"Below the walls of the house in which we encamped, buried amid orchards

and vineyards, is a ruined villa with marble fountains and handsome

rooms. It is pillaged and wrecked like the rest, but it tempts our party

to plunge down through the brushwood and thick scrubby woods, interlaced

with 'Christ's thorn' and long creepers, to the ledge on which it stands

above the sea. The silence, broken only by the cry of the eagles which

soar about the cliffs, the surge of the wave on the rocks, and the

voices of the birds in the groves, is rather a source of pain than of

pleasure. '_Malheur à la dévastation_' is inscribed on the walls. But

who were the devastators? The Russians allege it was the Allies--the

Tartars declare it was the Russians themselves. There are many who

believe that these very Tartars had no small share in the plundering and

wrecking of their taskmasters' and conquerors' summer palaces. We know

from experience that on the march to Sebastopol, every village, every

little villa and farmhouse, was sacked and destroyed by the enemy, and

Bourliouk, Eskel, Mamashai, Belbek, &c., were in ruins before our

outposts reached them. The evidence so far is against the Russians. As

the walls and roofs of these houses are untouched, they look as

picturesque and pretty from a distance as ever they did, and it is only

on nearer approach that traces of the hand of the spoiler become

visible.

"We had a very excellent breakfast, notwithstanding the extraordinary

rich flavour of onions in the tea, which was accounted for by the

circumstance that the water had been boiled in the soup-kettle. Some

officers of the Guards who had followed us, and bivouacked near the

post-house which we had passed on the road, came in as we were at 'our

humble meal,' and relished their share of it exceedingly. Their cart

pushed on in advance of ours, and as they profited by our labours of

yesterday, so did we in a smaller degree (our cart was larger than

theirs) reap the advantage of their preceding us part of the way to-day.

We started about eleven o'clock, and our hard work soon commenced.

Between the enemy, the French, and the winter, the road scarcely

existed; it had been swept down into the ravine. However, our motto was

'_vestigia nulla retrorsum_,' and the colonel, the major, the captain,

the D.A.C.G., the civilians, and the soldiers, worked as if for their

lives and succeeded, in the course of the day, in executing the

following useful public works: No. 1. Road blocked up by rocks from

mountain--cut down trees, made levers, and cleared the way--major's leg

nearly broken, every one dirtied with wheel grease, finger-nails broken,

hands cut, &c. No. 2. Road repaired by Guards (who left us a bit of

paper on a stick to commemorate the fact) was found too narrow, the

hill-side was dug-out, stones laid, and road extended. No. 3.

Landslip--edge of the road gone. We built up a wall of stones to support

the edge, and passed over triumphantly. No. 4. Were riding along at a

smart pace down the road, which winds like a piece of tape (not red, but

white) along the mountain side, when frantic cries from the next turn

recalled us to our cart--found it had gone down over a gulley, shooting

out beds and bundles some hundreds of feet below, and was lying right

over in the mud of the aforesaid gulley atop of the wheel mule. No one

hurt. Took off wheels, cut fastenings, and unharnessed mule, which

escaped without a hurt, but was covered with mud; raised cart, carried

up beds, &c., out of ravine; unpacked cart and carried baggage across

bad parts of landslip; set cart on wheels, loaded it, and went on our

way rejoicing.

"Just after this accident we met General Eyre and his staff, attended by

a Russian officer and several Cossacks, on his way to Phoros. The

gallant General had been round to Bakshiserai, Simpheropol, and

Aloushta, and was just reversing our route, which our party had the

honour of being the first to drag a cart over. The General had been

assisted up to this point by a village full of Tartars, who were caught

by the Russians, to get his cart over the bad places. No. 5. Came upon

the Guards and their servants, who were busy mending the road where it

was cut by a mountain water-course: aided them and ourselves; got over

our cart first and preceded them on the road. No. 6. Cut fascines and

filled in a gap in the road. Let it be understood, all this time, that

there is the sea below us on the right, the quaint wall of cliffs,

600ft. or 700ft. high, on our left, and at times, as it were, toppling

over on our heads, and a rugged slope of wood and vineyard dotted with

villas between us and the beach. No. 7. Having come up to a party of

Guardsmen who were bivouacking with some artillerymen on their way back

to Baidar, we were told that the road was utterly impassable; it had

been carried away by a landslip. Resolved to go on; soon afterwards

repaired road, and proceeded cautiously through mud from the ice rills

which had bored through and broken up the path in many places.

[Sidenote: SIMEIS TO ALOUPKA.]

