The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-14 00:00:00

1 intention of making an attack on our trenches. After a
period of fifteen or twenty minutes the musketry ceased. The
enemy bad not gained any advantage. The French -sap,
which is now fast approaching the ditch of-the Malakhoff, was
not injured. Our allies have also some rifle pits close to the
1- edge of the ditch, the fire from which causes great annoyance
THE intelligence from thereat of war continues, as- it Ito the enemy, and they are -so completely under the parapets
has nowdone for several weeks past, rather a narrative of of the works above, that the larger guns-crnot be sufficiently
'• depressed to reach them. The enemy, it is supposed, - sought
preparation and a record of ,expectancy than the de- • particularly the destruction of -these ambuscades, -bat the
Seription of gallant adventures, or the stirring recital .alertness of the French prevented them_ from_ achieving_ this
Of brave achievements. Still the spirit of the men object. While the contest ‘wasgoing on before the Malakhoff,
.
there appeared to be an attack further on the right, near the
flags not, the troops are as much animated as ever by - advanced French works in front-of the . enemy's lines on the
. west side of Careening Bay ; but :the distance, sand the fire
the desire and expectation of final success against the on all sides, rendered observation in this direction very im-
brave and obstinately •defended fortress of Sebastopol. e perfect.
If a murmur of disappointment or a whisper of clissa- I Writing on the 26th, he states.:---
tisfaction is heard in any quarter, it is not born of fear, 1 The cavalry division has been kept under arms an,day; the
,several regiments being held ready to turn out at a moment's
but the legitimate offspring-of eager heroism anxious -notice. It is said that an attaok was looked for in the direction
for the final conflict. The :accounts as to the health -of the Tchernaya. A deserter from the enemy had reported
that the Russians were making preparations to- move against
and general efficiency of theallied armies continue of the allied force in the plain of Balaklava, and that they had
the most gratifying nature, and the works of all provided themselves with a large number-of pontoon bridges
for effecting the passage of -the Tchernaya river. A body of
kinds considered necessary to ensure success in the Sardinian, and French light troops were-thrown--out to make a
ultimate issue of the struggle-are pressed forward with reconnaissance, but returned without observing any appear-
ances indicating such an intention on -the part of the enemy.
ceaseless avidity. They exchanged a few shots with some Russian outposts.—
Additional batteries have been constructed to com- Some new mortars of large calibre have arrived-for -us, which
possess, it is stated, the superior advantage of Abeing worked
mand the Russian ships in the harbour ; and through-
with greater facy than the mortars on the old plan. They
out both camps the expectation has become general
are moved on a kind of traversing platform. It is said that
that another assault is imminent. So prevalent, in-
.our artillery are expecting daily the arrival of.a large supply
deed, is this opinion, that -rumour now points confi- .of powerful mortars.—The fire from the -batteries on both
dently to the regiments selected to support the different sides was very incessant during the whole night. The Rus-
movements in the anticipated assault. Criticism -sians not only threw a vast amount of shells into various
parts of the works, but kept -up a constant discharge of grape
among the military authorities on the spot seems con-
and " bouquets" aga. t the advanced trenches. These
siderably divided as to the actual propriety and then :bouquets consist of a number of -small shells or grenades ; they
probable result of the unsuccessful attacks of the 18th are thrown from a mortar, about ten or twelve at one dis-
of June. Many in both armies, whose opinions are :charge ; they burst close together, and their fragments are
entitled to great weight, declare that if those attacks -scattered in all directions. A constant Fire of Allis kind is
had been properly followed up :they would have been .going on against the French works on
the Malakhoff Hill,
unquestionably crowned by victory. This opinion is and in addition the sharpshooter( maintain an unceasing
-fusillade. The loss of our allies, from casualties of all kinds,
founded on the great loss occasioned to the enemy by -is said now to be equal in numbers to a regiment-per month,
our fire previous to the attack, which is now known to or nearly one hundred men per diem. The proportion of our
have been most destructive to -the besieged and their -own casualties has greatly increased of late, though the ma-
defences. Had it been continued for some time longer, jority have providentially not been of a very grave character.
