Yes, we were there, masters of the capital of China—at the very end of the map of the world—at the point which appears to schoolboy minds the limit of creation. We held the massive four-storied keep which frowns like a line-of-battle ship above the Gate of Peace; our troops and field artillery were actually on the walls which commanded the whole of the interior of the city, and they could move to any point along the fifty feet road which the summit of the wall presents. The walls and gates adjoining, together with some few larger double-storied buildings, were the only objects visible from our position varying the universal dun-colour of the city houses and enclosing walls. The broad street which leads from our gate into the city was packed with a dense crowd, anxious to make out the foreigners, and indulging in sonorous “Ei Yaws” at every novelty which met their wondering eyes. Electrified indeed were the Celestials when the bands of a French regiment, and of our 67th and 99th, struck up within the gateway, and guards presented their clanging arms as the Generals rode by; but the climax was reached when Desborough’s guns were spurted up the steep stone ramps which lead from the base to the summit of the wall, fifty feet in height, drawn by six horses of fabulous stature, and driven by the terrible barbarians who eat their enemies.
The surrender was carried out in good faith; but the appearance on the walls of guns of heavy calibre, evidently recently moved into positionswhence our batteries were observed, spoke either of divided counsels or of tardy resignation on the part of our enemies.
Still our success was insufficient. No retribution had been exacted for the violation of the flag of truce, and for the murder of our countrymen, and no one seemed to feel certain whether a treaty was to be obtained or not. It was useless to demand the surrender of the persons who had instigated the barbarous treatment of the prisoners, for they were known to be very near the person of the Emperor, and there was therefore no chance of our getting the real offenders. An atonement in money, for the iniquities perpetrated, though repugnant to our feelings, appeared to be the only kind of demand with which the Chinese Government, humiliated and beaten as it was, could be expected to comply. The readiest means of obtaining a treaty was obviously to remain at Pekin until we got it; but the French Commander refused positively to detain his troops at the capital after the 1st November, and the English General was greatly indisposed to incur the risk of keeping his force there through the winter, in the absence of complete and timely arrangements for provisionment, which it was considered the advanced period of the season rendered impracticable.
Accordingly, on the 18th October, an ultimatum was addressed by the plenipotentiaries to Prince Koung, requiring him to reply by the morning of the 20th, whether, after paying, as a necessary preliminary to further negotiations, a sum of money in atonement for the murders committed, he would on an early day sign the convention already agreed upon? His Excellency was told that the Summer Palace, which had been partially plundered before the fate of the prisoners was known, would now be entirely destroyed, that its ruins might present a lasting mark of the abhorrence of the British Government at the violation of the law of nations which had been committed. He was also told, that in case of refusal to comply with the demands now made, the Imperial Palace of Pekin would be captured, plundered and burned.
In support of the ultimatum, the 1st Division of the British force, with cavalry, proceeded on the 18th and 19th to complete the plunder and destruction of the Summer Palace, whose smoke, driven by the northerly wind, hung over Pekin, whilst its ashes were wafted into the very streets of the capital. The French declined to take any part in this act of punishment—first, because they thought the palace had already been destroyed on their quitting it; and further, they feared that this demonstration would frighten the Chinese out of all hope of making any treaty at all.
The result showed that not one-fourth of the Imperial pavilions which constitute the Summer Palace had been even visited in the first instance, much less burned; and great booty was acquired by the troops employed as well as by the members of the embassy, navy, and staff, who were able to accompany the force. And so salutary was the effect produced on the advisers of the Imperial crown, that a letter acceding to all demands was received at daylight on the 20th, to the renewed disappointment of the 2nd Division, who again were under arms for the assault.
On the 22nd, the atonement-money, amounting to £100,000, was paid; and on the 24th, her Majesty’s Plenipotentiary, accompanied by the Commander-in-Chief, and escorted by a division of the army, entered in state and triumph the gates of the dim, mysterious city. The Ambassador was received by a deputation of Mandarins, who accompanied Lord Elgin to the hall, three miles distant, at the far side of the Tartar city, where the Prince Koung, surrounded by the principal officers of state, awaited his arrival.
At five o’clock that afternoon, ratifications of the treaty of 1858 were duly exchanged by the representatives of the sovereigns, and a convention signed, which, commencing with a recital of the Emperor’s regret at the occurrences at the Peiho Forts in 1858, declares Tientsin a free port, and thereby opens the Peiho to within seventy miles of Pekin for the traffic of the world. The provisions of the convention permit free emigration of Chinese, with their wives and families, to all parts of the world, and transfer a territory at Cowloon, opposite Hong Kong, where our troops were encamped in 1860, to the British Crown. An indemnity of three millions sterling to the British is guaranteed; and stipulation is made for the establishment of a British force at Tientsin, until the terms are fulfilled. A portion of the indemnity is to be paid 31st, December, 1860, whereon Chusan is to be evacuated by the English and French troops. But no provision is made for the evacuation of Canton, to which the French are at present understood to be disinclined to agree. The remainder of the indemnity is to be paid by periodical instalments of one-fifth of the gross revenue of the customs of China.
After signing the convention, Lord Elgin expressed a hope that the treaty would inaugurate friendly relations between the powers. Prince Koung replied that he himself had been about to utter the same words; and acknowledging that foreign affairs had hitherto been greatly mismanaged, observed, that as their administration was now exclusively placed in his hands, he had no doubt their future management would be more satisfactory.
The Franco-Chinese treaty was ratified by Baron Gros and the Prince Koung on the following day.”
CINTRA, CONVENTION OF.—This disgraceful convention was concluded between the British army, under Sir Hew Dalrymple and the French under Marshal Junot. The latter were allowed to evacuate Portugal and to be carried home to France in British ships, taking with them their ill-got gain; signed the day of the battle of Vimeira, August 22nd, 1808.
CITATE.—Fought 5th January, 1854, between Omar Pacha and the Turks, on the one side, and the Russians on the other.
“The army to which was allotted the first active operation was that commanded by General Fishback, with Generals Engelhardt and Bellegarde under his orders. This force was to occupy the extreme west of the Russian line of attack, and to drive the Turks from their position at Kalafat. By the time, however, that Fishback had reached Citate, a village within a few miles of his destination, he discovered that his force of about 15,000 men was inadequate to dislodge an equal number, strongly intrenched, and in unimpeded communication with Widdin, on the opposite side of the river, whence considerable supplies of men and ammunition could doubtless be obtained. He resolved, therefore, to postpone the assault until the 13th of January (the Russian New Year’s day), by which time he would be in possession of the requisite reinforcements, which he anticipated would raise his force to 45,000 men. Achmet and Ismail Pachas, who commanded the garrison at Kalafat, were well aware of the plans of the Russian commander, and determined to forestall his action. At daybreak, on the 6th of January, they sallied from the town with fifteen field-pieces, 10,000 regular infantry, 4000 cavalry, and 1000 of the irregular troops, known as Bashi-Bazouks. Three thousand men from the garrison at Widdin crossed the river to defend Kalafat from surprise; and at Moglovitz, between that town and Citate, a similar number were detached as a reserve. About nine o’clock the Turks reached Citate, and opened a side fire upon the village, while the infantry vigorously charged in front. After three hours of sanguinary street-fighting, the nature of the ground forbidding organized military combinations, the Russians retreated to the works they had thrown up beyond the village. The Turkish field-pieces were now brought to bear upon the intrenchments, and several vigorous assaults were made and as bravely repulsed. In the midst of the conflict, a large body of Russianreinforcements arrived, and the Turks, who occupied the gardens and orchards round the village, were exposed to an energetic assault in their rear. Nothing daunted, and favoured by their position, the Ottomans fought nobly, and succeeded in routing the newly-arrived reinforcement of the enemy, just as Ismail Pacha appeared upon the scene with the reserve from Moglovitz. Concentrating their forces, they now rushed at the intrenchments, and, beating down all opposition, drove the enemy from the position they had held. Nearly 2400 Russians dead in the streets and earth-works, a like number wounded, four guns, and the depôts of ammunition and arms which they captured, attested that day the prowess of the Turkish arms. Their own loss was about 200 killed and 700 wounded. For two days they held the place against the attempts of the Russians to recapture it; and then, emerging into the open field, drove the Russians before them back to Krajova. Then, retiring in triumph, they re-entered Kalafat, which, now mounting 250 heavy guns, and garrisoned (including Widdin) by 25,000 men, might safely promise a desperate resistance to any further Russian attempt.”
CIUDAD RODRIGO.—This strong fortress of Spain was invested by the French, June 11th, 1810, and surrendered July 10th, following.—Remained in the hands of the French till stormed gallantly by the British, under Wellington, January 19th, 1812.—Loss of the British and Portuguese 1000 killed and wounded, equal number of French, and 1700 prisoners.
CLONTARF, BATTLE OF.—Fought between the Irish and Danes on Good Friday, 1039. The Danes were signally defeated, 11,000 of them perished in battle, but the Irish had to deplore the loss of Bryan Boiroimhe, the King, and many of the nobility.
CLOSTERSEVEN, CONVENTION OF.—Between the Duke of Cumberland, third son of George II, and the Duke of Richelieu, commanding the French; 38,000 Hanovarians laid down their arms and were dispersed,—signed September 10th, 1757.
COALITIONS AGAINST FRANCE.
1st. Prussia issued her manifesto June 26th, 1792.2nd. Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Naples, Portugal and Turkey signed them, June 22nd, 1799.3rd. Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Naples, August 5th, 1805.4th. Great Britain, Russia, Prussia and Saxony, October 6th, 1806.5th. England and Austria, April 6th, 1809.6th. Russia and Prussia, ratified at Kalisch, March 17th, 1813.
1st. Prussia issued her manifesto June 26th, 1792.
2nd. Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Naples, Portugal and Turkey signed them, June 22nd, 1799.
3rd. Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Naples, August 5th, 1805.
4th. Great Britain, Russia, Prussia and Saxony, October 6th, 1806.
5th. England and Austria, April 6th, 1809.
6th. Russia and Prussia, ratified at Kalisch, March 17th, 1813.
COLONEL.—This word is derived from the French, and means the chief commander of a regiment of troops.
COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF OF THE BRITISH ARMY SINCE 1674:
Duke of Monmouth1674Lord Amherst again1793Duke of Marlborough1690Frederick, Duke of York1795Duke of Schomberg1691Sir David DundasMarch 25,1809Duke of Ormond1711Frederick, Duke of YorkMay 29,1811Earl of Stair1744Duke of WellingtonJan’y 22,1827Field Marshal Wade1745Lord Hill, Gen’l Commander-Lord Ligonier1757in-ChiefFeb’y 25,1828Marquess of Granby1766Duke of Wellington againDec. 28,1842Lord Amherst1778Viscount HardingeSept. 25,1852General Seymour Conway1782Duke of CambridgeJuly 15,1856
CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE.—The League of the Germanic States formed under the auspices of Napoleon Bonaparte. By this celebrated League the German States had to raise 258,000 troops to serve in case of war. It terminated with the downfall of Napoleon.
CONFLANS, TREATY OF.—A compact between Louis XI of France and the Dukes of Bourbon, Brittany and Burgundy. This treaty put an end to the “War of the Public Good,” in 1468.
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT.—It was whilst preparing to cross the Alps, to chastise the barbarians, that Constantine is said to have witnessed the supernatural appearance which induced him to embrace Christianity, and establish it henceforth as the religion of the empire. While meditating in his tent on the dangers that surrounded him, and praying for divine guidance and protection amidst them, there is said to have appeared over against him in the heavens a pillar of light in the form of a cross, bearing this inscription, “By this overcome.” Those who were attached to paganism looked upon this as a most inauspicious omen, but it made a different impression on the Emperor. He caused a royal standard to be made, like the appearance he had seen in the heavens. This was always carried before him in his war as an ensign of victory and celestial protection. Soon after this event he embraced the religion of Christ, and a little while after encountered Maxentius, his opponent,whom he utterly defeated in a terrible battle—Maxentius himself having been drowned while attempting to cross the river Tiber.
CONSTANTINOPLE.—Taken by the western crusaders in 1204. Retaken in 1261. Conquered by Mahomet II., who slew 6000 of the people,A.D.1453. Ever since possessed by the Turks.
COPENHAGEN.—Capital of Denmark. It was bombarded by the English, under Nelson and Admiral Parker. Of twenty-three ships belonging to the Danes, eighteen were taken or destroyed, April 2nd, 1801. Again, after another bombardment of three days, the city and fleet surrendered to Admiral Gambier and Lord Cathcart, September 7th, 1807. Immense naval stores and eighteen sail of the line, fifteen frigates, six brigs, and twenty-five gunboats were captured.
CORNET.—An instrument of music of the nature of a trumpet. In modern usage, a cornet is a commissioned officer of cavalry next below a lieutenant who bears the ensign or colors of a troop.
CORONEA, BATTLE OF.—Fought between the Athenians and Allies and the Spartans. The King of the Spartans, engaging the Allies, completely defeated them,B.C.394.
CORPORAL.—The lowest officer of a company next below a sergeant. The corporal of a ship of war is an officer under the master-at-arms, employed to teach the sailors the use of small arms. Napoleon was familiarly known among his troops by the name of the Little Corporal, and as he used to say there was just one step between the sublime and the ridiculous, so opposite extremes are taken in his titles. Emperor! Corporal!
CORUNNA, BATTLE OF.—Sir John Moore commanded the British army of about 15,000 men, and had just accomplished a safe retreat, when they were attacked by the French with a force of 20,000. They were completely repulsed, but the loss of the British was immense. Sir John Moore was struck by a cannon ball which carried off his left shoulder and part of his collar bone, leaving the arm dangling by the flesh. He died immediately. In the evening of the day of battle the remains of the splendid British army embarked at Corunna, January 16th, 1809. Previous to the battle, the army under their illustrious leader, had accomplished an arduous yet honorable retreat, for many leagues through an enemy’s country.
CRACOW.—It was taken by Charles XII, in 1702. Taken and retaken several times by the Russians, and Kosciusko expelled the Russians, March 24th, 1794, but it surrendered to the Prussians the same year. Occupied by 10,000 Russians, September, 1831; seized by Austria, and incorporated into that empire, November 16th, 1846.
CRESSY.—Fought between the English and French, August 26th, 1346. In the month of July in the year 1346, King Edward, at the head of an army of 30,000 men, landed at La Hogue, in Normandy. He was accompanied by his son, the Prince of Wales, though only fifteen years of age, and by his principal nobility. Having taken several towns, he moved along the left bank of the Seine, which river he wished to cross, in order to join an army of Flemings in Picardy. But he found the bridges all broken, and King Philip, at the head of a numerous army, followed his motions on the opposite bank of the river. At length Edward contrived to repair one of the broken bridges, and to pass over unknown to Philip; and he then marched rapidly till he reached the river Somme; but he there again found all the bridges secured, and learned that Philip was at Amiens with 100,000 men. Being informed that there was a ford near the town of Abbeville, which might be passed when the tide was low, Edward set out for it at midnight; but when the English reached it, the waters were not sufficiently low; and while they were waiting, a large body of French cavalry came down to oppose their passage. The English horsemen, however, gallantly plunged into the stream, drove off the enemy, and gained the opposite bank. The whole army was over when King Philip arrived, and the rising of the tide obliged him to go round by the bridge of Abbeville.
