"'During the attack on these heights, 20th September, 1854, Her Britannic Majesty's 23rd Royal Welsh Fusileers lost their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H. Chester, Captains A. W. Wynn, F. Evans, J. Conolly, Lieutenants P. Radcliffe, Sir W. Young, Bart., J. Anstruther, and J. Butler, all killed on the field: also Lieutenant Applewaite, mortally wounded, who died 22nd September, 1854. This stone is erected to their memory.'"On the other side,'The regiment also lost Sergeant J. H. Jones, Colour-Sergeants R. Hitchcock, J. F. Edwards, one drummer, and forty privates, killed on the field.'
"'During the attack on these heights, 20th September, 1854, Her Britannic Majesty's 23rd Royal Welsh Fusileers lost their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H. Chester, Captains A. W. Wynn, F. Evans, J. Conolly, Lieutenants P. Radcliffe, Sir W. Young, Bart., J. Anstruther, and J. Butler, all killed on the field: also Lieutenant Applewaite, mortally wounded, who died 22nd September, 1854. This stone is erected to their memory.'
"On the other side,'The regiment also lost Sergeant J. H. Jones, Colour-Sergeants R. Hitchcock, J. F. Edwards, one drummer, and forty privates, killed on the field.'
"In the ditch of the field-work there are about twenty large graves covered with long grass and wild flowers. The trench is about 150 yards long, and it is filled with earth which has tumbled down into it from the parapet; the traces of the embrasures still remain. There are two stone crosses erected inside the trench on heaps of dead. This was all that remained to betoken the scene of the action on our side, except a few pieces of threadbare rags and bits of accoutrements, leathern straps, old shakos, and fragments of cowhide knapsacks. Some miserable Tartars prowled about the ruins of Bourliouk to act as unintelligible guides, and to pick up thefragments left after the river-side meal of the visitors. Starting at six o'clockA.M.from Sebastopol, one can go to the Alma, spend, three hours there, and return to the city or to Balaklava by dinner-time on a good horse. It is under fifty miles. The last time I was there I threw a fly over the waters, having heard that there were trout in the stream, but only a few 'logger-headed chub' and a kind of dace, responded to the effort. And so I take leave of this little river, which shall henceforth be celebrated in history to the end of time."
Departure of General della Marmora and the Sardinian Staff—General After Order—Inspection of the Siege-Works, offensive and defensive—Memorials to the Dead—Major Hammersley's Tour—Information obtained—What might have been effected by an Advance after the 8th of September—Aspect of the Country.
Departure of General della Marmora and the Sardinian Staff—General After Order—Inspection of the Siege-Works, offensive and defensive—Memorials to the Dead—Major Hammersley's Tour—Information obtained—What might have been effected by an Advance after the 8th of September—Aspect of the Country.
THEdeparture of General della Marmora and the Sardinian Staff, which occurred on Monday, 19th May, was the signal for strong demonstrations of the regard and esteem in which they were held by our army. The ships in harbour hoisted the Sardinian flag, theLeandermanned yards, and the General set his foot on the deck of the vessel which was to bear him home amid enthusiastic cheers. The good feeling which existed between the Sardinians and the allies was never marred for one moment by untoward jealousies or rivalry; more especially were they ever on terms of friendship with the English, although their knowledge of French gave them greater facilities for communicating with our allies. The position at Fedukhine brought them into constant contact with French and Highland Brigades, and they left behind many kindly remembrances. In all my rambles I rarely, if ever, saw a drunken Sardinian; their behaviour in camp, in the canteens, at Kadikoi, and on the roads was exemplary.
The English Commander-in-Chief issued the following General After-Order:—
"Head-Quarters, Sebastopol,May 17th, 1856."No. 1. The greater part of the Sardinian army has quitted the Crimea, and General della Marmora himself will soon embark."A guard of honour, with artillery, will be held in readiness for the departure of the Sardinian Commander-in-Chief."The Commander of the Forces trusts that General della Marmora will himself receive, and convey to those whom he has commanded in the Crimea, the good wishes of the English army for their future prosperity.THE EVACUATION."With steadiness, with discipline, with resource, the Sardinian army has longmaintained and efficiently guarded the advanced position entrusted to it; and it bore its honourable share with the troops of France in the battle of the Tchernaya."In our intercourse there has neither been difficulty nor difference, and this good feeling between all the armies of the Alliance has had a very important influence in determining the peace of Europe."By order.C. A. Windham, Chief of the Staff."
"Head-Quarters, Sebastopol,May 17th, 1856.
"No. 1. The greater part of the Sardinian army has quitted the Crimea, and General della Marmora himself will soon embark.
"A guard of honour, with artillery, will be held in readiness for the departure of the Sardinian Commander-in-Chief.
"The Commander of the Forces trusts that General della Marmora will himself receive, and convey to those whom he has commanded in the Crimea, the good wishes of the English army for their future prosperity.
THE EVACUATION.
"With steadiness, with discipline, with resource, the Sardinian army has longmaintained and efficiently guarded the advanced position entrusted to it; and it bore its honourable share with the troops of France in the battle of the Tchernaya.
"In our intercourse there has neither been difficulty nor difference, and this good feeling between all the armies of the Alliance has had a very important influence in determining the peace of Europe.
"By order.C. A. Windham, Chief of the Staff."
As we were about to part, our anxiety to learn more of our late foes increased. The Russians surveyed our camps, we visited their hospitals, studied their commissariat, inquired into their military system, and inspected their positions; our engineers minutely examined the works of our allies, with which they were necessarily but slightly acquainted during the progress of the attack.
The approaches to the place afforded no opportunity to our English engineers of developing the use of mines. We were never sufficiently near to the Redan, and our works were not assailable by the same agency for the same reason. The French system of mines in front of the Bastion du Mât presented a most astonishing display of labour and skill. To the Russians, however, belonged the credit of performing the most extensive operations. The enemy's mines consisted of two series of galleries and magazines, the first being twenty-seven feet below the surface, the second being forty feet below the first. The workmen were supplied with air by means of force-pumps. In one magazine at the end of one of the galleries there was found 8,500 lbs. of powder, all tamped in and ready for firing by electric wires. This magazine would have formed anétonnoirfar in the rear of the French advance; and the explosion was intended to destroy not only the French parallels, but the works of the Bastion du Mât itself, so as to prevent the French turning the guns. The destruction of the docks was effected by a smaller quantity of gunpowder. The Russians intended to fire some of these mines in case of an assault on the Bastion being repulsed under circumstances which gave them a chance of occupying the enemy's advanced saps; others would only have been fired in case of a retreat from the city, in order to destroy as many of the enemy as possible and to check pursuit. There were two or three mines inside the Redan, and there were some extensive galleries and mines in front of the Malakoff, but it was at the Bastion du Mât, or Flagstaff Battery, that the French and Russians put forth their strength in mine and countermine. The galleries were pushed for fifty yards oftentimes through the solid rock. These labours were of the most stupendous character, and must have proved very exhausting to the garrison. Many of the shafts sprang out of the counterscarp, there were numerous chambers cut into the ditch of the bastion, which were used as bombproofs. It was also discovered that the Russians had cut a subterranean gallery from inside the parapet, under the ditch, to an advanced work which they used as aplace d'armesin making sorties, and the French, who had been puzzled to understand how the men used to collect in this work without being seen, now perceived themodus operandi.
