THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT OF FIGHTING IN PARIS. [From the Daily News, December 15.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 717, 16 June 1852, Page 3

THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT OF FIGHTING IN PARIS. [From the Daily News, December 15.]

The Commander-iu-Chief of the array of Paris^ has addressed the following report, dated the 9th, to the Minister of War, of his proceedings during the insurrection : — " Monsieur le Ministre, — I have already had the honour to address to you a summary report , on the events of the 3d and 4th instant, and to render to you an account of the results obtained from the arrangements made in anticipation of those events. Now that the partial reports of the•generals commanding divisions under my orders' have reached me, I hasten to send, you the details which complete my former reports. On the morning of the 3rd numerous and threatening assemblages took place on different poiuts, and 'the various corps of the army of Paris marched to take up their position for combat. Gen. Marulaz, who, with his brigaie, occupied the Place de la Bastille, on being informed that a barricade had been raised at the corners of theißuedu. Faubourg St. Antoine, and the Rues de Cotte and* Stcl Marguerite, sent to that spot three companies of the 19th Light Infantry, under the orders of Commandant Pujol, and supported the' movement by advancing himself at double quick time at the head of, a battalion of the 44th into" the Rue de' Charonne, so 1 as to advance on the~ v barricade by the Rue de Cotte. The assemblage*' at the head of which were three Montagnard representatives, seeing the troops advancing, fired, and mortally wounded a soldier of the 44th naraedF Sirlan. The first platoon returned the fire, and the representative Bautlin was killed on the barricade. In the afternoon General Herbillon, whohad taken up a position on the Place de I' Hotel de Vitle, being informed that barricades were being raised in the Rues dv Temple, Rambuteau, Beaubourg, &c, marched immediately to the" spot at N the head of a column formed" of the 9th' battalion of Foot Chasseurs and a piece of artillery, and overthrew all the* obstacles which he met with in "his passage, whilst a battalion of the 6th Light Infantry destroyed in -the Rue dv Temple the barricades which had been commenced. In the evening fresh barricades having been'raised in the' Rue Beaubourg, Colonel Chapuis, of the 4rd regiment of the line, taking with him a battalion of his regiment and a company of engineers, again went through that quarter, where he was received with a very warm fire, which did not, however, stop the advance of his column. All the obstacles were carried, and those who defended them were 1 shot. ' Assemblages, whick were formed in other quarters were dispersed by the energy and the attitude of the troops. Seeing that the day was passing in insignificant skirmishes, and without any decisive result, and suspecting that the intention of the chiefs of the rioters was lo fatigue the troops by carrying the agitation in succession into different quarters, I resolved to leave the insurrection for some time to itself, in order to give it the facility of choosing its ground, of establishing itself, and, in short, of forming a compact mass against which I could act. For this/ purpose I withdrew all the small posts, ordered the troops back to their barracks, and waited. la

t"he morning of the 4th the reports of the Prefect of Police and my ..own reconnaissances made me aware that several assemblages were formed in the Quartiers St. Antoine, St. Denis, and St. Martin, and that they were beginning to raise barricades" there. The insurrection had its focus, in the streets comprised between, the Boulevards and the Rues dv Temple, Rambuteau, and Montmartre. At noon I leauied that the barricades were becoming formidable, and that the insurgents were entrenching themselves ; but 1 had decided on not attackiugbefore two o'clock, and, firm in my resolution. I did not hasten the movement, notwithstanding all the entreaties that were made to me to the contrary.- I knew the ardour of my troops, and their impatience for the combat, and I was sure of overpowering the insurrection in two hours, if it would accept the conflict. Success justified my belie?. The attack ordered for two o'clock was to commence with a convergent movement of the divisions of Generals Oarrelet and Levasseur. In consequence the brigade Bourdon took up a position between the Porte St. Denis and the Porte St. Martin. The brigades of Cotte and Canrobert occupied the Boulevard dcs Italiens, whilst General Dulac occupied the Pointe St. Eustache, and the brigade 1 of General Reibell took op its position in the Rue de la Paix. General Levasseur formed his columns to support the movement of the division of General Carrelet. At two o'clock in the afternoon all, the troops moved forward. The Bourgon brigade cleared the Boulevard to the Rue dv Temple, and went down that street as far as the Rue Rambuteau, carrying all the barricades on its passage. The brigade of General