Though the French army was nearly four times as numerous as his own, King Edward resolved to give it battle. He drew up his troops in three divisions on an eminence behind the village of Creci or Cressy. The prince of Wales, aided by the Earls of Oxford and Warwick, led the first, the King himself commanded the last. At dawn (the day was the 26th of August), Edward having heard mass and received the sacrament, rode along the lines, cheering his men, and at ten o’clock they sat down and took their breakfast in their ranks. The French, meantime, advanced from Abbeville in confusion and disorder. A storm of thunder and rain came on and lasted through a great part of the day; but at five o’clock in the afternoon, the sky becoming clear, Philip ordered a body of Génoese cross-bowmen, in his service, to begin the battle. TheGénoese gave a shout, and discharged their bolts; the English archers, who were posted in front, showered in return their arrows of a yard in length; and the Génoese, unable to re-charge their ponderous crossbows, fell into disorder. The count of Alençon then charged the first division of the English with a numerous body of cavalry. The second line advanced to its aid, and a knight was sent off to King Edward, who was viewing the battle from the top of a windmill, to pray him to send more help. “Is my son slain or wounded?” said the King. “No, sire.” “Then,” replied he, “tell Warwick, he shall have no aid. Let the boy win his spurs.” When this message was brought to the English, it redoubled their courage; and the French were at length totally routed, with immense loss. “Fair son,” cried Edward to the Prince, as he clasped him to his bosom after the battle, “Fair son, continue your career. You have acted nobly, and shown yourself worthy of me and the crown.”
The person of the highest rank who fell in this great battle was John, king of Bohemia. This prince, who was blind from age, ordered four of his knights to lead him into the thick of the battle. They interlaced his and their own bridles, and rushed forward, and all were slain. The crest of the King of Bohemia, three ostrich feathers, and his motto,Ich dien, i.e.I serve, were adopted by the Prince of Wales, and still are those of the heir-apparent of the crown of England.
CRIMEA, LANDING IN THE.—Crimean War.—The following graphic description is from Emerson’s Sebastopol:—“At length the great fleet, nearly 400 vessels in all, on the 7th of September, 1854, a memorable day thenceforth, set sail for its destination. What that destination was none knew. Orders were issued to rendezvous off the Isle of Serpents, near the Sulina mouth of the Danube. The scene, when the immense flotilla was fairly under weigh, was of the most exciting and animating character. Every ship bore on its side the number of the regiment and nature of troops it conveyed, and carried a distinguishing flag. As night closed in, lanterns signalling the division to which it belonged were displayed, and an illumination, such as the waters of the Euxine never reflected, was witnessed by the sharers in the daring adventure. No incident of these modern practical times, perhaps, has partaken so largely of the character of romance as the departure of this renowned expedition. The great armada, which taxed the energies of the most powerful maritime nation of the sixteenth century, was apuny flotilla compared to the one we are now writing of. The largest vessel of that celebrated fleet was a cockleshell to many of our noble steamers, detached from their customary vocation of carrying on the commercial intercourse of nations, and devoted to the service of war. Resources of science, unknown before the present generation, and adapted by skill to our naval requirements, were there in abundance, rendering a single steamer more than a match for a dozen vessels of an earlier age, and almost independent of the adverse winds and strong currents which had dispersed many a gallant fleet and defeated many a deep-laid scheme of conquest. Iron, naturally one of the densest of bodies, became, in the hands of the scientific shipwright, buoyant as cork; and vessels, each large enough to carry a regiment of cavalry besides its proper crew, and to which a Spanish brig-of-war of the days of Philip might have served for a jolly-boat, breasted the broad waves of the Euxine, freighted with as brave and chivalrous warriors as menaced Troy, or did battle with the infidel possessors of Jerusalem.
Brave and chivalrous indeed, for they sailed they knew not whither, to encounter an unknown enemy. It might be that they were to force a landing at once under the very guns of Sebastopol, and by sheer audacity achieve the capture of the renowned fortress. It might be that, debarking at a distance from that spot, they would be exposed to toilsome marches, in an enemy’s country, harassed by clouds of Cossacks, and opposed by great armies, in strong positions, infinitely outnumbering their own force, when even continuous victory would necessarily be almost entire annihilation. But, like the errant-knights of old, they anticipated no difficulties, and bore a stout heart for any fate. English and French, officer and man, seemed to have but one desire, that of meeting all foes at all hazards, and winning gallantly or dying gloriously.