The effect produced by the French mines could only be conceived by those who looked down the yawning craters of theétonnoirs, the wild chaos of rocks cast up all around by the explosion, as though Titans and Gods had met there in deadly combat. Some of these gulfs resembled the pits of volcanoes.
The British army, relieved from the pressure of military duties, and warned of their approaching departure, laboured, regiment by regiment, for many long weeks, to erect memorials to the comrades whose remains would be left behind. The works of this nature, which the hasty embarkation did not permit the army to complete, were undertaken by the few skilled soldier-labourers belonging to us. The Chersonese from Balaklava to the verge of the roadstead of Sebastopol was covered with isolated graves, with large burial-grounds, and detached cemeteries. Ravine and plain—hill and hollow—the roadside and secluded valley—for miles around, from the sea to the Tchernaya, presented those stark-white stones, singly or in groups, stuck upright in the arid soil, or just peering over the rank vegetation which sprang beneath.[36]
The French formed one large cemetery. The Sardinians erected a pedestal and obelisk of stone on the heights of Balaklava, close to their hospital, to the memory of General della Marmora and of their departed comrades; we erected similar monuments on the heights of Inkerman and on the plain of Balaklava to commemorate the 5th of November and the 25th of October.
A tour made by Major Hammersley, Captain Brooke, and Mr. St. Clair in the north of the Crimea demonstrated the enormous difficulties experienced by the Russians in maintaining their position. It satisfied every one, that if the Allies had advanced after the 8th of September, and followed the enemy, the Russian army of the South must have surrendered, and Cherson, Berislaff, Nicholaieff, and Odessa would have been seriously menaced. All the north side, its guns, its garrison, all thematériel, all the provisions and magazines of Bakshiserai and Simpheropol, must have fallen into our hands, and about 60,000 or 70,000 men. "But why so?" some one will ask. "Could they not have got away?" Most certainly not. There are but two outlets from the Crimea; the first is by the isthmus at Perekop, the second is by the bridge over the Putrid Sea at Tchongar. The approaches to these outlets lie over waterless, foodless plateaux, broken up by deep salt lakes. The wells, which yield a scanty supply of disagreeable water, are profound pits, of which the shallowest is 100 feet, and many are as deep as 150 to 250 feet. They are scattered over the country very sparsely, and they contain but little water. Under such circumstances, the Russians were obliged to send in their reinforcements by driblets, to carry water whenever they wanted to push on a single regiment. It would have been impossible for them to have marched a body of 5,000 or 6,000 men by either of those routes in dry weather. Imagine how helpless would have beenthe position of an army of 70,000 or 80,000 men of all arms, hemmed in by this salt prairie, and by the waters of the Sivash, under a burning sun, and pressed by a victorious enemy. They could not have marched, nor, if they had once got away, could we have pursued; but no General in his senses would have risked the entire destruction of his army by retreating under circumstances like those from the south of the Crimea; and the Russians confessed their position was hopeless had they been attacked and beaten at any point along the line.
DEFENCES OF PEREKOP.
When our travellers arrived at Perekop, they observed that the defences consisted of redoubts directed against an advance from Russia Proper, and not from the south of the Crimea; they made a similar discovery at Tchongar, where thetête-de-pontwas strongly fortified towards the north, and was open towards the south. These works were mostly thrown up at the time of the Kinburn expedition, which the Russians very naturally believed to be the precursor of an immediate operation against the Crimea, to which they looked with very great apprehension.
General Von Wrangel received them with much hospitality and kindness at Perekop. The old Tartar citadel and the remains of a wall and parapet were visible; but the defences of the place were very weak; water was very scarce, and very bad; but the climate is healthy, except when the wind blows across the Sivash. No less than 25,000 men died of sickness at and near Perekop. There were large hospitals and ambulances, but they were far too small for the demands upon them, and many convoys had to be sent on to Cherson, Berislaff and Nicholaieff. At Tchongar the tourists were refused permission to pass the bridge, and that refusal was confirmed by the General commanding at Genitchi, to whom they applied to rescind the decision of his subordinate. They examined the bridge, however, and found it was well and substantially built of wood. The waters of the Sivash are as clear as crystal, and are so intensely bitter that no fish frequent them except small flounders. The bottom consists of a stratum of fine shells, of two or three inches in thickness, just sufficient to bear a man treading lightly upon it, but if one presses with all his weight this crust breaks, and up rushes black mud and stinking gas, probably sulphuretted hydrogen.
The banks are high and steep, and all the way from Genitchi to the bridge of Tchongar, in the centre of the stream, there is a channel, about nine feet deep. This sea presents the curious phenomenon of a steady current running from Genitchi west to Perekop, where there is no outlet whatever, so that there must be an under current out again, or, as the natives believe, a prodigious evaporation on the shoals at the extremity of the sea. The salt lakes are very conspicuous features in the desolate scenery of Northern Crimea. They are surrounded by very high precipitous banks; and the waters seem black from their great depth. One of these, Lake Veliki, is connected with Perekop by the line of redoubts, seven in number, recently constructed. Wherever these abound, fresh water is rare, and the wells are deep. Each villagehas about two wells, and the supply is so small that it would take a day at any one station to water a regiment of cavalry. In the south there is abundance of fresh water, of blooming valleys, of fruit, corn, vines, and forest trees; but for the cultivation and growth of these Russia is mainly indebted to the industrious German colonists. Kronthal, Neusatz, Friedenthal, Rosenthal, Zurichthal, Heilbronn, and other villages founded by these industrious people, are patterns of neatness and frugal comfort. Most of the emigrants came from Wurtemburg, and they spoke fondly of "fatherland." The Russians gave them small ground for complaint. They are exempt from all military service for 100 years, and their only tribute to the State is a capitation-tax of twenty silver roubles, which they are in general well able to pay. Another interesting point visited was the Fortress of Arabat, which was bombarded for several hours by the Allied squadron. The fact is, however, that not only was little or no harm done to the fortress, but that the Russians claim it as a victory, and have promoted the officer who commanded for "beating off the Allied fleet." Such will always be the result of an attack by sea on any land-defences so long as the enemy retain one gun to fire when the attack has ceased.
The Spit of Arabat was very little used at any time, and a curious instance of the ignorance of chart-makers was discovered on referring to the sites of wells marked on the maps. There were no wells, for the simple reason that they were not required. The water of the Sea of Azoff close to the Spit is quite fresh, and can be drunk with safety by man or beast.
Vast as the population of Russia is in the aggregate, the extent of her territory is such that, in the state of her internal communication, it was difficult for her to concentrate troops, notwithstanding the conscription and compulsory levies. Towards the end of the war, Sebastopol swallowed up her armies by whole divisions, a battalion a day was engulfed in the yawning craters of our shells. The march of a regiment through a country such as has been described was as fatal as a battle, and it was customary to estimate the reduction in strength caused by moving from Odessa to Sebastopol at 35 per cent. During the worst days of its trials the Russian army in the Crimea lost 500 men a day! This did not include casualties caused in the siege. The attention of their medical men was directed to the enormous losses of their army, and to its extreme unhealthiness in campaigns; and a Board, consisting of a few of their most eminent men, made minute inquiries into the medical administration of the Allied armies. They were greatly impressed with what they saw at Balaklava, and one of them exclaimed, "We heard you were prepared for a three years' war; we find you are ready for twenty."
