The battles of the world

by J. Douglas Borthwick

LONGBEARDS OR LONGOBARDS.—Hence Lombardy. The Longobards or Longbeards, who had overrun and taken possession of the great plain of the basin of the Po, retained to some extent their separate independence even under the empire of Germany. They had their own laws and customs, and were in the habit of crowning the emperor, or whoever else was acknowledged, as king of Lombardy. Hence, too, Napoleon wore the iron crown of their kings. This famed symbol of kingship was deposited in the Cathedral of Monza; it is a broad circle of gold, set with large rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and was secured in an ornamented cross placed over an altar, closely shut up within folding doors of gilt brass. The crown is kept in an octagonal aperture in the centre of the cross. It is composed of six equal pieces of beaten gold, joined together by close hinges, and the jewels and embossed gold ornaments are set in a ground of blue and gold enamel, interesting as exhibiting an exact resemblance to the workmanship of the enamelled part of a gold ornament now in the Ashmolean Museum, which once belonged to King Alfred. But for those who have an appetite for relics, the most important part of this crown is a narrow iron rim, which is attached to the inside of it all round. The rim is about three-eighths of an inch broad, and a tenth of an inch thick, made out of one of the nails used in the Crucifixion. The crown is said to have been presented to Constantine by his mother; and the sacred iron rim, from which it has its name, was to protect him in battle. And, although this iron has now been exposed more than fifteen hundred years, there is not a speck of rust upon it.

LONG ISLAND, BATTLE OF.—Between the British troops under Sir William Howe and the revolted Americans, who suffered a severe defeat, after a well fought action, losing 2000 men in killed and wounded and 1000 prisoners. The Americans were pursued to New York, but were saved by a thick fog, which enabled them to escape. Fought, August 27th, 1776.

L’ORIENT, BATTLE OF.—Lord Bridport achieved a memorable victory over the French fleet, June 23rd, 1795. The British squadron actually engaged consisted of 10 ships of the line—the enemy’s, of 12 ships of the line, 11 frigates, and some smaller vessels. After an action of three hours the French got into port, leaving three sail of the line in the possession of the British. The loss of the French was severe.

LOSSES IN GREAT BATTLES.—The Military Gazette of Vienna makes the following comparisons of the forces engaged in the battle of Solferino and in former great battles:—“At that battle there were more than 300,000 soldiers in the field, and the losses must have amounted to at least from 30,000 to 37,000. At the battle of Leipsic, which lasted for three days, the 330,000 allies had against them 260,000 French; the latter lost 30,000 prisoners and 45,000 killed and wounded, and the former 48,000 killed and wounded. After Leipsic, the most sanguinary battle was that of Moscow, on the 7th of September, 1812. The Russians had 130,000 men and 600 pieces of cannon, the French 134,000 men and 587 cannon; the former lost 58,000 and the latter 50,000; the losses were, therefore, 40 per cent. At Bautzen, on the 21st of May, 1813, there were 110,000 Russians and Prussians opposed to 150,000 French; the latter lost 20,000 men and the allies 15,000, and not a single cannon. At Wagram, on the 5th and 6th of July, 1809, we had 137,000 men, and Napoleon 170,000; we lost 20,000 men and the enemy 22,000. At Esling we were 70,000 against 85,000; we had 20,000 killed and wounded, the enemy 13,000 killed; but he left in our hands 33,000 prisoners, and was obliged to send 30,000 to Vienna to have their wounds attended to, so that out of the 160,000 men engaged about one-half were put hors de combat. At Austerlitz there were 70,000 French, as many Russians, and 13,000 Austrians; the losses were 21,000 Russians, with 160 pieces of cannon, 5,800 Austrians, and 10,000 French. At Jena there were 142,000 French against 150,000 Prussians. At Waterloo there were 170,000 men, of whom 70,000 were French, who lost 25,000 men and 250 cannon, whilst the Allies lost 31,000 men.”

The following statistics of Mr. Haussener will complete the account of the losses in Great Battles:

“The wars which have been waged from 1815 to 1864, have caused the death of 2,762,000 men, of whom 2,148,000 were Europeans, and 614,000 from other quarters of the globe, which gives an average of 43,800 per annum. The figures do not include the deaths caused by epidemics resulting from war. The most sanguinary hostilities of that period are these:—The Eastern war of 1856, in which 508,600 men fell in the following proportions: 256,000 Russians, 98,900 Turks, 107,000 French, 45,000 English, and 2600 Italians. The Caucusus (1829–60) 330,000 men lost their lives. The revolt in India (1857–59) cost 196,000 lives. The Russo-Turkish war (1820–29) 193,000. The Polish insurrection (1831) 190,000. The whole of the French campaigns in Africa (1830–59) 147,000. The Hungarian insurrection 142,000. The Italian war 129,870, of whom 96,874 died on the field or from their wounds; and 33,000 from various diseases. The total number of lives lost in Europe during the wars from 1793 to 1815 amounted to 5,530,000, which gives for the twenty-three years an average of 240,434 deaths per year.”

LUCKNOW, SIEGE OF.—Memorable in the Great Indian Mutiny. The following account of the gallant defence of a few Europeans at the Gateway, Lucknow, where General Neill fell, September 26th and 27th, 1857, is abridged from the Account of Dr. A. C. Home, contained in “The Mutinies of Oude:”—

“There were present, including Dr. Home, nine sound men, two wounded officers, Captain Beecher and Lieutenant Swanson, and three wounded men: total, fourteen. Private McManus kept outside the doorway, sheltering himself behind a pillar, and killed so many of the assailants that at length he had only to raise his piece to cause all the enemy to leave their loopholes. The bodies of the dead Sepoys round the door were, in fact, a defence. Ryan and McManus actually rushed out and brought in a wounded officer who lay in a dhoolie in the adjoining street, returning in safety, although the ground was torn by musket balls about them. The conduct of Hallowell also was splendid. He always managed to kill an enemy at a most critical moment, and at length shot the leader. Finally the Sepoys pushed a screen on wheels before them, to protect themselves from the Minié rifle, and set the building on fire, when the gallant little band retreated in good order to a shed at a short distance, and defended themselves afresh. Their cowardly assailants took this opportunity to massacre all the wounded in dhoolies near to the house first defended. This small company of heroes kept the foe at bay during the night. At daybreak, however, they heard firing, when Ryan suddenly jumped up and shouted, ‘Oh, boys! Them’s our own chaps!’ In about three minutes Captain Moorsom appeared at the entrance-hole of the shed, and they were brought off in safety.”

The following is an account of Havelock’s relief of Lucknow: