The Press. — London, England, 1855-04-07 00:00:00

322 we strong enough to extend our lines of investment thus far, we could only hope to do so after murderous conflicts with these batteries and defences, and we must always be on the watch against the operations of the army in our rear and of the large force which lies between Sebastopol and Eupatoria, in case we ever should be enabled to make lines of circumvallation round both aides of the place. Times Correspondent. The Herald publishes a letter of the same date, in which the writer says : We are still preparing to act, but act we do not. Night after night in this, the darkest quarter of the moon, have large fatigue parties of the troops in front been out, adding to and strengthening the old batteries, and breaking ground for new ones. Night after night have the Russians thrown their fireballs and blue lights, hurled their shells, and pitched in their shot, to prevent the progress of the siege• works. Our men do not flinch, and the works proceed, if slowly, yet surely, Guns are placed in position, masked, to be unmasked in the fulness of time, and the siege-train parks have the appearance of inexhaustible stores of shot and shell of all sizes. Still, that our preparations are not quite complete is shown by the number of heavy guns and mortars that still remain in those stores, waiting their turn to be taken to the foremost frout, and placed in the posi tions from which they are to act. Yesterday evening a long train of waggons, about 450 in number, entered Sebastopol from the north side. These are presumed to contain ammunition, of which, beyond all doubt, the Russians must now be getting short. It would seem quite incredible if I was to state the enormous amount of powder, shot, and shell, which the Russians are com puted to have fired away since the commencement of the siege. During the last few days that the enemy have been firing, not more than one shell out of three has exploded. Many of the others have been picked up, and, instead of the usual metal fuse used all over Europe, they have fuses made of pieces of alder-wood bored out and roughly fitted into the shell. The shells, also, have been found to contain very little more than one-half of their proper bursting charge. With such examples as these, therefore, before our eyes, it would not be thought credulous to believe that at last the enemy are getting short of ammunition. At the same time it must be remembered that, if the waggons which entered yesterday were really laden with powder, it would give the garrison an ample supply for the next month to come. MARCII 90.—A1l last night the French batteries fired heavily upon the spot which the enemy have selected as the site for a new earthwork. Last night two French sol diers deserted from Balaklava to the Cossack pickets. They were seen passing the plain, and were fired upon, but escaped without injury. An hour afterwards a Russian deserter crossed to us, and was pursued to within six hun dred yards of our lines by the Cossacks, who escaped again in the darkness. No movements of importance are stirring. Balaklava itself is lately much improved. Nearly all the houses in the village have been pulled down, and the rub bish and stones heaped over the filthier parts of the town. In place of these houses neat huts have been erected on the heights over the harbour. The railway is progressing with truly railway speed. The stationary engines are not yet at work, but, by means of the trucks and horses, immense supplies of shot and shell, with provisions of all kinds, have been collected at a depOt half way between this and head-quarters. In the course of another month the whole line will be completed. The harbour of Balaklava is, if possible, in a state ten times worse than ever. Each ship moors and remains where she can or where she likes. Seven days ago there were upwards of 190 sail of steamers and sailing vessels, public and private, in this little harbour. At present there are about 150. The precautions lately taken against the outbreak of fire are now entirely relaxed, and the fate of the whole expedition is, as it were, abandoned to mere chance. MARCH 21sT.—Sir John Burgoyne left the camp to-day, and proceeded to Katnisch, where he took a passage by the mail stkomer, on his way to England. All kinds of opinions and acts have Leen attributed to Sir John while he was here superintending the earlier operations of the siege, but no one has ever denied the entire devotion and zeal which the veteran general displayed in the prosecu tion of the works so far as he could control them. Sir John has certainly failed to command success, how ever much he may have deserved it. We can only hope that the efforts of his successors may be more fortunate. The most serious accusation which has been made against him is that he permitted the enemy to throw up the tre mendous works which have now so long defied our science and our artiilery without an effort to prevent them, and that he underrated their strength, and held out strong hopes that, after a couple of days' cannonade and bombard ment, the place must fall. It was generally stated and believed that Sir John said we would be in Sebastopol in forty-eight hours after our batteries opened fire ; and never shall I forget the disappointment, almost akin to astonish ment, of the groups of excited spectators as they returned to their tents on the evening of the 17th of October from the front, where the Russian batteries are still vomiting forth fire and smoke ; or their deeper and more painful sensations, expressed by many an emphatic phrase, when next day and the day after the enemy opened with re doubled energy and power. The orders are now signed by General Simpson, and the name of the adjutant-general, Estcourt, is no longer appended to them. It is the chief of the staff who waits on Lord Raglan each day to ascertain his wishes, and to receive orders, and he communicates those orders to the quartermaster and adjutant-general, and sees that they are duly executed. General Simpson is very active for his years, and walks as well as most men. He has been on foot in all directions about the camp. Major-General Jones possesses activity and energy, and it is trusted that these two appointments will contribute to the improve ment of the social and internal economy of the army, and to the accomplishment of the objects of this expedition. THE PRESS. As yet the lines of our batteries remain very nearly iden tical with those from which we opened tire on the 17th of October. The second parallel of our attack has indeed been armed with guns, and some detached works have been constructed, but no great change has been effected in the mode or form of our approaches and attack since Ge neral Jones joined. The fine weather has enabled our troops to strengthen the third parallel of another of our attacks very considerably, but it is still extremely weak, and has given opportunity to improve their cover, and the approaches and zigzags, and one portion of our lines is now within a couple of hundred yards of the advanced works of the Round Tower MARCH V.