The Press. — London, England, 1855-06-23 00:00:00

JUNE 23, 1855. revived him, and, finding himself along among his dead comrades, he, with an almost superhuman effort, managed to get the boat to sea, until he was picked up. In the same boat were four of his dead messmates. This deliberate massacre, for no attempt was made to take them prisoners, and both friends and enemies were killed in. discriminately, will never be forgotten, should we have an opportunity of taking vengeance for the murders. Neither men nor officers were armed, though some muskets were In Vl') boat. The Russians have published their own version of the story, in which an attempt is made to justify the atrocity, and the satisfactory intelligence conveyed that the three officers and several seamen belonging t) the boat still survive. The following is the account as published in the Journal of St. Petersburg of the 13th . The Commander of the Forces in Finland, Adjutant- General von Berg, reports a very successful skirmish which took place not far from Hango Udd, between our volunteers of the second battalion of the King of Prussia Grenadier Regiment and a part of the crew of the English frigate Cossack. The affair took place as follows :—On June sth, at noon, the frigate Cossack appeared in the roads off Hango Udd, and sent off a boat, which came ashore in the vicinity of the telegraph, and landed a small party under the command of some officers there. Ensign Sswertschkoff, of the King of Prussia Grenadier Regiment, to whom this portion of the coast is intrusted, having been early informed of this enterprise of the enemy, concentrated some men of his detachment behind a building opposite the landing•place, anti another portion, under the sub officer, Peter Pawloff, lie detached along the beach to cut off the retreat of the English. The enemy, attacked on a sudden, defended himself but feebly, and laid down his arms. The success of this affair must be ascribed to the coolness and the foresight of Ensign Sswertschkoff. The loss of the enemy amounts to five killed ; there were taken prisoners, one officer, one surgeon, one marine (garde marin), and eight sailors, of which latter four were wounded. In addition to the above our troops made spoil of the flag of the boat, seven muskets, and seven cutlasses. The boat itself, with one cannon on board, was sunk. _ . _ . On the following morning the English frigate came in close to Hango Udd, and fired at the buildings for about an hour and a half, but without doing them any great harm. CAPTURE OF THE MAMELON AND QUARRIES. The official despatches relating the incidents of the attack on the Russian positions at the Mamelon and the Quarries, which had been already announced by telegraph, were received at the War-office on Thursday. Lord Raglan writes : June 9. I have the great satisfaction of informing your lordship that the assault which was made upon the Quarries in front of the Redan, from our advanced parallel in the right attack, on the evening of the 7th instant, was attended with perfect success, and that the brave men who achieved this advantage, with a gallantry and determination that does them infinite honour, maintained themselves on the ground they had acquired, notwithstanding that during the night, and in the morning of yesterday, the enemy made re peated attempts to drive them out, each attempt ending in failure, although supported by large bodies of troops, and by heavy discharges of musketry, and every species of offen sive missile. The French on our right had shortly before moved out of their trenches and attacked the Ouvrages Blanes and the Mamelon. These tney carried without the smallest check, and their leading column rushed forward and approached the Malakoff Tower ; but this it had not been in contem plation to assail, and the troops were brought back and finally established in the enemy's works, from which the latter did not succeed in expelling them, though the fire of musketry and cannon which was brought to bear upon them was tremendous. I never saw anything more spirited and rapid than the advance of our allies. I am happy to say that the best feeling prevails between the two armies, and each is proud of and confident in the gallantry and high military qualities of the other. I apprised your lordship, by telegraph on the Bth, that our batteries reopened that afternoon. The fire was kept up with the greatest energy until the day closed, when it was confined to a vertical fire ; but the next morning the guns resumed the work of destruction, and the effect was such that is was determined by GeneraiPelissier and myself that the time had arrived for pushing our operations for ward. Accordingly, soon after six o'clock on the evening of the 7th, the signal was given for the assault of the works I have enumerated, and the result was most triumphant. The troops employed in storming the Quarries were composed of detachments from the light and 2nd divisions, and at night they were supported by the 62nd Regiment. The command of these troops was intrusted to Colonel Shirley, of the 88th, who was acting as general officer of the trenches ; and he was assisted in the arrangements and guided as to the points of attack and distribution of the troops by Lieut.• Colonel Tylden, of the Royal Engineers, the directing engineer officer of the right attack. Although nothing could be more spirited than the attack of the Quarries, or more creditable to every officer and man engaged in the operation, yet I cannot refrain from drawing your lordship's especial attention to the energy and deter- mination which they all displayed in maintaining and estab lishing themselves after their 'first success in them. They were repeatedly attacked during the night, and again soon after daylight on the Ath, and it was in resisting these re• peated efforts on the part of the enemy theta great portion of the heavy loss the army has to deplore was sustained. The mode in which Colonel Shirley conducted this very arduous service, and carried out his orders, entitles him to my highest commendation. I have great pleasure in men. THE PRESS. tioning the following officers, who are stated to have dis tinguished themselves on the occasion, viz.. Lieut.