"It was becoming late, and yet we had not got more than eight or nine

miles from Asarkaia; and Aloupka, for which we were bound, was still as

many miles ahead of us. The cliff at this part of the coast, which is

somewhere between Kikineis and Limena, recedes further from the sea, and

there is a considerable tract of hills from its base to the road. These

hills are covered with brushwood, and our vedette in front reported to

us that two round knobs, which, no doubt, served as heads to as many

Cossacks, were visible in advance, amid the young foliage. As we

approached, the knobs disappeared, but presently two lance-points peered

above the rocks at the turn of the road, and in another moment or two we

were in the presence of three mounted Cossacks of the Don, who by signs

demanded our passes in a very civil and agreeable manner. As none of

them could read, this formality seemed useless, but they gave us to

understand by signs that one of our party must go to the officer of the

post, and the Major and his interpreter were accordingly handed over to

the care of an individual with one eye, and were out of sight very

speedily. Our cart was ordered back, and it was explained that we had to

drag it over the slope of the hills on our left, as the road before us

had actually gone over the cliffs. Our friends were intelligent,

good-looking young fellows, and while waiting for the Major we spent

some time rather agreeably with them in a mutual examination of arms and

interchange of tobacco. They wore heavy curved swords, without guards to

the handles, in large sheaths of wood covered with leather. Their heads

were covered with sheepskin caps, the top being formed of red cloth, and

slightly conical in shape. Their coats were like those of the infantry

of the line--long garments of grey cloth, fastened by a strap at the

back, and their trousers were tucked into their boots _more

Muscovitorum_. Each man had a long carbine slung over his shoulder, and

I was rather surprised to observe that they had percussion locks. This

armament was completed by a long and very light lance. The edges of

their swords were as sharp as razors--their lance-points were equally

keen. Their hair was closely cut, and they had the whiskerless cheek,

the beardless chin, and the mustachioed lip of the "regulation." Their

horses were barely fourteen hands high, and were high in the bone and

low in the flesh, but their speed and endurance are undeniable. The

Cossack rides high above his horse--he sits in the hollow of a saddle

which looks like two pillars of black leather, at such a height that his

heels are against the horse's flank, and when the animal trots, his

rider's head is thrown forward over the shoulder, so that a right line

let fall from his head would be in advance of his toes by some inches.

The manes of the Cossack horses are very long, and their tails often

sweep the ground. We soon found they were very quick walkers, and got

over the ground with rapidity and ease.

"As the Major did not return, we concluded, after a long stay, that he

was on the road before us, and we resolved to urge the cart over the

hill. The Cossacks helped us in this (which was no easy matter) as soon

as their comrade came back with an intimation, as we understood, which

would be interpreted in English that 'it was all right.' The cart was

once more unloaded, and its contents were dragged by us across the steep

hill; then the cart was spoked up over the spongy ground, was loaded

again, and the drivers were conducted to the road by the Cossacks, while

we were shown a shorter cut, and descended under escort of our amiable,

but strongly scented friends, down through shady ravines to the Tartar

village of Simeis. Simeis, like all Tartar villages, is built by the

side of a brook, which brawls pleasantly through a succession of little

cascades as it leaps down from the mountains to the sea. The ravine in

which the village is situate is shaded from the sun by enormous walnut

and chestnut trees, and by the humbler branches of pear, apple, and

peach trees. The houses are built on the slope in layers, with broad

flat roofs, which are rendered watertight by a thick covering of sand

and bitumen, and on looking down on it, or on any of the Tartar

villages, not a house is visible; all that can be seen is a succession

of little brown square patches with one hole in each, descending the

slope in regular terraces, the backs being formed by the hill-side

itself. In Simeis we were halted till the curiosity of a strong Cossack

picket and some regulars was satisfied. About sixty men passed us in

review, and then we were let to climb the hill up to the road, at which

we found another Cossack waiting to relieve our silent friend who had so

far accompanied us.

"It was getting dark; there was no sign of the Major; but, for a wonder,

one of the Cossacks spoke German, and he told us an English officer was

on in front. In a few moments our guide began to ride down a steep

zigzag road towards the sea. The cart had come up all right, and we

found we were on our way down to Aloupka, which is close to the

sea-shore. The zigzag was as steep and sharp in its turns as any Swiss

mountain path, and the horses, already tired by the nature of the day's

journey, showed signs of distress very visibly. The descent lasted for

an hour; it seemed a night; the young moon just lighted up the Cossack's

white horse, and the feathery tips of tall poplars and branches of grey

olive-trees and all else was in darkness. We heard the roar of the sea

close at hand at last, and a low white building peered above the trees.

We cantered into the open space before it by a nice avenue with a

regular paling on each side. The Cossack dismounted, fastened up his

horse, and went into the house, leaving us in profound ignorance and

great hunger outside. The sounds of very noisy and drunken singing,

which roused the night owls through the windows, led us to believe the

house was a Cossack barrack, but after some time the door opened, and

out came a brisk little man, who spoke good French, and a decent body,

his wife, who astonished us with excellent English, and we found that we

were at 'the hotel' at Aloupka. The cause of the noise was soon found.