THE EVACUATION.
The uttermost efforts were made by the Allies to remove the stores andmatérielaccumulated on the plateau, and to embark the troops for their different destinations, but so vast was the mass of warlike necessaries, and so large the force congregated in the Crimea, that it was not till July they had so far succeeded as to beable to name a day for the formal cession of the last position held by them on Russian soil. On the 12th of July the 50th Regiment furnished a rear-guard which was posted outside Balaklava to await the Russian officer who was to take over charge of the town. He came across the plain with 50 Cossacks, and the two parties saluted and then returned to the town, where the Russians posted their sentries, and the English troops embarked on board H.M.S.Algiers. The General in command of the British forces, Sir W. Codrington, and his staff left the Crimea at the same time.
During the expedition the English lost—killed in action and died of wounds, 3,500; died of cholera, 4,244; of other diseases nearly 16,000;—total (including 270 officers), 24,000; 2,873 officers and men were disabled. The French loss was estimated at 63,500 men, killed in action or died in camps. The loss of the Russians was estimated as high as 500,000. The war added to the National Debt £41,041,000.
FINIS.
In times to come this Cathcart's Hill will be a chosen terminus of Saxon pilgrimage. Whether the traveller beholds from its humble parapet the fair aspect of the Imperial city, guarded by threefold mightier batteries than before, or sits upon the Cemetery wall to gaze upon the ruins of Sebastopol, he must, if he has any British blood in his veins, regard with emotion that little spot which encloses all that was mortal of some of the noblest soldiers that ever sprang from our warrior race. He will see the site of those tedious trenches where the strong man waxed weak day after day, and the sanguine became hopeless, and where the British soldier fought through a terrible winter with privation, cold, frost, snow, and rain, more terrible and deadly than the fire of the enemy. With the Redan, the Malakoff, the Quarries, the Mamelon, Gordon's Attack, Chapman's Attack, under his eyes, he will revive with the aspect of the places where they stood the memories of this great struggle, and in his mind the incidents of its history will be renewed.
CATHCART'S HILL.
The Cemetery is a parallelogram of about forty yards long by thirty broad, formed by the base of a ruined wall, which might in former days have marked the lines of a Tartar fort, or have been the first Russian redoubt to watch over the infancy of Sebastopol. Although many a humble tumulus indicated to the eye of affection the place where some beloved comrade rests till the lastreveillée, the care and love of friends had left memorials in solid stone of most of those whose remains were buried in this spot. The first grave towards the front and west of the Cemetery consisted of a simple mound of earth. I know not whose remains lie below. The second was marked by a simple slab, with the following inscription:—"Sacred to the memory of Lieutenant H. Tryon, Rifle Brigade, killed in action on the 20th of November, 1854." He was a thorough soldier, brave, cool, and resolute, and in the terrible crisis of Inkerman he used a rifle with more deadly certainty and success than any of his men. In the struggle for the "Ovens" on the 20th of November, in which a small body of the Rifle Brigade dislodged a force of the enemy much greater than their own, he displayed such gallantry that General Canrobert paid him the rare honour of a special mention in the next "General Order of the Day" for the French army. Next to his reposed the remains of a lamented officer. The stone recorded his name, "Sacred to the memory of Brigadier-General Thomas Leigh Goldie, commanding the first Brigade of the 4th Division of the British army, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 57th Regiment, who fell at Inkerman, November 5, 1854." No. 4 was a rude cross of stone, without mark or name. The fifth grave was distinguished by a stone cross at the feet, and at the head was a slab with an ornamental top, beneath which was written, "Sacred to the memory of Brigadier-General Fox Strangways, killed in action November 5, 1854." A few lines in Russian asked the Christian forbearance of our enemies upon our departure for the bones of one whom they would have admired and loved had they known him. No. 6 was conspicuous by a large tombstone, with an ornamental cross at the top, and some simple efforts at the chisel at the sides and base. Come and read! "Here lieth the mortal remains of Captain Edward Stanley, 57th Regiment, killed at the battle of Inkerman, November 5, 1854, to whose memory this stone is erected by the men of his company—'Cast down but not destroyed,' 2 Corinthians, iv. 9." Who will not look with respect on the tombs ofthese poor soldiers, and who does not feel envy for the lot of men so honoured? There were fourteen other graves in the same row, of which only one could be identified.
Sir George Cathcart's resting-place was marked by a very fine monument, for which his widow expressed her thanks to those who raised it to the memory of their beloved commander. There was an inscription upon it commemorating the General's services, and the fact that he served with the Russian armies in one of their most memorable campaigns—the date of his untimely and glorious death, and an inscription in the Russian language stating who and what he was who reposed beneath. In the second row to the east there were two graves, without any inscription on the stones; the third was marked by a very handsome circular pillar of hewn stone, surmounted by a cross, and placed upon two horizontal slabs. On the pillar below the cross in front was this inscription: "To Lieutenant-Colonel C. F. Seymour, Scots Fusileer Guards, killed in action, November 5, 1854." Beneath these words were a cross sculptured in the stone, and the letters "I.H.S.;" and a Russian inscription on the back, requesting that the tomb might be saved from desecration. At the foot of the tomb there was an elaborately carved stone lozenge surmounting a slab, and on the lozenge was engraved the crest of the deceased, with some heraldic bird springing from the base of a coronet, with the legend "Foy pour devoir, C.F.S. Æt. 36." How many an absent friend would have mourned around this tomb! Close at hand was a handsome monument to Sir John Campbell, than whom no soldier was ever more regretted or more beloved by those serving under him; and not far apart in another row was a magnificent sarcophagus in black Devonshire marble, to the memory of Sir R. Newman, of the Grenadier Guards, who also fell at Inkerman. With all these memorials of death behind us, the front wall at Cathcart's Hill was ever a favourite spot for gossips and spectators, and sayers of jokes, andraconteursofbons motsor suchjeux d'espritas find favour in military circles.
THE LANDING IN THE CRIMEA.Lord Raglan To the Duke of Newcastle.(Received September 30.)
Camp Above Old Fort Bay,September 18, 1854.
My Lord Duke,—I do myself the honour to acquaint your Grace that the combined fleets and their convoys appeared in the Bay of Eupatoria on the 13th instant, and in the course of the following night proceeded some miles to the southward, where the Allied Armies commenced disembarking early in the morning of the 14th,—the French in the bay below Old Fort, the English in the next bay nearer to Eupatoria,—and before dark the whole of the British infantry and some artillery, and most of the French troops were on shore.
Shortly before dark, the weather unfortunately changed, and it became hazardous to attempt to continue landing either troops or guns.
