The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-03 00:00:00

1012 I likewise directed Mr. Thomas Potter, Master of the Furious (lent to do duty in the Valorous), to pro ceed with two boats of the Tribune, and, protected by the Cracker, to search for the spit on the north bank, and on his return endeavour to place a buoy on the edge of the shoal off Kinburn Spit, that the entrance of the channel might he assured. As soon as the preconcerted signal was given, in dicating that this operation was effected, I despatched the Fancy, Boxer, and Clinker, into Dnieper Bay, with orders to anchor in such position as would best protect the right flank of our troops, upon the disembarkation taking place, and to make that their chief care, as long as there was any possibility of the enemy threatening them. During the night Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion also sent in the French gun-boats for the same purpose. At daylight on the following morning I bad the satisfaction of observing all the gun boats, French and English, anchored safely to the north-east of Kinburn Fort, and without any of them having sus tamed damage, although the enemy had fired both shot and shell and musketry at them during their passage in. Thus the chief part of the object you had most anxiously in view was accomplished. While still in considerable doubt as to the extent to which the channel for the larger ships was buoyed, at ten a.m. Lieut. Marryat and Mr. Booker came toinform me that the work intrusted to them had been completed, and that the latter officer was ready to pilot the ships in. The zealous desire evinced by these officers to furnish me personally with their re port on the difficult navigation of the Dnieper deserves my warmest thanks, and the gallant manner in which Lieutenant Marryat brought the Cracker out for that purpose, under a very heavy fire from the whole of the forts and batteries, elicited the admiration of all who witnessed the proceeding. We were now fully prepared to advance, and, in obedience to your directions, awaited the signal for general attack. The whole of the proceedings of yesterday must be already fully known to you ; but it is right that I should state briefly the share taken in them by the division you did me the honor to place under my orders, which consisted of the ships and vessels as already stated, reinforced by those named below. It being necessary to advance in single line, it was arranged that the ships should do so in the following order: Valorous—Captain C. H. M. Buckle, C. 8., bearing my flag. Furious—Captain William Loring, C.B. Asmodie—( French), bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion. Cacique—(French). Sidon—Captain George Goldsmith. Leopard—Captain George Gifford, C.B. Sani—( French). Gladiator—Captain C. F. Hillyar. Firebrand—Captain E. A. Inglefleld. Stromboli—Commander Cowper Coles. Spiteful—Commander F. A. Shortt. At noon, the signal being made from your flagship to weigh, we proceded through the channel, each ship engaging the Spit batteries and Kinburn Fort AM they came with range. To Lieutenant Marryat, of the Cracker, is due the merit of preceding and piloting us through, which he did with great judgment. Had the enemy continued his defence of the Spit batteries, the Sidon, Leopard, Sara., and Gladiator, were directed, in that case, to remain in front of them until their fire was completely silenced; but as they were subdued by the accurate and well-sustained fire which was poured upon them by the ships which you had placed to the westward of the Spit, and by those of our own squadron on passing to the eastward, this became unnecessary ; the whole divi sion, therefore, continued its course through the channel, and anchored well inside Fort Nicolaieff and Otchakoff Point. During this time the four gun-boats, Fancy, Grinder, Boxer, and Clinker, did good service, by placing themselves in such position as to throw a flanking fire on the middle battery and Kinburn Fort at the time our division passed within short range. Immediately on anchoring, I transferred my flag to the Cracker, and, followed by the other gun-boats, proceeded close off the east front of Kinburn Fort, to be ready to act as circumstances required, should the enemy's fire, which at that moment had entirely ceased, be renewed; however, the necessity for fur ther action did not arise. As the service intrusted to me was carried out under your own observation, I feel it to be unneces sary to do more than to record my grateful sense of the very satisfactory manner in which the whole of the ships under my orders took up their appointed stations, and of the manner in which all employed performed their duty. I think myself fortunate in having for my tempo rary flagship so efficient and well-ordered a man of war as the Valorous, and I feel :much indebted to Captain Buckle and his zealous First Lieutenant THE PRESS. Joseph Edye, for their unremitting attention and assistance. . I am delighted to add that, in concerting with our gallant allies the arrangements necessary for carry• ing into effect the present successful operations, I have received the cordial support and concurrence of my excellent colleague, Rear-Admiral Odet Pellion. The anxiety which you yourself ever feel to do full justice to merit and exertion must be my excuse for presuming to request your most favorable notice of Lieutenant Marryat and Mr. Booker. They have had