The general instructions furnished to Marshal St. Arnaud (who, by reason of the French army being so numerically superior to the English, and his military rank as marshal being higher than that of Lord Raglan, assumed the rank of generalissimo of the expedition), and which were understood to have been drawn up by the Emperor Louis Napoleon himself, though leaving to the discretion of the Generals the point of debarkation on the shores of the Crimea, yet strongly recommended—so strongly, in fact, as almost to amount to a command—the choice of Kaffa as the most convenient spot. It was, we cannot help believing, exceedingly fortunate that the allied Generals resolved upon examining for themselves the locality, and ultimately rejected the plans of theEmperor. Kaffa, it is true, affords the largest bay and the most secure anchorage in the Crimea, and, had they been the only requisites, there could have been little doubt that the imperial scheme would have been adopted. But the fleet was only valuable in the expedition as an auxiliary to the army—as a basis of operations, a depôt of stores, a means of conveying reinforcements, an assistant in the actual bombardment, or a medium of retreat in event of a disaster. For all practical purposes Sebastopol was the Crimea; and Sebastopol is on the western coast, while Kaffa is on the eastern, at least 100 miles distant. Had the object been to provide for the security and comfort of the fleet, it might as well have been in snug quarters at Spithead or Cherbourg, as at Kaffa, and there it would have been about as useful. The plan of Napoleon was to seize the town of Kaffa, thence to march across the peninsula, taking possession of Karu-Bazar, Simferopol, and Baktchi-Serai, thus advancing to Sebastopol, and securing the harbour of Balaklava, as a naval basis near the scene of intended operations. But the Emperor, by some strange oversight, seems to have forgotten his own previous caution not to separate from the fleets, when he sketched out the march of an army, only 50,000 strong, encumbered with necessary ammunition and baggage, along a road forty miles from the sea in some parts, through a mountainous district, in an enemy’s country, for a 100 miles, exposed to continued encounters with immense armies, and necessitated to seize and retain possession of, at least, three large towns, strongly garrisoned. It is true, a force stationed at Kaffa might intercept reinforcements arriving from Asia, or along the narrow strip of land bridging the Putrid Sea; but what was to hinder the arrival of the legions which should be poured into the Crimea, through Perekop, the most direct and available route from the very heart of the military strength of Russia, on the first intelligence of the invasion? Supposing, too, that a sufficient force to hold Kaffa had been left in occupation there (and if it had not been, what would have prevented the arrival of troops from Asia and the north, which would have followed the invaders, and enclosed them between two fires?)—that the three great towns had been captured and consequently garrisoned—or where the utility of taking them?—deduct the necessary casualties of the march, and the inevitable results of the unavoidable battles, even supposing them to have been victories, and how many men could possibly have arrived before Sebastopol out of 50,000? The expedition to the Crimea at all was romantic, and is said to have been strongly opposed by some of our most able Generals; but this contemplatedmarch through a mountainous region, interposing innumerable obstacles to transit, in the face of a powerful enemy, far from assistance, cut off from supplies of food or ammunition, with three fortified towns to capture, at least several pitched battles to fight, and, as a finish to the prospect, the most strongly fortified town in the world to reduce, was the very absurdity of Quixoteism.
Fortunately, we say, the generals were wiser than their teacher. When the ships collected at their appointed rendezvous, orders were received to proceed to a spot about forty miles west of Cape Tarkan, in the north of the Crimea; then, embarking in theCaradoc, a small English steamer, Marshal St. Arnaud and Lord Raglan, accompanied by their seconds in command, Generals Canrobert and Brown, and Sir Edmund Lyons, proceeded to survey the coast and select the spot most favourable to their purpose. They skirted the western shore, ran close into Eupatoria, examined the coast thence to Sebastopol (where a few weeks previous, General Canrobert and Sir George Brown had closely scanned the fortifications on a flying visit, penetrating, under cover of night even into the harbour, and not retiring until the grey light of morning had revealed to them a considerable amount of information), passing almost within range of the guns, and coasting round to the little harbour of Balaklava; which having scrutinized, they returned in safety to the fleets. Had any of the large Russian steamers crossed the path of the littleCaradoc, and attacked it, a very different fate might have awaited the Allies from that which they anticipated. But the Russian Admirals little dreamed of the prize they might have secured, and our modern Agamemnons were borne back unscathed from their perilous cruise.
On the morning of Monday, the 11th of September, the chiefs returned from their trip and rejoined the fleet; and the anxious expectation as to the point of debarkation, which had agitated the minds of all on board, during the two days’ tedious riding at anchor, was in some degree alleviated by the order to make sail, and rendezvous thirty miles west of Sebastopol. Even then, uncertainty seemed to cloud the counsels of the Commanders. The fleet was dispersed, the heavy sailing vessels having failed to keep in company with their more alert fellows of the steam fleet. At length, the English and French fleets, in one compact flotilla, approached the shore, and the town of Eupatoria, and the hills of the south-east, were presented to the eager gaze of the soldiers. A small steamer was despatched to summon the town to surrender at discretion,and a refusal being received, a small body of English and French marines was landed, their appearance soon stifling any qualms of conscience the local authorities might have felt at yielding up their trust to the enemy. The fleet then shaping a course in a south-easterly direction, the plans of the allied Generals became apparent. About eight miles from Eupatoria the ships cast anchor at a mile from the shore, in the Bay of Kalamita, near a place known as Old Fort. A narrow strip of level land was the spot selected for debarkation, and the enemy exhibited no signs of opposition, or even preparation. It had been not unnaturally anticipated that a formidable resistance would have been made to the expected landing of the Allies, which could only then have been accomplished with much loss. On the contrary, the only signs of Russian life apparent, was the presence of a mounted Russian officer, who, attended by three or four Cossacks, securely stationed on a neighbouring eminence, was calmly sketching the scene.