—The contest for the rifle-pits terminated this morning amid a blaze of fire from the forts in the pale light of dawn, in favour of the French, who now oc cupy three of the pits. and direct a sharp fusillade against the Mamelon Round Tower from the sandbags. The Russian riflemen are in one of the pits still ; two seem to be unoccupied. The enemy have also placed riflemen in the Mamelon and the new work on the right, and a gun from Gordon's trenches, and one from the French redoubt on the right, are constantly engaged in firing round shot and shell into the former place throughout the day to re duce the fire and impede the men in their works. Our two sea-service mortars fire seldom, but surely. Their range is very great. One shell yesterday evening went far over and beyond the Round Tower, and burst among the buildings in the rear of it. Another burst through the roof of one of the public buildings, and it instantly col lapsed into a cloud of dust and rubbish. For the last half-hour--it is now 10.45 p.m.—a furious fight has been raging all along our front. To a person standing on Cathcart's-hill in front of the fourth division the whole of the Russian lines are revealed in successive glimpses by bursts of red flame, and the bright star-like flashes of musketry, twinkling all over the black expanse between us and the town for three or four miles in length, show that a fierce contest is going on before the trenches of the allies. Shells, each marked by a distinctive point of fire where the fuse is burning, describe their terrible curves in the air, and seem to mingle with the stars, and fiery rockets with long trails of dropping sparks rush like comets through the air. Above all the pale crescent moon is shining from a deep blue sky, covered with the constel lations of heaven. The roar of the cannon, the hissing of the shells, the intermittent growl of the musketry, the wild scream of the rockets, and the whizzing of the round shot form a horrid concert. It is curious to note the eagerness of the men on such occasions; they swarm out of their tents to the lines in front, and watch the progress of the fight, as far as they can make it out, with the deepest interest, and their whispered comments are most amusing : —" That's a lively shell from the French ;" " Mosso° is getting his bellyful;" " I wish they'd let us go at that. and we'd not waste so much powder," &c. The flashes of the cannon mark pretty distinctly the flowings and ebbings of the tide of war. If the Russian guns are thundering away we may be sure their men are falling back. If our guns are more briskly served than usual, we are either covering an attack in the pits or are protecting the with drawal of the allies. Most of the generals on nights like these come out to the front and watch the fight, and the officers form in little groups on all the elevated knolls be before the camps. I have just returned to the hut in which lam lodging. It is now 11.15 p.m., but the con flict is still going on. No one knows what it is about. To-morrow I hope to be able to learn something about it, but the difficulty of ascertaining the particulars of attacks like these is utterly incredible. It strikes me at present that the French have been forced to leave the pits for the time. The regiments in front of our divisions are gene rally kept in readiness to turn out whenever we have affairs of this kind, and if the event seems uncertain two or three in each division are turned out under arms. The can nonade has now (11.30) nearly ceased altogether, but the musketry is very sharp and heavy. The third division and second division, and the brigades of the light division, and of the second division, not on duty, are in readiness to turn out. There is now (12 midnight) a very hard fight going on in front of us. The generals of division are all on the alert. We know the particulars of the fight. Between eleven and twelve o'clock last night columns of Russian infantry came suddenly upon the men in our advanced trenches, and rushed in upon them on the right with the bayonet ere we were quite prepared to receive them. When they were first discerned they were close at hand, and, on being challenged, they replied with the universal shibboleth, " Bono Franciz." In another moment they were bayonet ing our men, who had barely time to snatch their arms and defend themselves. Taken at a great disadvantage, and pressed by superior numbers, our men met the assault with undaunted courage, and drove the Russians out at the point of the bayonet after a smart fire. The Russians, pursued by our shot, retired under cover of our batteries. The attack seems to have been general along the line. At half-past eight o'clock last night the French batteries began to shell the town, while their rockets were poured every five minutes in streams into the place. At ten o'clock, our sentries in advance of Chapman's attack gave notice that the Russians were assembling in force in front of the works. The 20th, 21st, and the 57th Regiments were in the trenches on the left attack, and they were, to a certain extent, prepared for the assault of the enemy. About the same time the French on the right of our right attack, which is separated from the left attack by a deep ravine, were assailed in masses by the enemy. As our allies were hardly pressed, orders were given to advance the troops in a portion of the trenches, consisting of a part of the light division, to their support. On the left attack the Russians, advancing with impetuosity through a weak part of the defence, turned the third parallel, and took it in reverse. They killed and wounded some of our men, and had advanced to the second parallel, when our cover ing party and the men in the trenches of the batteries came down upon them and drove them over