VISIT TO THE CRIMEA WITH CHARLES GORDON. REPORT ON THE CEMETERIES
In the autumn of 1872 I was sent by the Government to the Crimea,
to report on the condition of the British cemeteries and monuments,
and also as to their restoration and care for the future. Colonel
Charles Gordon (of Khartoum), an old friend of mine, was associated
with me in the work. He was at that time a member of the International
Commission for improving the navigation at the mouth of the Danube.
Travelling rapidly through Europe, I met him at Galatz at the end of
August; and we embarked on board H.M.S. 'Antelope,' which had been
sent from Constantinople to convey us across the Black Sea. Gordon's
views about the work of the Danube Commission were, as usual, rather
peculiar. He explained to me that, as the river had been adequately
dredged and buoyed, and as the lighthouse at its mouth was completed,
there was really nothing more to do; and that the Commission was
practically useless. As I understood, he had written to the Foreign
Office to that effect, adding also that his salary was too large. In
the ordinary concerns of life he was actuated by one principle which
is rare--namely, a contempt for the accumulation of money. In fact,
he gave it away almost as fast as he received it. His experience in
Eastern countries, also, had given him a distrust of pashas and men in
high places; and all his sympathies were for the poor and friendless.
Soon after our visit to the Crimea he was appointed Governor-General
of the Soudan, and it is said that at an interview with Ismail Pasha
before starting for Khartoum he objected to the large amount of his
salary, as being more than necessary; and when he left, the Khedive
remarked: 'What an extraordinary Englishman! He doesn't want money!'
On leaving Galatz, we went first of all to Odessa, to call on General
Kotzebue, the Governor-General of Southern Russia, who, however, was
unfortunately absent; but we had an opportunity of meeting, and of
receiving assistance from him later on. Indeed, during the whole of our
visit to the Crimea, every attention was paid to us by the authorities;
and two Russian officers were specially detailed to accompany and
assist us in our investigations. We arrived at Sebastopol on August 29,
and found the city in ruins, and almost exactly in the same condition
as when the allied armies had left it seventeen years before. The
churches, barracks, theatres, and store-houses were all roofless; and
the Malakoff, Redan, and other defences mere crumbling earthworks. All
was so quiet and still, and such a contrast to the stirring times of
the years gone by, in the hardships and vicissitudes of which Gordon
and myself had shared. We seemed to know every inch of the ground, and
for many days wandered about, taking notes of the various cemeteries,
great and small, scattered over the country.
Although comparatively few officers and men remain of all those
who took part in the great Crimean war of forty years ago, its
reminiscences will still, no doubt, be of interest to many in the
present day; and I will therefore quote some extracts from the report
made by Gordon and myself on our return home:[99] 'From the day of
our arrival until September 9, we were engaged many hours each day
in making a careful inspection of every cemetery and memorial of the
British Army in the vicinity of Sebastopol.' 'It will be remembered
that after the battle of the Alma the Allies marched on Sebastopol,
and in consequence of their long detention before that city the great
body of the British Army did not move again during the war, but
remained encamped on the plateau on the south side; consequently,
with the exception of a few monuments at the Alma and at Kertch, the
whole of the cemeteries, one hundred and thirty in number, are to
be found on the ground which extends from Sebastopol to Balaclava,
and from Kamiesch to the Tchernaya.' 'The cemeteries vary much both
in their position and size. Some are in the rocky ravines leading
down to the trenches, whilst others are on the hills and downs which
surround Balaclava. Some lie in the sheltered valleys about Kadikoi and
Karani; but by far the greater number extend along the bare plateau in
front of the city, upon which the army so long remained encamped; and
pre-eminent among them is that on Cathcart's Hill, distinguished alike
by its commanding central position and by the numerous monuments it
contains, many of them to officers of high rank and distinction.'[100]
'The cemeteries also differ considerably in the number of graves
and monuments which they relatively contain. Some are large, with
hundreds of graves, and many inscribed tablets and crosses; others