The surf on the beach impeded the operation the following morning; and since, on more than one occasion; but thanks to the great exertions of the Navy, under the able and active superintendence of Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, who was charged with the whole arrangement, every obstacle has been overcome, and I am now enabled to report to your Grace that the disembarkations have been completed.
I should not do justice to my own feelings, or to those of the troops I have the honour to command, if I did not prominently bring to the knowledge of your Grace the deep sense entertained by all, of the invaluable services rendered by Her Majesty's Navy.
The spirit by which both officers and men were animated, made them regardless of danger, of fatigue, and indeed of every consideration but that of performing an arduous and important duty; and that duty they discharged to the admiration of all who had the good fortune to witness their unceasing efforts to land horses and carriages, with the utmost expedition and safety, under frequently the most trying circumstances.
I have, &c.,(Signed)Raglan.
LORD RAGLAN'S DESPATCH AS TO THE BATTLE OFTHE ALMA.Lord Raglan To the Duke of Newcastle.(Received October 8.)
Head-quarters, Katscha River,September 23, 1854.
My Lord Duke,—I have the honour to inform your Grace that the Allied Troops attacked the position occupied by the Russian Army, behind the Alma, on the 20th instant; and I have great satisfaction in adding that they succeeded, in less than three hours, in driving the enemy from every part of the ground which they had held in the morning, and in establishing themselves upon it.
The English and French Armies moved out of their first encampment in the Crimea on the 19th, and bivouacked for the night on the left bank of the Bulganac, the former having previously supported the advance of a part of the Earl of Cardigan's brigade of light cavalry, which had the effect of inducing the enemy to move up a large body of Dragoons and Cosaques, with artillery.
On this, the first occasion of the English encountering the Russian force, it was impossible for any troops to exhibit more steadiness than did this portion of Her Majesty's cavalry.
It fell back upon its supports with the most perfect regularity under the fire of the artillery, which was quickly silenced by that of the batteries I caused to be brought into action.
Our loss amounted to only four men wounded.
The day's march had been most wearisome, and under a burning sun the absence of water, until we reached the insignificant but welcome stream of the Bulganac, made it to be severely felt.
Both armies moved towards the Alma the following morning, and it was arranged that Marshal St. Arnaud should assail the enemy's left by crossing the river at its junction with the sea, and immediately above it, and that the remainder of the French divisions should move up the heights in their front, whilst the English Army should attack the right and centre of the enemy's position.
In order that the gallantry exhibited by Her Majesty's troops, and the difficulties they had to meet, may be fairly estimated, I deem it right, even at the risk of being considered tedious, to endeavour to make your Grace acquainted with the position the Russians had taken up.
It crossed the great road about two miles and a half from the sea, and is very strong by nature.
The bold and almost precipitous range of heights, of from 350 to 400 feet, that from the sea closely border the left bank of the river, here ceases and formed their left, and turning thence round a great amphitheatre or wide valley, terminates at a salient pinnacle where their right rested, and whence the descent to the plain was more gradual. The front was about two miles in extent.
Across the mouth of this great opening is a lower ridge at different heights, varying from 60 to 150 feet, parallel to the river, and at distances from it of from 600 to 800 yards.
The river itself is generally fordable for troops, but its banks are extremely rugged, and in most parts steep; the willows along it had been cut down, in order to prevent them from affording cover to the attackingparty, and in fact everything had been done to deprive an assailant of any species of shelter.
In front of the position on the right bank, at about 200 yards from the Alma, is the village of Bouliouk, and near it a timber bridge, which had been partly destroyed by the enemy.
The high pinnacle and ridge before alluded to was the key of the position, and consequently, there the greatest preparations had been made for defence.
Half way down the height, and across its front, was a trench of the extent of some hundred yards, to afford cover against an advance up the even steep slope of the hill. On the right, and a little retired, was a powerful covered battery, armed with heavy guns, which flanked the whole of the right of the position.
Artillery, at the same time, was posted at the points that best commanded the passage of the river and its approaches generally.
On the slopes of these hills (forming a sort of table land) were placed dense masses of the enemy's infantry, whilst on the heights above was his great reserve, the whole amounting, it is supposed, to between 45,000 and 50,000 men.
The combined armies advanced on the same alignement, Her Majesty's troops in contiguous double columns, with the front of two divisions covered by light infantry and a troop of horse artillery; the 2nd Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, forming the right, and touching the left of the 3rd Division of the French Army, under His Imperial Highness Prince Napoleon, and the Light Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, the left; the first being supported by the 3rd Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England, and the last by the 1st Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge.
The 4th Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Cathcart, and the cavalry under Major-General the Earl of Lucan, were held in reserve to protect the left flank and rear against large bodies of the enemy's cavalry, which had been seen in those directions.
On approaching to near the fire of the guns, which soon became extremely formidable, the two leading divisions deployed into line, and advanced to attack the front, and the supporting divisions followed the movement. Hardly had this taken place, when the village of Bouliouk, immediately opposite the centre, was fired by the enemy at all points, creating a continuous blaze for three hundred yards, obscuring their position, and rendering a passage through it impracticable. Two regiments of Brigadier-General Adams' brigade, part of Sir De Lacy Evans' division, had, in consequence, to pass the river at a deep and difficult ford to the right under a sharp fire, whilst his first brigade, under Major-General Pennefather, and the remaining regiment of Brigadier-General Adams, crossed to the left of the conflagration, opposed by the enemy's artillery from the heights above, and pressed on towards the left of their position with the utmost gallantry and steadiness.
In the meanwhile, the Light Division, under Sir George Brown, effected the passage of the Alma in his immediate front. The banks of the river itself were, from their rugged and broken nature, most serious obstacles, and the vineyards, through which the troops had to pass, and the trees which the enemy had felled, created additional impediments, rendering every species of formation, under a galling fire, nearly an impossibility. Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown advanced against the enemy under great disadvantages.
In this difficult operation he nevertheless persevered, and the 1st Brigade, under Major-General Codrington, succeeded in carrying a redoubt,materially aided by the judicious and steady manner in which Brigadier-General Buller moved on the left flank, and by the advance of four companies of the Rifle Brigade, under Major Norcott, who promises to be a distinguished officer of light troops.
The heavy fire of grape and musketry, however, to which the troops were exposed, and the losses consequently sustained by the 7th, 23rd, and 33rd Regiments, obliged this brigade partially to relinquish its hold.
By this time, however, the Duke of Cambridge had succeeded in crossing the river, and had moved up in support, and a brilliant advance of the brigade of Foot Guards, under Major-General Bentinck, drove the enemy back, and secured the final possession of the work.
The Highland Brigade, under Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, advanced in admirable order and steadiness up the high ground to the left, and in co-operation with the Guards; and Major-General Pennefather's brigade, which had been connected with the right of the Light Division, forced the enemy completely to abandon the position they had taken such pains to defend and secure.
The 95th Regiment, immediately on the right of the Royal Fusiliers in the advance, suffered equally with that corps an immense loss.
The aid of the Royal Artillery in all these operations was most effectual. The exertions of the Field Officers and the Captains of troops and batteries to get the guns into action were unceasing, and the precision of their fire materially contributed to the great results of the day.
Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England brought his division to the immediate support of the troops in advance, and Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir George Cathcart was actively engaged in watching the left flank.
