russians were too
sensible of the value of the position to permit the advantage
to remain undisputed, and marched down a column 1000 strong, to
attempt the recovery of the pits. Our troops met them with a
well-directed volley, which shook their ranks and then closed
with them in a deadly contest. The enemy was, after an obstinate
fight, completely routed, and the British had secured an important
advantage, though not without the loss of the gallant Colonel.
On the following night, the second line of rifle-pits was also
carried, after a feeble resistance; and our working parties were
thus enabled to pursue their labours without annoyance, and in
comparative security.”