The Press. — London, England, 1855-08-04 00:00:00

AUG. 4, 1855.1 every endeavour has been and will be made to supply the garrison with sufficient resources to stand during the winter, when the roads of the Crimea will be less capable of bearing the transport of heavy articles. As long ago as August, 1t453, two or three houses of Odessa divided a contract to supply the Government with 14,000 military carts : although these were, no doubt, destined for the campaign in the principalities, yet they were probably transferred with thousands more to the defence of Sebastopol; and the fact of such contracts having been made is sufficient to show the scale on which the late Emperor was ready to carry out his views, and the facilities which the Crimean fortress still has for conti• nuing a defence which seems wonderful to those who do not consider how long it had been foreseen and prepared for. The French are very sanguine of their ability to reach the shipping from the new battery they are erecting at the White Works. That the Russians also have some doubts on the subject is evident from the assiduity with which they fife into the newlyconstructed work. The long 68-pounders which are bring mounted seem sufli sient to do the work even at that distance, but as yet the ships give no sign of moving, and remain motionless in their double line across the harbour, while the boats flit along on all sides of them in ceaseless activity. Our battery near the Quarries is almost ready, and in less than a week the matter will be decided. Our casualties of late have not been many. No officer has fallen since the death of Lieutenant Mansell, of toe 39th. There is little sickness, when it is considered that a force of 150,000 men is concentrated in front of Sebas- t JULY 17.—Another sortie from the Malakoff last night during a pouring rain. It lasted about a quarter of an hour. Heavy firing all night. This morning the French are said to be advancing rapidly with their works. They talk of all being ready for another assault in about a fort night. JULY 19.—The French, to-day, observing signs of ac tivity among the Russians on their left, opened a furious fire from all their batteries towards that part of the town. The fire, which was as heavy as in any of the bombard. ments, continued for about half an hour, and, having ap• parently effected its object, ceased. On the side of the Malakoff the French have discovered the way by which the Russian reserves are moved into the works. It appears that two deep trenches lead to the Malakoff, one on the side of the Redan, and the other on the side of the Little Redan, towards Careening Bay. To interrupt, at least, the latter means of communication, the French have estab lished a small battery, which is as yet unmasked. It will play on the covered way on the side of the Little Bedan, and to a great extent stop the Russian reserves coming up while the French are assaulting the works themselves. To-day the Tartar inhabitants of the villages in the plain of Baidar and along the coast eastward of Cape Aia began returning to their homes. It is not much that a Tartar generally possesses, but of the little they left be hind them they will find nothing left. Every cottage has been unroofed, and everything that was worth carrying away has disappeared. Even articles that could hardly be conceived to have any attraction, such as portions of a wine-press or old casks, have been laboriously dragged away by the Turks to their camp. JULY 20.—T0-day there has been a veritable July sun; not a breath of sir has been stirring. Over the Black Sea hangs the mist which always appears when the sun pours down his says with more than usual power. Firing slack this morning ; but towards aftenioon it has increased con siderably, and at the present moment there is a sharp cannonade kept up from the Malakoff, and now and then a volley of musketry announces that the skirmishers are at work. We have constructed another battery of two Lancaster guns to the left, and in advance of the twenty one-gun battery. Somewhat more to the !eft a battery of six guns had been raised to fire on the shipping, but it having been found that the position was too low for the purpose, mortars have been substituted, and the battery will, no doubt, open in a few days. The Lancasters have not yet been mounted, but will probably be in position to morrow. The health of the men is still excellent, and their spirits do not in the least suffer by the length and wearisomeness of the siege. The summer is cool, and, as the Russians of late make very few sorties, the nights are passed without much hardship in the trenches. When formed in march ing order to descend the oft-trodden ravines which lead to the batteries, there is neither despondency nor unwilling ness ; the laugh and the joke accompany their steps, their air is brisk and alert ; how different from their appearance in the gloomy season of last December ! The noise of skittles is to heard on every side, and the regimental bands, with sadly diminished numbers indeed, but still effective for amusement, give the various popular airs to which we are. accustomed at home. Omer Pacha has not yet returned from Constantinople. He is heartily tired of his position in the Crimea, and wishes for a field where he can gain some distinction, or at least keep up the reputation he gained on the banks of the Danube. Now the plan of direct attack on Sebastopol has been persisted in, the Mushir finds that his occupation is gone, and although a transference to Asia would leave the more honourable command on the Danube in the hands of his rival Ismail l'acha, he is, nevertheless, said to be desirous of having the command at Kars. JULY 21.