The nature of the ground did not admit of the employment of the cavalry under the Earl of Lucan; but they succeeded in taking some prisoners at the close of the battle.
In the details of these operations, which I have gone into as far as the space of a despatch would allow, your Grace will perceive that the services in which the General and other Officers of the Army were engaged, were of no ordinary character; and I have great pleasure in submitting them for your Grace's most favourable consideration.
The mode in which Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown conducted his division under the most trying circumstances demands the expression of my warmest approbation. The fire to which his division was subjected and the difficulties he had to contend against, afford no small proof that his best energies were applied to the successful discharge of his duty.
I must speak in corresponding terms of Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, who likewise conducted his division to my perfect satisfaction, and exhibited equal coolness and judgment in carrying out a most difficult operation.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge brought his division into action in support of the Light Division with great ability, and had for the first time an opportunity of showing the enemy his devotion to Her Majesty, and to the profession of which he is so distinguished a member.
My best thanks are due to Lieutenant-General Sir R. England, Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir George Cathcart, and Lieutenant-General the Earl of Lucan, for their cordial assistance wherever it could be afforded; and I feel it my duty especially to recommend to your Grace's notice the distinguished conduct of Major-General Bentinck, Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, Major-General Pennefather, Major-General Codrington, Brigadier-General Adams, and Brigadier-General Buller.
In the affair of the previous day, Major-General the Earl of Cardigan exhibited the utmost spirit and coolness, and kept his brigade under perfect command.
The manner in which Brigadier-General Strangways directed the artillery, and exerted himself to bring it forward, met my entire satisfaction.
Lieutenant-General Sir John Burgoyne was constantly by my side, and rendered me, by his counsel and advice, the most valuable assistance; and the Commanding Royal Engineer, Brigadier-General Tylden, was always at hand to carry out any service I might direct him to undertake.
I deeply regret to say that he has since fallen a victim to cholera, as has Major Wellesley, who was present in the affair of the previous day, notwithstanding that he was then suffering from serious illness. He had, during the illness of Major-General Lord de Ros, acted for him in the most efficient manner. I cannot speak too highly of Brigadier-General Estcourt, Adjutant-General, or of Brigadier-General Airey, who, in the short time he has conducted the duties of the Quartermaster-General, has displayed the greatest ability as well as aptitude for the office.
I am much indebted to my military secretary, Lieutenant-Colonel Steele, Major Lord Burghersh, and the officers of my personal staff, for the zeal, intelligence, and gallantry they all, without exception, displayed.
Lieutenant Derriman, R.N., the Commander of theCaradoc, accompanied me during the whole of the operation, and rendered me an essential service by a close observation of the enemy's movements, which his practised eye enabled him accurately to watch.
I lament to say that Lieutenant-Colonel Lagondie, who was attached to my head-quarters by the Emperor of the French, fell into the enemy's hands on the 19th, on his return from Prince Napoleon's division, where he had obligingly gone at my request, with a communication to his Imperial Highness.
This misfortune is deeply regretted, both by myself and the officers of my personal staff.
The other officer placed with me under similar circumstances, Major Vico, afforded me all the assistance in his power, sparing no exertion to be of use.
I cannot omit to make known to your Grace the cheerfulness with which the regimental officers of the Army have submitted to most unusual privations.
My anxiety to bring into the country every cavalry and infantry soldier who was available prevented me from embarking their baggage animals, and these officers have with them at this moment nothing but what they can carry, and they, equally with the men, are without tents or covering of any kind.
I have not heard a single murmur. All seem impressed with the necessity of the arrangement, and they feel, I trust, satisfied that I shall bring up their bât horses at the earliest moment.
The conduct of the troops has been admirable. When it is considered that they have suffered severely from sickness during the last two months; that since they landed in the Crimea they have been exposed to the extremes of wet, cold, and heat; that the daily toil to provide themselves with water has been excessive, and that they have been pursued by cholera to the very battle-field, I do not go beyond the truth in declaring that they merit the highest commendation.
In the ardour of attack they forgot all they had endured, and displayed that high courage, that gallant spirit for which the British soldier is ever distinguished and under the heaviest fire they maintained the samedetermination to conquer, as they had exhibited before they went into action. I should be wanting in my duty, my Lord Duke, if I did not express to your Grace, in the most earnest manner, my deep feeling of gratitude to the officers and men of the Royal Navy for the invaluable assistance they afforded the Army upon this as on every occasion where it could be brought to bear upon our operations.
They watched the progress of the day with the most intense anxiety; and as the best way of evincing their participation in our success, and their sympathy in the sufferings of the wounded, they never ceased, from the close of the battle till we left the ground this morning, to provide for the sick and wounded, and to carry them down to the beach; a labour in which some of the officers even volunteered to participate, an act which I shall never cease to recollect with the warmest thankfulness.
I mention no names, fearing I might omit some who ought to be spoken of; but none who were associated with us spared any exertion they could apply to so sacred a duty.
Sir Edmund Lyons, who had charge of the whole, was, as always, most prominent in rendering assistance and providing for emergencies.
I enclose the return of killed and wounded. It is, I lament to say, very large; but I hope, all circumstances considered, that it will be felt that no life was unnecessarily exposed, and that such an advantage could not be achieved without a considerable sacrifice.
I cannot venture to estimate the amount of the Russian loss. I believe it to have been great, and such is the report in the country.
The number of prisoners who are not hurt is small, but the wounded amount to 800 or 900. Two General officers, Major-Generals Karganoff and Shokanoff, fell into our hands. The former is very badly wounded.
I will not attempt to describe the movements of the French Army—that will be done by an abler hand; but it is due to them, to say that their operations were eminently successful, and that under the guidance of their distinguished commander, Marshal St. Arnaud, they manifested the utmost gallantry, the greatest ardour for the attack, and the high military qualities for which they are so famed.
This despatch will be delivered to your Grace by Major Lord Burghersh, who is capable of affording you the fullest information, and whom I beg to recommend to your especial notice.
I have, &c.,Raglan.
MARSHAL DE ST. ARNAUD'S DESPATCH AS TOTHE ALMA.
Field of Battle of Alma,September 21, 1854.
Sire,—The cannon of your Majesty has spoken; we have gained a complete victory. It is a glorious day, sire, to add to the military annals of France, and your Majesty will have one name more to add to the victories which adorn the flags of the French army.
The Russians had yesterday assembled all their forces, and collected all their means to oppose the passage of the Alma. Prince Menschikoffcommanded in person. All the heights were crowned with redoubts and formidable batteries. The Russian army reckoned about 40,000 bayonets, from all points of the Crimea. In the morning there arrived from Theodosia 6,000 cavalry and 180 pieces of heavy and field artillery. From the heights which they occupied, the Russians could count our men man by man, from the 19th to the moment when we arrived on the Bulganak. On the 20th, from six o'clock in the morning, I carried into operation, with the division of General Bosquet, reinforced by eight Turkish battalions, a movement which turned the left of the Russians and some of their batteries. General Bosquet manœuvred with as much intelligence as bravery. This movement decided the success of the day. I had arranged that the English should extend their left, in order at the same time to threaten the right of the Russians, while I should occupy them in the centre; but their troops did not arrive until half-past ten. They bravely made up for this delay. At half-past twelve the line of the Allied army, occupying an extent of more than a league, arrived on the Alma, and was received by a terrible fire from the tirailleurs.