-Colonel Campbell, of the 90th, who commanded the storming party; Major Mills, Royal Fusiliers; Major Villiers, 47th; Major Armstrong, 49th, who are all severely wounded ; Colonel Maxwell, of the 88th ; Major Bayley, of the same regiment, who was unfortnuately killed ; Lieut.-Colonel Grant, 49th; Major Simpson, of the 34th; Lieut.-Colnnel Johnstone, of the 33rd; Major Herbert, of the 23rd ; Capt. Lowry, of the 47th; Captain Turner, of the 7th ; Captain Lowndes of the 47th ; Captain Nason, of the 49th ; Capt. Le Marchant, of the 49th, who was wounded; Captain Wolseley, 90th; and Lieutenants Chatfield and Eustace, of the 49th; and Palmer, Irby, and Waddilove, of the 47th ; and Captain Hunter, of the 47th ; and Lance-Corporal Quinn, of the 47th ; who took a Russian officer prisoner in the most gallant manner. I also feel it my duty to solicit your lordship's notice to the eminent services of Lieutenant-Colonel Tylden, of the Royal Engineers; he has been indefatigable in the dis charge of his peculiar duties from the commencement of the siege, and he has always been at hand to aid in the repulse of the enemy when they have assaulted our trenches. He eulogises the conduct of Captain Browne, of the Royal Engineers, Lieutenant Elphinstone, of the same corps, Lieutenant Anderson, Stith Foot (Acting Engineer), who is wounded ; and he laments the death of Lieutenant Lowry, R.E., who conducted the storming party, and was afterwards killed by a cannon shot. Notwithstanding the frequency of the endeavours of the Russians to regain possession of the Quarries, and the in terruptions to the work to which these attacks gave rise, Lieutenant-Colonel Tylden was enabled to effect the lodg ment and to establish the communication with the advanced parallel, and this redounds greatly to his credit and that of the oii cera and men employed as the working party: and I cannot omit this opportunity to express my approbation of the conduct of the Sappers throughout the operations. The exertions of the Royal Artillery, under Brigadier-General Dacres, and those of the Naval Brigade, under Captain Lushington, R.N., in serving the guns, cannot be too warmly commended. The accuracy of their fire is the theme of universal admiration ; and the con stancy with which they applied themselves to their arduous duties under all circumstances, however dangerous, cannot be too strongly placed upon record. It is deeply to be lamented that this success should have entailed so heavy a loss as is shown in the accom panying returns, which however are still incomplete ; but I have the assurance of the principal medical officer that many of the wounds are slight, and that by far the greater portion of the sufferers are progressing most favorably. I have just learned that the enemy have abandoned a work in the rear of the Ouvrages Blanes which they con structed at the commencement of the month of May. The French took possession of it on the 7th, but did not retain it. In the other works they captured sixty-two pieces of artillery, and they have fourteen officers and about 400 men prisoners. We have a few prisoners, and amongst them a captain of infantry, who was wounded, and taken by Corporal Quinn, of the 47th Regiment. RkOLAN. The following graphic description of the affair is given in the letter of the Times correspondent : The fire on our side, which had continued since day break (of the 7th) quietly and soberly, took a sudden access of fury about three o'clock, and was kept up from that hour to the critical moment with great activity. The affair itself came off but little after the anticipated time. Between five and six Lord Raglan and his staff took up a conspicuous position on the edge of the hill, below the lime-kiln, where it commands very plainly our four•gun battery, and looks straight into the teeth of the Redan. A flagstaff was erected with threatening ostentation shortly before lie c-lime down, and a little angle of rude wall was RS hastily thrown up as a breastwork. The man with the fireworks was in attendance, but there was a pause yet for a while. Sir Cohn Campbell was observed to plant him self on the next summit still nearer to the enemy, " com monly called," to use legal phrase, the Green Hill. His appearance drew some fire, and the shells dropped and flashed close by, but without d'sconcerting his purpose of having a thorough good look-out place. It was about half past six when the head of the French attacking column came into view from these two spots, as it climbed its arduous road to the Mamelon. A rocket instantly went off as the signal of our diversion, and as instantly the small force of our men detached for the post of honour made a rush at the Quarries. Atter one slight check they drove out the Russians, and turning round the gabions commenced making themselves snug; but the interest was so entirely concentrated upon the more exciting scene, full in view upon the right, that they had to wait a good while before attention was directed to their conflict. The French went up the steep to the Mamelon in most beauti ful style and in loose order, and every straining eye was upon their movements, which the declining daylight did not throw out into bold relief. Still their figures, like light shal3ws flitting across the dun barrier of earthworks, were seen to mount np unfailingly—were seen running, clin3bling, scrambling like skirmishers up the slopes on to the body of the work amid a plunging fire from the guns, which, owing to their loose formation, did them as yet little damage. As an officer, who saw Bosquet wave them on, said at the moment, " They went in like a clever pack of hounds." In a moment some of these dim wraiths shown out clear against the sky. The Zouavea were upon the parapet firing down into the place from above ; the next moment a flag was up as rallying point and defiance, and was seen to sway hither and thither, now up, now down, as the tide of battle raged round it ; and now, like a swarm, they were in the heart of the Mamelon, and a fierce hand to-hand encounter here with the musket, then with the bayonet, was evident. It was seven minutes and a-half from the 587 of the enterprise. Theu there came a rush through the angle where the . ; had entered, and