- From the great weight of our shells, and the superior power
say these parties, the greater part of the garrison
.and comparative proximity of our guns, the loss in the ranks
might have been placed hors tle combat, even before
-of the enemy must also be very great. A constant fire has
coming "to push of pike." On the other hand, how- been kept up all day in the batteries.
ever, doubts are entertained, by parties not less entitled
to credibility, how far, even in the event of success EXTRAORDINARY FOOLHARDINESS.
against the Redan and the MalakhcrX it would have As a proof of the heedless indifference to danger which
been possible for the allies to have retained possession - groteaonfdtshhellleitiheacci followingiiefromexcoamnpstlzntwlyhiiciiiovoingurranangstt
of them, while the ships of war in the harbour were sevening, may be mentioned. A large shell had been thrown
left in a position to ply them with -shot and shell, apart from the Redan into our right attack, and during its passage
from the somewhat problematical ability of the north the fuze had accidentally dropped out. The shell fell, there-
forts to effect the same object. To obviate any fore, like a round shot into part of the approach connected
with the old advanced or third. paralleL &imp men of the
threatened danger from the ships, the French have
47th Regiment were near, waiting for the reliefs to arrive,
constructed a battery to bear directly on the present and ready to return to camp. One of these soldiers, after.exa-
position of these ships, and also so placed-as to seriously mining the unexploded shell, actually had the foolhardiness to
impede them in any attempted movement from it. jerk -the ashes of the tobacco in his pipe, which he had just
Other preparations and covering works of different finished smoking, into the fuze-hole. Another of the men
standing by and observing the action had only just time to
kinds have been pushed forward, and are now almost
utter an exClamation, when the shell burst. The reckl
completed. author .of the mischief suffered severely—both his legs were
Writing on the 23rd of July, the correspondent of shattered, and he was frightfully scorched about the head and
the Daily News says :--- face. Five other men were wounded, but fortunately none
were dangerously hurt. It is presumed that the man had no
The French works have been steadily advancing against idea of any of the pipe-ash being sufficiently hot to cause
the Malakhoff position, in spite of continued and very severe •
ignition of the powder in the shell. Instances of men expos-
opposition both by day and night. Frequent discharges of ing themselves to imminent hazard by showing their position
grape have been directed against the head of the sap, and gre- to the enemy occur daily, even in the most advanced works,
nades and cohorn shells were thrown abundantly. At inter- and it often requires the greatest watchfulness on the part of
vals the Russians fire a volley of musketry not only from the the officers to make them sufficiently thoughtful of their own
bastion in front, but also from the flanks and various conceal- safety, and that of others around them.
ed places. It would seem as if these volleys were discharged
at random in the direction of the French trenches, on the Another correspondent of the same journal, on the
mere chance of hitting some of the men engaged among the 27th, says, in reference to the
working parties. Although the French have necessarily suf-
fered from the fire directed against them, their daily number RUSSIAN PREPARATIONS OF DEFENCE
of casualties is by no means so great as might be anticipated. Althoughthebombardment has not yet commenced officially,
Our new batteries are completed and armed. The principal yet our batteries are far from remaining idle, either by night
battery, occupying a very advanced position on the right, and or day. The report asserts that an order was delivered from
in front of Frenchman's-hill, is fitted with a most powerful head-quarters to the effect that no shot from the enemy was
armament, a considerable proportion of which consists of land to remain unacknowledged, but in every practicable position
and sea-service 13-inch mortars. This is more especially to he was to receive, if possible, two for one. We are too near
act, it is said, and its position renders the statement probable, his stronghold for Johnny Rusky to leave us unnoticed, and
against the line-of-battle ships which still retain their and as soon as the clink of some unlucky pick-axe rings in
threatening attitude, broadside towards the Karabelnaia his ears, a shower of grape or canister, a light ball, and a
suburb. It is remarkable that neither the three-deckers nor bouquet of shells, give us notice that we are not sufficiently
the two-deckers have yet been observed to discharge a shot careful. The French have withstood the brunt of two as-
or shell against our works; this duty hitherto has been con- saults on their position in front of the Malakhoff. Their ad-
fined to the men-of-war steamers. The largest of the ships, vanced trench is now within 100 paces of the counterscarp of
which is seen lying out to our left of Fort Paul, appears to be that work, and the Russians evidently calculate on their gain-
partly careened over, and it would appear as if she might ing a footing there, as they are at present occupying themselves
easily acquire elevation enough to try her range over the low in throwing up a cavalier work in rear of the former parapet.