It had been arranged that the ships of the Admirals should occupy the centre of the bay, thus dividing the two armies. Had this determination been carried out, the landing might have been effected with the least imaginable difficulty; but the French Admiral, with an exclusive attention to his own branch of the allied force, which subsequent events of the campaign paralleled, thought proper to anchor his vessel at the extreme right of the bay, thus throwing the vessels into considerable confusion. One transport was grounded, and several fouled in their endeavours to get into their proper positions. In an incredibly short space of time, however, order was restored; and, under the energetic superintendence of Sir Edmund Lyons, the steamers and transports commenced to discharge their living freights. The sea was literally covered with boats, laden with soldiers in their varied uniforms, and bearing rations for three days, every article that could possibly be dispensed with being left in the ships. Those who landed first marked out with flags the spots to be occupied by each division and regiment; and the sailors, standing knee-deep in the water, lent hearty assistance to those who were less amphibious than themselves. Nothing could exceed the delight of the sturdy seamen, as they lifted their red-coated compatriots from the boats, and placed them dry-footed on the shore; or lent a hand, with more zeal than knowledge, to disembark the horses. Frequently, a noble charger, startled by the novelty of his situation, would roll into the water, half a dozen ancient mariners clinging to his mane or tail, and sharing his immersion,—emerging at length, dripping with brine, but in a high state of jollity at having rescuedtheir steed, and overwhelming him with caresses of a nautical fashion, as they soothed his fears or indulged him with a short trot onterra firma. The two or three Cossacks who had watched our landing now deemed it prudent to withdraw, though not until a few shots had warned them of the prowess of the English riflemen, and one of their number had received a compliment from Major Lysons, of the 23rd, which would probably render his sitting in the saddle, or elsewhere, exceedingly inconvenient for some time to come. It so chanced, however, that even these few Cossacks were very nearly inflicting a heavy blow on the English army, by the capture of one of its most distinguished officers. Sir George Brown, general of the Light Division, had no sooner landed, than with characteristic daring he mounted his horse, and advanced alone to gain a view of the surrounding country. He had ridden some distance, and had closely approached the retreating party, quite unconscious of their neighbourhood, when he was suddenly astonished by the unwelcome apparition of three ferocious horsemen, lance in hand, in full career towards him, and at but a few yards’ distance. Sir George, who was almost unarmed, was too old a soldier to mistake rashness for courage, and wisely considering the odds too great, discreetly put spurs to his horse and galloped off, followed by his Cossack pursuers. A few of our men had fortunately, however, followed in the steps of their leader, and when they saw his danger, hastened to the rescue. Half a dozen levelled rifles proved too strong an argument for the valour of the Russian horsemen, and they, in their turn, made a precipitate retreat. Sir George Brown rejoined the main body, and proved, when the time came, that he could attack as bravely as he could retire discreetly.
By the time when the approaching darkness rendered it necessary to suspend operations for the day, 20,000 English, with thirty-six guns, and numerous horses, had been landed, and the French in about equal force. Our men had left their tents in the ships, and officers and common soldiers were alike unprovided with means of shelter. Their rations consisted of provisions for three days; and in this respect, those high in command shared with their less distinguished followers. As night closed in, torrents of rain began to descend, and in a brief space of time, the narrow strip of land on which they stood, bounded on the one side by the sea, and on the other by a salt lake, was a dismal swamp. Wrapping themselves in their blankets, which were thoroughly soaked in a few minutes, the men lay down in the mud, and endeavoured to sleep. A moderate, and not very luxurious supper of cold pork, washed down witha single sip of rum, was their first meal in the Crimea; and then, officers and men strove to drown in slumber the wretched aspect of affairs which thus initiated their invasion. Sir De Lacy Evans was fortunate enough to possess a tent, which some considerate member of the veteran’s staff had contrived to bring on shore. An old cart, the property probably of some Tartar peasant, frightened from his accustomed labour, made, when overturned, a canopy such as royalty seldom couches beneath; but under its welcome shelter the Duke of Cambridge pressed, no doubt for the first time, the bare earth. The French were better provided. They had contrived to land a considerable number of tents; and, moreover, many of their regiments were supplied with the littletentes-abris, a portion of which was borne by each soldier; and several of these parts could be united into a small tent, sufficiently commodious to afford some protection from the severity of the weather.