In this movement the head of the column of General Bosquet appeared on the heights, and I gave the signal for a general attack. The Alma was crossed at double-quick time. Prince Napoleon, at the head of his division, took possession of the large village of Alma, under the fire of the Russian batteries. The Prince showed himself worthy of the great name he bears. We then arrived at the foot of the heights, under the fire of the Russian batteries. There, sire, commenced a battle in earnest, along all the line—a battle with its episodes of brilliant feats of valour. Your Majesty may be proud of your soldiers: they have not degenerated: they are the soldiers of Austerlitz and of Jena. At half-past four the French army was everywhere victorious. All the positions had been carried at the point of the bayonet, to the cry of "Vive l'Empereur!" which resounded throughout the day. Never was such enthusiasm seen; even the wounded rose from the ground to join in it. On our left the English met with large masses of the enemy, and with great difficulties, but everything was surmounted. The English attacked the Russian positions in admirable order, under the fire of their cannon, carried them, and drove off the Russians. The bravery of Lord Raglan rivals that of antiquity. In the midst of cannon and musket-shot, he displayed a calmness which never left him. The French lines formed on the heights, and the artillery opened its fire. Then it was no longer a retreat, but a rout; the Russians threw away their muskets and knapsacks in order to run the faster. If, sire, I had had cavalry, I should have obtained immense results, and Menschikoff would no longer have had an army; but it was late, our troops were harassed, and the ammunition of the artillery was exhausted. At six o'clock in the evening, we encamped on the very bivouac of the Russians. My tent is on the very spot where that of Prince Menschikoff stood in the morning, and who thought himself so sure of beating us that he left his carriage there. I have taken possession of it, with his pocket-book and correspondence, and shall take advantage of the valuable information it contains. The Russian army will probably be able to rally two leagues from this, and I shall find it to-morrow on the Katcha, but beaten and demoralized, while the Allied army is full of ardour and enthusiasm. I have been compelled to remain here in order to send our wounded and those of the Russians to Constantinople, and to procure ammunition and provisions from the fleet. The English have had 1,500 men puthors de combat. The Duke of Cambridge is well: his division, and that of Sir G. Brown, were superb. I have to regret about 1,200 menhors de combat, three officers killed, fifty four wounded, 253 sub-officers and soldiers killed, and 1,033 wounded.General Canrobert, to whom is due in part the honour of the day, was slightly wounded by the splinters of a shell, which struck him in the breast and hand, but he is doing very well. General Thomas, of the division of the Prince, is seriously wounded by a ball in the abdomen. The Russians have lost about 5,000 men. The field of battle is covered with their dead, and our field hospitals are full of their wounded. We have counted a proportion of seven Russian dead bodies for one French. The Russian artillery caused us loss, but ours is very superior to theirs. I shall all my life regret not having had with me my two regiments of African Chasseurs. The Zouaves were the admiration of both armies: they are the first soldiers in the world.
Accept, sire, the homage of my profound respect and of my entire devotedness.
Marshal R. de St. Arnaud.
FRENCH ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST BOMBARDMENT OFSEBASTOPOL.From General Canrobert.
M. le Maréchal,—Yesterday, at sunrise, we opened our fire in concert with the English army. Matters were going on well, when the explosion of a battery powder magazine, unfortunately of considerable size, somewhat disturbed our attack. This explosion produced the greater effect from the number of the batteries in proximity to the spot where it occurred. The enemy took advantage of this incident to increase his fire, and the General in command of the artillery agreed with me, that we were under the necessity of suspending our fire in order to make our repairs, as well as to complete the system of attack towards our right by the construction of new batteries to approach those of the English army. This delay is certainly much to be regretted, but we are compelled to submit to it, and I am making every arrangement necessary for shortening it as much as possible.
Sebastopol has sustained the fire far better than was expected; the enclosed space, throughout its enormous development in a straight line, carrying all it can hold of heavy sea-guns, renders it capable of prolonging the contest. On the 17th, our troops took possession of the plateau that faces the point of attack, called the Bastion du Mât; they now occupy it. This evening we shall construct there the mask of a 12-gun battery, and, if possible, that of a second battery, on the extreme right, above the ravine. All our means of attack are concentrated on this bastion, and we shall, I trust, dismantle it rapidly, with the assistance of the English batteries that are battering its left front.
Yesterday, about ten in the morning, the Allied fleets attacked the outer batteries of the place, but I have not yet received information that will enable me to give you an account of the results of this attack.
The English batteries are in the best possible state: they have received nine new mortars, which will, it is supposed, produce great effect.Yesterday there was an immense explosion in the battery surrounding the tower situate to the left of the place. It must have injured the enemy a great deal. Since then this battery has fired but little, and this morning there were only two or three pieces able to fire.
I have no precise news of the Russian army. Nothing tends to show that it has changed the positions it held, and in which it expected its reinforcements. I have received almost the whole of the reinforcements I expected in infantry from Gallipoli and Varna. General Levaillant has just arrived with his staff, which raises to five divisions the effective force in infantry of the army that I have here under my orders. The sanitary state is highly satisfactory, the spirit of the troops excellent, and we are full of confidence.
Canrobert.
LORD RAGLAN'S BALAKLAVA DESPATCH.Lord Raglan To the Duke of Newcastle.(Received November 12.)
Before Sebastopol,October 28, 1854.
My Lord Duke,—I have the honour to acquaint your Grace that the enemy attacked the position in the front of Balaklava at an early hour on the morning of the 25th instant.
The low range of heights that runs across the plain at the bottom of which the town is placed, was protected by four small redoubts hastily constructed. Three of these had guns in them, and on a higher hill, in front of the village of Camara, in advance of our right flank, was established a work of somewhat more importance.
These several redoubts were garrisoned by Turkish troops, no other force being at my disposal for their occupation.
The 93rd Highlanders was the only British regiment in the plain, with the exception of a part of a battalion of detachments composed of weakly men, and a battery of artillery belonging to the Third Division; and on the heights behind our right were placed the Marines, obligingly landed from the fleet by Vice-Admiral Dundas. All these, including the Turkish troops, were under the immediate orders of Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, whom I had taken from the First Division with the 93rd.
As soon as I was apprised of this movement of the enemy, I felt compelled to withdraw from before Sebastopol the First and Fourth Divisions, commanded by Lieutenant-Generals His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and the Honourable Sir George Cathcart, and bring them down into the plain; and General Canrobert subsequently reinforced these troops with the First Division of French Infantry and the Chasseurs d'Afrique.
The enemy commenced their operation by attacking the work on our side of the village of Camara, and, after very little resistance, carried it.
They likewise got possession of the three others in contiguity to it, being opposed only in one, and that but for a very short space of time.
The farthest of the three they did not retain, but the immediate abandonment of the others enabled them to take possession of the guns in them, amounting in the whole to seven. Those in the three lesser forts were spiked by the one English artilleryman who was in each.