Cotte was engaged in the Rue St. Denis, whilst a battalion of the 15th Light Infantry proceeded to the Rue dv Petit Carreau, which was already barricaded. General Canrobert, taking a position at the Porte St. Martin, went through the Rue dv Faubourg of that name and the adjacent streets, obstructed by strong barricades, which the sth battalion of Foot Chasseurs, under the orders of Commandant Levasson Sorval, carried with rare intrepidity. General Dulac sent to attack the barricades of the Rue Rambuteau and the adjacent streets columns formed of three battalions of the 51st of the line, commanded by Colonel de Lourmel, and two other battalions, one of the 19th of the line, the other of the 43rd, supported by a battery of artillery. At the same time the brigade of General jfierbillon, formed of two columns, one of which was directed by General Levasseur in person, penetrated into the focus of the insnrrectioD by the Rues dv Temple, Rambuteau, and St. Martin. General Marulaz operated in the same sense by the Rue St. Denis, and threw into the transversal streets a light column, under the orders of Colonel de la Motterouge, of the 10th light Infantry. General Courtigis, on his side, arriving from Vincenr.es, at the head of his brigade, swept the Faubourg St. Antoine, in which several barricades had been constructed. N These different operations were performed, under the fire of the insurgents, with, a skill and zeal which could not for one instant leave a doubt of success. The barricades, attacked in the first instance by artillery, were carried at the point of the bayonet. All that part of the town between the Faubourgs St. Antoine and St. Martin, the Pointe St. Eustache and the Hdtel-de-JVille, was covered in every sense by our infantry columns ; the barricades were N carried and destroyed, and the insurgents dispersed or killed. The crowds, who -endeavoured to form themselves again on the boulevards, were charged by the cavalry of General Reibell, who sustained a sharp fire at the top of the Rue Montmartre. Attacked on all sides at the same time, disconcerted by ihe irresistible ardour of our troops, and by that ensemble of arrangements, enveloping as in a net-work of iron the whole quarter where they had waited for us, the insurgents no longer dared to undertake anything serious. At five o'clock^ in the evening the troops of the division of General Carrelet came, aud again took up a position on the boulevards. Thus the attack, which had commenced at two o'clock in the afternoon, was terminated at five. The insurrection was vanquished on the ground which it had chosen.- Some partial combats, however, took place in other parts, which I think it my duty to point out to you. On the 4th, about seven o'clock in the evening, some bands of. insurgents, who had been dispersed by different columns, united at the upper end of the Rues St. Honore, dcs Poulies, and other small streets adjacent, and commenced to raise/barricades. Other assemblages took place at the same time in the Rues Montmartre and Montorgueil, the lamps in, which had been extinguished, and where the insurgents, under favour of the darkness, had been able to erect fresh barricades. About eight o'clock, Colonel de Lourmel, of the 51st of the line, who had remained in position near the Point Ste. Eustache, although well understanding all the difficulties of a night attack, decided on making one immediately with the 2nd battalion of his regiment.- The first four barricades were immediately carried at the point of the bayonet with the greatest ardour by the grenadiers and voltigeurs of that battalion. A fifth barricade still remained, higher and better defended than the others. In spite of the darkness, Coi. de Lourmel hesitated not to make arrangements for its attack. Fifteen grenadiers, under the orders of Sergeant Pitrois, first advanced, closely followed by the other grenadiers and voltigeurs.of the battalion, led on by Commandant Jeannin. Nothing t could resist the ardour of these brave soldiers^ The barricade was carried . in spite of a. tremendous resistance. It was defended by about one hundred insurgents. Forty of them were killed on the spot, and the others were made prisoners. About a hundred muskets and other weapons, and abundant ammunition, fell into the hands of our soldiers. Colonel, Courant, of the 19th of the line, who with his regiment occupied the Pallia National, learning^that a considerable number of Insurgents, who bad been driven from the Carre S\. Martin, had rallied on the Place dcs Victoires, and threatened the B>nk of France and. the neighbouring quarters, proceeded thither at double-quick time with his regiment, carried the barricades in the Rues Pagevin and dcs Foss63 Montroartre,- and then returned, and established himself at the Bank, whence be could maintain the tranquillity of the quarters of the Bank and the Bourse. 1 should never finish were I to begin to mention particular rrames, but I cannot, however, refrain from doing justice to the . energetic skill with which Captain de la Roche d'Oisy, commandant of the 4th company of the Ist battalion of the Gendarmerie Mobile, protected through the whole period of 'the iosur-