in isolated spots with only a few. A considerable number contain no
monuments whatever. The majority are those to officers; but there
are also many to soldiers, and a few to women, nurses, or the wives
of soldiers.' 'A small proportion of the monuments have been erected
since the termination of the war. Some are of marble, but as a rule
they are of the soft stone found upon the spot. They were for the
most part hurriedly erected toward the end of the campaign, often by
unskilful hands, without sufficient foundations, and with slightly
cut inscriptions. Originally there were also a considerable number of
wooden crosses. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that,
exposed to the vicissitudes of climate, especially to the rigour of
Crimean winters, a large number of them have perished, and almost
all of those remaining show signs of weather and decay.' 'The walls
which enclose the cemeteries were in the first instance roughly built,
without mortar or foundations, and of the loose uncut stones in the
neighbourhood. Time and weather have led to their rapid decay, and
the shepherds have occasionally hastened the destruction by making
entrances for their flocks.' 'We endeavoured to visit every cemetery
and memorial of which we could find a record; the total number in the
neighbourhood of Sebastopol and Balaclava amounting to 130.[101] The
farm-house which was so long the head-quarters of the British Army is
well cared for, and in good preservation; and in the room in which Lord
Raglan died a marble slab has been inserted in the wall, with the
following inscription: "In this room died Field-Marshal Lord Raglan,
G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in the Crimea, June 28,
1855."'
'The circumstances of the French Army were very similar to our own, and
they had numerous cemeteries widely dispersed from Kamiesch to Baidar.
Feeling the inconvenience and difficulty as regards their care and
preservation which have so long perplexed ourselves, they determined to
disinter the remains of their officers and men, and to remove them to
one central spot near the former French head-quarters. This arrangement
was carried out in 1863, each cemetery being denuded of its dead, and
then abandoned. About 28,000 bodies are said to have been removed;
those of the officers having been as far as possible identified.' ...
'Although a course similar to that followed by the French has been from
time to time advocated, with regard to the remains of our officers and
men, it does not appear to Colonel Gordon and myself that any general
disinterment or removal is necessary or even desirable. Independently
of the difficulty, it might almost be called impossibility, after
the lapse of so many years, of collecting the remains or of in any
way identifying them, we believe that it would be repugnant to the
feelings of the Army and of the British public generally that any such
plan should be attempted. Our officers and men were buried by their
comrades on the ground where they fell; the whole scene is sacred and
historical; and the remains of the dead should not be disturbed. As
regards the cemeteries generally, our view is that those which contain
no monuments should be covered with mounds of earth and turf, and that
the ruined walls should be removed.' ... 'We are of opinion that the
larger cemeteries, which contain numerous mementoes and tombstones,
should be preserved, a substantial wall being built round them, and
that all monuments, tablets, and crosses should be repaired and
the inscriptions renewed. The three memorial obelisks at Inkerman,
Balaclava, and the Redan, should be protected by a good wall, with a
substantial railing....'
These extracts will probably suffice as a general view of the condition
of the British cemeteries in the Crimea at the time of our visit, and
of the proposals for their restoration, which were subsequently adopted
and carried out by the Government. The cost was estimated at 5,000_l._
Leaving Sebastopol in the 'Antelope,' we called at Yalta, and had an
interview with General Kotzebue, who was much interested in our work,
and anxious that the British memorials should be respected, at the
same time pointing out the difficulty of adequately guarding so large
a number. The late Empress of Russia was at the time residing at the
Palace of Livadia at Yalta, and sent us a kind message, regretting her
inability owing to illness to receive us, and wishing us _bon voyage_.
Having paid a short visit to Kertch and Yenikale, at the entrance
of the Sea of Azoff, we then returned to Constantinople, and were
immediately, for some inscrutable reason, placed in quarantine for a
week, although we were all perfectly well.
