The Press. — London, England, 1854-11-18 00:00:00

1086 who were placed there, upon which the Grenadiers of the 93rd, under Captain Ross, were wheeled up to their right, and fired on the enemy, which manoeuvre completely discomfited them. During the rest of the day the troops under my command received no further molestation from the Russians. I beg to call Lord Raglan's attention to the gallantry and eagerness of the 93rd Highlanders, under Lieut.-Colonel Ainslie, of which, probably, Ins lordship was an eye-witness ; as well as the admi rable conduct of Captain Barker, and the officers of the field battery under his orders, who made most excellent practice against the Russian cavalry and artillery while within range. CouN CAMPBELL. GENERAL EVANS'S REPORT. Heights of the Tschemaya, Oct. 27. Yesterday the enemy attack this division with several columns of infantry, supported by artillery. Their cavalry did not come to the front. Their masses, covered by large bodies of skirmishers, ad vanced with much apparent confidence. The division immediately formed line in advance of our camp, the left under Major-General Pennefather, the right under Brigadier General Adams. Lieutenant-Colonel Fitz mayer and the Captains of Batteries (Turner and Yates) promptly posted their guns and opened fire upon the enemy. Immediately on the cannonade being heard, the Duke of Cambridge brought up to our support the brigade of Guards under Major-General Bentinck, with &battery under Lieutenant-Colonel Dacres. His Royal Highness took post in advance of our right to secure that flank, and rendered me throughout the most effective and important assistance. General Bosquet, with similar promptitude and from a greater distance, approached our position with five French battalions. Sir G. Cathcart hastened to us with' it regiment of Rifles, and Sir G. Brown pushed forward two guns in co operation by our left. The enemy came on at first rapidly, assisted by their guns on the Mound-hill. Our pickets, then chiefly of the 49th and 30th Regiments, resisted them with very remarkable determination and firm ness. Lieutenant Conolly, of the 49th, greatly dis tinguished himself, as did Captain Bayley, of the 30th, and Captain Atcherley, all of whom, I regret to say, were severely wounded. Sergeant Sullivan also dis played at this point great bravery. In the meantime our eighteen guns in position, including those of the Ist division, were served with the utmost energy. In half an hour they forced the enemy to abandon the field. Our batteries were then directed with equal accuracy and vigour upon the enemy's columns, which (exposed also to the close fire of our advanced infantry) soon fell into complete disorder and flight. They were then literally chased by the 30th and 95th Regiments over the ridges and - - - - down towards the head of the bay. So eager was the pursuit that it was with difficulty that Major-General Pennefather eventually effected the recal of our men. _ These regiments and the pickets were led gallantly by Major Mauleverer, Major Champion, Major Eman, and Major Hume. They were similarly pursued further towards our right by four companies of the 41st, led gallantly by Lieu tenant-Colonel the Hon. P. Herbert, A.Q.M.G. The 47th also contributed. The 55th were held in reserve. Above eighty prisoners fell into our hands, and about 130 of the enemy's dead were left within or near our position. It is computed that their total loss could scarcely be less than six hundred. Our loss, I am sorry to say, has been above eighty, of whom twelve killed, five officers wounded. I am happy to say hopes are entertained that Lieutenant Conolly will recover, but his wound is dangerous. I will have the honour of transmitting to 5 our lord ship a list of officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates whose conduct attracted special notice. That of the pickets excited general admiration. To Major-General Pennefather and Brigadier- General Adams I was, as usual, greatly indebted. Of Lieutenant-Colonel llacres, Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmayer, Captains Turner, Yates, Woodham, and Hemlin, and the whole of the royal artillery, we are under the greatest obligation. Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert, A.Q.M.G., rendered the division, as he always does, highly distinguished and energetic services. Lieut.-Colonel Wilbraham, A.A.G., while serving most actively, I regret to say had a very severe fall from his horse. I beg leave also to recommend to your lordship's favourable consideration the excellent services of Cap tains Glasbrook and Thomson, of the Quartermaster- General's department; the Brigade-Majors Captains A r mstrong and Thackwell ; and my personal staff, Captains Allix, Gubbins, and tLieutenant-Geheßoyle. DE LACY EVANS, neral. Before Sebastopol, October 28. I have nothing particular to report to your grace respecting the operations of the siege since I wrote to you on the 23rd mst. The fire has been somewhat less constant, and our casualties have been fewer, though I regret to say that Captain Childers, a very THE PRESS. promising officer of the royal artillery, was killed on the evening of the 23rd, and 1 have just heard that Major Dalton of the 49th, of whom Lieutenant. General Sir De Lacy Evans entertained a very high opinion, was killed in the trenches last night. The enemy moved out of Sebastopol on the 26th with a large force of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, amounting, it is said, to 6,000 or 7,0(X) men, and attacked the left of the second division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, who spee dily and energetically repulsed them, assisted