It was the work of a drunken Russian Colonel, chief of the police at

Yalta, who had introduced himself to some English officers at that

place, and had, in spite of them, accompanied them so far on their way

to Phoros. '_Violà_,' said a little voice in our ears, as the door of

the dining-room was opened,--'_Violà la noblesse Russe--il est noble

parcequ'il est Colonel_.' The room in which we found ourselves was a

comfortable apartment, with sofas and easy-chairs, engravings of Count

Potocki, of the Czar (of course), of Prince Woronzoff, of very warm

subjects from French burins, on the walls, and a table well covered with

bottles and glasses. At the end of the table was seated a Russian

officer, screaming at the top of his voice some inscrutable snatches of

song, for which he prepared himself by copious doses of brandy, sherry,

and Crim wine. He was offensively drunk, but the terror which he

inspired in the landlord and landlady was not the less on that account,

and was evidently only equalled by their hatred of him. We are told that

the Russians read the London papers so diligently that they know

everything that passes as well as we do ourselves. I do not wish to get

our good host and his wife, or even the inebriated Muscovite, into a

scrape, or I would relate a few particulars respecting their demeanour

which might prove amusing. The Colonel of the Aloupka district, when he

heard of the condition of his brother 'authority,' gave orders that he

should be turned out, but these were not carried into effect till late

in the evening. He spoke a little French, and I think he understood

English, though he professed not to know a word.

"Our dinner consisted of salt meat and an _omelette au lard_, washed

down with plenty of Crim wine. We had also a tin of preserved beef. It

was very fat, and we all put away the excess of adipose matter on a

plate, where it formed a pretty large pile. The Colonel, who had been

eating the meat, suddenly seized upon this plate, and stuffed huge

mouthfuls of the fat and grease down his throat on the point of a knife

with infinite gusto. A Cossack brought us in our passes. In spite of his

standing at attention, the man's look betrayed a feeling of greater

disgust at the Colonel's condition than I should have given him credit

for. Our horses, which were put in a distant stable, could only be fed

by the intervention of some others of our Dons, who also undertook to

guard them all right--'the Greeks were such robbers.' Our beds were

clean and comfortable, and we slept well till morning, although the

Colonel kicked up at intervals a dreadful row outside.

[Sidenote: THE ALMA REVISITED.]

"Distance lends enchantment to the view of Prince Woronzoff's palace

from the sea. Hence it seems a splendid combination of Tartar and Norman

architecture, donjons and keeps, and battlemented walls, strangely

intermingling with minarets and the dome of a mosque. It is quite close

to our hotel, and is approached by a beautiful walk, like the back lodge

avenue in an English estate. The path is marked by a wooden paling,

inside which are olives and fruit-trees and evergreens, and immense

chestnut and walnut trees and silvery poplars. We pass a quiet chateau

with a verandah and terraced front. It was the Prince's residence before

he built his palace, and it is now used as a summer retreat by his son.

The furniture is simple and handsome, and there is a beautiful view from

the windows. A Russian servant (the only one we saw about the place)

readily showed us over the premises.

"From Aloupka we continued our course by the coast as far as the village

of Alushta, whence we turned off towards the north, crossing the Tchater

Dagh and descending to Simpheropol. From that town we made our way to

Bakshiserai, and so home to camp."

CHAPTER VII.

Visits to the Alma--Aspect of the Locality--Criticisms on the

Battle--Conflicting Statements--Memorials of departed Heroes.

Ere I left the Crimea I went twice to the Alma, and examined the

battle-ground. I shall reproduce my account of the excursion in the

language in which it was written at the time. "The road from the

plateau, on which for one long year the hopes and fears and anxieties of

civilized Europe were concentrated, leads down from the ridge on which

the battle of Inkerman was mainly fought to the deep ravine out of which

the materials for the mansions, quays, harbours, docks, and forts of

Sebastopol have been hewed. It presents a wild and desolate aspect. The

graves of the slain are numerous. The slabs of oolite tower

perpendicularly for several hundred feet on the right hand and the left

to the verge of the elevated plateau, and rise, like great white walls

of masonry, aloft from a base of huge blocks and disintegrated masses of

the same substance. This ravine, deepening as it descends, falls at

right angles to the valley through which the Tchernaya eats its way to

the head of the Roads of Sebastopol. At the lower end of the ravine the

aqueduct spans it, and then is carried on a light and handsome bridge of

masonry, supported on some ten or twelve arches right across, and

disappears in a tunnel through the solid rock on the left-hand side.

Passing underneath, through one of the arches, you find yourself by the

banks of the sluggish Tchernaya, and a ride of 500 yards or so past the

perpendicular cliffs, perforated with caves, which bound the margin of

the valley, leads you to the causeway across the marsh towards Inkerman.

