Decisive Battles since Waterloo; the most important military events from 1815 to 1887. ... Illustrated

Front matter

DECISIVE BATTLES SINCE WATERLOO THE MOST IMPORTANT MILITARY EVENTS FROM l8l5 TO 1887 BY THOMAS W. KNOX AUTHOR OF "Marco Polo for Boys and Girls," " Life of Robert Fulton and a History of Steam. Navigation," " The Boy Travellers in the Far East," five vols. ; " The Boy Travellers in South America," lv The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire," "The Young Nimrods," two vols. ; " The Voyage of the Vivian,'* "Overland through Asia," " Backshcesh," "Underground," "John," "Camp-Fire and Cotton Field," " How to Travel," " The Pocket Guide around the World," etc., etc. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK AND LONDON G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS &|je COPYRIGHT BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 1887 Press of G. P. Putnam's Sons New York

Preface

. In 1852 Professor (afterwards Sir Edward) Creasy published a book, which is well described by its title, " The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, from Marathon to Waterloo." Professor Creasy's work has passed through many editions, and has long since become a standard authority among historical students. In the belief that the decisive battles since Waterloo are worthy of record in a similar form, the author has ventured to prepare the volume, of which these lines are the preface. Creasy justly says : " It is probable, indeed, that no two historical inquirers would entirely agree in their lists of the decisive battles of the world," and it is of course still less likely that any unanimity of opinion could be found among historical students of the present day in the selection of the decisive battles since 1815.

There is a wide difference of opinion concerning the battles which assured English supremacy in India ; the battles which decided the result of the civil war in America ; and concerning those which have repeatedly changed the political map of the valley of the Danube and the regions contiguous to it. Several of the twenty-five battles which are described in this volume could hardly be included if the list were subjected to the crucial test of Hallam in his comments upon the victory of Charles Martel, between Tours and Poictiers, over the Saracens. In speaking of that battle Hallam says : " It may justly be reckoned among those few battles of which a contrary event would have essentially varied the drama of the world in all its subsequent scenes." Thus while the victory of the Eng- PREFA CE.

IV d chapter lish at Prome in Burmah, described in the secon Bus_ of this book, was " the beginning of the end ° cornpiete mese kingdom, it by no means follows that t ie^ bQunda_ defeat would have forever kept them outside ries of that semi-barbarous countrj;, many, years, delayed the conquest for several, perst^ comments but would not have prevented it. siiistria might be made concerning the «!*£« twent Russians in 1829, the battle of Guj later, the battle of Sedan in x87o a £ Khiva in 1873; The Amen ar <£ lead to criticism of the battles seic would be difficult to find in any group of the men who participated in that gigantic struggle perfect accord of opinion as to the relative importance of the battles that were fought between 1861 and 1865 for the preservation or destruction of the Union.

The author's reasons for his selections will be found at the end of the chapter wherein each battle is described. In the preparation of this volume the author has examined a vast amount of military and other history, and is indebted for his material to the works of many previous writers. Of some of the battles described he had personal knowledge, and he has been able to inspect certain of the battle-fields referred to in the narrative. Among the works his obligations to which he desires to acknowledge may be mentioned the following : — " A View of South America and Mexico " (Anonymous) ; Soldan's " Historio del Peru Independente " ; " Journals of Lord Cochrane in South America " ; Phayre's " Narrative of the Burmese War " ; Histories of India by Malcolm, Mill, Kaye, Wilson, Elphinstone, and others; Alison's " History of Europe " ; Lady Bourcher's " Despatches of Admiral Codrington " ; Histories of Greece by Grote, Cox, and others ; Count Von Moltke's " Russians in Bul garia and Roumelia " ; Chesney's " Russo-Turkish Cam paigns of 1828-29"; Poitevin's "Prise de la Citadelle

PREFACE.