How little can the home-keeping public realise the feelings which must have been predominant in the bosoms of the men during that melancholy bivouac! Soldiers are, perhaps, less sensitive to hardships and exposure than civilians; and probably comparatively callous to the finer sentiments. But it is scarcely possible to conceive that, out of 60,000 men, lying on the bare earth in an enemy’s country, there would be many who would not be keenly alive to the emotions their situations would naturally suggest. Physically depressed by a day of extreme toil, poorly fed, and drenched by the descending torrent, the past would be inevitably present to their imaginations, and with the past the probable future. Many men will march dauntlessly to the cannon’s mouth, and show no signs of fear, but with cheerful voice, and light step, dash through the enemy’s fire, and over the bodies of the dead. But in the stillness of the night, when no excitement warms his blood, the bravest will be despondent, and the strong man be moved with emotions as keen as those which agitate the breasts of the tender woman or the sympathetic child. Oceans rolled between them and all they had learned to love and value. No hand so rough but had been pressed by some other hand on the day of departure; no nature so fierce and ungentle but had softened into a better manhood as the cliffs of England receded from the view. And now they lay through the long hours of that miserable night, striving vainly enough to drown their remembrances in sleep, and gain renewed strength and courage for the morrow—the morrow that might bring death, and certainly imminent dangers. Before them lay an unknown land—a future of deadly uncertainty. Battles were to be fought, shot and steel to be encountered; andwho could tell who were destined to lie in the obscurity of death on that foreign soil, and who to bear the tidings back to thousands of melancholy homes?
Thus was passed the night of the 14th of September, the anniversary of the death of the great Duke of Wellington, who, two years before, ended his career amid the universally expressed sorrow of a great people. He was, we had fondly hoped, the last great representative of the military glory of this country. A new era had been, we believed, initiated, in which the arts of peace supersede the operations of war. And now, but two years after the conqueror of Waterloo had looked for the last time upon the world, an English army had landed upon the shores of a hostile territory, and was commencing a warfare of which no man could see the termination, and which bade fair to involve every nation of Europe. The chosen champion of England’s military glory was quiet in his tomb; but his companions, pupils, and successors were prepared to emulate his deeds, and strike as vigorously for the honor of their country, and the maintenance of the freedom of Europe.”
CROPREADY, BATTLE OF.—Fought between the forces of Charles I of England and the Parliament, June 6th, 1644. It was a drawn battle; for both sides, in their respective accounts, claim the victory.
CRUSADES.—The holy wars, waged by the Christians, to wrest the Sepulchre of Christ and Jerusalem, from the hands of the Saracens, continued for many years, and no important results were derived from them as regards territorial acquisition, but they had an immense effect in civilizing the west countries of Europe. There were three principal ones.
CUDDALORE.—India.—Possessed by the English in 1681. Reduced by the French, 1758. Recaptured two years afterwards by Sir Eyre Coote. Taken again in 1781. Besieged by the British under General Stuart in 1783.
CUIRASS.—A covering for protecting the body of cavalry from the weapons of opponents. The French had a body of soldiers covered with them.
CULLODEN, BATTLE OF.—Fought April 16th, 1746, between the Pretender and the Duke of Cumberland. The Scots lost 2500 men, while the English lost only 200. A writer thus describes the battle:—
“Thus far the affairs of the rebel army seemed not unprosperous; buthere was an end of all their triumphs. The Duke of Cumberland, at that time the favourite of the English army, had been recalled from Flanders, and put himself at the head of the troops at Edinburgh, which consisted of about 14,000 men. With these he advanced to Aberdeen, where he was joined by several of the Scotch nobility, attached to the house of Hanover; and having revived the drooping spirits of his army, he resolved to find out the enemy, who retreated at his approach. After having refreshed his troops at Aberdeen for some time, he renewed his march, and in twelve days he came up to the banks of the deep and rapid river Spey. This was the place where the rebels might have disputed his passage, but they lost every advantage in disputing with each other. They seemed now totally void of all counsel and subordination, without conduct, and without unanimity. After a variety of contests among each other, they resolved to wait their pursuers upon the plains of Culloden, a place about nine miles distant from Inverness, embosomed in hills, except on that side which was open to the sea. There they drew up in order of battle, to the number of 8000 men, in three divisions, supplied with some pieces of artillery, ill manned and served.
“The battle began about one o’clock in the afternoon; the cannon of the King’s army did dreadful execution among the rebels, while theirs was totally unserviceable. One of the great errors in all the Pretender’s war-like measures, was his subjecting wild and undisciplined troops to the forms of artful war, and thus repressing their native ardour, from which alone he could hope for success. After they had kept in their ranks and withstood the English fire for some time, they at length became impatient for closer engagement; and about 500 of them made an irruption upon the left wing of the enemy with their accustomed ferocity. The first line being disordered by this onset, two battalions advanced to support it, and galled the enemy with a terrible close discharge. At the same time the dragoons, under Hawley, and the Argyleshire militia, pulling down a park wall feebly defended, fell among them, sword in hand, with great slaughter. In less than thirty minutes they were totally routed, and the field covered with their wounded and slain, to the number of 3000 men. The French troops on the left did not fire a shot, but stood inactive during the engagement, and afterwards surrendered themselves prisoners of war. An entire body of the clans marched off the field in order, while the rest were routed with great slaughter, and their leaders obliged with reluctance to retire. Civil war is in itself terrible, but much more so when heightened by unnecessary cruelty. How guilty soever an enemy may be, it is theduty of a brave soldier to remember that he is only to fight an opposer, and not a suppliant. The victory was in every respect decisive, and humanity to the conquered would have rendered it glorious. But little mercy was shown here; the conquerors were seen to refuse quarter to the wounded, the unarmed, the defenceless; some were slain who were only excited by curiosity to become spectators of the combat, and soldiers were seen to anticipate the base employment of the executioner. The Duke, immediately after the action, ordered thirty-six deserters to be executed. The conquerors spread terror wherever they came; and, after a short space, the whole country round was one dreadful scene of plunder, slaughter, and desolation; justice was forgotten, and vengeance assumed the name.”
