Paris During the Commune 1871 Letters Author:William Gibson General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1872 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: CIVIL WAR IN PARIS. 4, Rue Roque"pine, March 10, 1871. I managed to secure a voiture this morning, and drove to Belleville. All was quiet. I then made my way to Montmartre, to the very top of the hill. Some of the " Reds" of the National Guard have taken possession of this elevated ground, and have cannons and other munitions of war. I could not gain admission. The National Guard at the entrance had orders to let no one pass. He said, however, that he would call the corporal, which he did, but the corporal could not let me pass without an order from a superior officer. Through the doorway, however, I saw piles of shells ready to be launched upon Paris, if the occasion should arise. The ostensible reason of the fortifying of this height was to oppose the entry of the Prussians, but now, notwithstanding the central Republican authority, these " Reds" hold Montmartre. Most people say that rather than make them conspicuous by opposing them the Government mean to let this thing die out by its own intrinsic weakness and folly. My cabman was a true Parisian. " We were sold, we were not beaten !" " On Sunday. week there was great agitation all along this district from Belleville to Montmartre. The Prussians heard of it, and dare not come in, as they intended, on Monday !" At the extremity of one of the streets at Montmartre I saw the remnants of a barricade, the large paving stones all torn up, and all made ready to form in a short time an impassable barrier. In the exterior Boulevards all the way from Belleville to Batignolles were long lines of sheds for the lodging of those Mobiles who were not billeted o...« less