. V d'Anvers " ; Ripley's " History of the War with Mex ico " ; Bancroft's " History of the Pacific States of North America"; Malleson's "Decisive Battles of India," and " History of the Indian Mutiny " ; Wright's " Northwest ern Provinces of India"; M'Ghee's "How We Got to Pekin"; Oliphant's "Lord Elgin's Mission to China"; Bordstaedt and Dwyer's " Franco-German War " ; Mark ham's " War between Peru and Chili " ; Gaffaret's " His toire d' Algerie " ; King's " Europe in Storm and Calm " ; Delord's " Histoire du Second Empire " ; Sturmer's " Der Tod des Grafen Diebitsch " ; Schuyler's " Turkes tan " ; MacGahan's " Fall of Khiva " ; Marvin's " Rus sians at the Gates of Herat" ; Boulger's "Central Asian Questions"; and Russell's " War in the Crimea." Har pers and the Century Magazines deserve acknowledg ment, and so do the files of the New York Tribune, London Daily News, London Times, Illustrated London Nezus, London Graphic, Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, and other newspapers.

The official records of the Amer ican Civil War have been examined, together with numerous volumes of an unofficial character. In describing the battle of Gettysburg the author has thought best to rely mainly upon "The History of the Civil War in America," by the Comte de Paris. In so doing he has hoped to avoid the charge of partiality, which has been brought against nearly every other of the numerous writers on the subject. The battles here described possess an interest for the student of military tactics and strategy. The book has, however, for its further purpose, the idea of presenting an outline survey of the history of the Nineteenth Cen tury, considered from the point of view of its chief military events. It is the author's hope that the result of his labors may help to make clear the character and rela tive importance of these events, and to indicate their influence in shaping the history of our own times.

T. W. K. New York, April, 18S7. CONTENTS. -CHAPTER. PAGE I. Battle of Ayacucho — 1824 . . . 1 II. Battle of Prome — 1825 .... 17 III. Battle of Navarino — 1827 ... 29 IV. Siege of Silistria — 1829 .... 47 V. Battle of Staoueli and Fall of Algiers — 1S30 ........ 64 VI. Capture of Antwerp and Liberation of Belgium — 1832 77 VII. Capture of the City of Mexico — 1847 . 91 VIII. Battle of Gujerat — 1849 . . . 117 IX. Capture of the Malakoff and the Redan, and Fall of Sebastopol — 1855 . . 133 X. Lucknow and Cawnpore — 1857-8 . . 154 XI. Capture of the Peiho Forts and Pekin — 1858-60 177 XII. Battle of Solferino — 1859 . 197 XIII. Battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac — 1862 ..... 210 XIV. Battle of Gettysburg — 1863 . . 230 XV. Siege and Fall of Vicksburg — 1863 . 260 XVI. Battle of Five Forks and Lee's Surrender — 1865 289 XVII.

Battle of Koeniggratz (Sadowa) — 1866 . 308 XVIII. Battle of Gravelotte — 1870 . . . 325 VI] CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE XIX. Battle and Fall of Sedan — 1870 . . 344 XX. Fall of Khiva— 1873 . • ■ 365 XXI. Fall of Plevna — 1877 . ... 382 XXII. Capture of Geok Tepe — 1881 . . . 4J3 XXIII. Battle of Miraflores — 1881 . . . 431 XXIV. El Obeid — Annihilation of Hicks Pasha's Army — 1883 45° XXV. Fall of Khartoum — 1885 .... MAPS AND PLANS. PAGE Outline Map of Spanish America . . Frontispiece Battle of Ayacucho . . . . . .n Outline Map of British Burmah .... 17 Turkey in Europe 29 Navarino, Battle Plan 41 Silistria, Siege Plan . . . ... . .51 Outline Map of Algeria 65 Plan of the Fortifications of the City of Algiers, 67 Plan of Fortifications of Antwerp and Vicinity . 79 Plan of the Gates (Vera Cruz) .... 93 Siege of Vera Cruz 95 Valley of Mexico .... . . 97 Battle of Churubusco 103 Battle of Molino del Rey 105 Storming of Chapultepec 11 1 Outline Map of the Punjaub . . . . .119 Battle of Gujerat . - 127 Plan of Sebastopol , ...... 133 Attack on the Malakoff 135 Lines of Attack on the Malakoff and the Redan, 141 Sketch Plan of the Redan 147 Position at Cawnpore . 157 Siege of Lucknow 171 River Pei-Ho .... ... 179 Forts on River Pei-Ho 183 Engaging the Takoo Forts 189 X MAPS AND PLANS.