—Amid the returning heat which has followed t le stormy weather of last week, the operations of the siege are being pressed forward by the French on our right with indefatigable industry. There is nothing in what goes for ward which can strike a stranger; stagnation seems to retp in camp and trenches ; even the heavy fire of a few days since has for the most part died away; yet every day an a trance is made, and every day sees the allies nearer the cm of the Malakoff, which it will now require all the courage and tenacity of the Russians to hold. The Male• hoe and Alanolon stand on an elevated plateau, while the THE PRESS. ridge that joins them is itself higher than the land around• It is along this ridge that the French sap extends in a zig zag to within 170 yards of the hill which the Russians hold. As the incline is somewhat steep, the French working parties are already out of the reach of the Russian guns, which cannot be sufficiently depressed to be used against them. They, therefore, can work on without danger, except from the riflemen, who hold every spot of vantage, and use their best endeavours to pick off every enemy who shows a part of his cap within their range; but, as w these can be replied to by French marksmen while the guns of the Mamelon are hourly thundering against the Russian stronghold, the advantage is clearly on the side of the French. FRENCH ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE. The follow►ng official resume of the recent encoun ters between the French troops in the advanced trenches and the Russian forces is given in a despatch from General Pelissier to the Minister of War, and was published in Tuesday's Moniteur :— Juty 17.—For a considerable period the besieged refrained from sorties, merely reconnoitring our works of approach with small bodies of men. In the night of the 14th and 15th they attempted a vigorous stroke against the left of our works, advanced in front of the Malakoff, and, as you have already been informed by telegraph, failed. We had crowned the quarries situated between the Brancion Redoubt (Mamelon) and the Malakoff Tower with a stro►►g gabionnade, and had thus formed a con tinuous line, the right of which is guarded on the side of the Careenage Ravine by a strong place darmes, while the left is well defended by good ambuscades near the Kara belnia Ravine. A flying ambuscade, occupied only by some sharpshooters lodged in pits, had been formed at the extreme left, in order to d►aw off the tire of the enemy. This line, of which the central part of defence is the Brancion Redoubt, was occupied on the right by Lieut.- Colonel Granchette, of the 49th of the Line, with three battalions of his regiment, having the 4th Chasseurs a Pied as a reserve. Lieut.-Colonel de Chabron, of the 86th, commanded the left, composed of a battalion of his regiment and the 91st of the Line. Forty sharpshooters, who occupied the am buscade on the left, received as a support 900 picked men of the Olst Regiment, under the orders of Commandant Teiller. The first battalion of the 100th, placed iu the parallel, was to set according as it might be wanted on the right or the left. Finally, the Karabelnia Ravine was strongly occupied in front by a battalion from each of the two regiments of the Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard and by a working party of 200 belonging to the 100th of the Line. The commencement of the night, which was cloudy, and in the absence of the moon dark, was marked by no par ticular incident, but towards one in the morning a con siderable sortie against the English lines was made with out result. Half an hour afterwards a Russian column of five or six battalions advanced from the bottom of the Karabelnia Ravine and debauched on our left. Our sharpshooters of the flying gabionnade fell back according to the orders previously given for such a case, and gave the alarm. They had scarcely done so when the Russians male the attack with loud hurrahs, opening a close and well-sustained musketry fire. They were received in good time by a fire equally energetic, and were unable with all their exertions to get at our works. For half an hour they renewed the attempt, always without success, and at last, crushed by our fusillade and the well-directed tire of our batteries, they thought fit to retreat. They carried off their killed and wounded, but abandoned before our gabionnade, muskets, articles of equipment, and five of their killed, among whom was one officer. Ihe enemy's loss must have been large. Ours happily is small, for in twenty-four hours' service, the combat in cluded, the Motterrouge division had lost but twenty killed and ninety-four wounded. These results are due to the good arrangements of Brigadier General Uhrich, who commanded in the trenches, and to the vigour of Lieut.- Colonel de Chabron and Commandant Teiller, both of them excellent officers. I have, at the last moment, received from General Boa quet, the news of a new sortie which the Russians made last night. The enemy having attempted in vain to stay our approaches before the Malakoff on the left have en deavoured to drive us hack on the right; they were re pulsed, in the most brilliant manner, by General Canto bert's division, on service in the Victoria attack, as well as by a part of the service battalions of the Guard. As evening set in General Viney, who commanded in the trenches, thought he perceived some movements of the enemy towards the Malakoff. In fact, the Russians had prepared two sorties, one a false attack against our left, the other the true attack on our right. Towards midnight the Russians advanced with loud hurrahs. The efforts on our left were soon discontinued, but the sorties on our right, made from the Little Redan, were of importance; the enemy charged our ambuscades three several times . These ambuscades were occupied by a company of Grena diers of the 20th of the Line, to which had been added some Zouaves of the Guard On the first attack the troops, aided by the Travailleurs of the 52nd of the Line and some Sappers, valiantly resisted without giving ground, and drove the Russians beak into the place under the fire of their musketry and a shower of shot from field-pieces be longing to the Battery No. 30. Expecting a new attack, General Viney had disposed his reserves, sustained by a detachment of Zouaves of the Guard, sent by General Espinasae. This attack was not long delayed ; the Russians arrived, but were received so vigorously that they had to fall back, leaving several of their men on the ground A third time the enemy returned to the charge, with nn more success, and at last definitively gave up to us this small but precious battle-field. Commandant Cardonne, Captain Dufau, Lieutenant Chazotte, and Captain Segretain, dis played the most brilliant valour. 