An excellent wooden bridge, built by our engineers, stretches across the

river, and the marsh beyond is crossed by a high causeway. At the near

end are our guard-tents; and the pass is kept by the Russian and English

sentries, who seem on very good terms with each other. Arrived at the

end of the causeway, the cliffs of northern Inkerman are above you, and

the road winds up to a ravine which leads you to their recesses. A

curious chapel and monkery in the caves are visible in the face of the

cliff. Embrasures are above, before, and on each side of you on entering

these fastnesses. The black pupils of these dull eyes have been removed,

but there is enough of the works left to show how hot and frequent they

could have flashed on you in their anger. There are five batteries on

various points of this ravine, and the slopes of the plateau afford many

fine sites for field artillery or guns of position. The road is good. On

the right, about a mile from the entrance of the ravine, are numerous

deep shafts in the clay, from, which the Russians draw their supply of

water. The road winds gradually upwards till it leads you to the level

of the north plateau of Inkerman, just as the Quarries road took you

down from the south plateau to the level of the valley of the Tchernaya,

from which you are now ascending. Here is the Russian camp, at which we

have so often gazed from the heights on the right of our position. It is

now very much altered in appearance. The huts have been abandoned, and

the men are living in a very pretty, clean, and well-kept camp of

canvas, but the purlieus are very dirty, and have the usual disagreeable

smell of Russian quarters. The tents are square in shape, and at the

top, which tapers to a point from the side of the wall, there is a knob,

gilt or painted, which gives them an air of finish. The path or streets

of the camp are bordered with wild flowers and fir branches. The

regiments stationed here belong to the Seventh Division, which forms the

First Division of the third _corps d'armée_, and are, as well as I could

ascertain, the 13th (Smolensko) and 14th (Politsch), and number about

6,000 men. There is a brigade of field artillery--two batteries--close

to this camp, and the pieces are very well kept, and in excellent

condition.

[Sidenote: THE ALMA REVISITED.]

"The cantonments extend as far as the heights over the valley of the

Belbek on the left-hand side, and could have contained about 18,000 men,

which considerably exceeds the strength of the whole of the Seventh

Division. A steep road descending from the verge of the plateau, at the

point where the Russian bazaar is established, leads to the Belbek,

which is crossed by two bridges. One of these is a fine, well-built new

structure of wood; the other is that by which the army crossed in the

flank march, and the post-house near which Sir George Cathcart took up

his quarters still remains intact. The Fourth Division bivouacked here

the night before we entered Balaklava, when Lord Raglan slept at

Traktir, on the Tchernaya, and Sir George was very uneasy, on account of

his isolated position, separated, as he was, from the rest of the army,

and believing that a body of Russians intervened between them. It was

from this that General Windham rode with despatches to the Katcha,

anticipating Commander Maxse's arrival from the Tchernaya by more than

half an hour, and from this neighbourhood the army turned towards

Mackenzie. Lord Raglan reconnoitred Sebastopol from a hillock close to

the road on the right, a short time before we fell in with the

rear-guard and baggage of the enemy. The village of the Belbek is

greatly changed since then--the trees have been cut down, and the

valley, once so beautiful, blooms no more. The villas have been used as

hospitals, and there are many Russian graves, marked with black wooden

crosses, in the neighbouring ravines. From this valley you ascend

another steep hill to the top of the plateau which lies between it and

the valley of the Katcha. The ground is covered with dwarf trees and

thick brushwood, full of lizards and small birds, which are persecuted

by numerous falcons and hawks. There are patches of naked ground and

ashes scattered over the plateau, which show where parties of the enemy

were encamped; but the country is not suited for large bodies of men, as

water is not to be had except at the rivers. The plateau is intersected

by numerous woody ravines, and the tracks followed by the allied armies

are plainly visible. They have been much used by the Russians.

"A ride of three-quarters of an hour takes us to the valley of the

Katcha, still beautiful and rich with verdure, for this part of it is

too far from the immediate operations of war, and too much out of the

track from Bakshiserai, to have suffered much. The place which we

approach was once the village of Eskel; it is now in ruins. The Tartar

houses are pulled down or unroofed; the population have fled; and the

Russian houses are just as they were left by the Cossacks on our

approach after the Alma. The church gleams brightly through the dense

branches of the fruit-trees, which are covered with blossoms, but the

large tracts of vineyards which welcomed us nearly three years ago, are

now uncultivated. The Doctor's house is in a sad plight--one of the

first we entered after the Alma--and is still the picture of neglect and

ruin. Lord Raglan's comfortable residence is in the custody of an old

Tartar, who shows the broken furniture, the sofas ripped open, the

chairs smashed, and the beds cut up, with great pride, and leads one to

infer pretty plainly that Ruskie did all the mischief. It was at this

village that the Russians halted to recover breath after their headlong

flight from the Alma, and from it they fled the same night in panic on

the cry being raised that the Allies were coming.

