The Press. — London, England, 1854-11-11 00:00:00

M•• 1064 of Sebastopol. Late on the preceding night it had been agreed by the combined admirals and generals that the fleets should on the same day make a grand attack on the forts at the month of the harbour. During the night top gallantmasts were lowered, spare spars and boats handed over to her Majesty's ship Vulcan, and early in the morning steam was up. The paddlewheel and screw frigates lashed themselves alongside the sailing line-of battle ships, and all was got ready for the fight. The French were to occupy the right as you enter the harbour, —that is, the southern side—and the English the left, or northern side, in one line, about 1,5(X) yards oft. The French first got into their places, about half-past twelve o'clock, and immediately commenced a heavy fire, which was vigorously returned from the batteries. The distance, however, was certainly greater than originally contemplated, and, as far as 1 can ascertain, it was over U,OOO yards. By degrees the English ships successively took up their stations, passing in rear of the French and anchoring to the left. The Agamemnon, Sanspariel, and London (lashed to the Niger), however, took an inside station in advance—perhaps about 1,000 yards from Fort Constantine. Nothing could be more noble than the gal lant way in which the Agamemnon and Sanapariei steamed in amid a perfect hail of cannon balls and shells, preceded by a little tug-steamer, the Cireassia, commanded by Mr. Ball. This little bit of a cockleshell, which looked as if she might have been arrested by a fowling-piece, delibe rately felt the way for the large ships till her; services were no longer required. The firing soon became terrific. At the distance of six miles the sustained sound resembled that of a furious loco motive at full speed, but, of course, the roar was infinitely grander. The day was a dead calm, so that the smoke hung heavily about both ships and batteries, and frequently prevented either side from seeing anything. From about two till dark (nearly six) the cannonade raged most furiously. Towards four o'clock Fort Constantine, as well as some of the smaller batteries, slackened somewhat in their fire ; but towards dusk, as some of the ships began to haul out, the Russians returned to their guns, and the fire seemed as fierce as ever. There was one explosion just behind Fort Constantine, which appeared to do much damage. At dark all the ships returned to their anchorage. The change was magical—from a hot sun, mist, smoke, explosions, shot, shell, rockets, and the roar of 10,000 guns, to a still, cool, brilliant, starlight sky, looking down upon a glassy sea, reflecting in long, tremulous lines the lights at the mastheads of the ships returning amid profound silence. What damage has been done to the forts we don't yet know. Three of our ships have been roughly handled, and the killed and wounded amount to forty-six English killed and upwards of '250 wounded. No captains have been hit. The blue jackets showed all their ancient valour. Eight or nine men were swept away at a forecastle gun on board the Sanapareil by the explosion of a shell ; the two remain ing men coolly went on loading, with their sponge and rammer, as though nothing had happened. Another naval correspondent writes to the same journal : At six o'clock yesterday morning (17th) the discharge of heavy batteries announced that at last the long-expected moment had arrived, and the allies had begun firing. Every report—and they succeeded each other with mar vellous rapidity—was only a signal for greater exertion among the sailors to get ready for action. Soon after the prisoners, who had been on board the different vessels since Alma and Balaklava, were sent off to the Sintnem, and the captains and masters summoned to come on board the flag-ship to receive their last instruc tions. At the same time the signal was made " Prepare to re ceive a steamer on the port side." About nine o'clock everything assumed more and more the aspect of activity. The steamers got their steam up and weighed anchor. The liners struck their topgallant masts, signals chased signals on holed the flag-ship, and several of the large screws—for instance, the Sanapareil and a French screw—went first. The steamers came up gradually, and began to pair off with the liners to which they were to be lashed in the following order : Queen, lashed alongside the Vesuvius. Vengeance, „ Ilighflyer. Albion, 1) „ Firebrand. Britannia, „ Furious. London, „ Niger. Arethusa, „ Triton. Bellerophon, „ Cyclops. Rodney, „ Spiteful. Trafalgar, ~ Retribution. The steamers approached all on the port side, and were lashed Owe and aft by cables fastened on the lower deck, and passing through the fourth porthole from bow and stern. The Agamemnon, Sanspetreit, Terrible, Sampson, and the newly-arrived gun•boat Sphinx, were left on detached service. It was nearly noon before all these preparations had been made and the ships had weighed anchor. The French led, the Turks followed, and last came the English. As it would have been impossille to approach the forts on the north side without having to suffer from the south forts under great disadvantages, it was determined that the French ships and Turkish ships, which were the first, should engage the south forts. while the English men-of war should have to do with the north forts. The Napoleon led the way, and approached under a heavy fire, followed by the Henri 11%, lashed to a steamer. At one o'clock the firing was opened, and soon after the de tached English steamers, which had to engage the northernmost forts, among others the Wasp Battery, so called because she sent some heavy shots into the Wasp, approached