PAGE Sketch Map of Northern Italy .... x99 Battle of Solferino 2°S Plans of the Monitor and the Merrimac . .213 Scene of the Battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac . . • • ■ ■ .221 Monitor and Merrimac in Action .... 223 Gettysburg, Campaign Map 237 Positions at Gettysburg, Second of July . . . 245 Positions at Gettysburg, Third of July . . 255 Vicksburg, Campaign Map No. 1 . . . ■ 365 Vicksburg, Campaign Map No. 2 273 Vicksburg, Siege Lines 283 Siege of Petersburg ..... . 293 Battle of Five Forks 303 Routes of March on Koeniggratz . . . 311 Battle of Koeniggratz ...... 321 Sketch Map of Region (Gravelotte) . . . 325 Battle of Gravelotte, Positions, Morning . . 335 Battle of Gravelotte, Positions, Evening . . 339 Region about Sedan 347 Battle of Sedan, Positions Morning . . . 353 Battle of Sedan, Positions Afternoon . . . 361 Map of Territory around Khiva .... 365 First Battle of Plevna 39 x Defence and Blockade of Plevna .... 403 Last Sortie from Plevna .... .

Outline Map of Changes in Europe . , 400 Outline Map of Changes in Asia .... 413 Expedition on Geok-Tepe ...... 4*tg Battle of Miraflores. . . . . . 4,., Campaign of El Obeid. Sketch of Territory . 4,-j Country from Korti to Khartoum ....

Chapter I. Battle Of Ayacucho

— 1824. The Napoleonic wars that terminated with the battle of Waterloo reduced the nations of Europe to a state of exhaustion, and for a considerable period thereafter there was little occupation for the soldier. England, France, Spain, Germany, and Russia were engaged in repairing the ravages of war, and by common consent there was a truce to arms and a halt in the work of organized destruction. But the wings of Peace, outstretched over Europe, were folded on the other side of the Atlantic, throughout all the vast region known as Spanish America. Mexico, Peru, Chili, and the other trans-Atlantic provinces of Spain sought to sever their connection with the Old World ; one by one they achieved their independence through a series of wars that deluged the land with blood and threatened to leave it an uninhabited waste.

The final battle of the South American wars of independence was fought at Ayacucho, Peru, December 9, 1824. Let us first glance at the events which led up to that sanguinary conflict, and then consider the occurrences of the day which saw the Spanish power in Amer ica broken forever. It is a curious circumstance that the South American revolutions had their beginning in the intense loyalty of the people of the Spanish-American colonies, and partic ularly of the United States of Colombia, for their king. In 1808 the armies of Napoleon were overrunning Spain ; Ferdinand VII. was compelled to abdicate the throne, and Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, was pro claimed King of Spain and the Indies. Agents were im mediately sent, in the name of the new king, to announce to the American colonies the abdication of Ferdinand and the elevation of Joseph to the throne.

Joseph shrewdly promised to the Viceroys and captains-general throughout the colonies, that they should retain their places, provided they acquiesced in the new order of things and induced the people to accept it. But though the officials were resigned to the situation, the people were not ; they pub licly burned the proclamations of King Joseph, expelled his agents, and insulted all Frenchmen then living in the colonies, so that most of them fled for safety-. In July, 1808, a French brig arrived at La Guayra, the port of Caraccas, with intelligence of recent events in France and Spain, including the abdication of Ferdinand and the accession of Joseph Bonaparte. The captain of the brig proceeded to Caraccas with despatches to the captain-general, and soon after his arrival the news from the Old World became known among the people.

An En glish officer who was there at the time writes as follows: The city was immediately in arms, 10,000 of its inhabitants surrounded the residence of the captain-general and demanded the proclamation of Ferdinand the Seventh as their king, which he promised the next day. But this would not satisfy them ; they proclaimed him that evening by heralds, in form, through out the city, and placed his portrait, illuminated, in the gallery of the town-house. The French were first publicly insulted in the coffee-house from which they were obliged to withdraw, and the French BA TTLE OF A YACUCHO. 3 captain left Caraccas, privately, about eight o'clock that night, escorted by a detachment of soldiers, and so saved his life, for, about ten o'clock, his person was demanded of the govern or by the populace, and when they learned that he was gone, three hundred men followed him to put him to death.