"The Katcha is a deep narrow stream with rotten banks, and some people

think it would have afforded a better position than the Alma; but, in

fact, it is too near Sebastopol. We found a few Russian soldiers in the

houses; and on the first occasion it happened to be the Greek Easter

Sunday, and we were most hospitably entertained by a poor Russian

family, who insisted on our partaking of painted eggs, of salt pork

steeped in vinegar, and cabbage, of brown bread, butter, vodka, or white

home-made brandy, and Crim tobacco, and then on embracing us because we

were Christians--a severe punishment, which, if often repeated, might

lead to recantation. Crossing the Katcha by the bridge over which our

army filed into Eskel, we find ourselves on the steppe--the dry barren

plain studded with tumuli, which extends in wavy folds right away to

Perekop. At this season of the year it is glorious with large beds of

wild flowers, sweet-pea, roses, mignonette, thyme, orchids of all kinds,

sweet-william, and many other varieties, whose tame and developed

species are the ornaments of our gardens at home; it is musical, too,

with the song of birds singing to their mates in the nest; but in

September it is an arid, scorched waste, covered with coarse hay, and as

it is devoid of water, it is unfit for pasturage. The ride to the Alma

from the Katcha is not more than eight miles, but it seems twice the

distance. The white telegraph station over the river, which stood on the

Russian left, can be seen for many miles on a clear day, but on the

steppe mirage is very common, and the horizon is rarely well defined. It

is often lost in a fantastic margin resembling the sealine of an

agitated ocean. Bustards, on the _qui vive_ about their young ones, soar

slowly before us, and eagles, vultures, and many species of falcons are

visible in pursuit of their prey, which must consist for the most part

of hares, which are very large and numerous. Some of these hares have

been found to weigh ten or twelve pounds, and I have heard of a monster

who turned the scale at fourteen pounds. In one of the hollows in the

steppe, about three miles from the Alma, there is a small hamlet, but,

with this exception, not a habitation is visible over the whole of this

vast expanse of land. It is famous ground for a long canter, or as much

of a gallop as your horse will stand; so with the help of an occasional

scurry after a hare the distance melts away, and as we go crashing

through the sweet flowers, the telegraph rises higher and clearer till

we pull up at the foot of the mound on which it stands. This was the

scene of a fierce struggle, and it was here the French had some really

hard fighting before they forced the enemy to fly.

[Sidenote: THE ALMA REVISITED.]

"The telegraph is a quadrilateral figure of white stone, and it has

never been finished. It is covered with names; and one side is engraved

'_La Bataille d'Alma, 8 Septembre_.' The French had put the right date,

the 20th; but the Russians obliterated it, and altered it to their own

style. There are fifteen large sepulchral mounds around the telegraph,

wherein lie French and Russians, and the ravines are still full of

bones, and of fragments of clothing and accoutrements. Cannon-shot

appear to have been carefully removed. There is an excellent view of the

French position and attack from the edge of the plateau. The enemy must

have had every movement of the Allies under their eyes from the time

they left Bouljanak till they halted to form for battle; and the

spectacle could not have been one to have given them much courage, or to

have inflamed their ardour. The Russians declare they had only 33,000

or 34,000 on the field; but, admitting that to be so, they made a bad

fight, considering the position they occupied, and their cavalry

exhibited that passive and unenterprising character which it maintained

throughout the war. An officer of the old Pestal regiment told me that

he charged our first attacking body when they were checked with the

bayonet, and that if all the troops inside and on the flanks of the

redoubts had rushed out simultaneously, the day would have been lost to

us; but he was rather surprised when he heard that our Third and Fourth

Divisions were still intact, and that the Guards, whom he supposed to

have been routed, were never broken except in the centre, where the

Scots Fusiliers wavered for a time in their advance under the heavy fire

of the Russians and the pressure of the disjointed groups of the Light

Division. The French are disposed to think that the English were too

slow in beginning the attack, which it was agreed should not take place

till our allies had gained the left of the Russian position. It is

certain that Lord Raglan received one, if not two, pressing messages

from Marshal St. Arnaud to hasten his columns: but one may ask how it

was that here, as everywhere else, the honour of taking the initiative

was ceded to our allies, and the opportunity given to them of saying

'The English were too late.' They only numbered 23,000, whereas we had

27,000. If it resulted from their position on our right, why did they

take the left when we halted before Sebastopol?