the works after a sharp conflict. The 20th Regiment lost two men SATURDAY, killed, six wounded badly, and three missing. Th e 67 th lost three killed, four wounded, and eighteen mi ss i ng The 21st lost three killed, five wounded, a n d one m i ssing: These are the returns so far as I can ascertain the t ru th at an early hour this morning, but it is probable that some of the missing men will turn up, as these regiments have not yet come out of the trenches. On the right the attack was more serious and sudden. Our men had been ordered out to the support of the French from one part of their lines, and while they were away, the Ru ssians came up t o the flank of the works, and took them in reverse, so that they had to fight their way back to get to their position. The gallant old 7th Fusiliers had to run the gauntlet of a large body of the enemy whom they drove back el to fourehette. One brave young fellow, Capt. Cavendish Browne, of the 7th, was killed. Two or three musket balls pas se d through his body. The 34th Regiment had an enormous force to contend against, and as their brave Colonel Kt lly was leading them in, he was shot down and carried off by the enemy. His dead body was found outside the trenches this morning. The 77th behaved most gallantly, and the 97th proved themselves worthy of their position in the glorious old light division. In the midst of the fight Major Gordon of the Royal Engineers displayed that cool courage, and presence of mind which never forsakes him. With a little switch in his hand he encouraged the men to defend the trenches, and, standing up on the top of the parapet, all unarmed as he was, he hurled down stones on the Russians. He was struck by a ball which passed through the looter part of his arm, and, from the same or from a different musket, at the same time he received a bullet through the shoulder. We are all rejoiced that he is not dangerously wounded, and that the army will not long be deprived of his services. After an hour's fight the enemy were driven back, but we have to deplore the loss of the following officers, killed, wounded, or missing:— Colonel Kelly, 34th Regiment, killed ; Lieutenant Jardan, 97th Regiment, killed; Captain Cavendish Browne, 7th, killed ; Lieutenant Vicars, 97th Regiment, wounded ; Cap tain Montagu, Royal Engineers, missing; and Major Gordon, Royal Engineers, wounded. MARCH 23.—The enemy have either become desperate or have been inspirited and encouraged by their recent encounters with the French on our right. Their guns are nearly silent day and night, but they have not been re tired. Every embrasure is armed ; the muzzle of the gun is visible under the screen of cloth which is hung across from gabion to gabion. Their sorties are made night after night, in greater force and with more confidenee on each occasion. Last night, indeed, they received a severe check, but it was nut till they had got up to our second parallel on the left, or Green-hill attack, had got into our mortar battery on the right attack, and had inflicted a severe loss on our allies on the right towards Inkermann. In the affair of last night we had seven officers killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, and about 100 men put hors de combat or carried into Sebastopol. The French, it is believed, lost between 300 and 400 men and fifteen officers killed, wounded, and missing. On the other hand, the enemy must have suffered a loss of 600 or 700 men, although they succeeded in concealing the severity of their loss by carrying off their dead and wounded, as usual. Still, the number of dead bodies lying along the front of our trenches proved that they received a heavy loss. No flag of trace has been sent in from either side to demand permission to bury the dead. They are lying about among the gabions which have been knocked down in front p, the French sap towards the rifle-pits in great numbers. The enemy have opened guns from the Mamelon, which they direct against the French approaches towards the pits, and we may expect that the work east of it will soon be armed also. Its fire will enfilade a portion of our lines, and the Mamelon will be able to direct from one flank an awkward fire on the flank of our right attack. The Rus sian engineers have displayed consummate ability in their works, and it is well for us their artillerymen are not as expert as those who place them in the batteries. Con scious of the strength they have gained by the possession of those positions, and of the advantages they have secured in defending the town, the Russians appear determined to make the most of their new attack. The Mamelon is ex posed to the fire of the guns in the right of our right attack and to the fire of the second French redoubt over lnker mann, and every two or three minutes a shot or shell is thrown into the work, but the enemy maintain their ground, though the deserters inform us that they lose 100 men every twenty four hours within the parapets of the Mamelon. The practice of our artillerymen is splendid. Scarcely a shot fails in striking the top of the parapet just at the right place, and a black pillar of loose earth shoots up into the air from the work after every discharge from our guns ; but the Russians hold it still, and they are de termined to keep their hold as long as they can. The defence of the place is conducted on a new principle, and we shall be severely tried, with our present numbers, in doing the work cat out for us. RUSSIAN CRUELTIES TO THE WOUNDED. Remonstrances were issued not long since by the English Cabinet, through the neutral medium of the Danish Minister in London, to the Russian Govern ment respecting the cruelty exercised by the Mus covite soldiers on the wounded men at Inkennann. Count Nesselrode has made the following official reply to this communication : St. Petersburg, 21st February. Monsieur le Baron,—Before the letter with which you honoured me on the 18th January reached me, Prince Mena chikoff had made known to the Imperial Government the step taken in common by Lord Raglan and General Cam. bert. In reply to that communication, the prince stated that a disarmed enemy was placed, and would always re. main, under the protection of the Russian flag. This principle requires to be neither commented on nor con firmed. Nevertheless, I think right, Monsieur le Baron i t to remark that if unfortunately some of the enemy's sol diem may have been victims of isolated acts of violence on _ g,