ground about the south harbour and Dockyard Creek. The This may enable them to make a more protracted defence, but it
distance at which she is now anchored appears to be about will also cramp their movements, and prevent them replacing
three thousand yards from the sloping line of the Malakhoff their guns and repairing their works, as they could more effec-
hill as its side dips towards the barrack buildings, but it is diffi- tually do were their space less confined. It is a more direct
cult to estimate this with accuracy while she is lying out in advantage to us, as, in the event of our taking the outer work,
the roadstead. this new parapet will afford us good cover from the fire of the
OFFER TO DESTROY THE RUSSIAN SHIPS. ships, and prevent us from suffering so severely while endea-
vouring to form inside. Those who have seen the rear works
There is a story that a sailor has volunteered to start from of the Malakhoff from our shipping outside, say that the form is
Careening Bay, on the first favourable opportunity, and, single- somewhat heart-shaped ; the two semi-circular portions are
handed, to destroy each ship successively. He asserts that be facing the besiegers, and the sides are formed "en cremaillere,"
is in possession of a secret method by which he can move along so as to secure a flanking fire along the whole front and flanks.
beneath the surface of the water, and breathe as easily as if he Two entrenchments are drawn within it ; but although such
were in a diving apparatus supplied with air by a pump, and seiges as those of Saragossa and Silistria warn us that a town
that he can carry with him an explosive machine of sufficient must not necessarily fall with its outworks, or regular defences,
power to drive a hole through the bottom of the largest ship. yet, if the Allies once succeed in introducing 1,000 men within
The sailor gave a proof, on the night of the 19th instant, that, the fortifications of either the Redan or Round Tower, the fate
at any rate, he was clever enough to approach a ship uncle- of this Armageddon is sealed.
tectedi'notwithstanding a very careful guard being established
to mark his coming. As a proof of still further ability, he an-
nounced to the officers of Her Majesty's ship London that he Disease must be raging violently within the walls of the
would come in the course of that night and chalk up the name city, as the burial-ground on the north side is assuming a
of the ship on her side, just above the water-mark, do what wonderful magnitude. We can plainly see the Russian
they might to prevent him. The challenge was accepted, fatigue parties arriving every morning on the ground, and
double sentries were posted, and some volunteers among the having piled their arms and hung their accoutrements on
officers kept a look -out, but no one was observed to come near, them, proceeded to dig a series of pits for the reception of
and all on board were convinced that no one had come near their dead. The burying ground is rapidly filling all the
the vessel. Daylight, however, showed the letters conspicu- plain lying on the north side between the cliffs and the sea
cushy chalked on the ship's side, as the sailor said they would where none existed (visibly) before the month of April last.
be. It has been suggested that the means by which this feat As far as we can see, there are at present very few troops on
was accomplished was an atmospheric boat, capable of being the plateau of the north side ; they seem to have all been
guided when sunk beneath the surface of the water, and sup- drawn towards Sebastopol, and there is, consequently, a large
plied with a reserve of air enough to last a given time for the display of canvas in its vicinity. Many are of opinion that
support of its. tthenturOus owner. It 10 stated that he could , the greater part of the camp is required as an hospital.
not have swam alongside without being observed. t
JULY 24.—A heavy fire was kept up from the batteries THE NEW COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
nearly the whole night. Another burning hot day. Notwith- Many reforms have taken place in the interior economy of
standing the excessive heat, and the exposure to which the our routine since the change at our head-quarters ; they give
troops are necessarily submitted during their twenty-four universal satisfaction. The trench duties are now taken by
hours' turn of duty in the trenches, there has not been any divisions, which prevents a deal of trouble ;in the event of
increase in the number of cases of cholera. This subject had
casualties, the senior officers can be discovered without diffi-
been considered prospectively with some anxiety, and it is a cuty, and the command handed over to the proper person
matter for thankfulness that this scourge has been averted without requiring the aid of an army list. The whole of the
from us. It was about the beginning of the month of July
attack is placed under the command of the general of the
last year when the disease broke out with so much virulence
attack, who delivers his orders to all employed. Formerly
among the troops in Bulgaria. Dysenteric disease and fever the artillery was only under the control of its own chief, and
seem to be the only prevailing diseases of a serious character received the orders from him alone. The inconvenience from
at present among the camps in front. The former malady
this arrangement has only now been rectified. Our new coin-
attacks new-comers especially—persons who have not become
inured to live under canvas and to camp dieting. wander-in-chief seems determined to view all things for him-
self, and will take nothing on hearsay. He was nearly taken
The correspondent of the Morning .Advertiser, as a spy by some soldier ignorant of his rank not long since,
writing on the 24th of July, says :--. as the latter could not understand what business an officer in
It is clear—and every partial or general resuming of the a very shabby uniform, and without any attendants, had in
promenading .