"The assaults on the place were made on the same principle--the French

first, the English afterwards; and, whether it be true or false that we

were 'too late,' there can be no doubt there was from the beginning a

tendency to say so. It is beyond question, in the opinion of many

officers, that the Light Division were not followed closely enough by

the First in their advance up the hill at the Alma. In other words, the

latter were too slow or 'too late.' The French did their part admirably,

and their intelligence and personal activity were wonderfully displayed

in their progress up the steep ravines and sides of the high banks of

the plateau, but their loss in killed and wounded was under 700 men,

while ours was just 2,000. The Admiral Bouet Willaumez, in his recent

so-called 'History of the French Navy,' distinctly avers that the

English General would not permit the victory to be followed up by

marching next day, and that the French were retarded by their allies. A

different impression prevails in our army; but this is one of the points

which must be cleared up for history by those who were in the confidence

of Lord Raglan. The statement, at all events, shows what was the belief

of the _chef d'état major_ of the French navy in the Black Sea. Of the

necessity and of the motives for the delay, of its results, of the

practicability of getting such aid from the fleet as would have relieved

us entirely from the charge of sick, wounded, and prisoners, I shall not

speak; but it is to be remarked that the feebleness and imbecility of

our arrangements in this portion of our administration became apparent

at the very first pressure by the abandonment of our ambulances just at

the very time they were most needed, by the disgraceful exhibition of

the _Kangaroo_ crowded with sick and wounded till she had to make the

signal that she was unmanageable and unsafe in the sight of the whole

fleet, by the sufferings of her miserable cargo, left to the charge of

one surgeon, who could not attend to a tithe of his patients, and who

could not even get at them if he could have dressed their wounds, and by

the foolish and cruel expedient of leaving another surgeon, Dr.

Thompson, and his servant on the field to take care of 700 wounded men.

Dr. Thompson felt the hopelessness and positive cruelty of such a

proceeding, and remonstrated against it, but he was told it had been

'ordered,' and that if the 'Cossacks' came down his 'professional

character' would protect him.

"The battle of the Alma was one of the most brilliant in the world--the

shortest and sharpest, and our army, young in action, but veteran in

service, displayed the best qualities of British infantry. We have since

heard of the incredulity, of the dismay, with which the news was

received in St. Petersburg, and of the subsequent eagerness of the

Russian army to avenge the defeat and to hurry to the Crimea, to drive

the Allies into the sea. They found a barrier they could not break at

Inkerman; but they are a people prone to put faith in their own

invincibility, and slow to credit defeat. They believe in themselves

yet. The position of the Alma is so well marked that it can never be

mistaken by any future visitors. The French attacked the steep and

almost perpendicular cliffs, which are broken here and there by ravines

which mount upwards from the river. Their columns were divided from our

regiments by the most marked and extensive of those ravines, and

eastward of that boundary the whole of the ground suddenly falls, and,

instead of rising abruptly from the Alma, gains the high level of the

hills by a series of sweeping undulations, offering many positions for

guns, with extensive glacis to the front.

[Sidenote: PEACEFUL EXPLORATIONS.]

"Descending from the plateau, some of our party crossed the bridge, and

went out on the plain towards Bouljanak to the tumuli which stud the

plains, and which denote the extreme range of the Russian guns. On

turning round towards the south, the eye takes in the whole scene of

battle, from the sea on the right to the low slopes which formed the

right of the Russian position. Their left was separated from their right

by a deep ravine running at right angles toward the Alma, and this

ravine also is the boundary between the high and steep cliffs which, on

the south bank, overhang the tortuous course of the Alma from the ford

to the sea, and the gentler rising grounds on which the enemy's left

lay, strengthened by the epaulements and by the mass of the Russian

artillery. It will then be seen how the Russian left depended on the

nature of the ground as its best defence, and what a fatal mistake

Menschikoff committed when he omitted to take into consideration the

effect of the fire of the ships. That fire soon drove back their left,

and forced it to reform on the centre, which it put into confusion, and

the French, ascending by the ravines with the utmost courage and

activity, made good their footing on the right and turned the Russian

left completely, with comparatively little loss. The advance of our

allies was covered to a great extent by the thick foliage on the banks

of the Alma, and the cliffs are so high and rotten that the enemy's guns

could not be used with success against them. The course of the river is

much further from the base of these cliffs than it is from the slopes on

the Russian right, where the British attacked, so that it would be

scarcely commanded by guns on the top of the plateau; whereas, we were

under fire for several hundred yards before we reached the Alma at all.