731 As on a former occasion, those of our batteries which had a good view of the ground contributed grratly to our success by the sureness and rapidity of their fire. The artillery of the English batteries near us failed not, as always, to render efficient assistance by its well•directed and vigorous fire, sending a great number of projectiles into the Malakoff. In proportion as the enemy wive way, the artillery of the place and that of the batteries on the other side of the roadstead was brought into play, and at the close of the combat its tire was very intense. Notwithstanding this fierce cannonade and a compact fire of musketry, our losses are not considerable, while the enemy must have several hundred men hors de combat. In twenty-four hours we lost twenty-three killed and seventy•seven wounded ; among the latter, I regret to say, are Colonel Adam, of the 27th (ball in left shoulder), and Commandant Boissonnet (ball above the knee). . _ In these two combats all have done their duty. Nothing remarkable has taken place on other points of our attack. The efforts of the enemy do not interrupt our works, except during the actual combat ; we resume them immediately after, and they are pushed forward with ac tivity and perseverance. Ptxtestia. THE DEATH OF ADMIRAL NACHIMOFF. The Invalids Rune gives the following account of the death of Admiral Naehimoff On June 29 Russia experienced an irreparable loss. The hero of Sinope, one of the brave defenders of Sebas topol, the honour and pride of the Russian fleet and army, Admiral Nachimoff, then received a wound, to which, on the following day, amidst the general regret of hie coinpa nions in arms and all Russia, he fell a victim. The witnesses give the following details as to the manner of his death. The deceased admiral would never consent to wear the soldier's eapote, but always kept on the coat and epaulettes of a general, and in this dress he would show himself on the most advanced fortifications, in order to observe the movements of the besiegers. On June '29, at eight o'clock, p.m., the admiral appeared upon the Korniloff bastion, and, in spite of the entreaties of all around him, he leaned over the parapet to look at the enemy's works. A ball struck the ground at his feet. Thesuite accompanying him renewed their entreaties, but he calmly remained at his post, saying, " They aim very well." Some moments afterwards a ball struck him on the temple; the admiral fell senseless, and remained so until his death the following day. Sleep in peace, worthy rival of Lazary, of Korniloff, and of Istomine ! The mariners of the Black Sea and the gar rison of Sebastopol will not forget thy valiant example. Our children and our grandchildren will defend thy tomb as thou haat defended their cradle THE BALTIC FLEET. The Baltic iespatch;sreiortTice occurrence of some minor but creditably-performed enterprises un dertaken by the smaller vessels of the fleet against different points of the Russian coast. The following official announcement of the principal affair of this kind which has recently come off appears in the Gazette:— Duke of Wellington, Nargen, July 23. I have the satisfaction of transmitting a copy of a re port which I have received from Captain Yelverton, detailing the c.rcumstances under which, with the Coseock, Mogicienne, and Ruby in company, he has again availed himself of an opportunity to attack, with good effect, a position occupied by troops of the enemy, assembled in considerable force, for the defence of Frederickshain ; and I have much pleasure in submitting to lordships this additional proof of the zeal and try of the officers and men under his orders, and of their good conduct, especially of Mr. H. G. Hale, mate, and the crew of the Ruby gun-boat. It. S. DUNDAA. (Inclosure.) Arrogant, off the Crops Islands, July 22. I have the honour to inform you that on leaving the fleet, T proceeded off the Island of Hogland, where I was joined by the Cossack, Magicienne, and Ruby gun•bo►t. Information having reached me that the enemy had sent 3,000 troops to Frederickeham. and were making every possible exertion to put the place in a state of defence, I lost no time in getting there. arrived on the afternoon of the 20th, and would have attacked them that evening, but that the Ruby got on shore in examining the intricate channel leading to the town, and it was too late to take the ships in by the time she was off. Early the following morning T succeeded in getting the ships up to the town, and at 9 . 40 we opened fire. After an engagement of one hour, the enemy ceased fire, and abandoned their guns, some of which were dismounted. If I judge by the number of men we saw them carrying away on stretchers, they must base suffered severely. I am happy to say the injury on our side has been trifling, though our hull bears evidence of the precision with which they fired, but generally speaking their shot fell short. I regret to say that one man belonging to the Ruby was dangerously wounded by a round shot- I must not allow this opportunity to pass without men tioning Mr. Hale, mate, commanding the Ruby gun-boat, who, together with his gallant crew, deserve the highest praise for the way in which they worked and fought their long gun, so close to this, that I had an opportunity of ob- serving the precision of their fire. One portion of a suburb caught fire and was destroyed, but I am happy to say the town remained uninjured, owing to the strict observance of an order I gave to fire on the fort only. 11. R. YELVILITON, Ciptikl. Iu a letter dated Xargen, July 24, and publitilted in the Morning Herald, we find the latest accounts of