by one of the batteries of the first division, and some guns of the light division, and supported by the brigade of Guards and by several regiments of the fourth divi sion, and in rear by the French division commanded by General Bosquet, who was most eager in his desire to give him every aid. I have the honour to transmit a copy of Sir De Lacy Evans's report, which 1 am sure your grace will read with the highest satisfaction, and I beg to i ecom mend the officers whom he particularly mentions to your protection. Captain Bayley of the 30th, Captain Atcherley of the same regiment, and Lieutenant Conolly of the 49th, all of whom are severely wounded, appear to have greatly distinguished themselves. I cannot speak in too high terms of the manner in which Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans met this very serious attack. I had not the goad fortune to witness it myself, being occupied in front of Bala klays at the time it commenced, and having only reached his position as the affair ceased, but I am certain I speak the sentiments of all who witnessed the operation, in saying that nothing could have been better managed, and that the greatest credit is due to the lieutenant-general, whose services and con duct I have before had to bring under your grace's notice. I enclose the return of the losses the army has sustained since the 22nd. RAGLAN. CHRONICLE OF THE SIEGE. We resume the daily record of operations as re counted by eye-witnesses on the spot. In our last number we were able to bring down the detail to the evening of the 23rd ult. The events of the following day are thus told by the Herald correspondent: — All this day the firing in the trenches has been extremely hot on both sides. The French advanced battery appears to be doing considerable execution on the enemy's lines. Our trenches work well, though I cannot say that we have yet any prospect of destroying those of our adversaries. The town and dockyards have been set on fire in five or six places, but were soon extinguished by the Russians. One large public building was entirely consumed. Last night two of our sixty-eight-pounders were changed, and placed in such a position as to command the Twelve Apostles, the Russian liner which fires with such effect up the valley; but before they bad fired two shots this morning the vessel was hauled in under the land. Working parties were also sent out last night to commence trenches for an advanced battery, within six hundred yards of the Circular Tower and earthwork ; it is said that when this is completed the enemy's port on that side will become untenable. The French at the same time commenced covered ways and zigzags, for the purpose of mining the Flagstaff Battery. Most of the round shot fired by the enemy to-day were red hot. Fortunately none of them came near any of our magazines. The Russian redan battery has had eight new guns added to it in the course of the night. The Daily News adds to the record of this day's work : This afternoon the roof of the Round Tower fell in, carrying with it all the four guns on its summit. The tower is quite opened by a deep breach in the side which is most exposed to the guns of the Twenty-one-gun Battery, and the whole structure is now a complete ruin. This fort is said to have been built at the voluntary expense of one man, who received the especial thanks of the Emperor for his enterprise and devotion ; he would scarcely derive satisfaction Irom looking at his work now. Three guns still keep up their fire from the earth battery, two to the right and one to the left of the tower itself. Oct. 25.—The siege batteries continued their fire upon the Russian fortifications throughout the day. On neither side, however, was there any operation or catastrophe of importance, all interest being con centrated upon the great events that were taking place some miles off upon the line of entrenchments protecting the communications with Balaklava. This glorious though melancholy engagement we now pro ceed to describe. THE CAVALRY BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA. By way of prelude to any account of this battle we must give some description of the field on which it was fought. We quote the sketch drawn by the cor respondent of the Herald Balaidav a is a little harbour, literally almost completely landlocked, for its only outlet to the sea is on the west, by a long winding channel not fifty yards broad, the sides of which are formed by steep, rocky hills, rising up almost straight from the waters edge to the height of eight hundred and twelve hundred feet. The length of the harbour itself is about three quarters of a mile long by 250 yards wide, and both sides, to the north and south, are completely shut in by the chain of hills. A breach in these hills to the east forms a steep valley, by which road only is the harbour ac cessible on the land side. This valley gradually extends and opens into an extensive plain about three miles long SATURDAY, and a mile and a half broad, bounded on the east by a line of hills, along the top of which runs the main south road to Sebastopol. In the harbour of Balaklava some 100 or 120 of our finest steam and sailing transport vessels li e at anchor, with two or three ships-of war (two of the latter— the Diamond, 26, and the lVaap, 14—are moored at the upper end of the harbour, with their broadsides cora tuanding the valley). Besides these transports, which contain all our supplies for the next six weeks, the general hospital, with the commissariat, ordnance, and ammunition depots, are formed in the village, so that the protection of Ilalaklava, both as a place of present use and future neces sity, became