"A mound, composed of fifteen graves, at the distance of 400 or 500

yards from the river on its north side, denotes the resting-place of

those who fell before the army crossed the stream, or who died after the

fight in the ambulances. The road by which we advanced to the bridge was

just as it was on the 20th of September, and on the right, close to the

stream, were the blackened ruins of the village of Bourliouk. It will be

remembered that the enemy partially destroyed the bridge, but that it

was repaired during the action by the Royal Engineers and a party of

Sappers and Miners. The bridge has been substantially rebuilt, by means

of a strong wooden way thrown across the stone arches, and supported by

beams and uprights. The old post-house, on the right of the road before

you come to the bridge, was about being reconstructed, and a guard of

soldiers were lodged in its ruins. It will be, to all appearances, a

handsome house of fine white freestone when it is finished. I surveyed

its ruins with peculiar interest, for I know a person very intimately

who took shelter in this house, part of which was on fire, to get out of

a fire still hotter, till he was driven out by a shell falling through

the roof, and it was at the wall outside, which was yet torn by shot,

that I met the first two wounded officers I saw that day--two officers

of the 30th, one hit through the chest or side; the other wounded, I

think, in the leg or arm. They were helping each other from the river,

bleeding and weak, and I was fortunate enough to be able to bring to

their aid a Staff surgeon, belonging, I believe, to the Cavalry

Division, who kindly examined their wounds under fire. Close to this I

had previously seen the first man killed--a drummer, who was carrying a

litter, and who was struck by a round shot which bowled slowly along the

road and hit him, with a peculiar squashing sound, on the hip. He fell,

and never moved; nor did his comrade, who was carrying the other end of

the litter, stop to mourn over his death.

"After the intrepid rush of the Light Division up the hill, its

wavering, its broken and unwilling halt, the bold advance of

Pennefather's Brigade, and the billow-like march of the Guards, I

pressed on immediately in the rear of the Light, and in front of the

Third Division, and I was able to warn Colonel Waddy, as he approached

at the head of the 50th, that he was moving right along the line of fire

of the enemy's guns, and, as there was a very conclusive proof given of

the correctness of the statement just as I spoke, that gallant officer

moved off his men, who were in dense column, a little to the left, and

got off the road to the fields. All these things and many more came back

upon me as I looked around. I could recall that narrow road filled with

dead and dying--old friends jesting at scars and wounds, and exulting in

victory, and awaiting with patience the arrival of men to carry them

away to the surgeons--a white-haired field-officer (of the 55th), whose

name I don't know, badly wounded through the body, who could only moan

bitterly, 'Oh, my poor men! oh, my poor men! they hadn't a chance;' then

the river stained here and there with blood, still flowing from the dead

and dying who lay on the shallows and the banks, lined nevertheless by

hundreds, who drank its waters eagerly; the horrid procession of the

dripping litters going to the rear of the fight; the solid mass of

Adams' brigade, halted by Lord Raglan's orders as it emerged from the

smoke of Bourliouk: the Staff itself and the Commander-in-Chief,

gathered on the rising ground close by; that ghastly battle-field where

so many lay in so small a place putrescent with heat and wounds; the

grey blocks of Russians melting away like clouds, and drifted off by the

fierce breath of battle; the shriek and rush of the shells from the

brass howitzers in the battery, the patter of the rifle, the rattling

roll of the musketry, the frantic cheers of our men as they stood

victors on the heights, drowning the groans and cries which for a moment

succeeded the roar of battle; the shrill flourish of the French bugles,

and the joyous clamour of their drums from the other side of the

ravine--all came back upon the ear again, and the eye renewed its

pleasure as it gazed from the ridge upon the plain where it had before

seen the Russians flying in disorder, with their rear still covered by

the threatening squadrons of their cavalry. Then one recalled the spot

where one had seen some friend lying dead, or some one--friend or

foe--whom it were no mercy to strive to keep alive. Watkin Wynn,

stretched on the ground in front of the trench, with a smile on his

face--Chester, with a scornful frown, and his sword clenched in the

death grasp--Monck, with the anger of battle fixed on every

feature--these and many another friend in the peaceful camp of Aladyn or

Devno rose up as they lived in the memory. The scowling Russians who

glared so fiercely on their conquerors and seemed to hate them even as

they supplied their wants, then seen for the first time, left an

impression respecting the type of the Muscovite character which has

scarcely been effaced now that they have ceased to be enemies. I

recalled the two days passed as no army ought to pass two days--on the

field of battle amid the dead--the horrid labours of those hours of

despondency and grief where all should have been triumph and rejoicing,

and the awakened vigour with which the army broke from its bivouac on

the Alma and set out with no certain aim, no fixed project, on its

chance march which fate made successful.

[Sidenote: THE ALMA REVISITED.]

"The intrenchment can be distinctly seen for a mile north of the river.

It is placed half-way down the slope of the little hill-side. There were

no other works, trenches, redoubts, or field-works of any description

except one more epaulement and a few sods of earth turned up to afford

cover to a few skirmishers; and all the accounts of such defences filled

with riflemen and guns which have been made public were erroneous. The

enemy had very few riflemen, and the ground, except on the extreme left,

was of such a nature that good cover for guns could be had for the

seeking. For many years to come the battle-field is likely to remain as

it is now, the only difference being that the vines which flourished on

the 20th of September, 1854, and which are now destroyed, may be

cultivated once more. On ascending from the river towards the

intrenchment, you find yourself on the left completely covered by a rise

of the hill in front from the parapet, so that men could form in this

hollow for the attack, without being exposed to fire; but the Russians,

aware of this, sent down on their extreme right large bodies of

infantry, who fired at the Left Brigade of the Light Division as they

were trying to get into order after crossing the river.