their destination and joined in the firing. THE PRESS. Unfortunately the wind Was Prom the land, and the smoke so dense that very few vessels succeeded in getting into the position which was assigned to them. 1 suppose it must be attributed to this, that the French and Turkish vessels went so far to the left as to prevent several of the English vessels from approaching. So it happened, for instance, to the Queen, which led the English squadron, and had consequently to occupy the extreme right of the English position, but which was obliged to get up her anchor and change her place because the Napoleon and the Turkish Admiral's ship, Mahntudieh, went right in her way. The order was to keep 1,200 yards off the forts, but the disengaged steamers, and at their head the splendid Aga memnon, approached much nearer, and poured in their shot and shell with unceasing activity. This example was followed by the Queen, which was obliged, as 1 mentioned before, to leave het* place because two steamers came into her way, but ran down along the line and joined the detached steamers—a movement which the Agamemnon answered by a " Well done, Queen !" Soon after her the Rodney made the same movement, and ran down towards the fort on Cape Constantine, keeping up a brave fire until dark. Several of the vessels have been badly damaged ; the Arelhwra suffered very much, and it is said must go into dock ; the Retribution lost her mainmast., the Firebrand her jibboom, &c. The sight of the approaching squadrons was one of the most imposing which one could possibly witness. Some of the liners, observed from the starboard side, hid their tiny propellers so completely that the huge masses seemed to move by themselves. If this was the most imposing sight, the most exciting was that when the first shot was fired from the fort. It was as if au electric spark was running through the crews. There was a perfect fury for firing, and the greatest difficulty was to make the men cease, as was at times necessary when one or another of the vessels was in the way. A great inconvenience in working the guns was experienced from the absence of so many men at the naval brigade, especially in the ships from which some of the superior officers had gone to the camp. Several of the liners could not work their upper-deck guns in consequence. The lashing of the steamers alongside the line-of-battle ships did very well; they answer the helm far better than if towed, and the steamers are exposed to less danger, being comparatively protected by their huge companions. Of course, they could not escape entirely, but, with the exception of the Firebrand, which lost her jibboom and suffered severely besides, none of the steamers were dis abled, and every one was capable of taking her charge back again. Later news from the fleet is conveyed by a brief letter, dated from " off the liatscha, Oct. 23," in which we read : The fleet have been busily employed during the last few days repairing the damage incurred in the action. Cer tainly, in the late encounter between wooden walls and stone ones, stone had not the worst of it, as far as ap pearances go. The Sampson went off Sebastopol on the morning of the frith, but could see no further harm done than a few guns dismounted, and the whole face of Fort Constantine was as it were pock-marked with the impres sion of cannon-balls. It is the general opinion that no further attempt will be made by sea for the present. The only chance which ships have against batteries is, running in within 000 yards; and even then their loss must bs very great. The fire of the batteries fell chiefly on the ships which went in within 700 yards. Wherever the fire was heaviest and the smoke densest there one might be sure would be seen the rear-admiral's " red at lumen." The deductions from the Edinburgh's experiment at 500 yards, at the wa l ls of Bomarsund, remind one of the story of the gentleman who did not much relish the idea of fighting a duel ; and on being reminded that he was able to break a wine-glass with a bullet tit twenty yards, replied —" Yes, that's true ; but the wine-glans litulu't a pistol in its hand." 'The Albion and Arethusa left on the afternoon of the 21st for Constantinople and Malta, to repair damage —the former in tow. the frigate under sail. We do not expect to see them again among the Black Sea fleet. A letter of Oct. IN, in the Patrie, says : The Alger did wonders. Its 36. pounders, of which it has the monopoly, occasionedtremendous devastation. At one moment the Russians, seeing what most hurt them, scarcely fired a shot against this vessel. The Alger was the last to retire from the post it had so well chosen, and it was not till nightfall that it raised its anchor. The Jupiter and Alger were the luckiest of all our vessels. Neither of them had a man wounded. The Charlemagne suffered considerable damage to her engine. The poop of the Ville de Paris blew up. The Montebello suffered. The Russians fire very badly: all their shells and balls pass through and over our sails. The Alger at one time was exposed alone to the tire of two forts and the citadel, and yet she only received three projectiles on her deck and four or five in her rudder. STATE OF SEBASTOPOL. Deserters from the beleaguered town, of whom seventy or eighty are stated to have already found refuge in the allied camp, describe the preparations making for defence in case of an assault as being most desperate and extensive. The streets, they say are strongly defended with chains, infantry pits, heavy artillery, and stone barricades. On the fiat roofs of all the houses which any assailants might pass have been placed large piles of stones to be hurled upon troops beneath. Several places are