anxious, difficult, and dangerous work to perform, and they have each of them executed it admirably. HOUSTON STEWART, Rear-Admiral. THE EXPEDITION. The arrival of the fleet, consisting of six En glish liners, seventeen steam - frigates, ten gun hosts, and six mortar-vessels, mounting in all 859 guns and six mortars, in addition to a French fleet of four liners, several steam-frigates, gun and mortar boats, and three floating batteries, besides an enormous number of transports and tenders, off Odessa, caused the liveliest alarm in that city, and its detention there from foul winds and bad weather gave rise to no less anxiety on the part of the allied commanders, for fear the real object of the expedi tion should be discovered by the Russians, and Kin burn be immensely strengthened. The fleet left Kamiesch on Sunday, Oct. 7, and anchored off Odessa the next day : Tuesday was spent in preparations for the sailing of the expedition, the reconnaissance and sounding of the banks oft Kinburn having been effected previously by the spi(fire; Ihutd, on Wednesday, the fleet would have got under way, so as to have been in a position to attack the forts at day. break on Thursday morning, but that unfortunately one of the dense fogs so common in the Black Sea set in, and precluded any attempt to move for the day.--Times Special Cor., Oct 13. On Friday and Saturday a heavy sea and a foul wind still detained the fleet at anchor ; but on Sunday, the sailor's lucky day, the whole fleet weighed and stood over to Kinburn, where they arrived about three p.m. The same night the Valorous, with the French and English admirals on board, forced the passage round the spit in order to reconnoitre, and the next day the troops were disembarked:— The troops were landed without the smallest oppo- sition, or even the appearance of an enemy, about four miles below the fort, the 17th Regiment being the first to land, and the French being for a wonder behind us. The mortar and gun boats bombarded the forts for three hours, but did not produce any apparent impression. The weather was fine, and the troops set to work intrenching themselves on the sandy spit ; only a few Cossacks were visible towards Kherson. The wind rose and sent a surf on the beach towards evening and suspended operations. — Times Cor., Oct. 16. Tuesday was too windy to open fire with any accu racy, and a heavy surf on the beach materially inter fered with the landing stores for the troops. An advanced French picket on shore had a slight en counter with some Cossacks, killed two, and took two more prisoners. The allied troops commenced throwing up intrenchments, the French advancing towards the town—the English guarding the rear. The next morning, Wednesday, 17th, the French had reached within seven hundred yards of the fort, which opened fire upon them at daylight. The fire was briskly returned by the French from a couple of field-pieces : It was a dull grey dawn, with a wind off the shore, and the sea was quite calm. The fleet was perfectly still, but the mortar•vessels, floating batteries, and gun-boats were getting up steam, and ere nine o'clock they were seen leaving the rest of the armada and taking up their position on the south side of the fort ; the three floating batteries being close in with the casemates, and the mortar•vessels and gun-boats being further away and more to the eastward, so as to attack the angle of the fort, and fight the guns which were on the curtains en barbelle.-11. THE ATTACK. At half-past nine the floating batteries opened fire, and from that hour till two p.m. the Russians gal lantly stood to their guns. The defence, though brief, considering the enormous disproportion of force, fully twenty to one in favour of the allies, well sustained the character of the Russians:— The floating batteries opened with a magnificent crash at 9.i0 a.m , and one in particular distinguished itself throughout for the regularity, precision, and weight of its fire throughout the day. The enemy replied with ala crity, and the batteries must have been put to a severe test, for the water was splashed in pillars by shot all over them. At 10.10 the bombs opened fire. At 11.10 a fire broke out in the long barrack, and speedily spread from end to end of the fort, driving the artillerymen from their guns, while small explosions of supply ammunition took place inside. At 11.15 the Russian Jack was shot away, and was not replaced—the firing became tremendous. Admiral Stewart in the Valorous, and the French Admiral (second in command) in the Amodio, followed by eleven steamers, came round the Spit Battery into Kherson Bay, deliver ing broadside and engaging the batteries as they passed, and they were preceded by the Hannibal, which ripped up Kinburn with her broadsides. The fire raged more fu riously, fed by constant bombs and rockets, and at 12.35 SATURDAY, a fresh fire burst out in the fort. At the same time the Valorous, Asmodie, and steam-frigates opened broadsides nn the fort, and the nine line•of-battle ships come in meg. nificent style, and take up their position at the seaward face of the fort, already seriously damaged by the tremen dous fire of the floating batteries, gun-boats, and mortar_ vessels. The storm of shot from this great ordnance is appalling. The very earth seems flying into dust, and the fiery embers of the fort are thrown into columns of sparks by the shot. Still the Russians stand to the only guns they have left. The broadsides increase in vigour, a n d at last a white flag is waved by a single man from the ram. part. Boats with flags of truce push off, and they learn that the garrison is willing to surrender. At 2 p.m, the firing ceases, and eleven hundred men march into our lines, several of them quite drunk, carrying off food and drink, and the officers bearing their side-arms. The goy. rison consisted of the 29th Regiment and of one hunt'a e d artillerymen. Two hundred are said to be killed, an d four hundred or five hundred wounded ; but admittance to the town is denied by the French, as it is said the go. vernor is in the powder-magazine, e, inflamed to ma d ness, and watching the chance of the victors entering to fire th e mine, which is well-stored with powder.