.through the most advanced. and. exposed.
bombardment renders the fact more apparent—that his (the trenches, looking
.into the magazines,. taking the directions of
enemy's) defences are still in good order, and that if they are
the mortar batteries, and making himself master of the whole
not to be taken one after the other they can only be so at a
plan of our attack.
great loss of life. There are no grounds for supposing that The correspondent of the Times, writing from the camp of
the Malakhoff and the Redan will be gained at a much less
sacrifice than that which attended the disastrous attack of the the Fourth Division before Sebastopol, on July 30, says :-
18th ultimo ; and then come the Quarantine Fort, the Rus- Since the sortie of the 23rd inst. nothing of importance or
sian fleet, and the forts and batteries on the northern side, to even of interest has occurred here. The desultory fire to
say nothing of any engagement which may take place in the which we are accustomed continues by day, usually swelling
open field. There are no signs, however, of anything like into a roar of artillery for a portion of every night. Last
real discouragement on the part of the Allies, and Sebastopol night, for instance, the din began at half-past 10, and lasted
is a doomed town. Our forage parties have been of late very with intervals about three hours. The casualties continue
successful in their, what may be called, razzias, and have al- much as before, not very heavy, although some days are un-
ready sent to the camp large quantities of new hay. Omar lucky, and on the night of the 28th the Guards had 25 to 30
Pasha and the French—and the latter still hold a position men killed and wounded. But, however unimportant, in a
beyond Baidar—have been often out of late reconnoitring. siege of ordinary duration, would be the usual daily loss here
Much prudence is necessary, for the Russians are in strong experienced, in one so prolonged as that of Sebastopol it be-
force on the ridge of hills opposite the plain of Balaklava. comes a serious consideration, especially when taken in con-
We are all greatly shocked here at five terrible murders cora- junction with the loss from disease. This, lam glad to say,
mitted by some Turkish soldiers. A little more than half-way diminishes. Cholera cases have become very rare. Fever
between the English head-quarters and the market-place of and diarrhoea are what most prevail, but not by any means
Kadikoi there is an humble stone building, with two little out- to an alarming extent. Upon the whole, the sanitary condi-
houses and the remnant of a small garden. In that house tion of our army must be deemed satisfactory.
resided a Rasso-Greek family, in all four men and two women, It seems a pretty general opinion that no very long
who were allowed to dwell there by the English authorities, period will elapse before another attack is made upon the
and who, as well as the other poor native inhabitants of this Malakhoff. As regards an expedition into the interior of the
portion of the Crimea, received their daily rations from the Crimea, that is highly improbable. In fact, I believe nothing
English or French commissariat. The details of the tragedy of the kind is in contemplation—at any rate, for the present.
are frightful ; suffice it to state, that the four men and one of the The month of September would be a favourable season at
women, aged about 25, were brutally murdered on Saturday which to commence such a movement.
last, their bodies presenting the most horrible gashes. The Colonel Norcott's (Rifles) servant and charger were await-
other woman who was left for dead, is now in one of the hos- ing, yesterday mooning, his return from the trenches in what
pitals in Balaclava, and she states that they were suddenly was considered a perfectly sheltered situation, when a round
attacked by three or four Turkish soldiers, while others re- shot, bounding over an eminence, killed both horse and man.
mained without ; and that after the murders, the assassins Four Russian deserters came in yesterday.