believed to be mined, though of their locale or strength they could give no information. The garrison were very short of water. Communications between the southern and northern shores of the bay were still open, but it remained to be seen whether the Russians would SATURbAt, be able, on the fall of Sebastopol proper, to cross the water with their remaining vessels, and defend them selves in this new position. if they could succeed in this their fire might render the place untenable, and at all events Fort Constantine and its outworks would have to be attempted by a second series of siege operations. As for the state of the town and its inhabitants, the pictures drawn by these deserters is frightful. The fire from our batteries had terribly told upon Sebastopol ; the place was like a vast slaughter-house. Five thousand men had been killed or severely wounded. The explosion of the magazine in the rear of the redoubt, ou the first day of the siege, killed and disabled three thousand men. The garri son are disheartened, and wish their tribulation was over, and that the allies had taken the town. The chief engineer, who conducts the defence of the for tress, is severely wounded. Among the deserters is a Polish officer,who managedtoget out of the town on horseback, and rode straight up to Lord Raglan's head quarters, when he surrendered in due form. Ile ap peared very happy at having effected his escape, and was evidently proud of his exploit. The desperate means which the other deserters took to get away proves sufficiently that Sebastopol must be a perfect tirehama. In the midst of the tire they actually jumped out of the embrasures of their batteries and made their way up to our lines while red-hot shot and shells were whizzing past them in every direction. If the reports of these deserters eau be trusted, the number of dead in Sebastopol amounted to 0,000 on the 23rd ult., and that of the wounded to 12,000. ADMIRAL HAMELIN. A letter in the Gazette du Midi gives the following account of the effects of the shell which burst on the poop of the Ville de Paris : This shell blew up nearly the whole of the poop, on which were standing at the time Admiral Hamelin and four of his aides-de-camp. The admiral was thrown some feet up into the air, but without being hurt. After having glanced at his aides-decamp, one of whom was cut in two, another had his two legs carried away below the knee, and a third was slightly wounded, he merely exclaimed, " l'oor fellows !" and resumed the command with as much cool• ness as before. A STONING MATCH. On the 20th ult. a party of ten men belonging to the 33rd found themselves without a single cartridge left. Returning home, they encountered a dozen Russian skirmishers, who had likewise expended ail their ammunition. The two parties looked at one another with great astonishment, both expecting a volley. At length an impatient 33rd man took up a large stone and flung it into the midst of the Russians. The example was followed on both sides, and the original spectacle of a stone match now offered itself. The English at length became tired of the exercise, and charged the Russians with the bayonet, with which the latter declined to be tickled, and come- quently retired. NIGHT SCENE IN THE TRENCHES. The Daily News correspondent writes on the night of the 22nd : The day has been sunny and hot, and the evening is now chilly, calm, and starlight. The enemy's batteries have ceased their fire, and so have the French ; but from two of our batteries discharges of shell and rockets are still going on :A intervals. The scene is beautiful, but, to one who remembers the cruel realities connected with it, is full of painful reflections. All is apparently still in the town, which is but obscurely seen through the evening mists and diminished light, and is only illumined from time to time as the bursting ellen, or rocket, throws a momentary gluhe m a round the spot where it has fallen. The passage of t shell in the air, thrown to au amazing height from the mortars, appears like that of a meteor. It rises and falls, seemingly to the eye, almost perpendicularly ; sometimes burning, as it turns on its axis and the fuse disappeess in the rotation, with an uninterrupted pale light—sometimes with a steady light, not unlike the calm luminosity of a planet. As it travels it can be distinguished, amid the general stillness, uttering in the distance its peculiar sound, not unlike the cry of the curlew. The blue light in the battery announces the starting of a rocket: it pursues its more horizontal course, followed by a fiery train, and ru shes through the air with a loud whizzing noise that gives an idea of irresistible energy. It is impossible not to think with sadness on the errands of these destroying messengers. Across the main valley leading to Sebas topol, looking northward, where a large Russian force is said to be encamped, can be seen, thickly scatteredirectiond, the enemy's fires; and, on turning in the opposite from this aspect, there are the long lines of fires belon ci g ing to our own troops who are investing the doomed ty and fortress. THE ENGLISH HOSPITAL. The British hospitals at Scutari are assuming a satisfactory appearance , thanks to the zeal of the medical men attending them, who are still, however, by far too few in number. The convalescent and slightly wounded are being removed, and sent on to Gallpoli and Malta, in order to make rm tbr others. The utmost that can be done at the Scutarioo hospitals will be to make room for rOO. The wounded are all going on favourably, wept that whenever a southerly wind prevails inflamma tion begins, and the simplest wound will not beat. Scutari is in much more decent order, although there