About the same time a French brig arrived at Buenos Ayres with an envoy from Napoleon carrying despatches to Liniers, the viceroy, who issued a proclamation announcing the events which had occurred in Spain, and advising the people to submit to the authority of Joseph Bonaparte. The proclamation was coldly received by the people; the governor of Monte Video accused Liniers of disloyalty, disregarded his proclamation, established a junta ' or governing body for his province, and withdrew it altogether from the authority of Liniers. In spite of the efforts of the Viceroys and other officials to convince the colonies that every thing was quiet in Spain, it became known among the people that the peninsula was in a state of insurrection against the authority of Joseph Bonaparte, that in some provinces he was openly defied, and provincial juntas had assumed the management of affairs.

The one at Seville proclaimed itself the supreme junta of Spain and the Indies, and sent deputies to the colonies requiring an acknowledgment of its authority. In order to secure this acknowledgment it announced that it was recognized and obeyed throughout Spain, which was far from being the case. At the same time the junta of the Asturias opposed that of Seville ; the regency of Ferdinand claimed to have su preme authority ; and to complicate matters still further Joseph Bonaparte had been proclaimed king. There were 1 Junta in Spanish means an association, and is usually applied to a body of persons combined for any civil or political object. It formerly referred more particularly to assemblies of representatives of the people meeting without authority of the sovereign, but has latterly been extended to those of the most strictly legal character.

SLNCE WATERLOO. 4 therefore four kinds of authorities to which the colonies were required to give allegiance; they were ready to recognize any proper authority of Spanish origin, and w hile they differed as to their proper course between the various juntas, they were all agreed in their hatred for the French. The efforts of the viceroys and their subordinates to secure colonial allegiance to Joseph Bonaparte led to col lisions between the populace and the authorities in several cities, and finally to open warfare. Owing to the dis orders in Spain there was no central power which the colonies could respect, and this circumstance led to the formation of juntas of their own. The first was in Quito in 1809, but it was suppressed by the viceroy ; the second was at Santa Fe de Bogota in the same year, and many of its members were imprisoned and afterwards massacred in cold blood.

Similar scenes were enacted in other parts of the colonies, and tended greatly to weaken the authority of the mother country. Naturally the colonists asked the question, " What will become of us if Spain falls completely under the domination of France ? " The discussion of the question naturally led to independence, and it is easy to see how a struggle which began in extreme loyalty to Ferdinand VII. and the government he represented, could develop into a battle for complete independence. From 1808 to 1812 the French armies gained ground in Spain. There was little hope of a restoration of the Spanish power and the expulsion of the Bonapartes, and long be fore the disasters of Napoleon in Russia, and the con sequent retreat of the French from Spain, the colonies were on the high road to absolute freedom from the yoke of their mother country.

The government of Joseph Bonaparte adopted repres sive measures towards the colonies ; troops were sent to awe the people into submission, the province of Caraccas was declared in blockade, and the colonial rulers were ordered to enforce obedience at whatever cost. After the BA TTLE OF A YA CUCHO. 5 retirement of the French from Spain, the regency, which succeeded to Joseph Bonaparte, and after it the restored king, Ferdinand VII., continued the same measures, totally ignoring the loyalty which the colonies had originally displayed at the beginning of the French occupation. Nothing remained for the colonies but a war for independence, a war which terminated, as already mentioned, with the battle of Ayacucho, sixteen years after the first outbreak at Caraccas. The story of the South American war of independence would fill many volumes.

Juntas were established in Caraccas, Buenos Ayres, Santiago, and other South Ameri can cities widely separated from each other, during 1810, and the repressive measures adopted by the colonial authorities only added to the vigor of the movement. In Buenos Ayres the viceroy was deposed, and the powers of government were assumed by a junta acting in the name of the deposed and captive king, Ferdinand VII. From Buenos Ayres the disturbance extended to Chili, where another junta deposed the viceroy and assumed the reins of government ; about the same time there was an insurrection in Upper Peru (now called Bolivia) and later another in Peru. From a state of tranquillity, in 1808, the whole of South America was in a condition of open or partial revolt in less than four years, with the single exception of Brazil.