The Russian cavalry at once advanced, supported by artillery, in very great strength. One portion of them assailed the front and right flank of the 93rd, and were instantly driven back by the vigorous and steady fire of that distinguished regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Ainslie.
The other and larger mass turned towards Her Majesty's heavy cavalry, and afforded Brigadier-General Scarlett, under the guidance of Lieutenant-General the Earl of Lucan, the opportunity of inflicting upon them a most signal defeat. The ground was very unfavourable for the attack of our Dragoons, but no obstacle was sufficient to check their advance, and they charged into the Russian column, which soon sought safety in flight, although far superior in numbers.
The charge of this brigade was one of the most successful I ever witnessed, was never for a moment doubtful, and is in the highest degree creditable to Brigadier-General Scarlett and the officers and men engaged in it.
As the enemy withdrew from the ground which they had momentarily occupied, I directed the cavalry, supported by the Fourth Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Cathcart, to move forward and take advantage of any opportunity to regain the heights; and not having been able to accomplish this immediately, and it appearing that an attempt was making to remove the captured guns, the Earl of Lucan was desired to advance rapidly, follow the enemy in their retreat, and try to prevent them from effecting their object.
In the meanwhile the Russians had time to re-form on their own ground, with artillery in front and upon their flanks.
From some misconception of the instruction to advance, the Lieutenant-General considered that he was bound to attack at all hazards, and he accordingly ordered Major-General the Earl of Cardigan to move forward with the Light Brigade.
This order was obeyed in the most spirited and gallant manner. Lord Cardigan charged with the utmost vigour; attacked a battery which was firing upon the advancing squadrons; and, having passed beyond it, engaged the Russian cavalry in its rear; but there his troops were assailed by artillery and infantry, as well as cavalry, and necessarily retired, after having committed much havoc upon the enemy.
They effected this movement without haste or confusion; but the loss they have sustained has, I deeply lament, been very severe in officers, men, and horses, only counterbalanced by the brilliancy of the attack, and the gallantry, order, and discipline which distinguished it, forming a striking contrast to the conduct of the enemy's cavalry, which had previously been engaged with the Heavy Brigade.
The Chasseurs d'Afrique advanced on our left, and gallantly charged a Russian battery, which checked its fire for a time, and thus rendered the British cavalry an essential service.
I have the honour to enclose copies of Sir Colin Campbell's and the Earl of Lucan's reports.
I beg to draw your Grace's attention to the terms in which Sir Colin Campbell speaks of Lieutenant-Colonel Ainslie, of the 93rd, and Captain Barker, of the Royal Artillery; and also to the praise bestowed by the Earl of Lucan on Major-General the Earl of Cardigan and Brigadier-General Scarlett, which they most fully deserve.
The Earl of Lucan not having sent me the names of the other officers who distinguished themselves, I propose to forward them by the next opportunity.
The enemy made no further movement in advance, and at the close of the day the brigade of Guards of the First Division, and the Fourth Division, returned to their original encampment, as did the French troops, with the exception of one brigade of the First Division, which General Canrobert was so good as to leave in support of Sir Colin Campbell.
The remaining regiments of the Highland Brigade also remained in the valley.
The Fourth Division had advanced close to the heights, and Sir George Cathcart caused one of the redoubts to be reoccupied by the Turks, affording them his support, and he availed himself of the opportunity to assist with his riflemen in silencing two of the enemy's guns.
The means of defending the extensive position which had been occupied by the Turkish troops in the morning having proved wholly inadequate, I deemed it necessary, in concurrence with General Canrobert, to withdraw from the lower range of heights, and to concentrate our force, which will be increased by a considerable body of seamen, to be landed from the ships under the authority of Admiral Dundas, immediately in front of the narrow valley leading into Balaklava, and upon the precipitous heights on our right, thus affording a narrower line of defence.
I have, &c.,Raglan.
LORD RAGLAN AT INKERMAN, Nov. 5.Lord Raglan To the Duke of Newcastle.(Received November 22.)
Before Sebastopol,November 8, 1854.
My Lord Duke,—I have the honour to report to your Grace that the army under my command, powerfully aided by the Corps of Observation of the French Army, under the command of that distinguished officer, General Bosquet, effectually repulsed and defeated a most vigorous and determined attack of the enemy on our position overlooking the ruins of Inkerman, on the morning of the 5th instant.
In my letter to your Grace of the 3rd, I informed you that the enemy had considerably increased their force in the valley of the Tchernaya. The following day this augmentation was still further apparent, and large masses of troops had evidently arrived from the northward, and on two several occasions persons of distinguished rank were observed to have joined the Russian camp.
I have subsequently learnt that the 4th corps d'armée, conveyed in carriages of the country, and in the lightest possible order, had been brought from Moldavia, and were to be immediately followed by the 3rd corps.
It was therefore to be expected that an extensive movement would not be long deferred.
Accordingly, shortly before daylight on the 5th, strong columns of the enemy came upon the advanced pickets covering the right of the position. These pickets behaved with admirable gallantry, defending the ground foot by foot against the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, until the 2nd Division, under Major-General Pennefather, with its field guns, which had immediately been got under arms, was placed in position.
The Light Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, was also brought to the front without loss of time; the 1st Brigade, under Major-General Codrington, occupying the long slopes to the left towards Sebastopol, and protecting our right battery, and guarding against attack on that side, and the 2nd Brigade, under Brigadier-General Buller, forming on the left of the 2nd Division, with the 88th Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffreys, thrown in advance.
The Brigade of Guards under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and Major-General Bentinck, proceeded likewise to the front, and took up most important ground to the extreme right on the alignement of the 2nd Division, but separated from it by a deep and precipitous ravine, and posting its guns with those of the 2nd Division.
The 4th Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Cathcart, having been brought from their encampment, advanced to the front and right of the attack; the 1st Brigade, under Brigadier-General Goldie, proceeded to the left of the Inkerman road; the 2nd Brigade, under Brigadier-General Torrens, to the right of it, and on the ridge overhanging the valley of the Tchernaya.
The 3rd Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England, occupied in part the ground vacated by the 4th Division, and supported the Light Division by two regiments under Brigadier Sir John Campbell, while Brigadier-General Eyre held the command of the troops in the trenches.
The morning was extremely dark with a drizzling rain, rendering it almost impossible to discover anything beyond the flash and smoke of artillery and heavy musketry fire.
It, however, soon became evident that the enemy, under cover of a vast cloud of skirmishers, supported by dense columns of infantry, had advanced numerous batteries of large calibre to the high ground to the left and front of the 2nd Division, while powerful columns of infantry attacked with great vigour the Brigade of Guards.
Additional batteries of heavy artillery were also placed by the enemy on the slopes to our left; the guns in the field amounting in the whole to 90 pieces, independently, however, of the ship guns and those in the works of Sebastopol.
Protected by a tremendous fire of shot, shell, and grape, the Russian columns advanced in great force, requiring every effort of gallantry on the part of our troops to resist them.
At this time two battalions of French infantry, which had on the first notice been sent by General Bosquet, joined our right, and very materially contributed to the successful resistance to the attack, cheering with our men, and charging the enemy down the hill with great loss.