rection the national printing-office, which was ' constantly surrounded, by threatening groups. Several barricades were constructed in the neighbouring streets, for the, purpose of cutting off communication' with that establishment. Lieut. Fabre, of that company, at the head of 25 men, carried the stronger of these barricades, formed of overturned diligences, barrels, and pieces of wood, #'nd, - the others being successively destroyed, 1 tb.e circulation was kept open by means of frequent patrols. At La Chapelle St. Denis some of tlie 28th regiment of the line carried a number of barricades, and maintained tranquillity in those populous quarters, which the secret societies had so deeply agitated. Whilst these events were taking place on the right bank of the Seine, General Renault, commanding the 2nd division, occupied the left bank, and by the able arrangements which he made, and the firm demeanour of j his troops, was able to guarantee from all agita- j tion the working population of, the eleventh and twelfth arrondissements, in'whicb, at other periods, insurrection could boast of such numerous proselytes. The reserve, division of Cavalry, under the orders of General Korte, summoned in from Versailles, took up p'osHioh^ at first'in the Champs Elysees and afterwards in the Boulevards, and contributed powerfully by numerous patrols to the arrest of a greaV number of insurgents, and to the complete re-establishment of tranquillity. As the reports sent in to me, the night of the 4tb, on the state of Paris, gave me almost a certitude that the insurrection would not venture to again raise its head, I withdrew at midnight' a part of the troops from their positions to give them that repose they so well merited. The next day, Dec. 5, I determined to make a display of all tlie army of Paris to the population, intending by that demonstration to reassure the the good, and intimidate the evil-disposed. I gave orders that the brigades of infantry,' with their artillery, and their companies of engineer's, should proceed through the city in moveable col lumns, to march on the insurgents wherever they should shew themselves, .and to destroy all the obstacles which might impede the circulation. To that effect General Carrelet, at the head of a column of his division, proceeded about nine in the morning to the Barriere Rochecbourt, where a formidable barricade existed. But the insurgents, terrified by the results of the preceding day, did not venture to defend their entrench-, ments, and abandoned them »t the approach of the troops. Another barricade, raised in the Faubourg Poissonniere, was likewise deserted by its defenders before the arrival of ( the column under the orders of General Canrobert,, charged to carry it. From that, moment tranquillity was no more troubled in Paris, and the circulation was' fully re-established on every point. The army returned fo~its quarters, and the next day, the 6th, Parjs, no longer beholding in the streets that unusual- display of troops^ was restored tp its activity, movement, and life of every day. I know not how, Monsieur le Ministre, to render to the troops who fought on those two days all the justice which is, due to them for the firmness, spirit, and discipline which they constantly displayed. Officers and .soldiers, they all comprehended what, the, country and society expected from them at that solemn moment, .and all nobly did their duty. I have, in particular, to praise, the energetic co-operation of-the general officers under my order s._ All followed my instructions with an intelligence and deyotedness which penetrate me with the liveliest gratitude ; everywhere they showed to the troops the way which they so nobly followed. V rifortunately, , operations so complicated, could not be executed without sensible loss.* We had in these two days 25 men kilted, of whom one was _an officer; and 184 wounded, of whom 17 were officers; of this number was Colonel Q,uilico,'. of the 72nd regiment of the line, who had his artr transpierced by a ball at the same time as his LieutenantColonel, M. Loubeau, fell at his "side, mortally wounded. The whole army joined in the regret which the loss of this superior officer, of the greatest distinction, caused in the 72nd, The numerical smallness of out loss, compared to that of the insurgents, is owing to the energy with which all the obstacles were attacked by our men, and the determination with which the'irisurrection was put down. " In two hours of combat tbe army obtained the result which it desired ; it worthily justified the confidence .of the President of -the Republic, and it must* feel satisfied that it 'has nobly aided in saving society in France and in Europe. I shall, before long, have the honor of sending in to you a statement respecting the diffeient grades who appear to me to have the greatest claims to recompense, and to whom I shall pray you to direct the kind interest of the President of the Republic. — Receive, Mon&ieur le Ministre, the assurance of my respect and devotedness. 1 MAGNAN, Commander-iu-Chief. -