"On the right, nearer to the bridge, the ground is more exposed to guns

from the parapet of the trench, and on advancing a few yards the fair

open glacis, gently sloping upwards to their muzzles, gives a terrible

solution of the reason why for a time the Light Division was held in

check, and lost in a few moments upwards of 1,000 men. At the base of

this glacis, and scattered along the ridge towards the river, are mounds

of earth about thirty feet long by fifteen in breadth, which are covered

with large stones and slabs of slate. There are fifteen or sixteen of

these mounds, and many of them contain the remains of friends and foes.

Some small black wooden crosses are placed here and there among these

mounds, which rise to the height of two or three feet above the level of

the plain, and are all covered with rank vegetation and wild flowers.

The parapet of the work is still about three feet outside, and a foot

deeper in the trench inside. Near the centre is placed a handsome

monument of white stone, with the following inscription:--

"'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 the fragments left after the river-side meal of

the visitors. Starting at six o'clock A.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."

CHAPTER VIII.

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.

The departure 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, the _Leander_ manned 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.

[Sidenote: THE EVACUATION.]

"With steadiness, with discipline, with resource, the Sardinian

army has long maintained 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 an

_étonnoir_ far 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 a _place d'armes_ in 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 the _modus

operandi_.

The effect produced by the French mines could only be conceived by those

who looked down the yawning craters of the _étonnoirs_, 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

the _matériel_, 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

been the 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.

[Sidenote: 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 the _tête-de-pont_ was 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 village has

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."

[Sidenote: THE EVACUATION.]

The uttermost efforts were made by the Allies to remove the stores and

_matériel_ accumulated 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 be able 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.

CATHCART'S HILL

(1856.)

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.

[Sidenote: 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 last _reveillée_, 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 of these 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, and _raconteurs_ of _bons mots_ or such _jeux

d'esprit_ as find favour in military circles.

APPENDIX.

DISPATCHES AND DOCUMENTS.

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 OF

THE 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

attacking party, 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 the _Caradoc_, 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 same

determination 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 TO

THE 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 Menschikoff

commanded 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 manoeuvred 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 put _hors 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 men _hors 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 OF

SEBASTOPOL.

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 redoubt which

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 maintained itself 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

their batteries; 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."

The action, of which the above telegraphic despatch forms the summary,

was most animated and warmly contested. At the first shot, the deserters

who came to us revealed the real situation of the Russian army in regard

to numbers, and enabled us to calculate the reinforcements it had

successively received since the battle of the Alma. They are--1st

contingent, from the coast of Asia, Kertsch, and Kaffa; 2nd, six

battalions and detachments of marines from Nicolaieff; 3rd, four

battalions of Cossacks from the Black Sea; 4th, a great portion of the

Army of the Danube; and the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth divisions of

infantry forming the fourth corps, commanded by General Dannenberg.

These three divisions were transported by express, with their artillery,

from Odessa to Simpheropol, in a few days. Afterwards arrived the Grand

Dukes Michael and Nicholas, whose presence could not fail to produce

great excitement among this army, which forms, with the garrison of

Sebastopol, a total of at least 100,000 men.

It was under these circumstances that 45,000 men of this army attacked

by surprise the heights of Inkerman, which the English army could not

occupy with a sufficient force. Only 6,000 English took part in the

action, the rest being engaged in the siege works. They valiantly

sustained the attack until the moment when General Bosquet, arriving

with a portion of his division, was able to render such assistance as to

insure their success. One does not know which to praise the most--the

energetic solidity with which our allies for a long time faced the

storm, or the intelligent vigour which General Bosquet (who led a

portion of the Brigades Bourbaki and D'Autemarre) displayed in attacking

the enemy, who rushed upon their right.

The third regiment of Zouaves, under the chiefs of battalion, Montandon

and Dubos, supported, in the most striking manner, the ancient

reputation of that force. The Algerian riflemen (Colonel de Wimpfen), a

battalion of the 7th light (Commander Vaissier), and the 6th of the line

(Colonel de Camos), rivalled each other in ardour. Three charges were

made with the bayonet, and it was only after the third charge that the

enemy surrendered the ground, which was covered with his dead and

wounded. The Russian field artillery and artillery of position was much

superior in number, and occupied a commanding position. Two horse

batteries, commanded by M. de la Boussinière, and a battery of the

second division of infantry, commanded by M. Barval (the whole under the

orders of Colonel Forgeot), sustained the struggle during the whole day,

in conjunction with the English artillery.