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Show II00W0SSA Was the Spanish Heroine of a World-Famous Siege. Her Brilliant Part In a Military Event Which Has Few Parallels In History His-tory Honored by a Grateful Grate-ful Country. Madrid, Spain. Every country In the world has Its heroines ns well as its heroes, and its heroines of war as well as those of peace. While Molly Pitcher, who during the revolutionary war operated her husband's cannon when he was stricken down, Is Justly famous In American annals and celebrated cele-brated in prose and verse, the Maid of Saragossa is even more renowned In her native country, Spain. While Palafox was the hero, she was incomparably incom-parably the hcrolno of the siege of Saragossa, one of the most desperate In modern history and equally daring, offensively and defensively. For her brilliant services Spain made her a lieutenant in the army and bestowed upon her many decorations. Her name was Augustlna and as a girl she was a peddler of cool drinks in the city. From the beginning to the end of the siege she was ever In the heat of conflict con-flict and her courage and daring served to hearten the gallant defenders defend-ers In the darkest hours of those bloody months. She won the name La Artillera from having snatched the match from the hands of a dying gunner gun-ner and discharged the piece at the Invaders. She died in Cueta, Spain, in, 1857, at a very advanced age. The siege of Saragossa, in which the maid distinguished herself, was conducted by the French In 1808-09, during the peninsular war. Saragossa Saragos-sa was one of the cities that blocked the success of Napoleon's marshals in subduing all Spain. On June 15, 1808, the French invested It with a force of 10,000 men. Its defender waa Joseph Palafox, a youth without military mili-tary experience, but who had sense enough to associate with himself men of martial training and courage. But while inexperienced in war, he had the heart of the warrior, and when the French general summoned him to surrender, sur-render, Palafox returned the immortal immor-tal reply: "War to the knife and the knife to the hilt." The Spaniards made a gallant defense de-fense of the citv, worsting the French in many a bloodv encounter and check- I -in Monument to Saragossa Maid. ing their every advance. Finally on August 4, after a fierce cannonading, the French stormed the place and forced their way through the walls. Then followed a week of most desperate des-perate fighting, carried on in the streets and from house to house; and the French troops, brave as they were and admirably led and equipped, were forced to retreat and raise the siege. Palafox and his men at once began making preparations for the second siege which they knew would come. On December 20 a French army of 40,000 picked soldiers under Marshals Moncey and Mortier encamped before the walls and at once began a vigorous prosecution of the siege. Finally the French were successful at all points and the city wall for one-third its length was captured. But though the wall of the town was in possession of the besiegers their troubles were only really beginning. Every house, every street, in the city was a stronghold in itself. The French resorted to mining and literally blasted blast-ed their way into the city. But they were met with dauntless courage at every turn. Pestilence long before had broken out among the defenders, but though they were dying by the hundreds hun-dreds every day from disease and bullets bul-lets they never faltered. On February 18 a grand assault was made by the besiegers. The city was on fire In a dozen places and the dead lay un-buried un-buried in the streets. But the Span-lards Span-lards were unyielding. The hopelessness of the struggle had now, however, become apparent to the Spaniards and the city was surrendered. sur-rendered. The garrison, reduced to 12,000 men, were accorded all the honors hon-ors of war. During the siege GO, 000 persons perished, most of them by disease. dis-ease. Palafox, the brave defender, in violation of the terms of capitulation, was sent as a prisoner to Vincennes in France. Later he returned to Spain, became prominent In its political affairs, af-fairs, was created duke of Saragossa and died in 1S47 ten years before the passing away of the Maid of Saragossa Sara-gossa Not long since a handsome statue was erected to the Maid of Saragossa In the city which her valor helped to defend and this memorial will hand down to future generations the story of her courage and heroism. |