As soon as we were free, the British Ambassador, Sir Henry Elliot,
kindly received us for a few days at his palace at Therapia, on the
Bosphorus; and at his request, I paid a visit, accompanied by an
interpreter, to the Grand Vizier, Midhat Pasha, who was anxious to
discuss the Turkish armaments and defences. I had previously inspected
the arsenal and manufacturing departments; and frankly told him that
they were in considerable confusion, and that a great deal of money had
apparently been wasted in the purchase of second-rate half-obsolete
material, partly on the Continent and partly in America; and that, in
view of the rapid advances in the science of artillery, and in small
arms, I advised prudence and economy. He listened attentively, and
his reply was 'Pekki,' which I found meant approbation (literally,
'Very good'); and went on to say, that the lavish expenditure had
been incurred by his predecessors, but that he would be careful. He
then alluded to the defence of Constantinople against naval attack;
and I pointed out that, considering the comparative narrowness of the
Bosphorus, it offered great facilities for the employment of ground
torpedoes. Midhat Pasha was apparently ignorant on the subject, so
I explained as lucidly as possible that a torpedo was a case of
gunpowder, which, placed at the bottom of the channel, could be
exploded by electricity as the enemy's vessel passed over it; and that
such defence was simple, efficient, and cheap. This gave him much
satisfaction, and he replied, 'Pekki, Pekki,' with great fervour. I
heard afterwards that he had been pleased with the interview, and
especially with my economical views. He had, however, no opportunity of
acting on them, having been dismissed from office almost immediately
afterwards.
Having taken leave of Gordon, who returned to his improvements on
the Danube, I then proceeded to Smyrna, where a few British tombs
and memorials of the war existed; and on my arrival called on the
British Consul, who lived in a charming house overlooking the bay. On
expressing my admiration of his residence, the Consul's wife explained
that there was a difficulty in keeping it in order, on account of
incessant earthquakes; although lately they had been more free from
them. Hardly had I returned to the hotel than I heard a rumbling noise.
Then the whole house commenced rocking violently to and fro, and it
became evident that the overdue earthquake had arrived. Fortunately not
much damage was done.
During my stay at Smyrna I paid a visit to Ephesus, meeting Mr. Wood,
who had been sent out by the authorities of the British Museum, and
was excavating the recently discovered ruins of the temple of Diana.
My duties, however, required me to return home; and travelling through
France, I took an opportunity, when at Paris, of sketching ruins of
a very different character--those of the Tuileries, on which were
inscribed in large letters, 'Liberté--Egalité--Fraternité.'
On arriving in England I was invited by Mr. Lowe, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, to call in Downing Street to discuss the purport of my
report. The conversation began by his inquiring, somewhat abruptly,
whether I considered it one of the duties of the British Government to
keep in repair the cemeteries and monuments of the Army in all parts
of the world. My reply was that I had never considered so wide and
interesting a question, but had limited myself simply to those in the
Crimea. He at once said, that the report was sensible enough, involved
no great expenditure, and should be carried out; and so we amicably
left the main problem unsolved.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE TUILERIES, NOVEMBER 1872
_Liberté--Egalité--Fraternité_]
Subsequently I sent a few copies of the report and some photographs
to those who had assisted us at Sebastopol; and one of the Russian
officers sent me a reply, which, although not altogether perfect in its
English, is very friendly in its tone: 'My General,--I have the honour
to accept your lovely letter, with the photographie of mitrailleuse,
and I your transport my deep thanksgiving. I observe of your letter,
that you forget not Sebastopol and cemetery, who to ask by repair. Your
report of British Cemetery I have forward of General Kotzebue, and if
you possess one copy, take my,' &c.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 99: _Report on the Crimean Cemeteries_, December 1872.]
[Footnote 100: We found no less than 122 graves of English officers
on Cathcart's Hill, including those of Generals Sir George Cathcart,
Fox-Strangways, Goldie, and Sir John Campbell.]
[Footnote 101: To those persons who had relations or friends buried
during the Crimean war, it may be interesting to know that, in the
report of 1872 details are given of all the names found on the various
tombstones.]