Sedan

Sedan, atown in the Ardennes, France, standing on the right bank of the Meuse, 13 miles E. of Mezieres, and surrounded by hills. It was not definitely acquired by France until 1643, and then became a frontier fortress. Here on September 1, 1870, Napoleon III, with an army of over 80,000 men, was hemmed in by the Germans and forced to surrender. Cloth-making is a flourishing industry and there are several cotton~mills and iron-foundries.