—Times Cor., Oct. 17th. Ac 3ording to the Correspondent of the Daily News, our allies did not wake good practice at first:— A few minutes after ten o'clock the three French ante ing batteries, supported by one of our gun-boats, opened fins on the main fort at a range of about eight hundred yards. For nearly half an hour, however, our allies made had practice, more than half of their shot falling far short, and only striking the enemy's wall en ricochet. But when they had once got the range, I am bound to say that, from thbt moment till the surrender of the place, n.o firing could have been closer or more effective. The Russians replica with admirable vigour, and, with shell bursting around them, and round•shot bowling through their parapets, worked their gnus with apparently the coolest and meat unflinching steadiness. At half-past eleven o'clock the signal was made from the flag-ship for the liannibil to "prepare to weigh immediately," and fifteen minutes later she was gliding away out of the line to her appointed, ground off the battery on the extreme end of the spit. Ten, minutes after twelve the order was extended to the whole. of the remaining line-ofbattle ships, and almost before the- signal flags had reached the mizen peak of the Albert the whole five were under weigh. The St. Jean dAcre was the first of the line-onattlls ships that opened fire; but, as the distance was still great, the shot fell short. A few scattered discharges followed this from the neighbouring vessels, but the firing did not properly open till the vessels had reached a range of 1,0001 yards from the shore, when the Royal Albert and the Algiers (in which I was) swung round, dropped their anchors, and delivered their broadsides. The Agamemnon followed ; and in less than a minute the Acre and Princess Royal thundered forth their booming accompaniments. But by this time the Russian fire had almost entirely ceased: the 7'errible, with her irresistible long sixty-eights, Curacao, Dauntless, and Tribune had already silenced and demolished the battery on the point, and the only guns which still spoke out the enemy's defiance were a couple of pieces from the middle battery and the fort, which were now being powdered by the ten large ships at a rate that promised to level both in double-quick time. The walls of the fort literally crumbled away before the iron storm which swept into and over them from five hundred heavy cannon, and in almost less time than I have taken to writer it, hardly one stone of the outer coating of masonry stuck to another along its whole face. The Russian fire, too,. speedily ceased, and for a long half-hone we had the battle all to ourselves.—Daily News cor., Oct. 18. THE SURRENDER. Amidst the thunder of the fleets' guns, and the crash of the shells, a hasty council of war was held by the Russians. The second in command wished. to blow up the magazine, but was overruled by his companions, and a flag of truce was at length hoisted : When the flag was waved from the parapet a boat, each with a flag of truce, pushed off from the English and French Admiral, and at the same time Sir Houston Stewart proceeded to shore near the battery, where he found the French General advancing to parley with the Governor. Major• General Kokonovitch advanced with a sword and pistol in one hand and a pistol in the other, and threw down his sword at the officer's feet, and dis charged his pistols into the ground, or at least pulled the triggers with the muzzle pointing downwards, in token of jurrender. He was moved to tears, and as he left the Tort he turned round and made some passionate exclama tion in Russian, of which the interpreter could only make out, " Oh! Kinburn! Kinburn ! Glory of Suwaroff and my shame, I abandon you," or something to that effect. As the garrison marched out they were ordered to pile their arms, but many of them threw them on the ground. at the feet of the conquerors, with rage and mortification depicted in their features.—Team Cor,, Oct 18th. The' resistance of the fort was hopeless. The tremendous fire of the fleet surpa9sed in force and intensity anything that had been heard at Sebastopol, according to the correspondent of the Times. The governor, it appears, did not personally surrender at the time, but was abandoned by his garrison at first : Unless the governor had excellent grounds for believing that relief was at hand he had no justification for incurring the odium of causing so much bloodshed in the face of an overwhelming force by land and sea, which completely shut him in on every side. I have just seen the garrison march out with some of the honours of war, their church plate, Pie•