CUNNERSDORF, BATTLE OF.—The King of Prussia with 50,000 men attacked the Austrian and Russian army with 90,000 men (in their camp). At first he gained considerable advantages, but pursuing too far, the enemy rallied and gained a complete victory. The Russians lost 200 pieces of cannon and 20,000 men in killed and wounded. Fought August 12th, 1759.
CUSTOZZA, BATTLE OF.—Fought Sunday, 24th June, 1866 between the Austrians and Italians. “The Italian army, divided into three corps and a reserve, making up a force of from 80,000 to 90,000 combatants, after crossing the Mincio at Gotto, and on the other points, on Saturday afternoon, June 23rd, 1866, and sending reconnoitering parties towards Peschiera and Verona, encamped for the night at some place beyond Roverbella, equidistant from the two fortresses. On the ensuing morning an attempt was made upon those high positions of Sona, Somma Campaigna, and Santa Ciustina, which commands the fifteen miles railway line joining the two strongholds, positions which played a conspicuous part in the campaign of 1848. The object of the Italians was evidently to take possession of the railway, so as to isolate Peschiera and secure a basis of operations against Verona. The Austrians, however, who were massed in great force at Verona, sallied forth from that place at daybreak, and, anticipating the Italian movements, took up their position upon those hills, which are now everywhere bristling with bastions and redoubts, and may be looked upon as mere outworks of the two citadels, extending from the gates of one to those of the other. After a severe and bloody, or, as the Italians describe it, “desperate struggle,” which lasted nearly the whole day—that longest of summer days—the Imperialarmy was victorious along the whole line. They stormed the summit of Montevente, where the Italians held out the longest, and at the close of the engagement, at five o’clock in the afternoon, they also carried the position of Custozza, a spot fatal to Italian arms in their encounter with Radetski, in July, 1848. The victors captured several guns, and about 2000 prisoners, and behaved, as the Archduke Albert’s bulletin assures us, and as we may readily believe, with even more than their ordinary bravery and endurance. On the same evening the Italian army was obliged to re-cross the Mincio.
The Italian accounts of the engagement present no points of material difference. According to them, the first army corps was sent forward to occupy some positions between Peschiera and Verona, but being surrounded by superior numbers, it “failed to effect its purpose,” and the description given of its losses in the contest leaves us little doubt that it was all but annihilated. The second and third corps, unable—it is not said for what reason—to advance to its rescue, were still in the evening “almost intact.” It was also stated from Brescia that the army had maintained its position; but there is little doubt that it had to withdraw across the Mincio later in the night. The Italians had several of their Generals wounded, among others the King’s second son, Prince Amadeus, who has arrived at Brescia.
There is every probability, also, that the Italians were, on this occasion, outnumbered by their enemies: for the Austrians have from 200,000 to 250,000 men in Venetia, and as they had in their hands the most formidable of all engines of modern warfare—the railway, they had probably massed three-fourths, at least, of their troops in Verona, ready for the long-expected Italian inroad. The Archduke’s bulletins, in fact, never speak of garrisons, but tell us that the “imperial army” was in the field.
The Italians, we are assured, behaved with great heroism, and, no doubt although they lost the day, they came off without loss of honour. An advance across the Mincio, right into the heart of the Quadrilateral, is an enterprise which no other European army would, under such circumstances, have ventured upon, but a frenzy to do something seems to have possessed the whole Italian nation, and the men in command could think of nothing better than dashing their heads against those formidable stone walls. There may be bravery in so desperate an attempt to take the bull by the horns, but we believe it would be impossible for the king or La Marmora to say what results they expected from their ill-conceived andworse-executed attempt. It was a battle in which they staked the very existence of their army, while their enemies, in the worst event, ran no other risk than that of a safe and leisurely retreat behind the shelter of their bastions. The least that may be said of it is, that like the Balaklava charge, “C’était beau mais ce n’était pas la guerre.” Ever since 1848 and 1849 the Austrians have strained every nerve to strengthen these four citadels, and have extended their outworks, so that the line between Peschiera and Verona, especially, is a vast intrenched camp.”
CYZICUM, BATTLE OF.—Fought during the Peloponnesian war. Plutarch states that Mindarus was slain in this battle. The Athenians gained a complete victory over the Lacedæmonian fleet. FoughtB.C.410.