a matter of vital importance. For this pur pose, the steep hills on each side of the valley at the east end were strengthened with heavy earthworks, defended by batteries of artillery. Several h.gh detached hills, com manding the plain beyond the valley were also surmounted with strong batteries, and the plain itself occupied by a. numerous body of Turks—about five thousand men, with the 03rd Highlanders, all our cavalry, three field batteries and two batteries of horse artillery. The plain, I have said, was bounded on the east by the hills and high road which leads to Sebastopol from the south. The peculiarly rough and hilly nature of the country makes this road the only practicable route to the stronghold. Up this valley, before it reaches the heights, the road to Sebastopol winds. From this point an attack has been o ft en threatened and long expected. To tender ou r position yet stronger, all the higher parts of the road which stretches from the plain of Balaklava to the centre of our entrenched camp at Sebastopol (a distance of about four miles) was occupied, and a regular series of redoubts and steep breastworks thrown up along it. All these latter, fur about two miles to the south and right of our position, were held by the the Turks,those to the north, on our ex treme left, by the French. Balaklava was thus defended by three lines-Ist, the chain of redoubts along the road, held by Turks ; '2nd, by the cavalry and infantry in the plain behind ; and 3rd, by the batteries on the heights over the harbour, held by fifteen hundred marines and one thousand of our regular cavalry. The writer proceeds to narrate the incidents with which the Russian attack commenced upon the line of redoubts whose defence was unfortunately entrusted to the Turks : Some days previously a body of Russian troops had made their appearance in the valley to the east of the road to Sebastopol, threatening the extreme right of the Turkish intrenched position. This was the point whence the attack was expected, and a kind of descent was made, though, it appears, more for the purpose of reconnoitring the ground than any serious attack. lii their reconnaissance some thirty or forty of the enemy were killed, but they evidently ascertained the nature of our position, and also the im portant fact that the whole of our fortifications on the right of Balaklava were defended by the Turks. At that time only 12,000 men showed and only 400 or 500 skir mishers advanced. This morning. however, at about six or seven o'clock, an unusual force of skirmishers was discovered on the brow of the hill about 1,200 yards from the Turkish redoubts. Not much notice was taken of the fact until about half-past eight, when the skirmishers commenced advancing, and at the same time the dense masses of a regular army, cavalry infantry, and artillery, began to show from under cover of a slope facing the lines of our Turkish allies. The instant these men (they were comparatively new levies, and many of them old and worn-out men) discovered for certain that it was the enemy advancing. and advancing about 40,000 strong, a panic siezed them. An eye-witness in one of the batteries informed me that they seemed instantly to lose all control over themselves, hurrying too and fro in the must pitiable disorder. Their artillery, which was loaded, was levelled at random in a general volley at the foe. Nearly all the pieces were levelled too low, and struck the earth before the Russian troops. No attempt was made to improve the range—the guns were merely loaded and fired quick, and that was all. For the mischief they did they might as well have been pointed in the air. The enemy, meanwhile, had halted the great body of their forces on the brow of t he hill, and getting their artillery into position opened fire upon the redoubts. A . t the same time their skirmishers ke p t movin g up the hill steadily, supported at a little distance by three bodies of infantry—about 10,000 strong in all —marching in close column. The latter afforded splendid marks for the Turkish guns, if the miserable slaves had only poas their essed the courage to have used them properly. But even semblance of valour deserted them at the sound of the Russian artillery. Their gunners, in their anxiety for shelter, forgot to load, or, when loade d, for g ot to p oint their artillery. Numbers slunk out of the redoubts by the back, and fairly took to their heels. The enemy were now about 500 yards from their intrenchments, for the way up to them was steep, and they could move but slowly. Instant measures were taken for supporting the Turin in the redoubts; the British infantry began to take ground towards the right, while the light brigade of cavalry, 11th con sisting of the 4th Light D ra g oons, Bth Hussars, Hussars, and 13th Light Dragoons, moved up the slope to the road leading to Se basto p ol, in order to check te e advance of the Russian infantry from that quan's, uarr. The heavy brigade of cavalry ( the Ist Dragoon (J 2nd or Scotch Greys, 6th Enniskillen Dragoons, and 17th Lancers) remained on the plain on the left of our in fantry. Unfortunately, before these arrangements had . all . been completed, the Turk,' gave way. The enem y's had been advancing steadily towards the redoubts without firing a shot. As they approached within Pb) yards, s dropping skirmishing fire was opened, with, however, but skirmishers little effect on the Turks beyond increasing their panic. The men fast began to desert their batteries, and before the skirmishers were within sixt y y ards not a Turk. remained behind. Many of them even threw away thei r arms to facilitate their flight down hill, and left their ~~ Mks