took away all the money they could find—her portion being The Duke of Newcastle has arrived at Balaklava, and has
about four pounds. She 'says she can recognise, she thinks, been up to the front.
one or two of the party. The utmost vigilance is employed to July 31.—Soon after five o'clock this morning a most
find out the assassins. This sad event has created a profound violent storm of wind and rain commenced, and continues as
sensation throughout the allied camps. Three Russian pri- I write. It will cause, I fear, much discomfort, if not actual
soners were brought in yesterday afternoon to the head guar- damage, in the camp, over which it rages with a combined
tens of General Simpson. The English police at Kadikoi are fury and duration which Ido not remember to have seen sur-
still in search of a Russian spy, dressed as a French officer. passed. The considerable portion of the camp of which I
A slight variation in the uniform first created suspicion. command a view from my hut is converted into a lake, the
There are sad complaints in the British army regarding the rain descending faster than it can sink into the earth. Even
delay in payments, the sums lately sent out being altogether the furious war of the elements does not wholly suspend the
insufficient. It is hard to think that men who are fighting strife of man, and from time to time, above the roar of the
the battles of England, and who, in other ways, are exposing wind and the plash of the rain, the boom of a gun reaches us.
their lives in this pestiferous climate, should be suffering As I write, however, the tempest passes over, the clouds fly
privations through irregular payments of their hard-earned seaward, the rain ceases, and already the camp resumes its
money. -4,

THE WAR.

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

Under date of the 25th, the correspondent of the
Daily _Yews says :---
There was a heavy fire all night from the batteries, and
about midnight the enemy made a sortie against the ambus-
cades and advanced trenches of the French on the-Malakhoff-
hill. The moon had been shining brightly, and about five
minutes after it had set, and there was general obscurity, the
Russians sallied out. The French were on the alert, and must
have perceived the enemy advancing, for the first notice in
the English attack of the sortie was the French bugles
sounding the alarm. They were immediately followed by the
usual sharp cry of the Russians as they rushed forward to
attack, mixed with the sound of their bugles and shouts of
officers. A very heavy fire of musketry followed, and all the
batteries opened with terrific effect. The Russian steamers
were very active in throwing shells over into the French
works. It is said that the new
.French battery near Careening
Bay did not open her fire against the steamers, reserving it
for a simultaneous operation with other
works on the
carried into effect against the enemy's
left, which is to be
fleet in a few days. flight of shells from our right
„,_,
attack, in the directirm.
on °tithe Atadakhoff worAsks, and
man the
„,.„.easing. as
groundl.4l in their rear, was
eight er- 'nine shells from this attack might be. counted
in the air at one time. Some of the 13-m eh mor-
tars in our new advanced battery were
direction of the low ground between the also fired in the
Redan and the
Malakhoff hills, along which it might be presumed troops would
advance towards our own works, but the enemy exhibited no

stir. g•••.•INMI
Another correspondent of the same paper, writes as follows,
on July 31:—
The firing during the last few days has been on our side far
more lively than it had been for some time ; this increased
firing has, however, a defensive rather than an offensive
character. The Russians, seeing our works daily approach
closer to theirs, are trying by their single gun practice to
annoy us. The orders have accordingly been given to return
the fire from our batteries whenever it becomes too annoying.
Once already this was tried before, and it moderated some-
what the ardour of the Russian gunners. This is the second
trial, which I hope will be not less suecessful in insuring us a
little respite, for, somehow or other, the less we fire the better
is the Russian gun practice, and vice versa".
But no firing of the Russians, be it good or bad, slight or
heavy, is able to impede the progress of the works. The sur-
face of the ground in the neighbourhood of the Malakhoff
works and the Redan is presenting every day a more checkered
appearance. It is one mass of trenches, traverses, rifle pits,
and batteries—a perfect maze, so that it requires a strongly
developed organ of locality, or else many days of trench duties,
to find one's way. The railway is perhaps the best test of the
gigantic activity which is prevailing ; numbers of mortars and
large quantities of ammunition come up daily by it, and van-
ish again silently, to be replaced next day by others. It is as
if the trenches were an unfathomable abyss, snch an incredible
mass of mortars, guns, shells, and shot do they seem to swal-
low up.
When_ they will be satiated, and when the word " enough"