Brazil was a colony of Portugal, not of Spain. In 1807, when Napoleon declared war against Portugal, its king, John VI., fled to Brazil, accompanied by many courtiers and followed by numerous emigrants. After the fall of Napoleon in 181 5, Brazil was raised to the rank of a kingdom ; John assumed the title of King of Portugal, Al garve, and Brazil, and on the 26th of February, 1821, he proclaimed the constitution. A revolutionary movement took place in the following April ; Brazil was proclaimed an independent empire ; it adopted a constitution in 1824, and its independence was acknowledged in 1825 transition from a colony of a European government o an independent state was far less turbulent than that of its neighbors. .The revolution continued with varying success for more than a decade, but with the advantages decidedly in favor of the revolutionists.

The progress towards independence was retarded by dissensions among the revolutionists, which frequently threatened to restore the royalist power; ambitions and jealousies too often obscured patriotism, and in many instances they led to open or secret assas sination. This was the case in Buenos Ayres, Chili, and Peru to a very marked degree, and only to a minor extent in other parts of the revolted country. On several occa sions assistance to beleaguered garrisons or to armies in the field was deliberately refused or withheld, for no other reason than personal ill-feeling between general and other officers who were engaged in a common cause of patriotism. West of the Andes the progress of the revolution was less encouraging than in the countries to the eastward. The royalists were practically in full control of Peru and Chili in the early years of the insurrection, and in the lat ter country they had banished many of the leading patri ots to the island of Juan Fernandez, and were exercising extreme tyranny over all the people.

Early in 18 17 Gen eral San Martin, Governor of Mendoza, and an active pa triot of Buenos Ayres, conceived the design of crossing the Andes with an army of liberation to assist the Chilian patriots. Nearly a year was spent in organizing the army and collecting the necessary materials and transportation. The passage of the Andes by San Martin was a more dif ficult matter than that of Napoleon over the Alps ; it was accomplished in thirteen days, with a loss of a few men and of five thousand horses and mules, and was followed by the battle of Chacabuco, in which the royalists were BATTLE OF AYACUCHO. 7 completely defeated. A junta was immediately formed at Santiago, and the dictatorship was offered to San Mar tin, who declined it. The royalist army of Chili fled to Talcahuano, and after receiving reinforcements from the viceroy at Lima, resumed the offensive.

It encountered the patriot army on •the plains of Maypu, April 5, 18 18, and the encounter resulted in one of the most sanguinary battles on record, when the number of men engaged is considered. Out of eight thousand men comprising the Spanish army, two thousand were killed or wounded, and three thousand cap tured. The general escaped with a portion of his cavalry, but all the baggage, artillery, military chests, and supplies fell into the hands of the patriots. The loss of the latter was one thousand killed and wounded, out of an aggre gate of about seven thousand. The victory gave independence to Chili, and turned attention towards Peru. Steps were immediately taken to aid the Peruvians to gain their independence, and for this purpose an army and a naval force was organized. Lord Cochrane, an English naval officer, arrived in Chili in November, 1818, and was immediately appointed to the command of the Chilian squadron.

Great exertions were made, and in the course of a year many captures were effected, though not without some losses by the Chilian squadron. On the 20th of August, 1820, a combined land and naval expedition left Valparaiso for Pisco, about one hundred miles south of Peru, where the land forces were disembarked. The squadron proceeded to Callao, where a Spanish frigate of forty guns withtwo sloops-of-war and fourteen gun-boats were lying under the protection of the batteries. On the night of November 5th, Lord Cochrane succeeded in capturing the frigate, and this exploit was practically the termination of the Spanish naval power in the Pacific, so far as offensive measures were concerned. An armistice of the land forces was made by request of the viceroy, but nothing came of it. The independent army moved leisurely to the north of Lima, remaining for weeks and sometimes months in camp engaged in recruiting and in the dissemination of liberal ideas, and also in cutting off the supplies of the royalists in Lima.

Later there was an other abortive armistice, and early in July, 1 82 1 , San Martin threatened to move against Lima. Thereupon the viceroy abandoned it, and on the 12th of the month San Martin entered and was joyously received. The independence of Peru was solemnly proclaimed on the 28th of July, and on the 3d of August San Martin assumed the title of Protector of Peru and issued a proclamation. The liberating army remained inactive till the following May, but the work of recruiting and making ready for the field was actively continued. In July, 1822, San Martin went to Guayaquil for an interview with Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Colombia, and returned in August with a contingent of Colombian troops. On the 20th of September, 1822, the constitutional con gress of Peru was assembled and San Martin surrendered his dictatorship which he had held for little more than a year.