there was a momentary zonfusion outside. Groups, some idle, some busy, some wounded, were col lected on the hither side, standing in shelter, and now and then to the far corner a shell flew from the English battery facing it. But hardly had the meed of support become manifest, and a gun or two again flashed from the embra sure against them, then there was another run in, another sharp bayonet fight inside, and this time the Russians went out spiking their guns. Twice the Russians made head against the current, for they had a large masa of troops in reserve, covered by the guns of the Round Tower. Twice they were forced back by the onsweeping flood of French, who fought as if they had eyes upon them to sketch the swift event in detail. For ten minutes or so the quick flash and roll of small arms had declared that the uncertain fight waxed and waned inside the inclosure. Then, the back door, if one may use a humble metaphor, was burst open. The noise of the conflict went away down the descent on the side towards the town, and the arena grew larger. It was apparent that the Russians had been reinforced by the space over which the battle spread. When the higher ground again became the seat of action, then there came the second rush of the French back upon their supports, for the former one was a mere reflux or eddy of the stream. When rocket after rocket went up ominously from the French general's position, and seemed to emphasise by their repetition some very plain command, we began to get nervous. It was growing darker and darker, too, so that with our glasses we could with diffi culty distinguish the actual state of affairs. There was even a dispute for some time as to whether our allies were going in or out of the work, and the staff themselves were by no means clear as to what was going on. At last, through the twilight, we discerned that the French were pouring in. After the interval of doubt, our ears could gather that the swell and babble of the fight was one more rolling down the inner face of the hill, and that the Russians were conclusively beaten. " They are well into it this time," says one to another, handing over the glass. The musket flashes were no more to be seen within it. There was no more lightning of tl,e heavy guns hymn the embrasures. A shapeless hump ur n a hill, the Mamelon, was an extinct volcano, until such turn as it should please us to call it again into action. Then, at last, the more hidden struggle of our own men in the hollt w on the left came uppermost. " How are our fellows gettit g on ? " says one. "Oh ! take my word for it they're ell right," says another. And they were right, so far as the occupation and retention of the quarries were concerned, but had nevertheless to fight all night and repel six suc cessive attacks of the Russians, who displayed the must singular pertinacity and recklessness of life. As it grew dark our advanced battery under the Green Hill made very pretty practice and pretty spectacle by flipping shells over our tnen's heads at the Russians. From the mis. shapen outline of the pits a fringe of fire kept blazing and sparkling in a waving sort of curve, just like a ring of gas illumination on a windy night ; the attempt to retake them out of hand was desperately pushed, the Russians pouring in a most terrific discharge of musketry, which caused us no small loss, and as it came up the gorge, ex tending with the fresh wind, sounded in the distance like water gulped simultaneously from a thousand bottles. Meanwhile the fall of the Mamelon and the pursuit of the flying foe did not by any means bring the combat to an end on the side of our allies. The Zouaves, emboldened by their success, and enraged by their losses, earth d their prowess a step too far, and dreamt of getting into the Round Tower by a coup de main. A new crop of battle grew up over all the intervening hollow be tween it and the Mamelon, and the ripple of musket shots splashed and leaped all over the broad hillside. The combatants were not enough for victory there too, but they were enough for a sanguinary and prolonged contest, a contest to the eye far more violent than that which preceded it. The tower itself, or rather the inglo rious stump of what was the Round Tower, took and gave shot and shell and musketry with the most savage ardour and rapidity. The fire of its musketry was like one sheet of flame rolling backwards and forwards with a dancing movement, and dwarfed as it was by the distance, and seen by us in profile, could scarcely be compared to anything. small or large, except the notes of a piano flashed into fire throughout some rapid tune. Our gunners ob serving the duration and aim of the skirmish, redoubled their exertions, and flung their shells into the Round Tower with admirable precision, doing immense mischief to the defenders. It was dark now, and every one of them came out against the heavens as it note or swooped. From Gordon's Battery and the second parallel they streamed and plunged into the enceinte up to which the Zouaves had won their way unsupported, heralded every now and then by the prompt and decisive ring of a round. shot. The Russian defence, rather than their defences, crumbled away before the tremendous fire, but on the other hand, the attack not being fed, as it was not de signed, began to languish, and died gradually away. It was a drawn battle so far; but there may be another story to-morrow. Twelve p.m. The French are putting the new front of their position in a state of defence, and employinii an immense number of hands. Our men are still in their warm berth under the Redan, repelling the attacks of the Russians. There NIA but one embrasure left in a comfortable state in the ltedan at the end of the evening, and the quarries are too close under it for heavy guns to be brought to bear. To-morrow, with a new point d'appni on each side, we shall have to choose between fighting, as of old, for per mission to keep what we have got, and taking on one side the Malakoff, on the other the Redan. From what ap pears to the bystander, it requires only a little more belief in our prowess, and a little mote preparation, to have reduced both one and the other konight. Bat I 'peek without book.