About the same time a determined assault was made on our extreme left, and for a moment the enemy possessed themselves of four of our guns, three of which were retaken by the 88th, while the fourth was speedily recaptured by the 77th Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Egerton.
In the opposite direction the Brigade of Guards, under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, was engaged in a severe conflict.
The enemy, under the cover of thick brushwood, advanced in two heavy bodies, and assaulted with great determination a small redoubtwhich had been constructed for two guns but was not armed. The combat was most arduous, and the Brigade, after displaying the utmost steadiness and gallantry, was obliged to retire before very superior numbers, until supported by a wing of the 20th Regiment of the 4th Division, when they again advanced and retook the redoubt.
This ground was afterwards occupied in gallant style by French troops, and the Guards speedily re-formed in the rear of the right flank of the 2nd Division.
In the meanwhile, Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir George Cathcart, with a few companies of the 68th Regiment, considering that he might make a strong impression by descending into the valley, and taking the enemy in flank, moved rapidly forward, but finding the heights above him in full occupation of the Russians, he suddenly discovered that he was entangled with a superior force, and while attempting to withdraw his men, he received a mortal wound, shortly previous to which Brigadier-General Torrens, when leading the 68th, was likewise severely wounded.
Subsequently to this, the battle continued with unabated vigour and with no positive result, the enemy bringing upon our line not only the fire of all their field batteries, but those in front of the works of the place, and the ship guns, till the afternoon, when the symptoms of giving way first became apparent; and shortly after, although the fire did not cease, the retreat became general, and heavy masses were observed retiring over the bridge of the Inkerman, and ascending the opposite heights, abandoning on the field of battle 5,000 or 6,000 dead or wounded, multitudes of the latter having already been carried off by them. I never before witnessed such a spectacle as the field presented, but upon this I will not dwell.
Having submitted to your Grace this imperfect description of this most severe battle, I have still two duties to discharge, the one most gratifying, and the last most painful to my feelings.
I have the greatest satisfaction in drawing your Grace's attention to the brilliant conduct of the Allied troops. French and English vied with each other in displaying their gallantry and manifesting their zealous devotion to duty, notwithstanding that they had to contend against an infinitely superior force, and were exposed for many hours to a most galling fire.
It should be borne in mind that they have daily for several weeks undergone the most constant labour, and that many of them passed the previous night in the trenches.
I will not attempt to enter into the details of the movements of the French troops, lest I should not state them correctly; but I am proud of the opportunity of bearing testimony to their valour and energetic services, and of paying a tribute of admiration to the distinguished conduct of their immediate Commander, General Bosquet, while it is in the highest degree pleasing to me to place upon record my deep sense of the valuable assistance I received from the Commander-in-Chief, General Canrobert, who was himself on the ground and in constant communication with me, and whose cordial co-operation on all occasions I cannot too highly extol.
Your Grace will recollect that he was wounded at the Alma. He was again wounded on the 5th, but I should hope that he will not long feel the effects of it.
I will in a subsequent despatch lay before your Grace the names of the officers whose services have been brought to my notice. I will not detain the mail for that purpose now, but I cannot delay to report the admirable behaviour of Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, who was unfortunately shot through the arm, but is doing well; of Lieutenant-General His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, who particularly distinguished himself; and of Major-General Pennefather, in command of the Second Division, which received the first attack, and gallantly maintaineditself under the greatest difficulties throughout this protracted conflict; of Major-General Bentinck, who is severely wounded; Major-General Codrington, Brigadier-General Adams, and Brigadier-General Torrens, who are severely wounded; and Brigadier-General Buller, who is also wounded, but not so seriously.
I must likewise express my obligations to Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England for the excellent disposition he made of his division, and the assistance he rendered to the left of the Light Division, where Brigadier-General Sir John Campbell was judiciously placed, and effectively supported Major-General Codrington; and I have great pleasure in stating that Brigadier-General Eyre was employed in the important duty of guarding the trenches from any assault from the town.
Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, who had been obliged by severe indisposition to go on board ship a few days previously, left his bed as soon as he received intelligence of the attack, and was promptly at his post, and though he did not feel well enough to take the command of the division out of the hands of Major-General Pennefather, he did not fail to give him his best advice and assistance.
It is deeply distressing to me to have to submit to your Grace the list of the killed, wounded, and missing on this memorable occasion. It is, indeed, heavy; and very many valuable officers and men have been lost to Her Majesty's service.
Among the killed your Grace will find the names of Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir G. Cathcart, Brigadier-General Strangways, and Brigadier-General Goldie.
Of the services of the first it is almost unnecessary to speak. They are known throughout the British empire, and have within a short space of time been brought conspicuously before the country by his achievements at the Cape of Good Hope, whence he had only just returned when he was ordered to this army.
By his death Her Majesty has been deprived of a most devoted servant, an officer of the highest merit, while I personally have to deplore the loss of an attached and faithful friend.
Brigadier-General Strangways was known to have distinguished himself in early life, and in mature age, throughout a long service, he maintained the same character.
The mode in which he had conducted the command of the artillery, since it was placed in his hands by the departure through illness of Major-General Cator, is entitled to my entire approbation, and was equally agreeable to those who were confided to his care.
Brigadier-General Goldie was an officer of considerable promise, and gave great satisfaction to all under whom he has served.
It is difficult to arrive at any positive conclusion as to the actual numbers brought into the field by the enemy. The configuration of the ground did not admit of any great development of their force, the attack consisting of a system of repeated assaults in heavy masses of columns; but judging from the numbers that were seen in the plains after they had withdrawn in retreat, I am led to suppose that they could not have been less than 60,000 men. Their loss was excessive, and it is calculated that they left on the field near 5,000 dead, and that their casualties amount in the whole, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, to not less than 15,000.
Your Grace will be surprised to learn that the number of British troops actually engaged little exceeded 8,000 men, while those of General Bosquet's division only amounted to 6,000, the remaining available French troops on the spot having been kept in reserve.
I ought to mention that while the enemy was attacking our right, they assailed the left of the French trenches, and actually got into two of theirbatteries; but they were quickly driven out in the most gallant manner with considerable loss, and hotly pursued to the very walls of Sebastopol.
I have, &c.,Raglan.
THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN.
Head-Quarters before Sebastopol,November 7, 1854.
M. le Maréchal,—I have the honour to confirm my telegraphic despatch of the 6th of November, couched in these terms:—"The Russian army, increased by reinforcements from the Danube, and the reserves in the southern provinces, and animated by the presence of the Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas, yesterday attacked the right of the English position before the place. The English army sustained the combat with the most remarkable solidity. I caused it to be supported by a portion of the Bosquet division, which fought with admirable vigour, and by the troops which were the most easily available. The enemy, more numerous than we were, beat a retreat with enormous losses, estimated at from 8,000 to 9,000 men. This obstinate struggle lasted the whole of the day. On my left General Forey had, at the same time, to repulse a sortie of the garrison. The troops, energetically led on by him, drove the enemy from the place, with the loss of 1,000 men. This brilliant day, which was not concluded without loss to the Allies, does the greatest honour to our arms."