The congress unanimously named him general and commander-in-chief of the armies of Peru ; he accepted the title, but declined the appointment on the ground that such a position would be inconsistent with the authority of congress. Shortly afterward he returned to Chili, and the affairs of Peru were placed in the hands of a junta of three prominent citizens. In November, 1822, an expedition left Lima for the southern coast but it was defeated and dispersed by the royalists in the following January. There upon the royalist army reoccupied Lima and the patriot cause was in great danger. About this time the United States of Colombia achieved independence, after a long and devastating war which was brought to a triumphal end by the genius and patriotism of Simon Bolivar. Foreseeing that if the royalists obtained BA TTLE OF A YA CUCHO. 9 control in Peru the independence of Colombia would be endangered, and being invited by the Peruvians, Bolivar proceeded to Lima at the head of a considerable force ; he was joyfully welcomed and appointed dictator of Peru, until such time as the Spaniards should be conquered or driven out.

The royalist army retired to the interior at the approach of Bolivar and his army. The royalists were in such numbers that Bolivar did not dare to risk a battle until the arrival of reinforcements from Colombia, and when threatened with an attack he re tired to Truxillo. In February, 1824, the royalists again occupied Lima and Callao ; by the following June Boli var's forces were sufficiently strong to enable him to resume the offensive, which resulted in a battle on the plains of Junin, on the 6th of August, where the royalists were defeated with heavy loss, especially in cavalry, on which great reliance was placed. From this time until the 9th of December no important action was fought but there was much skilful manœuvring on both sides. The liberating army, consisting of the united forces of Peru and Colombia, was under the command of General Anton Jose de Sucre, who had previously distinguished himself on the battle field and especially at Pichincha in 1822, where he de feated the Spaniards in a fiercely fought conflict.

Early in December General Sucre took a position at Ayacucho in sight of the royalist army, which was posted on a height. General Bolivar was not present ; he had given full power to Sucre to do as he thought best, either to give battle to the royalists or refuse it. In a letter written a short time before the battle of Ayacucho Boli var cautioned Sucre in the following words : " Remember, that on your army corps depends the fate of Peru, perhaps forever; and with it, that of the whole of America, perhaps for years. Considering the terrible consequences which a battle lost may entail upon us, every means of foresight and strategy is to be exerted so as not to make a move without gaining a decided and absolute success." Acting on this advice Sucre had advanced with great caution. Several times the enemy offered battle, which Sucre declined, as he was waiting the arrival of reinforce ments which were hurrying forward.

There were several skirmishes in which 1:0 decided advantage was gained by either side, but the movements of the patriots frustrated some of the plans of the viceroy and compelled him to make many changes of position. On the 4th of December, Lieutenant Colonel Medina, adjutant of the liberator, Bolivar, came into Sucre's camp with a final order that a decisive battle was to be ven tured. It was offered on that very day in the plain of Tam bo, but the Spaniards declined. On December 8th both armies stood face to face. Every thing told that they were on the eve of a great battle, which neither could avoid by means of a retreat without the risk of destruction. Sucre's position was at a con siderable distance from the friendly villages, and he was opposed by an army accustomed to quick marches ; the roads were rough, and his supplies were giving out.

Scarcely could he muster 5,780 men, and he had only one small piece of artillery. On the other hand the Spaniards were obliged to force the fight. A retreat would have been tantamount to a rout, and their rations were alarmingly short. But they were superior in numbers, as they counted 9,310 men of all arms, with fourteen pieces of artillery. The Spanish army was on the hills round about Con dorcanqui; its right and left wings were protected by a deep ravine, its rear-guard stood against the steep moun tain range, and its front was towards a plain half a mile in width and a mile in length. General Miller of the liberating army thus describes the battle-field : 11 SLNCE WATERLOO. Quinua, an Indian village, is located on the farther side, to the west of Ayacucho, almost square in shape and about a mile in circuit, bordered right and left by deep and rugged ravines.